Is Nik Wallenda Jewish?

No Nik Wallenda is not a Jew. He is a Christian. And he leaves no doubt about his religion in the soundtrack to his high-wire daredevil crossing of the Little Colorado River Gorge, near the Grand Canyon, as this humorously edited video dramatizes.



New York Magazine sums it up:

One thing was clear by the time Nik Wallenda reached the other side of that canyon last night: He is not a Muslim. Throughout the 22-minute tightrope walk, Wallenda, who was miked up on live television, invoked the name of Jesus 63 times, "Lord" 34 times, and "God" 12 times. He calls out to "Father" six times, praises the "King of Kings" twice, and makes one mention of a "sorcerer." If that seems like a lot of heavenly references for a 22-minute span, it seems like even more when condensed into a 87-second video.

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Video: Rabbi Goren in 1967 at the Western Wall in Jerusalem

Rabbi Shlomo Goren blowing the shofar and praying at the Western Wall in 1967 was one of the greatest and most inspired moments in Jewish history. Here is the video...



[Repost from 2010.]

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Video: Silly Chabad Beard Outreach in Williamsburg

No clue what this silly stuff is all about. Hat tip to Yitz.

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תפילה לירושלים מילים הרב שאר ישוב כהן Video: Chief Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen's Inspiring Prayer for Jerusalem

Aaron Reichel, my friend of many years, sent me this update about a video of Chief Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen's inspiring Prayer for Jerusalem and related matters:

Thanks to Rabbi Itzchak Marmorstein, whose work relating to the late Chief Rabbi Kook our Harry and Jane Fischel Foundation has supported, I just received a you-tube link to the Prayer for Yerushalayim, to be recited or sung annually on the Shabbat before Yom Yerushalayim, authored by the Chairman of the Board of our Foundation and President of the Machon and of Ariel, Chief Rabbi Emeritus Shear Yashuv Cohen (also former Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem), chanted by a chazzan and a full ORCHESTRA! I don't know about you, but I can't think of ever having heard ANY prayer -- let alone a prayer intended for recitation in Orthodox synagogues (though not exclusively, of course) -- chanted with such an orchestra! I hope you will savor this you-tube presentation as I did. I'm not a music connoisseur, so I won't offer any comments of evaluation. The u-tube presentation (of course made on a weekday) speaks -- sings? -- for itself!

Cantor Avremi Kirshnbaum תפילה לירושלים מילים הרב שאר ישוב כהן from YouTube

Aaron adds:

While on the general subject of special prayers sung in Orthodox synagogues but composed in relatively recent times, a few weeks ago, the very prominent Rabbi J. J. Schacter spoke at the West Side Institutional Synagogue as the featured "scholar in residence" and guest speaker at the annual Rabbi Herbert S. Goldstein Memorial Lecture (subdivided into three full-length lectures), in conjunction with the recent publication of the augmented biography of Harry Fischel, originally edited by Rabbi Goldstein. Rabbi Goldstein was the father-in-law of Chief Rabbi Cohen, who wrote the preface to this augmented edition. Rabbi Schacter was as eloquent and informative as ever, but among the things that stand out about his presentation is that despite the fact that, unlike me (who might be considered biased in favor of Rabbi Goldstein, notwithstanding the objective documentation in the biography I wrote), Rabbi Schacter would be expected to be biased AGAINST Rabbi Goldstein, having been the rabbi of a historically competing synagogue, on various levels, The Jewish Center, and having co-authored a book about Rabbi Goldstein's "nemesis" -- Mordechai Kaplan, the first rabbi of the Jewish Center and the founder of reconstructionist Judaism, and, to some extent, the CJI before it, of which Rabbi Goldstein became the first director. Yet Rabbi Schacter was extremely gracious in his praise of Rabbi Goldstein and Rabbi Goldstein's place in history, and even had some kind words about the biography of Rabbi Goldstein, which he cited extensively. These tangents now lead up to the main tangent to what I'm leading up to, in the context of the you-tube link.

At the Shabbat at the WSIS featuring Rabbi Schacter (referred to above), the Chazzan of the WSIS, Zev Muller, sang Avinu Shebashamayim, a/k/a the Tfila L'Shlom Hamedinah (the prayer for the country of Israel) a rendition composed by Cantor Sol Zim, with a solo at the beginning and at the end, which was absolutely mesmerizing, no less than what listeners of the you-tube link below are about to hear. Among the other compositions that Chazzan Muller sang was Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach's Mimkomcha. Rabbi Schacter, the guest speaker, began his primary speech -- the Shabbat morning sermon -- with some words about the synagogue and the current rabbi and the history of the synagogue and its founding rabbi, but he also said that had he come to the West Side just to hear this chazzan (Chazzan Muller) sing these two compositions, it would have been worth it! I've heard many guest speakers and many notable chazzanim, but I never before heard any guest speaker make such a statement about any chazzan!  I would hope that the readers of this email will come to the WSIS and/or encourage other people to come to the WSIS for many reasons, but now they can add this one!

Cantor Muller, by the way, is to be one of the guests of honor at the forthcoming dinner of the WSIS, and I'm sure that, PG, he will do more than a simple acceptance speech! So if you want to hear him during the week, this is an opportunity to do so.

--Aaron

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Rav Soloveitchik on Israeli TV

Ethan Isenberg writes to us that Rav Soloveitchik will be featured on an Israeli Broadcast Premiere Sat night. Lonely Man of Faith will be on Israeli TV in two parts, on successive Saturday nights: April 20 and 27, both at 10 PM. The 18th of Nisan marked the 20th yarhzeit anniversary of the passing of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik.  This year, that date fell out on March 28 - 29.  Recordings are now available online of these memorial events: Yom Iyun at Beit Knesset "Ohel Ari" in Ra'anana, Israel, held on March 14 (3rd of Nisan) Yom Iyun at Yeshiva Chovevei Torah in New York, held on April 10 (30th of Nisan) Yom Iyun at Yeshiva University in New York, held on April 14 (4th of Iyar) Lonely Man of Faith is available on DVD. Click here to purchase the home version of the DVD. I recommend these books for you!

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Video: A Touching Memorial Service for Yom Hazikaron 2013

A Touching Memorial Service for Yom Hazikaron 2013

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Is Hawk Kosher?

Hawk is not kosher. It is a bird of prey.
Proof: Video above of a hawk eating its prey outside of the window of my den in Teaneck.

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Dramatic Video: NBC's Richard Engel Reports on the motives for the Pope's Resignation

This video from NBC's Rock Center with Brian Williams ("Exposing Vatican secrets a 'dangerous' mission, says Vatileaks journalist") raises many questions about the motives for the Pope's resignation.

"NBC News' Richard Engel talks to Gianluigi Nuzzi, one of Italy's top investigative journalists, about the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. Nuzzi's interviews with Benedict's whistleblower butler led to the Vatileaks scandal. Nuzzi and others allege that within the Vatican there were financial cover-ups and a twisted web of money, power and sex."

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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SNL Video Parody: Djesus Uncrossed

SNL did a sendoff of the latest Quentin Tarantino film. If you have seen the last two Tarantino films, it's funny. If not, you won't get it.

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Video: Ruth Calderon talks Talmud to the Israeli Knesset

The Haredi Israeli periodical Kikar Hashabat reported on a speech by the new member of the Knesset Ruth Calderon: זה האיום הקיומי האמיתי: רות קלדרון לומדת גמרא -- complaining (oy) that the fact that Calderon learns and teaches Talmud is a real existential threat to Israel.

Here is Calderon's speech in Hebrew on video with English subtitles.



We thought it was a good speech, remarkable because Talmud is not often considered to be relevant to the workings of a secular legislative body like the Knesset.

She teaches a story from Ketubot 62b about a rabbi who comes home from the Yeshiva once a year on the eve of Yom Kippur to see his wife. One year he doesn't come, she cries and he dies. It's nice that she cites the Talmud, even though we don't quite understand the connection between this story and Calderon's coming work in the Knesset.

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Is Pink Jewish?

Yes, Pink is a Jew. The star performer dazzled everyone at the Grammy's with her singing, acrobatics and revealing performance in 2010. Her mother is Jewish.

A 2006 interview with Pink says about her plans for tattoos,

Her Jewish mom will be honoured on her right arm, “with Hebrew writing and a cat ’cause she’s a snob and she’s a nurse and all that stuff,” she says cryptically. “And my dad is this country boy and he’s a wolf, or a tiger – I’m not sure which animal yet. And my mom grew up in Atlantic City so I’m gonna have all sort of casinos. And Carey has tattoos of Las Vegas casinos… Then for the country I want a spider’s web, Charlotte’s Web, all that stuff.”

Wikipedia says, "Pink was born (1979) Alecia Moore in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Judith Moore, a nurse, and James Moore, Jr., a Vietnam veteran. Her father is Catholic and her mother Jewish, and her ancestors immigrated from Ireland, Germany, and Lithuania."

We don't know if she got the Hebrew tattoo.

Pink's "Raise Your Glass" video below gets seriously into religion at about 2:00.



[repost from 3/2011]

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Is Bruno Mars an Orthodox Jew?

As far as we know, Bruno Mars is not Jewish, Orthodox or otherwise... the pop singer is from Hawaii, part Filipino and part Puerto Rican.

His new album is Unorthodox Jukebox and let us make this clear, this music is not suitable for Orthodox Jews (or others) who wish to avoid music with explicit themes about sex or swear words. Other than that, we like the album a lot.

Previously on the subject of Bruno Mars (6/5/12) we waxed Talmudic:

We like the popular music of Bruno Mars. It is mostly happy and upbeat. Even the unrequited love theme in "Grenade" comes out as a positive lyric in some strange ways.

The blog Jewlicious pointed us to a music video that wonderfully draws on a Bruno Mars song, "Marry You."

Dancing Jews, um, Juice: Everybody thinks Bruno Mars is singing “dancing Jews” instead of the actual lyric, “dancing juice” (slang for booze). But who cares, this amazing, joyous video gives us plenty of reasons to post it.

Jewlicious does not explicitly tell us that the amateur video shows some friends of the couple dancing dressed up like "dancing Jews" (men wearing hats and fringes - tzitzit) who appear in and out of the frame at the right times in the song.

The video uses the copyright music of Mars and will probably not last long on YouTube. But if you get a chance, take a peek at this fun production. (Search for "Isaac's Live Lip-dub Proposal.")

Talmudic Analysis:

Note: This is a light pop lyric, so it neither pretends to represent any deep romantic or religious values, nor should it.

In the song, a refrain is repeated five times preceding the line, "Who cares baby, I think I wanna marry you."

• Reading variant number one: "Is it the look in your eyes, or is it this dancing juice?"
• Reading variant number two: "Is it the look in your eyes, or is it this dancing Jews?"

Number one raises one set of questions. The singer implies that his motives for getting married are either superficial (derived from a "look in your eyes") or an impulse derived out of inebriation ("this dancing juice" i.e. alcohol). These both are credible readings since the premise of the song is that getting married is merely, "something dumb to do."

Variant Number two presents another set of issues. Most obvious, what do "dancing Jews" have to do with a whimsical idea of getting married? (Hmm. Perhaps the singer is thinking ahead to the wedding?)

More troubling is the grammatical issue: "this dancing Jews" is a mismatch of preposition and object. "This dancing Jew" or "these dancing Jews" would be more correct.

We have to say at the end, "Who cares...?" and admit that now we smile more broadly anytime we hear this song.

Note to kosher wine makers: Consider coming out with a new label, "Dancing Jews Kosher Wine."

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Vote for Barack Obama for re-election

We endorse Barack Obama, not just because we have a son named Barak. We believe in his politics and policies.

Although we expect Barack to win by a big margin, it is important that you go out and cast your vote for him.

This Times op-ed by Haim Saban makes a good case for Obama's support for Israel.

Obama's convention acceptance speech was inspiring.



We need a visionary liberal political leader in the White House. We do not need a CEO for the USA who sure would distribute more wealth to the wealthy and cut off costs and benefits from more and more workers.

We endorse Barack Obama for re-election.

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Online Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur Kol Nidre services, on Video, on a Live Webcast

Our sincere and heartfelt best wishes to all our readers for a Year of Blessing and Health, Prosperity and Good Cheer.

Rosh Hashanah 5773 - 2012 falls on Monday, the 17th of September and will continue for 2 days until Tuesday, the 18th of September.

Yom Kippur 5773 - 2012 falls on Wednesday, the 26th of September.

From Los Angeles come Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur online services and videos from the Jewish Television Network and the Wilshire Boulevard Temple. Having faith that they will update the site for 5773.

See a past service on video (why wait to repent?) or see the LIVE webcast of Kol Nidre service this year (we hope).

Rabbis on videos at JTV discuss atonement and repentance. There also are holiday video recipes for tzimmes, honey cake and tagelach.

In these coming Days of Awe all of this is good nourishment for the soul.

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Colorful video of a flash mob with a Jewish theme in a shopping mall in Argentina

Cute video of a flash mob with a Jewish theme in a shopping mall in Argentina. They describe:

More than 200 people of all ages amazed passersby with a magnificent choreography that paid tribute to our flag on its 200th anniversary. This brief meeting organized by YOK (www.yoktime.com), a collective cultural identity proposes to Judaism without exclusions or preconceptions, performed this action under the slogan "Let us celebrate the history"...

Hat tip to Susan A.

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DVD of the Talmudic Film "Footnote" by Joseph Cedar

Joseph Cedar's film Footnote explores the main definitions and contradictions of "Talmudic" living: the tensions between rivals, the relationships of humans to texts, the unquenchable thirst for the recognition of one's peers, and especially the unresolvable struggle of humor v. humorlessness.

The DVD is scheduled for release July 24, 2012.

The Times had a superb review for the film when it opened in New York. They have a nice short video interview at their site too.

Ego and Envy, So It Is Written
By KRISTIN HOHENADEL

THE world is full of unsung academics who toil all their lives in an obsessive quest for knowledge — and a reputation-making breakthrough in their chosen field — only to end up a footnote in someone else’s brilliant career.

Israel’s contender for this year’s foreign-language Academy Award was Joseph Cedar’s “Footnote,” a tragicomic tale of rival father-and-son Jewish scholars in the Talmud department of Hebrew University in Jerusalem. A universal story with an esoteric setting, the film was a box-office hit in Israel, winning that country’s version of an Oscar for best picture, and best screenplay at the Cannes Film Festival. The movie, which was an Oscar finalist, opens in New York on Friday.

“Israeli films have always struggled to find their connection to the larger Israel,” said the soft-spoken, serious-minded Mr. Cedar, the film’s writer and director, during a New York visit. “I come from a yeshiva background, so I studied the Talmud from a religious angle most of my life. No other culture has created a document so vast and so detailed that continues to be relevant. The text is the source of our culture. This film touches something that has to do with our identity.”

Born in Manhattan, Mr. Cedar moved to Israel with his family in 1973, when he was 5, but held onto his pitch-perfect English. He studied philosophy and the history of theater at Hebrew University, and filmmaking at New York University. “Footnote” is his fourth film. His previous movie, “Beaufort,” about Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon, was also an Oscar finalist.

“I’m used to speaking to journalists as an Israeli, and it always has a political side to it,” Mr. Cedar said. “This film got me off the hook a little bit in the sense that I’m not finding myself too much in the service of the Israeli foreign ministry.”

The idea for “Footnote” struck when Mr. Cedar received a call announcing that he had won an award that he mistakenly believed was meant for his father, Howard Cedar, a biochemist who teaches at Hebrew University and is a winner of the Israel Prize, his country’s highest honor. In the film a misunderstanding over which member of the family has been awarded the Israel Prize pits father against son, and ultimately each man against himself.

“Awards motivate, and they raise the bar,” Mr. Cedar said. “I can say with 100 percent certainty that without the Oscars American cinema wouldn’t be as good. But any kind of national prize causes its recipients to compromise something in their integrity. There’s no question that there’s a tax you pay when you’re willing to be embraced by the establishment. There’s an inherent contradiction. You’re proud of your achievement; you’re ashamed that you needed it. And I think it’s true for anyone standing on that podium. This has become a pretty big issue in my life. I’m investigating it.”

Mr. Cedar said he didn’t know much about the inner workings of his alma mater’s Talmud department, renowned for its uncompromising standards and eccentric characters, before he began looking for an academic field in which to set the story. But he became fascinated by the academics who devote their lives to studying the intricacies of the Talmud, a foundation of Jewish law and culture.

“A lot of these scholars start out with a lot of ambition, and over the years that ambition is chipped and chipped,” Mr. Cedar said. “Some of them have never published anything because they’re so terrified of making a mistake. It turns some of them into people who are very, very hard to live with, harsher than you see in the film. There are real people that live in this tension that is unbearable, and it has to do with their area of study, but it’s also a competitiveness that never gives them any satisfaction or fulfillment.”

Eliezer Shkolnik (played by Shlomo Bar Aba) is a taciturn and long-frustrated philologist who analyzes Talmudic manuscripts in exacting detail, laser focused on the paralyzing task of recreating an authentic master version of that ancient collection of recorded oral texts before attempting to decipher what it all means.

A rising star with a gift for schmooze, his son, Uriel (Lior Ashkenazi), writes bold, popular theoretical books, eclipsing Eliezer in honors and accolades, becoming a nemesis who represents a new world order that Eliezer reviles and loathes.

“The tradition of fierce argument over words, the tension of generations, the tension between what is oral and what is written, these are all very basic things that drive the Talmud,” Mr. Cedar said. “That’s what this film is about.”

Mr. Bar Aba, a household name in Israel who nonetheless hadn’t been in a film in 24 years, said by phone from Israel that he was hardly an obvious choice for the role of Eliezer, having skipped his Talmud classes in high school. Best known for his antic performance style — one of his signature characters is a wild horse — he said he is often described as an Israeli Robin Williams.

“When I invited my psychologist to see me onstage, she said I acted like a Jew with Germans aiming a gun at my head, telling me the second I stopped being funny, they would shoot,” Mr. Bar Aba said through a translator. “I was very surprised Joseph would approach me for such a quiet and introverted role.”

Mr. Cedar said he told Mr. Bar Aba that “this character is full of a murderous rage that can never come out,” adding, “It was his job as an actor to hold in that rage for the entire film.”

Meanwhile Mr. Ashkenazi didn’t seem to break a sweat. “Lior is a real leading man, he’s Cary Grant,” Mr. Cedar said. “Things come easily to him, so he doesn’t really have to prepare.”

Mr. Bar Aba said of his co-star: “He drove me crazy! One take and he went for a drink!”

Nevertheless Mr. Ashkenazi did have some guidance in preparing for his role from Moshe Halbertal, a professor of Jewish thought and philosophy at Hebrew University who also teaches at the New York University law school, and whose career trajectory bears a passing resemblance to Uriel’s (though he denies any resemblance to the character).

Did he ever imagine that anyone would want to make a movie about the Talmud department?

“No, no, I did not,” Mr. Halbertal said by phone from Jerusalem with a chuckle. “You need someone who can understand the larger potential of such particular drama. And the ongoing touch of irony in the movie gave it a genuine sense of proportion. I think part of the power of the movie is that it can speak simultaneously to insiders and observers.”

Mr. Halbertal said that he sensed among his peers, many of whom watched the film in a special screening for Hebrew University faculty, “a feeling that the film represented something deep about that world, that it brought to life serious issues and struggles, that having a life’s quest doesn’t isolate you from human vulnerabilities.”

After the screening a philologist from the Talmud department presented Mr. Cedar with a challenge: “He said, ‘I noticed I’m No. 4 in the credits, and it’s not alphabetical, so it must be by importance, and I just want to know, why is this guy more important than I am?’ ” Mr. Cedar recalled. “So I said, ‘You know there’s a third option: It can just be random.’ And his answer was, ‘Nothing is random.’ That’s how these people feel. It somehow made its way to the screen. It means something. It’s not random, and it’s our job to figure out why.”

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Video: The Jewish Channel Exposes Anti-Zionist Work of Former Republican Spokesman Yossi Gestetner

Bravo. Solid journalism by TJC.

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Our Favorite Movie "The Endless Summer" and Our Quest for the Perfect Wave of Prayer

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.

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Times' Rave Review of the Met's Enchanted Island with the Met Videos

The Times raves some more about the Met's "Enchanted Island" which we enjoyed immensely on New Year's Eve.

The only remotely Talmudic connection we can find in this thoroughly pagan fantasy is the re-purposing of a Handel anthem from Zadok to Neptune, as the review explains:

What would a Baroque pastiche be without a star turn? This one had the tenor Plácido Domingo, no less, as Neptune: by his count, his 136th role (and first full-fledged god). Neptune, with flowing beard and silver raiment, is introduced in a dazzling underwater scene with an aquatic chorus of courtiers singing “Neptune the Great” (using “Zadok the Priest,” a Handel coronation anthem). Four mermaids float above. And Ariel, come to seek Neptune’s help, arrives in deep-sea diver’s gear.

Music Review Shiny Bibelot From Shakespeare, Handel & Co.

By ANTHONY TOMMASINI

The Enchanted Island, with Plácido Domingo as Neptune amid an ocean of courtiers, had its premiere on Saturday night at the Metropolitan Opera.

“The Enchanted Island,” a pastiche incorporating elements from Shakespeare and Baroque works by Handel, Vivaldi and others, had its premiere Saturday at the Metropolitan Opera.

• Slide Show | Video: Metropolitan Pastiche

Another Shiny Bibelot: "God's Favorite Prayers"

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