This Week’s Parsha (Exodus 19:1–20:23)

Posted on January 17, 2011 by Luke Ford

Watch the whole show!

I discuss the weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Rabbs every Monday at 7pm PST on my live cam and YouTube.

This week’s parsha is Yitro.

* What do you think of Sarah Palin saying she was a victim of a blood libel?

* What role does race play in Torah? I know that it is virtually absent as a theme in the Bible. No skin color is superior to another. In my understanding, this is true of the larger Jewish tradition.

* What does Martin Luther King mean to you? What should it mean to Orthodox Jews? Martin Luther King plagiarized his PhD thesis at Boston College and was a serial adulterer. Does this matter? How come we have no national holidays for Torah scholars or any other special interest?

* Does the Torah believe in not holding people accountable for their behavior because of their past suffering?

* Why does the parsha keep referring to Yitro as Moshe’s father-in-law? Wouldn’t once or twice be enough?

* How come there is only one parsha (Torah portion) named after a Jew (Pinchas) but three after non-Jews (Noach, Balak)?

* The Torah’s view of non-Jews is largely positive. For example, Pharoah’s daughter saves Moshe. Moshe takes advice from Yitro.

* Jews are the first nation in the world you could convert to. You could not convert to being an Egyptian. You can convert to a religion but it is difficult to convert to full membership in a people.

* If Moshe listens to Yitro’s advice, why should not Jews listen to what the wise non-Jews have to say about Torah?

* Yitro is the first person to use the phrase, “Baruch HaShem.” Orthodox Jews tend to say “Baruch HaShem” (praise God) over anything.

* The Torah talks about a lot of non-Jews (eiruv rav) came out of Egypt with the Jews. The Torah says nothing bad about them, though the rabbinic tradition does, blaming them for the Golden Calf. The Torah is less blood-oriented than later generations.

* In comparison with other bibles, the Torah stands out for its even-handed approach to non-adherents.

* Moshe was killing himself trying to hear all the Jews’ disputes. If you are killing yourself doing something good, you are still killing yourself and probably should dial back.

* Moshe apparently sent his wife and kids away during the plagues and Exodus. I wonder what kind of father and husband Moshe was? The Vilna Gaon studied Torah 18 hours a day. What kind of husband and father he was? When a man takes on a mission, his family usually pays the price. If you do feel compelled to save the world, perhaps you shouldn’t have kids. Such kids are usually cheated of a father and/or mother.

* Ex. 18:21. Good judges are people who despise money.

* Nothing about compassion in its listing of qualifications for judges. They have to love truth.

* Ex. 19:15 Why abstain from sex for three days prior to the divine revelation? Is there something about sex that is impure?

* Are bloggers a threat to Orthodox Judaism?

Posted in R. Rabbs, Torah | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on This Week’s Parsha (Exodus 19:1–20:23)

Letter From A Birmingham Jail

Posted on January 17, 2011 by Luke Ford

On his radio show today, Dennis Prager said: “There is not a single founder of this country who did not believe in God, in providence, in God judging nations, the afterlife, that we are judged and that this country could not survive without God.”

“He did go around calling himself Dr. King. He called himself Reverend King.”

“Would the United States have been better off or worse off if there had never been a Martin Luther King? It is not debatable by sane minds [that the U.S. is better off].”

“I got a texting ticket at a red light. If there’s a ticket, I’ve gotten it. It was for about $25. I thought I would get a notice in the mail. Sure enough, I did after a month. For not showing up in court, your bill is $850. And there’s a warrant out for my arrest. There may be a letter from LA County jail from Dennis Prager.”

Dennis complained that every question, he heard, in the Miss America contest was politically charged. “Why must every area be politicized? There is no place to detoxify.

“I was reading an article on Miss Massachusetts. She’s magna cum laude from Harvard. I love that at the center of intellectual feminism, someone from Massachusetts ran for Miss America. The notion that you can be sexy and feminine and bright, why is that considered mutually considered? The sexy should know that they can be bright and the bright should know that they can be sexy. Feminism said they are mutually exclusive. A woman to be taken seriously has to de-emphasize her attractiveness. It was a stupid message. Between a little less brains and a little less hairy legs, I’ll take the less brains.”

From DennisPrager.com:

Monday, January 17, 2011 Radio Show
H1: Letter from the Birmingham Jail
Prager H1: Dennis honors Reverend Martin Luther King by reading excerpts from his famous “Letter from a Birmingham Jail, one the most profound documents of American history…

Monday, January 17, 2011 Radio Show
H2: The Secularization of a Man of God
Prager H2: Reverend Martin Luther King is now universally referred to as Dr. Martin Luther King. This is part of the Left’s desire to remove the importance of religion from the civil rights struggle… The Administration has released a report endorsing women in combat. This is foolishness in the extreme. Does anybody really believe a combat unit would be enhanced by the presence of women?

Monday, January 17, 2011 Radio Show
H3: Moral Bank Account
Prager H3: Yes, Martin Luther King Jr. had his personal flaws. Yes, he had ideas that conservatives strongly disagree with. But on balance there can be no question that he made a major, vital contribution to this country. His “moral” bank account was very full… Dennis talks Rabbi Shmuley Boteach about his new book Honoring the Child Spirit: Inspiration and Learning from Our Children. They also talk about Shmuley’s defense of Sarah Palin’s use of the term “blood libel” in the Wall Street Journal.

Posted in Dennis Prager | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Letter From A Birmingham Jail

Minnie Driver, Paul Giamatti & Dustin Hoffman in Mordecai Richler Adaptation; A Yiddish Romeo & Juliet; Gabrielle Giffords, Debbie Friedman & More

Posted on January 17, 2011 by TheJewishChannel

Click here to watch in High Definition (HD)

Posted in Articles | Comments Off on Minnie Driver, Paul Giamatti & Dustin Hoffman in Mordecai Richler Adaptation; A Yiddish Romeo & Juliet; Gabrielle Giffords, Debbie Friedman & More

Yisroel Pensack: Feds Planning to Move Loughner Trial to San Diego, Report Says

Posted on January 16, 2011 by Yisroel Pensack

According to a Washington Post report by Jerry Markon,

Federal authorities are planning to move the trial of the alleged gunman in the Jan. 8 mass shooting in Tucson to San Diego because of extensive pretrial publicity in Arizona, federal law enforcement sources said Sunday night.

Jared Lee Loughner, 22, is charged in federal court in Arizona, but court officials plan to move the case out of the state within several weeks, the sources said. They cited publicity and the sensitivity of the case in Arizona, where one of those fatally shot was John M. Roll, the state’s chief federal judge.

The new chief judge, Roslyn O. Silver, will make the final decision about any venue change, but one law enforcement official said “it’s going to happen. It’s just a matter of time.”

Loughner is charged in the massacre that killed Roll and five others and wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz). Legal experts have said his lawyers are likely to seek a change of venue…

Federal officials said San Diego would get the case in part because it’s one of the closest judicial districts to Arizona. A San Diego-based federal judge, Larry A. Burns, was appointed last week to hear the case because Arizona judges recused themselves. Judy Clarke, Loughner’s attorney, is also based there…

Posted in San Diego, Yisroel Pensack | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Yisroel Pensack: Feds Planning to Move Loughner Trial to San Diego, Report Says

What Do You Want For Christmas?

Posted on January 16, 2011 by Luke Ford

I asked a Jewish girl what she desired (aside from sitting on my lap and pulling on my beard). She said:

* A pony
* my daddy to come home from the war
* my mom to stop kissing the pool boy
* a kitten
* and an A in math and science

Posted in Personal | Comments Off on What Do You Want For Christmas?

What Was R. Weingarten Thinking When He Decided To Become His Own Lawyer?

Posted on January 16, 2011 by Luke Ford
By Yerachmiel Lopin on 01/16/2011

In spite of claims to the contrary , Yisroel Moshe Weingarten (YMW) had a team of lawyers hired by his friend, Menachem Blum, four months before the trial. He dismissed them the day of the trial because he claimed they were not up to the job. There is a great deal of evidence they were thorough, well prepared, and skillful. However Weingarten wanted to do cross examination himself. He had always had full control over his wife and children by using violence, intimidation and with his daughters, sex abuse. Rabbi Stauber described him as manipulating, inflicting terrible beatings, and sexually using his daughter in almost every way.

However, his oldest daughter, Leah, had since broken away from his control and was prepared to testify against him. His oldest son and his ex-wife were prepared to corroborate some of her testimony. His main strategy was to convince the jury that the prosecution witnesses were lying because they could not stand up to cross-examination. His backup strategy was to get the children still living with him to lie and claim their mother and Leah had molested the other children. Both of these strategies depended on his powers of intimidation. He was convinced that he could intimidate if he could conduct the cross-examination.

When that strategy failed and the jury came back with guilty verdicts he turned right around, claimed he was denied his right to have a lawyer, and asked Judge John Gleeson who conducted the trial to throw out the verdict. The judge wrote a lengthy reply explaining why he was rejecting that motion and other motions before sentencing (Memo and Order to Deny Retrial; for a free downloadable copy go here and go through free registration).

Posted in Abuse | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on What Was R. Weingarten Thinking When He Decided To Become His Own Lawyer?

Dennis Prager interviews Stanley Kurtz talk about his book, “Radical-in-Chief: Barack Obama and the Untold Story of American Socialism”

Posted on January 15, 2011 by Luke Ford

Stanley Kurtz Interviewed from Papa Giorgio on Vimeo.

Posted in Dennis Prager | Comments Off on Dennis Prager interviews Stanley Kurtz talk about his book, “Radical-in-Chief: Barack Obama and the Untold Story of American Socialism”

Dennis Prager Talks To Congressional Republicans

Posted on January 14, 2011 by Luke Ford

From DennisPrager.com:

Friday, January 14, 2011 Radio Show
H1: Talking to Congressional Republicans
Dennis reviews his speech to the Republican Congressional delegation. He told them that they are the guardians of the American value system… Dennis talks to David Dreier, Congressman from the 26th District of California and new chairman of the House Rules Committee about the event last night… Jesse Jackson tells Ed Schultz that the USA is the “most violent country on earth.”… Is Pakistan sliding toward an Islamist government?

Friday, January 14, 2011 Radio Show
H2: Happiness Hour: Passive Fun
Study after study has confirmed common sense – watching excessive TV makes you unhappy. It amuses you in the short term, but depresses you in the long term. Be wary of spending too much time engaging in “passive fun.”

Friday, January 14, 2011 Radio Show
H3: Davi Sings Sinatra and Open Lines
Dennis opens the hour with Robert Davi. The singer/actor has become known for his work with the Frank Sinatra songbook… Then, callers take over. Issues raised include: does Dennis still consider himself a passionate centrist; what is the real definition of a parent; who has killed more — religions or governments?

Posted in Dennis Prager | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Dennis Prager Talks To Congressional Republicans

Yisroel Pensack: Tucson Shooter Had Sexual Gun Fetish, Photos Show

Posted on January 14, 2011 by Yisroel Pensack

The New York Times reports:

TUCSON — Law enforcement officials said Friday they have multiple photos of Jared L. Loughner posing with a Glock 9mm gun next to his naked buttocks and dressed in a bright red g-string.

The photos were turned over to the police by Walgreens, where Mr. Loughner had taken them to be developed. In some of the photos he is holding the gun by his crotch and in others, presumably shot in a mirror, he is holding the gun next to his buttocks, the police said. It was not yet clear when the photos were taken or whether Mr. Loughner had ordered any prints.

The Times report also says:

It is the same model of weapon the police say Mr. Loughner used last Saturday to kill six people, including a federal judge and a 9-year-old girl, and to wound 14 others, including an Arizona congresswoman.

Posted in New York Times, Yisroel Pensack | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Yisroel Pensack: Tucson Shooter Had Sexual Gun Fetish, Photos Show

Yisroel Pensack: Rep. Giffords’ Medical Progress Called a ‘Miracle’

Posted on January 14, 2011 by Yisroel Pensack
It’s not often that The New York Times reports on “miracles”:

TUCSON — …Representative Gabrielle Giffords continued Friday to make significant medical progress, her doctors said…

Last Saturday, Ms. Giffords, an Arizona Democrat, was meeting with constituents in a Tucson parking lot when a gunman opened fire, killing 6 people and wounding 14, including Ms. Giffords [who was shot in the head]…Authorities believe Ms. Giffords was the [main] target of the attack…

In response to a reporter’s question Thursday about whether Ms. Giffords’s recovery might be considered miraculous, Dr. Lemole [G. Michael Lemole Jr., chief of neurosurgery at University Medical Center here] said: “Miracles happen every day, and in medicine, we like to attribute them to what we do or what others do around us. A lot of medicine is outside our control. We are wise to acknowledge miracles.”

Torah Jews say in thrice-daily prayers: “We thank You [God]…for our lives which are in Your charge, for our souls which are in Your care, for Your miracles which are daily with us, and for Your continual wonders and favors — evening, morning and noon.”

Posted in Judaism, New York Times, Torah, Yisroel Pensack | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Yisroel Pensack: Rep. Giffords’ Medical Progress Called a ‘Miracle’