The Bulletin

9.22.2022

1.Shana Tova


I write these words as I listen with one ear to the first in-person UN General Assembly in three years where an Israeli prime minister who is not Bibi is speaking. My other ear (I used to listen to four radio channels when I was in the military so that part of the training must have stuck) is listening to Eric Clapton sing Autumn Leaves (summer ended yesterday) followed by Stevie Wonder, who maintains "the seasons know exactly when to change." They don’t (climate change) but As - his best song - remains sublime.


And while I listen to all that my thoughts are that we are finally at a starting point of a new year when the pandemic really is behind us. Many patterns of our lives have irreversibly changed (remember life before Zoom?) but mask-less days of awe do feel so much better, don’t they? I want to wish all of you (my loyal Bulletin readers) a happy and a healthy new year. Thank you for reading this Bulletin weekly. The past year was record breaking as readership increased by 10%. Thank you for keeping the faith. This message is of course not limited to you and yours. It extends to our entire community and to people everywhere - Jewish or not. I often see people wish a happy new year only to those who celebrate and it irks me. Why the limit? Do we not want to wish a happy new year to people in Ukraine? How about to two-thirds of our Federation’s employees who aren’t Jewish and may not celebrate? You get my point. And AS Stevie sings it, ALWAYS. 

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2.The U.S. and the Holocaust Documentary


Have you been watching? This important Ken Burns documentary is sure to start many conversations. I have started viewing and will likely share my own opinions after watching all three installments at least once.

 

In the interim here's one person's takeaways from Episode Two of The U.S. and the Holocaust"I’ve always known Lindbergh was enamored of the Nazis and that he was even awarded the Service Cross of the German Eagle by Hermann Goering, but I was not aware of so many of the details of his antisemitism." And from Episode One: ". . . starts with the U.S. government’s enactment of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the first time that admission to the United States was limited for people not born here . . . and the rapid growth during the Great Depression of U.S.-based Nazi supporters and other racist groups and the spread of fake-science claims that non-whites were biologically inferior to whites. This became known as the 'eugenics movement'.”

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3.The Hottest Rosh Hashanah Ticket


"As vice president during the 2009-2017 Obama administration, Biden hosted Rosh Hashanah and Sukkot receptions at the Naval Observatory, the official vice presidential residence, the first vice president to do so." The now president is taking that gesture next level by hosting the first-ever White House Rosh Hashanah reception on September 30. Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Douglas Emhoff - the first Jewish spouse - will likely be there. Here's last year's Statement by President Joe Biden on Rosh Hashanah.

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4.BerberJews


"Nearly a quarter million Jews once called Morocco home, making it the largest Jewish community in the Arab world. On a recent bright afternoon in Marrakesh, I was contemplating this stunning fact as I walked the warrens of the city’s ancient mellah (ghetto), where 50,000 Jews once lived and davened. My destination, 36 Talmud Torah Street, was the Lazama synagogue, one of two active temples out of the 42 that for centuries were the heartbeat of Marrakesh’s Jewish community. Lazama’s bright central courtyard, walled with Moroccan blue and white Star of David tiles and open to the sky, seemed to welcome HaShem along with swallows chattering in the orange trees."


Follow writer and tourist Gail Dubov as she explores Moroccan Jewish life now and throughout history in Moment Magazine's "Camel Caravans, Kasbahs and Berber Jews."

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5.It's All About Faith


As we head into the Jewish holidays I share this roundtable discussion about interfaith marriages, raising Jewish children, navigating Jewish and non-Jewish holidays and where people do - and don't - feel welcome. It is important to note that for "The Minyan: Non-Jewish Spouses" Tablet interviewers - as the title suggests - only spoke to the spouses. 


Considering the 2020 Pew survey of Jewish Americans revealed 42% of married respondents had a non-Jewish spouse and that those numbers are on the rise - among those who got married since 2010, excluding Orthodox Jews, 72% were intermarried - the conversation seems relevant and timely.

6.Apples & Honey (Duh) - Pomegranate, Silan & Egg Salad Too


While I will stick to my pomegranate and silan (sue me), if you are looking for something new to try this Rosh Hashanah and throughout the Jewish Holidays, JewishBoston is here to help with a collection of High Holiday recipes. Just a few linked below to pique your interest.


If you have a treasured holiday family recipe that you'd be willing to share, we're happy to publish it in this space. Let's hear from you, dear reader.

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Everything Bagel Galette

14 Egg Salad Recipes

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Tia Roza's Spiced Apple Cake

7.Happy Birthday, Mr. Cohen


I spent some time with New Bedford friend David Broza last week while in New York. He told me he will be on stage for the 42nd annual John Lennon tribute this year (an honor) with two songs. He did not however share that for Leonard Cohen's birthday (would have turned 88 today) he recorded a few of his songs, including So Long, Marianne (see below). Like everyone else I found out about that beauty on Instagram.


Happy New Year, David, and please make the coming year more enjoyable for all of us with your music. You always do.

For Your Calendar

Fall programming by Bristol Community College Holocaust and Genocide Center:


Wednesday, October 19, Time TBA

Discussion of the PBS Ken Burns documentary The United States and the Holocaust

In collaboration with the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Salem State University

Location: Zoom


Wednesday, October 26, 5:30 PM

Children of the Shoah: World Premier Concert

Annual Fundraiser for the Holocaust and Genocide Center

Jackson Arts Center


Wednesday, November 9, 12:00 PM

Journaling Down the Danube and Into a New Life: A Young JewFlees Eastern Europe for Palestine

Location: L-101


___________________

 

January 29, 2023

"The Elephants in the Room: Israel, Palestine, Zionism, and the Role of Religion in America 

Can we talk about them? We can, and we do."

Visit our website

Shabbat shalom,


Amir


The Bulletin is a weekly email from Amir Cohen, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Bedford. I welcome your feedback at amir@jewishnewbedford.org. 

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