A depressing political rerun

From a March 6, 2025 Newsweek article titled "Elon Musk Issues USPS Warning:"

"DOGE head Elon Musk, during a virtual appearance at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media, and Telecom Conference: "I think logically we should privatize anything that can reasonably be privatized. I think we should privatize the Post Office and Amtrak, for example...We should privatize everything we possibly can."

I've been trying for days to figure out what and/or how to write about the current crisis in the US government. But I finally realized that I already wrote the post . . . on November 3, 2022.  Here's my Tuesday, November 03, 2020 post "This U.S. presidential election is a referendum on libertarianism."

Trump’s vendetta against the federal government: Why?

Here’s my two-part theory regarding why Trump hates the federal government and its employees.

Part one:  Money, obviously

Since it’s impossible to run the federal government and pay federal employees without taxes, cutting the size of the federal government and eliminating government employees by the thousands should result in  a lower tax rate.  What happens to the people who need the services that the federal government provides is of little concern to Trump.  His goal is to keep his money and that of his rich cronies in his and their own pockets. 

Of course Trump is choosing agency leaders who want to destroy, or at least partially disable, the agencies that they’re chosen to lead.  What a great way to save money.  😡

Part two:  Ego

Trump said it himself:  “Only I can fix it.”  I’m convinced that he has a god complex—I think he really believes he’s omniscient.  Consequently, he sees anyone who has more expertise and/or experience than he has as an insult and a personal threat, and will do whatever he can to get rid of and/or discredit them, no matter the consequence(s).  For example, he turned the wearing of face-masks during an air-borne pandemic into a loyalty test just to make himself look like a tough guy and score political points at the expense of the Centers for Disease Control.  Millions of people died of COVID-19 unnecessarily as a result. 

So of course Trump chose Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., a notorious opponent of vaccination, to head the Department of Health and Human Services.  Since Kennedy is completely ignorant regarding anything health-related, he’s the perfect choice for someone who prefers to be surrounded by ignorant people who make him look good by comparison.

Parashat Mishpatim and the mess in America

Parashat Mishpatim/Exodus chapter 21, verses 7-11 (copied from Sefaria):

"When a parent sells a daughter as a slave, she shall not go free as other slaves do.

אִם־רָעָ֞ה בְּעֵינֵ֧י אֲדֹנֶ֛יהָ אֲשֶׁר־[ל֥וֹ] (לא) יְעָדָ֖הּ וְהֶפְדָּ֑הּ לְעַ֥ם נׇכְרִ֛י לֹא־יִמְשֹׁ֥ל לְמׇכְרָ֖הּ בְּבִגְדוֹ־בָֽהּ׃

If she proves to be displeasing to her master, who designated her for himself, he must let her be redeemed; he shall not have the right to sell her to outsiders, since he broke faith with her.

וְאִם־לִבְנ֖וֹ יִֽיעָדֶ֑נָּה כְּמִשְׁפַּ֥ט הַבָּנ֖וֹת יַעֲשֶׂה־לָּֽהּ׃

And if the master designated her for a son, he shall deal with her as is the practice with free maidens.

אִם־אַחֶ֖רֶת יִֽקַּֽח־ל֑וֹ שְׁאֵרָ֛הּ כְּסוּתָ֥הּ וְעֹנָתָ֖הּ לֹ֥א יִגְרָֽע׃

If he takes another [into the household as his wife], he must not withhold from this one her food, her clothing, or her conjugal rights.

וְאִ֨ם־שְׁלׇשׁ־אֵ֔לֶּה לֹ֥א יַעֲשֶׂ֖ה לָ֑הּ וְיָצְאָ֥ה חִנָּ֖ם אֵ֥ין כָּֽסֶף׃ {ס}        

If he fails her in these three ways, she shall go free, without payment."

This is a big favor, that a female slave who's been betrayed by her master should be freed without having to buy her freedom?  And how, exactly, is this freed slave supposed to make a living?

Meanwhile, leaving Mishpatim and returning to the mess in America, federal employees are going to work in the morning and returning home unemployed the same day.  And how, exactly, are thousands of suddenly-unemployed people supposed to make a living?

The Bibas tragedy

From Friday's news:

From The Times of Israel: "BREAKING NEWS — IDF: Remains of Kfir and Ariel Bibas identified, but third body sent by Hamas is not their mother Shiri"

I would say that the cruelty is unbelievable, but it's not. I don't know who first posted this, but they're right--"Hamas's weapon is trauma."

 

Update:

Shiri Bibas has finally come home. May her memory be for a blessing.

Malpractice

Trump the Tyrant and Elon the Unelected are like a pair of totally-untrained surgeons trying to excise so-called corruption from the American federal government administrative body--instead of using scalpels to remove any possibly-harmful excess, they're amputating all of the limbs without even bothering to determine whether such a drastic measure is necessary.  😡

Railroad crossing safety: lifesaving information that I've never heard of before!

Copied from Facebook:

**PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT**

IF your vehicle becomes disabled or stuck on a set of railroad tracks, OR you see someone else's vehicle disabled or stuck on a set of railroad tracks, THERE MAY ONLY BE SECONDS TO ACT!!!

IMMEDIATELY...go to the one of the crossing gates and look for the SMALL BLUE SIGN and call the phone number on that sign!

EVERY public roadway crossing in the United States has one of these signs and the phone number will ring directly to the train dispatcher who will ask you a couple questions INCLUDING asking for the Xing # which is the bottom row of the sign.

Once you have communicated this information to the train dispatcher, move yourself and anyone else away from the crossing to a safe area on the side of the roadway and wait for help to arrive. The dispatcher will then STOP all trains in that area until the roadway/crossing is cleared by either law enforcement and/or a railroad official.

Female Heart Attacks: Scary stuff that every person identified as female at birth should know about

An ER nurse says this is the best description of a woman having a heart attack that she has ever heard. Please read, pay attention, and SHARE..........

FEMALE HEART ATTACKS

I was aware that female heart attacks are different, but this is the best description I've ever read.

Women rarely have the same dramatic symptoms that men have ... you know, the sudden stabbing pain in the chest, the cold sweat, grabbing the chest & dropping to the floor that we see in movies. Here is the story of one woman's experience with a heart attack.

I had a heart attack at about 10:30 PM with NO prior exertion, NO prior emotional trauma that one would suspect might have brought it on. I was sitting all snugly & warm on a cold evening, with my purring cat in my lap, reading an interesting story my friend had sent me, and actually thinking, 'A-A-h, this is the life, all cozy and warm in my soft, cushy Lazy Boy with my feet propped up.

A moment later, I felt that awful sensation of indigestion, when you've been in a hurry and grabbed a bite of sandwich and washed it down with a dash of water, and that hurried bite seems to feel like you've swallowed a golf ball going down the esophagus in slow motion and it is most uncomfortable. You realize you shouldn't have gulped it down so fast and needed to chew it more thoroughly and this time drink a glass of water to hasten its progress down to the stomach. This was my initial sensation--the only trouble was that I hadn't taken a bite of anything since about 5:00 p.m.

After it seemed to subside, the next sensation was like little squeezing motions that seemed to be racing up my SPINE (hind-sight, it was probably my aorta spasms), gaining speed as they continued racing up and under my sternum (breast bone, where one presses rhythmically when administering CPR).

This fascinating process continued on into my throat and branched out into both jaws. 'AHA!! NOW I stopped puzzling about what was happening -- we all have read and/or heard about pain in the jaws being one of the signals of an MI happening, haven't we? I said aloud to myself and the cat, Dear God, I think I'm having a heart attack!

I lowered the foot rest dumping the cat from my lap, started to take a step and fell on the floor instead. I thought to myself, If this is a heart attack, I shouldn't be walking into the next room where the phone is or anywhere else... but, on the other hand, if I don't, nobody will know that I need help, and if I wait any longer I may not be able to get up in a moment.

I pulled myself up with the arms of the chair, walked slowly into the next room and dialed the Paramedics... I told her I thought I was having a heart attack due to the pressure building under the sternum and radiating into my jaws. I didn't feel hysterical or afraid, just stating the facts. She said she was sending the Paramedics over immediately, asked if the front door was near to me, and if so, to un-bolt the door and then lie down on the floor where they could see me when they came in.

I unlocked the door and then laid down on the floor as instructed and lost consciousness, as I don't remember the medics coming in, their examination, lifting me onto a gurney or getting me into their ambulance, or hearing the call they made to St. Jude ER on the way, but I did briefly awaken when we arrived and saw that the radiologist was already there in his surgical blues and cap, helping the medics pull my stretcher out of the ambulance. He was bending over me asking questions (probably something like 'Have you taken any medications?') but I couldn't make my mind interpret what he was saying, or form an answer, and nodded off again, not waking up until the Cardiologist and partner had already threaded the teeny angiogram balloon up my femoral artery into the aorta and into my heart where they installed 2 side by side stints to hold open my right coronary artery.

I know it sounds like all my thinking and actions at home must have taken at least 20-30 minutes before calling the paramedics, but actually it took perhaps 4-5 minutes before the call, and both the fire station and St Jude are only minutes away from my home, and my Cardiologist was already to go to the OR in his scrubs and get going on restarting my heart (which had stopped somewhere between my arrival and the procedure) and installing the stents.

Why have I written all of this to you with so much detail? Because I want all of you who are so important in my life to know what I learned first hand.

1. Be aware that something very different is happening in your body, not the usual men's symptoms but inexplicable things happening (until my sternum and jaws got into the act). It is said that many more women than men die of their first (and last) MI because they didn't know they were having one and commonly mistake it as indigestion, take some Maalox or other anti-heartburn preparation and go to bed, hoping they'll feel better in the morning when they wake up... which doesn't happen. My female friends, your symptoms might not be exactly like mine, so I advise you to call the Paramedics if ANYTHING is unpleasantly happening that you've not felt before. It is better to have a 'false alarm' visitation than to risk your life guessing what it might be!

2. Note that I said 'Call the Paramedics.' And if you can take an aspirin. Ladies, TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!

Do NOT try to drive yourself to the ER - you are a hazard to others on the road.

Do NOT have your panicked husband who will be speeding and looking anxiously at what's happening with you instead of the road.

Do NOT call your doctor -- he doesn't know where you live and if it's at night you won't reach him anyway, and if it's daytime, his assistants (or answering service) will tell you to call the Paramedics. He doesn't carry the equipment in his car that you need to be saved! The Paramedics do, principally OXYGEN that you need ASAP. Your Dr. will be notified later.

3. Don't assume it couldn't be a heart attack because you have a normal cholesterol count. Research has discovered that a cholesterol elevated reading is rarely the cause of an MI (unless it's unbelievably high and/or accompanied by high blood pressure). MIs are usually caused by long-term stress and inflammation in the body, which dumps all sorts of deadly hormones into your system to sludge things up in there. Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let's be careful and be aware. The more we know the better chance we could survive.

A cardiologist says if everyone who sees this post would Share or re-post, you can be sure that we'll save at least one life.

*Please be a true friend and SHARE this article to all your friends, women & men too. Most men have female loved ones and could greatly benefit from know this information too! Credit goes to respective owner.

Snarky internet heckling (a quick resistance task)

Copied from Facebook:

This doesn't even require calling a person - just snarky internet heckling. Show g0o-gle that we're paying attention. Go the extra step and attach a snapshot of a real map (g0o-gle is making them harder to find in their searches), or use mine.

Mary Dukes

7h ·

A quick resistance task:

1. Google Gulf of Mexico.

2. “Gulf of America" will be at the head of Google’s answer.

3. Click on the three little dots to the right of “Gulf of America”.

4. Select "Send Feedback"

5. Click on "Gulf Of America" text.

6. Select "Inaccurate content".

7. Select "Incorrect" and type in whatever text you want such as "The correct name of this body of water is “Gulf of Mexico".

The more reports to Google the merrier….

Trump wants $500B in mineral rights to help Ukraine. Give it to him

EVERYTHING is a business transaction to the Orange Pharaoh. I recommend that you read this Daily Kos article to the end--I think you'll appreciate that last paragraph. 😀

Our new god-king 😡

I have been saying for years that Trump doesn’t want to be president, he wants to be king. But he also sees himself as someone like a god--as he's been saying since his first run for president, "Only I can fix it"--and we’ve seen god-kings before. I'm just going to say it--Donald J. Trump is the Pharaoh of the United States. 😡

My brother Steve remembers our brother Ed

Copied from Facebook (photos there, if you have access):

Ed Silberman 1953-2025

Ed and I shared a bedroom until I left for college. Our window looked over an alley into the large backyard of the house around the block. Perpendicular to the road that house was on was a road that ended there at a tee, so that headlights at night shown into our bedroom until cars turned left or right.

-

There was a big oak tree full of squirrels in that yard, right up against the alley. Ed and I used to watch the squirrels run around and up and down. When we were knee-high to a married grasshopper, those squirrels could keep us fascinated for hours.

The best was at night, when we were supposed to be asleep. Cars approaching on the perpendicular road cast shadows of the leaves on the wall of our room. We called them movies and watched them as long as we could stay awake.

-

If there’s a difference between me and my little brother, it’s that he kept for a lifetime the imagination and playfulness that went into pretending the moving shadows were a movie. Ed never grew out of it, and his life was the richer for it.

-

When I was big enough to play football and Ed couldn’t join, he’d make up his own version that he played by himself. Of course, he narrated his game out loud with great enthusiasm. He loved announcing that he had made a brilliant touchdown, by which he meant that he had fallen to the ground. It made perfect sense, I should think. He played his game right next to the “big” boys on the empty lot at the end of the street, just a few steps off to the side so we didn’t run him over. That was his entire career in sports. When he got big enough to have to follow rules and play like everyone else, he lost all interest.

-

That was the way he was about nearly everything. When he got his first harmonica, he just played around and occasionally got a combination of sounds he liked. Being the sensible big brother, I bought him a book on playing the harmonica with explanations of musical notation, exercises and simple songs. I don’t think he ever looked at it. It was all trial and error and another error and another. It was pretty painful to listen to, but eventually he was able to repeat the sounds he liked deliberately. More like music, less like chance. Eventually, it was almost all music and hardly any chance. Ed learned to play harmonica the Ed way.

-

When he was supposed to learn readn, writn and rithmatic he was absolutely hopeless, we thought. I think the truth is that he simply wasn’t interested in the school way and the school materials. We thought he was going to grow up nearly illiterate, but he eventually wrote plays, songs and stories. He could do it all, but using the Ed method, not the teachers’ method.

-

One thing it took me a long time to realize is how sweet he was. Taking his own path in everything didn’t get him an easy childhood, yet he was never bitter. On one visit to California, I asked him if he had forgiven dad for a particular incident when dad’s anger took him way overboard. I witnessed it and I can never forget it, but Ed did—he had no idea what I was talking about. Said straight out that he couldn’t remember it. I think that was his way most of the time—put unpleasantness aside and move on to the fun stuff.

-

I think that when I grow up, I want to be more like Ed.

Baruch Dayan Emet--my brother Ed is gone 😢

I couldn't even go to his funeral on Monday--I'm stuck at home with COVID.

What a character Ed was--if you have access to Facebook, you can hear here.

"Bad Jew" (spoken-word poem video)

Spoken-word artist Vanessa Hidary has a few words to say about being a proud Zionist. 

 

If you can't get the video to work, try clicking here.  Or paste this into your browser window/bar:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLd41tGm9-Y

Yedid Nefesh י​ד​י​ד נ​פ​ש | Kedmah: The Rising Song Piyyut Project (video)

Wonderful singing and playing by Yahala Lachmish and the entire ensemble. Check out April Centrone's solo! Enjoy!

For the benefit of those of us who have little or no knowledge of Mizrachi music, here's an explanation of Nuba: Al-Istihlal.

It's as if Yom Kippur never ended :(

We're still singing the Unetanetokef prayer.  

"Who will live and who will die . . . who by fire, who by water, who by the sword . . . "

In Israel, folks are dying by the sword.

In the southeastern United States, people died (and many others are still suffering) due to hurricanes.

In California, people are dying (or losing their homes or businesses or houses of worship) due to wildfires.

How long?

I'm afraid of the big, bad wolf

[Written after havdalah.]

"I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house down," said the wolf in the old story.

Well, here's the thing:  

For openers, I'm about 10-15 pounds (about 4.5-6 kilos) lighter than I was about 10-15 years ago, not due to dieting or pharmaceutical assistance but due to digestive problems (IBS and SIBO--look them up).  And for closers, I'm also 4 inches (about 10.16 centimeters) shorter than I was on our wedding day over 47 years ago due to osteoporosis (thinning/brittle bones).  So whenever the wind speed gets up to or over about 30 miles (roughly 48.28 kilometers) per hour, you might as well tie a ribbon around my waist and sail me like a kite. 😀

In all seriousness, it's not as funny as it sounds--it's actually rather scary for an older person with both osteoporosis and poor balance to be blown around so hard that I have to struggle to keep myself from falling and breaking a wrist yet again.  Do me a favor and *don't* "fly me to the moon."

Saying the quiet part out loud

Copied from Facebook:

"As of December 8th, pediatric cases of pertussis in Michigan 1,578
In 2023, there were 110.
Vax rates declined by 60%"

I'm just going to say this, despite how offensive it may be, because I think it needs to be said--parents who refuse to vaccinate their children because they're afraid that vaccines might cause autism are saying that they'd rather their child be dead than different.

Parashat Vayishlach, 5785/2024 edition: Dina was just collateral damage

[Written after havdalah.]

My husband says that a previous rabbi of ours thought that the real reason why the Torah recorded the rape of Dina was to justify the fact that the sons of Jacob/b'nei Yaakov did not intermarry with the people of Shechem.  In other words, that whole story was a polemic against assimilation and had absolutely nothing to do with Dina.

This indifference to the fate of women seems to be a frequent trend in the Tanach/Jewish Bible.  Sarah gets passed off as Avraham's sister twice, and Avraham gets rich as a result.  No one cares about Sarah's suffering.  Leah and Rachel spend years competing with each other to see who can make more babies, and Jacob/Yaakov benefits.  Tamar nearly gets burned alive by Judah/Yehudah for getting pregnant, and he benefits from the continuation of his family line.  Dinah gets raped (some say seduced), and her brothers benefit by taking the women and children of Shechem captive after killing all the men, with no concern for Dinah's future.  No one mentions that the female descendants of Jacob/Yaakov who were enslaved in Egypt were probably spared from being killed so that the Egyptian slaveholders could use them as sex slaves and breeding stock.  Miriam, traditionally considered to have saved the life of Moses/Moshe as a baby, stands up for her right to be recognized as a prophet by G-d, and G-d punishes her by striking her with leprosy, after which she disappears from the Torah until her death is mentioned.  King David's/David HaMelech's daughter Tamar gets raped by her half brother, and we have no idea happened to the rest of her life.  King David's/David HaMelech's servants bring a real, live female--Avishag--to the king to play the part of an electric blanket to the king in his old age, and we have no idea happened to the rest of her life, either.  The prophet Hoshea is disrespectful of his wife (and gives his children nasty names), and everyone still quotes him, with no comment about his behavior, when putting on tefillin.

It's hard for a feminist to take.  Are the sages of old/Chazal sufficiently distressed by any of these tales to have created midrashim of which I'm not aware?

See also my Thursday, November 29, 2012 post, Parshat Vayishlach, 5773/2012 thoughts.

Not hip-hop, just hop--I injured my foot *again*

I think I injured my foot just by standing for too long, which is the same way I injured the same foot two years ago almost to the day.  This is becoming a bad habit.  The good news is that the x-ray showed that my foot isn't broken.  (It wasn't broken the last time, either.)  The bad news is that I'm still hopping around the apartment on crutches, and my poor husband (bless him) is stuck doing *everything.*  But I should be fine in a week or two.  Physical therapy, here I come.

Note to self:  In the future, set a timer for 20 minutes every time you're washing dishes or doing other chores, and *sit down* for five minutes when it rings!

Welcome back to the good old days (😡)

Isn’t it great?  Now we can go back to wives obeying their husbands and making babies whether they want to or not, “coloreds” knowing their place, “homos” being neither seen nor heard, everyone saying Merry Christmas instead of Happy Holidays, no one daring to speak any language other than English in public, and an end to stupid curb cuts, sign language interpreters, and that special education nonsense.  Take off your white hood—there’s no need for it anymore.

😡

Yes, this is satire.  No, I am not amused.  I’m not looking forward to the next four years.  😢  

I'm sorry to say that I predicted this:  See my Thursday, May 16, 2019 post, Re abortion-rights abolition quest: Only "dominant-class" males have permanent rights :( :( :(.

See also my Tuesday, November 28, 2017 post, Discrimination is discrimination:

"It should not still be the case that anyone who's not a white Christian U.S.-born heterosexual male who speaks English as his first language is fair game for discrimination in the United States." 

Dizzy Dame gets creative 🙂

Only I can get vertigo just from tipping my head back to put eye-drops into my eyes.

Hot day in the Big Apple

Today's high temperature in New York City was 82 degrees Fahrenheit (27.7778 Celcius). I can't remember ever having experienced an 82-degree day in NYC on October 31. I honestly can't understand how anyone can doubt that global climate change is real.

What’s the Truth about… “Mar Cheshvan” ?

Since we made the blessing for the new month this morning, this question came up:

What’s the Truth about… “Mar Cheshvan” ?

 (To read the footnotes, see the original article:  https://jewishaction.com/religion/whats-truth-mar-cheshvan/

"By Rabbi Ari Z. Zivotofsky, Ph.D.

Misconception: The complete and correct name for the month following Tishrei is Cheshvan, and it is a quaint tradition to call it Mar Cheshvan because it is bitter (Hebrew: mar) due to its lack of holidays.

Fact: The correct name for this fall month is the one word Marcheshvan/M’rachsh’van1 (Aruch Hashulchan, Even Ha’ezer 126:17).

Background: The Bible usually refers to the months by their ordinal numbers, although occasional ancient Israelite names are also used.2 The currently used Jewish names for the months were imported from Bavel (Babylonia),3 and many of them appear in post-exilic books of the Bible.4 Some of these are derived from the names of ancient gods, such as Tammuz which is thought to come from the Assyrian Du-mu-zu, an Egyptian god, and is mentioned as the name of an idol in Ezekiel (8:14).5

Marcheshvan is probably derived from its location in the calendar. In Akkadian (Babylonian/Assyrian), “w” (vav) and “m” (mem) sounds can interchange. As a result, Marcheshvan which is from the two words “m’rach” and “shvan,” would have been “warh” and “shman,” in Akkadian, corresponding to the Hebrew “yerech shmini,” thus “eighth month.”6 In the Yemenite tradition, the name of the month is pronounced Marach-sha’wan, not Mar-cheshvan as in the Ashkenazic tradition, and this would seem to preserve a greater fidelity to the original.7

Older sources attest to the name as being the longer name Marcheshvan/M’rachshwan (as opposed to just Cheshvan). When the eighth month is mentioned in the Mishnah and Talmud, it is referred to as Marcheshvan. A few examples include: Taanit 1:3,4; Pesachim 94b; and Rosh Hashanah 7a; 11b. Throughout all of Rashi’s Biblical and Talmudic commentary, he also refers to the month as Marcheshvan. A few examples are: Rosh Hashanah 11b, s.v. v’azda l’tamahu; 16a s.v. D’miz’daran; Beitzah 40a, s.v. bir’vi’ah. The Rambam8 and Ibn Ezra (commentary to Leviticus 25:9) also use the complete name.

This misconception has halachic implications. Since the mistaken practice of simply calling the month Cheshvan is so widespread, either Cheshvan or the two word Mar Cheshvan is now acceptable, post-facto, if erroneously used in a legal document such as a get (Aruch Hashulchan, Even Ha’ezer 127:17). The Ramah (Even Ha’ezer 127:7) lists only Marcheshvan as the month’s name and does not give the halachah if one wrote either just Cheshvan or the two word Mar Cheshvan. Others even accept post-facto the Biblical name of the month, “Bul,” if it was used in a document. The Aruch Hashulchan states that the halachah is the same for the imprecise “Menachem Av” (Even Ha’ezer 127:16).9

Surprisingly, there are even customs that developed around the error. The assumption is that it is called Mar Cheshvan (the bitter Cheshvan) either due to its lack of holidays or because it is when Sarah the Matriarch died.10 Because of those negative associations, there are those who refrain from getting married in Marcheshvan (Shut Lev Chaim 2:26). The Sdei Chemed (Ma’arechet Chason v’Kallah:23) claims that this was the minhag in Jerusalem. Shulchan Ha’ezer (4:5:8) writes that in his locale people are not concerned with this and get married in Cheshvan [sic!]11

The Pri Chadash (Even Ha’ezer 126:7) offers the only explanation that I have found for calling this month by the two-word name Mar Cheshvan. He suggests that the name Mar Cheshvan is based on the fact that it is the beginning of the rainy season. The Targum translated mar as tipah, a drop, in the verse “Hen goyim k’mar midli — Behold, the nations are as a drop of [water from] a bucket” (Isaiah 40:15). As such, the name means the “rainy Cheshvan,” and far from mar meaning bitter, it connotes a month of blessed rain.12

The Bnei Yissaschar (2:56-57) relates a beautiful midrash about the future of Marcheshvan indicating that the dedication of the Third Temple will occur in Marcheshvan, removing any doubt about it being a bitter month."

"Conservatives’ latest attack on mifepristone is a constitutional cover for eugenics"

Got this in my email--it's shocking, but not surprising.  Read it and weep (and/or freak out).

The "Penitential Psalm" (Psalm 27) really hit home for me this year

It starts, "For/By David (depending on your translation), HaShem ori v'yish'i, HaShem is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?"  But the third verse from the end says, "Do not abandon me to the will of my foes, for false witnesses have risen against me, breathing violence."  (This is Rabbi Jonathan Sacks' translation).  It seems to me as if everyone and their cousin is accusing Israel of genocide and hoping Israel will just lay down its arms and die.

The "Israeli cut-out": An exception that kills Israelis

Copied from Facebook:

Seth J. Frantzman

oonrpsStdeh0f20icu26761647g9tl1ac265g107160f8g28c9ct2hm1tc25  ·

I think it's worth thinking about something in relation to the international community's treatment of Israel. It's something that could be called the "Israeli cut-out" and it relates solely to Israel. What that means is that in all norms there is a cut-out that relates solely to Israel, an exception that is made for any group that attacks Israel.

Let's take a look.

On October 21 the IDF intercepted five UAVs over the Mediterranean. These could be considered a danger to air travel. But because the groups that launch them are against Israel, the international community has a cut-out. There is no investigation, no UN meeting, nothing.

Ships are attacked in the Red Sea. This would normally be a huge issue. Imagine commercial ships being blown up off the coast of South America by armed groups. However, because the Houthis say they are doing it against Israel, even though they target random ships and endanger the crews from all over the world, there is a cut-out and it's basically ignored. No international investigation. Nothing.

Hezbollah takes over Lebanon and stockpiles 150,000 rockets and fires thousands into Israel. However, because it is attacking Israel, it's considered completely normal. No other country is expected to live with a group like Hezbollah on its border where the terror group has more rockets than most countries. Only Israel, because of the cut-out. The cut-out even means UNIFIL is there and it does nothing to stop Hezbollah or even find even one rocket out of 150,000.

Hamas attacks Israel and kills 1,000 people and kidnaps 250. This is an unprecedented genocidal act. One of the worst single day massacres in the entirety of human history. Yet there is no real outcry, no real international condemnation. In fact many countries like Russia, China, Qatar, Turkey, Iran, South Africa, openly back Hamas. Two western allies host Hamas leaders. Again, the Israeli cut-out appears. No one would accept a similar terror attack anywhere else.

Iran attacks Israel with 180 ballistic missiles and Israel is told not to respond. 180 missiles. But there is the Israeli cut-out. No other country should be forced to have 180 missiles fall on them. Only Israel. Iran knows this and so it feels it can do this. Iran takes over half the Middle East and destroys countries while claiming to fight Israel, and because it is against Israel, the cut-out enables this. If it did this against other countries then it would be unacceptable.

From heaven to hell in less than 24 hours

We had a wonderful Rosh HaShanah and Shabbat at Adamah's Pearlstone Campus, with leaders and teachers from Hadar and its Jewish-music affiliate, the Rising Song Institute.  We prayed and sang our hearts out, and got well fed, too.  😀

And now, here we are, one day after leaving Pearlstone, commemorating the mass murders, rapes, and kidnappings of October 7, 2023.  😢

Honestly, I just don't understand it.  If the world considers bombings, which can kill civilians as well as militants, a war crime, and also considers assassinations that target terrorists specifically and minimize civilian casualties (as in the pager and walkie-talkie attacks against known Hezbollah members) a war crime, what do they mean when they say that Israel is allowed to defend itself?

A Mitzvah to Eat: for those who can't fast

Here are prayers (and, for those seeking a traditional perspective, halachic guidance) for those who can't fast.

 Prayers and Rituals for Those Who Need to Eat on Yom Kippur.

A bit of light amid the darkness of recent times (music video)

 

BOATLIFT - An Untold Tale of 9/11 Resilience (HD Version)

These are the people who saved my sister's life. She was living in Battery Park City, which is literally across the street from the World Trade Center, at the time, and was watching the tragedy unfold when the first tower collapsed and she ran for her life. She was rescued by a construction barge, and was in the middle of the Hudson River when the second tower collapsed. I am forever grateful to this navy of volunteers.

Shocking, but, I think, necessary to say:

"Republicans are the party of child murder

Make them explicitly defend it.

Jordan Zakarin

Sep 05, 2024

Welcome to a Wednesday edition of Progress Report.

[I'm generally not inclined to share anything this blunt, especially since there have been calls for less divisiveness, but what else can I say about a party that prioritizes gun rights over human lives? Does the right to life apply only to zygotes?]

I’m writing this newsletter during our flight back to New York, sitting in the back row next to my toddler son, who will be two years old in a few weeks but has a head start on all the astonishing, delightful, and not-so-delightful things that come with the age. Right now he’s displaying the third option: yelling, kicking, performing loose approximations of hand stands, smacking my computer, rejecting the copious snacks we packed, and definitely losing his toys, all while 35,000 feet in the air.

He’s an adorable maniac.

Admittedly, this kind of all-action display in such a suboptimal environment might eventually sap my deep reservoir of patience, but right now, all I can think about tonight is the text message that a 16-year-old girl sent to her mother during an active school shooting today in Georgia: “I'm sorry I haven't been a perfect daughter. I love you.”

Thankfully, the girl who sent the text survived the attack, but two other students at the school were killed today by their 14-year-old classmate. My brain won’t even let me try to contemplate the depths of despair that their parents must feel. Survival mechanism, I guess.

Classmates have told reporters that they weren’t surprised that the 14-year-old shooter opened fire, and samples from what appear to be his social media accounts suggest that he’d fallen down some pretty dark rabbit holes online. But young Colt Gray’s browsing habits wouldn’t be more than topics for a therapy session or three if he hadn’t had such easy access to the assault weapon that he used to kill two classmates and two teachers at Apalachee High School today.

The shooting was followed by the usual calls for gun control from Democratic lawmakers, including from Vice President Kamala Harris, but they’ve become rote by now, because we’ve all but given up the hope of actually passing the kind of policy that more than 60% of Americans vehemently support. We’re beyond even symbolic votes and posturing for campaign purposes. Republicans will rush to pass law after law to bully queer kids and feed students far-right bile, but keeping them from being blown apart in their classrooms is beyond discussion.

This was the 45th school shooting of 2024, and with classes starting back up across the country, it is a grim reality that it will be far from the last. The right-wing War on Children continues to rage unabated, and it’s long since past the time that it’s become central to political campaigns. For decades, Democrats were terrified to run on abortion, and now it’s central to their message. They ought to do the same thing with gun control, forcing every single parent to contemplate the unthinkable before the cast their votes.

If Republicans want to fear-monger over it, they can explain to Americans why they continue to enable the massacre of innocent schoolchildren."

See also my Tuesday, August 06, 2019 post, American Akeidah and the linked Sunday, August 04, 2019 post, "Rituals of Childhood," by Kieran Healy.

Hersh is dead. I have no words. :(

"With broken hearts, the Goldberg-Polin family is devastated to announce the death of their beloved son and brother, Hersh. The family thanks you all for your love and support and asks for privacy at this time."

How many more hostages will die before this nightmare is over? 

Update, with the names of all of those murdered with Hersch:

Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23

Eden Yerushalmi, 24

Carmel Gat, 40

Almog Sarusi, 27

Alex Lubnov, 32

Ori Danino, 25

Picking my poison, literally :(

I always said that I wouldn't take medication for osteoporosis unless I slipped below five feet tall, because just about every medication for osteoporosis comes with really bad side effects, such as necrosis of the jaw.   Unfortunately, I slipped below my five-feet height minimum about a year ago.  I know I'm a little old lady, but there's such a thing as *too* little.  :)  So off I went to an endocrinologist, who recommended either Forteo or Prolia.  It's just my luck that I've had problems with balance and dizziness for over a decade, and the Forteo made it worse--every day, without fail, I would get a dizziness spell within about five minutes of injecting myself.  So I decided to try Prolia instead.  It turns out that, once I start, I won't be able to get so much as a tooth filled until at least three months after my Prolia injection, which I'll have to get every six months, because I'd be prone to necrosis of the jaw.  Some choice.  :(

These, too, were the children of Israel, now lost to terrorists :(

Anger and grief mix as Majdal Shams [a Druze town on the Golan Heights] buries 10 children . . . 12 children . . . are believed to have been killed when a rocket from Lebanon hit a soccer field. 

October 7 Survivors Will Not Be Silenced

Hadassah Magazine report: October 7 Survivors Will Not Be Silenced.

The fate of the female observer soldiers on Oct. 7, 2023

Hadassah Magazine reports on the fate of the tatzpitaniyot, the female observer soldiers, on October 7, 2023. 

Karov L’Shavateinu (a capella version)

 Copied from Facebook and YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuXKvN2OefY

 

Hadar's Rising Song Institute

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Today marks the beginning of the Three Weeks, the period from the 17th of Tammuz through the 9th of Av where all are invited into a process of mourning that which has been destroyed, yearning for what has yet to be, and public customs that allow us to mark this period in caring, connective community.

This voices-only rendition of Karov L’Shavateinu - a powerful nigun recorded together by musicians who set aside their instruments as they raised their voices - creatively sets the traditional liturgy for fast days, offering an opportunity for deepened personal prayer and heightened communal yearning throughout the Three Weeks, and any time we seek connection and comfort amid difficulty and distress.

הֱיֵה נָא קָרוֹב לְשַׁוְעָתֵנוּ

יְהִי־נָא חַסְדְּךָ לְנַחֲמֵנוּ

𝐻𝑒’𝑦𝑒𝑖ℎ 𝑛𝑎 𝑘𝑎𝑟𝑜𝑣 𝑙’𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑢

𝑌𝑒ℎ𝑖-𝑛𝑎 ℎ𝑎𝑠’𝑑𝑒𝑘ℎ𝑎 𝑙’𝑛𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑎’𝑚𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑢

“Please be near to our cry

Let Your loving kindness console us”

Stream, purchase, or download this track on Rabbi Deborah Sacks Mintz's new album Yetzira, anywhere you get your music.

https://deborahsacksmintz.bandcamp.com/.../karov...

*******************************

Vocals by Deborah Sacks Mintz, Chava Mirel, Ilusha Tsinadze, Michael Winograd, Yoshie Fruchter, and Sam Weisenberg

Audio and video by Don Godwin and UPPERDECK_Film

Recorded and filmed at B'nai Jeshurun NYC

Composed and produced by R. Deborah Sacks Mintz for Hadar's Rising Song Records

www.deborahsacksmintz.com

www.risingsong.org