Monday, July 27, 2015

ELI Talk: The Problem of Eicha

Dara Horn Explains: The problem of the Biblical book of Eicha (Lamentations), which we just read out loud during Tisha b'Av. Was it all our fault?


By way of introduction, here is what Dara's website says about her:
Dara Horn was born in New Jersey in 1977 and received her Ph.D. in comparative literature from Harvard University in 2006, studying Hebrew and Yiddish. In 2007 she was chosen by Granta magazine as one of 20 “Best Young American Novelists.”  
Her first novel, In the Image, published by W.W. Norton when she was 25, received a 2003 National Jewish Book Award, the 2002 Edward Lewis Wallant Award, and the 2003 Reform Judaism Fiction Prize.  
Her second novel, The World to Come, published by W.W. Norton in 2006, received the 2006 National Jewish Book Award for Fiction, the 2007 Harold U. Ribalow Prize, was selected as an Editors’ Choice in The New York Times Book Review and as one of the Best Books of 2006 by The San Francisco Chronicle, and has been translated into eleven languages.  
Her third novel, All Other Nights, published in 2009 by W.W. Norton, was selected as an Editors’ Choice in The New York Times Book Review and was one of Booklist’s 25 Best Books of the Decade. In 2012, her nonfiction e-book The Rescuer was published by Tablet magazine and became a Kindle bestseller.  
Her fourth novel, A Guide for the Perplexed, was published by W.W. Norton in September 2013, and was selected as one of Booklist‘s Best Books of 2013 and was longlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction.  
She has taught courses in Jewish literature and Israeli history at Sarah Lawrence College and City University of New York, and currently holds the Gerald Weinstock Visiting Professorship in Jewish Studies at Harvard, where she teaches Yiddish and Hebrew literature. She has lectured at over two hundred universities and cultural institutions throughout North America, in Israel and in Australia. 
She lives in New Jersey with her husband and four children.
Abq Jew must also point out that the entire Horn family, may they all be happy and well, davened at Temple Beth Shalom in Livingston, New Jersey - where the entire Abq Jew family also used to daven.

Dara has two sisters, Ariel and Jordana,, may they live long and prosper, who are also writers, and who have been written up in The New York Times. The three sisters also have a brother who is not a writer (go figure).


By way of further introductionELI stands for
  • Jewish religious engagement (E), 
  • Jewish literacy (L), and 
  • Jewish identity with Israel and peoplehood at the core (I). 
ELI Talks (sort of the Jewish version of TED Talks) are 12 minute presentations covering innovative ideas and inspiring concepts exploring Jewish engagement, literacy and identity.

ELI Talks are meant to inspire Jewish people to become active participants of Jewish life and community – they are the starting point for new dialogue and exploration within the Jewish community.

The innovative ideas presented in the talks provide food for thought, sparking follow up discussions and activities that encourage investment in Jewish life.


In her ELI talk, Dara Horn submits that the Book of Eicha (Lamentations) is the source of Jewish understanding about anti-Semitism, but that a more appropriate text for today may be the Book of Job.

Ms Horn introduces her subject by talking about her children and Doctor DeSoto, one of their beloved bedtime stories. She shows the connection between Dr Desoto’s story and the archaic, "Eicha (Lamentations)" concept of anti-Semitism - in which it's all our fault.

At the close of her talk, Ms Horn suggests that not Eicha, but rather Job should be the foundational text for Jewish thinking on anti-Semitism.


Program Notes: Certified Thanatologist Gail Rubin, The Doyenne of Death ®, will speak about her favorite subject at TEDxABQ on September 12. Learn more here.

And if you have an inspired idea that could change the Jewish community as we know it - you might think about preparing your own ELI Talk. Learn more here.

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

By the Rivers of Babylon 2015

There We Sat; There We Wept:  As we prepare to begin our observance of Tisha b"Av, there are many web sites that offer lists of the tragedies that have befallen the Jewish People on this day and explanations of why these terrible things have happened.


Here is what Abq Jew has learned over the years, from many different sources:

One reason for the destruction of the Second Temple
was sinat hinam - causeless hatred; and one thing that can bring the Messianic Age is ahavat hinam - causeless love.

Until then, we mourn - for the way things are, for the way things might have been. And each of us mourns in his or her own way - even with music. No, music is not the Tish b"Av tradition.

 But if one needs music to mourn, J.J. Goldberg of The Jewish Daily Forward has a playlistMr Goldberg says:
I agonized over this. We’re now in the nine-day mourning period approaching Tisha B’Av. Music is not appropriate. Can we observe by listening to music of the season? Well, I decided to go with it. It’s for those who haven’t thought of observing the mourning period, to get you in the mood.
The first number couldn’t be anything but “Al Naharot Bavel,” By the Waters of Babylon. The words are from Psalm 137 and tell of the exiles weeping after the destruction of the First Temple on the ninth of Av, 586 BCE: “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea we wept when we remembered Zion.” This is the classic version many of us remember, performed by Basya Schechter.

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

The 39 Steps

To Traditional Shabbat Observance: Abq Jew would like to apologize to his loyal readers who believed, up until this very moment, that this was going to be a Jewish review of the famous 1935 film directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

Instead, Abq Jew is going to talk about this Table of the 39 Avot Melacha.


Abq Jew downloaded this table from the Facebook page of Rebbetzin Rivkah Wittenstein of Kol BeRamah, a traditional Orthodox synagogue in Santa Fe. He then Sephardicized it and placed it within a border. Is it not splendiferous?

The Table of the 39 Avot Melacha is, of course, a take-off on the Periodic Table of the Elements


which we have all come to know and love, and which Tom Lehrer has famously put to song (see Tikkun Leyl Shavuot & The Elements).

So now, Abq Jew surmises, you are wondering

What's an Av Melacha, and why are there 39 of them?

MyJewishLearning.com tells us that
In the Mishnah, the Rabbis enumerated 39 major categories (with hundreds of subcategories) of labor that were forbidden (avot melakhah) based on the types of work that were related to the construction of the Tabernacle in the wilderness, which ceased on the Sabbath (Shab. 7:2).
The chiddush (innovation) of the Table of 39 is that it color codes the primary subcategories of forbidden work. For MyJewishLearning.com further tells us that
Activities that cannot be performed on the Sabbath are:
  1. Green, First 2 Rows: Basic tasks connected with preparing the showbread (sowing, plowing, reaping, binding, threshing, winnowing, selecting, grinding, sifting, kneading, baking).
  2. Blue, Next 2 Rows: Work related to making the coverings in the Tabernacle and the vestments used by the Kohanim (shearing sheep), bleaching, carding (changing tangled or compressed material into separate fibers), dyeing, spinning, stretching (material), making two loops (meshes), threading needles, weaving, separating, tying (a knot), untying (a knot), sewing, tearing.
  3. Orange, Last Row: Activities concerned with writing and the preparation of parchment from animal skin (trapping or hunting), slaughtering, flaying (skinning), treating skins (curing hides), scraping pelts, marking out (to make ready for cutting), cutting (to shape), writing, erasing.
  4. Various, 2 Columns on Right: Construction (building, demolishing), kindling a flame (lighting, extinguishing), carrying (from private to public domain, and vice versa), and putting the finishing touches to a piece of work already begun before the Sabbath.


To your average (as if there were such a thing) modern, city- or suburb-dwelling Jew, this list of 39 appears pretty easy to follow.

But just wait.

First of all, MyJewishLearning.com continues
The Rabbis decreed that one not only should avoid forbidden acts but also must not do anything that (1) resembles a prohibited act or could be confused with it, (2) is a habit linked with a prohibited act, or (3) usually leads to performing a prohibited act.
The rabbinic enactment of measures to prevent these possibilities was termed “putting a fence around the Torah” (Avot 1:1). 
 Let's look at Av Melacha #1: Sowing. We're not farmers, right? So what do we have to worry about?

This: As it turns out, adding fresh water to a vase of cut flowers is prohibited on Shabbat. Why? Because the Rabbis defined "sowing" as "any activity that causes or furthers plant growth." And as the King of Siam poignantly observed

Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.


Why oh why, Abq Jew hears you ask, would our Rabbis define "sowing" (et al) so broadly? Did they really, really have it in for us?

To which Abq Jew, after his years of study at The Jewish Theological Seminary of America (see Wanna Be A Rabbi?) must answer:

Abq Jew is not a rabbi.

But Abq Jew does believe that the Rabbis did their best at all times in interpreting the Bible to determine how The Holy One, Blessed Be He, wants the People Israel to behave.

The question facing us is

How do we interpret and respond to G-d's requests
(and the Rabbis' rules) today?


It will come as no surprise that Wikipedia, in its discussion of the 39 Avot Melacha, further informs us
There are often disagreements between Orthodox Jews and Conservative Jews or other non-Orthodox Jews as to the practical observance of the Sabbath. 


We are now preparing for the Nine Days that lead up to the fast of Tisha B'Av.

May our disagreements be for the sake of Heaven.

Let us recall that the Rabbis viewed sinat chinam - baseless hatred - as one of the causes of the Second Temple's destruction.

And let us recall that Rav Kook, of blessed memory, identified the only way to overcome it - with ahavat chinam, loving others freely without judgment.

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Talk Shmutzig To Me

Post-Modern Jukebox: This blog post is going to be about Postmodern Jukebox and their music video of the song Talk Dirty.


Abq Jew is telling you this right up front because two of his loyal readers have informed him that his blog posts are often wild or meandering. Or pointless. Or derailed, as in


Abq Jew's train of thought has been derailed.

Which assumes, of course, that
  1. Abq Jew had a train.
  2. A kezayit (that's a technical term) of thought had been loaded onto that train.
  3. That train of thought had been, for at least a short period, on the rails.

When Abq Jew first began to write this blog post, he was going to start by telling you the latest news about Scarlett Johansson.

Ms Johansson has, of course, nothing to do with the topic of this blog post. But one of Abq Jew's loyal readers was concerned that the redesign of the Abq Jew Blog might mean no more Scarlett Johansson photos.

Let Abq Jew therefore assure all of his loyal readers that the photos and music and mishegas (that's another technical term) will continue until GOK (G-d Only Knows).

But Abq Jew is not going to talk anymore about Ms Johansson in this blog post.

As he announced right from the get-go, this blog post is going to be about Postmodern Jukebox and their music video of the song Talk Dirty.


But wait! Abq Jew hears you cry. We can't listen to music! We just observed Shiva-Asar biTammuz! It's the Three Weeks!

Abq Jew hears your cry, and is going to ignore it. Perhaps it will surprise you (or perhaps not) to learn that there is a range of rabbinic opinion about music and the Three Weeks. There are those who hold, for example, that
  1. One cannot listen to any music at all at any time during the year.
  2. One cannot listen to any music at all during the Three Weeks.
  3. One cannot listen to any music at all during the Nine Days.
And there are always workarounds and exemptions - for recorded vs live music, for background (vs foreground?) music, and (of course) for professional musicians.

Robyn Adele Anderson

And then there is the perpetual issue of kol isha - a woman's [singing] voice, and the prohibition against a man listening to it.

Which of course does not mean that
a man must walk around with a headset.

It means that a woman may not, must not sing in a man's presence. Or even hum where a man may be present.

But Abq Jew is not going to get into that.

As he announced right from the get-go, this blog post is going to be about Postmodern Jukebox and their music video of the song Talk Dirty.


So let's talk about Rap Music in general, and Jason Derulo in particular.

Now, Abq Jew does not know Jason Derulo. At all. But Wikipedia tells us
Jason Joel Desrouleaux (born September 21, 1989), better known by his stage name Jason Derulo (an alternate spelling of his name which shares the same pronunciation), is an American singer, songwriter, and dancer. 
Since the start of his career as a solo recording artist in 2009, Derulo has sold over 50 million singles and has achieved ten career platinum singles, including "Wiggle", "Talk Dirty", "In My Head", and "Whatcha Say".

What was that second song? Ah ...Which brings us to Postmodern Jukebox in general, and Scott Bradlee in particular.

Now, Abq Jew does not know Scott Bradlee. At all. But Wikipedia tells us
Scott Bradlee (born September 19, 1981) is an American musician, pianist, composer, and arranger. He is known for his viral videos on YouTube, including his work under the moniker Postmodern Jukebox.  
Bradlee was born on Long Island, New York, where he fell in love with jazz at the age of 12 after hearing George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue for the first time. 
Abq Jew really considers "Rap Music" to be one of the great oxymorons of our time - right up there with "Jumbo Shrimp", "Military Intelligence", and "Orthodox Judaism".

But that's OK.

Because this is where Postmodern Jukebox steps in. And it's Postmodern Jukebox that Abq Jew really wants to tell you about. 



So let's talk about Postmodern Jukebox in general, and Rachel Weingarten in particular.

Now, Abq Jew does not know Rachel Weingarten. At all. But Wikipedia tells us
Rachel Weingarten is a marketing strategist, author, beauty historian and noted expert on style, marketing and trends. 
She is widely sought for her opinions and predictions and is regularly quoted in The New York Times, CNN.com, The Washington Post and many others, as well as a business and lifestyle writer and weekly columnist for Parade.com and contributing op-ed columnist for amNewYork.
Abq Jew would know nothing about Postmodern Jukebox were it not for Ms Weingarten, who published an article about PMJ in May. In which she said
If you find yourself underwhelmed by the Auto-Tune-heavy pop music that you hear on the radio (I tuned out some years ago), find a different way to enjoy your music. 
For over a million subscribers to the PMJ channel on YouTube, this means a weekly update/blast from the past courtesy of Scott Bradlee, the brains behind Postmodern Jukebox, and a cast of both regular and evolving vocalists, musicians and other performers (tap dancers! tambourine players! a 7-foot-tall clown!). 
In a nutshell, Bradlee creates retro versions of popular radio standards that run the gamut from Iggy Azalea standard “Fancy” reimagined as a flapper-inspired tune, to Kesha’s Timber transformed to a doo-wop confection. Klezmer and 1970s soul make appearances as well.  
The songs are then performed live (initially in Bradlee’s apartment) by an evolving group of musicians and singers, and the videos are posted to YouTube.


OK! Here we go!

One of the songs that Postmodern Jukebox has covered is - surprise! - Jason Derulo's "Talk Dirty". As PMJ explains
This week [March 2014], we decided to find out how Jason Derulo's "Talk Dirty" would sound if it was written as a traditional klezmer tune. 
 [Singer] Robyn [Adele Anderson] even painstakingly translated the rap by 2 Chainz into Yiddish (file that one under: Things You Can Only See on the Internet). 
As he announced right from the get-go, this blog post has been about Postmodern Jukebox and their music video of the song Talk Dirty.

And here it is - PMJ's Klezmer / Yiddish version of Talk Dirty. Enjoy, but not too much. A woman singing during the Three Weeks! Gevalt!