tuluum's Diaryland Diary
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I LOVE MONDAYS! :D
Currently Reading: Trees, Earth, and Torah: A Tu B'Shevat Anthology
Currently Listening To: The Beautiful Ones - Suede
Hey there sweeties :) Ca va? Wie geht's? Como esta? Wazzup? :D
I'm feeling pretty monkeylicious, thanks for asking :)
My room is sooooo pretty right now I can't believe it :) It's a joy to wake up in, it makes me want to sing when I enter it :) A lot of my fear and dread has lifted, it's amazing what subtle but real pressure clutter creates!
On Friday (and Saturday night) I designed motivational posters, printed them (in full CMYK glory) and stuck them up :) I will continue doing that today as well :) Later today I will also be interviewing a Smith applicant, I was supposed to do it yesterday but was a little under the weather :(
Today is also Week 2 of my Life Makeovers project :) Several of my offline and online friends will be joining me on this journey so I set up an email list to facilitate the process :) (yay) I still have some kinks to work out though. For some reason creating a group address doesn't allow replies to disseminate to the group. Wah. May have to use Macjordomo once I move over all my server's files to my new web host. I signed up for the $9.95/month plan that includes 1000MB and 20GB daily transfer as well as unlimited FTP accounts and unlimited POP accounts/aliases and subdomain hosting. They are pretty no-frills but that's perfect for me :)
I've started re-reading Trees, Earth and Torah in an effort to get my mind into the spirit of Tu B'Shevat which is in (2?) weeks. Should I get into a financial windfall between now and then I'll throw a merry seder :) LaLa was at my first Tu B'shevat seder and I"m sure she'd love another round, right babes? :) I already have a tentative guest list drawn up. If Tu B'Shevat doesn't come off then there is always Pesach! :D And this year I will make sure to start cleaning two weeks before Purim!
Israeli Chief Rabbi Condemns Christmas Celebrations by Jews in Israel
By Laurie Copans Associated Press Writer
Published: Dec 24, 2002
JERUSALEM (AP) - Chief Rabbi Israel Meir Lau on Tuesday urged Jews
in Israel not to celebrate Christmas or New Year's Day, warning that
such observances threaten the identity of the Jewish state.
Lau encouraged Christian Israeli Arabs, foreign workers and
immigrants to mark the holidays. But he said Jewish families should
not "be swept into keeping a way of life that is not their own,
while obliterating and losing their self-respect."
In recent years, small numbers of Israeli Jews have begun
celebrating Christmas, putting up lights in shops and even trees in
homes. The trend began with the influx of thousands of Christians -
many of them married to Jews - in the early 1990s as part of a wave
of immigration from the former Soviet Union.
At the same time, New Year's Eve has become a major party night at
Tel Aviv hotels, despite threats by local rabbis to punish the
establishments by removing their approval to serve kosher food.
Interest in Christmas has grown since fighting with the Palestinians
broke out two years ago and Christian foreign workers replaced their
Palestinian counterparts in jobs. Israel has also undergone a type
of cultural globalization - expressed in a desire among many
Israelis to take part in what they view as a world holiday.
Such expressions grate on the nerves of many Israeli Jews, particularly
Lau.
"Why should we have anything to do with Christmas or New Year's Eve,
in the shade of the Christmas tree?" Lau asked in a statement issued
on Christmas Eve.
"We never imagined that even in our independent country of the
Jewish nation, foreign cultures would threaten our identity as a
people and a nation."
At Mike's Place in Jerusalem's center, American-Israeli bartender
Dave Sussman put up blue and white lights, red and silver tinsel and
a plastic Christmas tree. For the 25-year-old Jew from Boston,
Mass., the holiday is just a reason to have fun, but he said he has
heard many complaints from religious Jews passing by.
On Christmas Eve, Sussman found himself serving beers to two
Orthodox Jews who didn't like the decor.
"There's nothing fun about this," said one of the men, an
American-Israeli from North Miami Beach, Fla., who would give only
his first name - Zvi. "It bothers me a little bit that Jews like to
do this."
"It's the lights, dude," Sussman retorted, adjusting his baseball
cap. "I stare at these lights at least four hours a day!"
Tel Aviv, a more secular city than Jerusalem, demonstrates much more
Christmas cheer. The Tel Aviv branch of Mike's Place goes all out
for the holiday, with a big party and Turkey dinner. Both bars
expect to be packed for New Year's Eve.
This week Israeli radio stations have occasionally played Christmas
songs like "Jingle Bells" and "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas."
Israel's national radio station even played "Silent Night," a carol
about the birth of the baby Jesus.
Lau warned that such habits could bring about assimilation between
Jews and Christians.
Quoting from Psalms 106:35, Lau said; "They mingled with the nations
and adopted their customs. They worshipped their idols, which became
a snare to them."
According to Israeli government statistics, 142,000 Christians live
in Israel, including 115,000 Christian Arabs. The figures do not
include the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
AP-ES-12-24-02 1616EST
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Current Clix Ranking: 55 | Previous Clix Ranking: 30
9:47 a.m. - Monday, Jan. 06, 2003
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