Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 40, No. 6, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 6, 1986 Page: 13 of 18
eighteen pages : ill. ; page 16 x 12 in. Scanned from physical pages.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
dining & entertainment:
A Jewish View Of Valentine’s Day
BY BERNARD
RASKAS
Valentine's Day is popular
because of its primary
association with love, how-
ever the origin of this day is
rather obscure. Some be-
lieve it is traced to the
ancient Roman festival call-
ed Lupercalia. Others think
it has to do with a Christian
martyr named Valentine.
Still others link it with an
old English belief that birds
chose their mates on Febru-
ary 14. There is yet one
more school who believes
that it comes from the
Norman word galantin
which means “a lover of
women.” It is probably a
combination of all of these.
By the 17th century the
custom of sending valentines
to one’s favorite developed.
At first these were simple
home-made items but by
1800 the first commercial
valentines began to appear.
Then there developed the
interesting feature of com-
mercial valentines. Today,
the post office estimates
that over half million valen-
tines are sent out and this, of
course, does not include
those we give by hand. So
one can safely assume that
well over a million valen-
tines are exchanged today.
So much for that. But,
what about the Jewish view
of Valentine’s Day? It might
surprise us to learn that
there was a Jewish Valen-
tine’s Day during the time
when the Temple stood. The
following selection from the
Talmud is fascinating.
Rabbi Simeon ben Gamliel
said:There were no happier
days for the Jewish people
than the fifteenth of Av and
Yom Kippur, on which the
young girls of Jerusalem
would venture forth. All of
them would dress in simple
white garments, borrowed
from each other, so that not
even the poorest among
them need be embarrassed
... They would venture
forth to dance in the vine-
yards. What would they sing
as they danced? “Lift up
your eyes, young man, and
look around that you might
make your choice. Look not
for beauty, but look for
family. Charm is deceitful
and beauty is vain, but a
God-fearing woman is much
to be praised” (Proverbs
31;30).
This passage reveals the
typical rabbinic overtones of
equality and stressing that
essential attributes are not
physical but spiritual.
However, not all rabbis
were strict moralists and
some of them were very
warm and understanding
human beings. There is a
very beautiful little passage
to be found in a sermon
given by a Hassidic rabbi in
the 18th century. He asks:
“Why does it say ip Gene-
sis: ‘Be fruitful, and multi-
ply?’ It is redundant. Would-
n’t it have been enough to
say, ‘Be fruitful’? — or
wouldn’t it have been
enough to say, ‘multiply’?
Why add something to the
text?” He explained:“This is
to show that there must be a
plus to marriage. Animals
have sex and multiply. In
marriage there must be
more than a physical rela-
tionship. A husband and
wife must bring love, tend-
erness, and affection not
only to the sexual act, but to
their marriage.”
riage was viewed not only as
a spiritual relationship and a
familial one but also one that
involved romance and love.
We have pictures of women
during these times and they
were dressed in the best of
fashion of their times.
Indeed, research will demon-
strate to us that romantic
love is found in the Bible in
an entire book named “The
Song of Songs.” Perhaps, if
more people read it care-
fully in our day they might
give it an “X” rating.
When it comes to pas-
sages on love, there is a
charming story taken from
shtetle life. A scholarly man
said to Rabbi Abraham of
Stretyn:“It is said that you
give people strange drugs
and that your drugs are
most marvelous. Give me
one such drug that I may
attain to the fear of the
Lord.” “I know of no such
drug,” said Rabbi Abraham.
“But if you wish I can give
you one for the love of God.”
“All the better!” exclaimed
the other. “Just you see that
I get it.” “It is the love of
one’s fellow human being,”
answered the rabbi.
Love to the Jew is not just
something for Valentine’s
Day but for every day.
Warmth, affection and tend-
erness is something that can
make each relationship a
little bit nicer and each day a
little more pleasant.
come for lunch . . .
Come for late night!
GOURMET DESSERTS: flanv
ing jubilees, tortes, 'parfaits,
sodas, pies et cetera (featuring
BREYERS ICE CREAM)
Mon.-Thursll a.m.-ll p.m.
Fri. &Sat. 11 a.m.-ll p.m.
Sunday 1 p.m. 10 p.m.
LUNCH: croissant sandwiches,
salad
Mon.-Fri 1 1 a.m.- 5 p.m.
&
TJOLX COV"
DESSERTS. t~r:
GREAT FOR SMALL
LUNCHEON PARTIES
SHOWERS, ETC.
9100 N. Central Expwy.
(N.E. Comer Park Ln. & Central)
Caruth Plaza 696-2865
tempts lovers with i
serene beauty
so does
&TAVERNA
2755 Bachman Dr.
Beautiful atmosphere
romantic Greek music and dancing
tempts your soul;
excellent Greek, Continental
and American menu
satisfies your appetite
Serving Lunch & Dinner
Mon. thru Sat. - 11 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Ring 351-4592
be appropriate for a Jewish
valentine’s message.
From The Song of Songs:
“Your love is better than
wine.”
From the Apocrypha:
“Wine and song rejoice the
heart but better than that is
the affection of lovers.”
From Judah Al-Harizi:“0
lovely maiden, thou hast
drawn my heart.”
From Emanual di Roma:
“Your eyes bewitch me, a
glance thrills all my soul
with wild delight.”
From Abraham ibn Ezra:
“Your face brightens the
day.”
From Heinrich Heine:
“You are my love. You are
my dearest friend.”
From the Yiddish: “Love
me a little less but love me
longer.”
or “For a little love I
would give my whole life.”
From the Talmud: “When
two souls kiss they are
united in love.”
Students at American
Yeshiva once had a humor-
ous Valentine’s Day party
and decided to write their
own messages for a Jewish
valentine’s card. This is the
one that everyone agreed
was the best:
Roses are redish
Violets are blueish
I love you
Because you are Jewish.
The Union Plaza
Has It All!
We find many such pas- Since on Valentine’s Day
sages in the 18th and 19th it is traditional to send
centuries which encourage greetings to loved ones the
expressions of love. Mar- following quotations might
• More than 1000 luxury rooms and
suites • Outstanding restaurants •
Broadway shows • Night and day
lounge entertainment • 3-acre casino
• Race & sports book • Convention
facilities • Catering services • Wed-
ding chapel • Swimming • Tennis
They’re all yours at the UP.
UNION
LAS VEGAS II Vf |T 0*
NUMBER ONE MAIN STREET
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA 89101
702-386-2110
TOLL FREE 800-634-6575
3
PAGE 13 DALLAS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1986 TEXAS JEWISH POST
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Wisch, J. A. & Wisch, Rene. Texas Jewish Post (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 40, No. 6, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 6, 1986, newspaper, February 6, 1986; Fort Worth, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth753479/m1/13/: accessed August 15, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .