I have just read a book of interviews between the French rabbi and radio host Victor Malka and the Jewish philosopher Stéphane Moses (1931-2007).

Stéphane Moses was born in Berlin. His family fled Nazi-Germany in 1936 to settle in Morocco and then France where he studied German and philosophy. He became a university professor and taught at the Sorbonne and Paris X Nanterre before moving to Israel with his wife in 1968. There he taught German literature at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

His family was not completely assimilated but Moses really discovered and understood Judaism as a student when, encouraged by some friends, he started to attend conferences by Léon Askenazi.
His philosophical work focuses on Franz Rosenzweig, Walter Benjamin, Gershom Sholem, Emmanuel Levinas, the Maharal of Prague and Chaim Volozhin. Because of its format the book was a rather easy read which encouraged me to read more Jewish philosophy.

I have now started Rachel Sarai’s Vineyard by Deborah Rey and will probably blog about it soon.

Wat about you? What are you reading?

On My Blog

Memes:
- Spots of Red for Ruby Tuesday
- Mantuan Windows for Window Views
- Attempts at Being Greener for Think(ing) Green

Quiz

Righteous Among the Nations, an answer to the quiz

Weekly Recipe: Hokkaido Pumpkin Soup

Parshah post: Vayera

Elsewhere in the JBlogosphere

Rachel shares some news, bad and good

Leora encourages us to Learn History of Zionism

A Mother in Israel gives Advice for Beginning Bloggers

When Times are Tough, a post by Eliyahu Fink

I have just discovered this new meme and thought I would give it a go. I am certainmy not a very “green” person but I am trying to change a few habits. One of my top concerns being what we eat and the repercussions on our health.

I happened to go shopping yesterday, like most Wednesdays or Thursdays. For once I had made a rather exhaustive list of what I needed, which included fruit and vegetables. As I had little time I had planned to do all my shopping at the local supermarket rather than go there and to the small greengrocer’s where I often shop.

Once in the green section, I thought I would have a look at the organic products. One of the reasons was that after the summer season it is more difficult to find local products unless you want apples, cabbage or potatoes. Thus a lot of fruit and vegetables are imported from Spain. The problem with Spanish products is that they contain pesticide residues which pose potential health hazards.

Therefore I decided to buy organic potatoes, carrots, zucchini and bananas. Unfortunately since the range is still rather small it was necessary to add some non-organic vegetables, including a Dutch red pepper (most certainly grown in a greenhouse).

What most surprised me was that the total wasn’t too expensive, maybe because of the list which prevented me from buying useless products.

More Think(ing) Green Posts at Ramblingwoodsgreen.

… that he may instruct his children and those after them to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is just and right…

In Judaism it is not enough to believe the right things, what matters is to do the right thing. Faith isn’t as important as deeds.

As Jews we are the people mentioned in this verse, the “those after them” this week’s parshah refers to. If we want to follow in Abraham’s footsteps and be his true heirs, we need to be more than “nice folks”. In his partnership with man, God expects us to make the right ethical choices.

Yet how are we to know what is “just and right”? The answer seems to lie in this very same verse, through instruction. We cannot rely on instinct alone. In the numerous commentaries that have been added to the Torah since it was given to us on Mont Sinai, we have a global navigation system that can help us accomplish this daunting mission.

Last year’s parshah post: Sacrifice Your Son?

Window Views: window, and now doors, from all over the world can be found on Mary’s blog.

I found my Hokkaido pumpkin on Monday morning in the greengrocer’s shop in the photo. When you prepare the pumpkin, cut it in half and scoop out the seeds. It might be a bit hard to peel the skin; don’t worry it cooks well and is quite edible.

Ingredients:
1 or 2 shallots
1 clove garlic
1 Hokkaido pumpkin
fresh or frozen ginger
vegetable broth
ground coriander
olive oil
chopped parsley or cilantro (optional)
fresh cream (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Optional spices:
cumin
cinammon
turmeric
curry powder

Saute the chopped shallots in some olive oil at the bottom of a pot or saucepan. When the shallots turn translucent, add the garlic. After a few minutes, add the ginger and spices.
Add the cubed Hokkaido pumpkin and saute for a couple of minutes. Cover with vegetable broth and cook for about 20 minutes or until the pumpkin is soft.
Puree the soup and stir in the cream. Garnish with the parsley or cilantro.

I am currently reading a book of testimonies about the Jews who were saved by a whole village – Le Chambon-sur-Lignon – during WW2. Theses testimonies were written by some of the Jews who were saved by the villagers; there are also a few portraits of the people who saved them.

A few years ago I attended a lecture by someone who is a volunteer at the French Committee for Yad Vashem. One of their actions is to identify and honor non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. He explained how this is done. He also detailed the reasons why these people acted as they did.

- Some people saved Jews because they believed in the values of the French republic they had chosen to serve or work for, before the start of the war obviously. These people were mayors, State representatives, civil servants or judges. This category also includes trade unionists and political activists. Even though the latter did not work for the state, they were motivated by political ideals.

- Some people saved Jews simply because it seemed the right thing to do at a given moment. Contrary to those mentioned above, they did not act according to theorized ideals and values. They just did what they deemed right.

- The last category is made up of Christians. As concerns France, some Catholics did not follow the hierarchy and protected Jews. For instance some Jewish children were hidden by priests or nuns in Catholic boarding schools under a false identity. Protestant are a small minority in France and most of them did not aprove of the German invasion of France. Not all of them resisted of course but they usually did not support Petain and the Vichy government.

The people in Le Chambon-sur-Lignon belong to the last category. Most of them were Protestants who regularly read the Bible and saw themselves as spiritual descendents of the Jewish people. Therefore protecting Jews by hiding them and providing them with food and lodgings seemed a logical thing to do. In addition to the local hospitality, children’s homes were set up in the village by Jewish and non-Jewish humanitarian organizations to welcome orphaned children and teenagers.

It is estimated that these villagers – most of whom were farmers – saved between 3,000-5,000 Jews from certain death. In 1990, for their humanitarianism and bravery under extreme danger, the entire village was recognized as “Righteous Among the Nations”. Only Niewlande, a Dutch village, has been awarded the same title.

Whatever the setting a spot of red is always a lovely addition.

On Tuesdays, just post any photo you like (it must be one of your own) that contains the color RED and then link to this blog.

What do Niewlande, in the Netherlands, and Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, in France, have in common?

On My Blog

Photo memes:
- Thistle in Italian Mountains for Today’s Flowers
- Sorbus for Ruby Tuesday
- Windows in Southern France for Window Views

My First Hitchhiker

Weekly Parshah Post

Elsewhere in the JBlogosphere

Raizy writes about Learning How To Give A D’var Torah

The latest edition of KCC (the Kosher Cooking Carnival) is up thanks to Mimi of Israeli Kitchen

Tweaking the Jewish Image of Relationships, a post by Hyim Shafner

Leora posts about Famous Journeys

Ban the books?, Hadassah writes about censorship in school libraries – don’t forget to read the comments too

She also hosts a pot by Shorty: My Judaism

Shabbat Shalom!