Moving to Israel

We here at the moving to Israel blog always like to acknowledge the Jewish holidays as they come and this week is one of the most special as the holiday of Shavu’ot arrives. Shavu’ot (over here is a fantastic summary and explanation of the holiday) marks the end of the time of The Counting of the Omer (another great link over here), the period from Passover to Shavu’ot and a time of great anticipation. We count each of the days from the second day of Passover to the day before Shavu’ot, 49 days or 7 full weeks, hence the name of the festival. As is expained in http://www.jewfaq.org/:

“The counting reminds us of the important connection between Passover and Shavu’ot: Passover freed us physically from bondage, but the giving of the Torah on Shavu’ot redeemed us spiritually from our bondage to idolatry and immorality. Shavu’ot is also known as Pentecost, because it falls on the 50th day; however, Shavu’ot has no particular similarity to the Christian holiday of Pentecost, which occurs 50 days after their Spring holiday.

“It is noteworthy that the holiday is called the time of the giving of the Torah, rather than the time of the receiving of the Torah. The sages point out that we are constantly in the process of receiving the Torah, that we receive it every day, but it was first given at this time. Thus it is the giving, not the receiving, that makes this holiday significant.”

While Shavu’ot is perhaps not as “well known” as some of the other Jewish holidays throughout the year, it is imperative that we understand its complete significance and how being given the Torah truly turned us into Hashem’s chosen people.

Let’s try and take this year to especially reflect and appreciate our lot as Jewish people who have been given the privilege to serve Hashem and to be worthy of the magnificent gift he has blessed us with, the gift of the Torah.

Ari

As we continue through the time of year where our Nation collectively “remembers” some of the most dire times in our history, begining from Erev Pesach / before Passover when we remember our bondage and our redemption from Egypt and continuing through our Holocaust Memorial Day when we remember the persecution of our people while the world watched indifferently, we now gear up for the Memorial Day for our fallen, those of our loved ones who fell in battle during the establishment of our State, or in battles since then and also our loved ones who were murdered by terrorists simply because they were Jews.

This time period and the circumstances surrounding them makes this article by Yehudit Tayar particularly excellent. She talks of how every day is Memorial Day for her when she grieves our beautiful brothers and sisters who have perished through the years simply for being Jewish and how remembering itself is not enough. She talks about how we must also fight while we remember. Fight for our survival, fight for our independence as a Nation, fight by insisting that the world accept our inalienable right to live in Israel and live as Jews and fight in the IDF and send our sons and daughters to fight proudly and with the human values that they inherit as Jews that are so  integral a part of our heritage.

This is but a small list of the some of things we must continue to fight for, but the message from Tayar is clear. Read this stirring article and let it help you feel the power of this week’s Memorial Day, when we mourn our fallen and prepare to fight for our future.

Ari

As the Pesach/Passover holiday begins to wind down, I thought it was a great time to link out to this fantastic video. It is an exciting and inspiring interview with former Prisoner of Zion, Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky, on moving to Israel, Aliyah, Zionism and Judaism.

In the video, Ari Abramowitz and Jeremy Gimpel, hosts of Tuesday Night Live in Jerusalem, meet Sharansky, who also was one of the founders and spokesmen for the “Refusenik” movement in Moscow in the 1970s after being denied an exit visa to Israel in 1973. Since immigrating to Israel upon his release, Sharansky has held various high governmental positions, headed a Knesset party and was Cabinet minister, and is the symbol of strength, resistance, and the Jewish dream for many people around the world.

This video is a must see for all and should help bring us in to the “second day(s)” of the holiday with the right frame of mind.

Ari

Just wanted to wish all of our readers a healthy and happy Passover/Pesach holiday from the entire staff at the Moving to Israel blog.

This is one of the most special times of the year for the Jewish people and this link will give you a fantastic summary of various Passover Laws and Customs.

Have a healthy and peaceful holiday and, with G-d’s help, may we all celebrate next year together in Jerusalem.

Ari

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about how US President Barack Obama, along with his family, attended the second night Passover Seder in the White House with staff and friends. This is believed to be the first White House Seder attended by an American president. I also noted how we must look closely before celebrating such an event as being a positive occurrence for Israel and the Jewish people by noting that it was former President Jimmy Carter, hardly a friend of Jews of the world, who had set the closest precedence to this and we all know how his reign of terror played out (and, unfortunately with his world wide influence, continues to play out to this day).

Therefore, I thought it was interesting to point out an article by Carol Schwartz entitled “Seder in the White House, Oy Vey” that takes this point further and brings in examples throughout history telling us to beware of what such an event can mean. It is a truly chilling account as it makes us look at our own past and see how we are potentially putting ourselves in great danger once again when we take our supposed “great relations” with our host (and foreign) government and assume that it bodes well for our long term future there.

As Carol closes her article “Let us not forget our history and let us remember that history has a way of repeating itself. (May G-d protect us.)”

Ari

As Passover goes on throughout the world many are talking of the Seder that was conducted at the White House on Thursday night to mark the second night of the  holiday in what is believed to be a “first” for the executive mansion.

While this has been lauded by many in the Jewish community and various media have viewed the celebration as a sign that the new president would invest much in a close relationship with his Jewish supporters we must be wary and cautious before reading too much into this. Remember, President Jimmy Carter attended a Seder in 1979 at the Washington home of adviser Stuart Eizenstat and, unfortunately, he turned out to be hardly a friend of the Jewish people (to put it mildly).

Let’s hope that history does not repeat itself and this historic event truly does indicate a confirmation of friendship between Obama and the Jewish nation.

Wishing everyone a happy and peaceful Passover.

Ari