The Rabbi on the Beach at the Shul on The Beach
Do You Know How Many Prisoners Are In For Life Without Parole Who Committed Their Crimes As Juveniles?
I do.
It depends where you ask this question. There is one answer for the United States of America, the Land of the FREE and the Home of the Brave and there is one answer for the REST OF THE WORLD.
In the REST OF THE WORLD there are 0 / ZERO / nil / Zed / zip / zilch / nada.
In the United States of America, the Land of the FREE and the Home of the Brave there (more…)
From time to time, the Shul on the Beach hosts events on Sunday afternoons and evenings that are open to the public. Yesterday we hosted a Klezmer concert on the Beach and it was a smashing success!
Dr. Ellie Goldstein’s close friend has been playing for Dr. Goldstein and his friends at Dr. Goldstein’s home for many years. Ron Grun (along with Ken Husbands) are very talented klezmer musicians and close friends of Dr. Goldstein.
Over the last year, PJC has been privileged to have Dr. Goldstein and his friends join our shul. One of the many perks of their involvement was the concert taking place in the shul. (more…)
Child Witches in Nigeria
I saw this CNN article on a friend’s Facebook page.
There is a severe humanitarian crisis in Nigeria. I don’t know how much we can do to help but I think the crisis is emblematic of social issues in our culture as well.
Innocent children are being physically abused, even tortured or killed because they are thought to be witches. If a child can be blamed for a tragedy or illness by claiming they are a witch they will be outcast, then beaten and then abandoned to rid the community of the witch. (more…)
Here is something that will get you in the High Holiday spirit.
Sometimes I see video on YouTube that I cannot help but share with you.
This 13 second gem was sent to me by a friend.
It appeals to my sense of humor. It actually made me laugh. Background story below…
Enjoy. (more…)
I honestly cannot believe that this story still has legs.
Silly me. I actually thought that if people knew the truth about Cordoba House they would simply cease to oppose its existence. (See: The Mosque at Ground Zero Has A Marketing Problem)
Yet, weeks later, people still call it a mosque and people still think it is being built at Ground Zero and people still think it is being funded by Osama bin Laden and it will become a terror cell and the reason they are building the mosque is to proclaim victory for Islam etc etc etc.
I have seen several videos about the issue. I have placed two of the videos on this page. Watch them both and you decide who makes the more cogent, reasoned, fair arguments. (more…)
On Twitter, someone (HT below) linked to this Verizon ad. I confess to never seeing the ad on TV but I commend Verizon for putting their ads on YouTube. Sometimes ads are art. This is one of those times.
I also admit to using Verizon for absolutely zero services. I don’t like them very much, I think their logo is dated, their name is weird and their customer service is deplorable. But I know a good ad when I see one.
Do I think this ad translates into sales? Probably not.
It remains an excellent piece of art. (more…)
Chai Lifeline is a nice Jewish organization that does amazing things for children with terminal diseases and other medical problems. They have a nice website where you can see their mission statement and some of the other things that they do here: Chai Lifeline.
Their flagship program is called Camp Simcha.
Camp Simcha is a camp for cancer children and they vow to give these children the most fun and inspiring summer of their life (until next summer, hopefully).
Camp Simcha pulled off a really great stunt in Times Square this week. They got permits and arranged all the necessary medical logistics to make it happen.
(more…)
This post has been cross-posted to DovBear: Dancing at Auschwitz
Everyone has been talking about this video.
From the description:
On a recent trip to Europe, a family of three generations (a Holocaust survivor, his daughter and his grandchildren) dance to Gloria Gaynor’s pop song – ‘I Will Survive’ at concentration camps and memorials throughout Europe.
This dance is a tribute to the tenacity of the human spirit and a celebration of life.
Is it appropriate for a survivor and his family to celebrate their survival in this manner? Everyone seems to have an opinion. (more…)
Yesterday I wrote about my high school. (Mr. Miller Was My Math Teacher at Ner Israel) I went to a pretty well known yeshiva high school but this kind of media exposure for Ner Israel is not too common. Of course I was proud so I told my sister to check out the video and article.
Not to be outdone, my sister told me that her high school was also famous!
It seems that WNET, the New York PBS affiliate, has a segment called “Religion and Ethics. A few weeks back they did a piece on hateful gossip in schools. With the advent of the internet and specifically sites like Facebook, it has become so easy to say nasty things about others and leave a permanent record of the comments. (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…)
Back in November I wrote about our local PBS station, KCET, coming to visit us one morning to be part of their Departures Online Series. (KCET Visits PJC and Interviews Me). At the time, we were told that the project would be online in March or April. Not hearing from the producers since the interview I had a feeling that the project was dead.
I am happy to say that I was pleasantly surprised when I was treated to an email from producer Justin Cram that the Web Series was online and we were part of it! (more…)
I was almost too scared to watch this video clip.
We’ve all seen images and video of the leak in the oil rig. We seen some horrific images of wildlife affected by the oil “spill”.
But it’s hard to get a sense of just how massive this disaster actually is.
Then I saw this time lapse video.
NASA has been taking satellite photos of the region and you can see the change in landscape visually. You can see the color of the water changes and you can see how far the oil spill’s reach extends.
The oil is grey in the video and the reason it appears and disappears depends on currents and recovery efforts. (more…)
If you don’t think this is funny, you need to see a humor specialist to make sure your sense of humor is not malfunctioning.
After a string of serious posts debating core issues of equality and discrimination, this post is a much needed respite from seriousness. It should make you laugh…
A little while back I shared Improv Everywhere’s “Where’s Rob” Video. It was amazing. (Remember? Two Things That Made Me Smile This Morning.)
I love Improv Everywhere, so when I saw a new video of theirs was posted on youtube I just had to check it out. (HT: Judahe).
When I was a kid, Ghostbusters was huge. There was the weekday cartoon and a string of live-action films. The Ghostbusters jingle is a part of the very fabric of popular culture in America. Leave it to Improv Everywhere to bring my childhood memories of Ghostbusting to “real life”.
These guys are just awesome. Their latest video is another instant classic. Enjoy! (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…)
Six weeks ago, two well-known journalists, David Horsey and Nancy LeVine popped into the Shul on the Beach. It was Purim and they wanted to take pictures, talk with me and some of our Shul members and join in our Purim Celebration.
Never ones to turn down inviting strangers into the Shul, we welcomed them.
As I wrote at the time, our Purim Celebration was really special as we welcomed anyone and everyone off the boardwalk into our Shul. Read more here: Pacific Jewish Center Purim Celebration Recap February 28, 2010
Nancy took beautiful candid photos and David kind of blended in with the rest of us (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…)
Last year I blogged about a wildly popular video called “The Story of Stuff” in my Green Post. At the time I lauded the video’s very important message but was disappointed in the means used to deliver that message.
The video used hyperbole and tactics reminiscent of propoganda materials to sway its viewer. I feel that when the facts are so compelling and the message so simple, the theatrics only serve to obscure the importance of the message.
Apparantly, Annie Leonard does not read my blog. (more…)
Set your DVRs!
Remember the incredible “Planet Earth” Series from the BBC on the Discovery Channel?
The next chapter begins Sunday 8 PM in the new series called “Life”.
I am so excited for this series. Our family must have seen every episode of Planet Earth at least five times in the gorgeous High Definition it was meant to be watched in.
Supposedly, Life is even better. More cameras, better tracking technology and more mind-blowing footage.
This is what “Reality TV” is supposed to be. We don’t need scripts or actors to be entertained; our world is more breathtaking than anything one’s imagination could invent. “Life” will demonstrate this once again.
If you don’t have Discovery Channel, wait for this to come out on DVD / Blu-Ray. You won’t want to miss it.
Trailer is below… (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…)
Remember the awesome Solar Eclipse in Southeast Asia last year?
Back then, I wrote a little piece called Solar Eclipse in Judaism that explains the famous Talmudic reasons for eclipse.
Recently I came across this incredible video by the BBC. They capture amazing footage of the actual eclipse, the sights and sounds of Southeast Asians observing the eclipse, put it to some beautiful music and have some annoying dude giving his idiotic commentary (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…)
Wow.
You must see this video on vimeo.
It is a breathtakingly beautiful time-lapse taken in Hawaii. You can literally feel the earth spinning on its axis as night passes into day.
I love good videos and this is one of my all time favorites. The action is stunning and the music is perfect.
Kudos to Charles on Vimeo for taking, editing and producing this gorgeous display of our world’s beauty.
HT: Gawker TV via Guy Kawasaki (more…)
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