141.04/ Israel's consul general in NY has resigned. His name is Assaf Zamir, in case you needed a stronger Biblical parallel to make sense of things [It is thought that Assaf was the head of King David's choir]
141.06/ The Likud coalition is starting to weaken. If history is any guide, of the 3 major factions - the greedy, the ideologues & the cowards - the first group should be the ones to crack b/c they're guided by objective self-interest. And this is madness.
141.09/ I'm following the news via a Twitter list I made many years ago and just now I've made it public, just in case others could use a place with trusted news sources: twitter.com/i/lists/112503…
141.12/ My son is in Israel this year and is keeping up a proud Cypess tradition of being around for unprecedented civil unrest (e.g. I was in yeshiva for 1995-1996). Praying that democracy and the state endures.
141.15/ I not only employ the line "the fingers you have used to dial..." nearly every week, but I use the intonation of that line for something nearly every day (e.g. "the president you have just impeached is too orange")
141.16/ Reading my notes for Tzav & in 2020 everyone was writing about the frightening new conditions of the pandemic & it got me thinking about how the Seder is supposed to remind us of our distress. A COVID seder would have us wear masks, wash hands constantly, hear sirens etc.
141.17/ All of this Simpsons Bracket voting has made me revisit some other resources on this here sputtering bird site and I missed this thread the first time around. What an extraordinary piece of work this is. Highly recommended!
141.20/ We knew that the day Trump (ym'sh) was indicted would be a great & fun day on this site. I'm glad that (a) the website still works & (b) it's not on Shabbas. So far, the party is just getting started and hasn't disappointed.
141.26/ Not sure why these sales occur on Amazon, but they're selling Rav Soloveitchik z'l books, new condition, for about $5. Maybe in honor of his 30th yahrzeit? Grab 'em, chevra, while you can. amazon.com/Family-Redeeme…
141.27/ One of the signs of adulthood is when you dread cleaning for Pesach more than you do the 8 days of meh food. And what an undersell the word "make" is in the phrase "making Pesach," what incredible amount of work, stress and expense that entails.
141.28/ A storytelling trope that irks me is the idea that a total jerk can reform & become a hero. I don't want to watch that! Almost every good person I know was good when they were young. They were unselfish, self-sacrificial & compassionate, even in tough circumstances.
141.29/ The aphorism "Offense sells tickets, defense wins championships" is going to be put to the #MLB test this year. So far, I like it.
141.29b/ Baseball corollary is that Defense is often the most entertaining part of the game. E.g. I loved watching DeGrom pitch, and the catch below is incredible & worth a ticket. (Ironically that's from an LAA game & they can't sell tickets.)
Downloadable PDF with working links to Divrei Torah by Orthodox women on the parsha and other weekly Torah. drive.google.com/file/d/1uromzl…
141.31/ #HumbleBragAlert: a little known minhag found in a sefer (that I guess I will need to write) holds that you need to keep your Chanukah menorahs up until Pesach and I was able to fulfill that this year, without even intending to. Appreciate the congrats.
141.32/ Am I getting this right? The NYT is bothsidesing Russia about NATO?
141.33a/ There's what I call a "Taco Bowl Moment", named after TFG's 2016 Cinco de Mayo tweet where he posed with said food as an act of politics. It was so stupid that I was able to use it to prove to normies that TFG was inept and any earlier success came from structural luck.
141.33b/ M*sk's malfeasance towards Twitter has been a never ending cascade of Taco Bowl moments. He doesn't understand the product. Verification is why anyone wants to read the news on this bird site - verification *is* the product they provide me. He doesn't get that still.
141.34/ I have no idea if the website will exist Motzei Shabbas. Signing off for now; have a "great" Shabbas and BE"H see you on the other side. Stay safe and #ShabbatShalom!
230.02/ The Assad regime collapsing over Shabbas #Vayetze seems especially appropriate. I had long compared Lavan to Assad, the urbane facade hiding real cruelty and depravity. I celebrate the toppling of a murderous regime and the liberation of Saydnaya prison.
230.03/ Mets Twitter is having a party right now. This is fun. #LGM
229.03/ #ChochmatNashim for #Vayetze #Vayetzei #Vayeitzei 5784 2023 (LAST YEAR). @ChochmatNashim.
Downloadable PDF with working links to Divrei Torah from Orthodox women scholars on the parsha and other topics of the week. 20 pages. drive.google.com/file/d/1JqU6Lt…
228.02/ Fundamentally, a plurality want a minority to do all the work but get no reward while they do very little work & get all the reward. The only system that will get close to that - liberal Democracy - gives too much to people the plurality hates, so they vote for fantasies.
228.03/ #ChochmatNashim for #Toldot #Toledot 5784 2023 (LAST YEAR). @ChochmatNashim.
Downloadable PDF with working links to Divrei Torah by Orthodox women scholars on the parsha and other topics of the week. 20 Pages. drive.google.com/file/d/1dpJe7R…
227.02/ #ChochmatNashim for #ChayeiSara 5784 2023 (LAST YEAR) @ChochmatNashim.
Downloadable PDF with working links to Divrei Torah by Orthodox women scholars. 19 pages. #ChayaSara #ChayeiSarah
227.03/ The first time through the cruel & stupid Trump (ym'sh) circus I read the news with trepidation because I didn't know what terrible thing he'd do next. This time, I read the news with contempt & anger because the MSM helped elect him and wants him to succeed.
225.02/ Finally dropped off our ballots this morning & took a selfie. A fun thing then happened: a young dad carrying a baby arrived after us & he said that it was his first time voting after becoming a citizen! So I insisted on taking a photo of him (with his camera). USA! USA!
225.03/ Yes, I'm the one who waited all Shabbas for the poll, taught my kids how polls work (social science PhD, baby) & what I hoped would happen (GOP leading by only 5). And they got to see my stunned elation in real time when I read the news.