November 30, 2007- Kislev 20,
5768
Rabbi Joshua Hammerman,
The 60th
anniversary of the UN Partition plan
This week’s Shabbat Bulletin is sponsored
by Wendy and Richard Miles in gratitude
to
Rabbi Joshua Hammerman for his kindness and caring during their difficult year.
My deep thanks to Wendy and Richard for
their generosity.
Special
Occasion? Sponsor a Shabbat Bulletin, (sent every
Friday morning via e-mail),
the Shabbat Announcments (Distributed each Shabbat at the
& the
Shabbat-O-Gram. Sponsor all three publications for only
$72
All sponsors will be
acknowledged at the beginning of each of these announcements
and also listed
in our Bi-monthly Bulletin. Call Mindy in the office at 322-6901
Send your friends and relatives the gift of Jewish awareness -- a
Shabbat-O-Gram each week, by signing them up at www.tbe.org. To be removed from
this mailing list, sent e-mail request to office@tbe.org. If you have signed
up and are not receiving our e-mails, check your spam filter to make sure that
TBE is not being “spammed out.”
Contents
of the Shabbat O Gram:
(Click
to scroll down)
The (Occasionally) Ranting Rabbi
Mitzvah/Tzedakkah Opportunities
Ask the Rabbi – including a how-to guide for lighting Hanukkah
candles
Spiritual Journey on the Web – Hanukkah at Home
The Beth El Bar/Bat
Mitzvah Commentary – featuring
Jillian Katz and Shira Durica
Required Reading and Action Items (links
to key articles on Israel and Jewish life)
THIS Shabbat!!!
Shabbat Unplugged on
Friday at 7:30, Tot Shabbat at 6:45 PM
Synaplex
ALL DAY ON SATURDAY
From breakfast in the
morning to a movie at night!!!!
PLUS A FULL ARRAY OF
ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS AND TEENS!!!
special message from the
rabbi to parents of kids AND teens!!!
PLEASE BRING THEM TO
SYNAPLEX THIS SHABBAT!!!!! THEY WILL LOVE IT!!!
SEE THE ENTIRE
SCHEDULE AT
http://www.tbe.org/site/docs/temp/2007_Nov_Synaplex_Schedule_v3.pdf
Quote for the Week
“
We don’t need to know what one ‘believes’ but rather what one
does.”
Harold Schulweis - read more
(from the current
Candle lighting: 4:09 pm on Friday, November 30, 2007. For Havdalah times, other Jewish
calendar information, and to download a Jewish calendar to your PDA, click on http://www.hebcal.com/. To see the festivals of other faiths as well,
go to http://www.interfaithcalendar.org/. The United Synagogue has updated its candlelighting information. To learn more, click here.
THE FULL SERVICE SCHEDULE NOW APPEARS ON THE
SEPARATE TBE ANNOUNCEMENTS E-MAIL
Shabbat Services: 7:30 Friday night – Tot
Shabbat at 6:45PM,
Shabbat morning – see the Synaplex schedule at
http://www.tbe.org/site/docs/temp/2007_Nov_Synaplex_Schedule_v3.pdf
Morning Minyan: 7:30 Weekdays, 9:30 Sundays
TO ENSURE A “GUARANTEED MINYAN” FOR THE DAY OF
YOUR YAHRZEIT – GO TO THE ROSNER MINYAN MAKER AT WWW.TBE.ORG
AND THEN NOTIFY OUR OFFICE.
Torah
Reading For Shabbat Morning
Parashat Vayeshev
Genesis 37:1 - 40:23
1: 37:1-3
2: 37:4-7
3: 37:8-11
4: 37:12-17
5: 37:18-22
6: 37:23-28
7: 37:29-36
maf: 37:34-36
Haftarah
for Ashkenazim: Hosea
12:13 - 14:10
Rewriting
History on Hanukkah
Way back in the
second century BCE, the Maccabees achieved one of the most inspiring military
triumphs of the ages. It was a true
masterpiece of guerrilla warfare as a small group of Jewish partisans bested
the mighty army of Antiochus through a series of well planned ambushes and an
intimate knowledge of the hilly terrain.
This military triumph became cause for great celebration, not just then
but during subsequent decades, even as the fortunes of the Jews turned sour,
and the Greeks gave way to Roman rule.
Add to that the
miracle of the fire. Way
back when Moses and Solomon had dedicated their sanctuaries, those
celebrations were marked highlighted by the appearance of maracluous
fires from heaven. The Maccabees
probably hoped for a similar fire miracle as they prepared to rededicate their
recaptured temple. But it didn’t happen. The absence of fire from heaven at this time was considered one of the great traumas of second temple
history. The Talmud notes (Yoma 21b) that such a non-miracle was an indicator that the
Jewish people had truly entered the post-prophetic period.
The light of
menorah was seen as a symbol of divine presence. But without that miracle from heaven, our
ancestors focused more on a secondary marvel:
finding any oil undefiled by the Greeks was itself considered
a miracle. According to the historian
Josephus, that idea caught on with the masses, who called the festival Hag Ha-urim (the festival of lights) . It is likely that ancient fire festivals taking
place during the darkest days of the solar calendar also play a role in the
growth of this festival.
The Talmudic rabbis,
who lived a few centuries later and were scarred by subsequent military
disasters, chose to focus on this miracle of the oil, but they reinterpreted
the story in a manner that wrote back into it a tangible divine presence – not
only was there undefiled oil, but a tiny amount lasted for eight days. This shading was downplayed
by the Maccabees, if they ever knew of it at all. But that’s OK – because by that point in
Jewish history the Maccabees and their Hasmonean
heirs had become footnotes. The rabbis
were now much more relevant, and history is always written by
the winners.
Then the rabbis
added another twist, by including on Hanukkah the haftarah selection from
Zechariah, with the famous quote, “Not by might, nor by power but by My spirit,” says the Lord.”
So now the miracle is not merely about oil,
it’s also about spiritual survival of the Jewish people, as opposed to their
military prowess. That interpretation worked
very well during two thousand years of powerlessness and exile.
Now,
ironically, we are rewriting history again.
Modern Zionism has brought with it the reestablishment of Jewish
military power and the Maccabees have become role models for the IDF. This week at Synaplex, our teens will have a
chance to relive the Maccabean dream by learning some
Israeli basic training skills.
Meanwhile, in a separate session in the morning, I’ll be discussing the
changing relationship of Jews and Power by reviewing Ruth Wisse’s
fascinating and provocative new book.
And so we are left with question as we approach this holiday with a
thousand histories… Who will write the history of Hanukkah now? Who will write the history of
HAPPY HANUKKAH TO ALL, from “the Hebrew Hammer” and
his family…
“Keeping Kids Healthy”
Nationally Syndicated show to include “Learning
and Latte” Crew!
Tune into channel Thirteen/WNET on Friday,
December 14, at 2:30 pm, and repeated on Saturday morning, December 15, at 6:30
am (that's what Tivos are
for...). It's the second half of a
2-subject show:
Premature Babies: Good Things Come in Small Packages / Circumcision: Is It Right for Your Child?
The program features participants in the
“Learning and Latte” monthly dialogue: Rabbi Joshua Hammerman, Rev. Ann Schmidt
and Dr. Behjat Syed, as well as Dr. Harry Romanowitz.
Here’s the official promotional summary.
"When you give birth to a son, in most
cases -- depending on your religion – there’s an immediate decision that you
have to make: to circumcise, or not to
circumcise. It’s a choice that’s left up
to the parent, but that freedom can be a mixed blessing, because there just
aren’t that many clear guidelines from the medical community about what you
should do, and a lot of people don’t feel very comfortable pressing their
doctors for the answers! So in this
program, we’re going to help you with that tough decision, by bringing together
in one place the medical advice and information that will help you decide what’s
best for your child. You’ll meet parents
who’ve decided for and against it, you’ll see a discreet demonstration of how
the procedure is done, and you’ll find out what the experts, religious
communities and leading health organizations have to say about the pros and
cons of each approach for your child."
The “Keeping Kids Healthy” series is produced by
And now, an exclusive
report, special to the Shabbat-O-Gram, from Our Man in
What
do Indians think about Jews?
I
don't yet know if I'm really in a position to fully answer
this question, but I can write a few anecdotes that may provide some picture.
A
few weeks ago, I stayed overnight at the village of a coworker.
Everyone
in the village was very happy to meet a foreigner, and an American at
that. Some asked if I was Christian, and
I said that no, not everyone in
"Einstein,"
he said, smiling.
"Yes,"
I answered, "Einstein
was Jewish, too."
"Jew all very good mind."
"Thank
you, but Jews are not smarter than any other people."
"Hitler,"
he said, now frowning.
"Yes,
Hitler killed many Jews."
"Bad."
"Yes,
it was very bad."
"Israel,
many Jews," he said, smiling again.
"That's
true."
He
(and the crowd that had gathered around us) was curious about Jews, and I
explained as best as I could about how we are different from Christians.
Another
experience that I think is fairly symbolic took place
on Eid, the Muslim holiday marking the end of
Ramadan, the month of fasting.
I was invited by the director of my organization to the home
of a Muslim lawyer frequently employed by the organization. I had really been looking forward to it, because
it would be the first Muslim event in which I could take part.
The
lawyer, who spoke no English, welcomed us into his house, and we sat in his
living room for some time. A few
neighbors stopped by to wish him an "Eid Mubarak" (happy Eid). Eventually it came up that I was Jewish. Smiling, the first thing he said (in
Gujarati) was, "Islam, Christianity, Judaism—all the
same God. One
God." Instead of my religion
being something to mark my difference from him, he used it to mark a
similarity. With the director as a
translator, we then had a short discussion on the basic similarities of the
religions.
There was nothing that seemed to me particularly
religious about the lawyer's celebration;
there wasn't a single prayer the whole time.
There
was, however, a big meal at around 2 or 3 pm, which as I understand is
traditional; who wouldn't want a big meal in the middle of the day after you
haven't eaten during daylight for a month?
Another
lawyer—this one a Hindu—showed up for the food.
The
Muslim lawyer, smiling and motioning towards me, told the Hindu lawyer,
"He's a Jew."
"Ahh, a Jew," the Hindu lawyer replied, nodding at me
in approval.
"Very nice."
After
the meal, the director of my organization asked the Muslim lawyer about his
head covering; he wanted to know if it was hand woven. The lawyer answered no, it wasn't, but
insisted that the director keep it as a gift.
The director reluctantly accepted.
Then
the lawyer went downstairs and brought up some more head coverings, two of
which he gave to me as a present. I
tried one on, and everyone seemed to like it.
I had brought a yarmulke with me in case I needed to cover my head for
some religious practice, and I showed it to the lawyer. I only have two kippot
in
I
hope these two little stories show something about my experience being a Jew
here in
Mitzvah/Tzedakkah Opportunties
Beth El Cares:
Inreach and Outreach
Christmas Eve Dinner:
Our
next “official” mitzvah project is the annual preparing of food and serving
Christmas Eve Dinner at St. Lukes and Pacific
House. Volunteers are
needed to contribute food, pick up flowers/food, transport food to the
shelters and serve dinner. Save the date
(Mon. Dec. 24). Please let me know if
you would like to coordinate this project “before” it happens;
Cheryl Wolff and Liz Vaisben will be the “house captains” for the actual
dinners.
Toiletry Collection:
The
third grade religious school class will be collecting toiletry items to give to
the guests at St. Lukes and Pacific House on
Christmas Eve. These toiletry items are
the only holiday gift some of these individuals receive. Clean out your hotel
amenity stash and your samples or buy full size items to donate. Watch for details in December telling you
where to drop off the items.
UJF Super Sunday and Mitzvah Packages Sign Up
- Volunteer
Registration
- Sponsor
Hanukkah Mitzvah Package for Needy Seniors
- Super
Kids Mitzvah Project Sign Up
From Sherry Shameer Cohen
Anyone
who plans to have a baby can register on www.similac.com
and www.emanfil.com. They send free samples. Ideally, the mother will breast feed, and she
can donate the samples to the Food Bank.
If she can't, chances are that the baby will only require one type of
formula and the others can go to the Food Bank.
A bonus is that one of these sites offers the new mom a voucher for a
free spa treatment (massage, manicure, pedicure, or facial
|
From the American Jewish
World Service, Ruth Messenger There is no better way to feel the impact of your support than
to hear AJWS grantees tell their own stories. Likewise, there is no better to
way to understand the difference AJWS volunteers are making on the ground
than to hear them talk about their experiences. I am delighted to announce that, with the launch of the new
AJWS Web site, you can now meet some of these people and
hear some of their stories; we’ll be adding more clips over the coming weeks
and months. |
|
|
Other new features include:
Our new site also provides much more information about the work
we’re doing around the world with your support. I invite you explore it.
As Hanukkah approaches, I hope you will join with me in
celebrating the holiday by sending an AJWS Hanukkah E-Card to family and friends. |
|
A Volunteer Opportunity from
(thanks to Susan Berger Sabreen for calling this to our attention)
"Doula Visitor Program - The Palliative Care Service is
currently recruiting volunteers for a special â doulaâ visitor program for patients nearing the end
of life. Doulas offer companionship and emotional support for people who are
within the last 18 months of life. Volunteers will receive an 8-week training
as well as ongoing support. This is a unique and meaningful opportunity for
people who would like to make a real difference in a person's life at an
important time of transition.
Contact: Ronit Fallek
(718) 920-6576 or rfallek@montefiore.org <mailto:rfallek@montefiore.org "
Bar/Bat Mitzvah Projects:
From Dana Gordon
Dear Friends and
Family,
Part of becoming a
Bat Mitzvah means being a mench or doing good deeds
for others in need.
Five years ago, I was diagnosed with Auto Immune Thrombocytopenia Purpura (I.T.P). My
body thinks my blood platelets are the enemy and destroys them. I’m extremely lucky because at Dr. Joe’s
office I receive an intravenous treatment to help my body maintain a safe
number of blood platelets. Every time I
receive an infusion I see kids of all ages who aren’t
as lucky as I am because many of them suffer from pediatric blood cancers. At the end of your each treatment, you get
the joy of choosing a toy from the toy closet.
I would like to be a part of that joy by helping to restock the toy
closet at the doctor’s office.
Please bring new
and unwrapped games and toys for donation and place them in the box that is labeled “Dana’s
Thank you very much
for your support and generosity.
Sincerely,
Dana Gordon
For more
information about I.T.P., visit the platelet disorder support
association at www.pdsa.org
The Highest
Level of Tzedakkah
According
to Maimonides’ Eight Levels of Tzedakkah,
the
highest level is to provide a person with employment.
I received the following from TBE
member David Satz, who is currently transitioning. If you can help him out, please contact him
directly. Thanks in advance for your
help!
Technical leader with a proven ability to develop and
implement quality solutions through effective management of people, projects
and technology. A dedicated, details-oriented
technologist who can lead a project or development team from beginning to end
or work as hands-on team member in a developers role.
Here are my strengths:
1.
the ability to be a productive project team member for all aspects of the
development lifecycle from gathering requirements to coding to production
support
2.
strong background in application development and database design and
development
3.
ability to quickly learn new skills: both technical and non-technical
Here are my strongest technical skills:
1.
Web development with ColdFusion, including HTML, CSS and
JavaScript
2.
Database design, development and administration with Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle.
3.
Documentum development and administration for Webtop and
Web Publisher.
For my information, please see my online resume at http://www.geocities.com/davidsatz
or my LinkedIn profile at http://www.linkedin.com/in/davidsatz
.
How
Do I “Do” Hanukkah at Home?
Here is a concise
how-to guide for the lighting:
1) Candle holders should be of equal height, except the
one for the shamash (the
candle used to light all others) which is either taller or shorter than the
rest.
2) The tradition is to light the hanukkiyah
in front of the window (preferably one facing the street) in order to publicize
the miracle (pirsum haneis)
of Hanukkah.
3) HOW TO DO IT
-- Load your hanukkiyah the way you read Hebrew, right to left.
-- Light only the shamash.
-- Early in the evening, but after dark, get the family together, stand and sing (or recite, if you don't know the tune):
Barukh atah Adonai, Eloheinu melekh ha’olam, asher kidishanu bemitzvotav, vitzivanu lehadlik ner shel Hanukkah.
Praised are You, Adonai, who rules the Universe, Who makes us holy through mitzvot and has given us the mitzvah of lighting the Hanukkah candle.
Barukh atah Adonai, Eloheinu
melekh ha’olam, she’asah nissim la’avoteinu bayamim haheim, bazeman hazeh.
Praised are You, Adonai, who rules the Universe, Who made miracles for our ancestors, long ago, and continues to make them today.
4) On the first night continue with the following— On other nights, continue with:
Barukh atah Adonai, Eloheinu
melekh ha’olam, shehehiyanu, vekiyimanu, vehigi’anu, lazeman hazeh.
Praised are you, Adonai, who rules the Universe, Who has granted us life, sustained us, and has let us witness this precious moment.
5) Light the candles, as you would read English, left to
right.
6) Wish everyone a Hag Hanukkah Same’ah—A
Happy Hanukkah—give everyone a Hanukkah kiss and you are now ready to exchange
gifts.
The following are suggestions as to ways we can make
the time of lighting for meaningful.
The first is
courtesy of the MJCCybershul and second from B'nai
Jeshurun in
1) Dedicate each night:
A HANUKKAH IN HONOR OF…
This year, when lighting the hanukkiyah, try lighting each candle in honor of someone or something special. For example:
Candle #1: In honor of the youngest member of your family;
Candle #2: In honor of the senior most member of the family;
Candle #3: In honor of our eternal connection with Eretz Yisrael, the
Candle #4: In honor of laughter. Tonight’s gift is everyone must be prepared to tell a good joke.
Candle #5: In honor of good health (the whole family must dance to an aerobics video tonight);
Candle #6: In honor of your favorite Bible hero or heroine (read that section of the Bible as everyone listens and noshes on latkahs);
Candle #7: In honor of your favorite charity. Take a family vote. Determine which tzedakah or charity the family should collect money for this year. Don’t have a tzedakah box? Use Pringle potato chip cans to make fun tzedakah containers.
Candle #8: In honor of your friends. Invite some special friends over to the house to light the hanukkiyah, have dinner, and play scrabble, monopoly, trivial pursuits, or whatever else can get the big and the little people together playing with each other.
2) Kavvanot (meditations) for
each night:
First Night: To Believe
In the book of Maccabees we learn
of the great story of
What does the story of the miracle of oil represent?
What role does belief or faith play in this story?
Have you experienced miracles in your life?
How does this story connect miracles with God?
Second Night: Increasing Holiness
In the Talmud, tractate Shabbat 21b, the schools of Hillel
and Shammai have a disagreement about how to light
the menorah. The
In the darkest time of year, why might it be important
to increase light rather than to decrease light?
How do you find holiness in your own life?
How do you bring holiness into the world?
Third Night: Hanukkah Dedication
The word Hanukkah means dedication, and among other things,
the holiday commemorates the re-dedication of the
What might we learn from the fact that Judaism marks
the re-dedication rather than the original dedication of the
If you were to dedicate, or re-dedicate yourself to
something in this season, what would it be?
In order to dedicate yourself
in this way, would there need to be any purification process first in order to
prepare for the transformation ahead?
What kind of actions could you take to sustain this
change?
Fourth Night: Miraculous Fires
In a little-known passage in the second book of Maccabees,
the Judean leaders describe another miracle of light that happened centuries
earlier when the community that had been exiled to
Babylonia returned to rededicate the
What similarities do you see between this story and
the story of the miracle of the oil on Hanukkah?
What differences?
How do both of these stories link the new dedication
of the
How and why is the symbol of fire used in these
stories?
Fifth Night: Celebration & Joy
Hanukkah is a time of great joy. For eight days, we are encouraged to play games with spinning tops (dreidels) and chocolate coins (gelt). We indulge in culinary delicacies fried in oil (latkes) and filled with jam donuts (sufganiyot). We give gifts. We sing songs.
There is another eight day festival that demands joy: Sukkot. The Torah commands us, "You shall have nothing but joy." (Deuteronomy 16:13,15) There is even a connection between Sukkot and Hanukkah in the Second Book of Maccabees:
And they celebrated Hanukkah for eight days with gladness like the Camping Out festival [Sukkot], and recalled how a little while before, during the Camping Out festival they had been wandering in the mountains and caverns like wild animals."
During Sukkot, we experienced both a sense of vulnerability and a sense of thankfulness at our good fortune. So too with Hanukkah, we recount the instability of our lives and the precariousness of our 'freedoms'; we also recognize the blessings we are granted each day and the miracles that may lurk in the corners of each of our lives.
How is Hanukkah similar to other Jewish holidays?
What are the common values or themes found through the
Jewish year?
What traditions do you add to create more joy?
Sixth Night: Of Heroes and Heroines...
There are several models of heroism in the stories
surrounding Hanukkah in the books of Maccabees and the Book of Judith (all
associated with the holiday). Mattathias defied the
king, refusing to bow to an idol.
What is heroism and where does courage come from?
Who are your heroes and why?
Which of these models is most appealing and most
problematic to you?
What arenas of heroism are available to men and what
arenas are available to women?
What situations in your life right now call for courage, and what would that courage look like?
Seventh Night: Going Public
One of the customs of Hanukkah is to place the menorah in a
window that faces the street or someplace where the
lights can be seen by the public. The idea behind this custom is to glorify the
miracle of Hanukkah as much as possible. In
This public custom brings interesting questions for one
who lives outside of
How does it feel to bring what is usually private into
the public sphere?
What parts of your Jewish identity are you most
comfortable publicizing?
Are there pieces of your identity or the Jewish
communal identity you would not want to publicize?
Why or why not?
Eighth Night: Memory & History
We are fortunate to have thematic choice when we celebrate Hanukkah. We can commemorate the oil that was meant to last one day, but instead lasted eight; the historic victory of the Maccabees over their oppressors; or the battle for religious freedom and pluralism, to name but a few of the myriad possibilities. Of course, what we choose reveals something about our lives – our values, our interests, our questions. Our ancestors also chose themes that suited their needs; the Book of Maccabees favored the details of battle and triumph. The Rabbis were concerned about spiritual risk:
"In this case of Purim, the people were in physical danger; and therefore... they ordained Purim as a holiday of physical rejoicing and feasting. In the case of Hanukkah, on the other hand, the danger was primarily spiritual, and therefore, Hanukkah was ordained as a time of spiritual thanksgiving." [Shulchan Aruch]
In many ways, our history and identity are built on what we choose to remember. What memories do you have of past Hanukkah celebrations?
What stories and traditions were you taught?
What do you hope the next generation will learn?
My best wishes for a festival filled with light and
joy!
Helping with Hebrew…
How
Can I Follow the Prayers?
I received an e-mail from a
People also often ask me about what
prayers to say when visiting a cemetery.
Again, a site offers some good transliteration, this time of the
traditional memorial prayers. Find it at
http://www.mtsinaicemetery.com/mtsinai/mooffanka/?doc=25. You can click there on the 23rd
Psalm, El Maleh Rachamim
for a man or a woman, and the Mourner’s Kaddish.
Hanukkah at
Home
The Talmud
describes Hanukkah as a holiday of "praise and thanksgiving" in
commemoration of the miraculous overthrow of the Syrian Greeks, the
rededication of the Temple
in Jerusalem, and the single cruse of oil that lasted eight days.
Hanukkah's festive atmosphere derives almost entirely from home ritual and
customs and is dominated by light as a metaphor for
spiritual freedom. This is emphasized by special holiday
songs, games, and foods.
The defining act of Hanukkah is to kindle the lights of the hanukkiyah, the eight-branched candelabrum. These
lights, which can either be candles or tiny oil cups
with floating wicks, grow in strength during the eight days of Hanukkah, with
the addition of one candle or lighted wick each night. One light is added each night to fulfill the concept of lo moridim ba-kodesh (one does
not decrease in holiness). Because the purpose of these Hanukkah lights is the
public proclamation of the Hanukkah miracle, the hanukkiyah
is traditionally lit in a place where the candles can
be seen from out of doors, near a window or a doorway. If, however, this public
placement of the hanukkiyah constitutes a danger, either from fire or anti-Semitism, the lights may be kindled
elsewhere in the house.
FOR MORE OF THIS ARTICLE, GO TO : http://www.myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Hanukkah/TO_Hanukkah_Home.htm
See also: History
Hanukkah:
By Prof. Moshe Benovitz
In Memory of Munir Murdoch z"l, who transformed the Schechter Institute into a Home
Traditionally, Hanukkah celebrates two distinct events: the victory of
the Maccabees and the restoration of the
It would seem, however, that the collective consciousness of the Jewish people has associated yet another motif with Hanukkah. In addition to all the above reasons for celebration, many of us naturally celebrate Hanukkah as the festival of hearth and home, of "coziness" and family, blessings for which we are especially grateful as winter sets in. It is true that families gather together at home on other Jewish holidays, especially on Passover, but then the emphasis is on food and on discussion, learning and ritual that center around the dining room table. What is unique about Hanukkah is that its candle lighting ritual celebrates the very gathering of the family under one roof: the ritual takes place in the living room, not necessarily at the dining table. Lighting the Hanukkah lights is one of the few Jewish home rituals that are not conducted at the dining room table. Hanukkah has come to symbolize the importance of shelter and the warmth of the family and the home as winter begins.
This motif may seem contemporary, but it is not unique to our generation. Not only is the connection between Hanukkah and the home alluded to in traditional sources; it is alluded to in sources from three different periods in the history of Hanukkah. Allusions to this theme can be found in the basic law regarding the kindling of the Hanukkah lights as formulated in the Talmud, in the way in which the Hanukkah lights were customarily kindled from medieval times onward, and the way in which Hanukkah was celebrated by the Hasmoneans themselves, according to the earliest extant record of specific rituals: the sixth chapter of the second book of Maccabees.
I. Talmudic Halakhah: "A single candle for the individual and his home"
Most Jewish rituals are of the type known as hovat gavra, "personal obligation"; they are meant to be performed by each and every individual. This is true both of commandments mandated by Scripture, such as wearing tefillin and eating matzah at the Passover seder, and of practices ordained by the Rabbis, such as washing hands before a meal or hearing the Megillah reading on Purim. Lighting the Hanukkah candles is an exception. Even though many Jews today make it their business to light the candles themselves each night or to be present when a member of the family lights them in order to "fulfill the obligation", this is strictly speaking unnecessary. Hanukkah candles are a hovat habayit, "an obligation incumbent on the home", and not the individual; in the words of the Talmud: "The Hanukkah commandment is a single candle for the individual and his home" (Shabbat 21b). A person who is not home on any given evening of Hanukkah, or even one who is away from home the entire festival week, is not required to light candles or participate in a candle lighting ceremony elsewhere, so long as "they are lighting for him at home" (Shabbat 23a). In this sense, the mitzvah of Hanukkah candles is akin to that of mezuzah: every Jewish home must have a mezuzah, but the individuals living in that home need not be present when the mezuzah is affixed. Similarly, every Jewish home must publicize the Hanukkah miracle to passers-by by lighting candles, but the participation of each individual in this mitzvah is not required.
As a matter of fact, the Talmud associates the Hanukkah lights with the mezuzah explicitly: Hanukkah candles were originally lit in front of the house, and according to the Talmud (Shabbat 22a) they were to be kindled on the left side of the doorway, so that the doorway is surrounded with mitzvot – the candles on the left and the mezuzah on the right.
Now mezuzah is by nature a
"home" ritual: scriptural verses are to be written
"on the doorposts of your house" (Deuteronomy 6:9). By
contrast, Hanukkah candles are reminiscent of other holiday rituals, and other
holiday rituals - such as eating matzah on Passover, hearing the shofar on Rosh
Hashanah, and hearing the Megillah on Purim - are
personal obligations which devolve upon the
individual. Why should the Hanukkah candles be different from these other
festival rituals? The central rituals of Hanukkah and Purim – the candles on
Hanukkah and the Megillah on Purim – are especially
similar: both festivals were instituted during the
The only plausible explanation is that there is an innate connection between Hanukkah candles and the home. The home is responsible for lighting Hanukkah candles, because Hanukkah is a celebration of the home. At least subconsciously, the Sages seemed to have realized that the lighting of candles in front of the home on Hanukkah represents, among other things, the shelter and warmth provided by the home in the face of the oncoming winter, and therefore they ordained the Hanukkah lights as the responsibility of the household, not of the individual.
II. From Medieval Times Onward: "For Members of the Household Only"
As we have seen, the Talmud
ordains that each household light Hanukkah candles in front of the home to
publicize the miracle in front of passers-by. In Talmudic times, the candles were not lit indoors except in times of danger, when the
gentile authorities forbade the public kindling of Hanukkah candles (Shabbat
21b). In our day, this ruling regarding times of danger has become the norm:
Hanukkah candles are lit indoors as a matter of
course. It would seem that this development occurred in Medieval Ashkenaz (see Tosafot Shabbat
21b, s.v. de'i la adliq; Rosh ad
loc., section 3). The reason for this is unclear, but a number of possibilities
suggest themselves: it may be that the Jews of medieval
Whatever the original reason, common practice has become to light the Hanukkah candles indoors rather than in front of the house. This change in practice led to another change in halakhah: according to the Talmud, the Hanukkah lights must be lit "from sunset until the people are gone from the marketplace" (Shabbat 21b), in order to publicize the miracle to passers-by. However the Tosafot and the halakhic authorities who followed the Tosafot ruled that nowadays there is no time limit, and the Hanukkah lights can be lit any time during the night, so long as someone is home awake, because nowadays the candles are lit indoors and are meant to be seen and appreciated "by members of the household only" (Tosafot and Rosh, ibid.). Lighting the candles in the context of the family has become a unique ritual, in which the family gathers in religious celebration without sitting down to a meal. When, in accordance with post-Talmudic practice, the family huddles under a single roof around a candelabrum blazing with light and fire at the beginning of winter, the "home" motif is paramount. Hanukkah has become the holiday of hearth and home not only in the theoretical sense, that the ritual of candle lighting is incumbent upon the household and not the individual; it is actually practiced inside the home in the presence of family members, who publicize the miracle of Hanukkah to one another by lighting candles.
III. Hanukkah in II Maccabees: "Barracks-style"
The earliest and clearest expression of Hanukkah as the holiday of the home is found in II Maccabees. Both books of Maccabees were written in Hasmonean times, and both tell of the way in which Hanukkah was celebrated in those days. But while the reference to the Hanukkah celebration is couched in most general terms in I Maccabees, "that these days of the dedication of the altar be celebrated on time each year for eight days, from the twenty-fifth day of Kislev, in joy and gladness (4:58), II Maccabees 10:6-7 tells of specific rituals. These verses are normally translated: "(6) They celebrated for eight days in the manner of Tabernacles (skenomaton tropon; literally: 'barracks-style'), remembering that a short time earlier, on the festival of Tabernacles, they were grazing in the hills and caves like beasts of the field. (7) Therefore, with thyrsoi and seasonal branches and dates in their hands they sang praise before him who granted them success in purifying his place".
The phrase skenomaton tropon is usually translated "in the manner of Tabernacles", in the manner of the festival of Sukkot. Having been prevented from celebrating Sukkot two months earlier while living in the hills and practicing guerilla warfare "like wild beasts", the Jews celebrated a delayed Sukkot on Hanukkah, singing Hallel and carrying plants for eight days. But this explanation is problematic, for the following reasons:
1. What did this delayed observance of Sukkot accomplish? If Sukkot is not celebrated on the correct date, of what value is its observance on another date? Moreover, if the Maccabees did think they could "make up" missed festivals, why didn't they make up other festivals as well? They spent three years in the mountains, and thus missed each holiday three times over. They ought to have "made up" Passover and Rosh Hashanah as well by eating matzah for seven days and blowing the shofar one day!
2. Why did they find it impossible to celebrate Sukkot in the mountains and caves? It is precisely guerilla fighters living away from home in the mountains like "beasts of the field" who can, and indeed must, build temporary shelters! And it is they who have the most direct access to the four species that must be taken up on Sukkot!
3. The word "Tabernacles" appears twice in the translation of II Maccabees 10:6 provided above, once in the phrase "in the manner of Tabernacles" (skenomaton tropon) and once in the phrase "on the festival of Tabernacles" (ton skenon heorten). However, while the second phrase, derived from skene, "tent, booth, tabernacle", is the normal Greek term for "the festival of Sukkot", the first phrase employs another variant of the word, skenoma, which is usually reserved for barracks and tents in which soldiers dwell, and is never used in the sense of a sukkah constructed for the festival of Sukkot. It should thus be translated "barracks-style" rather than "in the manner of Tabernacles".
4. According to the usual interpretation, the Hasmoneans celebrated Hanukkah "in the manner of Tabernacles" not by building sukkot, but by taking up the four species. However, the three items mentioned in verse 7 are not the four species of Sukkot, and scholars have established that the branches and fruit mentioned in this verse was typical of Hellenistic victory festivals (see David Sperber, "Mitsvat 'ulqahtem' behag haSukkot", Sidra 15 (1999), pp. 167-179).
It would seem therefore that
Hanukkah was celebrated in
The Maccabees remembered the
temporary shelters in which they dwelt in the mountains, which were similar to
festival sukkot, and in commemoration of their experience
they built sukkot when they returned to
Hanukkah was thus originally celebrated with the building of shelters, barracks, homes. Even after this ritual was replaced with the candle lighting ceremony, the Rabbis understood that Hanukkah was the festival of the home, and insisted that the mitzvah of lighting Hanukkah candles is the responsibility of the home or household, and not of the individual. Medieval Jews took this a step further, and brought the Hanukkah candles indoors, establishing that the lighting of the candles is not only the way in which each household publicizes the miracle, but that the family, household or home is the audience before whom the miracle is publicized. This turned Hanukkah into the holiday of hearth and home – the festive occasion on which the family thanks God for his miracles of yore, but also his miracles that are with us daily, including allowing the family to gather under one roof as winter sets in.
Moshe Benovitz
is a Professor of Talmud and Jewish Law at the Schechter Institute of Jewish
Studies in
The Schechter Institutes, Inc. is
dedicated to the advancement of pluralistic Jewish education in
We invite you to join our growing family of supporters, who are enabling the Schechter Institute Graduate School, the Schechter Rabbinical Seminary, TALI Education Fund and Midreshet Yerushalayim to provide inclusive, pluralistic Jewish education to tens of thousands of Israelis and scores of Jewish communities in Eastern Europe. Click here: http://www.schechter.edu/support/gifts.htm
For the Sports Fan who has everything…
How about Hebrew t-shirts for Hanukkah –
Check out the selection at
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
The Beth El
Bar/Bat Mitzvah Commentary
Shira Durica on Vayishlach
In the beginning…. As I began to study for my bat mitzvah, I started to have the strangest dreams. In my dream, which repeated over several nights. I was standing in a synagogue, I looked out and the rows of chairs went out forever. But instead of people, there were shadows. I couldn’t make them out. I look down for my siddur, and there was nothing to read off of. And then I looked out into the chairs and around me for the rabbi and cantor, and they vanished. The bima disintegrated into shadows, and the walls of the sanctuary toppled onto me. I was in a dark tunnel, then there was nothing, then there was… my pillow.
As a girl who loves to write and think, and…dream, I have noticed that dreaming is a major contributor toward building a creative mind. And I dream a lot, remember most of them, and some of them are, shall we say….strange. Like the Penguins! I can vividly remember in first grade, I worried about moving to a new school, and entering a new community. So one night I dreamed that I was with penguins, and they were all jumping into the water. It was as if I was invisible to them. They would push past me to slide into the icy water. And then, one penguin stood next to me, and nodded. We jumped in together. I remember that sting of cold water, but then warm slippery fins on my shoulder. But I wondered what this meant. Diving into a community? Or how important it is to be different. I was human, the rest were penguins
Genesis is filled with dreams, like the one in my portion…. Is it a dream…or not? Late at night, the long suspenseful night in which Jacob was waiting to meet his brother Esau after 20 years. Jacob comes to a river, and crosses it to return to his homeland of Caanan. The river’s name was Jabbok, which if your move a couple of letters is Jacob. It is almost a dreamlike coincidence.
His wrestling match was with someone called a man, but later on a divine being, also like an unknown dream because he was a mystery, a man, an angel, himself, his brother, or maybe even God?
I think Jacob was wrestling with himself because that is what we do in dreams, which help us try to resolve a conflict, or decode a message we need to know. What Jacob needed to know was not to be afraid of his brother. As much as Esau wanted to kill Jacob years before, in the end, they came together and hugged.
Now I understand what my recent dream meant. My inner self didn’t want me to be afraid of today. It didn’t want me to give up on myself, to reach until I grabbed the prize.
Just as Jacob
the dreamer became
(In
the my charge to Shira, I cited a story written by one of the captive Israeli
soldiers, Gilad Shalit,
when he was in 5th grade, about a shark and fish who became friends.
Find it at http://www.habanim.org/en/gilad_story_en.html)
Jillian Katz on Vayeshev
(And Yashar Koach to Jillian for reading Torah at
morning minyan on Thursday and at our traditional service on Synaplex Shabbat!)
My portion, Vayeshev, includes many well known figures, such as Jacob, Joseph and his brothers. Although they are important, perhaps the most significant character of them all does not even have a name.
When Joseph was
sent by Jacob to check on his brothers in the north, he got lost. The Torah tells us that he encountered a man
– in Hebrew, “Eesh,” who gave him directions to the
place where his brothers were shepherding.
Without these directions, Joseph would never have found his brothers,
they would never have sold him into slavery, he would not have gone down to
Sometimes, even people who appear insignificant are the ones who make the greatest impact. There is another example in my portion. While Joseph is in jail, he interprets the dreams of two of Pharaoh’s servants, a butler and a baker. He foresees that the butler will return to Pharaoh’s service, but the baker will die. He asks the butler one simple favor, that when he starts working for Pharaoh again, he will tell him about Joseph. Unfortunately, the butler forgets, but later on, when Pharaoh has disturbing dreams, he remembers. But you’ll have to tune in to next week’s portion to get the rest of the story.
I can think of some examples from
my own life of insignificant people making a big difference. This past shavout,
when I was in
Now I can come to realize that
there are LOTS of people like that in my life. Several weeks ago, my class went to nature’s
classroom at Greenkill
There’s one other person that I’d like to mention, who has made a difference in my life. Although I know her name, she has changed my life all the same. Her name is Jesse and she has RETTS Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder found only in girls. RETTS syndrome is a neuro developmental disorder that can be characterized by normal early development followed by the loss of purposeful use of the hands, distinctive hand movements, slow brain or head growth, seizures, and mental retardation. Perhaps the most disabling feature of RETTS syndrome is the inability to perform most motor functions. This interferes with every movement, from muscle to speech. The symptoms of RETTS syndrome often vary from child to child.
Scientists have now identified the gene and are working to make a cure or treatment. This is a big step towards finding a cure. While a woman is pregnant, their baby can be tested to find out if they may or may not have RETTS. Since RETTS syndrome appears in all racial and ethical groups worldwide, any girl baby can have it.
My mitzvah project is to spread awareness and help the RETTS foundation get closer to a cure. I am going to donate a portion of my Bat Mitzvah money to the RETTS foundation. I hope my contribution can make a difference in some other girl’s life.
Jesse has become my “eesh” because she’s helped to give my life direction. She has inspired me to help other girls and not take simple things for granted.
Now that I am bat mitzvah, I understand that there are many people that will pass quickly through my life and change everything before I realize it, or have the chance to thank them. On this Thanksgiving weekend, I want to thank them all, even of they don’t know it! In the same way, as a bat mitzvah I now can represent the “Eesh” in others’ lives. That can even be taking place at this very moment.
From www.myjewishlearing.com on the 60th anniversary of the UN
Partition plan
On
November 29th, 1947, the United Nations passed a plan to partition
The
U.N. and the Partition Plan
The
Partition Plan Clash
of Nationalisms, By Scott Copeland
Israel
Broadcasting Authority’s Daily English News
Some GOOD NEWS
from
and other sources
FAQs
on American Jews: U.S. Community Population Estimates is
based upon comparative data initially compiled by Dr. Ira M. Sheskin in his Jewish community study reports. The tables are based on studies available at the Mandell
L. Berman Institute - North American Jewish Data Bank. Drs. Dashefsky,
Sheskin and Miller have revised these tables as
needed for this online publication, which will be updated
as new Jewish community studies are completed.
2006
American Jewish Population article by DB Board MemberIra
Sheskin and DB Director Arnold Dashefsky,
published in AJC's American Jewish Year Book.
http://www.bnaibrith.org/magazine/2007SpringBBM/2007_spring_BBM_main.html
- Interesting article on Jews in Sports… and did you know that this year’s NL
Rookie of the Year, Ryan Braun, is half Jewish?
They call him “The Hebrew Hammer.” And then there’s Kevin Youkilis, Gold Glove winner.
Peres
hosts Seinfeld at Beit Hanassi - Recalling
that first visit as a teen, Seinfeld told Peres that as an adult he was no less
excited to be coming back to tour both the holy and the scenic sites. Like most
Jews who meet with any of
A new breed of Israeli filmmaker
For Israeli director Savi Gavizon,
film is about both tragedy and comedy and there's plenty on display in all his
movies. His films may explore melancholy themes, but there's
always a light and humorous touch that gives the audience a chance to laugh.
With a string of hit movies already behind him, Gavizon's
latest movie, Lost and Found is now causing a stir in Israeli cinemas.
The film, which is also being recut
as an 11-part TV series, has been submitted to the Sundance and
Technology | IAF pilot brings the world of 3D gaming to
car navigation
An Israeli company has developed a new navigation solution that will enable
drivers to replace maps and traditional GPS systems with rich, color imagery
that not only shows a driver where to go, but also shows him what he's likely
to see and experience on the journey. Navi2Go is the brainchild of former
Israel Air Force pilot, Isaac Levanon, who uses video
game technology to create a high-resolution GPS system that
can offer drivers 3D renderings of their route. Already on sale in
Health | 'Cool' Israeli technology freezes lumps and
tumors
Israeli start-up Arbel Medical had developed a new
technology that may be able to remove breast lumps and tumors with cryotherapy, a method of surgery that uses extreme cold to
kill diseased tissue. The therapy, IceSense, can be
used with local anesthetic alone, and promises not only to
significantly reduce treatment and recuperation time for the patient, but also
leave no scars. Clinical trials of the new device begin in
now for the rest
Prime source: Daily Alert of the
Olmert: Israel Not Committed to Any Deadline - Herb Keinon
Speaking with reporters following his final meeting with President Bush at the
White House on Wednesday, Prime Minister Olmert said
Arab
Representatives in U.S. Shun Israeli Foreign Minister - Herb Keinon
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni
failed in attempts to set up meetings in Annapolis or Washington with
colleagues from the Arab world, even though the summit was designed to show
international support for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. Israeli officials
interpreted this as evidence that the Arab world had not changed its
fundamental policy that there would be no warming of relations with Israel
until after a deal, and that normalization was one of
the Arab world's major bargaining chips. (
Palestinians
Fire 20 Mortar Shells at Israel from Gaza on Wednesday
Palestinians in
Sixty
Palestinians Hurt in Fatah-Hamas Clashes - Khaled
Abu Toameh
Thousands of Hamas and Hizb al-Tahrir
supporters participated in the funeral on Wednesday of Hisham
al-Baradi, who was shot dead
by PA security forces during protests against the
Hizb al-Tahrir
spokesman Maher Ja'bari said Abbas
was on his way to losing control over the
See also The
Palestinians After the Summit - Zvi Bar'el
Fatah's violent dispersal of the Hamas rally against
the
After
Annapolis - Editorial
How do the so-called moderate Palestinians expect
Indyk: Bush Seemed Uninvolved in His Own Peace Conference
- Bernard Gwertzman
In an interview, Martin S. Indyk, Director of the
Why
Should the Annapolis Summit Be Any Different? - Peter Philipp
It is odd that, without even trying to get to the real core issues in the
Middle East conflict, peace is now supposed to be possible - more so than in
the past. Declarations of intention alone do not suffice. Otherwise, we would
have had a pacified, free and democratic
Sixty
Years of Arab Rejection - Salim Mansur (
·
Sixty years ago on November 29, 1947, the UN
passed the resolution on partitioning Palestine, held by Britain under the
League of Nations mandate, into two states: One Arab and one Jewish.
·
At any time during the
years since then, the Arab states could have acknowledged the rights of Jews to
a state in Palestine, accepted the UN resolution on partition, negotiated the
details of coexistence, assisted the Palestinians with their state, and
received support of the great powers, including the U.S., in meeting the needs
of their people and bringing prosperity to the region given the resources
available.
·
But the Arab position was a resounding
"three nos" as duly spelled out after the
June 1967 war: No peace and no negotiation with and no
recognition of
·
The great lie repeatedly told in the Mideast, and swallowed whole or in part in the West, is
that the U.S.' unconditional support for Israel stands in the way of just peace
in the region.
·
What is implicit in this lie is the meaning
of just peace. For the Arab and Muslim supporters of Hamas, Hizbullah,
al-Qaeda and the Iranian acolytes of the late Ayatollah Khomeini, just peace
requires the rollback of Israel and returning Jews to the secondary status of
"dhimmi" (protected people) as
provided by Islamic laws when Arabs were empire builders.
Israel's Right to Defensible Borders: 40 Years After UN Resolution
242 - A Conference in Jerusalem - 4 June 2007 
- On November 22, 1967, the UN
Security Council adopted Resolution 242, which decades later provided the main
agreed basis for all of Israel's peace agreements with Egypt, Jordan, and the
Palestinian Authority. In the summer of 2007, the Jerusalem Center for Public
Affairs and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation held a
conference commemorating the adoption of Resolution 242 and its establishment
of Israel's right to "secure and recognized borders."
See and hear the following English presentations:
Ambassador
Yehuda Blum
Ambassador
Meir Rosenne
Prof.
Ruth Lapidot
Prof.
Alan Dershowitz
Ambassador
Richard Holbrooke
(Hear Hebrew
presentations.)
Oasis or Mirage? - Thomas L. Friedman
The
The Saudi foreign minister, Prince Saud
al-Faisal, announced even before he got to
Gathering
Israelis and Arabs May Have Been the Real Feat - Michael Abramowitz
Some experts suggested that getting 16 senior Arab officials into the same room
as the Israeli leader might have been the signal achievement of Tuesday's peace
conference. The conference's joint paper skirted the toughest issues and
essentially codified existing efforts by Olmert and Abbas to negotiate the contours of a Palestinian state.
"The meeting was the message," said Martin S. Indyk
of the Brookings Institution's
"We've seen plenty of promising initial discussions
regarding progress between the Israelis and Palestinians. The devil is in the
details, and every process has broken down. So it's very dangerous to read too
much into these processes too early," said David Rothkopf of the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace. (
See also The
Day after Annapolis - Dennis Ross
There is value in having a show of international support for the resumption of
an Israeli-Palestinian peace process. And that is what
Peace
Parks and Pipedreams - Dan Diker
Quartet envoy Tony Blair has announced a major initiative to create thousands
of jobs for unemployed Palestinians. However, since
The idea of Israeli and international investment and ownership
and cheap Palestinian labor has been a fatal flaw. This master-servant business
structure reinforces a Palestinian sense that
The
Challenge of Annapolis - David Horovitz (
·
PA Prime Minister Salaam Fayad
is regarded as a sober, worldly and professional
leader of a standard quite unlike any previous Palestinian politician. But the
Palestinian public is more extreme than it was seven
years ago.
·
That Secretary of State Rice believed, in the
earlier
·
Those around Fayad
believe the summit is premature. Fatah is not reformed. The PA cannot provide
effective security in the
·
There is a second line of
thinking - among Palestinians who discern a pattern of unilateral concession
from
Olmert at Annapolis: We Want Peace; We Demand an End to
Terror, Incitement and Hatred
Prime Minister Olmert said Tuesday at
"The memory of the failures of the near and distant past
weighs heavy on us. The dreadful terrorism perpetrated by Palestinian terrorist
organizations has affected thousands of Israeli citizens....The
continued shooting of Kassam rockets against tens of
thousands of residents in the south of
"The negotiations will be based on previous agreements
between us, UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, the Roadmap, and the
April 14, 2004, letter of President Bush to the Prime Minister of Israel."
"There is not a single Arab state in the
north, east or south with which we do not seek peace. There
is no Muslim state with which we do not want to establish diplomatic relations.
Anyone who wants peace with us, we say to them, from the bottom of our hearts:
welcome!" (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Israel to Set Up 14
Negotiating Teams for Talks with PA
- Barak Ravid
The Israeli cabinet is expected to approve shortly the
establishment of a "negotiations administration" that will include 14
working groups, before negotiations start on December 12. (Ha'aretz)
Saudis:
No Normalization Until Israel "Meets All the
Conditions" -
Saudi participation in a U.S.-hosted peace meeting does not mean that
Getting
From Annapolis to Permanent Status
·
What
is Israel's 'organizing logic' vis-à-vis Gaza?
·
The
Palestinian State and the Issue of Self-Determination
·
The
influence of the Palestinian Constitution on the Israeli-Palestinian
relationship
·
The One State Solution: From the Margins into the Center?
Stemming
the Tide of Violence Against Israeli Women
MYTH #282
"No state in the world connects its national identity to a religious identity."
FACT
Just as the parties were preparing for peace talks in Annapolis, the Palestine Authority’s chief negotiator, Saeb Erekat,
said the Palestinians would not recognize Israel as a Jewish state. This latest effort by a
Palestinian official to delegitimize
Apparently Erekat has not
read the draft constitution for the future state he envisions in
Nations with predominantly Muslim populations are not the only ones to link
their national and religious identity. These nations constitutionally recognize
Christianity or Catholicism as their state religion: Argentina, Armenia, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Denmark, El Salvador, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Lichtenstein, Malta, Monaco, Norway and the United Kingdom.
This article can be found at http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/myths2/exclusives.html#a81
See also Mitchell Bard's blog: http://blogs.britannica.com/blog/main/author/mbard
Source: Myths & Facts Online -- A Guide to the Arab-Israeli Conflict by Mitchell G. Bard.
My mother once
gave me two sweaters for Hanukkah. The next
time we visited, I made sure to wear one. As we entered her home,
instead of the expected smile, she said, "What's the matter? You
didn't, like the other one?"
Previous
Shabbat-O-Grams can be accessed directly from the
archives on our web site (www.tbe.org)
To be removed from this mailing list, send an e-mail request
to office@tbe.org