Building Bridges for Peace in Haifa, Israel

I immigrated to Israel five years ago from The United States. There is no nation or place anywhere that has more spiritual significance than “The Land of Canaan”. It is the birthplace of the three major faiths: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It is the place where King David wrote the 23rd Psalm, where Jesus of Nazareth promoted ideas and values that have changed humanity. In the Quran, the inspired scripture that Muhammad brought to the Arabs, venerates the great prophets of the Judeo-Christian tradition. It speaks of Solomon’s “great place of prayer” in Jerusalem, which the first Muslims called the City of the Temple.

Haifa is the home of the Tomb of Elijah the Prophet, which is considered one of the holiest and most venerated shrines to Jews, Christians, Muslims, and Druze alike.

Haifa is a city dotted with gardens. The most prominent is at the world center of the Baha’i religion, with the tombs of the Bab (Mirza Muhammad Ali) and Abbas Efendi, son and successor of the founder of the abor.faith, Bahá’u’lláh. The presence of the Baha’i, for so long persecuted in various Middle East countries, is evidence of the tolerant social fabric of this city. The greatest challenge facing this small and brave nation is to promote the values of peace in an area filled with strife and hatred. 

“The Golden Rule” is a common link in the three major faiths that can and will draw us together to promote Shalom and Salaam. It is happening in Haifa the city of peaceful coexistence.

I have been blessed to participate in many interfaith efforts in the past five years to promote peace through dialogue in our region. This holiday season I rejoiced to participate in several activities in Haifa to promote harmony. My favorite was an interfaith sports event hosted by the local Muslim Ahmadiyya school in the Kabbabir community in Haifa.

On Wednesday, Dec 19th, 2012, between Hanukkah and Christmas, 50 teens: Israeli Jews and Muslims got together in Games for Peace organized by a new association called GESHARIM LETIKVAH: BRIDGES FOR Hope- HEALING THE WORLD BY BRINGING HEARTS TOGETHER.

The new President of the association, Prof. Jesse Lachter emphasized on what is the motto and core value of this new NGO: ” Love Builds Bridges.”

Reform Movement Rabbi Dr. Edgar Nof started the games by reciting a Prayer for Peace. Then the teen girls played a basketball game for peace, while the teen boys pwer playing soccer. The Jewish children came from the Open School in Haifa with their teacher Ya’ir Shachar. The game referee was Manar, the principal of the Ahmadiyya Muslim School in the Kabbabir neighbor of Haifa. Previous to every game the teens shook hands, and everybody wins by promoting Peace in Israel and by bringing hearts together. Imam Muhammad Sharif declared that their slogan is “Love for all, Hatred for none”. The Ahmadiyya are a world wide movement of more than one hundred million followers dedicated to peace and universal brotherhood. Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav has gone so far as to call them “Reform Arabs.” Most of the two thousand Ahmadis in Israel live in Kabbabir where they are leaders in the business, cultural and most importantly spiritual areas of our community.

“You don’t hear about us because we don’t throw rocks at buses,” stated an Ahmadi leader,“We believe that nothing can be achieved through hatred and hostility.”

All the kids said at the end of the games that it was too short and that they want to meet again. We have planned more activities for the spring. 

The Importance of Hanukkah .

Hanukkah is one of the most and misunderstood holidays of Judaism. I am looking forward to celebrating the festive occasion with my Chabad friends in my home of Haifa Israel. We have just started a Jewish study group for English speakers in our community. This will be our first Hanukkah together in the land where it all started.

The eight-day Jewish celebration known as Hanukkah or Chanukah commemorates the re -dedication during the second century BCE of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, where according to legend Jews had risen up against their Greek-Syrian oppressors in the Maccabees Revolt. Hanukkah, which means "dedication" in Hebrew, begins on the 25th of Kislev on the Hebrew calendar and usually falls in November or December. The timing is based on the ancient lunar calendar. The celebration is based on events that occurred on about the year 200 BCE. However, there are no written records of any holiday observance of Hanukkah until about 500 years later, in the Talmud. Christmas, was not officially celebrated on December 25th until the third century. I have learned from studying both the old and new testament in Haifa that there is no certainty that the date of either is exact. The spiritual significance of the holidays is what is important and should be celebrated and coveted.

The Festival of Lights holiday is celebrated with the lighting of the menorah, traditional foods, games and gifts. Many Jews and non- Jews consider the holiday to have special significance with the return of the Jewish people to the land of our roots. Many of us in Israel and elsewhere consider Israel to be the third "Bayit" (home) or Temple.

According to the Tanakh, Solomon's Temple was built atop the Temple Mount in the 10th century BCE and destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. The Second Temple was completed and dedicated in 516 BCE. Two thousand years ago Jews were expected to pray in The Temple. According to classical Jewish belief, the Temple acted as the figurative "footstool" of God's presence and a Third Temple will be built there in the future. Traditionally, Jerusalem has been the focus of longing for Diaspora Jews who were forced from their land and the Temple of their God. Psalm 137 is the well-known lament of the Babylonian Jews who wept "by the rivers of Babylon" and declared, "If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither." 



The History of Hanukkah

The events that inspired the Hanukkah holiday took place during a particularly turbulent phase of Jewish history. Around 200 BCE, Judea region —also known as the Land of Israel—came under the control of Antiochus III, the Seleucid king of Syria, who allowed the Jews who lived there to continue practicing their religion. His son, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, proved less benevolent: Ancient sources recount that he outlawed the Jewish religion and ordered the Jews to worship Greek gods. In 168 BCE, his soldiers descended upon Jerusalem, massacring thousands of people and desecrating the city’s holy Second Temple by erecting an altar to Zeus and sacrificing pigs within its sacred walls.

Led by the Jewish priest Mattathias and his five sons, a large-scale rebellion broke out against Antiochus and the Seleucid monarchy. When Matthathias died in 166 BCE, his son Judah, known as Judah Maccabee (“the Hammer”), took the helm; within two years the Jews had successfully driven the Syrians out of Jerusalem, relying largely on guerrilla warfare tactics.

For an entire generation, the ancient Judeans waged a struggle for freedom, which, in terms of intensity, has almost no parallel in human history. It was among the first recorded wars of liberation and it laid a model for nearly every revolution that followed. With an unbreakable faith and willingness to sacrifice, a handful of valiant Hebrew fighters forged the eternal covenant that resistance to tyranny is the highest and truest service to the universal creator and the highest moral value. Judah called on his followers to cleanse the Second Temple, rebuild its altar and light its menorah—the gold candelabrum of which seven branches represented knowledge and creation and were meant to be kept burning every night.

The Hanukkah "Miracle"

According to the Talmud, one of Judaism’s most central texts, Judah Maccabee and the other Jews who took part in the re-dedication of the Second Temple witnessed what they believed to be a miracle. Even though there was only enough untainted olive oil to keep the menorah’s candles burning for a single day, the flames continued flickering for eight nights, leaving them time to find a fresh supply. This wondrous event inspired the Jewish sages to proclaim a yearly eight-day festival. .

Jewish families across the world just completed celebrated this Inspiring holiday. Jewish children enjoyed spinning dreidels, lighting menorahs and opening presents on the first night of Hanukkah which was celebrated Saturday evening. I enjoyed eating "Sufganiot" or donuts at the Dan Panorama Mall in Haifa. Jewish children sang holiday ballads for mall visitors - many of them visitors from all over the world!

On the first night of Hanukkah, Jewish families began by lighting the menorah, the nine-branched candelabra. Two candles are lit on the first night: the shamash (the helper candle, which is usually the tallest) and one other. On the second night, the shamash and two other candles are lit, on the third, the shamash and three others are lit, etc. This continues for eight nights. To pay homage to the miracle which kept the oil burning, it is typical to eat fried foods such as latkes (potato pancakes) and jelly doughnuts. Children play dreidels (spinning tops), open gifts, eat gelt (chocolate coins) and families say prayers together. It is also customary to increase the amount given to charity during the holiday.

Nearly two thousand years after Judah led his successful revolt, the Jewish people are again free to practice our faith in "The Third Temple". This year marked the sixty fifth of our return to the place where it all started. Hopefully, we will all understand that the greatest message and truest blessing of Hanukkah is that freedom is worth any price that needs to be paid. Next year in Jerusalem is now!

Thoughts About The Kabbalah.

I often have been asked by non-Jews: do Jews believe in heaven and hell? Does Judaism believe in a Messiah, angels or the devil? Do we believe in life after death? What is our perception of G-d and the universe? Judaism allows these cosmological issues to be wide open to personal opinion. Judaism is very much a knowledge- based faith and places far less emphasis on mystical issues than in other religions. The areas of Jewish thought that most extensively discuss these issues, Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism, were traditionally only taught when students had completed their education in Torah and Talmud.

In its narrowest sense, the Torah is the first five books of the Bible. The concept of afterlife is not mentioned in The Torah and does not show up prominently in Judaism until about the third century a.d. This concept showed up in the Talmud very possibly influenced by Christianity and Greek philosophy. The Talmud is the most significant collection of the Jewish oral tradition interpreting the Torah. Gan Eden as an internal reward is linked prominently to the treatment of others by the Talmud and its teachers of that era. Living by "The Golden Rule" was supposed to bring eternal bliss.

The Talmud tells a story of Rabbi Hillel, who lived around the time of Jesus. A pagan came to him saying that he would convert to Judaism if Hillel could teach him the whole of the Torah in the time he could stand on one foot. Rabbi Hillel replied, "What is hateful to yourself, do not do to your fellow man. That is the whole Torah; the rest is just commentary".Mysticism and mystical experiences have been a part of Judaism since the earliest days of our faith. The Torah does not refer to an afterlife but does contain many stories of mystical experiences. From the visitations by angels such as the three angels who visited Abraham and Sarah to foretell the birth of Isaac. Judaism often references prophetic dreams and visions; Joseph had the ability to understand dreams and make prophecies based on this knowledge. Jewish tradition tells that the souls of all Jews were in existence at the time of the Giving of the Torah and were present at the time and agreed to the Covenant.

In the middle ages, many of these mystical teachings were committed to writing in books like the Zohar. Many of these writings were asserted to be secret ancient writings or compilations of secret ancient writings. The Zohar is the most basic work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material on Mysticism. The Zohar contains a discussion of the nature of God, the origin and structure of the universe, the nature of souls, redemption, the relationship of Ego to Darkness and "true self" to "The Light of God," and the relationship between the "universal energy" and man. It can be considered an esoteric form of the Rabbinic literature known as Midrash, which elaborates on the Torah.

The mystical school of thought came to be known as Kabbalah, from the Hebrew root Qof-Beit-Lamed, meaning "to receive, to accept." The word is usually translated as "tradition." In Hebrew, the word does not have any of the evil connotations that it has developed as the result of manipulation of the Kabbalah. I am currently studying the history of the Kabbalah at a Masorti or conservative movement Synagogue in Haifa. We have learned that some of Jewish mystical teaching has been integrated into traditional Judaism while some Kabbalah practitioners are seen as charlatans.

Historically, Kabbalah emerged, after earlier forms of Jewish mysticism, in 12th- to 13th-century Southern France and Spain, later becoming reinterpreted in the Jewish mystical renaissance of 16th-century Ottoman Palestine. It was popularized in the form of Hasidic Judaism from the 18th century onward. The current interest in Kabbalah has produced a cross denominational interest in Jewish mysticism.

The basis of the Kabbalah is the concept of Ein Sof, or universal creator, the Ten Sefirot, and the tree of life.

According to the Kabbalah, the true essence of G-d is so overwhelming that it cannot be described. This true essence of G-d is known as Ein Sof, which literally means "without end," encompasses the idea of a lack of boundaries in both time and space. In this truest form, the Ein Sof is so powerful that It cannot have any direct interaction with the universe. The Ein Sof interacts with the universe through ten emanations from this essence, known as the Ten Sefirot.

These Sefirot correspond to qualities of G-d and Godliness in mankind. They consist of, in descending order, Keter (the crown), Chokhmah (wisdom), Binah (intuition, understanding), Chesed (mercy) or Gedulah (greatness), Gevurah (strength), Tiferet (glory), Netzach (victory), Hod (majesty), Yesod (foundation) and Malkut (sovereignty). The Ten Sefirot include both masculine and feminine qualities. Kabbalah pays a great deal of attention to the feminine aspects of G-d.

Divine creation by means of the Ten Sefirot is an ethical process. They represent the different aspects of Morality. Loving-Kindness is a possible moral justification found in Chessed, and Gevurah is the Moral Justification of Justice and both are mediated by Mercy which is Rachamim. However, these pillars of morality become immoral and harmful once they become extremes. Kabbalah teaches the concept of Izun or balance in all aspects of our lives.

The position of the Kabbalah is that the human soul is divided into three parts:

Nefesh : the lower part, or "animal part", of the soul. It is linked to instincts and bodily cravings. This part of the soul is provided at birth.

Ruach: the middle soul, the "spirit". It contains the moral virtues and the ability to distinguish between good and evil.

Neshamah: the higher soul, or "super-soul". This separates man from all other life-forms. It is related to the intellect and allows man to enjoy and benefit from the afterlife. It allows one to have some awareness of the existence and presence of God.

I recently completed a class in the Kabbalah at a local Masorti or conservative Jewish school and synagogue. We learned in the class that the goal of Kabbalah is about how to recognize, experience and come close to God. We do this first and foremost to quote Rabbi Hillel through the practice and promotion of the Golden Rule!