#it’s a show set during Shabbat dinner every week

[doyouknowthisjewishcharacter]

Do you know this Jewish character?

[boasamishipper]

jewish iceman kazansky headcanons

but you don’t look like a jew! is the statement that follows iceman kazansky for most of his life. the goyim who say it always look some mixture of surprised, uneasy, and mildly curious, like he’s some kind of unknown specimen at the zoo. he’s never treated the same after they find out. the nicer ones walk on eggshells around him and glance at him when they think he can’t see; probably searching for some semblance of jewish features in him (or checking him for horns). the other ones don’t talk to him or fully trust him again. he can’t really say he gives a damn.

(but you don’t look like a jew!, coming from other jews, is a benediction, a blessing, not surprise. his grandmother used to get tears in his eyes when she said it. when they come for us, she said, god be willing, they might ignore you.)

ice’s paternal grandparents boris and rachel immigrated to the united states during the start of the soviet era, from a russian town razed by pogroms (and no longer exists on a map). boris got sick at ellis island and never fully recovered; rachel worked long hours sewing dresses at a garment factory to support her husband and her three children. they attended synagogue every week and she saved for weeks to bake challah on shabbat, just like her mother did before her.

ice remembers listening to his father’s stories about growing up in the tenements. how he used to get so angry whenever he’d hear charles coughlin preaching on the radio, or the right wing mocking fdr’s ‘jew deal,’ but rachel kazansky would always stay calm. why are we here, then? he would demand of his mother after she told him to calm down. why are we here if they don’t want us here? if they don’t trust us? rachel kazansky set down her spoon and stared him down. here is just talk, lyubimyy moy, she would say quietly. america is better than where we left by far.

ice’s sister is born nine years after the holocaust, and ice is born five years after that. ashkenazi jews name their babies after those who have passed, and with so many people dead (relatives, friends, siblings, from gas chambers and death marches and mass graves), there are too many names to choose from. ice’s mother, who ice’s grandmother still calls that shiksa in private, mostly affectionately, chooses their names instead: taylor michelle kazansky for her great-grandmothers, and thomas james kazansky for her great-grandfathers, respectively. rachel kazansky calls it a blessing in disguise, especially when ice and taylor grow up and take after their mother. look at them, she used to say. relieved, sad, and proud. no one will be able to tell.

the one and only time ice gets in trouble in school is when he snaps at mark wilson for making fun of sam friedman. what’d you expect? mark had sneered. jewboy needs to learn his place. (as mark wilson later learned, it was hard to sneer around a broken nose. and a black eye.) ice is set to be suspended until commander bill kazansky of the united states navy walks through the doors and asks (ice cold, quiet, calm) the principal to explain why his son was in trouble for standing up for someone. ice’s suspension gets pushed back to an after-school detention, and ice’s dad takes ice out for ice cream.

in hebrew school, the rabbis teach them about heroes, about good and evil, how to survive in a world that refused to have you. “the wise man is the one who foresees the consequences,” rabbi schapiro tells his class, quoting the talmud, and ice takes the quiet intelligence of the words to heart.

their family’s reform and pretty secular, all things considered: they exchange gifts on hanukkah, only attend synagogue on the high holidays, don’t actively keep kosher, don’t get bar/bat-mitzvahed, and so on and so forth. ice’s relationship with god and religion is complicated; taylor has no relationship with god and religion at all. his grandmother doesn’t mind as long as he promises to remember who he is and always ask questions. 

bill kazansky never got into the united states naval academy because of his “antecedents” - otherwise known as the double shame of being the son of immigrants and having a jewish last name. when ice gets his acceptance letter, he almost tears it up, but decides against it. he’ll show them they were wrong to ever cast aside his father by becoming the best student (and the best pilot) they’ve ever seen -- and takes a certain, perverse satisfaction from going to shabbat dinners at the campus rabbi’s house.

in 1977, the ccar (the reform movement’s rabbinical council) decides that in judaism, one is only responsible for religious obligations that one can freely choose to fulfill; thus, since homosexuality is not chosen, its expression cannot be forbidden. ice comes out to his family in 1981, when he’s 22 years old. his grandmother doesn’t bat a lash, and instead asks when he’s going to bring a nice jewish boy home instead of a nice jewish girl. ice doesn’t cry, but it’s a near thing.

don’t tell anybody you’re one of us, tom, bill kazansky tells him. not unless you trust them. promise me that, son. bill kazansky, who spent years having people call him that fucking k*ke kazansky behind his back, would know, and ice promises.

but you don’t look like a jew! says bill cortell with wide eyes, after ice tells him that he doesn’t really celebrate christmas. ron kerner smacks bill on the back of the head and tells him to shut the fuck up. he and ice become fast friends after that.

ice speaks fluent english, conversational russian and spanish, and only knows insults in yiddish -- all of which he’s tempted to say whenever maverick mitchell (an oysshteler if ice has ever seen one) does something stupid, either in the air or on the ground.

after goose dies, after the funeral, after placing a few smooth stones at the base of goose’s tombstone, ice goes to synagogue for the first time in years and says the mourner’s kaddish for goose. jews don’t believe in heaven or hell, but he hopes goose is in a better place now anyway.

david ben gurion once said that a jew who doesn’t believe in miracles is not a realist, but ice isn’t quite ready to accept that maverick mitchell flying to his rescue after five migs come out of nowhere counts as a miracle. (what does count as a miracle, in his opinion, is that his feelings for maverick get enthusiastically reciprocated after painful months of shoving them down -- and ice has never been happier to be proven wrong.)

ice doesn’t tell maverick he’s jewish until after they get together -- and even then, he’s nervous because this is the best thing that’s ever happened to him and he doesn’t want maverick to look at him with disgust and ask him where his horns are. maverick thinks it’s cool and pesters him with questions. (so why are the matzah balls separate from the whole matzah anyway? he asks, genuinely curious. god mav you’re so fucking stupid, ice says, and kisses maverick until they both run out of air.)

(when ice introduces mav to rachel kazansky, who’s in her early nineties but no less sharp and proper, she sizes him up with the cool assessing gaze that ice inherited and says, are you jewish, maverick? when maverick admits he isn’t, she gives a long dramatic sigh and shakes her head. oh well, she says dryly, almost perfect.)

[justkarliekloss]

Karlie Kloss interview for British Vogue August 2019 by Elaine Welteroth (Part 2)

* If you have a fan accoun and repost it, please give credit.

The sun is finally up when we land in Los Angeles and discover, via text, that the Project Runway production meeting - the reason for our early cross-country flight - has been cancelled at the last minute. As I unleash a growl of annoyance, Karlie rests her hand on my shoulder and gives me a dose of the glass-half-full positivity that has defined her career: "Well, at least now maybe you can go get some sleep before the day..." I am reminded that I have never met a single soul more relentlessely cheerful than Kloss. It is not a persona: she is good to the core. "When you say that someone is nice it can sound pejorative but it's not," says her friend and mentor Diance von Furstenberg. "It is that honesty and eagerness that is resonating. Karlie is a good girl and a good role model for young girls."

Indeed, just ask around about her and you'll begin to wonder if she is the kindest person in fashion. But do not mistake her sweet nature, or her recent conversion to Judaism (the Kushner family are Modern Orthodox), for weakness. "Changing  part of who you are for someone else can be seen as weak. But you know what? Actually, if you've been through that I've experienced, it requires you to be anything but weak," she says of her decision to convert. "It requires me to be stronger and self-loving and resilient. I really did not take this lightly. It wasn't enough to just love Josh and make this decision for him. This is my life and I am an independent, strong woman. It was only after many years of studying and talking with my family and friends and soul searching that I made the decision to fully embrace Judaism in my life and start planning for a future with the man I chose to marry."

The newly-weds recently put their immaculately decorated two-bedroom apartment in the East Village up for sale, looking for a new home in which to start their married life. Kloss first settled in New York five years ago, at the apex of her catwalk career, spending her hand-earned money on a place next to the Hudson river. At that point, she'd been working for five years, having been first scouted in St. Louis mall at the age of 13, when she was a coltish 5ft 8in and a burgeoning ballerina. Two years later, she landed her first New York Fashion Week show, with Calvin Klein, and her first editorial, an Arthur Elgort shoot with Teen Vogue. In the early days, Kloss travelled to jobs accompained by her physician father and her art direction mother, who protected her from the wilder aspects of the industry, but even as an adult, she has never been swept up in the party scene. Famously private, Kloss keeps a tight-knit circle of friends - albeit a high-profile one that includes Taylor Swift, Serena Williams and Derek Blasberg.

Once out of the airport, we part ways to shower. A few hours later we reunite on James Corden's set, where Kloss charms a rowdy audience with a little beauty trick she picked up backstage using a spoon to enhace Corden's lashes on live TV. Finally, after a scooter ride through Venice and a late dinner, jet lag strikes, and we decide to catch up on the phone a few days later, when she's managed to pull away from her hectic schedule for a meditative retreat with her husband in Wyoming.

In her Zen state, it's easy to see why she has so enthusiastically embraced the Jewish Shabbat, a day of rest that requires unplugging from work and completely disconnecting from the digiital world from sunset each Friday until nightfall on Saturday. She describes it as a "grounding force" in her otherwise non-stop lifestyle. "I think we all have a tendency to just keep going," she says on the phone. "Some people find grounding through meditation. Some find it through exercise. And to each their own, but for me, Shabbat has brought so much meaning into my life. It helps me reconnect to the actual world."

Kloss's studious approach to embracing Judaism reflects her insatiable curiosity. In 2015, long before the current wave of feminist hashtagivism, she enrolled in New York University's Gallatin School to study feminist theory. During this soul-searching period, she quit one of her most lucrative contracts, with the lingerie conglomerate Victoria's Secret. Bear in mind that this was before the rise of cancellation cuture, before walking away from a problematic company could earn a celebrity praise from the "woke" masses.

"The reason I decided to stop working with Victoria's secret was I didn't feel it was an image that was truly reflective of who I am and the kind of message I want to send to young women around the world about what it means to be beautiful," Karlie says. "I think that was a pivotal moment in me stepping into my power as a feminist, being able to make my own choices and my own narrative, whether through the companies I choose to work with, or through the image I put out to the world."

At the time, such a move may have felt risky and potentially damaging. But Kloss's star has only continued to soar - last year, Forbes named her the second most highly paid model in the world (Kendall Jenner pipped her to the top spot), and her fortune is estimated at $20 million. "In the modelling industry, every year is like a dog year," she says, smiling. "If you survive a year, it's like seven years in any other industry." If so, then she is a statesowman at just 26 - one whose enterprising embrace of new media put her on the front line of the digital revolution (she was one of the first major models with her own YouTube channel, in 2015) at a time when fashion was still resistan to change. I know because I was one of the magazine editors lurking around backstage the first season she showed up with a camera to capture her own getting-ready process in Hyperlapse to share with her growing following on social media. I found it innovative. Others found it bothersome, at best.

"I appreciate you using the word innovative. In the moment, I was a nuisance," Karlie laughs. "I got so many dirty looks at Paris Fashion Week. I remember getting yelled at and they would call my agency because I was Instagramming backstage." But she insists her rise hasn't been all selfies and sunshine. "I remember being 16 or 17 years old and afraid to say, "I don't want to wear this sheer top because I'm fully exposed and my mom is in the audience." I remember how it felt when I didn't say that I didn't want to do it, and how humilated I felt seeing those images and feeling sad that I didn't stand up for myself," she says. "Now I'm not trying to please anyone but myself."

The lesson she wants to share with other women? "Looking back at my late teens and early tweenties, I think I was fearful that I would lose a job or lose my position if I said I didn't want to do something. But I did not lose out on jobs, If anything, the more I exercised the power of my voice, the more I earned respect from my peers. And I earned more respect for myself. Only now do I have the confidence to stand tall - all 6ft 2in of me - and know the power of my voice," she says. "There are days when I wake up and I feel like I'm not this enough or too much that. We are all so critical of ourselves. But I love everything I do now, there is intention behind it."

[hooray-cancer]

Sketchfest!!!

January’s over. The Super Duper Tu B’Shvat Blue Blood Moon has arrived. And I have just survived the busiest month in memory. I started a full class schedule again, started looking into research opportunities, did some improv, hosted a Shabbat dinner, restarted cancer treatments after a break, did a little art, visited Rachel a bunch, and set new Steps Taken records with my Fitbit. And then there was Sketchfest.

When I found out they were going to be paying the people who had previously been volunteers, I applied, uncertain if I’d be called upon to serve like last year. And when I didn’t hear back for several weeks, I assumed they had found more committed/useful people. But then, two days before the comedy festival was to begin, I got an email asking me to work half a dozen shifts over three weeks, and to make it to an organizational meeting that afternoon.

I couldn’t make the meeting, but I eagerly took on as many shifts as could fit in my schedule, like I was made of spoons. I was paid in a little bit of money and a lot of free comedy shows. So in the last three weeks, I have seen nine (9) comedy shows. I really want to write up my experiences and thoughts, even though it’s all blurring together as time passes. Let’s see how well I can do.

Judge John Hodgman: The opening show of the festival, my first experience at the Castro Theater. It’s massive and beautiful! And they have an organist! Who rises up from below the stage! It’s magic!

I wasn’t there to work, I bought a ticket and went with two friends. I have been in occasional touch with Hodgman in the past, starting in my fan-mail-as-mortality-coping-mechanism days. He has always been a kind and generous correspondent. So I sent him a brief email update on my life the day before, and mentioned that I would be there the following night.

I should have suspected something was up when he asked for a reminder of how to pronounce my last name in his reply, but I didn’t think too hard. So when his introduction, mentioning various friends in the audience, mentioned me by name, my face flushed and I freaked out. I would have been beaming all night no matter how good the show was.

But it was really good, too. They’ve done enough of these live shows to really know what works. I’ve been to his live show a few times before, and this time there was a looseness and energy that really worked. The primary “case” was fun and funny, even as it dealt with emotionally significant issues (cancer treatment, mourning a dog). I’m pretty sure my friend seated next to me was sobbing at a few points.

The musical guest was exciting and fun to watch, even though the venue didn’t really match the sound. (Tune-Yards, for the record). As we left, one of my friends got an opportunity to awkwardly compliment her as she left the building. And my other friend, who works in transit, got excited seeing one of the new Muni trains, so we all got to interact with our heroes.

Comedy at Alamo Drafthouse: I assisted two shows here the first weekend of the festival. Six stand-ups each night, and I can’t keep most of the comedians straight at this point, and I don’t think I’ll try too hard. Sometimes it’s nice to just let the stand-up wash over you without taking notes.

Working these shows was high-intensity. I was actually the only Sketchfest employee; everyone else was either an Alamo employee or the outside ticket vendor. So I felt a little more sense of responsibility for how everything went. I had to make sure the comedians didn’t get in the way of the food servers and that nobody disturbed the movies playing in the adjacent theaters.

But the real challenge was scanning everyone in. Theater 5 has two entrances, but there was only one me to cover both doors with my little scanner. And people would come in and out after claiming their seats, and the servers would be walking in and out as well. It was a crazy memory game trying to make sure I scanned everyone without hassling people multiple times, and without letting anyone slip past me.

Superego: This was a fun one. The idea was that the four men would act out an improvised version of Lady Chatterley’s Lover, with which none of them were familiar. They went by the title, the first and last lines of the novel, and a list of characters. It was silly and fun and playful, and they weren’t even too far off from the actual premise. They don’t perform live frequently, so it was a treat to see this one-of-a-kind performance. 

Worst First Chapter: I was excited to work this show, in part because the lineup included multiple people I am a fan of. Each person imagined the first chapter of a terrible book, and read their excerpts. There was Mary/God erotic fanfic, a narcissistic rant, a Harry Potter in Space-type story with a lot of focus on Buffalo Wild Wings and a lot of skips in the action, and several more I can’t recall anymore.

Also, I took a picture with Travis McElroy afterwards, so that was cool.

The Black Version: This one was a little different than I was expecting. Jordan Black takes the role of emcee and sets up each scene with a premise, then lets the improv go from there. It felt more like game-y, “Who’s Line is it Anyway” short-form improv than I was expecting. But it was a lot of fun, with a good amount of audience input. They put on a Black Version of Three Men and a Baby, with multiple improvised theme songs and “DVD extras” that let them branch out into some other funny places.

Improvised Shakespeare Company: This was the unexpected highlight of my Sketchfest. I had heard good things before, but it always sounded like a stunt more than something that would be a must-see.

It is a stunt to do an hour-and-a-half of improv in iambic pentameter, with couplets before leaving the stage and the contours of a Shakespearean plot, but it’s so much more. It was silly, funny, dirty, compelling. They weren’t caught up in their heads the whole time, as I imagine I would be trying to sound Shakespearean. There was an improvised song, strange subplots, the best physical comedy I’ve seen live, and a recurring game of withholding one of the actor’s shirts after he had removed it for plot purposes.

Now, maybe every show they do relies on the same rhymes and crutches, and it would turn out to be a one-trick pony if I kept going back. But in the show I saw, everything felt genuinely spontaneous and full of surprise and discovery for the improvisers and audience alike. It was really amazing. If you have a chance to see them, I recommend it wholeheartedly. 

Mortified: I listen to the podcast sometimes, so I had some idea of what to expect. There definitely is something extra about hearing adolescent journals presented live, though. It’s different to take in the experience in a room of people and the poised-but-self-revealing people on stage. The stories all had to do with sexual exploration during adolescence, usually with a strong element of religious shame. The craziest was the homoerotic fan-fiction between Jesus and Moses, complete with Bible puns in almost every sentence. Some parts seemed almost too funny to be authentic, but I choose to believe there wasn’t too much punch-up in making these young writings presentable.

ASSSSCAT: Another show I attended by ticket, at the Nourse Theater. It’s a weird building, and an oddly huge place to be watching improv. I’d seen the show in New York once before and it had felt so intimate, and this did not. There wasn’t anything life-changing about this show, but it was some of the most important and respected improvisers doing their thing. I was impressed with their poise, their confidence that they could find the game of a scene without needing to agitate for it.

Wow, that was a crazy couple of weeks. I have only scratched the surface of my experience. I need a break from…everything. Time to curl up in a ball and recuperate for a few days.

Or study for my upcoming exams...

[rosieprenzel2-blog]

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[cfijerusalem]

WATCHING OVER ZION, JULY 27, 2017 UPDATE

THE WORD

…Unless Adonai builds the house, the builders labour in vain. Unless Adonai watches over the city, the watchman stands guard in vain. In vain you rise up early and stay up late, eating the bread of toil - for He provides for His beloved ones even in their sleep. (Psalm 127:1-2)

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, so that the surpassing greatness of the power may be from God and not from ourselves.  We are hard pressed in every way, yet not crushed; perplexed, yet not in despair; persecuted, yet not forsaken; struck down, yet not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Yeshua, so that the life of Yeshua may also be revealed in our mortal body. (2 Corinthians 4:7-10)

POINTERS FOR PRAYERS

Please note: CFI is currently at the New Wine Festival in Somerset for two weeks.Do pray for all of us working at this event.Please pray that we would see the fruit for all the hard labour (Luke 13:18-19). Lift before the LORD the youth of our Churches, that the fire of God would stir up their passion for the LORD, and that revelation would burn in their hearts regarding Israel.Pray that the many souls we challenge would seek the truth regarding God's purposes for Israel, that they would read the literature we hand out regarding the Jewish nation and the CFI ministry, and that many of the youth leaders and Pastors would bring their youth based ministries in line with the Word of God, giving sound teaching on this whole issue.Do keep in touch with us via our Twitter and Facebook feeds.

We are living in a sobering moment in history that calls us, as believers in Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus Christ), to take a stand with Israel. This is not about politics; this is about the Word of God, but the political ramifications are extremely dramatic. God is sovereign – so may we declare God’s sovereign power to accomplish all His purposes in Israel and the Middle East.Stand in prayer against those who would deny Israel’s right to its ancient homeland, and please continue to pray for the complete restoration of the nation of Israel.Pray for a great revelation of Biblical truth to saturate the Arab world – especially with the Palestinian youth - along with those countries that are not ethnically Arab but Muslim – such as Iran and Turkey.Pray that these Arab/Muslim countries would break free from the bondage of false religion and come to a place where the true God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – the God of Israel – would set them free (John 8:32)

Next week Israel will be mourning during the 9th of Av. As you read my report below, pray that in their day of mourning, the nation of Israel and indeed every Jewish man, woman and child would know the day of salvation, and know the awesome hand of the Lord upon them, to give them hope, peace and joy – even in this time of uncertainty.

HARD PRESSED IN EVERY WAY

Working in full time ministry is a tough call.  Working with a ministry that is called to Israel is even tougher.  I can remember the years in the late 80s to early 90s when I was Chairman of Romanian Children’s Aid in the north of England that I thought this was the toughest place to be.  By December 1989 the situation in Romania for the people of the land was very difficult. Years of harsh dictatorial rule, along with the ever increasing privation and austerity had produced an atmosphere that was ripe for change.  However, due to the very powerful communist tyranny and repression, not even the most expert and experienced diplomatic and foreign media observers foresaw the sudden overthrow of the Ceausescu regime. Following the uprising, the Romanian people started to dig their way out from under the heavy burden of the brutal dictatorship that had sapped their lifeblood for decades.  I remember the first time I went to Bucharest.  The city appeared to be really dowdy, dusty and chaotic, a downtrodden city consumed by a struggle for life.  I certainly wasn’t prepared for what I was about to witness.

By the time the St Laurence Hospice in Cernavoda had been built, I had been the chairman for the local appeal of Romanian Children’s Aid for some time.  Using many ways, we raised lots of money for this much needed project.  In Romania, the national currency, the leu, was nearly worthless. To buy anything of value one needed dollars.  I also remember that it was like ‘stepping back in time’, almost as if I was in some type of 40s war-time city.  Naturally, the biggest shock was when we toured the Orphanages that spilled over with unwanted children, many plagued with AIDS or other serious medical ailments due to the re-use of syringes and the generally shoddy health conditions, along with the infected cheap blood that had been brought in from the Africa’s.

The horrors that Ceausescu had left behind could not be quickly swept under the ‘proverbial carpet’. The physical and psychological damage was huge and widespread, and helping babies and children dying with AIDS was heart-breaking.  Yet looking back, raising the need for help was relatively easy.  Show the church, or even the secular world photos of dying children, and the aid comes pouring in.  Tell the church regarding Israel… now that’s a tough ask.  As for telling the world, well, I think you get the picture.  On top of that, I never wanted to get involved with Israel… it was God’s calling upon my life that pushed me into it.  But it’s a tough calling!  Yet if it can be tough for me, what of the people of Israel?  

As the difficult day of the 9th of Av approaches, I pondered on just why many within the world hate the Jew, and just why so many also hate the nation of Israel.  Tisha b'Av is on Tuesday August 1st this year (actually it starts the day before as the sun goes down). Tisha b'Av (the 9th of Av) is a difficult day in the Jewish calendar to grasp.  On this date in history, the First Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 586 BC.   Five centuries later in 70 AD, the Second Temple was destroyed on the same day as the first - the 9th of Av. When the Jewish people rebelled against Roman rule, they believed that their leader, Simon bar Kokhba, would fulfil their messianic longings – even though their Messiah, Yeshua (Jesus) had predicted the destruction of the second temple many years earlier (see Matthew 24). Of course many Jews did accept Yeshua as Messiah and birthed the first Messianic Congregations (or Churches), however many didn’t accept Him and looked to bar Kokhba, but their hopes were dashed in 133 AD as the Jewish rebels were brutally butchered in the final battle at Betar. The date of the massacre was again on the 9th of Av!

Sadly, trouble erupted on the Temple Mount again this past weekend as Arab Palestinians – mainly youth – clashed with Police.  Following the killing of Israeli Policemen, Israel put up metal detectors to check what the Islamic “worshipers” were carrying, however most Muslims refused to enter through the barriers (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtQKnBOXLX0). Israel has since taken down the barriers and still most of the Arab Palestinians refuse to enter Temple Mount. But what are the facts behind all this. This week many more Israelis were killed, but was anything mentioned on the Western Media news channels? And when areas were covered, what critical facts did the media leave out? And why did some headlines make it look like there's no moral difference between the victims and the attackers who killed them? Well, Honest Reporting has been breaking down the events, the facts and the media failures.  In an excellent report they show just what has been going on – click here to view: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryKeoZaipDs.

As you will have heard if you watched the Honest Reporting clip, another horrific terrorist attack took place in Neve Tzuf, a small Israeli town in the Judean Hills last Friday evening. What started as a family Shabbat dinner left a father, son, and daughter dead and a mother in critical condition after a teenage Arab Palestinian terrorist entered the home and began stabbing the family members while the children hid in a closet. Were it not for the miracle of an IDF (Israel Defence Force) soldier nearby who neutralized the terrorist, the incident would have been much more horrific than it already is.  The irony is that these poor Israeli Jews were killed and the rest of their family are grieving their loss, yet all the while, the Palestinian terrorist who murdered them is being nursed in an Israel hospital!  

Despite being the holiest site in Judaism, Jews and Christians are forbidden to perform any acts of worship on the Temple Mount, including uttering prayers, due to Muslim threats of violence. Visibly-religious Jews are scrutinized carefully by police and arrested if suspected of praying.  Where is the justice?

However, back to Tisha b’Av, more sad facts are also linked to this date.  According to records, the Jewish people were expelled from England in 1290 AD on the 9th of Av. Then in 1492, the Golden Age of Spain came to a close when Queen Isabella and her husband Ferdinand ordered that the Jews be banished from the land. The edict of expulsion was signed on March 31, 1492, and the Jews were given exactly four months to put their affairs in order and leave the country. The Hebrew date on which no Jew was allowed any longer to remain in Spain where they had enjoyed welcome and prosperity was the 9th of Av.  World War I that began in 1914 is also part of these statistics, as when Germany declared war on Russia, effectively catapulting the First World War into motion was on the 9th of Av.  And… it is said, the first gas chambers during the Holocaust in the Second World War were first put into use on the 9th of Av.  Understandably, the Jewish people mourn on this date.

Thinking of how the Jewish people mourn, my thoughts turned to how our duty as Christians is to love them, stand with them and pray for them.  What a shame much of the church spurns the Jews – specifically when it comes to Israel.  How true of the famous quote that states, ‘How odd of God to choose the Jews. But not so odd as those who choose, a Jewish God yet spurn the Jews!’  Feeling not unlike Solomon when writing his book of Ecclesiastes, I started to ponder more famous Jewish quotes.  Golda Meir, Israel’s first female prime minister, during a 1957 speech stated, “Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us.”

On a similar theme, Benjamin Netanyahu in 2006 stated, “The truth is that if Israel were to put down its arms there would be no more Israel. If the Arabs were to put down their arms there would be no more war.”  It was another Israeli Prime Minister, this time Yitzchak Rabin in 1993 that stated, “We, the soldiers who have returned from battle stained with blood, we who have seen our relatives and friends killed before our eyes, we who have attended their funerals and cannot look into the eyes of their parents, we who have come from a land where parents bury their children, we who have fought against you, the Palestinians, we say to you today in a loud and clear voice: Enough of blood and tears. Enough.” Sadly, the Arab world have not listened, nor learnt that they cannot oppose Israel without first opposing God (Zechariah 2:8).

In pondering on the issue of the first gas chambers in the Holocaust being put into use on the 9th of Av, I’d like to include one last famous Jewish saying from the Mishnah that states, ‘Whoever destroys a soul, it is considered as if he destroyed an entire world. And whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world.’ (Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:9).

When horror on a grand scale is witnessed by simple human beings who have some form of humanity - a kindness or gentleness within their spirit - they often find it impossible to put into words just how they feel.  I remember one story from Major Leonard Berney as he tried to describe what he witnessed being one of the first Allied soldiers to enter the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp towards the end of the Second World War.  Major Berney stated that words could not describe the “absolutely horrendous” scenes which greeted him when he first drove through the gates of the prison camp in Germany on April 15 1945. In one interview I heard him trying to describe what he witnessed, he stated, “We'd all been fighting for months through Germany and we were used to seeing casualties and people being killed and maimed, but never had we ever seen anything like this. When we got there, there were said to be about 60,000 people in the camp, of which 10,000 were dead, and they were, in fact, dying at 500 a day.”  Major Berney went on to state, “The disease, the emaciation and the horrors that were there were absolutely indescribable.”  For the Jew, the 9th of Av is indeed a time to mourn.  

Please do pray that in their day of mourning, the nation of Israel and indeed every Jewish man, woman and child would know the day of salvation, and know the awesome hand of the Lord upon them, to give them hope, peace and joy – even in this time of uncertainty.

THEY CYCLE OF ISLAMIC VIOLENCE

Just over four weeks ago, our son Matthew bought a brand new car – well he does work hard for Google so why not!  Two weeks later and some brainless thugs broke into it as it sat on the drive at our home.  They used a crow bar on the boot, smashed windows and left mud all over the inside as they tried, but failed to steal it.  You can imagine my anger!  But imagine this… imagine if Matthew was blamed for the incident due to it being “too much of a temptation for the brainless thugs” who couldn’t help themselves.  And actually, the Police were pretty useless coming to investigate two days after the incident as the car was being repaired in the garage!  Well that is something of how I see the scenario in Jerusalem.

Even though Israel has removed the metal detectors from the entrances to the Temple Mount, which were placed following a terror attack there on July 14, 2017, in which 2 Israelis were murdered, Abbas' Fatah Movement is still protesting against Israel's security measures and vowing to "thwart the Zionists' plans" with "our blood".  The text on image (below) states: "The surveillance and espionage cameras are a violation of freedom of worship.  Freedom of worship is limited by the intelligence cameras. With our blood we will thwart the Zionists' plans. #No_to_the_cameras" [Official Fatah Facebook page, July 25, 2017].  

According to the Palestinian Media Watch who have been reported the events of the past two weeks, the Palestinian Authority and Fatah leaders have encouraged the Arab Palestinian riots to escalate and encouraged the Palestinians to "rage" in Jerusalem. Israel placed metal detectors and security cameras at the entrances to the Temple Mount simply because three terrorists shot dead two Israeli policemen. While ignoring Israel's reason for installing these security measures to prevent future attacks on the holy site, the PA and Fatah leaders have presented this step as a "violation," claiming it is "a step on the way to establishing the alleged Temple."  

PMW state that “This claim plays on the fears Palestinian leaders continuously are trying to sow among Palestinians that "the Al-Aqsa Mosque is in danger" of being destroyed by Israel.”  The media then distorts the truth, Israel gets the blame, and so the cycle continues.   So when I erect a security camera and spotlight, will the burglars and mindless thugs who smashed up my son’s car complain to the BBC that “it’s not fair?”  It’s a strange world we now live in!

CFI’s YOUTUBE PAGE

Many of you may know that CFI has various social media pages including Facebook and Twitter. However, we also have a YouTube page which is currently being revamped.  I have been adding some new content (over 13 videos) of fairly recent talks etc. and a few from the Jerusalem 30th anniversary conference.  You can view it here https://www.youtube.com/user/isrelate/videos.  However, my son Matthew and I have also been working on a promo show reel video which lasts just over 4 minutes.  

The first half shows various photos that I have taken around Israel.  Then it goes on to show various areas of the CFI UK ministry which I have compiled.  Matthew then created the video and added music (the music was provided free of charge by Beat Suite - a Recording Studio were Matthew used to work for before he moved to Google.  We put the show-reel to show off the beauty of the land of Israel and to briefly demonstrate the work CFI do here in the UK. We hope you're blessed by us sharing it.  Please click on the CFI YouTube page and give the video a ‘like’.  You can watch the full version here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4X8WSEj2tEQ

David Soakell

CFI WoZ News Report Correspondent

Tweet me @David_Soakell

[eathealthylivefree]

Shabbat Dinner: Hummus, Pita Bread and Schug Recipe

This is part 2 in a new series: College Cooking Crash Course. This series is written by Kyle, a student at Princeton University, and is designed for college students looking to learn the basics of making healthy, cost-effective, and delicious meals. Today, Kyle will be sharing his experience at a Shabbat dinner, and showing you how to make authentic Israeli Hummus, Pita Bread and Schug.

Have you ever had a Shabbat dinner? I got to experience my first Shabbat dinner recently during a 10-day trip to Israel, and it was one of the highlights of my time there.

A quick background on Shabbat: Shabbat is Judaism’s day of rest and celebration that begins at sunset every Friday and ends on Saturday night. A special dinner is prepared on Friday to celebrate Shabbat. Oftentimes, families will invite guests over to share the meal with them. For my first Shabbat dinner, our host family somehow managed to fit 25+ of us in their tiny apartment and make more than enough food for all of us!

We began the dinner by singing two traditional Jewish hymns – Shalom Alichem (“Welcome My Friends”) and Eishet Chayil (“A Woman of Valor”). Our hosts then said a blessing over their three (adorable!) children. Next, our host recited kiddush, a blessing of sanctification over a cup of wine (or, in our case, grape juice). After that, all of us washed our hands before breaking the challah bread and digging into the multi-course meal!

The dinner was a wonderful time of good company, good conversation, and of course, good food. I don’t remember everything we talked about or even ate (especially since I couldn’t take any pictures of the food – the use of electronics is prohibited during Shabbat), but the lively dinner was a much-needed break in the midst of a busy trip. We had spent most of the day (and that whole week) shuffling from tour site to tour site, with only brief stops to grab a bite to eat, so it was a real treat to sit down and just share a meal for a couple of hours.

Participating in the Shabbat dinner also has inspired me to make it a goal next school year to share weekly dinners with my roommates, plus anyone else who wants to join! Things can often get overwhelming at Princeton with endless hours of schoolwork and extracurriculars, but I hope that cooking and eating a big dinner together once a week next year will give me and my friends the opportunity to slow down and just share a few good laughs.

Back to the food itself – a couple of things stood out to me about the Shabbat dinner and Israeli food in general. Hummus, pita bread and schug are everyday foods enjoyed throughout the day.

Hummus is served with every meal – breakfast, lunch, and dinner! It’s also an incredibly versatile dip – it goes great not only with pita bread, but also on salads or even on meats.

Another awesome sauce they serve with most meals is schug – it’s a super spicy spread that adds an incredible kick to any dish.

When I got back home, I knew I had to share a small taste of Israel with the rest of my family and try my hand at making a few of the amazing foods from the Shabbat dinner. It turns out whipping up some great-tasting Hummus, Pita Bread and Schug is easier than I thought!

Making hummus and pita bread does require a bit of patience, but it’s definitely worth the wait. Check out the recipes below for Hummus, Pita Bread and Schug and let me know your thoughts.

Hummus

Authentic, Israeli hummus! Goes great with pita bread + as a side dish for any meal.

1 cup dried chickpeas

1 tbsp baking soda

1/2 cup raw tahini

1 lemon (juice of)

2 garlic cloves

1 tsp cumin

2 tbsp olive oil (extra virgin)

salt (to taste)

pepper (to taste)

1 tbsp paprika

Wash chickpeas several times and soak them overnight in a bowl in water mixed with baking soda. Chickpeas will double in size, so water should be at least double the volume of chickpeas.

After chickpeas have soaked overnight, wash the chickpeas well and put in a large pot. Cover with water and cook until chickpeas are soft and tender (approx. 1 hr).

Drain the chickpeas, but make sure to save the cooking water and set aside for later. Wash the chickpeas several times, rubbing them together with your hands to remove the skins.

Combine chickpeas in a food processor with tahini, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, olive oil, salt, and pepper, and blend until smooth. Add cooking water as needed.

Top with paprika and olive oil, and serve!

If pressed for time, feel free to replace dried chickpeas with canned chickpeas. However, taking the time to use dried chickpeas will results in much creamier and more authentic hummus!

 Adapted from Shabbat of a Lifetime booklet.

Schug

A very spicy spread that goes great w/ hummus + pita bread.

1 big bunch coriander

3 hot peppers

2 garlic cloves

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp vegetable oil

Wash and dry the coriander and remove the seeds from the hot peppers.

Put all of the ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth, adding water as necessary.

Adapted from Shabbat of a Lifetime booklet.

Pita

Made-from-scratch pita bread – surprisingly easy to make, and goes great with all kinds of dips.

3 cups bread flour

3 tbsp olive oil (extra virgin)

2 1/4 tsp instant yeast

2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp sugar

Combine flour, olive oil, yeast, salt, and sugar in a food processor. Process for 1-2 minutes, adding 2 cups of water, a little at a time, until the mixture forms a ball and is slightly sticky to the touch. 

Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and knead by hand to form a smooth ball of dough. Put the dough in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, and let the dough rise for 1.5 hours until it doubles in size.

When the dough is ready, form it into a ball and cut into 6 pieces. Roll each piece into a round ball, and roll each ball out to 1/4 inch thickness, using flour to prevent sticking as needed.

Bake each disk, one at a time, over medium heat in a skillet. Bake each disk for 5 minutes, or until both sides are lightly browned, turning the disk over to make sure both sides bake evenly.

Serve immediately with your favorite dip, or let pitas cool and store in plastic bags. Reheat gently before using.

Adapted from How to Cook Everything. 

  The post Shabbat Dinner: Hummus, Pita Bread and Schug Recipe appeared first on Jeanette's Healthy Living.

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[threadsofperu-blog]

Trabajo del Campo

Writing this now, as I’m underneath four alpaca blankets, wearing a hat and coat to bed. After a dinner of corn soup with maté de hierba buena I’m tucked into bed at 8:30 in the evening. Just like when I was on Taquile, I’m waking up when the sun rises and going to sleep just after it sets. I have significantly less distractions here. No Wi-Fi, cell service, or anyone to speak English with… But still, the days seem to go by way quicker here. 

I’m in Umasbamba, a rural-Andean town just outside of the more well-known town of, Chinchero. Chinchero is about an hour outside of Cusco and situated in the Sacred Valley. The valley gets cold and because Peruvians don’t have central-air units, you definitely feel it. The family is conscious to close every door behind them to keep the warm air in. That and drinking maté is really all you can do. 

I met Janet while my parents were here in Peru. Together, we visited the community of Umasbamba to learn about their weaving traditions. What I didn’t know then, was that they typically receive tourists in the town’s main plaza. But, of the years Janet has received tourists, this was perhaps the 4th time she welcomed them into her own home. 

Anyways, just my parents and I watched the demonstration, in which Janet explained how to do everything from dying the yarn, to spinning wool, and producing the iconography. I asked if she ever hosted foreigners and she showed me to a spacious room in her home, where I’m now typing this. 

For the past few months, I have been learning more about textiles in preparation for my ISP (independent study project). The ISP is a self-directed anthropological research investigation that comes to fruition during the last month of my program. I’ve decided on a theme, to explore how traditional textiles serve as a source for women’s empowerment in Andean communities. After researching feminist literature, the tourism industry, and other women-producers of ‘ethnic arts’ around the world, I was able to form a proposal. I proposed to narrow-in on the community of Umasbamba and maybe even the life of one weaver herself, Janet. 

What I found when I arrived last week in Umasbamba, was that weaving was not as omnipresent as I had thought, or at least in the way I had thought. I found that concluding whether textiles are a source of women’s empowerment was going to be nearly impossible. The best I can do is gather information in both directions. Yet, my observations don’t fit under ‘yes, this is definitely empowerment’ or ‘no, this is restricting me’. When you’re studying human subjects, everything is nuanced. I’m maintaining my cool, despite these frustrations, and am comforted in the fact that at least I’m out here, trying to get as much information as I can, and can decide its significance later. 

Not-so-quick schedule of last week: 

Tuesday night: Attended the anniversary of Chinchero high school. We walked a half-hour uphill (which the students do every morning) and watched a series of performances. There was a pageant where the girls wore typical dress from various regions of Peru and then a few traditional dances from Chinchero. 

Wednesday: We again went to the high school (it’s a hike) at 9 am to help cook lunch. I was under the impression that we were cooking lunch for the students, but the entire community showed up to the school to celebrate the anniversary. I peeled abas/beans for over an hour with the few gentlemen who had come to prepare lunch as well. Once, the vegetables were prepared the women cooked a ton of soup right there outside. Hundreds of people had a bowl of soup and then my family and I sat down for cuy (guinea pig) which my host-mom had carried in a textile around her back to the high school from home. I tried un poquitito, which interestingly enough tasted like turkey. Except, with lots of little bones. We were there until 4 PM and didn’t get home until around 7, after my host-dad drove people back home (he’s a taxi driver). 

Thursday: In the morning, we went out to the chakra, which is the family’s farmland. I helped in the chakra, by carrying huge stalks of feed for the sheep. The rest of the family cut through a whole field of it and I had made 2 lines, spanning 50 feet each of the stuff. My host mom spends a lot of time working in the chakra while her husband is driving. What I had thought to be a gendered work (farming), turned out to be the opposite. Really, the women do just about everything. They cook, clean, work in the chakra, take care of the animals, take care of the children, communicate with the school… and weave. 

When we returned that afternoon, Janet attempted to teach me how to weave. With Spanish as her second language as well as mine, it was a little difficult to understand the process, but I did pick up on a few things. She suggested that I go get my embroidery from the night before, so I sat stitching while she completed a bracelet for me. All this while her boys were watching. While working in the chakra may not be so gendered, men in Umasbamba never learn how to weave. Janet told me she doesn’t intend to teach her boys - making weaving truly exclusive to women. 

After our weaving, I finally interviewed Janet. Still reflecting on my interview notes… I’m not sure exactly what’s important. I know she weaves to send her children to school and to not forget the traditions of her ancestors.  I know that some days she takes more money home and sometimes her husband does. 

Friday: After I herded sheep, llamas, and cows across the fields I went home to Cusco. Janet was in a rush to welcome tourists and change into her traje tipico or traditional dress, so I took a cab back to Chinchero, and a taxi colectivo to Cuzco, and a bus to Marcavalle. Admittedly, I’m pretty proud of myself for figuring all that out on my own. 

Although, I was more than ready to return to Cusco (I’ve definitely learned I’m a city-gal) and take a nice hot shower, I felt welcomed into their home and appreciated having the time to think without interruption. I sorted out a lot in my head while I was there. I’d like to take that atmosphere home with me, maybe by observing Shabbat when I return to the States.  Hanging out with all those animals also made me think, maybe I should just cut out meat entirely from my diet (sorry, anyone who this makes life more difficult for). You know, just thinking about things that don’t have much to do with my investigation.

[100prompts]

1. Show the video footage of former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S., Michael Oren, being heckled by pro-Palestinian activists at U.C. Irvine. Ask students: How does this make you feel?

 2. Throw a bagel to every person in the room. Ask: In what ways does this bagel represent and embody the Jewish experience and in what ways not? Consider in chevrutah.

 3. Give every student $7. Challenge them to donate a dollar a day for one week. Come back a week later and discuss.

 4. Read the Bereshit account of Jacob wrestling with the “angel”. Ask students: In what ways has Jewish history embodied or reflected this origin as “wrestlers”?

 5. Read the morning prayer, “Elohai HaNeshama”. Ask students: What comes up for you when you read this prayer? What might it mean to say that the soul is “pure”?

 6. Give everyone a copy of “Modeh Ani” and have folks recite it upon arising every morning for one week. Come back together and discuss.

 7. Watch the Israeli band A-WA’s single “Habib Galbi”. Discuss.

 8. Watch a quality version of Bob Marley’s “Exodus”. Ask students: To what extent is this a “Jewish” song – To what extent does it present the tropes and themes of the Jewish story – both historically and spiritually? To what extent not?

 9. Study a map of the Land of Israel that includes both major Jewish and Arab population centers as well as clearly delineates the “Green Line”. Ask students if they have any questions.

 10. Invite students into a private Facebook group entitled “Gratitude Reflections” and challenge each member of the group to post three “things” they’re grateful for each day.

 11. Bring a group of students to a rally or protest. Have them create signs and posters based on values from their Jewish tradition. Following the rally, go get pizza and discuss.

 12. Bring a group of Muslim students to meet a group of Jewish students. Have dinner and then have each group generate as many questions as they’d like to ask the other. Come back together and take turns going back and forth, answering as many of the questions as possible.

 13. Watch the Curb Your Enthusiasm episode, “Palestinian Chicken”. Ask your students to explain the last scene.

 14. Invite Erika Davis (author of the “Black, Gay, and Jewish” blog) to visit a group of students.

 15. Purchase every student a copy of Heschel’s “Moral Grandeur and Spiritual Audacity”. Read any essay. Discuss.

 16. Find an online description of the Chofetz Chaim’s stringent rules around gossip and Lashon Hara. Ask students what role gossip plays in their lives and if they can understand the rabbi’s stringencies?

 17. Host a Tu B’Shvat seder. Download the Hazon “haggadah” for the occasion. Real wine is a must.

 18. Pass around a lulav and an etrog. Discuss.

 19. At the start or end of a semester, study the midrash of Nachshon ben Aminadav. Ask students in what ways that embodied the chutzpah of Nachshon over the past semester and in what ways they wish they had embodied his chutzpah.

 20. Watch the short (30 min.) Israeli movie “Barriers”. Ask students to name ten different types of barriers represented in the movie. Discuss widely.

 21. Read the entirety of the Shema. Ask students: How would you relate to the 2nd paragraph if you were a Cambodian sustenance farmer? How would you relate to it if you were “ancient man”? How do you (might you) relate to it as you yourself?

 22. Borrow a handful of sets of tefillin and a bunch of tallitot and gather a bunch of students for whom these ritual items are not familiar. Have everyone take turns “wrapping and donning”. Discuss.

 23. Gather ten students in an open space for the sunset. Recite the evening “Ma’ariv” prayer. Sit in silence.

 24. Look at a collection of hanhagot from various Jewish writers. Have students compose their own hanhagot – based on the language and style of the historical ones.

 25. Open up the claf of a mezuzah. Ask students to explain this ritual technology. Have students compose their own mezuzah scroll – give them pushpins to affix these original scrolls to their doorposts.

 26. Gather a small group of really intellectually intense students. Purchase each of them a copy of Buber’s “The Way of Man”. Gather on several occasions to read a chapter from this small book.

 27. Read the original “10 Commandments” and then read Archie Gottesman’s “New Ten Commandments for the Jewish People”. First discuss. Then have the students compose their own individual ten commandments. Discuss.

 28. Cut up a whole lot of little slips of paper. On half of them write, “The entire world was created for me”. On the other half write, “I am nothing but dust and ashes”. Give one of each to 10 students. Ask them to pull out the former when they’re feeling glum and to pull our and read the latter when they’re feeling overly proud. Have them do that for a week. Gather and discuss.

 29. On Erev Shabbat, have students go around and fill in the following blanks: This Shabbat I want to unplug from ________. This Shabbat I want to plug into ________.

 30. Introduce the Kabbalistic practice of gerushin (wanderings). Take a handful of students and walk aimlessly around campus for an hour trying to get in touch with the exile of the Shekhinah. Discuss.

 31. Give a tutorial on various online Israeli and Jewish news culture websites. Let students survey them on their own for a while. Present favorite articles.

 32. Read the first chapter of Bereshit – slowly. Discuss as you read.

 33. Study Rav Yosef’s statement in the Talmud (Ketubot 48a) that “There must be close bodily contact during sex…” Ask students why Rav Yosef insists on two people being naked? What’s up with nakedness?

 34. Study the midrash’s story of Noah planting a vineyard with Satan. Prepare to answer questions about the Jewish Satan. Ask students: What’s this midrash trying to communicate to us about the complexity of getting drunk and being stoned?

 35. Get a bunch of siddurim and have students flip through the section of Birkat Nehenin. Tell them they are on a “Brachot Scavenger Hunt”. Can they identify one blessing that is surprising? One that they have recited at some point in the past? One that they find beautiful? Etc.

 36. Cut up the weekly parsha verse by verse. Place all the verses in a hat. Pass it around – everyone randomly selects a verse. Have students go a sit alone for 15 minutes reflecting on how the verse speaks to them and “where they’re at” in life. Come back together and share in chevrutah.

 37. Study the very first mishnah of Mishnah Berachot.

 38. Read A.B. Yehoshua’s critique of diaspora life published in Ha’aretz several years ago. Discuss.

 39. Print copies of the summary of “the PEW poll”. Give students 15 minutes to peruse and discuss in small groups. Come back together. Discuss.

 40. Give students 30 minutes to answer the question “Why be Jewish?” Answers must be fewer that 50 words. Do the same exercise but require answers to be 20 words or less. Do one more time – 5 words. Then 1 word.

 41. Read Matisyahu’s Twitter post (along with accompanying photo) from 12/13/11. Discuss.

 42. Gather a group of students. Ask them how we might understand and relate to the idea of angels. Chant “Shalom Aleichem” (as a niggun, without the words) for 15 minutes. Discuss.

 43. Print out copies of the Rambam’s enumeration of the 613 commandments. Give students 15 minutes to explore the list. And give them a set of scavenger hunt questions to guide their exploration. A commandment that’s surprising. One they already were familiar with. One they’d like to find the time to perform. One that is morally troubling.

 44. Watch the “Double Rainbow” Youtube classic. Pair this with a Heschel text on “wonder”. Discuss.

 45. Invite a Jewish LGBT activist to visit with your students.

 46. Invite a young Orthodox Jew to meet with your students for a session entitled, “What’s going on in the mind of a young Orthodox Jew?”

 47. Sometime around Hannukah, read David Brooks’ piece, “The Hannukah Story,” in the NYTimes from 12/10/09. Discuss.

 48. Look at the commandments prohibiting tattoos. Ask students: What right does the Torah have to tell you how to live your life?

 49. Place a bacon cheeseburger in the center of a group of students. Discuss.

 50. Play Omer Avital’s song, “New Middle East”. Ask students: What does this song mean?

 51. Read Allen Ginsberg’s poem, “Jaweh and Allah Battle”. Read it again. Discuss.

 52. Have students try and retell the Purim story.

 53. Ask students about the personal significance (or lack thereof) of fasting on Yom Kippur.

 54. Ask students to make sense of the fact that many Jews who eat cheeseburgers all year long abstain from bread during Pesach.

 55. Have students consider Kaplan’s statement: “The ancient authorities are entitled to a vote, but not a veto”. Discuss.

 56. Consider the mitzvah of Kibud av v’em / Honor your father and mother. Break students into chevrutot to talk about the depth and possible limitations of this commandment. Have students write letters to their folks.

 57. Have students look at the calendar of Jewish months and holidays. Answer questions.

 58. Have students read the liturgical text for Amelioration of Bad Dreams. Ask students: What power (of lack thereof) might dreams have in your life? Get into chevrutot and share a dream that has “stuck with you”. Why?

 59. Read the Rambam’s “13 Principles of Faith”. Discuss.

 60. Bring a Sefer Torah into a room with a group of students. Allow them to hold it and sit with it. Kiss it. Open it up and roll it from start the finish – pointing out unique “typographic” and narrative moments in the text. Answer questions.

 61. Bring in falafel – with all the “salatim” fixings. Have a student facilitate a “Felafel Tutorial” demonstrating how to properly stuff a pita.

 62. Read the Torah’s narrative about Moses not being permitted to enter the Land of Israel. Ask them to reflect on a time in which they too were not able to make it to a long desired “destination”.

 63. Invite a Russian Jewish immigrant to tell his/her story.

 64. Ask students if the institution of Bar/Bat Mitzvah should be nixed – or significantly altered. Should it be postponed until the age of 21?

 65. Ask students: What does the title “Birthright” mean? Do you have a “Birthright” to the Land of Israel? Discuss.

 66. Have students attend Friday night Kabbalat Shabbat davening as “Religious Ethnographers”. Over Shabbat dinner, discuss findings.

 67. Watch “Kourtney and Kim Take New York” episode, “True Colors” in which Scott Disick has a mini Jewish awakening. Ask students: What’s going on for Scott? Discuss.

 68. Watch Alicia Keys’ music video, “No One”. Ask students: What is this song about? About a relationship between two people? Or about a relationship between a person and God? What evidence in the music video might suggest the latter? Bring in some Kabbalistic poetry. Ask students: What’s the relationship between spirituality and eroticism?

 69. Consider several cases of medieval Jewish martyrdom. Ask students: Would you choose death rather than “forsake” your Jewish identity?

 70. Find an interesting analysis of “Jewish American Princess”. Have students read it together. Ask students how they feel about this terminology and its function.

 71. Have students consider the injunction in Vayikra, “Reprove your neighbor”. Bring in some commentary from interesting sources. Break students into chevrutot and have them think about whom in their lives deserves careful reproach of this sort?

 72. Take students to a mikvah. Allow them to immerse (privately) if desired. Discuss.

 73. Read the Israeli Declaration of Independence. Discuss.

 74. Read George Washington’s “Letter to the Hebrew Congregation at Newport”. Ask students: Do they identify primarily as Jewish Americans or American Jews?

 75. Ask students to talk about their “Hebrew Names” – their origins, etc. Lead a discussion about any subject, where students must refer to one another by using their Hebrew names.

 76. Have students tell each other their “Jewish stories” by describing a 1) person, 2) experience, and 3) Jewish idea that have had major impacts on their lives.

 77. Play a good version of the “Hora” and have students lift each other one by one up in chairs. Discuss.

 78. Using their cellphones, have students take portraits of one another with different facial expressions for a variety of Jewish “things” – including, Yom Kippur, Israel, the Shoah, Bnei Mitzvah, etc. Post pictures on Facebook.

 79.  Have students explore Ritualwell.org. Break students up into groups of 4 and have them design new rituals for “Upon a Hard Break Up”, “Upon Acceptance into College”, and “Upon Leaving Your First Year Dorm room”.

 80. Watch an interview with Rabbi Menachem Froman z”l. Ask students: What does Rav Froman mean when he says he lives in “the state of God”?

 81. Ask students: Are Jews white?

 82. Watch a collection of recent videos showing police abuse of people of color. Ask students: Considering the injunction in Devarim, “You must not remain indifferent”, what actions have they considered taking to address the injustices that continue to surround race in America?

 83. Watch the video of two Israeli police officers beating a Jewish Israeli of Ethiopian decent. Watch videos of the ensuing Ethiopian protests in Tel Aviv. Discuss.

 84. Have students turn to one another in chevrutot. Ask them to discuss their relationship with and experience of God.

 85. Have students write a list of “10 Contemporary Plagues” that impact our global society. Have them read this list at their family seders.

 86. Have students read Rebbe Nachman’s short tale, “The Turkey Prince”. Discuss.

 87. Ask students if they’ve received particular “messaging” from parents or grandparents about the need to marry a Jew. Discuss.

 88. In a group of students, read selections from Jean Amery’s essay, “On the Necessity and Impossibility of Being a Jew”. Discuss.

 89. Ask students: Is it cool to be Jewish? Discuss.

 90. Have students interview their oldest living relative about what being Jewish “means to them”. Each student will present.

 91. Have students perform a “Welcoming Assessment” for a selection of campus Jewish organizations and institutions. Students present findings.

 92. Read “The Epistle of the Baal Shem Tov” with a group of students. Discuss.

 93. Instruct students to light a menorah (during Hannukah) in a public space in order to “publicize the miracle”. Come back together and process the experience.

 94. Watch the Israeli movie, “Sallah Shabati”. Discuss.

 95. Watch “Fiddler on the Roof”. Discuss.

 96. Consider how the Torah describes all generations of Jews as having stood at Sinai at the giving of the Torah. Read Merle Feld’s poem, “We all Stood Together”. Ask students to envision what they would have been doing, how they would have been feeling, where they would have been standing – at Sinai.

 97. Teach students how to give a “Dvar Torah”. Then give them all various short selections from Torah. They have 10 minutes to develop “Divrei Torah”. Present.

 98. Facilitate a “Lechayim Tutorial”.

 99. Have students compose their “Jewish Soul Resumes”. Present.

 100. Teach students the lyrics of “Hatikva”. Sing together as a group. Discuss.