Jul 6th, 2010
by rabbifink.
A little while ago I read the unfortunately mis-titled book, Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean.
I say unfortunately mis-titled because the book was excellent but it really was not about Jewish Pirates and certainly was not limited at all to the Caribbean.
The book was good because it tells the story of some of the most famous Converso Jews following the Spanish and Porteguese Inquisition. The well footnoted text gave me a better appreciation for the 15 century Mediterranean Jews, their struggles and their success.
Perhaps above all, as I was reading the book I found myself with a greater appreciation for Sephardi Jews. (more…)
Jun 21st, 2010
by rabbifink.
Cross-posted to DovBear here:
There is a healthy nostalgia built into Judaism. “Chadesh yameni k’kedem” – renew our days to the way things were, we say. Of course, like any good thing, too much nostalgia is a bad thing.
After reading the famous case of Brandenburg v. Ohio I find myself pining for the anti-Jewish sentiment as expressed in 60′s as opposed to today.
Brandenburg was a Ku Klux Klan leader in Ohio. At a KKK rally, men dressed in robes and hoods burned a cross and made public declarations of hate.
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May 12th, 2010
by rabbifink.
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…)
Oct 19th, 2009
by rabbifink.
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 few years there has been a protest / exhibit just north of the pier. The protestors are against war in general, the Iraq war in specific and pretty much the entire defense budget of the United States.
They call it Arlington West and they have set up a faux graveyard in the sand representing the fallen soldiers in what they call a criminal war. (more…)
Aug 28th, 2009
by rabbifink.
A few months ago, the New York Jets football team made headlines when they moved they 4 PM Sunday game on Erev (the day before) Yom Kippur to 1 PM. This time change would give Jewish people wishing to observe Yom Kippur the opportunity to be home before the start of Yom Kippur at sundown on Sunday evening.
This was a nice gesture. It was also, completely unnecessary as Jews are comfortable with and used to compromising to satisfy their Religious beliefs. Jews who keep kosher often cannot eat at business lunches and Shabbos observant Jews miss live college football every Saturday in the fall. Missing a Jets game the day before Yom Kippur is not that big a deal. Plus, it is like a badge of courage to miss an event for your religion. Just ask Sandy Koufax. Missing the game is not that big a deal. Yet, the change was made.
Now it seems that this decision by the Jets is causing a bit of a problem.
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Aug 12th, 2009
by rabbifink.
This post has been cross-posted to DovBear – more discussion there.
The topic of mesira is complex. I do not claim expertise on the subject of who is a moser, but I have heard a discourse from an expert on Jewish and American Law named Rabbi Breitowitz. Aside from teaching law at University of Maryland, Rabbi Breitowitz is a practicing Rabbi in Silver Spring Maryland. When I lived in Baltimore, I heard Rabbi Breitowitz speak on the topic of mesira and I was able to find the same speech online to refresh my memory.
This is my basic understanding of his take on mesira. (more…)
Aug 10th, 2009
by rabbifink.
Lately, all the Jews in the News have been getting into trouble with the law or dying. It has been troubling.
Sometimes, we wonder what other people are saying about us. In light of the last few weeks, it just can’t be good.
This recent (true) anecdote is a change of pace and hopefully it can start a new trend. (more…)
Aug 1st, 2009
by rabbifink.
As a Law Student, there are things I find interesting that may not interest “clients” (non-Lawyers, hehe). The following article interests me and will probably interest any lawyer or law student, anyone Jewish, or anyone that has been following the Gates Saga.
I invite you to contribute your opinion in the comments.
The article originally appeared in this week’s Jewish Press as an OP-ED. The writer is Nathan Lewin (read more about him here).
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Jul 19th, 2009
by rabbifink.
One of my favorite gadget blogs ran a despicable headline for a post yesterday. Gizmodo is a great blog when it comes to getting information, reviews and opinions on the latest technology and gadgets. Unfortunately, yesterday they disgraced their reputation with a pretty offensive headline.
The headline garnered enough attention that they ultimately changed it to something less offensive.
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Jun 25th, 2009
by rabbifink.
UPDATE: Friday morning 6/25/09 I updated the post to more accurately reflect the protagonist’s personality.
I am so disturbed right now.
My wife and I have a summer camp for pre-school children in Monsey NY. That is why we left Los Angeles / Venice for the summer. We don’t own our own camp grounds so during the year we store everything in a shed at my in-laws’ home in Monsey.
Sometime before camp begins we need to get everything from the in-laws to our summer location. Today was moving day. What I heard during the move was disturbing enough to share with you.
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Jun 16th, 2009
by rabbifink.
This post has been cross-posted to DovBear. – more discussion there.
In addition to my work as the Rabbi at Pacific Jewish Center at the Shul on the Beach I am also a Law Student at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. I am part of the evening program and completed my first year of evening classes in May.
In December I was subjected to mid-terms in each of my courses. Many Law School exams are long fact patterns that require the student to analyze the facts and apply all the law that is relevant to the facts and then argue why the law should or should not apply to those facts. Usually these fact patterns are fiction and these essays are typically 3 – 4 hours in duration.
My torts professor gave us a very interesting fact pattern. The basics of the case were, two young boys named Israel and Jacob enter an elevator on their way to school. Along the way the elevator malfunctions and the boys are suspended between the 10th and 11th floor. The doors malfunction as well and the doors are opened. The younger boy, Jacob is 5 and he tries to jump from the stuck elevator to the 10th floor below. Jacob jumps and (more…)
Apr 3rd, 2009
by rabbifink.
the NY Times has a section in their online newspaper called “The Lede”. It is often chock full of interesting links and thought on the news of the times. I have been inspired to post links to The Lede before in my blog post about “Bus Ads in London proclaiming there is no GD”.
Today, The Lede has a tremendously misleading post about women’s rights. Women have been fighting for equality of rights in America for years. Their right to vote was only recently (relatively) added to the Bill of Rights. Title VII and Title IX are recent acts of legislature to attempt to enforce equality for women.
It is not as if the United States has ALWAYS treated women equally. But now that we do treat women equally in America we are permitted to look down upon anyone who does not (sarcasm emphasized). (more…)
Feb 12th, 2009
by rabbifink.
Here is a video for you.
Those who know me personally will attest that I am not a card carrying member of the “Woe is us, anti-anti-semitism” club. However, I did recently blog about tolerance and therefore this video clip is relevant. I do not endorse any comments made by the person who posted this video on You Tube. The only reason I am posting this video is to illustrate that Hate exists. Hate is ugly and Hate needs to stop.
I make these comments to address those who may hate me or us from outside of Judaism and equally to my Jewish brethren. (more…)
Feb 10th, 2009
by rabbifink.
Last week I was checking out Wikipedia and I was browsing the “Main Page”. You can always find an article by searching Wikipedia but you can also browse interesting tidbits on Main Page. Sections like “On this day” and “Did you know” display linked Wikipedia articles for your enjoyment. This page changes frequently, at least several times per day.
At the precise moment that I was looking at the page I saw this:
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A little while ago I read the unfortunately mis-titled book, Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean.
