It’s now been more than a week since the release of “Red (Taylor’s Version),” so gather round, everyone!
It’s time for a thread that no one asked for but everyone needed:
ON TAYLOR SWIFT AND THE PERSISTENCE OF SPIRITUAL MEMORY. (1/?) I have now listened to it approximately One Thousand Times, so I’m finally ready to contribute my own take to what has grown into a very robust discourse about the album – most especially about “All Too Well,” the most significant song on “Red.” (2/)

Please take a moment to watch this video. The Jewish obligation to speak out about this genocide should be self-evident, but it's important to remind ourselves - and the rest of the world - from time to time. 1/

https://twitter.com/_JMUF/status/1354862766608310275

Chief Rabbi Mirvis spoke up about this last month in a bracing and important essay:
amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

2/

A thread: Six guidelines for a mindful life.

1/ Consume mindfully:
- Eat with awareness and gratitude.
- Pause before buying and see if breathing is enough.
- Pay attention to the effects of media you consume.

2/

Jews of Twitter: Welcome to the day after Yom Kippur!

I know that it was hard not being able to pray alongside each other yesterday like we do every year. But I wonder if there was an unexpected gift in being shown that Yom Kippur isn't just A Thing That Happens in Synagogues... Apologies and forgiveness, repentance and restitution, etc. etc. etc. - none of that stuff is supposed to begin or end at the doors of your shul.

Oh man. I had forgotten how extraordinary this interview is. It's almost 15 years old now, but it could just as well have been recorded last week.

Larry King Live 27 Feb 2006 - Guest: Jon Stewart - dailymotion.com/video/xy39e9

(If you've only got 5 minutes, start watching at 17:38.) The whole thing is so great. But there are a few gems.

KING: Who in this administration fascinates you the most?

STEWART: The American people. For their...utter patience. And everybody, it just seems like I just don't know what it's going to take. [cont.]

A THREAD, about grief and bereavement:
Like many of you, I’ve been doing a lot of reading about racism and the history of slavery in America. One of the best resources I have come across is the Freedmen and Southern Society Project at the @UofMaryland.
1/? The project is a collection of about 50k primary sources, collected mainly from the #NationalArchives, that document the history of slavery, emancipation and reconstruction. It is a staggering and incredible moving project, filled with stories that deserve a modern audience.
2/

Okay, anyone who took an undergrad philosophy class:
Is there a name for that thing that people do on Twitter when they can't dispute the point you're making about X, so they shout at you that the *real* issue you should be worrying about is Y? I saw it in a debate about community noise ordinances this morning. One person was complaining about the level of noise from leaf-blowers and lawnmowers, and another person pipes up to say "Are leaf-blowers REALLY the biggest problem in the world? What about the economy!?"

This week's Torah portion is Yitro, in which the Ten Commandments are revealed on Mt Sinai. I want to acknowledge some of the authors who contributed to our new book, “Inscribed: Encounters with the Ten Commandments,” available for pre-order from CCAR Press and @ReformRabbis… @ReformRabbis The first of the Ten Commandments ("I am the ETERNAL your God...") is analyzed in a trio of outstanding essays by Kari Hofmaister Tuling, Joshua Feigelson, and Elsie R. Stern. They explore what the divine "I am" means in terms of philosophy, conversation, and historical trauma.

Believe it or not, I think there is merit in the White House's position here. Other nations' treatment of their religious minorities is an appropriate factor in our foreign policy.

But here's the thing. Well, a few things:

https://twitter.com/politico/status/1194057641506594817

If we adopt this stance, and do not adjust our posture toward Saudi Arabia, we will correctly be called hypocrites.

There is a lot of pressing and urgent national news that demands our attention, but we cannot let this story get lost in the shuffle. [1/]

Trump Slashes Refugee Cap to 18,000, Curtailing U.S. Role as Haven nyti.ms/2nAVkpL The @nytimes headline is exactly correct: this dramatic slash-and-burn approach to refugee resettlement means that the United States is signaling its willingness to totally abdicate its role as a haven for the oppressed and persecuted. [2/]

I don't believe in hell, but @ATT's customer service is challenging my convictions. INT. HOME OFFICE - DAY

OREN, a well-meaning and generally patient man, is looking into upgrading his home internet service. He is paired with FELICIA, a kind but ineffective CSR from @ATT.

Felicia: If you allow me I will check for the availability of upgrade.
Me: Thank you.

.@JGreenbergSez Your point is taken, but here's the thing, my brother: Getting important stuff done - whether it's in politics, or business, or whatever - means learning how to work in partnership with people who are different from you, and with whom you sometimes have significant foundational disagreements.

Two things that are simultaneously true about #H.Res.246 (the "BDS Bill" currently being considered in the House of Representatives): 1. The #BDS movement nurtures antisemitic elements and is detrimental to thoughtful people's work for a #2SS for the Israel/Palestine conflict. American public opinion is opposed to #BDS, and it deserves to lose soundly when the bill comes to a vote on Capitol Hill (and it will).

This is a Bad Tweet. Make no mistake: Rafi Peretz's comments on "conversion therapy" - and his trash-talk about intermarriage - are thoughtless, hateful, and bigoted.

I need to talk about what I just saw. (1/7) I remember clearly when I first heard about the #CentralParkFive. I was the same age they were. (2/7)

Now that anti-Semitism has been redefined as "criticizing someone who is Jewish," I am officially launching a hate crime investigation into the person who was mean to me in a comment on YouTube once.

https://twitter.com/washingtonpost/status/1115576878604214273

AND let's not overlook the important point that suggesting that "white nationalist" is somehow a synonym for "Jew" is in fact waaaaaay more anti-Semitic than what @IlhanMN said in the first place.

1/ A LONG THREAD. In which I discuss a remarkable discovery about my grandmother, and what I learned from it. 2/ While going through some of my late grandmother’s papers, I came across a curious file: a large binder marked “CONFIDENTIAL” with the seal of the Department of Justice across the top. What was this?

I want to use my five-thousandth tweet (!!!) today to kick off a thread about moral leadership, and civic courage, and about what real power looks like in the conscience of an American city. 1/ The use of family-separation techniques to apply leverage against those who are seeking political asylum in the United States has, appropriately, provoked moral outrage across the country and around the world. 2/

Billy Ocean's "Caribbean Queen" was also recorded as "European Queen" and "African Queen" and WHERE IS YOUR GOD NOW?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caribbean… Exhibit A: