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Odds & Ends / Webmaster's Odds & Ends

The Samaritan connection to Mount Gerizim restoration, conservation

Early Hellenistic period dwelling opened to visitors • Samaritan community has mixed feelings about park on its holy mountain

By JUDITH SUDILOVSKY Published: MAY 14, 2022

 

THE REMAINS OF an entire ancient Samaritan dwelling from the early Hellenistic period recently opened to the public by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority on Mount Gerizim are in surprisingly good shape. (photo credit: Noam Ych’ye/Natanel Elimelech)

THE REMAINS OF an entire ancient Samaritan dwelling from the early Hellenistic period recently opened to the public by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority on Mount Gerizim are in surprisingly good shape.
(photo credit: Noam Ych’ye/Natanel Elimelech)

Rising some 886 meters above sea level, Mount Gerizim commands a majestic view over modern-day Nablus – biblical Shechem – in the valley below, and Mount Ebal in the north. (more…)

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Israel Matters!

Israel Matters! – June 2022

     How many of you remember Allan Sherman? His parodies of well-known songs were all the rage in the 1960’s, including “Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah,” “The Streets of Miami,” and of course my favorite – “Seltzer Boy” where he sings: “Don’t bring me water, I rather have seltzer, ‘Cause water don’t bubble, And water don’t fizz, Water I hate it, ‘Cause it ain’t carbonated, But a glass of seltzer, On the other hand is!” (more…)

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Rabbi's Corner

The Juggler

(Sermon given at the Bar Mitzvah Ceremony of Max Garsten, son of Bryan and Anna Garsten)

Our custom here at Beth Sholom is for the rabbi to ask the Bar or Bat Mitzvah for a topic to talk about at their service. Max has been interested in juggling, so we decided on this subject.
I don’t know anything about juggling colored balls or bowling pins, but I did once see a movie, that no one else ever heard of, called, “The Juggler”. The Juggler is a 1953 drama film starring Kirk Douglas as a survivor of the Holocaust. After World War II, Hans Müller is one of a shipload of Jewish refugees who disembark at Haifa in 1949 and are placed in a refugee camp. Like many other concentration camp survivors, Hans has many emotional problems, including survivor guilt. At one point, he mistakes a woman and her children for his murdered family. (more…)

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President's Message

May 2022: President’s Message

Does anyone else feel like this year has flown by? It has been a year of highs and lows. We continue to wrestle with problems of the pandemic. Circumstances regarding security continue to be in process and progressing. All our committees have actively continued with their programming. (more…)

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Israel Matters!

Israel Matters! – May 2022

Between Pesach and Shavuot: Six Israel-Defining Days while Counting the Omer

TBS members are of course familiar with the major Jewish holidays. Indeed, as you read this you will have recently celebrated Pesach while anticipating the next major holiday of Shavuot commemorating G-d’s giving of the Torah to Moses and the Jewish people. The Counting of the Omer begins on the second night of Pesach, but during the six weeks from the end of Pesach until Shavuot there are six major observances that are by turns secular and religious, happy and sad, that characterize Israeli life while making a powerful impression on anyone who happens to be visiting the country. If you really want to feel part of the Israeli experience, these six weeks are hard to beat. (more…)

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Odds & Ends / Webmaster's Odds & Ends

The hametz conflict requires common sense, not theocracy

While Israel is a Jewish state, it is not a theocracy, meaning the state cannot force its citizens to follow Jewish law.

JPOST EDITORIAL   Published: APRIL 7, 2022

Hametz is covered at a store in Israel (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)

Hametz is covered at a store in Israel – (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)

The political crisis triggered on Wednesday when Yamina MK and coalition whip Idit Silman bolted from the government is not about the leavened products that biblical law prohibits Jews from eating during the seven days of Passover.

True, Silman framed her move as a concern over the Jewish nature of the state that she feels is compromised by a public display of hametz on the Festival of Matzot, but this was just an excuse for something Silman has obviously been thinking about and planning for some time.
(more…)

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Rabbi's Corner

Passover in the Middle of COVID-19

I’m not alone in saying that Passover has always been one of my favorite holidays. Now, I know what you are thinking – but you have to eat all of that matzah, the Seder takes a long time, and you get hungry, and there are so many limitations on what you can eat. Every year, I think about the Passover Seder in the context of that year. How can you celebrate Passover in
the middle of COVID-19? (more…)

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President's Message

April 2022: President’s Message

What a wonderful 75th Anniversary year-long celebration we have had. Our culminating event was a proud moment for the synagogue. The food was special and the entertainment was wonderful. The sharing of memories of Synagogue, Sisterhood and Men’s Club Past Presidents were great nostalgic moments. Coming together for the first time in a long time was also extremely special. Seeing everyone in person to continue longstanding friendships is just what was needed. A huge thank you to all those that participated in making it an exceptional weekend. (more…)

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