A truly Talmudic sign from the Times Magazine:
Road signs in a small town outside Detroit that listed six separate times for drivers to slow down in school zones have now been replaced after residents complained that reading them created a hazard all its own. The signs in White Lake Township instructed passing cars to slow to 25 m.p.h. from 6:49 to 7:15 a.m., 7:52 to 8:22 a.m., 8:37 to 9:07 a.m., 2:03 to 2:33 p.m., 3:04 to 3:34 p.m. and 3:59 to 4:29 p.m., but, thankfully, on “school days only.” The police chief, Edward Harris, says he had nothing to do with the mess. “Our only involvement was responding to the concerns raised by a number of individuals,” he says.
Saturday 31 March 2012
Friday 30 March 2012
Free Sunday April 1 from Talmudic Books: Tzvee Zahavy, "God Bless You: The Origins of Jewish Prayers and Blessings - Kindle Edition"
Posted on 09:24 by Unknown
Free book of the day! April 1 - no fooling!
From Talmudic Books: Tzvee Zahavy, "God Bless You: The Origins of Jewish Prayers and Blessings - Kindle Edition"
It is a big book. 370 pages in print!
Description: This book covers the origins of Jewish prayer in the first five centuries of the Common Era, known also as the epoch of early rabbinic Judaism, the time of the Mishnah and the Talmud, the era of the Tannaim and Amoraim, and the time of Jesus and early Christianity.
This volume provides a detailed analysis of the textual evidence on the subject mainly from the books of the rabbis, the Mishnah, the Tosefta and the Talmud, that finds the seams of timelessness and recovers the outlines of the origins of the great prayers of the Jewish people.
A must have for every Kindle library.
From Talmudic Books: Tzvee Zahavy, "God Bless You: The Origins of Jewish Prayers and Blessings - Kindle Edition"
It is a big book. 370 pages in print!
Description: This book covers the origins of Jewish prayer in the first five centuries of the Common Era, known also as the epoch of early rabbinic Judaism, the time of the Mishnah and the Talmud, the era of the Tannaim and Amoraim, and the time of Jesus and early Christianity.
This volume provides a detailed analysis of the textual evidence on the subject mainly from the books of the rabbis, the Mishnah, the Tosefta and the Talmud, that finds the seams of timelessness and recovers the outlines of the origins of the great prayers of the Jewish people.
A must have for every Kindle library.
Posted in amazon, books, israel, kindle, prayer, rabbis, religion, synagogues, talmud, Talmudic Books
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USATODAY: It is still men only at Augusta National the Master's Golf Course?
Posted on 07:00 by Unknown
The Masters is the annual reminder to us all of how the old boys love their men only country clubs as USA Today asks, "Will Augusta National have its first female member?"
The story speculates on whether the club already has its first female member.
Yet let us not rejoice that egalitarianism has dawned at Augusta. As they say in French, "Un oiseau ne fait pas le printemps."
The story speculates on whether the club already has its first female member.
Three of the members of this most exclusive club in U.S. sports, if not in all of American culture, have traditionally been the CEOs of Exxon, AT&T and IBM. They have been invited to be members of Augusta National because they run the three corporations that sponsor the Masters. They've also been invited because they are men.As a famous Orthodox rabbi once told me, "When the women write the checks, then they will get called to the Torah." IBM writes a big check to Augusta National.
Last fall, however, IBM made a historic decision. It announced that as of Jan. 1, Virginia "Ginni" Rometty would become its first female CEO. Then, this week, on the eve of Masters week, Bloomberg News Service became the first to ask the logical question: Will Rometty become the first woman to wear a green jacket?
It's possible that the question actually might be moot. It is within the realm of possibility, remote as it might seem, that she's already a member and we simply don't know it yet.
Yet let us not rejoice that egalitarianism has dawned at Augusta. As they say in French, "Un oiseau ne fait pas le printemps."
Thursday 29 March 2012
Our Favorite Movie "The Endless Summer" and Our Quest for the Perfect Wave of Prayer
Posted on 11:31 by Unknown
Our favorite movie is Bruce Brown's, The Endless Summer.
Yes you heard right. In 1966 we were young and we saw a film that documented two boys seeking simple perfection in a quasi-mystical sport. IMDB sums up, "Brown follows two young surfers around the world in search of the perfect wave, and ends up finding quite a few in addition to some colorful local characters."
The film spoke to us, as it did to many others of a more idealistic age. The essence of surfing of course is the wave. And the lover of surfing no doubt wants to embark on the quest for the best wave. To experience the performance of the essence is to find the perfect wave.
Brown's two surfer dudes found one in South Africa, see the video clip below.
We did not go out to emulate Brown's surfers and travel the world in search of the perfect surfing wave. Oh yes -- we did have a surf board and we did have a tan and we were agile and athletic and learned to surf. Truly, we hardly got beyond the less than perfect waves of the south shore of Long Island. And that was fun, and a way to pass the summer times, but not a quest of any sort.
Fast forward ten years and behold we did embark on a quest in search of a perfect wave of a different sort. We spent months and years of travel and research and sabbaticals seeking the perfect wave in a shul, the swaying and the praying that hit the mark, that stayed in the groove, that fulfilled the quest of the endless davener.
We found that perfect wave of prayer one time for a brief season in a little shul right off Palmach Street in Jerusalem in 1978. It's a place called Har-El and it is still there today. Back then it was the right mix of the perfect minyan. "Colorful local characters" of different histories and stories but all with the same propensities, skills and needs. A brief snapshot of time when clerks and professors, accountants and bankers, business owners, contractors, rabbis and craftsmen joined as one every day to read and sing the prayers. It was simple one room shul-house structure with a one wire heater and nothing fancy anywhere to be found.
That special season of satisfaction for the Endless Davener proved that yes, then perfect prayer exists, it was serene and smooth and seamless.
This clip shows a perfect wave from "Endless Summer," shot at Cape St Francis, South Africa.
Yes you heard right. In 1966 we were young and we saw a film that documented two boys seeking simple perfection in a quasi-mystical sport. IMDB sums up, "Brown follows two young surfers around the world in search of the perfect wave, and ends up finding quite a few in addition to some colorful local characters."
The film spoke to us, as it did to many others of a more idealistic age. The essence of surfing of course is the wave. And the lover of surfing no doubt wants to embark on the quest for the best wave. To experience the performance of the essence is to find the perfect wave.
Brown's two surfer dudes found one in South Africa, see the video clip below.
We did not go out to emulate Brown's surfers and travel the world in search of the perfect surfing wave. Oh yes -- we did have a surf board and we did have a tan and we were agile and athletic and learned to surf. Truly, we hardly got beyond the less than perfect waves of the south shore of Long Island. And that was fun, and a way to pass the summer times, but not a quest of any sort.
Fast forward ten years and behold we did embark on a quest in search of a perfect wave of a different sort. We spent months and years of travel and research and sabbaticals seeking the perfect wave in a shul, the swaying and the praying that hit the mark, that stayed in the groove, that fulfilled the quest of the endless davener.
We found that perfect wave of prayer one time for a brief season in a little shul right off Palmach Street in Jerusalem in 1978. It's a place called Har-El and it is still there today. Back then it was the right mix of the perfect minyan. "Colorful local characters" of different histories and stories but all with the same propensities, skills and needs. A brief snapshot of time when clerks and professors, accountants and bankers, business owners, contractors, rabbis and craftsmen joined as one every day to read and sing the prayers. It was simple one room shul-house structure with a one wire heater and nothing fancy anywhere to be found.
That special season of satisfaction for the Endless Davener proved that yes, then perfect prayer exists, it was serene and smooth and seamless.
This clip shows a perfect wave from "Endless Summer," shot at Cape St Francis, South Africa.
StarTribune: Minnesota author publishes six books and creates an instant legacy
Posted on 08:45 by Unknown
The Star Tribune has a moving story about self-publishing by a Minnesota author.
The author is ill with cancer. The paper reports: "With time running out, Emily Meier started her own publishing company to share her life's work - six books at once."
Quite inspiring.
The author is ill with cancer. The paper reports: "With time running out, Emily Meier started her own publishing company to share her life's work - six books at once."
Quite inspiring.
Is the Jordan Think Tank Arabic Babylonian Talmud Kosher?
Posted on 08:40 by Unknown
JPost reports that and Arabic translation of the Talmud has been published.
We will follow up as more information becomes available.
A think tank on Middle East affairs in Jordan has for the first time published a translation of the Babylonian Talmud in Arabic.Sketchy details leave questions open about whether the motives of the translators are kosher or not.
Middle East Studies Center based in Amman produced the 20-volume work, which took six years to complete and is the labor of 95 translators, language experts and editors.
We will follow up as more information becomes available.
Tuesday 27 March 2012
Special Book Event This Thursday 7:30 at the Teaneck Public Library: Six super-models that you meet in the Synagogue
Posted on 18:06 by Unknown
Teaneck Public Library Special Book Event
Six super-models that you meet in the Synagogue - Thursday, 3/29, 7:30 PM
Not those "super-models" from the fashion magazines!
Professor Tzvee Zahavy will speak about his new book, "God's Favorite Prayers" that narrates his spiritual quest searching for perfect prayers. His talk will be on Thursday, March 29 at 7:30 PM at the Teaneck Public Library.
In his quest, Zahavy meets six ideal archetypes - those "super-models" of Jewish liturgy - the performer, priest, scribe, mystic, meditator and celebrity.
Come join and relive Tzvee's journeys and learn how to expand your own spiritual horizons.
The author will sign copies of his books and answer questions from audience.
The program is free and open to all. Call 201-837-4171 for further information.
Six super-models that you meet in the Synagogue - Thursday, 3/29, 7:30 PM
Not those "super-models" from the fashion magazines!
Professor Tzvee Zahavy will speak about his new book, "God's Favorite Prayers" that narrates his spiritual quest searching for perfect prayers. His talk will be on Thursday, March 29 at 7:30 PM at the Teaneck Public Library.
In his quest, Zahavy meets six ideal archetypes - those "super-models" of Jewish liturgy - the performer, priest, scribe, mystic, meditator and celebrity.
Come join and relive Tzvee's journeys and learn how to expand your own spiritual horizons.
The author will sign copies of his books and answer questions from audience.
The program is free and open to all. Call 201-837-4171 for further information.
Monday 26 March 2012
Jewish Action: Is Rabbi Jonathan Gross the Chief Rabbi of Nebraska?
Posted on 18:08 by Unknown
We salute our Teaneck favorite son for achieving recognition as a rabbi in Omaha. A certain young rabbi named Zev Goldstein (our dad) served as a clergyman in that town in the early 1940's.
The Chief Rabbi of Nebraska: Rabbi Jonathan Gross
By Bayla Sheva Brenner
The richest man in the world lives in Omaha, Nebraska, according to a 2008 Forbes magazine report. Although the publication was referring to legendary investor Warren Buffet, Rabbi Jonathan Gross, rabbi of Beth Israel Synagogue, would ardently insist that the author really must have meant him.
The spiritual leader of Beth Israel since 2004, Rabbi Gross, who is in his thirties, wakes up each day thrilled with his calling. From the start, he jumped right into the heart of Jewish Omaha—a city with an overall Jewish population of 6,500—offering educational programs and youth initiatives that have sparked the interest of Jews across the spectrum. Since his arrival, the shul has grown by one hundred members, many of whom are children. Rabbi Gross says he intends to keep up the momentum and draw even greater numbers from the larger community.
Originally from Teaneck, New Jersey, Rabbi Gross didn’t plan on being a pulpit rabbi. He majored in math at Yeshiva University (YU) and after a brief, unsatisfying stint as an actuary, he thought he should “do something Jewish.” In August 2001, he participated in YU’s summer Torah Tours program, which sends students to various communities to inspire greater enthusiasm for Torah. Rabbi Gross’ tour took him to Omaha. He found the people friendly and saw real potential for growth...more... /repost from 1/19/10/
Friday 23 March 2012
Crimson: Egyptology and Christianity Alive at Harvard
Posted on 10:40 by Unknown
We guess it was a slow news week at Harvard.
The Crimson reports that a "Professor Revives Egyptology At Harvard". You can now enroll in Egyptian Aa: The Language of the Pharaohs, Egyptian 150: Voices from the Nile: Ancient Egyptian Literature in Translation, Anthropology 1250: The Pyramids of Giza, or Societies of the World 38: Pyramid Schemes: The Archaeological History of Ancient Egypt.
And you can now find Christianity at Harvard (although we thought it was there all along, they have a divinity school for heaven's sake). We are not at all sure why this is a story, "Faith Emerging: Students Find Christianity at Harvard".
The Crimson reports that a "Professor Revives Egyptology At Harvard". You can now enroll in Egyptian Aa: The Language of the Pharaohs, Egyptian 150: Voices from the Nile: Ancient Egyptian Literature in Translation, Anthropology 1250: The Pyramids of Giza, or Societies of the World 38: Pyramid Schemes: The Archaeological History of Ancient Egypt.
And you can now find Christianity at Harvard (although we thought it was there all along, they have a divinity school for heaven's sake). We are not at all sure why this is a story, "Faith Emerging: Students Find Christianity at Harvard".
Haaretz: Jerusalem Fake Yeshiva Kollel Busted
Posted on 10:23 by Unknown
Some would say there are redundancies in this headline: "Jerusalem police arrest four ultra-Orthodox men in fake kollel scam". Fake and scam in the same title seems over the top and repetitive to us. To others, the term "kollel" refers to a scam by definition, since it is where some men are paid to sit and read books, to engage in essentially unproductive activities, making the headline triply redundant.
What surprises us is that the secular formerly socialist State of Israel pays stipends to kollel students. When did all that start?
What surprises us is that the secular formerly socialist State of Israel pays stipends to kollel students. When did all that start?
Jerusalem police arrest four ultra-Orthodox men in fake kollel scam
Men arrested for allegedly defrauding the Education Ministry of millions of shekels through a fictitious Torah study center.
By Oz Rosenberg
Jerusalem police have arrested three ultra-Orthodox men for allegedly defrauding the Education Ministry of millions of shekels through a fictitious Torah study center.
Following the arrests on Sunday a fourth man, from Jerusalem, was arrested yesterday in connection with the nonexistent center. Jerusalem police expect further arrests in the case.
The three men from Betar Ilit and Beit Shemesh are suspected of inventing a fictional kollel - a yeshiva for married men - and of pocketing the NIS 300 they received for each "student" every month from the Education Ministry.
Those whose names and identity card numbers were submitted to the ministry as students of the kollel told police they had no idea their names were being used.
"That's NIS 300 a month multiplied by two years and dozens of 'students,'" a police officer told Haaretz yesterday. "Do the math yourself."
Police are expected this morning to request that the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court extend the the detention of the Betar Ilit and Beit Shemesh men.
The nonexistent study center, called Iyun Torah, was registered on the Education Ministry's list of Beit Shemesh study centers.
The first three men were arrested following a complaint by an ultra-Orthodox man from Beit Shemesh who told police that he received a text message on his cell phone, telling him to arrive at the address of the fictional study center. The text message asked him to show up as soon as possible since the Education Ministry was about to conduct a surprise visit to the center. The man told the police he had never heard of the kollel and assumed it was a scam.
Yesterday police summoned for questioning ultra-Orthodox men who appeared on the lists submitted to the Education Ministry in the past two years.
Despite the fact that all those questioned denied they knew of the make-believe kollel or its heads, fraud unit investigators are not convinced that none of the listed men were aware of the scam. Investigators believe the fact that a text message was sent could indicate a system of cooperation between the heads of the fictitious center and some of the men.
Police are also checking whether the arrested men had a contact inside the Education Ministry, as in other similar scams that were uncovered in recent years.
Thursday 22 March 2012
Erica Brown's Encomium of the Virtues of the Talmud
Posted on 17:00 by Unknown
From Erica Brown, published at the Algemeiner, nice words about the Talmud while reflecting on the demise of the Britannica:
...And the pause that I took to contemplate this new era also made me marvel all the more at our Jewish equivalent of the encyclopedia: the Talmud. Produced over several countries and four centuries, the Talmud has outlived the Britannica almost ten times over, at least from its humble beginnings as passages of Mishnah. Many Jewish books have gone into hundreds of printings, but the Talmud has outlived them all as our staple of rabbinic information.From the first Bomberg printing of the Talmud once owned by King Henry the VIII when he searched for a solution to divorce his wives to the contemporary Schottenstein Talmud, a translation from Aramaic to English produced over 15 years at roughly one volume every 9 weeks, the Talmud's lasting impact is hard to fathom.In 2010, Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, who translated the Talmud from Aramaic to English, added punctuation and divisions and commentary completed his entire 45-year project.Why wasn't there some announcement centuries ago that "the era has changed" and the Talmud would no longer be reprinted? How can it be that when the Talmud was put on trial in 1240 by the Pope and then 24 cartloads of Talmudic volumes were burned in Paris in 1242 that European Jews made sure to replace them, as did so many other scholars and students after subsequent burnings?It is only because the Talmud, unlike my old Britannica, was and is studied every day. This August tens of thousands of people will mark the completion of the seven year cycle—daf yomi—of Talmud study, one page a day. You can download it onto your iPOD and study it in a class on the Long Island Railroad and in synagogues early morning all around the world. We have never stopped learning it. It has always needed to be reprinted, even during our darkest hours.To me, the most remarkable printing of the Talmud took place in Munich-Heidelberg in 1948, despite a shortage of paper and the lack of a complete Talmud in Germany. Two sets of Talmud were brought to Germany from New York, and a printing plant that had formerly printed Nazi propaganda printed its first Talmud, the only instance of a national government publishing the Talmud.It was done at the request of a delegation of rabbis all of whom were survivors and is referred to today as the "Survivor's Talmud"; its frontispiece has a picture of Jerusalem on the top, underlined by the words: "From slavery to redemption, from darkness to great light"; it almost distracts the eye from the barbed wire fencing that decorates the bottom third of the page.The Survivor's Talmud was dedicated to the United States Army: "The Jewish DPs will never forget the generous impulses and the unprecedented humanitarianism of the American forces, to whom they owe so much."But more remarkable still is the way the introduction described the printing itself: "This special edition of the Talmud published in the very land where, but a short time ago, everything Jewish and of Jewish inspiration was anathema, will remain a symbol of the indestructibility of the Torah."Most Jews today do not own a Talmud. They are distant from its incredible history. Even if you never open a page, the volumes would sit on your shelves like the Jewish soldiers that they are, making a statement of pride and indestructibility by their very existence. As we say a sentimental farewell to the Britannica, we as Jews know that words can live on shelves forever, but only if they also live within us.
Wednesday 21 March 2012
Is the Brookings ConText site a Talmud?
Posted on 10:53 by Unknown
Like Lloyd Bentsen said of Dan Quayle in 1988, "I know the Talmud, I studied the Talmud, and the Brookings ConText site is no Talmud."
The "Center for the Constitution" with the Brookings Institution presents online "James Madison's Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787" with commentary that can be augmented by users of the site.
The publishers of the site suggest that it is a lot like the Talmud.
From the American Interest blog: "The project, which aims to surround the notes themselves with columns of explanatory information, has a fascinating inspiration, explains Benjamin Wittes, Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings:
From the American Interest blog: "The project, which aims to surround the notes themselves with columns of explanatory information, has a fascinating inspiration, explains Benjamin Wittes, Senior Fellow in Governance Studies at Brookings:
There is a model for this sort of thing, but it’s not a model from the American constitutional tradition; it’s the Talmud—the multi-volume exposition of Jewish law that developed after the Romans sacked the Temple in Jerusalem. The Talmud is a series of debates—and commentaries on those debates—on a text called the Mishnah. …On a page of Talmud, a passage of Mishnah is physically surrounded by layers of commentary text, more and more of them as the centuries wore on. So in the center of the page is a short passage, by tradition, of course, Divine, but often in practice dry as dust; yet radiating out from that passage is centuries of wisdom and thought. It is not merely a form of crowd-sourced scholarship, but it is a visual means of expressing that scholarship and crowd-sourcing that seemed to me to have broad application to the exposition of lengthy and difficult historical texts like the Notes.No, we think all this is not Talmudic. The result as we see it on the site is an annotated text with two layers and five categories in separate note panes. The categories are:
H — Historical
E — Current Events
T — Theoretical/Philosophical
I — Constitutional Interpretation (this includes discussion of relevant court cases)
O — Other Commentary (also, when your particular column view does not show all available columns, commentary from “hidden” columns will appear in the “Other” pane)
These do not coincide, except in the most generic sense, with the Talmudic and halakhic modes of commenting on the Talmud text, which are not by the way "dry as dust".
And the two authority layers for comments at Brookings are contributors and scholars. Some unspecified people get Scholar-Level Access, "Approved scholars will also be granted advanced access to the site, which includes the ability to edit existing commentary. With scholar-level access, a pen icon will appear at the end of each note in the commentary panes. Click on the pen to edit text within each note." Ordinary Contributors cannot do that.
We wish the project luck, "as the centuries wear on" even if it is not Talmudic in any meaningful way. A truly open wiki-like effort would be much more welcome and more interesting to watch unfold. This looks like a pseudo "crowd sourcing" groupware effort that will be hampered, restricted and inhibited in any number of tangible ways.
Yet, as a post script, in one crucial high level way the ConText exercise and the Talmud are alike. Both are dedicated to providing life support or resuscitation for old documents to keep them alive so as to justify why things ought to stay the same as "we say" they always were because the old words (i.e., "as we interpret them") have special or even sacred meanings and great authority.
And the Brookings Institution is known both as liberal or conservative, depending on whom you ask. This ConText venture seems to us quite conservative, in that way yes, like the Talmud.
Tuesday 20 March 2012
JTS publishes over 100 podcasts via Apple's iTunes
Posted on 19:27 by Unknown
In a welcome initiative the Jewish Theological Seminary Announced the Launch of JTS iTunes U with quality recordings of events and presentations for the public at large.
The unanswered question in this press release is how (or whether) JTS leverages iTunes and all other digital technologies for instruction of its students in and out of the classroom.
The Jewish Theological Seminary is pleased to announce the launch of the JTS iTunes U site. The site, accessible via Apple’s iTunes, makes public lectures, Torah commentaries, and select JTS courses available for free streaming and downloading.
“The launch of the iTunes U site marks a fantastic step forward for JTS’s online presence,” says Rabbi Charlie Schwartz, director of Digital Engagement and Learning at JTS. “It is now possible to easily find, download, and experience the deep and meaningful learning that happens every day at JTS.”
The JTS iTunes U site features a wide variety of content. The weekly Torah commentary podcasts are easy to find and subscribe to, as are recordings of public JTS lectures and events, such as the popular series of Library Book Talks that feature JTS faculty and other distinguished authors discussing their latest books. Collections of lectures detailing issues in contemporary Jewish philosophy, theology, and ethics highlight how JTS scholarship engages with the challenges of the 21st century. In the near future, full courses—complete with course materials—will be made available, providing access to JTS’s world-class faculty and high-level Jewish learning.
“Opening access to the wealth of learning, scholarship, and meaningful engagement with Jewish tradition that embodies JTS is core to the university's mission,” says Rabbi Marc Wolf, the newly appointed vice chancellor and chief development officer of JTS. “In the coming months, JTS will dramatically expand the ways, both innovative and traditional, that communities and individuals can be inspired by the energy of JTS,” Rabbi Wolf adds.
The JTS iTunes U site can be visited via iTunes at http://itunes.apple.com/us/ institution/jewish- theological-seminary/ id472010491.
Download iTunes for free: http://www.apple.com/itunes/ download/.
Talmudic Books for Kindle on the Talmud, Bible, Kabbalah and Prayer
The Kindle Edition of the Classic Soncino Talmud in English
Posted in apple, art, bible, Holocaust, iPad, iPhone, music, New York Jews, religion, talmud, universities
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StarTribune.com: Are liberal arts colleges kosher?
Posted on 14:36 by Unknown
Liberal arts colleges are kosher although they are having a tough time proving it, reports the StarTribune.
"In tough times, liberal arts colleges defend their value," recounts the efforts at St. Olaf's in Northfield MN:
Maybe they can change the label to "conservative arts" - yeah that sounds about right.
"In tough times, liberal arts colleges defend their value," recounts the efforts at St. Olaf's in Northfield MN:
...St. Olaf has transformed its career center, called the Center for Experiential Learning. "I don't know why that name was selected," Anderson quipped, "but I'm guessing it was to avoid using the word 'career.'"It's getting increasingly harder for a liberal arts college to keep its kosher reputation in a world of increasingly conservative values.
Once on the fringes of campus, the center now shares a bright, newly renovated building with the president's office. It's a key stop on campus tours and a regular sight along students' routes. Since the move, the center has seen a 69 percent increase in traffic.
Soon, it will get a new name: the Center for Vocation and Career. If St. Olaf once eschewed the word, now it's shouting it from the hilltop.
Like other schools, St. Olaf has touted alums with cool jobs in its publications and released an employment figure or two. But soon, a prospective student will be able to browse a database: What share of grads with English degrees have jobs? What are they earning?
In May, the college will begin publishing employment and salary data for the class of 2011, building on it with every class. A spokeswoman for the Council of Independent Colleges said its president and researcher had never heard of a nonprofit, private college making such data public....
Maybe they can change the label to "conservative arts" - yeah that sounds about right.
Sunday 18 March 2012
Times Travels to Uman and Rabbi Nachman of Breslov's Grave
Posted on 07:52 by Unknown
Our son Yitz told us he did not like one of the pictures in this story about Uman in T the Times' Travel magazine. We said, what is Uman?
In "One Schlep Forward" Gideon Lewis-Kraus explains in a funny story from his forthcoming book - A Sense of Direction: Pilgrimage for the Restless and the Hopeful - that it is a gathering in the Ukraine of 50,000 Jews:
In "One Schlep Forward" Gideon Lewis-Kraus explains in a funny story from his forthcoming book - A Sense of Direction: Pilgrimage for the Restless and the Hopeful - that it is a gathering in the Ukraine of 50,000 Jews:
The big event, we’d heard, was at the Tzion, Rabbi Nachman’s grave, at noon before the start of Rosh Hashanah. Rabbi Nachman of Breslov was a great-grandson of the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidism. The three generations following the death of the Baal Shem Tov saw the Hasidic movement — populist, ebullient, mystical, messianic — splinter into all of the sects that jostle up against each other in Brooklyn today, each of which has had its own rabbinic lineage; Nachman’s adherents, called Breslovers, however, have promoted no leading rabbi since Nachman himself, and have thus been called the “dead Hasids.”We'll go one day, if they have good golf courses nearby.
Before his death in 1810, Nachman told his followers that if they came to visit his tomb on the holiday and repeated 10 particular psalms, he would grant them redemption in the world to come...
Is Goldman Sachs Critic Greg Smith Jewish?
Posted on 07:36 by Unknown
Yes, Greg Smith is a Jew.
Paul Berger of the Forward writes about Smith, "Goldman Rebel is Latest Outspoken S. African Jew." He suggests, as a question, that Smith's criticism of Goldman Sachs, "was simply continuing a South African Jewish tradition of speaking truth to power."
Okay, but what about the substance of Smith's criticism? It could be dismissed as sour grapes or it could be acclaimed as a brilliant analysis. Which one is right?
And what of the Times decision to run the column by Smith? Is this not a brazen attack on New York's Wall Street club? Which powerful group of New Yorkers then is behind this assault? Are the NY real estate barons pushing the nuclear button? If so, why now?
But the Forward is happy to turn our attention away from all that and back to the Jews of South Africa. Can you say "distraction"?
Paul Berger of the Forward writes about Smith, "Goldman Rebel is Latest Outspoken S. African Jew." He suggests, as a question, that Smith's criticism of Goldman Sachs, "was simply continuing a South African Jewish tradition of speaking truth to power."
Okay, but what about the substance of Smith's criticism? It could be dismissed as sour grapes or it could be acclaimed as a brilliant analysis. Which one is right?
And what of the Times decision to run the column by Smith? Is this not a brazen attack on New York's Wall Street club? Which powerful group of New Yorkers then is behind this assault? Are the NY real estate barons pushing the nuclear button? If so, why now?
But the Forward is happy to turn our attention away from all that and back to the Jews of South Africa. Can you say "distraction"?
Saturday 17 March 2012
Daf Yomi starts Kerisos or Kerithoth on Wednesday March 21
Posted on 19:13 by Unknown
Daf Yomi starts a new tractate - Kerisos or Kerithoth on Wednesday March 21: Soncino Babylonian Talmud Kerithoth
Get the Kindle Soncino English Translation for $.99.
Get the Kindle Soncino English Translation for $.99.
Friday 16 March 2012
Free Kindle Book for Sunday 3/18 from Talmudic Books - Eleazar: Rabbi, Priest, Patriarch [Kindle Edition]
Posted on 15:05 by Unknown
Our free book by Tzvee Zahavy is Eleazar: Rabbi, Priest, Patriarch [Kindle Edition] and it takes us back a few years. The texts have not changed and our analysis of them still holds firm.
Get this book for free on Sunday 3/18.
Get this book for free on Sunday 3/18.
Product Description
For anyone concerned with the formative period of rabbinic Judaism, the study of Eleazar b. Azariah and his traditions is naturally important. He was prominent as a rabbi, a priest and a politician. According to rabbinic texts, Eleazar was a major figure among the rabbis at Yavneh in Israel in the second century C.E. Rabbinic literature speaks of Eleazar in more than two hundred places. One narrative describes that he was an important political figure at Yavneh and reports that he played a role in the events surrounding the deposition of Gamaliel II from the patriarchate. Many other traditions juxtapose his teachings with those of Aqiva, Eliezer, Joshua, and other major rabbis of the early era.
Posted in amazon, books, kindle, rabbis, religion, talmud, Talmudic Books, universities, yeshiva
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Thursday 15 March 2012
For Parshas PARAH: LAWS OF THE RED COW (THE RED HEIFER)
Posted on 17:40 by Unknown
From Reuven Brauner - free download PDF:
SUMMARY OF THE BASIC LAWS OF THE RED COW (THE RED HEIFER)
DESCRIBING THE RITE OF PURIFICATION FROM DEFILEMENT WITH A CORPSE USING THE ASHES OF A RED COW
DESCRIBING THE RITE OF PURIFICATION FROM DEFILEMENT WITH A CORPSE USING THE ASHES OF A RED COW
Each aspect of the red cow procedure is steeped in esoteric symbolism which addresses the fundamental concepts and meaning of life and death, as well as purity and defilement.
Talmudic Books for Kindle on the Talmud, Bible, Kabbalah and Prayer The Kindle Edition of the Classic Soncino Talmud in English
Manic, Panic, Titanic
Posted on 13:32 by Unknown
We don't usually make random psychological posts. But in thinking just now about what is called bipolar disorder, we were bothered by how the mood condition is commonly described, to wit, "Bipolar disorder or bipolar affective disorder, historically known as manic–depressive disorder, is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated energy levels, cognition, and mood with or without one or more depressive episodes (Wikipedia: Bipolar disorder)."
Our reservations with a common label for the disorder are twofold.
First of all "manic depressive" does not rhyme.
Second of all the common labels do not adequately describe what we have seen of the disorder over many years of observations of the experiences of people we are close to who suffer from it.
The main component that is missing if either of the labels "manic-depressive" or "bipolar" is used, in our completely non-professional opinion, is the intermediate time between the manic phase and the depressive episode. That is not necessarily a "normal" mood time, but more commonly (in what we have witnessed) an interval of "panic" interlaced with anxiety, between the elevated and the low moods.
And since "manic, panic, depressive" does not rhyme, we propose a new label for the conglomorate disorder: "Manic, Panic, Titanic". We think that it is important to be accurate in naming.
Our reservations with a common label for the disorder are twofold.
First of all "manic depressive" does not rhyme.
Second of all the common labels do not adequately describe what we have seen of the disorder over many years of observations of the experiences of people we are close to who suffer from it.
The main component that is missing if either of the labels "manic-depressive" or "bipolar" is used, in our completely non-professional opinion, is the intermediate time between the manic phase and the depressive episode. That is not necessarily a "normal" mood time, but more commonly (in what we have witnessed) an interval of "panic" interlaced with anxiety, between the elevated and the low moods.
And since "manic, panic, depressive" does not rhyme, we propose a new label for the conglomorate disorder: "Manic, Panic, Titanic". We think that it is important to be accurate in naming.
Were visions of angels in Bible real?
Posted on 13:07 by Unknown
No, visions of angels were not perceptions of anything real according to recent studies. They were the products of lucid dreams.
The UK paper the Daily Mail reports that, "Recorded Biblical angels and religious encounters may have just been lucid dreaming suggests a new sleep study that claims the historic stories were merely 'out of body experiences'"
The research center that conducted the study is not a recognized academic unit. Still the claims provoke much thought at a time of year when many people experience vivid types of dreams of their own.
That reminds us to think about the Talmudic materials in Bavli Berakhot on dreams and their meanings. We may even post the Talmud selection as a separate file, or a new short book. Hmm. A real idea or a lucid dream?
Here is the crux of the news report.
The UK paper the Daily Mail reports that, "Recorded Biblical angels and religious encounters may have just been lucid dreaming suggests a new sleep study that claims the historic stories were merely 'out of body experiences'"
The research center that conducted the study is not a recognized academic unit. Still the claims provoke much thought at a time of year when many people experience vivid types of dreams of their own.
That reminds us to think about the Talmudic materials in Bavli Berakhot on dreams and their meanings. We may even post the Talmud selection as a separate file, or a new short book. Hmm. A real idea or a lucid dream?
Here is the crux of the news report.
Visions of angels in Bible were 'lucid dreams' claims new sleep study after 15 studied 'see angels'
By Nina Golgowski
Recorded Biblical angels and religious encounters may have just been lucid dreaming suggests a new sleep study that specializes in 'out of body experiences.'
Asking 30 volunteers to try to re-create a scene out of the Bible where a prophet is aided by an angel during sleep, the researchers taken from the University of California Los Angeles say the majority reported similar encounters.
But in their successful scenarios, they say it was all merely a dream.
The Out-Of-Body Experience Research Center in Los Angeles, which teaches how to enter and control a 'phase' of one separating from their body, according to their website, says that over four weekends, 24 of their 30 volunteers claimed to have experienced at least one lucid or half-awake dream.
During those dreams, between November 11 and December 11, they were instructed to try to separate themselves and then while consciously outside their physical body, look for angels in their home.
'If a volunteer or practitioner was able to experience the sensation of separating from the body, they were to try to find an angel in their bedroom, and then eat something in order to exactly reproduce 1 Kings 19:4-6 in the Bible...' the study explained.
Study: The Out-Of-Body Experience Research Center teaches how to enter and control a 'phase' of one separating from their body, prompting the study of 30 volunteers over four weeks
The prophet and story of Elijah, who fell asleep under a tree after fleeing into the woods and prayed for death, was aided according to the Bible after an angel woke him to provide him with bread and water...more...
We endorse Shmuley Boteach for Congress
Posted on 12:38 by Unknown
JTA has reported that our neighbor in nearby Englewood, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, announced his run for Congress.
We endorse his candidacy. We believe that overall it would be a good thing for rabbis and the for all things connected with the Talmud to have a Rabbi in Congress.
We do not endorse all of Boteach's positions on issues. He needs to clarify where he stands on many things. It seems he is a political conservative on many issues, something we are not comfortable with. But his views as reported are somewhat quirky, which may be a valued asset in a complex campaign.
Given the make-up of his district, and his complete inexperience in politics, we expect that there is little chance that Boteach will win in the election. But we do wish him well and offer him our support. Here is the JTA story:
NEW YORK (JTA) -- Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, the author and media personality, announced his candidacy for a New Jersey congressional seat.
In a statement Wednesday, Boteach announced that he will be seeking the Republican nomination in northern New Jersey's 9th Congressional District. Boteach had said previously that he was considering a run.
The Democratic-leaning northern New Jersey district has a fierce redistricting-induced Democratic primary battle taking place between two incumbents, Reps. Bill Pascrell and Steve Rothman.
Boteach's stated platform includes support for school vouchers, a flat tax and making marital counseling tax deductible in order to lower the divorce rate. He has criticized what he sees as an excessive Republican focus on sexual issues such as gay marriage.
Boteach, who once was affiliated with the Chabad movement, bills himself as "America's Rabbi." He hosts a show on TLC called "Shalom in the Home" and is the author of several books, including "Kosher Sex," "Kosher Adultery," "The Kosher Sutra" and, most recently, "Kosher Jesus."
Wednesday 14 March 2012
Announcing fewer book promotions on Tzvee's Talmudic Blog - Moving those to our new Talmudic Books blog
Posted on 08:25 by Unknown
We are moving our promotional book postings to our new blog. (There have been many here.) We want to keep this blog purely for our topical Talmudic analysis of the world.
Announcing fewer book promotions here - we are moving all of those to our new Talmudic Books blog. There you will find the news, events and reviews of our Talmudic Books publications.
Don't forget that you can download many of our offerings for free at Halakhah.com!
Look for this PDF link graphic on our new blog.
So if you want to find out about our new Kindle volumes for Erubin and Pesahim (and who doesn't?) please go directly to Amazon or to our new blog.
Or click on a link below - it will take you to an Amazon Listmania! page (where you conveniently can buy all of our books with just one click on the bottom of the page).
Talmudic Books for Kindle on the Talmud, Bible, Kabbalah and Prayer
The Kindle Edition of the Classic Soncino Talmud in English
Announcing fewer book promotions here - we are moving all of those to our new Talmudic Books blog. There you will find the news, events and reviews of our Talmudic Books publications.
Don't forget that you can download many of our offerings for free at Halakhah.com!
Look for this PDF link graphic on our new blog.
So if you want to find out about our new Kindle volumes for Erubin and Pesahim (and who doesn't?) please go directly to Amazon or to our new blog.
Or click on a link below - it will take you to an Amazon Listmania! page (where you conveniently can buy all of our books with just one click on the bottom of the page).
Talmudic Books for Kindle on the Talmud, Bible, Kabbalah and Prayer
The Kindle Edition of the Classic Soncino Talmud in English
Tuesday 13 March 2012
New from Talmudic Books: Soncino Babylonian Talmud Shabbath [Kindle Edition]
Posted on 11:16 by Unknown
New from Talmudic Books: Soncino Babylonian Talmud Shabbath [Kindle Edition]
Shabbath is the first treatise of Mo‘ed, the second Order of the Talmud. It contains 157 folios divided into 24 chapters, and is the second longest Tractate of the Talmud, being exceeded only by Baba Bathra, which runs to 176 folios.
As its name implies, the Tractate deals with the laws and regulations of the Sabbath. It is obvious that an institution of such far-reaching importance, which is indeed one of the foundations of Judaism and for the violation of which Scripture prescribes the supreme penalty, had to be carefully defined, and its observance precisely determined. To this task the Rabbis devoted themselves in the present treatise.
The Biblical data are furnished by the following passages: Gen. II, 2-3; Ex. XVI, 22 seq.; XX, 8-11 (the Fourth Commandment); XXIII, 12; XXXIV, 21; XXXV, 2-3; Num. XV, 32 seq.; Deut. V, 12-15 (the Fourth Commandment in the Deuteronomic revision); Jer. XVII, 21 seq.; Amos VIII, 5: Neh. X, 32 and XIII, 15 seq. From an analysis and examination of these we learn that the following labors are forbidden: baking and seething; gathering manna and bringing it in; harvesting and plowing (and perhaps the labors associated with these); kindling; bearing burdens and carrying into a town (Jerusalem) or out from a private house; buying and selling; treading winepresses, and lading asses. But of course, mere chance references, as many of these are, could not be regarded as exhausting the labors forbidden on the Sabbath, and a scientific investigation was necessary for the full understanding of its observance.
It will help to an understanding of the Tractate to know the principles upon which the Rabbis based their definition of labor, and the various categories of forbidden work which they distinguished. The locus classicus for determining the meaning of 'work' was found by them in Ex. XXXV. There the instructions to build the Tabernacle are preceded by a short passage dealing with the prohibition of labor on the Sabbath which is apparently superfluous. The Rabbis accordingly interpreted it as intimating that whatever work was required in the building of the Tabernacle constituted 'work' which is forbidden on the Sabbath. Acting on this principle they drew up a list of thirty-nine 'principal' labors, which they extended by adding 'derivatives', i.e., such as partook of the nature of the 'principal' labors.
A considerable portion of the Tractate consists of Aggadah. It is difficult to make a selection from the rich store of Rabbinic legend, sentence, apologue and aphorism in which the Tractate abounds, but perhaps special attention might be drawn to the following: Prayer must be preceded by preparation; the judge who judges truthfully becomes a partner with God in the Creation; the Sabbath is God's gift to Israel; the story of Hanukkah (the Feast of Lights); the attempt to exclude Ecclesiastes and Ezekiel from the Canon; the heathens who wished to embrace Judaism on certain conditions and Hillel's famous epitome of Judaism — 'What is hateful to thee do not do to thy neighbour'; R. Simeon b. Yohai's criticism of the Roman Government and his flight; 'truth' is God's seal; Rome was founded when Solomon married Pharaoh's daughter; God's stipulation that the world was to return to chaos unless Israel accepted the Torah; Israel's joy in accepting it and Moses' fight to obtain it — an appreciation of the fact that God's kingdom on earth can be established only after struggle; the Torah is the cause of the nations' hatred of Israel; why Jerusalem was destroyed; schoolchildren are God's anointed; and finally, 'Repent one day before thy death' and the necessity to be ready at all times to appear before God illustrated by the parable of the wise and the foolish men invited to the king's feast. In that desire to be at harmony with God, which is the core and essence of Judaism, the Rabbis found the spiritual significance of the sacredness of the Sabbath.
Shabbath is the first treatise of Mo‘ed, the second Order of the Talmud. It contains 157 folios divided into 24 chapters, and is the second longest Tractate of the Talmud, being exceeded only by Baba Bathra, which runs to 176 folios.
As its name implies, the Tractate deals with the laws and regulations of the Sabbath. It is obvious that an institution of such far-reaching importance, which is indeed one of the foundations of Judaism and for the violation of which Scripture prescribes the supreme penalty, had to be carefully defined, and its observance precisely determined. To this task the Rabbis devoted themselves in the present treatise.
The Biblical data are furnished by the following passages: Gen. II, 2-3; Ex. XVI, 22 seq.; XX, 8-11 (the Fourth Commandment); XXIII, 12; XXXIV, 21; XXXV, 2-3; Num. XV, 32 seq.; Deut. V, 12-15 (the Fourth Commandment in the Deuteronomic revision); Jer. XVII, 21 seq.; Amos VIII, 5: Neh. X, 32 and XIII, 15 seq. From an analysis and examination of these we learn that the following labors are forbidden: baking and seething; gathering manna and bringing it in; harvesting and plowing (and perhaps the labors associated with these); kindling; bearing burdens and carrying into a town (Jerusalem) or out from a private house; buying and selling; treading winepresses, and lading asses. But of course, mere chance references, as many of these are, could not be regarded as exhausting the labors forbidden on the Sabbath, and a scientific investigation was necessary for the full understanding of its observance.
It will help to an understanding of the Tractate to know the principles upon which the Rabbis based their definition of labor, and the various categories of forbidden work which they distinguished. The locus classicus for determining the meaning of 'work' was found by them in Ex. XXXV. There the instructions to build the Tabernacle are preceded by a short passage dealing with the prohibition of labor on the Sabbath which is apparently superfluous. The Rabbis accordingly interpreted it as intimating that whatever work was required in the building of the Tabernacle constituted 'work' which is forbidden on the Sabbath. Acting on this principle they drew up a list of thirty-nine 'principal' labors, which they extended by adding 'derivatives', i.e., such as partook of the nature of the 'principal' labors.
A considerable portion of the Tractate consists of Aggadah. It is difficult to make a selection from the rich store of Rabbinic legend, sentence, apologue and aphorism in which the Tractate abounds, but perhaps special attention might be drawn to the following: Prayer must be preceded by preparation; the judge who judges truthfully becomes a partner with God in the Creation; the Sabbath is God's gift to Israel; the story of Hanukkah (the Feast of Lights); the attempt to exclude Ecclesiastes and Ezekiel from the Canon; the heathens who wished to embrace Judaism on certain conditions and Hillel's famous epitome of Judaism — 'What is hateful to thee do not do to thy neighbour'; R. Simeon b. Yohai's criticism of the Roman Government and his flight; 'truth' is God's seal; Rome was founded when Solomon married Pharaoh's daughter; God's stipulation that the world was to return to chaos unless Israel accepted the Torah; Israel's joy in accepting it and Moses' fight to obtain it — an appreciation of the fact that God's kingdom on earth can be established only after struggle; the Torah is the cause of the nations' hatred of Israel; why Jerusalem was destroyed; schoolchildren are God's anointed; and finally, 'Repent one day before thy death' and the necessity to be ready at all times to appear before God illustrated by the parable of the wise and the foolish men invited to the king's feast. In that desire to be at harmony with God, which is the core and essence of Judaism, the Rabbis found the spiritual significance of the sacredness of the Sabbath.
Monday 12 March 2012
Progress Report: The Worried Waiting of West Side Jewish Women
Posted on 14:22 by Unknown
Our question lately is, if Orthodox Judaism says that modesty is such a virtue, then why is it imposed upon women and not men? Shouldn't men also be modest in all the ways they require women to be? Why not?
We posted this below four years ago, 3/3/08. Is there any progress to report after four years? Looks to us like lately Orthodox women are losing ground, not making progress. Here is our question from 2008.
What do women want? On the West Side of Manhattan, Orthodox Jewish women apparently want to wait for some imaginary time when they will be accepted as equals to their male counterparts.
All the men have to do is to say yes, women are equal, and that will be the end of the struggle. Ha'aretz reports....
We posted this below four years ago, 3/3/08. Is there any progress to report after four years? Looks to us like lately Orthodox women are losing ground, not making progress. Here is our question from 2008.
What do women want? On the West Side of Manhattan, Orthodox Jewish women apparently want to wait for some imaginary time when they will be accepted as equals to their male counterparts.
All the men have to do is to say yes, women are equal, and that will be the end of the struggle. Ha'aretz reports....
Who's that woman in the pulpit?
By Shmuel Rosner
NEW YORK - She waits patiently for the end of the service before going up to the synagogue's pulpit. This is the policy and she respects it. Women are not allowed there until the service has been completed. This is how it was before her, and this is the custom now. Her husband doesn't get it - he thinks that she ought to propose a change. But Elana Stein Hain is not in any hurry. "Caution" is the key word in a conversation with her that took place recently in Manhattan's Upper West Side. This caution "is the only way for me to be effective," she said.
She is part of a new fashion that is getting quite a lot of attention in modern Orthodox circles in America, an offshoot of one of the few trends that are occurring almost simultaneously in America and Israel - the Orthodox women's revolution. Or to use plain English: women taking key, quasi-rabbinic roles in synagogues. They are almost rabbis, but not really. Or maybe really, but just not called by that name. They deliver sermons, but they cannot lead prayers, nor can they officiate at weddings. But maybe at other ceremonies: for example, funerals...more...
Sunday 11 March 2012
Henry Frisch's Maxwell House Haggadah Beats out the new one by the Trendy Novelists Jonathan Safran Foer and Nathan Englander
Posted on 17:02 by Unknown
Our neighbor Henry Frisch (he lives mamash on our block in Teaneck) has beaten out the two hoity toity hotsy totsy novelists who have published a really strange new Haggadah this year.
According to the Times, none other than the President of the United States, Barack Obama, has considered the Jonathan Safran Foer and Nathan Englander Haggadah and has rejected it in favor of Henry's translation in the Maxwell House Haggadah.
Boo-yah to Henry. Way to go man!
According to the Times, none other than the President of the United States, Barack Obama, has considered the Jonathan Safran Foer and Nathan Englander Haggadah and has rejected it in favor of Henry's translation in the Maxwell House Haggadah.
Boo-yah to Henry. Way to go man!
Two Novelists Take on the HaggadahCheesy? More like dumb to report that your president rejected you. Or not, the book is the #7 best seller on Amazon! Utterly amazing all around.
By ALEX WILLIAMS
AFTER a lengthy interview with President Obama in the Oval Office two weeks ago, Jeffrey Goldberg, a national correspondent for the Atlantic, had one more question, and it had nothing to do with Iran.
“I know this is cheesy ...” Mr. Goldberg started, but before he could finish, the president interrupted him. “What, you have a book?” Mr. Obama asked. Turns out, Mr. Goldberg did, but “it’s not just any book,” he replied.
Mr. Goldberg reached into his briefcase and handed the president an advance copy of the “New American Haggadah,” a new translation of the Passover liturgy that was edited by Jonathan Safran Foer and contains commentary by Mr. Goldberg and other contemporary writers.
After thumbing through the sleek hardcover book, Mr. Obama looked up and asked wryly, “Does this mean that we can’t use the Maxwell House Haggadah anymore?”
Mr. Goldberg was impressed. “Way to deploy the inside-Jewish joke,” he later said. Since the 1930s, Maxwell House has printed more than 50 millions copies of its pamphlet-style version of the Haggadah. It has been the go-to choice at the Obamas’ White House Seders, though Mr. Goldberg hoped the president would consider using their version this time around.
In the end, the White House decided to stick with the Maxwell House next month...more...
"Define Judaism: Ten Seminars" - New from Talmudic Books and Free Kindle Book on Monday 3-12
Posted on 16:36 by Unknown
We have another new book out.
Professor Tzvee Zahavy, "Define Judaism: Ten Seminars" - New from Talmudic Books and Free Kindle Book (the entire book is free) on Monday 3-12. Here is the Product Description:
When I taught “Introduction to Judaism,” a popular Jewish Studies course at the University of Minnesota, as a final essay assignment I gave to the class this task: “Define Judaism.” Even though it was an open-ended question, my students considered this to be a tough assignment requiring analysis, synthesis and much thought. I originally wrote up these “seminars” as part of an independent study guide for one version of “Intro to Judaism”—a distance learning offering in the continuing education division of the university.
I now offer this volume to the general reader to help seekers and students of all ages and all faiths to better understand and define Judaism.
Professor Tzvee Zahavy, "Define Judaism: Ten Seminars" - New from Talmudic Books and Free Kindle Book (the entire book is free) on Monday 3-12. Here is the Product Description:
When I taught “Introduction to Judaism,” a popular Jewish Studies course at the University of Minnesota, as a final essay assignment I gave to the class this task: “Define Judaism.” Even though it was an open-ended question, my students considered this to be a tough assignment requiring analysis, synthesis and much thought. I originally wrote up these “seminars” as part of an independent study guide for one version of “Intro to Judaism”—a distance learning offering in the continuing education division of the university.
I now offer this volume to the general reader to help seekers and students of all ages and all faiths to better understand and define Judaism.
Posted in bible, Holocaust, kabbalah, Maimonides, rabbis, religion, talmud, Talmudic Books, universities, zionism
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Saturday 10 March 2012
New from Talmudic Books: Soncino Mishnah Seder Zeraim (Soncino Babylonian Talmud) [Kindle Edition]
Posted on 15:53 by Unknown
New from Talmudic Books: Soncino Mishnah Seder Zeraim (Soncino Babylonian Talmud) [Kindle Edition]
Product Description:
Zera'im ('Seeds'), the name given to the first of the six 'Orders' into which the Talmud is divided, deals principally with the agricultural laws of the Torah in both their religious and social aspects. It sets forth and elaborates the Biblical precepts relating to the rights of the poor and of the priests and Levites to the produce of the harvest, as well as the rules and regulations which concern the tillage, cultivation and sowing of fields, gardens and orchards. These laws are digested in ten tractates, each of which deals with a separate aspect of the general subject which gives the 'Order' its name. To them is prefixed the Tractate Berakoth, which has for its theme the daily prayers and worship of the Jew.
The 'Order' comprises 11 tractates, arranged in the separate printed editions of the Mishnah in the following sequence:
1. BERAKOTH ('Benedictions'): Deals with the prayer and worship of Israel; the regulations relating to the main components of the daily prayers; and the forms of thanksgiving or 'grace' to be recited over food and on sundry occasions. 9 Chapters. (In a separate volume of this Kindle series.)
2. PE'AH ('Corner'): Treats of the laws of the corners of the field which must be left to the poor and other dues assigned to them in accordance with Lev. XIX, 9f; XXIII, 22; and Deut. XXIV, 19-21. 8 Chapters.
3. DEMAI ('Doubtful'): Treats of produce concerning which there is a doubt whether or not the tithes have been set aside from it. 7 Chapters.
4. KIL'AYIM ('Mixtures'): Deals with the prohibition of mixture in plants, animals and garments set forth in Lev. XIX, 19, and Deut. XXII, 9-11. 9 Chapters.
5. SHEBI'ITH ('Seventh'): Discusses the regulations concerning the rest to be given to the land and the release of debts in the sabbatical year (Shemittah). See Ex. XVIII, 11; Lev. XXV, 2-7; and Deut. XV, 1-11. 10 Chapters.
6. TERUM0TH ('Heave Offerings'): Sets forth the laws regarding the portion of the harvest assigned to the priest in accordance with Num. XVIII 12. 11 Chapters.
7. MA'ASEROTH ('Tithes'): Has for its theme the 'first tithe' which must be given annually to the Levite from the produce of the harvest according to Lev. XXVII, 30-33; and Num. XVIII, 21-24. 5 Chapters.
8. MA'ASER SHENI ('Second Tithe'): Details the rules of the 'second tithe' set aside in the first, second, fourth and sixth years of the septennate in accordance with Deut. XIV, 22ff. 5 Chapters.
9. HALLAH ('Dough'): Deals with the rules concerning the portion of the dough which must be given to the priest. See Num. XV, 20-21. 4 Chapters.
10. 'ORLAH ('Uncircumcision', sc. of trees): Deals with the prohibition of the use of the fruit of the young trees during the first three years, and the rules for its treatment in the fourth year. See Lev. XIX, 23-24. 3 Chapters.
11. BIKKURIM ('First Fruits'): Gives the regulations concerning the offering of the first fruits in the Temple (see Deut. XXVI, Iff.), and includes an account of the accompanying ceremony. 3 Chapters.
Product Description:
Zera'im ('Seeds'), the name given to the first of the six 'Orders' into which the Talmud is divided, deals principally with the agricultural laws of the Torah in both their religious and social aspects. It sets forth and elaborates the Biblical precepts relating to the rights of the poor and of the priests and Levites to the produce of the harvest, as well as the rules and regulations which concern the tillage, cultivation and sowing of fields, gardens and orchards. These laws are digested in ten tractates, each of which deals with a separate aspect of the general subject which gives the 'Order' its name. To them is prefixed the Tractate Berakoth, which has for its theme the daily prayers and worship of the Jew.
The 'Order' comprises 11 tractates, arranged in the separate printed editions of the Mishnah in the following sequence:
1. BERAKOTH ('Benedictions'): Deals with the prayer and worship of Israel; the regulations relating to the main components of the daily prayers; and the forms of thanksgiving or 'grace' to be recited over food and on sundry occasions. 9 Chapters. (In a separate volume of this Kindle series.)
2. PE'AH ('Corner'): Treats of the laws of the corners of the field which must be left to the poor and other dues assigned to them in accordance with Lev. XIX, 9f; XXIII, 22; and Deut. XXIV, 19-21. 8 Chapters.
3. DEMAI ('Doubtful'): Treats of produce concerning which there is a doubt whether or not the tithes have been set aside from it. 7 Chapters.
4. KIL'AYIM ('Mixtures'): Deals with the prohibition of mixture in plants, animals and garments set forth in Lev. XIX, 19, and Deut. XXII, 9-11. 9 Chapters.
5. SHEBI'ITH ('Seventh'): Discusses the regulations concerning the rest to be given to the land and the release of debts in the sabbatical year (Shemittah). See Ex. XVIII, 11; Lev. XXV, 2-7; and Deut. XV, 1-11. 10 Chapters.
6. TERUM0TH ('Heave Offerings'): Sets forth the laws regarding the portion of the harvest assigned to the priest in accordance with Num. XVIII 12. 11 Chapters.
7. MA'ASEROTH ('Tithes'): Has for its theme the 'first tithe' which must be given annually to the Levite from the produce of the harvest according to Lev. XXVII, 30-33; and Num. XVIII, 21-24. 5 Chapters.
8. MA'ASER SHENI ('Second Tithe'): Details the rules of the 'second tithe' set aside in the first, second, fourth and sixth years of the septennate in accordance with Deut. XIV, 22ff. 5 Chapters.
9. HALLAH ('Dough'): Deals with the rules concerning the portion of the dough which must be given to the priest. See Num. XV, 20-21. 4 Chapters.
10. 'ORLAH ('Uncircumcision', sc. of trees): Deals with the prohibition of the use of the fruit of the young trees during the first three years, and the rules for its treatment in the fourth year. See Lev. XIX, 23-24. 3 Chapters.
11. BIKKURIM ('First Fruits'): Gives the regulations concerning the offering of the first fruits in the Temple (see Deut. XXVI, Iff.), and includes an account of the accompanying ceremony. 3 Chapters.
Friday 9 March 2012
Sarna Slams Soloveichik, but too Softly
Posted on 11:11 by Unknown
Professor Jonathan Sarna has levelled a strong critique against Rabbi Meir Soloveichik in an essay in the Forward, criticizing Soloveichik's testimony to congress about the funding of birth control, concluding:
Also, Sarna was gracious in bequeathing some distinction to Soloveichik as "one of the foremost Orthodox rabbis of his generation" but failed to mention that he spoke on behalf of himself and not on behalf of any organization of American Orthodox Jews. We know that the notion of "organized" Orthodox Jewish religion is mainly an illusion. It seems to us that Soloveichik spoke as an individual Orthodox Jew on behalf of the powerful and truly organized institution known as the Catholic Church. And that makes little sense to us. We are quite sure that congress already understood the lack of weight behind Soloveichik's testimony and ignored it out of hand without the prodding of Sarna's counterargumentation.
We are disappointed that Sarna did not parse the specious argument made by Soloviechik at the heart of his testimony. He said mainly illogical things about Obama's accomodation to the Church. Obama's accomodation allows the insurer to provide the coverage for birth control, thereby creating a Talmudic shield around the Church, which now can claim it is not really providing birth control for its non-Catholic employees.
Soloveichik said before congress as follows, "This putative accommodation is, however, no accommodation at all. The religious organizations would still be obligated to provide employees with an insurance policy that facilitates acts violating the organization’s religious tenets. Although the religious leaders of the American Catholic community communicated this on Friday evening, the administration has refused to change its position, thereby insisting that a faith community must either violate a tenet of its faith, or be penalized."
The "facilitates acts" notion is specious, as Soloveitchik ought to know. The Church does not believe that all birth control in the world is an abomination, including that practiced by non-Catholics. It never could even imagine to say that. The Church has no authority over non-Catholics. So the idea that helping pay for birth control by non-Catholics is "violating the organization’s religious tenets" is simply wrong. There is no such "tenet" in the Church that prohibits the practice of birth control by non-Catholics. And there is no tenet in the Church that prohibits an individual Catholic from paying for birth control by a non-Catholic.
This is a bad mistatement, a falsehood, that is compounded by the next rhetorical escalation of the testimony, namely that Obama is, "insisting that a faith community must either violate a tenet of its faith, or be penalized." That sounds bad but it is not true. Soloveichik makes it almost sound like Obama is making Catholics use birth control against their will.
We won't go so far as to say that all of this particularly shady and misleading logic is a violation of the "false testimony" clause of the Ten Commandments. But we will say that in this case the rabbi came quite close to violating a tenet of his own faith.
...one hopes that Congress will ignore the testimony of Soloveichik. To focus on the religious liberties of employers while overlooking those of their employees, and to focus on only the free exercise clause of the First Amendment while ignoring the dangers of coercive religious establishments, is to pervert what Washington meant when he spoke of “liberty of conscience” and to set back the cause of liberty and justice for all.The problem with Sarna's critique is that it is correct, but it is on a level too high to be meaningful. Sarna measures in theory, weighing institutionally wrapped religious rights against the clear legal individual rights of citizens. In our democracy all rights of organized groups derive from the rights of citizens on an individual basis. The Church does not have constitutional rights per se or any rights articulated in the Declaration of Independence. In fact, as we learned in grade school, a major impetus for the democracy in our land is "freedom of religion" for individuals. That never meant freedom of a religion to oppress the rights of individuals.
Also, Sarna was gracious in bequeathing some distinction to Soloveichik as "one of the foremost Orthodox rabbis of his generation" but failed to mention that he spoke on behalf of himself and not on behalf of any organization of American Orthodox Jews. We know that the notion of "organized" Orthodox Jewish religion is mainly an illusion. It seems to us that Soloveichik spoke as an individual Orthodox Jew on behalf of the powerful and truly organized institution known as the Catholic Church. And that makes little sense to us. We are quite sure that congress already understood the lack of weight behind Soloveichik's testimony and ignored it out of hand without the prodding of Sarna's counterargumentation.
We are disappointed that Sarna did not parse the specious argument made by Soloviechik at the heart of his testimony. He said mainly illogical things about Obama's accomodation to the Church. Obama's accomodation allows the insurer to provide the coverage for birth control, thereby creating a Talmudic shield around the Church, which now can claim it is not really providing birth control for its non-Catholic employees.
Soloveichik said before congress as follows, "This putative accommodation is, however, no accommodation at all. The religious organizations would still be obligated to provide employees with an insurance policy that facilitates acts violating the organization’s religious tenets. Although the religious leaders of the American Catholic community communicated this on Friday evening, the administration has refused to change its position, thereby insisting that a faith community must either violate a tenet of its faith, or be penalized."
The "facilitates acts" notion is specious, as Soloveitchik ought to know. The Church does not believe that all birth control in the world is an abomination, including that practiced by non-Catholics. It never could even imagine to say that. The Church has no authority over non-Catholics. So the idea that helping pay for birth control by non-Catholics is "violating the organization’s religious tenets" is simply wrong. There is no such "tenet" in the Church that prohibits the practice of birth control by non-Catholics. And there is no tenet in the Church that prohibits an individual Catholic from paying for birth control by a non-Catholic.
This is a bad mistatement, a falsehood, that is compounded by the next rhetorical escalation of the testimony, namely that Obama is, "insisting that a faith community must either violate a tenet of its faith, or be penalized." That sounds bad but it is not true. Soloveichik makes it almost sound like Obama is making Catholics use birth control against their will.
We won't go so far as to say that all of this particularly shady and misleading logic is a violation of the "false testimony" clause of the Ten Commandments. But we will say that in this case the rabbi came quite close to violating a tenet of his own faith.
Posted in bible, christianity, money, orthodox, politics, rabbis, religion, universities, wingnuts, yeshiva
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Thursday 8 March 2012
Wednesday 7 March 2012
The Sunrise and the Redemption of the Jews in Yerushalmi Berakhot and in the Book of Esther
Posted on 09:11 by Unknown
Talmudic life extends the space-time continuum with an acute awareness of the physical here-and-now and deepens the spectrum of thought and meaning with trajectories back into the distant past of the scripture and forward to the hopeful expectation for salvation.
This passage below from the Talmud Yerushalmi Tractate Berakhot demonstrates key aspects of the logic of a Talmudic life - what we explore every day in this blog. The rabbis in the passage practice a mindfulness of the natural world on a seamless continuum with thoughtfulness about their textual world, their imagined pasts and futures.
Below, in this passage that we cite, they want to understand the dynamics of sunrise, part of their everyday natural lives. They need to know when day begins so they can start to say their daily prayers at the correct hour.
On their way to determine this they talk about visual observation and use poetic terms from scripture. They measure the elapsed time of a pre-dawn period by specifying durations for physical activities of walking. But their walking has no physical or temporal boundaries. The dusty roads of the Land of Israel in late antiquity lead them directly into the book of Genesis.
The four miles that the rabbis might walk to determine a period of elapsed time are the same four miles that Lot and his wife and daughters would walk at the behest of heavenly angels. And if those biblical four miles were really not four miles, miracles made them so.
And yet the passage tells us, when rabbis Hiyya and Simeon once were walking in a real valley at daybreak, they were not satisfied to speak about the technical definitions of the durations of the pre-dawn periods, though they surely could have done just that and stopped.
They instead looked at the rays of the dawn and launched their time machine into the future, into a peroration on the redemption of the Jewish people. As they mindfully noted the real rays of that dawn, they pondered the equally real rays of the prophetic words of Micah and of the melodramatic story of biblical Esther.
(We cite the passage from our 1989 translation of Talmud Yerushalmi, The Talmud of the Land of Israel: Tractate Berakhot, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, page 13 and following.)
[X.A] [This unit expands upon the discussion of the terms used to refer to the period of time preceding sunrise.] Said R. Hinnena [vars: Hasna, Haninah], "From the [time in the morning sometimes called the] `hind of the dawn' [a poetic expression comparing the pattern of the first rays of light to the antlers of a deer,] until the [sky in the] east is lit [entirely] one [has enough time to] walk four miles. [`Mile' refers to 2000 paces, about 1470 meters, that is somewhat less than the modern English mile of about 1609 meters.] From [the time] the east is lit until sunrise [one has enough time to walk another] four miles."
[B] And whence [do we know] that from [the time] the east is lit until sunrise [one has enough time to walk] four miles? As it is written, "When morning dawned [the angels urged Lot saying, "Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city]" [Gen.19:15]. And it is written, "The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar" [Gen. 19:23]. [Between the first light and the rise of the sun Lot walked from Sodom to Zoar.]
[C] But is the distance from Sodom to Zoar four miles? It is more!
[D] Said R. Zeira, "The angel shortened the way for them." [Though it was more, he made it as if it were four miles.]
[E] And whence [do we know] that from the first rays of dawn [`hind of dawn'] to [the time] the eastern sky is lit [completely, one can walk] four miles? [Scripture says,] "wkmw [lit: and like] When morning dawned" [Gen. 19:15]. And kmw is a comparative term. [It implies that the two intervals, from when the eastern sky is lit until dawn, and from when the first rays of light appear until the eastern sky is lit, are of equal duration.]
[F] Said R. Yose b. R. Bun, "[Concerning] this term `the [time of the appearance of the] hind of dawn,' he who says it refers to [time of the appearance of] a [morning] star, [presumably Venus,] is in error. For at times [this star] appears earlier, and at times, later."
[G] What is then [the definition of this term]? It refers to [the appearance of] two rays of light which originate in the eastern sky and illuminate [the heaven]. [The word qrn means both `ray' and `antler'.]
[H] And once R. Hiyya the great and R. Simeon ben Halafta were walking in the valley of Arbel at daybreak. And they saw the first rays of dawn [`hind of dawn'] as the daylight broke forth [into the sky].
[I] Said R. Hiyya the great to R. Simeon ben Halafta b. Rabbi, "[Like the break of day] so is the redemption of Israel. It begins little by little and, as it proceeds, it grows greater and greater."
[J] What is his basis [for this comparison of daybreak and redemption]? [Scripture says,] "When I sit in darkness the Lord will be a light to me" [Micah 7:8, i.e. he will redeem me].
[K] [By way of illustration of this last teaching:] So it was at the outset [the redemption of Israel in the time of Esther, for example, proceeded slowly as it says,] "And Mordecai was sitting at the king's gate" [Esther 2:21].
[L] And thereafter [it grew greater as the passage indicates], "So Haman took the robes and the horse [and he arrayed Mordecai]" [Esther 6:11].
[M] And thereafter, "Then Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal robes" [Esther 8:15].
[N] And thereafter, "The Jews had [the] light [of redemption] and gladness and joy and honor" [Esther 8:16]. [The redemption proceeds slowly at first and then quickly shines forth like light, a term used in the last verse.]
Tuesday 6 March 2012
New from Talmudic Books: Soncino Babylonian Talmud Berakoth for Kindle
Posted on 19:01 by Unknown
New from Talmudic Books for Kindle: Soncino Babylonian Talmud Berakoth, $.99
You do not need a Kindle to download and read Kindle books. You can study the Talmud with Kindle Apps on your Web Browser, PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry, or Android Phone, and of course on your Kindle.
Amazon Kindle Whispersync technology saves and synchronizes your last page read, your bookmarks, your notes, and it highlights across all of your devices. You can adjust the text size to make reading more comfortable.
Tractate Berakoth (‘Benedictions’) consists of nine chapters of which only the last four are concerned with benedictions proper. The first three contain the rules for the recital of the Shema‘ (Chapter one, Chapter two, Chapter three), the next two those for the recital of the Tefillah (Chapter four, Chapter five). The tractate first lays down the hours within which the Shema‘ must be recited first in the evening and then in the morning — preferably in the synagogue — and then specifies a number of conditions for its recital and the persons who are exempt from reciting it. Incidentally the conditions under which the Torah may be studied and the tefillin worn are also discussed. The recital of the Tefillah is then dealt with on similar lines and its wording is discussed. Chapter six first enunciates the principle that before partaking of any kind of food one must recite a benediction, and then lays down the form of blessing for various kinds of foodstuffs. Chapter seven deals specifically with grace before and after meals, and table etiquette generally, particularly zimmun or the invitation to join in the grace. Chapter eight lays down the rules for the washing of the hands in connection with a meal, grace over the wine-cup, and the habdalah on the termination of the Sabbath. Chapter nine formulates the benedictions to be uttered on a large number of special occasions.
Berakoth contains more Aggada in proportion to its length than any other tractate. The long Chapter nine is mostly aggadic, and is notable for a lengthy excursus on the interpretation of dreams. Another striking piece of Aggada is the account of the quarrel between Rabban Gamaliel and R. Joshua in Chapter four. Chapter six throws great light on the dietary of the Jews in Babylon, while Chapter eight shows that the table customs of Jews in Palestine were largely modeled on those of the Romans.
Berakoth is included in the 'Order' of Zera'im, or Seeds. In complete editions of the Talmud it has always been placed first in the sequence of tractates. The reason for this is no doubt — as suggested by Maimonides — that the precepts with which it deals — the recital of the Shema‘ and the Tefillah and the benedictions — are among the first which claim the attention of the Jew in his daily life, and are also among the first taught to the Jewish child. Containing as it does few passages of legal casuistry, Berakoth is among the easiest of the tractates, and on this account and because of its wealth of Aggada it is perhaps the most suitable with which to commence the study of the Talmud.
Click to see all of the available Soncino Kindle volumes.
You do not need a Kindle to download and read Kindle books. You can study the Talmud with Kindle Apps on your Web Browser, PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry, or Android Phone, and of course on your Kindle.
Amazon Kindle Whispersync technology saves and synchronizes your last page read, your bookmarks, your notes, and it highlights across all of your devices. You can adjust the text size to make reading more comfortable.
Tractate Berakoth (‘Benedictions’) consists of nine chapters of which only the last four are concerned with benedictions proper. The first three contain the rules for the recital of the Shema‘ (Chapter one, Chapter two, Chapter three), the next two those for the recital of the Tefillah (Chapter four, Chapter five). The tractate first lays down the hours within which the Shema‘ must be recited first in the evening and then in the morning — preferably in the synagogue — and then specifies a number of conditions for its recital and the persons who are exempt from reciting it. Incidentally the conditions under which the Torah may be studied and the tefillin worn are also discussed. The recital of the Tefillah is then dealt with on similar lines and its wording is discussed. Chapter six first enunciates the principle that before partaking of any kind of food one must recite a benediction, and then lays down the form of blessing for various kinds of foodstuffs. Chapter seven deals specifically with grace before and after meals, and table etiquette generally, particularly zimmun or the invitation to join in the grace. Chapter eight lays down the rules for the washing of the hands in connection with a meal, grace over the wine-cup, and the habdalah on the termination of the Sabbath. Chapter nine formulates the benedictions to be uttered on a large number of special occasions.
Berakoth contains more Aggada in proportion to its length than any other tractate. The long Chapter nine is mostly aggadic, and is notable for a lengthy excursus on the interpretation of dreams. Another striking piece of Aggada is the account of the quarrel between Rabban Gamaliel and R. Joshua in Chapter four. Chapter six throws great light on the dietary of the Jews in Babylon, while Chapter eight shows that the table customs of Jews in Palestine were largely modeled on those of the Romans.
Berakoth is included in the 'Order' of Zera'im, or Seeds. In complete editions of the Talmud it has always been placed first in the sequence of tractates. The reason for this is no doubt — as suggested by Maimonides — that the precepts with which it deals — the recital of the Shema‘ and the Tefillah and the benedictions — are among the first which claim the attention of the Jew in his daily life, and are also among the first taught to the Jewish child. Containing as it does few passages of legal casuistry, Berakoth is among the easiest of the tractates, and on this account and because of its wealth of Aggada it is perhaps the most suitable with which to commence the study of the Talmud.
Click to see all of the available Soncino Kindle volumes.
Posted in amazon, books, inventions, kindle, meditation, prayer, rabbis, religion, synagogues, talmud, Talmudic Books
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Is Robert Allen Stanford Jewish?
Posted on 18:04 by Unknown
No, we are pretty sure that Robert Allen Stanford is not a Jew.
Stanford is a prominent financial executive who was sought by U.S. marshalls 2/17/09 and charged with a multi-billion dollar fraud. (SEC Statement)
On 6/18/2009 he was arrested and indicted on criminal charges stemming from his operation of a massive investment fraud operation that bilked thousands.
He was convicted on 3/6/2012: "Stanford Convicted by Jury in $7 Billion Ponzi Scheme"
Stanford was born March 24, 1950 in Mexia, Texas. He is a fifth-generation Texan who resides in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands and holds dual citizenship, having become a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda ten years ago.
Our reasonably certain conclusion about Stanford's religion is derived from indirect evidence. Sperling's provides this data about religious affiliation in Mexia, Texas: 56.71% of the people in Mexia, TX are religious, meaning they affiliate with a religion. 3.64% are Catholic; 47.87% are Protestant; 0.00% are LDS; 5.19% are another Christian faith; 0.00% in Mexia, TX are Jewish; 0.01% are an eastern faith; 0.00% affiliate with Islam.
The SEC Complaint charged:
Stanford is a prominent financial executive who was sought by U.S. marshalls 2/17/09 and charged with a multi-billion dollar fraud. (SEC Statement)
On 6/18/2009 he was arrested and indicted on criminal charges stemming from his operation of a massive investment fraud operation that bilked thousands.
He was convicted on 3/6/2012: "Stanford Convicted by Jury in $7 Billion Ponzi Scheme"
Stanford was born March 24, 1950 in Mexia, Texas. He is a fifth-generation Texan who resides in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands and holds dual citizenship, having become a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda ten years ago.
Our reasonably certain conclusion about Stanford's religion is derived from indirect evidence. Sperling's provides this data about religious affiliation in Mexia, Texas: 56.71% of the people in Mexia, TX are religious, meaning they affiliate with a religion. 3.64% are Catholic; 47.87% are Protestant; 0.00% are LDS; 5.19% are another Christian faith; 0.00% in Mexia, TX are Jewish; 0.01% are an eastern faith; 0.00% affiliate with Islam.
The SEC Complaint charged:
- Since 1994, Stanford International Bank claims it has never failed to hit investment returns in excess of 10 percent a year.
- In 2008, the bank said its "diversified portfolio of investments" lost only 1.3 percent, while the S&P 500 U.S. stocks benchmark declined 39 percent.
- SEC says the bank's historical returns are "improbable, if not impossible."
- The bank quoted certificate of deposit rates of more than 7 percent during 2005 and 2006, and quoted a 3-year CD at 5.375 percent annual rate in November 2008, against comparable U.S. bank CDs of 3.2 percent.
- Did not disclose that its investment portfolio includes a significant portion in illiquid private equity and real estate investments.
Monday 5 March 2012
Is Democracy in Israel Kosher?
Posted on 10:17 by Unknown
A lot of people are pushing the notion in Israel that democracy is not kosher, says David Remnick of the New Yorker magazine in an editorial comment.
He reviews a wide number of examples of how democracy is "threatened" in Israel and indeed centers in on the religious tensions that are current there. Here is his pungent prose on that matter.
He reviews a wide number of examples of how democracy is "threatened" in Israel and indeed centers in on the religious tensions that are current there. Here is his pungent prose on that matter.
Herzl envisioned a pluralist Zionism in which rabbis would enjoy “no privileged voice in the state.” These days, emboldened fundamentalists flaunt an increasingly aggressive medievalism. There are sickening reports of ultra-Orthodox men spitting on schoolgirls whose attire they consider insufficiently demure, and demanding that women sit at the back of public buses. Elyakim Levanon, the chief rabbi of the Elon Moreh settlement, near Nablus, says that Orthodox soldiers should prefer to face a “firing squad” rather than sit through events at which women sing, and has forbidden women to run for public office, because “the husband presents the family’s opinion.” Dov Lior, the head of an important West Bank rabbinical council, has called Baruch Goldstein—who, in 1994, machine-gunned twenty-nine Palestinians at the Cave of the Patriarchs, in Hebron—“holier than all the martyrs of the Holocaust.” Lior endorsed a book that discussed when it is right and proper to murder an Arab, and he and a group of kindred rabbis issued a proclamation proscribing Jews from selling or renting land to non-Jews. Men like Lieberman, Levanon, and Lior are scarcely embittered figures on the irrelevant margins: a hard-right base—the settlers, the ultra-Orthodox, Shas, the National Religious Party—is indispensable to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition.
Posted in Holocaust, Is-it-kosher?, israel, orthodox, politics, religion, wingnuts, zionism
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Video: Is the Megadeth style Hatikva Kosher?
Posted on 09:59 by Unknown
The Times Ethan Bronner chronicles the controversy in Israel over an Arab judge who did not sing Hatikva at an official ceremony, "Anger and Compassion for Arab Justice Who Stays Silent During Zionist Hymn." We think that not singing is perfectly kosher.
This reminded us of another instance of Hatikva (guitar but no singing) that we took at the time as a proof that Israel is the full flowering of Jewish redemption. Here is a 2007 story from Ynet and a YouTube video clip of Megadeth style Hatikva, which we deem to be glatt kosher.
This reminded us of another instance of Hatikva (guitar but no singing) that we took at the time as a proof that Israel is the full flowering of Jewish redemption. Here is a 2007 story from Ynet and a YouTube video clip of Megadeth style Hatikva, which we deem to be glatt kosher.
Hatikva, like you've never heard before
(VIDEO) 'Coming here twice and playing my music for these people is the best,' says Marty Friedman, who performs in Israel for second time in his life
Over 1,000 people came to the Theatre Club in Jaffa Saturday to see the great guitarist Marty Friedman.
He delivered the goods, captivating the audience for two whole hours.
Friedman (44), who is Jewish, is known for his spectacular performance with Megadeth in Israel a decade ago. Back then, he played Hatikva, Israel's national anthem, on the stage. Saturday, he did it again. He opened the performance with the national anthem. The audience sang along with him, or rather, screamed along…
After the Hatikva, Friedman and his excellent band (especially crazy drummer Jeremy Colson) continued with a rocking two hour evening,, not losing an ounce of energy for even a moment...
Video: Artscroll Talmud App for iPad -"This will change everything again" at what price?
Posted on 08:29 by Unknown
At first we thought this was a Purim spoof video. It is not.
The overstated and over dramatized video promotion for the Artscroll Talmud App informs us that this is "far beyond anything" and that this new app "will change everything - again." And then it shows us (without a touch of self awareness) how the exact page of the Romm Talmud will be reproduced on the iPad and the exact page of the Artscroll elucidation will be reproduced on the iPad. This is the true irony of "look at how many new, new, new ways we can reproduce the old, old, old texts." They are at the same time absolutely faithful reproductions and "elucidations" and, gevalt, astonishingly new and revolutionary editions.
Putting all the irony aside, in fact the app video does show clever "fusion" technology for text study, a layering the original Hebrew and Aramaic text with the English translation, the notes and the sources. This is how the iPad (Kindle etc.) does brilliantly enable true hypertext reading and learning with potential interactivity. The ecosystem of the iPad is the revolution. Artscroll forgets to mention in its marketing pitch that it is actually a clever implementation of the revolutionary Apple platform. A bit overly self-centered, how much patting oneself on the back can one company engage in, now brought to yet another new pinnacle.
Everyone in the media and on the Internet wants to know how much all of this will cost.
It ought to be free. If the purpose of all of this innovation is to bring the Torah to the multitudes, let the wealth of our community (Schottenstein et. al.) bring it to us at no cost.
Unfortunately, the Artscroll-Schottenstein notion we fear is that once again the price will be higher and higher for access to Torah learning. The Artscroll shas 73 volumes on sale is $2,182.50. This high cost commercial model runs directly counter to all of the Talmudic values of our sages.
We hope that we are wrong about the pricing of the new apps and that the video claim "this will change everything - again" does not mean that "this will make Torah learning more expensive than ever - again."
Sunday 4 March 2012
Is Rush Limbaugh Jewish?
Posted on 06:58 by Unknown
Yes, Rush Limbaugh is a Jew. Rush's Conservative Gentile persona is a successful act that has earned him record multimillion dollar contracts in the radio business.
Rush's real name is Ronald Levy. He was born on the upper West Side of Manhattan. His father was a dermatologist and his mother a junior high school librarian. He attended the Ramaz School where he excelled at floor hockey and then Amherst College where he double-majored in art history and chemistry.
Rush was accepted to Albert Einstein Medical School of Yeshiva University. He had to withdraw during his first semester because he could not control his mocking derisive laughter when confronted with the illnesses and infirmities of the hospital patients.
Rush's real name is Ronald Levy. He was born on the upper West Side of Manhattan. His father was a dermatologist and his mother a junior high school librarian. He attended the Ramaz School where he excelled at floor hockey and then Amherst College where he double-majored in art history and chemistry.
Rush was accepted to Albert Einstein Medical School of Yeshiva University. He had to withdraw during his first semester because he could not control his mocking derisive laughter when confronted with the illnesses and infirmities of the hospital patients.
Happy Purim everybody. א פריילעכן פורים
Rush! Rush! Rush! !רָשׁ! רָשׁ! רָשׁ
Rush! Rush! Rush! !רָשׁ! רָשׁ! רָשׁ
חַג פּוּרִים, חַג פּוּרִים,
חַג גָּדוֹל לַיְּהוּדִים!
מַסֵּכוֹת, רַעֲשָׁנִים,
שִׁירִים וְרִקּוּדִים!
הָבָה נַרְעִישֶׁהָ:
רָשׁ רָשׁ רָשׁ!
הָבָה נַרְעִישֶׁהָ:
רָשׁ רָשׁ רָשׁ!
הָבָה נַרְעִישֶׁהָ:
רָשׁ רָשׁ רָשׁ!
בָּרַעֲשָׁנִים
//repost from 5769//חַג גָּדוֹל לַיְּהוּדִים!
מַסֵּכוֹת, רַעֲשָׁנִים,
שִׁירִים וְרִקּוּדִים!
הָבָה נַרְעִישֶׁהָ:
רָשׁ רָשׁ רָשׁ!
הָבָה נַרְעִישֶׁהָ:
רָשׁ רָשׁ רָשׁ!
הָבָה נַרְעִישֶׁהָ:
רָשׁ רָשׁ רָשׁ!
בָּרַעֲשָׁנִים
Posted in are-they-jewish?, christianity, einstein, health, humor, New York Jews, politics, Purim, wingnuts
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Thursday 1 March 2012
Was Andrew Breitbart Jewish?
Posted on 08:39 by Unknown
Yes, Andrew Breitbart was a Jew. He died suddenly March 1.
The conservative pundit said he "grew up in Brentwood (i.e., Los Angeles, California) a secular liberal Jew" who celebrated his bar mitzvah and "has the tape to prove it."
In an effort to discredit the congressman, in June 2011, Breitbart publicized personal tweets and emails sent by Rep. Anthony Weiner to various women.
Fox News reported:
The conservative pundit said he "grew up in Brentwood (i.e., Los Angeles, California) a secular liberal Jew" who celebrated his bar mitzvah and "has the tape to prove it."
In an effort to discredit the congressman, in June 2011, Breitbart publicized personal tweets and emails sent by Rep. Anthony Weiner to various women.
Fox News reported:
News of Breitbart's death reverberated on Capitol Hill and on the presidential campaign trail. Rick Santorum said he was "crestfallen."New Yorker magazine had profiled him earlier in brutally unflattering terms.
"What a powerful force," Santorum said. "What a huge loss, in my opinion, for our country and certainly for the conservative movement."
Rage Machine: Andrew Breitbart’s empire of bluster/original post 2010/
by Rebecca Mead
On Sunday, March 21st, the day that the House voted to pass health-care reform, Andrew Breitbart, the conservative Internet entrepreneur, was thousands of miles away, at home in Westwood, a neighborhood of Los Angeles. Breitbart, who in the past year has become a fixture on Fox News and a regular at Tea Party events, spends a lot of time on the road. In the preceding weeks, he had addressed the California Republican Spring Convention, in Santa Clara—“It’s warfare to save the soul of the United States of America,” he told the audience—and had introduced Sarah Palin at the National Tea Party Convention, in Nashville...more...
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