Give Up Peace in the Middle East

After working for over two years wrinting speeches for the Israel mission to the UN and Ariel Sharon, Gregory Levey may know something about the Middle East. Why not getting one step further and finally doing the thing, the big one thing everyone seems to dream about - when they don´t have too much work to do: Let´s make peace in the Middle East. The peace...

Outside the region, especially in the North American realm, there is a certain ´fervency and emotion´ associated with the discussions on and about the Middle East. With six months available to fix this, Levey is getting ready.

At least he has enough sense of humour to go through it.

How to Make Peace in the Middle East in Six Months or Less Without Leaving Your Apartment is the account of those efforts. His freelance diplomacy efforts brought him in weird company, from Second Life ´activists´ of all colours to Christian Evangelists shaking hard as they dance for Zion. He is talking, or at least trying to, with everyone that can be of any help: from political pundits, former state secretaries and presidents to the grocery store vendor downstairs. Not all - or many of them - are keen to share their secrets so he is left with some really strange witnesses/sources. And there is no peace in the Middle East at the end of all this.

The accounts are hilarious and the book reads by itself. There is not too much to suffer or meditate or develop about it. Why writing about this deadlock? Why not? Is there something new we know about the famous ´peace process´? Don´t expect. Do you really need to read this book? Not necessarily, unless you really have too much time on your sleeve. But in this case, you can start your own freelance diplomacy project, obviously, about...the Middle East Peace Process.

Rating: 2 stars

Memories of a Jewish Girl in Revolutionary Iran

Born in a relatively assimilated mixed educated Jewish family in Iran - the father from Shiraz, the mother an Askenazi Jew from London - belonging to the so-called doeragehs, a person whose parents are from two distinct nationalities, Jacqueline Saper spent her 26 first years of life in Iran. At the beginning, in an Iran going through a rapid modernisation on one side, but coping with outrageous abuses during the Shah, then, in an Iran that promised a brighter future of equality, but ended up again in terrible abuses and violence against another part of the citizens, especially women enforced to wear the hijab. 

Although sympathetic towards the Shah´s regime, Jacquline Saper - named for the elegant America´s first lady at the time- provided in From Miniskirt to Hijab. A Girl in Revolutionary Iran, an uncomplicated account of her life at the crossroad of dramatic changes, for the whole region. Shortly after the Revolution, the Iran-Iraq war continued that brought another significant weight of personal and national trauma. Through the contacts with the people working for her family or the school mates, she is able to notice the clear distinctions between different social categories, their geographical distribution within Tehran as well as the pressure towards change. ´I knew and loved citizens who belonged to two different worlds, separated by an uncrossable boundary´. Educated in a Jewish school, she grew up connecting with individuals from different religions and cultural backgrounds. Her relatives practiced the mentality of religious minorities - which reminds me of my childhood in East European lands - of showing gratitute towards the temporary political rulers - no matter what - and conforming, although they were later put in prison, killed and their properties illegally confiscated by an ungrateful state. It was not easy for the Jews during the Shah - although there were a significant Jewish and Israeli presence in Iran but more about that on another occasion - , but after that, it become life threatening both in terms of personal and community survival: ´The remaining Iranian Jews, in order to survive, tried their best to acclimate to the new government and leadership´. True, Jews in Iran are not under the threat of street beatings and they can even get their wine for the kiddush, but the local practice of the taroof translated at the everyday religious survival level does very bad to the soul.

For instance, the practice of Judaism continue to be legal, but supporting the state of Israel and ´Zionism´ is considered a crime. Contacts of any kind with the state of Israel are forbidden. It´s crazy how the propanganda operates, like King Cyrus the Great - a historical personality not too good nowadays in the religious cards, as the Shah loved him but history is history - did not allowed the Jews to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. Was he a ´Zionist´ too or not? And what about the over 2,500 years of Jewish history the Iranian Jews are so proud of, that produced characters like Esther the Queen and the prophet Daniel and the tomb attributed to Serah bat Asher, a noteworthy feminist figure in the Jewish history? Religious fanaticism operates extremely low when it comes to historical facts. And it does not have to do only with religious minorities. Take, for instance, the famous Azadi Tower, a brand image of Iran. It was built on the occasion of the 2,500 years lavish - an understatement - ceremonies the late Shah organised to celebrate the Persian monarchy. Initially named Shahyad Tower - King´s memorial - and after the revolution - Azadi (freedom) tower. Nowadays, no matter who built it, this monument is part of the local and global representation of Tehran. (For the connoisseurs, and for having a complex overview of this political/visual appropriation, the architect, Hossein Amanat currently living in Canada is famous for the Baha´i Arc Building in Haifa, state of Israel, and belongs to the oppressed Baha´i minority). 

There are many details in the book about what happened in Iran after the revolution, but generally there is information I was aware of long before from other journalistic and historical sources, but my main reason to start reading this book was the curiosity about the situation of the Iranian Jews, their challenges, traditions and everydaylife. Unfortunatelly, there is not too much information in this respect, probably due to the fact that both her and her family were not extremely well connected to the Jewish life - it is only my guess. Her family was not extremely affected by the change, although her father with degrees in both chemical engineering and meteorology, used to work for Habib Elghanian, the leader of the Jewish community murdered by the regime of the mullahs. There are small details spread in different parts of the book, like for instance details about Jewish-Persian weddings and various holidays - Jacqueline and her family left Iran for America on Pessach/Passover which marks the end of the exile from Egypt of the Jewish people - the extreme opinions of some simple Shi´a followers assuming that what Jews are touching is becoming impure, therefore avoidable at any price etc. But there are no full slices of the Jewish life in Iran, both in Tehran and Shiraz, where Jacqueline lived after getting married. Which is a big pity as I would have prefered such a focus, instead of facts and figures easily described in other memoirs or historical and political accounts. 

Rating: 3.5 stars

What Does it Mean Speaking for Israel

´I believe Israel is more than just a country. I see it as a living testament to a smal people´s capacity to overcome impossible odds through the sheer force of their commitment to knowledge, freedom and compassion´.

With a major degree in zoology, a Canadian passport and a history of involvement in Jewish causes - like the Birthright trips bringing young Jews from North America to Israel, Aviva Klompas landed a job as speechwriter at the Israel´s UN mission in NYC. Learning to be ´less apologetic, more acerbic´, but also getting to know the very different Israel work and diplomatic culture, she had to learn on the job about diplomacy, how UN and its many committees and bizarre decisions operates, but first and foremost how to properly communicate with her non-conformist chief, ambassador Ron Prosor - also called the ´singing diplomat´ among others. 

It is a lot of hard work and late hours, not paid at all, she is underpaid and often spending more than 20 hours the day, including during the weekends, connected to her work gadgets and colleagues. But Aviva Klompas is coping with the task in a very professional, diplomatic way: this is her assignment - or rather long list of assignments - and she will go through it, with decency and intelligence. Keeping her wits in the middle of the frequent diplomatic storms that Israel is always the target at the UN, worked in her professional advantage. Elegantly and using her cultural and intellectual connectins, she wrote speeches with battle lines where biblical history meets pop music. When there are so many different - frequently negative - opinions about you, one need to be prepared to answer a wide array of audiences, isn´t it?

Criticism is not an issue, obsession about what Israel is doing - and what not - belongs to a different category of political behavior and unfortunatelly, at the UN level, there are way too many manifestations in this respect - an example being the loud actions of the honorably UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. 72 years after the creation of the state of Israel - by the way, #HappyYomHaatzmaut - there are still political actors spending/wasting their time denying its right to exist. ´Criticizing Israel´s actions or policies is by no means anti-Semitic, but when the condemnation is grossly disproportionate, or Israel alone is repeatedly singled out, or the language of denunciation vile or tinged with libelous stereotype, then it´s hard to see how the action is not discriminatory and anti-Semitic´. 

Speaking for Israel by Aviva Klompas can be read though also as part of a larger bibliography covering UN ways to operate and the everyday working of a speechwriter. Writing other people´s public statements, interacting with global and national policies as well as with unique personalities requires patience, humility and a lot of diplomacy. The author´s professional approach in all respects is following facts and figures, her own experiences which are introduced in a matter of fact way, avoiding the drama and black-and-white approaches typical for a political topic like Israel and the UN.

Klompas´ adventures in the world of UN and especialy Israeli diplomacy are funny - not the same hilarious level though as the one shared in the memoir of another Canadian that worked at the Israeli mission to the UN in 2004, Gregory Levey, before working for the then prime minister Ariel Sharon until 2006 as speechwriter for the English-speaking audiences - but with a humour that helps everyone survive the diplomatic real life. Such experiences are good to have in your professional life, even for just a short while.

Rating: 4 stars

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review 

The Guide for the Jewish New Parents

Anita Diamant is a writer that besides novels, also wrote useful guides for the modern Jewish families, like for example the practicalities of the Jewish wedding. She uses the traditional basis, but in a very open way, incorporating the reform and liberal customs and addressing interfaith families too - that we like it or not, do exist.

The New Jewish Baby Book - the second edition - covers the details of the first days of the baby until the very first year, by covering the diversity of the Jewish families nowadays. It uses halachic arguments, but it is not following the strict view and most probably if you are on the very strict side of the observance, you may not appreciate some of the opinions expressed. 

The book is so systematically organised and rich and information that even you consider youself a literate in all things religion and tradition, there is still something to learn. The novelty for me was the reform/conservative/liberal literary tradition that I am completey unaware of, dedicated to different occasions like brit milah/brit bat etc.

The book covers a variety of topics, in the smallest details, including how - and when, preferably on Rosh Chodesh - to organise a baby shower, the choice of a name - with a long list of names for both boys and girls and their meaning, what question to address a mohel, how to make announcement and write invitations for brit milah etc.

Although not extremely comprehensive, the book has also a final section dedicated on adoption, an issue that is still lacking a systematic guidance for Jewish families. 

Overall it is an useful read for the new parents trying to juggle with the obligations of taking care of a new life while keeping a certain degree of religious observance.

#YomHaShoah

We need to stay here, proud of what we are. Proud of our heritage, of our shortcomings and our heroes. Grateful for those who were before us and kept being what they were for us. Proud of our learning, of our mistakes, of our stories, of our food, of our brothers and sisters from all over the world. 

Sometimes, we don´t give up because we feel obliged to pass the heritage to our children. From the deepest seas of denial and self-hate, we remember and with a last breath we hurry up to teach to our children to be better than us. To be strong enough to defend who they are. To move on. To learn to self-defend. To learn to ignore the haters and the anti-semites. To not forget those who want to kill us. And be proud, again, for what we are.

We remember not because we want to sink into the drama and see no future. We remember exactly because we can see how far we are: as a people, as a country, as individuals, despite all the trauma we were given by birth and we sent it further to our children.

Proud yet careful. Life is such a precious gift and we shall use this gift to bring kindness and humility and love to our fellow Jews. By respecting the differences among us, the different levels of observance, accepting that some of us decided to live their life differently than ours. By respecting any human being, regardless the social status, religious or upbringing, by rejecting discrimination of any kind, by sharing our kindness to those in need no matter what. 

Yom HaShoah is taking place this year in strange times. Many Shoah survivors were among the victims of the terrible pandemic and died alone. And there are already so few left. It is time to feel more responsible for one another. Try to help those in need, bring food to our elders, connect with them, show them they are not alone, listen to their stories and share it further. Ask your friends or your community or your synagogue who needs help, how you can help. 

And don´t forget to be kind. It is so much hate and slander and intolerance in this world that can be countered only through gratitude and small acts of kindness. Stop judging the other, ask what you can do to help or at least try to understand why some are different. 

´The highest form of wisdom is kindness´. 

Book Review: We Stand Divided by Daniel Gordis

`Jewish life, history has taught, is exceptionally fragile. At times the deadly threats come from the outside. At other times rivalries between the Jews themselves have made communities so vulnerable that they fell. Either way, the lessons of Jewish history ought to be clear`. 

Based on solid historical facts and knowledge of both American and Israeli Judaism, We Stand Divided by Daniel Gordis aims at adding possible directions to the often conflictual conversation between American Jews and Israel. In the media stories of the last years originated both in Israel and America, it seems sometimes that there is a conflict without solution. But according to Gordis, the seeds of this conflict should be sought after deep into the different evolution of the two countries. Plus a deception: American Jews were expecting Israel to mirror the American society, which is largely an exaggerated assumption.

The biggest merit of We Stand Divided is that it shows the differences in a very clear historical perspective: ´(...) at their core, American and Israel are exceedingly different: created for different purposes, they believe in and foster very different sorts of societies with very different values and different visions of Judaism`. Most specifically, there is a conflict between universalism and particularism that prevails the discourse on Jewish identity and Zionism in general, for almost two centuries. `For American-Jews-as-liberals, a nation-state for a particular people, or a certain religion, is a problematic idea. Their discomfort with Israel stems in part from the fact that the idea of a country specifically for the Jews is fundamentally at odds with their universal vision for humanity`.

Gordis outlines clearly those differences, through the main political and social concepts developed in time, which helps tremendously to understand the full landscape. It is, for instance, very important to have in mind that´the two communities developed differently in response to different fears; were designed to take advantage of different opportunities, developed different strategies for survival, and had at their core profoundly different visions of what and renewed Jewish flourishing would look like´.

This clarification is made though not to further deepen the rift between American Jews and Israel, but as a first step towards advancing towards more pratical and wiser answers to various challenges. Maintaining the conflict and the critical attitudes on both sides is counter-productive. Being able to understand in order to better tailor the community solutions and build the dialogue is a step forward from the current divisions. Obviously, it takes time and it will rather start from the very grassroot level, wisely finding what can be done together. 

We Stand Divided by Daniel Gordis is a good reference for anyone looking to better understand the dynamics of American Jewish communities nowadays and their unique relationship with Israel. It is also relevant for anyone interested in modern nation building processes and Jewish identity.

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Jewish Movie Review: Disobedience

Based on the novel with the same name by Naomi Alderman, Disobedience is a subtle discourse about the freedom of assuming one´s identity. 

Set in the Orthodox community of Northern London, it explores the triangle Esti-Dovid-Ronit. Ronit is back from NYC to attend the shiva of his father, Rav Krushka, a respected local authority. Estranged from her family and community, she mets again Esti who is married now with Dovid, the logical successor of the Rav. Ronit´s relocation to NYC was caused by the love story between her and Esti that seems that after so many years it is still alive.

Ronit, now a successful photographer, come at terms with her own past, but longed for forgiveness from her father. She is too late though. Esti, a teacher at a girls´ school is playing her role assumed to her in the community, until the meeting with Ronit will wake her up from the life that did not represent her. In a couple of days, this is about to change as she is asking her husband to be free: `I was born in this community. I had no choice. I want my child to decide`.

What will happen after that, how Esti will deal with her newly discovered freedom, if she will follow Ronit or not to NYC are open questions we are left free to guess. What mattered for the story was the main choices of the characters between their appeareances built for the sake of the community and their real selves. 

There are many reasons why I really love this movie: the authentic ambiance of the Jewish Orthodox North London, the natural ways the tensions between the characters and the unfolding story is flowing, the excellent play of the actors, among which Rachel Weisz, as Ronit.

First and foremost I appreciated the quality of a movie who doesn´t want to convince anyone from anything, and just has a story to tell. The fact that it takes place within an observant Jewish community is only the context, what matters is the struggle of the characters and their personal destinies and choices. 

I also recommend reading the book which is a good read too. 

Disobedience the movie is available on Netflix.

New Pesach Traditions: Miriam´s Cup and the Orange

Pesach is a holiday that it is all about traditions. The traditions we grew up with in our family, the traditions we observed in the community we belong to, the traditions we built ourselves. We follow stringent or relaxed rules on Pesach because we grew up with, or we decided ourselves, at a certain moment to follow. But it always has to do with commun practices, because, in the end, we are celebrating those new or old traditions together - with our spouses, family and community.

This year, I had more than ever time to read about relatively new seder traditions - liberally oriented - and discovered two additions to the usual plate that would curiously explain later: the cup of Miriam and the orange.

Miriam´s Cup

Traditionally, we have on the table an extra cup filled with wine for Eliyahu ha Navi. Since the 1980s, the liberal/feminist circles encouraged to add an extra cup, for Miriam, the sister of Moshe Rabbeinu and Aharon, the first High Priest in the Temple.
Miriam is considered a symbol of the important role of the women in the journey out of Egypt. `If it wasn`t for the rightousness of women of that generation, we would not have been redeemed from Egypt´ (Babylonian Talmud, Sotah 9b). Miriam´s well was the source of water during the wandering through the desert, therefore the cup filled with water.
The custom was started in the 1980s by the Boston Rosh Chodesh Group inspiring feminist denominations from all over the world.
The inclusion of the cup into the ritual leave a lot of place to flexibility. There is no special blessing said. It can be filled at the beginning of the seder or during the Maggid - when the story of the escape from Egypt is said; it can be passed among the participants to drink from it - or not - before the seder ends.

The orange

There are a lot of ´urban legends´ regarding the philosophy and the exact quote that prompted the introduction of the orange to the seder table. What is certified is that the initiative belongs to Susannah Heschel, daughter of Abraham Joshua Heschel, and a Jewish scholar in her own right. The orange is the symbol of the supressed voices and marginalized groups and populations: women, LGBT, orphans, widows, refugees.
Customary is to share a slice of the orange among the participants, say the blessing (ha-etz) and eat it.

Persian Pesach Jewish Traditions and a little bit more

One of the things that regret the most during this Pesach spent in lockdown - for one additional reason than the Corona situation, but more about this maybe one day - is that I cannot explore the various food traditions of other communities around the world - with some elegant limits as I am not so keen to give up to kitnyot, but still...Or the Mimouna together with my Moroccan and Yemeni friends the evening after - although will try the next week to prepare some mufleta for the sake of the good old times...

However, as long as I have the power of my words, I will use it. This time, is for sharing some interesting aspects about how the Persian Jews, one of the oldest diaspora communities with over 2,500 years of traditions behind, are preparing their Pesach Seder.

Persian Jews belong to the same category with the Sephardic/Mizrahim, that is using kitniyot, that for us, the European Jews are completely forbidden. Therefore, their table is rich in rice, choresht (stew), tahdig (crispy rice), grape leaves stuffed with rice and ground beef, fesenjan (sweet and sour pomegranate chicken stew, sweetened with dates), saffron rice with barberries and almonds, almond cake with cardamom and pistachios...The impressive amounts of rice used for the holiday are carefully checked before for any flour that once soaked in water may turn into chometz.

Usually, the seder service, including the Maggid (the central story of the Pesach, of the Jews in Egypt) is read in both Hebrew and Persian. For the communities in a third country, the local language - English, German, French etc. - can be also used. 

In some Persian families, during the Maggid, every person takes the seder plate and carries on while singing ha-lachma anya. In normal times, the average Persian seder may count at least 25 persons, so you can imagine how long does it takes until you reach the end of the table.

A very funny custom that apparently is unique among the Persian Jews has to do with hiting - gently, of course - your neighbour with leeks during dayenu. It imitates the lashing the Egyptians to the Jews.

The Persian charoset - the symbol of the mortar used by Israelites for preparing the bricks -  is also one of a kind. It is called haleq - also by the Syrian, Iraqi, and Indian Jews - and the recipe includes nuts, dried fruits, pomegranate juice, bananas and cardamom. I have to try it after the holidays. Talking about charoset, I am always in awe about the diversity of recipes all over the world. Some of them are really strange, as for instance in the case of the Jews from Gibraltar and from the Greek island of Zakyntos that are using besides raisins, vinegar, pepper also finely ground brick. Yes, you´ve read it right, brick. The Yemenite charoset is also special, mixing chopped dates, figs, chilli pepper and spicy coriander. My favorite discovery so far is the one used by the Venetian Jews: chestnut paste and apricots. Delish.

Back to the customs of the Persian Jews though. At the first seder, after the table is set, it is usually covered with a cloth in order to protect the food from the negative influence of the ten plagues that Gd inflicted upon the Egyptians. 

The end of the Pesach is an occasion to...party. The Moroccan celebrate Mimouna, the Persians call it Shab-e Sal, when yogurt and herb dishes are served. When the Pesach coincides with the festivities on the occasion of the Nowruz, the Persian New Year, the celebrations can be mixed. Therefore, there is also the day after the end of Pesach, Ruz-e Sal when people go outside to celebrate with picnics and getting together outdoors (or it used to be before the Corona). In Turkey, the men of the house are celebrating the end of the matza festival by throwing grass, coins or candies for the children, as a symbol of wealth and wellbeing. 

So many different traditions, one people we should be proud to be part of it.

Selling your Chometz Online

Only 24 hours are left before Pesach, a holiday of family gathering and joy, that many of us will spend in isolation and far away from our beloved one. Spread all over the world or city of residence, in our places of quarantine, we are forced to adapt to new circumstances. A very interesting task for the halachic authorities to find the right solutions for those times, taking into account the pikuah nefesh - saving one´s life - considerations, while respecting the strict rules of the halacha.

For example, the case of selling chametz - leaven, that it is not permitted to be owned by a Jew during the Pesach holiday.

The traditional take

One of the most sacrosant laws of the Pesach is that you are not allowed to own any chametz in your home. The chametz should also not be given to your pets or cattle. 

In the old times, when the food resources were relatively limited, the traditional way was to sell the chometz to a non-Jew or simply burn it - first you had to search for it - bedikat, followed by destruction - biur.

However, later the things were becoming complicated. Especially in Eastern Europe, as Jews were forbade from working in the field of the agriculture, they opened tavern that manufactured and sold beers and other grain-based liquor. In this case, destroying such a large stock would create a significant financial loss. The same refers to the kosher stores or restaurants that own chametz and cannot sell it all before the holidays start. The halachic solution is to sell or rent a space owned by the Jew to a non-Jew that will acquire the property and will sell back after the holidays is over. The transaction is usually intermediated by a rabbi who is also the garantor/agent of the transfer. A complex sale requires a detailed decision, eventually took by a Bet Din - rabbinical tribunal - with more than 3 rabbis. This solution was introduced by Rabbi Yoel Sirkis (Bach) that lived in Europe between 1560 and 1640.  

Selling your chametz online

In most cases, the destruction/selling of the chametz involves personal interaction. You burn the chametz together with other members of the kehila - community -, you have to talk directly with your rabbi about the details of the property transfer. Unfortunately, social distancing rules that affects any community and individual in the world nowadays, makes such a contact impossible. 

Therefore, there is only method left, which is in line with the halacha, while avoiding any direct contact between the participants to the transaction: selling your chametz online.

I personally use this method for a long time, when happened to travel and not being in a place with a significant Jewish community. I always used the Chabad services which are fast, simple and kosher and for a long time, the only ones who did it. (On a side note, it is fantastic how, among all the Orthodox groups, Chabad is the best prepared to cope with the stringencies of the new COVID realities, with its relatively openness towards the modern world - like listening to the news - or introducing innovative solutions to halachic questions, like the online selling of the chometz). 

This method, that for many time was considered not necessarily non-problematic, is recommended by many Orthodox groups, including the Rabbinate in Israel. Each of this group has developed their own online structure, with a rabbi in charge with managing all the requests. After all, Internet is not so treif and if you use it wisely, it help respecting the letter of the halacha, particularly during those strange times we are in.

Virtual Resources for Your Pesach Preparation

This Pesach will be like no other. Stuck in our homes during lockdown, separated from our family and friends, all we have is sometimes just a seder plate and the glasses of wine. If for families and couples living under the same roof, Pesach will be easier - although some will miss the feeling of davening first in the synagogue and enjoying a communal seder - in those moment we have to think about old and single people, those who are alone and without any chance to join a meal and the celebration together with the others.

All our Jewish holidays require community and getting together. This time though, when our synagogues are closed, and meeting other people is stricly forbidden, we have to learn how to stay on our own while keeping a certain degree of observance. If in big cities with a high Jewish presence is easier to buy - including by ordering online - everything one needs for the Seder, in some other cases even finding a box of matzah can be problematic. 

But, thanks Gd, we have Internet and we can virtually connect to other people - for those not so strict in their observance - including by having a virtual seder - and we can also do all our necessary reading and spiritual preparations for the holidays online.

I made a rough selection of the best resources for preparing your Pesach and making it more meaningful during time of crisis:

The Orthodox Union has a full guide to Pesach for this year here (you need to register via email and you receive the materials to download)

Chabad prepared a guide about Everything You Need to Celebrate Pesach during Coronavirus

By the way, there is also a Pesach app!

Tablet prepared a series of articles dedicated to various aspects of the Pesach observance. Very well done and interesting content.

It´s worth checking also the Times of Israel online resources. They also published a list of resources for those that will have a solo Pesach seder

Here is a short historical outline of the Haggadah

For people in difficult situations - including abuse and mental health risks -, Amudim offers support and help. I particula

Enjoy and may your Pesach be kosher, healthy and meaningful!

We vs. We

A kid with long peyos is screaming to the Israeli police ´Nazis´ and coughing in their direction. Twitter-sphere is outraged and complain about the ´retard´ child and the overall low intellectual level of the Haredim. As in the case of the measle outbreak a couple of month ago, negative representations of ultra-orthodox, and religious people in general, abund everywhere in the Jewish media and social media approaches.

On one hand, especiall for secular people that probably didn´t have the opportunity to meet a representative of the religious group, the reactions during the terrible Coronavirus crisis are inacceptable. They seem to ignore authorities, built their own state-in-state, their attitude is of sheer disrespect towards the rule of law, while ignoring the risk of spreading the pandemics. Those who are outraged about their attitude might have a certain right to do so, because from outside, it is very difficult to understand why those people behave in this way.

On the other hand, those who had the chance at least once of being privy to the everyday life and customs of the religious people, know that the situation is far from being so simple. The life of the very religious people in Israel and abroad is following completely different patterns than the normal life. And I will only give a couple of examples that hopefully will bring more light into the current situation: most of them do not have access to media of any kind - TV, social media, phones (unless there are kosher, which means certified by a rabbi), radio; they go to schools focused on religous learning, not science or biology; the entire life cycle is governed by the religious order of things, which involves praying three times the day, respecting holidays and strict dietary norms; the deep belief that Torah and prayer and not the medical science or local authorities, are the best weapon against the everyday hardships. Religious people, when they need help and advice, they address their rabbi, not the police or the Internet. Their entire life revolves around their religious time therefore, asking them to stop praying in minyan or avoid going to the mikve is considered an attempt to undermine the very basis of their own existence.

Of course there are nuances to be made, as not all the religous groups reacted in the same way and especially in the context of the coronavirus restrictions, some were faster than the others in realizing the danger - although at least 10 days or more later, which in terms of pandemic spread is dangerously late and it costs lives. There is also a long discussion that I will not develop right now about how and why things are like that.

However, before starting to accuse them of being ´retards´ or attaching to them any other diffamatory attributes, it is better to try understanding the world of the ultra-orthodox. Some do make various comparison with what happened during WWII with some religious communities whose rabbis refused to encourage leaving taking the risk of ending up in the concentration camps. I am not sure that the comparisons are appropriate, as every situation has its own specifics and context. But it saddens me to see so much hate of Jews vs. Jews spread everywhere. 

It´s sad to think about the lives that will be lost because people did not listen to some very basic health requirements. It´s sad to see how children are taught to hate other Jews and disrespectfully cough in their direction. It´s sad to see so many judgemental opinions directed towards people whose life is largely unknown.

But why not use this terrible time of crisis to understand - again - that no one is safer, regardless how much we pray or not. What does it matter in those times is the pikuah nefesh - the preservation of human life overrides any other religious rule, including regarding Shabbat. The opposite of it is a sinful, foolish behavior, the ´piety of madness´. Let´s put hate and madness on hold and focus on life.

Here is an article published in the Forward which says the things for what, often, are when it comes to the stigmatization of Haredi community.

Book Review: Kaddish.com by Nathan Englander

When a parent dies, the oldest son has to recite the Kaddish - prayer for the dead - for the next 11 months in a synagogue with a minyan - a quorum of ten Jewish adults. It is a religous obligation of honoring the parents and it´s aimed at elevating the soul of the deceased. When not possible, a shaliah mitzva - someone that can do the obligation - can be delegated instead, in exchange of an amount of money.

This is the main topic of kaddish.com, Nathan Englander´s last book. With his usual mix of irony, sarcasm and his deep atheistic religious knowledge he delves into the world of religious obligations and the difficulty - if not impossibility of separating from one´s past. 

There is a thought, or two, that I´ve come along myself more than once: how can someone think that once you are becoming religious or non-religious, your past and thoughts and encounters is simply deleted and replaced with your new life? I don´t think it is humanly possible. It´s just the projection you want to have that, in fact, you can start anew when you want, as you want.

Meet Larry, devastated by the death of his dear father, that he loved dearly. He decided to break up with religion long ago and now is sitting the shiva - the seven days of mourning - in his Orthodox sister´s house in Memphis (there are Jews there too, Orthodox too, read Tova Mirvis books for more details). He wants to honor his father in his own way, and rebelliously refused to stick to his religious obligations (`A stupid chair isn´t what makes it mourning´ allusion to the fact that during shiva the mourners are sitting on lower chairs). When told he needs to say the kaddish for the next 11 months, he evades the obligation, find a website kaddish.com (which actually exists in reality), found someone to do it instead (`It was like a JDate for the dead`), and navigates later on a porn website. As her sister Dina said, he was living a gornisht - worth nothing, in Yiddish - life. 

By designating someone else to do his mitzva, he did a transfer of rights, a kinyan. Remembering his father was someone else´s job now. Remember Esav? He also trader his birthright for a bowl of lentils because he despised it.

Fast forward 20 years after, Larry is not Shuli, made tshuva - repentance - and is an Orthodox rabbi in the fictional Brooklyn´s Royal Hill neighbourhood. This flipping transition is a bit superficially featured, as we have no idea what exactly happened and how and other details. After a discussion with a kid from the school going through a rebelious phase - eating non-kosher, ignoring religious obligations - Shuli is suddenly haunted by his past, by his demise of his obligation as a Jewish son. He is becoming anxious, especially after obsessive messages sent back to the kaddish.com website are left unattended. (`What if I can´t get my birthright back?`). He desperately wants to finish his teshuva and leaving his family behind, he embarks on a mystery trip to Jerusalem, tracing the website and trying to find the person who said the kaddish for his father. 

In shock, he will acknowledge that, in fact, the entire story of the website was a hoax and no one ever said the kaddish for his father. It reminds me of a story I´ve been told of someone from America who for a long time, used to send tzeddakah - charity - to a foundation and once he made aliya to Israel, wanted to visit the recipients of his donations. In reality, it was no foundation and the money were used for some personal use - like dowry for a daughter - by the recipients. Does it make his mitzvah less worthy? Not at all, as he sent the money with the good intention and the aveirah - the transgression - belonged to the person who misused the funds.

After the deception of the Dinner at the Centre of the Earth, kaddish.com brought back my interest for Englander´s reading. Truth to be told, his chiseled art of creating world through words goes in most of the cases better with short stories - which I love - and might fail once in a while the art of the novel. But sometimes depends of how large the list of topics is. In Dinner..., it was way too much, and although I can understand that modern Jewish authors feel the obligation to have their word - and novel - on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it doesn´t guarantee that they are successful in this approach. On the other hand, the list of subjects featured in kaddish.com are better outlined, hence, there is a coherence and simplicity of the frame yet allowing a complex construction of the novel and an elaborated array of symbolic layers. 

Rating: 4 stars