by E. [➚] · Wednesday, March 23rd, 2005
I was breezing through a record store on Shammai a few days ago, packing a few shekels for something interesting. Then Jah Mason appeared through a haze of a burning jewel case stacks.
“Bobo Ashanti order is just to gather the people and observethe Sabbath. Sabbath is very important. When you keep the Sabbath, justgive the man even one day. You get a day added to your life every time you keep the Sabbath. It’s all about keepin it real and positive.The Nayabinghi order use the drum sound to do the communication. The drum will do the work for you. Other people would take up them gun and go shoot people, but we nah do that. We use the drum and conquer. The drum sound, back in the ancient, the people used to roll the drum out and call the whole city.”
In short, Jah Mason is a Jamaican dancehall deejay in the Bobo Ashanti/Rasta order. He isn’t remotely Jewish, nor does any of the press available mention his relationship to the Jewish people. Curiously, however, his album, Never Give Up, was recorded in both Kingston, Jamaica and Yavne, Israel. Perhaps he’s channeling Rav Yohanan Ben Zakkai in those riddims. The album, on the Israeli Skabak label uses some of the same instrumental tracks as Lod-native MookE’s popular album “Shma Yisrael.”
Track 7 is called “Kibuts Livication.” That’s right, mighty Yiddn.
by Lilit [➚] · Monday, March 21st, 2005
An event worth checking out if you’re in New York for Purim:
Tune in for a third hit season of THE SHUSHAN CHANNEL New York’s premiere Purim-night Spiel. See original comic takes on the Megillah by writers from “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,†“Dennis Miller Live,†“This American Life†and more, including “Pimp My Steed,†“Desperate Matriarchs,†and the first-ever all-Yiddish episode of “Lost.â€
STARRING “The Daily Show’s†Rob Corddry, and Alef-list performers from Upright Citizens Brigade, Caroline’s, “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,†VH-1’s “Best Week Ever,†and “Politicomedy A-Go-Go.â€
Where: Congregation Shaare Zedek212 W. 93rd St (btw B’way & Amsterdam)NYC
When: Purim (Thursday, March 24th)8:15 pm
Admission: $15 (includes drinks and snacks)
The show is also a benefit for Hazon, the Jewish environmental group.Need more info? Got questions? Email Esther, Queen of Purim: myurbankvetch@hotmail.com.
by Danya [➚] · Monday, March 21st, 2005
The Jerusalem Post has a long article up now about the issue of women receiving Orthodox smicha.
According to the administration of the rabbinic courts in Jerusalem, 68 women since 1993 have been authorized by the state as rabbinic court advocates, all of whom studied at Jerusalem’s Midreshet Lindenbaum, a center of Jewish studies for women.
“The knowledge one requires to become a court advocate is more than a regular ordination, and now to pass certification is much more difficult than to get ordination,” admits Strikovski.
Full article here.
by Danya [➚] · Monday, March 21st, 2005
Due to all of the media attention around the Terri Schiavo case, it seemed timely to remind people to get your has-v’halila-wishes in writing now, while you’re still fine and can make these sorts of decisions. Then distribute them liberally and discuss them with your family. This has the potential to save everyone (including loved ones trying to make “the right decision”) a lot of suffering, and to make sure your wishes are followed.
There are some Jewish forms that can help make that happen.
This one is amazing (if you have trouble with the link, go here and click on the .pdf download link for “Jewish Medical Directives for Health Care”). It lists a whole range of possible situations with which one might be faced, and a number of decisions one might be able to make about one’s care–all considered acceptable according to halakha, and when there is a difference of opinion among rabbis, it’s indicated. So you fill out the form by checking a box next to your preferred decision, and you’re left with a very detailed list of your wishes, including lots of stuff you probably wouldn’t have thought of on your own. There’s also a form in the pamphlet for Durable Power of Attorney rights–that is, the assigning of rights to a specific person to make medical decisions on your behalf if you are not able.
Highly, highly reccomended.
For a more general DPA form crafted according to halakha, you can go here.
For an even more general (ie not Jewishly connected) DPA form, go here.
(Thanks to Ruth for the bottom two links.)
by Harry [➚] · Monday, March 21st, 2005
Only in Israel, an “under the radar” blog authored by an IDF soldier describes what its like to be a soldier at a protest at the security fence.
The look they have is one of spoiled kids. Checking their ID’s, most of them come from northern Tel Aviv, or suburbia, and although their look of choice is one of a hobo who have never heard the words “shampoo” or “deodorant”, they appear to have quite an expensive choice of shoes, various CD players, ETC. The funny thing here is this: I’ve never seen any Israeli Arabs on those protests. I guess they know which company to keep better than rich spoiled Israelis.
There’s no use of actualy talking or having a conversation with that kind. For people who believe in anarchy, they seem to have a preset thinking, and preset responses for any question asked.
Read more here.
by Mobius [➚] · Sunday, March 20th, 2005
The NY Times reports,
More than 10,000 Israelis rallied in Tel Aviv on Saturday evening to support Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s plan to withdraw from Gaza, ahead of a crucial budget vote.
The police estimated that the turnout at the rally was 10,000 to 15,000 people, smaller than the organizers had hoped. The rally was sponsored by the Peace Now organization in support of Mr. Sharon’s plan to dismantle all 21 Israeli settlements in Gaza beginning in late July.
Representatives of the settlers [as did some Jewschool visitors] called the rally an “embarrassing failure” compared with the turnout of tens of thousands people in Jerusalem last month to protest the Gaza pullout.
Harry says, “Wake up! Not all Israelis who support disengagement are going to ally themselves with the uber-left. This disengagement supporter would rather eat nails than stand side by side with folks from Peace Now and Gush Shalom.”
Okay. So that takes care of the center-left. Now for the truly über-left: I’m currently sitting in a Tel Aviv apartment with the members of Anarchists Against The Wall. One of its founders just said to me that the real radical left in this country didn’t attend because the rally was “in support of Sharon” and not “against the occupation.”
“Did you notice 95% of the people who attended the anti-disengagement rally were religious?” he asked. “Of course they had a better turnout,” he added, “because they belong to institutions which will allow them to take off of work or school to attend. Most people in this country work and go to school and can’t skip out to go to a rally. That does not affect their political convictions.”
If you want to see where the action’s really at in Tel Aviv, it’s at Tel Aviv University, where the extension of Benjamin Netanyahu’s economic policies are causing an intifada of their own. Ynet reports,
Tel Aviv University students staged a two hour strike Sunday in protest of the impending program cutbacks.
Several Knesset members arrived at the demonstration to show their support for the students’ struggle, among those who joined in the rally were Knesset members Yossi Sarid (Yahad), Matan Vilnai (Labor), Meli Polishook-Bloch (Shinui) and former Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
University students, lecturers and high school students throughout the country were said to have joined the protest in solidarity.
The students are apparently furious at the fact that the university is cutting back on its arts and humanities programs to open a new department which specializes in security and diplomacy and which charges tuition beyond average Israeli means. “Only rich people will be able to get masters degrees.”
Veteran Israel rapper Muki performed at the demonstration as well, prior to which he addressed the crowd: “Politicians make many promises and tell you stories, but you have to remember they’re here only to advance their interests. The only people who will look out for student interests is us. In times like these, when hard and brave decisions are being made for peace, they forget that there’ll be no peace without a healthy society. We’re the fuel, the motor, the heart and soul of our society. We are its future. Education in culture and art is demanding its place in this polluted and diluted society.”
The university’s reprioritization is seen as being in-line with the systematic privitization and empowerment of wealth-imbued institutions going on throughout the country.
Also, today in Bethlehem, a contingent of several hundred demonstrators marched in opposition to Israel’s separation barrier. Bethlehem Bloggers reports,
A few hundred Palestinians, Internationals and Israelis peacefully marched today from Bethlehem to the checkpoint which separates the city from Jerusalem, protesting enclosure of the city and the continued occupation.
Organised by a coalition of non-violent resistance groups, the residents of Bethlehem marched on Palm Sunday to bring international attention to the unjust, Israeli-imposed restrictions on access to Jerusalem and its Holy Sites.
Read on…
In related news, last Monday anti-disengagement protesters tied up the Ayalon freeway setting ablaze 100 tires in the middle of the road. Mmmm… eretz hakodesh. Breathe it in deep.
by Kalman Rushdie [➚] · Sunday, March 20th, 2005
While Palestinian leaders complain about rampant poverty and insufficient government funds to meet the public payroll, ministers and lawmakers decided they deserve more luxury.
According to the Jerusalem Post, the PA has ordered more than 100 luxury cars for the Palestinian government. The PA’s 24 cabinet ministers will each receive a new Audi A-6, priced at $76,000 each, and the 86 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council are in line to receive the slightly less luxurious Audi A-4 models, which cost $45,000.
The government expenditure, however, has not gone unnoticed in the Palestinian press. Columnist Yahya Rabah slammed the members of government for choosing to spend the PA’s meager funds for their own personal benefit.
“The PA is hardly able to pay the civil servants or cover running expenses, members of the security forces are struggling to get a 20 percent rise in their wages, and we still haven’t solved the problem of unemployment,” he wrote.
He also noted that a group of unemployed Palestinians stormed the PLC building last week demanding the lawmakers help them with their plight. “What will happen when these workers see the new cars parked outside the Palestinian Legislative Council offices?” Rabah asked.
by Jake Marmer [➚] · Sunday, March 20th, 2005
Hey all. I’m putting together another show of Jewish poetry and music here in New York – and I wonder if you have any thoughts about the cool new bands out there. To give you an idea of what we are generally looking for, we’ve previously had Pharaoh’s Daughter, Mattisyahu, AfroSemitic Experience, Rashanim and many other such awesome funky people. My new fav is Sway Machinery, I’m quite sure we’ll feature them, but would love to have another band as well. What’s rocking your scene today?
by Douglas [➚] · Sunday, March 20th, 2005
Our own Barbara Rushkoff, interviewed at YNet News: 
“I love to tell the story of Ruth, because I think she is a righteous, cool woman who was not only the first convert but also the first feminist. I love that a non-Jewish woman redeemed land for the Jews, how she wanted to become a full fledged Jew and how she embraced the whole “a woman’s gotta do what a woman’s gotta do†philosphy – how cool is that?”
by Danya [➚] · Saturday, March 19th, 2005
CNN reports that a female professor led a mixed-gender Islamic prayer service on Friday, despite some criticism and charges that it violated “centuries of tradition.”
Amina Wadud, a professor of Islamic studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, led the service at Synod House at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, an Episcopal church in Manhattan.
Some Islamic scholars have said they were aware of a few other mixed-gender prayer meetings led by women, mostly in the West, but they are rare.
“The issue of gender equality is a very important one in Islam, and Muslims have unfortunately used highly restrictive interpretations of history to move backward,” Wadud said before the service. “With this prayer service we are moving forward. This single act is symbolic of the possibilities within Islam.”
The full article can be found here.
by moses [➚] · Friday, March 18th, 2005
This being the Shabbat before Purim, the weekly Parshah Vayikra is supplemented with the Zachor reading (Deuteronomy 25:17-19) in which we are commanded to remember the evil of Amalek and to eradicate it from the face of the earth.
Who is Amalek? What makes its evil so vile? And how will memory serve as our best weapon?
During the great exodus from Egypt, after the divided waters fell and before the Jews received the Torah- they were attacked by Esau’s grandson Amalek. All other nations backed off, hearing if not seeing the miracles that G-d performed for the children of Jacob. But there were a people who defied logic, came without reason and fought with the fetus of a Jewish nation. Although Amalek was unsuccessful in their campaign, they created a bow that spits irrationalities and aims for the destruction of truth.
The house of Jacob is a day to the night of the house of Esau. Where we seek understanding, he raises intolerance. Purpose is our breath, chaos is his blood. To the Jew, every falling leaf has a purpose to it’s time. To the Amaleky, it’s all happenstance, random and thus morality is an option. Amalek represents the lowest form of iniquity. Lacking any heart, its vice is to undo you. So who are you and who is he? You are trying to make things work. You are curious and you are energetic, you are focused and you are light.
“The mind shall rule over the heart†this theme is huge in the character of a Jew and in her responsibility to world. Our intellect is to decide, and emotion should enjoy the ride. Not an easy fete. {We are not Angels and therefore we do have temptation. However we can go above (rule) our inclinations, Angels can not.} Making the task at hand (fixing/perfecting world) more grueling is Amalek- unabashed negligence. In the stale air around us that stinks, it says “I don’t careâ€. It threatens us to be placid and live only to receive. It beckons us to give up and indulge in ourselves. The voice of reason is mute and decadence is its mark.
Memory will serve you well in beating this common enemy and help you deal with the apathy, the cynicism, and the senseless doubt within. The memory of Faith. What recollection do you have of G-d? Exactly- faith was not acquired it need only be revealed. Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi discusses a faith in G-d that is integral to the Jewish soul, for it is woven into the very fabric of the soul’s essence. Faith transcends reason. Through faith one relates to the infinite truth of G-d in its totality, unlike the perception achieved by reason, which is defined and limited by the finite nature of the human mind.
To quote From The Possible Man by Meir Michel Abehsera: “At the core, we Jews are revolutionaries. We stand up to rebel against injustice and stagnation of thought. Our insurrectionary character has never let us fall into complacent forgetfulness… with that spirit that we cannot tolerate the seemingly wise passivity and placidity of the compromiser… You must not spare the reproof. You must revolt to remember. You can show kindness without falling into easy acceptance of people’s cowardice. Accept them as they are, but at the same time prepare your rebellion. Do not fight the person. Confront the forgetfulness that is within them.â€
Remembering who you are unearths strengths you didn’t know you had. Your faith will affect the people around you and make you a better lover. You are righteous and you are tempted. Brothers and sisters- may we all have the stability and stamina to recognize who we are. And in good health our minds will be one with our hearts.
by Jake Marmer [➚] · Thursday, March 17th, 2005
New Woody Allen movie came out!! But, check out the trailer, it’s about the same old thing, seems even more weary than usual. And Woody is not even acting. But how can I resist? It’s coming out this weekend, just can’t wait.
by Danya [➚] · Wednesday, March 16th, 2005
Shma: A Journal of Jewish Responsibility is sponsoring a “New Voices” essay contest with $5000 in cash prizes for folks who write about their vision for a post-conflict Israel, priorities for the Jewish communal agenda, re-engaging the Jewish community and other topics.
For more info, go here.
by Danya [➚] · Wednesday, March 16th, 2005
Brand new, hot off the presses.
I can’t even say how excited I am that it’s actually happening. I’ve had the great honor of being part of some of the early conversations, and I’m pretty sure it’s going to be quite amazing and wonderful. If you’re an academic type, do consider applying.
Thanks to a grant from the Ford Foundation, a Summer Institute on Gender Studies in Jewish Studies and Islamic Studies will take place August 7-10, 2005, Sunday afternoon to Wednesday noon, at Dartmouth College. No formal papers will be delivered; rather, several brief, informal presentations will be made to encourage group discussion. Space is limited and the Institute is open by application to faculty and graduate students who work in fields related to Jewish Studies and/or Islamic Studies and who have background in gender studies.
The Institute will focus on issues of gender as they inform and enhance a range of disciplines and topics in the study of Judaism and Jewish history, Islam and Islamicate culture and history. The goal will be to considers ways that scholars in Jewish Studies who work on issues related to gender might develop both scholarly and collegial interactions with feminist scholars of Islam. It is hoped that participants will include historians, anthropologists, political theorists, scholars of religion, literature, and culture, among other disciplines, and that their interests will include a range of time periods and geographic locations. Graduate students and junior faculty are particularly encouraged to participate.Â
For more info, and application instructions, check out the website here.
by Kalman Rushdie [➚] · Wednesday, March 16th, 2005
It is acceptable to criticize Israel’s policies, according to Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt. But when people deny Israel’s right to exist, they have moved into anti-Semitism, he said.
Verhofstadt, who spoke at yesterday’s opening ceremony of the new Yad Vashem museum in Jerusalem, said he did not consider the EU’s policies toward Israel anti-Semitic even though the EU often critizes Israeli policy. But “when you’re tackling and directly criticizing Israel or the Jewish community, that’s anti-Semitism,” he said.
Verhofstadt also defended Israel’s Law of Return, which applies only to Jews, because it forms “the basic idea of the foundation of the State of Israel.†He added that other countries have similar policies. “It’s not the monopoly of Israel,” he said.
With the new reality in the Middle East following Arafat’s death, Verhofstadt said, Belgium and the EU would try to advance the peace process by pressuring Israel as well as the Palestinians. Such pressure, he said, should not be seen as a threat to Israel’s security.
by The Town Crier [➚] · Tuesday, March 15th, 2005
Jewishmusician.com brings us a timely collection of some great purim party classics in a variety of entertaining styles entitled “Purim Sameach” performed by the Binyomin Ginzberg Trio. Listen to sample tracks online at jewishmusician.com.
by Jake Marmer [➚] · Tuesday, March 15th, 2005
Discovered a really funky spot in Park Slope: Jewish Music Cafe. It’s inside of a shul, but the set up is really chilled out. Occasional open mic gigs, and people like Aaron Razel, Reva L’Sheva, the holy crew of Pey Dalid played there.
The band showing up at the cafe this Sat night is called Heedoosh. Chances are you haven’t heard of them, they’re relatively new, at least as far as NY goes. Not exactly my cup of tea, but if you’re into Oasis, Radiohead, ColdPlay etc., you’ll really dig them. What struck me the most about Heedoosh is the high degree of professionalism – these are real musicians, not wankers, and that’s super-rare in the world of Jewish music. The show Heedosh puts up is also something else. All the ladies go melting. Saw some sample mp3s on their website, kind of old, not nearly as tight as the current stuff.
by Lilit [➚] · Tuesday, March 15th, 2005
New Holocaust Museum Opens in Jerusalem(AP Video)
The new Holocaust History Museum at Jerusalem’s Yad Vashem memorial took 10 years to complete. The building, designed by Israeli-American architect Moshe Safdie, spans more than 45,000 square feet — four times larger than the museum it replaces. On hand for the inaugural ceremonies were U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan: the presidents of Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Lithuania, Poland, Serbia & Montenegro and Switzerland; prime ministers from France, Sweden, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Romania and foreign ministers of Germany, Norway and Spain.
“This is a moment of commemoration for the 6 million murdered by Nazi Germany,” German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said in Jerusalem.
“Of course, Germany is my country, so it’s also a historical and moral responsibility to never forget what happened and the responsibility of my country for the Shoah,” he added.
Representing the United States was New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
“Freedom is something we constantly have to fight for and if we ever compromise our standards, we see just how far it goes,” Bloomberg told reporters. “We cannot allow intolerance any place against any people.” Bloomberg, who was born in 1942, said that as a young boy, his father tried to explain to him what had happened to the Jews of Europe during World War II.
“I do remember us sitting around the table and my father trying to explain to me what had gone on in Europe when it came up in the history books,” Bloomberg said. “You can’t understand how anyone could do that to other human beings. I don’t know if there is an explanation.”
To give a human dimension to Holocaust statistics, some 90 personal stories are woven into the museum’s displays, which also feature some 280 works of art.
A video projected onto the wall of the entrance shows daily Jewish life in Europe in the 1920s and ’30s. Visitors can walk through a typical living room of a Jewish family in Germany in the 1930s. A life-size replica of the Warsaw Ghetto’s Leszno Street features cobblestones, a 1940s tram track and lampposts replete with shrapnel holes from the Jewish uprising — all donated by the Polish capital. The museum displays a three-tiered wooden barracks where concentration camp inmates slept, a cattle wagon that transported Jews to their deaths, and a small fishing boat that ferried Danish Jews to safety in Sweden. Underground galleries on either side of a 600-foot central walkway topped by a skylight guide visitors through the history of Adolf Hitler’s Final Solution: prewar life, anti-Semitic laws, roundups, deportations, mass executions, death camps.
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