Torah Talk! Parashat Mishpatim (Exodus 21:1-24:18)

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Luke Ford

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs Mondays at 7:00 pm PST on my cam and on YouTube. Facebook Fan Page.

This week we study Parashat Mishpatim (Exodus 21:1-24:18).

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Chris Christie Makes The Case For Israel

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Luke Ford

Dennis Prager writes: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie addressed the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) last week. In the few words reported by the Weekly Standard magazine, he said just about everything one needs to know about Israel; about America and Israel; and about American political leadership:
“America should stand by its friends and its democratic allies, even, and sometimes especially, when it’s unpopular to do so.”
“… It may not be fashionable in some of the chancelleries, the foreign ministries, and salons around the world to talk about why America stands with Israel — but that’s no excuse not to be saying (it), and saying it loudly.”
“I admire Israel for the enemies it has made.”
“Americans and Israelis believe — we know deep in our bones — that if the Islamic Republic of Iran acquired a nuclear weapons capability, it will be an existential threat to Israel, to America, and to world civilization itself.”
“… A threat to Israel is a threat to America. A threat to the Israeli way of life is a threat to the American way of life. Not only for here in America, but for all the nations that emulate our democracy or are trying to emulate our democracy around the world.”
“… Stopping Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons capability must be a top priority of the United States of America. Any president, Republican or Democrat, who allows such a thing to occur on his watch would be acting in a way that is profoundly against the national security interests of the United States and the security interests of our friends in Israel.”
In a few words, a New Jersey governor, generally identified only with state and national issues, made the case for Israel, why America should support Israel, and why Iran must not be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons at least as clearly and eloquently as — and perhaps more so than — any major political figure in America today.

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Fame Killed Whitney Houston

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Luke Ford

On his radio show today, Dennis Prager said: “There are two reasons people enter entertainment. One is to entertain. The other is to be famous. If you entered entertainment primarily to share a talent, you can handle it. Fame can be a nice byproduct of your entertaining of others, but if fame is the primary part of the goal you have, it does not matter what it is. It could be talkshow host, athlete, entertainer. It’s a terrible elusive unfulfilling yearning because you will never have enough. As you get older, with few exceptions, your fame diminishes. It’s like taking a drug from someone if they have relied on it.”

“Fame has never affected me because it was not my goal. My goal is to touch people with my values. I wrote it in my diary that I kept in high school.”

“The same with success. It’s never enough.”

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How The Alexander Technique Can Enhance Psycho-Therapy

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Luke Ford

Juliet Carter is a psycho-therapist and Alexander teacher in London.

Britain has several psycho-therapists who are also Alexander teachers. I don’t know of any such combo in the States. The Alexander Technique is better known in Britain and in Israel than it is in the United States (though it has become better known here over the past 15 years).

Juliet tells Robert Rickover: “Alexander Technique is a skill that can be applied to everyday activities. It’s about using less tension in movement.”

“Another group of problems [helped by Alexander Technique] is a heightened arousal to the stress response and ways people cope with that stress, such as by eating or drinking too much. Compulsive behaviors.”

“Psycho-therapy and Alexander Technique are two disciplines in their own right that are hugely valuable independently. They can work well beside each other.

“The Technique is good for issues related to addiction, to compulsive behavior, whether that is with food or drinking or smoking or any compulsive behavior used to manage feelings and cope with stress. The Technique is a gentle way of letting go of some of that restlessness, agitation and difficulty behind some of those behaviors.”

Robert: “F.M. Alexander came to the realization that mind and body are not just connected but two aspects of the same thing. If you’re working on an emotional issue with a psycho-therapy, there’s going to be a physical component.”

Juliet: “One of the things that people struggle with in therapy is recognizing and managing their feelings. By slowing down and reconnecting to the body, Alexander Technique is a way that process gently happens.”

Robert: “If someone is tight and tense, it is going to be difficult for them to take in the basic ideas of therapy.”

Juliet: “If someone’s stress response is very active, and they’re in a hyper-aroused state, and many people are in that state without recognizing it, it is difficult to think and process clearly and to feel what the body is telling you, whether those are practical signals that you are hungry, thirsty, tired, or whether they are emotional signals. The Technique quietens down the system so that it is easier to notice what is going on, to pause, and to make different choices.”

Robert: “F.M. Alexander used the word ‘inhibition’ before Freud. He didn’t become as famous as Freud. When people think of ‘inhibition’, they think of Freud’s version.”

Juliet: “‘Inhibition’ in the Alexander Technique is stopping your habitual reaction to a trigger and making a more conscious choice. In the English language generally and in Freud’s sense, being inhibited means that something is being held back.”

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Changing Standards To Encourage Minority Admissions To Medical School

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Luke Ford

Economist Mark J. Perry writes:

1. For those students applying to medical school with average GPAs (3.40 to 3.59) and average MCAT scores (27-29), black applicants were almost three times more likely to be admitted than their Asian counterparts (85.9% vs. 30%), and 2.4 times more likely than their white counterparts (85.9% vs. 35.9%). Likewise, Hispanic students with average GPAs and average MCAT scores were about twice as likely to be accepted as white applicants (68.7% vs. 35.9%), and more than twice as likely as Asian applicants (68.7% vs. 30%).

2. For students applying to medical school with slightly below average GPAs of 3.20-3.39 and slightly below average MCAT scores of 24-26 (first column in the table), black applicants were more than 8 times as likely to be admitted as Asians (67.3% vs. 7.7%), and more than 5 times as likely as whites.

Bottom Line: In my previous post, I concluded that the medical school acceptance data suggest that medical schools must have admission policies that favor blacks and Hispanics over Asian and white students. Even if factors other than GPA and MCAT scores (which are probably the two most important ones) are considered for admission to medical school, wouldn’t it still be very hard to conclude that admissions policies to medical schools are completely “race-neutral” and completely free of any racial preferences?

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Preaching What You Practice

Posted on February 12, 2012 by Luke Ford

Sixteen minutes in, Dennis Prager talks to a Persian Jewish community last summer about “civic action as a Jewish imperative.”

Dennis says he wishes that left-wing Jews would preach what they practice — a commitment to family, education and hard work.

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A Gentle Wish For A Sunny Day

Posted on February 12, 2012 by Luke Ford

When I teach my new students to free their necks, they always try to do something and end up with a sore neck.

What the heck does it mean to free the neck? It means to release the neck from needless holding and tension. What does that mean? Well, you know what the opposite feels like. You know what a stiff neck feels like. You know what a tight neck feels like. You know what a compressed neck feels like. Well, a free neck is the opposite of that.

So one path to a free neck is to gently tell yourself, “I am not tensing my neck.” Or, “I am not tightening my neck.” Or, “I am not compressing my neck.”

So how gentle should this direction be? As gentle as wishing that next Sunday will be sunny so you can have a picnic. You’re not going to try to do anything to make next Sunday sunny. It’s just a gentle wish.

The more gently and lightly you give yourself directions, the more effective they will be (Robert Rickover).

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This Week’s Torah Portion – Parashat Mishpatim (Exodus 21:1-24:18)

Posted on February 12, 2012 by Luke Ford

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs Mondays at 7:00 pm PST on my cam and on YouTube. Facebook Fan Page.

This week we study Parashat Mishpatim (Exodus 21:1-24:18).

* Rabbi Berel Wein writes: “The Torah prescribes that a Jewish servant who wishes to remain permanently in servitude – he loves his master’s home and his family – is given a permanent mark, a hole in his ear, as an everlasting reminder of his choice. Rashi explains, based on the Talmud, that the ear that heard on Sinai that the Jewish people are God’s servants and not to be servants to other humans is to be drilled with an awl as a stark reminder of his poor choice in life.”

I think Jews prefer to work for themselves and to not be servants to others. It’s easier to observe Jewish law (and to get time off) if you are your own boss.

* Rabbi Wein writes: “The Talmud taught us that a truly free person is someone whose guide in life is Torah.”

This is paradoxical. I often feel enslaved to Torah and I hate it. I want to do my own thing, not God’s thing, but then I start doing my own thing and I quickly fall into self-destructive habits and addictions and only through pain and failure do I keep coming back to Torah and see it as a path to freedom.

When I stay away from Torah or shul for a few days, I usually head downhill. I tend to become like whatever I surround myself with.

For a few years, one of my favorite sayings to people was, “Work means freedom.” Then one day my Asian ex-GF used the phrase and all these Jews accused her of anti-Semitism.

* When I hear a good sermon on connecting to God, I usually start thinking about much more visceral forms of connection. Perhaps this lust is just a symptom of my lack of relationship with God and with decent people?

* Why does davening have to be so long? If you do it as you are supposed to, you are going to spend a minimum of a dozen hours a week just praying. I guess that many Jews died rather than stop saying certain prayers means that we can’t excise them today from the prayer book. I find it hard to pray for longer than about 20 minutes.

* Rabbi Wein writes: “Jewish civil law is predicated on the idea that there must always be a balance between the welfare of society generally and the property rights of the individual personally.”

One of the powerful effects of leading an observant Jewish life is that you have to constantly ask yourself, what affect will what I’m doing have on the community?

If you grow up a traditional Jew, you’re going to learn how to live in community. That’s powerful. Countless people I know can’t stand to have their freedom constricted by community but they’ve never tasted the deep joys of belonging. The more bonds you have to other people, the less freedom you have. People married with kids and mortgages have the least freedom, but they’re often the happiest.

* Do you ever notice how polite people in professions tends to be? I’ve almost never had a bad experience with a rabbi or a doctor or lawyer or accountant or therapist. Because they have codes of conduct and can face severe punishment for violating these codes, they tend to behave more ethically than bloggers like me. I guess Orthodox Jews are in a profession. They’re in God’s army. They have a code of conduct and there are sanctions for misbehavior.

* Muslims have a code of behavior as well. It is called Sharia. Would Jews and Americans be better off if they also consulted Sharia?

* I distrust people who speak beautiful words but don’t back them up with specific examples. One example would be Barack Obama in the 2008 campaign. He was for “hope and change.”

Rabbi Wein writes: “We are all aware that the devil is always in the details. It is natural to agree that one should not steal or murder. But what is really the definition of stealing? Is taking something that originally did not belong to you always considered stealing? How about grabbing my neighbor’s rope and using it to save a drowning person? Is that also stealing? Is self- defense murder? Are court imposed death penalties murder?”

* Rabbi Wein writes: “The great and holy generalities of the Torah are valid only if they are clearly defined, detailed and placed into everyday life activities.” I often get inspired by a great sermon or piece of music or something but then I don’t commit myself to details and soon the feeling goes away and I’m just as slovenly as ever.”

* Rabbi Wein writes: “Having just heard the exalted message of the Ten Commandments, the Jewish people were undoubtedly inspired and committed to do great things in their lives. Yet, the Ten Commandments, upon close inspection and analysis, are pretty much generalities. What is the definition of murder, of stealing, of coveting?”

The Jewish way is to do the specifics and that will get you right with God. The Christian way is to get right with God and then the deeds will follow.

According to an apocryphal story, after winning the battle of Austerlitz, Napoleon chose three of his bravest soldiers to honor their requests. The Catholic wished that the whole world would embrace the Catholic church. Napoleon granted his wish. The Protestant soldiers wanted the whole world to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Napoleon granted his wish. And the Jew asked for a tuna fish sandwich. Though a little miffed, Napoleon granted his wish.

Afterward, the Catholic and the Protestant remonstrated with the Jew for asking so little. “That’s OK,” said the Jew. “I’ll get my tuna fish sandwich.”

Judaism is a lot of tuna fish sandwiches.

* Rabbi Wein writes: “We have seen in the world how great ideals like love, peace, tolerance, etc. fall by the wayside unless laws and judicial systems are put into place to define and safeguard them.”

I’ve told a lot of women I’d love them forever. Not so much.

And heck, by the standards of women I’ve dated, my love was more constant. In my experience (aside from the religious and righteous), when a woman says “I love you,” it usually doesn’t mean anything more than a momentary emotional spasm. You can’t count on any behavior following from it. If a man says it (aside from trying to get laid the first time), it usually means that he means it — no matter what — for at least a few months.

* Every Jew has to cough up half a shekel for the temple. Even the poor Jews.

* Rabbi Wein writes: “A great rabbi once told me that it is far easier to have glatt kosher meat on one’s plate than to have glatt kosher money in one’s pocket.” Is a Jew who keeps glatt kosher more likely to be honest in business? No.

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The Los Angeles Guardian Angels

Posted on February 12, 2012 by Luke Ford

It’s not unusual for me to be awoken in the middle of the night by the sound of a whirring police helicopter right above me and a light shining in my window and cops yelling through a loudspeaker, “Luke Ford! Come out with your hands up!”

I try to sleep somewhere different every night but I can’t avoid this police harassment.

I suppose I should be grateful that our city’s finest are working hard to keep us safe in Pico-Robertson.

I was reading in Community Links for Los Angeles Jewry about the LA Guardian Angels meeting with Curtis Sliwa in New York to learn about starting patrols in Pico-Robertson, which has been hit by a rash of muggings and burglaries over the past few weeks.

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Don’t Crack Your Neck!

Posted on February 12, 2012 by Luke Ford

Many of my students have a habit of cracking their neck. I know this brings momentary release but it damages your neck in the long run. It’s best not to crack your joints.

Report: If you often crack or pop your neck yourself, it probably means that the joints are hypermobile. The ligaments are a bit lax so the joints move a little more than they should. In response, the muscles tighten up to stabilize the joints. This makes your neck feel tight and makes you want to crack it. When you do that, the muscles are momentarily stretched, they relax somewhat, and you feel better for a while. But when you crack your neck you also stretch the loose ligaments further which makes the muscles tighten up again. It’s a vicious cycle.

…1. Joints move. Okay, you knew that already. The point is that your spine is made up of many vertebrae, each of which articulates (forms joints with) the vertebra above and the vertebra below. The joints in the spine do not have as great a range of motion as do the larger and more mobile joints of the shoulders, elbows, hips, and knees, but because there are 24 moveable segments in the spine, the combined motion of these joints allows us to bend forward and touch our toes (some of us, anyway), look over our shoulders to back the car out of the driveway, and perform nearly all of our daily activities. Without spinal motion people would look like the Tin Man before he found his oil can. Joints move.

2. Normal joints have normal motion. This may sound like another no-brainer, but neck-crackers have a problem with normal joint motion. There are four phases of motion: active, passive, paraphysiologic – where the “pop” occurs during manipulation – and sprain – where ligaments are injured.

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