It has been over a year since I posted anything on this blog and more to the point, I think it's about time I restart this fledgling enterprise. Although I may have been away for a bit, it seems that the leadership of my people has been trapped into a corner of their own making and have no way to get out.
For the past few years I have warned you here about the randomness of Torah leadership's edicts and the non halachic arbitrariness of assembly line Judaism...if it sounds frummer (more religious) it must be frummer (more religious). The warnings I barked have been ignored in my own local community and in turn, where my friends live in Beit Shemesh where men routinely yell and scream vulgarities at young girls, woman and men who don't adhere to their arbitrary standards of living.
NEVER MISTAKE TORAH AND JUDAISM WITH THE PEOPLE WHO PRACTICE IT!!!!!!!!
Where is the leadership of Torah Jewry? When will they stand up and take a PUBLIC stand against what is so obviously anti-Torah. To be sure, Torah is not to be thrown about with each person's own personal opinions as to what It says or was meant to say. We have over 3500 years of scholarship on this issue and JUST AS THE RELIGIOUS ARE OFFENDED WHEN THE NON-RELIGIOUS MAKE UP THEIR OWN INTERPRETATIONS OF TORAH, SO TOO DO THOSE RELIGIOUS OFFEND OTHERS WITH THEIR OWN RANDOM INTERPRETATIONS OF TORAH.
What are we to make of Torah leadership in America and Israel and their silence on any issue of actual importance for the Jewish people? Sure, we get decrees about the evil of concerts from RELIGIOUS JEWISH artists who have separate seating events...that's when we hear from them. We get toothless statements from Rabbis about child abuse in the community, then they censor any public discourse and attempt to control what questions are to be asked in such forums. Silliness like that is commonplace amongst our Rabbis and Roshei Ha'yeshiva's (Heads of Yeshivas). But now our chickens have come home to roost and the arbitrary NON TORAH based standards that have been set in our communities have smashed straight up against the TORAH BASED COMMANDMENTS of relationships between man and man (of course woman too) and man and G-d.
The coming of the Messiah, may it be speedily in our days, is dependent on the Jewish people and their behavior. Who do you think will be held responsible for his tardiness, those who know and yearn for him (or should yearn for him) or those that don't? Does anyone in the Yeshiva world--WHICH HAS MADE AN ARTFORM OF COPYING THE CHASSIDIM WITHOUT TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE RANDOMNESS OF THE ACTIONS THEY MIMICK AND IMPOSE OF THEIR SHEEPISH FOLLOWERS--believe that these behaviors which are tearing the Jewish people apart, are going to bring the Messiah? Do any of them think these actions will bring anyone closer to Judaism? Torah? G-d? Are we so stiff-necked as to not see the internal damage we are causing our people which may very well effect generations?
Who will be the one leader of our people who will publicly take a stand against the abusive behavior of those for portend to be the guardians of Torah living? Rabbi Wein made an attempt, but as usual the Yeshivish world blew him off as a nobody and mocked him, assigning to him, which they frequently do with Rabbi SR Hirsch of Blessed Memory, ideas and thoughts that he really feels which are different than what he/they wrote in public....totally ignoring the courage it took to write what they wrote. Just once I would like to see the same Rabbis who sign these ridiculous condemnations, sign one that unequivocally takes a stand against this nonsense. Just once it would be helpful if they stood up and said this behavior is not in accordance with Torah Law and anyone who practices it, is not to be considered a G-d fearing Jew.
But, alas, months after the fact, those who were given the responsibility to lead our people, have done anything but. They won't make public statements for fear of reprisals or quite possibly and I would guess more likely, they actually concur with the ideas being espoused by these holier than thou lunatics, and are trapped between their "religion of no" (no tv, no internet, no music, no sports, no text messaging, no cell phones, no, no no no no).... and their Torah learning which they spent years perfecting, that taught them right from wrong.
I shutter to think about the goings on in Heaven and how we must be seen as dreadfully derelict in our mission. I fear, once again, for my people and I do so based on the lack of any courage coming from the self proclaimed Torah leaders. In the grand scheme of things, I am a no one and I pale in comparison to the knowledge of these men, but I ask you, what good is the knowledge they posses when the nose in front of your face is bleeding and they don't have the courage to get a tissue?
May the Creator of All Things find it in His boundless Mercy, to withhold judgement on our people for our lack of courage and forthrightness which we have failed to display and May it be in His infinite Kindness that he ignore our gutless behavior and the behavior of our self proclaimed spineless leadership and bring the Messiah Speedily in our days.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
A Lesson for all Mankind
A lesson for all mankind....."Mi K'Amcha Yisrael?" "Who is like Your people Israel?"
A life lesson from Howard Schultz CEO and Founder of Starbucks
"When I was in Israel, I went to Mea Shearim, the ultra-Orthodox area within Jerusalem. Along with a group of businessmen I was with, I had the opportunity to have an audience with Rabbi Finkel, the head of a yeshiva there. I had never heard of him and didn't know anything about him. We went into his study and waited ten to 15 minutes for him. Finally, the doors opened.
What we did not know was that Rabbi Finkel was severely afflicted with Parkinson's disease. He sat down at the head of the table, and, naturally, our inclination was to look away. We didn't want to embarrass him.
We were all looking away, and we heard this big bang on the table: "Gentlemen, look at me, and look at me right now." Now his speech affliction was worse than his physical shaking. It was really hard to listen to him and watch him. He said, "I have only a few minutes for you because I know you're all busy American businessmen." You know, just a little dig there.
Then he asked, "Who can tell me what the lesson of the Holocaust is?" He called on one guy, who didn't know what to do-it was like being called on in the fifth grade without the answer. And the guy says something benign like, "We will never, ever forget?" And the rabbi completely dismisses him. I felt terrible for the guy until I realized the rabbi was getting ready to call on someone else. All of us were sort of under the table, looking away-you know, please, not me. He did not call me. I was sweating. He called on another guy, who had such a fantastic answer: "We will never, ever again be a victim or bystander."
The rabbi said, "You guys just don't get it. Okay, gentlemen, let me tell you the essence of the human spirit.
"As you know, during the Holocaust, the people were transported in the worst possible, inhumane way by railcar. They thought they were going to a work camp. We all know they were going to a death camp.
"After hours and hours in this inhumane corral with no light, no bathroom, cold, they arrived at the camps. The doors were swung wide open, and they were blinded by the light. Men were separated from women, mothers from daughters, fathers from sons. They went off to the bunkers to sleep.
"As they went into the area to sleep, only one person was given a blanket for every six. The person who received the blanket, when he went to bed, had to decide, 'Am I going to push the blanket to the five other people who did not get one, or am I going to pull it toward myself to stay warm?'"
And Rabbi Finkel says, "It was during this defining moment that we learned the power of the human spirit, because we pushed the blanket to five others."
And with that, he stood up and said, "Take your blanket. Take it back to America and push it to five other people."
I read this story from Howard Schultz and was amazed not so much at his retelling of it, but at the strength of character of the Jews who pushed the blanket over. Would I? Would you?
A life lesson from Howard Schultz CEO and Founder of Starbucks
"When I was in Israel, I went to Mea Shearim, the ultra-Orthodox area within Jerusalem. Along with a group of businessmen I was with, I had the opportunity to have an audience with Rabbi Finkel, the head of a yeshiva there. I had never heard of him and didn't know anything about him. We went into his study and waited ten to 15 minutes for him. Finally, the doors opened.
What we did not know was that Rabbi Finkel was severely afflicted with Parkinson's disease. He sat down at the head of the table, and, naturally, our inclination was to look away. We didn't want to embarrass him.
We were all looking away, and we heard this big bang on the table: "Gentlemen, look at me, and look at me right now." Now his speech affliction was worse than his physical shaking. It was really hard to listen to him and watch him. He said, "I have only a few minutes for you because I know you're all busy American businessmen." You know, just a little dig there.
Then he asked, "Who can tell me what the lesson of the Holocaust is?" He called on one guy, who didn't know what to do-it was like being called on in the fifth grade without the answer. And the guy says something benign like, "We will never, ever forget?" And the rabbi completely dismisses him. I felt terrible for the guy until I realized the rabbi was getting ready to call on someone else. All of us were sort of under the table, looking away-you know, please, not me. He did not call me. I was sweating. He called on another guy, who had such a fantastic answer: "We will never, ever again be a victim or bystander."
The rabbi said, "You guys just don't get it. Okay, gentlemen, let me tell you the essence of the human spirit.
"As you know, during the Holocaust, the people were transported in the worst possible, inhumane way by railcar. They thought they were going to a work camp. We all know they were going to a death camp.
"After hours and hours in this inhumane corral with no light, no bathroom, cold, they arrived at the camps. The doors were swung wide open, and they were blinded by the light. Men were separated from women, mothers from daughters, fathers from sons. They went off to the bunkers to sleep.
"As they went into the area to sleep, only one person was given a blanket for every six. The person who received the blanket, when he went to bed, had to decide, 'Am I going to push the blanket to the five other people who did not get one, or am I going to pull it toward myself to stay warm?'"
And Rabbi Finkel says, "It was during this defining moment that we learned the power of the human spirit, because we pushed the blanket to five others."
And with that, he stood up and said, "Take your blanket. Take it back to America and push it to five other people."
I read this story from Howard Schultz and was amazed not so much at his retelling of it, but at the strength of character of the Jews who pushed the blanket over. Would I? Would you?
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
The New Idea Sure Sounds Old?
I wonder what it must be like to be someone who thinks he has all the answers. How does his car run? What is his marriage like? Does he sleep soundly? Do birds acknowledge him? Do the trees bow to his superior intellect?
Suddenly, everywhere I look, the pseudo intellectuals write their whiny diatribes on every blog in every corner of Jewish cyberspace. They call those who they look down upon names, mock their lifestyle, brow beat them with nonsense, until those who are subjected to their incessant, sophomoric, pompousness turn away in disgust and wonder what sort of miserable person lives this way?
If it wasn't so sad it would be funny.
There is a new form of religious intellectualism which goes by the name of Orthoprax Jews. A term they lovingly give themselves. If I understand the theory behind it correctly, they are the Jews who go through the motions of a religious lifestyle with no real belief system to back it up. They don't believe in the Validity of Torah, they don't believe in Revelation at sinai and the exodus from Egypt and they don't believe in a Creator. They hang onto their religious facade because they are too deep into it. They have a wife who believes in G-d much to their dismay and children who do the same. They abhor the teffilin they wear, the shabbat candles they light and the prayers they say. Most of all, they disgust in the illusionary G-d they pray to.
Do they think they are the first Jews to behave this way or just the smartest?
Yet through all of this, I feel for them. I feel the pain in their helplessness, the sorrow in their anguish and the emptiness in their lives. I wish they had what I have. They would call me child-like, naive', uneducated and even lost. I may be all of that. Or I might have what they have never had.
When they think about my Creator, they think of his nonexistence. When I think about Him, I think of his Omnipotence. When they think of my Sustainer, they think he is wicked and evil, when I think of Him, I am overwhelmed by His Goodness. When they think of my Rock, they think of nothing, when I think of Him I think He is everything.
With every peek from around the struggle of the Orthoprax corner, there, laying in wait for him, is the atheist waiting to pounce of his fragility. They regale him with anti semitic german theories about the fabrication of Torah and ask him to join their brilliant assault on the uneducated masses. They attack all that he used to believe in and dress their theories up with higher learning, luring them in with the faux intellectualism that spits on the graves of their forefathers. The new enlightened ones smell fresh blood and ascend on them with a vengeance.
What they can't ever answer in their quest to destroy G-d is how the Jews--the uneducated, archaic 7th century shtettle clinging Jews are still here. How did they survive the most powerful armies known to mankind. How did they survive the treachery of the Romans, the assimilation of the greeks, the savagery of the Cossacks and the ruthlessness of the germans? How did that happen? Interestingly enough, the majority of the perpetrators of such evil, were themselves convinced of their own intellectual superiority and enlightenment. The godless knew better what to do with the G-d fearing. Yet each time, the Jew, him of the backwards old fashioned Torah is true clinging belief, survived while he bore witness to the death of them all.
"I shall bless those that bless you and curse those that curse you."
In the coming days I will address this struggle. To my fellow Jews who grapple with their servitude, do not give up hope. There is an answer to your confusion. I know.
I have been there.
And I have survived.
Suddenly, everywhere I look, the pseudo intellectuals write their whiny diatribes on every blog in every corner of Jewish cyberspace. They call those who they look down upon names, mock their lifestyle, brow beat them with nonsense, until those who are subjected to their incessant, sophomoric, pompousness turn away in disgust and wonder what sort of miserable person lives this way?
If it wasn't so sad it would be funny.
There is a new form of religious intellectualism which goes by the name of Orthoprax Jews. A term they lovingly give themselves. If I understand the theory behind it correctly, they are the Jews who go through the motions of a religious lifestyle with no real belief system to back it up. They don't believe in the Validity of Torah, they don't believe in Revelation at sinai and the exodus from Egypt and they don't believe in a Creator. They hang onto their religious facade because they are too deep into it. They have a wife who believes in G-d much to their dismay and children who do the same. They abhor the teffilin they wear, the shabbat candles they light and the prayers they say. Most of all, they disgust in the illusionary G-d they pray to.
Do they think they are the first Jews to behave this way or just the smartest?
Yet through all of this, I feel for them. I feel the pain in their helplessness, the sorrow in their anguish and the emptiness in their lives. I wish they had what I have. They would call me child-like, naive', uneducated and even lost. I may be all of that. Or I might have what they have never had.
When they think about my Creator, they think of his nonexistence. When I think about Him, I think of his Omnipotence. When they think of my Sustainer, they think he is wicked and evil, when I think of Him, I am overwhelmed by His Goodness. When they think of my Rock, they think of nothing, when I think of Him I think He is everything.
With every peek from around the struggle of the Orthoprax corner, there, laying in wait for him, is the atheist waiting to pounce of his fragility. They regale him with anti semitic german theories about the fabrication of Torah and ask him to join their brilliant assault on the uneducated masses. They attack all that he used to believe in and dress their theories up with higher learning, luring them in with the faux intellectualism that spits on the graves of their forefathers. The new enlightened ones smell fresh blood and ascend on them with a vengeance.
What they can't ever answer in their quest to destroy G-d is how the Jews--the uneducated, archaic 7th century shtettle clinging Jews are still here. How did they survive the most powerful armies known to mankind. How did they survive the treachery of the Romans, the assimilation of the greeks, the savagery of the Cossacks and the ruthlessness of the germans? How did that happen? Interestingly enough, the majority of the perpetrators of such evil, were themselves convinced of their own intellectual superiority and enlightenment. The godless knew better what to do with the G-d fearing. Yet each time, the Jew, him of the backwards old fashioned Torah is true clinging belief, survived while he bore witness to the death of them all.
"I shall bless those that bless you and curse those that curse you."
In the coming days I will address this struggle. To my fellow Jews who grapple with their servitude, do not give up hope. There is an answer to your confusion. I know.
I have been there.
And I have survived.
Monday, September 14, 2009
The Miniscule Man
I spent the pre-dawn hours of my day today, catching up on events from this weekend and after I had finished, I regretted that I didn't start my day a little differently. Now that I have had a few hours to think about it, however, I'm thinking that there is a lesson in the depressing events I had witnessed.
I had finished watching the NBA Hall of Fame induction ceremony when I realized that I had just seen one of the saddest things I had ever watched in sports. To be sure, I was not a big fan of David Robinson or John Stockton when they played in the NBA, but after this morning, I have a new found respect for both men. Conversely, I enjoyed watching Michael Jordan play basketball even when he was a shadow of himself with the Washington Wizards. I learned this morning that I had gotten it all wrong.
I watched with great admiration as David Robinson spoke humbly about his past, glowingly about his present, and excitedly about his future. He thanked everyone from his first coach to his last one, his teammates and all those who had helped him get to where he was. He spoke to each of his children separately and hoped that they would be proud of their name because of this accomplishment, but urged and encouraged them to forge their own path. He spoke lovingly about his wife who he called his rock and someone who made him feel like he wanted to be a better man each day. He spoke of how great the Spurs had been to him and acknowledged all those who came before him in San Antonio. Lastly, he spoke about walking with G-d and how He had overseen all the events of his life and now he, in essence, bowed humbly before Him, thanking Him for everything in his life.
Following that, I watched John Stockton talk of his humble beginnings and of how he was never the best player on any of the teams that he had played on. He felt lucky just to be where he was standing. He thanked all of the people who helped him get to where he was, spoke about each of his six children individually and how his wife was there for him and allowed him to do what he did each day. He spoke of the Jazz organization with appreciation for taking a chance on him and how well he had been treated through the years. Mostly, he seemed like he was a guy who felt out of place at the Hall of Fame and was just happy to be there.
Evidently, the HOF felt that they were saving the best for last. In what was quite assuredly the most arrogant, selfish, conniving, vengeful and self centered speech I had ever witnessed, Michael Jordan took the podium for close to 15 minutes and proceeded to do to his reputation, what defenders and opponents could never do to his game-destroy it.
In his immature and at times incoherent mumble fest, Jordan left no former enemy unscathed. Of Jerry Karuse, the old Bulls GM he said "He's not here tonight-I don't know who invited him, I didn't". He said Buzz Peterson could not have been player of the year in high school because he had never played against him. He used the pronouns I, me or my over 230 times and gave everyone a slight window into the head of what most in the ESPN cult like to call the greatest athlete who ever lived.
How sad.
Jordan used the platform to proclaim only his greatness in a way that you would expect a nine year old to do. When talking about Scottie Pipen he mused "...every Championship I won, Scottie was there." And here I thought basketball was a team sport. In a room full of high achievers, Jordan acted as if he was the only one in the building who was competitive-as he kept reminding us-or that he was the only one in sports who ever worked hard. He called Jeff Van Gundy Pat Riley's "little guy" I suppose forgetting that Van Gundy had himself worked extremely hard to get where he was and you can be sure that while Mike Jordan was gambling away millions of dollars in Atlantic city, Jeff Van Gundy was up at night trying to find a way to guard him.
But this poor excuse for a man left the best of his self-centeredness for his children. "You guys have a heavy burden-I wouldn't want to be you if I had to".
What a loser.
After I listened to him say other gems like "Someone like me who accomplished a lot" or "I hope it's given the millions of people that I've touched...." I thought for a few moments about what some of his apologists are saying. For instance, "this was why we loved him so much because he was so competitive" or "Jordan knows of no other way because he is just so great and competitive" as if Bill Russell, whose championships rings dwarf Jordan's, or Yogi Berra, who has four more rings than "his airness", were any less competitive. We didn't have to make excuses for those athletes because at their inductions, they weren't the kind of small man Jordan was. Jordan showed that he is in fact exactly what his detractors always said he was-a packaged, fake, fifth avenue marketing machine in a suit. The truth is Jordan is a petty, arrogant, immature, conceited and childish man who was incredibly gifted at what he did. Nothing else.
In the end, he showed us all that he's just a basketball player. That is all.
I thought about the two players, Robinson and Stockton, who spoke before him. They weren't from big market Chicago. They didn't play for Dean Smith. They didn't have anyone packaging them to make them something they were not. The Networks didn't love them. They were just two competitive men who loved playing basketball and were very good at it. They didn't promote themselves nor, does it seem, did they keep score by cashing checks. They were just two under appreciated athletes who had their priorities in order. There were no Carla Knafle's in their closets, no paternity suits and left no gambling debts in their wake. They were just two men, I wish now, I would have gotten a chance to appreciate more often.
As for Jordan, I think his work on Friday night speaks for itself. He let the world know that his grudges last forever and his pettiness could not be stifled on what should have been the pinnacle personal moment of his career. He is a shallow, empty man who the world perceives as having everything, but at his very essence, he has nothing. No character, no integrity, no humility and most assuredly, no class.
For years I had heard how awful it was that a Jewish basketball player had to be burdened with the moniker "the Jewish Jordan". It was a mistake to do that to Tamir, but the public ran with it no matter how much he and everyone around him tried to stop it. They said he could never be Michael Jordan--lucky for Tamir. Tamir Goodman is far too much of a man to ever be mentioned in the same breath as Michael Jordan. The world thinks calling him the Jewish Jordan was an insult to Michael Jordan. In all honesty, it's was an insult to Tamir Goodman.
I hope all my children and my friends children, get a chance to see this particular Jordan performance above all his others, so they know he is nothing to aspire to. As for me, I would not trade one moment on the clock of my life, for any second of his if it meant that I had to be Michael Jordan for any length of my short time on this earth. How sad his life has turned out to be. He is an immature child, who I dare say, is trapped in the body of a miniscule man.
I had finished watching the NBA Hall of Fame induction ceremony when I realized that I had just seen one of the saddest things I had ever watched in sports. To be sure, I was not a big fan of David Robinson or John Stockton when they played in the NBA, but after this morning, I have a new found respect for both men. Conversely, I enjoyed watching Michael Jordan play basketball even when he was a shadow of himself with the Washington Wizards. I learned this morning that I had gotten it all wrong.
I watched with great admiration as David Robinson spoke humbly about his past, glowingly about his present, and excitedly about his future. He thanked everyone from his first coach to his last one, his teammates and all those who had helped him get to where he was. He spoke to each of his children separately and hoped that they would be proud of their name because of this accomplishment, but urged and encouraged them to forge their own path. He spoke lovingly about his wife who he called his rock and someone who made him feel like he wanted to be a better man each day. He spoke of how great the Spurs had been to him and acknowledged all those who came before him in San Antonio. Lastly, he spoke about walking with G-d and how He had overseen all the events of his life and now he, in essence, bowed humbly before Him, thanking Him for everything in his life.
Following that, I watched John Stockton talk of his humble beginnings and of how he was never the best player on any of the teams that he had played on. He felt lucky just to be where he was standing. He thanked all of the people who helped him get to where he was, spoke about each of his six children individually and how his wife was there for him and allowed him to do what he did each day. He spoke of the Jazz organization with appreciation for taking a chance on him and how well he had been treated through the years. Mostly, he seemed like he was a guy who felt out of place at the Hall of Fame and was just happy to be there.
Evidently, the HOF felt that they were saving the best for last. In what was quite assuredly the most arrogant, selfish, conniving, vengeful and self centered speech I had ever witnessed, Michael Jordan took the podium for close to 15 minutes and proceeded to do to his reputation, what defenders and opponents could never do to his game-destroy it.
In his immature and at times incoherent mumble fest, Jordan left no former enemy unscathed. Of Jerry Karuse, the old Bulls GM he said "He's not here tonight-I don't know who invited him, I didn't". He said Buzz Peterson could not have been player of the year in high school because he had never played against him. He used the pronouns I, me or my over 230 times and gave everyone a slight window into the head of what most in the ESPN cult like to call the greatest athlete who ever lived.
How sad.
Jordan used the platform to proclaim only his greatness in a way that you would expect a nine year old to do. When talking about Scottie Pipen he mused "...every Championship I won, Scottie was there." And here I thought basketball was a team sport. In a room full of high achievers, Jordan acted as if he was the only one in the building who was competitive-as he kept reminding us-or that he was the only one in sports who ever worked hard. He called Jeff Van Gundy Pat Riley's "little guy" I suppose forgetting that Van Gundy had himself worked extremely hard to get where he was and you can be sure that while Mike Jordan was gambling away millions of dollars in Atlantic city, Jeff Van Gundy was up at night trying to find a way to guard him.
But this poor excuse for a man left the best of his self-centeredness for his children. "You guys have a heavy burden-I wouldn't want to be you if I had to".
What a loser.
After I listened to him say other gems like "Someone like me who accomplished a lot" or "I hope it's given the millions of people that I've touched...." I thought for a few moments about what some of his apologists are saying. For instance, "this was why we loved him so much because he was so competitive" or "Jordan knows of no other way because he is just so great and competitive" as if Bill Russell, whose championships rings dwarf Jordan's, or Yogi Berra, who has four more rings than "his airness", were any less competitive. We didn't have to make excuses for those athletes because at their inductions, they weren't the kind of small man Jordan was. Jordan showed that he is in fact exactly what his detractors always said he was-a packaged, fake, fifth avenue marketing machine in a suit. The truth is Jordan is a petty, arrogant, immature, conceited and childish man who was incredibly gifted at what he did. Nothing else.
In the end, he showed us all that he's just a basketball player. That is all.
I thought about the two players, Robinson and Stockton, who spoke before him. They weren't from big market Chicago. They didn't play for Dean Smith. They didn't have anyone packaging them to make them something they were not. The Networks didn't love them. They were just two competitive men who loved playing basketball and were very good at it. They didn't promote themselves nor, does it seem, did they keep score by cashing checks. They were just two under appreciated athletes who had their priorities in order. There were no Carla Knafle's in their closets, no paternity suits and left no gambling debts in their wake. They were just two men, I wish now, I would have gotten a chance to appreciate more often.
As for Jordan, I think his work on Friday night speaks for itself. He let the world know that his grudges last forever and his pettiness could not be stifled on what should have been the pinnacle personal moment of his career. He is a shallow, empty man who the world perceives as having everything, but at his very essence, he has nothing. No character, no integrity, no humility and most assuredly, no class.
For years I had heard how awful it was that a Jewish basketball player had to be burdened with the moniker "the Jewish Jordan". It was a mistake to do that to Tamir, but the public ran with it no matter how much he and everyone around him tried to stop it. They said he could never be Michael Jordan--lucky for Tamir. Tamir Goodman is far too much of a man to ever be mentioned in the same breath as Michael Jordan. The world thinks calling him the Jewish Jordan was an insult to Michael Jordan. In all honesty, it's was an insult to Tamir Goodman.
I hope all my children and my friends children, get a chance to see this particular Jordan performance above all his others, so they know he is nothing to aspire to. As for me, I would not trade one moment on the clock of my life, for any second of his if it meant that I had to be Michael Jordan for any length of my short time on this earth. How sad his life has turned out to be. He is an immature child, who I dare say, is trapped in the body of a miniscule man.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
What about the Jews and Mark Twain
As Tisha B'av draws near, maybe Mark Twain, in this essay from 1898, can remind us what we, as Jews, tend to forget as the world spins around us. We mourn for not only the loss of the Temple, but for the loss of all it should have stood for-community, togetherness, a place where being a Jew is to be dedicated to ones people and their Creator, a place of love and understanding, of higher learning and rampant spirituality....a place that Hashem can call home.
But we forgot what we were supposed to stand for, the promise we were to bring humanity and the light we should have been. Now, we suffer in embarrassment for the ethos we have turned on its head and called it righteousness. We paint our own disinterest in our uniqueness with the broad brush of man made morality and cling to a phony promise of joining the masses for they will soon take us in and treat us like their own and all will be forgotten. History has taught us that no matter how bright the star, how golden the land and how engrossing the potential, it is the Jew who has never been let into the club. Twain reminds us of all of that.
We have been viceroys, advisors, generals, chiefs of staffs, doctors of Kings, the wealthiest and most influential at each and every stop-every single place we have ever been-yet the world never fails to let us know that we are still not theirs. Do not be fooled that this time is different. At this moment in history, the world is screaming the message that no matter the song, the tune remains the same--the Jews are still Jews-whether they call us settlers, Zionists, right wing fanatics, neo cons, Pro Israel, liberals, progressives or even just Jews, they are reminding us that the doors while ajar, will never be fully open no matter how hard we try to kick them in. They remind us of all we have lost as a people, who, even as we see history repeating itself time and again, trust the loving and forgiving nature that our hearts posses, instead of the mass of evidence we see before our eyes. The world is once again reminding us what we have lost and seemingly what we have forgotten.
So I will rely on Mark Twain to remind us of what we have always been and let each one of us answer the question he poses at the end.... I can only come up with one answer...what is yours?
CONCERNING THE JEWS ...by Mark Twain Harpers Magazine 1898
"If the statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous dim puff of star dust lost in the blaze of the Milky Way. Properly the Jew ought hardly to be heard of, but he is heard of, has always been heard of. He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his commercial importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk. His contributions to the world's list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine, and abstruse learning are also away out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers. He has made a marvellous fight in the world, in all the ages; and has done it with his hands tied behind him. He could be vain of himself, and be excused for it. The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greek and the Roman followed, and made a vast noise, and they are gone; other peoples have sprung up and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished. The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind. All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?"
But we forgot what we were supposed to stand for, the promise we were to bring humanity and the light we should have been. Now, we suffer in embarrassment for the ethos we have turned on its head and called it righteousness. We paint our own disinterest in our uniqueness with the broad brush of man made morality and cling to a phony promise of joining the masses for they will soon take us in and treat us like their own and all will be forgotten. History has taught us that no matter how bright the star, how golden the land and how engrossing the potential, it is the Jew who has never been let into the club. Twain reminds us of all of that.
We have been viceroys, advisors, generals, chiefs of staffs, doctors of Kings, the wealthiest and most influential at each and every stop-every single place we have ever been-yet the world never fails to let us know that we are still not theirs. Do not be fooled that this time is different. At this moment in history, the world is screaming the message that no matter the song, the tune remains the same--the Jews are still Jews-whether they call us settlers, Zionists, right wing fanatics, neo cons, Pro Israel, liberals, progressives or even just Jews, they are reminding us that the doors while ajar, will never be fully open no matter how hard we try to kick them in. They remind us of all we have lost as a people, who, even as we see history repeating itself time and again, trust the loving and forgiving nature that our hearts posses, instead of the mass of evidence we see before our eyes. The world is once again reminding us what we have lost and seemingly what we have forgotten.
So I will rely on Mark Twain to remind us of what we have always been and let each one of us answer the question he poses at the end.... I can only come up with one answer...what is yours?
CONCERNING THE JEWS ...by Mark Twain Harpers Magazine 1898
"If the statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous dim puff of star dust lost in the blaze of the Milky Way. Properly the Jew ought hardly to be heard of, but he is heard of, has always been heard of. He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his commercial importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk. His contributions to the world's list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine, and abstruse learning are also away out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers. He has made a marvellous fight in the world, in all the ages; and has done it with his hands tied behind him. He could be vain of himself, and be excused for it. The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greek and the Roman followed, and made a vast noise, and they are gone; other peoples have sprung up and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished. The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind. All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?"
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
A Primer for the Media and the Hypocritical Left and a Debt of Gratitude
Well, the day has finally come upon us.
How great is the Creator of All Things that he has uplifted the downtrodden and exalted the oppressed. I am, once again, overjoyed for my african american friends and hope this is a day they will always be proud of.
For me, I am not a drinker of the Obama kool-aid. I do not ascribe to the theory that America is a bad place. I do not believe we are the source of evil around the world. I do not believe that capitalism is a bad thing or that the framers of the constitution erred by not making government the end all and be all. I believe the framers wanted to free us from the oppression of the tyranny of an overbearing government. I believe this nation is a source of what is good about the world and lends a voice to justice and charity. I also believe that at a time of war you support your president as he makes life and death decisions for millions of people.
How sad that led by Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi as well as their accomplices in congress and the media, this country has forgotten that principle. They have disgraced their respective offices and have earned the reputation as the leaders of the most unpopular congress of all time.
So in the spirit of cooperation that Americans used to be known for B.C. (before Clinton), I will offer this primer so that the left knows how to act and what to say now that one of their own is in office. This will be new so it might take some practice. But if Chis Matthew, Brian Williams, Katie Couric, Joy Behar, Dan Rather, Matt Lauer and Charlie Gibson can do it, so can you...work with me....
"We must support our president in a time of war"
"America is a source for good"
"The most important thing during these dangerous times is the safety of the American Citizenry"
"There are evil people trying to destroy us"
"Israel deserves the right to defend itself from thousands of attacks without any moral equivocation"
"The office of the presidency needs to be a place of honor and respect."
"You can be the loyal opposition without being mean spirited and cruel"
"Please do not attack the president's daughters. That is so wrong and beyond the pale"
That should take care of lesson one. I don't want to overload you all in the first day.
As for me, unlike the hypocritical left, I will support my president during this time of war. I hope he succeeds in bringing this country back to health, but I pray he does not do it by changing what has made this country great. It is the ingenuity and creativity of the American people that has made us the beacon on the hill. It is the recognition of the greatness of the human spirit and the value of freedom. It is the promise of a new day where everyone has a chance because they are free.
Therefore, I regret immeasurably that I am writing this, I hope my president's agenda fails.
I don't think spending us into oblivion is a smart thing to do just like I didn't think it was smart when George Bush did it. I don't think socializing medicine, the auto industry and the banking system is a smart thing to do. I don't think raising taxes in a time of financial turmoil is a smart thing to do. I don't think raising the capital gains tax during a recession "because it's fair" is a smart thing to do. I don't think listening to Samantha Power is a smart thing to do. I don't think equivocating Israel and Hamas or Hezbollah is a smart thing to do. I don't think letting the United Nations dictate our foreign policy is a smart thing to do. So I hope his policies-not him-his agenda fails.
I hope he fails in his health care initiative as it is currently being bantered about. If he is willing to allow the rest of America to have the same health insurance coverage that congress has or that he has, I am with him, provided he cuts some spending to pay for it. However, if he wants the rest of us to have one type of insurance and congress to have another, I hope he fails severely. I do not believe congress should get to vote themselves a pay raise and then vote on what is best for the rest of us so long as it does not apply to them. So if the presidents plan is to install a system that rations health care, count me out and I pray for his policies to fail while I am at the same time praying for his success.
I hope he sees that it's one thing to talk in platitudes and hallmark quotes and it's another to govern. I hope he understands that the world is far more dangerous than he was led to believe by moveon.org, George Soros, NPR or the halls of academia. I hope when he wakes up on January 21st he realizes that there is far more to this job than painting a house or calling the Steelers or the Cardinals after the Super Bowl.
I hope he understands that his number one job more than anything else is to protect the citizens of this great country.
On that note, I just wanted to send out my sincerest thanks to George Bush for keeping my family and all my friends (on the left-where I have many and on the right) safe these last seven and a half years. The decisions he was forced to make on his watch, were a little more complicated than Keith Olberman's "what tie should I wear" or Ted Kennedy's "Do you think I should leave her at the bottom of the river?" I am not a huge fan of George Bush's, but I have the utmost respect for him. I am proud he restored honor to an office that was blemished by sex under the desk and governing by poll numbers. More importantly, he understood the threats that are around us and took the fight to them instead of kicking the can down the road like we did in 1993 at the WTC or when terrorists blew up a ship of ours in '99-2000.
I thank the president for serving our country and thumbing his nose at the despots in Cuba, Venezuala, Gaza, Syria, Iran, Russia etc....I thank him for having the integrity and fortitude to not chase popularity and to stand up for freedom and what he believed was right. It has been my experience that if the arabs, dictators and a historically cowardly Europe don't agree with you, you must have done something right. I am forever grateful that you put America first.
I hope my new president will follow his lead.
How great is the Creator of All Things that he has uplifted the downtrodden and exalted the oppressed. I am, once again, overjoyed for my african american friends and hope this is a day they will always be proud of.
For me, I am not a drinker of the Obama kool-aid. I do not ascribe to the theory that America is a bad place. I do not believe we are the source of evil around the world. I do not believe that capitalism is a bad thing or that the framers of the constitution erred by not making government the end all and be all. I believe the framers wanted to free us from the oppression of the tyranny of an overbearing government. I believe this nation is a source of what is good about the world and lends a voice to justice and charity. I also believe that at a time of war you support your president as he makes life and death decisions for millions of people.
How sad that led by Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi as well as their accomplices in congress and the media, this country has forgotten that principle. They have disgraced their respective offices and have earned the reputation as the leaders of the most unpopular congress of all time.
So in the spirit of cooperation that Americans used to be known for B.C. (before Clinton), I will offer this primer so that the left knows how to act and what to say now that one of their own is in office. This will be new so it might take some practice. But if Chis Matthew, Brian Williams, Katie Couric, Joy Behar, Dan Rather, Matt Lauer and Charlie Gibson can do it, so can you...work with me....
"We must support our president in a time of war"
"America is a source for good"
"The most important thing during these dangerous times is the safety of the American Citizenry"
"There are evil people trying to destroy us"
"Israel deserves the right to defend itself from thousands of attacks without any moral equivocation"
"The office of the presidency needs to be a place of honor and respect."
"You can be the loyal opposition without being mean spirited and cruel"
"Please do not attack the president's daughters. That is so wrong and beyond the pale"
That should take care of lesson one. I don't want to overload you all in the first day.
As for me, unlike the hypocritical left, I will support my president during this time of war. I hope he succeeds in bringing this country back to health, but I pray he does not do it by changing what has made this country great. It is the ingenuity and creativity of the American people that has made us the beacon on the hill. It is the recognition of the greatness of the human spirit and the value of freedom. It is the promise of a new day where everyone has a chance because they are free.
Therefore, I regret immeasurably that I am writing this, I hope my president's agenda fails.
I don't think spending us into oblivion is a smart thing to do just like I didn't think it was smart when George Bush did it. I don't think socializing medicine, the auto industry and the banking system is a smart thing to do. I don't think raising taxes in a time of financial turmoil is a smart thing to do. I don't think raising the capital gains tax during a recession "because it's fair" is a smart thing to do. I don't think listening to Samantha Power is a smart thing to do. I don't think equivocating Israel and Hamas or Hezbollah is a smart thing to do. I don't think letting the United Nations dictate our foreign policy is a smart thing to do. So I hope his policies-not him-his agenda fails.
I hope he fails in his health care initiative as it is currently being bantered about. If he is willing to allow the rest of America to have the same health insurance coverage that congress has or that he has, I am with him, provided he cuts some spending to pay for it. However, if he wants the rest of us to have one type of insurance and congress to have another, I hope he fails severely. I do not believe congress should get to vote themselves a pay raise and then vote on what is best for the rest of us so long as it does not apply to them. So if the presidents plan is to install a system that rations health care, count me out and I pray for his policies to fail while I am at the same time praying for his success.
I hope he sees that it's one thing to talk in platitudes and hallmark quotes and it's another to govern. I hope he understands that the world is far more dangerous than he was led to believe by moveon.org, George Soros, NPR or the halls of academia. I hope when he wakes up on January 21st he realizes that there is far more to this job than painting a house or calling the Steelers or the Cardinals after the Super Bowl.
I hope he understands that his number one job more than anything else is to protect the citizens of this great country.
On that note, I just wanted to send out my sincerest thanks to George Bush for keeping my family and all my friends (on the left-where I have many and on the right) safe these last seven and a half years. The decisions he was forced to make on his watch, were a little more complicated than Keith Olberman's "what tie should I wear" or Ted Kennedy's "Do you think I should leave her at the bottom of the river?" I am not a huge fan of George Bush's, but I have the utmost respect for him. I am proud he restored honor to an office that was blemished by sex under the desk and governing by poll numbers. More importantly, he understood the threats that are around us and took the fight to them instead of kicking the can down the road like we did in 1993 at the WTC or when terrorists blew up a ship of ours in '99-2000.
I thank the president for serving our country and thumbing his nose at the despots in Cuba, Venezuala, Gaza, Syria, Iran, Russia etc....I thank him for having the integrity and fortitude to not chase popularity and to stand up for freedom and what he believed was right. It has been my experience that if the arabs, dictators and a historically cowardly Europe don't agree with you, you must have done something right. I am forever grateful that you put America first.
I hope my new president will follow his lead.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
The Day After
I, like everyone else, have no idea what G-d's master plan is for this world or this country. What I do know is he is the Creator of all things. He is the supreme judge and jury. I believe he has a sense of justice that man cannot comprehend nor see even if they think they can.
I heard a great thought from a Rabbi years ago when he was discussing the verse in the Torah "To the righteous you shall do bad and the wicked one you shall do good." He asked what kind of logic is this? How are we supposed to understand what this verse means. It defies our common sense and makes everything else the Torah has said before it, seem contradictory. Can this really be what the Torah means?
The rabbi responded with a simple, but very deep answer. He said we cannot know what Our Maker has in store for us, but know that there is most definitely a master plan which in time everyone will know all about . However, to gain insight into a particular event we must understand this verse as follows. Take a look at a crochet picture from behind. It is a sorry mess of random strings wandering aimlessly with no particular rhyme or order. Then turn it over and look at the beautiful picture it makes when it's all put together. A mess of incredible strings with seemingly no purpose, turned over onto it's front and now it all makes sense.
Events happen in this world that seem to be random instances of day to day events. Understand and know that NOTHING is just random. Each event leads to the next one which leads to another some forty years later, to another some sixty years later, to another some two hundred years later and so on. My personal opinion, and I may be way off here, is that the first slave to land foot on American soil, was done so that all those who have descended from slaves, can know that G-d above heard their cries and now has answered their prayers. Unlike others, I do not believe he doles out justice only to his people although I do believe it all comes back to his people BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT HE HAS SAID and things happen only for that reason. I believe that the first slave trader was put here BECAUSE Barak Obama was supposed to be exalted at this moment in this place. While I am worried for my people in the worst way, I am uplifted by the events of last night because it assures me that while I may not understand His plan, I am comforted by this perceived if not actual Justice for an oppressed and maligned people, that the promises he made to my forefathers are alive, burning and await their fulfillment.
That being said, I am reminded of the movie The Ten Commandments when Nefratiri comes to Moses' house to save him because Pharaoh has ordered the first born of all Jews to be killed which meant that the tenth plague would be the killing of the first born from the mouth of Pharaoh himself. She begs Moses to come with her so she can save him and Moses looks at her and says something to the extent of "You are the vehicle that G-d is working through." My own belief is like everything else, there is a reason a man who is surrounded by haters of the Jews and Israel won the Presidency of the United States last night. It was a grand moment for him, those who cried in pain and anguish for hundreds of years and all others who support him. And rightfully so. But it is very possible that through the execution of his Judgment and Justice he has uplifted an entire race of people, while at the same time passing heavenly judgement on His chosen people, His nation, to be carried out through the exalted Barak Obama.
Today is a day for celebration for any believer of G-d.
Today he has uplifted an oppressed people.
Today he has made the embarrassed, proud, the humiliated, honored.
What it means for the Jews in the short run is much more anguish and pain. More murder and moral equivocation. More appeasement of evil. More cowering in fear by Europe, the UN and now America in order to fulfill the verse "To the wicked you shall do good." More Jewish parents burying their young sons and daughters. More cries to the heavens for the Redeemer seemingly falling on deaf ears. It will be hard to live with. It will lead to many days of sorrow and fear, depression and pain. But do not let that discourage you. For just as He has exalted those that want to do us harm, He is making sure that no stone is left unturned. That when the day the Messiah finally comes to deliver His people to lead the world in Servitude to Him, no one race of people on the entire planet can come to Him with a claim that they did not oppress the Jewish People or cause them to be harmed. The prophet Isaiah in Chapter 53 makes sure that the world knows that their claims of innocence will go unheard. There will be no mercy for those that chose to do harm to the Jewish people and no time left for their repentance.
Therefore, I am celebrating today. I am happy for my African American friends who have long awaited this day and glad to see their happiness and joy. I am also glad for the believers of Hashem. For just as he has fulfilled the words of Isaiah and Deuteronomy, so too will he fulfill the words of the prophets who have told us of our ultimate redemption. The Torah is alive and it is Life for all those who embrace it.
Last night, Hashem showed once again, that there is a time for everything. I am rejoicing today because I know His words are true and His promises are real.
May it be His will that I am alive to witness the redeeming of His people so that they can serve Him with joy and happiness and let ALL the world know that He is One and His Name is One.
May it come speedily in our days. Amen.
I heard a great thought from a Rabbi years ago when he was discussing the verse in the Torah "To the righteous you shall do bad and the wicked one you shall do good." He asked what kind of logic is this? How are we supposed to understand what this verse means. It defies our common sense and makes everything else the Torah has said before it, seem contradictory. Can this really be what the Torah means?
The rabbi responded with a simple, but very deep answer. He said we cannot know what Our Maker has in store for us, but know that there is most definitely a master plan which in time everyone will know all about . However, to gain insight into a particular event we must understand this verse as follows. Take a look at a crochet picture from behind. It is a sorry mess of random strings wandering aimlessly with no particular rhyme or order. Then turn it over and look at the beautiful picture it makes when it's all put together. A mess of incredible strings with seemingly no purpose, turned over onto it's front and now it all makes sense.
Events happen in this world that seem to be random instances of day to day events. Understand and know that NOTHING is just random. Each event leads to the next one which leads to another some forty years later, to another some sixty years later, to another some two hundred years later and so on. My personal opinion, and I may be way off here, is that the first slave to land foot on American soil, was done so that all those who have descended from slaves, can know that G-d above heard their cries and now has answered their prayers. Unlike others, I do not believe he doles out justice only to his people although I do believe it all comes back to his people BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT HE HAS SAID and things happen only for that reason. I believe that the first slave trader was put here BECAUSE Barak Obama was supposed to be exalted at this moment in this place. While I am worried for my people in the worst way, I am uplifted by the events of last night because it assures me that while I may not understand His plan, I am comforted by this perceived if not actual Justice for an oppressed and maligned people, that the promises he made to my forefathers are alive, burning and await their fulfillment.
That being said, I am reminded of the movie The Ten Commandments when Nefratiri comes to Moses' house to save him because Pharaoh has ordered the first born of all Jews to be killed which meant that the tenth plague would be the killing of the first born from the mouth of Pharaoh himself. She begs Moses to come with her so she can save him and Moses looks at her and says something to the extent of "You are the vehicle that G-d is working through." My own belief is like everything else, there is a reason a man who is surrounded by haters of the Jews and Israel won the Presidency of the United States last night. It was a grand moment for him, those who cried in pain and anguish for hundreds of years and all others who support him. And rightfully so. But it is very possible that through the execution of his Judgment and Justice he has uplifted an entire race of people, while at the same time passing heavenly judgement on His chosen people, His nation, to be carried out through the exalted Barak Obama.
Today is a day for celebration for any believer of G-d.
Today he has uplifted an oppressed people.
Today he has made the embarrassed, proud, the humiliated, honored.
What it means for the Jews in the short run is much more anguish and pain. More murder and moral equivocation. More appeasement of evil. More cowering in fear by Europe, the UN and now America in order to fulfill the verse "To the wicked you shall do good." More Jewish parents burying their young sons and daughters. More cries to the heavens for the Redeemer seemingly falling on deaf ears. It will be hard to live with. It will lead to many days of sorrow and fear, depression and pain. But do not let that discourage you. For just as He has exalted those that want to do us harm, He is making sure that no stone is left unturned. That when the day the Messiah finally comes to deliver His people to lead the world in Servitude to Him, no one race of people on the entire planet can come to Him with a claim that they did not oppress the Jewish People or cause them to be harmed. The prophet Isaiah in Chapter 53 makes sure that the world knows that their claims of innocence will go unheard. There will be no mercy for those that chose to do harm to the Jewish people and no time left for their repentance.
Therefore, I am celebrating today. I am happy for my African American friends who have long awaited this day and glad to see their happiness and joy. I am also glad for the believers of Hashem. For just as he has fulfilled the words of Isaiah and Deuteronomy, so too will he fulfill the words of the prophets who have told us of our ultimate redemption. The Torah is alive and it is Life for all those who embrace it.
Last night, Hashem showed once again, that there is a time for everything. I am rejoicing today because I know His words are true and His promises are real.
May it be His will that I am alive to witness the redeeming of His people so that they can serve Him with joy and happiness and let ALL the world know that He is One and His Name is One.
May it come speedily in our days. Amen.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
I could not have said it better myself
No electorate is less concerned with it's own self preservation than the Jewish voter-Dick Morris, Jew, October 30, 2008.
And therein lies the rub.
I am not sure why we do what we do or what is it that drives us to work so hard against our own self interest, but we are the absolute best at ignoring what is best for us just to try and fit in. I have always wondered how the Jews throughout history allowed themselves to be subjected to the most ruthless and cruel governments of all time without so much as a whimper. I now know how that happened.
We are, for the most part, a loyal and committed group. We are by our very nature, ideologues. We are, as the Torah tells us, a stiff-necked people. So it should not have come as a surprise that we always do what is best for everyone but ourselves. I just didn't think when all the evidence was so blatant, we would sell our own people out for the empty promise of a thousand dollars.
When I think back to Germany and consider all that led up to the destruction of the Jewish presence there, I used to be amazed at how so many smart people allowed the nazi's rise to power. I am not amazed or even curious anymore. I am witnessing a moment in time that will not soon be forgotten.
We sit on the precipice of an upheaval we have never seen in the history of our country, and we not only sit by and cheer the movement, we embrace and work for it. We are being told to give to the greater good. Fairness for all. Everyone should be at the same spot at the same time. Except of course for the elites who dictate the mantra. Funny how two millionaires like Barak Obama and Joe Biden, give nary a penny to charitable causes, yet are asking us to give to the cause of the greater good. The Talmud in Taanis mentions an old Jewish motto which referred to those who preach about their own greatness. "Remove the beam from your eye, before you try and take out the spec from your neighbors eye." You ask me to give up for the common good when you have failed by example, to lead the vision of self sacrifice?
As a side note of curiosity, how is it that a community organizer, a law professor, a state senator and US senator, is a millionaire? Where is the revenue? What job did he have that enabled him to accumulate such wealth?
I am left with this one question that eats at me daily. Why is it that we can commit to a cause made of nothingness, false promises and empty slogans which quite possibly may be a detriment of our own freedom, but we ignore the calling of the Creator of the Universe and treat his cause as something we do by rote or barely a few times a year?
I am afraid that in twenty or so years-I should be lucky to live that long- I am sitting with my young grandchild and he/she asks me Grandpa, was there really a Jewish state called Israel in the beginning of the twenty first century? Yes dear there was. What did you do to stop it from being destroyed? she'll ask. Sadly, I may not be able to answer. Who was it that allowed this to happen? The entire world I'll say. What did the Jews do? I won't even know what to tell her. Didn't they care that Israel was going to be destroyed? I will say no they didn't. They wanted five hundred dollars in the mail instead. But hadn't they learned about what happened in Spain? France? Russia? Germany? I suppose they just didn't care.
Here is the scenario. April 2008. Iran attacks Israel with a dirty bomb or some form of transfered deadly chemical weapon as PROMISED by Ahmediajad over and over again. President Obama convenes his top foreign advisors to ask how should America react. In the room are Zbigniew Bzrezinski and his son Mark, Anthony Lake, Susan Rice and Robert O. Malley and Ivo Daalder. All of whom have a history of blaming Israel first.
(FYI_This is from today's issue of American thinker magazine."Then there is this disconcerting article in the Financial Times about Democratic Presidential candidates and Israel. One of the key advisers to one of the Presidential candidates admitted to some tactical moves to garner pro-Israel support in America:
"The plain fact is there is no upside for candidates to challenge the prevailing assumptions about Israel," said one of their advisers, who asked not to be named. "The best strategy is to win the White House and then change the debate."
One well-regarded blogger, Rutgers Professor Judith Apter Klinghoffer believes this adviser was Ivo Daalder, who was quoted throughout the article and who is one of the foreign policy advisers to Barack Obama.")
So this group of advisors needs to help Obama with his plan. I ask you as a Jew, do you think this will be good for our people or not so good? Personally, I have no doubt that by the end of an Obama presidency, AS A POLICY, Israel and America will no longer be staunch allies.
Can we trust him? I can't help but think about Obama's pledge to abide by the public financing laws and then when it was convenient, he broke that pledge. Or his pledge to not raise taxes on those making over 250,000 only to hear in last nights infomercial the number 200,000. Or his promise to keep Jerusalem unified only to have him disagree with himself the next day.
Would you buy a used car from this man?
One last thing. If there was nothing incriminating on the tape that the LA Times has, Obama should ask them to release the tape so everyone can see it. That would be a sign of character and someone I might be able to trust. He won't do that, however. Rumor has it, he was not very flattering to Israel. Hard to believe based on his past statements?
I will let you be the judge.
And therein lies the rub.
I am not sure why we do what we do or what is it that drives us to work so hard against our own self interest, but we are the absolute best at ignoring what is best for us just to try and fit in. I have always wondered how the Jews throughout history allowed themselves to be subjected to the most ruthless and cruel governments of all time without so much as a whimper. I now know how that happened.
We are, for the most part, a loyal and committed group. We are by our very nature, ideologues. We are, as the Torah tells us, a stiff-necked people. So it should not have come as a surprise that we always do what is best for everyone but ourselves. I just didn't think when all the evidence was so blatant, we would sell our own people out for the empty promise of a thousand dollars.
When I think back to Germany and consider all that led up to the destruction of the Jewish presence there, I used to be amazed at how so many smart people allowed the nazi's rise to power. I am not amazed or even curious anymore. I am witnessing a moment in time that will not soon be forgotten.
We sit on the precipice of an upheaval we have never seen in the history of our country, and we not only sit by and cheer the movement, we embrace and work for it. We are being told to give to the greater good. Fairness for all. Everyone should be at the same spot at the same time. Except of course for the elites who dictate the mantra. Funny how two millionaires like Barak Obama and Joe Biden, give nary a penny to charitable causes, yet are asking us to give to the cause of the greater good. The Talmud in Taanis mentions an old Jewish motto which referred to those who preach about their own greatness. "Remove the beam from your eye, before you try and take out the spec from your neighbors eye." You ask me to give up for the common good when you have failed by example, to lead the vision of self sacrifice?
As a side note of curiosity, how is it that a community organizer, a law professor, a state senator and US senator, is a millionaire? Where is the revenue? What job did he have that enabled him to accumulate such wealth?
I am left with this one question that eats at me daily. Why is it that we can commit to a cause made of nothingness, false promises and empty slogans which quite possibly may be a detriment of our own freedom, but we ignore the calling of the Creator of the Universe and treat his cause as something we do by rote or barely a few times a year?
I am afraid that in twenty or so years-I should be lucky to live that long- I am sitting with my young grandchild and he/she asks me Grandpa, was there really a Jewish state called Israel in the beginning of the twenty first century? Yes dear there was. What did you do to stop it from being destroyed? she'll ask. Sadly, I may not be able to answer. Who was it that allowed this to happen? The entire world I'll say. What did the Jews do? I won't even know what to tell her. Didn't they care that Israel was going to be destroyed? I will say no they didn't. They wanted five hundred dollars in the mail instead. But hadn't they learned about what happened in Spain? France? Russia? Germany? I suppose they just didn't care.
Here is the scenario. April 2008. Iran attacks Israel with a dirty bomb or some form of transfered deadly chemical weapon as PROMISED by Ahmediajad over and over again. President Obama convenes his top foreign advisors to ask how should America react. In the room are Zbigniew Bzrezinski and his son Mark, Anthony Lake, Susan Rice and Robert O. Malley and Ivo Daalder. All of whom have a history of blaming Israel first.
(FYI_This is from today's issue of American thinker magazine."Then there is this disconcerting article in the Financial Times about Democratic Presidential candidates and Israel. One of the key advisers to one of the Presidential candidates admitted to some tactical moves to garner pro-Israel support in America:
"The plain fact is there is no upside for candidates to challenge the prevailing assumptions about Israel," said one of their advisers, who asked not to be named. "The best strategy is to win the White House and then change the debate."
One well-regarded blogger, Rutgers Professor Judith Apter Klinghoffer believes this adviser was Ivo Daalder, who was quoted throughout the article and who is one of the foreign policy advisers to Barack Obama.")
So this group of advisors needs to help Obama with his plan. I ask you as a Jew, do you think this will be good for our people or not so good? Personally, I have no doubt that by the end of an Obama presidency, AS A POLICY, Israel and America will no longer be staunch allies.
Can we trust him? I can't help but think about Obama's pledge to abide by the public financing laws and then when it was convenient, he broke that pledge. Or his pledge to not raise taxes on those making over 250,000 only to hear in last nights infomercial the number 200,000. Or his promise to keep Jerusalem unified only to have him disagree with himself the next day.
Would you buy a used car from this man?
One last thing. If there was nothing incriminating on the tape that the LA Times has, Obama should ask them to release the tape so everyone can see it. That would be a sign of character and someone I might be able to trust. He won't do that, however. Rumor has it, he was not very flattering to Israel. Hard to believe based on his past statements?
I will let you be the judge.
Monday, October 27, 2008
If We Can't Even Trust Ourselves...?
I, for one, am glad I don't actually sit and ponder what is happening in the world. Don't get me wrong, I watch my stocks plummet daily and listen to the news about how the worst is ahead....of course until November 5th when the world will be saved.
Forgive me if I don't buy into the hype.
I have lived a rather short time when compared to the worlds existence, but have been around long enough to know, if it sounds like a snake and looks like a snake, it's probably a snake.
Therefore, last week was the first day as a Jew in America, that I thought I might need easy access to my passport. I am by no means a fatalist, but under the walk like a duck theory, I can't get away from the harrowing thought that EVERY SINGLE advisor that Barak Obama has used and credited vis a vi foreign policy, is not only anti-Israel, but scarily so. Worse, if Dennis Ross-who ingeniously gave us intifada one and two, is the only friend of Israel in the "policy" hub that this massively inexperienced Obama has in his confidence, we as Jews need to really think about our people and where we go from here.
Alas, that is not the worst of it. Not to be outdone, the brilliant coat tailer Tzpi Livni announced yesterday that she cannot come to terms with the morally bankrupt Shas party in Israel because she refused to take negotiating away Jerusalem off the table.
Who does this? What other nation/people is so stupid?
Does anyone really think that the Saudis would split Mecca? Medina?
Would the Egyptians split Cairo?
The Americans split New York?
How is this even an issue?
Sadly the answer is that if you are of the ilk that believes Uganda is a good substitute for Israel, it's an easy jump to put no importance on Jerusalem.
And for all my fellow Jews who are confident that Jerusalem will not be split under an Obama administration, I refer you to his comment at the AIPAC conference this past summer to a crowd full of Jews-that Jerusalem MUST remain united, (which he prefaced with a "Let me make myself perfectly clear") only to turn around the next day and tell Charlie Gibson that he mis-spoke and said so after the speech...Of course he said that to ..umm...no one. Doesn't sound like change to me-sounds like a typical politician who in front of thousands promises them what they want to hear and then behind closed doors says oops without correcting it ON the record... at least until the arab countries cry foul and only then does he say I must have misspoke. When asked by Gibson if that was a rookie mistake he said it was just a mistake. Well now, as a Jew I feel much more comfortable with that answer.
I then thought maybe I could find solace in the self proclaimed Friend of Israel and, as we have been told for three months now, foreign policy expert, Joe Biden. Maybe his support of the Jewish state and his great command of foreign policy based on his expertise would lead me to back Obama. However as a long time observer of the plagiarist Biden, three things came to mind right away which actually had me question Obama's judgement more than anything else. One was Biden SUPPORTED the nuclear freeze agenda in the 80's-he was way WRONG on that as history has proven-he also voted against the first Iraq war which passed overwhelmingly in both houses-WRONG AGAIN. However as a Jew, the following story I recently read convinced me that within all his bluster is someone who just doesn't get it....
In a conversation with Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, after a sharp
confrontation in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the subject
of the settlements, Menachem Begin defined himself as “a proud Jew who does not
tremble with fear” when speaking with foreign statesmen.
During that committee hearing, at the height of the Lebanon War, Sen.
John Biden (Delaware) had attacked Israeli settlements in Judea and
Samaria and threatened that if Israel did not immediately cease this
activity, the US would have to cut economic aid to Israel.
When the senator raised his voice and banged twice on the table with
his fist, Begin commented to him: “This desk is designed for writing,
not for fists. Don’t threaten us with slashing aid. Do you think
that because the US lends us money it is entitled to impose on us what
we must do? We are grateful for the assistance we have received, but
we are not to be threatened. I am a proud Jew. Three thousand years
of culture are behind me, and you will not frighten me with threats.
Take note: we do not want a single soldier of yours to die for us.”
After the meeting, Sen. Moynihan approached Begin and praised him for
his cutting reply. To which Begin answered with thanks, defining his
stand against threats.
I guess Joe is not the answer for me as a Jew then.
I love my people. I love my people who will be forced to vote for the unreliable John McCain and I love my people who will incredulously vote for Barak Obama.
However, as a Jew who loves his people more than he loves politicians, I looked at David Duke's friends and knew that they were bad for me and my people, and I look at Barak Obama's friends and know that they are bad for me and my people-The Jewish People. As for those of you who say that Obama just knows them he's not friends with them....if it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, it's a duck. At the very least, even they would then have to admit that if their argument is to be believed, Obama is not very loyal to the people who helped him get where he is (Khalidi, Monsoor, Wright) or he is being disingenuous, which then boils it down to a question of either character or expedience... either way you slice it, it is uncomfortable and slick at best.
Less then five minutes ago, while writing this post, a Jewish lady I know mentioned to me how despicable it was that Shas brought down the Israeli government because Livni would not agree on Jerusalem. How does this happen? How do Jews not care anymore about their people? How can Jews who actually understand the Balfour declaration or the UN partition plan, or the creation of other mideast countries, make such a statement? (For the record, I do not believe the lady I spoke to cares a lick to learn about any of that or even about the land of Israel except to take a possible tour with Hadassah)
When did the Jews stop caring about Jews?
I am brought back to the essence of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane's message when he said that westernized Jews have become too comfortable with America. For the record, I love this country and all the opportunity it has given myself, my family and my people, but I am not naive enough to believe that what has happened to us, as a people, everywhere else in the world where we have become staples of society, could not happen here. It might not happen all the same, but do not sleep on this, it can happen in the greatest country ever known to mankind.
I am not and never have been a fan of Mccain. Like his competition, he has always been an appeaser. However, he does have some things he believes in through his statements and through his record. When forced with two brutally unappealing candidates who will both spiral America into levels of desperation we have not seen in decades, I am forced to then think about what is best for my people. I am not totally comfortable with Mccain and Israel, but with Joe Leiberman having his ear I am a bit comforted. However, by knowing what is NOT best for the Jews, I recognize the lesser of two evils which is why I cannot cast a vote for Barak Obama.
I just hope soon, when the Israelis go to the ballot box, they end the cycle of madness and stupidity that has befallen their leadership, and choose a leader like Begin, who won't cow tow to big brother in the US and do what is best for the Jews.I hope that kind of leader still exists.
If we won't do what is best for us, why would we be foolish enough to think someone else will?
Forgive me if I don't buy into the hype.
I have lived a rather short time when compared to the worlds existence, but have been around long enough to know, if it sounds like a snake and looks like a snake, it's probably a snake.
Therefore, last week was the first day as a Jew in America, that I thought I might need easy access to my passport. I am by no means a fatalist, but under the walk like a duck theory, I can't get away from the harrowing thought that EVERY SINGLE advisor that Barak Obama has used and credited vis a vi foreign policy, is not only anti-Israel, but scarily so. Worse, if Dennis Ross-who ingeniously gave us intifada one and two, is the only friend of Israel in the "policy" hub that this massively inexperienced Obama has in his confidence, we as Jews need to really think about our people and where we go from here.
Alas, that is not the worst of it. Not to be outdone, the brilliant coat tailer Tzpi Livni announced yesterday that she cannot come to terms with the morally bankrupt Shas party in Israel because she refused to take negotiating away Jerusalem off the table.
Who does this? What other nation/people is so stupid?
Does anyone really think that the Saudis would split Mecca? Medina?
Would the Egyptians split Cairo?
The Americans split New York?
How is this even an issue?
Sadly the answer is that if you are of the ilk that believes Uganda is a good substitute for Israel, it's an easy jump to put no importance on Jerusalem.
And for all my fellow Jews who are confident that Jerusalem will not be split under an Obama administration, I refer you to his comment at the AIPAC conference this past summer to a crowd full of Jews-that Jerusalem MUST remain united, (which he prefaced with a "Let me make myself perfectly clear") only to turn around the next day and tell Charlie Gibson that he mis-spoke and said so after the speech...Of course he said that to ..umm...no one. Doesn't sound like change to me-sounds like a typical politician who in front of thousands promises them what they want to hear and then behind closed doors says oops without correcting it ON the record... at least until the arab countries cry foul and only then does he say I must have misspoke. When asked by Gibson if that was a rookie mistake he said it was just a mistake. Well now, as a Jew I feel much more comfortable with that answer.
I then thought maybe I could find solace in the self proclaimed Friend of Israel and, as we have been told for three months now, foreign policy expert, Joe Biden. Maybe his support of the Jewish state and his great command of foreign policy based on his expertise would lead me to back Obama. However as a long time observer of the plagiarist Biden, three things came to mind right away which actually had me question Obama's judgement more than anything else. One was Biden SUPPORTED the nuclear freeze agenda in the 80's-he was way WRONG on that as history has proven-he also voted against the first Iraq war which passed overwhelmingly in both houses-WRONG AGAIN. However as a Jew, the following story I recently read convinced me that within all his bluster is someone who just doesn't get it....
In a conversation with Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, after a sharp
confrontation in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the subject
of the settlements, Menachem Begin defined himself as “a proud Jew who does not
tremble with fear” when speaking with foreign statesmen.
During that committee hearing, at the height of the Lebanon War, Sen.
John Biden (Delaware) had attacked Israeli settlements in Judea and
Samaria and threatened that if Israel did not immediately cease this
activity, the US would have to cut economic aid to Israel.
When the senator raised his voice and banged twice on the table with
his fist, Begin commented to him: “This desk is designed for writing,
not for fists. Don’t threaten us with slashing aid. Do you think
that because the US lends us money it is entitled to impose on us what
we must do? We are grateful for the assistance we have received, but
we are not to be threatened. I am a proud Jew. Three thousand years
of culture are behind me, and you will not frighten me with threats.
Take note: we do not want a single soldier of yours to die for us.”
After the meeting, Sen. Moynihan approached Begin and praised him for
his cutting reply. To which Begin answered with thanks, defining his
stand against threats.
I guess Joe is not the answer for me as a Jew then.
I love my people. I love my people who will be forced to vote for the unreliable John McCain and I love my people who will incredulously vote for Barak Obama.
However, as a Jew who loves his people more than he loves politicians, I looked at David Duke's friends and knew that they were bad for me and my people, and I look at Barak Obama's friends and know that they are bad for me and my people-The Jewish People. As for those of you who say that Obama just knows them he's not friends with them....if it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, it's a duck. At the very least, even they would then have to admit that if their argument is to be believed, Obama is not very loyal to the people who helped him get where he is (Khalidi, Monsoor, Wright) or he is being disingenuous, which then boils it down to a question of either character or expedience... either way you slice it, it is uncomfortable and slick at best.
Less then five minutes ago, while writing this post, a Jewish lady I know mentioned to me how despicable it was that Shas brought down the Israeli government because Livni would not agree on Jerusalem. How does this happen? How do Jews not care anymore about their people? How can Jews who actually understand the Balfour declaration or the UN partition plan, or the creation of other mideast countries, make such a statement? (For the record, I do not believe the lady I spoke to cares a lick to learn about any of that or even about the land of Israel except to take a possible tour with Hadassah)
When did the Jews stop caring about Jews?
I am brought back to the essence of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane's message when he said that westernized Jews have become too comfortable with America. For the record, I love this country and all the opportunity it has given myself, my family and my people, but I am not naive enough to believe that what has happened to us, as a people, everywhere else in the world where we have become staples of society, could not happen here. It might not happen all the same, but do not sleep on this, it can happen in the greatest country ever known to mankind.
I am not and never have been a fan of Mccain. Like his competition, he has always been an appeaser. However, he does have some things he believes in through his statements and through his record. When forced with two brutally unappealing candidates who will both spiral America into levels of desperation we have not seen in decades, I am forced to then think about what is best for my people. I am not totally comfortable with Mccain and Israel, but with Joe Leiberman having his ear I am a bit comforted. However, by knowing what is NOT best for the Jews, I recognize the lesser of two evils which is why I cannot cast a vote for Barak Obama.
I just hope soon, when the Israelis go to the ballot box, they end the cycle of madness and stupidity that has befallen their leadership, and choose a leader like Begin, who won't cow tow to big brother in the US and do what is best for the Jews.I hope that kind of leader still exists.
If we won't do what is best for us, why would we be foolish enough to think someone else will?
Friday, October 24, 2008
A Moment to Recognize His Awe
I am stepping off my soapbox just for today to get lost in the wonders of The Creator Of the Universe and all His Glory.
I am in awe of His mercy, His love, His patience, His judgment, His justice, His hand, His blessings, His promise, His might, His kindness, His power, His greatness....As I write, I realize that I must ask for His forgiveness for posting this, for I am so far from the one who should be doing so....yet I must give Him praise for allowing me to live the life he has granted me even though I have fallen so drastically short of his high hopes for me....I still bow to His Awesomeness and offer this short, inadequate but heartfelt testament to the greatness of His work.
The Reason?
Today, at this very moment, my son is preparing to spend Shabbat in Krakow, Poland.
He is a Jew.
He is in Poland.
In the year 2008.
Davening with a minyan and spending his time in solitude with his Creator. In Krakow.
How Awesome is the goodness of the Maker of All Things?
In the context of history, I am not sure who was worse to the Jews, the Poles or the Germans. If you don't have a great grasp of Europe, the question might seem ridiculous. But if you understand the wickedness of the Poles and their government, the question, while it might be a bit shocking, has some merit. While Germany was owning up to their evil following the war, the poles kept killing Jews and subjecting them to vermin status long after the war was over. There were and are still a large majority of anti-semites populating the land which to this day, remains a stain on mankind.
However, this Shabbat, young Jewish men return to send a message to this lowlife people from a lowlife country, that the Will and Might of Hashem is far too much for their wicked ways, yet in His mercy, he sends His people, the very people the poles wanted to eradicate, to sanctify this vile, disgusting, grotesque country with the beauty and holiness of Shabbat. Mi' Chamocha Ba-aylim Hashem?
Who can explain the impossible odds that the Jewish people have overcome?
How can it be that some sixty plus years later, the Jews have rebuilt themselves from the ashes and thrived, when in the lifetimes of our parents and grandparents, the question of Jewish survival or more to the point Jewish extinction was not just a Talmudic question, but a CBS news one?
It can be because the One Who Is, does not forget His promise or his people.
We have done everything we can to lose His faith in us. We have left His ways, have turned our backs on His Torah, have destroyed the very essence of His word from within and have allowed those who should be ashamed of themselves to dictate what is right and what is wrong.....AND STILL He allows us to continue and flourish.
It is with that as a backdrop that I offer my thanks to Hashem. He has given me far more than I will ever deserve and unfortunately I have only repaid him with inadequacy.
Ma' Ashiv La'Hashem-How can I repay You for all the blessings You have given me? I cannot even begin to describe the incredible blessings Hashem has granted me and to be able to witness my children grow up to become shining examples of what a Jew is supposed to be, I am so very humbled that He has granted me the time and opportunity to watch my children grow in Torah and Ma'asim Tovim and in service to Him.
I cannot wait to speak IYH with my son and hear about his trip back into Jewish history. As this new cycle of the Torah starts today, I hope everyone takes a few moments to give thanks to Hashem for all that he has done for you. Hold your child just a moment longer, tell your spouse you love them and live life with a smile. Ivdu Es Hashem B'simcha!
Most of all join, me in singing praises to The Creator of the Universe......Chasdai Hashem l'olam Ashirah!!
Shabbat Shalom.
I am in awe of His mercy, His love, His patience, His judgment, His justice, His hand, His blessings, His promise, His might, His kindness, His power, His greatness....As I write, I realize that I must ask for His forgiveness for posting this, for I am so far from the one who should be doing so....yet I must give Him praise for allowing me to live the life he has granted me even though I have fallen so drastically short of his high hopes for me....I still bow to His Awesomeness and offer this short, inadequate but heartfelt testament to the greatness of His work.
The Reason?
Today, at this very moment, my son is preparing to spend Shabbat in Krakow, Poland.
He is a Jew.
He is in Poland.
In the year 2008.
Davening with a minyan and spending his time in solitude with his Creator. In Krakow.
How Awesome is the goodness of the Maker of All Things?
In the context of history, I am not sure who was worse to the Jews, the Poles or the Germans. If you don't have a great grasp of Europe, the question might seem ridiculous. But if you understand the wickedness of the Poles and their government, the question, while it might be a bit shocking, has some merit. While Germany was owning up to their evil following the war, the poles kept killing Jews and subjecting them to vermin status long after the war was over. There were and are still a large majority of anti-semites populating the land which to this day, remains a stain on mankind.
However, this Shabbat, young Jewish men return to send a message to this lowlife people from a lowlife country, that the Will and Might of Hashem is far too much for their wicked ways, yet in His mercy, he sends His people, the very people the poles wanted to eradicate, to sanctify this vile, disgusting, grotesque country with the beauty and holiness of Shabbat. Mi' Chamocha Ba-aylim Hashem?
Who can explain the impossible odds that the Jewish people have overcome?
How can it be that some sixty plus years later, the Jews have rebuilt themselves from the ashes and thrived, when in the lifetimes of our parents and grandparents, the question of Jewish survival or more to the point Jewish extinction was not just a Talmudic question, but a CBS news one?
It can be because the One Who Is, does not forget His promise or his people.
We have done everything we can to lose His faith in us. We have left His ways, have turned our backs on His Torah, have destroyed the very essence of His word from within and have allowed those who should be ashamed of themselves to dictate what is right and what is wrong.....AND STILL He allows us to continue and flourish.
It is with that as a backdrop that I offer my thanks to Hashem. He has given me far more than I will ever deserve and unfortunately I have only repaid him with inadequacy.
Ma' Ashiv La'Hashem-How can I repay You for all the blessings You have given me? I cannot even begin to describe the incredible blessings Hashem has granted me and to be able to witness my children grow up to become shining examples of what a Jew is supposed to be, I am so very humbled that He has granted me the time and opportunity to watch my children grow in Torah and Ma'asim Tovim and in service to Him.
I cannot wait to speak IYH with my son and hear about his trip back into Jewish history. As this new cycle of the Torah starts today, I hope everyone takes a few moments to give thanks to Hashem for all that he has done for you. Hold your child just a moment longer, tell your spouse you love them and live life with a smile. Ivdu Es Hashem B'simcha!
Most of all join, me in singing praises to The Creator of the Universe......Chasdai Hashem l'olam Ashirah!!
Shabbat Shalom.
Monday, August 11, 2008
My Heart Cries.....
I cannot believe it has been almost a year since my last post.
Unfortunately, nothing has changed.
This past weekend our people lost a holy Jewish soul who just wanted to be told he was a good Jew. His story resonated with me. He was a child looking to fit in. He didn't wear white shirts or learn all day. He struggled finding anyone who would talk with him and tell him that being different than the other kids was okay and he was as important to the people of Israel as anyone else.
He passed away yesterday from injuries sustained in a car accident in Baltimore early Friday morning.
My children knew him.
I knew him.
I could have been him.
I am a graduate of life on the street. I was one of "those kids". I wanted nothing to do with Judaism when I was 18. I was in a very bad way. I know all too well where this child was coming from.
Quite a few years ago, there was a job opening for someone to run a program to help "children at risk" I applied. I didn't get the job. Why? I found out later when the person was hired. I didn't have the look they wanted. I didn't wear a white shirt or black pants, wasn't currently in the Yeshiva of the month-or have an MSW-all I had going for me was I knew who these kids were-I was working with them on my own and was one of them in my youth. But the powers that be thought I wasn't right for the job.
It was a colossal failure. They hired someone (two people actually-yeshiva guy and yeshiva girl) who had no clue what they were dealing with. They had the exact look that these children were running away from. Who thinks this way? Separate times for boys and girls? Exactly what they were running away from. Did anyone think that was actually going to work?
The experiment didn't last a year.
Now is the time. We need leadership.
We have told our children all the No's we can think of. No movies, no TV, no DVD, no internet, no girls, no competitive sports....What are they supposed to do? What do you expect them to do? Where do you think they're are going to turn?
We are dealing with real lives, real Neshomos. Children who are crying to be heard. What have we NOT taken away from them? How many more kids will the streets have to grab away from us before we open our eyes?
We have NUT-JOBS walking around trying to cancel concerts from Lipa Schmeltzer? Some guy pulls out a bunch of papers proclaiming that the Rabbis have given him permission to be a tattle tale/snitch/self proclaimed macher and we are supposed to take him seriously? All the problems we are facing and the best he can do is protest Lipa Schmeltzer?
Agudas Yisroel makes a proclamation that we all need to vote. With everything we are dealing with that needs leadership and direction we get "go Vote"? Are you serious?
What is wrong with us? Our people are in trouble.
ARE THERE ANY LEADERS LEFT IN KLAL YISROEL?
We are worried about singers? Voting?
We are to blame because we buy into this craziness.
NO MORE!
We are at war. They come at you with a gun you better be prepared to come back at them with a cannon. All bets are off now. If that means we have to let boys and girls spend time together supervised somewhere, we have to do it. It has been my experience-both being a child like this-raising children and working with these type of children for more than two decades that Torah cannot compete with teenagers when it comes to girls and sports. We have to find a way to work with this paradigm in so much as we need to take our ideologies and move them aside-we are in a war for our kids lives. The tired old ways will not do it. Personalities will get this done. The last thing a kid on the street wants to hear is that the Torah is the ultimate guide to happiness-he has heard that and rejected that.
What are we prepared to do?
I am not advocating anything not halachic-chas vshalom. We need to change the game and we need to do it now. We need to preach from the rooftops (and kal v'chomer the pulpit) that its okay to wear a blue shirt or not go to bais medresh. We need to let children who can't wear a jacket or hat, not wear one and find a way to tell them they are still loved and MORE IMPORTANTLY an important part of the Klall. Our community is crying for leadership. Someone to say what we are doing now IS NOT WORKING.
We spend so much time patting ourselves on the back about how great we are, we have no time to take a critical look at what we MUST do to save EACH AND EVERY CHILD-not just the ones who are stars in cheder.
My soul aches for my people. I have not been able to sleep because I know what we have to do and I am not sure we have anyone in Klal Yisroel who is willing to do it. We need to stop pretending and start doing-we need substance-we need to realize that we can make a difference, but WE HAVE TO CHANGE.
I liked this boy. I like his entire family. They are great people and I cannot even fathom the grief they must be going through.
I hope they find some solace in the fact that their precious child is with his Maker now and under his protection where nothing more can happen to him. I know it is little consolation, but what else can I offer those whose lives have been shattered by a tragedy like this.
I was not surprised to hear that the funeral home was full, but I was saddened at how many in attendance would have actually forbid their children to even speak with this child let alone hang with him.
The duplicity is priceless and the irony sickens me.
The ball is in our court.
What are we prepared to do?
Unfortunately, nothing has changed.
This past weekend our people lost a holy Jewish soul who just wanted to be told he was a good Jew. His story resonated with me. He was a child looking to fit in. He didn't wear white shirts or learn all day. He struggled finding anyone who would talk with him and tell him that being different than the other kids was okay and he was as important to the people of Israel as anyone else.
He passed away yesterday from injuries sustained in a car accident in Baltimore early Friday morning.
My children knew him.
I knew him.
I could have been him.
I am a graduate of life on the street. I was one of "those kids". I wanted nothing to do with Judaism when I was 18. I was in a very bad way. I know all too well where this child was coming from.
Quite a few years ago, there was a job opening for someone to run a program to help "children at risk" I applied. I didn't get the job. Why? I found out later when the person was hired. I didn't have the look they wanted. I didn't wear a white shirt or black pants, wasn't currently in the Yeshiva of the month-or have an MSW-all I had going for me was I knew who these kids were-I was working with them on my own and was one of them in my youth. But the powers that be thought I wasn't right for the job.
It was a colossal failure. They hired someone (two people actually-yeshiva guy and yeshiva girl) who had no clue what they were dealing with. They had the exact look that these children were running away from. Who thinks this way? Separate times for boys and girls? Exactly what they were running away from. Did anyone think that was actually going to work?
The experiment didn't last a year.
Now is the time. We need leadership.
We have told our children all the No's we can think of. No movies, no TV, no DVD, no internet, no girls, no competitive sports....What are they supposed to do? What do you expect them to do? Where do you think they're are going to turn?
We are dealing with real lives, real Neshomos. Children who are crying to be heard. What have we NOT taken away from them? How many more kids will the streets have to grab away from us before we open our eyes?
We have NUT-JOBS walking around trying to cancel concerts from Lipa Schmeltzer? Some guy pulls out a bunch of papers proclaiming that the Rabbis have given him permission to be a tattle tale/snitch/self proclaimed macher and we are supposed to take him seriously? All the problems we are facing and the best he can do is protest Lipa Schmeltzer?
Agudas Yisroel makes a proclamation that we all need to vote. With everything we are dealing with that needs leadership and direction we get "go Vote"? Are you serious?
What is wrong with us? Our people are in trouble.
ARE THERE ANY LEADERS LEFT IN KLAL YISROEL?
We are worried about singers? Voting?
We are to blame because we buy into this craziness.
NO MORE!
We are at war. They come at you with a gun you better be prepared to come back at them with a cannon. All bets are off now. If that means we have to let boys and girls spend time together supervised somewhere, we have to do it. It has been my experience-both being a child like this-raising children and working with these type of children for more than two decades that Torah cannot compete with teenagers when it comes to girls and sports. We have to find a way to work with this paradigm in so much as we need to take our ideologies and move them aside-we are in a war for our kids lives. The tired old ways will not do it. Personalities will get this done. The last thing a kid on the street wants to hear is that the Torah is the ultimate guide to happiness-he has heard that and rejected that.
What are we prepared to do?
I am not advocating anything not halachic-chas vshalom. We need to change the game and we need to do it now. We need to preach from the rooftops (and kal v'chomer the pulpit) that its okay to wear a blue shirt or not go to bais medresh. We need to let children who can't wear a jacket or hat, not wear one and find a way to tell them they are still loved and MORE IMPORTANTLY an important part of the Klall. Our community is crying for leadership. Someone to say what we are doing now IS NOT WORKING.
We spend so much time patting ourselves on the back about how great we are, we have no time to take a critical look at what we MUST do to save EACH AND EVERY CHILD-not just the ones who are stars in cheder.
My soul aches for my people. I have not been able to sleep because I know what we have to do and I am not sure we have anyone in Klal Yisroel who is willing to do it. We need to stop pretending and start doing-we need substance-we need to realize that we can make a difference, but WE HAVE TO CHANGE.
I liked this boy. I like his entire family. They are great people and I cannot even fathom the grief they must be going through.
I hope they find some solace in the fact that their precious child is with his Maker now and under his protection where nothing more can happen to him. I know it is little consolation, but what else can I offer those whose lives have been shattered by a tragedy like this.
I was not surprised to hear that the funeral home was full, but I was saddened at how many in attendance would have actually forbid their children to even speak with this child let alone hang with him.
The duplicity is priceless and the irony sickens me.
The ball is in our court.
What are we prepared to do?
Monday, August 27, 2007
Courage? Doubtful....
Now that Elul is upon us, the annual pilgramige has begun. Jewish boys and girls from all over America, pack their belongings and spend a year in Israel to learn and study Torah.
I suppose when this idea first started-my guess is the late 60's early 70's, the idea was to open Yeshivas and seminaries in Israel in hopes that students would come to learn there and eventually immigrate to Israel. I think we can now call that experiment by and large a failure. Not so much a failure from the MO perspective, but without a doubt from the yeshivish perspective.
Here's why I make this statement. Let's take the graduating class of the Bais Yaakov of Baltimore. There were 120 graduating seniors of which 113 are going to Israel this week to study for a year. Out of the 113 that are going to Israel, I would bet that more than 100 will eventually settle and live in America which means that less than 10% will live in Israel. This truly begs the question-why are girls going to Israel to study for a year, at a cost of more than $15,000 per year? Once you include travel and expenses you will likely spend closer to 20k for the year.
Can someone explain to me what this is about other than lining the pockets of some Jews in Israel? Is the Torah learned in America not as good? If the answer is yes than why are you not making Aliyah so your Torah and your children's Torah will always be holier each and every day than your brothers' and sisters' Torah anywhere else around the globe? If the answer is no, than why are you spending 20k for your daughter to go to Israel for a year?
Most cases it's folow the money. In the Frum world, it's follow the shidduch. Why do our children go to certain schools-shidduch. Why do some families not make public that they have a child who is handicapped? Shidduch. Why do some families hide that their child might have been the victim of child and or sexual abuse at the hands of a rabbi? Shidduch. A member of the family is not religious? Don't tell-shidduch.
This is where we are and this twisted logic is why parents will MORTGAGE their house to send their child to Israel....I ask you...does this make any sense?
Now that being the case, do I think there is a time and a place for students in Israel? Without a doubt. I believe that if a child has the urge to study Torah away from the ditractions of America, than by all means, I think you need to look at working something out so they can learn there. If there wasn't such an empty hole of Yeshivas in America ie. Everyone is basically the same assembly line Judaism-if it sounds frummer it must be so...
Israel at least offers you different options. You can learn in a far right wing yeshiva or a yeshiva that is tailored to your needs. But if the only reason you send your child to Isael is to make sure it looks good on the shidduch resume'-what are you doing?
I would say this. I would much rather my sons marry a girl who didn't go to Israel because it was the prudent thing to do or because she wanted to remove the burden from her parents, than a girl who went to Israel because that's what the rest or the 112 girls in her class did.
Lastly, where are the Rabbis on this? Why have they not spoken out against the abuses perpetrated by parents in ourder to fill out a shidduch resume'.? Why would they speak about limiting how much someone can pay for as wedding, but not how much they can pay to send their children to Israel?
My guess would be the same reason they have fallen short in every other category in our lives today.
That would take courage.
I suppose when this idea first started-my guess is the late 60's early 70's, the idea was to open Yeshivas and seminaries in Israel in hopes that students would come to learn there and eventually immigrate to Israel. I think we can now call that experiment by and large a failure. Not so much a failure from the MO perspective, but without a doubt from the yeshivish perspective.
Here's why I make this statement. Let's take the graduating class of the Bais Yaakov of Baltimore. There were 120 graduating seniors of which 113 are going to Israel this week to study for a year. Out of the 113 that are going to Israel, I would bet that more than 100 will eventually settle and live in America which means that less than 10% will live in Israel. This truly begs the question-why are girls going to Israel to study for a year, at a cost of more than $15,000 per year? Once you include travel and expenses you will likely spend closer to 20k for the year.
Can someone explain to me what this is about other than lining the pockets of some Jews in Israel? Is the Torah learned in America not as good? If the answer is yes than why are you not making Aliyah so your Torah and your children's Torah will always be holier each and every day than your brothers' and sisters' Torah anywhere else around the globe? If the answer is no, than why are you spending 20k for your daughter to go to Israel for a year?
Most cases it's folow the money. In the Frum world, it's follow the shidduch. Why do our children go to certain schools-shidduch. Why do some families not make public that they have a child who is handicapped? Shidduch. Why do some families hide that their child might have been the victim of child and or sexual abuse at the hands of a rabbi? Shidduch. A member of the family is not religious? Don't tell-shidduch.
This is where we are and this twisted logic is why parents will MORTGAGE their house to send their child to Israel....I ask you...does this make any sense?
Now that being the case, do I think there is a time and a place for students in Israel? Without a doubt. I believe that if a child has the urge to study Torah away from the ditractions of America, than by all means, I think you need to look at working something out so they can learn there. If there wasn't such an empty hole of Yeshivas in America ie. Everyone is basically the same assembly line Judaism-if it sounds frummer it must be so...
Israel at least offers you different options. You can learn in a far right wing yeshiva or a yeshiva that is tailored to your needs. But if the only reason you send your child to Isael is to make sure it looks good on the shidduch resume'-what are you doing?
I would say this. I would much rather my sons marry a girl who didn't go to Israel because it was the prudent thing to do or because she wanted to remove the burden from her parents, than a girl who went to Israel because that's what the rest or the 112 girls in her class did.
Lastly, where are the Rabbis on this? Why have they not spoken out against the abuses perpetrated by parents in ourder to fill out a shidduch resume'.? Why would they speak about limiting how much someone can pay for as wedding, but not how much they can pay to send their children to Israel?
My guess would be the same reason they have fallen short in every other category in our lives today.
That would take courage.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Kinda Sad....
I guess I really was tired....been almost a month since I posted anything.
I read a post somewhere recently from a girl who was in seminary at some point and that she was at a non-jewish party and was much happier there than she was at her "parties" from high school where the girls would kumzits etc. She said that the non jewish world made her feel more accepted and were much more accepting of her differences. Wow, what a sad commentary.
I immediately thought of the "kiss" eisav gave to Yaakov on his neck and how that was actually a bite-come and join us, it's much nicer on this side of life.
Then I actually asked the more important question-why is it that we are so unaccepting?
Here's a question for you. Do any of you have friends who are homosexual? (I have a few by the way and while they know I don't approve of the lifestyle and we've talked about it extensively, they are Jews and I am commanded by Hashem to love them just the same as any other brother). I recall our Rabbi writing a few months ago about homosexuals who work hard to live a Torah lifestyle and that means not having any sex etc. just so they can walk in the Derech Hashem. (don't think he could have spoke about it from the pulpit) Well, I didn't get the article until well after Shul and I bumped into a man who sits a few rows in front of me. I asked him what this was about and he said something to the effect of "he was only on the first page but it was about the gays-we just need to kill all of them-just wipe 'em out-keep 'em away from our kids" Well of course the Rabbis take was a bit different. I was thinking walking home, what happens if you replace his word gays with jews?
I think we have found it in our hearts to accept the man who cheats on his wife, steals from his friends, who lies in business...and I am sure I can find plenty of abominations that we tolerate. But why is it that we are so unaccepting and or judgemental. Misnagdim vs chassidim? Reform and cons. vs orthodox? Men vs woman?
I think the answer in why we are like this is in our yeshivas. Anyone and I mean anyone, who has been to a yeshiva knows all about the racism and judgements of our rabbeim and the culture within the yeshiva itself. To deny that it exists is dishonest at it's very core. I remember writing to someone when I was a teenager-from yeshiva of course-and I wrote something a bit racist and she wrote back that she would have thought that we, the Jews, would be a bit more understanding of others who are less fortunate and or oppressed. Oooppss..Seems that's not the way it is.
I think it's even more than that. Maybe it has something to do with out "rightness". We have the Torah and maybe we think that makes us the arbitor of right and wrong even while our personal moral compass is clouded by our own arrogance. What makes the whole thing ironic to me, is that the very source we use to show us right from wrong and to be used as our moral conscience, is the same "source" that we use to pass judgement on our felow man, which of course leads to unacceptance of all those we decipher as right or wrong. Something to think about.
I have quite a few more reasons why we have failed to embrace our fellow man, but I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts.
Have a great Shabbos and please say Good Shabbos to everyone you see-male or female.
I read a post somewhere recently from a girl who was in seminary at some point and that she was at a non-jewish party and was much happier there than she was at her "parties" from high school where the girls would kumzits etc. She said that the non jewish world made her feel more accepted and were much more accepting of her differences. Wow, what a sad commentary.
I immediately thought of the "kiss" eisav gave to Yaakov on his neck and how that was actually a bite-come and join us, it's much nicer on this side of life.
Then I actually asked the more important question-why is it that we are so unaccepting?
Here's a question for you. Do any of you have friends who are homosexual? (I have a few by the way and while they know I don't approve of the lifestyle and we've talked about it extensively, they are Jews and I am commanded by Hashem to love them just the same as any other brother). I recall our Rabbi writing a few months ago about homosexuals who work hard to live a Torah lifestyle and that means not having any sex etc. just so they can walk in the Derech Hashem. (don't think he could have spoke about it from the pulpit) Well, I didn't get the article until well after Shul and I bumped into a man who sits a few rows in front of me. I asked him what this was about and he said something to the effect of "he was only on the first page but it was about the gays-we just need to kill all of them-just wipe 'em out-keep 'em away from our kids" Well of course the Rabbis take was a bit different. I was thinking walking home, what happens if you replace his word gays with jews?
I think we have found it in our hearts to accept the man who cheats on his wife, steals from his friends, who lies in business...and I am sure I can find plenty of abominations that we tolerate. But why is it that we are so unaccepting and or judgemental. Misnagdim vs chassidim? Reform and cons. vs orthodox? Men vs woman?
I think the answer in why we are like this is in our yeshivas. Anyone and I mean anyone, who has been to a yeshiva knows all about the racism and judgements of our rabbeim and the culture within the yeshiva itself. To deny that it exists is dishonest at it's very core. I remember writing to someone when I was a teenager-from yeshiva of course-and I wrote something a bit racist and she wrote back that she would have thought that we, the Jews, would be a bit more understanding of others who are less fortunate and or oppressed. Oooppss..Seems that's not the way it is.
I think it's even more than that. Maybe it has something to do with out "rightness". We have the Torah and maybe we think that makes us the arbitor of right and wrong even while our personal moral compass is clouded by our own arrogance. What makes the whole thing ironic to me, is that the very source we use to show us right from wrong and to be used as our moral conscience, is the same "source" that we use to pass judgement on our felow man, which of course leads to unacceptance of all those we decipher as right or wrong. Something to think about.
I have quite a few more reasons why we have failed to embrace our fellow man, but I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts.
Have a great Shabbos and please say Good Shabbos to everyone you see-male or female.
Friday, July 20, 2007
I'm Tired...
I'm tired and beat down.
My body is ravaged by the poundings of life.
I am just too tired.
I read the paper this morning and saw that the Jews leading us in Israel, in their infinite wisdom, released the 250+ prisoners I lamented about two weeks ago.May Hashem watch over our people when the "innocent" prisoners, decide to extinguish a few more Jewish lives. Maybe then we can truly rejoice in our commitment to lift up the stature of the evil Abu Mazen.
I read this week how we have been selling smichot so people can earn 1000 shekels more. Is there no such thing anymore as integrity and character? Think about the last time you ever heard a shmooze by your rebbi or a speech by your rabbi and he mentioned those words. What are we doing? Is this Torah Leadership?
I read about a rabbi overseas who has been collecting money from his government for services never rendered. Straight out stealing. No if's and's or but's. What are we gonna do?
I'm just too tired.
This week of the nine days has proven to be all it is rumored to be and between all our issues and our conscious decisions to not deal with our problems as a people, I hate to say this, but we deserve what we get. We have absolved ourselves from personal responsibility, deferring to our rabbis for every decision we make. We have become lemmings. I am just too tired.
I need Shabbos this evening. I need it to reinvigorate my beaten down body and distressed soul and pray that Hashem have mercy on us this week-a week of historical tragedy and hope that our withdrawing from the pleasures of this world, will serve as an atonement for our cowardice and our shameful behavior.
Shabbat Shalom.
My body is ravaged by the poundings of life.
I am just too tired.
I read the paper this morning and saw that the Jews leading us in Israel, in their infinite wisdom, released the 250+ prisoners I lamented about two weeks ago.May Hashem watch over our people when the "innocent" prisoners, decide to extinguish a few more Jewish lives. Maybe then we can truly rejoice in our commitment to lift up the stature of the evil Abu Mazen.
I read this week how we have been selling smichot so people can earn 1000 shekels more. Is there no such thing anymore as integrity and character? Think about the last time you ever heard a shmooze by your rebbi or a speech by your rabbi and he mentioned those words. What are we doing? Is this Torah Leadership?
I read about a rabbi overseas who has been collecting money from his government for services never rendered. Straight out stealing. No if's and's or but's. What are we gonna do?
I'm just too tired.
This week of the nine days has proven to be all it is rumored to be and between all our issues and our conscious decisions to not deal with our problems as a people, I hate to say this, but we deserve what we get. We have absolved ourselves from personal responsibility, deferring to our rabbis for every decision we make. We have become lemmings. I am just too tired.
I need Shabbos this evening. I need it to reinvigorate my beaten down body and distressed soul and pray that Hashem have mercy on us this week-a week of historical tragedy and hope that our withdrawing from the pleasures of this world, will serve as an atonement for our cowardice and our shameful behavior.
Shabbat Shalom.
Monday, July 9, 2007
Can we Really be this Stupid?
If our enemies only knew how stupid we really are.
I have said that for the last 20+ years and as evidenced by the illogical Oslo Accords, our enemies figured it out and we have been on center stage making stupid decision after stupid decision ever since.
This morning's headlines scream out-"We are still the dumbest country on the planet"
"The government, in its Sunday morning weekly session, approved the release of 250 convicted Arab terrorists from prison, as a goodwill gesture to PA chief Abu Mazen. Only terrorists without “blood on their hands” are to be released."
We are doing what? Why?
I am stunned that the Israeli people-my people-have lived with this gutless sell-out for the last 12 months. His lawyerese gave Israel it's first Viet-nam last summer on the premise that we will not stop until we get our soldiers back. That lasted until George Bush told him to stop. Any sign of backbone? None.
Today he works to lift up a true Sonai Yisroel-Abu Mazen-who is a modern day Aisav-he gives us a kiss but it is really a bite. Does Olmert demand anything in return? No. Instead he has agreed to release terrorists "who have no blood on their hands". Why do they have no blood on their hands. BECAUSE THEY ATTEMPTED TO KILL JEWISH MEN WOMAN AND CHILDREN AND FAILED. Now Olmert will hand them a second chance to finish what they started.
But my question is deeper than that. My question is not why the Jewish people have stood by and let him destroy their country from within. My question is what about the religious parties? How have they stood by and become willing participants in a government that disdains them and all that they are supposed to stand for? How have they stood by and watched the imbeciles that are making decisions in Israel and VOTED WITH THEM on matters that they know are anti-Torah?
The answer of course is very simple.
They have stood by with their hands out and their "kadoorim" exposed. They are criminals by the purest of Torah definitions. They wear the garb and act the part, while underneath they make shady deals with the Aruv Rav just so they can line their pockets and remain in power. I ask again, in light of last weeks Parsha, where is Pinchas? Where is Judah Macabee? Where are the Jews who will stand up and say enough is enough??!! We cannot sit by and watch you kill our children through your cowardice, greed and thirst for power!!
Hashem is testing our people and we are not only failing, but I fear we are setting ourselves and our children up for a tragedy that we have not heard of in seventy odd years...What are we doing to our people? What are we doing to our children?
This is and always has been about power, greed and corruption.
Lest the religious amongst us in America act above it all. This past winter, the Torah Academy for Girls-a Bais Yaakov School on Long Island, sent home an edict which in a nutshell said as follows. All children who are with their aunts, uncles and or GRANDPARENTS, without parental or SCHOOL supervision, are subject to immediate suspension and or expulsion. In other words it's us or you. No Grandparents can be left alone to supervise your child(ren).
HUH?
What had this world come to? Not only can the grandparents, your parents, not be supervisors of your children, but we will be in their stead and in yours-En Loco Parenti.
What a Chutzpah!! Who thinks of these things? What kind of sick twisted individuals, think that they are not only the arbiters of their Torah, but yours and more importantly YOUR PARENTS Torah? Do you really think if the parents can't cough up the 10-15k it takes for tuition, that these righteous purveyors of Torah won't be calling on the very pasul grandparents to pay the bill? These people turn my stomach and they should sicken our whole nation and on top of that, the entire Bais Yakov movement, which in due time will all fall in goosestep, should be stripped of the very privilege we have entrusted them with-educating Jewish Children-and their leaders exposed for the self righteous, greedy, bullies that they are.
These people at TAG need to be called out. What message of Kibud AV are we sending? How does one tell his parents that their children cannot visit this summer because their Torah way of life, some of it lived from out of the ashes of the holocaust, is not good enough according to the leaders of today's Bais Yakov movement? This is Daas Torah? This is the nachas they get for sacrificing their lives for Torah? What message are we teaching the future woman of Klal Yisroel? This is a scandal of epic proportions and I am stunned that these so called educators are allowed to get away with this?
Where is the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah-the self proclaimed leaders of Klal Yisroel? Where is Agudas Yisroel? This is how we treat our parents? This is the thanks they get? You call this Torah? Kibud Av V'am?
You people disgust me!!
I'm not even sure who I am disgusted with more. The Leadership and board of TAG or the numb parents who allowed this ridiculousness to happen....
We cry about the abuse of power of Ehud Olmert and Ariel Sharon and then DO NOTHING when the very same thing is happening in our own backyard. This is all about power and the ability, through fear, to control people's lives.
I'm afraid this will only get worse as the blind sheep worry about the shidduch of their children.
Will someone please tell me what ever happened to principles? What ever happened to doing the right thing? What ever happened to leading a genuine life?
My heart aches for the torture that we are going through as a nation and it is all being brought upon us from within, destroying the intestinal fortitude that once made us special, and turning us into a weak, blind, and principle-less people.
I am pained to say this and never thought I would.
Today, I am ashamed to be a Jew.
I have said that for the last 20+ years and as evidenced by the illogical Oslo Accords, our enemies figured it out and we have been on center stage making stupid decision after stupid decision ever since.
This morning's headlines scream out-"We are still the dumbest country on the planet"
"The government, in its Sunday morning weekly session, approved the release of 250 convicted Arab terrorists from prison, as a goodwill gesture to PA chief Abu Mazen. Only terrorists without “blood on their hands” are to be released."
We are doing what? Why?
I am stunned that the Israeli people-my people-have lived with this gutless sell-out for the last 12 months. His lawyerese gave Israel it's first Viet-nam last summer on the premise that we will not stop until we get our soldiers back. That lasted until George Bush told him to stop. Any sign of backbone? None.
Today he works to lift up a true Sonai Yisroel-Abu Mazen-who is a modern day Aisav-he gives us a kiss but it is really a bite. Does Olmert demand anything in return? No. Instead he has agreed to release terrorists "who have no blood on their hands". Why do they have no blood on their hands. BECAUSE THEY ATTEMPTED TO KILL JEWISH MEN WOMAN AND CHILDREN AND FAILED. Now Olmert will hand them a second chance to finish what they started.
But my question is deeper than that. My question is not why the Jewish people have stood by and let him destroy their country from within. My question is what about the religious parties? How have they stood by and become willing participants in a government that disdains them and all that they are supposed to stand for? How have they stood by and watched the imbeciles that are making decisions in Israel and VOTED WITH THEM on matters that they know are anti-Torah?
The answer of course is very simple.
They have stood by with their hands out and their "kadoorim" exposed. They are criminals by the purest of Torah definitions. They wear the garb and act the part, while underneath they make shady deals with the Aruv Rav just so they can line their pockets and remain in power. I ask again, in light of last weeks Parsha, where is Pinchas? Where is Judah Macabee? Where are the Jews who will stand up and say enough is enough??!! We cannot sit by and watch you kill our children through your cowardice, greed and thirst for power!!
Hashem is testing our people and we are not only failing, but I fear we are setting ourselves and our children up for a tragedy that we have not heard of in seventy odd years...What are we doing to our people? What are we doing to our children?
This is and always has been about power, greed and corruption.
Lest the religious amongst us in America act above it all. This past winter, the Torah Academy for Girls-a Bais Yaakov School on Long Island, sent home an edict which in a nutshell said as follows. All children who are with their aunts, uncles and or GRANDPARENTS, without parental or SCHOOL supervision, are subject to immediate suspension and or expulsion. In other words it's us or you. No Grandparents can be left alone to supervise your child(ren).
HUH?
What had this world come to? Not only can the grandparents, your parents, not be supervisors of your children, but we will be in their stead and in yours-En Loco Parenti.
What a Chutzpah!! Who thinks of these things? What kind of sick twisted individuals, think that they are not only the arbiters of their Torah, but yours and more importantly YOUR PARENTS Torah? Do you really think if the parents can't cough up the 10-15k it takes for tuition, that these righteous purveyors of Torah won't be calling on the very pasul grandparents to pay the bill? These people turn my stomach and they should sicken our whole nation and on top of that, the entire Bais Yakov movement, which in due time will all fall in goosestep, should be stripped of the very privilege we have entrusted them with-educating Jewish Children-and their leaders exposed for the self righteous, greedy, bullies that they are.
These people at TAG need to be called out. What message of Kibud AV are we sending? How does one tell his parents that their children cannot visit this summer because their Torah way of life, some of it lived from out of the ashes of the holocaust, is not good enough according to the leaders of today's Bais Yakov movement? This is Daas Torah? This is the nachas they get for sacrificing their lives for Torah? What message are we teaching the future woman of Klal Yisroel? This is a scandal of epic proportions and I am stunned that these so called educators are allowed to get away with this?
Where is the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah-the self proclaimed leaders of Klal Yisroel? Where is Agudas Yisroel? This is how we treat our parents? This is the thanks they get? You call this Torah? Kibud Av V'am?
You people disgust me!!
I'm not even sure who I am disgusted with more. The Leadership and board of TAG or the numb parents who allowed this ridiculousness to happen....
We cry about the abuse of power of Ehud Olmert and Ariel Sharon and then DO NOTHING when the very same thing is happening in our own backyard. This is all about power and the ability, through fear, to control people's lives.
I'm afraid this will only get worse as the blind sheep worry about the shidduch of their children.
Will someone please tell me what ever happened to principles? What ever happened to doing the right thing? What ever happened to leading a genuine life?
My heart aches for the torture that we are going through as a nation and it is all being brought upon us from within, destroying the intestinal fortitude that once made us special, and turning us into a weak, blind, and principle-less people.
I am pained to say this and never thought I would.
Today, I am ashamed to be a Jew.
Friday, July 6, 2007
What can I offer?
I apologize again for not writing 'til now. Family health issues have dominated the landscape. It is a topic related to that issue that I wanted to write about-or at least the helplessness that comes with it.
I won't really go into what exactly the issues are within the family, but my thoughts have been directed towards the proper response in a crisis like this. Being raised FFB, you're taught that your first response should be to daven to Hasham and pray for help and health. Well, that would be everyone else. My first response? How in the world will my prayers help? I KNOW Hashem doesn't want to hear from me.
I cannot even begin to count the massive amounts of ways I have fallen short of the throne each and every day let alone my entire life, and I cannot even fathom how my creator wants to hear anything from me, or on top of that asking him for a favor I clearly do not deserve. Maybe it's easy for some people who know they have sinned and find it no problem to ask Hashem for his help. I find it almost impossible...does Hashem really want to hear praise from me?
How disappointed must he be in me and what I have done with my life? Do I really have any legs to stand on by asking Him for help with my child? Say Tehillim? I think that's better left for those who have far less baggage than I...
I get the fact that Raish Lakish was a stage coach robber and thief by trade and found his way to Torah. I get the fact that Nevezadrun killed hundreds of thousands of Jews and became a convert worthy of having Torah scholars as grandchildren. I've learned all about them all and have learned all about the Glory and Loving Kindness of the Creator, but I STILL cannot find it in myself to address the Holy One as if I have the right to.
Trust me, I'm not looking for a rebbi, an intermediary or a false prophet to pray on my behalf. I'm just looking to get past my vast array of misdeeds that may have been the cause for this family illness in the first place. The helplessness and loneliness I feel is palapable and weighs on me like a thousand pound gorilla. I know that the point of Judaism is that Ad yom mosso tichake lo-until the day of man's death Hashem accepts his Teshuva-I get all of that....I just feel so powerless....
I don't want to lead you to believe I do not daven three times a day-G-d forbid-but I must say that I do so feeling embarrassed that it is through me that praises to Hashem are spoken. How absurd... Surely there must be someone more worthy than I?
As another beautiful Shabbos approaches, I am hoping that the holiness of Shabbos will overcome my shortcomings and serve as a refuah for our child. Nevertheless, I will greet the Shabbos Queen with the same question that haunts me each and every waking moment....
Who am I?
I won't really go into what exactly the issues are within the family, but my thoughts have been directed towards the proper response in a crisis like this. Being raised FFB, you're taught that your first response should be to daven to Hasham and pray for help and health. Well, that would be everyone else. My first response? How in the world will my prayers help? I KNOW Hashem doesn't want to hear from me.
I cannot even begin to count the massive amounts of ways I have fallen short of the throne each and every day let alone my entire life, and I cannot even fathom how my creator wants to hear anything from me, or on top of that asking him for a favor I clearly do not deserve. Maybe it's easy for some people who know they have sinned and find it no problem to ask Hashem for his help. I find it almost impossible...does Hashem really want to hear praise from me?
How disappointed must he be in me and what I have done with my life? Do I really have any legs to stand on by asking Him for help with my child? Say Tehillim? I think that's better left for those who have far less baggage than I...
I get the fact that Raish Lakish was a stage coach robber and thief by trade and found his way to Torah. I get the fact that Nevezadrun killed hundreds of thousands of Jews and became a convert worthy of having Torah scholars as grandchildren. I've learned all about them all and have learned all about the Glory and Loving Kindness of the Creator, but I STILL cannot find it in myself to address the Holy One as if I have the right to.
Trust me, I'm not looking for a rebbi, an intermediary or a false prophet to pray on my behalf. I'm just looking to get past my vast array of misdeeds that may have been the cause for this family illness in the first place. The helplessness and loneliness I feel is palapable and weighs on me like a thousand pound gorilla. I know that the point of Judaism is that Ad yom mosso tichake lo-until the day of man's death Hashem accepts his Teshuva-I get all of that....I just feel so powerless....
I don't want to lead you to believe I do not daven three times a day-G-d forbid-but I must say that I do so feeling embarrassed that it is through me that praises to Hashem are spoken. How absurd... Surely there must be someone more worthy than I?
As another beautiful Shabbos approaches, I am hoping that the holiness of Shabbos will overcome my shortcomings and serve as a refuah for our child. Nevertheless, I will greet the Shabbos Queen with the same question that haunts me each and every waking moment....
Who am I?
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
So What's the Answer?
After some discussion on Friday's blog, some issues were raised as to what to do about the problems we are facing in our communities and it just seems that we a blowing in the wind.
Well, yes and no.
I don't think there is anything lost by addressing this issue in this forum or anywhere else. That is certainly one way to get this issue front and center.
Are we a small group? Yes.
Do we have a long arm? I am inclined at this point to say, no.
Are we fighting an uphill battle? Yes.
Are we whistling in the wind? I don't think so just yet.
Some have posted that we need the Modern Orthodox to fill this void. I strongly disagree and mostly for the same reasons I rail against the Kollel wing-because they are as closed minded-yes closed minded-and arrogant about Torah U'madah as the Kollel is about their way. Don't get me wrong. I am not against the Torah U'madah derech per se' just as I am not against Kollel in all cases. But please don't fool yourself into thinking that the far left-yes not centrist-(I don't even know what that means) is any better than the far right. I will try and address that soon.
Here, however is my attempt at an answer.
I am adamant about not using the term orthodox because the moniker was laid on us by the reformers in Germany and it was not meant to be a compliment. I am in favor of the word Torah Jew. Someone who lives their life based on Torah. Period. Let the other guys keep the labels and do what they want with them. I think they're silly and mean nothing.
Here is what I propose. We should all try and live a genuine life. We don't need a new movement. We just need some common sense and people who are not concerned with their own Kavod and power. We need to get rid of any leaders who are slighted that they were not placed on the dais when someone else who is not as " important" as they are had been placed there. We need to hold our leadership accountable. We need to stop concerning ourselves with who gets what honor. It's so silly and the cause of so much strife and hatred.
We need to follow the example of a nineteen year old girl that I know. She davens every day-because she wants to even though she may not be obligated to. She speaks respectfully to all people no matter their age. She leaves the room when she hears Loshon Horah. She reads the parsha every friday night and learns the haftorah-because she wants to learn about Hashem. She does not judge anyone nor advocate for any one thing or any one way of life. She just wants to be a Jew. She attends Shiurim because she just wants to be a Jew. She helps the terminally ill twice a week because she just wants to be a Jew. She didn't buy into th eIsrael thing or the fancy clothes thing. She just wants to be a Jew.
What is wrong with that? Why can't we start a movement to just be a Jew. A G-d fearing do our service out of love Jew? We don't need to re-invent the wheel. The answer is already out there. We just need to be Jews.
How do we convey that to the masses? Any way possible, but we have to offer something they can sink their teeth into and I think this girl and the way she lives her life is the answer. The MO have an agenda and it is to NOT be charedi. That alone is as dangerous as the charedi agendas. Think about that carefully and understand that I have sent FIVE children to Torah Umadah schools so I know about which I am writing. Anyone who denies this fact is being intellectually dishonest.
Fact is there is a way and it has nothing to do with labels. It has to do with being G-d fearing Jew and living a life as it is defined by Torah. Our words men nothing. Our clothes mean nothing. Our hashkafah means nothing.
Our actions mean everything.
Well, yes and no.
I don't think there is anything lost by addressing this issue in this forum or anywhere else. That is certainly one way to get this issue front and center.
Are we a small group? Yes.
Do we have a long arm? I am inclined at this point to say, no.
Are we fighting an uphill battle? Yes.
Are we whistling in the wind? I don't think so just yet.
Some have posted that we need the Modern Orthodox to fill this void. I strongly disagree and mostly for the same reasons I rail against the Kollel wing-because they are as closed minded-yes closed minded-and arrogant about Torah U'madah as the Kollel is about their way. Don't get me wrong. I am not against the Torah U'madah derech per se' just as I am not against Kollel in all cases. But please don't fool yourself into thinking that the far left-yes not centrist-(I don't even know what that means) is any better than the far right. I will try and address that soon.
Here, however is my attempt at an answer.
I am adamant about not using the term orthodox because the moniker was laid on us by the reformers in Germany and it was not meant to be a compliment. I am in favor of the word Torah Jew. Someone who lives their life based on Torah. Period. Let the other guys keep the labels and do what they want with them. I think they're silly and mean nothing.
Here is what I propose. We should all try and live a genuine life. We don't need a new movement. We just need some common sense and people who are not concerned with their own Kavod and power. We need to get rid of any leaders who are slighted that they were not placed on the dais when someone else who is not as " important" as they are had been placed there. We need to hold our leadership accountable. We need to stop concerning ourselves with who gets what honor. It's so silly and the cause of so much strife and hatred.
We need to follow the example of a nineteen year old girl that I know. She davens every day-because she wants to even though she may not be obligated to. She speaks respectfully to all people no matter their age. She leaves the room when she hears Loshon Horah. She reads the parsha every friday night and learns the haftorah-because she wants to learn about Hashem. She does not judge anyone nor advocate for any one thing or any one way of life. She just wants to be a Jew. She attends Shiurim because she just wants to be a Jew. She helps the terminally ill twice a week because she just wants to be a Jew. She didn't buy into th eIsrael thing or the fancy clothes thing. She just wants to be a Jew.
What is wrong with that? Why can't we start a movement to just be a Jew. A G-d fearing do our service out of love Jew? We don't need to re-invent the wheel. The answer is already out there. We just need to be Jews.
How do we convey that to the masses? Any way possible, but we have to offer something they can sink their teeth into and I think this girl and the way she lives her life is the answer. The MO have an agenda and it is to NOT be charedi. That alone is as dangerous as the charedi agendas. Think about that carefully and understand that I have sent FIVE children to Torah Umadah schools so I know about which I am writing. Anyone who denies this fact is being intellectually dishonest.
Fact is there is a way and it has nothing to do with labels. It has to do with being G-d fearing Jew and living a life as it is defined by Torah. Our words men nothing. Our clothes mean nothing. Our hashkafah means nothing.
Our actions mean everything.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Can Anyone Save us from Ourselves?
I apologize for my tardiness from this blog. Between family issues, weddings, work and life, time to write has been scarce and even now I am overloaded with work so I will be brief.
A little over a week ago I was in Boro Park for the wedding of my cousin. It was very nice to see everyone, yet very sad at the same time. I sat at a family table with the son-in-laws of all of my cousins and surprise, surprise, they all were in Kollel in Lakewood. Follow me here...they are all nice people and I enjoy their company, but what the hell are we doing here? I could not help but wonder who was going to pay for the weddings of their children?
Does anyone realize the kind of crisis we are creating? Please have some vision. NEVER BEFORE IN THE HISTORY OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE HAVE WE HAD SO MANY PEOPLE IN KOLLEL. This is not a good thing. Who will pay for them if G-d forbid they lose their parents-their only source of income-section 8 and the Independence card/WIC notwithstanding? WHERE ARE OUR LEADERS TO STOP THIS??? Can we actually rely on a group of rabbis who CALL THEMSELVES gedolai hatorah? Does anyone in a rabbinical leadership position have the guts to stop this? I think not and I am ashamed of my people. The leadership today has spit on the graves of Pinchas and Mattisyahu, the Rambam, the Ramban, Rebbi, Rebbi Akiva, Shimshon Raphael Hirsch--all the men who stood up for what was right and took on the wrongs in their communities even when they were dressed up as Torah. WHERE ARE YOU????????????
I'll end today with a small story in case you think that only our sons suffer from mis-information overload. A friend of ours has a daughter who had planned for years to go to law school when she came back from Israel. All was well and good. She became engaged and went back to Israel whereupon she met up with her Rabbi who told her a lawyer-is that really what you want to be? Is that what a bas Torah should be? So she has come to the conclusion on his urging to be a paralegal. Huh? Instead of being her own boss as a lawyer, this brilliant rebbi told her to be a paralegal-in other words work for a lawyer who needs you at a moments notice and that will be easier on her family than working for yourself?? Did he get this insight from Ruach Hakodesh? Is his das torah power taking over?
We are in crisis and need to open up the eyes of all the naive parents who have bought into this broken system and have been sold a bill of goods that has no basis in Halacha...if it sounds frummer, it must be...
On that note...have a great shabbos.
A little over a week ago I was in Boro Park for the wedding of my cousin. It was very nice to see everyone, yet very sad at the same time. I sat at a family table with the son-in-laws of all of my cousins and surprise, surprise, they all were in Kollel in Lakewood. Follow me here...they are all nice people and I enjoy their company, but what the hell are we doing here? I could not help but wonder who was going to pay for the weddings of their children?
Does anyone realize the kind of crisis we are creating? Please have some vision. NEVER BEFORE IN THE HISTORY OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE HAVE WE HAD SO MANY PEOPLE IN KOLLEL. This is not a good thing. Who will pay for them if G-d forbid they lose their parents-their only source of income-section 8 and the Independence card/WIC notwithstanding? WHERE ARE OUR LEADERS TO STOP THIS??? Can we actually rely on a group of rabbis who CALL THEMSELVES gedolai hatorah? Does anyone in a rabbinical leadership position have the guts to stop this? I think not and I am ashamed of my people. The leadership today has spit on the graves of Pinchas and Mattisyahu, the Rambam, the Ramban, Rebbi, Rebbi Akiva, Shimshon Raphael Hirsch--all the men who stood up for what was right and took on the wrongs in their communities even when they were dressed up as Torah. WHERE ARE YOU????????????
I'll end today with a small story in case you think that only our sons suffer from mis-information overload. A friend of ours has a daughter who had planned for years to go to law school when she came back from Israel. All was well and good. She became engaged and went back to Israel whereupon she met up with her Rabbi who told her a lawyer-is that really what you want to be? Is that what a bas Torah should be? So she has come to the conclusion on his urging to be a paralegal. Huh? Instead of being her own boss as a lawyer, this brilliant rebbi told her to be a paralegal-in other words work for a lawyer who needs you at a moments notice and that will be easier on her family than working for yourself?? Did he get this insight from Ruach Hakodesh? Is his das torah power taking over?
We are in crisis and need to open up the eyes of all the naive parents who have bought into this broken system and have been sold a bill of goods that has no basis in Halacha...if it sounds frummer, it must be...
On that note...have a great shabbos.
Monday, June 4, 2007
What is this Torah that you Speak of?
It never fails.
You can start a clock by it.
Question the present day Yeshivish/Kollel lifestyle and you will get blasted-personally attacked. Be called an idiot and a know nothing-anti-Torah.
This is the way it works with the Jews of the 21st century.
Suffice it to say there are two camps. One camp believes that the current yeshiva structure of today is the way to go. This camp believes in the study of Torah, living a Torah lifestyle, with Torah, Avodah, and Gemilos Chasadim. However, they also are subjecting our naive, idealistic, children to a life of struggle and poverty and listening intently for the next restrictive edict from a Rabbinical leadership starving to hang on to it's power. Not so much because they believe it's the way to go, but because that's just the way it is done.
The second camp believes in Torah, Avodah, and Gemilos Chasadim. They believe in a Torah lifestyle. They do not believe in the canard of modern orthodoxy as it's defined by the far left wing on that spectrum, just as they reject the leanings of the far right wing in the yeshiva structure. They just long to be Torah Jews who service Hashem out of love and call out the evil of all who have other agendas.
I myself am lost. I like to think I am in the second camp, but unfortunately, there are not many people there with me. I used to believe in the infallibility of Rabbinical leadership. Those days are gone now. I have witnessed too much. I get a chuckle out of seeing advertisements for a camp where, under the picture of each Rabbi involved, is a caption like Adom Godol or Talmud Chacham. I turn the page and see pictures of more Rabbis who USED TO BE WITH THE others from the previous page, but are now on their own in a new camp, due to a fight between the groups. I used to think that someone earned the name Gadol Ba'Torah-I didn't think you got invited to become one.
Interestingly enough, talk to any Rabbi nowadays, and he'll tell you that we are definitely at the end of days, all the while wanting us to ignore that at the end of days, the Talmud says, the rabbis will be like a pig with a golden ring in it's snout, as if to say check out my Torah and how much I know. The rest of you know nothing.
I believe the study of Torah is a beautiful and spiritual pursuit. I also believe like Abaye, Ravina, Rava, Rambam, Rav Ashi And Rav Shmuel before me that MY NUMBER ONE JOB AS A TORAH TRUE JEW, IS TO FEED MY FAMILY. For support on this issue, I find solace in the Gemmorah Kesubos around 40 blatt in as well as hilchos Talmud Torah from the Rambam, 3rd perek, where he states that a person should find a job, find a house, find a wife. WHAT? The Rambam said that? Doesn't he understand how hard it is in this society? Like living in Egypt was a day at the beach. Today we do the exact opposite. Find a wife, find a house find a job. I'm amused by Kollel and Bais Medrash students who constantly quote the Rambam, but seem to ignore his prescription for life.
I'm told now that a young man needs to learn longer in this brutal society to get a foundation for life. I do not disagree. Here is my answer to fix all of it. Learn to your hearts content if that is how your parents have raised you, but do not involve our daughters and grandchildren in your selfishness. Let me be very clear. It is extremely selfish to demand of one's parents and in-laws that you be supported. It is extremely selfish to demand of your wife, that she supports you for x number of years and after that you'll see where you are at. Yes, the study of Torah is very important. IF YOU BELIEVE IN IT SO MUCH, DO SOMETHING SELFLESS AND WAIT TO GET MARRIED UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO SUPPORT A WIFE AS THE TORAH AND TALMUD SAYS.
It used to be in years past when a boy was in yeshiva his rebbe would quote him that a person who is kovayah iitim l'Torah is like a person who learned all day. The Rebbe assumed that the boy would follow in the footsteps of his Jewish ancestors. Today they are told that a person can't really be Koveah iitim because he would have to do it the same time each day blah blah blah...What are we doing?? When will this stupidity end??
I wish I could learn Torah all day. There is nothing better for a man to do. I cannot. The Torah commands me to feed my children and take care of my wife and that is what I must do. In the meantime, I will continue to learn at least a daf a day in Bavli and dabble in Yerushalmi, as I have for the last 10 years and find my peace in that. While I understand that the Yeshiva world looks down upon Daf Yomi, I will live with their ridicule and their arrogance. In the meantime, I will do my best to make sure we straighten out the lives of the starry eyed youth who have bought into this broken and dangerous system and hope and pray that I don't get a knock on my door in 22 years from now because my relatives don't have enough money to pay for the first of the ten childrens' wedding. Habait M'shmayim oraeeyh....
You can start a clock by it.
Question the present day Yeshivish/Kollel lifestyle and you will get blasted-personally attacked. Be called an idiot and a know nothing-anti-Torah.
This is the way it works with the Jews of the 21st century.
Suffice it to say there are two camps. One camp believes that the current yeshiva structure of today is the way to go. This camp believes in the study of Torah, living a Torah lifestyle, with Torah, Avodah, and Gemilos Chasadim. However, they also are subjecting our naive, idealistic, children to a life of struggle and poverty and listening intently for the next restrictive edict from a Rabbinical leadership starving to hang on to it's power. Not so much because they believe it's the way to go, but because that's just the way it is done.
The second camp believes in Torah, Avodah, and Gemilos Chasadim. They believe in a Torah lifestyle. They do not believe in the canard of modern orthodoxy as it's defined by the far left wing on that spectrum, just as they reject the leanings of the far right wing in the yeshiva structure. They just long to be Torah Jews who service Hashem out of love and call out the evil of all who have other agendas.
I myself am lost. I like to think I am in the second camp, but unfortunately, there are not many people there with me. I used to believe in the infallibility of Rabbinical leadership. Those days are gone now. I have witnessed too much. I get a chuckle out of seeing advertisements for a camp where, under the picture of each Rabbi involved, is a caption like Adom Godol or Talmud Chacham. I turn the page and see pictures of more Rabbis who USED TO BE WITH THE others from the previous page, but are now on their own in a new camp, due to a fight between the groups. I used to think that someone earned the name Gadol Ba'Torah-I didn't think you got invited to become one.
Interestingly enough, talk to any Rabbi nowadays, and he'll tell you that we are definitely at the end of days, all the while wanting us to ignore that at the end of days, the Talmud says, the rabbis will be like a pig with a golden ring in it's snout, as if to say check out my Torah and how much I know. The rest of you know nothing.
I believe the study of Torah is a beautiful and spiritual pursuit. I also believe like Abaye, Ravina, Rava, Rambam, Rav Ashi And Rav Shmuel before me that MY NUMBER ONE JOB AS A TORAH TRUE JEW, IS TO FEED MY FAMILY. For support on this issue, I find solace in the Gemmorah Kesubos around 40 blatt in as well as hilchos Talmud Torah from the Rambam, 3rd perek, where he states that a person should find a job, find a house, find a wife. WHAT? The Rambam said that? Doesn't he understand how hard it is in this society? Like living in Egypt was a day at the beach. Today we do the exact opposite. Find a wife, find a house find a job. I'm amused by Kollel and Bais Medrash students who constantly quote the Rambam, but seem to ignore his prescription for life.
I'm told now that a young man needs to learn longer in this brutal society to get a foundation for life. I do not disagree. Here is my answer to fix all of it. Learn to your hearts content if that is how your parents have raised you, but do not involve our daughters and grandchildren in your selfishness. Let me be very clear. It is extremely selfish to demand of one's parents and in-laws that you be supported. It is extremely selfish to demand of your wife, that she supports you for x number of years and after that you'll see where you are at. Yes, the study of Torah is very important. IF YOU BELIEVE IN IT SO MUCH, DO SOMETHING SELFLESS AND WAIT TO GET MARRIED UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO SUPPORT A WIFE AS THE TORAH AND TALMUD SAYS.
It used to be in years past when a boy was in yeshiva his rebbe would quote him that a person who is kovayah iitim l'Torah is like a person who learned all day. The Rebbe assumed that the boy would follow in the footsteps of his Jewish ancestors. Today they are told that a person can't really be Koveah iitim because he would have to do it the same time each day blah blah blah...What are we doing?? When will this stupidity end??
I wish I could learn Torah all day. There is nothing better for a man to do. I cannot. The Torah commands me to feed my children and take care of my wife and that is what I must do. In the meantime, I will continue to learn at least a daf a day in Bavli and dabble in Yerushalmi, as I have for the last 10 years and find my peace in that. While I understand that the Yeshiva world looks down upon Daf Yomi, I will live with their ridicule and their arrogance. In the meantime, I will do my best to make sure we straighten out the lives of the starry eyed youth who have bought into this broken and dangerous system and hope and pray that I don't get a knock on my door in 22 years from now because my relatives don't have enough money to pay for the first of the ten childrens' wedding. Habait M'shmayim oraeeyh....
Friday, June 1, 2007
Devorah? Not in my Lifetime....
I apologize for not posting a new blog sooner but with the holiday and some family issues, I was a bit overwhelmed...nevertheless I am back and had a few questions....
Before I start a few mazel tov's. My cousin has a daughter getting married in two weeks and she is moving to....you guessed it, Lakewood where her husband will be....you guessed it, learning in Kollel. But wait-there's more. Her brother just got engaged two days ago...he'll be moving to...drum roll please...Lakewood where he will be....learning in Kollel...anyone see a pattern? Ahh but in case you have not had enough, my brother's nephew from his wife's side also just got engaged...his is moving to....do I need to say??
What are we doing to our children??? Does this make any sense to you?? Someone please explain this utter stupidity to me and additionally, tell me how this lunacy is good for the Jewish people and how it is actually the way of the Torah??
A thought about learning all night on Shavuos....
Where did we get this and by we I mean the religious Jewish community? What source can we look to for this minhag? Rashi? Nope. Rambam? Nope. Abarbanel? Nope. Ramban? Nope. Now it seems to me that none of the above partook in this nobel excersize, or at the very least they didn't advocate it for the masses. Now please feel free to correct me on these aforementioned bastions of yeshivish thought, but I can't find one place in their writings where they even hint to staying up all night to learn on Shavuos. How did we get here?
It seems that the Mogen Avraham is really one of the first to mention this idea of staying up all night referring to a recent happening as if to say that around his time in the early 1600 or late 1500's, people started to stay up all night. I find it interesting to note that coffee was introduced to that region around the same time frame. Could it be without the introduction of caffeine back then, we would not have this minhag today? I seem to think so. Now for the Yeshiva guy this is an uncomfortable thought-do you mean to tell me that no one stayed up on Shavuos before then? Uhhhh...for the most part yes. Except of course if you read the Zohar who has a whole miggilah on how a few Kabbalists stayed up to prepare the bride-Klal Yisroel-for the groom-Hashem and Torah-and it explains there the very obscure and esoteric meanings behind this idea.
The yeshiva guy will point to the Chofetz Chaim who states the medrash and we stay up all night because we needed to be woken up...blah blah blah...I believe even the CC knew this was way off, but he did not want to mention Kabbalah b/c he knew how the misnagdim hated the chasidim so....and that tradition has been handed down to the yeshiva world who has an almost disdain for Kabbalists as if only the yeshiva world has true insight to Torah....I wonder if the yeshiva world knows how much Kabbalah they have in their lives...ana b'koach, lechu nerannina, Lecho dodi just to name a few....
The other question I wonder is do you think there is any chance that had she lived in today's world, Devorah would have been allowed to rise into a leader of Klal Yisroel? I say no shot..Can you imagine the self proclaimed moetzes gedolei ha'Torah differing to a woman? I am confident that the Rosh Ha'Yeshiva's would ban her speeches and attack her as a rodef and rebel rouser who was not a good example for our daughters and b'nos Torah...
Anyone doubt that?
What a shame that Torah Judaism has been squeezed into a very small narrow box and anyone who dares to question it's non halachic laws is attacked and abused in the name of Torah. What a shame...
Before I start a few mazel tov's. My cousin has a daughter getting married in two weeks and she is moving to....you guessed it, Lakewood where her husband will be....you guessed it, learning in Kollel. But wait-there's more. Her brother just got engaged two days ago...he'll be moving to...drum roll please...Lakewood where he will be....learning in Kollel...anyone see a pattern? Ahh but in case you have not had enough, my brother's nephew from his wife's side also just got engaged...his is moving to....do I need to say??
What are we doing to our children??? Does this make any sense to you?? Someone please explain this utter stupidity to me and additionally, tell me how this lunacy is good for the Jewish people and how it is actually the way of the Torah??
A thought about learning all night on Shavuos....
Where did we get this and by we I mean the religious Jewish community? What source can we look to for this minhag? Rashi? Nope. Rambam? Nope. Abarbanel? Nope. Ramban? Nope. Now it seems to me that none of the above partook in this nobel excersize, or at the very least they didn't advocate it for the masses. Now please feel free to correct me on these aforementioned bastions of yeshivish thought, but I can't find one place in their writings where they even hint to staying up all night to learn on Shavuos. How did we get here?
It seems that the Mogen Avraham is really one of the first to mention this idea of staying up all night referring to a recent happening as if to say that around his time in the early 1600 or late 1500's, people started to stay up all night. I find it interesting to note that coffee was introduced to that region around the same time frame. Could it be without the introduction of caffeine back then, we would not have this minhag today? I seem to think so. Now for the Yeshiva guy this is an uncomfortable thought-do you mean to tell me that no one stayed up on Shavuos before then? Uhhhh...for the most part yes. Except of course if you read the Zohar who has a whole miggilah on how a few Kabbalists stayed up to prepare the bride-Klal Yisroel-for the groom-Hashem and Torah-and it explains there the very obscure and esoteric meanings behind this idea.
The yeshiva guy will point to the Chofetz Chaim who states the medrash and we stay up all night because we needed to be woken up...blah blah blah...I believe even the CC knew this was way off, but he did not want to mention Kabbalah b/c he knew how the misnagdim hated the chasidim so....and that tradition has been handed down to the yeshiva world who has an almost disdain for Kabbalists as if only the yeshiva world has true insight to Torah....I wonder if the yeshiva world knows how much Kabbalah they have in their lives...ana b'koach, lechu nerannina, Lecho dodi just to name a few....
The other question I wonder is do you think there is any chance that had she lived in today's world, Devorah would have been allowed to rise into a leader of Klal Yisroel? I say no shot..Can you imagine the self proclaimed moetzes gedolei ha'Torah differing to a woman? I am confident that the Rosh Ha'Yeshiva's would ban her speeches and attack her as a rodef and rebel rouser who was not a good example for our daughters and b'nos Torah...
Anyone doubt that?
What a shame that Torah Judaism has been squeezed into a very small narrow box and anyone who dares to question it's non halachic laws is attacked and abused in the name of Torah. What a shame...
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