Dvar Torah: Mishpatim/Shabbat Shekalim

It's a little to busy to write a new D'var Torah this week so I decided to present a Responsa I wrote a few years ago for my Codes class at JTS about Stem Cell Research. It applies a number of concepts from this Torah portion, including the status of a fetus (ie: the penalty for "abortion" is only monetary) and that God commands us to heal. Here goes:

Matt Rutta

Codes for Talmud Majors

Fall 2004

Responsa

Resolved: The use of human embryonic stem-cells for medical and scientific purposes is permissible under Jewish Law.

I concur with Rabbi Dorff’s responsa in the positive but have differing or additional reasons as to the permissibility to utilize stem cells. Therefore this statement shall be a concurrence to Rabbi Dorff’s responsa

The following things must be assumed permissible, as they were by the CJLS:

-Obligation of humanity to heal

-Abortion

-Organ Donation

God is the ultimate healer, as He says in Exodus 15:26, אני ה' רפאך, “I am the Lord, your Healer”. However, we see that there is still the obligation for humans to act as healers. A few chapters hence, in Exodus 21:19, it states:

אִם־יָקוּם וְהִתְהַלֵּךְ בַּחוּץ עַל־מִשְׁעַנְתּוֹ וְנִקָּה הַמַּכֶּה רַק שִׁבְתּוֹ יִתֵּן וְרַפֹּא יְרַפֵּֽא:

“If he stands and walks outside on his staff, then the one who struck him will be cleared of charges but only has to pay for the man’s healing”. In other words, the man has to pay the other man’s medical bills. With this verse directly from the Torah we see that there were doctors at the time and that the Torah finds them to be a necessity. Therefore we are allowed to ‘play God’, per-se, and be doctors.

The CJLS has concluded through various responsa that Abortion is considered to be legal within the framework of Jewish Law. Mishnah Ohalot, Tosefta Yevamot, and Talmud Bavli Masechet Sanhedrin all agree that the fetus is not considered a person until yatza rubo, until the “majority” of it has emerged from the mother’s womb.

Rabbi Kassel Abelson, in his responsa on Prenatal Testing and Abortion says that “the fetus in the womb may be destroyed in order to save its mother’s life, for it is not a person and the case is not comparable to the case of killing one person to save the life of another. The fetus is considered to be less important until the moment of birth and can therefore be destroyed.

Additionally, the CJLS has deemed organ donation, that is, bequeathing bodily organs post-mortem in order to save or help another life to not only be permissible but praiseworthy.

Therefore with the assumption that humanity has the obligation to heal, and that the fetus is considered to be merely an appendage of the woman, comparable to an arm or a leg or any other body part, and not a living being, and with the knowledge that organ donation is commendable, then we can assume that stem cell research is also permissible within the framework of Jewish law.

With medical and scientific technology at the level it is today, there are definite capabilities for great discoveries and innovation in the field of healing and curing diseases. Recently the idea that stem cells, cells that contain the genetic material that can form any other type of human cell, can be used to recreate body parts, research the roots of diseases for purposes of finding a cure, and for many other matters that would prove revolutionary in the history of medicine and of humanity.

These stem cells are most easily extracted from embryos, where the cells are quite pristine. If we are permitted to abort a fetus, then, קל וחוֹמר, we can abort an embryo as it is even earlier in stage to a fetus.

I concur to the points made regarding Onanism and the status of a 40 day old embryo. As to the charges that it could be considered as Onanism, wasteful spilling of the seed (which is a heavenly capital crime), it is not because it is not wasteful. Also the Talmud refers to the embryo as merely a drop of water.

However, Rabbi Dorff stops at only curing disease. Would it be considered ‘playing God’ to also eradicate diseases and to create vaccines and immunizations for the prevention of diseases in the first place? Why should someone have to suffer with the disease if it can be prevented before it happens? Scientists and researchers are too limited by the definition of Rabbi Dorff’s paper. That which Rabbi Dorff defines as “enhancement” is very open ended. The removal of a disease from one’s genes and therefore also the genes of one’s descendents could be considered an enhancement. There has to be a fine line drawn between something like a mutation that causes six toes or conjoined twins, Down’s Syndrome, or Cerebral Palsy, and that which causes mere undesirables such as an unsightly nose or eye color. We are partners with God, not a replacement for Him. There has to be limits. These limits and distinctions can be discussed in a later responsa and ruling

Stem Cell Research, whether from an aborted embryo or one frozen for the very reason of stem cell research or fertility, should be considered permissible within the framework of Jewish Law subject to the restrictions laid forth within this document.

Shabbat Shkalim Shalom,
Matt

Things I took for granted in the States

-Laundry dryers: at least if it didn't finish drying, I could pop another quarter into the machine. Now I don't have one and have to rely on Mr. Sun, which brings me to:
-Glass windows: Greenhouse effect doesn't work too well through plasticized windows, causing my wet socks to smell after a couple of days of "drying in the sun". I am trying a new method of two-at-a-time on my radiator. This should take a week.
-Insulation: Even if it is 50*F outside, it's colder inside. How is this possible? (see previous)
-Ovens: big one. All I have is a microwave oven that doesn't stop when it's supposed to and I get a healthy dose of radiation when I pull my food out and a stovetop that requires me to turn on the gas in the apartment and lighting the pilot before being able do do anything. I need to be able to bake or I'm nothing for Shabbat meals.
-Elevators: nothing like dragging your heavy luggage up 4 flights of stairs. I miss the laziness
-Quesadillas: I know this is kind of small, but I miss American food, such as low-carb tortillas, cheddar cheese, and salsa.
-honest cabdrivers: at least you could see the meter in NYC. Even the cabdrivers try to haggle. 5 shekels a bag is ridiculous
-Instant Hot Water: This is the only country in the world that thinks solar power is a good idea. If there's no sun, however, Matt doesn't get a warm shower. Still, Dude Shemesh is a fun thing to say.
-Pedestrian Sidewalks: see a number of my previous entries for the reason
-Color: Jerusalem stone everywhere makes Jerusalem a very beige holy city
-Clean Air: Smoking indoors? C'mon! I miss the Bloomberg-cleanliness of Manhattan's air
-Shabbat Mincha: For some reason these times never get announced at Saturday Morning services. I don't think this service exists.
-Carlebach "Romemu": Everyone in America was considered a virtuoso if they could pull off the high-notes at the end of "Moshe V'Aharon" at Kabbalat Shabbat. Here there is a tutti lowered version done exclusively here. I still say the high notes out of protest.
-Laxer Kashrut Laws: at least if I accidentially broke kashrut in the US I would be able to repent for it for the one time I had milk two hours after meat in College (which I immediately spit out). Here, if I eat food that Trumah was not given, I'm liable for the death penalty?! Thank God Israel is not a Capital state.
-Ringtones: Israel is such a technologically rich country, particularly notable in it's cellular technology inventions. But where's my "Pulp Fiction" polyphonic ringtone? Also, my Pelephone rate absolutely sucks.
-East: Let's see, I'm on Rivka and Derech Hebron... which direction do I have to face now? The Jerusalem Compass is completely useless in Jerusalem. I want to buy one but I wouldn't be surprised if the dial rapidly went in circles like a novelty wristwatch. Speaking of my watch, the compass I placed on it last summer is useless if I don't even know which direction I'm supposed to be looking for.
-Television: I don't have one. I want one. I can't download simpsons episodes. My life sucks. Oh look, a Spanish Telenovela that has Russian subtitles! That's useful!
-Sunday: Not a weekend. WTF?
-three-hour Time-zone differences: Try to get into contact with people who have a time difference of between seven to ten hours from your own. "Well, If I wake up at 6 AM, I'll be able to wish my brother a happy birthday at 8 PM his time" was an actual thought that ended up becoming reality.
-and last but not least: You! Contact me. Make no mistake, I do love Jerusalem, but I miss you all. If you're coming to Israel, let me know beforehand.

Shavuah Tov,
Matt

ADDENDUM (2/21):
-patience: Israelis don't understand the concept of lines, or, if they do, they choose to rudely ignore it
-handrails: look, I know you want to preserve the beauty of an untouched nature, but when I'm scaling steep narrow mountain paths, I don't want to become a part of the permenant exhibition. Further, the highways also need guardrails. If you're riding on a bus piloted by an Israeli driver, you're going to want one too.
-pennies: oh wait, I don't miss those. In fact, you will never get 1 agora in change, sometimes not even the 5 agorot piece. I think these go to taxes. I like never having anything under a ten cent piece.

(2/24)
-bus maps: In New York, they are not so needed, the 86 goes across 86th street, some buses would go better with letters or directions (ie: 104 should be called The Broadway Bus), but at least there is some semblance of sense. With the Israeli bus system, you have 18s and 18As and no printed bus maps that go around this tiny round city.

Dvar Torah: Yitro

I decided that each week (without making a vow) that I will write a Dvar Torah, just because. This week's Parasha is Yitro, famous for its containing the Ten Commandments.

According to midrash, God Himself spoke the first two Commandments (note I originally wrote "plagues" here which was an obvious slip) directly to the hearts of the Children of Israel, a change of policy that never happened before and hasn't happened since. When God said אנכי"" "anochi", an Egyptian lend-word that has the Hebrew equivilent of "אני" "ani", "I am" (as in "I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the Land of Egypt. You shall have no other gods before Me") all Israelites died. Even though God made them comfortable by using a familiar Egyptian word for their slave mentality and reminded them of His connection to them with the mighty hand and outstretched arm through which he delivered them from bondage, even their divinely elevated souls could not take the awesomeness and stand in the presence of God unsheathed, so all the souls departed many miles away and God had to twice revive them with the Dews of Resurrection. This could claim a limit on God that he cannot talk directly to the people (to paraphrase Homer Simpson, "Could God microwave a burrito so hot that even he couldn't eat it?). Or perhaps it is the people who were limited in that they could not comprehend.

Do not chastise the people for this. In fact, many of our greatest leaders weren't up for the task either. Jonah tried to flee to Tarshish when God assigned him the mission of going to Ninveh. Isaiah claimed he had unclean lips and should therefore not undertake his divine task. Jeremiah was terrified when God chose him in the womb. Even our greatest leader, the man of God himself, Moses, tried to prevent God from picking him, something which we usually chalk up to Moses' humility. Nobody's perfect.

The people were somehow superior to the prophets and even Moses in a vein. Moses and the prophets were hesitant and derelict at the beginning. The Children of Israel, even with their faults, proclaimed "נעשה ונשמע" "Naase V'Nishma", "we will do it and we shall hear it". Their desire to perform God's will was so strong that they wanted to do it even before it was assigned by God. They elevated themselves for 50 days and attained a level even above the ministering angels.

So don't fault our ancestors who were brought out of the land of Egypt. Even though they did slip up a number of times, according to our sages, there was no generation as great as theirs and we are more lawless than they were. Chaza"l say that the generations decline more and more since the generation of the Exodus. The torah highlights their faults and their heightened punishment because they are so few compared to the great things they did. Their punishment is great because they were so great. They immediately accepted upon themselves the Yolk of Heaven and the Yolk of Mitzvot before it was even required. This, Tom Brokaw, is truly the greatest generation.

Ooh, I like writing these and will try to write them more often. Please comment on this so I can get tips on writing more in the future. And now I must go as the travelling muezzin is chanting the call to Shabbos Mincha (I realize he's Muslim...). "eeeeee-yup!" (when I googled "eee yup" I got the songs of humpback whales. Hmm.)

May we all be elevated above the angels and bask in the glory of God (just please don't form a doomsday cult)

Shabbat Shalom,
Matt

I like Eilat A Lot (say it aloud)

I just returned from a 3-day Tiyul to the southernmost tip of Israel, the resort-city of Eilat on the Red Sea. I loved the trip. It was filled with hiking, some of which was quite intense as it included long durations, narrow ledges, steep inclines, cables and ropes, unbeaten trails, rocks galore, and no handrails or safety. That and the pair of hiking boot I bought for $6 fell apart. That's what I get, I guess. There was some beautiful scenery which I will soon upload to my facebook photos. I also bonded with people I hardly even knew before. I found a good number of people who either spoke Yiddish, or spoke German and could therefore understand what I was saying. I had a number of long conversations in Yiddish on this trip.

We also went out to the self-proclaimed "World's Only Underwater Restaurant" (probably not true) to celebrate my friend Evan's 1st anniversary of his conversion to Judaism. I mentioned in my toast (after my original toast idea for comparing his conversion to Yitro's in this week's Torah portion was preempted) that most Jewish anniversaries include some sort of recreation of the original event, such as living in booths on Sukkot, and eating matzah and holding a seder on Pesach. I told him that he should be thankful that there is no such reliving in terms of anniversaries of conversions.
I shared a hotel room with a Russian and a German. We practically had a Yalta Conference and Non-Aggression Pact rolled into one. The Russian and I were about to build a wall within the German's space. Not really. In fact, most of what I just said is probably historically inaccurate.

Also at the hotel, the Adi Hotel, stayed Nativ. I talked to a number of the students and also ran into people I knew.

Today I swam in the Red Sea. I reinacted the spliting of Yam Suf where my ancestor, Nachshon Ben Aminadav (as seen in my family tree) is the first to walk into the sea and it does not split until the water reaches his nose. Yes, I know that the Red Sea is NOT the Reed Sea (well, maybe) and that Yam Suf is an unfortunate and misleading name, but a boy can dream, can't he?

On the busride home we watched "Remember the Titans". I really enjoyed it. It is very similar to "Glory Road", both of which are based on true stories but with different sports.

I will try to mention more later. I am quite tired from everything.

Tu Bishvat... part Tu

Blogspot is having issues now so I can’t edit existing journals. I wanted to mention what I have had so far in terms of my fruit requirement

1. Wine & Grape Juice (x 4 sanctioned cups) * (grape)

2. Dates *

3. Clementines

4. Avocados

5. Almonds

6. Pistachios

7. Pecans

8. Walnuts

9. Pomegranates*

10. Olives AND Olive oil (justifying two different renderings of the translation of the verse)*

11. Persimmons

12. Carobs

13. Wheat* (in the form of a handful of Bamba cereal, three flakes of Shokoman (the most racist cereal ever), and a mini-malawah)

14. 15.  cherry and cranberry in the form of juice

16. Hummous

17. Zaatar (which includes hyssop, sumac, and sesame)

18. Garlic (found within

*indicates one of the seven species enumerated in Deuteronomy 8:8

 אֶרֶץ חִטָּה וּשְׂעֹרָה וְגֶפֶן וּתְאֵנָה וְרִמּוֹן אֶֽרֶץ־זֵית שֶׁמֶן וּדְבָֽשׁ:

“A land of wheat and barley and [grape]vine, and fig and pomegranate, a land of olive oil and [date-]honey”

 

I’m still yet to have figs, barley, grapes in grape form. I guess I should also track down some date-honey

 

Tu Bishvizzle Samizzle,

 

            M

-----------------------------------------------------------

Matthew Rutta

Jerusalem, ISRAEL

 

 

Tu Bishvat Sameach (Happy New Year Beit Hillel*)

*I don’t mean Hillel in the Kraft Center sense, in fact they cancelled the holiday for snow. Sorry, that was low.

 

Tonight we had a Tu Bishvat Seder. For those of you unfamiliar, it is a holiday that celebrates the new year of rendering ages for trees. This is important because you cannot eat from a fruit tree in its first three years, in the fourth year (and in Israel after separating and sanctifying the various tithes) you may finally eat of them. We celebrate Tu Bishvat with a seder, similar to the Passover seder, in that there are four cups of wine, but that is where the similarity ends. It is much more in tune with nature than the supernatural occurrences discussed at Passover. The best feature: NO FREEZE-DRIED FRUIT!!! Yes, there were dates and pomegranates and avocados and clementines that were so very fresh.

 

A remark about one particular clementine; a poor, poor clementine. A blemished clementine was passed around for about 15 minutes as everyone in the room spoke about how this clementine came to be here. It was hilarious how everyone tried to outdo each other. The prize for funniest comment I think has to go to the Rosh Yeshiva himself, Rabbi Daniel Landes who said something like “I came upon this clementine when on an Russian gold expedition to the California coast”. Instead of going sequentially, which I believe was the initial task, most comments began with “but before that”. Mine began “In the beginning God created Heaven and Earth and all kind of fruit-bearing tree and saw that it was good… except He had it out for this particular fruit and deemed to make this poor blemished clementine miserable”. Yeah, there were about 100 such comments.

 

One minor thing that didn’t make such a huge difference was that they reversed the colors of the wines. In the traditional Tu Bishvat seder (an oxymoron, perhaps?), you go white wine, pink wine (white with a drop of red), rose wine (half and half), and red wine for the order of the four cups of wine, representing the blooming from the white and barren winter to the reds of spring when flowers and trees bloom.

 

As for my friends currently in New York City in the Blizzard, I feel for you, I really do. I shall pour one down for my homies in Manhattan when I am tanning on a beach by the Red Sea in Eilat sipping a margarita. No, I don’t think that will happen, but I am leaving a potential snow in Jerusalem to travel on a three day tiyul to Eilat.

 

The only song I really know regarding this holiday, and the horrible rhyming “translation”

 

השקדיה פורחת
,ושמש פז זורחת
צפורים מראש כל גג
מבשרות את בוא החג

2 X ט"ו בשבט הגיע
.חג לאילנות

הארץ משועת
,הגיעה עת לטעת
כל אחד יקח לו עץ
,באתים נצא חוצץ

2 X ט"ו בשבט הגיע
.חג לאילנות

Tu Bi'Shevat is Here

The almond tree is growing,
A golden sun is glowing;
The birds sing out in joyous glee
From every roof and every tree.

Chorus:

Tu Bi'Shevat is here,
The Jewish Arbor Day.
Hail the trees**: New Year,
Happy holiday!

Let's make the land a garden,
With water from the Jordan;
And our land will flow once more
With milk and honey, as of yore

**(a little Asheira worship, eh?)

 

Tu Bishvat Sameach, and enjoy the snow, New York.

 

            Matt

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Matthew Rutta

Jerusalem, ISRAEL

 

Shabbat in Jerusalem

I thought it is time I should remark upon the holiest of days in the holiest of cities. Shabbat in Jerusalem is quite interesting. Some of you may think that Jew York City is insane with the Jewish population on Friday night. Well, I'm in Jew-rusalem. The streets are practically devoid of cars, which means that one can walk on the sidewalk with relatively no fear of being run-over... on the sidewalk (see my Signs you Live in Jerusalem post), even in the middle of the street is a popular place to walk on the Sabbath. Friday night at around 6 PM when services let out or after midnight when we left the tisch, there is a very interesting air about Jerusalem. It has a similar feeling to (lhavdil) Halloween in a gated community in America. There are people walking in groups, some big groups, some small groups, and some people alone. Instead of being dressed in costume, everyone is dressed in their finest. Finest for Israel anyway. There are no suits, not even a tie. The men are dressed in what is known as the "Ben-Gurion", short-sleeved shirts with some sort of long pants which could include slacks or even jeans. Sometimes they will even wear sandals or orange shoe-like things (I want to find a pair). Believe me, for Israel this is Shabbos-wear. Grooms wear less to their weddings, so I hear. Anyway, Emek Refaim is a veratible ghost-town (or "ghost valley" as the literal translation of Emek Refaim), with nothing stirring except for a solitary coffee shop (stirring... coffee shop... this gold is wasted on you). There is just something so beautiful about a day without cars, without honking, without yelling. It is quiet and is peaceful, Yom SheKulo Shabbat, a day that is completely restful, a day that is completely Shabbat which is the promise of the World to Come. It is on earth now.

About the______ Song at ______ The Sea
______ I should ______ mention
That the ______ Song has ______ an interesting
______ scribal feature ____in that it is in this
pattern found __ nowhere else __ in the Torah
______ of waves ______ like one would
find in ______ the ocean. ______ This is one of
______ the easiest ______ passages to
locate in ______ the Torah_____because of its unusual
______ formatting. ______ It is also read
with great ___fanfare and people__rise from their
______ seats during ______ its recitation,
and in an unusual __occurrence this _is call-and-
______ -response.

Enough, if you want to see it formatted, look at Exodus 15:1 cf. Hopefully it is formatted correctly in this brick-like wave-like pattern. If not, get a new Bible.

Tonight I went to a concert by David Zeller who has a very interesting story. I'm not going to repeat it because I'm tired, but you would do well to check out Rabbi Zeller's website at http://www.davidzeller.org/.

Afterwards I, like Forest Gump, just decided to walk to nowheres in particular. I just started walking west on Yochanan Ben Zakkai for a couple of miles in my Shabbos finest (the Ben Gurion plus a sweater). I walked down a steep hill southward before deciding to go back.
A cab driver stopped me on the street during my walk back to ask me for directions. Only in Israel...

That is all for now as I feel really scattered and really tired.

Shavuah Tov,

Matt

Write to me

Much like crazy Jerusalem truck drivers going southwest on Tel Hai on I don't want this to be a one-way street. I want to hear from you too. Write comments for me to read and send me IMs at Valley2City on AIM. I miss you all.

Living under a rock (actually two countries to the west of it)

Think about that title for a minute. I didn't even realize that the Olympics start tonight. I have been away from television for so long that I don't know anything that's going on. It's just as well as I don't care much about winter sports (though bobsledding and the luge entertain me) . Vosever... I had an away message up on my IM yesterday that read the following:
"Ben Yehuda, the Shuq (Machane Yehuda), bookseller, Mea Shearim, Old City? Call the Israeli cell. I feel safer on a blow-uppable bus than as roadkill on the dangerous sidewalk". I wrote the away message before I saw this article: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1139395375318". Apparently a bus ran over two people here in Jerusalem. More people die in accidents in this country than in terrorist attacks. I feel MUCH safer on a blow-uppable bus than as roadkill on the dangerous sidewalk.

On a different, but somewhat sad note, there is a huge problem with homeless in Jerusalem. I really want to help and usually give a shekel or five for people who ask. The Rambam says not to investigate and have your hand open and your heart open. However, I find it interesting that on Ben Yehuda street, there are people who actually asked me for $20, adding more to her sad story (which changed constantly). I have even gotten people asking me for money in supermarkets. It annoys me however when people try to get money from me when I'm davening at the Wall. I am at the base of the holiest site it the world pouring my heart to God and it is quite inconsiderate to disturb someone at that point. I am quite open with my wallet for the many many beggars in the Western Wall plaza, but if I'm davening, stand back, please.

I am starting to figure out the bus system here. Please don't be scared about this. Bus 18 is the bus that goes from Yochanan Ben Zakkai (the main street near me) to the Machaneh Yehuda Shuq and the foot of Ben Yehuda pedestrian mall.
I went to the Shuq yesterday and bought fruit (Persimmons!), challah for shabbat, and some salatim (red cabbage and red tiramasalata).

My lungs are probably really bad from the recent dust storm and the constant barrage of indoor second hand smoke that I was so removed from under Bloomberg's Law in NYC. Everyone here also has two cell phones. I don't think that Israel is a first-world country. It's not a third-world country either. It's a second world co--- you know what, Israel IS a first-world country that just prefers to use solar power than having unlimited heating. That's Israel! They created Instant Messenger, cell phone technology, are one of the most technologically-literate, militarily strong, and weaponologically advanced. It got nukes quite quickly. Don't mess with Israel. I don't know why I introduced that randomness. The ultimate sign of Israel's coolness: I found a Coffee Bean (minus the Tea Leaf) at the foot of Ben Yehuda. They don't even have those in Manhattan!

Shabbat Shira Shalom. I have been terrorizing Shira Wallach with various puns using her name and this holiday, such as I wished her a Shabbat You Shalom and that I'm going to hear the You at the Sea and daven at Your Screenname tonight or perhaps Your Screennname made into the masculine (because there are two synagogues on Emek Refaim with similar names, Shira Chadasha and Shir Chadash. I think the former was the inspiration for Lalekhet (né Halacha And Modernity). I am also going to a tisch tonight in honor of the special sabbath where we arrive at the Song at the Sea in the weekly Torah reading. Sunday night there is a special Seder for Tu Bishvat, the Jewish Arbor Day, the birthday of the trees which means a lot more in Israel than anywhere else because it is consistently the day that the almond tree begins to bloom and the trees begin to spread their sap thus beginning the growth taken away by the death of fall and fallowtude of winter. We celebrate this holiday with the fruit and wine of Israel. This holiday has special significance to Israel because according to Torah Law, the trees of Israel can only be picked from orbenefitedd from after three years after planting and the Trumah and Tithes have beenseparatedd in the fourth year. If the planting takes place today, the 12th of Shevat, then on Sunday night it is officially considered to be 1 year old as this is the birthday of the trees. Therefore it is beneficial to plant now.

Therefore, Shabbat Wallach Shalom (oops) and Tu Bishvat Sameach,

Moshe

The Wind of God

I read a book over the summer (and completed it during the fall) called "David the King" by Gladys Scmitt, sort of a "fan-fiction biography" about King David which took him down a few pegs by making him more human. It eliminated his slaying of the Philistine giant Goliath, attributing it to another veteran soldier but among the camp of the tribe of Judah he gets the glory as word spreads across the land that it was he that did it. Anyway, the book also refers to a phenomenon called "the Wind of God" which caresses the land around Jerusalem and nearby Bethlehem. Well, I'm on the third floor (actually the fourth floor; Israeli lobbys are not called the first floor but the zeroth (is that a word?). There is a howling and whistling and screaming wind coming from all directions that is very powerful. It is quite loud, strong, and the air smells dusty. Hopefully the coming rain will get rid of the dust. Crazy. There are also rumors that there's snow a-coming. That would be very exciting. I want to go to the Kotel in the snow. This is especially good since I just bought hiking boots at Super Sol Deal for ₪27.40(about $5.81) for my Eilat Tiyul (trip) next week. It sucks that while we are going to the resort town of Eilat, we weren't even told to bring bathing suits. It looks like we are just going to be hiking. I compare it to God showing Moses the Promised Land though he had to die on Mt. Nebo on the east bank of the Jordan River. We get shown the seaside paradise yet will be hiking the entire time.

More later. I must learn now.

Two New Mitzvot

First of all, happy 16th birthday to my brother, Zach.

I can do some mitzvot that you folks in America can't do!

Today I bought carobs at the shuq that is next to my school every Monday. They were very good, I gave many away, and have a lot left. However, when I offered some to my Hasidut professor I realized that there may not have been a Teudah, a certificate of kashrut. Now in America this would not be an issue. A carob is fruit, completely unprocessed and right from the tree. However, in the Land of Israel, according to the Torah, all produce must have gone through Trumah, the priestly tithe. Today we don't give it to a Cohen because we must unfortunately assume that all Cohanim have tumat hamet, defilement from a dead body. Therefore we somehow dispose of the holy Trumah in a dignified manner, though it is prohibited for human benefit. Since I didn't know whether or not Trumah was set aside (and it very well may have been, I just don't remember seeing (or looking) for a sign. Therefore the status is demai, questionable, and I have to give Trumah without a blessing, which my professor showed me how to do. The plot thickens when I notice a millipede which is not moving by the piece of carob we set aside for trumah. As such, from what I learned in Talmud Tractate Yevamot, it becomes tamei, impure, and you must give what is known as Tashlumin, which in modern hebrew is what appears on your receipt as the total payment, but in Amoraic hebrew means replacement trumah. The impure trumah I took off remained consecrated, and the Tashlumin I set aside also attained holiness and so all the carobs are doubtlessly fine for the eating. I buried the Trumah and Tashlumin in the dirt. I followed that with shehechiyanu as I was performing these mitzvot for the very first time in my life. Burial's dignified (as suggested by my professor Levi).

In today's Scribal Arts class we learned four more letters, doubling our total known up to eight. I'm on my way...

Finally, I missed the Super Bowl, but am about to watch some of the ads on IFILM. I can't miss these.

Post-finally (I realize I could rearrange this but am too lazy and am instead making it longer with this present explanation), I found this place which makes a cross between a parfait and what Humphreys Yogurt in LA does: they take plain yogurt and frozen fruits of your choosing and blend it together in a machine. Really tasty and probably healthy. That's the same reason I've been snacking on carobs. Watch when I find out that carobs have 1000 calories apiece...

Are you ready for some football... followed immediately by 13 hours of class?

The Super Bowl indeed is broadcasted on Israeli Cable. However, it is 7 hours later than NYC and 10 hours later than LA. Should I watch the Super Bowl, I will have the opportunity for a Vatikin Shacharit at Half-Time and if the game goes into overtime, I may have to miss some of my first class (or the other way around as I think my priorities need to go toward school). Besides, I wasn’t able to fall asleep last night. Two days without sleep is not a good idea, especially since this Monday I go from 8:30 AM to 9 PM. Also, I don’t really care about the teams as the ones I had any interest in, namely the Patriots, Bengals, and Redskins were all eliminated. In honor of Jeff and Abby, however, I will back the Steelers. Yet another support against watching: no American commercials. I figure that if you spend $2.6 million on an ad, it should show worldwide, even if the product advertised is not applicable to those outside the contiguous United States. That or at least an “Ad Special” that they would broadcast following the Super Bowl. I love those ads.

I have made the descision to go back to Dalet Talmud so that I can keep taking Chumash. The provision I have set is that the professor of Talmud Hey will continue to give me the sheets of Rishonim to satisfy my later commentators fix. I find this similar to the time in 12th Grade in which my schedule was forcibly changed around due to the WISE project and I was forced to leave Honors Jewish Law and take the regular class, but I was held to a higher standard so that I could keep the class as honors as the class moved at a way too slow pace. Daled also moves at a crawl, but what can I do? I don’t want to drop the most advanced Chumash class so I can’t take a Talmud class that meets one more day a week and therefore conflicts with one of the Chumash classes.

In similar news, my Talmud chevruta today was none other than Mike Knopf who is checking out Pardes today for a way to spend his semester. He too thinks this class moves too slowly. When you major in Talmud, everything moves slowly.

What I am probably going to do is sleep as soon as I get home (so around 7 PM) and wake up for a Super Bowl party at a friend’s house.


UPDATE 10:52 PM
Perhaps not, as kickoff* is only 2 hours away and I am currently awake. I think this will be the first year I have missed the super bowl since as long as I can remember. I remember at least 15 of them. Wow. This is big. However, I don't feel I'd be missing much more than I would if I went to this party. We don't even get the insane commercials (which I can probably download tomorrow anyway). I'm just going to go to bed. I am currently getting mixed advice from my friends via IM. You can weigh in on this by posting to my comments area. Even after the superbowl actually happens. Enjoy the Dougies those of you watching at Hillel. If I were in NYC, I would already be there.

*Actual kickoff and coin-toss will occur 2 hours after said starting time.

The Seventh Plague

כבר הגעתי הביתה וירד הברד והיוּ קוֹלוֹת וברקים בשמים

I figured some Hebrew was in order, even if it is possibly erroneous. So I got back from the Ramah Poconos reunion at the Goldstein Center (where Seminar takes place) (more on this later), and was talking on my cell phone below a relatively clear sky, although I see what I think is lightning (though I hear no thunder, so discount to be some messed up street lamp. I go inside and upstairs and I begin to hear loud clanging. I open the window, and sure enough there is a massively heavy hail falling with thunder and lightning in the background. As our Torah reading cycle has just passed the first seven plagues of egypt, the seventh being hail, I got to thinking as I stuck my hand out the window and was painfully pummelled by grape-sized hailstones. I was thinking, "that hurts...".

Anyway, the Ramah thing. So I didn't actually know about any Ramah things until last week when I found out after the deadline about the Ramah Shabbaton. There is a waiting list so what can I do... I didn't find out about the Poconos reunion until this very afternoon. There is also a California one on Tuesday. Nobody knew I was in Israel. Actually, I technically never left Canada as I never got an exit visa stamp in my passport. So I know of people that didn't make even the waiting list that are going to crash but I don't want to deal with it, I want to עוֹשה רוֹשם טוֹב, make a good impression on the Ramah Israel people and crashing a Shabbaton might not be the best way to meet them. So my Shabbat is going to be a שבּת שבּתוֹן, a Sabbath of complete rest. Hopefully I get 12 hours of sleep like I did last week. Tgat was awesome... and sorely needed.

It was really nice to see so many people from camp, including many of the Israelis who I missed talking politics with (Israeli politics is one of my passions, you see, and we discussed it often this past summer). I actually ran into most of the Americans at the שוּק, Shuq (sorry, that's how you translate it; I guess you can say "open-air market") two weeks ago. However there were also a lot of people who I didn't know were in Israel and it was great to see them.

In other news, I am subletting an apartment for a month beginning tomorrow on Yochanan Ben Zakkai. Finally I can unpack my bags and sleep on a relatively normal bed!

I watched Law & Order: SVU and F*R*I*E*N*D*S last night. And you thought Israel wasn't civilized...

Shabbat Shalom, שבת שלוֹם,
Matt משה

Happy New Year, Shammai!!!

As I sit witnessing a beautiful red Jerusalem sunset (one of the first cloudless days where I have actually seen the sun, we descend upon a new month, Rosh Chodesh Shevat, which, according to the House of Shammai, is the New Year of the Trees (Beit Hillel holds that the birthday of the trees is on the 15th of this month, and everyone knows who wins every argument between these two... these Tu. Tu Bishvat!). As I have mentioned many a time, "Poor Shammai, he is the Goofus to Hillel's Gallant" is a ne'er-do-well no matter how hard he tries to be right. That Goofus sure was a slob, though. Wistful memories of Highlights Magazine for Children aside, it is also the midst of the rainy season in Israel and nothing has grown yet. However, the Shkeydiah, the Almond Tree is almost in bloom and we will celebrate the produce of the land of Israel... in Israel! w00t!

As for this past Shabbat, I didn't make any plans for meals so I could catch-up on sleep, an amenity in which I was severely lacking. After davening at Shir Chadash friday night, having some grape juice, and challah with chummus-tehina and turkey-prosciutto (I love Israel! You can't get that stuff Kosher in America. As someone who has never had actual prosciutto, I must say that it was quite weird). I then proceeded to sleep for about 12 hours until I got up for davening at Shira Chadasha, a Modern Orthodox minyan where women can lead Psukei Dzimra, Torah Service, and read Torah, with a very thin and transluscent mechitza that was retractible for the Torah reader. After having done the service thing, once again with the Priestly Blessing performed at Shacharit and Musaf, I went back to the apartment, did the nosh-and-shluff thing, and slept for a couple of hours. I am so refreshed, though I still needed my Turkish Mocha, a product I think I may have invented, though what I learned about Kilayim today, I may have transgressed something forbidden in the Torah.

That's it. Still looking for an apartment.

My collection of pictures is on facebook. You need to be my friend to see the album. It's nothing really impressive as I tend to not take pictures of or with people, but of places and things.

That's it. Happy New Year, B.S.! (oh, I just found another reason not to trust the house of Shammai. Or should I say BullSh---...

Chodesh Tov,
Moshe

The Swearing in of a soldier; Mea Shearim

I went to the Old City today via the New Gate and the Christian Quarter after leaving Mea Shearim (which will be discussed later). Besides an interesting exchange with some Arab shopkeeps right inside Jaffa Gate (whom I wasn't even trying to patronize), and people asking for tzedeka for weddings and such, it was pretty uneventful. Except for something absolutely amazing, that is! I went to the Kotel and didn't realize that it was the annual swearing-in ceremony for the soldiers in front of the Western Wall. It was absolutely beautiful. There was a lot of pomp-and-circumstance, but also a lot of sorrow for those lost. They lit a cauldron for those lost and had a moment of silence. However, the Israelis around me chose to keep talking even then. There was a part when they recited a pledge and aftewards each division yelled out "ANI NISHBA! ANI NISHBA! ANI NISHBA!" ("I swear! I swear! I swear!"). They also received a gun and a siddur/bible (I'm not sure which). One of the most beautiful sights ever is the immense pride and awe people have for soldiers in Israel (such as a pizza guy saying Chamesh Shekel Bishvil Chayalim! 5 shekels for soldiers). But parents and families are so proud of their children and the new soldiers seem so happy (now at least).

Now for a little Yiddish:
Heint in ovent bin ich gegangen kein Mea Shearim tzu koyfen Seforim. hob ich gekoyft seforim un ich hob geraydt mitn farkoyfer en Yiddish. 'Siz geven a sach interesant.

Translation:
Tonight I went to Mea Shearim to buy holy books. I bought books and I spoke to the seller in Yiddish. It was interesting.

That's it for now. Thursday night, time to party.

Shabbat Shalom,
Matt

Article: PM Qurei, entire Palestinian cabinet resign en masse

Dear God!

PM Qurei, entire Palestinian cabinet resign en masse

---

Khaled Abu Toameh and AP, THE JERUSALEM POST

Jan. 25, 2006

---

A senior official in the ruling Fatah Party on Thursday called senior Hamas leader Ismail Hania and congratulated him on the group's election victory, Hamas said in a statement.

The call by the Fatah official, Hussein al-Sheik, to Hania marked the first formal acknowledgement by Fatah that it has lost the election.

A senior Hamas official said recognizing and negotiating with Israel are "not on our agenda."

However, Hamas also signaled flexibility, saying it wants a "political partnership," presumably with Fatah.

The Palestinian Cabinet submitted their resignations following the apparent Hamas victory Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia's office said, setting the stage for the Islamic group to lead a new Palestinian government.

The resignations were in part a formality required after an election, but the timing of the move, hours before the release of official results, was surprising. The announcement from Qurei's office did not mention Hamas.

Under Palestinian law, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas must now ask the party that holds a majority in the legislature to form a new government.

Hamas won virtually all of the 66 seats in electoral districts in the Palestinian parliament vote, election officials said Thursday.

In the election, 132 seats were up for grabs, half chosen from party slates and half in districts. In the districts, Hamas won a vast majority of the seats, election officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the vote count was not complete.

The West Bank, Gaza Strip and Jerusalem were divided into 16 electoral districts. In the biggest districts of Gaza City and Hebron, Hamas swept all seats, according to the officials.
Candidates of the rival Fatah Party only won in the districts of Kalkilya and Jericho. In Ramallah, where Palestinian government is located, Hamas won four seats and Fatah got one.

In Jerusalem, Hamas won four of six seats, with 60 percent of the vote counted, the officials said.

Earlier Thursday, Hamas' top candidates on claimed the group won a majority of seats in Palestinian legislative elections, despite exit polls showing them finishing second to Fatah.

Fatah officials concurred that Hamas captured a majority of seats, shortly after the terrorist group claimed victory.

The Fatah officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said they expected Hamas to win about 70 seats, which would give the Islamists a majority in the 132-seat parliament.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1137605909154&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter

Observations on living in Israel

I need something light now, so I decided to write some humorous observations on living in Israel. I will update these and not notify you of the update either.

1. You no longer get phased when you see people carrying sub-machine guns and AK-47s (sometimes casually). What scares you is when there is unattended baggage

2. It doesnt matter if you buy one of those reflective yellow vests that cost 20 shekel; you WILL get run down by an Israeli driver

3. You feel very secure after you go through an airport-style security checkpoint when you enter a market, a restaurant, a swap-meet, a religious area, or anywhere else imaginable. This is until you notice that they are selling sharp knives within said secure area for only 2 shekel.

4. I really miss an endless supply of warm water when I shower. We need to turn on the heating for at least 30 minutes for 2 minutes of hot water in this country.

5. Besides avoiding getting killed when crossing the street, you have the added problem of really complex traffic lights and lack of crosswalks.

6. You also can't jaywalk for some reason in this country. This doens't make sense, as you are just as likely to get hit at a crosswalk as you are at any unmarked part of the street.

7. In fact, I almost got hit a number of times by cars and busses on the SIDEWALK!!!

8. Speaking of which, just claim you are from New York (or "it's my first day") to get out of a jaywalking ticket

9. An acceptable response to anything (especially to something which annoys you) is putting together your thumb, index finger, and middle finger, sometimes accompanied by a tongue-clicking sound. They know what you mean when you do this.

10. Haggle. I did this with a taxi driver.

11. You must bag your own groceries. You also need a passport to get a value card

12. Never go through the Damascus Gate at sundown on a Thursday, especially if you just want to get to the Kotel. You have to deal with the maze of the Arab Quarter.

13. Friday is a Sunday, Thursday is a Friday (but with extended hours instead of shorter), and Saturday is Shabbat in Israel. Don't call anyone before noon on Friday. In fact the country shuts down on Friday and Saturday.

14. Don't go into Mea Shearim wearing pants if you are a girl. Trust me on this one. Unless you like getting stoned, and not in the way you think. It's getting hit by rocks, not taking a hit of rocks (whatever that means).

15. Kosher meat and cheese is cheap and plentiful in this country (but should not be mixed).

16. Further, fruit is cheap and interesting in this country, Israel having "invented" a number of fruits, you can get things here you can get nowhere else.

17. For anything you can get for 60 shekel in a fancy (or not so fancy) restaurant on Emek Refaim, you can get it tasting a lot better in a kiosk a couple blocks to the south for just 12 shekel.

18. A squeegie in every home. You know those things that you use to clean your windshield at the gas station? There's a drain in the floor of every bathroom in which you can mop your floors with a squeegie on a long stick. There was no such hole at Ramah in the Poconos, which is why I got confused why the Israelis were flooding the bathroom.

19. Stray cats EVERYWHERE. They are freakin' scary and make very loud and annoying noises. They are also starving, reproducing like crazy way too quickly, and like to eat garbage. Remind you of anything? I'm a bad person...

20. Jerusalem stone is beautiful but slippery when wet. I almost learned this one the hard way when descending from the Old City down Madrigotei Benny. When I say hard, I'm also talking about the durability of the stone ground.

21. Couch Surfing seems to be the way of the land in this country. Also figured this one out the hard way. I really want an apartment.

22. Charif means spicy. They mean it. Don't be a hero, ask them to go light on the red sauce at the schwarma stand.

23. Do you think that forgetable kings of Judah and Israel such as Jehosophat and Asa would be Amaziahed (ha ha!) at the fact that there are streets named after them? I think the first thing they will ask is "who?", because even they have never heard of themselves.

24. You learn a lot about the history of Israel from the street signs. There is also some sort of structure that makes it very easy to know where you are and where you are close to. The Kings of Judah and Israel are clustered together, as are biblical leaders, as are Visionists and Zionists, and German and British Generals.
More to come.

25. General Pierre Koenig Street... named for a French General who never had anything to do with Israel; probably never came to Israel. In fact, his greatest accomplishment according to wikipedia is having a street named after him in Jerusalem. Worst accomplishment? His first name is Marie.

26. Cut the crap and stop trying to speak Hebrew (or Yiddish...). You're not fooling the Israelis, they know you're American and will be annoyed with you and respond to you impatiently in English.

27. Israeli commercials... they're as crazy as Japanese commericials.

28. I watched an episode of The Daily Show in Israel... on CNN!

I heart Turkish Coffee

The greatest thing to come from Turkey to Israel since my savta’s ancestors in the 15^th century is of course the black gritty Café Turkit, Turkish Coffee. With equal parts coffee grounds and sugar and filled with hot water this gets me through the day. I usually try to supersaturate the coffee with more grounds than necessary, the excess serves as a crunchy stimulant throughout the day. For a shekel per cup (roughly 22 US cents, 4.6 shekels = $1US), it is very economical. There is another interesting drink called Sachlav, which is this thick milky yet rosy sweet hot drink (okay too many adjectives) no caffeine, but man a lot of sugar.

 

So what is with all this stimulation? Class starts at 8:30 AM and it is a walk to get there. This is not Goldsmith Hall with JTS a block away. No, I don’t have a locker yet, so I am lugging heavy books from above Palmach (at the top of the hill in Old Katamon) to Talpiot, not to mention Shacharit beforehand. We learn pretty much straight through, besides around an hour of lunch from 1:30-2:30, some days I go to 9:30 PM (like tonight) pretty much nonstop.

 

The following are classes that I am taking

Talmud Dalet*

Chumash Dalet*

13 Principles of Rambam

Rambam (Mishnah Torah)

Women and Mitzvot

Chassidut

The Halachic Process

 

*will probably be replaced by Talmud Hey 5 days a week

The issue with the Dalet classes is that if I took Hey Talmud, I would not be able to take Chumash and I haven’t been able to take Chumash, something I really enjoy, for a number of years

 

An update: They’re out of Turkish coffee and sachlav. All there is is regular coffee and tea. How uncouth.

 

Meanwhile, I am still without an apartment. Anyone know of any apartments in south Jerusalem?

 

            Thanks,

                        Mat

-----------------------------------------------------------

Matthew Rutta

Jerusalem, ISRAEL

 

Do you have Type III Jerusalem Syndrome?

Type III

Jerusalem syndrome as a discrete form, uncompounded by previous mental illness. This describes the best known type, whereby a previously mentally balanced person becomes psychotic after arriving in Jerusalem. The psychosis is characterised by an intense religious character and typically resolves to full recovery after a few weeks, or after being removed from the locality. It shares some features with the diagnostic category of a 'brief psychotic episode', although a distinct pattern of behaviours has been noted:

1. Anxiety, agitation, nervousness and tension, plus other unspecified reactions.
2. Declaration of the desire to split away from the group or the family and to tour Jerusalem alone. Tourist guides aware of the Jerusalem syndrome and of the significance of such declarations may at this point refer the tourist to an institution for psychiatric evaluation in an attempt to preempt the subsequent stages of the syndrome. If unattended, these stages are usually unavoidable.
3. A need to be clean and pure: obsession with taking baths and showers; compulsive fingernail and toenail cutting.
4. Preparation, often with the aid of hotel bed-linen, of a long, ankle-length, toga-like gown, which is always white.
5. The need to scream, shout, or sing out loud psalms, verses from the Bible, religious hymns or spirituals. Manifestations of this type serve as a warning to hotel personnel and tourist guides, who should then attempt to have the tourist taken for professional treatment. Failing this, the two last stages will develop.
6. A procession or march to one of Jerusalem's holy places.
7. Delivery of a ‘sermon’ in a holy place. The sermon is usually very confused and based on an unrealistic plea to humankind to adopt a more wholesome, moral, simple way of life.

Bar-El et al. reported 42 such cases over a period of 13 years, but in no case were they able to actually confirm that the condition was temporary.

Credit Wikipedia (the rest of the article can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_syndrome /http://he.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=סינדרום_ירושלים )

-----------------------------------------------------------

Matthew Rutta

Jerusalem, ISRAEL

Blessed is God who clothes the naked

I finally got my luggage today.

That was all I wrote before I decided to retroactively write this entry. Let's pretend it's Sunday, shall we (though it is actually 23:30 Jerusalem Standard Time Tuesday night)? You know what, never mind, I'm utterly exhausted.

I have half a mind to pitch a tent at the Kotel if I can't find an apartment soon. I am grateful to Dave, Menachem, and Zach who have let me crash on their couch for the past couple of days and I hope not to have to impose on them for much longer (plus I can couchsurf to someone else's apartment). Whether it is flathunting.com, homeless.co.il, couchsurfing.com, the housing bulletin at Pardes, or the real estate kiosks on Emek Refaim, I am not having much luck in finding an apartment. Once I do, I want to pay it forward and let people stay on my couch. It's this kindness, an amenity that is endemic in Jerusalem.

For some reason I also seem more inclined to give tzedekah to people on the streets. It seems to put me in a better mood as well. At least I now have clothing. Now I just have to keep looking for an apartment and hope for the best... that and find out when my interview is for Rabbinical School so I can book my flight to New York.

Back to the past shabbos, I went to Yakar, a shul with a Carlebach service (that cannot compare to Ramat Orah), and to Kedem, a Traditional-Egalitarian service, the latter of which did Duchanen (the Priestly Blessing) at both shacharit and musaf on Shabbat (Welcome to the Holy Land). This is also where I serendipituously ran into Rabbi Elyse Winick, the head of the KOACH birthright trip I went on last year who told me to visit the hotel for mincha and to visit my friends on the current trip. I arrived early to the hotel and after hanging out with Jaymie, Becky, and Josh for a few minutes I got kicked out for their closing ceremonies until mincha, so I decided to walk to the Old City a few blocks away from the Har Tzion Hotel. I ascended Madrigotei Benny (Benny's Steps) which were actually only a couple of steps and mostly a winding ramp made of Jerusalem Stone. Jerusalem stone is an especially marbly and slippery stone, particularly when wet, and with the rainy weather I almost cracked my head open or almost fell off the Old City's cliffs. I entered at Zion Gate, walked around the Armenian Quarter for the couple of minutes (I think some Arab children were pretending to shoot me from the parapets of the old city with their umbrellas). I wanted to find the Tomb of King David, but could only find Dormition Abbey and Pat Robertson's Holyland Institute. Oh well... back to the hotel, at least I got Marzipan Ruglach out of the deal. I also found out that it takes 20 minutes walk from the base of the Old City hill to the apartment via Emek Refaim, the El Rodeo Drive of the New City.

That's it for now,
Matt

First Shabbat

So I am still without my luggage. I am reduced to the only kind of underwear I can find in Israel; horror of horrors: the Speedo. That's right, until my boxers come to me, I have to wear these pairs of speedos. It's a very different experience, and having not worn tidy-whities for 10 years, it feels strange and uncomfortable. And I wanted to switch to boxer briefs... I'll stick with boxers, thank you very much.

I enjoyed Shabbos. I did a lot of exploring, both of Jerusalem and of theological philosophy. I'm not going to get into the specifics now because I need to sleep for Orientation in just a few hours time and the, God-willing, arrival of my luggage in the morning.

I do want to mention that tonight was strange in that, when I went with friends on the long walk to Ben Yehuda Street, we had some weird experiences: a motor fire right in front of the building I'm staying in on Rechov Rabban Yochanan Ben Zakkai. Literally a motor was on fire on the playground of the building. We also met some very interesting characters.

Also, a shoutout to Jaymie, Becky, and Josh who I visited today on their birthright trip. Hope you had an awesome time in Eretz Yisrael.

To be continued, bli neder, with details of my spontaneous trip to the Old City and details of our night outing, but I must sleep now.

A zissen voch, a gevaldike voch,
Matt

Welcome to the City of God

I just arrived today at the holiest city on Earth (for us Jews, anyway) (and probably any other planet as well) (It's Jerusalem, by the way), where I will be living for the next six months (possibly more). My luggage got left at the connecting baggage area in Toronto so now without 40 hours of sleep or showering, I am clothesless, towelless, and linenless. I am such an istanis (Aramaic term loosely meaning pampered wuss) that I must shower at least once a day, like most Americans. Not so in Israel. The mentality is that if you douse your face with enough aqua velva, you can forgo bathing for a week. Ok, I'm just kidding and am super-exhausted, so I think I will go to sleep.

Quick note: my new Israeli cell phone's voicemail messaging option asks you to make a funny outgoing message, and suggests karaoke, songs, haiku... weird Samsung... same kind of phone I have from my my american cell phone, but much creepier (though the crappy ringtone is loads better than the Vivaldi Spring thing that came on my new American phone (boo, no more Hatikvah ringtone...)).

This blog will probably be my main conduit of propaganda, so bookmark it, dearies.

L'Shana Hazot B'Irushalayim,
Moshe (um... maybe eventually when I become a super-Zionist; for now Matt)

After the premiere

So I went to the premiere at the Pantages yesterday (one of the oldest and most famous theatres in Los Angeles; for GoogleEarth location, it's at the corner of Hollywood and Vine). Complete with celebrities and sports stars, the red carpet was full of people: Matthew McConaughey, Nick Nolte, Jerry Bruckheimer, Jon Voight, Pat Riley, Reggie Miller and more.. Didn't flinch.

As for the movie, I thought that "Glory Road" was amazing. It is a really powerful movie based on the real story of the U West Texas Miners from 1966 which really broke the color barrier in Southern NCAA-1 Basketball. I highly recommend you see it.

I also am making my first attempt at Cholent. Wish me luck.

That and I still don't know where I'm gonna live in Jerusalem. Oh well, I can pitch a tent by the Kotel perhaps.

Shabbat Shabizzle,
Matt

Non-Starstruck

So I was at the Westfield mall today and I saw an actor who I thought was Rip Torn (whomever it is with the reddish-blond hair and the curly mustache who has a pretty high-pitched voice)... Anyway, pretty famous (but apparently not famous enough for me to remember his name or what he was in. Okay, maybe not so famous. Anyway, I didn't care. I was more concerned about the multitudes of Texans who were sporting Longhorn colors and gawking around the mall. The thing is, I don't gush when I see celebrities. I have grown up in a world where I see them all the time, not just because I live in LA, but because I have "grown up Hollywood" so to speak. Whether it is being a member of a film group where I go to premieres or having family members in Show Biz, I have just become so desensitized that it doesn't really matter anymore. They're people too. In fact, in the past year the only two people I was really nervous (let's use the Yiddish word farklempt) to meet were Larry David (creator of Seinfeld and star of Curb Your Enthusiasm) and Eric Gagne (Cy Young-award-winning Dodgers Closing Pitcher).

I was going to see Munich today, but when I got to the Westfield AMC, both Munich and Producers, the only two movies I would have considered seeing started after 2 and are long movies that wouldn't end in time. In fact, the only things I could have seen were Brokeback Mountain and Memoirs of a Geisha, and both would be like needles in my eyes, to paraphrase my father. So I didn't see anything, and the only thing I did at the mall was pick up my iPod. Anyway, the reason for my deadline is as follows:

I'm going to the premeire of "Glory Road" tonight complete with red carpet, black-tie, and celebrities galore and I doubt I'm going to get farklempt mit shpikes (my Yiddish professor is going to kill me...)

I also went on a great walk today on Club View under the 85 degree LA sun. I'm gonna miss this beautiful weather (but at least Yerushalayim's is better than NYC's)

Oh, and a refuah shleyma, a speedy and complete recovery to Rosh HaMemshala Ariel Sharon.

Hasta la bye bye,
Matt

UPDATE: Motzei Shabbos 01.07.06: Rip Taylor is the name of the guy. I found this by typing into google: mustache celebrity high-pitched. Is there anything google can't do?

Responsa: May a Cantor Appear in Major Roles at an Opera House?

o o o o o
| | | || | | | | Happy 4th day
\ \ \ \|/ / / / of Chanukkah
\ | | ||| | | / and my last full day in NYC
__|__

I stumbled on this quite randomly athttp://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/diduknow/lgresponsa/one.shtml. This is Rabbi Louis Ginzberg, of blessed memory, responding (in the form of Responsa) to the following: (my favorite stuff is bolded)
May a Cantor Appear in Major Roles at an Opera House?

No. 1 ? (OH 53:25)
Source: General Files, File 13 (1944)

October 16, 1944

Dear Doctor Levinthal:¹
I am in receipt of your letter of October 12, in which you ask my advice whether it would be proper for your Congregation to have its Cantor appear in important roles at the Metropolitan Opera House.

There is, of course, no special law incumbent upon a cantor.² He is to be a good Jew, but so also are his Congregants. Yet, while there is no specific prohibition in Jewish law which would prevent a cantor from serving in the synagogue while at the same time appearing in the opera, I do not think that the combination of a cantor and an opera singer is a very healthy one. There is no law prohibiting a rabbi from appearing in a cabaret, but do you think that any congregation would seriously consider having a cabaret singer as a rabbi? Of course, I am quite aware of the fact that certain music may serve very high cultural purposes. Yet, I am, at the same time, sure that people would find it quite strange to see their cantor one day recite the Neilah prayer and the following day sing a love duet with some lady. My advice is therefore that you try your utmost to prevent your Cantor from accepting the offer made to him by the Metropolitan.³

With kindest regards to you, Mrs. Levinthal, and to the children in which Mrs. Ginzberg joins me, I am

Very sincerely yours,

Louis Ginzberg

Notes
¹Doctor Israel Levinthal
Brooklyn Jewish Center
667 Eastern Parkway
Brooklyn, New York

Rabbi Israel Levinthal (1888-1982) was ordained by the Seminary in 1910 and served the Brooklyn Jewish Center from its founding in 1919 for over sixty years. See EJ, XI, col. 121; Nadell, pp. 174-176; and Elliot Gertel, PRA 45 (1983), pp. 119-137. He appears in a photo with LG in Keeper, on the seventh page of photos after p. 214.

²This is not entirely accurate. See OH 53:4ff. and Leo Landman, The Cantor: an Historic Perspective, New York 1972, pp. 58-64, 110-113, for the attributes sought in a cantor.

³The cantor in question was Cantor Richard Tucker (1913-75), who served as cantor at the Brooklyn Jewish Center between 1943 and 1945. In 1945 he made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera House. Tucker wanted to remain as cantor at the Brooklyn Jewish Center. But, on the recommendation of a panel of five rabbis (by a vote of three to two), he resigned his post there (Darryl Lyman, Great Jews in Music, New York 1986, pp. 229-230). LG was apparently one of the five rabbis asked.

Source: The Responsa of Professor Louis Ginzberg edited by David Golinkin.


Chag Urim Sameach,
Matt

A new interesting AIM buddy

So I met someone interesting today... the Chief Rabbi of Poland. Now he's on my buddy list. So, instead of hearing the author of "Jew vs. Jew", Samuel Friedman at Ramath Orah this morning, I sat next to one of the most important Jews in eastern Europe in the past 50 years during davening at Old Broadway Shul (though at that point I had no idea he was even a Rabbi). This will make for an interesting conversation piece on Monday in Yiddish class when the professor asks "tzi menchen hobn nayes?" Vel ich enferen, "yo, hob ich nayes: vei ich dem Groyser Rav fun Poyln. Booyakasha!"

I'd do it like this: Rutta Chugga! Rutta Chugga!

Oh dear God!!!


http://www.qwantz.com/apologies/index.pl?comic=2. I'm horrified.

Happy turducken/tofurkey day

Yay, I'm a citizen.. still and Butler hyjinx

You Passed the US Citizenship Test

Congratulations - you got 10 out of 10 correct!

Could You Pass the US Citizenship Test?

Adam Baldachin just got engaged. Whoa! That led to interesting discussion in Butler at midnight. This included myself, perhaps jokingly (or perhaps not...) proposing to Anna Schon, who said yes. Either that or if neither of us are engaged in a week to other people, we'll get married.

Anna: I'm not not having sex until then
Me: So you are having sex until then? That's a double negative!
On back-up engagement at age 40 (or a week from now, which ever's more convenient)

Another bold beautiful Barnard woman (or is it womyn) who wished to remain nameless to someone else who probably wants to remain nameless: Hey, you don't get to smack my ass, only I get to smack my ass.

I went to bed at 4 AM and woke up at 6:30 for Koach Rosh Chodesh services. So exhausted and I still have to finish this paper...

Chodesh Tov,
Matt

Halloween

With lack of any other ideas, I think I'm going to reprise my Michael Moore costume tonight. I'm probably going down to the Village. Here's my current away message, a transliterated Yiddish one: Heint is a chogeg fun di catolike mentchen, un epes tragen maseychus, ober nisht c'mo Mordechai un Ester, ober machsheyfus un ruchos. Efsher ich vel zaynen tzu dem Shtetl Greenwich.
-Out of boredom I wrote something in Yiddish about Halloween

"Today is a holiday for the Catholics, and some wear masks, but not such as Mordechai and Esther, but witches and ghosts. I might go to Greenwich Village."

EDIT 11/1/05 12:24 AM: Nope, surprise birthday costume party and then a night of debauchered paper-writing in Butler