Dear Chaplains and Institutional Staff,

Please print out and read Aleph's Purim and Passover Advisory. Please remember to place your requests for Purim packages from Aleph. Please scroll down to  the middle of this email for info on downloading the Passover order forms.

THE ALEPH ADVISORY

|FOR PURIM WITH PASSOVER INFO AND ORDER FORMS

The Aleph Institute
9540 Collins Avenue • P.O. Box 547127 • Surfside, Florida 33154-7127
(305) 864-5553 • Fax: (305) 864-5675

The Aleph Institute, founded in 1981 at the express direction of Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, of blessed memory,  is a not-for-profit religious organization providing humanitarian, educational and advocacy services to Jews in institutional environments and anywhere else they and their families may become isolated from their heritage. Aleph also develops unique educational programs on morality and ethics for the general public. Internet: http://www.aleph-institute.org; e-mail: admin@aleph-institute.org .

PURIM ORDERS MUST BE RECEIVED BY FEBRUARY 20, 2011

PASSOVER ORDERS MUST BE RECEIVED BY MARCH  11, 2011

A Bulletin On Jewish Practice & Procedure For Chaplains and Institutional Staff

Fast of Esther is on March 17, 2011 / Purim is on March 20 2011

THE FAST OF ESTHER — March 17

This fast day, observed this year on Thursday, March 17, commemorates Esther's three-day fast before appealing to King Achashverosh to abolish Haman's evil decree against the Jews of Persia. See Book of Esther; Code of Jewish Law ("C.J.L"). ch. 141¶ 3.

Eating and drinking are prohibited on this fast day from 2 hours before daybreak until approximately one hour after sunset.

On the fast of Esther it is customary to donate half of a silver coin (dollar) to charity (one- dollar and fifty cents in the U.S.). C.J.L. ch. 141 ¶ 5.

Purim holiday materials are available from Aleph free of charge! See ordering information at the end of the email. As always, we will donate all materials to institutions with no pastoral budget or funds to pay for the items.

In prior years, the Federal BOP has allowed chaplains to buy the traditional "Hamentaschen" cookies to be distributed in the chapel at the Purim services.

PURIM—March 20

Purim is the most joyous of all Jewish holidays, as joyous as Yom Kippur is somber. The festival commemorates the events found in the Book of Esther, celebrating the nullification of a decree seeking the deaths of the Jews all over the world approximately 2,500 years ago. Purim is a holiday mandated by rabbinic decree and the stringent rules of the Sabbath do not apply. However, no significant work or business should be conducted. C.J.L. ch. 142 ¶ 8.

The holiday itself is celebrated through four rituals:

Megillah Readings: The Book of Esther (written on a parchment scroll written by hand with a feather quill and ink called the "Megillah") is read at services on the eve and morning of Purim. Both men and women are obligated to hear the Megillah on the eve of Purim and on the day of the holiday .

Gifts of Food to Friends ("Mish'Loach Manos"): A gift of two different ready-to-eat foods that each have a different blessing is given to at least one friend during the day time on the actual day of Purim.

Charity to the Poor ("Matanos L'Evyonim"): At least one penny (and usually more) is given to each of at least two poor people (can be satisfied by proxy),C.J.L. ch. 141 ¶ 3. Everybody, even the poorest who are themselves dependent on charity, is obligated to give at least one gift each to two poor persons.

A Festive Meal ("Se'Udas Purim"): A festive meal is eaten during the day of Purim, C.J.L. ch. 141 ¶ 5. Purim must be celebrated by eating, drinking, and making merry. The obligation of feasting on Purim is not fulfilled by a feast that is eaten after sunset; the principal Purim feast must be held in the daytime and must include the eating of bread or the equivalent..

Please make sure to provide a sack-dinner for Jewish inmates in order for them to observe the Fast of Esther (Thursday, March 17). The fast ends approximately one hour after sundown.

PASSOVER SPO & COMMISSARY ORDERS

The following is text from a memo sent out in past years to all Wardens in the Federal Prison system:

"Some inmates may request K-for-P snack foods from the commissary. It would be appropriate to secure K-for-P snack foods from the commissary vendor, or to authorize SPO's to accommodate the requests of Jewish inmates during the holy season of Passover. Observant inmates may not shop on the days on which work is prohibited, therefore, it may be necessary to reschedule their shopping days, if these occur on days on which work is prohibited."

Please speak to the commissary staff and business office reps to arrange for the Jewish inmates to be provided the opportunity to buy Kosher for Passover items through the commissary or by SPO. Aleph will sell directly to commissaries or fill SPO orders at wholesale prices. Shipping is included in these prices. Please give a copy of the enclosed order form with SPO and Commissary prices to the appropriate parties at your facilities. Aleph would much rather sell in bulk to the commissaries. Processing individual SPO’s is costly and much more time consuming. A good idea would be to have the inmates place their orders as if they would be processed as SPO’s. This will give the commissaries a good idea of how much to order. This avoids a lot of needles time, paper work and stress.

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PASSOVER ORDER FORMS

ALEPH NOW HAS AN ONLINE STORE WWW.ALEPHSTORE.COM FOR ALL PAID ORDERS FOR PASSOVER. ALL PAID ORDERS FROM CHAPLAINS, COMMISSARRIES AND FAMILY MEMBERS MUST BE PLACED ON THE ONLINE STORE . IF YOU DO NOT HAVE INTERNET , PLEASE HAVE SOMEONE WHO HAS INTERNET PLACE THIS ORDER FOR YOU.

IF THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE, YOU WILL NEED TO CALL OR EMAIL MOISHE BLIZINSKY (MBLIZ@ALEPH-INSTITUTE.ORG)  OR RABBI KATZ (MMK@ALEPH-INSTITUTE.ORG)  AT 305 864-5553 TO RECEIVE PERMISSION TO PLACE THE ORDER ANOTHER WAY. PASSOVER ORDERS THAT ARE FAXED IN OR PLACED VIA EMAIL WITHOUT PRIOR APPROVAL WILL NOT BE PROCESSED.

DONATED ORDERS CAN BE FAXED. PLEASE CLICK  ON THE FOLLOWING LINK OR COPY AND PASTE THE LINK INTO YOUR BROWSER TO  DOWNLOAD AND PRINT THIS YEARS PASSOVER ORDER FORMS:

http://aleph-institute.org/chaplain-resources/passover.html

IF YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO DOWNLOAD AND PRINT THE FORMS, PLEASE EMAIL MMK@ALEPHINSTITUTE.ORG AND WE WILL EMAIL YOU THE FORMS AS A PDF.

HAVE A RABBI LEAD PURIM SERVICES AT YOUR INSTITUTION!

As always, Aleph will be sending out Rabbis to dozens of state and federal institutions across the country for Purim. We encourage you to call Rabbi Yossi Stern  at Aleph to try and arrange this program for your institution. Guaranteed visitations are available with a commitment to cover transportation costs. Donation requests will be limited and on a first-come-first-served basis. If you are interested, please contact Rabbi Stern at Aleph.

PASSOVER HOLIDAY HEADS-UP

While various institutions in the past have arranged for holiday "meals" for Jewish inmates on various different evenings during Passover (depending on availability of contract rabbis or visiting volunteers), staff should be aware that at the very least, it is a religiously-mandated requirement for Jews to gather, read the Haggadah, drink four cups of grape juice and eat matzo and the appropriate ritual items on the evenings of April 18 and 19.

Chaplains and/or other institutional staff should make appropriate arrangements/accommodations for the Jewish inmates to gather together on April 18 (no earlier than one hour after sunset) and on April 19 no earlier than one half hour after sunset to properly observe the Seder services. The Seder cannot begin in most cities in the US until after 8:30 pm and in some areas only after 9:00pm. If one begins the Seder before the proper time and eats  matzo and drinks the four cups of grape juice before dark, one has not only not fulfilled the Biblical obligations of Passover but  is actually violating Jewish law. As Matzo is forbidden to be eaten on the eve of Passover until it is dark. The Seder meal usually cannot be completed properly in under 3 hours (as the entire Hagaddah must be read during the Seder service). It is imperative that you plan ahead to arrange for staff to be available for these services as they go late into the evening.

The following is a segment of the actual text of a memo that the Federal Prison system has sent out to their staff in past years regarding Passover. We are placing this in the Aleph Purim Advisory to enable chaplains and other institutional staff from the various State Prison systems and county jails to get an idea of what kind of accommodations the Federal system makes for Passover. We hope this will help institutional staff understand the importance of all the detailed observances and restrictions of the Passover holiday.

Guidelines for Religious Accommodation of Passover

The Jewish observance of Passover occurs between Nissan 14 and Nissan 22.

This is a time of very strict observance for Jewish inmates that often requires special religious accommodation. This is particularly true in the area of food preparation and serving and work prohibition. This memorandum provides guidelines for planning an appropriate level of observance for the Jewish inmates in your institution. We have tried to anticipate the various accommodation requests that may be forthcoming. There are many inmates who will not request extraordinary preparations or accommodations, as the levels of inmate observance range from ultra-orthodox to secular. On the other hand, Jewish inmates who are otherwise inactive in the Jewish chapel program may justifiably request participation in the Passover program.

Passover Preparation

On the day before Passover begins, inmates may request to ritually search their living area and other areas for which they are responsible for any residue of yeast or grain. Beginning at noon on Nissan 14, observant Jewish inmates are prohibited by Jewish law from consuming any food prepared with yeast or grain. This includes breads, cereals, and other grain products. Ordinarily, the serving of kosher for Passover meals (K-for-P) begins at noon of the day preceding the beginning of the observance.

Dietary Issues

For planning purposes, Please note that 26 K-for p meals are required for each inmate participating in Passover. It is imperative that a sufficient number of meals be ordered by Food services soon enough to allow sufficient time for their production and shipping, Extra meals should be ordered to accommodate last minute requests from incoming inmates. It is advisable to have each inmate request or refuse K-for-P meals in writing, well in advance of the observance, so that Adequate meals may be procured and last minute shortages can be avoided, Some inmates may request two Seder meals (on the first two nights of Passover), While Seder ritual items, and the ritual itself, are appropriately commemorated on both nights, only one ritual should be followed by a Bureau of Prisons ceremonial meal, All foods for the ceremonial meal must be k-for-P certified and prepared in a yeast/grain free environment appropriate for the inmate's level of observance.

Observant inmates may request a designated dining area, use of a new microwave and cooking/eating utensils for the days on which they are required to abstain from foods prepared with yeast/grain. This in a reasonable request and should be accommodated. If a designated area cannot be provided, inmates may be given the option of consuming their meals in their living area, which they have rid of yeast and grain products prior to the Passover observance.

Seder Ritual

The Seder Plate is a ritual item that should be provided by the Chaplains. While inmates may wish to consume some of the ritual items, it is not a meal plate. It is not necessary to provide a separate Seder plate for each inmate. The ritual requires more grape juice and Matzo than is customary for other observances. A reasonable serving of matzo (K-for-P) for meals and rituals should be provided by Food Services and Chaplaincy, respectively. Shmurah matzo may be limited to the Seder rituals and ceremonial meal. Inmates who choose to have additional matzo, Shmurah or otherwise, may be required to purchase it from the commissary or through Special Purpose Orders (SPO.)

The ritual is contained in a Passover prayer book entitled Haggadah. A sufficient number of these books should be available for inmate use. Candle lighting for the observance of the Seder ritual begins after 8:00 p.m., depending on time zones and location. The duration of the -ritual may extend up to 3 hours, An-out count may be necessary to assure sufficient time for completion of the ritual, but all ceremonies could reasonably conclude by 12:00 a.m.

Commissary Issues

Some inmates may request k-for-P snack foods from the commissary. It would be appropriate to secure k-for-P snack foods from the commissary vendor, or to authorize SPOs to accommodate the requests of Jewish inmates during the holy season of Passover. Observant inmates may not shop on the days on which work is prohibited, therefore, it may be necessary to reschedule the shopping days, if these occur on days on which work is prohibited.

Work Prohibition

Inmates may request to be- excused from work on the first two and last two days of Passover. The days of work prohibition are determined by the Jewish law. Requests for days free from work should be accommodated- Inmates may be required to use vacation days and/or make up the days free from work.

PURIM ORDER FORM

Aleph will donate these items to any facility that does not have a budget:

ITEMS AVAILABLE:

1) Purim Packages - $2.00 (1 large special holiday "hamentasch" cookie, candies and snacks)

2) Package of 1 large "hamentasch" - $1.00

3) Printed copies of the Megillah      - $3.00

REMEMBER THAT YOU CAN REUSE MEGILLAH BOOKLETS FROM PAST YEARS

ORDERS MUST BE RECEIVED  BY FEB. 20

Questions? Call Moishe at (305) 864-5553 ext 16 or email him at mbliz@aleph-institute.org

All PAID ORDERS MUST BE PLACED ONLINE AT WWW.ALEPHSTORE.COM

DONATED ORDERS SHOULD BE EMAILED TO  PURIM@ALEPH-INSTITUTE.ORG If you do not have email at the facility, please have someone who  does have email, email this order for you or email it from your home email address. If that is impossible, you can fax your request to 305 864-5675.

Please provide the following information when requesting a donated order via email:

1. Name of chaplain or person receiving items

2. Shipping address

3. Phone number and extension

4. Email address

5. Number of Jewish Inmates

6. How many Purim Packages (1 large special holiday "hamentasch" cookie, candies and snacks)

do you require?

7. How many Packages of 1 large "hamentasch" do you require?

8. How many printed copies of the Megillah do you require?

REMEMBER THAT YOU CAN REUSE MEGILLAH BOOKLETS FROM PAST YEARS