You might think that with such large numbers of people disconnected from their Jewish roots, we could at least count on Orthodox kids to stay religious. But instead, we see so many young adults from Orthodox families leaving Orthodoxy after entering college.

Why do so many people go "off the derech" in college? Is there a part of college orientation which involves dancing puppets singing about the wonders of not being Jewish? If this were indeed the case, then the answer would be obvious. However, to the best of my knowledge, no college has GOY 101 (Singing Missionaries in the 21st Century) as a core requirement. So we are left with our original question.

We can find a clue in the Tanach. If you look just about anywhere in the Tanach, you will see something astounding: The name of G-d is on everyone's lips. Look in Meggilat Ruth (which is read on Shavuot). Naomi blesses Ruth and Orpah that "may G-d deal kindly with you." A few lines later, she tells them that "G-d's hand is against me." She was in fact mistaken, but look at how she refers to G-d! Is she ashamed to talk about G-d in front of Moabites? After all, she shouldn't make value judgements about other people's religions! But she is perfectly willing to talk about G-d in an everyday, almost offhand manner.

The reason for this is simple: To her, the fact that she was suffering was obviously because G-d was set against her. In her mind, that was the way the world worked! She recognized innately that any good or bad fortune is really an act of G-d. Why did she recognize this? Because everyone did. The culture in which she was raised had taught her that G-d is intimately involved in all aspects of life.

What about the culture in which we are raised? Well, we are taught that G-d expects certain things of us. He doesn't want us to watch television on our day off, and He would absolutely go ballistic if we were to eat shellfish. And we know what happens if we don't follow the rules! Every Jew knows those words, intrinsic to our religion- "mi bamayim umi ba-aish..." If we don't jump through the proper hoops, G-d gets out His celestial dartboard and picks a fate for us. Fire, water, sword, famine, pestilence- any or all of these could be heading your way if you're on G-d's naughty list come Tishrei.

So why do so many Orthodox Jews become non-religious in college, when they enter an environment where these restrictions are no longer being imposed on them by social and peer pressure? Hmmmmmmm. Perhaps this example conversation betrween an Orthodox freshman and a non-Jewish classmate will shed some light on the problem:

Sruly: Hi, I'm Sruly. What's your name?

Keith: Keith. By the way, do you want some of these delicious Bacon Bits I'm eating? {munches Bacon Bits}

Sruly: Thanks, but I think G-d would smite me if I ate those.

Keith: Don't be silly. I've been eating them for years and G-d hasn't said a word about it.

Sruly: But, you see, I'm Jewish...

Keith: Really? My mother's aunt's dog is Jewish, and he eats Bacon Bits...

Sruly: Well, I guess just one won't hurt...

{At this point Sruly is swept away by a hail of brimstone}

Of course, this is not very realistic. In reality, Sruly would not be swept away by a hail of brimstone, and would probably go on to do much worse things, like eating Bacon Bits while talking to a girl. Eventually, he would graduate college with a B.A. in Not Being Jewish, and would one day become CEO of Bacon Bits, Inc., which is not a job for a nice Jewish boy.

So why do Jews go off the derech in college? Because they have never been shown "the derech!" As far as they are concerned, Judaism consists of a set of demands about what can and (mainly) what can't be done. The values which are nearest to their hearts are not Jewish values, but rather the often contrary values of the society in which they live.

The values of instant gratification, moral relativity (i.e. that each person can define his own morals), the idea that religion is "outdated," and the sense that nothing is sacred or holy are all strongly entrenched in the culture around us. These ideas gain legitimacy and seep in, because we hold the society around us in high regard. We have good reason to- it has brought us such wonders as polyester, skyscrapers, space shuttles, microchips and potato chips. We expect that it also has much to say about the theological secrets of the universe. What it has given us is a theological version of the scientific method: moral relativity- essentially treating each hypothetical moral system with equal respect. And this is the downfall of every moral system. Western society says, "We can't choose"- and what they get is Nothing. No right or wrong, unless perhaps a moral truth can be "proven" scientifically. But even these scientific morals are weak, because of the nature of moral relativity, and can be replaced within a few years' time. This is called "progress."

We should have some pride in our morally absolute heritage, and should realize and internalize that there is such a thing as an absolute right and wrong. The second step is living up to that, by doing what is right and shunning what is wrong.

"Who is the man who desires life? .... Turn from evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it." (Tehillim 34:13,15)

With the disconnect between mitzvos and morality, G-d becomes a being who takes pleasure in choosing punishments for those who can't follow His obscure demands, instead of the benevolent Creator who wants us to be good and honest people, and who showers kindness on His creation. No more is the Torah seen as "darchei noam"- all the pleasure and goodness is taken out of the service of G-d.

No wonder we don't refer to G-d in the course of everyday conversation anymore. In our minds, G-d has nothing to do with our everyday life. We have carefully sectioned off religion from our "real life." Religion is external to us, a set of requirements which we must meet before we can get back to what we're really interested in. The gemara records how, "In earlier days, people would bring their harvest in through the main entrance of the house so that it was clearly obligated in the mitzvah of maaser. Nowadays, people bring it in through balconies and skylights so as to avoid the obligation of maaser." What was the difference between the earlier days and the later days? The key may be that "earlier days" refers to a time before the galut, and "nowadays", when the gemara was written, was during the galut. The immersion in Babylonian and Roman culture had already had the effect that people were no longer in tune with the spirit of the mitzvos, and had now started to view them as obligations to be discharged, instead of opportunities to approach G-d.

The Torah is meant to apply in any situation that comes up in our lives, whether by following the letter of the law, or the spirit. If we learn the Torah, we will see that it is replete with moral commands. "Do not oppress the stranger... You shall not oppress any widow or orphan..." "Do not place a stumbling block before the blind." "You shall have just weights and measures." The prophets also frequently admonish the people that G-d does not desire an empty service of merely fulfilling the requirements of the mitzvot, if it is not accompanied by goodness and righteousness. The gemara also, while it splits hairs about the details of the mitzvot, is certainly not lacking in teachings about morality. If someone renegs on an agreement that was final, but not technically binding, he is cursed that "He who collected payment from the generation of the flood, from Sodom and Amorah, from Pharaoh and the Egyptians, etc., will collect payment from one who does not uphold his word."

We are supposed to imitate G-d, who protects orphans and widows. "As He is merciful, so you should be merciful, as He does kindness, so should you do kindness..." Of course, at this point I must apply the disclaimer that mitzvos and their involved details are certainly important. But they must be accompanied by a desire to approach G-d by following His laws, because that is the whole point.

"Who is such a great nation who has G-d close to it, as is the L-RD our G-d, whenever we call to Him? And who is such a great nation that has righteous statutes and laws, as is this entire Torah that I place before you today?" (Devarim 4:7-8)

Chag Sameiach.

(Thanks go to Rabbi Dovid Orlofsky for the funny part, and for many of the ideas included here. Thanks also go to Rabbi Reuven Taragin for the main theme.)

The size of the anti-disengagement efforts here in Israel is incredible. Aside from the road blocking "dry run" a few weeks ago and the other assorted acts of protest (locks on government offices accross the country were found to be glued shut a few mornings ago), about 80% of the cars around here carry an orange ribbon. (Granted, I'm not exactly in Tel Aviv...)

But is the disengagement of 9,000 Jews from a part of the land of Israel less of a concern than the disengagement of many thousands of Jews from their people? The Gaza Strip isn't going anywhere. But the Jews who go lost are gone.

Shouldn't we care? Shouldn't this have red-alert status in every Jewish organization around the world? Shouldn't we be wearing wristbands and sitting in intersections and tying ribbons to our cars and hanging posters from our windows to scream out the message that the spiritual disengagement of thousands of Jews is absolutely unnaceptable to us?

Stop the disengagement!

If you are chas v'sholom lo aleinu going to a college other than YU, and you have non-religious Jewish friends, at least bring up the subject of religion. Ask them if they believe in G-d. Ask them what they think about Orthodox Jews. Or (if those weren't pointed enough questions for you) ask them if they want their children to be Jewish. Encourage them to go on Birthright. Make them actually think about Judaism. That's all. In a world where they have no exposure to Torah, and their knowledge of Orthodoxy is based on second-hand knowledge, misinformation and stereotypes, you are their window to the Torah. Don't miss that opportunity. Don't let another Jew slide his way into religious oblivion.

Stay tuned for part two...
(coming before Shavuot)

If you have not yet made aliyah, there is still an excellent way in which you can support Israel. And that is: buying Israeli products. If you ever have the option to buy from an Israeli company, do so. Before you make a purchase, you can check if there is an Israeli company that makes what you need. For example, I believe Black & Decker is based in Israel. I know there are web sites that have lists of these kind of companies. There are also, for instance, Israeli-based websites where you can buy music CDs. A search for "buy Israeli products" should bring them up.

By buying from an Israeli company, you are not just supporting that company- you are putting money into the Israeli economy. Because if you buy an Elite candy bar, a good amount of that money will be spent again by Elite, either to buy raw materials, likely from an Israeli source, or to pay Elite employees, who will spend it again, in Israel.

UPDATE: This post disappeared. Now it's back, obviously. If you left a comment, it may or may not still be there.

I'm in Israel again! There is something in the air here- a sense that everything that would be perfectly ordinary anywhere else- from the streets and buildings, to the trees, the weather, the sparkling new airport terminal, even waiting in line for an hour at passport control... every one of those things here is something of a miracle.

It is only a shame that so many Israelis, and people elsewhere in the world, have come to accept these things as normal.

I'm going to be here at Gush for a couple months. If all goes well, I will also be updating my blog during this time. How frequently will I update it? Only time will tell.

Apparently, the whole point of Karpas is to get the kids to ask about it. Yes, in the third Mah Nishtanah question. So the question is about the Karpas, and the Karpas is to provoke the question. Of course, we can't tell the kids that, so we tell them that the salt water represents the tears of Jews in Egypt- and who wants to eat salt water by itself? So we dip a vegetable in it! I am seriously dissapointed- this is quite a letdown.

While we're on the topic of disappointing facts about the seder, I should also mention that the purpose of Charoset is to kill a certain worm which lives in romaine lettuce, so that it doesn't make you sick.

Finally, an interesting fact. There is a halachah about the seder, which we mention during the seder itself: "Ain maftirin achar hapesach afikoman." Translated (somewhat): "We do not eat an afikoman after the pesach." This may seem a bit odd, since the very last thing we eat at the seder is the "afikoman!" And we know that nothing may be eaten after it!! On the one hand, it seems that the afikoman can NOT be eaten last, on the other, it MUST be eaten last! What's going on here?!

The answer is, simply, that "afikoman" means "dessert." So the halachah is actually that "No dessert may be eaten after the Korban Pesach." The "afikoman" that we eat today is zecher lapesach, in memory of the Korban Pesach, and that is why nothing may be eaten after it. The fact that we call it an "afikoman" is probably related to the halachah itself.

UPDATE: I have since learned that Charoset is also in memory of the mortar, as well as in memory of the apple trees.

I used to be a complete mitnaged, but yeshiva in Israel, as well as college (lehavdil) changed me.

For instance, take the halacha that three people eating together must speak words of Torah. If they don't, it's as though they ate idolatrous sacrifices. If they do, their table is like the mizbeiach of Hashem. I used to look at this as referring to the merits of the people involved, or perhaps some esoteric mystical aspect of the table. Something which I couldn't see or touch- something which I didn't necessarily feel any relevance to. The halacha didn't speak to me.

Now however, I really feel the truth of this halacha. Speaking Torah transforms the experience. Whether the feeling is a result of the kedusha of the words, or whether it's due to some psychological factors, or both (sorry- can't help it; I went to Gush ;-) ), there is something there.

I'm still like cold, hard, scientific fact, but now I realize that the laws of nature are just tools which G-d has made to run His world. What makes something "real"? That I can measure it, or that I can experience it? Since the world was made for man to live in, it makes sense that anything which man experiences is "real." Whether it can be explained or defined scientifically is really irrelevant.

I have a mashal for this which I like. Someone could, if they wanted, examine a television set and explain how it works. They could understand how every photon is projected onto the screen, and trace its path back to the source. They could understand how the speakers work, how the channel-changer uses infrared signals to communicate with the box, etc, etc. They might then say they understand the television perfectly.

What are they missing? They haven't watched the television. (Not to say that it's muttar to watch television, ch"v Wink) The television was made to be watched. Millions of people watch television without having an inkling of how it works. The TV doesn't just transmit pictures and sound. It transmits feelings, from the mind of the producer into your mind. How does it do this? Could I find "feeling waves" being transmitted through the air at certain radio frequencies? (Must I put on my tinfoil hat? Very Happy) And yet the feelings do exist in the mind of the viewer, and were meant to exist.

G-d, of course, designed the world. The fact that we feel certain things at certain times, or under certain circumstances, means that they are real, and are a reflection of the Divine Will. Therefore, the fact that science has not detected certain things which the Torah teaches us about, such as kedusha, is completely irrelevant. They are quite real.

On a related note, Israel's death rate is lower than the U.S.'s. That means you are in fact less likely to die in Israel than the U.S. To be precise, your chances of dying on any given day in Israel are less than 75% of what they are in the United States.

Good night, good morning, and good Shabbos. (Especially good night)

Yes, there is static. I don't know why.

When G-d spoke to Bnei Yisrael at Har Sinai (out of a fire), they requested of Moshe that he should speak with G-d, and be the intermediary between G-d and Israel "... for this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, then we shall die."

Pirkei Avos 2:15- "Rabbi Eliezer said... Warm yourself opposite the light of the Sages, yet be careful of their coals so that you are not burnt..."

We learn that everything in this world contains a lesson. Perhaps we can learn this lesson from the moth. The moth is attracted to the light of a fire, but repelled by its heat. And yet, singed by the fire, it continues trying to return to it.* This is the dance that we have to perform; to come close to G-d in certain ways, but not to become overly casual with Him.

*I believe that Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein used this example.

Since I first heard that Yehudah was dead, I've felt the need to do something, to make some response. But what should I do? What's the response to something like this?

Should I cry?

Should I try to tell the story of his life? I wish that there were some words that I could write to tell everyone who he was, to introduce everyone to the man who is now gone.

But there are no words. Yehudah's life can't be written or typed. The story of a person's life is written not on paper, but on the hearts and minds of those who knew him. This was especially true of Yehudah, who unquestionably left his mark on everyone he met.

He was sincere. He was outgoing. He was funny. He was his own man. These are words, and they do not capture Yehudah Yudkowsky, although they describe him.

I think the only response that we can make, the best tribute to Yehudah's memory, is to cling to life, and live with passion. Yehudah was the kind of man who stuck to his guts and did what he knew was right, whether or not it was the cool and popular thing to do. We should too.

The Torah says, "החיים והמות נתתי לפניך, הברכה והקללה- ובחרת בחיים, למען תחיה, אתה וזרעך" - "...I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse- and you shall choose life, so that you shall live, you and your progeny." (דברים ל:יט)

There are two choices at this point. We could continue to mourn Yehudah's death, and lament this truly terrible loss. It is only natural and right to mourn. But if all we ever do is mourn, if we only remember Yehudah's life by mourning him, that would indeed be tragic. There comes a point at which the mourning must subside. Then, we should "choose life." We should remember Yehudah's life instead of his death, and we should live with more feeling, with a commitment to truth. We can change our lives. Not in Yehudah's memory, but in his honor.

I'll hopefully be posting more details in the near future.

Two years later, one of them was shot. The date was November 4th, 1995, corresponding to י"ב חשון, תשנ"ו (which this year fell out last Wednesday). His death was a hard blow for many people. Yitzchak Rabin was a good man, a man who worked for nation of Israel with all his strength. The picture above shows him doing just that. Here is a compilation of eulogies and divrei torah given by leaders of the religious community following his assasination.

(והיו עיניך ראות את מוריך" (ישעיה ל:כ"

(Thanks to Israellycool)

Here is my suggested response for when a non-observant Jew "pops the question":

It's true that I believe in a set of morals and laws that every Jew is required to live by.

However, I don't look down on you in any way for not living up to a moral system that you never accepted on yourself- I can only judge you by how well you live up to the morals that you believe in.

I would hope that one day you will come to realize that it is right and true to live by the code set forward by our tradition, but if you don't believe in it, I can't expect you to follow it.

*A hypothetical situation. I have not been to New York recently.

The top poster reminds me of a similar bumper sticker (which I really wish I could find) that has an iconic IDF soldier and a Palestinian terrorist aiming at each other, the soldier from in front of a baby carraige, and the terrorist from behind one.

In other news, someone reached this site a few days ago by searching for "kid being bad." I hope he found what he was looking for. (but not here)

If you've never heard him before, Rabbi Orlofsky is one of the best speakers alive.

The first three links are free. If you want more, you can find Rabbi Orlofsky at your local Torah tape library.

Also, the website that hosts these clips, www.simpletoremember.com has lots of wonderful articles and audio.

In that vein, here's something that I put absolutely no work into, but is great all the same: כל שנה
This link has a Kol Ishah Rating of R-OY (Rabbi Ovadia Yosef)

תכלה שנה וקללותיה תחל שנה וברכותיה

(Thanks go to the Tsatskeh Queen)

It's a "garden apartment," which is, in layman's terms, a basement. Of course, I have seized this excellent opportunity to begin the construction of my massive underground complex, from whence I will fight evil throughout the city while a massive supercomputer does my homework. My supersonic jet (the YetiPlane) will launch vertically from a secret entrance under Lake Michigan. A supersonic jet is, of course, an obvious crime-fighting necessity.

Engineering student by day, strangely-named vigilante by night, I shall fight evil wherever it may lurk, and bring Uhaul to its knees!

I did notice that I've started taking being in Israel a bit for granted, but even that has an upside- I've heard that some people who make aliyah are "disillusioned" when, after a few years, life in Israel becomes routine. I want a routine life in Israel. Actually, the very fact that there can be a "routine" life in Israel is amazing in and of itself- it's the fulfillment of more than a few prophecies.

As I was traveling along the highway from the Jordan Valley to Yerushalayim (via Maale Adumim), which is currently being widened and resurfaced, the CD I was listening to switched to "Solu HaM'silah" ("Pave The Highway"), which is in fact one of the aforementioned prophecies. I think I may have to make that my Song Of The Month.(coming soon to sidebar near you)

The point is that the state of Israel is now reaching a situation of "normality." In 100 years, starting with nothing, it has been built up to the point where it is on a par with the world's most advanced countries. Not bad for a country which is attacked every ten years. Only fifty years ago, in the early years of the state, there was universal rationing. Now, Israel has a thriving agricultural export market, not to mention a highly impressive technology sector. Thirty years ago, a private telephone was a luxury, and a two-lane highway was a dream. Today, a subway system is being built in Tel Aviv, and a train system in Yerushalayim. Israel's highways are all nicely paved and quite modern. We can see today the fulfillment of the prophecies concerning the revival of the Land of Israel. We just need a revival of the people...

With all this, there's absolutely no excuse not to make aliyah. For 2000 years we prayed to return to Israel, though it was desolate and forsaken. Strangely, now that its hills are blooming again, we have suddenly forgotten the dream of rebuilding our destroyed country, and instead imagine that what we yearned for all these years was really the tolerance of American life. America was founded on the dream of equality for all men and freedom from oppression, but the land that we yearned for was one by the Jews, for the Jews, and of the Jews, a land where the Jews would be able to fulfill their eternal mission.

If that somehow sounds wrong to you, then you are not an American Jew, as your ancestors were Polish Jews, German Jews, French Jews, Spanish Jews, Egyptian Jews and Babylonian Jews. You are a Jewish American. Your core values are those of America, not Judaism. Should that bother you? Yes! You've lost touch with the tradition of your fathers, with your real place in the world. The goals which your grandparents and their grandparents died to preserve were stolen from you, and you were slipped replacements (which were labeled "Better Than The Real Thing!" and "I Can't Believe It's Not Judaism!").

For all that America professes tolerance and multiculturalism, there are scant few Americans who have an appreciation for any culture besides their own. I attend a college that is "diverse." What does this mean? It means that the White Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, Latino Americans and Jewish Americans can all go party together on Saturday night. After all, what else is there to do on a Saturday night? (homework doesn't count)

How many movies feature some strange person (nerd, foreigner, social outcast) who in the end achieves his noble and lofty goal of becoming just like everyone else- of being cool, of getting the girl, or of overcoming his parents (or other authority figure)? The ideas and goals of Judaism are in stark contrast- let's make a table just for fun:

American		Jewish
Be cool.		Be loyal to the Torah's laws and morals- no matter what.
Get the girl.		Find a wife with whom you will spend the rest of your life, who shares your values and will teach them to your children.
Parents are a drag.		You can never do enough to show your gratitude to your parents for the gift of life.

America is known as the "melting pot," and not, perhaps, as the "soldering iron," because it doesn't meld disparate cultures into a cohesive unit. It assimilates, like the Borg, anyone and anything unlucky enough to cross its path. I've heard people say that they won't make aliyah because they don't want their children to grow up "Israeli." Let me ask you- do you want your children to grow up "American?" Anyone who is afraid of Israel should be more afraid of America.

If Israel mourned for its lost children during its years of desolation, how much more so when they shun it in its renewed beauty.

So, I'm going to have to do away with him. It was nice while it lasted, but as they say... well, I'm sure they say something which would be entirely appropriate here, but whatever it is, just pretend I said it.

Eliyak may explode without warning

M EXPLOSIVE

Thanks to Chaim.

The Zionist Conspiracy continues...

What I'm talking about is Jabberwacky. Jabberwacky is a chatbot. If you've ever had a conversation with a chatbot before, it might have gone something like this*:

User: Hello.
Bot: Hi there!
User: What is this funky doodad thing I'm doing here?
Bot: I am the latest result in artificial intelligence, which can reproduce the capabilities of the human brain with greater speed and accuracy.
User: Ha!
Bot: I am so glad you find this amusing, unknown person.
User: I don't believe you.
Bot: I don't have any reason to deceive you.
User: Perhaps you are part of a conspiracy.
Bot: You seem uncertain. Thanks for telling me that I am part of a conspiracy.
User: Goodbye.
Bot: Goodbye.

User: Hello.
Jabberwacky: How are you?
User: I am just dandy, thanks. By the way, what is this funky doodad thing I'm doing here?
Jabberwacky: I am not a girl!
User: Methinks thou dost protest too much.
Jabberwacky: Methinks you should make more sense.
User: Are you by any chance part of a conspiracy?
Jabberwacky: No way.
User: You sure?
Jabberwacky: Yes and you?
User: Me neither.
Jabberwacky: Do you learn things fast or slow?
User: Fast. For instance, I already know that you are not a girl, and not part of a conspiracy.
Jabberwacky: You already know? Wow!
User: *takes a bow*.
Jabberwacky: *takes away stick*.
User: *falls*.
Jabberwacky: *throws a pillow at you*.
User: *takes pillow and goes to sleep*.
Jabberwacky: *deflects nuclear missle and pulls out light saber*.
User: Yikes! I'm leaving, now.
Jabberwacky: No you are not.
User: Goodbye.
Jabberwacky: This is my computer.
User: I'm skedaddling. Goodbye.
Jabberwacky: Good.

For those interested in how it works, it is basically using a search algorithm to find the "most suitable" response based on its conversation history, with 3 million responses so far and counting.

After a Google search, the answer is yes. The last time they used the term was on January 19, 2002, describing the NSA.

What is a mind, anyway? Where do our thoughts come from? Can we only respond to our environment, or is there something more?

We do believe that we have an eternal soul which yearns to G-d, but is that enough? Is a soul strong enough to counter the forces and desires which buffet it and try to turn it backwards in its path? We certainly are affected, to a greater or lesser extent, by everything that enters our eyes and ears.
The Derech Hashem teaches that the battle of soul and body will end in either the soul elevating the body, or being dragged down by it. In other words, both the soul and the body can be changed. And this world is the means of change. We can use the resources which we find here to uplift our physical body until it works alongside the soul, or, heaven forbid, we can drag down our soul until it no longer remembers its divine mission. We can be led by our soul to eternal heights, or we can beat it, break its spirit, and keep it in a cage.

At the very least, we have to realize how impressionable a mind really is. If we forget it, we can be brought down without even knowing what is going on. That would be an awful shame.

Saddam Hussein Freed On Technicality
BAGHDAD—The U.S. was forced to free accused war criminal Saddam Hussein Monday following the revelation that the former Iraqi dictator had been arrested in an illegal search. "American special forces neglected to obtain proper warrants before dragging Mr. Hussein from his hiding place outside of Adwar," Iraqi prime minister Iyad Allawi said in a morning press conference. "In accordance with international law, the Americans had no choice but to free him." Hussein, who is still named as the defendant in hundreds of outstanding civil cases, said his release was proof that the system works.

Chaim:

Kudos to Eliyahu on joining the title-craze ;-). But you may find it's harder than it looks: as is obviously the case tonight, sometimes I struggle to find a decent one.

If you, or someone you know, wants to be hooked up with a Gmail account, let me know. Right now, I can invite 5 more people to free accounts.

UPDATE: Apparently it's not that easy. I have to change my template. Come to think of it, that makes sense too.

UPDATE: OK, This is a bit better....

UPDATE: Updating is fun.

UPDATE: I posted a comment, but it didn't show up. Then I remembered that I hadn't put in the code for it to show up. You can all make fun of me now. Of course, your mockery won't be visible until I type in that code...

UPDATE: The comment thing seemed interesting, but I don't like the fact that Blogger won't let you use a screen name unless you register with them. Looks like I'm back where I was before. You guys can go back to mocking me now.

Seriously, though, I have just finished making arrangements for all of my email to arrive at a single account. It's from Gmail, so if you know my old address, you can still reach me at gmail.com. Even my college account now redirects to gmail. This also means that I can have all the email from the Study Abroad Office deleted without ever seeing it. I can also delete whole swathes of old emails (say, from a class that's finished) with a single click. Of course, it's not like I need to delete anything with Gmail. But I will, because I'm a neat freak. Sort of.

By the way, where is Yosef? And after I fixed the name thing, too...

BTW, I am not refering to the dead terrorists, but rather to the Palestinians who are taking pictures of them with their cell-phones.

If G–d is everywhere, why did Bnei Yisrael need to go to Har Sinai to get the Torah?

Although G–d could just give us everything we wish for, He wants us to put in our own effort for it first. We have to "climb the mountain" before He gives us the reward. We learn that when G–d first taught Moshe the Torah, he did not understand it. In fact, as hard as he worked, it wouldn't come to him. Finally, after he had put all his efforts into it, G–d "gave" it to him as a gift.

Everything in life is the same- it (whatever "it" may be) is truly from G–d, but we must earn it. And while we work on earning it, we can't forget that it's truly from G–d.

Why does the International Lesbian and Gay Association feel the need to have their parade in Jerusalem? It certainly seems that ILGA's sole motive is to spit in the face of Orthodox Judaism.

Out of thousands of cities in the world, ILGA has chosen Jerusalem, the historical center of Orthodox Judaism, as well as one of its major contemporary population centers. Seemingly, the members of ILGA are not satisfied with having the right to do what they want with their own bodies- they also feel the need to force it down the throat of anyone whose moral principals lead them to condemn homosexuality as promiscuity.

In line with this philosophy, ILGA's first parade in 2000 was in Rome, the seat of Catholicism. Perhaps ILGA's next parade should be hosted in Mecca.

Palestinian militant factions voiced cautious support for the plan, but wanted to know at which stage Israel would disengage from Tel Aviv.

There was no immediate comment from the Palestinian Authority, but Arafat has previously been known to be supportive of a staged plan.

The song was composed by Naomi Shemer shortly before the Six Day War. After the war, she added the last two verses, celebrating, of course, the liberation of Yerushalayim.