February Newsletter NM Jewish Journal

This is the February 2025 newsletter of the New Mexico Jewish Journal. The Festival of the Trees, Tu B'Shvat, will be here next week, beginning Weds. Feb.12th. Purim begins March 13th, and the first seder of Passover is Saturday, April 12th. Our Spring Issue will be out around late March. Forward this newsletter to your friends, and tell them to sign up for a free or paid subscription here to receive the newsletters and Quarterly issues by email.

There is obviously a tremendous amount of news swirling around us right now here in the United States. I strongly suggest reading Heather Cox Richardson, the American historian, who presents a cogent daily analysis. This was a recent post of hers here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/february-2-2025 that explains that Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, has just effected a coup of our country.

The NMJJ February Newsletter consists of the following articles, at these individual links, and below there is a scroll of community events.
Shalom,
Diane Joy Schmidt, Editor

✡️ Where Erasmus Once Tread, on the folly of religion when it has gone rogue, as has happened now in Russia, which Ron Duncan Hart heard about from his audience while giving a talk at Cambridge about Christian nationalism.

✡️ The first in new series by Rabbi Min Kantrowitz that highlights each of the Jewish virtues, Love thy Neighbor, with a note of cautious optimism.

✡️ A charming introduction to “Love and Hope” The Big Event comes to CBI in an interview by Martin Finston with Rabbi Hazzan Angress of B'nai Israel.

✡️ A friendly introduction to a free course in the Talmud that will be offered by the enthusiastic youthful scholar, Sarah Arrowsmith, starting February 23 at Nahalat Shalom in Albuquerque, Why I Love the Talmud (And You Should Too!)

✡️ A Jewish and Navajo marriage at the New Year of the Trees that took place on Tu B'Shvat revealed an extraordinary parallel of a unique custom found in both these cultures, by Diane Joy Schmidt with Frank Morgan.

✡️ And an important essay addressing the contradictions being felt by Jews in Israel and America, by Ron Eshman of The Forward, in response to the return of some hostages and yet not others, is suggested reading: Yarden Bibas is freed, but his family's suffering continues. It should enrage us all.

✡️ And, be sure to revisit the Winter Issue of the New Mexico Jewish Journal if you haven't explored it all, starting at the Winter Table of Contents here.

P.S. Also, if you're wondering why NMJJ has been covering Christian Nationalism, you might want to read this piece in the Forward, "Pete Hegseth’s belief in Christian dominion should deeply trouble American Jews."

✡️ Upcoming events from our many Community Supporter advertisers HERE:

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