STETL - Budapest Jewish Rock

Hungarian Jews are not what you imagined.

The Weeky Portion: Yitro

This week we Jews are reading the chapter where the African  priest Yitro visits Moses and Zipporah and the grandchildren. The Jews are torturing Moshe with their moral questions, so the old man advises: Write down the Law and appoint judges. So Moshe went up the mountain and after fasting and consulting with God, produced two tablets with ten simple rules. From then on there could be no more doubts what was to be considered politically correct.

Commenting on the chapter, Rabbi Tarfon asked himself why is that only the Israelites received God's commandments? Why not the "Children of Esau" tribe? Obvious, answered Rabbi Tarfon, those Esau people are warlike, "You shall not murder" is not for them. What about the sons of Ishmael, the Arabs? "You shall not steal" was not for them since they live robbing caravans in the desert. Presumably, the Greeks would never accept a bodiless god having beautiful naked marble statues of their nubile goddesses and muscular athletes? Having run out of worthy candidates, God noticed Moshe starving on the hilltop and offloaded his stone tablets on him. On us. Left: Hebrew tablet found in the ruins of Gezer. 

China Today

I feel I have to post this picture of China today. A family trying to escape wrapped up in poliethilene bags, from shoes to head. It reminds me of Saddam Hussein's missile attack on Israel, when we expected poison gas  and protected ourselves and our homes with plastic sheets and tape. It seems effective. Hope we shall be spared of similar views in Israel. But we may be not.  

Argentina Defaults Again

The Peronist government decided to post-pone the payment of bonds till September. Only widows and orphans will be spared: holders of less than 20,000 dollars worth of bonds that can prove they are "humans" will receive the interests. The others will receive "YOCK" (Hebrew slang for nothing and now get lost).

It was not unexpected.

The United Arab List

About 20% of the population are Arabs with voting rights. They have formed a block, the United Arab List (see pic) that is kingmaker and decide who will be our next Prime Minister. They are exercising their power to annul land expropriations. Land expropriated for public water works has been returned to Arab farmers. Land is the vital resource in this densely populated country and already there is tremendous problem for public infrastructure planners. There is no place on the seashore to site desalination plants (water sector) nor yacht ports (tourism). The Arabs think that it is not their problem and do not co-operate with the State. 

Weapons and Counterweapons

Elbit won a large order for Directional Infrared Counter Measures (DIRCM), a system to protect aircraft from infrared homing ("heat seeking") man-portable missiles. It is a lightweight, compact system designed to provide mission-vulnerable aircraft with increased protection. Thanks Arafat, we had to develop twenty years ago many thingies that we can sell now. 

In the South of Israel, we are suffering from helium filled balloons carrying explosives. The wind blows from Gaza towards the mainland, carrying these weapons deep into the country. A startup developed laser guided countermeasures, it is working but the border is 70 km long, so it can protect only a limited sector. The enemy keeps us alert and vigilant, thanks God.  

Mayn Yiddische Meydele

Lyrics

I have seen many women;
among every people they are different.
But none is as beautiful
as a Jewish woman.

A Jewish girl immediately enchants you
with her glance.
And if you just take a peek at her,
you feel that “Jewish feeling” inside of you.

My Jewish girl, she is so pretty.
My Jewish girl, she has a certain Jewish charm.
Her golden hair, her teeth like pearls—
only a Jewish girl could be so beautiful.
A million dollars won’t help you find among other peoples