The billionaire pledge seeks commitments from the wealthy to give generously to philanthropies.Leon G. Cooperman, who also made his money in hedge funds, wrote, “I am the son of a plumber who practiced his trade in the South Bronx, I am the first generation American born in my family as well as the first to get a college degree. My education is largely public school based–public grade school, high school and college all in the Bronx … it was written in the Talmud that ‘A man’s worth is measured not by what he earns but by what he gives away.’ It is in this spirit that [my wife and I] enthusiastically agree to take the Giving Pledge.”Somehow the writer found a cloud to put inside this silver lining. Read: The Billionaire Pledge: Is There a Downside to Giving Away Billions?
The AP reported, "Comic actor shows dramatic chops in 'Disgraced'"It’s an oft-used device in theater: The doomed dinner party, a gathering that starts out politely, with house gifts of wine or pastries and glasses clinking over civilized chatter, and ends up in horrific, angry chaos.
But when that party chatter touches on Islamic and Judaic tradition, the Quran and the Talmud, racial profiling and Sept. 11 and the Taliban and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Benjamin Netanyahu — along with the requisite alcohol intake — well, that’s a whole other level of chaos.
And it all unfolds with speed, energy and crackling wit in ‘‘Disgraced,’’ a terrific new play by the actor, novelist and playwright Ayad Akhtar.
Fans of Jon Stewart will have an extra motivation to head over to Lincoln Center’s Claire Tow Theater — the new home of the LCT3 series, which promotes rising playwrights. The lead character, a Pakistani-American corporate lawyer in New York, is played by Aasif Mandvi, the very funny correspondent on Stewart’s ‘‘The Daily Show.’’ Here Mandvi shows a dramatic depth and perceptiveness his TV fans likely never have seen before....
We like the analytic mode of discourse. It is more Talmudic. So a while back we noted the use of the concept "illusion of competence" that someone employed to describe what happens when you practice at a golf driving range. When you later go out an play you find that how you do in practice has weak correlation to performance on the course.
Wow, Billy Graham stopped calling Mormonism a 'cult' on his website.
Business Standard reports, "Indian woman fights against powerful Jewish religious body." An Indian woman, owner of the a restaurant here, has stood up against the dictates of the powerful Jewish rabbinate and decided to give up the kashrut certification for her restaurant after she was forced to buy vegetables in specific stores.
Lehava Silman Herman, 50, who runs Ichak Dana Indian restaurant in Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda market gave up kashrut certification for her restaurant following "impossible demands" made by the Rabbinate.
Mahane Yehuda has an overwhelming religious Jewish population which only dines out at Kosher restaurants.
Lehava, who immigrated from Kolkata in 1981 and still holds an Indian passport, told PTI that she is not going to succumb to the pressures of "impossible demands" being made by the Kashrut supervisor that is "acting like a mafia leading to corrupt practices".
American Dream Developer, Opponents Face Off Over Traffic Concerns - Wcbstv"Having the American Dream mall open on stadium event days will cause gridlock of proportions we have never experienced,” Jets and Giants spokeswoman Karen Kessler told WCBS 880′s Levon Putney.
The New York Jets and Giants have both sued the developer, Triple Five, saying the current project vastly differs from the original plan that was agreed to in 2006.
Traffic experts hired by the teams said the mega-mall would add 7,700 cars to the already-congested roadways on game days, Kessler said.
“We presented over 700 pages of detailed analysis, charts and traffic models,” Kessler said.
The teams, in addition to some local leaders, have opposed the development of the mega-mall citing traffic concerns around the Meadowlands. A judge dismissed part of the teams’ lawsuit in June but said they can refile.
We haven't seen the show. But based on one review we conclude that British TV has a show that mocks Jewish mothers with, "Extreme examples of every Jewish stereotype … the eight mums of Jewish Mum of the Year." It was never entirely clear if we were being invited to celebrate Jewish mothers in Jewish Mum of the Year (Channel 4) or laugh at them. The official line was that it was a celebration, dreamed up by the editor of the Jewish News to find a standard bearer who could combine the very best of modern and traditional Jewish motherhood and who was, in the words of Professor Dovid Katz, "an emblem of unswerving devotion". But that's to ignore the Jewish sense of humour …Do we hear protests? Anyone? Here is the official TV show web site.
It was also never entirely clear how the programme had picked its eight contestants, though it looked very much as if the producers had gone out of their way to find extreme examples of every Jewish stereotype: the bling princess, the control freak, the ultra orthodox, the smotherer, the delusional, the neurotic. As an advert for most people's idea of a mother from hell it couldn't have been bettered and was undeniably good fun to watch – so long as you weren't one of the eight women, who gave every impression of believing they had entered a serious competition.
The format of the show is that each week the mothers are paired up and given a different task, with two of them being eliminated each week. First up was organising the bar mitzvah for a boy named Ben: "Remember," warned Dovid, "that this is all about Ben." As if. The show would have been dead in the water as entertainment if it had been, but fortunately our eight mums ignored this advice, understanding full well that this occasion was actually all about them and set about trying to outdo one another while appearing to be co-operative...
No, football in Texas is not Jewish. It is Chritian.
In "My Man" by Paul Rudnick the "wife of Jesus" tells her story in the New Yorker magazine. Funny. Here is the start:A historian of early Christianity at Harvard Divinity School has identified a scrap of papyrus that she says was written in Coptic in the fourth century and contains a phrase never seen in any piece of Scripture: “Jesus said to them, ‘My wife . . .’ ”Fine, now you know: Jesus was married and for many years I happily answered to the name Mrs. Melissa Christ. I met Jesus when we were both teen-agers, at a Young Hebrews mixer in Bethlehem. I was there with my best friend, Amy of Nazareth, and we were getting ready to leave, because we were sick of all those chubby Orthodox boys in rough burlap robes and untrimmed sideburns coming up to us and saying things like “I hope you’re not menstruating, because I’d really like to touch you.”
—The Times.
But then, across the room, I saw this beautiful guy with gorgeous flowing hair, wearing a simple white linen tunic and swaying gently to the music with his eyes shut, which was especially impressive because the band consisted of two elderly men rhythmically squeezing a goat. I couldn’t help staring, even after Amy told me, “I’ve heard about him. His name is Jesus and he doesn’t have a job.” But then Jesus opened his stunning blue eyes and gazed upon me, and I said to Amy, “I think I’ve just discovered one of the lost tribes of Israel.” “Which one?” she asked, and I said, “The blonds.”
Then Jesus came over and introduced himself and we chitchatted about everything, from keeping the Sabbath to how we both felt really sorry for the lame. Then I asked Jesus about his family, and he said, “My father is a carpenter,” and I could feel myself getting all flushed as I immediately thought, Hello, new coffee table....more...
For our Teaneck Orthodox neighbors Shul membership has its rewards. Paid up members get priority and perks in aliyot to the Torah and chances to lead services.
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