Amerikai Magyar Hírlap, 2009 (21. évfolyam, 1-50. szám)
2009-12-18 / 48. szám
English page Hungarian Journal Hungary Issues 5000 Forint Coin on Sesquicentennial of Europe’s Largest Synagogue Also Releases Bimetallic 200 Forint Coin as Replacement for Banknote (Budapest) - Exactly 150 years after it was consecrated on September 6, 1859, the National Bank of Hungary will issue a 5,000 forint silver coin in honor of the Dohány Street Synagogue. Now ranked as one of the top ten sights in Budapest, the Dohány Street Synagogue is Europe’s largest synagogue and the second largest in the world. (The largest is New York’s Temple Emanuel). It was built between 1854 and 1859 based on the plans of architects Frigyes Feszi and Ludwig Förster. The building was designed in the form of a basilica with dimensions of about 175 by 87 feet and a style, while essentially Moorish, also displaying a somewhat eclectic mix of Byzantine, Romantic and Gothic influences. A pair of onion-shaped domes rest atop twin octagonal towers 141 feet high. Between the towers and over the main entrance is a rose stained-glass window (shown on the coin’s reverse) whose restoration was recently completed. The complete renovation of the synagogue after years of communist neglect was an international effort and included the financial assistance of the worldwide Jewish community including many Hungarian-American Jews, among them Tony Curtis and Estéé Lauder. Now that the building’s original magnificence is now fully restored, 150 years after its founding, the Dohány Synagogue remains Hungarian Judaism’s most important religious center as well as a cultural center for a variety of liturgical, organ and Klezmer concerts. HUNGARIAN COINS Official Representative Office c/o THE COIN & CURRENCY INSTITUTE, Inc. P.O. Box 1057, Clifton, New Jersey 07014 Contact: A. Friedberg Phone (973) 471-1441 Telefax (973) 471-1062 mail@coin-currency.com To order, or for more information on these and other coins of Hungary, contact the North American Representative at P.O. Box 1057, Clifton, NJ 07014. Toll-free 1-800-421-1866. Fax: 973-471-1062. E-mail: mail@coin-currency.com. 200 FORINT COIN NOW IN CIRCULATION SPECIFICATIONS Value Quality Metal Weight Diam. Mintage Price 5.000 Forint Proof. 925 silver 31.46 g 38.61mm 6,000 $62.50 5.000 Forint B.U. . 925 silver 31.46 g 38.61mm 4,000 $59.75 Hungary’s 2009 proof and mint sets, containing all the nation’s circulating coins are also available now for $42.50 and $35.00 respectively. This set marks the introduction of Hungary’s new bimetallic 200 forint coin, which on June 15, 2009, replaced the banknote of the same denomination. On the first day of issue, 12,000 coins were taken and packed together with crisp new 2006 200 forint banknotes. While the limited supply lasts, these are being offered for $19.75 per set. Add $5.00 to each order for shipping and handling. New Jersey residents add 7% sales tax. Those desiring to receive information and photographs electronically on a no obligation, regular basis are asked to provide their e-mail address to mail@coin-currency.com . The Spirit of Christmas A Meditation for the Christmas Season Each year, millions of people go in search of the real spirit of Christmas. Some gaze at the Christmas tree, the presents, and all the decorations and wonder: What is all this really about? Sure, we know the story of Christmas, but what is the spirit of Christmas we hear so much about? Does it exist? And if so, how can we hope to find it? In our attempt to isolate the one and only true Christmas spirit, we try to separate fact from fiction. Most of us have a sneaking suspicion that much of our emotional attachment to the season stems more from our Santa Claus days than the news announced to the shepherds some 20 centuries ago. So we read the Christmas story in Matthew and Luke and parrot all the appropriate clichés: “Jesus is the reason for the season,” and “Let’s keep the Christ in Christmas”. But when all is said and done, we still wonder what fuels our Christmas sentiment. Let’s face it. Family get-togethers, decorating Christmas trees, singing in or listening to Christmas choirs, caroling, the wonderful smells of baking Christmas goodies, Christmas Eve traditions, opening gifts around the Christmas tree, and fond memories of Christmases past are powerfully pleasant and war. And to many this is what passes for the Christmas spirit. But deep inside, many also wonder if there is more to it than that. In fact, even those who don’t believe it know the story of the first Christmas. But how deeply have we thought about that story and its implications for our lives? When you open your Bible to the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 2, you notice that the first reaction to Christ’s birth was from the shepherds, who “returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen.” What of Mary and Joseph? Were they chosen to be the human parents of Jesus because of their great achievements and opportunities they could offer Him? Mary, though certainly a godly young woman, had not had time to achieve great things in life, and Joseph was a simple though godly carpenter. They did not earn the right to become the parents of Christ by virtue of their character or achievements. They, too, were receivers. Mary exalts ot in what she has done, but that “the Mighty One has done great things for me.” Luke 1:49 Can we celebrate receiving God’s indescribable gift and still do acts of kindness and charity at Christmas? Certainly! But what motivates our acts of kindness will make all the difference. So this season when you are preparing your gift giving and your charitable Christmas projects, focus not on what you are able to give, whether great or small, but on what you have received. Let the grace and mercy you have experienced at His hands first fill your heart, and then flow through you to others. In so doing, you are inviting others to join in your grateful celebration, feeling what Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the Magi, Simeon, and Anna must have felt at the very first Christmas. And set aside some of your Christmas time to spend with someone you know is hurting or suffering in some way during this season. Yes, Christmas is the assurance of the availability of God. This is enough to make heaven and nature sing - and even our own lips! So lift up your hearths in joy and thanksgiving, to Almighty God. At the heart of the Christmas proclamation is the assurance of the availability of His Son, Jesus Christ, our very Savior. Béla Dánéi Bónis, Ph.D. Emeritus Prof, of Philosophy California State University, Long Beach God Rest You Merry English traditional carol God rest you merry, gentlemen, Let nothing you dismay, For Jesus Christ our Savior y/as born upon this day, To save us all from Satan’s power When we were gone astray: O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy O tidings of comfort and joy. From God our heav’nly Father A blessed angel came, And unto certain shepherds Brought tidings of the same, How that in Bethlehem was bom The son of God by name: O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy O tidings of comfort and joy. The shepherds at those tidings Rejoiced much in mind, And left their flocks afeeding In tempest, storm and wind, And went to Bethlehem straightway This blessed babe to find: O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy O tidings of comfort and joy. But when to Bethlehem they came, Whereat this infant lay, They found him in a manger, Where oxen feed on hay; His mother Mary kneeling, Unto the Lord did pray: O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy O tidings of comfort and joy. Now to the Lord sing praises, All you within this place, And with true love and brotherhood Each other now embrace; This holy tide of Christmas All other doth deface: O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy O tidings of comfort and joy. DUNA Travel 8530 Holloway Dr. #102 W. Hollywood, CA 90069 Spa, Hotel foglalások, Kocsi bérlés Kedvezményes repülőjegy árak December 18,2009 mmmmm LAX-BUD-LAX $535 •-tői +Tax +Fee Információért hívják ZSUZSÁT TEL: (310) 652-5294 FAX: (310) 652-5287 __________________1-888-532-0168_____________
