Keeping Jewish - January 2022 / Shvat 5782

Tradition, Inspiration and Celebration · January 2022 - Shvat 5782 · Published by Chabad Tucson

Some dreams come true Martin Luther King and the March on Washington

From Feigie’s Kitchen The traditional chicken and matzo ball soup

New to town

UA assistant professor loves Tucson’s winter

Learning Hebrew

The benefit of being stupid when you’re old

Happy New Year For trees!

A career woman reconnects with roots and a guide to celebrating Tu Bishvat

ESSAY

Do green thumbs matter?

The Jewish outreach and education network of Southern Arizona 2443 E 4th Street, Tucson, AZ 85719

By Rabbi Yehuda Ceitlin

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

That’s the term for someone who seems naturally gifted with the ability to nurture plants. “You either have a green thumb, or you don’t,” people say. If you plant something and it thrives, you are said to have a green thumb. If the tree you carefully planted dies inexplicably, you don’t have it. I certainly don’t have it.

Rabbi Yossie Shemtov REBBETZIN

Chanie Shemtov OUTREACH DIRECTOR

Rabbi Yehuda Ceitlin PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Feigie Ceitlin Affiliates:

Cong. Young Israel, Chabad at the University of Arizona, Chabad on River, Chabad of Oro Valley, Chabad of Sierra Vista, Chabad Jewish Center of Vail and Lamplighter Chabad Day School of Tucson

EDITOR

Rabbi Yehuda Ceitlin COPY EDITORS

Suzanne Cummins CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Feigie Ceitlin, Tzvi Freeman, Chessed Halberstam, Jay Litvin, Aharon Loschak, Mordechai Schmutter and Benjamin Weiss PHOTOS

Jacqueline Soffer SPECIAL THANKS

Chabad.org, Libby Herz EDITORIAL INQUIRIES OR ADVERTISING

Phone: 520-955-9680 Email: info@ChabadTucson

Keeping Jewish is published in print periodically by Chabad Tucson and is distributed free in Tucson and around Southern Arizona.

Chabad Tucson does not endorse any products or services reported about or advertised in Keeping Jewish unless specifically noted. The acceptance of advertising in Keeping Jewish does not constitute a recommendation, approval or other representation of quality of products or services, or the credibility of any claims made by advertisers including, but not limited to, the kashrus of advertised food products. The use of any products or services advertised in Keeping Jewish is solely at the user’s risk and Chabad Tucson accepts no responsibility or liability in connection therewith.

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Note: “G-d” and “L-rd” are written with a hyphen instead of an “o”. This is one way we accord reverence to the sacred divine name. This also reminds us that, even as we seek G-d, He transcends any human effort to describe His reality.

Growing up in Montreal, Canada, we had a bit of a skewed idea of where fruit comes from. Trees, such as we knew them, didn’t produce much more than leaves and acorns — and of course, maple syrup.

Fruit? That grew in the supermarket.

So it was with delight that five-year-old me, on a visit to Moshav Meitav in sunny Israel, saw fruit hanging there on the trees! If I wanted a lemon, a pomegranate or a grape, all I had to do was ask one of my doting relatives to pick me up so I could reach, and I could pick a piece of fresh fruit.

The memories of that visit have stayed with me, and now that I live in Tucson — where the climate is far more hospitable to fruit trees than Montreal is — I’m proud to be the owner of a pomegranate and a clementine tree. But my perspective has changed from that of five-year-old me.

I still marvel at the fruit that grows, year in and year out, for my family to enjoy. But now I realize that it doesn’t grow on its own. It takes hard work; pruning, irrigation, keeping away pests and harmful diseases. And some would say that it takes more than that. It takes a green thumb.

But what I learned on that visit to Israel all those years ago is that it isn’t the color of your thumb — or even the extent of the effort you put in — that determines the yield and success of your crops.

It’s the blessing of G-d. And farmers are some of the most faithful people, because they know better than anyone that their efforts will only go so far in determining the success of their crops. The rest is out of their hands.

Planting a seed takes faith. You could have ground that seed into flour, and turned that into bread. But instead, you planted the seed and hoped for the best.

Yes, the rules of nature dictate that a seed planted will germinate and produce a plant, containing many seeds — because that’s how G-d created it. And sometimes, G-d decrees that that particular seed, or crop, not be as fruitful. Entire nations have been wiped out by famine and blight;

by crops that did not yield as they should have.

Our very lives depend on the fertility of the land, but like kids in Montreal, we sometimes have a hard time visualizing where our food comes from, or remembering how much we depend on the bounty of the land and its creator.

That is why, not long after the champagne is popped, the fireworks are launched, and the confetti is scattered, Jewish people will be celebrating a different type of new year. The fifteenth of the month of Shevat, the Talmud tells us, is the new year for trees. We mark the day by enjoying fruit — particularly the fruits that the Holy Land of Israel is blessed with — and taking the time to think about the blessing of G-d, who tells each blade of grass to grow.

This year, as we celebrate the New Year for Trees, let’s remember that it’s not a green thumb that enables us to plant and harvest the food we enjoy. It’s G-d’s blessing.

- Rabbi Yehuda Ceitlin is the Outreach Director of Chabad Tucson

NEWS

Algorithm promises to match Jewish singles

By Aharon Loschak

It’s one of the toughest nuts to crack: how do you find a suitable life partner?

Young Jews everywhere grapple with this question, and with today’s increasingly disposable society of endless dating and infinite opportunities at the swipe of a finger, it hasn’t gotten any easier. In fact, it’s only gotten harder.

As the number of online dating sites and matchmaking services grows, navigating through them to the ‘right one’ is becoming increasingly difficult. However, the popularity of online dating apps and sites has created data. Data provided statistics.

A newly-created matchmaking algorithm, based on Jewish, family and personal values, was developed by a team at Yale University in cooperation with Chabad Young Professional International and Chabad on Campus International.

Met@Chabad, currently in beta version, aims to foster a new culture of dating that is intentional and purposeful–for marriage only. The program organizes virtual speed dating events with the option of being in touch with professional matchmakers.

“With the widespread use of quick-fix dating apps, the world’s view of dating has rapidly changed,” said Rabbi Beryl Frankel, one of its developers. “We have

been educated to ‘swipe away’ life’s most important choices. Baseless robotic decisions have become the norm.”

With our app, participants sign up and receive a detailed questionnaire that is designed to find out more than just where they like to go hiking and if they’re vegan. This sophisticated form hones in on the most important element for successful dating (and marriage, too!): values.

A custom-made algorithm takes that data and matches each person with a potential suitor, and then sends out an invite to both parties with a dedicated link for a virtual date. Participants are matched with up to seven people, and are given only eight minutes to date each one.

If both parties respond after the event that they’re interested in continuing, the system connects them so they can continue dating offline and in-person.

Multiple successful events were held in recent months in the States, with another dedicated one in Canada, and another for the Spanish-speaking communities from Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Peru, Paraguay, Venezuela, Colombia, Spain, USA and Mexico.

“Met@Chabad has revolutionized the way singles in our community have been

Photo by Christin Hume / Unsplash

dating for marriage!” said Nechama Dina Carlebach of Chabad of Downtown San Diego. “We are so glad that they are now able to connect and meet others just

like them!”

For more information, visit: www.metatchabad.com

New class to explore Jewish meditation Meditation from Sinai, a fascinating new six-session course by the acclaimed Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI), will explore the nature of Jewish meditation and the profound benefits it can bring to one’s daily life.

Beginning February 2022, participants in the adult education course will discover what Jewish meditation is, the pivotal role it plays in Jewish tradition, and the fundamental ideas it is based on.

It is a revolutionary, empowering offering that focuses on mindful awareness as the bedrock for a meaningful life.

This course synthesizes extensive research from both the spiritual community and psychological research, forging a practical path to fully realizing life’s potentials.

The course will teach practical life tools that help us respond effectively to negative thoughts and emotions, recognize the value of each new moment, and find purpose and spirituality even in life’s most mundane tasks.

The course is accredited for Continuing Education credit for mental health professionals, including social workers, LMFTs, and LPCs. It is de-

signed to appeal to people at all levels of knowledge, including those without any prior experience or background in Jewish learning.

The course will be offered both in-person as well as over Zoom.

In Tucson, it will be presented by Rabbi Yehuda Ceitlin: In-person over 6 Tuesdays 4:00-5:30 PM, starting February 1 Virtual over 6 Wednesdays 7:00-8:30 PM, starting February 2

Register at: www.ChabadTucson.com/JLI In Oro Valley, it will be presented by Rabbi Boruch Zimmerman: In-person over 6 Mondays 4:30-6:00 PM, starting February 7 Virtual over 6 Tuesdays 5:00-6:30 PM, starting February 8 Register at: www.JewishOroValley.com

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JUDAISM 101

Tu Bishvat

Celebrating the new year for trees

The 15th of Shvat on the Jewish calendar—celebrated this year on Monday, January 17, 2022—is the day that marks the beginning of a “new year” for trees.

Commonly known as Tu Bishvat, this day marks the season in which the earliestblooming trees in the Holy Land of Israel emerge from their winter sleep and begin a new fruit-bearing cycle.

According to Biblical law, there is a seven-year agricultural cycle, concluding with the Sabbatical year. When the Holy Temple stood in Jerusalem, on years one, two, four and five of this cycle, farmers were required to separate a tenth of their produce and bring either the produce itself or the proceeds from its sale to Jerusalem, for the farmer’s use there. This tithe is called Maaser Sheni, the Second Tithe, because it is in addition to the tithe for the Temple, two percent of which had to be given to the Kohain, and ten percent of the remainder to the Levite. On the third and sixth years of the cycle, instead of the owners bringing the Maaser Sheni to Jerusalem, they gave this second tithe to the poor, who were permitted to consume it wherever they wished.

[On the Sabbatical year, such as this year, no tithes are separated. All produce which grows during this year is ownerless and free for anyone to take.]

It was therefore of vital importance to ascertain when the new year started for

Photo by Roxanne Desgagnés / Unsplash

produce. Our Rabbis established that a fruit that blossomed before the 15th of Shvat is the produce of the previous year.

If it blossomed afterward, it is the produce of the “new year.” [By comparison, grains, vegetables, and legumes have the same New Year as humans, the 1st of Tishrei.]

Although this day is Rosh Hashanah for trees, we attach special significance to this holiday because “Man is [compared to] the tree of the field” (Deuteronomy

20:19). Through cultivating strong roots – faith and commitment to G‑d – we produce many fruits—Torah and Mitzvot.

Observances and Customs: • It is customary to increase the number of fruits one eats on the 15th of Shvat, in order to praise G‑d who created all these species of fruits.

The blessing recited on fruit is: Baruch atah A-donoi, Elo-heinu Melech Ha’Olam borei pri ha-aitz.

Blessed are You, L-rd our G‑d, King of the universe, who creates the fruit of the tree.

• In particular, one should include among the fruits one eats on this day the species of fruit which the land of Israel is praised for: grapes, olives, dates, figs and pomegranates.

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• Some have the custom to make an effort and eat at least one fruit which one has not eaten that entire season, and would require the blessing of Shehecheyanu. When eating such a fruit, the Shehecheyanu should be said after reciting the blessing of “Haetz.” If one has already

partaken of other fruits (at that particular sitting) then the Shehecheyanu alone would be said upon eating the new fruit.

The blessing of Shehecheyanu: Ba-ruch A-tah Ado-nai E-lo-he-nu Melech Ha-olam She-heche-ya-nu Ve-ki-yima-nu Ve-higi-a-nu Liz-man Ha-zeh.

Blessed are You, L-rd our G‑d, King of the universe, who has granted us life, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this occasion.

• Many also have a custom of eating carob on this day. There is yet another custom which many have and that is to eat the Etrog in the form of preserves, sugared slices, or other sweetened treats.

• It was the custom of the famed Kabbalist Rabbi Isaac Luria (“Arizal”) to eat 15 varieties of fruits on the 15th of Shvat.

• Due to the festive nature of the day, we omit the Tachanun sections (petitions for forgiveness and confession) from the Shacharit and Mincha (morning and afternoon) prayers, as well as from the Mincha prayer on the afternoon beforehand.

HUMOR

Pieces of Fruit

By Mordechai Schmutter I don’t eat a lot of fresh fruit. I do like fruit, but I like it cold, so I generally stick it in the fridge, and then I forget about it for a while, and then a month later, I’m like, “Oh! We… had fruit.”

of your fridge, the day before expiration (When did we buy milk?) and suddenly making a show of caring that your kids drink milk.

“Everyone drink up! It’s only gonna taste worse tomorrow.”

It’s a logistical problem. You have to keep your fruit all the way at the bottom of the fridge, in a drawer marked “fruit”, sitting on top of your older fruit, which is sitting on top of a layer of sludge that was once fruit. But that’s where the label on the fridge says you have to keep it. Then again, if I leave it out, I probably won’t eat it either, plus it would go bad faster.

When I was growing up, there weren’t so many varieties of dried fruit that I can remember. There were prunes (there were always prunes) and raisins and apricots and pineapples and the orange square ones, which I’m pretty sure were actually candy, and of course dates. Or possibly figs.

I’m thinking that I should buy a bowl of plastic fruit and leave it out, and that way I would remember that there’s fruit in the fridge. I think that’s why my grandparents always have bowls of plastic fruit around the house. All those years of life experience taught them that this is the way to make sure to remember to eat fruit.

It isn’t just me. My kids aren’t big on fruit either. I think maybe that’s partly our fault. We have a rule in our house that any kid can take a piece of fruit at any point without asking. So the kids never take fruit. They figure, “If it’s so good, why are they giving it away for free?”

And it doesn’t help that they go to school, and they’re taught that fruit is healthy. And the food pyramid thing serves as a giant deterrent. To be fair, the foods shown toward the bottom, such as fruits and vegetables, are highlighted as what you should eat the most of, but to my kids, the bottom looks like the dregs, like what you eat when you cannot get anything else. And there is no way we can engage the fight about fruit. We have enough of a fight trying to get them to eat vegetables. We try to make them eat vegetables with every supper, but sometimes they negotiate.

“I have ketchup. Can that be my vegetable?”

“No. If you want to count ketchup as your vegetable, you’d have to eat enough of it to make up an entire serving of tomatoes.”

Oh, and those dry banana things. They call them “chips”, but it doesn’t make them taste better.

Photo by Roxanne Desgagnés / Unsplash

And they do.

But a lot of times when they’re hungry very close to supper, we tell them to take a piece of fruit, and sometimes they do, but because they’re small kids, they take just that – a piece of fruit. They have two bites of an apple, and they’re done. Obviously, they were starving. I’m telling you - If I step on one more half banana...

So you have to cut the fruit for them, and you also have to make sure that like 3 of your kids are willing to eat that particular fruit at the same time because that way they can each take a few pieces.

That’s why it helps to have your kids close in age – so you can divvy up fruit.

Of all fruit, I think bananas are the worst. You buy them, and the first day they’re green, and the second day they’re brown.

Wait, when were they yellow?

It’s like you have to schedule an appointment to eat a banana. At 3 in the morning, I guess.

But now they have all kinds of dry fruit. There are mangos and peaches and pears and blueberries and something called “craisins” (whatever those are), and somehow blueberry craisins, and kiwi and cantaloupe. And who knows what they’re going to dry next? Maybe watermelon. We can just call it “melon.” It’s like an 8-year-old boy somehow got hold of the fruit-drying machine, and he’s just drying everything in sight. If you go there to confront him, keep an eye on your pocketbook.

“What happened to my pocketbook?”

“You like it? It’s dried pocketbook!”

And it doesn’t help that you have to buy them in bunches. So you can’t say, “Well, there are ten bananas, so I have bananas for ten days.” No, they’re all attached, so on day two they’re suddenly all ready to eat, and you have to eat ten bananas that day. It’s like all of a sudden you’re foisting bananas on all your kids. “Here, take them to school!”

The appeal of dried fruit is definitely that it lasts. And it really does. I’ve had the same two apricots in my cabinet for years now, because we’ve long since finished the rest of the container, and we’re convinced that one day we’re going to say, “Hey! Two apricots!”

Don’t make your kids put bananas in their knapsacks. It’s not going to end well.

Yay for Tu Bishvat! I’m just saying it’s nice to at least make sure to eat some fruits one day a year, as a family.

But you’re not even giving them out to be a good parent. I mean, you want to be a good parent; that’s why you bought the fruit in the first place. But now you’re just trying to get rid of it before it goes bad. It’s like taking a bottle of milk out

“No, cherry lollipops don’t count! Not unless you eat enough to get a full serving of cherries!”

And they do.

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FEATURE

Reconnecting with roots - literally A mother comes full circle as she joined her agricultural son in Yuma, Arizona

Carla Boyd joined her agricultural son Matthew Cowell

By Carla Boyd Yuma is often described as a nice resting-stop along the I-8 highway to the San Diego corridor, but for me, it is so much more. It is a community of 100,000 residents who are diverse in language and culture. It has 180,000 acres of produce and other commodities that are planted, harvested and shipped around the world.

If you are enjoying fresh spinach, romaine, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower or fruits like dates or figs in your salads this winter, there is a high probability they have been grown in the “Winter Lettuce Capital of the World,” as Yuma is known.

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Connecting to nature, our gardens, and the beautiful world that G-d has created can take on a new and self-reflective mea-

ning as we celebrate Tu Bishvat, the “new year of the trees.”

Let me explain. Having been raised as a fourth-generation agricultural family from Texas, there is a closeness to the land. The seasons of Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall have great significance as the fields are plowed and the orchards are pruned.

In 2015, our family planted an orchard of 4.5 acres in previously barren desert land in Yuma. We have since been blessed with a plentiful crop of Medjool dates sold under the label Sunset Dates. Taking great care to produce the highest quality date takes patience, skill and time as all the labor including pollination are completed by hand.

“Each tree is like a child. You nurture them and watch them grow - keeping them happy along the way,” says my son Matthew Cowell who runs the orchard.

From an early age, he showed an interest in understanding how crops grow, and he has honed his skills. He gleaned much of his agricultural knowledge from people on both sides of his family.

to choose education as a career path to be able to raise my son with the same family values that my amazing homemaker mother instilled.

My dad, Matt’s grandfather, started his career in agriculture first from the corporate leadership side and later as an exceptional grower. He developed a product that he took around the world to enhance desert agriculture.

I was on the fast track to a career in higher education, completing a doctorate and enjoying teaching, research and working in Sierra Vista, Arizona. At the same time, I spent a great deal of time supporting students along the border with disabilities. I also worked on the board of DIRECT Center for Independence, which promotes independent living and offers a variety of programs for people with disabilities.

It took me a while to get back to the roots my father planted in me. I first began my career in corporate financial services and following a divorce decided

However, G-d has a way of stopping our steps, giving us a wake-up call and redirecting our paths for the better. For me, that meant leaving the Tucson communi-

r path to same famemaker

FEATURE

Carla Boyd (first from right) and fellow students at Rabbi Yehuda Ceitlin’s JLI adult education class in 2016

ty to return to Yuma.

What I thought was a difficult choice to return to Yuma was actually what I was meant to do all along - return to my roots, be near family and step in to work in my spare time and weekends with my son’s two agri-businesses. As a ‘mother and son duo’, we have turned full circle. He is teaching me about desert agriculture as I conduct agricultural research and sell dates to families and country stores in Arizona and in the near future California.

career in doctoraarch and a. At the al of time e border d on the Indepen- Each of our lives takes twists and turns ndent li- during the different seasons as we grow grams for and age. Traditions and knowledge handed down to the next generation in agriculture impact not only the immediate pping our family but the whole world, as the world and redi- is fed. This is similar to the learning of . For me, Torah and the bearing of healthy ‘fruits’ ommuni- - the fruit that we bear are the mitzvot good deeds and acts of kindness towards

Mazel Tov Ken & Barbie Danson May you share many simchas In your new home In the years ahead our fellow and the world.

Gratefully, G-d provided the opportunity to continue my two passions - family and career, as I work full time with the University of Arizona in Yuma. Yuma not only grows the best dates (I’m partial to Sunset Dates) but also grows our local economy in education from Pre-K to Ph.D.!

Sunset Dates are available at select stores and online at www.buymedjooldates.com

Madeline Friedman Vice President, ABR, CRS, GRI

520.907.4141 TucsonHomeFinder@aol.com www.TucsonAZHomes.com

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PHOTOS

Holiday joy Vail got its first public Menorah and hundreds joined Chanukah events across Southern Arizona

Dr. David Siegel wears a plush Menorah hat alongside his children Eliana (left) and Sam during Chabad Tucson’s Chanukah @ Downtown Tucson.

Ronald Sirota (left) and Len Chyet join Rabbi Benzion Shemtov of Chabad of Sierra Vista for a prayer at the Visitors Center in Benson, Arizona

From left: Stuart Katz, Rabbi Sruly Shemtov of Chabad of Vail-Arizona, JJ Lamb and Jeff Bridge stand with the new Menorah at the Old Vail Village

Participants of Chabad Oro Valley’s Chanukah celebration outside the Gaslight Music Hall

8 Students celebrate Chanukah outside Chabad at the University of Arizona

Rochel Sasonkin, 6 months, reaches out to chocolate-glazed donuts at Chabad on River.

glazed donuts

KOSHER

Classic chicken and matzo ball soup

By Feigie Ceitlin The soup INGREDIENTS: 3 chicken leg quarters Chicken bones (optional) 3 carrots peeled and cut into chunks 3 celery stalks, cut into chunks 1 zucchini, cut into 1-inch rounds 1 parsnip, peel and leave whole 1 large onion, peel and leave whole 1 sweet potato, peeled and cut 1 bunch fresh dill 1 bunch fresh parsley Water, fill the pot up to 2 inches from the top Salt to taste Black pepper to taste DIRECTIONS: Place all of the above ingredients into an 8-quart pot.

Turn on fire and bring water to an almost boil.

Skim the froth from the top. Bring to a boil and then lower the flame.

Let it simmer until vegetables and chicken are tender The matzo balls (makes 8)

Photo by Jacqueline Soffer

Bring pot of salted water to a rolling boil and drop in balls Cover the pot and let it boil, transfer to the soup.

INGREDIENTS:

*

2 eggs 2 tablespoon canola oil 3 tablespoon ice water or cold seltzer 1/2 cup matzo meal 1 teaspoon salt

Blessing on soup: Shehakol

DIRECTIONS: Whisk eggs, oil and water until fluffy

Bon appetit!

— Feigie Ceitlin is the program director of Chabad Tucson

Baruch atah A-donay, Elo-heinu Melech Ha’Olam shehakol nihiyah bed’varo.

Blessed are You, L-rd our G‑d, King of the universe, by Whose word all things came to be.

Blessing on matzo balls: Mezonot

Add the matzo meal and salt and mix thoroughly.

Baruch atah A-donay, Elo-heinu Melech Ha’Olam borei minei mezonot.

Refrigerate the mixture for an hour

Blessed are you L-rd our G‑d, King of the Universe, Who creates various kinds of sustenance.

Create 2 inch balls

Please note that if eaten during a meal, having made the blessing of Hamotzi on challah or bread, a separate blessing on the soup and matzo balls isn’t recited.

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OPINION

Why some dreams come true Martin Luther King and the March on Washington

By Tzvi Freeman There was certainly no popular movement of the 20th century as successful as the civil rights movement, and Martin Luther King, Jr. was its icon. Listen to the words of his most famous speech, delivered at the March on Washington in 1963, and you’ll find the key.

King was a radical, an agitator for swift and drastic change. Yet all that he spoke on that day was rooted deep in the soil of the existing American consciousness. He didn’t agitate for a new bank to be built; he asked that an old promissory note be cashed in. He didn’t declare a new set of principles; he harped on the principles upon which this nation was built. He didn’t demand that America downsize itself; he asked that it embrace the greatness that awaited it—if it would only live up to the declared goals of its founding fathers.

The dream that enraptured King spoke to the roots of America. He spoke of this nation’s original covenant with its own people, and its faith in the Bible. And so, from those roots that the dream sprouted, grew and flourished. Today, nobody bats an eyelid when black, white and all colors of children play together in the park. What was then a dream has today become the groundwork of a global society.

King proved that there is no better catalyst of social change than the values that form the bedrock of this society. Take a look: No other mass movement has enjoyed such rapid, widespread success. The environmental movement launched not long after, and yours truly enthusiastically jumped, is still sputtering away.

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As the oceans become hotter each day, more species disappear and the evidence mounts that a real crisis is around the corner, the governments we elect provide

lip-service at best, and we accede to their decisions in apathy. The environmental movement has yet to grab the heart of America.

Why? Because rather than build on the values of the people, it chose to knock them down. Rather than encourage a nation to become great, it chose to propel people with guilt for overconsumption and fear of a still-impending cataclysm.

One environmentalist attempted to inspire me with this: The blue whale destroys more life in a single day than any other creature on the planet. How many? Forty million krills per day! What an amazing organism! Therefore, we must save the blue whale!

The logic of that argument remains elusive to me.

The environmental movement could have fueled itself with values already embedded deep within our consciousness, such as the story of Adam and Eve placed in the garden “to serve it and to protect it.”

Or simply the idea that there is a Creator of this beautiful planet who has left it in our care. It could have spoken sweetly in the ear of middle America, about how G‑d gifted us with a magnificent land to cherish and preserve.

But instead, leaders in the environmental movement chose to alienate the churchgoers, the believers and the traditionalists.

And that has only served to backfire.

To push a boulder, your feet must first find solid ground. Otherwise, rather than you pushing the boulder forward, it will roll back down the hill over you.

To build a tall and mighty structure,

OPINION

you must first dig deep into the ground.

Otherwise, the first storm will topple your structure to the ground.

To grow a life that provides lasting value to the world, you must ensure that life has deep roots in rich soil, where noble ancestors lie and whose ideals live on.

To move society forward, you need to take a walk back to its origin, to the freshwater spring from which its rivers flow, and then to dig yet deeper to release those living waters so that they burst through every barrier and flood the landscape. As G-d promised, “one day every valley shall be engulfed, every hill shall be exalted and every mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plains and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of G‑d shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.”1 (1. Isaiah 40:4. King quoted this passage in his speech, along with other references to the Hebrew Bible.)

--Tzvi Freeman is the author of Bringing Heaven Down to Earth and, more recently, Wisdom to Heal the Earth

A LEGO sketch of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr (1929-1968) by Ochre Jelly

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STORY

Divine road work

By Chessed Halberstam

I had the honor of working in the employ of Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka Schneerson, wife of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, for eighteen years—from 1970 until her passing in 1988—performing household tasks and serving as her driver.

zed what had transpired.

I was completely amazed at what I had seen. Later, when we were in the park, I could not contain myself, and asked the Rebbetzin what had prompted her to give such a large sum to a total stranger.

The Rebbe requested that I try to see to it that the Rebbetzin get out of the house every day for fresh air. Usually, we would drive out to a park on Long Island. In the years that my son Ari was a young child, we would often pick him up from his school on Ocean Parkway, and take him along. The Rebbetzin enjoyed playing with him, pushing him on the swings in the park playground, etc.

One day, as we neared the park, we found our regular route closed off due to road work, and were forced to proceed instead on a parallel street. As we drove along that street, we heard the sound of a woman screaming in Russian.

When I stopped at the next traffic light, the Rebbetzin turned to me and said: “I heard a woman screaming. Can you go back and see what that was about?”

“Do you really want to know?” asked the Rebbetzin.

“Yes, I do,” I replied.

“Then I’ll tell you,” she said. “Once, when I was a young girl, my father took me for a walk in the park. He sat me down on a bench, and started to tell me about the idea of hashgacha pratis (specific divine providence).”

Photo: Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka Schneerson (1901–1988)

We drove back to the beginning of the street. There we saw a woman standing on the curb and weeping, while near her, workers were carrying furniture and household items from a house and loading them onto a truck belonging to the county marshal.

At the Rebbetzin’s request, I parked behind the marshal’s truck and went to learn the details of what was going on.

The marshal explained that the woman had not paid her rent for many months, and was now being evicted from her home.

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When I reported back to the Rebbetzin, she asked me to go back and inquire from the marshal how much the woman owed, and if he would accept a personal check; she also asked that I should not say anything to the family being evicted.

Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov (1698– 1760), founder of Chassidism, taught that “everything that occurs, and every detail thereof, is by divine providence; if a leaf is turned over by a breeze, it is only because this has been specifically ordained by G‑d to serve a specific function within the purpose of creation.” Thus, “every single thing that a person sees or hears is an instruction to him in his conduct in the service of G‑d.”

The Rebbetzin continued, “Every time—said Father—when something causes us to deviate from our normal routine, there is a divinely ordained reason for this; every time we see something unusual, there is a purpose in why we’ve been shown this sight.

Photo by Shonda Ranson / Pixaday

I did not realize where all this was leading, but I fulfilled the Rebbetzin’s request. The sum that the family owed was approximately $6,700. The marshal said that he had no problem accepting a personal check, as long as he could confirm with the bank that the check was covered. He also said that if he received the payment, his men would carry everything back into the house.

When I informed the Rebbetzin of the details, she took out her checkbook and, to my amazement, wrote out a check for the full amount, and asked me to give it to the marshal.

The marshal made a phone call to the bank, and then instructed his workers to take everything back into the house. The Rebbetzin immediately urged me to quickly drive away, before the woman reali-

“Today,” she said, “when I saw the ‘Detour’ sign instructing us to deviate from our regular route, I remembered my father’s words, and immediately thought to myself: Every day we drive by this street; suddenly the street’s closed off, and we’re sent to a different street.

What is the purpose of this? How is this connected to me? Then I heard the sound of a woman crying and screaming. I realized that we had been sent along this route for a purpose.”

VOICES

The benefits of being stupid when you’re old

By Jay Litvin First of all, I’m not really stupid. And second, you can’t really call 53 old. But lately, I have been feeling very stupid, and being the oldest in my class makes me feel very old. But perhaps there is some benefit to all of this.

I haven’t felt so stupid since I was 10 years old and my family moved from the upper-lower class Chicago neighborhood where I fit in, to the upper-middle-class neighborhood where I did not. I felt pretty smart at my old grammar school. But when I transferred to the new one, I seemed to be the dumbest in the class. It was a tremendous blow to my self-esteem, especially since both my sisters were honor students.

I got through grammar and high school, but I dropped out of college and chose instead to apprentice at a film company, where I eventually learned a lucrative trade and then went on to develop a career. I even received a college degree at the age of 32. I am married, with some very nice children.

So, self-esteem-wise I recovered. Until I moved to Israel and started going to ulpan to learn Hebrew.

I am the oldest and the dumbest in my class. I’m having a terrible time learning Hebrew. I can’t remember any of the words, no matter how often I hear them or look them up in my English/Hebrew dictionary.

Verb conjugation is beyond me. And trying to form a sentence just to answer a question, let alone express a thought, causes my throat to tighten involuntarily. I am embarrassed by my incompetence among the other students. I sit in dread of being called on by the instructor, a very kind, middleaged woman who, I can tell, takes pity on me. She calls on me rarely, and even when I make mistakes, she treats me kindly and pretends I gave sort of the right answer.

Fortunately, it is an adult class, so people don’t make fun of me; at most, they treat my erroneous responses with compassionate sickly grins, and then look away quickly.

At break time I grab a cup of coffee and stand by myself, hoping no one will come up to me and try to start a conversation in Hebrew.

I sit in class with a terrible pressure in my chest, difficulty breathing, and with a constant running diatribe at myself: You’re so stupid! How come everyone else gets it,

her feel attractive rather than stupid.

Immigrants study Hebrew at the Kadouri school in Israel’s Lower Galilee in 1940 * Photo: Zoltan Kluger

and you don’t? Why are you so shy? Why can’t you just speak up and make your mistakes and practice? Why have you put yourself in this position? Why didn’t you just stay in America, where at least you could speak?

There seems to be this downward spiral of thoughts leading to a dark cavern of negativity that feels old and familiar, more connected to my childhood than to my reality.

By the time the class is over, I feel terrible. Like a loser. And I dread the next class.

On the train ride home, I try to console myself. “Look, it’s just a class. You’re the public relations director for one of the largest organizations in Israel. You speak and write English better than most. You have a lovely wife and beautiful children . . .”

But it doesn’t help.

Fortunately, I have a wife who I can talk to, and when I express all this to her, she makes me laugh and I feel better.

But today she didn’t laugh. Today she said to me: “Can you imagine what it’s like for a young child to sit in a class and feel the way you do? Or what it must be like for someone who is learning disabled? Or for the Goldsteins’ daughter, who is failing miserably in school and wants to drop out?”

“No wonder she wants to drop out!” I said. “And maybe she should!” I continued, surprising even myself. “Maybe she can at least salvage her self-esteem if she doesn’t have to sit in a classroom feeling like a dummy.”

I had just returned from a particularly difficult day in my Hebrew class, and so I had no difficulty doing the imagining my wife suggested.

But, there is one benefit in feeling stupid, at least when you’re old: compassion.

Hopefully, a little more patience and kindness with my own children. More diligence in rooting out the source of their problems at school. Making more time to advocate for them with their teachers. More encouragement and recognition of their successes.

What if, I thought, I were 10 years old instead of 53? What if I didn’t have any professional success to counter the stupidity I was feeling in class? What if I didn’t have a lovely, understanding wife to talk to, but rather two demanding parents who were embarrassed at my failures? What if the teacher was not so kind, and instead mocked and embarrassed me when I made mistakes? What if my fellow students were other 10-year-old brats who enjoyed teasing and giggling when I goofed up? And what if these little cruel monsters were the only kids I knew? And what if I was so embarrassed by my stupidity that I avoided other children and had no friends? And what if—and this is the big one—I spent not just three hours a day three days a week in a Hebrew class feeling dumb, but six hours a day every day of the week in school feeling this bad? And then, to top it all off, when school was over, I went home to face my parents with my poor grades or a note from the teacher?

Every person has his strengths and his talents. And it is up to us, parents and teachers, to find them and nurture them.

It could be a good sense of humor, or the ability to sing, vacuum the rug or set the table for dinner. It may even be as simple as being pretty. Fostering self-esteem in any area is better than destroying it, even when a child does not live up to our expectations. In the long run, it is this sense of self-esteem and confidence that will yield the courage to learn, explore and succeed far more than any knowledge.

What if I were the Goldsteins’ daughter, who is now 17 years old, and has probably been feeling like this, hour by hour, minute by minute, for the past 12 years, since she was 5 years old and entered kindergarten?

But I’m an adult, and hopefully, the importance of learning the language of the new country in which I live will keep me plugging away. After all, I’m not 10 years old, or even 17; I’m 53, and should have learned how to handle these feelings by now, don’t you think?

Yes, I thought, drop out! Save your life!

Stop the torture immediately and save your self-esteem! It’s more important than math and science. Save your pride and go on with your life!

Feeling stupid is awful—at any age. And no one should be made to feel this way. It’s damaging and will only lead a person, like my friend’s daughter, to a series of bad choices just to avoid the terrible feeling. To survive, they’ll find someplace, some group of people where they don’t feel stupid. Maybe other dropouts, maybe drugs, maybe just boys looking to give a pretty runaway girl a place to stay and some kind words to make

I hope I’ll hang in there at Hebrew class.

But I’m not sure. After each class of feeling stupid, I find it harder to get up on time in the morning of my next class. Other responsibilities seem to be more urgent than learning Hebrew, and the distraction of reading or playing with the cat at night after a long day’s work seems more important than struggling with my Hebrew homework.

In truth, I don’t know if I would really encourage the Goldsteins’ daughter to drop out of school. That’s a tough decision with many serious consequences. But, I tell you, before feeling this stupid in my Hebrew class, I never would have understood how it could be a consideration for her at all.

Now I do.

–Jay Litvin (1944-2004) lived in Tucson, served as medical liaison for Chabad’s Children of Chernobyl program to save children from the nuclear disaster in Ukraine and founded Chabad’s Terror Victims program in Israel

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LOCAL

Welcome to town:

Zev Berger

By Benjamin Weiss Zev Berger was born in Buffalo, New York, where his grandfather served as president of the conservative congregation and the principle of the Hebrew Loan Society. His father was the president of both the Kadimah School and Young Israel of Buffalo for a combined 25 years. He studied in the now-closed Yeshiva of Hamilton and spent a year at Yeshivat Har Etzion in Israel. He went to college at the University of Chicago and graduate school at the University of Michigan.

How long have you been in Tucson?

Only since August 2021!

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What brought you here?

I accepted a job at the University of Arizona in the Political Economy & Moral Science department as an assistant professor.

Where did you move from and how is Tucson compared to it?

I moved from Center City Philadelphia. Tucson is very tight-knit. Just goes to show you that everyone counts!

Currently reading/learning: Hilchos ribis (the prohibition of lending money on interest) in the Code of Jewish Law and Charles Mills’ Racial Contract.

A hobby: I’ve been a runner for 10 years now.

Tucson winters are the best running I’ve done in my life!

Giving back: I research inequality. If you and your spouse each make 80k a year, you’re earning more than 85% of people in the U.S. That just puts in perspective the imperative of tzedaka for me. In fact, for

our wedding, my wife and I asked for donations to be given to charity instead of gifts.

A favorite Mitzvah/holiday: With all due respect, eruv (the enclosure that allows carrying outdoors on Shabbat). It’s all about community!

A cherished Jewish memory: My father would periodically take me to visit his rabbi from New York, Yaakov Kret. He was a former rosh yeshiva in Bialystok, Poland, who served as Rabbi at the Old Broadway Synagogue. It was always very special. He treated my questions with the same gravity as anyone else’s, even though I was only 4-yearsold!

Jewish app on phone: Zmanim (for Jewish calendar times) and Kosher GPS (for a nearby synagogue, mikvah and restaurant).

Go-to Yiddish or Hebrew word: Vos iz dos? (=what’s this?!)

A historical Jewish figure: So many! Mark Rothko. Jewish art doesn’t need to be bad!

Chabad: of Tucson, exclusively!

Comfort food: I do it rarely because it’s unsustainable, but batter-fried Cod with tartar sauce on a pretzel bun.

Kvetch: Overly long davening (prayer service).

Kvell: Kugel Happiness: Figuring out a hard question.

FUN PAGE

The basic Yiddish quiz Answer 10 questions on the language of the Ashkenazim

2. What does “treif” mean? a. Pleasant (“Rachie sang that song so treif, no?!”) b. Super rich (“Did you ever have a chance to meet with that treif man?”) c. Unkosher (“That sandwich looks treif. Are you sure it’s kosher?”) d. Bad breath (“Did you happen to smell the horribly treif breath of Devorie?”)

3. What does “klutz” mean? a. A handyman (“Yerachmiel comes as a highly-recommended klutz.”) b. A clumsy person (“Yentie keeps knocking over the pitcher. She’s such a klutz.”) c. Overly-confident (“Debbie can’t sing.

She’s being too much of a klutz. Tell her to quiet down.”) d. A grave-digger (“I feel bad for Boruch the klutz, as it’s freezing outside!”)

4. What does “schlep” mean? a. A narcissist (“Is Chasha really a schlep, or is she just in one of those moods?”) b. A book-binder (“These look torn. Can you please bring them to the schlep?”) c. Sweep (“Schlep the floor. There’s mud all over the place.”) d. To drag (“I told him yesterday, I won’t schlep these until I fix my back!”)

5. What does “kneidel” mean? a. A hug (“Her daughter gave her such

a sweet kneidel!”) b. Matzah ball (“Yes, please, I’d like one more kneidel!”) c. An intense stare (“That cop gave Shmerel quite a kneidel!”) d. A glass serving utensil (“The trick is to keep the kneidel clean at all times.”)

6. What does “shvigger” mean? a. Mother-in-law (“I bet you’re super nervous to meet you shvigger for the first time!”) b. Traditional dance (“They were doing the shvigger at the wedding. What fun!”) c. Sucker punch (“They shviggered him mercilessly.”) d. Back pain (“Ever since I schlepped that desk, my shvigger has been throbbing.”)

7. What does “schmatte” mean? a. Gifted (“Binyomin was jamming on the bass. I consider him schmatte.”) b. Times bygone (“Adina, don’t you miss the schmatte years?”) c. A peel (“Rachel, please throw out your banana shmatte.”) d. A rag (“That towel should only be used as a schmatte from now on!”)

d. A genius (“Alexander has a photographic memory. A genuine shtel.”)

10. What does “chazer” mean? a. A guardian (“I was so afraid, but a chazer came and watched over me.”)

b. A salty variety of cheese (“Smear some chazer on this bagel, please.”) c. A newspaper (“My chazer got wet from the rain.”) d. A pig (“A chazer has split hooves, but doesn’t chew its cud.”)

Answers: 1.C / 2.C / 3.B / 4.D / 5.B / 6.A / 7.D / 8.C / 9.B / 10.D

1. What does “schmooze” mean? a. To beleaguer a fellow (“Yisachar was annoying me, so I schmoozed him.”) b. To help (“Reuven went to schmooze Yitzi move his stuff from his car to his house.”) c. To converse (“Rivkie was schmoozing with Leah for an hour.”) d. To eat until overly satiated (“I schmoozed that corned beef and now I feel sick.”)

Celebrating trees

Color this Tu B’Shvat illustration by Rivky Bukiet

8. What does “heimish” mean? a. A bed (“Levi, please don’t get the heimish dirty. I just cleaned it.”) b. A sweetheart (“Chani is six weeks old, and already such a heimish.”) c. Homey (“Please take off your shoes, and make yourself heimish.”) d. A tall man (“That heimish should play basketball!”)

9. What does “shtetl” mean? a. A maid (“Isn’t the shtetl supposed to be here already?”) b. A town. (“My bubby is from a tiny shtetl in Ukraine.”) c. An anxious person (“Yankel looks too shtetl before his wedding. He should relax.”)

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Starting February 2022.

Tucson class by Rabbi Yehuda Ceitlin

In-person over 6 Tuesdays 4:00-5:30 PM Virtual over 6 Wednesdays 7:00-8:30 PM Register: ChabadTucson.com/JLI

Oro Valley class by Rabbi Boruch Zimmerman

In-person over 6 Mondays 4:30-6:00 PM Virtual over 6 Tuesdays 5:00-6:30 PM Register: JewishOroValley.com