Odds & Ends

Under a British law in Palestine passed in 1930, Jews were forbidden to blow the shofar at the Kotel, pray loudly there, or bring Torah scrolls, so as not to offend the Arab population. Despite this restriction, for the next seventeen years, the shofar was sounded at the Kotel every Yom Kippur. Shofars were smuggled in to the Kotel where brave teenagers defiantly blew them at the conclusion of the fast. Some managed to get away – others were captured and sent to jail for up to six months. Six of these men are still alive. Two weeks ago, these six men returned to the scene of their “crime”. Armed with shofars, they recounted their individual stories and blew shofar again at the Kotel.

Congratulations, we’re expecting! That’s because the Jewish year 5771 that has just started is a “pregnant year,” a shana me’uberet in Hebrew. (Ubar in Hebrew is a fetus or embryo.) In other words, it’s a leap year, one in which the 12 regular months, six of 29 days and six of 30, “give birth” to a 13th to make up for the steady slippage — the “epact,” to use the technical term for it — of the Jewish lunar calendar vis-à-vis the solar one used throughout the world. In English, ibur ha-shana, literally, “the impregnation of the year,” is known as “intercalation.” This is a word that, surprisingly, has nothing to do with “calendar,” which derives from the Latin calendarium, an account book. Rather, it comes from Latin calare, “to proclaim,” since originally, leap years were not scheduled regularly but were periodically announced by public proclamation. The solar year is…

"This metal remnant was taken from the remains of the Twin Towers that imploded in the September 11, 2001 disaster. It was sent over to Israel by the City of New York to be incorporated into this memorial. This metal piece, like the entire monument is a manifestation of the special relationship between New York and Jerusalem and an expression of gratitude to Keren Kayemeth – Jewish National Fund whose initiative and the generous contribution of its supporters made this monument possible." (engraving on the monument) "We deliberated over the best site for this memorial, finally choosing Arazim Park, one of a string of parks within a huge metropolitan park encircling Jerusalem, serving as a Green lung for Jerusalem and comprising forests, springs, fruit orchards, ancient mountain terraces and many attractions. The park will reflect the past, present and future of the Eternal City and will be visible from the…

By Daniel Gordis on September 3, 2010 In its basic form, the Ground Zero mosque debate boils down to a conflict between two competing values – American freedom of religion versus the sensitivities of the families of the victims of 9/11. The freedom-of-religion argument suggests that if Jews sought to build a synagogue at Ground Zero (or anywhere else, for that matter), they would be within their rights. That’s the American way. The opposing view suggests that while not every Catholic was guilty in the Holocaust, and not every Muslim perpetrated the crimes of 9/11, sensitivities still matter. Pope John Paul II had the decency to force the Carmelite nuns out of Auschwitz, and Muslim leaders, too, ought to relocate their project. Similarly, the mutual accusations are parallel: If you are opposed to the mosque, you are an Islamophobic racist. And if you’re in favor of it, you’re simply insensitive to…

AP July 22, 2020 - RAMALLAH The lead singer of the iconic 1970s disco group Boney M said Thursday that the band was asked to skip one of its biggest hits in a concert this week.Maizie Williams says Palestinian concert organizers told her not to sing "Rivers of Babylon." The song's chorus quotes from the Book of Psalms, referring to the exiled Jewish people's yearning to return to the land of Israel. Williams said she did not know if it was "a political thing or what, but they asked us not to do it and we were a bit disappointed." Organizers said they asked for the song to be skipped, deeming it "inappropriate." The Palestinian International Festival was set to continue Thursday in the West Bank. Original 1978 footage with Karaoke subtitles. See below with better sound and without subtitles. Click arrow to start.

"Jerusalem was only destroyed because they zealously applied the strict letter of the Law and did not go beyond the letter of the Law" (Talmud Bavli, Bava Metzia 30b).The month of Av is replete with calamity - a month of sorrow - from the negative report of the spies under Moses in the Book of Numbers, the destruction of both the First and Second Temples, 656 years apart, the expulsion of the Jews from England in 1290, the edict of expulsion from Spain in 1492, the beginning of World War I, to the deportation of the Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto to Treblinka.  As Rabbi Brockman explained in his talk for the Summer Institute last week, all these dates are conflated and commemorated on Tisha b'Av, which we mark today with a 25 hour fast and the recitation of the megillah Eichah, the Book of Lamentations. While Yom Kippur is…

From The World Daily News - July 2010"Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei told his associates that the Hidden Imam had appeared to him and promised to arrive during his term as Supreme Leader, according to the supreme leader’s web site, www.khaandaniha.com. (webmaster - The site is in Persian, but Google can translate it into English.) According to Shi’ite tradition, the Hidden Imam will reappear to humanity shortly before the Final Judgment and the end of history. He will lead the army of righteousness in a final apocalyptic battle with the forces of evil and subsequently rule the world. Ali Khamenei is 70 years old and has been rumored to be in poor health, suggesting that Iran’s leader believes such a war and apocalypse to be imminent."From the Washington Institute for Near East Policy - July 9, 2010 Inside Iran's Revolutionary Guard: A Defector Speaks to the Washington Institute.Iran will commit…

'I was there in color' is an extraordinary amazing and never seen before story of the birth of Israel in color !!!  It was shot by Fred Monosson a Jewish American businessman from Brookline Boston who died in 1972 leaving in his basement reams of 16 mm film. Until this discovery the history of Israel was only captured in black and white. Now, for the first time ever Israel's history is told in color. This well preserved and unique archive was saved from extinction by sheer luck. The material revealed a passionate love story between Monosson and the new Jewish State. Monosson not only captured the dramatic events with his camera but was also secretly involved in the struggle to establish the young State of Israel. The two videos below give only a small taste. A report by Channel 2, Friday News Magazine about the documentary 'I was there in color'…

June 12, 2010, 6:01 AM As Israel went offline for the Jewish sabbath, YouTube removed most versions of Latma's hit parody song We Con the World. If you try to access the song on YouTube you receive the notification: This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Warner/ Chappell Music, Inc. . Copyright experts we advised with before posting the song told us in no uncertain terms that we were within our rights to use the song because we did so in accordance with the Fair Use Doctrine. The Fair Use Doctrine, copied and pasted below from the US Copyright Office stipulates that it is legal and permissible to use copyrighted material under the fair use doctrine for purposes of parody. Copyright attorneys also warned us that given our clearly lawful use of the song We are the World, if anyone wished to silence our voices,…

The USCJ is struggling to deliver on last year's promises. <a href="images/TBS/bulletins/10junbul.pdf" mce_href="images/TBS/bulletins/10junbul.pdf"> This is the June 2010 Strategic Planning Update from Rabbi Wernick This is the report of the consultant, Ukeles Associates, Inc A Summary Profile: the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism This is the current USCJ Vision and Mission Statements This the new Draft Vision and Mission Statementand finally below is an analysis of the above by Ira Fink of Beth Sholom B'nai Israel Manchester, CT, as posted to the Google Bonim group.USCJ has finally come out with the draft of the new Mission and Vision Statement, and the Profile that has taken months to create.  I have attached copies of both, in case you have not received them from USCJ yet.There is absolutely nothing new here.  The mission and vision statement is just gobbledygook-a rehash of the old mission statement with no real meaning or direction.  It…