השעה בארץ ישראל
You don't see this happening on the highway in the States on Memorial Day:
And as far as Yom HaShoah goes (which I posted about previously), I believe that this is an appropriate response from the Jewish People to the world at large:
So it turns out that my daughter was chosen to sing, not only the two songs I mentioned in my post of April 18th, Yom haShoah-Never Again (scroll down), but also a third one called in Hebrew Punar. I am ashamed to say that I had never heard of it. So I looked it up.
It seems that between July 1941 and August 1944, near the railway station of Paneriai, a suburb of Vilnius, where the Nazis, (yimach shemam*) in their goal of murdering every living Jew in Lithuania, massacred 100,000 people, mostly Jews, along with Poles and Russians. The site--to which tours are brought to learn the history of what ensued there-- is referred to as the site of The Ponary Massacre.
And we are oh so grateful that Ahmadinejad might have 'dropped' the Holocaust denial from his speech vilifying Israel. So grateful. . .
Punar.
*may their name be erased.
First, let me announce that Haveil Havalim #213 is up at The Real Shliach, here.
This has been going around the email circuit. I have received it several times, and decided it is worth posting now, in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day. The cartoonist is Wiley Miller, producer of the cartoon strip Non Sequitur.
Never forget.
*Copyright alert: No infringement of any text or graphic copyright is ever intended on this blog. If you own the copyright to any original image or document used for the creation of the graphics or information on this site, please contact the blog administrator with all pertinent info so that proper credit can be given. If you wish to have it removed from the site, just say the word; it shall be, ASAP
The 27th of the month of Nissan is celebrated as Yom Hashoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day in English, which falls this year on April 21st, 2009. The full name of this day in Hebrew is much more apt: Yom haZikaron la-Shoah ve'la-Gevurah, or The Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust and the Heroism.
In Israel it is a National Memorial Day, which is opened by a State ceremony at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem. At 10:00 in the morning, sirens sound, and everyone stops in their tracks, no matter what they are doing--to remember, and pay their respects to the six million Jews who were systematically murdered in the gas chambers and concentration camps and streets just a little over 60 years ago.
At home, you can light a yahrtzeit candle, read passages from books about the Shoah, and remember the innocent victims of what the world does NOT want to admit was an attempt by the Nazis at ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Jewish People.
Yes, Jews--and the world--should remember the Holocaust, and vow never to allow any nation or army or revolutionaries or anyone at all to do anything as heinous as this to any people.
I just spoke to our youngest daughter who is currently in Officer Training in the IDF. Until recently they didn't know she could sing (she hoarded her shekels to find a voice teacher for herself while in high school in Israel). She and her sister and brothers have been singing all their lives.
She told me she was just chosen to sing one of two songs at their ceremony for Yom Hashoah. She will find out today which one they want her to sing.
You can listen to each of the songs below.
*Copyright alert: No infringement of any text or graphic copyright is ever intended on this blog. If you own the copyright to any original image or document used for the creation of the graphics or information on this site, please contact the blog administrator with all pertinent info so that proper credit can be given. If you wish to have it removed from the site, just say the word; it shall be, ASAP
I have always had difficulty leaving a Jewish holiday (chag) behind; Pesach is no different: it starts with frenetic preparations, cleaning, organizing, moving kitchen implements around, rearranging cabinets, in other words--with a BANG: and the climax is the Seder, or if one lives outside of Israel, TWO Seders even.
But it ends with a wimper, quietly, ending a Yom Tov (holy day) when one says Yizkor (prayers for remembering those loved ones & others who have died). Perhaps there is a special, last seudah called Seudat ha-Mashiach (the festive meal for the coming of the Messiah), but even that, if done, has a sadness to it, a longing, a yearning.
So it was for me, again, this Pesach. Didn't it only just start (I can never get tired of eating shmurah matzah)? I think we should petition the Rabbanim for a Pesach extension, say, to two weeks instead of one. Then at least, all the hard work would seem to go a longer way.
But I definitely feel a sadness. . ..we reached such a great height on Pesach, a spiritual 'high.' And now, like a wisp, it's gone; but we count the 49 days of the Omer, to reach another spiritual high, the giving of the Torah on Har Sinai. The sefirot (the attributes of the counting of the Omer) are significant and very meaningful, and if one takes them, day by day, to heart, they can change one's life.
The chagim, especially the shalosh regalim, take me into a different spiritual dimension. I am now looking ahead to the next one, to Shavu'ot.
That comforts me.
Listen to Rabbi Lipsker talking about this awesome time in the Jewish calendar.
I am careening into the last days of Yom Tov by posting this only a few minutes before hadlakat nerot*, but it pertains to the chag and I want (nay, need) to write about this.
For our first seder we were honored to have among our guests a descendent of The Chida, בכבודו ובעצמו.
For those unenlightened of you--I myself knew a little about The Chida, but after discovering our illustrious guest, scrambled to learn more-- the name "Chida" being the acronym of his name, Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulai (which in Hebrew coincidentally also means "the riddle") was one of the great sages of Jewish history, a noted rabbinic scholar and bibliophile. He was born in Jerusalem and lived from 1724-1806, during which time he wrote halachic works such as Shaar Yosef, Birkei Yosef, and Makhzik Beracha.
He was also a child prodigy who began studying in the Beit Midrash at age six. Because of his great scholarship he was chosen to be a shaliach of the communities of Eretz Yisrael, (who says there were no Jews living in the land of Israel in those days? - there was always a Jewish yishuv in Eretz Yisrael) and traveled to Europe several times representing the Jewish communities in Israel.
It was a special honor to host this family, and listen to the father's (he is the descendant) insights on halacha and divrei Torah at our seder.
May we have many more times together, celebrating Jewish Sabbaths and holidays.
Pesach is passing all too fast. . . chag sameach.
Glossary:
*candle-lighting
Sources for this post include this, this and this.
*Copyright alert: No infringement of any text or graphic copyright is ever intended on this blog. If you own the copyright to any original image or document used for the creation of the graphics or information on this site, please contact the blog administrator with all pertinent info so that proper credit can be given. If you wish to have it removed from the site, just say the word; it shall be, ASAP.
(-And I don't only mean that the latest edition of the famous Jewish Blog Carnival, HH #212 is up and running, here. Read. While munching shmurah matzah.)
There is no explaining away an event that was witnessed by thousands and later recorded in the Torah, which as Old Testament is accepted by at least two major world religions.
The Passover story was a major world event, no two ways about it.
I found, on the very wonderful aggregate site Jewish World Review ( a synopsis of which I receive daily in my inbox), a series of video shiurim (lessons) on the Exodus from Egypt: The Hidden Agenda, by Rabbi David Fohrman of The Hoffberger Institute.
Watch, and learn. May you continue to have a deep, meaningful Pesach. And don't forget to count the Omer (kids, I'm talking to you)!
The kitchen is a mess as another marathon three-day-Yom-Tov-sheni-shel-galuyot* bites the dust. I should be washing the fleishig* dishes and cleaning the kitchen. Instead, I'm blogging (smart choice).
But the older I get, the less I can handle the three days (but I still love that matzah shmurah*). . .
It's amazing-when I was a child, I just loved it. It was a glimpse into another universe for me: three days of Avodat Hashem*, with davening* (which I've always loved), singing zmirot* of all kinds, a Seder which transported me into a spiritual realm. I waited for Eliyahu* to come in through our open door with baited breath.
These days, it's all that, but all the while I am collapsed with aching legs and bleary-eyed from lack of sleep. Can't do the physical side of this so easily any more. Started feeling a bit better on Shabbat (today), with 7 or so hours of sleep Friday night, to make up for four hours of sleep after the 2nd seder, and three hours of sleep after the first (our seder went until 3 a.m., and then we sat up close to two hours talking to two guests who were sleeping over, after which I got a muscle spasm in my thigh which kept me up til after 5:30 a.m.; I woke up at around 8:30-9, and decided I'd better stay up and get to shul).
Our seders have always been long and beautiful, so we've been told (Baruch Hashem*), about six hours on average, sometimes a little less, sometimes a little more.
We read the Haggadah* in Hebrew, discuss it in English, and sing, sing, sing! We sing the fifteen simanei ha-seder* in two melodies, one Israeli and one Ashkenazic-traditional, and our minhag* is to sing each step individually, to go back to the beginning, sing the first step to the one we're up to. It makes for a nice smooth transition, and that way everyone at our table more or less knows where we are and what we're about to read, no matter what their knowledge level.
This Pesach is proving to be an auspicious one, beginning with Birkhat HaChamah.* Hubby went to shul early Wednesday morning, and I had already told our house guest that I would probably not be saying the blessing, because of lack of sleep; didn't think I'd get up early enough in the a. m. But I did, and went outside to our little yard which faces east, glanced at the sun (disobeying my momma's orders never to look at the sun), and read the Tehillim* and the bracha by myself. At least that. It was very moving, and I'm glad I didn't miss the opportunity (only G-d knows where I will be 28 years from now. . .)
Because of muscular and other problems with my legs, I didn't walk the mile to the shul we usually go to, but went to the one right behind our townhome. Although it's not Chassidishe, there is much scholarship there, and the davening is good (they can also keep a tune--more than our shul, I'm afraid to say); and I daven my regular nusach no matter where I am (S'fard), so it doesn't really matter. I went all three days to this shul-am already getting a makom kavu'ah*-and it was spiritually fulfilling (everyone is serious there, as in our shul; they daven with kavanah* and don't shmooze during the service).
During the Yamim Tovim of Pesach or any chag I enter into a fourth dimension- I don't know what day it is-Monday is the same as Tuesday is the same as Wednesday. They are pashut*, the Holy Days of Passover, a time onto itself. I didn't have to think about the lousy economy, the fact that as an independent contractor I am losing money every day that I don't work during the holiday, and that our illustrious president Obama bowed down to the King of Saudi Arabia.
I'm sitting here listening to Israeli radio (Reshet Gimel), Yehoram Gaon singing Eretz Nehederet*, wishing I were celebrating the chag there. . .
This world is (with a few exceptions) an evil mess; it's my people and my religion that keep me going. The only thing we can do, is praise Hashem*. In the end, as this video from the movie ha-Ushpizin shows, that's all there is (hat tip, Dov Bear).
Mo'adim le-Simcha.
Glossary:
Fleishig = Yiddish for 'meat' dishes
Matzah Shmurah = matzah that has been made from wheat that has been 'watched' from the time of harvest, to be certain that it had not come in contact with any moisture, so as not to be leavened
Yom Tov sheni shel galuyot = 2nd holy day celebrated by Jews in the diaspora
Avodat Hashem = service to G-d (i.e., praying, singing praises, etc.)
Davening = Yiddish for "praying."
Zmirot = songs of praise sung on the Sabbath & holidays
Eliyahu = Elijah the Prophet
Baruch Hashem = "Blessed be G-d," used as 'thank G-d.'
Haggadah = the booklet we read at the seder relating the story of the Exodus from Egypt
Simanei ha-Seder = the 15 steps of the seder
Minhag = custom
Birkhat HaChamah = Blessing of the Sun, done once every 28 years.
Tehilllim = Psalms
Makom Kavu'ah = a 'permanent place,' a designated seat that is yours in the synagogue (shul)
Kavanah = intention (praying with focus and fervor)
Pashut = simply
Eretz Nehederet = the name of a popular song: A Beautiful Country.
Hashem = the word used for "G-d." Literally, it means "The Name."
I am up close to 2:00 a.m. why? Mah nishtanah ha-lailah ha-zeh mikol ha-lelot? Because it is the eleventh hour, erev chag: the biggest, most awesome holiday in the universe: Pesach!
I have been checking and washing romaine lettuce for karpas (tons of it), boiling potatoes, checking the chicken soup, putting the tzimmes in the fridge...but of course I will give credit to hubby, without whom none of these delicious delicacies would be possible: he cooked 'em all (ok, I peeled, cored and cut the apples for the tzimmes. Really).
He also cooked the brisket yesterday, four huge trays of 'em; he made a cranberry-orange side dish; carrot, potatoe and apple tzimmes with pineapple, the aforementioned chicken soup in a huge stock pot (we're having lotsa guests the first night), and genuine shmurah matzah balls (doesn't baseball season start now?) that are our specialty for Pesach (yes, we eat gebrocht).
So I am not complaining about being up so late, although I have a dr.'s appointment early in the morning. But he is getting up even earlier to daven, have a sium bechorim, and say Birkat ha-Chamah--so who am I to complain?
I was just instant messaging with my Rambo, who is off from Officer's Training for Yom Tov. Her apartment is around the block from her brother and sister-in-law, and she had just come back from running over there to borrow a vacuum cleaner to clean her place. Isn't family wonderful? Especially when you are in close proximity. I really feel the emptiness, without family here...but we have good friends who are coming to our seder, so I am looking forward to that, too.
Our older son, Mister Arnold, called us this morning, from the Tel-Aviv area...I was telling him how stressful Peach preparations are. He said, he loves the chag! And he was the one who cleaned his apartment inside out and did the shopping (did I raise a great husband, or what?). I am so happy for his wife, whom I love.
Thank you, Ribono shel Olam, for all your blessings which you bestowed upon our family, with our children finding their bashertes, and loving Yahadut so much...
With wishes for a wonderful, meaningful, spiritual chag, I am going to bed now. Lailah tov!
Got this from Heshy at Frum Satire. What will a Yiddishe Kopf* (Jewish ingenuity) think of next?
You know how everyone looks at kos Eliyahu* and wonders if he really is there, you know, in a different dimension, perhaps, invisible--but there. And we all look to the cup, to see if the wine goes down.
Well, ladies and gentlemen - look no further. It is (finally) here: The Elijah Drinks Cup.
Witnesseth:
Now, I think that's worthy of a Nobel Prize, don't you? Why, it's amazing no one thought of this earlier...
*yiddishe kopf=Jewish head
*kos Eliyahu=Elijah's cup
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