A Sara Koplik Moment

Kosher Easter Bunny: Moment Magazine, for many years one of Abq Jew's favorite Jewish publications, has recognized Albuquerque Jew Sara Koplik for her academic achievements, social activism, and powerful advocacy on behalf of the New Mexico Jewish community.

Way to go, Sara!

Well ... that's not exactly true. But Sara did send in this here photo of a Kosher Easter Bunny that she found for sale somewhere in Duke City - with the tag line

An essential part of any Easter basket.

And Moment published her photo in their March-April 2014 Special Anti-Semitism Issue's last-page Spice Box, wherein are published all sorts of Judaica curiosita.

Moment also published (for example) an advertisement for Matzo Pizza (Hold the pepperoni!), submitted by Paula Miller of East Brunswick, New Jersey.

Matzo Pizza (left); Machu Picchu (right)

Abq Jew always gets Matzo Pizza confused with the City of the Incas, although you can clearly see the difference.

Sara's Kosher Easter Bunny is, by the way, certified as kosher by Kosher Supervision of America (KSA), which promotes themselves (and why shouldn't they?) as

The largest, recognized and accepted, Orthodox kosher certification agency based in the western United States.


OK ... Abq Jew knows what you're going to ask next.

Why would a kosher certification agency
certify the kashrut of an Easter bunny?

To which Abq Jew must respond (he must, he must)

Why not? Business is business.

To support this claim, Abq Jew and KSA point you to the recent Forbes article

Is Kosher The Next Big Food Trend?

OK ... Abq Jew knows what you're going to ask next.

Where is the market for a kosher Easter bunny?

To which Abq Jew must respond (he must, he must) that it's

An essential part of any Purim basket.

Happy Purim, World!

Update: Spring 2014 @ OASIS Abq

Great Courses @ OASIS: Abq Jew has featured OASIS Albuquerque on several occasions, most recently Winter & Spring 2014 @ OASIS Abq.

OASIS Albuquerque has just updated their Winter-Spring 2014 line-up of classes.

This session's NEW! courses and instructors now include:

The Arab in Israeli Literature

Thu 20 Mar 2014 @ 10:30 am - #50

Instructor: Paul J Citrin

What It Is: We will examine how these two peoples have viewed one another and their struggle over the past century. We will encounter short story passages and selections from novels to discern the prejudices, the self-images, and experiences of Arabs and Jews portrayed by some of Israel's greatest writers.

Rabbi Paul Citrin received his BA in history from UCLA and an MA in Hebrew Letters from Hebrew Union College. He has served congregations since he was ordained by the Hebrew Union College in 1973. Rabbi Citrin has authored a children's novel and children's prayer books and edited an anthology of scholarly essays on the Hebrew language. He is active in issues of social justice and interfaith relations. This presentation made possible by a grant from the Jewish Federation Council of New Mexico.

Ethiopian Jews in Israel - A Photographic Journey

Mon 14 Apr 2014 @ 1:00 pm - #20

Instructor: Irene Fertik

What It Is: In a series of airlifts between 1948 and 2013, 90,000 Ethiopian Jews were brought to the State of Israel. Known as Falash Mura, they claim links to Jews who converted to Christianity generations ago and sought to return to Judaism. Coming from isolated mountain villages to a modern technological society has meant huge adjustments for old and young alike. For the past two decades, Irene Fertik has been photographing their absorption and transition to their new world.

Irene Fertik has been documenting Ethiopian Jews in their new/ancient home of Israel since 1991. This fascinating culture has also led her to other long-range projects documenting non-profit organizations in Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Diaspora around the world. Her work has been on display at international galleries and embassies. She was a staff photographer at Vermont’s The Burlington Free Press and for the University of Southern California.

Just as a reminder, this session's upcoming courses and instructors also include:

Yiddish: The Language of Literature & Revolution
Tue 18 Mar 2014 @ 1:00 pm - #49
Instructor: Michael Nutkiewicz
What It Is: Yiddish - a hybrid of mainly German and Hebrew - was the main language of Central and Eastern European Jews from the middle ages until the Holocaust. In the 20th century Yiddish writers produced a rich literature of novels, poetry, theater, and film. Labor and revolutionary movements reached the Jewish working classes through Yiddish. We will explore Yiddish history, literature and music, including famous (Sholem Aleichem and I.B. Singer) and less known but fascinating personalities.

American Songwriters: Burt Bacharach
Thu 27 Mar 2014 @ 1:00 pm - #58
Instructor: Jane Ellen
What It Is: Our series on American songwriters continues with the legendary Burt Bacharach (1928- ). A popular composer whose most familiar works date from the 1950s-1980s, and perhaps best known as half of the duo Bacharach and David, his earliest hits were for established performers such as Marty Robbins and Perry Como. Hitting his stride in the 60s, his most famous songs were associated with Dionne Warwick, who would eventually record over three dozen of his works.

A Page (or Two) of Talmud: Part 4

The Learning Continues: Here is another review and continuation of the Talmud class that Abq Jew led at this year's very successful A Taste of Honey (see The Talmud @ A Taste of Honey and A Page (or Two) of Talmud: Part 2 and A Page (or Two) of Talmud: Part 3).

Last week, we talked about What The Talmud Is. This week we'll discuss

What a Page of Talmud Looks Like

So - what does a traditional page of Talmud look like? Well - sort of like this:

What is all that stuff? 

Words, surrounded by words, surrounded by more words, and framed by even more words!

Abq Jew relies on Joshua Parker for the answers. Who, you may ask, is Joshua Parker? You can find out here. Anyway, Mr Parker says:

[1] MISHNAH: The Mishnah (Hebrew, ‘repetition’) is the primary record of the teaching, decisions, and disputes of a group of Jewish  religious and judicial scholars, known as Tannaim, who were active from about 30 BCEto 200 CE, mostly in the areas now known as Israel and Palestine. Originally transmitted orally, the Mishnah was redacted  into its current form and committed to writing around the year 200 CE by R’ Yehudah haNasi. The language of the Mishnah is  Hebrew. The Mishnah is divided into sixtythree  ‘tractates,’ which are organized into six ‘orders’ according to their subject matter. 

[2] GEMARA: The Gemara (Aramaic, ‘study,’) is an analysis of and expansion upon the material presented in the Mishnah. Taken together, the Mishnah and Gemara make up the Talmud. The Gemara records the oral discussions of a group of scholars, known as Amoraim, who were active from about 200 to 500 CE, in the areas of present  day Iraq, Israel, and Palestine. These discussions often center around statements of the Tannaim and are structured by the anonymous voice of a redactor (or group of redactors) known as the stam (Heb., ‘plain’ or ‘unattributed’).  

There are two versions of the Gemara. The Yerushalmi (also known as the ‘Jerusalem’ or ‘Palestinian’ Talmud) was compiled in what is now northern Israel around 400 CE. The Bavli or Babylonian  Talmud was redacted about a hundred years  later  in the Jewish communities of Mesopotamia.  Traditionally the redaction of the Bavli is attributed to R’ Ashi and his student Ravina. The Talmud Bavli is the more commonly studied of the two and is considered to be more authoritative when the two offer different legal rulings.  

The primary language  of the Gemara in both versions is Aramaic, although quoted material in Hebrew is common (mostly from biblical texts or earlier tannaic material), and words in Greek, Latin, or other languages occasionally occur.  In literary form, the Gemara is a complex combination of  legal debate, case law, legend, textual analysis, and philosophical inquiry. Its subject matter covers nearly every imaginable facet of ancient Jewish life, ranging from religious, civil, and criminal law to biblical interpretation to speculation about and investigation of the  natural world. 

[3] RASHI: Rashi (an acronym for R’ Shlomo Yitzchaki) was an eleventh century  scholar active in France. Rashi  compiled the first complete commentary  on the Talmud. His commentary focuses on helping students understand the  plain meaning of the text. Both the Mishnah and Gemara are written in a brief, terse style, without the use of punctuation or vowel markings. Rashi’s comments are therefore directed toward helping  readers work their way through the text and understand its basic form and content. Rashi also offers explanations of unusual or rare vocabulary and concepts and occasionally indicates preferred readings in cases where manuscripts differ.  

Rashi’s commentary is always set in a semi-cursive typeface called ‘Rashi script,’ is positioned on the gutter side of a printed  page of Talmud. 

[4] TOSAFOT: The Tosafot (Hebrew, ‘additions’) are medieval commentaries on the text of the Talmud composed mainly in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The Tosafot are not the product of a single author or school of commentators, but are rather the work of a variety of talmudic scholars living mainly in France, Germany, and Spain.  

While Rashi’s comments focus on the plain meaning of the text, the tosafists tend to concentrate  on analysis of difficult passages, exploring issues, contradictions, and problems raised by the text of the Gemara.  

Often the Tosafot approach a subject using the logic and style of inquiry of the Gemara. Occasionally Tosefot address an interpretation  or explanation offered by Rashi to examine it more thoroughly or to present an alternative  approach to the subject.  

On a printed Talmud  page, the comments of the Tosafot are set in a semi-cursive typeface known as ‘Rashi script,’ and they always appear immediately adjacent to the Mishnah and Gemara in the large block of text positioned opposite Rashi’s commentary.

12th Siyyum Hashas (Daf Yomi Talmud Completion Celebration) held at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey in August 2012. Approximately 90,000 men and women participated in the celebration, which marked the completion of seven and a half years of study of the Talmud.

Your next question, Abq Jew is sure, is bound to be:

Why Does A Page of Talmud Look Like That?

Funny you should ask. Wikipedia explains:

A page of Talmud looks the way it does because of Daniel Bomberg, a Christian (!), who published the first complete edition of the Babylonian Talmud in Venice around 1523.  

In addition to the Mishnah and Gemara, Bomberg's edition contained the commentaries of Rashi and Tosafot.  

Almost all printings since Bomberg have followed the same pagination. This includes the edition of the Talmud published by the Szapira brothers in Slavuta in 1795, which was particularly prized by many Hasidic rebbes.  

In 1835, after a dispute with the Szapira family, a new edition of the Talmud was printed by Menachem Romm of Vilna. Known as the Vilna Shas, this edition (and later ones printed by his widow and sons) has been used in the production of more recent editions of Talmud Bavli.

And to help you find your way. Wikipedia further explains:

A page number in the Talmud refers to a double-sided page, known as a daf; each daf has two amudim labeled א and ב, sides A and B (Recto and Verso).  

Page references are made in the format [Tractate daf a/b] (e.g. Berachot 23b). In the Vilna edition of the Talmud there are 5,894 folio pages.

Note to Prospective Talmud Students

Abq Jew is currently learning Shekalim. 

If you would like to learn along - please contact Abq Jew!

Support Abq Jew! Buy your Koren Talmud here!

Shabbat Shalom, Albuquerque!

Good Shabbos, New Mexico!

הדרן עליך תלמוד בּבלי קורן ירושׁלים

ABQ Jewish Film Fest: Hava Nagila

Celebrating the Jewish Experience Through Film: The ABQ Jewish Film Fest is proud to present:

Hava Nagila (The Movie)

Tuesday March 11 ~ 7:00 pm

Albuquerque JCC

It’s to music what the bagel is to food – musical shorthand for anything Jewish, a happy party tune that you dance to at weddings, bar mitzvahs and even at Major League Baseball games.

Follow this infectious party song on its fascinating journey from the shtetls of Eastern Europe to the cul-de-sacs of America and for the first time, to the neighborhoods and mesas of Albuquerque.

In its own believe-it-or-not way, Hava Nagila (The Movie) encapsulates the Jewish journey over the past 150 years.

It also reveals the power of one song to express and sustain identity, to transmit lessons across generations and to bridge cultural divides and connect us all on a universal level.

Hava Nagila (The Movie) uses the song as a springboard to explore Jewish history and identity and to spotlight the cross-cultural connections that can only be achieved through music.

Purchase tickets here. View the trailer here.

You have certainly heard the song ... over and over, again and again and again. But the movie? Not so much?

To help you decide that you really need to attend, here are reviews from the Chicago Tribune, RogerEbert.com, Rotten Tomatoes, and The New York Times.

But perhaps Harry Belafonte puts it best:

When you find a song that says ‘Let us rejoice,’ there’s no better song to leave an evening with.

Hava Nagila tells us who we should be and what we, in a fundamental sense, aspire to be — peoples of love and joy and peace.

And when it comes to singing Hava Nagila, there is Harry Belafonte - and then there is everyone else (for example: Glen Campbell, who also appears in Have Nagila (The Movie).

And when it comes to Harry Belafonte, there is (in Abq Jew's family tradition) the double album Harry Belafonte at Carnegie Hall (recorded April 19 and April 20, 1959) - and then there is every other Harry Belafonte album in the world.

Nu? Abq Jew invites you to join him at the JCC!