Everybody wants spirituality. To be a good person means to walk in G-d's ways. How does that translate to reality? The only guidebook to spirituality that has stood the test of time is the Hebrew Bible. The Bible says that the Jews will be a light onto the nations. But if you are not a born Jew, you have to convert, which is not so easy!! If you do convert, it is a lot of work to be a Jew (three times a day prayer, keeping kosher, observing the Sabbath).
This blog will show you how to be Jewish without the work!!
Saturday, March 13, 2021
Here's When the Latest Round of Relief Checks Will Start Hitting Americans' Bank Accounts and The Origins Of The Purim Adloyada By Saul Jay Singer and winter creativity and Israel State Flower and German Psychiatrists Raise Alarm on Lockdown Impact on Children’s Mental Health and Fauci: ‘Could Be Close’ to Normal by the End of the Year and Take any vaccine Available! and latest Israel Stats on the Virus and Also tomorrow a walking tour of the Old City with Shalom Pollock
Yehuda Lave is an author, journalist, psychologist, rabbi, spiritual teacher, and coach, with degrees in business, psychology and Jewish Law. He works with people from all walks of life and helps them in their search for greater happiness, meaning, business advice on saving money, and spiritual engagement.
A wonderful walking tour with Shalom Pollack tomorrow the Ides of March (15th)
Jaffa Gate 10:00 Finish, approx 4:00 120 shekels After learning interesting things about the Jaffa Gate area, we will walk to Mount Zion. There, we will visit the wonderfully refurbished Tomb of David and other sites in the vicinity. We will have an unusual opportunity to meet with an Armenian resident of the Armenian Quarter. We will learn about this ancient and unique community that has found refuge in our midst. We continue to the City of David where we shall visit the newest excavations and revelations in what are the very roots of historic Yerushalayim and the seat of the Jewish Monarchy. After learning about the wonders of the past and witnessing the Tanach unfold before us, we shall enter a "time machine" that will take us to the year 2021 and have the honor of meeting Jewish pioneers in their homes where David once lived They are returning the Jewish people to the seat of the Jewish kingdom for own "third Jewish Commonwealth". These pioneers are blazing the way for Am Yisrael back to our earliest roots, despite the enormous difficulties and challenges that they overcome. This is a classic day of the "past, present, and future" of Am Yisroel in Yerushalayim. Not to be missed! What a country!!
The Three Musketeers at the Kotel
Here's When the Latest Round of Relief Checks Will Start Hitting Americans' Bank Accounts
President Joe Biden has signed the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package after it cleared the Democrat-majority House on Wednesday, and direct relief payments will start going out to Americans in the coming days and weeks.
The partisan bill contains bailouts for Democrat-run states and at one point came close to raising the national minimum wage to $15 an hour. Democrats put their differences aside and passed the bill and Biden signed it Thursday afternoon at the White House.
"This historic legislation is about rebuilding the backbone of this country," Biden said before signing it. "And giving people in this nation, working people and middle-class folks, the people who built this country, a fighting chance."
But the bill is now law and will offer millions of Americans a third round of direct payments.
Those payments fell short of the $2,000 checks that Biden and Democrats promised prior to the election. Payments for qualified individuals will be $1,400 per adult and $1,400 per child in homes with up to two children.
For example, a qualified family with at least two children will receive up to $5,600.
Individuals who make $80,000 or more annually do not qualify for this round of direct payments, nor do heads of households who make $120,000 per year.
Married couples who collectively earn $160,000 or more a year will also not receive a payment when checks start going out, CNN reported.
The IRS will determine eligibility based on an individual or family's adjusted gross income from their most recent filing recent tax filing, which would be 2019 for some Americans while the agency will use 2020 documents for others.
For those who do qualify, the White House said Thursday that some Americans might start receiving their checks immediately while others will receive them in the coming days and weeks.
"People can expect to start seeing direct deposits hit their bank accounts as early as this weekend," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday, Fortune reported.
This is, of course, just the first wave." Psaki continued, adding that "payments to eligible Americans will continue throughout the course of the next several weeks."
Electronic payments will begin going out right away while paper checks should take several more weeks to be delivered to mailboxes.
German Psychiatrists Raise Alarm on Lockdown Impact on Children's Mental Health
(AP) – Pollina Dinner returned to school in Berlin for the first time this week after two months of lockdown. The 9-year-old third-grader was thrilled to see her classmates and teachers again but frets about the coronavirus pandemic's effect on her life.
"I'm not afraid of the coronavirus, I'm afraid that everything will continue like this – that my school will close again, I won't be able to see my friends, and that I can't go to the movies with my family," the girl said, fingering her blue medical mask and sighing deeply. "And wearing this mask is even worse than all the shops being closed."
Psychiatrists, psychologists and pediatricians in Germany have voiced growing alarm that school closings, social restrictions and other precautions are magnifying the fear, disruption and stress of the pandemic among Germany´s 13.7 million children and teenagers, raising the prospect of a future mental health crisis.
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"We don´t have any long-term studies yet, but there´s lots of anecdotal evidence of a crisis-driven rise in hospitalizations and overflowing psychologists´ practices," Julia Asbrand, a professor of child and youth psychology at Berlin´s Humboldt University, told The Associated Press.
A recent survey by the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf found that about one child in three is suffering from pandemic-related anxiety or depression or is exhibiting psychosomatic symptoms like headaches or stomach aches. Children from poorer and immigrant families are disproportionally affected, according to the survey.
Pollina, who immigrated from Russia with her family in 2019, worries about forgetting much of her German since she only speaks Russian at home. She's one of 150 youngsters from underprivileged families who, before the pandemic. regularly spent time after school at a youth support program on the eastern outskirts of the German capital.
Arche – Ark in English – is based in Berlin's Hellersdorf district, a neighborhood of drab concrete buildings constructed during the former Communist regime of East Germany. Some children are still allowed to come in person, but only once every two weeks. The rest of the time, the social workers and educators try to stay in touch through video chats while helping their young clients with remote learning.
"Many have completely withdrawn and don´t want to get out of their rooms anymore. They´ve gained a lot of weight, are playing online games nonstop and don´t have any more structure in their everyday lives," Arche founder Bernd Siggelkow said.
The second major lockdown in Germany started before Christmas. Students in grades 1-3 were allowed to return to classrooms this week with reduced class sizes and limited lessons. The government hopes to ease further restrictions in coming weeks and has said that the re-opening of all schools is a top priority.
However, there's concern the country is slipping into a third wave of infections due to more contagious variants of the virus. Virologists have repeatedly said it is still unclear to what extent the virus spreads from children attending school into homes and communities. More than 2 million people have contracted the virus in Germany and almost 70,000 have died of COVID-19, although only 10 under the age of 20, according to the country's disease control center.
Even though children are not at as much risk of severe COVID-19 complications as older adults, they may be more vulnerable to the collateral mental health effects of the pandemic, according to experts.
An analysis by German health insurer DAK regarding youth psychological issues confirms the first-person observations of the staff at Arche.
The evaluation, which was obtained by German news agency dpa, showed that the number of children and teenagers hospitalized for psychiatric treatment in Berlin almost doubled during the first half of 2020, when schools were closed for over two months during the country's first lockdown, compared with first six months of 2019.
The statistic underscores the psychological strain the pandemic is putting on young people but does not illustrate the scope of the problem, Christoph Correll, the director of child and youth psychiatry at Berlin´s Charite hospital, told dpa.
"Hospitalizations are the tip of the iceberg," he said.
Teenagers, especially girls, are more prone to eating disorders and self-harming, and many children's psychological problems are going undetected while parents are overwhelmed and teachers, social workers and pediatricians don´t have regular contact with students, clients and patients, experts warn.
Psychology professor Asbrand worries that the mental health of children and teenagers has not gotten enough attention during the pandemic. Together with other professionals in the field, she wrote an open letter to the government this month to push for youth needs to get better addressed in the ongoing health crisis and prioritized when society reopens.
An immediate action government authorities could take to help mitigate possible problems would be to allow groups to gather for school and youth sports, in line with hygiene and distancing precautions.
"We all don't know yet how this is going to develop long-term, but we must focus on youth mental health now," she said.
While attending Arche this week for help with homework assigned online, 16-year-old Robin Reyer said not being able to hang out with friends has been one of the hardest parts of the pandemic restrictions.
"I want to celebrate birthdays again, go out and play soccer with my friends in the park or meet them at Burger King," he said while taking a break outside in the spring sun.
"Now, I'm only allowed to meet one friend at most," he said. "That really sucks."
WINTER CREATIVITY
Serious COVID caseload lowest in months; over 4 million get 2nd vaccine dose
Most new virus cases are under 19 years old; total hospitalizations drop below 1,000 as officials say situation in Israel 'most hopeful' since pandemic began
By TOI STAFF
Israel's serious COVID-19 cases dropped Friday to the lowest tally since December, as the country's vaccination campaign kept striding forward, with more than 4 million citizens receiving both doses.
Health officials have expressed optimism that Israel is turning the corner on the coronavirus pandemic, with officials quoted Thursday by Channel 13 news as saying the situation was "the most hopeful it's been since the beginning of the pandemic" last year. The officials said that if the positive trajectory continues, Israelis will be able to celebrate Passover without limitations at the end of March.
Health Ministry data published Friday morning showed that 2,509 new cases were confirmed the previous day. The Ynet news site said more than half of them were under 19 years old, an age group in which serious cases are rare. The rate of positive tests stood at 3.1 percent, continuing the trend of low positivity.
Since the start of the pandemic, 815,562 Israelis have been confirmed to have the coronavirus. They include 35,576 active cases, of whom 613 are in serious condition — the lowest figure recorded since December 26. They also include 254 patients regarded as critical.
The total number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients dropped below 1,000 to 997.
The death toll was nearing the 6,000 mark and reached 5,975. The data showed 196 people died in the first 11 days of March. More than 1,400 died in January, with the rate appearing to slow down almost threefold.
The virus's basic reproduction number, which represents the average number of people each carrier infects, dropped further to 0.83. A transmission rate below 1 means the outbreak is abating.
All the figures represent a dramatic improvement over the past two months, credited chiefly to the successful vaccination campaign. The success comes despite the more infectious new mutated coronavirus strains proliferating and despite the gradual lifting of virus restrictions.
The Health Ministry said 5,110,698 people have received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. The number of people who also received the second shot passed 4 million and stood at 4,068,374.
According to Ynet, around 1,140,000 Israelis remain who are eligible to get vaccinated and haven't yet received the first dose of the inoculation.
The vaccination rates are relatively lower among the ultra-Orthodox population — where 80% of those aged 60 and up are either inoculated or recovered from the disease — and in the Arab community (81%). The figure among those who aren't Haredi or Arab is 97%.
Fauci: 'Could Be Close' to Normal by the End of the Year
During a virtual town hall on MSNBC on Friday, White House Chief Medical Adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci stated that "by the time we get to the fall and the winter we may not be back 100% to where we were before this started," but we "could be close to that by the end of this coming year."
Fauci said, "Well, it's difficult to predict. But if we keep going in the direction we're going now, with the infection rate going down precipitously and more and more people getting vaccinated, I think by the time we get to the fall and the winter we may not be back 100% to where we were before this started, but I think we could be close to that by the end of this coming year. But it's not going to be next month or the month after. That's for sure. We have to be patient. It's going to get better and better. We also, quite frankly, have to keep our eye out on these variants, namely the mutations that have occurred that make the virus a little bit different. The best way to protect yourself against that is, one, do the kind of public health measures we talk about all the time, wearing a mask, physical distancing, and avoiding congregate settings. And two, when the vaccine becomes available, please get vaccinated. The more people that get vaccinated, the better off we'll be, and the quicker we'll get back to that normality that you're talking about."
Fauci urges Americans to take any vaccine available to them when eligible
Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday that this weekend's emergency approval of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine now gives the nation three "highly efficacious vaccines" on the market that provide significant protection from Covid-19, and urged Americans to take whichever is available to them when they become eligible.
In an interview with "Meet the Press," Fauci said that he would take any of the three approved vaccines — from Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson — because all provide strong protection from severe disease related to the coronavirus. As director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Fauci was vaccinated late last year amid an early push to inspire confidence in the vaccine rollout.
"All three of them are really quite good, and people should take the one that's most available to them," he said. "If you go to a place and you have J&J, and that's the one that's available now, I would take it. I personally would do the same thing. I think people need to get vaccinated as quickly and as expeditiously as possible."
The Food and Drug Administration approved the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on an emergency basis on Saturday, a day after its advisory panel recommended that approval. The company expects to have 20 million doses available by March. [NBCNEWS]
The Purim "Adloyada" – which dates back to the early days of Tel Aviv – was first proposed in 1912 and went on to quickly become the largest public event in Eretz Yisrael and the destination of a significant annual pilgrimage. It also played a leading role in creating an original and authentic local Hebrew identity, furthering the ideological nationalism of the nascent Zionist movement, and positioning Tel Aviv as the symbolic center of the Yishuv.
In 1932, when a committee convened to select a name for the celebration, some 253 submissions were tendered, including suggestions from some of the leading personalities of Eretz Yisrael at the time. Some examples include a proposal by Chaim Nachman Bialik to call it "Pura," a bid by Hebrew poet Saul Tchernichovsky to name it "Astoret," and a suggestion by Israeli poet and editor Avraham Shlonsky to call it "Tzahalula."
The name Adloyada, which was proposed by writer Isaac Dov Berkowitz and ultimately accepted by the committee, comes from the Talmud, which states that one should revel on Purim by drinking until "it is impossible to know (ad delo yada) the difference between 'blessed be Mordechai' and 'cursed be Haman.'" However, leading halachic authorities do not interpret this directive to mean actually getting intoxicated, which is always unbecoming for a Jew, if not an actual transgression.
The first costume parade was conceived by Abraham Aldema (originally Eisenstein), an artist who taught drawing at the Tel Aviv gymnasium and who had made aliyah from Ukraine (1906) to Eretz Yisrael, where he helped found the "Lovers of the Hebrew Stage" theater.
The first Adloyada was held in Tel Aviv on Purim 1912, three years after the founding of the city. The beautiful parade, which became an annual tradition, featured giant puppets, a children's orchestra, and hundreds of children dressed in colorful Purim costumes. Aldema writes in his diary:
In 1912, I organized by myself the first Purim Parade. At first we called it simply a procession. I arranged all the Herzliya students in columns of three, and at the head of the parade there was a student dressed as Mordechai riding a white horse. Another student who was dressed as Haman led the horse by its halter. There were also other characters: Esther dressed in luxurious clothes, the fat Ahasuerus, and other figures from the Book of Esther, all dressed in the appropriate traditional Purim costumes.
Since all of Tel Aviv at that time was little more than just one street, determining the procession route was not very difficult. Therefore, we began to march from the Gymnasia along Herzl Street until its end (about near the loan and savings bank, a distance of only about 350 meters). We walked and sang the whole way, with the residents of Tel Aviv, then no more than just a neighborhood, applauding us. We walked the entire length of Herzl St and then back to the Gymnasia. When we returned, [Tel Aviv mayor] Dizengoff approached me, patted me on the shoulder and said: Aldema, you did a great thing; I want you to conduct processions like that every year.
Copy of 1955 poster for reinstated Adloyada.
The length of the first parade route was only about 1,200 feet. In subsequent years, it had to be extended because the municipality significantly expanded northward and the route had to accommodate many more tens of thousands of observers and participants. As such, the route was lengthened and soon moved to Allenby Street and later to Ibn Gvirol in 1955.
Lamenting the lack of any overarching theme in the Adloyadas, Dizengoff wrote to various artists:
This [Purim] carnival attracts large numbers of people but, to our regret, we must admit that last year it had no content, neither historic nor artistic. I would be very glad if you would agree to introduce a theme into the carnival, something that would satisfy every requirement, insofar as art, beauty, and history are concerned. It would be a good idea, for example, if we could arrange parades based upon the Holy Scriptures, the Bible and Jewish history in general…
As a result, the Adloyadas thereafter featured specific themes including, for example, "10 years of the National Home" (1928) and "the tribes of Israel" (1934). In 1929, the theme was "revival of the language, the revival of the people," as the Gud Meginei Hasafa (the "battalion for the defense of the language") featured a "Tower of Babel," a tower on top of a horse-drawn cart.
The 1923 Adloyada parade began with the reading of Megillat Esther in the Great Synagogue on Allenby Street. Athletes walked along the streets and announced, to the blare of trumpets and the roar of multitudes, the parade of "Queen Esther," who arrived wearing royal garb and her crown at City Hall, where the mayor escorted her to the balcony overlooking the square and proclaimed her queen of the city.
The next day, Mayor Dizengoff, decked out in top hat and cane, led the parade on horseback accompanied by mounted attendants followed by "Queen Esther" in a lavishly decorated "royal carriage." Following behind were other characters from the Megillah, figures representing the tribes of Israel, and wagons carrying and toting assorted floats.
The Adloyada, which generally focused on Mordechai and Queen Esther, rarely featured Haman until the rise of Hitler, who became a contemporary metaphor for Haman. Thus, the 1933 Adloyada featured a puppet of Hitler on horseback wearing a sign urging all to "kill the Jews." The dummy drew a protest from the German Consul in Jerusalem, who sent a strong letter of complaint to Mayor Dizengoff, but the mayor stood firm and refused to apologize. Moreover, the Adloyada the following year pointedly stuck a finger in Germany's eye by featuring a huge doll with a three-headed dragon sporting a large swastika on its back.
The highlight of the 1935 Adloyada was a raucous "public trial" in which the "defendant" was a colossal puppet and a "panel of judges" consisting of Chaim Weizmann, Meir Dizengoff, Menachem Ussishkin, and Yehoshua Hankin "convicted" the monster of fraud, dissipation of public wealth, and undoing the important successes of the early Eretz Yisrael pioneers.
Dizengoff, determined to institute the parade as an annual event, promised the organizers that he would allocate specific funds to sponsor future Adloyadas. The festivities were held on every Purim until 1936, except for a few years during World War I and 1930, following the monstrous Arab riots and massacres in Chevron and across Eretz Yisrael the previous year.
The Adloyada came to an end in 1936 for three reasons: first, because a joyous public celebration was inappropriate in the face of the dire situation of German and Eastern European Jewry due to the looming Holocaust; second, because curfew and other restrictions imposed by the British mandatory authority precluded festivities; and, finally, because of financial difficulties and the death of Dizengoff, the Adloyada's greatest champion.
The Adloyadas were sponsored by the Jewish Workers' Fund of the Mapai (Labor) Party from 1921 to 1925; by the Jewish National Fund from 1925 to 1928; and thereafter by the Tel Aviv municipality until 1936 until, as discussed, budgetary challenges arose. The Tel Aviv Adloyada, which was joyously reinstated in 1955, featured some 300 floats. It continued until the 1970s, when it was moved to Holon until the early 1980s, when the tradition was revived in Tel Aviv. Today, the term "Adloyada" has come to broadly include any Purim parade held in Israel.
Dizengoff – who, in a delicious irony, was born on Shushan Purim – led the annual parades sitting proudly astride his beloved horse, Mehira (Hebrew for "swift"). In this historic February 18, 1931 correspondence on his Mayor of Tel-Aviv letterhead, he writes to the head of the Chadera Moshava:
Dizengoff letter re 1931 Adloyada.
The program for the Purim Chagiga [festivities] has allocated space for a parade of riders from all the Jewish Moshavot [colonies]. We hereby permit, because this is necessary to facilitate a beautiful scene, for a procession of young riders at the head of the community, and at their head – the well-known rider, Mr. Avraham Shapira from Petach Tikva.
Mr. A. Shapira kindly advised us of his consent to participate in this, together with the riders from Petach Tikvah. Rishon L'Tzion also has joined.
We hereby request that you decide on the participation of the youth of your Moshav, as they are included in the procession discussed above, and please give your decision to the letter bearer, Mr. Chaim Lebowitz.
Copy of photo of Dizengoff and Avraham Shapira astride their horses at the 1931 Adloyada.
One of Israel's most colorful early characters, Shapira (1870-1965) – better known as Zkan HaShomrim ("The Eldest of the Jewish Guards," the first self-defense force of the Yishuv) – was a legendary hero of the First Aliyah. In one famous incident, he led a successful defense of his settlement against an Arab attack when the colonists were on their way to synagogue for Friday evening Sabbath services (May 1921). Much admired by Chaim Weizmann, he came to symbolize the new generation growing up in a new homeland: fearless, proud, and independent.
The Adloyada and accompanying celebrations were often the subject of spoofs and beautiful poems. Shown here is a lovely example of the latter, a poem written by Tzvi Gordon from Rishon L'Tzion, Adar Bet, 1932. (As is the case with almost all Hebrew poetry, which manifests its own sublime character and splendor, much of this poem's beauty is lost in the translation):
Poor am I, a lowly beggar, out of luck, full of shame. The heck with it! Today is Purim, the holiday of the Adloyada!
On shirts and on every lapel, on every arm and bracelet, waves and adorns the Purim Adloyada…
A cup of wine, the Prince of Spirits, arise to lemonade! Hashem lives for me, hooray for the holiday, the "Baron" (also: "the joy of") Adloyada.
The fiction of the beauty of Italy, the futility of the Canadian landscape. It is the Garden of Eden to us: the Land of the Adloyada,
A pounding heart, desired by women, to children: chocolate! My eyes are greatly widened, by the enchanted Adloyada.
In the morning – I will voice a song, and in the evening – a serenade. To the humble and devout "alongside" the Adloyada.
In France, there is [name of opera?], in Japan – the Mikado. Dizengoff rules alone, the chief officer of the Adloyada.
All praise to the Committee that birthed this great wonder. Pleasant fruit that lasts forever the symbol of the Adloyada.
The armed forces of Betar are hemorrhaging, the contemptible Fishman Group. May it grow ever greater and become sanctified, the flag of the Adloyada!
Unlike carnivals in other countries, which were known for their licentiousness and violence, the Adloyadas were characterized by proper behavior. The municipalities in Eretz Yisrael published sets of Purim rules for proper conduct, including a ban on costumes offensive to the Jewish faith in general and the people of Eretz Yisrael in particular. Not surprisingly, however, there were always some participants who misbehaved, usually by getting drunk in public and creating a disturbance.
Circular attacking Adloyada parades as a desecration.
As such, not everybody embraced the Adloyadas, including particularly charedi leaders, who exaggerated the "lewd and drunken" misconduct of the few participants who acted contrary to the true spirit of the celebration. The circular exhibited here – of unknown authorship, but undoubtedly issued by the Neturei Karta and/or the Edah HaChareidis – uses very strong language in characterizing Purim Adloyada parades as wholly antithetical to Torah values:
WHAT DO THE HERETICAL ZIONISTS WANT FROM US?
Why has the Zionist municipal authority in the Old City of Jerusalem arranged a licentious parade with rattling din consistent with its horrific program (which the authority was not emboldened to do until now) to draw our sons and daughters to their folly, their lustful desires, and their abominations to turn the holy day of Purim in the Old City of Jerusalem and its streets into a day of licentiousness, vacuous lewdness, and depravity?
To dissipate the holiness of this holy day and to tolerate this also in the Old City of Jerusalem, G-d forbid, [and] to sate its licentiousness through wild and wanton arrogance, G-d forbid, which will induce the hearts of all youthful hearts, G-d forbid?
Our vigor has already burst from the terrifying and fearsome challenges to our Holy Torah that these heretical Zionists roll onto us every day, and there is no day where the corruption does not exceed the previous day, and we are dispirited and shattered…
Please lift our faces. To where can we flee? Where can we hide? Draped in grief, wearing sackcloth, we are hereby publicly coming out [in protest against] the uprooting of our Holy Torah and the annihilation of our Judaism.
[And also coming out against] the desecration of G-d's Name, and the desecration of the name of Israel, and the desecration of the holiness of Jerusalem, our Holy City.
And may Hashem the good be cognizant of our suffering and have compassion for us, and bring us from tragedy to comfort, from darkness to light, from enslavement to redemption, and may the month that was overturned for us from mourning to Yom Tov [i.e., the month of Adar] be for us a Yom Tov of delight and joy, and may we merit to the absolute redemption through the coming of our righteous Messiah, speedily and in our days, amen.
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