So Much To Say...

...so little time, at least to do so properly. So let's just try some rapid-fire instead:

• It is incredibly difficult to consistently have to debate between being deflated by the horrible actions and words of so many in the Orthodox Jewish community and inspired by all those who decry and fight against those same actions and words. The problem, as always, is that the former group so often seems to be far bigger than the latter.
  
  A few posts on this should be coming soon.
• On a similar but different note, it's sad and amazing to see the constant changes in so many of our friends' lives (and our own). We've seen too many close friends and family go through unbearable pain, loss, hardship, or divorce; and we've thankfully seen far more build  and begin to build beautiful lives, whether professionally, locale, getting married, having kids, or the like. It's tough also to see some people in the same circles going through joy and pain at the same time, knowing that each one impacts the other as well, and it's hard to be there as much as we'd like to be for friends both in hard times and in good ones.
• The Supreme Court deliberations on ObamaCare were incredibly fascinating and worth reading in full (trust me, I did it - the link there is Tuesday's, which is likely the most important). I don't see how the individual mandate doesn't get struck down, and while less sure I'd imagine that the rest will get struck down with it (perhaps with a different group of assenting judges).
  
  As an added note, the President's statement today 'warning' the Supreme Court was ludicrous and a ridiculous overreach of power (at least in terms of words) [imagine if President Bush had said the same before a major SCOTUS decision], but more laughable was what he said about this being "unprecedented, extraordinary step of overturning a law that was passed by a strong majority of a democratically elected Congress" - as CWY noted, every law is passed by a majority of a democratically elected Congress! The judges' role is to determine if those are Constitutional. Plus, it wasn't a strong majority at all, but a bare majority of 217-212 in the House with not a single Republican voting Yea. 
• If it does get struck down, it might be the best gift for Mitt Romney presuming he is the Republican nominee, taking away a difficult issue for him. He can turn the focus on the economy itself, an area where his record is substantially better than Obama's. 
• My current job places a very strong focus on Medicare and Medicaid, particularly the financial portions of each. It is mind-boggling to me to see just how poorly and behind the times government has been and will continue to be, and how much waste they cause despite truly noble intentions. The government simply has no ability to manage care either from a clinical perspective or a financial perspective, which means that everyone is damaged in the process.*
• The NBA season is over, with the Cavs doing a nice job of positioning for this coming draft, and the NFL Draft I'm trying to avoid getting too deep into at this point (trade to #6, take Claiborne!) because I'll probably end up driving myself insane. So... it's baseball time!
  
  My team this year (10-team rotisserie, 5x5 standard, 1,350ip max, standard lineup including C/1B/2B/3B/SS/4OF/CI/2Util/2SP/6P/5Bench) picked 5th: C Napoli; 1B Lind; 2B Kipnis; 3B Bautista; CI M.Young; SS A.Cabrera; OF A.Gordon, Hart, Joyce, Rios; Util Zobrist, V.Wells; Bench Bourgeoius, Hafner, Mayberry. SP Halladay, C.Lee, Weaver, Fister; CL Hanrahan, Valverde, Santos, Motte, Storen; RP Pestano. Overall a fantastic pitching staff and a much better lineup than I normally start with.
• Finally, if you are interested in seeing a great Cleveland Browns fan show his dedication to the team and his even stronger dedication to Judaism, though, this guy's "Fanography" is really fun to watch. I'm not being biased at all - my friends have all enjoyed and made a point to tell me how much they enjoyed. :-P

Enjoy!

* Not that I believe it necessary as this should be obvious, but please note that any opinions on this blog are my own and never that of my employers. 

Unorthodox

(Hat tip: Mirie) This fundraising project on Kickstarter looks interesting:

Unorthodox is a feature documentary that follows three teenagers from the modern Orthodox community as they spend a post-high school year studying in Israel. Tzipi, an intellectually gifted young woman, travels with intentions of clarifying her problems with Orthodox interpretations of Jewish law. Jake, a musician, wants to follow the religion but doesn’t see how he can reconcile his faith with his professional ambitions. Chaim, a half-Dominican bad-boy, undertakes his year of study without thinking about the possibilities of religious growth; he goes to Israel because tuition is paid for by his rabbis. In addition to documentary cinematography shot in the US and Israel, Tzipi, Chaim and Jake film themselves throughout the year with video diaries, offering an incredibly vivid and intimate glimpse into their lives. Narration throughout the film weaves Anna’s own story—of leaving the modern Orthodox community—with that of the three subjects, lending a very personal glimpse into the world of Orthodox Judaism.

They're looking to gather many small donations to complete the project, which is most of the way there already (all filming was completed, etc.). If you're interested in seeing this, read about it and donate!

Speaking of unorthodox, Chana sums up the YU Beacon story best: Writing a (poor) weak erotica-style piece with some confusing details about a girl's first-or-not time having sex with a guy she is-or-isn't in a serious relationship with is about attention-seeking, not about discussing an issue seriously. If they wished to discuss the issue of pre-marital sex among Orthodox people seriously, they could have done so by actually discussing it as a serious piece [much as Chana did with other aspects of the subject, as she notes]. Yes, there would still be much objection to this - a reasonable argument could be made for or against YU's school newspapers being the proper forum for such discussions - but at least it would be defensible [I should disclose that I did not think even Chana's were all necessary/appropriate, but they were at least defensible]. Oh, and in case it wasn't clear this was about attention, leaking it to national media is rather immature as well: Deal with the fallout within the context you wrote a piece, don't seek media to try and force and/or embarrass your university. Kudos to YU and its students for standing strongly against this, and it seems that the general consensus even from media was "...that was crappy writing."

And finally, singer/rapper Matisyahu shaved his beard. He's also still Orthodox, not "Un-Orthodox" (and looks really tired). So... who cares?

Perspective

Via Princess D'Tiara, this video of Emmanuel Kelly auditioning for X Factor 2011 (Australia, I believe) is simply moving. I'm not sure who is more amazing; him, his brother, or his mom.

Netanyahu's Speech - Translated by sub-par Ulpan Student

You have to know some basic Hebrew for this. It is utterly brilliant.

The byline on the video says: For more info about Hahafuch group: http://www.facebook.com/hahafuch And remember, if you don't think Israel is funny then you haven't seen our show.

Written by Aaron Friedman
www.aaronfriedmancomedy.com

Heroes

Two videos worth watching (via IsraellyCool and Deadspin)

The trailer for Pro Bowl WR Brandon Marshall's movie about borderline personality disorder (BPD), which Marshall discovered he had and now is using his experiences to educate the public about.

After three months of treatment and therapy, psychological and neurological exams at Boston's McLean Hospital, the training ground for Harvard University medical students, Miami Dolphins receiver Brandon Marshall believes he's finally at the root of his struggles.
During the summer of 2011, following a domestic dispute that led to his wife's arrest [she allegedly stabbed him], he been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, or BPD.

Short documentary on Israeli lone soldier Michael Levin, one of three soldiers killed on August 1, 2006 in clashes with Hizbullah in the southern Lebanese village of Aita al-Shaab. It is quite moving, and worth the time to watch.

EZ Reads 5/31/11

A few of the couple hundred posts I've been meaning to link to... (sigh)

• Da'as Torah with the links relating to the extremely important White Institute's Conference on Sexual Abuse in the Orthodox Jewish Community: Report; recordings; press coverage (London Jewish Chronicle). I heard from someone who was at (and I believe presented) at the conference that the conference was excellent and the speakers extremely moving.
• G6 on Conformity vs. Individuality.
• Harry on The Jewish Hammer, the Chicago Bears' first-round pick Gabe Corsi.
• DA with some funny cartoons relating to Obama's statement about the 1967 borders.
• (HT: Eliyahu Fink) Touched by a Landing, one passenger's retrospective on the ElAl flight which thankfully landed safely after trouble with its landing gear.
• R' Gil - Teiku on Faith. The comments are interesting as well.
• An awesome video (play in full screen) courtesy of Popular Science (via Meryl), if you like some beautiful night sky. Wow.
• Great ad which shows what kind of physicality is required to drive in the 24-hour Le Mans race in Europe. "Breathe in or my lungs will be crushed" - pretty crazy. I've long found it interesting that race drivers are ridiculously athletic and assumed it played a role, but it's cool to see just how that's so.
  

EZ Reads & Commentary 4/8/11

There's something in here for everyone - enjoy! (HT: Diana for a few of these)

On the more serious side:

• Mother in Israel, who sadly lost her father, writes about what was helpful (and what was not) during her shiva. A good series of advice for people on how to help... and how not to. (MiI)
• Russian billionaire to fund Jewish "Al-Jazeera", except with less propaganda. (JPost)
• A CNN sports legend is leaving birthday messages for his little daughter as he fights a losing battle with cancer. (CNN)
• Eli Clark on "Who is Modern Orthodox?" (Hirhurim)
• Josh Waxman asks if believing a pomegranate has 613 seeds is a fundamental belief (no) and explains why some truly think so.(Parshablog)
• On a What Would You Do show (Israeli version, not ABC's), it's impressive that just about every Israeli not just didn't support an (acting) anti-Arab store owner, but criticized, offered to pay for the (acting) Arab lady trying to buy coffee, and many got extremely emotional (angry or sad) about it. (Cross Currents)

Elsewhere, some fun/cool stuff:

• New sport that looks cool/fun, if a bit confusing (Why do they have 4 goals if it's two teams? Do they have to defend two each?) - Kronum.
• Unorthodox Orthodox guitarist. I just like that he was playing at an IFL game. (RafiG)
• Israel winery wins international award - I always liked Golan. (EoZ)
• Israeli tots win international ice hockey tournament... despite never having played on ice before. (EoZ)
• Fun video from the Governor press conference when the famous YouTube kid who cried he couldn't be Governor is made Governor for a day in New Jersey. If Christie does run for President, this video will do him well; also, he comes off well on TV.
• Cool time lapse video of a flight from San Francisco to Paris. Best part: Aurora Borealis in middle.
• Via A Soldier's Mother, Dov Hoschander (a genuinely nice guy who I've met a few times through a friend) has made a really nice music video of a song dedicated to the IDF, based on the Mi Shebeirach for soldiers in the army.
  

From A Small Child

A really moving video by Sinai Schools, which provide a "uniquely special education" to special needs kids, talking about how they built and progressed over the decade, including integrating into regular education classrooms at Kushner schools in New Jersey, and the success of some alumni of the program as they've moved on in life. One of the feature students is the brother of a friend of ours, and another alumnus shown is a good friend of Serach's from college.

"The SINAI Schools encompass two elementary schools, three high schools and two transitional group residences for young adults. Since we operate within "host" schools, many of our children are mainstreamed for portions of the day, both academically and socially, into regular school classes and extra-curricular activities --- a powerful process whose results richly reward both student populations."

EZ Reads 3/29/11

• An incredible back and forth of letters to the editor in the 1890s Jewish Standard on head coverings for women. (On The Main Line) It's pretty funny to see much of the same back and forth as 120 years later, though with the caveat that it seemed completely accepted then that within the walls of one's own home a woman does not need to cover her hair. While I know some people now who do this, for the most part people don't seem to know about it. It's worth reading the whole back and forth, it's quite entertaining.
• LYING IS BAD. (And destroys lives.) Just thought y'all should know that. Some halachos of it are here. (Hirhurim)
• Really good sound/music video for JudaBlue's song Falling, which is about David vs. Goliath. (RafiG)
• Public school math doesn't teach kids how to reason. (Freakonomics) I don't understand how you can teach math without logic and reason - it's just horrible education. 
• Jameel with a cool and crazy video of a blackout sandstorm in Kuwait; he compares it to the 9th plague. (Muqata)
• Shira Dicker with an interesting essay (hat tip: ED) entitled Why I Am A Conservative Jew; the most interesting is what she decries, which is the "graduation" of many to (mostly Modern) Orthodoxy or the shift away from Judaism by most. This is part of what I'll be discussing when continuing the series on the future of Judaism.
• ProfK on Minhag and Mishagas when it comes to making Pesach. Nice quote:

  Personally, I think all the varying customs, both group and individual, are interesting. To me many of them speak of family life and lore being recreated many generations down the road since those customs sprung up. Telling me that I don't have to do something just because my great grandmother did it misses the point entirely. Isn't it wonderful that I actually know what my great grandmother did and that I can connect to her through doing the same thing.

EZ Reads 3/25/11

Yesterday, Elianna turned five years old. That's pretty crazy.

• An amazing video by the Jewish Federations of North America as part of their Passover fundraising. Two minutes will bring a tear (or more) to your eye. (Also, Vervel, doesn't she look like your eldest a bit?)
• Searching for Bright Light discusses the 6:30am phone call from her son studying in Israel saying he's all right and how she reacted. A few hours later my sister tells us rockets hit a town over from them, and they live in Central Israel. Pretty crazy what we put up with as a people.
• The NFL has an awesome 6-minute video highlighting the 2010 season.
• Orthonomics hosts KoaB for part III of how to shop for Pesach on a budget.
• A really interesting story written by a Cornell student turned Israeli basketball player in Sports Illustrated. (via Josh)

  In order to be cleared or get an exemption from the army, you first have to go through the daylong army placement system. This process, which makes a trip to the DMV look like a day at Disneyland, was a nightmare. First, I was interviewed. Among other things, they prodded me about my family history and asked me to read and write in Hebrew (which I hadn't done since I was Bar Mitzvahed at age 13). My interviewer then really caught my attention by asking me to whom I would like to give my pension if I die in battle. I was then given a physical, where I scored a 93 (out of 100) on the army's official medical exam. This meant I could choose any division of the army I wish to participate in (this is considered a huge honor for most Israelis). After a computer aptitude test, the two basketball team managers accompanying me saved me from near enlistment. If it wasn't for them and their somewhat pushy tactics (Israelis have a knack for making every conversation seem like an argument), I could have easily been drafted right then and there.

• If you haven't yet seen The Thin Jew Line (a daily show sketch on an eruv battle in the Hamptons), watch it. It's freaking hilarious.
• Via Freakonomics, Joel Rose has left the New York Department of Education and is trying to take the School of One to scale. If he can do this, it would be quite something for education in general.
• Harry is not lamenting the co-opting of chazzanus by the Conservative.

Have a great Shabbos!

EZ Reads 3/9/11

Happy engagiversary to Serach and me! I've updated the tabs at the top (which I will try to make more noticeable in the near future) to include and be up to date on the various series that are ongoing on this blog. If you would like to read through any major series, those are the best places to start. Some fun links today:

• Following up on their previous analysis, The New York Times determines that American Jews lead the happiest lives of all Americans. Brilliant first comment on the article (just saw it was removed!): Sure, most of them are happy, but those other 30%, boy can they complain!
• Mishpacha has a very good article this week explaining charter schools and how they can (and usually have not) impacted Orthodox schools and yeshivos. Excerpt:

  Unlike the situation in Brooklyn and East Brunswick, Florida’s Ben Gamla charter school network has attracted a solid Jewish majority in its student body, and the system is growing by leaps and bounds. Following the Hollywood branch’s popularity, Ben Gamla schools were opened in nearby Plantation (in 2009) and Miami Beach (in 2010). There is an independent after-school religious studies program available to students throughout the Ben Gamla network.
  
  However, even these schools’ success comes at a limited cost to local frum institutions. Sources familiar with the makeup of the school’s student body estimate that only about 5 percent of Ben Gamla students are from frum homes. Currently, the four-year-old network’s Jewish students are primarily either non-Orthodox, who would otherwise have attended public school or Conservative or non-denominational Jewish day schools; or special-needs students who require costly services not subsidized in private schools.

  The article is in this week's Mishpacha, which you can subscribe to here.
• Did you hear? The Maccabeats came out with a new video for Purim! (Yes, I heard about 100 times.) Admittedly, Uri Westrich put together another good one - great job sticking with themed jokes, like the sombrero and the dripping jelly.
• Chana realizes there is a difference between compassion and understanding, and publicity and support, when it comes to homosexuality in the Orthodox community.
• Finally! xkcd pokes fun at ads which say things like "Sales of up to 15% - or more!" So... you mean you have sales going on at various percentages below and above 15%? Why not just pick any number below the max percentage discount so it sounds bigger? Do people really suck this bad at math? This always frustrated me.
• Michael Medved has a great piece in today's Wall Street Journal decrying the propensity of Republicans to label Obama as a radical/extremist. This trait is especially true in the Orthodox Jewish community, and it doesn't do anybody any favors. Medved notes that realizing that Obama's views are rather mainstream Democrat is important if the GOP wishes to win the next election.
• Finally, an old neighbor from Cleveland who is absolutely hilarious has a number of videos doing various impressions of all types of people. Her latest is up on YouTube and has already picked up 11,000+ views, so I feel like it's okay to put it on the blog this time:
  
  
  I wish some of her other stuff would go up, too - she's just really, really funny.

EZ Reads 3/2/11 (Batch two)

I want to write up a few posts, so rather than save these for tomorrow I'll put them up this evening and post more tomorrow.

• Chana asks if camp should be considered a luxury item, as discussed on the Bergen Cty. Tuition blog. My vote: Yes. No matter how great camp is, it's not a necessity.
• Muqata reports that R' Nosson Tzvi Finkel sent everyone out of shiur to report to government inspectors as mandated, noting that the State is the yeshiva's biggest supporter.
• A Soldier's Mother hopes that air raid sirens will always be viewed as not normal, and hopes for a day without them. She also shows a beautiful video on Israel - well worth the five minutes.
• The WSJ questions why we would rush into ObamaCare before seeing how Massachusetts' currently struggling mini-version fixes itself - or collapses.
• Via Josh (who has a great comic), The Rebbetzin's Husband has two really sharp posts - one on Modern Orthodoxy and Tznius, the other on Modern Orthodoxy being hazy on its self-definition causing a poor perception of it among the rest of Orthodoxy.
• Mishpacha this week is dedicated to honoring R' Moshe Feinstein and R' Yaakov Kamenetsky, 25 years after their passing. Dr. Moshe Levin has an interesting discussion of how R' Moshe delved into the medical field:

  Someone asked him: "Why does the Rosh Yeshivah allow himself to get involved in such cases?" Replied Reb Moshe, "Had you seen the tears of the person who brought the problem before me, you would not have asked such a question" (Rabbi Shimon Finkelman, Reb Moshe, Mesorah Publication, 1986, p.106-107).
  
  Indeed, some perceived Reb Moshe's uniqueness as lying in his compassion. Rav Michel Berenbaum expressed it in this way: "Reb Moshe was the man of halachah, but from seeing his teshuvos, one can see the chesed [kindness] and concern he felt for others." Reb Moshe himself, however, did not see it that way at all. To him compassion and truth were synonymous. Someone close to Reb Moshe was once sent to ask him a halachic question with an unusual request -- to tell the Rosh Yeshivah that the person wants a decision that is strict halachah without any leniencies. "I do not rule with lenience," replied Reb Moshe. "I rule according to the law."

  To read the rest, subscribe to Mishpacha here.
  

The Kotel in 1932

Via DH, a really interesting video from the Old City in 1932.

Goldish Goes to Lakewood

Hattip: RK

I saw this link on someone's Gchat status, and clicked on it. It's a reasonably entertaining rap on an annual fellowship done in Lakewood for college students from all over; then I realized that it's actually my cousin Shimmy Goldish performing (ironically, was in Providence this weekend and someone asked if I was related to him), which is pretty cool. He's far more talented than I, certainly. Anyway, enjoy!

Rare Footage: Jerusalem 1918

The IFL on NYT

This is in honor of Da Kirsch, who plays for the Pioneers in the Israel Football League. My mom sent me this video from the New York Times about the league's growing popularity. Enjoy!

The War on Chanukah

Absolutely brilliant: The Colbert Report.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Daily/Colbert - War on Hanukkah
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor The Daily Show on Facebook

Yeshiva Guy Says Over A Vort

I was not planning on posting this brilliant video by Krum as a Bagel, only because I hate putting up so many in a row, but I think just about everyone is linking to it on Facebook, so here it is in case you haven't seen it yet:



You know it's great when friends ask you on Shabbos if you've seen it yet and repeating all the lines from it.

Best lines:

(Friend's vote) "Did the Avos wear Crocs on Tisha B'Av?" "No - R' Elyashiv says Crocs are too comfortable. He wore Con-verse."

(My vote) "Did Yaakov [write a sefer Torah]?" "Of course." "So why didn't he just take his Sefer Torah and read it to find out that his son Yosef was alive and avoid all that heartache?"

Porcelain Unicorn

Hat tip: Aunt Anne/Serach.

Ridley Scott announced Porcelain Unicorn from American director Keegan Wilcox as the winning short film in Philips’ Tell It Your Way film-making contest.

The contest, which received over 600 entries from around the world, invited aspiring filmmakers to create an original short film using the same six-line dialogue as the Cannes Lions award-winning Parallel Lines short films directed by RSA talents Carl Erik Rinsch, Greg Fay, Johnny Hardstaff, Jake Scott and Hi-Sim.

Commenting on his choice of winner, Sir Ridley Scott said: “I chose Porcelain Unicorn to be the winning film as it had a very strong narrative; a very complete story that was well told and executed.”

Quitness