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The U.S. government has always provided an indispensable voice on the global stage promoting the democratic values we hold dear-including the fight against anti-Semitism, the world's oldest hatred.
In 2004, recognizing the need for U.S. leadership, Congress mandated the creation of a new position, Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, within the State Department. Since then, the envoy has been a go-to global address, and a living embodiment of our country's commitment to fight this evil. But in recent days, worrying reports have surfaced that this role may be eliminated in a wave of budget cuts.
Speculation about abolishing the Special Envoy position sends the wrong message at exactly the wrong time. Just last week, two Jewish brothers were abducted and beaten in a Paris suburb. Amid shouts of "Dirty Jew, you're going to die," the assailants sawed off a finger of one of the victims.
Jewish communities in this country are also feeling anxious-and with good reason. Over 100 Jewish institutions-schools, synagogues, and JCCs-have faced bomb threats. Jewish cemeteries have been desecrated. Although the Special Envoy deals primarily with anti-Semitism abroad, the role sends a message here at home-and so does any talk of eliminating it.
Now is the time to stand unequivocally against hate. Now is the time to say that the U.S. will not tolerate anti-Semitic acts in this country or around the world. Now is the time to project a voice of moral clarity and conviction.
Help us reinforce this critical message by writing to President Trump today and urging him to say loudly and clearly: The Special Envoy for Combating Anti-Semitism is here to stay
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Purim
And even with this horrible stuff going on, we prepare for Purim! I'm busy working on next week's special Purim issue, which is sure to perplex some, hopefully entertain most, and not amuse a few of you.
Let me remind you, again, that Dinie Lowenstein will be returning to read the Megillah for us on Saturday night (this time with three little boys in tow). Dr. Avi Yacobi will be chanting the Megillah on Sunday morning, March 12 (please note the earlier start time of 8:30 a.m.). Many of you may not be aware that the requirement is to hear the Megillah
twice: not just in the evening, but also on the morning of Purim. When Purim falls Saturday night/Sunday, as it does this year, that makes it infinitely easier! And remember; it's a mitzvah!
Next Saturday the Mincha service will take place at approximately 12:30 in the chapel. There will be no afternoon
s'uda sh'lishit; we'll go right to Havdalah and Megillah reading on Saturday night at 7:30.
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On the Road
Due to some unforeseen circumstances we had a bit of a smaller group (14 instead of the original 23) on Wednesday at the Eldridge Street Synagogue. Special thanks to
Iris Coleman for chauffeuring at the last minute, and to
Ira Smilovitz for spending part of his birthday with us. I neglected to take a group picture before we left.
Next month: April 27 Jewish New York Harbor Cruise
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AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington, DC
March 26, 27, 28
I have purchased a block of registrations and it would be my pleasure to have you join me! So please contact me...
In addition to Vice-President, Mike Pence... Click here to find out who will be speaking!
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The Western Wall
Last Monday was Rosh Hodesh. Women came to the Western Wall to pray and celebrate following the Israeli High Court of Justice decision that permits women to bring Sifrei Torah, Talitot, Tefillin to the Women's section and to conduct their own service:
Hundreds of Yeshiva, Seminary (i.e. Orthodox Women) Students Disrupt Women of the Wall Service
Also last Monday, Rabbi Sandra Kochmann faced down former Sefardi Chief Rabbi Amar and his followers at the Kotel Masorti all by her lonesome. For the second time Rabbi Amar illegally took over this section. They tried to prevent Rabbi Kochmann from videoing the confrontation, and they knocked her kippa off her head, eventually chasing her from the area:
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Israel News
"I come from the perspective of reality. This is a concept that is not relevant. Even those who want to create two states know that it can't be done at the moment."
Another crack in Bibi's invincibility:
With greater integration and dependency between the Lebanese Army and Hezbollah, the next war in Lebanon will be much shorter as Israel will be free to attack Lebanese infrastructure. Then the calls/howls for a quick ceasefire will prevail:
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And cracks are emerging in Gaza: dissatisfaction with Hamas rule, even as they choose a hardliner from their military wing as their new leader:
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So proud of him!!! Read on, please...
For perhaps the first time ever, Israel's top lawyer won't stand up for the government
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I consider the Clarion Project to be to the right of Attila the Hun. Still, their news reporting, stripped of their editorializing and suspicions is worthwhile (the next 2 articles):
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I don't know how "quiet "this can be when it's published in Haaretz!
To keep the Israeli side at arm's length, the gas is technically being sold to the Jordanians by an American company
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This will almost certainly never happen, despite the fact that it clearly comes from Israel, refers to a Judean king and the monumental engineering feat involved...unless Israel can arrange to repatriate some ancient Turkish treasure in return. But in return for elephants???? I don't see it happening:
Someday our plaques will be priceless, too!
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Pop Culture
Mirroring a model set decades ago to certify kosher products, American Muslims witness the growth of the 'Muslim hekhsher'
After winning the Academy Award for Best Original Song-'City of Stars' from 'La La Land'-lyricist Benj Pasek thanked his mom for letting him 'quit the JCC soccer team to be in a school musical.'
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Birthright Registration is Open! Sign up Today
1. Sign Up now at nnj2israel.com
2. Make sure to choose the correct date and age range for your Tlalim-Israel Outdoors trip organizer in the Primary Application.
3. When asked to select a trip in the Primary Application, choose one of theNorthern NJ Community trips
4. Don't forget to submit your deposit!
5. Once you submit your deposit, within 24 hours Israel Outdoors will email you a link to the Secondary Application. Log in and choose one or both of the Northern NJ Community trips:
May 20 - May 30
NYC / Northern New Jersey Community / Ages 18 - 22 / [TL-36-376]
June 18 - June 28
NYC / Northern New Jersey Community / Ages 22 - 26 / [TL-36-405]
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Ganze Megillah: Avner Moriah
In celebration of Purim, The Laurie M. Tisch Gallery is pleased to exhibit the stunning, large-scale illuminated Scroll of Esther created by the well-known Israeli painter Avner Moriah. This Scroll of Esther tells the ancient story by mixing Persian, Indian, and Islamic art miniature style paintings with Italian Renaissance styling and contemporary humor, politics and sensibilities.
Ganze Megillah (Yiddish for "The Whole Story") will feature 18 framed illuminated manuscript on parchment, along with process drawings and video of the artists.
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March 3 - March 14
Film Forum
BEN-GURION: EPILOGUE is an unseen 1968 interview with the iconic Founding Father of Israel, in which he repeatedly declares that between land and peace, he would choose peace. Sharp, articulate, and funny at age 82, Ben-Gurion refreshingly admits to having made mistakes.
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March 3 - March 14
Film Forum
Shimon Dotan's film takes a good, hard look at the world of the Israeli settlers on the West Bank: the way they live, the worldview that many of them share, and, most crucially, the relaxed attitude of the Israeli government toward their presence since the first settlements in the aftermath of the Six-Day War. Dotan lays out the facts with extraordinary care and lucidity, and allows us to see the progression of actions and reactions that led to the current volatile situation, one small step at a time. Perhaps the greatest astonishment of this generally astonishing film is the casual zealotry and racism, and the apparently untroubled certainty, of many of the settlers themselves.
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On going film -- Various Venues
MR. GAGA
follows choreographer Ohad Naharin at a critical turning point in his personal life. This spirited and insightful documentary will introduce you to a man with great artistic integrity and an extraordinary vision. Mr. Gaga tells Naharin's personal story of this controversial, political, and always entertaining figure, and his constant battle for artistic perfection. Eight years in the making, Mr. Gaga traces Ohad Naharin's artistic roots using personal family footage, intimate rehearsal footage, extensive unseen archive material and stunning dance sequences. Heymann weaves a marvelous tale of what it takes to be a genius, the exhausting toll dance can take on its performers, and finally, the beauty that art can bring to this world.
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Lafayette Theater, Suffern
Sunday, March 5, 7:30 pm
In this rousing, good-hearted and joyful tale about women speaking truth to patriarchal power, an accident during a bar mitzvah celebration leads to a gender rift in a devout Orthodox community in Jerusalem. When the women's balcony in an Orthodox synagogue collapses, leaving the rabbi's wife in a coma and the rabbi in shock, the congregation falls into crisis. Charismatic young Rabbi David appears to be a savior after the accident, but slowly starts pushing his fundamentalist ways and tries to take control. This tests the women's friendships and creates an almost Lysistrata-type rift between the community's women and men.
Nominated For 5 Ophir Awards
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A group of young adults with Down syndrome embark on a demanding trip through the Himalayas accompanied by their typically abled siblings, bringing unresolved challenges to the surface. Winner, Best Documentary, Jerusalem Film Festival.
as part of
Reelabilities
- the largest festival in the country dedicated to awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories and artistic expressions of people with disabilities.
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Creative Action Network
Creative Action Network and the Anti-Defamation League are teaming up to invite artists to illustrate refugee stories from across time and geography. Maybe your family fled pogroms in Eastern Europe, from Nazism, from political oppression in Iran or the Soviet Union. Maybe you know someone who fled Uganda or other countries that persecute members of the LGBT community, maybe you are concerned about how many today have to flee extreme violence and persecution. No matter where refugees came from or their reason for fleeing, each story is unique--but connected. We hope to build a collection of pieces that rise above the noise and hateful rhetoric by humanizing the refugee experience.
Crowdsourced, creative campaigns that enlist artist and designers to create work around different ideas and causes. All designs that meet the requirements in their respective creative briefs will be published and made available for sale as prints and other merchandise. Artists retain ownership of their work but grant us permission to promote, license and sell it in exchange for 40% of the proceeds.
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TORAH Page 485 HAFTARAH Page 500
T'RUMAH
Moses is commanded by God to construct a portable Sanctuary in accordance with detailed instructions about its size, its materials, and the various ancillary ritual objects with which it is to be furnished. For these purposes the people were asked to make a free-will offering (Terumah) of metals, fabrics, skins, wood, precious stones, oil and spices.
The outer court of the Sanctuary was a rectangular structure without a roof that was surrounded by curtains. It contained an altar for burnt offerings and a washstand for the priests. All Israelites could enter this area.
The Tabernacle was divided into two sections, separated by a veil. Only priests were permitted to enter this area. It contained an altar for incense, the seven-branched Menorah and a table for the showbread.
The inner chamber of the Tabernacle, the Holy of Holies, contained the Ark of the Covenant; the high priest was accorded access, but only on Yom Kippur.
Our sidra provides specific instructions about the design of each of these structures and their furnishings.
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