Passover, the Jewish holiday commemorating the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt, begins at sundown tonight.

In honor of the holiday, I’d like to offer some Passover related or Judaism news tidbits and commentary:

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Passover foods hold meaning

My first seder several years ago was a memorable one. I’ll never forget the moving experience as the meal helped tell the story of the Israelites’ freedom from Egyptian bondage. For non-Jews, here’s a sampling of some of the seder foods and the meaning attached to them, taken from “A Passover Haggadah.”

The seder place typically consists of a roasted shankbone, which represents the ancient Passover sacrifice.

Parsley or any green herbs signifies the growth of springtime, the green of hope and renewal.

The top part of the horseradish root is symbolic of the bitterness that the Israelites experienced in Egypt, and in a modern sense, the lot of all who are enslaved.

Haroset is a sweet combination  (and my favorite edible part of the seder) of apples with chopped walnuts or pecans. Sometimes  mashed raisins, dates, prunes or apricots  are added, along with cinnamon and wine. Haroset represents the mortar which the Israelites used in doing Pharoah’s labor.

A roasted egg represents a festival offering and is a symbol of life itself.

Three separate pieces of matzah are typically placed in either a special cloth matzah cover with three sections or in a napkin folded over twice. these three pieces of matzah represent the two traditional loaves set out in the ancient Temple during the festival day and the extra matzah symbolic of Passover.

(Photo by  

Carla H.

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Newsweek releases list of 50 most influential Jewish clergy

Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism in edWashington and a member of President Obama’s Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, tops Newsweek’s list of the 50 most influential Jewish clergy in the country, Religion News Service reports.

The RNS reported that Saperstein took the top spot from Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center. Hier had topped both previous annual lists, but came in second this year.

The ranking system, compiled for the third year by Sony Pictures CEO Michael Lynton, News Corp’s Gary Ginsberg and Jay Sanderson of JTN Productions, rewards rabbis with international reputations and political influence.

In response to criticism about overlooking local community leaders, the three judges also compiled a list of 25 Most Vibrant Congregations this year, ranging from the Orthodox B’nai Jeshrun in Manhattan to the nondenominational Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco.

Read Newsweek’s list here: “50 Influential Rabbis.”

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Group says economic troubles fueling Canadian anti-Semitism

TORONTO– Jewish groups here are linking the downturn in the economy to a rise in reported incidents of anti-Semitism.

The Religion News Service reported that in its annual audit of anti-Semitic incidents, the League for Human Rights of B’nai Brith Canada recorded 1,135 anti-Semitic incidents in 2008 — an increase of 8.9 percent compared with 2007.

The report, released March 31, added that since more than half of the incidents occurred in the last four months of 2008, the rise could be attributed to “fallout” from the economic recession and sensational cases like disgraced financier Bernard Madoff and the collapse of the Lehman Brothers investment bank.

Anita Bromberg, director of legal affairs for B’nai Brith Canada, said her organization has been collecting and analyzing data about anti-Semitism for 27 years. She has heard many conspiracy theories about Jews and their control of the world’s money. One recent theory, said Bromberg, suggests that Jews transferred $400 billion to Israel just prior to the collapse of Lehman Brothers and other major investment banks in the U.S.

“The conspiracy theories didn’t surprise us,” said Bromberg.

B’nai Brith compared reported incidents in Canada with Australia, which recorded a 2-percent increase, and the United Kingdom, which had 4 percent fewer incidents in 2008 than 2007.

Bromberg told the RNS that her organization is often asked if it is simply the reporting of incidents of anti-Semitism — and not the incidents themselves — that is rising. On the contrary, she said, B’nai Brith believes there’s a problem of underreporting.

“Since the release of the report, 11 more incidents have been phoned in to us,” she said, adding that many individuals are too scared or ashamed to complain.

In the U.S., the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) tracks incidents of anti-Semitism, but the release of statistics is delayed this year, said Todd Gutnick, an ADL spokesman. The ADL however, is carefully monitoring the trend of how the economic turmoil has led to the spread of conspiracy theories and stereotypes about Jews and money, he said.

In an April 1 report on its Web site, the ADL noted that around the time of Madoff’s guilty plea in a $65-million Ponzi scheme, articles on popular mainstream Web sites (including The New York Times, Newsweek and The Washington Post) elicited scores of anti-Semitic comments. Many of the offensive remarks, the ADL said, blamed Madoff’s actions “not on his criminal behavior but on the fact that he is Jewish.”

The Canadian report noted that most of the incidents of anti-Semitism last year took the form of harassment — 70.7 percent, or 803 incidents. They included a government worker in Toronto who was called “Christ Killer” by her boss and a taxpayer who was told by a Revenue Canada employee not to worry, the agency was “not Jewing” him.

Vandalism accounted for 28 percent (313 cases) of the reported incidents and 1.2 percent (14 cases) involved violence.

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On DVD: “Kosher Not Kosher” ($19.98).

Comedian Robert Cait offers a two-performance DVD designed to make people laugh whether they are Jewish or not.

The “Kosher” side offers a stand-up set featuring lots of Jewish humor that was shot live at a Chabad center in Los Angeles. The “Not  Kosher” side is a secular and uproarious show from the world famous Laugh Factory in Hollywood. At the Chabad, Cait faces his struggle with Judaism. At the Laugh Factory, he struggles with his marriage and life with three kids.

There are Hebrew and Yiddish translations on the “Kosher” side. A father of three, Cait’s comedy offers jokes that can be safely enjoyed and repeated at any barbeque or bar mitzvah.

The DVD is available at retail outlets nationwide and on Amazon.com.

Check Cait out on YouTube:  Robert Cait 

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Compiled by Carla Hinton

Religion Editor

An Army chaplain is being criticized for calling a day of prayer and fasting today, the first day of Passover.

The Religion News Service reports that Maj. Gen. Douglas Carver, a Southern Baptist and Army Chief of Chaplains, issued his call for prayer and fasting in response to the rising suicide rates among soldiers.

Last year, the RNS reported, the Army reported the highest suicide rate since record-keeping began in 1980.

“I therefore call the Chaplaincy to a Day of Prayer and Fasting, in keeping with your religious traditions, to be observed on 8 April 2009 that the united cry of our Corps will be heard and answered regarding the protection, preservation, and peace for our Soldiers and Families,” Carver said in his proclamation, which was issued March 2.

The RNS reported that Carver told Baptist Press, the Southern Baptist Convention’s official news agency, that “April 8 is a Wednesday and prayer meeting night for Southern Baptists, so we really encourage not only Baptists but all local churches to pray for the military.”

The Religion News Service pointed out that Carver, as chief of chaplains, has oversight of Army chaplains of all faiths, including Jewish rabbis.

The news service said dozens of Jewish soldiers and chaplains have filed complaints with the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, a watchdog group that advocates religious neutrality in the military. Mikey Weinstein, president of the group, told the RNS that there has been a “tsunami” of complaints against the Day of Prayer, and believes the conflict with Passover is inexcusable.

“The fact that this would fall on this same day is not just wrong or bad, but unforgivable, and Carver should be severely disciplined,” Weinstein said.

Weinstein’s group is currently suing the Department of Defense for a “pernicious and pervasive pattern and practice of unconstitutional rape of the precious religious freedoms” of those in the military, and the group believes the Day of Prayer is just the latest example, the RNS reported.

The Jewish holiday of Passover begins at sundown. It commemorates the Israelites exodus from Egypt. A seder, a ceremonial meal traditionally held during Passover, is typically held on the first and second nights of the holiday. 

(PHOTO above taken by Jaconna Aguirre, The Oklahoman)

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor

Noted Holocaust scholar Deborah Lipstadt said she has heard that some people think Holocaust denial —denying the Holocaust ever happened — should be against the law, like child pornography or hate crimes.

At Sunday’s Yom HaShoah Holocaust Commemoration, Lipstadt said she is against such a measure.

She said making Holocaust denial illegal would be turning the deniers into martyrs.

She also said it would suggest that “we don’t have the evidence (that the Holocaust happened), which we do.”

Lipstadt was a powerful speaker. You could tell that she had connected with the audience because thee was complete silence. I took my 15-year-old son with me to hear her speak and he was just as enthralled by what she had to say as others in the audience.

Evangelist Billy Graham comes to mind as I write this posting.

I did not personally meet Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel when he spoke at Oklahoma City University several years ago during activities related to the 10th anniversary of the Oklahoma City  bombing. However, as part of my job, I attended Wiesel’s presentation and was moved by his speech.

Wiesel, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and the author of the acclaimed book “Night,”  is in the news this week because he and his wife were apparently victims of Bernie Madoff’s alleged fraudulent investment scheme that has made headlines in recent months.

CNN recently reported that Wiesel said he invested $15.2 million from his charitable foundation with Madoff.  For people interested in learning what Wiesel had to say about Madoff’s alleged scheme and its impact on Wiesel’s charitable endeavors, see CNN’s report on the issue: Elie Wiesel speaks out about Madoff.

(PHOTO AT RIGHT: Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner.)

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor 

InterfaithFamily.com wants to know what interfaith families are doing for Passover and Easter.

The winner of the drawing will be announced March 17. InterfaithFamily.com will announce the results of the survey in late March. For more Passover and Easter resources, check out othe Web site’s Passover and Easter Resource Page.

Rabbi Haskel Lookstein participated in the National Prayer Service, an interfaith prayer service held Jan. 21 at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.

Now a rabbinical council says he broke Jewish law by being a part of the service, which is was a traditional service held after the presidential inauguration.

The Religion News Service reports that the Rabbinical Council of America is saying that Lookstein, an Orthodox rabbi based in New York, broke Jewish law by participating in a prayer service held in the sanctuary of a church.

The RNS reports that Rabbi Basil Herring, the council’s executive vice president, said he does not expect Lookstein to be punished for his role in the service.

“We simply wanted to make the point that he was not going there on behalf of the rabbinical council, and that whatever he did, he did in his own capacity,” Herring told the RNS.

Lookstein was one of three rabbis who participated in the service, which helped conclude the presidential inauguration activities for Barack Obama.

Meanwhile, a RNS story reported that Lookstein told the Jewish news service JTA that “after consultation with people who are absolutely committed to halacha (Jewish law), I … decided to do it because I felt it was a civic duty to honor the new president of the United States.”

“Had I pulled out, it would have been something of an insult from the Orthodox community,” Lookstein said.

Herring told the RNS that the criticism of Lookstein was not politically motivated, and noted that the RCA praised Obama’s “qualities of mind and leadership” and called his election a “cause for joy.”

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor

The idea for the column came to me after reading an article on the subject in the Dec. 8 issue of Newsweek.

I thought readers might like to read that article by Annette Insdorf.   

If you are interested inInsdorf’s Newsweek article, following this link: “Nazis and the Movies” 

(AP PHOTO: Actors Jason Isaacs and Viggo Mortensen arrive for the premiere of “Good” at the Museum of Jewish Heritage Dec. 11 in New York.)  

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor

The  seven-day festival gets its name from the huts or “sukkahs” that Moses and the Israelites lived in as they wandered the desert for 40 years before they reached the Promised Land.

Jewish congregations in Oklahoma celebrate along with Jews across the world, God’s faithfulness to the Israelites. As they build sukkahs at their synagogues and temples, the structures serve as reminders that the Lord is still faithful today. In the 2005 photograph pictured at left are members of Temple B’nai Israel in Oklahoma City enjoying the sukkah built on temple grounds. 

Many Jewish people also build sukkahs at their homes and eat and sleep in them over the course of the festival.

Meanwhile, Sukkot serves as a reminder to congregations of their agricultural roots and the harvest.  People often hang papier-mache vegetables from the sukkah’s ceiling to signify that God blessed the Israelites with a harvest of food they needed to survive.

The sukkahs made by the Israelites were made of branches and were easy to assemble, take apart and carry. Jewish leaders said the sukkah’s shelter is always temporary — symbolizing that God provides His people with all they need as they seek His more permanent blessings of the Promised Land.

Each sukkah will include important symbols – branches of palm, willow and myrtle and the citron fruit, also called etrog. 

A branch of a palm woven together represents the desert or southern part of Israel. A branch with leaves of the myrtle tree represents the northern part of Israel and the , branches of the willow tree represent the eastern part of Israel. The fourth symbol is the citron fruit, or etrog (pictured at right in a recent AP photograph taken in Jerusalem).

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor

It is the Day of Atonement in the Jewish community, a day of fasting, prayer and repentance. 

In addition to fasting, I learned several years ago that Jewish congregations revisit the book of Jonah on Yom Kippur.

The story of the reluctant prophet Jonah and his unsuccessful attempt to flee from God and God’s assignment is meaningful, bringing up themes of hope, repentence, forgiveness and responsibility.

Yom Kippur is a time to ask God’s foregiveness and to ask the forgiveness of those one has wronged. It is also a time to forgive others.

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor

Sometimes I might share a few lines about recently released books or perhaps offer a short list of those books focusing on a particular theme.

Today’s books center around the theme of Judaism, appropriate since the Jewish faith community is celebrating the High Holy Days:

“Hope, Not Fear: A Path to Jewish Renaissance”by Edgar M. Bronfman and Beth Zasloff (St. Martin’s Press, released Sept. 16, $24.95).

This book is a passionate plea to the Jewish community, urging members to celebrate the joy in their culture and religion. Further, it urges Jews to recognize their responsibility to help heal a broken world.

“Who by Fire,”by Diana Spechler (Harper Perennial, released Sept. 23, $14.95).

“Who by Fire” is an emotional portrayal of a family struggle to find the role of faith in their lives. The product of four years of writing and research, the book perfectly captures the conundrums of religious fundamentalism in modern life and introduces Diana Spechler as an enormously gifted writer.

“Checkpoints” by Marilyn Levy (Jewish Publication Society, released Sept. 12, $14).

This is a young adult novel that brings to life the realities faced by teenagers in the Middle East today, as politics and prejudice threaten to tear lives and relationships apart. The friendship between two girls, one Israeli and one Palestinian, is put to the test when a tragic incident befalls the Israeli girl and her family.

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor