Will Obama Save The Torah World?

I appreciate the thought, but I'm slightly puzzled by how old fashioned this poster seems. Also a shame the English side is blocked.

Pesach Chumra Watch(3) - Kosher for Passover Ham and Ostrich

London Beit Din certifies as kosher for Passover the following dog food:

DOG FOOD
If the approved products listed are not suitable, dogs can eat meat. If they are used to dry dog foods, it is advisable to move them over gradually to a pure meat diet a few days before Pesach to give them time to adjust. Applaws
P Chicken & Beef, Baby Corn & Broccoli
P Chicken & Salmon with Kelp
P Chicken & Vegetables in Ginseng Broth
P Chicken Breast
P Chicken Breast & Vegetables
P Chicken Breast with Beef Liver &
Vegetables
P Chicken Breast with Ham & Vegetables (HAM?? ONLY KOSHER HAM!)
P Chicken Breast with Salmon & Vegetables
P Chicken Breast with Tuna & Vegetables
P Dog Treats Chicken Breast 

Pesach Chumra Watch 2 (Latex Gloves)

I actually like this one...since these rubber gloves are Kitnyot only, I guess my wife (who is Sephradi) will have to wash the dishes during Pesach. Of course, you might be in trouble if you happen to need surgery and your doctor is Ashkenzic.

Pesach Chumra Watch

Spotted at Rami-Levi today...Kosher for Passover paper - specially made without wheat starch. 

Please send in any interesting Pesach Chumras you spot.

Pesach Roundup

Some posts from previous years on Pesach:

• When did they start making Matzot so hard?
• Quinoa on Pesach
• Kosher L'Pesach Tombstone
• Medival Pesach Tunes
• Explaining Kitnyot to a Three Year Old
• Haggada or Aggada?
• Women Leaning During Seder - Changing Halachic Norms
• Why There's a Hechsher On Bleech

The Execution Google Reader

Google has announced the axing of my beloved Google Reader, come Jan 1st. And this is from a company whose slogan is "Do no evil".  I am desperately looking for a good alternative (NOT FEEDLY), and would appreciate any suggestions. Also, those who follow this blog through Reader should make sure they resubscribe at their new service.

Picture That Will Illustrate Many Haredi Articles

Discuss!

Charming Original Sefer Ha'agada Ad, and New Internet Project

This is a picture of an ad for Bialik's "Sefer Ha'agada". Charming. There is also a great new website focused on Sefer Ha'agada Bet Avi Chai, where the Aggadot are brought with commentaries, pictures and resources for children.

Hat Tip - Beit Hillel

Best and Worse Hasbara of the Day

From Ynet:

VIDEO - Yityish (Titi) Aynaw, the first Ethiopian-born woman to becrowned Miss Israel, is attracting media attention in her homeland as well, with intense coverage by Ethiopian newspapers, websites, television and radio stations....
The Embassy is also initiating an unusual move: Sending a text message to every cell phone in Ethiopia to announce the crowning of an Ethiopian beauty queen in Israel.

Great work of Hasbara by the Embassy. Now for the prize for the worst Hasbara of the day, from the same article:

Israel's Deputy Ambassador to Ethiopia Leo Vinovezky said that the crowning of an Ethiopian immigrant as Miss Israel had created great media interest. "The social networks are full of reports about the win. The Ethiopians feel it is their accomplishment too. This is the Ethiopian Jewry's finest hour."(emphasis added)

Really? is this really Ethiopian Jewry's finest hour?

Suggested Haredi Flyers

Today it was reported that flyers were hung up in Jerusalem stating "Remeber what the Bayit Hayehudi did to you" (punning "Remember what Amalek did to you"). I thought I'd help the Haredim out, with some other possible flyers:

•  “Her ways are ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace.” well, unless you voted Bennett.

דרכיה דרכי נעם וכל נתיבותיה שלום, אלא אם הצבעת בנט.

• "All Israel has a share in the World to Come", Lucky the Jewish Home are Goyim.

כל ישראל יש להם חלק לעולם הבא, מזל שהבית היהודי גויים

• There are seventy faces to the Torah, but the Jewish Home is #71.

שבעים פנים לתורה, אבל הבית היהודי הוא מספר 71.

• These And These Are The Words of the Living God. These - is Shas, and these - is United Torah Judaism.

אלו ואלו דברי אלו-הים חיים. אלו- זה ש״ס ואלו- זו יהדות התורה
(H/T @hershtal)


Feel free to send me more suggestions!

More Bennett Than Mazal Tov

Sivan Rahav Meir writes:

ביום שלישי בערב הייתי בחתונה חרדית ליטאית. הנה 

משהו שילמד על ההיסטריה: לאורך הערב אמרו שם הרבה 

יותר "לפיד" ו"בנט" מ"מזל טוב"

On Tuesday night I was at a Litvak Haredi Wedding. Here is something that will be written in the history books: during the celebration the words "Lapid" and "Bennett" were said more times than "Mazal Tov". 

How "Olam Hatorah" Was Ruined By Sarah Netanyahu's Hate

לא חרב עולם התורה, אלא בגלל שנאת אשת רה"מ

(The Torah World was not destroyed, but for the hatred of the Prime Minister's wife)


That line could have been taken from the Talmud, but it is actually a fairly good summary of current Israeli politics. At least according to some reports, the reason Netanyahu didn't want Bennett in his coalition is centered around his wife's dislike of Bennett. Commonly told (though I don't know if its true) is that Sarah Netanyahu pressured her husband not to invite Bennett to the coalition. The Haredi parties played along with this personal agenda, and Bennett had no option but to form a political alliance with Yesh Atid.

And so, many years hence, when the Haredim teach their children why their golden age of Yeshivish learning finally came to an end, they will surly point the finger at the hatred of one Ms Netanyahu.

Honest Atheism

Damon Linker writes:

If atheism is true, it is far from being good news. Learning that we're alone in the universe, that no one hears or answers our prayers, that humanity is entirely the product of random events, that we have no more intrinsic dignity than non-human and even non-animate clumps of matter, that we face certain annihilation in death, that our sufferings are ultimately pointless, that our lives and loves do not at all matter in a larger sense, that those who commit horrific evils and elude human punishment get away with their crimes scot free — all of this (and much more) is utterly tragic.

Are Haredim Waking Up From A Daydream?

Gonen Ginat at Israel Hayom:

The real problem facing prominent political figures in the haredi community is one that no one talks about. For years, they walked around with the misguided notion — a product of self-persuasion — that most of the Israeli public viewed them as the real representatives of Judaism. In reality, the overwhelming majority of Israelis never even entertained such a silly idea. But the political figures and the haredi press convinced themselves that it was precisely what most Israelis believed.

Now they are beginning to realize that they were the only ones who actually believed it, and it is a very difficult realization. Therefore, this is quite a complicated crisis. These political figures are now learning a lifetime's worth of lessons — lessons they earned through years of hard work.

I strongly agree. As I've previously written, I find the Haredi use of the term "Olam Hatorah" insulting. Underlying the concept is the belief that they - and they alone - represent the Torah. Haredim are slowly discovering that the rest of Israel does not share their belief. However, its even worse. Not only are they not the only "real" representatives of Judaism, most of the public believes that they are a very misguided one.

Recipe for Honey Spiced Locusts

In preparation for the incoming locust swarms, I went looking for some useful recipes. One of the first recipes to come up on Google, was from the blog "The Inn at the Crossroads" which is a blog dedicated to replicating all the food mentioned in Game of Thrones Books (of which I'm a huge fan). I assume you can just use margarine instead of butter, and real locusts instead of the boring freeze dried crickets:

Honey-spiced Locusts

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup cleaned insects (we used freeze dried crickets from Amazon)
• 2 Tbs. honey
• 1 tsp. Aleppo pepper, mixed in with the honey

Melt your butter in a pan over medium heat. Add the insects and and salt and stir gently for around 10 minutes, making sure to get them completely covered in butter.

When the bugs are suitably crisped, drizzle the spice-honey over them and stir a bit more. Then spread them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and cook for around 10 minutes at 200 F, until the bugs are no longer quite so sticky.

You can also find some more authentic/weird recipes here (hebrew), though locusts in orange sauce sounds a wee bit  icky.

Who Wouldn't Want to Work In UN Mission to South Sudan

From the Daily Monitor:

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan has announced that it is seeking to recruit a supplier of coffins to help transport remains of its staff who may die in the country.

Quick Note On Bennett-Lapid

Everyone is wondering how the religious Jewish Home party can bond so strongly to the non religious, possibly left-wing Yesh Atid party. The answer is quite simple. Deep in the psyche of the Dati-Leumi public there is a strong wish to be recognized by the rest of the Israeli public. To belong. To be cool. To show that we are not like the isolationist Haredim. Yair Lapid is at the moment the coolest, most Israeli guy around. Because we hang out with him, we are cool too.

This is also the big secret of Bennett's rise to power. Bennett is the Dati-Leumi dream. Someone who is one of ours, and yet part of the Israeli elite. He's a commando, he's in high-tech, he even speaks ENGLISH.

The Haredi Use of the Term "Torah World" is Insulting

From The Jerusalem Post:

Meir Porush, another UTJ MK said that “the disengagement of Bayit Yehudi from the Torah world strengthens Netanyahu to take steps, together with Yesh Atid, to enact a disengagement from Judea and Samaria,”

Every single time I hear the Haredim state that Bennett/Jewish Home/Religious Zionists are ruining the Torah world (עולם התורה) what I - and all Religious Zionists hear is that we are not part of the "Torah World". Even worse, the Haredim are so stuck in their little world narrative, that they don't even understand that they are insulting us.

Blues and Tehilim