Is it "OK" to Celebrate New Years?

From Ask the Rabbi on Virtual Jerusalem

Q: "Is it wrong for a Jew to celebrate the secular New Year? Is there an actual commandment against doing so? I commemorate Rosh Hashana every year, and I know it's not 'Jewish' to go out on Dec 31., but what harm can it do?"

A: This is an excellent question and one that has been addressed by several contemporary (or at least in the last 100 years) Halachic authorities, in their discussions concerning secular American holidays. They've invariably discussed the halachic issues from the standpoint of three principles: (1) avoda zara (Idol worship); (2) chukot hagoyim; (customs and mores of the Gentiles) and (3) adding mitzvot.

I don't recall #1 or #3 having any significant relevance to the observance of January 1st as a New Year, for rank and file Jews would never attribute divinity to a day (some) associate with the anniversary of Jesus' brit milah, or consider celebrating New Years as some additional "mitzvah." We know what Rosh Hoshana means to us, and never the twain do they overlap or share any form or notion of comparison.

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Jews & Christmas

What attitudes toward Christmas tell us about modern Jewish identity.

By Rabbi Joshua E. Plaut for MyJewishLearning.com

For the majority of Americans, December 25 is a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus, but for Jews it is a time to consider ones relationship to the wider society.

Some Jews have chosen to adopt the Yuletide festivities. Some have emphatically rejected the rituals and symbols of Christmas. Still others have sought ways to meld Christmas and Hanukkah. Christmas, in effect, has become a prism through which Jews can view how living in this land of freedom has shaped our religion, culture, and identity. 

Background: Europe
For centuries, the Jews of Central and Eastern Europe feared Christmas-time. At any other time, pious Jews would be studying Torah in the synagogue, but not on Christmas. Wary of being attacked in the street, they took refuge in their homes, playing cards or chess with their families.

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A Zionist View on Chanukah

Golda Meir in 1919

From unitedwithisrael.org

From the very beginnings of the Zionist movement, the story of the Maccabees would serve as an inspiration. As Theodore Herzl wrote, “The Maccabees will rise again.” Vladimir Jabotinsky similarly declared, “Yes, they have arisen—the children of those whose ancestor was Judah, lion of the Maccabees.” Similarly, Ahad Aham, founder of cultural Zionism, proclaimed, “We celebrate not only the consecration and renewal of the Temple, some two thousand years ago—but also the renewal and revival of this same Jewish nation, reviving its soul once again for a new life.” David Ben-Gurion also believed Hanukkah is a major festival celebrating Jewish freedom.

The tale of the Maccabees, however, did not just serve as an inspiration for the Zionist movement but it also was incorporated into contemporary Zionist literature. For example, Leon Uris’ book Exodus, which did much to promote Zionism within popular culture and to convince people to support Israel, referred to the Etzel and the Levi as “Maccabees,” as a way to allude to the fact that the “New Jew” was a direct descendant of the Ancient Hebrews. According to the character David in Exodus, “Our very existence is a miracle. We outlived the Romans and the Greeks and even Hitler. We have outlived every oppressor and we will outlive the British Empire.” Thus, the example of the Maccabees was utilized to its fullest as an example of how the Jewish people could succeed to gain independence once again.

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Hanukkah in the Community

Hanukkah begins in 2014 at sundown on December 16th

for MyJewishLearning.com

Most Jewish communities around the world celebrate the holiday of Hanukkah with communal gatherings, parties, songs, and games.

Hanukkah candles are often lit, Hanukkah songs are sung, and these celebrations usually include eating traditional Hanukkah foods such as latkes. Games of chance are played, while everyone tries their hand at spinning a dreidel (top) and Hanukkah gelt is often distributed to children.

The synagogal liturgy of Hanukkah has its specific features. In distinction to the major festivals, the standard weekday or Shabbat service is recited, rather than a special holiday version. A special insert in the Amidah (standing or silent prayer) called Al Hanissim ("concerning the miracles") addresses the holiday of Hanukkah and offers thanks for God’s role during that event. Hallel (Psalms of praise) is also recited during the eight days of Hanukkah while the penitential prayer is omitted during this holiday.

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8 Fascinating facts about Hanukkah-An infogram

The Kislev Calendar

The Kislev Calendar counts down the twenty-four days that lead to the Jewish holiday of Chanukah and gives you a little surprise on each of the eight nights of the Jewish Festival of Lights.  Based on the Christian Advent calendar, The Kislev Calendar begins on the first of Kislev, the Jewish month in which Chanukah falls.  This year (2014), Kislev begins on the evening of Saturday, November 22.  To use The Kislev Calendar, click on the appropriate day and enjoy! 

 


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Andy Samberg, Kiss My Mezuzah!

During the Hebrew month of Cheshvan, or MarCheshvan, [Bitter Cheshvan] there are no Jewish holidays. Jvillage Network, therefore, will be printing articles relating to Jewish Arts.

Rachel Bloom is going to be funny, no matter what you think of her and her lewd, Jewy, borderline-offensive brand of comedy

By Batya Ungar-Sargonfor Tablet Magazine

In Rachel Bloom’s animated music video “Historically Accurate Disney Princess Song,“ the princess in question wanders through her medieval town in search of love. Everyone seems to have found their prince but her, she laments in song, passing “the blacksmith with his daughter-wife, 10 years old and pregnant with her brother-son” and “a statue of Christ adorned with thief’s hands.” The princess dances and sings her way into the forest, where she encounters her friends, the Jews.

“Hello, Jews!” she cries with delight, addressing a group of two-foot-tall rounded creatures with egg-heads, who don’t speak so much as chirp. One has a monocle in one eye and a diamond in his hand, while another has beady black eyes. A third wears glasses. They have big hook-noses and wear yarmulkes. “You know, I never did ask you: Why do you live in the forest?” the princess coos, in the tone every Disney princess takes with her little creaturely friends. The Jews answer her with their chirping. “Oh, I see,” she says, “to hide from people trying to kill you. Well, that’s very resourceful, my beaky little friends!” The princess drops gold coins on the floor as Cinderella dropped corn, and the Jews dutifully bend to nibble. “Tell me: Have you ever had a dream that wouldn’t come true?” she trills. “Oh, I see, your dream is that people won’t want to kill you. Well, that’s definitely a dream that won’t come true!” she says, as characters in armor start to shoot arrows at the Jews and chase them off screen. “Oh, goodbye, goodbye!” she calls. Then, scrunching up her little cartoon nose and slitting her eyes, she grunts: “Jews.”

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Is Chaim Soutine the Great Overlooked Jewish Painter of Modernity?

During the Hebrew month of Cheshvan, or MarCheshvan, [Bitter Cheshvan] there are no Jewish holidays. Jvillage Network, therefore, will be printing articles relating to Jewish Arts.

A new gallery show helps reassess the Lithuanian-born artist’s important work—and reveals it as anything but tragic

By Abby Margulies for Tablet Magazine

On a quiet block in Chelsea, nestled among dozens of contemporary art exhibitions, a small but ambitious show has just opened seeking to give one of the great modern masters his due. Life in Death: Still Lifes and Select Masterworks of Chaim Soutine, is the first in a series of exhibitions the gallery will present meant to re-contextualize the work of Lithuanian-born artist Chaim Soutine.

Soutine’s work was first introduced to American audiences in 1950 in his eponymous retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In his seminal essay, exhibition curator Monroe Wheeler wrote of Soutine, “from an early age he used his hardship, pessimism, and truculence to set a tragic tone for his painting, irrespective of its subject matter.” Looking at Soutine’s body of work, it does in fact emanate tragedy, from his flaccid blue chickens nailed to a wall, to his gaunt women whose twisted hands seem to contain the sadness of the world. Though further exhibitions, catalogs, and scholarship have emerged in the past half century—notably significant exhibitions at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1968 and at the Jewish Museum in New York in 1998 that have contributed tremendous scholarship to his legacy—the vision of Soutine as a tragedian has nonetheless prevailed.

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Farewell to Avraham Hefner, the Forgotten Genius of Israeli Cinema

During the Hebrew month of Cheshvan, or MarCheshvan, [Bitter Cheshvan] there are no Jewish holidays. Jvillage Network, therefore, will be printing articles relating to Jewish Arts.

He was the poet of normal life in a culture still beholden to its foundational myths

By Liel Leibovitz for Tablet Magazine

On my first morning in Tel Aviv University’s film school, a short gentleman with a shiny bald head and a neatly trimmed white beard walked into the classroom and told us that he was very sorry to announce that our professor, Avraham Hefner, had fallen ill, and that class was therefore canceled until further notice. Disappointed, we got up and collected our notebooks; we’d all heard much about the legendary Hefner, the director of some of the most influential films in Israeli cinema history, and were looking forward to meeting him. As we began filing out of the classroom, however, the bearded man eased into a chair and started laughing. We stopped at the doorway, baffled, then walked back in and took our seats. Hefner, still laughing, never bothered introducing himself formally. He’d already taught us an important lesson: If you have to make art—and not everybody does—remember not only to question conventions but, most important, to have fun. The rest of the semester wasn’t always as playful, but it was never less than profound. And when it was over, it wasn’t difficult to understand why so many of the directors and the screenwriters responsible for so many recent and excellent Israeli films and television shows considered themselves Hefner’s ardent students.

Hefner passed away last week at age 79. He’d been declining for some time. In 2005, while standing at a bus stop in Jerusalem, a speeding bus swerved into his path, forcing him to leap away. He hit his head against a pole and broke his glasses. He paid it to no mind at the time, but soon, he started forgetting words. A visit to the doctor revealed serious brain trauma, and his condition steadily deteriorated. His influence, however, seems to grow with each year: A recent survey selected his 1972 masterpiece But Where Is Daniel Wax? as the second-most-influential Israeli film ever made, second only to the cult hit Metzitzim.

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The 5 Worst Pop-Culture-Inspired Halloween Costumes of 2014 and 5 We'd Like to See Instead

Skip the oversexed cartoon characters and dress up like real pop-culture heroes.

by Angela Zimmerman for Common Sense Media
Mass-marketed Halloween costumes have taken a decidedly strange turn this year. Sexy versions of characters from kids' movies and TV shows are mixed in with little-kid interpretations of figures from grown-up shows, creating a strange brew of both oversexualized and inappropriately aged-down images.

Sure, a big part of Halloween is trying on new identities to freak people out. But it's doubtful many kids watch The Walking Dead -- so why would there be a kids' costume from that show? And how do you explain to your kid that a leotard and thigh-high tights have anything to do with her beloved Olaf from Frozen? As a parent, you just have to laugh -- and consider helping your kids make their own costumes inspired by characters that promote positive (or at least age-appropriate) messages instead.

The 5 Worst Pop-Culture-Inspire

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Collecting Candy on Halloween

Though many Jewish children go trick-or-treating, this writer (among many others) believes the practice runs counter to Jewish law.

By Rabbi Michael Broyde for MyJewishLearning.com

To many, if not most, American Jewish parents, participating in Halloween revelries is harmless. Increasingly, however, rabbis and educators from across the denominational spectrum have questioned and challenged Jewish participation in Halloween activities.

Halloween in History

A recent newspaper article recounted:

"According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, Halloween originated with the pagan Celtic festival of Samhain, a day on which the devil was invoked for the various divinations. 'The souls of the dead were supposed to revisit their homes on this day', Britannica says, 'and the autumnal festival acquired sinister significance, with ghosts, witches, hobgoblins ... and demons of all kinds said to be roaming about.' In the early Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church instituted All Hallow's Eve on October 31 and All Saints Day on November 1 to counteract the occult festival. It did not work. All Hollow's Eve was simply co-opted into the pagan celebration of Samhain."

As was noted by Professor John Hennig, in his classical article on this topic, there is a clear historical relationship between the Celtic concepts of resurrection, Roman Catholic responses to it, and the modern American holiday of Halloween.

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Inside the Artist’s Studio: Creating a Beautiful New Home for the Torah

Video: Judaica designer Alexander Gruss on Simchat Torah, the legacy of the Holocaust, and the value of handmade objects

By Efraim A. Klein for Tablet Magazine

Alexander Gruss and his wife Lorelei have been designing and creating Judaica through Studio Gruss for a quarter century. Their work has evolved in that time from small, hand-crafted pieces like mezuzahs, etrog boxes, and Seder plates for Passover to larger projects, including entire sanctuaries in places as far away as Keter Torah Synagogue in Michigan. “The whole process of design is something I keep learning,” Alex explained. “I always said yes to things I never did before.”

In this video shot in their expansive home-studio in Brooklyn, Alex discusses his life moving from his native Argentina to Israel and later the United States; how he views the significance of his art in connection to the Holocaust; and the cultural shifts he’s witnessed in how Judaica is designed. He also explains the connection between his work building arks for Torahs and the holiday of Simchat Torah.




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ABCs of Sukkot

Guidelines for the joyous Jewish outdoor festival of Sukkot.

by Rabbi Shraga Simmons for aish.com

Following on the heels of the High Holidays is Sukkot, a seven-day festival (8 days in the Diaspora) characterized by the outdoor Sukkah-huts that we sit in, and the "Four Species" of plants waved together each day.

Sukkot is a holiday of immense joy, where we express our complete trust in God, and celebrate our confidence in having received a "good judgment" for the coming year.

Throughout the week of Sukkot, we eat, sleep and socialize in a Sukkah, reminding us that:

• The Israelites lived in huts during the 40 years of wandering in the desert.
• God is our ultimate protection – just as He protected the Israelites in the desert with the Clouds of Glory (Exodus 13:21).

The Four Species

On Sukkot, we are commanded to wave the Four Species, each noted for its special beauty:

• Esrog – the citron, a fragrant fruit with a thick, white rind. It is often picked from the tree while green, and then ripens to a bright yellow.
• Lulav – the palm branch, which is defined in beauty by having a straight shape and leaves tightly bound.
• Hadas – the myrtle branch, which has a beautiful plated pattern of three leaves coming out from the same point in the branch.
• Arava – the willow branch, which should have oblong leaves with a smooth edge.

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Yom Kippur: What it's all about

From Kveller
Yom Kippur--the Jewish Day of Atonement--is a fast day that follows Rosh Hashanah. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are often called the High Holidays. The holidays and the time in between them are known as the Ten Days of Repentance.

According to Jewish tradition, at the conclusion of Yom Kippur, God seals the Book of Life and the Book of Death for the coming year. Yom Kippur is, thus, a day of prayer and introspection. It is considered the most solemn day on the Jewish calendar.

The overarching theme of Yom Kippur is repentance. From the beginning to the end of the holiday, we are meant to be thinking about affecting positive change in our lives and making amends with others.

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A Tale for the New Year from Sholom Aleichem

From Hadassah Magazine;
by Sholom Aleichem translated by Curt Leviant

L’Shana Tova 

Imagine, every single one of them up to mr. big himself takes bribes. Don’t be shocked now—he accepts them too, if he gets an offer. What’s that? You don’t believe me? You’re all laughing, eh? Well, have fun…. Ready now? Have you all laughed yourself dry? Now gather round me, brother Jews, and listen to a story that happened a long time ago to none other than my grandfather, may he rest in peace. It happened in the good old days when Czar Nich was boss. Why’re you nudging me? What’re you scared of? You think these peasants sitting here know what we’re jabbering about? They won’t understand a word, blast them. I won’t be obvious and where necessary I’ll throw in some Hebrew. Just pay close attention and don’t interrupt me and everything will be fine.

To make a long story short. it happened during the reign of our present Mr. Big’s grandfather, after whom he’s named. Our fathers and grandfathers couldn’t forget that old Mr. Big for all the fine and dandy things he let loose against us. In short, their whole life

hung on a thread. We existed by the grace of little Mr. Big, or Buttons, as we called him, who ruled every shtetl. This Buttons liked to have his palms greased and loved Friday-night gefilte fish and tumblers of whiskey. So long as this went on the Jews breathed free and easy, did business, plied their trades and had a wonderful time.

But once—and whenever you hear but once, you know trouble’s coming—something happened. Buttons kicked the bucket. He suddenly upped and dropped dead and was followed by a new Buttons, a Haman, a villain, a rat, the likes of which you’ve never seen! He just couldn’t be greased! They tried bigger bribes. Still, no. They tried the real thing—big money. Still nothing doing. He wouldn’t go for gefilte fish. They dropped hints about rare liqueurs. He didn’t drink. Talk of being ethical! He was as clean as a whistle! If you begged him, he stamped his foot, kicked you out on your ear and then did things that just weren’t done. He gave summonses and fines. Didn’t let Jews do business or let Jewish teachers teach. If he saw a young woman, he’d rip off her marriage wig; a young man, he’d snip off an earlock.

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Everything you need to know about Rosh Hashanah in this Infographic

 For more, visit aish.com

Your One-Stop for all things High Holiday

Have you checked out the Jvillage Network High Holiday Spotlight Kit? It is a wealth of information for all the fall holidays -- when they occur, what they are, customs, blessings, special foods, recipes, books, videos and a whole lotta challah!

This week we want to highlight NJOP (National Jewish Outeach Program), which can be found here or on the Spotlight Kit under "Your complete guide to Rosh Hashanah, a downloadable resource." At NJOP you can browse and download a free Rosh Hashanah eBook, designed to engage and inspire those who are active in the social media universe. It is an invaluable tool for all Jews, especially those who may never have experienced the majesty and inspirational nature of Rosh Hashana.

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But why stop there? Check out all the many resources we have on the High Holiday Spotlight kit. It's your one-stop for everything you need to know on how to celebrate, from Slichot through Simchat Torah.


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Elul A Spiritual Month that Precedes the Jewish High Holidays

From Judaism.About.com

Elul, the last month of the Hebrew year, is the month preceding Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Hashanah, the Jewish New Year's Day, is "Judgment Day." On Rosh Hashanah, God judges how we behaved.

Yom Kippur is the Jewish Day of Atonement. On Yom Kippur, we repent for our sins, and God determines our reward or punishment.

Accordingly, Elul is a time of introspection, repentance, reconciliation, and heightened spirituality as Jews prepare to be judged and sentenced by God.

Introspection

In preparation for Judgment Day, we think critically about how we have behaved during the year and how we can improve our behavior in the upcoming year.

Elul is a time for personal growth. During Elul, we should ask ourselves if we made the most of our life and reached our potential this past year and how we can improve ourselves in the upcoming year.

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When He Said

With no Jewish holidays coming up immediately, we bring you profiles of some well known and some not so well known Jews. Enjoy.

Philippe Halsman defied gravitas.

By Owen Edwards for Smithsonian Magazine

The freezing of motion has a long and fascinating history in photography, whether of sports, fashion or war. But rarely has stop-action been used in the unlikely, whimsical and often mischievous ways that Philippe Halsman employed it.

Halsman, born 100 years ago last May, in Latvia, arrived in the United States via Paris in 1940; he became one of America's premier portraitists in a time when magazines were as important as movies among visual media.

Halsman's pictures of politicians, celebrities, scientists and other luminaries appeared on the cover of Life magazine a record 101 times, and he made hundreds of other covers and photo essays for such magazines as Look, Paris Match and Stern. Because of his vision and vigor, our collective visual memory includes iconic images of Albert Einstein, Marilyn Monroe, Robert Oppenheimer, Winston Churchill and other newsmakers of the 20th century.
And because of Halsman’s sense of play, we have the jump pictures—portraits of the well known, well launched.

This odd idiom was born in 1952, Halsman said, after an arduous session photographing the Ford automobile family to celebrate the company's 50th anniversary. As he relaxed with a drink offered by Mrs. Edsel Ford, the photographer was shocked to hear himself asking one of the grandest of Grosse Pointe's grande dames if she would jump for his camera. "With my high heels?" she asked. But she gave it a try, unshod—after which her daughter-in-law, Mrs. Henry Ford II, wanted to jump too.

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Fabulous, Formidable Lauren Bacall

With no Jewish holidays coming up immediately, we bring you profiles of some well known and some not so well known Jews. Enjoy.

The captivating queen of Old Hollywood was a Jewish girl from Brooklyn

By Rachel Shukert for Tablet Magazine

Okay, when I wrote yesterday how I feel like all I ever write anymore is obituaries, I was kidding. Apparently, someone didn’t get the joke, because less than an hour after those very words were published, it was announced that the legendary actress Lauren Bacall passed away at the (blessedly) ripe old age of 89. I was devastated, naturally, and immediately called my friend Michael.

“Oh my God,” I shrieked, before he had even said as much as hello. “Do you remember that time we went to Joel Grey’s book party and Lauren Bacall was there and that publicist came up to us and was like, look, whatever you do, do not attempt to speak to, or touch, Miss Bacall.”

“Of course,” he said, “and I really hope you still have that picture on your phone that you took from all the way across the room.” He sighed sadly. “All the fabulous old ladies are gone now.”

Lauren Bacall was not always old, but from the moment she sauntered across the nation’s screen in To Have and Have Not, playing opposite Humphrey Bogart, her future husband and the man with whom she would be forever identified, she was fabulous. All of 19 years old and what my grandfather always called, “a mean 19,” she appeared to us fully formed, a gloriously youthful creature who was already entirely herself.

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Comedian Irwin Corey Celebrates Star-Studded Centennial

With no Jewish holidays coming up immediately, we bring you profiles of some well known and some not so well known Jews. Enjoy.

By Jon Kalish for The Jewish Daily Forward

I suppose that if a man lives to be 100, he has the right to recite a limerick about farting at his birthday party, even if it’s inside a synagogue. Which is exactly what happened Tuesday night when Irwin Corey was greeted by scores of well-wishers at the Actor’s Temple in Manhattan. That is, after all, the shul where Jack Benny, Milton Berle, Henny Youngman and two of the Three Stooges davened.

Because the Forward has a long, proud commitment to verse, we present the limerick here in its entirety:

There was a young girl from Sparta
Who was a magnificent farter
She could fart anything
From God Save the King
To Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata.

The Professor, as he has come to be known during a decades-long showbiz career, wore his signature black tails, string tie and high-top black basketball sneakers. Fans and friends, many of them north of 90 themselves, snapped photos with their cell phones as he struggled to unwrap gifts. At first he wore a baseball cap bearing such slogans as “9/11 was a psy-op” and “Uncle Sam is a big bully.” But replaced it when given a black baseball cap with the word “however” embroidered on it. “However” has been a catchword in Corey’s act, which was summed up as “double talk and nonsensical observations” in a proclamation issued by Manhattan Borough President Gail Brewer.

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What happened on the Ninth of Av?

Tisha B'av begins at sundown tonight, August 4, 2014

A Historical Overview

From Chabad.org

The 9th of Av, Tisha b'Av, commemorates a list of catastrophes so severe it's clearly a day specially cursed by G‑d.

Picture this: The year is 1313 BCE. The Israelites are in the desert, recently having experienced the miraculous Exodus, and are now poised to enter the Promised Land. But first they dispatch a reconnaissance mission to assist in formulating a prudent battle strategy. The spies return on the eighth day of Av and report that the land is unconquerable. That night, the 9th of Av, the people cry. They insist that they'd rather go back to Egypt than be slaughtered by the Canaanites. G‑d is highly displeased by this public demonstration of distrust in His power, and consequently that generation of Israelites never enters the Holy Land. Only their children have that privilege, after wandering in the desert for another 38 years.

The First Temple was also destroyed on the 9th of Av (423 BCE). Five centuries later (in 69 CE), as the Romans drew closer to the Second Temple, ready to torch it, the Jews were shocked to realize that their Second Temple was destroyed the same day as the first.

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Going to the Cemetery on Tisha B'Av

With Tisha B'Av coming up next week, read about one of the minhagim/customs observed. From Revach L'Neshama

The Rema (OC 559:10) says that there is a Minhag to go straight after davening to the Bais HaKvaros on Tisha B'Av. The Mogen Avrohom brings from the Arizal that one should never go to a Bais Kvaros unless it is for a Levaya. The reason is because there are bad spirits in the cemetery. The Mishna Brura says that based on this Mogen Avrohom, on Tisha B'Av one should go near the cemetery to fulfill the minhag but not into the cemetery in accordance with the Arizal.

The Nimukei Orach Chaim says that the Mogen Avrohom only concerns himself with the Arizal by Hilchos Tisha B'Av since Tisha B'Av is a time when bad spirits have the upper hand. The Taamei Minhagim says that Tisha B'Av is a particular danger because we do not learn Torah and therefore are more vulnerable. In fact many are noheg not to go at all.

The Piskei Tshuvos brings that the Chazon Ish would go to the cemetery on Tisha B'Av. Some years he would go in between the graves and other years he would stay by the entrance without going in. The Steipler Gaon on the other hand would never go in, and in his later years would not even go to the Bais HaKvaros at all, not on Tisha B'Av nor any other time of year.

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The Three Weeks Learning to Love What Is!

By Rabbi Label Lam

Moshiach is born on Tisha B’Av (Talmud)

Any generation in which the Temple was not built in (with) its days is considered as if it was destroyed in (with) its days. (Talmud)

There is no light like the light that emanates from darkness. (Zohar)

The 9th of Av is one of those days in which we allow ourselves to wallow in the misery of a brutal history and indulge in thoughts of the extended exile and our many sufferings. Admittedly, it seems ultra heavy and it is an ominous reality to meet face to face. What benefit do we have from this exercise? Why follow the black and hurtful lines of history when there are so many brighter and rosier points to visit?

I hope the situation never comes your way. It happened to me once and although I was woefully unprepared things happily turned out alright. What do you say to someone who is seriously contemplating ending it all?

Here’s a scenario I heard about from a very clever individual: Imagine that you are sitting in a reception area in a fancy office on the 77th floor of the Empire State Building. Suddenly the elevator opens and a gentleman with a disheveled appearance walks over to the window which he throws wide open. He backs up like he’s readying himself to take a running leap and before he does so you are able to halt him temporarily.

You ask him, “Why are you about to do such a crazy and foolish thing?” He shows you a piece of paper with a list of 49 items that he begins to recite aloud; 1) Lost my job 2) Wife left me 3) Broke 4) Hungry 5) Dog died 6) Chronic incurable diseases 7) Homeless etc. That’s just the beginning of the list and any single item would be enough to drive the average man over the top. He’s got the worst situation you ever heard of or imagined. You’re ready to agree with his morbid conclusion. What can you say to him?

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This evening at sundown begins The Three Weeks

Overview and laws of the period leading up to Tisha B'Av. From aish.com

The "Three Weeks" between the 17th of Tammuz and the Tisha B'Av have historically been days of misfortune and calamity for the Jewish people. During this time, both the First and Second Temples were destroyed, amongst other terrible tragedies.

These days are referred to as the period "within the straits" (bein hametzarim), in accordance with the verse: "all her oppressors have overtaken her within the straits" (Lamentations 1:3).

On Shabbat during the Three Weeks, the Haftorahs are taken from chapters in Isaiah and Jeremiah dealing with the Temple's destruction and the exile of the Jewish people.

During this time, various aspects of mourning are observed by the entire nation. We minimize joy and celebration. And, since the attribute of Divine judgement (“din”) is acutely felt, we avoid potentially dangerous or risky endeavors.

ASPECTS OF MOURNING DURING THE THREE WEEKS
 

1. No weddings are held. (However, engagement ceremonies are permitted.)
2. We do not listen to music.
3. We avoid all public celebrations -- especially those which involve dancing and musical accompaniment.
4. We avoid exciting and entertaining trips and activities. (Kaf HaChaim - OC 551:41)
5. No haircuts or shaving. (Fingernails may be clipped up until the week in which Tisha B'Av falls.)
6. We do not say the blessing She-hechianu on new food or clothes, except on Shabbat.

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17th of Tammuz: History, Laws and Customs

From Chabad.org

The Day Jerusalem’s Walls Were Breached

Begins at sundown July 14th

The fast of the 17th of the Hebrew month of Tammuz, known as Shivah Asar B’Tammuz, is the start of a three-week mourning period for the destruction of Jerusalem and the two Holy Temples.

The fast actually commemorates five tragic events that occurred on this date:

1. Moses broke the tablets when he saw the Jewish people worshipping the Golden Calf.
2. During the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem, the Jews were forced to cease offering the daily sacrifices due to the lack of sheep.
3. Apostomos burned the holy Torah.1
4. An idol was placed in the Holy Temple.2
5. The walls of Jerusalem were breached by the Romans, in 69 CE, after a lengthy siege. (Three weeks later, after the Jews put up a valiant struggle, the Romans destroyed the second Holy Temple on the 9th of Av.)  The Jerusalem Talmud maintains that this is also the date when the Babylonians breached the walls of Jerusalem on their way to destroying the first Temple.

Practically speaking:

• Healthy adults—bar- or bat-mitzvah age and older—abstain from eating or drinking between dawn and nightfall. Click here for exact times in your location.
• Pregnant and nursing women may not have to fast. Someone who is ill should consult with a rabbi. Even those exempt from fasting, such as ill people or children, shouldn’t indulge in delicacies or sweets.

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The Med-School Reject Who Created ‘Gilligan’s Island’ and ‘The Brady Bunch’

With no Jewish holidays coming up immediately, we bring you profiles of some well known and some not so well known Jews. Enjoy.

A new book on sitcoms shows how the late Sherwood Schwartz, N.J. Jew in L.A., invented the modern high-concept comedy

By Saul Austerlitz for Tablet Magazine

Sherwood Schwartz, a well-regarded young television writer in the early 1960s, had pitched a show about seven desert-island castaways trapped together to his longtime agent in Hollywood and got an unexpectedly virulent answer: “Sherwood, you’re out of your fucking mind. Who the hell is going to watch the same goddamn seven people on the same goddamn island every week?”

Schwartz changed agents and wrote out 31 two-to-three-sentence story ideas on a long roll of butcher paper he tacked up in his office and brought the roll into his next meeting. While CBS bought the show almost immediately, network president Jim Aubrey was insistent that it required far too much explanation of its guiding premise each week to make sense to viewers. Schwartz believed otherwise: His goal was to find a setup that would force disparate characters together without anyone being able to leave. “All my shows, actually, are how do people learn to get along with each other?” he would later note.

Aubrey’s objections, Schwartz insisted, would be solved by the show’s introductory theme song: He originally had a Harry Belafonte–inspired calypso rhythm in mind but was ultimately convinced to abandon it in favor of the sea-chantey style of the final version, which introduced the five passengers, the three-hour tour, and the tiny ship that got tossed. And so Gilligan’s Island was born.

Schwartz was born in 1916 in Passaic, N.J.—a wool town just over from the silk-producing city of Paterson. His parents had lost two children before Sherwood, and his father, a grocer, went broke during the Depression. Sherwood’s older brother Al was dead-set on becoming a writer, but his parents insisted he attend law school. Al passed the bar exam, handed his mother his diploma, then said, “Here, now I can write.”

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Leonard Nimoy's Mameloshn: A Yiddish Story

With no Jewish holidays coming up immediately, we bring you profiles of some well known and some not so well known Jews. Enjoy.

Yes, Leonard Nimoy speaks Yiddish. Learn more about Leonard (Leyb) Nimoy from his Jewish roots in Boston's heymish West End neighborhood to his brief stint working with famous Yiddish theatre maven Maurice Schwartz in these video highlights from the Wexler Oral History Project's interview with the man made famous by his role as Spock on Star Trek.

 

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