MY URBAN KVETCH

Who is a Jew? This Week, Everyone...

Rarely does an episode of House go without a Jewish reference, even when Jewish Doctor Cuddy isn't in the storyline. Cartoons - notably the Simpsons and South Park - have explored Jewish identity. And now, The Family Guy aired a show last night called "Family Goy," in which Lois Griffin discovers that she's Jewish. But what's strange is that recently, in pop culture, there seems to be Jewiness everywhere.

One of the most-talked-about films of the month is the Coen Brothers' most recent oddity, "A Serious Man," which explores the 70s era midwestern Jewish childhoods of the Coens through an opening midrash of sorts in Yiddish with English subtitles, and shows life in Hebrew school where teachers refuse to speak English in class. In that scene, the audience is forced to join the students in their bewilderment, because neither of them gets subtitles for the Hebrew conjugations being taught in the class. This film, my friend Lindsay noted, is "Jewier than @estherk's friend list." (She's not wrong. I claim it's Jewier than "Yentl," but my friend Wendy disagrees. Oh well, it wouldn't be Jewy without Jews failing to agree. Maybe I should propose a debate titled, "Which one is Jewier, Yentl or A Serious Man?" for this year's LimmudLA conference.)

Listening to the radio, you might hear the Black Eyed Peas' latest, a song called "I Gotta Feeling." Released this summer, the song's increased in airplay to at least 150 times a day on every radio station in Los Angeles. Well, in case you haven't heard, there's both a "mazal tov" and a "l'chayim" in the lyrics (check out the clip above, around 3:17 in, for the one-two Hebrew punch). While it's slightly surprising to hear Hebrew in an American pop song, you might remember that the BEP have always been very popular in Israel, perhaps for including the region in the song "Hey Mama" ("Then we drop bombs like we in the middle east") or for proclaiming big love for the country when they tour there. What's next? Prediction for 2010: Kanye West interrupts a Black Eyed Peas concert, changes his name to "KanYiheyeh B'Seder" and starts blogging for Benji.

Even Ahmadinejad may boast Jewish roots. Well, not "boast," actually - more like "vehemently deny while threatening to bomb Israel." But as Jewlicious pointed out, this was something that our resident prophet/animation guru William Levin came up with as a joke in a Birthright Israel recruitment video: turns out that the best comedy has reality (or at least, a potential reality) as a basis. If the rumors are true, it just fuels additional questions - if Mahmoud's mom was Jewish, would my parents consider him an acceptable potential match? Does he have the right of return? Is he related to Lois Griffin? Does he pay retail?

I can't watch every news broadcast or TV show (or can I?), so if I've missed some important pop cultural moment this week, I blame Sukkot. (Why not? I'm sure if you say "schach" enough times it damages your vocal cords and renders you forgetful. Someone needs to research that.) What'd I miss? You tell me. (You always do.)

Moadim lesimcha.

Woodstock's Impact on Israeli Culture

Israel's always had a little more than its share of hippie tendencies - from communal living arrangements (kibbutzim, moshavim, the army) to sandals and other footwear (Naot that look like Birkenstocks, hello!). Plus, unkempt beards, long hair, songs about peace...welcome to Nahlaot.

But leave it to YouTube to show me how Woodstock (celebrating a big birthday this week, in case the publication you happen to read happens to have not done an article about it) has had an impact on the Israeli advertising industry. 

I bring you...Israeli-accented hippies in a van advertising insurance. And I need to ask...would Don Draper have signed off on this ad?

Israel's Birthday Present to Itself: Renaming "Swine Flu"

What, you thought it was just a joke? That when swine flu surfaced, the only Jewish comedy to arise would be people proclaiming the illness unkosher, followed by a swell of pride from kosher Jews declaring themselves morally superior for not exposing themselves to pigs. (Wait, that sounded wrong. But you know what I meant.)

[Photo at left from http://blogofneworleans.com.]

The day after Israel celebrated its 61st birthday, one of her health ministers gave the world a comedy present. Here's how you deal with a deadly strain of flu named after an unclean animal. You rename it after the country it came from.

Ultra-Orthodox Deputy Health Minister Yakov Litzman on Monday declared that Israel would call the new potentially deadly disease that has already struck two continents 'Mexico Flu,' rather than 'Swine Flu, as pigs are not kosher.

"We will call it Mexico flu. We won't call it swine flu," Litzman told a news conference on Monday,

Suddenly, I'm wondering how turkey (itself already a country, in addition to an animal) got the name הודו, meaning "India." I know it comes from תרנגול הודו, but beyond that: if you're going to name a bird that is already named after a country something in Hebrew, why not be consistent and name it תורכיה?

Welcome to my brain.

Thank you, Ha'aretz, for bringing this important piece of news to Religion and State in Israel's attention.

Jewish Bloggers Are Not the Enemies of Jewish Storytelling

This morning, I opened my email to find a solicitation letter from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) that I found extremely surprising. Since the economy dipped, I'd been getting more solicitations from everyone. But this particular email, headed "The Future of Jewish Storytelling," seemed to be using bloggers (and Twitterers) as a scare tactic designed to elicit donations, the way other organizations use terms like “aging Holocaust population,” “Jewish singles crisis,” and “rise in anti-Semitism.” Unless you act now, the message seemed to say, “bloggers, Twitterers, and nonprofessionals” will take over Jewish journalism entirely and (the ultimate implied leap from any scare tactic used in Jewish fundraising) cause the demise of the Jewish people.

But that couldn’t be what they were saying, could it? I used to blog for the JTA. I've watched with delight as the site revamped its look and content, including blogging and Twitter as two additional tools in the arsenal of Jewish journalism. So I parsed it line-by-line, the way my Talmudic ancestors might have; indeed, the way certain rabbinic discussions in the Haggadah unfold.

“Storytelling is fundamental to the Jewish experience," the letter began. I could not agree more. Storytelling is what Passover is all about, it’s about legacy, family, interpretation, and history. "And, storytelling is what JTA does every day,” the email continues, noting coverage from Mumbai to Gaza, from Obama to Madoff. Now, I wouldn’t have used the word “storytelling,” which for me connotes more of an inventive, imaginative lens on events than say, “journalism,” "news," or “reporting.” But mostly, agreed – JTA’s where I go for my Jewish news, rendered objectively in news pieces and hopefully wielded to larger, more inspiring points by features writers, op-ed columnists and some of their blogging staff members. When JTA made its appearance on Twitter, I couldn’t have been more thrilled: finally, a way to make sure that the stories reached me in “realer” time than a once-daily JTA bulletin could achieve. I’d learn about the news stories as they happened, which is of great help to me as a blogger and Jewish writer, enabling me to stay abreast of news at the speed of technology.That's a media service for the 21st century.

Frumposters: Early April Fool, or Late Purim Joke?

One of the blessings in the morning prayer has two separate versions depending on the reader's gender: supplicants thank God either for "not making me a woman" or "for making me according to God's will." Yeah, sometimes the liturgy's a bit of a challenge, especially for we women.

A friend sent me this poster, and the sentiment seems SO over the top that I can't help but think it's satire, based on something real, but ultimately not itself meant to be taken seriously. I did a Google search for the company, Frumposters, and got nothing. Which could mean either that the company doesn't exist, or that it exists and doesn't have a website because the internet is evil and has no place in a Torah household.

What do you think? Is this poster an invention made to get the blogosphere buzzing in righteous indignation, or is it really a poster that someone would feel good about hanging in a home?

White Jews Rapping: I Blame the Beastie Boys

Seriously. I remember when word broke at our local yeshiva high school that one, if not all of the Beastie Boys were not just Jewish, but yeshiva alumni. From then on, it set a dangerous precedent, and Jewish boys grew up with that influence, thinking that within their Semitic DNA was not just the potential for, but an innate ability to, rap.

While there are some notable exceptions, where Jewish boys grew up to be decent or even good rappers (and I'm not listing any of them, so as not to leave anyone out), and while I commend the efforts of the Federation of Jewish Men's Clubs for their attempt to modernize the tefillin-donning instructions, I now feel obligated to share with you this:

"The FJMC presents the first in a series of Wrap Raps. This fun songs tell the story of Tefillin. This one shows how to put it on with a cute song. Please visit our website http://fjmc.org."
I do have to say that I really, really support the efforts of Jewish institutions to take real risks in presenting traditional concepts for a new generation. But rap isn't always the right way. And allow me to call your attention to the most chilling part of this: the phrase "the first in a series." That's right, folks. More wrapaciousness to come.

First Hot Passover Product of 2009: Proving Elijah Exists (Even if Santa Claus Doesn't)

Table-shaking...lame. Pretending the liquid level in Elijah's cup has receded...hella lame. But an Elijah cup where the level of liquid actually does go significantly down? Passovertastic.

Marc Jaffe invented the ElijahDrinks cup after going to a Seder where, upon inviting Elijah in, the hosts shook the table to make the kids think that Elijah had entered. While Marc’s family had never made any pretense of Elijah actually coming in, he thought that this table shaking was a rather feeble attempt at what could be a good idea. His background as a comedy writer (Seinfeld, Mad About You) had him thinking of some fun ideas, and he came up with a winner – an Elijah’s Cup that drinks itself.

The ElijahDrinks cup will sit on the Passover table filled with wine until the time when Elijah is invited in. At that point the host will pick up the cup, invite Elijah in to drink and declare confidently that this year Elijah will drink, and then, after the cup is set back down, to everyone’s amazement, the wine will slowly disappear.

In my opinion, as far as invisible cultural characters go, this gives Elijah a leg up on Santa Claus, the Easter bunny and even the Tooth Fairy (although she does bring money, which is always appreciated).

What's next in "Operation Keep the Kids Interested"...turning water red in mimicry of the first of the ten plagues?

Catch a video with the creator here:

OMG: POTUS 2B No Has BlkBrry? WTF?

Poor Barack Obama...now that he's been elected, he has to suffer the real curse of the Presidency: a ban from sending email for the duration of his administration:

The president's e-mail can be subpoenaed by Congress and courts and may be subject to public records laws, so if a president doesn't want his e-mail public, he shouldn't e-mail, experts said. And there may be security issues about carrying around trackable cell phones.

I never really thought about it, but I guess I wouldn't want my President to be on email. Not in the age of Jack Bauer, anyway. (Did either of the Palmer presidents carry cell phones? Does anyone remember?)

All I know is this is yet another reason I'm never going to run for President.

Russians Respond to Palin...in Song!

Wake Me at 86th Street: Japan Does it Again

If you've ever fallen asleep on the subway and missed your stop -- or felt you had to stay awake so that you DIDN'T miss your stop -- you've realized that it would be great if you could communicate to the other commuters that they should wake you at a certain time, when approaching a certain station. Japan has got you covered, having created a mask with an LED display that indicates the station at which you should be awakened from your sweet subway slumber.

Of course, the device is too expensive for the casual consumer, and indicating that you're asleep on the subway can also make you more vulnerable to pickpocketing, theft, and other lurking dangers of the subterranean transportation system. But the Japanese can't be expected to troubleshoot everything...