The magic hour before the slush.The silent Killer
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Calorific
Holiday Special - Jelly Donut aka Sufganiyah from Dana Rapoport on Vimeo.
Stay warm
Eat doughnuts
Be Happy
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
Thanks Giving For All
Holidays and sports events are the best way to get a better understanding of a foreign culture, to immerse in a new territory.
In this case, the days between Thanksgiving and Christmas are Americanism in a nutshell. The worlds biggest and most boiling melting pots, seams to be as unified as the People’s Republic of China around the holiday season.
This break, this pause from routine, provides the foreigner with the perfect opportunity to get a clear look at the hectic society she lives in, commute with and consume every other day of the year.
But how willing should and can American - orthodox- Jews be, to fully unify with their country's holidays?
Different seasons, different traditions, same values.
Where I come from, the holiday season is in still- summery- September, and since it’s Judaism, and it's Israel, there’s not a whole lot of “jolly and merry”-ness going on. But, overall, a Holiday is a Holiday is a Holiday.
In both there’s family (for better or worse), more food than a human can eat, and the tradition of caring for the other, inviting those who don’t have, or can’t afford, a warm meaty, holiday dinner.
There’s a special scent, an extra strong – almost poetic- sense of distinction between the native and the by-standard on the eve, and morning- of, of any holiday, in any country.
Hallmark holidays, the American way
People rushing with groceries, gifts buying, wrapping, exchanging, decorating, commute mayhem, hustle and bustle – and then – silence. Empty streets, dead coffee shops, locked businesses. That’s the real sound of a holiday.
In Israel, it’s the Yom Kippur experience. When you walk on the road, because there are no cars driving.
But how should newcomers, or old comers from different religions, celebrate Thanksgiving? After all, this is an American, non-religious holiday. There shouldn't be a conflict. Or should there?
In Brooklyn’s large orthodox community, the question of celebrating Thanksgiving is less obvious than it appears.
Can Orthodox Jews be American and Thankful without disobeying any Jewish laws? Can they be observant of a turkey in a kosher way?
"For God's Sake", a blog on religion and politics, provides an answer, or rather, expends on the question of whether Thanksgiving and the Jewish religion conflict or not.
Thanksgiving offers an interesting example precisely because those who think that traditional Jews should not celebrate the holiday are the ones who appreciate more accurately the historical origins of the holiday.
From the dawn of history, Jewish people have dealt with the tension between trying to adapt to the culture in the country they are living in. Language and outfits on the one hand, and the insular life of living in a ghetto on the other.
Borough Park, like many other communities, possibly like ‘China town’ and other nation’s towns, is homogeneous and religiously preserving its faith and tradition. The spoken language, and the one on most signs and newspapers is Yiddish. Outfits, values and facilities reflect the Jewish orthodox tradition, similarly to the way it was decades and decades ago.
Although businesses are closed during Shabbat (Saturday), and the fact that most of their issues are distinct to their community, Borough Park is are very politically involved, city and state wise. And pizza, shopping and SUV’s are just as part of the busy 13th avenue strip scenery.
Some values are translatable and universal and therefore open to all religions, especially to those who are enjoying the social, commercial and political liberties, such as the community of Borough Park.
Rabbi Hirschfield from the blog quoted above, sums the post on"Why Jews should celebrate Thanksgiving" -
Thanksgiving is sacred to America and should be sacred to Jews who are among the primary beneficiaries of all that this nation has to offer.
Things are not Jewish because only Jews do them, and things should not be forbidden or threatening to Jews because non-Jews embrace them. If a holiday, practice, or tradition reflects our values, then it should be embraced. If not, not.
Needless to say, that if you are a native-native American, the question of how and if to celebrate Thanksgiving maybe more complicated.
In this case, the days between Thanksgiving and Christmas are Americanism in a nutshell. The worlds biggest and most boiling melting pots, seams to be as unified as the People’s Republic of China around the holiday season.
This break, this pause from routine, provides the foreigner with the perfect opportunity to get a clear look at the hectic society she lives in, commute with and consume every other day of the year.
But how willing should and can American - orthodox- Jews be, to fully unify with their country's holidays?
Different seasons, different traditions, same values.
Where I come from, the holiday season is in still- summery- September, and since it’s Judaism, and it's Israel, there’s not a whole lot of “jolly and merry”-ness going on. But, overall, a Holiday is a Holiday is a Holiday.
In both there’s family (for better or worse), more food than a human can eat, and the tradition of caring for the other, inviting those who don’t have, or can’t afford, a warm meaty, holiday dinner.
There’s a special scent, an extra strong – almost poetic- sense of distinction between the native and the by-standard on the eve, and morning- of, of any holiday, in any country.
Hallmark holidays, the American way
People rushing with groceries, gifts buying, wrapping, exchanging, decorating, commute mayhem, hustle and bustle – and then – silence. Empty streets, dead coffee shops, locked businesses. That’s the real sound of a holiday.
In Israel, it’s the Yom Kippur experience. When you walk on the road, because there are no cars driving.
But how should newcomers, or old comers from different religions, celebrate Thanksgiving? After all, this is an American, non-religious holiday. There shouldn't be a conflict. Or should there?
In Brooklyn’s large orthodox community, the question of celebrating Thanksgiving is less obvious than it appears.
Can Orthodox Jews be American and Thankful without disobeying any Jewish laws? Can they be observant of a turkey in a kosher way?
"For God's Sake", a blog on religion and politics, provides an answer, or rather, expends on the question of whether Thanksgiving and the Jewish religion conflict or not.
Thanksgiving offers an interesting example precisely because those who think that traditional Jews should not celebrate the holiday are the ones who appreciate more accurately the historical origins of the holiday.
From the dawn of history, Jewish people have dealt with the tension between trying to adapt to the culture in the country they are living in. Language and outfits on the one hand, and the insular life of living in a ghetto on the other.
Borough Park, like many other communities, possibly like ‘China town’ and other nation’s towns, is homogeneous and religiously preserving its faith and tradition. The spoken language, and the one on most signs and newspapers is Yiddish. Outfits, values and facilities reflect the Jewish orthodox tradition, similarly to the way it was decades and decades ago.
Although businesses are closed during Shabbat (Saturday), and the fact that most of their issues are distinct to their community, Borough Park is are very politically involved, city and state wise. And pizza, shopping and SUV’s are just as part of the busy 13th avenue strip scenery.
Some values are translatable and universal and therefore open to all religions, especially to those who are enjoying the social, commercial and political liberties, such as the community of Borough Park.
Rabbi Hirschfield from the blog quoted above, sums the post on"Why Jews should celebrate Thanksgiving" -
Thanksgiving is sacred to America and should be sacred to Jews who are among the primary beneficiaries of all that this nation has to offer.
Things are not Jewish because only Jews do them, and things should not be forbidden or threatening to Jews because non-Jews embrace them. If a holiday, practice, or tradition reflects our values, then it should be embraced. If not, not.
Needless to say, that if you are a native-native American, the question of how and if to celebrate Thanksgiving maybe more complicated.
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