Sadducees, Pharisees and Hellenists

Reading the Jewish Annotated New Testament...

One of the essays in the back makes an interesting point. The position of the Sadducees, coming from a priestly position, was that holiness was a function of birth - this makes sense as their priestly status and hence importance was inherited. The Pharisees and later the rabbis held that holiness was something that can be achieved by anyone through proper education and behavior, regardless of your birth. This is strikingly similar to the position of Hellenists in the Greek world - regardless of your birthplace or background, you could be educated and "transformed" into being "Greek".

Nobility

It's funny how there is still a society of aristocrats - blue bloods who believe that they are better, more refined, more "noble" than the rest.

But the thing is, these are descendants of bloody, barbaric savages who fought their way through a crowd of other savage, brutal, homicidal maniacs to become the barons and dukes and kings.

He is Risen

Back after a long hiatus - we shall see if I have the stamina...

So this Shabbos, I walked 4 miles each way through the snow and the 10 degree temps to a Reform synagogue to celebrate an old friend's child's bar mitzvah.

It is a temple where many years ago we were members. I hadn't set foot there in 13 years. it was odd to come back. All the things that were familiar to me long ago now feel very foreign.

I didn't daven there. As I understand it, there are Orthodox piskei din that one is not allowed to be inside Reform/Conservative shuls at all, but I thought that it was a reasonable compromise to attend but not daven there. It felt weird to just sit there while the rest of the temple was praying. I am sure they all thought that I was totally secular. Inside my head though it was hard not to say the prayers to myself or to hum the familiar melodies.

Balut

So, the other day I found out about balut and I have to say it really grossed me out. Which I feel guilty about, since I realize it is just a cultural bias and I am sure that vegetarians feel the same way about me eating beef, but still.

It's f*cking crunchy. Cue Monty Python - "If we took the bones out, it wouldn't be crunchy, would it"

Start spreading the news... #2

Just got back from NYC. Impressions:

Halloween in Times Square, weird but not crazy. Everyone was pretty low key. Much better than St Patrick's day which I experienced about 14 years ago...

Cab from the airport smelled like piss? Unusual for a indian/paki driver - they usually have some kind of incense or something which makes the car smell nice.

Found a bedbug in the first hotel room - switched rooms (no apologies from the front desk!!! F#$cking New Yorkers!) - checked the mattress and the rest of the room. Seems OK. Still hung everything from the curtain rod in the bathroom. Spent both nights awake imagining creepy crawlies all over me. No bites visible, so I assume it was my imagination.

Had dinner at Abigail's on Broadway and Olympic Pita midtown. Oh. My. God. At abigail's I ate on the first floor - there were no frum people visible. I asked the waiter if they were still kosher just to make sure. How awesome is that? In Chicago only crazy people and those of us who are stuckobservant will be found in all the kosher establishments (except maybe one). Also, oddly no certificates posted anywhere visible. Olympic Pita was the same way - chinese people, black people, a few Jews...

At 11:30 PM decided that I should bring back H and H bagels for the family. Walked over from Times Square to Pier 88. Scared shitless because there was nobody around on the street. Didn't want to get mugged on my last night in the city. But turned out OK. Garment bag filled with bagels, now smells like garlic and onion.

The New Colossus

The other day I came across, by chance, the text of Emma Lazarus' poem on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. And I read the words out loud, as I thought about the ridiculous debates we are having in this country about "illegal" immigration...

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

I wonder if I could show these lines to the Tea Party-ers and the neo-cons of this country, if it would make a difference. I guess not.

From Maledicta: The International Journal of Verbal Aggression

A Catalan curse:

Mecagum Deu, en la creu, en el fuster que la feu i en el fill de puta que va plantar el pi

I shit on God, on the Cross, on the carpenter who made it and on the son of a whore who planted the pine.

That's pretty impressive - even a Russian like me has to give this respect!

Viagra Online cracks me up

Found this comment on some blog. Don't know if it is intentional...