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PunkTorah Radio: The Times, They Are A-Changing…

January 4, 2011 by Patrick Beaulier

This week is part one of a talk with a good friend of ours, Rabbi Menachem Cohen of Mitztiut and The Night Ministry. Check it out! And take a look at his community if you are in the Chicago area!

PunkTorah Radio: The Times, They Are A-Changing…

Also, subscribe using iTunes here!

Filed Under: Community Member Blogs, Jewish Media Reviews, Podcasts & Videos, Random (Feelin' Lucky?), Your Questions Answered Tagged With: convert to judaism, Counterculture, darshan yeshiva, glbt, homeless, independent, Jewish, Jews, Judaism, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, queer, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, rebel, Religion, Torah

God Doesn’t Care If You Wear A Black Hat

January 3, 2011 by Patrick Beaulier

By Heshy Fried (Originally Posted Here)

The RaHaF ZT”L in his sefer nefesh hahesh brings down a story of a man who left his body and went to the beis din sehl mala where he spoke to God about gaining entry into Olam Habah:

I saw a long table that was catered by someone I would have never eaten by in my physical body, it was laid out for all to see and everyone was standing around scratching their heads wondering how a triangle-K caterer got this gig when he came up to the heavens.

God sat at the end of the table eating herring and kichel, talking in Torah to some of the clean shaven folks with knitted yarmulkes, can you imagine that? Imagine the pain I felt when I had to step onto end endless line, let me tell you, this was worse than any DMV you’ve ever been to, there was no information desk. There was only an infinitely long line of black hats stretching for eons, angels poured us drinks, but we noticed that they didn’t have four hechsherim on them so no one took any – the angels looked pleased with this result.

Then I noticed this really quick moving line of people, they all looked different, sure there were some black hat wearers on it, but I saw kippah srugas, women and even a few folks not wearing yarmulkes, I even saw a woman wearing pants and not covering her hair. Our line had no women on it, I assumed because we were the most frum of everyone, I assumed that ours was separate because we were most frum, I assumed it was moving by so slowly because we all had so many mitzvos that it took forever to weigh the scales, watch the video of our lives and receive the obvious entry into gan eden, but this is not what happened.

It seemed like forever, but I finally got my turn, I noticed that the guy before me looked a little shocked, he adjusted his hat, brim down this time and walked solemnly along to his destiny – I wondered if all those stories about us sitting in the bleachers while we watched the gedolim learning in the heavenly beis medrish were true, I really hoped I got a good seat.

God didn’t speak to me, he had a mediator and it wasn’t really a he, someone may say it could have been a she. I asked the mediator if she thought was tznius that I was talking to God via a woman, how they could allow women into such a holy place. God laughed and everything shook, he made the mediator disappear, I heard nods of approval coming from the line behind me, my black hat brethren knew it was untznius – was it true that God gave us yetzer harah’s even in the heavens.

“Why are you shaking like that?” God roared…”do you think shuckeling is something that is appropriate to do when standing in front of a king?”

I had no idea what to say, I honestly thought the faster and more violent you shook during prayer, the better it was, I had seen the other holy people doing it. “I see here in the ledger that you were kind to your in laws” Very important to be kind to those you hate, but what about all of the goyim and non-black hat Jews you disparaged at the shabbos table? “You could have told divrei torah instead”

I tried to speak, but he wouldn’t let me, I felt like Pharaoh having his heart hardened. I wanted to ask him about speaking against those who were evil, the goyim who didn’t keep the shiva mitzvos, the Jews who didn’t keep shabbos, but my mouth was froze as God roared at me again. “You stole, cheated and lied – you cared more about what your fellow man thought than I and for that I sentence you to the mandatory 11 months at the all you can eat Kiddush with long arms tied to the wall”

Unfortunately the sefer hanefesh of the RaHaF was lost, so most people continued to wear black hats regardless of the fact that God didn’t care and besides the RaHaF also known as Rav Heshy Fried Shlita wrote his sefer hanefesh at a time when black hats were worn by the goyim as well, so they may have been a fashion statement rather than the halacha l’maissa they have become today.

Filed Under: Random (Feelin' Lucky?), Rants Tagged With: bible, convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, Counterculture, darshan yeshiva, Jewish, Jews, Judaism, online conversion, orthodox, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, Religion, Torah

PunkTorah Radio: AIF Interview!

December 28, 2010 by Patrick Beaulier

Shalom yall! This week we’ve got a special conversation with Kelly Wentworth of the American Islamic Fellowship, some music by Eprhyme, and Patrick’s secret photos in the Shemspeed vault. Check it out!

PunkTorah Radio: AIF Interview!

Also, subscribe using iTunes here!

Filed Under: Community Member Blogs, Podcasts & Videos, Random (Feelin' Lucky?), Your Questions Answered Tagged With: american islamic fellowship, Counterculture, darshan yeshiva, interfaith, islam, Jewish, Jews, Judaism, muslim, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, podcast, Punk, punktorah, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, radio, Religion, Torah

Marley & DeScribe Are Livin’ For The Grind

December 23, 2010 by Patrick Beaulier

By Gefiltepunker Emily Saex

Drop that Starbucks like its hot! And pick this up instead! ‘Livin’ on the Grind’, the new single by Describe comes out today. The Shemspeed reggae hip hop musical juggernaut has in a multi-faceted collaboration w/Rohan Marley (yes, son of Bob) brought us a song that is more than just a punny play on words. Brewed from a chance meeting on the street, there was an instant connection between Rohan and Describe. Before you could say orange-mocha-frappuccino, ‘Livin on the Grind’ was in the works. Inspiration from the legendary Bob (note the lyrical influence of Bob’s ‘One Cup of Coffee’), the eco and social justice missions (ie stopping use of harmful pesticides and promoting responsible farming practices) of Marley Coffee and da riddims of Describe all came together to make this jam. Get your click on!

Filed Under: Jewish Media Reviews, Random (Feelin' Lucky?) Tagged With: convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, Counterculture, darshan yeshiva, DeScribe, Jewish, Jews, Judaism, marley, Music, online conversion, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier

Shevat: The Lesson of Asher

December 20, 2010 by Patrick Beaulier

~Excerpt from Shevat Guide – Subscribe for Free and Receive the Complete Guide Each Month ~

(Cross Posted From PeelAPom.com)

Original design I created for my nephew Asher's bris kippah. My nephew Asher was supposed to be born in Shevat, but came a few days early last year!

“And Leah said: ‘Happy am I! for the daughters will call me happy.’ And she called his name Asher.”  (Gen 30:13)

Asher was the eighth son of Jacob through Leah’s handmaid, Zilpah.  According to the Torah, midrash and rabbinical tradition Asher is a symbol of happiness.  There seems to be fairly strong consensus on this.   From his naming (Gen 30:13) to his final blessing from Yisrael (Gen 49:20) – Asher was blessed with happiness.

Asher’s emblem is the olive tree, which makes sense since the tribe of Asher was situated in an area that had them responsible for the production of olives and olive oil in ancient Israel.  The tribe of Asher was known for having an abundance of male children and daughters so beautiful they were sought out by “princes and priests.” (Jewish Encyclopedia)   Asher is also known for his daughter,  Serach whose goodness was rewarded with eternal life and is said to walk among us this day like Elijah.

Shevat is a month where, in a non-leap year, we should begin to see the signs of spring emerging by the end of it – or at least know it is coming so very soon – and this makes most people very happy.   We celebrate the return of spring through the holiday of Tu B’Shevat, which is one of the four traditional Jewish new years. Asher seems to be associated with delicious food, too, “As for Asher, his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.”(Gen 49:20)  What a perfect correspondence to the sense of the month, Taste, and the Kabbalistic tradition of a Tu B’Shevat seder that has become so popular in recent years.  Food is one of our simplest pleasures in life!

A month of simple happiness – is that possible?  So many months of the year offer us challenges that seem insurmountable.  What kind of a challenge is happiness?

The mazal, the astrological sign of the month, gives us some clues to the challenge of happiness.  The sign of the month is the D’li (דְלִי) – the Bucket (Aquarius). How do you contain happiness?  How do you give fluid emotions like joy a shape?  You need a container – not to close it in, but allow you to carry it forward and share it.

Another lesson of Asher is the line between right and wrong.  Can something be wrong if it makes us happy?  There is the question between a moment of happiness and true life-long happiness.  The name Asher is clearly related to the word Ashera.  Wait…how can a beloved son of Jacob have anything to do with a forbidden ancient goddess that the Torah repeatedly warns us of?!?  Maybe the issue here is the vessel of choice – not what was contained in it.  She is a tree of life (עץ חיים הי), but we do not need the image of tree to worship.

I can think of a lot of things that make me happy for a moment, but do not sustain ongoing happiness for myself or anyone else.  Asher is also seems like it must related to the word “asher” – meaning “that” or “which.”  Could it be that something which enables something else is the key to true happiness?  Does sustainable happiness need to be able to connect two things together?

Happiness is simple and it is complex – just like Jewish life.  The lesson of Asher for Shevat is to explore true happiness.  What form does it need and what forms will it take on?  What is the difference between a moment of happiness and a life of true joy?

The lesson of Asher is to find happiness olive tree that can sustain generations, not just the olive that feeds you alone for a moment.

That’s what I find.  What about you?

Want more Insights into Shevat?

  • Shevat: Buckets of Possibilities.
  • Shevat: There’s a Light
  • PeelaPom Tu B’Shevat Seder
  • Tu B’Shevat Resources

~Excerpt from Shevat Guide – Subscribe for Free and Receive the Complete Guide Each Month ~

Filed Under: Community Member Blogs, Judaism & Belief, Random (Feelin' Lucky?), Tu B'Shevat Tagged With: convert to judaism, darshan yeshiva, Jewish, jewish wheel of the year, Jews, Judaism, ketzirah, month, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, peelapom, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, rebel, Religion, rosh chodesh, shevat, Torah

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