Torah Bright Wins Gold

Really. (Come on, you'd post it, too.)

Why I Love Jews

Jameel already posted this, but just in case there are people who read SerandEz but who don't read Jameel's blog, I'm gonna post it here. Everyone should check out this blog by a Jewish guy named Barry. He's currently in Beijing working at the only Kosher restaurant there and acting as a spectator of the Olympic sports. I think he's there working for Chabad.

It's posts like these that make me really love Jews:

"Meet the Lone Shomer Shabbos Athlete in Beijing Olympic Games

August 6,2008

Bat-El Gaterer is Israel’s lone Shomer Shabbos athlete, scheduled to compete in the Taekwondo competition. Her training crew explains that while other athletes are ingesting high-protein bars for quick energy between competitions, she will be using instant soup containing high doses of MSG. Coach Noa Shmida explains that the issue of her dietary restrictions is indeed problematic since she is not eating as healthy as she feels she should, but on the other hand, she is Israel’s only athlete competing in the Taekwondo, so she must be doing something right."

...now after hearing this i went to the supermarket and purchased a large amount of kosher protien bars and other foods. however she has yet to arrive. I HOPE TO CONTACT HER WHEN SHE ARRIVES ON THE 12

This boy doesn't even know Bat-El (and she doesn't know him) and yet he is looking out for her. I love it when Jews come together like that and take care of each other. I think it happens most when there aren't so many other Jews around, but that should change.

Also, I just love reading about a frum kid hanging around in Beijing. It's so cool!

Anyway, the blog itself is pretty interesting, especially considering the topic. So check it out!

Ezzie's Blog Roundup, 8/12: Mom

Most important announcement of the day: Happy Birthday Mom!! As the very first regular reader of this blog, along with the whole eight months on bedrest to get me into this world thing, she is obviously a very important part of this blog's existence. And mine. And it's her birthday today, so if you'd like, you can leave a comment for her about it.

A few worthwhile reads out there today:

• Nephtuli's baby son's surgery went well, b'H, but he's still got more to go. Please keep davening for Tinok ben Shifra Yocheved.
• NoyG is running a fantasy football league for J-bloggers; about half the slots are already filled, so if you're interested, sign up fast. It's free and for pure J-blogging bragging rights.
• An impressive result: Bad4Shidduchim is still raising money for her Chai Lifeline marathon run, but her plans have already inspired David Linn and his wife to run as well (and they supported Bad4 - kudos to them). Support them all!
• DryBones always expresses the feelings of many so well. This one is what I thought of when seeing "Palestine" in the opening ceremonies of the Olympics.
• Dave notes the new way Israel is dispersing crowds of rock-throwers and the like: A "skunk" hose. Interesting.
• Very interesting find by Kankan Chadash of a lecture Mortimer Adler gave to Catholic educators; Matt applies it to Jewish ones and it is quite apropos. Excerpt on expand:

  I am told that Jewish education must give its college graduates a fundamental body of truths for the guidance of their lives. I am told that this necessitates the covering of much ground. You can guess my response. I simply ask what is the point of covering ground, if the students’ feet never touch it, if they never learn through independent exercise to walk by themselves, with head erect and unafraid of all intellectual opposition and difficulty. What is the point of memorizing truths, if they can really guide us only when they are genuinely possessed, if they can protect us from falsehood only to the extent that we understand them as fully refuting errors—real, live errors, not dummy ones concocted for the purposes of an easy victory. I would feel happier about the graduates of yeshivot if they really understood a few truths well—understood them as solving problems which vigorously challenge the mind and perplex it— rather than be able to recite, from merely verbal memory, a whole catechism of philosophical answers to problems they did not really understand or take seriously.

• Josh Waxman discusses an excerpt from R' Falk's Oz V'Hadar Levusha on tznius. Pravda and Wolf also discuss it. Here's the excerpt, feel free to form your own opinion: I counted nine troubling things in that paragraph.

Slow Day Gold

It is now the end of Day Three of the Olympics, and I must say, I've found myself enjoying it far more than I recall doing so in a long time. If you have an hour, the opening ceremonies in Beijing were like nothing I've ever seen before in my life - it's well worth it just to know that you've seen the largest and perhaps best performance that's ever been put on, certainly to open an Olympics. The stadium there was designed specifically with this opening ceremony in mind - think about that.

What is most interesting is what constitutes an Olympic sport. Certainly it doesn't go by how riveting a sport is (I mean, really - equesterian!? What the heck is "dressing"?!), nor should it. But it is certainly fantastic to watch athletic feats and skills, even in sports a person doesn't particularly care about: Archery, for example, or fencing, or even (oddly) badminton. The men's 400M relay in swimming was incredible to watch.

What are the strangest sports in the Olympics, and should they be Olympic sports? And what isn't there that should be? (Baseball? Cricket?)