Over on The Foundation Stone, Rabbi Simcha Weinberg is running a series on Shalom Aleichem. (No not the author.) Rabbi Weinberg invited some fellow Rabbi bloggers to post their thoughts on Shalom Aleichem and angels.
I found a few minutes to put something together and you can read it on Foundation Stone by clicking here.
You can [...]
Posts under ‘Musings & Observations’
Shalom Aleichem Series on The Foundation Stone
The Golem: Jewish Mythology or Kabbalistic Robot?
On Sunday night “The Amazing Race” whittled down from 4 teams to the final 3 in a race around the world. This leg of the race took place entirely in Prague, Czech Republic. As is customary on The Amazing Race, the roadblocks and detours along the way were part of the local culture.
One cannot speak [...]
Can’t We All Just Get Along?
A few days ago a photo was posted on Twitter by the NBA. Somehow, this photo has been on my mind since I saw it.
In sports, two teams oppose each other under the pretense that they are enemies. Their fans may even dislike one another, (see Celtics / Lakers, Yankees / Red Sox, UNC / [...]
Christmas Creep and Judaism
I am sure you are familiar with the Christmas Creep phenomena. You can’t miss it!
The basic principle of Christmas Creep is that each year Christmas celebrations begin earlier and earlier.
The cynical view is that retailers use the earlier Christmas season to maximize sales. I can’t imagine that works very well. People are going to buy [...]
A Moral Argument Against The Death Penalty
In the last few months there have been a few death penalty executions. Most notably the D.C. Sniper was executed on November 10, 2009. Since that time I have been thinking about the death penalty. I have discussed it on Twitter and in real life.
The last unit of our Criminal Law course was the Death [...]
Go To The Ant, Sluggard, See Her Ways And Become Wise (Proverbs 6:6)
The book of Proverbs has so many great lessons for life. One very well known lesson is that we can learn from so many people, animals and things useful tools for life. The ant provides a great lesson in industriousness. An ant can lift things many times more than its body weight. Ants work hard [...]
NFL Football: Game of Wimps and Crybabies
Every casual sports fan in the universe has heard about the big 4th down play that cost the Patriots a victory in their epic matchup with the Colts this past Sunday
Facing 4 and 2 yards to go on their own 28 yard line, Belichik elected to go for the first down and not punt the [...]
Orthodox Jews Are Not Sneetches
That is Sneetches, not snitches. For Jewish snitches you can read my post on Mesira, the Jewish Informant. Sneetches are a Dr. Seuss invention that teach us on of the simplest, yet profound lessons in bias, peer-pressure, segregation and of course capitalism. It is one of my favorite Dr. Seuss books.
Yesterday I wrote about the [...]
The Good Wife: Unorthodox, From a Rabbi / Law Student Perspective
The Good Wife is a new legal drama on CBS. The show is great. Usually the legal issues are portrayed correctly (at least from a law student’s perspective) and the character development of the main character has been superb.
This week’s episode revolved around a chasidic couple living in Chicago who were responsible to fix a [...]
The D.C. Sniper’s Execution
In 2002 we were living in Baltimore Maryland. A few short miles away two snipers were picking off random people and shooting them to death.
There was no explanation, no specific people were targeted, just random people being gunned down from a perch a few hundred feet away.
The entire region was in a panic. Every time [...]
KCET Visits PJC and Interviews Me
KCET (the local PBS affiliate) has been working on a city-wide project. It is called Departures and it focuses on the people and places that make the neighborhoods of Los Angeles. For the last six weeks they have been working on Venice. Today they came to the Pacific Jewish Center Shul on the Beach to [...]
When Times Are Tough
The economic crisis has hit many families and individuals in different ways. This anecdote really hit me hard. Perhaps you will feel the same way.
We all know that money is tight for Americans all across the country. Los Angeles is no exception and even in the middle to upper class neighborhood where we live there [...]
Mad Men Era Lives On in the White House
Has the White House traveled back in time and space to the Mad Men era? To a place in time where women are 2nd class citizens and were refused equal opportunities?
Most people would say, “of course not”. But there are those who disagree.
Just ask Terry O’Neill the president for the National Organizatin of Women (NOW) [...]
That’s What I Call Ambition
When we are in Venice for Shabbos we stay at wonderful, little, extended stay hotel on the boardwalk called Su Casa. They try and give us an Ocean View Room. It is great to have the ocean view, but not as much for the ocean view as for the “boardwalk” view.
You see, Venice Boardwalk is [...]
200th Post: Something To Bring a Smile To Your Face
This is post #200 on finkorswim.com. Congratulations to me. As promised, I will do a best of the first 200 posts in the next few days. In the meantime, here is this…
It has been a short 10 and a half months since this blog opened it’s doors to the public. I have had a blast [...]
No God Is Top Trending Topic On Twitter
Twitter has a sidebar with the top trending topics on Twitter at any given moment.
As of this very second the #1 Trending Topic on Twitter is “No God“.
I just thought that was really interesting.
And that is a good reason for a “Fail Whale” to lead this post…
Crosses Honor Fallen Soldiers of All Faiths
We took the family to Santa Monica Pier on Sunday and our six year old son proved to be smarter than a Supreme Court Justice!
It is so beautiful to walk along the beach and observe all the excitement along the boardwalk and pier. As always, we had a great time in Santa Monica.
For the last [...]
Too Smart For Their Own Good
While the blog was down a very interesting Op-Ed appeared in the New York Times.
A journalist had a discussion with a man who could explain how the financial industry collapsed last year in one sentence.
Intrigued, the journalist pressed the man to explain. The answer? Wall Street got too smart.
In the old days, the Wall Street [...]
President Obama’s New Hardware: Nobel Peace Prize
Wow, two semi-political posts in a row. For a non-partisan blog that is a lot.
But once again, it would be impossible to ignore this elephant in the room.
Optimistic at best presumptuous at worse, President Obama’s recent Nobel Peace Prize award really pushes the envelope of credibilty.
NASA Spending Millions To Find Water On The Moon
Am I missing something?
Normally I stay out of politics. But I think this issue transcends politics.
Friday October 9, 2009 at approximately 7:31 AM EST NASA is going to bomb the moon. This is an exercise designed to confirm or deny the existence of water on the moon. Video of the anticipated explosion is below.
The cost [...]
Women’s Happiness and Being a Parent
I just can’t kick this parenting thing. Every post I feel like writing is connected with parenting.
The last time this happened I was hooked on clothes. Those posts are all linked here, here, here, here, here and here. I recommend checking those out.
One of the most popular articles on NYTimes.com this week is an Op-Ed about [...]
Teamwork: Important in Sports, More Important in Life
Rosh Hashana at Pacific Jewish Center was wonderful. The services were inspiring, the attendance was excellent and the mood properly reflected the importance of the days.
I spoke from the pulpit several times over the holiday.
There was certainly an over-arching theme to my sermons. Each had its own individual message but overall they reflected an idea [...]
Twitter Your Prayers
This Post Has Been Cross Posted to DovBear.
The morning before Rosh Hashana there is a custom to recite extended Slichos in Shul.
Led by Gary Dalin, the services this morning were wonderful. Thank you Gary.
The Slichos are mostly Medieval era poetry designed to arouse the soul within to make amends for all wrongs committed during the [...]
Parenting: Unconditional Love
Parenting has been on my mind lately.
Earlier today I posted about Kim Clijsters and the sacrifices of working mothers.
It must be the impending Rosh Hashana that is influencing these thoughts of parents and children.
Parenting is tough job. There are no vacations. There is no financial remuneration. It is oftentimes thankless.
Also we are so clueless as [...]
Kim Clijsters: Tennis Champion and Mother
Something has been on mind the last few days. The last three blog posts I have attempted to write have been all on the same topic. I have decided to turn them into two blog posts and this is the first of a two part series.
The topic is parenting. The relationship between parents and their [...]
