Category Archives: Talmud

One of the things that Jews do when they come to Israel is visit holy sites, and among these holy sites are kivrei tzaddikim. One can find in every city and in remote locations throughout the country the graves of the prophets, the Sages of the Talmud, modern rabbis and mystics, leaders and historical figures from throughout the ages, and, of course, the graves of the patriarchs and matriarchs of the Jewish nation. While the world is deciding the Jewish peoples right to Israel, these graves are literally a monument to our historical right to the land carved in stone.

While one can visit the Arizal in Tzfat, the Rambam in Tiberias, and Rav Ovadia Yosef, ztl, in Jerusalem, any cemetery in Israel is the eternal resting place of many holy people. Almost every cemetery in Israel has a military section for soldiers who have fallen in the line of duty protecting the country, or as Rabbi Avi Weiss of New York has called them: the holiest Jews in the world. The victims of terrorist attacks are also shrouded in holiness.

It was recently explained to me why it is that in Israel, even though most people are buried without a coffin, they still bury soldiers in one. Its because many soldiers have died in explosions and their bodies are not intact. So as not to discriminate between those who are and those who are not, all fallen soldiers are buried in a wooden box.

During Aseret Yemei Teshuvah my son and I went to visit my maternal grandmother, who is buried in Nachalat Yitzchak, a cemetery that borders Tel Aviv, Givatayim, and Ramat Gan a kind of crossroads, appropriate to a cemetery. It turns out the Tzaddik of Shtefanesht (tefneti), Rebbe Avraham Matityahu Friedman, is buried there as well.

A woman stopped and asked us if we knew where the Tzaddiks grave was. After pointing her in the right direction, we followed and decided wed stop in and say a prayer. I had never heard of this rabbi, but on an everyday weekday there were people there emotionally praying at his gravesite.

About twenty years ago, I visited the grave of the tanna Rabbi Tarfon. He is buried on a pastoral hill in seclusion, not far from Meron, where, according to a tradition from the Arizal,he is buried under a giant pistachio tree. However, a burial cave was recently discovered on Mount Meron and restored by the Ohalei Tzaddikim organization, which claims Rabbi Tarfon was buried there.

Indeed, when dealing with those who lived thousands of years ago, uncertainty sometimes arises about the real location of burial. Although places like Mearat Hamechpela and Kever Rachel have a tradition going back thousands of years, other graves like that of Rachel, Rabbi Akivahs wife, are more difficult to discern. But when I happened to visit what is purported to be Rachels grave, I felt such a sudden and inexplicable outpouring of emotion that I couldnt stop crying. Whether it was really Rachel or not, the woman buried there was obviously a holy woman.

Its possible to fit in a visit to a tzaddiks or tzaddekets grave on almost any day trip throughout the country and each one is purported to offer segulot, whether for children, marriage, healing, or learning. Praying on a consecutive Monday, Thursday and Monday at the grave of the Admor of Zhivil, for example, who is buried in a small cemetery in Jerusalem, is reported to bring your soulmate.

In Jerusalem and Petach Tikvah, which was founded by Jerusalemites, there is the practice not to let a body remain overnight, and so funerals are often held late into the night. There is something very peaceful about a cemetery at night.

Israeli cemeteries differ from the manicured lawns and spacious plots of American cemeteries; much in the way that housing for the living differs. The graves are in close proximity to each other in a sea of hewed stone. Recently the dearth of graves in Israel has led to apartment block style graves where people are buried on floors. Although this seems a modern deviation, thats how many were buried in caves thousands of years ago. Cemeteries are expanding both upwards and underground, although the earth of the holy land can be found in each grave.

There are a few unique attributes to Israeli cemeteries. I know of no other place in the world where people are routinely flown in from other countries to be buried often at great expense. And Bituach Leumi, Israels national insurance, pays for the grave and burial of every citizen (unless they want to be buried somewhere other than their local cemetery). Its a Jewish ideal to be buried in Israel. After all, when Mashiach comes, bimheira viyameinu, thats where the meeting place of all souls will be. There is a tradition that if one is not buried in Israel, then at the time of the Resurrection of the Dead all the dead bodies will roll through tunnels to Israel.

This Lag BaOmer marks a year since the Meron tragedy when 45 people were killed. The dead included sixAmericans, twoCanadians, anArgentineand a Briton and ranged in age from 13 to 65 years old. The victims were celebrating at the annual hillulah (a celebration of a tzaddik on his yahrzeit) of Rebbi Shimon Bar Yochai, at his gravesite in Meron, when stairs collapsed and they were crushed to death, themselves becoming kedoshim. It was a terrible tragedy. But as their final act in this world was dancing and singing at the gravesite of the holy Sage, he no doubt welcomed their pure souls into Heaven.

You dont have far to look to go to visit kivrei tzaddikim in Israel. In fact, they are very easy to find.

Read more from the original source:

In Israel, Tzaddikim Are Buried All Around - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com

I want you to think about a concept that nobody talks about. You wont hear your Rav speak about this on Shabbat. You wont read an article on this subject in any Jewish magazine, and you certainly wont hear any politician speak this way. I am referring to the important aspect of fighting the Jewish enemy and, while extremely difficult and painful, how it is an integral and necessary part of our national life.

When HaShem told Avraham the famous words; Lech Lecha why did He send Avraham to the busiest place on earth? 90% of the world was uninhabited at that time, yet HaShem sent Avraham to Eretz Yisrael where it immediately says, And the Canaanites were in the Land (Beresheit 12:6). Really? Couldnt HaShem have made a different part of the world holy and send Avraham there where his descendants wouldnt have to fight for every inch?

When HaShem spoke to Moshe for the first time by the burning bush, He said; I have come to rescue them from Egypts power. I will bring them out of that land to a good, spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the territory of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Yebusites (Beresheit 3:8) Really? I like the part about the good, spacious land, and I certainly love the part that its flowing with milk and honey (YUMMY!) but HaShem Himself said its the territory of 6 other nations (actually 10 other nations see Beresheit 15:19 where 4 additional nations are listed!!!) So, I ask a similar question as the paragraph before; Why didnt HaShem choose to send Am Yisrael to a part of the world that was empty where we wouldnt have to battle for our very survival?

When Yehoshua Bin-Nun took over the reign of leadership from Moshe, what is the first thing he did when he crossed the Jordan River with the Nation of Israel? He got the young, fresh, nation ready for war!!! He sent trustworthy spies on a reconnaissance mission. He prepared the people to fight for the city of Yericho. and they conquered the city. They destroyed everything that was in the city man and woman, youth and elder, ox and sheep and donkey by the edge of the sword. (Yehoshua 6:20-21) Really? Thats the first thing Am Yisrael did when they entered Eretz Yisrael kill every man, woman and child in Yericho? Allow me to ask the same question as above; Why didnt HaShem send us to a place where we could just live in peace, with no need for bloodshed? Why the wars and the commandment to wipe out the enemy? We were a new nation, in a new land shouldnt we be busy with farming, construction and finding a way how to support and educate our children? Why a war and years of wars from almost day 1??

I could give many more examples just read the TaNaCH and you will see that HaShem chose a bad neighborhood for His people to live. Throughout our history, there was almost no quiet in Eretz Yisrael and many people have struggled with the question of why? Even in our day, we see daily battles on the road, on the border and in the middle of Yerushalayim. In the last month we have seen terror in Bnei Brak, Tel Aviv and Elad. Our young men and women are drafted to the IDF and National Service and forced to risk their lives. So again why?

While I dont claim to be an expert and certainly dont have the answers to most troubling questions, I feel I do have the answer to this one: The fight is part of the Mitzvah. HaShem did not send us to an empty Australia where we could have lived in peace and harmony with some kangaroos. He purposely sent us to a land that needed to be conquered and paid for in Jewish blood. While this is very painful to the families of those heroic fighters, it is an absolute necessity when talking about the Land of Israel.

We are all familiar with the concept; Eretz Yisrael nikneyt byesurrim (the Land of Israel is acquired through suffering) This concept is stated in Talmud Berachot 5a and explained by the Vilna Gaon (Kol HaTur, chapter 1, paragraph 13) in 4 simple words; This is exactly how its acquired. There are no shortcuts and no way to avoid it. The suffering is the acquisition! However, nowhere does it state that we are to be led as lambs to the slaughter. On the contrary! We are to observe the Torah and simultaneously fight the enemy with every weapon available. When we do that HaShem promises that, You will chase away your enemies and they will fall before your sword. 5 of you will chase 100 and 100 of you will defeat 10,000, as your enemies fall before your sword. (VaYikra 26:7-8)

Dearest friends: This is a strong and powerful message and one that we need to focus on especially during these days of tragedy and terror. To deserve Israel is to fight for her. There will be times when battles will be lost, and holy soldiers will be buried. There will also be times when innocent Yidden sitting in a park will be murdered and we will look for answers. Our Father and King knows what He is doing and, while each drop of Jewish blood comes with oceans of tears, we continue the fight and the goal of wiping out our enemy and conquering the land, exactly as HaShem has commanded.

One final point. While the Talmud states that the Land of Israel is acquired through suffering, it does not state that about New York, London, Paris, Melbourne, or Toronto. In those areas, if Jews are in danger and they are the commandment is to get out of there as quickly as possible. There is no mitzvah to fight the Canaanites (or whatever theyre called) outside the Land. Therefore, while Jewish blood may be necessary for Eretz Yisrael, it is a complete and utter waste if shed in California, Argentina, Johannesburg, New Jersey, or Montreal. The Fight is part of the Mitzvah is in Israel only. Everywhere else, its not the fight thats important but the flight out of there and into the Promised Land.

May HaShem bless us with victory over our enemies in His one and only special place on earth.

Am Yisrael Chai!

See the rest here:

The Fight is Part of the Mitzvah - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com

What a time it is for Deaf Awareness! Rose Ayling-Ellis won Strictly Come Dancing and a BAFTA, Troy Kotsur picked up the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for CODA and the British Sign Language (BSL) bill was passed recently, making BSL a legally recognised language of the UK.

Deaf people have never been so visible on our screens. But there is still so much work to be done. The Jewish Deaf Associations vision is of a world where there are no barriers to communication and understanding between deaf and hearing people; a world with respect, inclusion and equality.

Hearing loss is on the rise. One in six people in the UK now have hearing loss. So, as JDA marks its 70th anniversary together with Her Majesty the Queen now is the right time for us to start making that vision a reality within our own community.

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How can we enable people with hearing loss, who communicate using speech, to not feel marginalised? To be fully included in family, social and communal gatherings? To be actively involved in synagogue services and community life?

Last week was Deaf Awareness Week and JDA launched a publicity campaign drip feeding top tips for chatting with someone with hearing loss. To start raising awareness and start taking the small steps that will bring about change, JDA is also asking people connected with Jewish communal organisations to follow the Jewish Deaf Association on social media, share posts with community leaders and get the conversation started in their organisation about how we can all enable people with hearing loss to be fully and actively involved in our community.

Stella makes hamotzi with the words transcribed on a screen behind her

JDA is keen to make synagogues and community centres accessible for people with hearing loss. Jeremy Freeman, who is deaf, says Sitting through services can feel long, arduous, and not so interactive for many shul goers with a hearing loss. At this time, synagogues are reimagining the way synagogue services are presented and focusing on inclusion and involvement in community life. This is a perfect opportunity to involve members with hearing loss and other invisible disabilities in the conversation and to consult with the Jewish Deaf Association to find ways of creating greater access for people with hearing loss.

Sadly, over the years, deaf and deafened members have walked away from the Jewish community frustrated with the lack of support and acknowledgment of issues. One JDA client said they feel hearing loss has been treated as taboo. It is uplifting that the Jewish Deaf Association is addressing this as there are ways that accessibility can be improved which dont break the rules of Shabbat, such as ensuring that deaf synagogue members receive an advance copy of the Rabbis sermon even in note form. Another simple thing is to include live captioning on community webinars and online videos. Our tradition encourages us all to learn, to gather together in community, and to allow for accommodations to make that happen.

Michael blows the shofar with his hands on Barry to convey sound through touch

The Talmud, in discussing the domino effect of sin, concludes with phrase kol yisrael arevim zeh bazeh, meaning all of Israel are responsible for each other, says Jeremy. This phrase is the basis of the notion of communal responsibility in Jewish law. It implies an obligation on all Jews to ensure that other Jews have their basic needs taken care of. Lets work together to ensure that we approach hearing loss and other disabilities not as a form of charity for the less fortunate but as a Jewish justice and inclusion issue.

For more information about making your synagogues accessible and inclusive for people with hearing loss, email jeremy@jdeaf.org.uk

http://www.jdeaf.org.uk

020 8446 0502

More here:

Planting the seeds of inclusivity - Jewish News

The teachings transmitted by the rabbis in the centuries following the destruction of the Second Temple formed the core of what has come to be known as rabbinic Judaism, which still provides the framework for the various types of Judaism practiced today. The most widely studied of these rabbinic teachings are known collectively as the Talmud, which has two parts: Mishnah and Gemara.

Want to learn Talmud with us? Daf Yomi is a program of reading the entire Talmud one day at a time, and My Jewish Learning is offering a daf yomi email for the first tractate of the next cycle, starting on January 5, 2020. Sign up for it here!

The Mishnah is the earlier work, compiled from the teachings of sages living at the end of the Second Temple period and in the century following the destruction of the Temple.

A study book of laws and value statements that express the classical rabbis vision of Judaism, the Mishnahs preoccupation is promotion of a religious and legal tradition both continuous with the past and practical for life in the post-destruction Diaspora. The Mishnah contains multiple opinions on many laws and does not often suggest which is the most authoritative. The plurality of Jewish practice is preserved in the text.

Sages in both Babylonia (modern-day Iraq) and the Land of Israel continued to study traditional teachings, including the Mishnah, describing the teachings as having been passed down from Moses at Sinai (either literally or figuratively). The oral discussions were preserved, either by memorization or notation, and later edited together in a manner that places generations of sages in conversation with one another. These teachers were interested in bringing greater harmonization between biblical and rabbinic traditions, largely by providing proof-texts for known laws and explaining differences between the biblical and rabbinic versions of laws. This is the origin of the Gemara.

There are actually two works known as Gemara the Babylonian Gemara (referred to as Bavli in Hebrew) and the Palestinian (or Jerusalem) Gemara (referred to as Yerushalmi). The term Gemara itself comes from the Aramaic root g.m.r (equivalent to l.m.d, in Hebrew), giving it the meaning teaching.

Although the Yerushalmi was completed earlier (with material spanning roughly 200-500 C.E.), it was eclipsed by the much longer Bavli (200-600 C.E.). The Bavlis popularity may be due to the work of the Gaonim of Babylonia, who cited that work in the legal judgements (responsa) that they sent to communities throughout the Diaspora. Both Gemaras were written in a combination of Hebrew and Aramaic dialects and share the teachings of sages known by the term Amoraim (in the singular, Amora).

Hevruta study at Pardes, a nondenominational yeshiva in Jerusalem. (Courtesy of Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, http://www.pardes.org.il)

Gemara encompasses several literary genres, and subject matter ranges from the sacred to the profane. While it is often misrepresented as merely a commentary on the laws of the Mishnah, the Gemara has an intricate relationship with the Mishnah and a far greater scope. Although it is organized in accordance with the structure of the six orders of the Mishnah, mishnaic teachings are, for the Gemara, the launch pad for diverse topics: prayer, holy days, agriculture, sexual habits, contemporary medical knowledge, superstitions, criminal and civil law.

The Gemara contains both halakhah (legal material) and aggadah (narrative material). Aggadah includes historical material, biblical commentaries, philosophy, theology, and wisdom literature. Stories reveal information about life in ancient times, among Jews and between Jews and their neighbors, and folk customs. All of these genres are blended together with the halakhic material, in what is sometimes described as a stream-of-consciousness fashion filled with meaningful tangents and digressions.

In dealing with the teachings of the Mishnah, the Gemara has multiple functions. It explains unclear words or phrasing. It also provides precedents or examples to assist in application of the law and offers alternative opinions from sages of the Mishnah and their contemporaries (known as Tannaim). Whereas the Mishnah barely cites biblical verses, the Gemara for nearly every law discussed introduces these connections between the biblical text and the practices and legal opinions of its time. It also extends and restricts applications of various laws, and even adds laws on issues left out of the Mishnah entirely (for example, the key observances of Hanukkah). Multiple opinions of sages are weighed against one another, often without presenting a conclusion.

Talmudic teachings have been most often studied in groups or pairs among masters and students and/or between two partners in learning. A pair of study partners is called a havruta. The havruta-style provides a challenging, lively, and intimate environment in which to explore the rich spiritual and intellectual depths of the Talmud.

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Link:

Gemara: The Essence of the Talmud | My Jewish Learning

An ancient Jewish community that survived all odds and came home.

A lone Jewish person remains in Yemen, down from seven in February, according to a new United Nations report about the treatment of religious minorities in conflict zones. (Gabby Deutch, Jewish Insider March 14, 2022) In the early 20th century, Jews in Yemen numbered over 50,000; today, there is one Jew left. There are reportedly a handful of hidden Jews in Yemen who have converted to Islam but secretly practice Judaism.

Yemenite Jews have a unique religious tradition that separates them from Ashkenazi, Sephardi, and other Jewish groups. The roots of the Jews in YemenTeiman in Hebrew can be traced back to Biblical times. Yemen is mentioned in Jewish scriptures in various places. It is noted as the place of origin of Jobs friend Eliphaz. Additionally, the famed Queen of Sheba, discussed in the Book of Kings where she visits King Solomon, is said to have heard about King Solomon from Jews in Yemen, which was located near the kingdom of Sheba.

Al Ajar, Hadan, 1984, Photo: Miryam Tangi

Although the province is not mentioned in the Mishna or the Talmud, there is an assumed reference in Josephuss book, The Jewish War. Josephus states that he had informed the remotest Arabians regarding the destruction, and the assumption is that he is referring to the Jews of Yemen.

The immigration of the majority of Jews into Yemen appears to have taken place at the beginning of the 2nd century. In the ancient Jewish cemetery at Beth Shearim, there is an inscription in one of the rooms, describing those buried there as people of Himyar (the Yemenite Kingdom). The assumption is that their bodies were sent from Yemen for burial in Israel, not that they died while visiting Israel, just as many people today ask to be buried in the Land of Israel.

There are fascinating legends regarding how the Jewish community in Yemen was founded.

One local Yemenite Jewish tradition says that Jews came to the Arabian Peninsula at the time of King Solomon. Some say this was because King Solomon sent Jewish merchants to Yemen to prospect for gold and silver to use for the Temple in Jerusalem. Others say Jewish artisans were sent to the region when they were requested by the Queen of Sheba, during that same time period.

Al Ajar, Hadan, 1984, Photo: Miryam Tangi

Another tradition, that of the Jews of Saana, states that their ancestors settled in Yemen 42 years before the destruction of the First Temple. It is also said that in the time of the prophet Jeremiah approximately 75,000 Jews, including Kohanim and Levites, traveled to Yemen.

The tradition of the Jews of Habban (southern Yemen) is that they are the descendants of the tribe of Judah that belonged to a brigade dispatched by Herod the Great to assist the Roman legions fighting in the region. The tradition is that they arrived in the area before the destruction of the Second Temple, and did not return to the Land of Israel.

Jews that lived in the Arabian Peninsula before the Roman period concentrated mainly in two areas Yemen and Hejaz (today's Northwest Saudi Arabia).

There is a fascinating story regarding the King of Himyar and the Jews. Apparently, King Abu-Kariba Assad laid siege to Yathrib (modern-day Medina) to avenge the death of his son who had been killed by the inhabitants of the city. During the siege, the king became deathly ill and two medically knowledgeable Jews from Yathrib, Kaab, and Assad, entered the enemy camp and saved his life. After hearing the king, they pleaded with him to lift the siege and make peace with the city.

Al Ajar, Hadan, 1983. Photo: Miryam Tangi

Not only did the king end the war, but he was also so impressed with the Jews that he embraced Judaism, along with his entire army. Upon his return home, he brought two Jews back with him to teach the populace and insisted that all his people convert to Judaism. The conversions, however, were not total, and there remained as many pagans as Jews in the land. There is also debate whether he converted out of genuine belief or out of political expedience. It is clear though that Judaism flourished in Himyar at this time, and many inscriptions with Jewish terms (God of Israel) are found dating to the 6th and 7th centuries.

The size of the Jewish population of Yemen for the first five centuries C.E. remained steady at about 3,000. The Jews were scattered throughout the country but carried on extensive commerce with other locations, and thus the Jews possessed many Jewish texts, and were knowledgeable of their heritage, although there were few scholars at that time.

In 628 CE, some of non-Jewish Yemenite leaders and tribes converted to Islam. Shortly afterward, Mohammed sent his cousin Ali to Sana'a to create a strong Islamic central authority in Yemen.

During this period of Muslim rule, the Jews were designated as Ahl al-Kitab, protected People of the Book. They were granted freedom of religion conditional on their paying Jizya, a poll tax. Active Muslim persecution of the Jews began in full force under the Shiite-Zaydi clan (the sect currently followed by the fanatical anti-Semitic Houthis in Yemen), when they seized power from the more tolerant Sunni Muslims early in the 10th century.

Under the Zaydi rule, which lasted nearly 1,000 years, Jews were treated as second-class citizens and were oppressed by the rulers and population. They were considered impure, and could not touch a Muslims food, had to walk on a Muslims left side, could not build houses higher than a Muslim's or ride a camel or horse, and when riding on a mule or a donkey, they had to sit sideways. Upon entering the Muslim quarter, a Jew had to take off his footgear and walk barefoot. If attacked with stones or fists by Islamic youth, a Jew was not allowed to defend himself.

Al Ajar, Hadan, 1983. Photo: Miryam Tangi

The Orphans Decree was a law that if a father died, his children were to be taken by the state and forcibly converted to Islam. Although this law was largely ignored during Ottoman rule, during the period of Imam Yahya (19181948) in 1922, the cruel law was enforced with strictness. Orphaned Jews were abducted from the community, and neither pleas nor bribes were accepted to release them. The community and relatives of the orphans searched for ways to save the children from this tragedy, and at times were able to prevent the forced conversion by marrying off the children quickly, as a married person was considered an adult and not able to be taken by the state. Sometimes the children were able to be moved to a large city and hidden with a Jewish family and other times they were taken out of the country.

In the late 12th Century, a false prophet arose in Yemen and proclaimed that Judaism and Islam were now one and the same. He used quotes from the Torah to prove his claim, and since the majority of the population was not that learned, he was very influential. The greatest Torah scholar of Yemen, Yaakov ben Natanel al-Fayyumi, wrote to the Rambam (Maimonides) in 1172 to ask for his response. The Rambam responded with the soon-to-be-famous Iggeret Teiman, Letter to Yemen, elaborating on the answer and clarifying the foundations of Jewish belief. This letter made such an impression on the Jews of Yemen that they included the name of Rambam in the addish prayer, praying that he live a long life and his name be blessed.

Following his Letter to Yemen, the rabbis of Yemen would send letters to the Rambam, and he would teach through the letters he sent. He also sent them a copy of his Mishneh Torah the codified Jewish law, and this magnum opus was copied meticulously in Yemen. In the Geniza in Cairo, many letters from the 12th century and onward were found, demonstrating the close connection between the Cairo community and the rabbis in Yemen that began with the Rambam.

Despite their geographic isolation, the Yemenite Jews maintained contact with important Jewish centers, particularly with Egypt and Babylonia. Throughout their history, they had great scholars.

In the 14th century, Rabbi Nathanael ben Isaiah wrote an Arabic commentary on the Bible. In the second half of the 15th century, Rabbi Saadia ben David al-Adani was the author of a commentary on the Bible, and Rabbi Abraham ben Solomon wrote on the Prophets.

Study in the mufredj while the father is making tsitsit, Beit Sinan, Arhab, 1986. Photo: Miryam Tangi

Rabbi Shlomo Adani (born 1567) was also a native of Yemen and is considered one of the greatest commentators on the Mishna. He was born in Sana'a, Yemen to Rabbi Yeshua Adani, a leading rabbi of the city. The family immigrated to the land of Israel in 1571, where he completed his book entitled Melechet Shlomo in 1624. His work is considered a classic and is partially printed in most of the editions of the Mishna with commentaries. There are also streets in Jerusalem, Beersheba, and other Israeli cities named after Rabbi Shlomo Adani.

Rabbi Shalom Sharabi, born in Yemen in 1720, is considered the father of all contemporary Sephardic kabbalists. After he was miraculously saved from a difficult situation, he fulfilled his vow to go to the Holy Land of Israel and to live in Jerusalem.

When travel became easier with the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, Jews began to emigrate from Yemen to then-Palestine. Many of the Jews that moved during this time, which was approximately 10 percent of the population, settled in Jerusalem, Jaffa, or in agricultural settlements.

In 1922, when the government of Yemen began to harshly enforce the Orphan's Decree, as discussed in this article, even more Jews sought to immigrate.

Following the partition vote of 1947 in which the UN voted to split then-Palestine and give a country to Jews, Arab Muslims in Yemen, assisted by the local police force, began rioting and murdering, killing 82 Jews in Aden and destroying hundreds of Jewish homes. This paralyzed the Jewish community financially and frightened the Jews regarding their future in Yemen.

This increasingly perilous situation led to the emigration of virtually the entire Yemenite Jewish community between June 1949 and September 1950 in Operation Magic Carpet. During this period, over 50,000 Jews emigrated to Israel.

A more minor, continuous migration was allowed to continue until 1962 when a civil war put an abrupt halt to any further Jewish exodus.

Today the overwhelming majority of the half a million Jews worldwide of Yemenite descent live in Israel. They are the legacy of 2,000 years of Yemenite Jewry.

With thanks to the photographer Miryam Tangi for granting permission to use her photos. Click here to read her article about Yemenite Jews.

Go here to see the original:

History of the Jews of Yemen - aish.com - Aish

For Rabbi Steven L. Denker, one of the first stops in retirement will be Cuyahoga Community College, where he is enrolled as a student in automotive technology.

Other than that, spending more time with family is on the horizon, Denker told the Cleveland Jewish News May 6 in an online interview.

By way of explanation, Denker, 70, shrugged and said, Ive always loved cars, adding hes enrolled now in his first hands-on class, a survey course. Depending on the season, he drives a Subaru Impreza hatchback or a Honda S2000.

Hes already taken a math course and a course on management of an automotive facility.

Denker has been a rabbi for 38 years and has spent the last 18 as spiritual leader at Temple Emanu El in Orange, first as interim and for most of those years as its permanent rabbi.

One of Denkers first tasks was to help Temple Emanu El think through its next steps in 2004.

He said that required many meetings, including with focus groups, discussions and with stakeholders.

It was necessary. It wasnt easy. Those kinds of changes for any congregation are never easy, Denker said, adding many of Clevelands synagogues have relocated. There are very few congregations that stay in the same spot for their entire history.

Denker has led several trips to Israel at Temple Emanu El and for other congregations. In previous posts, he has also led congregational trips to Jewish Spain, Morocco and Cuba.

One of his favorite quotations from Pirkei Avot, also known as Ethics of the Fathers, is Your associates honor should be dearer to you than your own.

Of the recent rise in antisemitism, Denker said it has always been there, but below the surface.

It has surfaced in recent years because it has become fashionable in some circles, he said and because of the extreme nature of public discourse that we are in the middle of, not just in the United States but worldwide.

Denker was born in New York City, attended public schools in Brooklyn and became a bar mitzvah at Talmud Torah of Flatbush.

He graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from City University of New York, a Master of Hebrew Letters and an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York.

Prior to entering rabbinical training, he was director of community relations for the New York City chapter of the American Jewish Committee and served on the staff of the late U.S. Rep. Stephen J. Solarz.

He started rabbinical school at age 29, attending HUC-JIR, spending his first year in Jerusalem and the rest of his time at the New York City campus.

In his second year, he was invited to dinner at then-cantorial student Alane Simons (now Katzew). Another guest at the table was Lisa Arlyn Lowe, whom Katzew hoped to set up with Denker.

It was a match, and the couple has been married nearly 40 years. Lowe is a lawyer at Meyers, Roman, Friedberg & Lewis in Woodmere.

Denkers first rabbinical post was as assistant, then associate rabbi at Temple Sholom in Chicago. After doing some teaching and part-time work, he served at Congregation Kol Ami in Chicagos Water Tower Place, as its rabbi for 10 years.

It was time for me to look beyond Kol Ami, Denker said of his decision to approach the Central Conference of American Rabbis placement commission.

The Temple Emanu El interim position was suggested, which Denker accepted for one year. He stayed on a second year with permission from the placement commission.

In that second year, I saw that things were coming together to make the physical move, which was necessary in my opinion for the congregation to have a future, said Denker, who sought and received permission to apply for the permanent position at Temple Emanu El. So altogether, its been 18 years.

Denker said there were certain things that attracted him to want to stay.

I saw the enthusiasm of the members and the commitment of the members and the viability of the congregation, he said. And also the opportunity to help a congregation really be reborn, which is pretty much what happened.

In his time in Cleveland, Denker said he has enjoyed taking part in changing the landscape of the Jewish community in Cleveland.

People drive by Brainard and Emory, Denker said. And they think theres been a synagogue there since Moses, which is not quite the case.

Characterizing the congregation, Denker said, Emanu Els got a wonderful group of people for whom a mid-size congregation middle of the road Reform congregation is appropriate.

When they moved to Cleveland, Denker and Lowes older son, David, was about to start college. Alexander was 15 and graduated from Solon High School. David now lives in Jerusalem with his wife, A.J. Bruce, and their daughter, Nava; Alexander lives in Washington, D.C.

In December, Denker and Lowe relocated from Solon to Beachwood in what he called a typical downsizing.

Reflecting, Denker said among his greatest joys has been watching a generation grow up and to be part of peoples lives and have the extreme honor of having people learn Torah with me.

See original here:

Rabbi Denker reflects on 38 years in the rabbinate - Cleveland Jewish News

About Anger, Hate, Revenge, and Capital Punishment

Ive written against the death penalty over and over again, both from the perspective of Jewish Law and from a psychological perspective. I hate to repeat myself, but I must address the subject, now one of Americas most famous rabbis has raised the issue and has written a book on Kosher Hate.

In short: hes almost completely mistaken.

Rabbi Boteach started out very nicely outside of the box. Being Gay was not against the Torahhow could what you ARE be a sin? He did suggest that Gay-Jewish men should marry Jewish women because they will make such nice husbands and fathers, and otherwise, so many Jewish women would numerically be forced to stay single, but hey, no one is perfect.

He stressed that sex is a positive thing in Judaism, and charmed many Gentiles, even on television, with the wisdom of the Sages and the Rabbis about sex and about relationships. He did a lot of good work. Past tense.

His friend Michael Jackson, suspected (and then confirmed) as a serial pedophile, he advised marrying a woman. He never apologized for that.

Lately, hes really on a slippery slope. He started an election campaign as a Republican. He wasnt elected but, in the process, wrote a lot of unwarranted apologetics for right-wing political deceit. He did write that the GOP should rid itself of its anti-sexuality campaigns: anti-abortion, anti-Gay, anti-marriage equality, etc. It would just go downhill from there.

Boteach chose to debate Evangelicals. I warned that he would lose doing so, and so would all Jews. He went anyway. He flattered them and got nowhere. He didnt castigate them, in the stern fashion that Christians got used to over the ages, about Antisemitism in the churches, and their missionary assault and dreams on the Jews, etc. He had to be lovely.

He wrote a book Kosher Jesus. It has a 15-chapter section: Why the Jews Cannot Accept Jesus, instead of: Why Jews Have no Need for Jesus.

It didnt stop there. He then started campaigning against the fake turning the other cheek and loving ones enemy. He was right that that advice was unfit for humans and that the Christian bloodbath through the ages proved that. But, that doesnt mean that hating is holy and anger is redemptive.

Yes, there is a place for anger and hatein therapy. But, funerals of Jewish-Israeli victims of local Antisemitism are so uplifting because people cry, praise the murdered, and praise G^d. While, funerals of (would-be) terrorists are often marred by screams and threats of hatred and revenge. If one needs to die, its so much better to die a victim than a victimizer. Its so easy and primitive to hate, so elevated and elevating to focus on life.

The good rabbi didnt stop there. Today, he wrote he wants the death penalty for terrorists who murdered Jews in Israel, claiming that is Jewish.

Hes so off the derech (Jewish way). First of all, this is assimilation to the worst of the culture surrounding him. One of the ways the US is backward (besides a lack of universal health care) is capital punishment. All of the trial, incarceration (often for decades), and execution procedures are nothing Jewish Law could agree with. Its plain, stupid, hate-filled revenge and cruelty. Trying to prove the value of human life by killing humans.

On a side note, why does he reserve the word innocent for Jews? Are there no innocent Muslims? He sees The conflicting value systems of the two opposing camps. That is so reminiscent of Christian Dualism (not Monotheism): Evil against Good. The Talmud explains: Theres no sinning but in an attack of folly. Had you thought about it some longer, youd not have done it. There are no inherently evil people. If their nature was bad, theyd be innocent. His anger betrays he thinks they do have free will.

This is on top of Christians saying for 2,000 years that they have God and the Testament of love and Jews have the Testament and God of hatred. International press agencies always call Israels deterrence: revenge.

No terrorist who takes that many lives should be permitted to live. Does He still believe in G^d? Why do we say: May G^d revenge their blood?

He is right that Judaism allows for some revenge and feeling of vengeance but only in very limited fashion (compare the avenger of blood). So, we can find Hebrew Bible verses and Rabbinic comments about revenge, but they pale in comparison to G^ds Advice to forgo this. They were highlighted by father and son Kahane, may G^d revenge their blood. But they almost became a caricature when ignoring the multitude of texts preaching peace.

The summary of the Hebrew Bible is: Dont do unto others which you dont want others to do to you. All the Rabbis agree that An eye for an eye means we must financially compensate, not permission to take revenge.

When we must hurt of stop others, doing so angerly makes it a very grave sin (Jacob protecting Dinah against Esav, Shimon and Levi in Shechem, Shimon and Joseph). Not everyone is as calm and holy as Phinehas.Life in jail stands for: unacceptable deeds AND one can always repent.

The Talmud says that a Rabbinic Court that awards the death penalty more than once in 7 years is a bunch of murderers. Some say: once in 70 years! Here, we sometimes have multiple antisemitic murderers per day.

Besides that, research shows that the death penalty doesnt deter. Plus, in this case, its especially meaningless. These Jew-hating Muslims are not afraid to die. What use is to kill or promise to kill them? House demolitions and withdrawing entry permits of close family somewhat seem to work.

And, is he willing to kill them, or is the dirty work for someone else?

His rationalization for his revenge is that mass murderers who rot in jail could become bargaining chips for hostage-takers. Too easy! Does the rabbi have a donor card to facilitate becoming an organ donor after death? He could add another one, that he doesnt want to be exchanged for any murderer and the like if taken captive. I have. Jonathan Pollard did.

He must do some serious soul searching, including asking his best friends how he got into this assimilated mess. And, consult a real therapist.

But possibly the worst thing he wrote today was about others like Eichmann. You got to be kidding. He must ask forgiveness for this false Holocaust comparison. Even Arafat could not stand in the shadow of Eichmann.

But, I cant recall he ever said he was wrong, Im not holding my breath. Sad. Let him prove me wrong. Reb Shlomo always said: You never know.

MM is a prolific and creative writer and thinker, previously a daily blog contributor to the TOI. He often makes his readers laugh, mad, or assume he's nutsclose to perfect blogging. As a frontier thinker, he sees things many don't yet. He's half a prophet. Half. Let's not exaggerate. He doesn't believe that people observe and think in a vacuum. He, therefore, wanted a broad bio that readers interested can track a bit what (lack of) backgrounds, experiences, and educations contribute to his visions. * This year, he will prioritize getting his unpublished books published rather than just blog posts. Next year, he hopes to focus on activism against human extinction. To find less-recent posts on a subject XXX among his over 1500 archived ones, go to the right-top corner of a Times of Israel page, click on the search icon and search "zuiden, XXX". One can find a second, wilder blog, to which one may subscribe, here: https://mmvanzuiden.wordpress.com/ or by clicking on the globe icon next to his picture on top. * Like most of his readers, he believes in being friendly, respectful, and loyal. However, if you think those are his absolute top priorities, you might end up disappointed. His first loyalty is to the truth. He will try to stay within the limits of democratic and Jewish law, but he won't lie to support opinions or people when don't deserve that. (Yet, we all make honest mistakes, which is just fine and does not justify losing support.) He admits that he sometimes exaggerates to make a point, which could have him come across as nasty, while in actuality, he's quite a lovely person to interact with. He holds - how Dutch - that a strong opinion doesn't imply intolerance of other views. * Sometimes he's misunderstood because his wide and diverse field of vision seldomly fits any specialist's box. But that's exactly what some love about him. He has written a lot about Psychology (including Sexuality and Abuse), Medicine (including physical immortality), Science (including basic statistics), Politics (Israel, the US, and the Netherlands, Activism - more than leftwing or rightwing, he hopes to highlight reality), Oppression and Liberation (intersectionally, for young people, the elderly, non-Whites, women, workers, Jews, LGBTQIA+, foreigners and anyone else who's dehumanized or exploited), Integrity, Philosophy, Jews (Judaism, Zionism, Holocaust and Jewish Liberation), the Climate Crisis, Ecology and Veganism, Affairs from the news, or the Torah Portion of the Week, or new insights that suddenly befell him. * Chronologically, his most influential teachers are his parents, Nico (natan) van Zuiden and Betty (beisye) Nieweg, Wim Kan, Mozart, Harvey Jackins, Marshal Rosenberg, Reb Shlomo Carlebach, and, lehavdil bein chayim lechayim, Rabbi Dr. Natan Lopes Cardozo, Rav Zev Leff, and Rav Meir Lubin. 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Read his blog on how he attempts to bridge any tensions between those ideas or fields. * He is a fetal survivor of the pharmaceutical industry (https://diethylstilbestrol.co.uk/studies/des-and-psychological-health/), born in 1953 to his parents who were Dutch-Jewish Holocaust survivors who met in the largest concentration camp in the Netherlands, Westerbork. He grew up a humble listener. It took him decades to become a speaker too, and decades more to admit to being a genius. But his humility was his to keep. And so was his honesty. Bullies and con artists almost instantaneously envy and hate him. He hopes to bring new things and not just preach to the choir. * He holds a BA in medicine (University of Amsterdam) is half a doctor. He practices Re-evaluation Co-counseling since 1977, is not an official teacher anymore, and became a friendly, powerful therapist. He became a social activist, became religious, made Aliyah, and raised three wonderful kids. Previously, for decades, he was known to the Jerusalem Post readers as a frequent letter writer. For a couple of years, he was active in hasbara to the Dutch-speaking public. He wrote an unpublished tome about Jewish Free Will. He's a strict vegan since 2008. He's an Orthodox Jew but not a rabbi. * His writing has been made possible by an allowance for second-generation Holocaust survivors from the Netherlands. It has been his dream since he was 38 to try to make a difference by teaching through writing. He had three times 9-out-of-10 for Dutch at his high school finals but is spending his days communicating in English and Hebrew - how ironic. G-d must have a fine sense of humor. In case you wonder - yes, he is a bit dyslectic. 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No, Rabbi Boteach, the death penalty is barbarian, and hate is idolatry and dumb - The Times of Israel

How to have a better sleep -- and a better life.

Theres a prayer I try to say before I go to sleep at night.

Creator of the World.I hereby forgivewhoever has angered or humiliated me,And whoever has done meany wrong;Whether it wason purpose or by accident,Whether it wasdone by word or by deed,in this incarnationor in previous ones.

Please let no onebe punished on my account.

The idea for the prayer came from the Talmudic sage, Rabbi Nehunya ben HaKana who, when asked the secret of his longevity, replied, Before I go to sleep I make sure to forgive anyone who vexed me.

Why am I drawn to this prayer?

For one, its a great soporific, way better than any sleeping pill. The unconscious has a way of collecting the various slights and aggravations it experienced that day. You know, the co-worker who said goodbye to everyone in the office except you, the creepy dog-owner who in the dead of night brings his Labrador specifically to your lawn to deposit whatever it wants, that sort of thing. By the time Im ready for bed, my mind is fairly churning with grievances, whether I know it or not.

Instead of rehashing what I wouldve, couldve, shouldve said, instead of nursing my grudge, I can give a cosmic shout out: Youre all forgiven!

Instead of rehashing what I wouldve, couldve, shouldve said, instead of nursing my grudge, I can give a cosmic shout out: Youre all forgiven! And with my bucket of slights thus emptied, I go peacefully to sleep.

Wait a minute. Did I really forgive them?

What about that friend who stood you up and never bothered to call to explain what happened? I dont know if I can forgive them all so easily or so fast. But at least Im feeling a bit more open toward these vexers in my life. First, the prayer has introduced the possibility of accidental. As the saying goes, half of what we think is malice could simply be attributed to stupidity. Suddenly I start wondering about the persons backstory, the hard stuff of his or her life, the things I dont know about that mightve made it virtually impossible for the friend to call and apologize.

And even if the Labrador owner has no excuse for his behavior, do I really want to incur divine wrath upon his head? The prayer makes me come into contact with my own primitive need for getting-back, getting even or revenge, and then I can say: Hey, I dont want it.

Then its only a matter of time before I begin to reflect: Who did I insult, ignore, underestimate, misjudge, shove past, or bang into in my rush to do what I considered so important? The Jewish term for this practice is cheshbon hanefesh a taking stock or an accounting of ones soul. Maybe I can improve here, make a tweak there for the next time Im in that situation. This soul accounting makes my day feel purposeful. Im not simply drifting obtusely through a life that happens to be mine, but consciously shaping my world and my self.

Lastly, the prayer lifts me up to a higher reality, of fourth, fifth, sixth, possibly infinite dimensions. Whether in this incarnationgilgulor another Whoa. Did I just read about the transmigration of the soul in a standard non-mystical Jewish prayer book? Whoa! Ive always believed in recycling on a physical plane. Our atoms and cells and bacteria dont die with us, but keep on living in an altered form. So doesnt it make sense that a soul wouldnt evaporate entirely, either, but get reprocessed into someone else?

Imagine if we could look at our neighbors, friends, co-workers, police officers, and all the people who dont think or vote like I do with fresh, grudge-free eyes?

Gilgul, reincarnation the idea of a soul spinning through various bodies over the generations, has a way of putting my peeves or other peoples aggressive behavior into perspective. Why did that guy cut me off like a jerk on the highway? I dont know. Like Sara Rigler wrote in Ive Been Here Before, were all just chapters in a book, and we dont know which chapter came before and which one comes after, which, for me, takes the heat and intensity off any obnoxious encounter.

The best part about that prayer is waking up with a psychic load way lighter.

Try the prayer sometime. Imagine if one night, the entire world, before going to bed, recited the prayerand meant it?

What would our country be like if we could look at our neighbors, friends, co-workers, intimates, police officers, meter maids, and all the people who dont think or vote like I do (the right way), with fresh, grudge-free eyes?

Is it really possible? Can I open my heart just a hairsbreadth to the neighbor who psychotically curses whoever steps on a blade of her manicured lawn?

I have my doubts. But if the Talmudic sage Rabbi Nehunya thought it was within our human range, maybe, just maybe I can.

Excerpt from:

Why Saying This Short Prayer Before Bed Lightens Your Psychic Load - aish.com - Aish

The Democratic Party is hoping to thwart an election rout by running against the expected Supreme Court decision on abortion. This is depressingly all that is left of its political capital.

By Chris Hedges / Original to ScheerPost

The Democratic Party which had 50 years to writeRoe v Wadeinto law with Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama in full control of the White House and Congress at the inception of their presidencies is banking its electoral strategy around the expected Supreme Court decision to lift the judicial prohibition on the ability of states to enact laws restricting or banning abortions.

I doubt it will work.

The Democratic Partys hypocrisy and duplicity is the fertilizer for Christian fascism. Its exclusive focus on the culture wars and identity politics at the expense of economic, political, and social justice fueled a right-wing backlash and stoked the bigotry, racism, and sexism it sought to curtail. Its opting for image over substance, including its repeated failure to secure the right to abortion, left the Democrats distrusted and reviled.

The Biden administration invited Amazon Labor Union president Christian Smalls and union workers from Starbucks and other organizations to the White House at the same time it re-awarded a $10 billion contract to the union-busting Amazon and the National Security Agency (NSA) for cloud computing. The NSA contract is one of 26 federal cloud computing contracts Amazon has with the U.S. Army and Air Force, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of the Interior, and the Census Bureau. Withholding the federal contracts until Amazon permitted free and open union organizing would be a powerful stand on behalf of workers, still waiting for the $15 minimum wage Joe Biden promised as a candidate. But behind the walls of the Democratic Partys Potemkin village stands the billionaire class. Democrats have failed to address the structural injustices that turned America into an oligarchic state, where the obscenely rich squabble like children in a sandbox over multibillion-dollar toys. The longer this game of political theater continues, the worse things will get.

The Christian fascists have coalesced in cult-like fashion around Donald Trump. They are bankrolled by the most retrograde forces of capitalism. The capitalists permit the stupidities of the Christian fascists and their self-destructive social and cultural wars. In exchange, the billionaire class gets corporate monopolies, union busting, privatized state, and municipal services, including public education, revoked government regulations, especially environmental regulation, and can engage in a virtual tax boycott.

The war industry loves the Christian fascists who turn every conflict from Iraq to Ukraine into a holy crusade to crush the latest iteration of Satan. The Christian fascists believe military power, and the manly virtues that come with it, are blessed by God, Jesus, and the Virgin Mary. No military budget is too big. No war waged by America is evil.

These Christian fascists make up perhaps 30 percent of the electorate, roughly equivalent to the percentage of Americans who believe abortion is murder. They are organized, committed to a vision, however perverse, and awash in money. John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Amy Coney Barrett, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, mediocre jurists and Federalist Society ideologues who carry the banner of Christian fascism, control the Supreme Court.

Establishment Republicans and Democrats, like George Armstrong Custer on Last Stand Hill, have circled the wagons around the Democratic Party in a desperate bid to prevent Trump, or a Trump mini-me, from returning to the White House. They, and their allies in Silicon Valley, are using algorithms and overt de-platforming to censor critics from the left and the right, foolishly turning figures like Trump, Alex Jones, and Marjorie Taylor Greene into martyrs. This is not a battle over democracy, but the spoils of power waged by billionaires against billionaires. No one intends to dismantle the corporate state.

The ruling class in both parties told lies about NAFTA, trade deals, reforming welfare, abolishing financial regulations, austerity, the Iraq war, and neoliberalism that did far more damage to the American public than any lie told by Trump. The reptilian slime oozes out of every pore of these politicians, from Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer to Biden, who backed the 1976 Hyde Amendment banning federal funding of abortions and in 1982 voted to support a constitutional amendment that would allow states to overturnRoe v Wade. Their hypocrisy is not lost on the public, even with their armies of consultants, pollsters, courtiers in the press, public relations teams and advertising agencies.

Marjorie Taylor Greene is clueless and unhinged. She claims Hillary Clinton was involved in a child mutilation and a pedophilia ring and several high-profile school shootings were staged. But weaponized, like Trump, she is a political cruise missile aimed straight at the heart of the discredited centers of traditional power.

Hate is the fuel of American politics. No one votes for who they want. They vote against those they hate. Black and brown marginal communities have suffered worse assaults than the white working class, but they have been defanged politically with militarized police that function as internal armies of occupation. The erosion of due process, the worlds largest prison system and the stripping away of all rights, including often voting rights because of felony convictions, as well as a loss of access to most social services and jobs, reduced them to a subsistence level on the lowest rung of Americas caste system. They are also the primary targets of Republican-sponsored voter suppression and redistricting.

The glue holding this Christianized fascism together is not prayer, although we will get a lot of that, but war. War is the raison dtre of all systems of totalitarianism. War justifies a constant search for internal enemies. It is used to revoke basic civil liberties and impose censorship. War demonizes those in the Middle East, Russia, or China, who are blamed for the economic and social debacles that inevitably get worse. War diverts the rage engendered by a dysfunctional state towards immigrants, people of color, feminists, liberals, artists, anyone who does not identify as a heterosexual, the press, antifa, Jews, Muslims, Russians, or Asians. Take your pick. It is a bigots smorgasbord. Every item on the menu is fair game.

I spent two years with the Christian right reporting and researching my bookAmerican Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America.These Christian fascists have never hidden their agenda or their desire to create a Christian nation, any more than Adolf Hitler hid his demented vision for Germany in Mein Kampf. They prey, like all fascists, on the despair of their followers. They paint gruesome portraits of the end times when the longed-for obliteration of non-believers presages the glorious return of Jesus Christ. The battle at Armageddon, they believe, will be launched from the Antichrists worldwide headquarters in Babylon once the Jews again have control of Israel. The closer we get to Armageddon, the giddier they become.

These people believe this stuff, as they believe in QAnon or the election fraud that supposedly put Biden in office. They are convinced that a demonic, secular-humanist ideology propagated by the media, the United Nations, elite universities, the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the NationalOrganization for Women, Planned Parenthood, the Trilateral Commission along with the US State Department and major foundations are seeking to destroy them.

Violence is embraced as a cleansing agent, a key component of any fascist movement. The Christian fascists do not fear nuclear war. They welcome it. The insane provocations of Russia by the Biden administration, including the decision to provide $33 billion in assistance to Ukraine, target ten Russian generals for assassination and pass on to Ukraine the intelligence to sink the Moskva, the guided missile cruiser that was the flagship of the Russian Black Sea fleet, supercharges the ideology of the Christian right. The marriage of the war industry, determined to make war forever, with the Christian fascists yearning for the apocalypse is terrifying. Biden is sleepwalking us into a war with Russia and perhaps China. The Christian fascists will accelerate the bloodlust.

The political deformities we have spawned are not unique. They are the product of a society and government that no longer functions on behalf of the citizenry, one that has been seized by a tiny cabal, in our case corporate, to serve its exclusive interests. The airy promises politicians make, including the announcement by candidate Barack Obama that the first thing he would do in office was sign the Freedom of Choice Act, which during his eight years as president he never got around to doing, are worthless. The scheduled vote next week in the Senate on a bill asserting that abortions are legal in the United States, which is expected to be blocked by the Republicans use of the filibuster, a Senate procedural rule that requires 60 votes to advance most legislation in the 100-member chamber, is another empty gesture.

We saw the consequences of this dysfunction in Weimar Germany and Yugoslavia, a conflict I covered forThe New York Times. Political stagnation and economic misery breeds rage, despair, and cynicism. It gives rise to demagogues, charlatans, and con artists. Hatred drives political discourse. Violence is the primary form of communication. Vengeance is the highest good. War is the chief occupation of the state. It is the vulnerable and weak who pay.

NOTE TO SCHEERPOST READERS :There is now no way left for me to continue to write a weekly column for ScheerPost and produce my weekly television show without your help.The walls are closing in, with startling rapidity, on independent journalism, with the elites, including the Democratic Party elites, clamoring for more and more censorship. Bob Scheer, who runs ScheerPost on a shoestring budget, and I will not waver in our commitment to independent and honest journalism, and we will never put ScheerPost behind a paywall, charge a subscription for it, sell your data or accept advertising. Please, if you can, sign up atchrishedges.substack.comso I can continue to post my now weekly Monday column on ScheerPost and produce my weekly television show, The Chris Hedges Report.

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Hedges: Jesus, Endless War, and the Rise of American Fascism - Scheerpost.com

The Raam party has decided to give another chance to the coalition and the government, party chairman Mansour Abbas announced Wednesday afternoon, following another discussion of the Islamist Shura council. Today we are returning to a political partnership for the benefit of Arab society, he explained. We have stabilized the political system and exercised our citizenship. We decided to freeze our membership following the events on the Temple Mount, and we have now decided to give another chance and return to the coalition agreements.

In an angry aside, Abbas noted: Netanyahu is back to inciting against us. Its the same Netanyahu with whom we had relations in the previous government and coalition negotiations which are documented on my phone well probably have to get it out.

For a while now, Abbas and the Bennett coalition have been claiming that the Raam chairman was then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus guest four different times in his official residence on Balfour Street in Jerusalem when the PM was courting him in hope of adding the four-MK Islamist party to his coalition government. Likud members have been denying the claim, calling Abbas a liar.

On May 10, 2021, Ynets Moran Azulai reported: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Raam Chairman Mansour Abbas met last Saturday in Balfour at Netanyahus request. Despite the statements of Likud members in recent days that there were no contacts between the Likud and Raam, the prime minister asked Abbas to not join the Bennett-led government. The Likud refused to comment.

MK Itamar Ben Gvir cut into the Raam chairmans statement and slammed Abbas: You are the greatest danger. Abbas replied, You are a convicted terrorist. Then Raam MK Mazen Ghanaim screamed at Ben Gvir: You killed Rabin.

He didnt.

Following the Abbas announcement, the opposition withdrew its proposed bill to dissolve the Knesset and will likely try again in the near future.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett refused to answer a question about what had been promised to Raam in exchange for returning to the coalition, and said: We are a government of doing and of goodwill and moving away from the things that do not contribute.

As we reported earlier (Islamist Party Delays Decision on Staying in Coalition Citing Jazeera Reporters Death), Raam presented Bennett with a five-item ultimatum to come back to the fold:

1. Preservation of the status quo in the Al-Aqsa Mosque (they mean the entire Temple Mount DI) and prevention of the establishment of Jewish Talmudic prayers and rituals in the mosques courtyards. Thats davening to you and me.2. An agreement signed by all the leaders of the coalition for the implementation of the economic five-year plan and the transfer of its budgets within a year.3. Implementation of government decisions in the Negev and recognition of illegal villages within six months.4. A written commitment by the Prime Minister to soften Interior Minister Ayelet Shakeds rigid stance on burning issues in Arab society, especially planning and construction (yes, they really did demand this).5. Increasing the collection of unlicensed weapons in Arab society and expanding the program to combat violence and crime.

Well keep you posted as to which of the above demands will be met soon. The most likely are items 2 and 3.

Read more:

Abbas Saves Bennett's Hide: We'll Give the Coalition Another Chance - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com