Amazing Jewish Fact-a-Day Calendar

Reincarnation

2012-01-05T18:13:00.000-08:00

Reincarnation is not discussed in most Jewish schools. Therefore many assume that it is not a Jewish concept. After all, it is not mentioned in the written Torah.

Nevertheless, it is discussed in many rabbinic texts and is a central idea to Jewish philosophy and spirituality.

Zohar I 186b

Article for further reading
Book for further reading
Awesome class by R. Gottlieb on 'evidence for the soul'

New York on the Tiber?

2012-01-04T18:13:00.000-08:00

After Titus completed his conquest and destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E., he returned to a triumphal welcome in Rome, a city with 50,000 Jews and 11 synagogues.

He returned with thousands of Jewish prisoner-slaves, flooding and crashing the Roman slave market. (Many of these slaves were purchased and freed by Roman Jews.)

2 links for you below to two online articles on this topic.

On the destruction of the Temple
Wikipedia on Jewish demographics

Rabbi Akiva

2012-01-01T08:34:00.000-08:00

Tevet 5772
1 January 2012

At the age of 40, Akiva (ca. 60 CE) was an illiterate shepherd.
At his wife's insistence, he went to learn, but was embarrassed to be sitting in school with kindergarteners. Yet he couldn't go home, because his wife told him not to return until he was a scholar.
Feeling sorry for himself. Akiva sat down by a stream and stared at the water.
As he watched the dripping water slowly wearing away a rock, he had a flash of inspiration:
"If water, which is so soft, can wear away a hard rock, surely a little Torah can get into my hardened heart!"
So inspired, he returned to kindergarten.
By the age of 64 he had become Rabbi Akiva, the greatest scholar in Israel, with 24,000 students.
Talmud Nedarim 50a, Ketubot 62b-63a

Wikipedia on Rabbi Akiva
A book about Rabbi Akiva
An amazing class by R. Akiva Tatz on the meaning of life

We Must Be Dreaming

2011-12-25T08:19:00.000-08:00

29 Kislev 5772
25 December 2011

Of the 25 most performed holiday songs in America, 10 were written or co-written by Jews, including:

"O Holy Night" (Adolphe Adam)

"Silver Bells" (Linvingston and Evans)

"The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" (Mel Torm)

"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"

"Holly Jolly Christmas" and "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" (Johnny Marks)

Two Christmas albums by Barry Manilow

And, of course, "White Christmas" (Irving Berlin), the best-selling song in history.

US News and World Report, Dec. 2, 2002

Two great links:

Chinese Food on Xmas music video
Longer article on this topic

Don't Wine

2011-12-23T08:07:00.000-08:00

27 Kislev 5772
23 December 2011

The Manischewitz Wine Company sells only ten percent of its wine to Jews. More kosher wine is sold at Christmas time than at Passover.

Manischewitz Wine Company
Amazing class by R. Tatz on the Concept of Paradox

Hillel & Shammai

2011-12-21T13:12:00.000-08:00

26 Kislev 5772
22 December 2011

Beit Hillel - the School of Hillel - say that on Hanukkah one candle should be lit on the first night, two on the second, and so on.

Does this sound familiar? This is what we do today.

However, Beit Shammai - the School of Shammai - say that eight candles should be lit on the first night, seven on the second, and so on.

Today we follow the Beit Hillel, the realist, who argued that people need increasing light in order to remain inspired throughout the entire holiday.

Beit Shammai’s view, however, teaches a profound ideal: spiritual greatness only comes through increasing humility.

Talmud Shabbat 21b

5 links:
A great kids' Hannukah book
A biography of Hillel
A fabulous online selection of Hannuka menorahs.
R. Keleman on the Xmas-Channuka link
R. Cardozo on Channuka

Napoleon

2011-12-08T17:00:00.000-08:00

December 8-9, 2011
15 Kislev, 5772

In 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte landed in Palestine. From his headquarters in Akko, he appealed to the Jews, the rightful heirs of Palestine, to return to their ancient homeland. The letter showed understanding of and sympathy toward Jewish history:

Arise! Show that the once overwhelming might of your oppressors has not repressed the courage of the descendants of those heroes whose brotherly alliance did honor to Sparta and Rome (I Macc. 12), but that all the two thousand years of slavish treatment have not succeeded in stifling it.

(Franz Kobler, Napoleon and the Jews)

Link to the book
Link to a blog with longer discussion of Napoleon's "zionism"

The Word

2011-12-02T07:08:00.000-08:00

December 2, 2011
6 Kislev, 5772

An estimated 46 common English words come directly from Hebrew, including...

amen, alphabet, abbot, babble, behemoth, camel, cherub, cherubim, hallelujah, horn, hosanna, kosher, leviathan, mammon, manna, messiah, rabbi, Sabbath, sabbatical, Satan, seraph, seraphim and shibboleth.
.

This is how some others evolved:

Jubilee - every 50th year is the Biblical celebration of Yovel when all slaves are freed

Scallions - from the city of Ashkelon

Gauze - from Gaza

Sodomy - behavior practiced in Sodom

Armageddon - from the city of Megiddo

Behemoth - means wild animals, probably source of Bahamas

Europe - from erev, which means "evening" or "setting sun" (Europe was in the direction of the setting sun for the ancient Hebrews and Phoenicians/Canaanites).

The Word: The Dictionary that Reveals the Hebrew Source of English

Very best (IMHO) introductory Hebrew course for adults

Kids' picture book - First 1000 Words in Hebrew

The Revolution

2011-11-27T19:53:00.000-08:00

1 Kislev 5772
28 November 2011

About 100 Jews fought in the American Revolutionary War, including seven who were officers.

"For Jews, participation in the war marked the first time since their exile from Jerusalem that they could take their place alongside their Christian neighbors as equals in a fight for freedom. Jews were present at Bunker Hill, Valley Forge, and other battle sites throughout the colonies. Behind the scenes, they provided logistic support by equipping soldiers, shipping supplies, and raising funds. Ship owners such as Isaac Moses of Philadelphia outfitted privateers to harass British shipping, and their ships engaged in running the British blockade to provide necessary provisions to the needy Revolutionary forces." - The JPS Guide to American Jewish History

Click here for more colorful details

Jewish Thanksgiving?

2011-11-24T07:27:00.000-08:00

November 24 2011
27 Cheshvan 5772

Imagine you are the first European to visit America. It's an amazing New World! Strange people, strange foliage, strange animals. And you see this odd chicken-like bird for the first time. What do you call it?

Since you think you're in India, you naturally call it "Indian chicken."

Are you with me so far?

So French explorers dubbed this new bird poulet d'Inde (Indian chicken) later shortened to dinde (pronounced "dand").

English settlers called the bird turkey because they thought it looked like another type of fowl that was imported from Turkey.

Jewish explorers sided with the French and called it tarnegol hodu which means "hindu chicken" and was later shortened it to simply hodu.

What's interesting for us is that the Hebrew word HODU also happens to mean "give thanks."

Similarly, we ourselves are called "Jews" because most of us descend from the remnant of the 12 Tribes who survived the repeated pounding from Assyria and Babylon 2,500 years ago. The one remaining landed tribe was Yehuda or Judah. And that name - Judah - means "thankful".

Therefore, being "Jewish" means cultivating a Thanksgiving mindset every single day.

(I can hear it already - "Gee honey, I"m watching so much football because the rabbi told me to....)

Below: Two links on cultivating gratitude...

Article by R. Pliskin
Audio by R. Rietti

In Woman We Trust

2011-11-18T09:07:00.000-08:00

November 21, 2011
21 Cheshvan, 5772

"The trust God places in women is greater than the trust God places in men."

— Talmud Brachot 17a

Here is a class given this week by Rebbetzin Esther Baila Schwartz, on one of the greatest Jewish women ever.

Star of Whom?

2011-11-11T01:41:00.000-08:00

November 11, 2011

14 Cheshvan, 5772

There is no evidence that the six-pointed star was a particularly Jewish symbol prior to the Middle Ages. It can be found in ancient inscriptions all over the world, as can the swastika.

Destroyed

2011-11-04T06:13:00.000-07:00

November 4, 2011
7 Cheshvan, 5772

In contrast to the country’s stunning natural beauty, Israel currently faces several environmental catastrophes, e.g., low rainfall has depleted the aquifers, risking permanent damage; several of the rivers are so polluted with industrial waste that humans are not allowed in their vicinity; there are few municipal recycling programs and a plethora of desert landfills.

Fortunately, organizations such as the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI) and the Jewish National Fund (JNF) are working hard to strengthen laws and teach people new behaviors.

More info:
R. Becher's great class on the Land of Israel
SPNI website
JNF website

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Solzhenitsyn

2011-11-02T08:33:00.000-07:00

2 November, 2011
5 Cheshvan, 5772

The role of the small, but energetic Jewish nation in the vast and expansive history of the world is undeniable, powerful, persistent, and even salient. Russian history included. But it remains an historical mystery for all of us - for the Jews as well.

— Nobel Laureate Alexander Solzhenitsyn, "Two Hundred Years Together" (quoted in The New Republic, Nov. 25, 2002)

More info:
Sozhenitsyn biography
Book: Sozhenitsyn and the Jewish Question
News report on Sozhenitsyn's efforts for Russian Jewry

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Ghost Story

2011-10-31T07:10:00.000-07:00

October 31, 2011
3 Cheshvan, 5772

Do you like a good ghost story?

Look no farther than the Biblical book of Samuel. There you will see one of the world's oldest ghost stories.

King Saul is desperate. He is facing a massive battle with the Philistines and is not getting any guidance from the usual prophetic channels.

In desperation, he turns to a sorceress. She is hard to find, given that Saul himself banned all sorcery a few years earlier.

He goes to her incognito and asks her to bring up the prophet Samuel, Saul's mentor, who had died a few months earlier.

To her surprise, the seance works - Samuel's ghost comes up (feet first, by the way).

"What are you disturbing me for? Is that you Saul?"

"Sorry, I just need to know what's going to happen in this battle, I'm quite afraid."

"Well, in that case, I have some good news and some bad news. Which do you want first?"

"Tell me the good news first."

"The good news is that you are eventually going to be joining me here" (i.e., despite your many mistakes, you're going to make it to the World to Come).

"Umm... that's reassuring! What's the bad news?"

"The bad news is that you're going to be joining me tomorrow...."

2 Samuel Ch. 17

Rabbi Becher's introduction to Kabbala class (audio link)

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Wishing you an amazing day!