Attention Genuine Mekubalim - $1Million Reward

click here to claim your reward

From the website:
"The Foundation is committed to providing reliable information about paranormal claims. It both supports and conducts original research into such claims.

At JREF, we offer a one-million-dollar prize to anyone who can show, under proper observing conditions, evidence of any paranormal, supernatural, or occult power or event. The JREF does not involve itself in the testing procedure, other than helping to design the protocol and approving the conditions under which a test will take place. All tests are designed with the participation and approval of the applicant. In most cases, the applicant will be asked to perform a relatively simple preliminary test of the claim, which if successful, will be followed by the formal test. Preliminary tests are usually conducted by associates of the JREF at the site where the applicant lives. Upon success in the preliminary testing process, the "applicant" becomes a "claimant."

To date, no one has ever passed the preliminary tests. "

Jesus Camp

http://movies2.nytimes.com/2006/09/22/movies/22camp.html
the url above is a link to an article in NY Times re
Kids on Fire, a summer camp in Devils Lake, N.D., that grooms children to be soldiers in “God’s army.”

Heard about this on NPR interview erev yomtov. The pastor pointed out that Christians are leaving their religion in alarming rates. She has found that taliban like indocrination of young kids has almost a zero defection rate.

She isnt teaching kids to be suicide bombers, but she is teaching them to be willing to die for their faith.

Indocrination at age 5-8 is the perfect age. Thus the idea for a camp.

any similiarities to our system?

well my kid is starting elu mitziyos. Got to do my part.

Lakewood Yid: a look in the mirror?

xGH posted a famous clip from the Ali G. show of HBO. When I went to YouTube I noticed some related videos that were clearly relevant to the recent ongoing discussions over at xGH.

Lakewood Yid, please watch the following and tell me how different these fundamentalist people are from your conception of Judiasm.

A evangelical preacher interviewed by an British Athiest:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8sKvG3EEwk

A jew who converted to Islam interviewed by same British Athiest:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHujjU8Tlxc

9/11 - 5 Years later

I was going to work, 2 blocks from the WTC, that morning.
I was on the 5 train and at around 9:15 we were in Bowling Green station.

A woman comes on crying and shrieking that there planes that hit the towers.
I looked around and made eye contact with another yid, and kinda smiled that maybe a looney had joined our train.

The train then skipped the next stops and stopped at city hall.

Like an idiot, i got off. I looked up and saw the towers on fire.
I called my wife, asked her whats up and she said she had been trying to reach me to let me know what was going on.

(luckily, i was supposed to be there that morning at the Waters Software Conference being held at the Windows of the world. I had decided to not attend. One of the vendor reps I had met a couple of times wanted me to attend. He died.)

I told her i was going to work. (i know, mindless, but I had no idea the buildings would fall. I had been there in 1993 and this seemed similiar).

I went to work and was looking out the window. I called my father to tell him i was ok. While im on the line, i see the first tower fall. I was stunned. My father screamed on the phone "why was i screaming". I told him we have to evacuate and I would call him later.

We evacuated and went to the basement. Who knows what I breathed in? While waiting we heard speculation of 20 to 30 planes hijaaked. I actually watched the day in real time for the first time this morning. Amazing.

well, i finally decided to leave, and walked across the Brooklyn bridge using a mask to protect me from the smoke and stuff all over. A bus took us from there on another 2 hour trek until i made it home.

It wasnt until a few later that I was back. They assured us the air was safe. One lunch time, i took a stroll to J&R and my lungs were on fire.
I didnt go out again for a long time.
They assured us that the buildings filters would protect us.

Who knows?

Attention Parents of children with learning issues

Click here to see a video that may change your childrens lives.

If you need more information, please view the Arrowsmith School Website or email them at
info@arrowsmithschool.org

Watch out for that Egg!

The gemera Yoma (80a) near the end of the Mesechte talks about shiurim for eating on Yom Kippur.

The gemera asks: "maybe the shiur is that maximal one of the egg from the Yochni bird". Rashi says that when its egg is cracked open it can drown 60 cities (bechoros 57b).

This is not a medrash. Is it?
FKM once chided me for not believing that its reasonable that mermaids may have once existed, since they are biologically possible.

If so....is this a similiar possible creature to mermaids?

*Update*
from dafyomi.org.il:
bechoros 57b:
R. Yishmael ben Sasri'el testified about the following things in his locale:

1. When we see that an animal will die while giving birth, we flay her skin and wrap the baby in it.

i. Rebbi remarked, this reveals R. Yehoshua's reason (it is as if its mother is still alive);

2. Lettuces have 600,000 layers of leaves in the part resembling Beis ha'Masas (a stomach of ruminants that has layers);
3. A cedar tree once fell - 16 wagons traveled across its length, side by side on its circumference (it was so wide that it barely sloped over such a wide area, so the wagons would not topple). (Maharsha - this refers to the death of Moshe, the sharp Pilpul he gave to Yisrael was passed down for 16 generations.)
4. Once, an egg of a Bar Yuchni (giant bird) fell - the contents flooded 60 great cities and broke 300 cedars. (Maharsha - this alludes to the breaking of the Luchos.)
5. Question: A Bar Yuchni does not drop its eggs - "Kenaf Renanim *Ne'ELaSaH*" (we expound this Nosei OLeh v'NiSCHatei, it goes up and gently lays its egg down into its nest)!
6. Answer (Rav Ashi): It was spoiled, therefore the mother dropped it.

the Maharsha says its allegory. Or maybe just the 300 cedars breaking.

Now this is testimony from a Tanna! Rashi simply says its a big birds egg.

So why shouldnt we say that when R Chanina Ben Dosa testifies (in Shabbos) that he turned vinegar to oil, that its a allegory?

Its clear that across the ages, gedolim decided what to allegorize based on what made them feel comfortable.