Tu b'Av: A Day of Love and Unity

Tu b'Av is the one of the most joyous days in the Jewish year. In the previous Newsletter from JesusBoat.com we learned about Tisha b'Av - the saddest day in the Jewish Year - and all the tragedy than has befallen the Jewish people on that day. The foil to that day is Tu b'Av, the 15th of the Jewish month of Av (beginning the evening of the 25th of July).

Tu b'Av is often referred to as "The Jewish Valentine's Day." While modern traditions are making it more so, the root of the love and joy celebrated at Tu b'Av relates more to Jewish unity.

Because Tu b'Av was already a joyous day, during the Second Temple period an additional element was added to the events of the day. In this period the happiness of marriage was incorporated into the customs. The Talmud tells us that on Tu b'Av, the young women of Jerusalem would go into the vineyards on the outskirts of the city, dressed in white dresses that they borrowed from each other - the richest women worn the poorest women's dresses and vice-versa. This was so the suitors could not merely choose a wife based on social status. In the vineyards the single women would dance and dance, play tambourines, smile and be festive. All the bachelors would gather there to find a suitable marriage partner.

The men would be advised to choose their spouses wisely. "Lift up your eyes and see who you will choose as a wife. Don't look only at physical beauty, but look at family." Quoting from Proverbs 30:31, "Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a God fearing woman is the one to be praised." A woman who fears the L-rd is a rare and a precious person. A woman who abides by G-d's laws is a true gift from G-d. She is the most attractive woman to G-d and will make a kind and dedicated wife.

So on this joyous day, pay special attention to your spouse, your fiancé or your special friend. Celebrate each other and celebrate all the good that knowing G-d has brought to your life. Six days ago we mourned, on Tu b'Av be happy and thank G-d for each and every day.

   

Tisha b’Av: A Time to Mourn

On Tuesday, July 20^th in the Gregorian calendar is Tisha b’Av. Tisha b’Av or the 9^th of the Jewish month Av, is the saddest day in Jewish history. On this day throughout history several calamities have befallen the Jewish people.

This date was designated by G-d to be forever a date of misfortune and grief for the Jewish people. As documented in Numbers 13 and 14, on this date the Israelites showed G-d an unequivocal lack of faith. It was on Tisha b’Av that the Twelve spies sent to Canaan by Moses returned. With the exception of Joshua and Caleb, the spies spoke of a terrible land where only death awaited. This caused the Israelites to weep in despair and panic that entering the Promised Land would mean certain destruction. Because they did not have faith that G-d would take care of them, the Israelites were punished and had to wander in the desert for 40 years. Additionally, G-d made Tisha b’Av a day of great pain for the Jewish people.

On Tisha b’Av we mourn the destruction of both Temples in  Jerusalem. The destruction of First Temple occurred on Tisha b’Av, and then 656 years later the destruction of the Second Temple also occurred on this day. The destruction of the Temples and the subsequent fall of Jerusalem is a source of great sorrow to the Jewish people. The Jewish people had a home in Jerusalem. It was a place they could be secure, safe and comfortable. It was a place to worship G-d freely without condemnation and persecution. This was ripped away from them when the Babylonians destroyed the First Temple and the Romans destroyed the Second Temple. After the Second Temple destruction the Jewish people were scattered and exiled from the Holy Land. It was to be thousands of years until the Jewish people were able to again make a home land in Israel. This alone is cause for great sorrow.

As an expression of this sorrow, Tisha b’Av is observed by fasting and abstaining from anything that would bring joy, pleasure or comfort. Like the Yom Kippur fast, the Tisha b’Av fast lasts for 25 hours. Here are the main prohibitions on Tisha b’Av:

1. No food or drink, even water
2. No bathing
3. No anointing the body
4. No leather shoes (as they are deemed comfortable)
5. No learning Torah (except the Book of Lamentations)
6. No wearing of the Tallit or Tefilin
7. No marital relations
8. No idle chatter, laughter or greeting each other

Additionally, it is traditional to not sit on anything comfortable and to alter sleeping arrangements so not to be comfortable.

On Tisha b’Av many recite the Book of Lamentations. In this book Jeremiah describes in ghastly detail the fall of Jerusalem, destruction of the First Temple and the utter despair and desperate condition of the Jewish people. It is a heartbreaking account that solidifies the reason we mourn this day.

On this day we mourn the destruction of the Temple and the exile of the Jewish people. As we mourn we should also consider the many other tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people -- and there has been much tragedy for the Jewish people. Daily, this is not a place we can put our energies. If we dwell on the pain of tragedy, the Jewish nation would not have the strength and courage needed to survive. However, one day each year, we may cry. On Tisha b’Av we are to release all the sorrow. But for each tear we shed, tomorrow we will show joy for despite all the tragedy, the Nation of Israel lives.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just as G-d guaranteed, on this day several other calamities came to pass the Jewish nation on Tisha b’Av.

• In 135 CE Bar Kokhba's revolt against Rome failed, he was killed, and the city of Betar was destroyed. It was the last great revolt against Rome. 100,000 Jews slaughtered.
• The year after the destruction of the Second Temple, The Romans razed Jerusalem. Pagan city was built on its ruins
• In 1290 all Jews were expelled from England.
• The Spanish Inquisition culminated with the expulsion of Jews from Spain on Tisha b'Av in 1492.
• In 1914 Germany declared war on Russia commencing World War I. German resentment from the war set the stage for WW II and the Holocaust.
• On the eve of Tisha b’Av 1942 and throughout the day, began the liquidation of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto, en route to Treblinka

 

The Jewish Calendar

A means for marking the passage of time has been necessary for  cultures the world over. The Bible states that on several occasions G-d commanded the Israelites to keep precise observances according to the days he instructed. To ensure that G-d’s commandments were followed, it was necessary for the Israelites to create a calendar. The system of keeping time in the Old Testament was based on the cycles of the moon and the sun – a lunisolar calendar. To create their calendar, the Israelites used observation and knowledge of astronomy to calculate the dates.

The Jewish Calendar is still the official calendar of the State of Israel. It is used when determining religious observances, by all official institutions, and by Israeli farmers as an agricultural framework for planting and harvesting.

Nevertheless, for practical reasons most Jewish calendars produced today have both the Jewish and Gregorian dates listed. The Gregorian calendar is the system most commonly used presently to mark time; it is calendar that begins with January 1^st and ends with December 31^st. In Israel, Gregorian dates are more commonly used in every day life for ease of communication with the rest of the world.

The Jewish Calendar and the Gregorian Calendar have similarities and differences. Here is how the two calendars compare:

Jewish Calendar	Gregorian Calendar
Began counting years with creation	Began counting years with the birth of Jesus
Based on Lunar and Solar observations and calculations	Based on Solar calculations
New Year begins with the 7th month of the calendar.	New Year begins with the first month of the calendar.
12 months in a standard year	12 months in a year
Months begin with the new moon and lengths are based on the lunar cycle	Month beginnings have no lunar or solar relationship and lengths are based on Christian events calculations.
Months have 29 or 30 days	Months have between 28 and 31 days
Leap year occurs every 2 or 4 years and adds one more month, Adar Aleph	Leap year occurs every 4 years and adds one day to February
Names of the months are Babylonian and adopted during the time of Ezra after the exile	Names of the months adopted in Ancient Rome from Roman entities
7 days in a week	7 days in a week
Days of the week are numbered except Shabbat	Days of the week are named for celestial bodies
New day begins at sundown	New day begins at mid-night

Who needs a Jewish Calendar...

If you have been thinking about adding or currently enjoy keeping Jewish observations in your spiritual life, a Jewish calendar is a must for your home or office.

Jewish Calendars for the Jewish year 5771 (which will begin in the Gregorian calendar on the evening of September 9th, 2010) are now available.

Jewish calendars from JesusBoat.com are arranged around the corresponding Gregorian calendar.

Supplies are limited, so make sure you are ready for the coming Jewish New Year and the High Holidays and get your new calendar today.

  

More for the Jewish New Year...
Keep your eyes open for specials from JesusBoat.com for the High Holidays. We have some great new items for adults and kids. And as always, we have them at great prices.

Yom HaShoah – Holocaust Remembrance Day

At Sunset on April 11th the State of Israel begins a 24 hour period of remembrance and  mourning for the 6 million victims of the Holocaust, called “HaShoah” (The Catastrophe) in Hebrew. On Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, we remember those that suffered, those that fought, and those that died. In the Jewish calendar the day is Nitzan 27th which was the beginning of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

After Sunset, communities across Israel hold candle-light memorials. During these memorials Holocaust survivors speak and families light candles for members of their family who died in the Holocaust. The following morning at 10 am the observance continues with the sounding of air raid sirens for two minutes throughout the entire country. For the duration of the sounding, work is halted, people walking in the streets stop, cars pull off to the side of the road and everybody in schools, on military bases, at places of work stand in silent reverence to the victims of the Holocaust.

Witness this moving event from 2009 by watching this video:

Yom HaShoah is a day of deep mourning. Six million Jews were executed; many families were completely decimated. It is important for Israel never to forget the devastation of the Holocaust; accordingly, it is just as important for the world to also remember.

Each year thousands of Jewish teens from countries around the world travel to Poland to participate in “The March of the Living.” They march the three-kilometer distance from Auschwitz to Birkenau, the largest concentration camp complex built by the Nazis during World War II. All Israeli teenagers participate and are sponsored by the Israeli government. This trip is not a vacation; it is considered an important part of the school curriculum and an important step in helping young people to understand the Holocaust. They walk in tribute to all victims of the Holocaust. They learn the lessons of the Holocaust and the significance to vow Never Again.

Thank you our dear friends, for your continued support of Israel. We hope and pray that through remembering and support like yours this will never happen again. Please remember Israel and all the vict

ims of the Holocaust at sunset April 11th through sunset April 12th.

Blessings to all, from JesusBoat.com

 

Song of Songs: Renewal in the Galilee

It is said that the month of March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb. This saying holds true for Israel. When March begins Israel is still having her winter rains. It is cold and grey. In the middle of March spring begins and the weather changes. The sun comes out, the birds return, and the trees blossom.

Springtime in the Galilee is absolutely stunning. The Galilee spring brings deep greens of the grass, bright reds of the flowers, stunning yellows of the Mediterranean sun, and intense blues of the Sea of Galilee.

It is just as declared in the Song of Songs.

See! The winter is past;
       the rains are over and gone.

Flowers appear on the earth;
       the season of singing has come,
       the cooing of doves
       is heard in our land.

The fig tree forms its early fruit;
       the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.
       Arise, come, my darling;
       my beautiful one, come with me.

Song of Songs 2:11-13

The Song of Songs is about the blossoming of nature, love and the awakening beauty at the beginning of both. It is an everlasting parable for the relationship between the People of Israel and G-d, expressed metaphorically by the love between a man and a woman.
The Song of Songs is read during the quintessential Jewish spring holiday, Passover. One of the themes of Passover is rebirth and reawakening. When G-d led His people out of slavery in Egypt this meant a rebirth of the nation of Israel and a reawakening of the Jewish people.

The Song of Songs is a very special Biblical book. It has inspired many to seek and to find a deeper experience with G-d and His love. It is words to impassion the soul… we no longer feel the cold wet winter rains; we see the fields colored with flowers, hear the sound of the doves, taste the ripened fig and smell the vine's blossoms. All five senses are revived and alive through the Song of Songs, much like the first experience of spring each year. This spring enjoy the Song and Songs and the renewal G-d gives us each and every year.

The Passover Seder: A Time for Family, Friends and Freedom

Passover commemorates the deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt as told in the Book of Exodus. To celebrate Passover we gather around the dinner table for the Passover Seder. The Seder ("order" in Hebrew) is the traditional feast during which there is a retelling and reliving of the exodus story.

For the Seder, a lovely table is set and participants come to the table dressed in their holiday best. The Seder can take many forms... from an intimate dinner with the immediate family to a huge dinner with extended family and friends to a public Seder with hundreds. No matter which type of Seder you attend, the Passover Seder is a time to connect with family, friends, fellow congregants, and most of all, our roots and faith.

During the Seder we gather with friends and family to feast with foods symbolizing the Israelite's exodus from Egypt. A book called The Haggadah is our guide through the story and tells us how to eat, drink and make the blessings. The centerpiece of the Seder table is the Seder Plate. The Seder Plate holds prescribed symbolic foods that will be eaten during the course of the Seder. This is a significant component of the Seder. Also on the table are three matzot wihch are placed in a special bag called a Matza Tash.

Kosher wine is also and important part of the Seder. Four glasses of wine are poured during the Seder. They symbolize the four phases of the exodus as noted in Exodus 6:67: deliverance, freedom, redemption, salvation. In addition to these, there is a fifth cup poured known as the Cup of Elijah. This is poured for the profit Elijah who will appear in the coming Kingdom as the prophecies of old come to fruition.

There are many traditional songs that can be sung during the Seder. There are songs for the blessings, of which there are many, and songs that help tell the story of the Exodus. Many families know these songs as part of their family traditions. However, there is so many that a CD of Passover songs can be fun and useful to use during the Seder.

During Passover we recount the Israelites descent into Egypt and recall their suffering and persecution. We are with them as G-d sends the Ten Plagues to punish Pharaoh and his nation, and follow along as they leave Egypt with Moses as their guide. We witness the miraculous hand of G-d as the waters part to allow the Israelites to pass and their entranace to the wilderness.

Once the Seder has concluded we are left with full bellies and full spirit. The time has come to part ways with loved ones with whom you shared this voyage from slavery to a nation. As you part ways you say to one another, "L'shannah haba'ah b'Yarushalim" -- Next Year in Jerusalem!

This year Passover begins at sundown on the 29th of March. The Passover Seder should begin after sundown.

In celebration of Passover and to help you create your Seder, JesusBoat.com is offering specials on many Passover items. All Seder Plates are on sale. Additionally, we have great prices on Passover Sets to get you started with a Passover Seder.

Your Purim Celebration

Purim is the celebration of Jewish deliverance as told in the Book of Esther. After the destruction of the Kingdom of Judah, the Jews were taken into the seventy-year Babylonian captivity. When ancient Persia took control, Haman, royal vizier to King Ahasuerus, planned to kill the Jews, but his plans were foiled by Esther and Mordecai.

The Book of Esther is called the Megillah. It is traditional to read the Megillah in the synagogue the eve of Purim as well as the following morning. Jewish custom prescribes how the Megillah should be read. This includes boisterous congregational participation complete with noise-makers called groggers.

Below is a summary of how to read the Book of Esther. While it is traditional to read the Megillah on Purim in your place of worship, you can do this with any group, any time of year you want to honor the miracles of Esther.

When the Book of Esther is read there are several verses that are delivered with different tones, speeds, with the audience, and with the audience making raucous noise. If you make a guide for your audience to follow, it will be a wonderfully fun and spiritual time for all!

1) The first and most well known traditon is to make noise every time the villain’s name, Haman, is read. This is when you get to use your groggers. Groggers can home-made or purchased – they just need to make a loud noise to block out the name being heard. In most translations Hamman is mentioned 49 times so there are lots of chances to use your groggers! See below for a fun home-made grogger idea!

2) The reader changes the chant to be slower and sadder for five verses which refers to the exile of the Jews from the Kingdom of Judah to Babylonia. These verses are Esther 2:6, 3:15, 4:1, 4:3 and 7:4.

3) There are four verses speaking of the Jew’s redemption, the reader pauses allowing the audience to read along. These verses are Esther 2:5, 8:15-16, and 10:3.

4) The verse which marks the beginning of the salvation of the Jews is read in a louder, deeper voice. This verse if Esther 6:1 and is very important as it is the essence of the miracle.

5) The names of Haman’s sons are read in one breath, without pause thereby indicating that they were all killed at one time. These verses are Esther 9:6-10.

6) There are four verses in which the name of G-d is hidden. These verses are to be read in a higher key and emphasized. They are Esther 1:16. 1:20, 5:4, and 5:13.

The purpose for these customs is to intensify the joy so that the story of the great miracle performed on Israel's behalf during the time of Mordechai and Esther will enter the hearts of all who listen.

You can make your own groggers! It’s a great way to get your kids involved in the story of Esther.

Materials

2 sturdy paper plates
Dry, uncooked rice or beans
Popsicle stick (or other small stick)
Double faced tape
Markers, crayon, and stickers

Instructions

On the bottom of the paper plates decorate them with the markers, crayons and stickers. The brighter and more decorative the better!

Once both plates are decorated, put one plate face up on the table like you are going to eat off it. Take the double faced tape and put it all the way around the rim of the plate.

Take the popsicle stick and press one end of it on the tape so it is sticking out of the plate towards you – this will be the handle (it will look like a lollipop). Put a small piece of double faced tape over the handle to secure it to the plate.

Place about 1 cup of rice or beans in the plate.

Take the other plate and put it face down on the tape that is on the first plate. This will place the front side of the plates facing each other and the decorated sides out. Press hard to make sure the tape secured to both plates and the rice or beans don’t come out.

Now, shake, shake your grogger and make some noise!