VAYAQHEL

The Sabbath is a time of mindfulness and non-attachment. Even the building of the Sanctuary was halted for it.

Steinsaltz commentary points out that the sanctity of the Sabbath "is not overridden by the construction of the Tabernacle" and in fact this is where we derive the laws of melakhoth forbidden on the Sabbath.

The note on 35:3 also states that "lighting a fire was easy even in biblical times, not very different from igniting one nowadays." This is a rebuttal against the claim advanced by the Reform folks that "back then, lighting a fire took a lot of work, so that's why it was forbidden" and thus rationalizing a relaxation of the rule in the age of matches and lighters.

In fact, all of the forms of productive work forbidden on the Sabbath are, at their core, transformations of the world; and this is certainly true of fire as well. (Bronowski devotes a whole essay, 'The Hidden Structure', to this theme.) It has nothing to do with how much or how little physical effort is involved.

If you look at the practical details of the Sabbath restrictions, they are focused precisely on the things that we routinely do to change the world. The Sabbath calls on us to practice non-attachment by refraining from creative actions, and just let the world be.

HUNGRY IN JERUSALEM
A Whole Loaf – S. Y. Agnon

Like Agnon’s work in general, ‘A Whole Loaf’ draws on traditional Jewish religious sources, but is thoroughly modern in style and theme (particularly in the themes of anxiety and indecisiveness). Also typically for Agnon, the story has a dream-like (or nightmare-like) quality.

The unnamed narrator is in Jerusalem at the end of a hot Sabbath day. His family are abroad (for reasons we never learn) and he has to fend for himself, which he is doing rather poorly. The simple tasks of procuring food and drink seem to elude him, even as the heat of the day is described in almost hyperbolic terms. In fact, the heat is described as emanating from the ceiling, walls, and floor of the narrator’s apartment – oven-like – so that he is literally baking.

Early in the story, the narrator encounters the Moses-like figure of Dr. Yekutiel Ne’eman, who gives him some letters to deliver to the post office, after scolding him for allowing his family to be separated from him. The narrator earnestly promises to do so, and momentarily experiences a feeling of real guilt at Ne’eman’s reproof, but mostly he seems to be motivated by “a desire to make Dr. Ne’eman feel more pleased.” We begin to suspect that this man has shallow relationships with his fellow human beings, and that he is a rather poor judge of character. His feelings of guilt and duty are equally shallow, and evaporate as quickly as they arise.

Agnon, as a devout Zionist, no doubt shared and endorsed Dr. Ne’eman’s rebuke, and it is safe to say that the story is, on one level at least, an allegory of the duty of the Jewish people to forsake the assimilated life of Europe with its decadent temptations and return to the Land of Israel.

(In the commentary of the translation I’m using, A Book that Was Lost, Alan Mintz and Anne Golomb Hoffman, eds., there’s some exposition of Agnon’s symbolism in the story, and it’s well worth reading. I myself am not a scholar, so I will confine myself to remarking on the plain sense of the story.)

The man resolves to take the letters to the post office, as he has promised Dr. Ne’eman, but he’s also hungry and thirsty and dying for a decent meal; so he’s torn between going to the post office first or going to a hotel to grab a bite to eat, and spends most of the story dithering between these two courses of action.

“It is easy to understand the state of a man who has two courses in front of him,” he comments reasonably enough. But here and in a number of other places, he sounds insecure and seems to solicit the reader’s (or listener’s) agreement and sympathy for his situation. You can almost picture the guy with a pleading look on his face saying “You do understand, don’t you?”

In the second half of the story we meet Mr. Gressler, whom the narrator seems eager to please, even though Gressler is the one who struck the match that burned down the narrator’s home and books. (The narrator lived upstairs from the apostate textile merchant – whose wares were “like paper” – so this consequence was in no way unforeseeable.) Our narrator lets on to some mixed feelings toward Gressler following the fire, but in general seems to want to maintain cordial relations with him. I think he puts Gressler and Ne’eman on exactly the same level in his own estimation.

(As a biographical note, the house fire was not an abstract idea for Agnon, who lost his home and library to a fire in 1924.)

The one person the narrator feels unambivalent about is Mr. Hophni, the inventor of an improved mousetrap. (At first I thought the mousetrap detail might be the translator’s idiomatic rendering of some other phrase, since we have the expression in English, “build a better mousetrap”. But no, the story is talking about a literal rodent-catching device.) He finds Hophni insufferable. In particular, he finds Hophni’s bragging about his success objectionable. (Perhaps another measure of the narrator’s own insecurity.)

So when the narrator is offered a lift in Gressler’s carriage (a rarity in that place and time, we’re told), he happily accepts, but his happiness is short-lived when he sees Hophni coming aboard as a fellow passenger. Our narrator, now not only irritable from hunger and thirst but further provoked by the presence of Hophni, finally loses it and grabs the reins, causing the horses to panic and overturning the carriage. (His subsequent fear of being hit by a motorcar must be exaggerated, because if carriages were a rarity, how much more so motorcars.)

Psychologically, this is perfect: all through the story, the guy is incapable of making up his own mind and choosing a course of action, burdened by his doubts and anxieties. And when his frustration reaches the boiling point and he finally takes decisive action, it’s a disaster. I think we’ve all been there.

Two paragraphs near the end of the story – set off by repeated phrases before and after – appear to form a nightmare (or nightmare-within-a-nightmare) sequence.

The narrator, having stayed in the restaurant past closing time without ever getting his food (even the “whole loaf” of the title), finds himself locked inside. (The lock sounds “like the sound of a nail being hammered into the flesh” – a curious comparison, particularly in a Jewish story.) He is then paid a visit by a mouse, which he seems powerless to frighten away, as if physically immobilized. He expresses anxiety that the mouse might soon begin to gnaw on his body; from the anatomical progression envisioned in this scenario, we might suspect that there’s an element of sexual anxiety there as well. The mouse is then joined by a cat, whom the narrator expects to save him from the mouse. (We’re not told whether he is re-thinking his opinion of Hophni.) But the cat and the mouse take no notice of each other, instead gnawing on the bones of the left-over food, and the light in the room fades, leaving only the green glow of the cat’s eyes. Eventually the narrator wakens to see the cleaning staff and last night’s waiter. (“I took hold of my bones,” he says, in a final, disquieting echo of the previous night.)

The title of the story calls to mind the baking of bread, an image reinforced by the narrator’s oven-like apartment in the opening scene. In this reading, the man himself is the “loaf”. (The analogy of bread to man is not unreasonable, as both are traditionally spoken of as being brought from the earth by G-d.) But the locked room at the ending of the story – which was published in 1951 – hints at a more recent, and more ominous, use of ovens.

The story itself appears cyclical, with the closing passage almost identical to the beginning. At the end of the story, the Sabbath has ended, but the post office is still closed and the letter remains undelivered. The narrator is still alone. He’s still hungry, thirsty, and very very hot. And there’s no sign that his physical and spiritual torment is likely to end any time soon. I think the simplest explanation is that he’s in hell.

https://tikvahfund.org/course/jewish-ideas-american-founders/

Just finished this magnificent series of lectures by Rabbi Meir Soloveichik (co-presented by Jonathan Silver) from The Tikvah Fund, surveying the legacy of Jonas Phillips and his family, as well as Benjamin Rush, Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and other key figures of the American founding.

One memorable section for me was lecture 4, where he revisits the Phillips wedding witnessed by Benjamin Rush, and delves into the distinct and complementary concepts of "contract" and "covenant". (It is to none other than the late Rabbi Sacks that we owe the insight that the American Constitution is a contract, while the Declaration of Independence is an covenant.)

Perhaps the most startling discovery for me was the contrast between Jefferson's antipathy towards the Jews and Adams' profound admiration of the Jewish people and the Torah - and yet it was Jefferson, not Adams, who rigorously applied his doctrine of religious equality with practical, tangible benefits for the Jews.

And that's what I mean when I say, "I don't care if you think my religion is stupid." (And the part of me that's still Unitarian chimes in, "Sometimes I think my religion is stupid too.")

Anyway, it's a fascinating exploration of great ideas, ancient and modern, and their lasting impact in America.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/yaphet-kotto-jewish-actor-who-was-first-black-bond-villain-dies-at-81/

'US actor Yaphet Kotto, who rose to fame in the 1970s fighting James Bond in “Live and Let Die” and an extraterrestrial stowaway in “Alien,” has died, his agent told AFP. He was 81. ...'

Baruch Dayan Emet.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/286509

'The American Jewish Committee (AJC), which for more than 25 years has advanced understanding and fostered cooperation between Arab states and the Jewish people, on Wednesday announced its plans to open an office in the United Arab Emirates.

The move comes in the wake of the historic announcement on August 13 by President Donald Trump, His Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that the UAE and Israel would establish full diplomatic relations.

"The establishment of diplomatic relations between the UAE and Israel realizes a vision that AJC has helped to pursue for decades," said David Harris, AJC CEO. "By moving forward on our plans to open an office in the Emirates, AJC hopes to expand on our decades of bridge-building and create a wider network of stakeholders in the new relationships made possible on August 13."'

And ... you can eat kosher there.

https://twitter.com/IsraelArabic/status/1301077022270259200/photo/1

Astronaut Jessica Meir celebrates Chanuka in space.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/22/world/jessica-meir-hanukkah-international-space-station-trnd/index.html

Religious woman of West African roots graduates IAF pilot course.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/lone-female-grad-of-latest-iaf-pilot-course-says-judging-skin-gender-wont-fly/
Tav, who was only identified by her rank and first initial of her name, grew up in Jerusalem with immigrant parents. Her father moved to Israel from the Ivory Coast, her mother from France. ...

Buzz Aldrin celebrates 90th birthday ...
https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/space-missions/buzz-aldrin-interview-apollo-11-astronaut/
When Buzz Aldrin talks to you, it is most often about spaceflight. And the discussion will not be primarily the reminisces of an aging moonwalker: no, this discussion will be about the future. The future of spaceflight, the future of America’s role in it, the future of internationalism, and the future of humanity. ...

... and so does Vern Estes.
https://boingboing.net/2020/01/06/model-rocket-pioneer-vern-est.html
This weekend, Vern Estes, model rocket god and founder of Estes Industries, celebrated his 90th birthday. People are sharing their memories of Estes and Vern on the company's website.

Frum New Yorker Chani (Anne) Neuberger tapped to lead NSA Cybersecurity.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/orthodox-jewish-woman-named-cybersecurity-chief-for-us-spy-agency/
An Orthodox Jewish woman whose parents were among the hostages rescued by Israeli commandos from Entebbe Airport has been tapped to head the United States National Security Agency’s new Cybersecurity Directorate.

Hila Schlakman, 17, youngest woman to complete Talmud in daily study.
https://www.jewishpress.com/news/jewish-news/17-year-old-hila-schlakman-of-efrat-completes-daf-yomi-youngest-woman-so-far/2020/01/07/
As hundreds of thousands of Jews worldwide celebrate the completion of the seven-and-a-half-year-long cycle of daily Talmud study—and as women for the first time in history held their own celebration in Jerusalem—one 17-year-old is believed to be the youngest woman to ever mark this achievement.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/269784
Germany: 'A 23-year-old Syrian armed with a knife on Friday ran into a Berlin synagogue, and was arrested at the entrance. According to eyewitnesses, the Syrian yelled "Allahu akhbar" and anti-Israel statements. ...' He was questioned and released.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/269794
France: 'A staffer at Paris police headquarters who stabbed four colleagues to death on Thursday adhered to "a radical vision of Islam", an anti-terror prosecutor said Saturday, according to AFP. The 45-year-old computer expert had been in contact with members of Salafism, an ultra-conservative branch of Sunni Islam, and defended "atrocities committed in the name of that religion", Jean-Francois Ricard was quoted as having told reporters. ... The assailant, named as Mickael Harpon, was shot dead by a policeman, who was a trainee at the police headquarters. ... Harpon held a high-level "defense secrets" security clearance, which authorized him to handle sensitive information of national defense importance and would have subjected him to regular, stringent security checks.'

https://ajn.timesofisrael.com/they-dont-want-to-call-it-antisemitism/
Australia: Twelve-year-old Jewish boy harassed, beaten, forced to kiss feet of Muslim boy. 'AFTER term two began, so did the antisemitic name-calling. “Jewish ape”, “Jewish n****r” and “Jewish gimp” were just some of the slurs hurled towards Taylor. He silently took the verbal abuse. ... BUT it was the reaction of the school – both immediately and in the ensuing weeks – that left Karen bemused and ultimately, devastated. They refused to label the incidents as antisemitic. ...'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yz1X4PwWy2g&fbclid=IwAR2x33uKX3wsYxeuL6Mkg79WAiSqy7Xx3FCOMi1t0L7vq44Zrs3wi9P5E5k
Canada: 'On 29 Sept., 2019, antifa and allied left-wing protesters rioted outside an event in Hamilton, Ontario featuring Dave Rubin and conservative politician Maxime Bernier. "She was crying, hands were shaking," queer activist Jackson Gates tells me. "She was petrified."' Via my friend Andy Ngo.

My friend Yehuda Kimani reports via Facebook that the construction of the building for the Jewish community library is almost complete. I am incredibly excited. Photos at the FB link below.
https://www.facebook.com/kimyehudah/posts/1792471667494117

My friend Yehudah Kimani wanted to visit Israel. The authorities had other ideas.

http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Tempers-flare-in-Knesset-hearing-over-deportation-of-Kenyan-Jew-532751

'Kimani belongs to the Abayudaya. He converted to Judaism in 2010 through the Conservative movement and became active in the rural mountain community where he lives. The community is recognized as Jewish by the Jewish Agency.

During the Knesset hearing, ministry official Amos Arbel explained that Kimani was expelled because he stated in his visa application that besides touring the country, he would also be studying at the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

Despite this, Kimani was issued with a visa that stated specifically on it that he would be visiting the Conservative Yeshiva. But Arbel said that Kimani nevertheless needed a student visa, not a tourist visa, which was why he was expelled.

And when questioned by committee chairman MK Avraham Neguise about the vagaries of the ministry bureaucracy, Arbel responded: “What do you mean that it was written on his visa that he was coming to study in yeshiva? Is he Jewish?” asked Arbel rhetorically. “Do you want half of Africa here?” Despite Arbel’s explanation, the ministry previously gave a different reason for expelling Kimani, stating to the press that the ministry was concerned that he would seek to illegally remain in the country beyond the time period allowed on his visa. ...'

http://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Kenyan-Jew-deported-by-Interior-Ministry-despite-valid-visa-518589

'He spent a summer at the Brandeis Summer Institute in Los Angeles studying Judaism, and earlier this year he applied to study to study at the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

Kimani applied for a threemonth tourist visa through the consulate in Nairobi, while a prominent member of a Masorti (Conservative) synagogue in Jerusalem agreed to be his sponsor in Israel, signing a bank guarantee for his presence in the country and agreeing to cover all of his costs, including flight, housing and tuition.

The Interior Ministry, however, denied his visa request.

He reapplied in November, and following checks conducted by the Nairobi consulate, including confirming with the Conservative Yeshiva that Kimani had been accepted to study there, his visa application was approved.

Kimani’s visa was stuck into his passport and signed and stamped by the Israeli ambassador to Kenya. He flew to Israel on Monday and arrived in the evening.

Despite his valid visa, Kimani was detained by the border authorities and held at the airport until Tuesday morning, when he was expelled and deported to Ethiopia.

The Interior Ministry said Kimani’s second visa application had been “fraudulently obtained,” since he had not stated that his first application had been rejected, and there was “a concern he would remain [illegally]” in the country after his visa expired.

The Interior Ministry said his first application was rejected because there was a concern he would remain beyond the three-month duration of a tourist visa. But it refused to say why it thought this was a possibility. ...'

From Yehudah's Facebook page:

'No!would not have stay beyond the time/period limit on my visa and not only in Israel but to all others countries.i was not going to live in Israel either.I have a family and community back home who needed me back home for support and religious study acquired from the yeshivah.This article says it fully.Only God give honest judgements especially who is very righteous/Tzadik and who is much observant who will have more merits on Olam haba.All this is bringing encouragement,give strength and more hopes to keep going and Hakhadosh Baruch is watching.For those following and interested will keep you updated.
Thank you our supporters all over.'

For regular followers of my journal, you may remember that I had the honor and pleasure of being Yehudah's guest during my visit to East Africa in 2016, and was able to return the favor by hosting Yehudah during his visit to Portland a few months later. I am very sorry that he had such a poor welcome from the Israeli authorities, and pray that the issue may be resolved speedily so that he can visit Israel soon.

Via Melanie Phillips: BBC4's Jo Coburn interviews

The Rt. Hon. Edwina Currie, former Conservative minister; Lord Levy, Middle East envoy for Tony Blair when prime minister; The Rt. Hon. Sir Oliver Letwin, M.P., senior adviser to David Cameron; Jon Lansman, founder of Momentum, the grass-roots movement that supports Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader; Rabbi Jonathan Romain of Maidenhead Reform Synagogue; Melanie Phillips, columnist on "The Times" and Ruth Smeeth, Labour M.P. for Stoke-on-Trent, North

on changing allegiances for Jews in the UK.

Cross-posted at Covenant Lands.
https://asher813.blogspot.com/