Not sure I'll get to the tub of photos today, but...

I'm making progress on the list. I had to rearrange the bed headboard and the nightstands to incorporate the CDs and player back into the room. I've also dusted and rearranged four shelves of books, leaving two shelves until I'm finished with all of the bookshelves in the house. (Mind you, I started dusting two shelves a week when I moved in September 2017). The reason why I did four this week is I got a reprieve from last year because these included Hebrew bibles and a prayer shawl, and I was menstruating. And that's ritually impure in terms of handling sacred objects in Judaism. So there's just the two, but they have a lot of random stuff on them, so my friend's going to help me go through those. But whew, almost finished!

Here are the results of the great CD return:

One last tidbit from the news

Computer Network Piecing Together a Jigsaw of Jewish Lore

The idea is to harness technology to help reassemble more than 100,000 document fragments collected across 1,000 years that reveal details of Jewish life along the Mediterranean, including marriage, medicine and mysticism. For decades, scholars relied mainly on memory to match up pieces of the Cairo genizah, a treasure trove of papers that include works by the rabbinical scholar Maimonides, parts of Torah scrolls and prayer books, reams of poetry and personal letters, contracts, and court documents, even recipes (there is a particularly vile one for honey-wine).

Okay, it's after midnight; time for bed. I had a lovely evening watching things like 'Jam & Jerusalem' and 'Let Them Eat Cake'. I do love Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, and I have enjoyed everything I've seen them in, both as a team and individually.

I am all for tradition and observance of religious laws

But if I were a parent wanting a bris for my infant son, I'd have some questions for the mohel (the man who performs the ritual circumcision in Judaism).

N.Y. health chief calls for end to metzitzah b’peh rite in circumcisions

Health Department investigations of newborns with the herpes virus from 2000 to 2011 have shown that 11 infants contracted the herpes virus when mohels, or ritual circumcisers, placed their mouths directly on the child’s circumcision wound to draw blood away from the circumcision cut, according to a statement from the department. Ten of the infants were hospitalized, at least two developed brain damage and two babies died.

The metzitzah b'peh, or placing the mouth on the circumcision wound to draw the blood away, is mostly still practiced among the very Orthodox. In Judaism, there are laws, and then there are traditions that grow up around the laws. I'm not sure which this is, but if it is a tradition, then perhaps it is time for a change. In interpretation of the law, rabbis often come down on the side of health and wellness, as evidenced by the fact you can use a telephone to call for a medical emergency on the Sabbath or the decision by some rabbis that abortion is allowed if the foetus is deemed to be too much for the woman's health, something that can be interpreted strictly or widely depending on the rabbi. Since circumcision is at the very heart of what makes a boy or man Jewish, representing the covenant with G-d, then I don't know how this will work out, especially among the Ultra-Orthodox. Still it's disturbing to think of such a needless death or in the case of some, brain damage, no matter how small the percentage overall. It's a tragedy for each family, and even more so because it was preventable.

'We are a tiny, miniscule community, but what keeps us together is a special bond. We are one family, we meet, we talk, we share with each other'

Delhi's last 10 Jewish families guard an ancient heritage

In the capital of one of the world's most religiously-diverse countries, a r[a]bbi who has never been ordained bends ancient customs, ensuring New Delhi's ten Jewish families a place to worship.

Unlike most synagogues, there is no separation of men and women as Jewish-born worshippers, converts and followers of other faiths chant Psalms in perfect Hebrew, with doors thrown open to all. The service leader never asks attendees what religion they follow, and envisions his daughter becoming India's first female rabbi.

"Being a small community, we cannot be so rigid, so orthodox," says Ezekiel Isaac Malekar, honorary secretary of the synagogue whose unpaid job of thirty years has overlooked religious convention to keep this tiny group together.

"Our openness, our liberal approach is what allows us to survive. For reading the Torah, you must require ten men, a minyan. But I made radical changes, because why should we discriminate between women and men? I count the women."

Jews have been in India for 2,000 years, but represent merely about 5,000 people, whereas the general population of the country is about 1.2 billion people.

Wonderful

Jewish Texts Lost in War Are Surfacing in New York

In 1932, as the Nazis rose to power in Germany, a Jewish librarian in Frankfurt published a catalog of 15,000 books he had painstakingly collected for decades.

It listed the key texts of a groundbreaking field called the Science of Judaism, in which scholars analyzed the religion’s philosophy and culture as they would study those of ancient Greece or Rome. The school of thought became the foundation for modern Jewish studies around the world.

In the tumult of war, great chunks of the collection vanished. Now, librarians an ocean away have determined that most of the missing titles have been sitting for years on the crowded shelves of the Leo Baeck Institute, a Manhattan center dedicated to preserving German Jewish culture.

After I got my undergraduate degree in History and Sociology with the Honours Programme (a 'Great Books' curriculum), I went back and finished a major in Classical Civilisation and a minor in Judaic Studies. I'm not Jewish, but I've been drawn to the study of the Jewish people, especially the era of the Holocaust (I don't know, a past life?) since I was a teenager. I did even consider conversion at one point, although paganism won out for me.

I'm so glad this collection has, despite the odds, survived those tumultuous years when the Nazis attempted to eradicate anything Jewish from the world. It is a boon for scholars, but also for the Jewish people, as these books are not only a testament to their history in their content, but in their story of survival as well.

Thanks to Great Western Dragon of LISNews for the link.

A convergence of observances

Thursday is the first full moon after the vernal equinox, so naturally tonight was the beginning of Pesach (Passover), the Jewish holiday commemorating the deliverance of the Hebrews from slavery in Aegypt under the leadership of Moses (Jewish holidays begin at sunset). Observant Jews celebrate with a seder, or ritual dinner, that includes a narrative of the Exodus story, amongst other traditions.

Coincidentally, this year there was another rite to be observed today--one that only happens once every 28 years. The Birkat Hachamah is a Hebrew blessing of the sun, a prayer to G-d as thanks for creating the Sun (many Jews do not pronounce the name of G-d, YHWH, preferring 'Adonai' ('my Lord') or 'ha Shem' ('the Name'). In English, 'G-d' is a way to reflect this taboo.) The blessing, in my understanding, is recited in years when the sun is thought to come back around to the position it held at Creation, a cycle of 28 years.

Here is the text of the blessing:

"ברוך אתה ה' אלהינו מלך העולם עושה מעשה בראשית"
'Blessed are You, LORD, our G-d, King of the Universe who makes the works of Creation.'

According to Wikipedia, the 'same blessing is recited upon experiencing various natural phenomena, including lightning, comets, and meteor showers; as well as upon witnessing wondrous natural topography, such as great mountains, rivers and vast wilderness.'

See more at: Jews observe sun ritual for first time since 1981: Worshippers around the world pay homage to God with rare blessing

My favourite part of the article was the relation of a story from the 19th century where hundreds of Jews collected in a park for the ritual without a permit in New York City, and two rabbis tried to explain things to a policeman:

'The attempt of a foreign citizen to explain to an American Irishman an astronomical situation and a tradition of the Talmud was a dismal failure,' the Times reported, adding that the officer, wondering 'whether some new infection of lunacy had broken out ... seized the rabbi by the neck and took him to Essex Market Police Court.'

Ah, the years before diversity awareness classes. :)

[photo of the seder table by Gila Brand, used under the GNU Free Documentation and Creative Commons licences]

Beautiful

1,500-year-old Mosaic Floor Unveiled in Ancient Synagogue Ruins

A Byzantine-era synagogue mosaic that had deteriorated terribly has been restored and is now available for viewing by the public. The pictures that accompany the article show some wonderful details of the mosaic.

Yes, we can...with a twist

On December 21st, Jews will light the first candles of the menorah. This video, from Jewish Malibu, plays on the this year's popuular 'yes, we can' mantra for the upcoming Chanukah season, drawing upon the theme of a rabbi's speech which predated Obama's use by several years.



Here is a transcript of the video.

Although I myself am not Jewish, I have a very dear friend who is and as you may remember, I completed a minor in Judaic Studies. I think lighting the menorah at Chanukah is one of the best and uplifting traditions of the winter season. I know it's a bit early, but best wishes to all of you who celebrate it.

Thanks to Steven of Library Stuff for this one.

'Gentiles will eat anything', or so my friend, who is Jewish, tells me

But I had to draw the line at undercooked catfish today at lunch. I very indelicately spit out a piece into my napkin, I'm afraid. But they let me get some tuna salad instead, and alerted the servers. Serves me right for trying to eat something non-kosher--a bottom-feeder at that. Granted, I'm not Jewish, but I can't help thinking that they are on to something when it comes to unclean food. I don't really like catfish, shrimp, or pork (the latter not being an issue, since I'm a pescu-vegetarian). I have to admit, I'm convinced I was Jewish in a past life and seriously considered converting at some point (much easier for me, as a woman...no circumcision required). I even have a minor in Judaic Studies, so maybe that's all worn off on me.

But I am excited that tomorrow the cafeteria will be serving breakfast for lunch. My favourite! I like breakfast at odd times, like lunch and late at night. I'm rarely up early enough to actually make breakfast before work, and the cafeteria stops serving breakfast before I get there.

I am still craving tofu goodness from Great Wall. I couldn't make it in time before they closed tonight; maybe I can get it between jobs tomorrow, depending on how much money I have left over after my rent is paid.