Daily Archives: June 9, 2022

When people speak of the Talmud, they are usually referring to the Talmud Bavli (Babylonian Talmud), composed in Babylonia (modern-day Iraq). However, there is also another version of the Talmud, the Talmud Yerushalmi (Jerusalem Talmud), compiled in what is now northern Israel. The Yerushalmi, also called the Palestinian Talmud or the Talmud Eretz Yisrael (Talmud of the Land of Israel), is shorter than the Bavli, and has traditionally been considered the less authoritative of the two Talmuds.

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Like the Talmud Bavli, the Talmud Yerushalmi consists of two layers the Mishnah and the Gemara. For the most part, the Mishnah of the two Talmuds is identical, though there are some variations in the text and in the order of material. The Gemara of the Yerushalmi, though, differs significantly in both content and style from that of the Bavli. First, the Yerushalmi Gemara is primarily written in Palestinian Aramaic, which is quite different from the Babylonian dialect. The Yerushalmi contains more long narrative portions than the Bavli does and, unlike the Bavli, tends to repeat large chunks of material. The presence of these repeated passages has led many to conclude that the editing of the Yerushalmi was never completed. Others, however, have argued that these repetitions represent a deliberate stylistic choice, perhaps aimed at reminding readers of connections between one section and another.

While the Bavli favors multi-part, complex arguments, Yerushalmi discussions rarely include lengthy debate. For instance, both the Bavli and the Yerushalmi discuss the following Mishnah:

For all seven days [of Sukkot], one should turn ones Sukkah into ones permanent home, and ones house into ones temporary home. . .(Sukkah 2: 9).

The Bavli Gemara embarks on a long discussion of the validity of this statement in the Mishnah:

. . .The rabbis taught, You shall dwell [in booths on the holiday of Sukkot] (Leviticus 23:42) means you shall live in booths. From this, they said for all seven days, one should make the Sukkah [temporary booth or hut] ones permanent home, and ones house temporary home. How should one do this? One should bring ones nice dishes and couches into the Sukkah, and should eat, drink and sleep in the Sukkah. Is this really so? Didnt Rava say that one should study Torah and Mishnah in the Sukkah, but should study Talmud outside of the Sukkah? (This statement appears to contradict the Mishnahs assertion that during Sukkot, one should do everything inside the Sukkah.) This is not a contradiction. [The Mishnah] refers to reviewing what one has already studied, while [Ravas statement] refers to learning new material [on which one might not be able to concentrate while in the Sukkah] (Talmud Bavli Sukkah 28b-29a).

As proof of this resolution, the Bavli goes on to relate a story of two rabbis who leave their Sukkah in order to study new material. Finally, the Gemara suggests an alternate resolution of the apparent conflictnamely, that one learning Talmud is required to stay in a large Sukkah, but may leave a small Sukkah.

In contrast, the Yerushalmi offers very little discussion of the Mishnah:

The Torah says, You shall dwell in booths. Dwell always means live, as it says, you will inherit the land and dwell there (Deuteronomy 17:14). This means that one should eat and sleep in the Sukkah and should bring ones dishes there (Talmud Yerushalmi Sukkah 2:10).

After this brief definition of terms and law, the Yerushalmi moves on to a new discussion.

As might be expected, the Bavli quotes mostly Babylonian rabbis, while the Yerushalmi more often quotes Palestinian rabbis. There is, however, much cross-over between the two Talmuds. Both Talmuds record instances of rabbis traveling from the land of Israel to Babylonia and vice versa. Many times, the rabbis of one Talmud will compare their own practice to that of the other religious center. Early midrashim and other texts composed in Palestine appear more frequently in the Yerushalmi, but are also present in the Bavli.

Both the Bavli and the Yerushalmi follow the Mishnahs division into orders, tractates, and chapters. Neither contains Gemara on all 73 tractates of the Mishnah. The Bavli includes Gemara on thirty-six and a half non-consecutive tractates. The Yerushalmi has Gemara on the first 39 tractates of the Mishnah. Some scholars believe that the differences in the Gemara reflect the different priorities and curricula of Babylonia and of the Land of Israel. Others think that parts of each Gemara have been lost.

Within the Yerushalmi, quoted sections of the Mishnah are labeled as halakhot (laws). Citations of the Yerushalmi text usually refer to the text by tractate, chapter, and halakhah. Thus, Sukkah 2:10 (quoted above) means Tractate Sukkah, Chapter 2, halakhah 10. Some editions of the Yerushalmi are printed in folio pages, each side of which has two columns. Thus, Yerushalmi citations also often include a reference to the page and column number (a, b, c, or d). In contrast, the Bavli is printed on folio pages, and is referred to by page number and side (a or b). These differences result from variations in early printings, and not from choices within the rabbinic communities of Babylonia and the land of Israel.

In most editions of the Yerushalmi, the Talmud text is surrounded by the commentary of the 18th-century rabbi, Moses ben Simeon Margoliot, known as the Pnai Moshe. The Pnai Moshe clarifies and comments on the text of the Yerushalmi, in much the same way that Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo ben Yitzchak, 11th century) explains and discusses the text of the Bavli.

Medieval sources credit Rabbi Yohanan, a third-century sage, with editing the Yerushalmi. However, the fact that the Yerushalmi quotes many fourth and fifth-century rabbis makes this suggestion impossible. From the identities of the rabbis quoted in the Yerushalmi, and from the historical events mentioned in the text, most contemporary scholars conclude that this Talmud was edited between the end of the fourth century and the beginning of the fifth century CE. The codification of the Bavli took place about a hundred years later.

The discussions of the Bavli and the Yerushalmi reflect the differing concerns of the cultures from which the texts emerged. A comparison of the narrative elements of the two Talmuds suggests that the rabbis of the Yerushalmi had more interaction with non-rabbisboth Jews and non-Jewsthan the rabbis of the Bavli did. The Yerushalmi, produced in a place under Hellenistic control, reflects Greek influences, both in its language and in its content.

Traditionally, the Bavli has been considered the more authoritative of the two Talmuds. This privileging of the Bavli reflects the fact that Babylonia was the dominant center of Jewish life from talmudic times through the beginning of the medieval period. The first codifiers of halakhah (Jewish law), based in Baghdad in the eighth through 10th centuries, used the Bavli as the basis of their legal writings. Reflecting the prevalent attitude toward the Yerushalmi, the Machzor Vitri, written in France in the 11th or 12th century, comments, When the Talmud Yerushalmi disagrees with our Talmud, we disregard the Yerushalmi.

Today, there is renewed interest in studying the Talmud Yerushalmi. This interest reflects the current academic emphases on tracing the development of the Talmudic text, and on understanding the cultures that produced these texts. Many scholars attempt to learn about the history of the talmudic text by comparing parallel passages in the Bavli and the Yerushalmi. Comparisons between the two Talmuds also yield new information about the relative attitudes and interests of Babylonian and Palestinian rabbis.

The traditional approach to learning Talmud, which emphasized the legal elements of the text, tended to dismiss the Yerushalmi as incomplete and non-authoritative. Today, interest in the literary, cultural and historical aspects of traditional texts has prompted a rediscovery of this Talmud, and a willingness to reconsider its place in the Jewish canon.

Rabbi Jill Jacobs is the Rabbi-in-Residence for the Jewish FundS for Justice.

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Tale of Two Talmuds: Jerusalem and Babylonian | My Jewish Learning

(New York Jewish Week) A video of an Orthodox Jewish man making a passionate speech about his love for the Talmud and cold seltzer spread like wildfire over Twitter, showing off what makes yeshiva culture such a unique part of Judaism.

Rabbi Aryeh Moshe Leiser, who lives in Monsey, New York, appears to be having the time of his life in the viral video. Posted on Twitter May 31, the video was seen by thousands of people.

Leiser starts off saying that he wants an Arvei Psachim with a Rabbeinu Dovid, rishus cold seltzer and I just want to check out of life. (This means, roughly, that he wants to read a specific commentary about a specific chapter of Talmud, with a wickedly cold cup of seltzer at hand.) He then goes into more specifics, talking about how the seltzer has to be in plastic cups not styrofoam and eventually he begins singing.

The video was posted by a Twitter user named Ayil Basvach, who deleted it on June 1. The reason why I took it down is because [Leiser] seemed to be very uncomfortable with it going viral, Basvach wrote on Twitter. I never meant to cause anyone agmas nefesh [anxiety], I just loved the video, his exuberance, love for Torah and life (also to show yeshivalites [sic] genuine personality that I grew up with and love).

Still, despite its short shelf life, the video clearly touched a nerve among many religious Jews. People started making merch from the video and someone even commissioned the TikTok meme group Island Boys to give a Rishus cold seltzer shoutout.

According to Rabbi David Bashevkin, a writer and Yeshiva University professor, its because the video allows people to see yeshiva culture in a sincere, religiously charming way.

Thats largely due to Leisers use of the Orthodox patois known as Yeshivish, he said. For example, rishus is not a brand it directly translates to wicked or evil.

Its a dialect of Hebrew, Yiddish and English all together, Bashevkin said. Saying rishus cold seltzer is an extraordinarily charming way of saying you want a really cold beverage, but in a Yeshivish language that highlights your insider knowledge of that world.

When he says checking out of life, its like, not being disturbed and allowing yourself to engage in total learning, Bashevkin said. Its the [Yeshivish] equivalent of someone elses dream to just be on the beach reading a book.

Leiser declined to comment about his newfound fame. But his brother-in-law, Rabbi Avraham Walkin, was happy to explain the backstory of the viral video. He told the New York Jewish Week that, after giving a lecture at a Monsey yeshiva, some students stopped him in the street and asked if Leiser could send a message to other students.

He had no intention of it going viral on social media, Walkin said, adding that while there are people who work their whole life trying to get followers and to be good at social media, Leiser is not that type of person.

Heres a guy who didnt want that, and became viral, Walkin said. Its like God saying, If I need someone to become famous, theyll become famous. The guy who tried to hide from it became more popular.

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Walkin added that Leiser is an innocent family man who is surprised to see what happened with this video. He wanted absolutely no media attention, Walkin said. I was surprised by how many people texted me saying, Youre related to that guy, wow. For some people in the yeshiva world, this was the Super Bowl.

At the end of the video, Leiser shouts blood, sweat, tears! which also happens to be the title of his most recent book, a memoir about being a disciple in a yeshiva. Basvach wrote on Twitter on June 2 the day after he removed the viral video from his account that the book is one of the most inspirational things Ive read in a long time.

When Leiser says in the video that he wants an Arvei Psachim with a Rabbeinu Dovid, he means he wants to read commentary by the 13th-century Talmud scholar Rabbeinu Dovid on Arvei Psachim, a section of the Talmud that focuses on the laws of the seder.

That specific chapter is part of the charm of cultural specificity, Bashevkin said. If somebody says, I want to go to this specific beach and this specific shore and read this specific author, that shows that you really want this. That specificity is where the charm comes from.

He added that while this chapter is about Passover, the longing to study the Torah relates to the upcoming holiday of Shavuot, which commemorates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. The holiday begins this year on the evening of Saturday, June 4.

Bashevkin explained that, within the yeshiva world, there is a culture that evolves parallel to the learning of Torah. When someone is a diehard baseball fan, of course you love the game, you love the smell of the stadiums, you love the jerseys, Bashevkin said. Its a similar universe in the yeshiva world, but in a much more elevated, spiritual sense.

I think there was something very real and very sweet about this video that underlies a sincerity about life in the yeshiva world, Bashevkin said.

Everything in the world as you grow up and mature, even within the Jewish and Orthodox world, pulls you away from that instinctive love, he added. To love anything so deeply is something that requires a cultural universe to reinforce, and theres no world that does that better than the world of yeshiva.

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Why this video about seltzer and Torah study went viral in the Orthodox Jewish community - JTA News - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

by Rabbi Avi KillipParashat Naso (Numbers 4:21-7:89)

I have always been fascinated by the Nazirite vow, described in this weeks parsha. It is so deeply personal. You choose to become a Nazir, you choose the terms of how long it will last, and then you perform a ritual to release yourself from the binds of the vow. The vow offers you a concrete structure to restrict yourself in relation to the physical worldno wine, no haircutsin order to be more deeply in relationship to the divine. The Talmud, in Masechet Nazir, plays with the way this personal vow intersects with the world around by imagining scenarios where people make conditional Nazirite vows: If x is true, then I am a Nazir. On Nazir 32b, the Talmud shares a story that highlights the stark contrast between the personal Nazirite vow, and the ever-changing world in the background.

The story starts with a group of people traveling to the Temple to offer the sacrifices required to complete their time as Nazirites. Upon arrival they discover, much to their surprise and dismay, that the Temple has been destroyed! The Talmud is brimming with stories about the destruction of the Temple, and the pain and horror this event caused for the Jewish people. This is not one of those stories. This is a story about the struggle to plan in an ever-changing world. When these people made their vows, they assumed the Temple was still standing. They set off on foot to make the long pilgrimage, sacrifices in hand. When they discover the Temple is gone, they regret the vows. They want a take-back.

Whether or not they are able to nullify the vow depends, in part, on whether they could or should have known this was coming. Could they possibly have expected the destruction of the Temple? Rav Yosef quotes a verse from Jeremiah (7:4) that he believes should have been read to predict the destruction of the Second Temple. This verse, he claims, should have been enough for them to have anticipated this catastrophe. Okay sure, the gemara responds, they knew this was coming, but how were they to know when? Abaye brings a verse from Daniel (9:24) to prove that they should have been able to calculate the exact year of the destruction.

The passage ends with these final words and still, did we know on which day? Change on the scale of the destruction of the Temple can happen in a single day. And there is no way for us to know which day that will be.

In the last decade the term VUCA has made its way from military strategy to the business world and now also into non-profit management. The acronym, standing for volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity, reminds us that the world is unpredictable, and that things are constantly changing. Today there are hundreds of seminars and books to help us live in this ever-shifting VUCA world.

I would argue that Tractate Nazir contains similar lessons. This story about the Temple teaches us that even the biggest historical shifts happen on what is otherwise a regular day. We are reminded that what makes it into our history books and our rituals as an epic story of a people, was also a moment in the life of an individual. We turn on the news to see major events that will no doubt require several chapters of future history books, and then we turn back to our daily lives and figure out what to make for dinner. The Nazirites in this story discovered the destruction of the Temple, yet they still needed to know if they could have a glass of wine and get a haircut.

We might identify with these characters, as they discern how to live their lives against a backdrop of seismic historical shifts. Like them, we have to figure out how to orient ourselves to events not only as they impact history and society, but also how they fit into the fabric of our lives, weeks and even days. There is a reason we ask where were you when questions. We struggle to place ourselves in history. We are not alone in this struggle. Like our ancestors who turned to the Nazirite vow, we may yearn for ways to exercise control and build meaning in our individual lives. Without the Temple we can no longer become Nazirim, but we can still find meaningful ways to set boundaries and connect to the divine.

Rabbi Avi Killip is the Executive Vice President at Hadar. A graduate of Hebrew College Rabbinical School, Avi also holds Bachelors and Masters from Brandeis University. She was a Wexner Graduate Fellow and a Schusterman Fellow. Avi teaches as part of Hadars Faculty and is host of the Responsa Radio podcast. Avi lives in Riverdale, NY with her husband and three young children.

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What to Make for Dinner on the Day the World Changes - Patheos

City and state education agencies have been ordered to finish an investigation into whether a Brooklyn yeshiva is providing students with a sound, basic education.

A New York Supreme Court judge has ruled the departments abdicated their responsibility to investigate whether the school Yeshiva Mesivta Arugath Habosem offers an education that is substantially equivalent to the public school system, court documents show.

The courts ruling should send a clear message to the NYC DOE that it is their responsibility to conclude their investigations into non-compliant yeshivas in a timely fashion, said Naftuli Moster, executive director of Young Advocates For Fair Education, a pro-secular education in yeshivas group, on Wednesday.

The case concerns Beatrice Weber, a mom of 10 who left her ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, but under a family court order had to send her child to a Brooklyn yeshiva her ex-husbands school of choice.

Weber filed a petition in September 2019 with the New York State Education Department against the DOE and the yeshiva, alleging her then-8-year-old son was not receiving the secular education required in the state.

State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa dismissed the petition, suggesting it was premature until the city investigated the allegations leading Weber to appeal to the New York Supreme Court.

This week Justice Adam Silverman ordered the agencies to complete their investigation into the Brooklyn yeshiva by September 2022.

Although this case dragged on and my son lost valuable years of learning, I feel greatly vindicated by this ruling and am hopeful that other parents will be inspired by my actions, said Weber.

The decision comes as yeshivas have sent thousands of letters pushing back against draft state oversight rules for nonpublic schools, ahead of voting on a final policy later this year.

While state officials maintain the proposal ensures students a fair education, letter-writers from the yeshivas said it hinders their ability to provide Jewish children with religious schooling.

David Bloomfield, a professor of education law and policy at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center,called this weeks decision historic in two respects that it gives individual parents alleging a lack of secular education under state law access to judicial relief, and that the court ordered the state and city to stop dragging their feet.

The only issue is how many parents will avail themselves of that opportunity, Bloomfield said.

For the most part, the parents of ultra-Orthodox students know and appear to be satisfied there isnt the necessary secular instruction, which makes it even more important for the state and city to enforce the law, he added. Even if a parent says I want my kid to know Talmud and Torah, thats not what the law says.

Bloomfield also weighed in on its impact on investigations into other yeshivas, after allegations against former Mayor Bill de Blasio said he delayed reports on their quality for his political benefit.

Mayor Adams has aligned himself with ultra-Orthodox yeshivas, and theres no indication at this point that he plans to jumpstart the required investigations that were similarly delayed under de Blasio, he said.

The State Education Department is evaluating the decision and waiting for the city to complete its investigation, said Emily DeSantis, a spokesperson for the agency.

More here:

State, city ordered to finish investigation of NYC yeshiva - New York Post

Rabbi Shai Cherry

By Rabbi Shai Cherry

Parshat Naso

Full disclosure: I love Torah. Deeply. Even at its worst.

Our parshah describes a marriage gone sideways. The visual image of this scenario in the wilderness is a wind of jealousy sweeping over the husband (Num. 5:14). He suspects his wife of infidelity, but he cant prove it. He accuses, and she denies. What are the options?He could divorce her. Thats radical after all, her denials might be genuine. Plus, divorce requires paying the woman a divorce settlement as stipulated in all marriage contracts.They could talk. But theyve tried talking. He accuses and she, once again, denies. The wind of jealousy continues to blow. No teapot is safe from a tempest.

He could publicly accuse her of a secret tryst. She will be mortified, and if she is found innocent of wrongdoing, he will be humiliated as well. The elimination of doubt, however, makes the ordeal worthwhile.

He brings her to the Jerusalem Temple, and a priest mixes water, dirt and the dissolved ink of an incantation. The priests use of the four-letter name of God quickens the conditional curse of the bitter waters. The woman says, Amen. Amen. She drinks from the goblet with all eyes upon her.

Should she be innocent, she will be blessed with child. But should she have been unfaithful, the waters will turn bitter as they enter her defiled vessel. Her moral impurity will poison her from the inside out. Whatever seed that might be within will be expelled, and shell be rendered infertile forever.

And they live happily ever after. The end.

Maybe shell belch from the yucky water. Shell feel vindicated, and hell feel like a jerk and buy her chocolates and flowers to make it up to her.

Whats to love about this? The Torah figured out a way to keep the couple together by allowing the husbands jealousy to blow over. If the wife really had been unfaithful, she gets off easy. The punishment for adultery, when it can be proven, is death. The Mishnah brings in its own deus ex machina.

Lets say Betsy, her neighbor, heard the headboard banging against their common wall. Both Betsy and the adulteress might wonder: Are these bitter waters just psychodrama therapy? The Mishnah anticipates such a question by revealing that if the adulteress had a whole slew of good deeds under her belt, so to speak, the effects of the bitter waters might be suspended for up to three years.

But now the rabbis are in a pickle. If women know of that exemption, some might become righteous sluts. But if they dont know, some might suspect that the ordeal is just for show. As I said, I love Torah!

If we pull back the camera to see how other ancient Near Eastern cultures deal with their jealous husbands, well notice that their water ordeals involve rivers and drowning. Even though the bitter waters are ugly, there was uglier.

When I declare my love for Torah, sometimes what I mean is that I love how the rabbis of the Mishnah and Talmud interpret the Torah in ways that make it seem like theyre just as bothered with the patriarchy and misogyny of certain texts as I am.

The Mishnah begins its explanation with its own act of interpretive magic: The rabbis transform the Torahs jealousy into a warning that the husband issues his wife against being secluded with a certain man, Ploni.

This warning, to have legal force, must be issued in front of two witnesses. In order for the husband to bring his wife to the priest in Jerusalem, not only must she be warned, but there must be additional witness that she then secluded herself with Ploni. She was warned, and she persisted.

The Mishnah neutralizes the overreactive husband and gives the woman the opportunity to avoid the ordeal. For me, that was the obvious injustice that the Mishnah needed to address. It is the next act of interpretation that makes me so proud to be an heir to this radically righteous tradition.

What about Ploni? The paramour goes unmentioned in the Torah, but the rabbis drag him back in, kicking and screaming. The Torahs Ploni gorges on forbidden fruit without consequence. But in the Mishnah, if the woman was guilty, so was Ploni, and he suffers the same consequences at the same time. Gender parity through gender parody.

It boggles my mind when my rabbinic colleagues argue their point by saying, But, it is written and leave it at that. What is written is a snapshot of how Jewish values were applied in that moment in that place. Our job as rabbis, and as Jews, is not to idolize the text by turning it into an object of stone but to plant its values in our soil. The rabbis knew that for the Torah not to become petrified wood, it had to be a Tree of Life.

Rabbi Shai Cherry is the rabbi of Congregation Adath Jeshurun in Elkins Park and author of Torah through Time: Understanding Bible Commentary from the Rabbinic Period to Modern Times and Coherent Judaism: Constructive Theology, Creation, and Halakhah. The Board of Rabbis of Greater Philadelphia is proud to provide diverse perspectives on Torah commentary for the Jewish Exponent. The opinions expressed in this column are the authors own and do not reflect the view of the Board of Rabbis.

Continued here:

What Will We Do with a Rotten Torah? - Jewish Exponent

PODCAST Hello Rapids fans! This week on Holding The High Line, we check in on Rapids 2! The guys talk about the USMNT going into Nations League and what it means for the World Cup. Red talks about going to the Rapids 2 game on Saturday, how the team is playing, and whats not working. We try to diagnose and figure out if MLS Next Pro is/will be better than an affiliation with a USL Championship team. Then we discuss how Colorado should handle the final six games with Auston Trusty and the transition of losing him.

Holding The High Line is an independent soccer podcast focused on the Colorado Rapids of MLS and a member of the Beautiful Game Network. If you like the show, please consider subscribing to us on your preferred podcatcher, giving us a review, and tell other Rapids fans about us. It helps a ton. Visit bgn.fm for a bunch of other great podcasts covering soccer in North America.

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Find us on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Blubrry, and many other podcatchers. See the full list of podcatchers with subscription links here. For full transcripts of every episode, check out our AudioBurst page. Our artwork was produced by CR54 Designs. Juanners does our music.

We are brought to you by Ruffneck Scarves and Icarus FC. Ruffneckscarves.com is your one-stop-shop for official MLS, USL, and U.S. Soccer scarves as well as custom scarves for your group or rec league team. Icarusfc.com is the place to go for high-quality custom soccer kits for your team or group. With an any design you want, seriously motto, they are breaking the mold of boring, expensive, template kits from the big brands.

Have your team looking fly in 2022 like Andre Shinyashiki with bleached hair with custom scarves and kits from Ruffneck Scarves and Icarus FC.

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Matt Pollard is the Site Manager for Last Word on Soccer and an engineer by day. A Colorado Convert, he started covering the Colorado Rapids as a credentialed member of the press in 2016, though hes watched MLS since 96. When hes not watching or writing about soccer, hes being an outdoorsman (mostly skiing and hiking) in this beautiful state or trying a new beer. For some reason, he thought that starting a podcast with Mark was a good idea and he cant figure out how to stop this madness. He also hosts Last Word SC Radio.

Mark Goodman, the artist formally known as Rapids Rabbi, moved to Colorado in 2011. Shortly thereafter he went to Dicks Sporting Goods Park, saw Lee Nguyen dribble a ball with the silky smoothness of liquid chocolate cascading into a Bar Mitzvah fountain, and promptly fell head over heels in love with domestic soccer. When not watching soccer or coaching his sons U-8 team, hes generally studying either Talmud or medieval biblical exegesis. Which explains why he watches so much MLS, probably. Having relocated to Pittsburgh in 2019, he covers the Pittsburgh Riverhounds of the USL for Pittsburgh Soccer Now.

Photo Credit: Mark Shaiken, Last Word on Soccer.

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Holding The High Line: Rapids 2 in focus, Auston Trusty leaving - Last Word On Sports

Warning: The following contains graphic imagery and language.

Last week, I conducted an informal survey: I asked five Ashkenazi friends and five Iranian-Jewish friends in Los Angeles if they had heard of Kristallnacht, the antisemitic pogrom that occurred in Germany in 1938. All of them said yes.

I then asked if they had heard of the Farhud, a deadly pogrom against Iraqi Jews during June 1-2, 1941, in which hundreds were murdered and raped. Out of ten friends in Los Angeles, nine of them had not heard of the Farhud.

And then, a strange thing happened: I asked ten friends in Israel if they had ever heard of the Farhud, given that hundreds of thousands of Israelis have grandparents or great-grandparents of Iraqi Jewish descent. Nine of them also responded that they didnt know what it was.

Im not an Iraqi Jew (Im a neighboring cousin from Iran), but as of the 81st anniversary of the Farhud last week, Im on a mission to expose as many Jews and non-Jews to the atrocities that were committed against this once-vibrant community as a result of a heinous combination of Muslim antisemitism and Nazi propaganda.

The Farhud (pogrom in Arabic) occurred in Baghdad during the Jewish holiday of Shavuot. Muslim Iraqi mobs screamed Cutal al yehud (Slaughter the Jews!) and butchered nearly 200 Jews (some estimate that number is closer to 1,000). Hundreds were raped; over 1,000 were injured and over 900 homes were destroyed. The Farhud was the closest Iraqi Jews came to experiencing their own mini version of a genocide. One thing is certain: Jews who survived the Farhud were traumatized for the rest of their lives.

Shortly before the Farhud, assailants had compiled a list of Jewish homes and businesses. Jewish leaders begged local authorities for mercy, but to no avail. Jews were beheaded; Jewish babies were slaughtered (some Jewish family threw their babies over rooftops, hoping they would be caught in blankets below to save them); murderers waived severed limbs and other body parts, including in one case, the breast of a young Jewish woman (who had been raped). Perpetrators raped Jewish girls at a local school. Six girls were actually abducted to a village nine miles away.

Learning about the Farhud is not for those with weak stomachs. But here are some key facts about this dark moment in the history of Middle Eastern Jewry that everyone should know:

Nazism Found An Enthusiastic Partner In Arab Nationalism

The Middle East and North Africa were an enormous hub of Nazi activity, and that included actual SS boots on the ground (particularly as far as Nazi masterminds who collaborated with Egyptian leaders were concerned). Many of us have seen the infamous 1941 photo of Palestinian leader Haj Amin al-Husseini, the Mufti of Jerusalem, in conversation with Adolf Hitler.

Hundreds of Libyan Jews starved to death in Italian-controlled Libya during the Holocaust; most Jews in Cyrenaica were sent to the Jado concentration camp (250 kilometers south of Tripoli). Hundreds were sent to camps in Europe. The Nazis had a long-term strategy for the Middle East, and that included propagandizing Berlin as a friend of downtrodden Muslims everywhere. If they could successfully align with fanatics in the region, Nazi leaders surmised, they might convince jihadists to actually fight Germanys enemies (beyond Jews).

Before the Farhud, the Nazis began to broadcast Radio Berlin in Arabic throughout the Arab and Muslim world. Hitlers Mein Kampf was not only translated into Arabic, but printed in a local Baghdad newspaper, thanks to Fritz Grobba, Germanys charge daffaires in Baghdad. In 1933, he bought Al-Alem Al Arabi (a Christian Iraqi paper) and published Arabic translations of Mein Kampf in installments.

Whereas the Nazis had Hitler Youth (Hitlerjugend), Iraq created the Futtuwa, a pre-military youth movement that was active in the 1930s and 1940s. These youth attended the Nazi rally in Nuremberg in 1938; when they returned home, they popularized a chant in Arabic: Long live Hitler, the killer of insects and Jews.

For further information on Nazi activity in the Middle East, I recommend reading Nazis, Islamists, and the Making of the Modern Middle East by Barry Rubin and Wolfgang G. Schwanitz (Yale University Press, 2014).

Where Theres Anti-Zionism, Jews Will Always Be Killed

Im particularly fascinated by one aspect of the Farhud thats worth sharing: In 1941, seven years before the establishment of the modern State of Israel (which antisemites continue to use as justification for isolating, defaming and attacking Jews today), Muslim Iraqis who led the pogroms accused Iraqi Jews of being Zionist sympathizers in the conflict between Jews and Arabs in then-Mandatory Palestine. They also accused Iraqi Jews of working with the British in colonizing Iraq. Does any of this sound familiar? Im reminded of post-revolutionary Iran (1979-today), whose regime identifies Zionism as a capital offense. Maybe thats why every few months, theres a story about a Jewish leader in Iran denouncing Israel publicly or proudly attending an anti-Israel rally.

Heres the worst part about Iraqs history of violent antisemitism today: Whereas other Arab countries, including the former behemoth of Arab nationalism, Egypt, have made peace with Israel, two weeks ago, Iraqs Parliament passed a law criminalizing relations with the Zionist entity. Anyone who violates this new law, including businessmen, faces life imprisonment or even the death sentence. The government said it was only reflecting the will of the people. Hundreds gathered in Tahrir Square (yes, it shares its name with the famous Tahrir Square from Egypts 2011 revolution) in central Baghdad to celebrate the passing of the law.

Hows that for progress 81 years after the country shamefully allowed for the mass slaughter of its ancient Jewish population in Baghdad? Even the regime in Iran had the decency to criminalize Zionism over 40 years ago, rather than today.

For The Last Time, Jews Are Not White.

I can nearly guarantee that certain American celebrities who believe that the Holocaust was a white-on-white crime dont know that Nazism spread its hideous tentacles throughout the Middle East.

I can nearly guarantee that certain American celebrities who believe that the Holocaust was a white-on-white crime dont know that Nazism spread its hideous tentacles throughout the Middle East. Ive also never believed that Jews are white (if thats the case, why are we the target of white supremacists?), but I challenge anyone who weaponizes race against Jews by calling us white and privileged to see photos of brown-skinned Iraqi Jews running out of their destroyed homes in 1941 and screaming in horror, and to tell me that these Jews are white (or privileged).

And then, theres the deeply offensive and untruthful argument that Israel ethnically-cleanses Palestinians. Do you know which once-thriving Jewish population was actually driven out completely from the Arab Middle East? Iraqi Jews. And if you want to get technical, Libyan Jews. And Syrian Jews. And Yemenite Jews.

Three to five Jews remain in Iraq, from a former population of over 135,000 before the Farhud (including 90,000 who lived in Baghdad). Forty or so Jews remain in Syria; while six Jews are still in Yemen. These are estimates and some of the numbers might actually be smaller.

Not a single Jew remains in Libya. Im not a mathematician, but something about that wreaks of ethnic cleansing.

Anyone who knows even minimally about Jewish history knows that modern-day Iraq was one of the most important epicenters of Jewish learning. The Babylonian Talmud was completed there, and Jews have had a continuous presence in the region since they were brought there as captives after the Babylonians conquered the Kingdom of Judea in the sixth-century BCE. That means that for nearly 3,000 years, Jews lived in present-day Iraq. Again, only three to five Jews remain there today.

The Farhud not only marked the beginning of a mass exodus of Iraqi Jews from the country, but tragically, it also marked the end of an ancient Jewish community.

The Farhud not only marked the beginning of a mass exodus of Iraqi Jews from the country, but tragically, it also marked the end of an ancient Jewish community.

I shouldnt have been surprised that my Israeli friends had not heard of the Farhud. A recent poll found that half of Israelis that were polled knew about Kristallnacht; only seven percent had ever heard of the Farhud. That, in itself, is another tragedy.

For more information on the Farhud, read Edwin Blacks The Farhud Roots of the Arab-Nazi Alliance in the Holocaust (Dialog Press, 2010).

Tabby Refael is a Los Angeles-based writer, speaker, and civic action activist. Follow her on Twitter @TabbyRefael

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Have You Ever Heard of the Farhud? - Jewish Journal