‘Angels’ who saved my life
Thanks for sharing my life-saving story (“Saving a life inspires Brandeis Hillel moms to tout CPR training,” Oct. 7), a “Miracle Mitzvah” in which Jennifer Ani and Michal “Miki” Goralsky took immediate action and performed CPR on me.
These two “angels” gave me a gift I will never be able to repay, but will always honor and cherish as I look in my wife Hagit’s loving eyes and participate in our life milestones — and those of my three children, Jacob, Taylor and Spencer — of graduations, weddings and the births of next generations in the decades ahead.
Thank you to the entire Jewish community here in the Bay Area and worldwide, Brandeis Hillel Day School children and parents, and especially Jennifer and Miki for giving me so many future memories and an opportunity to share my happiness, joy and love for decades to come.
Mike Ryan | San Francisco
To bee or not to bee?
Your article on local Jewish apiculture (“Honey hobby attracts Jewish beekeepers,” Oct. 7) featured a pull-quote from Rabbi Moshe Trager asserting that “honey is used in the Torah as a metaphor.”
This quote, especially in large font next to a picture of bees dripping with honey, gives the false impression that references to honey in the Torah refer to bee honey. They do not. There is no archaeological evidence of bee cultivation in ancient Israel and the overwhelming scholarly consensus is that the Torah refers to honey made from dates. See Deuteronomy 8:8, a list of seven agricultural species; last on the list is dates (from which biblical honey was produced).
It is for this reason that including dates (or one of the six other species) in a meal requires recitation of the full Birkat HaMazon — a custom that is not followed for bee’s honey.
This is referenced in many places; even the Wikipedia entry on the seven species carefully qualifies the word honey as “date honey.”
There are references to “wild honey” in later parts of the Tanach, but those do not support the rabbi’s claim about references in the Torah, nor do they have much relevance in an article on bee cultivation.
Eric Friedman | Berkeley
Wrong about Obama being anti-Israel
President Barack Obama has taken many actions I support, including signing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, promoting health care for all and ending “don’t ask, don’t tell.” If someone is against any of those actions, I have no problem with their opposing Obama for those reasons.
However, I have a big problem with opposition to Obama based on the lie that Obama is anti-Israel, as the David Horowitz Freedom Center proclaimed in a paid advertisement in j. (Sept. 30).
Almost every sentence in this advertisement is a lie. Obama never told Jews they cannot build homes in Jerusalem. Other U.S. presidents and several Israeli prime ministers have said that Israel’s borders are negotiable. Obama never demanded that Israel surrender its right to defend its borders. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is not ferociously anti-Semitic. Obama never courted the Muslim Brotherhood.
In the wake of the Sept. 9 attack on the Israeli embassy in Cairo, Obama intervened for the safe evacuation of six embassy staff members, which earned the thanks of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Casting Obama as anti-Israel is a lie.
Joel Rubinstein | San Francisco
‘Typical, underhanded ways’
Terrified of the growing trend among young Jews toward supporting peace and reconciliation with Palestinians, as well as justice for all, the Zionists running the Jewish Community Heroes competition have resorted to their typical, underhanded ways by removing a young Jewish peacemaker, Cecilie Surasky, from the list of nominations after she reached the top 10.
Another peacemaker, Rebecca Vilkomerson, also has been removed. Although she was not a frontrunner, she too dared to promote peace with the Palestinian people.
This has now totally discredited the whole competition, rendering the final results worthless and absurd.
Jane Jewell | San Rafael
A ‘scurrilous’ ad
I have been a Jewish Bulletin and j. subscriber since I moved to the Bay Area 20 years ago. Therefore, when I opened the Sept. 30 issue, I was terribly disturbed by the David Horowitz Freedom Center advertisement.
That you would print such a scurrilous ad in your paper blasting President Barack Obama is unconscionable.
You should be aware that the David Horowitz Freedom Center, according to the Internet, is connected to Glenn Beck. Obviously the organization is a far-right wing of the Republican Party.
Israeli President Shimon Peres called Obama “a friend of the Jewish people and the State of Israel.” Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates testified that more has been done to improve the U.S.-Israel security relationship under Obama than at any other time in his 45-year career — and Mr. Gates is a Republican.
I would hope that, in the future, j. would be more circumspect in selecting its advertisements.
Arlene Fred | Corte Madera
Steve Jobs and teshuvah
Steve Jobs died during the Days of Awe. His words about death are especially inspiring as we contemplate how to make teshuvah during this period.
In the Yom Kippur liturgy, we are reminded about death and to behave as if today is your last day to be alive.
Jobs said in his commencement address at Stanford in 2005: “No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because death is very likely the single best invention of life. …
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
Steve Jobs, z’’l, may his memory be for a blessing.
Alan Warshaw | Palo Alto