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"Queen Esther's Radical Diplomacy" Chabad Magazine - This email is dedicated by Eduardo G Kibel, in memory of his grandfather Isser Ben Shraga Dov OBM. for Tuesday, Adar II 12, 5776 · March 22, 2016
Editor's Note:
Dear Friend,
With Purim in Jerusalem around the corner, I walk through Machane Yehudah marketplace, and two signs of the impending holy day, one deliberate, one accidental, strike me.
The deliberate sign is the plethora of Hamantaschen (or oznei Haman, “Haman’s ears,” in Hebrew) spread out on almost every other kiosk table. Every sweet filling your heart can desire. Chocolate. Poppy. Prunes. Walnuts. Jam. Halva. Dates. And I think to myself: “Haman, how delicious your defeat is!”
The accidental sign is one not peculiar to Purim, yet Purim gives it new meaning. It is the ubiquitous presence of guns. Jericho 941s. Tavors. Micro Tavors. M16s. Galils. And I think to myself: “Haman, how incomplete your defeat is!”
Why are there so many guns in a sunny public marketplace? I conclude: the guns are there to protect the Hamantashen. We celebrate Purim because we survived Haman’s genocide plan, true. But we survived only because we wanted to celebrate Purim. Even today, we continue to wage war on Haman. But not simply to stay alive. Life is not enough. We survive in order to experience a maximum of delight in the full Jewish existence that makes life worth living, worth fighting for. We survive on the merit of the desire to taste the sweetness, both on our tongues and in our souls, of the Torah and the honey-dates of Jerusalem.
Michael Chighel, on behalf of the Chabad.org Editorial Team
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"Queen Esther's Radical Diplomacy" Chabad Magazine - This email is dedicated by Eduardo G Kibel, in memory of his grandfather Isser Ben Shraga Dov OBM. for Tuesday, Adar II 12, 5776 · March 22, 2016
Editor's Note:
Dear Friend,
With Purim in Jerusalem around the corner, I walk through Machane Yehudah marketplace, and two signs of the impending holy day, one deliberate, one accidental, strike me.
The deliberate sign is the plethora of Hamantaschen (or oznei Haman, “Haman’s ears,” in Hebrew) spread out on almost every other kiosk table. Every sweet filling your heart can desire. Chocolate. Poppy. Prunes. Walnuts. Jam. Halva. Dates. And I think to myself: “Haman, how delicious your defeat is!”
The accidental sign is one not peculiar to Purim, yet Purim gives it new meaning. It is the ubiquitous presence of guns. Jericho 941s. Tavors. Micro Tavors. M16s. Galils. And I think to myself: “Haman, how incomplete your defeat is!”
Why are there so many guns in a sunny public marketplace? I conclude: the guns are there to protect the Hamantashen. We celebrate Purim because we survived Haman’s genocide plan, true. But we survived only because we wanted to celebrate Purim. Even today, we continue to wage war on Haman. But not simply to stay alive. Life is not enough. We survive in order to experience a maximum of delight in the full Jewish existence that makes life worth living, worth fighting for. We survive on the merit of the desire to taste the sweetness, both on our tongues and in our souls, of the Torah and the honey-dates of Jerusalem.
Michael Chighel, on behalf of the Chabad.org Editorial Team
This Week's Features:
Printable Magazine
"Beautifully Absurd"
The world is absurd. Ugly absurd.
To repair ugly absurdity, you can’t just be normal. You need an alternative absurdity. A beautiful absurdity.
We call it “divine madness.”

Why Do Jews Go Berserk on Purim?
Isn't there a better way to celebrate? by Tzvi Freeman
Dear Ask-The-Rabbi Rabbi,
I’ve been doing this Purim thing for a long time, but it still makes no sense. Just because “they tried to kill us, but G‑d made a miracle” two and a half thousand years ago, we have to go berserk every year?
Have you ever read that excerpt from the diary of Samuel Pepys (a 17th-century gentleman) where he makes his first visit to a synagogue—and leaves in horror at the frolicking and utter chaos (it happened to be Simchat Torah)? Can you imagine the daze on the man’s face watching us enter our place of worship carrying noisemakers of all varieties and functions, dressed as clowns, princesses, Big Bird with a kippah and Obi-Wan Kenobi with tzitzit—to make noise while an ancient scroll is being read? Last Purim one guy came with a tuba, and another with a live goat!
Okay, it’s a cultural paradigm thing. Maybe Pepys is the one who is weird. The real problem is this: What’s so special about the Purim story anyway that makes the day deserve all this madness? How many other times did they try to annihilate us? I can think of at least three in my short lifetime. And it’s not like they’ve given up.
On Chanukah, we don’t go berserk.On Chanukah, we don’t go berserk. On Passover, we don’t go berserk. But on Purim, things go totally wild. On Passover, we don’t go berserk. But on Purim, in a religious community, things go totally wild. What’s up with this day?[Adel O. Yadah]

"Beautifully Absurd"
The world is absurd. Ugly absurd.
To repair ugly absurdity, you can’t just be normal. You need an alternative absurdity. A beautiful absurdity.
We call it “divine madness.”
Why Do Jews Go Berserk on Purim?
Isn't there a better way to celebrate? by Tzvi Freeman
I’ve been doing this Purim thing for a long time, but it still makes no sense. Just because “they tried to kill us, but G‑d made a miracle” two and a half thousand years ago, we have to go berserk every year?
Have you ever read that excerpt from the diary of Samuel Pepys (a 17th-century gentleman) where he makes his first visit to a synagogue—and leaves in horror at the frolicking and utter chaos (it happened to be Simchat Torah)? Can you imagine the daze on the man’s face watching us enter our place of worship carrying noisemakers of all varieties and functions, dressed as clowns, princesses, Big Bird with a kippah and Obi-Wan Kenobi with tzitzit—to make noise while an ancient scroll is being read? Last Purim one guy came with a tuba, and another with a live goat!
Okay, it’s a cultural paradigm thing. Maybe Pepys is the one who is weird. The real problem is this: What’s so special about the Purim story anyway that makes the day deserve all this madness? How many other times did they try to annihilate us? I can think of at least three in my short lifetime. And it’s not like they’ve given up.
On Chanukah, we don’t go berserk.On Chanukah, we don’t go berserk. On Passover, we don’t go berserk. But on Purim, things go totally wild. On Passover, we don’t go berserk. But on Purim, in a religious community, things go totally wild. What’s up with this day?[Adel O. Yadah]

Hi Adel,
Yes, it’s a much bigger question than you imagine. Everything we do on Purim is super-exaggerated. It’s so strange—Chanukah, you get eight days to light a few candles; but Purim gives you just one day to:
- Hear the whole Megillah twice—once at night and once in the day—without missing a word, or you’ll have to hear it again.
- Send two substantial gifts of food to be eaten that day to at least one friend (but we usually send to at least a hundred, because they’re all sending to us).
- Give gifts of food or cash to at least two needy people (or families), so that they can also celebrate on that day.
- Make a daytime wine-fest on Purim and celebrate until—in the words of the Talmud—“you don’t know the difference between ‘blessed is Mordechai’ and ‘cursed is Haman.’”
We often read the Torah—but not at night; rarely with all men, women and children there; and certainly without the audience-participation noisemaking.
We often invite guests for Shabbat and Yom Tov—but when else do we send them food to eat in their own homes?
We always have to give to the needy—but when else do we seek them out, as in “I need you right now so I can do this mitzvah!”?
On other holidays, we make a joyous feast—but not this kind of completely different sort of feast, blown out of orbit, so as to carry you to a whole new galaxy.
You really have to have been a religious community to conceive of the madness of this day. A hundred hands are out asking for money—because the rule is that on Purim, if they put out their hand, you give. There are always those precious souls who have a list of needy families in hand and stand at the synagogue or go door to door collecting thousands of dollars to help needy families pay the rent or put food in their fridges. The side streets are gridlocked, because everyone is out delivering their packages of food and treats to all their friends and neighbors—as well as to complete strangers. Kids and adults are walking the streets in some of the craziest costumes imaginable. Parties are everywhere, so that the entire neighborhood becomes one big party.
So why is this celebration more crazy than any other celebration?
Because, in short, the joy of Purim is not about the downfall of Haman or the rescue of the Jewish people.Purim is not about Estheror Mordechai, Shushan or ancient Persia. It’s about us. It’s not about Esther or Mordechai, Shushan or ancient Persia. It’s not about the past at all. Those events happened, and they play a vital element in the celebration. But they aren’t its soul; they aren’t its engine.
Purim is about us. All Jewish holidays are manifestations of deep imprints within the Jewish psyche, each with its particular time of year to blossom. What blossoms on Purim? That we grew up and took ownership of our Jewishness. That’s why one early halachic authority puts it like this: “Purim is greater than the day on which the Torah was given.”1 It’s the day that we tookthe Torah. And when you take ownership, everything becomes different.

Prisoners of Love
To explain that, we have to go back to Sinai, where the Torah was given. TheExodus and the Mount Sinai event have a lot in common with the knight in shining armor who saves the fair maiden from a wicked dragon. He valiantly slays the dragon, carries the fair maiden off on his swift horse, gives her drink, feeds her, provides fine clothes and jewelry, whispers kind and soothing words into her ear, and then eventually proposes marriage.
What’s she going to say?
With that in mind, let’s visit an ancient yeshivah somewhere in Mesopotamia and listen in on a discussion recorded in the Talmud:2
Rabbi Avdimi, son of Chama, son of Mechasya, is providing the interpretation he had received of the giving of the Torah. When he got to the verse “They stood at the foot of the mountain,” he notes that the words don’t really say that. The literal translation is that the people were standing beneath the mountain. How could they be standing beneath a mountain? His interpretation:
You see, the Jewish people were standing at Mount Sinai to receive the Torah. Then G‑d picked up the mountain and held it like a barrel over their heads. He told them, “If you accept the Torah, good. If not, here’s your burial plot.”
Rabbi Acha, son of Yaakov is listening. He’s an elderly sage,3 but with a mind still sharp as a razor. He pipes in: “If so, the entire deal is invalid.”
“What?” the students exclaim. “You’re saying the whole covenant at Sinai, all these mitzvahs we do, all this Torah we learn—there’s really no deal?”
“If someone holds a sword over your neck and says, ‘Sign this deal!’ is it a valid deal?”
“Well, there would have to be witnesses that were was coercion, and . . .”
“Witnesses!?” Rabbi Acha retorts. “There were 600,000 witnesses standing right there! And the rabbi just told you that the Torah itself admits they were all coerced! So the Torah itself is saying the entire event was null and void, nonbinding, invalid and unenforceable from the get-go.”
Knowing yeshivahs, it was a heated debate for hours, if not days, weeks, months or years. Eventually someone came up with an ingenious resolution—which we’ll get to.
But first we have to deal with this mountain thing. Why on earth would G‑d hold a mountain over our heads? We, the children of Israel, whom He called “My child, My firstborn.” Is that the way you treat your child? Especially after we had already declared our commitment, saying, “Whatever G‑d says, we will do and we will obey!”4
So, this mountain thing—everyone has an explanation. First, wipe out of your mind that there was an actual mountain over their heads. That doesn’t work. It’s figurative, like much of Midrash. But it nevertheless must have been a real form of coercion.
Which is what the knight in shining armor analogy is all about. The mountain was an embrace of overwhelming love.That’s how Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of Chabad, explains the mountain: The mountain is G‑d’s great display of love for His people.
Now you get why Rabbi Avdimi described the mountain over their heads “like a barrel.” It was a kind of embrace from all directions—just as Torah embraces every limb of our body and every action of our day.
But it was an embrace too great to resist. Such love could have only one of two outcomes: Either invest it into this Torah, or allow your soul to take wing like a bird, to forever escape your body and reunite with its Beloved above.
So, did they accept the Torah of their own volition? Like the fair maiden, certainly not. They had no other choice.

The Unromance
Back at the yeshivah, in walks this genius student who everyone just calls “Rava,” and answers the question:
Sure, everyone knows that. Nevertheless, in the days ofAchashverosh, they revisited the whole thing and accepted it. It even hints to that in the Megillah. It says, “The Jews affirmed and they accepted.”5 It means they affirmed that which they had already accepted—at Mount Sinai.
Now let’s get this straight. When they stood at the foot of Mount Sinai and directly heard G‑d speaking to them, it wasn’t a real acceptance. Okay, we understand why. They were overwhelmed by the romance of it all. But what made it a complete acceptance “in the days of Achashverosh,” when there was no mountain, no booming voice, no multisensory experience?
Because what spoke In a shuddering void, all that was left was the Jew. And the Jew had to decide, “Am I still a Jew?”then was something yet more powerful: a shuddering silence and a chilling void. All that was left was the Jew. And the Jew had to decide, “Am I still a Jew?”
Jews had been exiled from their homeland for a long time. The prophet Jeremiah had told them the exile would last 70 years—but that was over 70 years ago.6 The prophet Ezekiel had described the new Temple they would build in Jerusalem. King Cyrus had even authorized its rebuilding—only to shut the project down shortly after. It’s one thing to travel through a dark tunnel waiting for the light; it’s another to see that light begin to shine, only to have an iron wall slam down upon it.
And now the king’s prime minister, a demagogue to the masses, a wealthy and powerful megalomaniac, proposes a plan to annihilate all Jews on a single day—and the king agrees and drinks to the occasion.
The knight in shining armor, by all appearances, had long forsaken the lady he had claimed as his wife. He was nowhere to be found.
Put yourself there. Like most Jews, you’ve made your way into society. You speak the language; own a nice date orchard along with an international spice shop; make business with Persians, Medes, Babylonians, and all the many ethnic groups that make up the vast trade empire of the time—and you’re all buddies.
Now, suddenly, those business friends hate your guts. You, your family, your entire people. Just because you are a Jew. Within a matter of weeks, the atmosphere in the market has changed. “You Jewish? I don’t buy from Jews.” “Hey, Haman is planning to kill all you guys. Why don’t we take care of it right now—heh, heh, heh.” And no, those aren’t empty threats—you’re hearing more reports every day.
Yes, it sounds familiar. It’s called Jewish history. But get this straight: This had never happened before.
Never since the birth of this nation were Jews ever put through the crucible of face-to-face antisemitism in a foreign land.
So if someone stops you on the street and asks, “Hey, are you Jewish?” what would be the sensible response? Simple: “No, I’m a pedestrian.” And just keep walking.
They’ll say you dress Jewish. So you’ll dress Persian. They’ll say you speak with a Jewish accent. You can fix that too. They’ll say you hang out with Jews and go to their prayer services, you have no icons on your front lawn, you don’t come to the big fire-worship ceremonies. Look, if it’s going to save the lives of you and your family . . .
But that’s not what happened. For some inexplicable reason, Jews remained Jews—openly and proudly. They suffered threats, harassment, violence, boycotts, divestments and estrangement for an entire year—but they remained Jews. They gathered publicly outdoors to pray, they refused to bow to Haman, and they taught their kids to do the same. They said, “We are Jews. Maybe G‑d has abandoned us, but we have not abandoned Him.”
Why?
Jumping back now to our contemporary world: A Jew walking on Fifth Avenue gets stopped by a Chabad yeshivah boy and is asked to wrap tefillin. He hasn’t done such a thing since his bar mitzvah—if then. He thinks it’s nuts, he doesn’t believe in G‑d, the closest associations in his mind to Judaism are the Holocaust and “Israel’s crimes against the Palestinians.” So he says yes, wraps the tefillin and says “Hear O Israel . . .”
Why?
There is no why. He’s a Jew. It’s not something duct-taped on to him, certainly not inculcated into him. Not something he’s received, not something he owns. Nothing can rip it out of him and nothing can rip him from it. It is him.
Otherwise, explain why today, after a Holocaust has provided us every excuse to abandon any covenant with G‑d, as the world offers every opportunity imaginable if you’ll just “be like us,” while visibly Jewish students are harassed by BDS inanities and ranting professors—nevertheless I’m surrounded by young, intelligent, creative Jews embracing their Jewishness with all the responsibilities and restrictions that come along with it. Explain to me why there is a single practicing Jew left in this world.
At Sinai,At Sinai, love poured down from above. In Shushan, it rose from below. And so too today. writes Rabbi Schneur Zalman, the love poured down from above. In Shushan, it rose from below. And so too today.
That’s the core essence of the Jew that awakened and matured for an entire year in ancient Persia until it blossomed on Purim. Ever since, it blossoms again every year at the same time. And that’s why we go berserk.

Practical Berserkness
We’re not being silly on Purim. It’s not an International Airhead Convention or competition for “Goon of the Year.” It’s just that the berserkness, that’s the only way that core essence can express itself.
It’s a kind of breaking out of your box, out of any box, just like the experience of standing at Mount Sinai, where our souls flew out of us each time we heard the Divine voice. Like the experience of a prophet who loses all sense of body and self at the time of prophecy. Like authentic chassidim who, in the ecstasy of their prayer, as their souls are absorbed within the Infinite Light, have long lost any sense of the world about them. So too, every Jew is given the capacity to go divinely berserk on Purim.
We gotta make this practical. And there’s a very practical application provided by the great codifier of Jewish Law, Maimonides. After describing how a Jew is to feast on Purim day “beyond knowing,” send food packages to friends and distribute gifts to the poor, he then sets the priorities straight:
Better to increase your gifts to the poor than to enhance your Purim feast or food packages to your friends. For there is no greater and more beautiful happiness than to gladden the hearts of the poor, the orphans, the widows and the strangers.
When you bring happiness to the hearts of these dejected souls, you are like the Shechinah (Divine Presence), about whom it is said,7 “To revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive those with broken hearts.”8
From here we get a glimpse of Maimonides’ concept of happiness on this day. Because when he tells us how to celebrate every other Jewish festival, he doesn’t talk this way. Even when he tells us the laws of charity, he never tells us that we are emulating the Divine Presence.
But here, he is telling us that Purim is a whole different category of happiness—a Divine happiness. As sensitive as you may be, a created being will always feel his or her own self more than that of an other, certainly of a distant stranger. But here, your ultimate happiness is in the glee of this widowed mother who can now go shopping for her kids, this smile of the homeless kid on the street who is now sitting at your Purim table, or the weird fellow in the apartment next door who never receives a visit from anybody and now just can’t stop shaking your hand.
You have become the Divine Presence.
When the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of blessed memory, would explain all this, he would make his point very clear and practical: On Purim, go visit the dejected. Where are they? In the prisons, the hospitals and the nursing homes. Make them happy. Make them smile. Forget about where you would rather be. Bring joy to the most dismal places, hope to the most downhearted, light to the blackest darkness. Let their joy be your joy.
And then, the core of your own soul will break through like the dawn.
Based on Torah Ohr 98a–100b (Maamar Chayav Inish); Likkutei Sichot, volume 16, pp. 365–372.
FOOTNOTES
1.Halachot Gedolot, end of Hilchot Megillah.
2.Talmud, Shabbat 88a.
3.See Talmud, Eruvin 63a, where it is stated that Rav Acha lived a long life. Rava was of the next generation of Amoraim, so they were many years apart in age. But we do know that Rava had learned directly from Rav Acha and held him in great esteem (see Talmud, Bava Kamma 40a).
4.See Tosafot ad loc.
5.Esther 9:27.
6.The prophecy was actually fulfilled, but not counting from the date of the prophecy, but from the date of the destruction of the Temple, which occured later.
7.Isaiah 57:15.
8.Mishneh Torah, Hil. Megillah 2:17.
PURIM READING
Purim in the 21st Century
What message can I take from the celebration of Shushan Purim in my beloved Jerusalem, thousands of miles away? Is it my holiday, or am I merely a bystander while Jerusalemites are making merry? by Levi Avtzon
- The 14th of Adar. The majority of Jews celebrate Purim on this day, and they have been doing so for about two and a half millennia. Reason: This is the day that the Jews rested from the battle against their enemies.
- The 15th of Adar. A minority group celebrates Purim one day later, onShushan Purim. Reason: The Jews of Shushan (the capital city of ancient Persia) battled on for an extra day, getting their respite a day later.
So I ask you, what message can I take from the celebration of Shushan Purim in my beloved Jerusalem, thousands of miles away? Is it my holiday, or am I merely a bystander while Jerusalemites are making merry?
I want to suggest that Shushan Purim is our holiday as well! And, in a way, when we understand Shushan Purim better, it might even resonate with us more that Purim itself.
Shushan was the capital city of the Persian empire—the antithesis of Jewish morality and the Holy Temple, which had been destroyed a few decades prior to the Purim story. Shushan was a town of high society. Slick politicos swarmed the streets; wannabe lobbyists pounded the pavement, trying to get the ear of the power brokers; money-hungry wolves devoured their competitors. Morality was relative, corruption was rampant and power was the name of the game.
Indulgence was Commandment #1 in this town. King Ahasuerus made a feast that lasted 187 days! Shushan was “The Real World.” And “The Real World” needs a Purim of its own.
The sages taught that Purim is about finding G‑d in our lives. The fact that there is no mention of G‑d’s name in the entire Megillah, one of the holy books of the Bible, indicates that the Purim story is a reflection of our everyday lives. The story, of Purim and of our lives, can be read in two ways:
- It’s a story of happenstance. It just happened that Vashti refused to listen to her drunken husband’s wishes. It just happened that Estherwas chosen as the new queen. It just happened that Mordechai saved the life of the king. It just happened that Haman was plotting to annihilate the Jews while Esther was queen. It just happened that Esther made a good party and beseeched the king to save the Jews. It just happened that Haman hung from the gallows he had prepared for Mordechai.
- This was G‑d’s story. The Jews had drifted away from their core, and G‑d chose to bring them back to themselves. He used Haman as a tool. He had planned the salvation before the crisis. Esther was chosen as queen so that when the Jews repented they’d immediately be saved and witness a complete reversal of their situation.
Purim is the wakeup call to rip away the paper-thin veneer that hides the Divine guidance of our lives and opt to see the true version of our personal Megillahs. Purim calls upon us to read the subtexts of our lives.
Many people can recalibrate their perspectives with a general dose of Purim awareness. These are the people with good, humble values, people who just need a little nudge and a l’chaim, and they’re back on track!
But then there are the heavyweights: Mr. Sophisticated Know-It-All; the polished, slick, cool, on-the-ball, Ivy League grad; Ms. Connected, hotshot Fortune 500 CFO.
(Or maybe the other kind of heavyweights. The ones who made big mistakes and find themselves behind bars, or shamed, broken, dysfunctional, hurt and seemingly beyond repair.)Make space for G‑d in your narrative
These souls have a Purim just for them—Shushan Purim, with its Divine message: Wake up, buddy. Make space for G‑d in your narrative. When you write your autobiography, and you’re tempted to make “I” the most-used pronoun in the book—whether in relationship to your accomplishments or to your failures—just remember the subtext of the story. It’s G‑d’s world.
Perhaps our modern world can relate to Shushan Purim in a way that ourshtetl antecedents could not have. In a time when the Jewish world is open to the “The Real World” (the good, the bad and the ugly of it) more than ever before, when our lives are intertwined in the Shushans of the 21st century, is it possible that the message of Shushan Purim is a Purim message for our time?2
FOOTNOTES
1.There are some cities in Israel where two days are celebrated, since there is doubt whether they were walled in ancient times. (The qualification is that a city has to have been walled at the time when Joshua conquered the Land of Israel from the Canaanites.)
2.Based on the Rebbe’s sichah of Ki Tisa 5752, footnote 166.
The Story of Esther They Never Told You
On the surface, the Book of Esther reads as a fable of sorts, filled with drama, suspense and a happy ending. However, keeping in mind that it was written under the rulership and scrutiny of the Persian King, care had to be taken to tell the story without offending sensibilities. A secret tradition passed down orally tells the real story. by Sorele BrownsteinOn the surface, the book of Esther reads as a fable of sorts, filled with drama, suspense and a happy ending. However, keeping in mind that it was written under the rulership and scrutiny of the Persian King, care had to be taken to tell the story without offending sensibilities. A secret tradition passed down orally tells the real story. The following has been drawn from our rich tradition of the Talmud, Midrash and commentaries through the ages.
The snake is striking at King Saul mercilessly. King Saul cries out to me, pleading with me to help him ...
I jolt awake, in a cold sweat, the haunting image of my ancestor seared in my mind. It’s that dream, the one I’ve had many times before.
When King Saul was commanded by G‑d, through the prophet Samuel, to eradicate Amalek, he was told to leave no remembrance. Yet King Saul was swayed by his own reasonThe snake is striking mercilessly and emotions, and failed to carry out his divine mandate. He spared Agag, the king, and some animals.
In my vivid, recurring dream, Agag turns into a deadly snake and strikes at King Saul. A shiver runs down my spine as I recall King Saul’s pleading eyes, his cries for help. What could it mean?
Shulamit enters my chamber, breathless.
I breathe a sigh of relief. Thank G‑d, she is safe.
She kneels before me and kisses my hand. “Your message was received, and I have been entrusted with a reply. I have memorized it word for word.”
I stand up to receive the message, trembling. “You may begin.”
Shulamit clears her throat and, eyes closed, starts reciting Mordechai’s message, mimicking his mannerism, cadence and inflections. A deep crease forms between her eyebrows as she concentrates.
“Tell the queen as follows: As soon as I became aware of the decree, I stopped children coming out of school, and inquired as to what they had learned today. I wanted to discern whether there was still hope for the Jewish nation as a people of G‑d. One child quoted Proverbs, saying: ‘Do not fear sudden terror nor the destruction of the wicked when it comes.’ A second child quoted Isaiah: ‘Contrive a scheme but it will be foiled, conspire a plot but it will not materialize, for G‑d is with us.’ A third child said: ‘To your old age I am with you, unto your hoary years I will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and deliver you.’ They are all prophetic answers to Haman’s threat. We only need to repent and return to G‑d, and salvation will come; but you, Esther, what will become of you? If you remain silent at this time, you and the house of your father will be lost. Perhaps it was precisely for this moment that G‑d has made you queen of Persia and Media.”
If you remain silent at this time, you and the house of your father will be lost.What does Mordechai mean by that? Mordechai feels that I am precisely the one to fulfill this task, and if I were to refuse, I and my ancestors would be lost? I reflect on those words, tossing them around from every angle, endeavoring to uncover their implications.
“Your Highness?” Shulamit’s arms are outstretched, a scroll in her open palms. She raises it toward me like an offering. “Mordechai thought that within these words, you would find the resolve you seek.”
I roll it open. It contains Jeremiah’s prophecies.
So says the L‑rd: I remember the lovingkindness of your youth, the love of your nuptials, your following me in the desert, in a land not sown. ... What wrong did your forefathers find in Me, that they distanced themselves from Me, and they went after futility? ... Truly, as a woman betrays her beloved, so have you betrayed Me, O House of Israel ...
Indeed, when we accepted the Torah at Mount Sinai, we were bound with G‑d like a woman to her husband. We swore our undying devotion and faithfulness, yet we have betrayed Him by placing our trust in idols or humans. The truth is that our betrayal is only skin-deep. Yes, Jews have bowed to idols, but not sincerely; they have sought to ingratiate themselves and seek protection and security from a human king, and affronted G‑d’s honor by doing so. Even so, I believe that deep inside every Jewish heart beats that same unwavering loyalty of a star-struck newlywed. It only needs to be revealed.
And you will seek Me with all your heart, and I will be found by you, says G‑d.
Is this why Mordechai asks me to endanger my life? For only an extraordinary act of sacrifice will bring to the fore the unbreakable bond we share with G‑d?
I pause; the intensity of that thought overwhelms me. Then, as if calling to me, the words draw me in again.
The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream, and who has My word, let him tell My word as truth.
Like a flash of light in the darkness, I have an epiphany. All is crystal clear: my dream, its meaning and Mordechai’s words.
Agag, King of Amalek, striking King Saul ... And now, a descendant of Amalek is poised to strike all Jews ...
I must correct my great-grandfather’s mistake. And it must be me, for if I refuse, I and my ancestors will be lost. I will have forfeited the opportunity to rectify King Saul’s fault.
The musty scroll beckons me once more.Is this why Mordechai asks me to endanger my life?
A voice is heard on high, lamentation, bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, she refuses to be comforted for her children, for they are not. So says the L‑rd: Refrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for there is reward for your work, and they shall come back from the land of the enemy.1
I recall the days when Mordechai and I, poring over the scriptures, would recount the lore that lies between the terse verses. How I loved to hear the deeds of our matriarchs, and how I wished to emulate them.
The patriarchs and matriarchs went to appease the Holy One, blessed be He, concerning the sin of Manasseh, who placed an image in the Temple, but He was not appeased. Rachel entered and stated before Him, “O L‑rd of the Universe, whose mercy is greater, Your mercy or the mercy of a flesh and blood person? You must admit that Your mercy is greater. Now, did I not bring my rival into my house?
“For all the work that Jacob worked for my father, he worked only for me. When I came to enter the nuptial canopy, they brought my sister, and it was not enough that I kept my silence, but I gave her my password. You, too, if Your children have brought Your rival into Your house, keep Your silence for them.”
He said to her, “You have defended them well. There is reward for your deed and for your righteousness, that you gave over your password to your sister.”
Was that the reason Rachel was buried on the road to Ephrath, alone, so that she could intervene on behalf of her children when they were being exiled? Did she know she was the only one who could? Did she foresee in the throes of labor that her children would need her, and that is why, as she was dying, she named her child “Ben Oni,” son of my sorrow?
The magnitude of her sacrifice moves me to tears, and I know without a doubt what I must do. But I will not act alone. I find Haman’s letter and reread it with care. The answer to our predicament is to be found in his accusations. He calls us “a people scattered and dispersed”—so we must come together in unison. He deems us “arrogant”—so we need to humble ourselves through fast and prayer. Haman cast a pur, lottery, surrendering his scheme to a plane of inescapable fate, beyond calculations or logic.
We, too, must employ effort beyond reason and prove to G‑d that our commitment and relationship with Him reaches far beyond sense. No matter what the cost, we shall not give up our Jewish identity. That is why I will go before the the king, unannounced. I will reveal to the king that I am a Jewess, and I will plead for my people.
One late night in 1942, in Hamadan, the local rabbi was approached by a Muslim who owned a coffee shop next to Esther’s Tomb. “There is a lady trapped in your building. I can hear her crying. Why don’t you take care of her?” he complained. The rabbi was confused. Usually, Esther’s Tomb was kept locked before nightfall, after ensuring everyone had left. He went to investigate, but there was no one to be found. Queen Esther must be crying for her children, he felt. Shaken, the rabbi called the community together: “Let us fast and pray to G‑d for the safety of theThere is a lady trapped in your building ... Jews.”
When the long night and day of fasting were over, the news was heard that Germany had suffered its first defeat at Stalingrad and was beginning its retreat.2
The Talmud praises Esther for striving to be like the matriarchs. Considering that Esther was a descendent of Rachel (from the tribe of Benjamin), I find that this story movingly echoes Rachel’s crying for her children.
Excerpted from the The Gilded Cage: Esther’s Untold Story.
FOOTNOTES
1.Jeremiah 31:14. See Rashi.
2.I heard this story from Farhad Daghighian, whose grandmother Monavar Alaghband-Darshi was present that day. Monavar’s story has been corroborated by Rabbi Ovadia Nataneli, who was also present.
PURIM TOOLS
What to Expect at a Purim Celebration
Of all Jewish holidays, this is the one when people let loose, dress up in silly costumes, and act in ways you’d never see them act during the rest of the year. by Menachem Posner
If you want to know what to expect at a Purim celebration, expect the unexpected. Of all Jewish holidays, this is the one when people let loose, dress up in sillyExpect the unexpected costumes, have a bit (or more than a bit) to drink, and otherwise act in ways you’d never see them act during the rest of the year.
In the waning hours of Purim, after a full day of revelry and fun (more on that below), families and friends gather around the table for a festive meal. It’s actually a mitzvah to eat. Judaism is cool like that. The celebration will resemble a traditional Jewish meal, but with a number of unique characteristics:

Photo: Chaimperl.com
People will be in costume. Purim celebrates a miracle in which G‑d’s presence was hidden, so people often “hide” behind costumes. Both adults and kids can dress up. If you are not comfortable coming in costume, just come as yourself, dressed as you would for a Shabbat meal.
“Work” that is prohibited on Shabbat is permissible on Purim.Unless Purim is on a Friday and the meal coincides with Shabbat (which is not likely), work may be done, so feel free to ring the doorbell, snap pics on your phone, etc.
Ritually wash your hands before the meal. Even though there is no official kiddush over wine at the start of the meal, everyone will still wash their hands (ask for help if you need) and recite the hamotziblessing over bread at the start of the meal.
You may be eating kreplach. In Ashkenazi (northern European) tradition, the menu will often include kreplach, meat-filled dumplings swimming in chicken soup (learn why here). Enjoy.

Photo: Miriam Szokovski, Cook It Kosher
There will be alcohol served. There will often be a significant amount of alcohol, normally wine, consumed. Even people who are teetotalers the rest of the year can be seen sipping some wine or even toasting a rambunctious l’chaim! If you are not able to drink, please feel free to say no. It is not a mitzvah to be sick or otherwise harm yourself and those around you.
The speeches may sound a little off. Of course, no Jewish table is complete without words of Torah. Purim Torah, as it is known, is often a parody of more conventional forms of Torah teaching, with questions and answers, complex gematrias, and homiletic lessons that sometimes border on the absurd.
Yeshivah students may pop in to share words of Torah, sing songs or perform skits. In heavily Jewish neighborhoods, roving bands of yeshivah students wend their way from home to home, dispensing Purim Torah and good cheer in exchange for donations to worthy causes. These revelers may sometimes put on “Purim shpiels,” skits for the entertainment of their appreciative audiences.

Photo: Chaimperl.com
There will be Purim-specific songs. Purim has its own set of jolly songs that, together with other joyous Jewish melodies, can be heard at Purim tables from China to Chicago.
The meals may go late—way past nightfall, which marks the end of Purim, so feel free to stay to the end or leave early. (If you’ve had something to drink, make sure not to drive.) There is a special section in the Grace After Meals for Purim (called Al Hanisim), and even if the meal ends after Purim is over, that section is still included.

Photo: Chaimperl.com
The Purim celebration may be themed (and may happen the night before). Chabad centers, synagogues and other organizations often hold larger Purim parties, which share any number of characteristics with the meals described above. In recent years, it has become popular to have themed parties. So you may find yourself at “Purim in theShtetl,” “Purim in Persia,” “Purim in Israel,” etc. You can tailor your costume to match the occasion.

Photo: Chaimperl.com
Note that some communal celebrations are held on the night leading into Purim, right after the Megillah reading (more on that below). These tend to be more party-like and less meal-like. Also note that attending one of these celebrations does not “cut it” as far as the Purim mitzvah is concerned, so make sure to also attend a meal on the following afternoon.
Other Important Stuff
Beyond the meal, there are actually three other Purim mitzvahs, which may or may not be a part of the celebration you are invited to, so make sure to get them in as well:
A. The Megillah reading. A handwritten Hebrew scroll that tells the miraculous story of Purim, the Megillah is read twice: on the night leading into Purim and then again the following day. It is imperative to hear every single word of the Megillah both times, so people will often ask for complete silence during the reading, which usually takes around a half hour.

Photo: Chaimperl.com (Note: you are not expected to fly at any point during the Megillah reading)
Every once in awhile, the silence will be shattered as the assembled break into booing, feet-stomping and the twirling of graggers (hand-operated, rotating noisemakers). This happens when the name of Haman—the villain of the Purim story—is mentioned. In some communities, only certain mentions merit noise-making, so take your cues from those around you, and make sure to stop your noise-making before the reader continues to read.

Photo: Chaimperl.com
If you don’t understand Hebrew, feel free to follow along using an English translation.
B: Gifts of food. During the day of Purim, we give mishloach manot (also called shalach manos, or mishloach manos), a gift of at least two ready-to-eat food items, to at least one fellow Jew. Men give to men and women give to women. If you’re invited to a Purim party in someone’s home, you can bring them mishloach manot (make sure to use kosher-certified items). Even if not, make sure to give such a gift at some point during the day.

Photo: Chaimperl.com
If you are not sure what to give, a great default is a bottle of kosher grape juice or wine along with a nice bar of chocolate in an attractive bag. If you are the creative type, you may want to have themed mishloach manot, perhaps even matching the theme of your costume. Feel free to have fun with this one.
When someone gives you mishloach manot, it is customary to reciprocate. So make sure to have a stash of goodies ready.
C: Gifts to the poor. Another beautiful Purim mitzvah is to give money to at least two poor Jewish people. In the absence of actual poor people, there are lots of organizations who will be glad to pass on your donation to poor people—especially in Israel—provided that you make sure to give them the money early enough in the day so that they can pass it on before Purim ends.

Have a happy Purim!
Purim How-To Guide
Your 2016 Purim guide contains the story of Purim and all you need to know about the 4 mitzvahs of Purim and the other observances of the dayEditor’s NotePurim begins this year on Wednesday evening, March 23, 2016, and continues through Thursday night, March 24. What follows is a brief step-by-step guide to Purim observance. We have also included links to additional Purim resources.
Time for Some Fun!
Purim, celebrated on the 14th of Adar, is the most fun-filled, action-packed day of the Jewish year. It commemorates our nation’s miraculous salvation more than two millennia ago.
The Purim Story in a Nutshell

The Persian empire of the 4th century BCE extended over 127 lands, and all the Jews were its subjects. When King Ahasuerus had his wife, Queen Vashti, executed for failing to follow his orders, he orchestrated a beauty pageant to find a new queen. A Jewish girl, Esther, found favor in his eyes and became the new queen—though she refused to divulge the identity of her nationality.
Meanwhile, the antisemitic Haman was appointed prime minister of the empire. Mordechai, the leader of the Jews (and Esther’s cousin), defied the king’s orders and refused to bow to Haman. Haman was incensed, and convinced the king to issue a decree ordering the extermination of all the Jews on the 13th of Adar—a date chosen by a lottery Haman made (hence the name Purim, “lots”).
Mordechai galvanized all the Jews, convincing them to repent, fast and pray to G‑d. Meanwhile, Esther asked the king and Haman to join her for a feast. At the feast, Esther revealed to the king her Jewish identity. Haman was hanged, Mordechai was appointed prime minister in his stead, and a new decree was issued granting the Jews the right to defend themselves against their enemies.
On the 13th of Adar the Jews mobilized and killed many of their enemies. On the 14th of Adar they rested and celebrated.
How We Celebrate
Though we dress up in holiday finery, Purim doesn’t feature holiday work restrictions. Nonetheless, all the better if you can take the day off from work and focus on the holiday and its four special mitzvahs:
(Note: If you are spending Purim in Jerusalem, the laws vary. Click here for details.)
1. Hear the Megillah

Head to your synagogue to hear the whole Megillah. The Megillah, a.k.a. “The Book of Esther,” is the scroll that tells the Purim story. Listen to the public reading twice: once on Purim night, and again on Purim day. This year, that’s Wednesday night, March 23, and Thursday day, March 24, 2016. Pay attention—it is crucial to hear every word.
When Haman’s name is mentioned (Chabad custom is that this is only when it is accompanied with an honorific title), you can twirl graggers (noisemakers) or stamp your feet to eradicate his evil name. Tell your kids that Purim is the only time when it’s a mitzvah to make noise!
The Megillah is read from a handwritten parchment scroll, using an age-old tune. Contact your local Chabad rabbi if for any reason you can’t make it to your synagogue for the Megillah reading. He’ll do his best to send a Megillah reader to your home or office.
2. Give to the Needy (Matanot LaEvyonim)

One of Purim’s primary themes is Jewish unity. Haman tried to kill us all, we were all in danger together, so we celebrate together too. Hence, on Purim day we place special emphasis on caring for the less fortunate.
Give money or food to at least two needy people during the daylight hours of Purim, March 24. In case you can’t find any needy people, your synagogue will likely be collecting money for this purpose. At least, place two coins in a charity box earmarked for the poor.
On Purim, we give a donation to whoever asks; we don’t verify his or her bank balance first.
As with the other mitzvahs of Purim, even small children should fulfill this mitzvah.
3. Send Food Gifts to Friends (Mishloach Manot)

On Purim we emphasize the importance of friendship and community by sending gifts of food to friends.
On Purim day, March 24, send a package containing at least two different ready-to-eat food items and/or beverages (e.g., pastry, fruit, beverage) to at least one Jewish acquaintance during the daylight hours of Purim. Men send to men, and women to women.
It is preferable that the gifts be delivered via a third party. Children, in addition to sending their own gifts of food to their friends, make enthusiastic messengers.
4. Feast!

During the course of Purim day, March 24, gather your family, maybe invite a guest or two, and celebrate with a festive Purim meal. Traditionally, this meal begins before sundown and lasts well into the evening.
The table should be festively bedecked with a nice tablecloth and candles. Wash for bread or challah, and enjoy a meal featuring meat, wine and plenty of Jewish songs, words ofTorah and joyous Purim spirit. Sing, drink, laugh, have fun together.
Note: When Purim falls on a Friday, out of deference to the approachingShabbat, we start the meal earlier, ideally before midday.
Special Prayers

On Purim, we include the brief V’al Hanissim section in all the day’s prayers, as well as in the day’sGrace after Meals. This prayer describes the Purim story and thanks G‑d for the “miracles, redemptions, mighty deeds, saving acts and wonders” that He wrought for our ancestors on this day many years ago.
In the morning service there is a special Torah reading (Exodus 17:8–16), describing the battle Joshua waged against Amalek—Haman’s ancestral nation—almost one thousand years before the Purim events unfolded.
Masquerade!

On Purim, children—and some adventurous adults too—traditionally dress in costumes, an allusion to G‑d’s hand in the Purim miracle, which was disguised by natural events. Make sure your children masquerade as good, cheerful characters, such as Mordechai and Esther.
Dress up your kids before taking them to the synagogue for the Megillah reading. Many synagogues have a masquerade party, along with prizes for the children, during or after the Megillah reading.
Pre- and Post-Purim Observances
Torah Reading of Zachor
On the Shabbat before Purim (this year, March 19), a special reading is held in the synagogue. We read the Torah section called Zachor (“Remember”), in which we are enjoined to remember the deeds of (the nation of) Amalek (Haman’s ancestor), who sought to destroy the Jewish people.
The Fast of Esther
To commemorate the prayer and fasting that the Jewish people held during the Purim story, we fast on the day before Purim. This year we fast on Wednesday, March 23. The fast begins approximately an hour before sunrise, and lasts until nightfall. Click here for exact times for your location.
The “Half Coins” (Machatzit HaShekel)
It is a tradition to give three coins in “half” denominations—e.g., three half-dollar coins—to charity, to commemorate the half-shekel that each Jew contributed as his share in the communal offerings in the time of the HolyTemple. This custom, usually performed in the synagogue, is done on the afternoon of the “Fast of Esther,” or before the reading of the Megillah.
Shushan Purim
In certain ancient walled cities—Jerusalem is the primary example—Purim is observed not on the 14th of Adar (the date of its observance everywhere else), but on the 15th of Adar. This is to commemorate that fact that in the ancient walled city of Shushan, where the battles between the Jews and their enemies extended for an additional day, the original Purim celebration was held on the 15th of Adar.
The 15th of Adar is thus called “Shushan Purim,” and is a day of joy and celebration also in those places where it is not observed as the actual Purim.
Useful Purim Links:
Print Your Megillah of Choice
Megillat Esther, “The Scroll of Esther,” is a firsthand account of the events of Purim, written by the heroes themselves—Esther and Mordechai. By special request of Esther to the Sanhedrin, the megillah was included as one of the 24 books of the biblical canon.The Megillah
Megillat Esther, “The Scroll of Esther,” is a firsthand account of the events ofPurim, written by the heroes themselves—Esther and Mordechai.
The Megillah is read twice in the course of the festival: on the eve of Purim, and during Purim day. It is read in the original Hebrew from a parchment scroll.
Print the Megillah out and take it to your synagogue to follow the reading, or use it to study in the comfort of your home.

Printable Megillah with Hebrew-English Translation
Requires PDF Reader
Print the Megillah out and take it to your synagogue to follow the reading, or use it to study in the comfort of your home.

Megillah with In-Depth Commentary—Side by Side Version by Yosef Marcus
The original text of the Megillah (Book of Esther) with a running commentary culled from the Talmud and Midrash, the great Torah commentators and the chassidic masters.

The Megillah with Hebrew-English Linear Translation

The Megillah In English by Yosef Marcus
A highly readable English translation of the full text of the Megillah

Blessings for the reading of the Megillah
The three blessings recited before the reading of the Megillah: in Hebrew, English, and English transliteration.

Megillah Laws and Customs by Naftali Silberberg

Megillah Reading Trainer
Interactive Megillah Reading Tutor
Use this interactive tool to learn to read the Megillah like a pro!


Video
The Megillah In Depth (Video Series)
Studying the Book of Esther by Mendel Kaplan
Study the Purim story from its original text, the Book of Esther, together with the classic commentaries.
Watch

Audio | 43:11
Studying the Book of Esther by Mendel Kaplan
Study the Purim story from its original text, the Book of Esther, together with the classic commentaries.
Watch

Audio | 43:11
Complete Megillah Reading by Michoel Slavin
A taste of the real thing: a recording of the complete Hebrew Book of Esther, by a renowned Megillah reader.
ListenDownload9 Comments

The Book of Esther in Rhyme by Fay Kranz Greene
It happened in the days of Achashverosh the King> A boor and a fool to boot> He made a great feast for the nations he ruled> To display his treasures and loot...

Audio | 1:42
A taste of the real thing: a recording of the complete Hebrew Book of Esther, by a renowned Megillah reader.
ListenDownload9 Comments

The Book of Esther in Rhyme by Fay Kranz Greene
It happened in the days of Achashverosh the King> A boor and a fool to boot> He made a great feast for the nations he ruled> To display his treasures and loot...

Audio | 1:42
Shoshanat Yaakov
"The Rose of Jacob" Sung After the Megillah Reading
"You have always been their salvation, their hope in every generation... to make known that all who place hope in You shall not be put to shame..." A song of triumph, traditionally recited at the conclusion of the Megillah reading.
Listen7 Comments
Vedibarta Bam - Questions and Answers on Megillat Esther by Moshe Bogomilsky

Everything Else About Purim
Purim celebrates the deliverance of the Jewish people from the wicked Haman in the days of Queen Esther of Persia.


Purim begins Wednesday evening, March 23 and continues through Thursday, March 24, 2016 (March 25 in Jerusalem)
What Is Purim?
The festival of Purim commemorates the salvation of the Jewish people in ancient Persia from Haman’s plot “to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews, young and old, infants and women, in a single day.” It is celebrated withMegillah readings, gifts of food, charity, feasting, and merriment. Read more . . .

Purim Basics
Purim How-To Guide
What Is Purim?
What to Expect at a Purim Celebration
Children’s Guide
Pre-Purim Observances
Post-Purim
Laws & Lore

Story of Purim
The Basic Purim Story
The Complete Story of Purim
@Purim
Did You Know?
A Purim Potpourri

The Megillah
Printable Megillah with Hebrew-English Translation
Megillah with In-Depth Commentary—Side by Side Version
The Megillah with Hebrew-English Linear Translation
The Megillah In English
Blessings for the reading of the Megillah
Megillah Laws and Customs

Purim Study
Lessons and Insights
Advanced Study
Purim Messages
Purim Questions & Answers
Poppy Seeds
Megillah with In-Depth Commentary—Side by Side Version

Purim Stories
Purim in Moscow, 1946
Gragger: A Purim Story
In an Instant
Mishloach Manot for Howard the Hermit
A Life Changing Purim
A Purim Secret

Purim Audio & Video
Purim Audio Classes
Purim Videos
Purim Songs & Stories
Megillah Reading

Purim Recipes
Challah
Appetizer
Soup & Traditional Kreplach
Salad
Side Dish
Main Dish
FIRST PERSON PURIM

Purim in Moscow, 1946
World War II had finally come to an end. My family was back from Siberia, where we had spent most of the war years… by Miriam Paltiel Nevel

The author as a child in Russia. (Photo courtesy of the author)
The first Purim I remember began in sadness and ended in joy.
It was 1946, and World War II had finally come to an end. My family was back from Siberia, where we had spent most of the war years (our mother had passed away). Now, in our one-room Moscow home, my two brothers and I were sitting on the floor playing chess. That is, my oldest brother was trying to coax me, or perhaps I should say coerce me, into playing chess with him. He was just about to give my hand a forceful push so that I wouldWorld War II had finally come to an end move the rook across the chessboard, when the door opened, and in walked a tall, uniformed soldier. It was our uncle Itche Mordche, returning from war.
His wife, who was my mother’s sister Rivka, and their baby had been murdered by the Nazis in their hometown. And now Itche Mordche had returned from war and wanted to find out what he could about his family, whom he had left behind when he went away to fight three years ago.
Our uncle asked us when our father would be home. My older brother told the visitor that Papa would come home after work.
Then the soldier began to examine some spoons and a plate that were on the table in the middle of the room. The plate was caked with the days-old remnants of something that used to be food. Next, he looked inside our little food cupboard, which was hiding forlornly in a corner of the room. Then he went to the kitchen, which we shared with our neighbors, and examined our private kosher cooking space there. Every place our uncle looked was empty of food.
The soldier left.
We didn’t expect the visitor to return, but sometime that afternoon, the door opened, and there was Itche Mordche again. And this time, nestled in his hands, was the biggest loaf of black pumpernickel that my brothers and I could remember seeing.

For decades, waiting long hours to receive a ration of bread was part of life in Soviet Russia.
“A freilichen Purim!” [“Happy Purim!”] the soldier boomed, dropping the black loaf on the table with a loud thump. He took off his green military jacket, and ceremoniously pushed up one shirt sleeve and then the other. Then he picked up the bread knife that was on the table, and proclaiming, “Shalach monos, a freilichen Purim!” our guest began to work on the pumpernickel, splitting it into chunks, while three hungry pairs of eyes stared at the knife in their uncle’s hand as it moved up and down and side to side on the black loaf.
(The next day, after Itche Mordche had left, my brothers and I speculated about how our uncle had procured the bread. My oldest sibling, who in my eyes was an expert on practically everything, came up with this scenario: When Itche Mordche left us earlier that day, he went to the bread store, which was mobbed with people eager to buy bread. Using his strong, fighting elbows, the soldier delivered a left jab, then a straight right, then a front punch, and all the while he kept muttering loudly over and over again, “Daetee, daetee, golodniyae daetee.” [“Children, children, hungry children.”] And so, the line at the bread store had split in front of our uncle, and he crossed all the way to the head of the bread line.)
After handing each one of us our meal, our uncle went to the kitchen to wash his hands. He whispered a blessing over the bread. Undoubtedly, he was thankful to G‑d for allowing him to acquire this bread, which was drawn out of G‑d’s good earth in time of hunger. Then he sat down at the table. And all four of us ate our first Purim meal, leaving a sizeable portion of bread for later when we would have a second meal with our father.Deep sighs punctuated their whispered words
After we finished eating, while waiting for Papa to come home, our uncle and my older brother played chess together happily. And I was glad not to be forced to move the chess pieces at my brother’s commands.
When the chess game was finished, Aunt Rivka’s husband sat silently, waiting to talk to Father, who could give him information about his wife and his baby.
Father came home. After they greeted each other, and ate a Purim meal consisting of more black pumpernickel, Father and Uncle sat on chairs facing each other, talking. Deep sighs punctuated their almost whispered words about mass graves and the date of Aunt Rivka and her baby’s yahrtzeit. Tears, bright like tiny crystals, glistened in the tall soldier’s eyes.
The next day, Uncle Itche Mordche left Moscow. That year, he succeeded in joining many chassidic Russian Jews who escaped the Soviet Union. Once out of the Soviet Union, our uncle made his way to England, where he remarried and began a new family and a new life. I never saw him again.
My father, brothers and I left Russia as well. After several years of wandering through Europe, we came to America.

The author with her father and brothers in France, on their way to the U.S. (Photo courtesy of the author)
Decades later, in my American home one Purim. The reading of the Megillah; the sound of graggers;the clamour of children, toddlers and adults; the delicious homemade sesame candy,After several years of wandering, we came to Americahamentashen and hot chocolate all mixed together to create the happy atmosphere that celebrates the Jewish people’s victory over evil.
I was sitting quietly amid the roar and let my thoughts wander. In my mind's eye, here was Uncle Itche Mordche rolling up his sleeves one at a time and booming, “Happy Purim! May all the Hamans have a downfall, and we should have warmth, happiness and great celebrations all together!” In my mind’s eye, a circle of children would mill around Itche Mordche, and he would dance with all the children and make l’chaims in fine Purim spirit.
"The Rose of Jacob" Sung After the Megillah Reading
"You have always been their salvation, their hope in every generation... to make known that all who place hope in You shall not be put to shame..." A song of triumph, traditionally recited at the conclusion of the Megillah reading.
Listen7 Comments
Vedibarta Bam - Questions and Answers on Megillat Esther by Moshe Bogomilsky
Everything Else About Purim
Purim celebrates the deliverance of the Jewish people from the wicked Haman in the days of Queen Esther of Persia.

Purim begins Wednesday evening, March 23 and continues through Thursday, March 24, 2016 (March 25 in Jerusalem)
What Is Purim?
The festival of Purim commemorates the salvation of the Jewish people in ancient Persia from Haman’s plot “to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews, young and old, infants and women, in a single day.” It is celebrated withMegillah readings, gifts of food, charity, feasting, and merriment. Read more . . .

Purim Basics
Purim How-To Guide
What Is Purim?
What to Expect at a Purim Celebration
Children’s Guide
Pre-Purim Observances
Post-Purim
Laws & Lore

Story of Purim
The Basic Purim Story
The Complete Story of Purim
@Purim
Did You Know?
A Purim Potpourri

The Megillah
Printable Megillah with Hebrew-English Translation
Megillah with In-Depth Commentary—Side by Side Version
The Megillah with Hebrew-English Linear Translation
The Megillah In English
Blessings for the reading of the Megillah
Megillah Laws and Customs

Purim Study
Lessons and Insights
Advanced Study
Purim Messages
Purim Questions & Answers
Poppy Seeds
Megillah with In-Depth Commentary—Side by Side Version

Purim Stories
Purim in Moscow, 1946
Gragger: A Purim Story
In an Instant
Mishloach Manot for Howard the Hermit
A Life Changing Purim
A Purim Secret

Purim Audio & Video
Purim Audio Classes
Purim Videos
Purim Songs & Stories
Megillah Reading

Purim Recipes
Challah
Appetizer
Soup & Traditional Kreplach
Salad
Side Dish
Main Dish
FIRST PERSON PURIM
Purim in Moscow, 1946
World War II had finally come to an end. My family was back from Siberia, where we had spent most of the war years… by Miriam Paltiel Nevel

The author as a child in Russia. (Photo courtesy of the author)
The first Purim I remember began in sadness and ended in joy.
It was 1946, and World War II had finally come to an end. My family was back from Siberia, where we had spent most of the war years (our mother had passed away). Now, in our one-room Moscow home, my two brothers and I were sitting on the floor playing chess. That is, my oldest brother was trying to coax me, or perhaps I should say coerce me, into playing chess with him. He was just about to give my hand a forceful push so that I wouldWorld War II had finally come to an end move the rook across the chessboard, when the door opened, and in walked a tall, uniformed soldier. It was our uncle Itche Mordche, returning from war.
His wife, who was my mother’s sister Rivka, and their baby had been murdered by the Nazis in their hometown. And now Itche Mordche had returned from war and wanted to find out what he could about his family, whom he had left behind when he went away to fight three years ago.
Our uncle asked us when our father would be home. My older brother told the visitor that Papa would come home after work.
Then the soldier began to examine some spoons and a plate that were on the table in the middle of the room. The plate was caked with the days-old remnants of something that used to be food. Next, he looked inside our little food cupboard, which was hiding forlornly in a corner of the room. Then he went to the kitchen, which we shared with our neighbors, and examined our private kosher cooking space there. Every place our uncle looked was empty of food.
The soldier left.
We didn’t expect the visitor to return, but sometime that afternoon, the door opened, and there was Itche Mordche again. And this time, nestled in his hands, was the biggest loaf of black pumpernickel that my brothers and I could remember seeing.

For decades, waiting long hours to receive a ration of bread was part of life in Soviet Russia.
“A freilichen Purim!” [“Happy Purim!”] the soldier boomed, dropping the black loaf on the table with a loud thump. He took off his green military jacket, and ceremoniously pushed up one shirt sleeve and then the other. Then he picked up the bread knife that was on the table, and proclaiming, “Shalach monos, a freilichen Purim!” our guest began to work on the pumpernickel, splitting it into chunks, while three hungry pairs of eyes stared at the knife in their uncle’s hand as it moved up and down and side to side on the black loaf.
(The next day, after Itche Mordche had left, my brothers and I speculated about how our uncle had procured the bread. My oldest sibling, who in my eyes was an expert on practically everything, came up with this scenario: When Itche Mordche left us earlier that day, he went to the bread store, which was mobbed with people eager to buy bread. Using his strong, fighting elbows, the soldier delivered a left jab, then a straight right, then a front punch, and all the while he kept muttering loudly over and over again, “Daetee, daetee, golodniyae daetee.” [“Children, children, hungry children.”] And so, the line at the bread store had split in front of our uncle, and he crossed all the way to the head of the bread line.)
After handing each one of us our meal, our uncle went to the kitchen to wash his hands. He whispered a blessing over the bread. Undoubtedly, he was thankful to G‑d for allowing him to acquire this bread, which was drawn out of G‑d’s good earth in time of hunger. Then he sat down at the table. And all four of us ate our first Purim meal, leaving a sizeable portion of bread for later when we would have a second meal with our father.Deep sighs punctuated their whispered words
After we finished eating, while waiting for Papa to come home, our uncle and my older brother played chess together happily. And I was glad not to be forced to move the chess pieces at my brother’s commands.
When the chess game was finished, Aunt Rivka’s husband sat silently, waiting to talk to Father, who could give him information about his wife and his baby.
Father came home. After they greeted each other, and ate a Purim meal consisting of more black pumpernickel, Father and Uncle sat on chairs facing each other, talking. Deep sighs punctuated their almost whispered words about mass graves and the date of Aunt Rivka and her baby’s yahrtzeit. Tears, bright like tiny crystals, glistened in the tall soldier’s eyes.
The next day, Uncle Itche Mordche left Moscow. That year, he succeeded in joining many chassidic Russian Jews who escaped the Soviet Union. Once out of the Soviet Union, our uncle made his way to England, where he remarried and began a new family and a new life. I never saw him again.
My father, brothers and I left Russia as well. After several years of wandering through Europe, we came to America.

The author with her father and brothers in France, on their way to the U.S. (Photo courtesy of the author)
Decades later, in my American home one Purim. The reading of the Megillah; the sound of graggers;the clamour of children, toddlers and adults; the delicious homemade sesame candy,After several years of wandering, we came to Americahamentashen and hot chocolate all mixed together to create the happy atmosphere that celebrates the Jewish people’s victory over evil.
I was sitting quietly amid the roar and let my thoughts wander. In my mind's eye, here was Uncle Itche Mordche rolling up his sleeves one at a time and booming, “Happy Purim! May all the Hamans have a downfall, and we should have warmth, happiness and great celebrations all together!” In my mind’s eye, a circle of children would mill around Itche Mordche, and he would dance with all the children and make l’chaims in fine Purim spirit.
Why We Wear Costumes on Purim
Is this what Purim is all about—pretending to be something or someone you are not? by Elana Mizrahi
And so this year, for the past 11 months or so, I have once again been hearing about kings and brides. I take down the scepters, capes and crowns from our closet, and pass my kings and bride their props. On Purim, IAs they got older, the creativity went out the door escort them to synagogue and see the streets full of kings and clowns, sages and prophets, brides and queens, doctors and bakers. Carriages are no longer filled with babies, but adorable little monkeys, lions and bumblebees. Cute little people walking around Jerusalemin costumes, pretending to be something they are not.
Is this why we dress up on Purim? Is this what Purim is all about—pretending to be something or someone you are not?
Actually, I think it’s just the opposite. On Purim, we dress up to show who we really are. Let me explain.
When my almost-5-year-old wakes up on Purim morning, he’s very excited. I help him into his king costume and straighten his crown. He carries a long scepter in one hand and a bag of goodies in the other. Drumroll, please! Behold, a king!
Well, not really. It’s still my Asher Yisrael, an extremely cute 5-year-old dressed up in a golden crown. No matter what the costume is, no matter how the child (or adult) wishes to appear, the person we end up with is always the same person we started with, the same soul, the same essence, disguised behind a costume or a mask.
When you read Megillat Esther, the story of Purim, and all the events that transpired, you might get the impression that everything happened within a very short period of time. It didn’t. The story of Purim didn’t unfold over months, but over years. For more than half a decade, Esther lived in the palace as the Persian queen, “Queen Esther,” and no one knew that she was Jewish. And when you are trapped in an identity that’s not really you, it’s easy to lose sight of who you are and why you are here. But living as the queen didn’t change Esther. While she wore the royal robes and donned the royal crown, she continued to adhere to Jewish law, such as keeping kosher and observing Shabbat.
But come on! Day after day, month after month, year after year—how could she maintain her true identity?
Esther was blessed with a cousin (who raised her as a daughter) who, even as she lived in the palace, watched over her, worried about her, kept in contact with her and guided her. Mordechai never left Esther or gave up on her. He would sit by the entrance to the palace gate, making sure to know exactly what was happening to her. She, in return, never gave up on her true identity and purpose in the world. She remained loyal to Mordechai and theThey were secure in their identityvalues and teachings that he had instilled in her. After many years of her living in disguise, Mordechai sent a message to Esther that her people were in danger, and that now was the time to take off the “costume” and reveal who she was. Now was the time to live her mission in life.
At this pivotal moment in Megillat Esther, “Mordechai told him (Esther’s messenger) all that had happened to him.”1 The word used in Hebrew for happened to him is karahu. The sages explain that in using the word karahu,Mordechai was echoing an important word that the Torah used regarding evilHaman’s ancestor, Amalek.2
When the Jews left Egypt, they had a mission and knew their purpose. They were secure in their identity as G‑d’s chosen people and were on their way to enter the Land of Israel. Then, all of a sudden, the nation of Amalek “happened upon them.” The Torah describes this episode using the same root word askarahu.3 The word “happened” also shares the same root as the word kar, meaning “cold.” The sages explain that when Amalek came upon the children of Israel, they scared the Jews and “cooled” off their enthusiasm for entering Israel. They put doubt into their hearts, doubt that shook their faith and distracted them from their mission. This is the cold doubt that makes us lose sight of our goals in life, of our true purpose and mission.
Mordechai used the word karah to remind Esther of the power of the Amalek’s doubt, and to encourage her to overcome it and not lose sight of her mission.
On the Shabbat before Purim, a special portion of the Torah is read, the portion that speaks of this episode of Israel and Amalek. We read this portion right before Purim because Haman was a descendent of Amalek. We also read this portion right before Purim, a festival when we don costumes to remind us that no matter what distractions, disguises and doubts we face, weWe need to know who we truly aremust always stay focused on our true identity and mission. We need to know who we truly are, to know that our soul is our essence. At this time we are reminded that we are not here in this world randomly.
As I help my children put their Purim costumes on, I think of Mordechai and Esther. I’m reminded of how important it is for parents to never give up on their children, to watch over them and care about them, to be available to them. I’m also reminded how essential it is for me to teach them (and to remember myself) that no matter where they are or who they are with—no matter what “costume” they find themselves in—they are beautiful, with beautiful souls, and a mission, a purpose. No one and nothing can or should create any doubts in their hearts to make them lose sight of that.
FOOTNOTES
1.Esther 4:7.
2.Esther Rabbah 4:7.
3.Deuteronomy 25:18.VIDEO
Queen Esther's Radical Diplomacy
Despite being prized for her beauty, Queen Esther chose to appear before the king after a long and difficult fast. Why? Because she realized that the most important things are the ones that cannot be seen.
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Mordechai’s Shock Treatment
The plot thickened as news of Haman's secret final solution leaked, and consequently plunged all the Jewish citizens of the vast Persian Empire into deep mourning and depression. Discover how Mordechai’s shocking response woke up a comatose nation. Learn the key insight embedded in a fascinating Midrash involving Mordechai, Moses, and Elijah the Prophet. by Mendel Kaplan
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Why We Eat Fish on Shabbat
The fish reminds us how the beauty and power of Shabbat is readily accessible. by Michoel Gourarie
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PARSHAH
What You Need to Do and What You Need to Get Done
Why do we live? Are we here for ourselves, or is there a deeper purpose? by Lazer Gurkow
A chassid in the galoshes trade once asked his rebbe to bless his faltering business. Seeking to calm the unduly worried chassid, the rebbe said, “I have seen feet in galoshes, but I have never seen a head in galoshes.” The chassid gathered at once that he was overly invested in the unimportant.
Likewise, many of our activities just need to “get done.” They are not the goal, they are the means to a goal. For example, our first task when we wake in the morning is to dress. We don’t get out of bed to dress, we get dressed to go out and do what we need to do. The same goes for eating breakfast and driving to work; these are simply things we get done in service of our goal.
So what do we wake up to do? Some will tell you they get out of bed to go to work, but for most, that is not true either. We might enjoy our work, but if we didn’t need to be there, we would likely take the day off. The primary reason that we go to work is to earn money to pay our bills, so we can live. It’s something we need to get done in order to do what we need to do.
But why do we live? Are we here for ourselves, or is there a deeper purpose?
To Do
G‑d made us so that we could serve Him. That is the reason we get out of bed. That is what we do. Everything else—waking up, getting dressed, eating breakfast, driving to work, earning money—is what we get done in order to do what we are here to do.
This doesn’t mean that we can’t enjoy the things we get done or that we must pay them little heed. If we don’t pay attention to what we eat for breakfast, we won’t have the proper fuel to do what we woke up to do. If we don’t enjoy our downtime, we won’t have the relaxation and focus necessary to return to work. Accomplishing the things we need to get done requires attention and care. They aren’t negligible, they are important items on our daily agenda, without which we cannot do what we need to do.
On the other hand, these activities don’t rise to the to-do level. Once we know what we are here to do, we can appreciate it and take it seriously. When we realize that we are here to give charity or to pray or to chant kiddush, that this was the reason we woke up in the morning and went through our day, we “put our head into it”—we invest ourselves in that action. We take our time, give it our fullest attention, value it and derive immense satisfaction from it.
To Get Done
We spend more time on the things we get done than on the things we do. This is the nature of things. Take going to school, for example. You wake up, get dressed, eat, drive, park, lug your books, enter, greet friends, take your seat, endure roll call, and sit through an hour’s lecture, during which the teacher repeats much information you already know in order to set the stage for new information. Once it’s over, you collect your books, say goodbye, drive home, and do homework designed to review and retain what you learned. The entire exercise took four hours, but it took only three minutes to learn the new piece of information that you came to learn.
Suppose you went to school but failed to learn anything. You would have spent your entire day getting stuff done, but you would have accomplished nothing. Doing the one thing you came to do justifies the effort it takes to get to that moment.
When you realize that this one task or moment is the purpose of your entire day, you invest yourself in it, doing it with gusto and joy. At that moment, the entire day clicks. It all has a point.
Removing Ashes
We can now gain insight into a curious passage in the Torah. Before delineating the laws for sacrifices in the Temple, the Torah veers off and describes the ritual for removing excess ashes from the altar. Removing excess ash is important, but why does it precede the sacrificial rite?
The Torah teaches us that before offering a sacrifice, one must complete many preparatory tasks. The ashes must be cleaned, the fires must be stoked, the offering must be purchased and brought to the priest, and the knives must be laid out. These are all critical details without which a sacrifice cannot be offered.
The Torah tells us that the kohen wore special garments while removing the ashes, but the priestly vestments were worn only when offering sacrifices. This one detail speaks volumes. It tells us that none of the preparatory tasks are as important as the sacrifice itself. The sacrifice is the goal; these are just the means. They serve the goal and enable us to fulfill it.
When we do things that need to get done, we “wear special garments”—we don’t dismiss them just because they aren’t the primary goal. Yet, we also don’t treat them like we treat the primary goal, just as the priestly vestments weren’t worn for the preparatory tasks.
It’s easy to mistake the many preparatory tasks for the goal because they take up so much of our time. We spend much more time on the means than on the goal. We wake up each morning with a long to-get-done list, whereas the to-do list is fairly short. The Torah reminds us to focus on our goal and never confuse the means with the end. Let’s do what we are here to do!
The New You
What is the significance of lifting and removing the ashes? Why is it so important that it’s the first ritual performed in the Temple, the first step in the service of G-d? by Menachem Feldman
And the kohen shall don his linen tunic, and he shall don his linen trousers on his flesh. And he shall lift out the ashes into which the fire has consumed the burnt offering upon the altar, and put them down next to the altar.1
The purpose of this ritual was not merely to tidy up the ashes left over from the fire that had burned all night, for if that was the case, the commandment would have been to remove more than just a symbolic amount of ash. In fact, after the priest would remove a small portion of the ashes, the other priests would place the remainder of the ashes in a large heap in the center of the altar.2
What, then, is the significance of lifting and removing the ashes? Why is it soimportant that it’s the first ritual performed in the Temple, the first step in the service of G‑d?
Ashes are what is left over from the previous day’s service. Yesterday, your service may have been perfect. Yesterday, you may have actualized your G‑d-given potential. Yesterday, you may have achieved all that you possibly could have achieved with your opportunities, talents and strengths.
That was yesterday.
However, if you offer the identical service today, if you do not grow spiritually. If you don't become more loving, more compassionate, more patient, more thoughtful, more committed, then you are stuck in the past. The first step in serving G‑d each morning is the realization that the ashes that represent "the old me" must be removed, in order to clear the way for "the new me," for the me that will actualize today's even greater potential.
That is why each night, the chassidim of the Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of the Chabad movement, would tell themselves, "Tomorrow will be totally different.” They did not say “a bit different,” they said “totally different.” They did not feel guilty for not realizing that day’s potential, because they did realize it—rather, they understood that the next day’s potential would be so much greater.
The portion of Tzav is always read in close proximity to the holiday of Passover. Indeed, the message of the ashes is the reason why remembering the Exodus from Egypt is so central to Judaism.
In Hebrew, Egypt is "Mitzrayim," which means “constraints.” You may be a great human being, but if today you are in the same spiritual space that you were in yesterday, you are in Egypt. The Torah therefore insists that you "remember the day you left Egypt all the days of your life." Each morning when you wake up, remember to remove the ashes. Do not limit yourself to the person you were yesterday.
Remember the Exodus and break free.
FOOTNOTES
1.Leviticus 6:3.
2.See Mishnah, Tractate Tamid, ch. 2: "They then began to throw the ashes onto the heap. This heap was in the middle of the altar, and sometimes there was as much as 300 kor on it.
Tzav In Depth
A condensation of the weekly Torah portion alongside select commentaries culled from the Midrash, Talmud, Chassidic masters, and the broad corpus of Jewish scholarship.
Leviticus 6:1-8:36
Parshah Summary
The Parshah of Tzav ("command"), continues G‑d's instruction to Moses of the laws of the korbanot, the animal and meal offerings that were the central feature of the service in the Sanctuary. "Command Aaron and his sons," says G‑d to Moses:
This is the law of the Ascending Offering: It is offering that ascends upon the pyre of the Altar all night until the morning, and the fire of the Altar shall be kept burning in it.
The priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen breeches shall he put on his flesh, and take up the ashes which the fire has consumed with the Ascending Offering on the Altar, and he shall put them beside the Altar. And he shall put off his garments, and put on other garments, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place.
And the fire upon the Altar shall be kept burning in it; it shall not be put out. And the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the Ascending Offering in order upon it; and he shall burn on it the fat of the Peace Offerings.
A constant fire shall burn upon the Altar; it shall never go out.
As in the previous Parshah of Vayikra, here, too, are recounted the laws of the "ascending offering" (olah), meal offering (minchah), sin offering (chatat), guilt offering (asham), and peace offering (shelamim). In the repetition, many new details are added. A general difference is that Vayikra addresses itself to the one bringing the korban, while the laws of Tzav are addressed to the Kohen ("priest") who offers it up upon the Altar, outlining his duties and specifying the portions of the korban that are given to him.
Thus we read of the Kohen's duty to keep the fires of the Altar constantly burning, and to remove the accumulated ashes each morning (an action called terumat hadeshen, which was the first activity of the daily service in the Sanctuary). We also learn that each Kohen was obligated to bring a meal offering on the day that he was initiated into the service of the Sanctuary; the Kohen Gadol ("High Priest") brought a meal offering each day, half of which was offered in the morning, and the other half in the afternoon. These offerings, as well as any other type of meal offering brought by a Kohen, are burned entirely on the Altar. Meal offerings brought by everyone else are eaten by the Kohanim, after a "handful" has been removed for burning on the Altar.
The sin offering and the guilt offering are both eaten by the Kohen, after the prescribed chalabim (veins of fat) are removed and burned on the Altar. It is strictly forbidden to leave over any part of the korban past the prescribed time (one day and one night for the chatat and asham, two days and the intervening night for the shelamim). Even the residue absorbed by the pot in which the meat was cooked becomes forbidden for consumption; thus:
An earthen vessel in which it is cooked shall be broken; and if it be cooked in a copper pot, it shall be scoured and rinsed in water
The Torah also sets down the rules as to which Kohen should receive these portions of the offerings:
The priest that offers any man's ascending offering, the priest shall have for himself the hide of the ascending offering which be has offered.
Meal offerings that are baked in the oven, and those that are prepared in the pot and in the pan, shall be for the priest that offers them.
And every meal offering mingled with oil, and dry, shall all the sons of Aaron have, one as the other.
Meat and Bread
As for the shelamim (peace offering), after the prescribed chalabim are burned on the Altar, the Kohen who did the offering receives two portions of the animal: the chazeh (chest) and the shok (right hind leg). The rest of the meat is eaten by the owner (the one who brought the offering).
One who brings a shelamim also brings an accompanying meal offering, which includes three types of cakes, all prepared with olive oil: unleavened loaves, flat matzot, and loaves made of boiled flour (also unleavened). In a certain type of shelamim--the todah or "thanksgiving offering," brought by a person who has survived a life-endangering occurrence--a fourth type of cake was added: leavened loaves (leaven was permitted in this case, since no part of the said loaves were offered on the Altar itself). The Kohen received one of each type of cake, while the remainder were eaten by the owner.
The portions of the korbanot that were eaten -- whether by the Kohen or by the owner -- had to be eaten "in holiness" -- i.e., within the parameters of their prescribed time, their prescribed place (depending on the type of korban, either within the Sanctuary Courtyard or within the city walls of Jerusalem), and the person eating them had to be in a state of ritual purity (taharah).
Again the Torah repeats its warning that those portions of the korban offered on the Altar -- the specified veins of fat and the blood -- must not be eaten in any animal eligible for sacrifice (i.e., cattle, sheep or goats; in birds, whose fat was not specifically offered, only blood is forbidden).
Our Parshah concludes its section on the korbanot:
This is the law for the ascending offering, for the meal offering, for the sin offering, for the guilt offering, for the inauguration offering, and for the sacrifice of the peace offering; which G‑d commanded Moses in Mount Sinai, on the day that he commanded the children of Israel to present their offerings to G‑d, in the wilderness of Sinai.
Inauguration
The Torah now relates how Moses initiated Aaron and his sons into priesthood during the "Seven days of Inauguration" (Adar 23 to Adar 29), as Moses had been instructed in the Parshah of Tetzaveh.
On each of these seven days, Moses erected the Sanctuary, anointed it with the Anointing Oil, dressed Aaron and his sons in the priestly garments, and anointed them. On each of these days Aaron and his sons brought a series of offerings, while Moses officiated as the priest and offered them on the Altar. These were: a bullock brought as a chatat, and two rams--one as an olah and the second as a specially ordained "ram of inauguration" (the procedure followed was similar to that of the shelamim).
And Moses said to Aaron and to his sons:
Cook the meat at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, and there eat it with the bread that is in the basket of the bread of consecration... And that which remains of the flesh and of the bread shall you burn with fire.
And you shall not go out of the doorway of the Tent of Meeting for seven days, until the days of your consecration be at an end: for seven days shall he consecrate you...
And Aaron and his sons did all the things which G‑d had commanded by the hand of Moses.
From Our Sages

LIFESTYLE

12 Unique Hamantaschen Recipes for Purim
Sweet & Savory by Miriam Szokovski
Wondering why Hamantaschen are traditional Purim fare? The reasons and symbolism are abundant. Check out The History and Meaning of Hamantaschen.
Today I've got a great round-up of sweet and savory, traditional and non-traditional hamantaschen. Choose some to make, or come up with your own combinations.
Note: If you're sharing your hamantaschen with others, be sure to let them know whether they're meat, dairy or pareve.
Traditional Poppy Seed Mohn Hamantaschen
While it's fun to experiment, there's nothing like tradition. And does it get more traditional than poppy seed hamantaschen?!
And G‑d spoke to Moses, saying: Command Aaron and his son... this is the law of the ascending offering... (Leviticus 6:1-2)
The expression tzav ("command") implies an urging for now and for future generations.
(Torat Kohanim; Rashi)
The king Moshiach will arise and restore the kingdom of David to its glory of old, to its original sovereignty. He will build the Holy Temple and gather the dispersed of Israel. In his times, all the laws of the Torah will be reinstated as before; the sacrifices will be offered, the Sabbatical year and the Jubilee year instituted as outlined in the Torah.
(Maimonides)
It is offering that ascends upon the pyre of the Altar (6:2)
The location of the Altar is very exactly defined, and is never to be changed... It is a commonly-held tradition that the place where David and Solomon built the Altar on the threshing floor of Arona, is the very place where Abraham built an altar and bound Isaac upon it; this is where Noah built [an altar] when he came out from the ark; this is where Cain and Abel brought their offerings; this is where Adam the First Man offered a korban when he was created--and it is from [the earth of] this place that he was created. Thus the Sages have said: Man was formed from the place of his atonement.
(Maimonides)
Ten miracles were performed for our forefathers in the Holy Temple: No woman ever miscarried because of the smell of the holy meat. The holy meat never spoiled. Never was a fly seen in the slaughterhouse. Never did the High Priest have an accidental seminal discharge on Yom Kippur. The rains did not extinguish the wood-fire burning upon the altar. The wind did not prevail over the column of smoke [rising from the altar]. No disqualifying problem was ever discovered in the Omer offering, the Two Loaves or the Showbread. They stood crowded but had ample space in which to prostate themselves. Never did a snake or scorpion cause injury in Jerusalem. And no man ever said to his fellow "My lodging in Jerusalem is too cramped for me.''
(Ethics of the Fathers 5:5)
It is offering that ascends upon the pyre of the Altar (6:2)
Why is the word mokdah ("pyre") written in the Torah with a miniature mem? To teach us that the fire in one's soul should be understated; it should burn within, but show nothing on the outside.
(The Rebbe of Kotzk)
And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen breeches shall he put on his flesh (6:3)
"His linen garment"--this teaches us that the priestly garments must fit the priest's measure, and must not drag on the floor or be raised above. (The word used here for "his garment," mido, literally means "his measure").
"And his linen breeches shall he put on his flesh"--this teaches us that there must be nothing intervening between his flesh and the priestly garments.
(Talmud, Yoma 23b; Rashi)
And he shall put off his garments, and put on other garments (6:4)
Clothes in which he cooked for his master, should not be worn when serving a goblet to his master.
(Talmud, Yoma 23b)
And the fire upon the Altar shall be kept burning in it... and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning (6:5)
Although a fire descended from heaven upon the Altar, it is a mitzvah to add to it a humanly produced fire.
(Talmud, Eruvin 63a)
This is a rule that applies to all areas of life: the gifts of life are bestowed upon us from Above, yet it is G‑d's desire that we add to them the product of our own initiative.
(The Chassidic Masters)
And the fire upon the Altar shall be kept burning in it... and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning (6:5)
There is a fire of love for G‑d that burns within every soul. It is the task of the "Kohen"--the spiritual leaders of the generation--to feed and preserve this fire.
(Alshich)
A constant fire shall burn upon the Altar; it shall never go out (6:6)
"Constantly"--even on Shabbat; "constantly"--even under conditions of ritual impurity; "it shall never go out"--also not during the journeys [through the desert, when the Altar was covered with a cloth of purple wool]. What did they do with the fire during the journeys? They placed over it a copper bowl.
(Jerusalem Talmud, Yoma 4:6)
Shabbat is when we disengage ourselves from all things material; "ritual impurity" (tum'ah) represents an opposite state--one of excessive enmeshment in the mundane. Yet the Torah instructs that the fire upon the Altar must be kept burning "even on Shabbat" and "even under conditions of ritual impurity."
There are times when we believe ourselves to be "above it all" as the spirituality of the moment transports beyond the so-called trivialities of physical life. Conversely, there are times when we feel overwhelmed by those very "trivialities." Says the Torah: the fire on your internal Altar must--and can--be kept burning at all times. No moment in your life is too exalted or too debased to sustain your passion and enthusiasm in the fulfillment of the purpose to which you were created, which is to raise up to G‑d the materials of your everyday existence.
(The Lubavitcher Rebbe)
"It shall never go out--also not during the journeys." Special care must be taken during the "journeys" of life--the times that a person ventures away from the home environment that fosters his character and integrity-so that the fire in his soul should not succumb to alien influences.
(Maayanah Shel Torah)
And the remainder shall be eaten by Aaron and his son... It is their portion, which I have given to them from My fire (6:9-10)
The Kohanim receive from the Supernal Table.
(Talmud, Chulin 120a)
G‑d said to the Kohen: You eat at My table, and you drink at My table. This is comparable to a king of flesh and blood who gave gifts to his sons, and to one son he gave no gift. Said the king to this son: "Though I have given you no gift, you shall eat at My table, and you shall drink at My table." (The Kohanim received no land when the Holy Land was apportioned to the tribes of Israel).
(Sifri)
This is the offering of Aaron and of his sons... a meal offering perpetual, half of it in the morning, and half of it in the evening (6:13)
The High Priest's daily offering was a meal offering, the offering of a poor man. This, for two reasons: that a poor man bringing his pauper's offering to the Sanctuary should not be ashamed; and to awaken humility in the High Priest's heart, with the appreciation that before G‑d he is the equal of the most impoverished of his brethren.
(Abarbanel)
The priest brought a meal offering on the day that he began serving in the Sanctuary, while the High Priest brought one every day. It is a mark of greatness that a person regards his every day as a new beginning in which he strives to transcend all his previous achievements.
(Maayanah Shel Torah)
This is the law of the Sin Offering... The Kohen that atones shall eat it (6:18-19)
The Kohanim eat, and the owner of the korban achieves atonement.
(Talmud, Pesachim 59b)
And every meal offering mingled with oil, and dry (7:10)
The "meal offering mingled with oil" is the donated Meal Offering (whose "handful" is removed before baking); the "dry" Meal Offering is the one brought as a sin offering or by the sotah (woman accused of adultery), which did not contain any oil.
(Rashi)
If he offers it in thanksgiving... (7:12)
There are four who are required to bring a thanksgiving offering: one who traverses the sea, one who crosses a desert, one who was ill and recovered, and one who was imprisoned and was released.
(Talmud, Berachot 54b)
This is the law for the ascending offering... (7:37)
What is the significance of the verse, "This is the law for the ascent-offering, for the meal-offering, for the sin-offering, and for the guilt-offering?" It teaches that whoever occupies himself with the study of the Torah is as though he were offering an ascent-offering, a meal-offering a sin-offering, and a guilt-offering... Whoever occupies himself with the study of the laws of the sin-offering, it is as though he were offering a sin-offering; and whoever occupies himself with the study of the laws of the guilt-offering, it is as though he were offering a guilt-offering.
(Talmud, Menachot 110a)
12 Unique Hamantaschen Recipes for Purim
Sweet & Savory by Miriam Szokovski
Wondering why Hamantaschen are traditional Purim fare? The reasons and symbolism are abundant. Check out The History and Meaning of Hamantaschen.
Today I've got a great round-up of sweet and savory, traditional and non-traditional hamantaschen. Choose some to make, or come up with your own combinations.
Note: If you're sharing your hamantaschen with others, be sure to let them know whether they're meat, dairy or pareve.
Traditional Poppy Seed Mohn Hamantaschen
While it's fun to experiment, there's nothing like tradition. And does it get more traditional than poppy seed hamantaschen?!

Chocolate-Dipped Cream Cheese Hamantaschen
Elegant and delicious!

Gluten Free Triple Chocolate Hamantaschen
Chocolate dough, chocolate filling and chocolate drizzle. Need I say more? And to top it all off, they are grain free, gluten free and dairy free!

Apple Pie Hamantaschen
These are not just regular hamantaschen with apple filling. This is pie-crust dough, with real apple-pie filling. Full disclosure - this is definitely more work than making regular hamantaschen and is for the more experienced baker. The dough is fragile and you need to be very careful and precise.

Savory Cheesy Red Pepper and Corn-Filled Hamantaschen
Sweet is fun, but so is savory... give it a try!

Pulled Beef Hamantaschen with Creamy Coleslaw and Pickles
And the flakiest pastry!

Sushi Onigri Hamantaschen
Sushi has become a staple (read: obsession) in many Jewish homes. You can find sushi bars at most kosher restaurants, groceries, and even pizza shops. So what better way to celebrate Purim and enjoy everyone’s favorite food than with these adorable sushi hamantaschen?

Orange Chocolate Hamantaschen
Love Sabra? Then this is the hamantasch for you. It’s also the hamantasch for you if you are a real chocolate lover.

Cranberry Sage Hamantaschen
Are you an adventurous baker? This one mixes sweet and savory. Fresh sage is incorporated into the sweet cookie dough, and then filled with spiced cranberry conserve.

Pulled BBQ Brisket Hamantaschen
Would you believe that BBQ pulled brisket and mashed potatoes make awesome savory yeast hamanstaschen (not cookie)?!

Chocolate-Filled Funfetti Hamantaschen
This one is fun for the kids or the young-at-heart adults.

Rice Crispy Treat Hamantaschen
A sweet and sticky version of the traditional cookie.

Stylish and Healthy Mishloach Manot
Don't forget about the mitzvah of mishloach manot - sending food gifts to others on Purim. A stylish basket arranged by hand shows you care, and everyone welcomes treats they don’t feel guilty eating!

Want to share your hamantasch recipe with us? Please do! Contact ushere.
Happy Purim!
Queen Esther in Art by Yoram Raanan
Esther cloaked herself in majesty (malchut) and stood in the innermost courtyard, facing the palace [where] the king sat on his imperial throne in the royal chamber. (Esther 5:1)
Queen Esther, our beloved heroine, appears like a vision glowing against the darker background. As she ventured forth to the king to serve her people we are told she was wearing “malchut”—alluding not only to her royal garments but also to a spiritual holiness that is said to have cloaked her.1
In the painting, this is hinted to by the ethereal veils that surround her, the threads of her cloak made of blue-green light. They look like wings that spread over her as she moves forward with regal simplicity, ethereal and angelic.2
FOOTNOTES
1.The Talmud says she dressed up in ruach hakodesh, a spirit of holiness/prophecy descended on her (Talmud Megillah 14b). “Esther dressed herself in spiritual form … [so that] her appearance was like an angel of G‑d.” Zohar, Shlach 169b.
2.It took enormous strength and courage to approach the king, for those who entered the royal chamber unbidden were automatically put to death. Yet, after fasting and preparing spiritually for three days, Esther ventured forth, ready for whatever fate awaited her.
JEWISH NEWSPurim Costumes as a Teaching Moment: A Pennsylvania Family’s Tradition
Accentuating the positive and the holy in Purim costumes, one family's themed outfits are designed each year to speak to the soul. by Reuvena Leah Grodnitzky
The Coplon family of Chester, Pa., uses Purim as a teaching moment for their five children, coming up with meaningful costumes that speak to Jewish tradition. Several years ago, they dressed up as the “Seven Species” of the Land of Israel, from left: Amitai, grapes; mom Emily, a pomegranate; little Michel, figs; Benjamin, wheat; center front, Ephraim, dates; dad Arthur, barley; and Isaiah, olives.
You won’t see the five Coplon boys dressed as villains or superheroes onPurim. You won’t see them parading as cartoon characters or warriors either. For Benjamin, Isaiah, Amitai, Ephraim and Michel, dressing up for Purim is an opportunity to educate themselves and others through creative costuming.
As a family of seven, the Coplons, from Chester, Pa., choose a yearly theme for their costumes and mishloach manot, or traditional Purim food packages, of a “significant seven” in Judaism. This year’s theme will be the seven rabbinic commandments, with each family member dressing as a different commandment, such as lighting Shabbat candles, ritual hand-washing or building an eruv. In the past, they have dressed as the seven days of Creation, the “Seven Species” of the Land of Israel and the seven Noahide Laws. Each family member devises and creates his own costume and ideas for mishloach manot.
For 10-year-old Ephraim Coplon, the family costumes are a source of pride.
“I like dressing up together as a family because that way we’re showing that we’re united,” says Ephraim, who will dress as themitzvah of saying the Hallel prayer. “In the times of Purim, the Jewish people were also united as one nation.”
That sentiment also pertains directly to theHakhel year, an opportune time to promote Jewish unity and gatherings.
The custom of wearing costumes on Purim, which starts this year on the night of Wednesday, March 23, and lasts until the night of Thursday, March 24 (it is celebrated in Jerusalem on Thursday night and Friday, on Shushan Purim, the day certain walled cities observe the holiday), is an allusion to the nature of the Purim miracle, which was disguised in natural events. It also commemoratesMordechai’s dressing up in the royal garb of King Achashverosh in the Purim story.

The Seven Noahide Laws, beginning with Arthur Coplon and: Respect the Creator.
Although not one of the four mainmitzvot, or “commandments” of Purim, costume-wearing is one of the holiday’s most beloved traditions. The four mitzvot include sendingmishloach manot to friends and neighbors; giving matanot l’evyonim, or gifts to the poor; hearing the Purim story read from a Megillah scroll; and eating a festive Purim meal.
‘A Learning Experience’
Aligning with the teachings of theLubavitcher Rebbe—RabbiMenachem Mendel Schneerson, of righteous memory—the Coplon family opts not to dress as villains, such as Haman, even though he is part of the Purim story for fear of ingraining negative messages or character traits into their children.
“I wouldn’t want to emulate those negative personalities or bring their message into my home or into the amazing holiday of Purim,” says Emily Coplon, originally from Philadelphia. “And the whole process of researching our costumes and thinking how we can represent the theme is really a learning experience for my boys.”
Michel Coplon, all of 7, is especially excited about the message that his costume can share with others: “I’m dressing as Shabbat candles, which is just like the Jews who were the light of Shushan.”

Do not eat the limb of a living animal or cause unnecessary suffering to any creature.
“It’s great to see a family with so much enthusiasm about Purim, coming together in such a unique way,” says Chani Baram, program director of Philly Friendship Circle, who celebrates the holiday with the Coplons almost every year. “Every family member is included as an important part of the costume theme, and it really adds a lot to the Purim spirit of everyone around them.”
That’s certainly what Arthur Coplon, who hails from Brooklyn, N.Y., hopes. The father of five says the group mentality in the form of thoughtful costumes can be used to spread a positive message to others.
“There’s enough negativity in the world as it is without our needing to dress in that way,” he explains. “It’s special for us to take a Torah concept that our kids can learn about and then use it to teach others as well.”

Maintain justice.

Acknowledge that there is only one G‑d who is Infinite and Supreme above all things. Do not replace that Supreme Being with finite idols.

Respect the institution of marriage.
Flint’s Jewish Community Offers a Helping Hand in Wake of Water Crisis
Flint’s close-knit Jewish community is doing what it has always done in times of crises: looking out for one another and helping the most vulnerable. by Ronelle Grier

A group on the ground in Flint, Mich., delivers bottled water to residents after a state of emergency was declared earlier this year regarding lead-tainted tap water. From left are: Detroit boxing trainer Javan “Sugar” Hill, “R,” a representative from ArtVan furniture company, Jewish boxer Dmitry Salita (aka the “Hebrew Hammer”), boxing trainer Travone Chambers, boxer Domonique Dolton and Rabbi Yisroel Weingarten, director of Chabad House Lubavitch of Eastern Michigan.
The national spotlight is again on Flint as Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder gets ready to testify before Congress on March 17 as to what state officials did or did not know, or do, regarding the city’s lead-tainted water supply.
With the country still focused on the economically beleaguered city, Flint’s close-knit Jewish community is doing what it has always done in times of crises: looking out for one another and helping the most vulnerable. In this case, it’s working to ensure that residents obtain supplies of safe water and/or filters for in-home use.
A number of bold initiatives have been proposed to help the Flint community, but In the meantime most assistance has come from the grassroots level. The family of Rabbi Yisroel Weingarten of the Chabad House Lubavitch of Eastern Michigan, along with Jewish volunteers, has been doing their part to assist those in need, especially the elderly.
“Our goal is that people who need to be looked out for are looked out for,” says Weingarten. “We’ve been going to the homes of people who are affected—those we know and those we don’t know—making sure they have water and filters because this problem isn’t going away.”
The problem dates back to April 2014, when state government officials took a cost-cutting measure and decided to temporarily switch Flint’s water source from Lake Huron to the Flint River while a new supply line was completed. Soon afterwards, residents began to complain about the appearance, taste and smell of their water.
The city reverted back to the Lake Huron water supply in October 2015, but damage to the city’s lead pipes had already been done.

Discussing the situation, which has exposed nearly 10,000 children to lead levels high enough to cause significant health problems.
The extent of that damage gradually became known, in large part because of the efforts of local pediatrician Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, who discovered that lead levels in toddlers were double and, in some cases, triple the levels that existed before the switch. It is estimated that nearly 10,000 children have been exposed to lead levels high enough to cause significant health problems, including skin lesions, anxiety and cognitive deficits. There was also a sharp rise in the number of cases of Legionnaires’ disease—a severe form of pneumonia—10 instances of which have been fatal, which experts are attributing to the high levels of lead in the water system.
After Snyder declared a state of emergency on Jan. 5, the National Guard was called in to hand out bottled water and water filters for home taps. As the situation drew wide-scale attention, communal leaders, organizations and celebrities across the country pitched in to raise funds and send aid to the ailing community, already hit hard in the nearly two decades since the last automobile-manufacturing plant—once the mainstay of Flint’s economy—closed for good.
The consequences of the water debacle, which are ongoing, include several lawsuits, the resignation of four government officials and multiple investigations to determine who was responsible for allowing a catastrophe of such magnitude to occur. And a federal class-action lawsuit was recently filed representing a group of seven Flint families who claim the water has chronically sickened them.

Jewish volunteers collect water to take to the Hispanic community associated with Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, who were hesitant to open their doors to government agencies for help.
‘You Do What You Can’
Meanwhile, Rabbi Weingarten, like other Jewish leaders in the area, is trying to mitigate the damage and keep residents safe. A recent initiative involved Jewish boxer Dmitry Salita, sometimes referred to as the “Hebrew Hammer.” Salita, a Michigan resident who has studied with Chabad Rabbi Zalman Liberow in Brooklyn, N.Y., contacted Weingarten and volunteered to bring more than 500 cases of bottled water to a Flint distribution center.
Salita and his group, which included other members of the boxing community and their coaches, rented a U-Haul to deliver the cargo and stayed to help with the distribution. After delivering the water to Art Van Furniture, one of the local collection centers, the group was asked to move it to a second location where residents could drive through and pick up water.
“They were pressed for time, but they did it; they stayed until all the water was distributed,” reports Weingarten, who lives in the adjacent Flint Township, which has fared better than Flint proper over the years and received its water from a different source than the city of Flint. “It was an example of Kiddush Hashem, sanctifying G‑d’s name ... it was a good feeling.”
For Salita, who has family and friends in Flint, helping a community in its time of need was a natural outgrowth of his Jewish values: “I’ve been taught when people need help, you do what you can. I was very happy it all came together.”

The Flint River in Flint., Mich., in the late 1970s during a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flood-control project, taken from approximately halfway between the Grand Traverse Street Bridge and the Beach-Garland Street Bridge, looking east. Water from the river was temporarily used for residents and found to be corrosive. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
The efforts of Salita and his colleagues were also aided by representatives from the Jewish Federation of Flint and Bishop Roger L. Jones Sr. of the HolyTemple Ministries in Flint. According to Weingarten, Jones had high praise for the local Jewish community and the way everyone joined together to help those in need.
Several truckloads of water were also delivered to a Boys and Girls Club in Flint so that the children could take home cases to their families. Likewise, water was delivered to Our Lady of Guadalupe Church for members of the Hispanic community, many of whom didn’t know about the water crisis due to the language barrier, or who were hesitant to open their doors to the National Guard or Sheriff’s Department to receive deliveries of water.

Salita spearheaded an effort to deliver water in bulk to Flint residents in need.
‘I Try Not to Let It Get to Me’
Jeanne Aaronson, 86, among the people who have received water deliveries through the Flint Jewish Federation, which continues to check up on her. After the water source was switched in 2014, Aaronson’s concerns were allayed when she received a letter from Flint city officials assuring residents that the water, while not up to its previous standards, was safe to drink. Her confidence faded when she came to a phrase at the end of the letter warning those who were elderly or had compromised immune systems to take additional precautions.

Jeanne Aaronson, 86, of Flint, Mich.
“My 13-year-old dog, also elderly and with a weakened immune system, was lying at my feet, so I called our vet. He said the dog should absolutely not be drinking the water,” said Aaronson, who has lived in Flint since 1958. “I decided if he couldn’t drink it, then I shouldn’t either, and I started using bottled water.”
One month ago, Aaronson, who is homebound and legally blind, stopped using tap water for cooking or making coffee after reading in a news article that heating the water does not make it any safer. Although she did receive a water filter, she has not had it installed because she fears it will be too cumbersome for her kitchen sink.
“Every day, I listen to the news, and every day, there’s something new. I try not to let it get to me,” said Aaronson, who worked as a professional oboe player and music teacher for more than 55 years.
A longtime synagogue member who thinks the Weingartens are “wonderful,” she has sadly watched the Flint Jewish community shrink in the five-plus decades she has lived in the city. Her family, which includes three married children, eight grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren, is scattered throughout the United States and Israel.
“While I miss not having them close, this is no place for them [here],” she says, adding that her biggest concerns are how the tainted water will affect local children and the long-term viability of the community. “Who’s going to want to move to Flint?”

The group organized a distribution of 500 cases of bottled water to a local distribution center.
‘An Older Population Now’
The Flint community, Jewish and non-Jewish, has had its fair share of economic hardship over the last several years. Once home to several General Motors manufacturing plants, Flint flourished in the 1950s and 1960s. In fact, it doesn’t seem so long ago when the Weingartens—who went onshlichus in 1986, the year the first of their 11 children was born—can recall a thriving Jewish community of more than 1,500 families.
Today, the rabbi estimates the number of Jewish families in the city of Flint and the outlying Genesee County area is about one-third that size; still, those who remain have formed a cohesive community. “The older people passed away, the younger people moved away and didn’t come back, ” he says. “It’s an older population now, with very few children, but the people who are here are solid.”

From left: Salita, Javan “Sugar” Hill, Weingarten and Travone Chambers
While much of the national attention has been focused on children, Jewish leaders such as the rabbi and Steven Low, executive director of the Flint Jewish Federation, have been concentrating on raising funds for the elderly, who comprise the majority of the area’s Jewish population. While most residents have received ample supplies of bottled water and filters, many need help installing the filters and even opening the bottles. There is also an initiative to educate people of all ages about proper nutrition, including the importance of eating foods high in iron and calcium, such as kale and broccoli, to combat the effects of the lead.
Low, who referred to Flint as a “food desert” in terms of the availability of fresh produce, notes that funds are being raised to obtain fresh vegetables and other healthy foods, and deliver them to homes and schools throughout the community.
In addition to the drinking water, there are concerns about the lead that is being absorbed into the skin when residents shower in water from tainted pipes.
“Many medical personnel say lead is not absorbed through skin, yet people are complaining of rashes,” says Low. “Trust has been broken. You don’t know what’s safe, whom to trust. We hear the state [of Michigan] has $1.2 billion in emergency funds. Where is it? If this happened in a rich neighborhood, an army corps of engineers would be here within two days. Where are they?”
Those are some of the many questions that will be directed at Snyder when he testifies in Washington.

Rabbi Weingarten with members of the community, almost all of whom are seniors.
Weingarten believes that the situation, as well as the negative publicity it has engendered, has hurt a community that has already received its share of criticism and bad press.
“The positive side [of the Flint community] has not been shown,” he insists. “We have a very active Federation, good social services in Flint—the good side is what people are not hearing. People are so generous here, always helping others ... what’s being conveyed is a result of the bashing Flint has received undeservedly. Yes, people have to be accountable, but the focus should be on getting this fixed and helping those who need help.”
Low says the response of the Jewish community across the nation—and the devotion of the Weingarten family—has given him hope that the area will survive this crisis.
“We’re just trying to perpetuate the theme of Chabad, the love of Chabad,” says the rabbi. “To do what the Rebbe [Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory would expect us to do, and we try to do it with a smile.”

Local residents at Chanukah time, when the Chabad House celebrated not just the holiday, but the arrival of new Torah cover donated by a congregant.

“As bleak as things sound with the water and the other problems, we live here,” says the rabbi, who with his wife, Shaina Chana, has raised 11 children in Flint Township over the past 30 years.
Nepal Rabbi Saves the Lives of Two Israeli Backpackers
Two female Israeli backpackers were in distress. Stranded at 4,800 meters above sea level, in a remote part of the mountainous country. by Menachem Posner

Rabbi Chezki Lifshitz saved the lives of Maya Butbul and Sharon Nachumi, two Israeli backpackers who were freezing and in imminent danger in a remote part of Nepal.
It was 6 a.m. in Kathmandu when Rabbi Chezki Lifshitz’s emergency alarm sounded. Two female Israeli backpackers were in distress. Stranded at 4,800 meters above sea level, in a remote part of the mountainous country, Maya Butbul and Sharon Nachumi messaged they were freezing and in imminent danger.
“Hyperthermia had set in, and every minute was precious,” says the rabbi, who co-directs Chabad of Nepal with his wife, Chani. “Within a half-hour, we were in a helicopter and on our way to get them.”
The Israeli-born rabbi is no stranger to emergency chopper rides. In the wake of the massive earthquake that devastated Nepal last April, he flew to the hardest-hit areas, rescuing stranded Israeli hikers and tourists, and bringing aid to locals in need.
Working with the rescue squad of Chilik Magnus, the Israeli Foreign Ministry and fellow Israeli backpackers trained in first aid who had cared for the women until the chopper arrived, Lifshitz reported that the women were brought to a hospital in Kathmandu, where they are currently being treated.
The GPS devices that the rabbi used to locate the women are attached to satellite phones donated by the family of Nadav Shoham, a hiker killed in a freak blizzard in 2014, to enable other hikers to reach the Lifshitzes in an emergency.

The chopper that lifted the women to safety.
Not all chopper rides had happy endings. In 2013, he had helicoptered to the Chitwan National Park to recover the remains of an Australian backpacker whose bus had plunged into a ravine. In that case, he was rushing to retrieve the body before it would be cremated by local officials.
The rabbi’s message: “Are you setting out on a hike? Do yourself a favor. Please take a GPS device from the Chabad House. With G‑d’s help, it can save a life.”
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"In Case You Missed It; Top Op-Eds This Week" The Jewish Week Connecting the World to Jewish News, Culture, Features, and Opnions "The Top Op-Eds on TheJewishWeek.com this Week" for Tuesday, 22 March 2016
Helping Israelis And Palestinians Build A Grassroots Peace
Martin RaffelAdvancing two states for two peoples, a Zionist necessity, has never been more urgent. Those of us who share this vision must find concrete and effective vehicles to support its fulfillment. One way is to constantly encourage Israeli and Palestinian leaders to make progress toward peace, and to press for the United States to play an active facilitating role. Equally important, we should seek opportunities to build positive Israeli-Palestinian engagement at the grassroots level. A true and lasting peace requires genuine reconciliation between peoples, not just the signatures of leaders on treaties.
On March 20, many thousands of Jewish and non-Jewish activists from across the country will gather in our nation’s capital for the annual policy conference of AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobby. This event is truly an impressive display of political clout, which commands the attention of the international media and decision-makers on both sides of the aisle. Attendees will be there to advance AIPAC’s admirable mission – “to protect and promote the U.S.-Israel relationship in ways that enhance the security of the United States and Israel.”
The day after AIPAC’s conference concludes, some 40-45 representatives of another organization, the vastly under-resourced Alliance for Peace in the Middle East (ALLMEP), will be in Washington, DC. A coalition of more than 90 civil society organizations that engage in people-to-people encounters among Israeli Jewish and Arab citizens and Palestinians in the territories, ALLMEP will lobby Congress on behalf of continued funding for these efforts to the tune of $10 million this coming year. It also will be encouraging support for H.R. 1489, the International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace Authorization Act of 2015 that, if adopted by both houses of Congress, could bring about expanded capacity in this arena.
Mainstream community groups should offer their support to ALLMEP’s legislative agenda, and we should feature these people-to-people civil society organizations in our meetings and conferences. In addition, missions to Israel, both Jewish and interfaith, will be enriched by scheduling interactions with them. At a time when stagnation in the peace process and terrorist violence are leading to despair, offering encouragement to civil society groups that are still plugging away at peaceful coexistence despite the challenges, is more important than ever. In lifting their spirits, perhaps we will also lift our own.
The American campus is a venue uniquely ripe for a more positive form of activism. Indeed, there is a desperate need for opportunities in which progressive students -- that’s most of them, by the way -- get to participate in constructive and non-confrontational advocacy around Israel-Palestinian peacemaking. Right now, the battles between our community and groups associated the anti-Israel BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) Movement, such as Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace, are dominant. By some accounts, we are spending literally tens of millions of dollars to defeat divestment resolutions and counter Israel Apartheid Weeks and other egregious forms of delegitimization and demonization.
Hillel, our community’s primary institutional vehicle on campus, is tasked with nurturing the growth of Jewish students’ engagement with their Judaism, which includes a love of Israel. Its core mission is not to defend Israel politically on campus, although national and local Hillel professionals increasingly have been drawn into the fray. Other Jewish organizations have come onto campus in recent years with approaches and messages out of sync with the sensibilities of a younger generation harboring more critical attitudes toward Israeli policies.
So where can a progressive Jewish or non-Jewish student go if he/she does not want to become embroiled in the polarizing BDS battles on campus? One possible outlet is J Street U, which has experienced a burst of growth in recent years. Even though its current president happens to be a Muslim student at the University of Maryland, the reality is that this organization is geared almost exclusively toward Jewish students.
There is a potential emerging alternative on campus, OneVoice -- the flagship initiative of the PeaceWorks Foundation and “an international movement that amplifies the voice of mainstream Israelis and Palestinians, empowering them to propel their elected representatives toward the two-state solution.” The OneVoice on Campus Fellowship is experimental at this stage, small-scale, but holds enormous promise. Four regional coordinators, three Palestinians and one Jew, have begun recruiting students of all faiths and ethnic affiliations on 15 campuses in and near New York City, Chicago and Washington, D.C. to become involved in educational and advocacy programs that underscore the urgency of reaching a two-state solution through negotiation, not by means of coercive one-sided measures like BDS. The participation of Palestinians makes an important statement at this time, when calls by “anti-normalization” activists to break off contact with Israelis are growing. If successful, this fledgling program looks to become a fixture on many campuses in future academic years.
This analysis is in no way intended to devalue the critical work our community does to solidify the U.S.-Israel relationship and to defend Israel against its detractors. To the contrary, I was immersed in this enterprise professionally for more than three decades, and am pleased that it is attracting strong support and enhanced resources. I do believe, however, that we would be well served by also giving greater recognition and support, both at the community level and on the campuses, to joint Israeli and Palestinian peacemaking efforts.
Martin J. Raffel is former senior vice president at the Jewish Council for Public Affairs.
AIPAC, Alliance for Peace in the Middle East, OneVoice, Two State Solution, U.S.-Israel relationship
Trump Wrong On Neutrality Towards Israel
Danny AyalonAs an Israeli, coming from a small country but a great democracy with pluralistic views, I'm not taken back by the heated presidential campaign in the United States. There is no difference between the verbal attitudes in this race than those I witnessed in the plenum sessions as a member of the Israeli parliament, the Knesset.
A spirited debate is a sign of a healthy democracy based on free speech, freedom of expression, and the right of political affiliation. And most importantly, strong public criticism of the ruling government shows important values which, except for Israel, can be found in no country in the Middle East, particularly in the Palestinian Authority under Abbas and in in the Hamas-controlled Gaza strip.
Since Israel is the best friend and ally of the United States, enjoying broad support from Americans of all backgrounds and political spectrums, we have no stake at the outcome of the American presidential election. The natural alliance between our two countries has always been and always will be bipartisan.
Although we don't favor any of the candidates nor pass judgement of their policies and rhetoric, the comment by Mr. Trump that as president, he would be "neutral" towards Israel requires attention and clarification.
Any president of the United States, by definition, cannot be neutral between Israel and the Palestinians, because as the leader of the free world, American Presidents have always and must always continue support democracies over dictatorships.
This is not to say that the United States can't be an honest broker, which it has been throughout history. America brought about successful peace agreements between Israel and Egypt in 1979 Israel and Jordan in 1994. Siding with Israel didn't prevent these two agreements, and it didn't prevent two decades of intense negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians under American mediation.
Successive administrations, both Republican and Democrats, took the positions of being honest brokers while maintaining the natural American alliance with Israel, which both countries benefit from in many ways.
The meaning of being an honest broker is bringing the two partners to the negotiation table without prejudging the outcome or imposing a solution.
A peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians isn't a real estate deal, nor is it a business transaction. And trying to impose a six month deadline for a negotiated solution, as Mr. Trump suggested, wouldn't only be counter-productive but also dangerous.
The Palestinians have consistently avoided direct negotiations because they don't want to budge and expect the international community to deliver them a state without first stopping terror and incitement and recognizing the Jewish rights to the land of Israel.
A president of the United States must create the conditions for constructive dialogue with a give and take approach from both sides of the table. He or she must convey to the Palestinians that they must come to the table in order to bring a resolution to the conflict.
The next president of the United States cannot impose an artificial timeline to end this conflict, an attempt which failed in past experiences, and must never be neutral to its only democratic ally in this region.
Danny Ayalon, former Israeli Ambassador to the United States, is the Rennert Visiting Professor of Foreign Policy Studies at Yeshiva University.
Ambassador Danny Ayalon, Donald Trump, Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Face To Face With Trump At AIPAC
Gary RosenblattEditor And PublisherAmong the many reasons this year’s presidential campaign is unique, consider this one: Running on the Democratic side we have a socialist Jew with non-Jewish grandchildren, and in the Republican race, the front-runner is a billionaire Presbyterian with Orthodox Jewish grandchildren.
And of course there’s also the former secretary of state with a Jewish son-in-law and, according to liberal definitions of Judaism, a Jewish grandchild.
Sounds like a tale in the spirit of Purim, that holiday of topsy-turvy identities. But this is all too real.
So on the eve of both Purim (March 24) and the annual policy conference in Washington, D.C., of AIPAC, America’s largest pro-Israel lobby (March 20-22), it’s fitting to preview the most attended Jewish event of the year at a midpoint between the brutal battle over the Iran nuclear deal last summer and the presidential election in November.
As of press time, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump had agreed to speak at the conference, and officials were awaiting word from Gov. John Kasich and Sens. Bernie Sanders, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. (AIPAC’s longstanding policy is to invite all candidates of the major parties who are actively running for president; the field could be smaller by Sunday.)
In principle and no doubt in intention, AIPAC is grounded in bipartisanship. Its theme this year is “Come Together,” seeing support for Israel as one of the all-too-few issues that Republicans and Democrats can agree on during these deeply divided times. The roster of featured political speakers is evenly divided, Democrats and Republicans, and the lobby maintains that its mandate is laser-focused on support for whichever Israeli government is in power.
AIPAC’s founders wisely recognized that support for Israel in this country is strengthened when both parties support its ideals of democracy. But the irony and awkwardness now is that the prime minister in Jerusalem gives the appearance of having cast his lot with one party, the Republicans, and his gamble may prove a mistake. It has already contributed to his not showing up in person at the AIPAC conference this year.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who in the past has combined a visit to the White House with an address to the conference, has decided not to come to Washington despite an invitation from President Obama. Insiders say the Israeli leader was reluctant to visit until the U.S. foreign aid package for Israel is resolved. (Israel is seeking more funds for its self-defense.)
The incident, which has left bad feelings on both sides, underscored again the deeply frayed relationship between the two leaders. Netanyahu thinks Obama has been less than supportive of its major Mideast ally, pressuring Jerusalem on the Palestinian front and seemingly more eager to deal with Iran than bolster support for Israel. Obama blames Netanyahu for the lack of progress with the Palestinians. He also feels the prime minister showed his true colors in defying the White House by accepting the Republican offer to address Congress and deride the “very bad deal” on Iran last March.
Bibi’s Gamble
Ironically, as we noted last week (“Did Bibi Miscalculate?” Editorial, March 11), Netanyahu’s decision a year ago to show favoritism toward the Republicans — a dramatic move away from Israel’s policy of bipartisanship in Washington — may backfire if Trump emerges as the party’s presidential candidate.
It’s true that Republicans have been more robust and outspoken than Democrats in their support of the Netanyahu government on all foreign policy fronts. (More specifically, Sanders has shown little interest in foreign policy and refused to attend the Netanyahu speech in Congress; Clinton has had a love-hate relationship with the prime minister for two decades, as first lady, U.S. senator and secretary of state; See story on Page 1 about Israel emerging as key issue in the Democratic race.)
On the Republican side, while Rubio and Cruz outdo each other in singing Israel’s praise and pledging to tear up the Iran deal on Day One if elected, Trump has been uncharacteristically restrained. The billionaire businessman has criticized the Iran deal but has not pledged to reverse it. And though he expresses admiration for Netanyahu and Israel, he seems to have an isolationist stance on foreign policy and has said he would be “neutral” in seeking to broker an Israel-Palestinian peace deal. So while Netanyahu is seeking renewed stability with a post-Obama White House, the prospects don’t look promising for him at the moment.
Traditionally, much is made of the content of the speeches and response of the delegates when presidential candidates address the AIPAC conference. This will be especially true with Trump this year, given the air of volatility and even violence associated with his campaign rallies of late. With Trump, though, when it comes to content, the pattern of his remarks, often off-the-cuff, has been contradictory at times and always subject to clarification or reversal. (The last time he appeared before a Jewish audience, at the Republican Jewish Coalition in early December, the candidate offended more than a few people when he said, “You’re not going to support me because I don’t want your money — you like to control your politicians, that’s fine.” He also played on the stereotype of Jews being good negotiators.)
Record Attendance
The AIPAC conference is known as not only the biggest Jewish gathering of the year but also the most disciplined. Delegates are instructed in the “no booing” rules of respect for speakers, though there are no directives about the degree of enthusiasm in their applause. And they are free to sit on their hands.
While other major Jewish groups are striving to keep pace in difficult financial times, AIPAC is a bit of a cultural phenomenon as it continues to grow dramatically. In 2005, the policy conference drew 5,000 delegates. This year’s event, which features 600 speakers and scores of panels and plenaries, as well as high-powered schmoozing and a day devoted to lobbying Congress, is expected to exceed 18,000 delegates, a record. Yet on its most important and highest-stakes priority of 2015 — the Iran nuclear deal — it was defeated, and some have questioned its continued clout on Capitol Hill.)
The delegates are Democrats and Republicans and they come from all over the country, with an increasing emphasis on diversity and youth. Aggressive outreach has resulted in more Christian participants, including Evangelicals, African Americans and Hispanics and about 4,000 high school and college students.
Despite the emphasis on AIPAC’s bipartisanship, though, the feel of the conference in recent years has been increasingly hawkish. In part that’s because the delegates, who pay $599 to register, are attracted to “pro-Israel” advocacy and foreign policy, which tends to skew them to the right of an American Jewry that still votes overwhelmingly Democratic. (AIPAC attendance from the Orthodox Jewish community, which tends to vote on the right, appears disproportionate to its being about 10 percent of the overall Jewish population.) That rightward tilt can be seen in AIPAC’s decision to publicly oppose the Obama administration on the Iran nuclear deal last year.
What of the warnings (or threats) in the heat of battle that those in Congress who favored the deal would lose their political support?
It’s difficult to quantify, but insiders say there have been definite repercussions to the highly emotional battle. While the public position on all sides is that, in the wake of the deal’s approval, the focus is now on assuring Iranian compliance and accountability, an aide to a Jewish congressman who voted for the pact acknowledged there are “still feelings in the community.” He said there was “a lot of heat over the deal and in the immediate aftermath, and some of that anger persists. But others have said we understand the reasoning, even if we disagree, and it’s time to move on.”
Not Jeffrey Wiesenfeld, though. The local businessman and outspoken activist who helped organize the Times Square rally against the Iran deal last summer, vowed at the time to end support for members of Congress who voted with the president, and he hasn’t softened his stand. “We will not forgive them,” he said of himself and like-minded supporters of Israel in his circle. “AIPAC may signal to some big donors” that certain members of Congress deserve continued support, he said. “I understand the game, but we won’t do that for those who crossed the Rubicon” in voting for the nuclear deal.
Wiesenfeld estimated, anecdotally, that 60 percent of Jewish voters in neighborhoods like Brighton Beach, Borough Park and Forest Hills share his views.
Others close to Congress noted that responses among Jewish constituents have been calibrated in terms of less enthusiasm and less dollars for some who voted with the White House, rather than a total shutdown.
For now, AIPAC officials are hoping delegates will rally around their lobbying agenda in Congress to avoid any form of Mideast peace process that doesn’t focus on having the Israelis and Palestinians at the table (i.e., the much-discussed UN resolutions that bring in third parties) and additional U.S. aid for Israel in an increasingly chaotic Middle East.
For the national media, though, attention will be riveted on how Donald Trump’s appearance plays out in front of almost 20,000 pro-Israel supporters.
Gary@jewishweek.org
Why Dueling Camps On Israel Need Each Other
David Bernstein
Special To The Jewish WeekThe discourse between Jewish groups that engage in traditional Israel advocacy and those that attempt to alter the Israeli government’s stance on peace and human rights leaves much to be desired.
The toxic discord is sad because it pits Jew against Jew. It’s sad because it makes it hard for Jews with different viewpoints to celebrate together the miracle of modern Israel. It’s sad because it pushes away many young Jews, who don’t know why their elders can’t talk in a civil manner. It’s sad because it crowds out nuanced thinking and exploration.
Above all, it’s sad because it neglects an opportunity to both strengthen Israel’s standing in the world and enhance the country’s commitment to democracy and peace.
Indeed, both camps could benefit Israel if they stopped trying to discredit the other and joined forces whenever possible.
Let’s start with the human rights/peace camp, which often pays short shrift to advocating for Israel. It frequently argues that the only thing that would make any difference whatsoever in improving Israel’s international standing and combating delegitimization is reaching a peace agreement. Peter Beinart recently argued, for example, that “the only way to do that [stop delegitimization] is to prove that Israel is making a serious effort at ending the occupation.”
In writing off advocacy, human rights/peace supporters ignore the possibility that Palestinian leaders might not be willing to cut a peace deal and that a deal might not end the conflict. They place the entire burden of achieving peace on Israel and ignore abundant evidence of Palestinian intransigence. They also discount thoughtful pro-Israel advocacy, which time and again has, in fact, stopped boycotts and strengthened America’s connections to Israel.
For its part, the advocacy camp often downplays Israel’s very real internal threats. Fanatical right-wing Israelis, especially, want to turn the country into a modern monarchy in the entirety of the historic land of Israel. And, whether or not the traditional advocates admit it, absent a peace deal, there is both a long-term demographic threat to Israel’s Jewish majority and a political threat to its legitimacy.
Both camps fear the imagined consequences of acknowledging that the other camp might have a point. The human rights/peace groups worry that lending credence to advocacy gives the Israeli government a free pass on peace and human rights. The traditional advocates worry that calling attention to Israel’s internal problems gives ammunition to its adversaries. Both concerns have merit. And both are overblown.
Both camps underestimate the other. The traditional advocates often regard the human rights advocates as sellouts, and the human rights supporters often regard the traditional advocates as intellectual lightweights.
I can assure the traditional advocates that the human rights/peace supporters are much more committed to Israel — often desperately so — than you realize. They worry that the country is putting itself at risk by not taking steps for peace.
And I can assure the human rights/peace supporters that the traditional advocates are often much more well informed than you give them credit for. They’ve heard all your brilliant arguments, which they may not agree with.
If both camps could set aside for a moment their self-righteousness and suspicions, they could do Israel a world of good. The human rights/peace supporters are more effective in countering BDS than anyone in the traditional advocacy camp. They have much more credibility with players on the American left that are contemplating joining the BDS movement.
The traditional advocates could be much more effective in urging the Israeli government to protect its democratic institutions and advance the two-state vision. They could be more effective in highlighting the risks of government action or inaction to Israel’s standing in the world than anyone in the human rights/peace camp.
The human rights/peace groups have more influence with the American left, and the traditional advocates have more influence with the Israeli right. While the human rights/peace groups have occasionally engaged in traditional advocacy, and the traditional advocates have occasionally joined efforts to alter the stance of the Israeli government, there’s much more each could do to leverage the other.
Here’s a humble suggestion for how both camps can stop fighting, find synergy and help Israel:
Recognize that you may be wrong about what will bring Israel peace and security. Be 90 percent rather than 100 percent certain. On a good day, I feel 80-20 percent right. It’s a lot easier to work with someone whom you feel has a 10 or 20 percent chance of being right than someone whom you regard as positively and irredeemably mistaken.
If more of us can do that, then maybe, just maybe, we can find opportunities to work together to fortify both Israel’s body and soul.
David Bernstein is a president and CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs.
Pew Findings Not Surprising, But Also Not Irreversible
Daniel SokatchThe Pew Research Center poll released this week surveying attitudes among Israeli citizens confirms what many of us who work on Israeli issues already knew: Israel is a deeply divided society, first and foremost between its Jewish and Arab citizens, but also among its Jewish sectors.
Ethnicity, religiosity, family origin and political beliefs have created an Israel of “camps” that don’t much like or have much to do with each other. The Pew research director described these divisions as “jaw-dropping.”
As in-depth as the survey is, however, what it does not tell us is why Israel has become so fractured. Israel’s Jewish and Arab citizens have been living together for generations, and its Jews belong to a people that survived millennia of persecution with cohesion and unity. Why, then, is it so difficult for Israelis to share their society and arrive at some concept of Israeli-ness that would downplay sectarian differences? And how can a nation so deeply divided offer a sense of community to all its citizens?
Some factors are familiar to Americans experienced with the red-blue state divide. Many Israelis of all three faiths are profoundly religious. With religious practice frequently comes a more conservative and insular stance on social issues ranging from the rights of women to the role religion should play in the identity of the state. Most important, the Pew survey found that the four descriptions used for being Jewish in Israel – secular, traditional, religious Zionist and ultra-Orthodox – strongly correlate with views on social and political issues, on questions as basic as the prospects for peace or the importance of democratic values.
And then there is the attitude toward the “other.” There is profound disagreement over the significance of Israel as a Jewish state. Nearly 80 percent of Jews believe that Jews deserve (some unspecified) preferential treatment in Israel. No wonder most Arab respondents do not think Israel can be a Jewish state and a democracy at the same time. The two groups can’t come close to agreement on whether Israeli Arabs face discrimination or the prospects for peace.
That 48 percent of Jewish respondents actually want to expel their Arab neighbors is a terrible headline, one that underlines the need to reinforce the value of minority rights within Israeli society. Commentators warn that this question cannot be taken in isolation, especially because it did not refer to a real policy proposal. But to those of us working against the growing wave of racism and incitement, this response is a red flag that reflects the reality of what we see on the ground.
It must also be said that these deep divisions serve the purposes of many Israeli leaders, who amplify the idea that Israeli society is a zero-sum game in which one sector can only advance at the expense of others. A prime minister who mustered his base on Election Day with the threat that “Arabs are being bused to the polls in droves” and who conditions Arab civil rights on his standard of good behavior is not, to put it mildly, unifying his country.
Charedi leaders who viciously attack not only non-Jews but their Reform and Conservative counterparts do their part in exacerbating intolerance. Separatist Arab leaders who publicly identify with Israel’s enemies don’t help matters, nor do settler politicians whose only public policy is demonizing anyone who opposes the occupation as an obstacle to peace and dangerous to Israeli democracy.
There are no easy remedies for these deep divides. We must also keep in mind, after a day where more Israelis fell victim to terrorists in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, that the Jewish-Arab divide, and for that matter some divisions among Jewish sectors, cannot be separated from the pain and trauma of all sides in Israel’s existential conflicts. But we also must understand that the Pew poll represents a snapshot in time and is not an irreversible prediction of Israel’s future.
From President Reuven Rivlin on down, there are strong voices speaking out against racism and division in Israel. There is a coalition of more than 50 organizations that speaks out at public events against extremist Jewish violence against non-Jews — and it is led by religious Zionists. There is a Coalition Against Racism with an array of participants from Reform Jews to Palestinian grassroots activists, and there are local Jewish-Arab coalitions dedicated to building shared spaces in which ordinary people interact in their daily lives.
There are waiting lists for leadership training for shared-society activists and new resources for teachers seeking to educate children to think civically and communally about being an Israeli. Even in Jerusalem, the epicenter of conflict, there are efforts to break down the walls between the charedi, secular Jewish and Palestinian populations.
These efforts are not about some kumbaya veneer of superficial goodwill. What Israel needs is the toughest thing of all to build — a truly shared society, with each sector feeling it is a valued and irreplaceable part of the whole. “Tolerance” of minorities or other kinds of Jews is not enough. Israel needs an ethos of sharing its small space among its many different kinds of people because they are all entitled to be there.
From the Tel Aviv entrepreneur drinking coffee on the beach to the student arguing Talmud in Bnei Brak, from the Russian artist to the Ethiopian activist to every Palestinian-Israeli whose family is deeply rooted in the land, there is no other place for them to go.
The Pew study validates, once again, those of us who warn of dangerous fissures in a nation that cannot afford the continued breakdown of cohesion and amity. But we who warn, we who are dedicated to repairing those fissures and building some solid foundations above them, we also know that Israelis are miraculously good at inventing new realities.
Now they need to reinvent their own society — for their own sake, and for all of us who love and support their efforts.
Daniel Sokatch is CEO of the New Israel Fund. This op-ed appeared first on the Jewish Telegraphic Agency’s website, jta.org.
Charedi Hubris In Flight
When did it become OK to put religious preference before common courtesy?
Steve Lipman
Staff WriterThe middle-aged chasidic man, sitting in a window seat, on an El Al flight from Tel Aviv to JFK, didn’t say a word to me when I took my aisle seat in the same row. The seat between us remained empty for a few minutes, and then the occupant appeared – a member of a Birthright Israel group returning to the States.
She was college-aged, attractive; and dressed very immodestly, by my – or the chasid’s – Orthodox standards. Shorts, halter-top.
The chasid said his first words to me: “Yesh baya,” there is a problem. More correctly, he had a problem.
By his accent, I judged him to be Israeli. The problem was the young woman’s garb, the little that she was wearing. You have to move, the chasid said to me, not introducing himself or elaborating, or speaking to the woman, simply pointing to the seat where the college student was about to sit for the next 11 hours. His problem had become my problem.
I had specifically requested, as always, an aisle seat; with long legs, I want to be able to stretch into the aisle when possible. For a pragmatic reason, and a matter of principle for the chasid’s lack of Derech Eretz (common courtesy), I was not about to move.
I didn’t know if the chasid spoke English, but I told the woman, in a voice intentionally loud enough for him to hear, “If he doesn’t want to sit next to you, that’s his problem. You don’t have to move. I am not moving. He can ask the stewardess [I am of the generation that has not accepted the unisex ‘flight attendant’ appellation] to find him another seat.”
Before the confrontation escalated, a male college student in the row behind us offered to exchange his middle seat with the young woman’s. She accepted; for the flight back to the States, our row was all male. The college kid was good company; the chasid never looked at me again or said another word to me.
It was an acceptable solution; as an Orthodox male who finds women attractive, I also did not wish to sit in such close quarters with the young woman. Who needs such temptations?
It would be chutzpah for me to tell the young woman, who was dressed as most of her contemporaries do, to move to accommodate my religious preference, or to tell another passenger to move.
I’m not usually so adamant, but the chasid’s attitude bothered me: I should move, I should sit next to the immodestly dressed woman? Since I am clean-shaven and outfitted in cargo pants when I travel, he apparently figured that I was “Modern,” at a lower spiritual level than he: I could sin with my eyes.
I think about this with the latest example of an “ultra-Orthodox” man offending a woman traveler now in the news — because he was offended by her clothing, or by her very gender. An 81-year-old woman, a Holocaust survivor, an attorney, a grandmother, “impeccably groomed” according to The New York Times, has filed a $75 million discrimination lawsuit against El Al after an encounter she found upsetting with a charedi man on an El Al flight.
Such episodes are not unusual. An Orthodox man who refused to sit next to a woman on a Delta flight. The result: at best, a delayed flight; at worst, upset passengers. Ditto on a Porter Airlines flight. Ditto, frequently, on El Al, which flies the largest number of charedim. Ditto, too many times to mention. As well as women bumped to the back of buses that serve the Orthodox community in this country and Israel.
Charedi hubris, to my distress, is on the rise.
It’s admittedly a minority of charedi men who commit such outrages, but a vocal one that pounces on an extreme interpretation of Jewish law and gives the wider Orthodox community a black eye, a reputation for being intolerant bigots.
I’ve heard of charedi men in Israel who paint over most of their eyeglasses, with only narrow slits remaining, to reduce the likelihood of seeing, on the streets, sights they don’t want to see. Extreme behavior, but they’re not hurting anyone’s feelings or telling anyone how to behave.
Having non-Orthodox female relatives who do not share my religious sensibilities, I realize that they do not accept my halachic concerns and are blissfully unaware of how unsettling their minimally covered appearance can be for heterosexual male eyes.
Like any male, I can simply avert my gaze.
Congregation Shearith Israel’s Rabbi Marc Angel, in a recent blog post, wrote about this topic in terms of the difference between a “rabbi” and a “hakham.” (A chacham, the Hebrew word’s usual spelling, is a scholar; in Sephardic nomenclature, it’s a spiritual leader, what Ashkenazim call a rabbi.)
“The ‘Hakham’ is not less devoted to the Torah” than the “rabbi,” “and not less religious in any way,” Rabbi Angel wrote. “Yet, the Hakham is part of a tradition that promotes a natural, courteous and congenial way of life. He would consider it a terrible sin to embarrass a woman by asking her to move away, as though she were an impure or contaminated being. He would feel comfortable sitting next to any decent person, male or female.”
I have learned in my yeshiva studies a fundamental principle of Jewish behavior: Derech Eretz kodma l’Torah. Common courtesy comes before [performance of fastidious acts of] Torah.
This principle, unfortunately, is increasingly ignored in many parts of my Orthodox community.
There is no easy solution.
El Al is not at fault. El Al is not Mea Shearim. An airline, even an Israeli one, cannot set or enforce a dress code. It cannot tell women how to act or men how to react. Its priority is getting flights off the ground on schedule.
El Al can begin its own charedi-men-only section on each flight. In the back of the plane. It would be called the Rosa Parks Section.
My suggestion: make it clear that the airline’s seats are open to the general flying public, however he or she – barring outright nudity or other clearly, agreed-upon inappropriate garb – is dressed. Someone offended by a fellow passenger’s clothing choices can pay for a seat in business class or first class, where the seats are not touching each other. Or buy two adjoining seats for himself.
Or, if that is not possible, deplane … and rebook on a future flight, at his expense.
This is what I would have told the chasid on my flight last year, had he been willing to discuss instead of demand.
Someone with heightened religious sensibilities has choices.
He can stay home.
He can bury his head in a book.
Or he can act like a mensch.
Staff WriterThe middle-aged chasidic man, sitting in a window seat, on an El Al flight from Tel Aviv to JFK, didn’t say a word to me when I took my aisle seat in the same row. The seat between us remained empty for a few minutes, and then the occupant appeared – a member of a Birthright Israel group returning to the States.
She was college-aged, attractive; and dressed very immodestly, by my – or the chasid’s – Orthodox standards. Shorts, halter-top.
The chasid said his first words to me: “Yesh baya,” there is a problem. More correctly, he had a problem.
By his accent, I judged him to be Israeli. The problem was the young woman’s garb, the little that she was wearing. You have to move, the chasid said to me, not introducing himself or elaborating, or speaking to the woman, simply pointing to the seat where the college student was about to sit for the next 11 hours. His problem had become my problem.
I had specifically requested, as always, an aisle seat; with long legs, I want to be able to stretch into the aisle when possible. For a pragmatic reason, and a matter of principle for the chasid’s lack of Derech Eretz (common courtesy), I was not about to move.
I didn’t know if the chasid spoke English, but I told the woman, in a voice intentionally loud enough for him to hear, “If he doesn’t want to sit next to you, that’s his problem. You don’t have to move. I am not moving. He can ask the stewardess [I am of the generation that has not accepted the unisex ‘flight attendant’ appellation] to find him another seat.”
Before the confrontation escalated, a male college student in the row behind us offered to exchange his middle seat with the young woman’s. She accepted; for the flight back to the States, our row was all male. The college kid was good company; the chasid never looked at me again or said another word to me.
It was an acceptable solution; as an Orthodox male who finds women attractive, I also did not wish to sit in such close quarters with the young woman. Who needs such temptations?
It would be chutzpah for me to tell the young woman, who was dressed as most of her contemporaries do, to move to accommodate my religious preference, or to tell another passenger to move.
I’m not usually so adamant, but the chasid’s attitude bothered me: I should move, I should sit next to the immodestly dressed woman? Since I am clean-shaven and outfitted in cargo pants when I travel, he apparently figured that I was “Modern,” at a lower spiritual level than he: I could sin with my eyes.
I think about this with the latest example of an “ultra-Orthodox” man offending a woman traveler now in the news — because he was offended by her clothing, or by her very gender. An 81-year-old woman, a Holocaust survivor, an attorney, a grandmother, “impeccably groomed” according to The New York Times, has filed a $75 million discrimination lawsuit against El Al after an encounter she found upsetting with a charedi man on an El Al flight.
Such episodes are not unusual. An Orthodox man who refused to sit next to a woman on a Delta flight. The result: at best, a delayed flight; at worst, upset passengers. Ditto on a Porter Airlines flight. Ditto, frequently, on El Al, which flies the largest number of charedim. Ditto, too many times to mention. As well as women bumped to the back of buses that serve the Orthodox community in this country and Israel.
Charedi hubris, to my distress, is on the rise.
It’s admittedly a minority of charedi men who commit such outrages, but a vocal one that pounces on an extreme interpretation of Jewish law and gives the wider Orthodox community a black eye, a reputation for being intolerant bigots.
I’ve heard of charedi men in Israel who paint over most of their eyeglasses, with only narrow slits remaining, to reduce the likelihood of seeing, on the streets, sights they don’t want to see. Extreme behavior, but they’re not hurting anyone’s feelings or telling anyone how to behave.
Having non-Orthodox female relatives who do not share my religious sensibilities, I realize that they do not accept my halachic concerns and are blissfully unaware of how unsettling their minimally covered appearance can be for heterosexual male eyes.
Like any male, I can simply avert my gaze.
Congregation Shearith Israel’s Rabbi Marc Angel, in a recent blog post, wrote about this topic in terms of the difference between a “rabbi” and a “hakham.” (A chacham, the Hebrew word’s usual spelling, is a scholar; in Sephardic nomenclature, it’s a spiritual leader, what Ashkenazim call a rabbi.)
“The ‘Hakham’ is not less devoted to the Torah” than the “rabbi,” “and not less religious in any way,” Rabbi Angel wrote. “Yet, the Hakham is part of a tradition that promotes a natural, courteous and congenial way of life. He would consider it a terrible sin to embarrass a woman by asking her to move away, as though she were an impure or contaminated being. He would feel comfortable sitting next to any decent person, male or female.”
I have learned in my yeshiva studies a fundamental principle of Jewish behavior: Derech Eretz kodma l’Torah. Common courtesy comes before [performance of fastidious acts of] Torah.
This principle, unfortunately, is increasingly ignored in many parts of my Orthodox community.
There is no easy solution.
El Al is not at fault. El Al is not Mea Shearim. An airline, even an Israeli one, cannot set or enforce a dress code. It cannot tell women how to act or men how to react. Its priority is getting flights off the ground on schedule.
El Al can begin its own charedi-men-only section on each flight. In the back of the plane. It would be called the Rosa Parks Section.
My suggestion: make it clear that the airline’s seats are open to the general flying public, however he or she – barring outright nudity or other clearly, agreed-upon inappropriate garb – is dressed. Someone offended by a fellow passenger’s clothing choices can pay for a seat in business class or first class, where the seats are not touching each other. Or buy two adjoining seats for himself.
Or, if that is not possible, deplane … and rebook on a future flight, at his expense.
This is what I would have told the chasid on my flight last year, had he been willing to discuss instead of demand.
Someone with heightened religious sensibilities has choices.
He can stay home.
He can bury his head in a book.
Or he can act like a mensch.
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"AIPAC 2016 Coverage; Hillary tacitly raps trump; Trump pivots from neutrality stance; more" The Jewish Week Connecting the World to Jewish News, Culture, Features, and Opinions "Trending On TheJewishWeek.com" for Tuesday, 22 March 2016





Hillary Tacitly Raps Trump At AIPAC Conference
"AIPAC 2016 Coverage; Hillary tacitly raps trump; Trump pivots from neutrality stance; more" The Jewish Week Connecting the World to Jewish News, Culture, Features, and Opinions "Trending On TheJewishWeek.com" for Tuesday, 22 March 2016
Hillary Tacitly Raps Trump At AIPAC Conference
‘Israel’s security is non-negotiable,’ she says in response to GOP frontrunner’s neutrality stance.
Stewart AinStaff Writer
US Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton speaks at the AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington, DC today. Getty Images
Without naming him, Democratic Presidential contender Hillary Clinton criticized her Republican rival Donald Trump Monday, telling AIPAC supporters “Israel’s security is non-negotiable.”
“We need steady hands, not a president who says he’s neutral on Sunday, pro-Israel on Monday and who knows what on Tuesday, because everything is negotiable,” she said. “Well, my friends, Israel’s security is non-negotiable.”
Trump, the New York businessman who is the frontrunner in the Republican presidential contest, has said he would be “neutral” on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in order to be able to better negotiate a peace accord. And during a Republican debate last month, Trump noted that he was "a negotiator" when asked whether the United States should continue to support the Palestinian Authority.
“As a negotiator, I cannot do that as well if I’m taking sides,” he said. “That being said, I am totally pro-Israel.”
But Clinton, a former secretary and state and senator from New York, received applause and cheers when she said, “America can’t ever be neutral when it comes to Israel’s security and survival. We can’t be neutral when suicide bombers target the innocent. Some things aren’t negotiable and anyone who doesn’t understand that has no business in being our president.”
After delineating some of Trump’s more controversial statements, including advocating a temporary ban on Muslim immigrants and encouraging the violence that has erupted at his rallies, Clinton said of Trump’s AIPAC speech scheduled for this evening: “Tonight, you will get a glimpse of a potential U.S. foreign policy that would insult our allies, not engage with them and embolden our adversaries, not defeat them.”
She said one of the first things she would do as president “is invite the Israeli prime minister to visit the White House” and also send a “delegation from the Pentagon and the Joint Chiefs” to Israel for collaboration with their counterparts. And she said she would like to see greater ties between “Silicon Valley and Israeli entrepreneurs,” as well as a fostering of relationships between Israelis and “our young people.”
Clinton also told the audience of 18,000 people at the annual Policy Conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee that the deadly Palestinian stabbings, shootings and car attacks against Israelis that began Oct. 1 “must end immediately, and Palestinian leaders need to stop inciting violence and celebrating the terrorists as martyrs and then paying rewards to their families.”
Clinton, whose remarks were punctuated with several standing ovations, said that if elected, “the U.S. will reaffirm that we have a strong and enduring commitment to Israel’s security. …When we have differences we will work to resolve them quickly and respectfully.”

She said she hopes a new 10-year Memorandum of Understanding would be signed soon between the U.S. and Israel that would spell-out the U.S. military aid package to Israel over the next 10 years.
“That will also send a clear message to Israel’s enemies that the U.S. and Israel stand tighter united, and Israel will maintain its qualitative military edge,” she said, adding that the U.S. “should provide Israel with the most sophisticated” weaponry to be able to protect itself.
“America needs an Israel strong enough to deter and defend against its enemies and to work with us to tackle the strong challenges and to take bold steps in pursuit of peace,” she said.
There was silence in the room when Clinton said she lead the efforts to bring Iran to the negotiating table to halt its nuclear program. She garnered applause, however, when she insisted that the deal that was reached has “made the world safer as a result, but it is still not good enough to trust and verify, our approach must be distrust and verify. This deal must come with clear consequences for violations.”
Although Iran’s nuclear development program may be on hold, Clinton said Iran continues to foment unrest throughout the region, including amassing an arsenal of weapons for Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon that is capable of hitting every part of Israel.
“Our next president has to hold Iran responsible for even small violations and turn sanctions back on if we see any evidence of violations,” she said. “The U.S. will act to stop it and we will do so with force if necessary.”
Noting that Iran this month test fired several missiles, including two bearing the words, “Israel should be wiped from the pages of history,” Clinton said: “This is a serious danger and it demands a serious response.”
So far, the U.S. went to the United Nations, but Russia has blocked any action by the Security Council.
Noting that the Arab League has recently designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, Clinton chastised “our friends in Europe” for failing to do the same.

At AIPAC, Trump Vows 'No Daylight' Between U.S. And IsraelAIPAC speech seems to pivot from earlier comment on neutrality on Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Stewart Ain
Staff Writer
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump addresses the AIPAC conference in Washington, DC today. Getty Images
Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump pledged Monday that if elected he would “send a clear signal that there is no daylight between America and its most reliable ally, the State of Israel.”
“The Palestinians must come to the [negotiating] table knowing that the bond between the U.S. and Israel is absolutely unbreakable,” he told delegates at the AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington. “When I become president, the days of treating Israel like a second-class citizen will end on day one. … I will meet with Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu immediately. I’ve known him many years and will work with him to bring stability and peace to the region.”
Trump read his 25-minute address from a teleprompter, for the first time he has read prepared remarks since he launched his presidential campaign last June. He made no mention of remaining “neutral” on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a position he first articulated during one of the presidential debates.
And he did not amplify on a line in the speech saying that the United States had a “useful role” to play in the quest for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
Campaign aides said Trump had worked on his speech with Jewish advisers. He touched on all the hot button issues, including pledging to move the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which he described as Israel’s “eternal capital.” And he said the Palestinians must stop the daily terror attacks against Israelis that have occurred since October, and “must accept Israel as a Jewish state — and it will forever exist as a Jewish state.”
At another point, he said flatly: “You cannot achieve peace if terrorists are treated as martyrs.”
Trump made no mention of the many empty seats that were noticeable in the arena — seats vacated by delegates who wished to express their disgust with the tone of Trump’s rhetoric during the campaign, which several Jewish groups called racist and bigoted. And the applause for Trump was more muted than the sustained and standing applause delegates gave to the comments of the other presidential candidates who also spoke to at the conference. A number of delegates noticeably refrained from clapping.
But Trump received notable applause when he trashed the Iran nuclear deal, saying his “number one priority is to dismantle the disastrous deal with Iran.”
“I have been in business a long time. I know deal making. Let me tell you, this deal is catastrophic for Israel, for America and the whole Middle East. We rewarded the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism with $150 billion and we received nothing in return. I studied this deal in great detail — more than anyone else, believe me. It's a bad deal.”

He noted that just by waiting until the deal expires, Iran would be able to build a nuclear bomb because it was not forced to dismantle its nuclear machinery.
Trump promised that as president he would “stand up to Iran’s push to dominate and destabilize the region. … We will totally dismantle Iran’s terror network, which is big and powerful but not powerful like us. They have terror cells everywhere, including in the Western hemisphere very close to home, and we will work to dismantle that reach, believe me.”
Noting that Iran recently fired three ballistic missiles that each traveled 1,250 miles, Trump said they “designed to intimidate and frighten Europe — and maybe even hit the U.S. We will not let it happen — and we not let it happen to Israel, believe me. Painted on those missiles in Hebrew and Farsi were the words, `Israel must be wiped off the face of the Earth.’ You can’t forget that. What kind of demented minds write that in Hebrew? Testing those missiles did not violate the deal we made, but the tests violated United Nations resolutions and nobody has done anything about it. We will. I promise, we will.” [The U.S. brought the matter to the U.N. Security Council but Russia blocked any discussion.]
Returning to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Trump rejected suggestions by President Barak Obama to allow the U.N. to outline a possible agreement between the two sides.
“The U.N. is not a friend of democracy, not a friend of freedom or the U.S., where it has its home, and surely not a friend to Israel,” he maintained. “The U.S. must oppose this resolution and use its veto, which l would use 100 percent. That is not how you make a deal. Deals are made when parties come together. … It will only further delegitimize Israel and be a catastrophe for Israel. It’s not going to happen folks.”
He said the U.S. “can be a facilitator” to Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, but it is “preposterous” to impose a resolution on the two sides. And Trump said he knows that Israel has repeatedly said it is willing to sit and negotiate an agreement without any preconditions, but that the Palestinians have on three occasions since the Camp David summit in 2000 rejected all peace proposals.
Earlier, he told The Washington Post that the U.S. should reconsider its involvement in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization because it costs too much money and said the U.S. should stop “nation building” around the world and concentrate instead on building the American infrastructure. NATO has been the cornerstone of the Western security alliance since World War II.
In explaining his noninterventionist approach to foreign affairs, Trump told the newspaper’s editorial board: “We have $19 trillion in debt. We’re sitting, probably, on a bubble. And it’s a bubble that if it breaks, it’s going to be very nasty. I just think we have to rebuild our country.”
Trump also for the first time named his foreign policy advisers, a five-member team chaired by Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), the only senator to endorse him.
Just as Trump began to speak, a number of delegates stood and walked out. Among them was Rabbi Irwin Zeplowitz, spiritual leader of The Community Synagogue in Port Washington, L.I.
“I feel a statement has to be made,” he said minutes before Trump entered the arena. “I know many people feel we don’t want to insult a candidate or embarrass AIPAC, and I respect their right to invite him. But I don’t believe I have to listen to him. I want to make a statement that his rhetoric has no place in the political system.”
Rabbi Zeplowitz said he told others in his row that he planned to stand when Trump walked in and then turn his back and walk out. “One person said, ‘Shame on you,’” he said.
Even before Trump entered the hall, hundreds of the 18,000 AIPAC attendees walked out. They were led by an organized group of several hundred Conservative and Reform rabbis.
In addition, the Reform movement prepared and distributed to its 1.5 million members — including several thousands attending the AIPAC Policy Conference — sacred texts about human dignity to be studied before and after Trump spoke.
Minutes before Trump spoke, Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, director of the movement’s Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, told The Jewish Week that those outside the arena planned to study the Jewish text and listen to Trump’s speech on speakers in the hallway.
“We will listen to his speech and talk about it,” he said. “It is not that we are not willing to engage.”
But he said the best way to express their disgust with the inflammatory language Trump has used in the campaign against women, immigrants, Muslims and those with disabilities was to remain outside the arena.
“We don’t want to sit quietly in the room” when Trump speaks, Rabbi Pesner said, adding that they chose to leave ahead of Trump’s remarks in order not to “diminish AIPAC or the U.S.-Israel relationship.”
“We are not trying to make a statement in the room, but outside of the room,” he added. “That is why we are mobilizing 1.5 million souls spread across North America and want them to be part of the discussion, too.”
He said other delegates he has spoken with chose to remain in the arena and to sit silently.
In addition to Trump, the other two Republican candidates for president, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, also spoke.
In a powerful speech, Kasich told the conference that he remained “unwavering in my support for the Jewish state and in the partnership between the U.S. and Israel.” He said that as president he would want to “strengthen and expand the relationship with Israel.”
He called also for “canceling the Iran nuclear deal in response to Iran’s recent ballistic missile tests” because they are a violation of the agreement. He noted that one of the missiles had printed on the side in Hebrew, “Israel must be exterminated.”
Speaking from a prepared text he held on the podium, Kasich said that as president he would work to fight racism, anti-Semitism and attacks against Israel, “particularly at international bodies.”
And he received a standing ovation when he said: “We must work to eliminate and condemn all attempts to delegitimize Israel,” and said he was “concerned about the rising attacks against Israel and Jewish students on our college campuses.”
He made no mention of his opponents for the presidency, but took an obvious swipe at Trump when he said: “I will not take the low road to the highest office in the land. I will not do it.”
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Democratic frontrunner for president, addressed the pro-Israel lobby in the morning. Her Democratic opponent, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, was campaigning in the West and chose not to interrupt his campaign schedule to appear at the Washington event. He offered a video address instead, but AIPAC officials turned him down.
Instead, Sanders delivered a foreign policy speech to a crowd in Salt Lake City. He sent copies to AIPAC and asked that it be distributed to delegates.
Kasich Vows Not To Be 'Neutral' In Defending Israel
JTAOhio Gov. John Kasich addressesing the annual policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. JTA
Washington — Gov. John Kasich, R-Ohio, contrasted himself with Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump in a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
At the Israel lobby’s annual conference Monday, Kasich took aim at Trump’s comment, much criticized in the pro-Israel community, that he would remain “neutral” in brokering Israeli-Palestinian peace.
“We cannot be neutral defending our allies,” Kasich said to the crowd of AIPAC activists in Washington, D.C.
Kasich, who is running a distant third in the Republican contest, spoke early in the evening, prior to speeches by his rivals Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Kasich also targeted the front-runner for what has been widely perceived as a divisive campaign, in which Trump has insulted Mexicans, Muslims, women and the disabled.
“We are Americans before we’re Republicans or Democrats,” Kasich said. “I will not take the low road to the highest office in the land, I will not do it.”
One of Kasich’s biggest applause lines came when he denounced Palestinian attacks on Israel, saying that they are a result of “a culture of hate that Palestinian Authority has promoted for 50 years,” of which he said he was “horrified.”
Also well received was his pledge to suspend the nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers, citing Iran’s recent ballistic missile tests as a violation of the spirit if not the letter of the deal. Kasich until recently had said that while he did not favor the deal, he would abide by it.
And in a comment that appeared directed at the Obama administration’s treatment of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Kasich said: “We must stand by our friends instead of abusing them while currying favor with our enemies.”
Israel Should Be Grateful To US, Patient On Iran, Isaac Herzog Tells AIPAC
JTA
National
Israeli opposition leader Isaac Herzog speaking to the foreign press in Jerusalem, Feb. 24, 2015. JTA
Washington — The Israeli opposition leader called for his government to be grateful for the U.S.-Israel relationship, earning applause from AIPAC activists at their annual conference.
Isaac Herzog, who heads the Zionist Union party, derided what he said were attempts to “shame” U.S. officials, alluding to tense relations between the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Obama administration.
“Forget that,” Herzog said Monday at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference in Washington, D.C. “We should be grateful for this relationship.”
Herzog ran unsuccessfully against Netanyahu in national elections a year ago. Part of his platform included blaming the prime minister for sour relations between the governments.
Herzog also won applause for aspects of his plan announced in January that would separate Israelis and Palestinians as a preemptive means of establishing a two-state solution.
He said he remained skeptical of last year’s Iran nuclear deal, but recommended monitoring Iran to see if it helps bring moderates forward. That also distinguishes Herzog from Netanyahu, who says Iranian moderates act as a mask for an extremist regime.
Joe Biden to AIPAC: Israeli, Palestinian Apathy 'Incredibly Disappointing'
Ron KampeasNational
JTA
Vice President Joe Biden addressing the AIPAC policy conference in Washington, D.C., March 20, 2016. JTA
Washington — Israelis and Palestinians must revive their will for peace, Vice President Joe Biden told AIPAC in a speech that earned thunderous applause for emotional expressions of affection for Israel and scattered boos for criticism of settlements.
Biden’s speech Sunday night to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee annual conference will be his last as a public official to the Israel lobby, and the cheers he earned throughout reflect his status as the Obama administration official most loved by the pro-Israel community.
“There is a lack of political will among Israelis and Palestinians to move forward,” Biden said he concluded from his talks with both sides during his trip to Israel earlier this month. “And that’s incredibly disappointing.”
U.S.-brokered talks between Israel and the Palestinians broke down on June 14, just months before war erupted between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
In describing the conditions behind the loss of will for peacemaking, Biden emphasized repeatedly the need for Palestinians and others in the Arab world to end incitement.
“No matter what the disagreements the Palestinian people may have with Israel, there is no excuse for killing innocents or remaining silent in the face of terrorism,” Biden said at the Verizon Center, a Washington, D.C., sports arena being used for the first time by AIPAC to accommodate the record-breaking 18,000 activists in attendance.
He said he delivered that message to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, earning the conference’s first standing ovation.
“The terrorism has to stop, the incitement … it must stop,” said Biden, who at 73 jogged onto the stage, but whose voice was hoarse.
A good portion of his speech was devoted to condemning terrorism and incitement, and to warning the Palestinians not to seek statehood unilaterally. But Biden also said Israel also should refrain from acts that would scuttle a peace plan.
He cited “steady and systematic” settlement expansion and the sanctioning of illegal settlement outposts under the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The remarks earned Biden a scattering of boos from across the cavernous hall.
Biden tied anti-Semitism, particularly in Europe, to the “seemingly organized” effort to delegitimize Israel, condemning the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against the country to the rising tide of anti-Semitism.
“No nation is immune from criticism, but it should not be singled out,” he said.
Biden defended last year’s nuclear accord between Iran and six major powers that was bitterly opposed by AIPAC and the Netanyahu government.
“I hope you are as happy as I am that they [Iran] are further and further away from obtaining a nuclear weapon,” he said of the sanctions relief for nuclear rollback deal.
Biden stridently defended President Barack Obama’s Israel record.
“Israel is stronger and more secure today because of the Obama and Biden administration, period,” he said, alluding to the tensions that have beset the relationship with the president, the lobby and Netanyahu. “Not despite it, but because of it.”
Of the current round of talks between Israel and the United States over expanding defense assistance for Israel, he said, “Israel may not get everything it asks for, but it will get everything it needs.”
Biden told of meeting Golda Meir in 1973, a story he has repeated often to explain the visceral attachment he feels to the Jewish state. But he added a more recent experience — of finding out that his wife, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren were dining just half a mile away from a stabbing spree in Tel Aviv earlier this month that killed an American tourist.
“It’s not imagined, it’s real,” he said of the anxieties Israelis feel. Biden said people asked him why he brought his grandchildren to Israel, considering the risks, and he said for the same reason he brought them to Dachau to understand the Holocaust.
“They need to know what happened, why Israel is so essential,” he said, choking up for a moment. “Israel is a place that creeps into your soul.”
The vice president has visited the country many times since his first trip in 1973, when he was a freshman Democratic senator from Delaware.
The AIPAC conference will host four out of five of the presidential contenders, including Donald Trump. Biden took a veiled shot at the real estate magnate and Republican presidential front-runner, alluding to Trump’s call to build a wall between the United States and Mexico, and his broadsides against Muslims.
“Any action that marginalizes a religious group imperils us all,” he said. “The future belongs to the bridge builders, not the wall builders.” The hall erupted into cheers.
Earlier, six Christian and Jewish clergy warned activists not to disrupt any speaker during the conference. A number of activists, including leading rabbis, have plans to walk out or otherwise show displeasure with Trump.
Howard Kohr, AIPAC’s executive director, alluded to the anxiety that Trump’s rhetoric has sowed throughout much of the Jewish community.
“At a time when American politics can be divisive, when it is easy to be consumed by rhetoric that divide us, we are united,” Kohr said. Israelis and Americans, he said, are “two peoples who embrace tolerance and inclusion of all nations, all religions and people from all walks of life.”
“That will also send a clear message to Israel’s enemies that the U.S. and Israel stand tighter united, and Israel will maintain its qualitative military edge,” she said, adding that the U.S. “should provide Israel with the most sophisticated” weaponry to be able to protect itself.
“America needs an Israel strong enough to deter and defend against its enemies and to work with us to tackle the strong challenges and to take bold steps in pursuit of peace,” she said.
There was silence in the room when Clinton said she lead the efforts to bring Iran to the negotiating table to halt its nuclear program. She garnered applause, however, when she insisted that the deal that was reached has “made the world safer as a result, but it is still not good enough to trust and verify, our approach must be distrust and verify. This deal must come with clear consequences for violations.”
Although Iran’s nuclear development program may be on hold, Clinton said Iran continues to foment unrest throughout the region, including amassing an arsenal of weapons for Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon that is capable of hitting every part of Israel.
“Our next president has to hold Iran responsible for even small violations and turn sanctions back on if we see any evidence of violations,” she said. “The U.S. will act to stop it and we will do so with force if necessary.”
Noting that Iran this month test fired several missiles, including two bearing the words, “Israel should be wiped from the pages of history,” Clinton said: “This is a serious danger and it demands a serious response.”
So far, the U.S. went to the United Nations, but Russia has blocked any action by the Security Council.
Noting that the Arab League has recently designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, Clinton chastised “our friends in Europe” for failing to do the same.
She noted that ISIS is in the Sinai and “making inroads to partner” with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. She said it is responsible for the weekend suicide bombing in Istanbul that killed four civilians, including three Israelis, two of whom had dual American citizenship. [Reports from Turkey said security cameras captured the attacker follow the Israelis from their hotel to a restaurant and then wait outside until they emerged before blowing himself up.]
“This is a threat that know no borders,” Clinton said. “Our goal cannot be to contain ISIS, we must defeat ISIS.”
Regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, she said she would continue to work for a two-state solution, and remains “convinced that peace with security is possible and the only way to guarantee Israel’s long-term survival as a Jewish and democratic state. … Inaction cannot be an option.” She noted that there have been “recent constructive meetings” between Israeli and Palestinian finance ministers and security officials.
“But at the same time, all of us must condemn terrorists, and children should not be taught to hate in schools,” Clinton said. “That poisons the future. As president, I would continue the pursuit of direct negotiations and not allow outside parties to impose a solution, including the U.N. Security Council.”
Inset Image: Hillary Clinton arrives to speak during the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) 2016 Policy Conference at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC, March 21, 2016. Getty Images
“This is a threat that know no borders,” Clinton said. “Our goal cannot be to contain ISIS, we must defeat ISIS.”
Regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, she said she would continue to work for a two-state solution, and remains “convinced that peace with security is possible and the only way to guarantee Israel’s long-term survival as a Jewish and democratic state. … Inaction cannot be an option.” She noted that there have been “recent constructive meetings” between Israeli and Palestinian finance ministers and security officials.
“But at the same time, all of us must condemn terrorists, and children should not be taught to hate in schools,” Clinton said. “That poisons the future. As president, I would continue the pursuit of direct negotiations and not allow outside parties to impose a solution, including the U.N. Security Council.”
Inset Image: Hillary Clinton arrives to speak during the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) 2016 Policy Conference at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC, March 21, 2016. Getty Images
At AIPAC, Trump Vows 'No Daylight' Between U.S. And IsraelAIPAC speech seems to pivot from earlier comment on neutrality on Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Stewart Ain
Staff Writer
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump addresses the AIPAC conference in Washington, DC today. Getty Images
Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump pledged Monday that if elected he would “send a clear signal that there is no daylight between America and its most reliable ally, the State of Israel.”
“The Palestinians must come to the [negotiating] table knowing that the bond between the U.S. and Israel is absolutely unbreakable,” he told delegates at the AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington. “When I become president, the days of treating Israel like a second-class citizen will end on day one. … I will meet with Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu immediately. I’ve known him many years and will work with him to bring stability and peace to the region.”
Trump read his 25-minute address from a teleprompter, for the first time he has read prepared remarks since he launched his presidential campaign last June. He made no mention of remaining “neutral” on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a position he first articulated during one of the presidential debates.
And he did not amplify on a line in the speech saying that the United States had a “useful role” to play in the quest for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
Campaign aides said Trump had worked on his speech with Jewish advisers. He touched on all the hot button issues, including pledging to move the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which he described as Israel’s “eternal capital.” And he said the Palestinians must stop the daily terror attacks against Israelis that have occurred since October, and “must accept Israel as a Jewish state — and it will forever exist as a Jewish state.”
At another point, he said flatly: “You cannot achieve peace if terrorists are treated as martyrs.”
Trump made no mention of the many empty seats that were noticeable in the arena — seats vacated by delegates who wished to express their disgust with the tone of Trump’s rhetoric during the campaign, which several Jewish groups called racist and bigoted. And the applause for Trump was more muted than the sustained and standing applause delegates gave to the comments of the other presidential candidates who also spoke to at the conference. A number of delegates noticeably refrained from clapping.
But Trump received notable applause when he trashed the Iran nuclear deal, saying his “number one priority is to dismantle the disastrous deal with Iran.”
“I have been in business a long time. I know deal making. Let me tell you, this deal is catastrophic for Israel, for America and the whole Middle East. We rewarded the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism with $150 billion and we received nothing in return. I studied this deal in great detail — more than anyone else, believe me. It's a bad deal.”

He noted that just by waiting until the deal expires, Iran would be able to build a nuclear bomb because it was not forced to dismantle its nuclear machinery.
Trump promised that as president he would “stand up to Iran’s push to dominate and destabilize the region. … We will totally dismantle Iran’s terror network, which is big and powerful but not powerful like us. They have terror cells everywhere, including in the Western hemisphere very close to home, and we will work to dismantle that reach, believe me.”
Noting that Iran recently fired three ballistic missiles that each traveled 1,250 miles, Trump said they “designed to intimidate and frighten Europe — and maybe even hit the U.S. We will not let it happen — and we not let it happen to Israel, believe me. Painted on those missiles in Hebrew and Farsi were the words, `Israel must be wiped off the face of the Earth.’ You can’t forget that. What kind of demented minds write that in Hebrew? Testing those missiles did not violate the deal we made, but the tests violated United Nations resolutions and nobody has done anything about it. We will. I promise, we will.” [The U.S. brought the matter to the U.N. Security Council but Russia blocked any discussion.]
Returning to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Trump rejected suggestions by President Barak Obama to allow the U.N. to outline a possible agreement between the two sides.
“The U.N. is not a friend of democracy, not a friend of freedom or the U.S., where it has its home, and surely not a friend to Israel,” he maintained. “The U.S. must oppose this resolution and use its veto, which l would use 100 percent. That is not how you make a deal. Deals are made when parties come together. … It will only further delegitimize Israel and be a catastrophe for Israel. It’s not going to happen folks.”
He said the U.S. “can be a facilitator” to Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, but it is “preposterous” to impose a resolution on the two sides. And Trump said he knows that Israel has repeatedly said it is willing to sit and negotiate an agreement without any preconditions, but that the Palestinians have on three occasions since the Camp David summit in 2000 rejected all peace proposals.
Earlier, he told The Washington Post that the U.S. should reconsider its involvement in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization because it costs too much money and said the U.S. should stop “nation building” around the world and concentrate instead on building the American infrastructure. NATO has been the cornerstone of the Western security alliance since World War II.
In explaining his noninterventionist approach to foreign affairs, Trump told the newspaper’s editorial board: “We have $19 trillion in debt. We’re sitting, probably, on a bubble. And it’s a bubble that if it breaks, it’s going to be very nasty. I just think we have to rebuild our country.”
Trump also for the first time named his foreign policy advisers, a five-member team chaired by Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), the only senator to endorse him.
Just as Trump began to speak, a number of delegates stood and walked out. Among them was Rabbi Irwin Zeplowitz, spiritual leader of The Community Synagogue in Port Washington, L.I.
“I feel a statement has to be made,” he said minutes before Trump entered the arena. “I know many people feel we don’t want to insult a candidate or embarrass AIPAC, and I respect their right to invite him. But I don’t believe I have to listen to him. I want to make a statement that his rhetoric has no place in the political system.”
Rabbi Zeplowitz said he told others in his row that he planned to stand when Trump walked in and then turn his back and walk out. “One person said, ‘Shame on you,’” he said.
Even before Trump entered the hall, hundreds of the 18,000 AIPAC attendees walked out. They were led by an organized group of several hundred Conservative and Reform rabbis.
In addition, the Reform movement prepared and distributed to its 1.5 million members — including several thousands attending the AIPAC Policy Conference — sacred texts about human dignity to be studied before and after Trump spoke.
Minutes before Trump spoke, Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, director of the movement’s Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, told The Jewish Week that those outside the arena planned to study the Jewish text and listen to Trump’s speech on speakers in the hallway.
“We will listen to his speech and talk about it,” he said. “It is not that we are not willing to engage.”
But he said the best way to express their disgust with the inflammatory language Trump has used in the campaign against women, immigrants, Muslims and those with disabilities was to remain outside the arena.
“We don’t want to sit quietly in the room” when Trump speaks, Rabbi Pesner said, adding that they chose to leave ahead of Trump’s remarks in order not to “diminish AIPAC or the U.S.-Israel relationship.”
“We are not trying to make a statement in the room, but outside of the room,” he added. “That is why we are mobilizing 1.5 million souls spread across North America and want them to be part of the discussion, too.”
He said other delegates he has spoken with chose to remain in the arena and to sit silently.
In addition to Trump, the other two Republican candidates for president, Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, also spoke.
In a powerful speech, Kasich told the conference that he remained “unwavering in my support for the Jewish state and in the partnership between the U.S. and Israel.” He said that as president he would want to “strengthen and expand the relationship with Israel.”
He called also for “canceling the Iran nuclear deal in response to Iran’s recent ballistic missile tests” because they are a violation of the agreement. He noted that one of the missiles had printed on the side in Hebrew, “Israel must be exterminated.”
Speaking from a prepared text he held on the podium, Kasich said that as president he would work to fight racism, anti-Semitism and attacks against Israel, “particularly at international bodies.”
And he received a standing ovation when he said: “We must work to eliminate and condemn all attempts to delegitimize Israel,” and said he was “concerned about the rising attacks against Israel and Jewish students on our college campuses.”
He made no mention of his opponents for the presidency, but took an obvious swipe at Trump when he said: “I will not take the low road to the highest office in the land. I will not do it.”
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Democratic frontrunner for president, addressed the pro-Israel lobby in the morning. Her Democratic opponent, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, was campaigning in the West and chose not to interrupt his campaign schedule to appear at the Washington event. He offered a video address instead, but AIPAC officials turned him down.
Instead, Sanders delivered a foreign policy speech to a crowd in Salt Lake City. He sent copies to AIPAC and asked that it be distributed to delegates.
Kasich Vows Not To Be 'Neutral' In Defending Israel
JTAOhio Gov. John Kasich addressesing the annual policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. JTA
Washington — Gov. John Kasich, R-Ohio, contrasted himself with Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump in a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
At the Israel lobby’s annual conference Monday, Kasich took aim at Trump’s comment, much criticized in the pro-Israel community, that he would remain “neutral” in brokering Israeli-Palestinian peace.
“We cannot be neutral defending our allies,” Kasich said to the crowd of AIPAC activists in Washington, D.C.
Kasich, who is running a distant third in the Republican contest, spoke early in the evening, prior to speeches by his rivals Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Kasich also targeted the front-runner for what has been widely perceived as a divisive campaign, in which Trump has insulted Mexicans, Muslims, women and the disabled.
“We are Americans before we’re Republicans or Democrats,” Kasich said. “I will not take the low road to the highest office in the land, I will not do it.”
One of Kasich’s biggest applause lines came when he denounced Palestinian attacks on Israel, saying that they are a result of “a culture of hate that Palestinian Authority has promoted for 50 years,” of which he said he was “horrified.”
Also well received was his pledge to suspend the nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers, citing Iran’s recent ballistic missile tests as a violation of the spirit if not the letter of the deal. Kasich until recently had said that while he did not favor the deal, he would abide by it.
And in a comment that appeared directed at the Obama administration’s treatment of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Kasich said: “We must stand by our friends instead of abusing them while currying favor with our enemies.”
Israel Should Be Grateful To US, Patient On Iran, Isaac Herzog Tells AIPAC
JTA
National
Israeli opposition leader Isaac Herzog speaking to the foreign press in Jerusalem, Feb. 24, 2015. JTA
Washington — The Israeli opposition leader called for his government to be grateful for the U.S.-Israel relationship, earning applause from AIPAC activists at their annual conference.
Isaac Herzog, who heads the Zionist Union party, derided what he said were attempts to “shame” U.S. officials, alluding to tense relations between the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Obama administration.
“Forget that,” Herzog said Monday at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference in Washington, D.C. “We should be grateful for this relationship.”
Herzog ran unsuccessfully against Netanyahu in national elections a year ago. Part of his platform included blaming the prime minister for sour relations between the governments.
Herzog also won applause for aspects of his plan announced in January that would separate Israelis and Palestinians as a preemptive means of establishing a two-state solution.
He said he remained skeptical of last year’s Iran nuclear deal, but recommended monitoring Iran to see if it helps bring moderates forward. That also distinguishes Herzog from Netanyahu, who says Iranian moderates act as a mask for an extremist regime.
Joe Biden to AIPAC: Israeli, Palestinian Apathy 'Incredibly Disappointing'
Ron KampeasNational
JTA
Vice President Joe Biden addressing the AIPAC policy conference in Washington, D.C., March 20, 2016. JTA
Washington — Israelis and Palestinians must revive their will for peace, Vice President Joe Biden told AIPAC in a speech that earned thunderous applause for emotional expressions of affection for Israel and scattered boos for criticism of settlements.
Biden’s speech Sunday night to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee annual conference will be his last as a public official to the Israel lobby, and the cheers he earned throughout reflect his status as the Obama administration official most loved by the pro-Israel community.
“There is a lack of political will among Israelis and Palestinians to move forward,” Biden said he concluded from his talks with both sides during his trip to Israel earlier this month. “And that’s incredibly disappointing.”
U.S.-brokered talks between Israel and the Palestinians broke down on June 14, just months before war erupted between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
In describing the conditions behind the loss of will for peacemaking, Biden emphasized repeatedly the need for Palestinians and others in the Arab world to end incitement.
“No matter what the disagreements the Palestinian people may have with Israel, there is no excuse for killing innocents or remaining silent in the face of terrorism,” Biden said at the Verizon Center, a Washington, D.C., sports arena being used for the first time by AIPAC to accommodate the record-breaking 18,000 activists in attendance.
He said he delivered that message to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, earning the conference’s first standing ovation.
“The terrorism has to stop, the incitement … it must stop,” said Biden, who at 73 jogged onto the stage, but whose voice was hoarse.
A good portion of his speech was devoted to condemning terrorism and incitement, and to warning the Palestinians not to seek statehood unilaterally. But Biden also said Israel also should refrain from acts that would scuttle a peace plan.
He cited “steady and systematic” settlement expansion and the sanctioning of illegal settlement outposts under the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The remarks earned Biden a scattering of boos from across the cavernous hall.
Biden tied anti-Semitism, particularly in Europe, to the “seemingly organized” effort to delegitimize Israel, condemning the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against the country to the rising tide of anti-Semitism.
“No nation is immune from criticism, but it should not be singled out,” he said.
Biden defended last year’s nuclear accord between Iran and six major powers that was bitterly opposed by AIPAC and the Netanyahu government.
“I hope you are as happy as I am that they [Iran] are further and further away from obtaining a nuclear weapon,” he said of the sanctions relief for nuclear rollback deal.
Biden stridently defended President Barack Obama’s Israel record.
“Israel is stronger and more secure today because of the Obama and Biden administration, period,” he said, alluding to the tensions that have beset the relationship with the president, the lobby and Netanyahu. “Not despite it, but because of it.”
Of the current round of talks between Israel and the United States over expanding defense assistance for Israel, he said, “Israel may not get everything it asks for, but it will get everything it needs.”
Biden told of meeting Golda Meir in 1973, a story he has repeated often to explain the visceral attachment he feels to the Jewish state. But he added a more recent experience — of finding out that his wife, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren were dining just half a mile away from a stabbing spree in Tel Aviv earlier this month that killed an American tourist.
“It’s not imagined, it’s real,” he said of the anxieties Israelis feel. Biden said people asked him why he brought his grandchildren to Israel, considering the risks, and he said for the same reason he brought them to Dachau to understand the Holocaust.
“They need to know what happened, why Israel is so essential,” he said, choking up for a moment. “Israel is a place that creeps into your soul.”
The vice president has visited the country many times since his first trip in 1973, when he was a freshman Democratic senator from Delaware.
The AIPAC conference will host four out of five of the presidential contenders, including Donald Trump. Biden took a veiled shot at the real estate magnate and Republican presidential front-runner, alluding to Trump’s call to build a wall between the United States and Mexico, and his broadsides against Muslims.
“Any action that marginalizes a religious group imperils us all,” he said. “The future belongs to the bridge builders, not the wall builders.” The hall erupted into cheers.
Earlier, six Christian and Jewish clergy warned activists not to disrupt any speaker during the conference. A number of activists, including leading rabbis, have plans to walk out or otherwise show displeasure with Trump.
Howard Kohr, AIPAC’s executive director, alluded to the anxiety that Trump’s rhetoric has sowed throughout much of the Jewish community.
“At a time when American politics can be divisive, when it is easy to be consumed by rhetoric that divide us, we are united,” Kohr said. Israelis and Americans, he said, are “two peoples who embrace tolerance and inclusion of all nations, all religions and people from all walks of life.”
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