Holocaust Day Remembrance

Yom HaShoah Observance: This year, there will be several ways in which to observe Yom HaShoah (Sunday sundown through Monday night) in Albuquerque. Here are the first two events, scheduled for this weekend.

Ani Ma'amin

Ani Ma’amin (Hebrew for “I Believe”) is a powerful and thought-provoking modern dance piece exploring the impact of the Holocaust on American Jews.

Choreographed by Shira Greenberg, the 85-minute piece runs with no intermission.

Five dancers recreate the experiences and themes expressed by multiple generations, beginning pre-war and culminating at the present-day.

Dynamic and emotional movement is threaded together with poetry and video testimonies from Holocaust survivors and children of survivors, with footage compiled from the University of Southern California’s Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education.

All performances are followed by a Q&A audience discussion session to provide an avenue for the community of performers and audience members to process and discuss the work while exploring their reactions to the event and the intense subject matter.

Due to the intense nature of the piece, parental guidance is suggested for children under 13.

Click here for tickets.

Walk of Remembrance

For the first time (since Abq Jew has been in New Mexico), there will be a Holocaust Remembrance Day Walk in Albuquerque.

The walk will start at 1:00 pm in front of UNM's Dane Smith Hall, and will finish at the Duck Pond.

The approximate distance between the start and finish is 1.5 miles.This is in remembrance of the distance that many Jews walked to their death, and some to their liberation.

There is a parking structure on 601 Yale Blvd, Albuquerque, NM 87131 that is a short distance from Dale Smith Hall. But it's not free on Sunday!

However, we are allowed to park for free in any lot on campus or on the streets within the campus as long as it does not say RESERVED.

Feel free to bring your Israeli flags to wave high and proud! Feel free to bring banners or posters to carry, and candles to carry throughout the walk!

The organizer of this Holocaust Remembrance Day Walk is Samara Miller, a 20-year-old CNM student who came up with and is implementing this idea largely by herself.

Samara told Abq Jew:

When I first started [CNM] I had a class full of people that had never heard about the Holocaust. 

For my final, I actually had the opportunity to interview two survivors and film the interview. 

Both of the survivors stories were different experiences. But they both told me something in common. 

Now that I had heard their stories, I had to keep it going. 

Not to mention I am Jewish, so it's really close to my heart! 

I want this to be a walk of life for us Jews! And for others to stand with us, as we remember the Holocaust and fight anti-Semitism, hatred, and intolerance.

Interfaith Memorial: Overland Park

Memorial & Healing Event: The Jewish Community Center of Greater Albuquerque will host an interfaith memorial and healing event responding to the recent shootings in Overland Park, Kansas.

Interfaith Memorial & Healing Event

Albuquerque Jewish Community Center

Wednesday April 23 @ 5:30 pm

Albuquerque clergy leaders from several faiths (including Jewish, Methodist, and Catholic, the faiths linked to the Overland Park shootings) will gather on the steps of the Albuquerque JCC a short distance from a senior living facility - sites similar to where the Overland Park shootings took place.

Joining them will be representatives from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the NAACP, and other community members.

The JCC is also collecting donations to aid the families of the victims of the Overland Park shootings, Contributions can be made through the JCC of Greater Albuquerque online at www.jccabq.org, or by calling (505) 348-4455.

Said Dave Simon, JCC Executive Director:

Our thoughts are with the victims’ families. 

We are deeply saddened by this senseless violence, but it will not divide us or defeat us. 

An attack on any JCC is an attack on all JCCs, and we mourn the loss of the innocent victims, all of whom were not Jewish. 

Albuquerque stands with Kansas City to say ’no’ to hate and ‘yes’ to life, community, and tolerance.

Away By The Sea That Was Red

The Jews Safely Crossed: On the seventh day of Passover - the anniversary of the day when this glorious event happened - we again read the story of the Crossing of the Red Sea and the ensuing celebrations.

And for those who are a bit Torah-challenged (aren't we all?), Abq Jew's sources tell him that some guy named Cecil B DeMille shot a movie of the whole affair. Here's a photo: 

That photo looks so old-fashioned! But had there been cellphones at the Red Sea:

The Passover Haggadah, you may remember (after two Seder nights, eight "cups" of wine, and - already! - too much food), barely mentions Moses.

Lest we think that Moses is the hero of the Passover story, the Rabbis who compiled the Haggadah remind us that it was The Holy One Blessed Be He who brought us out of Egypt. "With a strong hand and an outstretched arm."

But Abq Jew (whose Hebrew name is Moses = משׁה) wants to give Moses his due. Thus and so, the song Little Moses. As Abq Jew first described in Little Moses, the Carter Family recorded Little Moses on February 14, 1929, in Camden, New Jersey.

Here is an absolutely splendiferous version of Little Moses by The Seekers, Australia's first international super-group.

FYI: The Seekers are about to head to the UK to continue their 50th Anniversary 'Golden Jubilee' Farewell Tour. Tickets may still be available!

Shabbat Shalom, Albuquerque!

Good Shabbos, New Mexico!

A Zissen Pesach, World!

Fun on Pesach: 2014 Edition

Just A Few Things: Once upon a time, a famous Jewish scientist (Albert Einstein, in case you don't recognize him) said (in a relatively different context)

Such wise words! Unfortunately, the Albuquerque Jewish community has paid no heed; with the result (as you can see on the Abq Jew Calendar) that (without exaggeration)

Everything in the world is happening this Sunday.

This includes, of course, final cleaning and preparation for Passover. No one wants to be Pesachdik for Shabbos; everyone must be Pesachdik by Monday morning. Do these facts suggest a possible timeframe for an appropriate course of action? Never mind.

And if that's not enough, we have the customary festivities associated with the birthday of Thomas Jefferson with which to contend.

What Abq Jew is trying to say here is that his next blog post may be a few long, long days away. Please hold the applause. Let's get down to Passover business.

Let Us Go

The Atlanta area's Weber School has put together a fun and meaningful Passover parody of the hit 'Let It Go,' exploring the traditional themes of Passover while asking: "How do we adapt the Seder's idea of freedom to our modern lives?"

Students helped craft the lyrics and themes and performed all the vocals and acting roles. The School has posted a lyrics guide, a study guide, and lesson plans.

Passoverkill?

Which brings us to Andrew Silow-Carroll, Editor-in-Chief of the New Jersey Jewish News. Abq Jew has written about Mr Silow-Carroll before (see Laughing at Pew, Jewish Jokes for Dark Days, and Laughing at Pew 2)) and will (Billy Nader) undoubtedly do so again. Anyway, here is his latest, Passoverkill?.

Passoverkill?
by Andrew Silow-Carroll
NJJN Editor-in-Chief
April 9, 2014

When I was growing up, there were five foods on our seder plate: egg (beitza), shank bone (zeroa), bitter herbs (maror), vegetable (karpas), and haroset (haroset). At some point we began adding hazeret, another form of the bitter herbs, on the theory that a Jewish family gathering could always use a little more bitterness.

In recent years, the symbols on the seder plate have tended to proliferate. To honor the contributions of Jewish women, some people add an orange. Rabbis for Human Rights suggests a tomato to show that you support exploited farmworkers. And still others add olives as a symbol of peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

All of these are worthy reminders, but how many symbols do we need during a ritual event already bursting with symbolism? Lots, that’s how many. If you really want to cover your bases this year, check out my suggestions for the 21st-century seder plate:

Apple: Celebrates how technology has changed Jewish life, like on-line Torah learning and the ability to play Candy Crush while sitting in the carpool lane at Sunday school.

Green pepper: Symbolizes our need to heal the planet, which you promise to do right after using up all the Styrofoam cups and plastic utensils that you bought for Passover.

Grapes: A reminder that if you really drink all four cups of wine, you can put up with your cousin’s boyfriend for one night.

Scallions: Persian and Kurdish Jews have a Passover custom of striking one another with scallions to symbolize the burdens of the Israelites. I like to put scallions on the seder plate to mock what sounds like a ridiculous and even dangerous custom.

Strawberry: Expresses solidarity with professional athletes struggling with addiction problems.

Carrot: Calls attention to the plight of gingers, and how people with red hair must really be careful in the sun.

Asparagus: A reminder that two hours after the seder you’ll be reminded what you ate at the seder.

Prickly pear: The national symbol of the Israeli Jew: tough on the outside, soft and sweet on the inside.

Kiwi: The national symbol of the American Jew: once exotic, now familiar, especially among college grads, who tend to marry them in greater and greater numbers. Jews, not kiwis. Marrying a kiwi would be weird.

Celery: Sounds like “salary,” and expresses the hope that your children will get jobs after graduation.

Potato: Placed on the plate piping hot, it reminds you not to bring up certain topics with your in-laws, especially but not limited to the high cost of prescription drugs and the traffic since they built the new development.

Rhubarb: Uh-oh, you brought up the cost of drugs when I told you not to, and now Uncle Harry is going on and on about Obamacare. Nice job.

Broccoli: The surprising fact that broccoli is a member of the cabbage species helps us understand how some of our family members can actually be related to us.

Prune: Doesn’t symbolize anything, but believe me, you’ll want one in the next few days.

Pineapple: Just as a pineapple starts out sweet and ends up causing cold sores, something something something about your cousin’s boyfriend.

Banana: Reminds us that a man, too, can wash the damn dishes after the seder.

Here are your favorites from Passovers past!

Google Exodus

Ready To Search For Chometz?

Pesach As She Oughtta Be

Shabbat Shalom, Albuquerque!
Good Shabbos, New Mexico!
A Zissen Pesach, World!