July 17, 2009 • 1:36 PM 3
Yesterday was my birthday.
I am not huge “birthday guy”. I love my children’s birthday more than my own birthday and my mother loves my birthday more than I do.
A lot of people know my birthday. Co-workers, family and friends all know my birthday. This year I got a ton of birthday wishes.
But itwas different.
Filed under: All Posts, Musings & Observations , birthday, facebook, fun, happy birthday, social-networking, technology, twitter
July 16, 2009 • 3:23 PM 2
This post is cross-posted to DovBear – more discussion there.
I read an important column on a good website yesterday.
It wasn’t on NYTimes.com or Yahoo.com or ESPN.com (some of my favorite sites to link from) this article was on Vosizneias.com. VIN is a Orthodox Jewish blog with editorials and news. I recommend checking it out when you have a chance.
The column I read was a great perpective on Baal Teshuvas and their integration into the Frum community. In particular the column focused on various reactions of the BT (I use the term adoringly) when encountered with other (supposedly) Frum Jews who are not living up to their own standards.
Filed under: All Posts, Musings & Observations, My Links , Baal Teshuva, dovbear, education, honesty, Judd Magilnick, Kiruv, Rabbi Berel Wein, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, Seinfeld, Torah, Vosizneias, youtube
July 14, 2009 • 10:24 AM 10
During the summer months many people find some extra time to catch up on their reading. By reading, I mean books with paper, ink, covers and turning pages. I don’t mean on a backlit display plugged into an electrical outlet.
This summer, I have been too busy to do any real substantive offline reading. I have done a lot of online reading, but my book reading has fallen behind.
One exception has been DovBear on the Parsha, and you can read my review here.
Part of the reason for this is that in my “spare time” I usually end up reading up on Law School materials. I actually enjoy reading cases and Law Review articles, so my reading of other stuff has fallen a bit behind.
There is plenty of summer left and I thought it would be nice to provide some of my all time favorite reads and a quick note about why I like each book.
Filed under: All Posts, My Links , book review, education, social-networking, sports, technology, Torah
July 13, 2009 • 9:15 AM 0
A Religious charity in Israel has embarked on what I and many others feel to be a misleadeing charity campaign.
Promises 0f safety from danger, special perks and privileges and out of context quotes from great Rabbis permeate the campaign.
I wrote all ab0ut in on DovBear. You can check it out by clicking below.
Filed under: All Posts, My Links , charity, dovbear, Israel, ridiculous, tzedaka
July 12, 2009 • 5:35 PM 6
This is Manny. Manny Ramirez.
Believe it or not, Manny is one of the greatest right handed hitters in Baseball history. He is also a 2 time World Series Champion and 1 time World Series MVP. Manny was also recently suspended from baseball for 50 games for violating the league’s Substance Abuse Policy when he tested positive for a substance used to hide performance enhancing drug use.
In other words, he cheated. And yet, he is adored and loved, cheered and ballyhooed. Why?
You don’t need to be a baseball fan to continue reading.
Filed under: All Posts, Musings & Observations , baseball, cheaters, espn, Gladwell, Manny Ramirez, MLB, PEDs, sports, steroids, tolerance
• 10:05 AM 0
Another week, another Haveil Havalim.
This week’s round-up is hosted by “How To Be An Israeli”. A number of excellent blog posts from the week that was are linked.
An excellent job all around.
My Book Review of DovBear on the Parsha is mentioned with a very nice comment:
Rabbi Fink talks of being swept away by DovBear’s passion and insight; I felt the same way about reading this post!
Thanks for the mention.
To check out Haveil Havalim #225 click through. Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: All Posts, My Links , Best-Of, blogging, dovbear, haveil havalim, social-networking
July 9, 2009 • 1:02 PM 0
The proliferation of Segulahs and tricks to get your way with God is increasing daily.
The Yated (American Yeshivish news paper) has a Chinuch Roundtable where this issue was discussed. Almost to a man the Rabbis (one of whom is my father) warned of the danger in relying too heavily on these tricks.
Last time I linked to Parshablog it was for a similar reason and yesterday Parshablog had another disturbing example of this trend.
Filed under: All Posts, My Links , magic, Messilas Yesharim, parshablog, segulah
July 6, 2009 • 6:01 PM 4
Over Shabbos I had the privilege of reading an excellent book. On Thursday my DovBear on the Parsha
At just over 175 pages I thought I would peruse the articles and formulate a general opinion of the book over Shabbos. Instead, I was so tired by the time Shabbos came along I decided to just read the first couple of chapters before heading to bed Friday night.
To my surprise I was unsuccessful in my goal… I started the book after the Friday night meal and I went to sleep at 11:30 PM, after I had read the entire book cover to cover (not just the first couple chapters). DovBear on the Parsha is a true page turner. Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: All Posts, Musings & Observations, My Links , book review, dovbear, Parsha, Torah
July 5, 2009 • 11:21 AM 0
Last week Bernie Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison. In the early days of my blog I wrote a couple of Madoff posts (check them out if you have not seen them).
His recent sentencing reminded me about something that I did not post in the fallout from the scandal. This post is not “news” but its message is timeless. Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: All Posts, Musings & Observations, My Links , economic crisis, Elie Wiesel, Kevin Bacon, Keyra Sedgwick, madoff, Nobel Peace Prize, Ponzi
• 1:52 AM 0
Once again a very talented Jewish blogger has provided the weekly Haveil Havalim Jewish Blog Round-up.
This week it is hosted by A Time of the Signs.
I am mentioned not once, but twice in the round-up. Once for my Michael Jackson post and once more for my guest post on DovBear about Onymous vs. Anonymous blogging which was cross-posted on my blog as well.
Thank you Toby for the mentions! You can find all the links by clicking through. Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: All Posts, My Links , Best-Of, social-networking
July 3, 2009 • 6:48 PM 3
Yes, the red-headed step child of the NBA is going to the Lakers.
There are folks who will be up in arms over a known “thug” joining their beloved Lakers.
The same Ron Artest who was suspended for one full year from participating in NBA games for his egregious actions when he was a young up and coming star with the Pacers.
As a Parent and as Rabbi you may want to know: What do I think?
If you read my blog you should know what I think. Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: All Posts, Musings & Observations , family, NBA, parents, ron artest, sports, Sportsmanship
July 1, 2009 • 12:51 PM 6
This post has been cross-posted to DovBear. – more discussion there.
Social Networking has been around for a long time. The term is nearly two centuries old and the concept perhaps 30 times that.
With the internet explosion around the new millennium social networking became all the rage on the world wide web. MySpace and others blazed the trail. Now, blogging, Facebook and Twitter are an integral part of our social landscape.
Naturally, I was drawn to these new age ways of using technology to create social networks. I’ve been on Facebook since its inception five years ago and joined Twitter a while ago and have only recently begun to blog.
Over the last few weeks some incredible things have happened that are direct results of social networking online. Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: All Posts, Musings & Observations, My Links , blogging, dovbear, facebook, family, fun, Pacific Jewish Center, social-networking, technology, twitter, Venice
June 29, 2009 • 12:50 PM 3
For those folks who report on and follow Hollywood gossip and news it sure has been a busy week.
First, Ed McMahon died, then Farrah Fawcett and then Michael Jackson (oh, and Billy Mays too). Of course, the death of Michael Jackson garnered the most attention. Michael Jackson completely revolutionized the entire music industry (Jewish and not Jewish music) and made all kinds of news for his questionable extra-curricular activities.
A friend of mine in the music industry (Jewish and not Jewish music) wrote this on his Facebook page “Goodbye Michael! We will miss you! You taught me so much…” and that got the ball really rolling.
Filed under: All Posts, Musings & Observations, My Links , LeBron James, michael jackson, morality, music, role models
June 25, 2009 • 9:19 PM 15
UPDATE: Friday morning 6/25/09 I updated the post to more accurately reflect the protagonist’s personality.
I am so disturbed right now.
My wife and I have a summer camp for pre-school children in Monsey NY. That is why we left Los Angeles / Venice for the summer. We don’t own our own camp grounds so during the year we store everything in a shed at my in-laws’ home in Monsey.
Sometime before camp begins we need to get everything from the in-laws to our summer location. Today was moving day. What I heard during the move was disturbing enough to share with you.
Filed under: All Posts, Musings & Observations , anti-semitism, character development, green, respect, ridiculous, tolerance, Torah
June 24, 2009 • 5:28 PM 1
I have had so many conversations about the issue posed today on ParshaBlog.
A couple weeks ago the Chinuch Roundtable in the Yated dealt with this as well. We have become the Segulah Generation. We look for shortcuts and magic to avoid the effort involved in Personal Growth.
In short Messilas Yesharim > Segulahs. But Segulahs tempt us with their instant gratification, no effort results.
I urge everyone to read the article on ParshaBlog. Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: All Posts, My Links , magic, Messilas Yesharim, philosophy, prayer, segulah
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