The transformation of the Temple Herod had constructed in Jerusalem
into the Roman Colosseum,
motivated Jews to produce in exile a more precious gem
which I will call the goluseum.
Golus:Ashkenazi Hebrew word for exile, as in Babylon they would compile
the Talmud, letting every Jew in
the world beyond Jerusalem – which Romans never managed to defile –
the spirit of the Temple ruin.
The Temple is itself a great translation of the tabernacle they’d built in
the wilderness, and copied by
King Solomon, from the great book of Exodus translated, its fraternal twin,
all of these Temples like Sinai,
where Jews believe that God gave Moses not just Ten Commandments but
the blueprints of their goluseum,
the Talmud, which was never turned into a ruin, and has never shut—-
no Colosseum or museum,
becoming, after Tisha B’Av, more like an ever-flowing fountain
than the Temple Romans burned, turning it
into to a ruin, but also very like that mountain
which can be climbed by learning it.
The ruined Temple funded the great Roman Colosseum,
thanks to the emperors Vespasian and Titus, as we learn
from ghost epigraphy … but Talmud transformed to our goluseum
whose epigraphy, unlike the Temple, does not burn.
Gershon Hepner is a poet who has written over 25,000 poems on subjects ranging from music to literature, politics to Torah. He grew up in England and moved to Los Angeles in 1976. Using his varied interests and experiences, he has authored dozens of papers in medical and academic journals, and authored “Legal Friction: Law, Narrative, and Identity Politics in Biblical Israel.” He can be reached at gershonhepner@gmail.com.
You approach, and hear all that the Lord, our God, will say, and you speak to us all that the Lord, our God, will speak to you, and we will hear and do. Deuteronomy 5:24
Hire the right people for the job, I say.
Your garbage disposal isn’t going to fix itself
but there’s no reason, just because you can
identify a wrench, you should go at it yourself.
Sure, you can do anything, but, at least,
don’t forget to turn off the water, or else
other problems will come along.
Hire the right people for the job, I say.
We all understand how paint works, but
I’ve spent too many hours cleaning
splotches of it off of every known surface
to claim to be the Bob Ross of home design.
Hire the right people for the job, I say.
And make sure they’re the right people.
Anyone can place an ad on Craigslist
but when they show up at your house
and then have to leave because they
just can’t figure out why the lights
in your family room no longer work
it’s disappointing.
After hearing the Loudest Voice, we hired
Moses to do our most important listening.
We asked him to tell us what was said
and we promised to do all that was spoken.
God is the loud concert and
Moses is the earplugs.
He’s the right person for the job.
He’s hired.
Rick Lupert, a poet, songleader and graphic designer, is the author of 27 books including “God Wrestler: A Poem for Every Torah Portion.”
To read more articles from The Media Line, click here.
With unprecedented wildfires raging across the Mediterranean region and North America this summer, representatives from several Mediterranean countries and from the United States came together in Israel recently to share their experiences and discuss cooperation in facing the challenges of climate change.
Representatives from Greece, Italy, and Turkey, as well as from the US, were among those who attended the forum, which was initiated by Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael – Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF).
Anthony Davis, dean of the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture at the University of New Hampshire, said the United States and Canada were experiencing earlier starts to their wildfire seasons and much bigger fires, often termed mega-fires. Last month, such fires burned an area of Canada bigger than the Netherlands, with a severe impact on ecosystems and air quality in many cities in Canada and the United States.
“These larger fires are not just dangerous and risky for the people that live around forest communities, but also on a national scale, with the quality of air being decreased by the heavy smoke intensity,” Davis told The Media Line.
In Europe, large wildfires have become more common in recent years in many Mediterranean nations, and this summer have struck Spain, Italy, and Greece. This week, fires on the popular Greek vacation island of Rhodes burned several resorts and necessitated the evacuation of some 19,000 tourists.
Veronica Louka, a forester with the Greek Environment and Energy Ministry’s General Directorate for Forests, told The Media Line that Greece had learned lessons about rehabilitating forests from its previous experiences with fires.
“I think that we have made big progress regarding post-fire treatment since we had huge forest fires in Greece [in] past years,” she said.
She said the effects of such fires were not only ecological but also social and economic.
“People there lived in the forest, and they had their income through the forest. They were beekeepers, they were raising the collectors from the trees. They were shepherds. They were agriculturists. So, in this way, we had to do everything possible,” she said.
Lin Dror, international project manager for KKL-JNF, told The Media Line that Mediterranean countries going through similar experiences had decided to stop dealing with the issues alone and share their know-how with each other.
“We always talk globally about climate change and the effects of climate change and how we deal with it. But we never had a real conversation in the area in the region, the Mediterranean countries,” Dror said.
“We started talking about gathering everybody together to talk about the challenges, opportunities, and solutions for the climate crisis. And that’s how we came up with this idea to have everyone here in Israel talk about it together.”
Dror said that while every country implements its own solutions, sharing them with others would help all of them to manage climate challenges better.
Ismail Belen, chief inspector for the Turkish Agriculture and Forests Ministry’s General Directorate of Forests and vice chairman of the United Nations Forum on Forests, said that Mediterranean countries should take advantage of the fact that their climate change challenges are similar.
“We have these common problems, especially forest fires, desertification, and drought. So being here with a group of people from Mediterranean countries is very important,” he told The Media Line.
And Davis said: “One of the challenges we face is that as we look at climate change, we see differences in how forests behave and differences in how people are also using forests. To address that we need more research, we need to connect the solutions that we find from all the different parts of the globe that face forest fires, and do that by sharing knowledge and creating new knowledge.”
Those who attended the forum said they were eager to encourage greater regional cooperation on climate change issues.
“I’m planning to have more friends from Israel, and from other countries or the Mediterranean region, then I will share my experiences with my colleagues from the forestry sector, from the ministry, or from the private sector. … Then, if I can manage, I am going to prepare some special projects for cooperation in this region,” Belen said.
And Louka said: “We are here to learn and to give … and we think this is the beginning and not the end of our collaboration.”
Two UMich Frat Houses Vandalized With Antisemitic, Homophobic Graffiti
Two University of Michigan fraternity houses were vandalized with antisemitic and homophobic graffiti sometime between July 17 and 18, FOX 2 Detroit reported.
Stop Antisemitism tweeted out photos of one of the vandalized frat houses — which they identified as being the Jewish fraternity Sigma Alpha Mu house — showing a swastika painted on one of those windows as well as a homophobic slurs painted on the house. With school in recess, both of the vandalized fraternity houses are vacant until the fall. University President Santa J. Ono said in a statement, “The university condemns these acts of vandalism, which included broken windows and spray-painted messages that are vile, homophobic and antisemitic. These types of incidents are in direct conflict with the university’s deeply held values of respect and inclusion and have no place within our campus community or in the broader Ann Arbor community.”
American Anthropological Association Adopts Pro-BDS Resolution
The American Anthropological Association (AAA) announced on July 24 that their membership overwhelmingly voted in favor of a resolution endorsing an academic boycott of Israel.
AAA membership voted on the resolution from June 15-July 14; the final tally was 71% in favor and 29% against. Among other things, the resolution prohibits Israeli academic institutions from being listed in any AAA published material, participating in AAA events and republishing AAA articles in their journals. The resolution does not prevent individual Israeli academics from Israeli institutions from participating in AAA conferences or being published in AAA journals. AAA President Ramona Pérez said in a statement the boycott will “draw attention to the disproportionate suffering of the Palestinian people as a result of the Occupation.”
Academic Engagement Network President Miriam Elman said in a statement, “At a time when there are so many threats to academic freedom and campus free expression, it’s disappointing to see a faculty body contributing to these efforts to curb open inquiry and intellectual exchange.”
Letter Asks CA Legislative Jewish Caucus to Clarify Ethnic Studies Mandate
The AMHCA Initiative is asking people to sign a letter requesting that the California Legislative Jewish Caucus clarify if the state mandate for ethnic studies for high school graduation is currently active or not.
The letter argues that there is a push for various school districts to adopt a “liberated” ethnic studies curriculum containing “antisemitic biases” or contracting with authors of the first draft of the Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum that was scrapped over concerns that it supported the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and inadequately addressed antisemitism. But the letter points to a recent memorandum arguing that the ethnic studies requirement is not yet operational because, under an amendment to the law, the mandate becomes operative only after state funds have been allocated toward the requirement. Such funds have not yet been allocated since the amendment was passed. Consequently, districts would have more time to review the curriculum before adopting it, the memo contends, calling for the state legislature to withhold funding for the requirement until they properly address the spread of the “liberated” ethnic studies curricula.
Australian Jewish StudentsExperienced Antisemitic Bullying
Three Australian Jewish students are alleging to have experienced antisemitic bullying in Melbourne public schools and that the schools are not adequately responding to it. Consequently, their parents are removing them from these schools.
Melbourne’s The Age newpaper reported that the students “encountered swastikas, Nazi salutes and even physical assaults and were called ‘Jewboy’ or ‘dirty Jew’ and sent memes involving Hitler” and that the students’ families allege that “the response from both the schools and Education Department did not go far enough to stamp out the behaviour, or treat the matters as seriously as they should have.” The Education Department told the Age that antisemitism in schools is “distressing and disturbing and taken extremely seriously.”
Antisemitism Novel Challenged in South Carolina School District
A parent is seeking to remove a novel about antisemitism from the Beaufort County School District in South Carolina.
Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) reported on July 19 that the parent, who is part of the conservative group Moms for Liberty, is targeting Bernard Malamud’s 1966 award-winning book “The Fixer” and several other books as being inappropriate for children. “The Fixer” depicts a 1911 case in Tsarist Russia involving a Jewish man being imprisoned after being falsely accused of ritually murdering a Christian boy. BookLooks, a book ratings site cited as justification for challenging the book, states that the book contains violence, profanity and “hate involving racism.” JTA described the book as “an indictment of antisemitism and a powerful portrayal of human suffering.”
A district spokesperson told JTA that “The Fixer” and other challenged books were temporarily pulled after district employees were subjected to harassment.
Being a personal assistant for “Curb Your Enthusiasm” star Larry David might seem like a precarious position.
Eli Leonard, 30, who has worked on the show for nearly six years, had some worries when he got the job, thinking he could be fired if he made a wrong move.
“I was sweating through my clothes even talking to him,” Leonard told the Journal. “He’s actually a really nice guy. To see him come into the office every day, work hard and have that drive, was inspiring. I mean, he’s done it all already. He doesn’t need to work. Seeing that makes you want to push yourself and see what you can do.”
Leonard, who has been a personal assistant for David during filming, and has been a production assistant for the show, said he would often be cracked up watching David, JB Smoove, and Susie Essman. Smoove, who plays Leon, and Essman, who plays Susie, would sometimes laugh along with David, Leonard said, adding that he didn’t have to worry that he’d make a noise and ruin a take.
While he enjoyed his work behind the camera, Leonard hadn’t seriously considered stand-up until he met comedian Elon Gold.
Gold, who has appeared on “Curb” as the Head of Hulu, is a successful stand-up comic. Leonard had thought about trying stand-up, but hadn’t made the leap. Gold told him it was time to jump
“I’d always wanted to do it and I had been working in improv, sketch and every type of comedy besides it,” Leonard said. “The real push came from Elon, who was getting on me to start doing stand-up. He had me for Shabbos and put me on his ‘My Funny Quarantine’ show. He took me under his wing and gave me gigs opening for him. He just put me into pressure situations. I guess that’s how you do it.”
It did not go well, at first.
Leonard recalled one early show at a kosher winery in Los Angeles. A bearded 80-year-old man who looked like a rabbinical sage was among many in the audience not laughing.
“I had no material,” Leonard said. “I turned to this guy, and said ‘Hey Rashi, is it time for me to get off stage?’ He nodded. I said ‘I will get off stage only if it is unanimous and everyone claps. There was an uproar of applause.”
David famously once walked off stage during a stand-up gig when he looked at the audience and didn’t feel a connection.
“I wanted to do the same thing after a few minutes, the audience just didn’t get me,” Leonard said. “But I couldn’t do that to Elon.”
He said Gold encouraged him and explained that most comedians bomb at the beginning. Over time, Leonard improved. While he learned a lot from being on the “Curb’ set, performing stand-up requires repetition and trial and error. Gold gave him helpful suggestions of how to read an audience.
Leonard said that being Jewish is an inseparable part of his identity and said when he gave a D’var Torah at his bar mitzvah, he made jokes about his brothers.
He’s performed his one-man show “Good Showbiz” in Los Angeles and New York City and added that he was proud of his performance at the Chosen Comedy Festival that took place in February at The Orpheum Theatre.
Was he nervous?
“Even if I’m performing for five people, I’m nervous.” -Eli Leonard
“Even if I’m performing for five people, I’m nervous,” he said.
Leonard is excited to perform at Opening Night for The Chosen Comedy Festival Kartrite Hotel in theCatskills (once known as the “Borscht Belt”) on July 29. The show will be headlined by Gold and includes Talia Reese, Eli Lebowicz, and Olga Namer and Elon Altman. The main event is August 8 at the Coney Island Amphitheater in Brooklyn, hosted by Gold and Modi (Rosenfeld) and features Jeff Ross, Ari Shaffir, Jessica Kirson, the Hasidic folk/soul band Zusha, and others. The shows are produced by Stand Up NY.
Leonard said he is trying to soak up knowledge and experience with every show. He said most don’t realize the amount of work required to make an amazing TV show or to be a stand-up comic who can get consistent laughs.
What’s Leonard’s best joke?
“I think I’ll save that for the audience,” he said.
“[Food is] part of the culture of many human beings,” Abby J. Leibman, President and CEO of MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, told the Journal. “It is not just a moment of fueling your body so you can keep going. It’s also a moment of fueling your soul.”
Food speaks to people in terms of their culture, history and family.
“This is something that many of us get to take for granted; people who are struggling cannot,” she said. “Nobody’s tradition is to eat an apple and some saltines, and call that dinner. That’s reprehensible. But it does happen.”
MAZON, which is almost 40 years old, was founded by visionary leaders in the Jewish community who felt that it wasn’t enough to simply talk about how important it was to feed people.
“It was a moral imperative to take our Jewish values and work to change what those circumstances are that drive people into food insecurity and poverty, and really try to make a difference,” Leibman said.
For decades MAZON has been engaging in policy work, through communities, synagogues and directly with elected officials.
“[We’re] not only [trying to] lift the awareness of this issue and how pervasive it is in the United States, but also to say that there is a possibility of ending hunger in this country,” Leibman said. “We almost did it once. And we can do it again.”
The MAZON website has a ton of information and resources, including their Virtual Hunger Museum and ways people can take action.
Leibman, who has been at MAZON for 12 years, has spent her career in the social justice space. A lawyer by training, she worked for a legal service organization in Los Angeles. Then, with two friends, Leibman co-founded the California Women’s Law Center, which she ran for 12 years.
“The opportunity to work with MAZON came up at a time when I really wasn’t looking,” said Leibman, who was doing consulting work and teaching at the time.
The more she learned about MAZON, and the more people kept reaching out to her, she started to realize why. Leibman gave the board a tentative “yes,” and went in to meet the staff before making a commitment.
After arriving at the office and introducing herself to the COO Barb Green, she was led into the conference room, where there was a giant table with fruit, bagels, coffee, everything.
“I said, ‘I didn’t know if I should bring something, I didn’t even know if you guys eat, I don’t know if you were kosher,’” Leibman recalled. “And [Barb] said. ‘Abby, are you kidding? We’re an anti-hunger organization. All we do all day is talk about food, so all we do is eat.’”
At that point, Leibman knew this was a fit.
When people say to Leibman that they feel guilty eating in front of her, she thinks that’s ridiculous.
“You use your resources as you have them,” she said. “You don’t squander them, but you also recognize that other people may not have the privilege that you do.”
She adds, “Then what you do, apart from enjoying yourself, is to say, this inspires me to want to make sure other people can have this kind of positive experience with food.”
A big foodie, Leibman loves eating in restaurants, although she admits she’s a little “over” cooking since the lockdown of the pandemic. She does, however, find baking a Zen experience.
The idea that food and the preparation of food is itself a ritual that is both calming and really uplifting in some really important ways,” she said.
For instance, baking is chemistry. You have to be really focused or you’re going to mess it up.
“It’s ‘follow the measurements and mix things at the appropriate times and for the appropriate time,’” she said. “I find that if I think about anything else, it distracts me, and the recipe is not a success.”
During the conversation, Leibman shared her family brownie recipe as well as her favorite easy meal: Pizza in a Pot.
The brownies are her “go-to when I suddenly realize I’m supposed to bring dessert to something, and I forgot,” she said. “The ingredients for brownies are pretty much in your pantry; certainly in my house where chocolate is an obsession.”
Pizza in a Pot, which was born out of an improvisation, became a staple when Leibman worked long hours at the California Women’s Law Center, and had to prepare dinner for her kids after a long day. It’s egg noodles, tomato sauce, vegetables and mozzarella cheese.
“It’s kind of a bowl of yum,” she said. “It’s very balanced, and if you use a jarred sauce, this is ready in like 10 minutes.”
The next time you are sharing a meal with your family, and want to know what you can do to help food insecurity, remember, your community is larger than you think.
In the United States, your community is about 335 million people. Nearly 40 million people face food insecurity.
“It isn’t possible for me to invite everybody who’s food insecure in my neighborhood, let alone in Los Angeles into my kitchen,” she said. “What I can do is press our board of supervisors to make sure that they are doing everything they can to facilitate people accessing programs that give them nutrition [and] support.”
Leibman adds, “Our mission [at MAZON] is to mobilize people to work with us, to be passionate about the work that we are doing to try to get policy change that will lead to the end of hunger in America.”
1 jar of tomato sauce (About 2 cups; it can be adjusted up or down, depending on how saucy you like your pasta)
Shredded mozzarella
1 to 2 cups of vegetables of your choice, cut small or shredded: zucchini, broccoli, spinach, etc.
Boil egg noodles until al dente. Drain.
While noodles are cooking, heat tomato sauce to a simmer and add any vegetables desired (zucchini, broccoli, spinach, etc.)
Simmer until vegetables are cooked. I often shred the vegetables; it cooks more quickly and it’s a sneaky way to get veggies into small children!
Combine noodles with the sauce and vegetables, season to taste with salt and pepper.
Reduce heat to low.
Add shredded mozzarella – as much or as little as you like! Stir constantly until melted. Serve immediately.
Mom’s Brownies
Jack Andersen/Getty Images
Butter an 8×8 or 9×9 inch square pyrex baking dish (adjust temp and cooking time for a metal pan)
3 squares of unsweetened chocolate (I use Baker’s)
1/4 lb. (one stick) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup nuts (optional)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp of water
Melt chocolate and butter in the microwave or in a double boiler, cool slightly.
Cream butter and chocolate with the sugar until smooth.
Beat in two eggs.
Combine baking powder, salt and flour and add to batter while mixing at low speed
Add vanilla and water, stir to combine. Fold in nuts, if using.
Bake at 325°F for about 20 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out with moist crumbs attached.
Debra Eckerling is a writer for the Jewish Journal and the host of “Taste Buds with Deb.” Subscribe on YouTube or your favorite podcast platform.Email Debra: tastebuds@jewishjournal.com.
Our daughter excitedly ran out of her room, reporting, “I lost my last tooth!” It took a few moments to fully understand what she said. Our youngest son is losing teeth left and right, his mouth basically hollow. When our eldest made her own announcement, we laughed in disbelief. Her last baby tooth? It just couldn’t be.
The last baby tooth means saying goodbye to the fantasy of the tooth fairy. The last baby tooth means a farewell to the childhood bedtime to which we’ve grown accustomed. She’s getting older. As her parents, we adapt and change, learning how to be available as needed and give space to let our tween take safe risks and test boundaries.
But the last baby tooth does not mean a restriction of love. When she needs snuggles, we’re ready. When she wants to read, braid hair, or share stories about school, we’re here. Saying goodbye to childhood doesn’t mean saying goodbye to ritual. Saying goodbye to childhood doesn’t mean saying goodbye to hugs and embrace. Saying goodbye to childhood means a willingness to expand our heart and find different ways to show our love.
Childhood might fade but she’s still there.
The Torah teaches us to love God with all our heart, soul and might. Rashi, the medieval Torah commentator gives an interesting take on how to love with might. He explains that you should continue to love no matter what God offers. We may experience goodness or calamity but love for God should still remain.
His teaching informs the ways we offer love to others. As our closest relationships evolve, measures of love don’t need to change. What transforms are the mediums. Love can be exchanged just as easily through word, glance, or touch. It is upon us to be attuned to our loved one’s needs. A cuddle today, a fist bump tomorrow. But the love itself remains, stronger than ever.
No more childhood teeth or sneaky trips to put money under a pillow. But rest assured, my child will know expansiveness of the heart.
Only God knows the love we are capable of giving. A mighty, mighty love.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Nicole Guzik is senior rabbi at Sinai Temple. She can be reached at her Facebook page at Rabbi Nicole Guzik or on Instagram @rabbiguzik. For more writings, visit Rabbi Guzik’s blog section from Sinai Temple’s website.
I began to write this week’s message about 100 times.
With the recent Judicial Reform in Israel (which weakens the power of the Supreme Court), my heart sinks because I have so much love for the country.
The vote occurred during this week when we commemorate Tisha B’Av, the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av. This day remembers the destruction of both the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem.
Our sages teach that “sinat chinam/ baseless hatred” within ancient Israel accounted for the loss of our homeland over 2000 years ago.
We can’t allow that to happen again.
When I stand with Israel, it doesn’t mean I stand with the current government. (And remember – the government will change).
It means that I with those who care about Israeli democracy. I stand for those whose voices are in jeopardy. And I stand by those who continue to sing our anthem of Hope.
I care about being a free people in the Democratic Land of Israel.
I care about being a thinking people in the creative Land of Israel.
I care about being a loving people in the peaceful Land of Israel
I care about being a dreaming people in the fruitful Land of Israel.
And I care about being a visionary people in the thoughtful Land of Israel.
In this moment in time, we can’t turn away. Let’s support those who care as we do. The flower in this photo from an Israeli desert will bloom again!
when you could still go to the beach tomorrow and again.
The sunset turned brownstones yellow.
We sat in my glowing garden
one day and fifty years after the landing on the moon.
An ocher crescent waxed on the label of the wine you brought.
I stroked your naked feet that rested in my lap.
Your eyes were green and amber.
One day and nineteen hundred fifty years ago,
the city’s walls were breached.
I was supposed to guard the temple courts—
how could I not yield to summer’s siege?
Julia Knobloch is a rabbinical student at HUC-JIR in Los Angeles and the author of two volumes of poetry: Book of Failed Salvation (2021) and Do Not Return (2019).
