Tikkun Olam

A 1200 year old Hebrew siddur (prayerbook) was revealed late September by an antiquities collector.  It is to date the oldest one in existence. I could not find any information on when or where archeologists found it, or how long they've had it before it was revealed. The notice came into my inbox on Janglo , linking to the article in the Jewish Forward. The Forward servers seem to be down so I can't access the article now, but read below and marvel: it is older than the oldest Torah scrolls we have today.  Hopefully we'll be able to learn more about Jewish practices in the 9th Century, and compare them with our practices today.  Are the tefilot (prayers) the same, or different? Amazing...and very exciting. A 1,200-year-old parchment Jewish prayer book that is billed as the oldest in existence was introduced Sept. 27 by a prominent private collector of Biblical artifacts. The complete 50-page book with original 13-by-10 centimeter binding features early Bab...

A college-preparatory Modern Orthodox Jewish Day School, I was a student in Yeshivat Ramaz for twelve long years...for a while, it seemed as if they'd never end.  Academically rigorous, Jewishly valuing Torah and tradition, but approaching it intelligently, with recognition of the state of Israel as the cause of the revival of Jewish culture, living religion and the renewal of Hebrew, after being dormant for a thousand years, into the living, vital, spoken language of the Jewish people.  Below, in the second video, is a little tribute to my school, composed and sung by "Israeli pop sensation" and teacher at Ramaz for 3 years, Hananel Edri . First, a little bit about him...  And here is the tribute to Ramaz.   You can hear how mellow his voice is in a video of him singing a Hebrew lullaby, Shir Eres, below. So does this mean I'm going to my class'--Ramaz Class of '64--50th reunion?  I'm still in shock at the number.  Maybe.

Thanks to Jacob Richman and his " Lost in Translation " page, here is a sampling of a medley of funny, goofy, and hysterical mistranslations of signs in Israel. And I thought this happened only in China... (for the actual meaning in Hebrew, go to Jacob Richman's site. For this blog, ha-mayvin, yavin. ..)                                  Now you don't even have to drive to work; just login.                                           This is so accessible, it's beyond disabled.                     (Read #4 and #5 in the English.  Light on the pineapple, heavy on the...liver)            ...

We all know you shouldn't drive while talking on the phone, or rather, you shouldn't talk on the phone while driving (I wear my hands free bluetooth earpiece when I drive, just in case), and certainly not text, right? But what about if you're dead tired, and you have to drive somewhere? What would help keep you awake and prevent you from dozing off at the wheel, when your mother-in-law isn't sitting next to you jabbering away in the passenger seat (and why is it always the "mother-in-law," not the father-in-law?)? In a story I first saw on Arutz Sheva and then on the website where the article was first published, NoCamels (... no camels? ), the answer to the above question, is the new, Israeli designed Drivia app , that's what.  It shouts trivia questions at you while you're driving, forcing you to answer and stay awake (or go crazy), hence the name, "Drivia" - a combo of drive, and trivia. Leave it to the Jews - we won't kill you,...

My loyal readers know how I feel about Judaism (love it), and how I feel about the Haredi* distortion of Judaism with their sexist attitudes (hate it).  I have written often (a sampling being here , here , and in my previous post from yesterday) about the radicalization of halacha (Jewish law), and the terrible situations on some Israeli buses, with the verbal, emotional and sometimes even physical abuse of women who dare not to sit "in their place" at the back of the bus.  Shades of anti Black-American segregation from the sixties... I had also complained (that's what an armchair activist does, complain) that I had not heard any voices speaking up from the Orthodox, or better--Ultra-Orthodox sector about these abuses.  Had not heard, until now (hat tip to Primum Non Nocere for alerting us to this article). Rav Haim Amsalem , a Haredi (or Chareidi, if you will) Rabbi, has now expressed his view of the fanatic, perverted discrimination against women that is going on in...

This post actually began its life as a reply to a comment about how Hebrew unites all Jews, on the FrumSatire blog, until I realized that it was turning into a post.  So here it is. Esther, you have a valid question.  Yiddish, most recently, is the language which united Eastern European Jews whose parents and grandparents emigrated (those who survived the Sho'ah) from there; it was the vernacular of the Ashkenazim, those Jews who, after the expulsion from Spain settled in Germany and surrounding areas of Eastern Europe .  I too, wish that I knew more Yiddish than I do, which is mainly only isolated words and phrases. Your question, 'how does Hebrew unite the Jews,' is a very sad one.  There was a time which lasted for centuries, when the Hebrew language--the language of the Torah--was a universal language for Jews all over the world.  No matter where they lived or what language they spoke in their adopted countries, the lingua franca of the Jews was alwa...

This morning I did something wonderful, that I rarely, if ever do: go out with friends for coffee and shmoozing. Today I was invited out by a friend to Starbuck's for a coffee-and-Yiddish-and-Hebrew-Poetry-reading-and-explicating-treat . Does that sound boring to you? It might, to some, but not to me. Although these days I rarely read poetry, which I love (and on which I grew up). I used to read, and even dabbled a little in poetry writing (my poems weren't very good). My father ( alav hashalom *) was a Hebrew scholar, teacher and poet, and published one thin little book of poetry, after having published many poems and articles in Hebrew newspapers and literary magazines (many now defunct) such as Ma'ariv, Bitzaron, and Niv (the latter which he founded many years ago) . He also translated poetry by the American and British masters to Hebrew, as well as Shakespeare's Measure for Measure (מידה במידה ). My friend ( -mefuzeret le-gamrei *, somewhat like me--but a wonde...

Hevel Havalim (there. I spelled it my way: the way it would be spelled in Ivrit, when not a sof pasuk) #220 is up and running at Esser Agarot h (ok, I would also spell that 'esser agorot,' but that's not how Ben-Yehudah spells it, so--deferring to the blog author here. Oy, the curses of being a Hebrew teacher. . . ) My previous post We Were All Duped is linked there; for some reason, he always links me last in my category. Should I get a complex over that, or is it a good thing? Something to ponder. . . I was perusing articles and blogs in researching my previous post, and I found a really good comment by someone about the subject (Obama's speech and apparent attitude). I don't remember the writer's name, and in any event, there was no link I could follow--and to top that off I don't even remember where I read it. But it was so good and to the point, that I am reprinting it here, and if the author comes across it here, please email me (and th...

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 Yis...

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 ...

I don't like Pesach cleaning. Even though I found this cute cartoon (below) on Jewlarious , and I do have some OCD tendancies (don't worry-I'm working on myself), I still do not like to clean for Pesach. Bottom line is, it's physically daunting, I get overwhelmed with all the papers, articles and what-nots that I've saved over the years (a packrat, am I) and, combined with my natural laziness, it just doesn't cut it. But truth be told, I found some really interesting things while I was cleaning the sifrei kodesh bookcase and books. My problem is, I sit down and start reading and thinking about the past, and my parents (ob"m), etc. and get into a sad mood, and the cleaning stops dead in its tracks. For example, I found my old book, " Pninei ha-Dat ," which I had while in school in New York, many snows ago...I found my sister's Mishna for students (from the same era), with her name written in Ivrit; she doesn't speak the language any mor...

My younger son (Nathaniel Blumenstein), reminded me of Purim last week when I heard he was rummaging around in his Jerusalem kitchen for his Abba's star iron , in the hope that we left it there last Purim, when we traveled to Israel for his older brother's (Mister Arnold) wedding. You see, we had taken it with us, knowing that since we were returning way too close to Purim (two days), we would never have the time to stand over a hot deep fryer, sweating away frying our Famous Purim Stars in boiling oil. So, clever beings we, we took our Purim Star paraphernalia with us to the Holy Land, and actually made our Purim stars at yon younger son's postage-stamp-sized apartment, in his teeny weeny alcove- er-kitchen. Actually, he made them, and did a great job of it, too. These Purim stars, deliciously crispy, made from a yummy batter of milk, flour and eggs--were the delight of our family since our Texas days, almost thirty years ago. Well, it was Toodles (Nathaniel...

I don't know where to begin first; there are so many ideas that I wanted to write about, starting with Haveil Havalim #192 being UP and also the Kosher Cooking Carnival ( KCC ) at Baila's , and including the importance of naming babies in general and my new grandson's name in particular, the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday and as an adjunct, the horribly high price of kosher turkeys (don't know about you, but I sure can't afford $60 for a turkey), President Elect Obama's cabinet-building choices (will Hillary or will she not? Only her hairdresser ex-president-husband knows for sure), Barkat becoming mayor of Jerusalem (a right-winger after my own heart, though not religious), and a myriad of other topics all of which right now escape me. But I just have no time: I am working, albeit it at a temporary job (whose pay doesn't cover my bills), I am teaching Ivrit twice a week and rehearsing four times a week for a performance to be given at a Chabad Women...

This Rahm Emanuel seems to be a very interesting character, who according to Andrew Sullivan's The Daily Dish doesn't mince words . He has a tough reputation but was also (can you believe it) a dancer. His father is a pediatrician and a former member of the Irgun . He has two brothers, one, Yehezkel (in Hebrew) who is a "noted oncologist" and Bio-ethicist , the other a talent agent in L.A. who apparently inspired the HBO production Entourage . What does RahmE's appointment mean for the United States? What does it mean for Israel? Here is RahmE's website . I await your comments. . .

My son-in-law's mother, Chaya Marsha Rivka bat Yocheved (Marlene), died at home, Sunday, October 26th (27 Tishrei, 5769) almost three years to the day after her cancer was first diagnosed. We received this devastating news (you know it's coming; you are never ready for it...) just when I was getting ready to go to a Torah Dedication Ceremony at our Chabad. My husband was already there, so when I got there, I had to break the news to him. We both began to cry, right in the middle of the celebration. Marlene was a special, special person. She touched the lives of many people. She was very involved in her community, gave friends and family abundant love, helped others, gave much tzedakah and did many acts of chesed (she even helped me when I was feeling low). She was a wonderfully strong wife, mother, and Grandma to her (and my) grandchildren, who in turn loved her very much. The grandkids, from the oldest(-being seven and a half and with Down Syndrome), to the middlest ...

I shot some photos just before Shmini Atzeret of our sukkah with the few decorations we put up this year. Most years we had a child or two to decorate--this year, the child who graced our presence by her visit, Toodles (-or Tangus, as she is known by her pseudonym) visited for the second time this summer on the first day of chol ha-mo'ed , so the only ones who had time/patience/energy to decorate were...hubby. I was cooking at the time (a reversal, no?) Anyway, for the rest of the kiddies who couldn't be here and for our friends who made Aliyah(Baruch and Chani and Aunt Laya and Sol and Martha and Lynn and Tzvi and Rivkie and please forgive me if I didn't name you--and for everyone else--here are some pics of our sukkah, Sukkot 5769, in galut . Enjoy. This photo is inside the sukkah against the outer "front" door, looking into our kitchen: half of this fourth wall was the wall of our townhome (you can see the brick and patio light on the left). This one is ...