The Evening of Chabad friends and Purim Celebration

The evening of Chabad “friends” will be unforgettable. Hundreds of “Chabadniks” from throughout the country along with numerous supporters gathered on the night of February 14^th 2014 for a powerful display of spiritual unity at The Binyaney Hauma,The International Convention Center in Jerusalem. Notable guests included the Mayor of Jerusalem and a number of Knesset - parliament members. 

Reserve IDF Captain Ziv Shilon emotionally touched the thousands of attendees when he saluted the delegates with his amputated hand. He was injured defending Israel in Gaza.

Mutual salute: Captain Ziv Shilon and Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Aharonov (Photo: Mendy Hechtman) Taken from: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4490068,00.html

Binyanei Hauma is the largest convention center in Jerusalem.  It annually hosts dozens of international conferences, shows and events. The center is located just a short walk from the central bus station. The center of the city is reachable by foot or a short ride on the new tram or light rail.

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The event included performances by the delegation’s children's choir from Beitar and a wonderful movie was produced specifically for the event. The world renowned singer Avraham Fried traveled from New York for the historic activity.  He performed for the first time a song by Rabbi Nahman from Braslev, "The Song of the Weeds" together with the 'Gat Brothers' and the 'Sol Key' choir. The synchronization was just perfect. It was done under the musical management of Yuval Stopel.

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I was honored and thrilled to attend the activity as one of the quests from the city of Haifa. I received the invitation from our Dan Panorama Chabad Rabbi, Levi Yitzhak.  Our community Chabad center is located in the Dan Panorama mall in the Carmel Community of Haifa. I live nearby and take part in weekly lessons in Judaism both in Hebrew and English.  

About a year and a half ago while searching for a gift for a friend in the mall, I came across the Chabad center, which includes a Jewish learning program and a gift shop. I quickly developed a warm friendship and strong ties with the Rabbi and his family. He has six wonderful children ranging in age from a year and a half to eleven years old.

We often hold a Friday Kiddush either at his home or in the mall. During the past several months, Rabbi Yitzhak Levi and I, joined by our friend and scholar, Zecharya Gonsher "Zack", have developed a program for English speakers – who reside in our community.  “Zack” is an immigrant from Nebraska.
The program includes meetings twice a month, usually discussing the weekly Parasha (section of the Torah read on Shabbat).  In addition, there are special events for the holidays – the last ones we celebrated were Sukkot and Hanukkah. We are now working on a festive Mishte (feast) for the upcoming holiday of Purim. (An announcement is followed)

I am happy that I have had the opportunity to take part in the many activities held by the Dan Panorama Chabad.  My participation in the moving conference in Jerusalem added even more satisfaction to our warm relationship.
This is another example of life in Israel which does not receive the proper media attention. Despite all the challenges we face, we continue to study Judaism and celebrate our faith in the land of Israel – the place where it all began.

PURIM SAMEACH!!  Come join us for our Mishte Purim (festive meal) on Sunday, March 16th!!  Open to both English and Hebrew speakers, the Chabad Panorama is pleased to invite you to take part in celebrating and fulfilling this year's Chag Purim.  Megillah reading will take place at 15:30, followed by an RSVP only catered dinner at 17:00. All activities will take place at Bet Knesset "Avot U'Banim" on Keller 5, Carmel Center, Haifa. Please speak to Zecharya for details and reservations: 058 5454 770. Chag Sameach!

Borekas and Bees: Israel and Turkey

There is a great deal of discussion in today’s news regarding the nature of ties between Israel and Turkey. Relations between the two peoples date back to the days of The Old Testament.

The ancient Israelites were known to have imported honeybees from what is modern-day Turkey. A team of Israeli archaeologists recently found thirty intact hives made of straw and unbaked clay, with evidence that there had been over 100-200 more, on the site of the joint Israelite-Canaanite city of Tel Rehov. According to some evidence, the bees were probably imported from the region after the locals proved easier to handle than the Israeli bees, which had proved to be extremely aggressive.

The history of the Jews in Turkey encompasses 2,400 years. There have been Jewish communities in Asia since at least the 5th century BCE, and many Spanish and Portuguese Jews expelled from Spain were welcomed into the Ottoman Empire in the late 15th century. Despite emigration during the 20th century, modern-day Turkey continues to have a small Jewish population. I have several friends in Haifa who immigrated to Israel from Turkey at various times since we returned to our homeland in 1948. Many of them still share bonds that are both spiritual and cultural. My friend Danit Tubi helped me write this post. Her family came here from Turkey decades ago.

Turkey was among the first countries to formally recognize the State of Israel in 1948. Turkey and Israel have closely cooperated militarily and economically. The formal diplomatic relations between the nations has seen many ups and downs. However, there is a strong social-cultural bond between the peoples that I cherish and it shall continue to thrive.

I wrote this post at a Turkish café in the port area of my home city of Haifa. The “Namal” is a bustling area with ships both commercial and passenger bound for their destinations throughout the world. The owner of the café immigrated to Haifa from Turkey in 1970. We talked about the massage energy discoveries and proposed energy pipeline to connect the nations of this region. Eli still speaks the ancient language of Ladino which he learned in “The Old Country”. We enjoyed my favorite Turkish contribution to Israel - Borekas along with a strong cup of Turkish coffee. 

Turkish coffee is a method of preparing coffee. Roasted and then finely ground coffee beans are boiled in a pot (cezve), usually with sugar, and served in a cup where the grounds are allowed to settle. Turkish Coffee is an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Turks confirmed by UNESCO. 

Borekas is a family of baked or fried filled pastries made of a thin flaky dough known as phyllo (or yufka). It can be filled with cheese, often feta, sirene or kaşar; minced meat, or vegetables. It was most probably invented in what is now Modern Turkey, in the Anatolian Provinces of the Ottoman Empire in its early era, to become a popular element of Ottoman cuisine. A börek may be prepared in a large pan and cut into portions after baking, or as individual pastries. The top of the börek is often sprinkled with sesame seeds.

Börek is also part of Mizrahi and Sephardic Jewish traditions. They have been enthusiastically adopted by the Ottoman Jewish communities, and have been described, along with boyos de pan and bulemas, as forming "the trio of preeminent Ottoman Jewish pastries". Please note that the picture below which was taken by my part time teacher and photographer Danit. The old Turkish market area in down town Haifa is now the new hot spot where young and old eat delicious Turkish food.

The hope that one day people in this region will live together in peace is widely discussed in the media. Conflict, very sadly, has been the nature of humanity since the beginning of time. Will political leaders and agreements bring Shalom? I have no idea. My strong conviction is that the nature of social, cultural, and spiritual bonds between nations holds the best answer. Food of course is the universal peacemaker.

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