Posted By admin on October 7, 2014
Palestinians continue to suffer as Egypt closes Rafah crossing Egypt has sealed off its crossing with Gaza Strip for five days. Egyptian officials have allegedly closed their border with Gaza for Eid al-Adha holidays.
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Palestinians continue to suffer as Egypt closes Rafah crossing - Video
Posted By admin on October 7, 2014
S1 Gaza Situation FINAL1 By: Strathclyde Modern Studies Videos
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S1 Gaza Situation FINAL1 - Video
Posted By richards on October 7, 2014
October 6 at 9:07 PM
The full text of a letter from Rabbi Gil Steinlauf to the Adas Israel congregation:
Dear Friends,
I am writing to share with you that after twenty years of marriage, my wife Batya and I have decided to divorce. We have arrived at this heartbreaking decision because I have come to understand that I am gay. These are great upheavals in my personal life, as in Batyas and that of our children. But it is plain to all of us that because of my position as Rabbi of Adas Israel, this private matter may also have a public aspect. We recognize that you may well need a period of reflection to absorb this sudden news. I am most grateful for the support Adas lay leaders and clergy have provided my family and me in the short time since I brought this matter to their attention. That support makes it possible for us to prepare for this new chapter in our lives, and for me in my ongoing service as Rabbi of Adas Israel Congregation.
While I struggled in my childhood and adolescence with a difference I recognized in myself, that feeling of difference did not then define my identity, much less the spouse I would seek. I sought to marry a woman because of a belief that this was the right thing for me. This conviction was reinforced by having grown up in a different era, when the attitudes and counsel of adult professionals and peers encouraged me to deny this uncertain aspect of myself. I met and fell in love with Batya, a wonderful woman who loved and accepted me exactly as I am. Together, we have shared a love so deep and real, and together we have built a loving home with our children--founded principally on the values and joys of Jewish life and tradition. But my inner struggle never did go away. Indeed, Batya herself has supported me through this very personal inner struggle that she knew to be the source of great pain and confusion in my life over decades.
A text Ive sat with for years is from the Babylonian Talmud (Yoma 72b) and states, Rabbah said, any scholar whose inside does not match his outside is no scholar. Abaye, and some say Ravah bar Ulah, said [one whose inside does not match his outside] is called an abomination. Ultimately, the dissonance between my inside and my outside became undeniable, then unwise, and finally intolerable. With much pain and tears, together with my beloved wife, I have come to understand that I could walk my path with the greatest strength, with the greatest peace in my heart, with the greatest healing and wholeness, when I finally acknowledged that I am a gay man. Sadly, for us this means that Batya and I can no longer remain married, despite our fidelity throughout our marriage and our abiding friendship and love. As our divorce is not born of rancor, we pray that together with our children we will remain bound by a brit mishpachah, a covenant of family.
I hope and pray, too, that I will be the best father, family member, rabbi, friend, and human being I can be, now that I have resolved a decades-long struggle. The truth is that like anyone else, I have no choice but to live with the reality, or personal Torah, of my life. I ask for your continued trust in me to guide you as your spiritual leader as I truly am. I also ask for your love and kindness toward Batya and our children as they seek to live their lives with dignity, as they journey the challenging road ahead.
I feel immensely proud that for many generations our congregation has set standards of vision and leadership in the American Jewish community and am sincerely grateful for the privilege of serving Adas Israel. Now, with deepened humility, I look forward to continuing the delicate task of marking and celebrating our shared human journeys in joy and in holiness.
LShalom,
Rabbi Gil Steinlauf
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Posted By richards on October 7, 2014
The leader of one of the Washington regions most prominent synagogues on Monday came out as gay, telling his thousands of congregants in a brutally personal e-mail that a lifelong effort to deny his sexuality was over and that he and his wife of 20 years would be divorcing.
With much pain and tears, together with my beloved wife, I have come to understand that I could walk my path with the greatest strength, with the greatest peace in my heart, with the greatest healing and wholeness, when I finally acknowledged that I am a gay man, Rabbi Gil Steinlauf wrote to members of Adas Israel Congregation, in Northwest Washington.
In the six years since Steinlauf came to Adas, he has pumped energy into the large, 146-year-old synagogue with efforts aimed at both more traditional and progressive Jews. He made news in 2012 when he officiated at the first same-sex wedding at Adas Israel.
Love is queer, Steinlauf wrote last year in a piece called The Queerness of Love: A Jewish Case for Same-Sex Marriage. We Jews are a people who never quite fit into the same categories as others.
But only Monday did the father of three teenagers reveal how closely he identifies with the notion of not fitting in.
Any scholar whose inside does not match his outside is no scholar, the rabbi wrote Monday, quoting the Talmud. Ultimately the dissonance between my inside and my outside became undeniable, then unwise, and finally intolerable.
In his letter to the congregation of 1,420 households, and then in an interview, Steinlauf described an incredibly close relationship with his wife, whom he met in rabbinical school. The pair, he told The Washington Post, spent the past three years desperately looking at one another, thinking, how can we hold onto this marriage, because we love one another so much? And concluding that a reality hed walled off since he was a boy wasnt going away.
What weve had for 20 years is very real, and the last thing Id want is for us to live a lie, he said.
His wife, Rabbi Batya Steinlauf, leads social justice and interfaith efforts for the Jewish Community Relations Council, the regional Jewish communitys main advocacy arm.
Gil Steinlauf, 45, is credited with leading the creation of programs that intrigued both traditional and more progressive Jews. He created a 21st-Century Torah study center as well as the Jewish Mindfulness Center of Washington, with a focus on chanting and meditation.
Originally posted here:
In a D.C. rabbis e-mail, revelation and relief: I am a gay man
Posted By richards on October 7, 2014
Washington, DC Synagogue Helps Furloughed Worker
all current on our channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChbqxKh5mM79zevZ8w5Xvqw.
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Posted By richards on October 7, 2014
Lagos to begin probe of Synagogue building collapse on Oct. 13th
Also to testify are the National Emergency Management Agency, the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, the Nigerian Red Cross Society, the Lagos State Fire Service and the Lagos State Transport...
By: splashnaijaNG
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Lagos to begin probe of Synagogue building collapse on Oct. 13th - Video
Posted By richards on October 7, 2014
Breslov Hasidim Flood Town to Back Eliezer Berland By JTA
Published October 06, 2014.
A Dutch municipality ordered the eviction of 270 Jews from a camping site that is overcrowded with followers of the fugitive rabbi Eliezer Berland.
The order was issued Friday by the island municipality of Texel in the countrys north in connection with the arrival of 300 Orthodox Jews from the Breslov Hassidic sect ahead of Yom Kippur to a Jewish-owned camping site whose capacity is 30 people, the Noordhollands Dagblad daily newspaper reported.
The visitors came from various countries to spend the holiday with Berland, who was arrested in the Netherlands last month. Founder of the Shuvu Bonim religious seminary, Berland fled Israel to Morocco and from there to South Africa last year amid allegations that he molested two female followers, including a minor. Israel requested his extradition and he is staying in Holland while justice authorities review the request.
Berland and his followers arrived ahead of the weekend at Camping Dennenlust, which belongs to a Jewish couple, Avraham and Rivka Pranger.
Out of consideration for the religious sentiment of the campers, Mayor Francine Giskes gave the Prangers until Sunday for their site to adhere once more to its legal capacity, the daily reported. She consulted several mayors in the region on how to approach the matter.
Avraham Pranger told the daily he and his wife did not know 300 people would descend on their small business and that the guests kept multiplying despite the couples request that they find an alternative arrangement.
It all began with a reservation by a rabbi from Amsterdam and 30 of his followers, he told the daily before Yom Kippur. We are totally overrun but these are fellow Jews and I cant just chase them away. I think its through social media; The message spread.
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Dutch Campsite Overrun by Supporters of Fugitive Breslov Hasidic Rabbi
Posted By richards on October 7, 2014
Kol nidre Ashkenazi/Sephardi
I was honored to be asked to cantor the Kol nidre for erev Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) service. This is an ancient prayer that begins the renunciation of vows, asking HShem for forgiveness of sins.
By: PrincessYehudia
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Posted By admin on October 7, 2014
INFORMUCATE: ANNE FRANK Informucate Fast Facts Videos cover thousands of topics, with more added daily.and if you like our videos, you will love our unique take on the news at http://www.informucate.com. By: INFORMUCATE
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INFORMUCATE: ANNE FRANK - Video
Posted By admin on October 6, 2014
GAZA- MAHDERE ZENA | -- by Fezekir News By: IslamFirst
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