Maimonides' Thirteen Attributes of God

In Maimonides' commentary to the Mishnah (ch. 10 of Sanhedrin), he offers 13 principles which he believed sum up the things that all Jews should believe. They are (in a much abbreviated form of my own):

1. There is a Creator who is perfect and put into motion all that exists.
2. God is One.
3. God has no body and cannot be affected by any physical force.
4. God is Eternal.
5. A Jew must worship God exclusively and no foreign or false gods.
6. God communicates with humanity through prophecy.
7. The prophecy of Moses is the greatest there is and ever will be.
8. The Torah comes from God.
9. The Torah cannot be changed.
10. God knows and sees all.
11. God rewards and punishes people.
12. The Messiah and the messianic era will arrive, some day.
13. God will resurrect the dead.

There are many excellent translations of the Thirteen available on the web. Many of them are based on a summarized version used in many siddurim called "Ani Ma'amin" ("I believe"), which is recited daily as a prayer by some communities. (Of course, we already learned that "Yigdal" is a summary of the attributes, too.) "Adon Olam" also reflects Rambam's beliefs. There is a very good translation of Maimonides' own words, as they appear in his commentary, here.

These Attributes, or Principles of Faith, were controversial from the very first time they appeared. Many people argue that there is no "test" of belief for Judaism at all; others argue the specific details of the principles with Rambam. If you are interested in these controversies it might be helpful to look at these articles in the Jewish Encyclopedia and at MyJewishLearning.com.

Seventh Grade Etz Chayim students should read the list of Rambam's 13 Attributes and add to the comments section here a sentence that says one thing that they believe and that they feel could apply to all Jews. Students may also share a response to Maimonides' Attributes. Please be aware that all posts are being reviewed by Rabbi Rachel, so they will not appear immediately. The only non-students whose comments will be posted are those of parents from this class.

Maimonides for Seventh Graders

The Jewish Virtual Library has a great article on Rambam. Students missing class on October 24 should read the article (here). There is also an interesting article in the Jewish Encyclopedia on Articles of Faith. Pay particular attention to the Thirteen Articles of Faith of Maimonides.

Rabbi Rochel's Favorite Ladino Song

"Cuando El Rey Nimrod" ("When the King Nimrod...") is a Ladino song about the birth of Abraham. Follow this link to see the lyrics and listen to the song. If you want to read a short explanation of the song and its unusual themes, read the Wikipedia entry. It's my favorite Ladino song. I first heard it sung by the amazing Jewish band Divahn about five or six years ago. You can listen to the song and others like it at CD Baby.

Material for Sixth Graders Missing October 24 Lesson

I know that there are many kids missing class today due to Science Camp. If you've missed class, read this article over: Zionism without Zion. It's about the Uganda proposal presented to early Zionists by Herzl. Enjoy!

"The Sticker Song" Lyrics Revisited

Since the link to the lyrics didn't seem to work, I am posting the following translation, which I got from the Israel Center San Francisco website.

The Sticker Song

haDag Nachash

Translated by Dan Rice

A Whole Generation Demands Peace

Let Tsahal Win

A Strong Nation Makes Peace

Let Tsahal Play Hardball

No Peace With Arabs

Don't Give Them Guns

Combat is the Most, Bro

Draft Everybody Exempt Everybody

There's No Despair in the World

The Territories Are Here

Na Nach Nachman me-Uman [religious chant]

NO FEAR - Mashiach Is Here

No Arabs, No Bombings

The Supreme Court Endangers Jews!

The Nation is With the Golan

The People are for Transfer

Driving Test in Yirka

Friend, We Miss You

The Holy One Blessed Be He, We are Voting for You

Direct Elections Are Evil

The Holy One Blessed Be He, We are Zealots for You

Death to Zealots...

How much evil

Can you swallow?

Father have mercy

Father have mercy

My name is Nachman and I stut- stut- stutter

How much evil

Can you swallow?

Father have mercy

Father have mercy

Blessed Be God that I breathe, and so,

A Religious State, There Goes The State

Whoever Was Born Won

Long Live King Messiah

I Feel Safe With Sharon's Peace

Hebron Always Forever

And Whoever Wasn't Born Lost

Hebron Forefathers Peace Transfer

Kahane Was Right

CNN Lies, We Need a Strong Leader

Bravo for Peace!

Thanks For the Security!

We Have No Children to Spare for Unnecessary Wars

The Left Helps the Arabs

Bibi is Good for the Jews, Oslo Criminals to Justice!

We're Here They're There

Brothers Don't Desert

Uprooting of Settlements Divides the Nation

Death to Traitors!

Let the Animals Live

Death to Values!

How much evil

Can you swallow

Father have mercy

Father have mercy

My name is Nachman and I stut- stut- stutter

How much evil

Can you swallow

Father have mercy

Father have mercy

Blessed Be God That I Breathe, and so

Wipe Out, Kill, Deport, Exile,

Exterminate, Extradite, Death Penalty NO FEAR!

Destroy, Eradicate, Overthrow, Mop Up

Everything for You, Friend!

Zionism before Herzl

Timeline of Zionism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This timeline shows how Herzl, though called the Father of Zionism, was not the first Zionist. Check out the entries on Hovevei Zion, Eliezer ben Yehuda, and Dr. Leon Pinsker.

Many of these early Zionists wrote pamphlets to convince Jewish that it was necessary to create a Jewish homeland. One of these was Pinsker's Auto-Emancipation. It's a long document, but is an excellent example of the types of arguments popular with these early supporters of a Jewish state. Check it out here.

More on the Dreyfus Affair and Cartoons

The following article from the New York Times is about art, artists, and the Dreyfus Affair. It specifically mentions the "Museum of Horrors" cartoons (like the one we examined in class, depicting Alfred Dreyfus as one head of the Jewish hydra). Did you know that Monet supported Dreyfus and Degas used the Affair to turn his back on close Jewish friends?
NEW YORK; In France's Dreyfus Affair, The Artists, Too, Asked, 'Which Side Are You On? - New York Times

On this next web page, read the text, then click on Media and Archives links (right side of page) to see more cartoons, including another Museum of Horrors cartoon showing Dreyfus as an inhuman beast. http://www.dreyfus.culture.fr/en/the-french-and-the-dreyfus-affair/jews-in-france/Anti-semitism-at-the-turn-of-the-century.htm?#m98

The same www.dreyfus.culture.fr site has a wealth of images, letters, and historical writings about the Affair. This next link depicts a board game produced by Dreyfus supporters (known in French as Dreyfusards) which ends with truth emerging from a well.
http://www.dreyfus.culture.fr/en/pedagogie/media-pedago-58-doc-Dreyfusard_board_game.htm

Dreyfusards also created a calendar for 1899 showing Dreyfus' wife, his supporters, images of his prison on Devil's Island, and Justice. "Revision" is the French term that refers to the demand that Dreyfus be given a retrial.

Finally, the website has a section discussing what happened after the Dreyfus Affair, both to Dreyfus himself and to French and European society.

Baggy, Saggy, and Illegal?

According to The Week Daily, "Towns in at least eight states are considering or have already enacted laws against wearing baggy pants low enough to expose underwear."

Should a fashion trend be illegal?

Who should determine the standard for these local dress codes? The only other fashion statement I can remember drawing attention from lawmakers is the displaying of gang "colors," which never spread through the larger youth community the way ultra low-riding pants have. Unlike colors, which revealed the wearers gang sympathy or affiliation, baggies are worn by young people of all races and economic backgrounds. If anything, I find it to be a sign of disaffected youth, sticking it to "the man" (who is probably still imagined as a middle-aged white guy) by refusing to conform to social expectations about dress.

While the notion of criminalizing baggies is absurd to me (at least one of the towns mentioned in the article is only considering a "symbolic" ban), I definitely think that Judaism has something to say on the topic. The Jewish value of modesty definitely comes into play. I do not want to see other people's underwear in public. A parallel trend that is a pet peeve of mine is the wearing by women and girls of ultra-low-riding pants, which often reveal not only underwear, but also what should be covered by them. (My husband calls them "Jr. Plumbers" due to the display of butt crack.) Similarly, I once sent a 13-year-old girl home from religious school for wearing pants that laced up the sides. I am going to go out on a limb and say that lace-up pants imply the undoing of the laces, and teenage girls (or any other women) should not be wearing what amounts to a sexual invitation--particularly at a synagogue.

Secondly, Judaism emphasizes continually that one should emulate only the best examples of behavior. Although it is not always at the highest level of awareness, there is an understanding that baggies are a reminder of prison culture, where belts have been often been banned due to their potential use as a weapon. And imitating violent criminals is definitely not something the rabbis had in mind.

The Week Daily - The Best of the U.S. and International Media

YouTube - Hdag Nahash - "The Sticker Song" הדג נחש - שירת הסטיקר

YouTube - Hadag Nahash - "The Sticker Song" הדג נחש - שירת הסטיקר
This song, which came out a couple of years ago, uses the numerous (about 300 in the song) bumper stickers Israelis display to publicize their opinions. The band, Hadag Nahash, creates a song which challenges the antipathy (bad feelings) individuals in Israeli society have toward one another based on their differences.

You can also find the lyrics here. Every line of the song is a bumper sticker.

This week, I'll hand out this month's issue of Babaganewz to my sixth and seventh graders. It focuses on Shmirat Lashon--guarding one's speech against words which are harmful or false. How can slogans, as in many of the bumper stickers in Shirat Hasticker, create or detract from an atmosphere of respectful disagreement in Israel or here in the US?

NPR : Lost Language of Ladino Revived in Spain

NPR : Lost Language of Ladino Revived in Spain

Wikipedia in Ladino

Lest you think that Ladino is a "dead" language...
Kacha - Wikipedia

When you lose control over your writings...

Today, I went on MyJewishLearning.com to make a list here of all my articles on that site (notice new sidebar). I wrote several articles for them over about two or three years. I loved it and was very proud of my work for them. At one point, the editor changed, she and I had some miscommunications, they changed the lay-out and focus of the site (which I feel is now SO much less attractive and user-friendly), and I stopped writing for them. (Sigh.) I still feel that MJL is one of the best sites to learn something Jewish that isn't filled with a personal or denominational biases.

When I went to the site, I did a bit of a freak-out. I wrote for MJL several articles without a by-line, mostly topical overviews for sections. Several of these now have been significantly altered. I will admit that these additions are mostly for the better. Originally, the topical overviews had a pretty rigid word-limit, which seems to no longer apply. So the extra info is great... but it still feels eerie to read an article in which sentences and paragraphs of your writing are interspersed with that of another person or persons.

More on Keva and Kavanah, Fixed Ritual and Spontaneous Intention

MyJewishLearning.com - Daily Life: Repetition and Spontaneity

After leading tefillah last week, I thought my sixth graders and others might like to learn some more about keva and kavanah.

Israel may OK division of Jerusalem - Yahoo! News

I woke up early this morning, unable to free my mind of a to-do list that kept getting longer and longer during the Tishrei holidays. Laundry that's been piling up since the beginning of Sukkot. Finishing up the curricula I've been writing for my sixth- and eighth-grade students. Continuing to put away wedding gifts and finish thank-you notes. Send gifts purchased in New Zealand, on our honeymoon. Finishing the unpacking from the honeymoon. I think you get the idea. I'm hoping to go back to sleep momentarily, but I turned on the computer to find out that Jerusalem might be divided again--not the Old City, mind you, but a separation of the Palestinian and Jewish neighborhoods into Palestinian- and Jewish-governed areas.

In reality, there really are two Jerusalems already. Once, several classmates and I tried to catch a taxi in the Rehavia neighborhood that would take us to a teacher's house on the Arab side of town. It took us four attempts before we could find a driver to take us.

Still, I don't know how many Israelis and lovers of Israel are ready for this.

Israel may OK division of Jerusalem - Yahoo! News

NPR : The Questions We Must Ask

NPR : The Questions We Must Ask

On Sunday, Sept. 30, I drove to work and listened to a remarkable piece on NPR's Weekend Edition. As part of their "This I Believe" segment, NPR presented a piece by a Jewish educator who argues with her Israeli mother about whether individual rights and the security of a country can be balanced, and where the weight must be placed. It is respectful of two sides of an argument among Israelis and lovers of Israel all-over.

It's also worth looking at the other "This I Believe" segments and asking oneself: "What do I believe?"