6th Grade at the Braun Religious School: 2022

Monday, December 19, 2022

Ma'alin Bakodesh-

Why it matters that you know how to participate in life cycle events.

https://www.facebook.com/mosbacherb/posts/pfbid0JkbLsNFG5b7PwnfCFY4f7Yr6cLeXPkB69VNDWSCBxW1tvBEGdhFmyuWKD71E6DY3l

Aaron Alexander

odeStrsnop3i2lh0fat4t84iufg8u359g4tch62573mh75a94t1fua37276h

Besides for the saving of a life/lives, perhaps the most critical Jewish obligation is called Meyt Mitzvah--burying a body/remains when there's nobody else to do the burial.  (Eruvin 17a-b, Megilla 3b, and more)

This obligation is hard for most (not all) moderns to fully comprehend, i.e., incidentally coming across a corpse which needs immediate attention, but no family or community or obviously responsible party is known, or available. It just isn't a typical experience for most of us.

Yesterday I participated in the burial of bones from the Holocaust Concentration Camp, Dachau--hidden safely away for years--unknown to those who held them. 

Just after WWII an American solider, Willard N. Maddux, found himself in possession of a few human bone fragments from Dachau. He sent them back to his family in America, likely not knowing what would be most appropriate & respectful. 

Recently his son-in-law, almost 70 years later, came across them wrapped carefully in an envelope while going through his long deceased father-in-law's belongings. This man (not Jewish) began thinking about how to proceed. He ended up asking a Jewish friend, a member of Adas, for help. This Adas family then asked if we could bury the bones somewhere in their plot at our Adas cemetery. 

Yesterday, Erev Hannukah, we had a "Meyt Mitzvah Funeral" for the souls who could have been those remains. Psalms, Torah, Eulogies, El Malei, shoveling earth, Kaddish, all of it. Both families present. Mr. Maddux's son-in-law, present, shared deeply emotional words of remorse on behalf of his German heritage. 

In fact, the youngest one there, 14 months, participated in shoveling some earth, 3 scoops, onto the bones. Hard to describe how powerful that was to witness, and how unimaginable the entire scenario is in the first place. 

I am awed by the holy souls out there who deeply care for the sanctity of our bodily vessels, divine images, to this extent. 

I am consistently overwhelmed by the love & kindness we so often receive from our neighbors, even as scary times persist. Thank you. We so often don’t get the privilege of doing mitzvot despite our surroundings, but rather, because of them. We can’t take that for granted even though it isn’t always “newsworthy”. 

This pre-Hannukah moment/mitzvah/miracle--just wow. Each light infinitely matters. We can't ever forget that. To then have a Hannukiah lit at the Vice President's residence by an inhabitant of that home just a few hours later...no words. 

Ma'alin B'Kodesh.

Saturday, December 17, 2022

Class notes for December 18

big band Maoz Tzur

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oAy72TjqI0

Bonus:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N20XTl0SO5E

If they can, why can't you?

https://youtu.be/lsY0qJduFN8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Beb8FsHBh-g

Roldain's 2022 collection:

https://www.roladin.co.il/%d7%9e%d7%aa%d7%97%d7%9d-%d7%94%d7%97%d7%92%d7%99%d7%9d/hanukkah-2022/

acapella Al Hanisim:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7MXDlPg_LI

וְעַל הַנִּסִּים וְעַל הַפֻּרְקָן וְעַל הַגְּבוּרוֹת

וְעַל הַתְּשׁוּעוֹת

וְעַל הַמִּלְחָמוֹת שֶׁעָשִׂיתָ לַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם בִּזְּמַן הַזֶּה...

Seluecid empire in 281 BCE

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/comm

The Rules of the Shva

In green because... they are in green.

1) There are two kinds of shva- :

a. Moving (na / נָע) or vocalized (it makes a sound), and

b. Resting (naḥ / נָח), or silent. The resting shva does not make a sound, but signals the consonant above is the end of a syllable, just like an apostrophe.

2) At the start of a word, the shva is always a na / נָע, a vocalized shva.

3) There will not be two shva next to each other in the start of a word (i.e. under letters #1 and #2), not ever. There will not be three shva in a row next to each other (unless you are looking at a transliteration from Arabic) .

4) At the end of the word, the shva is always a naḥ / נָח a resting shva.

5) When there are two shva next to each other (under two consecutive consonants), the first is resting and the second is vocalized as in יִשְׁפְּטוּ yish’petu and תִּשְׁמְעוּ tish’me-oo. Exception to the rule: at the end of the word, there can be two letters with a shva under them and both are resting, as with the wordנֵרְדְּ , neyrd, which means frankincense .

6) A shva under a letter with a dagesh (that dot in the middle of a Hebrew letter) is almost always a na / נָע.

7) A shva under the first of two identical letters is almost always a na / נָע, as in the word הַלְלוּיָהּ --ha-le-lu-yah.

8) A shva combined with another vowel is called a chataf. While the chataf segol remains an “eh” sound and the chataf patach remains an “ah” sound, the chataf kamatz is pronounced with an “oh” sound.

Of course, I am forgetting something as there are other rules and exceptions with the shva. They should only come up as your Hebrew reading, speaking and comprehension reach a more advanced level.

Question #1: When Judah and his remaining brothers finished dedicating the Temple, things were great except for one major problem. What was it?

A-- It was violent raids by Hellenized Jews who wanted Judah to lose to the Greeks. These were Jews who wanted the Torah to disappear so the Jews could be like everyone else. They hated hearing Greeks say “You are Jewish? Isn’t today that Yom Kippur? How come you are eating on a fast day?” In revenge, they began to use the same guerrilla tactics against the Maccabees that Judah had used. They ambushed the Maccabees’ caravans, set fire to Judah’s soldiers’ tents, and killed horses in the night. This was their revenge on the Maccabees for being unable to blend in perfectly with the Greek world. It took a year to stop all the raids.

B--It was the economy. After years of war, crops were neglected, shops were ruined, and the ports were empty. Local Idol worshippers stopped coming to Jerusalem, since with the destruction of the Altar to Zeus in the Temple, with its many layers of encrusted pig blood, guts and fat, they no longer felt wanted. Merchants no longer came to trade, and all the gold and silver had gone into the Temple instead of into coins for buying and selling. It took four years to fix the economy and get trade going.

C-- It was a giant fortress called the Acra. This massive fort, a castle inside a castle, was well stocked with food and weapons and was just outside of the Jerusalem walls. It was also filled with Hellenized Jews and Seleucid Greek soldiers who would shoot arrows or other weapons at anyone who got too close. It made travel to Jerusalem difficult. Every time Judah tried to lay siege to the thing and knock it down, he would have to leave to do battle elsewhere. It would be ten years before the Maccabees finally got inside and got rid of the threat it posed.

Question #2: What did Judah do that led to disaster 250 years later?

A-- He Offended the Romans. A famous gladiator named Pantheras wanted to face Judah Maccabee in a duel. Judah refused and had the man escorted to the borders of the Jewish country and told him never to return. But Pantheras had been honored with freedom by the Emperor of Rome directly, and so the refusal to duel was taken as an insult against the Roman Empire, one the empire never forgot. In time, Rome would destroy Jerusalem.

B-- Offended the Persians. An emissary from Persian Emperor Xerxes came and asked that Judah make an alliance. When the ambassador asked Judah to bow to a golden medallion with Xerxes’ face on it as a sign of good faith. Judah ripped off the medallion, smashed it to bits with the haft of his sword, swept it into a bag and gave the shattered parts back to the ambassador. The shattering of the Persian emperor’s image was taken as an insult against the Persian Empire, one the empire never forgot. In time, the Persians would destroy Jerusalem.

C-- Made a treaty with the Romans. If the enemy of my enemy is my friend, then the young Roman empire was the friend of the Maccabees and the enemy of the Syrian Greeks. Judah Maccabee himself sent a delegation to make a treaty with Rome, which until the treaty had no idea about this little Jewish nation. Rome continued to grow and eventually made the small Jewish country Judah fought to free into a part of the Roman empire. In time, when Jews tried to rebel against Rome, Rome would destroy the rebellion and Jerusalem with it.

Question #3: How did Judah Maccabee die?

A-- At peace, in his old age with the Shema on his lips, 50 years after the first Hanukah. Judah knew his time had come, so he took one long trip back to Modin, his home town. In the small house that his father and mother raised him in, he held one last meal, his family gathered around. When the meal was done, he blessed each of his children and grandchildren. He laid down on his bed and charged all his family to follow the Torah and keep the Jewish people free. He then said the Shema and died as the last letter left his lips, finally at peace.

B-- From Heart disease, 23 Years after the First Hanukah. When peace was truly established in the years following the first Hanukah, Judah threw great meals each Sabbath and huge banquets on Pesach, Sukkot and Shavuot. The book of Maccabees even mentions his breaking-the-fast after one Yom Kippur that feed one thousand of the residents of Jerusalem. No longer climbing through mountainous lands and living on lean army rations, Judah enjoyed a little too much of the good life, and became very overweight. His death 23 years was sudden and swift, and believed now to have been a massive heart attack brought on from eating too much while flour and fried foods.

C-- In Battle, two years after the first Hannukah. The Syrian Greeks did not stop trying to conquer the Jewish people, and a man even more dangerous than Antiochus the Fourth came to power. His name was Demetrious Soter, and he commanded a massive army of 20,000 men, all with one purpose---to kill Judah Maccabee. When Judah’s small army saw the massive forces coming at them, many of the soldiers fled. Judah’s best troops died fighting at his side, but not even Judah Maccabee could beat 20,000 Greek soldiers with only 800 troops. His death sparked new outrage in the land of Israel, and the battle for Jewish freedom continued.

Question #4: How did the last Maccabee brother, Shimon, die?

A) At peace, in his old age with the Shema on his lips. Shimon knew his time had come, so he took one long trip back to Modin, his home town. In the small house that his father and mother raised him in, he held one last meal, his family gathered around. When the meal was done, Shimon blessed each of his children and grandchildren. He laid down on his bed and charged all his family to follow the Torah and keep the Jewish people free. He then said the Shema and died as the last letter left his lips, at peace.

B) In Battle, like Judah, his slain enemies heaped about him, all of them broken and defeated. The Syrian Greeks did not stop trying to conquer the Jewish people, and a man even more dangerous than Antiochus the Fourth came to power. His name was Demetrious Soter, and he commanded a massive army of 20,000 men, all with one purpose---to retake Jerusalem. Shimon met him with an army of 5,000 men at Beit Horon, and stopped Demetrious in a muddy field the Maccabees flooded to slow the Greek army down. The Greek Troops eventually retreated, but Shimon died fighting in the muddy field he made to stop the invasion.

C) He was poisoned by his daughter’s husband, along with everyone else in the family. Shimon ruled for many years, and had a large family. His daughter married a man named Ptolemy Abubus, who the Greeks had appointed governor of the nearby city Jericho. At first, Ptolemy was content running one city, but soon he wanted to take over the country. He invited his wife’s family to a special banquet for Tu Bishvhat, drugged the wine, and slaughtered Shimon, his sons, and everyone else from Shimon’s family. Only Shimon’s youngest son, Jonathan, survived of all his family, as he was not at the party.

Wednesday, December 7, 2022

Class notes, December

ons/thumb/9/94/Seleucid_Empire_alternative_map.jpg/1920px-Seleucid_Empire_alternative_map.jpg

And in 188 BCE

https://cdn.britannica.com/38/1038-004-18510162/Egypt-part-world-Hellenistic-c-188-bce.jpg

AND THEN WHAT HAPPENED? (Hanukkah edition) Can your team get the history right as we trace the story of the Jewish people from the fall of Jerusalem to the victory of the Maccabees?

Can your team get the history right as we trace the story of the Jewish people from the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BCE to the story of the Maccabees in 167 BCE?

After we read about each point in history, we will offer each team a choice of three options for “And then what happened?”. The team can confer for 30 seconds, then they must submit a vote in writing. Correct answers earn a point. Wrong answers earn nothing. There are eight history points.

*&*&*&&*&*&*&*&**&&*

What is the BCE thing? Instead of saying BC, Before Christ, Academics and many non-Christians use the BCE/CE convention instead of BC/AD.

+*+*+*+*+*+*+**+*+*+

What else is going on in 586 BCE? It’s the Zhou dynasty in China, Bantu speaking migrants are bringing iron-age weapons and cattle into South Africa, and the Olmecs rule Mexico.

#%#%#%#%##%%##%#%#%%

It’s 586 BCE. The Jewish people have fallen to the Babylonian Empire, and most have been dragged off to exile in Babylon. The temple is destroyed, and the city of Jerusalem lies ruined. After a generation, the Jewish people adjust to life in Babylonia, but the Babylonian empire is conquered by the Persians led by King Cyrus. And then what happened?

1) The Jewish people fight to push Cyrus out of Bavel.

2) The Jewish people find Cyrus hates the Jews and wants to wipe them out.

3) Cyrus says the Jews can go back to Eretz Yisrael and rebuild the temple.

It’s 515 BCE. The Jewish people, with the support of King Cyrus and his sons, head back to the land of Israel toe rebuild Jerusalem. The great teacher of Torah, Ezra, brings the Torah with him, and leads the people as they try and rebuild, but local peoples harass them with violent attacks. And then what happened?

1) The Persian emperor calls off building temple, which is why it was never rebuilt even till today

2) The Persian emperor sends Nechemiah, a Jewish former army officer, to help them fight off the locals

3) The Jews bribe the locals with thousands of silver coins to leave Jerusalem alone.

It’s 475 BCE. The Persian Emperor Artaxerxes rules over a massive empire that is economically stable. He picks a new prime minister so he can devote himself to enjoying his wealth and power. And then what happened?

1) The prime minister planned to kill the empress’ entire family in an act of revenge, and the emperor has him executed.

2) The prime minister was trying to poison him and take the throne, and the emperor has him executed.

3) The prime minister was hoarding the equivalent of millions in tax dollars, and the emperor has him executed.

It’s 440 BCE. A small, rebuilt temple lies at the heart of a small, rebuilt Jerusalem.

The High priest rules along with council of 120 known as the People of the Great Assembly. A famine strikes Rome, Pericles rules Athens, and Ezra the scholar dies. And then what happened?

1) The Jewish people live quietly and not much happens for a while.

2) The Jewish people get into a bloody war with the Syrians over access to the water of the Jordan river.

3) The Jewish people enter a state of war that lasts for 100 years.

It’s 333 BCE. Alexander the Great sweeps through the middle east, and comes to the small nation of Judah. In order to convince Alexander that the nearby Kuteans are in fact lying when they tell Alexander that the Jews are planning to attack , the Kohen Gadol, Shimon the Righteous, dons his Yom Kippur white garments and leads a delegation. They march all night by torchlight to reach Alexander, and as the sun rises, Alexander sees the delegation led by Shimon. And then what happens?

1) Alexander accuses the Jews of rebellion and holds them prisoner for a year until they are ransomed.

2) Alexander demands the jews bow down to him, and when they refuse he has them whipped.

3) Alexander bows down to the Kohen Gadol and his generals think he’s gone mad.

When Alexander saw Shimon HaTzaddik up close at last, he descended from his chariot and bowed down low before him. His officers said to him: “Why is your majesty bowing down to this Jew?”, for they feared he had lost his mind.

He said to them “Each night before I go into battle, I have a dream, and the image of this man’s face is what I see in the dream before I rise up and go to conquer. I saw his face when we were in Macedonia at Dio, and before our first battle with the Persians, and before we conquered Gaza. Let no harm come to this man or his people, but rather put his enemies into his hand.” Alexander came to Jerusalem, offered sacrifices to God on the Altar, and was welcomed throughout the land.

It’s 281 BCE. Seluecus has died. When Alexander dies, his generals divide up his empire. The land of Israel winds up under the rule of Alexander’s general Seleucus, who like Alexander before him is religiously tolerant and lets people live and worship as they wish, as long as they pay their tributes and taxes. Seleucus dies and rule over land of Israel passes down to his son, Antiochus the first. So then what happens?

1) Antiochus builds a statue of Zeus in the Temple of Jerusalem’s courtyard.

2) Antiochus continues his father’s policy of religious tolerance. Boring.

3) Antiochus considers converting to Judaism, but is assassinated by his son, Antiochus II before he can.

It’s 222 BCE. Antiochus III becomes ruler the Seleucid empire. Jews in the Selucid empire have come to know about many parts of the culture of the empire- theatre, races, Greek poetry and mythology, all known as the Hellenist culture. Some Jews become very Hellenized, rejecting every part of their religion, while others adopt some Hellenist ideas and practices, such as Greek names and reading Greek literature while keeping their Hebrew Names and Jewish holidays. And then what happens?

1) Antiochus III continues his great-grandfather’s policy of religious tolerance. Boring.

2) Antiochus III demands greater taxes and gold, taking it from the temple when the jews do not pay enough.

3) Antiochus III is insulted by a Jew who refuses to bow down whenever Antiochus is in the city gate, and begins a plan to wipe out the Jews.

It’s 168 BCE. Antiochus IV had usurped the throne from his nephew Demetrius in 175, and deciding to take a more active role in the economically vital Temple in Jerusalem, he starts taking bribes to determine who will be high priest. Come 168 BCE, Between a war in Egypt and a rebellion that happens when a rumor breaks out that Antiochus is dead, Jerusalem is plunged into chaos. In response, Antiochus decides that Judaism is the problem. And then what happens?

1) He takes the side of moderately Hellenized jews.

2) He takes the side of Traditional Jews- but that will change.

3) He bans all forms of Judaism.

It’s 167 BCE. Antiochus puts a giant idol of Zeus in the temple of Jerusalem’s courtyard, sacrifices a pig to it and eats the ham. He then orders the same thing to be done throughout the land of Israel. And then what happens?

1) Hanukkah.

2) Hanukkah.

3) Hanukkah.

It can only be called a sufganiah if it is made in the Sufgan region of northern ISrael!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoTAfsRv-Ek

altnerative :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hk55HmKv2b4

------------------------------------------------------------

1) https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/freedomsummer-murder/

BEWARE PICTURES AT END

American Expreince video, 2:45 total

2) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2ssdtB-sAI

Mickey Schwerner believed that ultimately people were good at heart.

3) https://www.propublica.org/article/a-brutal-loss-but-an-enduring-conviction

… This notion that Jews had or have some greater sense of enlightenment is another distortion. Neither Mickey nor I grew up in families in which there was a strong Jewish identity, though we both had grandparents who were immigrants to the United States. I don’t think either of us identified ourselves as directed or infused with anything that was particularly Jewish. I am not a religious person.

In fact, I am an atheist and have been most of my adult life. That was certainly true of Mickey. I have no doubt that there were and are people who are involved in social movements and their moral compass is in some ways governed by their religious beliefs. Many people in the civil rights movement have a very strong belief in a Christian god. I don’t think there is anything false or inappropriate in those beliefs. The notion that so many whites (in Freedom Summer) were Jews because Jews have such a strong moral compass is ludicrous.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Hw8N2XF6Hk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hQeGDSB6Ss at 1:30pm

http://www.joachimprinz.com/images/mow.mp3