Valentine's Day, isn't a day on the Jewish calendar, but try telling that to a significant other who on February 14 is handing you a card, or a gift.
Saying something like, "Gee, I'm sorry, but since this whole day was originally related to honoring a Christian saint, I've got nothing," might get you off the hook in some Jewish circles; not in mine though.
On heart day, I like giving cards, chocolate; getting them too, but beyond that, I have grown very picky. Just in case I'm on your list, here's a short list of occurrences, experiences, and freak-outs that I could live without: things relating to Jewish life that I would LOVE to never see or hear again.
Love not to see this: Bishop Eddie Long, of Atlanta's New Birth Missionary Baptist Church who as was recently reported, showed a way too up close and personal love for the Torah, by literally wrapping himself up in scroll that had apparently survived a death camp. As he discovered from the Jewish community outrage, it was not OK to become the five books of Eddie.
What I would love to see instead? How about the bishop wrapping himself up in some Torah study, or enrolling in Judaism 101?
Love not to hear this: People saying with sanctimonious certainty that President Obama is a Muslim. Why do some Americans (According to a Pew Research survey, that number in 2010 was 24%) continue to say and believe this? Was this explained by Cokie Roberts on the ABC program "A Matter of Faith," when she said, "The bad part about this is that it's acceptable to say that he's a Muslim because the same people won't say, 'I don't like him cause he's black'"? Commentator Steven Roberts, who was also part of the panel discussion, responded then by saying, "The word Muslim is a code word, and it's a metaphor. It's a metaphor for racism. It's a metaphor for he's different from us, he's not like us."
Instead, what I would love to hear is a rabbi calling out the lie that Obama is a Muslim for what it is, a defamation (hotzaat shem ra).
Love not to hear about this again: According to a letter I received from Los Angeles Masorti (part of the worldwide Conservative/Masorti Movement):
"News reports daily recite outrageous stories of challenges by Jewish religious extremists to democracy in Israel. Just several weeks ago in the city of Beit Shemesh, for example, haredi extremists harassed young modern Orthodox girls on their way to school with taunts of "prostitute." Even in long skirts and long-sleeved shirts, the girls were not dressed modestly enough."
What would I love to read instead? A recent report like this one from the Israeli newspaper, Ha'aretz, suggesting that in the future some young haredi men might have less time to hang out on the streets and harass young girls: "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Wednesday that he will not support extending a law which allows full-time yeshiva students to defer military service..."
And finally, I would dearly love never to see this again: A disturbing, apocalyptic, theatrical video about a future Iranian nuclear attack on Israel called, "The Last Day." If you're squeamish beware.)
I get it, the video through sheer terror and fear is supposed to bomb us out of our political apathy. But taken in the current environment of saber rattling, isn't this video just another drum beat that marches Israel towards war?
I would love to see instead a documentary video, showing how people around the world are speaking out, and standing with Israel against the Iranian nuclear threat. Why a documentary? Israel needs to know that support for her security is not a work of fiction.
Edmon J. Rodman has written about making his own matzah for JTA, Jewish love music for the Jerusalem Post, yiddisheh legerdemain for the Los Angeles Jewish Journal, a Bernie Madoff Halloween mask for the Forward, and what really gets stuck in the La Brea Tar Pits for the Los Angeles Times. He has edited several Jewish population studies, and is one of the founders of the Movable Minyan, an over twenty-year-old chavura-size, independent congregation. He once designed a pop-up seder plate.In 2011 Rodman received a First Place Simon Rockower Award for "Excellence in Feature Writing" from the American Jewish Press Association."
that to a significant other who on February 14 is handing you a card, or a gift.
