My Jewish Learning has a main article this week on one of my favorite scholars, Abraham Joshua Heschel. Read about his life and his views on: sacred time, Judaism as a Way of Life and the Sabbath.
Go and Learn!
My Jewish Learning has a main article this week on one of my favorite scholars, Abraham Joshua Heschel. Read about his life and his views on: sacred time, Judaism as a Way of Life and the Sabbath.
Go and Learn!
Hag Shavuot Sameach – Happy Shavuot. May this z’man torateinu, z’man simchateinu (time of joyous receiving of the Torah) be filled with joy, learning and laughter for you and yours.
I’ve updated some of the Israel/Palestine Peace Blogs links. I’ve added:
Israeli-Palestinian Peace Group Page
Raising Yousuf: a diary of motherhood under occupation
Semitism.net – Pro-Jewish. Pro-Arab. Pro-Peace.
Let me know if you know of others to add.
Today I learned of an amazing restaurant soup kitchen in Jeruslame called Carmei Ha’ir. All who enter sit, dine and relax. When leaving those who can pay, pay. Payment is made to a box by the door. Some put notes of thanks and others put sheckels. Only those touching the box at that moment know who is paying with thanks and who with cash. Amazing, isn’t it?
Located on 72 Agrippas in the neighoborhood of Machaneh Yehudah it was begun by Yehuda Azrad, Itzik Levitan, Momi Ben Zruel, Harel Horowitz and David Germiza. Aish reporter Sara Yocheved Rigler writes that they dreamed of creating a soup kitchen “where everyone who enters would receive honor, not just food.” She continues, “Even the name embodies their commitment to preserving the dignity of their indigent patrons. They wanted a name which would not smack of charity. Ze’ev Yekutiel, a restaurant consultant and caterer who volunteered the know-how for establishing the restaurant, came up with “Carmei Ha’Ir.” In Hebrew, it means simply, “the vineyards of the city,” but the inner circle of supporters knows that the word “Carmei” is also an acronym for a line in the prayer of hospitality: “All the hungry will eat from Him.” Read the entire Aish article here.
Other sources on this amazing place include:
A Jerusalem Post article, Love at First Bite.
A Christian Science Monitor article, Chef Cooks Up a Grand Social Experiment
Rabbi Mark Kaiserman quotes the owner in a D’var Torah for Parashat Behar, By Your Side
I learned of Carmit Ha’ir from Jerusalem Gypsy who blogs about a recent meal there.
I hope to eat/donate/volunteer there when I’m in Jerusalem later this summer.
Do you want to help support Carmei Ha’ir? According to Aish, send donations to P.O.B. 6084, Jerusalem 91060, Israel. You can also go to their website (in Hebrew) for more information and donations.
Here is a brief (and belated) post on Jerusalem Day. IsraCast has published an English trasnlation of the IDF radio traffic as the Israeli Army reached the Western Wall of the Temple.
Words echoing moments of joy from our past. I pray that they lead us again to moments of a lasting peace.
Yesterday the Webby Awards were given out in New York. They award sites in a variety of categories, including a religion category. Here are some of the sites which got recognition for religion.
Category winner – Speaking of Faith sponsored by American Public Media
People’s voice winner in the category – Spirituality & Health
Nominees (not including those above) were:
Faith Streams (A source of articles and vidoes on various faiths.)
Grace Cathedral, an Episcopal Church.
My Jewish Learning, one of my favorite sites!
See all the Webby Award winners!
By learning about other ways of life, views and faiths, we strengthen ourselves and help bring tikkun olam (repair) to the world.
One of the efforts in celebration of Jews in North America for 350 years is a project called Only in America.
Part of this project are four interviews to which you can listen: Elie Wiesel & Abraham Foxman, Michael Steinhardt, Ambassador John L. Loeb, Jr. and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I am listening to the end of the interview with Justice Ginsburg as I write this post. It is a thorough, enjoyable and inspiring interview.
Listen to the interview with Justice Ginsburg here.
Shavuah tov. May this be a week of remembrance, blessing and success.
Yep – it is back – commentary and links to drashot on the weekly Torah portion!!
This week’s parashah is B’khuqotai, a rather difficult portion closing the book of Leviticus. One of the more difficult sections is the listing of rebukes which can be interpretated as if you mess up G-d gets back at you. But, not all understand them this way.
This week’s haftarah, from the book of Jeremiah, responds to the listing of rebukes through the lens of war and despair in his own day. Rabbi Andrea Lerner comments on Jeremiah’s response and how we might answer the age-old question of why bad things happen to us. My Jewish Learning has a copy of a drash she wrote titled Faith In Difficult Times: Jeremiah’s deep faith despite the impending exile predicted in Parashat B’hukotai can teach us to turn to God in the most troubling of times.
Go and study and may you find comfort and encouragement from Jeremiah’s words.
The Presidents of Hebrew University (Prof. Menachem Magidor) and Al-Quds University (Prof. Sari Nusseibeh) [If you don’t know, Al-Quds is “The Arab University in Jerusalem”.] issued a joint statement about the importance of working together rather than fostering division and separation (like the AUT boycott has).
[Thank you to Allison Kaplan Sommer for the tip.]
President of Hebrew University President of Al-Quds University
Here is an excerpt of their statement
Cognizant of the moral leadership universities should provide, especially in already turbulent political contexts, we, the President of Al-Quds University and the President of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, have agreed to insist on continuing to work together in the pursuit of knowledge, for the benefit of our peoples and the promotion of peace and justice in the Middle East.
Our position is based upon the belief that it is through cooperation based on mutual respect, rather than through boycotts or discrimination, that our common goals can be achieved. Bridging political gulfs rather than widening them further apart between nations and individuals thus becomes an educational duty as well as a functional necessity, requiring exchange and dialogue rather than confrontation and antagonism. Our disaffection with, and condemnation of acts of academic boycotts and discrimination against scholars and institutions, is predicated on the principles of academic freedom, human rights, and equality between nations and among individuals.
We therefore call upon academics here and worldwide to act in support of our mission, as one which might allow for ending our shared tragedy rather than prolonging it.
You can read the whole statement on An Unsealed Room