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Nitsavim: The hardest quest
Surely, this Instruction which I enjoin upon you this day is not too baffling for you, nor is it beyond reach. It is not in the heavens, that you should say, "Who among us can go up to the heavens and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it?" Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, "Who among us can cross to the other side of the sea and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it?" No, the thing is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to observe it. See, I set before you this day life and prosperity, death and adversity. For I command you this day, to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His laws, and His rules, that you may thrive and increase, and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land that you are about to enter and possess. (Devarim 11-16
We've conjured up the stuff of dreams:
we've walked in space and seen the heavens
radiant with galaxies of stars,
we've plumbed the depths beneath the waves,
and walked the ocean floor,
we've charted lands beyond the sea, and
marveled at the glory of Your world, yet
we struggle with the hardest quest –
to walk the path illumined by Your light.
Parashat Nitsavim contains Moses' third discourse which he imparts to the people as he approaches his own death. It is a summons to ratify the covenant between God and the people, and is always read close to Rosh Hashanah, which is a time for taking stock of our commitment to the covenant with God.
In a commentary on the parasha from 2014, http://www.jtsa.edu/choose-life-and-torah, Professor Arnold Eisen addresses this discourse. He says, "It would be difficult to think of a Torah portion that speaks with greater urgency than this one. The Israelites are about to cross the Jordan to enter the Promised Land. Moses is about to die, at God's command, on the wilderness side of the river. He needs to sum up the teaching to which he has devoted his life in a manner that is persuasive, indeed unforgettable, for the people will not get to hear from him directly again, and the teaching is not meant for his generation alone. The Torah wants to speak to Children of Israel in every time and place, in a way that leads them — leads us — to carry forward the project that Moses has directed. It succeeds in that effort: we too are stirred by Moses's language, compelled by his vision, moved to undertake responsibility for his Torah." Professor Eisen notes that four passages in Parashat Nitsavim seem to him especially crucial to Moses's teaching and our response.
First, the opening words are addressed to the entire community. Absolutely everyone is included, both from that time and throughout all coming generations. Implicit is the assurance that the Torah will be relevant in every time and place.
Secondly, Moses says that "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, while revealed things belong to us and our children forever, to do all the things/words of this Torah." (Devarim 29:29). Prof Eisen comments, "We must resign ourselves to the fact that we will never know much of what we would dearly like to know. But — the Torah insists — we do know enough to live in this world, to do good, to make things better. We have God's Torah and the tradition built upon it over the generations. We have the promise of God's justice and compassion, and are occasionally vouchsafed moments in God's presence. We have abundant gifts of human culture and society: arts and sciences, experience and wisdom…"
He continues, "As if in response to the protest, "But it is so hard! Hard to know what is right, and harder still to do it!," Moses attempts reassurance. When the people stray from the path, God will "take you back in love" ([Devarim] 30:3). The task he sets for them is not beyond their capabilities. "This Instruction [mitzvah] which I enjoin upon you this day is not too baffling for you, nor is it beyond reach." It is not in the heavens, or beyond the sea. "No, the thing is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to do it." ([Devarim] 30:11–14). Finally, Moses emphasizes that although God's mitzvot – commandments may not be easy to keep, they are within our reach. We are to bring them into every aspect of our daily life. Moses seems to be saying that the "word" is very close to us otherwise we would not be able to access it. He encourages the people to walk in the way of Torah.
In a commentary on the parasha from 2011, http://ziegler.aju.edu/Default.aspx?id=7229, Rabbi Aryeh Cohen too addresses this second-to-last speech by Moses to the people, before he dies and they enter the land. Rabbi Cohen notes that as Moses departs, his role as mediator is taken away also. Rabbi Cohen says, "It is no longer necessary for somebody to go up to heaven (not once, but twice) to bring the Torah down. It is no longer necessary for there to be one person who mediates the word of God for the people. "It is in your mouth, and in your heart to fulfill."
He notes that a frequently-cited Talmudic tradition understands this verse to mean that once the Torah was revealed at Sinai, it was transferred from the heavenly realm to the human one, and thus, interpreting and understanding it became the responsibility of humans. He adds, "God is no longer a voice in the debate. "It is in your mouth, and in your heart to fulfill."
Rabbi Cohen continues that there is another view that appears in the Midrash (Mechilta deRabbi Ishmael, Bachodesh 9) and holds that "Israel merited prophecy because they refused to hear the voice of God directly at Sinai, and begged Moses to be the intermediary." (Shemot 20:19). When Moses retells the story of the Revelation at Sinai he adds God's response to the people's request not to hear God's voice. "The Lord heard the plea that you made to me and the Lord said to me, I have heard the plea that this people made to you ; they did well to speak thus." (Devarim 5:25) The Midrash sees this as an endorsement of having a mediator. However, Rabbi Cohen suggests that Moses' statement in this week's portion, does not seem to clarify the question of approval or disapproval of mediation. He says, "The point of Moses' statement is that you cannot rely on the fact that there might be somebody else to get the Torah and teach it to you, or for you. You must get it, study it and teach it. There is no longer an excuse. The fear that Israel had at Sinai of hearing the voice of God, cannot now be avoided – for the voice of God is what happens when Torah is studied. God is in the space between the student and her text, between teacher and student, between student and study partner.
"When Moses finishes speaking, he immediately writes "the words of this Torah on a scroll, in their entirety." He then entrusts them to the Levites to carry with the Ark of the Covenant. The Torah is now text, and inert unless studied. This is the obligation of freedom, and the criteria for membership in the community: being involved in the ongoing dialogue of Torah study. For those who take up the challenge – it is theirs; for those who don't-it remains beyond the ocean and above the Heavens."
Rabbi Cohen concludes with a thought by the Sefat Emet, who teaches that Moses broke the tablets of stone only when he saw the golden calf, as he realised that the people were not yet ready to receive them. Had they done so then, they would have worshiped the tablets like an idol. So Rabbi Cohen suggests "When Torah is static it is an idol: inaccessible, beyond the heavens, and for all intents and purposes, mute. When Torah is studied, and therefore dynamic, it is close at hand and alive. It is the word of God."
In her book The Five Books of Miriam, a Woman's Commentary on the Torah, Dr Ellen Frankel relates the Yiddish folklore story of Skotsl. Dr Frankl reminds us that when Moses is preparing to die, he assures the people that the Torah is neither in the heavens nor across the sea but "very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart. ([Devarim] 30:14). She asks "Is that still true? For isn't it also written "Who among us can go up to the heavens and get it for us" (30:12)? What are we supposed to do now that we no longer have a superhuman champion like Moses to intercede with God on our behalf?"
And she answers, "Once upon a time, there lived in Russia a community of women who reached just such a point of despair when the Russian army came and marched off all their men. Because the women themselves had no direct access to the Torah, neither to its words nor to the performance of many of its mitzvot , their Jewish lives came to a standstill. There were no men to perform a bris (ritual circumcision), slaughter kosher meat, lead prayers, read from the Torah, or conduct a funeral. Finally, a young woman, named Skotsl, suggested that they build a human ladder to heaven and ask God what to do. Because it was her idea, Skotsl was elected to be their spokeswoman.
"But just as Skotsl reached the top of the wobbling tower, the woman at the bottom sneezed, and the whole pillar of women collapsed. After they had picked themselves up and made sure no bones were broken, they looked around for Skotsl – but she was nowhere to be found. And since that day she has never been seen again. Did she reach heaven and become stranded there? Or did she fall to earth somewhere so distant that she could not find her sway back home? Or did she die in the fall?
"To this day, when some Jewish women greet each other, they announce, "Skotsl kumt!" – hoping that at last Skotsl has returned with answers from heaven and beyond the sea."
Book, Devarim, Nitzavim	inner journey, Skotsl	0 Comments
Ki Tavo: Forty years to understand
Yet to this day the Lord has not given you a mind to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear. I led you through the wilderness forty years – the clothes on your back did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet; you had no bread to eat and no wine or other intoxicant to drink — that you might know that I the Lord am your God. (Devarim 29:3-5)
No instant insights
despite the wonders on the way.
Forty years from revelation
to understanding.
Forty years to pare the husk
and find the heart within.
In a talk* that he gave at the Se'udah Shelishit (third Sabbath meal) on Shabbat Parashat Ki Tavo in 1996, http://etzion.org.il/vbm/english/archive/sichot67/50-67kitavo.htm, Rabbi Yehudah Amital (1924 – 2010) cites the Gemara (Avodah Zarah 5b) which recalls the incident in which the people grumbled against God and Moses that there was no bread and water in the wilderness and that they had come to loathe the miserable food… (B'midbar 21:5). Yet the Gemara says that Moses only reminds the Israelites of this incident some forty years later. We read there "As it is said, 'And I have led you forty years in the wilderness . . . but the Lord did not give you a heart to know, and eyes to see and ears to hear, until today.' [the quotation in the Gemara actually changes the order of the verses cf the Torah's text itself as cited above)]. Said Raba: From this you can learn that it may take one forty years to know the mind of one's master." Rav Amital wonders what the Gemara is teaching us. He asks, "Does it really take four decades to learn a lesson?"
In order to address this, he brings the Talmudic analogy (Chagiga 15a) of toch – the meaning, value, or truth that lies at the heart or core of a system, and its kelipah – the shell or husk that surrounds it, and which can take many forms. Rav Amital notes that Chasidic thought differentiates between "a kelipah of desire, which one may penetrate to reveal the truth, and a kelipah of falsehood, which has no toch at its core. In such a case, he says, the shell is truly empty."
Rabbi Amital, speaking twenty years ago, addresses a challenge no less pressing today, which he describes as a new culture of falsehood. He says, "Now it is the mantra of the West which rules, that image is everything, that only kelipah counts. Within this culture of hidden lies, falsehood is attractively packaged and marketed. Whether it is commercial advertisement or political propaganda, modern media present us with enchanting and beautiful externals, the connection between them and the internal value of the product or person being negligible. There are even those who attempt to sell the toch of Judaism in the same way, by exhibiting all of its ostensibly desirable and appealing elements, instead of delving into its content and depth."
Rav Amital brings a strange story from the Talmud Yerushalmi (Chagigah 2:2) which tells of two righteous men, one of whom dies and whose spirit then appears to his friend and describes the afterlife. Among other things, he tells him of a woman there, who has the bizarre name of Miriam-Daughter-of-Onion-Leaves, in whose ear the hinge of the gate of Gehinom [hell] revolves! The friend learns that she earned this punishment because of her false piety – she fasted a lot and took great pains to publicize it, or, according to another opinion, she exaggerated it. However, the deceased informant adds that Miriam will be replaced in her uncomfortable position by none other than Rabbi Shimon ben Shetach, who was the Nasi – the President of the Sanhedrin,** who when he dies, will take her place! The amazed friend wonders what could have been the sin of the Nasi? He learns that prior to becoming Nasi, Rabbi Shimon ben Shetach undertook to use his position to eradicate sorcery, but did not kept his resolution once he reached office. The friend immediately visits R' Shimon ben Shetach, who resolves to fulfill his promise, but is awestruck, because he hadn't ever actually spoken of his intention aloud, having only committed in his own heart to do so!
Rav Amital asks what we learn from this passage. He teaches that Miriam-Daughter-of-Onion-Leaves' curious name gives us the clue. He notes the marked difference between the onion and other vegetables: while other vegetables have a kelipah and a toch, the onion has only kelipah; after each layer of peel is shed, there is another layer of peel. The onion thus symbolises things which have only an exterior, but no core. This passage in the Talmud Yerushalmi comes to denounce that which has no inner truth or value, that which merely consists of a possibly attractive but actually empty husk. Miriam-Daughter-of-Onion-Leaves puts on a show of fasting, appearing to be pious, but really seeks public approbation. R' Shimon ben Shetach lets himself believe that he wants the high office of Nasi in order to eradicate paganism, but he does not fulfill the promise, even though he made it only to himself.
Rav Amital adds, "Judaism demands that, just as one should not write a check unless he has funds to cover it in the bank, one must also have "coverage" for all his assertions, promises and even intentions. The Torah despises facades and hypocrisy. We must inspect our actions, making sure that they validate our words and thoughts…"
He concludes, "With this in mind, we can return to the Gemara in Avodah Zarah cited above. The template of Moses in the desert shows us that it is insufficient to memorize and declaim the rabbi's words verbatim, being satisfied with the way they appear at first glance, on a kelipah level. Instead, we must understand them well and plumb their depths, exposing the toch. This requires a great deal of time, but it is the only way to ensure that at our core, we are people of truth."
After the number seven, forty is the most frequently-occurring number in the Tanach, and it often seems indicative of some sort of transition or turning point (forty days of the Flood, of Moses fasting on Mount Chorev, forty days granted to Ninevah to repent, forty days of purification following the birth of a baby boy (double that amount for a baby girl); forty years was the age at which both Isaac and Esau were married, that Calev was sent to spy out the land, forty years of the Children of Israel's sojourn in the desert,while several judges and kings ruled each for forty years.)
In the Talmud, we learn that a new level of understanding is attained at the age of forty – "ben arba'im le-binah," (Pirkei Avot 5:26). Tradition tells us of three great Rabbis – Hillel, Yochanan ben Zakkai and Akiva who embarked upon their rabbinical studies when they were forty years old.
Forty is also paralleled in the period between the first day of Elul, when we begin to blow the Shofar to prepare for Rosh Hashana, until Yom Kippur, the end of the period of repentance. These 40 days are considered a meaningful period for striving to reach a deeper level of understanding of what is required of us.
*Rav Amital's talk was summarized by Matan Glidai and translated by Yoseif Bloch.
**The Great Sanhedrin, similar to a Supreme Court, was made up of a Nasi (President), who functioned as head or representing president, but was not a member of the court, an Av Beit Din (the chief of the court), and sixty-nine general members.
Book, Devarim, Ki Tavo	core and husk, false exterior, Miriam-Daughter-of-Onion-Leaves, Rabbi Shimon ben Shetach, Rabbi Yehudah Amital	0 Comments
Ki Tetzei: Lost and saved
If you see your fellow's ox or sheep gone astray, do not ignore it; you must surely return it to your fellow. If your fellow does not live near you or you do not know who he is, you shall bring it home and it shall remain with you until your fellow claims it; then you shall give it back to him. You shall do the same with his ass; you shall do the same with his garment; and so too shall you do with anything that your fellow loses and you find: you may not hide yourself. (Devarim 22: 1-3)
All that we've misplaced
from last year until this:
the faith that Your design is good;
our hopeful resolutions to do better;
our connections with each other
and with You
are safeguarded, in "lost and found."
You don't need signs to know they're ours.
You hold our vision, undespairing,
until we come to claim it.
In a commentary on Ki Teitzei from 2001, Rabbi Lauren Eichler Berkun notes that amid the plethora of laws concentrated in this parasha [more than in any other parasha] we find the following law with which, traditionally, countless students have entered the complex world of Talmud study: If you see your fellow's ox or sheep gone astray, do not ignore it; you must surely return it to your fellow (Devarim 22:1). The Talmud (in Bava Metzia) expounds upon the laws of returning lost property, hashavat aveidah. Rabbi Eichler Berkun ponders why this subject was chosen by early Jewish teachers as an opening into serious religious learning.
She observes that we read this parasha in the month of Elul, when our thoughts are turning towards preparing for the Yamim Nora'im – the High Holidays. She suggests that there is a connection between the laws of lost property and the process of repentance. She notes the use of the same words for these two concepts. With regard to lost property the Torah teaches, hashev te'shiveim – literally "return, you shall return [lost property]." During the month of Elul, the over-riding theme is of repentance, teshuvah which means returning – to God. So Rabbi Eichler Berkun wonders how the laws of returning lost property inform us about the "spiritual discipline of repentance"? She notes that we learn in the Talmud that we are only responsible for returning a lost article that bears an identifying mark. So if we find coins or money bills on a street, we may keep them, as we have no chance of finding the owner, who in any event will not have any expectations of being located (he is considered to have reached a stage of ye'ush – despair – of receiving his money back). However, the Talmud also mandates that if we find something with a siman – a "sign" which identifies the owner, then we are obliged to make every effort to find him and return his property. He too, will not have despaired since the object is identifiably his. Moreover, we are enjoined to expand our efforts beyond obvious markings, but to consider where the object was found in an attempt to find the owner.
Rabbi Eichler Berkun says "Similarly, during this month leading up to the Yamim Noraim, we are called upon to look for the simanim, the "signs" that we have hurt someone in the past. We must search our souls for both the obvious and the subtle indications that obligate us to engage in teshuvah with those around us. If we wait too long to return, our loved ones may despair of ever finding a renewed relationship with us. As we make amends with all of those whom we have wronged in the past year, we return something which was lost to them. Perhaps we must return a family member's sense of dignity. Perhaps we must give back our neighbor's sense of self worth. Perhaps we must bring back our child's sense of independence, our parent's sense of honor, or our friend's sense of trust." She adds that in addition to truly seeking out ways to return something that was lost, or to repent for a misdeed, the Torah emphasises the need to keep on trying to do so. She cites the Mishnah: If one returned [an animal] and it ran away, and he returned it again and it ran away, even [if this happens] four or five times, he is still obligated to return it [yet again], for it is stated [in the Torah]: hashev t'shiveim, "return, you shall return them…" [Bava Metzia 27a]. She notes that double emphasis of the verb "to return" in the Torah verse is a reminder to "repeatedly and diligently" return lost property. She compares this to the teaching of the Rambam (1135-1204) in his work Hilchot Teshuvah – Laws of Repentance, that if one asks another for forgiveness and is rejected, one is obligated to return a second and even a third time in an attempt to attain forgiveness. She says, "Teshuvah, like finding the original owner of a lost article, is certainly a challenging and painstaking process."
Rabbi Eichler Berkun mentions the Stone of Claims from Temple times, as depicted in Bava Metzia 28b: "Our Rabbis taught: There was a Stone of Claims in Jerusalem: whoever lost an article repaired thither, and whoever found an article did likewise. The latter stood and proclaimed, and the former submitted his identification marks and received it back." She says that this transaction of restoring lost property would occur during the festival seasons when the people gathered to celebrate at the Temple in Jerusalem. She says "Imagine how much easier it would be, nowadays, to return lost property at one universally recognized place and time. In the case of teshuvah as well, the Temple offered a specific method for gaining atonement. The sacrificial system and the priestly rites enabled a person to achieve repentance each year. However, as Maimonides explains: At present, when the Temple does not exist and there is no altar of atonement, there remains nothing else aside from teshuvah (Hilkhot Teshuvah 1:3). In the post–Temple era, Maimonides is telling us, we have no means of returning to God and to those whom we love other than the hard work of personal introspection, prayer, and earnest attempts to ask for forgiveness."
Rabbi Eichler Berkun suggests that the Temple represents God's presence among the people. She says, "Like the owner of a lost article, who could meet us at the "claimant's stone" in Jerusalem, God would meet us in the Holy Temple as we returned each year to offer sacrifices. Today, we strive to recreate that sense of God's immediate presence in our lives through our rituals, prayers, and studies." She adds that the Yamim Nora'im represent our "claimant's stone" where we return to God and each other. She concludes, "The laws of lost property in this week's parashah speak to the fundamental experience of what it means to be a Jew. Jewish educators have trained their students first in the ethic of returning lost property in order to shape the moral and spiritual instincts of these Jewish souls. May our reflections upon these laws of hashavat aveidah serve as an intellectual and spiritual first step towards the transformative process of teshuvah.
In a further commentary on the parasha from 2010, http://www.jtsa.edu/the-jewish-lost-and-found, Rabbi Daniel Nevins reviews the very detailed system the rabbis developed to determine the level of responsibility a finder has to restore lost property. He notes, however, that rabbinic sensitivity also encompassed the psychological and social context. Thus, if returning lost property would engender too high a social or financial cost, the finder would not be expected to do so. He also mentions that, mindful of human frailty, the Torah enjoins us to restore lost property to our enemies as well as our friends. Thus, he suggests "I like to think that they were concerned not only with taming the petty instincts of a person who finds lost property, but also with restoring good relations between people who had been enemies. In this sense, the "lost possession" is friendship, and the commandment is to turn an enemy back into a brother."
Rabbi Nevins also perceives the concept of "lost property" as an allegory. He asks "What is the most valuable property of the Jewish people? Is it not the Torah itself, which is called "the inheritance of Jacob's congregation" (Deut. 33:5)?" He continues, "The Torah, which belongs to all of us, is nevertheless a lost inheritance for most Jews. An ancient story about Rabbi Yannai makes this point — if you meet a Jew who knows nothing of the tradition, do not mock him, but become his teacher (Vayikra Rabba 9:3). The Hasidic author Sefat Emet said that every day a heavenly voice announces that a valuable lost object — the Torah — has been found and is waiting to be claimed (Ki Tetzei for 5661). He finds a nice hint of this in the verse "until your brother comes to seek it (drosh)." On Shabbat, the Jewish soul remembers that it is missing something, and it goes to seek (drosh) the Torah and study it (drash)."
So Rabbi Nevins believes that this is the ultimate mission of every teacher and student of Torah – to restore this "lost property" the Torah, to its rightful owners. He concludes "The Jewish People is well familiar with popular culture, but the vast majority of our people are clueless about their lost treasure. Our duty is to announce the clues — the simanim — that mark this possession as valuable. Our job is to show our fellow Jews that the Torah does not belong to some scholarly elite, but that it is theirs to enjoy, to learn from, and to reclaim."
And finally, in a commentary on Ki Tetzei from 2007, https://ziegler.aju.edu/Default.aspx?id=5663, Reb Mimi Feigelson says that if in the time leading up to Pesach, we are engaged in physical housecleaning, in Elul, we are engaged in spiritual housecleaning. She too notes that the Chasidic masters view the laws of restoring lost property in a more mystical manner. Thus, Rebbe Nachman of Breslov (1772-1810) deduces that the meaning of "every lost thing of your brother's which he has lost" refers directly to the spiritual realm. He addresses the "spiritual objects" whose losses we sustain throughout our lives. Reb Mimi expands, "When we lose our love for a person that we once indeed loved deeply; when remembering how there was a time where our belief in God, humanity, or a sustaining philosophy that held us are now lost from us; when words of the siddur (prayer book) that once felt like 'home' have lost their meaning and significance – in these moments, who is the finder of such losses in our life?"
She answers that for Rebbe Nachman the answer is clear – the Ribbono Shel Olam (the Master of the World) – He is the finder of such losses. She continues "And He will hold on to it for us until we are ready to reclaim it and bring it back into our direct possession. We may need time to work through a relationship or a theological challenge. That is not a problem in Rebbe Nachman's interpretation. God's time is infinite, and as long as we hold on to the desire to return to the plain that we stood on, then it is only lost to us, but not to its own existence. And our Creator will hold on to it, in faith, trust and love till we come to claim it."
Reb Mimi submits a further step, based on Rebbe Nachman's teaching "Can we be this 'spiritual finder' for each other? Can we hold on to each other's greatness and promise, in those moments when one of us has lost their vision? Can we help each other reclaim that which was dear to our heart and soul? While journeying through this month of Elul and cleaning out the rooms of our heart and soul, can we designate one corner as a 'lost and found' for our dear ones to come and claim that which they have lost, and we in love and faith have been holding on to for them?"
Book, Devarim, Ki Tetzei	despair, laws of restoring lost property, ownership, signs, spiritual losses	0 Comments
Devarim: Sought: Ideal Leaders
You shall appoint magistrates and officials for your tribes…and they shall govern the people with due justice. You shall not judge unfairly: you shall show no partiality; you shall not take bribes, for bribes blind the eyes of the discerning and upset the plea of the just. Justice, justice shall you pursue…
If…you decide, "I will set a king over me, as do all the nations about me," …he shall not keep many horses…and he shall not have many wives, lest his heart go astray; nor shall he amass silver and gold to excess.
When he is seated on his royal throne, he shall have a copy of this Teaching written for him on a scroll by the levitical priests. Let it remain with him and let him read in it all his life, so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God, to observe faithfully every word of this Teaching as well as these laws. Thus he will not act haughtily toward his fellows or deviate from the Instruction to the right or to the left…(Devarim 16:18-20, 17:14-20)
Let them be clear of claims of corruption,
reputations unsullied by charges of graft.
Let them be honest in all of their dealings,
and also be humble and willing to learn.
Let them not have consorted with numerous partners;
let their hands not be brimming with ill-gotten gains.
Let the words of the prophets resound in their ears;
let them wrestle profoundly with moral concerns.
We're searching for leaders of crystal transparency
through whom the light of the Lord will shine forth;
who will heed the command that echoes in darkness
"Justice, justice you shall pursue!"
In a commentary on Parashat Shofetim from 2015, http://www.jtsa.edu/judging-the-individual-guiding-the-community, Professor Shuly Rubin Schwartz notes that the 2016 US presidential election primary season was launched with more than two dozen potential candidates. She points out that observing the ways in which they advocated for public support lent itself to focusing not only on each candidate, but also on which leadership qualities we both look for and reject in our elected officials.
Prof Rubin Schwartz observes that Parashat Shofetim examines a variety of leaders, including judges, officers, priests, kings and military leaders. She says that here we find "insights on the leadership qualities the Torah deems essential to the establishment and sustenance of a just society, qualities applicable not only to elected officials today but to anyone in a position of authority or responsibility over others. In this parashah devoted to the central theme of "Tzedek, Tzedek Tirdof," ["Justice, Justice shall you pursue,"] (Deut. 16:20) the Torah teaches that the social order will thrive only when all leaders are attuned to upholding justice. A straightforward goal, but the parashah acknowledges that the reality is inevitably more complicated. Even the most inspiring leaders will struggle, and the parashah opens by exhorting leaders not to succumb to all-too-human impulses to play favorites or take bribes. (Deut. 16:19)."
In a commentary from 2014 http://www.rabbisacks.org/shoftim-5774-learning-leadership/ Rabbi Jonathan Sacks describes the parasha as "the classic source of the three types of leadership in Judaism, called by the sages the "three crowns": of priesthood, kingship and Torah." (Mishnah Avot 4:13. Maimonides, Talmud Torah, 3:1). He continues, "Power, in the human arena, is to be divided and distributed, not concentrated in a single person or office. So, in biblical Israel, there were kings, priests and prophets. Kings had secular or governmental power. Priests were the leaders in the religious domain, presiding over the service in the Temple and other rites, and giving rulings on matters to do with holiness and purity. Prophets were mandated by God to be critical of the corruptions of power and to recall the people to their religious vocation whenever they drifted from it.
"Our parsha deals with all three roles." Rabbi Sacks notes that with regard to the kingship, the Torah is very clear on what the king may not do: acquire great numbers of horses, take many wives and amass great riches. (Devarim 17: 16-17) And he adds that as we learn, later on in the Bible, even the wisest of kings, King Solomon himself, succumbed to these temptations.
He adds that "consistent with the fundamental Judaic idea that leadership is service, not dominion or power or status or superiority, the king is commanded to be humble: he must constantly read the Torah "so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God … and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites" (17: 19-20). It is not easy to be humble when everyone is bowing down before you and when you have the power of life and death over your subjects."
Rabbi Sacks mentions the ambivalence (reflected from the Torah itself) among the commentators regarding whether the monarchy was a positive institution or not, but notes that there was one extremely significant aspect of royalty – that the king is mandated to study continually. He adds that Joshua, who succeeded Moses as leader, is enjoined in very similar words "Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." (Joshua 1:8)
So Rabbi Sacks concludes "Though few of us are destined to be kings, presidents or prime ministers, there is a general principle at stake. Leaders learn. They read. They study. They take time to familiarise themselves with the world of ideas. Only thus do they gain the perspective to be able to see further and clearer than others. To be a Jewish leader means spending time to study both Torah and chokhmah: chokhmah to understand the world as it is, Torah to understand the world as it ought to be.
Leaders should never stop learning. That is how they grow and teach others to grow with them."
In a further commentary from 2016, http://www.rabbisacks.org/greatness-humility-shoftim-5776/ Rabbi Sacks expands on the theme of the Divine mandate addressed to the king, to remain humble. He says "Great leaders have many qualities, but humility is usually not one of them. With rare exceptions they tend to be ambitious, with a high measure of self regard. They expect to be obeyed, honoured, respected, even feared…"
So he suggests that this instruction to the king is surprising and powerful. The Torah, he notes, is speaking about a king, in ancient times, when kings commanded absolute power. Rabbi Sacks says, "If a king, whom all are bound to honour, is commanded to be humble – "not feel superior to his brethren" – how much more so the rest of us…"
Rabbi Sacks continues "This is a clear example of how spirituality makes a difference to the way we act, feel and think. Believing that there is a God in whose presence we stand means that we are not the centre of our world. God is." He cites research published in 2014 by the Harvard Business Review that showed that "The best leaders are humble leaders."* He says that such leaders "learn from criticism. They are confident enough to empower others and praise their contributions. They take personal risks for the sake of the greater good. They inspire loyalty and strong team spirit."
And finally, in a commentary on Shofetim from 2005, http://www.jtsa.edu/the-responsibility-of-holding-office, Rabbi Ismar Schorsch addresses the responsibility that is so often shirked by those who hold public office. He considers the horrors wrought by Hurricane Katrina, which left devastation in its wake and engendered great suffering, while the federal government had been unprepared for a disaster that was just waiting to occur. He says "In the months ahead, investigative commissions without number will seek to plot missteps, assign blame, and propose initiatives. But how will politicians, for whom winning is everything, cleanse themselves collectively of guilt where no one is directly culpable? How do we spiritually atone for the stain left on our body politic by Katrina's assault?
"This week's parashah, which takes up the contours of good governance, among other subjects, actually addresses the issue with an exotic proposal." He then describes the ritual of the beheaded heifer (which I addressed in a post in 2015 https://parashapoems.wordpress.com/category/book/Devarim/Shofetim/). This ritual was prescribed for the leaders of a community to confess and atone for an unsolved, unpunished murder that happened on their "watch". Rabbi Schorsch notes "the intent of the confession is to exonerate the elders of facilitating the travesty by their indifference." He continues, "I have often wondered if office holders should not be made to undergo a rite of purification when the public suspects their culpability. Not an investigation in which they exercise their right to defend their actions, but a sacred setting in which they might give voice to their feelings of remorse and sense of fallibility. Their oath of office, taken on a Bible, implies a duty to God as well as society. An occasional confession in the house of worship of their choice might even reinforce the sanctity of their public trust. It certainly would give authority a more human face."
He concludes, "…the ideal remains valid even in contemporary America. Office holders are accountable to God as well as to their constituencies, otherwise they would not swear on Scripture. And for God, humility has always been one of the qualifications of leadership. Moses looms as the greatest of ancient Israel's leaders because in part at least he was also the humblest of men (Numbers 12:3)."
*Jeanine Prime and Elizabeth Salib, 'The Best Leaders are Humble Leaders', Harvard Business Review, 12 May 2014.
Book, Devarim, Shofetim	accountability, humility, justice, public officials, responsibility	0 Comments
Re'eh: Accord
You are children of the Lord your God. You shall not gash yourselves or shave the front of your heads because of the dead. (Devarim 14:1)
Do not carve yourselves up
into pure and impure,
men and women,
left and right,
rich and poor,
gay and straight,
migrants, citizens,
them and us.
Do not slash the body
that houses every being,
do not split the skin
that girds you all, for
underneath it, black or white,
each one is My child.
In Parashat Re'eh, we read the commandment "You are children of the Lord your God. You shall not gash yourselves (lo titgodedu) or shave the front of your heads because of the dead. The literal meaning of this verse prohibits pagan mourning customs that include self-mutilating practices similar to those described in Elijah's encounter with the prophets of Ba'al (1 Kings 18:28). However, the Rabbis of the Talmud in Yevamot 13b re-interpret the verse in a way that has lost none of its relevance today. They suggest that the word titgodedu is etymologically related to the word agudah meaning group. They compare this verse with that in Psalms 94:21 which contains the word yagodu, meaning "they group together (against the soul of the righteous)." So the Rabbis derive that lo titgodedu is actually an exhortation meaning "Do not divide up into rival factions (agudot agudot)."
Tellingly, this injunction is preceded by the reminder "You are children of the Lord your God."
In the twentieth century, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907 – 1972) stands out as a giant of "building bridges" both within the Jewish community as well as in pioneering interfaith dialogue. In an interview in On Being with Krista Tippett, on the "Spiritual Audacity of Abraham Joshua Heschel" http://www.onbeing.org/program/spiritual-audacity-abraham-joshua-heschel/227/extraaudio?embed=1&start_track=1&?embed=1, Professor Arnold Eisen recalls that in 1953 Rabbi Heschel addressed the Assemblage of Reform Rabbis and later in the same month, he spoke to the Conservative rabbis. (He told the former that they needed to pay more attention to Jewish law which Reform Judaism had rejected, and to the latter he told that they paid too much attention to law and needed to address Jewish spirituality.)
In an article on Rabbi Heschel http://www.crosscurrents.org/heschel.htm, Dr Reuven Kimelman summarises, "Heschel's fulfilled desire to be connected with … diverse constituencies is reflected in the fact that over thirty national organizations, Jewish and otherwise, sponsored the sheloshim in his honor. His roots in Judaism reached so deep that they penetrated that substratum of life which nourishes all mankind. Heschel's ability to relate to so many people on their various levels flowed from his conviction that man's grandeur surpasses his ideologies. His ability to deal with the thought and attitudes of so many religious communities issued from a certitude that God transcends His theologies."
With regard to Rabbi Heschel's interfaith activity, Professor Eisen comments "Heschel was a mystic. And you'll find a lot of mystics throughout the ages — Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu — who believe they have an experience of God that goes beyond language, that goes beyond culture, that proves to them the unity of the Divine and then they understand various religious traditions as ways, as it were, of putting this experience into words. And the words always fall short. And one of the things that enabled Heschel to be so open to people of other faiths and to feel real kinship with them was this fundamental mysticism, this sense that the experience of God goes beyond any individual tradition, is greater than any individual tradition, as it were, encompasses all of them.
"And then there was the personal experience, and here was the man who was able to see in other human beings that he met, for example, the Pope and the cardinals that he met in encounters through Vatican II, Martin Luther King, Reinhold Niebuhr. He encountered other people of faith and I think was open enough to see in them depths of religious, as it were, belonging. That they too live in the presence of God and therefore they have kinship with him. And these encounters reinforce one another and grow in him this sense of a mystery beyond any tradition's capacity to fully understand it.
"So there's Heschel out there in the world marching in Selma sure that those people marching with him are no less children of God, full of insight into God, than he is. This is rare in a contemporary world. Even with all of our talk about pluralism and all of our religious dialogue, the deep conviction that we need to be open to others because we have something important to learn from them. This remains rare. And it's one of the things that Heschel had to teach that I'm most grateful for."
Devarim, Re'eh	dissension, factions, inter-faith dialogue, Rabbi AJ Heschel	0 Comments


text:
Home Lifestyle Sports Winterhawks going retro to honour Port Elgin Bears
Winterhawks going retro to honour Port Elgin Bears
The Saugeen Shores Winterhawks announced plans to honour Port Elgin's junior hockey history during an upcoming game.
The Winterhawks will pay tribute to the Port Elgin Bears during their game on December 28th against the Elora Rocks by wearing throwback gold & black Bears jerseys.
The Bears competed in the Central Jr. C Hockey League and later Grey-Bruce Jr. C Hockey League from 1976 until 1989 and this season marks the 40th anniversary of the 1979-80 Bears team that won the Central Jr. C championship.
(For larger view, CLICK on Image)
"The Bears remain near-and-dear to many hockey fans in town, even 30 years after they played their last game," said Winterhawks' President Gord Lamont, a former Bears' coach and manager. "This seemed like the right time to recognize the Bears, and specifically, their championship team."
Many Bears alumni will be in attendance for the game, including members of the 1980 championship team, who will be recognized during a pre-game ceremony.
The Bears were a successful junior program, graduating two players to the NHL, Paul MacDermid [1979/80] and Louie DeBrusk [1986/87]. The retro jerseys that will be worn by the Winterhawks players will be sold through silent auction during the game, with selected jerseys to be live auctioned at the conclusion of the game. A portion of the proceeds from the game will be donated to a charitable cause.
The puck drops at an earlier start time, 7:00 p.m., as the Winterhawks go for a valuable two points as they continue to battle for 1st place in the WOAA Sr. Hockey League standings.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


JOLIET – The Olivia Newton-John concert originally scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Rialto Square Theatre has been postponed, according to a theater news release.
Newton-John is a four-time Grammy Award-winning singer who starred in the movie "Grease," which was released in 1978, and has sold an estimated 100 million albums during her career. Her most recent hit was the song "You Have to Believe," which was released in 2015.
Ticketholders should keep their tickets until the new date is announced. All tickets previously purchased will be honored on the rescheduled date.


text:
Career Research>Career Fields>Health Care Career Field
Health Care Career Field
Health Care Careers Background
The origins of medicine began with prehistoric people who believed that diseases were derived from supernatural powers. To destroy the evil spirits, they performed trephining, which involved cutting a hole in the victim's skull to release the spirit. Skulls have been found in which the trephine hole has healed, demonstrating that people did survive the ritual, although it may be assumed that trephining did little to help the afflicted person. The first doctors, known as medicine men, also used herbal concoctions, ritual dances, and incantations to heal their patients.
In about 3000 BC, the ancient Egyptians developed a systematic method of treating illnesses, which introduced the notion of specialization within the field of medicine. The famous physician Imhotep was so respected that the Egyptians regarded him as the god of healing.
The Greek physician Hippocrates was the first person to declare that disease was caused by natural, not supernatural, phenomena. He introduced a method of conduct and ethics for the practice of medicine. To this day, each physician pledges the Hippocratic Oath on their day of graduation from medical school.
Another Greek physician, Galen of Pergamum, studied in Rome during the second century AD. He worked as physician to Emperor Marcus Aurelius and lectured to physicians on dissections and experimental physiology. He conducted anatomical studies of animals, particularly apes, because the dissection of humans was illegal. He is credited with the discoveries of blood transport by arteries, the pumping mechanism of the heart, and the function of the kidneys. His written work remained influential for hundreds of years, and during the 15th and 16th centuries, many physicians repeated his experiments to gain further insight into the mechanism of human anatomy.
Avicenna (980–1037), from Persia, was another major contributor to the early development of Western medicine. His single largest contribution was the book The Canon of Medicine, which included the information of Greek and Arabic physicians that had been gathered from many generations, as well as some of his own findings. The book remained the most important publication for medicine through the 16th century and served as a major resource of information for Eastern and Western countries.
When dissection of human corpses was accepted in the 1500s, Andreas Vesalius was able to conduct his own examinations and correct many of the errors that Galen had made. Vesalius published On the Structure of the Human Body in 1543, which provided the basis for future study of human anatomy.
William Harvey made an important contribution to medicine in the 17th century. Using the observations Hieronymus Fabricius had made on the valves in veins, Harvey conducted physical tests to prove that blood circulates through the body and through the veins and arteries. He wrote On the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Animals (1628).
It was the development of the microscope that moved medical study into the next plane of understanding. Zacharias Janssen, a Dutch eyeglass maker, discovered the benefits of combining magnifying lenses. He is credited with developing the first compound-lens microscope around 1590.
Another Dutch scientist, Anton Van Leeuwenhoek, used microscopes to study the microscopic contents of water, blood, and other body fluids and tissues. He described bacteria from his observations, becoming the first person to recognize the presence of foreign bodies in human fluids.
Discoveries were made more rapidly once the concept of germ infection became recognized and accepted. The awareness of bacteria, fungi, and viruses led to concepts, taken for granted today, that proved to be a major boon to the medical profession. Washing hands before surgery, examinations, and deliveries of newborns led to a decrease in cases of infections and death. Joseph Lister developed the concept of an antiseptic environment that promoted sterilized equipment and surroundings in medical work.
Louis Pasteur successfully produced vaccinations that battled diseases. In the mid-1800s, Pasteur inoculated sheep against a common animal disease called anthrax. He went on to develop a vaccination against rabies, demonstrating that vaccinations were as successful in preventing disease in humans as they were in animals.
Another discovery that the modern world relies on every day is the development of anesthesia. Surgery had been performed without it for hundreds of years, but it was hazardous and extraordinarily painful. In 1846, a surgery by William Morton in Boston before a group of physicians proved to the medical world that the use of anesthesia freed the patient from surgical pain and allowed the physician to work more accurately, more thoroughly, and more extensively than ever before. Early anesthetics included nitrous oxide, ether, and chloroform.
Drugs were discovered that battled and killed some bacteria and infections. Penicillin was discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928. Howard Florey and Ernst Chain were able to isolate the penicillin compound in pure enough quantities to use it to combat infections such as staph. That advance in 1938 led to mass production, which allowed the British and American armies to use it on wounded soldiers through World War II. The number of lives saved by penicillin is beyond calculation.
Immunologists and bacteriologists experimented with methods of inoculating soldiers against viral infections. Tetanus antitoxin was developed by Emil von Behring and Shibasaburo Kitasato in 1890. The two also worked on diphtheria antitoxin, which, only after the vaccinations had a combination of toxins and antitoxins, would produce an immune response in humans.
During the 1930s technology was developed that allowed immunologists to isolate and cultivate viruses for study and experimentation. As viruses were isolated, the proper vaccinations could be developed that would trigger immunization in humans. The most heralded of the vaccines was the one developed by Jonas Salk for poliomyelitis (polio). Albert Sabin developed an oral vaccine soon after, which also immunized against polio. Polio had infected hundreds of thousands of people in the United States between 1940 and 1959 and had killed 26,635 people, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Initial use of the vaccination began in 1954. In 1960, thanks to the vaccination, only 3,190 Americans developed the disease.
Viruses still plague the population and therefore impact on the medical community. Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is the most deadly virus to affect the population. By 2004, 529,000 people had died from AIDS in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and the disease had been diagnosed in 944,000 others. Severe acute respiratory syndrome (commonly known as SARS) is a viral respiratory illness that was first reported in Asia in 2003. Before the outbreak was contained, SARS spread to more than 24 countries in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. According to the World Health Organization, 8,098 people worldwide contracted SARS during this outbreak and 774 of that group died. Researchers are attempting to find a preventive vaccination and a cure for these deadly viruses.
The health care industry continues to develop at a rapid rate with the discoveries of new drugs, treatments, and cures. Modern technologies, such as computers and virtual reality, are being used by the medical community to perform tests, compile data, diagnose illnesses, and train professionals. Many surgeries are no longer performed with a scalpel, but with lasers. Disease, illness, and injury are now being treated and cured so successfully that the general population is living much longer and the number of elderly is increasing.
Scientists are conducting promising research in the field of genetics. Knowledge about genes could help doctors identify people who have genetic predispositions to certain diseases and perhaps lead to a cure for such illnesses as Parkinson's disease and some types of cancer.
The medical and health care field has become one of the largest and most varied occupational areas. Approximately 13.5 million people were employed in some aspect of the U.S. health care system in 2004, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Health care workers are employed as physicians, nurses, nursing aides, technicians, technologists, therapists, and in a host of other occupations.
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text:
Q: creating an audioWorkletNode with 4 channels? I am working on a mod player which is an audio file with 4 different tracks (channels) using webaudio/audioWorkletNode.
I got it working correctly using a 2 channel (stereo) audio node:

*

*channels (tracks) 0 & 3 are mixed into the left channel

*channels (tracks) 1 & 2 are mixed into the right channel

The problem is that I'd like to analyse and show a waveform display for each of the tracks (so there should be 4 different analysers).
I had the idea of creating an audioWorkletNode with outputChannelCount set to [4], connect an analyser to each of the node's four channels, and then use a channelMerger to mix it into 2 stereo channels.
So I used the following code, expecting it to create a node with 4 channels:

let node = new AudioWorkletNode(context, 'processor', { outputChannelCount: [4] });

But the outputChannelCount parameter seems to be ignored. No matter what I specify, it's set to 2 channels in the end.
Is there a way to do it another way, or must I handle the analyse myself, using my own analyser?

A: I finally found a way to mix all four channels and pass each channel to its own analyser by doing that:
this.context.audioWorklet.addModule(`js/${soundProcessor}`).then(() =>
{
    this.splitter = this.context.createChannelSplitter(4);
    // Use 4 inputs that will be used to send each track's data to a separate analyser
    // NOTE: what should we do if we support more channels (and different mod formats)?
    this.workletNode = new AudioWorkletNode(this.context, 'mod-processor', {
            outputChannelCount: [1, 1, 1, 1],
            numberOfInputs: 0,
            numberOfOutputs: 4
    });

    this.workletNode.port.onmessage = this.handleMessage.bind(this);
    this.postMessage({
        message: 'init',
        mixingRate: this.mixingRate
    });
    this.workletNode.port.start();

    // create four analysers and connect each worklet's input to one
    this.analysers = new Array();

    for (let i = 0; i < 4; ++i) {
        const analyser = this.context.createAnalyser();
        analyser.fftSize = 256;// Math.pow(2, 11);
        analyser.minDecibels = -90;
        analyser.maxDecibels = -10;
        analyser.smoothingTimeConstant = 0.65;
        this.workletNode.connect(analyser, i, 0);
        this.analysers.push(analyser);
    }

    this.merger = this.context.createChannelMerger(4);

    // merge the channel 0+3 in left channel, 1+2 in right channel
    this.workletNode.connect(this.merger, 0, 0);
    this.workletNode.connect(this.merger, 1, 1);
    this.workletNode.connect(this.merger, 2, 1);
    this.workletNode.connect(this.merger, 3, 0);
    this.merger.connect(this.context.destination);
});

I basically create a new node with 4 outputs and use the outputs as a channel. To produce a stereo output I can then use a channel merger. And voila!
Complete source code of the app can be found here: https://warpdesign.github.io/modplayer-js/

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
using System;
using System.Configuration;
using System.Xml;
using System.Linq;
using System.Reflection;

namespace HermaFx.SimpleConfig
{
    public class ConfigurationSectionForInterface : ConfigurationSection, IConfigValue, IBaseValueProvider
    {
        private readonly ClientValueResolver _clientValueResolver;
        private readonly Type _interfaceType;
        private readonly ConfigurationElementRegistrar _registrar = ConfigurationElementRegistrar.Instance;
        private bool _sectionDeserialized = false;

        public ConfigurationSectionForInterface(Type interfaceType)
        {
            _interfaceType = interfaceType;
            _clientValueResolver = new ClientValueResolver(this, InterfaceType);

            // XXX: Mono does not call 'Init' on ConfigurationSection instances. :(
            if (ReflectionHelpers.RunningOnMono) Init();
        }

        public object this[PropertyInfo property]
        {
            get { return base[NamingConvention.Current.AttributeName(property)]; }
        }

        public Type InterfaceType
        {
            get { return _interfaceType; }
        }

        public object Value(PropertyInfo property)
        {
            return _clientValueResolver.ClientValue(property);
        }

        protected override void Init()
        {
            _registrar.Register(this, _interfaceType);

            base.Init();
        }

        protected override void DeserializeSection(XmlReader reader)
        {
            base.DeserializeSection(reader);
            _sectionDeserialized = true;
        }

        protected override void DeserializeElement(XmlReader reader, bool serializeCollectionKey)
        {
            // XXX: Mono does load standalone config files
            //		as a two step process. So during the first
            //		deserializeElement call we should avoid
            //		processing XmlReader contents.
            if (ReflectionHelpers.RunningOnMono
                && !string.IsNullOrEmpty(SectionInformation.ConfigSource)
                && !_sectionDeserialized)
            {
                return;
            }

            base.DeserializeElement(reader, serializeCollectionKey);

            // XXX: Mono has a bug were it does not correctly
            //        asserts IsRequired on section's attributes.
            if (ReflectionHelpers.RunningOnMono)
            {
                var missingProperties = ElementInformation.Properties
                    .OfType<PropertyInformation>()
                    .Where(x => x.IsRequired && x.Value == null)
                    .Distinct()
                    .Select(x => x.Name);

                if (missingProperties.Any())
                {
                    OnRequiredPropertyNotFound(missingProperties.First());
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Central Arkansans can now participate in local farmers' market challenge
All you have to do is visit 7 different farmers' markets in central Arkansas and you'll be entered to win prizes!
Author: Amanda Jaeger
Published: 6:29 AM CDT August 20, 2019
Updated: 7:34 AM CDT August 20, 2019
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Supporting "Arkansas grown, Arkansas made" is the mission behind many local farmers' markets.
It's a mission that has gained traction in recent years as the "buy local, eat local' movement has grown in popularity. But in central Arkansas, it's still been challenging to get the word out about all the farmers' market spots popping up. That's why local farmers' markets are working together to encourage people to visit their shops with a new community challenge.
North Little Rock's Me and McGee market is a full-fledged farmers' market that started with humble beginnings. Owner, Logan Duvall, said it was started by his grandparents as a small pecan farm.
"We never dreamed it would be what it is today," he said.
It was a special place for Larry McGee, Logan's grandpa, who died from cancer a few years ago. The loss inspired his family to create The Larry McGee Foundation.
"It's a way to help caregivers of loved ones who are terminally ill," he said.
It's a foundation with a mission recently taking on a new meaning for Duvall.
"Very recently we found out our five year old son was diagnosed with cancer," he said. "We are in and out of chemo and radiation every day."
As his son Lander battles chemo, the passion to promote the Larry McGee foundation grows stronger for Duvall. He's made it a mission raise awareness of the foundation in honor of his grandpa and son and to help other farmers' market dreams come true. That's why he started the 2019 Farmers' Market Challenge. The goal is to encourage people to visit and support seven different markets in central Arkansas.
The challenge is fairly easy. You just visit each of the seven locations and write down the name and date of your visit on a special card. You then submit that completed card for a chance to win prizes in a drawing. The challenge has been a huge help to newer markets like the Bramble Market in Ferndale that David Rice opened a year ago.
"Anything we can do to cross promote and support one another is great," said Rice.
The Bramble Market is a retail establishment that has the farmers' market feel.
"We're in the gardens a lot working with ranches and ranchers, procuring meat and produce, and all that," he said. "We are trying to buy as much local as possible," he said.
Rice said he's thankful the challenge has brought new faces in and has created a strong comradery between market owners.
"People come in and are enjoying the concept and liking the idea," he said. "I'm always happy to point them to other markets to find other things and meet other people."
You can head to Me and McGee to get the challenge card. Your choice of any seven farmers' markets in central Arkansas will count toward completion of the challenge. The challenge ends in November.
For more information visit here.


text:
Friday Rock
Fredagsrock at Plænen in Tivoli is probably Denmark's most popular venue for open-air concerts
Every year, Fredagsrock (literally Friday's Rock) attracts around half a million pop and rock fans in all ages.
Year after year, Tivoli presents a diverse program, covering both international stars, new talents and artists that will bring nostalgia to the grey-haired guests.
The concerts are free once the entrance to Tivoli has been paid.


text:
Repost-It's Harder To Swim Against The Prevailing Currents Of Group Identity
August 23, 2021 / chr1
Shelby Steele and his son, Eli, have made a film about Ferguson, and Michael Brown:
WhatKilledMichaelBrown.Com
See the interview below for a discussion of what Steele has lived through and how he came to doubt the rise of Identity and power politics during the 1960's (people speaking out against the dominant 'narratives' actually are in a minority these days, and subject to censure by many new gatekeepers):
As I see things, establishing facts while arguing and applying the law (A Nation Of Laws) is one of the cornerstones of our Republic.
Legitimate moral authority, institutional competence and public trust are hard to come by, and will likely be harder still in the years to come.
In my experience, there is some other value or ideal placed higher than law, fact and freedom of speech regarding the issues Steele discusses (Ideologies which support (V)ictims against (O)ppresors, (I)dentity above Citizenship, (E)quity or (S)ocial (J)ustice) above individual choice and equality under the law. The flaws in internal logic and real-world conflicts created in pursuit of many such ideas will always be resolved in the utopia to come.
I can think of many currents affecting this state of affairs, including postmodern drift (individuals isolated from all tradition and responsibility,.. narratives all the way down), the baptized Marxism of Reverend Wright's church and the Democratic Socialism of Cornel West.
A lot of Steele's thinking comes down to the support of what he calls 'poetic truths' over the establishment of empirical fact.
In fact, applying this thinking to the reparations debate, I'd say Ta Nehisi Coates was the voice of 'poetic truth', while Coleman Hughes' was defending empirical fact:
From Quillette Magazine, a podcast: Professor Wilfred Reilly discusses his new book Taboo: 10 Facts You Can't Talk About
Your moment of Zinn: The 1776 project is a response to the 1619 project.
MLK Playboy interview here.
Worth a read:
'That night will never leave my memory. It was the angriest I have ever been in my life.'
A short story by Flannery O'Connor, as sent in by a reader:
'He had not walked five hundred yards down the road when he saw, within reach of him, the plaster figure of a Negro sitting bent over on a low yellow brick fence that curved around a wide lawn. The Negro was about Nelson's size and he was pitched forward at an unsteady angle because the putty that held him to the wall had cracked. One of his eyes was entirely white and he held a piece of brown watermelon.'
Redemption, mercy, original sin, and a decent short-story leaving you not knowing what to think, exactly.
Also As Sent In: Martin Luther King's intellectual development came mainly through theology and seminary, social gospel (addressing social injustices), but also depended on various other sources, including Gandhi's non-violent resistance (not acquiescence) to displace the force of the laws used against blacks for centuries. He welcomed a broad definition of rights enacted into law to include black folks, and a vast involvement of Federal authority…
And…where some of that energy has gone…further Left.
Cornel West.:
'Being a leftist is a calling, not a career; it's a vocation not a profession. It means you are concerned about structural violence, you are concerned about exploitation at the work place, you are concerned about institutionalized contempt against gay brothers and lesbian sisters, hatred against peoples of color, and the subordination of women.'
Related On This Site: Sunday Quotation: Edmund Burke On The French Revolution
Milton Friedman Via Youtube: 'Responsibility To The Poor'……Robert George And Cornel West At Bloggingheads: "The Scandal Of The Cross"…Race And Free Speech-From Volokh: 'Philadelphia Mayor Suggests Magazine Article on Race Relations Isn't Protected by the First Amendment'
One way out of multiculturalism and cultural relativism:
Update And Repost- From YouTube: Leo Strauss On The Meno-More On The Fact/Value Distinction?'
They've got to keep up with the times:A Few Thoughts On NPR And Current Liberal Establishment Thinking Under Obama
Atheism, California, Conservatism, Crime, Culture, Current Events, Empiricism, Free Markets, Free Speech, Idealism, Identity Politics, Ideology, Law, Liberalism, Marxism, New Atheism, Nihilism, Public Debate, Radicalism, Terrorism, The 60's, Utopia
Activism, Black Panthers, Coleman Hughes, Eli Steele, Eric Holder, Ferguson, Ideas & Argument, Liberalism, Liberation Theology, Michael Brown, MLK Jr, Obama, Patriotism, Poetic Truths, Racial politics, Rule Of Law, Shelby Steele, Social Democracy, Ta Nehisi Coates
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Description:Look beyond in this fashionable skater skirt. Designed with carefully selected buttons that run down the front, with this skirt you can add that edge to your look every day. Made with a breathable natural fabric- 100% Hemp and Hemp Blends.


text:
Meet the 2019/20 Civic Fellows!
Civic Fellows
Civic Orchestra
of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago
KELSEY ROSS
Horn player Kelsey Ross is an active performer and educator currently based in Chicago as a fellow with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Kelsey earned both her M.M. and B.M. degrees from the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore as a student of Denise Tryon. While in school, she recorded the music of acclaimed American composers Kevin Puts and Aaron Jay Kernis under the direction of Marin Alsop as well as works by emerging composers with the Peabody Wind Ensemble for Naxos Records. She was also a founding member of both the Brassanova Brass Quintet and Harbor City Wind Quintet, innovative ensembles that used creative concert formats to reach new audiences in the Baltimore area. A firm believer in music's ability to effect social change, Kelsey has worked with the Baltimore Symphony's OrchKids program as a teaching assistant and has also held teaching positions with the Peabody Preparatory and Baltimore School for the Arts.
Kelsey spent her summer at the Aspen Music Festival where she studied with Andrew Bain, Erik Ralske, and Kevin Rivard. Recently, Kelsey made her Carnegie Hall debut performing with the New York String Orchestra under conductor Jaime Laredo and also has participated in the Domaine Forget summer festival in Quebec. She has played in masterclasses with David Cooper, Radovan Vlatkovic, Froydis Ree Wekre, Gail Williams, Barry Tuckwell, Abel Pereira, and the American Horn Quartet.


Legislative Summary:A person who applies in person to register to vote shall identify himself or herself by presenting an official state identification card issued to that person. The secretary of state shall develop a voter registration training program for third-party voter registration organizations that teaches the proper procedure for taking a voter registration application.
Veto Summary:SB754 precludes voter registration groups from receiving and delivering registration applications until at least one member of their organization has received training. While our current Secretary of State would be very proactive on offering training, it is important to ensure that future officials provide proper training. Voting rights are precious and we need to work especially hard to make it possible for people to vote.