March 4, 2005 and 23 Adar I, 5765

Rabbi Joshua Hammerman, Temple Beth El, Stamford, Connecticut

“When Adar arrives, we increase our joy."

(Talmud Ta'anit 29a)

Contents of the Shabbat O Gram: (click to scroll down)

Just the Facts (service schedule)

The Rabid Rabbi

Spiritual Journey on the Web

Ask the Rabbi

Look who’s coming with us to Israel this summer

Required Reading and Action Items (links to key articles on Israel and Jewish life)

Jewish and Israeli Links

Announcements (goings on in and around TBE)

Joke for the Week

Send your friends and relatives the gift of Jewish awareness

a Shabbat-O-Gram each week, by signing them up at www.tbe.org

This weekend we honor four very special people at our annual dinner dance, Frank Rosner, Eileen Rosner and Meryl and Judy Aronin. Mazal tov to them – and thank you to all who have contributed to making this evening a big success. For those who will not be able to make it on Saturday evening, we will also be honoring them with aliyot on Shabbat morning, as we feel that it is important to give everyone the chance to share in this expression of profound appreciation.

Hospitality is essential to spiritual practice. It reminds you that you are part of a greater whole. . . .

Putting others first puts you in the midst of life without the illusion of being the center of life.
— Rabbi Rami M. Shapiro in Minyan

Check out our website at www.tbe.org and see our new, integrated tbe web calendar!!!

JUST THE FACTS

Friday Evening Candles: 5:31 PM. For candlelighting times, other Jewish calendar information, and to download a Jewish calendar to your PDA, click on http://www.hebcal.com/.

Kabbalat Shabbat Service: 6:30 PM in the lobby

Tot Shabbat: 6:30 (note special time) in the chapel this week.

Thank you to Steve and Nancy Mayer, Darice Bailer, Nurit Avigdor and the Tot Shabbat committee for the production of our beautiful new Tot Shabbat prayer book.

SHABBAT ACROSS AMERICA – dinner follows services

Shabbat Morning: 9:30 AM – Mazal tov to Jaime Manela, who becomes Bat Mitzvah this Shabbat morning.

Children’s services: 10:30 AM, including Jr. Congregation for grades 3-6 and Tot Shabbat Morning for the younger kids

Torah Portion: Vayakhel: Exodus 35:1 - 38:20 The construction of the sanctuary in the wilderness – and from the sacred work involved in that construction, the rabbis derived the 39 categories of prohibited work (Melacha) on Shabbat. Click here for an interactive list of the 39. A fascinating article about creating sacred space in a contemporary urban environment from the journal Cross Currents can be found here. It’s entitled “The Mishkan as Metaphor: On the Transformation of Urban Space.” Click here for Myjewishlearning’s interactive Shabbat quiz.

1: 35:1-10
2: 35:11-20
3: 35:21-29
4: 35:30-36:7
5: 36:8-19
6: 36:20-38
7: 37:1-16
maf: 37:10-16

“These are the things that the Lord has commanded you to do: ² On six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a Sabbath of complete rest, holy to the Lord; whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. ³ You shall kindle no fire throughout your settlements on the Sabbath day.”

Haftarah: I Kings 7:40 - 7:50

See a weekly commentary from the UJC Rabbinic Cabinet, at www.ujc.org/mekorchaim. Read the Masorti commentary at http://www.masorti.org/mason/torah/index.asp. JTS commentary is at: http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/. USCJ Torah Sparks can be found at http://uscj.org/item20_467.html. UAHC Shabbat Table Talk discussions are at http://uahc.org/torah/exodus.shtml. Other divrei Torah via the Torahnet home page: http://uahcweb.org/torahnet/. Test your Parasha I.Q.: http://www.ou.org/jewishiq/parsha/default.htm. CLAL’s Torah commentary archive: http://click.topica.com/maaaiRtaaRvQhbV2AtLb/. World Zionist Organization Education page, including Nehama Liebowitz archives of parsha commentaries: http://www.moreshet.net/web/index.asp?f=1 For a more Kabbalistic/Zionist/Orthodox perspective from Rav Kook, first Chief Rabbi of Israel, go to http://www.geocities.com/m_yericho/ravkook/index.html. For some probing questions and meditations on key verses of the portion, with a liberal kabbalistic bent, go to http://www.jewishealing.com/learning.html or, for Kabbalistic commentaries from the Zohar itself, go to http://www.kabbalah.com/k/index.php/p=zohar/weekly/intro. To see the weekly commentary from Hillel, geared to college students and others, go to http://www.hillel.org/hillel/NewHille.nsf/FCB8259CA861AE57852567D30043BA26/DF7D129F15B3DF0885256AB80058E9C3?OpenDocument. For a Jewish Renewal and feminist approach go to http://rabbishefagold.hypermart.net/Torah1.html . For a comprehensive Orthodox viewpoint from the Israeli rabbi, Yaakov Fogelman, go to the Torah Outreach Program at http://israelvisit.co.il/top/previous.shtml. Guided meditations for each portion by Judith Abrams at http://www.maqom.com/kavannah.pdf

Morning Minyan: Sundays at 9:00 AM, Weekdays at 7:30 AM – IN THE CHAPEL

Note that in the case of bad weather, Minyan does not take place when Stamford schools are cancelled OR postponed. On Sunday, minyan is cancelled if our Religious School sessions are cancelled.

“GUARANTEED MINYAN”

We usually, but not always have a minyan of ten at our morning services. If you have a yahrzeit coming up and wish to ensure that there will be at least ten present, drop the rabbi an email at rabbi@tbe.org and he will e-mail to the congregation a “Guaranteed Minyan” request. Indicate the date of the yahrzeit and whether it would be OK to use your name in making that request.

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR MINYAN BY CHOOSING TWO DATES (AT LEAST) IN February TO ATTEND!

Minyan Mastery

Now you can become more comfortable with the prayers of our morning service by heading to…

http://www.tbe.org/site/sog/minyanmastery.htm

The Rabid Rabbi

Death Penalty for Minors

“It is proper that we acknowledge the overwhelming weight of international opinion against the juvenile death penalty, resting in large part on the understanding that the instability and emotional imbalance of young people may often be a factor in the crime,"

Justice Anthony Kennedy

This week the Supreme Court knocked down the death penalty for minors by a 5-4 vote and thereby saved America from a barbaric practice shunned by the rest of the civilized world – and spurned by Jewish law. (For an international perspective, see the Guardian’s coverage: US Becomes Last Country to End Death Penalty for Under-18s).

In its brief to the court of last summer, co-signed by six other Jewish organizations (including the National Council of Synagogues, representing the Conservative and Reform movements), the Religious Action Center of the Reform Movement explained it in this manner (see the entire text of their statement here):

Though the Bible calls for execution for dozens of offenses, over 2,000 years of rabbinic wisdom teach us to reject an ultimate punishment that removes even the possibility of redemption and rehabilitation. Our opposition is even stronger in the case of juveniles, who do not have the full capacity to distinguish between right and wrong.

You can find the amicus curiae brief here, which was co-signed by many religious organizations. It is fascinating reading, synthesizing the sacred writings of several religions. The Talmud is also quoted here, with the overwhelming thrust of Jewish law being to apply high standards of mercy for capital offenders in general, but especially for juveniles.

How this practice even garnered 4 votes in its support is beyond me. But such is life these days with our Supreme Court. What’s interesting here is that moderate religious groups have the need to speak out, primarily because it is the religious right’s agenda that is being pushed by the Court these days.

Spiritual Journey on the Web

Isra-Cool: Some New Israeli Sites

Suddenly, there is a new competition to dispense news and information about Israel – and the focus is most definitely on youth. Israel’s most popular newspaper, Yediot ha-Achronot, recently launched a new English site. Find it at http://www.ynetnews.com. You can add it to your daily intake of Israeli news, complementing the left-of center, intellectual Ha'aretz and the more centrist, English-only Jerusalem Post. Like Ha’aretz, Yediot is an English version of their all-Hebrew site, and so, unlike the Jerusalem Post, to focus is more on Israeli internal matters than on what we outsiders need to hear. It will be interesting to see if that changes. But there is definitely a “coolness” factor that other sites lack. Check out this Y-net feature from last week: Music expert answers 7 questions about Jewish rockers. BTW, the greatest Jewish rock and roller of all time? Bon Dylan; hands down. You travel buffs can also read why the desert town Arad is more than just a stopover . Ynet also has a comics section, including Weekend Adventures of The Golem.

Did I say that then other sites lack coolness? Well, hold on, because not to be outdone, Ha’aretz has come up with its own entirely new section called

. Imagine the New York Times morphing into the Village Voice. That’s what we get with Ha’aretz Underground, which introduces itself as “A place you can come for music, for good times. The underground is about an Israel you may never have heard of. Where life's lived at a slightly different angle. Yours.” Here you can download Israeli rock, learn street slang (“the Hebrew they never taught you” – words like Haval al ha-z’man – an expression picked up by our group last summer – go to the street-slang page to see what it means) and you can participate in the Underground Awards, choosing, among other things, the world’s best Humous, Israeli Burger joint, and – yes – the coolest rabbi. You can make your own nominations (hint, hint) at the site.

Ask the Rabbi

Why do we need a Minyan?

Why do we need a minyan (0f ten) for the mourner’s kaddish?

A minyan really defines a Jewish community, in a quite literal sense.

Here is an adaptation of how the Wikipedia and Jewish Virtual Library define it:

A minyan (Hebrew: plural "minyanim") is traditionally a quorum of ten or more adult (over the age of Bar Mitzvah) Jews for the purpose of communal prayer; a minyan is often held within a synagogue, but may (and often is) held elsewhere. A single minyan may be one of several simultaneous prayer services within a synagogue.

A quorum, called a minyan, is required for a complete religious service. Ten adults (aged 13 years plus a day) constitute a minyan. In the absence of a minyan, the Barechu and Kaddish are not recited aloud, and the Torah is not read from the scroll.

So, if you have ten adult Jews, you have a viable community.

How did they come up with the number ten as being the magical number? Ironically, it is tied into the story in the book of Numbers where ten spies came back with a negative report about the Promised Land, causing a commotion that led to the Children of Israel having to wander in the Wilderness for 40 years. Only two spies were optimistic about their chances. The ten then testified before the Israelite community or “edah,” as it’s called. The word “community” comes from the word “witness.” The rabbis later deduced that the minimal definition of what it takes to have a community, a group that bears witness to God, is this number ten. The key thing to remember is that it was the cowardly, dysfunctional group of ten spies that led to this definition. As a Jewish folk saying puts it, nine revered rabbis do not make up a minyan, but ten cobblers do!

For those seeking more detail, here is what one website has to say about a Minyan: http://www.fact-index.com/j/je/jewish_services.html (keep in mind that we are an egalitarian congregation, where women also count in the minyan): And for those who want to know about the structure of services, the Virtual Jewish Library has a very nice interactive page on that.

But why is it so important to have ten?

Read The Importance of Minyans, a brief but very meaningful article by my colleague Rabbi David Wolpe found in the Jewish Week:

The Mourner’s Kaddish must be recited only in the presence of 10 or more adult Jews — a minyan. There are many explanations for this requirement: more people create a greater presence of God; it ensures that the mourner will have others to comfort him; it is important to ensure that the synagogue maintains a regular service. Another way to think of it is that we must have a minyan because without it our needs will be fulfilled.

That’s right — to do without a minyan fulfills our needs. It is the same need that created ATMs, delivery of drugs and food, on-line marketing, and a culture with more cars than drivers. It is the need not to rely upon others, to be able to simply be alone and do for oneself.

Even when we do encounter each other, casual conversation seems to be forbidden — at the restaurant, on the bus or subway, on an elevator. Without neighborhoods, we live alone, driving single in our cars, taping our favorite shows, never meeting the person next door. It is no surprise that people have a hard time finding others to marry in an age when there is no natural means of finding one another. It didn’t used to be that way — my grandparents didn’t meet at a singles event.

The minyan enforces community. By denying our need to be alone it reinforces our far deeper need for one another. It is the Jewish answer to the increasingly atomized modern society.

So achieving a minyan needs to be a top priority for any synagogue – and Beth El is about to unveil a dramatic new concept that will help us to achieve this goal every morning.

Stay tuned…

Look who’s coming with us to Israel this summer!

the Boyers

the Kasindorfs

the Piskins

the Eitelberg/ Schneidermans

the Gottlins

the Bailers

the Kempners

the Hammermans

and another family all-but-confirmed

36 of us thus far – and counting. There’s still room for you…but not much!

Temple Beth El of Stamford, CT

Israel Adventure

Led by Rabbi Joshua and Mara Hammerman

August 7-August 22, 2005

This unforgettable journey will have something for everyone:

· Full children’s program with youth counselor

· A glorious Shabbat in Jerusalem

· Archeological dig in the Judean Hills

· Relax at a five-star Dead Sea Spa

· Guest speakers and meaningful encounters with Israelis from a wide variety of backgrounds

· Western Wall Tunnels

· Bar/Bat Mitzvah affirmation service and celebration

· Wilderness Experience in the Negev

· Exploring Tel Aviv and the mystical city of Safed

· Visit to our sister city of Afula

· Visit to an army base

· Boat ride on the Kinneret and Kayaking on the Jordan

For an interactive itinerary, pricing and registration information, go to the trip’s Website:

http://www.tbe.org/site/sog/TBEIsraelAdventure2005.htm

WE’RE FILLING UP AND SPACE IS LIMITED!

Required Reading and Action Items

Those who are interested in reading my article in this week's Jewish Week (some reflections on Conservative Judaism) can find it at

http://www.thejewishweek.com/top/editletcontent.php3?artid=4000

When Murder Hits Home by Gabrielle Birkner – a profoundly moving essay by someone very dear to all of us.

Kraft Brings a Touch of America to Jerusalem's Field of Dreams – What was Bob Kraft doing just three weeks after his third Super Bowl triumph? Why, he was in Jerusalem, of course.

And what is Natalie Portman doing when she isn’t vying for Osacrs? She’s in Jerusalem too!: http://www.jta.org/page_view_story.asp?strwebhead=Portman+films+in+Israel&intcategoryid=5&SearchOptimize=Jewish+News

For those who want an inside look at the newly approved route of Israel’s Security Fence:

http://www.seamzone.mod.gov.il/Pages/ENG/default.htm

http://www.seamzone.mod.gov.il/Pages/ENG/route.htm - click on the map for a detailed layout of the current plan, along with the original route.  Since the key is in Hebrew, what you need to know is that the royal blue line is the original (Aug. 2003) route approved by the cabinet and the red is the current plan.  You'll see that in almost every case, the red line much more closely hugs the 1967 cease fire line (in lavendar).  The two major bulges into the West Bank are designed to include the two major settlement blocs near Jerusalem: Ma'aleh Adumim and the Etzion area.  Ma'aleh Adumim is now a city of 50,000 and clearly is what President Bush had in mind when speaking of the eventual need to adjust the '67 borders.  The Etzion bloc The Etzion Bloc is a unique story.  These Jewish communities date back to before 1948.  On the eve of Israeli independence, they were overrun, after, residents of Kfar Etzion were able to hold off a large Arab army headed for Jerusalem for three days. Eventually, despite surrendering to the Arab army, 240 residents of the kibbutz were massacred, another 260 were captured, and the settlement was razed.  After the Six Day War, it was a no-brainer for Israel that these settlements would be rebuilt.  If the possible evacuation of settlements is emotional issues for Israeli, Etzion is the holy of holies.  Its residents also come under frequent attack over the past four years.

See also: Israel's Newly Approved Security Fence Route: Geography and Demography - David Makovsky and Anna Hartman
The Israeli cabinet approved modified routing of the security fence, prompted by an Israeli supreme court decision last summer made to avert Palestinian hardship. The changes include: (1) revised routing to bring the fence closer to the "green line" (pre-1967 boundaries); (2) the elimination of all fence routes where Palestinians would have been completely encircled by the security fence; (3) the addition of the Maale Adumim settlement bloc; and (4) final authorization of fence routing near the Etzion bloc.
    The 2003 fence route was scheduled to encompass 16% of West Bank land. The new route will put 5% of the West Bank on the "Israeli" side of the fence, that will include only 5,400 Palestinians. The amended fence will serve not as a catalyst to impede a two-state solution, but rather to facilitate such an outcome. (Washington Institute for Near East Policy)
    See also Map of Israel's Newly Approved Security Fence Route (Washington Institute for Near East Policy)

Lebanon and Syria

The Road to Damascus - Charles Krauthammer
We are at the dawn of a glorious, delicate, revolutionary moment in the Middle East, triggered by the invasion of Iraq, the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, and televised images of 8 million Iraqis voting in a free election. Which led to the obvious question throughout the Middle East: Why the Iraqis and not us?
Flynt Leverett, your usual Middle East expert, took to the New York Times to oppose the immediate end of Syria's occupation of Lebanon. Instead, we should be trying to "engage and empower" the tyranny in Damascus. These people never learn. Here we are on the threshold of what Arabs in the region are calling the fall of their own Berlin Wall and our "realists" want us to go back to making deals with dictators. (Washington Post)
    See also Don't Rush on the Road to Damascus - Flynt Leverett (New York Times)

Israel Should Support Democracy in Lebanon - Ze'ev Schiff
Syria supports Palestinian terrorist organizations headquartered in Damascus that give orders for acts of murder in Israel and the undermining of the political process with the Palestinians, dispatches terrorists to Iraq, supplies Syrian rockets to Hizballah, and integrates the terror group into the Syrian army network. All these, in addition to cooperation with Iran, are undermining regional stability.
    Israel should support the democratic move in Lebanon, which requires Syrian withdrawal. Israel must act so that the pressure on Damascus to end the cooperation with terror organizations will continue. The withdrawal of foreign forces from Lebanon must include the removal of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, dozens of whose officers are active in Lebanon. (Ha'aretz)

Hizballah Rising: The Political Battle for the Loyalty of the Shi'a of Lebanon - Rodger Shanahan
Hizballah is genuinely popular in Lebanon, both as a consequence of its resistance activities that prompted the 2000 withdrawal of the IDF from the country's south, as well as its ability to achieve the return of prisoners from Israeli jails in return for the remains of IDF soldiers. For Hizballah, the withdrawal of the Israelis gave it the ability to announce both its Lebanese nationalist credentials, as well as its wider authority as the only Arab group to defeat Israel militarily. In May 2004, the party staged a mass rally of over 250,000 people in Beirut to protest U.S. military incursions into the Iraqi holy sites at Karbala and Najaf, indicating its mass appeal. (MERIA/IMRA)

Out of Lebanon - Nir Boms and Aaron Mannes
Controlling Lebanon is integral to the Syrian regime's survival. The Syrian economy stays afloat by plundering Lebanon and controlling the Beqaa Valley drug trade. Furthermore, Syria's Baathists derive their legitimacy from the concept of "Greater Syria," which includes Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, and part of Turkey. Relinquishing control of Lebanon would deprive the shaky Syrian regime of its raison d'etre, as well as its preferred venue for attacking Israel. Wresting Lebanon from Syria would change Middle Eastern geopolitics and advance democracy, but it will not be easy. (National Review)

A Tyrant Cornered - Editorial (Washington Post)

• As the Middle East changes all around him, Syrian President Bashar Assad still tries to play by the old rules. He figured he could sponsor terrorism in Iraq and Israel and thereby block progress toward democracy and peace. He calculated that the car bomb that killed former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri would stop the gathering Lebanese independence movement. He was wrong.
• There is no sign that the crude and callow tyrant gets the message. His response to the turmoil set off by his own criminal policies has been to adopt the standard formula of beleaguered Middle Eastern autocrats: appease the superpowers, blame Israel, and appeal for "Arab unity."
• The Bush administration and the French government rightly sense an opportunity. On Tuesday the two governments issued a statement again demanding "the immediate withdrawal of all Syrian military and intelligence forces from Lebanon" as well as "free and fair parliamentary elections this spring, bolstered by an international observer presence."
• The unlikely but potent U.S.-French alliance can bring extraordinary pressure to bear on Damascus if it chooses: The freezing of an EU economic agreement and UN sanctions are among the available tools. The potential payoff is a big one: another free election in the Arab world this spring, an independent Lebanon and, just possibly, a change in Syria.

Democracy in the Arab World

A Mideast Makeover? - Jackson Diehl
Egypt's Mubarak and Syria's Assad are autocrats whose regimes had remained unaltered, and unchallenged, for decades. There has been no political ferment in Damascus since the 1960s, or in Cairo since the 1950s. Now, within weeks of Iraq's elections, Mubarak and Assad are tacking with panicked haste between bold acts of repression, which invite an international backlash, and big promises of reform - which also may backfire, if they prove to be empty. They could yet survive; but quite clearly, the Arab autocrats don't regard the Bush dream of democratic dominoes as fanciful. (Washington Post)

Kifaya...in the Arab World - Claude Salhani
A new phenomenon in the Middle East can be summed up in a single word - "kifaya," Arabic for "enough." People have had enough of the region's political and economic stagnation. There is growing frustration in the lack of participation in government. In recent weeks the word "kifaya," or "enough," has appeared on hundreds of posters carried by demonstrators in Cairo demanding Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak not run for a fifth term. The same word was seen in Beirut, carried after former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's assassination by thousands at protests against Syrian occupation of Lebanon. Egypt's National Campaign for Change has adopted the word "Kifaya" as its name. (Washington Times)

The Quest for Democratic Political Reforms in the Middle East and the Prevailing Arab Political Culture - David Govrin
The fundamental political culture of Muslim Arab societies is based on the unquestionable sovereignty of God, and democracy and popular sovereignty, in its Western sense, appear to be contrary to this concept. The notion of the secularity of the state, the diffusion of power, the superiority of state law, popular suffrage and elections, checks and balances, the right of women to participate in the political process, and the role of independent groups in society are still alien to Muslim Arab political culture.
    The common character of the current Arab regimes is their authoritarian nature. Their legitimacy stems from military power or religious ancestry, not their people. Civil society, an essential element in establishing democracy, is either weak or nonexistent. The writer was formerly First Secretary of the Israeli Embassy in Cairo and Political Counselor of the Permanent Mission of Israel to the UN in New York. (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs)

Sharansky: A Towering Figure - Melanie Phillips
Sharansky says the common response to tyranny by free peoples is to appease it. It is only when the price of that appeasement becomes so high that the self-delusion can no longer be sustained that tyranny is fought - and by then, the difficulties are enormous, and the price is even greater human tragedy. (melaniephillips.com)
    See also The Dissident Whose Ideas Have Won over the White House - Anton La Guardia (Telegraph-UK);
Heroic Herald of Freedom - Michael Gove (Times-UK);
The Sharansky Moment? - Caroline Glick (Jerusalem Post)

Seize the Opportunity for Palestinian Democratic Reforms - Interview with Natan Sharansky - Sam Ser (Jerusalem Post)

• Q: What approach did you suggest the U.S. take on new PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas?
  Sharansky: If the U.S., Israel, and Europe say, "We will embrace you only if you embrace democratic reforms" - then you have a unique chance. But if the message will be, "Give us stability and then we'll talk," then I think it will be very difficult for him to bring about reforms.
      If he does [institute reforms], he will have to fight terror, because the terrorists will resist all of it. But if he delays reform in order to fight terror, then he can have a cease-fire one day and allow terror the next.
• Q: If the Palestinians were to create a liberal democracy, what concessions would you be willing to make?
  Sharansky: I think we have to start [to make concessions] long before they become a completely liberal democracy. But as of today, I think it would be a big mistake to dismantle even one settlement. We gave them Arafat's autonomy for free. We gave them recognition of a Palestinian state for free. And now we are giving them the disengagement for free.
• As for my views on a Palestinian state, I'm still saying what I've said all along...that I'm willing to give the Palestinians every right except for the right to destroy me. And what's the only way to ensure that that won't happen? To demand that their state will be a democratic state, a state whose leaders are subject to the will of its citizens. Since 1993, we've gone further and further from that dream by endorsing a [Palestinian] fear society.
• Now, we have a golden opportunity to bring about democratic reform because the one man who believes in that just happens to be the leader of the most powerful nation in the world. So I say, let's seize that opportunity.

Want to know what Bush thinks? Read Sharansky (Ha-aretz)

Protests in Cairo Against Fifth Term for Mubarak (AFP/Yahoo)
    More than 500 people rallied in Cairo to protest against a new term in office for Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and against moves to enable his son Gamal to succeed him afterwards.
    A triple cordon of police, wielding batons and shields, surrounded the protestors, blocking other city residents from joining them.
    Organized by the Egyptian Movement for Change, the demonstrators also included Marxists, Nasserites, liberals, and Islamic dissidents from the Muslim Brotherhood.

 See also Time to Distance Ourselves from the Mubarak Regime - Victor Davis Hanson (National Review)
We should decide now to distance ourselves from the Mubarak regime, and to be ready for a dynastic squabble with the passing of the present strongman.
    We have over the years given $50 billion to that "moderate" dictatorship not to attack Israel - as if it would really start a fifth war it would surely lose.
    But Egypt did unleash venom against us and become the intellectual nexus of Arab anti-Americanism.
    In the Arab world, a change in American policies to promote democracy was publicized as "anti-Arab" by state-run media.
    No longer should we remain in thrall to any Arab government that with its left hand rounds up over-the-top terrorists, while with its right gives others less violent a pass to unleash virulent hatred of America.
    We can no longer watch Americans die for democracy in the Sunni Triangle while giving billions to a regime that kills off consensual government in Cairo.

Israel Seeking Ways to Make Peace "Real" to Palestinians - Julie Stahl
Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres met with Mohammed Dahlan, the PA Minister for Civil Affairs, on Wednesday to discuss ways to make the "peace process" more real and relevant to the average Palestinian by helping to solve some of their daily problems. Poverty, unemployment, and hunger are rife, particularly in the Gaza Strip. Peres and Dahlan discussed areas of potential cooperation, including the freedom of movement of goods and people; the transfer of existing Israeli businesses to Palestinians; job creation; and improving the standard of living, according to Peres' office.
    There are 1,000 acres of high-tech, state-of-the-art Israeli-owned greenhouses in the Gaza Strip that Peres sees creating 20,000 jobs for Palestinians. "Israel is negotiating with the Americans and with others, with the international community, to leave all the infrastructure of the hothouses to the Palestinians through a third party," said Yonaton Bassi, who heads the government's disengagement authority, on Wednesday. (CNS News)
    See also Falling Again Into Oslo's Aid Trap - Daniel Doron
At Tuesday's conference in London, the U.S. and the EU pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to help the PA democratize and fight terror. But before more money is proffered, it may be prudent to carefully analyze why the last time the world showered the PA with billions of dollars what ensued was not peace and prosperity but a bloody conflict. Essentially what undermined Oslo was the erroneous supposition that agreements with reformed terrorist organizations could initiate a process of democratization and that massive government-to-government aid could create a prosperous economy. In reality, foreign aid financed a 150,000-man corrupt bureaucracy, a 50,000-strong army that was yet not "strong enough" to stop the terror, and 12 secret services.
    Once again, the West is rushing to channel massive aid to the PA that has yet to become really democratic. Such aid will only bolster an inefficient and corrupt public sector controlled by PA operators. The writer is director of the Israel Center for Social and Economic Progress. (Wall Street Journal, 4Mar05)

Jordan's Foreign Minister on Saturday in Ramallah and Tel Aviv
Jordanian Foreign Minister Hani al-Malqi will head to Israel on Saturday for a two-day visit, the first for a Jordanian official in four years, aimed at "bringing back warmth" to the relations between the two countries and to "give the peace process a push forward," according to al-Malqi. (ArabicNews.com)
    See also Jordan's FM: Israel Visit Will Open New Chapter (Jerusalem Post)
    See also Warmer by the Minute - Yoav Stern
The arrival of Jordanian Ambassador Dr. Marouf al-Bakhit revived the embassy, located in Ramat Gan. Two days after Bakhit's Feb. 20 arrival, the telephones began ringing and new initiatives were offered. Previously ambassador to Turkey, Bakhit retired from the army in 1999 at the rank equivalent to major general. In the past few months the highest echelons in Amman decided to promote ties between Jordan and Israel after a cold spell that lasted years. (Ha'aretz)

World Council of Churches

Council of the Clueless - Editorial
The World Council of Churches, taking a cue from the U.S. Presbyterian Church, has urged its member congregations to strongly consider divesting from companies that it says profit from Israeli actions in the West Bank and Gaza. Talk about a bizarre sense of timing - doesn't anyone at the Geneva-based group read the newspapers? The WCC call, which is modeled on the economic-pressure campaign against apartheid South Africa, comes as Israelis and Palestinians are enjoying the brightest hope in years for a genuine breakthrough for peace. Of course, the notion that Israel is politically comparable to the apartheid regime of South Africa is absurd: Where no blacks served in the South African parliament or sat on the Supreme Court, Arabs do both in Israel. The World Council of Churches' embarrassing effort to meddle is not just counter-productive, but downright dangerous. (New York Post)

Israel Caught In Sanctions Crossfire - James D. Besser
Why is the push by main-line Protestant churches to punish Israel with economic sanctions happening now, just as the Middle East seems poised for a new peace process? Some analysts say Israel has been caught in a crossfire resulting from an internal Christian dispute. John Green, a University of Akron political scientist who studies the religious right, said the main-line Protestants "really dislike conservative Evangelicals - and their support for Israel is an easy target. Also, there is in many of these circles a deep antipathy to Bush and that carries over into Israel as well."
    The main-line Presbyterians - once the nation's political elite, a dominating force in politics - "have lost political capital, so now what they're going after is the sworn enemies who have usurped their political role," said Rabbi Gary Bretton-Granatoor, interreligious affairs director for the Anti-Defamation League. And they're attacking those seen as aligned with their Christian foes, including Israel and its supporters. The same Presbyterian meeting that started the divestment wheels turning also passed a resolution stating that "Christian Zionism does not represent the majority of American Christians and the faith of the Presbyterian Church (USA)," said Kenneth Goldstein, a University of Wisconsin political scientist. (New York Jewish Week)

A World That Is About to Vanish - Daniel Ben Simon
The human drama is unfolding in Gush Katif. Many area residents still refuse to believe that within a few months they will be forced to uproot themselves from Gush Katif's soil. Over the past two months, 12 infants have been born in Kfar Darom, and another four are due shortly. "What does this mean, you might ask?" local resident Irit Kadmon asks rhetorically, answering, "When people bring babies into the world, it means they have not lost hope. It means they are optimistic about the future." The Kadmons represent the Gaza Strip settlers' hard core: religious Zionists nourished on a love of the Holy Land together with their mothers' milk. (Ha'aretz)
    See also More Trauma Likely in Gaza Reburial Plan - Dan Ephron
This summer, when Israel plans to evacuate thousands of settlers from Gaza, authorities are planning to dig up the remains of 46 Israelis buried in Gush Katif and re-inter them in cemeteries inside Israel. Eliezer Orbach, the head of Gush Katif's religious council, who has served as the caretaker of the cemetery since it was established in 1987, said he has attended the funerals of more young people than old, in part because of Palestinian attacks. Eight of those buried there were babies or children, 4 were soldiers in their early 20s when they died, and another dozen or so were in their 30s and 40s. The oldest was around 50. (Boston Globe)

Forensic Experts Restore Israeli Astronaut's Notes
Forensic scientists have painstakingly restored the flight diary and notes of Israeli astronaut Col. Ilan Ramon, that survived the fiery disintegration of the space shuttle Columbia and two months of exposure to rain and sun in a Texas field in 2003. Eighteen pages handwritten in Hebrew were recovered: four from Ramon's diary during the flight; six were technical classroom notes made before launch; and eight were personal notes, also written before liftoff. Ramon, an Israeli war hero, was his country's first astronaut. (AP/New York Times)

Mehereta, Symbol of Ethiopian Pride - Hilary Leila Krieger
Mehereta Baruch, who came in second on the reality TV show "The Ambassador," has soared to the top of the list of most recognizable Ethiopian-Israelis. "She changed what Israeli society thinks about the Ethiopian community," said Nurit Tezazu, media coordinator for the Israel Association for Ethiopian Jews. Baruch is being credited with shattering stereotypes, inspiring a new generation, and redefining Israeliness. According to Shlomo Molla, the Jewish Agency's senior consultant for Ethiopian immigrants, younger Ethiopians "can see the sky's the limit, and think 'I can compete, I can do it.'...She's opening the door for hundreds of young people." (Jerusalem Post)

Obituary: Peter Malkin - The Israeli Agent Who Delivered Adolf Eichmann to Justice
Safebreaker, explosives expert, Haganah resistance fighter, and finally Israeli secret agent, Peter Malkin captured Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, responsible for the deaths of millions of Jews during the Holocaust. Malkin tracked and then seized Eichmann on the streets of a Buenos Aires suburb in 1960, from where he was brought back to Israeli to expiate his crimes at the end of a rope. (Times-UK)

MYTHS AND FACTS: THE MUHAMMAD ALDURA MYTH

MYTH #169

“The shooting of a child being protected by his father shown on TV proves Israel does not hesitate to kill innocent Palestinian children.”

FACT

Perhaps the most vivid image of the “al-Aksa intifada” was the film of a Palestinian father trying unsuccessfully to shield his son from gunfire. Israel was universally blamed for the death of 12-year-old Mohammed Aldura, but subsequent investigations found that the boy was most likely killed by Palestinian bullets.

Aldura and his father took cover adjacent to a Palestinian shooting position at the Netzarim junction in the Gaza Strip. After Palestinian policemen fired from this position and around it toward an IDF position opposite, IDF soldiers returned fire toward the sources of the shooting. During the exchanges of fire, the Palestinian child was hit and killed.

Contrary to the conventional belief that the footage of the incident was live, it was actually edited before it was broadcast around the world. Though a number of cameramen were in the area, only one, a Palestinian working for France 2, recorded the shooting. Raw footage of the day shows a far more complex picture of what was taking place and raised questions about the universal assumption that Israel had killed the boy.

An IDF investigation of the incident released November 27, 2000, found that Aldura was most likely killed by a Palestinian policeman and not by IDF fire. This report was confirmed by an independent investigation by German ARD Television, which said the footage of Aldura's death was censored by the Palestinians to look as if he had been killed by the Israelis when, in fact, his death was caused by Palestinian gunfire (CNN, Jerusalem Post, November 28, 2000; Jewish Telegraphic Agency, March 21, 2002).

James Fallows revisted the story and found that “the physical evidence of the shooting was in all ways inconsistent with shots coming from the IDF outpost.” In addition, he cites a number of unanswered questions, which have led some to conclude the whole incident was staged. For example, Fallows asks, “Why is there no footage of the boy after he was shot? Why does he appear to move in his father's lap, and to clasp a hand over his eyes after he is supposedly dead? Why is one Palestinian policeman wearing a Secret Service-style earpiece in one ear? Why is another Palestinian man shown waving his arms and yelling at others, as if ‘directing’ a dramatic scene? Why does the funeral appear — based on the length of shadows — to have occurred before the apparent time of the shooting? Why is there no blood on the father's shirt just after they are shot? Why did a voice that seems to be that of the France 2 cameraman yell, in Arabic, ‘The boy is dead’ before he had been hit? Why do ambulances appear instantly for seemingly everyone else and not for al-Dura?” (The Atlantic Monthly, June 2003).

More recently, Denis Jeambar, editor-in-chief of the French news weekly l'Express, and filmmaker Daniel Leconte, a producer and owner of the film company Doc en Stock, saw raw, unedited video of the shooting and said the boy could not have been shot by Israeli soldiers. “The only ones who could hit the child were the Palestinians from their position. If they had been Israeli bullets, they would be very strange bullets because they would have needed to go around the corner.” France 2 claimed that the gunshots that struck al-Durra were bullets that ricocheted off the ground, but Leconte dismissed the argument. “It could happen once, but that there should be eight or nine of them, which go around a corner?” (CNSNews.com, February 15, 2005).)

Despite the growing body of evidence that the report was inaccurate, France 2 refuses to retract the story.

This article can be found at http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/myths/mf19.html#f1

Source: Myths & Facts Online -- A Guide to the Arab-Israeli Conflict by Mitchell G. Bard, http://www.JewishVirtualLibrary.org. To order a copy of the paperback edition of Myths and Facts, click HERE

Jewish and Israeli Links:

A great resource on all things Jewish: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/news.html

The best Jewish site for Jewish learning: www.myjewishlearning.com

THE MOTHERLODE OF ISRAEL-RELATED LINKS: http://www.israel.org/mfa/go.asp?MFAH00kj0

Israel Defense Force, http://www.idf.il/
Israel Government Gateway, links to Government Ministries, www.info.gov.il/eng
Israel Knesset, http://www.knesset.gov.il/
Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, http://www.mfa.gov.il/
Israel Prime Minister's Office, http://www.pmo.gov.il/
Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, www.cbs.gov.il/engindex.htm
Israel Tourism Ministry, North America, http://www.goisrael.com/
Buy Israeli Products, http://www.israelexport.org/, http://www.shopinisrael.com/,
http://www.finefoodsisrael.com/
Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies, www.tau.ac.il/jcss
Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, http://www.besacenter.org/
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, http://www.jcpa.org/
One Jerusalem, http://www.onejerusalem.org/
Twenty Facts about Israel
Myths & Facts: A Guide to the Arab-Israeli Conflict
Jerusalem Archaeological Park, http://www.archpark.org.il/

USA:

Israel Info Center - Israel Activism Portal, www.israelinfocenter.com/
US White House, http://www.whitehouse.gov/
US State Department, http://www.state.gov/
US Senate, http://www.senate.gov/
US House of Representatives, http://www.house.gov/
THOMAS (search for US Legislation), thomas.loc.gov
United Nations Watch, http://www.unwatch.org/
Embassy of Israel - Washington, D.C., http://www.embassyofisrael.org/

Media-Related Links:

CAMERA, http://www.jcpa.org/daily/www.camera.org
Jerusalem Post, http://www.jpost.com/
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, http://www.jta.org/
Ha'aretz English Edition, http://www.haaretzdaily.com/
HonestReporting.com, http://www.honestreporting.com/
Independent Media Review and Analysis, http://www.imra.org.il/
Maariv English Edition, http://www.maarivintl.com/
Middle East Media Research Institue (MEMRI), http://www.memri.org/
Palestinian Media Watch, http://www.pmw.org.il/
Britain-Israel Communications and Research Centre,
http://www.bicom.org.uk/bicom/briefings.nsf
Israel Insider, http://www.israelinsider.com/
Jewish World Review, http://www.jewishworldreview.com/
America's Voices in Israel, http://www.americasvoices.net/
@The Source Israel, http://www.thesourceisrael.com/

Other Jewish Sites

Data JEM – an GEM for Jewish Education! Database for  Jewish educational materials: http://www.datajem.com/visitor/IntroPage.asp

The best Jewish kids' site on the Web is http://www.babaganewz.com/ , with games, virtual tours and “J-Pod” downloads, kids of all ages will LOVE it.   

Another superb educational site is http://www.myjewishlearning.com/ -- you can be a self-taught “maven” on all things Jewish!

See the contents of nearly the entire Babylonian Talmud, in translation at http://www.come-and-hear.com/tcontents.html

A Jewish Guide to the Internet: http://www.uscj.org/metny/bellmobj/jnet2.htm

On Jewish Vegetarianism and Animal Rights: http://jewishveg.com/schwartz/ (hey, you KNEW I’d put this one in)

How many Jewish hockey players are there? (None right now…there’s a lockout). Find out at http://www.jewishsports.com/

Glossary of Yiddish Expressions: http://www.ariga.com/yiddish.shtml  )Please be patient, this page is farshtopt with information)

You can find an online Hebrew dictionary at http://milon.morfix.co.il/

Nice Jewish parenting site http://jewishfamily.com/

http://www.jewishgates.com/main.asp  Jewish Gates is an amazing site, filled with material on Jewish history, ritual and culture. Go straight to the linked index at http://www.jewishgates.com/fullindex.asp and go to town!

http://www.zipple.com/  The Jewish Super Site; a similar site is http://www.maven.co.il/ and my personal all-time favorite,

http://shamash.org/trb/judaism.html

The sourcebook for Jewish history (all periods) can be found at http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/jewish/jewishsbook.html

Online Texts Related to Jewish History. All the primary sources “fit to print.”

Israel Campus Beat – to get all the latest information on Israel relevant to students on college campuses

http://jokes.jewish.net - the best place on the planet to find Jewish Jokes

OPPORTUNITIES FOR ONLINE JEWISH STUDY 

• Distance learning at JTS
• eAcademy Israel Studies
• Guided Learning Mini Courses
• Halakhah Study Group (RA in Israel)
• Hashkafah Study Group (RA in Israel)
• Jewish Interactive Studies
• Jewish Online and Interactive Learning
• Jewish University in Cyberspace (JUICE)
• Mishnah Yomit Study a Mishnah a day
• Perek Yomi Study a Bible passage a day 
• Rabin Mishnah Study Group (RA in Israel) 
• The Virtual Bet Midrash at Yeshivat Har Etzion

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Temple Beth El Discussion Group

Sunday March 6th, 7:30PM

Speaker: Rabbi Joshua Hammerman

Topic: "How Jewish Should The Jewish State Be?"

At the home of:

Julian and Frieda Reitman

28 Yale Court

Stamford, CT

Tel: 322-8398

Please RSVP the Reitmans!

Looking Ahead:

April 3rd

Larry Bloch will lead a discussion of the book

"American Judaism"

A new book by Jonathan Sarna

Dr Sarna will be the Scholar-in Residence at TBE the following weekend.

Hope all will be able to read the book.

Hosts will be Shirley and Don Fish

The Sisterhood of Temple Beth El proudly presents Part III of

The Women’s Health Series

Sunday, March 13, 2005 from 10:30 a.m. to noon

featuring Dr. Brian Hines

Director of the Southern Connecticut Center for Urogynecology

Bennett Medical Center, Stamford Hospital

Do you hesitate to laugh at a good joke or run for the

bathroom when you start to cough? If so, you’re not alone.

Come learn about a problem that:

11 million women suffer from...

25% of women over 50 experience...

Fewer than 50% talk to their doctors about...

Can be cured or significantly improved in 80% of cases

Benefits from early detection and treatment

Free of charge to Sisterhood Members

$5.00 for non-Sisterhood Members

RSVP by 3/10/05 to Sue Plutzer—325-8853 or sueplutzer@aol.com

LEARNING AND LATTE

at Border’s Book Store

High Ridge Road, Stamford, Connecticut

Meets monthly on the second Tuesday evening of the month.

7:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

SEEKING THE SACRED:

MANY PATHS TO A MEANINGFUL LIFE

with

Rabbi Joshua Hammerman - Temple Beth El

Rev. Douglas McArthur - First United Methodist Church

Dr. Behjat Syed - Stamford Islamic Center

March 8, 2005

Social Activism: Transforming the Word into Deed: Who are our Moral Heroes?

This monthly multi-faith “conversation” is the only opportunity in this area where Christian, Jewish and Moslem religious leaders come together with participants to discuss what we all share: our faith, our questions, our common humanity.  This series is now in its third year and this past year's sessions included a passionate discussion of “The Passion” as well as conversations on Gay Marriage, the December holidays and the rituals of death and mourning.

“Hot Button Halacha”

Meets monthly on the second

Wednesday of the month

NEXT WEDNESDAY

March 9, 2005 12:30 - 1:30 p.m.

Topic: TATOOING AND BODY PIERCING

What does Jewish law teach us about today’s most controversial issues, including Gay Marriage, Tattooing and Body Piercing, Stem Cell Research, Assisted Suicide, Domestic Violence, Surrogate Parenting and Smoking in Public Places? Recent opinions of the Conservative Movement’s Committee of Law and Jewish Standards will be discussed.

Meets at: Benjamin & Gold, P.C., 350 Bedford Street 4^th floor.

Sisterhood Cookbook

Send those tasty kosher recipes now!!!! We are ready to start testing recipes for the cookbook and we don’t want to miss including yours!!

Submit your recipes on the internet by clicking on this link: http://www.tbe.org/site/pages/recipe_submit.htm. Or submit recipes on the RECIPE FORM (which will be mailed to you next week) or pick up a FORM in the Temple Lobby or Education Office. Please submit your recipes by March 21, 2005 so that we can have the cookbook ready for Chanukah.

All profits will be donated for new TBE kitchen appliances! 

Thank you.

Beth Silver, 967-8852

For the Sisterhood Cookbook Committee

Save the date for a spectacular Purim at Temple Beth El:

Thurs. March 24

(it’s erev Good Friday, so no school the next day!)

Family Megilla Reading: 6-7 PM

Better-than-ever Carnival 7-9 PM

Full Megilla reading (for adults, in sanctuary): 8:30-9

And, at 9PM, for the first time ever at TBE…

FOX presents

"Beth El Idol"

"Who will Beth El's next cantor be? 

Come to our open tryouts and meet our Purim panel of "Hanging Judges,"

including

Vashti Abdul,

a washed-up cheerleader from the L.A. Latkes,

and the evil, arrogant and pompous 

Haman Cowell,

who specializes in "gallows humor."

As we like to say on the Cantorial Search Committee,

known for our "fair and balanced" way of delivering the "noose"…

“We Imbibe. YOU decide!"

(If you would like to make a fool of yourself this Purim by participating in "Beth El Idol," or if you have some spectacular, hilarious ideas for this parody, contact Rabbi Joshua Hammerman, producer and talent agent, at rabbi@tbe.org)

TWO SPECTACULAR

Scholar in Residence Weekends:

Dr. Eitan Fishbane

Assistant Professor of Jewish Thought at HUC-JIR/Los Angeles

“Jewish Mysticism and Kabbalah” –

March 18 –20

Friday night: (at the conclusion of our 6:30 service).

What is Jewish Mysticism?-Understanding the Kabbalah

Mysticism has been central to Judaism throughout the history of the Jewish people, and it has become something of a popular fascination in our own day. But what is it all about? What are some of the major characteristics of the phenomenon known as 'Kabbalah'? How can contemporary Jews draw on the treasures of this tradition in their own spiritual lives?

Shabbat morning

Shabbat as Spiritual Transformation in Jewish Mysticism

We will explore some of the inspiring ways in which the experience of Shabbat has been understood by the mystical masters. How can Shabbat become a time of introspection and inner quiet? How can we discover the Presence of God in our innermost selves, and open the Sanctuary of the heart?

Sat. Night (at Penny and Michael Horowitz's home - at 7:30 PM - RSVP to education office – education@tbe.org

Striving Toward Kavvanah: Understanding the Mystical Experience of Prayer

How can we attain spiritual concentration and centeredness in our prayer when it is so hard to focus? What might help us draw closer to God in prayer, despite all the distractions of our daily lives? In this session we will draw inspiration from Kabbalistic and Hasidic teachings on the practice of prayer and the love of God.

Sunday Morning:

The Layers of Torah: A Path to God in Jewish Mysticism

The mystics teach us that the Torah is filled with deep mysteries about the inner life of God, and that we must always strive to interpret the text beyond its surface level of meaning. It is through that search for deeper meaning that we may see the Torah as a doorway to the presence of God in the world.

Prof. Jonathan Sarna, winner of this year’s

National Jewish Book Award,

Renowned historian of American Judaism

April 8 –10

The lectures for the weekend will be as follows:

Friday night (at conclusion of our 7:30 service, in the sanctuary) "350 Years of American Judaism"

Shabbat morning (he will speak during the service, which begins at 9:30) - "How Matzah Became Square: the Case of Manischewitz"

Saturday evening (he will speak during Mincha-Havdalah service, which begins at 6:00 PM) - "George Washington Schlepped Here: The First President and the Jews of Newport"

The Sunday morning lecture will be from 9 - 10 AM in our chapel "Unity and Continuity: Looking Back and Looking Ahead"

Sisterhood Cookbook

The Sisterhood is really excited about creating a kosher COOKBOOK that will be ready for Chanukah 2005 gift giving!! To make this project a success, we need your recipes!!

We are looking for all types of recipes including traditional and contemporary dishes (including appetizers, side dishes, entrees, vegetable/vegetarian dishes, desserts and beverages) and holiday dishes. We would also like to include a family/kids cooking section with “kid friendly” recipes that parents and children can enjoy making together. Kid recipes can be as simple as putting peanut butter and raisins on celery.

You may submit your recipes on the internet simply by clicking on this link: http://www.tbe.org/site/pages/recipe_submit.htm and following the instructions. You can also submit recipes on the RECIPE FORM which will be mailed to you in early February. Or you can pick up a RECIPE FORM in the Temple Lobby or Education Office. Please submit your recipes by March 1, 2005 so that we can have the cookbook ready for Chanukah.

All profits will be donated for new TBE kitchen appliances!

Thank you.

Beth Silver, 967-8852

For the Sisterhood Cookbook Committee

.

SAVE THE DATE! March 29, 2005 at 7:30 p.m.

Cantor Deborah Jacobson and Rabbi Selilah Kalev will speak on "Changing Roles For Women In The Clergy", to benefit the Torah Fund. Watch for your invitation in the mail.

Please join Beth El Cares, the TBE Religious School and Sisterhood for a very special project…

JOIN THE TEMPLE BETH EL

“LOCKS OF LOVE MITZVAH TEAM!”

What is it?

A group of Beth El “hair donors,” children and adults, who will perform a mitzvah by growing and donating 10 inches of their hair to help financially challenged children who have lost their hair due to illness.

Five girls and women (including someone from the Temple staff you all know) have already joined the team! Please consider giving a gift of “Locks and Love” to a child in need.

For more information about the organization which collects the hair, please go online to www.locksoflove.org

We plan to have a kick-off event on March 13^th so that the team can meet each other and we can take a “before” photograph of all of us prior to growing our hair 10 more inches!

For information or to join the team, please contact:

Ellen Gordon esgordon@optonline.net or 968-8029

Sue Greenwald sgreenwa@optonline.net or 329-1662

Cheryl Wolff cwolff@optonline.net or 968-6361

LEONARD FEIN AND RABBI AVI WEISS TO DIALOGUE

AT ZALMAN CHAIM BERNSTEIN LEGACY LECTURE SERIES

Leonard Fein, the founder of Moment Magazine and a noted author, teacher, and lecturer, and Rabbi Avi Weiss, the spiritual leader of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale and president of Amcha, will join together in dialogue at this year’s Zalman Chaim Bernstein Legacy Lecture, to be held at the Young Israel of Stamford on Thursday evening, April 7, at 8PM.

The topic of the lecture is “The Jews and ‘The Other’: How Far Do the Circles of Responsibility Extend?” Admission is free, and refreshments will be served after the lecture.

YOUTH ACTIVITIES

USY (High School) Lock, Load and Skate – March 8-9 from 7-12

For questions or to order online, please call Jonathan Ostroff at 322-6901 x324 or email youth@tbe.org.

Teens!

Taste of Sunday at Kulanu: Try it!

Here’s a chance to try Kulanu Sunday classes,

but not get up every week!

Join us for 4 Sunday mornings:

March 6, April 3, May 8, and May 29

10:20 - 10:40 AM Bagel Brunch

10:40 –11:30 AM Kaballah and Meditation with Rabbi Levi Mendelow

11:30 Am - 12:15 PM Roots of Judaism with Nahum Daniels

Location: Congregation Agudath Sholom, 301 Strawberry Hill Avenue.

This program is open to currently enrolled Wednesday students and new

students. Registration fee $50

To register or for more information, please call Gina Lewald-Fass, Kulanu

Director 203-321-1373 ext.115 or gina@ujf.org

Hebrew School and Scrip:

An Easy,Winning Combination

SCRIP IS THE NEWEST & EASIEST FUNDRAISER AT TBE!

FILL OUT THE SHEET FOR THE STORES YOU SHOP AT REGULARLY WITH A CHECK MADE OUT TO TBE.

ORDERS ARE SENT IN THE 2ND & 4TH MONDAY OF EACH MONTH.

ON OR AFTER WEDNESDAY, PICK-UP YOUR ORDER OF GIFT CARDS TO THE VARIOUS STORES.

OUR SCHOOL GETS A PERCENTAGE FOR EACH OF YOUR PURCHASES!

IT’S A WIN, WIN!

Shabbat Meal Visitation Program. Calling all pre-bar and bat mitzvah children (5^th through 7th grade) who are interested in the mitzvah of bringing a kosher Shabbat Meal to a senior who is home-bound (or finds it difficult to get out a lot) once a month, a pizza dinner and informal training session by Jewish Family Services will take place on Sunday, January 30^th at 5 pm. Please contact Adrienne Alexander 324-3246 to RSVP, for more details or if you know a senior who could benefit from this program.

Storahtelling

Storahtelling is booking for the 2005-2006 year. You might recall their successful visit last fall. At that time, a number of people expressed interest in bringing them back. A few wondered about the possibility of having them come at the time of a child’s Bar/Bat Mitzvah. If you have some interest, you may want to check out their web site at www.storahtelling.org, then let me know at rabbi@tbe.org if you wish to sponsor a Storahtelling visit.

Joke for the Week

What their Jewish Mothers Might Have Said

MONA LISA'S JEWISH MOTHER:
"After all that money your father and I spent on braces, that's the
biggest smile you can give us?"

COLUMBUS' JEWISH MOTHER:
"I don't care what you've discovered, you still could have written!"

MICHELANGELO'S  JEWISH MOTHER:
"Can't you paint on walls like other children? Do you have any idea how
hard it is to get that stuff off the ceiling?"

NAPOLEON'S JEWISH MOTHER:
"All right, if you aren't hiding your report card inside your jacket,
take your hand out of there and show me."

ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S JEWISH MOTHER:
"Again with the hat?  Can't you just wear a baseball cap like the other kids?"

GEORGE WASHINGTON’S JEWISH MOTHER:
"The next time I catch you throwing money across the Potomac, you can
kiss your allowance good-bye!"

THOMAS EDISON'S JEWISH MOTHER:
"Of course I'm proud that you invented the electric light bulb. Now
turn it off and get to bed!"

PAUL REVERE'S JEWISH MOTHER:
"I don't care where you think you have to go, young man, midnight is past your curfew."

And, of course, these two, who really did have Jewish mothers:

ALBERT EINSTEIN'S JEWISH MOTHER:
"But it's your senior  picture. Couldn't you do something about your hair?"

MOSES' JEWISH MOTHER:
"That's a nice story. Now tell me where you've really been for the last forty years.

Previous Shabbat-O-Grams can be accessed directly from our web site (www.tbe.org)

The Web link for this week's Shabbat-O-Gram is - http://www.tbe.org/site/sog/050304.htm - The site is continually updated during the week with corrections and additions. Feel free to forward this link to your friends. People can subscribe to the weekly Shabbat-O-Gram at www.tbe.org, where you can also find some of my other writings and sermons. You can also check out my recent books, thelordismyshepherd.com : Seeking God in Cyberspace and I Have Some Questions About God. I also send out mailings to college students, Gen Xers and teens, so let us know if you wish to be placed on any of those lists. If you wish to unsubscribe, contact office@tbe.org.