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Scranton, improbable Jewish venue, hosts art show and kosher food fest
By Ed Weintrob
Most New Yorkers don’t think much about Scranton, Pennsyvania, the onceupon-a-time railroad and coal town that famously helped shape Joe Biden’s youth. And if they think of Scranton at all, it might be as home to the fictional Dunder Mifflin paper company from NBC’s longrunning hit show, “The Office,” certainly not as ground zero for Yiddishkeit. With a Jewish community of just a few thousand in a city of 80,000, it’s definitely not the Five Towns or Riverdale — let alone Boro Park or Monsey — 2-1/2 hours west of Manhattan
But Scranton, known as the Electric City, has three Orthodox shuls with an abundance of learning opportunities for adults, two Jewish day schools for young children (one traditional Orthodox, the other with a Montessori-style curriculum), a girls’ high school, a Lakewood-style yeshiva, mikvahs
for both men and women, a full-fledged JCC facility, numerous communal organizations including Federation and Chaveirim — plus superb parks, hiking trails and skiing, and an historic downtown where housing is mind-blowingly affordable.
With the opening this week of “Jewish Art: Tradition and Transformation” in Scranton’s Everhart Museum, the city will inch a bit closer to Jewish ground zero.
While in much of America proud Jewish men are tucking in their tzitzit and covering their kipot, and women are learning to mask the modest dress and hair-coverings that may reveal their religious identity, Scranton is pulling out all the stops to host both the art exhibition and a four-day kosher food festival in Nay Aug Park, where the museum is located.
An opening gala at Everhart Museum was set for Wednesday, July 17, with the
See Pennsylvania city on page 2
Elke Sudin of Brooklyn, whose scarf and paintings are represented in “Jewish Art: Tradition and Transformation,” is pictured at a runway show in Manhattan where she modeled one of her scarves. Another New York artist showcased at the Everhart Museum is Steve Marcus, whose “Keep On Davenin’ ” is pictured above.
Scranton’s Kosher Food fest, pictured in 2021, will run for four days, July 28 to 31, near the museum in Nay Aug Park.
Blakeman rips NYS plan for a voter registation drive on Rosh Hashana and Shabbat, excluding frum Jews
By Nicole Formisano, LI Herald
Voter registration programs aim to make voting more accessible for people, and to encourage them to participate in the democratic process. But a recent directive from the state Board of Elections has done just the opposite for Jewish constituents, County Executive Bruce Blakeman says.
One statewide voter registration date — this year, Thursday, Oct. 3, the first day of Rosh Hashana — is established by state law. But while a second, local voter registration program also takes place in Nassau County, the dates on which that program may take place is up to the state Board of Elections and not the county. And the state gave the county just two options to choose from: Sept. 28 or Oct. 5 — both Saturdays.
That makes the voter registration program inaccessible for observant Jews, as well as Seventh-Day Adventists, and is antithetical to the program’s purpose of diversity and inclusion, Blakeman said at a news conference last week.
“We are here in West Hempstead, which has a very large Jewish population — and quite frankly, Nassau County is home to probably the third-largest Jewish county in population in the United States,” said Blakeman, who is the county’s first Jewish executive. “And we have a very large population of SeventhDay Adventists, especially in the Elmont and Franklin Square areas. So we believe that the state is making a big mistake, and
we would ask them to correct that mistake.”
Blakeman appeared with county legislators Bill Gaylor and Mazi Pilip; the Legislature’s presiding officer, Howard Kopel; Comptroller Elaine Phillips, and Rabbi Yossi Lieberman of Chabad of West Hempstead, on July 11 at Halls Pond Park in West Hempstead. He urged Attorney General Letitia James to take action to correct the state election board’s decision.
“As we welcome a voter registration program and we en-
courage everyone to participate in an election, I would expect from our state leadership to be sensitive for Shabbat,” said Pilip. “Shabbat is a day for many Jewish people, they are resting, they are going to synagogue, they don’t work, they don’t use phones, they don’t do anything that typically they’d do on a regular day.”
Even the statewide voter registration date of Oct. 3 is problematic for Jewish constituents, Kopel said.
“Nobody’s saying it’s necessarily deliberate,” Kopel said, “but let’s also remember that not only is that Thursday date a workday, it is also, as it happens, the day after Rosh Hashana. It is a fast day. Some people don’t feel well — they’re fasting, they can’t get out, they’re not up to it.”
Because the Saturday dates for the county program were finalized by state legislation, they cannot be changed without legislative action. The state Board of Elections, however, has the power to change the statewide registration program from a Thursday to a Sunday, so it is not on a working day. Blakeman called on James to direct the state board to make that change.
“It should be a very simple thing to do,” Kopel said. “Just go ahead, make the change. And I would also urge our officials to be a little bit more sensitive and a little bit more careful, and think about what you’re doing before you go ahead and do it. Because this was just really careless.”
Pennsylvania city proudly displays its Judaism…
show running through Oct. 20. The museum is open daily 11 am to 5 pm (and although it’s normally closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, it will remain open every day during the food fest). Admission is $10, $5 seniors; children 12 and under are free.
The food fest, organized by the Jewish Discovery Center/Pocono Kosher, will run from Sunday, July 28, through Wednesday, July 31, rain or shine.
Concessions at the free-admission food event will be open daily from 11:30 am to 6 pm, selling deli items such as thinly shaved corned beef, hot pastrami on rye, hand-rolled stuffed cabbage, Coney Island potato knishes, falafel, fire-roasted shawarma, crispy schnitzel, all-beef hot-dogs, spicy-Moroccan burgers, and BBQ beef tips.
A bakery tent will serve warm chocolate babka, apple-strudel and funnelcakes. Credit cards will be accepted.
Visitors can stay at the city’s former Lackawanna Rail Road station which has been converted to a Radisson Hotel, or at the Hilton Hotel across the street; both are within the eruv and a 15-minute walk to shul.
An option — especially if coming with a large group — is renting an airbnb.
Yoel Weiss came to Scranton from Brooklyn and began buying and fixing large homes in the city’s Hill district, where the Jewish community is centered and where he lives, renting them through airbnb. His properties include the city’s unique Woolworth mansion.
“I lived in Boro Park all my life. It’s such a big community and everybody minds their own busienss,” Weiss says. “This is a small community — literally, everybody knows everybody. And for the price you pay rent in another place you can own a house three or four times the size.”
He describes the vibe in Scranton as “calm, relaxed — there’s no traffic and no parking tickets [or very inexpensive ones], it’s just an amazing feeling. Everybody who comes to Scranton and stays over is blown away.”
Weiss will discuss Scranton with
anyone who wants to learn more about his adopted hometown.
Beyond art and food, Scranton offers a variety of family-friendly activities. Among them are Steamtown National Historic Site, Pennsylania Anthracite Heritage Museum, Lackawanna Coal Mine Tour, Electric City Trolley Station and Museum, Houdini Museum (with limited hours), Electric City Aquarium & Reptile Den (for young children) … and just walking around the streets of Downtown and the Hill district (perhaps dropping into the city’s castle-like public library and the children’s library next door). Featured in the Everhart Museum show will be work by Siegmund Forst, Hendel Futerfas, Yisrael Gelman, Sam Griffin, Steve Marcus, Zalmy Mochkin, Professor Moses, Yitzchok Moully, Michoel Muchnik, Rivka Nehorai, Brian Shapiro, Elke Sudin, and Rachel Udkoff.
The museum explains that since “Judaism is often viewed through the veil of tragedy and mystery, this exhibition seeks to [lift] these veils to reveal a deeply meaningful and accessible connection.”
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, flanked by County Legislature Presiding Officer Howard Kopel and legislator Mazi Melesa Pilip, criticize the scheduling of voter registration drive. County Executive’s office
Two of Scranton’s many architectural landmarks: The Radisson Lakckawanna Hotel, formerly a majestic train station in Downtown, and the Everhart Museum in the city’s expansive Nay Aug Park. Ed Weintrob, The Jewish Star
Continued from page 1
New York artist Steve Marcus is participating in the “Jewish Art: Tradition and Transformation” exhibition in Scranton. Above, his “Kartoon Klezmer” and “Chickens for Shabbat.”
A scarf and “Music Hall of Williamsburg” (acrylic on canvas) by Everhart Museum exhibitor Elke Sudin.
Ourside the Scranton JCC: A Shoah memorial, and a tablet-carrying Moses.
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Disney characters drawn by Holocaust survivors
By Yori Yalon, Israel Hayom
The Yad Vashem Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem is set to showcase a collection of Disney-inspired artworks created by Holocaust survivors and victims.
These rare pieces, including a Pinocchio-adorned jar buried to escape Nazi looting and a Mickey Mouse birthday card preserved for more than seven decades, offer a unique window into how Jews, especially children, found solace and expression through familiar cartoon characters during one of history’s darkest periods.
For 80 years, these artworks remained hidden, some wrapped, damaged or concealed, yet they managed to survive the journey from concentration camps and ghettos. Often the sole possessions of Holocaust survivors, they have now found their way into Yad Vashem’s collections.
As part of the relocation to the new Shaffer Collections Center — which houses millions of historical artifacts, documents, artworks and photographs from countless sources — artistic treasures created by Jews during the Holocaust have been uncovered.
Most of these were made by children and teenagers who expressed their emotions through works featuring characters familiar to almost everyone, Walt Disney films.
“One of the most touching Disney drawings was created in March 1941, at the height of the war, inspired by the film ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’,” says curator Eliad MorehRosenberg, director of Yad Vashem’s Art Collection.
“Henry Kichka, father of Israeli art-
ist Michel Kichka, was then a 15-yearold boy who had lost his family in the gas chambers and found refuge in the magical world of fairy tales.
“After the war, he returned to Brussels and collected items from the family apartment, including this drawing which he gave to his daughter Hanna, who immigrated to Israel in 1970. Hanna passed the drawing to her son Yaron, who received a dedication from his grandfather — ’To Yaron, from his grandpa’.”
Suzanne Schick was 14 when she fled Austria at the outbreak of World War II and hid in Yugoslavia with about 1,200 Jews awaiting immigration permits to Israel. On her 15th birthday, her friends prepared a Mick-
ey Mouse greeting card, which she kept close to her heart for 72 years as the last memory of her childhood, until she entrusted it to Yad Vashem for future generations.
Another item, one of the most prominent artworks created during the Holocaust using cartoon characters, is a colorful jar featuring Pinocchio. The jar was created before the war by artist Lilly Kasticher from Yugoslavia.
“When the war broke out and she was deported with her family to Auschwitz, Kasticher buried the jar in the ground along with documents and photographs as a hope to preserve a last memory,” explains curator Michael Tal, manager of Yad
Vashem’s Artifacts Collection.
“Lilly encouraged her fellow prisoners to write poems and draw in order to survive, and after the war, she even brought the creations to Israel inside the jar she had buried in the ground,” says Tal.
The collections center, spanning 63,300 square feet, includes four underground floors and an additional floor housing five of the world’s most advanced laboratories for preserving paper, photographs, artifacts, textiles and art. The center will preserve about 227 million pages of documentation, tens of thousands of artifacts and artworks, and hundreds of thousands of photographs and testimonies from Holocaust survivors.
Collection includes a Mickey Mouse birthday card. Yad Vashem
A jar adorned with the image of Pinocchio. Yad Vashem
Drawing inspired by “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” Yad Vashem
Hewlett helps its own in equipment-starved IDF
By Parker Schug, LI Herald
Sara Krown, an Israel Defense Forces “lone solider” from the Five Towns, needs support and Hewlett organizations have bee stepping up.
“She’ll say they don’t need anything but they do,” Esther Krown, Sara’s mother said.
Part of an artillery unit. Sara entered the IDF in 2017. She grew up in Hewlett where her family have been members of the Young Israel of Hewlett for 20 years.
Sara said she felt a draw to Israel early on in life, after attending summer camp there. She found herself back in the Jewish state, joined the IDF, and repeatedly extended her stay, deferring her enrollment at University of Maryland for four years.
On Oct. 7, she was called up to fight.
Since then, she has been released and called up two more times.
“Being in the army is really not easy,” Sara said. “I’ve been pulling all nighters for five days now. It’s worth it.”
Sara and Noah Dure, another IDF solider from YIH, spoke to shul members on their time off.
“It was a really great tag team of telling our stories,” Sara said, with Dure sharing more technical details, and Sara speaking on the emotional toll.
Erik Rodgers, YIH president, described the two as “the sweetest, softest, kindest people.”
Rabbi Simcha Hopkovitz said that despite the distance he speaks with Sara and Dure regularly.
“They’re not alone, there’s absolutely people oceans away that have them on their mind,” Rabbi Hopkovitz said.
Though hesitant to ask, Sara and Dure requested that the community donate money for equipment.
Before new helmets were donated, Sara was using an old American army helmet from the Vietnam War, her father, Stephen Krown, said.
“Even though she had a strap, the
helmet would fall off so she wouldn’t wear a helmet,” Stephen said.
Sara added that letters from Americans to the IDF have more power than supporters can imagine.
YIH’s Israel Emergency Fund and the Israel Chesed Center held a benefit concert on July 11, with performances by local musicians Richard Borah and Playing Dead, collecting money, equipment donations and support for those fighting the ongoing war.
“As a father, being 5,000 miles away is very hard in general,” Stephen, who helped organize the event, said. “When you get the stuff you need, they could be a little bit less in harm’s way.”
Marc Bodner, an Israel Chesed Center coordinator, said that the demand is increasing.
“The goal of the concert is to is to raise some money and to also remind people that, you know, you can have fun,” he said.
For information on how to donate to the Israel Emergency Fund at YIH visit YIHewlett.org. For Israel Chesed Center visit IsraelChesedCenter.com.
Delighting with chocolate, from LI to Israel
By Parker Schug, LI Herald
From Le Chocolat on Central Avenue in Cedarhurst to Cacao Hagalil in Northern Israel, Chanie Koenig has shared sweets and positivity globally.
“I love working with chocolate and I enjoy the people that I encounter,” Koenig said. “People who come into a candy store, are happy people — unless you’re coming in because you need chocolate because you’re in a bad mood — but I’m happy to make people smile.”
Koenig grew up in Woodmere and lived there for 26 years. She worked at Le Chocolat and later Jacques Torres Chocolates in New York City. Koenig attended culinary school then made the move to Israel at 29, following a dream to return to her roots, she said. She grew up religiously observant,
her grandfather was from Israel, and she had always hoped to find a home there.
Despite her culinary background, Koenig did not intend to start business, she took the initiative to open her chocolate company in Northern Israel so her nephew with lactose intolerance could eat sweets.
The solution was goat’s milk.
“He and a lot of people who are sensitive to lactose can tolerate goat milk,” Koenig said. “It’s easier to digest. It’s got smaller lactose molecules.”
She had worked at a chocolate company in Israel for a year, and then Covid sent her home, so she took to trying her own recipes and distributing chocolates on her own.
“I wanted to make sure that it was
really a business that would grow and something that was worthwhile to pursue, that there was a market for it,” Koenig said. She moved into a storefront in 2023.
Some of her greatest challenges were understanding legal regulations in Hebrew, Koenig said. And since Oct. 7, her business has seen fewer customers because of Northern Israelis being evacuated, but her location on a kubutz and partnership with the local country club has maintained some consistent traffic.
“There’s no tourism [and] people who live in the center of the country are nervous to travel to the north. I have no tourism, and I have people who would usually be traveling, do-
ing less of that.”
But she has maintained a positive attitude and with that, a positive impact on Israelis with baking workshops and welcoming people in, she said.
“I had a family of grandparents that came in with their grandkids and they were looking for something for them to do, because now a lot of people are nervous about traveling,” Koenig said. “I was happy to give them an escape.”
Nefesh B’Nefesh and Jerusalem Municipality hosted a two-day Shuk Olim showcase, for olim-owned businesses.
“It is remarkable to witness olim transform their passions into unique businesses that are now part of the Israeli market,” said Rabbi Yehoshua Fass, NBN co-founder and executive director.
Fact: Jews are indigenous, Arabs are colonists
By Lawrence Solomon
Israeli Jews are widely cast as colonists who immigrated to “Palestine” over the last century and then displaced Palestine’s indigenous Arabs.
This narrative has things backward. The Jews are indigenous; the Arabs are the colonists.
Israel and its capital Jerusalem were founded by King David, a Jewish king, 3,000 years ago. Over those 3,000 years, Jerusalem and its Jews were conquered and/or colonized by, among others, Assyrians, Babylonians, Egyptians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Crusaders, Mongols, Mamluks, Turks and the British. These invaders eventually left; the indigenous Jews remained.
The Romans were especially fateful, not least because their animus towards the Jews helped create the modern myth that Palestinians have always been Arabs.
Because the Jews for over a century kept rebelling against Roman rule and sometimes succeeded in humiliating the world’s greatest power, the Romans exacted revenge when they emerged victorious.
They destroyed the temple that Herod the Great, the king of the Jews, had built; they packed tens of thousands of Jews in slave ships bound to Rome; they built the Arch of Titus to commemorate their victory over the Jews; and, to add insult to injury, they renamed the conquered land in honor of the Jews’ historic enemies: the Philistines. It became Syria Palaestina, i.e., Palestinian Syria.
Modern-day Arabs who now call themselves “Palestinians” appropriated the term to make it seem as if they have been the historic people of Palestine. Yet the Philistines were nothing like the desert people called Arabs. As DNA evidence confirms, the Philistines, also known as the “sea people,” hailed from the Greek islands, making them European in origin.
Arabs weren’t commonly called Palestinians until the 1960s, when the Soviet Union invented the “Palestine Liberation Organization” to wrest Israel from the West. Before the 1960s, “Palestinian” generally referred to Jews. The Palestine Post, now renamed the Jerusalem Post, was a Jewish newspaper. The Palestine Symphony Orchestra, now renamed the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, was a Jewish organization.
Arabs wouldn’t make their mark in the land of the Jews until the 7th century AD with the emergence of the Muslim empire, one of the largest the world has ever seen.
At its height, the Arabs had colonized everything from Spain and North Africa in its west to the Indian subcontinent to its east, covering an area exceeding 11 million square kilometers. The region vaguely known as “Palestine” — the Romans had given it no firm borders — was but a small part of the Arabs’ immense colonial empire.
“Palestine” never became a coherent country to the Arabs, who viewed the largely unpopulated expanse as part of Syria. Arabs didn’t even have an indigenous name for it — Filastin is the Arabic pronunciation of Rome’s name. Although Arabs
and then later the Muslim Ottomans held Palestine as part of their empire, it was a neglected part, so much so that Jerusalem, once a Jewish metropolis of 600,000, stagnated under Muslim rule to become a backwater of 2,393 households, according to an 1871-1872 Ottoman census.
In contrast to the Arabs, the Jews never had much of an empire. According to the biblical account, Jews managed only a small empire under King Solomon, David’s son, around 1000 BC. Even if that account is true, and some dispute that Solomon had any empire at all, over the last 3,000 years the Jews’ only claim has been to their ancestral indigenous land.
Because the Torah, the Jewish constitution, never aspired to empire, Jews readily gave the Sinai back to Egypt after Israel won it in the 1956 Sinai War, and again after Israel won it in the 1967 Six-Day War. The Jewish terri-
tory within the region that constitutes the 22 countries of today’s Arab League is vanishingly small. It amounts to one-sixth of 1% of the land area, versus 99.83% for the Arabs.
In claiming that they are the indigenous people of Israel, today’s Palestinian Arabs faced a challenge: How could they counter the evidence in the Old and New Testaments, which describe at length the Jews of Israel in the centuries before and the century after Jesus’s birth.
The Quran overcame the challenge by claiming that Moses was a Muslim. So were Jesus and his 12 disciples. By trumping the biblical descriptions of Jews via the Quran’s revisionist history, Arabs lay claim to an origin that extends to the biblical era.
Never mind that Muhammad founded the religion of Islam six centuries after Jesus died; that archeological evidence corroborates biblical accounts of Jews in Israel; and that ancient Greek and Roman historians identify Jews as the inhabitants of the biblical lands identified as Israel.
The Arabs of Palestine, whose numbers have grown prodigiously over the last century, may have credible arguments for their land claims. They should make them and drop the absurd arguments that Jews aren’t indigenous to ancient Israel and that Jews who settle in their ancestral homeland are colonists.
Lawrence Solomon is a financial writer, former contributor to the Wall Street Journal, and the author of seven books.
Sara Krown, 20-year from Woodmere, is serving in the Israel Defense Forces. Courtesy Yaron Baruch
Modern-day reconstruction of Jerusalem during the 10th century BCE from the City of David.
6 earn BAs at Bar-Ilan despite intellectural disabilities, 1st in Israel
By Amelie Botbol, JNS
Six students made history last week by becoming the first-ever Israeli cohort with intellectual disabilities to earn bachelor’s degrees.
The graduates — Ruti Bar-Or, 46, from Jerusalem; Tomer Gad-Barak, 35, from Petach Tikvah; Hofit Gilad, 41, from Ramat Gan; Henia Greengarten, 42, from Kfar Saba; Oded Naftali, 34, from Rishon Letzion; and Lior Shmualevitz, 35, from Hod Hasharon, had enrolled in the Empowerment Project at Bar-Ilan University’s Faculty of Education.
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They all received diplomas for Multidisciplinary BAs in Social Sciences at the Faculty of Education’s graduation ceremony at the university’s campus in Ramat Gan.
“My message is: ‘All shy people can learn’,” said Naftali, who has Down Syndrome. “This project allowed me to overcome my timidity and gain confidence. I managed to learn better. During exams, I would use elimination to find out the right answers.”
Israel’s first lady Michal Herzog attended the graduation to recognize six exemplary people with cognitive versatility who are full of courage, determination and a great soul.”
The Empowerment Project, established by Professor Hefziba Lifshitz, is based on her Compensation Age Theory, which argues that chronological age, as opposed to mental age, plays an important role in determining the cognitive ability of adults with intellectual disability.
“We identified uniquely high capabilities in these six students, linguistically and in terms of comprehension and memory,” Lifshitz said. “Our students started by attending two courses and it
became clear that their experience in life, their maturity, and their experience with education and welfare systems was an asset.
“For every academic hour they spent learning in class they received one-and-a-half hours of assisted learning so that they would be ready for the next class,” she added.
“We took academic material that students at university learn in psychology and sociology and had to make it accessible to them and their unique capabilities,” explained Dr. Shoshana Nissim, director of the Empowerment Project. “The students succeeded in using all of their productive capabilities to get to access all of their greatest potential.”
“We used to have them study until age 21 and send them to work. Suddenly there is a new possibility for them to learn like every student in university,” Nissim added.
An 800-year-old Hebrew tombstone found in India
A Hebrew-inscribed tombstone dating to the 13th century has been discovered on a coconut farm in southern India. the Week reported on Friday.
Thoufeek Zakriya, a Jewish history researcher and Hebrew calligrapher, was the first to decipher the inscription, telling the Indian Englishlanguage news magazine that it dates to the years 1224 or 1225 CE.
“This means that it is older than the Sarah Bat Israel Tombstone in Kerala’s Chennamangalam, which is considered the oldest Hebrew tombstone ever identified in India,” Zakriya said.
Hathim Ali, 32, a chemical engineer and history enthusiast, first brought the tombstone to the public’s attention.
“One of my friends informed me about this tombstone,” Ali told the Week. “When I went to inspect it, I understood that it was neither Tamil nor Arabic. Later, I thought maybe it could be Hebrew.”
Ali told the Tamil-language newspaper
Dinamalar about the discovery. Zakryia, who works in the UAE, read about it in that newspaper, forwarded by the president of the Ramanathapuram Archaeological Research Foundation. Zakryia then contacted Ali, who sent him pictures of the tombstone so he could decipher the inscriptions.
“The Hebrew inscription bears the date as the 1st of Shvat 1536 or 1537 of the Seleucid era,” Zakriya explained.
“When converting the dates from the Seleucid era to the Common Era, it was found that the date on the tombstone inscriptions is approximately equivalent to Jan. 1, 1224 (CE), or Jan. 18, 1225 (CE),” Zakriya said.
Zakriya was not able to decipher every line in the inscription due to damage.
“So, I could not find the name of the deceased or his father. … But I could see a name partially which could be read as Nehemiah in Hebrew. The initial analysis shows a strong Yemeni Jewish influence in the tombstone’s pattern,” Zakryia said.
Israeli first lady Michal Herzog congratulates a graduate at ceremony in Ramat Gan on July 10. Boris Temnik
Muslim tombstone engraver Mohammad Abdul Yaseen, 74, puts aresh paint on faded tombstone letterings at the Bene Israel Jewish cemetery in Mumbai, Aug. 21, 2014. Indranil Mukherjee, AFP via Getty Images
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Beauty beyond borders, beyond words, in Tzfat
david suissa Jewish Journal
There’s a charming café in the heart of Tzfat, an ancient, mystical city nestled in the hills of Galilee, that might as well be located in West Hollywood. Everything about Bella Bakery & Café (recently renamed Bella & Jacqlyn), from the quality of the coffee to the freshness of the croissants to the romantic French music, screams hedonism, which is fine if you’re in West Hollywood.
But Tzfat screams anything but hedonism. Every alley, every ancient synagogue, every bookstore, every tombstone is imbued with reverence and holiness. Walking through Tzfat is like bathing in a virtual mikvah of holy air.
And yet, I’m drawn every morning to that sanctuary of pleasure, where the Americano is so good I feel I need to apologize to G-d.
The other morning, I was amused by this scene of an elderly, “ultra-Orthodox” couple enjoying a coffee while a sensual French song came on. Do they have any idea what this song is about? I wondered. If they only knew.
Here was a clash of two opposite worlds — a song one might expect to hear on a nude beach on the French Riviera, playing for religious Jews whose lives revolve around modesty and restraint.
But here’s the thing — it didn’t feel like a clash at all.
You see, the religious couple probably didn’t know French, so they didn’t get the words. All they heard was great music from a great song that fit the mood of a morning coffee. No words! Just the music.
In the Hasidic tradition, they have what are called nigunim — soulful, melodic chants that have no words. They’re powerful pre-
cisely because they are wordless; the chanting itself is the point. There is no “message” to distract you from the vibe of the chant. You surrender to the raw beauty of a melody. It’s ironic that as a man of words, I’m reflecting today on the power of no words. But there’s a mysterious quality to the idea of absence, of holding back. Designers call it negative space; Kabbalists call it white fire. At a time when we are overdosing on words, when words are routinely weaponized and distorted and vulgarized, an absence of words can feel like a welcome tonic, a refreshing cleanse.
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This verbal restraint speaks to a kind of modesty, to allowing other things to shine besides words.
That religious couple in the cafe didn’t understand the sensual lyrics of that French song. They didn’t need to. They already had beauty without words, beauty without borders.
They had music.
David Suissa is editor-in-chief and publisher of Tribe Media Corp and Jewish Journal, where this column was published. Tzefat photos by Ed Weintrob, The Jewish Star.
In the summer, being a vegetarian is a snap
Kosher Kitchen
JoNI SCHoCKETT Jewish Star columnist
Summer eating is the best eating of the year, as far as I’m concerned. It’s light and quick and relaxed and far less labor-intensive all the way around. The foods of summer are perfect in every way.
Kohelet tells us that there is a season for everything. Summer is the growing season, and it is also the time for the freshest eating of the year. So many fruits and vegetables are harvested in the summer that eating the rainbow is easy (especially if you have your own garden)!
Those fresh and healthful foods are filled with all the nutrition we need. Yes, you can add meat, chicken and fish, or other proteins like rice and beans, but summer eating makes it so easy to be a vegetarian.
On the other hand, summer is also the fun eating season. For dinner, we can enjoy breakfast — or just fruit, cheese and toast (one of my childhood favorites). Ice cream is everywhere and, if you prefer, frozen yogurt shops are giving ice cream vendors a run for their money. Frozen custard is incredibly rich and delicious, and gelato is a delightful treat that has a tad fewer calories than ice cream but is just as delicious.
I remember my mother making really healthful summer dinners for us. A huge salad with lettuces, cucumbers and tomatoes and then some grilled chicken, sweet corn, broccoli, zucchini and more — all from my dad’s garden. Then, later, my dad would drive us to the local ice cream parlor for a delicious summer treat. A mix of the healthful and the fun.
My mom used to make a delicious pound cake. It seemed she made it every week in the summer (there always seemed to be some in the glass-domed cake plate in the pantry). She would then toast it and add raspberry sorbet and a Hershey’s syrup drizzle. Or she would top it with raspberries or strawberries and some whipped cream. Sometimes, we would toast marshmallows and place them atop the toasted cake and then drizzle with chocolate syrup. We would work hard to make up the strangest concoctions of ice cream, fruit, cake and more. Summers were made for that kind of eating.
Of course, you need not give up meat all together; in fact, my very first recipe this week is a meat one! We certainly need balance in all things, but enjoy the season with some summer kitchen fun!
Hot and Spicy Grilled Chicken Thighs (Meat)
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 tsp. to 1 Tbsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. to 1 Tbsp. sweet paprika or smoked paprika, more to taste
• 1 to 3 Tbsp. onion powder
• 1 to 3 Tbsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 to 1 tsp. cayenne pepper, more or less to taste
• 1-1/2 Tbsp. black pepper, to taste
• 2 to 3 tsp. kosher salt, to taste
• 10 to 15 chicken thighs or legs
• 1/2 to 1 cup canola oil
Place oil in a bowl and dip all chicken pieces in the oil to coat. Shake off excess and place on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle the rub generously on all sides of the chicken.
Let marinate for 20 minutes. Sprinkle again and let sit 5 minutes. Place on preheated grill and cook until cooked through, turning as needed. Sprinkle again once during cooking.
Cheesy Zucchini Rounds (Dairy)
These are great with salads for summer lunches or dinners.
• 2 to 3 medium zucchini and/or yellow summer squash
• 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
• Pinch salt
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp. paprika
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• Optional: 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• Cooking spray
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
Slice the zucchini into 1/4-inch rounds. Place in a large bowl, drizzle with the olive oil and toss well to coat evenly.
Place the cheese, breadcrumbs, and spices in a large bowl and whisk to blend. Toss in 2 to 3 zucchini rounds and toss gently to coat. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes until golden and crispy. Serve with any dipping sauce such as marinara, hot, sweet and sour sauce, barbecue sauce, green goddess dressing, etc.
Makes about 25 to 35 rounds.
Individual Cookies and Ice Cream Cupcake Pies (Dairy)
Easy, perfect summer desserts. Use any kind of crust and ice creams you like and let the kids get creative here.
Crust:
• 1/2 package chocolate sandwich cookies
• 1/8 cup butter, melted
• 1 Tbsp. dark brown sugar
Filler:
• 1 qt. chocolate chip ice cream or your favorite flavor
• 1/2 pint hot fudge topping
• 1/4 cup chocolate sprinkles
• Whipped cream topping:
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 to 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 12-cup cupcake tin
• 12 cupcake papers
Place the cookies in the bowl of a food processor and process until small crumbs form. Add the brown sugar and the melted butter and pulse until the crumbs begin to stick together a bit. Add more melted butter if needed. Firmly press 2 Tbsp. of crumbs into each cupcake tin. Add 1 small scoop ice cream and press down firmly. It should come about halfway up the cup. Add a spoonful of fudge and top with another scoop of ice cream. Top with some crumbs and place in the freezer. When ready to serve, whip the cream until soft peaks form. Add the sugar slowly and then add the vanilla extract. Whip until firm peaks form. Top each cupcake with whipped cream and then some sprinkles or any remaining crumbs. Makes 12 cupcake pies.
Strawberry Frappe (Dairy)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup strawberry ice cream
• 1 cup strawberries, washed and hulled
• 1 Tbsp. strawberry jam
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup ice cubes
Place all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Garnish with a whole strawberry, some whipped cream or a mint leaf. Makes 1 large glass or two small ones.
Optional add-ins: Bananas, chocolate cookies, mini chips, chocolate sprinkles, vanilla bean paste, fresh raspberries or watermelon.
A version of this column was published in 2017.
Strawberry Frappe
Cheesy Zucchini Rounds (Dairy)
Hot and Spicy Grilled Chicken Thighs
Individual Cookies and Ice Cream Cupcake Pies
Annual Cedarhurst sidewalk sale boosts business
By Melissa Berman, LI Herald
Not even a heat wave can deter the shoppers at the annual Village of Cedarhurst Business Improvement District’s four-day Summer Sidewalk Sale.
Shoppers flooded the sidewalks of Central Avenue and its side streets for deals and bargains from retail outlets and restaurants.
Known as the fashion center of Long Island’s South Shore for over 100 years, the commercial streets of Central Cedarhurst were busy over the weekend as people from the Five Towns and beyond shopped at the upscale boutiques and shops.
Over 84 merchants participated in the sidewalk sale on July 10, 11, 12 and 14.
“I have been doing the sidewalk sale for as many years the sidewalk sale has been in effect,” said Judy Kalatsky, owner of David’s Den. “I have been in this spot in town over 35 years.” Kalatsky knows the community is grateful for the sale, but those who travel far love it even more.
“It definitely generates a lot of foot traffic and a lot of business for the neighborhood,” Kalatsky said.
Although most of the clientele wears modest clothing, the apparel stores offer deals for most clothing styles.
Cindy
Linor Azizian, 17, went to the sale with expectations of more frum clothing but was surprised to see all different types of options.
“I see a variety of different types of clothing for how religious you want to be and I like how it has a little bit of everything,” Azizian said.
Jeremy and Cindy Merrill, owners of Dimples, a custom baby gift store, have been participating in the sidewalk sale for 18 years. This was their last, as they are shutting the doors to their business this week.
“We created a gifting category and it’s very much apart of babies being born in this neighborhood,” Jeremy Merrill said. Their outside tables had the usual baby items and featured items that are being donated to help Israel in the Jewish state’s war against Hamas. They have raised $100,000 for Israel, in the past nine months.
“It’s a very emotional experience, we’re getting rid of whatever we can and donate the rest, we always love the sidewalk sale,” Cindy Merrill said.
She said she is blessed to have been a part of such an incredible and welcoming community and see all the babies grow up.
“It’s the best time of year, you get to see all your amazing customers come and you’re happy to be able to give them the deals,” Cindy said.
Tower of David displays 2,800 years of J’salem
By Sharon Altshul, JNS
In the excavation site of a former barracks/ prison known as the Kishle (Turkish for prison), the Tower of David Jerusalem Museum opened a unique art exhibition last Tuesday evening .
The impressive space, part of the Tower of David complex just inside the Jaffa Gate to the capital’s Old City, was created following the extensive archaeological excavation in 1999-2000 led by Dr. Amit Re’em, Jerusalem District archaeologist of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
The Kishle was built by the Ottoman Turks as a jail in the 1800s and used by the British in the 1940s to hold captured Jewish militia members.
The former prison cells containing graffiti inscriptions by Irgun members held during the British Mandate were found on the stone walls during the excavations. In this narrow, arched structure, 450 meters long, one experiences the colorful and complex history of Jerusalem.
Proceeding along the newly improved walkways, the exposed history of thousands of years is now a carefully curated art exhibition along with the archaeologists’ markings. For the first time, the vast space, with the history of Jerusalem of 2,800 years on its walls, has been the backdrop for a contemporary art exhibition.
The layers of history rest one on top of the other.
Under the remains of the Mandatory prison and graffiti of Irgun prisoners, they include a Jewish dyeing factory from the Middle Ages
mentioned in the writings of Benjamin of Tudela (12 century CE), walls of Herod the Great’s royal palace including a drainage and escape channel cut into the bedrock, impressive Hasmonean for-
tifications, and the earliest remains in the complex, an impressive wall resting on bedrock and dated to the days of Hezekiah, King of Judah, and the First Temple period.
The Kishle building, part of the Tower of David complex, is in the midst of a planning process in its preservation and renovation project. Before the completion of the archaeological excavation, with the sandbags, scaffolding and archaeological markings, the site was chosen to host the exhibition “Umbilicus” by curators Dr. Adina Kamien and Malu Zayon. Eilat Lieber, director and chief curator, is excited to see the Kishle come alive and to recognize its potential to tell different stories of Jerusalem, the connection between old and new.
The modern works of artists Hannan AbuHussein, Sharon Balaban, Matan Daskal, Yehudit Sasportas, Merav Shinn Ben-Alon and Lihi Turjeman blend brilliantly into the stone setting.
The Tower of David Jerusalem Museum reopened to the public after an extensive renewal project. The museum invites visitors to tour 10 exhibition galleries including original artifacts, movies, video projections and interactive displays, tracing Jerusalem’s historical progression towards becoming a central city for billions of believers across the world — Jews, Christians and Muslims — and its return to serve as the capital of modern Israel.
The new exhibition in the Kishle is accessible only by climbing stairs, though access is greatly improved over the previous arrangement. However, plans are to make it accessible to those with disabilities.
Thousands of Americans make aliyah after Oct. 7
Nearly 1,800 North Americans have immigrated to Israel since the Oct. 7 Hamas invasion, with an additional 2,000 newcomers expected this summer, Nefesh B’Nefesh reports.
NBN, the nonprofit that facilitates aliyah from the United States and Canada, says worst single-day attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust and the wave of antisemitism it triggered around the world have prompted a huge boost in interest in aliyah.
Since Hamas began the war nine months ago, NBN has received more than 10,000 requests to open aliyah files in North America, a 76% increase from the same period a year earlier, the organization said. Nearly half of the applicants said that Zionist ideals and expressions of solidarity with the Jewish state have prompted their decision.
“We warmly welcome the many olim who have decided to make aliyah at this time,” said Minister of Aliyah and Integration Ofir Sofer. “This is a choice of Jews from around the world, and especially from the US to move to Israel as part of the greater Jewish story.”
Added NBN founder and Executive Director Yehoshua Fass: “We eagerly anticipate welcoming hundreds of new olim who, in the face of the current uncertainty, are arriving with unwavering determination to fulfill their dreams of making Israel their home.”
“It is inspiring to see so many impassioned olim embark on this exciting new chapter in their lives, and we are ever present to provide unwavering support and guidance to ensure their smooth integration into Israeli society,” Fass said.
A massive wave of French Jewish immigration is also expected in the wake of that country’s July 7 election, which saw the far-left antisemitic France Unbowed party and its New Popular Front alliance garner the most seats in a hung parliament.
“These newcomers are symbols of hope and the future, the promise of growth and prosperity,” said Jewish Agency for Israel chairman Maj. Gen (res.) Doron Almog. “Together with them, we will build a stronger and more powerful State of Israel.”
Jeremy and
Merrill, owners of Dimples, a custom baby gift store, have been participating in the sidewalk sale for 18 years.
Melissa Berman, LI Herald
New immigrants from North America arrive at Ben-Gurion Airport on a Nefesh B’Nefesh “aliyah flight,” on Aug. 14, 2019. Flash90
Contemporary art in the Kishle building, a former Ottoman and British prison in the Old City of Jerusalem, on July 9. Sharon Altshul
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contributing writers: •Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks zt”l,
former chief rabbi of United Hebrew Congregations of the British Commonwealth •Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh
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contact our columnists at: Publisher@TheJewishStar.com
Five towns candlelighting: From the White Shul, Far Rockaway, NY
תבש לש בכוכ
Fri July 19 / Tamuz 13
Balak Candles: 8:03 • Havdalah: 9:11
Tues July 23 / Tamuz 17 Fast of Tamuz
Fri July 26 / Tamuz 20
Pinchas Candles: 7:57 • Havdalah: 9:05
Fri Aug 2 / Tamuz 27
Matos-Masei • Shabbos Mevarchim Candles: 7:50 • Havdalah: 8:58
Fri Aug 10 / Av 5
Devarim Candles: 7:41 • Havdalah: 8:490
Mon Aug 12 / Av 8
Tisha B’Av begins tonight
No, we are not a people that dwells alone
The dictionary defines epiphany as “a sudden manifestation of the essence or meaning of something; a comprehension or perception of reality by means of a sudden intuitive realization.” This is the story of an epiphany I experienced one day in May 2001, and it changed my perception of the Jewish fate.
It was Shavuot and we were in Jerusalem. We had gone for lunch to a former lay leader of a major Diaspora community. Also at the table was an Israeli diplomat, together with one of the leaders of the Canadian Jewish Community.
The conversation turned to the then forthcoming (now notorious) United Nations Conference against Racism at Durban. Though the conference would not take place until August, we already knew that it, and the parallel gathering of NGOs, would turn into a diatribe against Israel, marking a new phase in the assault against its legitimacy.
The diplomat, noting that the conversation had taken a pessimistic turn, and being a religious man, sought to comfort us. “It was ever thus,” he said, and then quoted a famous phrase: “We are ‘am levadad yishkon’ (the people that dwells alone).”
It comes from this week’s parsha. Bilaam, hired to curse the Jewish people, instead repeatedly blesses them. In his first utterance he says to King Balak King of Moab: How can I curse whom G-d has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the L-rd has not denounced? From the top of the rocks I see them, and from the hills I gaze down: a people that dwells alone; not reckoned among the nations. Num. 23:8-9
Hearing these words in that context I experienced an explosion of light in the brain. I suddenly saw how dangerous this phrase is, and how close it runs the risk of being a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you define yourself as the people that dwells alone, you are likely to find yourself alone. That is not a safe place to be.
“Are you sure,” I said to the diplomat, “that this was a blessing, not a curse? Remember who said it. It was Bilaam, and he is not known as a friend of the Jews.” Bilaam is one of the people mentioned in the Mishnah (Sanhedrin 10:2) as having no share in the world to come. Having failed to curse the Israelites, he eventually did them great harm (Num. 31:16).
“Remember,” I continued, “what the Talmud
says in Sanhedrin (105b), that all the blessings with which Bilaam blessed the Jewish people turned into curses with the sole exception of the phrase, ‘How good are your tents, Jacob, your homes, O Israel’!” (Num. 24:5). The Rabbis suggest that Bilaam was deliberately ambiguous in what he said, so that his words could be understood as blessings but also had another and darker meaning.
“Nor,” I said, “is badad (being alone) a good place to be according to the Torah. The first time the words “not good” appear in the Torah are in the phrase “Lo tov heyot ha’adam levado (It is not good for man to be alone)” (Gen. 2:18). About a leper the Torah says, “badad yeshev michutz lamachaneh moshavo (He shall dwell alone, outside the camp)” (Lev. 13:46).
When the book of Lamentations seeks to describe the tragedy that has overtaken the Jewish people it says “Eichah yashva vadad ha-ir rabati am (How alone is the city once filled with people).” (Lam. 1:1). Except in connection with G-d, being alone is rarely a blessing.
What I suddenly saw, when I heard the diplomat seeking to give us comfort, was how dangerous this Jewish selfdefinition had become. It seemed to sum up the Jewish condition in the light of antisemitism and the Holocaust. But that is not how the commentators understood the phrase.
Rashi says it means that Jews are indestructible. Ibn Ezra says it means that they don’t assimilate. Ramban says it means that they maintain their own integrity. It does not mean that they are destined to be isolated, without allies or friends. That is not a blessing but a curse. That is not a destiny; still less is it an identity.
To be a Jew is to be loved by G-d; it is not to be hated by Gentiles.
Our ancestors were called on to be “a kingdom of Priests and a holy nation.”
The word kadosh, “holy,” means set apart. But there is a profound difference between being apart and being alone.
Leaders are set apart, but they are not alone. If they really were alone, they could not be leaders. Athletes, writers, actors, singers, pianists may live apart when they are preparing for a major performance, but they are not alone. Their apartness is purposeful. It allows them to focus their energies, hone and refine their skills. It is not an existential condition, a chosen and willed isolation.
There is no suggestion in the Torah that Jews will live alone. G-d says to Abraham, “Through you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” Abraham was different from his neighbours, but he fought for them and prayed for them. He was apart but not alone.
For some time now – the Durban conference was one sign of it – Israel and Diaspora Jewry have faced growing isolation. Israel has been the object of a sustained campaign of delegitimization. Meanwhile, shechitah is under attack in Holland, and brit milah in San Francisco. Battles we thought we had won for the freedom
to live as Jews, individually in the Diaspora, nationally and collectively in the state of Israel, are now having to be fought all over again.
These are important fights, good fights, whose outcome will affect more than Jews. In ancient times, Israel was a small nation surrounded by large empires. In the Middle Ages, Jews were the most conspicuous minority in a Christian Europe. Today the State of Israel is a vulnerable enclave in a predominantly Muslim Middle East.
Jews have long been cast in the role of the ‘Other’, the one who does not fit into the dominant paradigm, the majority faith, the prevailing culture. One of Judaism’s central themes is the dignity of dissent. Jews argue, challenge, question. Sometimes they do so even with G-d Himself. That is why the fate of Jews in any given time and place is often the best index of freedom in that time and place.
It is no accident that the story of Abraham begins immediately after the biblical account of the Tower of Babel, which opens with the words, “Now the whole world had one language and a common speech.”
Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehudah Berlin (Netziv) says that this means that there was no dissent. There was an enforced uniformity of opinion. Such a society leaves no room for dialogue, debate, disagreement and difference, the things essential for freedom.
When, therefore, Jews fight for the right to
be, whether as a nation in its historic home, or as a religious group in other societies, they fight not for themselves alone but for human freedom as a whole.
It was the Catholic writer Paul Johnson who wrote that Jews are “exemplars and epitomisers of the human condition. They seemed to present all the inescapable dilemmas of man in a heightened and clarified form. … It seems to be the role of the Jews to focus and dramatize these common experiences of mankind, and to turn their particular fate into a universal moral.”
As we prepare ourselves for the next battle in the long fight for freedom it is vitally important not to believe in advance that we are destined to be alone, to find ourselves without friends and allies, confronting a world that neither understands us nor is willing to grant us a place to live our faith and shape our future in loyalty to our past. If we are convinced we will fail, we probably will.
That is why the Rabbis were right to suggest that Bilaam’s words were not necessarily wellmeant.
To be different is not necessarily to be alone. Indeed, it is only by being what we uniquely are that we contribute to humankind what we alone can give
Singular, distinctive, countercultural — yes: these are part of the Jewish condition. But alone? No. That is not a blessing but a curse.
When it’s time to make choices and be chosen
From Heart of Jerusalem Rabbi biNNY FREEDMaN Jewish Star columnist
Years ago, about to exit the doors of LaGuardia Airport after a long flight, I suddenly realized I had forgotten my tefillin on the plane. I rushed back to the gates only to discover I could not get through without a valid boarding pass, which I no longer had.
Personnel at lost and found (in baggage control) patiently explained they only dealt with items lost in the airport or in baggage, and sent me to the check-in counters, where they explained I had no boarding pass and could not get
back on the plane, which was now being cleaned, and did I have identification?
Finally, a supervisor with a security guard came out to see what was going on and asked me to describe the lost object. And so, a few months after Sept. 11, with all of the heightened security, I explained it was a small velvet pouch, with two leather boxes and straps inside. Although my name was on the bag, it was only my Hebrew name, written in ancient Hebrew letters.
“Well, what exactly are these boxes, sir?” the woman asked, ”and what is it that you do with them? And if you don’t even have your name on them why are you so concerned about them?”
How could I explain the concept of tefillin before the plane took off with my tefillin to its next destination, especially as the security guard was by now eyeing me very curiously?
“Well, we wear these as a sign that we are the chosen people.”
What does it mean to be the chosen people? Are we somehow better than everyone else?
Three thousand years ago, a non-Jewish prophet named Bilaam forced us to confront this very question. Balak, the king of Moab, realized that the Jewish people were not going to be defeated on the battlefield. Having miraculously escaped Egypt and vanquishing the Amalekites in open battle, clearly the Jews and their G-d would not be conquered in a conventional manner
So Balak hires Bilaam to curse the Jewish people, hoping to somehow undermine them on the spiritual battlefield.
Yet a non-Jewish prophet as intent on wickedness as Bilaam could only offer the words G-d put
in his mouth and what comes forth from Bilaam’s mouth is some of the most beautiful poetry in the bible.
““Mah Tovu O’halecha’ Ya’akov (How goodly are your tents oh Jacob, Your dwellings, Oh Israel)! … Water shall flow from his branches, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his kingdom shall be exalted.” (Bamidbar 24:5-7)
Are we really exalted above all other peoples? Are we chosen and therefore somehow better than everyone else?
I recall once, when our son Yair was three years old, he came over to hug me and said, taking my face in his hands: “Abba, you’re the best!” Then he asked me: “Abba, am I the best?” With his 5-year-old sister standing a few feet away, I realized this was a political minefield, so I simply See Freedman on page 22
Living with purpose: Lessons from the Rebbe
Imagine there was something you could buy that would dramatically improve every aspect of your life. Everything you wish for — from financial success and physical health to happiness and self-esteem — would be granted or greatly enhanced. Even your sleep would be better and your cognitive function longer sustained.
Remarkably, this panacea is not a groundbreaking technological gadget or mysterious elixir. In fact, it’s not a physical item at all. It’s that existential and often elusive sensation we refer to as “living with purpose.”
Those who’ve experienced what it’s like to have purpose might describe being animated by a sense of meaning and eagerness to accomplish. Finding
your purpose is like finding your “on button.”
Research shows people who feel they are living with purpose experience higher satisfaction in life, improved mental and physical health, lower risk of cognitive decline, better sleep, and reduced likelihood of anxiety and depression.
In studying “Blue Zones” (areas with high concentrations of people who live more than 100
years), Dan Buettner, a National Geographic Fellow, found that having purpose was inescapably tied to living a long life. Studies have backed this up with estimations that people who prioritize purpose and meaning can increase their lifespan by up to seven years.
But despite the critical importance of purpose and the advantages of a purpose-filled life, only
25% of American adults can clearly describe what makes their life meaningful, and 40% report being neutral, unsure of whether they have a sense of purpose at all.
This is what motivated me to research and write an upcoming book, titled, “On Purpose: Practical Wisdom for Designing Life of Purpose,” which presents teachings and insights of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, to help readers discover and actualize their unique purpose in life.
Ancient Jewish wisdom, particularly when viewed through the Rebbe’s perspective, has much to say about purpose, and it is from this well of inspiration that I culled the teachings included in “On Purpose.”
One the Rebbe’s foundational insights gets to the root of our ongoing societal struggle with purposelessness, which owes to our very conception of what purpose is. There are two ways we can think about pur-
See Kalmenson on page 22
Thinking about Barak: It’s about tents and Torah
Our parasha, Barak, contains one of the most famous pasukim in the Torah: “How goodly are your tents, O Ya’akov, your dwelling places, O Yisrael!”
In his Commentary on the Torah, Rashi asserts that “how goodly are your tents” refers to the thoroughgoing modesty of the fledgling Jew-
ish nation: “For he (Bilam) saw that the entrances [of the tents] were not facing each other.”
The Midrash Aggadah offers an additional intriguing interpretation of our pasuk: “How goodly are your tents, O Ya’akov” — in the merit of Ya’akov having sat in them. And because of this, the Jewish people merited to dwell in tents in the desert.
Why does the Midrash emphasize the zechut of Ya’akov having sat in tents? Both Midrash Bereishit Rabbah 63:10 and Rashi maintain that these were not standard tents, but rather “the tent of Shem and the tent of Ever.” As we know from related midrashic sources, Shem and Ever had
the first learning center wherein the knowledge of Hashem’s omnipotence, justice and righteousness formed the backbone of the curriculum.
The Midrash may now be understood in this manner: Based upon “the merit of Ya’acov having sat in them [the tents of Shem and Ever] … the Jewish people merited to dwell in tents in the desert.”
In addition it is written, “For G-d chose Ya’acov for Himself, Yisrael for His treasure” (Tehillim 135:4) and “Hashem did not bring [Ya’akov] close, rather, Ya’akov brought himself close to the Almighty, as the text states: ‘And Ya’akov was an innocent man, dwelling in tents’.”
(Vayikra, Parashat Tzav VIII)
In sum, Hashem chose Ya’akov and Ya’akov chose Hashem.
Like his grandfather Avraham, Ya’akov was a seeker who did not rest until he had thoroughly developed his relationship with the Master of the Universe. Like Ya’akov Avinu, the entire Jewish people are chosen by Hashem: “And you shall be to Me a kingdom of princes and a holy nation” (Shemot 19:6).
With Hashem’s help, may we strive to emulate Ya’akov, so that we too may dwell in the tents of Torah and grow close to the Almighty. V’chane yihi ratzon.
Some reading suggestions for the Three Weeks
Jerusalem. Just the sound of the word should set off tremors of deep passion in the heart of every connected Jew. Jerusalem represents the very center of the Jewish faith since time immemorial.
No other earthly abode has as much resonance in the Jewish faith’s historical experience as does this sacred city. Be it the glory of a Temple, a royal palace, the regal presence of a priesthood, the solemn proceedings of a Sanhedrin or the sight and wound of mass destruction and desecration, Jerusalem was and still is at the center of our liturgy, our conversation with G-d,
the expression of G-d’s rule in this world. It is this time of year, beginning with the Fast of the 17th of Tammuz (DATE) and lasting for three weeks to the Fast of Tisha B’Av, that we
experience the most somber observance on the Jewish calendar. Much has been written about the customs for these three weeks. I shall briefly detail several works that, in my opinion, best set
the tone and purpose for our serious and somber demeanor at this time on the Jewish calendar.
Perhaps one of the most beloved of all Jewish writers of the previous generation was Rabbi Eliyahu Kitov zt”l. His writings and books have served as classics for Jewish law and lore in our yeshivas and Beis Yaakovs for the better part of the last century, continuing into our own time. Among his works is the classic, “The Book of Our Heritage” (Feldheim, 1968, 1999). Within the third volume you will find all the salient basic information on what constitutes the proper observances as well as the relevant historical information to offer a better understanding of the importance of past events that affect our lives to this day, including the integrity of our concerns for Jerusalem as the center of our people’s faith. Each chapter is organized by the Jewish month of the year and subdivided by the variSee Gerber on page 22
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Western states on wrong side of war on Jews
We have to face without flinching what is now undeniable: There is a war around the globe raging against the Jewish people. It’s a war not just to destroy their national homeland but to drive them out of people’s heads, their conscience and their world.
Led by Muslims and the left, with its base in the universities, this war has extended much further than these circles into professional and commercial life.
The Palestinian flag, symbol of the agenda to destroy Israel and erase the identity and history of the Jews in their ancestral land, is everywhere. Murderous antisemitism, once confined to cranks, Nazi supporters and the clinically insane, has been normalized and is surfacing in the most banal, everyday settings.
A Toronto health food restaurant is using the hashtag “#zionistsnotwelcome” in social media posts. In Britain, an ordinary middle-aged Manchester woman declared that Zionist lives weren’t worth saving and that Zionists “need to be finished.”
Palestinian flags sprouted in London at the Wimbledon tennis tournament, during Fashion Week in Berlin and on the lapel of a Delta Airlines flight attendant. In Amsterdam, Anne Frank’s statue was defaced with “Gaza” graffiti. At a Madrid rock concert, the crowd sang: “Let’s go bomb Tel Aviv.”
While this madness has liberals and left-wingers in its grip, its main impetus is coming from the Islamic world. US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines stated this week that the Iranian regime has been actively fueling the Gaza demonstrations by using agents posing as activists online, encouraging demonstrations and even providing participants with financial support.
In addition to Iran, the campaign has been orchestrated by Hamas and other Muslim Brotherhood operatives. The reason for all this is that fanatical hatred of the Jews is fundamental to the religion of Islam, as is the aim of Islamizing the world.
Everyone is defined by where they stand in this war. There is no middle ground.
While many Muslims don’t subscribe to fanaticism or fundamentalism, far too many do — and the overwhelming majority subscribe to the demonization and delegitimization of Israel that flow from Muslim Jew-hatred.
The reason the Oct. 7 pogrom in Israel sparked immediate and triumphant Muslim demonstrations was the ecstatic belief that, having destroyed Israeli invincibility by murdering and capturing so many Jews, the way was now open to destroy Israel, wipe out the Jews and conquer the West for Islam.
The far-left, who have latched on to the anti-West aims of this campaign, also believe that their revolutionary time has come.
In France, this is due to the desperate attempt by President Emanuel Macron to fend off the threat of political victory by the far-right National Rally party. To do so, Macron made a deal with a left-wing alliance whose dominant party is the extreme revolutionary grouping of La France Insoumise (France Unbowed).
Its leader, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, has called French Jews and their communal organizations “aggressive,” “arrogant” and “sectarian.” He made a dismissive reference to the Jews killing Jesus, called Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza a “genocide” and said that “peace-loving Frenchmen” cannot express solidarity with the victims of the Oct. 7 onslaught.
In Britain, the left also came to power in last week’s general election with a supposedly moderate Labour government under the new Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
Whether or not the French coalition lasts, the prospects for British and French relations with Israel are dismal, as are the prospects for French and British Jews.
Macron is relentlessly hostile to Israel. Last November, he told the BBC that Israel must stop killing babies and women in Gaza and that there was “no justification” for Israel’s bombing campaign. Now he has backed the request by the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor for warrants to arrest Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and has also made an alliance with a pro-Hamas party.
In Britain, Starmer is also taking a hostile position against Israel. Foreign Secretary David Lammy is considering whether to stop UK arms sales to Israel and has said that if the ICC issues arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, Britain will arrest them if they come to the UK.
Starmer has also appointed some extremely troubling ministers. The Justice Secretary Shabina Mahmood is a long-standing supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement aimed at the destruction of Israel.
And the Attorney-General Richard Hermer KC — who describes himself as a “tikkun olam” (social justice) Reform Jew — has put his name on legal opinions and letters that defame Israel and
are viciously hostile to its ability to defend itself.
Like Hermer, Starmer spent most of his career as a “human rights” lawyer in a radical left-wing barristers’ set. The “human rights” agenda, which is misleadingly presented as the “center ground,” is in fact a radical ideology that fuels the onslaught against Israel mounted by the United Nations, the ICC and the rest of the international law and humanitarian establishment. It also underpins antiWestern “intersectional” identity politics.
The Labour government combines support for Palestinians with an “identity politics” agenda that is likely to entrench the abuse of children and the threat to women posed by transgender ideology; put the force of law behind anti-white racism and the calumny of “white privilege”; and turn Islamophobia into a crime and thus suppress all criticism of Islam, including Muslim antisemitism.
For these reasons, Starmer is unlikely to deal with the threat that has emerged from the arrival of Islamic sectarian politics in the rise of a Muslim political bloc.
Despite near-mandatory sympathy in the Labour Party for the Palestinian cause, British Muslims were angry that Starmer had supported Israel’s right to defend itself and hadn’t initially called for an immediate ceasefire. A group called Muslim Vote issued a list of demands, including turning Israel into a pariah state, as well as various ways in which Britain should adapt its society to Islam.
As a result of this decline in Muslim support, Labour lost five parliamentary seats to independent candidates standing on a “Gaza-Palestine” ticket while a number of other Labour MPs hung on to their seats by a whisker.
In France, Macron has long lost the battle to contain Muslim violence and rampant antisemitism.
Three boys aged 12-13 have been accused of raping a 12-year-old Jewish girl while making anti-Israel slurs. A 15-year-old Jewish boy was assaulted in Paris by eight men from the far-left Jeune Garde “because he was assumed to be Jewish.” He was insulted, called a Zionist, beaten and reportedly forced to chant “Long live Palestine” while being filmed. Elsewhere, crowds with Palestinian flags shout “Death to France,” “Death to Jews” and “Death to the police.”
France’s Chief Rabbi Moshe Sebbag has said there’s no future for Jews in France and advised young Jews to go to Israel “or a more secure country.”
Like the Biden administration in America, leftwing parties in Britain and France are displaying hostility to Israel and indifference to Jewish security when Israel is under existential attack, global Jew-hatred has reached stratospheric levels and tyrants everywhere are on a roll because of the West’s refusal to defend itself or even understand the priceless values that it needs to defend.
Diaspora Jews ask where they can be safe. The answer is nowhere. Despite the antisemitic history of National Rally, said the French chief rabbi, the left has been antisemitic in recent times. “The Jews are in the middle because they don’t know who hates them more,” he said. Everyone is defined by where they stand in this war. There is no middle ground. Whether you are an activist, fellow-traveler or useful idiot; whether you are a gentile or a “tikkun olam” Jew; either you stand unequivocally with the Jewish victims of this war and support their self-defense or you are on the side of those attacking not just the Jewish people but civilization itself. And in Britain, France and America, the left, whether moderate or extreme, is on the wrong side.
Left-wing French politician Jean-Luc Mélenchon speaks at an anti-Israel demonstration in Paris on Dec. 2, 2023. Owen Franken-Corbis, Getty Images
It’s time for Trump-haters to look in the mirror
dAvid SUiSSA Jewish Journal
I’m not a big fan of Donald Trump, but I’m also not one of those rabid Trump haters who believe he’s a racist monster who will destroy our democracy and our Constitution if we allow him to get back in the White House.
My beef with virulent Trump haters has always been two-fold. One, a disregard for the genuine grievances of working-class Americans who vote for him; two, an inability to look in the mirror and realize their own inexcusable sins against democracy.
I once asked a Trump-hating friend if she believed all 63 million people who voted for him in 2016 were racists. After some reflection, she said, “Yeah, maybe they are.”
When I’m around Trump haters, I’ve learned to nod and just keep my mouth shut. Any hint that he may not be as bad as Hitler will be met by wild howls of rebuke. Who needs it?
I got reamed by a Trump-hater last week because I failed to bash him in a column arguing that hiding President Joe Biden’s mental decline was the “biggest media cover-up of modern times.”
I wondered: “Do you really think the same legacy journalists who went after President Trump with a vengeance on everything from
Russian collusion to irregular accounting would have ignored signs of possible dementia?”
My point was not to defend Trump but to highlight the sheer hypocrisy of Democrats undermining democracy as they accused their rivals of doing the same.
After all, if you hide for years from American voters that their president is mentally unfit for the job, how is that not a flagrant undermining of democracy?
Every move, I argued, was rooted in the hatred of Trump.
When Biden was seen as the man to beat Trump in 2024 as he did in 2020, it was worth hiding his mental decline, as egregious and unforgivable as that was. But as soon as Biden’s disastrous debate made it unlikely that he could beat Trump, suddenly it was all guns blazing on Biden.
And why not? If you believe, as James Carville has said, that Trump “will end the Constitution,” aren’t you duty-bound to take all necessary measures?
“We love you, Joe,” his former admirers have told him, “but if you can’t beat Hitler, you have to go.”
We’re now witnessing the surreal spectacle of Democrats in public meltdown at the prospect that their own man may put Trump back in the White House.
For those who compliment Democrats for having the courage to police their own, I’m not buying it. They’re angry not so much because their man is unfit for the job but because
Even if we don’t blame virulent and violent language for the assassination attempt, the virulence itself is not up for debate.
they got caught hiding it.
Had they acted responsibly, they wouldn’t have waited so long to make Biden what he was always meant to be — a one-term president. But so fixated were they on beating Trump that they failed to see or refused to see how they enabled an unfit president to run the country.
Hatred is blinding indeed.
Meanwhile, Democrats were also blind to something even deeper than Biden — their abandonment of the working class.
As I wrote recently, “The Democrats today are more a party of elites, cultural activists
and cosmopolitan Wall Street globalists than of hardscrabble American workers.”
Being so hypnotized by the transcendent danger of Trump, Democrats failed to appreciate the genuine grievances of Trump voters who felt ripped off by progressive policies, open borders, anti-American agitation and a new globalist order.
For Democrats, it was always about Trump, Trump, Trump and more Trump. Even when they conceded that the legal assault on Trump was a blatant show of political bias, it didn’t matter. It’s Hitler we’re talking about, remember?
‘Neck and Sword’ is Khalidi’s distortion of history
New Left Review is a London-based Marxist journal that, despite its name, is deep in the throes of middle age. It’s latest issue features an extensive interview with Rashid Khalid, a prominent Palestinian historian, under the headline, “The Neck and the Sword.”
The title stems from one of the points made by Khalidi’s interlocutor, Tariq Ali, an aging New Leftist who used their discussion as an excuse to revisit his late 1960s heyday as a political activist.
Ali recalled that on a trip to the Middle East following the 1967 Six-Day War, he asked the Palestinian writer Ghassan Kanafani whether a negotiated settlement was possible with these “bastards” — his term for the Israeli people.
“Tariq, explain to me how the neck negotiates with the sword,” Kanafani apparently replied.
Ali was, of course, thrilled with this answer, because it articulated through a poetic metaphor one of the key elements of the Palestinian self-image: We are powerless; we are always and everywhere the victims of others, especially the Zionists; and we resist whenever we can garner the strength.
As romantic as that notion seems to the Western leftists who have adopted Palestine as the core element of their political identity, it is more properly understood as a license for Palestinian terrorist groups to carry out the sorts of monstrosities we witnessed on Oct. 7 — reinforced by the adulation of their outside admirers — instead of admitting and accepting moral culpability.
Aided by Ali’s fawning line of questioning, Khalidi uncomplicatedly pushes this notion of perpetual victimhood throughout the interview.
In my view, it is the clearest expression of an essentially secular Palestinian nationalist standpoint to have appeared in the last nine months, which is why it’s worth reading.
A Columbia University professor who is arguably the most erudite exponent of the Palestinian cause today, Khalidi certainly sounds more nuanced and historically literate when compared to the imbecilic, expletive-laden sloganeering disseminated by violently antisemitic groups like Within Our Lifetime and Students for Justice in Palestine.
Until Palestinians exorcise the mufti’s ghost, it will continue to haunt them.”
For example, rather than denying the rapes, decapitations, hostage-taking and mass murder on Oct. 7 — as these vile organizations do whenever they are not celebrating them — Khalidi acknowledges that these took place. Rather than denying or denigrating the Holocaust, he concedes that the Nazi genocide “produced a kind of understandable uniformity in support of Zionism” among the Jews who survived. But does this cursory nod to the humanity and historical experience of the Jews meaningfully alter Khalidi’s perspective?
The answer to that is negative.
Khalidi’s softer touch on these questions actually makes the rest of his interview all the more disturbing. He has a historian’s knack for remembering dates, names, locations and quotes, and he marshals this information into a narrative that, for those who don’t know any better, is highly compelling. But for those who do
know better, what stands out are the multitude of omissions and distortions in his account.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in his claim that Palestinians were also victims of the antisemitism that culminated in the Holocaust, albeit “indirect” victims.
“Palestinians are paying for the entire history of European Jew-hatred, going back to medieval times,” he says. “Edward I expelling the Jews from England in 1290, the French expulsions in the following century, the Spanish and Portuguese edicts in the 1490s, the Russian pogroms from the 1880s, and finally, the Nazi genocide. Historically, a quintessentially European Christian phenomenon.”
This is an old and discredited line. I can remember interviewing a PLO official on the eve of the Gulf War in 1991 who told me, while wearing an obsequious smile, that “we Palestinians are the victims of the victims”—a neat formula with no historical basis.
The term “antisemitism” may have been coined in Europe by a 19th-century German pamphleteer who chose the term “antisemitismus” to distinguish his “scientific” understand-
ing from the religiously inflected Jew hatred of medieval times—but raging hatred of the Jews is also rooted in the Arab and Muslim worlds.
As Bernard Lewis once argued, the Jews of the Middle East may not have had it as bad as their brethren in Europe, but they never had it as good either. For centuries, Jews, along with other minorities, were subjected to humiliating legal codes across the region, rendering them at best second-class citizens.
During the 20th century, there were numerous episodes of mass violence — what the Ashkenazim called “pogroms” — in Mandatory Palestine and neighboring countries. Among the worst was the June 1941 Farhud (“violent dispossession”) in Iraq, in which hundreds of Jews in Baghdad were murdered amid untold numbers of rapes and other cruelties.
These and similar episodes go entirely unmentioned by Khalidi, as does the fact that within a decade or so following Israel’s emergence as a sovereign state, nearly one million Jews across the region had been dispossessed and expelled.
To recognize that antisemitism was and remains a hard-wired feature of the region, and to perceive the legacy of the Farhud in the atrocities of Oct. 7, is altogether inconvenient for Khalidi, who clearly believes that his audience won’t do any independent research on the history he covers. To admit to its presence would upend his analysis, forcing him to confront the reality that Oct. 7 wasn’t just an explosion of anger by a colonized people who engaged in some regrettable excesses, but another milestone in the long history of Arab violence towards the Jews in their midst.
If a scholar like Khalidi can’t summon the honesty and humility to address this history, one can hardly expect keffiyeh-draped protestors to do so. Yet this isn’t simply a question of intellectual integrity: The Palestinian and broader Arab refusal to reckon with the persecution of their
Donald Trump with blood on his face surrounded by secret service agents following an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13. Rebecca Droke, AFP via Getty Images
Rashid Khalidi, the Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University. Thomas Good, NLN via WikiCommons
What exactly would a two-state solution solve?
Idon’t oppose a two-state solution. Nor do I oppose Tinker Bell. I just seriously doubt that either exists.
If you’re among those who believe that widespread recognition of a Palestinian nation-state would resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, I’d remind you: This is an idea that has been tried and found wanting.
For example: In November 1947, the United Nations General Assembly recommended partitioning western Palestine (eastern Palestine having been given over years earlier to what would become the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan) into two states: one for Palestinian Arabs, the other for Palestinian Jews. Jewish leaders accepted the recommendation. Arab leaders rejected it.
Palestinian Jews knew what total Arab control of Palestine would mean for them. In 1929, Palestinian Arabs had carried out a terrible pogrom — akin to that of Oct. 7 — against Palestinian Jews in Hebron. In 1936, the “Arab Revolt” included terrorist attacks not just against the British who had replaced the Ottoman Empire as Palestine’s rulers but also against Jews.
And the most important leader of Palestine’s Arabs at that time was Hajj Amin al-Husseini, the Mufti of Jerusalem, who had spent World War II in Berlin assisting Hitler.
So, the week after the British withdrew from Palestine, the Jews declared an independent state. In response, the armies of five Arab nations invaded Israel, waging a war to exterminate the fledgling Jewish state.
Against all odds, Israel survived. Palestinians Arabs who neither fought the Jews nor fled from them became Israeli citizens. Nevertheless, what was then called the Arab-Israeli conflict persisted.
In 1964, at a summit meeting in Cairo, the Arab League created the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
Three years later, Israel’s Arab neighbors again attempted to push the Jews into the sea. Again, they failed.
At the conclusion of the Six-Day War, Israel had taken Gaza from Egypt and the West Bank from Jordan. The West Bank, by the way, had been known by its biblical names, Judea and Samaria, before those territories were conquered by Jordan in the 1948 war. Following that conquest, Jordan expelled the Jews, destroyed the synagogues and desecrated Jewish cemeteries and shrines.
In the aftermath of the 1967 war, the Arab League issued what became known as the “three Noes”: no peace with Israel, no negotiation with Israel, no recognition of Israel.
Today, Israel’s most consequential conflict is with Iran’s rulers who fund, arm and instruct Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah. Hezbollah, from Lebanon, has been rocketing northern Israel since Oct. 8. The Houthi rebels in Yemen and the Shia militias in Syria and Iraq are also proxies of Tehran.
For 45 years, Iran’s self-proclaimed jihadis have vowed “Death to Israel!” and “Death to America!” The slogan of the Houthis: “God is Greatest, Death to America, Death to Israel, a Curse Upon the Jews, Victory to Islam.”
Could there be a more explicit rejection of a two-state solution? Is it not indisputable that what Iran’s rulers and their minions want instead is a “final solution” — the Nazi term for the extermination of Jews?
ern parts of Gaza, Judea and Samaria. Its main problem has not been that Israel and the US have refrained from granting it formal recognition as a nation-state.
Hamas violently ousted the PA from Gaza in 2007, two years after the Israelis withdrew from that territory.
Since then, what attributes of statehood has Gaza lacked? Huge amounts of aid have streamed in from the “international donor community.” Health care, education and other social services have been provided by UN agencies that became Hamas’s handmaidens. These agencies have employed Hamas members, some of whom took part in the atrocities of Oct. 7.
Israel has supplied Gaza with electricity and water and, prior to Oct. 7, permitted thousands of Gazans to enter Israel to work at higher salaries than they could command in Gaza. For decades, Israeli hospitals have opened their doors to Gazans in need.
Media reports have often called Gaza an “open-air prison.” But we now know that Gazans were always able to leave and return over their border with Egypt. Some did so for terrorist training. Hamas constructed an elaborate subterranean fortress. Do prisons generally allow inmates to dig tunnels?
Through highways under the Egyptian border, an enormous supply of weapons and munitions poured into Gaza over the years.
Hamas’s goal has not been nation-building. Its goal has been, and still is, to create an emirate “from the river to the sea” to be included in a new caliphate and empire.
This is why any solution to the multiple conflicts now underway in the Middle East must begin with the destruction of Hamas’s military and governing capabilities.
Iran’s rulers believe the world is divided into the Dar al-Islam, the countries ruled by Muslims, and the Dar al-Harb, the countries ruled by non-believers who must be fought and conquered. Israel is the only slice of land between Morocco and Pakistan not ruled by Muslims. To an Islamist, such diversity is intolerable. The various “peace processes” have ignored these inconvenient truths. The Oslo Accords of the 1990s—agreements between Israel and the PLO—set up the Palestinian Authority to gov-
More challenging but essential: Neutralizing the neo-imperialist and openly genocidal regime in Tehran that, you should note, is now firmly allied with Beijing, Moscow and Pyongyang.
The day after that, progress can perhaps be made towards establishing an independent Palestinian state with leaders willing, however reluctantly, to peacefully coexist alongside Israel.
To sum up: Belief in a two-state solution does not make it a realistic option, any more than belief in Tinker Bell can bring the little fairy to life.
Netanyahu’s challenge in addressing Congress
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned speech this month to the US Congress poses complex challenges for Israel. Not just to the Biden administration; not only to Donald Trump; not only to the West, which is beset by violent antisemitic demonstrations organized by Hamas and its supporters. And the speech poses a serious challenge to the US Jewish community which opposes Israeli interference in US internal affairs.
An article by Ehud Barak, Tamir Pardo and company in the New York Times was not aimed at Diaspora Jews but to the political identity of Israeli Jews. The authors fear that a good speech will strengthen Netanyahu and therefore they demand that Congress cancel the invitation.
My decision to address this issue was influenced by several completely different vectors. It started when I read Avi Gil’s new book, “Where is the Head?” It is an engrossing, apparently fictional thriller that creates a surprising framework for a thought-provoking plot regarding Jewish affinity.
Gil, a former director-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is a top Israeli diplomat. After retiring from public service, I was honored when
he agreed to join the founding team of the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI). To this day, he continues to contribute significantly in the field of geopolitical analysis and policy planning. Recently, he has been “sinning” by writing fiction. His third book recounts the adventures of a unique action team formed to make a dramatic move to curb the loss of unity in Israel and the Diaspora.
Anon-fictional warning light was turned on by the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism (ISGAP) when it discovered that the Bafrayung Fund, headed by Rachel Gelman, is among the main donors to the Westchester Peace Action Committee (WESPAC), which supported anti-Israel groups and Hamas-inspired demonstrations on campuses across the United States. I do not personally know Rachel Gelman, but I know her parents well.
Suzy and Michael Gelman are prominent leaders and major philanthropists in the North American Jewish Federations system, chaired the Jewish community of Washington DC for three terms, are active on the board of trustees of the Jewish Agency and were among the founders of Birth-
right Israel. I am familiar with their warm Zionist and liberal affinity. Their perceptions are typical of many North American Jews attached to Judaism and the Jewish state.
As I understand it, Suzy and Michael have established a philanthropic foundation in which their children can do whatever their hearts desire. The apple turns out to have fallen as far from the tree as a golf ball flying out of bounds.
However, the wake-up call came from a friend (someone who has dedicated most of his life to the prosperity of the Jewish community of New York) who told me that there are Jewish leaders encouraging members of Congress to leave the hall during Netanyahu’s speech and join the demonstrations against him outside the Capitol.
“When Israel wobbles, all of Judaism trembles,” said my friend. “Many American Jews fear Trump and worry that Netanyahu will play into the Republicans’ hands. They hate Israeli meddling in American politics, even if they admit that the US administration does not hesitate to step into the Israeli political arena. The US is a superpower. Not everything that the administration allows itself is also allowed for an Israeli politician.”
During the speech, hundreds of thousands of Hamas supporters are expected to demonstrate outside the Capitol, chanting “Palestine from the river to the sea.” It will not be a rose garden. Jewish leaders of major American Jewish organizations say that Jews who intend to join the demonstrations and encourage Democrats to boycott Netanyahu’s speech are a handful of progressive activists who draw inspiration from and
are helped by a handful of Israelis (some of whose identity was revealed in the New York Times article).
Israel’s supporters do not believe that many Jews will join the Hamas call “Palestine from the river to the sea,” and take solace in the fact that during Netanyahu’s speech to Congress in 2015, only around 60 Democratic congressmembers boycotted the event; they believe the picture will be similar in 2024.
Unlike in 2015, the leadership of both parties signed the invitation to Netanyahu, so a significant Democratic presence is expected.
For decades, American Jews have provided Israel with a safety net. They have largely become a strategic asset. World War II gave birth to a deep frustration that stemmed from their powerlessness to help their brothers in Europe, who were led like sheep to the gas chambers. After the war, American Jews came to their senses and organized themselves.
On the eve of the Six-Day War, Levi Eshkol sought to characterize the State of Israel, which had not yet turned 20, as Shimshun der nebeckhdikehr — poor Samson. Israel was a young country facing an existential threat, strong in spirit and determined to exist, ready to fight against enemies who sought its extermination.
The Jews of the world stood by the Jewish state as one. They came to volunteer in kibbutzim and moshavim to free up the reservists from the burdens of their daily lives. The power of the Jewish community in the United States gained mo-
President Bill Clinton looks on as Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestine Liberation Organization head Yasser Arafat shake hands at the signing of the Oslo Accords on Sept. 13, 1993. William J. Clinton Presidential Library
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Continued from page 17
said, in the tradition of centuries of clever parents, “You’re the best 3-year-old in the family!”
Because it is uncomfortable to assume anyone is really the best, isn’t it?
So what does it mean to be chosen?
Jews come in all shapes and sizes, with no reference anywhere in Jewish law and tradition to any difference whatsoever regarding a Jew’s status be he black or white, or of African, South American, Chinese, European or any other racial origin. So obviously this idea of being chosen cannot be a racist concept.
Indeed, Jewish tradition even has a place in the world to come for the righteous amongst the nations (see Tosefta Sanhedrin 13) and it is actually a lot easier for a non-Jew to get into “heaven” than it is for a Jew.
Indeed, the entire portion in which we receive the Torah is named after a non-Jew, Yitro, and it is from him that we receive the basics of our system of courts and judges, something the Torah makes quite clear. And there are many sources in which it is quite clear that any person — Jew or non-Jew — can reach the highest spiritual levels, even having the Shechinah descend upon oneself (Tana De’Bei Elihau Rabbah 9).
The truth is, we are all, in a sense, chosen; each of us is born with our own special gifts. The real question is not whether I am chosen. The real question is what am I chosen for and what do I choose to do with the gifts I have been given?
There is a statement in the Talmud that relates to the story of Bilaam. When the emissaries of Balak, the king of Moav, entice him to curse the Jewish people, he seems to do the right thing.
“Stay this night and I will respond to your request based on however G-d instructs me.” (22:8) Ultimately, G-d tells Bilaam (verse 12) not to go with the emissaries of Balak, and Bilaam tells the messengers to go home.
But Balak refuses to take no for an answer, and the messengers return, and again Bilaam tells them G-d decides these things. Only this time, (verse 20) G-d says, “If these men have come to call on you, then by all means, go with them.”
Incredibly, when Bilaam goes, G-d gets very angry with him. Why, since G-d had given him the go-ahead?
The Talmud (Makkot 10b) provides a fascinating insight into the psychology of our relationship with G-d, and ultimately with ourselves.
“Rabbah Bar Rav Hunah said: This teaches that a person is led in the path that he wishes to travel.” Ultimately, G-d allows us to do what it is that we want to do. G-d’s problem with Bilaam, was that despite the fact that G-d had already expressed to Bilaam that this was not the right path, Bilaam still wanted to go.
Who I am, ultimately, is a result of the choices I make.
The concept of being “chosen” as a people does not mean we are better than anyone else. What it means is that we (like any other nation) have our own special gifts and, therefore, our own special purpose. And this different (and not better) relationship with G-d is a result of the choices we have made.
All of which now present us with the challenge of living up to the responsibilities those gifts and that different relationship entail.
Three thousand years ago in the desert, as a people, we made a choice to be different, to stand up to a higher moral standard, to refuse to become what those who wish us destroyed, long for us to be.
And even in these challenging times, we can still hear the echo of those words ringing out in the barren mountains of Arvot Moav, on the banks of the Jordan river: “Mah Tovu O’halecha’ Ya’akov (How goodly are your tents oh Jacob).”
We live in a time of blessing, when we can walk again the alleyways of the Old City of Jerusalem, stand on the top of Masada and experience the breathtaking vista of the Sea of Galilee from atop the Golan Heights.
May Hashem bless us all to discover the beauty of the gifts we have been given, and to live up to the challenge of what can do with them.
A version of this column was published in 2013.
Kalmenson
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pose: We can see it as that transcendent sense of meaning that we need to live fulfilled; the missing piece in the puzzle that is our life. Or we can think of purpose as being the very reason for our life; the way our life completes the puzzle that is the world around us.
If we treat purpose as just another commodity — albeit a more spiritual one — to enhance our life, then that leaves us pining after this elusive “thing” called purpose. But if we can adopt the latter mindset that we are here to fulfill our purpose, and not vice versa, then we can begin to discover our “why” with a new set of eyes.
This simple paradigm shift is the missing key to achieving the serenity and joy that comes with a life of meaning. The first step to finding purpose is realizing that purpose is the reason for our lives and not an accessory to it. We are born because we matter to G-d, and that means that we already have a purpose for which we are alive. All that’s left is to discover it.
Viktor Frankl, the famed Austrian physicist and author of Man’s Search for Meaning, put it this way: “Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life. Therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated.”
Of course, knowing that G-d put you here to fulfill your mission is only a first step, and the book goes further in seeking to provide a roadmap, as well as practical tools and actionable steps towards finding your purpose. But this first step is a transformative one, and the foundation for all that follows.
If we internalize this lesson, then we no longer have to chase after something meaningful to complete us. Instead, we can look for the ways that Divine Providence has orchestrated opportunities to complete someone else or the world at large.
This search is so much more likely to turn up what you are looking for, as the world is full of people and things that can use healing or help. But best of all is that when you become the missing piece — the solution — to someone or something else, it will in turn serve to complete you; infusing your life with newfound meaning, joy and purposeful direction.
Finding purpose is about realizing that it need not be found only in monumental achievements or global campaigns. Let’s change our operative question from “How can I change the world?” to “How can I change my world.” The Rebbe taught that the seemingly small, everyday acts of spirituality, kindness and connection, especially when directed at those whom G-d placed in your immediate sphere of influence, are what truly give life meaning. And that is how we can transform the world, one purposeful action at a time.
Rabbi Mendel Kalmenson is executive director of Chabad of Belgravia, London.
Gerber...
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ous topics that define the liturgical and halachic mandates for these solemn days.
The language is easy to comprehend. No detail is explained in a complicated manner. This is the strength of this writer that helps explain the deserved longevity of his work.
Another voume, more intellectually challenging, is an anthology of writings by Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zt”l, titled, “The Lord Is Righteous In All His Ways: Reflections on the Tisha B’Av Kinot”(Ktav, 2006).
There is much to be gleaned from this most informative sefer that will help enhance the average, and non-average worshiper to better understand the underlying meanings of the various elegies that make up the Kinot/Kinos.
It is organized into two basic units. They are, first, “Themes of Tisha B’Av,” which includes a philosophical take on the day’s liturgical works and their religious importance.
The second unit deals with “Themes of the Kinot,” that goes into greater detail concerning the historical background of the Kinot compositions, biographical data of some of the major players down through the ages who, by example
and experience, are emblematic of the persecutions that our people witnessed and died for.
In reviewing this sefer I would be remiss if I did not share with you one aspect of Tisha B’Av observance that had escaped my attention until now. This will demonstrate the regard that the Rav had for the minhagim (customs) of “amcha,” and how he links it to the chain of tradition and Halacha.
In the chapter dealing with the status of Tisha B’Av in messianic times, Rabbi Soloveitchik teaches us the following:
“There is an old Jewish custom not to collect and put away the Kinot book for next year. I remember this as a child. They did not save the Kinot books for next year but read through them and put them in the shaimos collection to be buried later in the cemetery.”
“Every Tisha B’Av they would buy new ones. (Of course, the Kinot books were not as expensive as they are now, particularly those with commentaries and translations.)
But the old custom was to buy new Kinot booklets every year. After all, after this year we will no longer need them.”
According to the Rav this stemmed from the Rambam’s ruling in Hilchos Ta’aniyos that Tisha B’Av would be obsolete after the Messiah’s arrival. Inasmuch as we believe that the Messiah will arrive at any time, such a custom has practical validity, and that is what defines the fate of our little Kinot booklets.
Toward the end of this sefer is a thirteen page chapter dealing with the Rav’s take on the Holocaust and its relevance to Tisha B’Av. I would suggest a careful reading of this chapter. You might not agree with the Rav’s conclusions but you will come away a better-informed Jew for the effort.
This time of year should inspire us to take greater stock of our appreciation for the continued status of Jerusalem under continued Jewish sovereignty, a status that is being challenged by the current regime in Washington and by their representatives here in our own community.
Hopefully our prayers, particularly inspired by the readings of Rabbi Kitov and Rabbi Soloveitchik, both of blessed memory, will help thwart the designs of those who hide behind false pretensions of friendship.
Continued next week. Originally published in 2009.
Suissa...
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As crazy as it sounds, Democrats have gone from years of bashing Trump to now being forced to bash Biden. If you’re a Trump-hater, poetic justice aside, it must be excruciating to watch.
This brings us to yesterday’s assassination attempt on Trump, already considered a significant intelligence and law enforcement failure.
It may be overkill to blame the attempt on the virulent and reckless Trump-hating rhetoric that has permeated our discourse for so long, including claims that Trump was set to kill democracy, unleash “death squads” and make homosexuals and reporters “disappear.”
As Jonathan Turley writes in The Hill, “For months, people have heard politicians and press call Trump ‘Hitler’ and the GOP a Nazi movement. Some compared stopping Trump to stopping Hitler in 1933. Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) declared Trump ‘is not only unfit, he is destructive to our democracy and he has to be eliminated.’ He later apologized.”
When Biden claims that the election may end democracy in the nation, Turley adds, “It can be heard as much as a license as a warning, particularly when he adds ‘we’re done talking about the debate, it’s time to put Trump in a bullseye.’”
But even if we choose not to blame this virulent and violent language for the assassination attempt, there is at least one thing that is not up for debate — the virulence itself.
The hatred for Trump has been notable precisely because it has had no limit. Hatred alone is bad enough, but when it reaches infinity, the hate itself becomes not just blinding but dangerous.
So here is a little message to my Trump-hating friends: When your hatred for Trump makes you so dizzy you can only think of Hitler, maybe it’s time to sit down, take a deep breath and look in the mirror.
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Jewish communities has for nearly a century been an immovable obstacle in the quest for a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Arab conflict. As the historian Martin Kramer noted in an excellent piece on another aspect of this problem — the legacy of the pro-Nazi Mufti of Jerusalem, Hajj Amin al-Husseini — Palestinians continue to ignore the skeletons in their closet. The mufti, Kramer writes, “personified the refusal to see Israel as it is and an unwillingness to imagine a compromise. Until Palestinians exorcise his ghost, it will continue to haunt them.”
Khalidi’s interview with Tariq Ali demonstrates that other, no less significant ghosts need to be exorcised as well. Until that happens, if it ever happens, Ali’s “bastards” — the government and people of Israel, along with the vast majority of Diaspora Jews who support them — have no choice but to remain on a war footing. The alternative is a sword on our necks.
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mentum after the Six-Day War.
The unequivocal victory of the IDF against Egypt, Jordan and Syria added to American Jews’ national pride. Their strengthening in American society — politically and economically — added to their power and influence. The Jews, who had been excluded from leading universities, private country clubs, hotels and resorts reserved for WASPs only, became more and more welcome. The success of the State of Israel also contributed to this transformation.
The same WASPs who moments earlier had opposed the reception of Jews in their clubs, began to take pride in brides and grooms of Jewish origin. Many of them, including American presidents, became grandparents to Jewish grandchildren.
This success worked in favor of Israel. During the 1973 Yom Kippur War, when Israel was undergoing one of its most difficult times, then-National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger had a decisive influence on the American airlift sent to Israel, which changed the battlefield’s configuration.
In the early 1990s, China, countries that had broken free from the Soviet bloc and a significant number of third-world countries established relations with Israel because they believed that the road to Washington passes through Jerusalem. This was despite the fact that the White House at the time acted against the reelection of Yitzhak Shamir, who was considered a right-wing, nationalist and rigid leader.
This was mainly thanks to the unity of the Jewish people and the prosperity of the Jewish community in the United States, along with its visionary leadership headed by the iconic Max Fisher and a thriving Israel. Jews who occupied senior positions in the government were able to identify not only the common values but also the tangential interests the two countries shared and strengthen their relations.
Oct. 7 changed things. Israel’s position as a regional power is eroding. The rift, the demonstrations in Israel, the shuffling on the battlefield and the rise of antisemitism are damaging.
Netanyahu must take advantage of the opportunity in Congress to strengthen the unity of the Jewish people; to recall the apples that have fallen far from the tree back to the roots; to tiptoe smartly between Biden and Trump. He must make clear to the Americans and the free world that even though the Israeli Samson had a haircut on Oct. 7, he is not a nebbish; that Israeli soldiers fight bravely and the IDF stands resolutely at the head of the Western front against the radical axis of evil led by Iran, Russia, China and North Korea. And, the critics at home.
They should be a little more patient and shoulder a bit more responsibility if the Jewish state is still dear to them.
Avinoam Bar-Yosef is president emeritus of the Jewish People’s Policy Institute (JPPI) and a former diplomatic correspondent and Maariv Bureau Chief in Washington.
