Tikkun Olam

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach has written a very thoughtful article on gay and lesbian couples adopting children.  It really is giving this Orthodox Jew food for thought. It is below in its entirety.  The original article is here . The Morality of Gay Adoption By SHMULEY BOTEACH 11/27/2010 22:18 Leaving orphans to drown without love is deeply immoral, but to stop others from rescuing them is an abomination.   On December 14, Rosie O’Donnell and I will be conducting a public conversation in New Jersey about families and kids, the celebrity culture and the effects of fame, balancing work and career, and learning how to inspire our children. It’s a subject Rosie is eminently qualified to address. This is, after all, the woman who walked away from one of television’s most successful programs and tens of millions dollars per year to raise her children. It will be followed by a fund-raiser for Turn Friday Night into Family Nig...

Over the weekend, several friends alerted me by email and in person (one of them while I was walking on the way to shul, actually) that my daughter's company was featured in a photo in our local newspaper. As I've said before, Baby K'tan is one of the best baby carriers on the market.  I am so proud!! Here is a reproduction below: Holiday shopping campaign is locally honed By Margaret Jackson The Denver Post Posted: 11/27/2010 01:00:00 AM MST Real Baby general manager Annie Mullens, left, talks with Elisabeth Levy about the proper fit for a Baby K'Tan carrier . Levy, holding a 1-week- old girl whom she is in the process of adopting, was shopping in Denver's Highlands Square district on Friday. (Andy Cross, The Denver Post )   Black Friday shoppers were waiting outside The Chocolate Therapist in downtown Littleton when Winds...

Yes, that famous Jewish Blog Carnival, Haveil Havalim #293 the-post-Thanksgiving-pre-Chanukah Edition is now up and running at Homeshuling . Go, read it.  After all, what else have you got to do? (Um, me? All I have to do is write up my copious notes for my preschool kids' developmental milestones for their portfolios and  read and organize my staff meeting notes and my curricula for the next two weeks. Think I'll read Haveil Havalim...)

Not to give this story a bad rap (oy), but rapper Shyne has now publicly embraced his Jewish heritage, has undergone a symbolic conversion in Israel (he already was an Ethiopian Jew) and is now an Orthodox Jew, readying his return to rapping . A significant statement he made explaining his choice to lead an Orthodox Jewish life: “What are the laws?” he said, explaining his decision to adhere to the Orthodox level of observance. “I want to know the laws. I don’t want to know the leniencies. I never look for the leniencies because of all of the terrible things I’ve done in my life, all of the mistakes I’ve made.” I can't wait to hear his next rap song.  Is it time for Matisyahu to move over...?! *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 administrato...

This is amazing.  Representatives of the U. S. and Swiss Amish communities actually violated their own principles of avoiding modern technology and transportation to fly to Israel and visit the Kotel (meaning "the Wall," in Hebrew). The sole purpose of this visit was to ask forgiveness from the Jewish people , for not speaking up against the Sho'ah (Holocaust) during the Nazi attempt to exterminate the Jews. According to an announcement issued by the office of Rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites Shmuel Rabinovitch, with whom the group met, the Amish delegates saw a great importance in coming to Israel and expressing their contrition, as well as declaring their unreserved support of the Jewish people and the State of Israel.  The Amish then promised to publicly pledge support of Israel and the Jews in the future, especially in light of the existential threats towards Israel by Iran's Ahmadinejad. It's really nice to have a friend.  Now we have two: Ca...

I posted the first video in this series by Toldot Yisrael on my post of Sept. 6th .  Now (hat tip Daled Amos , who saw it at The Muqata ), here is the second. I've already wiped my tears.

Here we go again.  The new TSA airport security regs are now in place.  Now, we can look forward to little old ladies in wheel chairs and children over twelve being scanned in a very revealing manner, or if they refuse, going through very personal pat-downs.  Is this necessary? Is it effective? Not really, on both counts.  These methods are for the people who are afraid.  Not of terrorists, but of political correctness, i.e., that which is called racial profiling .  This fear in the end, could kill us. Funny, Israel, subject to more terror threats than most other countries and surrounded by enemies who have publicly called for her destruction, doesn't do that.  And their security is pretty thorough, thank G-d.  Their international airport, Ben-Gurion, is considered one of the most secure airports in the world (hat tip The Israel Situation ). What do we learn from this? That Israel is smart. That it faces reality and doesn't hide it's head in...

My children, wherever they now live, all had a Thanksgiving dinner together with family.  We, the parents--are the only ones in the family who had no family to have Thanksgiving dinner with, several consecutive years now. Instead, we were together with good friends for the third year in a row (which makes it a chazakah )--from now on as long as we're here, unless there are special circumstances, we will have Thanksgiving dinner with them.  Even if, say, our kids come back here for a visit at this time next year, we will all be together--family, and our friends. Our daughters in the States (Toodles and Baby K'tan and family) were together with the entire mishpocheh at Tia D.'s house, with all the Aunts and Uncles and cousins and Grandma, too. They get together every year--there's a lot of family down there, in sunny hurricane land. But what about our children living in Israel? What did they , like a lot of ex-pats, do for Thanksgiving?  Our youngest, Rambo, sear...

This is a very sweet and pretty upbeat Chanukah video.  It's getting me in the mood!   Can't wait for Chanukah, and yummy levivot *!  Thank you, Chabad , for your ongoing great work! *levivot : potato pancakes, traditional for Chanukah

An alien landing somewhere on Earth and listening to the news blasting Israel would come to the conclusion that that country must be a huge land containing billions of people, which controls the world and is the cause of all evil in it. This is the way it comes across, to hear or read about the lambasting of Israel--while countries whose regimes are truly guilty of piracy or rape, or murder and even genocide are written about, but without a hue-and-cry for de-ligitimization as is done with Israel. Cases in point include Darfur in the western Sudan, Somalia , and Indonesia , where our illustrious President just visited and towards which he gushed U. S. friendship. Meanwhile, what are these failed regions and states doing to help humanity? Because Extremely-Evil-Israel-Which-Should-Not-Exist has just sent an aid shipment with a hundred thousand doses of medicine to Haiti to help alleviate the cholera epidemic which is ravaging that unfortunate country.  That tiny Jewish home...

For some reason, I keep posting stuff ("stuff" is such a pithy word, isn't it?) a week after it's first published.  Must be because I live in space, not time.  Just like my mother (a'h). This Latma TV video, among other things, illustrates beautifully what the situation would be like if Israel continued the construction freeze, and shows how respectful and ecumenical these peaceniks are to the 'noble' Palestinians and their values. (Let's face it. Geert Wilder was right: our culture is better.)

Alice Herz-Sommer is 106 years old.  She is a Holocaust survivor, and yet after all these years, bears no enmity towards those who tried to exterminate her, her family and her people. Her 107th birthday (G-d willing) is November 26th.  May we all merit, in her honor, a world of GOODNESS as opposed to the evil one we have now.  May she live to 120 (at least), healthy and happy, Amen. (hat tip Ani, my sister-in-law's sister-in-law. There's nothing like family!)

I know this is not new and has been posted about by other bloggers, most recently where I saw it on Haveil Havalim #291 .  I wasn't going to jump on the bandwagon because I thought it was thoroughly in the news, but I just saw this particular article on the subject, sent to me by my friend M in London, and decided to post it in case any of my readers had not heard. Heard of what? That the Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper, has more gumption and guts than the so-called president of the once-greatest free country in the world.  Mr. Harper is turning out to be " Israel's greatest friend in the world ." Here is a man who is not afraid of political correctness, and who has already in the past weathered negative reactions to his outspoken support of Israel.  I can't help contrasting this with Mr. Obama's wishy-washiness at best and condemnation of Israel at worst, most recently while he was visiting a certain Muslim country which was itself guilty of terr...

As Jack put it (heck, might as well link him too--he's the current HH Meister ), the "longest running Jewish Blog Carnival," Haveil Havalim (Vanity of Vanities) #292 - is up and running at To Kiss a Mezuzah .  Even though this time, yours truly is not there, there are lots of good bloggers whose posts are , so go, have a good read!

(Sigh.) I don't see what the big problem is in understanding the so-called Arab-Israel conflict in the Middle East.  It's as plain as day for people who are not afraid to face the facts.  Unfortunately, because of politics, political correctness, fear of naming the enemy and antisemitism (which is a cleaned-up word for just plain hatred of Jews ), the so-called "Middle East Conflict"  has become convoluted and is thought of as "complicated," because there are supposedly "two peoples who claim one land." Baloney. It really isn't complicated, but rather extremely simple--and finally somebody is summing it up, in about 5:54 minutes.  Thank you, Dennis Prager (hat tip Israel Situation ).

It's hard to believe that Chanukah 5771 is almost here.  This is one of the times that I so miss being in Israel.  I want to be surrounded by my own people's holiday and culture.  Chanukah is a celebration of the restoration of religious freedom and the Beit Hamikdash (Holy Temple) to the Jewish people.  America--let's face it--was founded by Christians and promotes Christian holidays, which is understandable.  I am a proud American, but also a proud Jew. Being a Jew is the core of my being, and as a Jew, I have the need to be surrounded by my own heritage, customs and laws.  I can feel this so much more in a Jewish country, where my religion is the main, official one.  Besides, there is nothing like Israeli sufganiyot (American jelly doughnuts can't hold a candle, so to speak). Thanks to Jacob Richman for posting all his Chanukah videos .  I don't know whether this one is on his list, however. (By the way, no offense meant to anyone, Ch...

Received this in an email from a friend. After picking myself up off the floor, I decided it was worthy of posting here, erev Shabbat .  It also reminds me a little of my grandparents, zichronam li'vracha. . . To all, Shabbat Shalom.    . . .And Speaking of Yiddish, a Call to a Miami Condo: HELLO. . .         Is this the Goldberg residence?"         "Yes, mit whom do you vish to speak?"         "Mrs. Goldberg please."         "Mrs. Goyeldberg is gevoren shoppink  [Went shopping]  to dem supermarket."         "Is  Mr.  Goldberg there?"         "Oy, dis time of de day? Mister Goyeldberg is voikink."           "Is Thelma at home?"     ...

Read and enjoy the latest Haveil Havalim, the Jewish Blog Carnival.  It's up and running at The Rebbetzin's Husband.

So Mr. Obama has visited the country in which he spent four years of his childhood.  And while there, he praised Indonesia and talked about how it has "changed" in the years since he was there.  He also somehow found time to condemn Israel for starting construction in Jerusalem while there.  But he apparently conveniently forgot to remember Indonesia's bloody history.  Could it be that he forgot the genocide committed by his childhood country, because he was a Muslim at the time--and the atrocities were committed against Christians and other non-Muslims??  (Hat tip to Arlene From Israel for the link to Sultan Knish 's full post on this subject, excerpted here). To understand the significance of Obama's biography-- imagine that an American President who grew up in Nazi Germany on the eve of war, wrote only about his idyllic childhood running around the streets of Berlin and learning to read Mein Kampf, and then returned decades later, with no concession t...

Haven't had the time to post, but at least I can alert you to the latest Jewish Blog Carnival, Haveil Havalim #290, which is now live at Frume Sarah's blog. And I can leave you with Latma TV's latest parody (or maybe it's not the latest, but it sure spoke to me) on that famous, well-known Israeli peace song,  Shir LaShalom (A Song to Peace).  This is the real "peace" we've had until now.  Because there is no true partner for peace: a 'partner' who refuses to even recognize Israel as a legitimate State, and who gives speeches in Arabic to its peoples promoting violence against Israelis, is not a peace partner.