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New Square Arson Attack
Aron Rottenberg, a resident of the village of New Square, New York, was attacked with an incendiary device outside his home in the early morning of May 22, 2011 by eighteen-year-old Shaul Spitzer who intended to set the house afire because Rottenberg chose not to pray in New Square's main synagogue led by Skver Grand Rabbi David Twersky. Rottenberg suffered third-degree burns over 50 percent of his body and Spitzer suffered burns to his hands and arms. Twersky and other community leaders strongly condemned the use of violence. Spitzer was indicted by a grand jury on June 23, 2011 on charges of first-degree attempted arson, first-degree assault, and second-degree attempted murder. On February 7, 2012 Spitzer entered a plea deal wherein he pleaded guilty to first-degree assault and was subsequently sentenced to seven years in prison. He was given youthful offender status by Judge William Kelly and released after serving 3 1/2 years in October 2015. Intimidation and violence prior t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Square, New York
New Square ( yi, שיכון סקווירא, Shikun Skvir) is an all-Hasidic village in the town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States. It is located north of Hillcrest, east of Viola, south of New Hempstead, and west of New City. As of the 2020 United States census, it had a population of 9,679. Its inhabitants are predominantly members of the Skverer Hasidic movement who seek to maintain a Hasidic lifestyle disconnected from the secular world. It is the poorest town (measured by median income) in New York, and the eighth poorest in the United States. It also has the highest poverty rate, at 64.4%. History New Square is named after the Ukrainian town Skvyra, where the Skverer Hasidic group originated. The founders intended to name the settlement ''New Skvir'', but a typist's error anglicized the name. New Square was established in 1954, when the Zemach David Corporation, representing Skverer Grand Rabbi Yakov Yosef Twersky, purchased a dairy farm near Sprin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Torah
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the same as Pentateuch or the Five Books of Moses. It is also known in the Jewish tradition as the Written Torah (, ). If meant for liturgic purposes, it takes the form of a Torah scroll ('' Sefer Torah''). If in bound book form, it is called ''Chumash'', and is usually printed with the rabbinic commentaries (). At times, however, the word ''Torah'' can also be used as a synonym for the whole of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, in which sense it includes not only the first five, but all 24 books of the Hebrew Bible. Finally, Torah can even mean the totality of Jewish teaching, culture, and practice, whether derived from biblical texts or later rabbinic writings. The latter is often known as the Oral Torah. Representing the core of the Jewish spiri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hasidic Judaism In New York (state)
Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism ( Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contemporary Western Ukraine during the 18th century, and spread rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most affiliates reside in Israel and the United States. Israel Ben Eliezer, the "Baal Shem Tov", is regarded as its founding father, and his disciples developed and disseminated it. Present-day Hasidism is a sub-group within Haredi Judaism and is noted for its religious conservatism and social seclusion. Its members adhere closely both to Orthodox Jewish practice – with the movement's own unique emphases – and the traditions of Eastern European Jews. Many of the latter, including various special styles of dress and the use of the Yiddish language, are nowadays associated almost exclusively with Hasidism. Hasidic thought draws heavily ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Judaism And Violence
Judaism's doctrines and texts have sometimes been associated with violence or anti-violence. Laws requiring the eradication of evil, sometimes using violent means, exist in the Jewish tradition. However, Judaism also contains peaceful texts and doctrines.Fighting the War and the Peace: Battlefield Ethics, Peace Talks, Treaties, and Pacifism in the Jewish Tradition. Michael J. Broyde, 1998, p. 1*Reuven Firestone (2004), "Judaism on Violence and Reconciliation: An examination of key sources" in ''Beyond violence: religious sources of social transformation in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam'', Fordham Univ Press, 2004, pp. 77, 81. * * There is often a juxtaposition of Judaic law and theology to violence and non-violence by groups and individuals. Attitudes and laws towards both peace and violence exist within the Jewish tradition. Throughout history, Judaism's religious texts or precepts have been used to promoteCarl. S. Ehrlich (1999) "Joshua, Judaism, and Genocide", in ''Jewish Stud ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arson In New York (state)
Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercraft, or forests. The crime is typically classified as a felony, with instances involving a greater degree of risk to human life or property carrying a stricter penalty. Arson which results in death can be further prosecuted as manslaughter or murder. A common motive for arson is to commit insurance fraud. In such cases, a person destroys their own property by burning it and then lies about the cause in order to collect against their insurance policy. A person who commits arson is referred to as an arsonist, or a serial arsonist if arson has been committed several times. Arsonists normally use an accelerant (such as gasoline or kerosene) to ignite, propel and directionalize fires, and the detection and identification of ignitable liqui ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Violence In New York (state)
Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, which either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment, or deprivation."Krug et al."World report on violence and health", World Health Organization, 2002. Internationally, violence resulted in deaths of an estimated 1.28 million people in 2013 up from 1.13 million in 1990. However, global population grew by roughly 1.9 billion during those years, showing a dramatic reduction in violence per capita. Of the deaths in 2013, roughly 842,000 were attributed to self-harm ( suicide), 405,000 to interpersonal violence, and 31,000 to collective violence (war) and legal intervention. For each single death due to vi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Religiously Motivated Violence In The United States
Religion is usually defined as a social-cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, transcendental, and spiritual elements; however, there is no scholarly consensus over what precisely constitutes a religion. Different religions may or may not contain various elements ranging from the divine, sacred things, faith,Tillich, P. (1957) ''Dynamics of faith''. Harper Perennial; (p. 1). a supernatural being or supernatural beings or "some sort of ultimacy and transcendence that will provide norms and power for the rest of life". Religious practices may include rituals, sermons, commemoration or veneration (of deities or saints), sacrifices, festivals, feasts, trances, initiations, funerary services, matrimonial services, meditation, prayer, music, art, dance, public service, or other aspects of human culture. Religions ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shulem Deen
Shulem Deen (born 1974) is an American author, essayist, former Skver ''Hasid'', and critic of Hasidic Judaism. He is the author of the memoir ''All Who Go Do Not Return'' (2015), and is a regular columnist at ''The Forward''. He is also the founding editor of ''Unpious'', a journal for voices critical of Hasidic lifestyle and beliefs. Career Deen first became known as the author of the blog "Hasidic Rebel", which he wrote from 2003 until 2012, and which was the subject of a 2003 feature article in the ''Village Voice''. Deen's blog was the first widely read website by a born Hasid casting doubt on his religious faith. In 2010, Deen launched the ''Unpious'' website, along with "Shtreimel", another ex-Hasidic blogger, and has served as its editor throughout. The site was intended as a platform for voices critical of the Hasidic lifestyle and beliefs. Deen's memoir, ''All Who Go Do Not Return'', was published in 2015, and chronicles his transition from devout member of the Skver Has ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Purim
Purim (; , ; see Name below) is a Jewish holiday which commemorates the saving of the Jews, Jewish people from Haman, an official of the Achaemenid Empire who was planning to have all of Persia's Jewish subjects killed, as recounted in the Book of Esther (usually dated to the 5th century BCE). Haman was the royal vizier to Persian king Ahasuerus (Xerxes I or Artaxerxes I; "Khshayarsha" and "Artakhsher" in Old Persian, respectively). His plans were foiled by Mordecai of the tribe of Benjamin, and Esther, Mordecai's cousin and adopted daughter who had become queen of Persia after her marriage to Ahasuerus. The day of deliverance became a day of feasting and rejoicing among the Jews. According to the Scroll of Esther, "they should make them days of feasting and gladness, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor". Purim is celebrated among Jews by: *Exchanging gifts of food and drink, known as *Donating charity to the poor, known as *Eating a celebratory me ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mitzvah
In its primary meaning, the Hebrew word (; he, מִצְוָה, ''mīṣvā'' , plural ''mīṣvōt'' ; "commandment") refers to a commandment commanded by God to be performed as a religious duty. Jewish law () in large part consists of discussion of these commandments. According to religious tradition, there are 613 such commandments. In its secondary meaning, the word ''mitzvah'' refers to a deed performed in order to fulfill such a commandment. As such, the term ''mitzvah'' has also come to express an individual act of human kindness in keeping with the law. The expression includes a sense of heartfelt sentiment beyond mere legal duty, as "you shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18). The opinions of the Talmudic rabbis are divided between those who seek the purpose of the ''mitzvot'' and those who do not question them. The latter argue that if the reason for each ''mitzvah'' could be determined, people might try to achieve what they see as the purpose of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shmarya Rosenberg
Shmarya Rosenberg (born Scott Rosenberg in 1958) is a former blogger who published the blog FailedMessiah.com. Biography Rosenberg grew up in a Conservative Jewish non-observant family in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where his parents operated a beauty supply company. According to his family's history, his great-great-grandfather was a former chasid of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn, the third Chabad rebbe. Rosenberg was active in Jewish student politics at the University of Minnesota and served several years as an executive of the North American World Union of Jewish Students. He became a baal teshuva and joined the Chabad movement as an ultra-orthodox Hasidic Jew dedicated to study, community and rigorous observance, abandoning his former ambitions, one of which was to become a songwriter. He was an observant Hasidic Jew for the next 20 years. Rosenberg became disenchanted with the Chabad movement in 2004 after discovering an unsigned and unsent letter addressed to him by Rabbi M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skver (Hasidic Dynasty)
Skver (also Skvir, Skvere, or Skwere; yi, סקווירא) is the name of a Hasidic dynasty founded by Rebbe Yitzchok Twersky in the city of Skver (as known in Yiddish; or Skvyra, in present-day Ukraine) during the mid-19th century. Followers of the rebbes of Skver are called ''Skverer Hasidim''. The dynasty of Skver is a branch of the Chernobyl dynasty. Its founder, Rebbe Yitzchok, also known as Reb Itzikl, was one of the eight sons of Rabbi Mordechai, the Maggid of Chernobyl. There are three offshoots of the Skverer dynasty. David Twersky is the rebbe of one headquartered in New Square, New York. Yechiel Michl Twersky, son of the late rebbe David Twersky, is the rebbe of another. Yitzcok Twersky, son of the late rebbe Mottel Twersky is the rebbe of a third. Philosophy and lifestyle Skverer Hasidism stresses Torah study, prayer, and abstention from excessive earthly pleasures, in order to achieve purity of heart and mind. To that end, the village of New Square was establis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
