Crown Heights Rants

I have been trying to buy a copy of the Tanya with English translation. If there is any one publication that is associated with Lubavitch, it is the Tanya. I have no idea why so perennially popular a publication has been out of stock for several months at Kehot Publishing. They should really keep it available in translation.

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There are three different ways of gathering in exiles. One is to bring in people who are Jewish but not observant. The second is to welcome and bring in people who strayed from an observant upbringing. The third is to bring in "lost tribes and people who may have been Jewish generations ago, such as the conversos, the Abuyudaya and the Jews of India. We also need to work on the conditions that make people leave in the first place.

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Anyone who's child does not fit into the educational mainstream is on their own. Tuition expenses are outrageous. Wouldn't it be amazing if there were regional Jewish school districts with financial backing systematised? What if people could pay taxes to their Jewish school district and place their child where most appropriate? Our current educational network needs to be reexamined and worked into a system in which our diversity can be accommodated.

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American Jews should consider this. Even if you are a "dove" and privately favour giving up land, Israel is under enough pressure to give up land already. If you come out for a "land for peace" proposal, you are undercutting Israel's diplomatic position. Additionally, you are getting a "land for war" agreement.

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The Lubavitcher Rebbe was prophetic in his predictions about the Holy Land. His teachings about not giving up land and "who is a Jew" are among any number of teachings that are more relevant than ever. Whoever disseminates the Rebbe's teachings is doing the world a public service. Honking your horn and putting up "The Rebbe Is Moshiach" signs adds nothing to public discussion other than to turn people off who might otherwise listen to the Rebbe's teachings. When Moshiach does come, everyone will agree from Williamsburg to Crown Heights, from Lakewood to Flatbush, From Meah Shaarim to Rosh Haayin. That all will agree on the identity of Moshiach will be the biggest miracle of all. This has not happened yet.

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Police in New York are really working hard to protect likely targets from terrorist attack. In tough times, this is a heavy expense. Terror organisations have not scored a hit in the US in a long time. But they should be made to pay for the time and expense of protecting ourselves against them.

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I have spoken to people who had a real hard time reporting crimes in Brooklyn. Reports were "lost". Offenses were given classified as less serious than they really were. Crime is up a lot more than is being admitted. It keeps property values up, it makes some police brass look good. But it's kind of like touching up x rays instead of treating the patient.

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I was discharging a passenger who was disabled from a van in Flatbush. While I was sitting in the van making sure the passenger got inside, a cop ticketed me for double parking.

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I spoke to someone in Pittsburgh who said that parking at an expired meter is an ELEVEN dollar ticket. New York hasn't had tickets that low in decades. New York City parking tickets are robbery with a government permit.

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When was the last time you had a real bagel? My idea of a bagel is the kind that is heavy. How heavy? I like my bagels so heavy you can wing them through a plate glass window. Most bagels I buy today are like Wonder Bread with too much crust.

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Religious dress codes have me baffled . I think denim skirts are modest and totally acceptable. Some people say it's "not chassidish". Why? It's a spin off from denim pants that were sold by a Jewish dry goods merchant during the gold rush named Levi Strauss. That's Jewish enough for me.

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A good week to all. May G-d protect us from our enemies and our government