I flew with JetSuiteX for a one day adventure to Napa! EpicMakers edited the video for me and will be a sponsor for my brand new TRAVEL PHOTO AWARD that begins August 1st!
I was invited to the opening of the Lake Club at The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe and to conquer my fear of mountain biking! I am so proud of myself. Of all my 50 things before I am 50 so far, this was by far and away the scariest one. I still cannot believe I did it!
And now for something new: I was honored to be asked to be a Facebook Live host for USA Today 10best’s new project. I was “live” in Tahoe from the brand new Lake Club at The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe and at the Culver City Centennial Food and Wine Festival.
“People believe it saves them money to avoid a travel agent when the opposite is true,” explains Lisa Niver of We Said Go Travel. Booking a trip through a travel agency means better rates on hotels, plane upgrades, and avoiding pesky visa issues. Most of us go to a salon when we want a good haircut – “Don’t you think a professional could put a polish on your holiday too?” asks Niver.
Budgeting for International Travel: read all the way to the end to find me: “Lisa Niver from We Said Go Travel recommends, “Budgeting for your activities. I love to go SCUBA diving and renting the gear plus boat fees can be expensive, but for me the cost is well worth it. When I travel, I want to see the underwater creatures. I would rather stay in a cheaper place and spend more on my excursions.”
Thank you to everyone who has participated in our We Said Go Travel Competitions! Find the winners for the 2017 Inspiration Award here. We are publishing the entries from the 2017 Summer Independence Award. The Fall Gratitude Writing Award will open Sept 11 and close on Thanksgiving.
Travel Photo Award:
Our first ever Travel Photo Award opens August 1st! Thank you to our judges, Gary Arndt from Everything Everywhere and Jeana from Surf and Sunshine. Enter here
As my fortune cookies said: “Kindness leads to happiness.” and “Your dreams will come true when you least expect it.” Thank you for years of support, kindness and sharing your hope with me that I could really make my dreams come true! If you have suggestions for my country #100, let me know!
A 96-year-old former Auschwitz guard is fit to serve a prison sentence, according to prosecutors in the German state of Hanover.
Oskar Groening was convicted and sentenced in July 2015 to four years in jail for his role in the murder of 300,000 Hungarian Jews at the concentration camp in Poland. A federal appeals court rejected his appeal in November.
A doctor who examined Groening found him fit to go to prison with appropriate medical care, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office told The Associated Press. The prosecutor’s office then rejected a defense request to excuse Groening from going to jail.
A date for Groening to enter prison has not yet been set. He has remained free for the appeal and the decision on his fitness for prison.
Groening had admitted to being tasked with gathering the money and valuables found in the baggage of murdered Jews and handing it over to his superiors for transfer to Berlin. He said he had guarded luggage on the Auschwitz arrival and selection ramp two or three times in the summer of 1944.
During the trial, Groening asked for forgiveness while acknowledging that only the courts could decide when it came to criminal guilt.
Groening was held in a British prison until 1948. He eventually found work as a payroll clerk in a factory.
The first investigations of Groening took place in 1977, but it was only after the conviction of Sobibor guard John Demjanjuk in 2011 that the courts were emboldened to try camp guards on charges of complicity in murder.
Badboy Israeli lawmaker Oren Hazan was ordered by the Prime Minister’s Office to call off a fistfight with a Jordanian lawmaker.
Hazan had agreed to the fight with Yehiya al-Saud, also known for his temper, at the border between the two countries on Wednesday morning.
“The shoe of any Palestinian child is more honorable than this villain and his entity (meaning country) and the shoe of any Arab and Muslim is better than him and his rogue entity, which has no origin and religion,” al-Saud said, according to Jordanian reports.
In a tweet Tuesday evening, Hazan said he accepted the call by al-Saud to meet on the Allenby Bridge at 10 a.m. the following day.
“I’ve got an offer he can’t refuse,” he also tweeted.
אני נענה להזמנתו של חבר הפרלמנט הירדני לפגישה על הגשר. מחר בעשר בבוקר אגיע לגשר אלנבי לשיחה בגובה העיניים. יש לי הצעה שלא יוכל לסרב לה…
Subsequent tweets showed photos of Hazan having his hair trimmed at the barber in preparation for the fight, and in his car on the way to the Allenby Bridge. He said in a tweet he was coming “in peace.”
Less than an hour before the scheduled fight, however, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement that chief of staff Yoav Horovitz had ordered Hazan to stay away from the Allenby Bridge. Hazan later said he canceled the face-to-face meeting, or brawl, with Saud at the prime minister’s request.
Hazan said he would ask the Foreign Ministry to organize a formal meeting with Saud.
The challenge comes on the heels of tensions between Jordan and Israel, including both the Temple Mount crisis and the shooting of two Jordanian civilians by an Israeli Embassy security guard after he was stabbed. Jordan objected to the hero’s welcome for the guard, Ziv Moyal, after arriving back in Israel along with the rest of the embassy staff, and has said it will not allow the diplomats to return to Jordan until there is an investigation of the guard and he is put on trial.
Saud reportedly has pulled a knife on a fellow lawmaker and cursed female lawmakers.
Hazan has been accused of sexually assaulting female employees at a bar he owned in Tel Aviv, doing drugs with and procuring prostitutes for guests at a casino he managed in Bulgaria, physically assaulting an official in his West Bank hometown, and making fun of a fellow Knesset member for being disabled — twice. He was admonished last week by the Knesset’s Ethics Committee for insults against female lawmakers.
During President Donald Trump’s May visit to Israel, Hazan was reprimanded for taking a selfie with Trump in the receiving line during the welcome ceremony at Ben Gurion International Airport for the president and first lady.
This is the third article in a series for Fluter, a German political magazine for young adults sponsored by the German government. The following is the English original, modified slightly in the German version, which could be read here.
I was chatting in line at Ritter Butzke, one of my favorite Berlin nightclubs, when a pretty Berliner asked what should be a harmless question: “Where are you from?”
Usually, I don’t hesitate to say “Israel” or “the United States”, even though some dictatorships like to call them “Little Satan” and “Big Satan.” Most of the time, when I say “Israel,” Germans tell me how they want to go to Tel Aviv, although I’m not sure what they think deep down about the Jewish homeland.
I figured, this is a nightclub. We’re entering the universal dance collective where nationalities don’t matter.
“Israel,” I answered.
“Why does Israel oppress the Palestinians?” Maybe she had a pre-club cocktail. In vino veritas.
How do I even answer such a question standing in line at a nightclub?
“It’s not black and white,” I said, not keen on explaining the intricacies of Israeli geopolitics then and there. “You have to go and see for yourself.”
“Well, I don’t know if I want to go to Israel. Maybe to Palestine.”
Months later, at the Suss war Gestern dance bar in Friedrichshain, I was dancing with a German man who asked me the loaded question: “Where are you from?”
Too tipsy to think, I said: “Israel.”
“Oh, aren’t all Israelis rich?”
I stopped dancing and scratched my head. Was this the equivalent of “aren’t all Jews rich” but without the same bigoted ring to it?
Once, a man wrote to me on an online dating site that he’d be willing to go out with me as long as I don’t support the policies of the Netanyahu government. He wouldn’t have made it to the first date.
Speaking of dates, on a first date with a man I met at Ritter Butzke, he finally asked: “What’s going on in Pälestina?”
“Are you sure you want to discuss this?”
“Yes, it’s interesting to me.”
“Why don’t you tell me your view first.”
“Well, I don’t know why Israel is building in land that doesn’t belong to them. It’s causing wars.”
He was obviously referring to the Jewish communities built in the West Bank, also known as biblically as Judea and Samaria. At this point, I wanted to retaliate by asking: “And was your grandfather a Nazi?” because blaming my country for causing wars is more than just rude. When I first meet Germans, I rarely bring up the Holocaust or criticize German policies. I’d rather get to know the person.
Instead, I gave him a lesson he didn’t want. The “settlements” are built on disputed land, if not Israel’s; the existence of Jewish homes don’t justify terrorism (and Germans should know that); Israel’s Arab neighbors initiated wars against the Jewish state long before “settlements” existed.
“You’re getting aggressive,” he said.
I told him he wasn’t used to Israeli passion and left him with this: Unable to defeat Israel in a conventional war, Israel’s enemies took the battle to public opinion, cleverly making Israel look like a “colonialist” oppressor, hence our conversation. He said he must research the issue more to argue further.
“And by the way, was your grandfather a Nazi?”
Turns out, one fought in the East and the other had a Nazi desk job due to injury. He loved them both. There was never a second date.
I wondered if saying I’m from Israel forces Germans to confront their own national identity and what occurred on this soil 75 years ago. Attacking Israel deflects potential judgment Israelis may rightfully have of Germany and its past.
Recently, at Birgit & Bier, to avoid confrontation, I just told some guy I’m from the United States. Then I realized, it’s not just Israel. It’s even harder to explain Donald Trump on the dance floor.
Orit Arfa is a journalist based in Berlin and author of The Settler. Her upcoming novel is an Israeli-German love story. www.oritarfa.com
[Ed. Note: This posting,These I Remember, is a reprise of an earlier entry in Expired And Inspiredfrom a few years ago. I included a more recent item that Isaac mentioned not long ago. It seemed worth revisiting, particularly as it is still quite relevant. The title echoes a refrain from the High Holy Day litrurgy Memorial/Yizkor service – which we are approaching at the end of September. — JB].
These I Remember
I have done many taharot in the last 36 years, but there are a handful that stand out, and come back to me again and again, especially during days of Yizkor (remembrance) and Zayin Adar (7th of the month of Adar, when many Chevrei Kadisha choose to acknowledge their members), when my custom is to fast, ask forgiveness, and remember those for whom I have performed this mitzvah.
At those times I particularly recall:
– a 16 year old who drowned
– a 30 year old who died of AIDS
– a 40 year old heir to a Sephardic Rabbinic Dynasty who came to the States for treatment for a blood disease,
– an 8 month old little boy who had been abandoned by both parents.
– and most recently, a two-month-old child.
When I think of them, all I can say is that one’s heart goes out, one has no words or explanations, one cries with the families, and one feels G-d’s pain – as G-d says in Psalm 91 “I am with him in distress.” Ps. 91:15.
But at the same time, it makes us appreciate life all that much more, and we – all of us doing G-d’s work, all who serve as part of the Chevrah Kadisha – are better off for it. Despite the pain and the sadness we may encounter, we get so much more than we give.
Isaac Pollak
Isaac Pollak is President and CEO of an international marketing business for almost 4 decades at this point. He holds graduate degrees in Marketing, Industrial Psychology, Art History, and Jewish Material Culture from City College, LIU, JTS, and Columbia University. He has been a student in the Gamliel Institute, and serves as a consultant to the institution. He has been the rosh/head of a Chevrah Kadisha on the upper East Side of Manhattan, NYC, for over 3 decades, and is an avid collector of Chevrah Kadisha material cultural items, having several hundred in his own collection. He serves as chairperson of the Acquisition Committee for Traditional Material Culture at the Jewish Museum in NYC. Born and raised in NYC, married, with 3 children and 3 grandchildren.
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GAMLIEL INSTITUTE COURSES
LOOKING FORWARD: UPCOMING COURSE
The Gamliel Institute will be offering course 2, Chevrah Kadisha:Taharah & Shmirah, online, afternoons/evenings, in the Fall semester, starting September 5th, 2017. This is the core course focusing on Taharah and Shmirah ritual, liturgy, practical matters, how-to, and what it means.
CLASS SESSIONS
The course will meet online for twelve Tuesdays (the day will be adjusted in any weeks with Jewish holidays during this course).
There is a Free preview/overview of the course being offered on Monday August 14th at 5 pm PDST/8 pm EDST. You are welcome to join us to decide if this course is one in which you would like to enroll. Contact info@jewish-funerals.org or j.blair@jewish-funerals.org for information on how to connect to the preview webinar.
There will be an orientation session on how to use the online platform and access the materials on Monday, September 4th, 2017, at 5 pm PDST/8 pm EDST online. Register or contact us for more information.
Information on attending the online orientation and course will be sent to those registered.
REGISTRATION
You can register for any Gamliel Institute course online at jewish-funerals.org/gamreg. A full description of all of the courses is found there.
Gamliel Students are invited to an informal online monthly session on the 3rd Wednedsays of most months. Each month, a different person will offer a short teaching or share some thoughts on a topic of interest to them, and those who are online will have a chance to respond, share their own stories and information, and build our Gamliel Institute community connections. This initiative is being headed up by Rena Boroditsky and Rick Light with some background support from Joe Blair. You should receive email reminders monthly.
Graduates of the Gamliel Institute, and Gamliel students who have complete three or more Gamliel Institute courses are invited to be on the lookout for information to be sent out on a series of “Graduate’ Courses, advanced sessions on different topics. These will be in groups of three sessions each quarter (in three consecutive weeks), with different topics addressed in each series. The goal is to look at these topics in more depth than we were able during the core courses. The first two series tentatively planned will be on Psalms and on the Zohar. Registration will be required, and there will be a tuition charge to attend (more information to be sent soon). Heading this intiative is the dynamic duo of Rena Boroditsky and Rick Light. Contact them, or email j.blair@jewish-funerals.org or info@jewish-funerals.org.
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DONATIONS:
Donations are always needed and most welcome to support the work of Kavod v’Nichum and the Gamliel Institute, helping us to bring you the conference, offer community trainings, provide scholarships to students, refurbish and update course materials, expand our teaching, support programs such as Taste of Gamliel, the Gamliel Café, and the Gamliel Gracuates courses, provide and add to online resources, encourage and support communities in establishing, training, and improving their Chevrah Kadisha, and assist with many other programs and activities.
You can donate online at http://jewish-funerals.org/gamliel-institute-financial-support or by snail mail to: either Kavod v’Nichum, or to The Gamliel Institute, both c/o David Zinner, Executive Director, Kavod v’Nichum, 8112 Sea Water Path, Columbia, MD 21045. Kavod v’Nichum [and the Gamliel Institute] is a recognized and registered 501(c)(3) organization, and donations may be tax-deductible to the full extent provided by law. Call 410-733-3700 if you have any questions or want to know more about supporting Kavod v’Nichum or the Gamliel Institute.
If you would like to receive the periodic Kavod v’Nichum Newsletter by email, or be added to the Kavod v’Nichum Chevrah Kadisha & Jewish Cemetery email discussion list, please be in touch and let us know at info@jewish-funerals.org.
Be sure to check out the Kavod V’Nichum website at www.jewish-funerals.org, and for information on the Gamliel Institute, courses planned, and student work in this field also visit the Gamliel.Institute website.
If you have an idea for an entry you would like to submit to this blog, please be in touch. Email J.blair@jewish-funerals.org. We are always interested in original materials that would be of interest to our readers, relating to the broad topics surrounding the continuum of Jewish preparation, planning, rituals, rites, customs, practices, activities, and celebrations approaching the end of life, at the time of death, during the funeral, in the grief and mourning process, and in comforting those dying and those mourning, as well as the actions and work of those who address those needs, including those serving in Bikkur Cholim, Caring Committees, the Chevrah Kadisha, as Shomrim, funeral providers, in funeral homes and mortuaries, and operators and maintainers of cemeteries.
I won second place for my print column at the Jewish Journal for the Southern California Journalism Awards! There were 1200 entries for the 59th annual awards and I was a finalist in two categories.
Where can you find my 745+ travel videos?
