You can also check out films and original TV series.
The first-ever Jewish television news broadcast was recently launched by The Jewish Channel. Because we need discerning audience members like those who follow every detail here at Jewschool, TLC is offering the entire Jewschool readership a free month of TJC to get your feedback. If you don’t like TJC, you can cancel at the end of the month.
For the free month redemption, simply call 1-866-769-2297 and follow the directions, using the coupon code “JSC.”
The Jewish Channel is available on the following systems:
iO Optimum Cable Channel 291
Time Warner Cable Channel 528
Cox Cable Channel 1
Verizon FiOS Channel 900
What does God mean to Jewish women today? How does our contemporary moment — gendered and generational — affect our understanding of, and connection to, the Divine? Sign up with code “ZEEK” to get the exclusive $12 rate — available only for Zeek readers and their friends. Spread the word!
Panel will feature the following excellent individuals, including two Jewschool contributors:
Feminist theologian Dr. Judith Plaskow is the author of Standing Again at Sinai and The Coming of Lilith.
Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg is the author of Surprised By God: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Religion.
Jen Taylor Friedman is the first woman known to scribe a Torah scroll. She is the creator of the infamous Tefillin Barbie.
Dr. Tamar Kamionkowski is the academic dean of Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and the author of Gender Reversal and Cosmic Chaos: A Study on the Book of Ezekiel.
Presented by the 92Y in cooperation with Zeek: A Journal of Jewish Thought and Culture.
Code: T-BL5LH05-01 / Price: $27.00 ($12 with code ZEEK)
Most importantly, make sure to get your ticket in advance for ONLY $12 – is.gd/qWb9 or 212.415.5500 use code ‘ZEEK’
Between jobs? Just finished college? Want to live somewhere beautiful and learn about farming and sustainability? Here are two excellent choices – one in Connecticut and one in Israel. This photo is from my visit to the second. Each are wonderful communities – why not apply for both?
ADAMAH: The Jewish Environmental Fellowship
Now in its seventh successful year, ADAMAH: The Jewish Environmental Fellowship is a three-month leadership training program for Jewish young adults in their 20s that integrates organic farming, sustainable living, Jewish learning, community building and contemplative spiritual practice.
A typical day is spent on our six-acre farm, in our commercial kitchen and on our goat pasture, helping to create a sustainable business that models ecological design, financial viability and social responsibility. Evenings are spent learning about Judaism and sustainability, building community and cultivating leadership skills.
Where else can you say a blessing while using recycled vegetable oil to fuel a truck that is filled with organic produce and naturally fermented kosher pickles? Click here for the answer to this and other frequently asked questions.
An amazing staff and assortment of visiting faculty will help you listen to and follow your soul’s yearning for ecological and spiritual wholeness, recraft a Jewish identity that sings to you, and build relationships and skills that will sustain you for the rest of your life.
Learn about our harvest, meet our alumni and view our photo gallery. You can even hear us sing on our new CD, read comments and reflections from the ADAMAH community on our blog, and find out what we have planned for the future.
2009 ADAMAH Fellowships
Summer Session: May 24 to September 7, 2009
Fall Session: September 13 to December 13, 2009
To Apply for Upcoming Seasons
We are accepting applications for the Summer and Fall 2009 ADAMAH fellowships on a rolling basis. Fourteen summer fellows and fourteen fall fellows will be selected to participate in the 2009 Program. Fellows are asked to pay a fee of $500 to cover part of the cost of the ADAMAH Fellowship. Financial Aid is available for those in need.
To apply for financial aid, please complete the financial aid section of the ADAMAH Application (.doc).
ECO-ISRAEL FOR PEOPLE AGES 20-30
Duration: 6 Months / Program Cost: $4,500 Hava & Adam Eco-Israel offers English-speaking Jewish young adults, ages 20-30, an opportunity to develop a deep, personal, land-based relationship to the land of Israel, its people and heritage. Eco-Israel is a unique Israeli-Jewish expression of the growing worldwide movement centered on the health, economic and spiritual values of authentic permaculture-ecological living. Through organic soil cultivation and food production, communal living and learning, the Eco-Israel project aims to cultivate a new land ethic, renewing the Jewish people’s traditional approach to its ancient, sacred ecological relationship with the Land of Israel.
Participants in Eco-Israel spend 5.5 months living on the Hava & Adam environmental educational center and ecological farm, located near the city of Modi’in, in central Israel, creating a dynamic self-reliant community – together with Israeli volunteers – developing a strong connection with the diversity of Israeli landscapes – human and natural. Contact Info:Naomi Katz, Tel: (+972) 2-930-9331; Fax: (+972) 2 586-0522; naomi.katz@havaveadam.org
Below is an editorial from last week’s Ha’aretz - sorry that it lost the shuffle due to the inauguration. I think it’s a succinct way of looking at the whole situation, and certainly the most hopeful thing I’ve read all week.
Editor’s note: Alex Sinclair is a lecturer in Jewish Education at the Schechter Institute for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem, and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, New York. p.s. and also shamir is one of his biggest fans.
Killing lots of Palestinians is not going to magically turn them into Zionists. When the war is over, they will still be there. Our neighbors. We will still need to live next door to them. We will still need to come to a modus vivendi.
…
Here are some carrots that Israel needs to offer the Palestinians, even as we continue to deal with Gaza via the stick.
1. Israel needs to start work on the safe passage between Gaza and the West Bank.
…
2. Israel needs to come to an agreement with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on borders. We can do this tomorrow as well.
…
3. Israel needs to make a gesture on the fate of Jerusalem. Yes, we all know deep down that in the end, whether we like it or not, we are going to have to share Jerusalem. East Jerusalem is a different country, and most Israelis never go there. It’s not ours. It’s not us. And that’s okay.
…
We can do these three things without harming Israeli security one iota, and we can do these three things while we are justifiably seeking to destroy Hamas.
The Immigrant Absorption Ministry announced on Sunday it was setting up an “army of bloggers,” to be made up of Israelis who speak a second language, to represent Israel in “anti-Zionist blogs” in English, French, Spanish and German.
The program’s first volunteer was Sandrine Pitousi, 31, from Kfar Maimon, situated five kilometers from Gaza. “I heard about the project over the radio and decided to join because I’m living in the middle of the conflict,” she said.
…
“During the war, we looked for a way to contribute to the effort,” the ministry’s director general, Erez Halfon, told Haaretz. “We turned to this enormous reservoir of more than a million people with a second mother tongue.” Other languages in which bloggers are sought include Russian and Portuguese.
Poll: Will Jewschool be recruited or targeted? You choose – click the graphic below to participate in our scientific survey:
Editor’s note: The following is a guest post from Matt Bycer
Love it or leave it, Heeb Magazine has tapped a cultural phenomenon to become a well distributed, and highly criticized, publication for the hip-Jew crowd. In an attempt to leverage their popular momentum, Heeb Media filed to register the mark “Heeb” for its latest foray in the fashion industry and for event promotions.
Standing in their way is the aging public, protected-in-part by the U.S.P.T.O. Where do we draw the line with regard to the uses, sarcastic and pejorative, of the term ‘Heeb’? Originating in the 20th century, ‘Heeb‘ became a common derogatory slur to refer to Jews. Many of our grandparents suffered unspeakable anti-semitism through the 20th century, such anti-semitism continuing to this day. Do we feel compassion?
The term ‘Heeb’ has been used and abused by Heeb Media, plastered on T-shirts and used to promote social events. Don’t get me wrong, I love my “Yo Semite” T-shirt, and I agree with most forms of free speech as protected by the First Amendment.
In fact, the TTAB addresses these concerns stating that while Heeb Media intends “to transform this word, the best that can be said is that it is still in transition.”
However, giving Heeb Media the power to restrict others’ use of the term ‘Heeb’, to promote its profitable endeavors, seems counter to any cultural revolution. Perhaps we will see the evolution of our lexicon in our lifetime; let us hope that the guiding power remains in our hands.
Matt Bycer is a practicing Intellectual Property lawyer in Phoenix, Arizona and a patent attorney with Cahill, von Hellens & Glazer, PLC. He can be reached at mbycer (-a-t-) cvglaw.com or 602.956.7000
At least three Katyusha rockets fired from south Lebanon exploded in northern Israel early Thursday morning, leaving two people lightly wounded and a number of others suffering from shock.
This was the first time a Katyusha fired from Lebanon struck Israeli territory since the Israel Air Force began its offensive against Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip on December 27.
…
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Wednesday warned that should Israel attack Lebanon, it would suffer an even greater defeat than the one he claimed it suffered in 2006.
“We are prepared for every possibility and are ready for all aggression… The Zionists will discover that the war they had in July was a walk in the park if we compare it to what we’ve prepared for every new aggression,” Nasrallah said, referring to the Second Lebanon War.
A tiny bit more from the BBC. JPost points a finger at “Palestinian terror groups” and not Hizbullah.
A diverse group of Jewish Canadian women are currently occupying the Israeli consulate at 180 Bloor Street West in Toronto. This action is in protest against the on-going Israeli assault on the people of Gaza.
…
Protesters are outraged at Israel’s latest assault on the Palestinian people and by the Canadian government’s refusal to condemn these massacres. They are deeply concerned that Canadians are hearing the views of pro-Israel groups who are being represented as the only voice of Jewish Canadians. The protesters have occupied the consulate to send a clear statement that many Jewish-Canadians do not support Israel’s violence and apartheid policies. They are joining with people of conscience all across the world who are demanding an end to Israeli aggression and justice for the Palestinian people.
Eight Jewish Canadian women who were arrested while holding a protest inside the Israeli consulate have been released.
…
“Israel purports to represent all Jews worldwide and these atrocities are not being committed in our name,” said spokesperson and filmmaker Cathy Gulkin, standing outside of the consulate.
Gulkin said the women entered the secure consulate on the seventh floor of the building two by two around 10 a.m. She said the point of the protest was to draw attention to the fact that not all members of Toronto’s Jewish community support the agenda of the Israeli government.
“There are Jews that do not follow the Israeli line and are sickened by what is happening in Gaza.”
Outside of the consulate a group of more than thirty supporters carried signs saying “People of Gaza you are not alone” and “Toronto Coalition to stop the war.” They shouted slogans “No justice, no peace,” “Jewish women not in our name” and “Stop the violence.”
As far as we can tell, Israeli consulate spokesperson Edward McCloskey declined to comment on the incident.
The BBC reports on Human Rights Watch and B’tselem accounting of Israel targeting a university, schools, mosques, government buildings, and other civilian cites. The article also outlines some of the thorny issue around the question of who is a civilian:
The bloodied children are clearly civilians; men killed as they launch rockets are undisputedly not. But what about the 40 or so young Hamas police recruits on parade who died in the first wave of Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza?
And weapons caches are clearly military sites – but what about the interior ministry, hit in a strike that killed two medical workers; or the money changer’s office, destroyed last week injuring a boy living on the floor above?
As the death toll mounts in Gaza, the thorny question is arising of who and what can be considered a legitimate military target in a territory effectively governed by a group that many in the international community consider a terrorist organisation.
This is also the group that won the Palestinian legislative elections in January 2006 and a year later consolidated its control by force.
So while it was behind a campaign of suicide attacks in Israel and fires rockets indiscriminately over the border, it is also in charge of schools, hospitals, sewage works and power plants in Gaza.
…
“Our definition is that anyone who is involved with terrorism within Hamas is a valid target. This ranges from the strictly military institutions and includes the political institutions that provide the logistical funding and human resources for the terrorist arm.”
-Benjamin Rutland, IDF spokesman
…
“To claim that all of those offices are legitimate targets, just because they are affiliated with Hamas, is legally flawed and extremely problematic.”
-B’Tselem director Jessica Montell
Not the peace of a cease-fire
not even the vision of the wolf and the lamb,
but rather
as in the heart when the excitement is over
and you can talk only about a great weariness.
I know that I know how to kill, that makes me an adult.
And my son plays with a toy gun that knows
how to open and close its eyes and say Mama.
A peace
without the big noise of beating swords into ploughshares,
without words, without
the thud of the heavy rubber stamp: let it be
light, floating, like lazy white foam.
A little rest for the wounds – who speaks of healing?
(And the howl of the orphans is passed from one generation
to the next, as in a relay race:
the baton never falls.)
Let it come
like wildflowers,
suddenly, because the field
must have it: wildpeace.
Grubbe Chulent wrote:WHAT ARE THE LAWS REGARDING SEX IN FRONT OF THE MENORAH. IS IT OK, NOT OK, IS IT EVEN A QUESTION.
If you are a litvak and place the menorah by the front door or front window why are you having sex by the front door or window? And if you are a chassid and place the menorah by the kitchen why are you having sex on the kitchen floor?
…
Back in yeshiva we used to say “ha,naaros” halolu (ha,naaros = girls) kodesh heim, ve.ain lonu reshus lehishtamaish buhem, elo lirosam bilvad!
(translation for those who don’t get it= hanaaros, these girls are holy, we are not permitted to use them, only to look at them)
- h/t to Frum Satire blogging over at Jewcy.com for linking to the general message boards.
by shamirpower [➚] · Wednesday, December 10th, 2008
Come on, you all wish you’d thought of it first:
Question: can an iMenorah fulfill one’s halakhic obligation to light Hanukkah candles? These folks have a theory based on the electric menorahs folks like to put in the windows of stores in order to be PC at this time of year. Your thoughts, Jewschoolers?
With my vote today I am prepared and intending
to seek peace for this country, as it is written:
“Seek out the peace of the city where I cause you to roam
and pray for her sake to God YHVH, for in her peace you all will
have peace.” (Jer. 29:7)
May it be Your will that votes will be counted faithfully
and may You account my vote as if I had fulfilled this verse
with all my power.
May it be good in Your eyes to give a wise heart
to whomever we elect today
and may You raise for us a government whose rule is for good and blessing
to bring justice and peace to all the inhabitants of the world
and to Jerusalem,
for rulership is Yours!
Just as I participated in elections today
so may I merit to do good deeds and repair the world with all my actions,
and with the act of…[fill in your pledge] which I pledge to do today
on behalf of all living creatures
and in remembrance of the covenant of Noah’s waters
to protect and to not destroy the earth and her plenitude.
May You give to all the peoples of this country, the strength and will
to pursue righteousness and to seek peace as unified force
in order to cause to flourish, throughout the world, good life and peace
and may You fulfill for us the verse:
“May the pleasure of Adonai our God be upon us,
and establish the work of our hands for us,
may the work of our hands endure.” (Ps. 90:17)
The most vexing problem Israel faces is its relations with its neighbors. From the inception of the state until today, Israelis have felt besieged, surrounded by enemies who want to make them disappear. The constant security threat has made it very difficult for Israel to address the long list of problems that for the most part have been swept under the rug while awaiting peace. These include a disastrous educational system, a widening gap between rich and poor, and bitter division between secular and religious Jews. Israel desperately needs peace if it is to come anywhere close to being the “light unto nations” of Jewish dreams.
I quarrel with the oft-heard assumption that “George W. Bush is good for Israel.” He gleaned many Jewish votes on that slogan, but I take a contrarian’s position. Israel is further from peace than it was at the end of the Clinton administration. The smoldering hatred between Iraq’s Sunni and Shi’a has burst into flames as a result of the American occupation. An emboldened Iran, with its Shi’a majority, has strengthened and armed Israel’s enemies Hamas and Hezbollah. But Israel’s most immediate danger comes from a nuclear Iran. Under the Bush administration, conversations with the Iranians began only at the end of May 2007 and have been badly mishandled. The result of the Bush doctrine in the Middle East has been an America and an Israel that are regarded with hatred and fear.
The region requires an honest broker that will push both sides towards a workable solution and a two state outcome. I remember the scene at the White House when President Clinton helped Prime Minister Rabin to shake Arafat’s hand. Whether an American president is prepared to preside over another handshake–one that could build lasting peace–should not be measured by his professed love for one side or the other, but by his judgment.
How refreshing to hear from establishment Jewry in this way.
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