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| october / tishrei 2006 september / elul 2006 august / av 2006 july / tamuz 2006 october / tishrei 2006 september / elul 2006 august / av 2006 july / tamuz 2006 june / sivan 2006 may / iyar 2006 april / nisan 2006 march / adar 2006 february / shevat 2006 |
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 Tamuz/ July 2006 |
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Welcome The New Month Re-cap past events Europe's events Membership News from Community folks (happenings, questions, etc...) If you have information that you would like to go in the August Newsletter,please e-mail it to me before the 22nd. laura(at)handinhandarts.com Welcome Summer! Throughout Europe and the globe it is HOT. We hope you have been enjoying the weather and had some time in cool places to sit down and enjoy the newish Eurojews website. -Laura in Warsaw, PL A new feature is the Members' Forum (see the link from http://www.eurojews.org/members.html)...a virtual space for our community to gather - room for online discussion, fun, announcements, recipes, learning - something we have been hoping to create for a long time is now finally with us! To ensure a safe space for all of this, we are restricting it to members of EuroJews only. - Nathan The New MonthMay this new summer month be filled with peace, relaxation and joy. It is a moon of premonitions. Let us think about stories about someone's premonitions as a source of Wisdom. -Adapted from Lunn Glttlieb, She who Dwells Within Essence of Tammuz
- compiled from www.ritualwell.org by Jordan Namerow Tammuz is the fourth month of the Jewish calendar and falls during the secular months June/July. The mazal (constellation) for Tammuz is Cancer, the sartan (crab). Tammuz is a rather somber month that commemorates many tragedies including: 1. Moses' breaking of the first tablets of covenant upon finding the Israelites worshipping a golden calf; 2. The breaching of the walls of Jerusalem in the time of both the first and second temples. Shiva Asar B'Tammuz (The 17th of Tammuz) is a minor fast day (fasting is required only from sunrise to sunset). Tradition ascribes to the 17th of Tammuz a number of tragedies from various epochs in Jewish history. The fast commemorates the catastrophes listed above. According to legend, Noah sent out a dove on the 17th of Tammuz to see if the flood waters had calmed and if the mountaintops were visible. But the bird returned, signaling that there was no dry place to rest. The Three Weeks is a sustained period of mourning over the destructions of both temples. It begins on the 17th of Tammuz, the day of the breaching of the walls of Jerusalem, and ends on Tisha B'Av (the 9th of Av), the day of the destruction of the temples. It is customary to refrain from holding weddings or other celebrations during this period. Fabulous Females Machlah, Noa, Choglah, Milcah, and Tirzah - The Daughters of Zelophehad. We read parshat (Torah portion) Pinchas (Numbers 25:10-30:1) during the month of Tammuz. In this parsha we learn that a man named Zelophehad has died without leaving male heirs to inherit his portion of the land of Canaan. Zelophehad's five daughters declare that the land should not be lost to their family because there are no sons. Instead, they assert: "Give us a holding (of land) among our father's kinsman!" In the end, God approves of the daughters' claim, commands that Zelophehad's land be transferred to them, and institutes a new law: "If a man dies without leaving a son, you shall transfer it to his daughters. If he has no daughter, you shall assign his property to his brothers…" Machlah, Noah, Choglah, Milcah, and Tirzah remind us of the many Jewish women past and present who have joined together to instigate, lead, and ultimately win battles for women's rights. May their example inspire us to organize to fight injustice. Foods It is a Jewish custom to welcome a new homeowner into her home with bread and salt. Try eating a variety of breads to celebrate Zelophehad's daughters' victory in gaining rights to inherit a part of their homeland.Re-cap past events Please check out the EVENTS link for photos of our past events and if you are interested in coming to new ones, just send us an e-mail! EuroJews events We are currently applying for a grant to hold a cemetery restoration project in Poland next summer. It should run from 10-19 August, 2007. The program will begin in Krakow, we'll travel together to Auschwitz, and then to Przemysl. This town has over 400 years of Jewish history and the Jewish cemetery is in very bad shape due to vandalism and neglect. We will stay in Przemysl for a week, learning about the Jewish burial tradition, actually cleaning up and restoring the cemetery, and running other educational workshops on Judaism in Poland and contemporary Jewish issues. Membership If you would like to be a member of EuroJews please send and e-mail to Beatrice Richman <beatricerichman(at)hotmail.com> You will get this on-line newsletter, discounts on events and other great things! If you would like to receive a reminder link to our monthly newsletter, please send an email to the following address, within the brackets: [eurojews-subscribe(at)eurojews.org] News from Community folks (happenings, questions, etc...)
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