The Working Poor

Like all things I do, this is a little outdated, especially since the election is over. However, this issue isn't gone nor are the feelings sparked from it on both sides, all sides.

“Socialism doesn't work—it's idealism.” I hear this one a lot: friends, you're thinking of Communism which doesn't work because it neither provides for the individual in a fiscal sense or in a personality sense. Socialism though, does work. It's working in countries all over the place who work less and have much higher standards of living than those of us in the USA. Instead of setting a top bar, which is as high as you can go, it sets a low bar, of which no one shall sink below.

There's been a lot of talk about Welfare happening in the country lately and about this elusive 'American Dream'. And because we live in a two-party system and we see everything in black and white—we're getting shit seriously wrong. I was impressed, maybe not with the science of this article but with the basic thesis which is that despite vowing to stay in dichotomous terms, most of people and life don't happen that way.

http://themonkeycage.org/blog/2012/09/27/there-arent-that-many-takers-in-america/?utm_source=Daily+Digest&utm_campaign=3f48a29683-DD_9_28_129_28_2012&utm_medium=email

At the end of 2008 the market crashed. I'm not entirely sure what that means because I'm not an economist, but I do know that the hours at the job I did have got reduced to 6 hours per week and despite applying everywhere, there were no other jobs. I was literally starving. I dropped a lot of weight and was feeling really sick most of the time. It was cold in the house because we couldn't afford to heat it and we limited showering at home to twice a week each to save on the water bill. I applied for the modern, card-equivalent of Food Stamps.

Welfare junkies do exist and I won't for a second say that they don't. I've heard people laugh about living off the government and not working. That's disgusting. However, most people aren't like that. Most of us hate being on welfare, find it degrading, but you can't go to school, can't work, can't look for work if you don't eat.

I am not responsible for the system and I can't understand how a family of four can't get food aid but a 20-year-old gets about $200/month. I would've accepted about $20. That being said we decided that no one else would be applying and I would just use some extra money to feed my friends. That's illegal but there's no reason for the government to give me that much money and this way they saved money and time and paperwork but did what they would have done anyway. For the first time in months we had cheese and fruit. Winter got colder, the house seemingly more drafty and my roommate still showered at the gym.

When I called to cancel my benefits my worker seemed shocked. I told her I was moving and thanked her profusely. When I was homeless for a while, she had kept me on somehow without proof of where I lived. Because the problem for most isn't being out in the streets begging, it's working a little and either having a place to live OR food to eat. Because the cards had carry over with your money, I still had tons of money left on my card.

I moved, I came back. My card still worked so I used it to buy food while I found a new job. The money ran out a few months into my job and I just bought my own food after that. My residence and my employment history haven't been super steady since but I've managed to feed myself. I wouldn't be where I am today though if the government hadn't fed me for a while. It would've been ironic if I'd been hospitalized because I have no health care. I know it happens. People can't afford food, they get sick, they go to the hospital and get charged hundreds of dollars. Should I have gotten more than $100/month in food aid? No, but that's not the biggest flaw in the system.

Mitt Romney's daddy paid his way through private schools and a good secondary education and then college until Romney had made enough money to flounce around. He didn't have to pay it back at 6.8% interest. Most of us do. And while I'm sure that the level of schooling, and extra curricular that upper classes receive does make life easier and sets them up in the long run with advantages, I believe the biggest advantage that upper class people experience is never actually having to worry. Moving is still stressful, but they don't have to worry about nights on the streets. Maybe grocery shopping is a chore or sometimes they can't eat out all the time, but they never have to worry about starving. Just being warm, safe and fed and almost guaranteed that state is a leg up on so many people.

I don't believe in a welfare state. I believe in a state welfare. That everyone has the opportunity to live.  

The Man Keeping Us Down

The Man Is Keeping Us Down

Well this week is the second Parasha and I was only most of one behind. Basically I read Bereshit and Noah today. What did I cover? The Garden of Eden and all its fun. A lot of genealogy that no matter how slowly I read doesn't help me at all. (Are the two Enochs the same Enoch and why don't they just move to Enoch?) I watched a brother kill another brother and G-d try to kill us all. My name and two of my friends' names came up and it all ended really with the division of language.

I think G-d is just keeping us down. I might step into why here, we'll see but let's just preview the vicious and possibly pointless smacks down that we got from our deity in this week's round of Bible Catch-up:

There's the whole two trees we can't eat of because they'll make us smart and immortal. This story has a few zingers in it including G-unit suspiciously asking Adam “who told you you were naked?”. G-d's the perv knowing that naked is apparently some sort of ill and letting these two bask in the buff. And then Adam doesn't just blame Eve, it happens but let's cool our anti-misogynistic tendencies to see who Adam blames first. “the woman that YOU put in here with me gave it to me and I ate it.” G-d set us up and knocked us down just so that we, while made in G-d's image, don't actually compete with G-d/whatever vague angelic, heavenly things are also up there (they make giant, super babies with our women too...I'm leaving that alone).

And may I tangentially say that if we were Greeks, the angel guy guarding Eden after the expulsion would have frickin' Nephalim trying to sneak in and steal immortality ALL THE TIME.

Now that I'm reading the Bible in partially Hebrew, I'm reading it a little more. It doesn't explicitly say that Cain's gift is less than Abel's gift. And Cain gives first. Why does G-d dick over Cain? What kind of manners are we learning from our Creator here? Shit ones. If I had that much direct contact with G-d and lived that close to the Garden, and then G-d rebuffs me for no apparent reason, I might go on a killing spree too.

Then some names are listed.....maybe listed again. Who let more than one person write the Bible? And why didn't I notice it on my own?

Noah. Who is actually Noach and I would care about the lack of phlegm but Noah is actually a girl's name. And G-d forbid we give a woman power tools in the Bible....what you mean he didn't have power tools? He built that boat thing without power tools? Good for you Noach. Good for you.

Anyway, we are usually better at listing sins or alluding to sins but in this round of G-d Hates Us And Ties to Destroy Us, G-d is just sad and man is bad. If someone is going to kill us all, I'd like a list of crimes please. I'm beginning to wonder if G-d just didn't like the amount of people we'd made and was getting freaked out and wanted to make sure G-d could still control us.

Babel. I've written about Babel before and about how angry can our Creator be at us working together? Not angry enough to kill us all, which is apparently a change but G-d didn't punish the builders for a sin, G-d punished them for once again, getting to close to heavenly ambitions. Like we were moving to close to G-unit's neighborhood again and this is segregation-land. G-d wants us weak. G-d wants us divided. G-d wants power over us.

Why?

I'm not really sure I'm at a point in my life, my day or my caffeine consumption to tackle that last one. And after all these origin myths while clearly superior to everyone else's because they're ours...are still just primitive origin myths.

And I am constantly aware that this book, these books and stories, are less about how we develop as a people and more how G-d develops as our G-d. And I suppose that if I don't want a G-d image that is 100% douche, I must spin this.

Maybe in order to create a G-d (did I just say it happened the other way around after just reading the story of Creation?) that WAS all powerful, or all good, or even pretty powerful and pretty good, we had to bring our selves down a few pegs. We'd already decided we were more important than plants and animals but we needed to have something like us but more. And maybe we couldn't always find the reason to give this new creature, this new substance, story, character, deity the power over us we eventually would need it to have. Because which is scarier? A tantrum throwing deity that sometimes destroys us because it's scared? Or not having any reason for that destruction at all? So in true Jewish fashion, we started with actions instead of intentions. And as we journey through the Bible that Kavenah grows. And so does G-d.  

The Non-Sabbath

The Non-Sabbath

Sometime after school, I struggled with the Sabbath. My work schedule was not taxing so I had many days off and actually, depending on when the yearly sundown time was, worked on Shabbos. I didn't have any homework I could put off (or rather get done ahead of time so I could actually enjoy not doing it) and it turned into just another day. Lighting candles didn't happen as often as I would have liked because do I do it before or after work? Do I pray right at sundown? Do I try to pray at work?

I took a both spiritually and fiscally risky leap and quit my job (there were other factors as well) and told G-d, I wanted the Sabbath back. I have been blessed with a mostly M-F day job. Friday after work, I run my errands and the light candles and do kiddish. I read my portion in Hebrew and try to eat nicer food. The only kind of labor thing I do is I buy produce because Saturday is my city's Farmer's Market. And Farmer's Markets are awesome so they clearly can't violate the Sabbath even if it is an errand and I make a money transaction.

The Sabbath has been toted, by many scholars and laymen in every stream and movement as the key to Judaism. One day a week, it is so important that G-d Almighty took a break and even commanded death to anyone that didn't (Ex. 31:15; Nu. 15:32—they actually kill the guy in this second reference). And from folks who won't turn on a light to people who do domestic chores that they enjoy and can't do during the week, we have more or less kept this Sabbath.

A dichotomy is set up with this though. If you have “Sabbath,” you must have a “not-Sabbath.” And in my most recent employment [mis]adventure, I have found that this might be where the Sabbath is actually born. To keep holy is to set aside and differentiate (both are commanded specifically in the bible as expressions of Sabbath). The non-Sabbath time should be radically different from the Sabbath time. What's the most different from resting? Working, laboring, doing. At least seven references in The Torah don't just say “take a nap on day seven,” they all start out with something like “six days shall you labor/work/do work.”

I will get a little caught up grammatically (I feel like learning Hebrew is actually impeding my Bible study), most of the references to labor are in the future/imperfect tense, which could be read as “may work,” (Ex. 20:9, 23:12, 34:21, 35:2; Lev. 23:3; Deu. 5:13). Many translations use “shall,” I think, depending on how all-powerful someone believes G-d is, “will” is most appropriate because a super powerful G-d should be confident.

In Ex. 20:9, despite the imperfect tense potential, it says “all your work” gets done. Which lends itself to finishing our need-to tasks before Shabbos so that they are not lingering on our minds during the day.

The most exciting grammatical tangent I took involved teaching myself the meaning change of a case I've never learned called nifil. Spoiler: it's a passive tense. Spoiler Acher: 501 Verbs is the best book no matter the language you're studying. Ex. 31:15, is in the future/imperfect passive tense. Passivity is a nice trick to stress the 'what' of a sentence instead of the 'who'. So even if G-d is being very polite or unsure and hopeful: shit should be getting done.

I'd like to believe that this flip-side commandment is the fueling behind why Jews tend to be over motivated, but I really believe that stems from a combination of highlighting education and immigrant-compensation. However, this ambition can be combined with a little bit of bible guilt/encouragement/do it or die and enhance and enrich the Sabbath experience. Because the first Sabbath is in Genesis when G-d rests and G-d earned that by inventing the world and life and existence. If the Sabbath-observer (no matter how that observance is achieved) can throw themselves into activity during the six days of other, speed it up, then the slowing down and focus of the one, seventh day, can be truly marked and special.

Dad, Where's the Goat?

So, a really old man takes his only legitimate son and the two boys that help out with the lawn and the farm, out on a camping trip. He separates the non-relations and goes off alone with his son for a while, say three days. He comes home, possibly without his son.

If you already know which bible section I'm about to pick on, you have an anecdotal to mastery of biblical literacy. The binding of Isaac is this big controversial passage, for Jews and Muslims and social services. Us Jews stand by it as the separation between human sacrifice and goat slaughter which helped the human species evolve as a culture or something.

I know there's a lot of talk about how many times G-d refers to Isaac as nice things. Isaac is Abraham's only (a politically correct translation would be favored) son, his beloved son. Say “son” again, his son. This is actually the first use of the word “Love” in the bible. This is supposedly to pump up how big a deal Abraham's faith in G-d is. I have always thought that G-d had to be really specific, because Abraham LOVED talking G-d out of shit. It's probably a little of both.

Some of you are worried that this is not the current Torah Portion and my game is off: this was my chapter translation in my Hebrew book, which is how I got such a close look at the lack of love and family that happens linguistically.

Everyone talks about how much the positive words are used, but no one has noted that Abraham, at one or two points calls or refers to Isaac as נער , nar is the same word used for those other two guys. Who, despite what a modern JPS says, are not literally servants. I'm sure that young men, or lads, or boys, were probably workers for Abraham because the Bible didn't have child labor laws.

I hate to say it, but I'm not sure Abraham loves Isaac outside of G-d. Some REALLY religious people just went “aww” but seriously? When Dad wasn't about to hatchet into son's neck, son is just another serving boy? You know who actually loved Isaac? Maybe G-d, because he didn't let Abraham faith-slaughter the kid but really, HIS MOM. She was kept out of the loop and it killed her.

Maybe Abraham failed the test and G-d only told him he won to keep him from killing his offspring. G-d will bless Abraham's lineage with many people...only because he's got living children to go and reproduce.

Just holy crap.

Pesach is NOT a fast day

Passover is coming and I cannot find that writing about not being like G-d. It had some cool stuff about how he hardened Pharaoh’s heart just to make G-d feel more powerful and how the Hebrews “borrowing” from their Egyptian neighbors and running out of town is in fact stealing. I'll continue searching.

In the meantime, let's make Passover better. Every year I kvetch constantly about the want of bread and it's bread-like stuff. I will continue to do so. Kvetching is as important to the holiday as is matzah or the story of Exodus or the Seder. However, the point is that we can survive with less than we have.

Dayeinu...is a form of thanks most noticed in a song of the same name. In it we thank G-d for giving us more than G-d had to: getting us out of slavery could have been enough, but G-d then took us out of Egypt and instead of just leaving us to fend for ourselves in the desert, gave us food and water...etc.

And at the end of 8 days, I realize it wasn't so bad. That being said as I planned my potential meals this pre-pesach week, I was planning beans and rice and peanuts and sunflower seeds and trying to remember why three to five years ago, I couldn't eat any Easter candy...kiniyot.

Kiniyot is one of those Orthodox, obsessive compulsive things. They think they've been building a fence to protect them from Chametz, when really they're causing others to starve. Like they won't eat green beans, because something that's related to a green bean could get ground up into a powder and then you think you're using the bean powder but really chametz has somehow ninja'd it's way into your mouth and leavened. It's too far, and luckily for me Rabbi's agree.

And this isn't just Reform, we-don't-want-to, lazy, half-jewish bullshit: this is a Conservative responsa, with real reasons and Talmudic quotes and everything.

The point is that Passover is NOT a fast Holiday. It is a Happy Holiday. G-d may liberate our people from carbs for a week, but certainly doesn't want us to starve.

Here's the responsum en full.

Eating Kitniyot (Legumes) on Pesach

(OH 453:1)

Question:
In light of the ingathering of the exiles, would it be possible to eliminate the Ashkenazic custom of not eating legumes on Pesach?

Responsum:
1) In our opinion it is permitted (and perhaps even obligatory) to eliminate this custom. It is in direct contradiction to an explicit decision in the Babylonian Talmud (Pesachim 114b) and is also in contradiction to the opinion of all the sages of the Mishnah and Talmud except one (R.Yochanan ben Nuri, Pesahim 35a and parallels). It also contradicts the theory and the practice of the Amoraim both in Babylonia and in Israel (Pesahim 114b and other sources), the Geonim (Sheiltot, Halakhot Pesukot, Halakhot Gedolot, etc.) and of most of the early medieval authorities in all countries (altogether more than 50 Rishonim!).

2) This custom is mentioned for the first time in France and Provence in the beginning of the thirteenth century by R. Asher of Lunel, R. Samuel of Falaise, and R. Peretz of Corbeil - from there it spread to various countries and the list of prohibited foods continued to expand. Nevertheless, the reason for the custom was unknown and as a result many sages invented at least eleven different explanations for the custom. As a result, R. Samuel of Falaise, one of the first to mention it, referred to it as a "mistaken custom" and R. Yerucham called it a "foolish custom".

3) Therefore, the main halakhic question in this case is whether it is permissible to do away with a mistaken or foolish custom. Many rabbinic authorities have ruled that it is permitted (and perhaps even obligatory) to do away with this type of "foolish custom" (R. Abin in Yerushalmi Pesahim, Maimonides, the Rosh, the Ribash, and many others). Furthermore, there are many good reasons to do away with this "foolish custom": a) It detracts from the joy of the holiday by limiting the number of permitted foods; b) It causes exorbitant price rises, which result in "major financial loss" and, as is well known, "the Torah takes pity on the people of Israel's money"; c) It emphasizes the insignificant (legumes) and ignores the significant (hametz, which is forbidden from the five kinds of grain); d) It causes people to scoff at the commandments in general and at the prohibition of hametz in particular - if this custom has no purpose and is observed, then there is no reason to observe other commandments; e) Finally, it causes unnecessary divisions between Israel's different ethnic groups. On the other hand, there is only one reason to observe this custom: the desire to preserve an old custom. Obviously, this desire does not override all that was mentioned above. Therefore, both Ashkenazim and Sephardim are permitted to eat legumes and rice on Pesah without fear of transgressing any prohibition.

4) Undoubtedly, there will be Ashkenazim who will want to stick to the "custom of their ancestors" even though they know that it is permitted to eat legumes on Pesah. To them we recommend that they observe only the original custom of not eating rice and legumes but that they use oil from legumes and all the other foods "forbidden" over the years, such as peas, beans, garlic, mustard, sunflower seeds, peanuts etc. Thus they will be able to eat hundreds of products, which bear the label "Kosher for Pesah for those who eat legumes." This will make their lives easier and will add joy and pleasure to their observance of Pesah.

Rabbi David Golinkin
Approved Unanimously 5749

Chag Sameach!

From Nothing to Something

So here's a blog...but not the one I've been telling people about (not being like G-d)...uh it's still seasonally appropriate but I must have blended the two in my brain...I'll do my best to find the one I've been actually thinking about...it is much more serious than this one (it has bible quotes). This one is nice and frivolous. Had I known I was thinking of two separate writings, I would have posted the serious one first and let you recover with this one...feel free to read them in reverse if I ever find the other one.

The analogy I'm about to build will be misplaced in several areas. The first being my discussion of Easter Egg Hunting. If I were a born-Jew, I might talk here about the Hiding of the Afikoman during the Pesach Seder, but I'm not and do not wish to pretend that I am; besides, I find many, multi-colored eggs much more exciting than matzah. My taxes are more exciting than matzah (and by that I mean dayeinu).

I am 23, and the Egg Hunt is one of the things I miss most about my gentile childhood (having in no way given up Halloween). The whole egg process is fun but the hunt is where it is at. Suddenly the living room and kitchen—the same as they always are—ALL YEAR—for as long as we lived there, are transformed. It's not the holiday or the eggs or their colors, but the fact that now there is potential and in 12, 18 or 36 (this is way too many for less than three kids by the way and twice as many as Dad actually put out...unknown to us) places....in those places there is something where once there was nothing.

With permission, I'll transfer to my point. Existence in any form: G-d, math, consciousness; eggs, is based upon the fact that there is something where there could be nothing. That is Creation. Did it evove from a bang or did G-d pop it there in G-dly ways? Did G-d pop the bang? For the rational-atheist, the egg is colored, found and eaten. For the believer the egg appears by magic [giant magic bunny]. Or in this case, literally and religiously, by my Bearded father. In the hunt—my dad waking up at the pre-crack of dawn to escond hard boiled, dyed eggs in the furniture, on painting frames, behind books and in cups....and then forget where they are, is no less powerful, mysterious and moving as a potentially sentient being creating, ordering and running (or forgetting about) the universe.

Whether a parent, a Giant Anthropomorphized Rabbit, Jesus, or G-d put the egg next the VCR—nothing changes that silly, frivolous, fantastical moment when something is where nothing was before.

Exodus 18:18 You will surely wear yourself out

Here's some thoughts from TODAY's parsha. That's right folks, I'm all caught up. And in the week that I did my Hebrew EVERY day and read the current Torah Portion, these are what I am thinking.

Coming soon: some stuff about how we shouldn't be like G-d. Not this week though, this week, we should be like G-d.

Burn Out

Also known as whatever-you-are-doing-too-much-of Fatigue. I've always liked Jethro (read Yitro) in the bible (and on NCIS). He's just a nice guy. Good dad, kind father in law. Schleps the family back to Moses after the whole Egypt thing. And sits Moses aside to take care of him in a way that no one else really does. G-d give Moses Aaron, but more as a prod that to actually aid him. Often I feel Aaron does less than help. But Jethro—he's all help. Gives Moses a job and a house and a wife. Babysits while Moses is doing G-d business, brings the family to Moses, drops some good advice and peaces out.

Delegation Station.

Previously, G-d had said that Moses would be like G-d unto everyone else. G-d delegated, you might say. Actually, between the Angels, the Prophets, and the donkey, G-unit delegates a lot. WHY? Because nothing can be on all the time. It starts in Genesis....but doesn't everything?

By the way world, you know how you're always trying to kill us? WHY? We gave you bagels and it wasn't good enough, so we gave you donuts, and still with the constant genocide. You know what else the Jewish Tradition has given you? THE WEEKEND. G-d has a busy week of Creation then takes a day to chill. And G-d would like us to share in this brilliance as well. Commanding us to take a day off once a week.

Many of us would like to do everything all the time, but we just don't have the time or the energy or we DO do it but it uses us up. Like working doubles, you can do it, but probably not all the time. Even the people that seem to do everything, have things that they wish that they had done more or had more in them to do more.

There are those who are completely satisfied with their amount of action and skill...some of them are just content with their lot and some are mayhaps not being honest with their work ethics. But even the Bezalels and the Moshes and The G-d need time, so don't feel bad if after some heated verbing you need a break to make yourself better. Because that's what the break is for, renewing that passion, or sleeping, or energy or learning, so that you can continue, or verb again. In the end it's about being more not necessarily doing more. And the continued creative effort toward better.

Two State Beard

So I never posted this, probably because I later realized it was half-formed crap, but I'm really tired now, so it looks great.

This is going to be a little scattered and half-formed but the self medicating with coffee is not actually fixing all of my problems.

ARTICLE: http://www.forward.com/articles/148983/?p=all

Look at that: the article that I'm referencing actually in my reference! I'm like a grown up.

I would first like to state that my biggest problem with fundamentalism is that it is detrimental to beards and beardom. We cannot have all of these crazies (Jewish and other) running around perverting everything and in general being schmucks while sporting real good beards. The Amish fundamentalist were trying to fix this, but I think only made it worse.

I really like how stringently this article points out that fundamentalism is reactionary to modernity. I don't know whose streimle was on so tight as to think Judaism should never change: That's dumb. When we started putting printed words in codex [books] instead of scrolls did we say OH HELLZ NO? Nah, now we have sweet books that carry well and share knowledge with all the people. And as a throwback to tradition and things that are inconvenient but still pretty awesome, we have scrollz in our synagogues.

The ancient Israelites did not have boats or planes or cars: all of these things help us visit and help Israel today, but maybe we should get rid of them since they are new. Not in the Bible? We wouldn't know from Bible if it weren't for writing and paper and shit...stolen, new technologies in their time. Aren't we here to seek out the divine in everything? Isn't farming easier with tools?

Fundamentalists are chumps. I understand. And agree fully with the points of the article that address letting them be but not letting them rule us. G-d they breed like rabbits.

Two state solution. Instead of making a Jewish state and a Palestinian state, let's make a moderate and a fundamentalist state. They can knife fight and pray a lot and the rest of us can be awesome.

Okay, that wasn't a real suggestion [I think], but I like the one in the article about reverse, reverse proselytizing. I will Reform Lubavitch the hell out of them. However, the Reform and ALL of the moderates need to get our shit together before that can be effective. We are just not as organized as the fundamentalists. I recommend cookies. People listen better when you give them cookies.

Take A Look, It's In A Book

So, in an expression of living irony: one of my friend’s websites that she does stuff for or linked to had this pledge icon that says you will try to dedicate at least part of your time and effort to the written word. I would love to put it on my blog page, but I spent so much time devoting myself to the written press that I never learned how to do such things.

A few of my friends got Kindles (amazon’s fake-book) for the holidays. Unlike the other fake-book (nook maybe?), they light up. And the lighting is bad for you before bed…so if you like reading before bed, use a real book. A different friend, who owns the latter or a version like it (it might be that only New Kindles are with the glowing having) pointed out that you can’t read in the sunlight if the thing lights up. Also, they work on magnets somehow (sorcery). What are they not?

BOOKS. They are not paper, they have no smell, I cannot annotate them in anyway (I seldom write in books—and people that dog ear pages should burn in the wrathful fires of the Almighty— but I leave shit in them like an army of mini-filing cabinets). Also, books never run out of power.

I understand that they are portable…like having an army of books and supposedly cheaper…

More importantly, they have video games on them—which is not reading.

AND FOR THE THIRD BLOG IN A ROW, I HAVE THE ARTICLE!

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/article/243264

So this is a good article with some ways to save the aforementioned written, corporeal things. But EW capitalism. I just don’t care. I used to amass books. And to date- the thing I have the most of is books and papers. I do love bookstores and want them to continue to be a staple within our society. I can’t afford books though nor do I want to own things. Is the solution a fake-book? FUCK THAT.

Has anyone heard of this institution, it’s called a library. Where you can: download books on the internet, buy used books, read and borrow books for free and they stage readings and activities. Some even have coffees for sale.

Here’s some library linguistics for you, but don’t worry, I’m staying mostly in English. Library comes from Libraria—or the predecessor Latin equivalent. It means book (libro) store (‘ia). It actually came into English from French…..Then we had Free Libraries, which were what we today, call libraries. They are book stores where the books are FREE.

With them, we can be one step closer to my socialist utopia and stay literate.

Jesus Doesn't Suck

Another Blog so soon?

AND you have the link to what you're talking about AGAIN?

I've been posessed clearly. And despite this man's best efforts, not by the Holy Ghost (sorry, still a jew because I LOVE religion and am indifferent to Jesus).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=m-trends&v=1IAhDGYlpqY

Firstly, this is a GREAT poem. It's great words and a great performance of those words.

Secondly, it's really really close.

Jesus clearly didn't intend for the subsequent churches to turn into douches and pervert his message to something worse than he was fighting in the first place (I wouldn't have liked the Pharisees either).

Jesus was a sketchy, anti-establishment hippy who probably just wanted to help people and eat pork.

In other news: Here's why Jesus was at least contexually wrong about pork

http://www.tabletmag.com/life-and-religion/87719/forbidden-food/ (an extra article? Here? WTF?)

The poem is right that the church has effed up extremo. Then he ends by saying he likes the church and the bible. Followed by a quote from Romans.

ROMANS? REALLY? Come on.

Romans is theoretically written by Paul—I say theoretically because who knows. My problem with Christianity is, not surprisingly, linguistic. You can't translate shit four times and expect to get close. There it is. Mishandling. Also, cherry picking. Read holistically please.

Anyway, Romans is dated at LEAST 20 years after Jesus kicked it. “dangled” is how the poet phrased it. Assuming that Jesus really communicated what he wanted to the apostles (I just re-read LAMB—do it—and it alludes to the fact that they might not have had the best communication-station. Then they watch their best friend, whom they believe to be the Messiah, get tortured and die...even if he DID rise from the dead (that makes him a zombie), he peaces out again right after that. I don't think the psychological state of any of Jesus' friends was in an appropriate place to decipher and spread effectively anything.

So if you read the New Testament, it is my understanding that there are copies where all of Jesus' attributed words are in red and it's like maybe ¼ of the book. Maybe. And remember: aramaic turns into greek which turns into latin, maybe back to greek, turns into German and/or English....then turns into other languages. It's just sloppy is all.

Jesus sucks less than the churches and most christians would lead us to believe. And Judaism's gotten better in most places since the Pharisees so maybe we're all coming around. Let's hope for that.

Share Some Tongue

In recent Blog news: I think strangers have found there way to this page. Welcome.

In recent my personal studies news:

WOAH Talmud, woah.

So my Hebrew book, Bet is for Bereishit, is based on Bible and prayer passages and offers little commentary discussions. This chapter's portion is the Tower of Babel story. Man gets a little crazy and decides that if they don't build a giant tower to the heavens, then they will get dispersed. G-d gets a little crazy and decides that if G-d doesn't disperse them (very Fate/Greek Fortune kind of crap that goes completely unmentioned), they will take over the Divine Realm.

The third of the selected commentaries compares this humanly fuck-up to Noah and it's nice because Noah's generation were douches and so G-d killed them, but the Babel kids worked together and were really nice to eachother (they just threatened a not-so-powerful Heavenly Hosts by being awesome) so they just get a little linguistically farkakt and booted out to hotzeplotz: much better than drowning.

The other two compare this foible to getting kicked out o' the Garden. This is where I would like to brake a little. That sounds way too much like Original Sin. That's not who we are. We're habitual sinners, oh yes, but we should not be DOOMED to sin. They are drawing this correlation because the wording in the story refers to them as Children of Adam. Aside from the fact that Children and Adam have other meanings in Hebrew. It also talks about their “first act” or how they “began to act”--the action being the tower of self-importance.

Why does the connection to Adam have to be sin? I know the Jewish instinct is to the sin and doom and gloom but maybe it should be to linguistics. It's been several generations between Adam and this tower business, and we still only have one language. Maybe the connection is that they are still speaking and living closely to how and where Adam was speaking and living. Except he stayed ground side. From there they started a different, not-Adam generation: the generation of where they were relocated to and how they spoke there. That's when people became different peoples and would to be a better identifier, be different children of_________. The nomenclature of the time was _____ son/maybedaughter of _____. From there people became ______, son of _____ from ______. Or just ______from ______.

And that's why cherry-picking and pessimism are bad.