Thanks, Gene Weingarten and Christine Lavin Shout Out!

I've always enjoyed Gene Weingarten's "Below the Beltway" column in the Washington Post.

In today's (Dec. 31, 2006) column Gene gives some female friends the opportunity to take on Christopher Hitchens for his essay in Vanity Fair claiming that women aren't funny. I was thrilled to see a quote from one of my favorite contemporary female folk artists, Christine Lavin, who refers to her song "What Was I Thinking?" even adding a new verse for Christopher Hitchens. I was first introduced to Christine and her music during my decade spent in Fargo, North Dakota, where, fortunately, Minnesota Public Radio could be heard on the air on KCCD/KCCM. Her music was often featured on my favorite radio show, period - MPR's ever popular Morning Show. The D.C. Metro area is a great place to live, but whereas in Minnesota/North Dakota the Public Radio networks decided to keep BOTH classical and news programming on the air (by creating dual stations) here we've been betrayed by WETA who dropped all classical programming in February 2005 in favor of all news (although it now may be coming back.) I dropped my WETA membership in protest. Might have to rethink that...

Migdalor Guy

The Lost Mispocha

As I was reading and preparing to write my weekly Random Musing Before Shabbat I found myself drawn into a fascinating world. I decided this week to write about the haftarah for this weekly parasha (portion) of Vayigash. [A haftarah is a reading from the prophets that is read along with the weekly Torah reading in the Jewish tradition. It is said that their origin is from an early time when Jews were not permitted to read Torah publicly, thus readings from the Prophets which had some connection to a theme of the weekly reading were chosen to be read to remind us of that which we couldn't hear being read. The Torah, that is, the Five Books of Moses, is divided into 54 weekly portions which are read in a yearly cycle following the calendar of the Jewish year. Why 54? Well, that's a whole other story because a Jewish leap year has 54 weeks....]

Anyway, the haftarah is from chapter 37 of the book of Ezekiel. It contains the famous prophesy that foretells the eventual reunification of all the Israelites, meaning that the so-called lost ten tribes would be part of the reunification.

From these few short verses (Ezekiel 37:15-28) has been born legions of legends, myths, hopes, prayers, and yes, of course, some anti-Semitism. First, there are many peoples that claim to be descendants of the lost tribes from places in Africa, and Asia. There are theories about the British, the Japanese and the Kurds being remnants of the ten lost tribes. Even the Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormon) have a big stake in this.

Just Google for yourself "ten lost tribes" or "lost tribes of Israel" and you'll see just how extensive the lore is and the theories are. I know that I am going to spend some time exploring all this mythology (and fact?) over the next few years at least.

I guess we shouldn't be too surprised that so much has been made of one short passage. After all, think of all the other things that have come about on the basis of only a few words.

If nothing else, it should certainly teach us to be cautious about what we say, and more so our leaders. (Of course, if we follow the "Motel of the Mysteries" theory, who knows what mundane and quotidian piece of text future archaeologists and anthropologists might stumble upon and choose to try and use to understand our times and culture. So we should all be wary of what we write)

A Happy, Healthy, and relatively Dubya-free secular New Year to one and all.

Migdalor Guy (aka Adrian)

Guess Maui Has More Sense Than Seattle's Airport

From the JTA:

"A Hawaii county erected a Christmas tree to protect a Chanukah menorah from achurch-state separation challenge. The American Civil Liberties Union complained to Maui County this week afterseeing the menorah, accompanied by a dreidel, in front of the county building. A local rabbi had asked authoritiesfor permission to set up the menorah. The ACLU cited laws that say that displaying a religious symbol by itselfcould constitute endorsement of that religion. County workers scrambled Wednesday to find a Christmas tree, inshort supply in Hawaii this late in the season. One was found at a local botanical garden. "

If you may recall, the good folks running SeaTac airport, when challeneged by a local rabbi about all the Christmas trees and asked to put up a menorah, decided instead to remove all the Xmas tress.

Maybe the nicer weather in Maui makes for nicer governmental officials?

Sorry Tony, Monk Was Better in Color

I have an affinity for the TV show Monk. One reason, of course, is that the character's first name is Adrian, as is my own. I also find the show cleverly written and well acted.

So I was intrigued when, this past holiday weekend, the series offered the same show in two version - black and white, and color. Ostensibly, star Tony Shaloub preferred the black and white style.

I appreciate a good film noire shot in black and white. This episode, however, was not the right venue for this experiment. Had it been set in an older time period, or been a stylistically noire script, it might have worked better in black and white.

I was all psyched-up for an episode that would likely be noire in style, and I was disappointed that it wasn't. True, however, to form, the show did tackle an unpopular subject - leprosy (Hansen's disease) with one character pretending to be a leper (and the resultant reaction of Monk's OCD character) and an advising physician (and new love intesrest for Natalie Teager?)turns out to be a recovered leper.

So, an enjoyable episoide, but simply better in color. Nice try, Tony, but no sale. I do hope you'll try again.

Migdalor Guy.

Person of the Year?

Hey, you! Person of the year! Yes, I mean you. Didn't you hear? The venerable editors at Time magazine have chosen" you" as person of the year.

Columnist John Dvorak over at PC Magazine calls it a "cop out" and an insult.

And here's my dilemma-I read both articles. And I agreed with both articles. Yes, I know, how Jewish of me. They're both right. Well, they are.

Time's editors are correct. It is a brave new world out there, and average, ordinary, everyday people are having an effect, an impact. The internet has become a very empowering tool.

Dvorak's correct in that the pictures seem an odd variety of choices. And it is somewhat of a cop-out, especially given that so much of what's on the net is sophomoric crap.

Yet I think there's an even darker side. I remember the peace movement of the 60s, and how the military-industrial complex eventually bought it out. When you could buy a peace sign necklace at department store, the end was in sight. The movement was subsumed by the capitalists and the militarists.

Yes, its an oversimplification. And I'm no conspiracy nut. However, I can still see the same thing happening to the internet. Academics rail against Wikipedia and get public schools to prohibit students from using it for research. Big companies are buying out all the vanity sites (which, in and of themselves, are hardly innocent of being part of the corporate cadre that rules the world.)

So the question becomes-will we live up to Time's choice? Can we beat Apple and Microsoft and HP and IBM and Boeing and Haliburton etc. ? Only "time" will tell.

Migdalor Guy

Why is Everybody Picking on the Conservative Movement?

I am not sure what kind of Jew I am. By default, at one time, I would have said that I am, nominally, a Reform Jew - that is, most of the congregations that I have served or been a member of have been Reform. Nevertheless, I'm definitely on the towards tradition side. And I have have taught and worked (and still do) in Conservative congregations, and even for a traditional day school. I sort of consider myself trans- (or perhaps post-) denominational when it comes to Judaism. I have no particular affinity for the principles of any one movement within Judaism.

Nevertheless, I am bothered by all those who criticize the recent votes by the Conservative Movement's Committee on Jewish Law and Halakha regarding the status GLBT individuals. Three t'shuvot were passed, with conflicting opinions. The most significant one is the one that opens the door for full participation by GLBT individuals in synagogue life, and will likely leads to admitting openly gay students to UJ and JTSA. It pushes the halakha about as far as it could in terms of having any chance of passing a committee vote, yet still retains the position that anal sex between males remains prohibited (nudge, nudge, wink, wink.)

A second t'shuva reiterates the existing position that allowed limited participation by GLBT individuals and couples in synagogue and ritual life. The third perpetuates the opinion that homosexuality et al is a disease that can be cured.

Some ask how these contradictory t'shuvot could all be approved. Some call the more liberal opinion of the three a cop-out.

Now, personally, I support the elimination of any and all obstacles to full participation by GLBT individuals in synagogue and ritual Jewish life. And yes, there are paths through the halakha that could lead the Conservative movement to such a position. G"d willing, someday they'll get there. For now, a t'shuva had to be crafted that could win the support of a majority int he committee, and there's no shame in that compromise for the sake of the progress it will bring. It took more than Lincoln's emancipation Proclamation to truly free slaves.

And what is unusual about conflicting opinions in Judaism co-existing? The Torah, Talmud and all the accompanying literature are replete with contradictory opinions and statements. Whether you agree with their sentiment or not, some respect is due to those whose opinions differ. The t'shuva that will finally open the way for openly GLBT individuals to be ordained in the Conservative movement uses the concept of human dignity as the underpinning.

In the same way, allowing the committee to pass t'shuvot representing three differing opinions also serves to preserve and protect the dignity of those who strongly hold on to convictions other than those expressed by the most liberal of the t'shuvot. They remain unconvinced by the arguments presented that, for the sake of human dignity, BLBT individuals must be allowed to participate fully in Jewish life. That is truly a shame, and I pray that someday their eyes will be opened. Yet, if we deny them their dignity, then we undermine the very underpinnings of this new t'shuva which will finally allow GLBT individuals the chance for open participation in synagogue and seminary life (in those places where the more liberal t'shuva is taken to heart.)

Yes, it's less of a victory, less of an outcome than desired. But it is not a Pyrrhic victory at all. While one side has managed to keep their foot in the door, the other side has managed to fling a door as wide open as possible.

As has been our tradition for thousands of years, each community and its leadership will be able to seek guidance from the pos'kim. May the wisdom of those pos'kim who see GLBT individuals as full members of the community prevail. And may we never fail to preserve our tradition of agreeing to disagree.

Ken y'hi ratzon

Migdalor Guy (Adrian)

BBCs Hops on Jews at Tehran Holocaust-Denial Conference Story

Leave it to the BBC-an agency, which doesn't exactly have a stellar record when it comes to a negative bias regarding Israel-to post a story about Israel-hating Jews. It should come as no surprise that they quickly picked up on this story which highlights Jews (mostly members of Naturei Ketura) who are opposed to the existence of medinat Yisrael!)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6171503.stm

What must the rest of the world think about the Jews when they see stories like this?

Migdalor Guy

Kudos to "My Name Is Earl" (or Even Guilty Pleasure TV Can Have Meaning)

I don't watch a lot of TV live because of the hours I work. But I do a lot of time-shifting using my DVR. Once I get through all the saved "must watch" shows, If there's time available, I might look at some of my "second tier" shows. One of those is "My Name is Earl." The show has an interesting premise, and the over-the-top stereotypes are amusing (and sometimes troubling.) Yet is has a certain something that connects with me enough that I enjoy watching it when the opportunity presents itself. My attitude was rewarded the other day when I happened to watch an episode of "My Name is Earl" that aired a few weeks back. In this episode, Earl starts out to make amends with a woman he had teased in school for having facial hair. Fast forward today and it turns out she's a bearded-lady with a circus, and lives in a community with other carnival "freaks." The episode was entitled "Sticks and Stones" and also featured another plot line with Marlee Maitlin play a lawyer whose deafness is made fun of by Joy.

Despite the somewhat obvious nature of the plot and how things might end up, I found the entire episode quite touching and with a valuable lesson for all. Now, I'm sensitive to the issues raised by this episode because I'm only 4'-10". However, I'm what the doctors refer to as "normal short." That means I'm extremely short-statured, but otherwise physically and medically normal. Unlike those who have one of the various forms of dwarfism or other conditions that can cause short stature, there's no clear underlying medical cause for my stature, and it is not accompanied by other conditions.

So, on the tone hand, when I encounter, whether in real-life or television, a character who is different from the "norm" I am empathetic. On the other hand, I'm sometimes a little jealous that they have a condition which might qualify them for special treatment and protection from discrimination, whereas I don't. And every time I think or say that, I get this huge twinge of regret for even thinking it. I should be counting my blessings that the worst I have to handle are things like a rude child in a supermarket, or having to climb up grocery shelves to reach a product, or up on my kitchen counters to retrieve items up high.

In the episode, it turns out that earl has a similarly insignificant defect-an unusually hair chest which made him the target of ridicule when he was young. Like Earl's "pool incident" I have my childhood memories of cruel and insensitive teachers like the one in second grade who passed me over when it was my turn to put up the flag at the front of the class. Or the phys ed teachers who not only didn't stop, but sometimes encouraged, my being chosen last for a team, or who refused to recognize that yes, it really was unfair that when rope climbing, I did actually have to climb more distance than others to reach the top!

So I found the entire episode a fair treatment from all sides-though I can't truly speak for those who are bearded ladies or elephant men, etc. And I offer my kudos to the writers and actors of the series for this touching episode.

Adrian (aka Migdalor Guy)

Random Musing Before Sukkot-Precious Congealed Light

Random Musing Before Shabbat - Sukkot 5767

Precious Congealed Light - Or Y'karot V'kipa'on

Ah, the poetic Hebrew of the prophets. even the best of linguistic scholars can be baffled by it. Take chapter 14 of Zechariah, which is the haftarah for the first day of Sukkot. It's a stunning and somewhat disturbing piece of prophetic vision about a day of judgment that is coming for the world and Israel. Though even Israel gets her share of doom and gloom, In the end, it predicts a time when those of all the nations who have survived G"d's judgment will come up to Jerusalem to celebrate Sukkot, and acknowledge the One G"d. And woe to those who don't, for they shall not have rain (except for Egypt, where the rain doesn't seem to matter so much.)

The connections to the the prayers for rain and the water libation ceremony stand out, and remind us that Sukkot was not always just a holiday of cute little decorated huts. In the aftermath of the Yamim Noraim, the holiday of Sukkot, for most liberal Jews, has become an afterthought. Yet Sukkot is THE holiday-the biggest and most impressive of the three pilgrimage holidays - Pesach, Shavuot, Sukkot. In the absence of a Holy Temple at which to make the required sacrifices (this is the holiday where the 70 bulls, representing the 70 nations of the world, are sacrificed. It's another reminder that despite its seeming particularity, Judaism was intended to be universalistic.) And the all important purification of the altar, the water libation ceremony, took place during Sukkot.

I could talk more about all the water/rain connections for Sukkot, but that's not where I wanted to go this year. I was struck more by a reference to another elemental, light.

This day that is coming, according to Zechariah, when G"d will rain down judgment first upon Israel, by calling all the nations to Jerusalem to attack, capture and plunder her. Then G"d will literally plant G"d's feet on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, and wreak vengeance on Israel's enemies. Fresh water will flow from Jerusalem to the Mediterranean and the Dead seas! All the rest of Israel except for Jerusalem shall be lowered like the lands of the Arava, so that Jerusalem stands alone towering over the land. Flesh will rot away from Israel's enemies, panic shall fall upon them. Eventually, all the wealth of the world will be brought to Jerusalem, and, as I mentioned, those who survive will all make pilgrimage to Jerusalem to acknowledge the One G"d and observe the holiday of Sukkot.

Can you imagine this as a movie script? And those special effects....wow! But I digress.

This day that is coming is described in Zechariah 14:6-7 in a most interesting way:

6. In that day, there shall be neither sunlight nor cold moonlight;
7. but there shall be a continuous day-only the L"rd knows when-of neither day nor night, and there shall be light at eventide.

Perhaps one can see this (pun intended?) as the "light" equivalent of how at Sinai G"d's voice was seen and felt. This is a different kind of light. what kind?

Well, the committee of scholars that assembled the current JPS translation did their best to translate the Hebrew, and who am I to argue with them. But the Hebrew here is truly difficult to translate. What they translate as "sunlight nor cold moonlight" is, in Hebrew: or y'karot v'kipa'on.

"Or" is straightforward enough. It means light. Y'karot and k'pa'on, however, are horses of a different color. The root of Y'karot generally means splendid, precious, rare - it's the root used when we speak of "more precious than rubies." Only in this usage and on other in proverbs do we find y'karot translated as "cold." And the words for sun and moon just aren't there, and simply inferred by the scholars.

K'pa'on is another interesting word. Its root means to thicken or congeal, and k'pa'on is defined as meaning "congelation" or more plainly, congealment.

Some in the p'shat, the plain meaning, the words "or y'karot v'kipa'on" appear to say "precious and congealed light." Makes sense, sort of, in contest of what follows-that there will be a continuous day. So perhaps what we have is the congealment of sunlight and moonlight into one light that is continuous.

If so, do we have here something like the light that existed on the first day of creation - the light that existed before there was sun and moon and stars?

At the end of Sukkot we celebrate Simchat Torah. It's not really a separate holiday at all, just part of the overall holiday of Sukkot, indeed, part of the overall continuous holiday that starts in Elul, and runs through Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot. Hmm. Continuous holiday. Continuous light. There's food for thought-and yet another connection to the haftarah.

So maybe it's all a clue, pointing us to what we recognize at Simchat Torah, and the time of reading anew from the beginning- that Torah is this light that is nether sunlight nor moonlight - is this light that was created on the first day of creation.

This is metaphor, of course. Torah was given to us at Sinai. And, if we put on our scholar hats, the idea of a physical Torah existing on day one of creation (some sages have even suggested it existed before creation) feels false. Yet wearing our spiritual and theological hats - perhaps Torah was created as G"d congealed the light that G"d had created on that first day from the chaos that was the tohu vavohu. And now, on this day that is to come, G"d once again congeals the light into a continuous light, a continuous day - a day when "from out of Zion shall go forth the Torah." Puts a nice envelope, a bowtie, around creation and this ultimate day of judgment.

See what ya miss when you just read and accept a translation of the Tanakh done by someone else? Not to "dis" the great scholars who assemble the JPS translations, but as funky as the text reads, you might still have glossed over it (Zechariah 14:6-7) without much a second thought after some initial puzzlement.

So my challenge to you this Shabbat and Sukkot is to figure out for yourself what "or yikarot v'kipa'on" could mean - what kind of light is this, and why will it appear on this day to come, this day of judgment. And my continual challenge is to do the same with every little bit of text you encounter in Torah and Tanakh. That ought to keep you busy, perhaps too busy to have done a lot of things for which you'll be atoning next year around this time. A little less khol, and a little more holy.

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sukkot Sameakh,

Adrian aka Migdalor Guy

©2006 by Adrian A. Durlester

Random Musings Before Shabbat-Ha'azinu-Redux and Updated from 5762-Trifles

Random Musings Before Shabbat-Ha'azinu-Redux and Updated from 5762

Trifles

There's a lot to consider. All the words spoken to the people by Moshe, not just in the song the comprises Ha'azinu, but in the entire discourse of D'varim. Indeed, in all of Torah, and that's "big T" and "little t" Torah.

Things we should do. Things we shouldn't do. Things we must always do, and things we must never do. (It's interesting how the Hebrew language has grammatical forms- "lo" and "al-" that allow one to express a "do not" and an emphatic "absolutely do not." I wonder what we are to make of that? Are some negative mitzvot more important? Also, oddly enough, while one might think that black and white things, absolute yes and no, would be easier to deal with, that's not always the case, is it?)

So, do the less emphatic yes and no become less important? Are we free to pick and choose from among the less emphatic commandments which ones to observe, but not free to do the same with the absolute ones (like the Aseret Hadibrot?) Liberal Judaism embraces the "informed choice" concept. It often becomes in practice, unfortunately, the "we don't have to" concept.

And that's just not good enough-at least, not for me. (I don't want to debate the relative merits of liberal informed choice versus traditional adherence-that wasn't my point in 2002 and it's not my point today.)

We are told something very important in D'varim 32:47, after Moshe reminds the people to heed the words he has spoken:

"This is no trifling matter for you, it is your very life."

The Hebrew word translated by the JPS committee as "trifling" is "reik" and it comes from a root (resh-yod-qof) that actually means empty, or sometimes vain. The verbal form can mean to empty, or even to pour out. The analogy is thought-provoking. If we simply empty ourselves of the mitzvot, or pour them out of ourselves, then we may be truly empty. Mitzvot can give our lives meaning, so we must be careful how we deal with them.

Using this Hebrew word "reik" also allows us to caution a Jew who blindly observes the commandments - for that can be just as empty or trifling an approach.

So, for the liberal Jew, it's not simply a matter of saying "that's too inconvenient and not relevant, I hereby discard it utterly." And for the traditional Jew, it's not simply a matter of saying "that's exactly what it says, so that's what I must exactly do." Either of those choices trivializes the words and their meanings. We are meant to engage the mitzvot. Grapple with them. Struggle. Search for meaning and understanding. We ignore them or blindly obey them at our own peril.

The words of Torah are no trifles, they are pearls. Let us value them.

We may each find a different meaning in them, but when we dig no deeper than a superficial reading, we haven't really found anything at all. When we allow others to determine the meaning for us, with no input of our own, we haven't really found anything at all.

It is time to start digging deeper. This Shabbat, grab those literary and intellectual shovels and start. Just don't dig yourself into a hole. (However, if you somehow mange to dig yourself into a "whole," that's another thing entirely.) Well (pun intended,) before I dig in any deeper, I'd better extricate myself.

I wish you a Shabbat Shalom, a Tzom Qal, and a G'mar Khatimah Tovah.

Adrian

©2001 & 2006 by Adrian A. Durlester

In the spirit of the Yamim Noraim, if I have done anything in the past year which caused you any hurt, embarrassment, pain, or difficulty, or was offensive to you in any way, I humbly offer my apologies and ask for your forgiveness.

Hassagat G'vul - Moving Boundaries

As I was perusing through this week's Torah portion, I found a verse that gave me a wonderful platform for a diatribe on the ramapnt abuse of intellectual property in the Jewish world today. Read on....

Random Musing Before ShabbatShof'tim 5766
Hassagat G'vul

19:14 You shall not move away the boundary (marker) of your neighbor which the first ones boundaried, in your taking possession of it, in the land which Ad"nai Your G"d gave to you to inherit.

It's a simple enough commandment. You can't encroach on your neighbors property by moving the boundary markers around. There's plenty enough material in other parts of this parasha (and in particular the verses that follow soon after, regarding the requirements for witnesses in a legal proceeding.)

From this fairly straightforward verse in Torah, the rabbis constructed an entire class of laws referring to hassagat g'vul, encroaching upon the boundaries of others. As an agrarian society, the land one possessed had a direct impact on their ability to live, to, as we say, "make a living." As we moved from being a largely agrarian society into becoming merchants and engaging in other trades, it became necessary to define what "borders" needed to be protected in order to insure a person's livelihood.

The Talmud has a great example of how this concept was extrapolated into halacha when it speaks of the rights of a fisherman to not have his fishing-grounds encroached upon by other fishermen with their nets, the Talmud requiring that the other keep away at least the distance of a fish's swim (which they defined as one parasang, equivalent to about 2.5 miles!)

The concept of hassagat g'vul, moving boundaries, was eventually extended to the concept of unfair competition. And from there, it was a short hop to become one of the underlying concepts behind what Jewish law has to say about the protection of intellectual property, and more specifically, what we now call copyright.

The Chatam Sofer, Rabbi Moshe Schreiber (1762-1839, chief Rabbi of Bratislava) used the concept of hassagat g'vul to underlie his opinion on a matter concerning the editor of a series of siddurim (prayerbooks) and machzorim (holiday prayerbooks) who was seeking to prevent others from republishing his editions. For the Chatam Sofer, it was ultimately a matter of comparing the work that the editor had put into his siddurim and machzorim - the layout, typestyles, etc. (though obviously not the basic text itself) to that of the fisherman who labors to lay his traps, set up his nets, and catch fish. The editor's work entitled him to derive income from his efforts, and it would be unfair of others to reprint his editions without compensation.

Much of what the rabbis wrote regarding intellectual property rights found its way into copyright laws in the U.S. and around the world. Unfair profiteering and racketeering by record companies, and other egregious abuses notwithstanding, the system has worked fairly well to insure the creator of an intellectual property the means to earn a living from those creations, and to be protected for unfair competition or use of those creations by others without permission or compensation.

And now, here we are, in the 21st century, with digital music, iPods, Napster, et al. Decades of copyright laws, and centuries of tradition seem to have outlived their usefulness.

Well, I certainly hope not. Judaism has managed its way around a host of major changes in society, and we'll find a way to manage this change as well. Yet the stage is already set for the almost complete tearing down of boundaries, by the alarming state of copyright abuse that goes on daily in our many Jewish institutions - synagogues, JCCs, schools, etc. I can't tell you how many times I have seen photocopies of complete textbooks being used, DVDs and Videos intended for personal home use being shown to large audiences. Photocopied music being used by choirs. Not to mention the times when I've overheard someone standing at the sales table of some musical artists at a concert or conference say "I'll buy these two CDs, and you buy those two, and we'll make copies for all the rest of the faculty.)

Modern technology and the digital age have become a double-edged sword (which, by the way, is another original Jewish reference!) While the technology has seen a flourishing of new works of Jewish music of all kinds, it is also enabling people to easily make and distribute copies without any recompense to the artists who created the work. The present flourishing may be reduced to a trickle if the artists can't make a living.

Yes, I'm an educator who runs a religious school, so yes, I know what a limited budget we all have to work within. I also direct choirs and know what choir music costs. And I understand with a deep passion how important the work we all do is to the future of Judaism. I'm also musician and arranger, and my work appears on a few recordings. So I am sensitive to both "sides" of this issue.

The rabbis knew this tension as well. As usual, not being of one mind, they differed on whether "copyright protection" would be a stimulus or deterrent. Some argued that without the incentive of some income from their efforts, scholars would be reluctant to write more commentaries. Others argued "the more Torah, the better." It's hard to argue with that. Just as it is hard to argue with the constant cry of "Lashem Shamayim" (for the sake of Heaven) that is used to justify the scandalous amount of copyright infringement that occurs each and every day in our Jewish institutions.

Yet, if what we are doing is truly "LaShem Shamayim" is it not all the more incumbent upon us to not infringe upon the boundaries of others in such a way as to possibly impact their parnassa, their livelihood?

We need not engage in a "glatt kosher" process here. Common sense must prevail. For example, these days many of the publishers of choral music will grant permission to use photocopies with the purchase of some reasonable number of print copies of the music. Using technology, many artists and publishers will sell you licenses to print out your, on your own paper and equipment, your own copies of music, books, etc. from PDF files. Digital rights management systems can be configured many different ways to allow the original purchaser to make a reasonable number of copies of the file, or burn the file to a CD more than once, but not unlimited quantities. And what artist, what merchant, for that matter, would not be at least somewhat receptive to offering a reduced price for quantity purchases? Film distributors do charge synagogues and other non-profit or religious institutions a lower license fee to show a film than they would charge for a commercial setting.

I don't know about you, but I feel better having paid the $250 fee to show "Paperclips" to my congregation than simply renting it from the local Blockbuster and showing it. By doing so, I just might help insure that the creative minds behind "Paperclips" continue to create films like that.

Maybe it's not fair, but under existing U.S. Copyright law, supplementary religious schools do not qualify for inclusion in the class of educational institutions that benefit from the "Educational Fair Use" provisions covering books, music, films and other media. (Most days schools would qualify, however.) Maybe that's something we ought to lobby Congress to change. I believe it should be "fair use" to show a portion of a film in a religious school class, or create a "class pack" of assembled chapters from a few different books, or audio clips from a few songs in a class. On the other hand, I do agree that we probably shouldn't be showing full-length commercial DVDs intended for private home use to an entire class, or a group of congregants without some kind of license fee. And we shouldn't be using photocopies of entire textbooks, or illegally copied CDs, mp3s, DVDs, etc.

Yes, common sense is required. Noted Jewish educator, author and lecturer Joel Grishaver, in his "meseket photocopy" (maseket is the word for a tractate of Talmud) recognizes that there are emergencies, last-minute needs, texts from extremely expensive original sources, etc. in which exceptions ought to be permissible and acceptable. Yet he states the other case quite succinctly: " The use of photocopied textbooks, workbooks, instant lessons, etc. to "save money" no matter how poor the school, is an act of theft and undermines the Torah that is being taught."
Elul is here. Time to do some inner soul searching. Maybe some organizational inner soul searching. Between now and the end of the Yamim Noraim (Days of Awe, the High Holy Days) might be a good time to go through your shelves, files, Hard drives, CDs, DVDs, videos and weed out the obviously illegal (both under U.S. law and Jewish law) items we have and are using, for ourselves, and our institutions. Time to go to our boards and officers and executives and clergy and insist that we practice the Torah that we teach. Insist that we are not engaging in hassagat g'vul, moving boundaries.
I hoped I've stretched your boundaries a little with these thoughts. If you'd like to know more about copyright and Judaism, please visit http://www.havanashira.org/copyright.htm

Shabbat Shalom,

Adrian
©2006 by Adrian A. Durlester


Other musings on this parasha:
Shoftim 5765/5759-Whose Justice?
Shoftim 5763--Pursuit
Shof'tim 5761-Sacrifice: From Defective to Greatest

Just who is it that is really targeting civilians?

The loss of life in Qana is awful. Perhaps it was poor judgment on the part of the Israeli commanders, or perhaps Hezbollah deliberately placed these innocents in harms way. We may never know the truth. And we all pray that the fighting will end and that no more innocent lives will be lost.

However, I feel compelled to remind us all something that seems to be getting overlooked in all this - Israel's targeting is based on strategic military objectives and data. Hezbollah is indiscriminately targeting anyplace their missiles will hit in northern Israel - that is to say-they are purposefully and knowingly targeting civilians, and not military or strategic targets. So before everyone goes off foaming at the mouth at the unfortunate loss of civilian lives at Qana, let's just all remember who started this shooting war, and which side has a consistent pattern of indiscriminate targeting of civilians.

I have always considered myself an advocate of peace. Israel has certainly made its share of mistakes over the decades. I will not defend those mistakes. Neither will I defend those who chose violent resistance as opposed to non-violent protest. Hezbollah is engaged in violent resistance(as is Hamas.) I wish there were some way Israel could respond to this violence without resorting to its own violence, that it could turn its swords in plowshares and spears into pruning hooks. And I wish Hezbollah and Hamas could and would do the same.

Migdalor Guy.

But there IS Jewish life in North Dakota, Rachel Silverman!

Chaverim:

This article which appeared on the JTA feed tells of one man's effort to preserve and restore a Jewish cemetery in North Dakota. It leaves readers with a rather erroneous impression.

To begin with, the story never tells where in North Dakota this cemetery is. And it certainly makes it sound as if North Dakota is currently devoid of Jewish life.

Having myself lived for ten years in Fargo, North Dakota, I can tell you that the Jewish community there is very much alive and active.

Here's what I wrote to the folks at JTA:

As a Jew who spent ten wonderful years of his adult life living in Fargo, North Dakota, I am very offended at the portrait this article paints of current Jewish life in North Dakota. There are synagogues with active Jewish communities in Fargo and Grand Forks, and other communities also have Jewish communities that come together regularly. And the Jewish cemeteries in Fargo and Grand Forks are maintained, and not overgrown and ignored. One would never know that Judaism continues to thrive in North Dakota from reading this poorly researched article.

The article itself is so lacking in factual information. It never once mentions in which town the deserted cemetery is located. It makes no reference to current Jewish communities in North Dakota. You have done these good people a disservice, and I think you ought to write the wrong, but following up with a report on North Dakota's wonderful Jewish communities.

For some info on Jewish life in North Dakota, visit:

http://www.kobrinsky.com/tbe.htm
http://nd002.urj.net/

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Jewish history in North Dakota doesn't need to just be kept alive--it IS alive. Shame on the JTA and reporter Rachel Silverman for this gross injustice and shoddy journalism.

I may have grown up in New York City, and may now live in the metro Washington, D.C. area, but I can say without hesitation that much of what and who I am now, Jewishly, was shaped and formed in the warm and wonderful Jewish community of North Dakota. It appears easy to be a Jew when surrounded by thousands of others. Out in the great plains, it takes effort. Truth be told, I think those of us living in our American shtetls and ghettos ought to consider how much effort we make. And maybe consider making aliyah to the rest of America. I didn't encounter anti-Semitism that much in North Dakota. I encountered ignorance born of people never having actually meeting someone who is Jewish! Given the chance to actually meet a Jew, they're far less likely to fall prey to the lies and mistruths of those who seek our destruction.

Think about that for Shabbat.

Migdalor Guy.

Animalistic Behaviors in Reactions to Animal School

I was directed some time ago to a Ellen C. Braun, entitled Animal School. It's based on a story that has been around for a while, and was used in an Artscroll book by "Preparing Our Children for Success" by R. Greenwald.

The video (and the original story, in its many variations) should be seen/read by anyone who parents, teaches, or otherwise affects the lives of children.

What's even more fascinating, though also in many ways sad, are the comments that hundreds have left on the raisingsmallsouls.com website about the video. A whole-hearted attempt to share an important message has been turned, by some, in a battles - between schools and home-schooling, between teachers and parents, between those with differeing views on how children with special needs should be educated, etc. Where is the love, people?

Migdalor Guy

My Random Musing for Matot-Masei

My Random Musing Before Shabbat this week for parashat Matot-Masei is entitled "First Fruit" and, unlike most of my musings, is a simple restatement of the text of Jeremiah 2:2-3. It is, simply, a prayer for Israel and her defenders, a prayer for those caught in the conflict, a caution against those who attack her, first fruit of G''d's own harvest, and a prayer for peace.

www.durlester.com/random.htm

Shabbat Shalom,

Migdalor Guy

And So It Began...

(OK, so I started to MSN Spaces blog first, and now my Blogger blog. This is a copy of the first post from my MSN Spaces blog at migdalor.sapces.msn.com)
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OK. Now I've got a "MySpace" site (and a Blogger Site,) a Windows Live personalized page, a Hotmail account linked to a Windows Live mail beta account, a personalized Google home page, a Gmail account, and a Google Calendar. Not to mention already existing customizations on a Yahoo personlaized homepage, email accounts with domaindirect (part of my personal domain, and my personal website www.durlester.com), email accounts through another domain through domaindirect,ehavanashira.org, a personal Yahoo login linked with a Yahoo personal email address and a Small Business WebHosting and Yahoo BizMail account for the synagogue I work for, Bethesda Jewish Congregation, an email account through my ISP (Comcast). I just closed my 15-year-old AOl account, but still have the email and AIM access (adriand@aol.com). And who knows, I probably have some other email addresses floating around that came free with various services like AmericanGreetings.Com or BlueMountain.com. I have two e-vite accounts, personal and business. I maintain a SmugMug photo gallery related to the ehavanashira.org website, also have a Nikonnet account, a Yahoo Pictures account, A Snapfish acoount, etc. So far, the only "social" netwrok I have ever joined was Metails, which is now Yub.

I've been online a long time, getting my first PC and information service accounts back in 1980 (I've had accounts with CompuServe, GEnie, Prodigy and a few other services.) You;d think with all this experience, I would have consolidated things by now, but instead, I just keep getting more accounts, more emails, more personalized webportal pages, etc. Perhaps it's because I've never quite found that "perfect" thing that works just the way I want it to work. There's always something that one place has that another doesn't.

Now, however, the battle seems to be shaping up. Google vs. Microsoft. Google Calendar is looking more and more attractive as a centralized place for all my calendars, and Gmail sure looks like a good place to consolidate all my email accounts - the threaded message interface is really nice. Yet windows Live also is shaping up with some nice features, and I'm reluctant to put all my eggs in one basket. So here I am.

Now, there's the additional complication that I've become rather MS Outlook-centric (though I use a number of add-ons like NEO Pro, a few Sperry Software add-ins, etc.) Right now, true sync between Google Calendar and MS Outlook is a bit of a kludge. I haven't yet tried using he Intellisyc for MSN to try and sync with the MSN calendar as I've had some pretty bad experiences with Intellisyc (both as standalone software, and for Yahoo. Plus so far, the MSN calendar doesn't appear to have the ability to have multiple calendars, and I'm sort of waiting to see how the MSN Calendar evolves whern it all shifts to Windows Live.

To add insult to injury, I just bought a new Motorola Q. Nice little SmartPhoine, but the Windows Mobile 5 Smartphone editions has a few crippled features, and not every bit of software has caught up with it yet, so I still need to keep my trusty HP iPAQ 4355 PDA around so I can use my Pocket Quicken and PocketShop. (I am trying out HanDBase on the Smartphone, to see if any of it's user-created shopping dbs will work as well as PocketShop. And I had to get PhatNotes for Smartphone so I could access the multiple Notes folders. (Also, in WM 5.0 Smartphone, categories are not available in Tasks or Calendar, only Contacts. Now I am desparately serachiong for software that will allow me to sync two different Outlook calendar folders to the MSartphone with merging them. (PocketMirrorPro Smartphone merges two Outlook calendars into the one Calendar on the Q, thoughm oddly, it doesn't then combine them when syncing back to the desktop. Oh, and did I mention that I use the HP4355 to keep my Outlook personal calendar, plus tasks and notes and contacts in sync between the home and work computer. (Don't even mention Plaxo. What a disaster when I tried using it to keep my contacts synched. I dutifully gave it a fair trails for a few mnonths, and then again when thei did a major software update, but ti still screwed things up.) Eventually, I'll use the Q to do that. To keep the separate "work" calendar in sync, I use OSA-Sync Pro from Vaita Software. It allows our little three person synagogue staff to keep our copies of Outlook in sync without and Exchange server, and, through FTP, also keeps the copy of the work calendar at home in syc as well. I use assorted flash drives to keep things like my Favorites, my AIRoboform entries,a nd improtant dopcuments in sync. I also have had a GoToMyPC account since they first started, so I can easily access my work or home computer from each other or any other location.

How did I get in this mess? Where's the true convergenece everyone said would come? It ain't here.

So tune in to follow what happens as a to try thread my way through allof this, and perhaps stay a bit aheadof the curve. Even though I've been using comptuers since High School (I went to Bronx Science and we actually had a computer there back in my days ('69-'73) and have been online since 1980, I'm still at a disadvantage top those who grew up with there always having been PCs and the internet around.

(and watch for my other thread of thoughts on being a musician who was trained on acoustic instruments trying to master the world of MIDI and digital recording.)

And yes, I'm always this verbose when I write...

Show the World That People Have Common Sense

CNN is collecting public opinion as to whether or not Israel's military response inside Lebanon is justified. As this survey will be viewed across the world and will have a strong impact on public opinion, please take a moment and VOTE to support Israel's actions in response to territorial violations and terrorism. To do so, click on the following link and scroll down to QUICK VOTE and vote YES for supporting the Israel's actions. No personal info is collected, only your vote.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/07/14/mideast/index.html

Words like "restraint" and "disproportionate" just miss the point. These terrorists are out to derail the peace process. Don't let them win.

Migdalor Guy

Illumination is Coming

Migdalor Guy is preparing to shine a light on all those things that need to be in the light - whether to expose them, or to highlight them.

We'll start with this highlight: Prime Minister Olmert's Address to the Knesset July 17 2006. (Links to the IMRA - Independent Media Review Analysis web site.)

'nuff said.

Migdalor Guy