Presence

Tragic, Beautiful, Hilarious

[via Blogdigger News]
Who needs The Lord of the Rings, The Matrix or Star Wars when you can have the Mario Land Trilogy?

Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

Article on Blogging in City Paper

In a strange reversal of protocol, I found an article on blogging in a real live paper newspaper. The cover of last week's Baltimore City Paper had a blurb at the top that read, Keeping up with the Bloggers (for the record, I actually picked up the paper copy and read it, rather than going to the computer and searching for the virtual copy. What a novelty!).

The article lists a few of the bloggers out there who are actually contributing original content (as opposed to just commenting on stuff already out there), such as how Joshua Micah Marshall's blog helped to bring the Trent Lott scandal to the fore. The article gives blogs a lot of credit, saying how the job of a reporter has changed significantly with there advent. Good stuff.

On a related note, The City Paper Blog still looks to be relatively inactive. Oh well.

Call me 'Cold Fish'

PaleoJudaica has a nice roundup of commentary about the quality of the Aramaic spoken in The Passion. Sounds a bit shaky.

Nothing beats a good Talmudic Aramaic put-down. My personal favorite: "Al tikrei Hamnuna, ela Kar-nuna." Snap! Oh no you didn't!

On a related note, I also noticed in the preview that Pontius Pilate quotes Nietzsche.

I'm in a bit of a fatuous mood today, in case you can't tell.

Greg's Unlikely Vacation Spots #1: Denver

[via Jew*school]

Well that settles that:

DENVER -- A billboard unveiled on Ash Wednesday, the same day that a controversial movie depicting the last hours of Jesus Christ premiered, is sparking criticism from people of all faiths.

The large-size outdoor marquee, which sits on the property of the Lovingway United Pentecostal Church at Colorado and Mississippi, says, "Jews Killed The Lord Jesus" and the word "Settled!"

"It's settled," said Maurice Gorden, Loveway pastor. "The word of God is the final word."

Full story

You can find the text here. The author is Paul.

I'm predicting a flood of traffic to the Church Sign Generator.

I don't know art...

[via eebmore]

This exhibit sounds interesting.

death

February 1 - March 6, 2004

Reception: February 14th, 4pm - 9pm

Hours:

Sundays 12 - 3pm,
and by appointment

This group exhibition's intent is to comment on each artist's interpretation of mortality. This exhibition deals not only with the physical cessation of life, but the socio-cultural constructs built up around it, both on an intimate level as well as a grand scale.

From video and performance to large concrete sculptural forms, the approaches are as varied as the number of artists in the show. Each artist has selected the materials and forms that best convey his or her individual response to the complex and often unpleasant nature of Death.

You'll have to admit my tastes are very sophisticated.

malapropism

Dictionary.com Word of the Day for 02/26/04:

malapropism \mal-uh-PROP-iz-uhm\, noun:
The usually unintentionally humorous misuse of a word, especially by confusion with one of similar sound; also, an example of such misuse.

Well-designed Weblogs

I covet: Well-designed Weblogs (volume 1 and volume 2).

Here's me wishing I had the time and skill to put anything like this together.

Shamless self-promotion

Blogdigger search for "passion". See what they're saying.

Article Roundup

I've read a few good articles recently. As much for my own organization as to share them with you, here they are:

[One note: It is strictly a coincidence that all these articles are authored by persons with the last name Soloveitchik. Coincidence, but telling.]

Redemption and the Power of Man: Judaism and Christianity differ on man's moral capacity, by Meir Soloveitchik

This article describes the essential differences between Judaism and Chrisitianity. The distinction is more than the simple "Christians do, Jews don't" approach to accepting Jesus' messianic status; the two faiths differ profoundly on man's ability to improve and redeem the world. The article posits that the Jews in the time of the beginnings of Christianity were not only unwilling to accept Jesus because of the associated theological issues, but also due to the major differences in the conceptualization of man's moral role. The article also has some good thoughts about the idealism engendered by the Jewish outlook, which helps to explain Jews predisposition to utopian and idealistic movements (liberalism, socialism, etc.). I'm sure the argument could be applied to Hollywood as well.

Rupture and Reconstruction: The Transformation of Contemporary Orthodoxy, by Dr. Haym Soloveitchik

This paper dissects the current religious climate in Orthodox Judaism, explaining the shifts in practice to the transfer from a tradition-based religion to a text-based religion. We have abandoned our traditional heritage-based approach to transmission of knowledge, and adopted a text-based one. This has had ramifications across all strata of Jewish life, from the shift in focus from the home and synagouge to the Yeshiva to the preponderance of stringency that is so common today. This paper is worth a re-reading, it has much to teach us about our current situation.

Confrontation, by Rav Joseph Dov Soloveitchik

Just as the author of the first article is a descedant of the author of this article (sort of), so too the first article is a child of this one. Confrontation is the Rav's description of the basic categories of man vis-a-vis the universe. Does man succumb and assimilate himself into the natural order, or use his intellect to improve and recreate it anew? The latter half contains his famous "p'sak" regarding interfaith dialogue. I haven't read the whole article yet, so I can't comment on whether or not it appears YU overstepped its bounds with the recent clergy visit.

All excellent, must-read articles. Thanks to Tradition and Azure for allowing these papers to be distributed online. Share the love.

Out of the Whirlwind

Dr. David Shatz spoke last night about R. Soloveitchik's approach to suffering. I mentioned previosly the article published in the Torah U'Madda journal as a good introduction; it turns out, Dr. Shatz's lecture focused on that exact article. In my list of sources to read before the lecture, I forgot to mention the recent book published compiling the Rav's thought on this topic, Out of the Whirlwind (co-edited by Dr. Shatz), in which that article, mysteriously absent from the RIETS home page, is reprinted (the conspiracy theorist in me says that "they" had the article pulled from the web page when the book was published).

It was an excellent lecture. I read the article about a year or two ago, but Dr. Shatz did an amazing job explaining it. The basic idea presented is that, from Judaism's perspective, theodicy is just plain wrong. Coming to terms with the cosmic appropriateness or telos of Evil hamstrings the individual, preventing him from acting successfully as a moral agent. The logical argument, similar to the proposition's of Job's friends, is that conceptualizing Evil as appropriate will cause one to withdraw from combating it.

This position, of course, while in confluence with some sources, is against a great many others. To explain this division, the Rav divides "Halacha" into two categories: Thematic and Topical.

The Thematic Halacha is what we think of as Machshava (Jewish Thought). In this sphere, we have the traditional theodicy (justification of God's ways). Evil is not really evil. If only we could see the world from God's perspective, we would understand how the needless suffering and senseless destruction in the world all serve a purpose. The Thematic Halacha also takes the approach that all suffering is justified, in response to a man's action. "There is no death without sin, no suffering without transgression."

The Topical Halacha, which, I think, would associate most similarly to the Halacha that we think of, i.e. Jewish Law, takes a completely different view on Evil. Evil is real, it does not make sense. Don't spend your time coming up with reasons for it or justifing it. Fight it in any way that you can. A close look at the laws of mourning reveal that this is indeed the attitude that is taken; Evil is treated with respect, not explained away as illusory.

The Rav's opinion, according to Dr. Shatz, is that Judaism, while containing traditions attributable to both ways of understanding, strongly favors the latter. Our role as Jews is to eradicate Evil, not justify it. Although Dr. Shatz didn't mention it, I was drawing connections to confronted vs. non-confronted Man (which the Rav discusses in Kol Dodi Dofek). Suffice it to say, there is a lot more to say on this subject; I'm ordering the book to get the full version of the essay along with whatever other materials it contains.

I asked Dr. Shatz if there is any precedent for this kind of approach, either in philosophy or theology. I'm not sure I phrased my question very well (I asked if the division between theodicy and response appears elsewhere; I was really only interested in the idea of response), but his reply was that he wasn't sure. Not that I've read that much, but I think this is a novel approach to the Problem of Evil. The trend in contemporary Judaism is to either multiply the number of rational explanations for Evil to the point where the individual is unable to deduce a single causal explanation, getting them nowhere (this would be the haredi approach) or to limit in some God's power, thereby making room for Evil (this would be Harold Kushner, et. al.). I've yet to really delve into Emil Fackenheim's work on Tikkun Olam, but from my basic understanding, his approach is somewhat similar in that he refuses to assimilate or justify the Holocaust. Fackenheim's idea of Tikkun Olam (fixing the world) becomes compulsory because of the suffering of the Jews in the Holocaust. Tikkun Olam is a direct response to Evil. I think Fackenheim takes this elsewhere, however. Also similar in concept are the ideas of Emmanuel Levinas, whose philosophy basically states, "ethics precedes ontology," or that the ethical response precedes the rational one. Evil would require an ethical response first, followed, if at all, by a rational one.

I found this so intriguing because it fits with how I have come to understand this problem philosophically (I refer you to one of my earlier posts, The Only Question). There are differences between my ideas and the Rav's (rightly so, as the Rav was a Talmud Chacham of incomparable brilliance and a first-rate philosopher; I'm more of a hack), which I would like to explore further, but it gave me great support to see some of my thoughts in someone else's words (this is not what I was referring to in the previous post about others beating me to the punch with brilliant ideas; that was something else).

To delve a bit deeper into the differences (big, big lehavdil here), the Rav posits the Thematic and Topical halacha as separate entities. There would be no change in the treatment or conceptualization of Evil depending on the context (for example, at a time when God's Presence is immanent). A Presence based explanation, however, shifts the focus on Evil as God's Presence becomes manifest. The ethical response is mandated, but the theodicy becomes more real as God becomes more present. I have to think about this more. Re-reading what I wrote, it appears that what I am proposing would be that the Thematic approach is an ideal, the Topical a means to that ideal.

Either way, I think the ethical response to Evil is a product of modernity. Only in a world where God's Presence is so intangible to the senses, where our understanding of the world has shifted so far away from the religious to the mechanistic, could this approach become possible.

@#$%#@$

Question: How many times have I come up with brilliant, unique ideas, begun working on them, only to find someone else has been working on the same thing, and gotten out the door before me?

Answer: So far, 3.

I've yet to let it stop me, though. I'm either incorrigibly optimistic or incredibly stupid. Probably a little of both.

Huh?

Tzeezy

New application in the works, this one not by me (if I look at one more line of JDBC code, I'm going to hurl); if you get a chance, check out Tzeezy (you know, it's easy). Brother Mike has put a lot of work into the application, and it's looking pretty nice.

It's really very simple (or easy). Sign up, enter in the names of people you would like to contact you, should they happen to be interested. The rest is up to fate. I put in a few of my long lost friends; no word from anyone yet, but it's only a matter of time...

Also, that little site I tinker with now and again has a new application. I think it's cool, but I'm a bit biased.

Free Music (Free as in Beer)

I thought it only fair to pass along this hack that allows you to out-smart Pepsi and grab yourself some free music via iTunes.

While we're all feeling altruistic, why not use one of your free songs to purcahse O.A.R.'s cover of Fool in the Rain? You'll thank me later, I hope.

Site layout

I'm messing with the site layout. Patience is expected and appreciated.

If anyone knows how to fix the text from scrunching up, I'd be much obliged. It appears to be a problem only with IE. This layout does look a bit funny in Firefox. Update: I think I fixed it. I commented out some line-height tags in the CSS.

I'm loving this banner thing. I've seen this blog design elsewhere, and have always liked it. I'm planning on rotating it as it suits me.

The above picture was taken in May 1983. I'm the one on the left. The dark-skinned kid on the right is my brother. I know, I know; we look exactly alike.

Favor: Leave a comment and let me know whether you can or can not see a picture in the banner above. My work computer is showing just white. Much obliged.

Behind the Law

The Volokh Conspriacy has some inspiring thoughts on the stories behind the law:

The truth about the law: One of the advantages of a legal education -- at least American legal education, based on the case method -- is that there's a story behind every case, with real people behind it. (My Civil Procedure professor, David Shapiro, said this on the first day of law school -- and qualified it with the observation that in Civ Pro, actually, the cases can be kind of dull.) Having a story is especially true with the federal court rule against "advisory opinions" -- courts prefer to (and in some cases can only) rule on an issue when an actual real-life result rides on the outcome.

Brings to mind the Taz that takes issue with the Terumas HaDeshen for "inventing" cases to offer decisions on. The Taz states that one loses the siyata d'shmaya (heavenly assistance) given to a posek (legal decisor) when the p'sak (decision) is not a real-life case.

Volokh contiunes by quoting a song about the beauty of the legal code, which I think applies even more so to Torah:

It turns out that the Russian singer-songwriter Vladimir Vysotsky (1938-80) -- a very gritty songwriter who wrote a lot about blue-collar life, criminals, and the like, and who of course was an alcoholic and died young -- discovered the same idea, in his song The Penal Code:

We don't need complicated subjects and plots --
We know it all, whatever you give us.
For instance, I think our Penal Code
Is better than any book on earth.

And if I'm restless and can't sleep
Or if I'm dead from a hangover,
I'll open the Code on any page,
And I can't help but read it to the end.

I never gave my comrades advice,
But I know robbery is a great honor with them.
Well, I just read about this:
"No less than three, no more than ten."

Just think about these simple lines, --
Why do we need the novels of all times and lands?
There's everything in them -- barracks as long as terms,
Scandals, fights, cards, and betrayal.

I wish I'd never seen these lines in a hundred years --
Behind each one I see someone's fate!
And I'm happy when the section isn't too bad:
Someone may yet get lucky.

And my heart beats like a wounded bird
When I start reading my own section.
And the blood in my temples bursts and pounds so,
Like when the cops come to get you.

O.A.R. covers Zeppelin

from the O.A.R. newsletter:

We are excited to announce a special opportunity for all of you...

Beginning February 17th, O.A.R. and Robert Randolph & the Family Band's recording of the Led Zeppelin classic "Fool in the Rain" will be available exclusively at iTunes. For only $0.99 you can purchase this track with the proceeds going to charity. The bands recorded the song at the legendary Electric Lady Studios in New York City before they headed out on tour together. So now, not only can you hear the song live at any of the O.A.R./Robert Randolph shows this winter, but you can also own it for yourself.

For those of you that are new to iTunes, go to www.iTunes.com to download the software now.

If you can't wait until February 17th, then check out the bands website (www.ofarevolution.com) where we're streaming the track.

Thanks to everyone for your continued support!

Y.A.S.I.R.

Just found out, via the Shomrei bulletin, that Baltimore will be having yet another scholar in residence (Y.A.S.I.R.). This one looks very interesting. I might even make the trek out to Suburban to hear the drasha:

COMMUNITY WIDE SCHOLAR IN RESIDENCE Shabbos February 28—Parshas Mishpatim Rabbi Jonathan Blass of Neve Tzuf, Shomron

Friday Night Oneg Shabbat at the Gutmans’. "What Makes Moreh Nevuchim Special? Pshat and Hidden Messages: Some Examples"

Shabbat Morning Derasha
Suburban Orthodox Congregation Toras Chaim
"Building the Mishkan- Why Does HaShem Have a House?"

Shabbat Afternoon Lecture, 4:25 pm
Shomrei Emunah
"Moreh Nevuchim and Halacha - An Example: The Rambam on 'Nichush' and Jonathan's Arrows (Shmuel I 20)"

Seudah Shlishit
Bnai Jacob Shaarei Zion
"Jewish Nationalism- Why Does the Rambam in His Introduction to the
Mishna Twice Misquote Gemarot?"

For those keeping track, we had R. Berel Wein last Shabbos, R. Herschel Scachter at B'nei Jacob Shaarei Zion this Shabbos, Dr. David Shatz is coming next week, and the week after is the aforementioned R. Blass. And, of course, in March we've got R. Reinman. Good times.

Update: Here is R. Schachter's agenda for this Shabbos at BJSZ:

Friday night, 8:45 p.m. “Nefesh HaRav”: The Life of HaRav Joseph B. Soloveitchik, zt”l

Shabbos Morning Drasha
“Well-Being of the Body, Well-Being of the Soul”

Shabbos Afternoon Lecture, 4:00 p.m.
Is Smoking Kosher? A Halachic Analysis

Rav Schachter will speak at Shalosh Seudos.

I'll be getting my exercise this week. Actually, we are eating lunch nearby, so mayhaps I'll make it to the afternoon lecture.

I've got a bad feeling about this...

The original Star Wars trilogy is set to be released on DVD in September. Only the Special Editions, the updated and re-released versions Lucas put together starting in 1997, will be on the DVD.

As thrilled as I am to finally be able to own the original trilogy, I'm still ticked off at George Lucas. Why can't we get both the original and Special Editions in one set? Or choose which one we want? This is classic Lucas; mark my words, in a few months or years, he'll release the original trilogy in original form. He did this with Episode I, releasing the VHS copy a few months before the DVD; millions of witless fans purchased both simply to see the "extras." Although, in my opinion, if you felt the need to purchase Episode I at all, you have greater issues you to deal with.

Samaritan high priest Saloum Cohen dies at 82

[via PaleoJudaica]

Saloum Cohen, high priest of the tiny Samaritan community and a Palestinian lawmaker, died yesterday. He was 82. [full article from Haaretz]

The article fails to mention the important fact that all the Samaritan exiles for accidental murder are free to leave the Samaritan Cities of Refuge (cf. Num. 35:9-34).

Controversy, Shmontroversy

We have already received complaints about the book club selection. I'm in the process of compiling a list of online resources that detail the history of the book and the controversy surrounding it, to set the record straight.

Either way, do you think we would have done this without the Rabbi's approval?

I should note that the positive comments have far outnumbered the negative ones.

Stay tuned.

Cahan for City Council Virtual fundraiser

Elliott Cahan kicked off his virtual fundraiser over at his web site (Elliott is running for Baltimore City Council, District 5). If you are for change in Baltimore City, check out the site, see what he has to say.

I realize the apparent similarities between Elliott's use of a weblog for the campaign and some of the Democratic presidential candidates; it's not coincidental, as I set up the site and have been following the technological aspects of the primaries quite closely. But I think there's a tremendous difference in usage here. Most of the presidential candidates used the Internet as a means of connecting with fringe voters and raising money, rarely if ever personally contributing to the site. Elliott's site is much different. I set up CahanforCityCouncil.com, but other than editing the layout, Elliott does all the work. Thanks to the simplicity of Blogger, he is able to add content to the site on his own (Elliott has no formal technical training).

Local positions like the city council position are about getting in touch with the real people who live in your neighborhood, understanding and listening to what they need, how their lives can be made better. Besides the web site, Elliott is setting up meetings all around the district, talking to people and finding out what they want. The web site is just an extension of this idea; a way to communicate easily with those you represent.

It's odd how the lines are drawn in this particular race. Usually the Republican candidate has the connections to big business, and the Democrats are the "people's party." But in this case, the incumbent is in bed with wealthy developers and private interest groups that don't take into account the needs of the citizens of Baltimore City. Elliott is going door to door to find out what people want. Whereas Elliott lives in and sends his kids to school in his district, the incumbent lives downtown, far away from her constituents. Elliott is the one listening to the people in this election. Using a blog makes it easier for Elliott to keep in touch with those he hopes to represent.

Dr. Shatz coming to Baltimore

Dr. David Shatz is coming to Baltimore in two weeks (Feb. 20). He will be speaking at various locations, over the weekend, including Shomrei. He is also scheduled to give a lecture on Saturday night entitled, "R. Joseph B. Soloveitchik on the Problem of Suffering." (7:45 PM at Yeshivat Rambam).

I'm definetly going to go Sat. night. For those interested, here is a short list of background reading to prepare for Dr. Shatz's lecture.

• A Halakhic Approach to Suffering, by R. J.B. Soloveitchik. Torah U'Madda Journal, Volume 8 (previously available online from RIETS).
• Is There a "Halakhic" Response to the Problem of Evil?, by Moshe Sokol. Harvard Theological Review (previously availabe from findarticles.com; Google cached copy of first page.)

If you know of any other relevant source material, leave a comment or email me and I'll add to the list.

A side note: I was all excited when I started compiling this list of source materials, mostly because I thought they were freely available online (I printed out the Sokol article just last week). Now it seems that this information has disappeared. How sad. It seems RIETS has removed most of Volume 8 of the Torah U'Madda journal from their site. I'm going to hope this is just an oversight and not some ploy at controlling information.

Book Club Selection

The annoncement is going out in the Shomrei bulliten bulletin this week, but you get the scoop here. I mentioned previously that the next installment of the Shomrei Book Club would be something you wouldn't wan't to miss. So without futher ado (or adieu), I present to you the next Shomrei Book Club Selection:

One People, Two Worlds, by Yaakov Yosef Reinman and Ammiel Hirsch

The exciting news is that the discussion will be led by R. Reinman, which I think will be very interesting. For more details, check out the Shomrei Book Club homepage (you can purchase the book through the Book Club web site).

Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here

Questions from Parshas Bo

A few questions from last week's parsha (Bo):

• The eighth and ninth plagues both contain an element of Chosech (darkness). This is obvious for the ninth plague; the eighth plague is described as:

  10:5 - and they shall cover the face of the earth, that one shall not be able to see the earth; and they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped, which remaineth unto you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which groweth for you out of the field.

  10:15 - For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened(va'techschach); and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left; and there remained not any green thing, either tree or herb of the field, through all the land of Egypt.

  There really are two separate affects of the plague; the consumption of the remaining vegetation by the locusts, and the covering of the land, in terms of vision (the Targum translates this as "blocking out the sunlight"). I'm wondering if there is any connection between the Choshech in number 8 and the Choshech in number 9. It does seem clear that there was a palpable difference in quality between the two darknesses, with the latter being the darker.
• Related to the above: Why does Paroah get so bent out of shape over the locusts, to the point where he exclaims: "Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and entreat the LORD your God, that He may take away from me this death only." (Ex 10:17). What was so particularly terrifying about the locusts? Was it the lack of vegetation, or the darkness, or something else (connected with "his'alalti b'mitzraim", perhaps)?

The only piece of evidence I have heard that I think might be tied in some how is the that Plague 8 was chosen by Moshe, not Hashem (Cf. beginning of Ex. 10). Perhaps this in someway made this particular plague a threat to Paroah's status in someway.

In terms of keywords, I think Choshech (darkness) is important. The end of the parsha clearly focuses on the concept of "b'ni bechori Yisrael" (Israel is my first-born son), from the death of the first born as quasi-retribution for the affliction of the first born, to the commandments related to first born children and animals.

Conspiracy? What Conspiracy?

The recent edition of the YU Commentator comments on the cardinals visit to Yeshiva University. The head of the delegation was Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, Archbishop of Paris. Towards the end of the article, an interesting factoid is mentioned:

Cardinal Lustiger, considered by some to be a likely candidate in the next papal conclave, is of exceptional interest to the Jewish community. Lustiger, 77, was born Aaron Dov, the son of Polish Jews who immigrated to France. He attended school at a Catholic monastery where he was safely hidden throughout World War II. Though he chose to convert to Catholicism at the tender age of 13, the archbishop has consistently refused to shake his Jewish heritage. His mother was killed at Auschwitz in 1943 and, to this day, he recites Kaddish for her. Cardinal Lustiger has been at the forefront of bridging the gaps between Catholics and Jews, and his role in the next papacy could have reverberating effects.

I know there's no conspiracy, but sometimes I wonder...

The Commentator also has an interesting interview with Joe Kashnow, G.I. Jew.