Tonight, sitting on a beautiful Jerusalem hill at Yad Vashem, overlooking the city as the sun set, we participated with 700 Holocaust Educators from around the world in an Opening Ceremony for the Yad Vashem International Holocaust Education Conference - "Teaching The Shoah: Fighting Racism and Prejudice."
Having been to Poland numerous times with the March Of The Living, having been to Israel many more times, it's easy to assume that there's not too much more to experience about the Holocaust and the role of Israel. Not true.
After the usual speeches by various government officials, we were then treated to the Ramat Gan Children's Harmonica Orchestra in memory of Shmuel Gogol,z"l. We learned tonight that this man was saved by Janusz Korchak, who gave him a harmonica - perhaps to merely distract him from overbearing sadness he was experiencing during the Shoah. Shmuel had vowed to himself that if he survived the Shoah, he would make the harmonica central to his life. When Shmuel settled in Israel, he began a children's harmonica orchestra choir, and tonight they played various Hebrew and Yiddish songs in his memory. This beautiful group of 20 children, filled the Jerusalem air with their simple yet poignant melodies.
Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, former Chief Rabbi of Israel, then took the podium. He related how, as a 3 year old boy in Poland, he lost his parents and was put in the care of an older brother and somehow, together they survived and eventually, after the Shoah, arrived in Israel. He shared that an aunt and uncle raised him, and in the 1950's the prevailing psychological wisdom was that child survivors should never be encouraged to speak about their traumatic experiences or to try to remember those they lost. He remembers hearing about "The Diary of Anne Frank," but being prevented from reading it - for fear that it would encourage non-stop feelings of sadness. However, one evening when he was babysitting for neighbor's children, he found this book in their living room. Within one evening he read this entire diary and he remembers the profound effect it had on him - for it told merely one story, yet he couldn't help but also think that one day of his experience in Auschwitz would make her story sound mild. Yet he was encouraged not to speak of it. However, of course, as he matured he did speak, write and remember his experiences and those he lost. He implored all of us not to just teach about numbers and dates and locations of the Holocaust, but to take one individual and make that person's life come alive for our students - as Anne Frank did for him.
We saw a short film, showing plans for a future addition to Yad Vashem - a children's museum where children of various ages will learn about the Holocaust with age appropriate activiites.
We also learned about the ongoing work of Yad Vashem and how an elderly Israeli woman came to search for her family's name and shtetl. To her surprise she learned that her parents as well as 2 siblings had survived the Shoah and were living in the States. Unfortunately only her brother was now living and we saw the two of them reunited at Ben Gurion airport - after 63 years!
The highlight of the evening came when Dudu Fisher took the stage. He shared with us that he too, is the son of a survivor. His father was hidden, for 18 months, by a Polish family. To celebrate his father's recent 80th birthday, he flew to Israel the son of this Polish family - who saved his father. He went on to say that 2 years ago, during the height of the last Lebanese War, he begged his parents to leave their home in Northern Israel and come to his home in central Israel. Dudu's father responded that the Nazis made him leave his home once - and he will never do this again. . .
Fisher's songs were a mixture of happiness and tears. I can't remember ever sitting on a Jerusalem hill, singing "Lach Yirushalayim" with such a strong voice leading us. He also sang from Les Miserables, "Bring Them Home," and dedicated this to all soldiers waiting to come home. . .the 3 missing Israeli soldiers were on all our minds. He sang a new song he just received called, "What Will Happen To The Memories When The Last Survivor Fades Away. . ." And not to think that it was all teary, he reprised his Broadway Tevye role and sang various songs from Fiddler on The Roof and finally concluded with "My Yiddeshe Mama," dedicating this to all mothers everywhere. Then all 700 of us walked through the dark night back to the buses at the entrance, feeling energized by all of this.
Tomorrow I will spend more time with our Aunt Dvorah as she prepares to visit the United States and visit the son of the man who saved her life and her parents and siblings 64 years ago in Vienna - Hirham Bingham. His story is not yet well known enough, however his son, Robert has recently published an important book about his father's heroic acts - and on the cover of this book are the photos of Aunt Dvorah and her siblings. To learn more about him go to http://pages.cthome.net/WWIIHERO/ Aunt Dvorah's asked me, "what do I say to Robert when I meet him?" What DOES one say to the son of the man who saved her life?
However lest you think that all we've done on our summer vacation is to cry and feel sad, we've had a wonderful time of learning as well as reconnecting with old friends, hearing Shlomo Gronich in concert (!), eating incredible meals and of course, helping the economy through my personal commitment of "Zionism Through Shopping"! And of course the highlight for us will be this Thursday morning, when we greet our daughter, Elana, at Ben Gurion Airport, as she arrives on her Aliyah flight with 250 other American olim. You can watch the welcoming ceremony with a new technological wonder:
LIVE ALIYAH WEBCAST: Watch your loved ones arrive in Israel and be greeted at an emotional Welcoming Ceremony! Live from Israel…Nefesh B'Nefesh introduces our new worldwide arrival ceremony webcast. Simply log on to watch your friends and family land in Israel as new Olim, and view the festive Welcoming Ceremony where we celebrate their Aliyah together with hundreds of flag-waving guests and dignitaries. Tune into www.nbn.org.il/2008arrival!
Elana's flight arrives, God willing, at 7am Thursday morning, Israel time. So if you're up late Wednesday night/Thursday early morning, log on and maybe you will see Elana and us!
B'shalom,
Melinda/Malka
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Just A Typical Jerusalem Night. . .
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Photo Of Our Group
Back Row left to right:Jason Chadler, Rabbi Kieffer, Melinda Kieffer, Steven Weiner, Jed Sanders, Debbie Stark, Rick Stark, Lisa Goldberg, Erin Goldberg, Stephanie Goldberg, Barry Goldberg
Front Row left to right:
Meredith Chandler, Ryan Weiner, Daniel Wolfe, Megan Weiner, Leslie Weiner, Brandon Wolfe, Robbie Goldberg, Stacy Wolfe, Marilyn Nachman, Larry Wolfe
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Message From Israel - June 19, 2008
Dear B'nai Aviv Family,
Our 21 group members arrived in Israel this morning and despite the jet-lag, we still managed to have a full day of touring in the Tel Aviv area. For almost the entire group of adults and all of the children - this is their first time in Israel - and already with just 12 hours of being here - they are all in love with this land!Once we arrived at our gorgeous Tel Aviv hotel, most of our group crossed the street and went for a dip into the Mediterranean Sea before we met for dinner. Together we watched the sun set over the Sea and talked about all that they are already feeling about being here. They want to tell you that they already feel at home and very safe and very welcome!This Shabbat we will be staying at Kibbutz Lavi in Northern Israel - the Kibbutz which made our Sanctuary seats! Saturday night our cousins will be hosting our group at their nearby home on a Moshav and hearing from them and their children about their daily lives - which they view as holy and sacred.Sunday we will have jeep rides on the Golan Heights, Monday we arrive in Jerusalem and later in the week experience camel riding in the Judean Desert with our dinner in a tent that belongs to Abraham and Sarah!We are looking forward to the Service for our 4 B'nai Mitzvah, which we will celebrate next Thursday at the Kotel, the Western Wall! And we still will have many more tours and experiences before our trip concludes on Saturday night, June 28th!I am sending warm wishes of Shalom to you from our group
-The Chandlers, Goldbergs, Sanders, Starks, Weiners, Wolfes and us!
Monday, October 8, 2007
Should Jewish Children Celebrate Halloween?
Halloween, or All Hallows Eve, is the name given to October 31st or All Saints Day. It long antedates Christianity. The two chief characteristics of ancient Halloween were the lighting of bonfires and the belief that this is the one night of the year during which ghosts and witches are most likely to wander about.
The name Halloween means HALLOWED or HOLY EVENING, because it takes place on the day before All Saints Day. In the 700’s, the Roman Catholic Church named November 1st as All Saints Day. The old pagan customs and the Christian feast day were combined into the Halloween festival.
All Saints Day is a holy day observed by many Christians on November 1st. It honors all Christian saints, especially those who do not have days named for them. Gradually, the feast was extended to commemorate all saints, in addition to those who had given their lives for their faith. In the Roman Catholic Church, All Saints Day is a holy day of obligation, when Catholics are required to attend Mass and to refrain from unnecessary servile work. Halloween takes its name from All Saints Day because October 31st was called All Hallows Eve, “Eve of all the Holy Ones’ Day.”
One could certainly argue that this background information is irrelevant since the ancient pagan atmosphere has long been replaced by the contemporary practice of “trick or treating” which is simply fun for all children regardless of religious heritage. On the other hand, it is accurate to say that those Jewish families who avoid Halloween do so precisely because of the religious associations outlined above. It is for this reason that regardless of the choices made by any individual family, it would be inappropriate for any Halloween observance to take place within the synagogue.
On one fact all parties can agree – PURIM is the day on which Jews wear costumes, masks and enjoy merry-making in the synagogue! Although there are some synagogues who tell their congregants that it is forbidden to celebrate Halloween, I am not prepared to make such a blanket statement. Nevertheless, there are some families who genuinely want to know why Halloween is an issue at all for Jews. It is in that spirit that this information is being shared with you. I hope you find it helpful.
Shalom,
Rabbi Samuel S. Kieffer
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Letter From Melinda
Dear Family & Friends,
I'm writing this now in an Internet Cafe at the Central Bus Station in Jerusalem. I just took the 2 hour bus tour of Jerusalem - something I've wanted to do for years - just to see if I would see something new that I haven't seen in the more than 20 times I've been here - and YES - I saw 3 new areas I've never been to and now will return another time to see it up close.
I'm writing this alone, even though I have my husband's input. He just hasn't had time with all of his classes and "homework" from the Hartman Institute, where he is 5 days a week from 8:30 am till usually 6:30pm - and loving every minute of these stimulating and intellectually probing classes. He has studied with world-class Bible, Talmud & Midrash teachers - and I have attended some of the classes with him. There are about 130 Rabbis there - mostly American with some from South America and France - Reform, Conservative, Orthodox - all sitting together, learning together - sometimes in Chevruta/partner learning style, sometimes in a classroom format/sometimes in a lecture hall. This realized dream of Rabbi David Hartman, originally from the USA, was to create an Institute where learned Jews would come together just for this exact purpose - and to see it is wonderful - it's one of the few places in the world where this happens! Plus we have re-connected with many Rabbis & spouses who we know from before our Seminary days - and that's been an added bonus. He is loving every morsel of Torah that he is learning during these two vacation weeks.
I have already begun work on my Chagall Window Curriculum project, having been treated like a "V.I.P." when I arrived at Hadassah Hospital to learn more about these beautiful windows. In addition to meeting someone who worked with Chagall when the windows were first installed in the 1950's (she gave me so many incredible tidbits of information and human interest about Chagall), I was given access to a large amount of information about each of the windows, Chagall's interpretation, and the purpose and meaning of each window. My Hadassah liason then insisted on taking me into the new Trauma Center (which thankfully was totally empty) and then into the extremely large and busy Emergency Center (which makes E.R. look like kindergarten!). While I was sitting in the Synagogue, viewing the windows, a group of Senate & Congressional aides came in, sponsored by AICPAC. Apparently they were on a pre-mission to set up a Fall Mission for their "bosses." The majority of them were not Jewish and it was extremely interesting to watch their reactions to the Windows, and then they also went into the Trauma Center & Emergency Center. I could see the shock on some of their faces, as they saw Arabs and Jews being treated and examined, side by side. THIS RARElY MAKES THE NEWS!
Meanwhile we've celebrated the birth ofour newest Israeli Kieffer - baby Tamar born last week-which makes the total count of our Israeli family to be 32 - think - I might not have counted everyone! But it's also incredible to know that Tamar's great-grandmother, our Aunt Devorah (who spent Shabbat with us last year at Bnai Aviv) is an Holocaust Survivor. . .think what the potential could have been for the 6 million who did not survive. . .
We've spent last Shabbat with Glen & Lisa Ladau & their children at their beautiful shul, Moreshet Avraham in the Talpiot neighborhood of Jerusalem. We were given such a warm welcome from the shul members and even there we saw old friends and familiar faces from even our high school years! Barry & Sharon Schechter and their sons are staying with the Ladaus and we all had a wonderful Shabbat Lunch at the Ladau's beautiful and spacious home. (Is it a surprise to anyone that Lisa had an endless amount of delicious food??) Glen & Lisa and their girls are in the Czech Republic with Shane playing on the Israeli Team for the Internanational Little League Tournament! And Tyler (14 years old) is in Italy now playing on the Israel Team for his age group! What an experience for this new immigrant family! They will all return here next week.
I am filled with pride as each day we read about the Sudanese from Darfur literally walking across Egypt to get to Israel! There are already a few hundred here, living in Beer Sheva. No one else is willing to take them in! And why Israel does - even though these people are mostly Moslem! What a country!
I have continued my volunteer work with Friends For Israel and have also connected with another important organization called,
Yashar L'Chayal - which means "Straight To The Soldier." This organization literally fills wish lists for soldiers - of supplies, clothing, visits, etc. The times I've been with these soldiers has filled me with pride - and especially knowing that they are younger than my own children!
Tomorrow we will see Sue & Gavin Susman and their children who are here visiting with their family and making plans for Ariel's Bat Mitzvah here next summer!
Yesterday I went to the Biblical Zoo - an amazing place of animals and plants - all mentioned in the Torah!
We leave Israel this Saturday night, after Shabbat, and we are already wondering when we will return here next - either with a shul group or on our own. Israel continues to spiritually fill us up, inspire us and recharge our emotional and Jewish batteries!
We know that the Manellas, Weiss', Rosens, Schechters, Cohens and Kesslers will agree with all of the above. And I know that all of them are making plans for when they will return here too!
Both my husband I wish all of you a wonderful summer!
Love from Jerusalem!
Melinda & Rabbi
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Message from the Kieffers
Dear Friends,
Some of you know that a few months ago we had planned to leave Israel at the end of June and instead of staying for our two week study/vacation period - go to London and then Liverpool where Melinda could finally realize her dream of going to the "birthplace" of The Beatles (payback for when she had to go to Graceland with me!).
Well. . .we had changed our minds just before leaving for Israel and decided to rent an apartment here for two weeks and remain for study and relaxation and spending time with relatives & friends.
Our original plan would have had us land in London YESTERDAY - stay there a few days and then fly to Liverpool!!!
And now what we are constantly seeing on European CNN is "how dangerous it is to be in London - or anywhere in Great Britain right now!" Their terror level is now at "critical." What a change - not seeing Israel typecast as a "dangerous place to be!"
And just to let you know - we moved into our 2 bedroom apartment yesterday and spent the evening at Glen & Lisa Ladau's beautiful home, had a bar-b-que there to celebrate the live broadcast of the Israel Professional Baseball Game (Bet Shemesh vs Tel Aviv!).
Today Rabbi began his two week seminar at the Shalom Hartman Institute with 200 Rabbis from all the various movements. Melinda traveled (alone) up to Nesher, near Haifa, where she's been invited to have our Religious School participate in a special "Partnership 2000" program sponsored by our Broward Federation. Tonight after the evening lecture at Hartman's we strolled the beautiful Jerusalem neighborhood of Emek Refaim, had a light dinner and then finally returned to our apartment close to midnight.
Tomorrow Rabbi returns for a full day of study from morning till late evening at Hartman's while Melinda begins her "Chagall Window" project at Hadassah Hospital.
And so it goes - in "quiet" Israel!!!
B'shalom,
Rabbi Sam & Melinda
Sunday, July 1, 2007
2nd Letter From Israel
With just a few hours before Shabbat begins in Jerusalem, we wanted to share with you the unusual experience we've had today. We have been extremely fortunate that our tour guide, Lior Zagury, (who we have worked with for the last 6 years) is also the Founder and Executive Director of "Friends for Israel" - http://www.friends-for-israel.org Lior began this organization last summer during the War with Lebanon, supplying emotional support as well as actual supplies for the thousands of people who were confined to bomb shelters for 34 days in the northern border towns of Israel. You probably remember that Rabbi Sam along with David Kessler, Barry Schechter,
Michael Nyman, Karen & Ed Henry went to Israel just as the war ended to be of assistance to Lior in distributing donations as well as being a physical presence to many who felt scared and alone.
Two weeks ago our first B'nai Aviv group visited a special needs pre-school in Nahariya that was severly damaged last summer. At that time the group left a large amount of tzedakah donations so that the pre-school could be restored and that many of their supplies, toys and other equipment could be replaced. Two weeks ago Ross, Susan, David & Morgan Manella, David, Sheryl, Amanda, Adam & Alex Weiss, Wayne & Bonnie Rosen and us went to this very pre-school, played with this special kids and heard about what has happened there over the last year. We know that these B'nai Aviv families are forever changed because of this particular visit. Of the many wonderful and fun experiences we had, we know that they will never forget this particular day.
And now our 2nd shul group agreed to give up their last day of touring and shopping to instead spend most of today at a make-shift village called "Nitzaneet." This grouping of trailers, mobile homes and cargo containers is the place that 100 families have lived for the last two years, since they were forced to abandon their beautiful homes in Gaza, their section was called "Nitzaneem." They are a little over a an hour from Jerusalem, between Ashdod & Ashkelon. Through donations that have been made to the Rabbi's Discretionary Fund, we were able to provide their small community center with arts & crafts supplies, some furniture, toys & puzzles - and most of all paint for a sorely needed makeover.
We arrived there around 9:30am and their Mayor as well as many of the community leaders and children greeted us with a large presentation of fruit, cake, cheeses, drinks, etc. None of us wanted to take their food yet they told us that by sharing their food it was helping them to feel normal, like a "balabusta" or hostess as one of them told us. They played a DVD for us that they had made of their Gaza homes before and during the Disengagement - and it was too hard for most of them to watch as they saw their beautiful homes now gone. Many of them walked away as we continued to watch. Once it ended one of the women, described why they moved to Nitzaneem, most of them at least 20 years ago, as a matter of ideology as well as the wonderful atmosphere of living along the Mediterranean Sea. At the time they moved there, most of them had good relations with the neighboring Arabs in Gaza. They told us that it all began to seriously change about 9 years ago.
We listened to their frustration, being out of work, having little or no money, since they could not sell their homes and have only been given a small compensation from the government. They are hoping to be moved to better housing soon - they were promised that it was to have already happened. In the meantime, they live in substandard housing, in close quarters - extremely different from the large homes and beautiful gardens they had in Gaza.
Our task was to spend the time painting the children's playroom of their community center, put together the children's furniture and play with some of the new games and toys that were purchased with our funds. One of the women took our group to see the reality of her incredibly small home and the difficult conditions she lives with.
While our group continued with their projects in Nitzaneet, Lior and the two of us went by taxi to Sderot, about 20 minutes away, where we picking up 100 shwarma sandwiches and drinks for the 100 young soldiers nearby on their base along the border with Gaza. Sderot has been hit by 1800 Kassam missles in just the last year alone - and this has been going on for 7 years! Lior told us that people are suffering from depression and post traumatic stress from these constant missle attacks. Six weeks ago Lior was in Sderot when a missle hit, about 100 feet from where he was standing. At that time 2 people were killed and 90 were wounded. . . but we had decided that if these people could continue to live somewhat normal lives, we could spend about an hour there. Lior showed us various areas where missles hit homes and stores, and we went inside the home of "Daveed & Shula" who were trying their best to patch up large holes where a missle narrowly missed Daveed and his son a few weeks ago. Their kids are now sleeping in their bomb shelter, but there isn't room for all of them - so Shula and Daveed sleep on mattresses in a windowless corner of their living room. Their home is gorgeous and large, with marble floors and 3 stories. Their home and their neighbors rival the homes in Weston - but now they are pratically worthless - they can't sell them and without selling them they have no money to move anywhere else. Plus they also feel that if they abandon Sderot, they are giving the Palestinians
We purposely bought the food there so as to help their town's economy (and I even managed to run into a jewelry store and quickly purchase an unusual Magen David which I immediately wore!).
Our main reason for going to the Gaza Army Base was to visit Yoni Rubin, an officer there who originally is from Hollywood, Florida and attended Hillel Day School with our daughter, Elana. He's also been on The March Of The Living with us and we've known his mother, Susan, for quite some time (she lives in Boca). Our first group met Yoni 3 weeks ago when he had the Shabbat off and joined us at our Jerusalem hotel for Shabbat Dinner and shared some of his experiences with them. At that time he invited the two of us to visit him on his base, feeling the Base Commander would allow it for us if it was "quiet." During this past week, if you're aware of the news, there has been a lot of "activity" in Gaza, and so our trip was on again and off again many times. Late last night Yoni called to say that it would be ok for us to visit.
I can't really describe the faces of these young soldiers as we pulled up with all the shwarmas & drinks in the taxi's trunk! Yoni clearly became an immediate hero in their eyes! But these soldiers were shy about taking the food, wanting to make sure that we had for ourselves. . .they gave us a very quick tour of their base, saw some of their equipment and got a quick briefing of what their days are like.
Then we quickly took pictures, kissed and hugged them and they presented us with two flags which represent their Givati Brigade - to bring back to B'nai Aviv.
On our way back to Nitzaneem we got the news that 15 minutes after we left, a Kassam missle fell in Sderot, falling in an open field. . . near where we had just driven. . .
We returned to Nitzaneet to find our group so proud of what they accomplished by the painting, building, playing and just spending time with these proud fellow Jews.
If you would like to be part of the important work of "Friends for Israel," feel free to send any amount of donation to the "Rabbi's Discretionary Fund" and mail it to Rabbi Sam Kieffer at B'nai Aviv, 1410 Indian Trace, Weston, Florida 33326. Lior has asked me to join his International Board of Advisors, in the capacity of Director of Educational Projects (a volunteer position). With the help of these two groups of B'nai Aviv families, we will create Bar/Bat Mitzvah Tzedakah Projects as well as develop other programs and projects to continue to support the important work of Friends for Israel.
Best wishes to all of you for a peaceful Shabbat Shalom!
Melinda & Rabbi Sam Kieffer