Beautiful music from Baruch Levine, and a special guest appearance by Yonatan Razel.
מתני' השוחט את הבהמה ומצא בה בן שמנה חי או מת או בן תשעה מת קורעו ומוציא את דמו מצא בן תשעה חי טעון שחיטה וחייב באותו ואת בנו דברי ר"מ וחכמים אומרים שחיטת אמו מטהרתוUPDATE:
link
Many of you have seen marketing wiz Meir Kalmanson's videos on youtube. His genius is apparent, as he pulls off various capers, such as high-fiving taxi hailers in NYC, jumping on a bed on the streets of Manhattan, and engaging an entire subway car in happiness.
Yet I am in awe of this man, as I recently discovered that his long hair was not an act rebelliousness, nor a show of anti-establishment resentment.
MEIR KALMANSON GREW HIS HAIR FOR THREE YEARS SO THAT HE COULD DONATE IT TO A CANCER VICTIM WHO NEEDED A WIG.
I am in awe of this man.
Enough sad videos coming out from the Holy Land. Time for some happiness.
Hat Tip lifeinisrael.blogspot.com
Abie Rotenberg has hit it out of the park.
His new novel about a Jewish Yankee baseball star, who is faced with a dilemma of whether to embrace his religion or his passion for baseball, is spiritually uplifting and entertaining at the same time. The quotes from the late great Peter Lawrence Berra (aka Yogi) that begin the chapters are classics and quite apropos. I recommend it for teenagers, as it exposes them to heavy questions about the Jewish religion, answered in simplistic terms. At the same time, one will enjoy Abie's command of the game, in all its technical nuances.
Abie has tantalized his fans for decades, with his haunting melodies and stimulating lyrics on his Journeys and Dvaykus albums.
His song about Yankel was made into a motion picture, with very positive reviews.
Perfect timing, as this is the season for pennants and penance.
The most recent edition of Jewish Action has several tributes to Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein z"l.
One interesting tidbit brought is the fact that RAL was fluent in Shas, and would often times quote the correct Daf from memory.
As part of his humility, RAL mentioned that this "sin", perhaps of haughtiness in quoting the Daf, was already inluded in Viduy, as we say...Dibarnu Dofi.
אמרה ליה ילתא לרב נחמן מכדי כל דאסר לן רחמנא שרא לן כוותיה אסר לן דמא שרא לן כבדא נדה דם טוהר חלב בהמה חלב חיה חזיר מוחא דשיבוטא גירותא לישנא דכוורא אשת איש גרושה בחיי בעלה אשת אח יבמה כותית יפת תאר בעינן למיכל בשרא בחלבאYet when you are part of a group, one must adhere to the dictates of that group. The only problem being that if the dictates are too draconian, people leave.
There has been much discussion lately on cross-currents with regard to publishing pictures of women.
I understand the arguments pro and con, but there still needs to be a modicum of normalcy in deciding whether to publish or perish.
The entire controversy erupted some time ago when Hillary Clinton was excised from the Bin Laden war room photograph. I do find it noteworthy, that as of late, both Matzav and YWN are now publishing pictures of Hillary, albeit unflattering ones.
One of the greatest guitarists of the 80s and 90s has sadly passed away.
Yosi Piamenta was from the first Jewish artists who used the electric guitar to electrify his audience.
His performances and solo guitar licks will be sorely missed.
I find it amazing that some 400 bikers raised almost 6 million dollars for Chai Lifeline's Camp Simcha.
More amazing is that these riders give up 2 days of work, raising these astronomical amounts of money.
Kudos to them, especially for pedaling over 170 miles through 3 states, arriving at the World's Greatest Finish Line.
I recall as a youth the excitement when one saw a loved one after a long absence.
There were unabashed hugs and cheers and kisses all around.
I had reason recently to be in the airport to pick up a passenger and I noticed that Airline Arrival Anticipation is a thing of the past.
I believe that since our world is so small, since we can Skype our dear ones wherever they may be, there is no longer any excitement when we actually see them in person.
How sad. The digital revolution continues to change our world - sometimes for the worse.
See The Partial View
What I don't understand is, if he was offered one million dollars for this potentially pure parah, why didn't he put it in it's own fence and keep it away from the bulls?
A Tumult has been created by the recent tying of Tefillin by a Lubavitch Shaliach on a girl.
This reminds me of a story years ago when a Lubavitcher Shaliach met a nice young Frum man in a Hillel House in the midwest. He asked him if he wants to put on Tefillin to which the polite young man replied sure.
When the Shaliach asked him if he needs help with the Brochos, he replied - Not necessary.
The student proceeded to put on the Tefillin with familiarity. The surprised Chabad representative asked him "When was the last time you put on Tefillin?
To which he got the response - This morning!
We are gathered here today to mourn the loss of one of the best bloggers to ever roam the Jblogosphere.
With the advent of Facebook and Twitter, pundits have long predicted the demise of blogging. Yet the era of Rishonim had yet to be lamented until the untimely halting of one of it's finest. Sadly, from this day and onward marks the time of the Acharonim.
Blogging Buddy Bray had championed the cause of Torah, fighting the Sitra Achra for close to a decade. His quick wit, charming demeanor and golden pen have laid waste to the claim that an American born and bred Yeshiva-man can't write.
His legacy includes mourning the Holocaust, as a G2er. His Havdalah consciousness has enabled his readers to navigate the differences between right and wrong, good and evil, addle-minded and level-headedness. His Yiddishisms, word-play and complete command of several languages have made him a must read for all the past 6 years.
In blog years, that is a lifetime.
The saddest part is that he has chosen to wipe away years of toil. His erudite posts will now be lost forever. I applaud his action as it is based on Teshuva, yet I mourn it's result nonetheless.
As he leaves this world of cyber-Sheker, I wish him well in the Olam HaEmes.
May his blog be resurrected soon, and may Hashem wipe away all his nemeses.
Somebody wasn't invited and somebody stole a parking spot and now we have some-bodies.
Sure Segulah to Say Sefirah...
Daven Maariv with a Minyan every day for 49 days Straight.
This does not belong on this blog, but since Havdala conscience blogging buddy bray has not touched this topic with his golden sceptered pen, I have opened the discussion here.
עד היכן כיבוד אב ואם אמר להם צאו וראו מה עשה עובד כוכבים אחד באשקלון ודמא בן נתינה שמו פעם אחת בקשו חכמים פרקמטיא בששים ריבוא שכר והיה מפתח מונח תחת מראשותיו של אביו ולא ציערו אמר רב יהודה אמר שמואל שאלו את ר' אליעזר עד היכן כיבוד אב ואם אמר להם צאו וראו מה עשה עובד כוכבים אחד לאביו באשקלון ודמא בן נתינה שמו בקשו ממנו חכמים אבנים לאפוד בששים ריבוא שכר ורב כהנא מתני בשמונים ריבוא והיה מפתח מונח תחת מראשותיו של אביו ולא ציערו לשנה האחרת נתן הקב"ה שכרו שנולדה לו פרה אדומה בעדרו נכנסו חכמי ישראל אצלו אמר להם יודע אני בכם שאם אני מבקש מכם כל ממון שבעולם אתם נותנין לי אלא אין אני מבקש מכם אלא אותו ממון שהפסדתי בשביל כבוד אבא
The tragic fire in Flatbush that consumed so many lives R"L is heart-rending.
Hopefully this will serve as a wake-up call for people to make sure that they have working smoke alarms that are tested on a regular basis.
I understand human nature has an intrinsic need for news that is local and affects us all, yet I wonder why various media feel the need to publish countless stories, pictures, levaya hookups etc.
I sure hope it is not for selfish (ratings) reasons.
Tuesday, March 17, representatives from Bais Yaakov's across the country will be represented in Brooklyn's Barclays Center to honor Sorah Schenirer, founder of the BY movement. It has been 80 years since her passing.
Perhaps the 100th Yahrtzeit will be in Yankee Stadium.
Hidden in a chest drawer in his home, the Chafetz Chaim kept pictures of Rav Nachum of Hurodna, Reb Shimon Caftan, and Reb Mordechai of Lidda. He would often take them out to look at them, and say to members of his household, "Children, you have no idea what great Jews they were. They were concealed tsaddikim."
The film is silent 35mm nitrocellulose negative shot by a Fox News cameraman Hans V. Pebal. Mr. Pebal covered Romania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Austria for Fox News. The footage would have been shipped to Fox News headquarters on 10th Avenue in Manhattan where it was developed and edited. In 1980 the University of South Carolina was given a large part of Fox Newsreels and outtakes by 20th Century Fox. This particular film has attracted attention for many years.
Thank you,
Benjamin Singleton
University of South Carolina
Moving Image Research Collections
I was somewhat surprised to see that Rabbi Michael Broyde has been posting Halachik essays. These writings have appeared on the Seforim blog and most recently on Hakirah Volume 18.
Integrity has been all over the news lately. Those who grew up in the era of Walter Cronkite can remember the authoritative voice that garnered trust. Yet even in our liberal land of everything goes, newscasters have been held to a higher standard. The firings of Dan Rather and recent suspension of Brian Williams prove that lying is not acceptable for those who we place our trust in.
So someone who is willing to prevaricate, and attempts to alter history to further his agenda, especially an halachik agenda, to me that is an unpardonable offense, and no longer deserves a soapbox, be it blog or periodical.
Many fine articles have been published in the past week vis-a-vis the Frum community and the Superbowl.
One pointed out how Frum organizations can no longer schedule functions during this event; and Chasunahs and Vorts suffer from participation during the sacred hours that the game is played.
Another article noticed how the Atheists have their own god, and that is the hallowed Superbowl Sunday, where nothing can keep them away from their fan-dom.
A third made mention of the fact that certain publications no longer allow Superbowl food specials to be advertised.
This year, the game certainly did live up to it's moniker, keeping fans on the edge of the seat until the finale. It featured two of the strongest quarterbacks in the game, a super offense vs. a super defense, and a spectacular catch of which the likes have not been seen in recent memory.
Yet sadly for the Seahawks, the entire season and game was lost due to an incredible blunder. What an incredible Mussar can be learned from this. Just when you think you are invincible, when the Hail Mary gods have smiled upon you, remember that it is the one and only true GOD who runs the show, and this year he is smiling on the East Coast.
Borsalino Tip: LifeInIsrael
Years ago, when the price of Shtreimels went sky-high, one of the Chassidishe Rebbe's told the manufacturer's that if the price doesn't stabilize, he will remove his own Shtreimel. Perhaps we can do the same for the Borsalino?
A group of Chabad bochurim in New York are trying to garner support to join a boycott that originated in Israel over the rising prices of fedora hats.
Organizers are saying that prices of the Italian made Borsalino hats have risen by $50 in the last 5 years, bringing the price of the typical Yeshiva student's hat in Israel to $274.
Petitions going around in Yeshivas in Jerusalem and Bnei Brak are threatening to stop purchasing hats if the prices don't drop. According to Makor Rishon newspaper, some 10,000 people signed.
"Borsalino is telling us that it's a luxury item and the price doesn't have to be cheap, but they know the truth - that everyone still buys it, not only a select few," one organizer said.
"It's a common product and there is no reason the price should be so high," the person added. "A manufacturer raises prices to increase profits on a product that isn't selling well, but if the masses are buying this excuse doesn't exist."
Regular consumers of the hats made of felt from Belgian rabbit are Lubavitcher chassidim, and students of Litvish and Sephardic Yeshivos. Other chassidic groups wear hats with beaver finish or a fur shtreimel.
Recently, bochurim in a Chabad Yeshiva in New York have asked their 'hanhala' administration if they would be allowed to join the boycott and start wearing a flat cap, also called a casket hat.
link
I am surprised that this has not been more widely reported, but several blogs are reporting that Rav Aharon Schechter, member of Moetzes has resigned his position. It seems that the Agudah position had been not to get involved in the Machlokes in Eretz Yisroel, regarding whether to sign up for the draft or not.
Rav Shmuel Auerbach has directed his students not to, while the leaders of Bnei Brak are not so vehemently opposed.
In any event, the current Yarchei Kallah sponsored by Agudah, where RSA had been invited to say a Shiur in recent years, did not invite him this year.
Regardless of whether one agrees with RSA or not, RAS feels that the Agudah should not be choosing sides.
Let us hope this is resolved soon, and that we keep the EY Machlokes in EY and off our shores.
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Update: 01/15/2015 -Rift Rectified. Roshyeshiva Re-signs.
The Partial View is reporting that Shalom has been restored and the resignation has been withdrawn. link
