Yesterday's Chicago Sun-Times had series of sad stories about crimes in the cities bad neighborhoods-shootings, carjacking, robberies. Then I noticed the time of the crimes 2:30 am , 3 am etc. My 92 year old mother-in-law always said to my wife when she was a teen "nothing good happens after midnight."
Why are these people out that late (unless they are working)? Only one good thing happens at midnight- Selihote-our penitential service this Saturday night ends at 12 AM. A Swedish theologian once said "there comes the midnight hour when every person must unmask."
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Upside down thinking/99% vs. 99.9%
Reform Jewish leader tells U.S. Muslims that Islam is being demonized
By Shlomo Shamir, Haaretz Correspondent and Reuters
The president of the Union for Reform Judaism accused American media, politicians and religious groups on Friday of demonizing Islam.
Addressing the annual convention of the Islamic Society of North America, Rabbi Eric Yoffie said Muslims have been turned into "satanic figures."
"There exists in this country among all Americans, whether Jews, Christians, or non-believers, a huge and profound ignorance about Islam ... there is no shortage of voices prepared to tell us that fanaticism and intolerance are fundamental to Islamic religion, and that violence and even suicide bombing have deep Koranic roots," he said.
Yoffie said his organization is discussing with Muslim leaders a dialogue and education program in the near future to increase understanding between the two faiths.
He said Americans need to know "how far removed Islam is from the perverse distortions of the terrorists who too often dominate the media, subverting Islam's image by professing to speak in its name." Yoffie also called for an end to racial profiling and legal discrimination of any kind against Muslim Americans, and urged North America's Muslims to keep condemning violence committed in the name of Islam until the message sinks in.
In his address, Yoffie said "to all those who desecrate God's name by using religion to justify killing and terror, let us say together: Enough."
"No cause in the world, and surely no religious cause, can ever justify murdering the innocent or targeting the uninvolved ... You cannot honor God if you do not honor the image of God in every human being; and you cannot get to heaven by creating hell on earth," he said.
He's calling for more dialogue. NYT said last time Jews tried this it broke up over Israel. After Yoffie left, today's NYT reports (page a12) "Leaders of American Muslim organizations attribute the growing intolerance to three main factors: global terrorists attacks i the name of Islam, disappointing reports from the Iraq war AND THE AGENDA OF SOME SUPPORTERS OF ISRAEL WHO TRY AND TAINT ISLAM TO UNDERMINE THE PALESTINIANS"
UPSIDE DOWN THINKING
1. Who fired 70 missiles from Gaza at Israel on the first day of school, with a tree stopping a missile from landing squarely on the day care center? They say it as retailiation for Israel for killing 3 kids in Gaza the day before in an airstrike. That is after daily missiles from Gaza flying at Sderot. What is Israel to do? Let missiles continue to fly? Stop sendig kisssiles, rearming for a conflict and peace will reign.
2. Open up any major newspaper-yesterdays NYT front section, story of Lebanon fighting militant in camps, Chaos in Darfur as arabs fight Arabs, Iran defiant, Iraq, Pakistan militants, etc al on the front page or front section. That Islam based trouble is Jews fault?
3. What are we supposed to do when polls show about 1/3 of US Muslims under 30 think suicide bombing is legitimate?
SO OK WHERE IS THE WORLDWIDE MUSLIM CONDEMNATION OF TERROR?
On another matter
Scientists today reveal humans are only 99% alike DNA, not 99.99% as they thought.
Still close enough to say Adam Echat-we all have the same father and yet God made us unique, with unique gifts and responsibiliies to the world.
By Shlomo Shamir, Haaretz Correspondent and Reuters
The president of the Union for Reform Judaism accused American media, politicians and religious groups on Friday of demonizing Islam.
Addressing the annual convention of the Islamic Society of North America, Rabbi Eric Yoffie said Muslims have been turned into "satanic figures."
"There exists in this country among all Americans, whether Jews, Christians, or non-believers, a huge and profound ignorance about Islam ... there is no shortage of voices prepared to tell us that fanaticism and intolerance are fundamental to Islamic religion, and that violence and even suicide bombing have deep Koranic roots," he said.
Yoffie said his organization is discussing with Muslim leaders a dialogue and education program in the near future to increase understanding between the two faiths.
He said Americans need to know "how far removed Islam is from the perverse distortions of the terrorists who too often dominate the media, subverting Islam's image by professing to speak in its name." Yoffie also called for an end to racial profiling and legal discrimination of any kind against Muslim Americans, and urged North America's Muslims to keep condemning violence committed in the name of Islam until the message sinks in.
In his address, Yoffie said "to all those who desecrate God's name by using religion to justify killing and terror, let us say together: Enough."
"No cause in the world, and surely no religious cause, can ever justify murdering the innocent or targeting the uninvolved ... You cannot honor God if you do not honor the image of God in every human being; and you cannot get to heaven by creating hell on earth," he said.
He's calling for more dialogue. NYT said last time Jews tried this it broke up over Israel. After Yoffie left, today's NYT reports (page a12) "Leaders of American Muslim organizations attribute the growing intolerance to three main factors: global terrorists attacks i the name of Islam, disappointing reports from the Iraq war AND THE AGENDA OF SOME SUPPORTERS OF ISRAEL WHO TRY AND TAINT ISLAM TO UNDERMINE THE PALESTINIANS"
UPSIDE DOWN THINKING
1. Who fired 70 missiles from Gaza at Israel on the first day of school, with a tree stopping a missile from landing squarely on the day care center? They say it as retailiation for Israel for killing 3 kids in Gaza the day before in an airstrike. That is after daily missiles from Gaza flying at Sderot. What is Israel to do? Let missiles continue to fly? Stop sendig kisssiles, rearming for a conflict and peace will reign.
2. Open up any major newspaper-yesterdays NYT front section, story of Lebanon fighting militant in camps, Chaos in Darfur as arabs fight Arabs, Iran defiant, Iraq, Pakistan militants, etc al on the front page or front section. That Islam based trouble is Jews fault?
3. What are we supposed to do when polls show about 1/3 of US Muslims under 30 think suicide bombing is legitimate?
SO OK WHERE IS THE WORLDWIDE MUSLIM CONDEMNATION OF TERROR?
On another matter
Scientists today reveal humans are only 99% alike DNA, not 99.99% as they thought.
Still close enough to say Adam Echat-we all have the same father and yet God made us unique, with unique gifts and responsibiliies to the world.
Monday, September 3, 2007
3 new videos on youtube
Idea behind all these webs and blogs jewu 211
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3UjhhdjAR4
Rabbi stories: shofar, messages, reward Jewu 210
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gtTpvFwfyU
Rabbi Reflects on the news 4 Jewu 209
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1hp06GoMCo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3UjhhdjAR4
Rabbi stories: shofar, messages, reward Jewu 210
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gtTpvFwfyU
Rabbi Reflects on the news 4 Jewu 209
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1hp06GoMCo
Tick Tock Redemption Clock
TICK TOCK TOWARDS REDEMPTION CLOCK (Hasidic clock)
1. NYT front page Kentucky Derby hopeful named Maimonides visited by children from Maimonides school.
Old joke guy given $5 by rabbi for rescuing hat. Bets in on horse races-picks horses with "hat" names Stetson, wins, Derby wins, bets on all Chateau. Loses. Wife mad and says idiot its chapeau not chateau. who won-I don't know-some Japanese horse named Yarmulke.
2.North Korea says it will shut down nuclear weapon program
TICK TOCK Away From REDEMPTION CLOCK
Iran announces nuclear enrichment. Guess is a nuclear bomb within the year.
Prof. Berk told rabbis Aipac lunch that 28% of Israel says they'll leave if Iran has bomb.
1. NYT front page Kentucky Derby hopeful named Maimonides visited by children from Maimonides school.
Old joke guy given $5 by rabbi for rescuing hat. Bets in on horse races-picks horses with "hat" names Stetson, wins, Derby wins, bets on all Chateau. Loses. Wife mad and says idiot its chapeau not chateau. who won-I don't know-some Japanese horse named Yarmulke.
2.North Korea says it will shut down nuclear weapon program
TICK TOCK Away From REDEMPTION CLOCK
Iran announces nuclear enrichment. Guess is a nuclear bomb within the year.
Prof. Berk told rabbis Aipac lunch that 28% of Israel says they'll leave if Iran has bomb.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
To Do Lists
Scratch another off the list
September 2, 2007
Chgo Tribune Sunday
"We were jotting down a few items for our customary Saturday errand list when we heard about a new Web site dedicated to lists. It's called Meosphere -- a perfect name, really -- and it offers list enthusiasts a chance to compile lists in at least 2,500 categories. Examples: Audis you wrecked. National parks you visited. Fads you've done, worn or bought.Then, when you're done, you can e-mail the list to your friends and relatives so they can drool with envy or try to match your lists with their own. Yes, it's competitive listing. It's not as big yet as, say, those egregiously ridiculous hot-dog eating contests, but give it time.For many the urge to create a list is primal. Who can't admire the power and beauty of one executive's 450-item checklist for a leadership class he teaches, memorialized by The Wall Street Journal. And what about the book that is a collection of grocery lists that the author found in the trash. Or listing goddess Jennifer Scully-Lerner, a Manhattan exec who, the paper marvels, "using Microsoft Word, Excel, errant scraps of paper and her BlackBerry ... makes lists that govern almost every aspect of her life. She has lists of work projects all around her desk. There's a packing list on her closet wall, to simplify the preparations for her frequent business trips.
Jewish to do list: daven/pray daily, learn some Torah, pray with the synagogue of your choice at least weekly, watch what you eat (kosher), light Shabbat candles
September 2, 2007
Chgo Tribune Sunday
"We were jotting down a few items for our customary Saturday errand list when we heard about a new Web site dedicated to lists. It's called Meosphere -- a perfect name, really -- and it offers list enthusiasts a chance to compile lists in at least 2,500 categories. Examples: Audis you wrecked. National parks you visited. Fads you've done, worn or bought.Then, when you're done, you can e-mail the list to your friends and relatives so they can drool with envy or try to match your lists with their own. Yes, it's competitive listing. It's not as big yet as, say, those egregiously ridiculous hot-dog eating contests, but give it time.For many the urge to create a list is primal. Who can't admire the power and beauty of one executive's 450-item checklist for a leadership class he teaches, memorialized by The Wall Street Journal. And what about the book that is a collection of grocery lists that the author found in the trash. Or listing goddess Jennifer Scully-Lerner, a Manhattan exec who, the paper marvels, "using Microsoft Word, Excel, errant scraps of paper and her BlackBerry ... makes lists that govern almost every aspect of her life. She has lists of work projects all around her desk. There's a packing list on her closet wall, to simplify the preparations for her frequent business trips.
Jewish to do list: daven/pray daily, learn some Torah, pray with the synagogue of your choice at least weekly, watch what you eat (kosher), light Shabbat candles
Rabbi Reflects on the news
Rabbi Reflects on the news
1. Hasidei omot haolam=non-Jews who are the righteous of the world. Death of Cong. Charles Vanik this week -co-sponsor of the Jackson-Vanik amendment, tying US trade with Soviet Union to freedom for Soviet Jews. Helped free a million people from tyranny.
2.Tick tock clock towards redemption-in the news today
A.Illinois parents who let teens drink, will be targeted in new effort
B. Algeria making big push on solar power, hopefully to power not just them, but Europe using the Sahara. (a related joke-Jewish guy, 5'2 applies for job in Washington state as a lumberjack. Owner asks him his experience-he says I chopped down the Sahara forest "You mean Sahara desert?" It was forest until I got finished with it.)
c. Berlin's biggest synagogue to reopen, beautiful anew
By Kirsten Grieshaber | Associated Press
August 31, 2007
BERLIN - Werner Bab remembers going with his father to Berlin's Rykestrasse Synagogue in the 1930s, soon after the Nazis came to power -- a time, he says, when all the talk among the Jews at Sabbath services centered on politics and how to get out of Germany."But what most impressed me as a little boy was the sheer size of the building," says Bab, an 82-year-old survivor of the Auschwitz death camp.
The synagogue, Germany's biggest Jewish temple and architectural landmark, reopens Friday after more than a year of work to restore its prewar splendor.
3. On Teshuva repentance
a.Tribune special report: The toughest assignment:
Lesson No. 1: No excuses Sep 02, 2007
A perennially underperforming school was closed after it failed to meet federal testing standards six years in a row. It reopened three months later under the management of a nonprofit group that trains teachers. .
B.In Parade mag. After nearly dying in 2003, Alan Alda decided to take stock oh his life. The result is Things I overheard while talking to MyselfHigh Holidays for Jews is time to overhear things while talking to ourselves prompted by near death scenerio (Book of Life).
C.'Deeply sorry' senator resigns amid scandal
By Jill Zuckman | Tribune national correspondent
September 2, 2007
Saying he was "deeply sorry," a humbled Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) said Saturday that he would resign from the Senate, an announcement national party leaders greeted with relief after days of worrying that his arrest in an airport bathroom would hurt all Republicans in the 2008 elections. "-Enough said
d. New Age repentance Modern confession: Bless me Web master, for I have sinned
By Stephanie Simon | Tribune Newspapers: Los Angeles Times
September 2, 2007
- In the hush of a warm afternoon, Rev. Larry Solan waits for sinners.
The veteran priest sets aside a half-hour every Saturday to hear the failings of his flock at St. Mark Catholic Church. On a typical week, he sees two penitents, perhaps three. Some weeks, no one comes.Confession is not what it used to be in the Roman Catholic Church; cultural and theological shifts have pushed the age-old sacrament aside.
Church leaders have tried to revive interest in the sacrament with tactics as varied as radio ads (in Washington, D.C.) and a strip-mall chapel dedicated solely to confessions (a few doors down from a tanning salon in Albany, N.Y.). The Vatican has even allowed priests to do away with the wooden confession booth in favor of more relaxed face-to-face encounters.
Outside the Catholic Church, too, the rite of confession is being reshaped, this time by Protestant megachurch pastors who see it as a self-help tool for the lost and lonely -- and as a marketing opportunity for themselves.
Click over to IveScrewedUp .com, and a black-and-white Goth-tattoo-style graphic bursts onto the screen. You're invited to type in a description of your sins, along with your age and hometown. Click "send" and it's done; you've confessed -- to the Web master of Flamingo Road Church, a Florida congregation affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention."
Catholics can try absolution-online.com, which invites you to fill a shopping cart with your sins (choices include vainglory and use of Ouija boards). The site then calculates an appropriate penance -- say, 228 Hail Marys and 43 Our Fathers. Another church-sponsored site, MySecret.tv, pushes the concept of healing even further. Anyone can comment on posted confessions, starting an anonymous dialogue with the sinner: "you need therapy. get it now."
The Jewish way?
In Chapter 1, Section 1 of the Laws of Repentance, Maimonides wrote: "With regard to all the precepts of the Torah, both affirmative and negative, if a person transgresses any one of them, either willfully or in error, when he repents and turns away from his sin, he is under a duty to confess before God, blessed be He, as it is said, 'when a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit...they shall confess their sin which they have done' (Numbers 5:6‑7)--this means confess in words; and this confession is an affirmative precept."
And Maimonides continues:
"How does one confess? By saying, 'I beseech Thee, 0 Lord, I have sinned, I have acted perversely, I have transgressed before Thee, and have done thus and thus, and lo, I am contrite and ashamed of my deeds and will never do this again. This constitutes the essence of confession."
"This constitutes the essence of confession"--these are the core components and basic framework of confession. Of course, various additions may be made, but they must always center around the three fundamental components, which are: 1) acknowledgment of sin ("I have sinned, I have acted perversely, I have transgressed'); 2) remorse ("I am contrite and ashamed of my deeds'); 3)resolution for the future ("I will never do this again'). These three stages constitute "the essence of confession." And Maimonides adds: "The more one confesses and elaborates on this matter, the more praiseworthy he is. ... Even if one has decided to abandon sin and to radically alter one's way of life, it does not amount to a complete act of repentance; without confession acquittal is denied. Confession is mandatory not only for those who, having sinned are obligated to bring sacrifices, but also for "those who have incurred the judicial penalty of death or punishment of stripes"--"they do not attain acquittal through death or [by the punishment of]stripes, until they repent and confess. Similarly, one who inflicts a wound on another person or causes him monetary damage, is not acquitted even after he has paid [the injured party] what he owes him, until he confesses and penitently resolves never to commit the same offense again..."
Note carefully that only the first half of the formula of confession which Maimonides sets forth as obligatory is identical with the formula employed by the High Priest in the Temple on the Day of Atonement ("I beseech Thee, 0 Lord! I have sinned …;" cf. Mishnah Yoma 3:8). In place of the second half ("I am contrite and ashamed ... I will never do this again"), the High Priest used to offer a prayer and say: "I beseech Thee, 0 Lord, acquit me of the iniquities and the transgressions and the sins which I have committed before Thee!" Maimonides deleted the prayer portion from the formula of remorse ("I am contrite and ashamed and resolution for the future ("I will never do this again").Rabbi Reflects on the news
1. Hasidei omot haolam=non-Jews who are the righteous of the world. Death of Cong. Charles Vanik this week -co-sponsor of the Jackson-Vanik amendment, tying US trade with Soviet Union to freedom for Soviet Jews. Helped free a million people from tyranny.
2.Tick tock clock towards redemption-in the news today
A.Illinois parents who let teens drink, will be targeted in new effort
B. Algeria making big push on solar power, hopefully to power not just them, but Europe using the Sahara. (a related joke-Jewish guy, 5'2 applies for job in Washington state as a lumberjack. Owner asks him his experience-he says I chopped down the Sahara forest "You mean Sahara desert?" It was forest until I got finished with it.)
c. Berlin's biggest synagogue to reopen, beautiful anew
By Kirsten Grieshaber | Associated Press
August 31, 2007
BERLIN - Werner Bab remembers going with his father to Berlin's Rykestrasse Synagogue in the 1930s, soon after the Nazis came to power -- a time, he says, when all the talk among the Jews at Sabbath services centered on politics and how to get out of Germany."But what most impressed me as a little boy was the sheer size of the building," says Bab, an 82-year-old survivor of the Auschwitz death camp.
The synagogue, Germany's biggest Jewish temple and architectural landmark, reopens Friday after more than a year of work to restore its prewar splendor.
3. On Teshuva repentance
a.Tribune special report: The toughest assignment:
Lesson No. 1: No excuses Sep 02, 2007
A perennially underperforming school was closed after it failed to meet federal testing standards six years in a row. It reopened three months later under the management of a nonprofit group that trains teachers. .
B.In Parade mag. After nearly dying in 2003, Alan Alda decided to take stock oh his life. The result is Things I overheard while talking to MyselfHigh Holidays for Jews is time to overhear things while talking to ourselves prompted by near death scenerio (Book of Life).
C.'Deeply sorry' senator resigns amid scandal
By Jill Zuckman | Tribune national correspondent
September 2, 2007
Saying he was "deeply sorry," a humbled Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) said Saturday that he would resign from the Senate, an announcement national party leaders greeted with relief after days of worrying that his arrest in an airport bathroom would hurt all Republicans in the 2008 elections. "-Enough said
d. New Age repentance Modern confession: Bless me Web master, for I have sinned
By Stephanie Simon | Tribune Newspapers: Los Angeles Times
September 2, 2007
- In the hush of a warm afternoon, Rev. Larry Solan waits for sinners.
The veteran priest sets aside a half-hour every Saturday to hear the failings of his flock at St. Mark Catholic Church. On a typical week, he sees two penitents, perhaps three. Some weeks, no one comes.Confession is not what it used to be in the Roman Catholic Church; cultural and theological shifts have pushed the age-old sacrament aside.
Church leaders have tried to revive interest in the sacrament with tactics as varied as radio ads (in Washington, D.C.) and a strip-mall chapel dedicated solely to confessions (a few doors down from a tanning salon in Albany, N.Y.). The Vatican has even allowed priests to do away with the wooden confession booth in favor of more relaxed face-to-face encounters.
Outside the Catholic Church, too, the rite of confession is being reshaped, this time by Protestant megachurch pastors who see it as a self-help tool for the lost and lonely -- and as a marketing opportunity for themselves.
Click over to IveScrewedUp .com, and a black-and-white Goth-tattoo-style graphic bursts onto the screen. You're invited to type in a description of your sins, along with your age and hometown. Click "send" and it's done; you've confessed -- to the Web master of Flamingo Road Church, a Florida congregation affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention."
Catholics can try absolution-online.com, which invites you to fill a shopping cart with your sins (choices include vainglory and use of Ouija boards). The site then calculates an appropriate penance -- say, 228 Hail Marys and 43 Our Fathers. Another church-sponsored site, MySecret.tv, pushes the concept of healing even further. Anyone can comment on posted confessions, starting an anonymous dialogue with the sinner: "you need therapy. get it now."
The Jewish way?
In Chapter 1, Section 1 of the Laws of Repentance, Maimonides wrote: "With regard to all the precepts of the Torah, both affirmative and negative, if a person transgresses any one of them, either willfully or in error, when he repents and turns away from his sin, he is under a duty to confess before God, blessed be He, as it is said, 'when a man or woman shall commit any sin that men commit...they shall confess their sin which they have done' (Numbers 5:6‑7)--this means confess in words; and this confession is an affirmative precept."
And Maimonides continues:
"How does one confess? By saying, 'I beseech Thee, 0 Lord, I have sinned, I have acted perversely, I have transgressed before Thee, and have done thus and thus, and lo, I am contrite and ashamed of my deeds and will never do this again. This constitutes the essence of confession."
"This constitutes the essence of confession"--these are the core components and basic framework of confession. Of course, various additions may be made, but they must always center around the three fundamental components, which are: 1) acknowledgment of sin ("I have sinned, I have acted perversely, I have transgressed'); 2) remorse ("I am contrite and ashamed of my deeds'); 3)resolution for the future ("I will never do this again'). These three stages constitute "the essence of confession." And Maimonides adds: "The more one confesses and elaborates on this matter, the more praiseworthy he is. ... Even if one has decided to abandon sin and to radically alter one's way of life, it does not amount to a complete act of repentance; without confession acquittal is denied. Confession is mandatory not only for those who, having sinned are obligated to bring sacrifices, but also for "those who have incurred the judicial penalty of death or punishment of stripes"--"they do not attain acquittal through death or [by the punishment of]stripes, until they repent and confess. Similarly, one who inflicts a wound on another person or causes him monetary damage, is not acquitted even after he has paid [the injured party] what he owes him, until he confesses and penitently resolves never to commit the same offense again..."
Note carefully that only the first half of the formula of confession which Maimonides sets forth as obligatory is identical with the formula employed by the High Priest in the Temple on the Day of Atonement ("I beseech Thee, 0 Lord! I have sinned …;" cf. Mishnah Yoma 3:8). In place of the second half ("I am contrite and ashamed ... I will never do this again"), the High Priest used to offer a prayer and say: "I beseech Thee, 0 Lord, acquit me of the iniquities and the transgressions and the sins which I have committed before Thee!" Maimonides deleted the prayer portion from the formula of remorse ("I am contrite and ashamed and resolution for the future ("I will never do this again").Rabbi Reflects on the news
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Towards and away from redemption
The other day I posted
"Ed Feinstein's new book has Hasidic tale about clock of hasid that is unique-it counts towards redemption."
Let's start a redemption barometer
What trends are moving towards redemption and what away?
Towards
1. Berlin's biggest synagogue reopens
2. PA securtiy saves Israel major who stumbled into Jenin
3. Abbas and Omert still talking
4. Human Rights Watch blames Hezbollah for shooting rockets at Israeli civilians
Away from redemption
1. Iran still moving to nuc bomb, Hezbollah and Hamas rearm more and more daily
2. We are still overpolluting, more than a billion hungry every day, 100,000 US murders since 9-11
"Ed Feinstein's new book has Hasidic tale about clock of hasid that is unique-it counts towards redemption."
Let's start a redemption barometer
What trends are moving towards redemption and what away?
Towards
1. Berlin's biggest synagogue reopens
2. PA securtiy saves Israel major who stumbled into Jenin
3. Abbas and Omert still talking
4. Human Rights Watch blames Hezbollah for shooting rockets at Israeli civilians
Away from redemption
1. Iran still moving to nuc bomb, Hezbollah and Hamas rearm more and more daily
2. We are still overpolluting, more than a billion hungry every day, 100,000 US murders since 9-11
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
