OrTorah: Kav HaChesed: Help Us to Fight Poverty in Israel

OrTorah » Forums » News forum » Kav HaChesed: Help Us to Fight Poverty in Israel

Kav HaChesed: Help Us to Fight Poverty in Israel by EduPlanet Rectorate (daniEl I. Ginerman) - Monday, 1 May 2006, 03:23 AM

Kav HaChesed: Let's fight poverty in Israel! עזור לנו לעזור להם Help Us Help Them! קו החסד לקח על עצמו לתקן את קו העוני. במדינה בה כל ילד שלישי מוגדר ע"י הביטוח הלאומי מתחת לקו העוני משמעות הדבר שישנם ילדים רעבים ללחם יום יום פשוטו כמשמעו. הקו המנחה של העמותה, הינו הרצון העז להיטיב עם עם-ישראל, מתוך שיתוף פעולה בין כל גווני האוכלוסייה במטרה לקשר ולהרבות אהבה בישראל. Kav Hachesed Activities: פעילויות Chesed Yisrael פרוייקט "חסד לישראל Helping elementary school pupils   עזרה לתלמיד Bridal Salon סלון כלות Sandwiches for schools כריך לבי"ס Assistance to soldiers עזרה לחייל Chesed in an emergency חסד חוצה גבולות       Kav HaChesed is committed to correcting the poverty line. In a country in which every third child is defined by the National Insurance Institute as living below the poverty line, it means quite simply that there are children starving just for bread, every day. Kav HaChesed's guiding principle is the strong desire to improve life for the Jewish people, through cooperation between all the different sectors of the population and with the aim of increasing Ahavat Yisrael, love for one another.   You CAN Help   אתה יכול לעזור תמוך במבצע! תרום חד-פעמית או בהוראת קבע מהכרטיס-אשראי שלך, באמצעות שרת בטוח... וקבל שפע ברכה לחייך ולאהוביך Join our Mission with either a monthly automatic debit from your c.c., or a one-time donation רק הפעם   OneTime חודשי    Monthly U$D 18= U$D 18= U$D 36= U$D 36= U$D 52= U$D 52= U$D 72= U$D 72= U$D 101= U$D 101= U$D 180= U$D 180= U$D 272= U$D 272= U$D 360= U$D 360= U$D 450= U$D 450= U$D 541= U$D 541= U$D 613= U$D 613= This supporting e-mail for Kav HaChesed mission is sent by EduPlanet.Network Torah Online Community, without any further interest but Kidush Hashem. It's not spam, and it's being sent this single time to some Jewish Forums to which Kav HaChesed supporters are subscribed, with the intention of making together the worth. May Hashem bless all geneerous hearts that act from the highest Rachamim towards the Jewish needed. If you want to contact Kav HaChesed, fill this form and state in the mail that it's directed to Kav HaChesed, or call us to the 0525-801228 in Israel. Kav Hachesed - NEWS Reply See this post in context

OrTorah: Vote No to Slander - by Rabbi S. Weiss

OrTorah » Forums » Judaism and Jews: Comprehension of the future from the b"H yet non-Past Tradition of the Truth, right today » Vote No to Slander - by Rabbi S. Weiss

Vote No to Slander - by Rabbi S. Weiss by EduPlanet Rectorate (daniEl I. Ginerman) - Monday, 27 March 2006, 04:12 PM

Vote No to Slander by Rabbi S. Weiss Mar 26, '06 / 26 Adar 5766 From all things we must learn, say the sages, and often the world around us can teach us a thing or two about Jewish values. And so, I call your attention to a little-known town in Colombia, a place called Icononzo, 40 miles southwest of the capital, Bogota. Fed up with local residents being targeted by false rumors and turning up dead or wrongfully arrested, the mayor of Iconozo has made gossip a crime, punishable by up to four years in prison and a six-figure fine. On more than one occasion, malicious gossip in the city has had disastrous consequences. In one instance, a man was killed because somebody claimed, erroneously, that he belonged to a leftist insurgent group. On another occasion, a rumor ­ later proved to be unfounded - that an armed gang was on its way to terrorize the town kept residents locked inside their homes for 48 hours, too afraid to go to work or send their kids to school. Finally, the town council decided to take drastic action. "Human beings must be aware and recognize that having a tongue and using it to do bad is the same as having dynamite in their mouths," said Mayor Jesus Ignacio Jimenez. Knowing that drug-ridden Colombia is no stranger to violence, and that deadly weapons are readily available, local officials decided to clamp down on gossipmongers. "It's definitely had an impact since it went into effect," said one citizen, "now people think twice about what they say before they say it." Of course, Judaism is no stranger to the evils of lashon hara. The Torah prohibits gossip, slander and tale-bearing, and the rabbis characterize the tongue as a snake with a vicious bite that must be kept behind two gates ­ the teeth and the lips ­ to prevent it from striking too easily and spreading its venom. One who uses the power of speech to embarrass another is considered to have shed blood, the evidence of his crime indicated by the red blush of his victim. In Jewish thought, the principal problem with malicious gossip ­ even when it is true and accurate ­ is that it tends to focus on only a tiny portion of the whole person. It takes a snapshot of a particular fault or feature, and blows it up into a pervasive, larger-than-life photograph of the victim. It is a sinister sound bite that can devour whole another's reputation or name, based upon a fraction of that person's behavior. That is why the Torah's punishment for slander is tzara'at, a disease of the skin that comes from too much gossip. A small lesion that ultimately renders the whole body impure, tzara'at repays, measure for measure, the gossiper, who would use one unflattering incident to paint his victim with a wide brush. Once diagnosed as afflicted, the slanderer must be quarantined, kept outside the mainstream, just as he attempted to isolate and ostracize his neighbor. All this seems most topical on the eve of Israeli elections. Watching the various parties' ads, it is clear that the main focus is not what is right about their programs or platforms, but what is wrong with their competition. Kadima's spot shows picture after picture of Binyamin Netanyahu in unflattering poses, questioning his honesty and integrity. Likud warns that Ehud Olmert is "dangerous for the nation." Meretz and Shinui blast the Hareidim for ruining their lives, with Shinui's slogan being, "We're not Shas!" And virtually all the parties let us know what an inexperienced, untested non-cosmopolitan boor Amir Peretz is. Missing from this cavalcade of lashon hara is the clear statement of what each party stands for and what it will do to secure our future. What solid ideas does it offer for improving the economy, stopping road deaths, ending violence in schools and homes, kicking corrupt officials out of government, increasing immigration and bringing the nation together? Does it have a plan, a vision, of where Israel can and should be in five years, ten years, fifty years from now? Is t here a positive reason that you, Mr. or Mrs. Candidate, should be elected, or should I vote for you just because - so you tell me - the other guy is worse? Imagine what a Colombian-like ban on gossip in this election campaign would do to transform the shape of our politicking. It would force the candidates to actually focus on their own qualifications, to impress us with their own unique wisdom, creativity and personal charisma. It would turn the spotlight directly on them, highlighting both their past performance and their future potential. It would make them tell us why they believe that they are the person best equipped to direct this nation. And maybe, just maybe, it would help to create the kind of leader we so desperately need, but cannot seem to find. Reply See this post in context

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OrTorah: Harry Potter is Jewish!

OrTorah » Forums » Judaism and Jews: Comprehension of the future from the b"H yet non-Past Tradition of the Truth, right today » Harry Potter is Jewish!

Harry Potter is Jewish! by EduPlanet Rectorate (daniEl I. Ginerman) - Thursday, 5 January 2006, 04:37 AM

Harry Potter is Jewish! (A Useful Metaphor) by Rabbi Jack Abramowitz www.ou.org/ncsy/projects/5764/oct31-64/harry_potter_is_jewish.htm No, sorry to say, the character of Harry Potter is not Jewish. I think the books are quite clear on that, what with Christmas being a major plot point what seems like every six weeks. But I think the theme of the Harry Potter series is quite Jewish. Some religious people of different faiths, including Judaism and Christianity, have opposed the Harry Potter series. (I wouldn't be surprised to find that Moslems, Hindus and others have objected, as well.) After all, it does appear to glorify a lifestyle quite at odds with the one they espouse. But I think they're missing the point. Harry Potter doesn't advocate witchcraft as a lifestyle choice any more than the Terminator movies advocate the killer android from the future lifestyle. Harry Potter is about a boy who just happens to be a wizard. Personally, I think the Harry Potter story may be a perfect metaphor for what many Jewish teens encounter in their quest for religious growth. You see, Hogwarts isn't a school of wizardry. It's a yeshiva. It's Yarchei Kallah. It's a Shabbaton. It's wherever you want to go to grow in Torah observance and get closer to G-d. We'll talk more about Hogwarts specifically soon enough. All about Harry Harry is Jewish. His parents died so that he might survive and carry on their legacy. Voldemort isn't an evil wizard, but he does represent the forces of evil. He is Egyptian slavery. He is the Syrian-Greeks. He is Haman. He is the Roman persecution. He is the Spanish Inquisition. He is pogroms and Crusades and the Holocaust and the Intifada. He thought he had destroyed the Potter family, but you know what? They survived in Harry, much the same way the Jewish people lives on in you. Harry didn't know the gifts he had. He knew that talking to snakes at the zoo was a little strange, but he didn't understand the power he had inside. Maybe you've sometimes felt different from your peers. Maybe you've felt that spark inside you, but not known what it was. That's your Jewish soul, baby! It's looking to get out and express itself! So, like you, Harry got his wake-up call. His came by owl post. Yours probably didn't. But if you're reading this, somehow or some way G-d sent you an invitation. It didn't say "Hogwarts" on it, but it said "Torah." G-d invited you to come claim your heritage. Dealing with the Dursleys Harry had the Dursleys, his aunt and uncle, who tried to stand in his way. They were scared of witchcraft. They said it was because it wasn't "normal," but that wasn't the real reason. It was because Mrs. Dursley was jealous of her sister, Harry's mother, who was a witch. Lily Potter had something special that Petunia Dursley lacked and she hated her for it. Historically, a lot of people have hated the Jews for exactly the same reason: G-d gave us something special that they don't have. You probably have Dursleys in your life, too. In America in the 21st Century, your Dursleys probably aren't overt anti-Semitism (thank G-d), but there are plenty of others. People who belittle your interest in Torah can be Dursleys. But Dursleys can also come from within. The yetzer hara can be a big Dursley. ("Yetzer hara" is usually translated "the evil inclination. If you were a cartoon, the yetzer hara would be a little guy in a red suit who sits on your shoulder and tells you to keep a wallet instead of turning it in.) Laziness, fear of change, peer pressure - Dursleys all. Harry overcame his Dursleys. You can beat yours, too. (But you have to be careful! Harry goes home every summer and has to outwit the Dursleys again and again. Your Dursleys will never stop trying to deter you from growing in your "magic," so you must be ever-vigilant!) Harry and his Friends at Hogwarts Harry finally made it to Hogwarts. While he was there, he met other witches and wizards from all different types of backgrounds. Ron Weasley's family is all-wizard. He doesn't know any other lifestyle. He takes for granted so much of what is new and magical to Harry. Hermione Granger's family is all-muggle (non-wizard), but unlike the Dursleys, Hermione's family appreciates what being a witch has done for their daughter and they encourage her growth. Harry is a little jealous of this positive relationship. After all, Hermione can bring her muggle relatives to Diagon Alley (sort of like inviting them to your Shabbos table), something Harry can never do with his family. At Hogwarts, Harry studies magic. His course of studies includes such varied courses as the History of Magic, Potions and Care of Magical Creatures. This is like our study of Torah. (This gets a huge lehavdil, which is what we say when we compare two things that really aren't alike.) The Torah is not just a book of laws. It's the history of our people. It's self-improvement. It's how to treat other people. Harry's course of study is diverse and so is ours. Casting Spells Harry and his friends cast spells, but the charms they cast don't always turn out as intended. Hermione didn't mean to turn herself into a cat with the polyjuice potion. Ron didn't want slugs pouring out of his mouth. Gilderoy Lockhart didn't intend to remove all the bones in Harry's broken arm. To a degree this can be compared to davening. (No, really.) I'll explain. We "cast our spells" (a big lehavdil, again) and ask Hashem to do certain things for us. Sometimes He does as we ask. But, like a spell gone awry, sometimes G-d says no. Not because He's capricious, but because He knows what's best for us. (It's like when you refuse to stuff a three-year-old with candy until they get sick. They think you're "mean," but you know that you're doing them a big favor.) It's not a perfect parallel. Spells will probably succeed or fail based on the wizard's proficiency, which is not the case with our prayers. But, as with the spells, when our prayers don't get the results we asked for, that doesn't mean they dissipate in the atmosphere. They still have an effect. No, they won't make slugs come out of your mouth. The effect of prayer is invariably positive, even when G-d says no. Voldemort Returns But all is not perfect in Harry's world. Voldemort returns and he's out for blood. Yet, even with his meager abilities, Harry manages to defeat him. A little magic can go a long way, but after each year at Hogwarts, Harry becomes much more proficient! Similarly, whatever Torah we have is what we need to defeat the forces of evil. Even a little is powerful stuff, but every step brings us much more "power." Harry would not have been safer back on Privet Drive, never knowing he was a wizard. Voldemort still would have come after him, because he considered Harry's very existence a threat. Without Hogwart's, however, Harry never would have had the tools to survive. It's the same with you and Torah. Those who would oppose you because you are a Jew don't care whether you are learned or ignorant, observant or assimilated. They consider you a threat simply because you're a Jew. Without Torah, you lack the basic tools to defend yourself and banish the darkness. Refusing to take up your arms, i.e. the Torah, is what they want you to do. I could go on, but I won't. You can draw your own parallels. A metaphor is just a metaphor. (Or, as I like to put it, "A metaphor is like a simile.") Harry Potter is just a book. It may be well-written and critically-acclaimed, but at the end of the day it's the product of human hands and imagination. Like all humans, J.K. Rowling is just dust and ashes. She may have her five Harry Potter books, but we have the five Books that G-d gave to Moses on Mount Sinai. (And we saw special effects far greater than anything ever shown on the silver screen!) Those are the books that count. As much as we can learn from Harry, Ron and Hermione, there is so much more we can learn from the examples of Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov (our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob). May we merit to spend as much effort analyzing the Torah, the true source of our real Jewish "magic." Reply See this post in context

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