Last Licks

It's the last Shabbos of the year.

We all turn to thoughts of self betterment and making up with our Creator at this time of the year.

There's a saying, particularly popular in chassidishe circles (hakol holech acher hachitum), equivalent to 'all's well that ends well'. Or to put it another way, in the never ending fight with our baser side, the side which lands the punch at the end of the boxing match wins.

I, and perhaps many of us, have plenty to regret the past year.

Let's make this last Shabbos of the year our own 'knockout punch', and show the ref upstairs how we want him to remember us when he views the replay videos.

Let's watch our eyes, our mouth, say 'Good Shabbos' to people who don't dress like us or speak the same language, use the remaining time well, and be grateful for one brain, two hands, two feet, and not being so hungry we can't think of anything else . Maybe learn a little bit more.

And recognize the fact that in the past year the besheffer didn't see fit to drown us in an attic desperately trying to bang our way out.

Shabbat Shalom
Git Shabbos
Good Shabbos

Rejected But Not Dejected

Here's an article rejected by the chareidi mainstream media (Hamodia, Yated, etc).
Contest: Why was it rejected?

• Bad writing (specify)
• Mentions Clint Eastwood
• Mentions saliva
• We don't pay taxes
• Tax lawyers and accountants torpedoed it
• Someone suspected the author knows a blogger
• They never print anything stupid
• Other
• All of the above

I've posted it on a separate blog (shortschrift.blogspot.com) because I didn't want to put such a a large post here.

Commenting is turned off there but very welcome here.

The author of the article has published numerous times in chareidi MSM in the past, including last week.


(Liberal blogging brethren: yes the article is conservative in outlook and yes, you can comment on that, but that's not why it was rejected)

Any body else with a chareidi MSM reject? Be my guest to post it! E-mail me at leapa@gmail.com.

Poster Watch V

Lo Yira L'cho Ervas Dovor = Cell Phones !

I'm glad these guys have cleaned up everything else in time for the new year.

Heads Up!

Looks like Rabbi Gil Student of Hirhurim is getting ready to deal with the issurim on the Internet here.

Can't wait.

Reaping What we Sow

Well, it's come to BP. An Internet Cafe. No filter, 'private computers'.

By not grabbing control of the situation and providing such facilities in a filtered and supervised manner, we've let an enterprise catering to those who need 'private computers' establish a place right in the middle of Boro Park.

And you thought kids in the public library was bad.

Poster Watch IV - Dead Man Walking

Note: I do not necessarily presume that the quoted Rabbonim made the statements attributed to them on the posters, and neither should you.


Skulener Rebbe

" Internet is a zichere toite, R'L"

(Internet will surely kill its users)

Will the Real Daas Torah Please Stand Up?

If you are a computer professional, please see post below.
Thank you!

In the back of the September Jewish Observer, there is an advertisement for Hamodia containing a letter from Gedolei Yisroel* pre WWI regarding the original Hamodia.

The letter begins by explaining how in recent decades people have become "enthusiastic followers of the news and avid readers of journalists . . .every group . . . has established its own 'press' . . .lately Torah Jews are . . . slowly but surely being enticed to read and listen to the voices of outside journalists who, through high sounding clarion calls have ensnared the hearts of some Jews . . .
Therefore, our nation's largest group, kain yirbu, those who fear Hashem and live their lives in the spirit of our written Torah as well as our ancient mesorah, remain bereft of the one tool accepted among all civilized nations; a newspaper, througn which they can express their world-view, their Daas Torah, regarding major events both in their own country and in the world. And, due to this lack of a newspaper, Torah Jewry's voice is denied to the greater Jewish populace, who have little knowledge of their nation's origin, its centuries-old way of life, and the Torah that is its principal guiding light.
To right this wrong, and to fill this void, we need to establish a daily newspaper . . ."

The letter concludes with an appeal to subscribe to Hamodia.

This letter was written in 1911. During the latter part of the Czarist period newspapers were both state of technology and the almost exclusive means of mass communication. Hamodia was an alternative to the enticements in the outside press, as indeed the print version is today, and a voice to those outside our 'village'.

Today of course, every major secular print newspaper is falling in circulation and all are desperately trying to solidify their web presence as the key to their future, as well as aggressively competing with blogs.
A non-committed Jew, or non-Jew seeking out our point of view, will certainly not encounter the print-only Hamodia (a fine and a needed publication) in his or her search. And I'd venture most chareidim with non teaching and non physical occupations sit in front of an internet connected desk all day. And use it for news and views.

So how are we fulfilling the mandate of the Gedolim?

Oh. Wait.

On the bottom of the page in it says: "Hamodia - The More the World Changes . . . The More We Don't"

Is this what the signatories had in mind when they established Hamodia?


* The letter is signed by (not complete):

Karliner Rebbe
R' Chaim Soloveitchick (Brisk)
R' Chaim Ozer Grodzenski
Gerer Rebbe (Imrei Emes)
Sokolover Rebbe
Ostrovtzer Rebbe
Amshinover Rebbe
Radziner Rebbe
Vorker Rebbe
Piltzer Rov
Kotzker Rebbe (R Tzvi Hirsh)
Sochatchover Rebbe (Shem M'Shmuel)
Alexanderer Rebbe (R' Shmuel)

Help !!!

My columns are now messed up in IE. The sidebar is below all posts.
I switched templates in an attempt to fix this, but no luck.

Anyone have any ideas?

(It looks fine in Firefox)

Poster Watch III

Well, the poster kanoyim are back from the bungalows and raring for yenem to do tshuva.

In the spirit of Elul, we'll replace the title 'Postermania' with Poster Watch.
There, yetzer hora!

Hyperbole Alert

Friday September 9:

Rabbi Shimshon Pinkus z"l ( he could not confirm the quote from his current venue):

". . .we have to fear the internet like we fear an atom bomb . . ."

Any questions, comments? The poster sponsors tell us to call (866)688-3754

The Kosher Newspaper That's Treif on the Net

Quote from Hamodia Monday September 5:

Rabbi (Yisroel) Shiff of New Orleans re a missing congregant: ". . . We have contacted his relatives and did searches using [electronic media]. So far nothing has come up . . . " (Bolding mine)

Question for Hamodia censors: If one wants to search for someone using 'electronic media' would one be better served starting with BET or MTV?

Note: We are noting censorship issues. Hamodia, as the first Orthodox daily, performs a valuable public service.

Huh? Issur or Hatzalah Problem?

What is the meaning of this? (Without endangering Hatzalah, please)

One would think after the recent New Orleans hurricane (see two posts below on Sept 1) as well as 9-11, the internet would be useful to a life saving organization like Hatzalah.
Hat tip: Dov Bear

Sorry

Because of the chazerim who want to make blogs the newest means of spam, I've had to impose word verification for comments.

Please comment anyway.

Good Shabbos.

Bais HaLevee II

Here are two comments I am reprinting as a posting. The link does not work, but I will attempt to track it down. Here it is. If any residents of New Orleans vicinity or concerned outsiders want to post here or utilize us, please do!

Chabad of Metairie (a large New Orleans suburb now mostly underwater) rabbi Yossi Nemes is trapped in his house. Rather than leaving, Rabbi Nemes decided he and his family would help to shelter people who for whatever reason remained in New Orleans and did not go to the Superdome. Now 13 people are on the second floor of the house, unable to go downstairs or leave because of rising floodwaters, and are running out of water. Rabbi Nemes contacted his parents earlier today to say that everyone was still safe, but time is not on anyone’s side in New Orleans. So please, everyone here, say a prayer for the safety of Rabbi Nemes, his family, and everyone still trapped in the New Orleans area.Meanwhile, the 11,000 Jews of New Orleans are all homeless and scattered across the country. Please do what you can to help them, materially, spiritually, whatever. New Orleans’ Jewish community is almost three hundred years old - don’t let this be the end of it. You can read updates about the state of the exiled New Orleans Jewish community and about the situation of Rabbi Nemes on Chabad New Orleans rabbi Yochanan Rivkin’s blog here.

2nd Post:
Rabbi Nemes is on His Way Out 8/31 6:17 PMWe are definite that Rabbi Nemes has made it out of New Orleans, and he is on his way to Memphis, Tennesee . Thank G-d!Tonight, Rabbi Goldman has organized a prayer service at Chabad House here for Sarah and I to lead. We expect over 200 students to participate.

Why Chareidi Media Need Web Presence

I picked up the following from Marketwatch.com, but could have just as easily illustrated my point from any one of a number of blogs providing important info and news about the situation in New Orleans. Bolding mine.

New Orleans media tell story online
By Frank Barnako, MarketWatchLast Update: 10:53 AM ET Aug 31, 2005
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The mainstream media in New Orleans are using new media to report the horror in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Owning a printing press or a broadcasting tower was useless, Jeff Jarvis told The New York Times. "The Web proved to be a better media in a case like this." He is the former president of Advance.net which manages the Web sites of the Newhouse chain of newspapers.
One of those papers and New Orleans' largest, the Times-Picayune, has used the Internet to report the story. Its NOLA.com Web site has been the focus. Unable to publish on paper, PDF files of daily editions have been posted. Wednesday's front page headline was, "UNDERWATER." Read it here. Yesterday's headline was "CATASTROPHE".
NOLA.com is being run from computers in a data center in New Jersey, Jarvis said. The site features stories and photos from the newspaper's reporters and readers, as well as a resource guide for emergency services, and postings about missing persons and lost and found items.
Belo Corp.'s (BLC) TV station in the Big Easy, WWL, has been streaming broadcast coverage over the Internet, using a tower and transmitter outside New Orleans. Wednesday morning, one of the anchors said streaming over the Internet was a way to alert people around the world to the tragedy and encourages relief donations and volunteer efforts.
The station's Web site delivered about 6 million page views on Monday, roughly 25 times the average day, according to LostRemote.com. "Tens of thousands" of people were also watching the live stream, a Belo spokesman said. The station also launched a Web log. Watch WWL-TV. Read the WWL blog.
The Internet's role in telling Katrina's story has made it more important than cable television, according to Rafat Ali, publisher of PaidContent.org. "More people are watching online than on TV," he wrote. Fox, CNN and MSNBC had about 7 million viewers on Sunday, Ali said, while CNN.com reported it, alone, had 10 million visitors. MSNBC.com said it served more than 3.5 million videos Monday.
Meanwhile, a group of Web loggers is organizing Blog for Relief Day, "A day of blogging focused on raising awareness of and funds for efforts to aid those affected by Hurricane Katrina," said Hugh Hewitt, publisher of the "Truth Laid Bear" Web log. His site listed almost four dozen blogs which have begun soliciting funds for relief organizations.


In my humble opinion, not being on the net may be not making basic hishtadlus.