Weve recently moved. Our family feels blessed that our children will create memories in this beautiful home. The kids have claimed their spaces, started to decorate their rooms and seem to have forgotten that they lived anywhere else.

Our home has become more than a dependable place. My husband and I breathe a sigh of relief when we walk through the door, as if the confusion and horrors of the outside cant possibly penetrate our inner sanctum. The mental game we play with ourselves is perhaps one many of us choose to enter: If we just close the curtains and turn off the news, then everything will be OK.

We know, everything is not OK. Far from it. Yet, maybe one of the ways to wade through the waters is to find those pieces of comfort that displace the feeling of being unsettled.

What brings you comfort during an unsettling time? Some simple favorites: Watching the waves crash on the beach, eating a heaping pile of spaghetti and meatballs, five pairs of hands putting together a seemingly impossible puzzle, and prolonged snuggling at bedtime with plenty of lullabies. Do these comforts change the realities of the outside? Not at all. Do these comforts help relieve our unsettled spirits? For a few blessed minutes, yes.

The Talmud explains that three areas ease a persons mind: a pleasant voice, sight and smell. Meaning, sometimes, a beautiful piece of music or prayer, seeing someone that brings joy to your face and smelling the sweet aromas of a favorite recipe are more healing than we imagined. Does listening to classical music in your backyard replace the Hollywood Bowl? Never. Does watching grandchildren through a screen replace physical hugs and kisses? It cant. However, we must take comfort in the ways we can, knowing that these substitutions are not forever. And surprisingly, some of those substitutions can quell the heart in more ways than one.

Emerson reminds us that, Nobody can bring you peace but yourself. We can retrain our senses, allowing simple pleasures to settle our souls. The unsettled world is still there, not to be ignored, eager for our willingness to engage, change and mend. But to brace ourselves for the ongoing struggle, we must find those comforts that nourish, replenish and restore.

In this unsettling world, may a few comforts bring us joy and a lingering peace.

Shabbat shalom.

Read more:

Cherish the Small Comforts that Bring Your Joy in an Unsettled World - Jewish Journal

Pincus Orlander

My great-great-uncle, Rabbi Levi Yitchok Gruenwald, fled Vienna after the Anschluss in 1938 and came to New York City with my grandparents where he started his own congregation. His Williamsburg-based synagogue included a yeshiva with dual curriculum within its education system, focusing on the faith as well as skills to live in New York. Rabbi Gruenwald was able to form his congregation and its educational extension because of the religious freedom that America prides itself on.

The yeshiva system is the best of both worldsit allows for a cultivated religious education coupled with academic skills to help its students become productive members of society. It prioritizes the philosophy and values of Jewish heritage and religion to play a major role in our childrens educational experience and personal development by relying on rigorous Talmudic study to continue to be the primary source of guidance and inspiration of the Jewish people. Yet the New York State Education Department is trying to sanction yeshivas because their curriculum is different.

The yeshiva system requires students to read, speak and learn in multiple languages, a skill that is proven to improve memory and concentration in young people. This allows students to develop an analytical brain to really grasp a wide variety of information. All of my children are currently in yeshiva schools and they are becoming intelligent, valuable members of society through an education rooted in their faith.

I attended the yeshiva Belz Elementary and High School in Brooklyn, New Yorkthe same school as a critic of yeshivasand then went on to receive my degree in speech pathology from Touro College. My experience with yeshiva education guided me on this path and allowed me to become the successful professional that I am today. It put me in a position to create a practice focused on multiculturalism, helping children of all backgrounds improve their speech, reading, writing and overall educational experience. My yeshiva education taught me to give back to the community which has provided me with so much.

Freedom of religion and cultural diversity are cornerstones of the American experience. That is why my great-uncle fled to New York: he knew he would be able to live as who he was and practice what he believed in. The NYS Education Department stepping in and taking away our rights to lawfully teach our pupils ethnic, religious and moral values beneficial to their personal development and their communities is nothing other than wholly un-American.

Read more:

Yeshiva Education - The Best of Both (OPINION) - BKLYNER - BKLYNER

Auschwitz, a concentration camp in Poland.

(JTA) The state of Delaware will require the teaching of a Holocaust curriculum in middle and high schools starting with the 2021-22 term.

A bill signed into law late last month by Gov. John Carney mandates that public schools implement curriculum on the Holocaust and genocide for students in grades 6 through 12. Each district can develop its own curriculum, according to the Delaware State News.

The Halina Wind Preston Holocaust Education Committee of the Jewish Federation of Delaware, an interfaith volunteer group comprised of Holocaust survivors and their families, Holocaust scholars, teachers, clergy and community advocates will provide guidance and resources, according to the report.

The bill passed the state legislature unanimously.

Ann Jaffe, a Holocaust survivor living in Delaware, participated in the signing via videoconference. She spoke to the House and Senate about her experiences and has regularly spoken at schools in the state for several decades.

I am the last generation of first-hand witnesses, and I am 89-years-old. I am glad to know that when I will be gone, the schools will continue our work, Jaffe said in a statement at the signing, WDEL reported. The importance of teaching the Holocaust and about genocide in Delaware schools is great. How can we expect our children to remember and learn from history they did not know?

The post Delaware to require teaching of the Holocaust and genocide appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

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Delaware to require teaching of the Holocaust, genocide - Forward

Photo Credit: Jewish Press

Now, what (mah) does Hashem ask of you? Only to fear Hashem, to go in all His ways and to love Him (Devarim 10:12).

The Talmud (Menachos 43b) says we learn from this verse that one is obligated to recite 100 blessings a day. Rashi and Tosfos explain that the word mah can be interpreted as meiah, which means 100.

The Talmud (Berachos 33b) asks about this verse: Is fear of heaven a minor matter? Why is it presented as it were no big deal that Hashem is only asking that we fear Him? In fact, even Avraham Avinu was only declared to be a fearer of Heaven Now I know that you fear Hashem (Bereishis 22:12) after the Akeidah. Clearly, properly fearing Hashem is very difficult. How, then, can the Torah obligate ordinary men to accomplish this extraordinary task?

Perhaps the answer lies in the 100 berachos this verse requires us to say. Each beracha establishes an infrastructure that promotes yiras Hashem. With each beracha, a person says thank you to Hashem, recognizing what He does for us and acknowledging that everything comes from Him. Saying a beracha provides us with a moment of reflection that concretizes the omnipresence of Hashem in our lives. Doing so is thus a tried-and-true means of achieving yiras Hashem.

Yet, we say certain berachos so many times that we dont even think when we say them. How, then, can they inspire emunah and yiras shamayim?

R Dovid Moshe Braverman suggests reflecting deeply when reciting a beracha. It is known that reciting Birchas HaMazon with deep kavanah is a segulah for parnassah. So when saying, Who nourishes the entire world in His goodness with grace, with kindness and with mercy contemplate these words. Think of the grains and the produce, the magnificent array of colors that make fruits and vegetables so appealing, the life-giving nutrients and vitamins that saturate them all created and arranged by Hashem because He loves us. A person will then start thinking about his livelihood and wellbeing, and his yiras Hashem will grow as he appreciates everything Hashem does for him in this world.

Here are additional suggestions to acquire and improve ones yiras Hashem:

* Rav Shach says reciting berachos from a siddur, especially Birchas HaMazon and Asher Yatzar, inspires deeper introspection and thought.

* R Yehuda Tzadka recommends dividing a beracha into phrases and pausing between each one to reflect on its meaning. Baruch Atah Hashem. Pause. Elokeinu Melech Haolam. Pause. Shehakol Niheyeh Bdvaro. Acting in this manner will accustom a person to saying each beracha with deep kavanah.

* Say berachos with more kavannah, but focus on one beracha at a time.

* Chazal state that saying berachos out loud increases ones emotion and kavanah.

The Michtav MEliyahu notes that yiras Hashem provides protection against failure to follow the ways of the Torah. If a person lacks yiras Hashem, his heart is subject to the wiles of the yetzer hara who will determine what his heart desires. Yiras Hashem safeguards our Torah, our mitzvos, and our lives.

R Dovid Baharan was a great tzaddik who lived in Yerushalayim. One year, R Baharan was seen during Succos sitting with his head bowed on his shtender, crying for over two hours in the shul of the Gra, located in the Shaarei Chesed neighborhood. One of his friends approached him and asked why he was so distressed.

He explained that in the morning he had risen early to make the beracha on lulav and esrog. However, as he concluded the beracha, he noticed that the hadassim had slipped out of the holder, perhaps making his beracha one that was said lvatalah (in vain). Members of the shul, which was widely known to have an impressive group of talmidei chachamim, cited the specific chapter in Shulchan Aruch which states that if one of the species was removed, the person has still fulfilled the mitzvah.

R Dovid argued that even if he had fulfilled the mitzvah, he was still concerned that the beracha itself had been said in vain because of the missing species, as indicated by the Mishnah Berurah.

The next year on Succos, R Dovid was once again seen crying in the corner with his head down on the shtender. His friend approached him and asked, Did the same thing chalilah happen to you again?

R Dovid replied, Chas vshalom. I took extra care to make sure it wouldnt.

So why are you crying? inquired the friend.

R Dovid answered, What happened last year gives me no rest. I cannot forget that I was not careful enough to make sure there was no possibility I would make a berachah lvatalah.

R Dovids response reflected true yiras Shamayim. He had not done anything wrong whatsoever. Yet, a full year later he was still worried that his performance of a mitzvah had not been complete and perfect.

Original post:

Berachos: The Key To Fearing Hashem - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com

A Torah scroll. Photo: RabbiSacks.org.

In his old age, the late Sir Roger Bannister was the absolute epitome of an elderly British gentleman urbane, well-spoken, and courteous to a fault, the type of person you would have guessed had spent his pre-retirement working life as the manager of a local bank, or as the headmaster of an upscale grammar school.

Indeed, those guesses would not have been far off the mark. In 1954, Bannister graduated Oxford University medical school, and he spent almost 40 years as a neurologist, retiring in 1993 at the age of 64.

But his decades-long professional career as a physician and his quaintly charming demeanor in later life are of little relevance to the fact that this avuncular man with an infectious smile and a twinkle in his eye was one of the most famous athletes of all time.

Bannisters fame rested on the fact that on May 6, 1954, in front of a surprisingly small number of spectators at an amateur runners event at Oxford UniversitysIffley Road track, he ran a full mile in just under four minutes 3:59.4, to be precise becoming the first person on record ever to do so.

August 9, 2020 11:05 am

Remarkably, it almost didnt happen. In the summer of 1952, Bannister had competed at the Olympic Games in Helsinki, Finland. Already known for his extraordinary running talent, expectations for Bannister were high, and he was the favorite to win the 1500 meters.

But at the last minute, the race schedule changed, throwing his routine into disarray and he came in fourth. Tremendously disappointed by his failure to win a medal, he contemplated abandoning athletics for good. But after some careful reflection and soul searching, he decided not to give up, instead setting himself a new target he was going to be the first athlete in the world to break through the four-minute-mile barrier.

His success in this endeavor was far from a foregone conclusion. In 1947, at the age of 18, Bannister ran his first competitive mile in 4 minutes 24.6 seconds. By 1949 he was running a mile in 4:11, and in 1950 he had managed 4:09. Then, in 1951, he ran the mile in 4:07.

On May 2, 1953, Bannister ran a mile in 4:03.6 but as hard as he tried, and as much as he trained, he found that he simply could not run a mile in less than four minutes.

And he was not the only one trying; other top runners were trying too, and achieving better times than him: on June 5, 1953, the US runnerWes Santeeran a mile in 4:02.4, and later that year, AustralianJohn Landyran it in 4:02.0. But doing it any faster than that seemed impossible.

The following year, Landy made various attempts to beat his own record, running 4:02.4 in January 1954, 4:02.6 in February, and in April 4:02.6 again. It was all in vain. The record for the fastest mile was still held byGunder Hgg of Sweden, who ran it in 4:01.4 on July 17, 1945 in Malm.

Almost 10 years had passed without anyone breaking this record, and sportswriters and medical experts declared that it was not possible for humans to run a mile in under four minutes. The countless failed attempts by Bannister and others seemed to prove them right.

When Bannister unexpectedly managed to do what no one had thought possible on that damp day in Oxford, everyone imagined it was a complete one-off, and that it would take years for anyone to get there again, if ever. Less than six weeks later, Landy ran a mile in 3:58 in Finland, and then, at the Empire Games in Vancouverin August, Bannister won the first-ever race in which two men ran a mile in under four minutes.

In June 1957,Don Bowdenbecame the first American to do it, running a mile in 3:58.7 in Stockton, California. In fact, since that fateful day in May 1954, the sub-4, as it is known, has been achieved over 1,400 times, with the current one-mile world record held by Moroccan runner Hicham El Guerrouj, who ran it in a staggering 3:43.13 in Rome, on July 7, 1999.

Over the years, whenever Bannister was asked how he had broken through that unbreakable barrier, heanswered simply it didnt make sense to me that there was a barrier.

As far as he was concerned, if someone could run a mile in 4.01.2, then there would definitely be someone who could run a mile in less than four minutes. Bannister would say that he was determined to be that person, adding that he knew that once that psychological barrier which is all it was was breached, there would be many more who would get through it too. And despite his humility and understatedness, he was absolutely right.

In the Torah portion of Eikev, during one of the last speeches Moses gave to the Jewish people before passing away, he posed a question for the nation to consider (Deut. 10:12): what is it that God wants from you?

Before giving anyone the opportunity to answer, Moses answered the question himself, beginning his answer with the Hebrew wordski im only that

The clear implication of this phrase is that Moses wished to suggest a simple, achievable way for the nation to please God. But what actually ensued was a list of goals and targets that was so beyond the grasp of ordinary mortals, it almost seems comical: you should fear God, walk exclusively in His paths, love Him, and serve God with all your heart and soul, keeping all His commandments and laws.

Really? If thats the case, we may as well all give up before we start. After all, why embark on a Mission Impossible?

To compound the problem,the Talmud (Berachot 33b) quotes this verse and notes how difficult it is to achieve an acceptable level of fearing God. In order to resolve this problem, the Talmud proposes that what is virtually impossible for ordinary people was easy for Moses, which was why he included the fear of God on his list of what God wants from all of us.

But how exactly is that an acceptable solution? And surely Moses would not have deliberately set us up to fail?

But perhaps the Talmud is telling us something very profound in its simplicity. What is recorded as Moses advice is a reflection of who he was, and it is this that should truly inspire us. For Moses, the fear of God seemed like the most natural thing in the world. One might even speculate that had you asked Moses how he could ever have suggested breaking through an unbreakable barrier, he might very well have replied, It doesnt make sense to me that there is a barrier.

And if an entire nation would witness a man like Moses, for whom the fear of heaven was a simple and rudimentary aspect of life achievable, with no barrier it would undoubtedly make a powerful impression, thereby enabling many others to achieve the same result.

Moses proposition may have been a reflection of who he was humble and understated but it paved the way for something much more important. Suddenly the high bar became a reality that was within the reach of all of us. Psychological barriers are there to be broken, but you need to know that it is possible to break them.

And as it turns out, our relationship with God is not an unachievable sub-4; instead it is an attainable goal. All we need to do is believe we can get there.

Rabbi Pini Dunner is the senior spiritual leader of the Beverly Hills Synagogue.

More:

A Personal Relationship With God Is Reachable if We Believe in It - Algemeiner

JERUSALEM Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, a prolific Jewish scholar who spent 45 years compiling a monumental and ground-breaking translation of the Talmud, has died. He was 83.

The Steinsaltz Center, the Jerusalem educational institute he founded, said he died Friday in Jerusalem after suffering from pneumonia.

Steinsaltz, an educator who established a network of schools in Israel and the former Soviet Union, wrote more than 60 books on subjects ranging from zoology to theology. But the Talmud, the central text in mainstream Judaism, was his greatest passion.

The Talmud details rabbinical discussions over the centuries pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history. But because of its complexity, obscurity and the fact that much of it is written in the ancient Aramaic language, the rarified text for centuries remained beyond the scope of comprehension of all but a select group of scholarly Jews. The text, compiled in Mesopotamia in the 5th century, is broken into 63 sections and stretches over 2,700 double-sided pages.

I do believe that this knowledge, it is not just knowledge of history, it is knowledge of ourselves, it is our own picture, Steinsaltz told The Associated Press in a 2010 interview at the end of his work. Talmud is a book that has no real parallel it is a constant search for truth, for absolute truth.

Over 4 1/2 decades, working for up to 16 hours a day, he labored over the ancient texts, translating them from the Aramaic into modern Hebrew along with editions in English, French and Russian. The 45-volume series added his own explanations of phrases, terms and concepts, as well as listing the rulings of Jewish law derived from the text.

Steinsaltz coined his quest to educate Jews Let my people know, a play on Moses passage from Exodus: Let my people go.

There have been other, partial translations into English and other languages, but none are as comprehensive or have as extensive a commentary.

In the AP interview, Steinsaltz explained that he took to the Talmud like a musician takes to an instrument and he compared comprehension of it to that of math and music. It is a different language and you have to think in that language. It is a language of thought and not a language of words, he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remembered Steinsaltz as a Torah genius and a man of exemplary spirit.

His important works will stand for generations at the foundation of Jewish heritage, as an eternal flame in his memory, Netanyahu said.

Steinsaltz, who also used the Hebraized surname Even-Israel, was born in what is now Israel in 1937 to secular parents but became observant in his teens, when he entered seminary schools and learned Aramaic.

After studying physics and chemistry at Hebrew University, he became a math teacher and at the age of 24, according to his website, the youngest school principal in Israels history. Three years later, in 1965, he began working on what he called his hobby the translation of the Talmud. He wrote numerous commentaries on religious texts as well as My Rebbe, a biography and memoir of his close relationship with the revered spiritual leader of the Chabad movement the late Lubavitcher Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson.

His effort earned him the 1988 Israel Prize the nations highest civilian honor, the Presidents Medal and a number of honorary doctorates.

He is survived by his wife, Sara, three children and numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren, according to the center. He was scheduled to be buried Friday on Jerusalems Mount of Olives.

Read more:

Adin Steinsaltz, Groundbreaking Talmud Translator, Dies - The New York Times

By Rabbi David Etengoff

The Torah is an incredibly rich work of interwoven thoughts and ideas. While this is true in general, I believe it is particularly the case regarding Sefer Devarim. Our parasha, Eikev, contains a telling example of this interconnectedness in the four pasukim juxtaposed to the mitzvah of Birkat Hamazon:

Heshamer lecha pen tishkach et Hashem Elokecha (be careful that you do not forget G-d your L-rd), not keeping His commandments, decrees, and laws, which I am prescribing to you today; you may then eat and be satisfied, building fine houses and living in them; your herds and flocks may increase, and you may amass much silver and gold, everything you own may increase. Vrahm lvavecha vshachachta et Hashem Elokecha (but your heart may then grow haughty, and you may forget G-d your L-rd), the One who brought you out of the slave house that was Egypt. (Devarim 8:11-14)

This passage presents us with a key exegetical question, namely, what is the nature of the phrase, vrahm lvavecha vshachachta et Hashem Elokecha? Is it a straightforward description of a possible, or even probable, result of Hashem bestowing His largesse upon us, or is it something more?

We are fortunate that the Babylonian sage, Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak, addresses this question in Talmud Bavli, Sotah 5a: From where [in the Torah] do we find the azhara (warning against arrogant behavior)? Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak said, From here: vrahm lvavecha vshachachta. Moreover, it is written, Heshamer lecha pen tishkach et Hashem Elokecha (be careful that you do not forget G-d your L-rd). [We must interpret this expression] in accordance with Rabbi Elai, for Rabbi Abin said in the name of Rabbi Elai: Every instance wherein the Torah states heshamer, pen and al must always be interpreted as a negative Torah prohibition.

Acareful reading of Rav Nachman bar Yitzchaks statement in conjunction with his advocacy of Rav Elais position yields the following conclusion: Since vrahm lvavecha vshachachta et Hashem Elo-kecha is preceded by heshamer lecha pen tishkach et Hashem Elokecha, the phrase, but your heart may then grow haughty, is, in reality, a mitzvat lo taaseh, a negative prohibition of the Torah. As such, vrahm lvavecha is far more than a narration of the potential outcome of our becoming wealthy; rather, it is a lav, an action forbidden by the Torah.

We are now in a strong position to understand Chazals powerful denunciation of this negative behavioral attribute:

R. Johanan said in the name of R. Simeon b. Yohai: Every man in whom there is haughtiness of spirit is as though ovede avodat kokavim (he worships idols). R. Johanan himself said: He is as though kafar bikar (he has denied the fundamental principle) [of Hashems very existence]. R. Hama b. Hanina said: He is as though he has broken all the laws of forbidden intimacy. Ulla said: He is as though he has erected an idolatrous altar. Talmud Bavli Sotah 4b.

I

n his Mishneh Torah, the Rambam follows Rav Nachman bar Yitzchaks view in his discussion of behavioral and halachic issues surrounding vrahm lvavecha:

There are behavioral traits regarding which a man is forbidden to follow the middle path. He should move away from one extreme and adopt the other. Among these is arrogance. Our Sages directed: Hold oneself very, very lowly. Also, they declared: Whoever is arrogant is as if he denied G-ds presence, as it states in the Torah: And your heart will be haughty and you will forget G-d, your L-rd. Furthermore, they said: Whoever is arrogant should be placed under a ban of ostracism. This applies even if he is only somewhat arrogant. (Hilchot Deot, II, 3.

Beyond a doubt, we should reject behaviors associated with the prohibition of vrahm lvavecha and, as the Rambam says, move away from one extreme and adopt the other, that is, anavah (humility).

We are fortunate that the Ramban, in his celebrated Iggeret HaRamban, gives us ready guidance as to how to undertake this process: Therefore, I will now explain to you how to always behave humbly. Speak gently at all times with your heart focusing on Hashem. In all your actions, words and thoughts, always regard yourself as standing before Hashem, with His Schechinah above you, for His glory fills the whole world. Speak with fear and awe, as a servant standing before his master. Act with restraint in front of everyone. When someone calls you, dont answer loudly, but gently and softly, as one who stands before his master.

Two salient points emerge in this section of the Iggeret HaRamban that can guide us in our efforts to acquire anavah: Our encounters with others should reflect respect, and our minds and hearts should be focused upon Hashem with the conscious recognition that we ever stand before His Divine Presence.

With the Almightys help and our fervent desire, as we follow the Rambans guidance and act with anavah, may we simultaneously fulfill the verse, And you shall do what is proper and good in the eyes of the L-rd. (Devarim 6:18)

Shabbat Shalom, and may Hashem in His great mercy remove the magafah from klal Yisrael and from all the nations of the world. Vchane yihi ratzon.

See the rest here:

Even though your heart may grow haughty - The Jewish Star

DAU. NATASHA

The breadth, ambition and sheer hubris of the Dau project is mind-boggling. Originally conceived as a conventional biopic of Nobel Prize-winning Soviet scientist Lev Landau by director Ilya Khrzhanovskiy, it eventually sprawled to become a round-the-clock immersive drama project that continued for two years in a purpose-built replica Soviet restricted-access scientific institute in the Ukraine. Most of the performers are non-actors, although visitors famous in their own fields of art or science or infamous, in the case of the Russian white supremacist who plays a Nazi or the ex-KGB interrogator who reprises his old job in one of DAU. Natashas most disturbing scenes provide discussions of string theory, experimental weapons and the Talmud. So far, the project has yielded a dozen feature-length films, a TV series and a high-volume debate about its ethics and Khrzhanovskiys supposed cult of personality. DAU. Natasha, which centres on the two women working in The Institutes canteen, certainly runs close to the bone with its unsimulated sex scenes and endless, equally unsimulated drinking sessions. That said, Natalia Berezhnaya a market trader in real life is riveting as her namesake, the poignantly ageing title character, while The Institute is sinister as only real-life tyranny can be. SB

THIS IS NOT A BURIAL, ITS A RESURRECTION

The 40-year-old Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese may be the first significant filmmaker to hail from Lesotho, an enclaved country within the borders of South Africa, or at least the first to make an impact on the international scene. Based in Berlin, he returned home to shoot this experimental feature about an aged widow (Mary Twala Mhlongo) whose son is killed in a mining accident and who then must grapple with a second blow the forced relocation of her mountain village to make way for a proposed dam. How do I account for my distrust of this highly accomplished film? Perhaps its simply that it contains everything a sophisticated festival audience might be looking for: magic realism, anti-capitalist politics, folk spirituality, modern disjunctures, striking landscapes, rich colours, careful sound design, bursts of ethereal or abrasive music, tableau compositions in a square aspect ratio, and a simulation of 16-millimetre film grain which is persuasive at least on the small screen. Mosese knows the score, and if you want to see what todays model of cutting-edge cinema looks like, you could do far worse. JW

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Tyranny, loss and leadership: What's on MIFF's menu - The Age

I HAVE been davening from an empty building since March. Day in, day out, as I walk through our cavernous main sanctuary, the silence never fails to shock me gone are the congregants greeting each other, the sounds of excited children and quiet prayers as individuals wrap themselves in their tallits.

Yet while I am leading services facing an empty room, I know that in reality I am facing hundreds of participants as they beam our bimah into their living rooms. While we may not be able to hear one another, to kiss the Torah or to tear and pass around the challah, we are still together.

When the first lockdown began, TBI pulled our resources together to honour the Warsaw ghettos Rabbi Isaac Nissenbaums idea of Kiddush Ha-Hayyim, doing everything we can to ensure we live full Jewish lives. Rabbi Nissenbaum wrote: In the past our enemies demanded our soul and the Jew sacrificed his body in sanctifying Gods name. Now the enemy demands the body of the Jew. That makes it imperative for the Jew to defend it and protect it.

While missing out on attending services in person is not easy, we need to do all that we can to not only safeguard life pikuach nefesh but to make sure that our people and our tradition thrive.

To honour Kiddush Ha-Hayyim, TBI moved our classes online and established for the first time in 90 years a daily Maariv service. We created a phone tree to regularly check in on our most vulnerable congregants and accelerated our take them a meal home cooking delivery program. We had already been broadcasting our services to the world wide web for several years. To these, we added a Torah cam, which allows people watching to see the scroll as it is being leyned, and a digital Siddur for those who dont have a prayerbook at home.

We have continued to mark simchas physically distanced brit milah and virtual baby namings. With our existing Pop Up Shabbat infrastructure, we have been able to bring Torah to Bnei Mitzvah families homes with our portable Ark. We have had grandparents Zoom in for aliyot, and family members as far away as London able to lead the Prayer for Israel during the service.

Daniel Jenshel wrote in The AJN recently that shules really should be referred to as community centres. While I cannot see TBIs community from the bimah anymore, COVID-19 has simply revealed to us what was already there a thriving community of care. We are not just those who enter the bricks and mortar, we are congregants who call each other to offer support, who meet for weekly conversations about Talmud, who sing with our Cantor, who recite Mi Sheiberach together, and who rally to support the vulnerable. We still greet each other Shabbat Shalom or Gut Shabbes, but this is through YouTube and Facebook as people interact with our video broadcasts.

As this lockdown extends into September, TBI have developed a comprehensive High Holy Day plan with the theme yachad, together heart to heart. Through the developments we have made to our online services, congregants will be able to receive honours and participate through Zoom. We will host services for Tots and young families, are collaborating with other congregations to ensure our program is as exciting as possible, and we will have sermons available separately from service for anyone who wants to listen. This program will allow us to welcome 5781 together while staying apart connecting heart to heart!

Our way of life has been turned on its head. Yet in this mess, our community has emerged clearer and stronger than before. From hundreds of homes, across Australia, we are tuned in together, learning, sharing, praying and belonging.

Truly this is a blessing amongst this crisis.

Rabbi Gersh Lazarow is senior rabbi of Temple Beth Israel.

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Our community together apart - The Australian Jewish News

This weeks Torah portion, Ekev, is part of Mosess long speech given before the nation only days before he parted from them. In this speech, Moses transitions from a historical survey of their 40 years of wandering through the desert to directives and guidance on how the people should build their national and private lives in the land they are about to enter, the Promised Land, the Land of Israel.Here are his words: Behold, to the Lord your God belong the heavens and the heavens of the heavens, the earth and all that is on it.... For the Lord your God is God of gods and the Lord of the lords, the great, mighty and awesome God, Who will show no favor, nor will He take a bribe. He executes the judgment of the orphan and widow, and He loves the stranger, to give him bread and clothing. You shall love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt (Deuteronomy 10:14-19).At first reading, it looks like Moses is jumping from one topic to another. First, he talks about the infinite and inconceivable power of God, and then he moves on to talk about God acting in accordance with moral values that obligate us the Jewish nation as well.The Talmudic sage Rabbi Yohanan discerned the connection between these two topics. Rabbi Yohanan said: Wherever you find a reference in the Bible to the might of the Holy One, blessed be He, you also find a reference to His humility. Evidence of this is written in the Torah, repeated in the Prophets, and stated a third time in the Writings. It is written in the Torah: For the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, and it is written immediately afterward: He executes the judgment of the fatherless and widow (Megillah 31).Rabbi Yohanan sees this principle as a phenomenon that repeats itself. Gods strength and power are inextricably connected to His humility, and to the moral values of compassion, justice, and benefiting others.This principle reflects a theological concept that characterizes Jewish faith: Reality is not happenstance; occurrences are not coincidental, neither the global ones nor the national or personal ones. What happens in the world is for a reason, and the reason is good. The power that runs reality is not apathetic to moral issues. Goodness rules, and no control is given to any purpose other than justice.We can see a beautiful expression of this concept in the prayer Nishmat kol hai (The soul of every living thing), which is recited during the Shacharit service on Shabbat. In this prayer, we express amazement about Gods power and greatness. Who is like You, O God? And here, a person is likely to ask himself: What amazes me? What excites my spirit?Lets look at the way the prayer is phrased: Who is like You, O God, Who delivers the poor from one that is too strong for him, the poor and the defenseless from one who would rob him. And again the cry of wonder: Who is like You, who is equal to You, and who can be compared to You, O great, strong and awesome God, God Most High, the Owner of heaven and earth?!Two connected exclamations. One exclaims wonder about morality and compassion, and the other about Gods power. Judaism believes that these two exclamations go together: Goodness rules the world.The practical implication of this theological perspective is far-reaching. Firstly, the understanding that power and control should not be disconnected from morality. Secondly, the belief that reality is striving for, and marching toward, moral goodness, and is providing man with hope and trust in good deeds. Indeed, justice does have a chance of winning!Judaism believes that theology is not research of the divine, but a message that is directed to humanity. Faith calls upon us to act in a certain way. Love the stranger, Love your fellow as yourself these are the implications of the commandment And you shall love God, your God.!The writer is rabbi of the Western Wall and holy sites.

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Parashat Ekev: A different kind of theology - The Jerusalem Post

A religious lesbian woman is set to be appointed to Tel Aviv's religious council next week, marking the first time that a lesbian has sat on the council, Yedidot Ahronot reported.

Abigail Sperber, 47, a mother of two and founder of the LGBT religious women's organization Bat Kol, is expected to be appointed next week to Tel Aviv's religious council pending a vote at a meeting set for Monday.

The religious council is responsible on behalf of the municipality for providing religious services, such as marriage, overseeing the kosher food industry, mikvas, Shabbat, synagogues, Jewish cultural events and more.

By being appointed, Sperber intends to close the gap between religious and LGBT identities, and help LGBT people who, regardless of their level of observance, are still Jewish and have religious needs.

"I would love to be there and I believe that they approached me because I am religious and feel the need to represent the religious needs of LGBT people. I'm sure that even in the religious council, they will understand that LGBT people also have religious needs and are not against the religious, but rather the opposite," she told Yedidot Ahronot.

She added that by closing the gap, she also hopes to be there for LGBT people who may not be particularly observant but still have religious needs as well, such as "converting children born in surrogacy or adoption abroad."

When Sperber told her family about her upcoming appointment, they reminded her that her grandfather was a member of the Council of Torah Scholars. "Everything is connected and I continue on the path that he created," she said.

City Council member Itai Pinkas-Arad (Meretz) is responsible for bringing forth Sperber's name to the council.

"Abigail is part of the Orthodox community in Israel and her joining the council is very exciting for us. The religious LGBT community has a voice and is an integral part of the religious community. I am sure she will have a positive effect on religious services in Tel Aviv, regardless of the LGBT issue," he added.

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First lesbian woman to be appointed to Tel Aviv's religious council - The Jerusalem Post

Photo Credit: Jewish Press

Last week, we discussed two words for wall: chomah and kir. This week, we discuss four more: shur, cheil, chayitz, and kotel.

Shur in the sense of wall only appears in a handful of places in the Bible (Genesis 49:22, II Samuel 22:30, Psalms 18:30, and possibly Jeremiah 5:10 and Job 24:11).

Rabbi Shlomo Pappenheim of Breslau (1740-1814) traces this word to the two-letter shin-reish, which means focal point. Thus shar/sharer (umbilical cord), the focal point that connects a fetus to its mother; shor (ox) whose main strength lies in its torso, thus placing a focus on its navel area; shoresh (root), the focal point of a plants growth; yashar (straight), a straight line being the fastest and shortest way to reach a specific focal point; and shir (song), a poetic composition that centers around one specific point.

Rabbi Pappenheim writes that shur in the sense of seeing (see Numbers 23:8 and Job 35:5) is also derived from the root shin-reish because, unlike the other senses, the sense of sight can focus on a specific point and is not forced to take in everything at once.

Related words are teshurah (tribute), a special gift given to somebody who greets (i.e., sees) a dignitary, nesher (eagle), a bird that can see far distances, and sheirut (service), the duty of one who oversees his masters needs. (Alternatively, sheirut is called thus because a servant straightens out household affairs or remains straightforward and steadfast to his bosss wishes.)

Rabbi Pappenheim suggests two ways of connecting shur in the sense of wall to the primary meaning of shin-reish:

1) It is related to yashar and refers specifically to a straight wall (as opposed to a chomah, which encircles a city).

2) It is related to shur (seeing) and refers to a tall wall that is used as a lookout post.

Another word for wall is cheil. Rabbi Pappenheim writes that this word derives from the biliteral root chet-lammed, which denotes circular movement and the empty space within a circumscribed circle. Accordingly, he believes cheil means a short wall that surrounds a taller wall. The cheil thus creates an empty space between the two walls that serves as a sort of no-mans-land.

Rabbi Pappenheim supports this explanation by citing the Mishnah (Middos 2:3), which refers to the space between the walls of the Temple Mount and the actual Temple building (i.e., the Womens Courtyard) as the cheil.

The Talmud (Pesachim 86a) characterizes a chomah and a cheil as a shura and a barshura (a wall and the son of a wall), respectively. According to Rashi, a chomah is an exterior wall while a cheil is a shorter wall within the chomah (thus resembling a small son overshadowed by his bigger father).

The Radak seems unsure whether a cheil is a wall outside a chomah or inside a chomah. He suggests that cheil perhaps doesnt mean wall altogether and denotes instead a moat on the outskirts of a chomah.

Another word for wall, chayitz, is a hapax legomenon because it appears only once in the entire Bible (Ezekiel 13:10). Ibn Janach writes that the yud is in place of an additional tzadi, so its root is really chet-tzadi-tzadi, which means to partition. Rabbi Pappenheim understands chayitz to be an offshoot of the root chet-tzadi, which means dividing or splitting something into two parts.

Other words derived from this root include chatzi (half), chazot (midday or midnight), chutz (outside/exterior), and cheitz (arrow). Rabbi Pappenheim theorizes that chayitz specifically refers to a wall that divides one area/domain into two and is thus synonymous with the Mishnaic mechitzah (see Bava Basra 1:1). However, Rabbi Moshe Zacuto (1625-1697) in Kol HaRamaz (to Sheviis 3:8) writes that chayitz specifically denotes a flimsy partition, while mechitzah can apply to any sort of partition or divider.

Finally, we arrive at the word kotel. This word only appears three times in the Bible: once in Hebrew in Song of Songs (2:9) and twice as the Aramaic cognate ktal (Daniel 5:5 and Ezra 5:8). It more commonly appears in the Targumim as an Aramaic translation of kir (see, for example, the Targum to Leviticus 1:15 and Joshua 2:15).

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Remembering The Wall (Part II) - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com

This is the fifth story in this summers online Flash Fiction series. You can read the entire series, and our Flash Fiction stories from previous years, here.

In memoriam Rabbi Aharon Eliezer Ceitlin, 1953-2015

Reb Lev told the story on Purim, when you are supposed to get so drunk that you cant distinguish the hero from the villain in the Book of Esther.

Prayer, he said, is the sweetness of life, and to be able to pray, even when they arrest you with only clothes on your back and put you in dungeon in old Soviet Union near Minsk, is a miracle.

In prison were hoodlums, the worst scum, Jews among them who had renounced study of Torah and strayed from path of the righteous. In a corner apart I stood. It was Yom Kippur, most sacred of days. From memory I prayed the Kol Nidre in the evening and Shacharis in the morning but stumbled in the Musaf prayer that says all men are true believers. I looked around and thought, These hoodlums and crooks, surely they are not true believers.

From there they sent us to Vorkutlag concentration camp a hundred miles above Arctic Circle in East. I stood in my prayer shawl, closed my eyes, and shook gently back and forth, davening, when a strange man, a giant Uzbek with a big mustache and rugged face, came over to me and said, Reb Lev, you are praying, are you not? How did he know I was praying? But he knew, and he knew my name was Lev. Who was he?

Reb Lev, he said, I am also a Jewnamed after our patriarch Avrahambut raised in Communist state, and I do not know Hebrew except what my grandfather taught me: the Modeh Ani. And here is Yom Kippur and I must fast. May I pray with you?

Here he paused to take a sip of Covenant Neshama Proprietary Red (OU Kosher) 2015 ruby-red wine, while others of us drank the Barkan Pinot Noir or the same winerys Chardonnay.

You want to know how he prayed? He prayed by saying the Modeh Ani once and then twice and then again in a constant murmur.

And there, among the crooks, the hoodlums, the gangsters, I prayed, and understood for first time the Musaf prayer. All men are true believers, women, too, and worthy of the blessings of the Lord.

And therefore every morning, upon waking, I think of that blessed Uzbek oaf when I say the Modeh Ani and offer thanks to the living and eternal King, who has mercifully restored my soul within me.

The three rabbis were asked to sum up Judaism in a single sentence or Biblical verse.

Rabbi Baruch chose the first sentence of Genesis: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

And the people thought, Yes, that must be right. God is the creator of all things. To recognize Hashem is the first commandment.

The illustrious Ben Zoma chose the ShmaHear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is Onebecause that is what the martyrs uttered at the last moment. It was what Rabbi Akiva said when they tortured him. It was said by Jacob upon meeting his son Joseph after many years.

And the people thought, Surely, that is the correct answer. And consider the precedents that Ben Zoma wisely cited.

Then it was the Vilna Gaons turn. He said the others had spoken well but the true answer was this: the command to bring to the temple two lambs each day as an offering to the Lord, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

The effect of this statement was immediate. The other two rabbis stood on their feet and declared that the Vilna Gaon was right and had won the competition. The unanimous decision was applauded by all in attendance.

Rabbi Biegeleisen explained that to summarize Judaism in a single sentence or verse was nonsense. It was, he said, like supposing you could master the Talmud while standing on one foot. It was an act of chutzpah, of disrespect.

Nevertheless, Rabbi Biegeleisen said, the Vilna Gaon treated the questioner seriously. To such a questioner, lacking in tact or seriousness, or maybe just too young to know better, the affirmation of God as the creator, the sole Lord of Israel, was not sufficient. It was the easy part. The command to bring to the temple two lambs each day as an offering to the Lord, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, indicates what is required. A sacrifice, every day, twice a day.

Rabbi Biegeleisen was the most revered of all the rebbes in Vysotsk. Though loath to interrupt his daily schedule, which was as famously rigid as Immanuel Kants, he left for Odessa when word reached him of the uprising against the new rabbi there, Rabbi Simcha, who was considered too strict in demanding observance of all the major festivals and fast days.

When Rabbi Biegeleisen spoke at the Odessa synagogue, the people in attendance were skeptical, but he won them over. He argued that Rabbi Simchas policies were indeed strictpossibly too strict. After all, he told the congregants, look at all the other obligations in your life. How could you be expected to break the day into three parts, for morning and afternoon and evening prayers? The congregants liked what they heard.

Then he said he had to end his talk for the day but would speak again on the morrow.

This time, every seat in the synagogue was taken. There was even a line to get in. And it was now that Rabbi Biegeleisen reversed himself, repudiated all that he had implied on the previous day, and said that our sages should not be doubted. And even though Rabbi Simcha had white hair and a white beard so that he looked like a man of seventy when he was only thirty-nine years old, yet he was a sage! A sage! He had sacrificed two sheep to the Lord each day of the year. When he said the Modeh Ani, he saved the millions for whom he spoke.

This happened in the month of Elul, just weeks before Rosh Hashanah. Rabbi Biegeleisen produced a shofar. Why, he thundered, is the shofar crooked? No one said a word. To teach us humility, said Rabbi Biegeleisen.

Not an eye in the house was dry by the time he finished. The congregants left the temple and walked to the house where Rabbi Simcha lived. From the window he saw them coming and wondered whether they had come to lynch him.

Please forgive us, said the self-appointed spokesman for the group. And Rabbi Simcha forgave them. And months went by before the next popular rebellion.

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Tales Told to Tevye - The New Yorker

Its impossible to resist describing Seth Rogens current woes as anything other than a pickle.

His problem, after all, surrounds the publicity for his new film An American Pickle, which premieres on HBO Max this Thursday specifically, his appearance on the Marc Maron WTF Podcast, where he delighted progressive circles, infuriated pro-Israel circles and generally set Jewish Twitter on fire.

LISTEN: Seth Rogens post-Zionist pickle meets Bibis protest pandemic

The two comedians joked about touchy subjects, but what really fanned the flames was Rogens musings about Zionism and the ill-conceived notion of putting all the Jews together in a blender. There was also his assertion that he had been fed a huge amount of lies about Israel while he was growing up in Vancouver, attending the Talmud Torah day school until he was Bar Mitzvah age, and spending his summers at Habonim Dror Labor Zionist sleepaway camps staffed with Israeli counselors, who, he joked with Maron, were psychopaths.

And so Rogen, 38, finds himself on the eve of releasing what he describes as probably the most Jewish movie that almost anyones ever made, having angered parts of his target audience.

It appears hes currently engaged in a damage-control operation to what he now sees as problematic humor on Marons podcast. Rogen received criticism for saying Jews should spread out around the world instead of putting all your Jews in one basket, which was taken by some as denying Israels raison dtre.

The Jewish Agency released a statement Mondayannouncing that its chairman, Isaac Herzog, held a Zoom conversation with Rogen in which he said the comedian apologized for any misunderstanding. This came in the wake of a letter by Herzog expressing his dismay over what Rogen had said on the podcast. Rogen denied that he apologized, adding that the Jewish Agency head did not represent the conversation accurately and violated a promise of privacy: I did not apologize for what I said. I offered clarity. And I think [Herzog] is misrepresenting our conversation.

According to Rogen, Herzog sent a letter to my mother somehow, on official letterhead very fancy letterhead. My mom implored me to call this guy and I did and told him I thought this was a private conversation and I hoped it was a private conversation. After all, I did it because he reached out to my mother asking to talk to me," he said. "At no point did I give him permission to publish any part of the conversation.

Sources close to Herzog insisted that his summary of the conversation was accurate, and that Rogen did indeed express an apology to Herzog. They added that there was no privacy violation: That Herzog asked Rogen what he could say about their conversation, and Rogen replied: Everything.

In a Zoom interview with Haaretz on Sunday, discussing everything from the podcast controversy to the new film, antisemitism and, yes, pickles, Rogen did not use the words apologize or Im sorry. He said repeatedly he was sensitive to those who had been offended when reading reports of his remarks.

Things I said were taken and chopped up, and the context literally removed from it, and if I read some of those things out of context I would also probably be upset about it, he says.

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Rogen describes himself as a proud Jew, and discussed speaking out against antisemitism, including when it happens on his home turf of Hollywood. He was equally outspoken about politics and the recent Black Lives Matter protests, saying that no part of me was questioning why people were as angry as they were.

The comedian has made a career out of playing Jewish stoners in boundary-pushing comedies such as Knocked Up, Pineapple Express, This is the End, The Interview and Long Shot, which makes An American Pickle something of a diversion. He admits to feeling nervous about the release of the film, which has a classic time travel premise: Herschel Greenbaum, a turn-of-the-century Jewish immigrant in Brooklyn, falls into a pickle barrel and is brined for a century, waking up and meeting his great-grandson Ben (Rogen plays both roles).

But the whimsical conceit and entertaining plot, poking fun at hipster affectations and irony alert Twitter wars, are interlaced with serious themes of grief and the embrace (and rejection) of religious heritage themes that Rogen, as a producer, was instrumental in emphasizing in the film.

Multiple scenes take place in a Jewish cemetery and involve the ritual of saying Kaddish (the Jewish prayer of mourning). Rogen says his films importance was hammered home to him as they began filming on location in Pittsburgh in October 2018, just two days after 11 worshippers were murdered in the citys Tree of Life synagogue by a white supremacist.

The interview, which has been edited for brevity, starts with discussion about An American Pickle, which Rogen has been working on for the past six or seven years. But it wasnt long before talk turned to the controversy surrounding the Maron podcast. I think both Marc and I were highly aware of how sensitive some of the subjects he and I were working on there, Rogen says. I actually listened back to it yesterday morning and, truly, I do [think] that the conversation we had is a very common conversation.

Its a common private conversation among Jews, but you dont hear Jewish celebrities saying it publicly.

When youre having a conversation about something so sensitive and nuanced, its not just what we said well its partially what we said but [its] also what we didnt say. When youre having even a humorous conversation about something so nuanced, leaving things out or omitting things can become just as bad as the things you do say.

So you dont regret things you said, you just think you didnt give them enough of a background?

I think that its a tricky conversation to have in jest. And thats something that perhaps I now look at and say, Oh, now that we joked about that, perhaps we could clarify some things so people dont run around thinking that I think Israel shouldnt exist anymore. And Im sensitive to Jewish people being hurt, as a Jewish person. And Im sensitive to Jewish people thinking Im not a proud Jewish person, which I am.

Truthfully, I think my pride in being Jewish and how deeply I identify as a Jewish person perhaps made me feel like I was able to say things without as much context as perhaps I should give them you know what Im saying? And I am sensitive to Jews thinking that I dont think Israel should not exist, and that there are a lot of Jewish people who are alive who wouldnt be without Israel. And my parents met in Israel; Ive been to Israel several times.

Can you tell us how your parents met on kibbutz?

My parents met on Kibbutz Beit Alfa [in northern Israel]. My dad is from New Jersey and my mom was from Vancouver, and they were two young hippies looking to get out of their cities and meet other people. My dad actually would have lived on the kibbutz forever, and still talks about it.

Imagine if they had you would have been Seth Rogen the Israeli.

My dad is a socialist and I was raised with a lot of very socialist ideals. And I think a part of him is deeply upset that he ever left the kibbutz. But hes probably very happy he did because he married my mom and started a life in Vancouver as a result.

Canadian Jews and American Jews can be a completely different breed.

I think theres a difference in general. And truthfully, I think that to some degree it speaks to why I understand people are not happy with some of the things I said. Antisemitism and bigotry in general is prevalent in Canada, but not to the degree that it is in America.

My wife [actress Lauren Miller] grew up inCentral Florida, where she faced terrible antisemitism on a regular basis. Im from Vancouver, British Columbia, one of the most progressive cities on the planet. And although I did face regular antisemitism, it wasnt to the degree that people who grew up in America especially in southern American cities faced. Theres not a lot of Jews on the west coast of Canada, either. I think its a different phenomenon: we [did] live in a west coast Canadian Jewish bubble. Even the Jews we know from Montreal and Toronto had a much different experience than I did.

Did you hate your Jewish day school, because it kind of sounds like you did.

I didnt hate my day school. Its an interesting thing to find that youre going to school to learn things that youll maybe one day decide you should unlearn. And I think religion in general not specific to Judaism is a very tricky thing with kids. I dont have kids; I see my friends with kids and I see their discomfort with how to introduce religion into their kids lives, especially when they themselves are not religious and are agnostic to a large degree. Its a very complicated thing. Like many aspects of my life, its conflicted in some ways.

Im not mad at my parents for sending me to Jewish school, by any means I still have very good friends I met there. Im sure if I went to public school, there would have been things I didnt like there either.

I listened to another podcast you did and it sounded like you felt oppressed and misunderstood in Jewish day school, and then liberated and free in high school. (Rogens high school antics were the inspiration for the 2007 breakout filmhe co-created, Superbad.)

It was not a diverse school at all. It was little white Jewish kids whose parents were all friends with each other and it was very enclosed. And then I got to public high school and I could dress however I wanted, there were kids from all different backgrounds, all races, from all different countries. My school was 65 to 70 percent people from Asian countries especially being from Vancouver, which is so heavily populated by people from Asian countries, it was a wonderful and eye-opening experience to get to become friends with the people and spend the whole day with the people that I lived among.

I lived in a completely East Indian neighborhood, so to be able to go to school with East Indian kids was really exciting to me, honestly, because I had grown up among them in my neighborhood, but in my school I was only around Jewish kids. But Im glad I know a lot about Judaism, and I did retain a lot of that.

And you met your writing partner, Evan Goldberg, in Bar Mitzvah class, right?

Yes, Tallis and Tefillin class.

See, if not for Judaism, where would you be?

I mean again, I could not identify more as a Jewish person. I talk about it almost constantly. I could talk about it less, but I dont.

But could you unpack where you said you were lied to you about Israel. Its a big conversation in this moment. People saying they were lied to and activists saying we need to change Israel education, and so you triggered people when you said that.

Id say personally, holistically, I was just not given a full picture of the situation. And I understand its a wildly complex picture to give a child, and perhaps thats why it was not given to me.

There was just an abandoned desert here and the Jews came and built a country? Thats what you were told?

Essentially, yeah. Thats what me and many people I know were told. And again, all I am attacking there is the education I was given about it. And I talked to my parents about it actually just yesterday and I was like, Do you feel that what we were given ... was a complete story? And they said No. Looking back, at the time, you were given a less complex view of the situation than maybe you could have been given.

And I think thats something that, as I look to Jewish people I know with kids, I think theyre taking it on themselves to try to paint a more complete picture of how complex a situation it is. So I understand how that is upsetting, and how Jewish people wish I was given a better education about it. And I understand how its uncomfortablefor some people to hear me say that I was not given that education.

Your remarks about not putting Jews in the same place its not uncommon.

Thats a joke Ive heard Israelis make, and I understand how ... when you take a comedic monologue and treat it as if its not based in humor, there are probably some very questionable thoughts in there.

Jews are supposed to have a sense of humor.

Well, I dont want to blame people; I dont want to put it on the people for misinterpreting what I said. Things I said were taken and chopped up and the context literally removed from it, and if I read some of those things out of context I would also probably be upset about it. I understand the sensitivity as far as things to joke about its a tough one.

Not a lot of humor in it. I heard you were shooting American Pickle when the Tree of Life shooting happened in Pittsburgh. What was that like?

We were supposed to start shooting on Monday, and the shooting happened on that Saturday if Im not mistaken and I was about a mile away from it when it happened. It was, in a sense, very scary, but in another sense I remember thinking: Im about to make the most Jewish movie Ive ever made, probably the most Jewish movie that almost anyones ever made, in the wake of the most violent antisemitic attack in the history of America, in the same city. And there was a sense that it suddenly became much more important to do it. And any fear I had about how Jewish a movie it was, I honestly thought that if there was ever a time to double down on this, now was that time.

Was that a thing during production thinking that maybe this is too Jewish for America? This isnt a mainstream thing, its too ethnic somehow?

One hundred percent it was a topic of conversation. From the studio, the producers, the overall sense of: This is a very Jewish film, and there arent a ton of Jews in America, and there are a lot of people who just plain dont like Jews in America.

So yes, it was definitely a topic of conversation. But honestly, this [Tree of Life] shooting made me think it was a more important message to be putting out there. A pro-Jewish story where the antagonists are Jews, a story that is unabashedly about Jews and Judaism part of me really thought that now is the exact time to do this and put this into the world.

Is it hard to think about antisemitism in Hollywood, where theres the perception that Jews are in charge and control, so they cant exactly feel victimized? There have been these incidents lately with Nick Cannon and Ice Cube. You called out Mel Gibson.

I personally havent found it incredibly hard to juggle. I try to call out antisemitism where I see it. I know for a fact that antisemitic people also do thrive in Hollywood so the notion that Jews control the careers of everyone in Hollywood is wildly inaccurate.Mel Gibson has made several movies over the last several years. He won an Academy Award for one of them, I think, in the wake of making horribly antisemitic comments. [Gibson received an Oscar nomination for Hacksaw Ridge in 2017.]

So to me, its not a reality I have a hard time grappling with: I know factually that Jews do not control every element of Hollywood. If they did, there would be a lot of people who are working who would not be. The notion of calling out antisemitism within Hollywood is easy to me, especially because its my home community Hollywood, not Jews.

You have a busy production company and one of the things youre creating is a lot of comic book properties for television Preacher, The Boys. Its kind of like carrying on a Jewish tradition.

Ever since I was a kid, I was a huge comic book fan. Stan Lee is Jewish and hes one of the architects of the comic universe as we know it. And I think the more you analyze the stories of comic books, the more you see these themes of people being othered, people being attacked for how they were born, their attributes. There are explicitly Jewish storylines in some of the comic books Magneto [in X-Men] is a Holocaust survivor andas a kid, reading that was very powerful and something that just really hooked me.

I think Jewish storytelling is a tradition, and I think the fact that Stan Lee and other Jewish creators were able to thrive in that field probably because they werent allowed to work in other ones is a large part of the reason that I love comic books and everyone loves comic books.

You said on the Maron podcast your wife wishes being Jewish meant more to you.

That is not a joke that I think is best serving my interests [laughs]. Again, my wife grew up in an environment [in Florida] where there were very few Jewish people. ... So I think to her, meeting other Jewish people was a very important thing. Although theres not a lot of other Jews in Vancouver, I knew pretty much all of them and so I had a lot of Jewish friends growing up.

My wifes personality is what it is because of her being Jewish and her upbringing. And for me to say I dont care about that is really a dismissive joke. I love every element of my wife and the fact shes Jewish is an element of her, and so by default I love it.

But do you love pickles? The movie is full of pickles, though your character doesnt eat them on screen.

I do like pickles. Yes, the character isnt eating the pickles. He does not get high on his supply. I actually did not eat even one pickle through the filming of the entire movie, though Im surrounded by the eating of a lot of pickles.

Pickles were big in another classic, very Jewish Hollywood film, Crossing Delancey.

It was a good profession it was a good Jewish business back then. And I think even today pickles have a Jewish association. You go to a deli, you get some pickles.

Do you know that pickles in Israel and pickles in America taste totally different?

I do! And I was shocked when I went to Israel and had a pickle for the first time. They have a much more subtle flavor they are much more cucumber-y in Israel.

Moving away from pickles, we used to sit here in Israel and say its an easy, soft life for Jews in America and its not that way anymore.

The president is [a] white supremacist, so things are not great here. And Republican politicians literally tweet blatantly antisemitic propaganda pretty regularly. Its a weird time in America.

An American Pickle is available to stream on HBO Max from Thursday August 6.

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In a pickle, Seth Rogen tells Haaretz what he really thinks about Israel and white supremacist Trump - Haaretz

The Ketubah is the marriage contract that outlines the obligations of the husband to his wife, as well as the financial compensation due to the wife in the event of the marriages dissolution through divorce or widowhood. Similar to a Get (divorce document), the Ketubah is traditionally written in Aramaic, the common language of the Jews during Talmudic times.

Why was it originally written in Aramaic, not Hebrew? And why is it still written in that language today, when most of us are more proficient in English or another language?

The importance of the Ketubahs precise and exact language cannot be overstated, due to the legal nature of the Ketubah as well as its deeper spiritual significance.

In fact, having a properly written kosher Ketubah is so criticalnot just to the marriage ceremony itself, but to married life in generalthat it is problematic for a couple to live together, even temporarily, without a kosher Ketubah. (In the event that the document is lost or destroyed, or if a serious error is found in its text, the couple must immediately obtain a replacement from a rabbi.)

For centuries, going back to Talmudic times, the sages have pored over the Aramaic Ketubah formula, ensuring that each word is precise, and especially looking out for words that may have multiple meanings.

As with contemporary contracts, the more important the contract, the more experts youd have review the language to tighten it and make sure it is precise. So it is no wonder that the contract for marriage, one of the most important and monumental steps that one takes in life, bonding two half-souls into one union, needs to have extremely precise language. Thus, we use the traditional Aramaic text, which has gone through the rigor of centuries of Talmudic scholars.

Although it is theoretically possible to have a Get or Ketubah in another languageif written precisely, in accordance with all the relevant laws, etc.halachah only permits this in extreme situations.

To be sure, there are many translations of the Ketubah, both in English and Hebrew (including on our site). And since the Ketubah is a legal document, one should certainly read a translation to understand what is written in it (or at the very least, have the rabbi explain the basics of the document). Nevertheless, the actual Ketubah used for the marriage should be the traditional text, ensuring that it is precise and kosher.

Aside from the legal aspect of the Ketubah, there are deeper reasons for the Aramaic as well.

The Ketubah has been written in Aramaic going back to Second Temple times, imbuing the text with holiness and the tradition of our ancestors. Thus, using the traditional Aramaic text of the Ketubah links us and our future family to our ancestors rich and illustrious heritage.

The Ketubah and the Get are actually written in Aramaic with a sprinkling of Hebrew. A document that alternates between two languages is generally invalid. So why is it OK here?

Among other explanations, Rabbi Moses Isserlis explains that Aramaic has a certain holiness to it (going back to Mount Sinai ) and can therefore go together with Hebrew, the Holy Tongue.

In fact, parts of the Bible itself, as well as the Oral Torah as recorded in the Talmud, are written in Aramaic. Furthermore, some of the special prayers, such as the Kaddish, are also recited in Aramaic, signifying that Aramaic is considered a special and unique language.

But why was Aramaic chosen over Hebrew?

On a homiletic level, many cite a Midrash regarding the time before Gd gave the Jewish people the Torah. Wishing to keep the Torah in Heaven, some angels claimed that mere mortals could not be trusted to study the Torah. In reply, Gd promised that the Jewish men would occupy themselves with learning Torah.

Yet, in the text of the Ketubah, the Jewish men accept upon themselves unconditionally to work their very hardest to support their wives. This can theoretically be used by the angels to bolster their case that the Jews cannot be relied upon to study Torah assiduously.

The sages teach us that the angels understand all languages except for Aramaic. Thus, some explain, by writing it in Aramaic we prevent the angels from using the Ketubah in their argument.

In a somewhat similar vein, some cite another Midrash.

When the time came for Gd to create Adam, Gd consulted the ministering angels. The Angel of Truth said, Dont create humans, for they will be full of lies. The Angel of Peace said, Do not create them, for they will be in constant strife! What did Gd do? He grabbed the Angel of Truth and hurled him to the earth.

While that took care of the Angel of Truth, the commentaries ask, how did Gd contend with the Angel of Peace?

The commentaries explain that, based on the halachah that one is allowed to bend the truth to keep the peace, now that the need for absolute truth had been thrown down, it was possible to maintain peace.

However, part of the text of the Ketubah reads, I will work, honor, feed and support you in the custom of Jewish men, who work, honor, feed and support their wives faithfully. The Aramic word translated as faithfully, , literally means in truth. Thus, when we are creating a union that will, with the help of Gd, result in more of mankind, we are stating that it will be with truth. This gives room for the Angel of Peace to again raise objections that there will be a lack of peace. To avoid this, we write it in a language that the angels dont understand.

These homiletical explanations, while not the main reasons for the Aramaic Ketubah, stress the importance of being mindful to imbue our new home with Torah and peace.

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Why Is the Ketubah Written in Aramaic? - Chabad.org

By: Ariel Natan Pasko

Any generation in which the Beit HaMikdash [the Temple] was not rebuilt in their days, its considered as if they destroyed it, (Talmud Yerushalmi Yoma 5a).

As we enter the Nine Days, before the fast of Tisha BAv, commemorating both Temples destructions, we need to investigate deeper into this situation.

If were responsible, we need to ask, whats the real reason the Beit HaMikdash was destroyed, why it hasnt been rebuilt and, how can we fix it?

Theyre hard questions to deal with, and even tougher answers, but if we (the Jewish people), want Geulah Shleima, complete redemption, the total truth must be confronted, and the real reason must be rectified.

To do the Tikkun (to fix, heal, repair) the sins of our forefathers and foremothers, we must know precisely, not just in a general way, exactly how they damaged their relationship with HaShem (the God of Israel).

What exactly caused the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, Jerusalem, and the long exile of the Jewish people?

The rabbis in the Talmud Bavli ask, Due to what reason was the First Temple destroyed? [And answer] It was destroyed due to the fact that there were three things that existed [were out of control] during the First Temple era: Idol worship, forbidden sexual relations, and bloodshed, (Yoma 9b)

Then the rabbis of the Talmud ask, But why was the second Sanctuary destroyed, seeing that in its time they were occupying themselves with Torah study, Mitzvot, the [observance of] precepts, and the practice of charity and kindness?

They answer, Because there was Sinat Chinam, wanton hatred without cause. That teaches you that groundless hatred is considered equivalent to the three grave sins of idolatry, immorality, and bloodshed together, (Talmud Bavli 9b).

Then we are taught by the rabbis, that the Sinat Chinam was, brought on by the Lashon HaRa, slander of Jews by other Jews, that actually caused the destruction of the Second Temple, and relate the story of Kamtza and bar Kamtza. (Talmud Bavli, Gittin 55b56a).

Thats what were taught every year, senseless hatred and slander, caused the destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple

But what caused the Lashon HaRa and wanton hatred?

There are many, many Shmirat HaLashon (be careful with your speech) groups operating around the Jewish world today. Many, many articles and books have been written, audios and videos made, since the big push of the Chafetz Chaim, almost 150 years ago, which put Shmirat HaLashon on the Jewish radar. Sincere people, try to watch their words and speak positively. Many work on loving all Jews regardless of affiliation.

So, why havent the Jewish people fixed the sin yet? Why hasnt the Beit HaMikdash been rebuilt? Why hasnt Mashiach, the messiah come?

I believe its because weve been focusing too much on the Talmud of Galut (exile), the Talmud Bavlis explanation, and havent learned well enough, the Talmud of Geulah, the Talmud of Redemption, the Talmud Yerushalmi.

We begin with the Talmud Yerushalmi (Yoma 4a) which comes to the same conclusion about the destruction of the Second Temple as does the Talmud Bavli namely, that it was due to Sinat Chinam.

However, the Yerushalmi (Yoma 4b) whose text is identical till this point with the Bavli, adds three important words, that explain everything, what Sinat Chinam really came from. R. Yochanan ben Torta, adds, Ohavin et HaMamon, having too much of a lust for money.

The 18thcentury commentator, from Germany, Rabbi David ben Naphtali Frankel, (his Korban Edah, is like the Rashi on the Bavli), explains this further in his glosses to his Korban Edah, the Shirei Korban.

It comes to teach, that their love for money, led to being jealous of each other, it wasnt that they lusted for money to buy necessities for themselves, and, they were careful to give their tithes [charity] etcBut, they lusted for the money [possessions] of their friends, and this is what led to the jelousy and senseless hatred.

It wasnt a lust for money per se, as anti-Semites have accused Jews of historically, but they were obsessive,in whats commonly called today keeping up with the Joneses.

Simply put, they broke the Tenth Commandment, as stated in Parshat Yitro, at Mount Sinai, You shall not covet your neighbors house. You shall not covet your neighbors wife, his manservant, his maidservant, his ox, his donkey, or whatever belongs to your neighbor, (Exodus 20:14).

Then repeated by Moses, in the upcoming Parsha, Vaetchanan, And you shall not covet your neighbors wife, nor shall you desire your neighbors house, his field, his manservant, his maidservant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor, (Deuteronomy 5:18).

There you have it, the real reason for the Beit HaMikdashs destruction and why it hasnt yet been rebuilt.Instead of being joyful, about what they had received from HaShem, they wanted more, until it led to jelousy and hatred.

Are we any better today?

Talking about Lashon HaRa and Sinat Chinam out of context, doesnt help us repair the sin. We need laser beam focus on the real reason.

Modern marketing and advertisings main goal is stimulating the feeling of lack in people. Two minutes earlier, someonedidnt feel anything missing in their life, and now they do.

And, what about when the neighbor rolls up in a new car How do you feel?

Now that you know the cold hard truth; in a nutshell, beware of modern advertisings influence and the values of international consumer culture today, which leads to, if unchecked, covetousness, jelousy, dissatisfaction, Lashon HaRa, and finally Sinat Chinam

Maybe, if we learn the lesson quickly enough, God-willing, instead of fasting for Tisha BAv (the 9thof Av) this year, well be too busy, rebuilding the Beit HaMikdash instead.

Ariel Natan Pasko, an independent analyst and consultant, has a Masters Degree specializing in International Relations, Political Economy & Policy Analysis. His articles appear regularly on numerous news/views and think-tank websites and in newspapers. His latest articles can also be read on his archive: The Think Tank by Ariel Natan Pasko.

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The Real Reason the Beit HaMikdash Was Destroyed - The Jewish Voice

Extent of injuries unknown.

A surfer in his twenties has been hit by a fifteen-foot Great White shark at Bunker Bay, an awesomely pretty crescent of white sand and green water almost at the tip of Cape Naturaliste, a little north of Margaret River.

Phil Mummert, twenty-eight, was surfing The Farm, a wave protected from todays south-west onshore. He was bitten on the right thigh,helped by a longboarder to the beach and stabilised at a nearby house before being choppered to Bunbury hospital.

A local surfer on the scene said, the White came out the water and inhaled the board pretty much. The guy managed to roll out of the way and then a longboarder got him to the beach.

Mummerts girl, Mish Wright, posted an update, with photos, on Facebook.

Just want to let everyone know that Phil is doing okay! He was bitten by a shark at Bunker Bay this afternoon and got a few chunks taken out of his leg. I honestly dont know how a person can see a total stranger getting attacked by a 4m great white shark and swim towards to save him so we are beyond grateful to everyone that helped save Phils life. So lucky that Phil got away with his life and limbs and beyond lucky that we live in such a kind and caring community. So thankful for everyone who carried him to shore and for the ones that held his leg together for half an hour while waiting for the ambulance.Thank you from the bottom of our hearts thank you, thank you, thank you.Weve been flown to the hospital and just waiting for him to get stitched up. Phils doing great and singing [baby] shark do do do do do do.

Nine years ago, bodyboarder Kyle Burden, twenty-one, was bitten in half at a nearby beach called Boneyards by a Great White witnesses say was six metres long or twenty feet.

Both waves, Bonyards and The Farm, are right there on Cape Naturaliste, a fist of geography that juts out on the western edge of Geographe Bay, home to a thriving New Zealand fur seal colony.

Plenty of White around the Cape?

Yeah, there is.

Plenty of em circling the rest of Australia, too.

Todays attack is the third hit on surfers by Great Whites in two months.

Three weeks ago, fifteen-year-old Mani Hart-Deville was killed by a White at Wilsons Headland, just north of Coffs Harbour; the previous month saw sixty-year-old surfer Rob Pedretti killed by a White near the Surfing Australia High Performance Camp at Casuarina, just south of the Gold Coast.

Two weeks ago, a ten-year-old by was snatched off the deck of his daddys fishing boat by a twelve-foot White on Tasmanias north-west coast.

More on the latest hit as it comes.

(And read about the ethics of executing Great Whites, here.)

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Listen: Longtom on electro-shock treatment for Great Whites; Chas Smith continues his outspoken advocacy for kicking dogs. You see a good thick dog,...

Photo Credit: Jewish Press

The haftorah of Shabbos Nachamu (Yeshayah 40:1) begins with the words, Comfort, comfort My people, says Hashem.

The Yalkut Shimoni Eichah says that since the retribution was double, the expression of comfort in this haftorah is doubled as well.

We know, however, that Hashem metes out punishment middah kneged middah. So how could our punishment have been double? Also, doesnt every nation sin? Why were we punished so harshly?

The Yismach Yisroel explains that every deed of the Jewish people has a powerful effect on the entire world. He notes further that every deed actually consists of two components: the act itself and the consequence of that act.

Hashem designated us as His chosen nation. Hashem has chosen you for Himself to be a treasured people from among all the peoples (Devarim 14:2). We are unique and different in our disposition and temperament.

Every Jewish soul is bound to Hashems kisei hakavod the throne of glory with a chut hameshulash (a threefold chain that is not easily broken), which stretches through the heavens, the constellations, and the earths atmosphere. When we do a mitzvah, it makes an impression all along the way, beyond the world, and up to the kisei hakavod. One good act, one pasuk of Torah learned, one pasuk of Tehillim said, brings holiness and purity to the entire world.

This fundamental mechanism is also at work when a Jew commits a sin; a ripple of cause and effect extends throughout the world and beyond.

When we say in our personal prayer for forgiveness (in Shemone Esrei), Grant me atonement for my sinsand make whole all the names that I have blemished in your great name, we are referring to the injury we caused with our transgressions.

The Talmud tells us (Yoma 86b) that the entire world is forgiven on account of one individual who repents. A Jew has the power to bring merit to all of mankind.

The actions of the nations of the world, in contrast, have no such effect on the universe. There is no connection to Hashem that is impacted by their aveiros.

So now we understand why we received a double punishment. Our sin was double because of the sin itself and the negative effect of the sin that pulsated throughout the world.

And Hashem gives us a double measure of nechamah (comfort) because teshuvah mahavah repentance out of love turns our sins into merits and brings us closer to Hashem than we ever were.

Rabbi Israel Abuchatzera (1890-1984), known as the Baba Sali, was born in Morocco to a distinguished rabbinic family. He was renowned as a legendary Talmudic scholar, a great ohev Yisroel, and a holy man who could work miracles through his prayers. In his early years, his love for the people of Eretz Yisrael often took him from Morocco to Israel until he eventually settled in Netivot.

On one of these trips, a violent storm arose at sea on Shabbos. The skies turned ominously dark, the winds turned fierce, and towering walls of water slammed into the ship. The captain told all the passengers that the ship was in danger of capsizing.

Baba Sali had remained below deck in his cabin on the holy day of Shabbos, immersed in prayer and learning. When the gabbai heard the captains warning, he hurried down to Baba Salis cabin and shared the information.

Baba Sali responded that he would like to make kiddush. The gabbai was puzzled by his reaction, but he did not question the tzaddik. He brought Baba Sali a kiddush cup with some wine, and Baba Sali recited kiddush with deep kavanah.

He partook of the wine, and then went up on deck with the shiurei mitzvah (the remaining wine from kiddush in his cup). He walked over to the railing on the side of the ship and poured the shiurei mitzvah into the raging waters below. Immediately, the sea quieted and the storm abated.

The people on board could not believe their eyes and were inspired with a strong belief in G-d. When the ship docked, the passengers tried to offer Baba Sali a reward as they thanked him and kissed his hand.

Baba Sali would accept nothing. In his self-effacing manner, he quietly stated, It was all Hashems doing.

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Even More Harm Than We Think - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com

Do all roads lead to Yavne?Among the most well-known Talmudic stories is the tale of R. Yohanan ben Zakkais daring escape from Jerusalem at the height of the siege by the Romans in 70 CE, found in the Babylonian Talmud, Gittin 56a-b. According to that account, R. Yohanan had himself smuggled out of the city in a coffin so that he could negotiate with Vespasian, the commander of the Roman forces and soon to be declared Emperor. He requested that the emperor give him Yavne and its sages. In doing so, R. Yohanan b. Zakkai ensured the spiritual continuity of the Jewish people despite the impending destruction of the Temple and the eternal capital. Yavne would become the center of the nascent rabbinic movement which was responsible for the reestablishment of Judaism in the post-Destruction world.Though this story is most closely associated with the fast of Tisha BeAv, the saddest day in the Jewish calendar, marking the destruction of the First and Second Temples, its enduring appeal no doubt lies in its profound optimism. It is a story of the indomitable spirit of the Jewish people. Even after suffering a devastating defeat and the loss of their spiritual center, the rabbis immediately rebuilt, ensuring the continuity of Judaism. The rabbis of Yavne would teach that through the continued study and practice of Torah, the people could maintain their relationship with God and continue their historic mission in the world, even in the absence of the Temple.But there is another, less well-known version of R. Yohahan ben Zakkais escape that lacks this message of hope. Lamentations Rabbah, a midrash compiled in the Land of Israel probably about 100 years before the editing of the Babylonian Talmud, tells a much darker tale. This version makes no mention of Yavne. After repeatedly failing to save the city from destruction, all that R. Yohanan ben Zakkai requests is that prior to his final assault, Vespasian leave the western gate [of Jerusalem] which goes out to Lod open until the third hour, so that those who wish can escape and avoid being killed. This story offers no vision for life in the post-Destruction era. It does not look forward to the ultimate triumph of the rabbis in maintaining the continuity of Jewish tradition. It focuses on the bare physical survival of remnant of the Jewish people. This story reminds us that through much of Jewish history, heroism was defined simply by the will to live until the next day. Gods promise to Israel was manifest by the simple fact that some Jews were not killed. Most of the time, we prefer to dwell on the more optimistic vision of the Babylonian Talmud. But perhaps on Tisha Beav, it is the starker focus of the midrash which is most appropriate.The writer is a senior lecturer in Bar-Ilan Universitys Berman Department of Literature of the Jewish People. This article is based on his recent piece The Road to Lydda A Survivors Story: Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkais Flight from Jerusalem According to Eicha Rabba 1:5 that appeared in Jerusalem Studies in Hebrew Literature 31 (2020) 27-64.

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The indomitable spirit of the Jewish people - The story of Yavne - The Jerusalem Post

Every year, Jews around the world don non-leather shoes, and make their way to synagogues and Chabad centers for evening services, followed by the mournful reading of Eichah (the book of Lamentations), the slim volume in which the prophet Jeremiah mourns the impending destruction of Jerusalem and the Holy Temple. This year, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread throughout the world, many will be attending services wearing masks with social-distancing measures in placea stark reminder of the unprecedented reality the world is now facing. And many others will be observing the day at home, reading the prayers in English or Hebrew, some with the help of audio recordings.

Tisha BAv (the ninth day of the Jewish month of Av) commemorates, among other things, the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem, and the subsequent dispersion of the Jewish people throughout the world. It is observed this year as the sun sets on Wednesday, July 29, and ends the following night. The day of mourning includes a 25-hour fast that lasts throughout the night and day.

While most Jews will fast as usual, those with specific health concerns, including vulnerabilities due to COVID-19, are advised to consult a rabbi and a medical professional before deciding how to proceed.

Unique among the days observances is the ban on most Torah study since the commands of Gd ... gladden the heart. To that end, many watch educational or inspirational films that focus on the struggles and triumphs of the Jewish people throughout the last 2,000 years of exile (often Holocaust-related). Others will attend online classes and study sessions on the sad parts of the Torah that may be studied, including Eichah, andportions of the Talmud and Midrash that tell of the destruction of Jerusalem and the hardships of exile.

In addition to the dim lighting in many synagogues, the atmosphere everywhere is further darkened by the fact that many people sit on upturned benches or crates since mourners are not to sit upright on chairs of ordinary height.

But within the despondency lies a kernel of joy. The Talmud teaches that the long-awaited messiah was born on the Ninth of Av. In the afternoon, when the mourning restrictions are somewhat lifted, many follow the custom of sweeping the floors in anticipation of his imminent arrival.

Once night falls, the mourners will recite evening prayers, wash their hands and troop outside to joyously say the Kiddush Levanah, recognizing the regrowth of the moon, traditionally seen as a symbol of the Jewish people.

And before the week is out, the full moon will figure prominently in the celebration of the 15th of Av (Tu BAv). Among many other causes for celebration, this minor holiday (described in the Talmud as one of the happiest of the year) marks a complete rebound from the sadness of Tisha BAv.

For Tisha BAv services and programs near you, visit the Chabad center locator page here.

Articles and videos on Chabad.org for study before and on the day of Tisha BAv can be found here.

The rest is here:

Preparing for Tisha B'Av During a World Pandemic - A 25-hour period of fasting and reflection begins on Wednesday night, July 29 - Chabad.org