Three cencuses

There are three cencuses lilsted in the Torah. The first is at the end of Genesis when Jacob and his family go down to Egypt. The second is at the beginning of Numbers when the Israelites are ready to move on from Sinai. The third is towards the end of Numbers as the Children are preparing to enter the Promised Land.

One name is mentioned in all three of the cencuses. It's not Moses. It's not Aaron. It's not Joshua or Caleb. It's Serach bat Asher. (Serach, the daughter of Asher). Why is this significant?

When Joseph was about to die, he told his brothers that God would remember them and that when they returned to the Promised Land that they should take his bones up with them. And then Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died. And the Israelites were in Egypt 430 years. And then Moses came to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. But he had to get the bones of Joseph and bring them with him. Where was Joseph buried? Who knew where his bones were?

Answer-the only one who was still alive when Joseph exacted that oath from his brothers. That person was Serach, the daughter of Asher. And she is counted again at the beginning of Numbers and at the end of Numbers. There's a connection between past, present and future. And it is a woman who is the link.

Blessed be God for Serach bat Asher, the keeper of memory.

6 games behind

In the standings, the NY Yankees are six games in back of first place Boston and 5 and a half games behind Tampa Bay. As the second half of the MLB season gets underway, the Yankees will look to make up ground and try to make the playoffs for the 13th straight time and 1st for new manager Joe Girardi. The Yankees begin the second half against Oakland, Minnesota and Baltimore. Here's hoping the Bronx Bombers make a serious second half charge and end the final season at the House that Ruth Built on a high note*.



*That means a World Series Championship. :)

Eli Eli

My God, My God,
I pray that these things never end
The sand and the sea,
the rush of the waters,
The crash of the heavens,
the prayer of the heart.

-Hanah Senesh

Hana, a paratrooper who saved many Jews in Europe during WWII wrote these words: “When I feel like my world is falling apart, I look up at the sky and somehow feel comforted in seeing that it is still there.” Hana was killed by the Nazis. May her prayer never end.


http://www.sarathomsen.com/lyrics/eli_eli.html

Wanted, Hancock and Hellboy II

Wanted: A fairly decent action flick. The story tries to be clever and almost pulls it off. Morgan Freeman does a passable job as a bad guy (See "Lucky Number Sleven"). Angelina Jolie returns to her girls kicking butt role ("Tomb Raider", "Mr & Mrs Smith"). A young man is recruited by a secret society of assassins. He's told that the target he's after killed his father. He embarks on a rigorous training regimen which includes learning how to curve a bullet. Apparently, the laws of physics don't apply to this movie. Good chase scene? Yes. Good gun battles? Yes. Lots of mayhem and destruction? Yes. Worth the full price of admission? Eh. Depends on what you're looking for. If all the above, then yes. If you want a good story with sharp, witty dialogue, good writing and directing, then no.

Hancock: Withe the successes of Independence Day, Men in Black and I, Robot, Will Smith owns the July 4 weekend for new movies. Smith has shown he can take on serious roles (The Pursuit of Happyness, Ali) but he's best at action-comedy-Bad Boys, Wild Wild West. Hancock is more in line with the action-comedy genre. Hancock is not your average superhero. No cape. No special gadgets. No souped up car. Other than Superman-like strength and speed, there's not much about Hancock that marks him as a superhero. And he prefers it that way. He lives on the street and takes out the bad guys when called upon. But, his work is not appreciated. Mostly, because he leaves a lot of collateral damage in his wake. Enter an image consultant whose life Hancock saved and wants to return the favor by restoring Hancock's public image. He suggests a stint in jail to show the public how much they really need Hancock. Don't know what you have till its gone mentality. The image consultant's wife (Charlize Theron) plays a major role in this movie and not one that's expected. It's a pretty good plot twist in the movie.

Hellboy II, The Golden Army: Good action. Good story. Better than the first Hellboy. A long time ago, when trolls and elves and goblins and all manner of fantastical creatures walked the earth with humans, great wars were waged by the humans because of their greed. The fantasy creatures might have been utterly destroyed had not an indestructable, invincible army of golden robots been created that turned the tide. Then the humans might have been destroyed. But finally an elf king (or some non-human royalty) established a truce and made a crown with three parts and only when all three parts were together could the wearer of the crown command the golden army. One part was given to the humans. The other two were divided among his twin son and daughter. The son does not trust humans and wants to finish them off, but he needs the crown. He opens war on the humans at an auction house where a piece of the crown is on display. HellBoy and his partners a fire girl and an acquatic humanoid are called in. Lots of fighting, fire, shooting, and very gross looking creatures. The quest to stop the prince from commanding the golden army leads them to the prince's sister and across the world to Northern Ireland. There are some moments of levity among all the fighting and fantasy creatures, which serves to break the tension of the film. Recommended viewing.

More Opinions quotes...

On not defaming lizards...

1 Opinions 23:1-10

And shouldst thou think to thyself superior to the lizard, consider that the Almighty created the lizard before thee. And shouldst thou reply that the best was saved for last and man was created afterwards, behold the woman was created after man and is superior to thee. And it has been said by the keystrokes of she who is known as MyHeartsNAfrica, "Do not say mean things about lizards! I love them a lot, and find it offensive. You can tease me all you like, but not the lizards. I shall forgive everyone that has done this in the past, but I highly suggest no one does this again. I am totally serious. Yup. Everything else is fine, within reason of course, but I truly find no humor in the whole lizard torture thing. Both words and pictures. Okay? Okay. Now we should all be good. Yes indeed. I am done now. Thank-you. -Jaryd" The word of Jaryd. And verily, she ain't a man.

On capitalizing in the chat room

2 Opinions 18:1-19

Behold, the word of the chat admins concerning the use of capitalized letters in the Chat Room. The word of the admin has come upon me, to proclaim the correct use of capital letters in internet chat. Thou shalt surely capitalize the first letter of every proper noun. Thou shalt capitalize the first letter of every sentence. Thou shalt follow standard laws of English style and usage in regards to the capitalizing of acronyms. Behold, the use of capitalization for emphasis is a thing not to be done. For there be three distinct ways of emphasizing you words in the chat, viz. bold, italics and underline. And through thy use of these forms thou needest not capitalize thy words for emphasis. Indeed, there be even a fourth measure to make thy words stand out and that be by the use of different colors to highlight your text. Do you have eyes and not see? Do you have ears and not hear? The use of capitalization is taken as shouting, a thing not to be done. Who needs or wants to be shouted at? And verily, the continued use of capitalization when requested not to do so is disrespect of a high degree. Yea, it bespeaks ill of thy wisdom and upbringing to do so. In all things, seek decorum and couth and let it be said that the way you present yourself speaks well of you. The word of the admins. Thanks be to God.


On anime...

2 Opinions 23:1-14

Behold, the word of the webmasters concerning eastern culture and anime. It has been told thee, o man, what is good and what the webmasters do require, but to do computer graphics and to love animation to walk humbly with thy laptop. And behold there arose a question as to the value of eastern culture and anime in particular in fulfilling this command. Hast thou not heard? Hath it not been told thee? The ways of the east are perversion and wickedness. For from the east come forth all sorts of wickedness disguised in the medium of anime. And lo, though some may think that there be skill in the art, be thou not deceived. Anime is wicked. It is abomination and perversion. All who devote themselves to it shall surely perish. Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is animation lacking in discretion. Yea, the eastern culture cares not for the values we espouse. And it is reflected in their anime. Be thou scrupulous in what thou allowest to enter into thy life. An open mind is a terrible thing to waste. The word of the webmasters. And all the people said amen and worshipped.

Fun on July 4

So...we (myself and a couple friends) were trying to light the gas grill that me sister in law has so we could cook the burgers and dogs and stuff. And it's not lighting and we turn off the valves and wait a bit and try again and still nothing. And the sky's dark and it looks like it might rain and people are randomly shooting off fireworks in the neighborhood.

And we decide to give it another try and just as I push the ignition- BOOOM!!!!!- there's a sound like a cannon going off.

My word, I thought we were all toast. After the heart rate slows down to normal and we check bodies and are convinced we having lost any body parts and our hair hasn't been singed and the house is still standing, we slowly realize that it was just a firecracker.

But, wow, what timing. :0

Why a thread of blue?

This is a follow up to my last post on parsha shelach...

The fringes (tzitzit) were to have a thread of blue. Why blue? A couple reasons have been given.

Blue was a color of royalty. All Israel is to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Exodus 19:6. How? By keeping God's commands. And the fringes would help remind them of that.

The blue was clearly distinctive from the white. When it was light enough to tell the difference between the blue thread and the white threads, then it was time to say the morning prayers.
When it was dark enough to not be able to distinguish the blue thread from the white threads, then it was time for the evening prayers.