Members phkrause Posted December 1, 2009 Author Members Posted December 1, 2009 14 Kislev Birth of Reuven, Jacob's first son and the first of the Twelve Tribes of Israel (Genesis 29:32). Jacob had originally worked for seven years in order to marry Rachel, but at the last minute Leah appeared under the chuppah instead. On their wedding night, Reuven was conceived. Though he was first-born, he eventually lost his leadership role, due to a reputation for impetuousness. pk Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
Members phkrause Posted December 2, 2009 Author Members Posted December 2, 2009 15 Kislev Yahrtzeit of Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi (135 - ca. 220 CE), also known as Rabbi Judah the Prince. He was leader of the Jewish people during the period following the destruction of the Second Temple. Rabbi Yehudah developed a close friendship with the ruling Roman authorities, and was able to secure various benefits for the Jewish community. His greatest achievement was to compile the Mishnah, the Jewish legal teachings which until then had been taught orally, from teacher to student. But with persecutions and exile threatening to break down that chain of transmission, Rabbi Yehudah took the bold step of writing the Mishnah in its final form. He is credited with the wise and humble saying: "I learned much from my teachers, more from my colleagues, but most of all I learned from my students." Also on this date, in 1987, more than 200,000 American Jews marched on Washington to demand that Soviet Jews be allowed to emigrate and practice their faith. The rally was timed to coincide with a meeting between President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Russian Jews like Natan Sharansky, Yosef Mendelovich and hundreds of others were imprisoned for the mere act of applying for an exit visa. Their plight, met with indifference by much of the Western world, spawned a massive activist effort on behalf of Soviet Jewry. In the 1970s, when the Soviet Bolshoi Ballet performed in the U.S., they were greeted by Jewish pickets demanding rights for Soviet Jews. In 1974, the U.S. Congress passed the Jackson-Vanik amendment, which linked trade with Russia to freedom of emigration for Soviet Jews. The struggle for Soviet Jewry continued throughout the 1980s, and it was not until the collapse of the Soviet empire in 1991, that the gates opened to the emigration of some one million Jews. pk Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
Members phkrause Posted December 3, 2009 Author Members Posted December 3, 2009 Yes dgrimm, I didn't even know that 2nd one. pk Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
Members phkrause Posted December 3, 2009 Author Members Posted December 3, 2009 16 Kislev In 1946, the 22nd World Zionist Congress met in Basle, Switzerland. In the immediate aftermath of the Holocaust, Zionist leaders had lost all patience with British stonewalling about the creation of a Jewish state. Thus the Zionists decided to forcibly resist British policy, and Jewish underground movements redoubled their campaign to damage British installations such as rail lines, police stations and army bases. In one night in 1946, Ben Gurion's Hagana blew up 12 critical bridges. The efforts were largely successful, and by 1947 Britain declared its intention to withdraw, thus leading to the UN Partition Plan of November 1947. pk Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
Members phkrause Posted December 5, 2009 Author Members Posted December 5, 2009 Kislev 17 In 1947, the United Nations voted in favor of the partition of Palestine. The Jewish area was split into three non-contiguous plots, with no consideration of security: the eastern Galilee, the coastal plain from Haifa down to Tel Aviv, and the majority being the uncultivable Negev desert. The other half of the land was to form a new Arab state. Jerusalem and its 100,000 Jews was to be completely surrounded on four sides by the Arab state, and administered as an international zone. Despite these unfavorable terms, the Jewish Agency immediately accepted the Partition Plan; the Arabs immediately rejected it. Fighting began soon after, leading to a full-scale assault in 1948 by troops from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi and Yemen. (My father almost went to fight for Israel at this time, but decided not to go when I was born that year.) pk Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
Members phkrause Posted December 5, 2009 Author Members Posted December 5, 2009 Kislev 18 In 1793, the French district of Strasbourg, Alsace-Lorraine passed an anti-Jewish law prohibiting circumcision and the wearing of beards. It also ordered the burning of books written in Hebrew. The French Revolution, born of the ideals of Enlightenment, had become the first society to emancipate the Jews, permitting them to enter the highest levels of government and finance. Yet all the talk of "equality" did not stop Voltaire from singling out the Jews as "the most abominable people in the world." The invective gained expression in the 1940s when the French Vichy regime took the initiative to round up and hand over 61,000 Jews to the Nazis. pk Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
Members phkrause Posted December 5, 2009 Author Members Posted December 5, 2009 I know that we did have a thread that kinda had people talking about peoples of the world that have been oppressed. But if we read the Bible and we look at history, there are no peoples alive that have been hated as much as the Jewish nation. pk Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
Members phkrause Posted December 6, 2009 Author Members Posted December 6, 2009 19 Kislev Yahrtzeit of the Maggid of Mezrech (1710-1772), the successor of the Baal Shem Tov, who consolidated chassidic teachings into a structured, cohesive movement. Among the ideas he emphasized was the importance of clinging to God in all actions -- business, social and religious. The Maggid also taught of perfecting one's soul in order to bring about the redemption of the world. Today, tens of thousands of chassidim trace their spiritual roots back to the Maggid of Mezrech. pk Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
Members phkrause Posted December 7, 2009 Author Members Posted December 7, 2009 20 Kislev Yahrtzeit of Rabbi Yitzhak Hutner (1906-1980), the brilliant dean of the Chaim Berlin yeshiva in New York, whose thousands of students formed the nucleus of American Jewish leadership in the late 20th century. Rabbi Hutner had a warm, welcoming posture toward all Jews, and two of his disciples, Rabbi Shlomo Freifeld and Rabbi Noah Weinberg, founded the first baal teshuva yeshivas. In 1970, Rabbi Hutner was on an airplane which was hijacked by Palestinian "Black September" terrorists, and was held hostage on a runway in Amman, Jordan. (After all the hostages were removed, the planes were blown up in front of TV cameras.) Rabbi Hutner's discourses on Shabbat and the holidays, influenced largely by the Maharal of Prague, are collected in the seven-volume, Pachad Yitzhak. He is buried in Jerusalem. pk Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
Members phkrause Posted December 8, 2009 Author Members Posted December 8, 2009 I do enjoy these Jewish readings, its a way to look back at my heritage, that when growing up I missed. Since my father after concentration camp, wanted nothing to do God. So we were never brought up knowing anything about our heritage. pk Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
bonnie Posted December 8, 2009 Posted December 8, 2009 I do enjoy these Jewish readings, its a way to look back at my heritage, that when growing up I missed. Since my father after concentration camp, wanted nothing to do God. So we were never brought up knowing anything about our heritage. pk How long was your father in the concentration camp? Was your mother spared from that Quote Everything you do is based on the choices you make. It's not your parents, your past relationships, your job, the economy, the weather, an argument, or your age that is to blame. You and only you are responsible for every decision and choice you make, period ... ... Wish more people would realize this. Quotes by Susan Gottesman
Members phkrause Posted December 8, 2009 Author Members Posted December 8, 2009 Bonnie my father was in a work camp for 2 years and than 5 years in 3 different concentration camps. My Mom is not Jewish. pk Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
bonnie Posted December 8, 2009 Posted December 8, 2009 Bonnie my father was in a work camp for 2 years and than 5 years in 3 different concentration camps. My Mom is not Jewish. pk It is a wonder he survived. That was a terrible time Quote Everything you do is based on the choices you make. It's not your parents, your past relationships, your job, the economy, the weather, an argument, or your age that is to blame. You and only you are responsible for every decision and choice you make, period ... ... Wish more people would realize this. Quotes by Susan Gottesman
Members phkrause Posted December 8, 2009 Author Members Posted December 8, 2009 Today In Jewish History Kislev 21 According to Megillat Taanit, in the 4th century BCE, Alexander the Great met Shimon HaTzaddik, the High Priest of the Holy Temple. Shimon feared that Alexander would destroy Jerusalem, so went out to meet him before he arrived at the city. Upon seeing the High Priest, Alexander made the rare move of dismounting and bowing. When asked to explain his actions, Alexander said that he'd previously seen the High Priest in a dream. Alexander interpreted this vision as a good omen and thus spared Jerusalem, peacefully absorbing Israel into his growing empire. In gratitude, the Sages decreed that the Jewish firstborn of that time be named Alexander -- which remains a Jewish name to this very day. pk Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
Members phkrause Posted December 8, 2009 Author Members Posted December 8, 2009 Yes it is dgrimm, I hadn't know that either. pk Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
Members phkrause Posted December 9, 2009 Author Members Posted December 9, 2009 22 Kislev In 1622, in an effort to attract enterprising merchants with disposable capital, King Christian IV of Denmark wrote a formal letter to the Amsterdam Jewish council, inviting Jews of Portuguese descent to settle in Denmark. King Christian promised religious freedom for the Jews -- an attractive safe haven as the Thirty Year War raged in central Europe. pk Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
Members phkrause Posted December 10, 2009 Author Members Posted December 10, 2009 23 Kislev In 1348, amidst the devastating Black Plague which would eventually kill 25 million Europeans, a government official in Switzerland announced that Jews (under torture) had confessed to the poisoning of wells in the Rhine Valley, as part of an international Jewish conspiracy. The report was readily accepted by nobles who resented the Jews as economic competitors and to whom they were indebted for loans. Thus began a "year of terror" which saw the destruction of most of the Jewish communities in the region, and thousands of Jews burned alive. pk Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
bonnie Posted December 10, 2009 Posted December 10, 2009 23 Kislev In 1348, amidst the devastating Black Plague which would eventually kill 25 million Europeans, a government official in Switzerland announced that Jews (under torture) had confessed to the poisoning of wells in the Rhine Valley, as part of an international Jewish conspiracy. The report was readily accepted by nobles who resented the Jews as economic competitors and to whom they were indebted for loans. Thus began a "year of terror" which saw the destruction of most of the Jewish communities in the region, and thousands of Jews burned alive. pk I always admired the resilience of the Jewish people. By all rights they should have ceased to exist hundreds of years ago.They just keep on,keeping on Quote Everything you do is based on the choices you make. It's not your parents, your past relationships, your job, the economy, the weather, an argument, or your age that is to blame. You and only you are responsible for every decision and choice you make, period ... ... Wish more people would realize this. Quotes by Susan Gottesman
Members phkrause Posted December 11, 2009 Author Members Posted December 11, 2009 And the more I read through there history Bonnie, it just amazies me more each time. pk Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
bonnie Posted December 11, 2009 Posted December 11, 2009 And the more I read through there history Bonnie, it just amazies me more each time. pk Have you been able to trace back your families personal history. That is pretty addicting once you start Quote Everything you do is based on the choices you make. It's not your parents, your past relationships, your job, the economy, the weather, an argument, or your age that is to blame. You and only you are responsible for every decision and choice you make, period ... ... Wish more people would realize this. Quotes by Susan Gottesman
Members phkrause Posted December 11, 2009 Author Members Posted December 11, 2009 No I have not. My wife started to do this a while back. She first started on her family and got back to the 1600's I believe. She was helping her uncle. Than she started on mine. For my mom we could go back a ways, because she's alive and we were able to ask her. But unfortunately she started doing this after my father had passed away, in 1998, so we could only go on what my mom could remember about his life, which wasn't that much. So we could only go back to his father. His whole family except one brother who ran away to russia, and 4 other brothers who were in the polish army, and died fighting the germans, all died in concentration camps. pk Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
bonnie Posted December 11, 2009 Posted December 11, 2009 No I have not. My wife started to do this a while back. She first started on her family and got back to the 1600's I believe. She was helping her uncle. Than she started on mine. For my mom we could go back a ways, because she's alive and we were able to ask her. But unfortunately she started doing this after my father had passed away, in 1998, so we could only go on what my mom could remember about his life, which wasn't that much. So we could only go back to his father. His whole family except one brother who ran away to russia, and 4 other brothers who were in the polish army, and died fighting the germans, all died in concentration camps. pk How sad to lose almost a whole family. It must have been unbelievably tough on your dad Quote Everything you do is based on the choices you make. It's not your parents, your past relationships, your job, the economy, the weather, an argument, or your age that is to blame. You and only you are responsible for every decision and choice you make, period ... ... Wish more people would realize this. Quotes by Susan Gottesman
Members phkrause Posted December 11, 2009 Author Members Posted December 11, 2009 Yes it was Bonnie, but he never talk about this for years. I was in the military when he actually started telling my brother quite a bit of things about his live in the concentration camps. He lived a pretty long life, he died at the age of 79. For all the medical issue's that he had. God took good care of him. pk Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
Members phkrause Posted December 11, 2009 Author Members Posted December 11, 2009 Today In Jewish History Kislev 24 In 354 BCE, the prophet Chaggai encouraged the Jews to rebuild the Holy Temple -- a construction project which had begun 18 years earlier, but was halted due to political pressure. The Temple would stand for 420 years, before being destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE. On this same day, Chaggai prophesied the downfall of the great Persian empire, which would ultimately lead to the salvation of the Jews. This is recorded in the biblical Book of Chaggai, chapter 2. Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
Members phkrause Posted December 12, 2009 Author Members Posted December 12, 2009 Kislev 25 In 165 BCE, the Maccabees defeated the Greek army and rededicated the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Finding only one jar of pure oil, they lit the Menorah, which miraculously burned for eight days. Also on this day -- 1,100 years earlier -- Moses and the Jewish people completed construction of the Tabernacle, the portable sanctuary that accompanied them during 40 years of wandering in the desert. The Tabernacle was not dedicated, however, for another three months; tradition says that the day of Kislev 25 was then "compensated" centuries later -- when the miracle of Chanukah occurred and the Temple was rededicated. Today, Jews around the world light a Chanukah menorah, to commemorate the miracle of the oil, and its message that continues to illuminate our lives today. pk Quote phkrause Obstinacy is a barrier to all improvement. - ChL 60
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