Jewish Life Berlin: Westhafen Memorial

I was in a big hurry and a bit nervous as I was in a completely new and not friendly looking part of Berlin when I stumbled upon a spectacular monument near the Westhafen S-Bahn train station. A singular presence on the bridge, in the middle of almost nowhere, with unhappy people crossing the bridge. 

I made a short stop, looked around in order to be sure that there are not unusual - yes, this is the word that I wanted to use - people around, get the camera out of the pocket and made 2 short pictures and run away.

As I had found later, this memorial was inaugurated in 1987, for remembering the 30,000 Berlin Jews deported from the nearby Moabit freight depot. After Grünewald, Moabit was the second station for the 180 transports of Jews to death from the German capital city to the camps spread all over the country and the occupied territories. The memorial is located on the Putlitzbrücke that connects Moabit with Wedding. Volkman Haase was a famous sculptor, with many public works sharing a special strength, but this seems to be his only Shoah-related work.

The German railways - then Reichsbahn, today Deutsche Bahn - in the Shoah was concealed long time after the war was over and its atrocities made public. 

Jewish App Review: Eshet Chayl

I am relatively new in the world of apps and smart phones in general, and due to my very limited time, I am trying as much as possible to do things fast and invest a minimal amount of time in unuseful phone distractions. However, I am always looking for smart apps and things that can make my (Jewish) life better. 

A couple of days ago, an announcement of the Eshet Chayil app pop-up on my social media feed and decided to give it a try. I downloaded it for free. Launched the 25th of January this year, it is available for both iPhone and Android. I tried the Android version.

The installation is very easy and within a couple of minutes the app was on my phone. It does not have a special design or graphics. It was published by Sephardic Press, under the category of Women's Prayer Apps and it follows the laws and customs of the Aleppo Syrian Community. However, it does not have any references to the customs as such. It is published in Hebrew, with English explanations and translation. It has minimal functions, such as Zoom, Bookmarking, Fullscreen.

The content of the app is relatively basic, with the usual prayers for every day and holidays - although there is a special mention not to use the app on Shabbat, I am still not very happy with the idea of having the Shabbes and yom tov prayers on the phone at all. Another issue I have is with praying from an app as such - although I come along with the birkat hamazon though - but this is the topic of another post, I hope.

There are also special prayers and brachot for women, such as for going to mikve or for candle lightning or before taking challa. What I really liked in the case of this app was the last section, with the special prayers - on behalf of the husband, during labor, upon entering the hospital, for children material and spiritual success. Even only for these and I still recommend this app. After all, you do not need too much technical sophistication, only a quality yet simple framework and reliable information.

Customs of Tu B'Shvat

Tu B'Shvat or the New Year of the Trees is an agricultural-related holiday with a heavy kabbalistic symbolism. For me, it is one of the most beloved holidays because it announces that the winter will finish soon, but also for the hard work of every year for finding that new special fruit (still not found what I am looking for this year). 

There are a lot of customs associated to this holiday, some of them introduced recently or after the creation of the state:

- On this occasion, children are planting trees or money is collected for planting trees in Israel.

- It is preceded by Shabbat Shira, when it is assumed that the birds are returning from the warm lands. Seeds are left for the birds on this occasion. It is usual to prepare kasha as part of the Shabbes meal.

- According to Magen Avraham, "It is custom to eat many different kinds of fruits" on this occassion, for saying as many brachot as possible. The new fruit is for  the shekianu. The fruits should generally include shvat haminim, the seven species of the land of Israel: grapes, olives, dates, figs, wheat, barley and pomegranate. Rabbi Isaac Luria mention 15 varieties of fruits corresponding to the 15 of the month of Shvat, when this holiday is celebrated - according to Beit Hillel. The rabbis from Tsfat mention 12 fruits, corresponding to the number of possible permutations of the letters used for Gd's name. Thus, to the 7 species are added: apples, almonds, walnuts, carob and etrog. Rabbi Eleazar used to say that he rather eat less during the year for savig money for eating as many new fruits as possible on Tu B'Shvat. 

- Tachnun is omitted from the Shachrit and Mincha in this day and also from the Mincha the afternoon before. Rabbeinu Gershon says that because this holiday can be compared to Rosh Hashana, fasting is not allowed on this occasion. In Responsa Yehaveh Da'at 1:81, Rav Ovadia Yosef z''l concluded that although it is customary for the bride and groom to fast on the day before the wedding, if this day fallls on Tu B'Shvat, they do not have to fast.

- The custom developed in Tsfat and first used among the Sephardic communities is to celebrate the holiday with a seder, similar with the seder Pesach. There are some similarities, like: drinking white wine at the beginning and red at the end - parallel with the 4 cups on Pesach, or to say a version of MaNishtana (this was introduced relatively recent, by Nogah Hareuveni of Neot Kedumim in 1979).

- Some of the usual meals served on this occassion include many fruits and vegetables, such as vegetarian pilaf, salads - including fruit salad -, fruit compot, almond cakes, couscous or lamb stew with various vegetables. 

- There is customary to eat now the etrog from Sukkot, either raw or in various combinations.In this day also one can pray for a beautiful etrog for the next Sukkot. 

- According to some customs, carob is eaten on this occasion. Considered the food eaten by Rabbi Chanina ben Dosa who knew how to bring miracles. The last Lubavitcher Rebbe recommended during the Gulf War the consumption of carob by the population as a protection against the possible life threats. 

- On Tu B'Shvat the age of the trees for tithing is calculated. It also marks the beginning of the fiscal year of agriculture.

- The erev Tu B'Shvat is considered a time for learning and it is customary to spend the time in Torah study. The tree is actualy a symbol of Torah. 

What about you? Do you have some special customs for this holidays? Feel free to share!

Sparkle of chessed

I was again in one of those situations when the unexpected and inimaginable is happening, out of millilards of people in the world, exactly to me. My domesticated side was requesting me to welcome everything with a good big graceful smile. After all, gam zu le tova, isn't it? My fighter side of the brain was commanding me to do not give up and revolt. While I was caught up in this left versus right dispute, more bad things were happening to me, but hopefully the focus on the brain debate helped me - again and again - to go smoothly through this new trial.

What really happened and why is the topic of a separate discussion that I am not ready to develop yet. What matter is something completely different what happened: the sparkle of chessed from simple unknown people. That woman that brougt me hot water for preparing the food for my baby, or that guy that called another friend to help me carry the very load luggage, or that woman that started to search with me the little sock that I lost, or that religious guy that brought me a sandwich for the night. And many others. In those moment of darkness they brought the light into my life. 

The dispute right versus left is still running out on the back on my head, but now I know for sure that out of everything the chessed won. So, maybe it is gam zu le tova after all. 

Truman Capote and the Jews

When I am looking for literary inspiration for my current writing projects, I always love to return to American literature and its art of short story telling. With its attachment to reality and ordinary life stories, it always teaches me how to properly use the power of words. Out of a long list of choices, I love the art of Truman Capote or Raymond Chandler.

Last December, I had a bit of time to return to my literary secret pleasures and spent an afternoon reading Music for chameleons, by Capote, a collection of short stories and literary interviews from the daily reality. 

In the story/interview A Day's Work, from June 1979, where the author is following Mary the cleaning lady during her job hopping from a customer to another, they arrive at the Berkowitz family, portrayed in a very negative ridiculous light. They have a perroquet screaming 'Oy, oy' all the time, they are not generous and nice with the poor Mary, shortly, not the kind of employer you would work for out of love and dedication. 'Jews should be stuffed and put in a natural history museum' he concludes in the house of Berkowitz where he accompanied Mary, in their absence.

This antipathic attitude of Capote towards the Jews is not surprising and not unique. During an air interview he attacked the 'Jewish interests' in literature warning that 'Jewish mafia was taking over the American literature and New York'. Norman Podhoretz absolved him of any anti-Semitic attitude, but it does not excuse his attitude. As I was showed on other occasions, being intelligent and gifted does not make you more human. This goes especially in the case of public intellectuals. 

The mysteries around Birkat HaRofeh

Source: chazin.com

On the desk of my children physician stays a glass support with the words of the Birkat HaRofeh, the doctor's prayer. Having many doctors in the family myself, I know how important is the role of the physician in one's life. For centuries, we relied on science not on superstition, developping permanently the methods aimed to cure and save lives.

Praising Gd for creating the human body, this blessing replaced the Hippocrat Oath in some medical schools in Israel. For a successful doctor, this is an usual gift from a healthy ex-patient. When someone finishes the medical school, a piece of art with harofeh is a common gift. 

The origin of this birkat harofeh is not very clear somehow. Traditionally, it is attributed to Rambam (Maimonides). However, recent researches assumed a much more recent date, attributing the birkat to Dr. Markus Herz, a German pupil of Kant and a friend of Moses Mendelssohn. Before him, there were other authors of the physicians's prayer, such as Asaph Harofeh (in the 6th century). Rabbi Judah Halevi, Jacob Zahalon or Abraham Zacutus. However, the current version appeared in print in a German version from 1783, with the first Hebrew version available only in 1790. The English version was published only in 1841. 

Understanding the history is always important for understanding ourselves. More information about this mysterious bracha can eventually shed more light on the history of Jewish medicine as well. 

Circumcision, by Jackson Pollock or what is in a name

I am not at all a bit fan of Jackson Pollock and very often I am not in the mood for his works. Very often I found his paintings disturbing, emotionally disbalanced and not easy to grasp. 

I visited though recently an exhibition presenting his works and surprisingly I stopped in the front of a work of him that I was not familiar with, Circumcision. Finished in 1946, the painting is considered by the art critics as a moment of independence from Picasso. The painting is following different directions, without a center. Each area has its own importance, given by the strong touch of the brush. Signs that reminds of the primitive art, such as eyes or arrows are spread over the surface of the canvas. While I was usuccessfully looking around the painting over and over again trying to make a connection between the name of the painting and the content, I fell in love with the special combination of colours, the gold yellow and the sweet salmon pink spread between the big patches of blue and light white. But at the end of my visit at the exhibition, I was not advancing any inch of knowledge towards finding the traces of the circumcision.Why Pollock, who grew up in a presbyterian family chosed this title?

Intrigued, I continued my search online trying to find some special art critique interpretation. Thus, I realized how void I was, obsessively trying to connect the title with a hidden meaning. Things were in fact much easier than expected. The title 'Circumcision' was suggested to Pollock after the painting was ready by his wife, Lee Krasner. An interesting painter herself, she was born in a Jewish-Russian family that emigrated to United States. Her connection to Judaism was not very manifested but it surged again in this moment of creative inspiration. 

Meanwhile, I am still trying to understand this painting