Oy vey, what a dumb crook.
A thief’s plans to sell a Hasid’s stolen sable-fur hat backfired when he failed to notice that the owner’s name and phone number were marked inside, police said.
Read more:
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/hat_thief_is_wrongheaded_JDrmdHnk06QudsT6x2kveK#ixzz1YUWYsEJM
20 Sept 2011
On turning 60
Jonathan Rosenblum pens his thought on turning 60.
The sixtieth birthday is a big one Jews for it means that one has avoided at least one of the definitions of karet – premature death. And with it one is officially welcomed into the ranks of zikna, old age (Avos 5:25), however unworthy one may feel of admission just yet.
...Above all, I’m grateful that I have no desire at all to go back in time.
...But even the intimations of mortality found in signs of physical decline are not without their benefits. They remind me that projects like finishing Talmud can no longer be put off to the future because the future is not unlimited. Now is the time.
Read more: http://www.cross-currents.com/#ixzz1YTvmc5ek
And musician Sting opines on his turning 60.
"You have to be grateful for whatever situation you find yourself in."
The sixtieth birthday is a big one Jews for it means that one has avoided at least one of the definitions of karet – premature death. And with it one is officially welcomed into the ranks of zikna, old age (Avos 5:25), however unworthy one may feel of admission just yet.
...Above all, I’m grateful that I have no desire at all to go back in time.
...But even the intimations of mortality found in signs of physical decline are not without their benefits. They remind me that projects like finishing Talmud can no longer be put off to the future because the future is not unlimited. Now is the time.
Read more: http://www.cross-currents.com/#ixzz1YTvmc5ek
And musician Sting opines on his turning 60.
"You have to be grateful for whatever situation you find yourself in."
19 Sept 2011
Eis tzarah
Two articles published this week refer to the hebrew word 'tzarah' - (distress, woe, trouble)
Rabbi Adlerstein discusses the coming week's schedule at the UN.
If this does not objectively qualify as an eis tzarah, I would be hard pressed to find one. BE”H, the week might pass uneventfully. But our chiyuv in advance is certainly to be mindful of the threat, and to respond the way Torah Jews always respond. The best segulah for Divine Protection is the one clearly required by halachah: davening up a storm.
Speaking with no authority at all but that of a Jew feeling much heaviness of heart and anxiety, I would like to suggest and hope that all of us will stop at the many mentions of Eretz Yisrael and Yerushalayim in Shemoneh Esreh and in bentsching this week, and take the time to beg HKBH for compassion directed at His people and His holy Land.
Read more: http://www.cross-currents.com/archives/2011/09/18/eis-tzarah-hi-le-yaakov/#ixzz1YQTWvLXx
New York Magazine titles John Heilerman's article 'The Tsuris' (the troubles)
and features a cover of the President with a yarmulca on his head and the captivating words, 'The first Jewish President.' If you can stomach the article, you will find that Obama is 'certainly a president every bit as pro-Israel as the country’s own prime minister.'
Here's an excerpt from a comment posted at the end of the article.
the author is assuming ALL OF THE PROBLEMS will just magically disappear if a Palestinian state is created. Never mind that Hamas does not comply with the PA, nor back a Jewish state, or a PA state run by Fatah. A "state" won't stop hatred and incitement taught in their schooling and written in their textbooks. And what about Jerusalem? So once a state is declared, two nations that both want the capitol, they will just magically get along? Even with a PA state, the Palestinians have still not renounced terrorism- so now it'll just be legal terrorism to go into Jewish homes and slaughter families?
Anther comment:
And no, Obama isn't the first Jewish president; but if he gets a 2nd term and follows your advice; he might be the last President while there was a land owned by the Jewish people.
Read full article at: http://nymag.com/news/politics/israel-2011-9/
And let's take heed of Rabbi Adlerstein's words and pray with extra fervor this week.
Rabbi Adlerstein discusses the coming week's schedule at the UN.
If this does not objectively qualify as an eis tzarah, I would be hard pressed to find one. BE”H, the week might pass uneventfully. But our chiyuv in advance is certainly to be mindful of the threat, and to respond the way Torah Jews always respond. The best segulah for Divine Protection is the one clearly required by halachah: davening up a storm.
Speaking with no authority at all but that of a Jew feeling much heaviness of heart and anxiety, I would like to suggest and hope that all of us will stop at the many mentions of Eretz Yisrael and Yerushalayim in Shemoneh Esreh and in bentsching this week, and take the time to beg HKBH for compassion directed at His people and His holy Land.
Read more: http://www.cross-currents.com/archives/2011/09/18/eis-tzarah-hi-le-yaakov/#ixzz1YQTWvLXx
New York Magazine titles John Heilerman's article 'The Tsuris' (the troubles)
and features a cover of the President with a yarmulca on his head and the captivating words, 'The first Jewish President.' If you can stomach the article, you will find that Obama is 'certainly a president every bit as pro-Israel as the country’s own prime minister.'
Here's an excerpt from a comment posted at the end of the article.
the author is assuming ALL OF THE PROBLEMS will just magically disappear if a Palestinian state is created. Never mind that Hamas does not comply with the PA, nor back a Jewish state, or a PA state run by Fatah. A "state" won't stop hatred and incitement taught in their schooling and written in their textbooks. And what about Jerusalem? So once a state is declared, two nations that both want the capitol, they will just magically get along? Even with a PA state, the Palestinians have still not renounced terrorism- so now it'll just be legal terrorism to go into Jewish homes and slaughter families?
Anther comment:
And no, Obama isn't the first Jewish president; but if he gets a 2nd term and follows your advice; he might be the last President while there was a land owned by the Jewish people.
Read full article at: http://nymag.com/news/politics/israel-2011-9/
And let's take heed of Rabbi Adlerstein's words and pray with extra fervor this week.
The broom dance
This week Rabbi S. lectured about the days leading up to the high holidays. In the course of his speech, he spoke about marriage and how he and his wife had talked to a Rav prior to their wedding to receive advice. The Rav asked Rabbi S. if he had purchased a ring. When the rabbi answered in the affirmative, the rav asked him to bring it with him the next time they were to meet. At the following session, the Rav asked Rabbi S. to describe the ring. The rabbi told him tht it was a round ring made of gold. The Rav told the rabbi that he missed the most important part in describing the ring. Inside the ring was empty space. The Rav told the rabbi that marriage was about carving an empty space in one's heart to allow room for a spouse with all her preconceived ideas and to accept her as she was.
Speaking about marriage, there's an article by David Wilder at INN titled Mezinka, which means 'the youngest child' in Yiddish. It is customary to perform a broom dance when a couple marries off their youngest child.
Ahh, the ‘broom dance.’ This is a very special event. Such a dance is performed when a couple marries off their last, and usually, youngest child. I’ve been to many many weddings, but I don’t recall ever witnessing such a performance. And before I knew it, David was holding a decorated broom, with Leah at his side, with a colorful dustpan. The orchestra started playing and they started sweeping. The idea being, that they are ‘sweeping’ their youngest child out of the house.
As I watched the video below of the parents of the groom performing the broom dance, I couldn't help but smile and be happy for the couple's opportunity to marry off their last child and to celebrate the wedding in the company of all the grandchildren their children had produced. May all of us merit marrying off our Mezinkas at the right time.
Speaking about marriage, there's an article by David Wilder at INN titled Mezinka, which means 'the youngest child' in Yiddish. It is customary to perform a broom dance when a couple marries off their youngest child.
Ahh, the ‘broom dance.’ This is a very special event. Such a dance is performed when a couple marries off their last, and usually, youngest child. I’ve been to many many weddings, but I don’t recall ever witnessing such a performance. And before I knew it, David was holding a decorated broom, with Leah at his side, with a colorful dustpan. The orchestra started playing and they started sweeping. The idea being, that they are ‘sweeping’ their youngest child out of the house.
As I watched the video below of the parents of the groom performing the broom dance, I couldn't help but smile and be happy for the couple's opportunity to marry off their last child and to celebrate the wedding in the company of all the grandchildren their children had produced. May all of us merit marrying off our Mezinkas at the right time.
18 Sept 2011
A loch im kopf
The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine was a resolution adopted on 29 November 1947 by the General Assembly of the United Nations.
The resolution noted Britain's planned termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and recommended the partition of Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab... The resolution included a highly detailed description of the recommended boundaries for each proposed state.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Partition_Plan_for_Palestine
An editorial in the Observer titled A Palestinian state is a moral right begins with the following words.
For the Zionist movement seeking an independent state of Israel, desire became reality in November 1947, when the General Assembly of the United Nations passed Resolution 181 supporting the establishment of a Jewish state in a partitioned Palestine.
November 1947 was also a time when an Arab state in Palestine could have become reality. But, the Arabs rejected it and went to war. The Observer is of the opinion that the rejection which led to thousands of people being killed and years of conflict should be rewarded.
...As British ministers deliberate how they will vote in the Security Council, they are confronted with the choice between what is morally right – supporting a Palestinian state – and hypocrisy justified in the name of pragmatism.
Read full article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/sep/18/observer-editorial-palestine-statehood
Robert Morrison begins his article about Palestinian statehood with the following joke.
Two men in Tsarist Russia were being led out to a firing squad: one, a humble tailor, the other a wild anarchist. As the Tsarist officer in charge of the firing squad tried to put a blindfold on the condemned anarchist, the young militant recoiled. He would face death unblinkingly, he said bravely. Alarmed, his fellow Jew interceded: "Please, don't make trouble!"
He opines, "a Palestinian state will be a new base for terrorists. That's all the PLO ever was or ever will be. We need a new Terroristan like we need a loch im kopf (Yiddish for a hole in the head.)"
Read full article: http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/09/please_mr_netanyahu_dont_make_trouble.html
So there you have it. Morally right or a loch im kopf?
The resolution noted Britain's planned termination of the British Mandate for Palestine and recommended the partition of Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab... The resolution included a highly detailed description of the recommended boundaries for each proposed state.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Partition_Plan_for_Palestine
An editorial in the Observer titled A Palestinian state is a moral right begins with the following words.
For the Zionist movement seeking an independent state of Israel, desire became reality in November 1947, when the General Assembly of the United Nations passed Resolution 181 supporting the establishment of a Jewish state in a partitioned Palestine.
November 1947 was also a time when an Arab state in Palestine could have become reality. But, the Arabs rejected it and went to war. The Observer is of the opinion that the rejection which led to thousands of people being killed and years of conflict should be rewarded.
...As British ministers deliberate how they will vote in the Security Council, they are confronted with the choice between what is morally right – supporting a Palestinian state – and hypocrisy justified in the name of pragmatism.
Read full article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/sep/18/observer-editorial-palestine-statehood
Robert Morrison begins his article about Palestinian statehood with the following joke.
Two men in Tsarist Russia were being led out to a firing squad: one, a humble tailor, the other a wild anarchist. As the Tsarist officer in charge of the firing squad tried to put a blindfold on the condemned anarchist, the young militant recoiled. He would face death unblinkingly, he said bravely. Alarmed, his fellow Jew interceded: "Please, don't make trouble!"
He opines, "a Palestinian state will be a new base for terrorists. That's all the PLO ever was or ever will be. We need a new Terroristan like we need a loch im kopf (Yiddish for a hole in the head.)"
Read full article: http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/09/please_mr_netanyahu_dont_make_trouble.html
So there you have it. Morally right or a loch im kopf?
The truth
by Rabbi Dr Raymond Apple
The Kotzker Rebbe had a shrewd interpretation of the opening phrase of the sidra, “You (attem) are standing this day, all of you, before the Lord your God” (Deut. 29:9). The Rebbe pointed out that the letters of attem, you, are the same as those of emet, truth. Truth, he said, is what gives human beings the capacity for standing and stability. Even the shape of the letters indicates this; the aleph stands on two legs, the mem has a firm horizontal base and the tav has two legs. The word as a whole, and each of its letters, has staying power.
By way of contrast, the opposite, sheker (falsehood), ein lo raglayim – “has no legs to stand on”, as the rabbis remarked. The shin of sheker, in Torah script, swivels on a narrow base, and the kuf and resh each have only one leg.
Sheker is bound to topple over, whilst emet stands firm. A comforting thought at a very difficult moment in world history when people and nations tell lies without compunction and the injudicious media peddle half-truths without conscience. It is hard to live at such a time, and hard to keep constantly vigilant to expose the falsehoods and argue for the truth, but in the end nothing can withstand the power of truth, and sheker is bound to collapse.
http://www.oztorah.com/2008/09/truth-stands-firm-nitzavim/
The Kotzker Rebbe had a shrewd interpretation of the opening phrase of the sidra, “You (attem) are standing this day, all of you, before the Lord your God” (Deut. 29:9). The Rebbe pointed out that the letters of attem, you, are the same as those of emet, truth. Truth, he said, is what gives human beings the capacity for standing and stability. Even the shape of the letters indicates this; the aleph stands on two legs, the mem has a firm horizontal base and the tav has two legs. The word as a whole, and each of its letters, has staying power.
By way of contrast, the opposite, sheker (falsehood), ein lo raglayim – “has no legs to stand on”, as the rabbis remarked. The shin of sheker, in Torah script, swivels on a narrow base, and the kuf and resh each have only one leg.
Sheker is bound to topple over, whilst emet stands firm. A comforting thought at a very difficult moment in world history when people and nations tell lies without compunction and the injudicious media peddle half-truths without conscience. It is hard to live at such a time, and hard to keep constantly vigilant to expose the falsehoods and argue for the truth, but in the end nothing can withstand the power of truth, and sheker is bound to collapse.
http://www.oztorah.com/2008/09/truth-stands-firm-nitzavim/
17 Sept 2011
Going without
Rabbi Zechariah Wallerstein, Shlita has initiated a great Project entitled DAY TO DISCONNECT. On October 2, 2011, as we observe Tzom Gedaliah, Rabbi Wallerstein hopes to come to the Kosel with 1 million registered hours of disconnection from cell phones and laptops for that day. The minimum disconnect time per person in order to register is 1 hour(you can do the entire 24 hour period as well!). By signing up on www.daytodisconnect.com you are choosing to make a commitment to disconnect from technology in a unified effort to synchronize a meaningful hour or hours with yourself, your friends, your family and/or with Hashem.
Read full article: http://www.localjewishnews.com/2011/09/05/day-to-disconnect/
Beth Arnold has penned an article titled Letter From Paris: 28 Days (Without the Internet) in which she describes how she plans to spend four weeks away from the internet.
In the meantime, I envision "28 days (without the internet)" as the emotional, physical, and spiritual journey of our time; the journey that millions of people feel in their hearts they need to take, but haven't yet been shown the way; the journey from the Internet back to the inner self.
Read full article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/beth-arnold/letter-from-paris-28-days_b_961783.html
Read full article: http://www.localjewishnews.com/2011/09/05/day-to-disconnect/
Beth Arnold has penned an article titled Letter From Paris: 28 Days (Without the Internet) in which she describes how she plans to spend four weeks away from the internet.
In the meantime, I envision "28 days (without the internet)" as the emotional, physical, and spiritual journey of our time; the journey that millions of people feel in their hearts they need to take, but haven't yet been shown the way; the journey from the Internet back to the inner self.
Read full article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/beth-arnold/letter-from-paris-28-days_b_961783.html
16 Sept 2011
Prayers
A ban on saying prayers in the street, a practice by French Muslims unable to find space in mosques, has come into effect in the capital, Paris.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14945467
And speaking of prayer, a new website was launched to help people come together to pray/reciteTehilim for an individual who is ill and to do acts of chesed on his/her behalf.
Click here to read about Tziporah's nest and here to sign up.
And speaking of prayer, a new website was launched to help people come together to pray/reciteTehilim for an individual who is ill and to do acts of chesed on his/her behalf.
Click here to read about Tziporah's nest and here to sign up.
The second time
Family law attorney, Lisa Helfend Meyer, has penned an article titled Second Marriage For Better or Worse in which she quotes the folllowing statistic.
"While about 41 percent of first marriages end in divorce, the picture is even gloomier for second acts where 60 percent of those marriages fail."
She ends the article by stating, "And whether it's the first, second or third time around, marriage is not like marriage in the movies unless it's the divorce in The War of the Roses."
Read full article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lisa-helfend-meyer/second-marriage-for-bette_b_963383.html
Recently, I've heard of two cases of divorce the second time around. In one instance, the marriage was barely out of the starting blocks before it collapsed. So, let's be more realistic in our expectations and perhaps we should not be so quick to throw in the towel the first time.
"While about 41 percent of first marriages end in divorce, the picture is even gloomier for second acts where 60 percent of those marriages fail."
She ends the article by stating, "And whether it's the first, second or third time around, marriage is not like marriage in the movies unless it's the divorce in The War of the Roses."
Read full article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lisa-helfend-meyer/second-marriage-for-bette_b_963383.html
Recently, I've heard of two cases of divorce the second time around. In one instance, the marriage was barely out of the starting blocks before it collapsed. So, let's be more realistic in our expectations and perhaps we should not be so quick to throw in the towel the first time.
15 Sept 2011
In G-d we trust
The following devar Torah is by Rabbi Dr Raymond Apple.
When the first fruits are brought to the sanctuary, “the kohen shall take the basket from your hand and place it before the altar of the Lord your God” (Deut. 26:4). The first-fruit basket symbolises prosperity: the altar symbolises faith. Bringing the fruit to the altar symbolises two things – the farmer‘s acknowledgment that his harvest comes from God, and his undertaking to use his prosperity for purposes that God would approve. From this subject the Torah reading this Shabbat moves on to the tochechah, the list of punishments that come to the Israelite community if they are sinful.
It seems logical to connect the ritual of the first fruits with the threat of punishment. The connection must surely be that if the Israelite farmer refused to acknowledge God and decided to be greedy and not use his prosperity to strengthen society, both he and his whole community would be in danger of collapse.
http://www.oztorah.com/2011/09/a-full-basket-ki-tavo/
The Blaze has an article titled Court Rules Teacher Must Remove ‘In God We Trust’ Classroom Banners.
So, any atheists out there who wish to get rid of their currency which carries the above motto, please send it to a blogger who does trust in G-d.
When the first fruits are brought to the sanctuary, “the kohen shall take the basket from your hand and place it before the altar of the Lord your God” (Deut. 26:4). The first-fruit basket symbolises prosperity: the altar symbolises faith. Bringing the fruit to the altar symbolises two things – the farmer‘s acknowledgment that his harvest comes from God, and his undertaking to use his prosperity for purposes that God would approve. From this subject the Torah reading this Shabbat moves on to the tochechah, the list of punishments that come to the Israelite community if they are sinful.
It seems logical to connect the ritual of the first fruits with the threat of punishment. The connection must surely be that if the Israelite farmer refused to acknowledge God and decided to be greedy and not use his prosperity to strengthen society, both he and his whole community would be in danger of collapse.
http://www.oztorah.com/2011/09/a-full-basket-ki-tavo/
The Blaze has an article titled Court Rules Teacher Must Remove ‘In God We Trust’ Classroom Banners.
So, any atheists out there who wish to get rid of their currency which carries the above motto, please send it to a blogger who does trust in G-d.
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