Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Our Heroes For Our Children To Emulate

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                       

                        

My first hero that comes to mind is David, Warrior and then King of Israel who ruled Israel from 1010 BCE to970 BCE for 40 years.  We learned the song, Dah-veed, Melekh Yisrael, khi, khi, vic ay am...David, King of Israel, Lives, still lives,.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=an9KvqcHUJY.  This was in my Hebrew class of 1980 in Haifa, Israel when I moved to Israel.  To elaborate, he lives in the heart of every child and adult who has read about him and wants to emulate him.  It's nice to have a hero to look up to.  

       Goliath is a Philistine giant in the Book of Samuel. Descriptions of Goliath's immense stature vary among biblical sources, with various texts describing him between 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) to 9 ft 9 in (2.97 m) tall.

 According to the text, Goliath issued a challenge to the Israelites, daring them to send forth a champion to engage him in single combat; he was ultimately defeated by the young shepherd David, employing a sling and stone as a weapon. In the Bible story, David defeated Goliath by using a slingshot to hurl a stone that struck Goliath directly in the forehead, killing himthis teaches us that even when facing seemingly insurmountable odds, courage, faith, and utilizing one's unique skills can lead to victory, regardless of size or perceived power disparity. The narrative signified King Saul's unfitness to rule, as Saul himself should have fought for the Kingdom of Israel.   If that's your job, do it;  don't shirk it.   

My next is Bar Kokhba, meaning son of the star (Simon ben Kosibar) who died in 135 CE as a Revolutionary leader of Jews who rebelled against the Romans in 132 CE and had actually taken over Jerusalem and held it for 4 years after the Romans had conquered Israel in 70 CE in Jerusalem. It occurred 65 years after Jerusalem had fallen.  He had made the Romans SO...mad that they were furious!   It was said that his ancestor was King David.  A famous rabbi, Rabbi Akiva, had proclaimed his as The Messiah!  Not all rabbis of that day went along with this, though this was indeed a very brave act, which he paid for.  He died in battle.  

It took the Romans a year to react and their counterattack was an army of 35,000 under Hadrian and the commander Julius Severus. The Romans invaded their last stronghold, Betar, and gradually reduced the remaining hill and cave strongholds.  Bar Kokhba was killed when Betar fell by storm, a destruction of 50 fortresses and 985 villages and of 580, 000 Jewish casualties besides those who died of hunger and disease. After a fierce battle, every Jew in Bethar was killed. Six days passed before the Romans allowed the Jews to bury their dead.

 Judea fell into desolation, the population was annihilated and Jerusalem was turned into a heathen city, barred to Jews.    Bar Kokhba's chances of success were so slim, but he tried and held on for 4 years, that was a huge embarrassment for the Romans.  

According to most historical accounts, Bar Kokhba's army during the revolt in 132 CE is estimated to have consisted of between 200,000 and 400,000 soldiers, although the exact number is debated due to the lack of precise records; some sources even claim it could have been as high as 350,000 men. The Bar Kokhba revolt is considered one of the most significant Jewish rebellions against Roman rule, and the large size of his army reflects the widespread participation of the Jewish population at the time. Jewish texts like the Talmud mention Bar Kokhba's army as numbering around 200,000. That's still a huge amount compared to the Roman 35,000, but the Romans were trained fighters and better arms.                    

George Washington was another President to be proud of.  He was said to always tell the truth, and he grew up well, becoming President.  He confessed chopping down his family's favorite cherry tree when asked, saying he could not tell a lie.  You have to admire a man like a beginning like this.   He kept our country from caving in before it could stand alone.  George Washington served as the first president of the United States from April 30, 1789 to March 4, 1797: 8 years as our 1st president..

My 4th example is Abraham Lincoln, our 16th president.  He is responsible for the Civil War, unfortunately, but had to make this terrible decision in freeing the Blacks from slavery, something that the British had already done in England.  Being the top commander is not always easy when the buck stops in front of you.  You must do it, and be wise about it.                                  

The same situation happened to Truman, who backed Israel first; had a business partner who was Jewish and respected him;    and also had to make the decision to bomb Japan with an unknown weapon, a nuclear bomb; or watch the USA become a destroyed nation.  He bombed Japan twice in order to save his nation.  Not many of us could stand that kind of pressure.  He never whined about doing his job.  

As they say in acting, these are hard acts to follow.  One doesn't expect outstanding acts;  just being honest with what one does is expected.  Today that would be exemplary.  Exemplary (and its close relatives example and exemplify) derives from the Latin noun exemplum ("example"). When exemplary describes something as "excellent," it almost always carries the further suggestion that the thing described is worthy of imitation.  Children and Adults tend to emulate their model-which might be a president, or should be the epitome of height held by this office.  We're all exposed to our president all the time today in news, on the web;   on TV, radio, in person....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goliath

https://jewishbubba.blogspot.com/2024/11/anti-judaism-is-born-and-war.html


The Five-Thirty AM News With A Trump Winner

 Nadene Goldfoot                                               

Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who became the president-elect of the United States after winning the 2024 presidential election. He previously served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.  

The shock of this morning is that Americans were more interested in our economy than anything else, and Trump is ahead big-time, by 5:30am Pacific Time,  so that it's almost being called that he's the winner!  The Republicans have taken 198 seats and the Democrats only 180 seats.                                

The fact that Trump had spoken about having Liz Chaney facing a firing squad for her turn against him, 

and that he'd like to see Mike Tyson in a boxing ring with Kamala Harris.  He seems to vision women he hates in bloody situations!  He's wanting to get even with their being against him.

If this is true, he surely is lucky as if he has lost, he's due to step into

a jail sentence, according to a Democratic viewpoint. 

You know, based on analysis of her life and behavior, many psychologists speculate that Marilyn Monroe likely suffered from Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), characterized by unstable moods, relationships, and self-image, often accompanied by impulsive behaviors and intense emotional swings, which aligns with many aspects of her personal struggles.   She would love someone immensely, then turn on them with hatred.  Trump seems

 to suffer from the same thing.  I'm no psychologist like my brother was, but, DUH!  

People did not vote for Trump by carefully following his thoughts and moods; NO, 

People voted for him because when he was president, their money stretched further

for groceries.  

People voted him if they shared birthdays, or birthday months, that he was a white

male; without even hesitating when our health would be in the hands of Kennedy Jr.

and all his baggage.     

                   

Published on Nov 06, 2024 04:37 PM IST

Attendees in despair as the verdict of the popular vote is swept by Republican candidate Donald Trump, defeating Kamala Harris.(Getty Images via AFP)

It's going to be a sad day on the VIEW!  It's going to be  a sad Wednesday for

many Democrats and former Republican voters.  I've already gained a pound from it 

all eating candy in frustration.  

Resource:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0lp48ldgyeo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2enwNqF3og

Tuesday, November 5, 2024

Reformed American Jews Versus Orthodox Israeli Jews

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                     

Jews of Israel, a Jewish state, and the Jews of the USA, are often at odds when it comes to backing Israel's decisions.  President Biden has gone along with the Jews in the USA more likely than not, with Donald Trump being very popular in Israel for the decisions he has made that has benefitted Israel.  Donald has turned over the Israel file to his son-in-law, a modern orthodox Jew who married his daughter and converted to Judaism.  For instance, Israeli Jews realize the importance of Judea and Samaria, land others call the West Bank. They've lived through the Holocaust, knowing how important a place like Israel is and what it means to their families.  So many of their ancestors were wiped out by the Nazis. 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the J Street National Conference, Dec. 4th, 

2022.  J Street is not clearly backing Israel's government, but their own ideas of how 

things should be run.  J Street seeks a middle path to the Gaza problem but as yet hasn't

come up with anything .  The feelings between Israel and J Street have

 not been like Israel and AIPAC.  According to Nathan Guttman,


 "J Street and its supporters have never made a secret of their

 opposition to Netanyahu and his policies."  AIPAC stands for

 "The American Israel Public Affairs Committee .  Blinken is Jewish.  In 2002, 

Blinken and Evan Ryan were married in an interfaith ceremony officiated by a rabbi 

and a priest at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Washington, D.C. They have two 

children. Blinken is fluent in French, and left-handed.

AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster 

Israel is a refuge for Jews all over the world.  Russians who entered had no knowledge of Hebrew as it was against the law to study it.  They had no knowledge other than being called a Jew.  Many brought their gentile wives and there was no prophet standing there saying to leave their spouse.   

Let's look at the differences in Judaism for the two countries. 

Religion in Israel (2016)[1]

  JudaismHiloni (33.1%)
  Judaism–Masorti (24.3%)
  Judaism–Dati (8.8%)
  Judaism–Haredi (7.3%)
  Islam (18.1%)
  Christianity (1.9%)
  Druze (1.6%)


Israel was created as a way to keep Judaism alive.  Naturally, it is an Orthodox state with two heads of state Rabbis, one for the Ashkenazim  and the other Sepharim.  

  • Ashkenazi: Represents Jews with backgrounds in Eastern and Central Europe 
  • Sephardic: Also known as the Rishon leZion, represents Jews with backgrounds in the Middle East and North Africa 
The two chief rabbis share responsibility for the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, which oversees many aspects of Jewish life in Israel, including: Marriage and divorce, Burial rites, Rabbinical courts, Kosher certifications, and Jewish conversions.The chief rabbis also represent the state of Israel locally and internationally, and sometimes comment on current events.   As of July 1, 2024, Israel was without chief rabbis for the first time in the country's 76-year history. The Religious Services Ministry was unable to hold an election due to disagreements over the makeup of the election body. 

Israel's Jewish population identifies as Orthodox, with only a small percentage considering themselves Conservative or Reform.

 Around 50% of Israeli Jews identify with Orthodoxy, while only around 2% identify as Conservative and 3% as Reform. The chief rabbis also represent the state of Israel locally and internationally, and sometimes comment on current events.    

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and Housing Minister Yitzhak 
Goldknopf, right, arriving for a cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's 
Office in Jerusalem on September 27, 2023. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Ultra-Orthodox lawmakers criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday night after he issued a statement before the end of Shabbat on US ratings agency Moody’s downgrading Israel’s credit.

 The other 45% of Jews are not identified with a denomination.

In 2022, 45% of Israel Jews self-identified as "secular"; 10% as haredi (ultra-orthodox); 33% as 

masorti (lit.'traditional'); and 12% as dati (lit.'religious' or 'orthodox', including religious zionist).   

                                                     *****************

                                      Democratic Senator Jared Moskowitz of Florida 

 When is 

gonna change the name to GazaStreet.
Quote
J Street
@jstreetdotorg

On Rafah, J Street President says, “It’s important for the president to reiterate that

 the United States will not and should not provide Israel with blanket immunity.” I join

Jared in not being a J Street fan.     

According to the Pew Research Center, as of 2020, there are approximately 7.5 million Jews in the United States, which represents about 2.4% of the total population; within this group, roughly 37% identify as Reform, 17% as Conservative, and 9% as Orthodox.   The USA has no  chief Rabbi.                          

                                                               *********

According to the 2022-2023 Greater Portland, Oregon Jewish Community Study, 23% of the Jewish population in Greater Portland and Southwest Washington identify as Reform. The study also found that:
  • 52% of the Jewish population do not identify with any particular denomination
  • 8% identify as Conservative
  • 5% identify as Orthodox
  • 12% identify with other denominations 
Reform Judaism is mainly centered in North America, with the Union for Reform Judaism being the largest constituent in the United States and Canada. 
This means that  we have Orthodox=5%; 
Conservative=8%; 
+ Reform=23% =5+8+23=36%
 52% Jews, no denomination + 36% in denominations. =88%
12% unknown denominations as well as 88% others=100%
"I'm a Portland resident. Kesser Israel is the only Orthodox shul with regular minyan. There are two Sephardic Shuls, one Spanish and Portuguese and one more Israeli/Misrachi, but they only really meet on Shabbos. Chabad really loves the Rebbe here. There is a Kollel that does classes and runs in partnership with NCSY and our local kosher agency. There is one Kosher restaurant, at the JCC. We have a kosher grocery store. There are mainly people from age 30 and up with families. It is a mix of Traditional/BT/MO/Yeshivish. The community is quite small, but has been experiencing growth. I honesty wouldn't consider moving unless your married or can afford traveling to date. Seattle has a larger community that you might want to look into. Edit: PM me if you have any additional questions."
Now, what's the difference between Orthodox and Reform?  What's the similarity, first.  They both believe in One G-d, and that G-d  is not a human.  We believe that the Greeks believed in half-gods; men that had a parent that was one of their many gods and one parent that was human.  We don't believe that.  Adherents of Judaism do not believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah nor do they believe he was the Son of God. In the Jewish perspective, it is believed that the way Christians see Jesus goes against monotheism, a belief in the absolute unity and singularity of God, which is central to Judaism; Judaism sees the worship of a person as a form of idolatry, which is forbidden.  Therefore, considering Jesus divine, as “God the Son”, is forbidden.  I think most people are aware of this.
Orthodox Judaism and Reform Judaism differ in their views on the Torah, their approach to tradition, and their practices: 
  • Torah
    Orthodox Jews believe the Torah is the word of God that must be obeyed literally. Reform Jews believe the Torah is a human attempt to understand God and their relationship with the world, and that Judaism should be adapted to contemporary moral values. 
  • Tradition
    Orthodox Judaism adheres to traditional Jewish law as interpreted by rabbinic authorities over the centuries. Reform Judaism challenges the authority of legal tradition and seeks to modernize Jewish traditions. 
  • Practices
    Orthodox Jews strictly observe Shabbat and kosher laws. They pray three times a day, often from a prayer book in Hebrew. Men wear a prayer shawl during morning prayer. In Orthodox synagogues, men and women sit separately during services. Reform Judaism has adapted many traditional practices, such as allowing men and women to sit together during services.                                                                 
Reform Judaism originated in Germany in the early 19th century. Orthodox Judaism is numerically smaller than Reform Judaism, but Orthodox Jews are more likely to have large families and pass on their observance of Judaism to their children. 
The differences show up in their support for Israel, though the strongest rabbi in
Portland for Israel was Rabbi Rose of the Reform Temple, as I remember.  He formed
a group of people to debate others in the support of Israel and gave them all a long list of
books to read for their education.  He had come from Orthodox parents. 
He aimed to transform Jerusalem into a Roman metropolis, and in 132 he banned the practice of castration and circumcision. A short time later, many Jews in Judaea revolted under the charismatic Bar Kokhba, a man who had been recognized by some s 
 the messiah. Many have introduced themselves as the awaited messiah,     but we still wait.  
When it comes to history, I'm afraid that the Israelis are educated about the biblical
history far better than American Jews who only get a smattering if any in their Sunday
school program, and certainly not in their school systems.  To understand and 
appreciate Judaism, one should study the history and then the customs should make
more sense.   
Resource: