September 3, 2004
Hi and Shabbat Shalom!
Hope all is well with you and yours!
I guess summer is really on its way out….It was windy and coooool at the beach today…
Day School began last week, preschool starts next Wednesday and Religious School open house is a week from Sunday!
Religious School teachers include some of our “old” favorites..Robbie Turner, Carol Wilinsky, Matt Rosenberg, Dana Jacobs and her dad Ken, Debbie Chester Geary, Joseph Roditi,
Aliza Bratt, Nomi Levy, Naomi (Ben and Jake’s mom) and me!
And…our latest batch of Madrichim have been assigned to classes..
Have a grrrrrreat Labor Day weekend!
Love,
Eemah
ENJOY!
38th year at CBI and 47th teaching! Kol Hakavod, Helene. You have obviously made an indelible positive impression on thousands of your students and helped them carry on our Jewish tradition. You are a gem. Keep it up and enjoy the dividends of having the children of your original batch of students in your charge. What a great cycle of love and teaching!
Love, Shelly (Cantor Merel)
The Jews
"Some people like the Jews, and some do not. But no thoughtful man can deny
the fact that they are, beyond any question, the most formidable and the
most remarkable race which has appeared in the world."
Winston Churchill (1)
___________________________________________________________
"The Jew is that sacred being who has brought down from heaven the
everlasting fire, and has illumined with it the entire world. He is the
religious source, spring, and fountain out of which all the rest of the
peoples have drawn their beliefs and their religions."
Leo Tolstoy (2)
___________________________________________________________
"It was in vain that we locked them up for several hundred years behind the
walls of the Ghetto. No sooner were their prison gates unbarred than they
easily caught up with us, even on those paths which we opened up without
their aid."
A. A. Leroy Beaulieu (3)
___________________________________________________________
"The Jew gave us the Outside and the Inside - our outlook and our inner
life. We can hardly get up in the morning or cross the street without being
Jewish. We dream Jewish dreams and hope Jewish hopes. Most of our best
words, in fact - new, adventure surprise, unique, individual, person,
vocation, time, history, future, freedom, progress, spirit, faith hope,
justice - are the gifts of the Jews."
Thomas Cahill (4)
___________________________________________________________
"One of the gifts of the Jewish culture to Christianity is that it has
taught Christians to think like Jews, and any modern man who has not learned
man to think as though he were a Jew can hardly be said to have learned to
think at all."
William Rees-Mogg (5)
___________________________________________________________
"It is certain that in certain parts of the world we can see a peculiar
people, separated from the other peoples of the world and this is called the
Jewish people.... This people is not only of remarkable antiquity but has
also lasted for a singular long time... For where as the people of Greece
and Italy, of Sparta, Athens and Rome and others who came so much later have
perished so long ago, these still exist, despite the efforts of so many
powerful kings who have tried a hundred times to wipe them out, as their
historians testify, and as can easily be judged by the natural order of
things over such a long spell of years. They have always been preserved,
however, and their preservation was foretold... My encounter with this
people amazes me..."
Blaise Pascal (6)
___________________________________________________________
"The Jewish vision became the prototype for many similar grand designs for
humanity, both divine and man made. The Jews, therefore, stand at the center
of the perennial attempt to give human life the dignity of a purpose."
Paul Johnson (7)
___________________________________________________________
"As long as the world lasts, all who want to make progress in righteousness
will come to Israel for inspiration as to the people who had the sense for
righteousness most glowing and strongest."
Matthew Arnold (8)
___________________________________________________________
Indeed it is difficult for all other nations of the world to live in the
presence of the Jews. It is irritating and most uncomfortable.
The Jews embarrass the world as they have done things which are
beyond the imaginable. They have become moral strangers since the day their
forefather Abraham introduced the world to high ethical standards and to the
fear of Heaven. They brought the world the Ten Commandments which many
nations prefer to defy. They violated the rules of history by staying alive,
totally at odds with common sense and historical evidence.
They outlived all their former enemies, including vast empires such
as the Romans and the Greeks. They angered the world with their return to
their homeland after 2000 years of exile and after the murder of six million
of their brothers and sisters. They aggravated mankind by building, in the
wink of an eye, a democratic State which others were not able to create in
even hundreds of years. They built living monuments such as the duty to be
holy and the privilege to serve one's fellow men. They had their hands in
every human progressive endeavor, whether in science, medicine, psychology
or any other discipline, while totally out of proportion to their actual
numbers. They gave the world the Bible and even their "savior".
Jews taught the world not to accept the world as it is but to transform it,
yet only a few nations wanted to listen. Moreover, the Jews introduced the
world to one God, yet only a minority wanted to draw the moral consequences.
So the nations of the world realize that they would have been lost without
the Jews. And while their subconscious tries to remind them of how much of
Western civilization is framed in terms of concepts first articulated by the
Jews, they do anything to suppress it. They deny that Jews remind them of a
higher purpose of life and the need to be honorable, and do anything to
escape its consequences. It is simply too much to handle for them, too
embarrassing to admit, and above all too difficult to live by.
So the nations of the world decided once again to go out of its way
in order to find a stick to hit the Jews. The goal: to prove that Jews are
as immoral and guilty of massacre and genocide as some of themselves are.
All this in order to hide and justify their own failure to even protest when
six million Jews were brought to the slaughterhouses of Auschwitz and
Dachau; so as to wipe out the moral conscience of which the Jews remind
them. And they found a stick. Nothing could be more gratifying for them
than to find the Jews into a struggle with another people (who are
completely terrorized by their own leaders) against whom the Jews, against
their best wishes, have to defend themselves in order to survive. With great
satisfaction, the world allows and initiates the rewriting of history so as
to fuel the rage of yet another people against the Jews. This in spite of
the fact that the nations understand very well that peace between the
parties could have come a long time ago, if only the Jews would have had a
fair chance. Instead, they happily jumped on the wagon of hate so as to
justify their jealousy of the Jews and their incompetence to deal with their
own moral issues.
When Jews look at the bizarre play, taking place in The Hague, they
can only smile as this artificial game once more proves how the world
paradoxically admits the Jews uniqueness. It is in their need to undermine
the Jews that they actually raise them.
"The study of history of Europe during the past centuries teaches us one
uniform lesson: That the nations which received and in any way dealt fairly
and mercifully with the Jew have prospered; and that the nations that have
tortured and oppressed him have written out their own curse."
Olive Schreiner (9)
___________________________________________________________
"If there is any honour in all the world that I should like, it would be to
be an honorary Jewish citizen."
A.L. Rowse (10)
___________________________________________________________
(1) Quoted by Geoffry Wheatcroft in "The Contrversy of Zion",
Sinclair-Stevensohn, London, 1996, X1.
(2) Leo Tolstoy, Quoted by Chief Rabbi J.H.Hertz in "A book of Jewish
Thought" Oxford University Press, 1966, p.135.
(3) Anatole Leroy Beaulieu, french historian. "Israel among the nations",
p.162. 1893, Ibid, p.174.
(4) Thomas Cahill, "The Gifts of the Jews", Doubleday, New York, 1998, p.
240-41.
(5) William Rees Mogg, "The Times", quoted by Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks,
"Radical then, radical now", Harpercollins, London, 2000, p 4.
(6) Pascal, "Pensees", translation by A.J. Krailsheimer, Penquin,
Harmondsworth, 1968, p. 171, 176-77.
(7) Paul Johnson, "A history of the Jews", Weindenfeld & Nicolsohn, London,
1987, p 2.
(8) Matthew Arnold, "Literature and Dogma", Smith, Elder, London, 1876, p 58
(9) Olive Schreiner, South African novelist, quoted by Chief Rabbi J.H.
Hertz, p,177,180, Ibid, p. 180.
(10) A.L. Rowse, "Historians I have known", Duckworth, London, 1995, p.
(All of the above authors are gentiles)
September 14, 2004
Best wishes for a happy and
healthy 5765!
L’shanah Tovah U-metukah!
Love,
Eemah
September 18, 2004
Hi everyone!
Just wanted to remind you to click on our Mitzvah sites every day of the New Year!
You can do it easily on Madrichim.com!
And speaking of our webpage….Please send photos to Rick Shumacher ricks@car.org
We’d love to see you and your families!
Also…FYI If you would like to find someone on our list…just email me..I send out 5 separate mailings so not everyone is listed on your header..
Enjoy the following!
Love,
Eemah
Mazal tov to (still) my best friend Yair (Ross) Kobernick and his wife Dina, on the birth (and subsequent bris, which we celebrated yesterday), of their son Binyomin, who is their tenth child. As you may know, their oldest daughter Hanna has already one child and is expecting a second of after the holidays.
I attended a housewarming party several weeks ago at the home of Lissa Szjanbrum (Goldman) where I saw her mother Lucy and her sister Leah. Diane Solomon is presently visiting but we have yet to meet up.
The best of wishes to you and your family for a kesiva vechasima tova.
Yerachmiel (Robert) Strausberg, Beit Shemesh, Israel
And a wonderful new year to you and the entire mishpocha too!
All is well here as we go into this busy season.
I had a wonderful time last week performing Eden Zigman's wedding. It was wonderful to see so many Temple families together for a simcha!
I hope you're all doing well.
Take care,
Don Goor
Shana Tova,
I don't remember if I told you but Alon and I had a baby boy on June 14th. 7lbs 5 oz. We are very excited. We will be visiting our family for the holidays.
Keri Resh Kraft
Personally, I agree with Leo Tolstoy. I've always enjoyed bringing down everlasting fire from heaven.
Stuart Forman
Thanks for all the e-mails.
Quick update from North County. Sharon and I are expecting our 4th child, a boy. He will join Noah, Jenna and Sierra. All is well. We belong to Temple Solel.
My brother Jeff and I surf together often, and my sister Franny is doing well in Northern California.
Eric Lizerbram
Aloha!
I wanted to share with you that I am newly engaged!
Mark and I went on a wonderful East Coast vacation (got to spend time with Ali Graff and Janine Okmin).
He proposed on Block Island, Rd Island. Very romantic. Very exciting.
Hope all is well!
Love,
Becky (Barth)
The following is from our old friend from Swig. The last time I had seen Reuven, he was living at camp with a monkey and a goat!
Now he is married, has kids and is a well known scholar and professor!
If you are interested in his institute, I’ll send you a copy of the prospectus.
Dear Helene,
It was great seeing you at Sivan and Igor's wedding. It was lots of fun! As I mentioned, I'm sending you the prospectus for the institute we are developing. I think you'll find it interesting. Best wishes!
Reuven
Reuven Firestone, Professor
Medieval Judaism and Islam
Hebrew Union College
3077 University Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90007
(213) 749-3424
rfirestone@huc.edu
GET REGISTERED! GET EDUCATED!
VOTE!
NOVEMBER 2, 2004 IS ELECTION DAY!
Elected officials make decisions about things that are important to you, including your job, your health care, your environment and your security.
Voting is your chance to choose the decision makers and tell them what YOU want.
· ARE YOU REGISTERED TO VOTE? If not, go to www.ss.ca.gov and click on Register to Vote.
o You can get a California Online Voter Registration Form. Fill it out and mail it in.
o The deadline to register to vote for the General Election is October 18, 2004.
o You can also call 1-800-345-VOTE if you have any questions about registering to vote.
· DO YOU KNOW A COLLEGE STUDENT AT LEAST 18 YEARS OF AGE WHO IS NOT REGISTERED?
o A college student must vote in the county where he or she resides. The time to register and order an absentee ballot is now!
o Tell them to go to www.ss.ca.gov and order their absentee ballot online.
o They must request an absentee ballot at least 30 days before the election.
· ARE YOU A REGISTERED VOTER BUT MAY NOT BE IN TOWN OR HAVE DIFFICULTY GETTING TO THE POLLS DURING THE ELECTION?
o It’s easy to order your absentee ballot online!
o Go to www.ss.ca.gov.
· DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE UPCOMING ELECTION ISSUES OR CANDIDATES?
o Go to www.lwv.org (The League of Women Voters) for more information about voter registration, education about the issues and the candidates.
o Attend the CBI Men’s Club Election Forum with Murray Galinson on Wednesday, October 20th co-sponsored by the CBI Tikkun Olam/Social Action Committee.
