http://partysupplieshut.com/yom-kippur/

 an easy fast, a meaningful day of atonement.

Yossi

http://www.fsumonitor.com/stories/092706PR.shtml

You mess with him, you mess with the Jews.

News

UCSJ Statement on the Arrest of Lev Ponomaryov

(September 28, 2006)

UCSJ: Union of Councils for Jews in the Former Soviet Union expresses its strongest protest against the arrest in Moscow of the well known human rights activist Lev Ponomarev for his peaceful participation in a demonstration honoring the victims of Beslan. This arrest is an inexcusable violation of international norms and guarantees of freedom of speech and assembly. It is an extremely disturbing example of the Russian Federation’s continuing efforts to intimidate the human rights community, which includes a harsh new law on registration of NGOs.

Dr. Ponomarev is currently the executive director of the all-Russia NGO, “For Human Rights.â€? UCSJ calls upon the Moscow city government to immediately release him and drop the spurious charges filed against him.

On behalf of the UCSJ: Yosef I. Abramowitz, President; Micah Naftalin, National Director; Leonid Stonov, International Director of its Human Rights Bureaus in the former Soviet Union.

Read more

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
(Birmingham, Alabama)

On this most holy day of the Jewish calendar, Jews celebrate God’s goodness and reflect on their lives. Yom Kippur is a solemn time to express thanksgiving that the Almighty remembers the names of all His children. During this blessed Day of Atonement, Jewish people gather in synagogues, consider their deeds and actions, and celebrate as the sound of the Shofar proclaims the forgiveness and mercy shown by the Creator of life.

As the High Holy Days come to an end, the Jewish people in America and around the world remind us of the gift of religious freedom and the blessings of God’s steadfast love. On Yom Kippur and throughout the year, your deep commitment to faith helps make the world a more hopeful and peaceful place.

Laura and I send our best wishes for a blessed Yom Kippur.

GEORGE W. BUSH

# # #

Deuteronomy 7:9

From today’s NY Jewish Week, click here.

The Israeli Nanny Diaries

Families are hiring Hebrew-speaking caregivers as a kind of Jewish continuity, by Carolyn Slutsky - Staff Writer Read more

Sukkot a good time to remember that shelter isn’t a given

YOSEF ABRAMOWITZ
Special to Jewish News

The lulav and etrog, depicted in this print from a 17th-century prayer book, are used during the synagogue service on Sukkot. The lulav is a combination of willow and myrtle branches bound together with palm tree branches; the etrog is a citrus fruit similar to a lemon.

“You shall live in booths seven days; all citizens in Israel shall live in booths”
- Leviticus 23:42

The way I know when my girls have warmed to a new visitor is that they ask them, “Do you want to see my room?” Their enthusiasm is always contagious, so our guests oblige and trek upstairs. After about 15 minutes or so, my wife or I usually have to go and “rescue” them from reading a book or dressing up in costume. Read more

About twenty years ago, Abe Silver approached the Chief Rabbis in Jerusalem with a question: We live in the desert. How are we to do Tashlich?  While the rabbis first suggested that just go to a body of water anytime until Hoshana raba rather than aim for rosh hashana, Abe was able to convince them that this would not have large participation. A month later they ruled that sand dunes, because they move with the wind, would be halachically kosher.

Abe was on hand yesterday as about 50 of us set out with hats, water and bread to cross the Arava road, walk through the date palm, ,the experimental orchard, past the old fields and to an incredible sand dune overlooking both Jordan and nearby Kibbutz Lotan, which also send some people.

There really is something special about doing tashlich in Israel, and on a sand dune, with your (new) community, as the sun sets over Ketura to the west.  The Jordanian mountains to the east were so bright, they were pink. And the kids, despite themselves, took notice of the beauty of the area and experience.

Yosef I. Abramowitz is a writer and seriel social entrepeneur in the Jewish and social justice realms whose long string of successful ventures means he is one of the luckiest people around.  A father of five, he lives in the Arava Desert along the path that the Israelites followed on the way to the Promised Land. 

He’s often the guy behind new Global Strategies for Systemic Renewal of Jewish Life, but you’d never know it since he’s not a snazzy dresser and he lives in a really tiny house without a stove or a bathtub, far from the major conferences and power centers.  He’s a terrible shmoozer but loves to think and talk about the role of the Jewish people in the 21st century, which is, by the way, to be An On-Going, Distinctive Catalyst for the Advacement and Evolution of Morality in Civilization.

When he’s not picking up his kids from school or tilling the land, Yossi finds meaning in his official work for the Jewish people:  He currently

Read more

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary

I send greetings to those around the world celebrating Rosh Hashanah.

During these holy days, Jewish people begin the new year by answering the call of the Shofar and gathering in synagogues. It is a time to reflect on the past, celebrate the beginning of life, and welcome the promise of the future with a spirit of renewal and hope.

On this sacred holiday, I appreciate the Jewish people for your efforts to ensure that your values and traditions are passed on to future generations. As you begin the Days of Awe, your faith in the Almighty reminds us of the gift of religious freedom in our country and helps make the world a more hopeful place.

Laura and I send our best wishes for a peaceful Rosh Hashanah.

GEORGE W. BUSH

# # #

http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/30348/format/html/displaystory.html

 

MEDIA RELEASE
Jewish Social Action Month
Do the Jewish People really need another holiday?
These young activists think so.

TEL AVIV, September 6 2006: The Jewish calendar is filled with holidays every month of the year — except one.

But now a group of young activists is asking that Jews from around the world mark the Hebrew month of Cheshvan (which this year runs from October 23 to November 21) as “Jewish Social Action Month“. Social action events in celebration of this global initiative are already being planned throughout the United States, in Israel, Britain, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa and elsewhere.

Events include assisting the north of Israel after the recent war, partnering with schools in Nepal, an economic justice week in California and work in deprived townships of South Africa. An anti-racism event is planned for Britain. New York projects include helping the impoverished elderly and disabled in the Bronx. Activities in St Louis will range from a Habitat for Humanity build of twenty houses, environmental efforts and cultural and educational programs. University students in Tel Aviv and school children in Mexico will be joined by Jews from around the world in a month of social action.

The UJA Federation of New York will be funding community service and social action projects. Hadassah, one of the largest volunteer organizations in America, is among the many supporters. In Israel, Jewish Social Action Month will be launched at the Knesset with an event hosted by MK Rabbi Michael Melchior.

Read more