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San
Diego Jewish World
Friday,
May 4, 2007
Vol. 1, Number 4
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San
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Republican presidential hopefuls weigh what they would do if Iran and Israel went to war By Donald H. Harrison What would the U.S. do if Iran were to attack Israel or vice versa? What role should religion have in the conduct of the U.S. government? From the standpoint of our Jewish community, these were some of the more intriguing issues discussed by the ten Republican presidential hopefuls during a rapid fire question-and-answer session Thursday night at the Ronald Reagan presidential library in Simi Valley. |
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5/4/07
SDJW Report International and National *Republican presidential hopefuls weigh what they would do if Iran and Israel went to war *The calculations of Israel's political crisis Daily Features Jews in the News Jewish Grapevine Arts & Entertainment Judaism *Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal provides background on the approaching Lag B'Omer holiday. *The Case of the Stolen Tefillin For Your Reference San Diego Jewish Community Calendar San Diego Jewish Community Directory Advertisements Keruv |
The discussion of the Israel-Iran question came after
MSNBC moderator Chris Mathews asked U.S Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz),
"what's your trip wire for a U.S. strike in Iran?... Is it the
building of a nuclear weapon? The threat to use a weapon once built?
A delivery system? Is it preemptive or preventive?" McCain responded that his greatest fear would be if "the Iranians acquire a nuclear weapon and give it to a terrorist organization. And there is a real threat of them doing that. "The tripwire is that they acquire these weapons—and our intelligence tells us that this is a real threat to the state of Israel and to other states in the region. But I want to emphasize, Chris, there's lots of additional efforts that can be made and must be made before we consider that option. There's lots of things we can do. That is the ultimately final option, and I don't think we need to exercise it at this time." Matthews turned next to U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) and posed the question this way: "Imagine you're president of the United States and this is a likely or possible scenario, certainly plausible. You get a call from the prime minister of Israel... |
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who's now Ehud Olmert, saying Israel's about to strike Iran's
nuclear sites and he wants U.S. help. What do you say?"
 "If
you look at this issue and stand back for just a second and say there are
two kinds of Irans that we are going to have to deal with here, one headed
by a gentleman who believes that he is going to be responsible for the
coming of the 12th imam and the guy with a bomb, that shouldTancredo put us in the position of saying that anything we can do to stop that is imperative," Tancredo responded. "And if Israel is put in that position, and if we need to be involved in order to protect both ourselves and the Israelis, then of course we respond in appropriate fashion." Matthews sought to clarify, "if the prime minister asks you for help, you will say yes?" The congressman responded: "There are conditions, of course, under which we would say yes. But I'm telling you that if they are—if there is a threat to the existence of Israel—which is, by the way, I think a potential threat to the existence of the United States—then you have to come to that—the aid of Israel." Next Matthews turned to former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and asked him to speak "on that point."  "It
really depends on what our intelligence says," Giuliani responded. "I mean,
the reality is, the use of military force against Iran would be very
dangerous. It would be very provocative. The only thing worse
would be Iran being a nuclear power. It's the worst nightmare of theGiuliani Cold War, isn't it, the nuclear weapons in hands of an irrational person, an irrational force. Ahmadinejad (the president of Iran) is clearly irrational. He has to understand that it is not an option. He cannot have nuclear weapons. And he has to look at an American president, and he has to see Ronald Reagan. Remember the—they looked in Ronald Reagan's eyes, and two minutes they released the hostages."  The
format did not permit all the candidates to answer the question. In
another round, Matthews asked former Massachusetts Gov. MittRomney Romney how important it was for the United States to track down Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, architect of the 9-11 attacks. Should the U.S. move heaven and earth to catch him. "We'll move everything to get him," Romney said. "But I don't want to buy into the Democratic pitch, that this is all about one person, Osama bin Laden. Because after we get him, there's going to be another and another. This is about the Shi'a and Sunni. This is about Hezbollah and Hamas and al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood. This is the worldwide jihadist effort to try and cause the collapse of all moderate Islamic governments and replace them with a caliphate. They also probably want to bring down the United States of America. This is a global effort we're going to have to lead to overcome this jihadist effort. It's more than Osama bin Laden. But he is going to pay, and he will die."  Later
the candidates were quizzed on their religious views, with Matthews asking
Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas, whether he had criticized
Romney, a Mormon, for saying that he Huckabee wouldn't let his faith get in the way of his governing. Huckabee responded that "when a person says my faith doesn't affect my decision-making, I would say that the person's saying their faith is not significant enough to impact their decision process. I tell people up front my faith does affect my decision process. It explains me. No apology for that. My faith says, 'Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you.'" Under further questioning, Huckabee added: "I want to state very clearly: a person's faith shouldn't qualify or disqualify for public office. It shouldn't do that. But we ought to be honest and open about it. And I think it does explain who we are, what our value systems are, what makes us tick and what our processes are." Romney responded: "Everyone who's a person of faith has values that are deeply held in their heart... That's what makes America such a powerful land. Look at us! We're the land...that's the envy of the entire world. We are the hope of the world, not because of our wealth but because of our hearts. So that comes from being a people of faith, but not a people of a particular church or a particular synagogue. Rather, the great values we share are American values."  Sen.
Sam Brownback (R-Kans) suggested that for some 40 to 50 years people have
been "trying to run faith out of the public square. And Brownback we're a nation of faith as my colleague Senator Lieberman, a Jew, says. America's a faith-based experiment as a country. We should celebrate and invite faith. And our motto is: 'In God We Trust.' This isn't something that divides, this is something that pulls together and lifts us up. And it's key. And it's important. We shouldn't be trying to run it out of the public square, we should invite it in and celebrate it." Of Giuliani, Matthews asked: "Has the increased influence of Christian conservatives in your party been good for it." Giuliani responded, 'Sure, the increased influence of large numbers of people are always good for us," and then changed the subject.  McCain
was reminded that he once had said he would appoint a Democrat to the
Cabinet if elected President. Was there anyone he had McCain in mind
besides Sen. Joseph Lieberman, a Democrat turned Independent?
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Some calculations:
This is a terrible time to listen to the radio. It is filled with the
blather of established commentators and those who call in. Most are more
certain of their conclusions than I. But most are not professors, trained in
the art of seeing patterns in uncertainty, and comfortable with balanced
ambiguity.
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COMMUNITY ROUNDUP—The San Diego Jewish Music Festival
has canceled one of its events: Michael
Philip Davis Presents “As It Is Written,” scheduled for May 15.
All other festival events will continue as previously announced. THANK YOU—Kolenu,
the weekly newsletter of Soille San Diego Hebrew _________________________________________________________________  Torah
on One FootBy Rabbi Leonard Rosenthal Tifereth Israel Synagogue, San Diego ___________________________Lag B'Omer _________
Lag B’Omer is the 33rd day of the counting of the
omer. In ancient Israel an offering of an omer (approx. 1.92
dry quarts) of barley was brought to the Temple in Jerusalem each day
beginning on the second day of Pesach and concluding the day before
Shavuot. On Shavuot the Israelites celebrated the conclusion
of the grain harvest.
Today the Temple no longer stands and no sacrificial offerings are made. Nevertheless, we continue to count the 49 days of the omer during evening services in remembrance of the ancient ritual. The period of the counting of the omer has traditionally been a time of semi-mourning for Jews. According to the Talmud and midrash, 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiba, a supporter of Bar Kochba’s revolt against the Romans, died of a plague during this period. However, the plague let up on Lag B’Omer (the 33rd day) and hence it became a time of celebration. In Orthodox communities weddings and other joyous events are prohibited during the time of the counting of the omer, except on Lag B’Omer and Rosh Chodesh (the beginning day of a new month). Partially because of the specious historicity of the Talmudic tale, most Conservative rabbis only prohibit such celebrations up until Israel Independence Day. Lag B’Omer is celebrated by building bonfires (which were
prohibited by the Romans) and playing with bows and arrows. One explanation
for the latter custom is the belief by some that Rabbi Akiba’s students did
not die from a plague but rather in fighting the Romans. Some Jews refrain
from haircuts and shaving during the counting of the omer (a sign of
mourning) but on Lag Lag B’Omer is an especially important holiday for Jewish
Kabbalists. They believe that Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai was ordained by Rabbi
Akiba on that day.
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Rabbi Baruch Lederman Amazing tales of Judaism Congregation Kehillas Torah, San Diego ______________________________________________________________  The Case of the Stolen Tefillin The following true story was submitted by Boruch Salzberg: On Wednesday October 25, 2006 someone broke into my car, which was parked in a parking garage in downtown Baltimore, and stole my Tallis and Tefillin that were sitting in a black Tallis bag on the front passenger seat of my car. Assuming the chances for recovery were minimal at best, I paid a visit to a local Sofer on Thursday evening to purchase new Tefillin. After choosing the Tefillin and having them fit to my specifications the Sofer handed me a card. He explained to me that on this card there was a Tefilla (prayer) that was common to say in the hope of recovering lost objects. The Tefilla is to be accompanied by a pledge of tzedaka in the name of the great Tana, Rabbi Meir Bal Haaness. The origin of this is a Gemara in Avoda Zara (18b) that relates a story in which R Meir Baal Haness proves to a Roman soldier that by stating the phrase Eloka DMeir Anainu The G-D of Meir answer me, one can be saved from dangerous situations. The custom has evolved to also say a Tefilla that includes this phrase in order to recover lost objects. While I had previously heard of this method of attempting to recover lost objects, I have never been one to pay much attention to these things. After arriving home from the Sofer I said the Tefilla 3 times and pledged tzedaka in the name of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness. I then went about my regular routine without placing much hope into this actually working. Until I received a phone call the following day at around 2. There is an Orthodox man that lives in Baltimore named Meir Kleiner (name used with permission) that does some business with local pawnshops. I happen to know Meir as his in-laws live in Monsey and daven in the same shul as my in-laws. On Friday morning he received a phone call from a person named David Glazer who owns a pawnshop in downtown Baltimore named Easy Pawn (about 5 blocks from where my car was parked). That morning a regular customer of Mr. Glazer walked into his pawnshop and dropped a Tallis bag on his desk stating that he found it in an alley a few blocks away and thought it looked Jewish. Knowing that Mr. Glazer was Jewish he figured he may know what to do with it. Although Mr. Glazer is not Orthodox, he recognized the item as Tallis and Tefillin and decided to call the only Orthodox Jew he knows to see if he can help locate the owner. So after placing a call to Meir and explaining the story, he drove downtown to pick them up. And as they say, the rest is history. Meir recognized my name and called to say that he had my Tallis and Tefillin. BH everything was there and intact! Just to highlight some of the amazing hashgacha pratis (Divine providence) involved in this story: After realizing that they were of no value to him the thief decides to drop them in an ally rather than throw them in the trash. Of all people to find them in the ally, it was a regular customer of a Jewish owned pawnshop in downtown Baltimore (how many of those do you think exist!) The owner of the pawnshop does business regularly with an Orthodox Jew. I happen to personally know this person after meeting him in a shul in Monsey. On a side note, when the Sofer handed me the card with the Tefilla of R Meir Baal Haness I sarcastically told him that if this works I'd give the new ones to Tzedaka! I never thought I would follow through on that promise, but now I shall. Oh, one more thing.the name of the sofer that I bought the new Tefillin from - Rabbi Sion Baal Haness!!! That is no joke! Sincerely, Boruch Salzberg Dedicated in memory of Frumet Yetta bat Yosef by her children Dr. & Mrs. Alfred Salganick. |
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