Snow in Jewish Culture - Spiritual Web Journey

"God says to the snow, 'Fall on the earth...'"Job 37:6

With lots of snow predicted for this weekend, here are some little-known "facts" about snow in Jewish tradition and lore (some more serious than others):

From http://members.tripod.com/~jewishjokes/snow-jewish-facts.htm

Many traditional Jewish congregations refuse to count snowmen in the prayer quorum.

Medieval Jewish mystics practiced rolling in the snow to purge themselves from evil urges. They were the first snow angels.

Moses Maimonides, 10th century physician to the Egyptian Khalif, prescribed snow as a cure for the hot Cairo summers.

The elders of Safed have 36 different words for snow -- but none for snow removal.

During 3 particularly cold Sinai winters, the Israelites were led by a pillar of snow.

It is forbidden to write in the snow on the Sabbath.
(if you are interested in this topic, see http://dailyhalacha.com/Display.asp?PageIndex=34&ClipID=806 and http://dailyhalacha.com/Display.asp?PageIndex=34&ClipID=793) – halachot on writing on Shabbat and on walking on snow

Following the great Jerusalem blizzard of 1900, Zionist visionary Theodor Herzl proposed the "Uganda option."

According to some rabbinic authorities, one must wait six hours between going out in the snow and in the rain.

On snowy days, the procession of King Solomon's immediate family was pulled by 2,800 reindeer and 1,200 huskies.

Israel's national hockey team participated in the 1992 Winter Games, dominating both the Olympic village and concession area.

On January 9, 1896, a snowball from St. Patrick's elementary school landed in Mrs. Manischewitz's kitchen, inspiring her to invent matzo ball soup.
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Spiritual Meaning of Snow, by Rabbi Simon Jacobson

http://www.askmoses.com/scholars.html?at=Rabbi&afn=Simon&aln=Jacobson

Who has not been awed by the beauty of the city or countryside covered in snow? The serenity and whiteness of snow attracts us. We sense the purity of snow when we wake up in the morning and the streets, which are so often filled with grime, are all covered with a white blanket of snow. Snow is a great equalizer - no matter how big the building, or the car, whether a Lexus or a Hyundai, they’re all covered equally by the snow. Snow has the ability to cover over the impurities of life and remind us of our own purity.

So snow is heaven speaking to us - speaking to us through purity, speaking to us gently and gradually on our terms. Snow is the intermediary stage between heaven and earth; ice is a little closer to the level of earth; sleet is in between snow and ice. Thus every weather condition sends us a message and lesson - whether it’s rain, snow, ice, sleet or hail.

"That Shyster" Bernard Madoff and Joseph's Brothers

As if things in the investment world could have possibly gotten any worse, now we have the Madoff scandal , which, according the Jewish Week, has expanded even more.

So I was in the post office on Tuesday, mailing a package and buying stamps, and the clerk and I got to talking about the tough economic times. As I turned to leave, he added one comment that stuck with me, saying, "and now we have to deal with that shyster." I assume he meant Madoff.

I didn't have my yarmulke on, so I'm pretty sure the clerk wasn't saying that specifically for my ears. It just came out naturally.

I wondered whether I might be too sensitive, ascribing to every insult that sounds remotely Germanic anti-Semitic overtones. So I looked up Shyster on Wikipedia and here's what it said:

A shyster (pronounced /ˈʃaɪstər/) is someone who acts in a disreputable, unethical or unscrupulous way, especially in the practice of law and politics.[1] It is a slang word.

Etymology

The word is derived from the German verb scheissen, "to defecate" and the English suffix -ster, "one who does". Shyster is an alteration of the German scheißer, which literally means "defecator" or an "incompetent worthless person".[2]

There is no basis to conclude that a possible origin includes Shylock, a character in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice and the owner of a stall or shy in a market place.[3]

An example of a modern day shyster would be Bernard L. Madoff, the fund manager and business owner who started the Wall Street firm Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC.[4]


So, while skirting the question of anti-Semitism, Wiki already puts Madoff into the pantheon of all-time great shysters.

If you look up shyster in the dictionary, Madoff's name is already there!

I wondered whether the postal clerk had read Wikipedia - or contributed this entry.


Shyster or not, Madoff is clearly a Shanda - He's both a great embarrassment to the Jews and a crook who stole particularly from the Jews. So we get it on both ends. We're ripped off and then blamed for it. We haven't seen anything like this since the Jews had to pay the Nazis for their own persecution.

In this week's portion, Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers for twenty silver coins. But a close look at the text leads to much confusion as to whom Joseph was really sold, Ishmaelites or Midianites. Looking at Nechama Leibowitz's survey of the traditional commentaries (http://www.jafi.org.il/education/torani/NEHAMA/vayeshev.html) reveals a complex series of transactions and non-transactions that might have perplexed even the best SEC investigator.

And there passed by Midianites, merchants; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they brought Joseph to Egypt. (Genesis 37:28)

This chapter constitutes a turning point in the life of Joseph and the history of the Jewish people; for it marks the descent of the Israelites into Egypt. The interpretation of the above verse has been the subject of much dispute. The accepted explanation is that of Rashi:

This was another caravan, the text informing us that he was sold many times. They drew- refers to the sons of Jacob they took him out of the pit and sold him to the Ishmaelites and the Ishmaelites to the Midianites and the Midianites to the Egyptians.

It might well have been the world's first Ponzi scheme. (Why is it that whenever I hear the word "Ponzi" I think of Henry Winkler spreading his palms and going "Heyyyy!"). But the bottom line is that for that paltry sum (you try and go anywhere on just 20 shekels), a band of brothers sold their brother - and their souls - and as result, a the entire family eventually ended up in Egypt, only to become slaves there a few centuries later.

Of course things went swimmingly for some time, as the scam eluded exposure. Only once the seven years of famine began, following the seven years of plenty, were the fissures exposed. So let's see, we've had about seven years of plenty, since we hit rock bottom just after Sept. 11, 2001. And Lehman Brothers filed for bankrupcy on September 15 of this year. Hmm.... You do the math.

This tale of greed just never ends. Madoff is not the first to have sold out his brothers for a couple of shekels.

More on Mumbai: Is it all about the Jews?

Once again, this blog has been quoted in the Forward on the issue of Jewish particularism and Mumbai. J.J. Goldberg, in an article entitled "Why the Jews? Debate Erupts Over How to Explain the Mumbai Terror," speaks of how the old question of particularism vs. universalism is playing itself out in the wake of the terror attack in India.

A Tribute to Cantor Saul Z. Hammerman

As many of you know, my uncle Saul passed away this week - his family affectionately called him by his Yiddish name, "Zelig." I just returned from his funeral in Baltimore, where hundreds gathered to remember him. I appreciate all the e-mails, calls and letters of condolence.

This tribute, from the Baltimore Jewish Times, helps explain why he was so loved by so many:

‘Saul Was The Best’

Community mourns Cantor Saul Z. Hammerman.

Alan H. Feiler, Managing Editor

When asked by a reporter last September about his career highlights, Cantor Saul Zelick Hammerman paused and struggled to come up with an answer. There were just too many, he said. “So many wonderful memories,” said Cantor Hammerman, smiling while lost in his thoughts.

The affable cantor, who served as chazzan at Beth El Congregation from 1952-1997 (and subsequently as the Pikesville synagogue’s cantor emeritus), died last Monday, Dec. 15, of renal failure. He was 82.

In a statement, Beth El’s officers, board of trustees and staff praised Cantor Hammerman for “[elevating] the quality of our worship with his magnificent voice and profound sense of spirituality. … He will forever hold a place of affection in the hearts of all of our synagogue families.”

On Sept. 7, Cantor Hammerman received the David Putterman Lifetime Achievement Award from the Conservative movement’s Cantors Assembly of America. Among those performing at the program were Cantors Avi Albrecht, Kimberly L. Komrad, Melvin Luterman and Emanuel C. Perlman.

“That was one of the most touching events I’ve ever been at,” said Cantor Luterman. “Saul was the best. It was always such a pleasure to be with him. He had a phenomenal sense of humor, and he was so bright. He could meet someone for 10 minutes and tell you what they were all about.”

A native of Boro Park, N.Y., Cantor Hammerman — who recorded three albums of cantorial music — was drawn to Jewish liturgy and music as a child. A former president of the Cantors Assembly, he was a passionate advocate of the chazzanut, the traditional cantorial style.

“I grew up with the melodies,” he told the BALTIMORE JEWISH TIMES last fall. “My grandfather was a Chasid and taught me the melodies of the Chasidim. As a kid, I used to sing at weddings. I started out in the Yiddish theater.”

While serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II as a chaplain’s assistant in Hawaii, he was bitten by the cantorial bug. “I delivered salamis throughout the island and performed at Shabbos and High Holiday services,” he said. “I was a chazzan for the Navy, so on the G.I. Bill I studied cantorial music. Instead of wondering what I would do for a living, God said, ‘I’ll help you out.’”

Cantor Hammerman said being an authentic cantor requires “knowledge, feeling, emotion –– so many things. A chazzan is born in the womb. … You have to know the feeling of the song. It’s something you can’t describe, but it’s there. If you sat in shul and heard a real chazzan, you heard someone having a real conversation with God.”

Said Cantor Luterman: “Saul was the kind of guy who said we have to keep the tradition going, that you have to give people that spiritual feeling. He had a beautiful voice. When he sang, you really felt something going on inside of you.”

When coming to Beth El shortly after graduating from the Cantor’s Conservatory of America, Cantor Hammerman did not intend to stay at the congregation more than two years. But after meeting his future wife and Peabody Conservatory-trained accompanist, the former Aileen Goldstein, as well as Beth El’s Rabbi Jacob B. Agus, he said he decided to remain in Baltimore. During his tenure, the congregation grew from 350 families to more than 1,700.

In the early 1970s, Cantor Hammerman toured the country with his brothers –– the late Cantors Herman and Michal Hammerman –– and performed a blend of liturgical and Yiddish folk music. He also performed regularly with his wife, and they co-produced myriad concerts (featuring the likes of Itzhak Perlman, Theodore Bikel, Jan Peerce and Renee Fleming) and theatrical events in the community.

But it was serving as a chazzan that afforded Cantor Hammerman his greatest pleasure. “[It has] given me the breadth to be able not only to chant the music of the masters but to develop my abilities as an impresario,” he told the JEWISH TIMES in May 1997 on the occasion of his retirement.

Cantor Hammerman is survived by his wife and two sons, Jan L. Hammerman and Dr. Samuel I. Hammerman; a daughter, Shelley H. Green; and six grandchildren. He is also survived by a sister, Miriam Avick. Contributions in his memory may be sent to Beth El, 8101 Park Heights Ave., Baltimore, Md., 21208 or the National Kidney Foundation of Maryland, 1107 Kenilworth Dr., Suite 202, Towson, Md., 21204.

“He was my brother, colleague and teacher,” said Cantor Luterman. “I was very honored to be his friend.”

And here are a few excerpts of what I said about him at the funeral:

"Along with his cherished immediate family and his siblings, Zel loved all his nieces and nephews with an Ahava Rabbah – an expansive love -- and ever expanding love – there was room for all of us – and each of us felt, in some way, like his favorite. He had that power. Over the past few weeks, that has been so evident, as one by one, family members called and visited and each contact just made his day. And now this ever expanding love has been transformed into an Ahavat Olam – and eternal love. One that will always be with us. For Uncle Zel, it was a long journey from the baby of the family to the patriarch. In many ways, he never stopped being the baby. He was joking – even to his final moment of breath. For today, for instance, he left the instruction that I should keep it brief!

From the moment my dad died in my first semester of rabbinical school, Zel became my number one fan, supporter, agent, confidant – he was the voice of my dad at every turn. I knew that his pride was my dad’s pride. He called from his office all the time, and he always had the right advice about the lay of the rabbinic landscape. He shared his concerns about the future of the cantorate and his love for good old fashioned davening. We talked about my dad a lot.

My father passed away 30 years ago, in two weeks. In fact, Zel’s yahrzeit will forever be a week before the first day of Hanukkah. And my dad’s will forever be a week after the first day of Hanukkah. Two modern Hammerman bookends with the ancient Hammer Man, Maccabee, in the middle. From the moment of that sudden death, Zel did not miss a beat. He arranged for me to get assitance in paying off my rabbinical school tuition. He pooled resources from the family and bought me my first Talmud. He took a special interest in making sure my brother was well cared for in the group home that came to bear my father’s name. He was there for us and never stopped being there. For my kids he was the grandfather they never had, and a link to the grandfather they never met. They and my wife Mara loved him dearly, as did my sister Lisa and my brother Mark. He really took care of us when we needed it most.

When my Aunt Ruth and Uncle Bernie died tragically, Zel kept us all together. He literally kept himself alive so that he could officiate at all the weddings and have an aliyah at all the bar and bat mitzvahs. We became a tag team under a number of family huppahs. (I always told him to keep it brief.) He took every bit as much pride in the accomplishments of my cousins as he did in mine. He loved us all with an Ahavah Rabbah.

Adonai Sefatai Tiftach u’fi yagid tehilatecha… Eternal God, open my lips, that my mouth may declare Your glory.

Saul’s entire life was directed toward the fulfillment of those words before the Amida, ones that ironically, are never chanted aloud. God did open those lips, and the breath and the sounds that poured forth was as pure any heard since the still small voice itself. And now that voice has been stilled, but the love remains. The brothers Hammerman are reunited again, along with their parents and two sisters. And today, the heavens are filled with music."

Bar Mitzvahs Play Better Off Broadway (Jewish Week, 12/19/08)

by Joshua Hammerman

Special To The Jewish Week

It was only a matter of time before bar mitzvah became fodder for a Broadway musical. When the teen-filled cast of “13” landed with a splash in October, it seemed a sure bet to capitalize on the success the mega-hit “High School Musical” franchise and America’s ongoing fascination with all things bar mitzvah.

Alas, “13” didn’t even make it to Musaf.

“Variety” reports that, after failing to play to more than 50 percent capacity, “13” will be closing on Jan. 4, a victim of lukewarm reviews and the economic collapse. But while the lights may be dimming on Broadway, a better version of “13” is playing to wildly cheering crowds each week at a synagogue near you. No tickets are needed, plus we throw in free parking and a kiddush.

One of the unseen benefits of the recession is that people are beginning to recapture the true spirit of bar mitzvah. Parties are being scaled back, as even those accustomed to keeping up with the Steins have become too embarrassed to stage something ostentatious at a time when so many are suffering financially. Modesty and simplicity are de rigueur in hard times — check the falling hemlines.

Although I didn’t have the chance to see “13,” I’ve officiated at maybe a thousand bar and bat mitzvahs and I would venture to guess that each one offered more drama and intrigue than “13” did on its best day. With all the joking we do about bar mitzvahs, we often fail to appreciate their power. It’s unfortunate that in many congregations, the “regulars” see them as annoyances and the service too often is turned into a private, family affair. Properly marketed and executed, this rite of passage could be the cornerstone for community building, rather than the embarrassment it has become.

I try to make each service as riveting as possible. It isn’t as hard as one might think, because each of these students has a spellbinding story to tell. We always distribute a family tree and it’s not surprising to have a child whose lineage goes back to Rashi on one side and Paul Revere on the other. We’re endlessly amazed at how each of these students has somehow forged a new path for this dramatic ascent to Sinai.

The part of my job that I enjoy most is working with each student on the d’var Torah. We brainstorm together, seeking that precious intersection between sacred text and the context of a young adult’s life. The stories I hear could fill an entire week of NBC’s Olympic coverage. These are heartwarming, funny and heroic.

Yes, heroic. Maccabee heroic.

Who can retell? Just this fall, while “13” was bombing on the Great White Way, a stream of heroic 13-year-olds was bringing tears to eyes here in the ‘burbs. My congregants met one young girl who single-handedly organized a blood drive, another trying to save endangered bees and another who imaginatively explained what Jews have in common with vampires (the good ones, from “Twilight”). One extraordinarily courageous girl spoke calmly of how her father’s sudden death last spring brought out the goodness in so many people who reached out to help her family. She said, “For Jews, happiness is really all about accepting what life throws at us and appreciating the good things.”

Max, whose portion was “Noah,” spoke of his recent trip to Kenya, saying that when he came home and saw a deer in the yard, as he had a thousand times before, this time, “I looked at it as if I looked at the first wildebeest in Kenya. And I looked at its legs and muscles and the way it moved and ate. And just then did I realize that each individual, no matter how many there are, is special.”

Adam, a huge sports fan, called the Creation “God’s Top Seven Plays of the Week,” and rattled off an ESPN-like commentary about how the separation of darkness from light was God’s way of determining that World Series games should end much too late for kids on the East Coast.

And then there was Danielle, who attended an international language camp in Marbella, Spain, last summer, only to discover that a large group of girls at the camp was Russian. Knowing that her mother had experienced malicious anti-Semitism in the former Soviet Union, and never having met a Russian before who wasn’t Jewish, Danielle decided to hide her identity.

“People might not have found out that I was Jewish,” she said, “except that I was practicing for today [her bat mitzvah]. One day my folder slipped out of my suitcase and a Russian girl picked it up and started looking at it. Within an hour, all the Russian girls knew that I was learning Hebrew. As you can imagine, I was afraid of what was going to happen next. The girls started treating me differently and saying cruel things about Jews. Some of them had never met a Jew before.”

Danielle survived the ordeal and compared this perilous journey to the one taken by Abraham in her portion of Lech Lecha. She concluded: “Abraham may have gone very far from home, but the most difficult part of the trip was what went on inside himself. He went far from home in order to find out who he really was.”

And then she declared proudly, “That’s exactly what happened to me.”

So I am happy to announce that “13” is not closing after all. This long-running musical always played best Way Off Broadway, and it continues playing week after week at synagogues throughout the world. It will win no Tonys, the voices might crack on occasion, but it’s the best reality programming around. There is no better drama to be found: the tale of the Jewish people constantly reinventing itself, a coming-of-age saga about that magical moment when a child’s lifelong search for God truly begins.

Check your local listings.

Rabbi Joshua Hammerman is spiritual leader of Temple Beth-El in Stamford, Conn.

Human Rights Shabbat

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed 60 years ago this week. See it at http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html. At a time when so many are denied their basic rights as human beings, it is important not to let this anniversary slip past.

This Shabbat we’ll be exploring this seminal document in great depth at our Synaplex programs. See the full Synaplex schedule here. I’ll discuss it at our early session and then we’ll be having an interfaith dialogue and welcoming our new congressman-elect Jim Himes a little later on. Afternoon sessions will include discussions with Holocaust survivors, a session with David Rodwin, who worked with impoverished populations in Asia last year on behalf of the American Jewish World Service, and another opportunity seeking employment in these difficult economic times to receive networking assistance from a career counselor. Plus, we’ll have plenty of great food (eating is a human right!) time to schmooze, and it all will be topped off with a super Havdalah Unplugged.

The website of the Rabbis for Human Rights contains much material for this Human Rights Shabbat, including a study session, background material on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and a human rights service. Read which communities are celebrating (you’ll see TBE listed there)

On the Israeli site for RHR, you’ll find two divrei Torah for this week’s portion:

Vayyishlah (Vayishlach or Vayishlah (וישלח Genesis 32:4–36:43) tells the story of Jacob’s reunion with Esau, the rape of Dinah and Jacob’s flight. In our Parsha we learn that when Jacob saw Esau coming with 400 men, he bowed to the ground seven times as he approached his brother. Esau ran to meet him, embraced him, and kissed him, and they wept.

Esau and Jacob were reared in the most ideal household imaginable. Their earliest childhood memories were of life together with his illustrious grandfather Abraham, the paradigm of Human Rights, kindness and purity, who personally oversaw the education of his twin grandsons and gave them the foundations for a meaningful spiritual life. For more, see Vayyishlah: Human Rights and Reconciliation between Brothers.

See also: Vayyishlah: Pride and Innocence – about the rape of Dina.

Why the Jelly Doughnuts - and Other (C)Hanuk(k)ah Questions (Hanukkah Web Journey)

(This “classic web journey” from a prior Shabbat-O-Gram may have some inoperative hyperlinks, but, as they say at Dunkin Donuts, it is “worth the trip.”)
I received the following “ask the rabbi” question via e-mail this week:

Rabbi, Perhaps you can answer a Hanukkah question that came up last night as we were eating doughnuts. What is the significance of "jelly" doughnuts versus any other type of doughnut?

This question must be going around, along with the old “Hanukkah” vs. “Chanukah” spelling conundrum. I’ve heard both from dozens of people this week. Indeed, why do the sufganiot, that popular Israeli doughnut treat, have to include jelly? Why not butternut, chocolate or glazed? Why not Boston Creme, for crying out loud? I thought about it and responded:

Hi -
And so I ask, why the applesauce with the latkes? I think in both cases it comes down to sweetness. But then, why the sour cream? Dairy foods are also customary on Hanukkah. The word sufgania is from the Talmud and means "spongy dough." Doesn't sound as appetizing as "Krispy Kreme." Try having spongy dough without something inside to sweeten it up. The Talmud says nothing about jelly -- or that the doughnut should even have a hole, for that matter. It needs more investigation. A dissertation could be written on this!

Well, maybe not a dissertation, but more investigation for sure. Does the jelly symbolize sweetness, fruitfulness, stickiness, or what? Why the jelly?

We begin with an argument based on the implicit connection between certain foods that are traditional on this holiday.

We start the journey at a fascinating Web site explaining Jewish symbols, written from a refreshingly liberal perspective (created by the Jewish Women’s project, Kolot, at the JCC of the Upper West Side): http://www.ritualwell.org/. Go to http://www.ritualwell.org:10030/Glossary/symbol.html?symbol=680 to find Chanukah (they are “CH” people, evidently). Click on “Judith” (or go directly to the summary of this apocryphal tale at http://www.ritualwell.org:10030/Rituals/ritual.html?docid=803) and see how the story of Judith ties into this festival and provides it with a unique feminist twist – and also connects it to cheese and dairy products. To see that connection directly, the entire book of Judith is translated at http://www.tldm.org/bible/Old%20Testament/judith.htm, and you’ll find a reference to cheese in chapter 10. Basically, Judith got the evil Holofernes thirsty with the cheese, drunk with (sweet) wine and then cut off his head and saved the Jews. Anyone know if Osama likes cheese?

So we now have drawn the line connecting Hanukkah to cheese; but cheese is salty, no? Well, if you believe this, you haven’t had a cheese blintz lately. Interestingly, one of the recipes found at the ritualwell site is a Sephardic formula for phyllo triangles with sweet ricotta filling.

Dairy products are frequently tied directly to sweetness. How often is Israel called the land “flowing with milk and honey?”(see Numbers 13:27 and elsewhere) In a land where water is so scarce, the taste of milk takes on an even greater sweetness. Commentators often interpret this as an expression for fertility and fruitfulness. A super article on milk and honey as fertility symbols can be found at http://www.uhmc.sunysb.edu/surgery/m&h.html. Interestingly, the prophet Joel (4:18) draws a direct parallel between milk and fruit juice, saying: “fruits pure as milk and sweet as honey.” The connection is clearly made: sweetness = fruit filling = dairy + honey. Hence, doughnuts without filling just wouldn’t be complete on Hanukkah. Eating a mouth-watering strawberry glazed doughnut is the gastronomical equivalent to splashing around in a land flowing with milk and honey.

Here’s a possible historical argument: In ancient times, the doughnuts had no holes. Dunkin Donuts wasn’t even invented until 1950 (http://www.dunkindonuts.com/aboutus/history.jsp). But even “DDs” does not have the distinction of inventing the uniquely-shaped delicacy. Go to http://id.essortment.com/doughnuthistory_rgjt.htm (“A Short History of the Doughnut) and you’ll find that…
“…In a house in Rockport, Maine there is a plaque that recognizes Mason Crockett Gregory with the invention of the doughnut hole, in 1847. The reason why? He hated doughnuts with an uncooked center. (Or perhaps he was just particularly impatient-they cook much quicker without a center) Skeptics point out that Gregory was a sea captain, however, and may well have encountered the jumble version of the confection on his travels, and brought the idea home with him. (This would seem to be the truth behind the legend of a sea captain placing the doughnut on the wheel of his ship for safe-keeping, and then just becoming enamored of the idea.) Even if Captain Gregory came up with the idea, John Blondell was awarded the patent for the first doughnut cutter in 1872. Blondell's version was made of wood, but an 'improved' tin version with a fluted edge was patented in 1889.”
No matter how you look at it, the doughnut hole came many centuries later than Talmud, so when the ancient rabbis spoke of the spongy Sufgania, they couldn’t possibly have been thinking of doughnuts as we know them, the ones with a hole. And if the doughnut has no hole, we all know that it is most likely going to be filled with jelly. Find more about the history of the doughnut at http://www.mrbreakfast.com/article.asp?articleid=8.
Some final facts about jelly doughnuts are warranted. It is been pointed out that JFK made a grammatical error in his famous speech where he ostensibly said, in German, “I am a Berliner,” but really said, “I am a jelly doughnut.” This is actually an urban legend (see http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/weekly/aa021700a.htm), but what a great tie in to the Maccabees’ own fight for freedom, were it true! For some cultural parallels to the Sufgania in other traditions, go to http://home.attbi.com/~osoono/history.htm -- but be prepared to drool. And finally, go to http://www.ijn.com/archive/2000%20arch/120800.htm#sizzling, where you will read what seems the most plausible explanation for the Sufgania’s jelliness:
Polish Jews adopted a local lekvar (prune preserves) or raspberry jam-filled doughnut, called ponchiks (paczki in Polish) as their favorite Chanukah dessert. Australian Jews, many of whom emigrated from Poland, still refer to jelly doughnuts as ponchiks. When the jelly doughnut made its way to Israel, however, it took the name sufganiyot, after a "spongy dough" mentioned in the Talmud. Sufganiyot subsequently emerged as the most popular Israeli Chanukah food, sold throughout the eight-day festival at almost every bakery and market.
So where did the jelly doughnuts on Hanukkah idea originate? In Poland, of all places, the homeland of that holiest food around: the bagel (http://www.nyc24.com/issue01/story02/page03.asp). Makes perfect sense. Or at least as much sense as the blizzard that’s happening outside my window right now.
So, are you sorry you asked? Next, you can explore the superiority of the Latke over the Hamentash http://www3.telus.net/myssiwyg/latkes.html.
As for Hanukkah (h, 2ks) vs Chanukah (Ch, 1k), it’s all about having a total of eight letters. Eight letters – eight nights. See http://tckillian.com/greg/chanukah.html#_Toc468019403 for more on that (that site also is packed with top-notch Hanukkah information).

Mets Acquire Putz in Three-Team Deal

I'm not allowed to divulge the secret postings of my rabbinic chat group, Ravnet, but I don't think I'm giving away trade secrets in saying that the headline from MSNBC displayed above generated more than a few chuckles.

Yes, I know it isn't pronounced the same. Still, he should fit in quite well with the Mets' bullpen.

LAS VEGAS - The New York Mets overhauled their much-maligned bullpen with twobig moves Wednesday, obtaining J.J. Putz from Seattle as part of a three-team,12-player trade that gives them a setup man for new closer FranciscoRodriguez. http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/28168207/

Ethics and Kashrut

You may have seen this article in Thursday's New York Times:

Label Says Kosher; Ethics Suggest Otherwise By PAUL VITELLO
In the wake of sweeping labor abuse charges at a kosher meatpacking plant, an overflow crowd debated whether food produced under such conditions can be considered kosher.

The article speaks of how the Orthodox are trying to find a way to do, essentially, what Conservative Judaism has already done with Hekhsher Tzedek, that is, to link ethical behavior towards workers and animals with the ritual purity of the slaughter and preparation of meat. Such was not the case with Agriprocessors.

Our board voted in November on a resolution endorsing the initiative. There was considerable discussion, as many had concerns as to the degree to which Hekhsher Tzedek's standards conform with existing law. There is always a concern for over zealousness when new standards are being contemplated. The board wished me to communicate those concerns, which I have done (and am doing now with this public blog). But I cannot say how proud I am of a board that took so seriously its role of representing a Conservative congregation looking to take a more active role in a movement that is redefining itself as we speak. I am also proud to be part of a movement that is willing to push the envelope in this area, to not merely be a movement of nostalgia but one of conviction. Conservative Judaism has truly turned a corner with the concept of Hechsher Tzedek.

Here's the Sample Resolution suggested to synagogues by the movement. Our board agreed with all the initial clauses, and then the latter section was simplified and was modified,

The resolution our board passed...

WHEREAS, Temple Beth El of Stamford, Connecticut is committed to encouraging members to perform Mitzvot encompassing ethical and ritual observance; and

WHEREAS, Kashrut is a core value of our congregation and the Conservative Movement; and

WHEREAS, we understand that the laws of Kashrut teach reverence for life and humane treatment of animals; and

WHEREAS, our congregation continues to express its commitment to social justice; and

WHEREAS, Torah teaches us concerning the rights of workers and the importance of business ethics; and

WHEREAS, our congregation continues to express its commitment to environmental protection;

WHEREAS, we are concerned by reports of illegal treatment of workers and animals and illegal business practices within the Kosher meat industry including the impact such reports may have on the commitment to Kashrut;

THEREFORE, be it resolved that the Board of Trustees of Temple Beth El stands behind the development of a Hekhsher Tzedek program that requires compliance with applicable law in the areas of (a) employee welfare, including wages, benefits and health and safety, (b) animal welfare and treatment, (c) corporate accountability and integrity and (d) environmental impact, that would be applied to the Kosher food industry; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Rabbi is authorized to communicate the substance of this resolution to the joint Hekhsher Tzedek Commission comprised of representatives of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and the Rabbinical Assembly as well as concerns raised by the Board of Trustees in respect of the draft Policy Statement prepared for the Commission by KLD Consulting; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board of Trustees will review and consider its support of the Hekhsher Tzedek Policy Statement, once finalized, including whether the concerns raised in respect of the draft policy have been addressed.Whereas, our commitment to Kashrut is undermined and discredited by reports of worker abuse, animal cruelty and corrupt business practices within the Kosher meat industry

Therefore, be it resolved that the congregation stands behind the development of a Hekhsher Tzedek to be applied to the Kosher food industry to the extent that it requires full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.

More information on the initiative can be found at:

The Blog: http://www.hekhsher-tzedek.blogspot.com/

Kashrut must also apply to ethics, insist local rabbis
USCJ’s Heksher Tzedek resolution from 2007
Orthodox Rabbis To Set Voluntary Guidelines for Kosher Businesses
Orthodoxy’s Kosher Crisis
OU Threatens To Drop Agriprocessors After Charges
Kosher Plant Is Accused of Inhumane Slaughter

The Importance of Jewish Camping

This Sunday we'll be hosting a regional summer activities fair. Our educator, Al Treidel, assisted by able volunteers, has worked tirelessly to make this very important event happen. While all kinds of activities for all ages will be covered, a special focus needs to be placed on Jewish camping.

There are many excellent Jewish camps. My two kids went to different ones, Ethan to Tevya and Dan to Ramah, and for each, camp has been a source of priceless experiences and growth. While there are many worthy camps that will be on display this Sunday, as a Conservative congregation (whose rabbi was a former camper and staff member), Ramah deserves a special place at our table. I can't guarantee that you'll meet the love of your life there, as I did, but I can guarantee that anyone who goes there will emerge feeling great about who he or she is - and about being Jewish.

As Rabbi Mitchell Cohen wrote this week in a letter, "Camp Ramah, Now More than Ever,"

We live in challenging times. The most important decisions we make may be about the experiences we choose for our children - who will be their friends, who will influence the decisions they make, who will be their role models, and what values will they embrace. Summer camp is expensive, and choosing the right one can be daunting.

Take a look at Cohen's letter to see why so many are passionate about Ramah.

Then, take a look at the latest data on why camping is so crucial to building self esteem and Jewish identity. Look at this page http://www.jewishcamps.org/fjc/parents/why_jewish_camp.asp from the website of the Foundation for Jewish Camping:

“There’s a realization that Jewish camping offers a wonderful portal for children to experience a 24/7 Jewish environment where they can live Judaism as fun,” says Jerry Silverman, FJC’s president. “This special and intimate setting allows children to create, and funders are seeing that camp is a tremendous investment opportunity.”

And, elsewhere on that site it states:

Jewish camping in North America has been around for over 100 years. Initially, it was a time to get the kids out of the city to be in the country with their peers in a healthy environment. Today, in addition to the benefits of a summer spent outdoors, Jewish camp has become a place to develop and create a Jewish community, to find Jewish roots, to connect to the land and people of Israel and to live a 24/7 Jewish life. This is where Jewish passion, creativity, and spirituality can grow and leadership skills can be developed. This is where our community's next generation of leaders is nurtured.

It is said that there are three "immersion" type experiences that can have enormous impact on formative Jewish identity in children and teens: day school, camping and Israel trips. We aim for immersion with Hebrew school as well through our Shabbaton and Synaplex programs (and we hope all our 5th 6th and 7th graders will go on next month's Shabbaton!), but given the limited hours we have, it's been shown to be less effective over all. However, studies show that it just takes two out of the three to have a real measurable impact. In other words, if you are not a day school family, the immersion experiences of camp and Israel are especially useful.

Teen Israel tours are optimal, but family experiences are also wonderful. And, along those lines, I invite you to please take a look at the itinerary of our upcoming TBE 2009 Israel Adventure, scheduled for next December.

So we've laid it all out for you. Lots of choices, and lots of chances to build our Jewish future, one child at a time.

Jews, Vampires and the "Twilight" Phenomenon

When a student came into my office to work on her bat mitzvah speech last month, and only wanted to talk about the book and film "Twilight," I wondered how I possibly could link the themes of this story about vampires with Jewish themes. You can read Sophie's own commentary here. I took this as a challenge, because the last thing I wanted to do was perpetuate some old stereotypes about bloodthirsty Jews, which seem to have shared roots with the vampire legends. You can see the results of my research, the handout I prepared for last week's service, by clicking here. I'm grateful to a congregant for forwarding me an additional link from Jewcy, focusing on not only the blood libel connection, but also the theme of the Wandering Jew.

As you'll see from my service sheet, I thought the film had many Jewish themes to reinforce, especially to its target audience of teenagers. I was very impressed with the movie when I saw it (though it felt weird to be just about the only Y chromosome in the place) and immediately I saw Edward Cullen, the "good" vampire here, as the embodiment of the Jewish ideal of self restraint. Pirke Avot considers the true hero to be the one who can control his own urges. For Edward to manange to overcome his innate bloodthirst and not devour Bella is akin to a human choosing to stop breathing and a feat no less spectacular than the way Rabbi Nachman of Bratzlav used to act.

Nachman of Bratzlav was Cullen-like, a superhero. He would go to extremes to torture his body. He would fast for days on end, because he so loved to eat, and in this way he learned to control his hunger. Legend has it that he would roll naked in the snow to control his physical desires (and this is without having a hot tub on the backyard). But the most amazing thing about Reb Nachman, in his own estimation, is that he never scratched himself. I kid you not. Never. Imagine a mosquito bite and the itch is just crawling up your arm – and not doing anything about it. The Torah doesn’t command us not to scratch. And the man suffered quite abit in his life. Through all of this, Reb Nachman of Bratzlav said, “My suffering is always in my power.” When things became unbearable, he simply could will away the pain.

When I spoke to people at the service last week about "Twilight," I understood that this was one of the last times this group of 8th graders would be attending en masse. The bar mitzvah "season" is nearly over for this class. So I turned to the subject of drug abuse, alcohol and addiction in general. If kids ever need that lecture, this is the time when they need it most. The book and movie were also speaking of sexual urges, of course, but at one point Edward does call Bella his narcotic - his drug. I took that cue to deliver a very strong message about the dangers awaiting these students as they make the leap to high school.

Judaism's notion of the good and evil inclinations (the yetzer ha tov and yetzer ha ra) fit well into the world of "Twilight." I collected some sources and compared them to quotes from the book in my service handout. You can see some of the sources in an interesting article at MyJewishLearning.com. According to tradition, we are born with an inclination to do evil, but it is only at the onset of adolescence, bar mitzvah, that our inclination to do good sets in. Perfect timing for Bella and Edward (although Edward's inclination to do good has developed quite a bit more).

So I have my student Sophie to thank in opening my eyes to the Jewish possibilities in "Twilight." I can't wait to see what teen-craze book series the next student brings in.

After Mumbai, Jews Wait in Vain for Pakistan Condolence Call (from the Forward)

By Nathan Guttman
Tue. Dec 09, 2008

Washington — For most of the world, the recent terrorist murders in Mumbai were a terrible tragedy. But for Jack Rosen there was an additional personal disappointment.
The government of Pakistan, he pointed out, offered no word of condolence regarding the Jewish victims of the attack.

To be sure, Pakistan offered no specific public condolence either to the United States and Great Britain, whose citizens were also especially targeted by the Mumbai terrorists, according to survivors’ accounts. But Rosen, chairman of the American Jewish Congress, has spearheaded Jewish outreach to Pakistan’s leaders through his related group, the Council for World Jewry. And Pakistan’s failure to reach out to Jews, he said, represented a tremendous missed opportunity.

“This will force us to take a step back here,” he said. “It was always a hard sell, and it is a little harder now… It helps reinforce the worst stereotypes and perceptions Americans and many members of our community have of the Pakistanis.”

Rosen’s response was not a universal one in the Jewish community. Rabbi Joshua Hammerman, spiritual leader of Temple Beth El in Stamford, Conn., and a prominent Conservative rabbi, warned against a Jewish and Israeli inclination to focus too much on the Jewish dimension of the atrocity, calling this a “grave mistake.”

The attack, he said on his blog, was “first and foremost, on India, and on Western civilization. We Jews have something to offer the world, gained from centuries of experience at being hated for no reason other than that we stand up for life and innocence. Now the world is ready to listen to us — but they can only listen to us if we take our eyes off our own navels and engage them, acknowledging that their suffering is as great as ours.”

But Rosen has been focused for years on bringing Pakistan’s relations with Israel and world Jewry closer. Here, the main drawback facing relations between Jews and Pakistan’s 170 million Muslims is not the outburst of deadly violence last month, but broader developments that preceded it — including, ironically, the formal restoration of democracy and departure of Pakistan’s autocratic former president Pervez Musharraf last August.

Under Musharaff, a strong supporter of ties with the Jewish community, contacts between Pakistan and American Jewish and Israeli officials have been going on behind the scenes for more than a decade. For a moment, in late 2005, activists believed ties had reached a turning point.

That year, Musharaff attended a public dinner with Jewish leaders in New York sponsored by Rosen. This was followed by a handshake with the Israeli prime minister and a meeting in Turkey between the foreign ministers of Israel and Pakistan.

But the diplomatic honeymoon was short. Although talks and meetings — conducted mainly by Rosen and a handful of activists from the AJCongress —continued, public gestures were scarce.
This was due in part to increasing pressure from the West to take action against Al-Qaeda, whose leaders are believed to have taken refuge in the country’s Northwest Frontier Province. That led to a fierce domestic pushback by extreme Islamists. Increasingly, the central government feared open ties with Jewish activists and continuation of the courting game with Israel could further destabilize an already shaky regime.

Pakistan agreed to accept assistance from Israel after the 2005 earthquake and, that year, hosted Jewish leaders in Islamabad. But Musharraf, who saw these outreach efforts as part of his “enlightened moderation” approach to Islam, did not try again to showcase these relations.
When Musharaff, under pressure from a grassroots democratic movement, agreed to elections earlier this year, opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, on the eve of her return from self-imposed exile, seemed open to deepening ties when she met with Jewish communal leaders in New York. But Bhutto was assassinated last December, shortly after her return.

The current Pakistani government, led by democratically elected president Asif Ali Zardari and prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani has put the relations on a back burner. During Gillani’s recent visit to Washinton, Rosen was invited to a small dinner in the prime minister’s honor. But visits to Pakistan were put off.

Still, Rosen believes in the future of ties with Pakistan despite his disappointment about the lack of outreach after Mumbai. “It is in our interest as Americans and as Jews to foster good relations with the Pakistanis and to make sure these events don’t distract us,” Rosen said.

But once again, broader developments — specifically, a change of policy in Washington — might make this more difficult. President-elect Barack Obama has stressed during his campaign that he believes America has the right in certain cases to go after terror targets inside Pakistan. For Pakistani leaders battling internal resistance both from extremists and from its own security service, these remarks could result in a stronger urge to distance themselves from the U.S. and the West.

A Jewish businessman, recently returned from Pakistan, said that while there is no doubt about the willingness of Pakistani leadership to maintain ties with the Jewish community and Israel, calls for high-profile engagement could be counter-productive. “They prefer doing things quietly,” said the businessman who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of his ties with Pakistani leadership. ”If you ask for a public gesture, it is a death sentence for Zardari.”
Calls to the Pakistani embassy for reaction were not answered.

TBE Israel Adventure 2009

Click here to see the full, interactive itinerary for our TBE Israel Adventure, which is now set for December, 2009. Reservations are being taken now, with deposits fully refundable until Feb. 4, after the airfares are known. E-mail me for reservation forms, at rabbi@tbe.org.

TBE Bar/ Bat Mitzvah Commentary: Sophie Koester on Vayetze

Two of the most important events of my life have taken place over the last two weeks: today, of course, I become bat mitzvah. And two weeks ago, November 21st to be exact, an event ALMOST as important, the premier of the most important movie ever made..."TWILIGHT."

For those few of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, "Twilight" is ONLY the most popular, great, beloved novel ever written since Harry Potter. It’s about a human girl who falls in love with a vampire named Edward Cullen. I know what you’re thinking…A: vampires aren’t nice. Why would someone fall in love with them? and B: Why in the world is she talking about this at her bat mitzvah?

The rabbi was asking me the same thing! Well, it turns out that A: there are some nice vampires who happen to live in Forks, Washington. And B: there are many surprising connections between vampires, Judaism, and my portion.

My portion’s name, “Vayetzei” means “And he went out”, describing how Jacob ran away from his homeland and his very angry brother, Esau. At the end of the portion, Jacob is returning to his home, this time with four wives, thirteen kids, and a whole lot of goats and sheep. Just like Jacob, and the rest of the Jewish people for that matter, vampires are always coming and going. They can’t stay in one place for too long a time because people get suspicious that they never age. The Jewish people have been around for a long time, too. People have often been suspicious of us because of our ability to overcome endless obstacles.

As with Jews, there have been many false rumors and myths about vampires. These stereotypes aren’t always true. For instance, vampires don’t have fangs and they don’t sleep during the day. In fact, they don’t sleep at all! And, there are some who don’t even like to drink human blood. They live off animal blood instead.

According to the Torah, Jews are forbidden to consume blood. Unfortunately, in the Middle Ages, rumors went around that Jews used the blood of Christian children to make their matzah. This was called “The Blood Libel”, and some even spread this horrible rumor today. Because of this rumor, some folk tales have connected Jews to vampires.

Interestingly, for Jews as well as vampires, the most important time of day is twilight. For vampires, twilight is bittersweet because they are saying goodbye to another day and then welcoming a new one. Vampires celebrate quietly, sometimes going out and watching the sky. Jewish days also begin and end at twilight. On Shabbat especially, we celebrate quietly by welcoming the Shabbat Bride and we watch Shabbat leave us the next night by going outside and waiting for three stars to appear.

In the book, one of the major themes is risk. Edward loves Bella so much that he realizes he can’t get too close to her or he could harm her. The love between Jacob and Rachel involves similar risks. In both cases, though, there’s a happy ending. Both couples get married and both women lose their lives in childbirth, only Bella becomes a vampire and Rachel becomes a symbol of motherhood.

Another theme is change. Vampires can’t change. They can’t even have kids. But Jews believe in change, and that every new generation can help to repair the world. So as I become a bat mitzvah today, I realize I would much rather be a Jew than a vampire.

While each vampire lives forever, I also know that the Jewish people will live forever. As I become bat mitzvah, I realize that it’s now my responsibility to help make that happen.
For my mitzvah project, I’ve been volunteering at the Stamford Museum and Nature Center farm, feeding, cleaning up after, and playing with the animals who live there. I also took pictures of the animals there and created greeting cards on the computer. I sold these greeting cards, and I am donating the money to the Israeli Center for the Blind to sponsor a dog and to the Mo-Bear fund, which helps sick and neglected dogs.

The Lessons of Mumbai

In the midst of the justifiable outrage over last week’s terror attacks in Mumbai, it has been all too tempting to focus on the way Jews were targeted unlike any other group. The deaths of Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife Rivka have been the focus of so much grief, again justifiably. In Israel, the Holtzbergs are being treated as national heroes. Yossi Klein Halevi wrote in the The New Republic, “In embracing the Holtzbergs, Israelis were restoring to the national ethos the old concept of kiddush hashem, religious martyrdom.” Halevi contrasts the reaction to the Holtzbergs’ deaths with the tepid response for another victim of Mumbai, the anti-Zionist Satmer hasid Leibish Teitelbaum, whose family wouldn’t allow his casket to be draped in the Israeli flag.

We’ve long known that we are the canary in the mine shaft of hatred and terror, but the focus on Jewish suffering here is also a gross generalization that clouds some important facts, in particular that Americans and British were also specifically singled out by the terrorists. The fact that an American cultural center wasn’t picked as a target does not mean that they were less the focus of the terrorists’ irrational hate.

Now this won’t make American Jews any more comfortable – it’s wonderful to know that we are doubly despised. But none of this is new to us. I believe it is a grave mistake to focus on the particularly Jewish aspects of this murder, when it was an attack, first and foremost, on India, and on western civilization. We Jews have something to offer the world, gained from centuries of experience at being hated for no reason other than that we stand up for life and innocence. Now the world is ready to listen to us – but they can only listen to us if we take our eyes off our own navels and engage them, acknowledging that their suffering is as great as ours.

The fact that the Holtzberg child will now be an orphan makes it all too tempting to use him as the poster child for Jewish victimization. All that will accomplish, in my mind, is to train our children to hate. I would not want to see him become the Jewish version of Muhammad Al Dura, that Palestinian child falsely used as the symbol of alleged Israeli oppression. It has since been proven that he was not shot by Israeli bullets; but I’m talking here not about the method or intent of the death, but rather the use of a child, any child, for propagandistic purposes. I just hope that Moshe Holtzberg will be allowed to grow up in peace. At his parents’ funeral, Moshe was called by one eulogizer “the child of all Israel.” Of course all Israel feels great compassion and sympathy for Moshe. But I beg those who now care for him to please let Moshe simply be a child, not a poster child, not a symbol. We have enough symbols.

After all, Moshe, unlike most martyrs, is alive. If anything, I would hope that the tragedy of the Holtzbergs might call attention to his dead sibling, and his other, hospitalized one, who are victims of Tay Sachs disease. This well known disease effects primarily Ashkenazi Jews, is always fatal and brings only the most cruel, painful death, usually by age four. It is not curable but it is preventable, through genetic screening. I am loath to be critical of people as kind and courageous as the Holtzbergs were, but it is beyond me how any Jew who intends to procreate with another Jew in this day and age would not undergo a simple act of genetic screening before getting married.

I’ve been looking at some of the blogs and chat groups on this matter, and many are expressing bewilderment that the Holtzbergs had kids at all. One person made the horrible claim that their murder was a divine punishment from their having brought suffering children into the world. I find that claim downright dangerous (much like Rabbi Ovadia Yosef’s obscene claim that Hurricane Katrina was a divine punishment for the withdrawal from Gaza).

Another person wrote, “Genetic screening removes the element of trust in Hashem and the power of miracles and prayers from the equation.” If indeed that is why Rabbi Holtzberg and his wife were never screened, or continued to have children in spite of their clear evidence that they were carriers of Tay Sachs (Rivka was six months pregnant when she was killed last week), that also cannot be ignored. There is a large chance that the child growing in Rivka's belly would have suffered a fate more painful than any of the victims suffered last week. And who knows how many other kids they were planning to bring into this world.

If the Holzbergs are now going to be lionized for the purity of faith, then they must also be criticized for the naiveté of their faith.

Ultimately, where there is pure faith, there is ALWAYS naiveté, and pure faith should never be lionized. To be Jewish in this world is to recognize above all that God’s word is best understood through the subtlety of a still, small voice – the Torah is best read in shades of gray. I don’t know much about God’s ways, but I could never believe in a God that would give us the tools to know how to prevent children from suffering as unbearably as Tay Sachs victims do and yet encourage us to ignore those tools because of an alleged faith in that same God.

My understanding is that Chabad mandates genetic testing prior to dating, so this is not about any organizational policy. My only point is that were I to be standing before a group of young Jewish adults right now, I would cry for all the victims of hate and terror and then beg these young adults to go out tomorrow and do two things: 1) perform an act that will bring a little more love and goodness into the world … and 2) make an appointment for some genetic screening.

As the Talmud tells is, “Save a life, save the world.” The same is true for preventable premature deaths.