This coming Tuesday, we have the privilege of hearing from Helga Schmitz Luden, who will speak about her memories of Kristallnacht. A special hakarat hatov to AJ Magid for making this event happen, and to our partners at Congregation Or Torah in Skokie, Illinois, led by my friend Rabbi Zvi Engel and whose education committee is led by Dr. Phil Greenland. Please join us! In addition to this event, we will be commemorating Kristallnacht by leaving the lights on in shul at night, as part of an initiative under the auspices of March Of The Living. We will be among the over 700 institutions and houses of worship that will be doing this in solidarity with one another, and as a way of showing that we will not bow to resurging antisemitism.
Rabbi’s Recommendations
If you were to conduct a survey of American Jews and ask which nation is the worst enemy and biggest threat to Israel, doubtless the vast majority would answer Iran. A country run by fundamentalist Moslems, that sponsors terrorism and dabbles in holocaust denial, must be a devoid of Jews- after all, we know so many Jews of Persian origin whose families escaped in 1979 after the fall of the Shah and the rise of Ayatollah Khomeini. We are likely familiar with Persian communities in Los Angeles, Great Neck and Queens, Atlanta and Baltimore. Believe it or not, there are still anywhere between 8,000 and 15,000 Jews left in Iran; there are five kosher restaurants in Tehran, dozens of active shuls throughout the country, a strong network of Jewish schools and Kollelim and a centralized communal infrastructure that allegedly has good relations with the government.
At the helm is Iran’s Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Yehuda Gerami, a native born Iranian who was ordained at the Ner Israel Rabbinical College (as were many young Persian Jews), who has helped Jewish life there remain vibrant. For the past few weeks, Rabbi Gerami has been on a tour of America, speaking in Persian communities and participating in Chabad’s annual Kinus Hashluchim. Additionally, he met with a number of prominent Rabbinic leaders . Rabbi Gerami’s visit has occasioned a good deal of controversy in some quarters. He has spoken publicly against Zionism and the State of Israel (a place he is barred by Iran from ever visiting), and paid a condolence call to the family of Qassem Soleimani after his assassination. Soleimani was an arch-terrorist who continues to be revered in Iran as a national hero. Some prominent American Persian Jews have claimed that Rabbi Gerami’s visit is unseemly at best, accusing him of being a shill for propaganda and possibly even a spy. Is he, in fact, a spy? Is his anti Zionism genuine, or is it what he has to say to protect the interest and will being of his community? Read this interview with him- it is quite interesting.
Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Ariel Rackovsky
Congregation Shaare Tefilla 6131 Churchill Way Dallas, TX 75230
