Staying Real in Israel
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It was a stormy, windy, bitter cold Shabbat (Sabbath) in Israel this 5th of February, the 26th of the Jewish month of Shevat.

Marty surveys what’s been happening in Israel these days, including several successful terror attacks, and some that were prevented by the Israeli Army.

He also talks about hopes and fears regarding the greatly anticipated up-coming meeting in Egypt this week between Ariel Sharon and Abbas (Abu Mazen) of the PLO.

There’s even some time for a bit of Torah/Bible study, as Marty shares with you some insights from this weekly reading as you know only he can.

The show is a about 22 minutes long.

It is SUCH a pain in the tush (butt) for a Jew to keep kosher…the Jewish dietary laws mandated by the Torah. So many yummy foods that a Jew may not eat…seafood, bacon, not to mention cheeseburgers and meat with a creamy French sauce.

Then there’s all the trouble you have to go through to make sure that your meat is slaughtered properly, even if it IS of a kosher species, and that, of course, makes it much more expensive. Now, once you have your properly slaughtered kosher meat, you’ve got to go through the long process of ridding it of blood…salting and on and on. And do NOT get me started on liver…hardly worth the trouble required by the Torah to prepare just to enjoy a little chopped liver.

Oh, yeah, and then, since Jewish dietary law forbids mixing milk and meat, you have to have two sets of everything…dishes, utensils, pots, pans, dishwashers, sinks…talk about burdensome! Not to mention that you have to wait six hours after eating meat before you can eat a dairy product. What, am I expected to go around with a stopwatch? What did they do before every watch had a digital timer on board? And it sure would be nice if I could eat in any old restaurant that my non-Jewish or non-religiously observant friends choose for our night out, or that required attendance business lunch.

So, why bother? Why do I, just because I was born Jewish, have to jump through all these hoops just to have a little nosh? And don’t give me that “health” answer…no pork because of trichinosis centuries ago, it’s more healthy, yadda yadda yadda…none of which is true OR the reason we Jews have to keep kosher.

Bottom line is…Jews have to observe the dietary laws of kashrut (kosher) because G-d said to…period…
But if maybe this is not enough for you, my thinking friends, there is a whole world of spiritual reasons, none of which make any rational sense, as to why a Jew may not eat certain foods or certain mixtures of foods, and on and on with the minutiae of kashrut…their is something special about the Jewish “Soul”, or Spirit, that which turns our body from a lifeless blob of flesh into a living, talking, thinking human being…This special Soul is damaged by taking in non-kosher food. Non-kosher food is spiritually unhealthy for a Jewish Soul…but there is absolutely NO way that you can understand this on a rational level.

I did, however, run into something interesting as I was studying the Torah reading for this Sabbath, the portion of Shemini, where, among other topics, the basis for the Jewish dietary laws is laid out.

On the verse that tells us, “these are the living things that you may eat”, the medieval Torah commentator, Rashi explains the following…To what can this idea be compared? (the idea of dietary laws that limit and proscribe what a Jew may or may not eat and how)

Rashi says, it is like a doctor who tells a sick person to go ahead and eat whatever he wants…it doesn’t matter anyway…your case is hopeless…nothing can save you anyway, so you might as well enjoy it while you can…as opposed to the OTHER sick person, who DOES have hope of being saved…cured of his illness…HE is ordered by the same doctor to partake of a strictly controlled diet, only eating certain foods and mixtures of foods, consuming certain special medicines and avoiding at all cost other, harmful foods…all in the interest of restoring and preserving good health…

Jewish dietary laws…kosher…Mandatory universal Jewish health insurance…THAT is how G-d is insuring the spiritual health of his Chosen People, the Jews…

Food for thought…

A Mormon Passover seder? Only in the US, I guess. Never heard of this one. Then again, my Mormon friends never did mention any fun kinds of ritual observance in their faith, so I guess they must have thought that our Seder was a good one to add to their religious arsenal…A lot more fun then going door to door and having your little booklets rejected by everyone.
Seems they also thought it was kind of fun to wear the little beanies on their heads during the seder, so they adopted THAT one from us also…wearing yarmulkas on their heads.
One slight problem, however…an important, in fact, esssential part of a kosher Jewish Passover seder is the drinking of 4 cups of wine by all in remembrance of the 4 Redemptions that are mentioned in the Torah. Needless to say, this adds considerably to the festive atmosphere of said kosher Jewish Passover Seder. But Mormons don’t drink, so they have to get by with Paul Newman brand grape juice…
Another reason I am happy to be a Jew…

US Mormons mark Passover with seder


Members of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hold their own traditional meal retelling biblical story of Hebrews’ exodus from Egypt. Jewish leaders in Utah say not offended

Reprinted from Associated Press/Ynetnews.com

On Monday evening, Jews around the world began the holiday with a seder, the traditional meal during which the biblical story of the Hebrews’ exodus from Egypt is retold. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be holding one of their own this week.

Avraham Gileadi, a Mormon who is also a Hebrew scholar, will direct “A Passover for Joseph and Judah” at Provo’s Scenic View Academy on Friday.

Gileadi, 69, is affiliated with the seder’s sponsor, The Hebraeus Foundation, an organization promoting biblical scholarship. He said that Mormons and Jews share similar attributes and that while Passover isn’t an LDS tradition, it could be.

“A lot of LDS people are also part of that heritage,” Gileadi said. “It’s as much about us as it is about Jews.”

Gileadi said the evening also will feature a children’s choir and a performing harpist.

“We’ve kind of enriched this event to be a family experience,” he said.

Like Christianity and Islam, the Mormon faith has ties to Judaism. “The Book of Mormon,” which members of the religion abide by, along with the Old and New Testaments, says that Israelites migrated to the New World and were the ancestors of American Indians.

Latter-day Saints believe that church founder Joseph Smith Jr. translated the holy book from golden plates he discovered through an angel in the 1820s and restored authentic Christianity. The book follows the story of a family who leaves Jerusalem for the Americas around 600 B.C. In 1841, Smith sent apostle Orson Hyde to Jerusalem to dedicate the land for Smith’s prophecy of the return of the Jews. A park on the city’s Mount of Olives commemorates Hyde’s pilgrimage.

Brigham Young University has hosted seders open to the public for nearly 40 years, and this year’s Provo Passover is its fourth in a row.

Attendees are coming to Provo for a combination of religious and educational reasons. Eric Palmer, 60, owns a small business in the area and is drawn to the Jewish tradition as a way of understanding his own Mormon faith.

“I think this is an undeveloped area of our religion. It’s our history, and we’ve lost it,” Palmer said. “It’s an important tradition to a lot of people in the world, and I’d like to understand it better.”

The relationship between the faiths has been strained over the Mormon practice of posthumous baptisms, which have included the baptism of Jews killed in Nazi concentration camps.

‘As kosher as possible’

Some Holocaust survivors have said the church repeatedly violated an agreement barring the practice. Mormon church leaders have said they are making changes to their genealogical database to make it more difficult for names of Holocaust victims to be entered for posthumous baptism by proxy.

Jewish leaders in Utah say they aren’t offended when Mormons sit down to a seder.

“I don’t find it insulting; I say that it just validates that much more the preciousness and the richness of our heritage,” said Rabbi Ben Zippel of Utah’s Chabad Lubavitch congregation. “I think that the best form of flattery is imitation.”

Hebraeus Foundation board member Charlene Stott said there will be plenty of that at the Seder, where the familiar trappings and trimmings of the meal, such as the unleavened bread, matzo, are part of the experience.

“We keep the dinner as kosher as possible, although the kitchen wouldn’t qualify,” Stott said in an e-mail.

Mormon men will also wear yarmulkes on their heads. Everyone will follow along in a Haggadah, a reading at seders retelling the Exodus narrative.

The one major exception, Stott said, was that wine won’t make it onto the dining tables since many Mormons abstain from alcohol.

“We serve Paul Newman’s Own grape juice,” Stott said. “Great stuff, and we still have fun.”

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No one want to bring visitors to Israel more than yours-truly…but NOT at any cost…
G-d’s mandate to the Jewish People, their “chosen-ness”, calls for us to be a “light unto the nations”. We are supposed to embody the moral standards set out in the Torah (Bible). It is encumbent upon the Jewish State of Israel to portray those moral ideals and proper Torah/Bible values to the world…this ad just doesn’t do it…

Israelis prove that size doesn’t matter

Canadian Council for Israel, Jewish Advocacy release 54-second ad depicting a couple in bed as part of campaign aimed at enticing Canadian university students to visit Holy Land. Not everyone seems to be pleased

Reprinted from YNet News/Shalom Life

VIDEO – If sex truly sells, then the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy just boosted tourism in Israel. In conjunction with the Israeli consulate in Canada, CIJA recently released a 54-second spot as part of the “Size Doesn’t Matter” campaign, which aims to entice Canadian university students to visit the Middle Eastern country.

The ad depicts a couple in bed, with the woman looking at the man’s crotch saying she can’t go there because “it’s too small.” The man replies, “I consider this a spot of worship. It may be small, but it’s brought the driest places to life. Baby, this is paradise.” The camera then pans to Israel maps and pocket guides placed strategically on the man’s lower body parts.

We’re Great!
Israelis recruited to PR Corps / Itamar Eichner
If reserve military duty wasn’t enough for them, Israeli tourists are invited to join efforts to improve State’s image abroad. Ministry of Information launches campaign, complete with training centers. Remember: Israel developed cherry tomatoes
Full story

The video attempts to promote the more attractive side of Israel, but not everyone seems to be pleased. Jewish blogger Richard Silverstein thinks the ad was made in “bad taste” and says it ignores the cultural complexities any tourist will discover while visiting Israel. He says, “I’m simply flabbergasted that Israel would use the promise of fellatio and cunnilingus to promote itself.”

Writer Neal Ungerleider, who is based in New York but spent a good amount of time in Israel, believes the ad was humorous but completely missed the mark in promoting the country itself. He says, “It is hard to believe even a single viewer will show interest in visiting Israel or have a higher opinion of Israel because of the ad. As even a first year employee at an advertising agency will tell you, associating your country with small genitalia isn’t the smartest move to attract tourism.”

This is not the first time, however, that Israeli governing bodies have opted for sex-themed promotional material. In 2007, four bikini-clad women from the Israel Defense Forces posed in sexy army-wear for Maxim magazine’s July issue.

David Saranga, consul for media and public affairs in New York, said to the New York Post that the spread was supposed to improve the image of Israel among men aged 18-38 years old. But the Maxim photos received a lot of backlash from critics and even Israeli female legislators who found the images to be pornographic. Fast forward to present times and Israel promotions continue to stir controversy with the Size Doesn’t Matter campaign.

Words of wisdom from a modern-day Torah sage…

Rabbi Yosef: Drunkenness is abominable

In his weekly sermon, Shas’ spiritual leader retells Book of Esther, warns against intoxication during Purim. ‘During holiday one must drink very little, only as symbolic act to remember Ahasuerus’ feast – without getting intoxicated,’ he says

YNet News Kobi Nahshoni

Shas’ spiritual leader, Rabbi Ovadia, Yosef saaid Saturday evening that “drunkenness is an abominable and nefarious act” and that in Purim one must drink very little wine, only as a symbolic act to remember Ahasuerus’ feast – without getting intoxicated.

In his weekly sermon Saturday eve, Yosef said, “Haman was intoxicated, but we must act with good manners.” The rabbi recommended drinking until one falls asleep – a situation in which one does not distinguish between ‘Haman the agitate’ and ‘Mordechai the blessed’.”

“A man that is drunk – what good is he?” wondered Rabbi Yosef, and stated that instead a man must “take a rest, rise up and practice religion throughout the day. Some people are up to no good. They get drunk and then take the bus and act in a rowdy manner – that is defamation of God,” he said.

Hours after The Book of Esther was read throughout the country, Rabbi Yosef retold the tale, while adding his own interpretation and humor. He added that the people of Israel were rescued by the Torah, and called on the public to donate to the institutions where the Torah was being taught.

The rabbi noted that one does not fulfill the mitzvah of exchanging Purim gifts (mishloah manot) by giving them to gentiles, and explained that the purpose of the tradition was to “show a lot of affection and love,” and therefore it did not matter if it was given to “a Hassid, a Lithuanian or a proselyte.”

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Will we be seeing it any time soon?…We learn about the building of the Ark of the covenant by Moses in this week’s Torah reading, Terumah…But what has the Ark been doing since then?…A history of the travels and tribulations of the Ark of the Covenant from Moses until the present…Where is it now?…Why has it not yet been revealed?…When will the Ark be revealed to us?…All this and more on “The Marty Roberts Show”…