Uncle Louis's Pet Peeve

A few weeks ago, we read in parashat Balaq
(Bemidbar-Sinai/Numbers 22:9) —

ויבא ⊁׳ אל בלעם
ויאמר מי האנשים האלה עמך

And then God came to Bil‘am
and then said, "Who are these men with you?"

On this verse, Onqelos elucidates —

וַאֲתָא מֵימַר מִן קֳדָם י׳ לְוָת בִּלְעָם
וַאֲמַר מַאן גֻּבְרַיָּא הָאִלֵּין דְּעִמָּךְ

And a word came from before God unto Bil‘am
And said, "Who are these men that are with you?"

Onqelos does this all the time. God never does anything. God never actually interacts with the world. It's all actions that happen "from before God". "Words" that come from before God. Unqelos hates anthropomorphism with a passion. Sort of like the opposite of An‘im Zemirot.


In NYC it may still be Shabbat, but Shabbos Yerushalayim has been over for hours already.

Shared Taxicab Confessions

Early this morning, I caught a [monit] sheirut (shared 'service' taxi van) from Tel Aviv, where I was LARPing, back to Jerusalem. The occupants of the sheirut were your motley assortment of late-night-Tel-Aviv Jerusalemites, including a couple of drunk kids who seemed to be in yeshiva after high school.

It was two English-speaking guys and a girl, and they seemed to be coming back from a bar where they drank much beer and hard alcohol, but assumedly no wine because of the Nine Days. And they were rambling on and on about relationships and religion. I'm not sure exactly who was who, because I was sitting in the front and they were in the back, but one of them was whining about a missed opportunity with some woman he wanted to ask out, and worried about how his acting like a jerk may have delayed the coming of the mashiahh. They were all very into mashiahh, I wonder what schools they went to.

They also lamented the fact that many Jews date Non-Jews, but used somewhat offensive terms when talking about it. And one of the guys felt like he was going to vomit, and had an interesting conversation with an Israeli man in broken Hebrew with a lot of miming of puking-motions. And they were smoking way too close to the sheirut as we were waiting for it to fill up.

The girl, however, said something I found amusingly tragic. She started talking about Nice Jewish Boys And Girls who leave high school and then go to college, even after a year of yeshiva. She said that they have way too much interaction with the opposite sex, and they get drunk at parties all the time and do other horrible things. She would never go to college and expose herself to such immorality!

Kettle? There's a pot on the phone. I think it wants to discuss decor.

I Am With The North (Finally)

As I mentioned previously, I was unable last week to donate blood because my hemogoblin hemoglobin level was too high. Today in the afternoon I got a call from a friend who was donating blood at one of the malls down here in the Valley of the Aboriginal Ghosts, so I decided to try again.

Luckily, this time my hemoglobin number was normal, and they let me donate. Two friends of mine were also there (the one who called stuck around), and we had a big blood party... uhm, yeah, that sounds right...

On to the pictures!

Getting my hemoglobin/iron checked. Success!


Final adjustments on the needle in my arm:


One-handed camera skillz with my other hand!


My nefesh filling up the plastic bag:

A Settlement Shabbat

As those of you checking the war updates at Jamīl's blog may have noticed on Friday or Saturday Night, I spent this past Shabbos up @ the Muqāṭa‘ä.

المقاطعة

Like I said once,
either the Muqata looks like
a cluster of caravans on a hilltop...
or it looks like Alon Shvut.

Amshinover was right. The Muqata is really really normal. Frighteningly normal, when you look around at suburban paradise and the kids playing outside after hearing Jameel's stories of the early Intifāḍä II and driving to work wearing a bullet-proof vest and an inch-thick-plastic-visor helmet. And the hostility of the Palestinian Arabs in the next village over. You know, the kind of thing that makes it hard to sleep at night because you're worried about unfriendly people with weapons looking through the window. And when you're not worried about getting killed, you're worried about accidentally outing yourself as a "leftist" in the middle of a settlement full of ideologically-motivated immigrants.

However, (ir)rational fears aside, it was a pretty good Shabbos. No one I met said any of the extreme kinds of comments ("’itbaḥ al‘arab", for instance) that I'm used to hearing from certain settler-wannabes I know in the States. The food was great, especially the barbecue chicken made by Jameel on Friday afternoon right before Shabbos.

دجاج



Jameel and all his family are really nice, and surprisingly open about his blog. I think at least 80% of the people we talked to over Shabbat made some kind of comment about "Jameel this" or "Jameel that" or "why don't you talk about ______ on your blog, what's it called again, with that Arabic name?" Jameel was packing heat all Shabbos, which both made me feel safe, and made me feel worried about the fact that weaponry was needed at all.

On Saturday Night we drove around, and Jameel showed me the various nearby settlements. We went up to a nearby hilltop and hung out with the people who lived there for a little bit. The hippy-peios'd youngsters were sitting around a campfire making tea and singing Havdala songs when they weren't showing us around and introducing us to the soldiers there to protect them. And the scenery was literally breath-taking.

أرضنا



I'm beginning to understand why people are so in love with living up here.


In other news, I got the people at the crap crêpe place in the Central Bus Station in Jerusalem to make me a tuna melt. Some Israeli couple were disgusted. They can go eat my hhumus. Poor tunamelt-deprived Israelis. They don't know what they're missing.

Why Do They Blindfold Terror Suspects?

Prompted by this article in Haaretz.

Just wondering. I could understand mafiosos, or other gangster-types who would be liable to take personal revenge on the people involved in apprehending them, and/or their families. But terrorists aren't so personally vindictive; I wouldn't think it'd matter to them who specificly caught them, since they hate all their enemies.

Anyway, here's some material for contemplating the question.

אני עם הצפון

Seen at the central intersection of the Valley of the Aboriginal Ghosts, Southern Jerusalem.

רחוב יוחנן בן זכאי
רחוב אלעזר המודעי
רחוב עמק רפאים
רחוב פייר קניג

Seen farther up the valley, at the intersection of רח' עמק רפאים and רח' רחל אימנו.


I wanted to also be "with the North" so I went up to Kikar Tziyon (intersection of Yafo street and the Ben-Yehuda midrahhov [pedestrian mall]) to donate blood. But they said I couldn't donate blood due to my hemoglobin iron level. It was too high(!), 18.1, and suggested I see a doctor when I get a chance. So I instant message'd our friendly neighborhood Jewish blogging doctor, who explained what the issue was and may have been.

In lighter news, look what I found at the supermarket:

(no i did not check the kosher certification on the dinosaurs)

Not Quite qdš lYHVH

As you might have noticed, my new computer's built-in camera has driven me a bit self-portrait-crazy. I've gone through a number of different profile pictures here on Blogger, not to mention the many other different self-portraits I took and edited for various other internet forums.

Oh wait, actually one of those was taken on a cellphone camera belonging to one of my students. I think you can guess which one, as well as what the class before them was studying ;–) .

Anyway, on a recent post, Lipman commented on my profile picture at the time, and dropped a link to a website called The Fedora Lounge, which seems to be a website forum for (mostly) men who like early- and mid-twentieth century clothing, such as hats and various types of suits and jackets. I wonder if posting the link on Hhareidi websites would help certain people diversify beyond the large-brim pinstripe "gangster look"...

Anyway, I was wandering around that website when I found this thread, in which a hat manufacturer is showing off a very customized hat meant to partially evoke the hat worn by Indiana Jones. What's really interesting to me, though, is the logo on the inside of the hat:



Ketav ‘Ivri alert!

I haven't seen any of the Indiana Jones movies in years, but the design of the logo reminds me of the jewel-headed staff they use in Raiders of the Lost Ark to shine a beam of light onto a map engraved in an Ancient Egyptian tomb.

And not only has it got Ketav ‘Ivri around the rim of the design, but it includes God's Name! Now, the kohein gadol used to wear a metal ornament called the tzitz which had engraved upon it קדש לה׳, but this is a bit ridiculous.

It seems to say:

ואמה(?) אחת(?) מעל קדש ・ כבד י--ה והמשקף(?)

(one ama/cubit above the holiness of God's glory and the lintel?)

I guess that makes sense as an instruction for assembling some ancient secret pointer to where to find the aron berit H' (ark of the covenant), but writing it out with the Explicit Name explicitly spelled out on the underside of a hat crown where it's going to get all sweaty and nasty?!

Who wants to join me in a "Muḥammad cartoon riot"?

FOR LIVE UPDATES ON THE WAR

...see The J-Blogosphere Blog's list.

Or you can just check out Jameel, like I've been doing.

And here are some Israeli news links:
 — הארץ / Haaretz
 — Jerusalem Post
 — מעריב

The Shiv‘a ‘Asar beTamuz War

Over the past year back in the States, I've gotten out of the habit of constantly checking the news. Now I'm back in Israel for a month, and there are Ḥizballáh katyushas falling on Nahariya and Tzefat. Israel is bombing Lebanon and Gaza. Qassām rockets are falling on Sedeirot. Soldiers are being kidnapped and killed.

On the 17th of Tammuz, the walls of Jerusalem were broken through.

Today the walls of denial were broken down.

From Haaretz:

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's first visit to Israel yesterday was overshadowed by the Hezbollah attack in the north.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said at a press conference yesterday that he had considered canceling the meeting with his Japanese counterpart, but decided to hold it anyway. "I reached the conclusion that it was not appropriate to cancel it, due to the special circumstances of our relationship, Japan's international importance, and the unique importance of Prime Minister Koizumi, who is a world leader," said Olmert.

Koizumi stressed the benefits of restraint, saying: "I understand your feelings, an eye for an eye, but it's important to maintain hope for the long term - and restraint is also important."

"I understand your feelings, an eye for an eye"????

Prime Minister こいずみ， you don't understand at all.

La Bona Libro... Kaj Plu

Today I went to Downtown Yerushalayim (near the Kosher Ethiopian restaurant me and a friend saw the finals of the World Cup at) to pick up a book for Mar Gavriel. And then I decided to see what else they might have in the store to interest me.

Among other finds, I got an Aram Soba siddur, Shadal's commentary (with Italian translation!) on Yesha‘yahu/Isaiah, and...

For the non-linguists among us, this means:
THE
HOLY BIBLE
OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS
TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGES

LONDON
BRITISH AND SCOTTISH BIBLE SOCIETY
EDINBURGH AND GLASGOW
NATIONAL BIBLE SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND
1947

The next page, though, is even cooler:
(ignore the Christian Supersessionism)

THE OLD TESTAMENT
TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL HEBREW
LAZAR LUDOVIC ZAMENHOF
In other words, the "Old Testament" (a.k.a. our Tanakh, with the books misarranged) portion of this Bible uses a translation of the Tanakh written by Dr. Eli‘ezer (Leyzer) Zamenhof, "Doktoro Esperanto" himself!

And here we have the beginning of Bereishit/Genesis:


And this is the beginning of this week's parsha:


(and it only cost 50₪... marked down from 400!)

לכל איש יש שם (everyone's got a name)

In the [15-minutes-of] famous Aljazīrä interview of Dr. Wafā’ Sulṭān, an Arab-American and former Muslim, she said:

My colleague [=Dr. ’Ibrāhīm Alḫūlī] has said that he never offends other people's beliefs. What civilization on the face of this earth allows him to call other people by names that they did not choose for themselves? Once, he calls them ’Ahl Alðimmä, another time he calls them the "People of the Book," and yet another time he compares them to apes and pigs, or he calls the Christians "those who incur Alláh's wrath." Who told you that they are "People of the Book"? They are not the People of the Book, they are people of many books. All the useful scientific books that you have today are theirs, the fruit of their free and creative thinking. What gives you the right to call them "those who incur Allah's wrath," or "those who have gone astray," and then come here and say that your religion commands you to refrain from offending the beliefs of others?

Although I may be taking it somewhat out of context, I like the bolded excerpt from this quote as an expression of the ethic behind the much-maligned ideal of "political correctness" or PC. While PC may sometimes go too far, the basic idea behind it is what Dr. Sultan said — part of human decency is the expectation that other people will not call me by a name that I do not accept for myself. If my name were Andrew, and I preferred 'Andrew' and would also answer to 'Drew', but hated being called 'Andy' then you just don't call me 'Andy'. It's that simple.

This extends from the level of individuals to the level of groups; if a large percentage of Americans of African descent prefer to be identified as 'African-Americans' and not as 'Blacks', you listen to them. Even if 'Black' is generally held to be non-derogatory. No, it's not as bad as the N word, but it's not what they want.

If it's accepted in society that part of being a mentsh, an upstanding human being, is that you listen to people when they ask you to do them a favor — passing them the salt across the table, for instance — then shouldn't it be obvious that when it comes to issues of someone's very identity, you simply don't call them what they don't what to be called? What is hateful to you, don't do to anyone else.

Identify is defined both from the inside-out and from the outside-in.
An inside»out identity is "I am a Jew."
An outside»in identity is "You're wearing a yarmulka, you must be Jewish!"

Someone who respects other people will not impose their own external (mis)conception of who or what another person is on that other person. They will let them identify themself.

(another communique from the front lines)

Glatt Yosher?

from Ma‘ayan Beit Hasho’eiva by R' Shimon Schwab:
(second chief rabbi of K'hal Adath Jeshurun, Washington Heights, New York)

ויקהל
[analysis of the mitzva of ‘eiruv as "in remembrance of leaving Egypt"]

...And here is a place for me to copy a letter that I arranged more than thirty years ago, against an article that was published for certain rabbis who wanted to enact ‘eiruvey hhatzeirot [or in the colloquial, eruvs] in Manhattan, and was published in the monthly Hapardeis (issue 5 year 36):

"His honor the Rav, editor, šlyt"a,

I read a long article in the last Hapardeis from Rav ... on the matter of enacting ‘eiruvin in Manhattan, and, begging the pardon of the honorable great rabbis šlyt"a who are involved in this matter, I cannot pass it by silently, and see an obligation on me to express my opinion in public for the following reasons and points.

Behold, it's certain that I am not worthy to analyze the Halakhic decisions of the ge’onim of the previous generation zç"l which were brought in the article, and anyway, who am I that I'd be able to insert my head between the great mountains of stringent and lenient decisors; and I do not involve myself in deciding halakhot to express this way or that; and also — God forbid — I have not come to prosecute; and if only I were able to silence the beatings of my heart and the serious doubts piercing my brain when it comes to this question, I would have remained silent, and would not have dared to publish in public words of criticism and opposition.

But once I had read at the end of the article mentioned above that the committee for enacting ‘eiruvin will soon call a large gathering of the rabbis of Manhattan, in which they will finally decide whether to arrange the enactment of ‘eiruvin or not — then I said to myself that I cannot be silent on this matter, which will God forbid cause desecration of the holy Sabbath and desecration of God's Name, and in worry I decided that notwithstanding my desire, I would object in a loud voice because the hour deems it necessary, and the honorable great rabbis, members of the committee, have the [right of] forgiveness, and Vaheiv in a storm.

A) Behold, all admit that it is a great mitzva to enact ‘eiruvin to prevent the people from desecration of the holy Sabbath, and it is a great honor to be appointed for such an important mitzva — and on the contrary, anyone who wants to prevent it, the collar of responsibility [for proving otherwise] hangs from his neck, and on this no one disagrees.

But at this time and season and especially in this state which is mixed up by vulgarity and ignorance, at a time when those of weak knowledge have ascended and youths stand in the place of elders and are not ashamed to express Torah that is against Halakha, making farfetched interpretations in all corners and camps, and the war (host arrayed against host) is heavy against those who destroy God's vineyard, in a time of spiritual emergency like today — it is definite that one must take into account the sorry state of affairs, for I truly fear the sin and great malfunction and aweful destruction that is destined to come about from this enactment. Things will come out reversed, that instead of improvement there will be damage, and instead of minimizing descration of the Sabbath, it will God forbid increase, due to the circumstances of life in a time like this. And if any person were to pass four amot in a forbidden public zone [=reshut harabim] because of this new enactment, God forbid, what will we answer on the Day of Judgement? And all the more so, all the more so if there is reason to suspect that many people would become flippant about all Sabbath matters and observance of mitzvot because of this renewal, all the more so that then there would be no place we could bring our shame.

B) Behold we must analyze the words of the ga’on R' A. Henkin šlyt"a which were brought in the above-mentioned article, where he writes explicitly that 'we must announce in public that this enactment ... avails only for the matter of renting the place, but ‘eiruvey hhatzeirot are needed in every house in which there are two Jews ... and also we must publicize the laws of set-aside objects [=muqtzeh] which are not suspended by the making of an eruv ... and that only the island of Manhattan is being made a permissible [zone] by the eruv, and not the rest of the parts of the city ... and by this manner there is hope that the eruv will be only an improvement and no malfunction will come out of it.'

If so, we have permission to cast doubt, and to suspect that maybe God forbid a malfunction will come out of this, that many will not read the announcements or will not pay attention to what the committee publicizes in whatever fashion, or maybe they will not obey the rabbis' words of warning. And now an understanding person may ask, 'Obey? How could we know beforehand that they will not listen to the words of the warners and reprovers?' [But] have we not seen with our own eyes that even rabbis and leaders have not inclined their ears to the halakhic ruling of eleven famous roshey yeshiva [the 18 Adar, 5716 pesaq of R' Moshe Feinstein and others against participation in the New York Board of Rabbis and the Synagogue Council of America]? What would the simple people do, the poor ones who didn't wait for the enactment of the eruv and 'took out' [from private zone to public zone] on the holy Sabbath from ignorance or even from disregard — will they now [take care to] remove all of the set-aside objects from their pockets and the pocketbooks in their wives' hands? And if they take walks on the bridges, for example from Manhattan to The Bronx, on Shabbos, will they really obey [the directive] to empty their pockets on the way? Will they know and understand the issue of a door-form [=tzurat hapetahh], and until what place it is permissible to carry and from what place it is prohibited?

C) Since the main point of the allowance of an eruv is dependent on the reality, meaning Manhattan being an island surrounded by seas and rivers on every side, we need to explain to the community that due to this there is no need to make walls, and there is almost no need for any [physical] enactment, but only to rent the city from the city officials and to buy a box of matza and that's it.

But then everyone will ask: 'If it's really that easy, why haven't the rabbis done this until now, and why did they burden us with extraneous stringencies until today?' Since they don't see with their eyes the signals of the eruv, like stretched cords, doorway marks, recognition markings, etc., they will be astounded by it, for they will not take thought or understand the laws of Shabbos and the opinions of the Torah, and for sure there will be many of the common people who will think negative thoughts about the rabbis, that they are stringent or lenient according to their own desires, and that if they had not been lazy, weak and contrary to each other all these years we would never have had to be careful of the prohibition of 'taking out' — and the proof is that the rabbis didn't make anything new and didn't make walls and didn't work hard or labor, but just discussed together at a meeting and decided by majority that what was prohibited in all the cities of America until now, and what was prohibited in all parts of New York City, and what was prohibited in Manhattan, through last Shabbos, will now be permitted from this Shabbos and on because the rabbis so decided! And there will be those of weak will who will think that if only the rabbis would deal similarly with the other prohibitions and stringencies, like electricity, elevators, etc., laws of personal status, etc., they would also for sure find simple and easy permissions like this one; and if the prohibition of 'taking out' is so lightweight, why be stringent when it comes to set-aside objects, etc.?

Do we truly not need to worry about all this in a poor generation like ours? And do we not need to be wary of the ridicule of the various Conservatives and Reforms — who will publicize in the newspapers that the rabbis bought Manhattan Island from City Hall for one agora like the Gentiles did in old times from the Indians — and there will arise enough contempt and wrath! And there will be others who say, 'On the contrary, we greet with blessings the "strength of spirit" of the rabbis who take into account the new reality, and for sure will make other new enactments soon according to the spirit of the time, and it is a good sign that the [Ultra-?]Orthodox [the word used is hhareidim] have finally awoken from their deep sleep' and similar. And so, don't we need to fear and worry maybe there is something to these suspicions? Maybe, God forbid, the benefit of this new "enactment/improvement" will be nullified by the aweful and terrible loss that will sprout from it?

And what will those innocents who are not beney Torah do to respond to those who question and mock them? Do we not need to fear that maybe those of innocent thoughts who are unable to respond would become shocked and confused, and will lose the straight path in belief and observance of mitzvot, like the words of the sage, 'a single joke nullifies a hundred reproofs'.

This, and something more. The sanctity of the Sabbath is goseis [=in the process of dying], and it is forbidden to touch even the smallest finger because of our situation here now. The prohibition of 'taking out' is the touchstone that distinguishes between a truly Sabbath-observant Jew and one who lightens the yoke of Heavenly Authority from upon himself. In general, it is possible to agree that we can assume that every man and woman among us who is wary of the prohibition of 'taking out' on the holy Sabbath today is a God-fearing person when it comes to kashrut, testimony, shiddukhs, education, association etc., and on this experience teaches; and due to our own situation, diligence when it comes to [obeying the prohibition of] 'taking out' has become the touchstone and recognition-sign. And so do we have authority at this point now, while the generation has not become proper, to actively nullify these explicit signals, and cause by means of this 'improvement' to increase confusion and blur the differences that shame us?

The thing is, all those many who already 'took out' by accident or intent, on the holy Sabbath will continue to do so, and will not listen to the words of the warners from now on just as they haven't listened earlier; but those who fear God, who stand through hardship in the tests of life until today, from now on will receive a nice present 'in honor of the Omnipresent, in honor of the Torah and in honor of the Sabbath' and will be able to bring pocketbooks to shul like the desecrators of the Sabbath have already been doing since yesteryear.

And so according to all the above, there remains only one reason to praise and obligate the enactment, which is, to save from punishment those who accidentally [violate the prohibition of] 'taking out' (God forbid), and the weak-willed from suspicion of apostasy; and for sure this reason is important without doubt, but for this sickness it is very easy to find a cure, which is:

Those rabbis who justify being lenient [and making the eruv] should go and rent Manhattan Island from the mayor according to all the laws of ‘eiruvin without publicizing it at all, and then they have saved their own souls as well as saved from a heavy punishment those who accidentally violate the prohibition of 'taking out' derabanan (according to their opinion), and God will forgive all those who stray; and all this is possible without publicizing it, secretly — and on this all agree with their heart's desire. But the entirety of the community must not 'take out' from their house on Shabbos, especially since the ga’on R' Moshe Feinstein šlyt"a wrote explicitly that ba‘aley nefesh should be stringent with themselves and not 'take out' as before.

And for us, we should hope for the strengthening of the Torah in the younger generation and all our children should be learnèd of God, and the great ones of Torah [=gedoley hatorah] should have real power, and then everyone will be happy to participate in giving merit to the masses and assisting in enacting eruvs in every city according to both Halakha and logic, and peace upon Israel."

[R' Schwab then goes on to quote the pesaq of R' Moshe Feinstein and others against enacting eruvs in Manhattan, without comment]

Blogger's Notes:
1. I'm not sure what הו"כ stands for, so I'm guessing it's something like הוד כבודם and translating it as 'honorable'
2. I'm not sure what the significance of the reference to Vaheiv is
3. Hhareidi here could mean Orthodox in general, or Ultra-Orthodox; the OU uses the term hhareidi to translate 'orthodox' in some versions of its name
4. Improvement = Enactment = תיקון

---

Notice posted in K'hal Adath Jeshurun, 5766:

פסק דין
This is to clearly reaffirm the position of the Rabbinate of K'hal Adath Jeshurun past and present, that any Eruv erected in the streets of Manhattan is ineffective and may not be used.

Wherever I am (even in The Land), my blog turns to NYC time.

Settling [In]

Welcome to Israel!

This is the view from my window.

Not quite as scenic as some other views of the Valley of the Aboriginal Ghosts that I've had out of my windows in my times here. But I decided to make use of this new diggital camera to prove that I'm actually here and it's not just a story cooked up by me and Jameel or Trep to fool y'all.

Although, I guess this photo — notwithstanding the lack of a screen in the window, the Israeli flag on the building across the way, the tris on the closed side of the window, and the dud shemesh (dude!) true-solar water heaters on the roof — could be doctored.

But then it'd just be one of those things you have to accept on faith. ;-)

In the airport and on the plane I unexpectedly bumped into two different sets of people I know, which was fun. Surprisingly I was able to sleep during much of the plane ride (probably because I only slept an hour the night before the flight) and watched two movies — Ice Age 2 and V for Vendetta. The Ice Age movie was entertaining. V was veir— I mean it was weird. And I missed the last few minutes... and the English and French soundtracks kept on switching. Thank God for Hebrew subtitles!

Anyway, I'm here, where are you?

Oh, and this is my mad colorful bathtub:
(it's small too... crazy sit-down things)

A Tale Of Two Countries

H A P P Y J U L Y  F O U R T H

I SHOULD BE ARRIVING IN ISRAEL ON THURSDAY
AND STAYING UNTIL AROUND AUGUST 10TH OR SO

STAYING IN (you know, say it with me...)
THE VALLEY OF THE ABORIGINAL GHOSTS,
SOUTHERN JERUSALEM

WANT TO SAY HI?
EMAIL ME
(and i'll send you my israeli cellphone number)


who are these who soar like clouds, like dopey pigeons to their masonry nests?

A Godol's Influence

Upon Watching A TV Special About
People Who Think They've Found Noahh's Ark
Once Upon A Time:

Wow! That's so cool! Maybe they'll find ‘Eden too!

Upon Growing Somewhat Older:

Well, considering the geological anti-evidence, it probably didn't happen exactly as described, but these theories about local Mesopotamian floods or the Black Sea Flood look like they could be something...

Post-Godol:

Oh come on, people! Get a life! It's a mashal, for God's sake! Go out and apply its lessons about social values to your lives instead of wasting your time playing with petrified wood in Iran!