| Yom Kippur post, same as last year |
[Sep. 28th, 2009|11:46 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | jew | ] |
| [ | If I wasn't apathetic, I'd be |
| |  hopeful | ] |
We have all committed offenses; together, we confess these human sins:
The sins of arrogance, bigotry, cynicism, deceit, egotism flattery, greed, injustice, and jealousy. We have kept grudges, we have been lustful, malicious, and narrow-minded. We have been obstinate, possessive, quarrelsome, rancorous, and selfish. We have seen violence, weakness of will, and xenophobia. We yielded to temptation, and showed zeal for bad causes.
God, I begin to wonder what I'm doing here
With all these people
Confessing their horrible faults.
I think I did a pretty good job last year
Considering what I had to work with
And the world I had to work in;
So what am I doing here?
Well, there's no question
I could have done a little bit better
And I'm also grateful
That I had the chance to do it at all
So even though I'm not exactly sure
Who it is I should be saying this to
I want to say thank you to someone
I want to say sorry to someone
I want to say let's do it better next year
To someone.
And I'm glad there's someone to say these to
Even if I sometimes wonder.
Amen
To everyone I haven't apologized to, and to those I have, and to those I should but can't get the courage to speak up, I'm sorry. In what I've done and what I've said and what I haven't but should have, I've missed the mark this year. I've failed sometimes in being the best friend, coworker, lover, daughter and human being I could be.
I'm sorry, and thank you. Let's try again, together.
L'Shana Tova Tikateivu
May you be inscribed for a good year. |
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| (no subject) |
[Oct. 22nd, 2008|12:31 pm] |
There's a lively discussion going on over at one of my Jewish Women's Group mailing lists, about the rights conferred by legal marriage that aren't conferred by "civil unions" or other institutions. This was set off by one list member discussing with a coworker that fact that said coworker's "friends are struggling with the idea that marriage is in the Bible between a man and a woman and that the idea of marriage is one of the few places where religion and the state overlap."
To which another list member responded:
It's interesting that your colleague brought up the definition of
marriage in the Bible. Perhaps she's unaware that according to the
Tanakh (Old Testament), the act of a man marrying a woman is defined
in any one of three ways:
- Shtar - contract
- Bi'a - vaginal heterosexual intercourse
- Kessef - the exchange of a valuable item (I think this refers to
some sort of payment to the woman's father for the "loss" of a
daughter in the home)
[Actually, this might not even appear in the Bible at all, but in the
Oral Law somewhere (hehe, I said "oral"), probably in the Mishna
and/or Talmud.]
So according to the Bible, a hetero man who hooks up with a hetero
woman for a one night stand has effectively married that woman.
However the laws pertaining to marriage in the Bible relate only to
Jews, so the point is really moot for Christians. However, your
colleague might be interested to know that in the old days, some
people did get married by simply having sex. Yet I don't see any
Fundamentalist Christians running around demanding that people who
hook up at discotheques file for divorce the next morning.
For me, the biblical argument about the "sacred" nature of marriage is
a flimsy one, given the above info. Even the marriage contract which
is still used today in Orthodox Jewish hetero weddings basically
stipulates that the groom needs to provide for the bride (with a home,
income, and sexual satisfaction--note, he must satisfy *her*). It's
basically an ancient legal document that was intended to protect the
rights of women within marriage (because otherwise they'd have been
completely powerless).
If you can get married by fucking someone, and if marriage is a legal
contract that protects the rights of women in a partnership, why can't
the definition of marriage be extended to protect the rights of all
people involved in a partnership? And what is so sacred about fucking
as a symbol of partnership that needs to be protected?
Furthermore, these Christians who look to the Bible to define marriage
need to rethink their definition of marriage. Again, the description
in the Old Testament applies to Jews, whereas the Catholic definition
of marriage as a sacrament does not necessarily apply to
Fundamentalist Christians who reject the authority of the Catholic
Church. Which begs the question, by what religious authority do
Fundamentalist Christians define *their* idea of marriage? I've only
read small sections of the New Testament, so I honestly have no idea.
But I think it sort of removes fuel from that particular fire.
Take this post with a grain of salt-- since this was posted on an informal mailing list, it may not be entirely accurate-- but I think it's interesting to discuss the biblical definition of marriage in this situation, since that's what it seems a lot of people are basing their beliefs on the awful unholiness of gay marriage on. |
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| (no subject) |
[Apr. 22nd, 2008|11:17 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | jew | ] |
| [ | If I wasn't apathetic, I'd be |
| |  distressed | ] |
You know, I've never felt guilty for eating matzah before. But because Costco AND Trader Joe's decided not to stock it in the Bay Area this year, everyone's sold out. FUCKING EVERYONE.
Which means when dad went looking for it at the end of last week, he could only find two boxes. Yeah, that's right. They bummed an extra box off a friend, but right now, mom and I have ONE box left to last us until Sunday.
D: Maybe I should ask dad to stop and check at the Andronico's near Stanford. I'm gonna cry. I made this awesome mango and apple charoset, but I feel guilty for using up the matzah to eat it. |
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| (no subject) |
[Oct. 17th, 2007|04:26 pm] |
RE: The Yuletide thing
Huh. I haven't looked at the F_W post, mostly due to lack of time. But seriously, looking at ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) mamadeb's post-- it's not that ridiculously unreasonable. (I think it might have been maygra who said that she thought the post was stupid? just_katarin you were there for the Sunday afternoon discussion... Whoever it was, I think I have to disagree with you. It doesn't seem to me like a particularly idiotic thing to say after reading the actual post.)
I don't pay attention so I didn't realize that the nominations were during Yom Kippur and Sukkot. That COMBINED with the the timing of opening up registration led to what looked, to me, like a somewhat self-deprecating commentary on the obliviousness of the Yuletide creators.
The speed with which it grew into something ridiculous is making me beat my head against a wall. As Katarin and Technosage have said-- fandom is slowly learning that when it does something racist the correct response is simply to apologize politely for wrongs done, ask how it can do better next time and move on. Given that Jews are a similarly oppressed minority (please see tiferet's post on why Pagans, Athiests, and Christians quite simply don't understand the problems of being a Jew in this society), it would have been a spectacularly good idea for people to simply say-- as we're learning to do when a FoC mentions skanky race issues-- "huh, I didn't notice that, we'll try to keep that in mind next year."
Far be it from fandom to ever do something intelligent, though.
(Someone on Ataniell's post noted how amusing it is for people to say Yuletide is secular and then get up in arms over the idea of changing the date that the fics go live-- December 24th.)
If you have no idea what's going on, chopchica has compiled links and posted some astounding responses over on her journal. You can also check the Fandom_wank post here although there's some places in there where I'm very glad I was away all weekend or a probably would have gone all wankitywank.. |
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| Yom Kippur Apology post time again! |
[Sep. 21st, 2007|06:02 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | jew | ] |
| [ | If I wasn't apathetic, I'd be |
| |  contemplative | ] |
Don't let my grumpy post this morning mislead you, my friends.
Yom Kippur starts oh... about now, so, it's past due to post this:
If I have hurt you in any way over the past year-- as friend, roommate, acquaintance or otherwise, through misdeed or misspoken words, I apologize. I never meant to hurt anyone. While I know this post will soothe only petty hurts, I mean it for all my misdeeds of the past year. I bear no malice against anyone I consider a friend, or anyone a considered a friend last year, no matter our current friendship. I'm truly, honestly sorry for wrongs I have done you and hope that even if you do not forgive me today or tomorrow some day you will.
L'shana tova tikatevu. May you be inscribed for a good year. |
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| (no subject) |
[Sep. 14th, 2007|05:37 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | jew, love, meme | ] |
| [ | If I wasn't apathetic, I'd be |
| |  relaxed | ] |
Crossposted, but totally separate from the JF post.
L'shana tova everyone! Happy Jew Year!
And in honor of the New Year, a meme:
Pay It Forward: I will send a handmade gift to the first 5 people who leave a comment here on my blog. I don't yet know what that gift will be, but you will receive it within 365 days. The only thing you have to do in return is "pay it forward" by making a similar agreement on your blog.
In other news, my girlfriend's gone back to Ohio, and my bed is cold. Woe. But she left stuff in my room, like her big red hoodie. It smells like her. |
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| NO. |
[Jul. 21st, 2006|05:22 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | israel, jew, politics | ] |
| [ | If I wasn't apathetic, I'd be |
| |  irritated | ] |
| [ | Play it for me |
| | Shotey HaNevua - Ba'Malon Be'Rabat Amon | ] |
I will NOT talk about Israel.
I am not Pro-Israel. I am not Pro-Palestinian. There are militant extremists on both sides, and both sides have made some big mistakes. Both sides have made some headway too, though.
Israel has other issues that do not involve Palestinians. If you absolutely must talk about Israel, you will restrict yourself to talking about those other problems. Said problems include:
- Racism against Ethiopian Jews
- Trafficking in women
- Prejudice against Russian immigrants
- The refusal to accept other sects of Judaism
- Institutionalised sexism
This has been a Public Service Announcement. |
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| Matisyahu AGAIN |
[Apr. 16th, 2006|10:37 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | jew, pointless | ] |
| [ | If I wasn't apathetic, I'd be |
| |  awake | ] |
| [ | Play it for me |
| | KHII | ] |
I promise this isn't going to become the All-Matisyahu, All-the-Time blog. But as to the question I asked few days ago-- I actually found a clip (perportedly from a version of "Tzama Lecha Nafshi" that hasn't been put on a CD yet) of him singing the Yechi.
If you can't make it out, what he's saying is "Yerushalayim, we gotta come home, moshiach now, I want moshiach now; if you didn’t know, yechi adoneinu moreinu v’rabbeinu melech hamoshiach l’olam vo’ed." Which translates to: "May our Master, Teacher, and Rabbi, the King Messiah, live forever."
So... who knows. Matisyahu hasn't said anything publically (apparently, when asked about the Rebbe's messianic candidacy, he responded: "He was definitely one of the candidates, if there are any candidates. I believe and I see how it could be.")
That's that. |
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| I have a question about Matisyahu |
[Apr. 14th, 2006|01:44 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | jew, pointless | ] |
| [ | If I wasn't apathetic, I'd be |
| |  bored | ] |
| [ | Play it for me |
| | Matisyahu - Youth | ] |
Does anyone know if he says the "Yehi"? Is he a messianist?
I don't really care much, I'm just curious.
I also have a very low opinion of his intelligence. I'm not orthodox and I knew he shouldn't be stagediving if he was going to be shomer negiah. Yet somehow he never thought of this.
Also, I'm wondering how he's going to handle it if he's nominated for a Grammy. Orthodox men aren't supposed to hear any woman bu his wife singing. Think he just won't go to the ceremony? |
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| Oof |
[Apr. 11th, 2006|12:53 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | jew, personal, random, school | ] |
| [ | If I wasn't apathetic, I'd be |
| |  all mixed up inside | ] |
| [ | Play it for me |
| | Fall Out Boy - I Slept With Someone In Fall Out Boy... | ] |
So. I was rejected from the Day School Education program for the second year in a row-- this time I didn't even make it to the interview round (which sucks cause I have all sorts of neat experiences I wanted to talk about). I think I'll give it up.
I'm still not sure if this is what I want to do with my life, but I will admit that being able to lead stuff by myself without worrying about what other teachers/CITs are thinking is NICE. (For those who don't know, I got an emergency call from work last weekend and ended up spending this past weekend with a group of 70 eighth graders. We were way understaffed, so each couselor had a group of kids to themselves rather than doubling up the way they usually do. It was an interesting weekend, and as fun as it was I'm glad I have this week off.) So I'll look into some Masters programs in Judaic Education, and finally fill out the damn applications for Library Science Masters programs and see whether I actually get any bites before I let myself fall into despair.
In other news, I went to the doctor to ask about a pain in my foot, and she think I probably bruised or sprained something when I wasn't looking. Also she gave me a referral to go see a girly-doctor, since I haven't been to see one yet. Yay.
In even more other news: Real Boys Suck. Do you know who the best fake boy in the world is? Yep. comixologist. She is my favoritest fake boy ever. Do you see my icon? I made it because I love her so. |
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| Matisyahu's in the news. Again. |
[Mar. 27th, 2006|07:03 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | jew | ] |
| [ | If I wasn't apathetic, I'd be |
| |  dorky | ] |
| [ | Play it for me |
| | Matisyahu - Chop 'em Down | ] |
From J., the Bay Area Jewish Weekly: Chassidic reggae artist’s rise to stardom elicits controversy
And for those of you who don't feel like clicking the link, fulltext is under the cut.
( Jew-boy be takin' our culture, ya )
Why does this feel to me like they're making way too much of something? I mean WAY too much. Sure, he's appropriating culture. All OVER the place. Dude, he's not even a Lubavitcher by birth. He's not only adopted "black" music, but "Jewish" culture.
I mean, I'll be the first to admit that the man's lyrics are mediocre. On the other hand, he has a voice that in another lifetime would probably earn him a place as a cantor who could sing the angels into opening the gates of heaven. It says something that a guy singing about Jewish themes (with a messianic tinge, oy) can get the mainstream approval that most Christian rock bands would KILL for. |
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| Back from Jew camp |
[Feb. 6th, 2006|01:57 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | jew, pointless | ] |
| [ | If I wasn't apathetic, I'd be |
| | dancing | ] |
| [ | Play it for me |
| | The Fools of Prophecy (Shotei Ha'nevua) - Ha'yeladim Kofzim | ] |
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HAYELADIM KOFTZIM |
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THE KIDS ARE JUMPING |
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Kol Hayeladim Koftzim Rokdim |
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All the Children are Jumping and Dancing |
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Kol hayeladim koftzim rokdim…
Merimim et hayadayim
Gav’oah lashamayim
Lasim et hayadayim
Al hamotnayim
Lasim et hayadayim
Al haktefayim
Lasim et hayadayim
Al harosh
Velispor achat, stayim, shalosh!
Kol hayeladim koftzim rokdim…
Shevet yehuda bishnat alpayim
Haruach menashevet al hamayim
Bo na’aleh lyirushalayim
Venarim et hayadayim
Gavo’ah lashamayim
Kol hayeladim koftzim rokdim…
Kmo kofim kmo kofim
Kmo anashim yafim
Kmo mal’achim me’ofefim
Shemerimim et hayadayim
Gavoa’ah lashamayim.
Haneshamah parchah
Haguf roked levad achshav
Ki od lo samta lev od
Lo ra’ita ma nimtzah uma
Chaser hayiom over umitchalef
Lo brachot veatta adayin
Sham bekesem hayaldut.
Hayeladim koftzim
Mishtolelim rokdim
Hem lo ro’im shachor
Ki hem betoch ha’or
Kedei lir’ot bahir tzarich
Latzet latchelet hagadol
Al ta’atzom enayim
Vetir’e et kol hatov.
Hayeladim koftzim...
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All the children jump, dance...
Rise their hands
High to the sky
Lets put hands
on the hips
Lets put hands
on the shoulders
Lets put hands
on the head
and lets count one, two, three!
All the children jump, dance...
Yehudah’s tribe in the year 2000
The wind blows on the water
Come, lets go to Jerusalem
Ands lets rise the hands
High to the sky
All the children jump, dance...
Like apes, like apes
Like beautiful people
Like flying angels
Who rise their hands
High to the sky
The soul is gone away
The body is dancing alone now
‘couse you didn’t pay attention yet
you din’t see what is there yet
and what isn’t there. The day passes
and changes greetings, and you are still
there in the magic of youth.
The children jump,
go wild, dance.
They don’t see black,
‘cause they are within the light
To see clear you need to
go out to the big sky-blue
Don’t close your eyes
And you will see all the good…
The children jump…
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tired
WTF