What a Wonderful Way. . .

. . . To do Shabbat: My kosherkook husband is in the kitchen, putting together a vegetarian cholent and chicken with Zatar, while I am at the computer, blogging. (I just read on someone's blog, "A woman's place is in the kitchen, tellling her husband how she likes her steak!")

After feeling that 'missing my children' feeling the day before yesterday, I spoke, in one manner or the other, with all five of them yesterday, and I feel better. We also bought ourselves a new, teeny-tiny crockpot, into which my husband is throwing various and sundry ingredients: cut-up white and sweet potatos, onions (which he sauteed first), three kinds of beans, lentils, garlic, and after cooking on high for an hour, he will add whole oats, barley, salt and pepper.

As far as the kids go, yesterday I Instant Messaged with my soldier-daughter who was home (she now lives with her brother and sister-in-law outside of Tel-Aviv) for Shabbat. We had a nice video conversation, and I could reassure myself that she looks great and is well (Baruch Hashem).

My older son called just before he was going to sleep (it was about 10 p.m. Israel time). My younger son called much later, while waiting for his ride to work as a security guard--it was the next morning already--and I spoke by Instant Message to my eldest, in the States, and my middlest daughter who is in New York City for the weekend. That just about covers it. It's rare that I get in touch with all of them in one day; I'm feeling better now!

As far as Shabbat goes, the smells of onion and garlic are wafting up the stairs from the kitchen where my husband is working away. It is amazing, how the scents of certain foods are so tied in with the specialness of Shabbat.

Truth is, we are really feeling empty-nested now, because that teeny-tiny crockpot we bought looks so puny and strange (it's cute, though). We have been overcooking forever in our 4-Qt. crockpot, and nobody, but nobody likes to eat leftover cholent! So we finally broke down and bought an inexpensive small one (the key word here is 'inexpensive' because we are still gainfully UNemployed). But there is a kind of sad quality about it, because it looks, well, lonely. . . it reeks of "No Kids Left Behind (at Home.)"

Have to go--husband needs me! Shabbat Shalom.

Thanks, U.N. Watch

You might have seen this earlier (the date is October 16th), but I only just saw this video today, sent to me in an email by a friend, a mother of a young man who fought with the IDF in Jenin.



Read the entire speech at the U.N. Watch site. This is what the world, for some reason, doesn't want to know. Can you figure it out?

Haveil Havalim #240: It Makes Sense

The latest Jewish Blog Carnival, the famous Haveil Havalim #240, Aliyah Edition--is up and running at Artzeinu. Be sensible: read it!


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The Coen Brothers: Self-Hating Jews?

I received a comment to my last post which incensed me, and after writing a long rebuttal comment I decided just to run it as a post. Here it is (read that comment first).

You say I think that Jews are not capable of 'Run of the mill buffoonery? Lust? Depression? Drug use? A penchant for petty thievery? Adultery?' Unfortunately, Jews are not immune from any of these sins you mentioned in your comment.

If what you got out of my post that was that Jews are always innocent of the above, you seriously misread it and missed my point entirely.

What I am averse to is not necessarily depicting Jews committing crimes (I say "necessarily" for a reason, which I will address in a moment); rather I am opposed to the Coen brothers pernicious depiction of Jews in the manner of classic Antisemitism and Antisemitic cartoons, as utilized (among others) by the Nazis.

In addition, they created an amalgam of nefarious and ridiculous characters which are exaggerated stereotypes, right down to the loud-mouthed Yente-type, wimpy, ingenuous shlemiel and ineffectual rabbis.

They also imbued in these characters a supposed knowledge of Jewish law and Hebrew words relating to such law which people such as these would probably not know, not use, not cherish as an important part of their lives, let alone be interested in bi'chlall.

Now, in light of the above, I have a real problem with the depiction of Jews as bad, sinful, stupid, self-centered, superficial or money-grubbing. Almost the entire world is against Israel and there is currently a huge resurgence of antisemitism globally. Thus, I don't think we need more public depiction of Jews in a sarcastic, negative light. There is unfortunately plenty of that already.

What we need is just the opposite. How about a movie showing Jews who are good people and likable people who are knowledgeable in their religion; who are humanitarian and do good in the world;, who have built a successful economy and society in a state surrounded by mortal enemies in a miraculous 60 years? Who have contributed to the world socially, scientifically, technologically and economically?

That is what we need to see in a movie about Jews, not the self-hating tripe that the Coen brothers produced.

A Serious Review of a Superficial Movie

One week ago, on Wednesday, I canceled my evening adult Hebrew class to see, along with two of my students and spouses (mine included) a free preview of the Coen brothers' new film, A Serious Man, which hadn't yet opened.

It was set in the late 60s, supposedly about Jews in Minnesota. I was interested. I am always interested in movies with Jewish themes, especially those produced by non-Jews purporting to depict Orthodox or Chassidic Jewry, as in the movie "A Stranger Among Us." I usually sit there in the theatre with clenched fists, taut muscles and gritting my teeth, as I watch an embarrassing, often painful rendering of what the producers and/or directors think "Jewish Life" is really like. With all their production assistants and dialect and behavioral and cultural "coaches" and trainers, they rarely get it right.

In contrast of course, the Israeli film Ushpizin (in Hebrew, ha-Ushpizin) was outstanding. It was produced, directed and acted by Jews, and some of them--the protagonists themselves--were Orthodox Chassidic. It was the Real Thing, done with love and understanding, and it came out RIGHT.

I was hoping for something similar in A Serious Man (naive as I am), knowing that the Coen brothers (Coen=Cohen; I can't believe that they actually come from the tribe of Levi. What a waste of a heritage) were Jewish, had never made a movie about Jews per se, and were now finally coming to terms with their Jewishness.

The only words that come to mind now, are Oy Vey. No wonder they hadn't stopped to address their Jewishness until now. They should have just kept going and not stopped.

The movie dismayed me; it was so well crafted, yet it reminded me of caricatures of the Jews in the worst times of Antisemitism, in Nazi Germany. I couldn't figure it out: a well-done, awful movie about unrealistic buffoonery people.

What's this flick about? Here's an except from Uzi Silber's review in The Jewish World of Haaretz online.

Movie reviews have outlined Larry's cascading woes: a 'get' (Jewish divorce) demanded by a yentish wife interested in an older, fatter and balder Jew; a schlubby idiot savant brother who moves in only to move out with Larry into a seedy motel; the son, a bar mitzvah boy struggling mightily with his Torah portion while listening to Jefferson Airplane stoned; a homely daughter hankering for a nose job, a student's bribery attempt; tenure endangered due to anonymous rumor mongering, illness, storm clouds. Don't ask.

After writing about the initial reviewers who were all gushing all over themselves to praise this film, he shows a few chinks in the armor by mentioning some courageous dissenting voices:

The New Yorker's David Denby writes that "except for a few moments, it's hell to sit through," and concludes that "as a work of craftsmanship, the movie is fascinating; in every other way, it's insufferable." Amen.

Similarly, Michelle Orange of Movieline.com opines that the movie is "a slog, mostly; expertly crafted and yet difficult to watch." Amen sela.

The Coen brothers have it totally wrong and off-kilter; as Uzi Silber says, they throw secular attitudes and behaviors and Reform-type Jewish practices into a concocted brew together with Orthodox Jewish expressions and language-use which don't go together and come up with a stereotype-cartoon creation which doesn't exist in real life.

For a while, it threw me, too: it was so well-done, I was trying to figure out what was wrong with it. Silber had it down pat:

So why the storm of accolades? Nell Minow of beliefnet.com distills this accurately: "Meticulous and imaginative production design and a level of opacity far beyond most mainstream releases [are] often confused with profundity."

Mea culpa.

Go see it. Just to see what Jews are NOT. (I shouldn't have canceled class.)

"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!"* And Then Some.

(first, the lateset Haveil Havalim #239 is up at ImaBima's, here.)

Okay, better late than never as they say. Have been at the computer daily, but for work, not for blogging; I guess in a very gashmi'ut way that is a good thing; but there is a big void where blogging used to be. . . so I'm making an attempt to return to the blogosphere (when I should be sleeping, of course. When else do I have the time?)

The title* of this post I borrowed (ok, I plagiarized. sue me.) from Batya, but only because she tagged me with the Super-Power Meme on September 24th. Good Lord. Where has the time gone? What with working, and the chagim, everything. Just. STOPPED.

Because with the world slowly but surely vilifying Israel and condemning her for "atrocities in Gaza,"-- withdrawing from military maneuvers with terrible Israel because her soldiers murdered Palestinian women, children and babies in cold blood -- and this, from a country that had full diplomat relations with Israel (-they don't call that place "Turkey" for nothing)

gobblegobble

--and isolating her one by one, I am seeing RED. Nim'as li kvar*.

So yes, I am guilty. Of starting to lose my sense of humor. And my abilities--nay, my desire to reason; because tonight, we attended a talk at one of the local shuls given by IDF Colonel (Res.) Bentzi Gruber, who is doing a wonderful program called Chesed in the Field**. His lecture on Sunday was, however, on "Ethics in the Field: An Inside Look at the Israeli Defense Forces." He has held many posts of command, having served more than 20 years in the reserves.

The purpose of Col. Gruber's talk was to counteract the disgusting, negative, blatantly false tripe being plastered all over the media about Israel committing this and that, murders here and atrocities there and war crimes here and blah blah blah, ad nauseum.

He showed army archive videos and AP and Reuters clips of terrorists hiding and escaping in UN ambulances (-and when the UN was confronted with this, they responded with 'so what?') and weapons-smuggling tunnel entrances under bathroom sinks and booby-trapped kitchens and rockets being launched from mosques.

He showed us interviews with Palestinians who, after being notified by the IDF dropping leaflets, making phone calls and texting individual Arab families to evacuate because in 24 hours they were going to go after the terrorists in the area, (yes, you read that right: the Israel Defense Force warned the enemy civilians to flee before attacking. We Jews are insanely ethical.), went en masse up to the roofs of their houses because they knew the IDF wanted to minimize collateral damage, and wouldn't fire.

Nothing new here--to us, at least. Unfortunately, he was preaching mainly to the choir. What does the rest of the world know (or care) about this? About the high ethical standard of the Israel Defense Force, unlike any other army, including the United States' Armed Forces? About the TRUTH?

So, what the heck does all this have to do with the meme? It triggered my choice of a Super Power, that's what.

Without further ado, the Super Power meme:

1: Write one superpower you would like to have and what you would do with it.

2: Write why you chose that super power over everything else.

3: Tag and link lots of people, and write why you think they will have an interesting meme.

4: fix your broken links.

5: Don't forget to leave a comment below with a link to your post on this meme.


I'm in a foul mood. It's after midnight and I have to work tomorrow and won't be able to get up on time in the morning. Why am I doing this?

Answers:

1. The Golem. Don't know what that is? Look it up. Why? Because nim'as li kvar*.

2. Because we need a Jewish Superpower with the Word of G-d in it's mouth to K--- the B------- A--ses, once and for all, because they are evil incarnate. Translation? "Nim'as li Kvar*."

3. I'm not in the mood. Oh, all right. I tag the following blogger friends and neighbors (I figure, if I tag a lot, maybe one of 'em will actually post; after all, it took me a whole month...) Leoraw at Here in HP, Ye'he Sh'may Raba Mevorach, Frum Satire, For Zion's Sake, Movin' On Up, Ra'anana Ramblings, Jack at Random Thoughts, Danny at Israeli by Day, and (acharon, acharon haviv), Jameel, although I don't know if I can honestly call him a 'blogger friend' (waffles are not on my diet).
Btw, I have no clue whether or not any of you named above have already participated in this meme, so there may be duplication (sue me; I told you I was in a foul mood).

4. What the heck does that mean? I always check my links. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. If it is broke, then tell me about it.

5. Yes. Do.

(p.s. I also want to thank Batya of Shiloh Musings from the bottom of my heart for her desire to use Dorothy's Ruby Red Slippers to whisk me away to the Promised Land. Because, as I speak, the world is sliding down the slippery slope to HELL in a HANDBASKET. And it's time for the JEWS to go HOME.)


**Please support Col. Gruber's program by donating to Chesed in the Field. Email me for more information on this program and on how to donate.


*nim'as li kvar: "I'm fed up with 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.

Sukkot 5770: a Holy Time

What a wonderful Sukkot is has been. We worked so hard in preparations before the chag, which paid off and culminated in davening with great kavanah and meaningful, happy festive meals in our Sukkah with good friends and acquaintences.
Our sukkah was especially "HOLEY" this year: as my husband and friend (thank you, Y.) took the plywood boards apart they discovered yet another 'squirrel hole' (see photo)filled with fluff as padding, which my husband discarded. That made hole number three, second largest in size to the two we found last year. As we did last year, we covered the biggest, longest jagged hole with a picture of the Gedolim. We covered the small one with a creatively-done yellow paper chicken with a moveable head representing kapparot that was made years ago by my youngest (which of course explains why she is in Officer Training Course today. Such talent.).

To cover the newest and largest hole, we were racking our brains when I came up with the picture of Kever Rachel, one of four pictures we have depicting various areas in Israel that are holy to the Jewish people. It was amazing, how the light shone through the hole, lighting up Kever Rachel from behind, as if G-d was saying to us, "ve-shavu banim li-gvulam," and the sons will return to their borders. . .

Banishing the Darkness with the Truth

I recently discovered (hat tip, my friend Neil) that Benjamin Netanyahu, the current Prime Minister of Israel had an audience with the Lubavitcher Rebbe (ztz"l) Rav Menachem Mendel Schneerson, twenty-five years ago, when he was Ambassador to the United Nations.

The Rebbe ztz"l spoke with him for 40 minutes, and told him that when he speaks to the United Nations, a bastion of lies and eternal darkness, he should always "light one candle of truth."

In this video (video is in Hebrew with English subtitles) Netanyahu is speaking with the Israeli media who asked him if he thought he had legitimized Ahmadinejad, the president of Iran, by addressing the issue of the Holocaust. Bibi is telling the interviewer about his meeting twenty-five years ago with the Rebbe and what the Rebbe told him to do; and how telling the truth repeatedly with dignity and strength transcends time.