| Yehuda Lave is an author, journalist, psychologist, rabbi, spiritual teacher, and coach, with degrees in business, psychology and Jewish Law. He works with people from all walks of life and helps them in their search for greater happiness, meaning, business advice on saving money, and spiritual engagement. Love Yehuda Lave Join my blog by sending me an email to YehudaLave@gmail.com | | | | | The Three Musketeers at the Kotel | | | | | | The Three are Rabbi Yehuda Glick, famous temple mount activist, and former Israel Mk, and then Robert Weinger, the world's greatest shofar blower and seller of Shofars, and myself after we had gone to the 12 gates of the Temple Mount in 2020 to blow the shofar to ask G-d to heal the world from the Pandemic. It was a highlight to my experience in living in Israel and I put it on my blog each day to remember. The articles that I include each day are those that I find interesting, so I feel you will find them interesting as well. I don't always agree with all the points of each article but found them interesting or important to share with you, my readers, and friends. It is cathartic for me to share my thoughts and frustrations with you about life in general and in Israel. As a Rabbi, I try to teach and share the Torah of the G-d of Israel as a modern Orthodox Rabbi. I never intend to offend anyone but sometimes people are offended and I apologize in advance for any mistakes. The most important psychological principle I have learned is that once someone's mind is made up, they don't want to be bothered with the facts, so, like Rabbi Akiva, I drip water (Torah is compared to water) on their made-up minds and hope that some of what I have share sinks in. Love Rabbi Yehuda Lave. | | | | | | | Five perfectly red heifers, required for the ritual purification of those who have touched a dead body, arrived in Israel from a ranch in Texas on Thurs, as the Temple Institute continues preparations to lay the ground for the construction of T3 in Jerusalem. The heifers are all under one year old & if they remain 100% red & avoid any blemishes which would disqualify them, they will each be eligible to be used to create the ashes required by Jewish law to purify those who have been in contact with a dead body. This level of purification would be needed in order to allow the kohanim to carry out their work in T3. The prized cattle were transported to Haifa where they will sit in quarantine for 7 days, in accordance with the regulations of the Israel Veterinary Authority. After the quarantine, they will be released to two separate locations in Israel, one of which will eventually be opened to the public. The heifers will be fed and cared for at these locations until they can be slaughtered and rendered into ashes from their third year onwards. Top Articles
Market Wizard Who Predicted 2022 Crash Shares Surprising New ForecastSponsored by Visionary Profitביטוח מקיף לרכב- עד 3 חודשים מתנהSponsored by ביטוח ישירמתקדמים ל PARTNER FUTURE FIBER-עם הסיב פרטי ונהנים מאקסטרה מהירות העלאה וגם אקסטרה WIFI בכל החדריםSponsored by Partner Fiber The heifers were located and brought to Israel with the help of the Boneh Israel organization, which involves both Jews and Christians. Byron Stinson, a Texas rancher and a fundraiser and adviser for the organization, raised the cattle. The heifers were greeted by a ceremony at Ben-Gurion Airport. Temple Institute officials Rabbi Chanan Kupietzky, Rabbi Tzachi Mamo, Rabbi Yisrael Ariel and Rabbi Azaria Ariel participated in the ceremony, alongside Stinson and Jerusalem and Heritage Ministry director-general Netanel Isaac. "I didn't set out to do this, but right now, I am probably the best red heifer hunter in Texas," Stinson told Israel365 news. "The Bible says to bring a red cow to purify Israel, and I may not understand it, but I am just doing what the Bible said." "The prophecies came true, and the Jews are back in Israel," added Stinson. "Now they need to build a Temple. But it's like buying a really nice car. If you don't have the key, you aren't going anywhere. The red heifer is the key to making the Temple work like it's supposed to." The farmer who raised the cattle is a devout Christian who was intensely interested in this commandment & began breeding cattle for the trait, according to Stinson. למכירה עד ה-21.9, אל תפספסו
What is a red heifer? The red heifer is first mentioned in the Book of Numbers 19:3, when God tells Moses and Aaron "This is the ritual law that God has commanded: Instruct the Israelite people to bring you a red cow without blemish, in which there is no defect and on which no yoke has been laid." The Torah goes on to explain how the heifer is processed and burnt and its ashes mixed into sanctified water. Those who became impure due to touching a human corpse would be purified by having the water mixed with the ashes sprinkled on them twice: once 3 days after they came in contact with the corpse & a second time seven days after contact. The Torah relates that a red heifer was brought to Elazar the Priest, the son of Aaron, and was processed for its ashes for the ritual. According to the Talmud, those ashes were used from that moment until the end of the First Temple period. During the Second Temple period, another five to seven red heifers were burnt for their ashes. Maimonides wrote in his compendium of Jewish law, the Mishneh Torah (Laws of the Red Heifer, 3:4), that the next red heifer will be brought by the Messiah. In the modern day, all Jews, including kohanim, are assumed to be impure with the impurity imparted by a corpse. While in everyday life in the modern day this status does not have much of a practical effect, those impure with this type of impurity are prohibited from entering the Temple.
Kohanim impure with this type of impurity are thereby prevented from conducting the services required in the Temple and would need to be purified with the ashes of a red heifer before being able to serve again, making the creation of such ashes a necessary requirement for any attempt to reestablish the Temple in Jerusalem. (One exception is the Pascal sacrifice, which can be offered even by those who are impure with the impurity imparted by a corpse, as long as the majority of the Jewish people are impure with this type of impurity) Non-Jews and the red heifer This would not be the first time that non-Jews have helped provide a red heifer to the Jewish people. The Talmud (Kiddushin 31a) relates that a non-Jew named Dama ben Netina refused to provide gems needed for the Temple, despite the offer of a large reward, due to the fact that his father was sleeping on the key to the box holding the gems and he did not want to disturb his father's rest. In reward for the respect he showed for his father, a red heifer was born into ben Netina's herd the next year and he was able to sell the Temple the heifer for the money he would have earned if he had sold them the gems.
| | | | | RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TERRIBLE JOKES OF THE WEEK There is this atheist swimming in the ocean. All of the sudden he sees this shark in the water, so he Rick wanted to get into the Shul. In Gants Hill, London on Rosh Hashanah, but without a ticket they don't let you in. Rick pleads, 'Look, I just want to give a message to Morris in there.' The man at the door says, 'Sorry sir, you've got to have a ticket.' Rick replies, 'Just let me in for one minute, then I'll be right out.' 'Alright,' says the man at the door, 'but I better not catch you praying.' There was a shul (synagogue) that was looking for a baal tokea, someone to blow the shofar. A man came to try out but did a terrible job. He asked for a second chance but was told, "Sorry, YOU BLEW IT." A man came home on the first night of Rosh Hashana with a brand new tire. His wife asked him, "What in the world is that about?" He smiled and explained, "In our family, we have a minhag (custom) to eat tires on the first night of Rosh Hashana as a siman that we should have a GOODYEAR!" Irving worked at a Jewish deli and bakery, and he loved most of his regular clientele, except for one guy...... this guy would *always* haggle over how much he should spend, even for things that had a fixed rice clearly marked on the menu board. One day, the guy comes in, and says, "I want to buy your finest loaf of egg bread for Rosh Hashanah. I have a crisp five-dollar bill for you, Irving, my good man." "Five dollars? What, do I look like a yutz? A loaf costs $7.95, and that's a good deal. My wife bakes that herself; it's hard to get it perfect, but she does!" "I know, that's why I only want to buy from you. But surely $5 is a fair offer. Come on, Irving, we've known each other along time..." "No! My prices are my prices. I can't have separate prices for individual customers!" Stunned, the customer shoves the money back in his pocket and shrugs his shoulders. "I... I just don't believe it," he mumbles as he walks out the door. Irving's wife walks up to her husband just as the customer exits. "Honey, what was that all about? You look so upset!" Irving stammers, "I can't stand challah cost deniers!" Hetty has a heart attack and is taken to the hospital. While on the operating table she has a near death experience, during which she sees God and asks if this is the end. God says no and explains that she has another 30 or 40 yeas to live. As soon as she recovers, Hetty figures that since she's got another 30 or 40 years, she might as well look her best. So she stays in the hospital and has a face lift, liposuction, Botox – the works. But tragedy strikes just as Hetty is leaving the hospital, she is knocked over and killed by a car. When Hetty arrives in front of God she asks, "I thought you said I had another 30 or 40 years." God replies, "Sorry, I didn't recognize you." 23 year-old Emma is very excited. Last night her boyfriend proposed to her and she is about to tell her parents the good news over breakfast. "Mum, Dad," she says excitedly, "You know Joshua, the new boyfriend of mine I met only a few weeks ago? Well, he wants to marry me and I think he's just perfect for me." "Mazel tov darling," shouts Fay, as she rushes over to Emma and gives her a big hug and kiss. "I've been waiting for such news for some time." "Well I hope he can support you," Issy says to Emma. "What does this boy of yours actually do for a living?" "He's a chazan, dad," she replies. "Well, that's not good news," says Issy. "I've always said that no daughter of mine is going to marry a chazan. If you insist on marrying him, I won't be there to see it." Emma breaks down crying and begs her father to change his mind, but to no avail. Then Emma has an idea. She suggests that at least he should go see Joshua in action, in his shul. Reluctantly, Issy agrees. The following shabbes, Issy keeps his promise and goes to Joshua's shul to see him in action. Emma is waiting on the doorstep when he returns home and immediately asks, "Well dad, what did you think of him?" Issy replies with a wide smile, "Mazel tov, my darling Emma, I think Joshua will make a good husband for you." On hearing this, Emma cries with happiness. "Oh dad, I'm so, so happy. But tell me – why have you changed your mind?" "I haven't," replies Issy, "Joshua is no chazan." Three rabbis were discussing how to have the best davening experience (prayer) and what the best positions for prayer were. A telephone repairman who was working nearby overheard their conversation. "Standing and swaying back and forth during the shmone esrei is definitely best," said the first rabbi. "No," another rabbi contended. "I have the best davening when I'm sitting down saying the shema with my eyes closed." "You're both wrong," the third rabbi insisted. "The best davening is Kabbalat Shabbat, dancing with my arms outstretched to Heaven." The repairman could contain himself no longer. "Rabbis," he interrupted, "the best praying I ever did was hanging upside down from a telephone pole." Rabbi Bloom enters the first grade Hebrew class. It will soon be Rosh Hashanah and he's there to blow the shofar for them. But before he does, he decides to ask them a relevant question. So hiding his shofar behind his back, he says to the class, "Shalom, boys and girls. I have a question for you. Can anyone here tell me what we will see in shul on Rosh Hashanah but which we would not normally see in shul at other times of the year?" Little Samuel puts up his hand and says, "I know the answer, rabbi. It's my Uncle Joe and Aunt Betty." After the Shabbos service was over, Golda Grunberg meets Rabbi Cohen at the shul door with her young son Shmuel. "Rabbi," says Golda, "I'm sorry my little Shmuel was so noisy during your sermon." "That's OK, Golda," says Rabbi Cohen. "These things are not unknown to us rabbis. But do tell me how you managed to get him to keep quiet at the end." "It was quite easy rabbi," replies Golda. "Fifteen minutes into your sermon, I leaned over to Shmuel and whispered in his ear, 'Shmuel, listen to me carefully. If you don't stop making so much noise, Rabbi Cohen is going to lose his place in his sermon, and if he loses his place, he will have to start his sermon all over again!' And rabbi, he instantly stopped making a noise." Little Moishie Rosenberg called Rabbi Fine, the rabbi of a local synagogue to come by his house to pray for the speedy recovery of his mother who had been very ill with the flu. Rabbi Fine knew the family but was aware they had been attending another shul down the road. So Rabbi Fine asked, "Shouldn't you be calling Rabbi Felder from Shaarei Shamayim congregation where you are members to come by to pray with your mom?" Young Moishie replied, "Yeah I could but we didn't want to take the chance that Rabbi Felder might catch whatever it is that Mom has." Shira Fried was in charge of the kids Shabbat program at Congregation Beth Israel. She was teaching the kids about decorum in shul and why it was so important. So she took them up to the main sanctuary at the very back to give her lesson up close. "Why is it necessary to be quiet in shul, especially now during Rabbi Eisen's sermon?" Shira asked. Little Rivka Deutch whispered, "Because people are sleeping. | | | | Explore the nearly 2,000-year-old Jewish metropolis of Usha in the western Galilee Explore the nearly 2,000-year-old Jewish metropolis of Usha in the western Galilee | The Times of Israel For the pictures use the link above!
Remains of the city founded by rabbis fleeing Roman persecution in Judea were recently uncovered, revealing roads, stunning mosaic floors, ritual baths and oil and wine presses By AVIVA AND SHMUEL BAR-AM An olive oil press used by the Jews at Usha. (Shmuel Bar-Am) - Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologists at the Usha excavations. (Shmuel Bar-Am)
- Two channels in a wine press at Usha were created to process enormous quantities of wine. (Shmuel Bar-Am)
- Grinding and crushing implements used in food preparation, in display at the Sanhedrin Exhibition. (Shmuel Bar-Am)
- Saar Ganor, national director of educational and tourism projects, points out a clay vessel used to fix the plaster in a ritual bath. (Shmuel Bar-Am)
- Hebrew markings on the Sanhedrin Trail as they are currently. (Shmuel Bar-Am)
- The collecting pits for the two channels. (Shmuel Bar-Am)
- In this undated photo, Dr. Einat Ambar-Armon, from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), talks about the site at Usha. (Shmuel Bar-Am)
- Glass and the remains of glass production on display at the Sanhedrin Exhibition. (Shmuel Bar-Am)
- The main street and olive oil press at Usha. (Shmuel Bar-Am)
- The mosaic floors at Usha. (Shmuel Bar-Am)
- Oil lamps found at Usha, on display at the Sanhedrin Exhibition. (Shmuel Bar-Am)
- The Sanhedrin Exhibition. (Shmuel Bar-Am)
- A coin from circa 425 CE with the face of the Roman/Byzantine Emperor Theodosius II, on display at the Sanhedrin Exhibition. (Shmuel Bar-Am)
- A photo of the Usha excavations. (Shmuel Bar-Am)
- The site of Usha, as seen on an earlier visit in 2002. (Shmuel Bar-Am)
In the year 132 CE, Jews in the Land of Israel rebelled against the tyranny of the ruling Romans. When the war ended in 135 CE, the result was a massive loss of life and property. Worst hit was Judea, which had almost fully recovered after the Second Temple was destroyed in 70 CE and was full of rabbis, synagogues, cultural centers, and a myriad of Jewish towns and villages. After the war, it was totally devoid of Jews and Jewish life. Roman edicts issued after the war forbade Jews from even approaching Jerusalem, and Jewish rituals, including circumcision, were banned on pain of death. As a result, the entire structure that had held the Jews together for centuries collapsed. Into the Land - Dead Sea WalkingKeep WatchingSkip Ad At the time, the Sanhedrin, or supreme rabbinical council, was based in the central village of Yavne. While its members understood the importance of putting the shattered pieces together, it was clear that they would have to relocate to the Galilee, far from the prying eyes of the Romans. Although that area, too, had been hit during the war, most of the villages there were still mainly intact. So the council moved from Yavne to the remotest area it could find: the small Galilee village of Usha. There they dealt with the burning issues of the day, such as the question of how to redeem Jews that the Romans had sold into slavery. One of the direst of Roman edicts was a ban against the ordination of a new generation of rabbis. Anyone involved in such a practice was to be killed and the city in which it took place destroyed. Get The Times of Israel's Daily Editionby email and never miss our top storiesNewsletter email addressGET ITBy signing up, you agree to the terms One day, the elderly sage Rabbi Yehuda ben Babba led five students to the border between the villages of Usha and Shfar'am — on the outskirts of each — to perform an ordination ceremony. When discovered by the Romans, ben Babba ordered his pupils to flee, for they were the future of the Jewish nation. Tradition holds that the 70-year-old rabbi, unable to run, was stabbed to death by 300 Roman javelins. The towns, however, were not destroyed, as the ordination had taken place between the two. As years went by, Usha developed and thrived. More and more Jews joined the Sanhedrin in the village, where residents produced large quantities of wine and olive oil for export and local use. The site of Usha, as seen on an earlier visit in 2002. (Shmuel Bar-Am) Two decades ago, while preparing an article on the scenic Kiryat Ata forest, we came across the Usha ruins, just east of Haifa. Aside from rocks and weeds, there was little to see. That's why an invitation to view excavations at the site just last week was particularly exciting. This time we walked on an ancient street and explored mosaic floors, ritual baths, and presses for the production of oil and wine. We were guided through the site by three archeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA): Saar Ganor, national director of educational and tourism projects; Dr. Einat Ambar-Armon, director of the Northern Region Educational Center, and Hanaa Abu-'Uqsa, director of excavations at Usha. Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologists at the Usha excavations. (Shmuel Bar-Am) Sometime in the 19th century, a small group of Muslim families from Algeria settled on the edge of the ruins. They called their village Husha, thus retaining a semblance of the name by which Usha had been known throughout the centuries. Coupled with its isolated (at the time) location in the Galilee and the distance from Usha to Jerusalem, it was logical to identify the now excavated site with Usha. But the defining moments came during the excavations themselves. For while all ancient Jewish sites feature ritual baths, this is the only one known to date to have one adjacent to every one of the village's multiple olive oil and wine presses. The men working at the presses people at this site were exceptionally religious and would have "purified" themselves during every step of the oil and wine process. Saar Ganor, national director of educational and tourism projects, points out a clay vessel used to fix the plaster in a ritual bath. (Shmuel Bar-Am) After settling in at Usha, some members of the Sanhedrin moved across the Galilee, and little by little settled in cities along the route. Their entire sojourn is found along the Sanhedrin Trail, a one-of-a-kind project initiated by the Israel Antiquities Authorities. Approximately 120 kilometers (75 miles) long, it is meant to bring archeology into every home in Israel as part of the cultural heritage. Hikers, walkers, bikers and motorists are invited to travel an hour, a day, or a month through hundreds of natural, historical and archeological sites that include all the seats of the Sanhedrin: the Usha Ruins, the Israeli-Arab town of Shfaram with its ancient synagogue, Beit Shearim National Park, Tzippori National Park, and Tiberias. The main street and olive oil press at Usha. (Shmuel Bar-Am) Excavations begun at Usha in 2017 uncovered public buildings, a wide, main street, cisterns, four complete oil presses, five beautifully preserved presses for the production of wine and a hiding complex. Abu-'Uqsa notes that the largest wine press at the site features separate canals through which wine flowed into two huge collecting vats. But this was not to separate the red wine from the white — they were simply necessary so that they could produce an enormous quantity of wine within two or three weeks of their harvest. All of the floors are covered with mosaic stones, with at least one mosaic black and white chessboard pattern. The mosaic floors at Usha. (Shmuel Bar-Am) Most exciting, perhaps, was the discovery of the ritual baths next to every single press. Ganor emphasizes that purity was of paramount importance when preparing the wine and olive oil. People believed that the time would come when the Temple would be restored and their products would be used for worship at that holy site. Christians took over the site during the Byzantine era, and with no need for the purifying baths, completely sealed them off. Two channels in a wine press at Usha were created to process enormous quantities of wine. (Shmuel Bar-Am) For the lively and enthusiastic Ambar-Armon, the best part of the Sanhedrin Trail lies in the fact each and every excavation along the trail is carried out by volunteers under the sharp eyes of archeologists from the IAA. Most of the volunteers are pre-army teens who by participating in a dig are exposed to the world of archeology and to their ancient heritage. One group of 100 teens found 12 pieces of an oil lamp during a recent excavation. When the youths pieced them together, working as if they were doing a puzzle, they discovered that they had found an entire lamp. Dr. Einat Ambar-Armon talks about the site at Usha. (Shmuel Bar-Am) While the excavations are exciting and unique, a stroll along the trail can reveal some surprises, as well. One day three hikers discovered a gold coin. This amazing find, decorated with the face of the Roman/Byzantine emperor Theodosius II who banned the Sanhedrin around 425 CE, is on display in the Sanhedrin Trail Exhibition at Kibbutz Ginossar near Tiberias. The exhibition, a small but succinct treasure of a museum, manages to beautifully capture the spirit of those ancient times. On display are 150 different artifacts made of clay, glass and metals like bronze, copper, silver and gold. Ambar-Armon, the exhibit curator, emphasizes that all were found at different sites along the Sanhedrin Trail. A coin from circa 425 CE with the face of the Roman/Byzantine Emperor Theodosius II, on display at the Sanhedrin Exhibition. (Shmuel Bar-Am) Among our favorites was a shard from a Shabbat lamp stand inscribed with the word Shabbat, and Ambar-Armon's explanation of innovative ways in which Jews of the time were able to stretch out the few hours in which oil would light up their homes. For instance, they would clean out an egg and place it in a typical oil lamp. The oil would drip into the lamp little by little and keep the light going for several extra hours. We were also taken with a 1,500-year-old amulet that was meant to offer a Jew protection from the evil eye. It was found by a woman near the area of the ancient synagogue at Arbel (a mountain village above Tiberias). Stashed away in her cupboard, it was only discovered half a century later when her son was packing up his late mother's possessions. Oil lamps found at Usha, on display at the Sanhedrin Exhibition. (Shmuel Bar-Am) Since death is such an integral part of life, included in the exhibits are several coffins or portions of tombstones. One of the most interesting belongs to a Jewish woman named Kartiria, buried at Beit Shearim. In the Greek inscription, which features a menorah in the top center, daughter Zinovia praises herself for arranging the burial. One of the hoards on exhibit contains silver and bronze coins that were hidden during the Bar Kochba Revolt by a family living along what would become the Sanhedrin Trail. The family that stashed the money away probably assumed that they would return after their Jewish brethren had vanquished the Romans. Especially interesting are two items that were discovered next to each other in Tzippori. One is a bronze pagan figurine depicting the god of fire, Prometheus. The other is a lead weight belonging to a Jew named Shimon, who was in charge of overseeing the markets in the city. | | | | New York City's Bukharian Jews find their voice in a dispute over damaged graves By Lauren Hakimi A dispute with a Jewish cemetery in Queens is inspiring unusual activism in New York's Bukharian Jewish community. Leaders of the community, whose members immigrated from Central Asia, have held a rally and backed legislation demanding that cemeteries take responsibility for damaged graves. The wave of activity began after an April 2020 funeral in which workers at Mount Carmel Cemetery damaged an existing grave, then made the family foot the bill for repairs. The incident kicked off allegations of sinking graves and shoddy care at the historic cemetery, the resting place of a number of notable Jews as well as members of the religiously observant, Russian-speaking Bukharian community. A rally in Glendale, Queens, in August drew dozens of protesters, who are seen in a YouTube video holding signs in English and Russian reading "Stop atrocities" and "The bodies can't scream." The rally took place on Tisha B'Av, a fast day considered the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. Two Queens lawmakers have introduced legislation in Albany that would require cemeteries to expand insurance to cover repairs, rather than charging families. "I think this is the first time in history when the Bukharian Jewish community in New York is able to not only advocate and hold a rally, but push a bill and try to get this taken care of on a state level," said Manashe Khaimov, a history professor at Queens College who studies in the history and culture of Bukharian Jews. The current dispute dates back to April 2020, when community members noticed sinking graves, damaged coffins and cracked gravestones at Mount Carmel Cemetery in Queens. At the time, cemeteries across the New York area were operating at unusual pace as they struggled to accommodate the bodies of people who died in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. At a Bukharian woman's funeral, cemetery workers using a backhoe to dig a new grave next to her husband's hit the cement container of the husband's grave, creating holes in its foundation, according to Shabsie Saphirstein, a writer for The Queens Jewish Link and other local newspapers. The family saw their father's grave being destroyed, then were made to foot the costs of the reburial, he said — a trauma made worse because Judaism allows exhumation only under extraordinary circumstances. "You can only imagine the experience," Saphirstein said. Concrete liners are commonly used in graves to prevent them from sinking as coffins decompose; they also allow cemeteries to use heavy machinery to dig graves. New York does not require concrete liners and requires cemeteries that require them to waive the requirement when families present a religious objection, as long as they agree to pay for upkeep as graves settle. Jewish tradition calls for burials to take place under conditions that allow bodies to decompose naturally, and some Jews choose a perforated liner to facilitate decomposition. The Bukharian activists worry that cemetery engineers are not using enough concrete to protect coffins, especially when backhoes are used to dig graves. They want the cemetery to notify family members when damage occurs and to pay to have any issues fixed as part of its agreement to provide perpetual care for graves. Yuriy Danielov, a Bukharian immigrant who handled community-cemetery relations in his native Uzbekistan, said Mount Carmel kept postponing meetings to discuss the activists' concerns. "Every week, they move the appointment," said Danielov, whose brother is buried in the cemetery. "After postponing it a third time, they said, 'Season over. Come next year.'" Renate Namias, Mount Carmel's general manager, offered a different account in an email to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. "For the last two years, Cemetery management has met with a small group of representatives from the Bukharian Community regarding specific complaints concerning cemetery operations," Namias said. She noted that backhoes are essential to fulfilling the Jewish tradition of speedy burials. "It is imperative that [a] backhoe be used when possible for grave openings to avoid any delays in making of interments," Namias said. The bill being considered in the New York State legislature would require the cemetery to expand insurance to cover repairs, rather than charging families, while increasing oversight of cemeteries and requiring cemeteries to provide detailed breakdowns of charges. Its sponsors are Queens Democrats Joseph P. Addabbo in the state Senate and Andrew Hevesi in the state Assembly. The bill would also require that cemeteries with designated sections for certain religions, such as Mount Carmel, hire an inspector to ensure compliance with the practices of that religion. Cemeteries would also need to open outside of business hours when necessary to accommodate the Jewish practice of burying the dead before dusk on the day they died — as long as those requesting the extra hours are also footing the bill. "This legislation will have a negative impact on all not-for-profit and religious cemeteries," Namias said. Members of the Bukharian Jewish community demand oversight of Jewish cemeteries during a rally in Glendale, Queens, Aug. 7, 2022. (KaykovTV, via YouTube) The issues extend beyond the Bukharian community, whose members live largely in the Queens neighborhoods of Forest Hills and Rego Park, as well as Kew Gardens Hills and parts of Brooklyn. When activists began sounding the alarm at Mount Carmel Cemetery, they found common cause with Ashkenazi families who also have loved ones buried there. Among the notable Jews buried at Mount Carmel are the pioneering congresswoman Bella Abzug; Yiddish writer Sholom Aleichem; and Leo Frank, who was lynched by an antisemitic mob in Georgia after being falsely accused of murder in 1913. Mount Carmel is not the first Jewish cemetery in New York City to face criticism of its maintenance. The synagogue that owns Bayside Cemetery is the subject of longstanding litigation over the cemetery's conditions, which reportedly had not improved even after the synagogue, Congregation Shaare Zedek, benefited from a multimillion dollar property sale. The Bukharian community is considering a lawsuit, too, Danielov said. Such a move would mark a watershed moment for the community that began when Jews from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan arrived in New York City in the 1960s and swelled quickly after the fall of the Soviet Union. Now, there are about 70,000 Bukharian Jews in the United States, most of whom live in Queens, where Bukharian kosher restaurants offer traditional cuisine of the community. Largely religiously observant and Russian-speaking, the Bukharians, like many immigrant communities, have grown more active in municipal affairs as their numbers and self-confidence have increased. During the pandemic, small Bukharian organizations came together to form the All Bukharian Community Network, which shared information within the community, provided meals to elderly community members, obtained personal protective equipment and communicated with external organizations and the media. Now, the group is turning its attention to Mount Carmel cemetery — and to addressing other communal issues. "The people we have at ABCN are best suited for that position, and I think with that, we'll be able to bring more and more changes to the community," Danielov said. Khaimov said the group's activities marked a turning point for the Bukharian community in the United States. "The awareness is there that we need to be connected and we need to be educated about the electoral system in America, and participate," Khaimov said. "The way you participate is with your feet, and with your hands." | | | | | See you tomorrow bli neder We need Mashiach now! Love Yehuda Lave | | | | |
