Tikkun Olam

As we approach the second Pilgrimage Holiday of Shavu'ot ( Pentecost , in English), which comes seven weeks after Pesach (Passover), the first Pilgrimage Holiday, we look to commemorating the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, approximately 3,344 years ago, around 1313 B.C.E. In the weeks between Pesach and Shavuot, we Count the Omer , lifting ourselves spiritually higher and higher until we reach the peak: receiving the Torah. Here is a beautiful d'var Torah (a "word of Torah") by Rabbi Avraham Arieh and Rebbetzin Rachel Trugman of Ohr Chadash , explaining the spiritual aspect of the counting of the Omer approaching Shavuot, the portion of the Torah read on the Shabbat before Shavuot (Bamidbar), and how they have a deep connection to Jerusalem , Judaism's holiest ancient city, and the day which commemorates it: Jerusalem Day (Yom Yerushalayim, in Hebrew), which was today, celebrated all over Israel. ...

I am feeling contemplative at the end of this special holiday season which began with Rosh Hashana, ten days later the holiest day of the Jewish year, Yom Kippur-the Day of Atonement-and culminated in the very festive and special holiday of Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret--23 days of prayer, introspection and celebration--and after almost  a month of no blogging, I decided to finally blog, after having read a post by Rabbi Avraham Arieh Trugman about the nations of the world converging on Jerusalem, to show their support for Israel and the Jewish People. My last post was about the savagery and inhumanity of Islamic extremists. I have written before of the world 's antisemitism and Israel's seeming isolation among the nations of the globe. We read in the Torah portion read on Sukkot that in the end of days, all the non-Jewish nations will come to Jerusalem to serve Hashem. This sounds like a fantasy, because in today's world,  Israel is being vilified and denigrated, mocke...

As seen in The Times of Israel , discovered by a couple who bought an apartment in a university town in Germany were two paintings of a Nazi officer and his wife, on the back of two portions of Torah scrolls, the sections of the parshiyot * clearly visible and readable.  This is reminiscent of the paving of the streets with Jewish gravestones . I've reprinted an excerpt here.  The link above is the entire article.  The depravity of the perpetrators of the Holocaust and the world which stood silently by will haunt them (and ourselves) for years to come... In January 2011, a pair of unique objects turned up in the ancient university town of Tübingen, Germany, when a Christian theology instructor and his wife bought a new apartment, occupied by an elderly, reclusive man. Shortly after the purchase, the man died, and his possessions fell into the hands of the new owners. Among these possessions were two original oil paintings depicting a uniformed Nazi German...

I was still shaking from the horrific terrorist attack on the Israeli tourists in Bulgaria, murdered by a suicide bomber who set off bombs on the buses --when I awakened this morning to the double whammy of the news of the Century 16 theatre murders in Aurora, in which 71 people were shot, twelve of them fatally, in a theatre which my D. H. and I have been to many times. I don't know where to begin, my feelings are all jumbled up and raging, but I will try.  I think Glenn Beck expressed it best, when he made this statement, in his morning show  video , " Let me be the first to say there’s a hole in the soul of America. What is it we’re filling that hole with? ” He nailed it.  There is a hole in America, and we are filling that hole with promoting, for all to see, horrible things that we fear--displaying disgusting human behavior. We have, for decades, been in a culture where violence, hatred, criminal activities and psychopathic behavior are big box...

This is a bit crazy, posting a blog post about a live webcast, but here is it anyway: Rabbi Avraham Arieh Trugman is giving a shiur (Torah lesson/lecture) right now , right here: http://www.bethereisrael.com/live Live, learn, and expand your minds in 2012!

For my women readers in Israel, here is a series of shiurim which should really interest you:  Rabbi Avraham Arieh Trugman is beginning classes on the fundamentals of Kabbalah and Chassidism, to be held in Jerusalem starting November 22nd. The Fundamental Concepts of Kabbalah and Chassidut for Women will be held in the Katamon neighborhood in Jerusalem at the Shir Chadash shul, the first class being this Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. To get a feel for Rabbi Trugman's teachings, watch and listen to his latest shiur on the parsha we just read this Shabbat, Chayei Sarah.  See all his shiurim on the parshiot on the Trugmans' blog . He also composes music and plays the dulcimer.  You can listen to his music on the Ohr Chadash website.                                                 Rebbetzin Rachel Trugman, aside from being a wonderful human being with ...

The latest Haveil Havallim, #285, entitled " Back to the Beginning "--a very apt title, as we just finished the annual cycle of the reading of the Torah and are starting all over again with Breisheet (Genesis)--is now up and running at Frume Sarah's. (Was that a long, run-on sentence or what? )

(nablopomo day 29) I was in a rush to get my post and pictures in yesterday, so I didn't pontificate on the significance of the name "Naomi." I remember, when my first Israeli grandson was born to my younger son, Nathaniel Blumenstein, I waxed eloquent ( or rather, my son did--I just copied and pasted his stuff!) on the meaning and significance of his name, Gavriel (which is translated as "Gabriel" in English) on my post back in November '08 after his birth, here . As is Gavriel, Naomi, too, is a special name.  It is Hebrew, originating in the TaNaCH in the book of Ruth.  Naomi was the mother-in-law of Ruth.  It means "my delight," coming from the Hebrew word, no'am , which is "pleasantness" or "delightfulness." The shoresh , or root, is " na-em ," which is 'pleasant' or 'lovely.'  The infinitive, " li-n'om , " means "to be pleasant." Hebrew grammar has seven different ...

There seems to be a serious problem in the U.S. and Israel with the Haredim (translated as"ultra-Orthodox" by some) being forced--by their own standards--to pay for extravagant weddings for their children which they can't afford. Some fathers of marriageable daughters have considered selling an organ in order to pay for their daughter's wedding! In addition, their children are also not encouraged to learn a trade and earn a living, but rather study Torah--exclusively--and they end up living in poverty. When their children are at marriageable age, the cycle repeats again. The fact is that not everyone is cut-out for full-time Torah learning. In Eastern Europe, most boys learned a trade, and continued learning Torah, if they were so inclined. Learning was and still is greatly respected; only the geniuses and those who exhibited great promise were supported by people in the community in order to learn. Not everyone is a Torah genius, an ilui . Most people are aver...

I am remiss: I meant to write about this months ago, and other issues got in the way. But this is such an important topic that I am writing about it now. The issue of a woman's role in scholarship and Judaic ritual leadership, which has been 'whispered' about just under the surface for a while now, was raised aloud again and brought to the forefront recently. This has happened particularly by the big news made by Rabbi Avi Weiss with his "Open Orthodoxy" idea, opening the door for women to have a leadership and public role in Jewish ritual observance , and also by Rabbi Yuval Sherlo , head of the Petach Tikva Hesder Yeshiva, when he created his "halachic document" enabling women to increase their participation in synagogue services, and by various other articles and blogs on the subject. Here are some excerpts: from The Forward : Rabbi Avi Weiss, a leading advocate for a more liberal Orthodoxy, and Sara Hurwitz, a protégé of Weiss, are now taking inquir...

(photo at right: Gil Yohanan at YNet News:http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3750813,00.html ) I have been reading the recent news items about serious breaches of the law by prominent religious rabbis and raucous "demonstrations" (read: rioting) against other Jews by "religious" Haredim (Ultra-Orthodox) in Jerusalem, and my mind is reeling. Instead of a public outcry from the Haredi leaders against the lawless rabbis, there is mostly silence. Unfortunately, there is also mainly silence from these leaders with regard to their own sect violently clashing with police and overturning and burning city dumpsters while strewing trash all over the streets and sidewalks, turning parts of Jerusalem into a veritable stinking garbage dump. This is at best a disgrace, and at worst, in my opinion a big chilul Hashem (desecration of G-d's name). I said mainly silent, because except for one article I read in which a Haredi protester was interviewed. He stated that t...

I recently began training for a new job, just a few days after my last post—which is why I have not been able to sit down, collect my thoughts, and post anew since the 8 th of the month. The job involves learning an entirely new area for me (a little real estate, business, etc.) — with a little IT work thrown in for good measure, which I already love doing--I guess being married to a geek has rubbed off--all of which is creating interesting new synapses in my brain . By the time I get home, however, I just want to relax, maybe read—not research topics to blog on my s-l-o-w, maxed-out 512 MB of RAM computer (-which sometimes itself decides to relax and freezes , right in the middle of an operation.) In the interim, between my last post and now, I’ve been following the war; last week I downloaded an Israeli toolbar with direct access to all the radio stations, TV, etc. – with even an ‘emergency’ four way split-screen dealie where I can see several TV stations, including Al-...

Rabbi Yosef Y. Jacobson of Chabad is a wonderful man and sought-after orator. I personally heard him speak when he came to my town a couple of years ago. I receive his weekly divrei Torah in my email inbox. I was very taken with his dvar Torah which he wrote after the murderous atrocity committed against Westerners and especially Jews in Mumbai two months ago. He called for us to do good deeds and kindnesses and learn Torah, to be sure--but he added something else, very important, which I whole-heartedly subscribe to and have said many times in this blog. It applies to the War in Gaza which Israel is waging defending against its enemies today. He said, sometimes LOVE, is just not enough. Sometimes, we have to FIGHT BACK. Visit his page to hear his shiurim (lessons), here . Read his dvar on evil, here (emphasis mine): The Psychology of Gaza and Mumbai When Love Becomes Evil By Yosef Y. Jacobson Love Vs. Hate After the Mumbai jihad exactly one month ago, we were m...

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...

[ *Copyright Alert below ] I want to do at least one last post before Rosh Hashana *. I am trying--between job searching on the web, real job fairs and virtual job fairs--to keep up my posts as much as possible, but it's very difficult ( Jewish guilt plays a part here). I was awakened this morning by my chayelet bodedah* daughter, not really too early for me (except tor the fact that I had been awake until 2 a.m. the night before...); we had a great conversation and talked for over 40 minutes (it's her shekel!) It was wonderful. Even though I am so missing my kids not being with us for the chagim* , we do have guests, and have to finalize our menu and confirm everyone, and possibly also shop for ingredients for challot (which I will bake; round has GOT to easier than braided), traditional sweet side dishes such as carrot and sweet potato tzimmes and desserts-and, of course, food for Shabbat. Baruch Hashem, we have our main dishes for the upc...