Matisyahu

The jblogosphere has been full with talk about Matisyahu. I downloaded some Matisyahu songs from his website out of curiosity. I was pretty sure that I would hear some pretty mediocre music that passes as good since its "Hasidic". After listening to the songs, I must admit that I was wrong. This guy is really talented, and he is accompanied by three other talented musicians (Aaron Dugan - GUITAR, Josh Werner - BASS, Jonah David - DRUMS). I don't know if the other musicians are partners with Matisyahu on his spiritual trip. They are certainly partners with him on his musical journey, and the four make up a very tight combo.

I was particularly taken in with the song "King Without A Crown", played live. It starts very softly, switches to a reggae rhythm with the Dugan playing chords on the offbeat. Matisyahu sings/raps some real tongue twisting lyrics about his love for Hashem. The chorus has a kind of Mediterranean beat while the guitar plays counterpoint to Matisyahu. After a few screams of "Yuh" (I guess that's Matisyahu's version of "yeah"), the band switches into a solid rock beat. Werner plays eighth notes from all over the neck to give the underpinning to Dugan's searing guitar solo. The song ends with some nonsensical reggae words like "zee-why-oh" and a final "yuh". (If you think about it "ai yai yai" isn't any better than "zee-why-oh".)

In my opinion, these guys are good by any standard. Matisyahu sings from the bottom of his heart, and as our sages said, "Words that come out from the heart enter the heart."

I also give a lot of credit to Matisyahu's rabbi for not stifling Matisyahu's desire to play and perform this kind of music.

Kfar Darom Evacuees And The High-Rise In Ashkelon

Here is a great lesson in how the Israeli MSM sells the government spin on things. Ido Efrati of Ynet reports the following:

State purchases apartment building on former settlers’ request; now, evacuees change their mind, refuse to move into new homes

The settlers sound quite unreasonable don't they? In the 11th(!) paragraph of the article, the settlers side of the story is finally reported although in a very vague manner. The whole matter seems entirely illogical. The Arutz 7 report of the same story seems far more credible:

The 58 families of the former Jewish Gaza community of Kfar Darom, for instance, have been told time and again that their move to a high-rise building in Ashkelon was just a matter of time, and that they could expect to move within a short time. In fact, after several delays and postponements, some families actually began moving their belongings this week into what they thought would be their home for the coming 2-3 years.

But then came the last straw. The homeless citizens were told that the company that would be taking responsibility for the apartments - Amigur, a public housing provider - had a new series of demands, and that a new delay was forthcoming.

Read both accounts in full. It reveals a lot about how the Israeli MSM distorts the news.

Mirty In The City Of Sin

Mirty has a really good post about her visit in city to Las Vegas. It is truly unfortunate that this modern day Sodom exists. Thousands of years may have passed, technology may have progressed, but too many of us are still enslaved to our most primitive impulses. It is so sad to read about the exploiters and the exploited in the "Sad City of Lost Souls":

Further down the block, a man was handing out coupons so I took one of those. When I looked at it, I saw a naked woman in an inelegant position. Under her picture was the name “Miko” and a phone number. The fact that she had the same name as one my dogs was disturbing in its own right, but I really had no interest in this Miko and tried to hand back the coupon.

The good news is that all of the debauchery and general debasement of humanity did not interest Mirty's family, as Mirty quotes:

But I was very relieved to hear my kids announce that “this place sucks."

Way back when, I posted on a somewhat similar experience that I had in Atlantic City.

Haveil Havalim #46 At Israel Perspectives

Many thanks to Ze'ev for staying up late last night for this Thanksgiving edition of Haveil Havalim.

More Disturbing Statistics From The Arabian Peninsula

Check out this visitor from Dubai, who joins a fellow animal lover from Saudi Arabia:



They used to say, "I'd walk a mile for a camel," but these guys apparently have a totally different interpretation.

They Shall Still Bring Forth Fruit In Old Age

We just finished the tractate "Shabbat" in my daf-yomi class. This is a long tractate, having 157 pages, and at a rate of a page per day it took over five months to complete.

After the class an old Jew with a long white beard limped into the beit midrash. He's the kind of guy that if you tell him what page you are learning, anywhere in the Talmud, he can tell you what subjects are discussed on that page. We told him that we just completed learning the tractate "Shabbat" and he immediately replied:

That's appropriate for this week's Torah portion as we read:

ואברהם זקן בא בימים

And Abraham was old, well stricken in age...(Genesis 24:1)

"Zaken", the word for "old", has the numerical value 157, the same as the number of pages in the tractate Shabbat. What's more, there are 24 chapters in Shabbat, equal to numerical value of "Kad" (pitcher), which is a central word in this weeks portion (see Genesis 24).

Kadima?

Sharon is calling his new party "Kadima" which means forward in Hebrew. This is quite astonishing. After all, after pulling out of the Gaza Strip, and with the rumors about further retreats, shouldn't Sharon call his new party "Achora" (backwards)?

A Public Service Anouncement From Cosmic X

Starting January 1, 2006 Israelis will be required to have a reflective vest in their automobiles.


I bought one the other day for 20 shekels (about $4.50). The idea is that if you have to stop on the road at night, you put the vest on so that other drivers can see you. If it saves even one life, it is worth it.

Braving The Lebanese Rocket Attack On Northern Israel

Read this great post from Galilee This. An excerpt:

No rockets hit Maalot and we had a nice bbq dinner. I made a mean spicy honey mustard sauce for the wings, and we broiled them instead of using the bbq (cause it is outside). The children slept in our room, so that we would all die together if it came down to that.

Does AIPAC Hold The Keys To Pollard's Prison Cell?

Yitzchak Oren, who was the Israeli liaison to the U.S. Congress in 1997, seems to think so:

Oren explained that the long-time efforts by Pollard supporters to pressure the American President were in vain:
"Only Congress can force the release. The president [Clinton] tried, and we saw how it ended with [Clinton and Netanyahu] at Wye Plantation - the intelligence community forced the president to change his mind, with [CIA head George] Tenet threatening to resign. But with Congress, it's the opposite. The intelligence establishment receives funding from Congress, and Congress is its supervising body. One word by AIPAC would free up a giant and powerful lobby in this direction. I tell you with full responsibility that if AIPAC would just nod or hint, it would happen. The CIA would give in. That's how the American network works."

Even A "Godol Hador" Needs A Rav

Godol Hador has posted a very revealing post which IMHO is worth reading. At the end of the post he tells us what's really bothering him:

I guess it’s more a question of existential angst. Here are some of the thoughts that consume my mind:

Just who is G-d? Is He really there, by my side, at every second, listening to my every inner thought, observing my every action? That’s a pretty frightening thought, if you really think about it. In fact, if I really really thought about it, wouldn’t I be completely paralyzed by fear?

Perhaps more importantly, what does G-d really want from us? When I read Tenach, am I literally reading the word of G-d, or has it been affected by Human imprint? Can I be medayek every word, or just hope to learn some broad lessons? When a Rishon (or Acharon) gives peshat in a posuk, can I take that as a mesorah from Sinai, again the word of G-d, or just the result of a serious scholar’s ruminations?

He goes on and on. Read the post.

I do not think that Godol Hador will find his answers in the jblogosphere or anywhere else online. Godol Hador needs a good rabbi, a rabbi who is not only well versed in Jewish law, but is also well versed in Jewish philosophy and science. Rabbi Shlomo Aviner comes to mind as the kind of rabbi the Godol needs to learn from.

All this just comes to show that even a Godol Hador needs a Rav.

Open Thread For Tuesday

I know that this is a pompous thing to do. So what, it was fun last week. Say what's on your mind, or just let me know that you were here. Thanks.

Pollard Suing To Force Spy Swap

I have a feeling that this is not going to work, but I can't blame him for trying:

Imprisoned Israeli agent, Jonathan Pollard, has instructed his attorneys to file suit in Israel's High Court of Justice, today November 21, 1985, the 20th anniversary of his arrest.

Pollard's petition asks the Supreme Court to compel the Government of Israel to arrest Angie Kilciensky --- a self-confessed Israeli traitor who spied for the United States and exposed Pollard -- to interrogate him, and then initiate a spy swap to return Kielcynski to the US and Pollard to Israel.

Angie Kielcynski, (aka Yosef Barak) an Israeli Likud party activist (not an MK) was appointed by Arik Sharon to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in 1985. He took advantage of his appointment to this Knesset Committee and his access to classified information to spy for the U.S.

Be sure to read the rest of the press release.

Shevet Achim Gam Yachdav

I had the great pleasure of meeting my friend Barry Freedman, who was in Jerusalem yesterday. He enlightened me with some Torah of Rabbi Nachman, and we reminisced about the good old days. Hinei Mah Tov Umah Na'im!

Fighting The Yellow Plague In Jerusalem

Here is some good news from ynet:

Almost all Jerusalemites know those spots well: They are all over the center of town, out of sight, but well within nose's range. That's the reason passersby who find it hard to hold it in just urinate in public.

The most illustrious public "toilets" are next to Zion Square, at the nearby picturesque pedestrian mall of Nahalat Shiva, next to the Italian synagogue and the cross streets. You can't miss these sites; the heavy stench is unbearable.

City Hall is taking a two-pronged approach to the problem:

Those who ignore the warning will receive a NIS 430 (approximately USD 90) fine. In addition, the city will offer a public tender for the construction of public restrooms in the area.

Behatzlacha!

Sharon's Retirement March

Read this interesting analysis by my friend Patrick, although I disagree with him.

My feeling is that Sharon's new party is going to flop for a number of reasons:

1) The burden of corruption is hanging from the neck of the Sharon family with the conviction of his son Omri.

2) Many Israelis tend to be loyal to the parties that they traditionally vote for as one who is loyal to the brand of the toothpaste that he uses. These kind of people, that received "Likud" with their mother's milk, will continue to vote Likud. The same holds true for the ever aging constituancy that votes Labor.

3) As the lies that were behind the "disengagement" become clear to more and more Israelis, Sharon and those who join him will receive less and less support. Those who support Sharon will come from the left side of the Israeli political map. Most of the support for his new party will come from Labor and Meretz, and not from the traditional Likud constituency.

My guess is that the next Prime Minister of Israel will be the head of the Likud party, and that Ariel Sharon will have a lot of time to spend with his grandchildren. Time will tell if I am correct.

Haveil Havalim #45 At Mirty's Place

Mirty does a great job as usual!

Stonewalling At Ha'aretz

Read about it here. (Hat tip: Solomonia)

Rally For Jonathan Pollard

20 years in jail is an unjust sentence for the crime he committed. The time has come to release him.

Why are the American Jews silent? Why are the American jbloggers silent?

Update: Amechad agrees.

Update: Ze'ev's perspective.

What Is "Cosmic X"?

Why in the world would a Jew from Jerusalem call his blog "Cosmic X"? Usually blogs of this kind have a name that has to do with something Israeli or Jewish, often utilizing words in Hebrew, Yiddish, or Aramaic. I could have called this blog "Kadur Felafel", "Pintele Yid", "Ipcha Mistabra" or "Little Jewboy in Altneuland". So why did I call this blog "Cosmic X"?

"Cosmic X" was a nickname that I had in high school. So if anyone reading this remembers a Cosmic X that they knew from high school, it is probably yours truly. I know that it is a pretty stupid name for a blog, but what is done is done.

How I got the nickname is another story. Hashfanatic, it's not what you think.