Father's Day With the Carolyn Martin Trio

Cookin' With Carolyn:  Thanks to the efforts of Judy Muldawer, Abq Jew (accompanied by his smart, pretty, and talented daughter) enjoyed a wonderful afternoon of Country Swing with the Carolyn Martin Trio, featuring the inimitable Rory Hoffman.

Want to know what it was all about?  You can listen to Carolyn here ...

and you can watch Rory here.

The thing about Rory is: well, he's blind.  And, perhaps because of that, he learned to play guitar in a really funny way - left-handed, with the guitar backwards, lying on his lap.  (Rory tunes the guitar conventionally - EADGBE - not an open tuning, like a slide guitar.)  He plays 15 instruments - guitar, accordion (which he also played, expertly, yesterday), a dozen more, plus banjo, which he apparently learned last night, after the concert.

The stage, by the way, was the South Broadway Cultural Center.  Managed by the City of Abq's Cultural Services Department, the SBCC is a multi-cultural, visual, performing, and literary art center that promotes, preserves, and educates the community about the cultures and ethnicities that define Albuquerque. SBCC shares the facility with an art gallery and the South Broadway Library, and collaborates with the library on a number of events and activities.

Concerts at the SBCC are being enabled by the aforementioned Judy Muldawer, aka Banjo Judy.  Judy works as a Volunteer Promoter - there is no other title - for the City of Abq, pulling in fantastic entertainers (many of whom she knows, or gets to know, personally) and setting them up at venues like the beautiful SBCC.

There are plenty of SBCC events in the works, including this Friday night's Really Bigger Banjo Show, featuring Abq's own Dr Wayne Shrubsall.  Great news: It's Summer!  And you can buy tickets before Shabbos! Here is an example of what you'll hear.

As he stated in a previous blog post, Abq Jew cannot help but note with extreme pleasure the strong links between bluegrass, western swing,  folk  music, and the Jewish tradition.  And the angels swing!

Simple Bravery: Mietek Pemper, 91

Compiled and Typed Schindler's List:  Mietek Pemper served as a secretary for a labor camp commander and risked his life to plot the rescue of enslaved workers.  Douglas Martin writes in The New York Times:

Mietek Pemper was doing his job as a secretary taking dictation. One day his boss, Amon Goeth, glanced out the window and saw that a worker did not have a full load of stones in his wheelbarrow. Mr. Goeth walked outside and shot the man to death, then returned to his desk and said, “Where were we in the text?”   . . .

... Mr. Pemper ... plotted against Mr. Goeth. His acts of defiance included typing the names on what became known as Schindler’s List, a roster of labor camp workers who were supposedly essential to the German war effort and who were thus spared almost certain extermination.

Abq Jew notes Mr Pemper's passing with awe and reverence, and asks: Where does such simple bravery come from?  Partly, one supposes, from having nothing to lose; yet that cannot explain it all.  Douglas Martin concludes his article:

Mr. Schindler put Mr. Pemper’s parents and brother on the list and saved them. Mr. Pemper never married and left no immediate survivors.

After the war, Mr. Pemper used his knowledge of Nazi secrets, fully memorized, to testify against Mr. Goeth in a war-crimes trial. He was hanged.

Perhaps Mr Pemper left no immediate survivors.  But may we all be worthy to be his heirs.

More Chutzpah, More Shanda

Does This Mean Moshiach Isn't Coming?  This all goes back to an old and famous joke, which some of you may remember:

Rivkah sprang to answer the telephone.  "Darling, How are you? This is Mommy."

"Oh Mommy," Rivkah said crying, "I'm having a bad day. The baby won't eat and the washing machine won't work. I've sprained my ankle and I'm hobbling around. On top of all this, the house is a mess and I'm supposed to have the Minkys and the Rokens for dinner tonight. I haven't even had a chance to go shopping."

The voice on the other end said in sympathy, "Darling, let Mommy handle it. Sit down, relax and close your eyes. I'll be over in half an hour. I'll do your shopping, tidy up the house and cook your dinner. I'll feed the baby and I'll call an engineer I know who'll fix your washing machine. Now stop crying. I'll even call your husband David at the office and tell him he should come home to help out for once."

"David?" said Rivkah. "Who's David?"

"Why, David 's your husband....Is this 555-3749?"

"No, this is 555-3747."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I guess I dialed the wrong number."

There was a short pause, then Rivkah said, "Does this mean you're not coming over?"

[Former] Representative Anthony Weiner (D, NY) has been the ... butt of many jokes lately. But ... until Abq Jew saw this Aish video by Rabbi Yaacov Salomon, Why Weiner Should Resign, he didn't realize that the Messiah's arrival was imminent.



By now, Rep Weiner may have already resigned (NBC and The New York Times say he will, and who is Abq Jew to argue?).  Does this mean Moshiach isn't coming - at least, not right now?

And speaking of shandas, Rex Weiner (as far as Abq Jew knows, no relation to the Rep) of The Jewish Daily Forward recently published an article, California’s Fiscal Crisis Affects Jews in Jail, about the kosher food crisis within the Golden State's overcrowded and underfunded prison system. 

Abq Jew is a citizen of the world.  He's been around the block a few times.  And yet - he doesn't understand why there should be demand for kosher food in prison, any more than he understands why there are Braille instructions on drive-thru ATMs.

Yes, Abq Jew knows - it's complicated. Jews who observe Jewish ritual have been convicted of money laundering, sex abuse, and worse.  But surely, there must be some relationship - even of it's not absolutely 1-to-1 - between Jewish ritual observance and Jewish ethical standards.

Maybe.  Maybe not.  And Abq Jew promises not to call you ... surely.

Do No Harm

Bal Tashchit / Do Not Destroy:  The June 2011 issue of Albuquerque The Magazine features an all-too-brief article, A Harmless Song, about one of John Feldman's latest projects.  John, as many of you know, is the leader of the Curio Cowboys, New Mexico's premier western swing band.  As Abq The Mag notes, he practices mediation and teaches it at the University of New Mexico, where he's also assistant dean for career services.

And he's also involved with the movement to Do No Harm.  And yes, there is an international organization that encourages us all to Do No Harm.  The Do No Harm organization states:

We seem to be living in a world that is getting less hospitable every day. Look closely at any endeavor our species has engaged in and it appears we are unaware of the harm we do, we ignore the harm we do, we intentionally do harm for our own gain, or sadly in some cases we do harm for our own pleasure and enjoyment.

Has no one taught us to do no harm?

If we haven't been taught to do no harm, we see no harm in doing harm. We cause harm and shrug it off. We cause harm and laugh about it. We cause harm and brag about it.

Sadder still, our children bear witness to our actions and never learn to do no harm themselves. Above all else we must teach our children, by example and instruction, this basic moral principle of life.

We must begin to make better choices and treat each other, the other creatures who share this planet with us, and this planet we call home with greater respect and compassion.

Abq Jew views Do No Harm as another version of the Talmudic command Bal Tashchit - Do Not Destroy.  Elion Schwartz says in Jewish Heritage Online Magazine:

The Talmudic law bal tashchit ("do not destroy") is the most predominant Jewish precept cited in contemporary Jewish writings on the environment. This article gives an extensive survey of the roots and different interpretations of the precept from within the tradition.

The precept of bal tashchit has its roots in the Biblical command [Deuteronomy 20: 19-20] not to destroy fruit-bearing trees while laying a siege to a warring city. The Rabbis expanded this injunction into the general precept of bal tashchit, a ban on wanton destruction. 

Do No Harm also interprets its message very broadly, and John has been inspired by that message to write a song called - what else? - Do No Harm.  And here it is.

Abq Jew cannot help but note with extreme pleasure the strong links between bluegrass, western swing,  singer / songwriter / folk  music, and the Jewish tradition.  And the angels sing!