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	<title>Joyous Judaism</title>
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	<link>http://joyousjudaism.wordpress.com</link>
	<description>Ideas, Events &#38; Activities to Make Judaism More Joyous</description>
	<pubDate>Sun, 09 Mar 2008 11:31:11 +0000</pubDate>
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	<language>en</language>
			<item>
		<title>From Evil to Good</title>
		<link>http://joyousjudaism.wordpress.com/2008/03/09/from-evil-to-good/</link>
		<comments>http://joyousjudaism.wordpress.com/2008/03/09/from-evil-to-good/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 09 Mar 2008 10:59:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ianpear</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://joyousjudaism.wordpress.com/2008/03/09/from-evil-to-good/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It is difficult to make sense of the recent terror attack at the Merkaz HaRav Yeshiva in which a lone terrorist murdered eight young men &#8212; boys, really &#8212; as they sat and studied Torah.  How are we to understand such a tragedy.  Maybe someday someone will look back and find some solace in the [...]]]></description>
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		<title>From Rockets to Rock n&#8217; Roll</title>
		<link>http://joyousjudaism.wordpress.com/2008/03/04/from-rockets-to-rock-n-roll/</link>
		<comments>http://joyousjudaism.wordpress.com/2008/03/04/from-rockets-to-rock-n-roll/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 04 Mar 2008 10:15:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ianpear</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Events]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Ideas]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Enthusiasm in Judaism]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Herzfeld]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Sderot]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[

A friend and colleague of mine, Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld, recently led a group of his congregants from Washington, DC to Israel to express solidarity with the people of Sderot.  Here are some of his beautiful thoughts:


All together there were 27 of us.  It was ten o&#8217;clock at night.  Some of the group had never been to Israel before [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Remembering Daily the Purpose of Torah</title>
		<link>http://joyousjudaism.wordpress.com/2008/01/22/remembering-daily-the-purpose-of-torah/</link>
		<comments>http://joyousjudaism.wordpress.com/2008/01/22/remembering-daily-the-purpose-of-torah/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 22 Jan 2008 08:24:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ianpear</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Ideas]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[blessings]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[commandments]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[interpersonal relationships]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[tipheret shlomo]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Torah Study]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://joyousjudaism.wordpress.com/2008/01/22/remembering-daily-the-purpose-of-torah/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Each morning, prior to beginning the formal prayer service, traditional Jews recite a series of blessings that prepare themselves for the day.  One of these blessings involves thanking God for the opportunity to study Torah; it reads something like this:  &#8220;Blessed are You, Lord of the Universe, Who has &#8230; commanded us to engross ourselves in the [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://joyousjudaism.wordpress.com/2008/01/22/remembering-daily-the-purpose-of-torah/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
	
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			<media:title type="html">ianpear</media:title>
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		<item>
		<title>Miracle Girl</title>
		<link>http://joyousjudaism.wordpress.com/2008/01/21/miracle-girl/</link>
		<comments>http://joyousjudaism.wordpress.com/2008/01/21/miracle-girl/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 21 Jan 2008 12:42:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ianpear</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[People]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Jerusalem]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Sharansky]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[weddings]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[

The following are observations about the recent wedding of Rachel Sharansky by Katie Green, an independent film director and producer, and PR head for Ma&#8217;aleh Film School in Jerusalem: 
The wedding of Rachel Sharansky, the eldest of Natan and Avital Sharansky&#8217;s two daughters, and Micha Danziger, a new immigrant from the United States, was one of those weddings [...]]]></description>
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			<media:title type="html">ianpear</media:title>
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		<title>The True Worth of a Shekel</title>
		<link>http://joyousjudaism.wordpress.com/2008/01/11/the-true-worth-of-a-shekel/</link>
		<comments>http://joyousjudaism.wordpress.com/2008/01/11/the-true-worth-of-a-shekel/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 11 Jan 2008 08:23:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ianpear</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Practices]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[halacha]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Charity]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[kavana]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[prayer]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Tzedaka]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[If you&#8217;re looking for a description of the human chain formed around Jerusalem&#8217;s old city walls, go here. 
*** 
Tzedaka &#8212; the giving of charity &#8212; is a Jewish custom we are all familiar with.  Slightly less known, though, is the custom of a person giving tzedaka &#8212; even if just a small amount, a shekel (or dollar) or two [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Ramat Gan and Selma, Alabama</title>
		<link>http://joyousjudaism.wordpress.com/2008/01/10/ramat-gan-and-selma-alabama/</link>
		<comments>http://joyousjudaism.wordpress.com/2008/01/10/ramat-gan-and-selma-alabama/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 10 Jan 2008 10:37:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ianpear</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Events]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Ideas]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Discrimination]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Prayer in School]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Ramat Gan]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Selma]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[The below post was picked up by Israel National News and appears here as well. 
***
The other day I read a disturbing piece of news.  Updates about the situation appear here. 
Apparently, a small of group of Israeli high school students had begun praying on a regular basis the afternoon prayer service (mincha) during a break in [...]]]></description>
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		<title>A Giant Hug</title>
		<link>http://joyousjudaism.wordpress.com/2008/01/08/a-giant-hug/</link>
		<comments>http://joyousjudaism.wordpress.com/2008/01/08/a-giant-hug/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 08 Jan 2008 17:02:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ianpear</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Events]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Ideas]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Human Chain]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[United Jerusalem]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://joyousjudaism.wordpress.com/2008/01/08/a-giant-hug/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I just returned from Jerusalem&#8217;s Old City after participating in a wonderfully heartening experience. 
As you may recall from yesterday&#8217;s post, a human chain was to be formed today around the Old City walls as a sign of the Jewish people&#8217;s commitment to keeping Jerusalem united.   I rode my bike down to this event organized by One Jerusalem and circled [...]]]></description>
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			<media:title type="html">ianpear</media:title>
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		<title>A Positive Protest</title>
		<link>http://joyousjudaism.wordpress.com/2008/01/07/a-positive-protest/</link>
		<comments>http://joyousjudaism.wordpress.com/2008/01/07/a-positive-protest/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 07 Jan 2008 12:24:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ianpear</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Events]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[hug]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Jerusalem]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[protest]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://joyousjudaism.wordpress.com/2008/01/07/a-positive-protest/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I just received this announcement via e-mail:
&#8220;Thousands will form a human chain around the Old City this Tuesday, January 8 to dramatically demonstrate our commitment to a united Jerusalem, on the eve of President Bush&#8217;s visit.   Participants will be gathering at the Jaffa Gate beginning at 2:30 p.m.  For more information, call One Jerusalem 1-800-20-20-91.&#8221;
I love [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Michael Jackson, Gandhi and the Exodus from Egypt</title>
		<link>http://joyousjudaism.wordpress.com/2008/01/07/how-many-jews-does-it-take-to-change-a-world-one/</link>
		<comments>http://joyousjudaism.wordpress.com/2008/01/07/how-many-jews-does-it-take-to-change-a-world-one/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 07 Jan 2008 08:41:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ianpear</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Ideas]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Torah Portions]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Change]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Exodus]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Gandhi]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Va'era]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://joyousjudaism.wordpress.com/2008/01/07/how-many-jews-does-it-take-to-change-a-world-one/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Mahatma Gandhi once said, &#8220;If you want there to be change, you must be the change.&#8221;   What did he mean by this statement?
(If you don&#8217;t have time for the full answer, go down to after the three asteriks below).
I believe one way to answer this question is to look at an odd arrangement of verses [...]]]></description>
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		<item>
		<title>Surrounded by Geniuses</title>
		<link>http://joyousjudaism.wordpress.com/2008/01/04/surrounded-by-geniuses/</link>
		<comments>http://joyousjudaism.wordpress.com/2008/01/04/surrounded-by-geniuses/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 04 Jan 2008 09:05:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ianpear</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Ideas]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Genius]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[mitzvoth]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Pick and Choose]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[Positive Judaism]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://joyousjudaism.wordpress.com/2008/01/04/surrounded-by-geniuses/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[One of the premises of this blog is that a focus on positive aspects of Judaism can inspire identity and increase commitment more so than the unfortunate all too often reliance on negative aspects &#8212; such as fear and guilt.  Someone might honestly critique this position by suggesting that yes, a focus on the positive [...]]]></description>
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