Jewish composers of Christmas songs and Jerusalem Tunnel and Temple Mount

What is the point of being in Jerusalem if you can't go to the world's holiest place, the temple mount?  Enjoy this personal tour.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQmDy37_eOs

Masters of Self-Confidence

Masters of self-confidence have the ability to see and hear themselves being self-confident. Even if you don't yet consider yourself to be a master of self-confident, right now you too can choose to see and hear yourself being self-confident. It's up to you at any given moment.

Love Yehuda Lave

The Top 12 Christmas songs: The Jews behind the Christmas Songs

12. The Christmas Song

Written by Mel Torme and Bob Wells

Mel Torme was born to Russian Jewish parents. Bob Wells was born Robert Levinson.

The two were a well-known songwriting partnership.

This song was born in Toluca Lake, CA on a hot July day, When Torme arrived at Wells' house, he found a spiral note pad of paper with some words on it "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose, Yuletide Carols being sung by a choir, folks dressed up like Eskimos."

Wells had wanted to write a song for a completely different season "to cool off." Torme recognized the potential in the lyric, and the rest of the song was written in 35 minutes.

11. You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch

Written by Albert Hague

Hague was born as Albert Marcuse to a Jewish family in Berlin, Germany who considered their Jewish heritage a liability, and raised him as a Lutheran.

This was written and recorded for the 1966 Dr. Seuss TV Holiday Special How The Grinch Stole Christmas. Seuss wrote the lyrics and Albert Hague wrote the music.

10. Holly Jolly Christmas

Written by Johnny Marks

Though he was a Jew, Marks was also one of the most famous Christmas songwriters of all time. He appears on our list no less than THREE Times.

He was brought in for this project after impressing executives with the success of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

9. I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm

Written by Irving Berlin

Born Israel Isidore Beilin, Berlin was an American composer and

lyricist of Belarusian-Jewish origin.

This song was one of the numbers from the 1937 film musical On The

Avenue, to which Berlin contributed the majority of the music.

8. Winter Wonderland

Written by Felix Bernard

Born Felix William Bernhardt to a Jewish family in New York City,

Bernard was known for his great compositions.

This became one of the most popular holiday songs of all time.

7. Let It Snow!

Written by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn

Born in London as Julius Kerwin Stein to Jewish immigrants from the

Ukraine, Styne was a famous American songwriter.

Cahn was born Samuel Cohen in NYC and became obsessed with music

shortly after his bar mitzvah.

Although this song is associated with Christmas, there is zero mention

of the holiday in the lyrics.

6. Silver Bells

Written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans

Livingston was born Jacob Harold Levison in Pennsylvania. Evans, also a

Jew, stepped away from all organized religion, including his religious

heritage, later in life.

This famous duo is also behind the classic standards and Academy Award

winning numbers, "Buttons and Bows" and "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will

Be, Will Be)."

5. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

Written by Johnny Marks

Marks' second appearance on our list!

Let's start with the fact that Rudolph was originally named Rollo, or

Reginald!

The story of Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer was created in 1939 by

Robert L. May, a copywriter for the Chicago-based Montgomery Ward

department stores, as a promotional gift for customers. The stores had

bought and distributed coloring books every Christmas and saw writing

their own story as a way to save money.

Marks was May's brother in law, and after developing the lyrics and

melody for it, the song was first released in 1949, selling an

astonishing 2 million copies that year.

4. I'll Be Home For Christmas

Written by Walker Kent

Walter Kent was a famous Jewish composer.

This was originally recorded by Bing Crosby in 1943 and went on to

become a Christmas standard.

3. Santa Baby

Written by Joan Ellen Javits and Philip Springer

Joan Javits was the niece of US Senator Jacob Javits.

Originally released in 1953, this was one of the first Christmas

novelty songs.

2. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

Written by Johnny Marks

And this is the third song by Marks on our list... We told you he was

known for his Christmas songs!

Originally released in 1958, it was not until 1960 that it really made

any noise on the charts.

1. White Christmas

Written by Irving Berlin

A good story

Rabbi Berel Wein was once invited to a meeting with the editor of the Detroit Free Press. After introductions had been made, the editor told him the following story.

Christmas tree

His mother, Mary, had immigrated to America from Ireland as an uneducated, 18-year-old peasant girl. She was hired as a domestic maid by an observant family. The head of the (house was the president of the neighboring Orthodox shul.

Mary knew nothing about Judaism and had probably never met a Jew before arriving in America. The family went on vacation Mary's first December in America, leaving Mary alone in the house. They were scheduled to return on the night of December 24, and Mary realized that there would be no Christmas tree to greet them when they did. This bothered her greatly, and using the money the family had left her, she went out and purchased not only a Christmas tree but all kinds of festive decorations to hang on the front of the house.

When the family returned from vacation, they saw the Christmas tree through the living room window and the rest of the house festooned with holiday lights. They assumed that they had somehow pulled into the wrong driveway and drove around the block. But alas, it was their address.

The head of the family entered the house contemplating how to explain the Christmas tree and lights to the members of the shul, most of whom walked right past his house on their way to shul. Meanwhile, Mary was eagerly anticipating the family's excitement when they realized that they would not be without a Christmas tree.

After entering the house, the head of the family called Mary into his study. He told her, "In my whole life no one has ever done such a beautiful thing for me as you did." Then he took out a $100 bill -- a very large sum in the middle of the Depression -- and gave it to her.

Only after that did he explain that Jews do not have Christmas trees.

When he had finished telling the story, the editor told Rabbi Wein, "And that is why, there has never been an editorial critical of Israel in the Detroit Free Press since I became editor, and never will be as long as I am the editor."

The shul president's reaction to Mary's mistake -- sympathy instead of anger -- was not because he dreamed that one day her son would the editor of a major metropolitan paper, and thus in a position to aid Israel. (Israel was not yet born.) He acted as he did because it was the right thing to do.

That's what it means to be a Kiddush Hashem, to sanctify God's Name. It is a goal to which we can all strive.

Longest water tunnel

The longest water tunnel ever discovered in Israel is being excavated in Jerusalem, near the train station in the southern part of the city. Both the tunnel and a stone column head at its opening, belonging to a state structure dating back to the kings of Judea, are considered proof that the tunnel digging was done during the First Temple period. Running 700 feet, the tunnel was discovered several weeks ago during an excursion organized by the Kfar Etzion Field School, according to a report Friday in the Israeli daily Ma'ariv. Yaron Rosenthal, who runs the school for the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, said instructors chanced upon the tunnel just east of the security barrier which separates Israel from Palestinian population centers in Judea. Rosenthal estimated the structure predated 586 B.C. He said the tunnel is one of the longest tunnels in the Holy Land used to transport spring water. He said that markings, stairs and aesthetic relief carved into the stone suggested that the tunnel belonged to a Judaean king. "We entered a 15-foot shaft through a very narrow entrance and headed eastward underground," Rosenthal recalled. "We were amazed at the beauty of the structure we were in, whose corridor is built from huge slabs of more than a cubic yard. At the end of this construction, a simpler path begins and a neat staircase leads to that part." The tunnel's ceiling varies between five and nine feet and it is two to three feet wide, he said. The tunnel is within Jerusalem's municipal boundaries, according to Ma'ariv. The Israel Antiquities Authority conducted preliminary checks in the region three years ago but decided not to excavate, according to Ma'ariv.

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don't always believe what you see and videos from Jerusalem

Some videos from Jerusalem

Video #1: You Won't Believe What Was Recently Discovered in Jerusalem

Video #2  We know where the temple ark is --click below

"We know Where the Ark of the Covenant Is"

Act On Your Fears  Make an effort to do the actions you fear to do and by this means lessen those fears. Think of a specific fear that stops you from doing something that would be beneficial for you to do, and take action. Love Yehuda Lave Subject: Photo shop Now THIS is why you can't believe any picture you see on the Internet! This is a perfect example of what an expert can do with Adobe Photo Shop! The guy who did these pictures did an awesome job!       SRC="aoladp://MA21977337-0021/file005.jpg">

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MISERY CALLED AFGHANISTAN, and the Belzer Synagogue the world's largest

Impart Serenity to Others

When you become calm and serene, others may ask you how you do it. Then you will have opportunities to do acts of kindness for them which they will then be able to pass on to others.

Love Yehuda Lave

Some say this is the beautiful synagogue in the world. It is certainty one of the largest:

http://www.israelvideonetwork.com/the-most-beautiful-synagogue-in-the-world-in-jerusalem

MISERY CALLED AFGHANISTAN, see power point below

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Normand slide show and Man is like a tree on Tubshvat (today)

A Healthy Concern For Students

The saintly Chafetz Chaim (our great sage from the early 1900's)  used to direct his yeshiva students to eat properly, get enough sleep, and take walks. Only if someone is healthy will he be able to study properly. Occasionally the Chafetz Chaim personally closed the lights in his yeshiva late at night to make sure the students got sufficient rest.
Love Yehuda Lave
Today Is Tu B'Shevat. In Isra
Tu B'Shevat by Rabbi Efriam Sprecher
The source for Tu B'Shevat is the opening Mishnah of the Talmudic tractate Rosh Hashanah: "The Academy of Hillel taught that the 15th of Shevat is the New Year for the trees." What does that mean, "New Year for the trees"?

Tu B'Shevat is technically the day when trees stop absorbing water from the ground and instead draw nourishment from their sap. In halacha, this means fruit that had blossomed prior to the 15th of Shevat could not be used as tithe for fruit that blossomed after that date. So what relevance does this have for us in the 21st century, when most of us are not farmers?

In various places, the Bible compares a person to a tree:
"A person is like the tree of a field " (Devarim 20:19)
"For as the days of a tree shall be the days of my people." (Isaiah 65:22)
"He will be like a tree planted near water " (Jeremiah 17:8)
Why the comparison?

A tree needs the four basic elements in order to survive – earth, water, air and fire (sunshine). Human beings also require the same basic elements. Let us see how by analyzing these four essential elements individually.

Earth: A tree needs to be planted firmly in the earth. The soil is not only the source through which nourishment is absorbed but also provides room for the roots to grow. This is true of a person as well. The Talmud explains, "A person whose wisdom exceeds his good deeds is likened to a tree whose branches are numerous but whose roots are few. The wind comes and uproots it and turns it upside down. But a person whose good deeds exceed his wisdom is likened to a tree whose branches are few but whose roots are numerous. Even if all the winds of the world were to come and blow against it, they could not budge it from its place" (Avot 3:22). A person can appear successful on the outside. "But if the roots are few" – if there is little connection to one's community and Torah heritage – then life can send challenges that are impossible to withstand. "A strong wind can turn the tree upside down." A person alone is vulnerable to trends and fads that may lead to despair and destruction. But if a person, irrespective of wealth and status, is connected to his community and Torah heritage, then "even if all the winds of the world were to come and blow against it, they could not budge it from its place." People require a strong home base, one where Judaism's values and morals are absorbed and that provides a supportive spiritual growth environment.

Water: Rainwater is absorbed into the ground and, through an elaborate system of roots, is carried throughout the trunk, branches and leaves of the tree. Without water, the tree will wither and die. The Torah is compared to water, as Moses proclaims: "May my teaching drop like the rain" (Devarim 32:2). Both rain and Torah descend from the heavens and provide relief to the thirsty and parched. The Torah flows down from God and has been absorbed by Jews in every generation. Torah gives zest and vitality to the human spirit. A life based on Torah will blossom with wisdom and good deeds. Deprived of water, a person will become dehydrated and ultimately disoriented, even to the point where he may not be able to recognize his own father. So too, without Torah, a person becomes disoriented – to the extent he may not even recognize his Father in Heaven.

Air: A tree needs air to survive. The air contains oxygen a tree needs for respiration, and carbon dioxide for photosynthesis. In an imbalanced atmosphere, the tree would suffocate and die. The Torah (Bereishis 2:7) states that "God breathed life into the form of Man." The Hebrew word for "breath" – neshima – is the same as the word for "soul" – neshama. Our spiritual life force comes, metaphorically, by way of air and respiration. We use our senses of taste, touch and sight to perceive physical matter. (Even hearing involves the perception of sound waves). But smelling is the most spiritual of senses, since the least "physical matter" is involved. As the Talmud says (Berachot 43b), "Smell is that which the soul benefits from and the body does not." In the Holy Temple, the daily incense offering (sense of smell) was elevated to the once-a-year Yom Kippur offering in the Holy of Holies. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 93a) also says that when the Messiah comes, he will "smell and judge" – that is, he will use his spiritual sensitivity to determine the truth about complex matters.

Fire: A tree also needs fire – sunshine – to survive. The absorption of energy from the sunlight activates the process of photosynthesis, a chemical reaction essential for the growth and health of the tree. People too need the physical warmth of fire and sunshine to survive. But we also need to absorb and reflect the spiritual warmth and sunshine of friendship, which is the essence of Judaism. As the Torah states in Vayikra 19:18, "Love your friend as yourself." Rabbi Akiva states that this verse is the greatest principle of the Torah (Talmud Yerushalmi, Nedarim 9).

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Italy with Caruso and The holiday of Trees and it is not always for the best

Use 'All For The Good' With Care

The concept that "whatever happens is for the best" should be used with care. If misused, it could cause harm.
Only use the concept after the fact. When you are able to take action to rectify a situation, take that action. Do not rationalize laziness by saying that "whatever happens is for the best," and hence you are free from your responsibility to take action.
The Baal Shem Tov (one of our great sages from the 1700's) admonished someone who misused this concept: "It's a good thing you didn't live during the period when Haman made his decree to destroy the Jewish people. You would have said it was for the good."
Of course, there was benefit from Haman's decree. It brought the people of that generation to great spiritual realizations. But it takes wisdom to discern the true good in every situation.
Be careful not to allow negative things to happen because of carelessness, procrastination, or desire for comfort, and then justify your inaction by saying what is happening is for the good. Only when nothing can be done should you accept it for the best.
Love Yehuda Lave

by Karen Wolfers Rapaport

Tu B'shvat: Emerging Like the trees in the depth of winter, we have the power to emerge from darkness and blossom.

Tu B'Shvat, the New Year for the Trees, is next Wednesday evening and Thursday, January 15-16, 2014.  The earliest blooming trees in Israel are awakening from a long, deep, winter's nap. The trees have spent many months in hibernation. Until now, our beloved nurturing sources of shade and breath have been absorbing water from deep beneath the ground. This God-given survival mechanism has sustained them up until now. But now begins a new cycle in their lives. In this moment, they will draw sustenance from their own sap in order to grow, bloom and prosper. The trees will regenerate utilizing their own resources. They will become the giving entity that they were meant to be. They will emerge. Does this sound familiar? How many times have we all experienced that vulnerable space below the surface, that space that very few people can penetrate? Despite what may be manifesting above board, despite the projections, how many times has the outward reality been incongruent with what is bubbling beneath? Problematic partnerships. Strained environments. Difficult ends, beginnings, and even middles. Perhaps at these times, we are dependent and need support. We need to be sustained for we may not have the strength, endurance or will to do it ourselves. Maybe we are using outside "power sources" to maintain our equilibrium, dignity, or even our sanity. We are in survival mode. And that is just fine sometimes. This time of year, the trees are beginning to bud, after they have been barren for a long period of time. They have withstood and subsisted. Sometimes barely. They are now emerging. Have you ever emerged from darkness and trauma, whole, after feeling broken? Have you been privy to a painful childhood, an abusive relationship, a destructive dance? Have you been able to blossom despite the affliction? Did you emerge a victim or empowered, faithless or faithful, transfixed or transformed, chained or free? Perhaps a little of each. If indeed you have answered with positive affirmations to the above questions, then you too have reason to celebrate Tu B'Shvat. It may take time, perspective, and God's eternal compassion to even see these transitions in your life. Conversely, these transitions may be absolutely obvious, glaring and dramatic. In either case, you and I will have gone through a process of passing from one state to another. We will have moved from dependence to independence, from concealed to revealed. From surviving in silence, underground, to living out in the visible reality. We will have emerged from that earth, from that sediment, a different kind of person. Hopefully, a more resourceful, productive, and fertile person. How does one emerge? Perhaps recognizing that we are created in God's image is a first step. Maybe just knowing that He gave us the challenges, precisely so that we can develop and express our true character, can bring forth clarity. Understanding that we are an integral part of a larger picture is important. This helps us see beyond our immediate reality towards a deeper mastery of knowledge and self. How else do we emerge? Accepting ourselves and our situation and forgiving ourselves is paramount. Differentiating between that which we have control over and that which we don't is crucial. Helping others, so we can gain perspective is vital. And tapping into our inner reserves and core potential on the path to change is essential. Figuring out where we are presently and where wish to be thereafter, is key to emerging triumphantly. The Torah states, "For a man is a tree of the field" (Deut. 20:19). As it is for the trees, so too it can be with us. On Tu B'Shvat, we have the privilege to see a miraculous unfolding. As the trees move from a place of paucity to a place of abundance, so too can we move from being a receiver to being a giver, for we now have ourselves. We are reconnected back to our own resources. May we always remember the sources of our survival during the barren times, and how far we have subsequently emerged on our own. And may we rejoice in God's guidance as He moves us towards the inner bounty that awaits us this New Year of the trees.

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Vieux Paris in 1900 and Origin of Jewish Names

Feelings Aren't Facts

Some people feel discouraged. They then assume that these feelings are facts: since they feel discouraged that is a "proof" there is no hope. But feelings only represent a person's present state of mind, they cannot predict the future.
They can ask themselves: "Do my present feelings actually prove that there is no hope?" Of course not. There is never absolute proof that your situation will not improve. By believing you have no hope, you are causing yourself great harm. Adopt the attitude: "It is always possible that the future will turn out much brighter than I presently feel it will. What constructive action can I take for improvement?

Love Yehuda Lave

Here's The Fascinating Origin Of Almost Every Jewish Last Name

Bennett Muraskin

Slate
Richard Andree's 1881 map of the Jews of Central Europe.

Ashkenazic Jews were among the last Europeans to take family names. Some German-speaking Jews took last names as early as the 17th century, but the overwhelming majority of Jews lived in Eastern Europe and did not take last names until compelled to do so. The process began in the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1787 and ended in Czarist Russia in 1844.

In attempting to build modern nation-states, the authorities insisted that Jews take last names so that they could be taxed, drafted, and educated (in that order of importance). For centuries, Jewish communal leaders were responsible for collecting taxes from the Jewish population on behalf of the government, and in some cases were responsible for filling draft quotas. Education was traditionally an internal Jewish affair.

Until this period, Jewish names generally changed with every generation. For example, if Moses son of Mendel (Moyshe ben Mendel) married Sarah daughter of Rebecca (Sara bat rivka), and they had a boy and named it Samuel (Shmuel), the child would be called Shmuel ben Moyshe. If they had a girl and named her Feygele, she would be called Feygele bas Sora.

Jews distrusted the authorities and resisted the new requirement. Although they were forced to take last names, at first they were used only for official purposes. Among themselves, they kept their traditional names. Over time, Jews accepted the new last names, which were essential as Jews sought to advance within the broader society and as the shtetles were transformed or Jews left them for big cities.

The easiest way for Jews to assume an official last name was to adapt the name they already had, making it permanent. This explains the use of "patronymics" and "matronymics."

PATRONYMICS (son of ...)

In Yiddish or German, "son" would be denoted by "son" or "sohn" or "er." In most Slavic languages, like Polish or Russian, it would be "wich" or "witz."

For example: The son of Mendel took the last name Mendelsohn; the son of Abraham became Abramson or Avromovitch; the son of Menashe became Manishewitz; the son of Itzhak became Itskowitz; the son of Berl took the name Berliner; the son of Kesl took the name Kessler, etc.

MATRONYMICS (daughter of …)

Reflecting the prominence of Jewish women in business, some families made last names out of women's first names: Chaiken — son of Chaikeh; Edelman — husband of Edel; Gittelman — husband of Gitl; Glick or Gluck — may derive from Glickl, a popular woman's name as in the famous "Glickl of Hameln," whose memoirs, written around 1690, are an early example of Yiddish literature.

Gold/Goldman/Gulden may derived from Golda; Malkov from Malke; Perlman — husband of Perl; Rivken — may derive from Rivke; Soronsohn—son of Sarah.

PLACE NAMES

The next most common source of Jewish last names is probably places. Jews used the town or region where they lived, or where their families came from, as their last name. As a result, the Germanic origins of most East European Jews is reflected in their names.

For example, Asch is an acronym for the towns of Aisenshtadt or Altshul orAmshterdam. Other place-based Jewish names include: Auerbach/Orbach; Bacharach; Berger (generic for townsman); Berg(man), meaning from a hilly place; Bayer — from Bavaria; Bamberger; Berliner, Berlinsky — from Berlin; Bloch (foreigner); Brandeis; Breslau; Brodsky; Brody; Danziger; Deutch/Deutscher — German; Dorf(man), meaning villager; Eisenberg; Epstein; Florsheim; Frankel — from the Franconia region of Germany; Frankfurter; Ginsberg; Gordon — from Grodno, Lithuania or from the Russian word gorodin, for townsman; Greenberg; Halperin—from Helbronn, Germany; Hammerstein; Heller — from Halle, Germany; Hollander — not from Holland, but from a town in Lithuania settled by the Dutch; Horowitz, Hurwich, Gurevitch — from Horovice in Bohemia; Koenigsberg; Krakauer — from Cracow, Poland; Landau; Lipsky — from Leipzig, Germany; Litwak — from Lithuania; Minsky — from Minsk, Belarus; Mintz—from Mainz, Germany; Oppenheimer; Ostreicher — from Austria; Pinsky — from Pinsk, Belarus; Posner — from Posen, Germany; Prager — from Prague; Rappoport — from Porto, Italy; Rothenberg — from the town of the red fortress in Germany; Shapiro — from Speyer, Germany; Schlesinger — from Silesia, Germany; Steinberg; Unger — from Hungary; Vilner — from Vilna, Poland/Lithuania; Wallach—from Bloch, derived from the Polish word for foreigner; Warshauer/Warshavsky — from Warsaw; Wiener — from Vienna; Weinberg.

OCCUPATIONAL NAMES

Craftsmen/Workers

Ackerman — plowman; Baker/Boker — baker; Blecher — tinsmith; Fleisher/Fleishman/Katzoff/Metger — butcher; Cooperman — coppersmith; Drucker — printer; Einstein — mason; Farber — painter/dyer; Feinstein — jeweler; Fisher — fisherman; Forman — driver/teamster; Garber/Gerber — tanner; Glazer/Glass/Sklar — glazier; Goldstein — goldsmith; Graber — engraver; Kastner — cabinetmaker; Kunstler — artist; Kramer — storekeeper; Miller — miller; Nagler — nailmaker; Plotnick — carpenter; Sandler/Shuster — shoemaker; Schmidt/Kovalsky — blacksmith; Shnitzer — carver; Silverstein — jeweler; Spielman — player (musician?); Stein/Steiner/Stone — jeweler; Wasserman — water carrier.

Merchants

Garfinkel/Garfunkel — diamond dealer; Holzman/Holtz/Waldman — timber dealer; Kaufman — merchant; Rokeach — spice merchant; Salzman — salt merchant; Seid/Seidman—silk merchant; Tabachnik — snuff seller; Tuchman — cloth merchant; Wachsman — wax dealer; Wechsler/Halphan — money changer; Wollman — wool merchant; Zucker/Zuckerman — sugar merchant.

Related to tailoring

Kravitz/Portnoy/Schneider/Snyder — tailor; Nadelman/Nudelman — also tailor, but from "needle"; Sher/Sherman — also tailor, but from "scissors" or "shears"; Presser/Pressman — clothing presser; Futterman/Kirshner/Kushner/Peltz — furrier; Weber — weaver.

Medical

Aptheker — druggist; Feldsher — surgeon; Bader/Teller — barber.

Related to liquor trade

Bronfman/Brand/Brandler/Brenner — distiller; Braverman/Meltzer — brewer; Kabakoff/Krieger/Vigoda — tavern keeper; Geffen — wine merchant; Wine/Weinglass — wine merchant; Weiner — wine maker.

Religious/Communal

Altshul/Althshuler — associated with the old synagogue in Prague; Cantor/Kazan/Singer/Spivack — cantor or song leader in shul; Feder/Federman/Schreiber — scribe; Haver — from haver (court official); Klausner — rabbi for small congregation; Klopman — calls people to morning prayers by knocking on their window shutters; Lehrer/Malamud/Malmud — teacher; Rabin — rabbi (Rabinowitz—son of rabbi); London — scholar, from the Hebrew lamden(misunderstood by immigration inspectors); Reznick — ritual slaughterer; Richter — judge; Sandek — godfather; Schechter/Schachter/Shuchter etc. — ritual slaughterer from Hebrew schochet; Shofer/Sofer/Schaeffer — scribe; Shulman/Skolnick — sexton; Spector — inspector or supervisor of schools.

PERSONAL TRAITS

Alter/Alterman — old; Dreyfus—three legged, perhaps referring to someone who walked with a cane; Erlich — honest; Frum — devout ; Gottleib — God lover, perhaps referring to someone very devout; Geller/Gelber — yellow, perhaps referring to someone with blond hair; Gross/Grossman — big; Gruber — coarse or vulgar; Feifer/Pfeifer — whistler; Fried/Friedman—happy; Hoch/Hochman/Langer/Langerman — tall; Klein/Kleinman — small; Koenig — king, perhaps someone who was chosen as a "Purim King," in reality a poor wretch; Krauss — curly, as in curly hair; Kurtz/Kurtzman — short; Reich/Reichman — rich; Reisser — giant; Roth/Rothman — red head; Roth/Rothbard — red beard; Shein/Schoen/Schoenman — pretty, handsome; Schwartz/Shwartzman/Charney — black hair or dark complexion; Scharf/Scharfman — sharp, i.e  intelligent; Stark — strong, from the Yiddish shtark ; Springer — lively person, from the Yiddish springen for jump.

INSULTING NAMES

These were sometimes foisted on Jews who discarded them as soon as possible, but a few may remain:

Billig — cheap; Gans — goose; Indyk — goose; Grob — rough/crude; Kalb — cow.

ANIMAL NAMES

It is common among all peoples to take last names from the animal kingdom. Baer/Berman/Beerman/Berkowitz/Beronson — bear; Adler — eagle (may derive from reference to an eagle in Psalm 103:5); Einhorn — unicorn; Falk/Sokol/Sokolovksy — falcon; Fink — finch; Fuchs/Liss — fox; Gelfand/Helfand — camel (technically means elephant but was used for camel too); Hecht—pike; Hirschhorn — deer antlers; Karp — carp; Loeb — lion; Ochs— ox; Strauss — ostrich (or bouquet of flowers); Wachtel — quail.

HEBREW NAMES

Some Jews either held on to or adopted traditional Jewish names from the Bible and Talmud. The big two are Cohen (Cohn, Kohn, Kahan, Kahn, Kaplan) and Levi (Levy, Levine, Levinsky, Levitan, Levenson, Levitt, Lewin, Lewinsky, Lewinson). Others include: Aaron — Aronson, Aronoff; Asher; Benjamin; David — Davis, Davies; Ephraim — Fishl; Emanuel — Mendel; Isaac — Isaacs, Isaacson/Eisner; Jacob — Jacobs, Jacobson, Jacoby; Judah — Idelsohn, Udell,Yudelson; Mayer/Meyer; Menachem — Mann, Mendel; Reuben — Rubin; Samuel — Samuels, Zangwill; Simon — Schimmel; Solomon — Zalman.

HEBREW ACRONYMS

Names based on Hebrew acronyms include: Baron — bar aron (son of Aaron); Beck —bene kedoshim (descendant of martyrs); Getz — gabbai tsedek (righteous synagogue official); Katz — kohen tsedek (righteous priest); Metz — moreh tsedek (teacher of righteousness); Sachs, Saks — zera kodesh shemo (his name descends from martyrs); Segal — se gan levia (second-rank Levite).

OTHER HEBREW- and YIDDISH-DERIVED NAMES

Lieb means "lion" in Yiddish. It is the root of many Ashkenazic last names, including Liebowitz, Lefkowitz, Lebush, and Leon. It is the Yiddish translation of the Hebrew word for lion — aryeh. The lion was the symbol of the tribe of Judah.

Hirsch means "deer" or "stag" in Yiddish. It is the root of many Ashkenazic last names, including Hirschfeld, Hirschbein/Hershkowitz (son of Hirsch), Hertz/Herzl, Cerf, Hart, and Hartman. It is the Yiddish translation of the Hebrew word for gazelle: tsvi. The gazelle was the symbol of the tribe of Naphtali.

Taub means "dove" in Yiddish. It is the root of the Ashkenazic last name Tauber. The symbol of the dove is associated with the prophet Jonah.

Wolf is the root of the Ashkenazic last names Wolfson, Wouk, and Volkovich. The wolf was the symbol of the tribe of Benjamin.

Eckstein — Yiddish for cornerstone, derived from Psalm 118:22.

Good(man) — Yiddish translation of the Hebrew word for "good": tuviah.

Margolin — Hebrew for "pearl."

INVENTED 'FANCY SHMANCY' NAMES

When Jews in the Austro-Hungarian Empire were required to assume last names, some chose the nicest ones they could think of and may have been charged a registration fee by the authorities. According to the YIVO Encyclopedia, "The resulting names often are associated with nature and beauty. It is very plausible that the choices were influenced by the general romantic tendencies of German culture at that time." These names include: Applebaum — apple tree; Birnbaum — pear tree; Buchsbaum — box tree; Kestenbaum — chestnut tree; Kirshenbaum — cherry tree; Mandelbaum — almond tree; Nussbaum — nut tree; Tannenbaum — fir tree; Teitelbaum — palm tree.

Other names, chosen or purchased, were combinations with these roots:Blumen (flower), Fein (fine), Gold, Green, Lowen (lion), Rosen (rose), Schoen/Schein (pretty) — combined with berg (hill or mountain), thal (valley), bloom (flower), zweig (wreath), blatt (leaf), vald or wald (woods), feld (field).

Miscellaneous other names included Diamond; Glick/Gluck — luck; Hoffman — hopeful; Fried/Friedman — happiness; Lieber/Lieberman — lover.

Jewish family names from non-Jewish languages included: Sender/Saunders — from Alexander; Kagan — descended from the Khazars, a Turkic-speaking people from Central Asia; Kelman/Kalman — from the Greek name Kalonymous, the Greek translation of the Hebrew shem tov (good name), popular among Jews in medieval France and Italy; Marcus/Marx — from Latin, referring to the pagan god Mars.

Finally, there were Jewish names changed or shortened by immigration inspectors or by immigrants themselves (or their descendants) to sound more American, which is why "Sean Ferguson" was a Jew.

Let us close with a ditty:

And this is good old Boston;
The home of the bean and the cod.
Where the Lowells speak only to the Cabots;
And the Cabots speak Yiddish, by God!

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Beautiful Paintings and photos. and 38 fascinating abandoned places

  Develop a Tolerant Attitude

Develop a tolerant attitude toward the habits and idiosyncrasies of others. Otherwise, you'll find yourself constantly annoyed by others.
Try to turn the potential annoyance into something positive. For example, if you are attending a class and someone frequently asks irrelevant questions, don't become annoyed. Rather, view each question as an opportunity to help you build up your "tolerance muscles!"
Today, catch yourself getting annoyed by something, and consciously use it to develop your level of patience.
I have the privilege of having an assistant with lots of idiosyncrasies. By working with her, I have the ability to develop my patience.

Love Yehuda Lave

Enjoy this post about 38 fascinating abandoned places


http://distractify.com/culture/arts/the-most-spectacular-abandoned-places-in-the-world/

Beautiful Paintings by Artist Leonid Afremov And Nature's Photos Click link below After slide show starts click to enlarge to full screen. Turn up sound for music. http://albums.phanfare.com/isolated/glBHBzrh/3089754/3997327

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or http://www.yehudalave.com/

CLICK ON the HOUSE and what are your grateful for now?

  What Am I Grateful For Right Now?

A student told me that his father had a habit that used to annoy him. It was a minor habit, but he found it irritating. His father would frequently say, "You know" when he spoke. As politely and respectfully as he could, he had pointed this out to his father. His father told him that he wasn't aware of this, and he would try to avoid it. But this habit was so entrenched that it wasn't so easy to just stop saying, "You know." As his father would say, "You know, everyone has such habits."
I suggested to the son that when his father said, "You know," he should think to himself, "What am I grateful for right now?" Let the habit of his father create the habit in his own mind of asking this gratitude enhancing question.
The son reported to me, "First of all, I have a tremendous amount of things to be grateful for about my father. In a short time, my mind would think of, 'What are you grateful for right now?' whenever I heard anyone say, 'You know.' Now I am even grateful that my father says, 'You know,' since it has made me a much more grateful person."

Now just a few days ago, I heard Rabbi Plizkin teach you can do this with any thing that irritates you. The secret is in re-framing (teaching your mind to think in a new way). Instead of being bothered by cell phones which are a part of life, see them as being grateful that you can hear. What a way to stay positive. I am so happy I was able to learn that live from him!!

Love Yehuda Lave

This will drive you up a wall!!

CLICK ON HOUSE

and please don't ask me how this works because
I really don't know...

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Visit my Blog: http://yehudalave.blogspot.com

or http://www.yehudalave.com/

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Visit my Blog: http://yehudalave.blogspot.com

or http://www.yehudalave.com/