Passover Links

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

Palestinians using children with disabilities to be suicide bombers

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)

On the Yassin killing

As you probably know by now, yesterday Israel killed the founder and head of Hamas, Sheik Yassin. Many people have blogged about it and what it means. I’ve also been reading news reports and some emails (private) from colleagues who are rabbis in Israel. The consensus from them is that this assasination may well prove to be a big mistake. Was Yassin an evil man personally responsible for the deaths of nearly 400 Israelis? Yes. But, the waves of violence in retailation for this attack may be much much worse. Somehow, perhaps with G-d’s help, the leaders of Israel, the Palestinians (hopefully some effective leaders will take power soon) and the US will stop being so stuck in the you-kill-one-of-mine-I-get-to-kill-2-of-yours mentality. This mentality is not only unproductive but immoral.

Torah Commentary – Parashat Vayakeil Pekudei

This week’s Torah portion is a double one, Vayakeil Pekudei.
The following commentary is from Rabbi Bruce Kadden and titled “FROM B’NEI YISRAEL (THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL)
TO BEIT YISRAEL (THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL).”

Here is an excerpt,

“Exodus begins by recalling B’nei Yisrael, the sons of Jacob, who came to Egypt, each with his household. Although brothers, they were clearly a disparate group, no doubt still bearing the grudges and conflicts that nearly tore their family apart in Canaan. Dina and her family are not even mentioned. Were they left behind or just ignored?

“Now, at the end of Exodus, and for the second time in the Torah, the people are called Beit Yisrael, the “House of Israel.” During the relatively short time they have been wandering in the wilderness, they have already been transformed from B’nei Yisrael to Beit Yisrael, from individuals who happened to share a common history (and some—such as the “mixed multitude” who left Egypt with them—who did not) to a community with a common destiny. They will still have disagreements, conflicts, and even significant rebellions, but nothing that happens can undermine or destroy their fundamental identity as a community, the identity of being Beit Yisrael.”

You can find the full text here.

Guess: Longer life expentancy in Israel or United States?

Really. Guess.
What do you think?

Life expentancy in Israel is 79.4 years – 14th in the world.
Life expentancy in the US is 77.1 years. (This particular stat. source.)

Overal health score of Israel is 16th in the world and the US is 17th.

I learned about this from Ma’ariv International.

You can read a PDF version of the entire report (except USA state cited elsewhere) here.

Israel also ranked 29th in the mortality rate of children under 5. Israel’s population growth ranked 34th at 3.9% per year with a birthrate of 2.77.

Go Israel!!