I found this very touching.

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Righteous Gentile Gets Israel Burial
Jun/17/09

Oscar Schindler by his RG tree.

(IsraelNN.com) The ashes of a Polish man who hid and saved 12 Jewish escapees from the Warsaw Ghetto in an apartment he rented for them were buried in the Kiryat Shaul cemetery in Tel Aviv Tuesday along with those of his wife. Two of the people Jerzy Wunsche saved in 1943, Yosef Atlasowicz and Miriam Sherman, attended the funeral. Sherman, who was a baby at the time, was raised by Wunsche for three years after World War II ended before he handed her over to the Jewish Agency.

When Wunsche died a year ago his family discovered his will called for him to be buried under the tree planted in his honor at Yad Vashem. His wife Zofia’s wishes were to be buried beside her husban. When burial at the museum proved impossible, Atlasowicz and Yad Vashem arranged for the couple’s burial in the portion of the Kiryat Shaul cemetery reserved for righteous gentiles. “He was a very modest man,” said Wunsche’s son John. “He thought what he was doing was normal, and that everyone should have done it.”

The below history was compiled by Rabbi Bindman in his book “The Seven Colors Of The Rainbow.”  I have not yet read this book, but found the following excerpt very interesting.

The Noahide and Jewish readers should take to heart that Noahides have had a G-d-centered relationship with the Jews for millenia.  This is not a “new” phenomena.

In my opinion, this perspective is far more empowering to Bnei Noach than pretending that the Noahide-Jew relationship is a novel concept.  Rather, you are part of a great chain of people who similarly strove for G-d against all odds.

What is novel, is that humanity is steadily approaching the redemption.

-iHN

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Mesopotamia, origin of seventy nations

Following the flood, humanity was still one united body, living in one place, the area now known as Mesopotamia or Iraq, where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers flow through a fertile plain. Here the people had settled and given birth to children. Their state of security was so great that they began to consider themselves the masters of all creation, ready to challenge G-d Himself for supremacy. They saw their own unity as the key to this, and they did not commit the sins of banditry and sexual infidelity (bestiality) for which the previous generation had been condemned. They were kind and loving to one another, but they grew arrogant as a group and decided to build a high tower, the Tower of Babel, from which to gain an access to heaven.

(Natural History Museum - London. w/permission)

This was a form of idolatry (violation of the Covenant of Noah), and their punishment from the heavenly court was that their languages should be confused. They would no longer understand each other as before. This was the origin of separate languages as we now have them; seventy basic tongues were established, from which all of today’s languages descended. This was also the number of the actual nations of the non-Jewish world before they were subdivided and intermingled. (more…)

This is the first issue of “Connections,” from September 2008.
The magazine has contributions from many of the major leaders and visionaries driving the Noahide community today.  You can download the PDF file from NoahideNations.com.

Just a note of clarity about terminology:

“Rabbi” in Hebrew is “Rav” which is a title, as in “President Washington” or “Dr. Jeffres”

When a person has a personal rabbi that they “cling” to and go to for guidance and questions, they often refer to that particular rabbi as “my rav” or “my rebbe.”

The term “rebbe’ is used as a title instead of, or in conjunction with “rabbi/rav,” mostly in Chassidic circles, such as Chabad and Breslev.  Whereas other Orthodox Jewish circles simply use the term “rav” such as “Rav Moshe Feinstein” or “Rav Ovadyah Yosef.”

On having a rebbe, in “Pirke Avos” “Ethics of Our Fathers” it says:
“Accept a teacher (rav) upon yourself, acquire a friend for yourself, and judge everyone favorably.”

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Guest post by: Alice Jonsson from Breslev.co.il

The current news out of Israel illustrates how profoundly vital it is that more non-Jews than ever immediately turn to Hashem and His Torah. Unfortunately I could write that sentence just about any day of the year and it would be true. I could also substitute pretty much any country. Take Denmark for example. That’s correct. Denmark.

Apparently Danish headmasters are now telling some Danish Jews that they should send their children elsewhere for schooling because of the large numbers of Arabs, specifically Palestinians, in some of the schools. They claim they will not be able to keep the Jewish kids safe. Grown adults claim to be incapable of keeping children from attacking minorities in their schools.  Gentile to Gentile, this is what I have to say to those Danes: when grown folk, as we say in the South, can not control their children there is something horribly amiss.

Number two, sometimes the worst aggressors are the so-called passive aggressors, those who perpetrate violence by doing absolutely nothing. When you throw Jewish children to the wolves, or let the wolves take over, instead of getting rid of the wolves, you can bet the wolves will be coming for you next. Be grown folk and take charge. Or at least have the guts to admit that perhaps you do not want the Jews there in the first place.

I live in Atlanta, GA. If in the year 2009 a school in Atlanta said that African American or Latino students should go elsewhere because the administrators just won’t be able to keep them safe from racist whites or whomever, can you imagine the totally justifiable outcry? Oprah Winfrey would be filming live in the parking lot. But Jews in Denmark. Feh. Next the Danish government will be recommending that Jews all confine themselves to a small part of the country and live behind large stone walls with giant iron gates. To keep them safe. This is what happens to the world when non-Jews do not live by the Seven Commandments.

But how do we help people to learn about these commandments? How do we live with them ourselves? (more…)

Oscar-award winning actor John Voight was awarded the Tzedakah Award by Noahide Nations at this year’s first Noahide World Conference.

Voight said,

“The Seven Noahide Commandments appeal to my own sense of what I feel is a higher purpose, which is to try to get everyone to an understanding of what they’re asked to do, what life’s responsibilities are. These very simple Seven Laws of Noah, are good basics.”

- Jon Voight

Below is an interview with John Voight on Israeli television from May 2008 after he visited the rocket-battered town of Sderot.

Notables:
“G-d says to Abraham: Those who bless you will be blessed, those who curse you will be cursed.  And isn’t that what has happened [in history]?”¹

“All sane people should have a passion for Israel at this time.”

“I’m thinking about the future of our children, about the future of this world that we’re in.”

As you know,

Everyone who accepts the seven [Noahide] commandments and is careful to perform them – this person is of the Chasidei Umos HaOlam, (Righteous Amongst the Nations) and he has a portion in the World to Come.

He accepts them and performs them because they were commanded by the Holy One Blessed is He revealed to us by the hand of Moshe Rabbenu that the Bnei Noah were previously commanded in these things.

Since the state of Israel is dominated by a secular government, they do not honor you lovely Bnei Noach for fulfilling the above Torah definition of “Righteous Gentile.”  Israel does, however, recognize mesirat nefesh - self-sacrifice and heroism.  And thus…

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(IsraelNN.com) Israel plans to name Sandra Samuel, who saved the life of two-year-old Moshe Tzvi Holtzberg from the terrorist attack on the Chabad House in Mumbai, as a person who is “Righteous among the Nations,” – a Righteous Gentile It is the highest Israeli award that may be presented to a non-Jew.

Samuel will be the first citizen of India to be honored with the title. Other recipients of the honor, which is bestowed by a special commission headed by a Supreme Court Justice, include Oskar and Emilie Schindler, and Raoul Wallenberg. It has generally been awarded to people — 22,000 to date — who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust.

One of the mitzvot (commandments) Jews have is “Shmirat HaLashon” - Guarding the Tongue from evil speech.  This is not about lieing.  It’s about gossiping, relaying harmful (but true) information to others about your fellow man.

Guarding against this behavior has been led by a Rabbi we refer to as “The Chafetz Chaim” (The Life Seeker).

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(image courtesy of inventorspot.com)

(Source: SimpleJew)
A Simple Jew asks:

As a Bas Noach (daugher of Noah) living in South East Asia, how did you first learn about the Chofetz Chaim? Why do you feel so attached to his teachings?

“Believing Gentile” answers:

When the Internet came to where I live around the early 1990’s, both my sons told me that now was the opportunity to seek teachings from the Chosen People.

Years earlier, I had responded to my younger son saying that there was no way we would ever, ever be able to study from the Jewish people from here. I remember he told me then, “G-d only gave them the Holy Scriptures so they are the only true teachers.”

I forgot his words until the Internet came. What I had years earlier thought was impossible, Hashem made it possible.

I know its a miracle, a blessing from G-d, that I entered the Orthodox sites at my first search and entry.

I feel G-d brought me first to the Chofetz Chaim’s teachings since controlling my speech is the area where I needed the most improvement. It is the most damaged part of myself that I needed to correct in order to draw nearer to G-d.

In my early years, I was taught that doing penance by saying “Hail Mary” and “Our Father” was enough to remove any sins, speech or otherwise. However, I have come to see that this belief is false. The words we speak don’t just go away. They can sometimes cause untold harm.

I carry with me always a small portrait picture of the Chofetz Chaim, which my Torah tutor Reuven Ginat sent me by email, years ago, along with a picture of Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson. They are outstanding examples of our times and I seek protection for myself in their merits and strive to follow their teachings. Quoting from an article from Rabbi Dovid Sears on this site, “We may not be able to see with the eyes of the tzaddikim (righteous people). But as we try to find our way through the confusions of this world, at least we should strive to heed their directions.”

Keeping in mind the famous story of Reb Zusia of Anapol, I know that I am not expected to be at the Chofetz Chaim’s level, but I know that I am answerable to the Seven Laws which G-d gave us believing Gentiles and which He gave us the capacity to fulfill.

May the merits of this great tzaddik (righteous person), the Chofetz Chaim, protect my family and me from evil speech.

There is no “right way” for Bnei Noach to get married.¹  Rather, the questions to ask are:

1) What action(s) on our behalf constitute establishment of our marriage
2) What ceremonies are fitting and appropriate for Bnei Noach weddings

The length of this post will give one example of how you might answer question #2.

To answer question #1:

The subject of Noahide marriage according to Torah is discussed in the book “The Path of the Righteous Gentile,” in the chapter on Sexual Relations:

“Under the Seven Universal Commandments [for Gentiles], a woman is considered to be a man’s wife when the couple has sexual relations [in the normal manner] with the intent² that it constitute marriage.”

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Source: (Rabbi Mordechai)

…

…My third thought was that I wouldn’t know what ritual to use. I wouldn’t want to use Jewish ritual – they are not Jewish, and are under no illusions on that matter. So what would I do?

On the other hand: Come on, how cool is that, getting to do a Noachide wedding?

So I emailed colleagues, who clarified that a rabbi is empowered to perform any wedding which conforms with municipal law, but who had no idea what ritual to use. I Googled “Noachide Weddings” and “Noahide Weddings” and came up with this page, but the contents made me uncomfortable; I really didn’t like their adaptation of key Jewish wedding elements – the berachah [blessing] on wine, the ketubah, the Chuppah canopy.

But some colleagues of mine urged me on, pointing out that it’s pretty rare for an Orthodox rabbi to have a chance to get really creative!

Then, as I talked to the couple more and met with them, they were so visibly sincere that I fell in love with the idea beyond the “adventure” level. It was a chance to help good people do a good thing, in a meaningful way. Isn’t that why I’m a rabbi in the first place?

So I developed a ceremony which drew on biblical themes common for Jews and non-Jews, and meaningful for a wedding.

Here’s what we did:

1) They had found a non-denominational chapel in a park, and we used that space. As they stood together, I sang the traditional Jewish chuppah songs of Mi Adir and Mi Ban Siach.

2) I then presented a dvar torah on the Torah’s history of marriage, going back to Adam and Chavah [Eve]. I explained the Adam I and Adam II narratives, using Ramban’s idea that one narrative is creation of the soul (unified) and the other is creation of the body (separate). I talked about why Adam and Chavah benefit from being of two separate bodies – the idea, expressed in various commentaries, that the man and woman complement each other with their strengths, and so accomplish things they could never accomplish as one unit.

3) They had wanted to give each other rings, and written their own declaration of love and faithfulness for the occasion, so they did that at this point. I had them say “Behold you are sanctified to me,” taking the first half of the Jewish formula and dropping the “according to the laws of Moses and Israel” segment.

4) They had wanted to have a toast with wine at this point, but I was uncomfortable because of halachic [Torah Law] issues which are beyond the scope of this blog, and because of the adoption of a very Jewish wedding practice. So I decided to use water instead.

I explained the biblical significance of water, tracing it from the water present at Creation, through the punitive water of the flood rolling back Creation, through the water in which Jews drowned in Egypt, through the punitive water of Yam Suf [Sea of Reeds], through water from a stone in the desert, etc. My point was the power embedded by Gd in this natural element.

We recited the berachah [blessing] on water together (the berachah itself – “that all comes into existence at Gd’s command” – being very appropriate for the occasion), and drank.

5) To close the wedding I adapted a tefillah [prayer] authored by Rabbi Yochanan, presented in Yerushalmi Berachot 4:1, to read as follows:

יהי רצון מלפניך רבונו של עולם שתשכן בבתינו אהבה ואחוה ושלום ורעות ותצליח סופינו אחרית ותקוה ותרבה גבולנו בחברים ותקנינו לב טוב וחברים טובים ונשיש בחלקנו ונשכים ונמצא ייחול לבבנו

May it by Your will, Master of the Universe, that You bring love and brotherhood and peace and friendship into our home, that You give us success and hope, that You broaden our boundaries with friends, that You establish for us a good heart and good friends, that You make us happy with our lot, and that we rise each day to find our hearts’ desire.

On the whole, it was a remarkable experience. I was moved by their sincerity, and by their respect for Torah and Jewish belief.

I’m glad I did it - not because it was unusual, but because it really was cool in a much deeper way.

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The Kuzari was the king of Khazar, a city whose king and inhabitants are said to have converted to Judaism after lengthy discussion with a Jewish sage.

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69. The Rabbi: “I can answer that in just a few short sentences.  Do you ascribe the wisdom you detect in the anatomy of an ant to the influence of a star, a galaxy or something other than God Almighty?”

70. The Kuzari: “The anatomy of an ant is nature’s doing.”

71. The Rabbi: “And what do you mean by ‘nature’?”

72. The Kuzari: “The scientists call it a kind of force.  I admit, I don’t have the foggiest idea what they mean by that, but I”m sure the scientists know what they are talking about.”

73. The Rabbi: “Believe me, they don’t know any more than we do.  Aristotle vaguely defined nature as the primary cause that makes things move or rest, as long as these changes are inherent — not accidental — to these things.”¹

74. The Kuzari: “Aristotle seems to be saying that an object that changes inherently — in and of itself –[like a plant that grows or dies] — has a cause that makes it change.  He calls that cause “nature.”

75. The Rabbi: “Aristotle drew a sharp distinction between things that move or rest accidentally [through outside influences] and things that move or rest inherently, by nature.”

76. The Kuzari: “If so, [that nature is the cause that makes things grow,] I realize that these thinkers have misled us with the definition of the word “nature.”  They have us believe that nature has the power to think and act, just as God does.  Why don’t we just say ‘God’ instead of ‘nature’?”

77. The Rabbi:  “You are right.  When we speak of ‘the wisdom of nature’ we mean the wisdom of the Creator.  Still, the term ‘nature’ should not be cast aside completely; it does have some validity.  The sun, moon, and stars, all have inherent powers, such as warming, cooling, providing moisture and dryness.  They do these things, not because they have a will and can think on their own, but because God appointed them to perform these functions.  However, the composition of all living things, their ability to reproduce, and their will can be attributed only to the All-knowing, Almighty God.  You may use the term ‘nature’ to describe the functions of the sun, moon, and the planets which affect the climate of the world, as long as you don’t credit them with any intelligence.  A man and woman who have a child did not actually create and form the baby.  They only supplied the seed which is the raw material which is shaped by the Creator into the human form…”

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From “The Kuzari - Part 1″ Translated by Avraham Yaakov Finkel

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Read this on GoodNewsNetwork.org

A new memorial center in Berlin pays tribute to the thousands of German who risked everything to save Jews from Nazi persecution and documents the years these “Silent Heroes” kept their Jewish guests hidden from the authorities.

The permanent museum exhibition shows the persecution and the desperate situation of Jews facing the threat of deportation, how some of them decided to resist the threat to their lives by going underground, as well as the actions and motivations of the men and women who helped them. It documents not only successes in saving Jews, but also attempts that failed.
Some 5,000 Jews in Germany were able to survive the war in hiding thanks to an unknown number of people who were involved in helping them. Research suggests that for each person in hiding, around 10 people were involved in aiding them. They found the courage to help as far as they could, despite the risk involved. Else Ackermann, a retired teacher, and her brother Hans, a former municipal civil servant, were two of these.

In 1942, at the age of 53, Johanna Putzrath was compelled to work as a forced laborer in a firm in Tempelhof in Berlin. She knew that Else Ackermann and her brother Hans, who were devout Protestants and adherents of Rudolf Steiner’s spiritual philosophy, had offered help to another Jewish worker at the firm. When this woman was unexpectedly deported, Johanna Putzrath turned to the Ackermanns.  Without hesitating, Hans Ackermann took the unknown Jewish woman into his two-roomed apartment in Tempelhof. His sister Else, who lived in Steglitz, joined him in helping the refugee Johanna Putzrath.

At the end of January 1943 Hans Ackermann also gave shelter for over a month to a married couple, Ines and Max Krakauer, until they found other places to stay in southern Germany. Even when the Ackermanns’ apartments were destroyed by bombs in 1944, they moved, yet they continued hiding Johanna Putzrath. After almost two-and-a-half years, the three of them witnessed the end of the war together.

Johanna Putzrath emigrated to the USA and lived in New York until her death in 1975. Else Ackermann died in the 1940s in Berlin; her brother Hans died in 1959.

Visit the Memorial’s English website at www.gedenkstaette-stille-helden.de/english
Read more about the Memorial’s stories in the UK Guardian.

(photo: Johanna Putzrath (left) with Else Ackermann, who helped to save her, Berlin 1946)