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Jewish Journal

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April 3, 2020

Alone on Passover? Me Too.

Leave a Comment / Opinion /

When it comes to Passover I’ve been totally spoiled over the years. As a standup comic who performs at various resorts over the holiday, I’ve seen it all when it comes to lavish scenarios. From the famous “Tea Rooms” with every snack you can imagine, to waiter service at a personal table, I’ve been lucky to spend the past few years at some of the of best resorts in the world. I’ve even been spoiled when it comes to the seders, spending them with the Gorin/Andron families through my friend Michelle and her husband Ben. They have gone above and beyond taking care of me since I was the sad pathetic single guy. I would play that one up as much as I could, if only to evoke whatever laughter I could get out of it.

Michelle’s sister Stephanie, one of my favorite verbal targets, would constantly taunt me about getting married and I would taunt her back. The family is in Miami and many of the resorts are based there. Needless to say, this year, I won’t be able to taunt Stephanie, be spoiled by Michelle’s mom’s cooking or worry about getting to a show on time just as the first days of the holiday end.

This year I’m on my own for the first time in my life. “All who are hungry, let them come and eat” was always taken to heart by the Jewish community. This year, if you’re single, it’s going to suck comparatively, but maybe it won’t be as bad you think.

Even though plenty of us will be by ourselves, don’t forget other friends will be too, so in an odd way we’re in this thing together. I’m honestly looking at it as a challenge and my goal is to make sure I at least do a better job than certain friends of mine. If there was ever a time to act like a childish competitive 5-year-old, now is that time. My goal is to bury my buddies who think they have this thing down, and when the holiday ends, tell them I nailed it.

I’m not going to compete with Helga Gorin’s cooking, or the Tea Room in Prague and Greece, (where I was supposed to go this year), but that doesn’t mean I can’t still try and get this thing right. I’ll even cheat and pre order on the tough stuff, because, as a single guy I lack certain kitchen gadgets.

“Charoset? Oh that’s easy. Put the ingredients into a food processor.” A What? And by the way, what the hell is a shank bone? Looks like I’m pre ordering the seder plate. And you know what? That’s OK. There’s no way in hell I’m spending $15 on a potato kugel so a spud in foil will handle that, but at least I’ll get it done.

So, if you’re alone on Passover this year, don’t worry. I promise you’ll get through it. Turn it into a challenge and remember, at least you’re more competent than “that guy.” Do the best you can. Don’t drive yourself nuts. Get yourself that one item that’s a treat and remember, I’m alone too. But at least we can be alone… together.

Alone on Passover? Me Too. Read More »

Pesach: Unbreakable Soul

Leave a Comment / Holidays /

On the first night of Nissan, we start counting until the moon is full on the 15th of the month. This is seder night, our annual birthday party as a nation. Some 3000 years ago, we were an enslaved people yearning for liberation from a tyrant. With the haggadah, every year we gather to start our calendar anew by retelling the saga of the birth of the unbreakable soul of our nation. Pesach reminds us that we have a powerful, unique neshama (soul) as individuals and are also a part of the greater soul of the Jewish People.

Chazal (our sages) teach that ideally our neshama is the rider while the body is the horse — honored with shlepping our precious, divine soul on its mission. Kabbalah offers a window into our souls, a five-levels of the soul paradigm clarifying the features of the ephemeral self.

The first level is known as Nefesh. This is an aspect of consciousness we share with the animal kingdom. It is the basic life force, our instinct, our autonomic survival functions. Unlike all other creatures, humans don’t rely on mere instinct; we also have an awareness of right and wrong. Our nefesh is expressed when we hear the voice of the conscience, the cross-cultural awareness of good and evil.  Hollywood blockbusters with heroes and villains can be marketed internationally because all humans share certain internal ethics.

The next level is Ruach. It is a uniquely human attribute and is based on our quest for truth. Ruach is typically translated as wind or spirit—like the passage of wind from our lungs when we speak. Great music endures forever because our ruach soul hears it as truth, a taste of eternity.

The third level is referred to as Neshama. Neshama is the generic Hebrew term for soul. But in this five-level model, it refers to the power of our thoughts. We are affected by more than mere actions and words. We have ideals. We have a sense of mission; a belief we have a special purpose and it’s our neshama speaking when we pursue happiness.

The penultimate level is the reason that Passover is one of the most widely celebrated holidays. We love the traditions, songs and stories associated with our annual homecoming. We love spending time with fellow members of the tribe, engrossed in the powerful mitzvah of the transmission of our heritage. This is known as our Chaya — our life-force, the “pintele yid” (Jewish pilot light) that gets sparked up when we hear a great sermon, Chasidic story or Jewish song. This fourth level of the soul supersedes common sense in regards to the survival of the fittest. Thanks to our chaya we are willing to lay down our lives for the love of country.

The top of this pyramid is known as Yechida. It’s the identification with the ultimate universal soul, connecting with the omnipresent entity we call God or Hashem. Yechida is related to the idea of being separate, alone with another. The “yichud room” at a traditional Jewish wedding is where the bride and groom complete their marriage with seclusion in an intimate space just after the ceremony. We’ve all felt yechida with the Almighty—those times when we are deeply connected and overwhelmed. Most parents describe unbridled yechida at the birth of a child. Some get it while carving fresh tracks on a deep powder ski day or getting lost in a beautiful piece of music.

I have many friends who know they were saved from a potential accident by miraculous intervention. Another word for that “knowing” is yechida. We can’t stay in the realm of yechida. We get momentary glimpses and then our ego pulls us away, but we can use moments of “yechida memory” to guide us through times of darkness.

The experience of immersing in the Pesach week of freedom impacts us on all five levels of the soul. This Pesach, embrace the rollercoaster ride of unabashed neshama inebriation. Use the four cups of wine to get just a bit out of time and space in order to enter the story, a story that is still being written. Remember the five levels of the soul and how the realm of the spirit can be even more tangible than that of the material.

Chag Pesach sameach!

Sam Glaser is a performer, composer, producer and author in Los Angeles. He has released 25 CDs and is the author of The Joy of Judaism. 

Pesach: Unbreakable Soul Read More »

Los Angeles Sisters Start Pandemic Grocery Assistance Program

Leave a Comment / Community, Los Angeles /

With the coronavirus pandemic leaving elderly people stranded at home without an easy way to access groceries, stepsisters Kayla Newman, 19, and Leeat Hatzav, 20, felt they had to do something. “We thought, ‘Why not get some young, healthy people and do the deliveries?’ ” Newman told the Journal.

The two created Shopping Helpers LA, a grocery shopping assistance program pairing volunteers who are strong and healthy and have access to a car with seniors and those who are immunocompromised.

They launched the program in mid-March around the time Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti issued a “Safer at Home” order in an effort to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

After receiving a positive response from their social circle, the siblings created a flyer, which they circulated among rabbis in the community. Fifteen calls a day turned into hundreds of calls, with the duo doing their best to keep up with the high demand.

Leeat Hatzav; Photo courtesy of Shopping Helpers LA

“As we’re talking, my sister has taken five calls,” Newman said. “It’s a bit overwhelming.”

Working out of their Pico-Robertson home, Newman and Hatzav use WhatsApp groups to pair volunteers with grocery orders placed on their website, myshla.com. Shopping Helpers LA serves several areas in the city, including Pico-Robertson, La Brea and the San Fernando Valley.

Both Jewish and non-Jewish people can request assistance. Shoppers complete a form on the website specifying the items they are looking for and the stores where they’d like the volunteer to shop. Kosher restaurants, including Western Kosher and Glatt Mart, are among the options.

“We thought, ‘Why not get some young, healthy people and do the deliveries?’ ” — Kayla Newman

When the coronavirus broke out, Newman was enrolled in an online college program, which she has since put on hold to focus on this effort. Hatzav made aliyah a year ago but returned home to be with her family during the pandemic. “It’s really [been] bonding for both of us,” Newman said of the sisters’ initiative.

Newman, who also spent a year studying in the post-high school seminary Baer Miriam in Jerusalem, said that while they started the program with the intention of solely helping the elderly, several different groups have requested assistance, including pregnant women, people with COVID-19 and those who live with their elderly parents and do not want to bring anybody into their home.

To date, Newman said around 220 people have volunteered to participate in the initiative.

“It really is like a 24-7 job,” she said. “I’ve gotten texts in the middle of the night.”

And, she added, demand is increasing. “Lately, we are looking for more volunteers,” she said, “because we’re getting a crazy number of orders, especially with Pesach coming.”

To request assistance from or volunteer with Shopping Helpers LA, visit myshla.com, call (323) 628-7071 or email shoppinghelpersla@gmail.com.

Los Angeles Sisters Start Pandemic Grocery Assistance Program Read More »

New Initiative Delivers Seders to Needy Holocaust Survivors

Leave a Comment / Israel /

With the coronavirus pandemic keeping people at home for Passover this year, the Israeli nonprofit Adopt-A-Safta is now offering Seder in a Box to those most in need, many of whom are Holocaust survivors.

The box is the brainchild of Adopt-A-Safta founder Jay Shultz, who established the nonprofit in 2012. Adopt-A-Safta promotes a Big Brother Big Sister model, pairing young adults all over Israel with the elderly. The group trains volunteers who then commit to weekly visits with their “adopted grandparent.” There are around 150,000 Holocaust survivors in Israel. Their most common complaint is living with acute loneliness. Adopt-A-Safta’s model seeks to address that problem by creating meaningful intergenerational relationships.

Shultz founded Adopt-a-Safta after he moved to Israel and discovered that his grandfather’s cousin lived in Haifa. They became extremely close, Shultz said, and he often took the train to visit her until she passed away in 2012. “As much as I am sure me being in her life helped to alleviate her isolation, I know that it did even more for me as a new arrival in a new home,” he said.

Today, with the social distancing required in light of the coronavirus pandemic, Shultz has launched an initiative to train young people and recruit additional volunteers to maintain regular telephone contact with their paired seniors. Many of the volunteers have also trained the seniors on how to use video conferencing applications like Zoom.

Putting people at risk was not an option, so getting creative to avoid a lonely seder experience was a must.

However, when it came to Passover, Shultz said, “Nothing in the Jewish calendar is more familial and communal than seder night. No matter your level of Jewish observance, almost everyone looks forward to a night with friends and family around the Passover table. Skipping Passover was not an option. Putting people at risk was not an option, so getting creative to avoid a lonely seder experience was a must.”

And so, Seder in a Box was born. The box comes with a fully loaded seder plate, seder dinner, matzo and haggadot delivered directly to homes. It became so popular that Shultz’s team began marketing it to the wider population.

Kosher caterer Sara Black of Asparagus Catering ramped up production by adding a three-course meal to the box. The Schusterman Foundation ROI Community and Nefesh B’Nefesh also partnered with Adopt-a-Safta’s parent group, Am Yisrael Foundation, to offer the seder boxes to new immigrants.

“Every society should be judged on how they care of their elderly,” Shultz said. “The Jewish people, specifically in Israel, are truly a shining light with their dedication to our holy elderly generation.”

To order a seder box (in Israel), or to donate to ensure that needy Holocaust Survivors in Israel receive a seder box, visit the website.

New Initiative Delivers Seders to Needy Holocaust Survivors Read More »

Israel National Security Adviser Believes Coronavirus Infection Rate May Be ‘Slowing Down,’ Report Says

Leave a Comment / Israel, Middle East, News /

Israeli National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat reportedly said on April 2 that the country’s coronavirus infection rate is starting to decline.

The Times of Israel reported that Ben-Shabbat told the prime minister’s Cabinet in a conference call, “There are signs that the rate of infection is slowing down,” although he admitted this is not yet “a steady trend.” According to Haaretz, Israel’s rate of infection declined from 1.25 people per patient to 1.15 people per patient since March 26, a decline of 33%.

Israeli Health Ministry Director-General Moshe Bar Siman-Tov also said on April 3 that Israel could begin to reopen the economy “in a careful and controlled way” after Passover if the Jewish state makes significant progress in curbing the spread of the virus.

However, Hebrew University neuroscience professor Eran Meshorer pointed to data showing that Israel’s new cases are currently higher than expected:

As of April 3, there were 7,428 confirmed cases and 39 deaths from the virus in Israel. One of the cases is a 22-year-old male without any underlying health conditions who was placed on life support on April 3.

An April 2 report from the Times warned that Israel will run out of the materials needed to produce COVID-19 test kits over the next couple of days.

Israel National Security Adviser Believes Coronavirus Infection Rate May Be ‘Slowing Down,’ Report Says Read More »

david suissa podcast curious times

Pandemic Times Episode 15: Rabbi Lori Shapiro on finding light in darkness

Leave a Comment / Podcasts, The David Suissa Podcast /

New David Suissa Podcast Every Morning at 11am.

Founder of Open Temple in Venice Beach, Rabbi Lori Shapiro shares words of wisdom on navigating this unprecedented crisis.

How do we manage our lives during the Coronavirus crisis? How do we keep our sanity? How do we use this quarantine to bring out the best in ourselves? Tune in every day and share your stories with podcast@jewishjournal.com.

Pandemic Times Episode 15: Rabbi Lori Shapiro on finding light in darkness Read More »

Pakistan Delays Release of Accomplice Jailed in Daniel Pearl’s Killing As It Appeals Murder Acquittal

Leave a Comment / Middle East, News /

(JTA) — A Pakistani-British man who was acquitted of charges that he was involved in the murder of Jewish-American journalist Daniel Pearl will remain in jail for another three months at least.

The superintendent of Karachi’s Central Prison said he received an order from the Sindh provincial government to detain Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh as it appeals to the Pakistani Supreme Court to have his murder conviction reinstated, The Associated Press reported Friday. The order said Sheikh’s release would threaten public safety.

A day earlier, the Sindh High Court in Karachi had overturned the murder conviction of Saeed Sheikh, who has been on death row for 18 years, and found him guilty of the lesser charge of kidnapping. He was sentenced to seven years in prison and his attorney said he would be released in days for time served.

Pearl, 38, was the South Asia bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal when he was abducted and beheaded in Karachi in 2002 while researching a story about Islamist militants.

Pakistan Delays Release of Accomplice Jailed in Daniel Pearl’s Killing As It Appeals Murder Acquittal Read More »

9 Jews Die of Coronavirus in Sweden, Which Has Europe’s Laxest Containment Policy

Leave a Comment / News, Worldwide /

(JTA) — Sweden’s Jewish community has lost at least nine of its members to the coronavirus, translating into a death rate among Jews that is 14 times higher than their share of the population.

The fatalities, almost all of them older than 80 and many of them Holocaust survivors, account for 2.7% of the 333 people who have died in Sweden of the virus. Sweden has about 20,000 Jews, who account for 0.19% percent of the population.

Aron Szugalski Verständig, president of the Council of Swedish Jewish Communities, said the community found no immediate explanation for the disproportionate death rate among its members, whom he said contracted the virus independently of each other.

Sweden has Europe’s laxest coronavirus containment policy.

Its elementary schools are still running, though high schools shuttered several days ago. Old-age homes have been under lockdown and the government is encouraging people to observe social distancing but gyms and beauty salons, among other non-essential businesses, remain open. So are bars and restaurants, though they are restricted to table service to prevent crowding near the bar or cash register.

But Verständig said he does not believe this policy is behind any of the deaths within his community.

One victim, he said, had practiced self-isolation for the past three weeks, receiving visits only from social workers who observe strict containment and disinfection protocol.

On March 25, the United Kingdom’s Jewish community was overrepresented by a factor of 15 among the dead in that country. That figure has dropped to nine.

9 Jews Die of Coronavirus in Sweden, Which Has Europe’s Laxest Containment Policy Read More »

The Bagel Report

Socially Distant Bagels Seeking Roses Amid Thorns

Leave a Comment / Podcasts, The Bagel Report /

Zooming from different parts of Los Angeles, Erin and Esther look to pop culture for strength. After remembering songwriter Adam Schlesinger (“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”, “That Thing You Do”, Fountains of Wayne) who had it going on with his music and jokes that we loved for so long, and who died April 1 from COVID-19 complications, the bagels talk Some Good News; create a show tunes playlist appropriate for our socially distant present; tackle the beautiful but challenging “Unorthodox” and the nerve wracking “Plot Against America”; and identify with John Mulaney. Plus, trying to find the roses amid the thorns.

 

Follow Erin, Esther and The Bagel Report on Twitter! 

Socially Distant Bagels Seeking Roses Amid Thorns Read More »

Adam Sandler Salutes Doctors and Nurses in ‘Quarantine Song’

Leave a Comment / Entertainment /

Adam Sandler added a new tune to his catalog of comedy songs in an appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” paying tribute to the medical professionals on the front lines in the war against the coronavirus COVID-19.

Performing remotely from his home, Sandler sang the praises of doctors and nurses in “Quarantine Song,” also joking that teaching math to his kids “can’t be good for America.”

“Doctors and nurses will save us from this mess if we get them the supplies that they need. And I hope they save us soon ‘cause I’m really, really sick of my family,” he sang, also advising everyone “to stay home as much as you can to make this damn thing go away.”

Adam Sandler Salutes Doctors and Nurses in ‘Quarantine Song’ Read More »