Jewtor Blog

Jewtor

1 years ago

Looking for a tutor who lives in Europe, Australia, or Asia, to coach two Jewish girls, aged 8 and 10, who live in Bangkok, Thailand. Starting with the Hebrew alphabet, these lessons would later morph into bat mitzvah lessons, so besides knowing how to read Hebrew, you need to know how to chant Torah with trope, and to lead parts of the service. Some Bible teaching in English will be required, too. ... See MoreSee Less

Jewtor

1 years ago

This is a historical day. For over twenty years, Israel has been warning the world that the Islamic Republic of Iran is developing nuclear weapons. Yet no country in the world seems to have cared enough to do very much about it, besides talk. Today, Israel is finally taking matters into its own hands. I salute the Israel Defence Forces, and wish them much success. The world will owe them a debt of gratitude for making our earth a safer place to be. Yeah, none of us want to be nuked.

The whole country is tired today, as we were all woken up at 3 am by a siren. Not that we needed to be, it was just a precaution, because the Israel Air Force had started the attack, and no one was sure if Iran would retaliate immediately. So there we sat, in our Mamad, our safe room, with water bottles within reach. We checked in with our kids, and answered all the text messages from friends and relatives asking if we are ok, and if we are in a safe space.

At this point, we've been told that Iran has launched hundreds of drones toward us that the IDF is working to intercept, and that take several hours to arrive. So we all stay home, and stay close to our phones, and the safe room in our apartment in Jerusalem.

In the hopes that all drones and missiles are interecepted, we anticipate a quiet day. My synagogue has canceled shabbat services. My gym is closed. Our much anticipated social plans for shabbat meals with friends are called off.

This doesn't mean all life has stopped. Public buses are running, mostly. Some grocery stores are open. In fact, we received a message at 3:30 am from the owner of the convenience store downstairs from us, (since the whole country was awake anyway,) saying that he would be opening up the store "in half an hour," i.e. at 4 am, so that people could buy a few necessities before a possible attack on our country, and before all stores close, as usual, before Shabbat.

So interesting times are ahead. Hopefully, the outcome will be positive.

Shabbat shalom! ... See MoreSee Less

Jewtor

1 years ago

Tonight starts Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. The Hebrew term Shoah is increasingly replacing the word Holocaust, for the genocide committed by the Nazis during World War Two.

Israel has two unique ways of observing this day. One is the Zikaron BaSalon project, (Memories in the Living Room,) where survivors tell their stories in home settings. These meetings are publicized, and anyone can go to any of them, all over the country.

The other one is the siren that sounds for a minute across the country. Wherever they are, everyone drops what they're doing, and stands in silence, to honor the memory of the six million who were murdered. School children interrupt their studies to do this. At work, people rise in their offices, in the middle of meetings. People walking on the street stop right then and there. Drivers even stop their cars on the highway, and stand next to their vehicles during the siren. The whole country freezes, just like civilization came to a standstill 80 years ago.

Is there another country in the world that does this? ... See MoreSee Less

Jewtor

1 years ago

Do you find the Passover Haggadah confusing? Ever wonder why it doesn't talk more about Moses and the Israelites leaving Egypt?

That's because THAT story is found in the book of Exodus, the second book of the Torah. The rabbis who wrote the Haggadah assumed that we all know Exodus, and so they went ahead and wrote the Haggadah as a way to go into a deeper discussion about the meaning of the Exodus. Jewish parents are commanded to tell their children the story of our people leaving slavery in Egypt, and the Haggadah was developed as an educational tool for us all.

If you want to know what happened, read the book of Exodus. ... See MoreSee Less

Jewtor

1 years ago

Check out my newly redesigned website www.jewtor.com ... See MoreSee Less

Jewtor

2 years ago

Rabbi Heidi Barron Coretz officiated at the bat mitzvah of my student E, a shy but talented teenager. Here is what Rabbi Coretz had to say:

"I just wanted to thank you for your good work with E. She was so well prepared and confident. She chanted beautifully! It was a great experience for her and just what she wanted and needed."

Thank you, Rabbi Coretz! And mazal tov to E! ... See MoreSee Less

Jewtor

2 years ago

M. and I worked hard to get her ready for her bat mitzvah, and the results were clearly spectacular. Mom sent me a note:

Hi Bettina
T., M. and I wanted to send our enormous thanks to you for all of your support and help working with M. to get her ready for yesterday. She did a fantastic job with the service and completely aced her torah portion. She felt confident and really proud for a job well done.
Thank you so much
R.

Mazal tov to M! ... See MoreSee Less