I was talking with traintalk on the train this mornign (as usual) and the conversation turned towards employment, poverty, hopelessness and why nothing can be done about it in Israel. I mentioned an idea that I had been working on a couple years ago before I got a job that I believe could improve the situation.
The Day Labor Employment Center. A for-profit social enterprise.
I never followed through with it because I got offered a full-time job in my field during the same week that I had an interview for a grant. The grant wouldn't have paid all the bills and I was really more interested in integrating into society at that point, soon after we had made aliyah. But now that I'm feeling that my family has pretty much normalized into our community and Israeli society, it is time to put the social issues back on the table.
Helping me out with this can be a serious help to the Israeli economy, and give people more control on their lives. In short, it is a mitzva.
What I am looking for:
1) Ideas for projects that can be done with little/no training, paid on a per task basis and do not need follow up by the person who did the work.
2) People or companies who are willing to pay for this work to be done.
As an example of #1, filling cute bottles with Israeli sand.
As an example of #2, someone who would like to sell cute bottles of Israeli sand out fo Israel.
As another example of #2, a company that would like to sell bead necklaces, needs filing done or any other non-complicated work.
We would be able to do this for a very good price, and you would be helping out the Israeli economy. Right now I am trolling for ideas and to check out the potential before starting to more seriously pursue it. If a test case center works in a small town, then we can expand the program around the country.
Please pass this link on to anyone else you think may be interested.
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Thursday, February 23, 2006
communication
My office is offering a 3 day seminar on communication, so I signed up. I thought it would be interesting to see how big of a role language plays. It turned out that everyone in the office had signed up for the seminar and there were only 3 native Hebrew speakers there. The rest were Russian speakers and one other American.
The first day was interesting as we learned about some of the obvious problems with people communicating. Hopefully the next two sessions will be just as fun and informative.
I was communicating with some of the guys at work today (from the FSU) and they felt pretty strongly that we need the death penalty for service people who don't come when they promise to. Actually, only one of them insisted on the death penalty. The other one thought you should take a bb gun and shoot out their windows every night until they come to answer your call.
At least it confirmed that the problem with service in Israel is very bad. One guy's contractor has promised every day for a month that he will come tomorrow, to finish up some work that he is in the middle of. Another guy couldn't get the air conditioning service people to talk to him.
This is not a problem with language, this is a problem with lack of quality. The only way to survive is to know people who know people. When we had a problem with water in our basement, a friend called the plumber who owed him a favor and he came over right away. I am sure that without that help, we would still be waiting for him to come over.
Communication is very important. You have to be able to make sure that service people understand that it is in their best interest to come over. It all comes back to it's not what you know, it's who you know.
The first day was interesting as we learned about some of the obvious problems with people communicating. Hopefully the next two sessions will be just as fun and informative.
I was communicating with some of the guys at work today (from the FSU) and they felt pretty strongly that we need the death penalty for service people who don't come when they promise to. Actually, only one of them insisted on the death penalty. The other one thought you should take a bb gun and shoot out their windows every night until they come to answer your call.
At least it confirmed that the problem with service in Israel is very bad. One guy's contractor has promised every day for a month that he will come tomorrow, to finish up some work that he is in the middle of. Another guy couldn't get the air conditioning service people to talk to him.
This is not a problem with language, this is a problem with lack of quality. The only way to survive is to know people who know people. When we had a problem with water in our basement, a friend called the plumber who owed him a favor and he came over right away. I am sure that without that help, we would still be waiting for him to come over.
Communication is very important. You have to be able to make sure that service people understand that it is in their best interest to come over. It all comes back to it's not what you know, it's who you know.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
david irving put away
David Irving is a guy who said a number of times in the past 20 years that the Holocaust never happened. He claimed that there were no gas chambers in Auschwitz. For this crime against humanity he was thrown into jail for 3 years.
Maybe I'm missing something here?!?
Why is it a crime to publicly announce your lack of knowledge? Let's put Hamas in jail because they said they don't recognize Israel. Duh, it's there. Check the maps.
How about if we say we believe Sharon is already dead and they are just cooling the body until right before the elections to announce it for political gain.
Oops. I'm already in jail for that one.
Does everyone believe that Washington crossed the Rubicon?
Did the US invade Vietnam?
Did we put a man on the moon?
This guy should be laughed out of academia, not thrown into jail. If he can prove his facts in serious debate, then let him have a go at it. I have no problem having him fired from his job for trying to falsify history. He was a history teacher. If he tried to falsify history with no basis in any matter, he should be fired. But to throw a guy in jail because he doesn't believe that 6 million people were killed in a genocidal attempt to wipe out an entire nation because of the threat they posed as the conscience of the world???? (Did you read mein kampf?)
The holocaust was indeed a tragedy on epic proportions, but you can't lock up a guy for 3 years because he says it didn't happen! I think the pertinent question here is: "Is the world a safer place now that David Irving will not be a part of it for 3 years?"
The answer is no.
Maybe I'm missing something here?!?
Why is it a crime to publicly announce your lack of knowledge? Let's put Hamas in jail because they said they don't recognize Israel. Duh, it's there. Check the maps.
How about if we say we believe Sharon is already dead and they are just cooling the body until right before the elections to announce it for political gain.
Oops. I'm already in jail for that one.
Does everyone believe that Washington crossed the Rubicon?
Did the US invade Vietnam?
Did we put a man on the moon?
This guy should be laughed out of academia, not thrown into jail. If he can prove his facts in serious debate, then let him have a go at it. I have no problem having him fired from his job for trying to falsify history. He was a history teacher. If he tried to falsify history with no basis in any matter, he should be fired. But to throw a guy in jail because he doesn't believe that 6 million people were killed in a genocidal attempt to wipe out an entire nation because of the threat they posed as the conscience of the world???? (Did you read mein kampf?)
The holocaust was indeed a tragedy on epic proportions, but you can't lock up a guy for 3 years because he says it didn't happen! I think the pertinent question here is: "Is the world a safer place now that David Irving will not be a part of it for 3 years?"
The answer is no.
Sunday, February 19, 2006
freedom of choice
If anyone is wondering what kind of food to bring to a funeral, I just read that while smiley face cookies would be in bad taste, Better then Sex cake is definitely the way to go. (Recipes are at the site)
"people should not be punished for exercising their democratic choice" - Makhmood Abbas
WTF kind of ridiculous statement is that. I would agree that people should not be punished when a dictator determines foreign policy and anyone who disagrees with him gets a couple weeks in the local gulag and then shot in the head. However, if people vote for a group that says that they are planning on being very violent then they are directly responsible. They were not duped. It is not like the Israeli public who voted for Sharon who said before the elections that he was against disengagement (Amram Mitzna's platform) and then turned his back on the people who voted for him. These are people who said, Hamas please attack Israeli. Kill as many of them as you possibly can. More then half of the population apparantly would like to see more violence against Israel. Their actions in the ballot box speak louder then any words possibly could. This voting speaks louder then palestinian citizens dancing on international television when they heard about the twin towers going up in smoke.
The civilized world should stand up now and say, maybe they do not want peace. Maybe they are bad people. Maybe the only answer is to wipe out that cancer from the world. Rehabilitation doesn't always work, especially when the entire society is corrupt.
Take an example from God and what he did to Sodom.
People are held accountable for their choices, and voting is exercising your right to be held accountable for the poeple you vote for.
"people should not be punished for exercising their democratic choice" - Makhmood Abbas
WTF kind of ridiculous statement is that. I would agree that people should not be punished when a dictator determines foreign policy and anyone who disagrees with him gets a couple weeks in the local gulag and then shot in the head. However, if people vote for a group that says that they are planning on being very violent then they are directly responsible. They were not duped. It is not like the Israeli public who voted for Sharon who said before the elections that he was against disengagement (Amram Mitzna's platform) and then turned his back on the people who voted for him. These are people who said, Hamas please attack Israeli. Kill as many of them as you possibly can. More then half of the population apparantly would like to see more violence against Israel. Their actions in the ballot box speak louder then any words possibly could. This voting speaks louder then palestinian citizens dancing on international television when they heard about the twin towers going up in smoke.
The civilized world should stand up now and say, maybe they do not want peace. Maybe they are bad people. Maybe the only answer is to wipe out that cancer from the world. Rehabilitation doesn't always work, especially when the entire society is corrupt.
Take an example from God and what he did to Sodom.
People are held accountable for their choices, and voting is exercising your right to be held accountable for the poeple you vote for.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
religious meet secular
My wife went to a meeting last night of religious and secular people to air out their differences with each other. While these meetings may cause personal respect between one group and the next (which is a very good thing unto itself), they are unlikely to cause either group to see things from the other side's perspective.
My wife gave me two examples from the secular side:
1) A former yeshiva boy who stopped being religious in the army was at a shabbos get together with some army buddies. He opened a bottle of wine and asked a religious boy to make kiddush. The religious boy said it was יין נסך, forbidden wine, because it was opened by somene who was not shomer shabbos. He was so put off by that that he decided he didn't want to have anything to do with religious people. (we're not going to discuss the halachic aspect of this case, but there are opinions that say that the wine is forbidden and opinions that say the wine is not forbidden)
2) A couple adopted a child and wanted to convert her. The rabbinical court said they had to sign a paper saying they would send her to religious schools. The couple refused to sign the paper because they didn't want to "lie to themselves and to to religious court." They thought that was such a horrible experience that it left a strong distaste in their mouth for religious people. (They did sign the paper in the end and sent the child to some religious schools.)
On the religious side, the issues that I have heard are more along the lines of:
If they are not going to keep shabbos or kosher then I don't want my children playing with their children because it is much harder to raise your kids religious when their friends from school are out at a movie on Friday night. It is hard to send them to a nonkosher house where you don't know what they might eat. Therefore, we don't want non-religious kids in the religious school.
The issues, as a whole, seem to be that secular Jews want to be able to do anything they would like to without barriers. In other words they do not want religion to be a factor in their life. Religious Jews want to hold onto their code of behavior and are not willing to compromise so as not to offend someone.
An example I gave to my wife is, I don't complain when my co-workers always go to a non-kosher place for lunch on Thursday, even though I am automatically disqualified from going. However, they would be very against a company rule saying that they had to eat at a kosher place, so that I could go too.
In both the situations that the seculars mentioned, there is nothing that could be done from a religious perspective. If you're going to be offended and hate me for the rest of my life if I won't drink something forbidden, there's nothing I can do about that. Hours of explaining are not going to change the fact that if it is only forbidden food because you touched it. The religious guy didn't tell the secular guy, as far as I know, that he was a bad person. He told him he wasn't going to drink the wine. The secular guy in this case was not harmed at all by the first guy not drinking his wine. His pride may have been hurt, but that is because he doesn't understand the law and he doesn't want to understand the law.
In the second situation, the couple was actually hurt. They just wanted to raise a child in Israel. Non-Jewish children are second-class citizens in Israel and the parents wanted to bring the child up as a cultural Jew. However, there are 2 ways to become Jewish. Being born into it and converting. If you're born into it and you don't want to follow the rules, there is nothing we can do about it right now. You live your life and we'll live ours. But if someone else wants to become Jewish, one of the requirements is to accept on yourself Jewish law. They are very lenient about that here, making the couple sign a paper, which they never really have to follow, that they will teach their child what being Jewish means.
This is a battle that is being fought across the spectrum of life. Secular people wanting to live a life without limitations and religious people holding strongly to their values. Groups like this will help explain each side's perspectives in a nonconfrontational manner, but in the end the result is the same.
My wife gave me two examples from the secular side:
1) A former yeshiva boy who stopped being religious in the army was at a shabbos get together with some army buddies. He opened a bottle of wine and asked a religious boy to make kiddush. The religious boy said it was יין נסך, forbidden wine, because it was opened by somene who was not shomer shabbos. He was so put off by that that he decided he didn't want to have anything to do with religious people. (we're not going to discuss the halachic aspect of this case, but there are opinions that say that the wine is forbidden and opinions that say the wine is not forbidden)
2) A couple adopted a child and wanted to convert her. The rabbinical court said they had to sign a paper saying they would send her to religious schools. The couple refused to sign the paper because they didn't want to "lie to themselves and to to religious court." They thought that was such a horrible experience that it left a strong distaste in their mouth for religious people. (They did sign the paper in the end and sent the child to some religious schools.)
On the religious side, the issues that I have heard are more along the lines of:
If they are not going to keep shabbos or kosher then I don't want my children playing with their children because it is much harder to raise your kids religious when their friends from school are out at a movie on Friday night. It is hard to send them to a nonkosher house where you don't know what they might eat. Therefore, we don't want non-religious kids in the religious school.
The issues, as a whole, seem to be that secular Jews want to be able to do anything they would like to without barriers. In other words they do not want religion to be a factor in their life. Religious Jews want to hold onto their code of behavior and are not willing to compromise so as not to offend someone.
An example I gave to my wife is, I don't complain when my co-workers always go to a non-kosher place for lunch on Thursday, even though I am automatically disqualified from going. However, they would be very against a company rule saying that they had to eat at a kosher place, so that I could go too.
In both the situations that the seculars mentioned, there is nothing that could be done from a religious perspective. If you're going to be offended and hate me for the rest of my life if I won't drink something forbidden, there's nothing I can do about that. Hours of explaining are not going to change the fact that if it is only forbidden food because you touched it. The religious guy didn't tell the secular guy, as far as I know, that he was a bad person. He told him he wasn't going to drink the wine. The secular guy in this case was not harmed at all by the first guy not drinking his wine. His pride may have been hurt, but that is because he doesn't understand the law and he doesn't want to understand the law.
In the second situation, the couple was actually hurt. They just wanted to raise a child in Israel. Non-Jewish children are second-class citizens in Israel and the parents wanted to bring the child up as a cultural Jew. However, there are 2 ways to become Jewish. Being born into it and converting. If you're born into it and you don't want to follow the rules, there is nothing we can do about it right now. You live your life and we'll live ours. But if someone else wants to become Jewish, one of the requirements is to accept on yourself Jewish law. They are very lenient about that here, making the couple sign a paper, which they never really have to follow, that they will teach their child what being Jewish means.
This is a battle that is being fought across the spectrum of life. Secular people wanting to live a life without limitations and religious people holding strongly to their values. Groups like this will help explain each side's perspectives in a nonconfrontational manner, but in the end the result is the same.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
sharon's burial
No, the PM isn't dead yet. Here's to hoping he lasts a long time. I'm not sure what the point of Omri's 6 months suspended sentence is. What's going to happen in 6 months when the PM takes a turn for the worse? Wouldn't it make more sense to put him in jail now and let him out to visit his dad twice a week. They could let him out for the funeral, if that happened during his 9 months in jail. I would even be happy to let him sit the shiva before returning to jail, as long as they added 7 more days on to his sentence.
Speaking of the PM's burial, Noam Federman got some publicity in todays English ynet. He send a letter froma concerned citizen asking the health department to ensure that the prime minister is not buried illegally. Apparantly, the PM buried his wife illegally in a nature reserve and is planning on lying next to her after he's gone.
When he appaled to the court to exhume Lily's body and move it to somewhere legal, the court turned him down with the explanation that he was correct, but she was already buried, so it is too late. That is a ridiculous explanation. Can you imagine the court saying it was too late if you or I had been buried illegally? The Israeli Police Grave Digging section would be out the next morning, and probably spit on the dead people as well.
This appeal against the prime ministers stated intentions to commit a crime after his demise was done correctly. If he waited until after the PM died, his appeal would have gone unanswered. Now there is an opportunity for them to make other plans before they need to announce them to the world.
Speaking of the PM's burial, Noam Federman got some publicity in todays English ynet. He send a letter froma concerned citizen asking the health department to ensure that the prime minister is not buried illegally. Apparantly, the PM buried his wife illegally in a nature reserve and is planning on lying next to her after he's gone.
When he appaled to the court to exhume Lily's body and move it to somewhere legal, the court turned him down with the explanation that he was correct, but she was already buried, so it is too late. That is a ridiculous explanation. Can you imagine the court saying it was too late if you or I had been buried illegally? The Israeli Police Grave Digging section would be out the next morning, and probably spit on the dead people as well.
This appeal against the prime ministers stated intentions to commit a crime after his demise was done correctly. If he waited until after the PM died, his appeal would have gone unanswered. Now there is an opportunity for them to make other plans before they need to announce them to the world.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Hebrew lesson
The word חייב means obligate. לחייב means to obligate. חיוב is to enforce or coerce.
However, when you ask if something should be חיובי when you are writing a procedures document, they give you an answer that makes no sense at all. Then you go around in circles for a couple minutes until the person you're talking to asks you to explain yourself in English.
Apparantly, חיובי is not something that is obligatory. It means positive, affirmative or favorable.
Sometimes it's easier just not to try.
However, when you ask if something should be חיובי when you are writing a procedures document, they give you an answer that makes no sense at all. Then you go around in circles for a couple minutes until the person you're talking to asks you to explain yourself in English.
Apparantly, חיובי is not something that is obligatory. It means positive, affirmative or favorable.
Sometimes it's easier just not to try.
therapy of a long walk
Sometimes you just need to get out. Today was one of those days, when I just didn't think I could handle sitting at my desk any longer. So, when my Tuesday afternoon shwarma group decided not to go for schwarma today, I went anyways. I decided to walk instead of hoping on a sherut or bus, so I could get some fresh air. Walking through Technion campus till Neve Sha'anan. Then going to the bank machine and having my American ATM card eaten.
The schwarma was good (My company has an account there, so I got to sign for it).
An enjoyable walk back.
Then I decided that the answer is to actually go open source on the software that I have written and earn some money by providing service contracts. It was originally written in ASP.Net with C# and an MSSQL backend and a C# .Net portable client system, because I needed some experience in that, but now I am planning on rewriting it in python with a postgresql backend and I haven't decided on the front end for the portable client, but I'm prtetty sure it won't be .NET. I may just use an Access front end and distribute the Access Runtime library, because I use that at work and it is easy to play with. Or I may try to play with WxWidgets to see how that interacts with a database because we're planning on redoing our front end at work and it would give me good experience. In any case, the more open source, the better.
My goal is to have it ready for a first release for general practitioners in 3-4 months.
I'm also working on some disruptive technologies for the Israeli train system, that my traintalk buddy dreamed up. I'm very excited about the potentials of that because if it can be done for free, which is how we are trying to do it, then it opens up a world of possibilities.
My head is clear now and I can put in the rest of a day at work.
As they say: Sababa.
The schwarma was good (My company has an account there, so I got to sign for it).
An enjoyable walk back.
Then I decided that the answer is to actually go open source on the software that I have written and earn some money by providing service contracts. It was originally written in ASP.Net with C# and an MSSQL backend and a C# .Net portable client system, because I needed some experience in that, but now I am planning on rewriting it in python with a postgresql backend and I haven't decided on the front end for the portable client, but I'm prtetty sure it won't be .NET. I may just use an Access front end and distribute the Access Runtime library, because I use that at work and it is easy to play with. Or I may try to play with WxWidgets to see how that interacts with a database because we're planning on redoing our front end at work and it would give me good experience. In any case, the more open source, the better.
My goal is to have it ready for a first release for general practitioners in 3-4 months.
I'm also working on some disruptive technologies for the Israeli train system, that my traintalk buddy dreamed up. I'm very excited about the potentials of that because if it can be done for free, which is how we are trying to do it, then it opens up a world of possibilities.
My head is clear now and I can put in the rest of a day at work.
As they say: Sababa.
Monday, February 13, 2006
happy tu bshvat
For tu b'shvat my office gave each employee a large container full of dried fruits. Not even one bukser was inside. Apparantly, buksor is old ghetto jew - mishmaish (dried apricot) is new Jew.
We didn't plant a tree this year in honor, but our trees are blooming. Our almond tree, which we thought was dead, has flowers blooming. The lemons are ripe and if you want to try some good grilling, cut open a fresh lemon and stick it on a steak. Absolutely delicious. Don't forget to take off truma and maaser. Which reminds me, I think maaser changes at tu bshvat to maaser sheni. I'll have to discuss it with the rabbi again to find out exactly when to do what. I'm sure he'll tell me we've been doing it all wrong. But at least we get the trumah right, so we're not going directly to hell.
Spring is just around the corner. I'm thinking of starting some cherry tomatoes and maybe some zucchini. We'll have to see if I have time to set up an area.
There are some great tu bshvat songs that my kids learned. I thought i had never heard them because they were zionist songs, but my sister says she learned them in bais yaakov so they can't be that zionistical.
For all the chutznikim: Enjoy your bukser.
We didn't plant a tree this year in honor, but our trees are blooming. Our almond tree, which we thought was dead, has flowers blooming. The lemons are ripe and if you want to try some good grilling, cut open a fresh lemon and stick it on a steak. Absolutely delicious. Don't forget to take off truma and maaser. Which reminds me, I think maaser changes at tu bshvat to maaser sheni. I'll have to discuss it with the rabbi again to find out exactly when to do what. I'm sure he'll tell me we've been doing it all wrong. But at least we get the trumah right, so we're not going directly to hell.
Spring is just around the corner. I'm thinking of starting some cherry tomatoes and maybe some zucchini. We'll have to see if I have time to set up an area.
There are some great tu bshvat songs that my kids learned. I thought i had never heard them because they were zionist songs, but my sister says she learned them in bais yaakov so they can't be that zionistical.
For all the chutznikim: Enjoy your bukser.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
value of regards
On Friday afternoon my brother-in-law, may he return to full health soon in our days, called me and said that he had regards for me from someone. He then asked me how I knew that person, and I gave him the standard reply, "I know a lot of people." He thought the message on the back was kind of strange, as it a blogosphere identification and he is not a member.
There are 2 kinds of blogs, anonymous blogs and blogs that are not anonymous. I, as most of you know, have a non-anonymous blog. Approximately 85% of my readers have known me for a long time. The other 15% are random people, who may enjoy what I write or may come to laugh at my opinions on various topics.
The person sending the regards is an anonymous blogger, for the most part (He can't be that anonymous if he is sending me his business card). Anonymous bloggers don't want people to know who they are for a variety of reasons. These reasons may include:
One of the hardest things for me about making aliyah was suddenly losing all of the contacts and business relationships that I had made over the 7 years that I was working back home, as well as all the personal and family contacts and relationships that I had grown up with. If I had a question about food, we had a good friend who was a caterer. Any legal questions, there were plenty of lawyers. Doctors were around to answer the medical questions. Same was true with accounting, politics, plumbing, electrical, you name it. I was part of the loop for technology or computer issues.
When I moved to Israel, I lost all that. We had a plumbing problem, I had no idea who to call. We called a friend who had pull with a plumber and he came out right away. We had an electrical problem and I didn't know who to call. We got someone's name who came out and said, "no, I don't want to do this job." We called someone else who did what we needed and the electric box blew up a week later. Someone else asked us why we used him, "...everyone knows he's incompetent."
So slowly, slowly we're learning the ropes and finding out all the stuff that you're just supposed to know . Building a network of contacts is a long process that includes a lot of give and take. It takes years or even generations before you really know what's going on.
This business card could have been very helpful to me two years ago when I sent a resume to the company he works for. I didn't even get an interview, though the headhunters I was dealing with said it was a 90% probability. Once, back in America, I didn't get a job because they gave it to the project manager's son's best friend. A couple weeks later, someone in shul said they needed someone with my qualificaltions and doubled my salary. As they say, it's not what you know, it's who you know.
Now I have one more person on my list.
There are 2 kinds of blogs, anonymous blogs and blogs that are not anonymous. I, as most of you know, have a non-anonymous blog. Approximately 85% of my readers have known me for a long time. The other 15% are random people, who may enjoy what I write or may come to laugh at my opinions on various topics.
The person sending the regards is an anonymous blogger, for the most part (He can't be that anonymous if he is sending me his business card). Anonymous bloggers don't want people to know who they are for a variety of reasons. These reasons may include:
- they will get put in administrative detention if shabak finds them
- they are writing about things they don't want associated with them
- They are expressing a fantasy part of their life, being creative in their writing and don't want their friends/relatives to think of them that way. (similar to the above reason)
- They are writing about personal issues, maybe therapeurically
- They like having a secret identity.
- Other reasons
One of the hardest things for me about making aliyah was suddenly losing all of the contacts and business relationships that I had made over the 7 years that I was working back home, as well as all the personal and family contacts and relationships that I had grown up with. If I had a question about food, we had a good friend who was a caterer. Any legal questions, there were plenty of lawyers. Doctors were around to answer the medical questions. Same was true with accounting, politics, plumbing, electrical, you name it. I was part of the loop for technology or computer issues.
When I moved to Israel, I lost all that. We had a plumbing problem, I had no idea who to call. We called a friend who had pull with a plumber and he came out right away. We had an electrical problem and I didn't know who to call. We got someone's name who came out and said, "no, I don't want to do this job." We called someone else who did what we needed and the electric box blew up a week later. Someone else asked us why we used him, "...everyone knows he's incompetent."
So slowly, slowly we're learning the ropes and finding out all the stuff that you're just supposed to know . Building a network of contacts is a long process that includes a lot of give and take. It takes years or even generations before you really know what's going on.
This business card could have been very helpful to me two years ago when I sent a resume to the company he works for. I didn't even get an interview, though the headhunters I was dealing with said it was a 90% probability. Once, back in America, I didn't get a job because they gave it to the project manager's son's best friend. A couple weeks later, someone in shul said they needed someone with my qualificaltions and doubled my salary. As they say, it's not what you know, it's who you know.
Now I have one more person on my list.
Thursday, February 09, 2006
no train
The train didn't come this morning because someone got run over. (Like he couldn't see that coming from a mile away.) While getting hit by a train is in no way humorous for the guy getting hit, it did bring to mind an old camp song, part of which goes:
A man was standing on the tracks and didn't see the train
yisgadal viyiskadash vimiroo amen.
I made it to work in good time anyways. There are always sheruts leaving from right next to the train station and surprise, surprise pretty much everyone wanted to go to haifa, so there were very few exta stops on the way.
A man was standing on the tracks and didn't see the train
yisgadal viyiskadash vimiroo amen.
I made it to work in good time anyways. There are always sheruts leaving from right next to the train station and surprise, surprise pretty much everyone wanted to go to haifa, so there were very few exta stops on the way.
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
obituary of an alumni director
No, he's not completely dead, but I'm sure a part of him died the day he left.
As a disclaimer: I haven't spoken to him since I got the e-mail that he was no longer with us.
Once upon a time there was an alumni director who we will call fred. Fred wasn't always an alumni director, at one time he was a regular alumnus and before that a student. Fred thought that he would stay forever at the institute where he was happy. He learned Torah, played ball and rooted for the bears. Fred finally left the institution when he found out that he would only be allowed to touch with two hands in touch football games and that it was considered inappropriate to throw younger bachurim into trees.
A couple years later, after Fred learned a little bit about life, got married and learned a little bit more about life, he returned to the institute from where he had only good memories. When the administration saw that Fred was not going to leave this time they asked him if he would be the alumni director, thinking that would stop him from swinging on the rafters in the new bais midrash and throwing freshies over the railing by the old dorm rooms. As the alumni director Fred was responsible for picking apples and eating in NY restaurants. As long as there were other alumni there it was all good. He was also supposed to remind alumni of all the good memories that they had of the institute so that they would have a warm, fuzzy feeling inside and give the institute a lot of money. But it was more then just money, it was about maintaining a connection to the past and also about money.
Now Fred has decided that it is time to leave the institution again, once again for personal reasons. This time I doubt the reasons had to do with touch football, but it may have had to do with the Packers. It's hard to live in a state where you passionately hate their NFL team. "Personal reasons" gives you such a wide range of options to make assumptions as to why a person would leave.
We wish Fred much luck in his future endeavors and we are certain that he will be back at the institute at some point, if not permanently then as a visit, because it is so hard to just let go.
As a disclaimer: I haven't spoken to him since I got the e-mail that he was no longer with us.
Once upon a time there was an alumni director who we will call fred. Fred wasn't always an alumni director, at one time he was a regular alumnus and before that a student. Fred thought that he would stay forever at the institute where he was happy. He learned Torah, played ball and rooted for the bears. Fred finally left the institution when he found out that he would only be allowed to touch with two hands in touch football games and that it was considered inappropriate to throw younger bachurim into trees.
A couple years later, after Fred learned a little bit about life, got married and learned a little bit more about life, he returned to the institute from where he had only good memories. When the administration saw that Fred was not going to leave this time they asked him if he would be the alumni director, thinking that would stop him from swinging on the rafters in the new bais midrash and throwing freshies over the railing by the old dorm rooms. As the alumni director Fred was responsible for picking apples and eating in NY restaurants. As long as there were other alumni there it was all good. He was also supposed to remind alumni of all the good memories that they had of the institute so that they would have a warm, fuzzy feeling inside and give the institute a lot of money. But it was more then just money, it was about maintaining a connection to the past and also about money.
Now Fred has decided that it is time to leave the institution again, once again for personal reasons. This time I doubt the reasons had to do with touch football, but it may have had to do with the Packers. It's hard to live in a state where you passionately hate their NFL team. "Personal reasons" gives you such a wide range of options to make assumptions as to why a person would leave.
We wish Fred much luck in his future endeavors and we are certain that he will be back at the institute at some point, if not permanently then as a visit, because it is so hard to just let go.
media bias flip flop
Public opinion is generally formed by what is written in the media. This is why so-called "non-free" countries limit what the media is allowed to publish. They don't want the people thinking bad things about them.
This is supposedly not an issue in a country with a free press. The press is supposed to present a fair, unbiased view of current events and then the readers can decide how they want to react to different stories. The editor determines what stories are newsworthy and what bend to give every story. While freedom of press takes away power from the government, it gives that power to a couple of people who were never voted in to anything and have nothing balancing their power.
The editors of the large media outlets in Israel determine the elections. Until a couple days ago, the Yediot and Maariv were both firmly on Olmert's side. Nothing he did was a mistake. Nobody asked Kadima any policy questions. Nobody is questioning why he was letting Hamas shoot rockets into Israel while he decided to send his police force to beat up some Jewish kids.
This is not the first time the major media outlets lined up on a political question. For example, the story of why the chief of staff in the military was fired when he spoke about security issues in the disengagement (or uprooting as Diskin called it) was given minor publicity.
Two days ago the media slightly changed their bias and started promoting Netanyahu over Olmert. They still haven't hit Olmert with hardball questions, but apparently they didn't like the way the poll results were going so they decided to give Netanyahu a couple extra seats.
This unbridled power must be taken away from the press. Media outlets should have a committee that determines when stories are too slanted or when one side of a story is one the headlines and the other side of the story gets half a column on page 4. There should be rules regarding how long someone can be an editor for. There are a lot of ways that the free press can and should be fixed. But it needs to work without government oversight or we go back to our first problem.
This is supposedly not an issue in a country with a free press. The press is supposed to present a fair, unbiased view of current events and then the readers can decide how they want to react to different stories. The editor determines what stories are newsworthy and what bend to give every story. While freedom of press takes away power from the government, it gives that power to a couple of people who were never voted in to anything and have nothing balancing their power.
The editors of the large media outlets in Israel determine the elections. Until a couple days ago, the Yediot and Maariv were both firmly on Olmert's side. Nothing he did was a mistake. Nobody asked Kadima any policy questions. Nobody is questioning why he was letting Hamas shoot rockets into Israel while he decided to send his police force to beat up some Jewish kids.
This is not the first time the major media outlets lined up on a political question. For example, the story of why the chief of staff in the military was fired when he spoke about security issues in the disengagement (or uprooting as Diskin called it) was given minor publicity.
Two days ago the media slightly changed their bias and started promoting Netanyahu over Olmert. They still haven't hit Olmert with hardball questions, but apparently they didn't like the way the poll results were going so they decided to give Netanyahu a couple extra seats.
This unbridled power must be taken away from the press. Media outlets should have a committee that determines when stories are too slanted or when one side of a story is one the headlines and the other side of the story gets half a column on page 4. There should be rules regarding how long someone can be an editor for. There are a lot of ways that the free press can and should be fixed. But it needs to work without government oversight or we go back to our first problem.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
no bracha on the train
I was sitting on the train last Thursday night on my way back from Tel Aviv. Across from me was a couple of seemingly non-religious soldiers, a boy and a girl (the girl had a gun and the boy didn't), who appeared to have some sort of relationship (they weren't, חס ושלום, making out but they weren't not making out either, if you know what I mean. Let's just say they weren't exactly shomer negia). I say seemingly non-religious because it is hard to tell what level of religious people are just by the way they dress or act. I think I'll call them potentially religious people. The boy takes a drink of water from his bottle and passes it to the girl. The girl picks up the bottle and is about to put it to her lips when the boy says to her, "say a bracha." She starts laughing like it's a big joke and starts to put the bottle to her lips. The guy grabs the bottle and says, "I'm serious, say a bracha." The girl looks at him with a "you've got to be kidding" glance. Then she says to him, "I'm not saying a bracha." And she drinks the water.
The guy says to her, "I can't believe you just drank that water without saying a bracha." She says back to him "shut up" and that was the end of the bracha conversation.
Obviously there may have been some background to this story, but I found the part I witnessed to be a very funny conversation and thought I would share it with you.
The guy says to her, "I can't believe you just drank that water without saying a bracha." She says back to him "shut up" and that was the end of the bracha conversation.
Obviously there may have been some background to this story, but I found the part I witnessed to be a very funny conversation and thought I would share it with you.
Monday, February 06, 2006
amona, dominica and onwards
Two sides get together to have a fight. Both sides planned on fighting, except according to my neighbor who insists that they picked up random stones that were hanging around the shomron. If the government had really just wanted the buildings down they could have waited 3 weeks after giving the notice and nobody would have been there any more. There are ways to do things without being violent.
Olmert said there is no need for an enquiry on police violence because the police did what they were supposed to. The orders were to beat up everyone there. They did it. There is no reason for a commission of enquiry to find this out.
To say they were surprised to have rocks thrown at them is ridiculous. You don't go into a place with horses and riot gear when you are expecting peaceful demonstrators.
The kids think they are the modern day Maccabees, saving Israel from the vicious government. The government needs to save face because they aren't stopping the rockets coming across the border. Put those 2 things together and you obviously have an altercation.
The police had to be nice to the people at the anti police-brutality rally last night, so they went out and beat up the wife of the ambassador from the Domincan Republic. No, she wasn't protesting anything. She was by her house tending her garden and the police decided she had an illegal maid and beat the crap out of her.
If that isn't bad enough, Olmert (the jerk) decided to transfer tax money to Hamastan because officially they aren't in office yet. I just told my mom on Friday that it wasn't like he was going to do it on Sunday, it was just propaganda. But no, their utter stupidity cannot be hidden for even one minute. In the same breath that he says the police brutality was the settlers fault, he then gives money to the arabs to see if they can oneup the policemen, but in central tel aviv.
The game here seems to be how many Israeli citizens can get hurt because of the Israeli government.
Yesterday I was sitting outsidea shwarma house in Haifa looking at the traffic and it occurred to me why Kadima has a chance to win in the upcoming elections.
Israelis are dumb. This was made extremely clear to me after I saw that 4 different ambulances with their lights and sirens going were cut off by incompetant drivers. One ambulance had to slam on his brakes to avoid hitting someone who watched the ambulance coming towards him and then decided to walk across the street when the light turned green. A driver decided he could probably make the left turn just before the ambulance got there. I watched it from the side thinking, "there is no intelligent life here."
Olmert said there is no need for an enquiry on police violence because the police did what they were supposed to. The orders were to beat up everyone there. They did it. There is no reason for a commission of enquiry to find this out.
To say they were surprised to have rocks thrown at them is ridiculous. You don't go into a place with horses and riot gear when you are expecting peaceful demonstrators.
The kids think they are the modern day Maccabees, saving Israel from the vicious government. The government needs to save face because they aren't stopping the rockets coming across the border. Put those 2 things together and you obviously have an altercation.
The police had to be nice to the people at the anti police-brutality rally last night, so they went out and beat up the wife of the ambassador from the Domincan Republic. No, she wasn't protesting anything. She was by her house tending her garden and the police decided she had an illegal maid and beat the crap out of her.
If that isn't bad enough, Olmert (the jerk) decided to transfer tax money to Hamastan because officially they aren't in office yet. I just told my mom on Friday that it wasn't like he was going to do it on Sunday, it was just propaganda. But no, their utter stupidity cannot be hidden for even one minute. In the same breath that he says the police brutality was the settlers fault, he then gives money to the arabs to see if they can oneup the policemen, but in central tel aviv.
The game here seems to be how many Israeli citizens can get hurt because of the Israeli government.
Yesterday I was sitting outsidea shwarma house in Haifa looking at the traffic and it occurred to me why Kadima has a chance to win in the upcoming elections.
Israelis are dumb. This was made extremely clear to me after I saw that 4 different ambulances with their lights and sirens going were cut off by incompetant drivers. One ambulance had to slam on his brakes to avoid hitting someone who watched the ambulance coming towards him and then decided to walk across the street when the light turned green. A driver decided he could probably make the left turn just before the ambulance got there. I watched it from the side thinking, "there is no intelligent life here."
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
good friends - not so good???
Have you ever heard the expression - "I have 3 friends I can turn to in any situation: Jim, Jack and Johnny"? According to a Ynet article, those friends may have betrayed you.
Landau Kosher, a controversial kashrus organization based Bnei Brak, has published an article stating that whiskey is not kosher.
Rabbi of Brooklyn, NY, one of the commentors on the article, said that there is no problem with bourbon in any case. it is only a problem with scotch.
My little brother once asked a rabbi a question about using baby wipes on Pesach. The rabbi went out of his way to answer a different question and told him he couldn't use them on shabbos. All I'm saying is that sometimes rabbi's answer questions that nobody asked.
However, the question of whiskey being kosher is a real one. An Israeli friend once asked me how I knew that whiskey was kosher if there was no symbol on it. I explained that it is mesora. All Americans know that straight whiskey is kosher. It's something we learned in yeshiva without asking a single rabbi. The vybish (woman's drink, also known as liqueur) you have to be careful of, but not the real stuff.
Fobidding crown royal, for example, would be akin to saying chulent can't be eaten Friday night.
מנהג ישראל כדין הוא
Of course, it may be much ado about nothing. I would compromise and agree to ban scotch if they promise not to mess with bourbon for a good 20 years.
While you are up finishing your supply just in case the psak goes against rational thinking, listen in to http://www.bootliquor.com/ Sometimes you just need a drink.
Landau Kosher, a controversial kashrus organization based Bnei Brak, has published an article stating that whiskey is not kosher.
Rabbi of Brooklyn, NY, one of the commentors on the article, said that there is no problem with bourbon in any case. it is only a problem with scotch.
My little brother once asked a rabbi a question about using baby wipes on Pesach. The rabbi went out of his way to answer a different question and told him he couldn't use them on shabbos. All I'm saying is that sometimes rabbi's answer questions that nobody asked.
However, the question of whiskey being kosher is a real one. An Israeli friend once asked me how I knew that whiskey was kosher if there was no symbol on it. I explained that it is mesora. All Americans know that straight whiskey is kosher. It's something we learned in yeshiva without asking a single rabbi. The vybish (woman's drink, also known as liqueur) you have to be careful of, but not the real stuff.
Fobidding crown royal, for example, would be akin to saying chulent can't be eaten Friday night.
מנהג ישראל כדין הוא
Of course, it may be much ado about nothing. I would compromise and agree to ban scotch if they promise not to mess with bourbon for a good 20 years.
While you are up finishing your supply just in case the psak goes against rational thinking, listen in to http://www.bootliquor.com/ Sometimes you just need a drink.
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
not the mashiach
Apparantly we have just discovered for sure that I am not the mashiach. I know this is disappointing to all of you (except my wife), but I am dealing with it rather well. My neighbor mentioned it to me first and said that now I didn't have a chance to be king (to the relief of my wife).
This was all revealed a couple days ago when Rav Kaduri passed away. Rav Kaduri was a known kabbalist. Not the kind that milks you out of all your money and calls you Esther, but the kind that just learned Kabbala. I actually don't know what kabbalists do, but I read a story about Babi Sali's grandfather that he flew across the sea on a flying carpet because he missed his boat. I used this story against a sefardi who told he he didn't believe that the bais hamikdash courtyard expanded to fit more people then could physically fit in. He said it was scientifically impossible, and therefore it was allegorical and meant that a lot of people were there. I answered him, that I don't know exactly what happened back then, but if believes that Babi Sali's grandfather flew across the sea on a flying carpet then he should have no problem believing that 100 people could fit in a place where only 50 people could physically fit.
Anyways, that's all tangental. The crux of the story is that I have never met Rav Kaduri. I've never even seen him (other then a picture in the paper). I heard that Babi Sali and also some other rabbi promised Rav Kaduri that he would meet mashiach. I also heard that he met mashiach either last year or a couple months ago. That basically knocks me out of the running. It also knocks a bunch of other people who I know out of the running. But for all of you who have actually met Rav Kaduri, it is possible that you are the mashiach and we are waiting for you.
(unless, of course, he met mashiach ben yosef and they haven't annointed a mashiach ben david yet. But I'm not holding my breath)
This was all revealed a couple days ago when Rav Kaduri passed away. Rav Kaduri was a known kabbalist. Not the kind that milks you out of all your money and calls you Esther, but the kind that just learned Kabbala. I actually don't know what kabbalists do, but I read a story about Babi Sali's grandfather that he flew across the sea on a flying carpet because he missed his boat. I used this story against a sefardi who told he he didn't believe that the bais hamikdash courtyard expanded to fit more people then could physically fit in. He said it was scientifically impossible, and therefore it was allegorical and meant that a lot of people were there. I answered him, that I don't know exactly what happened back then, but if believes that Babi Sali's grandfather flew across the sea on a flying carpet then he should have no problem believing that 100 people could fit in a place where only 50 people could physically fit.
Anyways, that's all tangental. The crux of the story is that I have never met Rav Kaduri. I've never even seen him (other then a picture in the paper). I heard that Babi Sali and also some other rabbi promised Rav Kaduri that he would meet mashiach. I also heard that he met mashiach either last year or a couple months ago. That basically knocks me out of the running. It also knocks a bunch of other people who I know out of the running. But for all of you who have actually met Rav Kaduri, it is possible that you are the mashiach and we are waiting for you.
(unless, of course, he met mashiach ben yosef and they haven't annointed a mashiach ben david yet. But I'm not holding my breath)
Sunday, January 29, 2006
hamas = PA
The majority of palestinians voted that they preferred Hamas to any of the alternatives. Hamas kicked Israel out of Gaza, sure they had a lot of help from Fatah, but the Fatah leadership kept condemning the actions. Now that they have succeeded in making Israel kneel once by leaving Gaza, they plan on doing it again and again. They have already threatened that if any of the tax monies that Israel has promised not to hand over was late, then there would be a lot of dead bodies in Israel. Israel responded by handing over the money and declaring that it was because the new government hadn't been formed yet. But if Hamas is given the government, then they won't pass over another penny. (Laugh. snort. whatever.) Olmert doesn't have the cajones to stand up to Hamas. He helped push the Gazan retreat and now he is giving money to official terrorists. These are the same terrorists who Israel spent a lot of effort getting the world to condemn. Now that Israel has to deal with them, and they will deal with them, they will lose all their credibility. Especially after the first suicide bomber paid for with money that Israel collected for them.
My mom asked me if I was nervous now that Hamas was in power. To tell you the truth, I don't see any difference between this regime and the prior regime. Is there anyone who believes that the past government was not involved in terror attacks? The al aqsa brigades is the Fatah military wing. The Hamas also has military and political wings.
One thing that the elections show us very clearly is that when democracy is given to an immoral group of people, they will vote immorally. Remember, when God thought the people of Sodom and Armora were bad, he didn't try to install a democracy, he wiped them all out. Complete nuclear destruction, and as far as we know only 1 person survived. Even today, thousands of years later the effect of that destruction can be seen in the dead sea area. This desert full of nothing is the place the Torah describes as having the greenest pastures and fresh water.
What we learn from this is democracy will not fix moral corruption, only death can do that.
My mom asked me if I was nervous now that Hamas was in power. To tell you the truth, I don't see any difference between this regime and the prior regime. Is there anyone who believes that the past government was not involved in terror attacks? The al aqsa brigades is the Fatah military wing. The Hamas also has military and political wings.
One thing that the elections show us very clearly is that when democracy is given to an immoral group of people, they will vote immorally. Remember, when God thought the people of Sodom and Armora were bad, he didn't try to install a democracy, he wiped them all out. Complete nuclear destruction, and as far as we know only 1 person survived. Even today, thousands of years later the effect of that destruction can be seen in the dead sea area. This desert full of nothing is the place the Torah describes as having the greenest pastures and fresh water.
What we learn from this is democracy will not fix moral corruption, only death can do that.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
public apology
A couple days ago I published a disagreement that I was having with my older brother and sister-in-law on my blog. I now feel that was the wrong place to put it. If I had something to say to him in writing, I should have used e-mail.
The discussion was of a private nature and I was wrong to start it in a public place.
This blog will not be used to air dirty laundry anymore.
The discussion was of a private nature and I was wrong to start it in a public place.
This blog will not be used to air dirty laundry anymore.
Sunday, January 22, 2006
analysis: players and pawns
First of all it is worthwhile to check out today's Dilbert, just to give you a little perspective. Though to be completely honest, the thought of Hitler at an ice rink doesn't bring forth any images whatsoever.
Who are the pawns?
We have a situation going on in this country where the teenage religious youth are being callously played against the middle by both sides in a massive power struggle that is threatening to upset the delicate balance on which this country was built.
Any psychologist could virtually predict the moves that known idealistic youth are going to make given certain inputs. That being the case, both the police and the settler leadership should have been prepared for the recent Hevron uprising and what will follow. There are psychological ways to deal with these issues and there are plenty of marketing ways to stem the tide and present a completely different picture. This should be a fight of amongst adults - people who think with their heads. The problem here is not one of incompetence, it is an overabundance of competance. The political echelon wants to incite the youth so they get good pictures showing that settler youth are no better then the arabs they constantly point at. The settler leadership wants to use the children to make it seem like these are little children who are acting irresponsibly, while they work the diplomacy side in a more reasonably acceptable fashion.
The kids are pawns.
Having worked with teenagers in a youth group setting, I have seen first hand how easy it is to manipulate and confuse them. It is simple to quote facts without basis and how to present unrealisms as realities by twisting emotions. If you learn your subject matter, you can figure out exactly what to say to push buttons and cause reactions.
This is how teenage kiruv works, this is how cults work and this is how drug dealers work.
Other pieces in the game include
Who are the players?
According to a ridiculous book that I read, the bad guys are souls of the eruv rav. (All of whom died in the desert.) The book wasn't as ridiculous in its content as much as it was in its presentation. It was what I will describe as a powerpoint book. The first footnote on the first word of the book was something like: The structure of this book makes it impossible to use proper grammer and sentence structure. Basically, each sentence or fragment was its own paragraph. It used manipulative phrases such as "we both know," to bring the reader to the side of the author. The book was written in an impact style, no meat - just statements which implied facts. Just like a powerpoint presentation. I know of companies that have banned powerpoint because of its ability to capture an audience without telling them anything.
You can see the marketing here, trying to make a large impression on maleable minds.
The government, with its endless resources of youth psychologists knows exactly what to do and how to do it to cause a reaction. Announcing the 2000 police officers are going to remove 20 children from the Hevron marketplace is one example of a way to cause a huge brawl. Haven't they ever heard of PsyOps?
Remember one of the methods that the IDf uses to get terrorists to give in? It is not a threat that we are coming in with 2000 people. It is asking a neighbor to go and talk to the guy and explain the reality of the situation. That works because the terrorist know that when there are 15 people from an elite IDF unit outside he will not escape alive if he tries to make a break for it. He is able to hear the voice of reason coming from someone who speaks his own language.
We are looking at an example of cynical manipulation of teenagers as pawns in a serious bid for power. The messianic zionist Israelis who are trying to bring the Mashiach by their love of the land against the anti-messiah post-zionist Israelis who are trying in their own defeatist way to become a proud member of the European community.
In this game, I am not a player, I am an observer.
Who are the pawns?
We have a situation going on in this country where the teenage religious youth are being callously played against the middle by both sides in a massive power struggle that is threatening to upset the delicate balance on which this country was built.
Any psychologist could virtually predict the moves that known idealistic youth are going to make given certain inputs. That being the case, both the police and the settler leadership should have been prepared for the recent Hevron uprising and what will follow. There are psychological ways to deal with these issues and there are plenty of marketing ways to stem the tide and present a completely different picture. This should be a fight of amongst adults - people who think with their heads. The problem here is not one of incompetence, it is an overabundance of competance. The political echelon wants to incite the youth so they get good pictures showing that settler youth are no better then the arabs they constantly point at. The settler leadership wants to use the children to make it seem like these are little children who are acting irresponsibly, while they work the diplomacy side in a more reasonably acceptable fashion.
The kids are pawns.
Having worked with teenagers in a youth group setting, I have seen first hand how easy it is to manipulate and confuse them. It is simple to quote facts without basis and how to present unrealisms as realities by twisting emotions. If you learn your subject matter, you can figure out exactly what to say to push buttons and cause reactions.
This is how teenage kiruv works, this is how cults work and this is how drug dealers work.
Other pieces in the game include
- the adult settlers who by and large moved to the settlements for an improved lifestyle and because of their zionistic ideals.
- joe secular israeli who by and large have their opinions formed by the mass media.
Who are the players?
According to a ridiculous book that I read, the bad guys are souls of the eruv rav. (All of whom died in the desert.) The book wasn't as ridiculous in its content as much as it was in its presentation. It was what I will describe as a powerpoint book. The first footnote on the first word of the book was something like: The structure of this book makes it impossible to use proper grammer and sentence structure. Basically, each sentence or fragment was its own paragraph. It used manipulative phrases such as "we both know," to bring the reader to the side of the author. The book was written in an impact style, no meat - just statements which implied facts. Just like a powerpoint presentation. I know of companies that have banned powerpoint because of its ability to capture an audience without telling them anything.
You can see the marketing here, trying to make a large impression on maleable minds.
The government, with its endless resources of youth psychologists knows exactly what to do and how to do it to cause a reaction. Announcing the 2000 police officers are going to remove 20 children from the Hevron marketplace is one example of a way to cause a huge brawl. Haven't they ever heard of PsyOps?
Remember one of the methods that the IDf uses to get terrorists to give in? It is not a threat that we are coming in with 2000 people. It is asking a neighbor to go and talk to the guy and explain the reality of the situation. That works because the terrorist know that when there are 15 people from an elite IDF unit outside he will not escape alive if he tries to make a break for it. He is able to hear the voice of reason coming from someone who speaks his own language.
We are looking at an example of cynical manipulation of teenagers as pawns in a serious bid for power. The messianic zionist Israelis who are trying to bring the Mashiach by their love of the land against the anti-messiah post-zionist Israelis who are trying in their own defeatist way to become a proud member of the European community.
In this game, I am not a player, I am an observer.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
the (sucky) legitimate government of Israel
I've been reading a number of "right-wing" blogs that are trying to delegitimacize the current government in Israel. The basic idea is that since the public voted for the Likud and not Kadima and kadima only has 13 knesset members then Kadima had no right to take the prime ministership (and government ministeries...) with them. The ideas are based around the fact that the current government sucks, is a minority, and is going against the ideas of the people who voted for them. People also feel that the Likud should have retained the prime ministership after Sharon dropped out instead of going to Olmert. These are nice and interesting ideas and reflect the ignorance that people have of the political process.
Even though the government might suck, it is quite legitimate. As we've mentioned before democracy does not equal morality. In a democratic Palestinian society, where the government votes to destroy Israel (or even in an Athenian democracy with a referendum of all the people) , that would not nullify their status as a democracy. It would mean that they are bad people who vote for bad things. We should then hope that our elected representatives order our army to wipe them out first.
What they're missing here is that if any other person in the Knesset could have gotten 60 MKs to support him then he can take over the prime ministership. The leadership of the country has less to do with who's in charge of any specific party as much as who can pull a majority together.
As such, after the public voted for their favorite parties to be MKs the MKs then vote on who becomes prime minister. A no confidence vote win is when 61 or more MKs vote that they do not support the government anymore. At that point either the government falls and there are new elections within 90 days or someone else can come up with 61 or more supporters and the President will appoint him prime minister.
Nobody voted for the Likud to head the government. Knesset members voted for Sharon to head the government. Sharon appointed Olmert as his replacement, as stipulated by Israeli law. He could have appointed anybody he wanted from any party, including Shimon Peres.
If another member of the Likud had the support of 61 MKs and the leader of the Likud didn't, then that person, not the party, would have taken over the government. If a party with 2 MKs (I think that's the minimum) could make enough deals to get enough support, then they would be prime minister.
The Likud tried to make a deal with Labor offering the prime ministership to Amir Peretz, but he refused to play ball (a dumb idea from his perspective, in my opinion, but probably very good for Israel as a whole and society at large).
Even though the government might suck, it is quite legitimate. As we've mentioned before democracy does not equal morality. In a democratic Palestinian society, where the government votes to destroy Israel (or even in an Athenian democracy with a referendum of all the people) , that would not nullify their status as a democracy. It would mean that they are bad people who vote for bad things. We should then hope that our elected representatives order our army to wipe them out first.
What they're missing here is that if any other person in the Knesset could have gotten 60 MKs to support him then he can take over the prime ministership. The leadership of the country has less to do with who's in charge of any specific party as much as who can pull a majority together.
As such, after the public voted for their favorite parties to be MKs the MKs then vote on who becomes prime minister. A no confidence vote win is when 61 or more MKs vote that they do not support the government anymore. At that point either the government falls and there are new elections within 90 days or someone else can come up with 61 or more supporters and the President will appoint him prime minister.
Nobody voted for the Likud to head the government. Knesset members voted for Sharon to head the government. Sharon appointed Olmert as his replacement, as stipulated by Israeli law. He could have appointed anybody he wanted from any party, including Shimon Peres.
If another member of the Likud had the support of 61 MKs and the leader of the Likud didn't, then that person, not the party, would have taken over the government. If a party with 2 MKs (I think that's the minimum) could make enough deals to get enough support, then they would be prime minister.
The Likud tried to make a deal with Labor offering the prime ministership to Amir Peretz, but he refused to play ball (a dumb idea from his perspective, in my opinion, but probably very good for Israel as a whole and society at large).
Monday, January 16, 2006
good business year
I had my end of year review today at work. I summarized my work for the year in 4 short sentences. The hard part is sitting down and thinking, did I do 4 sentences worth of work this year which are worth mentioning? Then my boss asked me if I actually thought that one of the items I mentioned was worth mentioning or not because it didn't seem to him like I spent that much time on it. I explained that I felt it was a very important step for the company, so even though it only represented a small amount of time, it represented a significant contribution.
All in all it was a very good year for both the company and I. I explained to them where I wanted to be in 5 years and how that fit in with my vision of the company. Obviosuly I didn't explain my whole plan, because then they would have had me commited.
I can imagine that this is how it works with God when you die. You sit down opposite him and a ministering angel and he gives you your grade for the year and how he thought you did. Then you get to tell God what you liked and didn't like about your life. There's a discussion about how things could have been better and what the next 2000 years will be like.
Then he gives you your harp and sends you to heaven.
Or he doesn't.
All in all it was a very good year for both the company and I. I explained to them where I wanted to be in 5 years and how that fit in with my vision of the company. Obviosuly I didn't explain my whole plan, because then they would have had me commited.
I can imagine that this is how it works with God when you die. You sit down opposite him and a ministering angel and he gives you your grade for the year and how he thought you did. Then you get to tell God what you liked and didn't like about your life. There's a discussion about how things could have been better and what the next 2000 years will be like.
Then he gives you your harp and sends you to heaven.
Or he doesn't.
Sunday, January 15, 2006
the end
Is the world on its way to an end? What exactly does that mean?
In this past weeks Torah Protion, Yaakov wanted to tell his children about the end of days, but the midrash says he was unable to because the divine countenance left him. He suspected his children of being sinners, but they said shema yisrael hashem elokeinu hashem echad. He was then comforted and gave them their blessings. That is the midrashic explanation, but if you look at the text of the pasuk, which my chavrussa (study partner) likes to do, you will see a slightly different story. Yaakov said he would like to tell them about the end and then they gather around and he starts talking about each one of his sons in what is commonly called the birchas yaakov. According to the textual explanation, the paragraphs about the sons, the fathers of the tribes of Israel, is a prophesy of the future and what will come at the end of days. There have been reports that many of the "lost tribes" have been found in rural, secluded places living as Muslims, Christians or other such folly. It would be interesting to see which of this prophesy actually applies in today's terms to the people who they are claiming belong to various tribes. Is the warrior tribe in northern afghanistan really Gad, about whom he said "Gad is a unit of soldiers?"
What is very interesting is the other major religions are also expecting an end of the world, or something similar.
Christians believe in the apocolypse, which basically includes a world war until Jesus comes to save the whole world.
I just read about the Hidden Imam who Muslims believe will come with Jesus. (sounds like Eliyahu Hanavi with Mashiach)
In any case, my point is that the majority of religious people in the world today believe that great upheavals will be coming. Whatever form it is in is irrelevant, because everyone knows that they are right and they may just be in their own parallel.
What happens in the next year will be very exciting and scary. Living in Israel, I think we have center stage to the upcoming fireworks.
In this past weeks Torah Protion, Yaakov wanted to tell his children about the end of days, but the midrash says he was unable to because the divine countenance left him. He suspected his children of being sinners, but they said shema yisrael hashem elokeinu hashem echad. He was then comforted and gave them their blessings. That is the midrashic explanation, but if you look at the text of the pasuk, which my chavrussa (study partner) likes to do, you will see a slightly different story. Yaakov said he would like to tell them about the end and then they gather around and he starts talking about each one of his sons in what is commonly called the birchas yaakov. According to the textual explanation, the paragraphs about the sons, the fathers of the tribes of Israel, is a prophesy of the future and what will come at the end of days. There have been reports that many of the "lost tribes" have been found in rural, secluded places living as Muslims, Christians or other such folly. It would be interesting to see which of this prophesy actually applies in today's terms to the people who they are claiming belong to various tribes. Is the warrior tribe in northern afghanistan really Gad, about whom he said "Gad is a unit of soldiers?"
What is very interesting is the other major religions are also expecting an end of the world, or something similar.
Christians believe in the apocolypse, which basically includes a world war until Jesus comes to save the whole world.
I just read about the Hidden Imam who Muslims believe will come with Jesus. (sounds like Eliyahu Hanavi with Mashiach)
In any case, my point is that the majority of religious people in the world today believe that great upheavals will be coming. Whatever form it is in is irrelevant, because everyone knows that they are right and they may just be in their own parallel.
What happens in the next year will be very exciting and scary. Living in Israel, I think we have center stage to the upcoming fireworks.
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
no biz with robertson
Israel has decided not to do business with Pat Robertson, a Christian evangelical, because he said that he believes that the prime inister was struck down by God as a punishment for the disengagement.
What a load of crap.
Since when did belief in God forestall a business relationship in Israel? Israel!!??!
Just because someone in the tourism ministry disagrees with his assessment of the situation should not affect a business relationship. He didn't say he hopes the prime minister gets struck down. He didn't say he's happy the prime ministers brain started bleeding.
That happened without him.
All he did was give religious reasons why the prime minister cannot stand up today. I don't see that belief as preventing any relationship with the State of Israel. People who believe in God, whether they be Jewish or other religion, must know that when the prime minister of Israel is struck with a serious medical condition that it is not by accident. Some people may believe that we don't know if it was the disengagement or some other reason, but all religious people who believe in divinical intervention must know that God was involved in this stroke and then further brain bleed.
Sure calling the prime minister a sinner isn't going to get you points, but he is an admitted sinner. If you've been following the news recently you'll see a lot of pictures of Sharon wearing a kippa. As if the newspaper portraying him as religious will confuse God and cause him to wonder if he struck the wrong person.
What a load of crap.
Since when did belief in God forestall a business relationship in Israel? Israel!!??!
Just because someone in the tourism ministry disagrees with his assessment of the situation should not affect a business relationship. He didn't say he hopes the prime minister gets struck down. He didn't say he's happy the prime ministers brain started bleeding.
That happened without him.
All he did was give religious reasons why the prime minister cannot stand up today. I don't see that belief as preventing any relationship with the State of Israel. People who believe in God, whether they be Jewish or other religion, must know that when the prime minister of Israel is struck with a serious medical condition that it is not by accident. Some people may believe that we don't know if it was the disengagement or some other reason, but all religious people who believe in divinical intervention must know that God was involved in this stroke and then further brain bleed.
Sure calling the prime minister a sinner isn't going to get you points, but he is an admitted sinner. If you've been following the news recently you'll see a lot of pictures of Sharon wearing a kippa. As if the newspaper portraying him as religious will confuse God and cause him to wonder if he struck the wrong person.
muslim israeli fighter pilot??? I think not.
The funny thing is that if it was done without the press and without making a big deal about it, I don't think I would have had any issues with it. But stick it in the paper and make it into an issue and I certainly don't want a Muslim defending Jews.
It has worked in the past, but only temporarily. Whenever Muslims swear to defend Jews it has turned into a temporary halt on the persecution, but never has it meant anything more then when Arafat declared his intentions for peace with Israel.
"It's good for the moment to say things like this, but when it gets down to it, we really want them all dead"
If he hadn't turned to the media, though, it would have been a different story. It could have been a nice arab boy who wanted to help his home country Israel and kill other Muslims. It could have been worked out with supervision and care (and maybe a remote control automatic pilot, in case his plane suddenly got lost over tel aviv). Do a security check to make sure that neither he nor his family or friends are in the employ of Iran. And finished. Once it's public, I don't want to hear about it anymore. It becomes a cause for the liberals and self-haters who preach equality when they don't have a clue as to the meaning of that word.
And he went to the media before he got turned down, because he wanted to make this into an international spectacle. The IAF was right in not taking him under those circumstances.
It has worked in the past, but only temporarily. Whenever Muslims swear to defend Jews it has turned into a temporary halt on the persecution, but never has it meant anything more then when Arafat declared his intentions for peace with Israel.
"It's good for the moment to say things like this, but when it gets down to it, we really want them all dead"
If he hadn't turned to the media, though, it would have been a different story. It could have been a nice arab boy who wanted to help his home country Israel and kill other Muslims. It could have been worked out with supervision and care (and maybe a remote control automatic pilot, in case his plane suddenly got lost over tel aviv). Do a security check to make sure that neither he nor his family or friends are in the employ of Iran. And finished. Once it's public, I don't want to hear about it anymore. It becomes a cause for the liberals and self-haters who preach equality when they don't have a clue as to the meaning of that word.
And he went to the media before he got turned down, because he wanted to make this into an international spectacle. The IAF was right in not taking him under those circumstances.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
tenth of teves
On this tenth day of teves, when the evil nevuchadnetzer started the siege against Jerusalem, we should pray.
We should pray that Jerusalem is besieged no more.
We should pray for strength and fortitude against our enemies who seek to destroy us.
We should pray for mashiach to come and bring us back the Jerusalem that we lost back then.
And we should all say Amen.
We should pray that Jerusalem is besieged no more.
We should pray for strength and fortitude against our enemies who seek to destroy us.
We should pray for mashiach to come and bring us back the Jerusalem that we lost back then.
And we should all say Amen.
Monday, January 09, 2006
brother in law's stroke
Just to clarify, my brother in law recently had a stroke and he:
- was not old and fat
- disclaims any knowledge of Shimon Peres
- Couldn't have been bribed even if he wanted to be
- did not give away the land of Israel
- was not hit by any pulsa denora.
the why of the stroke
A big topic in Israel right now is why did the Prime Minister have a stroke. The common answers are (listed from physical to metaphysical):
Now a commonly asked question, mostly jeeringly, is if God is punishing the evil, sinning, Prime Minister, why didn't he stop the withdrawal? A stroke a month or two before the evacuation would have done wonders for the communities of the FGK (former gush katif). The answer to that is obvious with a quick glace through history.
Scroll back to Titus, who destroyed the second Bais Hamikdash (temple). God let him through the door to do his dirty work. And then (according to tradition) while he was boasting at how he killed the Jewish God, a little mosquito flew in through his nose and hammered at his brain, driving him slowly insane.
None of the rabbis got up after that and said, we're not really sure why Titus died. Maybe it was just a coincidence.
The fact is that God decided the Bais Hamikdash had to be destroyed and he sent Titus. God decided the Jews in Spain needed to be shaken up and he sent the Inquisition. God decided that the Jews needed a smack and bang the gas chambers of Germany sprang up. Exactly what caused God to get mad at us, I'm not really sure. But we know things like this don't happen by accident.
Did God want the communities of Gaza torn down and their residents sent off to find dig new root? The answer is obviously yes. We did what we could. We davened, applied political pressure and our bribery-laden lobbying didn't work either.
God saw what was offered and he said, "Nope. Gaza's going down."
That didn't let the guy who implemented it off the hook, though. He didn't do it in the nicest of ways as the latest Comptroller's report should have told us. He ignored the rabbis who told him that it was improper for a Jewish government to do this. After he was finished God's work. God looked at him and said, you scum bag. And then he smacked him.
This is the second prime minister who had the pulsa denora thrown at him. It is also the second prime minister in a row to be working close with Shimon Peres.
- He was fat and old
- Shimon Peres
- Real evidence was found against him that he accepted bribery
- He gave away the land of Israel
- The pulsa denura got him
Now a commonly asked question, mostly jeeringly, is if God is punishing the evil, sinning, Prime Minister, why didn't he stop the withdrawal? A stroke a month or two before the evacuation would have done wonders for the communities of the FGK (former gush katif). The answer to that is obvious with a quick glace through history.
Scroll back to Titus, who destroyed the second Bais Hamikdash (temple). God let him through the door to do his dirty work. And then (according to tradition) while he was boasting at how he killed the Jewish God, a little mosquito flew in through his nose and hammered at his brain, driving him slowly insane.
None of the rabbis got up after that and said, we're not really sure why Titus died. Maybe it was just a coincidence.
The fact is that God decided the Bais Hamikdash had to be destroyed and he sent Titus. God decided the Jews in Spain needed to be shaken up and he sent the Inquisition. God decided that the Jews needed a smack and bang the gas chambers of Germany sprang up. Exactly what caused God to get mad at us, I'm not really sure. But we know things like this don't happen by accident.
Did God want the communities of Gaza torn down and their residents sent off to find dig new root? The answer is obviously yes. We did what we could. We davened, applied political pressure and our bribery-laden lobbying didn't work either.
God saw what was offered and he said, "Nope. Gaza's going down."
That didn't let the guy who implemented it off the hook, though. He didn't do it in the nicest of ways as the latest Comptroller's report should have told us. He ignored the rabbis who told him that it was improper for a Jewish government to do this. After he was finished God's work. God looked at him and said, you scum bag. And then he smacked him.
This is the second prime minister who had the pulsa denora thrown at him. It is also the second prime minister in a row to be working close with Shimon Peres.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
god bless
First of all, God bless Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. May he live till 120 years old. Hopefully he'll have enough sense now to retire and live out the rest of his life playing with his grandchildren.
God Bless Randal McCloy who was the lone survivor of the West Virginian exploding mine mishap. He's in critical condition and needs our hopes and prayers. If you have a free moment, find out what hospital he's in and send a card.
God Bless Jerry Groves, Marshall Winans and the rest of them all who did not make it out of the mine alive, as was first reported. They have moved from almost heaven, to the real thing.
God Bless Terry Helms who was first reported to be the only casualty.
God bless the friends and family of the miners who have been suffering through this tragedy.
As old grampa isy would say "you can't win for losing" and "I'm slow as molasses and just as slow"
God Bless Randal McCloy who was the lone survivor of the West Virginian exploding mine mishap. He's in critical condition and needs our hopes and prayers. If you have a free moment, find out what hospital he's in and send a card.
God Bless Jerry Groves, Marshall Winans and the rest of them all who did not make it out of the mine alive, as was first reported. They have moved from almost heaven, to the real thing.
God Bless Terry Helms who was first reported to be the only casualty.
God bless the friends and family of the miners who have been suffering through this tragedy.
As old grampa isy would say "you can't win for losing" and "I'm slow as molasses and just as slow"
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
i wuz tagged
I reckon it would be wrong and unsportsmanlike to ignore muqata's meme tag.
Here goes:
Four jobs I've had in my life
(I haven't seen a movie in a while, so bear with me here)
Four of my favorite foods
Here goes:
Four jobs I've had in my life
- Day Camp Counselor
- Chicken plucker
- Database Programmer
- Ice Cream scooper
(I haven't seen a movie in a while, so bear with me here)
- Star Wars
- Chasing Amy
- Die Hard
- A Few Good Men
- Morgantown, WV
- Oak Park, Mi
- Milwaukee, Wi
- Maalot, Israel
- Sledgehammer
- The Cosby Show
- Knight Rider
- A-Team
- A rodeo in Cody, Wyoming
- Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Rock City, Georgia (borders 7 states, very cool place)
- Disney World
Four of my favorite foods
- Cherry Pie (Slap your grandma good!)
- Pizza
- American steak
- homemade peanut butter
Four places you'd rather be
- The hills (wait...I am in the hills :-)
- in bed
- on the beach
- hiking
Four books I'll read over and over again
- Breishis
- Shmos
- Bamidbar
- Devarim
(Nothing against vayikra, but it's my least favorite of the 5 and if I have to leave one out)
Who gets tagged?
- Dag
- Sal (You can post as anonymous in the comments)
- Train Talk
back in the strip
Well it seems like we're fully entrenched back in gaza again. We've retaken Alei Sinai and Dugit. When I was last in the area, actually 2 times ago - the last time I helped setting up a moved greenhouse, but that's neither here nor there-, we went to the religious beach. Not a separate beach. There were both males and females there. What made it a religious beach (as it was called by the secular guy who we asked where we could find a beach) was the fact that most of the people were voluntarily wearing clothes. Women were covered properly (even in the water) and men were in the water without shirts. It was a very cool experience.
Back to politics.
Now that the plishtim have convinced us to retake part of the strip, how much longer before they convince us that we need a permanent presence there. Maybe we should build settlements there so we have an excuse for constant military protection. OH WAIT. we tried that already. The prime minister decided that it was in our best interest not to be there anymore. I must have missed the newspaper coverage on how wrong he was.
Maybe next time we take it over and start settlements, we will build one in Rafiach, so as to prevent terrorists coming in over the Egyptian border. What a concept, settlements for peace. The more settlements that are built, the less land they have to shoot rockets.
Unless you feel that we should go back to the original partition plan of 1948 and accept the "suicide borders." Then the Arabs will be happy. They think they have enough militarty might now to finish off what they tried back then. Throwing Israel into the sea. As Ahmadinejad said, the State of Israel was Europe's Final Solution as they hiped the Arabs would get rid of the couple Jews they left behind.
Stupid Europeans. Stupid Iranians. Stupid Prime Minister.
We're not leaving yet.
Back to politics.
Now that the plishtim have convinced us to retake part of the strip, how much longer before they convince us that we need a permanent presence there. Maybe we should build settlements there so we have an excuse for constant military protection. OH WAIT. we tried that already. The prime minister decided that it was in our best interest not to be there anymore. I must have missed the newspaper coverage on how wrong he was.
Maybe next time we take it over and start settlements, we will build one in Rafiach, so as to prevent terrorists coming in over the Egyptian border. What a concept, settlements for peace. The more settlements that are built, the less land they have to shoot rockets.
Unless you feel that we should go back to the original partition plan of 1948 and accept the "suicide borders." Then the Arabs will be happy. They think they have enough militarty might now to finish off what they tried back then. Throwing Israel into the sea. As Ahmadinejad said, the State of Israel was Europe's Final Solution as they hiped the Arabs would get rid of the couple Jews they left behind.
Stupid Europeans. Stupid Iranians. Stupid Prime Minister.
We're not leaving yet.
Monday, January 02, 2006
its the end of chanukah
I'd say we had a very enjoyable chanukah. The kids got a bunch of presents, we saw family and friends and life is good. Last night we gave my 2 son's action figures. The first one got a crappy spiderman and the second got a cool ninja turtle (called tzavei ninsha in Hebrew). The crappy spiderman, was not purposefully crappy. My wife, God bless her, said that it cost the same amount as the ninja turtle., but it was so crappy they didn't even paint the back of it, His back was all red and it broke within 2 minutes of him getting it.
You might expect torrents of tears and hysterics from the first son who is prone to those kind of fits. Especially when his brand new spiderman's leg snapped away from the body. (I couldn't find the piece that broke off, so it is possible it was broken to begin with). He came over to me and asked very nicely if I could fix it. So I told him I would have to fix it overnight. We decided it wasn't fixable and we should get him a decent toy instead, so this morning he had his choice of either spiderman or a ninja turtle like his brother and he picked the ninja turtle. I'm very proud of him.
Last night was also a milestone night in other parts of the family. My oldest daughter(7) slept at her friend's house for the first time. My wife was very nervous about it, but she slept there the entire night and didn't even call home once.
8 candles up, 8 candles down. Finish this holiday and start getting ready for...Purim!!
You might expect torrents of tears and hysterics from the first son who is prone to those kind of fits. Especially when his brand new spiderman's leg snapped away from the body. (I couldn't find the piece that broke off, so it is possible it was broken to begin with). He came over to me and asked very nicely if I could fix it. So I told him I would have to fix it overnight. We decided it wasn't fixable and we should get him a decent toy instead, so this morning he had his choice of either spiderman or a ninja turtle like his brother and he picked the ninja turtle. I'm very proud of him.
Last night was also a milestone night in other parts of the family. My oldest daughter(7) slept at her friend's house for the first time. My wife was very nervous about it, but she slept there the entire night and didn't even call home once.
8 candles up, 8 candles down. Finish this holiday and start getting ready for...Purim!!
Sunday, January 01, 2006
celebrating the new year
Nobody wished me a Happy New Year when I came into work this morning. Which isn't that odd, I suppose as we celebrated the new year in September. But there is still a festive atmosphere in certain sectors in Israel that do celebrate the new year in a way quite different then the Jewish New Year is celebrated.
What is most odd is that certain Israelis take pride in not celebrating the Christian New Year. I just heard my boss (not religious) explain to his children (after they heard someone talk about parties last night) that we as kosher jews do not celebrate goyish holidays.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, I heard on shabbos that a former gazan rabbi is preaching that the modern eirav rav (mixed multitude of non Jews who left Egypt) is the non-religious and that they don't have a Jewish soul. I heard this third person, and I'm sure that I didn't get the whole concept, but it just strikes me as missing part of the picture.
I see it in a different light that one of the major problems of the Jews before the exile was the splitting of Judea and Israel into separate kingdoms. Or, if you will, into the religious and non-religious kingdoms. The need to stay unified, even while disagreeing is of utmost importance to the Jewish nation. It is possible to vociferously disagree and even to reject someone's opinions and philosophy out of hand and still love them as people. Just because you reject their basis of life does not mean that they are to be treated as trash.
We had a great time this weekend first with our chanuka party, who's secret location was the Old City of Jerusalem. All those who saw a large group in the Old City may have witnessed our Chanukah party. Or they may have seen a bunch of old epople wearing Crusader crosses on their name tags. (different group)
A good time was had by all and the weather was good enough that we gathered outside and spent a good 2 hours together.
Shabbos in Karmei Tzur was enjoyable and relaxing. After shabbos we got pizza in efrat and headed back to the galilee, where space is open and cows roam free.
It's good to be home.
What is most odd is that certain Israelis take pride in not celebrating the Christian New Year. I just heard my boss (not religious) explain to his children (after they heard someone talk about parties last night) that we as kosher jews do not celebrate goyish holidays.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, I heard on shabbos that a former gazan rabbi is preaching that the modern eirav rav (mixed multitude of non Jews who left Egypt) is the non-religious and that they don't have a Jewish soul. I heard this third person, and I'm sure that I didn't get the whole concept, but it just strikes me as missing part of the picture.
I see it in a different light that one of the major problems of the Jews before the exile was the splitting of Judea and Israel into separate kingdoms. Or, if you will, into the religious and non-religious kingdoms. The need to stay unified, even while disagreeing is of utmost importance to the Jewish nation. It is possible to vociferously disagree and even to reject someone's opinions and philosophy out of hand and still love them as people. Just because you reject their basis of life does not mean that they are to be treated as trash.
We had a great time this weekend first with our chanuka party, who's secret location was the Old City of Jerusalem. All those who saw a large group in the Old City may have witnessed our Chanukah party. Or they may have seen a bunch of old epople wearing Crusader crosses on their name tags. (different group)
A good time was had by all and the weather was good enough that we gathered outside and spent a good 2 hours together.
Shabbos in Karmei Tzur was enjoyable and relaxing. After shabbos we got pizza in efrat and headed back to the galilee, where space is open and cows roam free.
It's good to be home.
Thursday, December 29, 2005
where to light
Tonight we are beginning our journey southward, towards the holy city of Jerusalem.
The itinerary includes Ramat Bet Shemesh, where we will visit the recovering brotherinlaw and his family. We are planning on visiting some other friends there as well, if it isn't too late.
As it is written, you should stop in the courtyard to prepare yourself before entering the holy.
We will then head into the kedusha itself where we will be staying in Har Nof. (Up to this point we will still not seen any native Hebrew speakers). Hopefully, I'll be able to make it to the kotel, but it depends on how the family settles. The big question is where to light candles. Harav Yoylee, (he performs weddings for a small fee but isn't licensed so it has no weight in this country) thinks I should light candles where I sleep. But I can't eat until I light candles. So I may light at brother benji's. I don't think I'm planning on eating before I get to jlem anyways, so food may be a non-issue.
Friday morning we have the haylika family chanukah party. We have adopted a no-presents policy this year because the 20 shekel grab bag is the only thing that makes sense and I feel that if any if the atendees wants something for 20 shek, he should buy it.
The location of the party will not be mentioned here for security reasons.
After the party we will be heading into the Israeli territories near Hevron. We will be returning the the Galilee, God Willing on Saturday night.
We shouldn't be missed.
The itinerary includes Ramat Bet Shemesh, where we will visit the recovering brotherinlaw and his family. We are planning on visiting some other friends there as well, if it isn't too late.
As it is written, you should stop in the courtyard to prepare yourself before entering the holy.
We will then head into the kedusha itself where we will be staying in Har Nof. (Up to this point we will still not seen any native Hebrew speakers). Hopefully, I'll be able to make it to the kotel, but it depends on how the family settles. The big question is where to light candles. Harav Yoylee, (he performs weddings for a small fee but isn't licensed so it has no weight in this country) thinks I should light candles where I sleep. But I can't eat until I light candles. So I may light at brother benji's. I don't think I'm planning on eating before I get to jlem anyways, so food may be a non-issue.
Friday morning we have the haylika family chanukah party. We have adopted a no-presents policy this year because the 20 shekel grab bag is the only thing that makes sense and I feel that if any if the atendees wants something for 20 shek, he should buy it.
The location of the party will not be mentioned here for security reasons.
After the party we will be heading into the Israeli territories near Hevron. We will be returning the the Galilee, God Willing on Saturday night.
We shouldn't be missed.
key to happiness
As everyone knows, except women, the key to happiness is meat. Women have an affinity for chocolate and ice cream and that makes them incapable of true happiness. In the good old days, when we were allowed to sacrifice animals to show ourselves and God how much we love him, the gemara says that there is no happiness without meat.
Israelis don't understand meat. They think that chicken and meat are the same. Chicken is not meat. Chicken is a bird. It tastes good, if prepared correctly, but it doesn't bring the eater up to the highest levels of spirituality and pure unadulterated joy that a side of beef does.
Chicken is the sitra achra. It looks kind of like meat and can be prepared similarly, but it doesn't have the חיות that meat has. Chicken, and even turkey (the buffalo of the chicken family), are scrawny little nothings. It is a trick. Don't be fooled.
I feel that when the rabbonim put chicken (and other birds) into the same category as meat they did Judaism a great disservice. They were trying to protect us from mistaking a chicken for meat and then seeing people eat chicken with milk would eat meat with milk. They had good intentions, but you know what path is paved with good intentions.
Israelis don't understand meat. They think that chicken and meat are the same. Chicken is not meat. Chicken is a bird. It tastes good, if prepared correctly, but it doesn't bring the eater up to the highest levels of spirituality and pure unadulterated joy that a side of beef does.
Chicken is the sitra achra. It looks kind of like meat and can be prepared similarly, but it doesn't have the חיות that meat has. Chicken, and even turkey (the buffalo of the chicken family), are scrawny little nothings. It is a trick. Don't be fooled.
I feel that when the rabbonim put chicken (and other birds) into the same category as meat they did Judaism a great disservice. They were trying to protect us from mistaking a chicken for meat and then seeing people eat chicken with milk would eat meat with milk. They had good intentions, but you know what path is paved with good intentions.
Monday, December 26, 2005
happy chanukah
It's the first day of chanukah and it is going very well so far, though I forgot to say al hanisim this morning.
The kids didn't cry when we gave them presents, even though we got them sharing presents and not individual ones.
My wife surprised even me when she bought our daughters a self-piercing kit.
We have friends coming up tonight from jlem for the second lighting and a festive holiday meal. Hopefully, we'll figure something to do with them tomorrow afternoon.
Friday morning is the official Israeli family chanukah party. Brother benji might not make it, because of his convalescing. (BTW did I mention they freed him from the confines of the hospital?)We are planning on having the greater part of the Israeli family there. 2Ares (who is single by the way if you happen to know anybody), and SRA will be there with his wife shanyaz.blogspot.com/ and cousin Justin (TUGS) will be showing as well. On the other side of the family, Yoylee and family and Shira with her new hottie (or so she says) husband will both be attending as well.
We have drafted a no-presents policy for the adults because the grab bag makes sense financially, but if you really wanted a 20 shekel item, go and buy one.
For shabbos chanuka we are going to be leaving the galilean heartland and go visiting settlements. While we are not going to heading towards Muqata's beloved Samaria, we are planning a foray deep into the jungle of Judea. A little village about 10 minutes from Hebron is the destination. The last time we were there, about 3 years ago, we heard helicopters all shabbat and found out afterwards that a multi-felafel soldier was killed in Hevron, the highest ranking soldier to be killed up to that point. May his neshama have an aliyah and may the wicked enemies of Israel rot in pig guts till eternity. (and let them go to hell and have shoes thrown at them. Amen.).
For those who don't know, a felafeled soldier is one who has gotten more stripes then fit on his shirt, so they take off all his stripes and congratulate him by giving him a felafel.
Hopefully, though I don't know if there will be time, we will make it to Hevron to discuss political, social and religious issues with our forefathers in the maaras hamachpeila (cave of the patriarchs).
The kids didn't cry when we gave them presents, even though we got them sharing presents and not individual ones.
My wife surprised even me when she bought our daughters a self-piercing kit.
We have friends coming up tonight from jlem for the second lighting and a festive holiday meal. Hopefully, we'll figure something to do with them tomorrow afternoon.
Friday morning is the official Israeli family chanukah party. Brother benji might not make it, because of his convalescing. (BTW did I mention they freed him from the confines of the hospital?)We are planning on having the greater part of the Israeli family there. 2Ares (who is single by the way if you happen to know anybody), and SRA will be there with his wife shanyaz.blogspot.com/ and cousin Justin (TUGS) will be showing as well. On the other side of the family, Yoylee and family and Shira with her new hottie (or so she says) husband will both be attending as well.
We have drafted a no-presents policy for the adults because the grab bag makes sense financially, but if you really wanted a 20 shekel item, go and buy one.
For shabbos chanuka we are going to be leaving the galilean heartland and go visiting settlements. While we are not going to heading towards Muqata's beloved Samaria, we are planning a foray deep into the jungle of Judea. A little village about 10 minutes from Hebron is the destination. The last time we were there, about 3 years ago, we heard helicopters all shabbat and found out afterwards that a multi-felafel soldier was killed in Hevron, the highest ranking soldier to be killed up to that point. May his neshama have an aliyah and may the wicked enemies of Israel rot in pig guts till eternity. (and let them go to hell and have shoes thrown at them. Amen.).
For those who don't know, a felafeled soldier is one who has gotten more stripes then fit on his shirt, so they take off all his stripes and congratulate him by giving him a felafel.
Hopefully, though I don't know if there will be time, we will make it to Hevron to discuss political, social and religious issues with our forefathers in the maaras hamachpeila (cave of the patriarchs).
Sunday, December 25, 2005
my Jewishness.
They've never been able to categorize me before, I don't know why they thought they could do it now.
http://www.nerdtests.com/mq/take.php?id=200
Left Wing Modern Orthodox: 15%
Right Wing Modern Orthodox: 49%
Left Wing Yeshivish/Chareidi: 61%
Right Wing Yeshivish/Chareidi: 29%
This means you're: Huh?
What does it mean?
I give up. What are you?
Comparison Summary:
Of the 1875 unique test takers...
For: Left Wing Modern Orthodox
76% scored higher, and 22% scored lower.
The average Raw Score is: 30.3, your's was: 12.
For: Right Wing Modern Orthodox
75% scored higher, and 23% scored lower.
The average Raw Score is: 46.3, your's was: 36.
For: Left Wing Yeshivish/Chareidi
44% scored higher, and 54% scored lower.
The average Raw Score is: 40.3, your's was: 43.
For: Right Wing Yeshivish/Chareidi
44% scored higher, and 54% scored lower.
The average Raw Score is: 24.0, your's was: 23.
http://www.nerdtests.com/mq/take.php?id=200
Left Wing Modern Orthodox: 15%
Right Wing Modern Orthodox: 49%
Left Wing Yeshivish/Chareidi: 61%
Right Wing Yeshivish/Chareidi: 29%
This means you're: Huh?
What does it mean?
I give up. What are you?
Comparison Summary:
Of the 1875 unique test takers...
For: Left Wing Modern Orthodox
76% scored higher, and 22% scored lower.
The average Raw Score is: 30.3, your's was: 12.
For: Right Wing Modern Orthodox
75% scored higher, and 23% scored lower.
The average Raw Score is: 46.3, your's was: 36.
For: Left Wing Yeshivish/Chareidi
44% scored higher, and 54% scored lower.
The average Raw Score is: 40.3, your's was: 43.
For: Right Wing Yeshivish/Chareidi
44% scored higher, and 54% scored lower.
The average Raw Score is: 24.0, your's was: 23.
a shabbos from heaven
This was supposed to be a very laid back shabbos for us. It had been a stressful week and I was looking forward to the relaxation that shabbos provides.
My mother-in-law came to visit, as she was in for a week visiting my hospitalized brother-in-law, who is doing very well. He is hoping to get released to today. The tehillim are working (or else God didn't really want to kill him this time.)
Anyways, back to the story. So my mother-in-law was sleeping in our guest suite downstairs, which isn't really a basement because it is on the lower groound floor.
The rain was coming down like gishmei bracha (rains of blessing) is supposed to. At 6:30 AM there is a loud bang and all the power went out. No, we weren't attacked by terrorists - it was God himself. The main breakers had jumped so we were without lights or heat for all shabbos. My motherinlaw gets up at 7:30 and steps into - not just a puddle of water, but a full lake. Two inches deep, in the shallow section. The entire guest suite had flooded. But none of the walls were wet and there are no drains in the floor. We couldn't figure out where the water could possibly be coming from.
I ended up davening at home because shul was mostly over by the time we gave up sweeping the water out of the house.
Our neighbors invited us over for lunch, because they had lights and heat, so we brought over all of our food (the chulent was still warm) and had an enjoyable meal.
All in all it was an enjoyable, though stressful, shabbos from shomayim.
My mother-in-law came to visit, as she was in for a week visiting my hospitalized brother-in-law, who is doing very well. He is hoping to get released to today. The tehillim are working (or else God didn't really want to kill him this time.)
Anyways, back to the story. So my mother-in-law was sleeping in our guest suite downstairs, which isn't really a basement because it is on the lower groound floor.
The rain was coming down like gishmei bracha (rains of blessing) is supposed to. At 6:30 AM there is a loud bang and all the power went out. No, we weren't attacked by terrorists - it was God himself. The main breakers had jumped so we were without lights or heat for all shabbos. My motherinlaw gets up at 7:30 and steps into - not just a puddle of water, but a full lake. Two inches deep, in the shallow section. The entire guest suite had flooded. But none of the walls were wet and there are no drains in the floor. We couldn't figure out where the water could possibly be coming from.
I ended up davening at home because shul was mostly over by the time we gave up sweeping the water out of the house.
Our neighbors invited us over for lunch, because they had lights and heat, so we brought over all of our food (the chulent was still warm) and had an enjoyable meal.
All in all it was an enjoyable, though stressful, shabbos from shomayim.
Thursday, December 22, 2005
democracy does not equal morality or intelligence
First of all I want to let everyone know that I spoke with my brotherinlaw Benji and he thinks he is recovering nicely.
Beseech God, you never know when he may listen.
I've been hearing a lot of comments on various blogs that Netanyahu's move to ban Feiglin from running on the Likud list is undemocratic. This follows all the comments that Sharon's withdrawal from Gaza was undemocratic. People seem to mistake democracy for morality or intelligence.
Democracy means the decision rest on the votes of the majority of people eligible to vote. In a representative democracy (such as the US), the people vote for representatives and then anything that those representatives vote on reflect the will of the people. If it doesn't reflect their will, the people are not supposed to vote for them again. In a parliamentary democracy (such as in Israel) the people vote for a party, the leaders of the party determine who the representative list is. In this system, someone who has a lot of supporters among the leaders of the party will be sent to the parliament, even if all the people who support the party hate him.
Removing Feiglin from running on the Likud is a dumb thing to for netanyahu to do, because after losing who knows how many votes to kadima, he is now trying to alienate another large group of people (17% of the party voted for him).
Blackmail and making deals is also part of the democratic process. The way that you get people to vote for your proposal is by promising to vote for their proposal. (quid pro quo)
On that point, there was nothing undemocratic about the withdrawal from Gaza. It may have been unethical. It may not have been intelligent, but the majority of knesset members certainly voted yes.
On that point, if the majority of Germans vote to kill all Jews, that is also democratic. Wrong, but democratic.
If the majority of voters vote that black people should be enslaved, it is a democratic decision. Wrong, but democratic.
People were not given the ability to determine moral societal values. Those were given to us by God, in an unalterable book. The model of the world is based on God, a single ruler over everything. In the animal kingdom, we have the Lion is the king of beasts. The human world used to believe in the "Divine right of Kings" (Charlamange).
When Jesus said (or so I've heard), "let he who is without sin cast the first stone," he was basically saying that the laws of God are not meant to be followed. We, as Jews, instantly rejected him because of that. That is saying that it is impossible to punish anyone, thereby creating a lawless society, because who among us is without sin.
While democracy is not inherently good or bad, it is based on the values of the voting population. Therein lies the intrinsic problem of a democracy.
Beseech God, you never know when he may listen.
I've been hearing a lot of comments on various blogs that Netanyahu's move to ban Feiglin from running on the Likud list is undemocratic. This follows all the comments that Sharon's withdrawal from Gaza was undemocratic. People seem to mistake democracy for morality or intelligence.
Democracy means the decision rest on the votes of the majority of people eligible to vote. In a representative democracy (such as the US), the people vote for representatives and then anything that those representatives vote on reflect the will of the people. If it doesn't reflect their will, the people are not supposed to vote for them again. In a parliamentary democracy (such as in Israel) the people vote for a party, the leaders of the party determine who the representative list is. In this system, someone who has a lot of supporters among the leaders of the party will be sent to the parliament, even if all the people who support the party hate him.
Removing Feiglin from running on the Likud is a dumb thing to for netanyahu to do, because after losing who knows how many votes to kadima, he is now trying to alienate another large group of people (17% of the party voted for him).
Blackmail and making deals is also part of the democratic process. The way that you get people to vote for your proposal is by promising to vote for their proposal. (quid pro quo)
On that point, there was nothing undemocratic about the withdrawal from Gaza. It may have been unethical. It may not have been intelligent, but the majority of knesset members certainly voted yes.
On that point, if the majority of Germans vote to kill all Jews, that is also democratic. Wrong, but democratic.
If the majority of voters vote that black people should be enslaved, it is a democratic decision. Wrong, but democratic.
People were not given the ability to determine moral societal values. Those were given to us by God, in an unalterable book. The model of the world is based on God, a single ruler over everything. In the animal kingdom, we have the Lion is the king of beasts. The human world used to believe in the "Divine right of Kings" (Charlamange).
When Jesus said (or so I've heard), "let he who is without sin cast the first stone," he was basically saying that the laws of God are not meant to be followed. We, as Jews, instantly rejected him because of that. That is saying that it is impossible to punish anyone, thereby creating a lawless society, because who among us is without sin.
While democracy is not inherently good or bad, it is based on the values of the voting population. Therein lies the intrinsic problem of a democracy.
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
israeli categories
When I came to Israel, I was told I had to define myself in a sociopolitical category.
My choices, as a religious ashkenazi, were either:
It seems to me that there are a lot of religious Jews out there (maybe mostly from midwest America, though one of my readers will claim that in the south there are normal Jews as well, but we just look at them funny and say, "inbred") who do not fit into any of these categories. This leaves us as ill-represented. I moved to Israel because of religious reasons, secular zionistic reasons played a part in it, but religious zionism was not part of the decision process.
I would guess that makes me chareidi. Except when people ask me what kind of Jew I am and I tell them chareidi, they laugh. Apparantly, I don't much look like a chareidi. And I work. I didn't go to the army, but they didn't ask me nicely to go. Also I use a suf when I daven and layn. And I don't know the rambam by heart. I tried going through two of rav kook's sefarim and didn't understand a word.
My children are going to be dati leumi because we moved to a dati leumi community and send them to dati leumi schools. But I'll probably be able to give them a little perspective, which they'll happily ignore.
My choices, as a religious ashkenazi, were either:
- dati leumi (national religious), which apparantly means that I believe that the State and the Messiah are one. We were already redeemed, just the guy who was supposed to tell us never showed up.
- Chareidi (ultra orthodox), which apparantly means that I believe the state has no right to exist, I don't work, don't go into the army, leech off of society, and am generally despised by everyone.
It seems to me that there are a lot of religious Jews out there (maybe mostly from midwest America, though one of my readers will claim that in the south there are normal Jews as well, but we just look at them funny and say, "inbred") who do not fit into any of these categories. This leaves us as ill-represented. I moved to Israel because of religious reasons, secular zionistic reasons played a part in it, but religious zionism was not part of the decision process.
I would guess that makes me chareidi. Except when people ask me what kind of Jew I am and I tell them chareidi, they laugh. Apparantly, I don't much look like a chareidi. And I work. I didn't go to the army, but they didn't ask me nicely to go. Also I use a suf when I daven and layn. And I don't know the rambam by heart. I tried going through two of rav kook's sefarim and didn't understand a word.
My children are going to be dati leumi because we moved to a dati leumi community and send them to dati leumi schools. But I'll probably be able to give them a little perspective, which they'll happily ignore.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
israeli politics
The big question in Israel for the next few months is who to vote for. This is not at all similar to the same question in the US, where you have 40% conservatives who always vote Republican and 40% liberals who always vote Democrat and then 20 percent of the population are swing voters. They tend to vote for the person who they like personally, irrelevant of the actual issues.
In Israel it does not work that way. The platforms of the political parties in general do not represent a broad spectrum of policy, but rather they focus on an issue and everything else is ignored. For example, the Likud is known as a right-center party. I believe that specifically means they are anti giving land to the Palestinians, but not so much. How do they feel about abortion? It's probably split. How do they feel about social programs? also split. Difference between big government and privatization? Most of them don't know what that means.
How are these people supposed to agree on a budget if they don't agree on any issues? What happens is the head of the party decides how he wants to vote on these issues and if it's considered important he imposes party discipline making everyone in the party vote his way.
Shinui, on the other hand, is anti-religious. That is their platform. They officially have no policy on disengagement, or government or anything else, except that they don't want to be told whether they can eat pig while driving on shabbat or not.
Labor looks like it is shaping up more as a replacement for meretz as a true social-democratic party, where they are interested in creating a bigger welfare state then already exists. Except if you hear the voices coming out of the party, it is Peretz, the new leader, who is advocating this and no one else is really sure what to make of it.
Shas's platform is black people are cool, and give us money for our own school system. And you're all a bunch of racist bastards, and we need more money for our schools.
There is no party that I like in Israeli politics, I don't think they focus on issues at all and even when they do it is generally a one person opinion, not a party platform.
With this vacuum in who to vote for, degel HaTorah, whose sole purpose in the government is to strengthen Torah institutions, is looking more plausable. Since there is no viable party to vote for, why not vote to strengthen Torah Judaism.
A vote for degel haTorah is a vote against Shinui.
A vote for degel haTorah is a vote against Labor.
A vote for degel haTorah is sending a message to the NRP
that they're a bunch of hypocritical dogs.
I don't know who I'm going to vote for yet, but I'm leaning heavily in this direction.
In Israel it does not work that way. The platforms of the political parties in general do not represent a broad spectrum of policy, but rather they focus on an issue and everything else is ignored. For example, the Likud is known as a right-center party. I believe that specifically means they are anti giving land to the Palestinians, but not so much. How do they feel about abortion? It's probably split. How do they feel about social programs? also split. Difference between big government and privatization? Most of them don't know what that means.
How are these people supposed to agree on a budget if they don't agree on any issues? What happens is the head of the party decides how he wants to vote on these issues and if it's considered important he imposes party discipline making everyone in the party vote his way.
Shinui, on the other hand, is anti-religious. That is their platform. They officially have no policy on disengagement, or government or anything else, except that they don't want to be told whether they can eat pig while driving on shabbat or not.
Labor looks like it is shaping up more as a replacement for meretz as a true social-democratic party, where they are interested in creating a bigger welfare state then already exists. Except if you hear the voices coming out of the party, it is Peretz, the new leader, who is advocating this and no one else is really sure what to make of it.
Shas's platform is black people are cool, and give us money for our own school system. And you're all a bunch of racist bastards, and we need more money for our schools.
There is no party that I like in Israeli politics, I don't think they focus on issues at all and even when they do it is generally a one person opinion, not a party platform.
With this vacuum in who to vote for, degel HaTorah, whose sole purpose in the government is to strengthen Torah institutions, is looking more plausable. Since there is no viable party to vote for, why not vote to strengthen Torah Judaism.
A vote for degel haTorah is a vote against Shinui.
A vote for degel haTorah is a vote against Labor.
A vote for degel haTorah is sending a message to the NRP
that they're a bunch of hypocritical dogs.
I don't know who I'm going to vote for yet, but I'm leaning heavily in this direction.
Monday, December 19, 2005
Day 2 - At Home
Day 1 went significantly better then day 2, as my monitor would not even turn on this morning and after I gave up waiting for it, I switched monitors. 2 hours later the old monitor finally turned on and I was able to switch back.
Getting the kids up, dressed and to school is no small matter. Mom's probably already take this for granted, but to me it is a new experience. The girls are up for 20 minutes. They are in their room after I asked them to getr dressed, I walk into their room and they are both in pajamas. One of them (2nd grade) says it is because she could not find socks, the other (1st grade) had no excuse but was going through her closet for the third or fourth time trying to decide which skirt to wear for her tiyul today.
Playing with the kids is going fine, except that the motorcycle guy's head got kicked off and that upset number 4.
Tonight we have the gan's chanukah party and I have to find a babysitter and go, now that my wife is unable to be here at that time.
My motherinlaw is due to arrive today to visit with my brotherinlaw. He seems to be doing ok and they'll probably know the results today at some time.
Getting the kids up, dressed and to school is no small matter. Mom's probably already take this for granted, but to me it is a new experience. The girls are up for 20 minutes. They are in their room after I asked them to getr dressed, I walk into their room and they are both in pajamas. One of them (2nd grade) says it is because she could not find socks, the other (1st grade) had no excuse but was going through her closet for the third or fourth time trying to decide which skirt to wear for her tiyul today.
Playing with the kids is going fine, except that the motorcycle guy's head got kicked off and that upset number 4.
Tonight we have the gan's chanukah party and I have to find a babysitter and go, now that my wife is unable to be here at that time.
My motherinlaw is due to arrive today to visit with my brotherinlaw. He seems to be doing ok and they'll probably know the results today at some time.
Sunday, December 18, 2005
busy busy
For those who haven't heard, my brother-in-law Benji had a stroke on Thursday and is in the hospital Hadassah Ein Kerem. His hebrew name is benzion yehuda ben chana rachel. If you have the chance to say a kapital tehillim or give some tzedaka or something, it can only help. The Rock of Galilee blog wishes him a refuah shleimah, a refuat henefesh and a refuat hagoof.
My wife went down to jlem to be with her brother and his wife. From what I understand, it was not a serious stroke and he seems to be recovering, though they will probably figure that out over the next few days/weeks.
The hospital doesn't seem very competant to me, though I suggested a policy of assuming competance until proven otherwise. I think they have pretty much proven otherweise.
The prime minister, Ariel Sharon, also had a stroke and is in the same hospital. I am not sure why it didn't take them 72 hours to figure out that he had a stroke.
If he is out of politics, even for the short term, that will remove a good portion of the old cancerous cells of the political establishment. Kadima's only platform is Sharon knows what he is doing. None of the people who left their political homes for kadima would be allowed back in and since they have no platform without their leader, the party would fall apart and all those people would be out of the Knesset. Of course the new crop of people is likely to be just as corrupt, if not more corrupt then the current crop. But as my rabbi likes to say, new shmootz is not like old shmootz.
Anyways, while my wife is hanging out on ben yehuda, I have assumed the mantle of Mr. Mom, once again. I am working from home, which gives me a solid 4 hours in the morning before the baby comes home from gan. and a little bit of time after they go to sleep. Today was pretty good. We played inside and out and read stories. I hope tomorrow will be as productive.
My wife went down to jlem to be with her brother and his wife. From what I understand, it was not a serious stroke and he seems to be recovering, though they will probably figure that out over the next few days/weeks.
The hospital doesn't seem very competant to me, though I suggested a policy of assuming competance until proven otherwise. I think they have pretty much proven otherweise.
The prime minister, Ariel Sharon, also had a stroke and is in the same hospital. I am not sure why it didn't take them 72 hours to figure out that he had a stroke.
If he is out of politics, even for the short term, that will remove a good portion of the old cancerous cells of the political establishment. Kadima's only platform is Sharon knows what he is doing. None of the people who left their political homes for kadima would be allowed back in and since they have no platform without their leader, the party would fall apart and all those people would be out of the Knesset. Of course the new crop of people is likely to be just as corrupt, if not more corrupt then the current crop. But as my rabbi likes to say, new shmootz is not like old shmootz.
Anyways, while my wife is hanging out on ben yehuda, I have assumed the mantle of Mr. Mom, once again. I am working from home, which gives me a solid 4 hours in the morning before the baby comes home from gan. and a little bit of time after they go to sleep. Today was pretty good. We played inside and out and read stories. I hope tomorrow will be as productive.
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Yeshivishe pritzus
I received this apology note in my ad-sponsored hotmail account.
Oh the irony.
The text of the email says:
Dear fellow Alumni,
Regrettably, I too have fallen victim to the hidden dangers of the Internet. Unfortunately, the Evite I sent you was linked to non-tznius material. this was done by the vendor, and I of course had no idea this would happen. I apologize and commit to being ever more diligent in the future. I have terminated my association with Evite. Further information about the Melava Malka will be arriving in your home mail box and is always available at our controlled Website, I sincerely regret sending that email. Please discard the EVITE if you have not yet opened it .
Thank you and my apologies,
Oh the irony.
The text of the email says:
Dear fellow Alumni,Regrettably, I too have fallen victim to the hidden dangers of the Internet. Unfortunately, the Evite I sent you was linked to non-tznius material. this was done by the vendor, and I of course had no idea this would happen. I apologize and commit to being ever more diligent in the future. I have terminated my association with Evite. Further information about the Melava Malka will be arriving in your home mail box and is always available at our controlled Website, I sincerely regret sending that email. Please discard the EVITE if you have not yet opened it .
Thank you and my apologies,
Stop The Trial...
Omri Sharon, the corrupt son of the corrupt prime minister of Israel requested that his sentencing for violating the election laws should not be held during the election season because it will be damaging to his political party.
Omri, Have you ever heard of chutzpah?
As if announcements that Sharon is planning on dividing Jerusalem isn't bad enough, his son is going to jail for helping his dad win the election last time.
The only thing more surprising then the request itself is that the court rejected the motion. I would assume that the powers that be are sending a message to Sharon senior, by gently squeezing his election nuts, not to vehemently deny reports of giving the Jewish capital to the Arab murderers.
Who really won here? Sharon in grabbing Peres away from Labor, or Peres in grabbing Sharon away from the Likud. Sharon's platform, kneel and kneel good, is fulfilling the wet dreams of Shimon Peres in his goal at becoming a destroyed European country. Peres who has lost at everything he has ever tried is now, with the help of the Sharon mob, finally succeeding at losing our country.
As the Iraqis like to say... "they can go to hell".
Omri, Have you ever heard of chutzpah?
As if announcements that Sharon is planning on dividing Jerusalem isn't bad enough, his son is going to jail for helping his dad win the election last time.
The only thing more surprising then the request itself is that the court rejected the motion. I would assume that the powers that be are sending a message to Sharon senior, by gently squeezing his election nuts, not to vehemently deny reports of giving the Jewish capital to the Arab murderers.
Who really won here? Sharon in grabbing Peres away from Labor, or Peres in grabbing Sharon away from the Likud. Sharon's platform, kneel and kneel good, is fulfilling the wet dreams of Shimon Peres in his goal at becoming a destroyed European country. Peres who has lost at everything he has ever tried is now, with the help of the Sharon mob, finally succeeding at losing our country.
As the Iraqis like to say... "they can go to hell".
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
2nd grade f-word
My daughter came home from her 2nd grade upset because some kids weren't nice to her again. She finished her homework (or didn't have any) so my wife allowed her to have a friend come over. While she was out getting her friend one of the girls in her class (Israeli with no English speaking blood) called and told my wife that she was very upset because my daughter called her a F****** B****. Now this was very upsetting for my wife to hear, because we don't approve of that kind of language. This is the same girl who stole my daughter's belt one day and then blamed someone else for giving it to her. (her belt was off for a good reason, having to do with gym day, but I didn't fully get that part)
My wife asked my daghter about it later and apparantly she had never heard those words before the girl said them to her and she didn't remember the words. This is very believable because we never use those kind of words in our house, the children don't watch television and they only speak and Hebrew except in the house.
My daughters story was the girl was being very mean to her and yelling at her in Hebrew and then she said F******* B**** to my daughter who said there were no such words in English.
So my wife went to the girls house with our daughter this evening to discuss the animosity between these girls with her mom and the girls together. The girl changed her story and said actually another girl said that to her and said my daughter told her to say it. My wife has the feeling that she still wasn't being completely honest, and since she is from a non-religious family with older siblings and a television that is never shut off, she has probably heard that kind of language before.
In any case, after discussing the problem, the girls decided that they can try to be friends in school from now on.
My wife asked my daghter about it later and apparantly she had never heard those words before the girl said them to her and she didn't remember the words. This is very believable because we never use those kind of words in our house, the children don't watch television and they only speak and Hebrew except in the house.
My daughters story was the girl was being very mean to her and yelling at her in Hebrew and then she said F******* B**** to my daughter who said there were no such words in English.
So my wife went to the girls house with our daughter this evening to discuss the animosity between these girls with her mom and the girls together. The girl changed her story and said actually another girl said that to her and said my daughter told her to say it. My wife has the feeling that she still wasn't being completely honest, and since she is from a non-religious family with older siblings and a television that is never shut off, she has probably heard that kind of language before.
In any case, after discussing the problem, the girls decided that they can try to be friends in school from now on.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
end of an era
He who made women into into widows and children into orphans.
He who founded a movement based on senseless violence and killing .
The man they call tookie.
He's dead.
But his legend lives on.
While children read the books that tookie wrote saying how bad gangs are, his gang followers are knocking down old ladies and steraling their purses.
What is most surprising is that he did not win the Nobel Peace Prize. After all, they gave it to arafat and peres, two of the most notorious self-centered, enriching themselves on the back of the poor, individuals that should never have had the honor of standing in the same room as Yitzchak Rabin, an honorable general (who I politically disagreed with), forget about winning any degree of respectability.
Tookie represents a lot of things to a lot of people. To me he represents a silly nickname. Like the guy taking the heat in the CIA leakage case. What kind of 60 year old is called Scooter in the international press?
To born againers and NAACP folks he represents the best that their society has to offer. A bad person who is sent to life in prison and execution and then decides, maybe he'll soften up a little so God won't laugh so hard when he asks if he can get into heaven.
I'm happy that tookie is dead. But I think our death penalty system is messed up. I don't think he should have had the opportunity to write so many books or present himself as a changed man. I think he should have been dead within a week after the sentence was handed out.
Here's an ode to Tookie:
There was a fine fella named tookie
killed someone who wasn't his bookie
When arrested they said
y'all gonna be dead
He said I'm so peaceful now, lookie.
He who founded a movement based on senseless violence and killing .
The man they call tookie.
He's dead.
But his legend lives on.
While children read the books that tookie wrote saying how bad gangs are, his gang followers are knocking down old ladies and steraling their purses.
What is most surprising is that he did not win the Nobel Peace Prize. After all, they gave it to arafat and peres, two of the most notorious self-centered, enriching themselves on the back of the poor, individuals that should never have had the honor of standing in the same room as Yitzchak Rabin, an honorable general (who I politically disagreed with), forget about winning any degree of respectability.
Tookie represents a lot of things to a lot of people. To me he represents a silly nickname. Like the guy taking the heat in the CIA leakage case. What kind of 60 year old is called Scooter in the international press?
To born againers and NAACP folks he represents the best that their society has to offer. A bad person who is sent to life in prison and execution and then decides, maybe he'll soften up a little so God won't laugh so hard when he asks if he can get into heaven.
I'm happy that tookie is dead. But I think our death penalty system is messed up. I don't think he should have had the opportunity to write so many books or present himself as a changed man. I think he should have been dead within a week after the sentence was handed out.
Here's an ode to Tookie:
There was a fine fella named tookie
killed someone who wasn't his bookie
When arrested they said
y'all gonna be dead
He said I'm so peaceful now, lookie.
Monday, December 12, 2005
line dancing in gan
This past Saturday night number 3 had a havdala party in gan. I'm not sure what the point was, but they may have wanted to do something interactive with the parents and children. Number 3 got to choose which parent got to go with him and he chose me.
It was an entertaining evening. He didn't want me to dance with him, so I sat down and watched. The morrocan deejay (if you could call him that) turned the gan into a honky tonk and led the crowd in line dancing to Jewish music.
three steps left, kick your feet, two steps forward two steps back swing your partner round - kid slides through parent's legs. now back to back...
It was a lot of fun and the kids had obviously been practicing for a while.
It was an entertaining evening. He didn't want me to dance with him, so I sat down and watched. The morrocan deejay (if you could call him that) turned the gan into a honky tonk and led the crowd in line dancing to Jewish music.
three steps left, kick your feet, two steps forward two steps back swing your partner round - kid slides through parent's legs. now back to back...
It was a lot of fun and the kids had obviously been practicing for a while.
Sunday, December 11, 2005
counterculture and local Bnei Akiva
Did you know that counterculture is one word? Both dictionary.com and babylon list it as such.
Todays conversation on the train revolved around israeli counterculter or the lack thereof. I suggested that the religious culture in Israel was in fact a counter culture while my esteemed colleagues argued that anything that is part of and funded by the establishment could be considered counterculture.
First a dictionary defintion:
coun·ter·cul·ture
P Pronunciation Key (koun
t
r-k
l
chr)
n.
A matnas is a community center, kind of like a JCC. I don't know exactly how the matnas is funded or what their mandate is, but they have been providing certain services to Bnei Akiva. There was a notice posted in shul that for shabbos Irgun, which is some international hokey shabbos that bnei akivians have. The letter said that the matnas refused to print their invitation because it had the words gush katif on them. The subject of the shabbos was "continuing the spirit of gush katif" After the youths printed it somewhere else the matnas told the Komonarit (head communist girl) that they would not be supporting bnei akiva anymore and they would not be able to use their facilities in the coming year for their shabbos irgun. The letter noted (and I don't know how factually accurate this is) that the matnas is supposed to support the organization on an oirganizational level and not at a detail level. The matnas is not supporting them out of kindness, but rather it is a right of bnei akiva as a local organization to expect this support.
While this is a specific example of youth, I see this as an uphill battle for the entire dati leumi communty. To me, it seems like the dati leumi (national religious) is in fact a strong counterculture as the established culture is trying to railroad them into leaving their culture and values behind, while they are fighting to instill a distinct seperate set of values into themselves.
Todays conversation on the train revolved around israeli counterculter or the lack thereof. I suggested that the religious culture in Israel was in fact a counter culture while my esteemed colleagues argued that anything that is part of and funded by the establishment could be considered counterculture.
First a dictionary defintion:
coun·ter·cul·ture
P Pronunciation Key (kountr-klchr)n.
- A culture, especially of young people, with values or lifestyles in opposition to those of the established culture.
A matnas is a community center, kind of like a JCC. I don't know exactly how the matnas is funded or what their mandate is, but they have been providing certain services to Bnei Akiva. There was a notice posted in shul that for shabbos Irgun, which is some international hokey shabbos that bnei akivians have. The letter said that the matnas refused to print their invitation because it had the words gush katif on them. The subject of the shabbos was "continuing the spirit of gush katif" After the youths printed it somewhere else the matnas told the Komonarit (head communist girl) that they would not be supporting bnei akiva anymore and they would not be able to use their facilities in the coming year for their shabbos irgun. The letter noted (and I don't know how factually accurate this is) that the matnas is supposed to support the organization on an oirganizational level and not at a detail level. The matnas is not supporting them out of kindness, but rather it is a right of bnei akiva as a local organization to expect this support.
While this is a specific example of youth, I see this as an uphill battle for the entire dati leumi communty. To me, it seems like the dati leumi (national religious) is in fact a strong counterculture as the established culture is trying to railroad them into leaving their culture and values behind, while they are fighting to instill a distinct seperate set of values into themselves.
Saturday, December 10, 2005
My Kind of Music - Ray Scott
Oh, I met this girl I swore was close to perfect.
I could see the ring, the dress, and the whole nine yards.
I had a country station on and she reached and turned it.
Said she couldnt stand the sound of a steel guitar.
We hit the town to catch an early movie.
And ol' Kris Kristofferson played the leading role.
I said "That's my man!" She said "Who's he?" I jumped up and said "Girl, we gotta go!"
She dont like to play my kinda music.
She's never heard a Waylon Jennings song.
She's never been a fan of Willie Nelson.
So there aint no way in hell we'll get along.
She told me she thinks country musics hokey.
She said "You can't dance to it, and all the songs are sad."
I cocked my eyebrow and said "You must be jokin!"
"Ain't no excuse for havin taste that bad."
Then I asked her if she'd heard of Alan Jackson.
And she said "Didn't he sing that song called 'Where Were You?'"
I said "Ya, but girl, that man's a livin' legend."
And she said "Really? I thought he was new."
She dont like to play my kinda music.
She's never heard of David Allan Coe.
She can't get enough of Whitney Houston.
And I'm thinkin "Lord, that's all i need to know."
So when the night was over i walked her to her door.
And i bid that girl an overdue farewell.
And without a good night kiss i jumped back in my truck.
Turned on some Hank and cranked it loud as hell.
She don't like to play my kinda music.
She don't know Sunday morning comin down.
She can't see what's so cool about he stopped lovin' her today.
Or angel flying to close to the ground.
She told me that she sorta likes the Eagles.
She couldn't name one hit by Johnny Cash.
No, she don't like to play my kinda music.
So i had to tell that girl to kiss my ass!
I could see the ring, the dress, and the whole nine yards.
I had a country station on and she reached and turned it.
Said she couldnt stand the sound of a steel guitar.
We hit the town to catch an early movie.
And ol' Kris Kristofferson played the leading role.
I said "That's my man!" She said "Who's he?" I jumped up and said "Girl, we gotta go!"
She dont like to play my kinda music.
She's never heard a Waylon Jennings song.
She's never been a fan of Willie Nelson.
So there aint no way in hell we'll get along.
She told me she thinks country musics hokey.
She said "You can't dance to it, and all the songs are sad."
I cocked my eyebrow and said "You must be jokin!"
"Ain't no excuse for havin taste that bad."
Then I asked her if she'd heard of Alan Jackson.
And she said "Didn't he sing that song called 'Where Were You?'"
I said "Ya, but girl, that man's a livin' legend."
And she said "Really? I thought he was new."
She dont like to play my kinda music.
She's never heard of David Allan Coe.
She can't get enough of Whitney Houston.
And I'm thinkin "Lord, that's all i need to know."
So when the night was over i walked her to her door.
And i bid that girl an overdue farewell.
And without a good night kiss i jumped back in my truck.
Turned on some Hank and cranked it loud as hell.
She don't like to play my kinda music.
She don't know Sunday morning comin down.
She can't see what's so cool about he stopped lovin' her today.
Or angel flying to close to the ground.
She told me that she sorta likes the Eagles.
She couldn't name one hit by Johnny Cash.
No, she don't like to play my kinda music.
So i had to tell that girl to kiss my ass!
Thursday, December 08, 2005
speaking in hebrew
Last night's sheva brachos was very enjoyable. The chosson walked in wearing a sling because he dislocated his shoulder during the wedding. He took some good natured ribbing for that, but he may not have understood it because it was American ribbing which Israelis, even those who speak English very well, just don't get. The Israelis wished him a refuah sheleima.
I was originally told that I could speak in whatever language I chose, but there were actually Hebrew speaking Israelis there, and people requested that I speak in hebrew, so I did. I was the entertainment for the evening. Speaking in a different language isn't just about the words that you use. I had planned an opening in English before I got started and I couldn't think of a good way to do it, so I said thanks to the people who made the party and the chosson and kallah for getting married and then launched directly into my dvar torah, which was a unique perspective on mixtures, both permitted and forbidden.
My point, which was probably lost on all, was that men and women are completely different beings and when you put them together in marriage you form an unbreakable bond. Milk and meat are prohibited together and one could say that it is similar to walking into a graveyard with your tzitzes on, milk gives life to animals and meat is dead animal. So putting a life giver with something dead is a contradiction that can't be resolved and that is why it is forbidden. Men and women are very similar in that respect. Men and women are a contradiction that is almost too great to overcome. They walk on the line of permissibility. This is why men and women can only have a real relationship after they are married, because an unmarried woman is a complete contradiction to an unmarried man. This is also why during the time of nidah, that men and women cannot have a physical relationship, because women go way over the line during that time of month and cannot coexist with men.
My bracha to the chosson and kallah was that they would be able to find the balance (they understood that I wanted to say balance because I asked how to say it in Hebrew) in marriage between the permitted and the forbidden and that they should enjoy a life of kosher mixtures.
This is my original interpretation marriage and kashrus mixed in with some life philosophy.
I was originally told that I could speak in whatever language I chose, but there were actually Hebrew speaking Israelis there, and people requested that I speak in hebrew, so I did. I was the entertainment for the evening. Speaking in a different language isn't just about the words that you use. I had planned an opening in English before I got started and I couldn't think of a good way to do it, so I said thanks to the people who made the party and the chosson and kallah for getting married and then launched directly into my dvar torah, which was a unique perspective on mixtures, both permitted and forbidden.
My point, which was probably lost on all, was that men and women are completely different beings and when you put them together in marriage you form an unbreakable bond. Milk and meat are prohibited together and one could say that it is similar to walking into a graveyard with your tzitzes on, milk gives life to animals and meat is dead animal. So putting a life giver with something dead is a contradiction that can't be resolved and that is why it is forbidden. Men and women are very similar in that respect. Men and women are a contradiction that is almost too great to overcome. They walk on the line of permissibility. This is why men and women can only have a real relationship after they are married, because an unmarried woman is a complete contradiction to an unmarried man. This is also why during the time of nidah, that men and women cannot have a physical relationship, because women go way over the line during that time of month and cannot coexist with men.
My bracha to the chosson and kallah was that they would be able to find the balance (they understood that I wanted to say balance because I asked how to say it in Hebrew) in marriage between the permitted and the forbidden and that they should enjoy a life of kosher mixtures.
This is my original interpretation marriage and kashrus mixed in with some life philosophy.
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
sheva brachas
I'm going to sheva brachos tonight for a couple who I don't know. This seems to be a very Israeli thing. The stranger thing is they asked me to give a dvar torah. I have spoken at plenty of sheva brachos before, but only once before when I didn't know the chosson or the kallah and that was a couple months ago. At least this one will be in English. Last time they didn't tell me in advance, so I gave a nice quick vort in Hebrew. What I learned from that experience is that the word intimate in hebrew is intimiut. Maybe I'll post tonight's vort here tomorrow, depending on how it turns out.
My wife has the cold that I am almost done with, so she will probably be staying home, miserable. This is not a fun cold. The cold completely blows. It's the kind that goes up to your head and encircles your brain and squeezes so that you can't think and anything that you say is suspect. It's the kind of cold where you sit at your desk with your hands over the keyboard for 5 minutes before you realize that you should probably be typing something, but you don't know what.
My wife has the cold that I am almost done with, so she will probably be staying home, miserable. This is not a fun cold. The cold completely blows. It's the kind that goes up to your head and encircles your brain and squeezes so that you can't think and anything that you say is suspect. It's the kind of cold where you sit at your desk with your hands over the keyboard for 5 minutes before you realize that you should probably be typing something, but you don't know what.
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
internet, aliyah and a little rashi
One of the primary reasons people have for not making aliyah has been solved by the Internet. A lot of people make various excuses as to why they would not or could not move to Israel. Most of these reasons are secondary. People work here, people make friends here, and people get new relatives here.
The one thing that truly scares people about living in Israel, though they may not admit it, is the lack of a country music station. Via broadband Internet, you can get high quality country radio, streaming into your computer. Now, I'll be the first to admit that it isn't the same as having a real local country station. You can't listen to radio while you're in the car. There are no Hebrew deejays or advertisements or news-breaks. But at least it's a start.
Surprisingly enough, I forgot to mention this fact to someone who was recently asking about aliyah. I think he's a reader, so now he knows. You can live in Israel and still listen to country music radio.
Parshas Lech Lecha was a few weeks ago and it deals heavily with aliyah. Rashi asks a question on the first pasuk and until I started planning my own aliyah I thought it was a great question.
The Torah says "Go for yourself from your land, your birthplace and your father's house to the land which I will show you." Rashi thought it should be the other way around, first leave your home, then your city and finally your country. Then he gives a nice deep explanation of why it is supposed to be this way.
While I was making aliyah, the thought occurred to me that the pasuk makes the most sense the way it is. God was talking to Avraham, the man of the family and the head of the household. The primary thing that he would have been concerned with was (no, not country music. All music was country back then) the economy and his earning potential. Is it possible to breach the culture gap and language differences of a different country and still put food on the table? That is what was waying on Avraham's mind. After that his concern was the local customs, friends, contacts, knowing what time the bank was open and general familiarity that he was leaving behind. That was his birthplace. Finally, the last thing on his mind was that he was leaving his family. Very important and emotional, but not somethng that would hold him back.
The pasuk is stated in a very logical order.
Now, if God was talking to Sarah then Rashi has a very good question because as a woman her priorities would have been exactly the opposite.
The one thing that truly scares people about living in Israel, though they may not admit it, is the lack of a country music station. Via broadband Internet, you can get high quality country radio, streaming into your computer. Now, I'll be the first to admit that it isn't the same as having a real local country station. You can't listen to radio while you're in the car. There are no Hebrew deejays or advertisements or news-breaks. But at least it's a start.
Surprisingly enough, I forgot to mention this fact to someone who was recently asking about aliyah. I think he's a reader, so now he knows. You can live in Israel and still listen to country music radio.
Parshas Lech Lecha was a few weeks ago and it deals heavily with aliyah. Rashi asks a question on the first pasuk and until I started planning my own aliyah I thought it was a great question.
The Torah says "Go for yourself from your land, your birthplace and your father's house to the land which I will show you." Rashi thought it should be the other way around, first leave your home, then your city and finally your country. Then he gives a nice deep explanation of why it is supposed to be this way.
While I was making aliyah, the thought occurred to me that the pasuk makes the most sense the way it is. God was talking to Avraham, the man of the family and the head of the household. The primary thing that he would have been concerned with was (no, not country music. All music was country back then) the economy and his earning potential. Is it possible to breach the culture gap and language differences of a different country and still put food on the table? That is what was waying on Avraham's mind. After that his concern was the local customs, friends, contacts, knowing what time the bank was open and general familiarity that he was leaving behind. That was his birthplace. Finally, the last thing on his mind was that he was leaving his family. Very important and emotional, but not somethng that would hold him back.
The pasuk is stated in a very logical order.
Now, if God was talking to Sarah then Rashi has a very good question because as a woman her priorities would have been exactly the opposite.
Sunday, December 04, 2005
norman and bens path
Being sick is not fun, even when it is just a stupid cold. Last week, I did nothing when I got home from work. Just sat on the couch and was miserable. I did finish the first Harry Potter book. My 2nd grader was reading it together with my wife, and they seemed to enjoy it, so I figured I would too since I wasn't doing anything anyways. Not a bad book, though I don't know if it wasn't a bit too scary for a 2nd grader. Good author, and that little twist at the end as to who the real bad teacher kept it alive at the end.
That's the book report.
On Friday while my children were in school, my wife asked me if I would like to go hiking. We decided to go to shvil Norman, which has a sign on the side "Norman and Ben's path." It seems that Norman and Ben are/were 2 teenagers from Kfar Vradim who decided that it was more fun if you didn't follow the standard blue trail, so they painted theirs in yellow. It deviates from the official path and they marked a number of places of interest such as snow whites home and the camp of mitz petel among others.I got to do a little mountain climbing and that was fun. There was a little mifgash with a nice sign that this was in memory of Amir, who died in a biking accident.
I recommend this path to hikers who are looking for an enjoyable, not very strenuous hike, with some minor, non-required mountain climbing available. Great view. Good for children. Better without.
That's the book report.
On Friday while my children were in school, my wife asked me if I would like to go hiking. We decided to go to shvil Norman, which has a sign on the side "Norman and Ben's path." It seems that Norman and Ben are/were 2 teenagers from Kfar Vradim who decided that it was more fun if you didn't follow the standard blue trail, so they painted theirs in yellow. It deviates from the official path and they marked a number of places of interest such as snow whites home and the camp of mitz petel among others.I got to do a little mountain climbing and that was fun. There was a little mifgash with a nice sign that this was in memory of Amir, who died in a biking accident.
I recommend this path to hikers who are looking for an enjoyable, not very strenuous hike, with some minor, non-required mountain climbing available. Great view. Good for children. Better without.
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