Michal's Tefillin

What does Israel mean to you?  Kabbalists refer to Israel, and Jerusalem in particular as the centre, not just of the world, but of the universe. In spiritual terms.

Jerusalem has been at the centre of our civilisation for millennia. David’s City. Yerushalayim. Zion. Urušalaym. Jerusalén. It has been home to Jews, Muslims and Christians for over 2,000 years and it still is. Kingdoms rise and kingdoms fall, yet Jerusalem remains. Its golden light never fades.

Since the last issue of Michal’s Tefillin, the world seems to have taken leave of its senses over Israel. I am not going to add my ten cents worth to the already over-stuffed, over-inflated column inches on this subject, but what I will say is this:  as it goes with Israel, so it goes with the rest of the world. This is not a new quote, I truly cannot remember who first said it, but it was recently revived by former Spanish prime minister Jose Maria Aznar.

Jerusalem is the light of the world for everyone. Kabbalist Rav Laitman says: “What is this force that a man suddenly feels within him, operating on him, drawing him towards Jerusalem? A person starts feeling the spiritual root that exists in this city. This exists within us, close to us. It has spiritual eternal life. It’s the force of love. There are stones, there are streets, but we don’t feel the city itself.

“The real Jerusalem can only be felt within a corrected heart. Today, there is a ruin in our heart. Take a look at this world. It’s broken to pieces and it’s rocked by wars and suffering. Every individual in this world is like a cancerous cell living only for itself, consuming others. It’s the same with Jerusalem. We are tearing it to pieces.  Let’s start from the heart, ask for corrections (for our ego). Asking for corrections is called ‘prayer.’ It isn’t what is written in a prayer book, it’s what is written in a person’s heart.”

We all share the hope of what this ancient city stands for – we all come from the same source, we are all the circle of life.

We are all Jerusalem.

Photo by Brandeis.edu

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April is a month of highs and lows in the Jewish calendar. The rich traditions of Pesach are followed quickly by days of mourning – Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Memorial Day) and Yom HaZikaron, or the day when we remember those in Tsahal who died for Israel – and those innocents who died at the hands of terrorism. Unfortunately, almost every Jew around the world knows of someone, or of a relative, whose lives were sacrificed.

The first time I visited Israel, it was a very bittersweet experience. First of all, it was mind-blowingly amazing that everyone was Jewish, that I was no longer part of some obscure minority, that this vibrant, beautiful country was full of my vibrant, beautiful people, millions and millions and millions of them.

Then you find out about the pain. The people with numbers tattooed on their forearms; the Children’s Memorial at Yad Vashem, where memorial candles in the dark reflected against mirrors create the impression of 1.5 million stars, for each lost child, shining in the firmament. And finally finding out that a lot of the names of the streets in Tel Aviv were named for those who fought with their lives so that I could walk down them in safety.

The memories I treasure of Israel is that undiluted passion for life of its citizens. I’ve never really experienced that anywhere else in the globe. No matter that they’re still trying to blow us to kingdom come, life is too precious to waste one drop. Life is fleeting and fragile and all we have to keep us going is love.

Right after these two intense days of mourning comes Independence Day – its scheduling to remind people that there is a high price to pay for freedom. During the War of Independence, Natan Alterman, a Polish immigrant, wrote a poem called The Silver Platter (below) which has since taken on Gettysburg Address-like status in Israel. Peace and freedom is the birthright of every person on the planet, but it doesn’t come served on a silver platter.

This year, we ask only that you make your love stronger than anyone’s hate.

photo from JDate

The Silver Platter by Nathan Alterman

The earth grows still. The lurid sky slowly pales over smoking borders.
Heartsick but still living, a people stand by
To greet the uniqueness
Of the miracle. Readied, they wait beneath the moon,
Wrapped in awesome joy before the light. – - Then soon,
A girl and boy step forward,
And slowly walk before the waiting nation;
In work clothes and heavy-shod
They climb
In stillness.
Wearing still the dress of battle, the grime
Of aching day and fired night
Unwashed, weary until death, not knowing rest,
But wearing youth like dewdrops in their hair.
- – Silently the two approach
And stand.
Are they of the quick or of the dead?
Through wondering tears, the people stare.
“Who are you, the silent two?”
And they reply: “We are the silver platter
Upon which the Jewish State was served to you.”
And speaking, fall in shadow at the nation’s feet.
Let the rest in Israel’s chronicles be told.

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It was always the goal of Michal’s Tefillin to seek out and promote vibrant, creative talent amongst Jewish women. When our first issue was launched last year, we had no idea just how deep that well spring of immeasurable talent was. Every issue brings forward yet more dazzling talent, bright hopes and beautiful souls. So, we decided to choose our Women of the Year, women who have stunned us with their generosity of spirit, their enthusiasm, their creativity and their unbridled chutzpah. I thank all the people who have so far joined Michal’s Tefillin on its journey and I hope that this is just the beginning of an incredible ride! So, without further ado, here are our glorious, beautiful, amazing Women of the Year:

Sharon Novikov, you may remember, is the icon of Michal’s Tefillin. Her lust for life is enviable and inexhaustible and the word chutzpah was surely coined just for her.

A beauty with brains (she is a science undergraduate at Haifa University), Sharon is beginning to cement her presence in Israeli film, after starring in the indie hit Kalispera, she also has a part in Avi Nesher’s Love Lessons. Sharon has also dipped her toe into the worlds of photography, modelling and recently wrote her first article for Michal’s Tefillin. We can only say thank you Sharon, because without you, Michal’s Tefillin wouldn’t have its amazing icon.

Jennie Rivlin Roberts is the dynamic founder of ModernTribe, the coolest online Judaica store on the planet, which was featured in our Hanukkah issue. Jennie’s amazing sense of humor and her will to succeed make her a natural born winner and ModernTribe has become the byword in everything that is fresh, classy and sharp about modern Judaica. Jennie is also on the editorial committee of the new US magazine Jewish Woman and she has also launched a new website, a sort of ModernTribe’s cheeky kid sister, Popjudaica.

Vanessa Hidary, aka The Hebrew Mamita, half Syrian, half Ashkenazi equals 100% ass kicking hot. This native New Yorker has been making us laugh, cry and be introspective with her chutzpah driven stand up def jam poetry for several years now and she goes from strength to strength. Spared the flat-ass syndrome (the benefit of the Sefardi gene), Vanessa is busy touring, writing a book and generally being a cool Jew. Make 2010 the year you see Vanessa doing her thing, live.

Ooty Reut Raz Yaacobi ahhh Ooty! When we said women who have stunned us with their generosity, we meant Ooty Reut Raz Yaacobi. Not only is Ooty an incredible artist and designer, whose work we have featured in both previous issues and plan to do so again in the future (we’re in love with her sushi plates almost as much as we’re in love with Ooty), but she consistently goes out of her way to make people happy. Ooty, we love you!

Maytal Sheinbaum is an Israeli graphic designer. Based in Kfar Saba, Maytal is involved in web design and wedding photography – she helps brides obtain the most stunning results for their wedding photo albums. One of the world’s rarest beauties, that is to say, beautiful inside and out, Maytal’s gentle soul, her unfailing generosity and spirit makes her a natural for our women of the year awards. If we had to rename her, we’d call her Love.

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There was a lot of talk in the Michal’s Tefillin offices about the Hanukkah editorial. Mostly about Judith and Holofernes and Judith’s act of derring do, feeding the evil Holofernes a lot of salty cheese so that he passed out from drinking wine to assuage his thirst, thus enabling our Buffy prototype heroine to unsheath her sword and decapitate the comatose villain.

The story of Judith was once a part of the traditional Hanukkah stories, even though she is just the figment of someone’s imagination. It seems that even our ancestors thought it cool that a Jewish chick could kick villain ass and save the day – again.

We have real Jewish heroines to celebrate, in fact two of them feature in this Hanukkah issue, women who have come through trial and tribulation, and who make me feel blessed and honored that I know them.

I am talking about my dear friend Ellen Stein, whose book And Then There Were Four features in our review section (we will have an interview with Ellen in our next issue); and the talented Sara Fryd, whose family overcame, like the Steins, horrors that we cannot truly comprehend (read Sara’s article Benny and her poem Mother’s Guilt in this issue). These women are true women of valor, women worth more than rubies, worthy of everlasting memory. Look to your own families, your grandparents or great-grandparents because they are the miracle survivors; the everyday Jewish women you see in everyday life, the doctors, the lawyers, the writers, the mothers, the artists, those who fight for human rights – because they are your heroines.

Kabbalah teaches that women are the soul of the universe.  We are here to balance harmony between man and the universe, because without female harmony and spirit, there would be nothing. It is women who are the light of Judaism, it is we who keep the flames alive, it is we who are the real spirit of Hanukkah.

Hanukkah means dedication and I would like to dedicate this issue to Ellen Stein and Sara Fryd.

Wishing you all a happy Hanukkah

Basia Ellen

Editor-in-chief

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Shalom and welcome to the first issue of Michal’s Tefillin, an online magazine for Jewish women. Our philosophy is a simple one – to promote and nurture an environment of superlative creative talent and to encourage the diversity, the strength and the chutzpah of Jewish women from all walks of life.

Michal, the daughter of King Saul, wife of King David, had chutzpah. She wore tefillin while she prayed, such was her aura and strength that not even the sages, not usually open to women taking the reins, could complain about her. While Michal’s role in the Torah was limited to being a wife and a daughter, reading between the lines, we see a woman of wit and wile, a woman who carried out the strength of her convictions, despite the consequences.

Our modern day Michal, the beautiful Sharon Novikov, a multi-lingual science undergraduate who also happens to be a photographer, model and actress, epitomises the spirit of the modern Jewish woman – talented, intelligent, independent and vibrant. Sharon is one of life’s rare beauties, beautiful inside and out, and it is her strength of spirit and determination, even in difficult times, that single her out as a true daughter of Michal.

Photo: Sharon Novikov

To kick off our inaugural issue, we have an interview with Maggie Anton, author of the bestselling novels Rashi’s Daughters. The third and final book in the trilogy, Rachel, has just been released to rave reviews. Maggie’s three heroines all put on tefillin as they prayed, a subject that she expounds upon in her interview.

We also feature the glittering talents of ceramic artist, Ooty Reut Raz Yaacobi; our pithy columnist and in-house giver of acid advice that you need to hear, Alexandra, is here to dispense her wisdom; Shiri Cohen comments on the Joshua Project and how it seeks to eradicate Judaism through Christian conversion and we take a look it into the witty world of Noa Ben Dov Bibi’s sock dolls.

We chose Rosh HaShanah to launch Michal’s Tefillin because the new year is a time of contemplation, spiritually and emotionally, when we plant the seeds of positive action to ensure a good year for us and everyone who comes into contact with us. We are all part of the first, original soul, we are all linked together inextricably. Instead of seeking to break bonds, we should be trying to heal them.

Shana Tova!

Basia Ellen

Editor-in-Chief

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