And A Goat: We are now cautiously and fearfully watching the antisemitism spreading through our country's universities - including UNM.
Students, faculty, and administration. And it's not "just" about Israel (as if that would be OK). It's very clearly about us. The Jews.
And yet we are enjoying Chol HaMoed Pesach - the holiday's intermediate days - and looking forward (see April 2022's What? Nachshon Again?) to the closing days next week. Abq Jew offers two things to think about.
1. Miracles Await Us
As Abq Jew mentioned a couple of weeks ago (see A Great White Horse), he has been rereading Winter's Tale, Mark Helprin's big, BIG "magic realism" novel of 1983.
Here is a quote from the book - about the Pillar of Fire that we Israelites followed in the desert - that reminds us to think BIG. G-d is with us.
"Do you believe," Virginia asked, "that a pillar of fire actually rose in the desert?"
"No," Hardesty answered. "I don't believe that. I believe that the account of the pillar of fire was merely a metaphor, but for something so much greater and more powerful than just a pillar of fire, that the image, for all its beauty, doesn't even begin to do it justice."
2. Justice Will Come
One little goat - that Father bought for two zuzim - teaches us that actions have consequences. Chad Gadya is a light-hearted, playful song that reminds us that G-d rules the world.
Then the Holy One, Blessed be He, came and slaughtered the angel of death
who slaughtered the butcher who slaughtered the ox that drank the water that put out the fire that burned the stick that bit the dog that bit the cat that ate the goat that my father bought for two zuzim. One little goat, one little goat.
Passover Is Almost Here: A time to gather with our friends and family, to celebrate our Holiday of Freedom. And freedom, we must realize, is never - ever - to be taken lightly.
Neither should friends and family be taken lightly. And yes, Abq Jew reiterates this especially in light of the hideous attack by the Islamic Republic of Iran on the State of Israel. As South African author Howard Feldman has noted:
Saturday night? We haven't slept well - or hardly at all - since October 7th. Alas, there will be empty places at our Seder tables this year.
And thus ,as we approach Passover 2024 / Pesach 5784, we carry on. In the now-famous words of every Jewish Bubbe and Zayde in the world:
They tried to kill us.
They failed.
Let's eat!
And what would Passover be without videos? Abq Jew here thoughtfully provides three (3) of the classics. You're welcome!
For parents who (especially) miss their kids on Pesach.
Who know that Skype is never enough.
And as the Seders approach, Abq Jew must (he must! he must!) take this opportunity to remind us all that Good News, Salvation and Comfort are just one (1) Pesach visitor away.
Tonight Could Be The Night!
At our Pesach seders
we Jews have been opening our doors to Elijah for thousands of years.
We still believe that Elijah the Prophet will return tonight
and announce the Coming of the Messiah.
When that happens, our first question will be:
Did Elijah remember to send out a press release?
If he did — you may learn the Good News in a few days or weeks.
But you can always hear about Salvation and Comfort at
AbqJew.net&AbqJew.com
Your guide to Jewish life in Albuquerque and beyond
No Rapture + No Apocalypse: The BIG NEWS, of course, is about the Solar Eclipse of April 8, 2024. Which was like totally viewable over much of North America, but NOT in Albuquerque!
Nope! The Duke City averages about 372 sunny days per year. Which is one reason why Mr & Mrs Abq Jew love it here! But on Monday, it was cloudy.
But never mind! Here is what the eclipse looked like at totality.
Abq Jew must point out (he must! he must!) to all the amateur and professional photographers out there that no matter where on Earth you viewed it from or whose camera you used to get the shot, this is what the eclipse looked like at totality.
There was, alas, no Rapture recorded, at least as far as Abq Jew - who remained at home, on Earth, indoors - could tell.
Which means that Abq Jew in all likelihood wasted $12.99 on the paperback edition (only $2.99 on Kindle!) of
How to Profit from the Coming Rapture
Getting Ahead When You're Left Behind
But maybe not. The first edition was published in 2008, but the wise advice it offers remains true today. And tomorrow. And even on Tuesday, April 23,when the Rapture is again on the schedule.
Yes, that's the First Day of Passover, aka the Second Seder, which leaves us all wondering how many places to set at our table.
And before the Eclipse and the Rapture, there was the Earthquake. The Great New York City Earthquake of April 5, 2024. Which, like oh so many "Great NYC" events, actually took place in New Jersey, the Garden State.
Please excuse Abq Jew (or not) - but he grew up in California, the Golden State. 4.8 on the Richter Scale is barely enough to waken you from a light nap. Hiding under the table? Standing in a doorway? Racing to an open area outside? Then let's talk.
So while we're getting ready for Passover, Lior Zaltzman of Kveller - who has written similar articles in the past - claims that
Robin Williams’ Retelling of the Passover Story Is a Must-Watch It's absolutely brilliant.
But I’m here today to propose a new addition to your family’s playlist: a Robin Williams retelling of the Passover story from his 2002 comedy special “Robin Williams Live on Broadway.”
It’s just two minutes long, but it’s so precise and so delightful, and Williams tells it with so much charisma.
Williams, who passed away in 2014, once called himself an “honorary Jew” and even tweeted a picture of himself wearing a yarmulke shortly before he died, asking if he’d missed his true career calling as rabbi.
This video certainly has us believing he would have made an awesome Jewish lay leader.
And if that isn't enough to get you and yours Pesachdik, Eliana Jordan of The Jewish Chronicle points us to this year's
The Unofficial Taylor Swift Haggadah
Which asks (and answers) such hotly engrossing questions as
So as long as we're talking about Passover and the Haggadah, let's talk about
Climate Change
Sunny Hostin of ABC's The View recently claimed - live, on air, to an audience of at least a few hundred - that Climate Change was the cause of The Great NYC Earthquake and The Total NA Solar Eclipse.
And one more thing.
Cicadas: The Eleventh Plague of 2024 Just what we needed ....
In 2024, 13-year Brood XIX, which is the largest of all periodical cicada broods, will co-emerge with 17-year Brood XIII; these two broods are adjacent (but not significantly overlapping) in north-central Illinois.
And furthermore proclaims
2024 is a special year for periodical cicadas:
For the first time since 2015 a 13-year brood will emerge in the same year as a 17-year brood.
For the first time since 1998 adjacent 13-and 17-year broods will emerge in the same year.
For the first time since 1803 Brood XIX and XIII will co-emerge.
You will be able to see all seven named periodical cicada species as adults in the same year, which will not happen again until 2037. You will not see all seven named species emerge in the state of Illinois again until 2041.
Cicadas aren’t a “Plague of Locusts.” In some areas people call cicadas locusts, but cicadas can’t eat crops like locusts. They only drink trees.
As we leave the happy, happy months of Adar Alef Adar Rishon Adar I and Adar Bet Adar Sheni Adar II, we begin the Month of Miracles: Datsun, as it was known to the ancients.
Or, as we call it today, after our exile in Babylonia: Nissan.
Actually - as we all know - none of the months, weeks, days, or nights since October 7th has been truly, deeply happy. Especially the nights. The news we receive has been terrible, and sometimes even worse.
