from right to left: Prime Minister Ehud Barak and his wife, Shlomo Buchbut, Sallai Meridor, and Chaim Chesler
Photo credit: Government Press Office

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Brave decisions to take our destiny into our hands is what brought radical change to the north. However, without the IDFs combat readiness we would not have been able to have accomplished this. The IDF will also sit on the border defending Israels north and citizens and will retaliate should renewed violence strike, said Prime Minister Ehud Barak at the Quite Skies event that took place at Kibbutz Lohamei Hagetaot last night during which the heads of the Confrontation Line conferred honorary citizenship on the Prime Minister.

Barak complimented the Jewish Agency for its contribution to the settlements along the confrontation line at the time that the IDF pulled out of Lebanon and commended the speed of the response and the depth of the commitment of the agency's leadership to the North. The ceremony took place in the presence of the Chairman of the Jewish Agency, Sallai Meridor; the Treasurer of the Jewish Agency, Chaim Chesler; the Head of the Mate Asher Regional Council, Yehuda Shavit; Chirman of the Forum for the Settlements along the Confrontation Line and the Mayor of Ma'alot-Tarshicha, Shlomo Buchbut:

"Quiet Skies" is not just another slogan. This is a new reality for the settlements in the north that we have to adjust to. Now that 'quiet' is back in the north, our job and the job of the Israeli government is to restore what was destroyed and to move the settlements forward. This is an opportunity to thank the Chairman of the Jewish Agency, Sallai Meridor; Treasurer Chaim Chesler; the Director of the Israel Department, Meir Nitzan; and the staff at the Jewish Agency for their aid during the course of this past summer. This operation and the aid program of the Jewish Agency and its Board of Governors prove in no uncertain terms the importance of the Jewish Agency's continued activity in strengthening the ties with the Diaspora, in strengthening the populations living along the confrontation line and in other parts of the country, and for the continued growth of Israel in every area," said Buchbut.

Following the IDF's withdrawal from Lebanon, the heads of the Jewish Agency decided to forgive debts of settlements along the confrontation line, in the amount of NIS160 million. In addition, the Jewish Agency invested more than three million NIS in educational and enrichment activities in the area. The Jewish Agency, in conjunction with Jewish Communities and the settlements along the confrontation line, is currently designing programs for the continued reinforcement of the region over the next three years.

At the beginning of last week, a group of neo-Nazis vandalized a Jewish school in Ryazan, some 100 kilometers from Moscow. Two days later, when President Putin addressed the Jews of Moscow at the opening of a new Jewish center in the city, the incident was not mentioned. 20 skinheads dressed in black broke into the Jewish Sunday school wrecking everything in their way, and threatening the children and teachers on the premises. Miraculously, no one was hurt.

"Half an hour before the end of the day, 15 young people armed with iron chains broke into the school and began smashing windows, breaking cabinets and plant pots and tearing the children's drawings which were hanging on the walls," said Leonid Reznikov, chairman of the Ryazan Jewish community. "At the time some 30 pupils, age 6-13, and five teachers were at the school. The hooligans threatened the children with chains and made anti-Semitic comments, such as "Jewish scum, soon we'll get rid of the lot of you !", "Death to the Jews !" and the like.

The Russian newspaper "Commersant" reported that the pogrom lasted about five minutes, during which time the children hid under the desks and thus were spared physical injury. At the end of the riot the neo-Nazis stood in a line, held their arms upwards and shouted "Zieg Heil". They then left the premises amid threats that they would return to complete their "work of destruction."

According to Reznikov, the children suffered emotional injury and are still in a state of shock: "Their parents are now afraid to send their children to the Jewish school, fearing that their lives are at risk. A number of anti-Semitic organizations operate freely in Ryazan but the authorities do nothing. Next time it could end in murder," warned the community leader.

Marina Ben Aryeh, the Jewish Agency emissary in Moscow, reports that so far not one official body has publicly condemned the incident. Moreover, the day after the pogrom, the Ryazan police said that it is investigating the attack but that the investigation would be directed towards hooliganism rather than anti-Semitism. Reznikov sharply criticized the local police force, which, he said, does not fight anti-Semitism and does not prevent the publication of anti-Semitic materials and the sale of literature calling for attacks on Jews.

Ryazan is located in central Russia, on the banks of the Okka River. According to estimates by the Jewish Agency's FSU Department, 1,400 Jews live in the city, out of a total population of half a million. The Jewish Agency runs a Hebrew language ulpan in the city. The local JAFI aliyah coordinator provides aliyah counseling for Jewish families wishing to come to Israel. Since the beginning of the year, 65 new immigrants arrived in Israel from Ryazan.

A park was dedicated last week in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in memory of the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. A granite statue of Rabin is located in the center of the park, in downtown Rio. Next to the statue is a sign on which the emblem of the State of Israel is engraved alongside the word "Israel" in Hebrew letters. The words of the song "Shir Hashalom" (The Song of Peace) - the song that concluded the peace demonstration at which Rabin was killed -- are engraved next to the emblem.

Dorit Nedal, Jewish Agency representative in Rio de Janeiro, reported that the dedication ceremony took place in the presence of Rabin's widow Leah, his daughter MK Daliah Rabin Pilosoph, Jewish Agency Treasurer Chaim Chesler who initiated the event, head of the Rio city council Garcon Berger, Israeli ambassador to Brazil, Daniel Gazit, and a representative of the Brazilian government, Ivan Canaberra, who served as Brazil's ambassador to Israel in the early 1990s. Jewish community leaders and representatives of UIA-Keren Hayesod also attended the ceremony.

During the ceremony, Leah Rabin thanked all the participants. She said, with great emotionally that she had received a wonderful present for the New Year. Chaim Chesler thanked the Jewish community of Rio de Janeiro as well as Keren Hayesod for their contribution to the dedication of the park. Garcon Berger noted that this is the least that could be done to perpetuate Rabin's memory.

According to Jewish Agency officials, there are 35,000 Jews in Rio, out of total Jewish population of 120,000 in Brazil. The Jewish Agency works in the city to encourage aliyah to Israel and strengthen Jewish education through the Zionist youth movements and by teaching Hebrew at Jewish schools. Nedal added that there are five Jewish schools in the city which are attended by 3,500 pupils, comprising half of the school- age Jewish youngsters.

Jewish Agency Chairman Sallai Meridor, this week called on the Government and the Knesset to hold a serious, in-depth debate on the Jewish character of the State of Israel before taking any steps that might be perceived as an erosion of the country's Jewish and democratic character. He emphasized that as part of such a discussion, the nationality classification on the ID cards should be raised. Meridor was speaking at a meeting of the Knesset's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee during a discussion on deleting the nationality classification from the ID cards.

The proposal to cancel the nationality classification was introduced at the Committee by the Acting Minister of Interior, Haim Ramon, who said that such an act would not cause cancellation of the nationality classification in the Population Registry. According to Ramon, the cancellation of the nationality classification is needed because of the immigration to Israel of 270,000 immigrants from the FSU under the Law of Return who are not halachically Jewish. Former Minister of Interior Natan Sharansky supported the cancellation of the nationality classification, despite the fact that he is a member of the opposition. MK Anat Maor (Meretz) emphasized, in her opening remarks, that it is necessary that Israel's character as a Jewish democratic state be institutionalized, and she would prefer that this be done before the cancellation: "The timing does not seem right, and without a more in-depth discussion, it would appear hasty. At the same time, if the vote takes place next week, I will vote in favor."

The Arab MK's under the leadership of Azmi Bishara, claimed that this is an internal Jewish issue that has nothing to do with the Arab population, although they support the proposed change.

MK Nahum Langental of the National Religious Party emphasized that his party would petition the Supreme Court of Appeal to prevent the change and that this should not be done in the current fluid political climate. Representatives of the Conservative Movement stressed that, in principal, they are against cancellation of the nationality classification although, the Ne'eman commission created a situation that makes change unavoidable. The Reform Movement announced that they do not object to the change. Meridor attacked the proposal on three counts:

• Judaism and the erosion of the symbols of the State of Israel as the country of the entire Jewish people: "The ID card is not an identity card by a certificate of identity. The Jewish character and identity of the State of Israel have been built up with considerable effort and these symbols cannot simply be wiped out over night", said Meridor.
• Meridor added that deleting this clause in the current context of a "secular revolution" may be seen as on-going erosion of our national values, which in the final event may reinforce post-Zionist trends and change the nature of Israel to a country of all its citizens instead of a Jewish, democratic state.
• Finally, the Jewish Agency Chairman stressed that this change would be pointless for two reasons: First, since equality will not result from removing this clause but from genuinely ensuring equality of rights and obligations. Second, this change will not apply to the Ministry of the Interior Population Registry and it therefore has no practical value.

In spite of the objections, the majority of the committee are in favor of the cancellation of the classification due to the support of the coalition parties and the Israel B'Aliyah party. Committee Chairman MK Amnon Rubenstein concluded the discussion by saying that the preamble to the law should emphasize that the State of Israel is a Jewish democratic country.

• $104,000 - Jewish Agency support for the Ulpan South Africa for the year 2000. The 3-month ulpan includes trips throughout Israel and seminars on Jewish and Zionist topics.

• $64,000 - Jewish Agency support for the Gold Institute in 2000. Young women from Jewish communities in the Diaspora may study in two tracks: a pedagogic track which trains them as teachers for Jewish schools in the Diaspora, and a service track, designed for women who wish to expand their knowledge of Judaism and Zionism.

• $10,000 - Jewish Agency support in 2000 for the "Let's Talk Art" program. The program, which operates at the Barrer Arts Center in Maalot Tarshiha is designed to create bridges between Jews, Christians and Druze through art.

• 27,005 olim from India arrived in Israel since the establishment of the State through the end of 1999. 10 olim arrived in the last week of 5760.

• 731 olim arrived in Israel from Finland since the state was established through the end of 1999.

• 3,311 olim arrived in Israel from Greece since the state was established through the end of 1999.

73,166 olim from throughout the world arrived in Israel during 5760. According to the Jewish Agency's preliminary data, 63,500 of them were from the FSU.

According to the date, the largest number of olim -- 8,838 -- arrived in October 1999. The lowest number -- 4,166 olim arrived in April 2000.

The figures also show that 1336 olim arrived in the last week of the year, 1219 of them from the FSU and Eastern Europe. The rest came from Ethiopia, India, France, England, South Africa, Australia, Sweden, Holland, Germany, Finland, Cuba, Mexico, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Brazil, the US and Canada.

8,000 olim from the world over, including 3,500 from Ethiopia, will celebrate the festival at the Jewish Agency's absorption centers. For most of them this will be their first Rosh Hashanah in Israel.

Jewish Agency Chairman Sallai Meridor wished the olim and their families, as well as the entire Jewish people a Happy New Year. Meridor stressed that aliyah is a blessing for the State of Israel and for the Jewish people as a whole, and commented on the special contribution that the olim have made to the country's economy and its character in the areas of science, culture, sports and the arts.

Meridor called on all the citizens of Israel to open their hearts and their homes to newcomers to Israeli society and to take part in the national endeavor to make the new olim feel welcome and assist in their absorption.

More than 10,000 Jews are expected on Rosh Hashana eve in the courtyard adjacent to the central synagogue in Budapest, the capital of Hungary.

The Dohany Synagogue, located in the center of Budapest, was inaugurated in 1895. The house in which Theodore Herzl was born 140 years ago is located in its courtyard.

The head of the Jewish Agency delegation in Budapest, Eliezer Gilad, reports that there are 40 active synagogues in Hungary, about half of them in Budapest. While on weekdays, only several hundred people attend services, the synagogues are packed on holidays.

The largest number of worshippers - some 8,000 - is expected on Rosh Hashana eve in the Dohany Synagogue. An additional 2000 people will congregate in the courtyard adjacent to the synagogue. The services will be conducted by Rabbi Robert Froehlich, who serves as the Chief Rabbi of the Hungarian army. On the second night of the holiday, the services will be conducted by the Chief Rabbi of Hungary, Rabbi Joseph Schweitzer.

Last week, in a ceremony broadcast live by satellite from Tel Aviv to Budapest, two new stamps - one Israeli and the other Hungarian - were issued in both countries. The stamps depict the Dohany Synagogue, as designed by Dina and Tzvika Roitman in Israel for the Israel Philatelic Service of the Israeli Postal Authority. The Israel stamp, bears the amount of NIS5.60 and the Hungarian F120. The Hungarian stamp was designed by Danile Kertesz.

The Hungarian Jewish community numbers some 100,000 people, 90 percent of whom live in Budapest. Jewish Agency activities in Hungary include encouraging aliyah to Israel, strengthening Jewish education through Hebrew language ulpanim, youth movements, to which some 600 youngsters belong, Jewish student organizations, which have some 1,200 members, and training teachers to teach Hebrew and Jewish studies.

New Hungarian and Israeli Stamps

Jewish youngsters from the city of Gomel in Belarus, members of the Ezra youth movement, will mark Rosh Hashanah with a large celebration attended by some 150 community members.

The event will open with an artistic performance by the youth and will be followed by dancing and singing. After the event, members of the community will assemble for Rosh Hashanah prayers in the synagogue. This will be followed by a festive meal in the best Jewish tradition.

Gomel is situated in southeast Belarus, on the banks of the Sozh River. The area was severely affected by the April 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. According to Jewish Agency estimates, 3,000 Jews remain in the city.

Danny Elinson, Secretary General of the world Ezra youth movement, believes that the involvement by the younger generation in organizing such community events will enhance their sense of Jewish identity. Elinson added that two young Ezra emissaries from Israel are due to arrive in Belarus to help organize the festive events. Additional Ezra emissaries will be going to Ukraine and to England to help organize similar events.

The Ezra youth movement was founded by Jewish students in Germany after the First World War to inculcate Jewish value among the youth. It was named for the Biblical leader Ezra the Scribe, who brought the Jews back to Zion from Babylon and fought assimilation. During the period between the two world wars, the movement was active in Western Europe and in the Baltic States and since the early 1930s has also been active in Israel.

Today the movement operates in Belarus, Ukraine, England and France. The movement has eight main branches with 800 members outside of Israel. Ezra also has 38 branches in Israel with 9,000 members.

A Conservative rabbi from Birmingham, Alabama will be the first-ever woman rabbi to lead religious services in Poland. Rabbi Cynthia Culpeper will lead High Holiday services at Beit Warszawa. More than 100 people are expected to attend the High Holiday services, which will be conducted in Polish, English and Hebrew. Men and women will have equal roles in the services.

According to Rabbi Joseph Wernik, member of the Jewish Agency and WZO Executive, and soon to be the Executive Vice President of Masorti Olami, Rabbi Culpeper was sent to Warsaw in response to a request by the community. "They sought alternatives for their services," says Wernick. "We began with Oneg Shabbat. "For many, it was their first Jewish experience and it was overwhelming, says.

Rabbi Culpeper was chosen by the members of Beit Warszawa because of the similarity between her personal background and theirs. She was brought up in a Catholic family, converted to Judaism, and then became a rabbi. Many members of this Polish Jewish community only discovered that they were Jewish at the age of 12 or 13; many of them were brought up as Catholics before finding out that they were Jewish.

One thousand Jews from Latvia and Lithuania this week participated in aliyah fairs organized by the Jewish Agency in Riga and Vilna. The Jewish Agency, the Ministry of Absorption, the Beersheva and Arad municipalities and other Israeli organizations had information booths on municipal absorption, education and employment in Israel.

The visitors met personally with senior representatives from the municipalities and the Interior Ministry's Southern Region office in order to hear first hand about new absorption programs in the south Israel. Ephraim Meidan, head of the Jewish Agency delegation in the Baltic States, reported that the number of visitors to the fairs was higher than expected, amounting to approximately 9% of the entire Jewish population in these cities.

Visitors to the fair heralded the New Year with Israeli wine, apples in honey and performances by local Jewish artists. In addition, token prizes with relating to Israel were raffled among the participants. Israeli journalist Yosef Eitan, himself an oleh from the FSU and now a newscaster for Voice of Israel in Russian addressed the audience. Eitan spoke to the Jews of Riga and Vilna about life in modern Israel from a journalist's perspective.

The Jewish Agency's former Soviet Union Department estimates that 10,000 Jews currently live in Latvia, 70% of them live in Riga, and that 4,500 Jews live in Lithuania, 3,000 of them in the capital Vilna. Ephraim Meidan reports that since the beginning of the year, 600 olim have come to Israel from the Baltic States.

The Jewish Agency and World Zionist Organization are currently trying to locate Jewish young adults from all over the world who participated in programs in Israel, in preparation for a re-union to be held in Israel in January.

According to Jewish Agency Treasurer Chaim Chesler, who initiated the project, one of the most complex issues on the agenda of the Jewish people and the Zionist movement is the need to foster on-going ties with the younger generation throughout the Jewish world: "A convention of this kind will help develop future community leadership, enhance Jewish identity among the young generation in the Diaspora, strengthen the bond between the youngsters and the State of Israel and encourage aliyah," said Chesler.

The convention targets 20-30 year old Jewish youngsters who participated in long-term (more than 4 months) programs in Israel between 1990-1998. Discussions will be held on current issues pertaining to the Jewish people and the Zionist movement; participants will meet with prominent public figures in Israel; they will be able to take a close look at aliyah and absorption possibilities in the areas of employment, higher education and housing and they will review the various educational programs in Israel.

The organizers hope to hold follow-up activities in the Diaspora, both through the youth that take part in the convention and through individual conference meetings in the respective countries, as well as via the Internet.

Sixty young leaders age 28-45 from 11 European countries met last weekend in Basle, Switzerland to discuss the role of young leadership in determining the Jewish-Zionist agenda for the Jewish communities of Europe. The convention was organized by the World Zionist Organization's Department for Zionist Activities at the initiative of Director General Rami Kornblum.

During the three-day seminar, the participants discussed the challenges and problems facing the communities they represent and examined ways of strengthening the bond between the Jewish communities in Europe, the State of Israel and the Zionist movement. Participants in the seminar also prepared a program for Zionist-Jewish activity in the communities, with the support of the Zionist movement.

Prior to the European convention in August this year, a young leadership conference was held in Santiago, Chile, attended by 110 Zionist leaders from Latin America. Another young leadership conference in North America will take place in Florida in early December.

Conventiontion participants included Zionist Executive members Arye Azoulay, Reuven Shalom and Kalman Sultanik as well as the representative of the Conservative movement David Breakstone, who has been elected as head of the Department for Zionist Activities beginning in January next year, representative of the JNF, Avi Dickstein, and Dubi Bergman, representative of the Jewish Agency's Treasury in Europe.

The total number of immigrants from Montreal is expected to reach about 120 this year, reports

Benzi Sella, the director of the Jewish Agency's Israel Aliyah Center in the city. This estimate is based on the number of people turning to the center for information. Sella notes that by the end of July, 72 olim -- 16 families and 24 singles - had been registered and processed for aliyah.

Although the rate of aliyah is often affected by the political and economic climate - immigration to Israel rose around 25 percent in 1995, the year of the last Quebec referendum on sovereignty, and the following year -- pragmatic reasons still often dictate aliyah decisions, says Sella.

The Center runs a variety of programs designed to introduce the local population to aliyah and absorption opportunities in Israel. This coming November, for example, the Aliyah Center is planning a high-tech fair, in which representatives from the Towers Semi-Conductors Company in Israel will participate to help fill 1,000 places of employment. Next spring, the Center, in conjunction with the Israeli Consulate, will hold an aliyah fair, "Destination -Israel," that will include seminars on everything from banking in Israel, to employment opportunities, to housing and education.

One of the more popular local programs is a high-tech re-training program conducted at the Ra'anana Absorption Center for university graduates from North America.

The program includes a five-month Hebrew-language ulpan that provides computer terminology, as well as advanced courses in technical writing, Microsoft network systems, and quality control, according to Akiva Werber, director of North American section of the Jewish Agency's Aliyah Department that initiated the program. The program is conducted by independent schools that deal with training and placement in conjunction with the Ministry of Labor's professional retraining course system.

Other popular Jewish Agency's programs promoted by the Aliyah Center are an eight-week Magen David Adom Ambulance volunteer program for students offered by Aliyah Movement; a seven-month WUJS program in Arad for college graduates up to age 35.

GuruNet, an emerging Israel-based provider of relevant information retrieval and delivery solutions, has launched an aggressive recruiting campaign across the U.S. and Canada. The company is seeking experienced North American software developers, WEB/GUI designers, quality assurance engineers, product and program managers, content editors and technical writers to work in its Malcha technology park in Jerusalem.

GuruNet's goal is to hire up to 200 experts. With the assistance of the Jewish Agency, the candidates will be helped to move from North America so they can successfully live and work at GuruNet's Jerusalem offices.

Since GuruNet was formed less than two years ago, it has attracted more than $32 million in venture capital. Investors include companies as well as private individuals such as Yossi Vardi, former chairman, ICQ, considered the "father" of Israel's high-tech industry; Mort Meyerson of 2M Companies, former chief executive officer of EDS and Perot Systems; Mark Tebbe, founder and chairman of Lante Systems; John Sculley, former president and chief executive officer of Apple Computer and Pepsi Cola; and Robin Neustein, managing director, Goldman-Sachs.

The focus of GuruNet's recruiting is primarily Jews who have a sense of adventure and are willing to pursue dynamic career opportunities in Israel's diverse culture. "Israel today is the center of the new 'high-tech' world," said Kalman Grossman, director of the Jewish Agency's Aliyah Center in New York. "It's the result of thousands of scientists who emigrated to Israel from the former Soviet Union, North America and Europe, and of Israelis who acquired special expertise during their military service."

This has created a unique atmosphere that provides a foundation for exciting new companies like GuruNet. The latest statistics show that Israel has nearly 4,000 technology startups and more NASDAQ companies than any other nation except the U.S.

Attorney General Elyakim Rubenstein this week recommended that charges not be filed against former Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sarah, for lack of sufficient evidence. Nevertheless, the Attorney General criticized administrative in Netanyahu's office and stressed that top public figures must be scrupulous in their behavior.

This week, Prime Minister Ehud Barak met with Yasser Arafat at Barak's home in Kochav Yair. The following day negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians resumed in Washington in an effort to reach a permanent settlement.

Disturbances on Temple Mount following a visit by the Likud faction in the Knesset. At Netzarim in the Gaza Strip a convoy of settlers accompanied by an army patrol was attacked. One soldier, Sergeant David Biri was killed and another soldier slightly wounded.

The FBI has launched an investigation against US Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk, on suspicion that he violated American State Department security regulations. Indyk's security clearance has been suspended until the investigation is completed, despite the fact, American officials emphasized, that there is no suspicion of espionage or leaking classified material.

Poet Yehuda Amichai passed away at the end of last week. Amichai, a resident of Jerusalem and a lecturer at the Hebrew University and the Jewish Agency's Greenberg Institute for Jewish Teachers from the Diaspora, was considered the national Israeli poet during the generation of the founders of the State.

Selah Art and Selah Sports are two new programs for young immigrants from the former Soviet Union recently introduced this September by the Jewish Agency's Department of Immigration and Absorption.

At Ulpan Etzion in Jerusalem, a group of 45 Russian speaking teenage immigrants recently began the first Selah Omanim (Art) course. The year-long program includes a Hebrew ulpan and preparation for an arts degree in either the Bezalel Academy of Arts or the Rubin Academy of Music. At the Kfar Saba Absorption Center, a group of 46 young immigrants recently began the Selah Sports program for talented athletes.

These new specialist Selah programs follow on from the success of Selah Science, explained Benny Harel, director of Selah for the Jewish Agency, which began last year at the Nitzana Youth Aliyah village. In total more than a thousand young new immigrants from the former Soviet Union are participating in the Selah (a Hebrew acronym for Studentim Lifnei Horim - Students Before programs this Parents) pre-academic program as well as the Chalom vocational preparatory program.

Since the program's inauguration in 1996, nearly 4,500 Russian-speaking students have participated in Selah. Graduates have gone on to university or the army. As a result of the program's success, a Selah program was begun in Latin America. The first group of young Latin American immigrants is scheduled to arrive in February 2001.

This Rosh Hashana ushers in the year of Shmita, the sabbatical year. Biblical law mandates that during Shmita, the last year of a seven-year cycle, the land of Israel must lie fallow (Lev. 25:2-4). Sowing and planting are forbidden; produce that grows on the land, either planted in the preceding year or growing wild, may not be commercially harvested and is designated ownerless property. In ancient times, the Shmita year was also a time for remission of debts and for freeing Hebrew slaves (actually indentured servants).

Shmita was both a means of preventing extremes of wealth from developing and an expression of trust in Divine Providence to provide needs during the Shmita year and until new food was could be grown. Akin to the seventh day of the week, the Shmita year was a year dedicated to God. During the Jubilee year, or the fiftieth year that followed seven seven-year cycles, the land was similarly left fallow and all land was returned to its original owner.

According to tradition, the 70 years of the Babylonian Exile -- from the destruction of the first temple in 586 BCE to the commencement of the building of the second Temple in 516 BCE -- were a retribution for the failure of the Jewish people to observe the Shmita.

In light of the exceedingly difficult economic and security situation in the yishuv in the early part of this century, a symbolic sale of the land to non-Jews, a heter mechira, was issued, as a temporary measure, in 1909 by the late Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook, which allowed the Jews to plant during the Shmita year and to engage in limited agricucultural activity in order to prevent irreversible damage to the economy.

In recent years, this heter mechira has aroused great controversy among Israel's Torah-observant community. Some observe the shmita in accordance with the Biblical injunction and refrain from eating food grown during the Sabbatical year; others rely on the heter; while yet others use produce grown through alternative methods such as hydroponics.

Rosh HaShana, the Jewish New Year, is celebrated on the first and second days of the Hebrew month of Tishrei - which this year fall on Shabbat and Sunday, September 30 and October 1. In the Torah the holiday is referred to as Yom Hazikaron, the Day of Remembrance, for on this day God remembers all His creations. He reviews their deeds during the past year and determines their fate for the coming year. Therefore, the holiday is also known as Yom Hadin - the Day of Judgment. Rosh Hashnana culminates the month of introspection and prayer that took place during the preceding Hebrew month of Elul. Rosh HaShana is marked by intensive prayer, punctuated by the sound of the shofar - the ram's horn - that serves as a "wake-up" call to arouse mankind to repentance. Yet another name for Rosh Hashana is Yom Teruah - the Day of the Blowing.

Rosh HaShana (literally, "head of the year") is traditionally the anniversary of the creation of the world and thus the anniversary of God's dominion. On Rosh HaShana Jews re-affirm God's sovereignty, and recommit themselves to His commandments.

People greet one another with the salutation: "May you be inscribed in the book of life."

Special foods are customarily eaten during festive meals, during the evening and during the day, after synagogue service, on Rosh HaShana, to symbolize our hopes a sweet year. These include an apple dipped in honey, and challah dipped on honey.

Rosh Hashanah inaugurates the Ten Days of Penitence (Asseret Y'mei T'shuvah), which culminate in Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). These days provide an opportunity to reverse negative decrees, through "prayer, repentance and charity." During these days, people make a special effort to scrutinize their deeds and attempt to improve them. While repentance helps atones for sins against God, sins against one's fellow can be forgiven only after gaining forgiveness from that person.

Yom Kippur, the only fast specifically mandated in the Bible, is the most solemn day of the Jewish calendar. Eating and drinking are forbidden from sundown on the eve of Yom Kippur till nightfall the following night, together with bathing and the wearing of leather shoes.

Yom Kippur is devoted entirely to prayer. The Evening Service begins with the recitation of the ancient "Kol Nidre" prayer. The final prayer on the following day, "Ne'ila," (meaning locking) uttered shortly before nightfall, offers a last opportunity for repentance before the gates are shut. The end of the Ne'ila service expresses the fervent wish, "May we be sealed in the book of Life." The 40 days of prayer and repentance culminate with the sounding of the shofar followed be the ardent proclamation, "Next year in Jerusalem!"

Ingredients

1 medium chicken
1 tbsp. prepared mustard
1 3/4 oz. soft margarine
3 tbsp. honey
4 tbsp. soy sauce

Preparation

Mix the mustard with the margarine. Add the honey and soy sauce and mix well. Place the chicken in baking tray. Spread the mixture over the chicken and pour half a cup of water on. Cover with a sheet of silver foil and bake in a pre-heated oven (3500F) for 40-50 minutes, basting periodically.

When the chicken is ready (when the juices are clear) remove the silver foil and raise the oven temperature to 400F. Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes until the chicken browns.

B'Te'avon! Bon Appetit!