Get More Out of... Produced by Being Jewish PASSOVER 2009 Relevant Judaism for Modern Life in this issue: A Long Trip Through the Desert A Sea of Red Editor’s Passover Message . 2 The Rebellious Child: How Far to Push? . 4 Peysakh . 6 Doing My Own Seder . 8 The Will to Live . 10 My experiences with Asperger Syndrome in the Jewish Community . 11 HAPPY PASSOVER 5769 My Son Comes Home . 12 From your friends at Alteh Geferlekh Jokes, www.gantsehmegillah.com and This & That . 13 Jewish ideas, resources, and Passover Delights . 14 online content since 1997. S Living a more ETHICAL life. E P A Sea oBy MifchaelRHannae-Feind Editor Being he Passover miracle of parting the Red Sea hTelped the Jews escape Jewish slavery in Egypt. Once they were safely on the other 1-1451 Rue Dorion side, the sea folded in on Montreal, QC H2K 4A4 itself, and swallowed beingjewishmagazine@ Pharaoh’s pursuing army. A gmail.com huddled mass saved by a tectonic phenomenon from a Michael Hanna-Fein snarling hoard; this was truly Editor and Publisher a great miracle. Arnold Hanna-Fein We now face a new turbu - Assistant Editor lent Red Sea; a sea of red Graphics and Layout ink. The world is engulfed in an economic crisis, and it is Gil Mann affecting the foundation of Past Publisher our lives. We are wondering how we, who work hard for bidder. In the hunt for fresh David Epstein our money, and provide for “product” people were permit - Founding Publisher our families, are now ted, and often lured, into tak - ensnared in a situation that is Produced by ing on more debt than they HannaVisioN out of our control. Once could afford. The inevitable HannaVisioN.com again, we have become collapse came when the enslaved to riches that are in housing bubble burst, and Template designed by: the hands of others. homeowners began to default JFLMedia! on their financial obligations. We are slaves to the gods of Being Jewish magazine is greed. Our banking, and How will we ever manage to a cooperative effort of financial institutions, became get to the other side of this participating federations, addicted to inflated growth. new "Red Sea?" There is no synagogues, schools, JCCs, No longer satisfied with the Pharaoh chasing us, and we and other Jewish organiza - accumulated wealth, they have all been reduced, to one tions. concocted bigger investment degree or another, to the level Being Jewish is published in schemes with far greater of slave. One great mass of the spring, fall, and winter. risks. New ways were devised humanity searching for a to milk more money from the pathway to the security we For ordering information, "Golden Calf," and they suc - once new, and even took for contact ceeded…for a time. granted. beingjewishmagazine@ gmail.com. These magnificent gains were Passover is a crossroad in a or call (514) 948-1844 built on a sea of red. Our dilemma. When faced with entire economy gambled on Copyright ©2009. All rights re - death, or action, the Jewish served. Material may not be used the accumulated debt of people risked everything, and without permission from the homeowners, investors, and pulled together. They were authors and/or publisher. consumers, which were bun - willing to work together, make dled, and sold, to the highest major sacrifices, and adjust - 2 Perception and Being- Jewish ments, to their lives. Under Moses’ guidance, they marched toward the sea, not knowing where their journey would take them. note to our readers We want you to love Being Jewish! We hope Panic makes us want to grab what we can, and you will look forward to each issue, no matter run, but Exodus was about saving an entire peo - your age, from teen to senior, because you ple. Only by saving each other can we truly save find it relevant, user-friendly, enjoyable, and ourselves. As we look for an opening in the sea of filled with valuable information, and inspiration our financial crisis, it’s important to look back, and about the Jewish way of life. make sure we are not leaving the weak, the poor, the aged, and the infirm behind. We all deserve a Each article is carefully selected, and edited piece of the American dream, that is so admired, so that every concept is easily understood, even by those of us who left the synagogue and emulated the world over. as teenagers, and did not return for 20 years Unlike the Jews of ancient Egypt, we do not want or more. to find ourselves floundering in the desert for forty Our goal for Being Jewish is to help you find years. This disaster is an opportunity to refocus, meaning, and relevance in the Jewish way of and redefine, who we are as a people. Our recov - life. In every issue we will try to show you ery will take time, and those years can be put to ways to access the three components of Ju - use for building a better world, and for creating a daism: Ethics, Spirituality, and Peoplehood closer knit, and more empathetic society. (ESP). During the flight from Egypt, and while the Jews The articles we publish are de - S wandered the desert, there were many occasions signed to help you look at your E modern life, and our ancient tradi - P when Moses’ followers became disenchanted, and tions, and answer one, or all three, of questioned whether this entire exodus was such a these questions: wise course. Rough patches occurred on their way to the Promised Land, and yet, with each set-back, E How can I be a more Ethical person? a new miracle, or remedy, was discovered. Our ancestor’s problems were not solved overnight, so S How can I have a richer Jewish Spiritual we must be prepared for some set-backs in our life? recovery. P How can I enhance my sense of belonging to the Jewish People? It is my sincere hope that when we meet these dis - Being Jewish (the magazine, and the Jewish appointments, instead of crying, and complaining, way of life) is organized by the ESP circles, as occurred in the ancient desert, we do as Moses though as you can see by the diagram, and did, and find the water hidden in the rock, and the also by reading the articles, there is much po - manna that is around us in the world. We must tential for overlap. never lose faith that by sticking together, and trust - ing, and caring, for each other, we will make it to For example, under Ethics, you will find sec - the Promised Land. After having endured the mat - tions like Working, and Being Jewish, Learn - zoh-like flatness of our economy, we will see the ing, and Being Jewish, Giving, and Being bread of prosperity rise before our eyes. Jewish, and so on. But at the same time, you could easily find a Spiritual, or Peoplehood, dimension in each of these sections. We can also relate the Ethics, and Peoplehood circles Michael has been publishing the Gantseh Megillah online since 1997. more directly by realizing that Jewish values He is also the author of the Glossary of Yiddish Words and Expressions are the building blocks of Jewish peoplehood. and he publishes Being Jewish magazine. You can visit his Web site at http://www.gantsehmegillah.com, where you will find links to the glos - We hope we can show you ways to access sary, and the weekly newsletter. If you would like to communicate with each of the ESP circles, and where they over - Michael, you may email him at [email protected]. lap, so that in your modern life, you can more fully enjoy the wisdom, and beauty, of Being Jewish! - Gil Mann 3 S Having a richer SPIRITUAL life. E P The Rebellious Child: Hby: Goil wMann Far to Push? Dear Readers: pre-teen, he had a similar attitude, though thank - fully, he was not a saboteur! We responded four During our Passover Seders, we read about the ways. famous four sons: The wise, the rebellious, the simple, and the one who can not yet speak. #1 We genuinely listened to his objections about Below is a letter about a rebellious child. The everything, from frustration with services, to subject: Jewish education. I am sure many par - attending a Jewish day school. Of course, gen - ents…and children will relate. uinely listening to children should be standard operating procedure; no matter what the issue. Dear Gil: But, for some reason, when the subject is reli - We'd like your opinion about how to approach gion, many parents seem to have a different atti - Judaism, and Jewish learning, with our teenage tude…more akin to cramming religion down the son. Recently an opportunity came up for him to kid’s throat. For example, “I had a Bar Mitzvah, attend an excellent Jewish high school in our and you are going to have one too -- whether you town. We were thrilled. He was not. like it, or not.” In fact, he sabotaged the admission process by When Josh was 11, he informed us that he did purposely doing poorly on the placement exams. not want to have a Bar Mitzvah. Though we don’t He basically wants to go where his friends go. think an 11-year-old is in a position to make such Now, we would like him to supplement his educa - a decision, we told him that we would not force tion in some other ways -- going to services, and him.