Purim miracles

WorldNetDaily.com: Fatah Purim attack foiled.

It is written that Purim will be from the only holidays which will be observed when Moshiach comes. The reason is that the Purim story shows the Jewish people at its best: with the odds against us, with the world planning our destruction, we did not recoil in fear, we did not put our hopes in false gods of world globalism, tolerance and appeasement, we did not just despair. We simply returned to our true path: our commitment to G-d's mission. We renewed our fulfillment of G-d commandments, and we prayed until the miracle happened. And happen it did.

May the entire Jewish people, most especially our brethren in Israel, enjoy a safe, secure and joyous Purim. And as in days gone by, may the plots of those who choose the path of Haman be returned upon their own heads.

Quite a ride

telegraph.co.uk: The accelerator has jammed, the brakes have burned out and I'm trapped in my BMW doing 130mph.

Sometimes, the same thing happens to us, spiritually speaking. We're in too much of a rush to understand where we're going, and what for. If we don't hit the brakes in time, take a step back, and take stock of ourselves, we're lucky to come out with only minor injuries.

Strange currents

"No man is worthy of me who cares more for father or mother than for me."
-J.C., Mathew 10:37

First Gay 'Marriage' Legalized, Now Spain Bans Terms 'Mother' and 'Father'
-LifeSite.net

I guess that the Christian and gay communities aren't as far apart as they seem...

Glasnost in Congress

SFGate.com: Bush and the ports: The honeymoon is over.

Hirhurei Teshuvah

Better one good deed than a thousand blog posts.

Brachos from $99!

My family and I have been rolling from laughter by Kupat HaIr's brochures for a while. I never got around to putting my feelings on paper. Then Haaretz, Ph.D. came and said it all.

Going the wrong way

I decided to give Google ads a spin. (By the way, I am prohibited by our contract from either clicking the ads myself or asking others to do so; I will therefore refrain from doing so. But neither will I ask you not to patronize our advertisers).

As everyone knows, Google is supposed to be smart enough to deliver context-sensitive ads, which in simple language means that it will scan ("crawl") through the site and offer ads deemed to be of interest to the reader.

I am therefore shocked and surprised not as much because this blog now carries ads for Islamic schools, liberal think tanks and initiatives for impeaching our President. The fact that it is my site that attracts these, er, flies, is unsettling.

Well, who's crazy, me or Google? You vote!

The infallibility curse

"To err is human, to forgive divine." - Alexander Pope

An incredible phrase, and an incredible concept. Whether it be the one apologizing, or the one forgiving, the ability to backtrack and to deal with a new situation, an unexpected situation; to know that one needs to take stock of one's situation and if need be, to acknowledge one's own fallibility, to acknowledge a mistake; all this is part of the same unique ability. It is a gift with which G-d has endowed only humans, created in His own image. The advantage Man has over the animal, or machines.

By contrast, not knowing how to check oneself, is arguably the greatest impairment to creativity, initiative and leadership. One who cannot acknowledge his mistakes, he who does not know when to stop and say "Hold it! Things are not as they should be!", this is someone who's many talents will all have been for naught.

And it seems to be the problem plaguing our president.

Whether it be his row with McCain over torture, the ports deal, his Iraq statements, or anything else, one thing has struck me every time I have seen, heard, or read any of his statements. It is his self-assuredness, bordering on borderless arrogance. It is not the assuredness of one who has experienced doubt. It is the quintessential "Just trust me".

This is a quality that looks pretty good at a presidential job. "He's the president, he should know" is a pretty normal response for the average citizen. It takes a while to realize that one can conceivably say "Trust me" on just about anything and everything.

Nowhere did this reach a head more than in the latest Katrina tapes. Warnings were given that the levees might be breached. Nothing was being done. Brown warned about it, Chertoff warned about it, every person who knew anything warned about it.

The President? "We are fully prepared".

If that's not self-assured, conceited garbage, what is?

This is also the challenge facing myriad Jewish institutions, notably the religious groups. The courage to see that things are not as they ought to be; and the courage to go ahead and change them. Lubavitch, certainly since 1994, is no exception. The Rebbe was certainly one who knew and understood the horrors of stagnance and complacency, and fought it tooth and nail. It is the role of his followers to perpetuate that trend. So far, they're being pretty rotten at it.

Come to think of it, this is probably the challenge facing you and me. Chassidut elaborates at length how the holiday of Purim symbolizes the refusal to make peace with any kind of limitations or boundraries. Time to get going.

Drive-thru weddings

MSN Video: Ohio couple marries in McDonalds.

The event is obviously a Christian one. Who on earth is the Lubavitcher escorting the bride down the aisle?

With this kind of an attitude to marriage and life in general, no wonder so many marriages end up going the way of the fries basket.