December 14, 2011 | 10:49 am

Parting the Red Sea of students

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

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Moses at a Central Catholic High School basketball game.

(h/t @ESPN)

December 13, 2011 | 1:24 pm

Matisyahu shaves his beard; declares that he’s post-Orthodox

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Matisyahu, via Twitter

It seems like most of the Jews I know have posted the same message on Facebook in the last hour: Matisyahu shaved his beard – he’s gone post-Orthodox. This is an interesting story, no doubt, because Matisyahu has for years been recognized by his Hebrew rhymes, his reggae style, and his Chasidic beard.

The new Matisyahu says he’s enlightened, that he no longer wants to be tied down to rituals and rules.

Matisyahu subtly dropped the bombshell on Twitter with this comment—“At the break of day I look for you at sunrise When the tide comes in I lose my disguise”—and a image pair of links. On his website he said:

This morning I posted a photo of myself on Twitter.

No more Chassidic reggae superstar.

That’s the beardless Matisyahu pictured. Personally, I think he looked a lot better with the beard (and I’m not just saying that because I’m a bearded fella.) He explains that 10 years ago, when he started exploring his Jewish roots, he kind of fell into Orthodoxy:

I felt that in order to become a good person I needed rules—lots of them—or else I would somehow fall apart.  I am reclaiming myself.  Trusting my goodness and my divine mission

But I see something else here. Matisyahu declaring himself post-Orthodox reminds me of so many musicians who broke through as Christian performers but once mainstream wanted the world to know that they aren’t just Christian musicians. Yet, Matisyahu has never had trouble attracting a non-religious crowd.

So what motivated Matisyahu to shave his beard? Is he saying that his perspective on Judaism has changed? That he has changed?

*UPDATED: To be clear, none of this is to suggest that Matisyahu no longer identifies as a Jew or even as an observant Jew. By “post-Orthodox,” I simply meant that his understanding of what it means to be Jewish has changed and is no longer confined to the Chasidic rituals that his beard has long identified him with.

(h/t: Hollywood Jew)

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December 12, 2011 | 11:57 am

Perry discovers new country of ‘Solynda’

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Sarah Palin might have just been lapped by Rick Perry. If you thought Palin’s “I-can-see-Russia” comment was an embarrassing identifier of her foreign policy experience during the 2008 presidential race, check out what Perry, who already had that “oops” moment during a debate and seemingly forgot how many justices sit on the U.S. Supreme Court (and had that awful campaign ad “Strong”), had to say when criticizing President Obama and the Solynda debacle.

Via CNN Political Ticker:

“No greater example of it than this administration sending millions of dollars into the solar industry, and we lost that money,” Perry began. “I want to say it was over $500 million that went to the country Solynda.”

I’ve never been to the country of Solynda. But I hear that it’s lovely this time of year.

What Perry actually was referring to, of course, was the solar cell company that burned through half a billion dollars in federal aid without producing anything. To make matters worse for Perry, that company is Solyndra, not Solynda.

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December 12, 2011 | 10:58 am

Jewish man suspected of anti-Semitic vandalism

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Oy vey:

Richard M. Green, 52, was charged with numerous counts of bias intimidation and criminal mischief for allegedly smashing the windows of five Jewish-owned businesses. The vandalism took place at the end of November and Green was arrested Nov. 30.

According to the New Jersey Jewish News, Green’s face was familiar to owners of Jewish establishments and institutions. Green also has been identified by authorities as the person who allegedly accosted a kipah-wearing Rutgers University student in a Dunkin Donuts on Nov. 30.

Much more from the New Jersey Jewish News here.

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December 11, 2011 | 5:04 pm

Denver rabbis love Tim Tebow

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

It almost wouldn’t be a Sunday this fall without a post about Tim Tebow. He’s made a lot of recent appearances here and had a lot of winning performances on the field.

Today against the Bears isn’t going so well for the Broncos quarterback. But that doesn’t mean that Tebow, a polarizing player because of his evangelical Christian beliefs, isn’t “Denver’s new favorite mensch.”

Huh? Don’t ask me. Ask Ben Cohen of the Wall Street Journal:

Around 10 p.m. on a recent evening, the rabbi at Denver’s Temple Emanuel was asked if he would ever sermonize about Tebow. Joe Black responded as if he had just chugged an espresso.

“Oh, absolutely!” he said. “Here’s the sermon I would deliver and probably will deliver: Tim Tebow is broadcasting the fact that he believes in God. God is actively involved in his life. We call ourselves people of faith. Is that how we perceive God? And if not, how do we perceive God?”

Another Denver rabbi, Temple Sinai’s Rick Rheins, said he might feel “compelled” to preach about Tebow if the Broncos sneak into the playoffs. Then he reminded himself of this week’s Torah portion. It’s about Jacob wrestling with uncertainties of his own. “He’s not the most accurate thrower in the world, and he obviously has questionable NFL quarterback skills, and yet he doesn’t doubt himself,” said Rheins, who roots for the Bengals, Colts and of course the Broncos.

The story goes on to talk about how Tebow, the new patron saint of Broncos wins, is loved across religious communities in Denver. And why not?

Just because Tebow has strong religious beliefs that he has not been shy about sharing publicly does not mean that he poses a threat to members of other religious communities. Tebow certainly sees his performance on the gridiron as an opportunity to glorify God but, like Kurt Warner before him, he’s never been about making this an us (evangelical Christians) versus them (everyone else).

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December 11, 2011 | 3:47 pm

Gingrich stands by Palestinian people comment

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

Newt Gingrich, a candidate for the Republican presidential nominee, recently sat down with The Jewish Channel and said that the Palestinian people were “invented.”

Gringrich is far from alone in this belief. After all, the Philistines disappeared after biblical times and the modern region of Palestine was not known until the 20th century. But that a leading presidential candidate would say it has been condemned by many—to say the least. Gringrich stood by the comment at the GOP presidential debate last night. Via JTA:

“Is what I said factually correct? Yes. Is it historically true? Yes,” Gingrich said during a GOP debate Saturday night in Iowa. “We are in a situation where every day rockets are fired into Israel while the United States—the current administration—tries to pressure the Israelis into a peace process.”

“Somebody ought to have the courage to tell the truth,” he continued. “These people are terrorists, they teach terrorism in their schools.”

Gingrich added that “it’s fundamentally the time for somebody to have the guts to say enough lying about the Middle East.”

Regardless of whether you agree with Gingrich or not, what does his statement mean? Shmuel Rosner, my new colleague as a blogger for The Jewish Journal, has the best analysis I have seen:

Interestingly, Gingrich doesn’t rewrite history. He gets his facts right, without realizing, or explaining, that such facts don’t much matter. If the “Palestinian People” were created two thousand years ago or twenty minutes ago doesn’t matter, as long as one is convinced that they are here to stay. And as far as I can tell, they are here to stay, and Israelis are here to stay as well (as the residents of a Jewish State) and all else is just a distraction from this reality.

If Gingrich becomes President, he will have to acknowledge such a reality, no matter what he personally thinks about the “invention” of these people or others. Jordan is a colonialist invention; Iraq is not much different; Israel was established by European immigrants (with valid historical claim for the land, no doubt); there was also no such thing as Europe – a unified Europe – but now there is (for the time being); Syria has a historical claim on Lebanon that is not recognized by anyone; We can go on and on with such examples, all of them factually valid and practically useless.

Read the rest here, where Rosner goes on to ponder what good might come of Gingrich’s undiplomatic comments.

I’m not as optimistic that this moment could teach Palestinians that supporting Hamas is not earning them any friends in the West. We’ve been beating that drum for years.

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December 11, 2011 | 2:41 am

Ryan Braun fails drug test, faces 50-game suspension

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

This one hurts: Ryan Braun, the Brewers slugger who won the National League MVP while bringing a lot of pride to the Tribe, has failed a drug test due to an unusually high level of testosterone in his body. I’m really hoping this test was a false positive, but based on the word that Braun’s camp gave ESPN, I’m not counting on it:

A spokesman for Braun confirmed the positive test Saturday and issued a statement: “There are highly unusual circumstances surrounding this case which will support Ryan’s complete innocence and demonstrate there was absolutely no intentional violation of the program. While Ryan has impeccable character and no previous history, unfortunately, because of the process we have to maintain confidentiality and are not able to discuss it any further, but we are confident he will ultimately be exonerated.”

Basically, it sounds like he is going to use the Barry Bonds defense. And no one buys that.

Buster Olney explains why Braun’s failed test is so bad for baseball. Braun is one of the best young players in the game—one of the best young players in the supposed post-steroids era of the game. Not if this test, which Braun is contesting in arbitration, stands.

But it’s also bad for the Jews. Braun was already the Jewish MVP two years ago, and he’s been a real source of pride for the Tribe. As I wrote in 2009, after Braun had a chance before the All-Star game to talk about the pressure of being a Jewish athlete: “And not only is he out there giving hope to all us scrawny Jewish kids who didn’t really chose scholarship over sports, he’s also proven to be the real deal in real life…. how could anyone not root for such a level-headed athlete?”

Well, it might be about to get a lot easier. I sure hope not.

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December 11, 2011 | 1:59 am

All she wants for Christmas is ... Jews

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

I thought I had blogged this video before, but seeing as how I couldn’t quickly find it, here it is now. It’s no Rick Perry video, but more than 3,000 people have given “All I Want for Christmas is ... Jews” a thumbs down on YouTube.

(H/t: Dennis)

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December 9, 2011 | 9:41 pm

Undocumented Israeli to finally get green card after year in custody

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

It’s no secret that many members of Los Angeles’ Israeli community are undocumented. LA Weekly has a story about one, Adi Zinder, who has been held in custody by immigration officials for over a year.

Thirty-two now, Zinder was brought to the United States by his parents at the age of 10. Until yesterday, he had been held at a detention center in Southern California since fall 2010. Then yesterday his family was told he was being sent to another facility in Texas and then on to New Orleans.

Then suddenly the ordeal appeared to be over. Maybe the attention of LA Weekly helped:

About an hour after we spoke at length with ICE officials, inquiring about Zinder’s case, his family got the call: Zinder is being approved for a green card. Sure, the decision comes 14 months into an ordeal that seems to have been cruel, unusual punishment—but the end is near. “We’re crying, shouting, tears of joy,” says Liebrecht. “Now we just need to find out where he is.”

Read the rest here.

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December 7, 2011 | 5:32 pm

Perry vows to end ‘Obama’s war on religion’

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

In this new campaign video, Rick Perry vows that if he were president he would President Obama’s war on religion. Wait ... What war is he talking about? This is like the war on Christmas that never was. And it’s one more reminder of why you should feel uncomfortable when a politician touts their faith as a reason to give them your vote.

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December 7, 2011 | 11:50 am

Tebow: ‘All I Do is Win’

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

I’ve had a few recent posts about Tim Tebow and the quarterback controversy that seems to never end. USA Today had a good column about how anti-Tebow sentiments aren’t really about football, and the Christian Science Monitor had an interesting piece exploring whether Christianity is the key to Tebow’s success. If you haven’t heard, Tim Tebow is a Christian, the Earth orbits the Sun, and New Coke is not better than original Coke.

All that aside, the above video may be my favorite recent commentary on Tebow. All he does is win.

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December 6, 2011 | 11:15 pm

Mall Santas help manage kids’ expectations

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

A Fox Chicago news anchor tried tempering kids’ Christmas expectations by insisting on the air that Santa doesn’t exist and little kids should get over it.

Graduates of the Charles W. Howard Santa School are trying a more subtle approach: These mall Santas are trying to manage expectations.

NPR’s “All Things Considered” had a great story about this. Here’s Fred Honerkamp of the Charles W. Howard Santa School talking with co-host Lynn Neary:

First, Santa never promises anything. I weave in little stories about the North Pole. A child, for example, will ask for a - an iPad, and I’ll say, oh, I wish you hadn’t asked for that. And they’ll say why? And I’ll say, well, have you ever been to the North Pole? Well, of course not. But up there, we have building two. You go out of the main lodge, and the snow is very deep. You go down to building two, and that’s where we do our electronics.

And the little elf that’s making the iPads is an elf named Rupert. And guess what he’s doing? And the child will say, what? He’s playing with them. We’re way behind production. I don’t know what I’m going to do. I don’t think we’re going to be able to fill the iPad orders.

Listen to the rest here.

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