I remember as a child the inundation of X-Mas Spirit after Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Already in the parade, an air of X-Mas was apparent. But no one dared to declare the start of X-Mas marketing till the gravy had congealed, and the stuffing demolished. Sadly those days are gone. As I walked into a local Starbucks for a meeting, I was struck in the face by a large, white, X-Mas decoration hanging from the door. Once inside, my familiar Starbuck experience was replaced by winter-wonderland, replete with wreathes and reindeer. I began to reel and waver, the room was spinning, I just about passed out, only to be supported by my friend. Oh, to be Jewish in the Diaspora, in Golus. Just when you think that you have been immunized, the whole monster virus mutates, once again overcoming your self-defenses.
This year X-Mas began November 1st, just after Halloween (based on the pagan Celtic day of the dead) was cleared from the streets. The candy not yet consumed—advertisers, retailers, propagandists, were already hawking X-Mas . Mass materialism, consumer addition, how long can people continue to replace meaning with tchachkes? And what of Thanksgiving, a truly universal holiday that Jews can celebrate in tandem with their gentile neighbors. A holiday which actually can carry meaning and good-will to our fellow humans. A holiday which does not require expensive credit card bills spent on narrishkeit (nonesence). A time to volunteer at the soup-kitchen, a food drive, or another civic event aimed at sharing the wealth. It seems that Santa has run his sled over the turkey. The pine needles are sticking into the pumpkin pie. Thanksgiving is just a day of football and shopping for X-Mas presents.
To nag, alas, is very Jewish. Yes, there is what to complain about. However, there is a silver ling, so to speak. An opportunity to reflect upon the nature of being Jewish in exile, a Jew in golus.
Once upon a time, gentiles victimized Jews during the holiday season. X-Mas , New Years, and Easter, offered kick-the-Jew season. This kicking sometimes escalated into full-blown pogroms. It was evident that we were less than wanted. And since the gentiles didn’t want us, we didn’t want them. North America 2004 presents a radically different model for being Jewish vis-avis this gentile world . They love us to death. Menorah’s and Chanukah decorations coexist with X-Mas decorations. Small Jewish retail-ghettos in stores offer random and silly Chanukah tzachkes, like small unisex bears with tallesim and kippahs. Chanukah retailing, marketing, tzachka-ing blazes new and creative ways to separate Jews from their gelt, and Chanukah from its meaning. The brilliant scene at the end of the Hebrew Hammer where the villain asks “What is the meaning of Chanukah?” The Jewish hero stumbles, falters, stutters. This bold-biblical brother, defending the Jews from the goyim in the chood, cannot come up with the meaning of Chanukah, though he risks his tuches to save it.
Since I lack the purchasing power to alter the marketing strategies of the major retailers and advertisers, it is unlikely that I can have any major affect on the current trend to make X-Mas a season starting after Labor day. Therefore I must suggest other ways of dealing with this maniacal nuisance, this nemeses of Jewdom, this killer of Thanksgiving, this false messiah of credit.
Besides the obvious alternatives, like living in Monsey, New York (which we tried), or moving to Israel, I want to offer some practical ways of dealing with this mega-trend without relocation. Mind you, these are only cures to the symptoms and not the cause. They are inoculations against the virus, but offer no cure, and are not 100% effective. True insulation from the juggernaut is simply not possible without retreat to a mountain survival bunker in Idaho.
1) By Chanukah CD’s and play them while you drive, study, or cook.
2) Study about the deeper meanings of Chanukah in The Book of Our Heritage by Eliyahu Kitov, Feldheim Publishers.
3) Plan many Chanukah parties.
4) Attend many Chanukah parties.
5) Have a HUGE shabbaton (this year X-Mas starts Friday Night).
6) Start building a Monster Menorah (see BeachHillel.com for contest details)
7) Infuse your life with Maccabee energy, by unleashing the inner Maccabee and learn about Israel Advocay.
8) Paint a large Menorah on your house.
9) Buy dozens of electric menorahs and place them in every room, in the window.
10) Inform your friends and family that Chanukah is your spiritual home.
Happy Chanukah!
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Recently the Forward published at article called "The Buddha From Brooklyn," about Jeff Miller, AKA Surya Das. The article’s author wrote: “In a way, Surya Das's Buddhist teaching is actually very Jewish.” And with that, I had to break my silence about Buddhism.
In discussions about the nature of Jewish life at the turn of this century, the Jubu phenomenon, deserves our attention. But don’t believe the hype, as it offers no solutions, only deeper problems.
Jews in large numbers have studied and adopted Buddhist practices. Some have become leading practitioners. In mainstream Jewish life, among Reform and Conservative congregations, one can hear references to Buddhism or Buddhists in sermons. Even my mother, from a traditional home, has offered to send me books that meld Jewish and Buddhist teachings, that tell Jews how many positive lessons Buddhism has for Jews to learn from.
Who are the JuBu’s?
Most Jews who do Buddhism— Buddhist meditation, tantras and other stuff —know next to nothing about the faith and law of their ancestors. As Jeff Miller said “Judaism never really answered my questions when I was growing up. I asked questions, they said: "Be quiet. Stop with the questions. What's wrong with you?" So I sought elsewhere.” The Judaism they encountered in horrific after-school programs vaccinated them against continued Jewish knowledge as they encountered adulthood. Justifiably uninspired by what they saw, Jews searched elsewhere to find peace, answers, and spirituality. No one can blame them for pursuing spirituality elsewhere, when their Jewish upbringing was based on material pursuits and juvenile explanations. The generations of Jews that annihilated tradition, knowledge, and meaning, bear responsibility for Jews today who are totally ignorant of their own culture and heritage.
So while we cannot condemn, we still cannot condone. Buddhism is antithetical to Jewish practice and belief. A basic understanding of the Torah’s prohibitions of idolatry, deism, and asceticism rule out any kosher involvement with Buddhism, its teachers, proponents, and practice. Those practitioners that claim no inherent conflict are simply ignorant.
What attracts Jews to Buddhism are kernels of wisdom that G-d planted there. Why did G-d do this? Hashem planted those kernels in order to test us. The popularity of Buddhism, the Dalai Lama, and Buddhist tchachkes, challenge each and every Jew to learn about their own heritage. Torah, Kabbalah, ancient Jewish prayer and meditation, represent the most unbelievably deep wisdom. Torah teaches how to engage life, the Godly sparks in each person, the nobility of each breath, and the humility to know our place in creation.
Though tempting, and seemingly benign, we must avoid Buddhist idols, symbols, altars, incense, offerings of food and water that are placed for ritual purposes. And since the main thrust of Buddhist teachings in North American are intertwined with meditation techniques, the conflicts inherent are not self-evident. Nonetheless, we must turn away from Buddhism, its JuBu practitioners, and return to Jewish practices and belief.
In words that are best known by the poet John Donne, “No man is an island, entire of itself...”. What a Jew does anywhere in the world has a powerful effect on the rest of the Jewish people. Each Jew is part of a great web of souls with a common root. Every sanctification of Hashem, every Shma Yisrael, every Sabbath candle, resonates in the life of the Jewish people.
We did not survive through history by chance or by fluke. We are here to carry on a crucial mission, Tikkun Olam. Repairing the world, bringing holiness into the world, bringing blessing to the world.
Don’t let the light go out, it has shined for so many years.
From:campusrabbi.blogspot.com
Rabbi Yonah can be reached at rabbi@beachhillel.com
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Rabbi Yonah|W|P|I believe with perfect faith that the universe, life, and all dimensions are contained and perpetuated by Hashem. This is a fundamental Jewish teaching, and it took me many years to arrive at its doorstep. I was not born within the frum community, far from it. It is so reassuring to believe that there is no higher power, because then you have life without conscience and without guilt.G-d does not deceive. By placing kernels of truth in Buddhism, it is my humble opinion, we can retain free will. Otherwise there are no choices to make, and we are not independent beings. Without independence, what point can life have other than to march to a programmed tune? So free will is essential. Your life is not an accident. Life has meaning, though you may not be able to face it.
To the defenders of Buddha, Buddhism, and Jubuology:
The Torah (and not “fences” or “rabbis”) clearly explains that Jews must distance themselves from idolatry, not just not practice it. It is not my idea. It is unhealthy, like transfats, second hand smoking, and anonymous sex. Buddhism is idolatrous, maintains an idolatrous system, and even has its own country, homeland, in Bhutan. [note: it is an authoritarian regime that permits few outsiders, nestled in the Himalayas. Not very peaceful and serene …]
Those who arrive at an observant Jewish life certainly gained along the path from a wide range of beliefs, practices, communities, and ideologies. That does not mean that they are necessarily good, or good for you. Chemotherapy kills, but it also allows us to heal. Many transformative experiences in our lives we don’t want to repeat, though they were ultimately beneficial for us.
There are people who love and are good at debating on if there is God and proofs for God. I don’t get into this. It doesn’t turn me on. Believing in God, now that turns me on. I suggest that you read Lawrence Kellman “Permission to Believe,” which does a great job at proving Gods existence.
There is a large body of work which describes in details what is and is not forbidden in dealing with idolatry and idolaters. For example, if you know that idolaters are holding a idolatrous ceremony on a Monday, can you lend them something, that they may use in the celebration? I would be happy to discuss with you in detail, should you have anymore questions about what is treif about Buddhism, if you care or are interested. Idolatry is wrong, because it is a denial of God. Meditation is not wrong, but using techniques that idolaters developed may be wrong. Incense is not bad to use, but incense that was used for Temple and shrine offerings are forbidden for us to use and so on.
I myself claim no authority. What am I, but bones and flesh? What am I but a flash in time and history? No I have no authority. But what I do have is a deep devotion to the Torah and studying Jewish law. That gives me credentials to say what is treif and what is kosher within the bounds of Jewish law. In secular life, most follow the rule of law, laid out and enforced by society. You accept that your doctor has authority in their field, at least the good ones, and that they can tell you what is good or not good for you.
It seems that American's love affair with the Bagel are over. Low-carb diet fettish has proven that people want skinny legs and not skinny onion sticks. They want flat abs, not round everything's. What will become of an America denuded of bagels? Where will hungry Jews have brunch? Could it be that this is the sign of the impending implosion of Jewish culture, or is it just a phase in the muti-faceted evolution of Jewish life in America? After 350 years here, are we finally losing our grip on the American palate? Is this perhaps a sign that Atkins was an anti-Semite?
Well I am sad to say that I don’t think we can pin this decline on anything so insidious, much as I would love to. It is not just an inconvenience that is being literally taken away from Jewish communities nation-wide, but a whole generation of youngsters are growing up with bagel-free brunches, G-d forbid. They serve low-carb bagel alternatives like wraps, heaven help us! Can you imagine a child who thinks that Bubie and Zayde came over from the old world packing lox and cream-cheese wraps?
I am more than nostalgic. I am a freaking bagel lover, and this watershed in Jewish history should not go unnoticed. Is it a coincidence that declining bagel sales correspond to the rise in inter-marriage? That Birthright was born at a time of declining bagel sales?
It all started when bagelers, Noah, Einstein, and other’s sold their homemade bagel chains to multi nationals. The chains introduced such soft fluffy sickening flavored bagels, that it is no wonder that American is rejecting them! The bagels became glamorous buns with little taste or chew. The whole was filled up to make them more sandwich=friendly. They were being sold with meat and cheese fillings, by mega-corps, looking to squeeze every last dime our of the biz, without regard for product quality or customer satisfaction.
This Rise and Fall of the Bagel Empire is a tragic occurrence, to those sensitive enough to feel the reverberations throughout the Jewish world. America will never be the same. And either will my brunch.
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BAGEL STATZ
Bagels are big biz. America ate over a half-billion dollars worth of just the top five market brands. That does not include retail bagels and in-house bagels. The numbers reached over a billion dollars in bagels.
Now the decline of the bagel is underway.
In the 1990’s Bageling was still a great investment. "Building a better bagel" by Margaret Littman in Bakery Production and Marketing, Vol. 32, No. 2 (February 15, 1997), quotes industry experts, that the bagel market is not near its saturation point. “According to the American Bagel Association, bagel consumption was 26 bagels per person in 1996. This is an increase from 1993 consumption figures of 14.2 bagels per year”
Bagel Statistics for 2004
2004 Bagel Statistics
Top Ten Fresh Bagel Brands
Brand Dollar Sales Pounds
1)Thomas 161,591,648 55,901,992
2)Sarah Lee 84,156,336 29,923,414
3)Private Label 63,504,364 34,907,744
4)Lenders 31,613,710 11,794,987
5)Earth Grains 24,357,704 9,232,786
Top Ten Frozen Bagel Brands
Brand Dollar Sales Unit Sales
1)Lenders $95,695,872 73,441,976
2)Lenders other 23,950,2244 15,506,581
3)Private Label 15,481,805 14,108,963
4)Pepperidge 3,832,686 1,338,521
5)Bagels Forever 2,370,845 2,911,556
Top Five Bagel Brands
Category sales of $447.2 (million)
1)Thomas'
2)Sara Lee
3)Private Label
4)Lenders Bagel Shop
5) Earth Grains
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