The Hebrews in this parsha make a bad choice: again, they challenge Moses and Aaron saying that they should have stayed in Egypt. This isn't exactly new. Every parsha in the book of Bamidbar involves Hebrews bitching. And like all the other parsha, G_d gets pissed off and decides to go on a killing rampage.
But instead of bringing down a global flood or a plague, G_d does some freaky, psychedelic shit: he sends down gigantic snakes on fire.
Seriously? Seriously! Snakes on fire. Sounds like a bad 70's rock band.
This is a really interesting choice. Remember that Moses' first encounter with G_d is with a burning bush. And humanity's first sin against G_d involved a snake.
G_d, if anything, has a sick sense of humor.
By sending down these venomous snakes-a-flame, G_d is making two comments: first, I am your Lord, so shut up and keep walking. Second, that their Earthly wisdom has gotten them in trouble before. If it weren't for their know-it-all bullshit, they might be hanging out in Wonderland instead of a desert in the Middle East.
In Kabbalah, Judaism's acid-dropping, stoner cousin, we learn that G_d's behavior has a judgemental side and a merciful side. Moses pleads to G_d's merciful side and G_d throws the Hebrews a rope, as usual.
G_d commands the Hebrews to build an idol of the snake and stare at it. Weird since idolatry is a huge sin in Judaism. But as I mentioned before, G_d has a sick sense of humor. By making the Hebrews stare at this bronze idol, he's basically saying, "I help you people out, I take you out of slavery, and all you can do is whine and complain? Well, here you go: here's a nice, bronze idol for you. You want to be like everyone else? You're too tired of being chosen...being special...being different. Fine. Here's your idol. Go be a pagan for all I care."
By staring at the idol, all those that were sick are healed. It's not because the idol did anything, but it's because they had a chance to see, first hand, what their real options were. They could go back to Egypt and be pagan slaves to statues, or they could have a real G_d to believe in. By confronting their fear and seeing it in this context, life in the desert wouldn't seem so bad. And their hearts, which were poisoned by the promise of the snake, the tempter, the voice of dissent, were healed.
If you consider yourself Punk Torah, you know that life ain't easy. You're going to have a hard time fitting into the Jewish and Indie Rock worlds at the same time. You'll want to turn away from one of them. I've seen that many times: ultra-religious people go secular and punk-as-balls dudes going Chasid and burning their Black Sabbath records. It's comforting to not be challenged. It's nice to fit in. But remember, like the Hebrews in the desert, you are special. And even when you feel like a bunch of snakes are biting you on the ass, G_d is always there to make up for it.
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Monday, June 29, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Parshah Korach: Rebellion
Parshah Korach is interesting because it deals with rebellion.
In the Torah, a guy named Korach challenges Moses and Aaron, saying that He-Bro's put themselves above the rest of the tribe.
Korach makes a really great point:
"You take too much upon yourselves, for the entire congregation are all holy, and the Lord is in their midst. So why do raise yourselves above the Lord's assembly?"
Honestly, if I was wandering the desert for 40 years with Moses and Aaron, I'd have the same damn question.
Moses throws himself down on the desert sand and begins to pray. But then he summons up a holy anger, and Double Dog Dare's Korach in the Temple.
G_d, in his constantly pissed off state of mind, makes the earth swallow a portion of Korach's followers and gives the rest a plague. G_d wants to destroy them all, but Moses (as usual) bargains with G_d and everything turns out ok.
The punk rocker part of me wants to side with Korach. How dare anyone put themselves above anyone else? Korach made sense when he said that G_d is with all people and that no one has the right to claim favorites.
But look closely at what's going on. Moses is, after all, actually talking to G_d. He's not some nutty televangelist claiming that G_d appeared in his cheese sandwich and wants $400,000 for a new airplane. Moses has this connection to G_d that none of these people have, including Korach.
So maybe Korach isn't mad at Moses and Aaron. Maybe he's just mad at G_d. He's angry that he doesn't get to go on top of mountains and carry around some tablets. But because G_d isn't as close to him as Moses and Aaron are, it's easier for him to "Viva La Revalucion" against Moses.
Misplaced anger is a terrible thing. Ever get into a fight with your lover, friend, family member, because you were really upset about something else, and just wanted to take it out on someone?
It's my belief that Korach wasn't trying to start a Populist revolt. I think his real aim was to get out his anger against G_d. Unfortunately, poor Moses was standing at the right place, at exactly the right time. And even worse for Korach, his fury ended up killing him and his followers.
So what should we do when we're angry like this? Let it out! That's OK. If you're angry against G_d...be angry! G_d can take it. If you're angry against someone, let them know. Just make sure you're angry at the right person, for the right reason. Otherwise, you'll end up destroying yourself and the people close to you, just like Korach did.
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In the Torah, a guy named Korach challenges Moses and Aaron, saying that He-Bro's put themselves above the rest of the tribe.
Korach makes a really great point:
"You take too much upon yourselves, for the entire congregation are all holy, and the Lord is in their midst. So why do raise yourselves above the Lord's assembly?"
Honestly, if I was wandering the desert for 40 years with Moses and Aaron, I'd have the same damn question.
Moses throws himself down on the desert sand and begins to pray. But then he summons up a holy anger, and Double Dog Dare's Korach in the Temple.
G_d, in his constantly pissed off state of mind, makes the earth swallow a portion of Korach's followers and gives the rest a plague. G_d wants to destroy them all, but Moses (as usual) bargains with G_d and everything turns out ok.
The punk rocker part of me wants to side with Korach. How dare anyone put themselves above anyone else? Korach made sense when he said that G_d is with all people and that no one has the right to claim favorites.
But look closely at what's going on. Moses is, after all, actually talking to G_d. He's not some nutty televangelist claiming that G_d appeared in his cheese sandwich and wants $400,000 for a new airplane. Moses has this connection to G_d that none of these people have, including Korach.
So maybe Korach isn't mad at Moses and Aaron. Maybe he's just mad at G_d. He's angry that he doesn't get to go on top of mountains and carry around some tablets. But because G_d isn't as close to him as Moses and Aaron are, it's easier for him to "Viva La Revalucion" against Moses.
Misplaced anger is a terrible thing. Ever get into a fight with your lover, friend, family member, because you were really upset about something else, and just wanted to take it out on someone?
It's my belief that Korach wasn't trying to start a Populist revolt. I think his real aim was to get out his anger against G_d. Unfortunately, poor Moses was standing at the right place, at exactly the right time. And even worse for Korach, his fury ended up killing him and his followers.
So what should we do when we're angry like this? Let it out! That's OK. If you're angry against G_d...be angry! G_d can take it. If you're angry against someone, let them know. Just make sure you're angry at the right person, for the right reason. Otherwise, you'll end up destroying yourself and the people close to you, just like Korach did.
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Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Parshat Shelach Lecha: American Ghettos and Personal Problems
Why do I believe in G_d? Because G_d believes in me! And that is what this parshah is all about.
That, and the ghetto. I'll explain...
Moses sends twelve spies to Canaan to check things out. When they arrive, they see a land of milk and honey, abundant with figs, pomegranates and these grapes that are the size of basketballs. Insane!
All this sounds like a lot of fun. But ten of the spies disagree. They tell Moses that the land is inhabited by the children of giants and that the Canaanites are a fierce people that will overtake the puny Hebrews.
Then we have a repeat from Behaalotcha: someone wants to go back to Egypt.
And G_d gets pissed. He decides this group of Hebrews just can't handle Canaan and decides he'll make everyone wander the desert for 40 years until the next generation is ready to take up the task.
See, G_d knows that the current generation will never be able to trust G_d in the way that they need to. They don't believe that their lives are really worth anything and can't live up to any kinds of challenges.
It's like kids living in the ghettos of America. Anyone who grows up middle class or rich thinks that these kids should just go to school and "overcome". From their perspective, some kid with a crack addict mother and a father in jail just needs to "tighten his bootstraps" and get down to work. The old Homeless-To-Harvard treatment.
But it's not that simple. When you grow up in an environment where you have little-to-no self worth, it's damn near impossible to do anything. When no one believes that you are special, that you can accomplish anything, or that life is anything other than a sad struggle to survive, the idea of ever having abundance is too great to grasp. That negative mindset is what holds poor communities back, and it's why G_d was forced to hold back the Chosen People.
It's obvious in the metaphors that are used in this parshah: grapes that are so large it takes two people to carry them, giant monsters, raging, violent masses of Canaanites that are thirsty for the foreign blood of the Hebrews. This is all a huge exaggeration if taken literally. But to a people who are used to being treated like shit, seeing everyone except them with money, power and freedom, it's the simple truth.
People ask me why I believe in G_d. And I tell them that it is because G_d believes in me. G_d trusts me enough to do my own research: to follow my own heart. And when my heart takes me in the wrong direction (as was the case with the wayward, peeing-in-their-pants Hebrews), G_d will point me in another direction, for my own good.
I just hope mine doesn't take 40 years...
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That, and the ghetto. I'll explain...
Moses sends twelve spies to Canaan to check things out. When they arrive, they see a land of milk and honey, abundant with figs, pomegranates and these grapes that are the size of basketballs. Insane!
All this sounds like a lot of fun. But ten of the spies disagree. They tell Moses that the land is inhabited by the children of giants and that the Canaanites are a fierce people that will overtake the puny Hebrews.
Then we have a repeat from Behaalotcha: someone wants to go back to Egypt.
And G_d gets pissed. He decides this group of Hebrews just can't handle Canaan and decides he'll make everyone wander the desert for 40 years until the next generation is ready to take up the task.
See, G_d knows that the current generation will never be able to trust G_d in the way that they need to. They don't believe that their lives are really worth anything and can't live up to any kinds of challenges.
It's like kids living in the ghettos of America. Anyone who grows up middle class or rich thinks that these kids should just go to school and "overcome". From their perspective, some kid with a crack addict mother and a father in jail just needs to "tighten his bootstraps" and get down to work. The old Homeless-To-Harvard treatment.
But it's not that simple. When you grow up in an environment where you have little-to-no self worth, it's damn near impossible to do anything. When no one believes that you are special, that you can accomplish anything, or that life is anything other than a sad struggle to survive, the idea of ever having abundance is too great to grasp. That negative mindset is what holds poor communities back, and it's why G_d was forced to hold back the Chosen People.
It's obvious in the metaphors that are used in this parshah: grapes that are so large it takes two people to carry them, giant monsters, raging, violent masses of Canaanites that are thirsty for the foreign blood of the Hebrews. This is all a huge exaggeration if taken literally. But to a people who are used to being treated like shit, seeing everyone except them with money, power and freedom, it's the simple truth.
People ask me why I believe in G_d. And I tell them that it is because G_d believes in me. G_d trusts me enough to do my own research: to follow my own heart. And when my heart takes me in the wrong direction (as was the case with the wayward, peeing-in-their-pants Hebrews), G_d will point me in another direction, for my own good.
I just hope mine doesn't take 40 years...
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NEW PUNKTORAH.COM!!
Monday, June 8, 2009
Parshat Behaalotcha is fond to my heart...because it is the parshat that I fucked up on.
Parshat Behaalotcha is fond to my heart...because it is the parshat that I fucked up on.
See, there was a writing contest for socially conscious Jewish writers. I had to write a d'var about this section as it related to a global justice issue...and I failed, miserably.
It's hard to write on demand. What's great about PunkTorah is that I can write whatever I want. Even if it has to be about a specific parshat, I still get whatever I want.
And the funny thing is, by failing at this Parshat...I actually ended up proving it's valuable lesson: quit your bitching and be happy with what you have.
See, the Hebrews are wandering around the desert (big shock!) and start to get a little tired of eating mannah. They want all the things they had when they were slaves, which apparently is this weird salad bar of melon and garlic. Yuk.
At any rate, a group of them complain and G_d decides to throw them a bone by making all these doves suddenly appear. The Hebrews get some serious BBQ action on and eat the little bastards to the point that there is still meat between their teeth while they are gulping down dove after dove. It's like a never-ending all-you-can-eat buffet at Golden Corral.
G_d gets angry (as G_d tends to) and strikes these gluttons down, naming their place Kivroth Hata'avah or the Grave of Lust.
G_d was angry because the people did not appreciate what they had. And G_d punished them for their serious lack of thanks for being freed from slavery.
Modern life is all about moving forward: constantly pushing to get the next big thing. To make life better, all the time, through material gain.
When writing my d'var, I got so tied up with "making it perfect" that I forgot why I was writing it in the first place. And ultimately, I ended up missing the deadline. Sad but true--I was driving in my car and realized that I was a day late in submitting my application.
Even now, I am struggling with this constant craving. I am booking a tour for my band, and the shows just keep falling apart. I can't seem to be grateful for the shows that I do have booked!
Hopefully G_d won't send me to my grave...because I have learned to chill out a little and enjoy what I have.
Check out the Facebook page!
Also check out the Punk Torah YouTube channel!
See, there was a writing contest for socially conscious Jewish writers. I had to write a d'var about this section as it related to a global justice issue...and I failed, miserably.
It's hard to write on demand. What's great about PunkTorah is that I can write whatever I want. Even if it has to be about a specific parshat, I still get whatever I want.
And the funny thing is, by failing at this Parshat...I actually ended up proving it's valuable lesson: quit your bitching and be happy with what you have.
See, the Hebrews are wandering around the desert (big shock!) and start to get a little tired of eating mannah. They want all the things they had when they were slaves, which apparently is this weird salad bar of melon and garlic. Yuk.
At any rate, a group of them complain and G_d decides to throw them a bone by making all these doves suddenly appear. The Hebrews get some serious BBQ action on and eat the little bastards to the point that there is still meat between their teeth while they are gulping down dove after dove. It's like a never-ending all-you-can-eat buffet at Golden Corral.
G_d gets angry (as G_d tends to) and strikes these gluttons down, naming their place Kivroth Hata'avah or the Grave of Lust.
G_d was angry because the people did not appreciate what they had. And G_d punished them for their serious lack of thanks for being freed from slavery.
Modern life is all about moving forward: constantly pushing to get the next big thing. To make life better, all the time, through material gain.
When writing my d'var, I got so tied up with "making it perfect" that I forgot why I was writing it in the first place. And ultimately, I ended up missing the deadline. Sad but true--I was driving in my car and realized that I was a day late in submitting my application.
Even now, I am struggling with this constant craving. I am booking a tour for my band, and the shows just keep falling apart. I can't seem to be grateful for the shows that I do have booked!
Hopefully G_d won't send me to my grave...because I have learned to chill out a little and enjoy what I have.
Check out the Facebook page!
Also check out the Punk Torah YouTube channel!
Friday, May 15, 2009
Become A Rock Star In 24 Hours
Become A Rock Star In 24 Hours
I have been asked so many times about "how to get hooked up in the music business." The reality is, I can't "hook you up" anymore than you can! So here's what I know about how become a rock star...and you can do all of this in about 24 hours.
Write Great Fucking Songs
Find Your REALLY SPECIFIC Niche and Stick With It (Christian-Hippie Folk, Nursing Home Piano Tunes, African Metal, whatever)
Get A Good Job...That You Can Leave OR Become Self Employed
Buy Tour:Smart by Martin Atkins and Read It Several Times With Margin Notes
Make A List of Everyone You Know and What THEY Know and How That Can Help You
Make Everyone In The Band Responsible For Something
Use Myspace As Your Website, Not As Your Crutch...No One Likes It
FUCK Email Lists: Use Facebook Instead and Send Personal Messages...NOT FORMS
Devote One Hour A Day To Twitter
Be Authentic!
Promote Something Other Than Music
I have been asked so many times about "how to get hooked up in the music business." The reality is, I can't "hook you up" anymore than you can! So here's what I know about how become a rock star...and you can do all of this in about 24 hours.
Write Great Fucking Songs
Find Your REALLY SPECIFIC Niche and Stick With It (Christian-Hippie Folk, Nursing Home Piano Tunes, African Metal, whatever)
Get A Good Job...That You Can Leave OR Become Self Employed
Buy Tour:Smart by Martin Atkins and Read It Several Times With Margin Notes
Make A List of Everyone You Know and What THEY Know and How That Can Help You
Make Everyone In The Band Responsible For Something
Use Myspace As Your Website, Not As Your Crutch...No One Likes It
FUCK Email Lists: Use Facebook Instead and Send Personal Messages...NOT FORMS
Devote One Hour A Day To Twitter
Be Authentic!
Promote Something Other Than Music
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Richard Dawkins, Gardening and the Number Seven: Parshat Behar
Richard Dawkins, Gardening and the Number Seven: Parshat Behar
I just watched the Richard Dawkins movie, "The God Delusion. I disagree with Dawkins who thinks that religion is poison (a little too Chairman Mao for me), but he did bring up an interesting point: In one scene, Dawkins confronts a British rabbi about the Genesis account of creationism. The rabbi says that he supports a literal interpretation of Genesis and believes that the world is only 6,000 years old. Dawkins tells the rabbi how stupid this is, because archeologists all agree that humans are millions of years old and that 6,000 years ago was the start of the Agricultural Revolution.
This got me thinking: is there a biblical connection between the agricultural revolution and the laws of Moses? Sure enough, there is...and it's this week's Parshat.
Parshat Behar gives the faithful a set of rules for how to handle all their farming...stuff like the Jubilee, contracts between tenant farmers, a year of rest for the land, etc. etc. I'm not gonna go into it because frankly its boring to me and I don't have a green thumb...i can barely keep a house plant alive.
At the beginning of human civilization, cultures believed that they were controlled by the land and created Earth gods and goddesses to act as the middle man between the Earth and their needs. Life was subsistence, short and brutal. But when the Agricultural Revolution happened, people had abundance for the very first time. We were able to control the land and were free for the first time.
But with freedom comes responsibility, and as keepers of the Law, Jews understand this and bring this to the world with Torah. G_d demands we level the playing field, giving time for the Earth and those who cultivate it to rest. We have to give to the wandering stranger and return land back to its original owner, eliminating the tenant farmer relationship. We cannot abuse our land privilege with usury and on the 50th year, we have to celebrate with festivals.
When a culture has comfort, it becomes responsible to those whose lives are still short and brutal. The lesson of Parshat Behar, and the agricultural revolution, is to see the bigger picture: that no matter what our abundance, we are still partners with G_d and have to play by the rules in order to make life worth living.
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Also check out the Punk Torah YouTube channel!
I just watched the Richard Dawkins movie, "The God Delusion. I disagree with Dawkins who thinks that religion is poison (a little too Chairman Mao for me), but he did bring up an interesting point: In one scene, Dawkins confronts a British rabbi about the Genesis account of creationism. The rabbi says that he supports a literal interpretation of Genesis and believes that the world is only 6,000 years old. Dawkins tells the rabbi how stupid this is, because archeologists all agree that humans are millions of years old and that 6,000 years ago was the start of the Agricultural Revolution.
This got me thinking: is there a biblical connection between the agricultural revolution and the laws of Moses? Sure enough, there is...and it's this week's Parshat.
Parshat Behar gives the faithful a set of rules for how to handle all their farming...stuff like the Jubilee, contracts between tenant farmers, a year of rest for the land, etc. etc. I'm not gonna go into it because frankly its boring to me and I don't have a green thumb...i can barely keep a house plant alive.
At the beginning of human civilization, cultures believed that they were controlled by the land and created Earth gods and goddesses to act as the middle man between the Earth and their needs. Life was subsistence, short and brutal. But when the Agricultural Revolution happened, people had abundance for the very first time. We were able to control the land and were free for the first time.
But with freedom comes responsibility, and as keepers of the Law, Jews understand this and bring this to the world with Torah. G_d demands we level the playing field, giving time for the Earth and those who cultivate it to rest. We have to give to the wandering stranger and return land back to its original owner, eliminating the tenant farmer relationship. We cannot abuse our land privilege with usury and on the 50th year, we have to celebrate with festivals.
When a culture has comfort, it becomes responsible to those whose lives are still short and brutal. The lesson of Parshat Behar, and the agricultural revolution, is to see the bigger picture: that no matter what our abundance, we are still partners with G_d and have to play by the rules in order to make life worth living.
Check out the Facebook page!
Also check out the Punk Torah YouTube channel!
Saturday, May 9, 2009
A Quote By Matthue Roth
"I learned how to get to the point where the only rules I followed were the rules I cared about. And that is when I found G_d."
--Matthue Roth www.matthue.com
This quote is more punk than I will ever be in a thousand lifetimes. Thanks, dude!
--Matthue Roth www.matthue.com
This quote is more punk than I will ever be in a thousand lifetimes. Thanks, dude!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Crushed Testicles, Broken Limbs and Holiness: Parshat Emor
Crushed Testicles, Broken Limbs and Holiness: Parshat Emor
(Note: this post was brought to you with help by activist Nick Dupress. Visit his blog Nick's Crusade at http://www.nickscrusade.org/wordpress/)
In Leviticus 21, the Kohanim, the holiest of holy priests, were instructed to not perform their priestly duties if they had the following disabilities: blindness, mobility impairment, sunken nose, broken or twisted limb, one limb disproportionate to the other, sores, and, of course, crushed testicles. Then again, if I had crushed testicles, I probably wouldn't if I was holy...all I'd be worried about is getting an ice pack.
It got me thinking about my friend Nick Dupree, an activist for the handicapped. Here's a person who knows all about being a sacrificer and the one being sacrificed. Nick is completely immobile except for his hand. Nick needs constant care in order to stay alive. In spite of this, Nick has sacrificed his life to handicapped issues and home care reform. At the same time, by being immobile, Nick himself is a sacrifice: a sacrifice to the angels of our better nature, calling to us do the work of G_d, Tikkun Olam and Tzedaka. By being stuck in a hospital bed, Nick is the proverbial Issac, bound to the altar of our health care system.
I asked Nick to contribute something to this discussion. I expected he'd think the same way that I do: that this Torah portion is outdated and trivializes the disabled.
I was wrong. Instead, Nick managed to find holiness that spoke to him. In his blog he wrote, "I’m not offended by the stringent requirements for kohanim. Disabled kohanim were never stripped of their title, and were still allowed to eat from the holiest of sacrifices (they got all the benefits of their role). Some were even allowed to perform the priestly blessing. And unlike illegitimate kohanim, disabled kohanim continued to keep all the benefits, and all the priestly laws. To suggest a physical defect is a spiritual defect is ablist and false."
If we literally interpreted this scripture then Nick would not qualify as a Kohanim. But his battle for goodness and a fair society for all oppressed people makes him holier than any moron bouncing around in a tunic and robe.
My take on this Parshat is a little different...
So maybe Parshat Emor isn't talking about physical blemishes and deformities. Maybe what it is REALLY talking about is an emotional deformity, one that blinds us and cripples us on the inside, where we cannot see the G_d that challenges us to make the world a better place for everyone...especially people like Nick.
Check out the Facebook page!
Also check out the Punk Torah YouTube channel!
(Note: this post was brought to you with help by activist Nick Dupress. Visit his blog Nick's Crusade at http://www.nickscrusade.org/wordpress/)
In Leviticus 21, the Kohanim, the holiest of holy priests, were instructed to not perform their priestly duties if they had the following disabilities: blindness, mobility impairment, sunken nose, broken or twisted limb, one limb disproportionate to the other, sores, and, of course, crushed testicles. Then again, if I had crushed testicles, I probably wouldn't if I was holy...all I'd be worried about is getting an ice pack.
It got me thinking about my friend Nick Dupree, an activist for the handicapped. Here's a person who knows all about being a sacrificer and the one being sacrificed. Nick is completely immobile except for his hand. Nick needs constant care in order to stay alive. In spite of this, Nick has sacrificed his life to handicapped issues and home care reform. At the same time, by being immobile, Nick himself is a sacrifice: a sacrifice to the angels of our better nature, calling to us do the work of G_d, Tikkun Olam and Tzedaka. By being stuck in a hospital bed, Nick is the proverbial Issac, bound to the altar of our health care system.
I asked Nick to contribute something to this discussion. I expected he'd think the same way that I do: that this Torah portion is outdated and trivializes the disabled.
I was wrong. Instead, Nick managed to find holiness that spoke to him. In his blog he wrote, "I’m not offended by the stringent requirements for kohanim. Disabled kohanim were never stripped of their title, and were still allowed to eat from the holiest of sacrifices (they got all the benefits of their role). Some were even allowed to perform the priestly blessing. And unlike illegitimate kohanim, disabled kohanim continued to keep all the benefits, and all the priestly laws. To suggest a physical defect is a spiritual defect is ablist and false."
If we literally interpreted this scripture then Nick would not qualify as a Kohanim. But his battle for goodness and a fair society for all oppressed people makes him holier than any moron bouncing around in a tunic and robe.
My take on this Parshat is a little different...
So maybe Parshat Emor isn't talking about physical blemishes and deformities. Maybe what it is REALLY talking about is an emotional deformity, one that blinds us and cripples us on the inside, where we cannot see the G_d that challenges us to make the world a better place for everyone...especially people like Nick.
Check out the Facebook page!
Also check out the Punk Torah YouTube channel!
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Wolverine Is Jewish
Wolverine Is Jewish
(Editor's note: there aren't any spoilers in here other than a basic plot line for the first five minutes of the movie. If you're one of those people who HATES knowing what a movie is about before you see it, then don't read this. If you already know who Wolverine is and what X-Men is about, then go right on ahead! Just don't come crying to us when we've "ruined it" for you, please!)
I saw X-Men Origins: Wolverine last night. Can I just say, TOTALLY F*CKING AWESOME!
For those of you who aren't comic book nerds, Wolverine (real name Logan) is a mutant with two strange super powers. First, he heals almost miraculously from any kind of injury. Almost nothing can hurt him permanently, and this leads him to have a lifespan far beyond a normal person. Second, he has razor sharp claws that come out of his hands when he clenches them.
In the movie, Logan and his brother Victor (also a mutant with similar powers, later to become the character Sabertooth), are born in the 1800's. With animalistic fighting powers, they hide their mutant abilities by serving in every war from the Civil War until Vietnam. In Vietnam, Victor begins to show a ruthless lust for blood, killing anyone he can. Logan, on the other hand, suppresses his animal instincts and shows a sense of compassion for others. This tension between them leads to an epic struggle (and tons of fight scenes) through the movie.
I ask you...what ISN'T Jewish about this? First, you have a struggle between brothers (Cain/Abel, Jacob/Essau), people living a strangely long time (Adam 930 years, Methuselah 969), supernatural powers, war...I could go on.
The main point I want to drive home is the psychology of Wolverine. Throughout the movie, Wolverine is suffering from an internal struggle between his good nature (humanness) and his killing nature (animalistic). Jews know all about this: we view ourselves as part G_d, part animal, constantly trying to imitate G_d so that we can fully live in his image. Wolverine hates what his brother Victor stands for: self-centered-ness, cruelty, violence, but at the same time cannot escape those feelings himself.
The word "Israel" means "to struggle" and when we see characters like Wolverine struggle between their G_dly nature and their evil nature, we can't help but feel a sense of connection.
What Wolverine ultimately realizes is that he is neither G_d, nor animal: he is something else entirely. He is something special. That's why he finds himself in the company of the X-Men, a mutant "minyan" of other people fighting between a cruel nature, that while powerful, has the ability to create total chaos, and another, more Divine sense of goodness that triumphs over the evil doers.
Sure, Wolverine isn't actually Jewish. But his struggle to live a righteous life sure is!
Besides, we all know Kitty Pride is Jewish...come on, she's from Deerfield, Illinois for G_d's sake!
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Also check out the Punk Torah YouTube channel!
(Editor's note: there aren't any spoilers in here other than a basic plot line for the first five minutes of the movie. If you're one of those people who HATES knowing what a movie is about before you see it, then don't read this. If you already know who Wolverine is and what X-Men is about, then go right on ahead! Just don't come crying to us when we've "ruined it" for you, please!)
I saw X-Men Origins: Wolverine last night. Can I just say, TOTALLY F*CKING AWESOME!
For those of you who aren't comic book nerds, Wolverine (real name Logan) is a mutant with two strange super powers. First, he heals almost miraculously from any kind of injury. Almost nothing can hurt him permanently, and this leads him to have a lifespan far beyond a normal person. Second, he has razor sharp claws that come out of his hands when he clenches them.
In the movie, Logan and his brother Victor (also a mutant with similar powers, later to become the character Sabertooth), are born in the 1800's. With animalistic fighting powers, they hide their mutant abilities by serving in every war from the Civil War until Vietnam. In Vietnam, Victor begins to show a ruthless lust for blood, killing anyone he can. Logan, on the other hand, suppresses his animal instincts and shows a sense of compassion for others. This tension between them leads to an epic struggle (and tons of fight scenes) through the movie.
I ask you...what ISN'T Jewish about this? First, you have a struggle between brothers (Cain/Abel, Jacob/Essau), people living a strangely long time (Adam 930 years, Methuselah 969), supernatural powers, war...I could go on.
The main point I want to drive home is the psychology of Wolverine. Throughout the movie, Wolverine is suffering from an internal struggle between his good nature (humanness) and his killing nature (animalistic). Jews know all about this: we view ourselves as part G_d, part animal, constantly trying to imitate G_d so that we can fully live in his image. Wolverine hates what his brother Victor stands for: self-centered-ness, cruelty, violence, but at the same time cannot escape those feelings himself.
The word "Israel" means "to struggle" and when we see characters like Wolverine struggle between their G_dly nature and their evil nature, we can't help but feel a sense of connection.
What Wolverine ultimately realizes is that he is neither G_d, nor animal: he is something else entirely. He is something special. That's why he finds himself in the company of the X-Men, a mutant "minyan" of other people fighting between a cruel nature, that while powerful, has the ability to create total chaos, and another, more Divine sense of goodness that triumphs over the evil doers.
Sure, Wolverine isn't actually Jewish. But his struggle to live a righteous life sure is!
Besides, we all know Kitty Pride is Jewish...come on, she's from Deerfield, Illinois for G_d's sake!
Check out the Facebook page!
Also check out the Punk Torah YouTube channel!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Telemarketing and Judaism
Telemarketing and Judaism
Today I got a phone call from a woman who was interested in selling me ad space in her magazine. It sounded kinda cool. She said that all she needed was to sit down with me for five minutes to show me the magazine and the ad spaces.
I told her that getting me to sit down for one minute was hard enough, let alone five. The best thing she could do would be to email me the info and that I would look it over and call her back today.
She replied, "I understand how busy you are. Is there any time when we could get together?"
I said, "Look, I'm being honest here...I'm not into meetings. Email me the info, though. I'm very interested."
She said, "Have a nice day" and hung up the phone.
I started thinking, "in the era of skype, email and instant messaging, who does meetings?" Apparently she hasn't gotten the memo that it's 2009 and the world is fine.
I realized that the company she works for is antiquated. The magazine itself is awesome, but her method for sharing it doesn't work anymore. I was interested, but she lost me because she couldn't come to me in a way that I could receive her.
This is the same with Torah. Recently, a guy posted on my facebook that he didn't think I knew anything about Torah, didn't know Hebrew and wasn't teaching Torah properly.
But what is proper? Is it proper to teach Torah in English? is it proper to teach Torah to women? what about sharing Torah with non-Jews? or putting Torah into braille for the blind?
We have to be willing to meet each other in a common place to share ideas. For me, that place is the internet. The telemarketer wouldn't meet me in our common place--I had to share her ideas in the place that SHE wanted, not a place we could both agree on.
In the end, she wasn't able to work with me, and if I couldn't agree to share her ideas in exactly the way she wanted, then I wasn't worth her time. And I wonder, how many people want the blessing of the Torah, but can't find someone willing to meet them where they are?
Check out the Facebook page!
Also check out the Punk Torah YouTube channel!
Today I got a phone call from a woman who was interested in selling me ad space in her magazine. It sounded kinda cool. She said that all she needed was to sit down with me for five minutes to show me the magazine and the ad spaces.
I told her that getting me to sit down for one minute was hard enough, let alone five. The best thing she could do would be to email me the info and that I would look it over and call her back today.
She replied, "I understand how busy you are. Is there any time when we could get together?"
I said, "Look, I'm being honest here...I'm not into meetings. Email me the info, though. I'm very interested."
She said, "Have a nice day" and hung up the phone.
I started thinking, "in the era of skype, email and instant messaging, who does meetings?" Apparently she hasn't gotten the memo that it's 2009 and the world is fine.
I realized that the company she works for is antiquated. The magazine itself is awesome, but her method for sharing it doesn't work anymore. I was interested, but she lost me because she couldn't come to me in a way that I could receive her.
This is the same with Torah. Recently, a guy posted on my facebook that he didn't think I knew anything about Torah, didn't know Hebrew and wasn't teaching Torah properly.
But what is proper? Is it proper to teach Torah in English? is it proper to teach Torah to women? what about sharing Torah with non-Jews? or putting Torah into braille for the blind?
We have to be willing to meet each other in a common place to share ideas. For me, that place is the internet. The telemarketer wouldn't meet me in our common place--I had to share her ideas in the place that SHE wanted, not a place we could both agree on.
In the end, she wasn't able to work with me, and if I couldn't agree to share her ideas in exactly the way she wanted, then I wasn't worth her time. And I wonder, how many people want the blessing of the Torah, but can't find someone willing to meet them where they are?
Check out the Facebook page!
Also check out the Punk Torah YouTube channel!
Monday, April 27, 2009
Unkosher Sex and Acharei-Kedoshim
Parshat Acharei-Kedoshim
Unkosher Sex and Acharei-Kedoshim
This parshat talks about all kinds of different laws from not cheating your workers to not eating blood and a whole lot of talk about...well...sex
And that's where things get really interesting
It's a no-brainer that the Torah is written for men. Men were the only ones educated in early Middle Eastern cultures. And since it's written for men, it has many biases and prejudices against women.
It's obvious when you look at the sexual laws. All sexual laws, with the exception of one, are written with the prefix "If a man" or some other reference to the male as the one committing the offensive act. The only exception to this is Lev 20:16 which talks about women having sex with animals.
This parshat assumes that a woman's role in sexuality is really passive...like she's too dumb to be spoken to directly. The man is the leader but since both man and woman are sinning, they both get the ax...literally.
And that's the next weird thing about this parshat. The death penalty is applied in lots of areas...cursing your father...death....sorcery...death. But for some reason, screwing your aunt or sister isn't as bad as getting frisky with a barn yard animal. It just means you'll be childless.
It's things like this that keep Jews, especially counter cultural Jews, from practicing their Faith. And I don't blame them.
A lot of times, people giving Torah lessons will create a midrash or some Rambam inspired contemporary understanding of obscure laws. The idea is to make you more comfortable with shockingly weird, antiquated ideas...to make them more worldly and open. I think that this is dishonest. Remember, these laws were developed by nomadic, tribal people in the dessert thousands of years ago. Jewish laws were a reaction against the values of the Pagans: an idolatrous death culture, worshiping mortals as gods and delighting in excess.
Judaism is not about reform. It's not about being conservative, either...and its especially not Orthodox. Judaism is Reactionary...and it's that reactionary, hell, Revolutionary, way of looking at the world that puts Judaism and the DIY rock and roll scene right next to each other.
So let's look at our values as a society, and let's apply that Reactionary Judaism to it. Who knows what we'll discover about ourselves.
Check out the Facebook page!
Also check out the Punk Torah YouTube channel!
Unkosher Sex and Acharei-Kedoshim
This parshat talks about all kinds of different laws from not cheating your workers to not eating blood and a whole lot of talk about...well...sex
And that's where things get really interesting
It's a no-brainer that the Torah is written for men. Men were the only ones educated in early Middle Eastern cultures. And since it's written for men, it has many biases and prejudices against women.
It's obvious when you look at the sexual laws. All sexual laws, with the exception of one, are written with the prefix "If a man" or some other reference to the male as the one committing the offensive act. The only exception to this is Lev 20:16 which talks about women having sex with animals.
This parshat assumes that a woman's role in sexuality is really passive...like she's too dumb to be spoken to directly. The man is the leader but since both man and woman are sinning, they both get the ax...literally.
And that's the next weird thing about this parshat. The death penalty is applied in lots of areas...cursing your father...death....sorcery...death. But for some reason, screwing your aunt or sister isn't as bad as getting frisky with a barn yard animal. It just means you'll be childless.
It's things like this that keep Jews, especially counter cultural Jews, from practicing their Faith. And I don't blame them.
A lot of times, people giving Torah lessons will create a midrash or some Rambam inspired contemporary understanding of obscure laws. The idea is to make you more comfortable with shockingly weird, antiquated ideas...to make them more worldly and open. I think that this is dishonest. Remember, these laws were developed by nomadic, tribal people in the dessert thousands of years ago. Jewish laws were a reaction against the values of the Pagans: an idolatrous death culture, worshiping mortals as gods and delighting in excess.
Judaism is not about reform. It's not about being conservative, either...and its especially not Orthodox. Judaism is Reactionary...and it's that reactionary, hell, Revolutionary, way of looking at the world that puts Judaism and the DIY rock and roll scene right next to each other.
So let's look at our values as a society, and let's apply that Reactionary Judaism to it. Who knows what we'll discover about ourselves.
Check out the Facebook page!
Also check out the Punk Torah YouTube channel!
Friday, April 24, 2009
Torah Rejects Fundamentalism
Torah Rejects Fundamentalism
I have gotten several emails from Orthodox and Conservative Jews saying that my idea are not real Judaism, that I ignore the Oral Law and that I'm basically wrong on everything.
That's there choice. It's also my choice to argue right back.
This post was inspired by Reverend Paul Rodkey, a Presbyterian minister I had the pleasure of meeting while I was in college.
OK, so now your Jewish paranoia kicks in and you start to think I'm a heretic for learning something from the Gentiles. Booga, Booga! I hear they carry diseases and eat their children! Gimme a break...
G_d's power and presence in our lives can be explained by something as simple as a straight line. To prove it, a video.
Shalom!
Check out the Facebook page!
Also check out the Punk Torah YouTube channel!
I have gotten several emails from Orthodox and Conservative Jews saying that my idea are not real Judaism, that I ignore the Oral Law and that I'm basically wrong on everything.
That's there choice. It's also my choice to argue right back.
This post was inspired by Reverend Paul Rodkey, a Presbyterian minister I had the pleasure of meeting while I was in college.
OK, so now your Jewish paranoia kicks in and you start to think I'm a heretic for learning something from the Gentiles. Booga, Booga! I hear they carry diseases and eat their children! Gimme a break...
G_d's power and presence in our lives can be explained by something as simple as a straight line. To prove it, a video.
Shalom!
Check out the Facebook page!
Also check out the Punk Torah YouTube channel!
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Punk Torah: Anti-Fundamentalism, Parshat Metzora, Second Passover
Parshat Metzora Video
Parshat Metzora is proof that Fundamentalism will destroy you.
Metzora and Tazria essentially talk about the same thing: this weird green, scaley looking skin disease that can also effect your house and your clothes.
For centuries, people believes that the Bible was talking about Leprosy. This was a mistranslation from Hebrew to Greek. As a result, Lepers were cast away and treated like 2nd class citizens, believed to be spiritually unholy, since G_d, in the pre-modern world, was responsible for everything in nature and interjected in every aspect of human life.
We now know that it was not leprosy...and to be truthful, we still aren't completely sure what it was.
A lot of people hate the idea that there is something in the Bible that's "wrong" or "mistranslated". It goes against our sense of reality: that G_d dropped the Torah down from heaven, in complete and perfect form in an Artscroll hardback book, and handed it off to the Rabbi's who apparently had magic hands that wrote G_d's literal oral code.
Come on, people...that's insane.
Yet, what have we done as a people, a human race, in fact, because The Bible told us to? How many of us have gotten so wrapped up in the details of Law that we have forgotten to use the Brains that G_d gave us!
Second Passover is coming up soon. It's only celebrated in Orthodox communities, but I think it's a great day for those of us in the Cultural Disapora. In the Torah, Moses commands those who were unclean during passover to have a second passover. It was a time for them to make good with G_d since they didn't have the chance in the last passover.
So if you've ever been a fundamentalist and done something rotten because G_d told you to, use the second passover as a time to ask for forgiveness, not just from G_d, but from those you harmed in his name.
Check out the Facebook page!
Also check out the Punk Torah YouTube channel!
Parshat Metzora is proof that Fundamentalism will destroy you.
Metzora and Tazria essentially talk about the same thing: this weird green, scaley looking skin disease that can also effect your house and your clothes.
For centuries, people believes that the Bible was talking about Leprosy. This was a mistranslation from Hebrew to Greek. As a result, Lepers were cast away and treated like 2nd class citizens, believed to be spiritually unholy, since G_d, in the pre-modern world, was responsible for everything in nature and interjected in every aspect of human life.
We now know that it was not leprosy...and to be truthful, we still aren't completely sure what it was.
A lot of people hate the idea that there is something in the Bible that's "wrong" or "mistranslated". It goes against our sense of reality: that G_d dropped the Torah down from heaven, in complete and perfect form in an Artscroll hardback book, and handed it off to the Rabbi's who apparently had magic hands that wrote G_d's literal oral code.
Come on, people...that's insane.
Yet, what have we done as a people, a human race, in fact, because The Bible told us to? How many of us have gotten so wrapped up in the details of Law that we have forgotten to use the Brains that G_d gave us!
Second Passover is coming up soon. It's only celebrated in Orthodox communities, but I think it's a great day for those of us in the Cultural Disapora. In the Torah, Moses commands those who were unclean during passover to have a second passover. It was a time for them to make good with G_d since they didn't have the chance in the last passover.
So if you've ever been a fundamentalist and done something rotten because G_d told you to, use the second passover as a time to ask for forgiveness, not just from G_d, but from those you harmed in his name.
Check out the Facebook page!
Also check out the Punk Torah YouTube channel!
Monday, April 20, 2009
Parshat Shemini: Keeping It Real
This parshat has three parts, all of which have one lesson: Keep It Real!
Parshat Shemini Video!
Aaron's sons approach the sacrificial alter and G_d kills them. Doesn't seem fair. We find out it's because Aaron's sons were drunk at the time. G_d was pissed off because they approached the holy while Under The Influence. They couldn't really appreciate what they were doing. Same thing with drunk driving: you don't really know what you are doing when you're smashed behind the wheel of a car. Moral of the story: G_d wants you to keep it real, for your own safety.
Toward the middle of the parshat, Aaron and Moses get into a debate about the semantics of ritual and mourning. Jews do this all the time: arguing over mundane, little things. I get this a lot as a blogger...there's always someone who thinks I'm too liberal, too conservative...or this one time, an evangelical Christian pretending to be a Jew. Now That's Jewish paranoia! Ultimately Aaron wins, which is funny because Moses has G_d on speed dial. Moses should be like that guy who won Jeopardy a million times in a row. But he wasn't. He was wrong. And he kept it real. Moral of the story: G_d wants you to keep it real, because you're not always right.
The last part of the parshat is the holy menu of animals that are good or bad to eat. No one knows why G_d wants you to eat Pastrami but stay the hell away from a ham sandwich...but I think it has to do with, you guessed it, keeping it real.
Ancient cultures believed that when you ate something, you absorbed its essence. So in kosher, animals that have negative traits (eating other animals, scavenging, eating crud off the bottom of the ocean) shouldn't be consumed. We have to keep it real by eating things that represent the way that we strive to be.
It makes sense, because Jews have redefined Kosher in the modern era, adding free range, vegetarian and organic option to the diet. We like environmental protection and cruelty free products because they help us to commune with a higher purpose. We realize that the crap we put into our bodies effects Creation...the Creation that G_d demand's we be stewards of. G_d wants you to keep it real, by making the food you put into your body as real as possible, too.
So whether it's rethinking that last beer before you get into a car, admitting defeat when you're fighting with someone, or even just picking a better lunch, G_d wants you to...you guessed it...keep it real...for your own sake...and his...or hers...whichever you prefer.
Parshat Shemini Video!
Check out the Facebook page!
Also check out the Punk Torah YouTube channel!
Parshat Shemini Video!
Aaron's sons approach the sacrificial alter and G_d kills them. Doesn't seem fair. We find out it's because Aaron's sons were drunk at the time. G_d was pissed off because they approached the holy while Under The Influence. They couldn't really appreciate what they were doing. Same thing with drunk driving: you don't really know what you are doing when you're smashed behind the wheel of a car. Moral of the story: G_d wants you to keep it real, for your own safety.
Toward the middle of the parshat, Aaron and Moses get into a debate about the semantics of ritual and mourning. Jews do this all the time: arguing over mundane, little things. I get this a lot as a blogger...there's always someone who thinks I'm too liberal, too conservative...or this one time, an evangelical Christian pretending to be a Jew. Now That's Jewish paranoia! Ultimately Aaron wins, which is funny because Moses has G_d on speed dial. Moses should be like that guy who won Jeopardy a million times in a row. But he wasn't. He was wrong. And he kept it real. Moral of the story: G_d wants you to keep it real, because you're not always right.
The last part of the parshat is the holy menu of animals that are good or bad to eat. No one knows why G_d wants you to eat Pastrami but stay the hell away from a ham sandwich...but I think it has to do with, you guessed it, keeping it real.
Ancient cultures believed that when you ate something, you absorbed its essence. So in kosher, animals that have negative traits (eating other animals, scavenging, eating crud off the bottom of the ocean) shouldn't be consumed. We have to keep it real by eating things that represent the way that we strive to be.
It makes sense, because Jews have redefined Kosher in the modern era, adding free range, vegetarian and organic option to the diet. We like environmental protection and cruelty free products because they help us to commune with a higher purpose. We realize that the crap we put into our bodies effects Creation...the Creation that G_d demand's we be stewards of. G_d wants you to keep it real, by making the food you put into your body as real as possible, too.
So whether it's rethinking that last beer before you get into a car, admitting defeat when you're fighting with someone, or even just picking a better lunch, G_d wants you to...you guessed it...keep it real...for your own sake...and his...or hers...whichever you prefer.
Parshat Shemini Video!
Check out the Facebook page!
Also check out the Punk Torah YouTube channel!
WORK WILL SET YOU FREE
Shabbos and the Holocaust
Video
Last night was Shabbos. And I worked.
I had to. As a musician, and one who lives in the Bible Belt of the USA, my career options are limited. As much as I wish CAN CAN and Punk Torah could pay my bills, which are pretty small since I'm a minimalist, the reality is that I need a day job.
So I worked as a temp at the convention center. For eight hours, I sat at a booth and gave people directions to the bathroom and the food court. Not a grueling job, but it's not as much fun as blogging and being Mr. Punk Rock guy.
While I was there, I felt guilty about working on G_d's holy day. I've been accused of being a workaholic and I have tried my best to chill out. But it's really hard. My friends like to make the joke about Patrick the Greedy Jew, always working to make that extra buck.
Then I remembered something I saw in a documentary on the Holocaust: a sign above the Auschwitz Concentration Camp that read, "Hard Work Will Set You Free".
If there is any truth to the idea that Jews are workaholics, it's pretty ironic that the agent of our undoing would be a work camp. Jews have always been the target of ridicule for their relationship to money and employment. Jews were barred from holding certain kinds of jobs and got into areas of the economy only when they were allowed: banking, media, brokering, and peddling, which eventually became retail. Anything they could take with them, when they were rejected from their temporary homes and forced to relocate like social pariahs.
I like to think that Punk Torah and CAN CAN are my mitzvot. They are the one thing I can do to please G_d and help the Jewish people. But I realize, too, that work will not set me free...even if it is work for Hashem.
Human beings are not meant to be work machines. We aren't supposed to be defined by what we do to pay the bills. We are defined by how we live our lives and the kind of people we are. That is the true meaning of Shabbos and the true meaning of being a punk rocker.
Check out the Facebook page!
Also check out the Punk Torah YouTube channel!
Video
Last night was Shabbos. And I worked.
I had to. As a musician, and one who lives in the Bible Belt of the USA, my career options are limited. As much as I wish CAN CAN and Punk Torah could pay my bills, which are pretty small since I'm a minimalist, the reality is that I need a day job.
So I worked as a temp at the convention center. For eight hours, I sat at a booth and gave people directions to the bathroom and the food court. Not a grueling job, but it's not as much fun as blogging and being Mr. Punk Rock guy.
While I was there, I felt guilty about working on G_d's holy day. I've been accused of being a workaholic and I have tried my best to chill out. But it's really hard. My friends like to make the joke about Patrick the Greedy Jew, always working to make that extra buck.
Then I remembered something I saw in a documentary on the Holocaust: a sign above the Auschwitz Concentration Camp that read, "Hard Work Will Set You Free".
If there is any truth to the idea that Jews are workaholics, it's pretty ironic that the agent of our undoing would be a work camp. Jews have always been the target of ridicule for their relationship to money and employment. Jews were barred from holding certain kinds of jobs and got into areas of the economy only when they were allowed: banking, media, brokering, and peddling, which eventually became retail. Anything they could take with them, when they were rejected from their temporary homes and forced to relocate like social pariahs.
I like to think that Punk Torah and CAN CAN are my mitzvot. They are the one thing I can do to please G_d and help the Jewish people. But I realize, too, that work will not set me free...even if it is work for Hashem.
Human beings are not meant to be work machines. We aren't supposed to be defined by what we do to pay the bills. We are defined by how we live our lives and the kind of people we are. That is the true meaning of Shabbos and the true meaning of being a punk rocker.
Check out the Facebook page!
Also check out the Punk Torah YouTube channel!
Tazria-Metzora
My mother secretly hopes that I'll become a doctor and give up this stupid punk rock stuff. Maybe if she sees this video she'll think it's for Med school and I'll be off the hook for a while.
This week's video is about period blood and semen and boils and leprosy. It makes a week of eating matzah REALLY delicious sounding.
The Torah does this a lot: you get into all kinds of deep, personal, spiritual stuff. Then all of a sudden, you're talking about the dumbest things like Hebrew fashion tips, how to properly clean a lesion and what to do if your neighbor's bull accidentally kills one of your animals.
I think there's a connection between the sacred and the profane and that punk rock and Judaism uniquely understand it.
Punk rock has taught me that, in life, you have to put up with a lot of crap to feel something genuine. That the only way to rebel against the authority figures who think you're too stupid to have a mind of your own, is to get into all the dirty parts of life that no one ever talks about: drugs, sex, violence and even blood, to get to something real and truly hardcore. Lou Reed did that in the 60's, singing songs about Heroine while the Beatles were singing songs about falling in love with pretty girls. The Sex Pistols talked about anarchy when the BeeGees were singing white boy soul music for John Travolta movies. Go figure!
Judaism is the same way: it's a rebellion against the Death Cults, teaching that we need to gloss over the important things in our world to focus on some eternal life somewhere else. Judaism makes you understand every dirty part of your fragile human life, because living is what life is all about!
Do you know why G_d gave us life? Because he wanted so badly for us to live it.
And that's what this parshat is doing; by getting you through all of life's dirty bits, all the gross things you don't want to hear about, you come through a stronger, happier, better person than you were before.
Parshat Shemini Video!
Check out the Facebook page!
Also check out the Punk Torah YouTube channel!
This week's video is about period blood and semen and boils and leprosy. It makes a week of eating matzah REALLY delicious sounding.
The Torah does this a lot: you get into all kinds of deep, personal, spiritual stuff. Then all of a sudden, you're talking about the dumbest things like Hebrew fashion tips, how to properly clean a lesion and what to do if your neighbor's bull accidentally kills one of your animals.
I think there's a connection between the sacred and the profane and that punk rock and Judaism uniquely understand it.
Punk rock has taught me that, in life, you have to put up with a lot of crap to feel something genuine. That the only way to rebel against the authority figures who think you're too stupid to have a mind of your own, is to get into all the dirty parts of life that no one ever talks about: drugs, sex, violence and even blood, to get to something real and truly hardcore. Lou Reed did that in the 60's, singing songs about Heroine while the Beatles were singing songs about falling in love with pretty girls. The Sex Pistols talked about anarchy when the BeeGees were singing white boy soul music for John Travolta movies. Go figure!
Judaism is the same way: it's a rebellion against the Death Cults, teaching that we need to gloss over the important things in our world to focus on some eternal life somewhere else. Judaism makes you understand every dirty part of your fragile human life, because living is what life is all about!
Do you know why G_d gave us life? Because he wanted so badly for us to live it.
And that's what this parshat is doing; by getting you through all of life's dirty bits, all the gross things you don't want to hear about, you come through a stronger, happier, better person than you were before.
Parshat Shemini Video!
Check out the Facebook page!
Also check out the Punk Torah YouTube channel!
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