What is a non-Jew to write on a Jew-ish blog?

I imagine this as a way to talk about experiences with, the stereotypes of, and the ideas surrounding the Jewish culture and religion that an average non-Jew encounters.

I feel many people in my demographic (20’s, white male, whatever) have a superficial understanding of what Judaism and being Jewish means. We are a large group whose only connection to Judaism comes from stereotypes, jokes, news coverage and Hollywood Holocaust films. 

I aim to talk about that these topics, touching on heated political issues to the off-hand comments I encounter everyday. Ultimately this will be a discussion on how these inputs change our (my) perceptions of a religion and a people and what that says about our/my self. (Casting a wide net here I know!)

Of course there will be some entries that stray from the course – so don’t hang me as another elitist social commentator just yet.

The idea for this blog has been hounding me for a while and it boils down to an incident that happened a little over a year ago. I will go into that in the next episode, so stay tuned.

For now, please understand that I do not mean to offend anyone in these postings and would be more than grateful if I need factual correction.  I am a guest and you have my respects. Feel free to write and suggest topics too and I’ll get back.

Be well,
Sean

Just got this invitation today. I won’t be able to make it, seeing as it’s 3,000 miles away, and, frankly, a bit frightening. Note the wedding date, and the birth date (not that there’s anything wrong giving birth out of wedlock), but this is a Chabad event taking place, at the grave of the leader of the Chabad movement. Make your own interpretation. 

Real Estate’s Next Generation….
Zina Sapir, daughter of real estate mogul Tamir Sapir and her husband real estate mogul Rotem Rosen, CEO of Africa Israel USA welcomed a baby boy last week.  The bris is scheduled Sunday, June 1st at the grave of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, a prominent Hasidic rabbi who was the seventh and last Rebbe (spiritual leader) of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.  Real estate and diamonds magnate Lev Leviev, the biggest contributor to Chabad in the world, personally arranged for the bris to take place at the grave site, which is considered a huge honor.  Rotem Rosen, Lev Leviev’s right hand man, is very grateful as the grave is believed to be a holy site where millions of people come from all over the world to receive inspiration and blessing from the Rebbe. 
The guest list for the bris on Sunday reads like a who’s who in real estate with such names as Donald Trump, Jared Kushner, Joe Monahan, Joseph Chetrit, Steve Witkoff, Robert K. Futterman, Meir Tepper, Giuseppe Cipriani, Andre Balazs, and Amy Sacco all expected to attend. 
The Sapir-Rosen offspring already owns more than half of New York City as Africa-Israel owns half of the Upper West Side landmark the Apthorp; the New York Times Building, the Clock Tower on Madison Avenue, much of the land around Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal; and massive downtown holdings including Downtown by Philippe Starck.  The Sapir Organization owns some of New York’s largest commercial buildings and developing such high profile buildings as Trump SoHo and the William Beaver House among many others. 
Zina and Rotem just recently tied the knot on December 20, 2007 at Trump’s Mar-A-Largo retreat in Florida in front of 600 guests and included performances by Lionel Ritchie and the Pussycat Dolls. 

If my next kid’s a boy, I’m going to invite Lionel Ritchie to perform at the bris.

Here’s a creative way to get rid of a business: post a video on YouTube promising you’ll tattoo yourself. That’s what Jill Ginsberg is doing to shut down her business. Ginsberg, who lives here in Seattle, created Latke Bites as a healthy snack food that taste like, you guessed it, latkes. Well, she’s been doing it for three years and she’s swimming in these damn chips. So to help her get the hell out, she’s resorted to outright begging and bribery. The video says all.

Just because I know a few very, very sad Jews who somehow have not seen this yet. Fans of Avenue Q and Fiddler on the Roof, unite!

* Lag B’Omer actually celebrates the life and times of a deceased Rabbi, not hotdogs and music.

*Hebrew Nat’ls can get better, when reduced in beer

*Red Bull followed by beer = wheee!

*(Did I mention Beer?)

*Jamming only works well when someone knows several songs people like to sing to

*Apparently, I’m the “Secret Sauce” of the Ravenna Kibbutz

*Sexual identity in the Jewish community is still an alive and current issue/ topic

*Not everyone likes talking about sex (?!)

*Not all Jews are driven to learn more about their religion, and the ones who are will inevitably spend more time arguing about it than actually processing the information.

*It’s informative, heated, and still hilarious to get a group of (semi-buzzed) Jews arguing semantics around a bonfire

*The Kibbutz needs a massage chair

*Odd people respond to odd predictions about their future in surprisingly odd ways

I can only hope your Lag B’Omers were as… scintillating, yet-speculative as mine were.