There is another site on the web making the world a better place with shwarma! Shwarma will bring us together.
In other news, Obama is in Israel right now – the true test of his worth as a candidate will be whether or not he gets a shwarma. My guess is he won’t. Friends of Israel should note this lapse and vote accordingly.
3 comments July 22nd, 2008
An old friend of mine coined the phrase “cylindrical tubes of coolness” to describe cigarettes. He was right, they are cylindrical, and smokers are cool, but the obvious health risks should be enough to discourage anyone with a brain from smoking.
What shocks me is how prevalent smoking is in Charedi circles. As far as I know, Charedim are not immersed in American pop culture, or are a part of the chic Euro-disco crowd. So like, if you don’t like the Doors and you never saw a poster of James Dean – why start?
It seems now the Charedi establishment (at least one group) is taking a definitive stand against smoking:
Jews are not allowed to smoke, and they are required to observe a healthful way of life, said Rabbi Moshe Shaul Klein, rabbi of Bnei Brak’s Ma’ayanei Hayeshuva Medical Center and representative of the halacha committee of one of the city’s leading rabbinical arbiters, Rabbi Shmuel Wosner.
Although I do have a lot of sympathy for the plight of today’s smokers (kicked out of bars, offices, and in some states their cars!), I think that ultimately this statement is a good thing. Hopefully it is a first step to bringing a healthier lifestyle and health awareness to the whole of the Jewish community.
Add comment July 10th, 2008
I typed “Jewish” into the Google blog search and this awesome site about Jewish music popped up. (I don’t know how Google knows I am a music geek and that I love this stuff – I guess I should give more kudos to the power of Google). The site, Teruah – Jewish Music, is eclectic, open, and a veritable smorgasbord of Jewish music in all genres. I am particularly impressed with its great attitude and positive vibes.
I contacted the blogger (Jack) to tell him I dig his site and he ended up writing this very nice review about my CD, Jewish Roots Music. Check him out and give mad props to a brother.
6 comments July 9th, 2008
I admit it. I am not one of those people giddy about the fact that Starbucks is closing 600 stores. I know that some people get their kicks watching the big guys crumble, and yes I agree that it is nice to get a strong cup of Joe at a mom & pop place (with hip tattooed barristers and blaring techno earth tones), but come on – Starbucks made the world a better place for coffee drinkers by making good coffee accessible and hip.
Don’t you remember the old days? You either got a cup of weak brown slop at the diner, or something at Dunkin Donuts (I was never much of a fan – sorry), or hoped for the best with the coffee at work. True – there were always the mom & pop places, but unless you were in a trendy urban center (like the Village, or in San Fran, or somewhere like that), the chances were slim-to-none that you were going to find a decent, local shop brewing the hard stuff.
Along came Starbucks and changed everything.
Now great coffee is everywhere (and thanks to the me-too copycats it is really everywhere). And what do coffee drinkers do? They laugh at Starbucks, hurl insults and relish at their misfortune. I am sorry but it is indicative of bad character and bad taste.
Give Starbucks the credit they deserve and buy coffee from them – we cannot go back to a world of bad coffee.
7 comments July 6th, 2008
This is not cool. The city of Boston announced today that they are doubling fines for parking related infractions. Excuse me but I think this is abusive and wrong. Contrary to the smug comments of butt-head Boston Transportation Commissioner Thomas J. Tinlin:
“Let me emphasize that if you don’t park illegally in Boston you will not be affected by this action.”
– Everyone knows that parking tickets are a part of everyday life when living in the city. The increase will not serve as a deterrent in any way; rather, it is just another cheap attempt by the city of Boston to generate more revenue on the backs of the people.
Similar to the completely out-of-touch comments by the mayor last year vis-à-vis reserving spots shoveled out during snow emergencies, this increase is easy to be in favor of when you have your special reserved spot in the city lot. Park in the streets with the rest of us, be victimized by the over zealous traffic cops stressing to meet quotas, and then pass this type of parasitic, abusive increase - punks!
Add comment July 1st, 2008
Chananel turned me on to this article about the “Bro Mitzvah” – a type of coming of age ritual for black teenagers loosely inspired by the Bar Mitzvah.
At first I thought it was hysterical, because the name is so ridiculous, and then I was miffed – because why is it ok to make a mockery of Jewish tradition?
Then I actually read the article.
The Bro Mitzvah is indeed a sincere attempt by one boy’s well-meaning family and friends to help usher him into manhood. And this is a fine and noble thing, though I would suggest changing the name – people will get the wrong idea.
If the black community is searching for a more authentic right of passage ritual, I once read about the Xhosa ceremony described by Nelson Mandela in his amazing book “Long Walk To Freedom” (think teenage circumcision), and I am sure there are others (and probably a few that aren’t as painful).
1 comment June 30th, 2008
Esther and Guy call it quits and apparently it was Kabbalah that ruined their marriage.
GUY RITCHIE and MADONNA’s marriage has been thrown deeper into meltdown after he told her he’s quitting Kabbalah. Madge has become increasingly involved with the mystical Jewish religion, but her film director husband is a step closer to hitting the road after losing his faith.
The real news to me is that I didn’t know there was a “Jewish mystical religion.” I always thought Kabbalah was just a deeper aspect of traditional Judaism – you know, the stuff you study after you have mastered the basics.
But what do I know? Far be it from me to question the faith of my mystical sister Esther. I just hope she can get it together and find a new guy more sensitive to her spiritual needs.
2 comments June 27th, 2008
My good friend Rav Yehuda, over at the Jawbone Valley blog, posted this unbelievable video. Gang signs at a whole new level – far out Na Nach Nachman style.
1 comment June 25th, 2008
The planet has been through a lot worse than us. Been through all kinds of things worse than us. Been through earthquakes, volcanoes, plate tectonics, continental drift, solar flares, sun spots, magnetic storms, the magnetic reversal of the poles…hundreds of thousands of years of bombardment by comets and asteroids and meteors, worldwide floods, tidal waves, worldwide fires, erosion, cosmic rays, recurring ice ages…And we think some plastic bags… and some aluminum cans… are going to make a difference? The planet…the planet…the planet isn’t going anywhere. WE ARE!
This is the link to see the whole routine.
1 comment June 25th, 2008
I read a number of articles recently about problems facing the Reform Movement, including this front-page story in today’s Boston Globe, and it seems that a big problem plaguing Reform Judaism today is that men are fleeing the movement in droves. Look at some of these stats:
At the Reform movement’s seminary, 60 percent of the rabbinical students and 84 percent of those studying to become cantors are female. Girls are outnumbering boys by as much as 2 to 1 among adolescents in youth group programs and summer camps, while women outnumber men at worship and in a variety of congregational leadership roles, according to the Union for Reform Judaism.
The evidence is everywhere. At Temple Sinai in Sharon, nine of the 11 members of this year’s confirmation class were girls. At Temple Beth David in Canton, last Saturday’s Bible study drew 11 women and no men. At Temple Isaiah in Lexington, the executive board for the last year had eight women and one man. And at the Prozdor, an intensive supplementary high school program at Hebrew College in Newton, 59 percent of the students are female.
The analysts and experts are creating commissions to investigate the problem, but I think the reasons are simple. According to this article in Commentary Magazine (the voice of the Reform Movement) entitled “What Does Reform Judaism Stand For?” it says:
In recent years, Reform Judaism, at the prodding of its Washington arm, the Religious Action Center, has issued resolution after resolution in support of Left-liberal positions across an array of political and social issues. It has opposed the war in Iraq and the nomination of Justice Samuel Alito; sharply rebuked the Christian Right; and vigorously supported the left-wing Democratic stance on gay marriage, affirmative action, and school vouchers.
In other words, the Reform Movement is a left wing organization. It is leading the fight for “inclusiveness,” and pushes hard for things like women’s rights, gay rights, and egalitarianism. But what does it offer a nice heterosexual Jewish boy looking for something “Jewish” to belong to?
Nothing – or not much at least.
He doesn’t feel at home or comfortable with all the left-wing ideologues. He is cowed by political correctness and afraid to speak up or defend himself. And so he leaves. What do you expect?
Unfortunately for the Reform Movement, the swift exit of men is only one of its many problems. I won’t list them all here, but I think the article in Commentary does a great job summing it all up:
What does all this augur for Reform itself? The movement has wagered its future on the gamble that a coherent and vibrant Judaism can be built on the idea of a big tent, on the informed choice of each Reform Jew, and on a highly elastic definition of both “Reform” and “Jew.” Both in what it cannot accept and in what it cannot but accommodate, the movement is very much at one with the individualistic and “pluralist” ethos of contemporary American culture. But for how long will significant numbers of people continue to be drawn to, or stick with, a religious movement that cannot or will not define standards for committed living, and that, except when it comes to political imperatives, has self-consciously shunned the very notion of imperatives?
4 comments June 22nd, 2008