The Jew News Review – October 23, 2021 – No joy in Mudville, or in the occupied territories, and guess who is coming to dinner?

Shabbat shalom!

A couple of shout-outs this morning. First, congrats to my niece Molly for her promotion at Pinterest. And, props and congrats to Michael and Beth on the marriage of their son Corey to Jocelyn. We had an amazing time at the posh, black tie affair held at the famous Willard Hotel in DC! My tux was a little tight, but hey, my bride looked pretty damn nice!

After a regular-season roller coaster ride and some exciting playoff baseball, our Red Sox petered out last night resulting in the horrible Houstonians advancement to the World Series. God I hate all things Texas. (My first executive order as President would be to sell the whole damn state back to Mexico!) But big thanks to our home town team for some exciting, and unexpected post-season baseball! 

Meanwhile, life continues to move on at a torrid pace, and the news cycle whirls faster than my age-challenged brain can absorb. An unfortunate and recurring theme this week was the Republican efforts to halt any progress on anything and to make it harder for people to vote. Something new, and dangerous, however, was the orange turd’s move to create a social media platform ironically named Truth Social. It was promptly hacked, and no, I had nothing to do with the hack. It will likely turn into another of his failed ego trips and fleece the stupid SPAC suckers of their money. 

The news from Israel, on the other hand, got a bit more interesting with the latest brouhaha over Defense Minister Gantz and Prime Minister Bennet’s decision to declare six Palestinian rights groups terrorist organizations. Under a 2016 statute, the declaration enables Israeli authorities to close the nonprofits’ offices, seize their assets and ban supporting their activities. The international outcry has been deafening, and the Biden administration, who had not been informed prior to the public announcement, has requested an explanation. I have a lot of respect for Benny Gantz, but this move is questionable, and if Israel has proof of these groups’ connections to terrorist activity, they better bring it forward, or the backlash could be costly, and only fuel the worldwide opposition to the treatment of the Palestinians. Anyone who thought Bennet would be a breath of fresh air compared to Nutten-yahoo, better think again. 

In the midst of all this, the JNR marches on. And I am very aware that you are all by now chomping at the bit for more news for Jews, so, here you go:

1. Moe, Larry, Cheese – Yesterday marked the birthday of my favorite Jewish Stooge, Curly Howard. Born Jerome Lester Horwitz, he was an American vaudevillian actor and comedian but became famous for his role as Curly in the Three Stooges television shorts, along with his brothers Moe, and Shemp, and Larry Fine. Their slapstick schtick became hard-wired in my adolescent brain and I can still recall many of the episodes we watched before heading to school in the morning.

1. Dreaming of Kosher Chickens – 🐓 New  Zealand has weathered the pandemic better than most, but travel restrictions have meant that rabbis who usually perform conversions and butcher meat have had a tough time flying in – and the country ran out of kosher chickens months ago. “I miss chicken so much, sometimes I dream of eating it,” said one resident. (Tablet)
2. Temporary Tats: are they kosher? ✍️  A company has figured out a way to make tattoos that disappear after a year. Which raises the question: are they allowed under Jewish law? As usual, there are multiple interpretations, but most Rabbis believe the Torah prohibits them. I now have 3 permanent tattoos which were approved by Sandy as well as my radiation therapist. But, will millennials rush to take advantage of this new tat tech? Is there a 4th tattoo in my future? (NYT)
3. On the lighter side: National Mother-in-Law Day is tomorrow! The fourth Sunday in October (i.e. this Sunday) is always National Mother-In-Law Day, which means it’s the perfect time to read this 2011 essay from Itzik Gottesman about his mother-in-law, an accused spy. Or, if you’re looking for something a little on the lighter side, watch this classic Jewish mother-in-law joke, as told in Yiddish. 
4. Guess who is coming to dinner? In the spirit of All Hallows’ Eve, I have included this charming piece on which classic movie monster would make the best Shabbat dinner guest. My pick: Frankenstein and his beautiful Bride! Here is a sample, enjoy! “Now, I’m sure we’re all sick and tired of the “who’s the real monster” debate (spoilers: it’s not the jigsaw puzzle of cadaver parts), and it’s much more fun to imagine Frankenstein’s Monster offering to help with the dishes. In Mary Shelley’s book, he’s a decent guy! He’s friendly, he’s well-read, he’s misunderstood. I’ve had worse dates. Boris Karloff’s Frankenstein’s Monster is more unpredictable, but in the fiction of my mind, his wife evens him out. They bring homemade bagels, which are very good. 8/10.” For the whole story, click here

That’s all I’ve got this week. Hope you enjoy, and hey, let’s make sure to be careful out there, there are monsters about!

Brad out.