SHABBAT SHALOM, GESHER SHALOM!


 
December 21, 2018
 
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Shabbat Times: 
Candle Lighting
Evening Service
Morning Service
Minha
4:13 pm
7:00pm
9:30am
4:00pm
 
  Forecast: 50/ partly cloudy

IN THIS ISSUE...
BDS
Shabbat Kiddush
Join us for Kiddush on Shabbat. This is the perfect opportunity for us to experience community and get to know each other better.
 
 
Birthdays & Anniversaries
 
 
 
Herbert Feuerstein
Lotte Pick
Vida Story
Emanuel Rabin
 
Ann & Peter Bloch
Iris & Jonathan Fox
Karen & Irwin Meyers
 

   UPCOMING EVENTS
                                
Saturday 12/22
Morning Service 9:30 am
Minha , S'uda Shlishit (3rd Shabbat Meal), timely topic, Maariv and Havdalah 4:00 pm
Sunday 12/23
No Hebrew School
Tuesday 12/25
Office Closed
Thursday 12/27
Visiting Scholar Rabbi David J. Fine-Lecture series "The Jews in Germany: A Complicated Legacy" 12:45 pm
Friday 12/28
Bible Class 11:30 am


Torah Rea ding   305        Haftarah 313

VA-Y'HI
 
On his deathbed, Jacob summons Joseph to his side and makes him promise that his body will be returned to Canaan for burial in the Cave of Machpelah. He blesses Joseph's two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, and claims them as his own.
 
Shortly thereafter, all of Jacob's sons assemble at his bedside and Jacob blesses them, summarizes their individual characteristics and predicts their destinies. Jacob dies at the age of one hundred forty-seven. After a seventy-day mourning period, Jacob's family and Egyptian dignitaries escort his body back to Canaan for burial.
 
Upon their return to Egypt, Joseph's brothers beg his forgiveness for their earlier misdeeds. They reason that while their father was alive Joseph was merely biding his time, and now he will avenge himself. Joseph assures them that they have nothing to fear.
 
Joseph dies at the age of one hundred ten. His remains are placed in the casket that will be returned to Canaan only when the Israelites leave Egypt during the Exodus.
 





 
It's vacation time. Many regulars are away. If you are around, our minyan will welcome you royally.                                    
           
Services are all at the regular times, except for the 25th and the 1st, when morning services will be held at 9:00 a.m      
Be patient...this is a Jewish version of the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer story; I think it's hilarious/ridiculous:
From yesterday's NYT:
Jews, Chinese food and Christmas
So often, around this time of year, great minds have wondered: Why do Jews eat Chinese food on Christmas?
"Chinese food on Christmas has become as American Jewish as apple pie," National Public Radio's Robert Siegel once said.
The Atlantic recalled how, during a 2010 Supreme Court nomination hearing, Elena Kagan was asked where she was last Christmas. "You know, like all Jews, I was probably at a Chinese restaurant," she said.
On Friday, that connection gets explored some more.
"Did Jews discover Chinese food on Christmas, or did Chinese restaurants discover Jewish customers?" is the question behind "Chow x Judaism," a food, alcohol and comedic conversation at the Museum of Food and Drink today.
One guest, Joshua Eli Plaut, is a rabbi in Manhattan and author of "A Kosher Christmas: 'Tis the Season to Be Jewish." He told the Brooklyn Paper recently, "The Chinese restaurant is a place where you announced your Jewish identity."

The 8 Benefits of Being a Jew on Christmas   
 Secular Jews have started to appreciate the nonreligious aspects of the holiday, from blinking lights to chocolate Santas to Mariah Carey's Yuletide hits       



Important Reads/Videos
I am indebted to our member, Martin Carus, for sending me this video of the Judo championships awards ceremony in Abu Dhabi earlier this year. The very emotional woman is Israel's Minister of Culture and Sport, Miriam "Miri" Regev, a former Brigadier-general in the IDF.
Part 1 - Israel and the Arab States  (4:19)
"We found enormous common language with Sunni Arab states against the danger of Iranian encirclement."
Part 2 - Does the Palestinian Leadership Want Peace?  (2:33)
"Mahmoud Abbas is going to have to do a lot of work to convince people that he is in the deal-making business."
Part 3 - Diplomacy Means a Search for Common Ground  (2:16)
"It's important to give people an ideological basis for talking to you, to find common ground. It's not enough to offer them a new water desalination system at a bargain price."
Part 4 - Bipartisan Diplomacy and American Jewry  (3:19)
"You reach out to Democrats, you reach out to Republicans, and you don't get caught playing partisan politics in the United States....Part of our problem with our American Jewish brothers is that they may not be fully informed about what Israel does."
 
I initially had this grouped with the Women's March articles under Anti-Zionism, but then I re-read it. IT IS A VERY IMPORTANT, IF CONCERNING, READ!!
How a group of charismatic, female Democratic Socialists is changing American political culture                                    
 
Nikki Haley Address: 
It Would Be Foolish for Israel to Make a Deal that Weakened Its Security                    
There aren't a lot of Costa Rica's in this world-and even Switzerland has a military...
Jewish Members of Congress-from Both Parties-Get Together to Support Israel                                                      
One of the very few bi-partisan issues that Congress embraces        
A month or so after an election where everyone played rough, including on the Jewish field - Republicans and Democrats exchanged allegations of anti-Semitism - Jewish Democrats and Republicans met in the Capitol to discuss getting along, at least when it comes to Israel.  The setting was a conference convened by the American Zionist Movement. The umbrella group brings together around 30 groups that span the Zionist spectrum.
Rep. Lee Zeldin, a Long Island Republican who beat Perry Gershon in hard-fought race between Jewish candidates (Zeldin battered Gershon for accepting an endorsement from J Street; Gershon said he saw parallels between the rise of fascism in the 1920s and 1930s and the rise of Donald Trump), was all about building bipartisan support for Israel. He praised pro-Israel Democrats present, like Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., who will chair the House Foreign Relations committee in the incoming Congress. "Eliot Engel is right," said Zeldin, who spoke after Engel did. "Bipartisanship is critical to standing with Israel." (Zeldin also revealed that he and Engel are distantly related.)
Democrats were similarly conciliatory. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., acknowledged that Jewish Democrats and Republicans tend to use Israel as a cudgel. "We need you to have a watchful eye and admonish those of us who take it too far," she told the assembled group leaders.  Speakers for both sides tended to use the flaws of the other side to illustrate their point: Zeldin dinged the Obama administration for waffling over its position on Jerusalem. Halie Soifer, the director of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, decried what she said was the partisan rhetoric of Trump's ambassador to Israel, David Friedman.
The Republican Jewish Coalition's congressional affairs director, Noah Silverman, was an exception, laying out in a thoughtful presentation the flaws of each side. He worried his party was developing "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez derangement syndrome," hyper-focusing on the 29-year-old New York Democratic congresswoman-elect and her alleged missteps.  Ocasio-Cortez could one day be an ally, he said, despite having accused Israel of a "massacre" of Gazan Palestinians attempting to breach the border with Israel. "Our today adversary might be our friend tomorrow," he said. "We need to avoid painting with a broad brush."
He urged Democrats to acknowledge the erosion of support for Israel in the party's ranks, which has shown up in recent polling, and which he said could be accelerated by Democrats' reflexive rejection of everything Trump does, including moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. "Don't let your frustrations with the president take you away from strong pro-Israel positions you have taken in the past," he said.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the minority leader, spoke of shmoozing Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who is holding up an Israel defense assistance bill, while they pedaled stationary bikes at the Senate gym.  "I lobbied him today," Schumer said, adding that he sensed that he made headway. (Schumer said he likes to work out early in the morning, in part because that's when Republicans show up and he can make deals; Democrats, he said, tend to work out in the afternoon.)
Schumer said there was fault on both sides in weaponizing Israel. "Friends of Israel do not look for outliers on either party and make this a wedge issue," he said.



Tonight at 7:00 p.m.
Tomorrow morning at 9:30 a.m.
Tomorrow at 4:00 p.m.:
Minha, Seudah Shlishit, Ma'ariv & Havdalah
During Seudah Shlishit we will read a WSJ op-ed by Eugene Kontorovich  Airbnb's Anti-Israel Hypocrisy: The tech company will operate anywhere and serve anyone-except Jews in the West Bank.

This Week's Yahrzeit Observances
We hope that our weekly listing of yahrzeit observances will serve 2 purposes:
1)     To remind those who ha ve the yahrzeit for a second time, much closer to the date of the actual observance
2)     To alert friends and acquaintances that someone they know is observing a yahrzeit. We hope that you will show them your support by joining them at our minyanim, and helping to assure that Kaddish can be recited with a minyan 
  
Mrs. Phyllis Lowe will be observing yahrzeit for her father, Mr. Mark Kaplan on Sunday evening, December 23rd
Mrs. Ann Oster will be observing yahrzeit for her brother-in-law, Daniel Oster on Sunday evening, December 23rd
Mrs. Joan Alter will be observing yahrzeit for her mother-in-law , Sophie Alter on Monday evening, December 24th
Mr. Murray Feit will be observing yahrzeit for his father, Mr. Israel Feit on Monday evening, December 24th
Mrs. Rhea Hess will be observing yahrzeit for her nother-in-law, Thekla Hess on Monday evening, December 24th
Mr. Walter Strasfeld will be observing yahrzeit for his mother, Fay Strasfeld on Monday evening, December 24th
Mr. Jonathan Fox will be observing yahrzeit for his mother, Mrs. Helen Fox on Tuesday evening, December 25th
Mr. Alvin Sussman will be observing yahrzeit for his father, A. Harry Sussman on Tuesday evening, December 25th
Ms. Jean Burnick will be observing yahrzeit for her mother, Dina Burnick on Wednesday evening, December 26tth
Mrs. Audrey Greenberg will be observing yahrzeit for her father, Milton Breindel on Thursday evening, December 27th
Mr. Alan Fromkin will be observing yahrzeit for his mother , Rhoda Fromkin on Thursday evening, December 27th
Dr. Leon Perkal will be observing yahrzeit for his father, Ben Perkal on Thursday evening, December 27th






ISRAEL
First judges, and now...
U.S. Withdrawal from Syria
Here's one assessment:    "It seems to me we're seeing the rise of a new axis in the Middle East, aligning Russia, Israel and countries like Saudi Arabia against Iran," Ms. Khatib said. "But this will take a while to play out. And it does not remove the immediate danger that is now going to increase when it comes to Israel's own security."

The First Ethiopian-Israeli Air Force Pilot
ISRAEL JOINS THE RACE TO BECOME A QUANTUM SUPERPOWER
China and the US have made substantial investments and advancements in some area of quantum research. 
While these statistics are a relief, it still doesn't absolve Israel from striving to come to some sort of accommodation with Palestinians in the West Bank:

No Arab Demographic Time Bomb
Israeli Study: Neurofeedback Training Could Help Prevent PTSD in Soldiers  
In addition to this being a rather sensational headline, is this a principled decision or just another way for the Settler Movement to beat up on the PA?

Settler Lawyers Defends Palestinian vs PA  


Operation Northern Shield
Finally!!!

UN Says Hizbullah Tunnels that Crossed into Israel Violate Security Council Resolution
 "UNIFIL at this stage can confirm that two of the tunnels cross the Blue Line. These constitute violations of UN Security Council resolution 1701."

Israel to UNSC: Tunnels Info We Gave UNIFIL Ended Up in Hizbullah Hands
Israeli Army Begins Destroying Hizbullah Tunnels on Lebanon Border                                            
An excellent, detailed background piece:
Four years of intense intelligence gathering led in early December to the launch of an operation to uncover and destroy Hezbollah's tunnels on the Lebanese border. From top secret discussions kept from half the General Staff to combat engineering soldiers who didn't even know what they were training for-this is how Operation Northern Shield came to be 
   Video: Inside Hizbullah's Secret Tunnels into Israel                                                          

IDF: Hizbullah Attempting to Seal Its Attack Tunnels              


     
BDS
I do not know if this anti-BDS bill was part of the funding authorization approved by the Senate on Wednesday night. This NYT editorial, in Wednesday's paper, rather gently expresses its reservations about it. The editorial is wrong in the way it contrasts AIPAC and J Street, as I have said and written many times: J Street's equivalent is the ZOA in that it has its own political agenda and viewpoint ; AIPAC always reflects the policies of whichever Israeli coalition controls Israel's government.
The editorial also contains some misinformation about the Texas school speech pathologist. The 2 items that follows the NYT editorial explains that situation more accurately and in a more nuanced fashion. It seems to have to do with the fact that the teacher is an independent contractor and therefore, technically, a sole proprietor of her own business. The second piece (by Stuart Eizenstat) deals with the free speech component.

Curbing Speech in the Name of Helping Israel
 A Senate bill aims to punish those who boycott Israel over its settlement policy. There are better solutions. 
Everyone Is Misreporting the Texas BDS Lawsuit: A Texas School District Did Not Require a Speech Pathologist to Sign a " Pro-Israel Pledge"   
U.S. Companies Need Relief from BDS Pressure                                                                                                 
After Suspending Ban on Settlements, Airbnb VP Tours West Bank and Reinstitutes Former Policy-Or Not...  
 "Our policy will not be implemented. The company will continue its dialogue with the Israeli government." 
Or Not...  


 Anti-Semitism / Anti Zionism  
Steven Spielberg on Storytelling's Power to Fight Hate                                                                                                     
The director is reissuing "Schindler's List," as he expands the mission of the Shoah Foundation through video testimonies of genocide survivors.  
Unprecedented EU Poll Finds 90% of European Jews Feel Anti-Semitism Increasing                                           
Anti-Semitism 'disturbingly normalized,' says EU rights chief, after massive survey of 12 EU states finds 85% of Jews rate it the biggest social problem in their countries 
Their aim must annihilation of the Jews, unaware of just how much (Neo-)Nazis detest most Arabs, especially these days in Europe:   
Muslims Chant for Hitler in Europe
Fears of a Labour-Led British Government:
In London's Jewish Hub, Brexit Jitters Are Causing a Housing Slump                                                       

Funding for Al Quds [Jerusalem] Rally Group Will Be Terminated, European Commission Says   
Is the Women's March Melting Down?      
Key Participant at Center of Women's March Story Confirms Anti-Jewish Incident
New information from two participants at the first Women's March meeting contradicts statement by current co-chair and corroborates a 'contentious conversation' about race and Jewishness took place            
On the other hand...
Anti-Semitism Controversy Divides Women's March: 'We Can't Betray Our Jewish Community'Washington state chapter disbands, Michigan co-founder urges supporters to join events unaffiliated with official Women's March as anger at leaders over Farrakhan and 'anti-LGBTQism' grows       

French Tax Protests Feature Anti-Semitic Rhetoric 



Pop Culture

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Swears in New Immigrants; Wows Them with Her Story                                                
Patriots' Star Julian Edelman Wears Cleats with Hebrew on Them to Honor Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting Victims 
 "In memory of The Tree of Life" was written in Hebrew on the player's custom boots.                                                                 (Patriots lost to the Steelers) Owner Bob Craft visits Tree of Life for Shabbat services        
' Seinfeld' to '2,000-Year-Old Man': 15 Top Moments in Jewish Comedy Chosen by Museum of the Jewish People    
"The Esthers": Top 10 Jewish Films of 2018                         

Judaism, Actually
'Love, Actually' is not just great, but it may also be the most Jewish Christmas movie ever made                                

The Best Jewish Hip Hop (and Hip Hop by Jews) of 2018  
Academy Awards Turns Its Back on Latest Israeli Film 
"The Cakemaker" is out of the running for the foreign film Oscar.  










Boaz Vaadia RETROSPECTIVE
The Open Museum, TEFEN
February 9, 2019 - Nov. 30, 2019
On Feb 9th, 2019, the Open Museum at Tefen Industrial Park, in cooperation with Kim Vaadia, his widow, will open a comprehensive exhibition of his works. The exhibition includes his last relief works, made in his New York studio shortly before he died from a terminal disease in February 2017. This is the first time Vaadia's works are shown in his homeland, having spent 43 years living and working in New York, where he established a successful international career.
 
Dance
Love Chapter 2
L-E-V at The Joyce Theater
Choreographer Sharon Eyal
January 23 |7:30 pm -  January 24, 25, 26 | 8:00 pm -  Sunday January 27 | 2:00 pm
The Joyce Theater
Sharon Eyal's Love Chapter 2 is a spellbinding and provocative dance that stares unflinchingly at isolation and loneliness. Blending striking imagery with intoxicatingly powerful movement, the work explores what we are left with when our connection to each other breaks down. Driven forward by the pulsating techno beats of DJ Ori Lichtik, the dance is an uninhibited and exhilarating look at the inexplicable nature of love.

David Broza with Friends
Music  David Broza Cuban Style
The Not Exactly XMES Show
Saturday, December 22 |8:00 pm
Symphony Space
David Broza's annual show featuring his greatest hits with a fresh Cuban twist - accompanied by Trio Havana and special guests. As one of the most innovative and creative musicians in the world today, his 40+ year career spans the gamut from blues to jazz, rock, country, folk and world music. Singing in Hebrew, Spanish, English, and Arabic, he brings together audiences of all cultures, bridging barriers of language through his music."Trio Havana", is led by flute virtuoso Itai Kris, with special guests including Flamenco singer and flute player Alfonso Cid and master guitarist Yuniel Jimenez, including the special appearance of Flamenco dancer Xianix Barrera. 

 
Music
Gilad Hekselman & Friends
December 21 |8:30 pm, 10:00 pm
The Cornelia Street Cafe
Gilad Hekselman, guitar,  Joel Ross, vibraphone
Born in Israel Gilad studied classical piano and guitar from an early age. While a young student he performed regularly with the band of a weekly children'sIsraeli television show. He attended the prestigious Thelma Yellin School of Arts, graduating with excellence from the jazz after which he received the America - Israel Cultural Foundation Scholarship for studies abroad to attend The New School in New York, where he completed his BFA in performing arts in 2008.

 
Music
Salute to 3 Knights with
Asi Matatius, violin
Jupiter Symphony Players
January 7th | 2:00 pm, 7:30 pm
Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church
William Wolfram, piano,  Asi Matatias, violin,  Eunae Koh, violin,  Maurycy Banaszek, viola,  Zlatomir Fung, cello,  Barry Crawford, flute,  Vadim Lando, clarinet
Asi Matatius, a protégé of Pinchas Zukerman, is already recognized as one of the most talented musicians of his generation. As an enthusiastic chamber musician, he has participated in festivals such as the Jerusalem, Con Anima (Austria), Vienna Bezirk Wochen Festspiele, Israel, and Prussia Cove in England.

 
Dance
ZviDance
Bear's Ears and Detour
PERFORMANCE
December 19th thru 22nd, 2018
New York Live Arts 219 West 19th Street NYC
Zvi Gotheiner, choreographer,  Scott Killian, composer,  Josh Higgason, media designer,  Mark London, lighting designer
Eight athletic and expressive dancers
ZviDance's BEAR'S EARS sets out to raise awareness about the conflict surrounding Bear's Ears National Monument in Southern Utah. While designated as a National Monument by President Obama, Bear's Ears is now a symbol of the American Indian's struggle due to the current Administration's attempts to reverse Obama's designation. DETOUR reflects on the longer, less direct way to get where you're going. Zvi Gotheiner is praised for his signature innovative style and his successfully and incongruous yet fascinating melding of disparate artistic mediums. His work is recognized as radical, contemporary dance theater, ground-breaking, thoughtful yet passionate, and with lush movement.

 
Dance
Riff this/ Riff that
Ephrat Asherie Dance
January 5, 2019 | 8:00 pm -  January 6, 2019 | 2:00 pm
The Joyce Theater
Choreography, Ephrat Asherie
Music, Ehud Asherie
Bessie-award winning choreographer Ephrat Asherie collaborates with renowned jazz pianist Ehud Asherie on Riff this, Riff that. Exploring the jazz dance roots of breaking, hip hop, and house, this brother and sister duo is joined by an all-star cast of performers who take on the choreographer's rapid-fire movement, which features "compact bursts of choreography" that "bubble up and dissipate, quickly paving the way for something new" (The New York Times). 

 
Exhibition
Should We Keep The Head
Artist, Amir Nave
SHIN Gallery
November 28 - January 6, 2019
SHIN Gallery
Amir Nave (b. 1974), an Israeli artist with a solo show at SHIN Gallery includes smaller drawings of ink and pen on paper and large paintings made of oil and graphite on canvas. In all of these works, Nave attempts to create moments of eternity within immortal objects. He is interested in consciousness and human emotion and through his attempt at subversion, he exploits them to their fullest states. The viewer becomes aware that they too, are simply a figure with an acute sense of awareness and limitation.





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