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ewish Voice J Deuteronomy 32:1
M AY T H E E A RT H H E A R T H E WO R D S O F M Y M O U TH
September 11th, 2009 | 15 Elul 5769
12 MILLION DOLLAR GRANT FACILITATES JEWISH EDUCATION BY MAXINE DOVERE
Vol. 10, Iss. 33
www.JewishVoiceNY.com
THE CALL OF THE SHOFAR: A ROSH HASHANAH MESSAGE OF AWE REACHES THE JEWISH HEART
PRESIDENT OBAMA’S BACK-TO-SCHOOL SPEECH INFURIATES CONSERVATIVES
Seminaries across the Jewish denominational spectrum will receive a total of $12 million to help train new Jewish educators. The Jim Joseph Foundation will provide direct financial aid for students preparing for careers in Jewish education at each of the schools. n September 8, 2009, the Foundation announced that it will distribute the grants over a five-year period to the Modern Orthodox Yeshiva University, the Conservative movement’s Jewish Theological Seminary, and the Reform Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. The Foundation will give the institutions $700,000 during each of the next five academic years to fund scholarships for future educators, as well as $563,000 for Yeshiva University, (the training ground for many teachers in the Sephardic community’s education system) $221,900 for the Jewish Theological Seminary and $212,110 for Hebrew Union College in the 2009-10 term. “Our commitment is to Jewish education, and the partnership now established with these three institutions through these grants should contribute greatly to advancing this cause,” Al Levitt, the president of the foundation, said in a news release. “It is an exciting development for all who care about improving the quality of Jewish life. We’re simply playing our role in helping these institutions, and the educators they educate, reach their full potential and positively shape the lives of Jewish youth.” The grants, to be distributed throughout the multi- denominational Jewish community, will be benefit the entire spectrum of Jewish education, including resources for both day schools and afternoon religious schools, ranging from the most observant to the more secular. Cooperation and collaboration among the institutions to develop innovative “best practices and technologies for advancing Jewish teaching” is required by the Foundation.
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BY YAAKOV ASTOR
The call of the shofar creates an aura of awe and holiness. Its blast is said to be able to shatter even hearts of stone and wash away layers of complacency. Its call is capable of bringing each Jew inside him/herself to a place impenatrable by any other means. he Baal Shem Tov said, "In the palace of the king there are many chambers. Each one needs a different key. There is one key, one tool, however, which can open all the doors: the ax. The shofar is an ax. When a person passionately breaks his heart before the Almighty, he can smash any gate in the palace of the King of Kings." The Baal Shem Tov’s teaching is that the shofar is an emotional, intuitive means of gaining access to the deepest recesses of the heart, an instrument of divine experiential knowledge. Its blast, a wordless sound, speaks to the heart in a way the greatest words and insights cannot approach.
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King David, on the other hand, seems to contradict this understanding. He refers to the shofar saying, "Happy is the people who know the truah [i.e. the shofar blast]" (Psalms 89:16). King David does not say, "Happy is the people who hear the truah." The emphasis seems to be on intellectualization. Accordingly, we need to use our intellects with great effort if we truly want to benef it from the call of the shofar. Which is correct? Is shofar an emotional, intuitive experience, as the Baal Shem Tov suggests, or is it an intellectual one, as the words of King David imply?
BY JEWISH VOICE STAFF
President Barack Obama’s backto-school speech that urging students to study hard and stay in school, infuriated some conservatives who believed the speech was aimed at recruiting youngsters to the “liberal” cause and “brainwash” them with socialism.
The Magic Bell The Dubno Maggid offers a parable that perhaps can help answer this question. A poor farmer had a wealthy uncle who lived in the city and invited him to come for a visit. Thrilled with the invita-
ome school districts decided not to air the speech, others said they would leave the decision to teachers and school principals, and some offered optouts for children whose parents do not want them to see or hear the address. Some of the more notable remarks included in the speech, where: "Every single one of you has something you're good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is," Obama said.
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