My values tell me to be a Jew who advocates for the Jewish interest in the Democratic coalition. Not to be a Democrat arguing for Democratic interests in the Jewish community. Parties are vehicles. When they become identities the wheels fall off.
@sdoron@TimBritton@AnthonyDiComo “more homers are being hit these days than [the steroid era].” did you proofread this tweet, or are you running just on vibes?
“Together with many others, I am finding this Tisha B’Av to be exceptionally painful. After close to two millennia since the loss of our Temple in Jerusalem, we have still not learnt the lessons of that horrific national tragedy.
The first century historian, Flavius Josephus, recorded how, while under Roman siege, the defence of Jerusalem was mortally weakened by internal division and destructive conflict. The Temple was destroyed because of a failure to unite for the greater good, at the moment of greatest peril.
Over the course of 75 simply miraculous years of accomplishment, the State of Israel has survived against unrelenting enemies and insurmountable odds, becoming a global beacon of Torah study, innovation, culture and democracy. Yet the deep polarisation and political animosity on display today, leaves many of the most passionate supporters of Medinat Yisrael feeling the great pain of unprecedented division.
One of my illustrious predecessors, Rabbi Lord Jakobovits ztl, pointed to an extraordinary feature of ‘Sim shalom’, our daily prayer for peace. Within it, we exclaim, “Barchenu Avinu kulanu ke’echad” – bless us, our Father, all of us as one. Why, in a prayer for peace with our external foes, do we make a plea for internal unity? Rabbi Jakobovits explained: We cannot hope to achieve peace with those who wish us harm if we are plagued by internal strife.
Although Tisha B'Av is a day of mourning, it is nevertheless described as a 'mo'ed' – a 'festival' (Eicha1:15). This is because we resolve to look forward to a time when it will indeed be a day of great celebration. So too, even in these most challenging of days, let us resolve to actively work towards a strengthening of all that we value in our cherished Jewish State, and a time when unity and respectful disagreement will reign.”
@notimeforlibs@Cappo1Capponi@Mike_Pence@netanyahu you’re gonna learn something today. in deference for Netanyahu, a Jew, he wrote it “G-d” because according to many jews, writing it out would violate the second commandment of taking the lords name in vain. i hope you understand this aspect of a different culture better now.
@UncleRenny i still like parks and rec (season 3+) more, but 30Rock is easily number 2. best writing team behind it the jokes and one-off lines about guys like Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, Donald Trump, etc were WAY ahead of their time.