our own oddities

as a kid i would sometimes get embarrassed by certain quirks of family members. when i grew up i realized that every family has their quirks even quirks that i thought were unique to my own family. that's definitely one good thing about being an adult, you realize that all families are a little odd and yet we move along with our lives as if  they don't exist.

American Girl Target of Extremist Jews in Israel

what is interesting about this whole conflict is that is religious jew against religious jew.  i appreciate that it is noted by haddassah margolese that no woman should be harrassed walking down the street no matter how she is dressed. it is very important that she mentions this. it is not just bad for hadassah and her daughter because they are religious, it is bad for this to happen to any jewish woman in israel no matter if she is religious or not.
every charedi jew in israel is not enforcing violence against those who disagree with them , its just that because they themselves arent affected by the violence they don't protest.
there is a poem that goes sort of like this that says it all
when they came for the chinese i wasn't chinese so i didn't say anything, 
when they came for the blacks, i wasnt black so i didnt say anything .
when they came for the jews i wasn't jewish so i didn't say anything. 
when they came for the greeks, i wasn't greek so i didn't say anything, 
and so on,
but when they came for me there was no one left to save me

the descendents

i saw the movie 'the descendents' with george clooney on sunday. its the story of a man whose wife was in a boating accident , is on life support and the effect it has on the family members . death can be sudden and random. it suddenly hits and forever changes the loved ones who remain alive whether they like it or not. no one assumes their new life gracefully, but we manage to survive it anyway.
'the descendents' is not so prolific, but  anyone who has  experienced an unexpected death of a loved one can relate to it. anyone who has suffered the loss of a loved one can relate to it.
it is a film worth watching even if you wait until it goes to netflix.

the language of friendship

everyone looks at things a little bit differently. the problem arises when two people think so differently it is like they are speaking different languages. this can be ok if both parties realize this . if only one party is aware this relationship is doomed .unfortunately i have had this happen to me often. i always realize that the other person just doesn't understand what i am saying or where i am coming from. often i make allowances for their lack of understanding, but eventually when i lose my patience the friendship blows up. many people think everyone must think the way they do. consideration for differences must go both ways. one party can't always pick up the slack.

Happy Chanukah from UJA Federation

i just had to post this one. these kids are too cute

The story of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza

as you can see there is nothing new under the sun. unfortunately. may we all learn from the past so we are not doomed to repeat it. may the geula come sooner rather than later.
this video is a little long but it gets the point across .

peace now

i think that a lot of jews believe that v'ahavtah l'rayacha komoch means you just have to love your fellow jew that  is kamocha. or at least the charedim in beit shemesh believe this. does anyone remember why the beis hamikdash was destroyed? hmmmm i seem to remember it was due to sinas chinam amongst jews.

today we celebrate chanukah about the rededication of the beis hamikdash. g-d help us all. hopefully moshiach will come soon. we need some peace amongst our own brethren.

Segregated Buses?! - the Dry Bones Blog

this is one way of looking at the issue...Segregated Buses?! - the Dry Bones Blog

How Do You Spell Channukkahh

the value of a mitzvah.

do you think that there is value in each and every mitzvah a person does, or is it the sum total that is important?

i believe that every mitzvah a person does has value no matter how many or few.

i think that every mitzvah a person does scores "points" with the one above. some of us may do more mitzvos than others, but it does not mean that if someone does fewer mitzvos that those they perform do not count. in a way they count more because it may be more difficult for them to actually do those they actually do.

judaism is not all or nothing. the torah is broken down into 613 mitzvos instead of being just one chunk for a reason. i believe that it is because it would be too overwhelming to be tackled all in one shot . its much easier to achieve total observance bit by bit  (mitzvah by mitzvah).

Watch this.... You will definitely share this......mp4

i love this video. it displays the true meaning of mitzvah goreret mitzvah. if only we could clearly see the effects of kindness as this video does. if only people were always this kind.

"The Kung Fu Maccabees" sing Chanuka lighting

this is just the cutest chanukah video that i have seen ever. enjoy!

art is in the eye of the beholder

when i spotted this pendant at a booth in bryant park i thought that it was a menorah pendant . when i looked up the artist's website www.momoglass.com i found out that the artist calls this pendant a flower pendant. i could care less what the artist imagined this pendant. to me its a  menorah. turns out the artist is israeli and when i  stopped by the booth again i told the salesgirl in the booth that i thought to pendant looked like a menorah and she said that others had told her that before. i think that this is cool. then again  it is also cool that a jewish artist makes flower pendants that resemble menorahs even if he does not intend to.
i wore this pendant to work today and  a jewish  customer told me that she really liked my menorah necklace . i said thank you . then again , when i asked a gentile co-worker what she thought the pendant was of she told me it looked like a flower. so hey , you never know. i think that its wonderful that a menorah can look like a beautiful flower.
happy first night of chanukkah!

Chanuka, Oh Chanukah!

have an incredible chanukah!

The Jewish Museum New York | Art Exhibition | New York Jewish Film Festival 2012: Films and Times

The Jewish Museum New York | Art Exhibition | New York Jewish Film Festival 2012: Films and Times
its that time of year again. almost . the jewish film festival will be january 11-26 , 2012. there will be a lot of good films. if you don't decide to go i will review the ones that i like on this blog so you will know which will be worth catching at a later date.

weiss' bakery on ave m

the VERY best sufganiot in flatbush can be purchased at weiss' bakery on avenue m. there are 3 choices- caramel filled, custard filled or jelly filled. i'm not  a big fan of jelly donuts so i didn't try one there, but the custard filled and the caramel filled are THE best. if you are going to ingest a billion calories these donuts are the best way to go.

Pella Productions Presents - Holiday Party (Tonight Tonight)

hmm... these guys look a little older than the maccabeats. are any of them single??

on matisyahu

when i first heard of matisyahu i was intrigued. he was a chasidic reggae singer. i can't say that i followed his career much since reggae isn't my thing. i did however register hearing about his break with lubavitch and his recent  beard shaving.
on you tube i listened to matisyahu's recent interview where he speaks about his beard shaving. it was very profound. he said that when he became frum he felt he needed to immerse himself in all things religious but now he feels that things would still be cool if he shaved his beard. oh and that he still is observant. i found this profound as well as a bit uncomforting.
often when people become frum they go about it full force. sometimes this is what keeps them there. other times it spells trouble. they take on mitzvot too quickly before they are really ready and eventually its just too much all at once and then they let go of it all. this does not always happen . with some its just a personality thing. this is how they approach everything which actually is how matisyahu described himself. i think that its any one's guess what will happen. he may be just taking some time to normalize and he may still remain religious. i do not know what has perpetuated this quest of his. i don't know if something happened to make him feel this way or if it was the natural course of things that brought him to this point. it must be especially difficult to go through this stage as a public figure. i wish him well. i hope he figures things out , remains frum and becomes stronger for it.

shabbat shalom

every week i vow to get more sleep and every week it is the same. i do not get enough sleep. the weekend is almost here and  i do not have many weekend plans so my sleep debt will go down . have a good shabbos everyone. zzzz....zzzz....

gone but not really

 when someone close passes on it is upsetting because they are no longer alive. you can't speak to them anymore. you can't spend time with them anymore. oddly as final as death is what no one ever manages to tell you is that though they are no longer with us physically they are still alive and well in your thoughts. their  memory lives on in your memories. in a way they are no longer themselves as they are a part of you.
my paternal grandparents passed twenty years ago. it doesn't seem that long ago i know they are gone, but i still feel their presence.. my maternal grandmother passed away almost ten years ago. it took me a long time to get over her passing. she was such a strong force of  life. i missed her laugh and the love only a grandparent can impart. my dad passed away a year and a half ago. i don't know where the time has gone. so many memories. so much left unsaid. i have learned that even though someone has passed one still has time to re-examine one's relationship with them. though it may have been better to have done this when the person was still alive its better late than never. they still live on in your brain so you best try to sort things out.
people only pass away physically.

Honika Electronica

yeah i know. its yet another hanukkah video. this one is corny and yet ultra cute. it has that seventies chick that shows up so often in jewish satire. check it out.!

"The Shidduch Hits the Fan" - The Groggers

this video made me laugh.

The Maccabeats - Miracle - Matisyahu - Hanukkah

i like the maccabeats version  of  this song much better than the actual matisyahu video of this song. i also like the fact that women are included in the video. its also cool that mayim bialik and her two sons are featured in this video.

¡Shabbat Shalom!

this is the cutest video. i could not resist posting it! enjoy! oh, and have a great shabbos all!

the perfect purse

i have been looking for the perfect purse for the past ten years. about ten years ago the armpit purse became in style . an armpit purse is a purse with a short strap so the purse sits right under your armpit if you wear it over your shoulder. i find the idea of an armpit purse extremely impractical for new york city living. besides i like purses with long straps so i can position my purse over my shoulder and across my body. this way my purse will be secure and un-smelly.
i also do not like the purses that have a front pocket that opens into a wallet . its a great idea but often these pocket wallets have zippers that unzip on three corners which makes me fear i may lose the contents every time i open it. if i just opt not to use this feature i feel like its a waste of purse space and it must be weighing me down  so why bother?
i don't like purses that don't zip shut or have a zipper that doesn't totally zip up as is often  the case. i never quite understood this feature. why buy a purse that doesn't completely enclose my valuables ?
about two weeks ago i bought a purse that is near perfect. the shoulder strap is long enough, it does not have a built in wallet and the zipper on the main section mostly closes shut. it would be the perfect purse if the main section was slightly wider so it wasn't such a tight fit for my kindle, but the fact that my kindle fits at all is pretty cool.  this purse is also a neutral color and light weight . its leather so i don't have to worry if i forget  an umbrella. the contents of my purse will stay dry.

ili world leather makes this perfect purse. ili  has a booth at the bryant park, union square and columbus circle holiday markets in nyc.  i am in love.

Chanukah Jewish Rock of Ages - Official Hanukkah Video

and so it begins. the viral videos of the chanukah  season. this one is pretty good. the only problem that i have with these spoofs is that it makes me want to listen to the originals . the only one that i actually liked better than the originals is the maccabeats  candlelight video. i like their version better than tao cruz and mike tompkins' versions.

New York Times Rocket Into Roses

talk about making lemons into lemonade this man makes missiles into menorahs. it is truly beautiful. it takes an amazing person to even think of doing something like this. he really personifies gam zu l'tovah. .

secret admirer

often the only guy willing to approach a woman at a singles event is the nerdy guy one doesn't want to go out with. even though said woman does not have any interest in said nerd, she still must give him credit for actually having the oomph to actually approach her.
i was talking to one of the "nerdier" types recently . i hate to label him as such. he really is a nice person even though i do not know anyone i would set him up with.  anyway, he was telling me how he is still interested in my friend, but she doesn't give him the time of day. the sad part is he was so sincere that i really felt bad. it wouldn't help for me to intervene on his behalf because i know that she would not appreciate him or even appreciate hearing about his sincere interest in her.  she would just think "oy why do only the nerds show interest in me?" so i  won't bother irritating her. too bad though. its always nice to have an admirer even if its not mutual .

must drive car

among the geriatric set the most important requirement of a romantic partner is that he/she must still be able to drive a car. this of course makes me pause and think . is this what it all boils down to ?  what  does  this mean for   singles under 80 ? perhaps this means that the most important quality in a partner is if he/she can get you where you need to go. for the geriatric this means a car, for those of us who don't yet qualify for medicare this might simply mean "does this person help us get where we need to be in life?"  not so simple to answer and i wish just having a valid driver's licence would do the trick.

single gender buses

all this talk about women sitting in the back of the bus and men sitting in the front of the bus on "mehadrin" buses in  israel has made me not want to visit israel again.  after much thought i've come up with a better solution. there should be single gender buses in israel. this way no one has to be designated back of the bus status. i find it insulting to pay full fare for a bus ticket and not be able to sit anywhere i would like on a bus. if there were separate gender buses i would be much less insulted by the separation of the sexes. im not quite sure how family outings would go if there were gender separate buses, but i suspect there is not much whole family time among those who require separate seating on buses.
i don't understand the reasoning for making the women sit in the back of buses or making men and women walk on separate sides of the sidewalk. i suppose there need to be different hours of the day for men and women to shop in a grocery store or the post office. perhaps men and women should live in separate homes and children should only be conceived via artificial insemination. after birth the child should live with the mother if she is a girl and with the father if he is a boy.
 i would imagine it matters less who you marry if men and women are so separate. you cant squabble if you don't spend all that much time together.
every generation adds their own chumrahs , but this one of extreme separation of the sexes would make me go  otd  if i was part of a community that upheld such laws.
p.s. its worse than i even thought in israel. i just found this failed messiah .