Monday, November 26, 2018

Glorified and Sanctified

Farewell, Great Grand Mama: More, Abq Jew hopes, to follow. But for now -

1991 | Grandma Fran; Great Aunt Lil; Great Grand Mama | Together Again


Glorified and sanctified 

be God’s great name throughout the world
which He has created according to His will.

May He establish His kingdom
in your lifetime and during your days,

and within the life of the entire House of Israel,
speedily and soon; 
and say, Amen.

May His great name be blessed forever and to all eternity.

Blessed and praised, glorified and exalted,
extolled and honored, 
adored and lauded be the name
of the Holy One, blessed be He, beyond

all the blessings and hymns, praises and consolations
that 
are ever spoken in the world; and say, Amen.

May there be abundant peace from heaven, and life,
for us 
and for all Israel; and say, Amen.

He who creates peace in His celestial heights,
may He create peace for us and for all Israel;
and for all who dwell on Earth;

and say, Amen.

Monday, November 19, 2018

Onomatopoeia and The Jews III

Say That One More Time?  First posted on November 14, 2011, reposted on November 24, 2014, Onomatopoeia and The Jews has become an Abq Jew Thanksgiving classic for everyone who remembers it.

For those of you dear readers who don't, and for those of you who were inexplicably or even explicably not yet following Abq Jew - here it is again! You're welcome!


An onomatopoeia (or onomatopœia, from the Greek ὀνοματοποιία), is a word that imitates or suggests the source of the sound that it describes.

Common occurrences of onomatopoeias include animal noises, such as "oink" or "meow" or "roar".

Animal names - especially bird names - are often onomatopoeic. For example: Winnie the Pooh got his name from the sound he made when trying to blow a bee off of his nose.

The turkey's name, however, is not onomatopoeic - although he onomatopoeically says"gobble, gobble".  At least in English.  There are several opinions as to what a turkey says in Turkey.

But speaking of turkey - it's time to get ready for Thanksgiving!  For some of us this means lining up a kosher bird from Trader Joe's, which goes great with kosher pareve stuffing from Natural Grocers.  But that's only for those of us who eat meat.

Now, there are several good, Jewish reasons not to eat meat.  Humans were, before all, intended to be vegetarians.  It was only after Noah and the Flood that God allowed us to eat meat.  And even kosher animal slaughter is still - well, the slaughter of animals.

On the other hand, how's this for onomatopoeia:  m-m-m-m-m-m-meat!

But what to do if there are vegetarians in your family who will be at your Thanksgiving table?   Or worse - vegans? 

(Abq Jew apologizes for claiming that vegans are from a planet orbiting the star of that name.  That was wrong, and ... insensitive.)

But how's this for onomatopoeia:  TO-FU!

Oops!  Insensitive again!  And speaking of insensitive - here is the famous (well, Abq Jew remembers it) Tofu Turkey Thanksgiving scene from Everybody Loves Raymond.

Happy Thanksgiving, New Mexico!

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Stan Lee, Jewish Literary Hero, 95

Jews & Comics: In the midst of what has turned out to truly be a Blue Wave (see Reflections On The Elections), there has been some sadness this week.

Observing Armistice Day (now Veterans Day); worrying about the hundreds of rockets fired on Ashkelon and Southern Israel; and remembering Stan Lee.


Tablet Magazine's Jacob Siegel tells us:
Stan Lee, who was almost certainly the most famous man in comics, has died at 95 ... Over the course of his life, Lee worked as a writer, editor, and publisher of Marvel Comics and became the face of the company. 
He created or had a hand in creating titles like Spider-Man, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, and the Incredible Hulk among countless others. 
Lee was born Stanley Martin Lieber in New York City in 1922, a first generation son of Romanian Jewish parents. In 1940 he entered the comics business by going to work at Timely Publishing. 
There, he met and worked alongside the artist Jack Kirby, another son of New York City and Jewish immigrant parents whose name would become legendary among followers of comic books and American popular culture.
But you knew that, didn't you?

While we mourn his passing, we also recognize that Stan Lee lived a good, long life. Not a perfect life - but a good one. Tablet Magazine's Liel Leibovitz concludes his tribute:
But if you’re looking to understand what makes Judaism’s edicts eternal, what makes American popular culture so widely resonant, and how the two intersect, you could do much worse than picking up a Stan Lee comic book and following it into a world where good and evil still do battle, even if down here they’ve settled into a dance of mutual convenience. 
We’ve had great comics masters before Lee and since; what we’ve never had is one so adept at breathing new life into old ideas, so attuned to the ancient stories and so wise to realize how much they still matter.

Since his passing, tributes to Stan Lee have been published and broadcast ... well, almost everywhere. Here is just one example - a video tribute from Marvel stars.


Thursday, November 8, 2018

Reflections On The Elections

A Blue Wave Big Enough: Abq Jew would be happy to report that all of the eager and anxious waiting before Tuesday's midterm elections was worth it. However, as we have since learned - some of it was, and some of it wasn't.


Here in our beloved Land of Enchantment, a a lot of the ... anticipation ... was definitely worth it.

It turns out we are sending three (3) Democratic Representatives to the House of. And outside NM, Max Rose, Kevin Thomas, Mikie Sherrill, et al, won their races. Perhaps not overwhelmingly terrific ... but not too shabby, either.


And then there was Florida's [Constitutional] Amendment 13. Which on Tuesday Floridians approved, 69%-31%.

The Florida Bar Journal explains (sorta) what's in the Amendment.
The humane treatment of animals is a fundamental value of the people of the State of Florida. After December 31, 2020, a person authorized to conduct gaming or pari-mutuel operations may not race greyhounds or any member of the Canis familiaris subspecies in connection with any wager for money or any other thing of value in this state, and persons in this state may not wager money or any other thing of value on the outcome of a live dog race occurring in this state. The failure to conduct greyhound racing or wagering on greyhound racing after December 31, 2018, does not constitute grounds to revoke or deny renewal of other related gaming licenses held by a person who is a licensed greyhound permitholder on January 1, 2018, and does not affect the eligibility of such permitholder, or such permitholder’s facility, to conduct other pari-mutuel activities authorized by general law. By general law, the legislature shall specify civil or criminal penalties for violations of this section and for activities that aid or abet violations of this section.
Or, in simpler terms -

Florida has banned greyhound racing,
effective December 31, 2020.

Florida is now home to 11 of the 17 greyhound racing tracks still operating in the US. An estimated 7,000 greyhounds will need to be re-homed during the next two years.

But that's just counting the dogs at Florida's tracks. There are thousands more greyhounds in the breeder / trainer 'pipeline' - being bred and trained specifically for racing, all over the country.

Abq Jew declines the invitation to join the highly-charged argument about whether greyhound racing is humane or cruel or just 'is'. It doesn't matter anymore.

Adopt-A-Greyhound.org

We have work to do.


But let's get back to the Blue Wave for a moment.


Has Abq Jew ever mentioned that he 'grew up' - as much as anyone can - in the then-beautiful Santa Clara Valley (before it turned to Silicon) of Northern California? When (and where) everybody went surfing?

Here are three things that Abq Jew has learned about surfing.
  1. Surfboards are pricey. Even when you could buy a Sunnyvale home for thousands (not millions), surfboards cost more than groceries. Or books.
  2. Getting to the beach (as they call it there, as opposed to the Jersey Shore) meant tying your surfboard onto (or into) your 'woody' (or your mom's Dodge Dart) and traversing the Santa Cruz Mountains via Highway 17. One of the most dangerous roads in the state, country, world, and, perhaps, universe.
  3. If you make it to Santa Cruz, and are able to find a place to park near the beach, then shlep your feshluggeneh (that's a technical term) surfboard out into the 'blue' waves, you discover that
Geez, the water is cold!


Nevertheless ... there were The Beach Boys.
The Beach Boys are an American rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. 
The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson; their cousin Mike Love; and their friend Al Jardine. 
Distinguished by their vocal harmonies and early surf songs, they are one of the most influential acts of the rock era. 
The band drew on the music of jazz-based vocal groups, 1950s rock and roll, and black R&B to create their unique sound, and with Brian as composer, arranger, producer, and de facto leader, often incorporated classical elements and unconventional recording techniques in innovative ways.
The Beach Boys began as a garage band, managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, with Brian's musicianship dominating their creative direction. 
In 1963, they gained national prominence with a string of top-ten hits reflecting a southern California youth culture of surfing, cars, and romance, later dubbed the "California Sound". 

 There's a Jewish connection!

Yes, really. Jews for Surfing! It begins with that second paragraph.
The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson; their cousin Mike Love; and their friend Al Jardine. 
It all depends, you see, on how you count. Among the first members of the group was none other than David Marks.
David Lee Marks (born August 22, 1948) is an American guitarist who was a member of the Beach Boys from February 1962 to August 1963.
At age seven, [he] moved into a house across the street from the family home of the three Wilson brothers, Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, later to become the founding members of The Beach Boys. 
David is Jewish. He was ... a frequent participant at the Wilson family Sunday night singalongs. 
Marks performed on the Beach Boys' first four albums, Surfin' Safari (1962), Surfin' U.S.A. (1963), Surfer Girl (1963), and Little Deuce Coupe (1963), before leaving the band due to personal issues with manager Murry Wilson. 
Since Marks did not appear on the 1961 single "Surfin'", the first performance by the band that would become "the Beach Boys", most historians discount him as a true founding member of the group.
As you watch the video, kindly remember - we all were young, once.



As Abq Jew is preparing to release this blog post to the world, details of the latest gun-shooting mass tragedy - this one in Thousand Oaks, California - are beginning to emerge. And although we may not have heard of the others -

This is not the first mass shooting since Pittsburgh.


Representative Eric Swalwell (D-CA15) says:
It’s absolutely heart-wrenching to listen to #borderlineshooting victims’ families describe their loss. Life is fragile. Take a second today to tell a loved one what they mean to you. Or even better, a break to just hold them. 
It was college night. They were dancing. Yet, now we mourn the loss of their innocent lives. May memories of the #BorderLineShooting victims always be a blessing to those who loved them. 
#EnoughIsEnough

Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA28) says:
The mass shooting in Thousand Oaks is horrific, and all too familiar. Once again we are devastated by the loss of life. And we are grateful to the first responders, one of whom lost his life. Our response must not be familiar. We must do something about gun violence.  
We must ACT.

Monday, November 5, 2018

For What It's Worth

Thalia Gets Religion: Waiting. That's what we're all doing, Abq Jew suspects. Don't want to say anything until the midterm elections are over and counted. And we find out whether the American People and our Constitution have won. At least a little.


In the meantime, the Search for Truth
and Lost Guitar Picks continues.


Guitar Players! Friends & Family of Guitar Players! Jews All Over! 
Do you know about Thalia Capos?

Thalia's are the most gorgeous, scientifically-designed, and pricey guitar capos on the market. Yes, Abq Jew has one. (It was a gift.) And loves it. For what it's worth.

So Abq Jew - who is not working on commission here - is happy to announce that

Thalia Capos have got religion!

For example ... Thalia's Blue Abalone & Chai MOP (Mother-of-Pearl) / Chrome Capo, pictured above. About which Thalia says
Chai, which means "Life" in Hebrew, is one of the most recognizable symbols of the Jewish faith. Comprised of the letters Chet and Yud, together they form the word "Chai" - a word that reflects the importance of life in Judaism. 
According to the Gematria, a Jewish mystical tradition that assigns a numerological value to Hebrew letters, the Chet has a value of 8 and the Yud has a value of 10, adding up to the number 18.  
Because of this, the number 18 represents good luck and gifts are often given in multiples of Chai, or 18. It symbolizes giving the recipient the gift of "life" or luck.
In case you're wondering - Thalia's theological capos come in lots of other ... flavors, too. Your OM, your Cross, your Trinity Knot, your Infinity, your Dove. Your Alchemical Elements. Your Dragon Scales. And for atheists and agnostics - no insignia at all!


But if you're shopping for Chanukah or Hanukkah - Thalia now offers rosewood picks with a Chai or Magen David, too! Just sayin'. For what it's worth.


But while we wait - eagerly and anxiously for election results, here's a little Buffalo Springfield.

For what it's worth.


For all you kids out there -
Buffalo Springfield was a Canadian-American rock band active from 1966 to 1968 whose most prominent members were Stephen Stills, Neil Young, and Richie Furay. The band released three albums and several singles, including For What It's Worth
The band combined elements of folk and country music with British invasion and psychedelic-rock influences, and, along with the Byrds, were part of the early development of folk-rock. 
With a name taken from a brand of steamroller ....

And while we're still alive and kicking ... Abq Jew urges you all (if you haven't done so already) to get out there on Tuesday and


ICYMI ... Abq Jew ® LLC is not a 501(c)(3) organization.
We are thus free to attempt to influence legislation as a substantial part of our activities; and we may participate in any campaign activity
for or against political candidates.


Alright ... cue the Better Angels!

Thursday, November 1, 2018

Securing Our Jewish Institutions

Two Important Community Conversations: The Jewish Federation of New Mexico, in partnership with the JCC of Greater Albuquerque and congregations across the state, announces two important community conversations on securing our Jewish institutions:

  • Wednesday, November 7, 7:00 p.m. at the JCC of Greater Albuquerque,
    5520 Wyoming Boulevard Northeast
  • Thursday afternoon (time TBD), November 15, at Temple Beth Shalom,
    205 East Barcelona Road, Santa Fe
Each session will include a panel of Jewish communal lay and professional leaders, as well as representatives from the FBI's New Mexico field office.

Panelists will discuss how congregations, organizations, and law enforcement agencies are working to ensure that Jewish spaces remain safe, after which the forum will open to the audience for questions and discussion.

These events are free and open to the public.

Questions?

Please contact the Jewish Federation of New Mexico
at (505) 821-3214 or info@jewishnewmexico.org


As we mourn the loss of life in the attack on the Etz Hayim /Tree of Life synagogue, Zach Benjamin, Executive Director of the Jewish Federation of New Mexico, talks about the loss and steps being taken for the safety of Jews and Jewish institutions in New Mexico.