A new young Jewish community in SF

I can't go this time around, but this new Jewish community looks like a fun, interesting time and they're having their first Shabbat event this Friday. They describe themselves as "one part indie Shabbat community, one part San Francisco experiment, and one part tool kit for DIY Jewish practice." Well then.

Why is the orange really on the seder plate?

The saying goes that an old male rabbi once said that "women belong on the bimah like an orange belongs on the seder plate." As a result, many progressive Jews include oranges on their seder plates to honor womens' voices and importance in Judaism. I was surprised to read this article, however, which has a different take on the story of the orange. Enjoy!

I had no idea Drake was Jewish!

He even had a Bar Mitzvah! Hear Matisyahu talk about his and Drake's places in the Jewish music scene (or not) here. Fancy.

Fun, recently learned, fact: Drake is in Kid Cudi's official "Pursuit of Happiness" video.

This Matisyahu photo was pulled from Stig Nygaard on Flickr. As you can see, the Drake photo is from some bogus Walmart thingie. Thanks, Creative Commons!

Dipping my toes into the SF Jewish water

In my continued quest to explore San Francisco and have adventures, I did a little poking around the 'net and found some great events and such coming up that I'm looking forward to checking out.

1. The Jewish Community Center in SF (JCCSF) is so amazing, with classes and lectures and a pool and a Judaica shop and an art studio and, and, and. . . How to decide between ballet and ceramics? And also the many interesting events they have coming up, including. . .
2. The (I think) unfortunately named "Three Rabbis Walk Into the Room," in which Reform, Conservative and Orthodox rabbis (one each) will be discussing conversion, gender and the "Jew of the future" in April. Although all three rabbis are men, I'm looking forward to hearing what they have to say.
3. I'm really pumped to check out Sha-ar Zahev for a Shabbat service someday soon. They're really close to my house, and explicitly feminist (and also the self-proclaimed "vibrant community of gay and lesbian Jews" in SF). And their siddur (prayer book) is widely published and is available as far away as Boston. Fancy that! Also, if I remember right, their Torah study doesn't start until 10:00 on Saturday mornings, which breaks the usual 9:00 mold I've been seeing everywhere else. I really think the Universe wants me to sleep in on Shabbat.
4. Or Shalom, a Reconstructionist temple, also seems like it would be good to check out, but it's a bit of a hike for me. We'll see. . .

And that's what I've got so far. I'm also still reading Jimmy Carter's book - it took a back seat to some faster paced fiction recently. But I swear, a review will be forthcoming!

Can I interest you in Hanukkah?

From A Colbert Christmas, Jon tries to interest Stephen in Hanukkah which lasts for "seven - for you? - eight nights." I'm sold! (Thanks to Genessa for sharing.)

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
A Colbert Christmas: Jon Stewart
http://www.colbertnation.com/
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog</a> March to Keep Fear Alive

What was the AJWS thinking?

There's this new video on funnyordie.com in which tons (tons!) of celebrities crack jokes in support of the American Jewish World Service. Despite the fact that the spot was clearly created by AJWS, they not so cleverly avoid taking responsibility for some of the racy, offensive content of the piece by saying at the beginning of the video that they "don't approve this message." Clearly, they do. And not owning up to their own attempts at edgy, youthful advertising just makes them look like, um. . . the opposite of edgy and youthful. (And, as the apparent intended audience for the ad, I should know.)

Hey, AJWS! If you're going to waste my time with Sarah Silverman spouting off the same tired racist stereotypes (Jews are cheap! Asians are good at math!), at least have the guts to own it. Also, that's not funny. Yawn.

Anyway, if you like looking at Andy Samberg as much as I do, you'll still enjoy the clip. Check it.

Dude, Chelsea Clinton's husband is totally Jewish. Does anyone care?

Chelsea Clinton, a Methodist, and Marc Mezvinsky, a Jew, were recently married. Does anyone care that their marriage is interfaith? It seems easier to find articles that reference media attention to this controversy rather than the articles that actually call their marriage controversial. Has Chelsea successfully dodged an age old bullet? And, if so, how did her handlers and PR team make that happen? Or does the rule that says that Jewish men must marry Jewish women include an exception for brides-to-be who are the daughters of former US presidents? And does my distant ancestral relationship to Myles Standish count for anything?

Also, this piece on Jewcy is. . . okay. Maybe I just like it because I've never heard of the "Buttinskys." They sound fun.

Ruth Reichl on Binah

Ruth Reichl, former NYT food critique and author of many food-related books, was interviewed on Binah on KALW today. She talked about her mother (who had a fondness for Fluffernutter), the democratization of taste through Yelp, and what it's like to be a relatively down-to-earth person in a world of food snobs. Not specifically Jewish, but she did speak at the Jewish Community Center in San Francisco, is Jewish herself, and. . . there you have it. Good enough for me to post!

Enjoy!

I like this song.

It's like Will.I.Am's "It's a New Day," without being connected to politics or a particular person. I prefer it that way.

Take a listen to Matisyahu's "One Day." See, Ilan? Your music rubs off on me.