1. By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat, we also wept when we remembered Zion.
2. On willows in its midst we hung our harps.
3. For there our captors asked us for words of song and our tormentors [asked of us] mirth, “Sing for us of the song of Zion.”
4. “How shall we sing the song of the Lord on foreign soil?”
5. If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget [its skill].
6. May my tongue cling to my palate, if I do not remember you, if I do not bring up Jerusalem at the beginning of my joy.
7. Remember, O Lord, for the sons of Edom, the day of Jerusalem, those who say, “Raze it, raze it, down to its foundation!”
8. O Daughter of Babylon, who is destined to be plundered, praiseworthy is he who repays you your recompense that you have done to us.
9. Praiseworthy is he who will take and dash your infants against the rock.
In addition to teaching a tune to verses 5 and 6, above, Rabbi Maccabi taught the following
·Remembering Zion/Israel is what binds Jews nowadays (more than observing mitzvot or the precepts in the Torah). We still quote part of this psalm at weddings, before breaking the glass.
·It was unimaginable that we would be expelled from Israel, after our wandering in the desert, becoming a distinct nation, building the mishkan and then the Temple just as we were told to do, as G-d wanted us to do. But the 1st expulsion wasn’t the end of us, and we “got” the Babylonian Talmud as a result. After returning to the land, we were able to rebuild the Temple and settle back into Israel, but then were expelled again (by Rome). They say building of the 3rd Temple will usher in the messianic age.
·Why were we sitting by the river in Babylon and crying? Because those who cried on the journey from Israel were killed, so we waited to mourn until it was safe to do so. Same like the Nazis did years after..
·This was written for the 1st expulsion (which only lasted ~70 years), but foreshadows the 2nd one as well (Rome was referred to as Edom).
·The psalmist wrote praise for the destruction of our destroyers, but note that he didn’t write that we would take vengeance ourselves.
One [thing] I ask of the Lord,
that I seek-that I may dwell in
the house of the Lord all the
days of my life, to see the
pleasantness of the Lord and to
visit His Temple every morning
Bring your Mother to Shul
By Rabbi Amram Maccabi
Everybody knows that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. But so is – age.
The most fearful of men, the most wrinkled of old ladies, as long as they have a parent who is alive, will forever hold young in their parents’ eyes. The same 60 year old man, who enters his office and is treated as a mature man, can enter another room in which he is perceived and treated as a beloved child.
This of course helps to remind us that indeed we are still, at least in some ways, children ourselves. It’s nice to remember and to feel so in our demanding world… c’est la vie.
What can we do so as not to take it for granted? So as not to regret that we did not cherish and show our appreciation to those who deserve it most when they needed it most? We all know our kids love us, problem is wearen’t always sure they know it themselves!
After bringing up our own children and having an idea of what our parents went through with us, how can we give our parents some nachas and show them they didn’t fail when they brought us up. How can we express our honor, respect and appreciation for all that they have done for us? Truth is, we can never fully repay the bill. Nothing can erase the wrinkles on their faces that were caused by pain, worry and sleepless nights because of us. We can’t give them back those lost days and nights during their best years, when they raised us instead of just having fun and living for themselves. But, what we can do is try to alleviate the burden and the loneliness that they might feel in the years that they still have left. It is never too late to start something good. After all, in your parents’ eyes, you still have your whole life ahead of you… Here are a few tips I gathered from Halacha (Jewish law) and from social service information:
– Speak to them on a DAILY BASIS, maybe even for a 60 second call, to ask how they’re doing, if they need something or are just in a mood and need a slight catharsis.
– Bring your mother to Shul. She made sure you went to Hebrew School. It was important for her. Time to return the favour and the gift of being in a Jewish environment. Every person needs to feed his/her spirituality. As a matter of a fact, this is the time when our spiritual side should grow until the physical one lets go completely.
Make a habit of visiting Mom and Dad once a week, better to bring something to eat. Although it doesn’t come naturally for everyone, just sit together for twenty minutes, and in time it will. It is not only about the conversation; consider it a ‘thank you sitting together’ for the many hours he/she sat next to your bed whenever needed.
– “If I knew how wonderful it was to be a grandfather, I would have skipped the children and started
straight off with grandchildren. “ (A quote from one of my mother’s patients) Although it’s not entirely up to you, make every possible effort to keep the connection between your parents and their grandchildren.
– Here is a rule of thumb: Put yourself in your parents’ position. Now, you set an example for whatever you would like your children to learn from.
Adopt a parent
Nothing in the world can replace real parents – emotionally or morally; truly there is only one Mom and one Dad.
For one who is no longer blessed with parents, I have a suggestion – adopt a parent. I know it won’t be the same as your own Mom, but on her behalf, help one of her friends.
There will be moments, not like the time you played with Dad as kid, but each time you knock on the door of your Dad’s pal from Shul, I promise that your real Dad will knock on HASHEM’s door to ask for you. Your Dad will point downwards at the earth and tell HASHEM with pride: “Father in heaven, I am also a better Dad now!” Frequent Excuses
Q. The service is too long, Mom won’t like it.
A. Bring her at the end of the service (last 20 minutes, around 10:50 am). If it’s still too much, only bring them for the second portion – the Kiddush. There they will have a nice luncheon, and once a month, a hot Cholent.
Q. I don’t go to Synagogue every Shabbat myself.
A. Well… It is a good time to start.. at least once a month. As a child they made sure you went to Shul;
now they’re doing it again 🙂
Q. Mom lives in Montreal! I can’t visit her on a weekly basis.
A. Do whatever you can. Call or even Skype if you can.
Q. I am not good at making small talk. My parents are going deaf and I’m not comfortable in these situations.
A. Social workers excluded – no one is comfortable in such situations. On the other hand, no one liked waking up in the middle of night to change a diaper, or fighting with a little child in a grocery store over a candy bar, or countless restless nights of waiting for a child to come back from a trip or a sleep over.
Q. Mom doesn’t want me to take her anywhere. Dad insists he would rather I didn’t visit or take him anywhere.
A. 1) They might just be worried about you missing time from work, or missing time with your kids. Listen to the un-spoken truth rather than the over protective parent.
A.2) Payback time. They forced you to go to Hebrew school, regular school, visit friends, mind your
manners…. because they knew it was for your own good. Now Mom and Dad are the dependants. Look after them.
Q. This is all good under normal circumstances, but I had a terrible childhood, with non-functioning parents that I had to assist.
A. Not going to argue this fact. Nevertheless, everything written here is not merely an emotional
obligation (although written this way), it is Jewish law! You may be one of the exceptional cases, but we understand again why HASHEM didn’t leave acts of kindness for our own logical consideration. Still this might be a not easy task to overcome, and I invite you to my office, so that we can try and find the best ways of handling this situation.
Q. My Dad is good. He lives in the best senior home in the city which tends to his each and every need in the most professional way…much better than I could ever do.
A. It is not about the food, but rather the person who brings it and sits next to you.
It is not simply to make sure they’re still alive but rather to know what there is to live for.
It is not just to entertain, but to care in a way that they’ll feel it. It is not only for a son being there. It is to be a son. At the end of the day, you will reap the biggest benefit; moments to cherish and happy memories to store in your
heart.
Here is an aditioanl recording of a traditional melody, commonly used for memorial service. Performed by cantor Mo Glazman as an opening of a memorial service held for Frank Medjuck of Halifax. Beth Israel Synagogue.
Psalm 19’s first part is about the perfectness of the world, from the big things that makes the world what it is, to the most minor details that happen with perfect accuracy.
– All of that, without saying anything indicates HASHEM’s being. The whole creation sings HASHEM praises, just by ..being. “The heavens recite the glory of God, and the sky tells of the work of His hands.“… (Psalm 19,2)
Psalm 19’s second part, speaks about the purity and righteousness of the Torah. HASHEM’s revelation, explaining what is all the creation about, how it should work and the intentions behind every created thing. “The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of the Lord is faithful, making the simple one wise.” (Psalm 19,8)
Psalm 19 concludes, with the realization that the world along with the Torah, both perfectly created, were handed to Human’s hands. We certainly do mistakes.
Not being afraid of the challenge handed over by the Creator Himself, the Psalmist says: “Who understands errors? Cleanse me of hidden sins” (Psalm 19,13) and with the last verse: “May the sayings of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable before You, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” (Psalm 19,15)
We are doing it because You said so. We will do mistakes, since that’s the way we’re created. Please accept our good intentions and efforts – That’s Your Will.
At the link above you can find the recording from my Cellphone for Tehilim 13,6 that we sang together.
Our discussion in a nut shell:
It seems that this chapter was written by king David after some sort of a defeat in battle.
The first verses (Psalm 13, 2-3) he expresses his frustration and pain of being abandoned by HaShem. Metaphorically G-d doesn’t see him anymore, ignores his existence. In continuation for this comment, we mentioned that in times of distress, people tend to feel lost as a child that his/her concern is the parents..and the worst punishment is their ignorant from him/her. (Then also feel left alone by G-d – where is He? Why did He do that to me?..)
Verses 4-5 king David, although in a personal distress, still cares for the Lord’s humiliation by his failure “Lest my enemy say, “I have overwhelmed him”; my adversaries will rejoice when I totter”.
Then king David concludes with this verse that is so full of faith at all times – this is the composed verse we sang together:
“But I trusted in Your loving-kindness, my heart will rejoice in Your salvation; I will sing to the Lord for He has bestowed [it] upon me.”
For the record, Tehilla (my sister) is an Orthodox professor, that lectures mainly to young Jewish women who come to Israel for a one or two years programs.
By now she has thousands of followers. On a personal note – Tehilla is responsible in many ways for my Jewish education. I thought of her a lot this past week. Why?
Well, this past week was a tensed one for anyone who holds an emotional or spiritual link to Israel. Potentially explosive concepts and accusations such as Hate party against Israel / Anti-Semitism / Jewdophobia, were frequently hurled into the poisoned air during Israel apartheid week (I won’t even mention the venom that was shot from the “other” side…).
An Israeli advocacy organization has done a thorough job in presenting answers to anti-Israeli false accusations. These answers talk about Environment and Israel, Human rights, and Explaining security aspects. All hold true and good. But as a Dalhousie student asked me:
Student (shyly): “Well Rabbi, but what do YOU say… and mind you, we didn’t come to you as a Rabbi, but as a scholar who is an ex-soldier and has lived in Israel…”
It might sound peculiar to you, but up till a few months ago when I still resided in Israel I, as any other typical Israeli, never bothered to articulate any advocacy for Israel whatsoever. By just being there and living the Israeli atmosphere one feels and lives according to ones belief without ever realizing the rest of the world is challenging his life and defining him as part of a conflict (!)
When speaking to my family and friends this week, I realized again that they didn’t even know that everywhere outside of Israel it’s Apartheid week and that they are on the front page!
Why is it that we are the only nation that has to keep explaining and defending the fact that we are entitled to our own country even after we’ve been dwelling in it as our state for over 60 years?
Here follow a few anecdotes from a credo my sister published a few years ago concerning our tie to Israel as viewed by gentiles and Jews alike:
“… I come from a Jewish North African family. My grandparents on my father’s side were born and raised in Algeria and Tunisia. Although their family roots usually surpassed those of their Arab neighbors being there many generations before, they have testified that it was not uncommon to be rebuked by gentile neighbors who kept telling them to “get out of here and go to your own land- to Palestine”. I remember feeling struck once when hearing in a totally random conversation from my father-in-law, a Romanian-born Jew, the exact same wording he has encountered in Romania from his “good neighbors” there. So, all over Europe as well as all over now-Arab-dominated countries (many Jewish families have lived in these territories way before they were conquered by Arabs and declared Islamic), Jews have been getting the same attitude. Here you don’t belong. Go to you own place. Leave to your own land.
This was said before there was a Jewish state and has been continued to being said also once the Jewish state has been established and struggling to survive. In a sense, telling someone to leave to Palestine was just as wishing him/her bon voyage to hell. “Palestine”, or the new-born state of Israel, was a land full of swamps and robbers. Its future seemed bleak from every prospect. After all, for over 2000 years, it has been deserted and desolated. Crusaders and traveling adventures described it in their journals as a cursed land; grim and over-bearing. Like a dark widow- was one especially expressive metaphor (see Mark Twain’s diary). So now, after spilling sweat and blood to revive the land, dry out the swamps and develop its economy; now that Israeli-Jews have turned the “dark widow” into a blooming bride, now you Arabs say you want it for yourselves??? That you are the fiancé of this enchanting bride-of a country???
And we are told the Arab hubris has a flare for dignity and self respect… Have you no ounce of honor???
Is it not so much more true to respond to that reality expressed by so many people from so plenty states- “Palestine is your land”. If one hears it from every farmer or common man in North Africa “ruche al Balestine” as well as in South Asia and Europe “sortie dice alleze alle o Falestina”, does it not mean anything? Can one not see it is the ultimate expression of a universal heart-felt truth; “”Palestina e a terra deles”? How true are the words of Emmerson “The first farmer was the first man, and all historic nobility rests on possession and use of land”. It seems “the first man” had its say, and it has everything to do with “possession and use of land”.
That’s from the vibes of the general human race.
If the Jews would not have responded to those vibes- we would have a problem.
Fortunately enough for the nations of this world, this is not the case. The passion of the Hebrew-man to his land is obvious and well known. Still, one cannot but mention it. Whether from religious values or from completely opposite attributes, Jews have yearned, and materialized their longing for Israel by giving up their comforts and everything in their “borne-land”, in order to breathe and live in their historical Homeland. Even if it meant putting in jeopardy their lives as well as the lives of their beloved as indeed was the case more often than not.
Now that they indeed left wherever they came from and revived Israel with the sweat of their brow and their blood and the blood of their children, now you gentiles tell us it does not exclusively belong to us? When your previous words of “expulsion” to “that country” still echoes in our ears? Dear gentiles, you are contradicting yourself at the least; hypocritical- more likely.
What more needs to be said so that the blind see the obvious?
If only the ignorant person (not the malicious opponent) could catch a glimpse into the soul of a true-to-himself Jewish Israeli, nothing more need have been written. The most cursive glance would not fail to immediately detect an almost primitively raw nerve blazing fire-light and power. This dominant force in the Israeli’s bearing is his tie to his land. It is also his tie to his spiritual dimension. It is anything and everything that the term “Israel” entails. It is a spiritual call of the soul to a dimension that can only, but only, be felt in the holiest of lands. The land of Israel is the power source to which the Israeli can “plug in” to fulfill his inner self, his divine call as the chosen son of G-d. This land is not only an almost-tangibly unique and spiritual sphere of influence; it also holds the actual footsteps and history of the Israeli’s genetic forefathers and foremothers. I, as a Jewish Israeli, cannot be fully Jewish without experiencing and living in that place ordained for me from the beginning of creation. I do not say this from quoting what is written in our sacred and divine Torah, I say it because I feel it imprinted in my bones, flowing in my blood. If I cannot be fully Jewish, I cannot be my full self. I cannot be alive in the true sense of what “alive” means. In fact, it would not even be considered dramatic if I tell you the simple truth: without Israel, a true Jew is half dead; a beaten corpse of a human.
Even if I were wrong- one cannot move me away from here. How much more so- if I stand right and my Father in heaven, the Almighty who has created all heaven and all earth, is on my side.”
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAa
A few months ago I would stop here, no need to add anything to the ‘simple truth’. I think most of the fifty year olders and above from our community, would agree up to 95% with Tehilla, maybe with slight changes due to each individual’s family experience.
However, talking with younger generations about Israel, I say we must always maintain a discussion also about the “absolute truths” that appeal to our intellect, not only the ‘simple ones’ that emanate from feelings and axiomatic realities my sister has mentioned. It might seem less colorful and passionate, but it is truth and as such- should have its say.
G-d made a covenant with us expecting us to act as ‘A kingdom of priests and holy nation’. As implied in the quote itself, being Jewish does not only apply to our religious belief. We are not people of an abstract philosophy. We are a nation. God has therefore designated a specific location in which His people should reside; this place is described in D’varim chapter 11:
“A land the Lord, your God, looks after; the eyes of Lord your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.”
Only there, in that specific location we can continue to flourish and fulfill our destination as mentioned by HaShem to Avraham:
..”Go forth…to the land that I will show you…and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you“ (Genesis, chapter 12)
..”Go forth…to the land that I will show you…and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you” (Genesis, chapter 12)
I could quote many more verses that all indicate the same (started to make a list already..), but re-considering it, this is the general story of the whole Bible – G-d making a covenant with the Jews to improve the world, make it a better place not only for them, but for the “entire human race” (Michael Jackson). In order to execute this plan He gave them a ‘world guiding book’ (Torah), the instructions applicable mainly in the land of Israel.
We, Israelites weren’t always obedient in following His rules, so He punished us and made our enemies abuse us and exile us away from The Land of honey and milk.. to and fro, back and forth.. Nevertheless and at all times, leaving also room for hope and Ts’huva (repentance) – He promised never to let his ‘firstborn Israel’ perish (although sometimes pretty close). Furthermore, even when we were away, He never let our enemies prosper on the Promised Land. This- to show us it is waiting only for us.
During the twenty centuries that others occupied our Land – Romans, Byzantines, Mamlukes, Turks, Arabs, the land stayed desolated. Barren and arid. This is an astonishing fact that can be checked easily. It is only through the past sixty five years, ever since we returned to it, that the Land started ‘smiling again’ (..did you see lately what is going on in the Gush Katif? Six years ago we exported AAA fruits all over the world from there… now the Palestinians grumble they can’t even manage to grow a tomato there?!).
Dear sis, it is not just a ‘simple truth’, but a reality based on G-d’s promise, for when we will be exiled, Israel will await for It’s people –
“I will make the Land desolate, so that it will become desolate [also] of your enemies who live in it.”
Even today, for many reasons, financial, cultural, social, a little bit over half the Jewish people can’t find themselves living in Israel. This is a matter for a different discussion.
The purpose of this article is to repeat and remind ourselves that regardless of as to where we live today, we are part of Israel, and Israel is part of us because by all means, Jews and Israel are two sides of the same coin. Not to be separated. This is how it is meant to be. This is what God intended. In any confrontation- I choose to stay on His side J
I will finish with a story I heard from Rav Israel Meir Lau,the youngest Holocaust survivor of the Buchenwald concentration camp later to become the former Chief Rabbi of Israel:
It was in Buchenwald, and Rabbi Lau’s brother, Naftali, was ill. The odds of surviving weren’t good for anyone, but really close to non when you were in such condition. Then Naftali taught his younger brother (who was six at the time) his two first Hebrew words. “Repeat after me” he told him, ארץ ישראל – Eretz Israel. If you end up alive and get free, go search for this place.
Answering the student I mentioned above, being a Rabbi is now my job. But stating all the above precedes my present occupation. It is what I believe to be the truth as one of many millions, who accept the originality of the Old Testament through their mind and feel its logic in their heart.
It is generally believed that a community draws its character and style from the geographical background in which it is positioned. Coming from a hot-tempered middle- east environment, namely: Israel, I expected the Halifax Jewish community to be, somewhat more mild; less bubbly and less warm (for better as for worst) as fitting its climate. I was in for a surprise.
It seems the Jewish DNA carries certain elementary traits wherever it goes. And we know it goes and goes and gets to just about EVERYWHERE! What is the basic composition that makes up a Jewish community per se?
Upon reflection one cannot escape the obvious. It is CHESSED. Chessed Chessed and Chessed. Indeed our ancestors in the Mishna (pirkei Avot…) tell us there are three “midot”/measurements that are found in abundance in the basic character of “the sons of Abraham” the third is “gomlei chasadim” i.e the followers of Abraham (by geneology or by theology) are those who act charitably towards their fellow men (or women of course). So from the heat of the desert where our forefather Abraham built a four sided tent- all sides open for the wary traveler, from his burning God fearing and Man-loving heart, bursted the Chessed DNA that flows through Jewish veins till today-hopefully till the end of days. I would like to humbly signal out but 2 examples of such Jewish manifestations that occurred here at our very own community in Halifax. The first goes back exactly a century ago (April 15th 1912), the second, proving the first to be no fluke, 11 years ago 9/11/01.
At (April 15th 1912) when the ostentatious Titanic tragically sunk at the shore of the west, coast havoc reined. However, from the Gehenom that forever left its mark on American history, there emerged a few sparks of pure benevolence, a few less known anecdotes that perhaps have not received their rightful recognition till recently. This is where the warm and Chessed-oriented people who make up their thriving community to be as it is till today- played up their role to the very best of human kindness.
Go to the Jewish cemetery, and you will be able to see a number of black gravestones. These unique memorial monuments belong to Jews killed in the Titanic, afterwards respectfully buried among the community’s departed. As for the survivors, they were generously hosted by the people of the congregation.
Talking about Chessed in the Titanic, I must also mention Mr. Binyamin Gugenheim and Mr. Izidor Straus, both extremely wealthy Jews who had the opportunity to save themselves since the limited rescue boats available were offered to them, and they refused saving their own lives before all the women and sick were saved.
9/11 – just recently I heard that few airplanes which were left without place to land, arrived actually to Halifax. Not asking to many questions, not waiting any spare time (against the ‘Haligonian pace of life’..) houses of the congregants were filled with confused passengers.
I thank Hashem for belonging to His people. I also thank my new community in Halifax for the privilege of joining and serving in their midst.
The Shabbat before Rosh-Chodesh (the first of the month
One Friday morning, while sitting in my office, preparing the services for the coming Shabbat I realized we will announce Rosh Chodesh/ the beginning of a new Hebrew month. I love chanting the melody recently composed by my uncle to the Rosh Chodesh prayer. Funny to think that our sages built the Jewish calendar in such a complicated way. They calculated the moons monthly route in accordance with the sun and its yearly journey (365.2422 days).
I smile to myself, in G-d’s eyes it is probably not me announcing the date. It is the Cholent of Rose Ellis (sponsored by Nathan Fishman) that does a much better job to let our Shul comers know about the coming Rosh Chodesh… Jews, with so many distinguished people, still what we enjoy most is an all-night pot of cooked beans.
Talking about food
Sometimes it seems this is the major concern of Jewish events!
Half the budget of the last AJC convention was for delivering boxes of Kosher meat all the way from Montreal. (thank you Jon for such a lovely event).
In the Youth’s Pizza evening, I had to send Josh Davis and Nathan Pink back to Superstore to buy a different cheese. Although it had a ‘Kosher’ mark on it, we won’t accept the symbol of the K with tablets. It’s just not good enough for us. Thank you for taking over the evening and praying for the soldiers in Israel).
On the way to visit some Jewish patients in the hospital I meet Linda. She sees me, and with a winning smile on her face, she takes out a list of Kosher Teas from her purse. Halleluya! What a treasure to bring the Rabbi. Everybody knows the Jews are fanatic about having their own system of Kosher food.
Who is Linda?! – Linda is a lovely Christian lady who is in charge of the ‘Spiritual Care Department’ in the VG hospital. You might have seen her in Shul lately. It’s easy to recognize her: she’s the only Shul goers who’s not late…
Money, Money… Money
It seems to be a well known thought that the Jews are wealthy people wherever they are. You can read it in every Nazi website or pro-Palestine magazine.
Look around us and see that there are more than a few businessmen, accountants, lawyers, financial consultants etc. in a typical Jewish community. Such economical professionals and experts will usually not spend a penny unless it is one-hundred percent justified financially. Nevertheless, whenever see a ‘Pushke’ (Ts’daka box) or a new charity or Philanthropic organization, we are usually pleased to donate. We strictly manage our finances but for one day a week, the Shabbat, we buy the best food regardless of price?
We are willing to pay lots of money to the Shul, but visit it so seldom. This could be the one case where the more you use something, the cheaper it is.
Chanukah and Jewish tolerance
I received an Email from a Priest from one of the local churches who wanted to check the possibility of converting to Judaism. This was so surprising I couldn’t resist meeting him. We sat the next day together for a chat.
As Halachikly required in such cases, I tried to dismay him from the prospect. “Why not continue to live your life as you are?” I asked him. I suggested he accept the minimum required for all G-d fearing non-Jews: just obey the seven Mitzvot of the Noachides if you really want to be a “Kosher Non-Jew”?! Why would you want to take upon yourself so many more commandments and responsibilities (at least 613), not to mention risking a Jewish fate which isn’t always so pleasant. He walked away with much to think about.
Chanukah – at the onset of the Greek rule in the land of Israel, they were quite successful in attracting Jews with their Greek culture and values. Many Jews adopted the Greek’s “advanced” culture and so-called progress. The Jews assimilated. This wetted the Greek’s appetite even more and motivated them to try and accelerate the process by forcing their culture on those who did not embrace it by choice. Upon being violently threatened to forsake their faith, the G-d-fearing Jews were suddenly reminded that they were freed from Egypt for a reason…that’s why the famous Chanukka rebellion came to be, and the rest is history and is celebrated these days to remind us of those times of assimilation.
In the year 632 C.E. in his last visit to Mecca, Mohamed stated that all Muslims are ‘brothers’ and must not fight each other. During that time he also ruled that they must fight and kill for the sake of converting all other peoples to Islam- this mission/war is still called till to this day ‘The Jihad’.
As history unfolded, the Christians with their Crusades acted along the same lines. In plenty of countries, and with plenty of nations this worked to creating more Christians. If it works so well for every other religion, why do we Jews not adopt this strategy? It would be appalling to most of us! Objectively speaking, such a plan would be more efficient than our current attempts to increase the Jewish birthrate and to increase the observance of Jewish laws. Obviously we are a different people than the rest of the world.
The Jewish Club House
I recently heard a nice say that “G-d is in the details”. I guess it fits also with the traditional events and miscellaneous things we do that remind us of our uniqueness.
Here are a few examples you can already chart down in your calendars J
– Cinema – Yuri Leving just started an initiative of putting up a ‘Full moon cinema’ once a month followed by a twenty minutes discussion. Of course when he lectures about a movie in Dalhousie, the equipment is much more professional and the seats are better. But hey, he’s one of us and this won’t be a just another nice movie, it is another Jewish movie that we’ll have a discussion after that we can learn from.
– Singing group – It is fun, Ed Berkovitz is great with his keyboard and Betty Fineberg’s tenor mixes wonderfully with Adam Conter’s base voice. Although, there are other singing groups nearby that perhaps serve better refreshments, I was so happy people preferred joining the Jewish group! If we won’t give each other encouragement and boosting love- who will? I am looking forward to even a bigger crowd in May to enjoy this superb performance.
– Hebrew – it is so amazing to see these cute kids after a full day of regular studying in which they struggle with French (in a bad Canadian accent), put a true effort in learning Hebrew. This time it is the Biblical language of their forefathers in its more modern form of today’s Hebrew. When they will eventually make that meaningful trip to Israel- they will get along fine with their Israeli-peers in the Holy land! Which leads us to the next topic.
– Names – In Israel, people have one name, in Hebrew. In Halifax most of us have an English name and an additional Hebrew name which we do not always feel comfortable with it in the outside world but… when are together, I like the idea that we have an ethnic identification name that rings familiar to the Hebrew tongue and to the worldly Hebrew person (regardless of religious affiliation) .
– Our Kidddush – I doubt that anyone orders crackers with cheese when he/she goes to a restaurant and where else would you eat Herring! And the price is right!
– For sure there are better spokesmen than I am, and perhaps with more interesting topics and in a better English than I have … still each Shabbat you choose to sit up at my speeches, to listen and to comment afterwards. I can’t tell you how much this means to me. Well yes, I can…it means a lot to me and I appreciate all your helpful suggestions.
– Gym – If anyone asks me, Canada is the place where fitness awareness is at its best. An average Haligoinian person is never in a hurry and always stops the car hundred meters before the crosswalk. But when he comes to the sidewalk, everybody runs across the street.
Recently, the gym was fixed under Steven Pink’s supervision and already I received many calls to use it again for basketball. No one really thinks it’s going to be the best league in the city, still I think it’s fantastic that we have so many Jewish people who want to play together.
– The prayers and blessing for Yartzheits, birthdays and anniversaries are not normally considered to be entertainment performances…. still we show up each time when Marty sends out an Email and when Irwin/Steve call us to come. Because we care. Deep down we know these events are important, the right thing to do and that we would like our friends and Beth Israel family to come together when we have such events in our lives. It is what we have in common and keeps us together as the core-club members of the most influential club-house in human history.
Three thousand years ago Hashem took us out of Egypt,
He then gave us the precious Torah and basically told us:
Wherever and whoever YOU ARE – you are A FAMILY – stick together.
I was amazed to hear a black youth say to another black you, as they parted “Stay Black”. And so I say to you “Stay Jewish”.
It is a pleasure to celebrate in such delightful ways with such an amazing congregational family. Lechayim!
I called this article ‘The Victory of the dreidel’ because of an interesting fact about Chanukah.
The Chanukah story, in a nutshell, contains two parts.
First – The miraculous military victory of a few priests who never held a sword in their lives, against the mightiest undefeated army of ancient Greece.
For this we add special praises to the Chanukah services (Hallel and Al Ha’Nisim).
The second part is the single cruse of oil that miraculously lasted for eight days. This is why we light the Menorah for eight days and eat latkes and doughnuts that are fried in hot oil.
The two facts above are well known. So where does the dreidel come in?
One of the decrees of Antiochus, the King of Greece, commanded was to prohibit the Jewish study of Torah and Yiddishkeit. Nothing is dearer to a Jewish mother more than her children’s education, so the kids hid in caves at the outskirts of Jerusalem to secretly continue their Jewish education. After all, they could deal with Antiochus, but no one wants to deal with an angry Jewish mother who expects her child to study! J In any case, when the Greek soldiers located their whereabouts and suspected the children’s true motives, the children hid their books and immediately took out a popular Greek game; it was a gambling game using a spinning top, otherwise known as the dreidel.
So, if we have the Menorah as a symbol of the reconstructed Jewish services in the Beth Mikdash, how come we don’t have any symbol to praise the military victory of the few priests against the mighty Greeks?!
Unfortunately, we are a nation well-experienced in war. I myself, as a young soldier, was involved in the 2006 Lebanese War as well as in a few combat operations in Gaza that protected Israel, our homeland.
In wars there are no winners! Although necessary for survival, wars are never a priority for Jews. Therefore, not even one of the Chanukah symbols is about the miraculous military victory because we don’t celebrate wars!
What do we celebrate? What are the symbols we’re proud of and maintain until today, over twenty centuries later? The olive oil and the Menorah! Both symbolize wisdom and spirituality. As Heinrich Heine said, “Jewish wisdom is ‘the portable homeland of the Jews’.”
The Greeks had it all. They ruled over most of the world, they were rich, they were admired, and they developed their empire. Today, not much remains. The Jews held the secret of how to be the real winners. The “secret” ingredient was, and still is, EDUCATION.
As the symbol of the younger generation’s connection to Judaism, the true victory belongs to the funny toy, to the dreidel. Endangering their lives, ‘wasting’ time with Jewish studies rather than using their time for more ‘beneficial activities’, such as training for battle, the Maccabees maintained their schools. Their children filled the numerous classrooms (or caves) to pour over their books and learn.
Today, over twenty centuries later, the Greek chapter is but a piece of history, while Judaism is a living heritage!
For the prosperity of our Jewish community, here in Halifax, I hope we will be able to establish a Jewish preschool this coming September. Thanks to the hard work of more than a few caring people who invested much time, effort and money. I would like to encourage anyone who agrees that this is the most important thing for the future of our community, to pick up the phone or send an email in order to offer advice, support, and help or just to say a good word to Neli Shpoker, Adam Conter or myself.
