3 years Jewish // 2 Years Kosher

1 June 2009:
3 Years Jewish!
2 Years Kosher!

The Newest Member to our family: Lindsay Lohan

I love Jews. I love hanging out with them. I love talking about religion with them. I am after all, a Jewish convert so I want to be around them as much as possible. And I like meeting other Jew by choice as well. We'll swap stories on conversion-processes and talk about the situation we find ourselves in. However, I draw the line at celebrities becoming Jewish.

When I told someone that I was converting to Judaism they asked if it was because of Madonna. 'She's a Kabbalist' I said clarifying things. 'Is that different?' said the person not getting the clarification. 'Go to Israel and ask that question and then you'll see' I replied. (Answer: yes it's different).

If I wanted to be like Madonna I'd wear a triangular bar and adopt a child who already had a parents. Anyway. Luckily the label because of Madge didn't stick. However, now that ex-drug-addled, mean-girl, newly-lesbo-loving Lindsay Lohan (who my friend had a fight with, and won!) is becoming a Jew. I would say Mazal Tov but what I am going to tell people when they ask me why I'm converting? They'll think it's because of Lindsay.

When I had a mowhawk haircut, (2 weeks before Beckham had it) they all thought I copied it. NEWSFLASH: I am original enough not to need to copy you! Does Lindsay even keep Kosher? Out of all the relgions did she have to choose mine?

It's not like I want to be the 'only Jew in the village' or anything. I support people converting. Leonardo DiCaffinated (as I call him) is thinking of converting but that's so he can marry Bar Refaeli. Ivana Trump too is converting in order to marry a Jew. I too began converting because of my relationship with my Israeli ex. Just because the relationship didn’t last doesn’t mean my faith won't last. Lindsay too is becoming a Jew due to her girlfriend but c'mon! I know I should be the bigger person and support her… but I just feel that all the celebrities are doing it for publicity. My point is: go forth and convert to Judaism, but respect the tennets and practices and believe! Don't convert only to have your photo taken holding a Menorah!

Reader and Lindsay please listen: Judaism (like ANY religion) is not a fashion-fad or a lifestyle. It's a commitment as serious, more serious in fact, than marriage. It's a reaffirmed bond with our spiritual side and with G-d above. Time to treat it with the respect it deserves.

PS. Judaism is not the new Kabbalah. Kabbalah is a mystical form of pre-Judaism that is very strong and forceful and not for the easily susceptible. It's best you know about Judaism first before studying the Kabbalah. And if you want to make any changes in your life be serious about them. If not, get a perm. Get a tattoo instead. Not a religion you won’t use. No matter how nice it is because some of us take it seriously! Shalom!

Happy Hannukah

Okay so I know you guys are not Jews, but...
Happy Hannukah!

Today is the first of the eight days of Hannukah
Did you Nicosians spot the giant Menorah outside Likavitos police station?
I think it's great that we have a Menorah there (with the first candle already lit). But what does it say about us when it has to be outside a police station?
Nevertheless, I'm pleased it's there...

Yom Kippur 2008

To all the Jews out there; Yom Kippur begins at sunset today 8th of October 2008 and end at night fall 9th October 2008. The 25 hour fast. Think hard about this years past sins and how you can better yourself for the coming year.

For those of you who are not familiar with Yom Kippur it means Day (Yom) of Atonement (Kippur) in Hebrew and is the day when all Jews repent for their sins.

The source for much of our observance of Yom Kippur is Leviticus 23:26-28 - "God spoke to Moses, saying: Mark, the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be a sacred occasion for you: you shall practice self-denial, and you shall do no work throughout that day for it is a Day of Atonement, on which expiation is made on your behalf before the Lord your God."

The requirement to "practice self-denial" is interpreted in the Talmud to mean the following five prohibitions: eating, drinking, bathing, sexual relations, using bath oils and lotions, etc., and wearing leather shoes. Driving is not permitted either. Last year I was in Tel Aviv for Yom Kippur and the streets were literally empty for the 25 hours. Not a car was seen on the road - an example of this is the picture above. People go to synagogue, spend time with their family, pray and of course fast. Technically not a drop of water or food should touch your lips. Even the television channels did not broadcast anything for the duration of the fast.

The day of Yom Kippur itself is said to have the power to expiate some sins, while our renunciation of sins and our confession of them is said to be essential for a new year of life with a proverbial clean slate. Maimonides writes that today, when there is no Temple or sacrificial system, "all that is available is repentance." We are required to repent for sins between ourselves and God and for sins between ourselves and other people.

Yom Kippur is the most serious and introspective of all the Jewish holidays -which makes it the hardest on practical and spirital levels. I will let you know of my Yom Kippur experiences tomorrow after the fast - as this will be the third time I am experiencing Yom Kippur.

Yom Kippur 2007 / 5768

In 2007 I found myself in Tel Aviv. By chance it was Yom Kippur and I was staying with my ex (not my other ex, IsraeliBaby who also lives in TLV) but an English ex I dated when I was 19, I think (I can hardly remember - I was always trashed at that age, which is why I'm atoning for my sins now...)

Experiencing Yom Kippur in Israel was a completely different experience. Firstly, I didn’t fast. The reason for this was because I was in Israel for 5 days, fasting would have made me feel tired and I was invited to a dinner that same night by the Australian ambassador.

Now Jewish law states that only reading and praying should be permitted during the fast. Therefore you cannot pick up a pencil as this would mean you are working. You cannot even discuss or touch money (during Shabbat Orthodox Jews discuss money in terms of apples: i.e. how many apples is that worth?). And of course no electricity; which means that television was shut down and you just got the channel showing a blank screen; no public transport; no electricity (though this was not turned off by the authorities, most people just didn’t use it. We did as my previous English ex is not Jewish). So literally within an hour of Yom Kippur beginning the city of Tel Aviv was virtually dead. When I say empty I mean EMPTY. No cars were to be seen other than a rare ambulance (which even under Jewish law is permitted of course).

Before Yom Kippur began I was wondering the streets of TLV. A tall man, with the religious headscarf; phylacteries (boxes with verses from the Torah wrapped on the arm) and a long flowing beard came bounding towards me. He was a Hassidic Jew; ultra Orthodox and as if in slow motion passed all other Israelis and approached me. I’m not surprised by this as I look Israeli but he started shouting at me in Hebrew and pointed to the Torah. ‘Get in now. Get in now’ he kept saying. I kept walking and he kept following me.

Moments later I passed his Synagogue. ‘Hey – come here now and dance the Minyan’ shouted one of three Hassidic men standing outside, with beards and religious garment covering them. (A Minyan is a religious dance composed of 10 men. No women allowed; although some movements of more liberal denomination want this to change). ‘I’m sorry. I’m busy’ I said ridiculously as if had to be somewhere. Everything, literally everything relating to commerce, entertainment, anything was shutting down – and I sounded like I wanted to buy a pair of jeans. ‘What? Why don’t you come into the Synagogue?’ shouted one ‘you are not Jewish?’ shouted another. I said no. Not that I wasn’t Jewish but what was the point explaining to them that I am converting. They not only will not consider me Jewish even after I convert but they will not like the stream I am converting to; the liberal stream.

By the end of the afternoon, Israel was closed for business for the day.
Except at the Australian diplomat’s house which was hosting a dinner. On the way there we walked across TLV’s Tayelet (the promenade) and the streets were overtaken with kids roller-blading and playing with their bikes – as there were no cars. It was like Makariou at 4am on a Sunday morning. At the dinner there were Australians, Israelis, New Zealanders and a few others. But it was really funny being the only European around alongside a Belgian diplomat. My ex is English but even they don’t consider themselves European.

So of course I didn’t fast for Yom Kippur 2007 / 5768 but naturally I refrain from eating pork, shrimp… etc (as non-Jews they had non-Kosher food). But I don’t eat non-Kosher food anyway so that didn’t bother me. One Australian/German man kept arguing with me that I should be fasting and that it was wrong of me not to fast. Politely I pointed out that I am on holiday and I would learn more about Judaism if I had energy and that I was at a dinner, it would be rude to the hosts and unfair to me to be there in front of all that food and not eat. And I had remained Kosher since May 2007. He didn’t see my point. I didn’t care.

I met a wonderful Jewish lawyer there who was impressed by my Hebrew and told me so – which of course I love hearing. We actually hit it off and I was upset I didn’t get her email. She said ‘to me, you are not only Jewish, you are Israeli’ which is a huge compliment and asked ‘in Cyprus – don’t you have lots of spies?’ ‘Yes’ I replied ‘you guys!’ Israelis love this type of humour, so she didn’t take it the wrong way.

So although I didn’t fast and didn’t have a religious experience, I still made the most from Yom Kippur. I learnt that you have to think about which sins you committed – and endear to correct them by making yourself a better person rather than saying ‘I won’t do that again.’ Which is not enough. And I was there to learn about Israel, and the people. So my second Yom Kippur was much different from my first.

The next day I spent in Yafo (Jaffa) where I watched the sun go down. Which signalled the end of Yom Kippur. Below you can see the pictures from that day.

Yom Kippur 2007 / 5768 - Images

Tel Aviv 2007

Top: Sunset in Tel Aviv

Middle: The port of Yafo (Jaffa)

Bottom: Just before the sun touches the horizon on Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur 2006 / 5767

As mentioned in an earlier post, Yom Kippur is the most solemn and serious of all Jewish holidays whose themes centre on atonement and repentance. The idea is to fast and centre yourself and think about the sins you committed over the past year. Unlike Christian confession, it is not about confessing your sins, going out and doing them again and then confessing. Yom Kippur is about repenting for your sins and trying not to repeat them while making yourself a better person. Yom Kippur goes by the Jewish calendar of the 10th day of Tishrei (the seventh month).

Ideally total absence from food and drink begins half an hour before the sun touches the horizon and end the next day when the set has completely set behind the horizon . Thus, Yom Kippur last for 25 hours if you discount the half an hour no-eating rule prior to sundown.
2008 or the year 5769 in the Jewish calendar will be my third Yom Kippur. Below I explain the difference experiences of Yom Kippur for 2006 followed by posts of 2007 and this year’s 2008.

Yom Kippur 2006/ 5767
I was living in Manchester at the time and had made some friends through my Hebrew lessons who invited me to spend Yom Kippur with them at their halls of residence. We had to dress smartly and bring our own services (knives and forks). Now at the time, I had only decided to become a Jew in May/June of 2006 and so was not clued up on all the Jewish holidays. I bought myself an amazing purple and grey pringle (argyle) jumper for the event and my friend gave me a Kippa (men’s skullcap) for the event. So I turn up at the Yom Kippur dinner with a bottle of wine, thinking it will be a party. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The kids arranged a wonderful table filled with Jewish food like matzo balls and one girl made Iranian rice which was potatoes at the bottom of a pan and rice above it. Today I think it still is my favourite food. When I asked her why she made Iranian food at a Jewish holiday she explained that her father was an Iranian Jew. Looking around the room, I realised how diverse Jews are; there were as mentioned, Iranian Jews, British blonde Jews, South African, Israelis and now, a new addition to the family; me. At the time they thought I was Israeli and didn’t explain to me the traditions. I on the other hadn’t assumed they knew that I was new to Jewish culture or that we had to fast. So I didn’t eat much – I never feel comfortable eating in public. It wasn’t until later than I knew about the 25 hour fast.

After dinner we made our way to the Synagogue. It was an Orthodox Temple, the strictest form, and I was converting to Conservative Judaism, a little more liberal than Orthodox Judaism but more traditional than Reform Judaism. The Temple was divided into male sections (at the front) and female sections (at the back). All men, as in all Jewish places of worship were obliged to wear a Kippa. The services I think lasted between 2-4 hours and we read from a Torah in Hebrew. As it had only been reading Hebrew for about a month I could make out the first word and then nothing – so I listened to the Rabbi pray and tried to soak in the experience, focusing on my sins and how I could improve myself. The kind man next to me kept showing me the page we should be on and somehow I kept track. Half way through the service we had a speech about redemption (in English) from a man who studied in Bnei Brak, a religious centre just outside Tel Aviv (which made all the old ladies nod with approval).

After the service we returned home to begin our fast. Now Yom Kppur fell on a Sunday and many of the kids didn’t have lectures the next day or were planning to sleep in and miss them order to make the fast more bearable. I on the other hand was already starving by 11pm and had eight hours of lectures on Monday. As I didn’t eat properly I allowed myself to have a cup of tea in the morning and set out for my day. During lectures not eating was okay – but by 4pm I was feeling faint and Yom Kippur, if I remember correctly was meant to end at 7.37pm. By 6.30pm I made my way home and bought a bunch of chocolates for the end of the fast. Most other kids were going to eat dinner again together but my Jewish friend wasn’t a strict observer and so I was to dine alone. You know when you get so hungry that after a point you don’t feel the hunger – well it was like that. By 7pm I was checking the clock every two minutes but by 7.37pm I had actually forgotten then Yom Kippur was over than I didn’t break open the box of chocolates until around 8pm. Then I made dinner and ate with Laverne who at the time lived above me.

My first Yom Kippur. And what did I learn? I research beforehand and that food should not be taken for granted. I was thankful for my Jewish posse for inviting me to dinner and for showing me my friend steps into Judaism. And my sins? Too many to think of. Id need a week of fasting to redeem them

Black and White Jerusalem

One Week until Yom Kippur

In a week's time Israel and the Jewish world will be praying and fasting for the holy day of Yom Kippur; the Day of Atonement. It is the most serious and pious of the Jewish holidays. I will blog some things about this day as the time approaches - as it is a sad and yet beautiful day - filled with reflection and ideas about how we can better ourselves - and includes the 25 hour fast. No bathing - no water - no food... and if you don't live in Israel, you still must get up and go to work. More on this shortly.

Tips on Israel...?

To the new reader, Maria
Hi, glad you like the blog!
What kind of tips of Israel would you like?
Travel? Clubs? Books on Israel?
Leave a comment below and I'll write something up for you! :)

BBM

Converting - 2

When speaking to other people who converted religion, they say it’s because they hate their ‘old’ religion and look forward to having a new one as a way of ‘cleansing’. I think that is wrong. I believe that converting to another faith should be done out of love for the new one rather than out of hate or spite for the old one. If you convert because you dislike your previous faith, you are only carrying with you your upset emotions into your new life as a freshly converted.

Many say they want to change religion because the previous one was too conservative/hypocritical etc… Firstly you have to remember that you make the religion what you want it to be. You own your faith and so you interpret beliefs in your own individual way. For example, you might not believe one part of the Bible, and that’s fine. Or you might question one set of values. Again, it’s fine to do so and it doesn’t warrant hating the whole religion. Secondly, remember that just because religion is institutionalized it doesn’t mean that the religion is bad. Religious corruption, unfair practices and discrimination happen everywhere, does that mean you will hate everything? It is important to separate the religion from the institution (to an extent) which I believe enables you to see it more clearly. Church and State are separate (or should be) and so religion and the religious institutions should be separate when we contemplate faith.

Other people openly hate religion. Their (wrong) argument is that it creates war. It doesn’t create war, man creates war. Fanatics/nationalists/the extreme right wing use religion as a vehicle to wage war on another set of people and on another set of beliefs. No religion preaches war, none (and I know what you’re thinking now – no! it does not say that at all). It is the wrongful interpretation of religion and the use of faith as a political act which helps wage war. Why then do you think that there is a demarcation between Church and State? So war will be used properly, for spiritual guidance etc, rather than for hatred. There is no room hatefulness in faith.

Personally there are some things in both Christianity and Judaism that I believe and don’t believe in. The list is too long and too serious for a light-hearted blog like this. But for me, the values of Judaism draw me to it. And just because I’ve chosen to be Jewish doesn’t mean I have anything against Christianity. It still is a beautiful religion with many wonderful beliefs and I won’t abandon all of them. But just because I lean more towards Judaism does not mean that I hold any discontented emotions towards the Christian faith. Quite the opposite, I still have the highest respect for it – as I do for all religions. As I hope you do too.

Converting

When people aks me why I decided to convert to Judaism I give them an array of answers. For love. It feels right. I’ve always felt an affinity with the religion. Like believe in the values. I feel closer to it… etc, etc. Truth is, all are true and none are 100% true. Or should I rephrase, none are 100% more true than the other. Two years after I decided to convert I still do not have one solid reason for it. Be that bad or good, that is the way it is.

At the time, I wanted to (note: wanted to and not asked) to convert for my ex. The relationship did not work out but just because I was no longer committed to her does not mean that I shouldn’t be committed to the religion. And so I kept my promise (to whoever) and continued with finding out more about Judaism. I then moved to Manchester where I went to Temple and began converting although I had to stop it short as I return to Cyprus.

Reactions have ranged between full on support, to people asking why and grimacing to out and out hatred of my decision, not because of Judaism but because they disagree with ‘betraying’ your religion. I explain that God transcends religion so as long as your are religious that is all that matters but they insist with the firm belief of a Priest that I should remain part of the Greek Orthodox Church. My favourite reactions from non-Jews has been ‘so if your converting to Judaism does that mean you’re going to be a Jew?’ and also ‘are you going to Bethlehem… is Jordan in Bethlehem.’ Καμία σχέση.

The reaction from Jews has been extremely positive. Apart from one man who asked ‘why bother?’ (there always is one who ruins it isn’t there?) I have had 99.9% positive feedback. So much so, that Jews and Israelis have actually taken me under their wing at community events, invited me to Yom Kippur dinner and labeled me ‘mishelanu’ meaning ‘of us’ with one of my Orthodox Jewish friends saying that I look ‘more shelanu every day’.

But then again I did immerse myself not only in Jewish culture but Israeli culture. Today I’d call Israel my second home, after Cyprus. My relations with the UK are based on social links, such as with family and friends and my relationship with Greece is merely a cultural affiliation. Cyprus and Israel; my island and the Holy Land. When I went to Israel the people were much more embracing than in Cyprus. ‘To me you are Israeli’ I was told by my new friend Nava. Or I’d hear ‘aval ata medaber yvrit?’ they say surprised when I told them I speak Hebrew and come from CY. Whereas in Cyprus they insist I am foreign calling me ‘Charlie’ or English and not always in a joking manner. Ironically when I ask them ‘do I look English?’ they say ‘no, you look Jewish’ to which I always smile, and accept as an unintentional compliment.

Jewish Men Exposed

Below I mentioned that Jewish girls now have their own cool calendar. Well in France's Stiletto magazine plans to do a huge expose on Israeli men and actually contacted the Israeli embassy in Paris to get the full low down on Israeli men and their wily ways. The special Israeli edition will focus on current affairs, the social aspects of Israel and fashion. It is claimed that Haim Revivo חיים רביבו‎ will participate in the edition (pictured below) as he is one of the best known Israelis, having played for Hapoel Tel Aviv and even Galatasaray among other teams.

Website @ http://www.stiletto.fr/

Jewish Calendar Girls

Heeb Magazine has made the first ever all-Jewish girl calendar. About time too. We've had the wifes of the Russian football sqaud make a calendar, we've seen Frencg rugby players make their nude calendars for the girls and the gays we've even seen older English women make a movie about women posing naked for a calendar. So it's high time that Jews got to bare all for the world and see how hot we are!

Website @ http://www.heebmagazine.com/

Can you spot Israel in the Star of David?

If you read Hebrew, try and spot the word ISRAEL within the Star of David.
Sent by Crazy from DC. Thanks!

This Mix is the result of a decade of digging in Tel-Aviv’s record shops & Flea markets by the Soulico Crew. An hour full of Hasidic Disco, Spirutal Soul, Yamanite Funk, Turkish Acid Rock, Arabic Jazz & much more, all recorded & released in Israel by local musicians & artists in the 70’s and early 80’s. 31 songs in all, and they passed on the tracklist which would probably mean nothing to anyone that can’t read the crazy script that is their language.
http://maddecent.com/blog/2008/04/26/hasidic-juice/