tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8629378288665012232024-03-11T05:16:47.255-04:00Jewish TreatsJuicy Bits of Judaism, Daily.Jewish Treatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08211159282308638591noreply@blogger.comBlogger6826125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862937828866501223.post-18053376520332636442020-08-18T01:05:00.000-04:002020-08-18T01:05:00.363-04:00Mitzvah With A ShovelThe Jewish customs surrounding death, burial and mourning are intended to provide both respect for the departed and comfort for the mourners. One such custom that may seem startling or even harsh at first glance is the involvement of the mourners in the actual process of burying the deceased. At a traditional Jewish funeral, it is customary for those in attendance to shovel dirt into the grave until it is full. Filling in the grave is so important that until it is done the immediate family does not begin its official period of mourning, remaining in a state known as <a href="http://www.jewishtreats.org/2012/07/the-first-mourning.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">aninut</a><span style="font-style: italic;">.</span><br />
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During the funeral, when the graveside service has concluded, members of the mourning family* are invited to take a shovel and place dirt upon the coffin. After each member of the immediate family (if they so wish) has participated in the mitzvah, the shovels are customarily placed back in the ground so that other family members can participate in covering the grave.<br />
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One reason for this custom, is connected to the relationship of the <a href="http://www.jewishtreats.org/2016/03/parts-of-soul.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">neshama </a><a href="http://www.jewishtreats.org/2016/03/parts-of-soul.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">(soul)</a><span style="color: black;"> and the body. When a person passes away, the </span><span style="font-style: italic;">neshama </span><span style="color: black;">does not hurry to leave this world, but rather hovers near the body. According to the opinion of Rabbi Abahu, the </span><span style="font-style: italic;">neshama </span><span style="color: black;">remains nearby until the grave is closed (Talmud </span><span style="font-style: italic;">Shabbat </span><span style="color: black;">152b). The neshama, therefore, bears witness to the relatives’ desire to complete the mitzvah of escorting the dead.</span><br />
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While some mourners may hesitate to perform this practice, the act of burying the dead greatly benefits the mourners as well, since this physical activity often gives the mourners a sense of closure, allowing the mourners to prepare to go on with life.<br />
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*This varies by community. In some communities, immediate family members do not participate in filling in the grave.<br />
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The treat was originally posted on August 6, 2016.<br />
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Copyright © 2020 NJOP. All rights reserved.
Jewish Treatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08211159282308638591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862937828866501223.post-89053692859072978242020-08-18T01:00:00.000-04:002020-08-18T01:00:03.787-04:00Offer to HelpWhen attending a burial where only a few family members are present, offering to help shovel dirt into the grave, is considered a great act of kindness. Jewish Treatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08211159282308638591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862937828866501223.post-61845711921586374982020-08-17T01:06:00.000-04:002020-08-17T01:06:00.208-04:00American ArchivistSelma Stern-Taeubler (1890-1981) was a natural achiever. Not only was this doctor’s daughter the first woman to be accepted to Baden-Baden’s Gymnasium in Germany, she even graduated from there with honors. A natural scholar with a penchant for history, Stern-Taeubler continued her studies at the University of Heidelberg and earned her doctorate from Maximilian University of Munich in 1913.<br />
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Following the First World War, Stern-Taeubler realized that, as a Jew, she would never have a proper place in Germany. At the same time, Stern-Taeubler recognized that a large portion of German Jewry was losing its connection to, and understanding of, Jewish life and practice. Stern-Taeubler became a research assistant at the newly opened <span style="font-style: italic;">Akademie für die Wissenschaft des Judentum </span><span style="color: black;">(Academy for Jewish Studies) in Berlin. Stern-Taeubler thus began an academic career that enabled her to write her three volume masterpiece: </span><span style="font-style: italic;">The Prussian State and the Jew</span><span style="color: black;">. The work began with the Jews of the 18th century, but, with the growing anti-Semitism that she recorded, it became abundantly clear that the Germany in which Stern-Taeubler had been raised was rapidly disappearing. When Stern-Taeubler and her husband, Eugen Taeubler - himself a research scholar at the </span><span style="font-style: italic;">Wissenschaft des Judentum</span><span style="color: black;"> - were denied library access, they knew that it was time for a change. After salvaging as many documents as they could, the Taeublers headed for the United States. </span><br />
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Arriving in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Taeublers sought to continue their Jewish scholarly activities and soon joined the staff of the Hebrew Union College - he as a teacher, she as the first archivist of the American Jewish Archives. During her first years in America, Stern-Taeubler produced her only novel, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Spirit Returneth</span><span style="color: black;"> (translated from the German original) about the Jewish community in Europe at the time of the Black Death (14th century).</span><br />
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Eugen Taeubler died in 1956. In 1960, Stern-Taeubler retired from the Archives and moved to Basel, Switzerland. She continued her research and writing until her death on August 17, 1981.<br />
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The treat was originally posted on August 17, 2015.<br />
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Copyright © 2020 NJOP. All rights reserved.
Jewish Treatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08211159282308638591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862937828866501223.post-22741804118052655982020-08-17T01:00:00.000-04:002020-08-17T01:00:01.078-04:00Search the ArchivesTo better appreciate the historic success of a longstanding Jewish institution, study their archives. Jewish Treatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08211159282308638591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862937828866501223.post-51494531178515940122020-08-14T01:05:00.000-04:002020-08-14T10:34:23.932-04:00Jews In PakistanIn recent years, the nation of Pakistan has frequently been in the news, all too often, connected to reports of violence, bloodshed and war. Pakistan itself is actually a very young country - it was created when it was separated from India on August 14, 1946.<br />
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At the time of the creation of Pakistan, there were approximately 2,000 (reports vary between 1,500 and 2,500) Jews living there, the majority in the city of Karachi. These Jews had, for the most part, come from India and were members of the Bene Israel community.<br />
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Despite being in a thoroughly Muslim country, and having only one synagogue, Magain Shalome, built in 1893, the Karachi Jews were able to successfully build their community during the first half of the 20th century. A Young Man’s Jewish Association was established and there was a special fund, the Karachi Bene Israel Relief Fund, to support poor Jews. The Jewish community was accepted enough within the city that Abraham Reuben became a councilor in the Karachi City Corporation in 1936.<br />
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Life for the Jews of Pakistan began to change not long after it became an independent country, and Israel moved toward its own independence. In 1948, Pakistani rioters, opposed to the creation of the State of Israel, attacked the synagogue. Many of the Pakistani Jews left, heading first to Bombay and from there to Israel, Canada and the United Kingdom. Similar violence recurred during each of Israel’s wars, and the Jews of Pakistan continued to flee. Those who remained hid among the general population.<br />
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On July 17, 1988, the Magain Shalome Synagogue was destroyed by presidential order so that a shopping mall could be built on the site. The Jewish cemetery remains and is maintained by local non-Jews.<br />
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This Treat was originally posted on August 14, 2015.<br />
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Copyright © 2020 NJOP. All rights reserved.
Jewish Treatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08211159282308638591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862937828866501223.post-63672992314912037902020-08-14T01:00:00.000-04:002020-08-14T01:00:05.908-04:00Sad RealityUnfortunately, in some countries, threats of violence and violence itself, has lead many who once felt safe, to emigrate to other countries in search of a safer haven to live freely as Jews. Jewish Treatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08211159282308638591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862937828866501223.post-14458594266112336992020-08-13T01:05:00.000-04:002020-08-13T01:05:00.144-04:00All That's LeftAugust 13th is annually celebrated as “Left Hander’s Day.”<br />
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Most Lefties, also known as “southpaws” due to the orientation of baseball stadiums in regard to the sun, are proud of their “condition,” one that “afflicts” about 10% of the world’s population. 8 of the 45 U.S. presidents (Garfield, Hoover, Truman, Kennedy, Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Clinton and Obama) were lefties. Lefties have become accustomed to certain common inconveniences: scissors, vegetable peelers and the computer mouse often do not work for lefties; lefty golf clubs and baseball gloves are more expensive and/or harder to obtain (good luck obtaining a lefty catcher glove in a sports equipment store); lefties are practically banned from playing 4 of 9 baseball positions; pencil sharpeners were always placed on the left side of the blackboard and novelty mugs place the photos to face forward with the handle on the right. Words such as sinister and gauche, both modifiers describing negativity, are connected to the left side (gauche in French means left). For many centuries, people believed that lefties were indeed possessed or developmentally scarred.<br />
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Judaism also has much to say about those whose left hand is dominant.
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Whenever hands are involved in the performance of a mitzvah, is it performed with the dominant hand, which for most humans, is their right hand, or must it be done with a specific hand irrespective of one’s strength? Jewish law considers the lefty’s “right” as his or her left. So when it comes to holding a wine cup (whether for <a href="http://www.jewishtreats.org/2015/03/kiddush-wine.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Kiddush</a><span style="font-weight: bold;">, </span><a href="http://www.jewishtreats.org/2014/12/saying-goodbye-to-shabbat.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Havdallah</a><span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: bold;">,</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">a wedding, a</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><a href="http://www.jewishtreats.org/2010/06/plenty-of-honors.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">brit</a><span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: bold;">,</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">or to lead the</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><a href="http://www.jewishtreats.org/2009/08/birkat-hamazon.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Grace After Meals</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">with a cup of wine), reciting </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-style: italic;">tachanun</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">, (the supplication prayer that follows the </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><i><a href="http://www.jewishtreats.org/2016/06/three-steps-forward-three-steps-back.html">Amidah</a></i></b></span></span>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">recited leaning on one’s arm), placing a ring on a bride’s finger,</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"> </span><a href="http://www.jewishtreats.org/2012/06/breaking-glass.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">breaking the glass at the conclusion of a wedding</a><span style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: bold;">, </span><a href="http://www.jewishtreats.org/2008/04/what-are-tefillin-where-to-wear-tefillin.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">tying the arm tefillin</a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;">,</span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"> waving the</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"> </span><a href="http://www.jewishtreats.org/2018/09/the-four-species.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="font-family: inherit; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">four species</a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">on Sukkot, and leaning on Passover, there are discussions as to which hand lefties use, their objective right hand, or their subjective right hand, i.e. the left hand.</span></div>
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Jewish law also invalidates lefty priests from performing the public Temple service (Talmud <span style="font-style: italic;">B’chorot</span><span style="color: black;"> 45b). The rabbis debate if this is because of an inherent disqualification (the context of the Talmudical passage above), or because the lefty does not “have” a right hand, which is required to perform the Temple service.</span>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If you are left-handed, enjoy the day.</span></span><br />
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If you are not, wish a happy "Left-Handers Day" to those who are. They will identify themselves – with their left hand, of course!<br />
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NOTE: As with all Treats dealing with <span style="font-style: italic;">halacha</span><span style="color: black;"> (points of Jewish law), one should consult one's local rabbi for practical application.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The treat was originally posted on August 13, 2019.</span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Copyright © 2020 NJOP. All rights reserved.</span>Jewish Treatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08211159282308638591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862937828866501223.post-27801028381009622222020-08-13T01:00:00.000-04:002020-08-13T01:00:01.213-04:00Proud SouthpawsDiscover the possible implications of being a lefty when it comes to Jewish ritual practice.Jewish Treatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08211159282308638591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862937828866501223.post-34284673505158535962020-08-12T01:05:00.000-04:002020-08-12T01:05:00.276-04:00Minsk, Pinsk and Dvinsk?Dvinsk, also known as Daugavpils or Duenaburg, is Latvia’s second largest city, situated 140 miles southeast of Riga, Latvia’s capital (Dvinsk is the city’s Russian name).<br />
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Dvinsk became a Jewish center in the Baltics beginning about the year 1784. A census in 1897 noted that 44% of the city’s 69,700 residents were Jews. On the eve of World War I, 55,680 Jews resided in Dvinsk. The Jewish population surged in the 1830s when Dvinsk was included in the <a href="http://www.jewishtreats.org/2010/06/catherine-and-jews.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Pale of Settlement</a><span style="font-weight: bold;">,</span><span style="color: black;"> the Russian regions that were open to Jewish residence. As such, both </span><span style="font-style: italic;">Chassidic</span><span style="color: black;"> and </span><span style="font-style: italic;">Mitnagdic</span><span style="color: black;"> Jews lived in Dvinsk. The city’s two communities not only lived in peace together, but its two internationally renowned rabbinic leaders were true colleagues and friends. Rabbi Meir Simcha HaKohen (1843-1926), the leader of the Mitnagdic community, served as the rabbi of the </span><span style="font-style: italic;">Kahal Sha’ar</span><span style="color: black;"> synagogue for 39 years. Rabbi HaKohen is also known by the names of his two famous scholarly works, the </span><span style="font-style: italic;">Or</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><span style="font-style: italic;">Sameyach</span><span style="color: black;">, a commentary on Maimonides’ halachic code, and the </span><span style="font-style: italic;">Meshech Chochmah</span><span style="color: black;">, a Bible commentary.</span>
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The Hassidic community based at the <span style="font-style: italic;">“Planover Minyan,”</span><span style="color: black;"> was led for 50 years by the renowned Rabbi Joseph Rosen, known as the </span><span style="font-style: italic;">Rogatchover Ga’on</span><span style="color: black;"> (the genius from Rogatchov), who also authored a volume called</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> Tzafnat Paneyach</span><span style="color: black;">, titled for the Egyptian name given to Biblical Joseph. It is also notable that in 1865,</span><span style="color: #333333;"> </span><a data-link-type="web" href="http://www.jewishtreats.org/2011/09/rav-kook.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Rabbi Abraham Isaac HaKohen Kook</a><span style="font-weight: bold;">,</span><span style="color: #333333;"> </span><span style="color: black;">who would become the first Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of Palestine, was born in Griva, a suburb of Dvinsk.</span><br />
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Dvinsk fell under Russian hegemony from 1893 until 1920, when Latvia declared its independence. Latvia fell under the orbit of the U.S.S.R. in 1940-1941 and from 1944 until 1991, when the U.S.S.R. fell. On June 26, 1941, the German army occupied Dvinsk. Days later, the town’s men were ordered to appear at the town square. Some were imprisoned and sent to forced labor camps, and others were murdered. The Nazis forced the Jews into a ghetto on July 26, 1941, where they murdered most of the town’s Jews. Of the 28,000 Jews who lived in the area, the Nazis killed about 20,000, of which 13,000 were from the ghetto.<br />
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The Nazi extermination of Dvinsk began on August 12, 1941.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The treat was originally posted on July 31, 2018.</span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Copyright © 2020 NJOP. All rights reserved.</span>Jewish Treatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08211159282308638591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862937828866501223.post-6048424952051693752020-08-12T01:00:00.000-04:002020-08-12T01:00:08.647-04:00Different Yet Valid ApproachesStudy the history of both the Mitnagdic (non-Chassidic) and the Chassidic world in order to better appreciate two different approaches to worshipping God. Jewish Treatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08211159282308638591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862937828866501223.post-25086205019691831982020-08-11T01:05:00.000-04:002020-08-11T13:00:15.266-04:00Is It Kosher?All natural produce in its original form is kosher--including fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains. Once anything is processed--such as frozen foods, canned goods, repackaged goods, juices, etc., supervision is required.<br />
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Processing raises many questions, such as: Are the processing machines ever used for non-kosher foodstuffs (e.g. lard on machines to keep things running smoothly is a common problem)?<br />
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Milk must come from a kosher animal and eggs must come from a kosher bird. (Any egg with a blood-spot on the yolk is not allowed.) Kosher cheese, grape juice and wine must all be made under kosher supervision. The presence of uncertified grape juice is what makes many seemingly-kosher products (especially fruit drinks and soft drinks) not kosher. <span style="color: black;">Gelatin (an animal by-product) is extremely kosher-sensitive and must include proper certification.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;">Dairy products and meat products (including poultry) may not be mixed. Various Jewish communities are also careful about not mixing dairy and fish.</span><br />
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Lists of kosher animals appear in Leviticus 11 and in Deuteronomy 14. Kosher animals have completely split hooves and chew their cud (cows, sheep, goats, deer, bison, etc). Those that have only one sign (only chew their cud - camel, hare, hyrax; only have a split hoof - pig) are not kosher. Animals of prey are not kosher.<br />
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Birds of prey are not kosher. Kosher birds are known based on tradition (most commonly chicken, duck, <a href="http://www.jewishtreats.org/2009/11/its-not-big-chicken.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">turkey</a>, etc).<br />
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Kosher fish have fins and scales, ruling out crustaceans, sharks and tentacled creatures.<br />
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Birds and animals must be slaughtered according to a very precise procedure in order to be kosher. An improperly performed slaughter renders the animal unkosher. All blood must be removed from kosher-slaughtered animals prior to cooking because eating/drinking blood is forbidden. No ritual slaughter is required for fish.<br />
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Further Information:
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<a data-link-type="web" href="https://www.star-k.org/articles/kosher-lists/3502/no-hechsher-required/" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">No certification required on these products</span></a></div>
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<a data-link-type="web" href="https://www.crcweb.org/agency_list.php" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">Kosher supervision </span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The treat was originally posted on August 8, 2008.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Copyright © 2020 NJOP. All rights reserved.</span>
Jewish Treatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08211159282308638591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862937828866501223.post-77626526836914073972020-08-11T01:00:00.000-04:002020-08-11T11:48:04.076-04:00Kosher Supervisory AgenciesTo help the growing numbers of kosher consumers, kosher supervisory agencies place their kosher trademarks on millions of food products. Familiarize yourself with the kosher symbols so proper kashrut can be observed.Jewish Treatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08211159282308638591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862937828866501223.post-38666111042567315222020-08-10T01:05:00.000-04:002020-08-10T19:28:10.089-04:00Midwestern Sour CreamThere are a host of Jewish foods that are associated with the American Jewish experience. Most of these, such as blintzes with sour cream, sour cream and bananas, and (of course) bagels-cream cheese-lox, are generally associated with the Jews of the Northeast, particularly New York. It might, therefore, come as a surprise to learn that during the early 20th century one of the largest kosher dairy producers in the country was located in the Midwest, in St. Louis, Missouri.<br />
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St. Louis is home to one of the Midwest’s biggest Jewish communities, and its earliest communal organizations date back to the 1830s. There were already three existing synagogues in 1882, when Sholom Isaac and Rivka Raskas arrived there from Kovno, Lithuania, and opened a small business delivering milk door to door. This business developed into Raskas Dairy, which opened in 1888. St. Louis, however, did not have sufficient educational resources to provide the Raskas boys with a traditional Jewish education, so the Raskases sent their two eldest sons, Julius and Louis, back to Europe, where they studied at the yeshivas of <a href="http://www.jewishtreats.org/2014/01/the-elder-of-slabodka.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Slabodka</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>and then <a href="http://www.jewishtreats.org/2008/09/watch-what-you-say.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Radin</a>. Shortly before World War I, Louis returned to join the growing business. (His wife, Ruth, and their two sons were stuck in Europe until 1920.)<br />
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After the war, the Raskas’ business began to grow beyond their St. Louis market. They became popular across the nation, particularly for their patented Smetina cream dressing. Observant Jews were particularly good customers because of the family’s reputation for maintaining strict oversight of the kashrut of their products.<br />
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With the success of the dairy, the Raskases were able to support the growth of the St. Louis community, particularly the Jewish educational institutions that permitted families to give their children a traditional Jewish education. Louis Raskas passed away in April 1974. Raskas Dairy was purchased by Schreiber Foods in 2002.<br />
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Missouri became the 24th state on August 10, 1821.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGaQuwg1XcuI38R4eWW3wQGjTuLESpfaGLe_RLguqGKQ64wV2_Itw5seOpb6YiP8dPrdWt1bm-TLQKIwfxXjRpmk8GqUYLT1lDc1btWFApa09e8twJRiWBfPJEpB2JtBTBUO1zToZn4K-H/s1600/smetina.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; color: #999999; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="228" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGaQuwg1XcuI38R4eWW3wQGjTuLESpfaGLe_RLguqGKQ64wV2_Itw5seOpb6YiP8dPrdWt1bm-TLQKIwfxXjRpmk8GqUYLT1lDc1btWFApa09e8twJRiWBfPJEpB2JtBTBUO1zToZn4K-H/s200/smetina.jpg" style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 153, 153); padding: 4px;" width="131" /></a></div>
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The treat was originally posted on August 10, 2017.
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Copyright © 2020 NJOP. All rights reserved.Jewish Treatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08211159282308638591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862937828866501223.post-71245945666611382172020-08-10T01:00:00.000-04:002020-08-10T15:38:15.137-04:00Support for Local Jewish InstitutionsGet to know the Jewish institutions in your community and see how you can join together and add your support to companies that help to sustain their growth. Jewish Treatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08211159282308638591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862937828866501223.post-90994749863750138372020-08-07T01:05:00.000-04:002020-08-11T11:48:40.119-04:00Celebrating Bar Ilan UniversityWould you believe that the founding of Israel’s second largest university (33,000 students) was conceived “deep in the heart of Dixie"?<br />
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Two years after Israel’s founding in 1948, the participants at a meeting of the<span style="color: #333333;"> </span><a data-link-type="web" href="http://www.jewishtreats.org/2013/07/a-woman-in-charge-bessie-gotsfeld.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: blue; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Mizrachi of America</a><span style="color: #333333;"> </span><span style="color: black;">in Atlanta, GA, dreamed of the need for an Israeli institution of higher learning committed to a dual academic curriculum of Torah and general studies, in the model of New York’s</span><span style="color: black;"> </span><a href="http://www.jewishtreats.org/2013/11/rabbi-dr-bernard-revel_5.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: blue; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Yeshiva University</a><span style="color: blue; font-weight: bold;">.</span><span style="color: #333333;"> </span><span style="color: black;">The founders hoped its alumni would espouse the values of the religious Zionist movement, yet embrace, at the highest academic levels, the great disciplines of Western thought and civilization. The new university was named for Rabbi Meir Bar Ilan (1880-1949), a leader of the Religious Zionist movement and son of the renowned sage</span><span style="color: #333333;"> </span><a data-link-type="web" href="http://www.jewishtreats.org/2012/08/the-netziv.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: blue; font-weight: bold; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin</a><span style="color: blue; font-weight: bold;">.</span><span style="color: #333333;"> </span><span style="color: black;">Rabbi Bar Ilan, who passed away the year before the Atlanta meeting, served as president of U.S. Mizrachi from 1915-1928, functioning in this capacity from Jerusalem, after he moved there in 1923.</span><br />
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The dream became a reality on August 7, 1955, when Bar Ilan University was founded in Ramat Gan, a suburb of Tel Aviv. Rabbi Dr. Pinkhas Churgin (1894-1957) served as the university’s first president. A native of Belarus, young Pinkhas moved to Jerusalem with his family in 1906 where he received a traditional Jewish education, culminating in rabbinic ordination. Desiring a serious general education, Rabbi Churgin moved to the United States, receiving his doctorate in Semitics from Yale College in 1922. While still a student in 1920, Rabbi Dr. Churgin took a position at the YU-affiliated <span style="font-style: italic;">Beit Midrash LeMorim</span>/Teachers Institute, which was founded by Mizrachi as a way to train Judaic studies teachers at the highest academic level. By 1923, he was the principal and built up Teachers Institute until he assumed the presidency of Bar Ilan in 1955.
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In its early days, Bar Ilan University catered exclusively to religious students and retained the services of only religious professors. While religious students are still a majority, today, both secular Jews and non-Jewish students and teachers attend and teach at Bar Ilan.
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The treat was originally posted on August 7, 2018.</div>
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Copyright © 2020 NJOP. All rights reserved.Jewish Treatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08211159282308638591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862937828866501223.post-44165875857268255342020-08-07T01:00:00.000-04:002020-08-07T01:00:05.121-04:00Support for Local Jewish InstitutionsGet to know the Jewish institutions in your community and see how you can join together and add your support to companies that help to sustain their growth. Jewish Treatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08211159282308638591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862937828866501223.post-42154379798181510612020-08-06T01:05:00.000-04:002020-08-10T19:14:53.042-04:00The Jews Of JamaicaAs in many countries of the New World, the Jewish history of Jamaica begins with conversos, the secret Jews who fled Spain. They came to the New World seeking not only new opportunities, but also to distance themselves from the Inquisition. As in many countries of the New World, the conversos rejoiced when the British conquered the island of Jamaica from Spain in 1655. (A fascinating fact: the ship that led the British into Kingston, Jamaica, was piloted by one Compoe Sabbatha, who was, himself, a converso.)<br />
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With the island under British control, Jews felt safe coming to Jamaica, and many arrived from Spanish held territories. Just because the Inquisition was not in Jamaica, however, did not mean that the Jews were particularly welcome. As early as 1671, there was a failed petition to expel Jews, and, in 1693, a special tax was levied on the Jewish community. In the 1700s, Jews were banned from hiring Christian house-servants.<br />
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Still, the community flourished, and the Jews, who were often involved in the sugar and vanilla trades, prospered. It is apparent, that once they were granted equal status in 1831, the Jews were actually well respected in Jamaica and even captured a respectable percentage of the seats in the legislature. By 1849, eight of the forty-seven members of the colonial assembly were Jewish. In fact, that year, the assembly voted to adjourn over Yom Kippur.<br />
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Both Sephardic and Ashkenazic Jews settled in Jamaica. At one point, there were synagogues in Kingston, Port Royal, Spanish Town and Montego Bay. Time, assimilation, and economic and political factors took their toll on the Jamaican Jewish community. By the 1980s, only a few hundred Jews remained. Today, only one synagogue remains in Kingston, Shaare Shalom, and also a Jewish school (Hillel Academy), as well as several other Jewish organizations.<br />
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On August 6, 1962, Jamaica declared its independence from the United Kingdom.<br />
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This Treat was originally posted on August 6, 2013.<br />
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Copyright © 2020 NJOP. All rights reserved.Jewish Treatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08211159282308638591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862937828866501223.post-5411344396092292092020-08-06T01:00:00.000-04:002020-08-06T14:24:15.078-04:00Making An ImpactStudy the history of Jews who have settled in a particular country to better appreciate the challenges and triumphs when trying to establish a foothold in a new land. Jewish Treatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08211159282308638591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862937828866501223.post-58733775855129560232020-08-05T01:05:00.000-04:002020-08-10T19:13:59.851-04:00No Holiday as Joyous<i>Tu b’Av</i> (The Fifteenth of Av) is no longer the well-known holiday on the Jewish calendar that it was in ancient times. In fact, the Talmud states that: “There were no holidays so joyous for the Jewish People as the Fifteenth of Av ...” (<i>Ta’anit</i> 26b).<br />
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On <i>Tu b’Av</i>, the unmarried maidens of Jerusalem would go out to the vineyards to dance together under the gaze of the unmarried men (sort of a Sadie Hawkins Day!). Each young lady would be dressed in white clothing borrowed from her neighbor so that those who came from wealthy families would not stand out and none would be embarrassed.<br />
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As they danced, the ladies would call out: “Young man, lift your eyes and choose wisely. Don't look only at physical beauty--look rather at the family [values], 'For charm is false, and beauty is deceitful. A God-fearing woman is the one to be praised ...’” (Proverbs 31:30).<br />
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In ancient times, the same ceremony also took place on Yom Kippur.<br />
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Why such joy? The rabbis offer many reasons to celebrate. <i>Jewish Treats</i> will present some of the reasons in no particular order.<br />
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First, the Jews in the Wilderness realized that the generation that wandered for 40 years for their sin of believing the slander of the 10 scouts, had died out, and that the punishment had ended. This brought a sense of closure to the nation who were about to enter the Land of Canaan. Second, it was on the 15th of Av when the prohibition of the rest of the Jewish tribes marrying into the tribe of Benjamin, due to the tragedy known as the Concubine in Giv’ah, was lifted. Third, and continuing the theme of schism, it was on the 15th of Av when Hoshea ben Elah, the last king of the northern kingdom of Israel, removed the roadblocks set by Jereboam to prevent his subjects from making the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Fourth, the masses of Jews who were massacred when the Romans conquered the city of Betar in 133 CE, were finally buried on the 15th of Av. Finally, the 15th of Av was the final day when wood was cut for the Temple alter. When Ezra and Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt the Temple, they found that the enemies of Israel had cut down most of the local trees, a common act for an army at that time. In order to supply wood for the Temple sacrifices, Jews would donate the desperately needed wood, and offer a sacrifice at the same time, called the “wood offering.”<br />
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The 15th of Av is considered the end of the sunny season, and it marked the date by which that the wood in the Temple needed to be dry. It was a day of celebration for having amassed enough wood for the Temple’s needs.<br />
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Happy Tu b’Av.
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Today is Tu b’Av.<br />
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This Treat is reposted annually in honor of Tu b'Av.<br />
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Copyright © 2020 NJOP. All rights reserved.Jewish Treatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08211159282308638591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862937828866501223.post-28991914926462702132020-08-05T01:00:00.000-04:002020-08-05T11:01:08.310-04:00A Cause for CelebrationAfter the difficult Three Weeks, celebrate an especially joyous day today.Jewish Treatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08211159282308638591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862937828866501223.post-24069485018178676672020-08-04T01:05:00.000-04:002020-08-06T22:36:47.793-04:00Belarus, China, Jerusalem and Brooklyn: The Odyssey of the World’s Largest YeshivaFor 125 years, from 1814 until 1939, the Mir Yeshiva served as a beacon of elite Torah study on the European continent. Situated in the small town of Mir in Belarus, the yeshiva was founded by Rabbi Shmuel Tiktinsky (d. 1883).<br />
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Eventually, after a few generations of Tiktinsky <span style="font-style: italic;">Roshei Yeshiva </span><span style="color: black;">(Deans of Yeshiva), Rabbi Eliyahu Boruch Kamai was appointed </span><span style="font-style: italic;">Rosh Yeshiva</span><span style="color: black;"> (Dean of Yeshiva). His daughter married a young scholar named Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda Finkel, the son of the famed Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel, known as the</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><a href="http://www.jewishtreats.org/2014/01/the-elder-of-slabodka.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Alter of Slabodka</a><span style="font-weight: bold;">,</span><span style="color: black;"> the sagacious, pious and inspiring leader of the Slabodka Yeshiva. Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda eventually was named </span><span style="font-style: italic;">Rosh Yeshiva</span><span style="color: black;"> of the Mir Yeshiva. With the exception of the World War I years, when the yeshiva was forced to move to Poltava, Ukraine, the Mir Yeshiva educated thousands of students in their building in Belarus.</span><br />
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The story of the Mir Yeshiva’s escape from Hitler’s clutches is legendary, and some would even argue, miraculous. The story how they approached the Japanese consul in Lithuania, Chiune Sugihara, for exit visas is one of the few positive stories of Jewish rescue that emerged during World War II.
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After the Mir Yeshiva’s relocation to Shanghai, China, during the years of World War II, the faculty and students immigrated to Jerusalem, Israel, and New York. Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda served as Rosh Yeshiva of Mir Jerusalem until his death on July 19, 1965. He was succeeded by his brother-in-law, Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz. The reins of the yeshiva’s leadership returned to the Finkel family when Rabbi Nahum Partzovitz, Rabbi Shmuelevitz’s son-in-law passed away, and Rabbi Beinish Finkel, son of Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda, was appointed as Rosh Yeshiva. American born and bred Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel, Rabbi Beinish’s son-in-law, led Mir Jerusalem until his passing in 2011. Currently, Rabbi Nosson Tzvi’s son, Rabbi Eliezer Yehuda, serves as Rosh Yeshiva.<br />
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The other branch of Mir moved to Brooklyn, NY, after the yeshiva’s sojourn in Asia. Mir Brooklyn, known as the Mirrer Yeshiva, was led by Rabbi Avraham Kalmanovitz, and then, Rabbi Kalmanovitz's son-in-law, Rabbi Shmuel Berenbaum. Rabbi Berenbaum passed away in 2008, and the yeshiva is currently led by Rabbi Avrohom Yaakov Nelkenbaum, Rabbi Elya Brudny, Rabbi Asher Dov Berenbaum and Rabbi Asher Eliyahu Kalmanovitz.<br />
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Mir Jerusalem, with 8,500 students, is the largest yeshiva in the world.<br />
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The Mir Yeshiva in Belarus closed in Europe on the second of Cheshvan, 1939.<br />
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This Treat was originally posted on October 30, 2019.
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Copyright © 2020 NJOP. All rights reserved.Jewish Treatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08211159282308638591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862937828866501223.post-87709372305812098252020-08-04T01:00:00.000-04:002020-08-04T01:00:00.797-04:00Survival and Growth of Torah StudyAppreciate the miraculous survival of the Mir Yeshiva during World War II and the success thereafter both in Jerusalem and Brooklyn, NY.Jewish Treatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08211159282308638591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862937828866501223.post-36832493109387553352020-08-03T01:05:00.000-04:002020-08-06T22:36:26.883-04:00Best-Seller<span style="font-family: inherit;">For a high school drop-out who failed English three times, Leon Uris had an outstanding career as a best-selling author. The Baltimore born (August 3, 1924) son of a Jewish paperhanger from Poland who had come to America after a year in Palestine, Uris wrote epic novels of historical fiction that were well-researched and plot driven - making up for what critics notice as a tendency toward stock characters and blunt dialogue.
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Uris joined the Marines at 17, in the wake of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. His service as a radioman in the South Pacific was the foundation of his first novel, <span style="font-style: italic;">Battle Cry</span>, which he published in 1953, several years after being discharged from service and working in the distribution department of a newspaper. <span style="font-style: italic;">Battle Cry</span> was on the best-sellers list for a year and was snatched up by Hollywood, where Uris went to write the screenplay.
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Exodus</span> (1958), Uris’ most famous novel, followed months of research. It is the story of the return of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel, focused around the dramatic story of the refugee ship, "Exodus." Both the book and the movie were incredibly successful.</span>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">While Uris wrote on a variety of subjects (WWII in Greece, conflict in Ireland, etc.), the Holocaust and the State of Israel were very significant themes in his canon. His 1961 best-seller, <span style="font-style: italic;">Mila 18</span>, chronicled the harrowing uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto. He returned to a Holocaust related topic in 1970 with <span style="font-style: italic;">QB VII</span>, a courtroom drama about a libel case unveiling the horrible acts of a hidden former Nazi. <span style="font-style: italic;">The Haj</span> (1984) presented Uris’ view of the Palestinian perspective of the events surrounding 1948, and <span style="font-style: italic;">Mitla Pass</span> (1988) explored the 1956 Sinai campaign.
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Uris was a celebrity writer who continued to produce popular novels throughout his life. His last book, <span style="font-style: italic;">O’Hara’s Choice</span> (concerning issues facing the U.S. Marine Corps after the Civil War), was published in 2003, a few short months before he passed away at the age of 78.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This Treat was originally posted on August 3, 2017.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Copyright © 2020 NJOP. All rights reserved.</span>Jewish Treatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08211159282308638591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862937828866501223.post-90847625308079963262020-08-03T01:00:00.000-04:002020-08-03T14:39:41.818-04:00Read and UnderstandRead about some of the most dramatic events in modern Jewish history to better appreciate the many challenges the Jewish people have endured. Jewish Treatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08211159282308638591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-862937828866501223.post-88571621841425451862020-07-31T01:05:00.000-04:002020-08-03T14:04:39.066-04:00Shabbat NachamuThe Shabbat following the fast of <i>Tisha b’Av </i>(the ninth of the Hebrew month of Av) is called <i>Shabbat Nachamu</i>, the Shabbat of Consolation, referring to the opening words of the <i>haftarah</i>, the weekly reading from the Prophets. It is the first of seven <i>haftarot</i> noted for their theme of consolation.<br />
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Having just emerged from the time of deepest mourning for the destruction of the Holy Temples, our despair is tempered by God’s constant optimistic promise--while our people may be laid low at times by our enemies, we shall be redeemed by God and our Temple will be rebuilt.<br />
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The <i>haftarah</i> of <i>Shabbat Nachamu</i> begins with the words: “<i>Nachamu, nachamu ami, yomar Eh’lo’hey’chem.</i>” Be comforted, be comforted My people, will say your God. (Isaiah 40:1).<br />
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Isaiah lived and prophesied at the time when Israelite kingdoms were threatened by the Assyrians. This was more than 100 years before the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem and destroyed the First Temple.<br />
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Through his prophecy, however, Isaiah was able to see that these great tragedies would be only temporary and that God would not only bring back the Jews from exile, but would also rebuild the Holy Temple. It is commonly understood that the double language of “<i>Nachamu, nachamu</i>” is an allusion to the destruction of both the First and the Second Temples and the redemptions that would follow.<br />
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This Treat was originally posted on July 31, 2009.<br />
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Copyright © 2020 NJOP. All rights reserved.Jewish Treatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08211159282308638591noreply@blogger.com0