On the Road Again

On the road again, just can’t wait to get on the road again.

                                                                    -Willie Nelson

Just a little past the Ides of February, I am set to embark on a fabulous trip. I am leaving Sioux Falls on Thursday, February 18^th and meeting up with my daughter, Deb, and son-in-law, Josh, in Vienna, Austria on February 19^th. After Carol and I visited them at their home in Zurich, Switzerland, Deb and I talked about my next trip to Europe going to Vienna. She and Josh are making a grand tour of the continent, while Josh works at Google – Zurich.

Vienna is a city rich with history. Being a history major in college (UT-Austin class of ’73), Vienna always fascinated me. The Holy Roman Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, of which Vienna was the capital, seemed to get lost. When we studied world history, we were consumed by Britain and France. We studied a bit of German history but mostly Bismarck and later and a very little Russian history. Vienna with its stands against the Ottoman Turks was mentioned but mostly ignored. The Holy Roman Empire was center stage for the throes of the Reformation. So much of the great musical talent has its roots in Vienna, with of course, Mozart being the premier example. But we also find connections to Beethoven, the Strauss’s, Brahms and many others.

I do not know, at least yet, what I plan to see or do. I am sure that there will be more to do than the 4 days that I will be there.

From Vienna, I am flying to Israel. Thankfully, I have been there many times. Yet landing at Ben Gurion Airport always sends chills of excitement down my spine. This trip is going to be part vacation and part volunteer work. The vacation is the 2 days that I will be staying at a spa on the Dead Sea. I don’t know if it is being at the lowest point on the earth or sitting in the waters of the saltiest sea on the planet or breathing in the bromide filled air or all of the above that make this such a relaxing site. I do not remember how many times I have been there but I always come away feeling fantastic.

The work part of the trip will be a day and an overnight visit to a small town in the middle of the Negev Desert, Dimona. Dimona has a relationship, similar to a sister city, with the small Jewish communities in America. Through the philanthropic efforts of these American cities, we are helping many needy people, especially children; find a better way of life. I am on the steering committee of our American effort and will be meeting with some of our counterparts in Dimona. While there, I will continue to work on a very special program that is particularly between Dimona and Sioux Falls. I will write more on that in another post. Just stay tuned.

The last part of my visit in Israel will be to stay with my first cousin, Wendy and her family. Wendy and Warren have 4 wonderful children and 1 grandchild. Spending Shabbat and enjoying their hospitality is so very, very special. I wish that Carol and I could reciprocate somehow. Well maybe some day.

Needless to say, I am extremely excited. Many new places to see and experience. Several places that I have been before to re-discover. I just can’t wait to get on the road again.

Israel’s disproportionate response

As I stated in my previous post that I am unabashedly pro-Israel. This letter to the editor written in Canada's Jewish Tribune expresses my sentiments. In war terrible things happen that combatants try to prevent. Israel's defense forces may not be perfect. In war, like all armies, they have to make split second decisions on survival. No other country goes to Israel's extreme in attempting not to harm civilians. No other country's military is put under a microscope as is Israel's. Israel's response in Haiti and in other disasters shows how much she cares for the preservation of Human Life. I hope that the message rings loud and clear. Please enjoy this short letter.

http://www.jewishtribune.ca/TribuneV2/index.php/201001202526/Israel-s-disproportionate-response.html

Wednesday, 20 January 2010

Many countries and world leaders have accused Israel of responding disproportionately to aggression from Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.

However, it is time that the world press and media speak of another disproportionate response from Israel.

The terrible disastrous earthquake in Haiti has generated responses from many nations. The US has sent supplies and personnel, Britain sent 64 firemen and 8 volunteers, France sent troops for Search and Rescue. Many large and wealthy nations of the world sent money. The Arab and Moslem world sent very little.

Israel, a nation of 7.5 million people has sent a team of 220 people that include medical personnel and have established the largest field hospital in Haiti, treating up to 500 people a day, an experienced search and rescue team and medical supplies. As in previous earthquake disasters such as in Gujarat India in 2001 and in Turkey, in the bombings in Kenya, Israel has been one of the most generous givers of aid and assistance Turkey seems to have forgotten this help as its Muslim government is cozying up to Iran.

Judge Goldstone, where are you now? Eating your heart out and hanging your head down in shame, I hope.

The favourite occupation in the UN is Israel bashing. More resolutions have been passed condemning Israel than all the so-called democratic nations such as Sudan, China, Russia and others for their crimes against their minorities.

I think it is time that the world should know about Israel’s disproportionate response.

Please forward this to as many people as you can.

David Yehezkel

Montreal, QB

Heredom

For all of my friends who enjoyed “The Lost Symbol” by Dan Brown, here is an article from the current issue of the Scottish Rite Journal on many of Dan’s quotes and descriptions of the House of the Temple. I toured the building about 10 years ago but I think I need to go back. Maybe next time when I am in DC I will take the “new” tour. I hope that you enjoy the article.

http://www.scottishrite.org/ee.php?/journal/articles/the_secrets_of_heredom/

Humanitarian Assistance

I know that my prejudice shows that I am pro-Israel. I make no bones about that. I am just proud that this tiny little country understands the needs of those suffering and does all that it can to help. As much as she is maligned in the United Nations and in the world press, she did not ask what is in this for me. She just sent what she could to help in this terrible situation. I hope (and I know that it is a dream) that the world will take notice and before the next knee-jerk condemnation will look at her humanitarian actions.

Praise for Israeli mission in Haiti: ‘Only ones operating’

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3836254,00.html

INTERNATIONAL AID TO HAITI: ARABS OPT OUT

http://www.tomgrossmedia.com/mideastdispatches/archives/001083.html

(I am copying the appropriate text from this web site as you need to scroll quite a ways down to get to this note.)

This CBS / Associated Press report lists countries providing aid to Haiti in the wake of that country’s devastating earthquake. Conspicuous by its absence is the entire Muslim world, including the extremely rich oil producing nations.

www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/01/14/world/main6097735.shtml

However, Arab countries do not discriminate against non-Muslim countries. Their help was missing after the earthquakes in Turkey and Iran and during war and famine in Muslim Africa too.

Iran Divestment

Not often do we have the chance to truly make a difference. This year, the South Dakota Legislature is being presented with an opportunity to support our soldiers in the field in Iraq and Afghanistan. A bill being sponsored by District 16 Representative Dan Lederman of Dakota Dunes is targeting the divestment of funds invested by the South Dakota Investment Council in companies that are doing business with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Why should the South Dakota Investment Council divest itself of funds in companies doing business with Iran? The primary answer is that Iran is a prime supporter of terrorism. Iran supplies terrorists with both supplies and money, which in turn are used against OUR young men and women in uniform who are fighting for freedom. One of the main weapons being supplied by the Iranians to the terrorists is called an Improvised Explosive Device or IED. The IED's armor piercing capability is incredible. The following is a list of several of South Dakota’s sons who have been killed in Iraq by these devices:

Daniel M. Cuka, 27, of Yankton, was killed Dec. 4, 2005, in Iraq after roadside bombs went off near his unit's Humvees.

Army Spc. Patrick Herried, 29, of Sioux Falls was killed Feb. 6, 2006, in Iraq when a roadside bomb detonated near his vehicle.

Army Spc. Allen Kokesh Jr., 21, of Yankton died Feb. 7, 2006, at an Army hospital in Texas of injuries suffered in a Dec. 4, 2005, roadside bombing that killed two other members of his unit.

Many others have been killed but these casualties can be directly attributed to Iran's support of terrorism. Can we look at their brothers and sisters in uniform, protecting us, and look them in the face and say that we did all that we could at home to aid them? The passage of this bill will be a definite YES!

Who will be against this bill? The SDIC in a letter to the South Dakota Legislative Research Council has already indicated that they do not want any oversight or prohibition on investing whatsoever. The majority of the letter is about the specific costs but I think their main argument is that this is “social investing”. I see it as nothing of the sort. I do not consider doing all we can to protect our service men and women, whose lives are in harm's way, to be “social investing”. With regard to their argument concerning costs, can they put a price on those people’s lives? Should they??

I hope that whoever reads this blog will contact their state legislators and voice strong support for the bill. If you belong to an organization, please consider passing a resolution supporting our service people and Iranian Divestment.

We truly have a unique opportunity. We can stand up and be counted. We can do our small part in this war on terrorism and the protection of our men and women in uniform. With everyone's help we can truly make a difference.

Uranium Is So Last Century — Enter Thorium, the New Green Nuke (Wired Magazine - Jan. 2010)

Is Thorium the “Green” answer? From this article in the January 2010 issue of Wired Magazine, we are certainly led to believe this is so. A Thorium reactor is more efficient than a uranium reactor, would produce literally no nuclear waste, leave no by-products for terrorists to construct nuclear weapons, and the supply of the element is so plentiful as to be nearly inexhaustible. We can quit emitting carbon dioxide from coal fired electric generating plants. With inexpensive, dependable nuclear energy, we can stop funding the terrorists who live on our petrodollars. After reading this article, I am wondering what we are waiting on? I was brought up on the saying that the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is right now. Well we didn’t build these plants 20 years ago so shouldn’t we be starting today?
I hope that you enjoy the article.
s. rosenthal

Uranium Is So Last Century — Enter Thorium, the New Green Nuke

The thick hardbound volume was sitting on a shelf in a colleague’s office when Kirk Sorensen spotted it. A rookie NASA engineer at the Marshall Space Flight Center, Sorensen was researching nuclear-powered propulsion, and the book’s title — Fluid Fuel Reactors — jumped out at him. He picked it up and thumbed through it. Hours later, he was still reading, enchanted by the ideas but struggling with the arcane writing. “I took it home that night, but I didn’t understand all the nuclear terminology,” Sorensen says. He pored over it in the coming months, ultimately deciding that he held in his hands the key to the world’s energy future.

Published in 1958 under the auspices of the Atomic Energy Commission as part of its Atoms for Peace program, Fluid Fuel Reactors is a book only an engineer could love: a dense, 978-page account of research conducted at Oak Ridge National Lab, most of it under former director Alvin Weinberg. What caught Sorensen’s eye was the description of Weinberg’s experiments producing nuclear power with an element called thorium.

At the time, in 2000, Sorensen was just 25, engaged to be married and thrilled to be employed at his first serious job as a real aerospace engineer. A devout Mormon with a linebacker’s build and a marine’s crew cut, Sorensen made an unlikely iconoclast. But the book inspired him to pursue an intense study of nuclear energy over the next few years, during which he became convinced that thorium could solve the nuclear power industry’s most intractable problems. After it has been used as fuel for power plants, the element leaves behind minuscule amounts of waste. And that waste needs to be stored for only a few hundred years, not a few hundred thousand like other nuclear byproducts. Because it’s so plentiful in nature, it’s virtually inexhaustible. It’s also one of only a few substances that acts as a thermal breeder, in theory creating enough new fuel as it breaks down to sustain a high-temperature chain reaction indefinitely. And it would be virtually impossible for the byproducts of a thorium reactor to be used by terrorists or anyone else to make nuclear weapons. (my emphasis)

For the entire article, go to the following url:
http://www.wired.com/magazine/2009/12/ff_new_nukes/all/1

Oh The Weather Outside is Frightful

Is there something about holidays in South Dakota and blizzards? It seems like the first 10 years that I lived here, we had a blizzard for Thanksgiving every year. In 1991 we had a Halloween blizzard with 18 inches of snow. This year’s blizzard came for Christmas. Maybe Santa packed it in his sleigh. If so, the ASPCA had better get on him for abusing his reindeer. I cannot believe how much snow we have gotten and we are still getting flurries.

Carol and I are stuck in our house for the second day. The drift in front of my garage door is about4 feet high. Hopefully, Mark, whom we have hired for many years to clean our snow will show up soon and dig us out. I am including a few of our pictures for you to take a look at. They do not do justice for viewing how much snow we have. Also you can look at a very short video of Max having the time of his life playing in this winter wonderland. I guess I am glad someone enjoys it because I consider the word snow to be a 4 letter word.

Below is the link for Max enjoying the snow.

Signs of peace in the Holy Land

Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, I think the message of “Peace on Earth Good Will Towards Men” is one for which we all pray. I am so excited to see this small attempt in the land of so many religions to be working toward that goal. May this small event be a seed from which sprouts forth a blossoming outcome of peace for all.

Signs of peace in the Holy Land

By David Rosen
American Jewish Committee

http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/2009/12/a_sign_of_peace_in_the_holy_land.html

JERUSALEM - The scene was stunning. At the Druze shrine of NebiShueib, against the backdrop of a gleaming snow-capped Mount Hermon, the green mountains and blue sea of the Galilee, kaffiyed Muslim imams and ulema, mustachioed Druze sheikhs, black hatted rabbis and Christian clergy in various colorful garb, mingled together in animated discussion.

This meeting which took place earlier this week was the third for the Council of Religious Leaders in Israel, an organization established two years ago at a founding gathering hosted by the Chief of Rabbis of Israel at the headquarters of the Chief Rabbinate in Jerusalem. At that meeting, more than a hundred participants - including leaders from six different faiths and more than a dozen different denominations - signed a pledge for interfaith cooperation and mutual respect based upon a recognition of a common humanity and brotherhood flowing from the Faith in One Creator of All. The second meeting had been hosted in Kafr Kara by the Muslim community and focused on the role of religious leadership in combating violence in society. It was similarly attended by the highest official religious leadership and local political authorities

However this third gathering hosted by Sheikh Muaffaq Tarif and the Druze community differed from the previous two. There were still the necessary formal speeches by the heads of the major faiths, but these were preceded by vibrant interactive workshops. The theme of "the role of religious leaders in times of crisis" was particularly relevant as there have been a number of violent incidents in towns and mixed villages in the Galillee in recent years - arguably the most notable of these having taken place in Acre last year.

An imaginary scenario was presented by the facilitators (convened by the Center for Conflict Resolution at BarIlan University) to the participants who were divided into three groups.The scenario concerned a town that was beset by inter-ethnic and inter-religious tensions. One group was asked to propose recommendations for religious leadership in order to prevent strife. The second group was asked to address the role of religious leadership in a situation when conflict had already broken out. The third group was called to make concrete proposals in the wake of a conflict that had been quashed by law enforcement.

The relevance of such a scenario for inter-communal harmony in the country and beyond was apparent for all the participants and the sense of common purpose and shared values was intense. Most of the religious leaders had never met one another and the discussions facilitated warm and vibrant interaction.

Aside from recommendations regarding education and inter-communal cooperation, a general lament was voiced regarding how negative attitudes and incidents seem to enjoy widespread coverage and exposure as opposed to positive efforts to combat enmity and conflict. Indeed, this remarkable event itself received little or no coverage in the Israeli dailies. But for those of us who were present, it was an unforgettable scene.

The Druze community hosted the whole gathering to a festive lunch which was strictly kosherto accommodate the rabbis.The image of the highest Muslim and Druze leaders of the country, Chief Rabbis of Israel, Patriarchs and Bishops of Jerusalem, together with their co-religionists, sitting in an outdoor courtyard on the benches at Nebi Shueib, sharing food and fellowship,had an almost Messianic character to it.

Naturally the theme of the meeting had not been chosen arbitrarily. The Council wishes to be a force for nurturing good relations between the different communities and to be able to step in where there are tensions and help quell these. However for the some two hundred participants from the different faith communities gathered together in the rain-washed crystal clear sunlight at Nebi Shueib, this meeting was an opportunity to establish initial bonds of friendship and cooperation so important to overcoming the prejudices and stereotypes that generate suspicion and even hostility.

The Council is at the beginning of its journey to foster mutual respect and cooperation between the various religious communities in Israel; and if the warm and animated interactions from the meeting at Nebi Shueib are anything to go by, there is good reason to be hopeful.

Rabbi David Rosen is international director of inter-religious affairs for the American Jewish Committee and interfaith adviser to the Chief Rabbinate of Israel.

Jews are here to stay

This Hanukkah article by Naomi Ragen, an American born, Israeli author and playwright, resonates with me. I guess that is because of my upbringing and experience. I have known Jews who survived the Shoah (Holocaust) and have seen the numbers tattooed on their arms. From my first trip to Israel in 1968, I still have vivid memories of going to Yad Vashem, Israel's Museum to the Holocaust. The pictures are still etched in my brain. The terror in people's eyes. I am haunted. When asked to take these people in, no country would. Not even our beloved United States. The infamous story of the ship St. Louis that was turned away from Cuba first, sat off the coast of Miami, Florida as negotiations were conducted to let these approximately 900 German Jews into America. Our State Department refused and this ship returned with its human cargo back to Germany. It is needless to say what the outcome of those passengers was. Would the outcome of the Shoah been different if there had been a Jewish homeland for the Jews of Europe to find refuge? I think so.

After the World War II, little Israel was created on less than 20% of the land the Jews were promised at the end of World War I. No one thought that this tiny island in a sea of hate could survive. Not only has she survived but she has thrived. Whether it be through physical battles or constant attempts to deligitimize her, she continues to flourish. I am proud of her accomplishments. Like all of us, she is not perfect. She has flaws but she seems to do a better job than most countries of condemning her own problems. Obviously I could go on and on about Israel and her successes and failures. Ms. Ragen struck a chord with me. I hope that you come away from her article with greater understanding.

Stephen Rosenthal

Jews are Here to Stay

Hanukkah candles reminder to hostile world that we’re not going anywhere
by Naomi Ragen

Published: YnetNews.com 12.11.09, 14:10 / Israel Opinion

http://www.ynet.co.il/english/articles/0,7340,L-3818432,00.html

Every single Jew living in the land of Israel is a modern day Macabee. Every Jew who has dared to wrench this re-born homeland from a callous world that would deny us Jews our birthright, while championing the birthrights of every other native people in the world - Tibetans, and Palestinians, and South African Blacks-- is a Macabee.

Every Jew sitting in Israel, surrounded by the overwhelming power and numbers and evil designs of the hostile Moslem world, is a Macabee. With every candle we light – whether we are religious or secular – we celebrate those things that hold us together as a nation: our history and our culture and our faith.

We celebrate that these things have not been erased from the world, and are not now relics behind the glass cases of museum exhibits like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, and Samarians. With every light in our window shining out against the dark night we proclaim: We are still here and our very existence is a stunning victory of the weak against the strong, the many against the few, the just, who love and protect life, against the lawless, who have no respect for life.

With every candle we light, we reaffirm all those things that hold us together as a nation and a people: our stubborn disregard for the forces aligned against us, our rejection of the lies told about us, and our unwavering assertion of our history and our right to take our place as a nation among the nations.

We assert that we are in our homeland, the land that was given to us and which we have inhabited – in lesser or greater numbers - from the time we crossed the Jordan with Joshua. That we, descendants of Abraham and that tribe of desert children born from freed Egyptian slaves, remember who we are despite all efforts to make us forget, to convince us otherwise, to rewrite and defile and deny our history and our rights as a native people living in their native homeland.

We are a unique people
We remember not only what we are, but who we are: the torch-bearers of the precious value of human life. Our agony as a nation over the life of one of its precious sons, our willingness to release those who have murdered us without pity so that that son might return to his family and live, that agony unites us as a nation because it goes to the deepest part of our heritage.


No other nation in the world would even consider such a trade. But we do, because that is who we are, demonstrating that we have not been infected and defiled by the values of other nations. We stand unique in all the world, every single one of us.

Because we are alive at this time and in this place, and we have chosen to spend that life in our homeland despite all the dangers and hardships and sacrifices. Because we are Jews and Israelis and together we light a candle, secular and religious, against the vast darkness of the hostile world.

Because with that candle we proclaim: we are a unique people, and we are here to stay.

Happy Hanukkah

This article from Wired.com about says it all. For Carol and me, it missed one small item. Thanks to technology we were able to light our candles with our children and grandson in Zurich, Switzerland. Dave, Tina and Drew are visiting Deb and Josh. Not quite as good as all being together but still we got to watch each other light the candles and sing the songs together. Of course then we watched Drew open his presents. It was a bit early in Sioux Falls to light candles (we still did it) but just right in Zurich.  I doubt that we are as Geeky as the following article but we are working toward it. I hope that you enjoy the article.

8 Steps to a Geekier Chanukah

• By Curtis Silver  
• December 11, 2009  |  
• 8:00 am  |  
• Categories: Hacking the Holidays

LED menorah photo by Windell H. Oskay, www.evilmadscientist.com, used under CC attribution license.

While all of the gentiles (or goyim) are celebrating a holiday where all the gifts are opened at once — after being delivered through the chimney by an overweight icon in a red suit — I’ll be lighting a candle and opening one gift a night. Starting tonight at sundown. That’s right folks, I celebrate Chanukah. Or Hanukah, Hanuka, Hannukah, Hanukkah, Channukah or just חֲנֻכָּה. Basically, the spelling is up in the air as it’s a translation of sounds like any language based on symbols. I like to use Chanukah for some reason, maybe because the CH sound at the beginning forces me to make it sound like a Klingon word.

Now that we’ve established my religious preference (though if my wife would let me I’d convert toPastafarian in a heartbeat) let’s take a look at eight random ways you can make Chanukah as geeky (or at least as fun) as humanly (or robotically) possible whether you celebrate it or not.

8. Light ‘Em Up!

Jewish or not, you probably know that Chanukah is traditionally called “The Festival of Lights” and includes the tradition of lighting the Menorah, one candle a night. How can lighting candles be geeky? Well, even if you’re not sitting in a giant LEGO menorah the lighting of the candles doesn’t have to be boring. You could build your own flamethrower to light the candles, or my personal favorite - just use your craft torch!

7. Plate Full of Latkes

One of the foods consumed (in great quantities in my house) around this time of year are Latkes. Simply put, they are fried potato pancakes. Imagine chopped up french fries, covered in onion rings and deep fried in hot oil. I like a little beer batter on mine. Latkes make the perfect all-night gaming snack, and go great with a Mountain Dew and an 8-hour session of WoW.

6. Everyone Can Sing

Jews don’t just say prayers, we sing them. Seriously. Over the years I’ve learned something — no-one in my family can sing. When reciting the blessings every night while lighting the candles, I cringe. Thanks to the magic of the iPhone and the genius of T-Pain, we have the I am T-Pain iPhone app, so you can simply record the blessing into your iPhone and auto-tune it! Amazing! Also, it can be used for all the other blessings, as well as Nana’s kvetching about how things were when she was young and poor.

5. Chanukah Viewing Party

Similar to the tradition of viewing A Christmas Story over and over and over on Christmas Eve, in my household we like to view Adam Sandler’s Eight Crazy Nights every night after we open gifts. It’s a hilarious animated movie that teaches a great lesson to kids about behavior and charity. Recently my brother suggested we add a new film to the Chanukah viewing rotation, for after the kids are in bed. Adam Goldberg’s The Hebrew Hammer. Probably the strangest and most original holiday film ever made. Though I’ve always preferred The Frisco Kid.

4. Go Read Comics

Stan "The Man" Lee. Image from the Wikimedia Commons and used under Creative Commons license. Excelsior!

It’s well known that Stan Lee and Jack Kirby are both Jewish and are responsible for creating a lot of the comic book characters out there. But those guys are real. Here’s a short list of some comic book characters that you may be familiar with that are lighting the Menorah this Chanukah. Except for Magneto, as he was born Jewish but turned his back on religion. Iceman (his mom is Jewish), Marvel Boy (Justice),Microchip (the Punisher’s assistant), Prime and of course, Shadowcat (Kitty Pryde) who wears her faith around her neck.

3. Chanukah Through Music

While we all are familiar with Adam Sandler’s now infamous Chanukah ballads, delighting in naming all the famous Jews and making pot jokes, fellow GeekDad Z helped me compile a list of some other great Chanukah-related music you may not have heard. From nerdcore to TMBG to Sarah Silverman, there is some good stuff here that you can easily find a place to download from (like iTunes, Amazon, etc.) and make yourself the perfect Chanukah mixtape.

Erran Barron Cohen (brother of Sasha) released an album of traditional Chanukah songs called Songs In The Key Of Hanukkah.

A great mashup from DJ Flack called “Dreidl-Bells.”

Senator Orrin Hatch wrote a Chanukah song. Go figure. It’s called “A Melody Fit for a Maccabee.”

A bit of musical comedy from the group Da Vinci’s Notebook (two of whom went on to become Paul and Storm), with their Alice in Chains-inspired cover of “Dreidel Dreidel Dreidel.” Wicked.

Music group The LeeVees put out an excellent album of modern Chanukah songs, Hanukkah Rocks. Among the songs are the very funny “At the Timeshare” and “Kugel.”

The Barenaked Ladies holiday album, Barenaked for the Holidays contains some Chanukah songs in that distinctive BNL style. Side note: Their song “Hanukkah Blessings” made it onto Rock Band.

They Might Be Giants also released a holiday EP a couple years back, with one Chanukah song on it, called “Feast of Lights.”

In the chiptune category, 8 Bit Weapon has included a Chanukah song on their new holiday album, It’s a Chiptune Holiday.

Let us also not forget the timeless Christmas Jews album released by the hilarious 2 Live Jews comedy music duo. It’s a contradiction of sorts, since it’s Jews ripping apart Christmas music with some Chanukah songs sprinkled in.

Finally, for your viewing pleasure (though not all safe for the geeklets) there is Sarah Silverman’s “Give the Jew Girl Toys” and the less inappropriate though still classic Kyle Broflovski’s “Lonely Jew on Christmas” ballad.

2. Record It All

As geeks, it’s our duty to get in everyone’s face with the new video camera. It’s our obligation to Twitter while opening gifts. It’s also in our best interest to take hundreds of pictures to then upload to Flickr to share with the world. It is then in our best interest to upload the video to YouTube so your family in another state can see your kids singing the Chanukah blessings as though they were wrought with the spirit of T-Pain. Don’t forget to set up the continuous slide-shows on the digital picture frames scattered throughout the house. But you already knew all that, you do it every weekend.

1. If You Build It, Presents Will Come

Whenever possible, a true geek doesn’t buy it. A true geek builds it. That rule holds for the centerpiece of the Chanukah holiday, the Menorah. For you gentiles, that’s the thing that holds the candles. For the kids, might I suggest a D.I.Y. Menorah kit? Just remember, whatever you build the Menorah out of, try not to make it flammable. Personally, I like a good solid metal one or one made out of old computer parts. If you are feeling lazy however, you can head over to Thinkgeek and buy one made from a motherboard with LED lighting. Pretty. Though if you want to get really hardcore geek with your Menorah, go with the Star Trek Pez LED Menorah. If you think making a Menorah is too tough, then go make a Droidel.

That’s it! So from all of us here at GeekDad have a fun and geeky Chanukah! Hope you get all eight gifts you asked for and more! I know I’m getting a handful of giftcards. L’Chaim y’all!

Dan Brown's Letter to Scottish Rite

October 6, 2009

Guests of the Southern Jurisdiction,

It is my great honor to be invited to greet you via this letter. I had hoped I might be able to join you in person tonight, but the launch of my novel The Lost Symbol has me far from Washington.

In the past few weeks, as you might imagine, I have been repeatedly asked what attracted me to the Masons so strongly as to make it a central point of my new book. My reply is always the same: “In a world where men do battle over whose definition of God is most accurate, I cannot adequately express the deep respect and admiration I feel toward an organization in which men of differing faiths are able to ‘break bread together’ in a bond of brotherhood, friendship, and camaraderie.”

Please accept my humble thanks for the noble example you set for humankind. It is my sincere hope that the Masonic community recognizes The Lost Symbol for what it truly is…an earnest attempt to reverentially explore the history and beauty of Masonic Philosophy.

Yours sincerely,

Dan Brown

Maybe I better explain who this letter is addressed to first. “Guests of the Southern Jurisdiction,” were the members and guests attending the Southern Jurisdiction of Scottish Rite’s biennial meeting. Scottish Rite is an appendant body of Masonry. You must be a Mason to be a member of Scottish Rite but Masons are not automatically members of Scottish Rite. The Southern Jurisdiction is the national body of Scottish Rite for 35 states and the District of Columbia. The remaining 15 states are members of the Northern Jurisdiction. Dan Brown’s book, The Lost Symbol, is centered on the Southern Jurisdiction and its headquarters, The House of the Temple, in Washington, DC. Mr. Brown was invited to address the biennial meeting and this letter is his response to that invitation.

Having just returned from viewing a presentation and conferring of the 33rd Degree, I feel that it is an appropriate time to comment on Mr. Brown’s letter. I was coroneted a 33rd Degree Mason 12 years ago, and continue to be influenced by the Rite’s commitment to an ethical and moral country and world. Where evil raises its ugly head, this international fraternity works for a better planet. Dan Brown’s letter exemplifies his understanding of what we do.

As a direct response to his letter, I am truly moved by Dan Brown’s “admiration of an organization in which men of different faiths are able break bread together.” I am proud to be an active member of that organization and especially proud of its teaching of toleration. I am proud of its beliefs in trying to make our world a better place to live. Unfortunately, those trying to do good are often attacked as trying to corrupt others. Those who criticize others latch on to a perceived weak link and hammer away trying to break it.

Does Masonry and Scottish Rite Masonry have secrets? Yes. Are they secret organizations? No. Masonic and Scottish Rite Centers freely display their presence. If they were secret, they would not do this. And really what secrets are there when a person with a bit of diligence can learn our secrets on the internet or even the local library. Are powerful people Masons and members of Scottish Rite? Again the answer is yes but not all powerful people are members. You will find powerful people who belong to the Elks, VFW, American Legion, Knights of Columbus and many other civic and fraternal organizations. Are Masons and particularly Scottish Rite Masons trying to run the world? No. Trying to make good people better and the world a better place to live are the goals of many organizations. Masonry works through education about morality and ethics, through charitable giving and just trying to have their members lead exemplary lives. Are there bad Masons? I am certain that there are. As in all walks of life there are bad apples that fall through the cracks

As I stated, I am proud to be a member of this fraternity. I believe that we are working for a moral and ethical world. I hope that I am doing my small part. I do not believe that we are perfect or that we are the only answer to accomplish those ends (see my post on “The Blind Men and the Elephant.” I encourage others in their own way to work for the same goals.

Stephen Rosenthal, 33°

Miracle in Sioux Falls

I probably should have titled this blog “An American Mommy in Zurich – A Response III,” but what a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend I had. My previous blog post was an article that I took from Aish.com on Gratitude. Truly, I have so much to be grateful for. I am so fortunate for such a great and loving family with Carol and our 2 children, Dave and Deb, and our other 2 newer children, Josh and Tina. Of course there is that very special grandson Drew. Let’s not forget the newest member of the family, our dog Max and our grand dogs, Stella and Phog. What can I say? They are all healthy, happy and wonderful. To me, they are all extraordinary.

Isn’t there something about a “Miracle” in the title of this post?” Did the sea split? Did the earth open up? Did God deliver us from overwhelming opposition? Is that what it takes to make a miracle? I don’t think so. I cannot remember where I read this but this idea has stuck with me. What are the odds of those random atoms that make up each and every one of us coming together out of all the atoms in the universe? The odds against it are astronomical. The miracle was just us sitting down together and enjoying great food, great company, and great family. Isn’t that truly a miracle? Well it was that way for Drew, Tina, Dave, Max, Phog and me. But also imagine being able to talk and see Carol, Deb, Josh and Stella in Switzerland on a computer. What would Moses have said to that?

Yes, today, we view these as everyday occurrences but it is miraculous. Yes, our Thanksgiving was a miracle just as great as the Ten Plagues or the Sun Standing Still. The best part of it is that it does not happen once and then just end. This miracle continues. Well, I hope that you take a moment and look at all of the miracles around you. You don’t have to come to Sioux Falls to see one, but if you do, like Moses and the Burning Bush, it is there waiting to be seen.

Gratitude - From Aish.com

How much better life would be if we could all be grateful for all that we are blessed with. Again, being from Aish, it takes a Jewish perspective, but you don't have to be Jewish to understand its message.

Making something of beauty out of what we do have, incomplete as it may be.

by Dr. Alan Morinis

The Mussar teachings on the attitude of gratitude are tough, because they don't let us feel sorry for ourselves, no matter how little we may have. One Mussar master began a talk with a thump on the table and the words, "It is enough that a human being is alive!" Then he ended his talk right there.

There is a story -- maybe an urban legend, but full of truth nonetheless -- concerning the famous violinist Itzhak Perlman. One evening, Perlman was in New York to give a concert. As a child he had been stricken with polio and getting on stage is no small feat for him. He wears braces on both legs and walks with two crutches. Perlman crossed the stage painfully slowly, until he reached the chair in which he seated himself to play.

As soon as he appeared on stage that night, the audience applauded and then waited respectfully as he made his way slowly across the stage. He took his seat, signaled to the conductor, and began to play.

No sooner had he finished the first few bars than one of the strings on his violin snapped with a report like gunshot. At that point Perlman was close enough to the beginning of the piece that it would have been reasonable to bring the concert to a halt while he replaced the string to begin again. But that's not what he did. He waited a moment and then signaled the conductor to pick up just where they had left off.

Perlman now had only three strings with which to play his soloist part. He was able to find some of the missing notes on adjoining strings, but where that wasn't possible, he had to rearrange the music on the spot in his head so that it all still held together.

He played with passion and artistry, spontaneously rearranging the symphony right through to the end. When he finally rested his bow, the audience sat for a moment in stunned silence. And then they rose to their feet and cheered wildly. They knew they had been witness to an extraordinary display of human skill and ingenuity.

"Sometimes it is the artist's task to find out how much beautiful music you can still make with what you have left."

Perlman raised his bow to signal for quiet. "You know," he said, "sometimes it is the artist's task to find out how much beautiful music you can still make with what you have left."

We have to wonder, was he speaking of his violin strings or his crippled body? And is it true only for artists? We are all lacking something, and so we are all challenged to answer the question: Do we have the attitude of making something of beauty out of what we do have, incomplete as it may be?

The Hebrew term for gratitude is hikarat hatov, which means, literally, "recognizing the good." Practicing gratitude means recognizing the good that is already yours.

If you've lost your job, but you still have your family and health, you have something to be grateful for.

If you can't move around except in a wheelchair but your mind is as sharp as ever, you have something to be grateful for.

If you've broken a string on your violin, and you still have three more, you have something to be grateful for.

When you open up to the trait of gratitude, you see clearly and accurately how much good there is in your life.

When you open up to the trait of gratitude, you see clearly and accurately how much good there is in your life. Gratitude affirms. Those things you are lacking are still there, and in reaching for gratitude no one is saying you ought to put on rose-colored glasses to obscure those shortcomings. But most of us tend to focus so heavily on the deficiencies in our lives that we barely perceive the good that counterbalances them.

There is no limit to what we don't have and if that is where we put our focus, then our lives will inevitably be filled with endless dissatisfaction. This is the ethos that lies behind the great biblical proverb, "Who is rich? Those who rejoice in their own lot" (Pirkei Avot 4:1).

When you live charged with gratitude, you will give thanks for anything or anyone who has benefited you, whether they meant to or not. Imagine a prayer of thanks springing to your lips when the driver in the car next to you lets you merge without protest, or when the water flows from the tap, or the food is adequate?

When gratitude is this well established, it is a sign of a heart that has been made right and whole. Gratitude can't coexist with arrogance, resentment, and selfishness. The Hasidic teacher Rebbe Nachman of Breslov writes, "Gratitude rejoices with her sister joy and is always ready to light a candle and have a party. Gratitude doesn't much like the old cronies of boredom, despair and taking life for granted."

To what and whom should we feel thankful? In the Torah, when Moses brought the plagues onto Egypt, he wasn't the one who initiated turning the Nile River into blood and bringing frogs from the river. His brother Aaron invoked those plagues. The medieval commentator Rashi explains that since the river had protected Moses when he was an infant, he could not start a plague against it. God was teaching Moses a powerful lesson in gratitude: we can open in gratitude even to inanimate objects.

Whenever Rabbi Menachem Mendel, the Kotzker Rebbe, replaced a pair of worn out shoes, he would neatly wrap up the old ones in newspaper before placing them in the trash, and he would declare, "How can I simply toss away such a fine pair of shoes that have served me so well these past years!?" I felt the same way when I gave away my 1984 Honda that had ferried me so reliably for 18 years.

The Mussar teacher Rabbi Eliyahu Lopian (1872 - 1970) was once talking to a student after prayers, and at the same time was folding up his tallis [prayer shawl]. The tallis was large and he had to rest it on a bench to fold it. After he had finished the folding, Reb Elyah noticed that the bench was dusty, and so he headed out to fetch a towel to wipe it off. The student to whom he was speaking realized what Reb Elyah was doing and ran to get the towel for him. Reb Elyah held up his hand. "No! No! I must clean it myself, for I must show my gratitude to the bench upon which I folded my tallis¹."

If we can be grateful to rivers, shoes, cars, and benches, which help us involuntarily, how much more so to human beings who have free will and who help us consciously out of the goodness of their hearts? Or to the mysterious source out of which our lives have come? When Leah, wife of the patriarch Jacob, had her fourth child, she named him "Yehudah," which means, "I am grateful," to reflect her gratitude to God for the gift of another son. The name Yehudah is the source of the Hebrew name of the Jewish people (Yehudim), revealing the very direct tie between Judaism and gratitude.

Gratitude opens the heart and that's why it provides a fine orientation equally to the inanimate, human and divine dimensions of the world.

A simple and effective way to practice gratitude is by making giving thanks part of your everyday life. For example, it is an established Jewish practice to recite 100 such blessings a day. The term for "blessing" in Hebrew is bracha, which comes from the same root as the Hebrew word for "knee." When you say a blessing, it is as if you have bent your knee in an act of gratitude. The habit of saying blessings can remind you to be thankful when you hit a green light, or the salad is fresh, or the garden is getting the rain it needs, or your child came home from school as usual.

Can you see how such a practice might slowly but insistently change your orientation to the world and your life?

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1. from Reb Elyah by David Schlossberg, p.121.

http://www.aish.com/sp/pg/48906987.html