Judaism

Modern Shavuot Is Not a Biblical Holiday

The current observance of Shavuot has no relationship to its biblical ancestor and doesn’t even occur at the same time. Very few people know the truth about this day. Most Jews think Shavuot recalls the day the Torah was revealed to the Israelites during the days of Moses. This is not true. This significance was given to the holiday in the middle ages when the holiday had lost one of its original purposes; the sacrifice prescribed for the day was discontinued when the second Temple was destroyed in 70 CE. [Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin]

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Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish Religion

Good News from Israel (May 9, 2021)

In the May 9, 2021 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:
-New Israeli treatment allows multiple myeloma patients to get bone transplants.
-Israeli kidney specialist donates his own kidney.
-Israeli leaders host Muslims for Ramadan events.
-Israel’s next astronaut will supervise 44 Israeli space experiments.
-An Israeli startup is recycling worn out car tires.
-An Israeli consultancy is project managing a new industrial zone in Dubai.
-Unique videos, photos and a new discovery to help celebrate Jerusalem Day.
[Michael Ordman]

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Business & Finance, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Michael Ordman, Middle East, Science, Medicine, & Education, Sports & Competitions, The World We Share, USA

Lithuania Has Yet to Acknowledge Its Holocaust Role

Like most South African Jews, my ancestors came from Lithuania and my family tree has relatives who perished in the Holocaust. I grew up with very little knowledge of what occurred in Lithuania during the Holocaust and attributed the slaughter of its Jews to the German Nazis, however, if fact, it was the Lithuanians, with very little or no German supervision, who enthusiastically carried out this slaughter and this is borne out by the testimonies of 121 Jewish survivors of the Holocaust in Lithuania. [David Solly Sandler]

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International, Jewish History

Jewish Folk Remedies from the Pale of Settlement

Wait, it’s not the chicken soup, it’s the herbs that count! Eastern European Jewry, particularly those living in the area known as “The Pale of Settlement,” on the western side of the Dnieper River, in present-day Ukraine, whose history there began in the Middle Ages, have a “long and distinguished canon dedicated to the healing process,” a research area unfortunately ignored, by-and-large, by sociological scholars. Cohen and Siegel, in their joint venture Ashkenazi Herbalism, describe the history and role of plants and herbs employed by Ashkenazi folk-healers, piecing together sparse, fragmented sources, and weaving them into an engaging story. [Fred Reiss, Ed.D]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Fred Reiss, EdD, International, Jewish History, Science, Medicine, & Education

Haftorah Reading for May 8, 2021

This poetic text of this week’s Haftorah reading indicates Jeremiah’s commitment to God, despite his failures to successfully correct Judea’s wayward behaviors. The background is the coming destruction of the Southern Kingdom and Solomon’s Temple, with exile of their leaders by Babylon. Jeremiah’s prophesy career is experienced as repeated rejection. [Irv Jacobs, M.D.]

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Irv Jacobs, MD, Jewish Religion

By Our Actions We Choose Blessings or Curses

As this third book of the Torah, the middle book, comes to an end, we are given nechemta, with a hopeful view of future generations. The parasha tells us, “If you follow My statutes and observe My commandments and perform them, I will give you rains in their time, the Land will yield its produce, and the tree of the field will give forth its fruit. Your threshing will last until the vintage…and I will grant peace in the Land…You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you…” [Michael R. Mantell, Ph.D]

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Jewish Religion, Michael Mantell

Jewish Trivia Quiz: James Carville

James Carville offered advice and criticism to the Democratic Party for their overall poor results (other than winning the presidency) in the last election (“We won the White House against a world-historical buffoon. And we came within 42,000 votes of losing.”). What “Jewish-referenced” comment did Carville offer? [Mark D. Zimmerman]

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Jewish History, Mark D. Zimmerman, Middle East, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA

School Boards Should Formally Acknowledge Jewish American History Month

California’s newly adopted Ethnic Studies Curriculum has given San Diego County educators the opportunity to combat antisemitism by recognizing and celebrating the many contributions and extensive history of the American Jewish community.  Local Boards of Education should formally acknowledge the month of May as Jewish American Heritage Month within our San Diego County schools.  [Mark Powell]

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Jewish History, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, USA