W W W.T H E B J H . C O M
THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME
JUNE 9, 2022
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The Week In News that the halachic advisers in question are “yoatzot halacha” trained by Nishmat – The Jeanie Schottenstein Center for Advanced Torah Study for Women. “Yoatzot Halachah programs are offered in a number of midrashot and seminaries, most notably at Nishmat – The Jeanie Schottenstein Center for Advanced Torah Study for Women. Their positions will be to give halachic advice to women in fields where they have received training, such as taharat hamishpacha, within the communities in which they have been appointed to serve. Much like communal rabbis in Israel, they will go through testing to assess their knowledge and expertise,” the spokesman said. He further clarified, “Yoatzot function within communities around Israel, specifically around issues of family purity. As of today, Deputy Minister Kahana is recognizing this reality, subsidizing their activity, and encouraging other communities to join.”
Rabbi Uri Zohar Passes Away Rabbi Uri Zohar, at one point one of Israel’s most famous performers and one of the world’s most prominent figures to become religious, passed away at the age of 86 last week. Rabbi Zohar was born in 1935 in Tel Aviv to immigrants from Poland. After studying philosophy in Hebrew University, Rabbi Zohar began a wildly successful career in the performing arts, becoming famous as an actor, comedian, screenwriter and film director. He was known for his big personality and starred in many slapstick roles that poked fun at the Israeli culture and in Israel’s treatment of new immigrants. Rabbi Zohar became religious in the late 1970s and later joined the charedi community, in a process which the Israeli public watched with a mix of shock, admiration, and sometimes horror as well. He later wrote
a book chronicling this period of his life. Rabbi Zohar became active in the baal teshuva movement, as those who were not yet religious were able to relate to him and he was able to understand the struggles and challenges they were going through. Around a year prior to becoming religious, Zohar won the Israel Prize but refused to accept it. In 2021, Rabbi Zohar dedicated a Torah scroll – financed by real estate developer Alon Amram – to a synagogue in Zichron Yaakov, in memory of fellow artist Arik Einstein. On Thursday morning last week, Rabbi Zohar suffered a heart attack and passed away. Zohar’s son Ephraim eulogized his father at the levaya and described the “loving” relationship he had with G-d. “Last night, you went to prepare for the prayer as you’ve done for the past 45 years. You were going to talk to G-d, and He gave you a great hug, a hug of two lovers… You didn’t shy away because you’re honest and loyal, as you’ve always
been. From the moment you met your love, He was the only thing you cared about. “What do we have to cry about? You have finally found peace,” Ephraim said.
Underwater
Pete Dixon’s many boats are putting him underwater.
