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Help [[tsedaka|feed the hungry]] in Israel!
 
Help [[tsedaka|feed the hungry]] in Israel!
  
This week was pretty calm in our part of the worldI spent a fair amount of time getting used to working with a Mac -- and compiling a [[MacinWoes|list of grievances]] against Apple and their designers.
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Lost in translation: many of you know of my Mishne Torah translation project, and probably can assume (rightly) that I am interested in "getting translation right".  This week I received an email, which was a copy of an interesting article published on the internetThe article was a translation of [http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART1/871/037.html?hp=1&loc=33&tmp=3251 this article from Ma`ariv], talking about fake kashrut certifications.  Everything was fine, until I got to this sentence: "This story perhaps highlights the difficulties being faced by the Chief Rabbinate, which continues to wage its war on illegal and unauthorized kashrut supervisions that ''arise like Patriot missiles in the rain''". Huh?  "Patriot missiles in the rain"?  What is that supposed to mean?
  
Calm for us, that is... but our trusty local newspaper reports in the "police blotter" section about a husband whose wife threatened to "burn him up".  This in a "city without violence", as the sign boldly posted at the entrance to the city proclaims.  And don't even mention the increasing number of women I've seen [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=packing+heat packing heat].  Don't mess with 'em, boys, you don't want to get burned!
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I guessed the original used the word {{hebs|פטריות}} (''pitriot'' = mushrooms), which would make sense. And indeed, the original was:
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:{{heb|סיפורו של "בד"צ בלקר" מבטא יותר מכל את המצוקה שבה נמצאת הרבנות הראשית לישראל במלחמתה בגופי כשרות קיקיוניים שקמים כמו '''פטריות אחר הגשם'''}}. 
  
While Israelis celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of the peace treaty with Egypt, [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1237727542652&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull the Egyptians studiously avoided] any mention of itAnd despite the fact that the [http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/130616 supposed Israeli war crimes] were proven to be a fabrication, [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1237727540314&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull our favorite Useful Idiot] continues with the same tired claims.  Maybe he should move to Gaza and increase the overall IQ of Israel?
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Those of you who know Hebrew will have noticed another failing in the translation, e.g. "illegal and unauthorized" is not what {{hebs|קיקיוניים}} means!  The Hebrew ''kikayoniim'' = like a ''kikayon'', [http://mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1704.htm#6 the plant which grew next to Jonah] to shield him from the sun (that sprouted one day and died the next), hence the proper translation should be something like "fly-by-night"Though Esther and I laughed a lot after reading the translation, it brings up a serious point, which is that translations are only as good as the comprehension of the translator. Don't forget that!  N.B.: Mercifully, the original site changed the online content to reflect the original more accurately -- I wasn't the only one who pointed out their error to them.
  
Friends still in the US -- you've been put on notice that [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1237727546890&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull anti-Semitism is acceptable] in the US, although [http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/sns-ap-un-un-free-speech,0,5428444.story criticism of Islam] is not. Come home now, while you can!  After all, you can already here the {{wiki|muezzin}} calling from here -- why wait till you here them there?
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We were honored to have a visit from our Rabbi and his family all the way from Bellevue, Washington. We hope to see them again before they return to the Exile. I hope they enjoyed their visit to the Wild West Bank...
  
On that topic, the Wikipedia article states: ''The acts of the muezzin are also considered an art form, reflected in the melodious chanting of the adhan''Excuse me?  Melodious?!?  If you took a dozen cats, and gave them all electric shocks while they were on a tin roof, you wouldn't achieve ten percent of the "melodious chanting" we get from our local half-dozen ''muezzins'', may they quickly ascend to Heaven and leave us in peace and quiet!
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Everyone is getting ready for Pesach.  Everyone -- not just "religious" people. We decided that we need a small vacuum cleaner to help control our dust situation, so this week we went to the local mall and tried to find something cheap.  The stores were bursting to the seams with shoppers, desperate for cleaning supplies and food and who knows whatToday I finally went to the local "Ace" hardware store, which had an "ok" price on a small vacuum -- and I thought they must be giving things away for free, there were so many people there.  It turns out that not only were things not free, they didn't have half the things they normally did -- but they did have a vacuum, so B"H we can now control the dust a little better (assuming the machine holds up, about which I have doubts).  At first I went to a store near where I work, thinking that the price would be better.  The owner told me he would give me a "discount for Pesach" on one model of vacuum, only 1,000NIS!  When I went to the Israeli price-comparison size [http://zap.co.il Zap], I found the same model he was offering, for 750.  What a deal!  That was still much more than I was willing to spend, but it just shows that ''caveat emptor'' applies here as much as it does anywhere.
  
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(almost) Everything is now marked as "kosher for Passover", including such non-edibles as oven-cleaner and soap.  I'm not the only one in Israel who knows that such things don't need a ''hechsher'' (of any kind, let alone one for Pesach), so why do they have one?  Do consumers who are waffling as to what brand to buy really go for the soap with the ''hechsher'' over the one without?  Probably, probably.
  
'''Note''': today we switched over to "IDT" (Israel Daylight Time), so we are at GMT+3 until the Friday between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, which falls out this year on September 25th.
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Now that I'm taking the bus instead of driving, I'm more calm and relaxed.  But for those of you still driving: here's a [http://xkcd.com/562/ parking solution] you might appreciate.
  
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Those fun-loving Arabs!  First we have [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1238423651844&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull the new Arab MK] who advocates Iranian nuclear weapons development.  Then there's those happy-go-lucky Arabs who disapproved of [http://drybonesblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/strings-of-peace.html the "Strings of Peace"] and seized their instruments and disbanded the orchestra.  And just yesterday, in the town one of my coworkers lives in, [http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/130730 a terrorist brutally killed a 13 year old with an ax] and seriously injured a seven year old.  If the government would change its policy and require all able-bodied Jews to carry sidearms and keep in practice, instead of making it very difficult to get a carry license, the situation would improve.  Knowing that the "sheep" are all armed and dangerous would make even a ''maniak'' Arab hesitate.
  
 
Until next week,<br>
 
Until next week,<br>
 
Shabbat shalom!
 
Shabbat shalom!
  
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Latest revision as of 15:18, 10 April 2009

April 3rd (See this week's devar torah)
Send Ron feedback on this blog


Hi again!

Help feed the hungry in Israel!

Lost in translation: many of you know of my Mishne Torah translation project, and probably can assume (rightly) that I am interested in "getting translation right". This week I received an email, which was a copy of an interesting article published on the internet. The article was a translation of this article from Ma`ariv, talking about fake kashrut certifications. Everything was fine, until I got to this sentence: "This story perhaps highlights the difficulties being faced by the Chief Rabbinate, which continues to wage its war on illegal and unauthorized kashrut supervisions that arise like Patriot missiles in the rain". Huh? "Patriot missiles in the rain"? What is that supposed to mean?

I guessed the original used the word פטריות (pitriot = mushrooms), which would make sense. And indeed, the original was:

סיפורו של "בד"צ בלקר" מבטא יותר מכל את המצוקה שבה נמצאת הרבנות הראשית לישראל במלחמתה בגופי כשרות קיקיוניים שקמים כמו פטריות אחר הגשם

.

Those of you who know Hebrew will have noticed another failing in the translation, e.g. "illegal and unauthorized" is not what קיקיוניים means! The Hebrew kikayoniim = like a kikayon, the plant which grew next to Jonah to shield him from the sun (that sprouted one day and died the next), hence the proper translation should be something like "fly-by-night". Though Esther and I laughed a lot after reading the translation, it brings up a serious point, which is that translations are only as good as the comprehension of the translator. Don't forget that! N.B.: Mercifully, the original site changed the online content to reflect the original more accurately -- I wasn't the only one who pointed out their error to them.

We were honored to have a visit from our Rabbi and his family all the way from Bellevue, Washington. We hope to see them again before they return to the Exile. I hope they enjoyed their visit to the Wild West Bank...

Everyone is getting ready for Pesach. Everyone -- not just "religious" people. We decided that we need a small vacuum cleaner to help control our dust situation, so this week we went to the local mall and tried to find something cheap. The stores were bursting to the seams with shoppers, desperate for cleaning supplies and food and who knows what. Today I finally went to the local "Ace" hardware store, which had an "ok" price on a small vacuum -- and I thought they must be giving things away for free, there were so many people there. It turns out that not only were things not free, they didn't have half the things they normally did -- but they did have a vacuum, so B"H we can now control the dust a little better (assuming the machine holds up, about which I have doubts). At first I went to a store near where I work, thinking that the price would be better. The owner told me he would give me a "discount for Pesach" on one model of vacuum, only 1,000NIS! When I went to the Israeli price-comparison size Zap, I found the same model he was offering, for 750. What a deal! That was still much more than I was willing to spend, but it just shows that caveat emptor applies here as much as it does anywhere.

(almost) Everything is now marked as "kosher for Passover", including such non-edibles as oven-cleaner and soap. I'm not the only one in Israel who knows that such things don't need a hechsher (of any kind, let alone one for Pesach), so why do they have one? Do consumers who are waffling as to what brand to buy really go for the soap with the hechsher over the one without? Probably, probably.

Now that I'm taking the bus instead of driving, I'm more calm and relaxed. But for those of you still driving: here's a parking solution you might appreciate.

Those fun-loving Arabs! First we have the new Arab MK who advocates Iranian nuclear weapons development. Then there's those happy-go-lucky Arabs who disapproved of the "Strings of Peace" and seized their instruments and disbanded the orchestra. And just yesterday, in the town one of my coworkers lives in, a terrorist brutally killed a 13 year old with an ax and seriously injured a seven year old. If the government would change its policy and require all able-bodied Jews to carry sidearms and keep in practice, instead of making it very difficult to get a carry license, the situation would improve. Knowing that the "sheep" are all armed and dangerous would make even a maniak Arab hesitate.

Until next week,
Shabbat shalom!



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