Jewish in Toledo, Ohio. Is it Pay to Pray?

Good news for retired senior Jewish people in the Greater Toledo Ohio Area. Baruch HaShem! See the following 'copy and paste' email message from Rabbi Yossi Shemtov:

B"H

September 7, 2023 21 Elul, 5783

Dear Friends,

Over the last few years, my eyes have been opened to an underappreciated treasure in our community.

During Covid, we expanded our outreach to seniors and the homebound. We brought food, caring, and a helping hand to many.

Interacting with many who in better times passed under our radar, it really hit us how much we as a society and a community are losing collectively and individually by not accessing this treasure.

This treasure?

A third of our lives!

The lives of our retirees!

The lives of our seniors!

Why are we pushing this treasure aside when it has so much to give?

If all the world is a stage, you are the main actor. In a play, the third act is when everything begins to fall into place and make sense.

In our world today the first act of life is mainly about education and youthful exuberance, the second act is mostly about career and family, and the third act today is retirement and aging.

We are ushering people off the stage of life just when their story is coming together!

This is a travesty! When we have so much to give we are told to golf or are mothballed. We are seen as irrelevant or worst of all not seen at all.

As a society, we are squandering our greatest assets: the experience, wisdom, and life of our people. As individuals many of us are lacking the opportunities and infrastructure to continue our growth.

To live is to grow. Every moment of life should have meaning. As Jews, we understand that every moment of life HAS meaning. There is a purpose in every stage and situation.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe would stress that at a time when the obligations and responsibilities of career are lessening, it is a time to increase our focus on our own spiritual growth and a time to pursue Torah wisdom and selfactualization as an individual and as a Jew.

We discovered that here in Greater Toledo there are at least three different communities among those who were retired: A) the healthy, connected, vibrant members, B) those living independently, with some limitations due to health, mobility, isolation, or finances, and C) residents of assisted living facilities.

Meeting the ever-changing needs of the Toledo Jewish Community is the backbone of our mission. We see it as imperative for us to serve the needs of those in the third act of their life and beyond. We also realized that we needed someone dedicated to this mission.

We’re delighted to announce that Rabbi Dov Ber and Rivka, along with their infant son Levi, have just arrived in Toledo to join Chabad. They have come to expand the work we began: reaching out to seniors in our Jewish community who are isolated or shut in, to bring them a challah, a smile, a sympathetic ear with time to listen and converse, attention to unmet needs and, not least, spiritual inspiration about the dignity of their lives as an integral part of our Jewish community.

Thank G-d most today have the means to live. Our goal is to help others live with meaning. Most importantly, Rabbi and Rivka are determined to create opportunities and programs, to learn, celebrate, and strengthen the bonds of seniors with one another. They hope to create opportunities for seniors to contribute from their vast experience to society, especially teenagers and children.

Chabad is especially grateful to Lenny Rosenberg, alav hasholom, whose generous bequest has been a catalyst in enabling us to bring Rabbi Dov Ber and Rivka to Toledo, as well as to all of our other donors and supporters. Additionally, Chabad received a $100,000 grant, to be used over the course of two years ($50,000 per year), from Jewish Senior Services which will be used for this purpose.

Rabbi Dov Ber and Rivka look forward to meeting each and every one of you. In the meantime, if you have any questions, have any ideas for programs that our Seniors would enjoy or benefit from, or know of someone who would like a visit, please call or email me.

Rabbi Yossi Shemtov 

Chabad House-Lubavitch of Greater Toledo

I was born of a Jewish mother who herself had been born in an area of Eastern Europe known at the time as Podolia Guberniya, an area of the Pale of Settlement in the Russian Empire that in the present day is in Ukraine. From an Orthodox Jewish family, my mother raised me in the Reform movement of Judaism. My three children attended the weekend religious school of Toledo's Reform Jewish synagogue in which they were consecrated and confirmed. I am Jewish and appreciate all Jewish denominations. While I was born an Orthodox Jew, I was raised and confirmed in 1962 in Toledo Ohio's Reform Jewish Congregation and now I identify with transdenominational Judaism as a Jewish Universalist. Over the years, I have attended services of Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Jewish congregations and also of Chabad. Nowadays, I most regularly cyber attend services of the Jewish Universalist Sim Shalom Online Synagogue, in addition to which I also cyber attend several other Jewish online services of various denominations.

Although I am not Lubavitch, let alone Orthodox, I have much respect for Chabad. I certainly appreciate the services that Chabad has provided to everyone in our community and especially to the elderly population in which I am a part.

Chabad House of Toledo has a beautiful building complete with offices, social room, sanctuary, and mikvah; and yet, Chabad House requires no membership dues for attending religious services, special activities & programs, or for special services to seniors, and more. Compare that to the Toledo area  Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform synagogues that require dues paid membership for all those things. On top of that, the three synagogues require higher membership dues for retired senior citizens than those for younger employed persons. My wife and I are both 75 (76 for me at the end of November) living on fixed retirement pension. According to the local synagogue dues structures for a retired couple our age, the synagogues' annual membership dues range from $2200.00 to $2517.00. The membership dues for an employed couple aged 38 ranges from $1200.00 to $1221.00.

In order to attend religious services for the High Holy Days, i.e. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the Toledo area Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Synagogues require local residents to have admission tickets which are free for dues paid members but must be purchased ($100.00+ for each person) by local residents who are not dues paid members. Not so for services at Chabad where all Jews are welcome with open arms with no membership dues or purchased tickets required. Indeed, the following is a 'copy and paste' of an e-mail I received as I was composing this specific Roland Hansen Commentary:

Something for EVERYONE!

From: Rabbi Yossi Shemtov 

Dear Friend,

We are thrilled to invite you and your loved ones to celebrate the High Holidays at Chabad House!

We believe that every Jew deserves a welcoming and meaningful High Holiday experience. That's why we've designed our array of programs and services with you and your family in mind. We are proud to be a home away from home to people of all walks of life, something you will sense as soon as you walk through the door.

From the warm welcome you receive upon entering, to the engaging (sometimes humorous) running commentary, to the soul-stirring tunes, to the acclaimed community wide programs for children of every age, to delicious cuisine, we've created the perfect environment for you to learn a bit, laugh a bit, pray, reflect and grow.

For services information, kids program, seat reservations please click here

For Shofar-On-The-Lawn reservations please click here

We hope to see you to share these special times together! The Toledo Jewish Senior Services agency often, but not always, requires a minimum donation to the Toledo Jewish Federation in addition to an activity fee in order to attend activities, events, and programs.

For the life of me, I do not understand why the elderly are required to pay to be participants in Jewish Synagogue and Community Life!!!

In regards to the Toledo, Ohio area Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Synagogues, there is a larger question of being Jewish in Toledo, Ohio. Is it Pay to Pray?

USA Presidential Election and the Jewish Vote

I happened to be reading the Jewish News of Greater Phoenix Online when I came across an article that addressed how Democrats and Republicans are courting the Jewish vote in this year's Presidential election with a twist. Previous presidential campaigns have courted the Jewish vote based on the candidate for President. The 2008 Presidential election campaigns are apparently attempting to garner the Jewish vote and support based on the Vice Presidential nominees, Joe Biden (D) and Sarah Palin (R), rather than the nominees for President, Barack Obama (D) and John McCain (R). To get the information on this first hand, go over to read VP picks cast as bad for Jews by Ron Kampeas, JTA News & Features.

Not to be satisfied with just this teaser of an article on the subject of Republicans and Democrats going after the Jewish vote, a simple web search got me to the websites of the Republican Jewish Coalition and of the National Jewish Democratic Council. Looking over those websites is a real eye-opening, eye-popping experience. Who to believe - who to believe?? Oy vey ist mir!

To be honest, I never realized there was such a strong push by the two major American political parties for the support of the Jewish American electorate, especially given the fact that the U.S. Jewish Population is only 2.2% of the total American population. I cannot help but wonder about the reasoning for this. Now then, what is a Jewish African American with a Spanish surname to do?

Was Randy Savage A Jewish Italian Macho Man?

Was Randy Savage a Jewish Italian? Or, was the wrestler Macho Man an Italian Jew? Was Randy an American or Italian or what? Did Macho Man profess to be Jewish? Did Randy Savage celebrate Chanukah? Did he observe Rosh HaShanaah and Yom Kippur? Inquiring minds want to know; well, at least, this inquiring mind (that's me, Roland Louis Hansen) wants to know.

I recently made an honest, legitimate, and sincere comment on the blog entry Jewish Wrestler Randy Savage Dies in which I addressed the blog writer. I asked for some clarification in the use of ethnic descriptors in order to better understand their use, You see, the writer referred to the ethnic parentage of Macho Man Randy Savage. The writer, Rabbi Jason Miller, used two labels: "Italian" for the paternal parent, and "Jewish" for the maternal parent. The blog writer concluded that Macho Man Randy Savage was Jewish, but never wrote whether Randy Savage identified himself as Jewish or if Randy Savage ever observed and practiced the religion of Judaism.

In response, a troll who with an apparent lack of self-esteem and self-confidence hid his or her own real identity by ingeniously using the name "Anonymous" made light of my comments in his or her sarcastic return comment in a satirical attack on me.

I truly believe that some people intermingle and/or misuse ethnic identifiers. It has hit me personally over the years. My mother always stated she was a Russian Jew, but she was born in Ukraine. My father was a nonobservant Lutheran born in Elk Horn, Iowa, U.S.A. of parents that had emigrated from Denmark.

Throughout the years, I have been labeled by many people as a Jew, a dirty Jew, and as a half-breed Jew. I have yet to be labeled as a Dane or as Danish or as Russian or as Ukrainian by others who know that Judaism is my religion. There were many people of the Jewish religion who lived in Denmark during World War II that were protected by the Danish government. They were Danish citizens who followed, observed, and practiced Judaism. Would they be identified as Danish Jews or as Jewish Danes? As I previously stated, my mother identified herself as a Russian Jew til the day she died in 1984. In that she was born in Ukraine, I wonder if her ancestors were from Russia and had moved to Ukraine.

I have always wondered if any of my paternal ancestors were Danish Vikings or if any of my maternal ancestors came from the ancient nations of Judea or Israel. I will never know. Am I a Jewish Danish Russian Ukrainian? What label would you give me? Personally, I refer to me as American, pure and simple.

As far as that anonymous troll is concerned, I say "Shove off if you cannot have an intelligent discussion."

Jewish People, aka (to some people) Jews, Eat Pork

There are many people who have misinformation about Jewish practices and observances. Most people are of the belief that Jewish people do not eat pork or shellfish. There are some folks who even get into a long discussion in answer to the question: Do Jewish people eat pork?

It would appear from the comments contained in the preceding link that there are some Jewish people who do eat pork.

Another discussion I found on 'the net'is from The Straight Dope, Fighting Ignorance Since 1973, (It's Taking Longer Than We Thought). You might enjoy it; so click on over to read:
Why do some religious Jews eat pork and shrimp?

Speaking of the straight dope, You might find it entertaining to go to the following web page:
Why Jews don't eat pork according to Howard Stern.

I was reared in Reform Judaism. I do not fit the stereotype that many people have of one who is Jewish. And for the life of me, I do not understand why so many people have no clue as to the different movements or denominations within Judaism. Heck, I even wonder what it is about those Jewish people who think the platform of their Jewish denomination is the right one and that other denominations are not really Jewish; and, I really wonder why some Jewish people think their Rabbi is right and my Rabbi is wrong.

As a "Reform Jew," I found the following web page to be interesting reading:
Are some Reform Jews so liberal they eat lobster and pork?

Come to think of it, many people have many questions regarding Reform Judaism to which the immediately preceding embedded link attempt to answer.

Another web page that raised my eyebrows was an entry from the blog of The Fly Fishing Rabbi. You just might find it interesting, also. Click on over to read:
Why do Jews not eat Pork?

Now, I am totally confused.

Well, maybe we don't have a solid, conclusive answer to the question of whether Jews eat ham or pork chops or bacon or lobster or shrimp or clams or whatever; but,
We all know what a Jew looks like. Right?

What is a Jew? What does it mean for someone to be Jewish?

I find a phrase used in an article that I just read to be very confusing, perplexing, and disturbing!
And yet, I have come across many people during my 68 years that have often used the same type of phrase.
The phrase in the article that confuses me, that perplexes me, that disturbs me is:
"but he was more Jewish than Polish."

ref: Bernie's Religion Is the Revolution

Why do people say such a things? Why do people write such a thing?
I never hear anyone say or read anyone write:
"she is more Christian than Polish" or "he is more Lutheran than German" or "she is more Catholic than Italian"
Can anyone explain the use of this type of phraseology to me? Will anyone tell me why this is done?

And while I am at it, why do people say "you don't look Jewish" or "that sounds like a Jewish name" or such things? Why do some people refer to Jewish people as a race or as a nationality or anything other than a religion? And why do some people have the idea that all people of the Jewish religion have the same religious beliefs and practices and fail to recognize there are a variety of Jewish denominations?

I have written other Roland Hansen Commentary entries concerning Jewish as a topic or theme.

I have written other blog entries concerning Jewish as a topic or theme in Roland's Ramblings.

There are many, many interesting articles to the question of What is a Jew? all over the internet.

Jewish History. Syrian Refugees. Muslims. Donald Trump.

The following excerpts from several articles provide only a very small part of a much, much bigger picture of Jewish history. Open the embedded links for the cited articles to read them in their entirety.

In the year 1741 BCE, Abraham began his long journey from Haran to Canaan - a journey which would change the history of the world and have a profound effect on the development of most major religions.

ref: The History of the Jewish People 

(This website provides Year by Year History of the Jewish people 

with many embedded page links to read more information and 

also includes links to indices of names, entries, and places.)

The people of Israel (also called the "Jewish People") trace their origin to Abraham, who established the belief that there is only one God, the creator of the universe (see Torah). Abraham, his son Yitshak (Isaac), and grandson Jacob (Israel), are referred to as the patriarchs of the Israelites. All three patriarchs lived in the Land of Canaan, that later came to be known as the Land of Israel. They and their wives are buried in the Ma'arat HaMachpela, the Tomb of the Patriarchs, in Hebron (Genesis Chapter 23).

ref: Brief History of Israel and the Jewish People 

The concept of segregating Jews involuntarily behind walls was developed in ancient times, but it was not actually implemented as a policy until 1462 in Frankfurt, Germany......At one time or another, all Jews were expelled from England (1290), France (1306 and 1394), Austria (1420), and Spain (1492). There were local expulsions throughout Europe including those in Germany.

ref: Who are the Jews? 

The extremely long history of Jewish people (who have long been in the "minority" of peoples throughout the world) is one of many trials, tribulations, turbulence, perseverance, and survival against many obstacles that include prejudice, discrimination, xenophobia all hiding under the guise of protecting non-Jewish people from those "dirty Jews" as they have been called by the "majority" who profess they are only acting to protect themselves.

Oh, gentle reader, you are probably wondering where the Syrian Refugees, Muslims, and Donald Trump part of the title of this Roland Hansen Commentary comes in. It's really quite simple.

People have been fleeing Syria by the millions to escape the horrors of the violent Syrian civil war and from the terrorist organization called the Islamic State. In their life or death flight, these men, women, and children have sought refuge throughout Europe and North America, including the United States of America.

However, many countries have refused to accept the Syrian refugees, some countries have limited their numbers; some countries have required the refugees to reside within a certain specified geographical area; and many people are calling for the refugees to be clearly identified, cataloged, and tracked.

There is an unfathomable number of people who have a firmly held opinion that all Syrian refugees are Muslims and/or that there are many Muslim terrorists in disguise of refugees. These politically conservative people are of the opinion that the Syrian refugees should be treated as the Jewish people have been treated throughout much of history. -- Keep them isolated, keep them away; keep them out of the country --- all for "our" own protection (of course) because "they" are murderous heathens who only want to kill Christians and Jews and take over the world. Oh, the horror! (Oh, the shades of thoughts of the Crusades waged by Christians, the Inquisitions conducted by Christians, and the Holocaust executed by Nazi German Christians.)

Well, I got news for those Conservative-minded self-avowed saviors of Western society, aka Western culture, aka Western culture. Not all these refugees are Muslim, certainly many are Muslim but not all. More news: Just as there are many denominations of Christianity and just as there are many denominations of Judaism, there are various denominations of Islam, aka Muslims. Yes, there are many terrorists who are Muslim but when examined as a percentage of the millions of Muslims in the world the terrorists are in no way close to be a large percentage of the entire Muslim population. There are many terrorists who call themselves Christian, but there is no movement in the Western world to ban or limit Christians.

I could go on and on, but I also realize those persons who are anti-Syrian Refugee and/or anti-Muslim will just come up with their own arguments to point out what they perceive to be the fallacy of my perspective, just as I perceive the fallacy of their perspective.

Now, Donald Trump! Tell you what -- rather than me writing about him on this topic, I suggest you just read these articles to which I have placed an embedded link:

• 'They could be Isis.' Donald Trump warns against taking Syrian refugees
• Donald Trump: I would send Syrian refugees home
• Donald Trump says he ‘absolutely’ wants a database of Syrian refugees
• Trump Tells Rally Syria Refugees 'Probably' ISIS As Muslim Protester Removed
• Donald Trump's false claim that refugees, migrants are mostly 'strong, powerful men'
• Trump to Syrian refugee children: 'You can't come here'
• Donald Trump: I can tell refugees 'you can't come here'
• UN refugee chief attacks Donald Trump: People who reject Syria Muslims are 'best allies' of Isis

Adolf Hitler wrote in Mein Kampf, "By defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord."

Germany's Catholics were proud as peacocks to count their Fuerher as one of their own ... it was extremely important in a country where 98% of the population viewed themselves as Christian, that Hitler persuade the masses that he was one of them, i.e. Christian

ref: Was Adolf Hitler an atheist? or was he a believer?

The population of Germany in 1933 was around 60 million. Almost all Germans were Christian, belonging either to the Roman Catholic (ca. 20 million members) or the Protestant (ca. 40 million members) churches. The Jewish community in Germany in 1933 was less than 1% of the total population of the country.How did Christians and their churches in Germany respond to the Nazi regime and its laws, particularly to the persecution of the Jews? The racialized anti-Jewish Nazi ideology converged with antisemitism that was historically widespread throughout Europe at the time and had deep roots in Christian history. For all too many Christians, traditional interpretations of religious scriptures seemed to support these prejudices.

ref: THE GERMAN CHURCHES AND THE NAZI STATE

Is it any wonder that on January 21, 2016, I posted the Roland Hansen Commentary:
Is Donald Trump the reincarnation of Adolf Hitler?

Jewish Principles and the Founding of the United States of America

Many Americans assert that the United States of America was founded on Christian principles. I respectfully disagree with that perspective.

It is undeniable fact that Christianity began as an offshoot of Judaism. If one wants to say that America was founded on the principles of any one religion, then I postulate that the United States was founded on the principles of Judaism.

The United States was not founded exclusively on Jewish principles, but its founding was significantly influenced by the Hebrew Bible, Jewish ideas of law and morality, and the Puritanical identification with ancient Israel. While rooted in Enlightenment philosophy and Christian traditions, key concepts such as freedom of conscience, the rule of law, and a “covenantal” view of government were largely derived from Hebraic tradition. 

Influence of Jewish Ideas and Biblical Tradition

Biblical Foundation: Early American settlers and founders frequently referenced the Hebrew Bible, viewing themselves as a "new Israel" escaping tyranny, similar to the Exodus story.

Theological & Legal Impact: Concepts such as equality, individual liberty, and universal rights (e.g., “endowed by their Creator” in the Declaration of Independence) are rooted in biblical Jewish thought.

Cultural Influence: Several colleges (e.g., Columbia, Dartmouth) and early political symbols incorporated Hebrew words. 

Contextual Debates and Nuances

Not Specifically Jewish Law: While religious thought was present, the founders did not establish a theocracy or implement religious law, instead creating a secular government based on Enlightenment principles.

Individual Liberty: The focus on religious liberty, crucial to Jewish involvement in the founding era, actually arose from a desire to escape religious persecution in the Old World, fostering a pluralistic society. 

In summary, Hebrew scriptures and Jewish moral concepts were essential influences in the cultural and intellectual background of the American founders. 

American Jewish Federations Codemn Israeli Jewish Extremism

Sometimes, I just wonder if the so-called "observant" Jew (as these folks call themselves) is any more religious than what they label a "non-observant" Jew. It appears to me that they are hypocrites and are less than religious than all the other various denominations or movements of Judaism. Here, read the following article and let me know what you think.

Jewish Federations Condemn Wave of Religious Extremism and Violence in Israel December 27, 2011

The Jewish Federations of North America today expressed strong condemnation of a recent wave of religious extremism and violence in Israel. The situation has been highlighted in the media in recent days, which has focused on the verbal abuse of an eight-year-old girl in the city of Bet Shemesh, by a group of ultra-Orthodox men. Other issues have included the forced segregation of genders on some public bus routes – despite the fact that the Israeli Supreme Court has outlawed this practice – and the unofficial ban on any female image in advertising in some areas. “Our movement includes Jewish people from all streams and persuasions. Yet, despite our differing backgrounds, we unite today to strongly condemn, with one clear and loud voice, all acts of violence, intimidation, coercion and extremism, especially those that are undertaken, incredibly, in the name of Judaism,” said Jerry Silverman, president and CEO of JFNA. “We know that ‘deracheha darchei noam’ – the Torah’s paths are ways of peace. We stand firmly and resolutely behind the voices of reason and moderation in Bet Shemesh and throughout Israel.” As a result of significant media attention in recent days, many members of the Israeli Government, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have spoken out publicly to condemn the extremist behavior. Similarly, the police have stepped up efforts and made a number of arrests. “We applaud Prime Minister Netanyahu and other members of the government for their strong words condemning recent acts of extremism, and urge the government and the Israeli police to work hard to stamp out this stain on Israeli society,” said Rebecca Caspi, JFNA’s senior vice president for Israel and Overseas. Earlier today, thousands took to the streets in Bet Shemesh to protest the acts of extremism, drawing increased media attention and scrutiny to the city. Michael Gelman, JFNA’s chair of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees, said, ”We reach out to the Ultra Orthodox community, and in particular, their spiritual leaders. We plead for them to break their silence and speak out firmly and decisively. An act of this nature can help heal Israeli society and restore their image as moral, upstanding, Torah-abiding citizens.” Stuart Kurlander, president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, which has a relationship with the Bet Shemesh/Mate Yehuda Region through the Jewish Agency for Israel’s Partnership Together program, also condemned the recent violence, intimidation and other extremist acts. “We have been working in partnership with the city of Bet Shemesh for 10 years and have come to know the community and its people very well. We stand with the law-abiding population of Beit Shemesh, and especially those groups working at conciliation and moderation in the city,” said Kurlander. “At the same time, we urge Bet Shemesh’s mayor, Moshe Abutbol, to put a stop to this religious extremism and violence, and help to rebuild a harmonious and thriving community.” 
For more information, please contact: Dani Wassner at dani.wassner@jewishfederations.org 

ref: JFNA Briefing: Jewish Federations Condemn Wave of Religious Extremism and Violence in Israel

Now, what about the Christian extremists over there in the Holy Land???? Is this more of religious hypocrisy?
Check it out! Take a look-see at: Rival Monks Brawl While Cleaning Bethlehem Church.


You and I know that followers of Islam have been taking a lot of heat because of Muslim extremists. Why do we humans tend to brush a whole group of people based on the actions of a few? Muslims and Jews alike are painted with one broad brush called STEREOTYPE. But, what of Christians? Where is the stereotype there?

SNAP! Take the Food Stamp Challenge.

I am just relaying the information. Here, read this copy and paste job from Jewish News of Greater Phoenix:

Local rabbi takes food stamp challenge
LEISAH WOLDOFF
Managing Editor

Rabbis and cantors across the country are committing to live for one week on a food budget of $31.50, as part of the 2012 Jewish Community Food Stamp Challenge. Rabbi Bonnie Sharfman of Congregation Kehillah in Scottsdale has taken the challenge.

The $31.50 - or $1.50 per meal - represents the average allotment for individuals on SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), formerly known as food stamps.

The program is "meant to supplement a family's food budget, but to some it's their entire food budget," Sharfman said.

The national challenge - organized by the Jewish Council for Public Affairs in partnership with MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger and several other national Jewish organizations across the religious spectrum - is an effort to spread awareness of the national crisis of hunger and poverty.

"Hunger and food insecurity touch every one of our communities, but it is rarely talked about and frequently misunderstood," said Rabbi Leonard Gordon, co-chair of the Jewish Community Food Stamp Challenge, in a release. The challenge "is a way for rabbis and cantors to make the invisible daily struggles of congregants and neighbors real, while demonstrating the Jewish community's deep commitment to help those in need."

Sharfman took her challenge Aug. 31-Sept. 7; and in addition to the financial restriction, her personal requirements included keeping kosher and eating healthy, which meant no fast food and avoiding "carb overload," she said.

As she prepared for the challenge, she was struck by how much planning it takes to live on such a strict budget. She also learned that "there are no shortcuts. You can't go out to eat, you can't just go out and grab something if you're trying to be healthy."

Here's a sample of her menu for the week:

For breakfast, she bought oatmeal in bulk - not instant. "We were allowed to use seasonings that were in our cabinet so I put a little honey in it - it was filling, but it wasn't particularly tasty."

She also ate eggs with a little cheese in them and half a banana or apple. Berries weren't on sale that week, so they were out of her price range. She chose to not purchase yogurt because it wasn't filling enough.

For lunch, she had macaroni and cheese or a peanut butter and honey sandwich and half an apple.

During the week, she avoided breakfast or lunch meetings because eating out wasn't an option. "It was very not social," she said. On that budget, "you can't have any meals out. Maybe if I ate fast food, but I don't."

For dinner, she cooked two kosher chicken legs and thighs in soup, adding pasta and any vegetables she could afford: carrots, celery, turnips, onions. "That lasted for a couple of meals." Then, she recooked the chicken "and that became my Shabbat meal."

She also bought a big bag of lettuce from Costco and shaved some carrots into it - "cucumber put me over my budget" - and made her own salad dressing.

Sharfman said she gained an appreciation for being able to purchase food with a higher convenience level, and although living within the budget may be doable, "I realized how complicated it makes an already complicated life."

The Food Stamp Challenge isn't new. The first one was organized by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) in 2006 and gained national attention in 2007 when four members of Congress took the challenge and blogged about their experiences. According to the FRAC website, frac.org, hundreds, if not thousands, have taken the challenge.

As Congress' Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction works on producing a plan by Nov. 23 to reduce the deficit by $1.5 trillion, anti-hunger advocates are concerned that SNAP will be a target for funding cuts or structural changes that "could result in enrollment being capped and many struggling with hunger being kicked off the program," according to JCPA. The organization encourages individuals to contact their members of Congress about opposing any proposals that would hurt SNAP.

Locally, the Association of Arizona Food Banks, which received a $27,000 grant from MAZON in June for advocacy and education, provides information on its website (azfoodbanks.org) about advocacy and public policy news regarding hunger, as well as sample letters one could write to their members of Congress.

In 2011, more than 1 million people in Arizona - in 465,375 households - participated in SNAP, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.

In June of this year, the most recent data available on the USDA site, there were 1.1 million Arizonans in 481,901 households participating.

On a national level, 44.7 million people - in 21 million households - received SNAP benefits in 2011, according to USDA.

In addition to taking the challenge, clergy are invited to host pages to raise funds to support JCPA's anti-hunger effort. As of Sept. 18, Sharfman had raised 77 percent of her $1,000 goal (visit tinyurl.com/Sharfmanchallenge).

Participating in the challenge made Sharfman see things differently. For instance, when she saw a couple going grocery shopping with their two young children who, as children tend to do, asked for certain foods that they wanted their parents to purchase, she wondered, "What does it feel like to not have that leeway, to always have to tell the children, 'no'?" It also made her think back to when she taught young children and asked them to bring in food for class projects, "not even thinking about what it meant to the family who might not have been able to afford it."

The point of taking the challenge is to "express gratitude toward the blessings in my life and to share those blessings," she said. Also, Judaism mandates social justice. If there are "people right down the street from me who are in pain and are suffering, then it's my suffering, too."

The experience gave her a different level of empathy, she said, and great appreciation for never having been in that position.

"I can't tell you that I know what it's like because I don't," she said. "I knew going into this that I had seven days and I'm done. I was very well aware that my pantry is full. If I couldn't handle something from this experiment, I could go grab something from my pantry. I didn't, but psychologically, I knew it was there.

"What does it mean when the cupboard really is bare?"

Anyone is welcome to take the Food Stamp Challenge. For more information, visit foodstampchallenge.com.

ref: JewishAZ.com/Local rabbi takes food stamp challenge

The Toledo Jewish Community and Christian Association

In the past month or so, there has been a lot of controversery concerning the Toledo YMCA and its CEO Robert Alexander.

I find it extremely interesting that Robert Alexander, several of his supporters, and several of his opponents have brought up the Christian religion in their ongoing disagreement that has been very public.

I also found it extremely interesting when I saw costly paid advertising in the local daily newspaper touting the Christian aspect of the Toledo YMCA/JCC.

Quite frankly, I am very dismayed and disgusted in what I perceive as hypocrisy when in comes to the Toledo Jewish Community in its role, or lack thereof, in this whole fiasco as well as in its entire relationship with the Young Mens Christian Association. Why? - you may ask.

Quite simply put, I have a problem with the "cozy" business relationship with the Toledo Jewish Community and the YMCA of Greater Toledo. Together, they are known as the YMCA and JCC of Greater Toledo. Along with my simplistic mindset concerning that business relationship that I personally think is an affront to the intended purpose, philosophy, mission, and goals of each entity, I am troubled by the free use of phrases in the dispute about Christianity. Why has no one mentioned the Jewish Community in all this? Why hasn't the Toledo JCC voiced its position on all this? Why are the leaders of the JCC not being held accountable? Why are the JCC as an entity and its leaders not being called to task?

I say shame on the JCC for being a part of all this. I call upon the Toledo Jewish Community Center to disavow any connection with the YMCA of Greater Toledo. Don't tell me about business concerns. The two organizations should disaffiliate from one another and focus on each of their own individual organization's mission. The Toledo Jewish Community Center should bite the bullet.

Toledo JCC:
Do the right thing! Break the formal ties with the YMCA. Assert your Jewish identity.

Mitch Albom on 2024 ProGaza ProPalestine College Campus Demonstrations

Mitch Albom (author of "Tuesdays with Morrie" and "The Five People You Meet in Heaven"), wrote the following in the Detroit Free Press.

Let's be clear on what these campus protests are  (Detroit Free Press – May 5. 2024), by Mitch Albom

Imagine, if you are Christian, that there is only one nation in the world where you are the majority (instead of more than 150). And nearly half the Christians on earth live there.

Or if you are Muslim, and there is only one country where you are the majority — instead of nearly 50 — and half the world’s Muslims live within its borders.

If you are Black, imagine just one country where you are the dominant race, and half of the world’s Black population shares the space. Same thing if you are Latino or Asian.

Now imagine if college campuses across America were screaming for your country’s elimination. Your one country. Your only country. And you watched those protests grow in size, in hate, in violence, and wondered why so few people were defending you?

Then you can begin to sense how Jewish people felt these past few weeks.

This is not a column about the two sides of the Israel-Hamas war. That is for another day. Nor is this about those students who genuinely empathize with the death and suffering of innocent Palestinians caught in the conflict. That, too, deserves its own reflection.

No, today the subject is the antagonism toward Jews, subtle and outright, in these recent college protests.

And let’s be clear. That is the end-game desire of many angry students, faculty and outside agitators who, wearing masks, erecting barricades and occupying buildings, turned college campuses into theaters of the absurd these past few weeks.

They would like Israel eliminated. From the river to the sea. Half the Jews in the world left to find someplace else to go, or worse, if Hamas has its way, eliminated altogether.

Many people, journalists included, seem to tiptoe around what these protests were about, afraid of offending one sensitivity or the other. Joe Biden went nine days without personally commenting on them, and he’s the president!

But in the face of hate and destruction, it is no time to be timid. So let’s be clear about what’s really going on here. History is owed at least that much, right?

Turning ugly quickly

When these protests began, many outsiders stretched to emphasize their “peaceful” nature. Media noted pizza and dancing. But Jewish students sensed things differently. Pretty soon, the world did, too. Belligerence grew. Anger grew. Pizza and singing were replaced by confrontations, vandalism, barricades, smashing windows, taking over buildings and creating locked-arm human shields to deny Jewish students access to the facilities they pay to use.

Chants of “Intifada” grew. So did screams of “brick by brick, wall by wall, Israel must fall.”

One of Columbia’s protest leaders, Khymani Jones, an American raised in Boston, had said “Zionists don’t deserve to live” and spoke about “murdering Zionists.” (His subsequent apology is meaningless.)

At UCLA, a Star of David was drawn on a walkway, under the words “Step here.” (Imagine if that were a cross!) Videos emerged of Jewish students on campuses being denied access by keffiyeh-wearing protesters. One Jewish student was asked “Are you Zionist?” and when he answered, “Of course I’m Zionist,” he was not allowed to advance.

Note that he didn’t say “I believe Palestinians should die,” or “I hate Muslims.” His sole “crime” was believing Israel has a right to exist.

Peggy Noonan, the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the Wall Street Journal, visited the Columbia protests and came away with this observation: “They weren’t a compassionate group. They weren’t for anything, they were against something: the Israeli state, which they’d like to see disappear, and those who support it.”

Hate can't be tolerated

So it’s been stunning to watch the pretzel twisting people go through to parse the antisemitism out of this wave of campus hate. Some point to the smattering of Jewish students amongst the protesters. “See,” they say, “we have Jews who agree with us.” (So what? Does having Black members of the MAGA movement keep critics from calling it racist?)

Others seem to believe that as long as they don’t say the exact words “I want to kill all Jews,” they are absolved.

Sorry. “From the river to the sea” (Jordan River, Mediterranean Sea, by the way) means all of Israel. You take that, Israel is gone. 

“Intifada” may technically translate to “uprising” in Arabic, but it is also the word used to describe the violent terrorism against Israel from 1987-1993 and 2000-2005. And everyone there knows it.

“Go back to Poland!” as was shouted by one Palestinian-flag waving protester, suggests Jews leave America and return the land of Auschwitz and Treblinka.

And “Final Solution” — words actually on a sign at George Washington University — doesn’t refer to an answer. It was Hitler’s phrase for murdering every Jew in Europe.

So let’s be real. If you can get fired for using the wrong pronouns on a college campus these days, this is miles beyond that. If during the George Floyd aftermath, a broadcaster was terminated for tweeting the words “All lives matter,” because his accusers said everyone knew what he meant, this is miles beyond that.

Yet the same people who wagged those fingers are now spewing vitriol against Jews and Israelis and want a mulligan. Sorry. You can’t have it both ways. If you get furious over implied racism, then you must be furious over implied antisemitism.

And if you want to erase Israel off the map — as Hamas has stated, as UNRWA schoolbooks teach, and as those who wave the Hezbollah flag support — you don’t get to say you’re not anti-Jewish.

Do they even know what they're protesting?

The irony is many of these protesting students have never been to Israel. Some, I’ll bet, couldn’t find Gaza on a map. Yet they are being praised by the President of Iran, who last week called their efforts “a big event.” That ought to scare everyone.

The truth is their behavior doesn’t necessarily reflect a sudden passion, just before finals, to make the suffering in Gaza the most important cause in their lives.

In fact, a recent Harvard poll (yes, Harvard) found that “Israel/Palestine” ranked 15th out of 16 issues as most important to young people ages 18-29. You even see videos of protesters who shout “from the river to the sea,” but can’t name either the river or the sea they are talking about.

The New York Times, after interviewing many protesters, concluded that beyond Palestinians, their causes ranged from “intersectional justice” to “the idealistic desire to be a part of a community effort” to the continuation of ideals expressed during the Black Lives Matter movement.

Many of these “student protesters” weren’t even students at all. Of the 44 people who barricaded themselves inside Columbia's Hamilton Hall, 13 weren’t even affiliated with the university, despite the school’s supposed insistence that no outsiders get onto campus. In fact, outsiders played an enormous role in what looked like spontaneous revolt.

On Friday, the Wall Street Journal published a long story headlined “Activist Groups Trained Students for Months Before Campus Protests.” It detailed Zoom meetings, coordinated plans and internet encouragement between many organizations, including National Students for Justice in Palestine and former Black Panthers. A virtual training session was hosted by a group that had previously celebrated the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. According to the WSJ report, its leader told the participants, “There is nothing wrong with being a member of Hamas, being a leader of Hamas, being a fighter in Hamas. These are the people that are on the front lines defending Palestine.”

Yeah. These are also the people who murdered, raped and kidnapped over 1,400 Jewish people on Oct. 7. And who vow to do it again and again and again. No wonder the Hamilton Hall occupiers hurled a banner out the window that read “Glory to our martyrs.”

Tell us again why Jewish students shouldn’t be afraid.

Call these protests what they are

“What do these kids want?” You heard that uttered everywhere last week. In the 1960s, anti-Vietnam protesters clearly wanted an end to the war so our young men did not have to fight it. In the 1970s and '80s, Americans protesting South Africa wanted an end to apartheid rule.

These recent protesters are more hazy. Some demand divestment from companies doing business with Israel (something that won’t happen, but would make no financial difference if it did.) Others demand an end to exchange programs with Israeli universities. (How exactly is that going to help a Gazan child?) Others demand action on things like policing and climate change. At the absurd end was the Columbia grad student demanding the school feed the Hamilton Hall occupiers, and the Columbia law students demanding their finals be canceled due to the trauma they were enduring.

Yet while American kids screamed to free Palestine, you heard no screams to free American hostages being held by Hamas for more than six months (or, heaven forbid, the Israeli ones). Instead, you have graduations canceled, classes put online, buildings vandalized, American flags replaced with Palestinian flags and a statue of George Washington at a university named after him defaced, spray-painted and covered with a keffiyeh.

Let’s face it. The U.S. has a soft spot for protests. We are proud of our free speech principles. And baby boomers who fondly remember the 1960s seem to reflexively associate campus unrest with righteousness.

But this is not “hell-no-we-won’t go.” And just because you congregate lots of people doesn’t make you noble. Especially in the days of Instagram and Signal, where inviting a million souls is as simple as flicking a finger.

In the end, this campus fever was about many things, some of them earnest, some of them pathetic, but only one of them vile and terribly dangerous: the elimination of the only country on earth that calls itself a home to Jews, and the hostile backdrop of antisemitism behind it which left Jewish students across the country studying online, hiding their yarmulkes and Jewish stars, or weeping on school staircases, wondering how bad this will get.

Go back to Poland? Final Solution? Murdering Zionists? We wouldn’t tolerate that for any other minority groups. Why on earth have we been tolerating it up till now?

Christian - Jewish Friendship, Public Service, Good Deeds.

Back on March 24, 2014, I wrote an entry in my other blog, Roland's Ramblings, that I wish to reproduce here in Roland Hansen Commentary. It concerns a lifelong friendship between a Christian person, age 66, and a Jewish person, also age 66, both of whom have spent their entire adult lives helping and serving others.

That entire Roland's Ramblings entry reproduced verbatim in its entirity is as follows:

Mitzvah. Mitzvot.
Today, I preface this Roland's Ramblings entry with a little background story about Chuck, a friend of mine who I have known for the past 60 years. Chuck and I were very good friends throughout our school years from first grade all the way to high school graduation in Toledo, Ohio where we attended Washington Local Schools.

Chuck had the neighborhood newspaper route of The Blade and was the newspaper carrier; I was his substitute carrier.  When we were a bit older, Chuck had another part-time job as a janitor at a local "truck stop" restaurant; when he moved on from that, he arranged for me to be his replacement.

After high school, I went to The University of Toledo for further education; Chuck left Toledo. If I recall correctly, he served some time in the United States Navy before entering Grace Theological Seminary.

Chuck eventually became an Evangelical Missionary spending many, many years in Costa Rica. After Costa Rica, he joined the faculty of Cairn University where he served as Director, Missions Program and taught courses in intercultural ministry, Bible exposition and theology, etc. After Cairn University, my friend joined World Team as Director of Member Care and then becoming Director of Training Services and just last year began duties with Global Research and Coaching.

FYI, per its own description of itself, "World Team is an interdenominational missionary agency with 350+ workers in 28 countries working among 55+ people groups around the world. We exist to glorify God by working together to establish reproducing churches focusing on the unreached peoples of the world."

Well, at any rate, earlier today, I noticed that Chuck had updated his Linkedin account annotating it with "Honor and Awards - Ph. D., Intercultural Studies (Trinity Intl. University; 1997)."

I couldn't just read his updated Linkedin account notation without making a comment.
So, I wrote, "You have done well, my lifelong friend!"

My friend, Chuck, responded to my comment, "And so with you, Roland. I have always been impressed with your commitment to public service. That is an area in which I fear to tread! I was with some friends at church yesterday, discussing a close friend, very brilliant, who just died at age 57. The comment was made (in spite of this person's many weighty accomplishments), that we never see U-Hauls behind hearses. We came into the world with nothing and we leave it with nothing, barring what we take away from a relationship with God through Jesus. It gave me pause to remember how we measure 'success' on this side of reality. Your thoughts?"

Responding to Chuck, who has always known of and has appreciated my Jewish religion, I wrote, "To me, success is doing mitzvahs, i.e. acts of kindness in the performance of good deeds in helping people and our worldwide community."

Now, on with the titled Roland's Ramblings entry.
First off, this definition from Judaism 101:
Mitzvah (MITS-vuh); pl: Mitzvot (mits-VOHT) Lit. commandment. Any of the 613 commandments that Jews are obligated to observe. It can also refer to any Jewish religious obligation, or more generally to any good deed.ref: [jewfaq.org/defs/mitzvot.htm]

From My Jewish Learning, we read, "One often hears someone Jewish saying, 'It's a mitzvah!' usually referring to a charitable, beneficial act performed by another person. However, while its Yiddish parallel 'mitzveh' does have this connotation, the Hebrew word mitzvah does not mean 'a good deed' in that sense."For further explanation, please go over to the embedded link to read the entire article, Mitzvot: A Mitzvah Is a Commandment.
Here are a few excerpts from another article, courtesy of Torah.org:
-> "Mitzvah observance gives the promise of living an enlightened and meaningful existence."
-> "The mitzvot reflect the infinite and eternal nature of their Author."
-> "The importance of the mitzvah system is that it relates to the very nature of the Jewish people."
-> "Judaism is not as much a religion as it is a relationship. It is only through mitzvah observance that man can build a deep, enduring, and meaningful relationship with God."
Of course, you may go over to the following embedded link to read that entire article, What is a Mitzvah? by Rabbi Osher Chaim Levene.

You may also visit Chabad.org to read the web page of Mitzvah; Mitzvot that I have placed as an embedded link in its title.

Messianic Judaism Is Not Jewish! Beware of Wolves in Sheep's Clothing. Messianic Jews Are Christians.

Messianic Judaism blends evangelical Christian theology with elements of religious Jewish practice and terminology. Messianic Judaism puts forth that Jesus is not just a man, but also the Messiah. Furthermore, Messianics also believes that Jesus is "God the Son" (one person  of the Trinity). Going a bit further, Messianic Judaism believes that salvation is achieved only through acceptance of Jesus as one's savior.

That is all a far cry from the beliefs of Judaism. The central belief of Judaism is the absolute unity and singularity of God. Judaism does not believe in Messiah as "savior" and Jews do not believe Jesus was the Messiah. Furthermore, Judaism forbids the worship of a person as a form of idolatry.

As do I, Jewish organizations and the Supreme Court of Israel consider Messianic Judaism to be a form of Christianity.

References:
Messianic Judaism, princeton.edu ~ Allison Chaney.
Messianic Judaism, Wikipedia.
Judaism's view of Jesus, Wikipedia.
Why Jews Don't believe in Jesus, Being Jewish.
Why Jews Don't Believe in Jesus, Aish.com.
Is The Christian Movement Called "Messianic Judaism" a Form of Judaism?, Jews for Judaism.
The Jewish Response to Missionaries, Roland's Ramblings.

Messianic Judaism Is Not Jewish! Beware of Wolves in Sheep's Clothing. Messianic Jews Are Christians.

Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan: Facing anti-Semitism?

It seems as if the face of United States Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan is all over the place, media-wise, that is.

To provide a sampling of what is going on in the wide wonderful web media, I provide the following (along with my commentary, of course) for information and for your reading pleasure.

For a nominee to the United States Supreme Court, Elena Kagan has an interesting non-judicial background. In attempting to find some reason in an 'any-excuse-will-do' mentality, her detractors stop at nothing. Click on over to read:
Kagan's Opponents Grasping at Straws by Eduardo Penalver, Published June 30, 2010 | FOXNews.com.

It is no secret that Elana Kagan is Jewish, as can be read in the two following web pages:
Kagan, Judaism and the Bible: 'Justice, justice shall you pursue'
Elena Kagan’s Jewish Background: Just What Pat Buchanan Fears
To me, it appears that once again the anti-Jewish sentiment in America is rearing up its ugly head.

Thus far, Elena Kagan appears to be taking the salvos being fired by anti-Jewish conservatives in stride as she fends off the "jew baiting" being thrown at her. I mean give me a break! How else can the questions "Where were you at on Christmas Day?" and “I just asked you where you were at on Christmas?” posed by Senator Lindsey O. Graham (R, SC) be explained?

From the Chicago Tribune, you can read;
Kagan's a not-so-leftist liberal, The daughter of a crusading New York street lawyer and protege of Justice Thurgood Marshall, the Supreme Court nominee has specialized in finding a middle position on the most contentious issues from James Oliphant, Richard A. Serrano and David G. Savage Reporting from Cambridge, Mass., New York and Washington, June 27, 2010.

Perhaps you may wish to read:
Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan on hate speech and pornography (aka the First Amendment) by Chris Moody - The Daily Caller | Published: 12:52 PM 06/28/2010 | Updated: 12:55 PM 06/28/2010

If you are the type of person who likes biased information from twisted minds, you can click on over to read:
Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan is Israel partisan, Wednesday, June 30, 2010, from If Americans Knew, Israel-Palestine, The Missing Headlines.

Is any anti-Semitism (as in anti-Jewish sentiment and/or prejudice) at play in any of this? People will deny it. However, I hypothesize that not only is it playing a part in the opposition of the nomination of Elena Kagan to SCOTUS but anti-Semitism throughout the United States is also prevalent.

It is quite often that we Jewish Americans hear and read other Americans say "America is a Christian country" and proclaim "America was founded on Christian principles." To the latter statement, I respond: "From where do you think Christian principles came?"

Oh, as an aside, you may want to click on over to read:
Was the U.S. Founded on Christian Principles?

Christians Legislate To Impose Their Beliefs On Jewish People.

Often, I hear people assert that the United States of America is a Christian country. They do so despite the fact that there are many other religious faiths observed in America, including the small minority of people who adhere to Judaism. These Christians think it is perfectly appropriate, even their duty, to impose their Christian religious beliefs upon non-Christians, even to the point of passing laws at all levels of government thereby circumventing, ignoring, and violating The First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Despite their cries of indignation, outrage, and downright hostility to other countries who have governments that are controlled by religious beliefs (e.g. Islamic governments), these Christians who profess that those 'other' religions should not legislate and impose their beliefs unto the citizens of their respective countries think that the same rules do not apply to them here in the U.S.A.

Recently, Lisa Brown, a state representative in Michigan, gave a speech on the floor of the Michigan House of Representatives in which she pointed out that the Michigan Legislature was in the process of trying to enact legislation that would impose Christian religious beliefs on Jewish people, specifically in regards to the issue of abortion, a subject that is indeed covered under Jewish law.
Despite the argument put forth by Representative Brown, not only was the bill passed by the Michigan House of Representatives, but she was censured and forbiddened to speak further on the bill after she made her initial comments.

You may view and listen to those comments of Michigan State Representative Lisa Brown right here:

Prior to her initial and only permitted talk, Representative Lisa Brown was preceded by another State Representaive from Holland, Michigan who spoke about religious freedom. It was only after that spiel that Representative Brown spoke on the bill before the legislative chamber in which she spoke personally about her own faith. Here is the text of the portion of her speech that addresses the religious aspects of the debate:

I'm Jewish. I keep kosher in my home. I have two sets of dishes. One for meat and one for dairy, and another two sets of dishes on top of that for Passover. Judaism believes that therapeutic abortions, namely abortions performed in order to preserve the life of the mother are not only permissable but mandatory. The stage of pregnancy does not matter. Wherever there is a question of the life of the mother or that of the unborn child, Jewish law rules in favor of preserving the life of the mother. The status of the fetus as human life does not equal that of the mother. I have not asked you to adopt and adhere to my religious beliefs. Why are you asking me to adopt yours?

Why do Christians believe it is justifiable to legislatively impose Christian beliefs on Jewish people and other non-Christians, but it is not justifiable to legislate non-Christian beliefs onto Christians?

John McCain and Joe Lieberman: The Adynamic Duo

The dynamic duo of Batman and Robin are quite different than the adynamic duo of John McCain and Joe Lieberman.
Remember Lieberman, the orthodox Jewish U. S. Senator from Connecticut, who was the Democratic Party nominee for Vice President back in 2000 and who attempted to be the Democratic Party nominee for President in 2004. To shake up your memory, I suggest you read this Joe Lieberman article.
Remember the comments made by John McCain in the fall of 2007 that pretty much offended the entire Jewish community as being anti-Jewish and was also considered by the community of Islam to be anti-Muslim. Perhaps, I can refresh your memory on that one. Simply read the Roland Hansen Commentary McCain: Pride and Prejudice.
Considering those factors, I can't help but wonder why the two have formed an 'unholy' and 'adynamic' alliance. Of what am I alluding you may ask. Well, read the Fox News report: Joe Lieberman Crosses Aisle, Endorses John McCain For President.
John McCain must really assign credibility and importance to the endorsement of the Jewish Senator from Connecticut because McCain's official campaign for President committee, John McCain 2008, issued the press release Senator Joe Lieberman Endorses John McCain For President. I wonder why McCain who feels only a Christian should be elected President of the United States of America has played that endorsement over and over again as I see through the television coverage that Joe Lieberman has been frequently accompanying John McCain on the campaign trail.
Well, some people are reading even more into this adynamic duo as can be read in the MSNBC story Does a McCain-Lieberman ticket make sense? which provides an interesting perspective. Now then, I answer that question with my own question: Why would John McCain choose Joe Lieberman , a Jewish person, to be his running mate as Vice President when the Vice President is always just "a heartbeat away" from being President and when John McCain has stated his view that a Christian should be President?
What's your take on all this?

USA Should Welcome Syrian Refugees

Americans who are clamoring for refusal of Syrian refugees entry into the United States of America brings to mind an event that happened in USA history involving President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1939 that is just as shameful as denying the Syrian refugees today.

"The MS St. Louis was a German ocean liner most notable for a single voyage in 1939, in which her captain, Gustav Schröder, tried to find homes for 908 Jewish refugees from Germany, after they were denied entry to Cuba, the United States and Canada, until finally accepted in various European countries, which were later engulfed in World War II. Historians have estimated that, after their return to Europe, approximately a quarter of the ship's passengers died in concentration camps."

ref: Wikipedia article, MS St. Louis

"On May 13, 1939, the German transatlantic liner St. Louis sailed from Hamburg, Germany, for Havana, Cuba. On the voyage were 937 passengers. Almost all were Jews fleeing from the Third Reich. Most were German citizens, some were from eastern Europe, and a few were officially "stateless."
The majority of the Jewish passengers had applied for US visas, and had planned to stay in Cuba only until they could enter the United States. But by the time the St. Louis sailed, there were signs that political conditions in Cuba might keep the passengers from landing there. The US State Department in Washington, the US consulate in Havana, some Jewish organizations, and refugee agencies were all aware of the situation. The passengers themselves were not informed; most were compelled to return to Europe."

ref: Holocaust Encyclopedia, VOYAGE OF THE ST. LOUIS

I had written these things over on Facebook. If you can, you should take a look-see and read the comments I received over there.

Today, many Americans want to refuse admittance of refugees into the United States of America. It is not unlike American attitudes of yesteryear. Please go on over to The Washington Post to read the article, What Americans thought of Jewish refugees on the eve of World War II.

As with the previous reference in regards to the MS St. Louis incident, I had also written this comment about American attitudes over on Facebook. And as with the previous reference, if you can, you should take a look-see and read the comments I received over there about American attitudes today being similar to those of the past.

SHAME on those people sharing xenophobic comments, messages, and memes that actually spread hatred of refugees fleeing their countries of origin (especially Syria right now) seeking to escape torture and murder by violent extremists. WWJS

Emma Lazarus was an American Jewish poet born in New York City. She is best known for "The New Colossus", a sonnet written in 1883; the lines of which appear on a bronze plaque in the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. The sonnet reads:

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Before proclaiming opposition to Syrian refugees seeking sanctuary, I say: Think, people, think!
Please go over to Frontline Fellowship in order to read A Christian Response to Xenophobia.

I refuse to apologize for having the ability to think. Nor will I succumb to the sheeple who parrot Conservative prejudice, discrimination, hatred, and xenophobia.

I say loud and clear:

The USA Should Welcome Syrian Refugees

"Jew him down." "I got jewed."

So! Hmmm. Have you ever used slurs that are an affront to Jewish people? If you haven't used any of those slurs yourself, have you heard any the slurs used in conversation that are demeaning to Jewish people?

One such slur is the phrase "Jew him down."
Click over to the following embedded link to The Phrase Finder to learn about the phrase "Jew him down."

I find it interesting that people I know, people who say they are my friends and who know I am Jewish, will use the phrase "I Jewed them down" and then do not understand why I find it offensive. I mean, these folks continue to use that phrase even though I have informed them that I do not like it. Consequently, I no longer consider anyone my friend nor will I associate with anyone who continues to use the phrase after I have expressed my displeasure in its use.
Click on over to read the responses over at the Yahoo! Answers web page What does the term " I Jewed them down" mean? and think about it.

Take a look at all the google search results for the phrase Jew them down.

Okay, okay, so someone overcharged me for an item I purchased. Another person charged me an outrageous amount for an item of low quality that was no way worth the price. What do you say? Many people say "I got jewed." Yet, again, another derogatory slur that demeans Jewish people!!! But, still, if you follow the embedded link, you can take a look at all the google search results for the phrase I got jewed.

Yeah, I know, this isn't the first time I have written a commentary that concerns Jewish people. Actually, I guess I have written several blog entries along those lines. Here, take a look at the search reults for the use of the word "Jew" in Roland Hansen Commentary entries.

I have also written quite a few things about this same overall topic over at my other blog, Roland's Ramblings, including one earlier today. You can search over there if you are inclined to find all of them over there; however, the only one to which I wish to link, and upon which I wish to close this Roland Hansen Commentary is the one I wrote today on Roland's Ramblings; it is Jew Hater Anthony Graziano Allegedly Firebombs Two Synagogues.

IT IS IN THEIR ZEAL THAT THE MIDDLE EAST SUFFERS, a guest commentary from Michael John Young

IT IS IN THEIR ZEAL THAT THE MIDDLE EAST SUFFERS

Religious Zealots in Israel and Iran are the problem. We are witness, once again, to the crippling stupidity of radical religious governance. 

First of all, yes. Netanyahu is blowing this. He’s ruining the reputation of Israel in the minds of many, especially those predisposed to hate Israel. 

He’s making Antisemitism easy. He’s a gift to them. 

Now… that being said… Hamas has it in their charter the destruction of Israel and death to all Jews. As does their sponsors in Iran. And what’s left of Hezbollah. And the Houthis. So… let’s be clear… if Israel was somehow disarmed… it would immediately be set upon by the Arab World AND Iran (which is not Arab) and destroyed. That’s NOT speculation. That’s a FACT by the most modest analysis of the history of this region, especially since the height of the Ottoman Empire was reached in the early 1900’s. Resentment of Jews has been around it seems forever. But the Ottomans pushed this hate as a policy right up to the gates of Vienna in 1683… when the Muslims were humiliated. 

The Muslims, as a religion, are also a political movement which has within its own “charter,” the Q’ran, a mission to be the only religion. It retains this stance as is evident in how Muslim nations govern, especially those on the borders of Israel. 

Tell me. How is Israel to respond to 14,000 rockets fired into it since 2005? 

Do you know the real meaning of “From the River to the Sea.”? 

(That’s a test. Because if you don’t know what that means, I’m not sure I’m doing much more here than wasting my time.)

The Jewish religion has no similar mandate. No similar mission. There’s no doctrinal equivalent in the Jewish religion to Muslim doctrines of “Jihad” or “Caliphate.” 

So let’s be crystal clear.

If you live in Toledo Ohio, imagine that all of Michigan, and every county west of Archbold, or south of Napoleon, or east of Sandusky, was filled with leadership and followers determined to destroy Toledo and kill every resident, and they have proven that by trying to invade Toledo numerous times since 1948. Let’s imagine some of these State Sponsored haters invaded Maumee Bay State Park in October 7, 2023, killed 1,700 residents in the city of Oregon and those attending a music festival on the bay, and carried off 250 more as hostages. 

Yeah.

Think about it. 

Now… that being said… though Israel has a right to defend itself, and emasculate the leadership of the governments and groups arrayed against it… the carpet bombing and mass indiscriminate destruction Netanyahu is doing is wrong. 

His own intelligence service is doing it right. Clever pager bombs, precision strikes, the killing of leaders of the Iranian funded terrorist infrastructure AND Iranian leaders and military strategists AND nuclear scientists. 

What we are witnessing is THE PROBLEM with “WE NEED A THIRD PARTY” bullshit. 

Right now Israel is a textbook example of why third parties are a DIRECT AND PROVEN THREAT TO DEMOCRACY and MAJORITY RULE because Netanyahu’s party could not win a majority of the vote, BUT he was able to attain a governing majority by teaming up with a radical right wing fringe Party that held a few seats that put him over the top. And he could only do that by agreeing to conduct his campaign against Hamas in accord with their most radical Orthodox Jewish hate of anyone not an Orthodox Jew. 

What you’re seeing is Netanyahu NOT reflecting the will of the citizens of Israel. He has hijacked the government by means of an unholy coalition to save his own pathetic skin from prison due to his documented corruption. 

Iran, by the way, is ALSO run by a radical

UNREPRESENTATIVE theocratic dictatorship that only retains power by terrorizing its citizens as it carries out its campaign to destroy Israel, and the Jewish religion.

We have an Iran hijacked by religious zealots fighting an Israel hijacked by religious zealots. 

The only true “bad guys” here are theocratic dictators. The only true “victims” here are those citizens they have ignored. 

Finally, only Israel is a democracy. Flawed as it is at the moment. Iran, now damaged by the actions of Israel and the United States has an emerging opportunity to save itself… but only if Netanyahu can be changed or deposed in order to end his counterproductive air strikes and artillery. 

If the Orthodox Muslim Iranian regime falls, it will also require the end of the Orthodox Jewish Netanyahu coalition to fall, for any hope of lasting peace.

Can Salvation Be Found Through An Army?

Those who know me, know that I am Jewish, following the religion of my Ukrainian Russian mother and of my maternal ancestors. They also know that my Danish father was Lutheran and that my paternal relatives adhered to Christianity.

I have lived in both the Jewish world and the Christian world. I have fond memories of personal experiences related to both worlds. My childhood included happy visits to Jewish and to Christian grandparents.

I have great respect for true believers and practitioners both of Judaism and of Christianity, as I do for true believers and practitioners of all non-Satanic religions.

I have experienced and continue to practice the Jewish observance, traditions, and celebration of Chanukah. I have also experienced the Christian observance, traditions, and celebration of Christmas.

This Roland Hansen Commentary revolves around fond memories of my father, Robert Christian Hansen, and his recollections of the Salvation Army that he relayed to me.

Having suffered a major heart attack, my father retired in 1965 from Doehler-Jarvis National Lead Company. Beginning back in the spring of 1971 and through early 1984 when my dad died, I visited my father every Saturday morning, with very rare exceptions, in his North Toledo home. During most of those years, I joined my dad in a routine he had initiated shortly after his early disability retirement. That routine consisted of weekly Saturday morning walks from his home in the 800 block of Superior Street through near downtown Toledo, stopping at Woolworth’s, Lamson’s, and Tiedtke’s lunch counters for a cup or two of coffee at each location before the return walk to his home.

As the downtown Toledo stores died out and as my father weakened with poor health, our Saturday morning routine changed to pretty much just having cup after cup of coffee around his kitchen table accompanied by hours of conversation.

Throughout all those years, however, we always made numerous shopping trips together throughout the Christmas season. My dad loved giving Christmas gifts to everyone in the extended Hansen family at the annual Hansen Family gathering on Christmas Eve.

In addition to the Saturday routine, my dad had another routine to which he adhered during the Christmas season. My father always, always tossed coins, and sometimes currency, into every Salvation Army kettle along the path in which our walks took us through downtown Toledo. He did the same thing with every Salvation Army kettle that we came across in our annual Christmas shopping trips in the malls and elsewhere.

You see, my dad had a strong respect for the good works performed by the Salvation Army. The respect my dad had for the Salvation Army was not just something he gave or felt because of some religious or altruistic reason. No, indeed. The respect was earned by the actions and deeds of which my father had first-hand knowledge. During World War II, my father served in the United States Army. He told me of some of the personal, family, and emergency experiences he and his fellow troops went through during World War II. He also told me that the Salvation Army always provided assistance without ever asking for money or for anything in return. My father said that meant so very much to all those who were the recipients of the good deeds of the Salvation Army.

When speaking of the Salvation Army, my father frequently contrasted it with another very well known organization that shall remain nameless in this writing. Dad said the other organization also assisted our troops with personal and family emergencies and with other matters but generally requested a financial payment. That memory of the other organization always made Dad see Red. Please don’t be Cross with me for not naming that other organization. I think you should be able to figure it out for yourself.

‘Tis the season. Please give generously to the Salvation Army kettles during this season. More than that, please be supportive of the Salvation Army deeds throughout the entire year.


The following is an article from World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia, 2004 Edition, Version 8.2.1:

Salvation Army is an international Christian religious and charitable organization. It is set up and operated on a military pattern, and its leaders have the ranks of military officers. The Salvation Army works to foster a love of God and to provide for the needy. It offers its services to people of any race, creed, sex, or age.

Services and activities. The basic unit of the Salvation Army is the corps community center. Each center is directed by a commanding officer who administers both religious and social service activities. These centers conduct a varied program, providing religious services, counseling, moral education, and other social services. In addition, the Salvation Army operates a variety of institutions, including hospitals, drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers, camps, boys and girls clubs, senior citizen residences and clubs, and day-care centers. It also provides education programs for unwed mothers, family assistance, and aid to prisoners and their families. The Salvation Army includes many musicians who use music as a way to preach the gospel.

Much of the worldwide service of the Salvation Army is given to people in less developed countries. These services include education, basic needs, vocational instruction, and disaster relief.

History. William Booth, a Methodist minister, founded the Salvation Army in London in 1865. That year, he began conducting meetings to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to the people of London's East End. His work was well received, and he organized a group known as the Christian Mission. In 1878, the group changed its name to the Salvation Army. The organization soon spread outside Britain. It was established in the United States in 1880.

Today, the Salvation Army works in over 85 countries. It has about 25,000 men and women serving as officers. Each officer is an ordained minister. The Salvation Army has more than 14,000 corps community centers worldwide. There are about 420,000 U.S. members. International headquarters are at 101 Queen Victoria Street, London. U.S. headquarters are at 799 Bloomfield Avenue, Verona, NJ 07044.