MY MOTHER-IN-LAW, ALLA RAVIV, WOMAN OF WORTH
Born on September,18th, 1913, in Lodz, Poland, Leah Hendler did not realise what a fascinating life lay in front of her. Her travels began when she was only five months old. Her family, father Meir, mother Golda and big brother, four year old Shmuel, fearing the already extreme antisemitism of their homeland, left Poland for the relative security of life in Russia.
Since the name Leah was difficult to the tongue of a small child, so she called herself Alla. Her mother, an exceptional woman of her times, understanding the future of the Jewish people, decided that despite the stringent anti-religious laws of post-revolutionary Russia she would bring a Hebrew teacher into their home, through the back entrance, so that her children could learn Hebrew. She talked always of the home land in far off Palestine and of the Jewish dream of a State of Israel. Times became more difficult for the family in Russia, Meir was taken to prison by the Communists for being bourgeoise, for being successful. His wife and children never knowing if he would be alive or dead at their next prison visit. By the age of 10 Alla found herself back in Lodz, Poland, the family having lost everything in Russia. The young girl had to accustom herself to the strange environs of a Polish school. New language and new atmosphere. Based upon their Mothers insistence upon teaching her children Hebrew Alla and Shmuel gained entrance to the top schools in Lodz, the Jewish Gymanasia, with rarely achieved scholarships.
Both children studied well and achieved high marks. After the Baccalaureate Alla made up her mind that she wanted to study Pharmacy at the University in Vilna. There was a problem however, Jews were banned from studying sciences or medicine. In an every increasingly antisemitic Poland. The University accepted her to study Classics. The ban and the clear antisemitism that it signified worried Alla. That night, as she was packing her clothes for University, she expressed her concerns. Her mother simply unpacked her daughters bags and they made the decision together, Alla would go to study at the newly formed Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
It was a long and lonely journey. Her future unknown, Alla spent her time learning to sew so that she would have a skill if she didn't find a job. Over the next years she used that skill to repair her own clothes as they grew old and frayed. She tutored children in Hebrew, she scrubbed floors and cleaned bathrooms at the University all to pay for her studies and her meagre keep. Alla worked as a school secretary in Jerusalem, girl Friday to the headmaster.
Alla went back to Lodz once. She went to see her parents after feeling her letters were not sufficient to tell them of the handsome young man who had won her heart, Kalman Raviv, Mandate Policeman number 81, spy for the Hagana. On that visit to her family Alla saw the horrors of the future beginning to take a firm hold. She begged her family to leave Poland, to join her in the fledgling country of Israel and they promised to come soon, in a little while. They did not come for Allas wedding to Kalman, held on the roof of her cousins home in Tel Aviv arriving by bus rather than carriage, carefully repairing her torn skirt on the journey so as not to embarrass her beau. By the time Allas first son Zvi was born in 1945 her entire family had died in the torture of Auschwitz at the hands of the Nazis.
Alla chose to work, to fulfil all the great ambitions that her mother had set for her. From acting school secretary she became a replacement teacher; from replacement teacher she won a permanent position. She, together with her lifes' partner Kalman, headed the Teachers Union in Jerusalem. Alla went on to be a headmistress, one of the most famous, and beloved in the City. She has won every award possible from the City for her community service and her outstanding work.
This woman who had lost everything, her parents and brother to the Nazi horror; her younger son to a road accident, never gave up or felt sorry for herself. She lived to give reason and purpose to the lives of others in the country that she so loved. At the age of 87 she, together with her lifes partner Kalman, was still active in running a social and learning group for some three hundred retired teachers.
Alla Raviv is the shining example of what every woman should try to attain. To turn every obstacle into a rung up the ladder; to spend the energy wasted upon crying and moaning to build a stronger future to justify the pain of the past. Her relationship with her beloved husband was one of two people who had only each other – both of their families had been erased by the horror of the Holocaust.
She became as a Mother to me, understanding all to well what it meant to lose ones mother at a young age. She and Kalman took me under their wings, wings so wise and kind. Her last words to Zvi were to tell him how handsome he was, not a word of complaint about herself.
Alla left behind her a wonderful legacy of school children who became educators, a deeply respected and loved son who learned to give to his community and country; Amiad and Leor her two adoring grandsons; Amit and Gili her two little grand-daughters. Alla was loved by my own children and grandchildren who will also miss her dearly. She will be missed more than one can imagine but she left the world is a better place for Alla Raviv having been in it.
Alla Raviv, aged 97, woman of worth, Eshet Chayil, I loved you very much.
26th Nissan, 5771
Saturday 30 April 2011
Friday 22 April 2011
Shabbat Shalom letter from Jerusalem
110422
21st April, 2011
SHABBAT SHALOM AND A PEACEFUL AND CONTEMPLATIVE EASTER.
I APOLOGISE FOR THE CAPITAL LETTERS BUT SINCE I SENT MY COMPUTER FOR REPAIR AND REMOVAL OF A PART I DIDN'T NEED IN the FIRST PLACE - I DON'T HAVE A WORKING 'SHIFT' BUTTON --- WE WILL OVERCOME.
THE JEWISH WORLD IS IN TURMOIL AS HEZB-ALLAH WARNS THAT THEY WILL ATTACK US WHEREVER WE ARE IN THE WORLD – ESPECIALLY ISRAELIS WHO ARE OVERSEAS. WHILE WORLD LEADERS ARE TIED UP WITH THE VARIOUS 'REBELLIONS' IN MANY OF OUR NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES HEZB-ALLAH IS TAKING THE OPPORTUNITY TO THREATEN BRINGING ARAB CHAOS TO YOUR COUNTRY. IF ISRAELIS ARE KILLED OR HARMED THAN YOU CAN BET YOUR BOTTOM DOLLAR THAT THE MEDIA WILL CLAIM IT IS OUR FAULT.......... AND EVEN MORE SO IF THERE IS 'COLLATERAL DAMAGE'. THEY SPREAD THEIR EVIL THICKLY ON THE BREAD AND BUTTER OF THEIR JEWISH DEHUMANISATION.
THE ARAB WORLD IS IN TURMOIL AS DEMONSTRATORS FIGHT EVIL TYRANTS AND ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALIST GROUPS WAIT IN THE WINGS FOR THE HIATUS BETWEEN CORRUPT GOVERNMENT AND REFORM IN ORDER TO JUMP IN AND TAKE OVER – ENSURING THE 'IRANISATION' OF THE REMAINING RELATIVELY SECULAR STATES. ISRAEL IS NOT THE ONLY TARGET OF THESE ORGANISATIONS BUT WE MAKE A REASONABLE FIRST COURSE.......... EUROPE AND THE AMERICAS ARE THE SOUP AND THE GREAT USA THE MAIN DISH. WE NEED TO ACT BUT WE DON'T HAVE THE GREAT LEADERS NEEDED TO MAKE TOUGH DECISIONS – GREAT MEN LIKE WINSTON CHURCHILL.
THE RED CROSS ADMITS THAT THERE IS NO HUMANITARIAN CRISIS IN GAZA – FINALLY. http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=217460
JOURNALISTS ARE UNDER INTENSE ATTACK IN THE MIDDLE EAST. THE HATRED FOR THE WEST IS EXPRESSED IN ATTACKS ON JOURNALISTS http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110421/media_nm/us_media_journalists_1
KHALED ABU TOAMEH IS A RARE JOURNALIST WHO WRITES AND SPEAKS THE TRUTH OF WHAT HAPPENS IN THIS PART OF THE WORLD. HE BRINGS ATTENTION TO THE FACT THAT DESPITE A PA BAN ON PALESTINIANS WORKING IN THE 'SETTLEMENTS' MANY DO AND THEY EARN TWICE AS MUCH AS THEY CAN WORKING FOR ARABS. http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=217506&R=R3
JUSTIN BIEBER CAME TO ISRAEL AND ARGUED WITH THE PAPARAZZI – TWITTERING WILDLY ABOUT NOT BEING ABLE TO HAVE PRIVATE TIME IN HIS RELIGIOUS SITES. HE THEN CANCELLED HIS APPOINTMENT WITH OUR PRIME MINISTER BECAUSE HE REFUSED TO MEET CHILDREN FROM SDEROT WHO WERE TO BE AT THE MEETING SAYING THE REQUEST WAS TOO POLITICAL AND THEN CLAIMED THAT MR NETANYAHU WAS TO BLAME. C'MON JUSTIN – MEETING CHILDREN WHO HAVE SPENT TEN YEARS IN BOMB SHELTERS TO GIVE THEM A SMILE IS TOO POLITICAL........... BET YOU WOULDN'T HAVE SAID THAT ANYWHERE ELSE.
ISRAELI WINES HAVE COME A LONG LONG WAY SINCE THE DAYS OF SICKLY SEET KIDDUSH WINES. DANIEL ROGOV, EPICURE AND WINE MAVEN, IS A VERY TOUGH MAN TO PLEASE BUT HE WAS DELIGHTED WITH A NEW WINERY CALL ASIF. SEE WHAT HE HAS TO SAY AND ORDER SOME. http://www.wineloverspage.com/forum/village/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=38753&sid=4e0619051ab28fa65e7f25d97e392208
MY DEAR FRIEND RABBI JEREMY ROSEN LOVES QUESTIONING AND DELVING INTO JUDAISM WITH RARE CURIOUSITY. THIS WEEK HE APPROACHES THE QUESTION OF 'KITNIOT' OR PULSES ON PASSOVER – THE GREAT SEFARDI/ASHKENAZ DIVIDE. WELL WORTH READING, AS ALWAYS.
http://jeremyrosen.blogspot.com/
SEDER NIGHT WAS WONDERFUL. WE HAD FAMILY AND 'LIKE' FAMILY AS WE SAT AROUND RELIVING THE TRADITIONS OF HISTORY, RETELLING THE STORY AND RECOGNISING OURLIFE AS FREE PEOPLE.......... NO LONGER SLAVES AND NEVER AGAIN TO BEND TO THE WILL OF OTHERS. OUR DINNER SERVICE, THE LAST REMNANT OF KALMANS – ZVI'S FATHER – LIFE IN POLAND, WAS SAVED FOR ANOTHER DAY SINCE WITH 25 PEOPLE AND MANY CHILDREN WE CHOSE TO USE DISPOSABLE DISHES.............. EXCEPT FOR THE CHICKEN SOUP OF COURSE.
AS SOON AS OUR TABLES WERE SET AND THE FOOD COOKED I WENT TO THE NEIGHBOURS TO CHECK ON THEIR DISHES AND GIVE AND RECEIVE HUGS AS WE ALL WISH EACH OTHER 'CHAG PESACH KASHER V'SAMEACH'. OUR GUESTS ARRIVED WITH GREAT EXPECTATIONS OF A MEMORABLE EVENING. IRA AND VALERY ARRIVED FIRST WITH TOMER AND SHELLY. NO SOONER WAS TOMER THROUGH THE DOOR WHEN HE ASKED WHO WOULD ASK THE FOUR QUESTIONS ' MA NISHTANA' SINCE NOW HE WAS BAR MITZVA HIS YEARS AS THE PRIMARY QUESTIONER WERE OVER – WE PROMISED HIM THAT ALTHOUGH THERE WERE LITTLE CHILDREN HE WAS STILL ALLOWED TO 'HELP' THEM. AS IT TURNED OUT ZVI'S LITTLE GRAND-DAUGHTER AMIT AND HER NEW BEST FRIEND NAAMA FROM HAIFA DID IT ON THEIR OWN – PROUDLY SITTING ON SABA-DOD'S KNEE. FOR SOME GUESTS IT WAS THEIR FIRST 'REAL' SEDER AND THEY LOVED THE SCENTS OF THE TRADITIONAL FOODS AND AT THE EXQUISITE SEDER DISH THAT CAME FROM MY PARENTS HOME. AFTER THE FOUR QUESTIONS CAME THE RECITATION OF THE STORY THEN BLESSINGS ARE MADE OVER THE MATZA, THE WINE, THE PARSLEY IN SALT WATER, THE GREATED HORSERADISH TO REPRESENT THE BITTER TIMES, MY ZEIDY'S CHAROSIS – COMBINING – WHICH IS MADE IN BULK SINCE EVERYBODY WANTS MORE – AND FINALLY THE FOOD........ THEN A QUICK VISIT FROM THE ELIJAH, THANKING G-D FOR OUR MEAL AND THEN THE SONGS. WE HAVE A VERY SPECIAL VERSION OF ONE SONG 'CHAD GADYA' – ONLY ONE KID. AS WE SING OF THE KID, CAT,DOG, ETC ETC WE MAKE ANIMAL OR FIRE ENGINE NOISES APPROPRIATE TO EACH VERSE ENDING WITH A HUGE CHEER AS G-D SAVES US ALL.
AS I GO ON MY MORNING WALK AROUND THE NEIGHBOURHOOD EVERYONE SMILES 'CHAG SAMEACH – BOKER TOV' AS WE TRY TO WORK OFF OUR CONSTANT MATZA SNACKS. PARKS ARE FILLED WITH PORTABLE BARBEQUES, FATHERS WIELDING SPECIAL PLASTIC FANS TO ENSURE A GOOD BLAZE, MOTHERS TAKING A WELL EARNED REST AND CHILDREN AMUSING EACH OTHER AS THEY TURN THE PATHS INTO CYCLE TRACKS AND PLAY ON THE GRASS. EVERY SINGLE SPACE IN THE FOREST, HILLS AND ROADSIDES IS BARBEQUE WORTHY AS FAMILIES ENJOY THE OPEN SPACES AND THE WONDERFUL SPRING WEATHER – NOT TOO HOT AND NOT TOO COLD. HOTELS ARE FULL TO OVERFLOWING AND THE MALLS AND ARCADES ARE FILLED WITH HAPPY FOLK – SOME SURPRISED AT THE CHANGE AND SOMEWHAT LIMITED MENUS OF FINE RESTAURANTS.
I JUST WENT ONTO THE VERANDA AS A GUST OF WIND BLEW DOWN A PLANT POT AND I BREATHED IN THE RICH SCENT EMITTED BY THE MASSES OF WHITE ORANGE BLOSSOM ON OUR INCREDIBLY SMALL ORANGE TREE. AS I LINGERED IN MY FAVOURITE SPOT I WAS HAPPY TO SEE THAT THE TRAFFIC IS LESSENING AND JERUSALEM IS WINDING DOWN AS IF HOLDING HER BREATH AS SHABBAT NEARS. THIS IS AN AMAZING CITY IN EVERY SENSE. THE SHEER VARIETY OF HER RESIDENTS AND THE VIVACITY OF A MILLION DISCUSSIONS – BIBLICAL, POLITICAL, REGIONAL AND GLOBAL ALL CARRIED OUT WITH MUCH HEAT AND GESTURING, EVEN AS THEY LEAVE THE SHOPPING MALL. SLOWLY SLOWLY THE NOISE OF HUMANKIND ABATES AS THE BRIDAL VEIL OF SHABBAT 'SHALOM' FALLS OVER THE GOLDEN CITY OF JERUSALEM
IT HAS TAKEN TWO THOUSAND YEARS TO RETURN FROM OUR DISPERSAL AND COMPLETE OUR FREEDOM FROM BEING SLAVES AND UNDERDOGS. WE WILL NEVER EVER BE SLAVES AGAIN BUT WE NEED YOU TO PLAY YOUR PART TOO. ONLY THE SILENT BECOME SLAVES AND THIS PESACH LET'S PLEDGE TO ENSURE NEXT YEAR IN JERUSALEM – B'SHANA HA BA'AH BE YERUSHALYIM HA B'NUYA.
CHAG PESACH SAMEACH – A TRULY BLESSED EASTER
WITH LOVE FROM JERUSALEM
SHEILA
21st April, 2011
SHABBAT SHALOM AND A PEACEFUL AND CONTEMPLATIVE EASTER.
I APOLOGISE FOR THE CAPITAL LETTERS BUT SINCE I SENT MY COMPUTER FOR REPAIR AND REMOVAL OF A PART I DIDN'T NEED IN the FIRST PLACE - I DON'T HAVE A WORKING 'SHIFT' BUTTON --- WE WILL OVERCOME.
THE JEWISH WORLD IS IN TURMOIL AS HEZB-ALLAH WARNS THAT THEY WILL ATTACK US WHEREVER WE ARE IN THE WORLD – ESPECIALLY ISRAELIS WHO ARE OVERSEAS. WHILE WORLD LEADERS ARE TIED UP WITH THE VARIOUS 'REBELLIONS' IN MANY OF OUR NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES HEZB-ALLAH IS TAKING THE OPPORTUNITY TO THREATEN BRINGING ARAB CHAOS TO YOUR COUNTRY. IF ISRAELIS ARE KILLED OR HARMED THAN YOU CAN BET YOUR BOTTOM DOLLAR THAT THE MEDIA WILL CLAIM IT IS OUR FAULT.......... AND EVEN MORE SO IF THERE IS 'COLLATERAL DAMAGE'. THEY SPREAD THEIR EVIL THICKLY ON THE BREAD AND BUTTER OF THEIR JEWISH DEHUMANISATION.
THE ARAB WORLD IS IN TURMOIL AS DEMONSTRATORS FIGHT EVIL TYRANTS AND ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALIST GROUPS WAIT IN THE WINGS FOR THE HIATUS BETWEEN CORRUPT GOVERNMENT AND REFORM IN ORDER TO JUMP IN AND TAKE OVER – ENSURING THE 'IRANISATION' OF THE REMAINING RELATIVELY SECULAR STATES. ISRAEL IS NOT THE ONLY TARGET OF THESE ORGANISATIONS BUT WE MAKE A REASONABLE FIRST COURSE.......... EUROPE AND THE AMERICAS ARE THE SOUP AND THE GREAT USA THE MAIN DISH. WE NEED TO ACT BUT WE DON'T HAVE THE GREAT LEADERS NEEDED TO MAKE TOUGH DECISIONS – GREAT MEN LIKE WINSTON CHURCHILL.
THE RED CROSS ADMITS THAT THERE IS NO HUMANITARIAN CRISIS IN GAZA – FINALLY. http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=217460
JOURNALISTS ARE UNDER INTENSE ATTACK IN THE MIDDLE EAST. THE HATRED FOR THE WEST IS EXPRESSED IN ATTACKS ON JOURNALISTS http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110421/media_nm/us_media_journalists_1
KHALED ABU TOAMEH IS A RARE JOURNALIST WHO WRITES AND SPEAKS THE TRUTH OF WHAT HAPPENS IN THIS PART OF THE WORLD. HE BRINGS ATTENTION TO THE FACT THAT DESPITE A PA BAN ON PALESTINIANS WORKING IN THE 'SETTLEMENTS' MANY DO AND THEY EARN TWICE AS MUCH AS THEY CAN WORKING FOR ARABS. http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=217506&R=R3
JUSTIN BIEBER CAME TO ISRAEL AND ARGUED WITH THE PAPARAZZI – TWITTERING WILDLY ABOUT NOT BEING ABLE TO HAVE PRIVATE TIME IN HIS RELIGIOUS SITES. HE THEN CANCELLED HIS APPOINTMENT WITH OUR PRIME MINISTER BECAUSE HE REFUSED TO MEET CHILDREN FROM SDEROT WHO WERE TO BE AT THE MEETING SAYING THE REQUEST WAS TOO POLITICAL AND THEN CLAIMED THAT MR NETANYAHU WAS TO BLAME. C'MON JUSTIN – MEETING CHILDREN WHO HAVE SPENT TEN YEARS IN BOMB SHELTERS TO GIVE THEM A SMILE IS TOO POLITICAL........... BET YOU WOULDN'T HAVE SAID THAT ANYWHERE ELSE.
ISRAELI WINES HAVE COME A LONG LONG WAY SINCE THE DAYS OF SICKLY SEET KIDDUSH WINES. DANIEL ROGOV, EPICURE AND WINE MAVEN, IS A VERY TOUGH MAN TO PLEASE BUT HE WAS DELIGHTED WITH A NEW WINERY CALL ASIF. SEE WHAT HE HAS TO SAY AND ORDER SOME. http://www.wineloverspage.com/forum/village/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=38753&sid=4e0619051ab28fa65e7f25d97e392208
MY DEAR FRIEND RABBI JEREMY ROSEN LOVES QUESTIONING AND DELVING INTO JUDAISM WITH RARE CURIOUSITY. THIS WEEK HE APPROACHES THE QUESTION OF 'KITNIOT' OR PULSES ON PASSOVER – THE GREAT SEFARDI/ASHKENAZ DIVIDE. WELL WORTH READING, AS ALWAYS.
http://jeremyrosen.blogspot.com/
SEDER NIGHT WAS WONDERFUL. WE HAD FAMILY AND 'LIKE' FAMILY AS WE SAT AROUND RELIVING THE TRADITIONS OF HISTORY, RETELLING THE STORY AND RECOGNISING OURLIFE AS FREE PEOPLE.......... NO LONGER SLAVES AND NEVER AGAIN TO BEND TO THE WILL OF OTHERS. OUR DINNER SERVICE, THE LAST REMNANT OF KALMANS – ZVI'S FATHER – LIFE IN POLAND, WAS SAVED FOR ANOTHER DAY SINCE WITH 25 PEOPLE AND MANY CHILDREN WE CHOSE TO USE DISPOSABLE DISHES.............. EXCEPT FOR THE CHICKEN SOUP OF COURSE.
AS SOON AS OUR TABLES WERE SET AND THE FOOD COOKED I WENT TO THE NEIGHBOURS TO CHECK ON THEIR DISHES AND GIVE AND RECEIVE HUGS AS WE ALL WISH EACH OTHER 'CHAG PESACH KASHER V'SAMEACH'. OUR GUESTS ARRIVED WITH GREAT EXPECTATIONS OF A MEMORABLE EVENING. IRA AND VALERY ARRIVED FIRST WITH TOMER AND SHELLY. NO SOONER WAS TOMER THROUGH THE DOOR WHEN HE ASKED WHO WOULD ASK THE FOUR QUESTIONS ' MA NISHTANA' SINCE NOW HE WAS BAR MITZVA HIS YEARS AS THE PRIMARY QUESTIONER WERE OVER – WE PROMISED HIM THAT ALTHOUGH THERE WERE LITTLE CHILDREN HE WAS STILL ALLOWED TO 'HELP' THEM. AS IT TURNED OUT ZVI'S LITTLE GRAND-DAUGHTER AMIT AND HER NEW BEST FRIEND NAAMA FROM HAIFA DID IT ON THEIR OWN – PROUDLY SITTING ON SABA-DOD'S KNEE. FOR SOME GUESTS IT WAS THEIR FIRST 'REAL' SEDER AND THEY LOVED THE SCENTS OF THE TRADITIONAL FOODS AND AT THE EXQUISITE SEDER DISH THAT CAME FROM MY PARENTS HOME. AFTER THE FOUR QUESTIONS CAME THE RECITATION OF THE STORY THEN BLESSINGS ARE MADE OVER THE MATZA, THE WINE, THE PARSLEY IN SALT WATER, THE GREATED HORSERADISH TO REPRESENT THE BITTER TIMES, MY ZEIDY'S CHAROSIS – COMBINING – WHICH IS MADE IN BULK SINCE EVERYBODY WANTS MORE – AND FINALLY THE FOOD........ THEN A QUICK VISIT FROM THE ELIJAH, THANKING G-D FOR OUR MEAL AND THEN THE SONGS. WE HAVE A VERY SPECIAL VERSION OF ONE SONG 'CHAD GADYA' – ONLY ONE KID. AS WE SING OF THE KID, CAT,DOG, ETC ETC WE MAKE ANIMAL OR FIRE ENGINE NOISES APPROPRIATE TO EACH VERSE ENDING WITH A HUGE CHEER AS G-D SAVES US ALL.
AS I GO ON MY MORNING WALK AROUND THE NEIGHBOURHOOD EVERYONE SMILES 'CHAG SAMEACH – BOKER TOV' AS WE TRY TO WORK OFF OUR CONSTANT MATZA SNACKS. PARKS ARE FILLED WITH PORTABLE BARBEQUES, FATHERS WIELDING SPECIAL PLASTIC FANS TO ENSURE A GOOD BLAZE, MOTHERS TAKING A WELL EARNED REST AND CHILDREN AMUSING EACH OTHER AS THEY TURN THE PATHS INTO CYCLE TRACKS AND PLAY ON THE GRASS. EVERY SINGLE SPACE IN THE FOREST, HILLS AND ROADSIDES IS BARBEQUE WORTHY AS FAMILIES ENJOY THE OPEN SPACES AND THE WONDERFUL SPRING WEATHER – NOT TOO HOT AND NOT TOO COLD. HOTELS ARE FULL TO OVERFLOWING AND THE MALLS AND ARCADES ARE FILLED WITH HAPPY FOLK – SOME SURPRISED AT THE CHANGE AND SOMEWHAT LIMITED MENUS OF FINE RESTAURANTS.
I JUST WENT ONTO THE VERANDA AS A GUST OF WIND BLEW DOWN A PLANT POT AND I BREATHED IN THE RICH SCENT EMITTED BY THE MASSES OF WHITE ORANGE BLOSSOM ON OUR INCREDIBLY SMALL ORANGE TREE. AS I LINGERED IN MY FAVOURITE SPOT I WAS HAPPY TO SEE THAT THE TRAFFIC IS LESSENING AND JERUSALEM IS WINDING DOWN AS IF HOLDING HER BREATH AS SHABBAT NEARS. THIS IS AN AMAZING CITY IN EVERY SENSE. THE SHEER VARIETY OF HER RESIDENTS AND THE VIVACITY OF A MILLION DISCUSSIONS – BIBLICAL, POLITICAL, REGIONAL AND GLOBAL ALL CARRIED OUT WITH MUCH HEAT AND GESTURING, EVEN AS THEY LEAVE THE SHOPPING MALL. SLOWLY SLOWLY THE NOISE OF HUMANKIND ABATES AS THE BRIDAL VEIL OF SHABBAT 'SHALOM' FALLS OVER THE GOLDEN CITY OF JERUSALEM
IT HAS TAKEN TWO THOUSAND YEARS TO RETURN FROM OUR DISPERSAL AND COMPLETE OUR FREEDOM FROM BEING SLAVES AND UNDERDOGS. WE WILL NEVER EVER BE SLAVES AGAIN BUT WE NEED YOU TO PLAY YOUR PART TOO. ONLY THE SILENT BECOME SLAVES AND THIS PESACH LET'S PLEDGE TO ENSURE NEXT YEAR IN JERUSALEM – B'SHANA HA BA'AH BE YERUSHALYIM HA B'NUYA.
CHAG PESACH SAMEACH – A TRULY BLESSED EASTER
WITH LOVE FROM JERUSALEM
SHEILA
Wednesday 20 April 2011
The Survivors Haggadah - Solly Ganor
We must never forget - we must always remember our slavery under the Nazis.
The Fabulous Survivor's Passover Haggadah.
By Solly Ganor
Munich, April 12, 1946
"There is no such thing as a “bad” or 'good' exile. Every exile leads to extinction." Holocaust survivor Sheinson.
The harsh winter of 1946 in Munich was coming to an end. Spring was in the air and the Passover holiday was approaching. For us, Holocaust survivors, it was of tremendous significance. It was our first Passover Seder after our liberation. We were going to celebrate a double holiday of Freedom. One for the exodus of the Jews from Egypt and the other, our Exodus from Hitler's concentration camps. Yet the two events were vastly different. Moses managed to bring the whole Jewish people to freedom, whereas only a fraction of European Jewry survived the Holocaust. What were we to do? Spend the rest of our lives mourning for our nearest and dearest? The calamity was so enormous that had we mourned for a thousand years, it would not even make the tiniest dent in our grief. We also knew that those who perished wouldn't want us to do that. Their expressed wish was never to forget them, but to go on with our lives, rebuild the Jewish nation from scratch in our own homeland in Israel.
The debate of what should be the fate of the Sheerit Hapleta (the saved remnant) was going on in the DP camps all over Germany. Most of us were still in shock of the incredible liberation, when we were convinced that the Nazis would finish us off before their end came. Most of us were in a forced denial trying to shut out the gruesome experiences that no human being should have ever been subjected to. We couldn't function without that denial. The black hole of the Holocaust trauma would have swallowed us alive. But there was one thing that the majority agreed upon, that there is no other place for us, but Eretz Israel.
The project of the survivors Haggadah was born in Munich and the person whose brainchild it was, was my father's friend Sheinson. He had the idea that we survivors should have our own Haggadah, different from the traditional one. He was a fellow survivor from Lithuania, and he literally became obsessed with the project. Some thought it was a way of trying to forget what happened to him and his family. Not only did he write much of the text, but was involved in all the phases of its complicated logistics. He often consulted fellow Lithuanian Jews, among them my father, but he always made his final decision what to include and what to exclude from the Haggadah. I remember some of the arguments involving the text, as he advocated Allyah to Israel as the only way remaining to us survivors. Especially one sentence was objected by some: He wrote in Yiddish: “Nito kein shlechter oder guter goles. Yeder goles firt zum untergang.” (There is no such thing as a “bad” or 'good' exile. Every exile leads to extinction.) You must understand, that there were those among us, who were tired, dispirited, mourning after their nearest and dearest who perished in the Holocaust. The idea of going to Israel to face strife, hard work and war, after what they went through was impossible to accept. They simply couldn't take it anymore. Those of us who were determined to make Aliyah, could understand them. They simply didn't have it in them to continue to struggle indefinitely, as the struggle in Eretz Israel seemed to indicate. Still, Sheinson included that sentence, despite some protests.
The person who worked tirelessly to help us was U.S. Army chaplain Rabbi Abraham Klausner. He played an important role in all phases of our existence in Bavaria. From helping to establish the Central Committee of Liberated Jews in Bavaria, to founding the first Yiddish newspaper (Unzer Weg).
My father, who was one of the founders of the first Hebrew school in Munich and a member of the Central Committee, couldn't praise Rabbi Klausner enough for all he did for us survivors.
It was Rabbi Klausner who helped with the logistics of having the Haggadah printed. The printing of the Haggadah was done by a group that called itself “Achida.” They were fellow survivors from Kovno Ghetto, who tried to avoid getting involved in the politics of the Yishuv in Eretz Israel. Ironically, the Haggadah was printed by a former Nazi printing house named Bruckman, who published during the war Nazi propaganda.
The two editors of Unzer Weg, Levi Shalit and Israel Kaplan, both fellow Lithuanians, took the Haggadah to Rabbi Klausner who accepted it and had it printed through army press facilities. There were some changes introduced by Klausner. The new cover was emblazoned with the tricolor insignia, in the middle of which there was a large white capital A, for the Third Army. (The army of occupation of Bavaria.) There was a poetic two-page introduction in English by Rabbi Klausner.
“And the khaki-clad sons of Israel commanded by Lt. General Trust gathered together as was the custom in Israel, to celebrate the Passover Festival.”
Was the first sentence of the part of the Haggadah. The next page said in small letters: “We were slaves to Hitler in Germany”
Following was a Hebrew version and a Yiddish version of the Haggadah. Some of it was traditional text, but much was written by Sheinson's anguished soul, reflecting the anger of the horrors inflicted on us and hope for a new life in Eretz Israel.
Here is a passage in the Haggadah that Sheinson wrote. It is full of bitterness and irony towards the world.
“When the righteous among the nations of the world saw that Hitler had decided to exterminate Israel, their great assembly came together and out of their great sorrow decided to keep silent. And the righteous among them say: How can we in our weakness save Israel from the hands of the evil man! Perhaps this is the hand of G-d and who are we to interfere in the conduct of this world. And the people see how Israel is swimming in their blood and they pass by. And the children of Israel groaned and cried out but were not heard. And they cried out to the Lord, the G-d of their fathers, who saw their suffering and oppression, and their cry went up. And that man of evil, Hitler, made instruments of destruction which he sent across the sea, killing many. Babies were being killed and still no one knew what to do about it. Finally, the enemies of that man of evil grew indignant, and they girded themselves and unleashed against that man of evil and his people great wrath, rage and fury, disaster, and a band of avenging angels, afflicting them with two hundred and fifty plagues. And G-d hardened Hitler's heart. And instruments of destruction, and eagles of iron and copper shower fire and brimstone upon his garrison cities, killing man and beasts alike.
And a multitude of chariots, as plenty as the sands of the sea, sweep across the land of the evil man, and destroy him, and the Holocaust survivors (Sheerit Hapletah, the saved remnant) are rescued and redeemed.
When peace came down on earth, the people of Israel were gathering. The surviving remnants were coming out of the caves, out of forests, and out of death camps, returning to the land of their exile. The people of those lands greeted them and said: We thought you were no longer alive, and here you are, so many of you. And they sent the survivors all sorts of messages, telling them to leave the land, even killing them. And the people of Israel ran for their lives; they were sneaking across borders only to be robbed of everything they had. And they abandoned their homes, and they saved their lives, and they went to Bavaria in order to go up to our Holy Land.”
Y.D. Sheinson
* * * * * *
This is but a small example of what is written in the Haggadah, we called survivor's Haggadah, but some, rightfully, call it Sheinson's Haggadah.
The full text of the Haggadah with an inspiring introduction by Professor Saul Touster can be obtained from the American Jewish Historical Society, in New York. ID # ISBN 0-911934-50-2
I would like to add that what makes the Haggadah even more unique are the printings of the original woodcuts surrounding each page. It was supplied by a superb artist and fellow survivor, Miklos Adler.
Ramat Hasharon Israel
April 18, 2011
The Fabulous Survivor's Passover Haggadah.
By Solly Ganor
Munich, April 12, 1946
"There is no such thing as a “bad” or 'good' exile. Every exile leads to extinction." Holocaust survivor Sheinson.
The harsh winter of 1946 in Munich was coming to an end. Spring was in the air and the Passover holiday was approaching. For us, Holocaust survivors, it was of tremendous significance. It was our first Passover Seder after our liberation. We were going to celebrate a double holiday of Freedom. One for the exodus of the Jews from Egypt and the other, our Exodus from Hitler's concentration camps. Yet the two events were vastly different. Moses managed to bring the whole Jewish people to freedom, whereas only a fraction of European Jewry survived the Holocaust. What were we to do? Spend the rest of our lives mourning for our nearest and dearest? The calamity was so enormous that had we mourned for a thousand years, it would not even make the tiniest dent in our grief. We also knew that those who perished wouldn't want us to do that. Their expressed wish was never to forget them, but to go on with our lives, rebuild the Jewish nation from scratch in our own homeland in Israel.
The debate of what should be the fate of the Sheerit Hapleta (the saved remnant) was going on in the DP camps all over Germany. Most of us were still in shock of the incredible liberation, when we were convinced that the Nazis would finish us off before their end came. Most of us were in a forced denial trying to shut out the gruesome experiences that no human being should have ever been subjected to. We couldn't function without that denial. The black hole of the Holocaust trauma would have swallowed us alive. But there was one thing that the majority agreed upon, that there is no other place for us, but Eretz Israel.
The project of the survivors Haggadah was born in Munich and the person whose brainchild it was, was my father's friend Sheinson. He had the idea that we survivors should have our own Haggadah, different from the traditional one. He was a fellow survivor from Lithuania, and he literally became obsessed with the project. Some thought it was a way of trying to forget what happened to him and his family. Not only did he write much of the text, but was involved in all the phases of its complicated logistics. He often consulted fellow Lithuanian Jews, among them my father, but he always made his final decision what to include and what to exclude from the Haggadah. I remember some of the arguments involving the text, as he advocated Allyah to Israel as the only way remaining to us survivors. Especially one sentence was objected by some: He wrote in Yiddish: “Nito kein shlechter oder guter goles. Yeder goles firt zum untergang.” (There is no such thing as a “bad” or 'good' exile. Every exile leads to extinction.) You must understand, that there were those among us, who were tired, dispirited, mourning after their nearest and dearest who perished in the Holocaust. The idea of going to Israel to face strife, hard work and war, after what they went through was impossible to accept. They simply couldn't take it anymore. Those of us who were determined to make Aliyah, could understand them. They simply didn't have it in them to continue to struggle indefinitely, as the struggle in Eretz Israel seemed to indicate. Still, Sheinson included that sentence, despite some protests.
The person who worked tirelessly to help us was U.S. Army chaplain Rabbi Abraham Klausner. He played an important role in all phases of our existence in Bavaria. From helping to establish the Central Committee of Liberated Jews in Bavaria, to founding the first Yiddish newspaper (Unzer Weg).
My father, who was one of the founders of the first Hebrew school in Munich and a member of the Central Committee, couldn't praise Rabbi Klausner enough for all he did for us survivors.
It was Rabbi Klausner who helped with the logistics of having the Haggadah printed. The printing of the Haggadah was done by a group that called itself “Achida.” They were fellow survivors from Kovno Ghetto, who tried to avoid getting involved in the politics of the Yishuv in Eretz Israel. Ironically, the Haggadah was printed by a former Nazi printing house named Bruckman, who published during the war Nazi propaganda.
The two editors of Unzer Weg, Levi Shalit and Israel Kaplan, both fellow Lithuanians, took the Haggadah to Rabbi Klausner who accepted it and had it printed through army press facilities. There were some changes introduced by Klausner. The new cover was emblazoned with the tricolor insignia, in the middle of which there was a large white capital A, for the Third Army. (The army of occupation of Bavaria.) There was a poetic two-page introduction in English by Rabbi Klausner.
“And the khaki-clad sons of Israel commanded by Lt. General Trust gathered together as was the custom in Israel, to celebrate the Passover Festival.”
Was the first sentence of the part of the Haggadah. The next page said in small letters: “We were slaves to Hitler in Germany”
Following was a Hebrew version and a Yiddish version of the Haggadah. Some of it was traditional text, but much was written by Sheinson's anguished soul, reflecting the anger of the horrors inflicted on us and hope for a new life in Eretz Israel.
Here is a passage in the Haggadah that Sheinson wrote. It is full of bitterness and irony towards the world.
“When the righteous among the nations of the world saw that Hitler had decided to exterminate Israel, their great assembly came together and out of their great sorrow decided to keep silent. And the righteous among them say: How can we in our weakness save Israel from the hands of the evil man! Perhaps this is the hand of G-d and who are we to interfere in the conduct of this world. And the people see how Israel is swimming in their blood and they pass by. And the children of Israel groaned and cried out but were not heard. And they cried out to the Lord, the G-d of their fathers, who saw their suffering and oppression, and their cry went up. And that man of evil, Hitler, made instruments of destruction which he sent across the sea, killing many. Babies were being killed and still no one knew what to do about it. Finally, the enemies of that man of evil grew indignant, and they girded themselves and unleashed against that man of evil and his people great wrath, rage and fury, disaster, and a band of avenging angels, afflicting them with two hundred and fifty plagues. And G-d hardened Hitler's heart. And instruments of destruction, and eagles of iron and copper shower fire and brimstone upon his garrison cities, killing man and beasts alike.
And a multitude of chariots, as plenty as the sands of the sea, sweep across the land of the evil man, and destroy him, and the Holocaust survivors (Sheerit Hapletah, the saved remnant) are rescued and redeemed.
When peace came down on earth, the people of Israel were gathering. The surviving remnants were coming out of the caves, out of forests, and out of death camps, returning to the land of their exile. The people of those lands greeted them and said: We thought you were no longer alive, and here you are, so many of you. And they sent the survivors all sorts of messages, telling them to leave the land, even killing them. And the people of Israel ran for their lives; they were sneaking across borders only to be robbed of everything they had. And they abandoned their homes, and they saved their lives, and they went to Bavaria in order to go up to our Holy Land.”
Y.D. Sheinson
* * * * * *
This is but a small example of what is written in the Haggadah, we called survivor's Haggadah, but some, rightfully, call it Sheinson's Haggadah.
The full text of the Haggadah with an inspiring introduction by Professor Saul Touster can be obtained from the American Jewish Historical Society, in New York. ID # ISBN 0-911934-50-2
I would like to add that what makes the Haggadah even more unique are the printings of the original woodcuts surrounding each page. It was supplied by a superb artist and fellow survivor, Miklos Adler.
Ramat Hasharon Israel
April 18, 2011
Friday 15 April 2011
Shabbat Shalom letter from Jerusalem
110415
April 15th, 2011
Shabbat Shalom dear friends – countdown is on!!!
No news this week, just a happy Shabbat Shalom. My hands are too careworn from Pesach cleaning to type!
Jerusalem is so clean! I swear that the white stones are glistening, the streets gleaming and the parks have not one sweet wrapper on the ground as we prepare for the last run-up to Passover!!! Despite the wonderful orange blossom on the trees the predominant scent is of cleaning fluids!
The shouk, Mahane Yehuda, is buzzing and the multi-coloured mountains of newly picked fruit and vegetables are grabbed as if going out of style. In the markets the fish are jumpin' in the springtime too. Carp, traditionally used to make gefilte fish, is so fresh that it is bought alive and I won't describe the other part! Remember the supermarket I went to last week that had nothing on the shelves because they were cleaning them all? Well this week even the wide passageways were filled to overflowing and the streets around Givat Shaul were lined with huge delivery trucks trying hard to keep up with demand!
I have not seen my neighbours for a week or two, but I can hear them. The constant hum of vacuum cleaners and furniture being dragged to clean behind, the thud of carpet beating on verandas and the sound of scrubbing as apartments and houses are prepared for Passover. The sense of spiritual cleansing is deep in our souls and the excitement of the new and fresh days to come make it all worthwhile. However – it is important to remember that Passover is the festival that celebrates our delivery from slavery so please – don't overdo it!
Seder – the order of reading the story of the Exodus from Egypt is brilliantly put together. We eat herbs; we bless the wine; the children ask four essential questions “Why is this night different from all other nights” pertaining to our behaviour on this night; the host then reads the story to explain to the children so that they will also make their nights different to all other nights and respect our incredible achievements for a nation that has been in slavery not once but many times.
We eat unleavened bread – to appreciate the simple essentials of life of a free man
We eat a hard boiled egg in salt water – to celebrate new life embodied in an egg combined with the tears we shed in slavery.
We eat bitter herbs, herbs and a delicious combination – to remember the bitterness, to celebrate the green of new growth and to remember the cement between the stones of the incredible structures we built in slavery.
We eat........... and eat............ and eat........... and eat!!! Oh yes, predominantly we eat after reading the story and then we thank G-d for what we have eaten, we put out wine for the Prophet Elijah who visits each home (not down the chimney though) and then we sing special songs.
This year we have another international Seder with guests from California, Mexico, Florida, Cuba, Puerto Rica, Canada, Philippines, Russia, Wales (that's me) and of course........................JERUSALEM!!!
Usually I describe the aromas but today I want to tell you about the sounds of Seder. Each family has its own traditions and after the dispersion they absorbed the music, sounds and prayers of their host nations, bringing them back to Israel together with the wonderful mixture of foods. Here the melting pot is different to other places, other countries – we didn't emigrate or immigrate – we came home. As I look over Jerusalem, waiting for our guests and family to arrive I wonder at the panorama which presents itself before my eyes. “The View from my Veranda”. What an amazing country this is; what an amazing city this is and we built it, we rebuilt it and we are indeed an exceptional people to have done so against all odds. Even those who agreed to our homecoming didn't think we could survive and look at us now! We didn't just survive – we thrive! We thrive despite political, diplomatic and heart wrenching terror because we are meant to be here and we know it.
9 years ago Naomi Ragen and her family decided to go to Netanya for Passover, so that they would be in a hotel and she would work less. Thank G-d Naomi and her family were saved but horribly traumatised – others were not so lucky. A homicide bomber walked into the Park Hotel, Netanya and blew himself up turning a happy throng into a war zone. The UN condemns Israel for attacking civilians – so what in G-d's name was this? As we sit down to our Seder night we must remember those who did not reach the table but were struck down by hatred, again. http://www.naomiragen.com/2002/04/26/passover-massacre/
So, back to Jerusalem and the insanity of pre-Pesach buying! This morning we raced out early to a very religious supermarket in the Romema neighborhood which always has the “non-legume” goods that I search out. Interestingly enough in this neighborhood it is the men who wander confused around the supermarket carefully following the list of goods their wives have carefully written – of course adding a few extra sweets, chocolates, nuts and various luxury items that the wives omitted! Beards and sidecurls flying they race from row to row carefully reading each label for the type of Kashrut (Rabbinical approval) and whether it may be for Eastern Jews who are allowed to each “kitniot” or pulses. The piles of food grow and grow to feed the huge families and the supermarket check-out girls – also religious – wait for the end of the seemingly endless days.
I must go and attend to my own piles of food and empty cupboards cleaned and lined. I was fascinated to discover that while most people give their “hametz' or leavened goods to a Rabbi to dispose of, in Givat Zeev, where my daughter lives, they give all the perfectly good and healthy “hametz' to Arabs in a nearby village. Such cruel settlers eh?
Cary, in far of California, asked me what Jerusalemites say on Seder Night since the whole Jewish world invokes the prayer “Next Year in Jerusalem” at the end of the Passover Seder (literally means order but has become a term for the meals at which we recite the story of Exodus) but we are already here. Cary dear, the prayer is not just a selfish prayer, it is a prayer for the whole Jewish people. Here we it sing with extra gusto so that you will come here too - “NEXT YEAR IN JERUSALEM” ......... next year and the year after that and the year after that and after that and after that............ ad infinitum. AMEN
I wish you a happy and kasher Pesach – with love from Jerusalem where it all started!
Sheila
April 15th, 2011
Shabbat Shalom dear friends – countdown is on!!!
No news this week, just a happy Shabbat Shalom. My hands are too careworn from Pesach cleaning to type!
Jerusalem is so clean! I swear that the white stones are glistening, the streets gleaming and the parks have not one sweet wrapper on the ground as we prepare for the last run-up to Passover!!! Despite the wonderful orange blossom on the trees the predominant scent is of cleaning fluids!
The shouk, Mahane Yehuda, is buzzing and the multi-coloured mountains of newly picked fruit and vegetables are grabbed as if going out of style. In the markets the fish are jumpin' in the springtime too. Carp, traditionally used to make gefilte fish, is so fresh that it is bought alive and I won't describe the other part! Remember the supermarket I went to last week that had nothing on the shelves because they were cleaning them all? Well this week even the wide passageways were filled to overflowing and the streets around Givat Shaul were lined with huge delivery trucks trying hard to keep up with demand!
I have not seen my neighbours for a week or two, but I can hear them. The constant hum of vacuum cleaners and furniture being dragged to clean behind, the thud of carpet beating on verandas and the sound of scrubbing as apartments and houses are prepared for Passover. The sense of spiritual cleansing is deep in our souls and the excitement of the new and fresh days to come make it all worthwhile. However – it is important to remember that Passover is the festival that celebrates our delivery from slavery so please – don't overdo it!
Seder – the order of reading the story of the Exodus from Egypt is brilliantly put together. We eat herbs; we bless the wine; the children ask four essential questions “Why is this night different from all other nights” pertaining to our behaviour on this night; the host then reads the story to explain to the children so that they will also make their nights different to all other nights and respect our incredible achievements for a nation that has been in slavery not once but many times.
We eat unleavened bread – to appreciate the simple essentials of life of a free man
We eat a hard boiled egg in salt water – to celebrate new life embodied in an egg combined with the tears we shed in slavery.
We eat bitter herbs, herbs and a delicious combination – to remember the bitterness, to celebrate the green of new growth and to remember the cement between the stones of the incredible structures we built in slavery.
We eat........... and eat............ and eat........... and eat!!! Oh yes, predominantly we eat after reading the story and then we thank G-d for what we have eaten, we put out wine for the Prophet Elijah who visits each home (not down the chimney though) and then we sing special songs.
This year we have another international Seder with guests from California, Mexico, Florida, Cuba, Puerto Rica, Canada, Philippines, Russia, Wales (that's me) and of course........................JERUSALEM!!!
Usually I describe the aromas but today I want to tell you about the sounds of Seder. Each family has its own traditions and after the dispersion they absorbed the music, sounds and prayers of their host nations, bringing them back to Israel together with the wonderful mixture of foods. Here the melting pot is different to other places, other countries – we didn't emigrate or immigrate – we came home. As I look over Jerusalem, waiting for our guests and family to arrive I wonder at the panorama which presents itself before my eyes. “The View from my Veranda”. What an amazing country this is; what an amazing city this is and we built it, we rebuilt it and we are indeed an exceptional people to have done so against all odds. Even those who agreed to our homecoming didn't think we could survive and look at us now! We didn't just survive – we thrive! We thrive despite political, diplomatic and heart wrenching terror because we are meant to be here and we know it.
9 years ago Naomi Ragen and her family decided to go to Netanya for Passover, so that they would be in a hotel and she would work less. Thank G-d Naomi and her family were saved but horribly traumatised – others were not so lucky. A homicide bomber walked into the Park Hotel, Netanya and blew himself up turning a happy throng into a war zone. The UN condemns Israel for attacking civilians – so what in G-d's name was this? As we sit down to our Seder night we must remember those who did not reach the table but were struck down by hatred, again. http://www.naomiragen.com/2002/04/26/passover-massacre/
So, back to Jerusalem and the insanity of pre-Pesach buying! This morning we raced out early to a very religious supermarket in the Romema neighborhood which always has the “non-legume” goods that I search out. Interestingly enough in this neighborhood it is the men who wander confused around the supermarket carefully following the list of goods their wives have carefully written – of course adding a few extra sweets, chocolates, nuts and various luxury items that the wives omitted! Beards and sidecurls flying they race from row to row carefully reading each label for the type of Kashrut (Rabbinical approval) and whether it may be for Eastern Jews who are allowed to each “kitniot” or pulses. The piles of food grow and grow to feed the huge families and the supermarket check-out girls – also religious – wait for the end of the seemingly endless days.
I must go and attend to my own piles of food and empty cupboards cleaned and lined. I was fascinated to discover that while most people give their “hametz' or leavened goods to a Rabbi to dispose of, in Givat Zeev, where my daughter lives, they give all the perfectly good and healthy “hametz' to Arabs in a nearby village. Such cruel settlers eh?
Cary, in far of California, asked me what Jerusalemites say on Seder Night since the whole Jewish world invokes the prayer “Next Year in Jerusalem” at the end of the Passover Seder (literally means order but has become a term for the meals at which we recite the story of Exodus) but we are already here. Cary dear, the prayer is not just a selfish prayer, it is a prayer for the whole Jewish people. Here we it sing with extra gusto so that you will come here too - “NEXT YEAR IN JERUSALEM” ......... next year and the year after that and the year after that and after that and after that............ ad infinitum. AMEN
I wish you a happy and kasher Pesach – with love from Jerusalem where it all started!
Sheila
Friday 8 April 2011
Shabbat Shalom letter from Jerusalem
110408
8th of April 2011
Shabbat Shalom dear Friends
CALUMNY
cal·um·ny (klm-n)
1. A false statement maliciously made to injure another's reputation.
2. The utterance of maliciously false statements; slander.
MK Danny Danon initiated a lawsuit which will be submitted to US District Court in NY: “The distorted picture of the State of Israel that Goldstone generated harmed, harms and will continue to harm Israel."
Maurice Ostroff has known Richard Goldstone for many years, from their days in the South African Jewish community. Maurice gives an entirely different perspective to the “Goldstone Affair”. http://www.2nd-thoughts.org/id324.html
Two of the people killed in the air attack on a car in the Sudan were Hamas senior operatives responsible for armament shipments to Gaza........ their lives wreaked havoc with the lives of two peoples, their own and ours. Now they answer to a greater power than oil money.
Ironically after killing the men who masterminded the arming of Hamas in Gaza, an Iranian missile of greater strength and accuracy then previously known was directly aimed at an Israeli schoolbus, badly injuring the one child remaining on the bus. The boy, aged 16, was not a regular passenger on the bus, which had already safely delivered children to their homes, but asked for a lift to go and see his grandmother nearby. His injuries are serious but the schrapnel which pierced his brain is considered less invasive than originally thought. We wish him a speedy return to visit his grandmother.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4053704,00.html
While the South of Israel suffers constant bombardment with rockets from Gaza the “Iron Dome” rocket defence system showed its mettle yesterday as iit successfully halted a rocket aimed at Ashkelon while it was still in mid-air. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4053837,00.html
Alexander Mashevich intends creating “an Israeli Al-Jazeera” 24 hour news channel which will "represent Israel on an international level, with real information." At last – at last. http://www.jpost.com/JewishWorld/JewishNews/Article.aspx?id=215498
The Toronto Star, not known for open reporting, this week gave a wonderful report of the Israeli field hospital in earthquake torn Japan. The reporter was amazed at the speed and efficiency with which our tiny country came, once again, to the rescue – giving of herself with generosity unknown in far richer and certainly bigger countries.
“Forty countries around the world approached Japan and offered their (medical) assistance. We were the only ones to come,” said Dr. Ofer Merin by phone from the remains of Minami-Sanriku, seven hours north of Tokyo. “It’s a real privilege.” http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/969049--porter-israeli-field-hospital-carries-on-inspiring-work-in-japan
Pesach is nigh!!! the constant sound of vacuum cleaners, the beating of carpets on verandas and of course the air redolent with various cleaning fluids herald the festival of spring cleaning. I went to the supermarket the other day in search of specific items. I did very well in the well stocked fruit and vegetable department and the cleaning materials department seemed to have grown but when I got to the main supermarket I found a flurry of activity and empty shelves! The shelves were not only empty but were being carefully taken apart and scrubbed by energetic young men! Neither biscuit nor cereal, chocolate nor candy........... all had disappeared into the great “Hametz” in the sky!!!! Gosh it was wonderful.
When I lived in a small community and Valerie and I would travel up to London to do our big Pesach buy – everything had to be bought at once or do without! Here everything is ready for us – even if you don't cook you can order in or supermarket buy just about everything. On the other hand you have to watch for the pulses, no not heartbeat, pulses as in rice, beans and lentils!!! Ashkenazi Jews do not eat pulses in Passover but Eastern Jews do! I guess I am back to label-reading again!!!
This year Zvi's lovely cousin Becky is here from San Diego and yesterday Zvi took her to the Jerusalem Municipality to see the incredible view of Jerusalem set out before her on the 360 degree balcony on the 6th floor. From there they went to the Knesset, our centre of government. Next week Becky will go to the Kotel, the Tunnels and of course the Generations exhibit – and theDavidson Archaeological Park.
Most importantly Becky will be part of our Pesach Seder together with her son and his family who live here in Israel. I love the night of Passover; I love the retelling of the story of our fight for freedom from slavery......... and I love relating it to today. Today our slavery is a different one – we are not slaves to people but rather to society. We are slaves to PC, slaves to earning; slaves to excelling; slaves to academia; slaves to gadgets; slaves to everything except real honest time with our family and with ourselves. Passover is family. Passover is sitting together and speaking of our common history and future. Passover is a night when we accept that this is a night different to all other nights. Let's make it a year that is different to all other years – not by eating kneidlach soup but rather by moving away from things and returning to people.
Just in case I am up to my ears in cleaning and cooking next week I will wish you a truly wonderful Passover. Jerusalem at Passover is even more beautiful than any other time of the year – after all G-d sent rain to clean the outside of our buildings and make them as sparkling clean as the insides!!!!
Shabbat Shalom dear friends
With love from Jerusalem
Sheila
8th of April 2011
Shabbat Shalom dear Friends
CALUMNY
cal·um·ny (klm-n)
1. A false statement maliciously made to injure another's reputation.
2. The utterance of maliciously false statements; slander.
MK Danny Danon initiated a lawsuit which will be submitted to US District Court in NY: “The distorted picture of the State of Israel that Goldstone generated harmed, harms and will continue to harm Israel."
Maurice Ostroff has known Richard Goldstone for many years, from their days in the South African Jewish community. Maurice gives an entirely different perspective to the “Goldstone Affair”. http://www.2nd-thoughts.org/id324.html
Two of the people killed in the air attack on a car in the Sudan were Hamas senior operatives responsible for armament shipments to Gaza........ their lives wreaked havoc with the lives of two peoples, their own and ours. Now they answer to a greater power than oil money.
Ironically after killing the men who masterminded the arming of Hamas in Gaza, an Iranian missile of greater strength and accuracy then previously known was directly aimed at an Israeli schoolbus, badly injuring the one child remaining on the bus. The boy, aged 16, was not a regular passenger on the bus, which had already safely delivered children to their homes, but asked for a lift to go and see his grandmother nearby. His injuries are serious but the schrapnel which pierced his brain is considered less invasive than originally thought. We wish him a speedy return to visit his grandmother.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4053704,00.html
While the South of Israel suffers constant bombardment with rockets from Gaza the “Iron Dome” rocket defence system showed its mettle yesterday as iit successfully halted a rocket aimed at Ashkelon while it was still in mid-air. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4053837,00.html
Alexander Mashevich intends creating “an Israeli Al-Jazeera” 24 hour news channel which will "represent Israel on an international level, with real information." At last – at last. http://www.jpost.com/JewishWorld/JewishNews/Article.aspx?id=215498
The Toronto Star, not known for open reporting, this week gave a wonderful report of the Israeli field hospital in earthquake torn Japan. The reporter was amazed at the speed and efficiency with which our tiny country came, once again, to the rescue – giving of herself with generosity unknown in far richer and certainly bigger countries.
“Forty countries around the world approached Japan and offered their (medical) assistance. We were the only ones to come,” said Dr. Ofer Merin by phone from the remains of Minami-Sanriku, seven hours north of Tokyo. “It’s a real privilege.” http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/969049--porter-israeli-field-hospital-carries-on-inspiring-work-in-japan
Pesach is nigh!!! the constant sound of vacuum cleaners, the beating of carpets on verandas and of course the air redolent with various cleaning fluids herald the festival of spring cleaning. I went to the supermarket the other day in search of specific items. I did very well in the well stocked fruit and vegetable department and the cleaning materials department seemed to have grown but when I got to the main supermarket I found a flurry of activity and empty shelves! The shelves were not only empty but were being carefully taken apart and scrubbed by energetic young men! Neither biscuit nor cereal, chocolate nor candy........... all had disappeared into the great “Hametz” in the sky!!!! Gosh it was wonderful.
When I lived in a small community and Valerie and I would travel up to London to do our big Pesach buy – everything had to be bought at once or do without! Here everything is ready for us – even if you don't cook you can order in or supermarket buy just about everything. On the other hand you have to watch for the pulses, no not heartbeat, pulses as in rice, beans and lentils!!! Ashkenazi Jews do not eat pulses in Passover but Eastern Jews do! I guess I am back to label-reading again!!!
This year Zvi's lovely cousin Becky is here from San Diego and yesterday Zvi took her to the Jerusalem Municipality to see the incredible view of Jerusalem set out before her on the 360 degree balcony on the 6th floor. From there they went to the Knesset, our centre of government. Next week Becky will go to the Kotel, the Tunnels and of course the Generations exhibit – and theDavidson Archaeological Park.
Most importantly Becky will be part of our Pesach Seder together with her son and his family who live here in Israel. I love the night of Passover; I love the retelling of the story of our fight for freedom from slavery......... and I love relating it to today. Today our slavery is a different one – we are not slaves to people but rather to society. We are slaves to PC, slaves to earning; slaves to excelling; slaves to academia; slaves to gadgets; slaves to everything except real honest time with our family and with ourselves. Passover is family. Passover is sitting together and speaking of our common history and future. Passover is a night when we accept that this is a night different to all other nights. Let's make it a year that is different to all other years – not by eating kneidlach soup but rather by moving away from things and returning to people.
Just in case I am up to my ears in cleaning and cooking next week I will wish you a truly wonderful Passover. Jerusalem at Passover is even more beautiful than any other time of the year – after all G-d sent rain to clean the outside of our buildings and make them as sparkling clean as the insides!!!!
Shabbat Shalom dear friends
With love from Jerusalem
Sheila
Friday 1 April 2011
Shabbat Shalom letter from Jerusalem
110401
1st April 2011
Shabbat Shalom dear friends. Despite the date I promise I won't tell you I saw a Lirpa Loof prancing around the Old City or that I just planted spaghetti trees on the veranda...... or that the Palestinians decided to condemn violence and accept both the existence and the assistance of the State of Israel.
It could be April Fool's trick that they seem to have brought the Passover cleaning forward by about a month and taken even more items out of those allowed for Ashkenazim!!!
The 30th March marked the ninth anniversary of a tragedy and a miracle, Kinneret Chaya Boosani. It is nine whole years since that fateful evening, travelling back from a delightful evening with friends, that we received a phone call from Orly to tell us that there had been a homicide bomb attack on “My Coffee Shop” in Tel Aviv and that Kinneret, daughter of our dear friends Yaffa and Moshe was critically hurt and not expected to live through the night. I remember speaking to Yaffa immediately and her asking us to bring a special amulet from a Rabbitsen in Jerusalem. The amulet was placed under her pillow and a Rabbi came to the family and told them to change her name to Kinneret Chaya (Kinneret Lives). The long and tortuous journey from that moment to this is all written in my diary, and close to my heart. When I see photographs of a glorious, married, religious, happy and fulfilled woman and her two daughters I find myself knowing that she is the living proof of G-d's gentle goodness. She became an Auntie last week too and her big sister Nitzan had a little boy.
The BBC backed down on their coverage of the Fogel Family slaughter in Itamar; thanks to our letter writing but predominantly thanks to Louise Bagshawe, Conservative MP for Corby, who registered her disgust at what she called the BBC's "inexcusable" failure in her letter to the Telegraph To thank her write to louise.bagshawe.mp@parliament.uk http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/47289/bbc-backs-down-its-fogel-coverage
For those of you who are opera lovers – the Israeli opera is coming to town! Jerusalem will celebrate Opera in Israel in a June http://israel21c.org/201103308922/culture/opera-festival-to-showcase-israels-historic-sites
This video is fun, cute and very clever........ but I warn you, as you enjoy this wonderful, happy, musical experience you won't be able to stop your feet tapping!!!! Ya'ala Lili is my grandchildren's favourite! http://www.kikarhashabat.co.il/%D7%99%D7%90%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9C%D7%99.html
The Israeli field hospital is set up and working in Japan. The teams, including both medical staff and aid workers are in a fishing town which was destroyed but not close to the nuclear reactors. Yet again Israeli doctors save a child and will continue to save the victims of natures fury http://dover.idf.il/IDF/English/News/today/2011/03/3003.htm
Talking of Israeli doctors, I had cause recently to spend time with doctors and nurses, in the State health system and as it turned out in each case it was with Israeli Arab doctors and nurses. They are trained in the same way in the same hospitals and universities and the care they give is of the highest quality. As you know I love talking to everybody and while being treated I spoke with the young doctor who told me he was a Jerusalemite but had trained in Jordan since the entrance requisites of the Hebrew University were so high and his school not good enough to achieve the results. He spoke of the troubles in Jordan where the educational standards are very high – for the elite. The costs were very high even coming with Israeli money. He is waiting to go to Hadassah Hospital to become an Opthamologist. What is so hard for people outside to understand – we all live in harmony and would continue to do so if not for the Islamic religious fanatics and fundamentalists who make the Crusades look like a cream pie fight – the strange thing is that our zealots go over to their side too – ho hum!.
Pesach, Passover, whatever you call it it gets more complex each year. No, don't you dare suggest it is just my age!!!! It isn't the cleaning, spring cleaning is good for the soul; it isn't the cooking, I enjoy that part although it is ludicrous to clean and scrub BEFORE doing the dirty messy cooking; it isn't changing the dishes, I love the fact that everything really is different on this night to all other nights; it is the complications of knowing whether food contains “kitniot” (pulses) or not. I know my family is Ashkenazi but why should my neighbours be allowed to eat rice and beans and all the good stuff and I have to be inventive!!!
There is a new Pesach video of an Israeli Robot shame can't clean the house and change the dishes eh.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bgeX_8tBCY&feature=player_embedded>
I just came back from my grand-children in Givat Ze'ev. It was great fun as their age was translated into their bicycles! Yosef (6) on his brand new birthday bike with gears, racing like a pro; Talia (4) on her bicycle with stabiliser wheels and little Ayala (2) her feet working like crazy to keep up with the big ones. The drive home is spectacular. As I reach the top of the hill next to Nebe Samuel (Samuels Tomb) I cautiously glance sideways to see the incredible panorama of Jerusalem laid before me as a huge white carpet with its amazing soaring towers. Gosh it makes me proud.
As I came home and climbed the stairs home I revel in the smells of Shabbat. The distinctive aroma of scorched aubergine (egg plant) and scorched red peppers ready to be skinned and made into exotic salads; the odd whiff of kubeh soup, both beetroot and tomato; the wonders of spicy fish and fried fish and finally – across the cultural divide – chicken soup!!!
So the time has come – the table must be laid and Zvi will come home from his parliament in Angel's Coffee shop – hopefully having sorted out the Middle East, the Far East and South America. He was at a rehearsal at the Jerusalem Theatre this morning in preparation for his choir's performance tomorrow night.
Be well dear friends. We wish you and your family indeed your country, a peaceful Shabbat and a much better week next week.
With love
Sheila
1st April 2011
Shabbat Shalom dear friends. Despite the date I promise I won't tell you I saw a Lirpa Loof prancing around the Old City or that I just planted spaghetti trees on the veranda...... or that the Palestinians decided to condemn violence and accept both the existence and the assistance of the State of Israel.
It could be April Fool's trick that they seem to have brought the Passover cleaning forward by about a month and taken even more items out of those allowed for Ashkenazim!!!
The 30th March marked the ninth anniversary of a tragedy and a miracle, Kinneret Chaya Boosani. It is nine whole years since that fateful evening, travelling back from a delightful evening with friends, that we received a phone call from Orly to tell us that there had been a homicide bomb attack on “My Coffee Shop” in Tel Aviv and that Kinneret, daughter of our dear friends Yaffa and Moshe was critically hurt and not expected to live through the night. I remember speaking to Yaffa immediately and her asking us to bring a special amulet from a Rabbitsen in Jerusalem. The amulet was placed under her pillow and a Rabbi came to the family and told them to change her name to Kinneret Chaya (Kinneret Lives). The long and tortuous journey from that moment to this is all written in my diary, and close to my heart. When I see photographs of a glorious, married, religious, happy and fulfilled woman and her two daughters I find myself knowing that she is the living proof of G-d's gentle goodness. She became an Auntie last week too and her big sister Nitzan had a little boy.
The BBC backed down on their coverage of the Fogel Family slaughter in Itamar; thanks to our letter writing but predominantly thanks to Louise Bagshawe, Conservative MP for Corby, who registered her disgust at what she called the BBC's "inexcusable" failure in her letter to the Telegraph To thank her write to louise.bagshawe.mp@parliament.uk http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/47289/bbc-backs-down-its-fogel-coverage
For those of you who are opera lovers – the Israeli opera is coming to town! Jerusalem will celebrate Opera in Israel in a June http://israel21c.org/201103308922/culture/opera-festival-to-showcase-israels-historic-sites
This video is fun, cute and very clever........ but I warn you, as you enjoy this wonderful, happy, musical experience you won't be able to stop your feet tapping!!!! Ya'ala Lili is my grandchildren's favourite! http://www.kikarhashabat.co.il/%D7%99%D7%90%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9C%D7%99.html
The Israeli field hospital is set up and working in Japan. The teams, including both medical staff and aid workers are in a fishing town which was destroyed but not close to the nuclear reactors. Yet again Israeli doctors save a child and will continue to save the victims of natures fury http://dover.idf.il/IDF/English/News/today/2011/03/3003.htm
Talking of Israeli doctors, I had cause recently to spend time with doctors and nurses, in the State health system and as it turned out in each case it was with Israeli Arab doctors and nurses. They are trained in the same way in the same hospitals and universities and the care they give is of the highest quality. As you know I love talking to everybody and while being treated I spoke with the young doctor who told me he was a Jerusalemite but had trained in Jordan since the entrance requisites of the Hebrew University were so high and his school not good enough to achieve the results. He spoke of the troubles in Jordan where the educational standards are very high – for the elite. The costs were very high even coming with Israeli money. He is waiting to go to Hadassah Hospital to become an Opthamologist. What is so hard for people outside to understand – we all live in harmony and would continue to do so if not for the Islamic religious fanatics and fundamentalists who make the Crusades look like a cream pie fight – the strange thing is that our zealots go over to their side too – ho hum!.
Pesach, Passover, whatever you call it it gets more complex each year. No, don't you dare suggest it is just my age!!!! It isn't the cleaning, spring cleaning is good for the soul; it isn't the cooking, I enjoy that part although it is ludicrous to clean and scrub BEFORE doing the dirty messy cooking; it isn't changing the dishes, I love the fact that everything really is different on this night to all other nights; it is the complications of knowing whether food contains “kitniot” (pulses) or not. I know my family is Ashkenazi but why should my neighbours be allowed to eat rice and beans and all the good stuff and I have to be inventive!!!
There is a new Pesach video of an Israeli Robot shame can't clean the house and change the dishes eh.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bgeX_8tBCY&feature=player_embedded>
I just came back from my grand-children in Givat Ze'ev. It was great fun as their age was translated into their bicycles! Yosef (6) on his brand new birthday bike with gears, racing like a pro; Talia (4) on her bicycle with stabiliser wheels and little Ayala (2) her feet working like crazy to keep up with the big ones. The drive home is spectacular. As I reach the top of the hill next to Nebe Samuel (Samuels Tomb) I cautiously glance sideways to see the incredible panorama of Jerusalem laid before me as a huge white carpet with its amazing soaring towers. Gosh it makes me proud.
As I came home and climbed the stairs home I revel in the smells of Shabbat. The distinctive aroma of scorched aubergine (egg plant) and scorched red peppers ready to be skinned and made into exotic salads; the odd whiff of kubeh soup, both beetroot and tomato; the wonders of spicy fish and fried fish and finally – across the cultural divide – chicken soup!!!
So the time has come – the table must be laid and Zvi will come home from his parliament in Angel's Coffee shop – hopefully having sorted out the Middle East, the Far East and South America. He was at a rehearsal at the Jerusalem Theatre this morning in preparation for his choir's performance tomorrow night.
Be well dear friends. We wish you and your family indeed your country, a peaceful Shabbat and a much better week next week.
With love
Sheila
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)