Billy Joel sings for Baalei Teshuvah

 

[Verse 1]

We met as soul mates on Parris Island
We left as inmates from an asylum
And we were sharp, as sharp as knives
And we were so gung ho to lay down our lives

[Verse 2]
We came in spastic like tameless horses
We left in plastic as numbered corpses
And we learned fast to travel light
Our arms were heavy but our bellies were tight

[Verse 3]
We had no home front, we had no soft soap
They sent us Playboy, they gave us Bob Hope
We dug in deep and shot on sight
And prayed to Jesus Christ with all of our might

[Verse 4]
We had no cameras to shoot the landscape
We passed the hash pipe and played our Doors tapes
And it was dark, so dark at night
And we held on to each other like brother to brother
We promised our mothers we'd write

[Chorus]
And we would all go down together
We said we'd all go down together
Yes, we would all go down together

[Verse 5]
Remember Charlie, remember Baker
They left their childhood on every acre
And who was wrong? And who was right?
It didn't matter in the thick of the fight

[Bridge]
We held the day in the palm of our hands
They ruled the night, and the night
Seemed to last as long as six weeks
On Parris Island
We held the coastline, they held the highlands
And they were sharp, as sharp as knives
They heard the hum of our motors, they counted the rotors
And waited for us to arrive

[Chorus]
And we would all go down together
We said we'd all go down together
Yes, we would all go down together

Chinese wife

 

Timeline of Jewish History

Hi why does the Timeline of Jewish History by Mattis Kantor

https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3915966/jewish/Timeline-of-Jewish-History.htm

include so many entries about the state of israel?

The Rebbe said the following:

 אמנם צריכים להיות נגד הציונות, אך את האנשים המחזיקים בה באופן אישי יש לקרב, כלומר: מקרבים כל יהודי מאחר שהוא יהודי, אך לא מקרבים יחד איתו את הציונות שבו ח"ו

שיחות קודש תשכ"ז ח"ב ע' 407

It is true that we must be against Zionism, but one should still engage in outreach with the people who cling to it. That is to say, one should do kiruv with every Jew because he is a Jew. However, the Zionism should not be brought in along with him.

Lubavitcher Rebbe

Sichos Kodesh, 5727, p. 407

Country's ugliest building- every time

 

Boston City Hall

Architecture firm	Kallmann McKinnell & Knowles (primary architect)

Kallmann McKinnell & Wood is an architecture firm based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It established in 1962 as Kallmann McKinnell & Knowles by Gerhard Kallmann (1915-2012), Michael McKinnell (1935–2020), and Edward Knowles.^[1]

Kallman was born to Theodore and Olga Jarecki Kallmann in Berlin, Germany, on February 13, 1915.^[1] His family was Jewish and intellectual.

Porto

 Porto is the type of city that makes Lisbon feel a little too polished.

 

Steep streets, blue-tiled churches, old wine cellars, river views, and a rough-around-the-edges beauty that makes it one of Europe’s most soulful cities.

https://x.com/i/status/2059267204357533830

Zionism comes from here

 Hegelian nationalism refers to a political philosophy derived from the ideas of German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831), particularly regarding the relationship between the state, nation, and individual freedom. For Hegel, the state represented the highest embodiment of ethical life (Sittlichkeit) and the rational organization of society.

Key aspects of Hegelian nationalism include:

1. The state as the realization of freedom: Hegel believed that true freedom wasn't individual independence but participation in the rational institutions of the state.

2. The nation-state as historical necessity: Hegel viewed the nation-state as the culmination of historical development, where universal principles find particular expression.

3. The primacy of the state over individual interests: While respecting individual rights, Hegel emphasized that the state's interests ultimately transcend individual concerns.

4. Historical destiny: Hegelian nationalism often incorporates the idea that certain nations have historical missions or destinies to fulfill.

5. Organic conception of the nation: The nation is seen as an organic entity with its own spirit (Volksgeist) that develops through history.

This philosophy has been interpreted in various ways throughout history, influencing both conservative and revolutionary movements. Some critics argue it can lead to authoritarianism when the state's interests are placed above all else.

If this is true, wow

New Chinese apartments have balconies and high cielings mandated by law.

90% of adults in China own their own home. 80% have no mortgage of any kind. The average Chinese has no debt and saves 40% of their income.

old world better

 

Ostend, Belgium

Jamestown, NY

Tonhalle concert hall in Zurich, Switzerland

dumb you down

  The public school system is not only designed to dumb you down, but to train you to be obedient to the children of the rich and powerful - who receive a different education in how to operate as the future ruling class.

why don't modern jewish women understand this?

 

The DOOMED Cycle of Modern Marriage

 

How the world's greatest cities became unforgettable:

1. Paris makes you fall in love 2. Tokyo makes you feel the future 3. New York makes you feel alive 4. Istanbul makes you question time 5. Rio makes you forget your problems 6. Mumbai never lets you sleep 7. Vienna makes you feel cultured 8. Havana makes you nostalgic for something you never lived 9. Beirut breaks your heart and fixes it the same night 10. Kyoto makes you slow down 11. Lagos makes you believe in energy 12. Rome makes you feel small in the best way 13. Buenos Aires makes you want to dance at midnight 14. Amsterdam makes you rethink how a city should be built 15. Cairo makes you feel thousands of years pressing down 16. Barcelona makes you believe architecture is a love language 17. Nairobi makes you feel a continent rising 18. Lisbon makes you ache for something you cannot name 19. Seoul makes you question whether you have been living efficiently 20. Mexico City makes you understand that chaos and beauty are the same thing 21. Prague makes you feel like you stepped inside a painting 22. Marrakech overwhelms every one of your senses at once 23. Singapore makes you realize what a city looks like when it actually works 24. Athens reminds you that everything modern was once someone's ancient idea 25. São Paulo makes you feel the hunger of a city still becoming itself 26. Edinburgh makes you believe in ghosts and you are not even superstitious 27. Tbilisi makes you wonder why nobody told you sooner 28. Cartagena makes you feel like the heat itself has a personality 29. Medellín shows you that a city can completely rewrite its own story 30. Copenhagen makes you question why everyone else makes things so complicated 31. Accra makes you feel a pride that does not even belong to you 32. Kolkata makes you confront beauty and struggle sharing the same square meter 33. Bruges makes you feel like time forgot to move and you are grateful 34. Amman makes you feel welcomed before you have spoken a word 35. Jakarta makes you understand twenty million people sharing the same urgency 36. Tallinn makes you feel like the medieval world never fully let go 37. Bogotá surprises you so completely you feel embarrassed for your assumptions 38. Chiang Mai makes you breathe slower without anyone telling you to 39. Porto makes you realize faded beauty is still beauty, maybe more so 40. Dakar makes you feel the ocean and the continent pulling equally 41. Reykjavik makes you feel the earth is still being made beneath your feet 42. Jerusalem makes you feel the impossible weight of what people believe 43. Hanoi moves at full speed and still feels intimate 44. Thessaloniki makes you wonder why its neighbor gets all the attention 45. Sarajevo makes you sit quietly long after you leave 46. Oaxaca makes you understand that culture expressed through food survives everything 47. Lviv shows the stubborn dignity of a people who refuse to disappear 48. Zanzibar makes you feel the air itself is different 49. Lagos deserves a second mention because one feeling was never enough 50. Delhi swallows you whole, overwhelms you completely, and somehow makes you want to come back for more

A woman asked her grandmother:

 A woman asked her grandmother: “How did you manage to stay faithful to just one man for 52 years?” Her grandmother smiled and said: “Because I understood one thing about men that most women learn too late.” She then explained…

A man is capable of tolerating almost anything, except the feeling of being disrespected under his own roof.

She said that men are much simpler than women think. They don't need grand romantic gestures. They don't need to be constantly reassured. They need peace. They need respect. They need to feel that they're good at something. When a man comes home and finds only criticism, reproaches, and contempt there, he eventually no longer feels like coming home.

She has learned to appreciate what he does, rather than harboring resentment for what he doesn't do. She could have focused on the trash can he forgot to take out. The wedding anniversary he nearly missed. That time, once again, when he worked late. Instead, she chose to notice what he did. The mortgage he paid. The car he repaired. His way of playing with their children. Gratitude transformed her marriage. Resentment would have destroyed it.

She learned to argue without ever attacking his personality. She recounted having been angry at her husband thousands of times. Yet, she never called him an idiot. She never mocked his dreams. She never belittled him in front of their children. She targets the behavior, not the man. And because she argues fairly, he listens to her.

She learned to let him take the lead. Not because he is smarter. Not because he is always right. But because someone has to do it. Two captains sink the ship. She chose to be his second-in-command, not his rival. She shares her opinion. She defends her arguments. But she lets him decide. And when he makes a decision, she supports him. Even when she disagrees. It is this trust that made him want to protect her. It is this trust that made him want to provide for her. It is this trust that made him stay.

She learned that men are visual beings. She didn’t let herself go. She stayed alluring for him. Not for other men. Not for herself. For him. She had understood that physical attraction is important. She didn’t take his desire for granted. She nurtured it every day. And he did the same for her.

She learned to be his haven of peace. The world is noisy. Work is demanding. Men carry a pressure that women never see. His home became his sanctuary. No drama. No chaos. No psychological warfare. He knew that by crossing the threshold, he could rest. This peace made him faithful. This peace made him want to stay.

amer house styles

 

Teddy bear apology

 https://x.com/i/status/2056470490349498560

How a Submissive Woman Actually Controls the Man

 

until i learned

I was bothered by brit milah until i witnessed teething.

I was bothered by throwing a goat off the mountain until i learned that goats fall from mountains on their own

https://x.com/i/status/2055998613814170005

The Torah is no harsher than life. So the question is why is life so harsh?

no it's no geulah

that Tel Aviv grew a little bit. Countries all over the world have been built up over the last 50 years. Here's Seoul, South Korea:

Romanesque and Gothic

 

art movements

 

sounds like us

 George Conway on Trump: “He invites people to feel as if they are superior by hating on other people. He has created a permission structure for people to be their worst selves. He has taught Americans that it’s okay to be selfish and spiteful and hateful and angry and resentful and that is the most toxic thing he has done to the country”

lunch break

 https://x.com/i/status/2054894010607501452

A Colombian bus driver takes advantage of his lunch break alongside his colleagues. Upon opening the lunchbox prepared by his wife, he discovers, inside, a little note written in her hand. Intrigued, one of his colleagues snatches it, takes a photo of it, then decides to read the message aloud in front of the whole group… and what is written there surprises everyone. “My love, I know you’re going through tough days and that you work tirelessly to give us a better life. Even when you come home exhausted, you always find the strength to smile and take care of our family. I just wanted to remind you that we’re proud of you and that we love you more than anything.” Silence fell around the table. Some colleagues lowered their eyes, others had tears in theirs. The driver, for his part, remained frozen for a few seconds before discreetly pressing the note to his heart. Sometimes, a few sincere words are worth more than any gift.

cool links

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50. 10minutemail. com — temp email in seconds 

America did not invent democracy

  Most British schoolchildren are taught about Magna Carta.

They are taught it was sealed in twelve fifteen at Runnymede. They are taught it is the foundation of English liberty. They are taught it is one of the most important documents in human history. They are not taught what came next. They are not taught about the eighty years between twelve fifteen and twelve ninety-five when ordinary Englishmen forced three successive kings to write down, for the first time in any kingdom in medieval Europe, what English law was, what English liberty was, and how an English king must govern. They are not taught about the Charter of the Forest, which restored the right to graze, gather firewood, and live on common land, and which remained in force for seven hundred and fifty-four years. They are not taught about the Provisions of Oxford in twelve fifty-eight, often called England's first written constitution, which placed the king under a council of fifteen and required Parliament to meet three times a year. They are not taught about the Provisions of Westminster in twelve fifty-nine, which subjected the barons themselves to the same law they had forced upon the king. They are not taught about Simon de Montfort, an earl born in France who died for England, who summoned the first Parliament in English history to include ordinary commoners alongside the great lords. They are not taught about the Statute of Marlborough in twelve sixty-seven, which is the oldest piece of statute law in the United Kingdom still in force today. Seven hundred and fifty-nine years old. If you've ever taken a debt to court in England, you've used it. If you've ever rented a home, you've been protected by it. If a creditor can't lawfully drag your possessions into the street to settle what you owe, that's because of a law signed seven hundred and fifty-nine years ago. They are not taught about the Model Parliament of twelve ninety-five, summoned by Edward the First, which became the shape of every English Parliament since. Eighty years. Three successive kings. The first written constitution in any kingdom in medieval Europe. It was not given to them. It was not handed down from God or king or Pope. It was written. By Englishmen. For England. The British write their own history. They always have. This one needed more than a thread. The full story is in our video, watch it below  

Help us remember who we are. Help us remember every British achievement.  

draw your own conclusions

 On May 7, 1960, the law establishing a 7-hour workday for all workers in the Soviet Union was approved, and 6 hours for the most grueling jobs, reducing the workweek to 30 hours before 1964.

The reduction in working hours did not mean a reduction in wages; it simply aimed to ease the lives of workers and give them more hours of rest to spend time with their families.

I worked 60 hours a week on Wall St. That's 10 hours a day. 

saw recently

 The idea that study will automatically lead to mitzvos only applies if, in the words of Rashi who cites Toras Cohanim, "You shall toil in the study of Torah in order to observe and fulfill [the commandments (Torath Kohanim 26:2)." A recent publication left that part out and went on to laud study. Thus it turned a verse which tells us that mitzvahs are so important that not keeping them will lead to severe punishment into the usual talk about study alone and that kind of talk actually minimizes observance of mitzvahs. 

Europe rocks

 

remind you of anyone?

 Q:

We say נותן לחם לכל בשר, that Hashem supplies food to everyone, so how do we understand that in many countries thousands of people are dying because they don’t have what to eat?

A:

Question:  How is it that people are dying of starvation if Hakodosh Boruch Hu gives לחם לכל בשר?

If a man refuses to go to work, then we have no sympathy with him.  It’s his own fault.

Now those places where people don’t have parnassah, they’re starving, you have to know in most cases there’s a very simple reason.  

Let’s say the tribes in the Congo in Africa, you know what their occupation was? Not making a living.  Their main occupation was fighting each other.  It’s remarkable.  All their poems, all their songs and traditions were fighting their neighbors, killing, killing each other.  It’s remarkable, an ambition of killing.  Instead of building up a civilization that would support them by the yegi’ah kapei’hem, they spend their lives on doing the most wicked things, on shfichas domim, so Hakodosh Boruch Hu said, “For them I’m going to send starvation.  I’m going to send epidemics.  They deserve everything because they’re criminals.”

In the olden days, people didn’t live for the purpose of murdering their neighbors.  But the Indians in America, all the tribes lived for one purpose, to fight against each other.  They used to capture victims from other tribes and tie them up to stakes and skin them alive.  All kinds of achzoriyus and wickedness.  

I saw a photograph of a group of young men in the South Sea Islands were making a war dance in preparation of attacking a neighborhood village and in their dance they were symbolizing what they would do when they would conquer the village, they’d kill the men and they’d rape the women and they’re doing it with such a hislahavus, chas v’shalom lehavdil like frum Jews dancing around the sefer Torah.  That’s their whole simchah.

So Hashem said, “Such sheratzim? That's human beings?  So a kilayah on them.  They deserve everything.”  These are the people who are the ones who are starving.  

But in decent civilizations, people don’t starve.  There’s sometimes a hungry person, yes there are exceptions, but in general the populations of civilized nations live on יגיע כפיהם כי תאכל and אשריך וטוב לך.  

In most cases, it’s their own fault.

(September 1996)