Bailout and Bonuses

I would LOVE for this bill to pass.

I would LOVE for the obnoxious, selfish, irresponsible fat cats on Wall Street to finally shut up and take it like the rest of us are taking it.

I would just LOVE to hear the reaction from the likes of Bank of America, Citi, and the other big boys out there who took taxpayer money and spent it on private jets, office redecorating, and bonuses if the bill passes. Would they reject the bailout money to save their seven-figure salaries? Would they turn around with their tail between their legs and say "yes sir" and "yes ma'am" and start lending money again?

I would just LOVE for this to be more than just big talk and for the government to finally take action against this. It's utterly outrageous and there is no justification for it.

Standing Up

My grandfather was a very integral part of the Queens Bucharian community. My grandparents moved to Queens from Israel 39 years ago, and basically helped set up the community. Everyone knew them. In general, the Bucharian community is very orthodox- extreme right wing, fire-and-brimstone type. My grandparents came from Israel as very traditional people, but not orthodox. After my grandfather's mother died, he was hozer b'teshuva, returned to the faith and got a little caught up in the rhetoric he heard from the pulpit.

It's with this introduction that I tell you the story of my grandfather's funeral. The rabbi who officiated was someone I didn't know, but apparently someone who knew my grandfather well. He began the ceremony speaking in Hebrew, which was Strike Number 1, since many of the people that came from my mom's side to pay their respects were not Hebrew speakers. Someone then recited a few Psalms and then it was time for eulogies. Two very well-known rabbis spoke first- the chief Bucharian rabbi in the US knew my grandfather from when they were still living in Israel, and the rabbi of my grandfather's synagogue spoke of how much my grandfather did to build the community and the synagogues. Then a few other men spoke- one spoke in Bucharian (which is a mix of Farsi and Hebrew) and only a handful of people understood him. Finally a couple of other rabbis spoke in English. Everyone, for the most part, spoke very nicely.

Then came Strike Number 2. The officiating rabbi took to the microphone one more time. He started telling two stories (in Hebrew) of how he got two different people to hozer b'teshuva- got them to return to the faith and lead an orthodox life. This got him to the fire and brimstone part- he began to beseech to everyone in the room to become religious- keep Shabbat, keeper kosher, etc. etc. I turn to my sister and ask her what this has to do with our grandfather? She just shook her head. His little speech went on for about 10 minutes. Once he was finally done, he thanked everyone for coming and gave the address for where the family would be sitting shiva. I looked over and my mom, wondering what was going on- my cousin and I had prepared eulogies and this guy was getting ready to leave! So she told him that there were still two more to go. And then Strike Three went like this:

Rabbi: "Mi od yesh?" ("Who else is there?")
Mom: "shnei nechadim." ("Two grandchildren.")
Rabbi: "ok, mi?" ("Ok, who?")
Mom: "Ronnie v'Elanit." ("Ronnie and Elanit.")
Rabbi: "LO! Nashim lo m'dabrot po!" ("NO! Women do not speak here!")

Then I immediately pipe in:
Me: "Ani m'daberet bishvil ha Sabba sheli!" ("I am speaking for my grandfather!")
Rabbi: "LO!" ("NO!")
Me: "Ken!" ("YES!)
Rabbi: "Az ani holech!" ("Then I am leaving!")
Me: "Az telech!" ("So go!)

And he stormed out.

I asked my cousin to speak first, if only to give myself some time to calm down. I was so taken aback by the entire conversation, my hands were literally shaking. Who was this man to tell me that I couldn't give a eulogy for my grandfather? I know enough Jewish law to know how utterly ridiculous he was, and there was no way I was going to allow him to stand there and tell me what women can and cannot do. Argh!

I can't remember any incident such as this which forced me to explicitly stand up for my rights as a human being. For the most part, I am at peace with the way Modern Orthodox Judaism has adapted along with the changing modern times, and most of the battles associated with a woman's role in Judaism I had to face were internal- if I would cover my hair, wear pants, etc. This was something totally new.

The Rabbi hasn't been seen since; I have no idea if he will actually show up to my grandmother's home to pay his respects, but if he does, I will not be moved to the other side of the room and I will not hide from him nor anyone else who would want to shove me into a corner. (I had half a mind to start my eulogy with the line "Nobody puts Baby in the corner!) I certainly don't believe that's what my Sabba would have wanted.

Invasion of the chocolate bugs

For the last few months, we would notice just one or two little bugs moseying along in our kitchen near our stovetop. We got rid of them quickly and wondered where they were coming from. We usually wouldn't leave food lying around and kept the area relatively clean. Mostly, there were some papers and a small box in the corner area of the countertop. These little buggers would show up every now and then and keep me confused.

Then last night, as I was cleaning up, I saw a few more. I was in cleaning mode, so I started to clear off the counter, and lo and behold, I lifted a piece of folded paper that had been sitting in its exact place for who-knows-how-long, and found: a partially unwrapped bar of chocolate, which I hadn't seen for quite a while.

And then it hit me: it says wonders that we've had a cleaning service clean our apartment every other week for the last few months and the folded paper and other little stuff we had sitting in that corner was never once lifted to clean underneath. What on earth am I paying them for if they are only going to clean the areas of my home that don't have any "stuff" on it?? I understand not wanting to disturb clutter on a desk, but they would always clean up our table and make neat piles of all the mail. So why not the kitchen??

Ugh.

I gotta hand it to the little buggers, though- after all this time, they didn't bother us anywhere else. All they wanted was that chocolate. But then again, would we all be happy if our world consisted of one big bar of chocolate?