TheTisch: Rabbi Menachem Creditor's Blog

Mar 13, 2012

Rabbi Creditor: Words Like "Chocolate"

a note from Rabbi Creditor

Words Like "Chocolate"

19 Adar, 5772

March 13, 2012

Dear Chevreh,

First, a joke I remember reading as a child in The Joys of Yiddish, by Leo Rosten:

There once was a Russian man who received a telegram from his wife which read: "DOCTOR SAYS OPERATE OPERATE." The husband then cabled back immediately this telegram: "DOCTOR SAYS OPERATE OPERATE." This exchange aroused the suspicions of the authorities, who immediately investigated to see if this was some secret code. But the husband protested that the authorities were simply misreading the telegram. Clearly what the wife said was: ¨Doctor says operate. Operate?¨ And the reply: ¨Doctor says operate?! Operate!!¨

What sounds like one thing can mean quite another. It all depends on context.

Pesach is coming up soon, and with it culinary tradition and memory. Matza balls that float (or don't), chopped liver (here's a great recipe for a Pesadik vegetarian version), and, for me, the greatest foodstuff that came along with Pesach was chocolate. On this holiday of freedom, I and my sisters were free to indulge in lots and lots of chocolate: macaroons, jellies, nuts, creams - even orange peels. (I never really understood that one, but didn't let it stop me.)

But what sounds like one thing can mean quite another. I never thought to ask where all that chocolate came from. Perhaps I imagined Kosher Willy Wonka and redeemed Oompa Loompas creating Jewish holiday treats. But this Pesach there will be no chocolate at my Seder Table. Why? Because, as Danish journalist Miki Mistrati exposed in his heartbreaking

documentary "The Dark Side of Chocolate", filmed during his visit to Cote d'Ivoire, not only are children working in the world's cocoa fields, many are trafficked there, working involuntarily,and in hazardous conditions. There is no Kosher for Pesach Fair Trade Chocolate to date.

So what does "Chocolate" mean? It all depends on context.

Similarly, I just finished my learning with the Shorashim Hebrew School and Amitim students. I shared with them Rosten's joke, and then asked them if they had friends who did not know what the word "Netivot" meant. Most raised their hands. Then I asked the children to tell me what I meant when I used the word "Netivot." Most pointed to our shul itself. But I didn't mean our shul. I was referring to the city of Netivot in Israel where, just hours ago, a Grad rocket fired from Gaza exploded in a parking lot, injuring more than 20 people. Imagine reading the headline: "Rocket hits Netivot parking lot." You can. Just click here.

Context matters. It takes an understanding of context to truly hear, to see beyond words into reality. And we can do something about that.

Fair Trade Judaica is working toward a world inwhich Jewish consumers recognize fair trade as an expression of core Jewish values, seek out fair trade Judaica products, and use their purchasing power to support thriving

communities of artisans around the world. Support Fair Trade Judaica and sign their Petition for Fair Trade Kosher for Passover Chocolate by clicking here.

The Arava Institute of Kibbutz Keturah (which counts Rom Rosenblum and Debby Graudenz among its visionary founders) prepares future Arab and Jewish leaders to cooperatively solve the region's environmental challenges. With a student body comprised of Jordanians, Palestinians, Israelis, and students from around the world, the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies offers students a unique opportunity to study and live together for an extended period of time; building networks and developing understanding that will enable future cooperative work and activism in the Middle East and beyond. Support the Arava Institute's vision of Israelis and Palestinians collaboratively envisioning a sustainable world by clicking here.

As we will say at our Seders this year about Matzah, the bread of our freedom:

All who are hungry, let them enter and eat.

All who are in need, let them come celebrate Pesach.

Now we are here. Next year in the land of Israel.

Now we are enslaved. Next year we will be free!

Let's do our part in bringing this Jewish vision of universal liberation just one step closer.

Kol tuv,

Rabbi Creditor

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Mar 11, 2012

Letter to the SF Chronicle in response to Jon Carroll's "Dead Souls on Our Conscience" (March 9)

Jon Carroll's "Dead Souls on Our Conscience" (March 9) is the worst kind of lie, because some of it is true. He convincingly demonstrates President Obama's reticence and Republican Presidential candidates' readiness to launch a military attack on Iran. But then Carroll launches his own war of words on America's greatest ally in the Middle East, saying, "Israel is an ally, but it's not a very nice one. It keeps saying rude things about us; it keeps threatening us. Heck, you'd think it was Iran." It is impossible to confuse Israel's sometimes terse political language with Iran's demonstrated violence against its own citizens and others. Israel and the the United States have much in common: a democracy under attack from its own fundamentalist strains and a defensive global posture given a precarious and volatile world. Heck, you'd think Carroll equates rudeness with enmity.

Rabbi Menachem Creditor

Berkeley, CA

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Rabbi Menachem Creditor

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Rabbi Adam Naftalin-Kelman in the Daily Californian: "Farrakhan’s presence demonizes Jews and others"

Rabbi Adam Naftalin-Kelman in the Daily Californian: "Farrakhan's presence demonizes Jews and others"
FRIDAY, MARCH 9, 2012http://www.dailycal.org/2012/03/09/farrakhans-presence-demonizes-jews-and-others/

Farrakhan's presence demonizes Jews and others

VALENTINA FUNG/STAFF

BY ADAM NAFTALIN-KELMAN | SPECIAL TO THE DAILY CAL

LAST UPDATED 2 DAYS AGO

When I recently heard that the keynote speaker for the Afrikan Black Coalition Conference was going to be Minister Louis Farrakhan, I was disappointed. For a campus that prides itself on openness and inclusivity I can't think of a more divisive speaker. When Farrakhan spoke at a national convention just last month in Chicago, he spouted classic anti-Semitic rhetoric, such as "Did you know that the Koran says that Jews are the most violent of people? I didn't write it, but I'm living to see it." In addition, by suggesting that "In 100 years, (Jews) control movies, television, recording, publishing, commerce, radio, they own it all," he reinforced a classic and offensive anti-Semitic sentiment regarding Jews and power.

Berkeley is a campus where the student body takes pride in raising up its voice against injustice, but where are the students protesting one of their own groups bringing a speaker whom President Barack Obama criticized and from whom he refused to accept support? Where are the students rejecting a guest to this internationally-acclaimed university who is himself the antithesis of the values of Berkeley? Supporting Berkeley's values does not mean only inviting individuals with whom we agree – on the contrary, the university spirit is one that embraces challenging ideas and thoughts. Berkeley culture trains students to be think critically and to be open to diverse opinions. But there is a limit. Often times it is difficult to judge that limit, but from my standpoint any speaker who expresses such hate and intolerance does a disservice to this community.

UC Berkeley has always been a forward-thinking university, one that challenges the status quo. Giving Farrakhan, a man who has espoused statements of hatred and intolerance, a platform at Berkeley only tarnishes the reputation and good name of this university.

Berkeley is best known for its battle for free speech. By bringing Farrakhan to speak on this campus we call this essential value into question. Those of us who most believe in freedom lose the battle of free speech to those who have always said it is too dangerous. As a professional who works everyday to help Jewish students feel welcome in the Berkeley community, these actions could not be more detrimental to Jews and the countless other students on this campus that Farrakhan has demonized or attacked.

Berkeley students, show the world what free speech truly means and counter this ugly reprehensible speech with good speech. Model to the world what free speech is all about, because if you don't, the fight to make education relevant and fair to all will be for naught.

Rabbi Adam Naftalin-Kelman is the executive director of Berkeley Hillel.

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