Lurianic Kabbalah

Lurianic Kabbalah: "The Kabbalah, however, is unique in its position in the history of western thought, acting as it were as a 'switching station' in which the biblical tradition, oriental mysticism and western philosophy converge. In the Kabbalah of Isaac Luria these traditions combine with Luria's profound spiritual insight and intense mythical imagination to produce a comprehensive philosophical and psychological vision of the nature of God and humankind that was only imperfectly represented in the prior traditions. Of equal significance, however, is the relationship between the Kabbalah and more modern systems of thought and practice"

Aharon's Ark

Aharon's Ark: "Aharon's Ark This Vessel is being created to preserve what is good. The World rests on three pillars: Torah, Service to Hashem (G-d) and Acts of Chesed (kindness)"

CNN.com - Scientists agree world faces mass extinction - August 23, 2002

CNN.com - Scientists agree world faces mass extinction - August 23, 2002: "By Gary Strieker CNN (CNN) -- The complex web of life on Earth, what scientists call 'biodiversity,' is in serious trouble. 'Biodiversity includes all living things that we depend on for our economies and our lives,' explained Brooks Yeager, vice president of global programs at the World Wildlife Fund in Washington, D.C. 'It's the forests, the oceans, the coral reefs, the marine fish, the algae, the insects that make up the living world around us and which we couldn't do without,' he said. Nearly 2 million species of plants and animals are known to science and experts say 50 times as many may not yet be discoveredBy Gary Strieker CNN (CNN) -- The complex web of life on Earth, what scientists call 'biodiversity,' is in serious trouble. 'Biodiversity includes all living things that we depend on for our economies and our lives,' explained Brooks Yeager, vice president of global programs at the World Wildlife Fund in Washington, D.C. 'It's the forests, the oceans, the coral reefs, the marine fish, the algae, the insects that make up the living world around us and which we couldn't do without,' he said. Nearly 2 million species of plants and animals are known to science and experts say 50 times as many may not yet be discovered"

BBC News | SCI/TECH | Growing threat to rare species

The South American marsh deer faces many threats (Photo: Mariano Gimenez Dixon)
BBC News SCI/TECH Growing threat to rare species: "Those listed as threatened to some degree number 11,046 plant and animal species, in almost all cases because of human activities. IUCN says this means that 24% of mammals and 12% of birds 'face a high risk of extinction in the near future'. The list includes 18,276 species and subspecies. About 25% of reptiles, 20% of amphibians and 30% of fish so far assessed are listed as threatened. Those listed as threatened to some degree number 11,046 plant and animal species, in almost all cases because of human activities. IUCN says this means that 24% of mammals and 12% of birds 'face a high risk of extinction in the near future'. The list includes 18,276 species and subspecies. About 25% of reptiles, 20% of amphibians and 30% of fish so far assessed are listed as threatened. "

Earth Faces 'Catastrophic Loss of Species'

Earth Faces 'Catastrophic Loss of Species': "Marine life The oceans were thought to be immune from the activities of man on land, but this is no longer true. Pollution, overfishing, loss of marine habitats and global warming have a dramatic impact on biological diversity. More than 100 species of fish, including the basking shark are on the red list of threatened speciesMarine life The oceans were thought to be immune from the activities of man on land, but this is no longer true. Pollution, overfishing, loss of marine habitats and global warming have a dramatic impact on biological diversity. More than 100 species of fish, including the basking shark are on the red list of threatened species"

Mass Extinction Underway | Biodiversity Crisis | Global Species Loss

Mass Extinction Underway Biodiversity Crisis Global Species Loss: " Nearly seven out of 10 of the biologists polled said they believed a 'mass extinction' was underway, and an equal number predicted that up to one-fifth of all living species could disappear within 30 years. Nearly all attributed the losses to human activity, especially the destruction of plant and animal habitats. "

Defending our Oceans | Greenpeace International

Defending our Oceans Greenpeace International: "Fundamental changes need to be made in the way our oceans are managed. This means that we must act to make sure that human activities are sustainable, in other words that they meet human needs of current and future generations without causing harm to the environment. Accordingly, governments must set aside 40 percent of our oceans as marine reservesFundamental changes need to be made in the way our oceans are managed. This means that we must act to make sure that human activities are sustainable, in other words that they meet human needs of current and future generations without causing harm to the environment. Accordingly, governments must set aside 40 percent of our oceans as marine reserves"

This Week

This Week: "Japanese whalers have used a research loophole to hunt relatively abundant minke whales for years. This is the first time they have used the research clause to kill the two much rarer and less understood whale species. Meat from the whales being 'studied' is sold to Japanese consumers, who consider it a delicacy. The plan calls for killing 50 Bryde's whales and ten sperm whales. Both species are protected under U.S. law "

Hidden Children of the Holocaust

children of the Holocaust was rarely told. Here are accounts of the the war-time experiences of three child survivors: 5-year-old Lili, who was separated from her family and hidden in a convent; 7-year-old Krystyna, who lived for 14 months in a sewer, never seeing the light of day; and 14-year-old Alexander, who learned about death on

Hidden Children of the Holocaust

children of the Holocaust was rarely told. Here are accounts of the the war-time experiences of three child survivors: 5-year-old Lili, who was separated from her family and hidden in a convent; 7-year-old Krystyna, who lived for 14 months in a sewer, never seeing the light of day; and 14-year-old Alexander, who learned about death on

The Original E-Mail Sent to Me by a Frum Friend.

Subject: IN MEMORIAM



> ALL THAT IS NECESSARY FOR THE TRIUMPH OF EVIL IS FOR GOOD MEN TO

>DO NOTHING.

>

>

> EDMUND BURKE



> IN MEMORIAL



> RECENTLY THIS WEEK, UK REMOVED THE HOLOCAUST FROM ITS SCHOOL

>CURRICULUM BECAUSE IT "OFFENDED" THE MOSLEM POPULATION WHICH CLAIMS IT

>NEVER OCCURRED. THIS IS A FRIGHTENING PORTENT OF THE FEAR THAT IS GRIPPING

>THE WORLD AND HOW EASILY EACH COUNTRY IS GIVING INTO IT.


> IT IS NOW MORE THAN 60 YEARS AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR IN EUROPE ENDED.



> THIS E-MAIL IS BEING SENT AS A MEMORIAL CHAIN, IN MEMORY OF THE

>SIX MILLION JEWS, 20 MILLION RUSSIANS, 10 MILLION CHRISTIANS AND 1,900

>CATHOLIC PRIESTS WHO WERE MURDERED, MASSACRED, RAPED, BURNED, STARVED AND

>HUMILIATED WITH THE GERMAN AND RUSSIAN PEOPLES LOOKING THE OTHER WAY!

>

> NOW, MORE THAN EVER, WITH IRAN, AMONG OTHERS, CLAIMING

>THE,HOLOCAUST TO BE "A MYTH," IT IS IMPERATIVE TO MAKE SURE THE WORLD NEVER

>FORGETS.

>

> THIS E-MAIL IS INTENDED TO REACH 40 MILLION PEOPLE WORLDWIDE!


> JOIN US AND BE A LINK IN THE MEMORIAL CHAIN AND HELP US DISTRIBUTE

>IT AROUND THE WORLD.


> PLEASE SEND THIS E-MAIL TO 10 PEOPLE YOU KNOW AND ASK THEM TO

>CONTINUE THE MEMORIAL CHAIN.



> PLEASE DON'T JUST DELETE IT. IT WILL ONLY TAKE A MINUTE TO PASS

>THIS ALONG ---




> THANKS!

A simple ADL Statement?A More Complex Take

Friday, April 13, 2007

A much circulated e-mail claims that the United Kingdom has "removed the Holocaust from its school curriculum because it 'offended' the Moslem population."
There is no truth to this claim. Holocaust education is mandatory in British schools and continues to be part of the national curriculum.



The Critics on NEVER AGAIN?
Never Again has an urgent tone. If only a similar warning had been widely disseminated before World War II. ?


amazon.com


http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/holocaust.asp



http://www.adl.org/Internet_Rumors/UK_Holocaust_Education.htm

To Think About.

By Aharon Moshe:

It can happen that while trying to become technically proficient in the Mitzvot of say shaking the lulov and esrog, that it can be that one might lose track of the larger picture.

For example, have you stopped to think about why the esrog is used. The esrog is mostly valuable for its thick inner layer as opposed to its fruit, interesting? How often do we think of the fruit of our labor even so much as to become distracted from even our surroundings.

Or how about even thinking about the entire connection of how all plants are so far more dependent upon Hashem for their very existence. If animals do not have enough water, they can seek out greener pastures. Even birds will fly south for the winter as part of its yearly cycle. We have become so insulated from nature, that we truly do need the Festival of Sukkot and all it's related mitzvot at least to attempt to appreciate how everything we have comes from Hashem.

Finally even when you bend down one of the four species on the floor, we should not have to look very far to see someone who is empty of mitzvot. Hashem has given such an abundance to us all, and it is up to us to utilize these great gifts to do his will. Instead of looking outside ourselves we can have a chance to reflect within.

Now is an auspicious time that we can ask Hashem to help us, but how can we help Hashem? Why not look to the person standing next to you in Shul. Take the time to smile, or say hello, introduce yourself, even if you have seen him so many times and do not know his name. The opportunity to do Chesed is always around us.

We need to remember that we like the four species, each having its different qualities, will all be around for a relatively short time. However if we look to function together, then maybe we can bring the letters of that special name YKVK, clsoer together like it tells us we ccan do in our Siddur.

AhMbDvd
October 3, 2007
Hoshana Rabba

Yes! We have Changed! Why?...Sukkot!!!

Yes! A modified Page! Jam Packed with All New features. Don't leave this site witout a virtual shake of the Lulov below! Remember it is Sukkot right now! Do not miss it!

AhMbdvd
http://thefirststartingpoint.blogspot.com

UMass Amherst: Office of Jewish Affairs - Sukkot

UMass Amherst: Office of Jewish Affairs - Sukkot: "Israelites lived a nomadic existence in the desert, moving from place to place and living in temporary shelters whose main purpose was to provide shelter from the blistering sun. Viewed from this perspective, it’s easy to see why the sukkah is not built to withstand rain"

Citron

Citron: "most important part of the citron is the peel which is a fairly important article in international trade. The fruits are halved, depulped, immersed in seawater or ordinary salt water to ferment for about 40 days, the brine being changed every 2 weeks; rinsed, put in denser brine in wooden barrels for storage and for export. After partial de-salting and boiling to soften the peel, it is candied in a strong sucrose/glucose solution. The candied peel is sun-dried or put up in jars for future use. Candying is done mainly in England, France and the United States. The candied peel is widely employed in the food industry, especially as an ingredient in fruit cake, plum pudding"

Judaism 101: Know Your Etrog

Judaism 101: Know Your Etrog: "After Sukkot 2002, I planted the seeds from the etrog I had used for the holiday and one of the seeds grew into a tree. The etrog tree pictures on this page are pictures of that tree, which is an annual guest in my sukkah. The pictures show it as a two-week old seedling, as a one-year-old tree (about three feet tall) and as a two-year-old tree (over four feet tall). It is currently three years old and about six feet tall, but significantly yellowed from underfertilization. I am working on doing a better job "

The Four Species: etrog and palm, willow and myrtle branch (Hebrew: Arba’at Ha-Minim, ארבעת המינים) « Flowers of Israel - Flora en Israel

The Four Species: etrog and palm, willow and myrtle branch (Hebrew: Arba’at Ha-Minim, ארבעת המינים) « Flowers of Israel - Flora en Israel: "Sukkot, with these four species in hand one recites a blessing and waves the species in a special ceremony (called na’anu’im – נענועים) in six directions (east, south, west, north, up and down, symbolizing the fact that God is everywhere). In biblical times, these so-called “four species” served as an offering of thanksgiving and celebration at harvest time. The Torah chose four species according to those kinds which abound in the Land of Israel. Israel has a wide variety of climates and geography, and each of the Four Species of Sukkot represents a different climate and symbolism. The aravah and the etrog need large amounts of water to thrive, the palm tree (lulav) and hadas can do with less water"

Judaism 101: Know Your Etrog

Judaism 101: Know Your Etrog: " etrog is used in the waving rituals of the festival of Sukkot, where the etrog is said to represent the heart (because of its shape), and also said to represent the ideal kind of Jews, who have both knowledge of Torah and good deeds (because it has both a pleasant scent and a pleasant taste). One midrash suggests that the etrog, not the apple, was the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. Why, then, does the Western world think that the fruit was the apple? Perhaps because the ancient Greeks called this fruit the Persian apple"

Judaism 101: Know Your Etrog

Judaism 101: Know Your Etrog: " etrog is used in the waving rituals of the festival of Sukkot, where the etrog is said to represent the heart (because of its shape), and also said to represent the ideal kind of Jews, who have both knowledge of Torah and good deeds (because it has both a pleasant scent and a pleasant taste). One midrash suggests that the etrog, not the apple, was the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. Why, then, does the Western world think that the fruit was the apple? Perhaps because the ancient Greeks called this fruit the Persian apple"

Citron

Citron: "The citron's place of origin is unknown but seeds were found in Mesopotamian excavations dating back to 4000 B.C. The armies of Alexander the Great are thought to have carried the citron to the Mediterranean region about 300 B.C. A Jewish coin struck in 136 B.C. bore a representation of the citron on one side. A Chinese writer in AD 300 spoke of a gift of '40 Chinese bushels of citrons from Ta-ch'in' in AD 284. Ta-ch'in is understood to mean the Roman Empire. The citron was a staple, commercial food item in Rome in AD 301. There are wild citron trees in Chittagong, Sitakund Hill, Khasi and Garo hills of northern India. Dioscorides mentioned citron in the 1st Century AD and Pliny called it malus medica, malus Assyria and citrus in AD 177. The fruit was imported into Greece from Persia (now Iran). Greek colonists began growing the citron in Palestine about 200 B.C. The tree is assumed to have been successfully introduced into Italy in the 3rd Century. The trees were mostly destroyed by barbarians in the 4th Century but those in the 'Kingdom of Naples' and in Sardinia and Sicily survived. By the year 1003, the citron was commonly cultivated at Salerno and fruits (called poma cedrina) were presented as a token of gratitude to Norman lords. For centuries, this area supplied citron to the Jews in Italy, France and Germany for their Feast of the Tabernacles (sukkot) ceremony. Moses had specified the cone of the cedar, hadar (kedros in Greek) and when it fell into disfavor it was replaced by the citron"

: "jihad is the world's foremost source of terrorism, inspiring a worldwide campaign of violence by self-proclaimed jihadist groups.' According to the scholar Bat Ye'or, for non-Muslims through history jihad has meant 'war, dispossession, . . . slavery and death.' 'The fate of Jews in Arabia,' Ye'or says, 'foreshadowed that of all the peoples subsequently conquered by the Arabs. The primary guiding principle was to summon the non-Muslims to convert or accept Muslim supremacy, and, if faced with refusal, to attack them until they submitted to Muslim domination. . . . The jihad developed into a war of conquest whose chief aim was the conversion of infidels. . . . The jihad is a global conception that divides the peoples of the world into two irreconcilable camps. . . . [It] is the normal and permanent state of war between the Muslims and the [infidels], a war that can only end with the final domination over unbelievers "

About - Terrorism Awareness Project

About - Terrorism Awareness Project: "and not as part of a sustained response. Neither the American public nor our military forces on the ground were mobilized or engaged. Our government remained inert as the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and the USS Cole were bombed. The threat grew; terrorists were trained, deployed and then organized into cells that stretched across Europe and the United States. The result was a catastrophic attack on the very same building, the World Trade Center, that had been attacked by the jihadis eight years earlier in 1993"

Families cannot sue firm for Israel deaths | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited

Families cannot sue firm for Israel deaths Special reports Guardian Unlimited: "Ed Pilkington in New York Wednesday September 19, 2007 The Guardian The parents of Rachel Corrie, the US peace activist who was crushed to death four years ago in the then Israeli-occupied Gaza as she was protesting against the demolition of Palestinian homes, have been refused permission to sue the company which made the bulldozer that killed her. On Monday a federal appeals court ruled that Caterpillar Inc, the Illinois-based company that has supplied several bulldozers used by the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) in house demolitions in the occupied territories, could not be sued as to do so would bring the judiciary into conflict with the executive branch of the US government."

The Denver Post - Rachel Corrie: Staging a protest

The Denver Post - Rachel Corrie: Staging a protest: "s, the Justice Department, the State Department and the courts, only to discover that at every turn, 'they don't just simply look at the alleged act and try to figure out what happened,' said Craig. 'It really does depend on who did it.' The Israeli army concluded the soldiers operating the bulldozer that killed Rachel - who was wearing a bright orange vest - had no intention of harming her. Bruce H. DeBoskey, regional director of the Mountain States Anti-Defamation League, calls Corrie's death 'an horrific accident that occurred in the context of a complex conflict.' The Corries asked the U.S. House of Representatives for an investigation that was 'thorough, credible and transparent.' All but 78 of the 435 House members said no. The Corries blame that on a fear of the pro-Israel lobby in Washington. 'Our congressman had warned us we'd be lucky to get even 30, because any piece of legislation that even implies criticism of Israel was unlikely to go anywhere,' Cindy said. Corrie's parents feel it's not possible to have a civil conversation about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in this country. 'There are many people whose efforts are driven very much by the suffering that Jews have experienced in the world for many, many years,' Cindy said, 'and now there is this protection around Israel that I think is actually very damaging because (of) our not looking at this full picture, our not recognizing what's happened to Palestinians, our not looking at the impact that our foreign "

: "curfew or house arrest, assisting the injured or disabled to access medical care and walking children to school' Documentation: 'documenting and reporting to local and international media about the daily life under occupation and the countless human rights and international law violations by the Israeli military' Though professing, as noted above, a commitment to nonviolence, ISM members openly advocate the 'liberation' of Palestinians 'by any means necessary,' including 'legitimate armed struggle.' Led by Palestinians working closely with American recruiters, ISM invites American volunteers to travel to the Palestinian territories and disrupt the actions of the Israeli Defense Force (IDF), which is engaged in anti-terror operations in the region. ISM maintains a continual, low-level presence in the territories year-round, punctuated by occasional large, episodic campaigns. At various times, ISM members have temporarily taken over Israeli military checkpoints, interfered with the arrests of Palestinians charged with terrorism, and attempted to prevent the destruction of Palestinian homes containing subterranean tunnels for weapons smuggling. Among ISM's most well known members was the late Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old volunteer who, in March 2003, was crushed beneath a bulldozer in Rafah when its operator failed to see her trying to block the destruction of a Palestinian home "

The Denver Post - Corrie's global conscience surfaced early

The Denver Post - Corrie's global conscience surfaced early: "broke it to her parents gently. 'If I feel guilty about anything,' Cindy said, 'it's that Rachel brought this issue of Israel and Palestine to us. Of course, it had been there all our lifetimes. But I didn't ever try to really understand the situation better.' Rachel's sister, Sarah, wanted their mother to talk Rachel out of going, 'but I knew I wouldn't, and I also didn't believe that I should,' said Cindy. 'My approach to it became to try to learn with her.' Rachel studied Arabic, raised all her own travel money, meticulously planned her logistics and made connections with Israelis and Palestinians overseas. Just 50 days after her arrival, Rachel was a human shield on the wrong end of an Israeli bulldozer. After her death, she was criticized for having joined the International Solidarity Movement, a group the Anti-Defamation League has condemned 'for spreading anti-Israel propaganda and supporting those who engage in armed resistance against Israel.' Cindy calls that a misrepresentation. When Rachel's journal was turned into a mostly nonpolitical play that producers shuttered before it even opened in New York, 'My Name is Rachel Corrie"