When’s the right time for a rite of passage?

October 15, 2009 - 12:32 PM by Gilah · 2 Comments
Filed under: A New Reality, General, History and Culture, Israeliness, Life, Religion, Travel, health 

It’s generally accepted that the Israeli perspective on the bar/bat mitzvah ceremony is different from its counterpart in the US.
I remember when Susie and three of her closest friends decided to celebrate their bat mitzvahs together – they were all around 40-years-old at the time.
They had been studying Torah as a group in Jerusalem for a year and a half. It all started when Boston-born Susie, who had already been in Israel for more than 20 years, started to feel that while her Jewish identity was her primary identity, which is why she had moved here, it was time for her to confront her “awe of the Torah.”
Sally, Ruti and Janet had also been in Israel for a couple of decades and for various reasons, none of the four had had a bat mitzvah back in the States. In fact, the first bat mitzvah was held by American rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan, a major figure in Jewish thought and the founder of the Reconstructionist movement, for his daughter Judith in 1922.
So the culmination of 18 months of study and learning to read from the holy book was a ceremony at Jerusalem’s Kol Haneshama .
Now the idea didn’t resonate with everybody, but at that June ceremony 12 years ago no one could fail to be moved by the four women’s obvious quiet joy and pride in their achievements.
The bat mitzvahs of those forty-somethings inevitably came to mind when I received an e-mail recently, telling me about another group of delayed bar/bat mitzvah celebrants, en route to Israel.
Some of the participants at the upcoming celebration will be using walkers. Oxygen and wheelchairs will be available for emergencies. Five nurses will be traveling with the group. The average age of the participants in this particular version of the Jewish coming-of-age ceremony? Eighty-five.
Read more

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Plumbers with degrees

February 2, 2009 - 10:16 PM by David · Leave a Comment
Filed under: History and Culture, Israeliness, Life 

plumbersDon’t even ask. We’ve been dealing with a huge home problem the last few days – whenever we turn on our shower or sink, the water flows directly through our downstairs neighbor’s ceiling onto their floor.

To make a long story short, we’re using our mortgage insurance which we pay monthly, and is earmarked for this very sort of problem. Well, it takes a while for the company to send someone, and when they finally did, he didn’t really fix the problem. He returned and again, soon after he left, the leak returned. So now we’re talking a few days since I showered, my downstairs neighbors are pissed off, and I’m spending most of my time on the phone with the insurance company trying to get someone competent to show up.

We’ve been shuttling off to other neighbor to get our kids bathed, and have gotten used to brushing our teeth and washing up at the kitchen faucet – which luckily is connected to another pipe. The final straw was yesterday though, when a flush of the toilet also caused water (I hope it was just water) to flow downstairs.

Finally, this afternoon, the company sent another team – known as the supervisors – to get to the bottom of the affair. Alon, a shaved-headed, earring wearing 30-year-old, and David, a veteran of undertimed age, but vast experience, showed their mettle, and within a couple hours, we had no leaks, running water, and working toilets.

During the course of their work, we got to talking, and as a result, Alon and David have a new title – Plumbers with Degrees. David, it turns out, is a university lecturer on the Torah, and Alon is studying for his masters degree in history. They both supplement their income by being the best darn plumbers in the greater Jerusalem area.

So next time you want to talk Moses, Maimonides, and the Civil War, while at the same time get your pipes cleaned, you know who to call.

Tags: , , , ,

Eschatology, Israel Style

November 6, 2008 - 12:41 PM by DavidS · 1 Comment
Filed under: General 

A small country risen after centuries of exile and wandering, surrounded by enemies that seek to destroy it, with a large religious population – it’s an eschatologist’s dream. Jews in general, and especially Israelis, are experts in seeking out signs of “the end,” the final redemption in which the Messiah comes and declares the victory of the Kingdom of G-d.
Noahsworld2_1100708.jpg
As an observant person, I subscribe to the idea of the Messiah, who can come at any moment and redeem the Jewish people The Talmud discusses various scenarios of what that redemption would mean, and the circumstances under which it would occur. Then there’s the “great war” that is to precede the coming of the Messiah – the War of Gog and Magog, which may or may not be a prerequisite to the final redemption. Rabbinical opinion on the identity of this entity also varies, with some attributing it to a specific king/nation, and others describing it as a force.

In other words, the subject is one of deep mystery – as Maimonides says, these matters “cannot be [clearly] known by man until they occur, for they are undefined in the words of the prophets.” There really is no point speculating on the identity of Gog, Magog, the Messiah, or any of the other features of the “final days,” Maimonides says – we won’t understand the scenarios laid out by the prophets until they actually occur.

But of course, Maimonides’ logical approach to the subject is not shared by everyone. There are many who insist on speculating on the identities of all the figures and events described by the prophets regarding the coming of the Messiah – in fact, a cottage industry in such speculation has sprung up in recent years, aided by the “advances” in the “science of Torah codes,” where hints of current or future events are discovered by counting off equidistant letter sequences in the Torah. There are several web sites, and at least one best selling book, that purport to show that historical and current events were predicted by the Torah, using various code combinations. And, of course, future events, as well. But they don’t always work as their boosters hope they will.

Latest evidence: Barack Obama’s election as President of the United States. For Israelis, Obama is a mystery – other than what he said during his campaign, little is known about his views on Israel, the Middle East, the peace process, etc. In recent weeks, there has been all sorts of speculation – on the one hand, he supposedly palled around with PLO supporter Rashid Khalidi of Columbia, and on the other hand, his Chief of Staff is going to be, according to media reports, Illinois congressman Rahm Emanuel, whose parents are Israeli (his dad was a member of Menachem Begin’s Irgun, no less), and who himself volunteered in the IDF. Go figure!

But the arrival of a new president – especially one as exotic as Obama – is a gold mine for those looking for “hints” of the future. Add that to Torah codes methodology – and you come up with the formula cited at http://tinyurl.com/5n9w3r (page is in Hebrew), where the name “Obama” appears in code in the book of Ezekiel, smack in the middle of where the Prophet discusses Gog. Busted! And Obama, who seeks to “unify” everyone, is a perfect candidate – his “unity” program is, according to this theory, to get the rest of the world to gang up on Israel!

But Obama has some competition for the title of Gog – George Bush! According to http://tinyurl.com/5dxy6a, (a page created in 2002), it’s Bush who is Gog, based on a couple of complicated formulas in Genesis and the Book of Isaiah. Even his name is suspicious: Drop one letter from the Hebrew spelling of “George,” and you get you know who!

Well, Bush still has 75 days to go Gog over Israel, although it’s hard to figure how a lame duck president would get away with that. As far as Obama is concerned, I’m betting he has a lot more on his plate than our chronic controversy with the Arabs of this land. But here’s my question: If Bush fails to fulfill his Goggist legacy, does that mean the mantle automatically passes to Obama? Or does it mean that Obama gets a pass, too? Gotta love that Eschatology!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Nostalgia Sunday – Simchat Torah flags

October 19, 2008 - 10:48 PM by Rachel Neiman · 3 Comments
Filed under: General, History and Culture, Holidays, Religion 

It’s Jewish flag day! Well, not really. Tomorrow is the last night of Sukkot when we finish up reading the Torah for this year, and the people are readying to dance in the streets.

Simchat Torah children with flags

The tradition of children dancing with flag aloft, says Tel Aviv University historian Dr. Chaim Grossman, dates back to 17th century Ashkenaz, Eastern Europe’s pale of Jewish settlement. Unfortunately, he adds, no flags exist from that time, as these were made of delicate paper, then put in the hands of small children, and so were destroyed within hours (and not by Cossacks).

Simchat Torah flags - children dancing

In Israel, Simchat Torah is still one of those holidays were secular Jews turn up at the local neighborhood shul if only to gawk at the dancing revelers. This is particularly true of secular Jews with children who’ve made a flag in school, or purchased one at the dollar store. This one actually sells online for NIS 2.5, and even features an 3-D pop-open window, just like the old-fashioned ones

Simchat Torah dollar store flag

At times, Israel’s military might has been honored in flags:

Simchat Torah IDF flags

And here’s a particularly lovely one from the Seventies:

Simchat Torah flag - Moses & Aaron

Like its New Year’s counterpart the Shana Tova card, the Simchat Torah flag is one of those holiday items that isn’t written in any place – and likely were adopted from another culture – yet has become part of tradition.

In the US, at least in New England where I’m from, the Simchat Torah flag tradition has been conflated with the other autumn holidays and children top their flagpoles with candied apples. In Israel, flags often come with a small horn, though there is some question as to whether or not the kids are permitted to tootle on a holiday.

Links to previous posts:

Nostalgia Sunday – Heaters
Nostalgia Sunday – Yom Kippur
Nostalgia Sunday – Rosh HaShana
Nostalgia Sunday – Old Coins
Nostalgia Sunday – Historic Homepages
Nostalgia Sunday – Tango
Nostalgia Sunday – Tel Aviv Night Run
Nostalgia Sunday – Missing Dad
Nostalgia Sunday – Clique HaClick
Nostalgia Sunday – Tel Aviv 100
Nostalgia Sunday – Eurovision
Nostalgia Sunday – Old Israeliana
Nostalgia Sunday – Classic Movie: The Blaumilch Canal
Nostalgia Sunday – Plaid Bedroom Slippers
Nostalgia Sunday – Historic Photo Shop Shuts Its Doors
Nostalgia Sunday – New Israeliana
Nostalgia Sunday – High Windows

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

 

© 2009 ISRAELITY | Site by illuminea | Sitemap