Happy Anniversary

This blog is now one year old. Unlike some blogs with more erudite bloggers or other blogs with more shkutzishe bloggers, this blog has not been a roaring success in terms of readership.

However, I appear from the numbers to have some steadies.

And I'm still giving voice to an opinion I feel should be heard.

This is my way of speaking out against de-facto hypocrisy, and against a hijacking of our religion by new and foreign anti technology influences.
But while the internet can and broaden out one's contacts, thoughts and knowledge of viewpoints within Rabbinic Judaism, it does not and cannot be allowed to dilute our commitment to Torah and the service of Hashem.

May the blessing of Chanuka reach us all abundantly. The Chashmonoyim fought a form of forced and mindless thought conformity. Such attempts at thought control have historically never succeeded long term, and they will not succeed today.
We will find a way, BE"H.

Poster Mania IX - How the Poster Writers Learn a Mishna

This week's gem brings a mishna in Kiddushin 82-A (last mishna).

The poster says that there are three parnosas:

• Ship Captains
• Camel Drivers
• Donkey Drivers

The poster says these three are are tzadikim, benonim, and reshoim, respectively.
It then asks what you want to be.
The poster boys generously say the choice is yours: if you are on the internet for parnosa (sic) -you are a Rosha, and have the option of choosing a parnosa of tzadikim or benonim.

The mishna, (per Rashi) interestingly details various pros and cons of types of careers.
It says that these three particular vocations (above) are tzadikim, benonim, or reshoim because (a) ship captains pray a great deal due to the dangers of sailing. (b) Camel drivers also pray a lot because they lead caravans through the dangerous desert. Plus, camels eat permitted hefker foods in the wilderness. (c) Donkey drivers' animals, however, eat food which is owned by others from private fields, thereby stealing.

So there are two operative factors here. Prayer (due to danger) and stealing.

Internet users, most of whom have honest parnosas, many of whom work on the books, certainly steal less than those who are on various government programs for which they do not really qualify. Moreover, they even have less temptation to steal than most storeowners (and maybe even some klei kodesh?). So by the mishna's logic, who is more righteous?

And if the poster boys really feel the internet is dangerous (which to a greater or lesser extent it is) then the tefilos of us users not to succomb would put us in to the category of tzadikim!

So I propose that Chazal have more nachas from us than from them.

But where did they learn how to learn a mishna?

No Fool Like an Old Fool?

John Murtha (b 1932) complaining about lack of attention from the White House:

"None. None. Zero. Not one call," a baffled Murtha told Newsweek. "I don't know who the hell they're talking to. If they talked to people, they wouldn't get these outbursts. If they'd talked to me, it wouldn't have happened."

Quote of the Day - 12/13

Princeton Professor of History (Specializing in Islamic and Mid-East) Bernard Lewis:

"I think now when I look back that if Churchill and his team had had to face the same sort of opposition as does President Bush, Hitler might well have won the war. They are more dangerous than Hitler because we are not as firm as we were with Hitler. And also times have changed. We didn't confront the possibility of nuclear terrorists with suicidal ambitions."

MSM and the Bush Speech

After the better part of a decade of 'new media' talking about mainstream media bias, I felt the issue had been put to sleep both by repetition and by MSM efforts to better balance their coverage.

Well I just got off a plane. One of those planes which has televised news (and televised MTV garbage). And I admit without pride that after reviewing the sedra a while I checked out the news. When the news mentioned President Bush making a major speech at 11:15am I resolved to tune in, since I never have the occasion to hear an entire speech.

The speech struck me as earnest, straightforward, and thoughtful. The Q & A afterward was candid. The president made many interesting points, including one that Israel's last best hope is the democratization of the Arab world. I realize there can be honest differences of opinion about this, but that worthwhile debate is not my point here.
In the Q & A, the president answered a question asking how many Iraqi deaths resulted from the freeing of Iraq, and responded 'about 30,000'.

Well. on the way home from the airport I tuned in to WCBS to get the traffic report. After the traffic came the hourly network news. The Bush speech was the lead. It went: "President Bush admits to 30,000 deaths in Iraq" No further excerpt , no summary, nothing.

Then Newsradio 88 carried a lengthy antiwar kickback from Congressman Murtha ending "we will not leave Iraq for 25 years".

The Rushs and Seans still have a valid point, amazingly enough.
[Bush Speech]

Debate and the Chareidi Jew

Rabbi Berel Wein, doyenne of Jewish History, makes an important point in his November 18 article on Jewish History .

Throughout Jewish history, debate was the primary means of determining truth. Chazal's modus operandi was debate, which in and of itself carries a lesson for us.
Per Rabbi Wein, in recent times, strong Zionist leaders felt it unnecessary to give reasons for their decisions, and brooked no debate.

Only in recent times did major litvish and chassidish leaders (or their hangers-on) expect to be followed without rationale, discussion, or question.

Do you think that Gedolim of the past tolerated debate?

Has Hashem indeed changed his modus operandi?
orthodox jews and internet

Poster Mania VIII

In this week's Luach Hamoados there is a small box containing a picture of a boy and a dinosaur referring one to an accompanying poster.
The accompanying poster shows a sequential cartoon of a boy metamorphing into a dinosaur with horns as he uses a computer.

Kudos on the poster boys graduating to multimedia, such as it is.

Where did these guys learn about dinosaurs and cartoons (comics)?