Thanks to everyone who has downloaded and followed the Jewish Almanac.  I appreciated the feedback and advice I got from everyone.   It was  a great learning experience for me, both in terms of preparing the content, and in getting to share Torah in the digital age.

However, there were some pitfalls that I could have noticed had I thought about it.  They are mistakes that I hope to avoid in my next project, Cloud Tent.

The issues the Jewish Almanac had were:

1.  A lot of effort involved in creating content that did not have re-usability.

One of the great aspects of the web, is the ability for developers to make once and have it used many times.  The nature of a daily almanac is the content only has utility for that day.  I think it would be great if a Jewish organization with greater resources were to carry this project forward, but for an individual it was simply too much work.  This ties into the next element….

2.   Limited resources.

To do the history part well, I think, would require digging up letters and stories to bring the history to life.  Too often I was left reporting on events, when I felt that I should be getting at the heart of the story.

My next project, with God’s help, is a place for teachers to share online instructional videos that teach classic Jewish texts.  I am blessed with my own children, and nephews and nieces, who often need additional help at home understanding and reviewing the text that they learned that day in school.  I think something akin to the Khan Academy, khanacademy.org, but for Jewish studies could be of great value.  If you are interested in such a resource for your children, for yourself, or you are interested in teaching, please be in touch.

http://www.cloudtent.org/contact

Thanks again.  I look forward to hopefully continuing to learn with, and from, so may of you.

Jeffrey Alhadeff

PS– To those of you on the iPhone App, I apologize for the app suddenly stopped working.  I didn’t realize that my terms of my subscription were such that the app would cease to function once I canceled my hosting plan.  I thought the hosting plan would continue for through the end of the month.  My mistake.

When I heard of Mr. Hasson’s passing, I was sadder than usual than when a elder member of the community dies. My emotional reaction didn’t surprise me, much. After all, Mr. Hasson was born on the Island of Rhodes, the same island in the Mediterranean that my great-grandparents whom I never met came from, and survived the Holocaust. Six months in Auschwitz. My first thought was that he was an icon. But after the funeral, when I lay in bed, unable to help around the house, and just let silent tears drip from my eyes, I was perplexed through my sadness. What caused me to ache so miserably for a man who died in his old age, having merited seeing many grandchildren and great-grandchildren? Why am I choking back tears now, for a man with whom my relationship consisted little more than saying, “Shabbat Shalom Mr. Hasson”?
As a Jew, you know you are a minority. Your customs are yours, and no one else will keep them for you. When you are Sefardic, you are a minority within a minority. Being from the Island of Rhodes is a tiny minority within Sefardic Jewry. It is inevitable; to feel a strong sense of need to uphold traditions. Perhaps an inordinate amount of time is dedicated to questions of, “How did we perform this act?”, “How is the nuance of Biblical Hebrew pronounced?’ and other such questions that arise when a faith is mixed with a culture.
These sorts of questions consume and continue to consume a fair amount of conversation when I am at Khal (Synagogue). When one watched or listened to Mr. Hasson, you felt that the past and ambiguities that come from time had never existed for him.
Even though we attended the same synagogue, I really never appreciated Mr. Hasson until I had his grand-daughter in my class. It was through her that I first learned that her grandfather was born on the Island of Rhodes, and was taken by the Nazis when he was in his early twenties. It struck me that it would be an amazing opportunity to have him come and speak to my middle school students. Later, when his youngest grand-daughter was in my class, I asked him if he would visit. He agreed. I was not prepared to hear his unvarnished account of his idyllic life on the Island of Rhodes, or the miserable conditions and experiences he endured on the way to and while in Auschwitz. His recounting had no hint of anger or judgment. He played soccer in Rhodes (one of the best teams on the Island) and again in the displaced person camps. From as best as I can tell, he picked up he pieces of his life, and went on.
At this point, I started to appreciate his regular attendance early on Saturday morning services. As the men and young boys took turns leading the Zimirot, Psalms, that are read, Mr. Hasson would always read two: Psalm 136 “Give thanks to God for He is Good, for His mercy endures forever” and Psalm 145 “I will exalt my God the King”. This came from the man who weighed 85 lbs. at the end of the war, who lived with the number B7452 on his left arm. From that time on, I decided to stand for Mr. Hasson, an honor usually reserved for the Rabbi or one’s immediate family. As a survivor who lived with his faith, he deserved all the respect we could offer him.
The elder generation was, on the whole, well known for being people of few words. Simple pleasures and simple desires were good enough. In fact, what else was there? It came as no surprise, when Mr. Hasson, at an synagogue dinner, shared the importance of Ezra Bessaroth (Seattle based Rhodesli Synagogue) with the audience by saying, “I recall when I was a young boy in Rhodes I sat next to my father and he was happy. Now, my son sits next to me and I am happy.” The metaphysical musings of a person’s role in this world are not what was important. The simple pleasures of family and faith combined were cherished.
I heard so much of the Island of Rhodes, foods and customs and expressions, that I was somewhat surprised when I first looked at the island on Google Earth. I had begun to think that the place must be some magical fantasy. That it perhaps was frozen in time when my family arrived in Seattle in the 1910s. To see that it was real was almost shocking.
The Jewish life of the Island of Rhodes no longer really exists on Rhodes. It has been scattered into communities throughout the world. In the most positive assessment, it is a community that possesses a large number of culturally committed people with only few religiously observant. It is a community that is in most locations is in decline. But while Mr. Hasson was still alive, there was one person that we could look to and with confidence say that the story of the Jewish people on the Island of Rhodes was true. B7452 attested to the people that were murdered from these Islands. Mr. Hasson showed that our history has people of great faith, who could endure untold suffering, then pick up the pieces and go on again with faith. He was not an icon. He was a living embodiment of the values, hopes, and history of the Jewish people who came from the Island of Rhodes. We could listen to him lead the Zemirot and know that the way we are reading now was indeed the way people on the Island of Rhodes once read. I savored the end of services, since my seat is closer to the door, I’d wait for him to walk by and wish him Shabbat Shalom. On more than one occasion he showed the numbers on his arm to my children.
With his passing, my link, my community’s link to the evidence of our past is gone. I would point out Mr. Hasson to guests who would visit our Khal. He was our roots. Our community remains blessed with many devout people who are making great strides in preserving our unique traditions. But a man from Rhodes, who read Psalms like I was taught, is gone. A man who lived a quite faith, who exemplified what we as a people can be, is gone. Our sense of reality and grounding is lost. My spiritual grandfather is no longer with me, leaving me alone with my memories to form my self-identity. My sadness is not just at the loss of a precious soul. It is a at the shattering of my self-image. I am broken, and will need to re-mend with the memories of Mr. Hasson as a part of me.
I know I will always be wishing that I could say, “Shabbat Shalom Mr. Hasson” just one more time.

Today is a fast day mourning the assassination of the Jewish royal Gedaliah ben Achikam, governor of the Land of Israel for a short period following the destruction of the First Temple. Gedaliah’s killing spelled the end of the small remnant of a Jewish community that remained in the Holy Land after the destruction, which fled to Egypt. (According to many opinions, the assassination of Gedaliah actually occurred on Rosh Hashanah, but the commemoration of the event is postponed to the day after the festival; when the day after Rosh Hashanah is a Shabbat — as it is this year — the fast is postponed to Tishrei 4.)

Monday 5 Tishrei

The great Talmudic sage, Rabbi Akiva, was taken captive by the Romans on Tishrei 5 of the year 3894 from creation (134 CE). His subsequent torture and execution is recalled in the stirring Eleh Ezkarah poem of the Yom Kippur service.

Naftali, the son of Jacob and Bilhah, sixth of the Twelve Tribes, was born on the 5th of Tishrei. He lived to be 133 years old.

Tuesday 6 Tishrei

Tishrei 6 is the yahrtzeit of Rebbetzin Chana Schneerson (1879-1964), mother of the Lubavitcher Rebbe z’l.

Thursday 8 Tishrei

The 14-day dedication festivities, celebrating the completion of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem built by King Solomon, commenced on the 8th of Tishrei of the year 2935 from creation (826 BCE). The First Temple served as the epicenter of Jewish national and spiritual life for 410 year, until its destruction by the Babylonians in 423 BCE.

Shabbat 10 Tishrei

Birth of Rebecca (1677-1556 BCE), wife of Isaac, mother of Jacob and Esau, and one of the Four Matriarchs of Israel.

On the 10th of Tishrei of the year 2449 from creation, 82 days after the people of Israel betrayed their newly entered covenant with G-d by worshipping a Golden Calf and after Moses twice spent 40 days atop Mount Sinai pleading on their behalf, “G-d restored His goodwill with the Jewish people gladly and wholeheartedly, saying to Moses ‘I have forgiven, as you ask’, and gave him the Second Tablets” — thereby establishing the day as a time for atonement, forgiveness and teshuvah for all generations.

From the Haftara for Yom Kippur

In my trouble I called to God;
He answered me.

From the belly of the depths I cried out:
You heard my voice.

Elul 27 is the yahrtzeit of Rabbi Shalom Rokeach (1779-1855), founder of the Belz Chassidic dynasty.

Thursday 1 Tishrei

Today is Rosh Hashana, marking the creation of Adam and Eve (3760 BCE) and the binding of Isaac and the passing of Sara in 1677 BCE.  It is also the day when Noach sent the Dove for its third and final mission.  When the Dove did not return, Noach knew that the land had dried and that the flood has ceased.

Shabbat 3 Tishrei

Rebbetzin Devorah Leah, daughter of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi and mother ofRabbi Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch (the “Tzemach Tzedek”), passed away on this date just three days after her young son’s third birthday.

Elul 13 is the yahrtzeit of Rabbi Yosef Chaim of Baghdad (1835-1909), the renowned Sephardic Halachic authority and Kabbalist, known as “Ben Ish Chai” after his work by that name.

Friday, 17 Elul

Following the failed attempt to dispatch a raven from the ark (see “Today in Jewish History” for Elul 10), Noah sent a dove from the window of the ark to see if the great Flood that covered the earth had abated. “But the dove found no resting place for the sole of its foot” and returned to the ark; Noah waited seven days before making another attempt.

Saturday 18 Elul

Elul 18 is the birthday of Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Chassidism

Rabbi Israel was born in a small town in Ukraine in 1698. His father, Rabbi Eliezer, who was a member of the secret society of “hidden tzaddikim,” passed away when young Israel was only five years old; his last words to his son were, “Fear nothing but G-d alone. Love every Jew with all your heart and all your soul.”

The young orphan would spend much of his time wandering and meditating in the forests that surrounded his hometown; there, he one day met with one of his father’s compatriots, and eventually joined their society. For many years, he lived disguised as a simple innkeeper and clay-digger, his greatness known only to a very small circle of fellow mystics and disciples. But on his 36th birthday, he was instructed by his master to “reveal” himself and publicly disseminate his teachings.

Drawing from the mystical “soul of Torah,” the Baal Shem Tov (“Master of the Good Name,” as he came to be known) taught about the spark of G-dliness that is to be found in every creation, and about the great love that G-d has for each and every one of His children, scholars and simple folk alike. He emphasized the importance of joy and simple faith in serving G-d, rather than ascetism. Initially, his teachings encountered fierce opposition from the scholarly elite and established leadership of the Jewish community; but many of those very scholars and communal leaders ended up becoming his devoted disciples. When Rabbi Israel passed at age 62 on Shavuot of 1760, the movement he founded was well on the way of becoming one of the most vital forces in Jewish life.

Torah Portion: Ki Tavo
Summary:
At the end of this weeks Torah portion, the Torah recounts how Moses called to the entire Jewish people and told them:

God has not given you a heart to understand, eyes to see, and ears to hear, until this day.
Deut 28:3

Question:
What day was this?

Answer:

Rashi comments:

I heard that on this day Moses gave a Torah scroll to the children of Levi (his tribe and the tribe responsible for teaching)…. and all of Israel came and said to him, ‘Moses our teacher, we also stood near the Mountain of Sinai, received the Torah, and it was given to us.  Why then do the child of your tribe have possession of it?… It wasn’t (just) given to you (Tribe of Levi) it was given to us!’  Moses was very happy with their words and said, ‘…Today I understand that you are clinging and desire the Omnipresent.

Question:

What is the connection between desiring the Torah and God granting the heart to understand, eyes to see….

A thought:

Additional perception can be a dangerous gift.  This idea is expressed in the statement “Ignorance is bliss”.  So advanced perception with out a desire to cling to God could lead a person astray.   God therefore waited till the people had demonstrated a profound love of God before gifting them with “A heart to understand, eyes to see, and ears to hear.”