Lighting Chanukah candles with the Estonian PM

December 18, 2017

Rabbi Menachem Margolin:

“The story of Chanukah teaches us that the Jewish people did not win the battle because they were the stronger, but because G-d saw that they were fighting for their beliefs with all their heart.

G-d created the world and everything in it. He also created the different conflicts in it.

Therefore what we should take from this fact is that if conflict or challenges are given to us in order to test us or to strengthen our resolve.

We are therefore wiser if we recognise that we should not run away from challemges but fight them and win, and in doing so we can look for more and more miracles like the one that happened at this time of Chanukah.

Dear Prime Minister, in our days, where we are experiencing a lot of racism, anti-Semitism and hatred we should not be frightened by these challenges either. Because if we will all fight it constantly, eventually our way will win.

Chag Shameach”

Additional Articles

EIPA - Interviews of 2 Returned hostages from Gaza

Yesterday, our colleagues at EIPA interviewed with two incredibly strong women who were previously held captive during the attacks on October 7th.

Nili Margalit, aged 41, was taken hostage by Hamas militants at her residence in Kibbutz Nir Oz during the aforementioned incident. This attack resulted in the loss and abduction of over a quarter of the kibbutz population. Margalit, who works as a nurse at Soroka Hospital, had been in contact with several friends on the morning of the assault. During the attack, she found refuge in her secure room along with her dog and communicated via text that the militants had been present for “several hours.” She recounted being confined to her secure area while hearing gunfire from outside.

Shani Goren, 29, was abducted by Hamas terrorists from her safe room in Kibbutz Nir Oz, frozen with fear in her bed, around 10:30 a.m. on October 7. Shani works in the kibbutz educational system as a counselor. She is someone greatly admired for her energy and sense of joy, described as the beating heart of her friends in the kibbutz, always ready to host everyone in her home.

Special briefing with the Israeli ambassador to the EU and NATO H.E. Mr. Haim Regev

Join us for an in-depth discussion on “Israel at War, what’s next?” featuring a special briefing by the Israeli Ambassador to the EU and NATO, H.E. Mr. Haim Regev.

In this critical briefing, we will gain insights into Israel’s current state of affairs and discuss the path forward. It’s a unique opportunity to hear from a distinguished diplomat and gain a deeper understanding of the region’s complex issues.

Stay tuned for further details. This event promises to be informative and thought-provoking.

We look forward to your participation in this important event. Stay connected for updates, and mark your calendars!

Noah's Ark - A Global Lockdown, Reflections from Our Advisory Board Member Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs

Every Day during the Corona crisis our Advisory Board Member Chief Rabbi Jacobs (NL) writes a diary, on request of the Jewish Cultural Quarter in Amsterdam,  which is published on the website of the NIW, the only Jewish Dutch Magazine. Rabbi Jacobs is the head of Inter Governmental Relationships at the Rabbinical Centre of Europe. We will be regularly publishing a selection of his informative, sometimes light hearted, but always wise pieces.
This week in the Torah Portion we cover the story of Noah. Here, the Rabbi offers his unique and refreshing take on the portion. For our Dutch readers you can follow the diary every day at NIW home page: https://niw.nl and then: scroll down.
Noah’s Ark – A Global Lockdown
At 8:10 am, its Shabbat and suddenly the power went out. That is always difficult, but especially on Shabbat because I cannot call a breakdown service (even if the phone would still work).
Water for coffee and tea in the Shabbat kettle was nicely turned on Friday evening before the start of Shabbat, the meal for Shabbat afternoon was simmering in the slow cooker… lighting, freezer and refrigerator, heating ….. Nothing worked anymore.
I went to the electrical box to see if the earth switch was to blame. But even if this had been the case, there was still little I could have done: Shabbat! And then my Reformatorisch Dagblad newspaper popped through the mailbox.
I immediately opened the door and reported my electrical problem to the delivery person.
They immediately understood the problem. “I’ll check what’s going on, because you can’t do that because of Shabbat!” He immediately went into the electrical box, could not find anything out of the ordinary and then went to see if there were also problems elsewhere in the neighborhood.
Five minutes later he was back and told me the whole neighbourhood had no power. At that moment the light came on again. How happy I was with my Reformatorisch Dagblad, which not only brings the newspaper, but also the light!
And so I went with confidence to the synagogue where the beginning of Bereshit was read, including: Then God said, “Let there be light” and there was light! For a moment I felt that the self-evident is not always so self-evident!
Next Shabbat: the story of Noah. Before the outbreak of the flood, Noah was instructed by G-d to go into the Ark. And when it was dry outside he had to leave that Ark again.
Why, the question is asked, should he be ordered to leave the Ark? It was dry anyway! The answer contains an important life lesson. In the Ark there was an atmosphere of real Shalom, similar to the period after the arrival of the Moshiach, so he did not consider leaving the Ark. Why go into the world with all its worries and misery?
But G-d clearly pointed out that isolation from society is wrong. In that world with all its trials, we have the task to serve Him by making a contribution to the society surrounding us, even if closing off would be more pleasant for us personally. So, no Jewish monasteries!
But before the flood began, Noah was instructed to just enter the Ark and shut himself off from that world. Without wanting to compare corona with the Flood, there are times when we, you and I, have to be right in the middle of the world to be ready for others. But there are also periods when we are temporarily not allowed to go outside, social distance. How long do we have to stay in? We do not know.
But just as Noah did not protest and stayed in the Ark when he was required to do so, so too we must stay in, even if we find it difficult. It is too dangerous outside. We should not play with health. This coming Shabbat this will be emphasized extra in all shuls in the world. Noah Had to Enter the Ark: The First Global Lockdown!

European Jewish Association Repudiates German call to avoid wearing a kippah.

“we must not agree, let alone encourage the Jews, to give up its religious attributes” says European Jewish Head.
 

The chairman of the European Jewish Association (EJA), Rabbi Menachem Margolin, today called upon the President of the Central Council of German Jews, Yosef Schuster, to retract his call to Jews to refrain from wearing a skullcap in public space in Germany 

In a statement Rabbi Margolin said:

“I have no doubt that the declaration stems from Mr. Schuster’s sincere concern for the safety of The Jews – a concern that I naturally share in light of the growing anti-Semitism in Europe, but unfortunately he is mistaken in the cure for the serious problem, “says Rabbi Margolin.

Emphasising the point, he went on: “ Not wearing a skullcap due to fear of anti-Semitism is in fact the fulfillment of the vision of anti-Semites in Europe. 

The leaders of the Jewish communities and organizations must insist that every government care for the security of all its inhabitants and do more to educate and prevent this dangerous phenomena. 

But we must not agree, let alone encourage the Jews – or any other religious or ethnic group – to give up its religious attributes. ” 

That is why the call to refrain from wearing a skullcap is also liable to turn those who wear skullcaps into a provocative act and deserving of a response.”

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