Rosh Hashanah 5785

Dip Your Apple In The Honey: It's Rosh Hashanah! And, as we begin a New Jewish Year, please remember - as Rabbi Adam Rosenbaum of Denver, CO; of Livingston, NJ; and now, once again, of Charleston, SC has taught us -

There is hope for the world.
There is hope for your life.
The way it is now is not the way it must be. 

Abq Jew warmly invites you to check out
this now-classic Rosh Hashanah hit from 5772:

Dip Your Apple!

by The Fountainheads of Ein Prat

No apples, pomegranates, babies, or smartphones

were harmed in the filming of this video.

Please don't feed babies honey.

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Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Abq Jew knows (and knows you know), are special times for our Jewish hearts, minds, and souls.

The Ein Prat Fountainheads have - as always! - touched our hearts. Now, here is something that will touch our minds and souls.

From My Jewish Learning's Perspectives on Avinu Malkenu:

Inscribe Us Five Times 

“Our Father, our King, inscribe us in a book.” 

The five petitions of “Inscribe us in a book” correspond to the Five Books of Moses.

The first, “Inscribe us in the book of happy life” corresponds to the Book of Genesis, in which the creation of all things, meaning life, is spoken of.  

The second, “Inscribe us in the book of redemption and salvation” corre­sponds to the Book of Exodus, which speaks of the redemp­tion from Egypt. 

“Inscribe us in the book of maintenance and sustenance” corresponds to the Book of Leviticus, which speaks of the holy sacrifices and thank-offerings, for the es­sence of sustenance must be in holiness.  

“Inscribe us in the book of aiding merit” corresponds to the Book of Numbers, which speaks of the Twelve Tribes that camped near their standards, every tribe being a Chariot to its root, that is to say, to the patriarchs, because of whose aiding merit we are alive. 

“Inscribe us in the book of forgiveness and pardon” corresponds to the Book of Deuteronomy, in which Moses our master upbraids Israel for all they did that was wrong, and which contains the scriptural portion of teshuvah (repentance), by means of which we merit forgiveness and pardon.

– From Uziel Meisel’s “Tiferet Uziel.” Reprinted from S. Y. Agnon’s anthology “Days of Awe,” published by Schocken Books

And Abq Jew points you toward The Blogs of The Times of Israel, where -

• Gary Epstein has posted Compromise is Overrated: Give War a Chance; and 
• Jonathan Muskat has posted Rosh Hashana in the Shadow of Tragedy: Balancing Fear and Joy Amid Uncertainty.

L'Shana Tova Tikatevu –
May you be inscribed for a good year!

Something About Rhode Island

And Pagers: Well. Mr & Mrs Abq Jew have just returned from a delightful visit to Rhode Island, the Ocean State, where (see July's Our House) members of their now-wonderfully-extended family do cheerfully reside.

And still others reside, just as cheerfully, drivably (yes, that's really how you spell it) close.

Rhode Island, for those of you who have only flown over (it doesn't take long!) on your way to Boston, has many islands - but is not, in itself, an island. It is the smallest US state by area, and the seventh-least populous. It is also the second-most densely populated state, after New Jersey.

Having many islands and beaucoup waterways, Rhode Island is a natural breeding ground for bridges. At least one of them, the Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge (see photo above), is gorgeous. 

Want to see even more beautiful bridges?
See January 2020's The Bridges of Christian Menn.

And then there's the Washington Bridge, which carries I-195 traffic to and from Providence, the state capital. Actually a rather nice-looking bridge. However -

Washington Bridge has fallen down, or is in extreme danger of so doing. So it's sorta closed, causing traffic tie-ups for other ways around Providence. The state recently called for bids to tear down and replace Washington Bridge; there were no bidders.

No blog post, Wikipedia entry, or other piece of writing about Rhode Island would be complete without mention of Roger Williams, a refugee who in 1636 fled religious perseecution in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and founded Providence on land purchased from local tribes.

And boy, could he play the piano! Williams had 22 hit singles – including the chart-topping "Autumn Leaves" in 1955 and "Born Free" in 1966 – and 38 hit albums between 1955 and 1972.

Anyway, here is a nice song about Rhode Island, written and performed by Timmy May. With lyrics, so we all can sing along.

And here is the official (since 1996) state song of Rhode Island. The lyrics are by Charlie Hall, and the music was written by Maria Day. Once more - we can all sing along!

NOTE: The song "Miles and Miles of Texas," famously recorded
by famous country-western band Asleep At The Wheel,
was originally intended to be about Rhode Island.
It was titled (but not entitled) "Yards and Yards of Rhode Island,"
and had noticably fewer verses that its successor hit.

In what Abq Jew had intended to be the closing of this blog post, here is an image of Rhode Island's state flag.

The flag of the state of Rhode Island, Wikipedia tells us, is white and consists of a gold anchor in the center (a symbol for hope) surrounded by thirteen gold stars (for the original Thirteen Colonies and Rhode Island's status as the 13th state to ratify the Constitution). 

A blue ribbon below the anchor
bears the state's motto in gold:
HOPE

Hope is something we can all use more of, it currently being in short supply with regard to The State Of The World. And then came "Operation Below the Belt," according to many observers (but not according to participants)

One of the greatest intelligence operations in history.

Memes, you want? The Internet generated abput eighteen zillion of them, a curated selection of which can be found in Abq Jew's friend Jacob Richman' s website, right here.

In closing - really! - Abq Jew calls your attention to the attention-grabbing headline in The Washington Post, which Abq Jew read as

Deli owner knew of problems before
ship hit Baltimore bridge, U.S. alleges

Abq Jew figured they must be talking about his beloved new relative-by-marriage Shawn Margolis, the (former) owner of Sig's Place, which recently closed after operating for over twelve years in Middletown and almost ninety years on Aquidneck Island.

But no! The actual headline, Abq Jew only later realized, was 

Dali owner knew of problems before
ship hit Baltimore bridge, U.S. alleges

and was, appropriately, about the container ship that recently hit Baltimore's Key Bridge. But - as long as we're talking about delis - Abq Jew cheerfully brings your attention to the about-to-be-real kosher (of course)

This blog post shows what and how much
can be accomplished just one day after
receiving Covid and Shingrex shots. Oy.

What, Me Worry?

The Alfred E Neuman Show: Now that summer, by which Abq Jew means school's out summer vacation, officially ended in America over Labor Day weekend - if it hadn't ended in your community already - Abq Jew would like to remind you that

What, Me Worry?

The Art and Humor of MAD Magazine

the Norman Rockwell Museum's exhibit will continue in Stockbridge, MA (yes, that's in the beautiful Berkshires; see September 2019's The Night the Well Ran Dry) until October 27th ONLY. That's right after Simchat Torah, so you should plan accordingly.

Or, as Editor of Jewish Stuff Andrew Silow-Carroll recently wrote for JTA -

Americana meets meshuggeneh at a museum exhibit about MAD magazine

There’s a delightful “what if” moment at the start of “What, Me Worry? The Art and Humor of MAD Magazine,” a new exhibit at the Norman Rockwell Museum here. 

In 1964, MAD commissioned Rockwell himself to paint a portrait of Alfred E. Neuman, the humor magazine’s gap-toothed mascot, as he might have looked in real life. Correspondence featured in the exhibit suggests that Rockwell — grand master of gentle, folksy, even cornball Americana — was close to signing on with what MAD called its “usual gang of idiots”: goofball masters of sophomoric, anti-establishment satire.

In the end, Rockwell turned down the offer. “I think I better back out of this one,” he wrote. “After talking with you, and my wife who has a lot more sense than I have, I feel that making a more realistic definitive portrait just wouldn’t do. I hate to be a quitter, but I’m afraid we would all get in a mess.”

We didn’t lose just a marriage of comic sensibilities, but of ethnic ones: the “goyish” and the Jewish, mid-20th century style. Rockwell’s world is full of farmers and fishermen, country folk and small-town shopkeepers. 

MAD seemed to have been born on the Lower East Side, come of age in the Bronx, and found its voice somewhere between Brooklyn and Broadway.

And as the exhibit makes clear, that impression is not far off.... 

All right - the article appeared way back in July, as the summer was just getting started and you may not have had vacation plans yet. 

But Abq Jew is just getting around to it because ... well, just because. In any event (but specifically for this event), ASC tells us -

This Jewish sensibility abounds in the “What, Me Worry?” exhibit (whose name comes from Neuman’s catch-phrase). In a parody of “High Noon” from an early issue, a cowboy sings, “Do not forsake me oh-mah-dollink” in Yiddish dialect. In a later “Dick Tracy” lampoon, Al Pacino’s character, “Big Boy” in the original movie, becomes “Big Goy.” 

A parody of “Funny Lady,” the 1975 sequel to “Funny Girl,” mocks Barbra Streisand’s take on Fanny Brice’s put-on Yiddish accent. “With that ‘Jewish’ routine, I think she’s killing Vaudeville,” says one audience-member. “Yeah,” says another, “but she’s adding new life to Anti-Semitism!”

 

The apotheosis of this deeply ethnic, self-mocking and even self-protective Jewish voice is found in the 1973 parody of “Fiddler on the Roof.” Titled “Antenna on the Roof,” it’s represented in the exhibit by the original cover painting of Neuman as the fiddler. 

Drucker and writer Frank Jacobs set the musical in a tinseled, clearly Jewish suburb, and changed the Sholem Aleichem adaptation into an angry indictment of Jewish assimilation.

“Now that we’ve seen the Mess you’ve made,” the villagers of Anatevka sing to a cast of nouveau riche Jews, “We’re afraid God wants back his melting pot!” It’s an entire Philip Roth novel in a seven-page comic.

Did you grow up MAD? 

Abq Jew did - in Valley Stream (see June 2023's Let's Twist Again!), although it's almost too long ago (BC = Before California) for him to remember.

Six Funerals and a Wedding

Rachel Weeps: There is little that Abq Jew can add to the sorrow, anger, and pain we are all feeling this week - as the Jewish World sits shiva.

From our JCRC-NM:

Dear Friends, 

The Jewish Community Relations Coalition of New Mexico is devastated at the news that Hamas has killed more than six hostages, among them the American Hersh Goldberg-Polin z”l, whose story we have come to know so well through the tireless advocacy of his parents Rachel and Jon.

We mourn the loss of these innocents, Hersh, Eden Yerushalmi z”l, Carmel Gat z”l, Almog Sarusi z”l, Alex Lubnov z”l, and Ori Danino z”l.

Our hearts are with their families and loved ones, may they be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem. We pray that the remaining hostages will soon be returned home safely.

Am Yisrael Chai,

Jane Wishner and Alonet Zarum Zandan - Co- Chairs

The story continues.

As Abq Jew wrote last October - 

There is a story in the Talmud of two processions – a wedding procession and a funeral procession – that meet at an intersection too narrow to allow both to pass. One of the processions will need to step aside to allow the other to progress; but which one should go first? 

The rabbis concluded that the wedding procession should get the right of way. Why? Because hope and optimism about the future (as represented by the bride and groom) should always take precedence over the past. We are a people who believe in the future – even in the face of sadness.

Avi Mayer, the former Editor-in-Chiel of The Jerusalem Post, wrote on X:

In the Jewish tradition, it is customary not to postpone a wedding, even during a period of mourning.

Our belief in life precedes even our deep pain over those who are no longer with us.

And so I find myself at a wedding this evening here in Jerusalem.

Life always comes first.

וְיֵשׁ־תִּקְוָ֥ה לְאַחֲרִיתֵ֖ךְ נְאֻם־ה״ וְשָׁ֥בוּ בָנִ֖ים לִגְבוּלָֽם׃