February 2009

The pain is intolerable, the sheer wave of stinging coming from my lower left side is indescribable, and there are times where it becomes so painful that I have to slap myself in order to remain conscious. It’s gnawing away at my life force, messing with my equilibrium and breathing, which scares the living daylights out of me.

Now that you’ve vicariously gone through my ills you must be asking your not so humble writer what this all means? What you read is an ode to the pain of the modern Jewish Man/Woman. I think we’re all conflicted by our collective and not so collective history. I feel that American Jews from both the left and the right are conflicted and/or apathetic about their role within their own religion their country and even their place in history.

First we must thank the era of Reaganomics because the 1980’s was the start of the “me” generation and the end of the collective movements for most causes. Every one of us possesses (or hopes to possess) all the luxuries we need within close quadrants. We can stay home, play video games, listen to music, as well as partake in all the mental, spiritual?, and physical pleasures we want. So do we stay indoors and live life for ourself and bludgeon the glut until the red is smeared all over the walls? Do we become so insulated that the “we” disappears and the “I” remains?

This all goes back to every Jew’s connection to the Holy Land. I think as a collective we should point out details that seem inaccurate about Israel and the Zionist machine. History shows that no matter the era (and this pertains to the human sense of time, which can be argued for ours), there was always a Jewish presence in modern day Israel. Muslims are relishing and rather confident in their refusal to mention that FACT. Also, since the days of Ottoman rule over the land of Palestine, Palestinian clans and tribes fought each other bloodily for supremacy. The cycle of violence was nothing new. However, the influx of Jews in the first Aliyah in 1881 made these newcomers, and the local Jewish inhabitants who have been in the region for some time, visible targets for Muslim ire. I think we should all pick up history books because all the media as well as Muslim “politicians” suffer from a collective amnesia. The BBC will remember the Six-Day War but not how it was started, the Economist will remember Sabra and Shatila but nothing of the PLO atrocities committed on both Jews, Christians and Muslims, and the Guardian will talk of the “incursion” into Gaza but barely mention of the large amount of missiles launched into Israel by Hamas. Let’s level the playing field before we go back to the days of propaganda and roundups, as well as snide comments carrying anti-semitic wit.

We should be outraged at these problems but it’s tough to grab you.

This hurts me inside because I’m a lover not a fighter, and I’m not the only Jew or Israeli feeling this pain, We All Are.

Waltz with Bashir has caught the buzz of the world winning many prestigious awards, and now it’s nominated for the grandest of them all - an Academy Award. The Oscar ceremony is the epitome of the lush and grand presentation of Hollywood’s beautiful sleaze in all its grandeur. Waltz With Bashir has been nominated for best foreign language film, on the heels of a predecessor nominated two years ago, Beaufort. Unlike Beaufort, when watching this film your entire body gets a jolt of life and passion, and like Pink Floyd’s The Wall it barely gives you a chance to blink. Every element of this film has combined to make it one of the best films of the 21st century.

Personally I am sick and tired of the same old movie formula of boy meets girl, boy looses girl, comedy shtick, including sidekicks in the middle as our “hero” tries to find her and she tries to find herself. In the end they get back together and end up embracing by the seaside as a corny Billy Joel or Elton John song plays and the credits begin to roll. The modern era has died, welcome to the post modern era where everything both makes and doesn’t make sense. Movies such as the recently released Bob Dylan bio-pic, I’m Not There, push the envelope on convention and Waltz With Bashir will always be remembered as a cornerstone in Film culture. This is how movies should and probably will be made in the future where the linear is dead, long live fragments.

This main reason will be why this wonderful film will win the Oscar and will be seen all over the globe. It was recently screened in Lebanon and the filmmaker is discussing distribution with a representative from a Gulf state.

I wrote a review after I first saw this film and if you’re interested please scroll back to my entry from October 6th, 2008.

Even if the film doesn’t win, it made quite an impact on the film world. It is the filmmaker’s brutal and raw approach at telling his war stories exposing the many problems in the accuracy of memory. The politics of memory, especially during war, are tricky and to present them in a non-linear fashion is a great approach. By chopping up genres and regurgitating them into this masterpiece is Oscar worthy, plus much more.

Aish HaTorah is seen by many Jews across the globe as either a great chance at inviting Jews who want to learn more about their history and culture, or a cult. As a secular person who is trying to be a Ba’al Tshuva - I have partaken in the Aish New York programs and I must say that, besides some of its corny overtures, the people involved are all very caring and loving people. Also, it all goes in your pace and not the pace anyone else wants you to be in. In order for yourself to grow both spiritually and mentally you must dig deep within yourself. Aish HaTorah provided that outlet, and still does, for a person like myself to grow and keep growing for the grace of Hashem.

Unfortunately I never met Rabbi Weinberg, but when I get to Jerusalem next month and start at the Aish Yeshiva, the first think I will do is say a prayer for the man who made my clarity possible. Rest in Peace Rabbi Weinberg.

Below is an article from www.IsraelNN.com

Rabbi Noah Weinberg, the renowned founder and Dean of Yeshiva Aish HaTorah in Jerusalem, passed away Thursday morning in Jerusalem at the age of 78.
The funeral will begin at the Ahavat Torah synagogue in Kiryat Zanz in Jerusalem at 1:30 PM. It will then proceed to Har HaZeitim (Mt. of Olives) for the burial.

A graduate of two prominent yeshivot in the United States – Rabbi Chaim Berlin in New York and Ner Yisrael in Baltimore – Rabbi Weinberg founded or co-founded the two most famous yeshivot in Jerusalem for beginners, Ohr Somayach and Aish HaTorah.
Students of Rabbi Weinberg, who number in the thousands, say his teachings emphasize a close relationship with G-d, as well as maximizing one’s contentment in this world through meaningful activities. His book “What the Angel Taught You” and his tape series “48 Ways to Wisdom” are popular throughout the Jewish world.
Many hundreds of loving and thankful tributes from his students can be read here. The letters thank for him for “changing my life,” “bettering my life and enriching it with Torah,” “G-d gave you a life filled with purpose,” and the like.
Rabbi Weinberg was slowly recuperating late last year from chemotherapy and radiation treatments, when he fell and broke his thigh bone and shoulder. Throughout these difficult periods, however, he continued arriving at Aish HaTorah in the Old City whenever possible.
The Aish.com website, arguably the world’s largest Jewish learning website, states that Aish HaTorah “is dedicated to revitalizing the Jewish people by providing opportunities for Jews of all backgrounds to discover their heritage in an atmosphere of open inquiry and mutual respect.”
Rabbi Weinberg’s Aish HaTorah now operates 27 full-time branches on five continents, with 100,000 people attending Aish programs annually - including Discovery, Hasbara Fellowships, Jerusalem Fellowships, Jewel, and more - in 77 cities in 17 countries. Aish features a large Rabbinical training college at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, as well as a Hesder Yeshiva where students combine their military service with Torah learning.
Aish.com receives over two million visits each month, and some 50,000 hours of Torah tapes and MP3s are listened to each year, and the site features articles and audio segments on spirituality, parenting, dating, weekly Torah portion, Holocaust studies, and Ask the Rabbi. The site operates a 24-hour live webcam from the Western Wall, which has registered 20 million visits. Spin-off sites in Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, French and Russian are all leading websites in their respective languages.

To check out the source visit: www.aish.com

Shabbat Shalom

So the president of Venezuela’s campaign of words to inflame hatred of Jews has manifested in the form of violent acts against the Jewish community there. No surprise here! At this point I’m past being shocked about hate crimes against Jews. But, so called “president” Chavez has either not studies history, or he is emulating the wrong people.
Last night a synagogue in Caracas was attacked, not vandalized, but outright attacked! After trashing the ark these so called “people” (who actually stupid animals) left a two messages on the walls. One was “kill all the Jews” and the other was “Jews leave Venezuela now”. These people were acting on ideas that the president himself spouted out of his hate filled mouth. Sound familiar? Now all Jews in this country, some of whom have lived there for generations spanning over centuries have to fear for their lives and property. How far is this situation from escalating to things we saw in Europe about sixty years ago? Not far because an attack on a synagogue with such an organized agenda and serious level of hostility has always escalated to violence against people. As Jews we need not wait and see what happens next, we’ve seen this story unfold so many times in our history. Action is needed now! The government of Israel must send a strong statement to Chavez and put that dictator in line. As far as Im concerned, any attack on Jews in Venezuela is an attack on all Jews and Israel.
I encourage all Jews to learn Krav Maga, the Israeli self defense tactics and to stay close to Israel, if no physically then ideologically. We cannot afford to live at the whim of all these people who decide when Jews are to be tolerated and when not. As a Jew I find the situation in Venezuela to be unacceptable, and the lack of global outcry against this crime is further proof that the Israeli military is the only force to be trusted by Jews for real security. Luckily, we have much support in the US, except for a few left wing extremists who believe all the excrement that is hand fed to them by the Arab propagandists and South American Anti-Semites.
As for Chavez, hopefully some ill will come upon him that will help the country get back on course. But, I will not hold my breath…