Every year i like to mix up the Hagaddahs that I use at the Pesach seder. This year I have some good ones picked out for my own personal seder. Here are this year's Hagaddah picks:
In 1984 Jerry Seinfeld performed at Yeshiva University. Rabbi Neil Fleischmann told me that because he was not so famous at the time he only attracted a small audience. (His opening line was "wow, Yeshiva University. I am not sure if I should do my routine or my haftarah!") Years later when Seinfeld achieved superstardom, those who went to hear him and had a chance to meet him personally remember fondly how they knew him when.
Last week Beth Israel had the privilege of hosting the great Jewish scholar historian Dr. Marc Shapiro. I truly believe that those in Omaha who came to learn from him this past Shabbat will one day recount how they had an opportunity to hear and meet Dr. Shapiro before he was world famous.
Dr. Shapiro is the chair of Judaic studies at the university of Scranton and has written numerous books and articles on Jewish history, philosophy, and theology. (wikipedia) He is considered by many to be one of the fastest rising stars in the world of Jewish historical scholarship.
I have been a big fan of Dr. Shapiro's writings for some time through his books and articles. He is a contributor to the seforim blog and a lecturerer on Torah in Motion.
When he speaks he does so much more than just convey information. He expands your mind and challenges you to think more. After the lecture you not only know more, you are qualitatively smarter than you were before the lecture.
Dr. Shapiro is a wealth of information on any area of history and he delivers his information in a clear and organized manner. He never sensationalizes historical figures. He does not indulge in anecdotes but rather presents historical figures only through their writings and the direct impact that they had. His approach is never speculative.
Dr. Shapiro is brutally honest in his presentation of significant Jewish personalities, which to a large degree include venerated Rabbis. This has made him somewhat controversial. He presents them and their philosophies in full. He presents the strengths and weaknesses of their works and thoughts. He does not shy away from presenting ideas, rulings, or actions that may appear to us as absurd or sometimes even immoral in hindsight. But he is always respectful and he gives us a full historical background so that we can understand these great men in the context in which they lived. He shows that if we were faced with the same tensions and challenges that they faced we may have made the same mistakes.
He presents information objectively, but does not remain completely objective. He presents conflicts and tensions between different schools of thought of great thinkers of the past. He pits two conflicting ideas against each other and shows how those tensions are still relevant today. He lays out the calculus of the equations presented by moral dilemmas, explains the costs and benefits of both schools of thought, and usually courageously opines as to what he thinks is the right course. These views can always be applied to modern tensions and always leads to stimulating discussion.
As an example, on Friday night he spoke about Orthodox Judaism's response to non-Orthodox Judaism in Germany in the 19th century. At the time the Orthodox leader in Germany was the great Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch. Hirsch is famous for his advocacy of Orthodox Jews engaging in the modern world and is referred to by many as the father of modern Orthodoxy.
Lesser known was his strict position on Orthodox separatism. He believed that the Orthodox in Germany should separate themselves completely form the non-Orthodox community. At some point he went head to head with Rabbi Seligman Baer Bamberger who at the time represented the more traditional Orthodox approach. Rabbi Seligman was opposed to the Hirshian attitude of engagement in the modern world. While is was expected that Rabbi Seligman would side with Rabbi Hirsch on the issue of separatism, ironically he was not in favor of Orthodox Jews seceding form the general community. Dr. Shapiro suggests that Bamberger's leniency on this issue stemmed from his stringency in other areas. Bamberger and his followers acted so vastly different from the Reform Jews so he had no fear that the Reform would have a great deal of influence. By contrast, the more "modern" Orthodox were similar in many regards to the Reform Jews and Hirsch felt that mingling and coexistence would have a negative influence on his followers.
In his defense, Hirsch countered in a letter to Bamberger that had Hirsch's philosophy been around two generations earlier there would have been no Refrom because the traditional Orthodox model presented Jews with a false dichotomy where they had to choose between either the secular world or the Jewish world. Seemingly, Reform presented them with the only alternative.
On Shabbat Dr. Shaprio spoke about the great early 20th century Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook and his philosophy. He outlined the major points of his philosophy and showed how it is relevant today in Israel and throughout the Jewish world.
But he also presented some critiques of Rav Kook's philosophy.
Rav Kook believed that the non-religious atheist Zionists were really part of God's master plan. Whereas they thought that they were building Israel for the sake of some socialist non-religious utopia, in reality they were just laying the ground work for the messianic era where everyone will recognize God.
While this sounds wonderful and inclusive, at a symposium in Israel in 1985 commemorating the 50th anniversary of Rav Kook's death, Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein pointed out that this attitude is condescending and it negates people's thoughts, motives, and ambitions. Dismissing people's true intentions and pretending that they are actually just working to serve your own agenda, even if they don't know it, is very disrespectful to others. Better to understand your opponents and at least allow them the dignity of their own ideals, even if they differ from your own.
But as always, even when Dr. Shapiro presents critiques he does so with the utmost respect and it was clear that he indeed is a great admirer of Rav Kook.
On Shabbat afternoon Dr. Shapiro and I had an arm chair discussion where he took questions form the congregation. He discussed a variety of topics including women in Orthodoxy, Orthodox attrition, and Orthodoxy's relationship with other denominations.
All of his answers were subtle and complex, yet clear and reasonable, and always positive and optimistic.
Regarding the question of Orthodox children leaving the fold, he pointed out that our generation has the lowest attrition of Orthodox youth than any generation since the enlightenment over 200 years ago. At the beginning of the 20th century it was only a small minority of Orthodox parents that were able to pass traditional Judaism down to their children. Today the percentage of children who maintain their parents tradition is overwhelming.
We had a large crowd from other synagogues who came to ask questions. The recent New York Times piece about "The Orthodox Surge" was mentioned and the question of why Orthodox Judaism seems to be on the rise while Conservative Judaism - 50 years ago considered the future of American Judaism - seems to be in sharp decline nationally.
Dr. Shapiro mentioned half joking (and he said I could quote him) that if he were in charge of non-orthodox Judaism he would CANCEL YOM KIPPUR. He explained that there is a large number of non-orthodox Jews who only show up for Yom Kippur services, a long and somber event. This then becomes there only view of Judaism and they are not interested. If they are only going to show up twice a year then let it be Purim and Simchat Torah instead of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. That way their view of Judaism will be joyous rather than somber.
He also openly discussed his view of Orthodox women Rabbis, saying that he thinks there is no problem and there is long historic precedent. He thinks, however, that changes must be implemented in modern times in a more organic and natural way, rather than imposing ideas or institutions on a community that may not be ready to accept them.
A highlight of the weekend was taking Dr. Shapiro to meet with Rabbi Kripke at the Blumkin Home. Rabbi Kripke, Hashem should bless him, is now 99 years old, and occupied a time in history that Dr. Shapiro studies. He was ordained by Professor Louis Finklestein at the Jewish Theological Center in 1937. He was also a student of Mordechai Kaplan. Dr. Shapiro got to ask Rabbi Kripke all sorts of questions about his experiences and encounters with these and other notable historic figures. It is always a great privilege to hear Rabbi Kripke talk about his past. May he be blessed with many more years of good health!
Having Dr. Shapiro here in Omaha was really a great treat. I hope that we have an opportunity to host him again someday.
In addition to the Teens 4 Israel our delegation included a dozen people from Nebraska, making this our largest delegation in history. Next year we hope to at least triple that number.
The conference alternates between plenaries for everyone and smaller breakout sessions. The plenaries take place in the large auditorium and are attended by all 13,000 conference participants. They feature the headline speakers which included the Prime Minister of Israel Netanyahu, Former Prime Minister and current defense minister Ehud Barak, and the Vice President of the United states Joe Biden.
The dozens and dozens of different break out sessions are given on a wide variety of topics, each given by the top experts in the field. Every speaker could be a headliner in their own right.
AIPAC enables participants to preselect their sessions before the conference. At our last meeting we made our selections and the kids were ready to go.
While they attended that lecture I went to a special session for Rabbis where we got a chance to hear from Lord Jonathan Sachs, chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom. I am a huge fan of Rabbi Sachs. Over the conference I had the opportunity to meet him personally. At one point during the conference his director of communications and programming approached me and thanked me for always mention rabbi Sachs on Twitter. (@chiefrabbi)
Rabbi Sachs gave the Rabbis some inspiring thoughts on Israel and on Pesach which I would share, but there were 350 rabbis in the room and I imagine most of them, including myself, will incorporate those thoughts into our pesach sermons. I don't want to ruin the surprise.
In addition to hearing great speakers the kids were also thrilled to meet Jewish celebrities like Israeli ambassador to the US Michael Oren, former director of national NCSY Rabbi Steven Burg, and "America's Rabbi" Shmuley Boteach. Sadly Rabbi Shmuley did not attend the conference as a congressman this year like he wanted to.
Teen 4 Israel Max P. with Rabbi Steve Burg
We left the hotel early Monday morning so that we could get through security to get good seats for the opening plenary. This was only my sixth AIPAC conference. I have heard that 10 years ago it was hard to get a minyan. At this conference yarmulka clad heads were everywhere you looked and there were multiple options to daven shacharit minchah and maariv. We joined a 7 am minyan in one of the conference rooms (there is even a daf yomi class at AIPAC) and then headed straight to the main ball room. Security was tight because the featured speaker was the Vice president of the United States, Joe Biden.
Before Biden there was a panel discussion moderated by Dan Senor, author of the book Start up Nation. The Teens 4 Israel had read start up nation. They met Dan Senor when he came to speak in Omaha two years ago. They are all big fans.
On the panel was Senator John McCain. It was a great panel. The issue of Syria came up. There is a great deal of uncertainty around Syria. On the one hand it is a humanitarian crisis. 80,000 have already been killed and almost a million people have been displaced. On the other hand, to assist the rebels and oust Assad may allow the Syrian stockpile of chemical weapons to reach the hands of radical terrorist groups.
McCain took a strong stand in favor of assisting the rebels and ousting Assad.
He said it was a great shame that we have so far done nothing.
Then VP Joe Biden took the stage. He is a truly great speaker. He held the audience captivated for a long time. He spoke about all of the things that the US has done to support Israel during the last four and a half years. He contends that Israel has never had a better friend than president Barack Obama.
He came out and openly said that Hezbollah is a terrorist organization - something that other nations have yet to do.
He said that Assad must go but we cannot support another terror regime in his place.
He said when it comes to preventing Iran from going nuclear president Obama is not bluffing and a military option is on the table.
He also said that he wants to exhaust every diplomatic option before we get to a military option.
He said that when he visited Europe with his family his first stop was to see the Dachau concentration camps.
He ended by saying that Obama is going to Israel and Biden is jealous because Obama can now say "this year in Jerusalem."
it was a great speech and there was really nothing to argue with. I hope that the historic relationship that Israel has had with the US continues throughout the Obama presidency and beyond.
After the vice president we heard a presentation from Team Space Israel. They are working to send a shuttle to the moon and finally get an Israeli flag up there.
We heard form the widow of Israeli hero and astronaut Ilan Ramon. I remember exactly where i was when I heard that he had died. She subsequently lost her son who was also a pilot. It was very moving to hear her speak with such optimism for the future.
Prime Minister Netanyahu joined us from his office in Israel. He spoke about Iran, Syria, and Palestinian peace.
After the plenary we split up for lunch. I went to a special lunch for Rabbis.
Over 350 congregational Rabbis attended the conference representing over 200 synagogue delegations including 4,500 delegates. As I have said many times, synagogues are the lifeblood of Israel support. Anyone who considers themselves a supporter of Israel should be in synagogue every Shabbat joining the rest of the Jewish people around the world as they learn about and pray for the well being of the state of Israel.
Over the rest of the afternoon we split up and heard a number of different sessions. I heard one about European efforts to prevent nuclear Iran and another on China's Middle East strategy.
One of the kids heard a session given by Eli Groner. Groner is currently the Israeli economic envoy to the US but his real claim to fame is that his grandfather was a Rabbi in Omaha in the 1960s. It turns out that his grandfather bar mitzvad the Omaha teen's father.
Another teen mention that she found many of the speeches too bleak but finally found a session that she really enjoyed - "The Good News in the Middle East."
Later the kids joined up with NCSY groups from all over the country to hear from Howard Friedman. Friedman is a former president of AIPAC. This was his 26th conference. But he has been on hundreds of NCSY shabbatons. He has personally taken over 200 congressmen on trips to Israel. But he said that his most memorable trips to Israel are when he visits with NCSY summer programs like Kollel and TJJ.
At the evening plenary we heard some great Jewish music, heard from Daniel Gold - the man behind Iron Dome, and heard from Republic Majority leader Eric Cantor and from Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer. Israel is a truly bipartisan Issue and every congressman who spoke commented on how despite all other disagreements the US house is unified on its support of Israel.
The next day we went lobbying and got to meet with our senators Johanns and Fisher, and with our reps Terry and Smith. All of our elected officials are staunchly pro Israel.
It was an experience of a life time for the kids. I have already signed up for next year's conference and I hope that the Nebraska delegation continues to grow. Many thanks to all of the generous donors who sponsored the teens 4 Israel. It was a great investment, not only in Israel advocacy by also in the future of our Omaha Jewish community.
On the day of Purim every Jew has two obligations. The first is to give gifts of food to friends. This is called Mishloach manot The second obligation is to give gifts to the poor. This is called matanot l'evyonim.
The Rambam writes that it is better to give to the poor than to give to one's friends because Purim is a day of joy and "there is no greater joy than gladdening the hearts of those in need."
Purim, Pesach, and all Jewish holidays are a great time to think of your local food bank.
My wife Miriam made up two mishloach manot to give to Warren Buffett. One special for him with Coke and Sees Candy- two items that we knew he would enjoy.
The larger one was filled with all of the most needed items found on the Food Bank for the Heartland's website.
Immediately upon receiving the larger basket Mr. Buffett donated it to Sue Ogborn from the Foodbank for the Heartland who accompanied us.
The real highlight of the visit was getting to have a chevruta with Rabbi Kripke and Warren Buffett as we learned together the passage in the Megillah that contains the mitzvot of mishloach manot and matanot li'evyonim.
Mr. Buffett was his usual witty self. When we told him that we came to perform the mitzvot of Purim he said, "I hope I don't qualify for the gifts to the poor!"
We had some fun, he told some stories, and we made this commercial promoting Purim and Sees Candy - a Berkshire subsidiary.
Many thanks to Warren Buffett for once again helping us with our food drive and of course thanks to the Food Bank for the Heartland for all of the great work that they do.
May we all experience the true joy of Purim - helping those less fortunate and celebrating with family and friends.
The most pressing issue facing the American Jewish community is what people call the "tuition crisis."
Study after study has demonstrated that the key to Jewish continuity is Jewish day school education.
The problem is tuition keep getting higher and higher making it more and more difficult for families. In some cities tuition is upwards of 20,000 per child. That is quite a burden for a family with 4 children in school.
Last week the IPA hosted a summit in Washington DC bringing together all of the Jewish communities in States that have been working on legislation that will help promote school choice. One of my lay leaders and I attended the one day summit. We had a chance to hear from the OU professionals as well as from the lay leaders and Jewish professionals from all over the country who have experienced success or challenges.
The entire day was filled with important and practical information and there was not a second of wasted time.
We learned how to find government money that is already available for non-public schools.
We learned how to identify and build relationships with the important local legislatures who are advocating for school choice.
We also learned how to identify and partner with other groups interested in school choice.
We learned how to navigate through proposed legislation for school choice and which points affect our community the most.
In the afternoon we broke out into states and met with professionals to discuss the current issues.
In Nebraska we are currently looking to pass legislative bill 14 (LB14) which would "enable the greatest number of parents to choose among quality educational opportunities for children."
The bill provides tax credits to corporations who give towards scholarship funds for non-public schools.
Thanks to the OU we have already been in close cooperation with the Catholic community and other partners who want to see this bill passed into law.
The bill is up for a public hearing on Thursday, February 21 at 1:30pm in Lincoln, Nebraska at the state capital building in room 1524.
A couple of leaders from the Jewish community and I will be testifying on behalf of the bill and I encourage anyone who can to come out and show support for this legislation that is good for the Jewish community and good for Nebraska.
Much thanks to the OU for taking on this issue and teaching us how we can make our voices heard.
The pressure on Orthodoxy for the ordination of women has been mounting for many years. Nowhere in the Torah does it say that women cannot be teachers of the Law; halacha merely precludes women’s judicial roles. Why is traditional Judaism so steadfastly opposed to women’s rabbinic leadership roles?
The job of a pulpit rabbi is multifaceted. He is a teacher, a pastor, a counselor, a preacher, a political advocate, a halachic advisor, a marketing executive, a shul director, a fundraiser, a life coach. Which of these roles would be a halachic obstacle to women’s involvement? Many women could fulfill these roles just as successfully as men, if not better. The only role that stands out as a potential cause for concern is perhaps the halachic advisor. And interestingly, Orthodox women have already begun to enter this sphere with relatively minor opposition. The positions of toenet (advocate) and yoetzet (advisor) are fast achieving widespread approval and approbation.
While there are clearly rabbinic roles that are judicial in nature and problematic for women from a Torah perspective, the average pulpit rabbi rarely acts in such a capacity. He is not a dayan (judge), almost never attending to Beth Din (legal) matters. He is not a posek (halachic authority), posing most major questions to experts in the field, or referring the inquirer to the expert. For most rabbis, their halachic rulings extend only so far as the knowledge of basic everyday decisions, the likes of which are accessible to any learned individual with the capacity to open up and understand a Mishna Berura.
Given the apparent lack of halachic difficulty with women serving in a rabbinic capacity, why then has mainstream Orthodoxy not opened the doors of the rabbinate to women?
The answer is that it already has. Orthodox women have served in the rabbinate for centuries, if not millennia. They have a unique title – rebbetzin, or rabbanit. The role of rebbetzin has traditionally encompassed many of these duties – pastoring, counseling, teaching, advising. In traditional Judaism, the rabbinic role has both masculine and feminine aspects. And that is why no serious shul will employ a rabbi without a rebbetzin. In fact, most shuls today insist on the rebbetzin being present throughout the interviewing and hiring process. She is not merely the first lady; she is an integral part of the spiritual leadership of the community.
Contemporary viewpoints calling for the complete equality of men’s and women’s roles in every facet of life fail to recognize the unique contributions that women and men have to make. The problem lies not in women’s lack of traditional involvement in the rabbinate; the issue is that many of her traditional roles have been taken over by men. Women, as nurturers, often have a greater capacity as pastors and counselors. And yet, the institutionalization of the rabbinic role and the contemporary mistaken view that only one person is the rabbi of the shul have pushed men into roles that they may be less capable of performing than women spiritual leaders. This does not mean that men should not be involved in pastoral work. Rather, it means that we must recognize the important contributions that women have to make in this area and never take them for granted.
Which aspects of the rabbinate are closed to women? Not even preaching – most Modern Orthodox shuls today invite female guest lecturers to address the congregation. True, they do not speak in the middle of the service, but that is a minor amendment that could be made – how about both men and women speak at the end of the service to avoid differentiation? As it turns out, most rabbinic duties not only may hypothetically be performed by women; indeed, they already are.
The big question is how a woman may pursue a rabbinic career, short of marrying an ordained man? There are a number of ways to remedy this issue. One is to extend the limits of the title ‘rabbi’ and recognize that it is not synonymous with rov. A rov is someone who paskens, or determines halacha. While certainly there are some outstanding rabbonim and for certain shuls that is an absolute prerequisite for the position, it is not the realm of most contemporary Orthodox rabbis. A rabbi is not a rov.
The thought of an Orthodox woman ‘rabbi’ probably remains an inadequate solution, given the longstanding association with the title. In addition, despite the usage of the term ‘rov’ since Talmudic times, the fact is that we do find earlier in our history – during the Mishnaic era – that ‘rabbi’ was the title of preference. Thus, a second solution would be to elevate the title of ‘rebbetzin’ and recognize that this has always been a rabbinic designation. The rebbetzin already serves in a rabbinic capacity; she is essentially a female rabbi. If that is the case, then following a period of study and examination, why not qualify women as certified rebbetzins or rabbanits? In a similar vein, a yeshiva day-school first-grade male teacher magically earns the title ‘rabbi,’ independent of ordination status. In contrast, the female teacher is known as ‘morah’ (teacher). Why does she not become ‘rebbetzin’ by virtue of her role?
Proponents of women’s ordination would probably find the ‘rebbetzin’ solution unsatisfying, given the longstanding association with that title. Thus, the only solution remaining is to invent a new term for women serving in the Orthodox rabbinate. That term might be maharat, it might be rabba, or it might be something else. The point is current opponents to Orthodox female clergy have failed to understand that women have always served in the rabbinate, albeit primarily in partnership roles together with their husbands. In an age when women are encouraged to pursue all manner of career path, independent of marital status, there is no good reason to deny them an independent role in the rabbinic field. We are only depriving ourselves of the potential leadership roles of a significant percentage of our community.
Would Orthodox communities accept women rabbis, even if they were officially called rebbetzins or an alternative title? Some would, some would not. Many female graduates might end up in more pastoral lines of rabbinic work, such as chaplaincy. But the first step is that we, as a community, recognize the important contribution that women have to make, and allow them the opportunity to qualify to serve in a rabbinic capacity.
For starters, shuls must openly acknowledge that they are hiring a rabbinic couple, and let the couple determine – in consultation with the synagogue leadership – who is to fulfill which rabbinic duties.
There is nothing in halacha that excludes women from the rabbinate. Ultimately, however, we need both sides to compromise. Opponents of women’s ordination must accept that women have always served in the rabbinate; and proponents of women’s ordination need to be sensitive to the psychological, sociological, and historical implications of the rabbinic title. Most importantly, it is high time we recognized the spiritual partnership that leads Jewish communal life and allow rabbinic couples to decide whether he or she will play the more active role.
(This article was inspired by my wife, Rabbanit Batya’s recent participation in the Rebbetzin Esther Rosenblatt Yarchei Kallah, under the guidance of Rabbi Jacob J. Schacter and Rebbetzin Meira Davis of Yeshiva University’s Center for the Jewish Future.)
Daniel Friedman is rabbi of the Beth Israel Synagogue in Edmonton, Canada.
For those who don't know, Teens 4 Israel is the only Nebraska Jewish youth group whose sole mission is Israel advocacy. Teens 4 Israel builds relationships with our Congressmen and other elected officials, partners with national Israel advocacy groups, and meets once a month to learn about the issues facing Israel, how to defend Israel against her detractors, and what Omaha teens can do to support the US Israel relationship.
Tonight we had a regular scheduled meeting at Starbucks. The planned agenda was to discuss logistics for the upcoming trip to DC, discuss the Israeli elections, and read a piece from our text book, The Case for Israel by Alan Dershowitz.
About half way through the meeting, a young man approached our table at Starbucks and said, "Shalom. Atem Midabrim Ivrit?" (Hello, do you speak Hebrew?)
"Keyn" we said. And we asked him his name and where he was from.
The young man told us that his name was Ieyad and he is a Muslim from Syria. He is 20 years old. His family is originally from a place in North Western Syria called Idlib but he was born and raised in Damascus. He still has some family in Idlib. His parents are divorced. His father is a dentist living in Saudi Arabia and he moved here with his mother 2 years ago. His grandparents also live in Omaha. He is currently studying biology at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and he is studying Hebrew with a Jewish friend.
We asked him if he would join us. "With pleasure!" he said. We introduced ourselves and played some Jewish (and Muslim) geography. Some of the kids have friends in common with Ieyad from school.
We asked him if he could tell us about the terrible situation that is going on in Syria right now.
Below is a synopsis of what he told us followed by some Q & A. Everything below is what we heard from Ieyad. The kids were encouraged to research the issue on their own, but it was very interesting to hear about the conflict from his perspective.
He told us about how the Baathist party, a socialist regime, took control of Syria in 1963 and has been in power ever since. In his words, they are not exactly a dictatorship, rather the government is what he would call a cleptocracy. They control the economy and loot from the people.
According to him the government represents only 9% of the population, yet they control the military. Recently the people started to rebel. The rebels were armed by the governments of Saudi Arabia and Qatar. They did so because the current Syrian government is a proxy of Iran. Saudi Arabia hopes that by toppling of the Syrian regime Iran will lose a foothold in the region.
But the Syrian government is much stronger and they are crushing the rebels. The death toll of rebels and civilians killed by the government has reached 80,000!!!
Ieyad's father's cousin, a civilian, was among the victims. He was killed by a sniper. He was a young man of 34 with a family.
The following are some questions the Teens 4 Israel asked.
What has the American government done to help the rebels?
He answered that the American government has indirectly helped the Syrian government by preventing weapons from reaching the Rebels from Turkey. He said that the US fears that if the Rebels are successful an extremist government will arise in Syria, as has happened in Afghanistan, Egypt, and other places. In his opinion, America's primary concern is stability in the region.
Do you fear that Iran will get nuclear weapons? He answered that he believes that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has exaggerated the threat of Iran so that he can get reelected. Not to say that he thinks Iran is not a danger, but he feels that the threat has been very overstated. What is your opinion and attitude towards Israel in general?
He thought for a minute and answered that he does not believe that it is a war against the Jewish people. He perceives the enemy to be the "Zionists" specifically the government. He believes that the Israeli as well as the Arab governments are at fault and the people are just pawns caught in the crossfire.
Are you a practicing Muslim?
He said that his grandparents are very religious. His grandmother covers her hair at all times and observes all Muslim customs. His mother used to cover her hair but now in America she has stopped doing so. Ieyad himself is not very religious at all. He does not attend a mosque. But he does abstain from eating pork and drinking wine.
Why are you learning Hebrew?
He answered that it is close to Arabic so it is easy for him. Also, he has a Jewish friend who was very interested in learning Arabic so they get together and teach each other.
We pulled out a chumash and Ieyad wowed us by reading from this week's parshah. The teens noted that he read better than most of the Jewish kids in Omaha! (Obviously not Beth Israel kids!)
You mentioned that you oppose the US government's foreign policy regarding Syria. Are you currently involved in any activism to affect that policy?
He said that there is some activism in New York, but his family and friends here are not involved. They also do not support the rebels financially. But they pray everyday that the Rebels will be successful.
We said our goodbyes to Ieyad and friended him on Facebook.
After he left the teens stayed to discuss everything they had just learned.
One pointed out how easy it is for people on two sides of an issue to get together for a reasonable discussion. Another argued that it is easy for us to talk here in Omaha. If we were in Israel or Syria where the issues would have a direct impact on our daily lives then it would not be so simple.
They also noted the importance of teens 4 Israel. It is wonderful that Ieyad and his family pray for the rebels, but the Jewish teens would not feel satisfied if their only support of Isarel was in the form of prayer. They are glad that the Jewish community offers them more concrete ways to advocate on behalf of Israel. They suddenly had a great appreciation for Teens 4 Israel, AIPAC, and all of the Israel advocacy that takes place in the Jewish community.
This was a great experience for the kids and for me. Everyone is really excited about attending AIPAC in March. We decided we want to sign up for a session about the situation in Syria and see if the perspective offered differs from what we learned from Ieyad.
GUEST POSTER RABBI CHAIM LOIKE - WORLD RENOWNED EXPERT ON KOSHER BIRDS
The Philby partridge (alectoris philbi) is a partridge which is indigenous to Northern Yemen. It was at one time imported by the San Diego Zoo, and there were quite a few hobbyists who had success raising the bird. Unfortunately, this bird is not beautiful or cuddly. For unknown reasons, the San Diego Zoo stopped raising this bird around a decade ago, and most hobbyists have likewise moved to more interesting exotics. At the same time, the situation in Yemen has become rather hostile. Although the bird is not listed as endangered, the collapse of the Yemenite government combined with the rampant poaching does not bode well for the future of this species.
Yemenite Jews collecting Philby Partridges for a visiting doctor from Italy
From the book Mesoret Haof by Zohar Amar
The Philby partridge is unique because it is one of the few historically kosher birds, which are not readily available. Most of the birds which we eat are the classic domesticated chicken, turkey, duck and, if you are lucky, goose. The Talmud in the third perek of Chullin explains that the majority of avian species are kosher, however, the Rama (SH”A YD 82:3) notes the tradition is not to eat any birds whose kosher status can not be proven via a mesorah, tradition of permissibly. All said, of the ten thousand recognized avian species, there are only three dozen species which are proven kosher. The Philby partridge could likely qualify for this short list. There is photographic evidence that the Philby was consumed by the local Yemenite Jewish community. There is scientific data that the Philby will hybridize with the kosher species of partridge. All said and done, the only reason why the Philby partridge may not become a recognized kosher bird, is because this bird is just too rare.
After approaching a few zoos, it was discovered that there are so many species in danger of extinction that the institutions are forced to prioritize. This rare bird, from a remote part of the Arabian Peninsula, was not considered a priority. To this end, a few rabbis are trying to save this bird. We have already acquired a foundation stock, and are now looking to breed this bird. If our breeding efforts are successful, we hope to establish three breeding colonies. Additional birds will be distributed to schools, camps, and other institutions which appreciate both the mitzvah (Rambam MA 1:1) to differentiate between the kosher and non-kosher species and the importance of conservation.
How much is this all going to cost? We are looking to raise five thousand dollars. This will cover the equipment needed to raise and maintain the three colonies, as well as food, vitamins and medication. We will work, b’ezras Hashem, to save this species, your contribution will be a major factor in determining whether or not we succeed. Join the campaign www.indiegogo.com/shecht.
These birds are not found in zoos and their population is dwindling rapidly. Rabbi Loike is their only chance of survival. He has already acquired a small flock, which he intends to start raising. His goal is to raise a sustainable captive population of these birds to prevent them from becoming extinct! All the money goes to the birds!!!! The money raised will be used to pay for food, vitamins, and equipment needed to breed and raise these birds. If the opportunity arises we will also purchase more foundation stock to diversify the gene pool. All that is needed is $5,000!!! $5,000 can save an entire species from extinction!!! Here is the link to his website. Please consider donating and passing this along. Hopefully we can raise this modest sum and save the Philby Partridge.
Miriam and I just returned from a trip to New York for a family wedding. (check out travel blog #1)
On Friday night we davened at the shul where Miriam group up. Tifferet Yisroel in Baltimore. The Rabbi, Rabbi Menachem Goldberger, is a magnetic leader who attracts Jews of all backgrounds through his sensitive and insightful Torah and his beautiful music. For Licha Dodi we sang one of Rabbi Goldberger's original tunes that has become quite popular around the world. The davening included beautiful singing and dancing as we celebrated the welcoming of Shabbat.
Shabbat morning I woke up early to walk to daven at a shul about 20 minutes from where I was staying. I wanted to daven at Suburban Orthodox Congregation Toras Chaim where my fellow YU graduate Rabbi Shmuel Silber is the Rabbi. On the way, I passed at least half a dozen other shuls and the streets of Baltimore were teeming with people going to daven at the variety of choices that the Jewish community there has to offer.
I went early to Suburban to hear Rabbi Silber's class on the parshah. A few hundred people come to daven there on Shabbat and during davening Rabbi Silber comes around and welcomes everyone with a hug and a warm "good shabbos!" I was really impressed with the warm welcoming feeling of the congregation. At least ten people recognized that I was a guest and came over to introduce themselves.
When I returned home after shul I went to visit Miriam's neighbors and oldest friends who had just celebrated their sons bar mitzvah. They hosted a private service in their backyard and invited family and friends from the neighborhood. The bar mitzvah boy read the Torah like an expert. The backyard was decorated beautifully and the food was delicious.
On Shabbat afternoon, I took my kids to visit their cousins who live near Miriam's parents. Last year they tragically lost their father, my cousin Mark. When I came in my cousin said, "I have to show you something!" She went into her room and came out with Mark's old Betar uniform! She read that we had started a Betar chapter in Omaha. Mark was a very active member of Betar and Betar had inspired his strong love of Israel and activism.
In the afternoon I went shul hopping. I attended a lecture by Rabbi Dovid Katz, the rabbi of Congregation Beth Abraham Hertzberg's. Rabbi Katz is a noted Jewish historian who teaches at Johns Hopkins and U of Maryland. He spoke about some of the history of Chanukah and what made Chanukah more special than other Jewish victories over the centuries that made it a holiday.
After the lecture I davened minchah at Beth Abraham and then went to the Agudah shul to see if I could hear Rabbi Moshe Heinemann speak. rabbi Heinemann is considered one of the leading Rabbis in America. Unfortunately I when I got there he was not speaking. So I went back to Rabbi Goldberger's shul for a beautiful shalosh seudot and maariv.
After shabbat we lit the first chanukah candle with Miriam's family, piled into the car, and drove 4 hours to my parents in New Jersey.
Sunday morning I davened at Bnei Yeshurun, the shul in Teaneck where I grew up.
The wedding was a true simcha. The bride and groom looked so happy. He is currently studying for Semichah at Yeshiva University and all of his friends came to the wedding and danced and sang harder than any wedding I have ever seen! It was almost dangerous for an old guy like me to get into the circle. Fortunately we formed a separate dancing circle for 21 an older. The band at the wedding was lead by Eitan Katz, possibly the best contemporary Jewish musician in the world today! I happen to be a huge fan, I have all of his CDs and listen to them all the time. He was fantastic. It was so nice to celebrate a family simcha. I had a chance to see my grandmothers, aunts, uncles, and hundreds of cousins. I hope we all have a chance to celebrate more happy occasions together soon.
My cousins is from Long Island and their neighborhood was devastated by Super storm Sandy. The wedding hall had made a complete recovery just in time for this wedding! At the wedding I saw another Long Island cousin, Rabbi Heshie Billet. I asked him how his community has been coping in the aftermath of the storm. He told me that families have lost an average of $200,000. Six hundred families, including him, have been moved from their homes and have still been unable to return. Aid organizations have been giving away thousands of dollars to individuals, but the damage was so devastating that it is hardly making a dent. He continues to have an optimistic spirit and thanks God all the time that nobody was hurt.
Overall it was a great trip, and as always it feels great to be home!
