Most of my guest posts here are of a more whimsical nature. It is not because I can't be serious, but because I usually save the serious, introspective stuff for my own blog. Sometimes it is worth going the other direction. Sometimes The Muqata brings the deeper thoughts out of me.
I had lunch with a very dear friend today. We have known each other for close to 25 years. That is long enough to watch each other grow up into the men we are today: fathers, husbands, professionals etc. Our conversation went down the natural path about what we are doing, how the families are and all of the standard small talk. And then we bounced around a few what if questions.
His what if question to me was what would have happened if I had made the move to Israel. He wanted to know if I ever thought about it. The answer is simple...Yes. I have considered it a million times. It is the itch that I have never scratched. A question that forever remains unanswered.
Had I gone to Israel as planned I can guess how very different life would be. If my heart rings true I would have gone all the way. I would have made aliyah in my early twenties. I would have shared in the triumph, the glory and the failure from within and not from a distance. Most likely I would have done my time in the army. I might have seen combat or maybe not.
It is hard to say what line of work I'd be in now. Would I be some anglo expat working for a technology company or would it be something else. Maybe I would have opened up a bar or restaurant that would be so very Israeli and at the same time so very American.
Then again, I try not to spend too much time in the fantasy of what if. I truly cannot conceive of a life without my children. Had I gone they wouldn't be who they are. Perhaps I never would have gotten married. Who knows.
Now I still think about making aliyah. I still think about the opportunities and wonder if it is a pipe dream or just a future life experience. It is not just me anymore. There are so many other people and so many variables to consider.
I wonder.
Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael
Friday, June 22, 2007
DISTRACTED BY SOMETHING RED
In which The Back of the Hill (that is I!) gets sidetracked upon reading about the Para Adumah
Possook 19:3 “zot chukat ha tora asher tsiva Adonai lemor daber el bnei Yisrael ve yikchu eleicha ‘para aduma’ temima asher ein ba mum, asher lo ala aleiha ol” (This is the statute of the law which the Lord commanded, saying ‘Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring to you a red heifer, complete (perfect), which has no blemish, and which was never yoked.).
Then follow instructions: kill the heifer, flick her blood with a finger seven times towards the front of the tent of meeting, burn the beast (skin, flesh, blood, and faeces) with cedar, hyssop and sheni tolaat. Following which the head-priest takes a bath and is unclean till evening.
So far so good.
But instead of trying to figgure out what any of this means, I got distracted by the sheni tolaat.
[If you've read my blog, this does not surprise you.]
Sheni tolaat is oak bug red, Mediterranean cochineal. The name is descriptive: tolaat is a worm or larva (here actually indicating a product of the creature), sheni is an intense dye stuff. As the animal (Coccus Ilicis) is minute, and was usually traded dried and finely ground, it was not apparent at that time that this was in fact utterly shrotzich.
While the cedar can be easily understood as a precious aromatic (see mention of kedar libnan in the Shir Ha Shirim), that is not the reason why hyssop (eizov) and sheni tolaat are added. Hyssop can be considered purifying, and sheni tolaat precious.
Additionally, the transformation of the red dye stuff to white ashes by the fire is symbolic of the cleansing of sin - which possibly explains the inclusion. Tzarich iyun.
Sheni tolaat is also called kermes, from which the word crimson derives, though originally kermes was the name of type of oak on which it lived. Kermes was traded extensively, and was known by variations of that name throughout the Middle East and Central Asia (crimson is the English spelling of kirmizan = Perso-Arabic for scarlet-like, scarlet-hued).
Note that American cochineal (from a bug native to Mexico, not the same as the Mediterranean oak bug) is still often used as a food colouring (both intense orange and fiery red), rendering tamei mamesh everything of which it is part. Read the label on that refreshing beverage carefully!
Annato (Bixa Orellana) seeds yield a kosher substitute food coloring, which has minor health-giving properties (antioxidants) besides.
A term related to kermes, kermil, gives the word carmine, and the reputed verminous origin of the colouring matter yields the word vermillion, which is actually cinnabar (mercury sulfide and mercury oxide), used by the Chinese as ink for signature seal impressions and as a magical ingredient in potions for longevity (strongly disadvised - several emperors shortened their lives and lost their minds because of such potions).
Mercury oxide was also used topically for chancres and certain lesions. Sometimes the cure is worse than the ailment.
It should be further noted that red, particularly in Chinese culture, is considered the colour of celebration and good fortune, and is in China and VietNam worn on auspicious occasions and at weddings, especially by the bride, who is garbed entirely in red. The groom may wear a big poofy crimson cluster-bow (rather like a huge carnation) in the centre of his chest, or, especially among Chinese Muslims in Yunnan and Shaanxi, a festive red turban.
And of course all of this reminds me of those blue threads made with sea-snail dye.........
A gittn shabbes, y'all.
------B.O.T.H.
Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael
Possook 19:3 “zot chukat ha tora asher tsiva Adonai lemor daber el bnei Yisrael ve yikchu eleicha ‘para aduma’ temima asher ein ba mum, asher lo ala aleiha ol” (This is the statute of the law which the Lord commanded, saying ‘Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring to you a red heifer, complete (perfect), which has no blemish, and which was never yoked.).
Then follow instructions: kill the heifer, flick her blood with a finger seven times towards the front of the tent of meeting, burn the beast (skin, flesh, blood, and faeces) with cedar, hyssop and sheni tolaat. Following which the head-priest takes a bath and is unclean till evening.
So far so good.
But instead of trying to figgure out what any of this means, I got distracted by the sheni tolaat.
[If you've read my blog, this does not surprise you.]
Sheni tolaat is oak bug red, Mediterranean cochineal. The name is descriptive: tolaat is a worm or larva (here actually indicating a product of the creature), sheni is an intense dye stuff. As the animal (Coccus Ilicis) is minute, and was usually traded dried and finely ground, it was not apparent at that time that this was in fact utterly shrotzich.
While the cedar can be easily understood as a precious aromatic (see mention of kedar libnan in the Shir Ha Shirim), that is not the reason why hyssop (eizov) and sheni tolaat are added. Hyssop can be considered purifying, and sheni tolaat precious.
Additionally, the transformation of the red dye stuff to white ashes by the fire is symbolic of the cleansing of sin - which possibly explains the inclusion. Tzarich iyun.
Sheni tolaat is also called kermes, from which the word crimson derives, though originally kermes was the name of type of oak on which it lived. Kermes was traded extensively, and was known by variations of that name throughout the Middle East and Central Asia (crimson is the English spelling of kirmizan = Perso-Arabic for scarlet-like, scarlet-hued).
Note that American cochineal (from a bug native to Mexico, not the same as the Mediterranean oak bug) is still often used as a food colouring (both intense orange and fiery red), rendering tamei mamesh everything of which it is part. Read the label on that refreshing beverage carefully!
Annato (Bixa Orellana) seeds yield a kosher substitute food coloring, which has minor health-giving properties (antioxidants) besides.
A term related to kermes, kermil, gives the word carmine, and the reputed verminous origin of the colouring matter yields the word vermillion, which is actually cinnabar (mercury sulfide and mercury oxide), used by the Chinese as ink for signature seal impressions and as a magical ingredient in potions for longevity (strongly disadvised - several emperors shortened their lives and lost their minds because of such potions).
Mercury oxide was also used topically for chancres and certain lesions. Sometimes the cure is worse than the ailment.
It should be further noted that red, particularly in Chinese culture, is considered the colour of celebration and good fortune, and is in China and VietNam worn on auspicious occasions and at weddings, especially by the bride, who is garbed entirely in red. The groom may wear a big poofy crimson cluster-bow (rather like a huge carnation) in the centre of his chest, or, especially among Chinese Muslims in Yunnan and Shaanxi, a festive red turban.
And of course all of this reminds me of those blue threads made with sea-snail dye.........
A gittn shabbes, y'all.
------B.O.T.H.
Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Cold Turkey!
Greetings JBlogosphere!
Due to an upcoming family simcha, I am hereby taking a blogging break for a week and a bit. I have way too many personal responsibilities to attend to, such as numerous Divrei Torah and speeches to write, comic material to produce, thought-provoking ideas to ponder and deliver, as well as plan a tiyul around the Shomron for our guests, and a million other things.
Don't dismay, I have contacted an eclectic group of Bloggers from around the Universe to keep you educated and entertained in my absence on this blog.
Currently, I have about 500 readers a day. The big question is, will I still have a readership when I return? Will the guest bloggers write amazing posts as they did a year and a half ago? Will we read about Mars and Venus in the Jewish home? Will they write aliya inspirational stories or Torah posts with wit and humor?
G-d only knows.
Good luck to them...and to us all!
Regards,
Jameel & Co.
PS: I will still be reading and might pop in from time to time...depends on my progress on my list of things to do. I never was that great at cold turkey, except in the YU dorm at 2:30 AM. Even better than a microwaved bagel-dog.
Due to an upcoming family simcha, I am hereby taking a blogging break for a week and a bit. I have way too many personal responsibilities to attend to, such as numerous Divrei Torah and speeches to write, comic material to produce, thought-provoking ideas to ponder and deliver, as well as plan a tiyul around the Shomron for our guests, and a million other things.
Don't dismay, I have contacted an eclectic group of Bloggers from around the Universe to keep you educated and entertained in my absence on this blog.
Currently, I have about 500 readers a day. The big question is, will I still have a readership when I return? Will the guest bloggers write amazing posts as they did a year and a half ago? Will we read about Mars and Venus in the Jewish home? Will they write aliya inspirational stories or Torah posts with wit and humor?
G-d only knows.
Good luck to them...and to us all!
Regards,
Jameel & Co.
PS: I will still be reading and might pop in from time to time...depends on my progress on my list of things to do. I never was that great at cold turkey, except in the YU dorm at 2:30 AM. Even better than a microwaved bagel-dog.
Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael, even if it gets taken over by a bunch of Waffle-crazed bloggers from around the planet
RWAC...Cause and Effect?
RWAC's totally cool new blog bannerOne of our favorite Rabbi Bloggers is the "RWAC" -- "Rabbi without a cause." (In fact, we like him so much, we hope he'll be guest blogging here soon) But is the "lack of a cause" really true? Does he really NOT have a cause? Note the following where he writes about Chabad...
I didn't. When I read the above on his blog, my eyes were glued to the messianic Google ad-sense advertisement on the right-hand side of his blog. (See actual screen-snapshot below)
An ad for WHAT?!
I therefore issue the following important warning to bloggers: If you use Google ad-sense on your blog, you may end up with weird ads on your blog...in the unkindest of contexts.
Though I have a feeling that Rabbi Dr. David Berger might say their ad targeting software isn't that far off.
Confession Time (and please don’t tell Rabbi Dr. David Berger): I don’t care about the meshichists. I don’t care that there are Lubavitchers running around who think the Rebbe never died, or is going to be resurrected as Mashiach.OK, did you read what he wrote?
Why don’t I care? Because despite all of the vitriol and propaganda, they aren’t going to grow and influence the masses. They will remain a weird fringe, and will ultimately disappear. The circumstances that allow for the birth of a new religion just don’t exist in the Jewish world today.
On the other hand, the Rebbe fascinates me.
I met the Rebbe once, briefly, on a Dollar line on Erev Rosh HaShanah some twenty-five years ago. He fascinated me then, and he does to this day. The man accomplished so much, saw with such sweeping vision and yet paid attention to such minute details, changed so many lives for the better…
I didn't. When I read the above on his blog, my eyes were glued to the messianic Google ad-sense advertisement on the right-hand side of his blog. (See actual screen-snapshot below)
An ad for WHAT?! I therefore issue the following important warning to bloggers: If you use Google ad-sense on your blog, you may end up with weird ads on your blog...in the unkindest of contexts.
Though I have a feeling that Rabbi Dr. David Berger might say their ad targeting software isn't that far off.
Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael
Respect or something else
I’m not writing this to be obnoxious or anything (for that you can go to my blog), but for other reasons this question occurred to me today.
Do your non-religious/non-Jewish friends/coworkers/associates refrain from not eating non-kosher in front of you? If you are hanging out with vegetarian friends in the cafeteria do you not eat that hamburger? Or pizza with the Vegans? If you are fasting on Tisha B’Av, Ta’anit Esther, or the 17th of Tammuz (coming up soon) does everyone else in front of you stop drinking water or eating?
For most people, the answer to all the above questions is “no”.
So why is it that I’ve been hearing a lot lately of people that won’t eat, or even drink in front of Muslims during the month of Ramadan?
It certainly isn’t about respect, because the answer to all the other questions above is usually in the negative.
So is it fear?
What’s it about?
I ask only because it seems to be a growing and inexplicable phenomena.
Do your non-religious/non-Jewish friends/coworkers/associates refrain from not eating non-kosher in front of you? If you are hanging out with vegetarian friends in the cafeteria do you not eat that hamburger? Or pizza with the Vegans? If you are fasting on Tisha B’Av, Ta’anit Esther, or the 17th of Tammuz (coming up soon) does everyone else in front of you stop drinking water or eating?
For most people, the answer to all the above questions is “no”.
So why is it that I’ve been hearing a lot lately of people that won’t eat, or even drink in front of Muslims during the month of Ramadan?
It certainly isn’t about respect, because the answer to all the other questions above is usually in the negative.
So is it fear?
What’s it about?
I ask only because it seems to be a growing and inexplicable phenomena.
The Great Muqata Waffle Festival
Friends, relatives and countrymen lend me your ears. I come bearing great news. In a very short time The First Annual Muqata Waffle Festival will take place. There will be games, there will be prizes and of course you will have the opportunity to earn the prestigious WaffleMeister T-Shirt as well as the very popular Friend of the Muqata cardigan.
I am especially interested in hearing Jameel's D'var Torah about Waffles, Whistles and Water which I understand is based on an obscure comment from the Shulchan Aruch.
Please submit all questions in the comments section of this post.
Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael
I am especially interested in hearing Jameel's D'var Torah about Waffles, Whistles and Water which I understand is based on an obscure comment from the Shulchan Aruch.
Please submit all questions in the comments section of this post.
Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael
B.O.T.H. GUESTING HERE
And for those of you who think even Joe Settler is far too radical (which is why again precisely?) there is this blog : http://www.blue-truth.blogspot.com/) written by some very calm and sane individuals.
You will find it... sooooothing. Yes, that's it, sooooooothing. Only problem is, no waffles.
------B.O.T.H.
[http://atthebackofthehill.blogspot.com/]
PS. This guest-post is a trial flight. And also a shameless promo for Northern California Zionists - we few, we happy few. Thank you Jameel.
Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael
You will find it... sooooothing. Yes, that's it, sooooooothing. Only problem is, no waffles.
------B.O.T.H.
[http://atthebackofthehill.blogspot.com/]
PS. This guest-post is a trial flight. And also a shameless promo for Northern California Zionists - we few, we happy few. Thank you Jameel.
Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Ten Blogs
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