Just for the one who googled it:
meshuga + shiksa = meshiksa.
You got it? :-)
Monday, March 31, 2014
'Letters of Light' by Rabbi Aaron L. Raskin
I started to read this book a few weeks ago… I enjoyed to read the first letter Alef.
Yesterday my mind was totally absorbed by this book.
This book is a sort of revelation. I want to keep on reading it but if i finish it, it will be like a little death… I believe in its resurrection: it will become a reference in my studies of Judaism.
G. lent it to me, and i will have to thank him for having found a book which will touch my soul a lot.
This book has everything: philosophy, Jewish history, spirituality, typography and graphic design.
One chapter by letter, i read the first 7 letters.
Moses, we need to talk asap. I know that you are dead, but are you? And you know the truth about the Torah. It's hard to imagine that this book was written more than 5000 years ago.
As we know, the world was created in 6 days, and the 7th day, everyone stays in bed and thinks of the creator.
"This can be connected to a fundamental concept in the Talmud. The Talmud tells us that G-d created the world to exist for 6,000 years. The first two thousand years are called Tohu or chaos. This is followed by two thousand years of Torah. And the final two thousand years are the days of Mashiach."
I was born too early in this world…
After 6000 years, the world will live in peace and i won't be able to see it. That's pity not to see a prophecy of peace coming. Do you really think that human beings can live in a perfect harmony after all these horrors in the past and present? Why are we different from animals? Animals don't think, they just act, they have instinct. Human beings think, judge, fight, etc… and we know perfectly where it leads us.
Moses and the creator seem to be idealists. Hope makes you alive.
Why the Holocaust existed during the days of the Messiah? How the Torah can justify the massacres of 6 millions of Jews in a war of 60 millions of dead people? Someone to explain that to me?
What's wrong with this world?
If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. But, if after 6000 years, the world is not like G-d wrote it, if the Messiah doesn't come, what is the other action plan of the Torah to move ahead?
Let me know your thoughts, i look forward to hearing it.
We learnt that G-d has a bride: the Jewish people. :-)
The Torah, as i already said, is a very smart book: each letter means something, they are linked to numbers… Everything is thoughtful and i am totally impressed. G-d is a genius, isn't He?
Have you already read Leonard de Vinci? He was his reincarnation, wasn't he? :-)
The design of each letter is explained too. There is a representation and how he created the letters through the creation of the world.
He tells anecdotes. For example, he made a comparison between the stories of Rabbi Akiva and Aristotle.
"Aristotle separated body and spirit, but Rabbi Akiva considered them inseparable. For Aristotle, that which was "spiritual" (i.e. the intellect and the sciences) was holy. That which was corporeal, of the body, was profane. The two realms were not connected and occupied two different spheres of intention. Rabbi Akiva, however, lived by the gimmel, the merger of G-d and the world. Rabbi Akiva saw G-d in everything, and recognized that G-d resides even in the physical."
Passover is coming soon and i will talk later about the Dalet.
Yesterday my mind was totally absorbed by this book.
This book is a sort of revelation. I want to keep on reading it but if i finish it, it will be like a little death… I believe in its resurrection: it will become a reference in my studies of Judaism.
G. lent it to me, and i will have to thank him for having found a book which will touch my soul a lot.
This book has everything: philosophy, Jewish history, spirituality, typography and graphic design.
One chapter by letter, i read the first 7 letters.
Moses, we need to talk asap. I know that you are dead, but are you? And you know the truth about the Torah. It's hard to imagine that this book was written more than 5000 years ago.
As we know, the world was created in 6 days, and the 7th day, everyone stays in bed and thinks of the creator.
"This can be connected to a fundamental concept in the Talmud. The Talmud tells us that G-d created the world to exist for 6,000 years. The first two thousand years are called Tohu or chaos. This is followed by two thousand years of Torah. And the final two thousand years are the days of Mashiach."
I was born too early in this world…
After 6000 years, the world will live in peace and i won't be able to see it. That's pity not to see a prophecy of peace coming. Do you really think that human beings can live in a perfect harmony after all these horrors in the past and present? Why are we different from animals? Animals don't think, they just act, they have instinct. Human beings think, judge, fight, etc… and we know perfectly where it leads us.
Moses and the creator seem to be idealists. Hope makes you alive.
Why the Holocaust existed during the days of the Messiah? How the Torah can justify the massacres of 6 millions of Jews in a war of 60 millions of dead people? Someone to explain that to me?
What's wrong with this world?
If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. But, if after 6000 years, the world is not like G-d wrote it, if the Messiah doesn't come, what is the other action plan of the Torah to move ahead?
Let me know your thoughts, i look forward to hearing it.
We learnt that G-d has a bride: the Jewish people. :-)
The Torah, as i already said, is a very smart book: each letter means something, they are linked to numbers… Everything is thoughtful and i am totally impressed. G-d is a genius, isn't He?
Have you already read Leonard de Vinci? He was his reincarnation, wasn't he? :-)
The design of each letter is explained too. There is a representation and how he created the letters through the creation of the world.
He tells anecdotes. For example, he made a comparison between the stories of Rabbi Akiva and Aristotle.
"Aristotle separated body and spirit, but Rabbi Akiva considered them inseparable. For Aristotle, that which was "spiritual" (i.e. the intellect and the sciences) was holy. That which was corporeal, of the body, was profane. The two realms were not connected and occupied two different spheres of intention. Rabbi Akiva, however, lived by the gimmel, the merger of G-d and the world. Rabbi Akiva saw G-d in everything, and recognized that G-d resides even in the physical."
Passover is coming soon and i will talk later about the Dalet.
Friday, March 28, 2014
Let's talk about stats and let's dance…
I checked who read my blog, and i enjoyed seeing the traffic sources.
Most of them are sexual. Many of them are looking for a session of spanks: to give or/and to receive. :-)
Some ask questions about horny Hasidic women.
I hope that the horny Hasidic women have a horny and sexual husband too.
The majority i talked with might be horny, but the sexual act was another story. There was always something wrong: emotional, mechanical, stamina, sexual arrogance (i am the king of the bed)… :-)
I can't elaborate here, that's totally private… :-)
I know that men have a big issue with their virility… New Yorkers talk a lot about sex but they don't do a lot: no time, too busy, too stressed, headache, blah blah blah…
So messieurs, if you were less pretentious and arrogant and know how to talk to women in bed, before and after, everything should be fine if you have some issues… :-)
For some Hasidic men, i am very understanding if they treat me well, but i am not interested in sexual education usually. I can talk about intimacy and give some advices but not more.
Internet, and also porn helped them a lot. But the emotional process of an involvement remains complicated. Too bad, emotional sex is so awesome! :-)
That's not only Hasidic, that's New York.
I have many clients of any age who complain about the dating scene here. That's very different from where i am from. We give time, we actually take it to know people better. I fell for guys who were not my physical type but their brain drove me crazy… :-)
Love at first sight, soulmate… I believe in that too…
I am picky with men, i can be bored easily and fast. I need intensity of knowledge in my life, stimulation of intelligence, creativity, and fun…
I am intrigued by the 'Hasidic sex landlord'. My ex landlord was a Hasidic guy and my ex-roommate was sure that he was gay. I saw him once but he was scared of the 4 dogs my roommate had. That was funny to see him stuck to the wall, paralyzed… :-)
I love the 'peyos braided', 'playing with peyos', 'guys with peyos'… That's cute.
What is it a 'Chasidic shiksa'? :-)
So now, let's dance. Do you like dancing? I do!
Hasidic man, dance with me:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqdYqIYNiZM
Most of them are sexual. Many of them are looking for a session of spanks: to give or/and to receive. :-)
Some ask questions about horny Hasidic women.
I hope that the horny Hasidic women have a horny and sexual husband too.
The majority i talked with might be horny, but the sexual act was another story. There was always something wrong: emotional, mechanical, stamina, sexual arrogance (i am the king of the bed)… :-)
I can't elaborate here, that's totally private… :-)
I know that men have a big issue with their virility… New Yorkers talk a lot about sex but they don't do a lot: no time, too busy, too stressed, headache, blah blah blah…
So messieurs, if you were less pretentious and arrogant and know how to talk to women in bed, before and after, everything should be fine if you have some issues… :-)
For some Hasidic men, i am very understanding if they treat me well, but i am not interested in sexual education usually. I can talk about intimacy and give some advices but not more.
Internet, and also porn helped them a lot. But the emotional process of an involvement remains complicated. Too bad, emotional sex is so awesome! :-)
That's not only Hasidic, that's New York.
I have many clients of any age who complain about the dating scene here. That's very different from where i am from. We give time, we actually take it to know people better. I fell for guys who were not my physical type but their brain drove me crazy… :-)
Love at first sight, soulmate… I believe in that too…
I am picky with men, i can be bored easily and fast. I need intensity of knowledge in my life, stimulation of intelligence, creativity, and fun…
I am intrigued by the 'Hasidic sex landlord'. My ex landlord was a Hasidic guy and my ex-roommate was sure that he was gay. I saw him once but he was scared of the 4 dogs my roommate had. That was funny to see him stuck to the wall, paralyzed… :-)
I love the 'peyos braided', 'playing with peyos', 'guys with peyos'… That's cute.
What is it a 'Chasidic shiksa'? :-)
So now, let's dance. Do you like dancing? I do!
Hasidic man, dance with me:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqdYqIYNiZM
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Movie: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
I don't understand this kind of movie. After having watched it, i googled it because it's based on a book by John Boyne, an Irish writer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boy_in_the_Striped_Pyjamas_(film)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ypMp0s5Hiw
So, then?
Why i didn't understand this kind of story?
First, WWII was such an horrible thing, so we don't need to add drama where there was not drama, to invent a stupid story like that.
Second, it's the story of a German boy of 8 years old who meets a Jewish boy in a camp and thinks that he wears pajamas. 8 years old and he doesn't understand that this boy is a prisoner? Either he is stupid, either he is not 8 years old, or he lives in denial. Kids are very sensitive and feel more than we think. As all the psychologists agree, everything starts when you are toddler. Kids ask questions once they can talk easily.
Third, the drama is in a German family. Did he try to make me believe in a sort of redemption for all the crimes against humanity? The father is the director of a camp like Auschwitz, his wife is a sort of rebel. Who can believe that?
Then, historically, there are mistakes: a little Jewish boy who can come and do nothing in a camp, just sitting and talking to another boy through the fence… It never happened…
The children were the first ones to be killed with women. Apparently, a few of them were used when they were strong enough to do hard work.
In the background, you can see men building barracks. They never finished them during all the movie. Weird! :-)
The German family: a boy and a girl of 12 years old. The teacher said that the boy is a sort of Dora explorer. He is curious about the 'farmers' who work besides his house wearing pajamas. Kidding?
The mother (Vera Farmiga), can't stand that they burn people. Really? It smells very bad? The extermination has a smell. And this smell is still there, in Auschwitz, i smelt it, and it made me vomit!
She had a big fight with her husband and decides to move back in Germany. That's not a place for children. The grandmother from the father side never supported his son to have chosen a job like that. But she is probably happy in Berlin to enjoy the privileges brought by the high position of his son, isn't she grandma?
Usually, i don't like to tell the end of a movie or a book. But, here, that's totally pathetic. The German boy wants to help the Jewish boy to find his father in the camp. He disappeared suddenly after going to do hard work for the Nazis. He probably met his 'friend' Zyklon B. He asked the Jew for bringing him a pajamas, and he will walk in the camp anonymously. The German boy came with a shovel and dig a hole to go inside the camp.
And guess what? The Nazis come and they decided this day (the day where the mother will move back to Berlin) all these prisoners will take a shower…
I admit that the directing, the music, and the suspense at this moment are very good.
I am going to tell you if they saved him or not. They didn't save him.
Other thing which is very weird too: the house in Poland where the Nazi family lives is modern, Bauhaus style. I don't think there is Bauhaus houses in Poland.
I found this critics too, and the analyze is very elaborated. Apparently, this story is a fable.
http://www.scrapbookpages.com/stripedpajamas.html
The language spoken is English with a strong English accent. The Jewish boy speaks Yiddish, not German, but they all speak English.
I don't know the writer personally but some sensitive subject like the massacre of 6 millions of Jews doesn't need a fable.
I like the filmmaker Roberto Begnini and i felt the same thing when i watched his movie Life is Beautiful. This movie was horrible esthetically and historically. Who dared to laugh watching this movie?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqAVwCK4r2Q
These movies make me nervous!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Boy_in_the_Striped_Pyjamas_(film)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ypMp0s5Hiw
So, then?
Why i didn't understand this kind of story?
First, WWII was such an horrible thing, so we don't need to add drama where there was not drama, to invent a stupid story like that.
Second, it's the story of a German boy of 8 years old who meets a Jewish boy in a camp and thinks that he wears pajamas. 8 years old and he doesn't understand that this boy is a prisoner? Either he is stupid, either he is not 8 years old, or he lives in denial. Kids are very sensitive and feel more than we think. As all the psychologists agree, everything starts when you are toddler. Kids ask questions once they can talk easily.
Third, the drama is in a German family. Did he try to make me believe in a sort of redemption for all the crimes against humanity? The father is the director of a camp like Auschwitz, his wife is a sort of rebel. Who can believe that?
Then, historically, there are mistakes: a little Jewish boy who can come and do nothing in a camp, just sitting and talking to another boy through the fence… It never happened…
The children were the first ones to be killed with women. Apparently, a few of them were used when they were strong enough to do hard work.
In the background, you can see men building barracks. They never finished them during all the movie. Weird! :-)
The German family: a boy and a girl of 12 years old. The teacher said that the boy is a sort of Dora explorer. He is curious about the 'farmers' who work besides his house wearing pajamas. Kidding?
The mother (Vera Farmiga), can't stand that they burn people. Really? It smells very bad? The extermination has a smell. And this smell is still there, in Auschwitz, i smelt it, and it made me vomit!
She had a big fight with her husband and decides to move back in Germany. That's not a place for children. The grandmother from the father side never supported his son to have chosen a job like that. But she is probably happy in Berlin to enjoy the privileges brought by the high position of his son, isn't she grandma?
Usually, i don't like to tell the end of a movie or a book. But, here, that's totally pathetic. The German boy wants to help the Jewish boy to find his father in the camp. He disappeared suddenly after going to do hard work for the Nazis. He probably met his 'friend' Zyklon B. He asked the Jew for bringing him a pajamas, and he will walk in the camp anonymously. The German boy came with a shovel and dig a hole to go inside the camp.
And guess what? The Nazis come and they decided this day (the day where the mother will move back to Berlin) all these prisoners will take a shower…
I admit that the directing, the music, and the suspense at this moment are very good.
I am going to tell you if they saved him or not. They didn't save him.
Other thing which is very weird too: the house in Poland where the Nazi family lives is modern, Bauhaus style. I don't think there is Bauhaus houses in Poland.
I found this critics too, and the analyze is very elaborated. Apparently, this story is a fable.
http://www.scrapbookpages.com/stripedpajamas.html
The language spoken is English with a strong English accent. The Jewish boy speaks Yiddish, not German, but they all speak English.
I don't know the writer personally but some sensitive subject like the massacre of 6 millions of Jews doesn't need a fable.
I like the filmmaker Roberto Begnini and i felt the same thing when i watched his movie Life is Beautiful. This movie was horrible esthetically and historically. Who dared to laugh watching this movie?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqAVwCK4r2Q
These movies make me nervous!
Monday, March 24, 2014
Shame on my country…
Today i am ashamed of my country…
The fascist Party is back in some cities of France.
French people wake up!
After 4 years of the king Sarkozy spiting on the French people. Recently some phone tapping showed how he and his Botox-ed wife were spiteful with his people.
Read this article on Haaretz:
http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-news/1.581488
Now, the new President is more respectful but too slow…
So, the people voted for the fascist Party, thinking that it will be better and it will resolve the international financial crisis… Remember something? The protagonist of this political Party is Marine Le Pen, and her niece has the beautiful name of Marion Maréchal-Le Pen. Maréchal Pétain, the fascist guy of the WWII. She is a Maréchal too, not from the Pétain family genealogically speaking.
The fascist Party is back in some cities of France.
French people wake up!
After 4 years of the king Sarkozy spiting on the French people. Recently some phone tapping showed how he and his Botox-ed wife were spiteful with his people.
Read this article on Haaretz:
http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-news/1.581488
Now, the new President is more respectful but too slow…
So, the people voted for the fascist Party, thinking that it will be better and it will resolve the international financial crisis… Remember something? The protagonist of this political Party is Marine Le Pen, and her niece has the beautiful name of Marion Maréchal-Le Pen. Maréchal Pétain, the fascist guy of the WWII. She is a Maréchal too, not from the Pétain family genealogically speaking.
I need to have my peyos upside down and some Hasidic yoga!
 |
| ©Michal Chelbin/Institute, for the New York Times |
 |
| ©Michal Chelbin/Institute, for the New York Times |
 |
| ©Michal Chelbin/Institute, for the New York Times |
 |
| ©Michal Chelbin/Institute, for the New York Times |
 |
| ©Michal Chelbin/Institute, for the New York Times |
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Art stolen by the Nazis
Beautiful piece written by Alex Shoumatoff for Vanity Fair.
http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2014/04/degenerate-art-cornelius-gurlitt-munich-apartment
A German guy who collected art stolen from Jews during the war. For what finally? He was cut out of the world since 1963: no friends, no lovers… just stolen arts. He had no shame to keep them after the WWII. His grand-mother was Jewish…
Another bad person… Too old to go to jail…
Lot of suspense, you can read it like a short story…
http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2014/04/degenerate-art-cornelius-gurlitt-munich-apartment
A German guy who collected art stolen from Jews during the war. For what finally? He was cut out of the world since 1963: no friends, no lovers… just stolen arts. He had no shame to keep them after the WWII. His grand-mother was Jewish…
Another bad person… Too old to go to jail…
Lot of suspense, you can read it like a short story…
Monday, March 17, 2014
Photos by Leonard Freed and Ziv Koren
 |
| Adar from Rabin ©Ziv Koren |
 |
| Purim in Bnei Brak © Ziv Koren |
 |
| UK/ENGLAND. London. 1971. Children of an all Hasidic school. The afternoon is spent studying prayers. © Leonard Freed/Magnum Photo |
 |
| 1954, NYC/Hassidic kids getting on a school bus . © Leonard Freed/Magnum Photo |
 |
| USA. Brooklyn. 1954. Jewish Hassidic school in Prospect Park . © Leonard Freed/Magnum Photo |
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Erev Purim 5774/2014
At the last minute, i decided to go to 770 for the Megillah reading.
I felt a sort of fever on the sidewalks on Eastern Parkway: Havdalah and Erev Purim…
That's Purim!!!!
Apparently everyone prefers this holy day than the ten days of mourning! :-)
I didn't try to find the lady i met when i was there for the wedding. There were so many ladies in the first two rooms. I walked to the last one and i had all the room i wanted to take photos, and listen to the reading that i didn't hear. The rabbi doesn't have a microphone and all these people know the text by heart. So, Amen whenever, i didn't get it! :-)
The Lubabas ladies are not better than the men concerning the good manners: they push you, no 'sorry, please, thanks'…?
I don't understand how they can leave their garbage in a synagogue: that was disgusting. Lots of tissues full of microbes everywhere. Is it complicated to put plates, tissues, plastic glasses in a plastic bag?
I am not sure they will appreciate if someone was doing that in their place.
It's a synagogue, a public place… They have no respect?
Some spanks will be welcome… :-)
I left aside the garbage and focused on the audience of men downstairs…
Compares to the Pupa shul, the women remained quiet, even if you can hear some 'shhh' sometimes. In the Pupa shul, there were more kids and the ladies gossiped a lot…
They looked at me, but i didn't feel uncomfortable. They guessed that i didn't wear a wig because of the weird colors of my current hair. I was laughing in my scarf sometimes. They are less curious than the Pupa women.
I saw one men speaking on the phone during the reading. No discipline! :-)
The ambiance was great!
I was wondering if in the different sects, there are more men than women. The main room for men is always full and big, and the ones for ladies smaller than the one for men.
I went back to the first room to have a different point of view.
More ladies, more mess… Stupidly, i was fascinated by all these boxes of tissues with a flowery pattern… Did they all have a cold? Did they cry? I didn't ask to avoid the clichés i will read in a Lubaba weekly gazette about a French lady who asked questions about boxes of tissues in a shul for Purim. :-)
Did i feel D-g? Not yet!
Did i feel well? Yes, very relaxing, i like joyful vibes, songs of happiness…
Did i recognize some hirsute men? I didn't wear my glasses… And that's not your business! :-)
I enjoy the architecture of the shul. Women are above men, we dominate you and we can watch you easily. That's delightful!
Good surprise this morning: homemade apricot and raspberry hamantaschen for breakfast.
Elle est pas belle la vie* ? (*Is life not beautiful?)
Happy Purim!
I felt a sort of fever on the sidewalks on Eastern Parkway: Havdalah and Erev Purim…
That's Purim!!!!
Apparently everyone prefers this holy day than the ten days of mourning! :-)
I didn't try to find the lady i met when i was there for the wedding. There were so many ladies in the first two rooms. I walked to the last one and i had all the room i wanted to take photos, and listen to the reading that i didn't hear. The rabbi doesn't have a microphone and all these people know the text by heart. So, Amen whenever, i didn't get it! :-)
The Lubabas ladies are not better than the men concerning the good manners: they push you, no 'sorry, please, thanks'…?
I don't understand how they can leave their garbage in a synagogue: that was disgusting. Lots of tissues full of microbes everywhere. Is it complicated to put plates, tissues, plastic glasses in a plastic bag?
I am not sure they will appreciate if someone was doing that in their place.
It's a synagogue, a public place… They have no respect?
Some spanks will be welcome… :-)
I left aside the garbage and focused on the audience of men downstairs…
Compares to the Pupa shul, the women remained quiet, even if you can hear some 'shhh' sometimes. In the Pupa shul, there were more kids and the ladies gossiped a lot…
They looked at me, but i didn't feel uncomfortable. They guessed that i didn't wear a wig because of the weird colors of my current hair. I was laughing in my scarf sometimes. They are less curious than the Pupa women.
I saw one men speaking on the phone during the reading. No discipline! :-)
The ambiance was great!
I was wondering if in the different sects, there are more men than women. The main room for men is always full and big, and the ones for ladies smaller than the one for men.
I went back to the first room to have a different point of view.
More ladies, more mess… Stupidly, i was fascinated by all these boxes of tissues with a flowery pattern… Did they all have a cold? Did they cry? I didn't ask to avoid the clichés i will read in a Lubaba weekly gazette about a French lady who asked questions about boxes of tissues in a shul for Purim. :-)
Did i feel D-g? Not yet!
Did i feel well? Yes, very relaxing, i like joyful vibes, songs of happiness…
Did i recognize some hirsute men? I didn't wear my glasses… And that's not your business! :-)
I enjoy the architecture of the shul. Women are above men, we dominate you and we can watch you easily. That's delightful!
Good surprise this morning: homemade apricot and raspberry hamantaschen for breakfast.
Elle est pas belle la vie* ? (*Is life not beautiful?)
Happy Purim!
 |
| 770, March 2014©emmarubinstein |
 |
| 770, March 2014©emmarubinstein |
 |
| 770, March 2014©emmarubinstein |
 |
| 770, March 2014©emmarubinstein |
 |
| Lonesome book and tissue at 770, March 2014©emmarubinstein |
 |
| 770, March 2014©emmarubinstein |
 |
| A good student at 770, March 2014©emmarubinstein |
 |
| Best costume ever for gossips at 770, March 2014©emmarubinstein |
 |
| Lonesome black hat at 770, March 2014©emmarubinstein |
 |
| Men's mess at 770, March 2014©emmarubinstein |
 |
| Big Brother is watching you at 770, March 2014©emmarubinstein |
 |
| Exit at 770, March 2014©emmarubinstein |
 |
| Before their journey in my stomach, March 2014©emmarubinstein |
Friday, March 14, 2014
Ready for Purim?
What will be your costume? Send me photos. No, i am kidding, no photos…
Let's go to parties all over Brooklyn…
To see you smiling and drunk like a Polish man* will make me laugh…
Have fun, i will be around to take some photos of you! :-)
I will show you my costume next week!
*French expression
Let's go to parties all over Brooklyn…
To see you smiling and drunk like a Polish man* will make me laugh…
Have fun, i will be around to take some photos of you! :-)
I will show you my costume next week!
*French expression
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
A pre Purim gift
A mini clementine by G. Very cute! :-)
I gave him a pistachio madeleine!
Bon appétit !
I gave him a pistachio madeleine!
Bon appétit !
Monday, March 10, 2014
Meeting a rabbi
That's not the first time i met a rabbi who doesn't hide he is a rabbi! :-)
I already met a Hasidic rabbi who is such a fiend. I am not able to understand why he is still a rabbi to behave so badly with gentiles, women… I cut him out of my life. I am not sure he will understand one day what he has done to me. People don't change, a jerk remains a jerk for ever…
I didn't believe in his poor little apologies either… He hurt me deliberately. Was it a holy game?
What is it for me a good rabbi? I don't expect a perfect or irreproachable person, but the rabbi is supposed to show the good example for a community of people who refer to him. Even if he doesn't have a congregation, he doesn't have the right to hurt gentiles because D-g will forgive him because they are not Jewish so we, gentiles, are not people to be taken seriously. But we have a heart, and an emotional intelligence too. The rabbi is a sort of religious therapist who can help you to understand who you are without doing the work you have to do on yourself. He doesn't have to be judgmental and think he is always right! The other rabbi i was in touch online with, stalked me during 8 months.
The rabbi i met last Saturday was recommended by G. I contacted him to have more information for a conversion, reform or conservative. He offered me to grab a slice of pizza on a Shabbos day! I already met rabbis who use their phone, spend money on a Saturday! But i was surprised, i don't know why! I have been 'endoctrined' by the Hasidim since two years and i may ask questions sometimes if it's Jewish to do that or not. I am confused all the times if it could be a Jewish rules or a Hasidic rules.
So let's go for a pizza conversion!
I met him first at his congregation, and as a good Jew he was late. :-)
I had time to see what kind of people who come here: family and people from any age without peyos, no hirsute faces… I can survive without being surrounded by hair. Yes, i can make it!
I felt comfortable and realized that it was a long time i was disconnected to 'normal' people. I don't say that Hasidim are not normal but they are disconnected from a secular reality. Their adaptation to the secular world is almost impossible. I felt in some of them a sort of bitterness due to their many frustrations. That's one of the reasons they often attacked me with their harsh words.
I met gentiles everyday at work, and i am aware that i was very involved with the Hasidic community since 2 years. I am still involved but my look at them is different and more cautious.
I talked about them to the rabbi without saying my dirty secrets. :-)
He said to me: "Don't argue with them about your conservative or reform conversion. They will tell you you are doing it in a wrong way…"
That made me laugh. I am used to arguing with them, and that's not their business. I don't let anyone to choose my life for me. I am an existentialist.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existentialism
I am responsible of the choices of my life: success or failure, i am on earth to learn from culture, individual as human beings…
Kierkegaard said: "Each individual - not society or religion - is solely responsible for giving meaning to life and living it passionately and sincerely ("authentically")."
You can read this book by Jean-Paul Sartre, Existentialism is a Humanism (1949).
The three things i have to know about a conservative conversion:
- to answer question at the Beth Din with 3 rabbis, and he will be one of them
- to go to a mikvah
- to follow classes about Judaism and to live like a Jew, respecting holy days, Shabbos…
The first one, i can make it. It won't be easy. It will depend on the questions they will ask. They will decide if i can become a Jew at 100%. Bye bye 50%, that's too hard for me to live it.
The mikvah is the delicate point for me. I asked a Hasidic about that. My fear is the cleanness of the water. It's supposed to be pure but at the end of the day it's full of bacterias. I can choose the temperature of the bath apparently. I will go for a cold one to have goosebumps on my tushas.
I asked a Jewish woman if the rabbi will be there because i don't want to show him my naked body. No way! She said there will be only women! I have to catch more information.
The last point will be great. I enjoy learning and reading in a funny way. I need to make Jewish things clear in my mind absorbed by too much Hasidism. :-)
Naively, i thought that if you are a rabbi of any sect, you have to eat Kosher. He doesn't eat pork, shrimps…, he doesn't mix meat and dairy, but for the rest he can eat what he wants. He doesn't keep Shabbos. He works a lot on Saturday, uses his phone…
He told me is that it doesn't matter if i believe in D-G or not. Did he read my soul? Someone told him about my doubts of a religious creation of the world? I will ask G.
I remained quiet!
We were on the same boat. Judaism is more than a religion, it's a philosophy. In his mouth, it was an existentialist philosophy! :-)
So, let's go for the next step! Stay tuned! :-)
Some photos by Robert Doisneau, a famous photographer. Known by his kiss at the Paris City Hall below. I chose to post photos during the occupation of France.
I already met a Hasidic rabbi who is such a fiend. I am not able to understand why he is still a rabbi to behave so badly with gentiles, women… I cut him out of my life. I am not sure he will understand one day what he has done to me. People don't change, a jerk remains a jerk for ever…
I didn't believe in his poor little apologies either… He hurt me deliberately. Was it a holy game?
What is it for me a good rabbi? I don't expect a perfect or irreproachable person, but the rabbi is supposed to show the good example for a community of people who refer to him. Even if he doesn't have a congregation, he doesn't have the right to hurt gentiles because D-g will forgive him because they are not Jewish so we, gentiles, are not people to be taken seriously. But we have a heart, and an emotional intelligence too. The rabbi is a sort of religious therapist who can help you to understand who you are without doing the work you have to do on yourself. He doesn't have to be judgmental and think he is always right! The other rabbi i was in touch online with, stalked me during 8 months.
The rabbi i met last Saturday was recommended by G. I contacted him to have more information for a conversion, reform or conservative. He offered me to grab a slice of pizza on a Shabbos day! I already met rabbis who use their phone, spend money on a Saturday! But i was surprised, i don't know why! I have been 'endoctrined' by the Hasidim since two years and i may ask questions sometimes if it's Jewish to do that or not. I am confused all the times if it could be a Jewish rules or a Hasidic rules.
So let's go for a pizza conversion!
I met him first at his congregation, and as a good Jew he was late. :-)
I had time to see what kind of people who come here: family and people from any age without peyos, no hirsute faces… I can survive without being surrounded by hair. Yes, i can make it!
I felt comfortable and realized that it was a long time i was disconnected to 'normal' people. I don't say that Hasidim are not normal but they are disconnected from a secular reality. Their adaptation to the secular world is almost impossible. I felt in some of them a sort of bitterness due to their many frustrations. That's one of the reasons they often attacked me with their harsh words.
I met gentiles everyday at work, and i am aware that i was very involved with the Hasidic community since 2 years. I am still involved but my look at them is different and more cautious.
I talked about them to the rabbi without saying my dirty secrets. :-)
He said to me: "Don't argue with them about your conservative or reform conversion. They will tell you you are doing it in a wrong way…"
That made me laugh. I am used to arguing with them, and that's not their business. I don't let anyone to choose my life for me. I am an existentialist.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existentialism
I am responsible of the choices of my life: success or failure, i am on earth to learn from culture, individual as human beings…
Kierkegaard said: "Each individual - not society or religion - is solely responsible for giving meaning to life and living it passionately and sincerely ("authentically")."
You can read this book by Jean-Paul Sartre, Existentialism is a Humanism (1949).
The three things i have to know about a conservative conversion:
- to answer question at the Beth Din with 3 rabbis, and he will be one of them
- to go to a mikvah
- to follow classes about Judaism and to live like a Jew, respecting holy days, Shabbos…
The first one, i can make it. It won't be easy. It will depend on the questions they will ask. They will decide if i can become a Jew at 100%. Bye bye 50%, that's too hard for me to live it.
The mikvah is the delicate point for me. I asked a Hasidic about that. My fear is the cleanness of the water. It's supposed to be pure but at the end of the day it's full of bacterias. I can choose the temperature of the bath apparently. I will go for a cold one to have goosebumps on my tushas.
I asked a Jewish woman if the rabbi will be there because i don't want to show him my naked body. No way! She said there will be only women! I have to catch more information.
The last point will be great. I enjoy learning and reading in a funny way. I need to make Jewish things clear in my mind absorbed by too much Hasidism. :-)
Naively, i thought that if you are a rabbi of any sect, you have to eat Kosher. He doesn't eat pork, shrimps…, he doesn't mix meat and dairy, but for the rest he can eat what he wants. He doesn't keep Shabbos. He works a lot on Saturday, uses his phone…
He told me is that it doesn't matter if i believe in D-G or not. Did he read my soul? Someone told him about my doubts of a religious creation of the world? I will ask G.
I remained quiet!
We were on the same boat. Judaism is more than a religion, it's a philosophy. In his mouth, it was an existentialist philosophy! :-)
So, let's go for the next step! Stay tuned! :-)
Some photos by Robert Doisneau, a famous photographer. Known by his kiss at the Paris City Hall below. I chose to post photos during the occupation of France.
.jpg) |
| Le Baiser de l'hôtel de ville, Paris 1950 ©Robert Doisneau |
.jpg) |
| File d'attente dans Paris occupé* (*line for food), ©Robert Doisneau |
.jpg) |
| Montrouge, 1939-1945, (*no more bread, it misses flour and gas), ©Robert Doisneau |
.jpg) |
| paris sous l'occupation (*'display package') 1942, ©Robert Doisneau |
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Apologies
They are always a good surprise.
I accept them with more pleasure when it comes from Hasidim. :-)
In the past, some persons behaved very badly with me and, they have no shame to contact me years after without apologies, talking to me like nothing happened.
Yesterday, my ex boss sent me an email to congratulate me about my new adventure in Uèsses* (*US pronounced in a French way).
I chose not to reply, to ignore his email, and to block him on Facebook. Why? He and his business partner harassed me during 5 months before firing me. I sued them and i won.
Honestly, what does this kind of people expect from me? I have no 'friendship' to save, i am not into arrogant and pretentious persons. I love humility, even if you have a gift, remain humble, that's a beautiful quality.
He was the creative director of a company he created. He was a very bad creative, clients told him many times. I felt sorry for him many times, but he should have had to figure out what to do with his life instead of persisting in something he was not good. But that's not my business! He has been insulting enough with me many times. I threw him away just once, and he has been very hurt. He didn't show up the day after.
Last Sunday, the narrow-minded Hasidic man i already posted about him, sent me an email.
http://meshiksahasidicroots.blogspot.com/2014/02/rabbi-lazer-brody.html
"Hi, I apologize if I offended you last time!"
I explained him in return that it was difficult to have an informative conversation with him without being judged. He understood that he was too much the last time to attack me harshly.
We resumed the conversation, talking about me, him, the community. He has dreams of doing something with his professional life. I am totally supportive. He would like to leave the community but he knows that he will encounter hard times. He already has been to Footsteps. He is trying to find an exit with his issues. The positive things about the religious life style is the 'continuation: it's based on a solid tradition of thousands of years of teachings, e.g. take the laws of 'Yichud', which means rules regarding being alone with person from opposite gender. There's nothing like this in the secular world. In (Halachik) Judaism, these rules are very deeply ingrained and it's backed up by teachings that go back from milenia. Now, ask yourself honestly: would you want your significant other freely allowed to intermingle in a close manner with a member of the opposite gender?"
That's another cultural question. New Yorkers like what you call 'flirting' all the time. But it doesn't mean that they want to sleep with you. I don't say that they are innocent but most of the time, they do that because they expect something from you. That's business. I am totally hermetic to 'flirting business', and unfriendly when they persist with unsubtle manners, i close my door to them definitively.
Now in a daily life, New Yorkers flirt too.
When i started to meet Hasidim, i forgot this New Yorker characteristic. I was not into this flirting game
because they make you understand fast they want to get into your pants. The ball was in my court.
Then another question from him: "But, are you saying that it's not risky to be put in a room alone with a married man who is very attractive?" :-)
Attractive or not, i am not into married men. I have morals. If they have lied, and once i knew the truth, i stopped immediately.
"You realize that in Judaism Adultery is one of the greatest sin and is punishable by death! Now to avoid being put in a compromising position and to thwart temptation that my lead to the most abominable of deeds certain safeguards were put in place.
That's what I mean that the general culture is corrupt! Don't you agree that a woman who commits adultery should be punished severely?"
Why woman? I don't know if there is a reliable survey to know if men cheat on their wife more than women on their husband. Flesh is weaker in men's brain, right? :-)
Why during wars or not, women are victims of rapes more than men? His reply: "But men are also victims from domineering and manipulating women." Poor men! :-)
He might talk about his own experience, i didn't ask. I just know that his arranged marriage didn't work out a long time. He had issues to experiment the women world later.
Nobody has been punished by death in Willy or Boro Park so far because he/she cheated on his/her partner.
And to end, we talked about our favorite book. I expected from him a Hasidic writer, but it was Catcher in The Rye by J.D. Salinger. I asked him the reasons why he liked this book "It depicts the adolescent mind and for the no bull-shit attitude in portrays". I told him that i disliked deeply this book for the same reasons he liked it and i added that Holden is a bourgeois end his bourgeois issues bothered and bored me a lot. I know that many people love this book, and i never understood why. I read other books about adolescent thoughts much better. But anyway, his reply to that, was very funny: "I guess we have differing views, can we still have sex?". And then, he felt 'guilty', "I guess I should instantly apologize:)".
Differing views about books can be fixed on pillows…
I accept them with more pleasure when it comes from Hasidim. :-)
In the past, some persons behaved very badly with me and, they have no shame to contact me years after without apologies, talking to me like nothing happened.
Yesterday, my ex boss sent me an email to congratulate me about my new adventure in Uèsses* (*US pronounced in a French way).
I chose not to reply, to ignore his email, and to block him on Facebook. Why? He and his business partner harassed me during 5 months before firing me. I sued them and i won.
Honestly, what does this kind of people expect from me? I have no 'friendship' to save, i am not into arrogant and pretentious persons. I love humility, even if you have a gift, remain humble, that's a beautiful quality.
He was the creative director of a company he created. He was a very bad creative, clients told him many times. I felt sorry for him many times, but he should have had to figure out what to do with his life instead of persisting in something he was not good. But that's not my business! He has been insulting enough with me many times. I threw him away just once, and he has been very hurt. He didn't show up the day after.
Last Sunday, the narrow-minded Hasidic man i already posted about him, sent me an email.
http://meshiksahasidicroots.blogspot.com/2014/02/rabbi-lazer-brody.html
"Hi, I apologize if I offended you last time!"
I explained him in return that it was difficult to have an informative conversation with him without being judged. He understood that he was too much the last time to attack me harshly.
We resumed the conversation, talking about me, him, the community. He has dreams of doing something with his professional life. I am totally supportive. He would like to leave the community but he knows that he will encounter hard times. He already has been to Footsteps. He is trying to find an exit with his issues. The positive things about the religious life style is the 'continuation: it's based on a solid tradition of thousands of years of teachings, e.g. take the laws of 'Yichud', which means rules regarding being alone with person from opposite gender. There's nothing like this in the secular world. In (Halachik) Judaism, these rules are very deeply ingrained and it's backed up by teachings that go back from milenia. Now, ask yourself honestly: would you want your significant other freely allowed to intermingle in a close manner with a member of the opposite gender?"
That's another cultural question. New Yorkers like what you call 'flirting' all the time. But it doesn't mean that they want to sleep with you. I don't say that they are innocent but most of the time, they do that because they expect something from you. That's business. I am totally hermetic to 'flirting business', and unfriendly when they persist with unsubtle manners, i close my door to them definitively.
Now in a daily life, New Yorkers flirt too.
When i started to meet Hasidim, i forgot this New Yorker characteristic. I was not into this flirting game
because they make you understand fast they want to get into your pants. The ball was in my court.
Then another question from him: "But, are you saying that it's not risky to be put in a room alone with a married man who is very attractive?" :-)
Attractive or not, i am not into married men. I have morals. If they have lied, and once i knew the truth, i stopped immediately.
"You realize that in Judaism Adultery is one of the greatest sin and is punishable by death! Now to avoid being put in a compromising position and to thwart temptation that my lead to the most abominable of deeds certain safeguards were put in place.
That's what I mean that the general culture is corrupt! Don't you agree that a woman who commits adultery should be punished severely?"
Why woman? I don't know if there is a reliable survey to know if men cheat on their wife more than women on their husband. Flesh is weaker in men's brain, right? :-)
Why during wars or not, women are victims of rapes more than men? His reply: "But men are also victims from domineering and manipulating women." Poor men! :-)
He might talk about his own experience, i didn't ask. I just know that his arranged marriage didn't work out a long time. He had issues to experiment the women world later.
Nobody has been punished by death in Willy or Boro Park so far because he/she cheated on his/her partner.
And to end, we talked about our favorite book. I expected from him a Hasidic writer, but it was Catcher in The Rye by J.D. Salinger. I asked him the reasons why he liked this book "It depicts the adolescent mind and for the no bull-shit attitude in portrays". I told him that i disliked deeply this book for the same reasons he liked it and i added that Holden is a bourgeois end his bourgeois issues bothered and bored me a lot. I know that many people love this book, and i never understood why. I read other books about adolescent thoughts much better. But anyway, his reply to that, was very funny: "I guess we have differing views, can we still have sex?". And then, he felt 'guilty', "I guess I should instantly apologize:)".
Differing views about books can be fixed on pillows…
Monday, March 3, 2014
An impromptu Shabbos meal
Friday afternoon, G. called me to invite me for a Shabbos meal but he has to ask his girlfriend first if she is in the mood to host me.
Then the meal cooked with love: lots of vegetables, Israeli couscous cooked with a taste of Asia. They don't eat meat either.
Then we were back in the living-room, watching a documentary on Shalom TV, Dreamers and Builders:
http://www.jewishfilm.org/Catalogue/films/dreamers.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hG5P9IaPcpE
I enjoyed this Shabbos evening with lots of questions and answers…
She already offered me to come around, once G. will feel better after surgery he had last Wednesday. I saw him on Thursday, and he has a pretty good energy. He probably complains when she is at home. :-)
I asked him if he will wear his tzitzit. Probably not. He used to wear it 8 years ago when he was looking for a new family and was more involved with the Lubaba boys of the Crown Heights community.
We have a common acquaintance from this community and we agree about his rudeness… Talking in broader terms for once, they have bad manners and they think they should be granted for everything.
It's one of the reasons i prefer the Satmerer, Bobover… who have better manners. They could be obnoxious sometimes with gentiles. They probably think D-g will be more lenient with them because we are not Jewish, and to hurt a Gentiles is not so bad! :-(
G. called me back later to tell me to come and share the Shabbos meal. We joked about a "ménage à trois", or threesome. How many times Hasidim asked me if i was into women, ménage à trois… Is it an obsession because i am a gentile, French or none of them or all of them, or just a Hasidic fantasy… I don't really think they know the French movie Jules et Jim by François Truffaut, about a threesome, based on the novel by Henri-Pierre Roché. Will she choose one of them at the end? Ahah! Watch the movie or read the book!
And the famous song by the actress Jeanne Moreau, Le Tourbillon de la Vie:
It misses subtitles but you can understand whose she is talking about: LOVE. :-)
His neighbor was invited too, but she didn't show up.
I bought a bottle of Kosher wine from Chile, a Malbec, which had a good taste. I already tasted wines from Chile. The brand San Esteban has a very good Chardonnay. Sorry, American people but your wines are not good! South America has better wines, that's just my opinion. :-)
He didn't want me to bring something, but sorry, in France, when you are invited, you have to bring something to the host. And in another hand, G. is not Orthodox, so i can carry things. :-)
He was wearing his kippah for the Kiddush.
Then, he sent us in the living-room because he likes being alone when he cooks. She cooks too, but she works and she is tired when she gets back home. He is a househusband. He cooks and cleans…
He is a good cook and can recycle all the fridge to make you something very good.
He made hummus, the hummus with chickpeas.
That was a very good hummus which reminds me the one i ate in Jerusalem, and also the one in a famous Lebanese restaurant in Paris.
He brought us pieces of cheese for his two mice as he said: an old Kosher Parmigiano.
I was squealing of pleasure. When i was toddler i was purring when i was enjoying food my mom gave to me.
When he was cooking, his girlfriend and I were talking about the Lubaba community and the disappointment we had encountered with some of them. The disappointment is different according on our cultural expectations.
I was squealing of pleasure. When i was toddler i was purring when i was enjoying food my mom gave to me.
When he was cooking, his girlfriend and I were talking about the Lubaba community and the disappointment we had encountered with some of them. The disappointment is different according on our cultural expectations.
G. didn't travel but he is very cultured, curious about different cultures. This impromptu invitation was very European as i really like it. We can talk about anything, without being scared of being judged because we showed our feelings and emotions. They don't pretend they are fine, they are just as they are. G. gave up with the Lubaba community because of their narrow-mindedness. 'They will drive you nuts." They always try to sell you something: the community, a dinner… the religion, the Messiah… That's a sort of marketing and, you can feel it when they approach you in the streets of Crown Heights: 'Are you Jewish?'. I let them talk and i remain polite.
But G. was also disappointed because they show you that you will never belong to their community. You have to be born Lubaba to be one of them.
I understand what he feels. I feel my Jewish blood but i have non Jewish blood too. He is Jewish at 100% but he can't be a Lubaba at 100%. They accept you for what you can bring, but don't expect something in return. It's probably more painful for someone who is Jewish and a mensch as G. is.
They can be cruel, and they are very bad with apologies. A little 'sorry' which might be not sincere.
My approach to them has changed a lot, and i am more and more cautious.
I actually think that this couple has an European soul. G. is realistic with his country: "USA is a crap country." I won't say it like that: USA has a huge potential but Americans have a sort of flabby laziness and procrastination. This country needs a revolution. :-)
They have an accommodating attitude and lethargy: why to accept to pay so much for Internet, phone, rent, food, medicine, medication… when the service is very bad? Honestly, when i see all these sick people in the bus, streets… that's very scary… When i see food which is not food, it makes me sick. Food is a big issue, we need it to survive compares to cigarettes, alcohol, drugs… GMO everywhere, and i had hope there was no GMO in Kosher food, but there is.
But G. was also disappointed because they show you that you will never belong to their community. You have to be born Lubaba to be one of them.
I understand what he feels. I feel my Jewish blood but i have non Jewish blood too. He is Jewish at 100% but he can't be a Lubaba at 100%. They accept you for what you can bring, but don't expect something in return. It's probably more painful for someone who is Jewish and a mensch as G. is.
They can be cruel, and they are very bad with apologies. A little 'sorry' which might be not sincere.
My approach to them has changed a lot, and i am more and more cautious.
I actually think that this couple has an European soul. G. is realistic with his country: "USA is a crap country." I won't say it like that: USA has a huge potential but Americans have a sort of flabby laziness and procrastination. This country needs a revolution. :-)
They have an accommodating attitude and lethargy: why to accept to pay so much for Internet, phone, rent, food, medicine, medication… when the service is very bad? Honestly, when i see all these sick people in the bus, streets… that's very scary… When i see food which is not food, it makes me sick. Food is a big issue, we need it to survive compares to cigarettes, alcohol, drugs… GMO everywhere, and i had hope there was no GMO in Kosher food, but there is.
Then the meal cooked with love: lots of vegetables, Israeli couscous cooked with a taste of Asia. They don't eat meat either.
Then we were back in the living-room, watching a documentary on Shalom TV, Dreamers and Builders:
http://www.jewishfilm.org/Catalogue/films/dreamers.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hG5P9IaPcpE
I enjoyed this Shabbos evening with lots of questions and answers…
I don't give up to find some Lubaba who can be polite, well-educated, curious to learn about different cultures and also have common sense… :-)
 |
| Crown Heights, March 2014 ©emmarubinstein |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)