Shalom l’kulam (hello, everyone). This week’s Torah Portion is Tazria Metzora. I have chosen a study link which has an awesome collection of sermons and essays named Torah from Dixie.

Now go and study!

Duet is an encouraging project of journalism, sharing, learning, listening and reading between Israeli Arab and Israeli Jewish journalists.

This seems encouraging. Every bit of learning, talking and growth contributes to dismantling stereotypes and hatred.

[Thanks to Kesher Talk for the tip.]

Thank G-d, this Passover has been relatively quiet in Israel. Of course, that is largely because the West Bank and Gaza are completely sealed, meaning no movement of the Palestinians. Such tough choices to make. Yet, the attacks which were stopped were horrific. Take a look at this story from JTA, which I am quoting below from their javascript short news windows:

“Ten attacks foiled over Passover
A bombing meant to spread AIDS was among 10 Palestinian terror attacks foiled by Israeli security forces over Passover. The Shin Bet said on Tuesday a captured terrorist linked to Yasser Arafat´s Fatah faction had confessed to planning a Passover bombing in which the explosives would be laced with HIV-infected blood in the hope of spreading the disease among the casualties. According to the Shin Bet, the plot was held up by the Palestinians´ failure to find tainted blood in viable quantities. Of the nine other attacks foiled, two were to have been carried out by women, the Shin Bet said. In a new sweep, Israeli forces arrested 17 terror suspects in the West Bank overnight.”

Thankfully, the terrorists weren’t successfull.

One of the goals of this blog is to promote learning and discussion and in that vain, here are more Jews and Israelis who blog.

Protocols, a blog maintained by a group of writers (as is Kesher Net).
Sitting on a Fence, subtitled “Reflections on politics, ideas, culture, and other serious distractions ‘He has sat on the fence so long, the iron has entered his soul’ — Lloyd George on Sir John Simon”
This Woman’s Work
Yutopia, subtitled “The Sometimes Updated Blog of Rabbi Josh Yuter”
Zackary Sholem Berger who has a blog with the subtitle, “Yiddish, poetry, science, vegetarian Indian food, and the Ineffable. In no particular order.” You can find links to blogs in Yiddish at his site.

[Updated throughout today’s surfing.]

There are many texts which we read during Passover. Here is a website with the texts and some information on them.

Go and study!

Passover begins tonight at sundown. I hope you have a wonderful and freedom-filled seder.

The web is full of many excellent Passover/Pesach links. Here are just a few:

Food sites for Passover:
Food for Passover
Food
Forum
Passover
recipes from ShalomBoston

General Passover Information
Basics of Passover – the Seder Plate, Hosting a Seder…
Calling out in the Dark (article on Passover)
Cleaning for Passover – removing the hametz
Definitions of Passover terms
Jewish Agency Passover Resources – many links
List of Passover Sites (Jacob Richman)
Maven Passover links
NFTY Resources on Passover
Nurit Reshef’s Passover Site
Parent Page about Passover
Passover on the Net – many links
Passover at the Supermarket
Pesach information
Virtual Seder Plate

Haggadot/Haggadahs for your Seder:
Haggadah exhibit online
Miriam’s Cup
Passover – a Season of Justice
Telling the Story
Reading about modern day slavery
Uncle Eli’s Fun Haggadah

Kids sites for Passover:
Hanukkat Passover site
Kid’s Domain Passover Site
Pesach Project
Sesame Street Charoset activity/recipe

Songs for Passover (traditional, fun, parodies and more)
Songs from Congregation Beth Or
Passover Songs Old and New (pdf)

Teaching/Lesson Plans for & about Passover
Craft -make a matzah cover
Definitions of Passover terms
Jewish Agency Passover Resources – many links
Parent Page about Passover
Passover – a Season of Justice
Plagues – early childhood lesson plan (from Melton)
Plagues – Cards (pdf)
Teacher outlines from JAFI
Tearing through Passover (4th grade lesson plan)
V’shinantam teacher’s newsletter full of Passover ideas

Counting the Omer
All about the Omer (from Aish)
Count the omer with Homer Simpson (from Jvibe)

Women’s Seders
Miriam’s Cup – background, ritual and more
Religion & Ethics Newsweekly Story on a Women’s Seder

Jerusalem Post reporter Erik Schechter was on the bus bobmed by a Palestinian Policeman on January 19th. His story of survival and recovery is a powerful one. Read his Memoirs of the moderately wounded for his story.

[Thanks to Harry, The View from Here]

This week’s Torah portion is Tzav from the book of Leviticus. A powerful commentary on the meaning of the sacrifices and the zealousness with which G-d commands the priests to perfom them is address in a drash by Rabbi Neal Joseph Loevinger titled “Service As Its Own Reward”.

Zil g’mor (go forth and study)

An excellent article on the question of Same-Sex Jewish marriage by Rabbi Dr. David Ellenson, was recently published. In it, he addresses the various halakhic issues around same-sex marriage and some of the common responses to homosexuality (including an approach to Leviticus 18:22).

HUC-JIR
Jewish Week

According to Ha’aretz, this morning a 14-year-old Palestinian boy with learning disabilites was discovered with a 16-pound bomb strapped to his body. For sacrificing his life, he was paid the equivalent of $20.

This is so sad. So sad. Clearly, the situation is very complicated and some on both sides feel desparate. However, is this really the Palestinians’ best course of action? No. With the right leaders and the courage of they and their people, peace IS possible. Okay, enough of a sermon-bit from me. Here are some Palestinian reactions’

Here is his family’s reaction:
“The family of the boy said he was mentally slow. “He doesn’t know anything,” his brother, Hosni, said. “He has the brain of a 12-year-old.”
His mother, Tamam, told Haaretz yesterday evening that her son had “been exploited and manipulated.” She said she could not understand how adults could do this. Her son had left the house in the morning and told her he was going to school, she said, “but afterwards I heard from other pupils he did not come and they didn’t know where he disappeared.” She said she had no idea with whom he had spent the morning.
“Those who persuaded him to do this must be punished because this is against our beliefs, and we are responsible for him,” she said.” (from Ha’aretz)

Here is what a Palestinian activist said:
“Dr Said Zidani, director of the Palestinian Organization for Human Rights in Ramallah said last night: “I don’t know all the details but I am not surprised that children copy the adults who do such deeds. At all events, as a minor, the boy is not responsible. My personal position is clear: I’m against hurting Israeli or Palestinian civilians and against suicide bombers, adult or minor. But this is a crazy case and anyone who sends a child to carry out a bombing must be punished and the media, schools and organizations must condemn this vehemently.”” (from Ha’aretz)