29 April, 2022 Essay Once upon a time long long ago in a country far from here, I was in New York City bike messenger. How I got into this profession is an interesting story in and of itself but suffice it to say, it was the best job that I have ever had. My…
Here is a collection of stories from this last week. From Ecopolitic.com.ua In Germany, ecoactivists stopped the work of the largest airports for two days in a row To me one of the greatest public choices that need to be made is to what length we agree that people can vote. What these people are…
From Chabad.org: Matot-Masei in a NutshellNumbers 30:2–36:13The name of the Parshah, “Matot,” means “Tribes,” andthe name of the Parshah, “Masei,” means “Journeys,”. Moses conveys the laws governing the annulment of vows to the heads of the tribes of Israel. War is waged against Midian for their role in plotting the moral destruction of Israel, and…
Grom Chabad.org: Bamidbar in a Nutshell Numbers 1:1–4:20The name of the Parshah, “Bamidbar,” means “In the desert” and it is found in Numbers 1:1. In the Sinai Desert, G‑d says to conduct a census of the twelve tribes of Israel. Moses counts 603,550 men of (independant adult) age (20 to 60 years); the tribe of…
12 May, 2022 News and commentary from the front I am certainly not the only person who thinks that our environment and habitat is the most important thing. The quality of our land, air and water directly correlate to the possibility of Life continuing on the planet. And I am sure I am one of…
From Chabad.org: Re’eh in a NutshellDeuteronomy 11:26–16:17The name of the Parshah, “Re’eh,” means “See,” and it is found in Deuteronomy 11:26. “See,” says Moses to the people of Israel, “I place before you today a blessing and a curse”—the blessing that will come when they fulfill G‑d’s commandments, and the curse if they abandon them….
I think the Japanese bring suffering to new levels. I try to walk the fine line between Zen perfectionism and masochistic obsessive compulsive problems. I don’t mean to generalize or objectify. This is not the point. I’m just saying that I love watching Japanese baseball but this is a new level of torture to have…
The president of Ukraine is pretty good about making daily videos. He is a good social media man. He is a very social man and he likes having many many connections. This is a very good thing. There was a time in my life when I thought being good to everybody was the right thing…
Lately I’ve been asking this question of Google. It doesn’t seem to be much of a question anymore. I’ve been sitting on this one site because it is the most direct and I think they use a really complete spectrum of information sources. This is good old 538. The current line of thinking is that…
It seems that we have a problem with Saturdays being recognized as the Sabbath. It seems it is difficult for baseball to take Saturday’s off because the traditional days off of workers would be Saturday and Sunday and of course the nature of baseball is to sell tickets and advertising and whatever else goes along…
According to www.weatherandradar.com, May 2023 was a scorcher globally. It was the third warmest May in the 174 years of reliable data. The average global May temperature was 1.75 degrees F (0.97 degrees Celsius) above the 20th century average. This was the 531st consecutive month with temperatures above the 20th century average. The western hemisphere…
We have a production going on this week of the five act play being written in consecutive order Monday through Friday this week. Currently, there are no specific times for production or publication. Only that the latest publication is available in the blog and be assured that it will be added to everyday this week….
Independence it seems has come like a wave over the town of Pinsk. Changes are occurring left and right and soon, there might even be genuine hope for a better future. News of this has come to me from a taxi driver working for the Russian Yandex corporation and little t, operating independently for the…
From chabad.org: Emor in a NutshellLeviticus 21:1–24:23The name of the Parshah, “Emor,” means “speak” and it is found in Leviticus 21:1. The Torah section of Emor (“Speak”) begins with the special laws pertaining to the kohanim (“priests”), the kohen gadol (“high priest”), and the Temple service: A kohen may not become ritually impure through contact…
I think this is a question that we have to ask ourselves first. Okay, I understand that there is outrage to strike outwardly. We have to do harm to the people who have harmed us! But that’s a false path. And truly, do you really want to premeditatively stalk someone? Do you want to retain…
Let’s start with a simple question posed to Google. What impact does war have on global warming? This from svet.charita.cz How does the military sector contribute to climate change? Militaries consume enormous amounts of fossil fuels, which have a high carbon footprint. The global military carbon footprint is the fourth highest, ranking behind the US,…
Sometimes I just get tired of talking and thinking and I like to listen to other people talk and think. But not like I’m looking for someone to tell me how to live but someone who tells me about the people who tell us how to live. This is where Christopher Hitchens actually shines. As…
From Chabad.org: Va’etchanan in a NutshellDeuteronomy 3:23–7:11. The name of the Parshah, “Va’etchanan,” means “I entreated”. Moses tells the people of Israel how he implored G‑d to allow him to enter the Land of Israel, but G‑d refused, instructing him instead to ascend a mountain and see the Promised Land. Continuing his “review of the…
If you’re interested in reading the text of this week’s parsha, the weekly Torah portion, you can go to chabad.org. If you are a Russian reader or pretty much any other language, I’m sure there is a translator program available. This week’s portion is called Kedeshim (קְדשִׁ֣ים) which has the simple translation of you shall…
I have been doing a lot of thinking about sports and especially baseball lately. American football is starting and it does show up on my algorithm that I’m interested. I played American football. I understand a little bit about American football. Do I like American football? Not like I did when I was growing up. …
From Chabad.org: Behar in a Nutshell. Leviticus 25:1–26:2 The name of the Parshah, “Behar,” means “on Mount [Sinai]” and it is found in Leviticus 25:1. On the mountain of Sinai, G‑d communicates to Moses the laws of the Sabbatical year: every seventh year, all work on the land should cease, and its produce becomes free…
