Frum Satire | Jewish Comedy

44 responses so far ↓

• 1 s(b.) // May 12, 2008 at 5:47 pm

  sefirah’s about mourning people who died from a plague, right? It would make far more sense to devote sefirah to living a healthy, balanced (Torah, if you like) lifestyle (emphasis on physical fitness, eating healthily, mental hygiene, etc.), than to (sit around not going to concerts, movies, theater, buying new clothes, getting haircuts, etc.) for several weeks every spring. The thing about music makes no sense when I see concerts for Yom HaAtzma’ut being advertised. Observance can be so freakin’ black and white. It really moves my cheese when I’m trying to respect something and then people are totally doing something else. If there can be some live music, let there be all live music, and have a freakin’ health fair to remember the students who died from that plague. Freakin’ people, man! [/rant] Good luck on your date. If she asks if you have a heter for something, drop trou. (kidding!)

• 2 chnyock // May 12, 2008 at 5:53 pm

  yom haatzmaut was made into a concert day by the scumbag zionists who decided they can create a new holiday!

• 3 Hee hee // May 12, 2008 at 6:06 pm

  The point of jewish holidays and fast days and days days is not to do the complete opposite because now life is good, but rather to remember it. Pesach we try to commemorate what happened in mitzrayim so we eat matzah and morror ect ect. on tanis esther we fast because haman was going to wipe us all out and bnei yisroel fasted for 3 days. we fast now to “remember” what happened and feel what they felt, not that we should eat because we dont have a haman who is trying to kill us. that is the same with sefiras haomer. we are trying to mourn the tragedy by not doing things that make us happy. I dont know about you but i feel it somewhat. My fathers minhag used to be to not listen to live music but since the times are not that great he felt we shouldnt listen to any music at all. So now i am definitely having withdrawal symptoms!!

  Also, if im not mistaken, a lot of men i know are allowed to shave for a date.

• 4 s(b.) // May 12, 2008 at 6:21 pm

  And part of remembering something bad that happened is to do all you can to make sure it doesn’t happen again, isn’t it? I’m not suggesting a sefirah-long music festival. I’m suggesting that a community-wide emphasis on health awareness during sefirah could be a positive.

  I just copied and pasted some stuff to my blog on physical fitness and ravs. I’m not suggesting that anyone NOT do whatever they do. Do what you do (just don’t tell me what to do), live, be well, sei gesund. But shuls are focal points of communities, and emphasizing health and fitness (year-round, as well as) during sefirah isn’t a bad idea.

  (Do it or don’t do it. Believe it or don’t. Find value in something you find meaningful. If I find value differently than you, that’s okay. We’re different people with a common bond.No worries.)

• 5 SUPERFRUM // May 12, 2008 at 7:16 pm

  Like your video. The average woman outlives the average man by ten years - you don’t want your wife left a widow, do you?

  Also, Kibud Av does not apply to Shidduchim. I know because my father tells me every day that he doesn’t like the guy I’m dating (it’s over three months now). I’ve spoken to a Rav about it. I’m the one who has to live with him for the rest of my life, not my father.

• 6 anonymous // May 12, 2008 at 10:40 pm

  I don’t think sefira really has anything at all to do with physical fitness. the plague was a result, not of poor hygeine or chachomim’s lack of excercise but that they weren’t giving proper kavod to each other.

  by the way - if yomim tovim, etc. were just about remembering, yiddishkeit would’ve gone out the window long ago. these days are there to affect our lives today. also, the same energy that was present on a certain auspicious day in history continues to come back on that day every year.

  oh and the yom haatzmaut concerts are complete bs. no frum person would ever be involved with something like that. i have alot of doubts about how hashkafically legitimate the whole “zionism” thing is from a Torah perspective.

• 7 s(b.) // May 12, 2008 at 10:56 pm

  Sefirah has nothing to do with physical fitness, but Rabbi Akiva’s students died from a plague (which means they got sick). So learning about things/ doing things to promote not getting sick is a good idea (and it’s a good idea, anyway, year-round). I don’t expect anyone to agree with me. I’m just throwing an idea out there.

• 8 cradle-robbing geklopt hoishanos // May 13, 2008 at 12:30 am

  just shave l’kavod shabbes. vos ist dos “I-pod?” ich weiss nicht.

• 9 M // May 13, 2008 at 12:30 am

  So I started out this year thinking I was going to not listen to recorded instrumental music this year because I don’t go to live concerts enough for sefirah to feel any different from the rest of the year. Right now I’m failing at this chumra.

• 10 Frum Punk // May 13, 2008 at 2:44 am

  Good video, but I think you should keep the language PG. Was this filmed somewhere else or did you finally get normal sized ceilings?

• 11 Anon // May 13, 2008 at 2:57 am

  s(b.):
  in talmudic lingo, anytime there’s a wave of sudden death’s, it’s called a plague. (or whatever hebrew word we like to translate as plague)
  so if our sages tell us a direct cause (lack of respect), as well as proper behavior (mourning) and we decide to create some kind of “Jewish Health month” over an event that had nothing to do with health, that’s like cutting of the leg to relieve the pain of a stubbed toe.
  (BTW, there are kabalistic reasons for these behavior which have nothing to do with the plauge).
  Health care is Great year round (Rambam, Deos, Ch. 4) however must be within Halacha. (Hiking is allowed during sefira, as is showering/laundry)

  Hesh:
  I believe live music is halacha. (no comment on Yom Hatzmaut). recorded music might be a minhag. check with your local orthodox rabbi on that.
  I believe new clothing is halacha. (although you might be able to wear it on shabbos first) i doubt new books/cd’s qualify for shehechiyanu.
  btw, what’s the source for assuring movies for sefira (i mean in addition to the year round negative aspect).
  also, a beard can be groomed pretty nicely, (shampoo, conditioner, comb, mousse, etc.) so you don’t look like you came out of the woods

• 12 Headbanger // May 13, 2008 at 3:09 am

  If you’re going to keep the Sefira laws of music, I would say do it right. How many people on this earth listen to live recorded music as opposed to a well produced digital quality sound studio album? Let’s not fool ourselves, that is what music is and that is precisely what you are not supposed to be listening to for 33 days. These excuses and not listening to live music started by people who found it too hard to follow and wanted to rid themselves of guilt feelings.

  Also, you will not find any Heter in the Shulchan Aruch saying that Likavod Shabbos during the 33 days is a valid reason to shave. On the contrary, the period of mourning goes beyond that and you are supposed to look scruffy even for Shabbos. It does not show much when you only have 6 days of stubble a week for each week of the Omer. With that said, let the arguing begin but check your local mishna berura first.

• 13 Anon // May 13, 2008 at 3:29 am

  how many people do you now that dance with recorded music as opposed to live?

• 14 gennaro // May 13, 2008 at 3:37 am

  Hesh, Does the chafetz chaim yeshiva actually let you listen to music during sfira?

• 15 heshman // May 13, 2008 at 8:39 am

  “also, a beard can be groomed pretty nicely, (shampoo, conditioner, comb, mousse, etc.) so you don’t look like you came out of the woods”

  If I could grow a beard I wouldn’t be in this mess- unfortunately I look like a 16 year old Lubbie who has one of those spotty hair locations- it looks amazingly whack.

  Headbanger- you sound so serious- what happened- has your name been hijacked by someone pious and knowledgeable or is this your pre-yeshiva rebel days coming out of the closet.

  RE: “how many people do you now that dance with recorded music as opposed to live?”

  Have you ever been online in Riteaid and all the sudden Michael Jackson or Kc and the Sunshine band comes on- well I am a firm believer in dancing whenever the chance arises. How about the after you bowl dance? What about disco in the car? Jeez I am always dancing- I think my happy personality may have something to do with it- but I know plenty of folks that dance.

  How about air guitaring and headbanging is that counted as dancing as well- then I am in trouble.

• 16 s(b.) // May 13, 2008 at 10:23 am

  Anon, in addition to, not over.
  –
  Headbanger, I agree w/your s or get off the pot approach to not listening to music during sefirah.

  re: shaving during sefirah (I love doing research! Seriously. This is fun, for me; one way I learn.)

  source: http://hirhurim.blogspot.com/2008/05/sefira-restrictions.html
  A minority of authorities allow one to shave during the Sefira in honor of Shabbat.[1] Rav J.B. Soloveichik permitted those who normally shave every day to do so during Sefira.[2]
  [1] Led by Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein
  [2] Nefesh Harav p.191

  source: http://parshaman.blogspot.com/2008/05/e-mor-please-electronic-way-to-ask-for.html
  scroll down to “Halachaboy continues to count” for a variety of takes on this, as well as the general wackiness of ashkenzim and choose your own 33 days adventures (I’m mostly ashkenaz, and I’m darn wacky).

  And here’s some food for thought on halacha and minhag from Laz-A-Fare: http://alanlaz.blogspot.com/2006/05/how-frum-are-you-during-these-33-days.html

• 17 Lilly // May 13, 2008 at 11:11 am

  Nice Post

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  Why haven’t you written anything about YU/YU Guys? There is so much material ripe for satire in the YU community; you should take it up sometime!

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• 18 stacy // May 13, 2008 at 11:32 am

  headbanger’s a yeshiva rebel?
  lol;

• 19 Michael // May 13, 2008 at 11:45 am

  I can’t deal with the fact that we basically mourn for 33 days the loss of life of 24,000 people and we don’t even really have one day for the six-million that died in the Holocaust. According to Wikipedia (my source for talmudic knowledge) the Talmud says that the ‘plague’ was G-d punishing them for not honouring Ve’ahavta L’reyecha. It seems to me that we owe a lot more honour to the six-million that lost their lives for just being Jewish.

• 20 heshman // May 13, 2008 at 11:48 am

  Michael- 100% agreed!!!

  It seems that the Gedolim should put their reach to good use and make some new holidays of some sort.

• 21 Headbanger // May 13, 2008 at 12:17 pm

  I wouldn’t call myself one stacy, you have to be on in order to go off.

• 22 urban gypsy // May 13, 2008 at 12:27 pm

  “Heterim are kind of like chumros, keep them enough years and they become halacha” That is sooo true!!!

  Sfirah is very difficult for me too. I don’t listen to live or recorded music for the whole sfirah, but I do watch movies, and linger a little too long in supermarkets if a good song comes on the radio.

  I used to moan about sfirah all the time, until my dad died and I couldn’t listen to music for a whole year. It was horrendous but it gave me a whole new sense of perspective on sfirah.

• 23 sefiratastic // May 13, 2008 at 12:51 pm

  Michael -

  At least the way I understand, while the deaths themselves are very bad, we are more importantly mourning why they died that we should learn from it. I would say that any godol that says he can tell you why the shoah happened automatically ceases to be a godol. At least in my eyes.

• 24 heshman // May 13, 2008 at 1:09 pm

  Good points Sefiratastic

• 25 anon // May 13, 2008 at 1:35 pm

  24,000 then would add up to way more than 6,000,000 now hundreds of generations later.

• 26 gennaro // May 13, 2008 at 1:37 pm

  Can anyone tell me who gives a heter to listen to recorded music. I doubt the chafetz chaim yeshiva is ok with that

• 27 Anonymous // May 13, 2008 at 2:26 pm

  what’s the issur?

• 28 s(b.) // May 13, 2008 at 2:26 pm

  sefiratastic, if you’re a guy, are you seeing anyone? jk. Seriously, though, is there any confirmation on what Michael/ wiki/ talmud/ v’ahavta lc (lack) = plague? If so, then I propose an emphasis on chesed/tikkun olam during sefirah. And I’m proposing it for me only — if you don’t like it or don’t agree with it, please ignore my words, I’m not saying what you should do at all.

  I would just like to find more meaning in my religious observance, because not seeing live music doesn’t make me feel bad about people dying. It makes me annoyed that a more productive way of remembering what happened, such as taking steps to ensure it doesn’t happen again, isn’t happening. But that’s me; everyone’s spiritual mileage may vary.

• 29 gennaro // May 13, 2008 at 3:03 pm

  Urban gypsy liiiiiiingers looooonger…….

• 30 Michael // May 13, 2008 at 3:45 pm

  sefiratastic - I’m obviously not trying to quantify the value of one life over another. Death in any quantity to any person is tragic.
  What I’m trying am trying to say is how can we justify 33 days of mourning (that orthodox Jewry accepts pretty much across the board) for one tragic event while ignoring others of equal or greater magnitude.
  I personally almost missed Yom Hashoah this year; I only saw it by accident on my Outlook calendar.
  And if this is so difficult for me to grasp, how much more so for my Zaida, a survivor who lost his whole family… If I were him, I would be insulted.

• 31 chanief // May 13, 2008 at 5:14 pm

  Michal, I agree wholeheartedly with what you are saying. Why isn’t there any formal remembrance? Oh right, because the Rabbis are busy banning everything and anything they can get their hands on to actually do something of significant importance.

  Anon (who wrote “24,000 then would add up to way more than 6,000,000 now hundreds of generations later.”) Regardless of the scale it is a crying shame there isn’t a formal, Rabinically implemented remembrance of the victims of the Holocaust. I actually find it incredibly insensitive of you to point out the scale - it’s irrelevant and seems intended to minimize the impact of the not so recent loss of 6 million.

• 32 chanief // May 13, 2008 at 5:14 pm

  That should say Michael, not Michal. Sorry.

• 33 fix comments // May 13, 2008 at 8:28 pm

  every time i comment it doesn’t show up. then i try it again and it doesn’t show up.

  yochanan

• 34 fix comments // May 13, 2008 at 8:29 pm

  every time i comment it doesn’t show up. then i try it again and it says i have a duplicate comment even though no comment was ever posted.

  yochanan

• 35 fix comments // May 13, 2008 at 8:29 pm

  except for this time:)

• 36 fix comments // May 13, 2008 at 8:31 pm

  “Hey does that mean heterim are kind of like chumros, keep them enough years and they become halacha. ”

  That’s Newtonian Halacha: For Every Chumra, there’s an equal and opposite Heter.

• 37 fix comments // May 13, 2008 at 8:32 pm

  funny, my comments don’t work when i use “Yochanan” as my name

• 38 s(b.) // May 13, 2008 at 11:03 pm

  Michael,
  Maybe it’s not about lives; maybe it’s about the cause. No one can change that people were killed ’cause they were Jewish (holocaust).

  But people can make some effort to not allow the “plague” of lack of veahavta lereacha kamocha to recur (sp?). Maybe that’s why there’s sefirah — ’cause treating each other respectfully is something serious that people can learn to do and need to learn to do every day.

  That’s not to diminish the deaths of anyone. That’s just to say that we can control our behavior toward others more than we can control others’ behavior toward us.

  (I, too, am a grandchild of holocaust victims, and I understand what you’re saying. I’m not saying I’m right. It’s just a theory that came to mind while I was driving tonight.)

  “Instant Karma” [John Lennon] came on, followed by “Strange Days” and I thought of “Watching the Wheels,” and all this stuff about sefirah and VLK came together for me. I’m like that …

• 39 heshman // May 14, 2008 at 8:54 am

  Wow SB thats an insightful comment- but I still think there should be a Rabbinically mandated day of tehilim or slichos for the Holocaust. Because I aint doing it unless the Rabbis say so!

• 40 s(b.) // May 14, 2008 at 11:09 am

  Thanks. I tend to have perpetual jarhzeit, ner tamid in the heart-style by always saying mourner’s kaddish whenever I daven, ’cause every day is yarzheit for someone who was killed, and there may not be anyone around to say kaddish for them. I do it silently, though. I’m not interested in well-intentioned, undeserved compassion from people who think I’m saying for a parent, or something. It’s just a me thing.

• 41 mikeinmidwood // May 14, 2008 at 10:52 pm

  A day of rememberence for those who died in the holocaust dont they have that in Israel where everyone stops what there doing and have a moment of silence.
  Im pretty sure that if you do make a whole big thing about not listening to music because of the holocaust other people will complain that we dont have the right to make these chumros. I personally wouldnt listen to music on that day if we have one.

• 42 heshman // May 14, 2008 at 10:54 pm

  Me neither- and its funny that they think chumros like banning concerts are just so damned important- but uniting Jews from all walks of life is like the worst thing in the world.

• 43 s(b.) // May 14, 2008 at 11:29 pm

  Yes, they have that in Israel. And it’s observed in the U.S., too. Yom HaShoah (it has a longer name than that, but that, for short). Mike, I don’t know anyone who would make a whole big thing about not listening to music for a day. Nobody holds a knife to anyone’s throat and makes them observe, if they don’t want to.

• 44 mazeartist // May 19, 2008 at 4:26 pm

  My kallah is a year older than me. I’m proud to have her.

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