SHABBAT SHALOM, GESHER SHALOM!


 
March 30th 2019
 
  [  HOME ] [ MESSENGER ]  [  CONTACT RABBI STERN]
Shabbat Times: 
Candle Lighting
Evening Service
Bat Mitzvah of Livia Kraut
Minha
6:59 pm
7:00pm
9:00am
6:30pm
 
  Forecast: 67/cloudy

IN THIS ISSUE...
Shabbat Kiddush
Anita Kraut has sponsored today's Kiddush in honor her granddaughter Livia's Bat Mitzvah.

Birthdays and Anniversaries 
Steven Schwalbe
Paul Cohen
Myron Rosner
Shari Whitman
Ari Wexler
 
Alice & Arnold Grodman
Reva & Walter Strasfeld
Stuart Goldsmith & Jeffrey Gordon
Mary & Leo Rettig
Miriam & Harry Richman


   UPCOMING EVENTS
Saturday 3/30
Bat Mitzvah of Livia Kraut 9:00 am
Minha , S'uda Shlishit (3rd Shabbat Meal), timely topic, Maariv and Havdalah 6:30 pm
Tuesday 4/2
Sisterhood Board Meeting 1:00 pm
Thursday 4/4
Rabbi's Class "Talmud & Tangents" 10:30 am
On the Road to Lakewood dinner & Pesach shopping RSVP required
Friday 4/5
Bible Class 11:30 am


PURIM at Gesher Shalom
more pictures to come on our website early next week!

   





 
AIPAC
The Politicization of AIPAC/Israel by Some in Both Parties is the Greatest Challenge We Face. kas
Can AIPAC Save America From Itself?  "There is just one place that I know of where people are determined to get over their differences and work together for a cause that's bigger than their personal preferences. That place is AIPAC. And at a time when the United States has devolved into the most intense partisan divide in recent memory, AIPAC's commitment to bipartisanship is nothing short of radical."   AIPAC is the last vestige of a better America, a bipartisan America, an America that knows how to put aside its differences and get things done."
The Progressive Case for AIPAC 
American Jews, Caught between Ilhan Omar and Donald Trump, Are Lost in a Wilderness
Omar Wouldn't Meet With AIPAC Constituent Delegation         
Israelis vs. Jews: An Issue in Netanyahu's Campaign-and for the AIPAC Conference   
I don't see things this way, but you deserve to be able to read it (counter-examples: warm reception and standing ovations after both De Blasio and Gantz finished their speeches; Ron Dermer had to ask the audience to stand to applaud Trump's recognition of Golan sovereignty):
American Jews are very uncomfortable with Trump, but the pro-Israel lobby has embraced him wholeheartedly    
Steny Hoyer may have given the speech of his life at AIPAC! He has few Jews in his Maryland district, so his staunch support for Israel is not for political gain. And he has a very safe seat, so it's not about the Benjamins. At the very end of his remarks Hoyer added: "Thank you for the honor of standing with you." (from my notes on the Conference)
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer at AIPAC Delivers Strong Defense of U.S.-Israel Alliance    
Just so you know:
AIPAC Did Not Invite 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidates to Conference                
Bill DeBlasio defied MoveOn and delivered a great speech; Cory Booker showed up for the lobbying session (he has come for that in recent years and sent aides), but that is not, as he claimed "showing up for AIPAC."
I'm not a big fan of the Mayor, but as far as I am concerned, he hit just the right notes in his AIOAC speech. He even said that he has real disagreements with the current Israeli government, but that does not mean Israel should be isolated. (from my notes on the Conference)
Bill De Blasio Makes a "Progressive Case" Against BDS Boycotts at AIPAC 
Amb. Haley followed VP Mike Pence. I hope he stuck around to hear her and the reaction to her. If he harbors any thoughts of running in 2024, her reception should have disabused him. She also said that we have here in the USD are "disagreements" between the parties. "The opposition is not evil." "Stop the finger pointing and get to work!" (from my notes on the Conference)
On Monday, Benny Gantz addressed AIPAC: 
With Some of Rabin's Awkward Charisma, Gantz Passes the AIPAC Test  
On Tuesday morning the Prime Minister addressed AIPAC from the Kirya (the Dept. of Defense building in Tel Aviv. The satellite feed was interrupted repeatedly. Leading some to wonder if it was hacked/sabotaged. I just hope that military communications are not that terrible.
On Tuesday morning the Prime Minister addressed AIPAC from the Kirya (the Dept. of Defense building in Tel Aviv). The satellite feed was interrupted repeatedly. Leading some to wonder if it was hacked/sabotaged. I just hope that military communications are not that terrible.
He touched all the right buttons, speaking of Israel as a democracy, enfranchising all its citizens and giving them equal rights, that Israel must remain a bi-partisan issue in the U.S.
"America and Israel share a love of freedom and democracy. It's because we cherish individual rights and the rule of law. It's because we don't judge people by the color of their skin, their religion or their sexual orientation." And further: "I am proud of Israel's vibrant democracy, where no one - no one - is a second-class citizen. All of Israel's citizens are first-class citizens. All of Israel's citizens whether Jew or Arab, Muslim, Christian, or Druze, have exactly the same individual rights. We vote in the same elections. We're subject to the same laws. We study in the same universities. And we are also treated in the same hospitals."
But how does the above square with his tweet: "Israel is not a state of all its citizens. According to the nation-state law we passed, Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people - and not anyone else." Or his pride with the rule of law and his claims of a "witch-hunt" into corruption cases against him?
Netanyahu at AIPAC: The Jewish People Stand Up to Hatred, Fight, and  Win    
Anti-Zionism Is Anti-Semitism, Secretary of State Pompeo Tells AIPAC 



Torah Rea ding   636, 880                          Haftarah 1287
SH'MINI
 
After seven days of investiture into the Priesthood, Aaron and his sons assume their offices and offer communal sacrifices on the EIGHTH day (Shemini). A fire from God, symbolizing Divine blessing, consumed their offerings.
Two of Aaron's sons, Nadav and Avihu, brought an incense offering on their own initiative, and are struck down by God for their actions. Instructions from God and Moses to Aaron and his remaining sons with respect to public displays of grief make it amply clear that the priests hold a consecrated and elevated position, which takes priority over their personal needs. To prevent a recurrence of priestly error, the priests were warned to refrain from imbibing any intoxicant.
The Sidra concludes with a thorough exposition of the laws of Kashrut: a listing of the permissible and prohibited animals and certain physical features establish these criteria.
PARAH
From the second scroll we read the Laws of the PARAH ADUMAH (Red Cow), which deal with ritual purification. In Temple times, all those who made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem for Passover and wished to partake of the Paschal Lamb, had to be in a state of ritual purity. Reading this passage (the ashes of the cow were used in the purification procedure) within the month preceding Passover served as a reminder to all who were not ritually fit to take the necessary steps if they wished to participate, as Passover was rapidly approaching.
 

Tonight: Evening service at 7:00 p.m.
Tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m.
Mazal Tov to our bat Mitzvah Livia Kraut and to her family!
Tomorrow afternoon at 6:30 p.m.
During Seudah Shlishit we will read Thane Rosenbaum's critique of Michelle Alexander's op-ed about The Rev. Martin Luther king Jr. and the Palestinians:  MLK's Legacy is About Moral Clarity, Not Easy Analogies                                                                                                                       

This Week's Yahrzeit Observances
We hope that our weekly listing of yahrzeit observances will serve 2 purposes:
1)     To remind those who have the yahrzeit for a second time, much closer to the date of the actual observance
2)     To alert friends and acquaintances that someone they know is observing a yahrzeit. We hope that you will show them your support by joining them at our minyanim, and helping to assure that Kaddish can be recited with a minyan 
   
Nancy Green will be observing yahrzeit for her mother, Felicia Gross Levitt, on Friday evening, March 29th 
Melissa Burton will be observing yahrzeit for her father, Fred Herman, on Sunday evening, March 31st
Carolyn Tauber will be observing yahrzeit for her father, Sidney Lippel, on Saturday evening, March 31st
Marjorie Berger will be observing yahrzeit for her daughter, Leah Altomare, on Tuesday evening, April 2nd




Important/Interesting Reads

Former IDF Combat Officer, Allowed Only 90 Seconds, Testifies at UN Human Rights Council      Human Shields: Human Rights Violations Committed by Palestinian Terrorists Against Palestinian Civilians       
Nathan Englander on the Book He Has Been Waiting His Whole Life to Write  
Do Israeli Jewish Lives Even Matter to the Media?    
He was here! Marc Brettler was one of our Scholars-in-Residence:
I think that the authors read a bit too much into the results of the survey:
Trump Is Too Pro-Netanyahu for His Own Base                         
JTS Chancellor: Improve Jewish Identity in U.S. to Improve Israel Connection  
                                      


Israel
300 Millennial Jewish Leaders to Netanyahu: You're Making it Hard for Us to Defend Israel   
We remain deeply invested in Israel's future, but there are several issues that could seriously erode support for Israel among our generation, two of those leaders write.       
At AIPAC we heard from an early funder of the moon lander project who put up and initial $100,000. "...And $42 million dollars later...!"

Moon-Bound Israeli Spacecraft Snaps Stunning Photos and Videos  
Video: "Hatikvah" Plays in Qatar after Israeli Gymnast Wins Gold                                                       

WORLD'S LONGEST SALT CAVE FOUND IN DEAD SEA'S MT. SEDOM, 'BIBLICAL' ISRAEL              
 
This Israeli Town Will Be Fully Accessible to People with Disabilities    In Daniel, entrances will be wider, sidewalks will have ramps and homes will have lower counters and sinks.      
Video: Living Next to Hamas Terrorists in Gaza                                                                          
Evidence - Life under Hamas Terror
Evidence - Life under Hamas Terror




BDS / Anti-Semitism / anti-Zionism
Senate Republicans to Introduce 2 Bills Against Anti-Semitism 
Finally, a Resolution That Actually Condemns Anti-Semitism   

Ted Cruz offers a clear and unequivocal exploration of the hatred of Jews                                        
Despite a few recent examples of college administrations standing up for Jewish students, faculties are likely to bend to anti-Israeli pressure in the long run unless opposed systemically    







Iran / Syria / Hezbolla
As U.S. Tightens Iran Sanctions, Militant Groups and Political Allies Feel the Pain
DETENTE WITH THE GULF:  Netanyahu is finding common ground with the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Yemen, and Oman-mutual antipathy toward Iran and shared business interests    

 NYT: Trump's Pointless Provocation on the Golan
 There was no need to call for recognizing Israel's annexation of the Syrian territory.  

Netanyahu Says Golan Heights Move "Proves You Can" Keep Occupied Territory  
The Golan Heights Was Once an Arab Rallying Cry. Not Anymore.       
Jeff Jakoby: The Crucial Distinction between Acquiring Territory Through Aggression and Acquiring It Through Lawful Self-Defense                                                                                              

Assad Loyalists Are Turning on Syria's Government as Living Standards Deteriorate 




Pop Culture
The First Actual Jewish Woman to Finish the Iditarod Sled Dog Race  
Susan Cantor accomplished the feat in 1992, and Blair Braverman did it nearly three decades later.                       
 

11 Things You Need to Know About 'Shtisel' Star Michael Aloni     
The Jewish coming-of-age ceremony stretches to accommodate the new gender fluidity   
 Yoshevah Jones, Tel Aviv's Most In-Demand Face, on Growing Up As a Black Hebrew                                             



                                            




 









BaMidbar Wilderness Therapy at Ramah in the Rockies
Do you know a young adult struggling to find their path in life? Ramah is working to address mental health and wellness within the Jewish community.  BaMidbar Wilderness Therapy is our answer. Following a successful pilot season last year, BaMidbar is open for year-round enrollment.


VENEZUELA
Batsheva Dance Company
North America Tour
March 27 | 7:30 pm New York
March 28 | 7:30 pm New York
March 29 | 7:30 pm New York
March 30 | 7:30 pm New York
Peter Jay Sharp Building BAM Howard Gilman Opera House NYC
April 9 | 8:00 pm Toronto, CAN
Sony Centre For The Performing Arts Toronto, Canada
Acclaimed Choreographer Ohad Naharin and Batsheva's 18-member company are renowned worldwide for their adventurous vision and distinctive movement language. Combining visceral physicality with a rigor and consistency in their training, Batsheva Dance Company compels audiences with its virtuosity and raw energy. This singular company returns to BAM with a new evening-length work that explores the dialogue and conflict between movement and the content it represents. Created in two 40-minute sections placed in juxtaposition, Venezuela is a multifaceted work in which the endless possibilities of a choreographer's craft are at play and, in turn, the audience confronts the limits of their own freedom of choice.


Tali Keren, The Great Seal, 2017, interactive installation.
Orr Menirom, Homewrecker, 2015/18, single channel HD video, 14:30 min.
Art
Israeli Artists in Residency Spring Open Studios (ISCP)
Artists, Tali Keren + Orr Menirom
March 29 - 30, 2019
1040 Metropolitan Avenue, Brooklyn, New York
The International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP) Spring Open Studios is a two-day exhibition of international contemporary art presented by the 35 artists and two curators from 23 countries currently in residence.
Tali Keren is a media artist (b. 1982, Jerusalem living and working in Brooklyn, NY). Her performances video and installations focus on the formation of ideology, violence, and political identity. Keren's recent solo exhibitions include 'The Great Seal' at Eyebeam, New York, 'Heat Signature' at Ludlow 38, MINI Goethe Institute, New York, and the 'The Great Seal' at the Center for Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv. Orr Menirom's work examines how digital moving images form personal memories and collective narratives. She explores how digital imagery reflects upon, and interjects with, the daily reality of social and political life. Her works are influenced by research-based practices, documentary filmmaking and video essays. Part of her process involves re-editing found footage. She also creates environments which are documented and edited into moving image work.

Conference
2019 CONNEY CONFERENCE ON JEWISH ARTS
The 92nd Street Y
April 1st, 2019
92nd Street Y
The 7th biennial Conney Conference on Jewish Arts, in collaboration with 92nd Street Y, celebrates 15 years since its founding.
The 2019 conference will be framed within the historical context of the 92Y and will address the practices, histories and current state of the Jewish Arts across a diverse spectrum of genres and experience.


Celebration
AVIV CELEBRATION
Israeli Artists Project
Host, Iris Bahr
Honoring Sasson Gabay
Guest Speaker, Noam Semel
Monday, April 1, 2019 | 8:00 pm
Cocktails at 7:00 pm*
DROM @ 85 Avenue A, NYC
Enjoy an evening of performances featuring a night of Israeli Culture that will include Theater, Music, Musicals, Dance and more featuring David Broza and Samir Shukri and will showcase a variety of performances including theater work that IAP is developing as well as musical acts by both famous and up-and-coming Israeli artists followed by an Israeli party with TLV - Israeli Cover Band and DJ Omri Anghel. The highlight of the night is that we are honoring Sasson Gabay and celebrating his outstanding career and current lead role in the award-winning musical adaptation of The Band's Visit on Broadway. Aviv Celebration, which means Spring, is a bilingual event hosted in English by the talented comedian and actress Iris Bahr.
*Cocktail hour for Supporting Circle members


Music
Yoav Eshed Trio Millionaires
Israeli Jazz
Guitar, Yoav Eshed - Bass, Tamir Shmerling - Drums, Daniel Dor
Sunday, April 7th | 8:00 pm
The Brooklyn Commons 388 Atlantic Avenue Brooklyn, NY
Yoav Eshed Trio is an exciting musical journey featuring guitar, upright bass and drums, including storytelling jazz musicians from Israel with an innovative playing and exciting sound featuring the Award-winning guitarist Yoav Eshed, Daniel Dor (Avishai Cohen, Kurt Rosenwinkel) on Drums and Tamir Shmerling (Terri Lynn Carrington, Myron Walden, Gretchen Parlato) on Bass


Music
Piano Solo
Guy Moskovich, piano
Sunday, April 7th | 9:30 pm
The Brooklyn Commons 388 Atlantic Avenue Brooklyn, NY
Guy Moskovich (born August 1st 1996) is a rising star jazz pianist and composer from Israel, currently residing in New York City. He is performing regularly on the international jazz scene where he is considered a rising star, having played at the Red Sea Jazz Festival, Beit Ha'amudim jazz club in Tel Aviv, The Jazz Gallery in NY York and with regular performances in Europe. Tonight, Guy will be playing songs from the great American songbook next to his original compositions.


Music
Keren Ann
The City Winery
Tue., April 9th, 2019 | 8:00 pm
Doors Open at 7:00 pm
City Winery New York City
Keren Ann is an artist, singer-songwriter but also an artist who's songs have been sung or performed by such eclectic and international artists : David Byrne, Iggy Pop, Luz Casal, Rosa Pasos, Anna Calvi, Jane Birkin, Henri Salvador ou Françoise Hardy. In parallel of her records and numerous tours, she works on original soundtracks for films (La femme la plus assassinée du monde by Franck Ribière, among others) but also for theater or contemporary danse (Collaborations with choreographs Sharon Eval or Damien Jalet). Bleue is her 8th solo album.


Cabaret
Yael Rasooly with Daniel Rein
Cafe Sabarsky
April 11th | 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Cafe Sabarsky @ Neue Galerie
The richly decadent world of the 1920s and 30s in Berlin and Paris is on dazzling display in this performance by renowned artist Yael Rasooly, who will tell the stories of the backstreets and alleys, as well as the glamour and exuberance, in the final years of the Weimar Republic. In Rasooly's debut performance at Café Sabarsky, audiences will enjoy tales of longing, grief, love, passion, resilience and dreams, all delivered through what the New York Times calls her "inspired wackiness."



Music
Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players
violin, Asi Matathias -piano, Roman Rabinovich
Monday, April 15th | 2:00, 7:30
Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church
Roman Rabinovich, piano - Asi Matithias, violin - Diana Cohen, 
violin - Cong Wu, viola- David Requiro, cello - Vadim Lando, clarinet
Ferruccio BUSONI Suite in G minor
Moritz MOSZKOWSKI Suite in G minor Op. 71
Anton RUBINSTEIN Piano Quintet in G minor Op. 99


Gil Shaham by Luke Ratray
Evgeny Kissin
Mike Burstyn by Mariella Productions
Music
From Shtetl to Stage: A Celebration of Yiddish Music and Culture
Migrations: The Making of America Festival, Russian and Eastern European Jewish Migration
Mike Burstyn, Vocalist
Evgeny Kissin, Pianist - Gil Shaham, Violin
Monday, April 15th | 8:00 pm
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
From Shtetl to Stage celebrates the journey of Yiddish culture from Old World to New through music, song, poetry, and humor. A company of extraordinary Yiddish talent-as well as stars of the classical, film, and theater worlds-mix chestnuts from the Yiddish theater and folk song repertoire with Yiddish-tinged vaudeville, art song, classical music, and klezmer in a program that explores how Eastern European Jewish culture interacted with and contributed to American culture at large.


Music
Israeli Chamber Project
Baruch Performing Arts Center
violin, Daniel Beard - viola, Guy Ben-Ziony - cello, Tony Rymer
clarinet, Tibi Cziger - piano, Assaf Weisman
April 16, 2019 | 7:30 pm
Rosalyn and Irwin Engelman Recital Hall, Baruch Performing Arts Center
Mozart/André: Clarinet Quartet in E-Flat Major (arr. Violin Sonata K. 380)
Yinam Leef: Triptych
Bartók: Contrasts, Brahms: Piano Quartet in C minor, Op. 60
Formed in 2008, the Israeli Chamber Project's mission is to bring top-notch chamber music performances to both urban and rural venues in its native country as well as around the world. Whether performing in a remote kibbutz, an Arab town, the bustling metropolis of Los Angeles, or the intimacy of New York City's Baruch Performing Arts Center, the ICP has earned high praise from the media and enthusiastic accolades from audiences.





  Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter
JCC of Fort Lee/Congregation Gesher Shalom
1449 ANDERSON AVE. FORT LEE NJ 07024 MAIN OFFICE: (201)-947-1735


© 2013 Company Name. All Rights Reserved.