The 20th of Sivan

The 20th of Sivan is a Jewish day of remembrance twice, designated as a fast day for massacres against European Jewry. I attended a lesson about this remembrance this week at a Jewish Kollel or study center. It was both a prayer session to commemorate this date and for the three missing Israeli youth who disappeared near Hebron.

This date is associated with two major catastrophes that befell European Jewry, one during the crusades in France, the second five hundred years later by the Cossacks against Ukrainian Jewry. In both cases Jews were slaughtered by the thousands for the crime of practicing our faith.

In Judaism, the purpose of a fast is to lower the volume on our physical pursuits in order to focus more acutely on our spiritual selves. This facilitates the process of:

1. Teshuva – literally means "return." We return to G-d, and to our essential state of purity.

2. Selicha – 'selicha' means not holding a grudge, not feeling affronted or aggrieved. If someone is angry with you, you would ask him to forgive you, to be "soleach."

3. Kappara – 'Kappara' is fundamentally different from the previous two terms. Kappara means "atonement." The object of atonement, that which is changed as a result, is not God (His attitude, as in selicha) or God's demands of us (His demands, as in 'mechila'), but Man and the sin itself. Objects which have been defiled by sin need kappara to return to a state of purity.

Our Rabbi spent much of the evening discussing the concepts of kindness and self-responsibility in Judaism. Many people think of Judaism as the religion of cold, harsh laws. This is an unfair characterization of both Judaism and Jewish law. Love and kindness have been a part of Judaism from the very beginning. When Jesus said, "love thy neighbor as thyself," he was merely quoting the Torah, and he was quoting the book that is most commonly dismissed as a source of harsh laws: Leviticus 19:18. The point is repeated in Leviticus 19:34: love [the stranger] as thyself.

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. Go and study it." (Talmud, Shabbat 31a).

Our Rabbi discussed the need to forgive our enemies and to look deeply within ourselves before we judge others. How do you do this when you look at the history of the Jewish people and the world in general? How can followers of Judaism forgive the horrors of the Holocaust or the injustices of the Crusades? Do we dare ask the parent of the three children to understand and not hate? I personally cannot say that I have an answer.

I can, however, look at my own life and see that my enemy’s treatment of me has often brought more long term good than suffering. Often I have discovered that those who inflicted hurt upon me were despondent about their own lives than attacking mine. The component of my soul that most needs improvement in the ability to protect myself but not feel rage at those who try to harm me and mine. This is the intended meaning of the 20th of Sivan.

Natural gas: Peace and Prosperity?

I am sitting here at The Kapiot Café in Haifa drinking a Southern Comfort while enjoying the beautiful view of the Namal (port) at my favorite pub. The port is laden with shipping both commercial and pleasure including passenger ships bound for Turkey, commercial freighters, and yachts of various dimensions. The manager of the café, Avi comes from a maritime family. His dad was one of the port managers and he spends much of his retirement boating and diving. Both the crew of the Kapiot and guests often discuss the search for peace in our region and the incredible economic growth of Eretz Israel in the past sixty five years. The answer to even greater prosperity and stronger ties with our neighbors may well lie under the Mediterranean waters just off the Haifa coast.
 

Capiot Cafe, Haifa

Two potentially huge natural gas discoveries occurred in this region in 2009 and 2010. The Tamar gas field is located in Israel's exclusive economic zone, roughly 80 kilometers (50 mi) west of Haifa in waters 1,700 meters (5,600 ft) deep. While there have been small oil and gas discoveries in Israel over the decades, it was the first large one in the country. Tamar alone, it is estimated, could provide 50% to 80% of Israel’s natural-gas needs for a decade.

The Leviathan gas field is a second large natural gas field located in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Israel, 47 kilometers (29 mi) south-west of the Tamar gas field. The gas field is located roughly 130 kilometers (81 mi) west of Haifa in waters 1,500 meters (4,900 ft) deep in the Levantine basin, a rich hydrocarbon area in one of the world's largest offshore gas finds of the past decade. These two discoveries alone offer Israel the potential to serve its own energy needs and be an energy exporter within the next several years producing substantial economic benefits.

The gas finds also have the potential to change Israel's foreign relations towards a closer collaboration with Cyprus, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt and our Palestinian neighbors.

The possible enhancement of ties between Turkey and Israel receives a lot of press attention and is a one possible example.

Nearly four years ago, an Israeli raid on a Turkish ship MV Mavi Marmara bound for Gaza unhinged the relatively close relationship between the two countries.

Israel and Turkey have made efforts to mend diplomatic ties in recent months to resolve this damage and improve ties. The two nations have grown closer and have signed a draft agreement to compensate Turkey for the deaths of protesters aboard the ship; once finalized, the agreement restores full diplomatic ties. The two nations continue to trade and promote mutual tourism, which should expand with the easing of diplomatic tensions.

The port of Haifa

One of the benefits to the nations could be an export route for Israeli natural gas. A leading option for Israel to get its natural-gas riches to the market is an undersea pipeline linking Israel and Turkey. The Turkish market for natural gas is the only growing one (in the region), and the drive to diversify away from Russia will justify Israeli gas to join Azeri, Iranian and Kurdish gas.

In recent months Israel has already signed energy deals with Jordan and the Palestinian Authority. Israel and Jordan signed $500 million natural gas deal.
The accord may grow into $30-billion partnership for Israel to become Jordan’s main supplier.

If all goes well, the latest developments could see first pipelines being laid between Israel and Turkey as soon as 2015, and gas cooperation between Israel and Egypt would allow export access to Asia's major markets.

I am writing this story while energy negotiation involving Israel and Egypt have been reported. Egypt and Israel have had only limited economic cooperation since signing a landmark peace accord in 1979. Political turmoil in Egypt in recent years has further limited cooperation between the neighboring countries.

Israeli gas could help ease domestic shortages, bolster the Egyptian economy, alleviate internal political unrest, and bolster trade and tourism between the two nations.

We in Israel and Jews throughout the world have just completed celebrating the holiday of Passover, which commemorates our flight to freedom out of Egypt three thousand years ago. The Jewish people spent the last two thousand years without our ancestral homeland, Eretz Israel. Sixty five years ago it was returned to us to build both a safe haven for Jews throughout the world, but many feel this also fulfills Biblical prophecy. Jews, Muslims, and Christians live together in a fairly democratic and economically robust society. Perhaps, indeed “a land flowing with milk and honey" is a reference in the Hebrew Bible to the agricultural abundance of the Land of Israel. The phrase is used in the Book of Exodus during Moses' vision of the burning bush.[3:1–22] Could milk and honey in today's world be oil and natural gas? Who knows! In either case, I and my friends at The Kapiot Café offer our readers a hearty Shalom or peace from Haifa, “the City of Peaceful Coexistence”.

From Haifa to Istanbul

From my favorite pub in Haifa, the Kapiot Café, where I am writing, I am enjoying the beautiful view of the Namal or port. My coauthor Danit comes from a family whose roots are in Istanbul. They immigrated to Israel at the time of the rebirth of the Jewish state in 1948. She quips that our namal has certainly changed since her grandparents landed sixty five years ago. The port is laden with shipping both commercial and pleasure including passenger cruise ships bound for Turkey, commercial freighters, and yachts of various dimensions. Danit adds that her family and friends brought with them a social and cultural influence that is still seen in Haifa today, such as the Ladino language and music. 

Ladino is a Romance language derived from Old Spanish. It was originally spoken in the former territories of the Ottoman Empire (the Balkans, Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa) as well as in France, Italy, Kingdom of the Netherlands, Morocco and the UK. Today it is spoken mainly by Sephardic minorities in more than thirty countries, most of the speakers residing in Israel. Although it has no official status in any country, it has been acknowledged as a minority language in Israel and Turkey. Ladino music festivals are held each year in Haifa. Artists from all over the world come to sing and dance and celebrate this culture. In addition, Borekas pastries and Turkish coffee are mainstays of our local diet.


Turkey is an important tourism destination for Israelis. Istanbul is a 90-minute flight from Tel Aviv. No visas are required for Israelis to visit Turkey, while Turkish citizens with ordinary passports need a visa prior to travelling Israel. In 2008, before the 2008-09 Gaza war, 560,000 Israelis vacationed in Turkey, according to Israeli tourism officials. In October 2010 Israel's Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov encouraged Israelis to boycott Turkey as a vacation spot in response to Turkey's stance on Gaza. The number of Israeli tourists in Turkey dropped to 300,000 in 2009 and to 110,000 in 2010; it declined further to about 62,000 between January and August 2011. According to Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Israelis' share of Turkey's total tourism declined from 3% to 0.05%. However, the trending as during the recent Passover holiday more than twenty thousand Israelis have chosen Turkey as a holiday get-away. More than a quarter million people from Israel are expected to visit Turkey this summer as Israeli trade unions are ending a five-year boycott of the country. Among the top destinations in Turkey for Israeli tourists are Antalya, Bodrum and Marmaris. Haifa is a major hub for tourists choosing to enjoy the beautiful Mediterranean waters and short a cruise to visit our Turkish friends. 

Turkey is Israel's sixth-largest export destination. Chemicals and oil distillates are the primary exports. Natural gas is expected to greatly expand the trade between our two states including a possible energy pipeline. Israeli import of Turkish vegetable products has remained steady since 2007, and imports of prepared foodstuffs, beverages and tobacco doubled in the last ten years. 


Two potentially huge natural gas discoveries occurred in this region in 2009 and 2010. The Tamar gas field is located in Israel's exclusive economic zone, roughly 80 kilometers (50 mi) west of Haifa in waters 1,700 meters (5,600 ft) deep. While there have been small oil and gas discoveries in Israel over the decades, it was the first large one in the country. Tamar alone, it is estimated, could provide 50% to 80% of Israel’s natural-gas needs for a decade. 


The Leviathan gas field is a second large natural gas field located in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Israel, 47 kilometers (29 mi) south-west of the Tamar gas field. The gas field is located roughly 130 kilometers (81 mi) west of Haifa in waters 1,500 meters (4,900 ft) deep in the Levantine basin, a rich hydrocarbon area in one of the world's largest offshore gas finds of the past decade. These two discoveries alone offer Israel the potential to serve its own energy needs and be an energy exporter within the next several years producing substantial economic benefits. Our primary partners in these endeavors are expected to be our friends in Istanbul.

בורקסים ודבורים

היחסים בין ישראל לטורקיה זוכים לתשומת לב רבה בעת האחרונה. לשני העמים היסטוריה משותפת רבת שנים. בחיפה, היכן שאני מתגורר, אנו נהנים מאוכל תורכי וחולמים על עתיד בו יתחדש שיתוף הפעולה שיוביל לשגשוג באיזור.

בימים אלה מתקיימים דיונים בערוצי התקשורת והחדשות השונים לגבי מהות היחסים בין ישראל וטורקיה. ליחסים בין שני העמים יש הסטוריה עוד מימי המקרא.

ידוע שהישראלים בתקופת המקרא נהגו לייבא דבש דבורים ממה שנחשבת כיום לטורקיה המודרנית. קבוצת ארכיאולוגים ישראלים גילו לאחרונה כשלושים כוורות עשויות מקש וחימר המהווים עדות לכך שהיו קיימים בתקופה הקדומה עוד יותר מ 100-200 כאלה באתר של העיר הקדומה תל רחוב מהתקופה הכנענית. לפי מספר  עדויות נוספות, הדבורים קרוב לוודאי יובאו מהאזור לאחר שהתגלה קושי להתמודד עם הדבורים המקומיות בארץ ישראל שנחשבו למאד אגרסיביות.

ההסטוריה של היהודים בטורקיה כוללת תקופה של 2,400 שנים. קהילות יהודיות התגוררו באסיה מאז המאה החמישת לפני הספירה לפחות, ויהודים רבים ספרדים ופורטוגזים שברחו מספרד התקבלו באימפריה העותומנית בסוף המאה החמש-עשרה. למרות ההגירה במהלך המאה ה-20, בטורקיה המודרנית ממשיכה להתקיים קהילה יהודית קטנה. יש לי מספר חברים בחיפה שהיגרו לישראל מטורקיה בזמנים שונים מאז שובו של העם היהודי לארץ מולדתנו בשנת  1948. לרבים מהם עדיין קשרים רוחניים ותרבותיים שונים למוצאם הטורקי.

טורקיה היתה בין המדינות הראשונות שהכירה באופן רשמי במדינת ישראל בשנת 1948. טורקיה וישראל יצרו שיתופי פעולה ענפים צבאיים וכלכליים. הקשרים הדיפלומטיים האחרונים בין שתי המדינות חוו עליות ומורדות רבים. יחד עם זאת, ישנו קשר חברתי-תרבותי חזק בין העמים שאני מוקיר ומאמין שימשיך לשגשג גם בעתיד.

כתבתי את המאמר הזה בבית הקפה הטורקי הממוקם באזור הנמל בעיר מגוריי בחיפה. ה'נמל' הוא אזור הומה באניות משא ואוניות נוסעים שעוגות כאן במסען סביב העולם. הבעלים של בית הקפה היגר לכאן מטורקיה בשנת 1970. שוחחנו בנוגע לתגליות האחרונות בתחום האנרגיה וההצעה להניח קו צינורות שיחבר בין המדינות באזור. אלי עדיין דובר את השפה הקדומה של הלאדינו אותה למד בארץ מוצאו. נהנינו מהמאכל האהוב עליי המהווה תרומה גדולה של התרבות הטורקית לישראל – הבורקס, שהיה מלווה בקפה טורקי חזק.

הקפה הטורקי, יש לציין, ייחודו למעשה באופן שבו מכינים את הקפה. את פולי הקפה קולים וגורסים לאבקה ואחר כך מרתיחים בסיר, בדרך כלל עם תוספת של סוכר, ומגישים בכוס שבה נותנים לפולי הקפה הטחונים לשקוע. הקפה הטורקי נחשב לחלק בלתי נפרד מהמורשת התרבותית של הטורקים ואפילו הוכר כך על ידי ארגון אונסקו.

הבורקס שייך למשפחת המאפים של הממולאים העשויים מבצק שכבות הידוע בשם פילו או יופקא. ניתן למלא אותו בגבינה, לרוב פטה, סירן אן קאסאר, בשר טחון או ירקות. מוצאו קרוב לוודאי במקום שנחשב היום לטורקיה המודרנית, באזור הפרובינציה האנטוליאנית של האימפריה העותומנית, והפך בתקופתה המוקדמת למרכיב פופולרי במטבח העותומני. מה שידוע בשם בורק borek ניתן להכין במחבת גדולה ולפרוס למנות לאחר האפייה או להכינו כמנות מאפה אישיות. הבורק מצופה לרוב בגרעיני שומשום.

הבורק מהווה גם חלק מהמטבחים המסורתיים של העדות המזרחיות או הספרדיות של היהדות. הם אימצו בהתלהבות את המאכל מהקהילות היהודיות העותומניות, והגדירו אותו כחלק משלושת המאפים היהודים העותומנים הבולטים ביותר כולל הבויוס-דע-פאן והבולמאס.

מה שהיה בעבר השוק הטורקי בעיר התחתית בחיפה עבר שיפוץ נרחב וחודש ונחשב כיום לאזור פופולרי שבו מבוגרים וצעירים רבים באים לשתות ולאכול בין היתר את המעדנים הטורקים.

התקווה שיום אחד תושבי מדינות האזור יחיו ביחד בשלום הוא נושא הנידון השכם וערב ברשתות התקשורת המקומיים. הקונפליקט, עצוב למדי, היווה חלק מטבע האנושות מאז ומתמיד. האם המנהיגים הפוליטיים וההסכמים יובילו לשלום? אין לי מושג. אך אני משוכנע שטבעם של הקשרים הרוחניים, התרבותיים והחברתיים בין העמים מספק את התשובה הטובה ביותר. האוכל הוא כמובן המפתח האוניברסלי לשלום.

The Holiday of Matzos (or Passover)

Last week I attended an English speaking Shiur (lesson) at the Dan Panorma Chabad Center in Haifa. Twice a month our Rabbi Levi Itzhak hosts an educational program for the English speaking residents of our community. In our session we studied the history, traditions, and the unique spiritual perspectives of Passover. First let me give the readers a brief synopsis of Pesach. 

.Passover or Pesach in Hebrew is an important Jewish festival. The Jewish people celebrate Passover as a commemoration of their liberation over 3,300 years ago from slavery in ancient Egypt. It is also known as the Holiday of Matzo (unleavened bread) in the Torah or often Herut (freedom). 

The Holiday of Matzo commences on the 15th of the Hebrew month of Nisan and lasts for either seven days (in Israel) or eight days (in the diaspora). The reason for this extra day is due to an enactment by the ancient Jewish sages. It is thought by many scholars that Jews outside of Israel could not be certain if their local calendars fully conforming to practices of the Temple in Jerusalem. Therefore, they added an extra day. The rituals unique to the holiday celebrations commence with the Passover Seder. The holiday occurs in the spring as the Torah prescribes it: "in the month of [the] spring" (בחדש האביב Exodus 23:15). It is one of the most widely recognized Jewish celebrations.

In the narrative of the Exodus, the Bible tells that God helped the Children of Israel escape from their slavery in Egypt by inflicting ten plagues upon the ancient Egyptians before Pharaoh would release his Israelite slaves. The tenth and worst of the plagues was the death of the Egyptian first-born (Bechor in Hebrew).

The Israelites were instructed to mark the doorposts of their homes with the blood of a slaughtered spring lamb and, upon seeing this, the spirit of the Lord knew to pass over the first-born in these homes, hence the name of the holiday. When the Pharaoh freed the Israelites, it is said that they left in such a hurry that they could not wait for bread dough to rise (leaven). In commemoration, for the duration of Passover no leavened bread is eaten. It is for that reason that it is called "The Festival of the Unleavened Bread" or Matzos.

Matzos

The story of the Korban of Pesach is told at the Passover Seder. The word "Seder" (סדר) means "order" or "arrangement". One of the symbolic food items displayed (but not eaten) on the Seder Plate is the Zeroa (shankbone) or a chicken wing or neck.

When the Temple in Jerusalem was standing, the focus of the Passover festival was the sacrifice (Hebrew Korban of Pesach) also known as the "Paschal Lamb". Today, in the absence of the Temple, the mitzvah of the Korban of Pesach is memorialized in the Seder instead. The eating of the Afikoman substitutes for the eating of the Korban at the end of the meal.

The consumption, keeping, and owning of Chametz or leavened bread is forbidden during Passover. Yeast and fermentation are not themselves forbidden as seen for example by wine, which is required, rather than merely permitted.

The Torah commandments regarding Chametz are:

- To remove all Chametz from one's home, including things made with Chametz, before the first day of Passover.

- To refrain from eating Chametz or mixtures containing Chametz during Passover.

- Not to possess Chametz in one's domain during Passover.

During our Shiur (lesson), the Rabbi compared leavened bread and Matzo to the purity of our souls. Matzo can be considered humanity at its purest form, while leavened bread might represent the arrogance and self-centered nature of mankind. Moses was known as the most humble (עניו) of all people. Herut (freedom), from a spiritual sense, can be seen as striving to better fulfill our spiritual obligations and utilize our skills and talents in a righteous way. These concepts have special meanings to those of us leaving in Israel, as for the first time in 2000 years we have independence and freedom in our ancestral Jewish home land.