I was drunk. And maybe I was sort of in awe of McCain’s stupid Vice Presidential pick. I mean, look, Sarah Palin is an impressive woman – but a pro NRA, anti-abortion candidate is not exactly going to be deemed palatable to Hillary supporters no matter how much estrogen she has flowing through her veins. So with Hillary gone and Palin unrealistic, our only chance for a woman in the White House would have to come as the result of a grass roots movement. The name Esther Kustanowitz immediately came to mind as the most Presidential woman I know. I may have mentioned this in a few forums, pointed people to MyUrban Kvetch and JDaters Anonymous, and before you know it, things got out of hand… Sorry Esther. But, I mean… what the heck right? I know she’s pro-Israel, but is generally well balanced and reasonable on all issues. She’d be an awesome President!

I wonder who her Vice Presidential running mate will be?

Ramadan Edition…
Today, August 31st, is Blog Day. According to the BlogDay site, “it was created with the belief that bloggers should have one day dedicated to getting to know other bloggers from other countries and areas of interest.” Of course I have to participate because Blog Day is the brainchild of an Israeli, Nir Ofir, the VP of product and content at blogTV.com who started Blog Day 3 years ago. In any case, here are my blogs:

Syria Comment: A blog about what’s happening in Syria by Joshua Landis, the co-director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma. Yeah. He’s a white guy. Really white. But his blog has some great insight into Syrian politics and he writes pretty much every day.

Syria Planet: Kind of a Syrian blog aggregator, you get links to a number of posts, some political and many just the normal writings of normal people. Today’s blog posts included one about mixed marriage between and English woman and a Syrian Muslim, some guy’s ecstatic musings upon his acceptance to Concordia University’s Engineering program (Mazel Tov Adham! Thanks Google Arab to English translation!) and wishes to all for a Ramadan Kareem (Today is the start of Ramadan duh!).

toot: The Arab Blog Network – I applied for inclusion in the network because my entire family are, for all intents and purposes, Jews of Arab descent, but I didn’t get chosen. Nor did they reply to my request. But no hard feelings! Here you can find links to articles by our friends at Kabobfest and 172 other Arab blogs.

MentalMayhem: This Jordanian blogger does not blog enough but hopefully that will change. I’ve been following her for a while but luckily Jordanian Restraining Orders aren’t enforceable in Israel. OK, I’m kidding. I like her “slice of life” style of writing – she’s smart and cool and one day, when the Restraining Order is lifted, we will have coffee together at the Starbucks in Amman. Oh yes we will. For more Jordanian blogs, visit this list of links.

OK? So are we done here? Happy Blog day and uh, Ramadan Kareem!

Technorati Tags: BlogDay2008

As you can see this is a Jewish unity event like no other in LA and Jewlicious is pleased to be a co-sponsor.  Bringing together a wide variety of groups from the greater LA area for an end of summer, pre-Rosh Hashanah party.  If you didn’t find love at the Love Fest, and are still looking for Holy Days partner, check out the JCafe LA party.  JCafe LA’s party is put together by Aaron Kemp, for the benefit of the entire LA community.

And if you are interested in getting into a reality TV show, the folks from Arranged Marriage – are going to be on hand interviewing potential candidates.

To avoid all confusion from the start, “Kaffee (= coffee)” is a very serious topic. “Kaffee” is more than a plain beverage. Kaffee is more than some warm / hot, brownish, caffeinated liquid in a paper cup. “Kaffee” is more than a conversation topic between supporters and opponents of fair trade. “Kaffee” is more than the smuggling good many usually proper German citizens tried to sneak in from Belgium or Luxembourg before the European Single Market was established. “Kaffee” is a meal.

“Kaffee”, while the word actually refers to nothing but the beans, the powder or the beverage, has been used as the generic term for a meal held somewhere around 3pm to 4pm. Savoury items are usually not served at “Kaffee”. Instead, your host will likely treat you to a variety of sweet pastries in addition to coffee as the main beverage. It’s perfectly normal to get invited to a birthday “Kaffee” on the Sunday following the actual birthday; light snacks and dinner unspokenly follow.

Beware though not to bring a cake of your own unless you get explicitly asked to do just that (which usually only is the case at large informal family gatherings or some kind of fundraising cake sales at school carnivals). You might imply that the host is not able to feed you properly (i.e. to stuff you to the brim until whipped cream starts oozing out of your nostrils. “You’re welcome!” on the visual.) If somebody invites you for “Kaffee” and offers you only just that and not even a few store-bought cookies, that person hates you. If it’s a prospective mother-in-law, then she hates you with a passion. Germans love pastries (a post on pastries in particular is soon to come), and while there seems to be a bakery on every other corner, many pride themselves in their homemade pastries. Above you see a sample I contributed to a family gathering “Kaffee”. I did a close-up so you will neither have to see my family nor too much of the emergency-1970s-garden-chair cushion. Alas, people had already started eating of it (the cake, that is) before I could snap the picture, but I hope you’ll get an idea nonetheless.

Finally, a note on “Kaffee” as a beverage: in comparison to the US, coffee is usually much stronger in Germany. There are people like me who enjoy their coffee particularly strong. As my father puts it, my coffee bears the eschatological message that resurrection from death is possible.

I like Jeff Pulver. He was the keynote speaker at Amuta 2.0 – an event aimed put on by Illuminea aimed at letting non-profits make use of social networking tools like facebook and twitter and blogs. Pulver, a pioneer in the voice over IP industry, said all the usual things – brand yourself! Be passionate! Nurture community! OK. Great. You uh… learn something new every day.

Pulver also talked about his childhood – spent on his HAM radio rig. Apparently he spent a lot of time on that because when he went to his high school reunion, lots of people had no idea who he was. He seems to have glommed onto the Internet effortlessly thanks to his previous HAM radio experience. Except now, people know who he is. He has reached the 5000 friend plateau on facebook, 6,521 followers on twitter – and largely on the strength of his name brand recognition, filled up this event beyond the room’s capacity – at 100 NIS a head! Well done.

But yeah… I’m here more to be supportive than to learn anything – though I am willing to be surprised. Now I am listening to Caryn Green of CrossRoads (they work with teenagers at risk in Jerusalem) who will be followed by award winning blogger and cartoonist, Dry Bones’, Yaakov Kirschen, Aharon Horwitz, co-founder of Presentense and Alan Abbey, Website director of the Shalom Hartman Institute.

There are a number of familiar faces and everyone here seems to be so very, very earnest. I think the thing that doesn’t get said a lot at these events is that while there are endless tools that can be used to help you connect and communicate with others, one needs to make a serious cost benefit analysis vis-a-vis how one uses one’s time. I find that in my experience, the more we write, the more we are read. Networking events are nice and all, but does our audience really care?

Rebbe Menachem M. Schneerson, head of the Chabad Lubavitch Hassidic movement died in 1994. But don’t tell that to the Meshichtim, a vocal group within the movement who believe that Schneerson is the Messiah. That’s right. Is not was. They think he’s still alive. Or invisible. Or something. The Village Voice recently wrote about the situation in Crown Heights, the sort of capital of Chabad where Meshichtim and non-Meshichtim often slug it out. The article doesn’t really bring anything new to the table but I really enjoyed this one passage about “youthful 40-year-old mother of seven” Sara Kanevsky:

…people like Sara Kanevsky insist that he never died… Kanevsky’s is a world of constant miracles. Pictures of the rebbe plaster the walls of her third-floor apartment. Every night, she and her friends put on a trance CD of traditional Yiddish hymns set to techno music, and they dance for hours. They take belly-dancing classes that can start at midnight.

Yiddish techno? Late night belly dancing lessons? Chabad women writhing in ecstasy for hours? Is it just me or does that sound a little, you know… hot? I don’t mean to be dismissive, but many Meshichtim feel that once the messianic era is upon us, the normal rules of Judaism are suspended. As such Kanevsky often eats on fast days. One can only wonder what other rules no longer apply…

Moshe places before the Jewish people a choice.  If we choose one way, we will be blessed and if we choose another way we will be cursed.

This choice is both on the individual level and on the communal level. The choices that each of us make and the choices that the community as a whole makes affects the entirety of the Jewish people. The choices that we make as a community or as individuals — those are the choices that Moshe spoke about, there on the banks of the Jordan, before we entered the land.

If we choose paths consistent with Jewish ideals and values —commitment to helping the needy, solving disputes amicably, education, and continuity – then the Jewish people will reap the fruits of their labors. Our communities will be blessed, and our offspring will be devoted to the Jewish people.  Our children and children’s children will not worship other gods, our land will be blessed with peace, rain, civic innovation.

If we choose paths that are in conflict with Jewish ideals and values – ignoring the needy, fomenting discord and disunity, ignoring the educational needs of our children and grandchildren, ignoring our commitments to the land of Israel, then the Jewish people will be cursed.  Our offspring will be devoted to other gods, our children will loose touch with the ideals and values of the Jewish people. We will not reap what we sow, the land will not be blessed with peace, nor rain, and will be mired in political divide.

It’s all there in the parsha.

Argue with Moshe if you don’t like it.

Last night in Jerusalem was the annual Beer Festival. Apparently according to this photo I was there with ROI120 alum Sasha, Jana visiting from Moscow and Yevgeniya, also an ROI120 alum who left Israel early the next morning to her new job working with Russian speaking college students for Hillel in Chicago. I’m pretty sure we, well, I drank a lot of beer and listened to some bands. Or something. Where’s the friggin Advil. Goodbye Yevgeniya! See you again in January and good luck in Chicago.

The call came early this week to our Upper West Side headquarters, where our operatives were screening Jewish films, reading Jewish books, trying to pick some films for Schmoozedance 2009, and trying to figure out who McCain’s choice would be for VP.

“Meet me in the parking garage in Brooklyn down the street from Yeshiva of Flatbush,” the caller said.

“You mean the place Isaac Mizrahi studied at?,” I replied.

“Yes,” said the caller, “that’s the place. And come alone”

I had seen the film “Ushpuzim” there in their segregated seating auditorium a few years ago, so I knew how to get there.

“Does this mean it’s going to be Senator Joe Lieberman?, I asked

“No,” he said gruffly, “Don’t confuse me with such narishkeit.”

I ventured out to the wilds of Brooklyn, alone, and met this bearded man, in the shadows of a parking garage, which was having a weekend parking special for the upcoming Labor Day holiday. Make a note of that.

Here is what he told me.

“McCain is choosing a woman. She is a governor of a far-flung U.S. state. She hasn’t been in office long. She has a BA in Journalism.”

And that was it.

He disappeared. And all that was left was the faint smell of hummus, Abu Ghosh style.

I got on my cell phone and called my office on a secure line. I relayed the information, and we peed in our pants with glee. He would obviously select a Jewish woman as VP, to appease the disaffected and disinfected Clinton supporters. We had our scoop for Jewlicious. Hurray! Who else could it be, other than the Jewish governor of Hawaii, Linda Cutter Lingle. Lingle was a Governor, a journalism major, and in a far flung state of the union.

Can’t you envision it? Shabbat in the VP Mansion. Pineapples as garnishes. Macadamia nuts in her office.

OY! WE GOT IT WRONG. SORRY JEWLICIOUS READERS

It wasn’t Hawaii. It wasn’t tropical flowers and surfing. It is oil drilling and moose burgers. Oh well. That is the last time I venture to Brooklyn and make a snap judgment on good information. Or at least I hope it is.

Gov Sarah Palin (AK)

Gov Linda Lingle (HA)

David Abitbol and Jewlicious are featured in a big article in Globes. Thanks are due to the heavy publicity surrounding the Bibi vs. Jewlicious debate at the Nefesh B’ Nefesh Bloggers Conference. This article in Globes meanwhile has tipped-off other media such as Israeli TV & Radio, and even Al Jazeera.

Will David have time for us now that he is the final authority on blogging in Israel?

Will Jewlicious servers buckle under the stress of the millions of additional readers?

Will Jewlicious sell-out and begin advertising unique Judaica gifts, identity-theft protection, Jewish dating sites, and McCain?

הבלוגר דייויד אביטבול: “על כל שני יהודים יש 3 בלוגים”
בסוף השבוע נערכה בירושלים הוועידה הבינלאומית הראשונה לבלוגרים יהודים ; בראיון מיוחד ל”גלובס” מסביר אביטבול מה זה להיות בלוגר יהודי, איזו השפעה יש לבלוג כזה, וגם איך אפשר לעשות מזה כסף
נועה פרג

25/8/2008
אחרי הרשתות החברתיות הנישתיות, מתחילים באינטרנט גם לאגד בלוגים השייכים לאותה נישה. בספירת הבלוגים המשגשגת נמצאת גם קהילת הבלוגרים היהודים. ביום רביעי נפתחה בירושלים הוועידה הבינלאומית הראשונה של יהודים בלוגרים. 200 בלוגרים יהודים מובילים מצפון אמריקה ומישראל, לצד 100 בלוגרים נוספים שהגיעו מאירופה וממדינות נוספות, השתתפו בוועידה, שנערכה בחסות ארגון “נפש בנפש”.

מטרת הכנס הייתה להעמיק את שיתוף-הפעולה בין הבלוגרים היהודים בעולם, ולנצל את העוצמה הטמונה בשיח ובמרחב הבלוגספירה היהודית. בוועידה, ששודרה באינטרנט, צפו אלפי יהודים בעולם.

לדברי דני אוברמן, סמנכ”ל ארגון “נפש בנפש”, לבלוגים היהודיים יש השפעה מרחיקת לכת על השיח הציבורי העכשווי בעם היהודי, והכוונה היא “להציב את נושא העלייה בראש סדר היום של הבלוגרים היהודים כדי לשתף אותם במגמה המתחזקת של עלייה לישראל מארצות המערב”. לדברי הארגון, עד היום הצליח הארגון להעלות יותר מ-16 אלף יהודים לישראל, בתקופה של 6 שנים בלבד, ומטרתו להעלות עוד 100 אלף יהודים ב-10 השנים הבאות, כאשר המימון מגיע מממשלת ישראל ומתרומות. (more…)

On my recent flight to Israel with Nefesh B’Nefesh, I briefly met Bethany Batya Serota. A recent Law School graduate, Batya made aliyah with the assistance of NBN from her former home in Cambridge, Mass. I caught up with her today while she was hanging out at the beach in Tel Aviv.

Batya comes from a mixed race household. Her Mom is Jewish and biracial and her Dad is half Ashkenazic, half Sephardic. Given the fractious nature of race and identity in the US, it comes as no surprise that her identity was often an issue. Batya never spoke of racism in our talks but she did describe her heritage as an “issue.” She described her local community as being wonderful but lacking a certain measure of diversity. In college her Jewish identity took a back seat to her African American heritage. She immersed herself into that milieu and didn’t tell anyone she was Jewish unless they asked.

Then another mixed race friend told her about Taglit Birthright Israel. “For two years I kind of half assedly applied to go, but didn’t pursue it as strongly as I should have. Finally, I got an email out of the blue telling me that Oranim had a place available for me and I sort of decided to go. I didn’t pack until the day I was scheduled to leave. I guess you can say I was ambivalent about the whole thing at best.”

What followed was what she described as a “…life altering experience – it changed my world. I extended my trip by a month and I fell in love with the country. In Israel I finally felt completely comfortable with my own identity – as if a burden had been lifted from my shoulders. I love that everything is Jewish, the land is beautiful, the desert, the ocean – it really is the land of milk and honey, the energy really rubs off on you and I am willing to sacrifice the material comfort of the US in exchange for the peace of mind I get here, I don’t care. I really feel unburdened, more creative and clear minded here.”

Like her namesake Batya, the daughter of a Pharaoh of Egypt who was Moses’s adoptive mother and gave up her life of privilege to follow Moses into the dessert, our newest olah gave up her summer associate position in order to begin her life in Israel as soon as possible. Her immediate plans are to learn Hebrew and to acclimate herself to her new home – and she plans to settle in Tel Aviv where she hopes to pursue a legal career.

Back in the US Batya was involved in a number of Jewish activities. She led two Birthright trips for Oranim (whom she considers her family in Israel!) and was active in her local chapter of the Jewish Law Students Association. She also attended a number of her Federation’s Young professional Events. Mindful of the support she has received from the State, Batya is planning on being involved further volunteer work in whatever capacity she can in order to help become a net asset to Israel. In that respect Batya quoted Oranim Head Momo Lifshitz who told her Birthright group “We don’t want your money. We want your heart.”

Batya Serota – welcome home!

Serial No. 3817131 is the title of Photographer Rachel Papo’s latest essay, showing the everyday routine of girls in the Israeli Army. Some photos look like the ones my brother took of us during our Birthright trip on Mt. Hermon, but a few clearly rise above the rest. Papo’s plan is to reveal the demanding compromise Israeli girls who choose the military route make: a 2 year interruption, albeit a necessary one to protect the State, takes it toll. That and a gun slung around a shoulder shouldn’t subtract any humanity from a soldier. I’m not saying they enhance it either, though hot chicks with sniper rifles are definitely making me feel pretty human right now.

Much thanks to Paolo Dy, a Filipino cinematographer who did us all a favor by putting The Hotties of the Israeli Army, the tachlis album for those of us whose time is short.

Do you want more Rachel Papo?!

Simcha Levenberg @ Ha Ha Cafe

I met Reb Simcha last summer when he joined us with his family for a special Shabbaton up in the Santa Cruz mountains. Simcha has always been very funny. Now that he has put together this routine, he has entered an elite group of Rabbis doing stand-up. I want to see more Simcha, please let us know when your next gig is, so we can promote the kishkas out of it.

Hey, even genocidal dictators have, you know, needs…
We all know the revulsion (to say the least) that Hitler felt for Jews. But apparently that revulsion didn’t extend to totally hot babes. In the mid thirties, Hedwig Kiesler was one of the hottest and most beautiful stars in European cinema. Her notoriety spread further when she appeared nude and in the throes of orgasm in the movie Symphonie der Liebe or Ecstasy, a Czechoslovak film made in Prague. Born of Jewish Austrian parents, she then married Friedrich Mandl, a Vienna-based arms manufacturer whose father was Jewish. Friedrich was a bit of a freak and a voracious businessman. He kept Hedwig locked up in his castle, and only let her out to attend business meetings where her mathematical prowess came in handy. Mandl also purchased every copy of Ecstasy that he could get his hands on. His possessiveness and insane jealousy however did not extend into business affairs. At one of his lavish parties attended by Adolf Hitler, Mandl desperately wanted to sell munitions to the German dictator. Hitler desperately needed these muntions as well and he also desperately wanted to get with Hedwig. So a bargain was struck and a drunken threesome took place with a less than enthusiastic Hedwig cementing the deal, so to speak. Hitler for his part ignored the fact that Hedwig was Jewish because she was just. That. Hot. Just goes to show that evil is evil and values and ideals are irrelevant when self interest and uh… horniness takes over. yeah, that Hitler. What a douche.

Hedwig eventually managed to escape the clutches of her horrible husband and made it to America where she changed her name to Heddy Lamarr and enjoyed a tremendously successful film career. Her math skills didn’t go to waste either and she also manged to invent a frequency hopping technique that was way ahead of its time – used to help torpedoes find their target, it eventually formed the basis of all wireless communication that we enjoy today.

After 5 marriages and some issues with kleptomania, Heddy passed away in 2000 and took her secret tryst with Hitler to the grave. However it has come back to light thanks to a new biography, titled What Almost Happened to Hedy Lamarr written by film critic Devra Hill. The book, scheduled to be released in September, details Lamarr’s sex life, including the aforementioned encounter with Hitler.

Um… barf?

Source: ContactMusic.com

Made in California

Masada Sunrise

Shabbat shalom everybody!

(image from the talented Adarhay – check out this lovely)

Where else can you snag a Giants scarf in Hebrew
and
snarf down kosha dawgs and He’Brew?

As Shabbat begins, and the sun sets on the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, my thoughts include: If Chinese female gymnasts were forced to become Jewish at the sino-shul ( www.SinoGogue.org ), then we would all know when they turned 13, and thus 16, and there would be no need for IOC investigations into their ages,
and
I want to remember a long haired Jewish guy who helped to re-open China to the West, and I do not mean Henry Kissinger.


Once upon a time there was a sincere, long haired, Jewish athlete who re-opened the doors of China to the West, and ushered in Nixon’s trip to Peking, and the current Olympics in Beijing. It was Glenn L. Cowan, 19, who in 1971 stepped onto the wrong bus at the table tennis championships in Japan.

Cowan accidentally got on the bus of the Chinese team, a team that was severely instructed not to speak with any American. Zhuang Zedong, however, a champion pingpong player who had been imprisoned during the Cultural Revolution, approached Cowan and gave him a gift made of silk. Cowan, in turn, gave his new Chinese bus host a “Let It Be” peace-sign t-shirt.

When word of the incident reached Chairman Mao Zedong, he decided to use a small ball to promote a big ball. Mao instructed his Communist government to invite the American table tennis team to China. It was 1971, during the Vietnam and Cold Wars. The team came to China, and during the ping pong visit, Nixon and Kissinger used the opportunity to end the U.S. embargo against “Red” Chinese products, which, in turn, led to Nixon’s trip to China in 1972. By 1979, relations between the two countries were “normalized,” and in 1984, China sent a full delegation to the Los Angeles Olympics.

Cowan's guide to ping pong

10 Things To Look For At The Olympic Closing Ceremony—From the WOOT blog

by Scott Lydon & Jason Toon

1. 200,000 pizzas sent to “Chinese Taipei”
2. Ceremonial lighting of the Tibetan monk
3. Entire crowd replaced by more photogenic stand-ins
4. New technology allows the “completely live” fireworks display to run backward
5. Everyone looks under their seat to find a gift bag containing a DVD copy of Watchmen, one of those cans of Coke in a different language, and a female child
6. Numerous mistakes by Chinese dancers (but no points deducted by judges)
7. Bela Karolyi given Andy Rooney’s old spot on 60 Minutes
8. One more silver medal awarded to Shawn Johnson, just to rub it in
9. Olympic hostesses return to their docking stations and power down
10. Everyone leaves satisfied but then somehow want another Olympics about fifteen minutes later

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Yesterday I participated in the Nefesh B’Nefesh International Jewish Bloggers Conference. I’ll write about that some more later – for those of you just dying to see how it went you can visit the following blogs which did a great job summarizing the event: The always entertaining Dov Bear who live blogged the whole thing (don’t miss out on the comments), Miriam Schwab at IsraelPlug, Lena at EsaJudita, Yehuda with 1, 2, 3 (!!) posts, more live blogging goodness with Mere Rhetoric and Mystical Paths, Hubscub, rabbisedley, backspin. I am certain there will be more and that this event will generate discussion for days to come. I’ll write about it as well at some point too.

What i wanted to post about was the overall experience – particularly meeting some of these people who I have interacted with but never met before. That seems to be the question i get asked the most – what was so and so like, etc. etc.

Well, I can say that this was a truly humbling experience. Jameel and Treppenwitz, rather than being scary settler types, turned out to be a couple of goofy cut ups – fun and funny, a total pleasure to hang out with. A great love of Israel and Judaism verily oozed from their pores. I plan on spending Shabbat with them some time, or at least collecting that beer and waffles that Jameel owes me. Gil Student of Hirhurim was another blogger who was on our flight – he was soft spoken and understated, another great lover of Judaism at its very best. He won’t link to Jewlicious and that is totally cool – I will always link to Hirhurim and urge everyone I know to visit.

Another blogger on our flight was Robert J. Avrech, the writer of Seraphic Secret. Seeing him on the plane reminded me of that time in 2004, when reading his first blog posts, I was torn up by his writing, only barely being able to comprehend the scope and nature of his loss, touched by his willingness to share that process with the rest of us. We share very little in common but it is a testament to his writing skill and love he felt for his son that he was able to get me to empathize so strongly – to date he is probably the only blogger that has ever gotten me, you know, misty.

Last night after the conference, Esther, Israluv, Benji and I, went to a bar near the shuk for a drink. We passed Sima where we saw Avrech, Treppenwitz and their wives enjoying a good nosh. Sure enough this morning, Averech wrote another post that I enjoyed a lot. it described a chance encounter at Sima with one of the local Moroccan women and her children at the washing station. The woman and her family were ahead in line and none the less allowed Averech through:

I wash and Mom carefully tears off a paper towel and reverently hands it to me.

I say the b’racha, the blessing.

And Mom answers “Amen, amen, v’amen.”

Mom makes eye contact with me and gives me the sweetest most lovely smile I have ever seen since, well, since Shirley Temple dazzled American audiences in the depths of the depression.

I exchange a long look with mom. I can’t thank her because between the time you wash and say the b’racha, and the time when you eat the bread, one is not allowed to speak.

To show my gratitude, I give a formal little bow of the head.

I feel like Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice.

And in that moment I no longer see the blue eye shadow, the false-eyelashes, the saber-like nails lacquered red as a Chinese vase, no longer see the unfortunate hair and heels.

I feel ashamed of my previous harsh judgment for now all I see a fine Jewish woman who loves Torah and Judaism, a worthy descendant of the four biblical matriarchs, Sarah, Rivkah, Rachel and Leah.

A few minutes later, I eat the best meal of my life.

Sigh. I am so humbled right now.

Emma Rosenblum at NewYork Magazine recently got to hang out with and profile the dreamy host of the Discovery Channel’s Digging for the Truth show, Josh Bernstein. Emma’s assignment was to go on a New York adventure with Bernstein, a New York native (and one of People Magazine’s Sexiest Men Alive in 2007) who usually traipses through remote ancient temples and rain forests on his show. Offered the opportunity to go kayaking on the Hackensack River, she instead chose to go on a tour of the Museum of Natural History (maybe they should have gotten Amber Sutherland to cover this story?).

I notice that it’s hard not to pay attention to Bernstein… With his suntan, scruff, and very white teeth, he achieves that perfect cable-TV balance between Everyman and Brad Pitt. He also has, as one of my friends describes it, that Big Jewish Face: defined features with an actual nose, not a Hollywood button. It’s a look that’s attracted an avid female fan base of a certain type. A blog called Jewlicious named Bernstein its inaugural Single Semite of the Month… As we stand under the iconic life-size hanging whale, I ask Bernstein about his Daily Show appearance last year, in which Jon Stewart teased him about being a New York Jew who also likes hard-core adventure travel. (“Are you sure you’re a Jew?” Stewart joked.) “Yeah, I didn’t really want him to go there, but it’s not like I could stop him,” Bernstein says. I ask him why he cares. He is a Jew, after all. He even spent a year in Israel after college and contemplated becoming a rabbi. “You know, my religion isn’t part of my job,” he says.

That’s true – but with a name like Josh Bernstein, one’s Judaism is out there for the whole world to see. perhaps Josh should have chosen a nom de guerre like, I dunno, Brandon Armstrong. Then his “Big Jewish Face” would only hint at the possibility of Jewishness. Brandon’s… I mean Josh’s new show, Into the Unknown, “a sexed-up version of Digging in which Bernstein travels through exotic countries, dresses up like a gladiator, and frolics with killer elephants” is sure to have a rabid female following. Comments on New York Magazine’s Web site like “I would totally convert for this hunk of man” with their fetishization of the Jewish male make me uncomfortable, but ladies? Bernstein is 37, single and is looking forward to settling down.

Make of that what you will. Read the article on New York Magazine’s Web site or pick up the latest copy at your news stand!

Well, I am back. I flew in to Israel yesterday morning on a chartered El Al flight. Joining me were 240 olim – new Israeli immigrants who made it to Israel from the US and Canada with the assistance of Nefesh B’Nefesh. Also joining me were bloggers from Treppenwitz, Hirhurim, the Muqata, Seraphic Secrets, Frum Satire and of course, the ever lovely Esther. Go read their blogs. In a few minutes I have to split – going to the NBN building to talk about blogging. Show starts at 10:30 am EST – click here to see it live!

You can also see pics from the plane ride and Arrival Ceremony at Ben Gurion here.

www.flickr.com Jewlicious’ Nefesh B’Nefesh Aliyah Flight August 19 2008 photoset

Bibi and Baby: Guessing this new Olah not a Likudnikit?

Looking over at the new September 2008 cover of Wired Magazine, I spied a familiar face – Shai Agassi, the electric car evangelist who has spoken at the Presidents Conference, ROI120, innumerable college campuses, and pretty much any gathering that would have him. His topic? Ending the world’s dependence on oil by replacing internal combustion engine cars with electric powered vehicles. I’ve seen him speak a few times and he has the presence and aura of an evangelist. He is bright, articulate and successful with a proven track record in business – he sold one of his tech companies for $400 million. Everywhere he speaks, people walk away in awe of the audacity and feasibility of his vision. In a nutshell, his plan is to use the cell phone business model where the car is the phone and the electricity is the talk time. Cars will be recharged using recharging stations which can replenish batteries or even replace batteries with new freshly charged ones. He has already raised $200 million and is set to roll out beta programs in Israel and in Denmark shortly.

He has impressed the heck out of some pretty heavy players and he meets regularly with high level politicians and captains of Industry. At the Presidents Conference, ordinarily cynical Israelis sat in awe as Agassi explained his plan. Now, he’s on the cover of Wired.

Of course Agassi’s plan isn’t perfect. While electricity will reduce Carbon emissions generated by cars by 20%, those Carbon emissions will be concentrated in poorer neighborhoods where coal fired plants that still generate most of the world’s electricity, will in all likelihood be located. Electric cars will require a massive investment in recharging stations – this can work in relatively small places like Denmark and Israel, but makes the plan impractical in large countries with relatively low population densities like the US (except for maybe Hawaii) where drivers cover large distances, even during daily commutes.

Agassi has answers for all the naysayers and while I am not sure I am completely convinced, man, the dude puts on a great show! So… go ahead and pick up the latest copy of Wired at your newsstand or read the article online. I know y’all are Jews and we don’t usually discuss tech matters, but I’d love to have an informed discussion on the feasibility of Agassi’s plan. I know I want it to work – I dream of a day where we are not reliant on oil and fossil fuels, but I am afraid that this fervent desire and all its geopolitical implications may color my ability to objectively assess Agassi’s project.

Also I pretty much know shit about cars, engineering, battery technology, high finance, business and anything else related to this story. Thanks to Muffti for his modeling assistance in the pic above.

Rick Warren, Pastor of Megachurch in Saddelback, is not the only communal leader that has Obama and McCain on a joint billing.

LA musican, composer, and impresario of great community programs, Craig Taubman, has both Obama and McCain appearing in this year’s Jewels of Elul, a collection of inspirations for the High Holidays. Taubman started the Jewels of Elul project four years ago to bring together inspiring people to contribute a short piece for a compilation that is released every Elul.

In addition to Presidential candidates Obama and McCain, there are contributions this year from Philanthropist Lynn Schusterman, Jeffrey Katzenberg – CEO of DreamWorks Animation SKG, Rabbi David Wolpe, Eli Winkelman – founder of Challah for Hunger, and David Broza.

Past figures who have contributed to the booklet include Elie Wiesel, the Dalai Lama, Kirk Douglas, Matisyahu, L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Copies of the booklet will be offered to synagogues and Jewish organizations across America at bulk rates and individuals will be able to register on the web to receive daily email throughout the month of Elul. Organizations can become a web-partner and earn complimentary copies of the book.

This year’s “Jewels of Elul” is being sponsored by the Stefan Adelipour for Life Foundation. Funds raised by the Foundation are being used to underwrite activities in Stefan’s memory, the largest so far being the new Burn and Trama Unit at the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem’s Wilf Children’s Hospital.

Elul starts on September 1, 2008. Craig Taubman’s Israel Celebration Program 60for60 were co-sponsors of this year’s 60bloggers project.

I am sitting in El Al’s King David Lounge about to fly to Israel on a flight chartered by Nefesh B’Nefesh which will bring about 225 new Olim to Israel. Jameel and Treppenwitz are goofing around in front of me and Esther is off to the side blogging very seriously. We just watched the NBN Welcoming Ceremony – cake was served and tears were shed as the new Olim said goodbye to friends and family they left behind. While more than a few tears were shed, the atmosphere was pretty happy. I hung out with my assigned Olah Danielle who had a blowout weekend in New York prior to the start of her new life in tel Aviv. Met some folks I knew from Montreal and Los Angeles (Jewlicious Festival alumni!). I know I’m supposed to be a bad ass cynical blogger guy but, while I had a lovely 2 weeks in New York, I’m looking forward to going home and I can’t help but be touched by all these people feeling the exact same way. We’re going home. Yay. More later…