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Posts Tagged israel
“‘Oy’ is just ‘Yo’ backwards”… apparently!
Posted by Naomi in Link Roundup on November 26, 2009
Ok, pop quiz: anyone know what’s special about right now??
Um, well, yes, it is in fact Thanksgiving. But that wasn’t exactly what I was going for…
Right now, we’re in the midst of celebrating the Jewish month of Kislev – sometimes known as “the Hanukka month.” Well, ok, no one actually calls it “the Hanukka month,” but basically, that’s what it is. And the festival of lights is coming up fairly quickly, as this recently released video from Nefesh B’Nefesh reminded me earlier this evening:
Gosh darn it, will flashmobs never stop being cool?
Happy Kislev, Happy Thanksgiving… and happy almost-Hanukka!
Naomi
“I Wonder, Wonder Who Wrote The Book of Love?”
Posted by Naomi in Jewish Books, Jewish Knowledge on August 5, 2009
Source: http://images.inmagine.com
(That was a one-hit wonder by the Monotones, in case you’re curious.)
Following on the heels of Tisha B’Av (the most somber day in the Jewish calendar) is the festival of Tu B’av – the Jewish holiday of love. In days gone by (during the Second Temple period, to be exact – around 2500 years ago), young, unmarried women would don white dresses and dance in the vineyards. There, according to the Mishna, they would sing, “young man, consider whom you choose to be your wife” – and hopefully, some eligible bachelor would take notice. (After all, it is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife… Anyone? Anyone?) After the destruction of the Second Temple, the dancing and matchmaking of Tu B’Av fell out of practice, and the holiday went on a nineteen-hundred year hiatus.
Recently, however, the day has experienced a resurgence in popularity, especially in Israel. The entertainment, beauty, and flowers and cards industries have begun to have a field day promoting Tu B’Av as the Jewish alternative to Valentine’s Day. And uniquely, though it’s a Jewish holiday, there are essentially no rituals and no liturgy associated with it – so if you want to celebrate the day, pretty much anything goes! Host a romantic dinner party, send some flowers to a loved one, sign up on JDate, or… check out some Jewish books on love and relationships (hey, you’re reading a Jewish book blog, what did you expect?). Here are a few popular ones you may want to consider:
● Love Your Neighbor and Yourself: A Jewish Approach to Modern Personal Ethics, by Rabbi Elliot Dorff
● Treasury of Jewish Love: Poems, Quotations & Proverbs
● Kosher Sex: A Recipe for Passion and Intimacy
● God, Love, Sex, and Family: A Rabbi’s Guide for Building Relationships That Last
● The Jewish Way in Love and Marriage
● Dating Secrets of the Ten Commandments
● Kabbalah on Love (Technology for the Soul)
Happy reading! XOXO,
- Naomi
Happy Yom Ha’atzmaut!
Posted by Naomi in JPS Books, Jewish Books, Jewish Knowledge on April 29, 2009
Today is the 5th day of the Hebrew month Iyyar, and you know what that means… today, we’re celebrating Yom Ha’atzmaut! That’s right, this year is the 61st year of the establishment of the State of Israel. In Israel, families celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut by going on hikes, checking out the free public shows on the city streets, visiting sites of national historic interest (like Independence Hall in Tel Aviv), and having barbeques!
If the weather here in Philadelphia clears up in time, I might have a celebratory Yom Ha’atzmaut BBQ with some of my friends.
I might also mark the day by re-reading one of my favorite books on Israeli history, “Six Days of War,” by Michael Oren. If you’re interested in brushing up on your knowledge of some famous figures from Israeli history, check out these biographies of Yoni Netanyahu, Teddy Kollek, and Golda Meir
I’ll leave you with something fun – an extremely abridged version of a comedic peice called “The Only Country” by Israeli journalist Yair Lapid. (If you want to read the full version, check it out here.)
It’s the only country where the Transport Ministry has erected a roadside sign reading: “Cohens, keep to the left of the road”, and now our only hope is that the Cohens will drive a little faster.
[…] It’s the only country where people visiting your home for the first time ask “Can I help myself from the fridge?” (If you’re lucky. Some don’t ask.)
It’s the only country where the rich are the socialist left, the poor are with the capitalist right-wing, and the middle-classes pay for everything.
[…] It’s the only country where a corporal’s mother has the cell-phone number of the platoon commander (and he better watch out…)
It’s the only country that’s launched a telecommunication satellite in space, but where no one lets you finish a sentence.
It’s the only country where a man in a grubby open-collared shirt is the distinguished minister, and the guy standing next to him in a suit and tie is his driver.
[…]And it’s the only country I could ever live in.
Happy Yom Ha’atzmaut!
-Naomi
