The Rabbi on the Beach at the Shul on The Beach
Photo: NY Times
Mystery solved?
I have been wondering about this for a while. Follow me on this journey from a 3000 year old story to current culinary trends….
As the Israelites sojourned in the desert for 40 years, the Torah tells us that they ate Manna. It was a food that they were not familiar with as they reacted to the manna by saying “man hu?” what is it?
Reading the text of the narrative in the Torah tells us some very interesting details. Here are some snippets: (more…)
In today’s LA Times there is a very interesting article about the Hijab and some Muslim women who have put a modern twist on the traditional Hijab.
(What is Hijab? click here)
Most of us think of the black, shapeless head to toe covering when we think of the Hijab. According the article, the black color, and amorphous shape is not required in Islamic Law. Hijab is a modesty that requires that the body be covered completely by clothing. It is permissible to add color and style to the Hijab.
The article highlights some locals who are celebrating their personal style within the limits of what is required by Hijab.
I think that is great. (more…)
[Alternate blog post title: Sex and the City 2 Billboards Are Offensive To Parents With Young Children.]
I love LA.
Living in LA has its perks. You get great weather 300 days a year, really friendly neighbors, not too many bugs, plenty of excitement, just enough peace and quiet, the Lakers, and a Shul on the Beach (with a lucky Rabbi). But like any big city, there are some drawbacks to living in LA. The traffic, superficiality, the helicopters outside my window at 2 AM, the expensive housing, and the schmutz.
What is schmutz? Literally, it means dirt. But in this context it means dirty in a provocative or an overtly sexual manner. (© me this very second) (more…)
This summer I am taking two classes at Law School that explore many of the issues and themes of racism. I am extremely fascinated by racism, and ethnic hatred. I am still sorting out my feelings on a lot of the issues and I am really happy that I am being exposes to the everything that we are discussing in class.
In Hate Speech Seminar we read a (poorly written, but very interesting) book about the White Supremacy Movement in California through the 80′s and 90′s. (It’s called Skinhead Confessions and you can buy it on Amazon: Skinhead Confessions: From Hate To Hope. Again, not very well written but very enlightening and an important book.)
The question we have been probing is: Where does racism come from? Why do people hate? (more…)
One of the most famous lines in any movie is uttered by the inimitable Jimmy Dugan, played by Tom Hanks in a League of Their Own. Dugan says to a player of his who is crying (and happens to be a woman) that “There’s no crying in baseball”.
I’ve made a censored version of the video and embedded it below if you have no idea what I am talking about.
I’ve never quite understood why there is no crying in baseball, nor why this line is so famous. It doesn’t even make any sense to me. And yet, here we are. Everyone knows there’s no crying in baseball and no one knows why.
Try telling Jim Joyce and Armando Galarraga that there is no crying in baseball. (more…)
The Zen Master has spoken. (Again. Remember? The Zen Master Speaks on Curses, Karma and Mitzvahs)
When asked about the Arizona Immigration Law – state Senate Bill 1070, by ESPN.com columnist J.A. Adande, Jackson raised a few eyebrow. In fact he raised enough eyebrows that a protest is planned for tonight’s game at Staples Center in Downtown LA.
The LA Times has a full report here: Activists protest Lakers Coach Phil Jackson’s comments on Arizona’s new immigration law
What did Jackson say that set off the protesters? (more…)
This post has been cross-posted to DovBear. More discussion there. (Link)
If you are like me, you have been reading about the Rubashkin saga for months. What began with a Federal raid at a meat processing plant to ferret out hundreds of illegal alien employees is now culminating with a federal and state trial. (Link)
If you are like me, you have been hearing that the raid was “disproportionate” and fueled by anti-semitism.
If you are like me you have been hearing that he was denied bail because of an anti-semitic fear that Rubashkin was a flight risk and would flee to Israel.
If you are like me, you have been hearing that his federal sentencing recommendation was anti-semitic. (Link)
If you are like me, you have been hearing how the county jail was anti-semitic in not providing food that was kosher “to Rubashkin’s standards” and not permitting him to wear religious garb (tzitzis / tzitzit). (Link)
I have three things I want to say. (more…)
A very similar post has been cross-posted to DovBear. More discussion there.
Nothing like a Supreme Court of the United States nomination to get me to blog again.
Elena Kagan has been nominated for the SCOTUS. I have no opinion about her. I do have an opinion about some of the people opposing her…
I have been planning a brief series on anti-semitism. This post will be the first of a few that deal with various specifics and nuances of anti-semitism in my opinion.
Have you seen the cries of anti-semitism connected with Kagan? They come from Orthodox Jews who have trouble dealing with their own insecurities. Why? (more…)
One of my absolute favorite places in the world is the Library of Congress in DC. The architecture, decor and opulence of the building is stunning and I love it.
There is however one part of the Library of Congress which I vehemently must disagree with.
What part? Stay tuned…
Over on DovBear, there has been a running discussion as to the meaning of the 8th Principle of Maimonidies. (more…)
Remember that short story? “The Most Dangerous Game”? Dangerous games are no longer fiction. They have become part of our never ending news cycle.
It is with a heavy heart that I write this post.
A Santa Monica youth was found dead in his home. Cause of death? A game. The Choking Game.
I had never heard of this “game”. But apparantly most pre-teens have heard of it and many have “played it”.
It seems that there is some “high” associated with near asphyxiation. Boys between the ages of 11 and 16 are the most likely to try one of the different variants of this deadly game. Few parents are even aware that this game exists. (more…)
Sometimes you read something and you just need to share it. I read about teaching Philosophy to 2nd graders last week.
I LOVE this idea.
The NY Times ran a story last week about a new program at a Massachusetts charter school teaching 2nd graders philosophy.
There are not learning the nuances of the different techniques of philosophers. What they are doing is learning how to have open ended discussions about debatable ideas. So much of school is learning the right answer to a specific question. We are taught at a very young age to figure out what the teacher wants us to say, and then to say it.
Even critical thinking is just a mask for “critically thinking the way the teacher wants you to think”. (more…)
I am really appreciative to MSNBC.com for the great publicity they gave our Shul with the Escape Into America photo-film as I mentioned here: Pacific Jewish Center Featured on MSNBC.com. In addition, I now need to thank MSNBC for informing me of one of the craziest ideas I have ever heard.
Today is Earth Day and I have gone on record supporting conservation and many green initiatives. I believe conservation is an important part of a Torah lifestyle. (See Earth Day and Torah, Green Post and The Story of Bottled Water Review: Important Video, Way Over the Top.)
While I love the idea of being environmentally conscious, to me it is just a factor in making choices. We all weigh our priorities when we make choices and Going Green is something to consider among other factors. (more…)
One of the best college football running backs in recent memory is Toby Gerhart.
Gerhart put the Stanford Cardinal football team on his shoulders and carried them to prominence for the first time since John Elway led them to prominence 25 years ago.
His college statistics are astounding: 1871 yards and 27 touchdowns last season. His combine numbers are impressive: 4.50 in the 40 yard dash and a 38 inch vertical leap.
Sounds like a sure-fire first round draft pick…
So why are scouts projecting Gerhart will be picked in the second round of the upcoming NFL Draft? (more…)
The NBA Playoffs are here. That means 10 weeks of sporadic games until someone takes home the Larry O’Brien Trophy and gets to spritz champagne all over themselves.
Of course, the <sarcasm> Supreme King Master of the Basketball Universe, His Royal Heiness LeBron James is expected to win it all and take his team to the “Promised Land” and we will all fawn all over his super-human ability and charisma <end sarcasm>. That is until he reminds us that it is all about the money in the off-season, because LeBron is a free agent this summer.
I have had my criticisms of LeBron in the past. (more…)
A Facebook friend, (Jewish Atheist), posted a really fascinating article on his Facebook profile.
The article is a Boston Globe piece and is called “The Unbelievers“. I recommend reading the entire article as this post will just highlight a few parts of the well researched article to illustrate some points of interest to this audience.
Lately, there’s been a lot of talk of Orthopraxy within the Orthodox Jewish world. See my post: The Real Orthoprax Issue. There are even some blogs dedicated to its theology (and challenging the traditional OJ theology). Interestingly, the Orthoprax people I know of (NOT Orthoprax by default) are lay people. Not Rabbis. (more…)
(what "publishing" meant before the internet)
There is a very ambitious fellow in our class at Law School. His name is Paymon Khatibi. One day Paymon decided that our class should start an independent journal of law related articles. We would write student notes just like the official Law Reviews and publish them online in a digital journal. Sounds easy, right?
Well it took a lot of work and management to have all the pieces fall into place. Incredibly, Paymon was relentless and did not give up on this dream of his. Today, that dream has become a reality. And for that we are all very grateful.
The Loyola Journal has been published online and is open to all readers. (more…)
Today is Yom Hashoah. It is a day designated to Holocaust Remembrance. In the spirit of this special day I would like to share a story with you.
Over on Cross-Currents, Rabbi Adlerstein has linked to a very powerful article in the Detroit News.
Most Orthodox Jews have heard the song called “The Man From Vilna” by Abie Rottenberg. It tells a powerful story in post liberation Europe. (more…)
What does it mean to be a good wife?
That’s a question NY Times columnist (Lisa Belkin) wants to answer.
I posed the question to some of the mother / wife types that I know on Twitter and a very interesting conversation ensued. Jessica Gottlieb wrote a wonderful post in response to the article.
According to this NY Times columnist women don’t want to be called a wife anymore.
That is a pretty broad statement. Further, part of what is great about 2010 is that we are not contsrained to traditional notions and roles. But (more…)
This is part IV in a loosely connected series of posts on equality and change.
Parts 1-3:
-Simple Justice | The Story of Brown v. Board of Education: The End of Separate But Equal in Schools
-Reverse Discrimination and Oversensitivity
-The Mechanics of Change and How To Make A Difference
In 1868 Black Americans were granted equal protection and citizenship in the United States of America. However, in 1896 the Supreme Court of the United States held in Plessy v. Ferguson that “separate was equal”. There was “no inferiority suggested by keeping races separate” and so things went for about 60 years. In 1954 in all changed. Brown v. Board of Education demonstrated to the SCOTUS that separate was not equal and it was held that states could not discriminate between races in matters that were of compelling government interest. The Civil Rights movement pressured states to remove all discriminatory laws and in 1964 the Civil Rights Act expanded the law forbidding discrimination to more scenarios. Today there is virtually no overt, legal discrimination in the United States of America.
How did one of the greatest legal and social changes in history occur? (more…)
A few weeks ago my brother-in-law asked me which branch of government I thought was the most powerful. I immediately answered, “Legislative”. He was surprised. As a fellow law student we read case after case where the Supreme Court overturned laws that it felt were unconstitutional. While that is true, it requires Herculean effort for the Supreme Court to overturn a law. The legislature can just write a new law whenever they want. That gives them almost all the power.
It has long been my feeling that legislatures are the best place to effect change in laws. Citizens can petition their law makers to make laws that they want and of they don’t make law that their constituents like, they can vote someone who will into office. Is this a slow process? Sure. But the Supreme Court process is even slower and the chance that your case will be heard is slim.
There is a second issue when the Judicial Branch speaks from “on-high” and mandates a change in law. (more…)
Randy Newman says it perfectly. “I Love LA” he croons. We in Los Angeles hear that classic tune after every Lakers home victory. And there are plenty of those… I also hear it every time someone calls my wife’s mobile phone. It is her ringtone.
Today I had such a strong reminder of why living in Los Angeles is so great.
In addition to Law School and serving as the Rabbi on the Beach at Pacific Jewish Center, I work at the California Court of Appeals twice a week. The California Court of Appeals is in downtown Los Angeles, in how shall we say… a transitional neighborhood.
On my way from work to school something that doesn’t happen in my hometown of Monsey NY happened right before my eyes. (more…)
This post has been cross-posted to DovBear. For more discussion, click here.
Rabbi Steven Pruzansky is making headlines with his front page Jewish Press article in which he thoroughly disposes of Orthopraxy and ousts the Orthoprax from Modern Orthodoxy.
For a thorough fisking of the main parts of the article go to XGH’s blog, this is his area of expertise.
What Rabbi Pruzansky’s article made me ponder is the relevance of Orthopraxy to the average Frum Jew. (more…)
Yesterday I wrote about a great film in Simple Justice | The Story of Brown v. Board of Education: The End of Separate But Equal in Schools. Civil Rights made tremendous strides in the wake of Brown. It was a tumultuous time and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led the way to racial equality.
Today, we have a president that represents the progress on behalf of all minorities. What was unthinkable a generation ago, is the reality of our world. Imagine a 70 year old black man from the deep south who remembers attending a segregated school and looks in the newspaper in 2010 and sees someone who would have been institutionally discriminated against as the leader of the free world. What a feeling that must be…
But along with the good, comes some bad. In the last few weeks I have seen some examples of Reverse Discrimination as well as oversensitivity. (more…)
Last week I spoke at Pepperdine University about Jewish Lessons in Parenting. I began my talk by complimenting my parents and expressing my desire to emulate their parenting in the raising of my own children. One such example occurred today.
At Law School we are reading some of the most well-known Supreme Court Cases. A few weeks ago we read Roe v. Wade (banning 1st term abortion is unconstitutional) and the even more important Casey v. Planned Parenthood (upheld Roe) cases. Last week we read Plessy v. Ferguson (after Civil War, Separate but Equal schools were ruled constitutional).
This week we are reading Brown v. Board of Education. This case overruled Plessy and made Separate but Equal unconstitutional in Public Schools. (more…)
I am sure you have already heard the news. If you have not, here goes.
Today, a killer whale named Tilikum at Sea World Orlando killed a trainer. Yes. A whale. An animal that has no instinct to kill a human, killed a human, IN FRONT OF AN AUDIENCE! That was certainly more than the spectators bargained for…
You can read all about it all over the place, (more…)
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