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September 30 Les tribunaux rabbiniques et le guet en IsraelEn droit israelien, toutes les questions concernant le statut des personnes (Mariages, Divorces, filliations…) sont regies par le droit hebraique uniquement. Le guet, en droit hebraique, constitue l'acte par lequel la femme recoit une declaration ecrite et librement consentie de la part de son mari, devant les juges rabbiniques, faisant etat de la volonte du mari de mettre fin aux liens du mariage. Contrairement a la plupart des Etats, dans le systeme juridique israelien, le divorce n'est pas prononce par un jugement mais par le don du guet, et ce, etant donne qu'en Israel le statut des personnes est regit entierement par le droit thoraique. Il faut preciser que le guet, est generalement precede d'un " jugement de divorce " reglant tous les aspect du divorce a savoir : l'acceptation reciproque concernant le guet , la garde des enfants, les droits de visites du parent que n'a pas la garde, le partage des biens entre les epoux etc…).la nature du tribunal saisit en premier). Soulignons par ailleurs, qu'il existent en pratique des cas - rares - ou le Bet Hadin Harabani, fixe la ceremonie du don du guet avant meme qu'un jugement de divorce n'ait ete prononce par la juridiction competente. C'est le cas lorsque les dayanim (juges rabbiniques) prennent en compte le risque que la femme reste " agouna " (c'est a dire dans l'impossibilite de se remarier) en raison du refus probable du mari de consentir a donner le guet le jour venu ; c'est pourquoi les dayanim, decident dans ce cas, de " battre le fer tant qu'il est chaud " avant que le mari se retracte. Generalement les dayanim ne peuvent forcer le mari a donner le guet, sinon cela constitue une violation de la loi juive (c'est ce que la loi juive nomme " guet meousse " qui signifie guet force) , sans parler du droit qu'aura le mari de faire appel devant le Grand Tribunal Rabbinique (Bet Hadin Hagadol en cas de guet meousse. Cependant il faut preciser, qu'en tout etat de cause le Bet Hadin Harabani peut decider de fixer une audience de preuve et ce, dans les cas les plus delicats, notamment lorsque l'une des parties - mari ou femme- refuse de donner ou de recevoir le guet sans justification hilkhatique (c'est a dire sans fondement sur la loi juive). L'audience de preuve necessitera l'examen approfondi de pieces a convictions ainsi que des interrogatoires de temoins. Soulignons que le jugement (concernant le guet) qui sera prononce a l'issue de l'audience de preuve ne fera l'objet d'appel que dans des cas exceptionnels ou le jugement fera etat d'une violation evidente de la loi juive ou des droits fondamentaux ou encore des principes poses par la Haute Cour de Justice (Bet Hadin Hagavoa Letsedek - plus communement connu sous le nom de BAGATS) dans des cas similaires. Le jugement du bet hadin harabani pourra se prononcer dans plusieurs directions : Il decidera s'il y a lieu d'obliger le mari a donner le guet a sa femme, ou bien d'obliger la femme a recevoir le guet de son mari, ou bien encore d'obliger la femme ou le mari a retourner vivre avec son conjoint (chalom bait). Il faut preciser que dans le cas - et uniquement dans ce cas - ou un jugement concernant le guet aura ete donne par le bet hadin harabani a la suite d'une audience de preuve, soit encore a la suite d'un accord signe par les deux parties, et ayant ete homologue par la juridiction competente (c'est-a-dire que l'accord a recu l'autorite de la chose jugee) si l'une des partie se refuse a l'executer elle sera exposee a des sanctions. Ces sanctions, qui seront prises sur la fondement de la Loi Israelienne, communement appelee la Loi sur les Sanctions, seront generalement de nature economique (saisie-arret sur compte bancaire, empechement a recevoir tout credit bancaire, confiscation d'un bien determine, d'un permis, d'une licence d'exercice d'une profession …) mais aussi de nature a limiter les libertes du conjoint recalcitrant (interdiction de sortie du territoire voir incarceration dans les cas les plus graves) . Soulignons que le guet ne sera prononce que si une base legale (Ilat guerouchin) est invoquee et etablie par la partie demanderesse. C'est le cas notamment lorsque la femme invoque l'absence de relation sexuelle de la part de son mari, soit pour des raisons medicales (impuissance) soit pour des raisons psychologiques, soit encore lorsque le mari entretient une relation extra-conjugale. Le mari quant a lui, pourra invoquer la ilat guerouchin, en etablissant le fait que sa femme soit "revoltee" (moredet) ou bien encore en arguant qu'elle n'applique pas la Halakha (par exemple le bain rituel une fois par mois) ou bien encore en etablissant que sa femme ait eu un comportement vulgaire vis-?-vis de son entourage, (maasse kiour), comportement lassant a supposer qu'elle aurait trompe son mari et ce, meme en l'absence de preuve parfaite ( c'est a dire deux temoins) concernant l'adultere. La ceremonie du guet comporte une partie importante selon la Halakha qui consiste ? identifier les deux conjoints. C'est l' " enquete des noms " (hakirat chemot). A l'issue de cet interrogatoire un scribe (sopher) ecrira la formulation du guet sur un parchemin et au moyen d'une encre speciale. Le guet sera signe par les deux temoins (un temoin pour chaque partie). Le mari s'adressant a sa femme lui tendra le guet en pronon?ant la formule consacree (" ceci est ton guet recoit le, et te voici revoquee sur sa base, et permise a tout homme ") Selon le droit juif, la femme ne pourra se remarier qu'apres une periode de trois mois au moins apres le don du guet et ne pourra epouser un " Cohen ". Par ailleurs dans le cas ou il s'avere que les epoux ont repris la vie commune, apres le guet, il y aura une presomption suivant laquelle ils ont renonce au divorce religieux (bien que sur le plan civil ils seront toujours consideres comme divorce !) et il faudra le jour ou ils decident de se separer proceder a nouveau a la ceremonie du guet (guet lakhoumra) Notons enfin que, dans des cas extremes, si la femme a ete declaree moredet a la suite d'un adultere etabli par le mari et deux temoins, elle ne pourra pas se remarier avec son amant et ni retourner avec son mari. @ Copyrigth Me Alexandre BENEZRA September 29 The unique story of Finland's JewsScandinavian country's Jewish community includes some 1,500 members nowadays. Their ancestors lived under Russian Tsar, gained independence at start of 20th century, and even fought in World War II. New exhibition provides a rare peek into life of small Jewish community with unique story
Tamir Cohen Snow, cold temperatures, the Winter Olympics and Jari Litmanen are probably what most Israelis think about when they hear the word "Finland". Not many know that the Scandinavian country has a Jewish community with a history dating back almost 200 years. An exhibition surveying the story of Finland's Jews opened recently at the Nahum Goldmann Museum of the Jewish Diaspora in Tel Aviv. The time span covered starts in the 1830s and continues until the 1970s. Visitors will enjoy a rare peek into a small Jewish community with a unique story. Finnish delegation to 1961 Maccabiah Games (photos courtesy of National Archives of Finland) The exhibition, titled "A Prayer Tent in a Snowy Forest - the Story of the Jews of Finland", presents documents, photos from private albums, objects and letters, which together seek to depict the life of the community that includes some 1,500 people these days.
Soldiers near synagogue tent in Finland The exhibition was produced by the National Archives of Finland in 2006, when Helsinki's synagogue celebrated its 100th anniversary. Now, three years later, the exhibition is making aliyah thanks to a co-production between the National Archives of Finland in Helsinki and Beth Hatefutsoth, the Nahum Goldmann Museum of the Jewish Diaspora in Tel Aviv. Jewish children in Finland, 1910 The exhibition is divided into four parts, each aspiring to tell a different story about Finland's Jews: The first part, "Serving the Tsar", pertains to the period Finland was under Russian rule; the second part, "We Jews of Finland" tells about the period when Finland gained independence in 1917; the third part, "At War", relates to events during World War II; and the fourth part, "With Israel", reflects the contacts and cultural exchange between Finland and Israel. Geula Goldberg, the exhibition's curator and manager of Beth Hatefutsoth's permanent exhibit, told Ynet that although the Jewish community in Finland is small and only 700 of its members have immigrated to Israel since the State's establishment, the exhibition is a very important one. She stressed that Beth Hatefutsoth's mission is to raise the awareness to the Jews of the Diaspora, regardless of its size.
Israel's most beautiful synagoguesTzofia Hirschfeld The most beautiful synagogues in Israel. Tens of thousands of readers who enjoyed the project suggested other impressive temples.
1) Beit Tanchum Synagogue 4 Hakalaniyot Street, Tirat Hacarmel
Synagogue for Caucasian immigrants (Photo: Avishag Shear-Yeshuv) Version: Sephardic-Jerusalemite. Cantor: Rabbi Yehuda Yaakobov. Number of seats in the synagogue: 220. Women's gallery: Located on the second floor. Cost of chair: None. Accessible to disabled people: No. 2) Gvurat Mordechai Synagogue32 Herzog Street, Givatayim
Religious community service and synagogue (Photo: Yaron Brener) Version: Sephardic. Cantor: Local. Number of seats in the synagogue: 500. Women's gallery: Located on the top floor and bottom floor. Cost of chair: NIS 750 (about $199) for two. Accessible to disabled people: Yes. 3) Abuhav SynagogueAbuhav Alley, Safed
Synagogue names after Rabbi Yitzhak Abuhav (Photo: Avihu Shapira) Version: Sephardic. Cantor: From the community. Number of seats in the synagogue: 100. Women's gallery: Upstairs. Cost of chair: None. Accessible to disabled people: No. 4) Shaar Harahamim SynagogueEphraim Luzon Street (Nahal Ashan neighborhood), Beersheba
Beersheba's religious community center (Photo: Herzel Yosef) Version: Sephardic-Jerusalemite. Number of seats in the synagogue: 600. Women's gallery: Upstairs. Cost of chair: None. Accessible to disabled people: Volunteers take the handicapped people up. 5) Belz House of Study11 Dover Shalom Street, Jerusalem
Belz Hasidic dynasty's school of thought (Photo: Gil Yohanan) Version: Ashkenazi. Cantor: The Hasidic leader leads the "Kol Nidrei", "Mussaf" and closing prayers. Rabbi David Meir Weiss leads the morning prayer. Number of seats in the synagogue: About 6,000. Women's gallery: Located on three galleries – one on each side: North, south and west. Cost of chair: NIS 400 (about $106). Accessible to disabled people: Yes, there's an entrance from the north side with a special ramp for handicapped people which leads all the way to the synagogue. 6) Or Torah Synagogue13 Kaplan Street, Akko
Tunisian synagogue (Photo: Avishag Shear-Yeshuv) Version: Sephardic. Cantor: From the community. Number of seats in the synagogue: 300. Women's gallery: Upstairs. Cost of chair: None. Accessible to disabled people: No. 7) Algarbia SynagogueGolomb Street, Ofakim
Synagogue of community which immigrated from Djerba, Tunisia (Photo: Herzel Yosef) Version: Mizrachi. Cantor: From the community. Number of seats in the synagogue: 400. Women's gallery: Downstairs, in the back. Cost of chair: None. Accessible to disabled people: Yes. 8) Kiryat Shmuel's Central Synagogue11 Torah Veavoda Street, Kiryat Shmuel
Kiryat Shmuel's synagogue (Photo: Avishag Shear-Yeshuv) Version: Sephardic. Cantor: From the community. Number of seats in the synagogue: More than 600. Women's gallery: Upstairs, surrounding the synagogue, and downstairs for women who have trouble walking up. Cost of chair: Annual members fee of NIS 450 (no additional cost on the holiday). Accessible to disabled people: Yes. 9) Moshav Nevatim's SynagogueIn the center of the community
Cochin culture and heritage center (Photo: Herzel Yosef) Version: Sephardic (Livorno). Cantor: Eliyahu Meir. Number of seats in the synagogue: 350. Women's gallery: Upstairs. Cost of chair: Free. Accessible to disabled people: None. 10) Ohel Moed Synagogue5 Shadal Street, Tel Aviv
Great Sephardic synagogue (Photo: Yaron Brener) Version: Sephardic-Jerusalemite. Cantor: Rabbi Daniel Nachum. Number of seats in the synagogue: 350. Women's gallery: Some on the side, some upstairs. Cost of chair: None. Accessible to disabled people: None. Yoav Friedman contributed to this storyUS court okays 'Jews only' inheritanceExcellent ;-))
Proud of his religion and worried about its future, Chicago dentist Max Feinberg wrote a will with an unusual catch: His grandchildren wouldn't inherit a penny if they married someone who wasn't Jewish. His decision led to family feuds, lawsuits, countersuits and, on Thursday, an unanimous ruling by the Illinois Supreme Court that Feinberg and his wife were within their rights to disinherit any grandchildren who married outside the faith. "Equal protection does not require that all children be treated equally ... and the free exercise clause does not require a grandparent to treat grandchildren who reject his religious beliefs and customs in the same manner as he treats those who conform to his traditions," Justice Rita Garman wrote in a ruling that overturned decisions by two lower courts. One disinherited granddaughter had argued it was improper for a will to set up conditions that promote religious intolerance in people's marriage decisions or even encouraged couples to divorce. "It is at war with society's interest in eliminating bigotry and prejudice, and conflicts with modern moral standards of religious tolerance," said Michele Feinberg Trull's brief to the state Supreme Court. The court's ruling was based partly on technicalities in the way this estate was arranged. The court did not provide a broad ruling on whether similar religious restrictions would be valid under other circumstances. Heritage and faithThe dispute has its roots in 1986, when Feinberg died. He put his money into trusts for his family, but his will declared that any grandchild marrying someone who wasn't Jewish "shall be deemed to be deceased" and would inherit nothing. Feinberg's will gave control of the trust to his wife, Erla. When she died and the grandchildren were to inherit $250,000 each, she followed her husband's wishes and imposed the same restrictions. By that time, four of the five grandchildren had married non-Jews. That triggered a series of disputes over the estate. Trull sued her own parents, accusing them of mishandling the money. The parents tried to get the lawsuit dismissed on the grounds that the daughter was "dead" for purposes of inheritance and had no standing to sue. So the courts had to decide whether it's acceptable for a will to base inheritance on someone's marriage and religion. Feinberg's son, Michael, argues there's nothing wrong with it. Michael, who stands to inherit more money if his children are cut out, argued in court documents that the will simply rewards the grandchildren who help preserve the "heritage and faith" his father loved. His position won the support of several Jewish organizations – Agudath Israel, the National Council of Young Israel and the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America. "A descendant who marries out of the faith has repudiated observant Judaism, endangering the survival of the Jewish people ... and has forfeited any moral claim to financial support from his or her Jewish ancestor," the groups said in a "friend of the court" brief. Michael Feinberg, who is the co-executor of his parent's estate, was pleased by the ruling but had no other comment, his attorney said. Trull's attorney said she was disappointed but looking forward to court action on her other legal claims. The two sides of the family can't even agree on what to call the part of the will causing all the trouble. The granddaughter calls it "the Jewish clause." Her parents have adopted the phrase "religious preference clause." The state Supreme Court avoided that dispute and called it a "beneficiary restriction clause." September 27 Archeologists find 'Joseph-era' coins in Egypt !Archeologists have discovered ancient Egyptian coins bearing the name and image of the biblical Joseph, Cairo's Al Ahram newspaper recently reported. Excerpts provided by MEMRI show that the coins were discovered among a multitude of unsorted artifacts stored at the Museum of Egypt. According to the report, the significance of the find is that archeologists have found scientific evidence countering the claim held by some historians that coins were not used for trade in ancient Egypt, and that this was done through barter instead. The period in which Joseph was regarded to have lived in Egypt matches the minting of the coins in the cache, researchers said. "A thorough examination revealed that the coins bore the year in which they were minted and their value, or effigies of the pharaohs [who ruled] at the time of their minting. Some of the coins are from the time when Joseph lived in Egypt, and bear his name and portrait," said the report. The discovery of the cache prompted research team head Dr. Sa'id Muhammad Thabet to seek Koranic verses that speak of coins used in ancient Egypt. "Studies by Dr. Thabet's team have revealed that what most archeologists took for a kind of charm, and others took for an ornament or adornment, is actually a coin. Several [facts led them to this conclusion]: first, [the fact that] many such coins have been found at various [archeological sites], and also [the fact that] they are round or oval in shape, and have two faces: one with an inscription, called the inscribed face, and one with an image, called the engraved face - just like the coins we use today," the report added. Yom Tefila: des centaines d'enfants lisent les TehilimLe 23 Septembre 2009 : le Rav Don Segal Shlita de Manchester dirige des dizaines de milliers d'enfants dans le monde entier (via satellite) dans la récitation de Tehilim (psaumes de David). Dans le même temps, dans des fuseaux horaires différents - certains en début d'après midi, d'autres dans les petites heures du matin - des milliers et des milliers d'âmes innocentes font entendre leur voix claire à D.ieu, Hachem. Le "Yom Tefila" (jour spécial de prière) conclu avec "Avinou Malkeinou", et entre autre le et "Chema Israel", suppliant le trône celeste de miséricorde à tout le peuple d'Israel. September 25 Découverte d'un mikveh de l'époque du second templeUn mikveh (bain rituel) vieux de 2 000 ans a été découvert à quelque 20 mètres du Mur occidental. Se trouvant au pied du Temple, ce mikveh a certainement servi à un nombre immense de pèlerins juifs, lesquels avaient soin de s’immerger dans un bain rituel avant de pénétrer dans le lieu le plus saint du judaïsme. Le mikveh est donc l’un des plus grands jamais découverts à Jérusalem. Le bain rituel a été découvert dans les Tunnels du Kotel, où ont régulièrement lieu des excavations de l’Autorité israélienne des antiquités, avec le soutien de la Fondation de l’héritage du Mur occidental. Le mikveh se trouve à 30 mètres après l’entrée des tunnels, dans la direction du Mur occidental. Onze marches mènent au mikveh à quelque huit mètres sous le niveau du sol. Josèphe Flavius, le célèbre historien de l’époque, a écrit que le centre administratif et gouvernemental de Jérusalem se trouvait aux pieds du Temple. Parmi les locaux de l’administration, Josèphe Flavius site le Conseil national et la Chambre de la pierre de taille (Lishkat HaGazit) où siégeait le Sanhédrin (la Cour suprême d’Israël). Les archéologues ont le sentiment que la luxueuse pièce où se trouve le mikveh était l’une de ces structures. L’archéologue Alexander Ohn, directeur des fouilles sur le site, explique : « Il est intéressant de noter qu’au milieu du 1er siècle des modifications ont été apportées à cette grande structure. Elle ne servait plus à des usages administratifs et un mikveh y fut installé. Il apparaît que Jérusalem grandissait à cette époque et qu’il fallait offrir une solution aux nombreux pèlerins qui arrivaient en masse à Jérusalem, plus particulièrement au cours des trois fêtes de pèlerinage (Pessah, Chavouot et Soukkot). L’immersion dans un bain rituel et les lois de pureté faisaient partie intégrante de la vie juive à cette époque d’où l’importance d’un mikveh situé à un tel endroit. » Plusieurs parties du mikveh avaient déjà été découvertes par le passé, mais une des trois pièces vient seulement d’êtres dévoilée. La structure a été construite dans une pierre de taille lisse d’une façon particulièrement élaborée, avec des décorations et une architecture de grande qualité. L’importance de ce mikveh peut être déduite du fait qu’il est similaire aux autres structures luxueuses construites par le roi Hérode, tel le Mont du Temple, le Tombeau des Patriarches et un mikveh de Elonei Mamreh. Discours de Benjamin NETANYAHU à l'ONU- A ECOUTER ABSOLUMENTUN TRES BEAU DISCOURS, COURAGEUX ET QUI FERA DATE.
LA VIDEO (EN ANGLAIS) DU DISCOURS DE BENJAMIN NETANYAHU A LA TRIBUNE DE L'ONU EN REPONSE AUX INSULTES ANTISEMITES DU DICATEUR IRANIEN ET AU POSITIONNEMENT TROP SOUVENT AMBIGUE DE L'ONU FACE A ISRAEL.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wyWDvjftlk Benjamin Netanyahu a vilipendé les négationnistes de la Shoah en brandissant à la tribune de l'assemblée générale des Nations unies des documents nazis sur la planification de l'Holocauste des juifs pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale. 
Benjamin Netanyahu a vilipendé les négationnistes de la Shoah en brandissant à la tribune de l'assemblée générale des Nations unies des documents nazis sur la planification de l'Holocauste des juifs pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale. La veille, à cette même tribune, le président iranien Mahmoud Ahmadinejad avait nié l'existence de la Shoah. (Reuters/Ray Stubblebine) Faisant allusion au président iranien Mahmoud Ahmadinejad qui, la veille, avait nié l'existence de la Shoah, le Premier ministre israélien a déclaré: "Hier, l'homme qui a qualifié l'Holocauste de mensonge s'est exprimé à cette même tribune. "A ceux qui ont refuse de venir l'entendre et à ceux qui ont quitté la salle en signe de protestation, j'adresse mes félicitations. A ceux qui étaient ici pour l'écouter, je dis au nom de mon peuple, le peuple juif, et au nom de tous les gens de bonne volonté de la planète: n'avez-vous pas honte ? n'avez-vous aucune décence ?" L'orateur tenait à la main deux documents : un exemplaire des minutes de la conférence de Wannsee de janvier 1942 au cours de laquelle l'état-major nazi planifia la "solution finale" qui conduisit six millions de juifs à la mort, ainsi qu'une copie des plans des camps de concentration et d'extermination d'Auschwitz-Birkenau. "Ces documents sont signés de la main du bras droit d'Hitler, Henrich Himmler. Ces plans d'Auschwitz-Birkenau où un million de juifs furent assassinés (...), sont-ils aussi un mensonge ?", a interrogé l'orateur. "Et que dire des rescapés dont les bras portent toujours les numéros de tatouage que leur ont imposés les nazis ? Est-ce que ce sont aussi des mensonges ?" Le chef du gouvernement israélien a qualifié le discours du chef de l'Etat iranien d'"attaque systématique contre la vérité" et l'a accusé de "vomir (...) des propos antisémites". Benjamin Netanyahu a ajouté: "Peut-être certains d'entre vous pensent-ils que cet homme et son régime douteux ne sont une menace que pour les juifs. Eh bien, si tel est votre point de vue, vous faîtes totalement fausse route. L'Histoire a montré à l'envi que ce qui commence par des attaques contre des juifs. September 24 Yizkor au cimetière de Bagneux, dimanche 27 septembre à 11 heures 30
Le Canard lance un raid sur Israël !
September 23 La Shoah expliquée au ministère de la Défense
Circumcision and its criticsN'importe quoi... Brit ceremony lies at heart of Jewish religious and cultural identity. If moving away from it becomes widespread, it will have an impact in further fragmenting Jewish identity, especially between Israel and Diaspora
Dan Rickman The secularization of society and the popularity of “new atheists” such as Richard Dawkins, has increased the ongoing controversy over circumcision. This has given confidence to campaigners who see this as a purely medical procedure which should not be imposed without informed consent, leading to proposals to ban circumcision before the age of 15 in Denmark and a range of other challenges to this ancient rite.
There are organizations in Israel, the UK and the US campaigning against circumcision. From a rabbinic perspective, circumcision is central to Jewish identity. The roots of this practice lie in the tribal identity of the Children of Israel. The arguments regarding health are irrelevant and unhelpful – if this is indeed the healthiest option, why did God not legislate this for all men and not just Jews?
The religious imperative for Jewish parents is unequivocal. One of the most enigmatic stories of the Bible tells of Zipporah saving Moses’s life as God sought to kill him for neglecting to circumcise their son (Exodus 4:24-26), even though he was on his way to rescue the Children of Israel from slavery.
The Biblical command for circumcision had its scope extended by the rabbis to address the unacceptable practice of epispasm, or de-circumcision, motivated by the wish to assimilate into Greco-Roman society or possibly convert to Christianity. While the Biblical requirement is to remove the foreskin (orlah) only (Genesis 17:11), the rabbis introduced complete uncovering (peri’ah) of the corona. The urge to de-circumcise lives on, the US anti-circumcision movement includes an organization to “restore” men.
Circumcision can without doubt be a bloody ceremony. This graphic 16th century description from Montaigne’s Travel Journal will be familiar to anyone who has attended a modern day Jewish circumcision. Deciding to circumcise one’s son is a difficult decision for most Jewish parents, and the angst was well expressed in Auslander’s Foreskin’s Lament which is as much angry as it is funny. The parents’ dilemma has been a defining moment – this is when you decide if the next generation are in or out of the tribe and are the same as, or different from, the father.
Critics given plenty of ammunitionOne has to ask why this rite is more controversial than the many other irrevocable choices that a parent makes for their children, such as what stories they read or if they have a television? Anti-circumcision groups focus on the physical to the exclusion of the psychological. That the impact of other parental choices is not physical does not make them less profound, therapy being the only option to “undo” them.
Apart from the act itself, there are controversial rites around circumcision, such as "metzitza bepeh". The case of "metzitza bepeh" (sucking the wound with the mouth, graphically described by Montaigne’s Travel Journal mentioned above) is a classic example where modern and Talmudic medicine clash. Rav Pappa is cited in the Babylonian Talmud as saying “If a surgeon does not suck (the wound), it is dangerous and he is dismissed”.
Based on modern medical advice and recent halachic rulings, the practice is now widespread either to use a pipette, to protect both the "mohel" (circumciser) and the baby, or not to do it at all. Some rabbis still do not accept this, perhaps in part because the Reform movement has already banned this. This is one aspect of the dangers that a “fundamentalist” approach to Judaism can engender.
Arguments of this nature give the critics plenty of ammunition and help discourage people from performing this custom. In addition, secular Israelis are evidently losing interest in this rite, I’d suggest as much due to broader secular-religious tensions as anything else.
Nevertheless, circumcision lies at the heart of Jewish religious and cultural identity. To move away from this is of course every family’s choice and we have to learn to respect those whose choices are not our own, even when we feel they are deeply mistaken. However if such choices become widespread, it would have an impact in further fragmenting Jewish identity, especially between Israel and the Diaspora. Virginia synagogue serves as mosque during Ramadan'You really only get to know someone when you invite them into your home,' says Rabbi Robert Nosanchuk who leads reform congregation renting out temple to Muslims for prayer during holy month of Ramadan. Muslim worshipper says, 'Next time I see a Jewish person I will not look at them the same'
Associated Press On Friday afternoons, the people coming to pray at this building take off their shoes, unfurl rugs to kneel on and pray in Arabic. The ones that come Friday evenings put on yarmulkes, light candles and pray in Hebrew. The building is a synagogue on a tree-lined street in suburban Virginia, but for the past few weeks - - during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan - it has also been doubling daily as a mosque. Synagogue members suggested their building after hearing the Muslim congregation was looking to rent a place for overflow crowds. "People look to the Jewish-Muslim relationship as conflict," said All Dulles Area Muslim Society Imam Mohamed Magid, saying it's usually disputes between the two groups in the Middle East that make news. "Here is a story that shatters the stereotype." Magid, who grew up in Sudan, said he did not meet someone who was Jewish until after he had moved to the US in his 20s, and he never imagined having such a close relationship with a rabbi. But he said the relationship with the Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation has affected him and his members. Beyond being tolerant, the synagogue and its members have been welcoming. He said one member of the mosque told him, "Next time I see a Jewish person I will not look at them the same." Rabbi Robert Nosanchuk, who leads the Reform congregation of about 500 families, said the relationship works both ways. Praying in Virginia temple/mosque (Photo: AP) "You really only get to know someone when you invite them into your home ... you learn to recognize their faces. You learn the names of their children," Nosanchuk said. The actual prayers are held in the building's social hall, which is used by the synagogue for a range of activities from educational programs to dance classes and receptions. Both the synagogue and the mosque have a history of sharing space with other religious groups. People coming to Friday night services at the synagogue sometimes park in an adjoining church's parking lot; on Sundays, sometimes churchgoers park behind the synagogue. And the mosque has rented space from others since it was founded in 1983. Members have prayed in a recreation center, a high school, an office building and, for a long time, a church. As the mosque has grown, however, it has needed more space. In 2002 the community opened its own building in Sterling, Virginia. It holds 900 people for prayers, but the community has satellite locations to accommodate more people: a hotel, a banquet hall and even a second synagogue, Beth Chaverim Reform congregation, in Ashburn, Virginia. The community began renting space at the two synagogues in 2008. They began holding daily prayers at the Ashburn synagogue and prayers on Friday afternoons, the week's main prayer service, at the Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation. This is the first year, however, they have rented space at the synagogue for the daily prayers for Ramadan, which began at the end of August. More than 100 people come to the daily services, which are held from 9 pm to 10:45 pm except for Friday, when the services are in the afternoon. The society pays the synagogue $300 a day. Becoming comfortableThe partnership isn't entirely new. The two communities have held occasional events together going back a decade: dialogues and community service. Still, some members of both communities were unsure of how things would work at first. "When they rented the place, I was surprised, but then after that when I came here and saw how nicely everything is set up and how well done it is ... I am very happy with it," said mosque member Ambreen Ahmed. Now, mosque members sometimes greet the rabbi with the Hebrew greeting "Shalom"; he'll answer back with the Arabic equivalent, "Salaam." Nosanchuk spoke at Friday afternoon prayers recently. The imam spoke at Friday evening Shabbat services. Both groups say the relationship won't be over when Ramadan ends in North America over the weekend. The rabbi and imam are talking about possibly even making a joint trip to the Middle East, and Friday prayers will still be held at the synagogue. Magid says some mosque members, in fact, have permanently moved from the mosque to the synagogue. "Where have you been?" he asked one man who used to pray regularly at the mosque. "You saw me in the synagogue," the man replied. "All the time?" the imam asked. "It's cozy, it's nice. Your parking lot is overcrowded ... and I like to be there," the man said. The imam joked maybe the man should stay for the Sabbath service. Said the imam: "That shows you how comfortable they have become." Happy New YearHappy New Year 18/9/09 Glikeria Praise Jerusalem שנה טובה
Despite financial troubles, Breslau Hasids still flocking to UmanYair Ben-Walid managed to keep up his good spirits, considering the situation ahead of him. It was 4:30 in the afternoon and the schedule board in the departure hall left no room for doubt - the flight that was due to take him, his small son and his friend to Uman in the Ukraine would leave on time, in an hour. Father and son had already put their bags onto a cart, together with a beat-up guitar covered with stickers reading "Na Nah Nahma Nahman from Bratslav," but in order to get the two tickets he had booked in advance, he still had to find $600.
"Guys, perhaps you can help us," he addressed passersby. "If not, the tickets stay here and so do we." This cheerful man who belongs to the Bratslav branch of Hasidism had arrived at the airport around noon from Beit Shemesh and succeeded in getting no less than $400 from wellwishers, most of them people also heading for Uman. But now, an hour before the flight, it seemed as if he had hit bottom, a place from which only Rabbi Nahman could pull him out, and even then with difficulty.
Ben-Walid's friend, Moshe Levy, who had already paid for his ticket, egged on the passersby. "Help him, for Heaven's sake, Jews," he pleaded. The passengers on their charter flight to Chisinau had already disappeared inside the Duty Free shops but Ben-Walid and Levy weren't stressed. They took a break for a smoke and Levy calmed him down: "There is going to be a big miracle here." As happens every year, an exodus is leaving Israel for "the biggest gathering of Rosh Hashana," in Uman, Ukraine. There, at the end of Pushkina Street, one can find Rabbi Nahman's grave, which attracts tens of thousands of Jewish pilgrims from Israel and the rest of the world - especially come the Jewish New Year, in keeping with the legacy of the great rabbi and teacher who died 199 years ago. For the past 20 years, this migration has taken place in a more or less orderly fashion and the numbers have been growing from year to year. This time, however, experts are saying the economic crisis has changed things up. One effect is the price of airline tickets, which have risen in past years. If some 20,000 travelers took off for Uman in past years, this year the number stands at about 16,000 or perhaps a mere 12,000, forcing the airlines to begin bringing the prices down in the past few days. A ticket that cost $1,200 two weeks ago is now being sold for $850, or even less. Travel agents say the effect can be felt. According to Yitzhak Moshe Gabbai, the director of Derekh Tsadikim, one of the largest ultra-Orthodox travel agencies, "So far it seems to have been going down although there has been a huge surge in interest in the past two days." Contrary to past years when an American Jew by the name of Moshe Singer donated thousands of free tickets, this year there have been no donations of the sort. But Gabbai says that at the beginning of the week, another Jewish philanthropist - who is remaining anonymous - bought 650 discounted tickets, all snapped up within two days. Gabbai says that "there is a chance we will reach 17,500 travelers from Israel which is the same as in all recent years." Like Ben-Walid, at least 10 other potential passengers could be seen Tuesday wandering about the airport requesting "charity for a trip to our rabbi," from other passengers. Ben-Walid himself has already gone to Uman 12 times and this is not the first time he has used his powers of persuasion to cover the cost. Tuesday people who did not want to beg at the airport began distributing pamphlets with words of Torah in return for money and one of them even sat down in the middle of the airport and played his guitar in the hope of earning a few shekels. Levy said he would have given them something but he himself was traveling with only one bag and one dollar in his pocket and did not know where he would sleep there or what he would eat. "I have only one dollar left and I have to use it for eating and sleeping. The friend who gave it to me also gave me a blessing that I would have full board with this dollar, with God's help," he says. A look at the hundreds of passengers, including those who had put together every agora to buy the expensive tickets, did not reveal any signs of depression. At one end of the line, a group of believers was practicing the most popular song heard on Pushkina Street - "Uman! Uman! Rosh Hashanah!" while at the other end, another group sang "How lucky we are, how goodly is our part." The two groups joined forces and began dancing together until a policeman came up to them and told them to calm down. "Are you happy? Good, but that's enough," he said. "There are tourists here." Our rabbi will help us Another cheerful group was led by the deputy mayor of Beit Shemesh, Meir Balaish, formerly of the Likud, who set up an independent secular faction and joined a coalition headed by Shas. "Where are you going?" the security guard asked. Balaish answered without hesitation: "To our rabbi." Wearing a skullcap and long fringes, Balaish said his strength was growing and that he now headed a group of 70 people. All this time, Ben-Walid was continuing his search for donations. He separated from Levy, who went to his flight. If Ben-Walid and son did not get enough money, the son would remain here and he had even arranged a ride home for him. The boy burst into tears at the news but the father remained unperturbed. "He has been longing for this trip for half a year already but let him cry to the Almighty, that is a real prayer. A person cries to God to save him and there is no better lesson than that," he explained. It was already 5:10 P.M. and their flight was about to leave, but Ben-Walid and the child had not yet even gone through security. At that very moment, Ben-Walid's expectations of a great miracle came half-true. An agent from the Kanfei Nesharim travel agency arrived with the news that he would give him and his son two one-way tickets to Chisinau and that they could get two tickets back if they paid in the Ukraine. In spite of everything, a small miracle. Ben-Walid was satisfied. He would have a week to collect the sum on Pushkina Street and in addition, "it will be easier there - our rabbi will help us." Yair Ettinger September 14 Should American rabbis be trained to fight terrorists?The idea of pistol-packing rabbis and a locked-and-loaded congregation may sound ludicrous, but Gary Moskowitz - who is both a rabbi and a martial arts sensei - is deadly serious about what he sees as terrorist threats to American synagogues and what he believes is the appropriate response. In fact, Moskowitz - who is also a cashiered New York City cop - dreams of an armed posse in every synagogue. Each congregation, he believes, should include at least five people who are carrying weapons and are prepared to fight off potential attackers. To that end, he is training clergy and congregants in the finer points of shooting at moving targets and using pews as shields. "
His 100-hour course, offered for $1,000, trains congregation members, rabbis and other clergy in such security methods as surveillance and screening, before graduating to armed resistance and combat shooting. With very little encouragement, Moskowitz demonstrated for the Forward various shooting stances and moves such as somersaults and table vaults that he would use to fend off armed attackers. For years, Moskowitz has been a lone voice in the wilderness; his calls for counter-terrorism training went mostly unheeded, and he found few takers among members of his own faith for his 100-hour seminars. This past spring, he called hundreds of synagogues and Jewish centers to offer his counter-terrorism training services. The near-universal response, he said, was "Thanks, but no thanks." The landscape changed, he said, after the thwarted Riverdale bomb plot. The May arrest of four New York men charged with plotting to blow up two synagogues in the Bronx has piqued interest in his services among Jewish laypeople, Moskowitz said. Moskowitz claims that the Riverdale arrests, combined with recent media attention, have prompted hundreds of calls from Jewish laypeople seeking training. Still, he said, no rabbis or synagogue presidents have signed up for his Tzedek Task Force on Counter Terrorism. This he sees as a sign that Jewish leaders are out of touch. "We have a very smart community that's acting very stupid," Moskowitz said. "It's a very sad situation, that Jews' heads are buried in the sand." But those who deal professionally with synagogue security say that Jewish leaders have good reason to hesitate before embracing Moskowitz's gun-slinging philosophy. Steven Sheinberg, who oversees community security initiatives at the Anti-Defamation League, said that arming congregation members as a response to terrorism threats is just a bad idea. As a practical matter, Sheinberg noted, if police respond to an attack on a synagogue and find a bunch of people firing guns at each other, it will be very hard to sort out the bad guys from the good guys. Legal concerns include possible liability for both the synagogue and its individual members if self-defense goes wrong. Police officers receive years of professional and on-the-job training, and even then they sometimes make mistakes when they fire their weapons, Sheinberg said. Insurance could present a problem if the security plan for a synagogue includes relying on individuals carrying firearms, Sheinberg said. Finally, there's the moral question of authorizing the use of deadly force in a house of worship. "It's a very complex matter, and it's hard to see it turning out well," Sheinberg said. Moskowitz, a fast-talking man who practically bursts with ideas, is no stranger to controversy. He served as a New York City police officer for nine years before being fired by the force in 1991 for conducting personal business while on duty; he sued the department to challenge his dismissal, and lost. He was ordained as a rabbi in 1998 at Ayshel Avraham Rabbinical Seminary in Monsey, N.Y., and has worked for congregations in the Bronx and on Long Island. He was forced out of his rabbinic post in the Greenport section of Long Island, according to a 2005 New York Times report, after he met resistance for trying to push change too quickly upon a traditional congregation. Moskowitz now lives in Queens and runs a private security firm. He teaches at a small seminary called Mishpat Tzedek, where, he said, physical fitness is part of the rabbinic curriculum. "As rabbis, we need to protect our people, and not just spiritually," he said. "God's not going to help you if you don't help yourself." Moskowitz holds his training sessions at the Anshe Sholom Chabad synagogue in the Kew Gardens neighborhood of Queens. His own rabbi, synagogue director Mordechai Hecht, is not just a supporter of Moskowitz, he's also a student. Hecht is studying martial arts with Moskowitz and said he hopes to continue on to more advanced weapons training. The idea of rabbis armed with guns "is not uncommon in other parts of the world," Hecht noted. "I don't know why it hasn't been done here." No one wants to have a shootout in a synagogue, Hecht said, but he also believes there's no such thing as being too cautious. "People do this because of their love and concern for their fellow congregants," Hecht said. "We are a peaceful people, and the primary goal of a synagogue is peace, love, prayer, Torah study. So it is a shock [to see people training with weapons]. But considering the threats in the world today, why not?" Contact Rebecca Dube at dube@forward.com Découverte d’un bas-relief de la Ménorah du Temple
L’Autorité israélienne des antiquités (AIA) a découvert l’une des plus vielles synagogues du monde au cours de fouilles à Migdal, près de la Mer de Galilée (Kinnereth). A l’intérieur de l’édifice, les archéologues ont trouvé un bas-relief en pierre comprenant une représentation de la Ménorah – chandelier à sept branches – qui se trouvait dans le Temple. D’après la précision de la sculpture, il semblerait même que l’artiste qui l’a réalisée ait vu lui-même la vraie Ménorah. Les représentations connues de la Ménorah datant de la période du Second Temple comprennent les fameux bas-reliefs de l’Arc de Titus à Rome, qui montrent les soldats portant les objets pillés du Temple, et des reproductions gravées sur des pièces de monnaie de l’époque, ainsi qu’un graffiti gravé dans une pierre du quartier juif de la Vieille Ville de Jérusalem. Mais la nouvelle découverte est la seule à comprendre un bas-relief effectué par un artiste qui vivait à l’époque du Temple.
Le bas-relief avec la Ménorah (AIA, Moshe Hartal) La synagogue a été construite entre les années 50 avant l’ère commune et 100 de l’EC. La pierre rectangulaire portant le bas-relief de la Ménorah se trouvait dans la pièce centrale. Cette dernière a une superficie d’environ 120 m² et des bancs en pierre en font le tour. La pierre décorée représente des amphores (récipients utilisés pour le transport de trois produits de base : le vin, l’huile d’olive et les sauces) entourant la Ménorah, ainsi que d’autres motifs décoratifs sur les quatre côtés et sur le dessus. Le sol de la synagogue est orné d’une mosaïque et les murs sont couverts de fresques multicolores. Les fouilles ont été dirigées par Dina Avshalom-Gorni et Arfan Najer de l’Autorité israélienne des antiquités. D’après Gorni, il s’agit d’une découverte « unique et passionnante. »
Vue aérienne de la synagogue (Photo de SkyView) « C’est la première fois qu’on découvre une représentation de la Ménorah réalisée avant la destruction du Temple », explique Gorni. Et d’ajouter : « C’est la première Ménorah découverte dans un contexte juif datant de l’époque du Second Temple – le début de la période romaine. Nous pouvons supposé que la représentation apparaissant sur la pierre a été effectuée par un artiste qui a vu la Ménorah à sept branches dans le Temple de Jérusalem. La synagogue s’ajoute à seulement six autres synagogues de l’époque du Second Temple connues dans le monde. » Les fouilles ont été effectuées sur un terrain appartenant à une compagnie qui avait l’intention de construire un hôtel sur la propriété. L’ancienne ville de Migdal – ou Migdala en Araméen – est mentionnée dans les sources juives. Elle faisait partie des principales bases des forces qui se trouvaient sous le commandement de Flavius Joseph, qui a dirigé la révolte de la Galilée contre les Romains, avant de passer dans le camp romain. La résistance se poursuivit à Migdal après que Tibériade et le reste de la Galilée se furent rendus. A l’époque tardive du Second Temple, la ville servait de centre administratif de la région de la Mer de Galilée. Jusqu’à l’établissement de Tibériade en 19 de l’ère commune, Migdal était la principale ville côtière de la Mer de Galilée. Dans le futur, le site sera ouvert au public. September 13 Shabbat in kabbalistic thoughtThe story of Shabbat begins with the creation of the world. Most people look at creation of the world as a positive thing – before there was nothing, now there is something. However we are going to demonstrate that, kabbalistically, this is not all that clear. INFINITE IMPLICATIONS There are two words used for creation in the Torah – yotzer and barrah. Being that the Torah is a document given over by the Infinite God, each word is exact and applicable in some way at all times, and nothing is by coincidence. This leads us to ask the obvious question: What is difference between these two words for creation? If there are two different words for creation, it must be that they come to teach or imply two different ideas. TWO MODES OF CREATION Imagine I was to shine a flashlight onto the floor – I would have created a spot of light on the floor. This is positive creation – something from something. This is one kind of creation. Now, if I were to put my hand between the flashlight and the floor, I would create a shadow. However, this mode of creation is very different than the creation of the spot of light. The creation of the shadow is not caused by me putting forth something that was not there previously. Rather, the shadow is created by me holding back the light that was already there. This is negative creation – creation by negation. This creation by default can be referred to as something from nothing – the shadow results due to the lack of light caused by hand blocking the flashlight. In the Jewish sources, positive creation is referred to as yotzer, and the negative creation is referred to as barrah. THE WORLD’S CREATION According to the Torah, the world’s creation was a barrah creation – a negative creation. In a sense, there was “light” – i.e. clarity that God is all there is – and our world’s creation makes God-perception blurry – it is darkness. One of the paradigms of kabbalistic thinking is that everything in our physical world is a parallel to a spiritual reality. That is to say, what we see and experience in our physical lives is a physical manifestation and projection of a deeper spiritual reality. In fact, the word KaBbaLaH itself shares its Hebrew root with word for parallel, MaKBEeL, indicating the connection. That is to say, just as light illuminates resulting in one’s ability to see, the spiritual concept of light is spiritual illumination resulting in one’s ability to see spiritually. Before the world’s inception all was illuminated – it was clear that the Infinite God is all there is. With the creation of the world, we now have a perception of an “other” – of something other than God – and now it is unclear whether there is God, what my purpose is, etc. With the creation of the world comes a spiritual state of darkness. MONOTHEISM IN MULTIPLICITY This is what the first verse of the Torah is hinting to when it refers to God as Elohim, also meaning powers. Being that the word Elohim is in plural, it makes for a very strange name for God within monotheistic Judaism. However, upon further study it becomes clear that the name Elohim connotes God as the Power behind the multiple powers of the physical universe. Therefore, the Name Elohim is used when we perceive God within the multiplicity of our natural physical world. Just as I have different names, i.e. father, son, brother, friend, teacher, etc. – each applicable based on the angle by which the other person perceives and relates to me – with the creation of the natural world, the Name (i.e. perception) of God, Elohim, was created. This is hinted to by the fact that the word Elohim itself and the Hebrew word meaning the natural world, hateva, have the same numerical value. THE HOLY LANGUAGE Further, we find that the method by which God created the world was through speech – i.e. “God said, ‘Let there be light’; And there was light” (Gen 1:3). We see that the move from the clarity of one God to this world of multiplicity is done by way of the Hebrew letters – that the Hebrew letters are the building blocks of the physical world. This is also hinted to in the first verse of the Torah where a literal read of the Hebrew indicates that the first creation was “et” – “Aleph Tav” – the Hebrew language from aleph to tav, the first letter to the last letter. If we were to look at a table through a microscope, we would see a bunch of atoms flying around very fast. We would discover that the table is, in fact, mostly empty space with the amount of matter actually present being capable of fitting under one of my fingernails. That is to say, while the atoms are microscopic, they somehow manifest themselves in the physical world as solids, liquids and gasses, and it is for this reason that I can not put my hand through the table despite the fact that it is by and large vacant space. As the table is a manifestation of its physical atomic root, ultimately there is an even deeper root that what can be perceived in a microscope, the Hebrew letters. Meaning, if I was to look at that table through a spiritual microscope, I would find the Hebrew letters, shin, lamed, chet, nun – the letters that make up the Hebrew word for table, shulchan. For this reason, Biblical Hebrew is called the Holy Language. It is the language of creation and gets to the spiritual root of each item in our physical world. It is similar to looking at microfilm through a projector. While the projection looks big and impressive, it would not exist were the microfilm to be removed. In the end, while the projection is physically more impressive, it has virtually no existence when compared to the microfilm – this is the relationship of the physical world to its spiritual core, the Hebrew letters spoken by God. According to Kabbalah, this concept – that the spiritual word of God is actually the thing itself in its deepest sense – applies to all things. This is why the Hebrew names of all things describe their essence – because the speech actually is the thing and the thing is a manifestation of the speech: A dog in Hebrew is called a kelev, which can also be pronounced k’lev, meaning like the heart, i.e. man’s best friend. The most physical and brute animal, the donkey, whose lot is to simply carry a physical burden on its back, is a chamor in Hebrew, which is closely related to the Hebrew word chomer, meaning matter or physicality. In this manner, all in our physical reality is a manifestation of its deeper spiritual root. THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF CREATION Expanding on this theme, Kabbalah explains that each letter has three ways it can be understood – its shape, its numerical value, what the letter is called. With this understanding in mind, we can explain a mystical teaching that the World to Come is a projection of the letter yud and the This World is a projection of the letter hay. The letter yud is the smallest of all the letters and can be likened to a mere dot, therefore it expresses spirituality – existence beyond the realm of physicality i.e. the World to Come – since, when written, it appears on the page but it is not drawn out to contain physical properties. The letter, hay, however, has two aspects to it. It is made up of the letter dalet, with the letter yud inside of it. The letter dalet represents the physical since it is made up of two lines – one horizontal and one vertical pointing to the four directions of the world. Additionally, the numerical value of the dalet is the number four, corresponding to the directions in our space-oriented world. The letter yud, as we have mentioned, represents the spiritual – existence beyond the physical realm. The letter hay, therefore, expresses a revealed physical world with with a spiritual component hidden within as its source. If we can get to the yud from within the hay – access spiritual clarity within the physical – we actualize the ultimate in light, clarity, and ourselves, as we will explain. THE LIGHT OF GOD This is all seen in the word for light in Hebrew – ohr. The word ohr is spelled with three Hebrew letters – aleph, vav, reish. Aleph is the first letter of the alphabet and, having the numerical value of one, hints to the One God. Vav in the Hebrew language is used to connect sentence fragments into one longer sentence (similar to the English words ‘and’ and ‘or’). Reish means head in Rabbinic literature. So, if we put this all together, we find that light in a deeper sense means: ‘God connected to one’s head’. In other words, to live in light and be able to see clearly means to live a life of God-consciousness. LIGHT UNTO THE NATIONS The mission statement of the Jewish people is to be a Light Unto The Nations – that is to say the Jewish mission is to bring clarity of God, purpose, and self – to those who do not have it otherwise. If we contrast this with Greece, for example, we find that their purpose – from a spiritual perspective –was for the increased emphasis on the physical and the natural. Whereas the Jewish mission is to see the spiritual even in the physical, we can say that the Greek ideal was the opposite – to see the physical in all – even where spiritual is making itself apparent. If the Jewish people are to be a Light Unto The Nations, I think we can say that Greek culture has played the role of Darkness Unto the Nations. After all, the ideal they are pushing is the decrease of clarity of the Infinite. Indeed, it is humorous to note that Western historians refer to the renaissance based on Greek ideals as the Enlightenment. Jewishly, when someone sees darkness and calls it light, we would say this is the greatest endarkenment there can be. Interestingly, we find that the word for Greece in Hebrew, yavan, is made up of Hebrew letters that appear as lines going downward, as if to demonstrate that Greece is bringing spiritual clarity down to complete engrossment in the physical. In contrast, the word for Jew, yehudi, comes from the Hebrew word for Judah, Yehuda. Yehuda is made up of the four letters of the name of God, yud-hay-vav-hay, plus the letter dalet, hinting to the idea that the Jew is all about bringing God to those who are spiritually poor i.e. those who lack the awareness and clarity of the Infinite and life’s purpose. SHABBAT IN KABBALAH So, we return to the question of whether the creation of the world is good or evil. So far, the world seems dark, purposeless, and lacking in clarity. However, the Jewish approach to the darkness and lack of clarity of our world is that it makes for the best backdrop and contrast to a greater revelation of light – i.e. a greater manifestation of the clarity of the world. This is what we are attempting to achieve with Shabbat. Shabbat is from the Hebrew word shuv, meaning to return. The Shabbat ideal is to return to the God-clarity of Pre-Creation. But, the truth is, if we can pull off the God-clarity of Pre-Creation even in this world of non-clarity and multiplicity, this will be an even greater manifestation of God-clarity than the original God-clarity of Pre-Creation. After all, if an angel does the right thing, while we may refer to that as goodness, it is not the truest manifestation of goodness, since an angel does not really have the opportunity or drive to do anything other than goodness. As the Hebrew word for angel, mal’ach, is made up of the Hebrew word mulay, meaning full, and the letter kaf which is also a word meaning palm, the angel has his palms full – i.e. he is already 100% good and does not have a struggle. However, a person, who is made up of both soul and body, lives in the realm of confusion, dilemma, and struggle. This is indicated by the Hebrew word for human being, Adam. The word Adam is made up of the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, alef, corresponding to the number one and hinting to the One Infinite God, and the word for blood, dam. The name Adam, therefore, implies a coming together of God and blood. If we break down Judaism’s understanding of a person, it is just that – flesh and blood with a spark of Godliness, a soul. If the human being can pull off Godness and goodness even in the struggle and shades of grey, this would be the ultimate in manifestation of God-clarity since it is Godliness being brought to light even in a realm of confusion. The name Adam is also from the Hebrew word for earth, adumuh. The first human being is called by a name connected to the word meaning earth because there is a connection of essence between the human being and the earth. The earth has the potential for the bearing of trees and fruit which needs to be worked on in order to be brought forth and actualized. Similarly, the human being has a potential to bring forth, and it is only through the labor of working on one’s self that he comes to yield the fruit of self-actualization. Imagine an average looking picture hanging on the wall. If we were to take that picture and put it through a machine that cuts it up into five thousand pieces, and regularly sit around the table putting the pieces of the puzzle back together, when that picture is ultimately restored as one through our efforts, there is a manifestation of the wholeness of that picture through each individual puzzle piece which only came about because of our efforts. This is the picture we laminate and handle with care. When we see this picture hanging on the wall, there is an appreciation that comes from the return to wholeness that was achieved through our efforts after the picture was initially fragmented. This is what Shabbat is all about – experiencing clarity within a world of confusion; wholeness within a world of fragmentation; light within a world of darkness. People talk about Shabbat as a day off, but, truthfully, Shabbat is the day on. If we are saying that God “put His hand” in the way of the light to form a shadow to allow for this world of non-clarity, we can say that Shabbat is the experience of God pulling His hand away a bit to allow for more of that light to come into our world. We avoid melacha (that which is not permitted on Shabbat) on Shabbat because melacha is about mastery and ownership of the physical and would, therefore, only serve to engross us further in the confusion of the physical. But Shabbat is all about going beyond the physical – it is about recapturing clarity of Pre-Creation even in the Creation itself, and so we refrain from building the world of non-clarity on Shabbat. A PIECE OF WHAT’S TO COME For this reason, the Shabbat experience is referred to as a piece of the World to Come. The World to Come is the experience of a higher clarity, and Shabbat, if melacha is avoided, is a move in that direction. Similarly, the times of Mashiach, which Jews have been yearning for throughout the ages, is referred to as the time when all will be Shabbat. It is the time when the clarity of Pre-Creation will be ever-present here in the created world of multiplicity. People think that the time of Mashiach is one of peace and prosperity – and that is true. But most people lose sight of the reason for the peace and prosperity of Messianic times. It is not that people will simply drop all their weapons one day because they have concluded that war is a negative. Rather, there will be such a revelation of the clarity of God and our purpose in the world – such an experience of God’s oneness – that all of humanity will want what is true and what is best, and will actually have agreement on what that is and how to achieve it. OUR STORY This is really the story of all of our lives – going from a place of clarity, to a place of non-clarity, for the purpose of achieving a higher clarity. Each soul, which is an aspect of God, was in a “place” of clarity before entering this world of physicality, multiplicity, and confusion. Then it was sent “down here” where it is engaged in all sorts of struggles and challenges and is searching for itself. However, when this human being acts as his true soul-self even in this world where his true God-identity is not so apparent, it is specifically from this place of darkness that the greatest light shines. WHO AM I? So, while we refer to God as the Ultimate Good for setting up the world for the purpose of giving us the opportunity to achieve an Infinite identification, association, and relationship with Him, the question lingers as to whether God is really the Ultimate Good if, after all, it is not as if God had an “opportunity” or struggle to do evil. And if God does not have that evil option, can we really say that God has the “capacity” to truly manifest goodness? While at first glance, it may seem that the answer to this question is no, the Jewish answer to this question is yes. God can truly manifest goodness – this is the soul. The soul is an aspect of God hidden from its true Self for the purpose of being that aspect of God that does struggle with opportunities and desires towards evil. Through the goodness accomplished by the human soul, there is a manifestation of God unachievable otherwise specifically because of the darkness and confusion at the outset of the process. THE PURPOSE OF CREATION This is what the story of creation and Shabbat is all about – going from the unity of Pre-Creation, to the fragmentation and multiplicity of the created world, and coming back to the experience of Pre-Creation unity even from there. Ultimately, what we can look forward to as we move towards that time that is all Shabbat – the times of Mashiach – is a time when essays such as this will be met with scorn since, in the end, they are simply made up of words, and can not do justice nor come close to capturing the experience which we are trying to convey. Rabbi Eliyahu Yaakov is a lecturer on Jewish Philosophy and Kabbalah who is noted for his plethora of parallels and explanatory precision. He is the author of the books "Shabbos Insights of the Maharal", "Identity, Direction, Integration: A Kabbalistic Path To Personal Growth”, “The Trees In The Forest: Jewish Living In The Context Of Kabbalah". For more from Rabbi Eliyahu Yaakov, go to: www.lightuntoournation.com. First Jewish Chaplain joins Her Majesty's Armed Forces
Rabbi Arnold Saunders, first Jewish Civilian Chaplain in British Military hopes to bring Jewish soldiers closer to Israel, preach tolerance
Daniel Edelson British recruits joining Her Majesty's armed forces training camp these next few days are in for a surprise. Next to them, doing push-ups on the floor, they might find a bearded older man wearing a skullcap. No, he is not a Jewish soldier, but Rabbi Arnold Saunders, who was appointed Tuesday as the UK's first Jewish Civilian Chaplain to the Military. Saunders will serve as the spiritual leader of some 200 Jewish soldiers serving in the British army. This is the first time a rabbi is appointed for a full time position in the military, which already employs Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh clergy members. Rabbi Arnold Saunders. Proud to be of service (Photo: Mike Poloway) Saunders, 50, who enlisted last week as a civilian employee of the military, will have to go through the regular enlistment process along with all the rookies. In an interview with Ynet, Saunders said he is still getting accustomed to his new uniform. He described the feeling as strange, however said he was extremely proud to be of service. Saunders, who currently lives in Manchester with his wife Mira'le, served as a rabbi in several communities in London and Manchester. He is a father of five, one of which recently finished his yeshiva studies in Jerusalem.
Friend of IsraelSaunders defines himself as a friend of Israel, saying one of his goals in his new post will be to strengthen the ties between the British Jewish soldiers and the Holy Land. He plans on getting to know each and every Jewish soldier personally, and perhaps even arrange a trip to Israel for them in the future.
Besides blessing the buiscuits during tea time, Saunders secribes his job as being a spiritual supervisor entrusted with the well-being of all Jewish soldiers in the army, navy and air force. He hopes to be their address for every religious problem that might arise, enriching them with courses, workshops, Shabbat services and informational materials. Saunders is fully aware that his job might also bring about less pleasant tasks. If a Jewish soldier gets injured or killed, he will be the one in charge of identifying the body, making burial arrangments and notifying the families. Saunders says he hopes never to have to deal with this part of the job.
Another goal Saunders hopes to achieve is to bring non-Jewish and Jewish servicemen closer together. Saunders explains that he feels it is his duty to educate non-Jewish soldiers about the Jewish culture and background, and to explain the special needs kosher and Shabbat observing soldiers might have.
Saunders hopes his appointment will raise awareness for the Jewish minority in the military, saying he thinks it is important that the world sees Jewish soldiers serve in other armies, not just the IDF. Saunders feels this is particularly important in helping quell anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli sentiments among some British people. |
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