Today the 22nd of Shevat , Jan.29 in Jewish History

Today the 22nd of Shevat marks the Yahrtzeit of Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk 1787-1859, the great Chassidic Polish leader known as the Kotzker Rebbe.

He was completely uncompromising in the quest for faith, honesty and truth. He taught his followers that they must renew their quest for self-knowledge and truth on a daily basis. He is known for his sharp wit and catchy phrases, for example: "Where is God? G-D is where you let Him in."

"All that is thought should not be said, all that is said should not be written, all that is written should not be published, all that is published should not be read."

"If I am I and you are you, then I am I and you are you;

but if I am you and you are I, then I am not I and you are not you. "

The Kotzker Rebbe is considered to be the spiritual founder upon which the Ger Dynasty is based.

Kosher Corner

Many people are aware of the problem in consuming non-kosher vitamins. The first and foremost problem is the gelatin capsules. Although some leading Halachic Rabbis do permit it's consumption, the majority of Halachic leaders have accepted that one should rather not consume the Gelatin capsules. The reason for some to say that it's permissible, is do to the fact that it was changed during it's process into a powder form, thus canceling the prohibition. Many kosher vitamins are available today and there is no need to consume the gelatin capsules. Kosher Maxi Health Vitamins has manufactured special capsules in which there is no question in regarding it's consumption. It is produced with kosher enzymes.

Today the 21st of Shevat , Jan. 28 in Jewish History

On this day, the 21st of Shevat, in 1775, Jewish homes that were located on the outskirts of Warsaw, in a settlement called "New Jerusalem", were demolished and the Jews of Warsaw were expelled.

This is what one traveling historian recalls about the New Jerusalem town in Poland:

"If you make a trip to Czersk, it’s worth stopping en route in Góra Kalwaria (Mount Calvary), located a little closer to Warsaw. Formerly this town was called Nowa Jerozolima (New Jerusalem). Its history is closely connected to the history of the Jews in Poland. New Jerusalem was built in the first half of the 17th c. as a little town where numerous monks lived. There were Bernardines, Dominicans, Piarists, Philipines and Marists.

Little by little more and more Jews settled in New Jerusalem, encouraged by its closeness to Warsaw. After the Napoleonic war, at the beginning of the 19th c., the little town began to fall into decay because the victorious Russians liquidated the majority of the monasteries. They also changed the name to Góra Kalwaria. The Jewish population called this town Ger.

At that time the Jewish mystical religious movement Hasidism was developing. The leaders of this movement were tzaddiks, who gathered around them thousands of disciples, creating an entire dynastic family. The first tzaddik in Góra Kalwaria was Izak Meir Alter, founder of the famous dynasty of tzaddiks from Ger.

Not only at Yom Kipper, but also on every Jewish Sabbath, crowds of Orthodox Jews in fox fur hats and ceremonial garberdines, surrounded the house of the tzaddik Alter, who was famous all over Poland. They came here in order to be near the „holy man”. Thanks to the Jewish pilgrimages, Góra Kalwaria developed and flourished up to the time when the war started. The Germans gathered all the Jews in a ghetto, which was liquidated in 1941 and its inhabitants were deported to the death camp in Sobibór. They also destroyed their cemetery, blew up the tomb of the Alter family and with the gravestones, they built roads.

Today there are no longer Jews in Góra Kalwaria. A specially established foundation has rebuilt the cemetery and the tombs of the Alters, thanks to which numerous excursions and pilgrimages of Jews from all over the world come to this town."

Judaica Passover Corner

With Passover fast approaching it should be noted that Passover Seder Plates are fast moving out of the store shelves. Since every Jew is in need for a Passover Seder Plate. Seder Plates serves as a good Passover Gift. One should note that there are many different styles of Seder Plates, some contain sections for the Matzohs and others not. The fact that it contains also a section for the Matzos is not something that has to be that way, in fact many Seder Plates do not contain any section for the Matzos, and the Matzos are kept in a separate Matzah Cover. Matzah Covers Typically come in square and round shapes depending if it's made for Hand Matzos or Machine Matzos

Today the 20th of Shevat , Jan. 27 in Jewish History

Today the 20th of Shevat in 1523, the first printed edition of Tzror HaMor. The Tzror Hamor is a commentary on the Torah (Bible) by Rabbi Avraham Sebag, containing ordinary thoughts and mystical Torah thoughts. It was published in Venice, in the aftermath of the Spanish expulsion when Jews were forcibly converted to Christianity.

Rabbi Avraham Sebag had been expelled from Spain in 1492, and made the unfortunate choice of fleeing to Portugal, where he was persecuted and saw his two sons forcibly baptized and taken from him. In order to save his manuscripts from confiscation and destruction he buried them somewhere, and he never saw them again. Rabbi Sebag eventually made his way to Africa where he managed to rewrite some of his works. It was this edition of Tzror HaMor that was published in 1523. until today, this work is being studied by all well noted Jewish scholars.

Kosher Corner

New studies have been recently conducted that women who consume a vitamin B Complex supplement lead more constructive and happy lives. The Kosher vitamin consumer must not feel at lost searching for a kosher vitamin B Complex. There are two well known Kosher Vitamin B Complex tablets available on the Kosher market. One is the Solgar B Complex Vitamin, and the other one is the Maxi Health B Complex Vitamin. To see more on the B Complex benefits see this B Complex Vitamin Information

The 15th of Shevat , Known as Tu B'Shevat

The 15th day of the month of Shevat marks the beginning of the "new year" for trees.

The name Tu B'shevat stems from the Hebrew date of the holiday, which is on the 15th day of Shvat (שבט). "Tu" stands for the Hebrew numerals "tet vav" which is 15. In some rabbinic sources it is called Chamisha Asar BeShvat (חמשה-עשר בשבט), the "fifteenth of Shvat".

On this day it is the custom to eat fresh fruits or dried fruits, since it is the New year for the trees. Many people also have the custom to pray for a nice Sukkot Etrog on this day of Tu B'shevat.

The 14th of Shevat , Jan. 21 in Jewish History

The 14th of Shevat is the Yahrtzeit of Rabbi Yaakov Yehoshua Falk Katz (1680-1755). He is known rather by his famous Talmudic work P'nei Yehoshua.

The P'nei Yehoshua first served as rabbi of Lemberg (Lvov) in 1718. In 1730 the P'nei Yehoshua accepted the Rabbinical position in the City of Berlin. In the y 1734 he moved on to become Rabbi in Metz, and in 1740 he accepted his final Rabbinical position in Frankfurt where he remained until his passing in 1755.

Among his talmidim was Reb Dov Ber of Lokatch, later to be the Magid of Mezritch.

Kosher Health Corner

Lately Solgar Vitamins has become very picked up among Kosher Health Food Consumers. Solgar is a brand name vitamin and has been around since 1947. One of their very famous herbs is the Solgar Ashwagandha Root Extract. Solgar Ashwagandha contains flavonoids and many active ingredients of the withanolide class. Several studies over the past few years have indicated that Ashwagandha has anti inflammatory, anti tumor, anti stress, antioxidant, mind boosting and rejuvenating properties. Ashwagandha is commonly found in ayurvedic herbal formulas. Solgar Vitamins is currently the only Kosher Vitamins producer to provide this great nutritional product.

The 13th of Shevat , Jan 20 in Jewish History

On this day, the 13th of Shevat, in 1790, the France Government granted full and equal citizenship to the Sephardic Jews. This was enabled due to the French Revolution, which was the cause to new ideals of Enlightenment to be adopted, and thus permitting the Sephardic Jews to enter the highest levels of government and finance.

Sometime in the year1807, Napoleon created the French Sanhedrin, a Jewish communal structure sanctioned by the state. (The French Sanhedrin sat in a semicircle, following the custom of the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem that served as the Jewish supreme court during the times of the Holy Temple.)(See photo above of French Coin issued in honor of the Sanhedrin). Despite all these Jewish liberties, anti-Jewish measures were still passed in 1808. Napoleon declared all debts owed to Jews annulled, which caused the near ruin of the Jewish community. Restrictions were also placed bu the French as to where Jews could live. This was done in an effort to assimilate the French Jewish Community into the French society. The anti-Jewish nature by the French Government was clearly seen in the 1940s, when the French regime rounded up over 61,000 Jews and handed the over to the Nazis, for a purpose well known to all.

The 12th of Shevat , Jan. 19 in Jewish History

On this day the 12th of Shevat, In 1945, the Russian army liberated Auschwitz, the most deadly concentration camp operated by the Nazis.

In November of 1944, the German troops blew up the gas chambers of Auschwitz II (Birkenau) in an attempt to hide their crimes. In January of 1945 the Nazis began to evacuate the facility; most of the prisoners were ordered on a death march, which lasted for weeks in the cold and snow. Over one million people perished in Auschwitz during the war. Only a total of 7,000 people survived Auschwitz.

Kosher Corner

With the upcoming Jewish holiday of Tu B'Shevat, many people are purchasing dried fruits for their Tu B'shevat party. One must be very careful to examine the fruits to see if they contain worms or other small creatures. The Kosher supervision on the packaging does not certify that the fruits are bug free. On one of the packaging of dried fruits that I examined today on my grocers shelf, I noticed a label affixed to the packaging, the label was affixed by the Kashruth agency that supervises the production of that particular dried fruit. The label clearly stated that the supervision is only on the production and not on the dried fruits being bug free. The label went on to explain that it's the consumers obligation to inspect the fruits and verify that they do not contain any bugs.

Upon discussing this label with my local Rabbi, he explained that this is the fact with all foods and dried fruits in particular. So Kosher consumers, be sure to inspect your fruits and don't rely that the Kashruth Agency has verified it to be Bug-Free.