Here is an extra source that I will use tomorrow in El JEM. If you have you email on a telephone you wil find it easier to follow.



Mishnah.
 
One should not sell them bears, lions or anything which may injure the public.
 
One should not join them in building a basilica, a scaffold, a stadium, or a platform.
 
But one may join them in building pedestals for altars and also private baths.
 
When however he reaches the cupola in which the idol is placed he must not build.
 
 
 

It is permitted to go to stadiums, because by shouting one may save the victim. One is also permitted to go to a camp for the purpose of maintaining order in the country, providing he does not conspire with the Romans, but for the purpose of conspiring it is forbidden.
 
It has been taught: One should not go to stadiums because they are ‘the seat of the scornful’, but R. Nathan permits it for two reasons: first, because by shouting one may save the victim, secondly, because one might be able to give evidence of death for the wife of a victim and so enable her to remarry.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Our Rabbis taught: Those who visit stadiums or a camp and witness there the performance of sorcerers and enchanters, or of bukion and mukion, lulion and mulion, blurin or salgurin — lo, this is ‘the seat of the scornful,’ and against those who visit them Scripture says, Happy is the man that hath not walked in the counsel of the wicked . . . nor sat in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in the law of the Lord. From here you can infer that those things cause one to neglect the Torah.
 

 
 

Dear Friends,

I hope you all had a good day and are enjoying the trip.

The new thing tht I learned today was how 'Arabic Numerals' got thier shapes.

I promised to send out the text of the 7th century poem about Kehiya - the Jewish Berber Warrior Princess who took on the Muslim invaders.

The poem reads:


O! Sons of Yeshurun!
Do not forget your persecutors
The Chaldeans, Caesar, Hadrian and Kahiya—
That accursed woman, more cruel than all the others together.
She gave our virgins to her warriors,
She washed her feet in the blood of our children.
God created her to make us atone for our sins,
But God hates those who make his people suffer.
Give me back my children
So that they can mourn me.
I left them
In the hands of Kahiya.



Tomorrow we are setting off at 8:30 in the morning after breakfast. The study session will be in the amphitheatre of El Jem. We have a lot of tavelling tomorrow, and in additoin to El Jem we will be visiting Gabes and finishing th day in Matmata.

If you have not bought your éxtit tax' sticker yer, you can do so at the lobby of the hotel. This can save time at the airport on Sunday.

Chaim

Here's another quick note for today.

Thank you to Susan Marx for forwarding the following article about restaurant in La Goulette that we will be visiting on Monday night. The link to the article is:

http://www.dw.de/preserving-a-kosher-taste-of-tunisias-past/a-17251495

Chaim

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Dear Friends,

I have had received questions from participants about the dress code for various parts of our trip to Tunisia. This is useful information that I am sharing with everyone. I will send a further post later in the week with some last minute details of the programme.

I am looking forward to seeing you all next week.

If you have any questions before the trip please send them in – and if appropriate I will share my answers with the whole group.


Chaim
 

Would it be appropriate to wear sleeveless cotton dresses in Tunis?  Or do upper arms need to be covered.   Also, I am assuming Bermuda shorts would be okay to wear.

In my experience the people in Tunisia are relaxed about tourists, and in any tourist area you can wear what you are used to.

However, in the streets of Tunis and Kairouan, and certainly in the Medina areas, it is best to have long trousers, skirts etc. and not be sleeveless (or a shawl) in order not to offend and bring attention to ourselves.

Just wondering if have to wear a skirt for Shabbat on Djerba or whether can get away with trousers – any thoughts?  

The community in Djerba is a very traditional community and a skirt/dress would be appropriate. If we want to community to receive us on Shabbat, we will need to respect their norms in terms of travel, photography, dress etc. More on this next week when we are in Djerba!

 
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