As I currently no longer have a job I have the luxury of learning important life skills such as cooking, cleaning, and bathing. I have yet to conquer those specific skills, but they are definitely on the list.

Today I learned an important survival skill: how to paint an apartment. The knowledge I had about painting before beginning was, to say the least, limited. My entire knowledge of painting could really be summed up into a 5 word idiom which has served me well up until now: "Don't eat the paint chips". 

But today I wanted to learn more about the art of painting. Specifically I wanted to learn how to:

a) Get paint from a bucket onto a wall and

b) Whether drinking paint is really as bad as eating paint chips. 

I assume most people know the answer to a). It was surprisingly easy and extremely mundane. I got so bored during spackling that I decided to hire my favorite shiputznik to help out. He told me to go run to bnei brak and get another roller, and by the time I had returned (I stopped for pizza...) he had already finished a good part of it. I spent the next 5 hours doing the rest myself and testing my second hypothesis that drinking paint is just as bad as eating paint. 

Don't worry I didn't eat it, but I did check it out on the internet. Apparently paint isn't so bad for you anymore as they don't put lead in it anymore. It's no more harmful than eating glue, which as we know from Billy Madison, is not that unhealthy either. So really the answer to b) is drinking paint is safer than eating paint chips, because paint chips may still have lead in them. 

I am really happy I looked into this as I also found this Yahoo! Answers question: I'm 8 month old pregnant and im eating paint chips chalk for last 5 months is it harmful to my baby?

Priceless.

Today was pretty fun. I got some exercise (at least some physical movement), learned a new skill, and got extremely dirty. Now it's time to get started on learning that bathing skill...

The paint job is still not complete, but hey that's what tomorrow is for...

REMARKS BY MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG ON ISRAEL'S RIGHT TO DEFEND ITSELF AGAINST TERROR ATTACKS 

Following are the Mayor's remarks today delivered in Rockefeller Center 

"I just wanted to say that I feel very strongly that Israel really does have a right, in fact an obligation, to defend itself against terrorist attacks.  New Yorkers certainly know what it's like to be targeted by terrorists and we also know the importance of fighting back, and I really do want to strongly condemn the repeated attacks on Israel and Hamas's decision to break last summer's ceasefire.  I think we all had great hopes last summer that people could live together in peace and that, unfortunately, at the moment is not the case. 

"The last time I was in Israel I did see the effect of those attacks on the Israeli people.  I visited Sderot where the mayor showed me what daily life is under a constant barrage of rocket attacks from Gaza, and, I saw and I heard during that visit, and it's come back to me time and time again over the last few weeks just as the holiday season shared this year by Jews and Muslims and Christians was shattered when Hamas broke the ceasefire and launched rocket attacks against - and mortar attacks - against Israel.  I think both the Bush Administration and the Obama team have been clear that Hamas must end its terrorist attacks, and I stand firmly behind Israel and all we can do is pray for a more peaceful 2009. 

"Everybody should have a right to live their lives without worrying about their safety, whether it's safety on the streets from criminals or attacks by terrorists coming in from the air or suicide bombers or anything else.  We just have to find a way in 2009 to stop killing each other, which, unfortunately, terrorists seem determined to continue to do."

http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.c0935b9a57bb4ef3daf2f1c701c789a0/index.jsp?pageID=mayor_press_release&catID=1194&doc_name=http://www.nyc.gov/html/om/html/2008b/pr503-08.html&cc=unused1978&rc=1194&ndi=1

Still no comments from upcoming President Obama. Do I think we should be worried? Absolutely.

Israel News:

Since the end of the 6 month ceasefire with Gaza last week, Hamas has fired over 200 rockets into southern Israel, targeting civilian centers such as Ashdod. On Saturday, Israel began a retaliation mission (Code named: Operation Cast Lead) aimed at disarming Hamas and according to Israel authorities it has been going very well. 

CNN is reporting 275 dead in Gaza, with Israel reporting the majority hit have been terrorists and that civilian deaths have been minimal. 

The Bush republican party has come out in full support of Israel as usual. (Thank God).

"These people are nothing but thugs, and so Israel is going to defend its people against terrorists like Hamas," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said at George W Bush's Texas ranch.

"If Hamas stops firing rockets into Israel, then Israel would not have a need for strikes in Gaza," Mr Johndroe added. "What we've got to see is Hamas stop firing rockets into Israel."

Obama has come out with absolutely NO STANCE on the situation as of yet.

Note that the world said nothing last week when Hamas fired 200 rockets, but now that Israel has retaliated it is front page news. Hopefully this will be a very succesful operation where both Israel and the Palestinian people come out ahead by getting rid of Hamas. 

I recently took a one day trip down to Petra. It was a spur of the moment type decision but a correct one. It's amazing how easy you can get to Petra from Tel Aviv.

I hope this review will help people plan their trip from Israel to Petra. 

Methods of transportation from Tel Aviv: 

1) Egged Bus (also from Jerusalem): 

• NIS 67.50 
  
• ~5 hours
• About 10 buses a day including an overnight

2) Flight from Sdei Dov Airport (Tel Aviv)

• Between $70-$84 depending on time
  
• About 1 hour I was told
• Less frequent than buses - only a handful

I took the 5 PM bus down and 7 PM bus back the next day. The bus down was absolutely packed as the driver kept cramming people in. The bus driver remarked that there were only two people sitting on the stairs so there was room for more. If you buy a seat in advance, you are guaranteed a seat. 

Lodging: 

I went the budget route and stayed at the Pierre Hotel (972-76326601) which I believe is the cheapest hotel in Eilat. About $40 a night. You are obviously getting what you pay for, so expect it to feel more like a motel than a hotel. 

If you want to splurge you can obviously stay at one of the many five star hotels in Eilat but I can't recommend any as I haven't stayed at any of them.

Tour Guide:

You can either take a tour guide, which is what I did or take a taxi to the Rabin Border and then take a taxi to Petra. I don't know the exact cost, but it may be cost effecient if you are splitting the taxi with four people.

I took the cheapest tour guide I could find ($139 + $45 for Visa to enter Jordan (non negotiable)). I highly recommend using a tour guide and I can't imagine what the trip would have been without one. The tour only had 8 people which was nice (they regularly have more but I lucked out), the tour guide was a Jordan native and was extremely friendly, knowledgable, and humurous. His name was Schrime but most people called him Jethro. 

Another advantage of the tour guide was that they drove us through Aqaba as well so we could see the major development that is underway there. 

I think having a tour guide also took away some of the fear and hassle of being in a foreign Arab country. 

I returned by 6 PM, enough time to grab something to eat and hop on the return bus at 7 PM and arrive in Tel Aviv by 12 AM. 

The trip took 31 hours in total and cost about $250. It was definitely a worthwhile trip.

Why Visit Petra?

• It is listed as one of the new 7 wonders of the world.
• It is one of few arab countries that will allow us to visit.
• We have been at peace with Jordan for about the last 15 years and it seems that there is a chance for a permanent peace. The more Jordan advances in terms of living conditions and its economy, the better chance we have of a prolonged peace. This is inline with Thomas Friedman's McDonald's thoery. (And yes, Jordan does have a McDonalds.) Note: Petra tourism accounts for ~10% of Jordan's GDP!
• Indiana Jones.

Negatives of Petra:

• There is very little known about the Nabatean people so I felt like most of the visit is just to see the amazing caves they were able to sculp. It's a bit disappointing, but also part of the mystery.
• You've seen one cave you've seen them all. (True to an extent - clearly some are more memorable i.e. the Treasury.)
• I would recommend not taking animal rides as anyone with eyes can clearly see that the animals are undernourished, overworked, and clearly mistreated. 

Tips:

• Dress in layers. When you are walking through the siq it is cold as there is very little sunlight, but as you are walking in the sun and climbing up hills, it will be hot. 
• Bring water - duh.

Yesterday I visited the Menachem Begin Museum (at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center). 

The museum, as you guessed it, is about Menachem Begin, the 6th Prime Minister of Israel. The museum is a multi-media tour: A tour guide leads you and ~20 people through a maze of large screens where you see video footage of Begin's life (with some reenactments). There is some original Begin memorabilia such as furniture from his home in Tel Aviv, but not much. 

Pros:

1) Gives an inspiring overview (although with significant bias) of an important Jewish/Israeli figure. 

2) The tour guide forces the tour to move along so that you don't have time to get bored.

3) Learning through video and audio is generally easier than reading for most people. 

4) Knowledgable and friendly tour guide.

Cons:

1) Lack of original memorabilia.

2) The entire museum could really be a video instead. 

3) Tour guide doesn't give much time to read the writing on the walls.

4) Museum is biased in favor of Begin. It would have been more interesting if we could have heard a bit about his opposition.

Overall: The museum is best for someone that wants a general overview of Menachem Begin. If you know nothing about him, this is a good place to get an overview of who he was and what he stood for without having to read a book. If you really want to delve into him though, one biography about him will teach you much more than the museum. (A reading of Wikipedia will give you most of the information you'll get at the museum, but the museum will tell it to you with more feeling.)

I still don't know if any man really deserves an entire museum for himself. I thought the same thing when I visited Rothschild exhibit in the Tel Aviv museum. 

Where: It's near the Inbal Hotel/windmill. Basically go to the fountain with lions near the beginning/end of Emek Refaim and there is a sign to the Begin center. 

Cost: 25 shekel, (20 shekel for students and elderly).

Tips: Order a spot in advance as I had to wait an hour to get a spot on the tour. 

Tours are in several languages including English and Hebrew and they give you headphones to translate the Hebrew videos.

I have been considering starting to blog again as I suddenly have much more time on my hands. 

Last night was Yom Hazikaron, which means all stores must legally close by 7 o'clock. This literally means all stores: No grocery, no restaurants, nothing. I was only informed of this at 6:50 so I quickly ran to the grocery store to buy food for dinner but they wouldn't let me in because they were, obviously, closing. I then ran to the next closest store, the falafel store, and was the last customer they allowed to purchase anything. There were over a dozen other people that ran in after me, but by that time the police were going up and down the block with their megaphone and sirens yelling at stores for staying open past 7. I felt like I was in some dictatorship with the police enforcing curfew.

In the end I was Baruch Hashem able to get my falafel and it was heavenly, just a perfecet mix of salad, chumus and french fries. And then I took a bite into a delicious falafel ball and everything went down hill from there.

My back right molar, which already has a large filling in it, started to hurt. The best description of this pain would be like someone took a large needle and was willy nilly inserting it into my nerve. It was like having a root canal with no novacaine. Needless to say, after I finished the falafel ball (chewing on the opposite side of my mouth) I decided to stop eating, finish up my work and head home. I went home, posted a request for an english speaking dentist in Tel Aviv on Janglo, drugged myself and went to sleep.

The next day the pain was still there, albeit much less but enough to have me worried, but I had no responses from Janglo. I then did a billion searches and still couldn't find any English speaking dentists in Tel Aviv. I then called random English speaking dentists in Jerusalem that I found on the internet, pretended to not know they only work in J'lem and then asked if they could recommend anyone in Tel Aviv. NONE of them knew of anyone either! (Although some were helpful and said they would check with their colleagues and let me know).

In the end I went with a random 24/7 dentist in Tel Aviv that said they speak English... (to be continued)

Today I went to my favorite barber (or hair stylist as I believe he likes to be called), to, once again, get a haircut.

[Brackets are translations for the even less adept at Hebrew than myself.]

Barber looks at my hair before cutting.
Barber: Yesh l'lecha harbeh (word I don't know). [You have lots of blah blah.]
Me: Ma? [What'chyou talking about?]
Barber: Lavan. [White].
Me thinking, he is telling me I have white hair?
Barber (to others waiting): Eich omrim (that word again)? [How do you say blah blah?]
Waiting woman: Dandruff
Barber: You have eh, dandruff.
Me: Thank you.
Barber: You have a lot of dandruff.
Me: Um... thank you a lot?

I am still considering switching barbers. Not really because I was insulted (I'm a proud Head and Shoulders user), but as I mentioned last time, the only discussion I want to have with the barber concerning hair is: "short, leave the payos". I do not want a barber recommending new hair styles or shampoos. This guy used to have a normal hair like myself and then his barber was like, you know wouldn't it be cool if...

Please note: The address of this blog will be changing soon. I need to become anonymous (to the world) so that I can say more ridiculous things. I am thinking the current name is a bit too obvious. Any suggestions? Hit the email.

Oh yeah, and lots of awesome stuff have happened since I last posted so I have lots of material.

This is a must read article. I don't even know what to say. Can this really be true?

We are clearly doing something wrong. Too strict laws? Improper punishment system?

I wonder what Israel's number is.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23392251/

The last post I had was the most read post since the start of this blog. I wrote that post in less than 5 minutes thinking it would not be read by the world, but since it has been, I figure I should refine my comments.

On second thought, it would really be a waste of finger movements writing this, because so much has already been written on the topic that I doubt I have anything else worthwhile to add. In addition, I think we all know how this story ends. The growth rate of the chasidic community is very high, and yet the size will not grow. The movement will continue to lose members to either modern orthodoxy and R"L to secularism. The rabbis are fighting a losing battle trying to keep their members living in the 1600's. Let's hope authentic judaism, modern orthodoxy, can succesfully attract those that want to leave the Chasidic community.

Just for note: I have heard shiurim given by several of the rabbis that signed the ban. When I heard their shiurim, I thought they were interesting, and I respected their scholarship in Torah. But every time they sign one of these bans they lose more and more of that respect. I think that is only natural.

As usual I think Gil Student has excellent things to say on the ban. Although I don't completely agree, it is definitely worth a read: http://hirhurim.blogspot.com/2008/03/on-concert-bans-and-rabbinic.html

Work has now blocked Ebay.

I am pretty sure the tech guys just watch my computer to decide what to block. Deezer I understand, but Ebay! Why not just rip off my out my heart.

The only website left is Youtube which should have been blocked ages ago. I'm pretty sure that will be gone within a month too :(

If the recent banning of the Madison Square Garden Lipa Shmeltzer fundraising concert doesn't rub you the wrong way, you have probably never read 1984 or Fahrenheit 451.

The Charedim are running a totalitarian society. One where the leaders yield complete power and control and censor everything. (No need for documentation.)

Concerts like this have been held hundreds of times in the past with rabbinic authority. The concert was entirely seperate seating. There was to be no intermission to avoid mingling.

The Charedim are interested in stopping art and free thinking. They are in great need of a Charedi Elvis to wake them up.

I find it sad how far they have fallen. The stronger they push, the more people they are pushing away. (I find myself included in this category more and more lately.)

Some of the 33 signers: Dovid Feinstein, Shmuel Kaminetzky, Lipa Margolis (strongly suspected of harboring a sex offender), Aharon Shechter.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1NYDcODkRPg/R7waqNrRTHI/AAAAAAAAAsg/9n1VNv5baIw/s1600-h/scan0002%5B1%5D.JPG
http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2008/02/the-new-music-b.html
http://orthomom.blogspot.com/2008/02/quick-thoughts-on-concert-ban.html
http://www.pressdisplay.com/pressdisplay/viewer.aspx
http://www.avakesh.com/2008/03/on-the-concert.html
http://blogindm.blogspot.com/2008/02/anatomy-of-ban.html

Note: After writing this post, I got up and came back to site in my chair and one of the legs broke. This is the first time in my life I have ever broken a chair I sat in. This is one of them fancy black leather swively chairs too. Sign from God he didn't like my last post? Maybe. Sign from God that I have gained weight? Absolutely.

On Friday I went to the dry cleaner to get some pants cleaned. As usual I mixed up my Hebrew words.

Me: Shalom, can I get my naalaim (shoes) cleaned?
Him: Um, no...
Me: How much does it cost?
Him: I don't clean naalaim.
Me: What's wrong with you, your a dry cleaner. How could you not clean naalaim?
Him: I'm a dry cleaner not a shoe maker. I'll clean the minchnasaim (pants) you have in your hands though.
Me: I hate you.
Him: That will be 25 shekel each.
Me: What?! In America it cost like $4!
Him: I'm a poor Israeli it's Tzedaka.
Me: I hate you.

Another story about my Hebrew mixups happened a few months ago, but I can't recall if I shared it with you but since were on the topic...

I went into a restaurant...
Me: Is this place kosher?
Her: Yes.
Me: Can I see your teudat zehut (I.D)?
Her: What?
Me: Can I see your teudat zehut?
Her: Um...
(Me wondering why she is so confused...)
Me: Oh sorry! Can I see your teudat kashrut (kosher certification)!
Her: Ha ha (thinking what a tourist...)

I think even when I do decide to start improving my Hebrew that I will occasionally use wrong words just for kicks. This whole language thing is really fun sometimes, especially if you make mistakes on purpose. (Mine have all been honest mistakes but hopefully in the future I will be able to do it on purpose. )

Imagine walking into a clothing store and just asking for weird things with a straight face such as "Do you sell monkeys here?" Or "Can I pay by airplane?" Instant classics.

...but noone said it'd be this hard.

I just got back from work (12 AM - President's Day), and I am really upset. Most probably not the best time to write a blog post, as I am sure I will write stuff I disagree with in the morning, but I feel compelled.

I have not read back over my blog, but I can recall many blog posts about how much I hate working late hours. Well this is another one. If you don't like it, skip it.

Working late hours, especially on days where you are literally busy from morning until night running around like a dog, calculating things that never add up anyways, is terrible. 'Nuff said.

Now I am tired and must go to sleep as, guess what? I have another long day tomorrow!

(This was going to be a longer post, but I've worked too much today to put any real effort into it.)

Before coming to Israel I got a haircut hoping that I would not need one until I come back to America. Obviously this did not happen and I was forced to get a haircut a couple months ago.

To find a barber shop I went to our central shopping area (about 10 stores) and kept walking around looking at haircutting establishments that could possible be for men. After staring into one place for about 10 minutes a guy came out and said in Hebrew "Come in, this is a place for men to also cut their hair." I am unsure how he knew that was my concern, but I figured I would give it a try. I went back there for my second haircut today and I am now pretty sure that I have been getting my haircut at a women's salon.

What gave it away:

1) They offered me coffee or tea while getting my haircut. I have never been offered anything but cut hair at all barbers I have been to.
2) They insisted I get my hair washed before and after. I insisted I don't. They said that was very unusual.
3) They used the hair blowing thing a lot.
4) There was someone online with her hair wet and with soap in it. I don't know of any barber that will allow you to get up from the chair before finishing. Why wouldn't this lady just finish the haircut and then do whatever she had to do? Was she mid-shampooing and then was like, "Oh, I forgot to pick up potato salad for lunch tomorrow. One second, don't take the soap out yet, let me get up and get the potato salad and then I will come back and you will then take out the soap."? Or maybe she was like, "You know what, I will have some tea. Let's leave the soap in, I'll get out of the chair, have some tea, and then we'll continue. That'de be grand."
5) There were only women there, except for one barber guy, who I insisted be my cutter.
6) The haircut cost more than $10. (It was 50 shekel so thats about $15. And considering cost of labor is cheaper here, on US standards that's a $20 haircut. ) I splurged.
7) The fact that he knew I wasn't sure if it was a girls place.
8) All the pictures of people in advertisements on the store are female.
9) The name of the store is Sharon's Salon. Maybe in Israel it could mean Ariel Sharon, but I think that would be weird to name your salon after the prime minister. And also, a Salon is not a barbers shop. I am used to barber shops names like Chubby and Mikes
10) The real kicker was the conversation was around hair. I have never been to a barber where they discussed hair styles. I would imagine 95% of haircut style requests at barbers are either short or regular. I don't even know a name of a hairstyle if I wanted it. I've heard of mushroom cut actually. Boy, were those cool back in the day...

On the other hand, the smocks were blue and gray, so really it could have been a guys place. I guess I really just don't know.

I just felt my first earthquake in Israel at 12:45 PM in Givat Shmuel. It was awesome. I would have to rank it somewhere between Citizen Kane and the Blair Witch projects in terms of awesomeness. (Citizen Kane being one of best movies of all time, and Blair Witch being the absolute worst.)


I was sitting in my room reading, when all of a sudden my hutch on my desk started swaying. It wasn't long before I realized it wasn't my hutch that was swaying but the entire building.



This must be about the 6th earthquake we've had since I got here but the first one I felt. Before coming to Israel earthquakes was not even on my list of cons. The truth is I think they would probably have gone on my list of pros for coming. I think earthquakes have a bad reputation. Earthquakes are fun until someone loses an eye. Much like playing with sticks. But until that time happens, I will continue to enjoy my earthquakes and play with sticks.



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I just opened my email and found that I received a new Facebook Social News update!



I have done some exercise between now and then, 5 pull ups on Tuesday and 5 pull ups on January 24th, so I was extremely interested to see how high my ranking moved in the "more likely to win a fight" category would be. Last time, if you will recall I was at #6,719,395, which I considered pretty good considering the amount of people on Facebook.



My new ranking.....





#9,008,328 !!





Needless to say I am pretty upset about this and it may be the wake up call I need to start exercising more. I am really starting to think this whole thing is really not that scientific. What are the chances that two million people have done more than 10 pullups over the last month? Very very unlikely. (And I've probably walked about a mile over the month too! (including to and from the bus))

Sorry for no posts lately. Been busy. Had shabbat meal last week. Went well, minus the second degree burns... Work has officially blocked Deezer.com :( If they get rid of YouTube I may just have to quit. (THAT is a joke. I have to spell these things out sometimes because whenever I write something like this I get like 10 calls/emails saying "things will get better" etc...)

Life is alright, but mostly uneventful.

I will tentatively be coming back in March for a trip.

I think I am going to close blog down as I am losing interest (as I imagine most of you are as I haven't had any self deprecating jokes recently.) I'll probibly do one or two more funny stories and then close off.

Been a pleasure.

And I miss yet another excellent secular holiday! Geeze, Israel really didn't think through its vacation schedule well enough. We really need our holidays spread out more. I think first day of pesach should be about now.

Computers are absolutely amazing. I think the art work being created on computers is nicer than half the stuff I've seen in the museums in NYC. (Keep in mind 75% of the MOMA is junk, and the Whitney has a lot of garbage too.)

These are the results from one photoshop contest. I think some of them are terrific.

(And no, this is not the dream I had. Although that would have been pretty cool.)

-------------------------------------------

Some Youtube videos I have seen lately that I must recommend:

All of Jeff Dunham:

Understand subprime (and laugh):

And A Whitest Kids You Know

This guy took my flipping idea!

I recall telling several of you a few years back that I when I turned 25 I would change my name to The Dan Miller Experience. And I was very serious about this too.

Unfourtanetly this guy (article) stole my great idea! Now I can't do it. It's just not worth looking like a copy cat. I guess it's back to the drawin board for a new awesome name.

I'm not the only Dan Miller upset about this:

http://www.planetdan.net/blog/index.html

I don't usually remember my dreams. Truthfully, when I try to recall dreams I've had in my entire life I can recall only three. One must have been some 14 years ago after playing Wolfenstein 3-D for several hours I had a dream that I was the hero in the computer game. It was quite frightening.

My second and third dream were the same and happened last week and last night, respectively (obviously).

Being the internet savvy guy that I am, I quickly googled my dream today to see if anyone offers any interpretation of it, and scary enough they do! I am not much of a dreamer so I was surprised how many dream websites there are, but I guess it makes sense. I still find it crazy that people have had the same dreams as me with only slight variations. That gemara interpreting different symbols in dreams makes a lot more sense now.

My dream was scary, but the interpretations of the dream make me not want to go to sleep again lest I have the same dream. The interpretations all were so relevant to me too. I am really just freaked out by the whole thing.

Maybe I just need more sleep. Or less....

As you all know (I hope) George W. Bush will be visiting Israel tomorrow. Considering the welcome Jerry Seinfeld received, one would expect Israel to do something really drastic for this visit – along the lines of painting the Kotel red, white and blue and having Bush’s face engraved on the wall. Well, they are not going that far, but they are definitely laying out the red carpet for him. Bush will be staying in a $2,600 suite at the King David (the entourage will be taking up the rest of the hotel), $400,000 is being allocated to clean the streets and walls of Jerusalem, the lights of the Old City will stay on longer, and more than 10,500 policemen (1/3 of the entire Israeli police force) will be deployed to protect Bush. It is estimated that it will cost Israel over $25,000 for every hour that Bush is in the country.

Worth it? You bet!

Bush has been the strongest supporter of Israel EVER. All of Israel’s problems have been due to our own government, not America’s. Bush has given full support to Israel and the Israeli government and we blew it.

“"He hasn't put pressure on this country to make concessions," said Michael Oren, a senior fellow at Shalem Center, a Jerusalem research institution. "The almost limitless latitude he gave Israel in countering terror was instrumental in aiding us to survive years of suicide bombings to reach a point where we had just seven terrorism fatalities last year.""

It is unfortunate that many of the articles in the press have been about how to get Bush’s attention focused on Pollard while he is here and how they are going to protest other issues. The goal of Israel during this visit should be to welcome Bush and thank him for all of his support over the last 7 years. First off, and most importantly, we owe him the hakarat hatov. This is reason enough to support him. Secondly, and he would deserve a big welcoming based just off the first reason, it is a great motivator for him to continue to help Israel. What kind of motivation is it for him if he comes and everyone protests policies? Don’t you think he is more likely to support people that he feels welcomed and supported by?

One blogger recently wrote:
“I personally like George W. Bush. I think he is a sincere person, a serious person, a good person and a real and down to earth guy who has the best intentions. In contrast to the portrayal made by his opponents, he is not some simple-minded fool being led by dark forces in his administration nor is he some evil, calculating dictator bent on power and destruction. He has reinstated America as a military might in the world and his policies have led to reforms of one kind or another in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya and North Korea. He led the country out of a bleak economic situation and a devastating terrorist attack into a strong, vibrant economic machine, no longer content with the status quo in how we handled our enemies.”

I agree.

“What's so great about George W. Bush? His patriotism, his resolve, his principles, his steadfastness, his belief in America, his optimism, his refusal to get in the gutter...
Character is king. Again.”

Shabbat was absolutely terrific. I stayed at my cousins, the Reidlers, in Jerusalem and it is always great to see them. Shabbat day I ate with S. Stern and 5 other guys I went to Gush with Shana Aleph including three that I haven’t seen since (about 5 years). It was really exciting to see them and catch up. (For those I went to Gush with… It was Leron, Chananel, Rafi, Hershkovitz, and Stern. I also saw Ettinger at Shul, and Zarbiv for the 3rd meal.)

It is remarkable how many people from Shana Aleph are in Israel now. There were about 70 people in Shana Aleph (including South Africans, Australians and Brits), and at least 10 (15%) have stayed in Israel since. Then there are also bunch that are here now either for a year or moved here – without counting individual people I guesstimate it’s about another 10 making it about 30% of my Shana Aleph class is in Israel this year. Gush should be very proud of their success in instilling a love of Eretz Yisroel in their students. While in Yeshiva I remember reading one of their brochures claiming a high percentage of their students make Aliyah and I didn’t believe it, but judging from my year, it was most likely true. (Keeping in mind that more people make Aliyah later in life and some people from my year still haven’t finished college yet.)
------------------------------
Saturday night a friend of mine in Givat Shmuel organized a very nice and well-attended dinner in Bnei Brak to launch a regular shiur/dinner club thing once a week. (Which I will most likely never attend as I am generally at work…)

At the dinner there was a shiur given by a very articulate and captivating English Charedi rabbi, who unfortunately chose the forum to deliver a Charedi style message.

I will address his main point later, but I first wanted to address a minor point that I think many of you will find interesting. He stated that after Yom Kippur the BBC, a blatantly anti-Semitic media source, regularly says, “trading volume was slow today because of the Jews celebrating Yom Kippur. The Rabbi views this an anti-Semitic attack on the Jews, implying that such a small group of Jews could actually control the trading volume of the world’s largest stock exchanges.

I don’t understand how anyone can see this as anti-Semitic. It is a well documented and statistically proven truth. The BBC, in this case, is not being anti-Semitic, they are stating a fact. Just like Vanity Fair recently listing 52 out of the 100 most influential people as Jews, or Forbes listing a large portion of Jewish Billionaries or the Nobel Prize being given to a disproportionate amount of Jews. The BBC doesn’t say, “trading volume was down today because of the cursed Jews!” Would you prefer if the BBC said “Trading volume was down for some unknown reason, even though we really know…” Why should we be embarrassed that we are an important group in the world of Finance?
------------------------
His main message, without the pathos, was that if you look at history, secular intellectuals have been able to rationalize anything including acquitting Nazi killers due to their misunderstanding that they were actually committing genocide while they thought they were defending their country. Because of this, we should ignore their thinking and only follow in the way of the “Torah”.

What he failed to address, and understand, and this was clear from speaking with him after as well, is that Torah is interpreted by people as well. Different poskim come to different conclusions based to a large part on their personality, behavior, and environment (this has been studied extensively). While a secular scholar looks through his sources, which likely include some Jewish sources, and weighs each according to his own accord, Jewish scholars look at Gemara, poskim, Tanach and other Jewish sources, and weigh them according to their own thinking too. Many people in our history have done a lot of terrible crazy things in the name of "Torah." (Note: This is not a criticism of halacha.)

His speech is a very Charedi and unhealthy message because he is saying that you should remove your own thoughts and follow your rabbi blindly. A rabbi’s advice should be considered strongly, but one rabbi’s opinion of what the hashkafa one should follow should not be the end of an individual’s thought process. It is important to seek the advice of several rabbi's as well as outside sources.

The Gemara says, if I remember correctly, that anyone that says there is no knowledge outside of Torah is stupid. (I can’t remember the phraseology exactly, but I am definite that that sentiment is there.) To say that secular thinkers don’t have anything to add is foolish. We need less people saying “follow the Torah” or “follow the Rabbis” and more people saying become an educated person. We need to learn to weigh the knowledge of the world appropriately in order to live and promote a proper way of life. Obviously everything needs to be done lishma and under the rubric of Torah, but it is foolish to say that secular sources have nothing to add to the conversation.

Earlier this week I received an email with the subject: "Facebook Social News."

My first thought was that Facebook has decided to become even more invasive and actually email everyone when someone is no longer listed as in a relationship, but unfourtanetly it was not. Apparently there is a new program where people rank their friends based on everything from "who is nicer" to "who is a better dancer".

Needless to say, I was very intrigued to see what my "friends" really think of me especially after the email told me I was ranked 7th in "Who I am more jealous of" and 13th in "who is more athletic". (This must have been someone that knew me pre-Israel, as my Burger's Bar diet has really been takin a toll similar to that McDonalds diet guy.)

The rankings I am most proud of:
15th - who would i rather be trapped on a desert island with
18th - who is more generous
19th/20th - who is kinder and nicer

Rankings I would like to contest:
100th - who is more likely to do a favor for me (Ouch!)
66th - who is a better dancer (Depends what kind...)
66th - who is more useful (Are you saying I am useless?)
71th - who is more likely to succeed (I think that has to do with how you measure success...)

My favorite ranking is that I am #6,719,395 most likely to win a fight on the entire Facebook. Facebook must have at least like 30 million users, so that means I can beat like... a lot of people. I have never thought about it, but wow, I am powerful.

I can't wait to see what Facebook comes up with next. (I am hoping they take my idea for the Facebook social news updates...)

I cannot believe this country does not celebrate New Years! X-mas I understand. But c'mon, New Years?!

I have been complaining about this for days to friends, coworkers, taxi drivers, random people on the street - basically anyone who has the time to listen to me whine. The most common answer is that "we have Rosh Hashana!"

Let's be serious people are these holidays in any way similar? On New Years we have champaign, on R"H we have fish head. On New Years we listen to Prince and party like its 1999, on R"H we listen to the Chazzan sing about who died this last year.

Don't get me wrong, I think R"H is excellent and the irreligious are unfourtanate that they don't have it for many reasons. But I don't think we should have to get rid of December 31st new years. If R"H is our calendar year end, then New Years is our fiscal year end and we should celebrate.

The more times we have set aside to reflect on our lives the better. Some mussar seforim recommend doing a cheshbon hanefesh every night, others weekly. Most of us I believe don't do it enough.

New Years is a great time to reflect on your accomplishments of this year, as well as set realistic goals for the coming year. I realized that the goals I listed previously are too much for me, and I have to cut them down. It's a very upsetting thing to do, but better to accomplish a few than fail in all, IMO (in my opinion).

New Years really is a new year for finances as well as taxes are based on it and most companies close their books on December 31. I HIGHLY recommend everyone take the time to review their finances and set their short term and long term goals. Last year I did this and started using Yodlee as my personal financial dashboard and it has really simplified my finances. (It's a program that links to all of your bank accounts and loans so you can see your net worth calculated and keep track of it. It also lays out the information in helpful graphs.)

I hope you find it helpful.

May next year be twice as good as this one.