View source for Blog/January 2008/Jan 25th

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{{bheader|January 25th|Devar/5768/Yitro}}

Hi again!

This shabbat I was speaking to one of my fellow congregants after morning prayers.  He asked me if I was "ashkenazi", to which I replied, "there is no such thing!".  As he looked at me quizzically, I continued and said, "you are a Jew, I am a Jew, there is no such thing as 'ashkenazi' or 'sepharadi'".  His question made me think about how Israelis in general categorize a person by the types of clothes or kippa worn.  It seems there is a strong need to pidgeonhole people - it makes it easy for us to determine that person's relative worth.  But '''listen up, people:''' there is no such thing as an "ashkenazi" or a "sepharadi" or a "temani" -- there is only "Jew".  Whether you converted according to halachah, or you were born into the club; whether your ancestors spent time in Morocco or Poland; whether you keep all of the 613 mitsvot you can, or haven't got there yet: you are a Jew, period.  Get over the pigeonholing.  You can even be a [http://www.aish.com/spirituality/odysseys/The_Royal_Jew_From_Swaziland.asp royal African Jew].

* allies in the iriya
* [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1200572510223&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull talmud makes  you a better sharpshooter]
* scary pizza (time for teshuva)
* closer to a mortgage
* sarah's play
* gas woes
* mehadrin bus

Shabbat shalom!
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