The Role of Women in Judaism

I am remiss: I meant to write about this months ago, and other issues got in the way. But this is such an important topic that I am writing about it now.

The issue of a woman's role in scholarship and Judaic ritual leadership, which has been 'whispered' about just under the surface for a while now, was raised aloud again and brought to the forefront recently.
This has happened particularly by the big news made by Rabbi Avi Weiss with his "Open Orthodoxy" idea, opening the door for women to have a leadership and public role in Jewish ritual observance, and also by Rabbi Yuval Sherlo, head of the Petach Tikva Hesder Yeshiva, when he created his "halachic document" enabling women to increase their participation in synagogue services, and by various other articles and blogs on the subject.
Here are some excerpts: from The Forward:

Rabbi Avi Weiss, a leading advocate for a more liberal Orthodoxy, and Sara Hurwitz, a protégé of Weiss, are now taking inquiries and applications for Yeshivat Maharat, a four-year program set to open this fall to train women as “full members of the Rabbinic Clergy,” according to an e-mail announcement. But they will not, as of yet, be called rabbis.

From YNet News:

Rabbi Yuval Sherlo, head of the Petah Tikva hesder yeshiva, has recently formulated an elaborate halachic document aimed at facilitating the integration of women into prayer services and the life of the congregation, while striving for the maximum level of equality allowed by the Halacha.

In the plan, which was presented at a conference at the Lander Institute in Jerusalem Wednesday, Sherlo calls for renovating synagogues in order to adjust them to women's prayers, to encourage women to dance with the Torah scroll and allow orphaned women recite the kaddish prayer alongside men.

And from Elana Sztokman's blog in writing about 'Judaism in transition':

. . . As long as women do not “count”, not for minyan, not for kaddish, not as human beings, the message we sent to our daughter is still a lot of wishful thinking. As long as we continue to insist on gender difference, that only men can give a get, that men take a wife while women are “taken”, that only men are considered reliable witnesses, that men are rabbis while women are “maharats”, and so forth, then the equality line is still a bit of a fib. Sure, we’re working, but there is much work left to do, and this is where our energies belong.

I remember how, years ago, some of the Orthodox establishment berated the great Torah scholar Nechama Leibowitz (zikhrona li-vrakha), whose class I had the honor of attending.

Has the time for acceptance finally arrived? Can we do this? Can Orthodox Judaism incorporate a new philosophy of including women in active, public religious roles?

Another interesting response to this hot topic was written by a Chabad rabbi, Rabbi Levi Brackman. He acknowledges in his article on YNet News that some women, for spiritual, not feminist reasons, seek a deeper role in ritual observance:

. . .most traditional women I encounter have no desire to lead synagogue services and are comfortable with their place within Orthodox synagogue services.

But there are some who are not. Some women want a more active role in the synagogue—not because they are feminists but simply because they have a spiritual yearning for it. We in the West live in a society that has dispelled negative sexist and chauvinistic attitudes towards women. Whilst men and women are different, we now clearly recognize that men and women are equal.

But then he goes on to say that (emphasis mine):

Ultimately religious Jews who are committed to the traditional interpretation of Judaism must be guided in their spiritual worship by Jewish law as found in the Talmud and codified in the Shulchan Aruch. If there is room within the confines of Jewish law to allow greater female participation in the synagogue, women should not only be allowed to participate in that way they should be encouraged to do so.

That leaves this only a partially propped-open door. Because I don't think the Talmud nor the Shulchan Aruch are up for debate. . .yet.

Here is a JPost video referenced on Elena Sztokman's blog, about the Kolech conference in Jerusalem this past July (click on the JPost link to see this).

And here is just a small portion (see #1) of the agenda* at the Kolech conference (*for loose, partial English translation, see below)


The subject is on the table.

(then, of course, there is always DovBear. . .)


*some opening lectures are:
1) the causes which designed the structure of halacha (Jewish law)
2) "your nakedness will not be exposed" - before whom do we cover ourselves up, and why?

Mashiach-er-Madonna is Coming. . .

(le-havdil*.)
This is a sign of the times. Madonna has come to tour the Holy Land (again). The interesting thing is, that she, The Material Girl has, as have some other celebrities over the years, found a fascination with Kabbalah and things Jewish, while many Jews never had or even worse, have lost their connection to Judaism.
Instead, they drift into the secular, spiritually purposeless lifestyle of our prevaling culture. As Rabbi Yitzhak Batzri--with whom I don't agree on everything he says, but do on this--stated on this latest visit by Madonna (oh, excuse me: by Esther):

“No one can study Torah unless he or she is converting to Judaism," he explained to Arutz-7's Hebrew news site. Madonna’s ostensible plunge into Kabbalah several years has been widely condemned by Torah scholars. Rabbi Batzri said Sunday, however, “There is no connection between what the singer learns and true Kabbalah. The foundations of Kabbalah are the Tree of Life…that no one can learn without abstention.”

He added that learning Jewish mysticism is a spiritual path towards “practical Kabbalah” and that learning it means one must act against certain natural instincts. Madonna’s performances are stacked with sexual innuendoes; her private appearance for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, two years ago was met with disgust by rabbis and Jewish thinkers.

Here is the long and short of it. One is not permitted to 'learn' Torah for frivolous reasons. If one is really serious, one should "leave the institutions that capitalize on the trend" (of kabbalah), and instead, as Rabbi Batzri puts it, "look for a true way to Judaism:"

There is another way to look at it though. Maybe this trend of Judaism's growing popularity among non-Jews is indicative of the fact that the Mashiach is really coming (bi'mehayrah be-yamenu, Amen*.)

*le-havdil: lit., 'to separate,' not to equate the two
*Mashiach: the Jewish Messiah
*bi-mehayrah be-yamenu: quickly, in our time

Update on Heichal Shlomo "Missionary" Convocation

I just recieved an email today from Jewish Israel. It seems that the management at Heichal Shlomo was not aware that their facility was going to be used by Christian missionaries:

Jewish Israel feels that the management of Heichal Shlomo was deceived and that it is more than disturbing that an Orthodox landmark and synagogue in Jerusalem was almost used for a Christian or interfaith worship gathering . This should serve as a wake-up call to the Jewish community to become aware of the prevalence of evangelical missionary deceptions and it should alert the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus and Knesset members to be fully aware of the evangelizing intentions and agenda of a number of the individuals and organizations that they work with.

How something like an evangelical event being held in Heichal Shlomo ever got past authorities, I have no clue. All I can say is, לאן הגענו ?

Has Israel Beat the Recession?

While my son is on a forced furlough from his company in Israel (his wife surprised him with a trip for two to Greece while he's off-what a gal!), which indicates that there are still layoffs and belt-tightening, over all the recession might be receding, according to an AP article published by Forbes of a Moody report on Israel's economy.

Recently I wrote in this blog about George Gilder's new book The Israel Test which indicated that Israel is becoming an economic force to be reckoned with and possibly a role model for capitalism.

So will somebody please tell this to Forbes, whose video about "Markets on the Up" doesn't even mention Israel?

"Interfaith Dialogue" has an Agenda

I first saw this on Shiloh Musings, republished from Jewish Israel, and was beside myself.
What is going on here? Is Heichal Shlomo becoming a venue for missionaries whose agenda, underneath, is converting Jews? Read on:

In an unprecedented and radical move, which most Torah observant Jews would categorize as an outright Chilul Hashem, Heichal Shlomo will be hosting a Christian “worship convocation” and banquet sponsored by evangelical missionary Christine Darg of Exploits Ministries. The event is scheduled for October 1, 2009 (a day before Erev Sukkot), and is being promoted as a prelude to ICEJ’s Feast of Tabernacles. The advertisement for the event calls for an afternoon “Daughter of Jerusalem” Worship Convocation in the 18th Century Renanim Synagogue of the Heichal Shlomo, followed by a banquet at the Heichel Shlomo.

Heichal Shlomo is a complex which for years served as the seat of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, and currently houses the Great Synagogue, the Jewish Heritage Museum, the Renanim Synagogue and a number of rabbinic offices.

A poster advertising “The Daughter of Jerusalem” Worship Convocation and Banquet can be seen here. Other known “messianic”(Christian) and evangelical personalities will be featured at the event. Also participating is at least one Knesset member and Jewish community leaders - including Josh Reinstein the Director of the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus. Christine Darg and her husband Peter regularly work with the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus and organize events for them.

In the past Reinstein has consistently denied working with missionary groups and has upheld the position that “The Christian Allies Caucus…refuses to work with the messianic Jewish community on the grounds that it actively seeks to convert Jews. ‘We believe they work against the interests of the State of Israel.” David Rotem, the current Chairman of the Knesset Christian Caucus also reaffirms that “the caucus's guidelines bar any connection with missionary groups.” And the Caucus admits that “it is legally bound to refrain from all connections with missionary groups in order to have NGO status”

And why is Rabbi Yehuda Glick of the Temple Institute participating in a ceremony like this one:

(from Jewish Israel)

Heichal Shlomo will be hosting a Christian “worship convocation” and banquet sponsored by evangelical missionary Christine Darg of Exploits

Find more videos like this on Jewish Israel

This is nothing more than blatant evangelizing. It is wonderful for non-Jews to support Israel, and we appreciate all the friends we can get in this antisemitic world; but not with an underpinning of an agenda to ultimately convert us to their faith.

We Jews have our own, unique, Divinely inspired faith, and Israel must remain a Jewish state, true to Judaism, not to any other religion or belief system, no matter how "holy" Jerusalem is to those others.

I look at it this way: if you love something and believe in it very much, you generally do not want to share it --you want to keep it to yourself; it's a natural reaction, an act of self preservation.

We Jews do not go out proselytizing our faith to others of different religions--only to our own. So, why do some other religions go out in force to convert others? Is it because. . . they need to prove to themselves that their religion is true? Because, psychologically, if you can convince someone else that what you are saying is right, then you believe it more yourself. It shows a basic insecurity in the proselytizer's belief system. Maybe, just maybe, it isn't true after all. . . ?

I agree with Ellen W. Horowitz's response to Isi Leibler when she wrote (emphasis mine):

...I fully acknowledge that Christianity has certainly evolved into a kinder, gentler religion which has boldly struggled to incorporate the rebirth of the modern state of Israel into its theological worldview.

However, as long as evangelizing remains the number one priority for evangelicals, and as long as the Jewish nation is obliged to remain a separate and unique faith community, with a belief in one G-d and an aversion to idolatry, “respect them and suspect them” is the most workable premise for our establishing relations with another faith group – especially one comprised of zealous, theologically inspired, evangelizing Christians.

We are Jews. Let us be firm in our emunah* and dat*, and set our boundaries.

*emunah: faith *dat: religion

Weigh Your Words Carefully ('cause they're heavy)

There is a serious problem with Bloggersbase, which I intend to bring to the forefront and risk being the "whistleblower." It is a problem that I, personally, have already encountered several times, and after reading someone else's comment apologizing for a typo in their post title, I decided to blog about it here.

This life-and-death defect is. . . your posting set in stone. Yes. It's true. Once you left-click that mouse of yours with your trusty little itchy pointer finger on the button that says "publish," you have altered the universe. Your post is now out there in the hot sun, like an overripe, wormy fruit hanging half off its branch in the peach orchard about to splat all over the ground, for all to see. And it is absolutely unchangeable, irreversible, IMMUTABLE FOREVER. Then, it might actually even disappear!

With your kind indulgence (or not), I will explain: I have experienced this phenomenon several times, as I mentioned above; the first time it happened, (ok, I admit I'm impulsive, act reflexively and have Tourette Syndrome) I debated with myself for a long time (about a nanosecond) on the topic of in which category my blog post belonged: was it Lifestyle? Politics and Opinion? Trash Collection? Then, absolutely reflexively, my finger spazzed (it IS a word. I swear.) and hit the 'HUMOR' button.

I don't know why I did it, except that it was funny. Hitting the humor button, that is. Well, also my post--think about it--trash collection is funny; especially when there are stinky mounds and mounds of it, which you can then form like clay into a beautiful compost-pile public park complete with trees, grass, bike paths, row-boating lake and a bird sanctuary (yes, those birds still hang around, ever hoping to find some left-over shakshuka buried under the flowers). At any rate, when I hit that button, it was a done deal. No turning back. I couldn't change it if I wanted to, which I didn't, or so I thought at the time.

And then, it happened; my post just disappeared--vanished into thin air! Apparently, the Creators of the BloggaVerse (Bloggers Universe) caused it to NOT EXIST, just like that! Why, you ask (well, you didn't, but I'm telling you anyway)? Because (horrors!) it was in the wrong category. It's like, murder. The Creator, with His little finger, has wiped out all existence (chas ve'shalom*)

But I say, NO! It's more like manslaughter: just a simple mistake, with no malice aforethought. Like putting the eggs in the fruit bin. Big deal. You're not going to excommunicate someone over that, are you? In short, the punishment does not fit the crime!

And what about the times that you think you have the perfect post (like, say, a #5), hit "publish," and suddenly realize that you have a major misspelling of a third-grade vocabulary word which is right smack in the opening paragraph, in 24 point Comic Sans bold italics CAPS. Can you fix it? Can you redo it? Is there a reprieve? NO WAY. You have just committed your biggest crime in broad daylight, in the middle of Grand Central Station, with your pants down.

And once it's done, it's DONE. NO corrections possible, NO editing, NO WAY BACK. Heck, when I write my blog posts over here at my Tikkun Olam blog (www.lady-light.blogspot.com), I change it myriad times. Once one of my readers wrote me that he thought he was seeing things, subliminally: he was reading my post, rubbed his eye for a moment and when he looked again--WHOOSH--the post was gone, and then was THERE, in a flash! But, aha--in that split second it had changed from HER BOSOMS HEAVED WHEN HE KISSED HER to FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD by Thomas Hardy. It was now (in my humble opinion), a classic.

Can we do that with the Bloggersbase platform? Do we have that option? Emphatically, NO. Once you publish, there it is--you can't edit it, you can't even delete it, for gossakes. It is forever set in stone, like Stonehenge. Or The Raven, nevermore to be corrected for eternity.

So I'm giving all you potential James Joyces, Edith Whartons, Charles Dickenses, Charlotte Brontes and Arbley C. Strunks out there fair warning: go over your post with a fine-tooth comb (like when you have lice), several hundred times. And then, underneath it write a disclaimer just in case, to wit:

If you detect any errors in this post such as misspellings of common words, incorrect idiomatic expressions, poorly turned phrases or stupid blonde jokes, this is to inform you that the post was not written by the author named above but rather ghost written by a ghost with a pseudonym. If however, you find this post quite excellent and perfect in every way, it was written by ME.

*chas ve-shalom: "G-d forbid."

Jewish vs Goyish

Ok, this is not original as I received it in an email from my famous relative, my "sister-in-law's sister-in-law," you know the one. (-and there is absolutely no offense meant to either Jews or non-Jews.)
But it's still cute...er, maybe not...so just have a laugh (or cry, whatever!)

JEWISH VS GOYISH

Judges Are Jewish
Juries Are Goyish

Packing all the mini hotel shampoos is Jewish
Using them is Goyish

Ordering family style is Jewish
Ordering a la carte is Goyish

Cruises are Jewish
Walking tours are Goyish

Laugh-In was Jewish
Hee Haw was Goyish

Grabbing lox from the back of the buffet first, is Jewish
Grabbing melon from the front is Goyish

Bunions are Jewish
Flat feet are Goyish

Simon Says is Jewish
The Hokey Pokey is Goyish

"Bewitched" is Jewish
"I Dream of Jeannie" is Goyish

The Limbo is Jewish
Line dancing is Goyish

Picking from your mate's plate is Jewish
Not wanting even a "little taste" is Goyish

Fruitcake is Goyish
Fruit and cake is Jewish

Reading "how-to" books is Goyish
Writing "how-to" books is Jewish

ESPN is Goyish
PBS is Jewish

Tiffany's is Goyish
Your Uncle Ira in the Jewelry District is Jewish

Passing bars is Goyish
Passing the Bar Exam is Jewish

DIY (Do it Yourself) is Goyish
PAG (Pay A Goy who knows what he's doing) is Jewish

Mary Kay is Goyish
Murray the K is Jewish

The Chia pet infomercial is Goyish
Ronco spray-on hair is Jewish

Morbidly obese is Goyish
Baby fat is Jewish

NASCAR is Goyish. Period.

West Coast is Goyish
East Coast is Jewish

Lunch meat is Goyish;
Deli is Jewish

White bread is Goyish;
Rye is Jewish

Sushi is Jewish;

Chopsticksare Goyish

Comforters are Goyish

Suspenders are Jewish;

Overalls are Goyish


Waldbaum's was Jewish;

A&P was Goyish.
(Now A&P is the parent company of Waldbaum's!)


Alan Sherman was Jewish;
Weird Al Yankovic, not so much

Laughing at someone else's troubles is Goyish;
Laughing at your own troubles is Jewish

"Youngsters" are Goyish,
"Kids" are Jewish

Buttering bread is Goyish;
Spreading margarine is Jewish

Sitting quietly to get served is Goyish:
Standing and waving one's hands is Jewish

I have just one thing to say about the Heineken can. Maybe beer is Goyish,
but Freddie Heineken, the founder of the Heineken Brewery in Amsterdam (a very Jewish city) was a Jewish man...just thought to tell you that...well,
pointing this out is Jewish too I think...

WWF is Goyish,
the NBA is Jewish

Tattoos and piercing are Goyish;
Diamonds and pearls are Jewish

Ham sandwiches are Goyish;
Corned beef on rye is Jewish

White sox are Goyish;
No sox are Jewish

Saving Money is Goyish;
Investing money is Jewish

Snowmobiling is Goyish;
Skiing is Jewish

Doing Landscaping is Goyish;
Hiring a Landscaper is Jewish

Beer is Goyish;
Wine is Jewish

Frizzy hair is Jewish;
Stick straight flat hair is Goyish

A party that revolves around the buffet table is Jewish; A party that revolves around the bar is Goyish!

Making lists of what's Jewish and what's not .. is VERY Jewish!!

*goyish: a non-Jew; literally, "goy" means a "nation."

*Copyright alert: No infringement of any text or graphic copyright is ever intended on this blog. If you own the copyright to any original image or document used for the creation of the graphics or information on this site, please contact the blog administrator with all pertinent info so that proper credit can be given. If you wish to have it removed from the site, just say the word; it shall be, ASAP.

The Pressure of Victory, the Agony of. . .

I don't believe it. I have to write something. But I must, even though I don't wanna.

Why? Because they said so. That's right. THEY, the Bloggersbase powers-that-be, said I'd better get out there and write something quick or I will (horrors) lose my big chance at my FIFTEEN MINUTES OF FAME or something. And in addition, I might--IF I write a blog post, that is--actually WIN (applause appropriate here) enough to buy a Starbuck's Grande Vente Mocha Latte or whatever the hell they call them these days.

But as I said before, I don't want to write. I'm exhausted. My daughter just left today. I'm missing her and I'm in a bad mood. I'm not even prepared to teach my class tonight (well, semi-prepared; did it last week...). All I want to do is vege-out, lie in bed and sleep and/or watch a movie.

Ever have one of those days? You have a GA-Zillion things to do,
-wash the dishes
-ten loads of laundry (at least)
-research & create worksheets for a contract job (well, maybe you don't have that to do)
- fold and put away clean laundry which is in various laundry baskets all over the bedroom floor
-empty out, sort and discard stuff from youngest daughter's closet & room
-move computer, computer desk and printer and two rolling file cabinets back into said-youngest daughter's room to re-set up your office which was displaced when all the kids (including youngest daughter) came for a visit
-get rid of those boxes and bags on the floor of your bedroom filled with STUFF, who knows what is it--which have been there for months and which you step around and don't even notice anymore until the AC repairman comes in and says, 'oh, did you just move in'--when you've lived here for five years

--When all you want to do is just TAKE A NAP.

But, I CAN'T DO THAT, CAN I?!! I have to WRITE something or I'll be a TOTAL FAILURE, a Bloggersphere WASHOUT, or (horrors!): "Below the Threshold." And who wants to be that?

So here it is, my BLOG POST, for gosh sakes. It's true, every word of it. This is exactly how I feel at this very moment in time.

Now go away.

Haveil Havalim #231 is up, and. . .

. . . at Ben-Yehudah's עשר אגורות* . Looks like many, many interesting posts are included in this edition.
As I've said before several times, so many blogs, so little time! But do take the time to read at least some of them, for it will be well worth it (and you'll be the richer for it too).

My daughter left today, and that makes none. An empty house. Don't feel like blogging right now...

*Esser Agoroth, Ben-Yehudah's blog. Means in Hebrew "10 agorot," or the equivalent of about 2 cents American.

The Importance of Family

After a very (unusually) busy summer, with our traveling out of state to visit and care for our grandchildren, and then having one grandson visit here with his aunt (my middlest, Toodles) , and then for a few days all three of our daughters being here together--the "three sisters' --first time in years--the importance of family relationships and missing them is starting to set in, again...

Our youngest daughter, here for a 30-day leave from the army (which she had to divide among 3 states because that is where her family and friends are), left in the beginning of August, for several days in New York and then back to Israel. This had been her first trip back here in four years, because of the commitments of school and then the army. We had seen her previously one-and-a-half years ago at her oldest brother's wedding in March, 2008.

Our middlest just graduated from college in Israel, and is back in the States for a year-no, not at 'home' (where is home, these days?), but in her older sister's home out of state. She will be employed by her sister's company, and in these economically depressed times you don't turn down a job offer! She is still here for a few more days at least...

After such a tumultuous visit parting is even more difficult. I had forgotten what a 'full-house' this had been, raising five children. The daily routine, after-school activities, laughter, tears (yes, of course there are tears sometimes), the kids' comings and goings, singing and harmonizing z'mirot on Shabbat--the words of the song rings true: ". . . you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone. . ."

The thing is, if we knew that we would be going to visit them in the near future, say, for Chanukah--either in the States or out--it would be a different story: it would still be a little sad, but with a forward-look to the future. However, it is not that way. In our situation, we don't even know where we will be living in two months, let alone making travel plans (financially impossible at this time).

I always knew that I was connected to my children. Being a mother was the most important thing to me; it was my purpose in life. It has been years already, since 1990, when my eldest started leaving home; you'd think I'd be used to it by now. But I'm not. There is a big empty hole in my heart, a cavernous void, which had been previously filled by laughing, growing, changing children.

This past Mother's Day I received a lovely card from a good friend of mine, which really moved me. I can't remember it verbatim, but the message went something like this:

Happy Mother's Day to my friend, a mother who raised her children with love and guidance. I am sure your children appreciate all you have done for them, for each one of them is living a purposeful, meaningful life.

Well, I think they are living meaningful lives; but the truth is, that I am the one who needs to learn a lesson from this; it is I, who need to adjust-my kids are doing fine (albeit in different areas of life), Baruch Hashem; but I am the one who perhaps, just a little bit, needs to let go, and to let them go, as well. . .

At least, one comforting thought is that Toodles (after she earns and saves a little $ after paying off her college loans) will be close enough for a possible visit back to us, maybe even for a chag...

But until then, the house is starting to empty out and the quiet is settling in again. . .

I can't say that I missed it.


*Copyright alert: No infringement of any text or graphic copyright is ever intended on this blog. If you own the copyright to any original image or document used for the creation of the graphics or information on this site, please contact the blog administrator with all pertinent info so that proper credit can be given. If you wish to have it removed from the site, just say the word; it shall be, ASAP.

Is Social Media Our Future?

Saw this incredible video first on Twitter at Yigal's page. This is part of the reason my husband is out of work. The paradigm is changing. . .(you can follow me on Twitter as well!)



What do you think? Do you agree that this is the future of communications?

Let’s Hear it for Comic Sans!

What’s all the ruckus about in articles I am reading regarding the font called “Comic Sans MS*?” It seems that everyone is railing against it, vilifying it, and advocating banning it. This is starting to make me nervous, because I myself can not understand what all the fuss is about. Does that mean that I am not ‘with it?’ Not ‘cool?’ Have pedestrian tastes? Unintellectual? Or just plain stupid?

I was afraid to think about it, because I sensed in myself leanings towards--horrors—liking Comic Sans! I use it to email readers of my blog, for one thing. I mean, it seems like a friendly font to me.

So I did what any person would do--I quickly researched the history (it’s short) and origins of Comic Sans Serif, to see if that knowledge would enlighten me as to all the brouhaha.

Here goes: Comic Sans was invented by Vincent Connare, a former Microsoft font designer, and was released by Microsoft in 1995:

Kelson writes "The Wall Street Journal profiles Vincent Connare, designer of the web's most-hated font, Comic Sans. Not surprisingly, the font's origins go back to Microsoft Bob, where he saw a talking dog speaking in Times New Roman. Connare pulled out Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns for reference, and created the comic book-style font over the next week.

(Read the rest of it here.)

Heck, why? Why pick on a poor, sweet font like Comic Sans? I love Comic Sans. It’s adorable. It feels right. It looks right. It’s natural and laid-back. It’s CUTE. It’s PERKY. It’s HAPPY and CAREFREE. It has LIFT:



Comic Sans gives off a tone of playful sarcasm (and believe me, this world could certainly use a little dose of playful sarcasm).

I really couldn’t figure out what all the negativity and intense hatred was about; so I pondered it and ruminated over it for a while. Finally, after a nano-second of deep thought, it suddenly hit me: this font-hatred is a conspiracy by the intelligentsia, the academics in their ivory towers and the writers whose books are on the New York Times Best-Seller list.

And why, pray (thought you’d never ask)? It’s a psychologist’s dream, plain and simple: all these great intellectuals are jealous. Deep down inside, they know that it is Times New Roman(which they exclusively use in their weighty tomes)that is destroying the world. They secretly know in their subconscious minds, that it is only the intrepid font of Comic Sans-serif that can save the earth from terminal seriousness, which is fatal (and also can kill you), as evidenced in this mind-erasing speech:

The Trust are committed to sharing best practice and passionate about facilitating appropriate skills through workshops and learning events around these issues across the piece. Monitoring using a web-based toolkit will empower users to drill down to assess local needs interactively. Stakeholders will be fully engaged in a consultation exercise breaking down barriers, pushing the envelope towards a seamless, one-stop shop service. Safety and value for money will be paramount so we are investing a funding stream to put in place a supportive multidisciplinary team to head up this exciting upcoming project, provide local ownership and robust clinical governance. Doing nothing is not an option: subject to independent review lessons will be learnt, accountability made transparent to commissioners, providers, and service-users to ensure that this tragedy will never happen again.

Now, look at the same paragraph in Comic Sans—see the difference?

The Trust are committed to sharing best practice and passionate about facilitating appropriate skills through workshops and learning events around these issues across the piece. Monitoring using a web-based toolkit will empower users to drill down to assess local needs interactively. Stakeholders will be fully engaged in a consultation exercise breaking down barriers, pushing the envelope towards a seamless, one-stop shop service. Safety and value for money will be paramount so we are investing a funding stream to put in place a supportive multidisciplinary team to head up this exciting upcoming project, provide local ownership and robust clinical governance. Doing nothing is not an option: subject to independent review lessons will be learnt, accountability made transparent to commissioners, providers, and service-users to ensure that this tragedy will never happen again.

Comic Sans can also help one reevaluate one’s life and enable one to make critical life-changing decisions:

I have come to the realization that a world without Comic Sans
Would be a world without love, laughter; and tongues in cheeks.

In conclusion, I invite, nay, I implore all thinking and feeling people to fight to keep Comic Sans as the vanguard font to save the world from terminal boredom.
We should start right now by promoting it’s new motto:
Comic Sans: It may have no serifs, but it has personality!




(also VOTE for this post--on Bloggersbase at http://www.bloggersbase.com/articles/entertainment/humor/lets-hear-it-for-comic-sans/)

*because the Blogger platform does not support the Comic Sans font, I'm afraid you're going to have to imagine it in this post!

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Are We At a Crossroads?

(photo at right: Gil Yohanan at YNet News:http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3750813,00.html )


I have been reading the recent news items about serious breaches of the law by prominent religious rabbis and raucous "demonstrations" (read: rioting) against other Jews by "religious" Haredim (Ultra-Orthodox) in Jerusalem, and my mind is reeling.

Instead of a public outcry from the Haredi leaders against the lawless rabbis, there is mostly silence. Unfortunately, there is also mainly silence from these leaders with regard to their own sect violently clashing with police and overturning and burning city dumpsters while strewing trash all over the streets and sidewalks, turning parts of Jerusalem into a veritable stinking garbage dump. This is at best a disgrace, and at worst, in my opinion a big chilul Hashem (desecration of G-d's name).

I said mainly silent, because except for one article I read in which a Haredi protester was interviewed. He stated that the violence is perpetrated by 'at risk' youth (my term), and is not a manifestation of the general Haredi community. Even if that is so, the Haredi community then has a responsibility to manage/help rehabilitate these youths.

The violence sometimes also extends to merely riding the buses in Jerusalem (on certain routes): the situation with "segregated buses" might be getting out of hand. On YNet Opinion an article was written entitled Going Too Far, in which the author "slams" the idea of segrated buses (I commented on that article), and I agree with him. One should be able to uphold one's religious beliefs, even some chumrot* as well, but not at the expense of others:

Not too long ago, I saw Sephardic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar attend an official ceremony in Jerusalem that featured a female singer. Yet he did not leave the site when she started singing, even though according to Orthodox Judaism men are generally not allowed to hear women sing.

As we can assume with certainty that the rabbi is familiar with this decree, and as we are completely certain that he is not en route to abandoning his religious beliefs, it’s clear that his decision to remain in the ceremony was made on the basis of a quick Jewish law decision: The honorable rabbi decided not to insult the female singer and the event’s organizers.

Of course, the author is attributing to Rabbi Amar these reasons for his actions (and I hope he is right) but if true, it demonstrates how one can be religious and still be a "mensch." Kol haKavod* Rabbi Amar, for upholding your interpretation of our laws, while respecting others in the process.

As far as the corrupt rabbis are concerned, every Rav (rabbi) in the U.S. should have been condemning them from the pulpit, as Rav Levi Brackman writes in his excellent article on Religious Jews Don't Launder Money. His introduction says it all:

Jews who take their religion seriously and truly fear God don’t cheat, and when they hear about others who do they are outraged and do all they can to put a stop to it.

I think that the Jewish people are at a crossroads of sorts, and we need to reinstate our wise body of lawgivers and a supreme judiciary-our Sanhedrin (read more about it here).

At this point in time there is no one Rav nor is there one overall judicial body or bet-din* accepted by all Jews, and times are tough. We need to make decisions for our future as a sovereign nation. We need to make formal distinctions between, and declarations of what is actually Divine law, and what is custom, or what are syagim* around the laws. We need to decide if Judaism is meant to be interpreted in an authoritarian manner and forced on all Jews, or implement a live-and-let-live philosophy towards secular Jews, while demonstrating by our own behavior what we believe to be the Jewish Way of Life.

As Rabbi Levi Brackman put it, there is no excuse for complacency. Our future may depend on it.

*Kol Hakavod: 'honor is due,' literally "all the honor..."
*chumrot: stringencies (in interpreting Jewish law)
*syagim: 'fences' around the law, to protect it.

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The Answer to Noise Pollution, Israeli Style

What does one do when the Arabs (who have no consideration for others) make incessant noise way above the maximum decibel allowance at dawn? Blast them with Beethoven, of course.

Personally, I would add all the songs from before the inception of the State of Israel; all the halutznik songs, and then we should blast them with Yo Yah.




*Copyright alert: No infringement of any text or graphic copyright is ever intended on this blog. If you own the copyright to any original image or document used for the creation of the graphics or information on this site, please contact the blog administrator with all pertinent info so that proper credit can be given. If you wish to have it removed from the site, just say the word; it shall be, ASAP.

Not Intel; rather: Israel Inside*

Judging from world opinion vociferously protesting the Israeli so-called "occupation" and 'oppression of Palestinians' and 'apartheid' policy (and 'atrocities in Gaza,' and blah blah blah) one would think that little Israel (wasn't it the French ambassador who once called it "that shitty little country?") is not worth more than a passing thought, and a negative one at that.

However, everyone who really knows the country (and the people and the culture), including countless bloggers (yours truly among them), have often written about the seemingly miraculous birth of Israel and it's developing global greatness.

Enter George Gilder with a new future blockbuster book (you heard it here first...er...second: see Israel Matzav) entitled The Israel Test. In it he shines the light on Israel's emerging greatness as a world class player on the science, technology and economic global stage, (read Mr. Gilder's riveting essay in it's entirety on his Discovery Institute website), to wit (emphasis mine) :

Israel has become one of the most important economies in the world, and is second only to the United States in its pioneering of technologies benefiting human life, prosperity, and peace.

Like the Jews throughout history, Israel poses a test to the world. In particular, it is a test for any people that lusts for the fruits of capitalism without submitting to capitalism’s imperious moral code. Because capitalism, like the biblical faith from which it largely arises, remorselessly condemns to darkness and death those who resent the achievements of others.

At the heart of anti-Semitism is resentment of Jewish achievement. Today that achievement is concentrated in Israel. Obscured by the usual media coverage of the “war-torn” Middle East, Israel has become one of the most important economies in the world, second only to the United States in its pioneering of technologies benefitting human life, prosperity, and peace.

How many times have I previously written in this blog about how politically incorrect it is to support the Jews or Israel? About the illogicality and psychology of anti-Semitism? Let me count the ways: three cases in point, here, here and here, to name just a few. And now comes a renowned author and intellectual, who says this:



Talk about politically incorrect. But hey, let's face it--the Jewish People and their country the State of Israel are politically incorrect le-chatchila**. And I am damn proud to be counted amongst them.

Just tried to place a hold on The Israel Test at my local library, but they don't have it in their system: too new. So I'm going to read it right after I finish "The Late Great State of Israel by Aaron Klein." It all depends on what path Israel (and the rest of the world), will take.

*Israel Inside: from The American Spectator article about Mr. Gilder's book:

Israel has become such a huge driving force in computing and telecommunications that Gilder intellectually riffs off the "Intel Inside" logo that sits on the exterior case of countless millions of personal computers, and says that today's Internet and computers should be labeled "Israel Inside."

**le-chatchila (pronounced with a gutteral 'ch,' not as in English): 'from the beginning, or the outset.'

My Family

I know. Explains a lot.

Where Was Obama Really Born?

The question of Barack Hussein Obama's true place of birth is still not-so-quietly percolating.
World Net Daily's Joseph Farah has offered a $10,000 reward to anyone who can prove that he or she was present at Obama's birth.

"Barack Obama claims to have been born in Honolulu Aug. 4, 1961," explains Farah. "His entire constitutional claim to the presidency rests on this premise. Yet, he refuses to release a copy of his long-form birth certificate – the only document that could possibly corroborate his claim. Therefore, in the interest of truth, justice and the Constitution, I am making the extraordinary offer to entice someone to come forward with the facts of his birth – whether it took place in Hawaii or elsewhere."

On the other hand, you would think that the Governor of Hawaii, Linda Lingle, would have scoped out the facts on Obama's birth certificate way back during his campaign (especially since she is Republican), so it seems unlikely that he could have gotten away with such a fraud as a forged Hawaiian birth certificate.

On FactCheck an article was written one year ago supposedly proving that Obama's birth certificate is authentic. However, yesterday the Nebraska StatePaper wrote an article requesting Obama to produce a certified copy of his original birth certificate (yes, I know, it is Nebraska, but. . .)




I guess it's like that old Clairol commercial from the '50s; only his hairdresser knows for sure. . .

Watch Miss Clairol Hair Color at EncycloMedia.com

More on the Jews from Mark Twain

I had a request from a commenter to post some things other famous Gentiles said about the Jews, so I am posting the really famous one from Mark Twain, which most people I would guess are somewhat familiar with. If you are not, enjoy it, as seen here:

If the statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one quarter of one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous puff of star dust lost in the blaze of the Milky Way. Properly, the Jew ought hardly to be heard of, but he is heard of, has always been heard of. He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk.

His contributions to the world’s list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine and abstruse learning are also very out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers. He has made a marvelous fight in this world in all ages; and has done it with his hands tied behind him. He could be vain of himself and be excused for it. The Egyptians, the Babylonians and the Persians rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greeks and Romans followed and made a vast noise, and they were gone; other people have sprung up and held their torch high for a time but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, and have vanished.

The Jew saw them all, survived them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmaties, of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert but aggressive mind. All things are mortal but the Jews; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?

-Mark Twain, September 1897

Perceptions of the Jews by Renowned Gentiles

My sister-in-law's sister-in-law, who is a wonderful human being (and she's also funny) sent me this in an email. Normally I just delete them, but this got me to thinking-with the indictments and fraud and money laundering going on in certain segments of the Jewish population-that maybe we need to look at the forest as well as cauterize the blighted trees:


#1
"The Jew gave us the Outside and the Inside - our outlook and our inner
life. We can hardly get up in the morning or cross the street without
being Jewish. We dream Jewish dreams and hope Jewish hopes. Most of our
best words, in fact - new, adventure, surprise, unique, individual,
person, vocation, time, history, future, freedom, progress, spirit,
faith, hope, justice - are the gifts of the Jews."

-- Thomas Cahill, Irish Author

#2
"Some people like the Jews, and some do not. But no thoughtful man can
deny the fact that they are, beyond any question, the most formidable
and the most remarkable race which has appeared in the world."

-- Winston Churchill

------------------------------------------------------------------------
-#3

"The Jew is that sacred being who has brought down from heaven the
everlasting fire, and has illumined with it the entire world. He is the
religious source, spring, and fountain out of which all the rest of the
peoples have drawn their beliefs and their religions."

-- Leo Tolstoy

------------------------------------------------------------------------
-#4

"It was in vain that we locked them up for several hundred years behind
the walls of the Ghetto. No sooner were their prison gates unbarred than
they easily caught up with us, even on those paths which we opened up
without their aid."

-- A. A. Leroy Beaulieu, French publicist, 1842

-
------------------------------------------------------------------------
-#5

"One of the gifts of the Jewish culture to Christianity is that it has
taught Christians to think like Jews, and any modern man who has not
learned to think as though he were a Jew can hardly be said to have
learned to think at all."

-- William Rees-Mogg, former Editor-in-Chief for The Times of London and
a member of the House of Lords

------------------------------------------------------------------------
-#6

"It is certain that in certain parts of the world we can see a peculiar
people, separated from the other peoples of the world and this is called
the Jewish people....

This people is not only of remarkable antiquity but has also lasted for
a singular long time... For whereas the people of Greece and Italy, of
Sparta, Athens and Rome and others who came so much later have perished
so long ago, these still exist, despite the efforts of so many powerful
kings who have tried a hundred times to wipe them out, as their
historians testify, and as can easily be judged by the natural order of
things over such a long spell of years. They have always been preserved,
however, and their preservation was foretold... My encounter with this
people amazes me..."

-- Blaise Pascal, French Mathematician

--#7-----------------------------------------------------------------------

"The Jewish vision became the prototype for many similar grand designs
for humanity, both divine and man made The Jews, herefore, stand at
the center of the perennial attempt to give human life the dignity of a
purpose."



--Paul Johnson, American Historian

------------------------------------------------------------------------
-#8

"As long as the world lasts, all who want to make progress in
righteousness will come to Israel for inspiration as to the people who
had the sense for righteousness most glowing and strongest."

--Matthew Arnold, British poet and critic

------------------------------------------------------------------------
-#9

"Indeed it is difficult for all other nations of the world to live in
the presence of the Jews. It is irritating and most uncomfortable. The
Jews embarrass the world as they have done things which are beyond the
imaginable. They have become moral strangers since the day their
forefather, Abraham, introduced the world to high ethical standards and
to the fear of Heaven. They brought the world the Ten Commandments,
which many nations prefer to defy. They violated the rules of history
by staying alive, totally at odds with common sense and historical
evidence. They outlived all their former enemies, including vast
empires such as the Romans and the Greeks. They angered the world with
their return to their homeland after 2000 years of exile and after the
murder of six million of their brothers and sisters.

They aggravated mankind by building, in the wink of an eye, a
democratic State which others were not able to create in even hundreds
of years. They built living monuments such as the duty to be holy and
the privilege to serve one's fellow men.

They had their hands in every human progressive endeavor, whether in
science, medicine, psychology or any other discipline, while totally
out of proportion to their actual numbers. They gave the world the
Bible and even their "savior."

Jews taught the world not to accept the world as it is, but to
transform it, yet only a few nations wanted to listen. Moreover, the
Jews introduced the world to one God, yet only a minority wanted to
draw the moral consequences. So the nations of the world realize that
they would have been lost without the Jews.. And while their
subconscious trie s to remind them of how much of Western civilization
is framed in terms of concepts first articulated by the Jews, they do
anything to suppress it.

They deny that Jews remind them of a higher purpose of life and the
need to be honorable, and do anything to escape its consequences. It is
simply too much to handle for them, too embarrassing to admit, and
above all, too difficult to live by.

So the nations of the world decided once again to go out of 'their' way
in order to find a stick to hit the Jews. The goal: to prove that Jews
are as immoral and guilty of massacre and genocide as some of they
themselves are.

All this in order to hide and justify their own failure to even protest
when six million Jews were brought to the slaughterhouses of Auschwitz
and Dachau; so as to wipe out the moral conscience of which the Jews
remind them, and they found a stick.

Nothing could be more gratifying for them than to find the Jews in a
struggle with another people (who are completely terrorized by their
own leaders) against whom the Jews, against their best wishes, have to
defend themselves in order to survive. With great satisfaction, the
world allows and initiates the rewriting of history so as to fuel the
rage of yet another people against the Jews. This in spite of the fact
that the nations understand very well that peace between the parties
could have come a long time ago, if only the Jews would have had a fair
chance. Instead, they happily jumped on the wagon of hate so as to
justify their jealousy of the Jews and their incompetence to deal with
their own moral issues.

When Jews look at the bizarre play taking place in The Hague, they can
only smile as this artificial game once more proves how the world
paradoxically admits the Jews uniqueness. It is in their need to
undermine the Jews that they actually raise them.


The study of history of Europe during the past centuries teaches us one
uniform lesson: That the nations which received and in any way dealt
fairly and mercifully with the Jew have prospered; and that the nations
that have tortured and oppressed them have written out their own
curse."

--Olive Schreiner, South African novelist and social activist

------------------------------------------------------------------------
-#10

"If there is any honor in all the world that I should like, it would be
to be an honorary Jewish citizen."

--A.L Rowse, authority on Shakespeare