Help Israel replant 5 million trees

The Carmel Forest fire that burned out of control for more than three days was brought under control Sunday. At least 42 people have died. Most of those who died were trying to save lives and fight the fire. May their memories be a blessing.

In addition homes were lost and more than 12,500 acres of forests destroyed. Some estimate over 5 million trees were burned. Perhaps the one piece of positive news concerns the equipment Israel received from so many countries, including Egypt, Jordan and Turkey.

Many organizations will help those affected by the fire. One of them is the JNF. One hundred and nine years ago, Theodore Herzl stood before the delegates of the 5th Zionist Congress and insisted that the proposed fund to begin reclaiming the land of Israel be established. The Jewish National Fund (JNF, in Hebrew, Keren Kayemet LeIsrael) came into being and began raising money.

JNF is perhaps best known to most Americans as the organization that “plants trees” in Israel. That is part of its mission, but it has also worked to educate Jews about Israel and especially in the early years, purchase land. It has also been involved in reclaiming land for agricultural purposes. It is now involved in water conservation projects and protecting Israel's eco system. It also built and runs an indoor recreation center park in Sderot for those who live under the threat of kassam missile attacks from terrorists in the Gaza strip. Members of Beth Israel helped in this effort.

The JNF has launched Operation Carmel Renewal: From Black to Green. This program will focus on "re-greening," which will include planting trees, restoring recreation areas and open space. It will also provide fire-fighting equipment so that future fires will be contained quickly.

If you would like help with the re-greening of Israel, making a donation to JNF’s Operation Carmel Renewal, just click here -JNF OPERATION CARMEL RENEWAL- which will take you directly to the web page of JNF. On that page you may chose to donate money to purchase fire fighting equipment or to replant trees. If you prefer, you may send a check to the Synagogue office.

Hanukkah celebrates two events: the military victory of the Maccabees over the Hellenist forces of Antiochus of Syria and the rededication of the Temple after its desecration by the pagans.

The Rabbis clearly chose to emphasize the rededication. First, the name of the holiday, Hanukah, means "dedication." Second, the Rabbis focus on a historical miracle that occurred during the dedication period (a one day supply of oil for the Temple Menorah lasting for eight days) through ritual (lighting the Hanukiya) and foods (made with oil).

The Rabbis emphasized the message of "rededication," not simply as a historical one. It is to be a spiritual one as well. Judaism teaches each on of us is Kadosh, holy. The Temple, (in Hebrew, the House of Holiness) became corrupted. Worshipping idols is not simply a matter of trying to make the infinite Divine visible. Far worse, it tries to portray human values as Divine. Rather than trying to heighten humans to the level of the Divine, the Hellenists sought to lower the Divine to the level of the humans.

This process happens to all of us. We being to think that the values we live through our daily actions are the highest of which we are capable. Judaism teaches that we must daily rededicate ourselves to the task of living up to the highest standards of holiness of which we are capable. The battle is no less daunting than the one the outmatched Maccabees faced 21 centuries ago. The words of Haftorah chanted during Hannukah explains how we are able to succeed. "Neither with might nor with power, but but rather by My Spirit says Adonai" Zachariah 4:6

Hag urim samaych, may you enjoy a beautiful holiday of light.

This evening, the ninth of Av ushers in the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. Terrible things have befallen our people, including the destruction of the first and second Temples. The Talmud explains:

Why was the First Temple destroyed? Because of the three elements, which existed in it: idolatry, immorality, and bloodshed. … However, why was the Second Temple destroyed, since at that time people were involved in study, mitzvot, and deeds of kindness? Because at that time there was senseless hatred among the people. This teaches that senseless hatred is as powerful an evil as idolatry, immorality, and bloodshed!
Talmud Yoma 96

The symbol of spiritual unity of the Jewish people was first destroyed because of terrible worst sins. We engaged in acts that denied the existence of the Divine in the world and in one another. The second time we denied the Divine in our fellow Jews. The sins hardly seem equivalent in severity.

When Jews or Jewish leaders bring break the law, we feel shame because others think less of Jews. The real shame we should feel is because people will think less of Torah and of following Gods teachings. For this reason, when Jews do things that attract negative attention, it is called a Chillul HaShem, a desecration of the Divine Name.

The Temples could exist only as long as we, the Jewish people, were faithful to our role as witnesses to the Divine. In the period of the Second Temple, Jews thought that by doing mitzvot, studying Torah and engaging in deeds of kindness, they were promoting God to the rest of the world, but they were mistaken. Disagreements among Jews were not just intense, but led to hatred. The brit (covenant) at Sinai was with every Jews. Only when we are whole as a people can we serve as witnesses of the greatness of God.

The Talmud teaches us that loving our fellow Jews and treating them, even when we disagree, with respect. In many cases, it appears to me, we have still not learned this lesson.

Israel in the eyes of the world.

Before Erev Shabbat services on July 10th, more than thirty people came for a cookout followed by a presentation by Cincinnati Shaliach Amir Yarchi. Amir, his wife Moran and their twin sons joined us for dinner. Amir and his family will be staying another year in Cincinnati to continue serving as the official representative from the State of Israel.

Amir's presentation was very though provoking, at least for me. He suggested that we have made a significant error in the way we talk about Israel. He points out that usually when American Jews talk about Israel, it is in regards to security threats. The fear of those threats is great. In the aftermath of the Holocaust era, we look back and see that the American Jewish community was not prepared to do all that it might have done. We live with the motto, "never again."

We have done an admirable job here in the U.S. Public support for Israel is high. US leaders continually stress the strong support for Israel even when it conflicts with economic and foreign policy interests. However, there have been times when that relationship seemed strained, yet politicians have never swerved from voicing their support. Even Keith Ellison, the first Muslim to serve in Congress expresses his strong support.

The truth is, however, we do Israel a disservice. In his column, Al Miller highlighted some of Israel's achievements. We need to do this more often. Amir brought with him the first ingestible video camera (it is the size of a large capsule and it is swallowed) developed by Given Imaging Once swallowed, the camera produces digital images of the small intestine (some BIS members and probably some of your friends have already benefited from it). An Israeli company developed and installed the first large scale solar powered electric generating plant in California's Mojave Desert. Last year, an Israeli company announced plans to create 1/4 million charging stations in Israel for electric cars that are to be built within three years.

These and many other technological achievements are the result of the fact that Israel leads the world in the number of scientists and technicians per capita in the work force. While Israel is tiny, on a per capita basis, it leads the world in many things, including the number of museums.

More than 100 years ago, Theodore Herzl's vision was of a Jewish State that was a leader in sciences and the arts. We would do well to remember his vision and let the world know about Israel's contributions to all of humanity.

Presiendt Obama's Cairo Speech

PRESIDENT OBAMA'S SPEECH IN CAIRO

I was asked to write an article for the internet about President Obama’s speech. It was printed in the Journal news as an opinion piece. Many Jews have difficulty answering questions about why Israel does not make peace with the Palestinians, so here is a brief summary of some of the points.

Arabs say that for the last two hundred years, Western countries have interfered with their region, causing all their current problems. This is their excuse for everything that is wrong in the Middle East. They blame Israel for the problem of the Palestinian refugees, without mentioning that they are responsible as well. Here are four reasons the Arabs responsible for the problem of the Palestinians refugees.

1) Arabs reject UN plan for a Jewish and an Arab State.
The UN plan in 1947 was for two countries, an Arab country and a Jewish country.

2) Five Arab armies invade Israel in 1948.
The armies of Egypt, Jordan Iraq, Syria and Lebanon invaded Israel as soon as the British left. Israel was a tiny country with 600,000 Jews. It had no real army and very few weapons. It was a terribly dangerous situation and President Truman was worried there would be a slaughter. The Arabs certainly believed there would be. There were radio warnings from Arab countries to the Palestinians living in Israel to leave so they would not be in the way After a truce ended, Israel forces slowly managed to push back the Arab armies. It was a costly war for Israel, 6,000 Jewish soldiers died in that war.

If the Arabs had not started the war in 1948, no Jews or Arabs would have had to flee their homes and the Palestinians would now have had their own country for 61 years.

3) After the war, Egypt and Jordan do not let the Palestinians form a country.
Even after losing the war, Jordan and Egypt could have let the Palestinians have a country. Instead, they took those areas their armies captured and made them part of their own countries.

4) Arabs force Palestinian refugees to remain refugees.
Since the end of World War Two, tens of millions of refugees have been successfully resettled. 850,000 Jewish refugees fled from Arab countries and came to Israel. These Jewish refugees were welcomed and settled in Israel.

The Palestinian refugees were forced to remain from the rest of the population, they are not allowed to become citizens nor they cannot get jobs outside their areas. There is a special UN organization that deal only with the Palestinians, UNRWA, which does not try to help he Palestinians become citizens of the countries in which they live or find new homes.

The Arabs themselves are responsible for creating the Palestinian refugee problem. Yet Arabs blame Israel for the Palestinian refugee problem. Arabs believe that it is a huge concession on their part that they consider recognizing Israel’s right to exist. They think that Israel should go back to the pre-1967 borders, which would mean giving the Arabs the old city of Jerusalem. There are other concessions they must make if there is to be peace. Israel has been trying to reach a peace agreement, but insists that all terrorism against Israel must stop. Until that happens, the refugee problem will not end.

Abandoned Jewish Cemeteries

Question: According to family records, some of my mother's ancestors were buried in Uckermark, Germany. They came from Metz, France with Napoleon's army, around 1812. I just learned that the Nazis used the gravestones from Jewish cemeteries to build prisons for a concentration camp in the district of Uckermark, Germany. I suppose their stones were used. Has the German government made any attempts to restore the old Jewish cemeteries desecrated by the Nazis? What is the Jewish obligation, religiously? Neither of my parents WHO ESCAPED FROM GERMANY IN 1938 wanted to go back after the war.

Answer: It is a religious commandment, a mitzvah to care for the graves of the deceased. Events of the last 70 years make this very complicated. Today may communities in which large numbers of Jews once lived are empty or nearly empty of Jews. The largest number are those communities decimated by the Holocaust, but also a large number of communities, especially in the Arab world, have been abandoned by Jews who fled persecution in the 1940 & 50s. The cemetery of the Jewish community of Shanghai, relatively small except for a brief period during the Holocaust when it was a place of refuge for 40,000 Jews who abandoned it after the war, is also in need of attention. In Toledo Spain, work to expand a local school on to the Jewish cemetery (abandoned by the Jews who fled in 1492) stopped and the government agreed to talk with interested parties.

The Jewish community has focused on helping the survivors and supporting the tiny remnants of European Jewry. The problem of who will care for Jewish cemeteries is a complicated one. In Germany alone, there are an estimated 2,000 cemeteries and 600,000 individual graves. More work seems to be done by some local communities or even private individuals than by national governments. The Lo Tishkach Foundation (Do Not Forget) has created a website to help collect information about European cemeteries, and to advocate for laws that protect the sites.

Specifically, Uckermark is a district region in northeastern Germany and is the largest district in Germany. It was the site of a satellite of the Ravensbrook Concentration camp, which was near the city of Furstenberg. Originally, Uckermark was established for housing girls. Towards the end of the war, it was turned into a killing center and was liberated by the Soviets in April 1945. Substantial efforts have been made to preserve Ravensbrook itself, but not for Uckermark or the two-dozen or so sub-camps. Without knowing where your family was buried it is hard to know if their gravestones were used or not, and even more difficult, are any of the gravestones used still intact.

In the traditional Hagaddah, we recount the ten plagues with which the Eternal strikes the people of Egypt. Then we read about the parting of sea so that the Israelites can escape Pharaoh. Following that, there is a curious section that begins with a quote from Rabbi Yose the Galilean. How does one derive that, after the ten plagues in Egypt, the Egyptians suffered fifty plagues at the Sea? Rabbi Yose proves this using a principle of Biblical interpretation, but the question is why would he want to do so? Why did the Egyptians suffer more at the parting of the sea greater than during the plagues of darkness or the turning of the Nile into blood?

Rabbi Yose does not give an answer, but there is a hint in a Rabbinic story about what happened immediately before the parting of the sea. According to this Midrash, when Moses cries out to the Eternal to save the people, God's response is, "What are you waiting for, start moving!" So the people begin walking into the sea. Nothing happens. When the water reaches their waists, nothing happens, their shoulders, still nothing. The water reaches their mouths and the people begin to swallow water, at that moment the waters part.

Rabbi Yose may have been alluding to the fact that unlike the 10 plagues, the miracle until the people do something first. In fact, the waters do not part until the Israelites had done everything humanly possible. The ten plagues were to teach the Egyptians a lesson about the cruelty they had imposed on Israel. This Rabbinic Midrash teaches that the sea was to test the faith of the Israelites. The miracle came in response to their faith. It is one thing for the Egyptians to suffer due to Divine power. There is no shame in being beaten by the power of the Universe. It is quite something else to suffer because of the faith of former slaves, the very people over whom they had exalted themselves.

The point of the Midrash is to teach us something important about ourselves. When faced with challenges, waiting is not an option. This is true about national challenges as well. We cannot wait for salvation to come from somewhere else, but each one of us must do all that is in our power to overcome the challenge. The real miracle is that we have the power to change destiny.

Kim, Evan, Seth Micah and I wish you a healthy and joyous Pesach.