Rosh Chodesh Av Women's Prayers Tel Shiloh

Ladies, join us for Rosh Chodesh Prayers at Holy Shiloh. Yes, the same Shiloh as mentioned in the Bible where Chana prayed for a son, where the Mishkan, Tabernacle stood for 369 years. Yes, it predated the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

Ancient Shiloh is the archeological site at the Tel. There are lots of things to see and do for all ages, a movie, museum, hologram and lots more. For more information 02-578-9111 or visit@telshilo.org.il.

Listening to the Heart of Genesis: A Contemplative Path, A Book Review

As many of you may know, I've been studying Tanach/Bible for many years here in Shiloh, also Matan and more recently classes on the internet on Torah in Motion among other places. When an old friend, with whom I've recently reestablished contact decided I must read Listening to the Heart of Genesis: A Contemplative Path, by Leila Gal Berner, I agreed. Soon after the book arrived in our local postal box.

Honestly, I had no idea what to expect, since she's a Reconstructionist rabbi, and that's not my Judaism.  But I didn't let that stop me from reading the book. Tanach study, theology and Torah observance aren't of the same Jewish genres. I figured that worse comes to worse I can always say that I disagree with her approach. And to be perfectly honest, if I couldn't say anything nice, I wouldn't say anything in public.

The truth is that I enjoyed Listening to the Heart of Genesis: A Contemplative Path very much. Reading it was like studying with a friend, sharing words of Chazal, the Sages and personal opinions about the text with friends. I participate in learning groups, and some of the classes I attend are very participatory, so I felt very comfortable listening/reading Leila Gal Berner's interpretations and quotations from the sages. 

I think that Listening to the Heart of Genesis: A Contemplative Path is a wonderful way to get to know Bereishit, Genesis, the first book of the Bible. I certainly learned a lot. I don't consider myself a Bible scholar even though I've been learning Bible for many years; it's an enormous collection of books of various genres. It's clear that Leila Gal Berner is very knowledgeable about the Bible including classical commentaries. 

One of the reasons I can recommend Leila Gal Berner's Listening to the Heart of Genesis: A Contemplative Path is that in the early days of the Shiloh Elementary School children were taught the Bible according to a rarely used method. They were told to read the straight text and discuss it to understand it. They weren't taught any of the classical, standard commentaries. Too often people, even adults mistakenly quote midrash/commentary thinking that it's written in the Bible. This almost never happens with those who were first taught pshat, the straight text, and encouraged to find ways to make it comprehensible themselves, or in discussion with others. I must admit that people sometimes roll their eyes at my interpretations, which I'm never shy about voicing, but then again I'm not shy at telling people that the Biblical example they're voicing is just a midrash and not written in the Bible.

Genesis is just the first book of the Bible; there's so much for all of us to learn. If you're learning in a language other than Hebrew, try to get the most accurate Jewish translation, not anything modern or politically edited.

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cascade Books (February 4, 2021)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 278 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1498205925
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1498205924

Brilliantly "Prophetic" Description of Menachem Begin by Doris Katz Lankin

When I began reading  The Lady Was A Terrorist, I had no idea that I'd find such a brilliant observation. I first read the book a half a century or so ago and chose to reread it now, since my book club's genre* for next week's meeting is "freedom/independence," and Katz's book is her memoir about her part in Israel's War for Independence.

The Lady Was A Terrorist by Doris Katz
"Begin's soft sub-stratum is his incurable sentimentality"

I'm one of those who consider Menachem Begin a failed leader because of his Camp David Accords. Many of us had thought of him as a strong nationalist leader, first of the Etzel, then Herut, Gahal and finally the Likud.

The State of Israel was established in 1948, and there was only a ceasefire with the opposing Arabs (backed by the British) the following year. Labor Zionist parties not only ruled the state until 1977, but also dominated during the decades before independence. 

In 1977 Likud's election victory was a total shockeroo, known as the UPHEAVAL. Most Israelis expected an immediately greenlight for increased settlement in Judea, Samaria and more. Some of us looked forward joyfully, while labor/left voters dreaded it. The reality was rather different. Begin's government didn't quickly and easily open the doors to establish new Jewish communities, but that wasn't the worst he did.

That weakness that Katz had noticed in the late 1940s made Begin susceptible the Camp David Accords, which required Israel to cross a long held red line. The Menachem Begin government destroyed all of the Jewish Israeli communities in northern Sinai. If the agreement had really been a peace agreement, then Jews should have been invited to remain, but Begin didn't insist, or even request it. Begin wanted to be liked by others, be considered moderate, not a "terrorist," not an extremist. Within a few years Menachem Begin "faded" as a leader and ended his years in isolation.

*Unlike most book clubs, the local Shiloh English Book Club does not require members to read the same book for each meeting. We found the logistics too difficult and stressful, which took the fun away from the meetings. Now we choose genres or an author, which gives more individual flexibility; plus we start with a potluck dinner. This isn't school; it's fun and social.

Parshat Korach, Why So Many Sins So Soon After Magnificent Mt Sinai Experience?

Korach

At my local women's Parshat Shavua, Korach, class among friends and neighbors, the classic question came up:

Why So Many Sins So Soon After Magnificent Mt Sinai Experience?

My mind began turning out ideas...

I found myself back in May-June, 1967 hearing the threats of Egypt's Nasser, unabashedly saying that he'll destroy the State of Israel, shove it into the sea...

Egypt's Nasser demanded that the United Nations remove the Peacekeeping Forces, and for all practical purposes the UN replied:

"Yesterday? At your service."

No country offered any help to Israel. They just waited around, mouthing platitudes at best, not wanting to get in the way of the bullets while Israel was being pushed into the sea. Jews, and possibly a few other good souls, prayed, and then a miracle of Biblical proportions happened. In six days, yes, just six 6 days, Israel managed to defeat three stronger better equipped armies, and in the process found itself holding more land on each of three fronts, the Golan formerly Syrian in the north, the Sinai formerly Egyptian in the south and to the east our Jewish Biblical Homeland traditionally called Judea and Samaria, though the Jordanians had referred to it as the "west bank."

And what did Israel's government do? 

• Did it declare sovereignty, like any normal self-respecting country would do? 
• Did the Jewish religious leaders declare a massive national prayer of thanks to Gd on the Temple Mount? No, 

Moshe Dayan gave the Muslims the key to the Temple Mount, reassuring them that Israel wouldn't disturb/trespass on their religious site and the political leaders made it clear to the defeated Arab countries that we'd be happy to give back most of the land in exchange for "peace."

We're still suffering the ramifications of those dangerous and foolish policies. Unfortunately, nothing's new. Human nature isn't perfect. Think of all the Jews who could have left Europe before the Holocaust.. Think of the Jewish leaders who not only opposed Zionism but condemned it.

Parshat Shlach Lecha פרשת שלח לך

A bit of Parshat Shavua, Torah Portion of the Week. 

My interpretation/translation of the word/verb וְיָתֻ֙רוּ֙ "yaturu" isn't "scout," it's "stake out." 

In modern terms, we can say that Gd sent the twelve tribal leaders on "pilot trip" to choose which part of the land of Israel each tribe would settle when arriving in the Holy Land. They were to decide according to the which suited each tribe, and that's the "judgements" they were to make. 

Unfortunately, ten out of twelve thought they had the authority to decided whether or not to bring their tribal members into the land, claiming it too dangerous. 

For that sin, they and their generation had to die and only the next generation entered the Holy Land. The two exceptions were the leader who had followed orders, Caleb and Yehoshua.

במדבר י"ג

Bamidbar Chapter 13

What do you think?

Rosh Chodesh Sivan Women's Prayers

 

Women's Rosh Chodesh Prayers at Tel Shiloh AKA Ancient Shiloh and Shiloh Hakeduma will be Sunday 21/05/2023 at 8:30am. We hope you can join us.

For more information about the magnificent archeological park Tel Shiloh AKA Ancient Shiloh and Shiloh Hakeduma contact 02-578-9111 and visit@telshilo.org.il.

Davidson Center, Old City Jerusalem, Recently Reopened

A few weeks ago I spent an enjoyable few hours at  The Jerusalem Archaeological Park - Davidson Center. It's newly reopened after being totally redone as an archeological, educational and tourist center. I must admit that in my fifty plus 50+ years in Israel, I have no memory of ever visiting it, though I certainly passed by many times, as it's near the Dung Gate, not far from the Kotel.

 

The people who invited me to join them had hired one of the center's guides, who ended up being a charming multilinguist doing Sherut Leumi, National Service. 

Not only did our guide know the material very well, the history of everything we saw, but she tried to make some of the walking easier for us.

Yes, if you're going to go the Davidson Center, be prepared for serious walking and quite a lot of steps. 

We were impressed by groups of elderly tourists who seemed braver and more agile than we were. Some of you many know that I'm a walker, but I'm not a climber. I even have a bit of a phobia when it comes to walking down hills, especially when the ground is smooth or has gravel. The route was doable for me.

Considering that you have to reserve one of these guides, I'd suggest being very upfront when reserving to find out if there's an easy or shortened route.

Of course, in my mind, I was constantly comparing it to Tel Shiloh, Ancient Shiloh  the archeological site just about a mile downhill from my house. Until rather recently, it, too, required lots of walking, but in recent years, they've made access roads, so even the furthest sections are accessible by car. For a "handicapped" tour you have to arrange the guide and driver in advance.

As you can see in the photos, the Davidson Center is beautiful. Our guide kept telling us that all that we see on display is the genuine article, not reproductions. Yes, these artifacts are what had been unearthed and cleaned up over the many years of excavations.

Here and there, there are places to sit, but I'd recommend carrying one of those lightweight folding chairs, such as they have in many museums. The Davidson Center should offer them, even if it requires a small deposit to remind people to return them.

There were a couple of things that did bother me. One should be easy to remedy. I caught a few spelling errors in the English subtitles in some movies they showed. 

But the thing that bothered me the most was in the movie about Jerusalem. It was fine that they had it in three languages according to who was speaking, Hebrew, English and Arabic with English and Hebrew subtitles. (I didn't notice Arabic subtitles, though that may be a fault of mine.) 

I was very bothered by the fact that the timeline of the History of Jerusalem seemed to be purposely muddled in an attempt to hide the truth about Jerusalem's History. 

Any honest objective historian would agree with me. 

• Jerusalem was first the National Capital and Religious Center of the Jews. 
• After the destruction of the Second Holy Temple of Jews and the development of Christianity, Christian theologians began to call it a holy city, but there was no independent government. The Vatican is in Rome.
• Islam began after Christianity, and Jerusalem is its third holiest city.
• To confuse people, both Christianity and Islam have adopted some of the Jewish Biblical narrative as their own, but those religions weren't contemporaries of Judaism's Biblical characters.

This is the story that should be told, not the distorted one I saw in their movie.

Despite my above complaint, I really do recommend visiting the Davidson Center if you are looking for something to do in the area of the Kotel. It's possible to travel by bus or taxi, and there's a kosher dairy restaurant near the entrance for light meals.

For tickets and more information call 02-6277550 or click.

Israel's Memorial Day Isn't Just About Dead Soldiers

My husband and I made aliyah in 1970 to a very different Israel. The State of Israel was just twenty-two 22 years old. It had recovered from the early days of rationed food and finally, post 1967 Six Days War, had defensible borders and a Capital City that wasn't jaggedly ripped and threatened daily by enemy snipers. New neighborhoods, like a regal crown, were under construction in recently liberated Jerusalem, and a new road safely and relatively quickly connected it with the more affluent coastal plain, including Tel Aviv. 

In those days, Israel's Memorial Day only commemorated, remembered soldiers who had been killed during army service. It took almost fifty years, 1997, to broaden it officially and rename it Yom HaZikaron LeHalelei Ma'arkhot Yisrael ul'Nifge'ei Pe'ulot HaEivah יוֹם הזִּכָּרוֹן לְחַלְלֵי מַעַרְכוֹת יִשְׂרָאֵל וּלְנִפְגְעֵי פְּעֻלּוֹת הָאֵיבָה‎,  'Memorial Day for the Fallen Soldiers of the Wars of Israel and Victims of Actions of Terrorism.' That means that victims of terrorism are included, too. Not only are terror victims included in the ceremonies, but the families get more help from the government than previously.

Please don't think that there's always that much difference between the heroism of the dead soldiers and dead civilians. Some of the dead soldiers had spent their army service at very safe desk jobs, or were killed in civilian-type accidents, and some of the civilians died trying to save others in a terror attack. And we must all remember that Arab terrorists don't distinguish between soldiers and civilians. For them there's no difference between a toddler, bus driver and sniper, as long as there's a chance that they are Jewish/Israeli.

Unfortunately, as part of the antigovernment campaign, the opposition has demanded that no minister who hadn't done active army service represent the government in memorial ceremonies. By making such a distinction, the antigovernment activists are going back a quarter of a century and removing victims of terror from Israel's Memorial Day.

Unfortunately, many people who should know better have joined them. I'm rather surprised at Miriam Peretz among others. Peretz has joined the antigovernment campaign to marginalize/boycott the democratically elected government. 

There are all sorts of opposition groups campaigning hard against the government, and one of their "weapons" is that many of the prominent government ministers had never served in the IDF (not that they ever protested about Shimon Peres) and therefore have no right to publicly mourn/speak at Memorial Day ceremonies/events. 

This opposition totally ignores that Memorial Day also mourns victims of Arab terror. Arab terrorists don't distinguish between soldiers and civilians, men and women, adults and children, Jews and non-Jews nor Israelis and tourists. 

Why is the opposition making two or more classes of victims? Where's the unity? According to Jewish Law and custom, the dead are buried wrapped in simple cloth, preferably without even a coffin, because there shouldn't be distinctions between rich and poor, prominent citizens and ordinary people. IDF dead are buried in the simplest wooden coffin to constructed to disintegrate quickly into the earth, because not all the dead bodies can be neatly wrapped up in the traditional shrouds. 

All dead are equally dead; don't distinguish. 

Israelis mourn on Memorial Day, each in their own ways. Some of those we mourn were killed as Israeli soldiers, while others were civilians, random victims of Arab terrorism, and other stories are much more complex. 

There's something else, which is very important to me:

I have been saying for a long time that the present coalition should publicly apologize for their horrendous behavior when they were in the opposition last year. That would be a good step in unifying the citizens of the State of Israel.

Holocaust, "HaShoah" Thoughts after a Visit to Yad Veshem

I wasn't raised with any awareness of the Holocaust, the Nazi murder of six million 6,000,000 Jews during World War Two. It's not that they were hiding any past, not at all. My parents were born in the USA, born in Brooklyn, New York, the same place I was born. Their parents all immigrated to the United States early in the 20th century. After the war, no surviving relatives joined them in New York. From what we can surmise, close to eighty 80 years later, none of the family which had stayed in Europe survived the war. 

Until very recently I felt rather shut out of Holocaust memorials. You had to be a survivor, pre-death camps escapee or descended from them to have a story. Since those who had actually experienced the Holocaust are quickly reaching the end of their lives and their children are grandparents and great-grandparents, their stories of survival and revenge over the Nazis have become legendary and inspiration for the growing genre of Holocaust literature. 

Ever since I first began learning about the Holocaust, as a child when The Diary of Anna Frank became popular and a short time later when Adolf Eichmann was captured then tried in Israel, the Holocaust seemed no more connected to me than Judah Maccabee of the Chanukah story. 

My parents did have relatives who had been living in Europe, mostly Belarus, which was then part of the Soviet Union. After World War Two, nothing was heard from them; they weren't found. In recent years, when I tried to join the Holocaust talk, I was told that my family story didn't count. I'm not in the club, since none of my relatives survived.

Last week I met a visiting cousin and his wife in Yad Vashem. Yad Veshem isn't my favorite place. That's because during my last visit, quite a while ago, I found myself very upset by their use of words about which I blogged Words, They Were All People and Praying to a Non-god. Please read them and tell me what you think in the comments, thanks.

We were taken around by one of their guides and given a very good history lesson. We passed a map of Belarus, and I managed to find Rogachev the city where both of my grandmothers had lived before moving to the United States. 

My paternal grandmother, Anna Brynien, was the second of six daughters. The four eldest and their parents immigrated to New York early in the 20th century, but my grandmother's two youngest sisters had been enthusiastic communists so they stayed in the Soviet Union. My maternal grandmother, Ida Vishnefsky, was from a large, relatively wealthy family. Her father was what was known as a barber-doctor. Everyone stayed in Belarus except my grandmother and one brother, who had immigrated to London. My grandmother followed her first husband to New York with their eldest daughter after visiting her brother in London. When the war ended, no survivors from my grandmothers' families were found.

My maternal great-grandfather
Vishnefsky

my maternal great-grandmother
Vishnefsky

One of the exhibits we toured was the Hall of Names dedicated to the dead.  I'm not sure that any of my missing family members are included in the names, but our guide told us that there are still boxes waiting for more names. 

Doesn't that make me and my cousins and children and grandchildren part of the Holocaust story?

The greatest tragedy of the Holocaust is that so many Jews may have no descendants; they didn't survive. That's what happened to my parents' aunts, uncles and cousins. The survivors in my family left Europe before the Nazis were a power. That's how my family survived. 

Hitler's plan was to kill all Jews, not just European ones. He had envisioned conquering the world; thank Gd he failed. 

The Jewish People have survived and thrived. Despite the murder of Six Million Jews by Hitler, the State of Israel was established with the Help of Gd just a very few short years after the Nazi defeat. 

The Jewish People survived and that makes ALL JEWS SURVIVORS!

Thank Gd, because Gd is our secret weapon.

Conversion to Judaism- Letter to Jerusalem Post Magazine

I wrote this letter to the Jerusalem Post, which they published, in response to Levi Cooper's The story of a crying child and the evolution of Chabad.

What do you think?

I'm Being Targeted

Apparently someone is targeting my old posts here, when I had commented on facts, news reports of Arab terrorism. Then they report them to Blogger as going against "community guidelines", and the blogger police automatically "unpublish" the posts. Each time I discover this, I contest it. The first was republished. I'm waiting to see what happens with the most recent ones.

Apparently Blogger doesn't read the posts carefully before unpublishing.

Does anyone else have these problems?

Where's Blogger going?