It is now September/Tishri, and the summer is finished and the holidays of Tishri -for those following them - are finished.
I have been caught up in a sticky situation that does not let me rest for long, so I do appologize for those who faithfully read me or inquire after me on Facebook.
As always, I have learned many things from what I've been going through. I've learned that the gypsies are really not bad people and I don't understand why they were deported. Out of all the people of Grenoble, only the Gypsies ever welcomed me to this town where I never wanted to come to in the first place.
I learned, or rather learned, that racism does not only extend to black vs. white, or hispanic vs. white or arab vs. european. Racism and Xenophobia is a serious problem and this won't be solved over night.
I learned the necessity of being nice to people and to put on a plastic face. Hipocracy is a sad fact of life.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
Incredible Acts of Chutzpah & Kindness N°7
Avoda Zara
erev Tishe B'Av
This year, as every year, Jews will begin a contemplative fast at sundown. This fast is held on the date of Tishe b'Av תשעה באב or ט׳ באב, in the Hebrew calendar.
On this day in history we bemoan the destruction of the Beth haMikdash...the holy Temple in Jerusalem. Every year we mourn the destruction for 3 weeks, and then the 9 days starting on the first day of the Month of Av. Restrictions include traveling, buying new clothes, putting on new clothes, laundering clothes, celebrations and marriages are not practiced.
However, it is NOT only the destruction of the Beth HaMikdrash which occured but the Mishna also states 5 calamaties that occured. These included:
Mishnah (Taanit 4:6),
The twelve spies sent by Moses to observe the land of Canaan returned from their mission. Only two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, brought a positive report, while the others spoke disparagingly about the land. The majority report caused the Children of Israel to cry, panic and despair of ever entering the "Promised Land". For this, they were punished by God that their generation would not enter the land. Because of the Israelites' lack of faith, God decreed that for all generations this date would become one of crying and misfortune for their descendants, the Jewish people. (See Numbers Ch. 13–14)
The First Temple built by King Solomon and the Kingdom of Judah was destroyed by the Babylonians led by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BCE and the Judeans were sent into the Babylonian exile.
The Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE, scattering the people of Judea and commencing the Jewish exile from the Holy Land.
Bar Kokhba's revolt against Rome failed in 135 CE. Simon bar Kokhba was killed, and the city of Betar was destroyed.
Following the Roman siege of Jerusalem, the razing of Jerusalem occurred the next year. A Temple was built in its stead to an idol.
Other calamaties that occured in the following generations:
Jews were expelled from England in 1290.
The Alhambra Decree of 1492, expelling the Jews from Spain, took effect on the 7th of Av, just two days before Tisha B'Av
in 1914 Tisha B'Av was August 1, the day Germany declared war on Russia and the Swiss army mobilized. World War I caused unprecedented devastation across Europe and set the stage for World War II and the Holocaust.
On the eve of Tisha B'Av 1942, the mass deportation began of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto, en route to Treblinka.
According to many rabbanoim, these tragedies boil down to One thing and ONE THING ONLY: AVODA ZARAH.
But what is 'Avoda Zara'?
Technically it is translated as idolatry. Plain and simple. But in our day what is idolatry?
Can idolatry be considered simply going into a church or a mosque or another place of worship?
Can idolatry be considered looking at photos of Catholic saints (who are not 'idolized' by Catholics)
Can idolatry be considered learning about other religions, listening to their sacred music?
Can idolatry be considered discussing with the goyim?
Can idolatry be considered learning about goyim and learning secular education?
WHAT IS IDOLATRY/AVODA ZARAH?!
If we look in the Torah, the ultimate example of Avoda Zara was the golden calf. There were also the idols between Jacob and his father-in-law Lavan and also Rochel in parasha Veyeitzei. In sum, Idolatry has been a problem for the Jews since the very beginning.
Nowadays with the capitalisme being in full-bloom with advertisements of scantily clad women adorning the streets, in the Holy Land as well as in Goy-land...with the need to buy and consume and to show off, I personally belief that Avoda Zarah can be defined as many things. False modesty and having ultra-Orthodox women show of their wigs.....from men showing off their fancy thingamajigs and giant cars that they have no need for. For having false religious zeal and making a Rebbe into a tzaddik and giving him Moshiach-status 'just because' and then putting his image (which is forbidden by Torah. You people at the Chabad centers better watch out...that could be avodah zarah!). Or could it be supporting all too blindly the secular politics of Israel or any other country?
I invite all my readers this Tishe b'Av to explore: What is avoda zarah? And how does it fit into our lives?
erev Tishe B'Av
This year, as every year, Jews will begin a contemplative fast at sundown. This fast is held on the date of Tishe b'Av תשעה באב or ט׳ באב, in the Hebrew calendar.
On this day in history we bemoan the destruction of the Beth haMikdash...the holy Temple in Jerusalem. Every year we mourn the destruction for 3 weeks, and then the 9 days starting on the first day of the Month of Av. Restrictions include traveling, buying new clothes, putting on new clothes, laundering clothes, celebrations and marriages are not practiced.
However, it is NOT only the destruction of the Beth HaMikdrash which occured but the Mishna also states 5 calamaties that occured. These included:
Mishnah (Taanit 4:6),
The twelve spies sent by Moses to observe the land of Canaan returned from their mission. Only two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, brought a positive report, while the others spoke disparagingly about the land. The majority report caused the Children of Israel to cry, panic and despair of ever entering the "Promised Land". For this, they were punished by God that their generation would not enter the land. Because of the Israelites' lack of faith, God decreed that for all generations this date would become one of crying and misfortune for their descendants, the Jewish people. (See Numbers Ch. 13–14)
The First Temple built by King Solomon and the Kingdom of Judah was destroyed by the Babylonians led by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BCE and the Judeans were sent into the Babylonian exile.
The Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE, scattering the people of Judea and commencing the Jewish exile from the Holy Land.
Bar Kokhba's revolt against Rome failed in 135 CE. Simon bar Kokhba was killed, and the city of Betar was destroyed.
Following the Roman siege of Jerusalem, the razing of Jerusalem occurred the next year. A Temple was built in its stead to an idol.
Other calamaties that occured in the following generations:
Jews were expelled from England in 1290.
The Alhambra Decree of 1492, expelling the Jews from Spain, took effect on the 7th of Av, just two days before Tisha B'Av
in 1914 Tisha B'Av was August 1, the day Germany declared war on Russia and the Swiss army mobilized. World War I caused unprecedented devastation across Europe and set the stage for World War II and the Holocaust.
On the eve of Tisha B'Av 1942, the mass deportation began of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto, en route to Treblinka.
According to many rabbanoim, these tragedies boil down to One thing and ONE THING ONLY: AVODA ZARAH.
But what is 'Avoda Zara'?
Technically it is translated as idolatry. Plain and simple. But in our day what is idolatry?
Can idolatry be considered simply going into a church or a mosque or another place of worship?
Can idolatry be considered looking at photos of Catholic saints (who are not 'idolized' by Catholics)
Can idolatry be considered learning about other religions, listening to their sacred music?
Can idolatry be considered discussing with the goyim?
Can idolatry be considered learning about goyim and learning secular education?
WHAT IS IDOLATRY/AVODA ZARAH?!
If we look in the Torah, the ultimate example of Avoda Zara was the golden calf. There were also the idols between Jacob and his father-in-law Lavan and also Rochel in parasha Veyeitzei. In sum, Idolatry has been a problem for the Jews since the very beginning.
Nowadays with the capitalisme being in full-bloom with advertisements of scantily clad women adorning the streets, in the Holy Land as well as in Goy-land...with the need to buy and consume and to show off, I personally belief that Avoda Zarah can be defined as many things. False modesty and having ultra-Orthodox women show of their wigs.....from men showing off their fancy thingamajigs and giant cars that they have no need for. For having false religious zeal and making a Rebbe into a tzaddik and giving him Moshiach-status 'just because' and then putting his image (which is forbidden by Torah. You people at the Chabad centers better watch out...that could be avodah zarah!). Or could it be supporting all too blindly the secular politics of Israel or any other country?
I invite all my readers this Tishe b'Av to explore: What is avoda zarah? And how does it fit into our lives?
Monday, May 3, 2010
Incredible Acts of Chutzpah & Kindness N°6
Ever since my stroke, I have been taking at least one walk through the the great city where I live. I stroll through the old cobblestone streets, look at the buildings, looking for things that I haven't seen yet in the 8.5 years that I've been stuck here.
I go either alone, or I go with a friend, who has time to listen to my ranting. (Those kind of friends are becoming more and more rare).
When I walk through the downtown, crossing Place Grenette, where the bourgeois are lounging in 2nd rate cafés or brasseries...I go through Grand Rue. At the entrance of Grand Rue: THERE THEY ARE.
They dress up in Green, Blue or Red.
Ponchos if it rains.
Greenpeace, AIDS, Medecins sans frontiers, and the croix rouge.
or the worst: teenagers from the suburbs, in gangster clothing, asking if they can tell you something about the region. Discotheques, perhaps. The History of Grenoble, I doubt.
You got it: Those are the 'humanitarian' workers that try to get more than a couple euros from you at one time: They try to get a signature and a few euros every month
They always have a smile on their face. That agressive bouncy walk towards you.
"Avez-vous une petite minute?/Do you have a little minute?" They ask me.
I don't know why, but I think a minute has always been 60 seconds. I'm not sure this has changed since clocks were invented.
Sometimes I tell them this.
Sometimes I have something smarter up my sleeve.
In Grenoble, there's a pretty stable community of Gypsies. I have seen pretty much the same accordeon player playing the song from Amélie Poulain. An innocent smile on his face, as the accordeon goes in and out....as his fingers fly, and the sound is squeezed out.
I often tell these teenagers, who are paid, by the way, that no. I will not give my €€€ to humanitarian organizations that I don't see really doing something nearby. China isn't exactly an hour's ride away. And Africa (even though it looks as if Africa is migrating to Europe as of late), is another continent.
I will however give a € or €€ to the gypsy with the friendly smile, who makes the sun
shine on rainy days, that makes me feel like the street has come alive and its now again 1934 when people were people and not these superficial money grabbers, money spenders and living in the beauty parlor, where they perserve their prematuring deteorating bodies with more chemicals used there than in the mortuaries.
Support your local Gypsy accordeon player.
I go either alone, or I go with a friend, who has time to listen to my ranting. (Those kind of friends are becoming more and more rare).
When I walk through the downtown, crossing Place Grenette, where the bourgeois are lounging in 2nd rate cafés or brasseries...I go through Grand Rue. At the entrance of Grand Rue: THERE THEY ARE.
They dress up in Green, Blue or Red.
Ponchos if it rains.
Greenpeace, AIDS, Medecins sans frontiers, and the croix rouge.
or the worst: teenagers from the suburbs, in gangster clothing, asking if they can tell you something about the region. Discotheques, perhaps. The History of Grenoble, I doubt.
You got it: Those are the 'humanitarian' workers that try to get more than a couple euros from you at one time: They try to get a signature and a few euros every month
They always have a smile on their face. That agressive bouncy walk towards you.
"Avez-vous une petite minute?/Do you have a little minute?" They ask me.
I don't know why, but I think a minute has always been 60 seconds. I'm not sure this has changed since clocks were invented.
Sometimes I tell them this.
Sometimes I have something smarter up my sleeve.
In Grenoble, there's a pretty stable community of Gypsies. I have seen pretty much the same accordeon player playing the song from Amélie Poulain. An innocent smile on his face, as the accordeon goes in and out....as his fingers fly, and the sound is squeezed out.
I often tell these teenagers, who are paid, by the way, that no. I will not give my €€€ to humanitarian organizations that I don't see really doing something nearby. China isn't exactly an hour's ride away. And Africa (even though it looks as if Africa is migrating to Europe as of late), is another continent.
I will however give a € or €€ to the gypsy with the friendly smile, who makes the sun
shine on rainy days, that makes me feel like the street has come alive and its now again 1934 when people were people and not these superficial money grabbers, money spenders and living in the beauty parlor, where they perserve their prematuring deteorating bodies with more chemicals used there than in the mortuaries.
Support your local Gypsy accordeon player.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Incredible Acts of Chutzpah & Kindness N°5
Today was Yom haShoah. Holocaust Remembrance Day. On this day, we pay hommage to those massacred and slaughtered by the horrors of the Nazi regime.
Jews, Gypsies, religious minorities, political dissidents, homosexuals all perished in concentration camps, with one name in particular that comes to mind: Auschwitz. Men, women, the elderly, children never came back, or escaped and exited as living skeletons. We will never be sure how many, but whole families were wiped out, exterminated. 6 million Jews. 11 million people in total.
Never forget.
Never Again.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Incredible Acts of Chutzpah & Kindness N°4
Incredible Acts of Chutzpah & Kindness N°4
JUSTICE FOR THE WORD "GOY" גוי
The word goy in Biblical Hebrew originally meant "nations". In the Torah it appears more than 550 times to refer to Israelites AS WELL AS "other nations", or rather, other peoples.The question of what makes-up a "goy" may now be approched. According to rabbinical/talmudic writings, the "goyim" are constituted of a group of people numbering at least 70 and speaking a distinct dialect. (I learned this on wikipedia).
Now where is the controversy relative to this word? In English, Hebrew and well as Yiddish, the word goy has become synonym with "non-jew". Not only in order to distinguish a barrier between Yiddishkeit and goyischer customs and traditions that would lead us down a non-Jewish path, away from yidden and Yiddishkeit: but also to demean, to judge, and to show an enormement amount of free-hatred towards goyim.
If we study a little the part in shacharit where we say: shelo asani goy (Thanks to G.d who did not make me a goy), we cannot presume that this prayer instituted by the great Rabbanoim automatically means: Thank you G.d for not making me a goy because goys are necessarily "bad". For example, in the Italkite tradition(nusach Italkite) the prayer goes from "Shelo asani goy" to "shel asani-Yisrael".Be happy to be a Jew, a yid. Be proud of it, but be thankful for having recieved the Torah, which carries us! But don't rub any free-hatredin the faces of someone because they're simply different
JUSTICE FOR THE WORD "GOY" גוי
The question of what makes-up a "goy" may now be approched. According to rabbinical/talmudic writings, the "goyim" are constituted of a group of people numbering at least 70 and speaking a distinct dialect. (I learned this on wikipedia).
Now where is the controversy relative to this word? In English, Hebrew and well as Yiddish, the word goy has become synonym with "non-jew". Not only in order to distinguish a barrier between Yiddishkeit and goyischer customs and traditions that would lead us down a non-Jewish path, away from yidden and Yiddishkeit: but also to demean, to judge, and to show an enormement amount of free-hatred towards goyim.
If we study a little the part in shacharit where we say: shelo asani goy (Thanks to G.d who did not make me a goy), we cannot presume that this prayer instituted by the great Rabbanoim
automatically means: Thank you G.d for not making me a goy because goys are necessarily "bad". For example, in the Italkite tradition
(nusach Italkite) the prayer goes from "Shelo asani goy" to "shel asani-Yisrael".
Be happy to be a Jew, a yid. Be proud of it, but be thankful for having recieved the Torah, which carries us! But don't rub any free-hatred
in the faces of someone because they're simply different
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Incredible Acts of Chutzpah & Kindness N°3
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Bicycle riding in any city can be dangerous. All the more, perhaps in Grenoble. In Grenoble, there are bicycle paths, sure, but most of them disappear a few meters down the road, leading me to ask myself if the City Hall just didn't buy enough green paint.
When I did have my bicycle, I was a demon on wheels! I would speed through the city, rain and snow, dodge cars, baby-carriages. Sometimes I would have my daughters strapped on behind me, with all the safety-gear imaginable. I would carry my groceries in the tiny basket in front of me, or going to my Beaux-Arts classes, I would have my big bulky black artists' bag and all my supplies strapped onto the thingamajig on the back, and I would speed from one end of the city. I had wings of steal and rubber!
Eventually, however, riding a bicycle comes with great risks. The greatest being the cops. They are everywhere, "Big Brother" is real (oops, I think I'm getting carried away.). However, I have realized why the Frenchies really do rebel against the cops: They're a pain in the tukhes תּחת. Never have I seen public servants so haughty and naughty.
One fine day, with the sun shining warmly on my back as I sped as fast as possible throughout the Arab quarter (Saint-Bruno), I ran a red light. Yes kids, I actually broke the law. When the police started yelling (no, they did not turn on the lights or do anything, they basically tried running me over, and yelled "Madamoiselle! Madamoiselle!"). I asked them politely what was their problem.
"That was a red light back there," they said.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, I'm color blind. You see why I don't have my driver's license, now?", and I sped away as fast as I could.
For anyone who has ever driven in Grenoble, those people know about the situation of certain streets. The most shameful being street that takes me to the kosher butcher. Once again, speeding on the bicycle, going to Mr. Cohen's butchery to get myself a chicken in time for shabbos when the shop closes at 13h00, I got sick of speeding slowly on this big avenue and harming myself with these giant pot-holes, and cruised over to the over-sized sidewalk in front of Lycée Champollion.
Once again the traffic police were there. Nicer this time. Probably because this is not the Arab district.
"Madamoiselle! Madamoiselle! C'est interdite d'aller sur le troittoir!!'
Damnations! I said to myself and mildly pissed off that if I stopped to reason with them, I would miss out on that kosher chicken for shabbos.
"I'm so sorry, but I don't speak French!" I shouted back and pedalled as fast as I could, faster than when I was a teenager, without a doubt!
Since then, many things have stayed the same. The Arab quarter still gives me the freaks when I go by. The smell of the unhealthy mystery-kebab is still there. My bicycle eventually lost its' breaks, its headlights were stolen. For a while I used my feet to slow myself down.
Eventually, I took the train one early morning to go to Bordeaux. I parked and locked up my bike outside the train station, thinking that it could never get stolen there with all the military people who would roam around there with automatic machine guns thanks to Al-Quaïda & C°.
well...yes, you guessed it. The hippies probably stole it. Goodbye Daisy. Fare-the-well.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Incredible Acts of Chutzpah & Kindness N°2
The Post-Office
As some people may know, the post-office in France is often a target of worker's strikes, prompted by unions such as the CGT (the most notorious with their curious Red flag: remind you of anything?), and the other various unions that exist in France.
Last year during the fight led by the right-wing government led by Nicolas Sarkozy, to privatize the post-office, the post office was again, in strike.
However on this particular day, seeing that the door of the post-office was open, and despite the sign talking about the social actions taking place inside the yellow and blue post-office, filled with unsmiling civil servants, I approached the service counter.
"Qu'est-ce que je puisse faire pour vous?" ("How can I help you?"), the unhappy bourgeois looking maghrebine girl asked me.
"I want a stamp, please," I responded with all due respect.
"I can't help you with that," she quickly retorted, unless you go to the automatic machine.
"But I want a pretty stamp! This letter is for my Grandmother who lives far far away!" I almost yelled back, desperate for someone to just let me pay about 0.80€ to get a stamp that looked pretty.
"I'm sorry I'm on strike. There's no one here to sell you a stamp."
I stand there for about a mini-second just for good effect, noticing how she really didn't SOUND sorry enough for me.
"Well, I see that you're there! And what about those three colleagues behind you with obviously nothing to do?! There ARE people here!" I shouted. (Now I WAS really shouting!).
"We are in strike, we can't help you. Like I already said."
"Ben dis-donc!" I said and turned around and walked out of that post office.
I had to wait another day to get a pretty stamp (jolie timbre) for my Grandmother's birthday card.
======
After this incident, I learned that while on strike, in order to not loose a day's pay, people just stick around at work.
Now how's THAT for going on strike!!
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