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Tag Archives: halakha
Birth Control – Emphasis on Control
I can clearly remember where I was sitting, in the midst of my Bible class during my final semester at Stern College for Women. We were learning about Miriam's death in the book of Numbers and the subsequent loss of water for the Jewish people. The well dried up. Why was that? The slew of commentators makes it clear that the Jewish people did not properly mourn Miriam's death. They did not give the proper kavod, honor, to one of the greatest leaders of our nation.
One by one, students raised their hands to defend the Jewish people's decision. "Well…Miriam was really behind the scenes." "Well…she did not have a role like Moses and Aaron." I kept hearing excuse after excuse. I looked at the clock and decided that I would wait ten minutes for someone to defend Miriam's honor. I waited those ten slow painstaking minutes, and then I raised my hand. I questioned why medieval commentaries were more progressive and supportive of the role of women than my classmates in the twenty first century.
I could not help associating this experience with the recent public responses to Rabbi Moshe Kahn's shiur, lecture, about the halakhic parameters of delaying procreation. I read Hannah Dreyfus' take on the event published in the Jewish Week, and Blanche Haddad's response printed in the Observer. I then listened to the shiur itself and would recommend reading his article "Halakhic Matters in Delaying Procreation" which was published in Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School's Meorot Journal.
In first reading the back and forth, I was frustrated. I felt like little had changed since my time on campus in 2003. It seemed that a number of the students were insistent that the fact that birth control is permitted by halakha is not related to feminism. Haddad stated that she is "not arguing that halakha and feminist ideals are inherently separate and can never be reconciled; to me, this is rarely the case. However, the two are not inherently linked in our case of postponing the mitzvah de'oraita [biblical obligation] of procreation; rather, there is space within halakha for a couple to make the decision to delay procreation due to a couple's pressing concerns, and not a 'feminist ideal of personal choice.'" Rabbi Kahn, empowered students to make their own decisions about family planning girded with the knowledge shared in his shiur and article.
When people, especially relatively young people, try to dissociate certain liberties, including birth control, from the feminist movement, I feel that there is often a lack of hakarat hatov, proper gratitude and recognition for those rabbis, lobbyists, feminists and other supporters who went to great lengths for all of us to have more choices. It wasn't until 1972 that access to birth control was legalized for all Americans. I questioned this mindset—the absence of hakarat hatov– when I was a senior in college, and I initially felt that way in reading these articles about the shiur.
By last night, I had considered a new lens for viewing the sentiments of these students. Perhaps access to birth control, at least in the Modern Orthodox community, is a given at this point. At what point in time do we stop declaring that this is a fight to be won? When have we reached the moment when we are so far past the line in the sand, that what was once controversial a battle to be won has not only been won, but it is now accepted, normative, and no longer questioned.
One might argue that these students have moved beyond their predecessors' outlooks and are not looking at the world with rose colored glasses, rather they are looking at the world with their realities, their truths.
While this may be applicable for example, in regard to the Civil Rights movement, in that many battles have been won, such as integrated seating on busses, I'm not sure that the same can be applied to women in Orthodox Judaism. It is not a given that a woman can sit wherever she chooses on a bus in Brooklyn or Israel. It is not a given that a woman will feel that she can make personal, financial, or life-changing decisions without the psak, decision, of a rabbi. It is not a given that women can serve as a synagogue president.
In some ways, I am gladdened that these students view choices, such as using birth control for family planning, as their rights and as normative, but it is important to understand the halakhic premise for these rights as well as detractors' arguments as Rabbi Kahn aptly spoke to in his shiur. Access to, and halakhic permission to use birth control, is not a given for all Orthodox women.
I was moved by the women portrayed in the film Be Fruitful and Multiply who shared their stories of feeling overwhelmed by their perceived obligation to have well over a dozen children because they were not provided with the choice to control their reproductive system. Viewing this film and hearing first-hand accounts from women who have struggled with the commandment to "be fruitful and multiply" might be a good follow up exercise to take place at Stern and in other communities. In today's world, regardless of your own personal religious practice, your place of employment may have control over your body as well as was heatedly debated in regard to the Affordable Care Act and Hobby Lobby.
Stern College provides a place where women can engage in deep halakhic discourse, academic pursuits and flourish in a variety of resources outside of the classroom. I say this out of love and the utmost respect for my colleagues and soon to be colleagues. We are extremely privileged. Privileges can never be taken for granted. Much of what may seem permanent is not as stable as some of you may think. In order to hold our ground and continue to have personal choice as Orthodox women, we need to continue learning halakha, being aware of detractors and their rationale, and understanding and embodying gratitude. Without gratitude for those who we owe a debt for setting the stage that we can walk on today, those who currently support and empower us, I fear that there is much to be lost.
Note: The opinions expressed here are the personal views of the author. All comments on MyJewishLearning are moderated. Any comment that is offensive or inappropriate will be removed. Privacy Policy
New Podcast Discusses the Intersection of Sex and Halakha
The first episode of "The Joy of Text" may make you blush. If it does, you're likely its target audience. The podcast, which is sponsored by JOFA and Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School (YCT), includes a frank and lively discussion about the role of fantasy in sexual activities between Jewish spouses. Dr. Bat Sheva Marcus, a renowned sex therapist and Rabbi Dov Linzer, Rosh Yeshiva of YCT, dispel myths about Talmudic prohibitions on fantasy. They explain how fantasy, most often, is a helpful way to trigger arousal and strengthen sex lives.
The two explore the vast halakhic permissibility of fantasy, and, along with moderator Ramie Smith, talk about ways in which fantasy can bring husbands and wives closer together. Dr. Marcus contends almost all fantasy is healthy and cautions women not to edit their imaginations because they feel they have drifted into untoward or shameful territory. She points out that the very nature of fantasy is unreal and therefore it is almost impossible to commit a transgression in that realm. At the conclusion of the podcast, in response to listener questions, they discuss the role of props, including vibrators and Kama Sutra cards, in fulfillment of onah, the Talmudic commandment to sexually fulfill one's wife.
The podcast also includes an interview with Michael Lesher, an attorney and writer, whose new book Sexual Abuse, Shonda and Concealment in Orthodox Jewish Communities, looks at the tendency to hide abuse. Mr. Lesher says that, historically, victims of sexual abuse were discouraged from reporting the incidents and advocates discussing healthy sexuality with children to help them understand what is appropriate and when lines have been crossed.
In the second episode, released today, Dr. Marcus and Rabbi Linzer discuss whether Orthodox Jews who engage in premarital sex are permitted to use condoms to prevent STDs, and how parents should talk to their kids about mikveh.
Visit the Joy of Text's website for more information and to listen to the podcast on your computer. You can also download the podcast for free from the iTunes store.
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Bruce Springsteen Would Be Proud (Or Maybe Scratch His Head in Confusion)
Two weeks ago, I joined thousands of families around Israel for a time-honored ritual: the Saturday night grand finale of a month-long youth group extravaganza.
For one month each year, youth groups seem to take over the country. My kids spend a full month with their peers being led by well-intentioned 16- year-olds. The Saturday night performances signal the end of a month-long youth group extravaganza where my kids were never home, or when they were home, they were covered in paint. It is a month celebrating being young, getting just a bit older and loving group activities (needless to say, not all kids love group activities – my 10-year-old spent the month reading the Percy Jackson series instead).
But the final weekend is a blowout. Saturday night has the time honored daglanut (group choreographed flag waving), dances and plays. It is a doozy. Parents everywhere charge their cameras and their phones to simultaneously take pictures of their beloved children while checking their mail for hours as they sit in auditoriums, pavilions or outdoor basketball courts watching hundreds of kids perform. Each age group has a co-ed play, a boys' dance and a girls' dance.
At least I think it was a girls' dance. I can't be sure. Because it happened in the dark.
Perhaps not exactly what Bruce Springsteen had in mind when he sang, "Dancing in the Dark," but this has become the default dance setting in this Orthodox setting. In order to be mindful both of halakhic guidelines and what I hope is a genuine attempt to empower our young women, someone somewhere thought the best way to allow girls to dance in front of an audience of both men and women was to get creative and turn off the lights. There were dances with glow sticks, dances with neon lights and ultraviolet lights. We saw a lot of glowing gloves and sticks and masks, just not a lot of our daughters.
When my daughter was four, she took ballet. She was quite adorable. At the end of the year, we sat through her final performance. As all those little pink fluffy girls danced their dance, curtsied and got off the stage, only one remained: my daughter. Completely unaware that her twenty friends had twirled off the stage, she stood there, in the spotlight. At some point, she snapped out of her reverie and raced off the stage.
I like the spotlight being on young women. I think there is value to finding ways to encourage and empower all women – young and old to be showcased, featured, and celebrated. I think that is why dance after dance in the dark left me feeling saddened and disappointed.
I need to contextualize my frustration by saying, my daughter could care less. She wasn't upset in the least. The daglanut remains a co-ed march/dance done fully lit for everyone to see (maybe marching around waving flags to loud music isn't considered dancing). It is only the girls' dances that are affected. So she was proudly, giggly, visibly part of a fifty-person flag dance and an hour later I squinted trying to guess which glowing white mask was my daughter.
I recognize that this is someone's idea of a solution, and I'm grown up enough (most of the time) to be able to articulate frustrations while not claiming to have all the answers. I get that in some Orthodox circles this is the best solution. I understand and begrudgingly respect that someone somewhere thought this would be the best solution creating a hybrid of visible and invisible young women. But in the big wide world we're introducing our daughters to, I want more. I want her to be able to shine, in whichever way she chooses, without neon glow sticks. For me, I'm waiting for the next generation of young women to feel both empowered and visible.
Note: The opinions expressed here are the personal views of the author. All comments on MyJewishLearning are moderated. Any comment that is offensive or inappropriate will be removed. Privacy Policy
Exercising Religious Freedom
I'm a runner, a three-time marathoner. Whenever someone asks when I took up running, I say I started 12 years ago. But the truth is that the first time I really ran was for a rabbi: I was 14 and he wanted cigarettes. He was my eighth grade teacher, a towering man, with a full beard, a long black coat and a black hat. He summoned me to his desk, handed me a wad of money, and told me he wanted a pack of Benson and Hedges. And so I became a runner. I ran my teenage guts out, to the store and back, breathlessly handing him his cigarettes and change – all with the rabbi's stamp of approval.
Today, I am a member of a closed Facebook group for Jewish (mainly observant) female athletes. Most of the postings share victories, milestones and inspirational moments. Members typically offer or ask for the usual advice about running. And then, one member, we'll call her Sarah, posed the following query:
Anyone have issues with frumkeit [religious observance] and athleticism? For years I didn't run or do working out [sic] at all because I learned that it was a tznius [modesty] issue, that women shouldn't run in front of men, and I couldn't afford a gym. Now I am trying to get in shape and I'm being lax on the no running in front of men rule that I learned, but I am keeping the spirit of it and only running when it's dark, so I'm not in full view of everyone. Anyone else hold similarly, and had to find a compromise they're comfortable with?
Questions loomed in my mind: Shouldn't frumkeit and maintaining one's health be synonymous? Isn't athleticism an integral part of overall well-being? Shouldn't we all be encouraged to exercise? And of course, I was reminded of the time I was given rabbinic approval (minus the actual supervision) to run.
When asked to explain, Sarah added, "It's for the same reason we don't dance in front of men- because of jiggling body parts."
Jiggling. Body. Parts.
In her Facebook comments, Sarah insists a refusal to ask a rabbi for guidance, all the while asserting her desire to be fit and healthy. She shares that she has struck a compromise and runs in the dark so no one sees her. That effort to find a happy middle ground has to be commended as well.
But she never questions the initial premise that women shouldn't exercise when there's a chance men will see them and still worries that she is in the wrong.
Those who abide by halakha accept that there are times when women's voices are silenced or when women are relegated to the other side of the mechitza. Even so, many of us have seen first-hand women's great creativity in balancing halakhic concerns of modesty and participating in a number of physical activities – including singing, dancing, and exercising. Women will swim during "women's only" hours or will go to "women's only" gyms. If they choose to swim in a public venue, in an effort not to expose their skin, they will wear modest "bathing suits" (shirts, skirts and leggings made of water repellent fabric). When running, they may opt to wear long-sleeve shirt and skirt attire, all-the-while covering their hair (if they are married). And while these athletes may not look like the norm, they are doing their best to walk a tight-rope, striking a balance between halakha and health, an effort that should be applauded. There are countless other women of different faith traditions who make similar efforts to accommodate their own religious requirements.
As a runner myself, I love that Sarah wants to run. I want her to feel that same sense of accomplishment as I do when I finish a race or hit a new personal record. If need be, I want Sarah to push back at the rabbis and teachers who tell her women should not run. I want her to challenge them to allow her to exercise her freedom – and to be free to exercise. As someone familiar with the halakha, I want Sarah to remind them that our tradition commands us to keep our bodies healthy because refu'at ha-nefesh and refu'at ha-guf, healing of the spirit and of the body, shouldn't wait until either is completely broken down – and running has the capacity to heal both the body and the spirit at once. I want to encourage women to take care of themselves and to encourage other women to do the same.
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When Creativity and Faith Collide
Growing up as the daughter of two teachers, my parents encouraged me to read every kind of book that I was interested in. As a middle schooler I socialized with Charles Dickens, curled up with Jane Austen, ate snacks with the Bronte sisters, decided that I hated every stuffy Victorian who took 150 pages to start a plot, and moved on to their dark Russian cousins, the Tolstoys and Dostoevskys (125 pages to start a plot). One author was off-limits in my house, and his books I had to keep hidden. I kept his books behind the other books on my shelves, binding face-down. This author was Chaim Potok. I actually had no idea why there was a Chaim Potok ban in my house until I started reading his books, and then the CPB (Chaim Potok Ban) made a lot of sense to me. Potok claimed that one could not be Orthodox, or more accurately, one could not fulfill himself creatively and be Orthodox at the same time. And when faced with this decision, one should choose creative fulfillment. Potok made this point in My Name is Asher Lev, Davida's Harp, and pretty much every other book he had written.
I don't blame my parents for this ban at all. Every parent has something, I'm sure, that they want to protect their children from. I want to protect my children from Sholom Auslander, author of Foreskin's Lament, in which he blames his apostasy on the "theological abuse" he suffered as a child at the hands of Orthodox parents and teachers. I pray every day that they should never read one of his books. I know that they will be exposed to anti-religious ideas out there in the real world, but by God, if they are exposed to all those ideas through the tortured, cynical eyes of Sholom Auslander, I will do serious penance. My children will make their own decisions as they get older about what kinds of Jews they want to be, but I don't want them to arrive at that decision through rage and through pain.
I think my parents were right in trying to protect me from the most devastating reality of being an Orthodox Jew: There are simply some people who cannot be both an Orthodox Jew and creatively fulfill themselves. This may not be devastating to you, but it was to me, and my 1994-future-Broadway-star/pianist self.
Every day I go through mind tricks to calm myself down when I worry that I am not fulfilled creatively. I yell at myself in my brain. I remind myself of my healthy children, my healthy husband, my healthy body (bli ayin hara). I remind myself that my life is wonderful. I have friends that laugh with me, and at me (and both are good things). I remind myself that there is a lot of instability in the world, and a lot of uncertainty and pain, and my children are more fortunate than most other children to have been sheltered from this uncertainty and pain. I remind myself that creative fulfillment is a luxury.
I remind myself that I create art when I teach. And when I write. I remind myself that the very act of conducting my life within a controlled, halakhic environment – that is art.
Five or six years ago, I participated in a small conference of Orthodox educators run by Rabbi Aryeh Klapper in Boston. After a panel presentation, a female attendee at the conference raised her hand and began to lament all the difficulties of her life, and how hard it is that she will never be able to fulfill her dream of becoming a rabbi. I nodded in empathy but supplemented her comments with a statement about how I will never fulfill myself musically – and that I was coming to terms with that.
I never wanted to be a rabbi. I wanted to be Gwen Stefani.
All I said was that I was coming to terms with it, not that I already had. I have entered into a Chaim Potok book, but I've chosen the other path — Orthodox Judaism. I will not be a singer, or a pianist (too many gigs on Friday nights and Saturdays). I have chosen a halakhic path. If I had to do it again, I would make the same choice. But I don't want my daughters to have to make this choice. I want (and here my cursor stays for 45 seconds – what do I want?)
I want my children to express their Judaism in a way that completely and totally creatively fulfills them.
I know some readers of this blog will point out to me that many Orthodox women sing or perform in front of men, but I am not looking for halakhic loopholes or possibilities. I'm waiting until they become mainstream. I know, I know, when there is a rabbinic will there is a halakhic way – but I don't want to fashion my Judaism according to my will. Self-control is a form of artistic expression. Or so I tell myself.
So for now, here I am, in Potok's book. I've also decided to let my children read actual Chaim Potok books and hope that my own personal choices stand as a (sometimes painful) alternative. But the benefits and the beauty of living as an Orthodox Jewish woman outweigh the fulfillment that I have skipped out on. Maybe. And who knows, one day I might even let Sholom Auslander's books into my house.
Not anytime soon, though.
Note: The opinions expressed here are the personal views of the author. All comments on MyJewishLearning are moderated. Any comment that is offensive or inappropriate will be removed. Privacy Policy
Jewish Women Deserve Better
Five months ago, I wrote about my struggles as a newly married woman in adjusting to the observance of Taharat HaMishpacha, the laws of family purity. I felt isolated in my suffering and scared that my commitment to halakha would forever negatively impact my marriage. I had been taught that Taharat HaMishpacha keeps a marriage fresh and alive. Rabbi Meir attested to this in the Talmud, "Why did the Torah teach that a woman was in a period of niddah, menstrual impurity, for seven days?…So that she will be beloved by her husband as on the day she entered the chuppah, wedding canopy" (Niddah 31b). But observing the laws of Taharat HaMishpacha was not a honeymoon for my relationship, and I was searching for someone to tell me that I was not alone in my frustration. I needed community and solidarity.
I watched eagerly as the conversation about my article spread on social media. While some critiqued my frustration and argued that halakhic challenges are simply a part of Avodat Hashem, service of God, many women reached out to me to express their solidarity and sympathy with my challenges. It was clear that I was not alone and that women needed a space to discuss this mitzvah openly and honestly.
Since moving to New York City last fall, I have met many female, halakhic scholars–mentors that I did not have access to when I initially learned the laws of Taharat HaMishpacha on the West Coast. I began asking them about strategies to cope with the challenging aspects of Taharat HaMishpacha and how to guide a follow-up discussion that would move beyond frustration towards constructive action. While the women I spoke to offered solidarity and sympathy, no one had an answer. Most offered a few ideas and then concluded, "You just learn to deal with it."
That answer was not satisfying. Getting married is enough of a new challenge: learning to live with someone, navigating a new sexual relationship, merging identities. Yet, at the same time we are introduced to a new set of mitzvot that impacts your body, sexuality, and emotional relationship. And if women ever choose to speak openly about these intimate challenges, the only support offered is that it will get easier. But we deserve better. No new bride should ever have to feel isolated and scared because of the laws of Taharat HaMishpacha. Our community needs to collectively strategize on ways to offer support to couples.
With this guiding principle, I facilitated a series of discussion groups, in collaboration with Immerse NYC, which brought together women in Washington Heights to share their experiences of observing Taharat HaMishpacha. These discussions provided space to both vent frustrations and clearly identify the challenges to address.
At one salon, a woman asked if my husband was home and when I responded no, she sighed in relief and pulled off her sheitl, wig. Women around the living room followed suit, pulling off sheitls, tichels, scarves, and hats, a collective shedding of our inhibitions. This was a safe space to open up and be in solidarity as women.
During these discussions, members of the group openly discussed each person's difficulties and offered suggestions to one another. As each woman shared, heads nodded around the room and women jumped in to respond. I found myself feeling more at ease with my challenges. There was a sense of solidarity in our commitment to this mitzvah and yet, an honest acknowledgement that while observing other mitzvot may be difficult at times, this mitzvah has a particularly sensitive impact as it affects one's body, marriage, and sexual life. There is a lot of constructive power in a room full of women. While no one walked away with every problem solved, I noticed a lighter energy as women left. We were on the way towards a more positive relationship with this mitzvah.
Our community needs to consciously and consistently support these conversations. While I am fortunate to live in a vibrant, Jewish neighborhood, women all over this country do not have access to this support. My hope is that we can expand this experience beyond Manhattan so that every woman has a place to turn to and a network to support her as she begins this new mitzvah, or as her practice evolves throughout her life. Every marriage deserves to start with all the resources available for success. Talking about the non-halakhic aspects of Taharat HaMishpacha should be another part of the healthy marriage toolkit.
If you are interested in bringing this curriculum to your community, please contact Sasha Kesler at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Note: The opinions expressed here are the personal views of the author. All comments on MyJewishLearning are moderated. Any comment that is offensive or inappropriate will be removed. Privacy Policy
The Shofar Is Calling; Will You Answer?
Each shofar has a unique undulating shape and trumpeting sound. The sound may be low and haunting or bold and jarring. But whatever its call, the shofar awakens us from slumber and reminds us that the time for teshuva, repentance, has arrived.
During the Hebrew month of Elul, we blow the shofar on a daily basis at the conclusion of the morning service. This custom is derived from the Midrash that Moses ascended Mount Sinai at the beginning of Elul to receive the second set of tablets, having broken the first set when he witnessed the Israelites worshipping the Golden Calf. While Moses was on the mountain, the Israelites blew the shofar on a daily basis to serve as a warning to the people to maintain their faith in God.
It is interesting to note that the Shulchan Aruch explicitly permits a woman to blow shofar for herself or for other women on Rosh Hashanah. But our rabbinic sources are silent on the issue of women blowing shofar during the month of Elul, leaving us to extrapolate for modern times. The Rema, Mishnah Berurah, and other halakhic authorities categorize blowing the shofar during Elul as a minhag, custom, rather than as an obligation. With these considerations in mind, a woman could blow shofar for herself or in the presence of other women during Elul to assist them in fulfilling the minhag. Alissa Thomas-Newborn, author of a forthcoming JOFA publication entitled, "A Cry from the Soul: Women and Hilkhot Shofar," holds that a woman may indeed take on this role.*
Blowing a teki'ah (the long, solid blast) is not all that difficult. It takes some creative positioning of the mouth and hands, and some trial and error, but it can be mastered within a few minutes of effort. It is incredibly satisfying to put the shofar to your lips and produce a deafening blast. While the sound is energizing when it is merely heard, the call of the shofar is incredibly impactful when it draws from the energy deep within you.
Would you like to try it yourself?
The Partnership for Jewish Learning and Life, an agency of the Federation of Metrowest New Jersey, is hosting the Great Shofar Blowout on Sunday, September 21st in Whippany, NJ. In an attempt to break the Guinness World Record, 1500 participants will blow shofar in the same place at the same time! JOFA is co-sponsoring this historic event.
But before you can join in the Blowout, you may need to practice. JOFA will be hosting a workshop for women, men, and children who are interested in getting some practical experience; first-timers are welcome! The workshop will be enriched by a shiur, text-based class, which will review sources addressing the permissibility of women blowing shofar. I invite you to join me on Sunday, September 7 at the Mount Freedom Jewish Center in New Jersey, at 10 am, for this exciting event. Bring your personal shofar as you will want to learn the best technique for your instrument!
Rosh Chodesh Elul is almost upon us. The shofar calls out to me with a voice that is strong and unwavering. It is a call that has been heeded by countless generations each year at this time. This year, I will do more than just listen to that call. I intend to feed it with my own strength, my own will and my own breath. I will infuse the shofar call with my own hopes and desires for a fresh start in the New Year, for a greater level of commitment to God, to my people and to my community.
* Note: The issue of women blowing shofar for a mixed congregation, however, is more complex and requires intensive study of the sources; a synopsis is beyond the scope of this posting.
Note: The opinions expressed here are the personal views of the author. All comments on MyJewishLearning are moderated. Any comment that is offensive or inappropriate will be removed. Privacy Policy
Blessing the Shabbat Lights – A "Modern" Jewish Ritual
The quintessential image of home, holiness, and Jewish motherhood is that of a woman blessing the Shabbat candles, performing a ritual we assume has existed since time immemorial. But this assumption is wrong. In fact, it was only nine hundred years ago that, after much debate, lighting the Shabbat lamp came to be defined as a mitzvah—one with its own unique blessing, one that Jewish women took upon themselves.
Because there is no such commandment in the Torah, most rabbis before 1000 CE maintained that lighting the Shabbat lamp was not a mitzvah; it was merely a task women did because they were home and men were in synagogue on Friday afternoon. It was important only because, unless she lit the lamp before sunset, her family would be forced to sit in the dark. And while the Talmud (Tractate Shabbat) meticulously details what kinds of oil and wicks are best to keep the Shabbat lamp from going out, there is no mention of any special ritual for lighting it.
The great French scholar Rashi (1040-1105) took an opposing view. In his commentary on Tractate Shabbat (page 23b) he stated, "By observing the mitzvot of kindling a lamp on Shabbat and Hanukkah, one brings the light of Torah into the world." Yet even if a community accepted that lighting the Shabbat lamp was a mitzvah, should a blessing accompany it? And if so, which one? There is no such blessing mentioned in the Talmud and halakha forbids any non-Talmudic blessings. Because of this, medieval Sephardic women lit their Shabbat lamps in silence.
However during the eleventh century, Ashkenazic women had greater religious status and autonomy than those in Sefarad, so much so that they began to fulfill those mitzvot that only men were obligated to perform, such as blowing shofar, and wearing tefillin and tzitzit. According to Machzor Vitry, a compendium of laws and customs collected by Rashi's students, women took these commandments upon themselves and recited the blessings as well, in the same way that women today have taken on traditionally male mitzvot, instituted new rituals like Bat Mitzvah, and become rabbis and cantors.
Rashi clearly held that kindling the Shabbat lamp was a mitzvah, one that women, as well as men, were obligated to perform. Thus it seems logical that, if women made a blessing when they performed mitzvot from which they were exempt, surely they must recite a blessing if they perform a mitzvah for which they are obligated. Indeed, Rashi's grandson, Rabbeinu Tam, declared that lighting the Shabbat lamp required a blessing.
But creating a new blessing is prohibited, so what prayer should be said? The solution was to take the blessing for lighting the Hanukkah menorah, which was in the Talmud, and substitute "Shabbat" for "Hanukkah." As astonishing as it may seem, the Hanukkah blessing is the original one, a thousand years older than the Shabbat blessing, its derivative.
We know of this new blessing because we have a responsum by Rashi's granddaughter, Hannah, describing the ritual her mother performed. She explained that in Rashi's house, the woman first lit the Shabbat lamp and then recited the benediction, whose words are the same ones we say today. Rabbeinu Tam's decision and his sister Hannah's responsum were so authoritative that within a hundred years, even women in Sefarad were saying this blessing when they kindled Shabbat lights. Maimonides complained about it but admitted that he couldn't prevent women from doing so.
Today, when women (and men) light Shabbat candles, they never imagine that the ritual doesn't come from Sinai, that the blessing was once a source of controversy. And who knows? Maybe nine hundred years in the future Jews will assume that girls have always had a Bat Mitzvah, that women have always studied Talmud, and that there have always been female rabbis.
Note: The opinions expressed here are the personal views of the author. All comments on MyJewishLearning are moderated. Any comment that is offensive or inappropriate will be removed. Privacy Policy
Owning Our Heritage: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
"To celebrate freedom and democracy while forgetting America's origins in a slavery economy is patriotism a' la carte."
A recent article by Ta-Nehisi Coates in the Atlantic Monthly outlines the argument for reparations to be paid to African Americans for the injustices of slavery, and the subsequent economic disadvantage and discrimination they have suffered for more than a century. As convincing as Coates' is regarding the systemic injustice meted through the Jim Crow period, and the way decades old housing discrimination continues to hold back blacks even today, there is one question that nags: "why should I be paying for reparations on something I had nothing to do with?"
I didn't enslave anyone, nor has anyone I know. While my family actually does have ties in the US dating back to the mid-1800s, I have no reason to think they were involved in slavery. On my wife's side, her father immigrated from Germany as a child in the 1950's, and her mother's family fled Russia in the early 1900s. What culpability could we possibly have in the enslavement of Africans from 1619-1865?
Coates answers with this:
A nation outlives its generations. We were not there when Washington crossed the Delaware, but Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze's rendering has meaning to us. We were not there when Woodrow Wilson took us into World War I, but we are still paying out the pensions. If Thomas Jefferson's genius matters, then so does his taking of Sally Hemings's body. If George Washington crossing the Delaware matters, so must his ruthless pursuit of the runagate Oney Judge.
If we are Americans, and we benefit from being American, want to remain American and might even be proud to be American, we need to own the whole thing. We can't take the Constitution without slavery; we can't have 21st century Manhattan without 19th century Mississippi.
And this is exactly what we reenact every year on Tisha B'Av. We sit on the floor, eat ashes and weep. We read Lamentations with its horrific descriptions of the siege of Jerusalem and the city's ultimate destruction. Wanton hatred destroyed one Temple, and lasciviousness destroyed the other. We do this every year, but what did I have to do with the Temple being destroyed? Those weren't my sins. I can't even relate to the concept of there being a functioning Temple, and now I'm expected to feel remorseful and seek atonement for its destruction? I wasn't there! Can't I just have a Passover Seder, read Megillat Esther and dance on Simchat Torah without having this random day of mourning in the middle of the summer?
This idea of complete ownership over our heritage isn't only relevant when considering problematic historical events. The same applies to our relationship to the modern State of Israel. As someone who loves Israel and prays for her future, there are some things I just want nothing to do with, and I think that's true for everyone. Whatever your politics, there are things you love about Israel and things you hate about it. Whether it's Haredim serving in the IDF, bombs falling in Gaza, misogyny in the workplace, income inequality or a myriad of other issues—there is something about Israel that makes you upset. There is something about Israel you wish you could disown. We all have an obligation to work on changing these things, but we don't have the luxury of pretending that the Israel we love and support doesn't include them. We can't have the hike through Ein Gedi without grappling with the armored bus to Ariel. We can't have the yeshivas in Jerusalem and the cafes in Tel Aviv while trying to ignore the conditions in Ramla or the deportations of Ethiopian refugees.
Orthodox Feminists are often asked (from both the left and the right) why we remain Orthodox. If we are so troubled by certain interpretations and applications of halakha, why not just jump ship? Wouldn't it be so much easier to keep the parts we like and drop the parts we don't? The answer is obvious. This is our heritage, and this is our history. We understand that as members of this kehillah, community, we can't ignore the problems. We will remain committed to the halakhic process, while working to fix it, because it is ours—for better or worse.
Tisha b'Av is the time to reflect on the tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people, but not just for the sake of self pity. It is our opportunity to understand how we went down a path towards destruction, and to identify the tikkunim, improvements, we can implement in our own lives to avoid the same fate in the future.
Note: The opinions expressed here are the personal views of the author. All comments on MyJewishLearning are moderated. Any comment that is offensive or inappropriate will be removed. Privacy Policy
Life as a Female Semicha Student
When I was young, I was drawn to the study of Torah as a way to get closer to God and as an answer to questions that arose in the formation of my identity as an observant Jew. Talmudic dialectics demanded of me not to leave my own intellectual integrity on the outskirts of my spiritual explorations. Talmud study also offered a source of enjoyment and an analytic challenge. But after several years of studying Talmud, I wanted more. All my best teachers had invested more than a decade of intensive study in these texts and it was clear to me that I was still at the threshold.
For me, the years at the Drisha Institute in New York were not the end goal but rather, the springboard for further learning—though clearly the years I had invested would already have equipped me with the necessary background to teach Oral Law in high schools and even to teach Talmud in a post high school midrasha, seminary. A similar educational and career trajectory typifies many of my colleagues at Midreshet Lindenbaum's Susi Bradfield Women's Institute for Halakhic Leadership. They were also driven to further learning after completing the Matan Institute for Advanced Talmud, Nishmat's program for Yoatzot Halakha, or Lindenbaum's own training for Rabbinic Court Advocates—all of these frameworks enabling women to explore in depth various areas of Jewish tradition, ancient, medieval and modern.
In my opinion, just as in houses of prayer there must be windows—so too, houses of study, the beit midrash, must be an open space, and not just open towards heaven. As distinct from my academic study of Talmud, wherein I was required to track the various manuscripts of a text in musty basement libraries aided by microfiche technology—my training in applied Rabbinic rulings meant dealing with people and on behalf of people with an awareness of them as holy vessels. The voices from the outside that enter the beit midrash of halakhic learning are not viewed as intrusions into the turf of a silent library, nor are they an intellectual threat of anachronistic data suspect of disturbing the sterility of an historical context. Rather, they are perceived as an invitation to further conversation—to a connection between the texts and the street, between the Torah and the marketplace. It is in this connective window space where Torah achieves its greatest relevance and vibrancy.
Obstacles to Study
At first, the obstacles to the study of halakha are technical: Aramaic, decoding acronyms and abbreviations, broad knowledge of Talmudic concepts and terms, reading between the lines in texts that take for granted numerous unstated assumptions, and texts that often express themselves in purposely cryptic or laconic language. Though the process of zooming in to minutiae in every clause and paragraph is wearying and painstaking, it allows us to subsequently zoom out to a glorious landscape wherein one can see the intricate fabric of halakhic discourse and the interconnectedness of seemingly disparate spheres of halakhic writing. After being exposed to this broad and systemic study of halakha, one also becomes aware of how artificial a confined study of the laws of Niddah, family purity, or any other "tunnel visioned" area of law can be. The narrow study of one area to the exclusion of a broader curriculum will not allow for a deep understanding of the factors, possibilities, and tools that are available to a posek, decisor of halakha.
I can't point to a specific moment when this occurs, but there is a time when the challenges of halakhic study shift from the technical to the essential and the personal, and the student of halakha moves from a passive recipient to an active participant. In similar fashion to the way in which an artist or a parent moves from mere involvement to utter identification, so too, the seeker of Torah moves to a place where the Torah begins to demand responsibility on the part of her disciples. One asks relentless questions, the way one would allow one's self to demand of a close relative: Why is there a ritual vacuum here? How could he say this? The difficulty is no longer textual; it is substantive. The tear is not a contradiction between two sources but rather a rip in the textured fabric of a cherished cloth that I myself have participated in weaving.
In thinking about Torah study, we speak in terms of revelation, and we use metaphors like "the hammer splitting a rock." Basic assumptions are constantly getting shattered and rebuilt in a slow and reflective process not unlike labor contractions that lead to birth.
For me, this is the meaning of Torah becoming my own, of owning it—that remarkable process in which ownership leads to a sense of responsibility to respond to the ethical challenges of the time while remaining attentive to the doubts and questions of the generations of students who came before us—who endeavored to clarify the illusive Divine will.
Semicha for Women
As distinct from the written tests that often typify those of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate for semicha, rabbinic ordination, our written tests do not just demand a retention and expulsion of the material. I am expected to have internalized the material and to add my own thinking; my study was supposed to be transformative. Even though the heads of the program say that the five years of study are required in order to make allowance for mothers who want to be at home when their children return from school, I think the five years are a necessary gestation period for the processes I'm describing. Even in the age of fast internet, there are some things that need to slow cook, to percolate.
I actually understand the concerns of rabbis like Rabbi Yaakov Ariel, who are worried about the lack of a "nigun shel masoret," music of tradition, in women's Torah learning. But I also think this may be an advantage. As a woman, at least sociologically, I am an outsider to the discourse. But this is precisely what gives me empathy for and sensitivity toward the others who need to carve out a route of entry—like converts and the newly observant. There are also certain things that can only be perceived from the outside, or from the other side of the mechitza. Coming from the outside provides new perspective.
Just as the Chief Rabbinate refused to let a fourteen year old prodigy take the tests for the rabbinate because there is no substitute for life experience in training a rabbinic leader for the mediation between text and life, so too, there are areas of human experience that being a woman allows myself and my colleagues to experience differently. We bring a fuller spectrum of life experience into halakhic leadership. The fact that my colleagues also come from various academic and career backgrounds—ranging from social work to theatre to advocacy and mediation—only amplifies our potential contributions to halakhic discourse.
A friend recently shared her insight with me that the issue is not so much a glass ceiling as it is that of obstacles on the path and an unequal point of departure. The fact that the present Israeli Chief Rabbinate does not recognize our learning toward semicha and that of our musmachot, graduates, toward dayanut, impacts on our ability to serve communities and institutions in various capacities. The impediments are social and political rather than halakhic. The forward vision of Rabbi Riskin and of the Women's Institute for Halakhic Leadership to train women for positions that don't yet exist is a testimony to the power of dreams. The passion, commitment, and deep religiosity of the women and the inexorable forces of rapid social change promise to combine in furthering the realization of that dream.
This article was originally published in Hebrew in Makor Rishon. It has been translated and reprinted with the author's permission.
Note: The opinions expressed here are the personal views of the author. All comments on MyJewishLearning are moderated. Any comment that is offensive or inappropriate will be removed. Privacy Policy


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Caps OT: Breaking down the defensive lines for the Rangers series
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And then turned on its. -- It will quickly go through the defense pairings here. I'll just get -- six because it's looking like McDonough and Girardi are gonna go after top pairing. We'll go with -- tells Otto and strong men on the second pairing and then and injured more on the third. The caps we know the caps assaulting her green which to me it was significant switch. For this coaching staff to go away from the Carl author and John Carlson. Second hang up Erskine. And Carlson and then Helen and LSD which no one probably two months ago would have expected -- to be here they're pairing in the playoffs. Why you know you've got one group in Washington Capitals that can move the puck so much better and then the Rangers as far as skating the puck up the ice stretch passes. First passes entries on passes to get out of the zone. Or exit passes I should say that you know that that they've figured out how to control their gap Mike Green. Best defenseman in the series phenomenal players excellent talent. It can really control the game. Is that a lot of there's been a lot of collaboration with the coaching staff this year to make it more complete player. He's getting involved offensively but not higher risk he's shooting the puck. Which makes him a weapon all the sudden you've got to play him on your heels a little bit as a defensive unit. You know you go over to the other side and your exact their -- and Alexi swap if you want. Opening -- gets hurt comes back and then offensive force them last month through the month of April getting shots through the front that playing with a real scrappy guys the velocity. One of the Beckham's best stories in National Hockey League all season long makes things happen. Just what I get a you know John Erskine. Have so much better with him -- this system is perfect for John Erskine and he's a great go to guy. For John Carlson can calm him down keep you from getting the upset and force him to shoot the puck all the big heavy shots. Now I gotta go over the Rangers finally and you know what they know how to play the game and John -- but it picked up next on the street I've seen this guy in the American Hockey League all star game lets him play American League games. I think is an excellent players that he's going to be got its going to be noticed that this playoff series at. An excellent skater. -- high draft pick. He's finding his -- a lot of times you until you change teams if you're struggling and it's and the team -- struggled in a certain degree go to a place for -- good coaching. You feel good about yourself and I've really seen him play -- better game with the Rangers. Steve amateur together this scrappy battles continue to get contract after contract in the National Hockey League so. He's got to be doing something right he is competitive in the corners in front that not a pretty hockey player. You know so. He's like that Alexi category doesn't fight but he's a guy that does what has -- -- play the game. But they're before they're all what defense -- they're all about grinding out front of that blocking shots playing hard reporters heavy hitters Girardi hits every shift. He blocked shots every shift. Very good defense not pretty not fancy not a great skater not. You know. -- danger with the puck so much but he knows how to play the game excellent leadership out of him every game -- we kind of put him on the map in Washington last year the way he played -- playoff series. He's a -- this kind of struggle with some injuries so we they've got to go after him. And then bills -- it can be an offensive force to be sitting back this year I thought he would not allow more. And you know but he's he's playing that defense itself that the Rangers have struggled with all season long. And strong -- again another guy that's under rated for what he does. Gets the job done quick passes. Can do more offensively guys that got step up in big games. You know it's going to be a tough battle here and all depends who imposes their will with -- the capitals decide they want puck possession. They're gonna have the edge if the Rangers. Who put the fore check on I think they've got here so it's going to be dictated how they come out in the opening game who's who's gonna have the advantage because people are strong in what they do now. Both defense of course aren't enough to -- to push them back and. CSN Washington dot com.

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The Marcus Amphitheater has many events throughout the year, with the highlight being Summerfest in July. These events range from, theatrical plays, comedy and concerts. Most famously the music venue is known for its concerts as the stage and seating immerse the audience in the act.


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ok, I know from what ive read that polygonal barrels have higher vel. readings due to less gas escaping and they last longer, but I couldn't find a str8 forward answer on which is more accurate in a rifle, I figured some seasoned guys on here can probly give me the str8 forward answer im lookin for,, which barrel would make a rifle more accurate??????????
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The only thing I have found that polygonal rifled barrels have that the others do not is the lack of ability of using lead slugs. I've seen no added accuracy. In fact the biggest user of such rifeling is used in Combat handguns that are not known to be tack drivers.
The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. Thomas Jefferson
It makes me wonder why Marlin added the Micro-Groove to their rifles?http://www.leverguns.com/articles/fryxell/microgrove-barrels.htm
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It is like saying Chevy motors are better than Ford or Dodge. They are just different.
Marlin is kinda funny, they made their reputation with Ballard rifling then switched to 'micro groove'.
Just like anything else you can likely find those that swear by it and those that swear at it.
Just walking on the edge of of my grave.
I find it hilarious people jump all over themselves fighting to get a pre remington marlin with the microgroove. The ballard style works muuuuuch better with the 405 bullets and is the same as a microgroove with the 300-350 bullets.
Marlin switched to microgroove as a cost saver which led to decreased sales due to poor accuracy with most 45-70 loads. When freeeom got em they retooled to ballard style in the old old marlin way producing superior barrels...
The new marlin 45-70 is what i consider a sleeper gun that a lottttt of folks are cutting off their nose to avoid.
The problem with polygon rifling is it creates very very high pressures in a normally safe cartridge. Thats why glocks go kaboom more often than other handguns when a oopsie cartridge makes it through inspection. Glocks that convert to standard rifling dont have a kaboom issue.
When you step up the pressures to rifle cartridges you start turning firearms into grenades. Thats why you dont see much poly rifling.
"Gun control: The theory that a woman found dead in an alley, raped and strangled with her panty hose, is somehow morally superior to a woman explaining to police how her attacker got that fatal bullet wound." L. Neil Smith
The problem with being stupid is you cannot simply decide to stop doing dumb things...
"I crapped my pants to avoid the draft!!" -Ted Nugent
My AR pistol has a BHW poly barrel. Can't say that I have tried to wring out the accuracy of that 7" barrel. I will tho' . . . all in good time.
I like the idea of a good gas seal and it's easy on the plated bullets.
Black Hole can be found at http://blackholeweaponry.com/
My pistol build is at http://www.firearmstalk.com/forums/f20/ar-picture-thread-83/index77.html#post1310243
HK's have gone kB!, but polygonal rifling didn't have anything to do with it.
If you have a gun with a high pressure cartridge and an unsupported case head, sooner or later it's gonna cause problems, even with underloaded factory ammo.
Most kB! are improperly loaded hand loads and a lot of them are way over pressure specs, which is why hand loading requires a lot more effort than most people put into it for it to be as consistent and reliable as factory ammo.
Yes, because the engraving process produces more force in polygonally rifled bores, the pressure is a little higher. It's still not that high. As for increased velocity, any velocity increase, like the pressure increase, will be marginal at best.
The quality of the barrel, and most importantly its heat treatment, has a lot more to do with the longevity of a rifled bore than anything else. The best barrel steel in the world is relatively easy to ruin with a poor quality heat treatment.
There's no significant difference in bore erosion between polygonal and land/groove rifled barrels. Almost all barrels that are worn out will have worn out throats and muzzles before erosion of the bore is a significant factor in the accuracy of the gun.
Basically, either is just fine for general purpose shooting. Most competitive target shooters I know or have encountered use conventionally rifled pistols and rifles. There's no reason why either form of rifling could not produce superb accuracy, but the cost of polygonal rifling generally prohibits all but the largest manufacturers from using it and it is mostly used for applications where cost is a major factor, like production of military/law enforcement pistols and rifles is concerned. They produce a lot of barrels, so the cold hammer forging machines are the way to go.


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While many home improvement projects may be beyond your reach, there are quite a few things that you can do yourself, once you understand what you are doing. Use the tips contained in this article to better understand your role in your home improvement projects.
When you reroof, be sure to use a light colored or white shingle or tile. Light colors reflect sunlight, as opposed to dark colors which absorb them. This reflection reduces the amount of heat that accumulates in your attic. This can save you a good deal on monthly cooling and heating bills.
Install weather stripping on the doors and windows to make your house more energy efficient. This fix costs next to nothing, and it makes your home much more comfortable. Not to mention, it saves you money. The difference will also be pleasantly noticeable.
If you are going to put in any paneling, paint some stripes on the walls. No matter how careful you are when installing paneling, the old wall still peeks through. To minimize this, try to measure where the panels meet prior to installing it. Paint strips on the wall using paint color which better matches the paneling color.
Prioritize the home improvement projects you would like to do and pick the most important room to work on first. There's no reason you have to tear up every room in your home simultaneously; it can be easier and more affordable to go room-by-room. If you make your plans in advance, you can incorporate significant bargains into the process. Long-term planning can help you achieve great home improvement results on a modest budget.
When thinking about home improvement, there are a number of different things involved in the project itself. Understanding, planning and preparing can help your project succeed, but you need helpful related advice for your particular job. The tiny bits of advice and guidance found throughout these paragraphs should be enough to launch you on the right path, and keep you straight as you proceed.


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- Rated 4.57 / 5 stars
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- 20,485 Plays | 2,013 Downloads
- Share Links:
- Genres:
- Electronic - Drum N Bass
- None
Author Comments
Rated 4.5 / 5 stars
Superdupersexy drums bro! :D
I love how much you're improving, especially your drums. And your synths. And everything. Just that.
And your pianos! Love em! And the difference in dynamics between the chorus and breakdown are just amazing. FINISHZ DIS NAOW! :D
I am improving then? PHEW thank god. I always try new things when mixing, and I wasn't 100% sure if I was going in the right direction lately.
Will finish.
Rated 4 / 5 stars
aaah finally a serious track by or4nges, i almost thought you lost your awesome spirit you showed us in the track "only sometimes" :D
ok here my preview:
awesome drums! (seriously creative!!!, it sounds fucking crispy :D)
great ending
0:48 - 1:10 dunno, the sound just doesn't fit in my ears... it sounds like it wants to be epic,... in a dubstep track (wich just can't fit in my taste). maybe a different sound might help, 'cause the rythm sounds fine...
quality: 2/2,5
taste: 2/2,5
stars: 4/5 finish this track :)
I kind agree with you. :48's been bugging me, but I wasn't sure if it was just because i'd been working on it so much. Honestly i'll probably rework that entire section.
That's the reason I post here, to get second opinions :D.
Rated 4 / 5 stars
Aaroca sends out Review!
Review used analyse!
Songs weaknesses were revealed...
Nuffa dat. Anywho, so far I like this, and I'd like to see the finished product soon.
Have a four.
Be awesome to get Awesome Points!!
It shall be done.
Rated 5 / 5 stars
Solid song, sir. I'm liking the drums.
Why thankyou, sir.
Rated 4.5 / 5 stars
Nice song! Though i wonder, did some part of the melody come from waste of space or is it just me? It just seems so vaguely familiar.
Caught me red handed. Sometimes i'll play around with a certain melody to see how it'll work in different songs. It's not identical, but it is kind of similar.


text:
El Ten Eleven
Michna, Nude Pop
2100 South Preston Street
Louisville, KY, 40217
Doors 8:00 PM / Show 9:00 PM (event ends at 11:59 PM)
This event is 21 and over
"I really hope people don't say that we are a math rock band!" doubleneck guitar/bass virtuoso Kristian Dunn exclaims while discussing his duo, El Ten Eleven's, new album Transitions. Acoustic and electronic drummer Tim Fogarty adds, "We get labeled all kinds of things from post-rock to ambient to experimental... all of those make us cringe. So far my personal favorite label for the band has been 'Power Duo'... it's kind of ridiculous but I like it."
Despite the absence of lyrics, their latest release, their fifth studio full-length album, may be the most personal to date. "Tim and I have been through a lot in the past couple of years," Dunn reflects. "We've both been divorced, moved to different cities, Tim went through some really dark times, I got remarried and had a kid … for a while things were uncertain and we threw ourselves into the new record and it called for more than just short pop structures."
Thus, the title track, "Transitions," which clocks in at over ten minutes long, is a twisting journey of sublime unpredictability. But the band's ability to write catchy, emotional hooks hasn't been lost.
"The problem I have with most math rock bands or prog rock bands is that they are usually just showing off for other musicians. 'Ooh! Look what I can do!' We're just not interested in that. We want girls to come to our shows, too!"
And they do. The band has been touring almost non-stop for the last eight years. 2012 has already seen them headline their own tours as well as play big festivals such as Capitol Hill Block Party, Camp Bisco, Osheaga and more.
Armed with merely a doubleneck bass/guitar, drums and a dizzying array of foot pedals, the band creates complex, deeply felt music, from scratch, onstage, with no help from laptops, click tracks or additional musicians. They utilize multiple looping pedals to create songs that sound as though they are being played by at least six people. Most first-timers to an El Ten Eleven show are stunned that the band is a duo.
Growing up in both NY and Miami, Michna (real name: Adrian Michna) is that unique breed of artist that draws from both the urban and the tropical. As a youngster, Adrian started DJing parties with cassettes and playing trombone in a band on the NYC bar circuit including the infamous Lion's Den and CBGB's.
After moving to Miami in the mid-90's, he co-founded the pioneering Secret Frequency Crew, who deftly mixed instrumental hip-hop and electronic into a coherent whole. Their appropriately titled 12" "Miami Eyes," became an underground hit and caught the attention of a then-unknown Diplo who would ask him for production work. SFC's debut LP "Forest of the Echo Downs" also put Adrian on Ghostly's radar as it was one of label founder Sam Valenti IV's top LPs in 2004.
Currently based in Brooklyn NY, Adrian Michna (aka DJ Egg Foo Young) has become a staple in the NYC club scene, known for his chameleon like abilities. Outside of the club, he has been able to pursue a few hobbies such as building furniture, bicycles, photography, skeeball, and gloss lustre collages. While working on his solo album, he also found time to remix the mysterious Jandek (the only artist ever to do so) and produce on Brazilian group Bonde Do Role's debut LP for Domino/Mad Decent.
It seems Adrian has found his stride as a solo artist, bringing together his myriad influences into a succinct sonic personage. His debut LP "Magic Monday" and the elevating single "Triple Chrome Dipped" are works of distinction and taste, getting asses on the floor in style.
Nude Pop
NUDE POP is a band from Spokane, Washington. Formerly called NUDE, they are the 2012 winners of EMP's "Sound Off!" competition. They will be recording and releasing their debut EP this March.
"Within their transformative and invigorating mass of swirling sound, this quartet enfolds the listener in a profoundly intimate experience... we dare you not to feel anything." - Experience Music Project Soundboard
Who's Going
Upcoming Events
Fri, March 27
Jack Holiday & the Westerners, Hounds and Horns, Patson - One Man Band
Sat, March 28
The Black Cadillacs
Wed, April 8
The Suffers
Thu, April 9
Chuck Prophet & The Mission Express
Sun, April 12
The Delta Saints, Lionize
Tue, April 14
Wed, April 15
Communion Louisville Ft. Hey Rosetta!
Sun, April 19
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
Fri, April 24
Those Darlins
Sat, April 25
Sean Rowe


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Thu March 15, 2012
When A Normal Job Resignation Won't Do
By Chris Arnold
When Greg Smith quit his job at Goldman Sachs, he slammed his former employer in a blistering newspaper essay. People don't often quit with such a public display of vitriol. But when they do, it certainly gets attention.


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Cowden Junction is a populated place located in Washita County at latitude 35.291 and longitude -98.711.
The elevation is 1,598 feet. Cowden Junction appears on the Colony U.S. Geological Survey Map. Washita County is in the Central Time Zone (UTC -6 hours).
Washita County: Cities & Towns | ZIP Codes | Schools | Features (airports, churches, hospitals, etc.)
BIG Map |
Driving Directions |
Data Source - USGS GNIS FID: 1100329
BOUNDARY MAPS: Northeast Washita Division | Washita County
Cowden Junction, OK
(< 0.1 mile)
Cowden, OK (3.1 miles S)
Colony, OK (4.5 miles NNE)
Corn, OK (7.2 miles NNW)
Alfalfa, OK (7.7 miles SE)
Cloud Chief, OK
(7.9 miles WSW)
Eakly, OK (8.8 miles E)
Swan Lake, OK (11.7 miles ESE)
Lake Valley, OK (12.1 miles SW)
Mountain View, OK (13.5 miles S)


text:
NEW ORLEANS -- Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell today visited an offshore drilling rig and production platform in the Gulf of Mexico, capping a 2-day visit to the Department's regional offices that oversee oil and gas development in federal waters. Earlier, Secretary Jewell met with Interior employees, praising them for their professionalism and commitment to their mission, including safe and responsible energy development and Gulf Coast restoration.
Jewell noted the role oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico plays in our nation's energy landscape, and said that her department would, "continue to work with industry to ensure that these resources are developed safely and responsibly, while also delivering a fair return to the American taxpayer, businesses and communities."
Jewell was accompanied by Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) Director Jim Watson and a BSEE Gulf Region inspector on the visits, which included seeing firsthand LLOG's drilling operations onboard the ENSCO 8502 rig, approximately 120 mi southeast of New Orleans. There she observed a cementing operation for a production well and was briefed on LLOG's development plan for the area.
Jewell then visited Chevron's deepest producing facility, a semi-submersible platform, located in 6,500 ft water depth approximately 125 mi southeast of New Orleans. There she toured the production equipment and discussed Chevron's deepwater strategy for exploration and development in the Gulf of Mexico.
In speaking to employees on Thursday, including Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and BSEE employees, Jewell thanked them for their work to implement the most significant drilling and safety reforms in U.S. history following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon tragedy.
In 2012, the Interior approved 112 new deepwater well permits in the Gulf , the most since 2005, and more rigs are now operating there than before Deepwater Horizon. Under a new 5-year program for offshore leasing, more than 75% of the total undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources estimated on the OCS were made available for exploration and development. Fifteen potential lease sales are scheduled for the 2012-17 period, including 12 in the Gulf and three offshore Alaska.
The most recent Gulf lease sale in March offered 39 million acres, attracting more than $1.2 billion in high bids. The 20-million-acre sale held last November netted nearly $134 million. A third sale in August will offer 21 million acres offshore Texas, making all unleased areas in the Western Planning Area available for development.
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Living in a globalised world
Using the US and Mexico as the main example, this unit examines how inequalities in...
Using the US and Mexico as the main example, this unit examines how inequalities in access to material wealth can lead to border tensions. You will also learn how many developed economies are now reliant on immigrant labour to perform jobs that their own citizens do not want to consider. How equal is the globalised world?
After studying this unit you should be able to:
- understand some of the key ways in which globalisation is shaping the world today;
- give examples of how ideas of 'proximity' and 'distance' can be used to understand an increasingly demanding world;
- illustrate the importance of recognising the liveliness of the natural world.
- Duration 12 hours
- Updated Monday 25th July 2011
- Intermediate level
- Posted under Sociology
- Current section: Introduction
- Learning outcomes
- 1 From global factories over there …
- 2 While watching the video
- References
- Module team
- Acknowledgements
Living in a globalised world
This unit interrogates the idea of a globalised world by showing how inequalities in access to material wealth and expectations of lifestyle, which have been created historically between the US and Mexico, produces border tensions as Mexicans seek entry to the US to do jobs that resident American citizens will not undertake for the wages offered. It is particularly relevant currently in the context of debates about free trade and movement of workforce to where they could find work, and that many developed economies in particular at the moment are reliant on immigrant labour to work in areas in which their own citizens will not.
This unit is an adapted extract from the Open University course Living in a globalised world (DD205). [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)]
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text:
- New malware program used in attacks against energy sector companies
- Tanium's fast-acting endpoint management tool grows up
- Facebook tracks all site vistors, violating EU law, report says
- Tanium pulls down $52M more venture capital for endpoint platform
- Anonymous proxies now used in a fifth of DDOS attacks
mozilla - News, Features, and Slideshows
mozilla in pictures
Microsoft blacklists latest rogue SSL certificates, Mozilla mulls sanctions for issuer
Microsoft has blacklisted a subordinate CA certificate that was wrongfully used to issue SSL certificates for several Google websites. The action will prevent those certificates from being used in Google website spoofing attacks against Internet Explorer users.
Google catches bad digital certificates from Egyptian company
Google said Monday an Egyptian company issued digital certificates that could have been used to intercept data traffic to its services, which did not appear to have been abused.
All major browsers hacked at Pwn2Own contest
Security researchers who participated in the Pwn2Own hacking contest this week demonstrated remote code execution exploits against the top four browsers, and also hacked the widely used Adobe Reader and Flash Player plug-ins.
Mozilla tackles parallel JavaScript
Mozilla is pursuing parallelism for JavaScript in an attempt to fully leverage available hardware capabilities.
Firefox OS coming to US, developed markets in 2016
Firefox OS, the smartphone operating system from Mozilla targeted at low-cost smartphones in emerging markets, is coming to more developed markets.
Quick tips for speeding up Mozilla Firefox
Read on if you've ever been frustrated by slow performance in Firefox.
Install the latest Firefox 3.6.6 in Ubuntu Linux
Firefox 3.6.6 with crash protection is now available, and according to Mozilla it "provides uninterrupted browsing for Windows and Linux users when there is a crash in the Adobe Flash, Apple Quicktime or Microsoft Silverlight plugins.
Microsoft's ambivalence about Office on the Web gives Apple shot with iWork on iCloud
Almost as an afterthought, Apple has announced it was working on browser-based versions of its iWork productivity applications, a move one analyst said challenged Microsoft's Office behemoth.
Who ratted out Microsoft on browser ballot absence?
No Microsoft browser rival would comment on, much less confirm, that it reported the omission of the browser ballot to European antitrust regulators -- an omission that led to a $732 million fine this week against Microsoft.
Firefox: Five years in the open source hen house
On its fifth birthday, Firefox must be considered both an incredible success and somewhat of a failure. The open source Web browser is a great product and quite an achievement, but has not tremendously advanced the cause of "free" software.
Firefox hits 1 billion downloads -- so what's next?
Mozilla's Firefox Web browser has just hit a new milestone, reaching its 1 billionth user download.
Firefox 3.5 can still learn from its competition
While Mozilla lights a fire under competing browsers with support of emerging Web standards with Firefox 3.5, it can still improve its performance, reliability, and usability.
- SDN Q and A: Juniper Networks managing director A/NZ, Nathan McGregor
- Inabox launches integrated Anittel
- Connector Systems adds SecurEnvoy to security arsenal
- SDN Q&A: Oracle senior principal product director, infrastructure software, Doan Nguyen
- SDN Q&A: Dimension Data, general manager, networks, Paul O'Donohoe


text:
10 Celebrities Who Used to Be Bike Messangers
By Caitlin Giddings
If these stories are any indication, the road to stardom leads straight through the delivery elevator. Check out which 10 celebrities started their ca
Are you a runner? Hiker? Foodie? Team sport fanatic? Whatever your sport of choice is, why not get your family involved? From fun things to do with your kids to nutritious eating, use this guide to create healthy habits and encourage family fitness.
More Family Fitness Tips, Training & Advice
Articles & Advice


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I spent there 3 nights while waiting for my Visa to DR Congo.
Downtown is quite far and arond the hotel there is nothing really interesting. So you need a cab all the times.
Food is basic, breakfast wasn't really attractive.
Rooms are just OK.
During the three days there were two large groups of people for workshops or conferences. Hotel was crowded and noisy.
Drinks are too expensive too.
- Reservation Options:
- TripAdvisor is proud to partner with Expedia, Hotels.com, Travelocity, Booking.com, Hotel.de, Despegar.com, Odigeo, TripOnline SA and Tingo so you can book your Silver Springs Hotel reservations with confidence. We help millions of travelers each month to find the perfect hotel for both vacation and business trips, always with the best discounts and special offers.


text:
I am studying journalism and social science, living i Copenhagen - which I love. Apart from that I love travelling (South America, Asia, the US and Europe), going out in the nightlife, sports - especially football, reading good books (Murakami and Yalom among the favourites), eating amazing food, drinking good wine and beer and of course spending time with my girlfriend, friends and my funny family. And as a freelance journalist - I am a news junkie.
Favourite quotes: "Du kan ikke tænke, hvis du er sikker på, at du har ret" - english: "You can't think if you are certain you are right" by Mensch


text:
Book your room at Strand Hotel Terme Delfini
Economy Double RoomMax Occupancy: 4 guests (up to 3 children, 1 infant)
Standard RoomMax Occupancy: 4 guests (up to 3 children, 1 infant)
Deluxe Double RoomMax Occupancy: 4 guests (up to 3 children, 1 infant)
On private beach with a sauna, near Aragonese Castle
Nestled on the beach, this Ischia Ponte hotel is within 1 mi (2 km) of Guevara Tower and Aragonese Castle. Pescatori Beach and Cartaromana Beach are also within 1 mi (2 km).
Hotel Features
Guests of this beach hotel will appreciate convenient onsite amenities such as a health club and a sauna.
Room Amenities
All 30 soundproofed rooms feature 24-hour room service and minibars. Other amenities available to guests include balconies, satellite TV, and refrigerators.Information missing or incorrect? Tell us!
Hotel Amenities
Hotel Amenities
Simply step outside to unwind on the hotel's beach. After a day at the beach, enjoy amenities at Strand Hotel Terme Delfini like an outdoor pool, an indoor pool, and a health club.
Guests can enjoy a complimentary breakfast. The hotel offers a restaurant. A bar/lounge is on site where guests can unwind with a drink. High-speed wired and wireless Internet access is complimentary. This beach hotel also offers a sauna, a rooftop terrace, and a garden. Limited complimentary onsite parking is available on a first-come, first-served basis.
- 24-hour front desk
- Airport transportation (surcharge)
- Total number of rooms - 30
- Number of floors - 3
- Bar/lounge
- Barbecue grill(s)
- Free breakfast
- Concierge services
- Dry cleaning/laundry service
- Elevator/lift
- Express check-in
- Express check-out
- Turkish bath/Hammam
- Rooftop terrace
- Luggage storage
- Health club
- Babysitting or childcare
- Laundry facilities
- Garden
- Spa treatment room(s)
- Multilingual staff
- On private beach
- Restaurant
- Safe-deposit box at front desk
- Free self parking
- Sauna
- Indoor pool
- Outdoor pool
- Television in lobby
- Free WiFi
- Free wired high-speed Internet
- Parking (limited spaces)
Family Friendly Amenities
- On private beach
- Outdoor pool
- Indoor pool
- Free Wi-Fi
- Soundproofed rooms
- Laundry facilities
- Babysitting or childcare
- Refrigerator
Available in some public areas: Free WiFi , Free wired high-speed Internet
Free self parking, Parking (limited spaces)
Room Amenities
- Pay movies
- Balcony
- Air conditioning
- Climate control
- Phone
- Refrigerator
- Minibar
- Private bathroom
- Bathrobes
- Hair dryer
- In-room massage available
- Shower/tub combination
- Bidet
- Satellite TV service
- In-room safe
- Desk
- Cribs/infant beds available
- Blackout drapes/curtains
- Soundproofed rooms
- Free newspaper
- Room service (24 hours)
Where to Eat
Guests are offered a complimentary buffet breakfast.
Ristorante I Delfini - This beachfront restaurant specializes in Italian cuisine and serves lunch and dinner.
24-hour room service is available.
Nearby Things to Do
A private beach and a health club are featured at the hotel. An indoor pool and an outdoor pool are on site. Other recreational amenities include a sauna.
The recreational activities listed below are available either on site or nearby; fees may apply.
- Surfing/boogie boarding nearby
- Sailing nearby
- Bicycle rentals on site
- Scooter/moped rentals on site
Hotel Policies
Check-in time starts at 2 PM
Check-out time is 11 AM
Payment types
Pets allowed
You need to know
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on hotel policy.
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card or cash deposit are required at check-in for incidental charges.
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges. Special requests cannot be guaranteed.
- A tax is imposed by the city: EUR 1.5 per person, per night. This tax does not apply to children under 19 years of age.
We should mention
Cash transactions at this property cannot exceed EUR 999.99, due to national regulations. For further details, please contact the property using information in the booking confirmation.


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The customer service is superb! Responses to questions are prompt, the packaging is secure, and the delivery times are lightning quick. Pricing for...Read More ->
I feel like a bum because I haven't written about MJM's amazing service yet- and I've ordered a lot from this site. It's the only site I use to...Read More ->


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The UKIPT hosts the £1,000,000 Guaranteed UKIPT Main Event at the world famous Dusk Till Dawn Poker Club. Join the action from April 12-19, 2015.
The ESPT and UKIPT are joining forces once again for another massive tournament festival at the Casino Marbella from June 15-21, 2015.
The UKIPT heads to the England's West Country for another unforgettable festival from August 6-9, 2015.
The home of PokerStars welcome players from across the world and some of the game's biggest names from October 1-4, 2015.
Join the region's biggest poker tour as it heads north of the border from November 19-22, 2015.
The PokerStars UKIPT London festival will run from January 20-25, 2015, and will attract the best players from across the UK, Ireland and beyond.
» Results
Please Note: We reserve the right to change, amend or alter any portion of the above schedule. All tournaments may have a day added or subtracted at Tournament Director discretion.