New 2010 Conservative Mahzor - Lev Shalem - for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur

An attractive and highly creative new Mahzor Lev Shalem (the prayer book for the High Holidays) is out this year.

Judaica House in Teaneck tells us that it is the big best seller of the season.

You can print these preview pages and use it in good health.

• Kol Nidrei/Evening Service for Yom Kippur

• Malkhuyot-Zikhronot-Shofarot for Rosh Hashanah

US Open: USA's Venus Williams defeats Israel's Shahar Peer

It makes us proud to see Israel compete with honor on the world's stage in any capacity. (OK, it is even nicer if Israel wins.)

The Bergen Record has a fine story about the Williams v. Peer match yesterday that also goes into the relationship between Venus and Shahar as two outstanding sports professionals.

Venus Williams reaches 10th US Open quarterfinal
BY AL IANNAZZONE

NEW YORK – Venus Williams, the only American woman left in the U.S. Open, had to work harder than most people expected over Labor Day weekend to stay in the tournament.

With injured sister Serena watching in the Arthur Ashe Stadium stands, third-seeded Venus Williams overcame an unspectacular serve and a sometimes spectacular opponent to reach the quarterfinals with a 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 victory over Israeli Shahar Peer on Sunday afternoon.

“It’s always good to have a tough match, or tougher match, the kind of a match where you have to challenge yourself against your opponent and the conditions and just continue to stay tough and to stay positive,” Williams said. “I was happy to do that.”

Williams had five double-faults and was broken three times by the 14th-seeded Peer.

In the 12th game of the first set, Peer faced triple-set point. She saved all three and five total in the scintillating 22-point, eight-deuce game that ended with a Peer forehand winner down the line that forced the tiebreaker.

Online Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur Kol Nidre services, on Video, on a Live Webcast

Our sincere and heartfelt best wishes to all our readers for a Year of Blessing and Health, Prosperity and Good Cheer.

Rosh Hashanah 5771 - 2010 falls on Thursday, the 9th of September and will continue for 2 days until Friday, the 10th of September.

Yom Kippur 5771 - 2010 falls on Saturday, the 18th of September.

From Los Angeles come Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur online services and videos from the Jewish Television Network and the Wilshire Boulevard Temple.

See a past service on video (why wait to repent?) or see the LIVE webcast of Kol Nidre service this year.

Rabbis on videos at JTV discuss atonement and repentance. There also are holiday video recipes for tzimmes, honey cake and tagelach.

In these coming Days of Awe all of this is good nourishment for the soul.

YouTube: Misusing a Puzzling Audio Clip of the Rav in a Book Advertisement

Here is a video clip released for the holidays from the OU - Orthodox Union.



Transcript of the text of the Rav, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, speaking on the clip:

What does the almighty need prayer for? Why did he tell man to pray? Not the Almighty, but man changes through prayer. God hearkens to prayer because there is a change in the identity of man. By praying man attains another identity. And by attaining a new identity the verdict is not applicable anymore to him.

Talmudic Comments:

This is a wholly elliptical passage. We assumed that is was because it had been taken out of context. In its present gnomic form, it provoked us to ask these obvious questions.

• Who ever said that the Almighty needs prayer?
• When did God ever tell us to pray?
• We do believe that prayer can change God's decisions and actions, don't we?
• What does "change in identity of man" mean?
• What does "attaining a new identity" mean? Same as the above or another cryptic idea? Does "new" imply "improved"?
• What is the "verdict"? What "verdict"? Why does it not apply? Is God fooled or confused by prayer? Or is he impressed? We just don't follow...

We don't know if anyone else is listening. But we are because the Rav was our teacher and because we care about prayer, we take it seriously and we think  and write about it a lot.

This random assemblage of sentences did not sound to us like a paragraph that the Rav would have spoken in a public lecture.

We asked Gil Student, managing editor of the OU Press, about this clip. First, we were told about the propriety of using the recording in an advertisement for a book, "It is appropriate to use a brief excerpt from the Rav to inform people about a forthcoming publication with more extensive treatment of the subject." And notice, he used the word "excerpt."

It just did not sound to us like the Rav. We pressed and asked if they spliced and edited this clip. We were told, "Yes, we spliced it to create a coherent thought faithful to the Rav's intent that could serve as a soundbite."

Talmudic bottom line:

Rabbi Soloveitchik was a great rabbi, a scholar and a teacher. We do not think it is proper to splice together a passage out of context and throw the puzzling incoherent result up there on YouTube to help the OU sell a few books.
[Corrected.]

From Moby Dick to Talmud Bavli Hullin

Who would not want their published work compared to that of Herman Melville's, Moby Dick?

Yes, that is a documented fact. Our translation was cast in such a light in a review some years back.

It has been enhanced and republished now in two volumes: part 1 and part 2.

Here is that wonderful review.

---

Ioudaios Review, VOLUME 2.024, NOVEMBER 1992, Reviewed by: Sigrid Peterson, Department of Religious Studies, University of Pennsylvania

The Talmud of Babylonia.  An American Translation: Volume XXX.A: Tractate Hullin; Chapters 1-2.. Tzvee Zahavy, Translator. Brown Judaic Studies 253. Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press, 1992. Pp. xix + 238.

“All may slaughter,” has to be one of the more memorable three-word opening lines ever invented – right up there with “Call me Ishmael.”  While the latter is the opening to Melville’s Moby Dick, the former is less readily identifiable. In fact, the words “All may slaughter” open and form the reiterated recall to the ground theme of Tzvee Zahavy’s modern English translation of Hullin, one of the Tractates of the Babylonian Talmud. On beginning Moby Dick, I am sure I would feel conscientious and obligated and virtuous and bored. Similarly, that was my expectation in opening Hullin on preparing to review it. That expectation has been dispelled by this accessible and fascinating portrayal of the world of the rabbis.

Times Questions for Deepak Chopra: Koran was written by Jews

Deborah Solomon interviewed Deepak Chopra in the Times

Imagining the Prophet Interview by DEBORAH SOLOMON The spiritual guru talks about his new novel about Muhammad....

Do you think it is possible that the Koran was actually written by Jews?
How come there are so many references to Moses and the prophets in the Koran? I would not be surprised if Jewish scribes inserted a lot of that.  ... more...

Talmudic reaction: All scholarship ought to begin with the rigorous analytical phrase, "I would not be surprised if..."

[Hat tip to Bernice]

Is Nikki Yanofsky Jewish?

Yes, Nikki Yanofsky is a Jew, according to the Jewish Tribune. She now attends St. George's School of Montreal, where she is in 10th grade.

Born February 8, 1994, she is 16, and a truly remarkable Canadian jazz-pop prodigy from Hampstead, Quebec.

We listened to her remarkable album, Nikki, several times, before looking up background information on this young musical wonder. Listening to her music, we had no clue that she was so young.

We have not been a big jazz aficionado, until now. Nikki's voice and rhythm comes across with clarity, power and beauty. Wow, you owe it to yourself to buy the album Each track soars.

Nikki's Myspace page is confusing but has links to her music and concerts.

In Search of the Perfect Shul

In one particularly intense, mature and serious stage, while I was on a sabbatical for six months from my teaching in 1978, I decided to try to pray at least one time in every one of the synagogues in Jerusalem, the most sacred city in Judaism. That capital city of Judaism has dozens of varieties of shuls for all kinds of worship styles of the various and sundry communities who live there side-by-side and mostly with mutual respect and at peace with one another.

During that phase of my life I imagined in an especially colorful way that I was engaged in a quest for a perfect religious experience. I saw my professed search as a parallel to the one Bruce Brown cataloged in Endless Summer, his famous 1966 documentary film of two surfers, Michael Hynson and Robert August, on a quest for the perfect wave. That film documented the two boys’ search for simple perfection in their quasi-mystical sport. The movie site IMDB sums up the story of that film, "Brown follows two young surfers around the world in search of the perfect wave, and ends up finding quite a few in addition to some colorful local characters."

Is Stephen Hawking Jewish?

No, the famous scientist Stephen Hawking is not a Jew. He attended St. Albans, an independent Christian school, as a child.

Hawking is a noted British theoretical physicist and cosmologist. He has written a new book in which he challenges the notion that God created the universe.

According to the Guardian: Stephen Hawking says universe not created by God.

Even though Hawking is not a Jew, British Chief Rabbi Sacks has seen fit to challenge his heresy:

Chief rabbi challenges Stephen Hawking in row over origins of universe

Wikipedia informs us that, regarding religion:

Hawking has stated that he is "not religious in the normal sense" and he believes that "the universe is governed by the laws of science. The laws may have been decreed by God, but God does not intervene to break the laws."

Our dad, Rabbi Dr. Zev Zahavy, wrote a book on the subject of cosmology and religion -- "Whence and Wherefore - Cosmological Destiny to Man Scientifically and Philosophically Explained: An Analysis Relating to 'In the Centre of Immensities' by Sir Bernard Lovell ". He brilliantly defends the notion that God created the universe and finds solace and wisdom in that conclusion. We've just sent a copy to Professor Hawking.

Times: How did Jewish Actor Kirk Douglas Quit Smoking?

On occasion, we suggest to people we know who smoke cigarettes, and sometimes even to random smoking strangers, that today is the perfect day to quit smoking cigarettes.

Here is Kirk Douglas' first person account from the Times in 2003 of why today is the best day of your life to quit smoking cigarettes. (Yes he is Jewish, born born Issur Danielovitch, now 92 years old. He played the Jewish Col. David 'Mickey' Marcus in the film, "Cast a Giant Shadow.")

If you do smoke cigarettes, please do quit today.

My First Cigarette, and My Last
By KIRK DOUGLAS
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.

My father, a Russian peasant, came to this country in 1910. Like all of his pals, he smoked. It's hard for me to picture my father without a cigarette in his mouth.

Is Gmail's Priority Inbox Kosher?

Yes, Gmail in general is kosher because it is so good at eliminating spam.

And we all know that spam is not kosher. The actual product Spam was a canned meat made largely from pork invented in Minnesota by Hormel Foods. We used to pass by the Hormel factory where they processed Spam when we went out golfing in Austin MN, home of the Spam museum and the headquarters of Hormel.

According to historians of the Internet, junk mail became known as spam because of a deliberate association with a 1970 Monty Python sketch about a cafe where every dish had spam in it.

Now, Gmail has become glatt kosher (a higher level) because it has launched a priority inbox filter which separates Bacn from your more important emails. Bacn is per Wikipedia, "Email which has been subscribed to and is therefore not unsolicited, but is often not read by the recipient for a long period of time, if at all. Bacn has been described as 'email you want but not right now.'" As Google tells us:

Gmail has always been pretty good at filtering junk mail into the “spam” folder. But today, in addition to spam, people get a lot of mail that isn't outright junk but isn't very important—bologna, or “bacn.” So we've evolved Gmail's filter to address this problem and extended it to not only classify outright spam, but also to help users separate this "bologna" from the important stuff. In a way, Priority Inbox is like your personal assistant, helping you focus on the messages that matter without requiring you to set up complex rules.

See the Gmail blog post here for more details. It's rolling out now. More help here.

This feature has passed our rigorous inspection and now has our official rabbinic certification as "Kosher."

Is Golf Jewish?

No, according to a recent article in the New Yorker (John McPhee, The Sporting Scene, “Linksland and Bottle,” The New Yorker, September 6, 2010, p. 47), golf is not Jewish, it is Presbyterian.

On the second day of play at the Open, Jerris and the writer walked the course with David Hamilton, who lives in St. Andrews and is a member of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club. Hamilton mentioned certain “Presbyterian features” of the course—the Valley of Sin, the Pulpit Bunker, the bunker name Hell—pointing them out...more...

Watching Golf and Tennis

In the past two days we got to attend the Barclay's PGA Golf event in Paramus and the US Open Tennis competition in Flushing.

Both are remarkable spectator sport events. We were struck by what seemed to be a light spectator turnout at the golf match, and what appeared to be a heavy attendance at the tennis matches.

The energy at both venues was electrifying - sports at its finest and the business of sports entertainment and marketing at its most professional.

In case you are wondering, Maria Sharapova is not Jewish. Shahar Peer of Israel (16th seed) is Jewish, and she won her match today.

Is Glenn Beck a Christian?

No, Glenn Beck is not a Christian. He is a Mormon.

Mormons, like commentator Glenn Beck and politician Mitt Romney, are not Christians.

For sources of varying authority on this question see: here, here, here and for the rest, here.

It is fair to clarify this black-and-white fact about Mr. Beck because he has been raising all sorts of antagonistic questions about President Obama's religion. He held a rally this weekend that was framed as a religious event, when in fact all it did was inject religion into our public political rhetoric as a means of fostering a sugar-coated patently white racist agenda.

After Washington rally, Beck assails Obama's religion
Conservative commentator Glenn Beck voiced sharper criticism of President Obama's religious beliefs Sunday than he and other speakers offered from the podium of the rally Beck organized at the Lincoln Memorial a day earlier.

By Felicia Sonmez

WASHINGTON — Conservative commentator Glenn Beck voiced sharper criticism of President Obama's religious beliefs Sunday than he and other speakers offered from the podium of the rally Beck organized at the Lincoln Memorial a day earlier.

During an interview on "Fox News Sunday," which was filmed after Saturday's rally, Beck claimed that Obama "is a guy who understands the world through liberation theology, which is oppressor and victim."

"People aren't recognizing his version of Christianity," Beck added...more...

... and see this rather scathing take down of Mr. Beck by Mr. Jon Stewart.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
I Have a Scheme
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

Beck himself recognizes that most Christians do not accept him as a Christian. See the tough Chris Wallace interview of Beck on Fox.

Is Glenn Beck Jewish?

No, Glenn Beck is not a Jew. He was raised a Roman Catholic in Bellingham, Washington. Beck is a recovering alcoholic and a follower of the spiritual programs of Alcoholics Anonymous. He formally converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Mormons. "God stalked me!...He had a giant baptismal rifle," Beck has said melodramatically. "I thwarted him. I led people astray as much as I could, but he kept putting Mormons in my way."

Given the comical penchant that this right-wing, gingoistic, narrow-minded and bigoted Fox News TV and radio personality has for theatrical overstatement (he feigned crying recently about his love for America while on the air), we recommend watching this video clip of a hilarious parody of Glenn Beck by comedian Stephen Colbert.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The 10/31 Project
comedycentral.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor NASA Name Contest

A good Glenn Beck watch page is here.
(Reposted)

Is it Kosher? The Talmud Explains in How the Halakhah Unfolds - Tzvee's New Books

Highly recommended for all Jewish homes, synagogues and libraries, and an excellent gift idea.

University Press of America, Inc. publishing across academic disciplines since 1975 announces the publication of two new volumes.

---

Tzvee Zahavy and Jacob Neusner

How the Halakhah Unfolds: Volume Five: Hullin in the Mishnah, Tosefta, and Bavli, Part One: Mishnah, Tosefta, and Bavli (466 pages)

How the Halakhah Unfolds: Volume Five: Hullin in the Mishnah, Tosefta, and Bavli, Part Two: Mishnah, Tosefta, and Bavli (474 pages)

---

In separate multi-volume works, the project has presented form-analytical English translations of the Mishnah, Tosefta, Yerushalmi, and Bavli, outlined the Yerushalmi and the Bavli and compared these outlines.

In this volume, the main points of the Halakhah of the topological expositions or tractates of the Mishnah-Tosefta-Bavli Hullin are set forth and the theological message of the tractate is laid out. The project yields a systematic account of the Halakhah in its documentary unfolding.

The uniqueness of Tzvee Zahavy’s expertise in the academic study of the Talmud and in the analytical interpretation of Jewish prayer stems from his background, training, and accomplishment. He was ordained at Yeshiva University, where he studied with Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik and Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein. He received his PhD from Brown University where his mentor was Professor Jacob Neusner. He has taught more than 6000 students and received awards for his Distinguished Contribution to Scholarship from Yeshiva University and for Distinguished Teaching from the University of Minnesota. He was awarded fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture, and the American Council of Learned Societies, and he served in 2009 as adjunct professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.

The real measure of Jacob Neusner’s contribution to the study of religion emerges from the originality, excellence, and scope of his learning. He founded a field of scholarship: the academic study of Judaism. He built out of that field to influence a larger subject: the academic study of religion. He created durable networks and pathways of interreligious communication and understanding. —from the Encyclopaedia Judaica, second edition. 

For orders and information please contact the publisher University Press of America®, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200 Lanham, Maryland 20706, www.univpress.com

The iPad gets Religion

A nice summary article from by Nick Santilli of Gigaom, the Apple Blog, on religion apps for the iPad....


 
Some of the religious apps are audio-based, while others provide brief moments (“thought of the day” style) of inspiration. There are the standard works for reading, as well as full-on study aids to really dig in deep. There are even some religious-themed comic books, if that’s more to your taste. Of course, these various options are used at the whim of individual developers, so not all features and delivery methods are available in every religion.

Audio

Covering both hymns and music, as well as readings of the texts and talks, there are some good choices for those who want to use the iPad speakers (or headphones):

• Christian Radio FM (+ $1.99)
• Mormon Channel for iPad (FREE)
• 50 Audio Catholic Verses (+ $2.99)
• HearQuran (FREE)
• JesusTellsMe (+ $1.99)
• Audiorelatos Biblicos 1 (+ $2.99)

Quick Inspiration

Days are busy, but if you want a quick bit of inspiration before you start your day, these apps should deliver:

• Daily Jesus (+ $1.99)
• Words of Zen ($1.99)
• Words of Jesus for iPad ($1.99)
• Words of Buddha for iPad ($1.99)

Standard Books

If you’re just looking to read the Good Word on your iPad, these apps are probably a good place to start:

• Hebrew Bible (+ $6.99)
• The Quran (+ $.99)
• Russian Bible HD ($4.99)
• KJV Bible (+ $5.99)
• LDS Scriptures Library ($14.99)

Serious Study
With lots of great features, these iPad apps should get you kick-started for some serious religious study:

• Logos (FREE)
• Gospel Library for iPad (FREE)

There are likely other great apps for serious study for other religions, but as they lie outside my own personal purview. I decided it’s best left to devotees of those faiths to suggest their own in the comments.
Obviously there are many, many more app choices out there. Using the iPad as a platform for religious study means more than just reading the printed (or in this case, digital) word. Many offer online syncing of bookmarks, additional resource downloads, highlighting/note taking, audio passages, and even group study tools. So take your time in perusing the many options to find out which app’s features best suit your needs.
As an interesting aside, I’m seeing more and more iPads appearing at my own worship services on Sundays. The portability and flexibility of the device obviously allows for ease of planning, administration, study, and note taking: all of which fit the bill for many attending church services. I’ve even seen the iPad being used for Sunday School lessons and presentations. The versatility of Apple’s latest device is certainly finding a home in nearly every facet of people’s’ lives.

Is Hebrew Jewish?

Yes indeed, Hebrew is Jewish.

The Times declared a few months ago that the time has come for The Web Way to Learn a Language (article by ERIC A. TAUB).

The sites that the Times recommends offer instruction in many languages, including modern Hebrew.

These three "Introduction to Classical Hebrew" courses linked here are our own independent study courses in Biblical Hebrew. You can download them for free.

We based these courses on Kittel, et. al., Biblical Hebrew, first edition. The book has since then been published in a second edition.

These are originally university level courses and they now are available to anyone who wants to study the language of the Hebrew Scriptures, men and women, young and old, laypeople, ministers, seminary and yeshiva students.

Here are the links to our course materials and other relevant background materials:

Independent Study Courses (PDF)

Introduction to Judaism
Introduction to Classical Hebrew 1104
Introduction to Classical Hebrew 1105
Introduction to Classical Hebrew 1106

Texts
The Beruriah Traditions

Syllabi
Jewish Studies Network H-Judaic Syllabi
Teaching Mishnah, Midrash and Talmud at the University

• Ancient Israel: the Hellenistic Period
• Bible: Wisdom, Poetry and Apocalyptic
• Introduction to Judaism
• Jewish Prayer
• Judaism in the Time of Early Christianity
• Maimonides' Texts
• Medieval Bible Commentaries
• Modern Judaism
• Rabbinic Texts
• Seminar for Jewish Educators
• Talmudic Texts
• The Dead Sea Scrolls
• The Mishnah and Midrash in English

PowerPoint Lecture
The Pharisees

Not Actually Gone Golfing

Actually, we may or may not be golfing. Golf is a sport governed by rules and conventions with definite aims and a respect for skill and perseverance. That's what we are doing or seeking.

When the level of discourse in this nation falls to a new historic low, when people can turn against religion under the thin guise of patriotism and invoke compassion for victims as they practice racism, when others can disrespect the president to degrees never imagined in our past, then it is time to "gather in" as the Talmudic advice goes: "In times of scattering, gather in..."

So we may be on the actual golf course in the best of scenarios, or we may be figuratively off playing golf rather than attempting to engage in discourse when others want only to practice vicious rhetoric.

See this Joe Klein article about Bill Kristol for an instance, and it is downhill from there.

Times Video and Reviews: Laughter Yoga, Zionist Beginnings, Christianity Clashes With Islam

We don't know what this is all about, but we like it!

On more serious notes, no laughter here, we know what these are about and they look good!

‘The Balfour Declaration’ By JONATHAN SCHNEER Reviewed by TOM SEGEV- A comprehensive study of the British government’s decision to support Zionism. Excerpt

‘The Tenth Parallel’ By ELIZA GRISWOLD Reviewed by LINDA ROBINSON - A fascinating journey along the latitude line in Africa and Asia where Christianity and Islam often meet and clash.