Volume 54 Number 63
Produced: Fri May 4 5:55:44 EDT 2007
Subjects Discussed In This Issue:
Administrivia
[Avi Feldblum]
Copyright Law and learning
[Yehonatan Chipman]
Educational websites about Lag Ba'Omer
[Jacob Richman]
Lettuce For Karpas.
[Immanuel Burton]
Looking for: Rabbi Schwab - Selected Writings
[Issie Scarowsky]
New Israeli Educational Stamps Posted Online
[Jacob Richman]
new Jewish Discussion Blog
[Rabbi Richard Wolpoe]
Pictures of Israel Independence Day in Jerusalem
[Jacob Richman]
Prayers not for Communal Singing?
[Mark Symons]
Psychologist resources for sexual issues for religious patients
[Alan Goldberg]
Seudat Hodaya for Yom HaAtzmaut
[David Mescheloff]
Standing up and bowing for Shabbat
[Marilyn Tomsky]
tefilin cards and poster
[Gershon Dubin]
Visiting Iraq
[SBA]
Writing "New York" in Gittin
[Marc Wilson]
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From: Avi Feldblum <feldblum@...>
Date: Fri, 4 May 2007 05:36:08 -0400
Subject: Administrivia
Hello and a good Erev Shabbat/Shabbos,
Mail-Jewish has been quiet for the last few weeks, so it seems that
people have finished catching up on all the old unread issues :-) . In
all seriousness, I got overwhelmed at work with the end of our quarter
following Pesach. I'm past that, and now coming back up for air, so I
expect that mail-jewish will be back into the regular flow following
Shabbat. My apologies to all on the longer than regular radio silence,
and I appreciate the private emails and then reported Feldblum sighting
on a cousin list.
Avi Feldblum
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From: Yehonatan Chipman <yonarand@...>
Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2007 18:57:31 +0200
Subject: Re: Copyright Law and learning
When my son was in high school, I xeroxed pages from the Steinsaltz
Talmud to help him study. Around that time I saw Rav Steinsaltz at a
wedding and, thinking about the issue discussed here, went up to him and
asked him whether I oughtn't to pay him royalties for what I had xeroxed
without buying. He laughed and said, "When you're a 'gvir' you can pay
for what you xeroxed." In other words: he considered it a non-issue.
Yehonatan Chipman
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From: Jacob Richman <jrichman@...>
Date: Tue, 01 May 2007 15:13:22 +0300
Subject: Educational websites about Lag Ba'Omer
Hi Everyone!
The Jewish festival "Lag Ba'Omer" is Sunday, May 6, 2007. If you are
flying over Israel on Saturday night (5th) and you look down out of your
plane, you will see thousands of bonfires dotting the landscape as far
as the eye can see. There are various customs and explanations for these
celebrations.
I posted on my website 40 links to learn about "Lag Ba'Omer". All 40
links have been reviewed / checked this week.
The web address is:
http://www.jr.co.il/hotsites/j-hdayla.htm
Enjoy the bonfires!
Jacob
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From: Immanuel Burton <iburton@...>
Date: Wed, 25 Apr 2007 09:45:45 +0100
Subject: Lettuce For Karpas.
The custom for Seder night with which I was raised is to use lettuce for
karpas and horseradish for marror. I have yet to meet anyone outside my
immediate family with this custom, and have been told conflicting
opinions about this.
One opinion that I have been told is that one may use lettuce for karpas
provided that one does not use it for marror too, whereas another
opinion that I have been told is that one may not use lettuce at all for
karpas.
Given that one eats less than a kezayis for karpas and one does not say
the blessing of "...al achilas marror" when eating it, does it make a
difference either way if one does use lettuce for karpas?
As an aside, are all types of lettuce acceptable for marror?
Immanuel Burton.
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From: Issie Scarowsky <lscarowsky@...>
Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2007 23:14:50 -0400
Subject: Looking for: Rabbi Schwab - Selected Writings
I am looking for a copy of Rabbi Shimon Schwab's book titled, "Selected
Writings". If anyone on this list has a copy they no longer need and are
willing to part with it, I would be pleased to hear from them off-line.
Thanks.
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From: Jacob Richman <jrichman@...>
Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2007 14:17:07 +0300
Subject: New Israeli Educational Stamps Posted Online
Hi Everyone!
I scanned and posted on my website the new Israeli stamps that were
issued in April 2007. I included the stamp itself, the first day cover,
and an English and a Hebrew flyer about the stamp.
- Memorial Day 2007
Memorial Site for the Fallen Soldiers of the Givati Brigade
- Development Towns in Israel
- 120 Years of Neve-Tzedek
- Centenary of World Scouting
The new stamps are located at:
http://www.jr.co.il/pictures/stamps/index-2007.html
If you do not see April 24, 2007 on the top of the page, hold the
control key and press the F5 key to refresh your browser.
Happy Israel Independence Day!
Jacob
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From: <rabbirichwolpoe@...> (Rabbi Richard Wolpoe)
Date: Thu, 26 Apr 2007 17:29:05 -0400
Subject: new Jewish Discussion Blog
There is a new Jewish Discussion Blog @
nishmablog.blogspot.com
Mail-Jewish readers are encouraged to read and to participate!
Kol Tuv
Regards,
Rabbi Richard Wolpoe
{for personal correspondence please use: <RabbiRichWolpoe@...>}
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From: Jacob Richman <jrichman@...>
Date: Wed, 25 Apr 2007 02:21:40 +0300
Subject: Pictures of Israel Independence Day in Jerusalem
Hi Everyone!
On Tuesday, April 24, 2007 - Israel Independence Day, I celebrated the
festive day in Jerusalem.
At the Russian compound there was an exhibit of police and security
forces emergency services. Next door in Safra Square there were "Live
Museum" performances recreating historical events in Israel. In the
evening there was a music concert.
I posted on my website 108 pictures that I took at the events. The
address of the website is:
http://www.jr.co.il/pictures/israel/jerusalem/jer075.htm
When the first page comes up, press the F11 key on the top of your
keyboard for a full page view. Use the icon buttons on the bottom of
each page to navigate.
Happy Birthday Israel !
Enjoy the pictures.
Jacob
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From: Mark Symons <msymons@...>
Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2007 22:34:59 +1000
Subject: Prayers not for Communal Singing?
It would seem to me that those few tefilot in the siddur/machzor that
are in the first person singular - eg Va'ani tefilati (before kriat
HaTorah on Yom Tov mornings and Shabbat Mincah); bei ana rachitz ...
yehe ra'ava kodamach (at the end of B'rich sh'mey - before kriat
hatorah); Hin'ni muchan um'zuman (before Sefirat Haomer or Birkat
Hamazon) - are really private prayers/meditations, and as such are not
really appropriate to be sung in unison by the congregation - despite
this being a common practice in many shules (the beautiful chant for bei
ana rachitz, and the fact that it is one of the few t'filot that can be
lead by a chazzanit in a Shira-Chadasha style minyan notwithstanding!).
What do others think?
Mark Symons
Melbourne Australia
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From: Alan Goldberg <agoldbergphd@...>
Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 15:57:48 -0400
Subject: Psychologist resources for sexual issues for religious patients
Hello,
I am a Jewish (non-religious) psychologist. I have started to deal with
many Orthodox patients and issues of a sexual nature often come up.
I am looking for resources, written (English preferred), on-line, or
forums such as this on proper halachic ways in which to advise my
patients.
Any suggestions?
Thank you.
Al
<agoldbergphd@...>
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From: David Mescheloff <david_mescheloff@...>
Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 00:47:11 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Seudat Hodaya for Yom HaAtzmaut
Towards Israel's thirtieth Yom HaAtzmaut, a committee of American rabbis
headed by Rabbi Joseph Lookstein adapted and published in English, with
the United Jewish Appeal, a text for reading and singing at a festive
seuda in honor of Yom HaAtzmaut. The original text had been prepared by
Rabbi Goren obm.
My father sent me a copy some time later, and it seemed to me - still
later - that it would be appropriate for use by us in Israel, as a
vehicle of expressing our gratitude to G-d for granting us the State of
Israel, for saving us from our enemies, for the beginning of the
ingathering of our exiles, and in prayer for our full redemption and for
peace. Not only is it right for us to be grateful for the abundant good
G-d has given us, it is good to pass on that gratitude, and knowledge of
recent Jewish history, to our children.
So I decided to have that meal of thanks here in Israel, for and with my
family, in Hebrew. It made no sense to translate from English into
Hebrew that which Rabbi Goren had written originally in Hebrew, so I
called him. Unfortunately, he remembered only vaguely that he had
written the text, and said he had no idea where it might have been among
his papers. So in the end I translated and adapted the text myself.
For almost twenty years now, my family and I have had a special seudat
hodaya on Yom HaAtzmaut, using this text for accompanying readings.
When I thought some sections might be too long, my oldest grandson said,
"No, no - let's read it all." The text has undergone revisions and
adaptations over the years, taking into account suggestions of my
wife's, our children and friends. Some other families have adopted it,
too. The past couple of years I've had the seuda and read the text
together with the students of a midrasha where I teach. This year I
have received requests from a couple of communities to have the festive
seuda, with the text, for them.
So I am finally making the Hebrew text, as it has developed over the
years, available to the general public. It is not "Torah mi-Sinai", and
can be adapted freely as is appropriate for your families or
communities. If you use it as is, I would be grateful if you mention my
name. I have no desire to restrict the use of the text, and I expressly
renounce any rights of copyright, to which I will make no claim. Feel
free to adapt, to translate, to change the text as you see fit. If the
changes are far-reaching or if the attitude I have tried to express in
the text is significantly changed by your adaptation, I would probably
prefer that you take full credit and responsibility for your work, and
that you do not mention my name. Use your best judgment.
For a while I updated the text every year or two, to include more recent
developments in our redemption. However, my children suggested I not do
so, so that the feelings expressed can be free of contemporary
controversies about this or that development in Israel. I have chosen
to follow their advice.
The text can be downloaded from:
http://www.cc.jct.ac.il/~meschelo/atzmaut/atzmaut.html
It can now also be downloaded from the Lookstein Center for Jewish
Education in the Diaspora site, at:
http://www.lookstein.org/resources/yh_seuda.pdf
Best wishes for a happy Yom HaAztmaut, for the continued ingathering of
our exiles, and for a geula shelema!
Rabbi Dr. David Mescheloff
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From: Marilyn Tomsky <jtomsky@...>
Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2007 15:22:42 -0700
Subject: Re: Standing up and bowing for Shabbat
In all the years and shuls I attended, none ever had the congregation
stand up, then turn and face the door to the sanctuary to welcome
Shabbat like a bride or bow to her. Then a new rabbi came and changed
this. Many things were changed and we lost many from the congregation
in disagreement at the new services. Finally after a few years the
rabbi changed things again. We had to stand and turn, but we no longer
had to bow.
I felt so strongly about this, that I refused to stand and to bow. A
day however holy is still a day. I would bow only to God. What is
happening in your shuls?
Marilyn Tomsky
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From: Gershon Dubin <gershon.dubin@...>
Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 13:19:53 GMT
Subject: tefilin cards and poster
In addition to the English version of 3x5 cards showing the proper
position of the tefilin shel rosh and instructions on adjusting the
kesher, which we have had available gratis for several years, we now
have the same cards with instructions in Hebrew.
Posters with the same information as on the cards may be found at
http://www.aishdas.org/articles/tefilinPosterHeb.pdf,
and the English at http://www.aishdas.org/articles/tefilinPoster.pdf.
Cards may be requested by contacting me off list.
Gershon
<gershon.dubin@...>
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From: SBA <areivim@...>
Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2007 00:59:50 +1000
Subject: Visiting Iraq
Some weeks ago someone here mentioned visiting Iraq.
Could that person pls get in touch with me offline.
Thanks
SBA
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From: <MarcWilson1216@...> (Marc Wilson)
Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2007 10:01:31 EDT
Subject: Writing "New York" in Gittin
What is the accepted proper spelling of "York," as in "New York"?
Cholom or aleph?
Your help would be most appreciated.
Marc Wilson
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End of Volume 54 Issue 63
