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"A Song Every Day"
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Thirty on Psalm 30
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Recent Additions Here: "A Song Every Day"
A Teacher-filled Tale and Blessing
Active parallels with my own learning, from youth to whatever age I am now, and from early days of the Havurah movement to wherever things are today.
Bowie and Hendrix and God and Meir
Another set of resources on Erubin 13b — about R' Meir and his light.
David Bowie and Rabbi Meir
"Turn and face the strange"
Luxury and Sin: A dictionary path
The less noted definition of "chet" [sin] is "living in luxury" or "well-dressed, polished, cleansed."
And So?
For nearly 3000 years, we've been warned that there is blood on our hands and work to be done. And so?
Category: new posts
Wordless Verses
"Music touches us in a place that's beyond the rational mind," writes Rabbi Naomi Levy, "and it reaches into the heart." She continues:
It is the language of the soul. We've all had the experience of knowing how a piece of music is a prayer in itself, without the words attached. We can pray through the music itself.
— in Making Prayer Real by Rabbi Mike Comins, p.72 (details)
This quote comes in a chapter on "Engaging the Body." Comins counts music and chant as methods for approaching mochin d'gadlut [expanded consciousness] — "the open, mature, listening, caring state of awareness that is considered in itself an experience of divine presence," opposed to mochin d'katnut [small consciousness] of self-occupation and self-interest (ibid p.250).
In the same chapter, Rabbi Diane Elliot says:
When I take the time to work with a word or a phrase — chanting it in my own time, rolling it around in my mouth, and letting it move through my whole body — then when I say the phrase quickly, all of that backstory is there for me. It can move me into a stream of consciousness.
— ibid, p.74
In the spirit of both ideas — the power of music alone, and the power of backstory — I share this musical piece, which is wordless until 2:51. For those who recognize the tune, the instrumental section will likely have a "backstory" of some kind; for others, especially those who do not know Hebrew, perhaps the listening (prayer) experience will be quite different.
If anyone would like to share their impressions of the music, as music alone and/or as a meditation on Psalm 30, please either include in the comments or write separately to songeveryday at gmail.
More to come on this particular tune, as well as more on music and Psalm 30.
10 of 30 on Psalm 30
As a National Novel Writing Month Rebel, I write each day of November while not aiming to produce a novel. This year I focus on Psalm 30 ("Thirty on Psalm 30") in the hope that its powerful language will help us through these days of turmoil and toward something new, stronger and more joyful, as individuals and as community. Whole series (so far)…apologies for multiple-post days as my blog catches up with my notes.
Making Prayer Real: Leading Jewish Spiritual Voices on Why Prayer is Difficult and What to Do About It by Rabbi Mike Comins (Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights, 2010). More about the book and Rabbi Comins' teaching at Making Prayer Real website.
Posted on November 13, 2018 January 2, 2019 Categories music, new posts, Psalms, Thirty on Psalm 30Tags 30-30, Diane Elliot, Mike Commins, Naomi Levy, Psalm 301 Comment on Wordless Verses
Dedication of THIS House
Spending extra time with Psalm 30 over these last few weeks, inspires me to suggest that I want my house to reflect many of its sentiments.
Regardless of which house was originally meant by the psalmist or how the words were used and understood over the centuries, this, is my prayer, today:
Thank you, God, for lifting me out of depths of my own making,
for helping me over self-criticism and abdication of dreams,
for keeping me from adopting an enemy's eye view of my life.
This house has seen some tranquility
and it's seen days that seemed too much like the pit.
We're grateful to have reached this point,
and ask Your help through the future ups and downs.
With Your help, let this house be
a place that hears crying,
welcoming expressions of truth from those who suffer,
a place of healing, working through the struggle,
and a place of joy.
This house, built and maintained by humans,
can seem pretty shaky,
but if it's a place where the Name is recognized,
in all the varied ways God comes through the door,
maybe that mountain of strength won't seem so far off.
— V. Spatz, 2018, based on Psalm 30
(copy left: share with attribution)
I stress that this is my prayer, today, because, while this isn't exactly a first draft, it doesn't yet entirely capturing what I meant to say.
9 of 30 on Psalm 30
As a National Novel Writing Month Rebel, I write each day of November while not aiming to produce a novel. This year I focus on Psalm 30 ("Thirty on Psalm 30") in the hope that its powerful language will help us through these days of turmoil and toward something new, stronger and more joyful, as individuals and as community. Whole series (so far)
…For anyone wondering: I am writing each day in November but not necessarily posting every day. Sorry if this is confusing anyone and hope days with multiple posts, as the blog catches up with my notes, are not too annoying.
Posted on November 12, 2018 January 2, 2019 Categories basics, contemporary midrash, new posts, Psalms, Thirty on Psalm 30Tags 30-30, highlight, Psalm 301 Comment on Dedication of THIS House
Building with Love
Psalm 30 begins with the idea of dedicating a house, or "the House."
מִזְמוֹר: שִׁיר-חֲנֻכַּת הַבַּיִת לְדָוִד.
mizmor: shir-chanukat ha-bayit l'David
A Psalm; a Song at the Dedication of the House; of David.
Some translators move the words around for better logical sense to, e.g, "A psalm of David. A song for the dedication of the House."
Later in the month, I hope to explore more about the meaning of these words and how the psalm has been used over the centuries. Today, let's focus instead on the concepts of building and dedicating.
Build the World with Love
Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik (1903-1993) taught:
King Solomon built the physical structure of the Temple, it was King David who imbued it with its sanctity. Because Solomon built the physical structure in a state of prosperity and tranquility, he could not be the one to sanctify it. It was Solomon's father who hallowed it through his worry, his concern, and his uncertainty. (see notes below)
— commentary in the Koren Mesorat HaRav Siddur
So: worry, concern, and uncertainty can be part of building something important and precious, hallow the building, in fact. Which brings to mind the powerful song, from Rabbi Menachem Creditor, that has inspired so many Jewish gatherings — especially in "the resistance," however defined — in recent years and days….
…A whole lot of worry, concern, and uncertainty follows governmental attempts to erase transgender individuals, vilify asylum seekers, fuel homophobia and xenophobia and racism and anti-Jewish feeling, plus White Nationalist killings in Louisville and Pittsburgh and attempts elsewhere. Can we harness those feelings to sanctify a building project we cannot even see yet?
Here's the song's author, Rabbi Creditor —
Here's Adas Israel, a synagogue in Washington DC that was the site of an interfaith vigil on 10/29/18 —
Finally, here's a still from the vigil for Louisville and Tree of Life at Dupont Circle in DC, 10/28, at which the song was also used.
Look for more tunes and more on building. Shabbat shalom
"So Solomon built the house, and finished it"
וַיִּבֶן שְׁלֹמֹה אֶת-הַבַּיִת, וַיְכַלֵּהוּ
— 1 Kings 6:14]
Psalm 30, which is attributed to David, is full of trepidation as well as rejoicing. Many teachers discuss the meaning and timeline inherent in its varied sentiments.
Rabbi Soloveitchik says that it's about King David having asked "God's consent to construct the Temple," and then suffering for "what seemed to be an interminable period" before God answered. See Koren Mesorat HaRav Siddur, Jerusalem: Koren/OU, 2011.
Here's the full text of Psalm, with commentary on Sefaria and on Mechon-Mamre (older JPS translation)
Note R. Creditor's introduction to the song (from YouTube):
"I wrote this song for my daughter, born right after 9/11. This world will be built by love: ours and God's. In the best and worst of moments, non-fundamentalist "believers" and "atheists" are reaching for the same hope using different language. Amen to both."
Posted on November 2, 2018 January 2, 2019 Categories new posts, Psalms, Thirty on Psalm 30Tags #BuildonLove, 30-30, Adas Israel (DC), Joseph Soloveitchik, March for Racial Justice, Menachem Creditor, Psalm 30, White Nationalism1 Comment on Building with Love
For Beverly: may mourning turn to dance FOR YOU
Alonzo ("Zo") Fiero Smith, 1/2/1988-11/1/2015, was a poet, father, and teacher. Zo was killed, at age 27, in custody of special police in DC, a stone's throw from the apartment of his mother, Beverly Smith. I've written in the past about Zo's case, about special policing in DC and beyond, and related topics. This post is for Zo's mother, Beverly.
Beverly Smith, portrait by Pamela Brooks, both active in Coalition of Concerned Mothers
…weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes in the morning…
To You, GOD, I called…
Can dust praise you? Can it speak of your truth?
Hear and answer…
…You turned my mourning into dance for me,
You undid my sackcloth and girded me with joy —
that I might sing of Your glory and not be silent:
HASHEM my God, I thank You, always
— from Psalm 30
As her son's death anniversary approached, and throughout this day [this post was written in large part on 11/1/18], I have often thought of Beverly's efforts to speak truth and her determination to not be silent — about Zo's case as well as broader needs — even in her grief and as she faces serious health challenges. I see her rejoice over her grandchildren and celebrate with friends, as well.
From Our Varied Places
With its range of emotions, from despair to ecstasy, Psalm 30 resonates differently for different people and times. Individuals reading or reciting this psalm on their own might relate to different phrases on different days, or use its variety to work through complex layers of feelings at one time. Psalm 30 should also remind us that our community encompasses, at any given moment, people in very different places, prompting us to acknowledge the varied ways our neighbors may be calling out for someone to "hear and answer."
In this difficult period of national turmoil, Psalm 30 can help us notice how we can all cry out together from our various situations and states of mind — griefs, or joys, that may be brand new, or three or 20 or 400 years old. We don't need everyone in the same place or of the same mind to care for one another, work together, and, for those so inclined, pray with and for one another.
On this particular November 1, I find that weeping — for Louisville, for Pittsburgh, for Zo and other victims of police brutality, for the unequal weight of our dreadful system of white supremacy — is more present for me than joy.
In the time that I've known Beverly Smith, I've seen her turn mourning into dance, as she has generously shared Zo's story and allowed her own pain to help others focus on needed change. If we look carefully at the Hebrew in Psalm 30:12, though, we see that it reads, "turn my mourning into לְמָחוֹל לִי dancing for me]."
So, my prayer for Beverly on this anniversary of her son's death, at the hands of a system some of us like to think is meant to protect us, is that this year will not only turn her mourning into dance (for others), but turn it into dance for her.
As a National Novel Writing Month Rebel, I write each day of November while not aiming to produce a novel. This year I focus on Psalm 30 in the hope that its powerful language will help us through these days of turmoil and toward something new, stronger and more joyful, as individuals and as community. Whole series (so far)
Posted on November 1, 2018 January 2, 2019 Categories Community, new posts, Psalms, Thirty on Psalm 30Tags 30-30, Alonzo Fiero Smith, Beverly Smith, Louisville, Pittsburgh, police brutality, Psalm 302 Comments on For Beverly: may mourning turn to dance FOR YOU
You are ALL standing, with Ariel Samson: Freelance Rabbi &Co
"You* are standing this day all of you before the LORD your God: your heads, your tribes, your elders, and your officers, even all the men of Israel, your little ones, your wives, and your stranger that is in the midst of your camp, from the hewer of your wood unto the drawer of your water…
— Deuteronomy 29:9-10 (see note on masculine plurals below)
As we head into the new year, this week's portion (Nitzavim, Deut 29:9-30:20) offers some dire warnings to ponder: how easily blessings turn to curses when we forget the Source of Blessing, how severe the consequences should we fail to actively choose life, how heaven and earth are called to witness against us this very day. And it all starts with that statement that we standing, all of us, together before God.
In recent decades, and over the centuries, Jews have worked hard to read that masculine language more inclusively, so that women and men can see themselves as standing together before God. We've got a ways to go, especially in regard to including people whose gender is not so binary or who otherwise have felt excluded. And we have a much longer way to go than some of us would like to think when it comes to ensuring that we really see people with various skin colors, ethnic backgrounds, and other variousness as truly among all those who "are standing this day" together.
With this in mind, hasten to get your hands on Ariel Samson: Freelance Rabbi by MaNishtana.
It's Not So Far Away
The author is "100% Black, 100% Jewish, and 0% safe," an African-American Orthodox Jewish writer and rabbi who takes direct aim at issues of racial and religious identity. Ariel Samson: Freelance Rabbi is semi-autobiographical. The work is a compelling, very funny, and extremely sharp — in many senses of this word — fictional look at the ways in which our workplaces, neighborhoods, and Jewish communities fail by making assumptions and then sticking to them, all evidence to the contrary. See Publisher's blurb below for a brief look at the story.
Although I have not yet finished the tale, I'm told that it, perhaps unsurprisingly, comes around eventually to touch on this week's portion. I won't spoil the ending for myself or other readers. Instead, I'll take us back to the portion in my own way: MaNishtana is offering a tremendously generous gift by helping to open our eyes, as individuals and — as the book is discussed amongst us, I hope — as communities in an entertaining, clear way.
An important blessing is in front of you, and failing to take advantage of this fun and thought-provoking gift is a grave mistake…. yes, I know, it's a novel, but it's an opportunity to choose life for ourselves and our communities. So do that.
May we all be inscribed, together, for a better year.
Publisher's Blurb and Ordering Info
Ariel Samson is just your run of the mill anomaly: a 20-something black Orthodox Jewish rabbi looking for love, figuring out life, and floating between at least two worlds.
Luckily, it gets worse.
Finding himself the spiritual leader of a dying synagogue, and accidentally falling into viral internet fame, Ariel is suddenly catapulted into a series of increasingly ridiculous conflicts with belligerent college students, estranged families, corrupt politicians, hippophilic coworkers, vindictive clergymen, and even attempted murder. (And also Christian hegemony, racism, anti-Semitism, toxic Hotepism, and white Jewish privilege. Because today ends in "y.")
— publisher's blurb
Availability update: Book is now (as of 9/15/18) available at Barnes & Noble and appeared on Amazon in ebook or paperback the Friday before Rosh Hashana.
If you are in the DC area and interested in participating in bulk purchase, please contact me off-blog at ethreporter at gmail (dot) com. If you are somewhere else and interested in bulk orders, you can contact MaNishtana through his Facebook page.
*Atem is masculine plural, and most of the possessives are masculine plural, with two masculine singular. The plurals could be understood to include all, as any men in the group turns a plural masculine; the singulars might be understood in the now thoroughly old-fashioned way in which we were once taught to use masculine for any undetermined person. However, it still seems unlikely that a group including women would be addressed about "your wives."
Posted on September 7, 2018 January 26, 2019 Categories Devarim, literature, new posts, racismTags Ariel Samsom Freelance Rabbi, inclusion, MaNishtana, MISC, MultiKosheral1 Comment on You are ALL standing, with Ariel Samson: Freelance Rabbi &Co
Say Uncle for the High Holidays
I found the poetry collection, Say Uncle by Kay Ryan, at my local library and thought two of the pieces useful for the season of returning and repentance:
"Failure 2"
There could be nutrients
in failure–
deep amendments
to the shallow soil
of wishes.
Think of the
dark and bitter
flavors of
black ales
and peasant loaves.
Think of licorices.
Think about
the tales of how
Indians put fishes
under corn plants.
Next time hope
relinquishes a form,
— p.69
"Don't look back"
This is not
for the neckless.
Fish cannot
recklessly
swivel their heads
to check
on their fry;
no one expects
this. They are
torpedoes of
disinterest,
compact capsules
that rely
on the odds
for survival,
unfollowed by
the exact and modest
number of goslings
the S-necked goose is –
who if she
looks back
acknowledges losses
and if she does not
also loses.
— pp. 32-33
Say Uncle. NY: Grove Press, 1991
Also of possible interest, as we prepare to begin anew in head the book of Genesis, "A Certain Kind of Eden."
Here is general information about the poet and the Library of Congress resource page. The latter includes a video farewell reading program, from the conclusion of Kay Ryan's term as poet laureate.
Finally, just because it tickled me — A previous reader of the library volume I borrowed had circled three phrases in red. Together they form a sort of meta-poem or mangled haiku:
elfin tailor
weakness and doubt
are symbionts
that's water under
the bridge, we say
Maybe there's a message for the new year in this odd mash-up of Kay Ryan lines.
May we all be inscribed for a good and sweet year to come.
Posted on September 7, 2018 September 7, 2018 Categories new posts, poetry, Rosh HashanahTags Kay Ryan, Library of CongressLeave a comment on Say Uncle for the High Holidays
The Well of Sight, Seeing, Seen
"Ishmael, Isaac, and a Reunion of Cousins" raised questions about what it means for Isaac to settle at Beer Lahai Roi, the wellspring that is already home to Ishmael, after the brothers have buried their father, Abraham. The Shalom Center proposes bringing this story (Gen 25:7-11) into the Days of Awe to suggest "turning and healing" of the painful Torah passages read at Rosh Hashanah. And in the context of the high holidays, the wellspring's history seems particularly powerful.
On the run from ill-treatment by Sarah, Hagar has a divine encounter in the wilderness. An angel finds her at a wellspring on the road and demands: Where have you come from and where are you going? (Gen 16:8). An essential question for individuals at the season of repentance and return. Also key for "renewing the cousinship" of Blacks and Jews, another relationship in need of "turning and healing."
At the conclusion of Hagar's wilderness encounter, we read:
וַתִּקְרָא שֵׁם-יְהוָה הַדֹּבֵר אֵלֶיהָ, אַתָּה אֵל רֳאִי: כִּי אָמְרָה, הֲגַם הֲלֹם רָאִיתִי–אַחֲרֵי רֹאִי
עַל-כֵּן קָרָא לַבְּאֵר, בְּאֵר לַחַי רֹאִי–הִנֵּה בֵין-קָדֵשׁ, וּבֵין בָּרֶד
And she called the LORD who spoke to her, "You Are El-roi," by which she meant, "Have I not gone on seeing after God saw me!"
Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; it is between Kadesh and Bered.—
— Gen 16:13-14
In her 1984 Texts of Terror, Phyllis Trible pointed out extraordinary aspects of this story, including the fact that Hagar names God — the only biblical character to do so (more here). And the name she uses has a lot to tell us.
"El-roi" is translated in a variety of ways and sometimes, as in the 1985 JPS (above), not translated. But all the renderings revolve around sight: God of vision, God of my seeing, God who sees me. This, I think, points to one meaning of Isaac moving to this place: Reconciliation in unlikely if estranged parties cannot see and feel seen, so the brothers both settling in a place of seeing bodes well.
"Renewing the cousinship" of Blacks and Jews requires a lot of seeing. Coming to a place with a powerful history of seeing by/of oppressed and traumatized people could be a great beginning.
Posted on September 6, 2018 September 6, 2018 Categories Beer Lahai Roi, high holidays, language and translation, new postsTags Hagar, Phyllis Trible, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur1 Comment on The Well of Sight, Seeing, Seen
Rivka Miriam: at age 13 and 60+
A 13-year-old poet wrote one of the pieces recently enjoyed by the Hebrew Poetry group at Temple Micah (DC), I was surprised to learn.
The poem "Still" opens the collection called These Mountains: Selected Poems of Rivka Miriam, and it was one of the first we discussed by this poet. This review excerpt includes lines from the 1966 "Still," contrasting it with lines from a poem written in 2009 and published in the two-volume Collected Poems [Kol Shirei Rivka Miriam] (2010):
Here, for example, are lines from an early book and a recent one: 'God knocked on my window/ and the skin of my face shone . . . the walls were too narrow/ so he left my room and fled/ into the fields' (tr. Linda Zisquit). And then: 'It seems that not only God is hiding/ the earth is hidden too'. God who is present and disappears, and his existence beyond the field of vision though on some perceptible wavelength, are motifs running through all of Miriam's work. While the second quote was written when she was 57, the first she wrote when she was merely 13. Her first book, My Yellow Dress, was published when she was 14.
— Erez Schweitzer (translated by Lisa Katz)
"A School of her own: on Rivka Miriam's Collected Poems [excerpt]," originally in Haaretz (16 Feb 2011), can be found on Poetry International.
Poetic Developments
Schweitzer points out central themes in Miriam's work: womb and grave; the presence and absence of God; laughter and tears as the foundation of spiritual experience; history as a continuous present, adding:
exactly because of its unity of theme and style over so many years, her body of poetry may be read in an attempt to extract the developmental, biographical and artistic processes in it.
Our poetry discussion group has only begun reading Miriam's work. And we are somewhat divided regarding the relevance of a poet's biography to their work and vice versa. But this background is a welcome addition to the little bit that is available (or that I have found, so far) in English.
Here is a short biography of Rivka Miriam.
Here, is a TLV1 Israel in Translation podcast, including the poems "Elul" and "In the Beginning God Created." (I found its title, "Rivka Miriam on asking forgiveness," misleading.)
A gender-neutral translation of "In the Beginning God Created" appears in Siddur Lev Shalem:
In the beginning God created
the heavens that actually are not
and the earth that wants to touch them.
threads stretching between them —
between the heavens that actually are not
and the earth that cries out for help
And God created humans
for each person is a prayer and a thread
touching what is not
with a tender and delicate touch.
— Rivka Miriam, trans by David C. Jacobson
Extending the theme of creation, Rabbi Steven Sager translates and discusses Miriam's poem, "Created on the Second Day." Search the the Sicha, "Continuing Conversation" site for more from Rivka Miriam in the context of various midrashim and other topics.
INVITATION: Hebrew Poetry group at Temple Micah meets first, third, and fifth Saturdays after Shabbat morning service. All welcome. Discussion in English, poems explored in both Hebrew and English.
These Mountains: Selected Poems of Rivka Miriam. New Milford, CT: The Toby Press, 2009.
The collection clearly identifies "Still" as from her first publication (1966), but I somehow failed to notice the date, and I know our discussion of the poem never touched on feeling the poet was young or the material immature.
Posted on September 6, 2018 May 9, 2021 Categories Hebrew literature, language and translation, new posts, poetryTags Hebrew poetry, Rivka Miriam, Steven Sager, Temple Micah (DC)Leave a comment on Rivka Miriam: at age 13 and 60+
Ishmael, Isaac, and a Reunion of Cousins
What can the story of Ishmael and Isaac, especially its conclusion in Genesis 25:7ff, tell us "about renewing the cousinship of Blacks and Jews — and of people who live in both communities — when white nationalists are threatening both"?
The Shalom Center suggests that the Torah reading(s) for Rosh Hashanah, which highlight the endangerment and separation of Ishmael and Isaac, "cry out for turning and healing." Toward this end, Rabbi Arthur Waskow proposes an additional reading for Yom Kippur: Gen 25:7-11, wherein the two brothers join together to bury their father and "Isaac goes to live at the wellspring that is Ishmael's home."
Arthur suggests that reading this tale at the end of the Days of Awe "can remind us as individuals that it is always possible for us to turn away from anger and toward reconciliation." In addition it can remind us that the descendants of Isaac (Jewish people) and of Ishmael (Islam and Arab peoples) "need to turn toward compassion for each other." (More on this idea at "5 Offerings for a Deep and Powerful Yom Kippur. The "cousins" paragraph, quoted above, is from a print Shalom Center communication elaborating on this Yom Kippur reading suggestion.)
Renewing Cousinship
Arthur taught at Fabrangen Havurah, probably twenty years ago, on the topic of Ishmael and Isaac jointly burying their father. Since then, I've thought many times about this part of the tale and its power to point us either toward reconciliation or toward less helpful paths. I don't think I ever explored it in terms of "renewing the cousinship" of Black and Jewish communities before, however. And, because this is an on-going and strong concern for me, I plan to pursue this in some detail in the days ahead — for the high holidays and beyond. Our communities are much in need of turning and healing.
I am not yet sure if this is a continuation of last year's #ExploringBabylon or a new direction. Either way, I hope you will join in, by subscribing if you have not already done so — follow buttons are now at the VERY BOTTOM of posts — and contributing your thoughts.
Life at the Wellspring
"Isaac goes to live at the wellspring that is Ishmael's home."
This is what struck me most powerfully in Arthur's teaching this year. In year's past, I thought in terms of interfaith understanding, of the wellspring as a fundamental source that Isaac and Ishmael share and a common link to Hagar. Viewing the descendants of Isaac and Ishmael as members of Jewish and Black communities today, however, raised new questions:
Beer Lahai Roi is where Ishmael settled after being expelled from the family home. So what does it mean that Isaac is now living there?
Is this true brotherly reunion, generally accepted by others in the neighborhood?
Or does this look to some like colonization of the exiled brother's home?
Do the brothers fairly share a joint family heritage in the wellspring?
Or is Isaac somehow appropriating what had been Ishmael's?
Beer Lahai Roi is a powerful place of God-connection at times of severe travail for Hagar. So what does it mean that Isaac settled there?
Did separate traumas experienced by Isaac and Ishmael lead them, by divine guidance, perhaps, to a joint source of healing?
Or did Isaac seek out Ishmael hoping his older brother could guide him?
Do the brothers learn from one another?
Or do they, with some rare exceptions, like burying their father, retreat into their own pain?
Perhaps midrash — ancient, modern, or newly discovered — will reveal some answers. Maybe some of these questions are best left open.
Rosh Hashanah Torah Reading(s)
In Reform and some other congregations observing one day of Rosh Hashanah, the Torah reading is generally the story of the Akedah, the binding of Isaac, Genesis 22:1-24. Where two days are observed, common practice is to read the Akedah story on Day Two and the story of Hagar and Ishmael being cast out, Genesis 21:1-34, on Day One.
In midrash, Sarah dies as a result of the near sacrifice of Isaac. So, whether or not Genesis 21 is read at the holiday, these stories highlight endangerment of both sons and both mothers and a family torn apart.
Genesis 25:7ff, when the brothers bury Abraham, is read as part of the regular Torah cycle, parashat Chayei Sarah (Genesis 23:1-25:18) but is not part of the traditional readings for the Days of Awe.
Posted on September 5, 2018 June 19, 2020 Categories Beer Lahai Roi, Breishit, National biography, new posts, racial justice, Rosh Hashanah, Yom KippurTags Arthur Waskow, Beer Lahai Roi, Shalom Center3 Comments on Ishmael, Isaac, and a Reunion of Cousins
Ki Teitzei: Productive Erasing
NOTE: In conjunction with this dvar torah, I produced a four-page set of background materials. For the purposes of this post, I added hyperlinks to all sources not directly quoted in the dvar proper. But the source sheet was actually designed to stand as its own, so it might prove useful to download the PDF as well: Ki Teitzei sourcesheet (PDF)
I learned something in preparing for this week's portion that changed my perspective on several things, and I hope I can convey it in a way that at least makes sense and maybe also gives you a new way to look at some things. I prepared a source sheet with bits of Torah, later parts of the Hebrew bible, notes from Talmud, medieval and later writings. We're not going to follow the material in order, and I know it's a lot to ask, but I'm hoping you'll be willing to follow me on a somewhat meandering path. As it says in one of my favorite Grateful Dead songs:
Once in a while you get shown the light
In the strangest of places if you look at it right.
— Scarlet Begonias, Hunter/Garcia 1974
Ki Teitzei and Commandments
We'll start with a few words about this week's portion. It contains a wide range of commandments. Some I think most of us would agree are sensible, kind and just: building houses so as to prevent accidents, returning lost property, and paying promptly for hired work. A few – like not wearing mixtures of linen and wool – are so hard to explain that they're often put into the category of decrees to follow even if we don't know why. Several are quite disturbing, like an order to obliterate whole peoples and a commandment to bring a rebellious child to the town elders to be killed.
All these commandments – the worrisome, the crazy-sounding, and the easy to accept – have been the subject of thousands of years of discussion and the source of many ethical directives, as well as mystical teachings, sometimes both woven together. This portion is one that reminds us that
A) Jewish tradition rarely, if ever, accepts a text entirely at face value; and
B) texts that trouble us today almost certainly troubled our ancestors, too.
It's a relief to know, for example, how the ancient Rabbis read the verse about the rebellious child: They looked carefully at the language and decided that use of the singular expression, "voice" for two people means that these conditions apply only if a child disobeys two parents who speak identically, at once, and the parents are alike in appearance and stature; this, the Rabbis declared, was so unlikely that such a case never happened and never would. Instead, they said, the verse was put there for study purposes only.
So that is one commandment that no Jewish community observes. But there are others in this portion that many Jews do observe – and that fact can complicate study for Jews who don't observe in the same way.
After more than a century of distancing itself from all ceremonial and ritual commandments, the Reform movement shifted gears with the 1999 Platform, saying: "We are committed to the ongoing study of the whole array of mitzvot and to the fulfillment of those that address us as individuals and as a community." See below for a few words from the 18 85 and 1999 platforms and a link to the full texts (and/or p.3 of PDF); I think it's worthwhile to review these things from time to time.
As the 1999 platform suggests, even if we don't observe particular commandments, studying them can remind us that our tradition is richer and deeper, and sometimes stranger, than a quick reading or online search might suggest. I say "strange" both in the sense of "not known before" and in the sense of "odd" or "out of place," because Torah teachings from one Jewish culture can seem quite strange to Jews from another community. This is especially evident when we're talking about commandments that are carefully observed by some Jews but practically unknown by others.
For Jews who don't observe family purity laws or kashrut, for example, details of these laws might seem irrelevant, old-fashioned, or preachy. But many Jewish teachings, including most from previous centuries, assume knowledge and interest in these areas. So skipping over all such teaching means missing a lot. There's a great deal to be learned in foreign Torah territory, and different sets of assumptions are not necessarily meant to be inhospitable. The key, I think, is to do some advance planning to make the most of the trip. And that's what I hope we can do this morning, as we head into possibly unfamiliar landscape in search of new perspectives on Amalek, on repentance and making changes in the world.
Left Field: insurancenewsnet.com
The first bit of background might seem out of left field for exploring Amalek,
Consider, however, that throws from deep in the outfield can have a big impact on the game.
Work and Shabbat
In Genesis 2:2, God ceases God's melachah, creative work, and rests on the Sabbath. (Verses and more details below and/or page 3 of PDF.)
In Exodus 31, God is giving instructions for building the Tabernacle, and the People are told that melachah, creative work, is forbidden on the Sabbath in imitation of God's rest.
Later Jewish tradition, beginning with the Talmud, lists 39 categories of melachah – like tying knots, bleaching, spinning, and carrying things –
based on the kind of work that was needed to construct the Tabernacle.
One of the prohibited kinds of melachah is "mocheik al m'nat lichtov" – erasing with the intention to write something new in that same place:
…Erasing merely to blot out what is written is a destructive act, and destructive acts are not forbidden on Shabbat by Torah law. Melachah is constructive activity, similar to God's creative acts when forming the universe.
So what form of erasing is prohibited on the Sabbath? "Mocheik al m'nat lichtov" — erasing with the intention of writing again. One's intention must be to clean the surface in order to write over the original letters. This type of erasing is a positive, constructive activity, and therefore is incompatible with the special rest of the Sabbath day.
— "True Erasing" from Rav Kook on parashat Ki Teitzei
(See also Language Note below; source #17 on PDF)
This is where that throw from left field reaches the infield, as Rav (Rabbi Abraham Isaac) Kook explains that this is the kind of erasing required to obliterate Amalek's name.
Remembering Amalek
So, now let's take a few moments to remember Amalek, as we're told to do
at the close of this week's portion.
There are five biblical texts dealing with Amalek on the source sheet (sources 1-5 and below). Amalek appears a few more times in the Torah and later in the Tanach, but these are the most important ones for our story this morning.
We recall that Amalek is the grandson of Esau and great-great-grandson of Abraham and Sarah. Esau is the one who was tricked out of the first-born's blessing by his twin brother, Jacob, who becomes Israel. That makes him our family, too, however thoroughly estranged.
In Exodus, Amalek launches an unprovoked attack on the Israelites in the wilderness, and God declares war with Amalek from generation to generation. In this week's portion, we learn new information about that incident: that Amalek had attacked the weakest stragglers and that Amalek did not fear God.
Later, the Book of Samuel and the Book of Esther each reference more generations of Amalek and Israel as enemies – we are becoming more and more distant cousins, but still family. Rabbis Arthur Waskow and Phyllis Berman suggest that we view the two peoples as "connected to each other like conjoined twins. If I assault my twin, I am wounding myself…."
And that brings us to "My Brother Esau." This song captures an important idea, shared by many Jewish teachers, about the relationship between Israel and Esau, and by extension, Amalek. The lines "the more my brother looks like me," and "though he gave me all his cards," in particular, touch on the thread of Jewish teaching that sees Esau and Amalek as other aspects of ourselves, like Jacob and Yisrael are sometimes understood as two aspects of one individual.
Obliterating Amalek
Returning to this week's portion, we are told:
to remember זָכוֹר
Remember what Amalek did to the Jewish people;
to blot out the remembrance תִּמְחֶה
Wipe out the descendants of Amalek from under heaven
תִּמְחֶה אֶת-זֵכֶר עֲמָלֵק, מִתַּחַת הַשָּׁמָיִם; and
to not forget לֹא, תִּשְׁכָּח
Not to forget Amalek's atrocities/ambush on our journey from Egypt in the desert.
These are usually understood as three separate commandments, following Maimonides.
Over the centuries, Jews of many different belief systems have struggled with whether, and how, those commandments – especially the one to wipe out a whole people – still apply. See, for a really helpful and accessible summary, "Are Jews Still Commanded to Blot Out the Memory of Amalek?"
Professor Golinkin, like Nechama Leibowitz and others before him, focuses on the two new statements in this week's portion: that Amalek did not fear God, and that he attacked the vulnerable. (See below for excerpt and link to the full article; p.2, PDF.)
Many teachers see the joining of these in the text as evidence that failing to care for the weak is a failure to fear God, and vice versa.
Finally, now, that throw from left field makes it all the way to the plate.
In Exodus 17, there are two odd spellings that caught the attention of commentators: "Throne" is spelled with two letters instead of the usual three – that is, keis, instead of kisei – and God's name is spelled with only two letters – yud-hey, instead of the four-letter name. (p.1 PDF or below)
Completing God's Name
In many different readings, Amalek represents attempts to erase God's name, either by unethical behavior that harms the image of God in others or by trying to remove "Yisrael," a nation which contains God's name. The latter is Rav Kook's view:
We are charged to replace Amalek with the holy letters of God's complete Name. We must restore God's complete throne – i.e., God's Presence in the world – through the special holiness of the Jewish people, who transmit God's message to the world.
Rav Kook says we can see from these shortened words that all is not right with God's name in the world after the encounter with Amalek. And this means that simply erasing Amalek's name won't put things right.
Returning to the concept of melachah, some erasing is just destructive.
And, even though it might seem contrary to the spirit of Shabbat,
destruction is not actually among the 39 categories of prohibited action.
Only creative acts.
Similarly, Rav Kook explains, the mitzvah is not simply to obliterate Amalek so that there will no longer be any more Amalekites in the world. That would be a purely destructive act.
The destruction of Amalek must have a productive goal. We must obliterate Amalek, with the intention of 'transforming the world into a kingdom of the Almighty.'
Rav Kook, in The Moral Principles, tells us that Amalek's name is to be erased only from under heaven. Meaning that somewhere, however twisted, there was a good intention in Amalek that should be recognized and not destroyed. This effort requires a "lofty state of purity," which Rav Kook doesn't think too common. But the aspiration is still instructive, especially, for Elul. (See source #9 below; p.1, PDF)
Elul Thoughts
So much of the advice around teshuva focuses on one-way apologies and single-handed attempts to change our behavior. One-way changes are important for our souls and, no doubt, to those whom we've wronged. But we live in relationships and community. And Rav Kook's two teachings on Amalek together suggest that it's not enough to beat down evil urges or repair individual wrongs. What we need to do is to approach places where we, as individuals or groups, have allowed the non-God-fearer's name to appear and erase it with the intention of writing something better. Destruction – even of an evil, in ourselves, or in a relationship, with a brother or an enemy – is only half the task. The real God-imitating work is in destroying in order to rebuild something better in ourselves, in our relationships and in the wider world.
Now, let's return for a moment to the wider concept of melachah and Shabbat. Like most of us here today, I observe Shabbat in a way that does not involve understanding details of the 39 different categories of melachah associated with building the Tabernacle, and avoiding them on Shabbat. So, I don't usually worry about whether a particular kind of writing or erasing is allowed on Shabbat. And I know I'm not alone in this.
Looking at Rav Kook's very specific teaching, however, shifted my understanding of Shabbat. For a long time, I've endeavored to avoid computer and internet, work-related calls, and money-related talk on Shabbat. This helps me separate the Sabbath from the six days and also to explain what I do and don't do on Saturdays to other people. But I don't avoid kindling, travel beyond my neighborhood, or many other forms of melachah, including many kinds of creation.
And I realized just a few days ago that I had really missed the main point here. There's powerful value in making Shabbat with my husband, in our own way. But I am now paying more attention to the concept of ceasing to create because even God took a day off from essential, productive, maybe enjoyable, activities –rather than because it suits me in some ways to take a break.
…That brings me to this short story by Sharon Strassfeld, and to this note: What-, who-, or however we envision God — or even if we don't really think of God at all — it's important to consider, especially as we enter the high holidays season, that we're not God. (Story also in plain text below for those who don't do graphics; p.4, PDF in graphic form.)
Erasing and Learning
Finally, consider this verse from Pirkei Avot, mentioning "machok," blotting:
לִישָׁע בֶּן אֲבוּיָה אוֹמֵר, הַלּוֹמֵד יֶלֶד לְמַה הוּא דוֹמֶה, לִדְיוֹ כְתוּבָה עַל נְיָר חָדָשׁ.
וְהַלּוֹמֵד זָקֵן לְמַה הוּא דוֹמֶה, לִדְיוֹ כְתוּבָה עַל נְיָר מָחוּק
Elisha ben Abuya said: When you learn as a child, what is it like? Like ink written on clean paper.
When you learn in old age, what is it like? Like ink written on blotted paper [a sheet from which the original writing has been erased]
– Avot 4:25 (or 4:20)
Until a few days ago I thought this was the saddest Mishnah I'd ever seen. This is the only place where Elisha Ben Abuya's name appears. Everywhere else in the Talmud, he's referred to as Acher, "the Other," for complicated reasons, relating to this week's portion, that led to his becoming a heretic and a symbol of rabbinic failure.
I kept thinking about Elisha Ben Abuya's struggles with community and faith. And the idea that he saw adult learning as such a difficult, messy process – like trying to write on parchment that was already used and scraped off – broke my heart.
But then, in studying this portion and Rav Kook's teachings, I had a new idea:
Maybe all he's really saying is that anyone who is trying to learn something and is not a small child – whether we're 12 or 13 or 55 or 85 – is probably erasing some previous, maybe erroneous or partial, understanding of the world. And that is not sad at all. In fact, as I just learned: writing, as well as erasing with the intention to write something new, are both understood as creative work that imitates God. This is what I think we have to keep in mind as we move through Elul and into the Days of Awe.
Our job is not to aim for a clean slate – apologies for mixing metaphors with all that parchment scraping – but to work with what is already written, to make corrections where need be, and to keep trying to write a better story for this new year and beyond.
I hope this made some sense.
Please feel free to contact me if anything was unclear.
With best wishes for a productive Elul and high holiday season.
NOTE: The text above is a dvar torah given at Temple Micah (DC) on August 25. Micah live streams and archives services, so video can be found at Temple Micah (dvar torah about about 50 minutes after the service began). As mentioned above, the four-page source sheet is meant to accompany this drash but also stand on its own. Ki Teitzei source sheet (PDF).
BACKGROUND SOURCES
Amalek in Biblical Text
[1] Amalek is great-great grandson of Abraham and Sarah:
And these are the generations of Esau the father of a the Edomites in the mountain-land of Seir….And Timna was concubine to Eliphaz Esau's son; and she bore to Eliphaz Amalek….
–Gen 36:9-12
[2] In the wilderness, Amalek attacks Israel, who prevails; God declares war against Amalek, "from generation to generation":
Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim….And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. And the LORD said unto Moses: 'Write this for a memorial in the book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.'
כִּי-מָחֹה אֶמְחֶה
אֶת-זֵכֶר עֲמָלֵק, מִתַּחַת הַשָּׁמָיִם
And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Adonai-nissi. And he said: 'The hand upon the throne of the LORD: the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.'
וַיֹּאמֶר, כִּי-יָד
עַל-כֵּס יָהּ, [throne of the LORD]
מִלְחָמָה לַיהוָה, בַּעֲמָלֵק–מִדֹּר, דֹּר –Exodus 17:8, 13-16
See also Language Note below.
[3] Two details about the Exodus story appear in this week's portion:
…how he met you by the way, and smote the hindmost of you, all that were enfeebled in your rear, when you were faint and weary; and he feared not God…–Deut 25:18
[4] Enmity between Amalek and Israel persists:
Thus saith the LORD of hosts: I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he set himself against him in the way, when he came up out of Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not…
And Saul smote the Amalekites…. And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. –1 Sam 2-3, 7-8
[5] Agag's survival, contrary to instruction, led to the Purim story:
After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him. –Esther 3:1
[8] THRONE and NAME
"Why is the word for 'throne' shortened, and even God's Name is abbreviated? God swore that His Name and His Throne are not complete until Amalek's name will be totally obliterated." – from Tanchuma, Ki Teitzei 11; Rashi
כִּי-מָחֹה אֶמְחֶה אֶת-זֵכֶר עֲמָלֵק, מִתַּחַת הַשָּׁמָיִם.
[9] from The Moral Principles
The degree of love in the soul of the righteous embraces all creatures, it excludes nothing, and no people or tongue. Even the wicked Amalek's name is to be erased by biblical injunction only "from under the heavens" (Ex 17:14). But through "cleansing" he may be raised to the source of the good,* which is above the heavens, and is then included in the higher love. But one needs great strength and a lofty state of purity for this exalted kind of unification.
– Abraham Isaac Kook (1865-1935), The Moral Principles.
Ben Zion Bokser, trans. Paulist Press, 1978, p.137
*Kook believed that an evil deed is an impulse that at its highest source of origin was good but became distorted and went astray. The first Ashkenazi chief rabbi in pre-state Israel, he published on ethics and mystical teachings.
Amalek and Jews Today
Over the centuries, Jews have argued about whether, and how, those commandments still apply. Many interpreters have identified Amalek with one real life enemy or another, historical or contemporary, from ancient Rome to the Soviets or Nazis; Jews have called other Jews "Amalek," and some Christians have seen themselves as "Israel" and their enemies, including Jews, as "Amalek." Others have said that Amalek no longer exists or taken a metaphorical view. – Summarized from Golinkin (citation below).
The 20th Century teacher Nechama Leibowitz explores Deut 25:18 in the context of Torah passages mentioning fear of God, or lack thereof. She notes that each passage focuses on caring for the most vulnerable among us, or failing to do that. Therefore, she writes:
"Amalek" against whom the Almighty declared eternal war is not any more an ethnic or racial concept but is the archetype of the wanton aggressor who smites the weak and defenseless in every generation.
Golinkin quotes Leibowitz and concludes:
In our day, this is perhaps the most important message of the Amalek story — not hatred of Amalek but aversion to their actions. In the State of Israel, there are many strangers and stragglers — new immigrants, foreign workers, as well as innocent Arabs and Palestinians. Some Jews learn from the story of Amalek that we should hate certain groups. We must emphasize the opposite message. We must protect "the stragglers" so that we may say of the State of Israel: "surely there is fear of God in this place".
– "Are Jews Still Commanded to Blot Out the Memory of Amalek?"
Prof. David Golinkin is president of the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem; highly recommend this thorough, readable article.
"My Brother Esau"
Words by John Perry Barlow; music by Bob Weir.
First performed by Grateful Dead in 1983:
Esau holds a blessing;
Brother Esau bears a curse.
I would say that the blame is mine
But I suspect it's something worse.
The more my brother looks like me,
The less I understand
The silent war that bloodied both our hands.
Sometimes at night, I think I understand.
…It's brother to brother and it's man to man
And it's face to face and it's hand to hand…
We shadowdance the silent war within.
These words are alternative wording, maybe Bob Weir forgetting lyrics as written or creating new ones, March 1983:
Esau tried to move away
A marvelous disguise
Where every street is easy
and, there's nothing to deny
Though he gave me all his cards
I could not play his hand
Made a choice
Soon became a stand
Full lyrics and annotations here.
Work/Service/Worship = Avodah. (Creative) Work= Melachah:
וַיְכַל אֱלֹהִים בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי, מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה; וַיִּשְׁבֹּת בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי, מִכָּל-מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה
And on the seventh day God finished His work [melachto] which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. – Gen 2:2
וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם, אֶת-הַשַּׁבָּת, כִּי קֹדֶשׁ הִוא, לָכֶם; מְחַלְלֶיהָ, מוֹת יוּמָת–כִּי כָּל-הָעֹשֶׂה בָהּ מְלָאכָה, וְנִכְרְתָה הַנֶּפֶשׁ הַהִוא מִקֶּרֶב עַמֶּיהָ
You shall keep the sabbath, for it is holy unto you; every one that profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whosoever does any work [melachah] therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים, יֵעָשֶׂה מְלָאכָה, וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי שַׁבַּת שַׁבָּתוֹן קֹדֶשׁ, לַיהוָה; כָּל-הָעֹשֶׂה מְלָאכָה בְּיוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת, מוֹת יוּמָת
Six days shall work [melachah] be done; but on the seventh day is a sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the LORD; whosoever does any work [melachah] in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.
וְשָׁמְרוּ בְנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל, אֶת-הַשַּׁבָּת, לַעֲשׂוֹת אֶת-הַשַּׁבָּת לְדֹרֹתָם, בְּרִית עוֹלָם
Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
בֵּינִי, וּבֵין בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל–אוֹת הִוא, לְעֹלָם: כִּי-שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים, עָשָׂה יְהוָה אֶת-הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶת-הָאָרֶץ,
וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי, שָׁבַת וַיִּנָּפַשׁ
It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel for ever; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He ceased from work and rested.' – Ex 31:14-17
Later Jewish tradition, beginning with the Talmud, lists "forty minus one" categories of melachah – like tying knots, bleaching, spinning, and carrying things – related to building the Tabernacle, as prohibited on Shabbat. (There's a 40th category, which is Creation with a capital "C," but people cannot imitate God in that way, so that's not included among the prohibitions.)
Very nice resource on this can be found at Ask Moses.
Reform Movement and Commandments
1885 Pittsburgh Platform
…We recognize in the Mosaic legislation a system of training the Jewish people for its mission during its national life in Palestine, and today we accept as binding only the moral laws, and maintain only such ceremonies as elevate and sanctify our lives, but reject all such as are not adapted to the views and habits of modern civilization….
1999 Platform
…We are committed to the ongoing study of the whole array of mitzvot and to the fulfillment of those that address us as individuals and as a community. Some of these mitzvot, sacred obligations, have long been observed by Reform Jews; others, both ancient and modem, demand renewed attention as the result of the unique context of our own times….
…We bring Torah into the world when we seek to sanctify the times and places of our lives through regular home and congregational observance. Shabbat calls us to bring the highest moral values to our daily labor and to culminate the workweek with kedushah, holiness, menuchah, rest and oneg, joy….
Full text at Reform Platforms at CCAR
[16] Strassfeld's short story:
When I was a teenager, I began reading philosophical works. I concluded that God did not rule the world that in fact we and God were partners. One Yom Kippur in consonance with my new thinking I decided not to "fall korim" (prostrate myself) for the aleinu prayer. My zaydee, who had eagle eyes even for the upstairs women's balcony, asked me to take a walk with him during the break in services. He wondered, he told me, why I hadn't fallen korim. I explained that it was a "neue velt" (literally, a "new world") now and the old-fashioned ideas of God ruling everything and people scurrying around to do God's command no longer made sense. Zaydee listened and then asked thoughtfully, "Sherreleh, tell me more about this neue velt. I did, telling him all about the things I had been reading and thinking. When I finished, my grandfather said to me, "This new world you speak about I understand. But there is one thing I don't understand. In this new world, if you don't bow before God, before whom will you bow?"
– Sharon Strassfeld. Everything I Know: Basic Life Rules from a Jewish Mother. NY: Scribner, 1998
LANGUAGE NOTES
אֶת-זֵכֶר עֲמָלֵק, מִתַּחַת הַשָּׁמָיִם (Ex 17:8)
[6] נִמְחָה – to be obliterated, forgotten, destroyed, or eliminated
מָחָה – to erase [or wipe, as dishes], to obliterate, to blot out the memory of ; (literary) to wipe away, to dry (tears, sweat)
[7] OED: "Erase" is a newer (17th Century) than "blot" (15th Century). "Erase" may have come from older word "arace," to uproot. A "blot" in backgammon is a lone, vulnerable piece. BACK to Exodus 17
[17]"Mocheik al m'nat lichtov"
to erase, to delete ; to blot out – מָחַק
eraser, rubber – מַחַק
BACK to Rav Kook on erasing — BACK to Elisha Ben Abuya
Waskow, Rabbi Arthur O. and Rabbi Phyllis O. Berman. Freedom Journeys: The Tale of Exodus and Wilderness across Millennia. Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights, 2011. p.155 BACK
More on Acher [Aher, "The Other"], Elisha Ben Abuya:
"A Path to Follow" Ki Teitzei, note on how a verse this portion led is said to have led to Acher's heresy.
Different stories about Elisha Ben Abuya from the midrash. Much more in the Fabrangen blog on related topics.
A warning about dualism as the four enter Pardes
See also "Daughter of Acher"
Posted on August 24, 2018 September 6, 2018 Categories Devarim, Elul, new posts, traditional midrashTags Arthur Waskow, David Golinkin, Grateful Dead, Ki Teitzei, Nechama Leibowitz, Rav Kook, Sharon Strassfeld, Temple Micah (DC)2 Comments on Ki Teitzei: Productive Erasing


text:
Cristalografia de raze X este o tehnică cristalografică utilizată pentru determinarea structurii atomice și moleculare a unui cristal. La baza tehnicii se află ideea că structura cristalină cauzează fascicolul incident de raze X să se difracte în mai multe direcții specifice. Prin măsurarea unghiurilor și a intensităților acestor raze difractate, se poate obține o imagine tridimensională a densității electronice din cristalul respectiv. Se pot determina astfel pozițiile atomilor în cristal, tipurile de legături chimice și se pot deduce alte informații variate.

Istoric

Metode

Vezi și
 Legea lui Bragg
 Difracția electronilor

Referințe

Cristalografie
Difracție
Raze X

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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text:
Q: Reference TextBlock element in C# I have a Data Template in my XAML page with data binding. This Data Template resides directly on the XAML page, it is not referenced by another structure such as a GridView or ListView.  It is not used as an ItemTemplate.
<DataTemplate x:Name="Standard250x480ItemTemplate">
        <Grid HorizontalAlignment="Left" Width="250" Height="480" Margin="0 0 0 0">
            <!--<Border Background="{StaticResource ListViewItemPlaceholderBackgroundThemeBrush}">-->
            <Border Background="#ffffff">
                <Image Source="{Binding Image}" Stretch="Uniform" AutomationProperties.Name="{Binding Title}" />
            </Border>

            <StackPanel VerticalAlignment="Bottom" Background="{StaticResource ListViewItemOverlayBackgroundThemeBrush}">
                <TextBlock x:Name="Title" TextAlignment="Center"  Padding="0 18 0 0" FontSize="25" Text="{Binding Title}" Foreground="{StaticResource ListViewItemOverlayForegroundThemeBrush}" Style="{StaticResource TitleTextStyle}" Height="60" Margin="15,0,15,0" />
                <!--<TextBlock Text="{Binding Subtitle}" Foreground="{StaticResource ListViewItemOverlaySecondaryForegroundThemeBrush}" Style="{StaticResource CaptionTextStyle}" TextWrapping="NoWrap" Margin="15,0,15,10"/>-->
            </StackPanel>
        </Grid>

    </DataTemplate>

This works fine. But when trying to call or reference an element in the Data Template from the cs code behind the XAML page, it gets an error.
When I try:
public click()
{
  var title=Title.Text;
}

The TextBlock is not recognized. I have used this before and it worked fine, but not in a Data Template.
I want to use whatever the value of the Text property in the TextBlock named "Title" in the click function so that I can pass it to another page in the app. For this I need to get the Text value of the TextBlock.
What am I doing wrong? How do I work with elements in a Data Template?

A: Because the Title is included in a DataTemplate, it is not possible to refer it from code behind. What if you're including this template in a ListBox; there could be several Title TextBlocks
In order to find your DataTemplate from code-behind you can use this:
this.TryFindResource("Standard250x480ItemTemplate");

Then you must cast it to DataTemplate, then you would have to use VisualTreeHelper or LogicalTreeHelper to find the TextBlock.
The best solution is to use your ViewModel object (I see you're using Text="{Binding Title}"). Getting the Item from your ListBox or Content from i.e your ContentControl, you could cast it into your ViewModel instance like this:
var viewModel = (MyViewModel)listBox.SelectedItem;
var title = viewModel.Title;

A: You can't use the name of Title since it's used by the presentation form itself
To avoid this in the future use:
TextBoxTitle or something simular

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Many young people have been fed lies about the grandiose benefits of joining a terrorist group like ISIS. Unfortunately, young people are trying to get over there from even many modern nations, such as the United States, Europe, from Russia and China, and more.
Naturally, a recruiter for a terrorist group like ISIS is only going to tell the interested recruit the glory side – what they want to hear. Stories have been coming out lately that it is not as glorious as they had thought, and some young and unthinking recruits have quickly become disillusioned by what they really find.
In a news article from Yahoo, an activist who opposes ISIS has claimed that he has verified that ISIS has executed 100 foreigners who tried to flee. Each of them had been at the ISIS headquarters in Raqqa, Syria. This activist is also well-known to British businessmen.
Some of the foreign fighters have even been arrested by ISIS when they did not report for duty. ISIS has created its own "police" to arrest deserters.
Many of the foreign fighters have also learned that they probably cannot go back to their own country, either. If they do, some countries will immediately place them under arrest for joining a terrorist organization.
In recent days, the Islamist State has suffered some serious losses. Most likely, there will be many more to come before long.
Comment: The Bible teaches believers that you will reap what you sow. Even if the reaping does not come soon, don't worry – it will come. People who join a murderous group of people who justify their evil deeds by religion will find that they also will be received like murderers – and treated like them, too. God will judge everyone one day and all their evil deeds will be revealed, and accounted for.
Thank God that there is a real pardon in the Lord Jesus Christ for those who humbly seek His mercy and salvation. Man may still require justice, however, for evil deeds against society.


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Research methods: narrative-based interviews, plus hard data via surveys, plus industry data.
For the first section, Kenny breaks down how performers are paid, noting that it is difficult for the musical 'middle' to generate a full time income through royalty streams (or even music) alone. We also see the famous/apocryphal quote from Hunter S Thompson, and Kenny notes the 'music industry is bad'.
Kenny rattles through the birth of copyright (Statute of Anne 1710; Bach vs Longman 1777) through to contemporary scholarship criticizing the status quo of the copyright debate: "Each side offers anecdotes, but no data".
Townse in Frith and Marshall 2004:57 "Copyright protection involves a trade-off between cost and benefit".
Narrative B: Copyright is an ineffective and inequitable mechanism for rewarding the majority of [music] composers and performers.
Industry stakeholders and lobbyists tend to support A; Academics tend to support B.
Narrative A characterized: the labels suggest "no copyright, no music industry". Kenny suggests that this may or may not be true, but there is little evidence for it. The question is – would creators continue to create, absent copyright?
Narrative B characterised: copyright mostly favours high income musicians directly; it's a winner-takes-all market.
Kenny now shows us the 'Winner Takes It All" problem, via an old (1994) but still relevant PRS distribution chart. Of 21000 writers, only 85 people take 35% of the money; only a few hundred make anything close to a living wage [from PRS royalties].
Is it the Perfect Storm? There is an oversupply of 'desirous and inexperienced' creators (Mike Jones 2012:27). For every 'hit' there are many misses. As Jason Toynbee put it "to change this situation we may need to abolish capitalism" [JB: !].
To the core question: what about the middle? PRS has kindly shared more recent data with Kenny although he is unable to share it in full. He notes that although PRS membership has grown five-fold since 1994, the proportions of the distribution pyramids have not improved (indeed, Kenny says, the bottom of the pyramid has likely expanded given the many micro-payment artists that have entered the market). He implies that a re-thought distribution model might create more meaningful careers among the middle-level artists.
Royalty payments, for new songwriters, often represent a kind of 'eureka' moment where they realise that their work can be monetized. Copyright income is routinely channeled into creating new work. Kenny calls for deeper academic research into the needs and lives of the mid-range musicians, and to challenge the narrative of the music industry being divided in a binary of creators being only winners or losers.


text:
Higher food prices blamed on limited competition
Posted by Daniel Palmer on 9th November 2009
New OECD price data has shown Australia to have the highest rate of food inflation since 2000, although it has begun to moderate over the past year.
The data shows Australian food prices have risen by 41.3 per cent, higher than the other 29 nations in the survey. However, based on comparisons to 2006 figures, Australia has seen the seventh highest rate of food inflation in the OECD – behind Hungary, Iceland, Mexico, New Zealand, Turkey and the UK. Indeed, the global financial crisis has helped created a situation where many products are now cheaper today than they were at the start of the year.
The report of surging food prices has been blamed on a lack of competition, something the major chains refute.
"We don't believe we have too much power," Woolworths' James Aylen told the Seven Network this morning. "We actually think the Australian market is very competitive."
"We know the ACCC had their inquiry last year and they certainly found it to be competitive as well."
Surprisingly, the ACCC has this year been quite vocal in their defence of competition in the grocery sector as the debate about market power continues to rage. The competition regulator believes relatively new entrants like Aldi and Costco are beginning to make an impact and found in their grocery inquiry last year that the industry was "workably competitive".
The Australian National Retailers Association, which represents Coles and Woolworths, echoed similar sentiments to Mr Aylen.
"The ACCC's exhaustive inquiry into food prices last year found a range of factors have influenced food prices in this country, including seasonal conditions, and the international commodities boom," ANRA CEO Margy Osmond said in a statement. "The margins of the major supermarkets have remained very modest at between 3-5 per cent."
"According to the latest OECD statistics between 2005 and September quarter 2009, food prices in Australia have risen 18.3%, and actually fell last quarter. This compares to a 22.4% rise in the UK, 13% rise in the US, and 15% across the European OECD economies."
Competition Minister Craig Emerson indicated that competition was not yet as robust as the government would like, but barriers were steadily being broken down.
"We're taking on hard measures by taking down the barriers to competition with Coles and Woolworths," he claimed. "We are determined to apply the competition blowtorch."
Dr Emerson acknowledged that there were factors beyond supermarket control that have forced prices higher but increased competitive tension would be welcome.
"There's a range of combining factors that go into price rises over a number of years but competition is the best force for lowering prices," he said, according to AAP. "If you ask Australian consumers they will say prices have been rising and that they are too high."
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Algorithms for the monitoring system ASTROSE® for increasing the current carrying capacity of overhead power lines
Business Unit »Systems and Applications«
© Fraunnofer ENAS
Autark sensor node on a power line.
© Fraunhofer ENAS
Existing electricity reserves by ASTROSE® system could have prevented network security management events.
The self-sufficient sensor network ASTROSE® was developed in a research project and has been used in a pilot test with 59 sensor nodes since September 2014 on a 110 kV overhead power line in the Harz mountains in Germany. Each sensor node measures the temperature, the inclination of the conductor and the current flowing through the conductor. The measurement data is transmitted by radio from sensor node to sensor node to the base station. In the past, the data were used to evaluate the system for technical robustness and reliability. In order to achieve a commercial benefit by the application of such monitoring systems, the evaluation and further processing of the sensor data is necessary. The above mentioned measurement data primarily reflect the temperature of the conductor, the sag, the tensile force of the conductor and further mechanical loads if they derive from ice loads as an example. Moreover, the combination and fusion of measurement data and environmental condition data allow to determine the power line ampacity online.
Recently, a software module was developed together with the Fraunhofer IZM, which determines the cable temperature of each span field and the ampacity of the power line. This enables the grid operator to detect weak points in the grid (e.g. span fields with a too high cable temperature) and to exploit the reserves that arise in the energy transmission net depending on current weather conditions. The developed software module is currently in the evaluation phase. During this development and evaluation an indication parameter for the data reliability is transmitted in addition to the measurement data to the grid control centre which indicates particular situations that may lead to misinterpretation of the sensor data.
The first tests and data reviews show that the actual ampacity is much higher than the maximum rated ampacity of the overhead line. Shut down or the reducing of the power generation of wind power stations as part of the network security management measures could have been prevented. The figure on the left page shows such situation as an example. The rated maximum current is given by the red line in the diagram. The (n-1)-current (yellow curve) is calculated based on the actual grid situation by the grid control centre. It is the maximum current that may occur if one mayor component of the power grid fails. The grid control centre regulates the sources and the load such way that the (n-1)-current is always below the rated maximum current. The diagram show a sudden rising load on January 1st 12:00 pm that is limited to the rated maximum current by the grid control centre as part of the network security management till January 2 12:00 pm. Such kind of relief measures are regularly done by reduction of the power of wind power plants. The monitoring system indicates that it is more than 100 A higher than the rated maximum current of the power line in the period of time between January 1st and January 2st that is caused by chilling of the conductors due to strong wind. In case of the given example, the power relief would not have been extended that way.
Sven Voigt
Head of Group »Hybrid Sensors and Systems«
09126 Chemnitz, Germany
Phone +49 371 45001-268
Fraunhofer Institute for Electronic Nano Systems - Algorithms for the monitoring system ASTROSE® for increasing the current carrying capacity of overhead power lines
Online in Internet; URL: https://www.enas.fraunhofer.de/en/Business_Units/Systems_and_Applications/Customer_Domains/Energy/Algorithms_for_the_monitoring_system_ASTROSE_in_Order_to_increase_the_current_carrying_capacity_of_overhead_power_lines.html


text:
Edgar Villanueva: Decolonizing Wealth on the 2nd Floor
Monday November 26: 7:00PM – 8:00PM
Buy a copy of Decolonizing Wealth or a $5 gift card in-store at the event to attend. This event will take place in the Art Department, located on the 2nd floor of the Strand.
Though it seems counterintuitive, the philanthropic industry has evolved to mirror colonial structures and reproduces hierarchy, ultimately doing more harm than good. After 14 years in philanthropy, Edgar Villanueva has seen past the field's glamorous, altruistic façade, and into its shadows: the old boy networks, the savior complexes, and the internalized oppression among the "house slaves," and those select few people of color who gain access. All these funders reflect and perpetuate the same underlying dynamics that divide Us from Them and the haves from have-nots. In equal measure, he denounces the reproduction of systems of oppression while also advocating for an orientation towards justice to open the floodgates for a rising tide that lifts all boats. In the third and final section, Villanueva offers radical provocations to funders and outlines his Seven Steps for Healing. With great compassion--because the Native way is to bring the oppressor into the circle of healing--Villanueva is able to both diagnose the fatal flaws in philanthropy and provide thoughtful solutions to these systemic imbalances. Decolonizing Wealth is a timely and critical book that preaches for mutually assured liberation in which we are all inter-connected.
Join us in the 2nd Floor Art Department as Edgar shares wisdom from his new book with celebrity actress and activist Piper Perabo!
Edgar Villanueva is a nationally-recognized expert on social justice philanthropy and author of Decolonizing Wealth, which offers hopeful and compelling alternatives to the dynamics of colonization in the philanthropic and social finance sectors. He currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of Native Americans in Philanthropy and is a Board Member of the Andrus Family Fund, a national foundation that works to improve outcomes for vulnerable youth. Additionally, Edgar is an instructor with The Grantmaking School at the Johnson Center at Grand Valley State University and Vice President of Programs and Advocacy at the Schott Foundation for Public Education. There he oversees grant investment and capacity-building supports for education-focused justice campaigns across the United States. Previously Edgar has held leadership roles at Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust in North Carolina and at the Marguerite Casey Foundation in Seattle. In addition to working in philanthropy for many years, he has consulted with numerous nonprofit organizations and national and global philanthropies on advancing racial equity inside of their institutions and through their investment strategies. Edgar holds two degrees from the Gillings Global School of Public Health at The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. He is an enrolled member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and resides in Brooklyn, NY. Follow him on Twitter at @VillanuevaEdgar.
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18 kt two-tone hand made comfort fit Wedding Band 7.0 mm wide. The ring has a beautiful pattern in the center. The two pieces on each side of the patterned gold are matte finish. The rest of the band is polished. Different finishes may be selected or specified.


text:
What Is Servitium Christi?
Servitium Christi is a Secular Institute in the Catholic Church. Membership is open to the LAY women who seek to live and share their Christian faith, in association with one another and to a basic rule of life, thus identifying themselves as a Christian Lay Community.
A programme of initial formation is provided in order to accompany candidates to a clearer discernment of their vocation, and to prepare them for the expression or personal commitment to the values and vision inspired by the Gospel, and expressed through the profession or the vows of evangelical poverty, celibacy and obedience.
Servitium Christi centres its life and spirituality on the Eucharist….celebration of the Memorial of the Lord's passion, death and resurrection….and in the fostering of a life of both prayer and apostolic service in the Church and society.
The richness of the Eucharist, and the implications associated with its celebration lead to a heightened awareness of the PRESENCE of the Risen Christ in the Sacrament of his love and call for a response, both personal and communal, of PRAYER in the form of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament: and SERVICE to others in Church and society. Participation in daily Eucharist and Eucharistic Adoration are important elements in the life and spirituality of the members of our Institute. Both serve to empower us for the faithful living of our commitments and in our daily work undertaken with love, cheerfulness and the conviction that it is our witness to Christ and our expression of love and care for all God's people.
When Did Servitium Christi Begin?
St Peter Julian Eymard who founded the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament also envisaged a community of consecrated lay people whose Eucharistic life would penetrate the world from within.
Inspired by St Peter Julian, Father Godfrey Spiekman SSS, brought the Secular Institute of Servitium Christi into existence in Holland in 1952. The Institute was approved by the Church in 1963, and since then has spread to Britain, Ireland, USA, South America, Europe and Australia and Vietnam.
Single lay women who feel called to a life dedicated to God in His world.
If you would like to know more about the institute of Servitium Christi, contact:
Pastoral Centre
Phone : 9663 2495


The Commission on Higher Education continues to work its way through a set of problems in American universities today, but a few issues and answers are coming into focus. One is accountability, or rather the weakness of existing accountability systems for measuring the most important thing about a college education: what and how much students learn. A memo from the chairman of the Commission, Charles Miller, states, "There is gathering momentum for measuring through testing what students learn or what skills they acquire in college beyond a traditional certificate or degree." Although the proposals for testing focus too much on mental habits and not enough on knowledge ("critical thinking, analytic reasoning, problem solving, and written communication" over knowledge of history, politics, art, civics, etc.), the prospect of a general assessment of soon-to-be-graduates might shine a harsh, if partial light on the quality of instruction taking place.
The worth of the Commission's work may be measured by the anxiety it is causing among campus administrators. They insist that their accountability mechanisms are strong. A letter from Roger Bowen, General Secretary of the AAUP, says, "Faculty members are accountable for their work in many ways–much more so than most professionals in private industry." Peer review and student evaluations, he goes on to say, submit faculty work to "their toughest critics." That may be true in the hard sciences, but in the humanities, not at all. Peer review only works if the field has a sufficient amount of agreement about methodological rules and disagreement about content. In the humanities, we have the opposite. People question method, truth, objectivity, and other epistemological grounds, and yet they conform wholeheartedly on substantive issues.
Fortunately, the Commission doesn't seem to be buying the protestations, and the wisest academic leaders realize the momentum is against them.


text:
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To Scotland with Love
by Patience Griffin
Welcome to the charming Scottish seaside town of Gandiegow--where two people have returned home for different reasons, but to find the same thing....
Caitriona Macleod gave up her career as an investigative reporter for the role of perfect wife. But after her husband is found dead in his mistress's bed, a devastated Cait leaves Chicago for the birthplace she hasn't seen since she was a child. She's hoping to heal and to reconnect with her gran. The last thing she expects to find in Gandiegow is the Sexiest Man Alive She just may have stumbled on the ticket to reigniting her career--if her heart doesn't get in the way.
Graham Buchanan is a movie star with many secrets. A Gandiegow native, he frequently hides out in his hometown between films. He also has a son he'll do anything to protect. But Cait Macleod is too damn appealing--even if she is a journalist.
Quilting with her gran and the other women of the village brings Cait a peace she hasn't known in years. But if she turns in the story about Graham, Gandiegow will never forgive her for betraying one of its own. Should she suffer the consequences to resurrect her career? Or listen to her battered and bruised heart and give love another chance?
Publish Date: June 2014
Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.23 x 1.2 inches
Reading Level: Ages 18-UP


text:
Ahmed Zaid Salim Zuhair is a citizen of Saudi Arabia formerly held in extrajudicial detention in the United States's Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.

On August 13, 2008, it was reported that Ahmed Zaid Zuhair had been on a hunger strike since June 2005.
Two other long-term hunger strikers died under mysterious circumstances in June 2006.

On March 18, 2009, camp authorities declined to agree to moving Zuhair to Camp 4 from Camp 6 in return for his ending his hunger strike.

In December 2008, an Administrative Review Board cleared Zuhair for release from Guantanamo. On May 22, 2009, Zuhair was cleared for transfer once again by the Inter-Agency Review process established by President Obama.  He was repatriated to Saudi Arabia on June 12, 2009.

Habeas corpus petition

Carol Rosenberg, writing in the Miami Herald, reported that Zuhair's June 12, 2009, repatriation came shortly before the Department of Justice would be called upon to defend his continued detention during consideration of his habeas corpus petition.

Zuhair's lawyers have filed an extensive refutation of the government's allegations in court.  They argue that the allegations against Zuhair are baseless:

The Government rests its case against Mr. Zuhair mainly upon two types of evidence: raw intelligence that lacks any indicia of reliability and statements extracted under torture that are not only inherently unreliable but so repugnant to Constitutional protections of dignity and fairness as to require them to be struck. As a matter of law, this Court can accord neither sort of evidence any persuasive weight.

Zuhair's lawyers point out that the type of intelligence document extensively relied upon to justify his detention almost always carry the legend "WARNING: INFORMATION REPORT, NOT FINALLY EVALUATED INTELLIGENCE" and are used to circulate possible leads, rather than verified information.

Although most of the tortured-based evidence in the case remained classified, Zuhair's attorneys also produced an unclassified declaration from Sa'd Iqbal Madani, a victim of rendition and torture in Egypt and Afghanistan.  In it, Madani described how, in order to avoid further mistreatment, he made false statements at Bagram that interrogators used to link Zuhair to the Cole bombing.
Other detainees who were held at Bagram, including Mamdouh Habib and Moazzam Begg, also attested to the torture that Madani experienced.

Zuhair's attorneys also attacked the government's allegations directly.  Most importantly they demonstrate that despite investigations of the murder of William Jefferson by Bosnian police, the United Nations, and the FBI, Zuhair was never charged as a suspect.  Moreover, Bosnian authorities issued an arrest warrant for another man, Fa'iz al-Shanbari, for the murder in 1998.  A comprehensive 200-page investigation by the UN did not even mention Zuhair.
Zuhair's attorneys conclude:
It has been thirteen years since William Jefferson was murdered, in a country U.S. investigators would have had no problems accessing, and Ahmed Zuhair has spent over half of that time in American custody. Under such circumstances, the lack of an indictment against Mr. Zuhair for this crime from either jurisdiction should speak for itself.

Hunger strike

In May 2008, the Gulf News reported that Zuhair and Abdul Rahman Shalabi are the two remaining captives who have been on the hunger strike that started in August 2005.

On October 25, 2008, the Associated Press reported that new documents, documenting Guantanamo guards' struggles to force-feed Zuhair, had recently been filed in court.
According to the report:
...according to court documents reviewed by The Associated Press, guards have struggled with him repeatedly, at least once using pepper spray, shackles and brute force to drag him to a restraint chair for his twice-daily dose of a liquid nutrition mix force-fed through his nose.

Joint Task Force Guantanamo guard force commander Colonel Bruce Vargo offering the justification for the use of force, stated:
ISN 669 has a very long history of disciplinary violations and noncompliant, resistant and combative behavior.

According to an affidavit filed by Ramzi Kassem, one of his attorneys, official records document that between August and October Zuhair lost over 16 kilograms, dropping to under 45 kilograms.
Kassem's affidavit stated that when he last visited Zuhair, in mid November, he kept vomiting uncontrollably, because he was allergic to the liquid food substitute used during his force-feedings.
Mr. Zuhair lifted his orange shirt and showed me his chest. It was skeletal. Mr. Zuhair's legs looked like bones with skin wrapped tight around them.

Pauline Storum, a Joint Task Force Guantanamo spokesmen, stated that camp authorities monitored the captives' health closely.

US District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan ordered an independent medical examination for Zuhair.

On March 17, 2009, Ben Fox, writing for the Associated Press quoted a court statement filed by Colonel Bruce Vargo, commander of the camp's guard force, who explained that camp authorities could not agree to move Zuhair to the Camp 4, due to his history of infractions of the camp rules.
He stated it would set a bad precedent, and that other captives held in camp 6 might follow his example, so that they too could be moved to  camp 4.

Vargo's statement acknowledged that the camp's riot squad was routinely called upon to extract Zuhair from his cell for his twice-daily force-feedings.
His statement said Zuhair had committed 80 infractions of the camp rules in the last four months.

Vargo stated that Zuhair currently weighed 114 pounds, down from 137 pounds in August 2008.

After his repatriation to Saudi Arabia on June 12, 2009, Carol Rosenberg, writing in the Miami Herald, reported that Zuhair had been the longest lasting hunger striker, whose hunger strike had lasted 1450 days.

Death threats

Zuhair wrote a letter to his attorneys on July 18, 2008, stating that Guantanamo guards had searched his cell, confiscated some of his correspondence with his attorneys, and threatened to kill him if he did not drop his habeas petition. Judge Emmet G. Sullivan ordered the guards involved to submit sworn declarations to the court detailing their responses to the allegations, the first time a judge had done so in a Guantanamo-related case.

Repatriation

Zuhair and two other Saudis, Abdelaziz Kareem Salim al-Noofayee and Khalid Saad Mohammed, were repatriated to Saudi Arabia on June 12, 2009.

Fox News reported that Zuhair: "had been implicated in the murder of an American."

Saudi security officials have stated that the three men were allowed to meet with their families, shortly after their repatriation.
Security officials said the three men were then taken to an undisclosed location for interrogation.
The three men would go through the same Saudi jihadist rehabilitation program as other repatriated captives, even though some former captives have back-slid to supporting jihadism following their release.

Admission of Insufficient Evidence

During a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 17, 2009, Attorney General Eric Holder publicly admitted that Zuhair had been cleared for transfer from Guantanamo by both administrations because "there was no sufficient proof to bring a case" against him.

See also

 Hunger strike

References

1965 births
Living people
Guantanamo detainees known to have been released
Hunger strikers
People from Jeddah


I-485 Adjustment of Status Petitions that are filed with the above underlying petitions.
This announcement furthers the implementation of USCIS's June 28, 2018 policy memorandum regarding referral cases and NTAs in cases involving inadmissible and deportable aliens.
The first part of this policy memorandum was implemented on October 1, when USCIS began administering NTAs to denied I-485 Adjustment of Status petitions and I-539 petitions to Extend or Change Nonimmigrant Status but did not extend to employment-based cases.
Fraudulent or misrepresented cases involving evidence of public benefit abuse.
Criminal cases where the applicant is charged or convicted of a criminal offence.
N-400, Application for Naturalization cases that were denied because of a criminal offence.
Unlawful residence cases where the applicant is illegally present in the United States.
You can find USCIS's initial announcement regarding the furthered implementation of this new policy memorandum by visiting the USCIS website.
See below for the full USCIS policy memorandum.


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