Showing posts with label Star Trek. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Star Trek. Show all posts

Monday, February 16, 2026

מסע בין כוכבים האקדמיה: מה מפריע למבקרים? / Star Trek Starfleet Academy: What's Bothering The Critics?

כ״ט לחודש האחד עשר תשפ״ו
English follows the Hebrew.
עשר אגורות (2¢):
הרבה זמן אני אוהד של מסע בין כוכבים. לכן לא אמור להפתיע אתכם שאני משתף את ה-5 אג׳ ה-10 אג׳ שלי בנוגע לסדרה החדשה של הזיכיון, ״מסע בין כוכבים: אקדמיית צי הכוכבים״ (2026).

כנראה שמעתם את הביקורות הרעות על אקדמיית צי הכוכבים על היותה וווק (נעורות; שמאלני שמאלני) מדי. אבל התפלאתי לטובה לגלות שהערות לא גרועה כפי שחשבתי שתהיה. הכתיבה רשלנית. מסגרת הסדרה נותנת לנו יותר שאולות מתשובות. ועד כה, העלילות, גם בפרקים בודדים וגם בם סיפורים אישיים במשך הסידרה, הן רק בסדר ולא כל-כך מרגשות.

איך יכול להיות שדרוש מצוער אחד צריך תספורת קצרת, ואחר מאותו כוכב לכת לא צריך? אם הסדרה כל כך ״וווק״, אז למה גברים ונשים בצי הכוכבים צריכים תספורות שונות בעתיד כל-כך רחוק? ומותר לצוערים מכוכבי לכת שונים עם תרבויות שונות שיער ארוך? פשוט לא הגיוני.

הבעיה היא לא ההשקפה של ״וווק״; אלא היא כתיבת תסריט רשלנית. כלל מספר אחת בכל סוג של ביטוי כתוב, או ביטוי מילולי, או, לדעתי, בחיים בכלל הוא להיות עקבי!

אני אשאיר בצד את הביקורת שלי על האי עקביות של ״האקדמיה״ בניגוד לסדרות הקודמות של הזיכיון. יש הרבה אוהדים שיכולים למלא את התפקיד של סוג המבקר הזה. אבל אני כן אגיד לכם נראה לי שיש מספר משמעותי של לא-טרקרים (כינוי לאוהדי מסע בין הכוכבים) בצוות כתיבת התסריט.

כפי שאפשר לצפות, אקדמיית צי הכוכבים נוגעת בבעיות התבגרות אופייניות, בעיות ביחסים עם הורים, שאיפה לעצמאות מהם, חברים חדשים, אהובים ראשונים, והדרך להבנה עצמית וקבלה עצמית.

המשחק של חלק שחקנים הצעירים המגלמים צוערים, מפתיע לטובה, במיוחד השחקן הראשי סנדרו רוסטה. למרות המשחק הגרוע של אחרים, וקולו המעצבן וחסר הפנים של סטיבן קולברט, דיקן הסטודנטים ברקע, מדבר שטויות.

צוות השחקנים כולל גם את ג'ורג' הוקינס ובלה שפרד בתור צוערים, זוכת פרס האוסקר הולי האנטר בתור אלופה משנה החדשה של "מסע בין כוכבים", והקומיקאית טיג נוטארו וג'ינה ישיר בתור קצינות בכירות.

ההומור המעוקם של נוטארו מבדח, ומגביר את ערך הבידור של הסדרה בדיוק כפי שעשה בסדרה "מסע בין כוכבים דיסקברי" (2017) שלא מתנצלת על השקפת הוווק המתבטאת בה.

דמותה של ישיר, חצי קלינגונית חצי ג'מהדרית, היא תלת-ממדית. היא המפקדת הקשוחה, שלוחצת את הצוערים שלה לקצה גבול היכולת הפיזית והנפשית שלהם, כפי שמצפים מכל סמל אמריקאי. אבל היא גם תומכת בצוערים לפי הצורך. למשל היא מתחילה להדריך את צוער קלינגוני נטוש. ההומור הישיר של דמותה, לצד ההומור העוקץ והסמוי של נוטארו, הוא שילוב נהדר.

כמובן, בכל פעם שמוצגת דמות עם אב ואם מכוכבי לכת שונים, זה לא רק רומז לקבילות של מערכות יחסים בין-גזעיות - מסר חיובי - אלא גם נישואים בין בני דתות שונות - מסר שלילי. ייתכן שזה נובע מצורך לא מודע, או לא כל כך מודע, של מפיקי טלוויזיה וקולנוע יהודים ו"יהודים" להצדיק את נישואין התערובת שלהם, או להצדיק את אמונתם שהם יהודים למרות נישואי תערובת של הוריהם וסביהם.

העניין של השקפת ״וווק״ בסדרה האקדמיה אינה הצגת יקום מדומיין אלף שנים קדימה.

אלא הבעיה היא שהצופים נלחצים לקבל את השקפה זו כדרך היחידה של אמת, כמו שעושים בסדרה הקודמת של "מסע בין כוכבים", "דיסקברי". אולי המפיקים של אקדמיית צי הכוכבים לומדים מהטעויות שעברו, והחליטו להציג את השקפת ״וווק״ בעדינות יותר.

"מסע בין כוכבים" ידועה לסכן את המשך הסדרה למען הצדק. הסדרה המקורית (1966) הראתה קצינה אפריקאית-אמריקאית, נשיקה בין-גזעית, את הטיפשות המוחלטת של הגזענות ואת הרוע של הפשיזם.

"הדור הבא" (1987) נכנסה לתחום שנוי במחלוקת יותר, בכך שהעלתה את הדיון על הפלות וזהות המגדר. בשני המקרים, הסדרה בחרה בדרך הבטוחה. הקצינה מתנגדת לניסיון הפלה בכפייה, כלומר, בחירתה כובדה, וזהות המגדר טופלה דרך סיפור על מין בעל מגדר יחיד.

"חלל עמוק 9" (1993) העמיקה בעניין עם דמות מין סימביוטי, הטריל, שסימביונו הרגישו בנוח גם במאכסן וגם במאכסנת. עדיין היו רק שני מגדרים.

באקדמיית צי הכוכבים עוד לא מוצגה פוליטיקה של זהות המגדר. עם זאת, בפרק שנערך לאחרונה, היה קטטה בבר. מי לא אוהב לצפות קטטה טובה בבר?! לצערנו, חתכו את רובה.

במקום זאת, הם שמרו את הסצנות עם הברמן שגם מלכת הדראג (מלובש בבגד אישה לבידור), והצוער הגיי המתחיל עם צוער אחר, שלא היה לו מושג על מה קורה. למה מקובל עליהם לנרמל הטפסים של גייז, תוך כדי ביקורת על אחרים שחולקים עליהם על כך שעושים את אותו הדבר?

דבר אחד הוא להציג מערכות יחסים חד-מגדריות. הן אכן קיימות. אבל לנרמל אותן, הרבה מעבר לכל טענה של התרחשות בעולם הטבע, ולהוסיף את ההנחה הסמויה שכולם דו-מיני, או יכולים להיות כאלה, זה מעבר הגבול.

מדי פעם בסדרה דמויות של גברים מוצגות כשהן לובשות חצאיות. קילט סקוטי, וֶושְׁתִּי טמילי, או לבלבה סמואית, היה הרבה יותר נעים וגם הרבה יותר הגיוני. במקום זאת בחרו בסגנון מערבי, חצאיות לנשים. האם אלף שנים קדימה מספיקות כדי להצדיק דר כזה? לאחד הצוערים מלובש בחצאית יש למין שלו סגנון לבוש שלהם כולל משהו דומה לחצאית כגון חלוק. הם יכלו לעצב לבוש בשבילו בסגנון הזה.

המטרה הבאה של יוזמת ״הוווק״ היא דתות המאורגנות. בפרק חמישי של הסדרה רומזים שכל דת המאורגנת מבוססת על שטויות במקום עובדות. בהחלט יש למפיקים זכות לבטא זאת. אבל, מה שהם "מרגישים" נכון מטבעו, למרות שאינו מבוסס על עובדות.

בסוף הפרק, הפרופסורית מייעצת לצוערת:
הפרופסורית: את לא מצליחה לפתור את התעלומה הזו עם עובדות בלבד.

צוערת: אז אם הבחירות שלנו קובעות מי אנחנו, מה קובע את הבחירות שלנו?... מה שאנחנו אוהבים.
כלומר, אנחנו מונחים על ידי הרגשות שלנו, ולא על ידי עובדות בלבד. מקור הגישה הזאת היא התרבות של מערב העולם.

הבעיה העיקרית בסדרות ובסרטים המופקים על ידי שמאלנים היא המוסר הכפול המתבטא בם. דוגמה אחת היא הבורג ויחס אליו. , הבורג הוא אוכלוסייה גדולה של סייבורגים שמקורם בכוכבי לכת רבים ושונים. המשימה של הבורג היא לחפש, לכבוש, ולהטמיע תרבויות אחרות בקהילה המאוחדת שלו. למרות ש"מסע בין כוכבים" מציגה את הבורג במהלך ארבע סדרות טלוויזיה וסרט אחד כרשע, הפדרציה המאוחדת של כוכבי הלכת (ממשלת הגלקסיה של "מסע בין כוכבים"), נוהגת ממש כמו הבורג, אם כי עם אסטרטגיה שונה.

הפדרציה אף עושה זאת, למרות "ההנחיה העיקרית" שלה להמנע מהתערבות בהתפתחות הטבעית של תרבויות. הקומבינה שלה היא מתירה לה להתערב בתרבויות, לאחר שהן משיגים את הטנולוגיה של "מנוע עיוות", ולכן מסע בין-כוכבי.

תזכרו מה שכתבתי על עקביות. הטענה שמקדמים שוויון, אבל לא באמת מאמינים ב שוויון לכולם, ועוד דוגמאות של וסרים כפולים, הן הבעיה.

זה מזכיר מאוד את אנשי עולם המערב הפרוגרסיבי כביכול, שמקדמים את תרבותם כנעלה על כל התרבויות האחרות. לדוגמה, הם טוענים שהם מבינים ומקבלים את התרבות המוסלמית, מעלים טענות מגוחכות שהתרבות המוסלמית התאמה לפמיניזם, או שמדיניות איראן של שינוי מין בכפייה לגייז היא איכשהו דוגמה של קבלת טרנסג'נדריות.

מבקרי סדרת מסע בין הכוכבים האקדמיה מפספסים את מה שכתוב בין השורות לחלוטין מפני שהם כל כך סגורים בתוך התרבות המערבית. מבקרי סדרת מסע בין הכוכבים האקדמיה מפספסים את מה שכתוב בין השורות לחלוטין מפני שהם כל כך סגורים בתוך התרבות המערבית המונחית על ידי רגשות כמו אותו הוליווד שהם רוצים לבקר בכלל.

הנוצרים גם מהמערב וגם רוצים להטמיע אחרים בקהילה הענקית שלהם כמו הבורג וכמו הפרוגרסיבים.

הצביעות של עולם המערב אינה דבר חדש. "נפציץ את מי שנרצה, אבל לישראל אסור להגן על עצמה" היא רק דוגמה שיהודים חייבים לדעת היטב.

לאלה מכם שרוצים לגעור כי אני כותב ביקורת על תוכנית טלוויזיה, ושהיא ביטול תורה, בהרבה שיטות קירוב יהודים לתורה, יש צורך להפגש איתם באמצע הדרך.

זאת אומרת שמישהו צריך לצפות ב"מסע בין כוכבים". ומצידי, אני מוכן למסור את נפשי כדי לעשות את זה.

בלה שפרד, ג׳ורג׳ הוקינס, סנדרו רוסטה
Sandro Rosta, George Hawkins, Bella Shepard

הולי האנטר בתפקיד של אלופה משנה נהלה אקיי
Holly Hunter as Capt. Nahla Ake

טיג נוטארו בתפקיד של סגנית-אלוף ג׳ט רינו: ״טוב שאני מבדחת״.
Tig Notaro as CDR Jett Reno

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
I have been a long-time fan of Star Trek. So, it should not come as any surprise to you that I am chiming in with my 2¢ regarding the franchise's latest incarnation, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy (2026).

You have probably heard the backlash of Starfleet Academy's bad reviews for being too woke. But, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the wokeness was not as bad as I thought it would be. The writing is sloppy. The direction of the show leaves loose ends, and much to be desired. And so far, the plots, both for individual episodes and arcs, have been just ok.

How does one male cadet have to cut his hair, and another of the same species not have to? If the show is so woke, then why do men and women having to have different regulation haircuts so far into the future? And other species of different cultures may also have long hair? It just does not make any sense.

The problem here is not wokeness; it is sloppy writing. Rule number one in any sort of written expression, or verbal expression, or, in my opinion, life in general: Be consistent!

I will leave out my criticism of the shows veering away from franchise's canon. There are plenty of diehard fans who can fill this role. I will say this, though. There must be a significant number non-Trekkers on the writing team.

As one would imagine, Starfleet Academy includes typical coming of age issues, relationship issue with parents, striving for independence from them, making friends, first loves, figuring out who they are and what their life paths are, and self-acceptance.

The acting of some of the younger cast members, playing cadets is surprisingly good, particularly the lead actor Sandro Rosta, albeit embedded among a lot of crappy acting, and Steven Colbert's annoying, faceless voice of the Dean of Students in the background, talking nonsense.

The cast also includes George Hawkings and Bella Shepard as cadets, Oscar winner Holly Hunter as the latest Star Trek captain, and comedienne Tig Notaro and Gina Yashere as senior officers.

Notaro's wry humor is hilarious, and boosts the show's entertainment value just like it did in the unapologetically woke Star Trek Discovery (2017).

Gina Yashere
as CDR Lura Thok
Yashere's half-Klingon, half-Jem'Hadar character is three dimensional. She is the hard-ass commander, pushing her cadets to their physical and mental limits, as one would expect from any U. S. drill sergeant. But she also takes it down a notch when necessary, like the abandoned Klingon cadet, she begins to mentor. Her character's straightforward humor juxtaposed to Notaro's covert jabs is a great combination.

Of course, any time there is character of mixed species presented in Hollywood science fiction, it is not just a declaration of the acceptability of interracial relationships -- a positive message -- but also of interfaith unions -- a negative message. This quite possibly originates from an unconscious, or not so unconscious, need for Jewish and "Jew-ish" producers of television and film to justify the own interfaith marriages, or identities stemming from their intermarried parents and grandparents.

The issue of wokeness is not so much the expression of an imagined universe over a thousand years into the future, or even the message that this is a preferred future universe.

Rather, the issue is that the woke perspective is being pushed on us as the truth. Star Trek's previous incarnation Discovery did just that. Perhaps in Starfleet Academy we will see the extent of how well the show runners have learned their lesson, and have decided to be more subtle.

Star Trek has been well-known for taking risks in the name of justice. The original series (1966) showed us an African-American, female officer, an interracial kiss, the utter stupidity of racism, and the evil of fascism.

The Next Generation (1987) entered a more controversial realm, by bringing up the debate on abortion and introduced us to gender identity. In both cases, the show took the safe route. The female officer resists attempted forced abortion, ie. her choice was respected, and gender identity was dealt with through a single gender species.

Deep Space Nine (1993) covertly elaborated on this with a symbiotic species, the Trill, whose symbionts were comfortable with a host of either gender. Yet, there were still only two genders.

So far, in Starfleet Academy there has not been any gender-bending politics, per se. However, in a recent episode, there was a bar fight. Who doesn't love a good bar fight?! Unfortunately, they cut most of it out.

Instead, they kept the scenes with the drag queen bartender, and the apparently gay cadet making advances on another male cadet, who did not seem to have any idea as to what was going on. Why is it acceptable for them to normalize gay stereotypes, while criticizing others who disagree with them for doing the same?

It is one thing to include same-gender relationships. They do exist. But to normalize them, well above and beyond any claim of occurrence in the natural world, and to add the covert assumption that everyone is bisexual, or could be is too much.

Male characters in the show have occasionally been presented wearing skirts. A Scottish kilt, a Tamil veshti, or a Samoan lavalavah, would not only have been more palatable, but would have made a lot more sense. Instead they chose Western style, women's skirts. Is a thousand years into the future enough of a justification for this? One of the cadets was not only non-human, but his species has its own style clothing for men, which includes robes. They could have designed something along those lines. Again, I will refer you to the canon police for more information.

Moving to the next target of wokeness, implying that all organized religion is based on nonsense instead of fact is certainly the producers' right to express. And yet, what they "feel" is inherently correct, even though not based on fact.

In one scene, an instructor is advising a student:
Instructor: You are not going to solve this mystery with facts alone.

Student: So, if our choices determine who we are, what determines our choices?... What we love.
In other words, we are guided by our feelings, and not by facts alone. And those whose feelings disagree with ours are inherently wrong. This is a Western approach.

The overall problem I have found with leftist run shows, like the latest Star Trek series, is the double standards. One example it the Borg, which is a vast population of cyborgs originating from many different planets. The Borg seeks out to conquer and assimilate other cultures into its singular collective. In spite of Star Trek's demonization of the Borg over the course of four television series and a movie, Star Trek's governing body, the United Federation of Planets, does much of the same thing as the Borg, but using a different strategy.

The Federation even does so, in spite of its own "Prime Directive" to refrain from interfering with the natural development of cultures. Its loophole is that it can interfere with cultures, once they have achieved "warp drive," and thus interstellar travel capability.

Remember what I mentioned about being consistent? Rules for thee, but not for me, claiming to promote equality, but not actually believing that everyone is equal, and other expressions of doubles standards, are the problem.

This is highly reminiscent of the progressive West, promoting its culture as superior to all others. For example, they claim to understand and accept Muslim culture, making ridiculous claims of compatibility with feminism, or that Iran's policy of forced gender reassignment for gay men is somehow an expression of trans inclusion.

The critics completely miss the subtext in their criticism, mainly because they are as embedded in the feeling-guided Western culture as the Hollywood they like to pan.

Sorry, not sorry, Christians, but you have the same objective of the Borg, to assimilate others into your collective, just your Western cousins, the progressives, spread their culture in order to seduce non-Westerners into it.

Western hypocrisy is nothing new. "We'll bomb who we like, but Israel is not allowed to defend itself" is only one point Jews should be well-aware of.

To those of you who would like to scold me for reviewing a television show, and that it is bitul Torah -- wasting Torah-learning time, with many forms of qiruv (bringing Jews closer to Torah), someone has to meet disconnect Jews where they are holding.

This means that someone has to watch Star Trek. And I, for one, am willing to make that sacrifice.

Monday, January 20, 2014

Hag vs. Hag: Rabbi Avi Weiss Should Referee

י"ט לחודש האחד עשר תשע"ד

Who remembers Mad Magazine's comic strip "Spy vs. Spy?"


Well, it looks like we have a similar situation developing in Jerusalem.
Hag vs. Hag
at the Great Wall of China, the only
wall where they should be allowed to pray
Life In Israel: Women of the Wall Splinter Group
January 13, 2014

The Women of the Wall have officially made it in the Jewish world - they now have a splinter group. a break-away minyan.

Now on every Rosh Chodesh, it seems, there will be three minyanim - the standard minyan[im], the Women of the Wall and O-WoW (Original Women of the Wall)

The new group, called O-WoW is upset that WoW has decided to negotiate a compromise with the government and accept an alternate location, one that has come to be known as the Azarat Yisrael. O-WoW will hold its first organized services at the Kotel this Friday. According to the article it will be marking Tu bShvat, though Tu bShvat is really on Thursday so i am not sure how that works.

I feel really bad for Ronit Peskin and Leah Aharoni, founders of Women for the Wall, who will now have to lose some focus as they fight two separate groups, and possibly no longer once a month. If the two groups decide on different monthly days for their services, Women for the Wall might have to bring out the masses on multiple days, which might not be as simple a task.

Then again, if they stay divided, and if it is true that most of the members of O-WoW live abroad in the USA, they might not have services all too frequently. They might not get a minyan, and they might go unopposed because of it.
Esser Agaroth (2¢):
Rb. Avi Weiss
Minyan? Let me be absolutely clear about this. They NEVER get a minyan., which is comprised of 10 kosher, Jewish men.

Well, I say, why don't we get Rabbi Avi Weiss, who appears to have received "Discommendation" from the Israeli Chief Rabbinate, to come over and referee?

Avi Weiss "made" a female "rabbi," called it by another name, and then promised never to do it again. Sorry, but the damage has been done, and as long as "rabbis" like him continue to confuse goyshe-developed, Western values and sensibilities with Torah values and sensibilities, there is no undoing it..

Just look at the Kotel now!

Plus, there are many other examples of Frankenstein's Bride which you helped to create.


Thursday, May 16, 2013

Warning to Hilltop Youth: Here comes the Israeli Ministry of Re-Education

ח' לחודש השלישי תשע"ג

Arutz 7: Education Ministry to Rehabilitate Hilltop Youth
In an attempt to suppress potential Price Tag vandalism motivation, the Education and Justice Ministries in conjunction with the Shin Bet intend to round up hilltop youth, ideologically-driven high school dropouts, in order to provide them with an education along with emotional therapy, in addition to identifying potential school rejects before they actually get to the hilltop.

(Tip Credit: The Lion of Beth Shemesh)

Esser Agaroth (2¢): 
Let's take a look at the definition of "rehabilitate," according to Merriam-Webster.com. Don't worry about the translation from Hebrew. The translation is just fine. I have highlighted in red what I believe to be the most disturbing aspects of this word, and thus what I believe to be the most disturbing aspects of the Israeli government's plan for these idealistic, Jewish kids.

re·ha·bil·i·tate

transitive verb \ˌrē-ə-ˈbi-lə-ˌtāt, ˌrē-hə-\
re·ha·bil·i·tat·edre·ha·bil·i·tat·ing

Definition of REHABILITATE

1
a : to restore to a former capacity : reinstate
b : to restore to good repute : reestablish the good name of
2
a : to restore to a former state (as of efficiency, good management, or solvency) <rehabilitate slum areas>
b : to restore or bring to a condition of health or useful and constructive activity
re·ha·bil·i·ta·tion noun
re·ha·bil·i·ta·tive adjective
re·ha·bil·i·ta·tor noun

Examples of REHABILITATE

  1. The clinic rehabilitates drug addicts.
  2. He's still rehabilitating the knee he injured last summer.
  3. They try to rehabilitate horses that have suffered injuries.
  4. The program is intended to rehabilitate criminals.
  5. The country has rehabilitated its image since the war.
  6. The city plans to rehabilitate its slum areas.

Related to REHABILITATE

Synonyms
habilitate, reclaim, redeem, regenerate, reform
Related Words
reeducate; amend, improve, refine; cleanse, purify, restore
Re-educate pretty much sums it up. Although reclaim, redeem, reform, refine, cleanse, and purify support the strength of the radical transformation desired, when one forces "rehabilitation" on

And who should be held responsible for this plan of action? How about the current Minister of Education for starters? And who could that be, but none other than Shai,...excuse me,... RABBI Shai Piron from Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid ("There is a future") Party. 

Rabbi Shai Piron, Minister of Re-Education
Boy, that face sure inspires confidence, doesn't it?
(Photo Credit: Yo'av Dudekevitch)
With a future that the likes of Yair Lapid, and suppose Rabbi Piron, have in mind, who needs a horribly traumatic past?

(Photo Credit: Yossi Aloni)
Gee. That hand gesture looks awfully familiar. But, I can't quite place it. Hmm....

C'mon! Gimme a break! They are not talking about "re-education;" they are talking about indoctrination, which just a euphemism for brainwashing.

Sure. Some of these kids could use some guidance. However,...
1. The traditional, Western educational system which secular, Ashkenazi, Israeli, elitist society expects all to pass through, may not actually be the most efficient for these kids. How about that?
2. Most of these kids are not interested in conforming to Western/assimilationist standards. (Thank God!) They are disillusioned and/or disenfranchised by an Israeli government which throws Jews out of their homes, hands over Biblical Jewish lands to Arab terrorists, and does little if anything at all effective in preventing their parents, siblings, and neighbors from being murdered.
3. Many of these kids are receiving the necessary guidance and/or Torah necessary to provide them with the skills to become "productive members of society," as well as tax payers. The Israeli Ministry of Education should be overjoyed at all the money it is saving due to such informal, self-education programs.
But, of course, that's not really the goal of the Ministry of Education, to provide assistance to these Jewish kids. Fast forward this video to time marker 1:50 to learn all about its real intentions. Thank-you very much, Labor Zionist, Erev Rav.


"Resistance is futile. Your life as it has been is over. From this time forward, you will service us."


"ההתנגדות היא חסרת תועלת. החיים שלך כפי שהיו כבר נגמרים. מעתה והלאה תשרתו אותנו."

For those unfamiliar with Star Trek and the "Borg," The "Borg" is a collective consciousness, whose primary purpose is to assimilate the cultures of others into its own.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

To Hate The Sin But Not The Sinner?

21 of the Fifth Month 5771

Since the release of Edition #325 of the Haveil Havalim Blog Carnival, hosted at To Kiss A Mezuzah, I fallen into a bit of a discussion with the blog's owner, Susan Esther Barnes, one who identifies as a "Reform Jew."

I will not reveal the contents of private e-mails. However, you can begun by reading Susan's post "I Don't Hate The Person. I Just Hate Their Actions."

Then you can read my response below.

Susan and I appear to have radically different views on Judaism, among other things.

Yet, I thought I would give engaging in a dialogue with her a shot, especially since, so far, we seem to have been able "to disagree, without being disagreeable."

The concept used for the title of this piece is often associated with a non-Jewish philosophy, and does not quite fit in with Torah-observant thought and lifestyle.

But, it's catchy.

*********

Hi, Susan, I'm glad you wrote this, as it continues the dialogue(?) we seem to have begun.

In a nutshell, I think that you made some good points, and that you and I have mostly have a disagreement on semantics.

I definitely disagree on how you applied your Torah sources, as they do not appear to be fleshed with the full understanding and clarification which HaZa"L provides us. But, of course,...I could be mistaken.

When you say נעשה ונשמע, please remember that this refers to both the Written and the Oral Torah.

It is interesting that I am highly critical of those who allow feelings to enter the determination of halakha. Yet, here I am, in a way, defending my feelings. Of course, I am not trying to use my feelings to support an halachic argument. I am simply stating what they are.

In a similar light to what you stated above, feelings are something I experience, but do not necessarily have to act on them.

Remember the silly cliche...
"Some of my best friends are...(fill in the blank)?"
Well, I actually do have friends who are not Torah observant. Either never have been, or were, and have some issue with God they need to work out. I love these friends. But I do hate their Shabbath desecration and their enjoyment of shell fish.

Perhaps that other cliche applies here, too:
The opposite of love is not hate, but indifference.
If I didn't care, then I wouldn't have such strong feelings (ie. hatred) about it.

But, I do care.

When I have non-Torah observant friends over for Shabbath dinner, without any expectation of "forced observance" on them, is that not compassion for my friends? My only requirement is that they let me know in advance what they do not or cannot eat

I do not allow any "live" electronics in the house, unless they belong to a soldier, security officer, paramedic, or on call medical professional. Not do I allow smoking in the house,... even during the rest of the week.

Is that not showing compassion, and tolerance?

Some might say it is a condescending and secret plot to brainwash other Jews into my way of thinking.

Well, it is!

Not exactly. It is not a secret plot. All of my friends know that I would love to see all Jews keep Torah and misswoth. But, they also know that I recognize that is not our current reality.

Building connections with Jews is important to me, but I do not have to like, nor tolerate Shabbath desecration or the eating of non-kosher food, etc., just as I do not have to like nor tolerate the despising of the Holy Land by some of those Jews who do keep Shabbath and kashruth.

Perhaps, hate is not the precise word to apply here, just the best choice I could think of at the time. I'm not sure. The word "frustrated" does not cut it for me.

Maybe it is not rational, but as one Human responded to a Vulcan, who was complaining about the irrationality of human emotions:
"Since when are human emotions supposed to be rational?"
Food for thought.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Star Trek XI

Mossa'ei Shabbath Qodesh Parshath Wayesse 5768

And, now for something completely different...

Chris PineThe casting of the major roles for the the new Star Trek film has been completed, with the casting of Chris Pine as the young Star Fleet Cadet, James T. Kirk.

William Shatner as Capt. KirkThe 11th installment of the Star Trek films will take us back to Captain Kirk's Star Fleet Academy days, and recount the story of how he meets his future Enterprise crew: Spock, Dr. McCoy, Scottie, Sulu, Uhura, and Chekov.

Karl Urban as EomerIn addition to Chris Pine, th cast will include actors such as Karl Urban as Dr. McCoy. Urban should look familiar to you. He played Eomer in the second and third installments of the Lord Of The Rings films.

Zachary QuintoAnother actor who should look familiar is Zachary Quinto as Mr. Spock. Quinto plays the role of Sylar on the hit TV series "Heroes," and before that had a role on "24."

And, this just in, Wynona Rider has been slated to play Amanda, Spock's human mother.

Only one major casting question remains, who will play Capt. Christopher Pike, the captain of the USS Enterprise sometime after Jonathan Archer and before James T. Kirk.

Personally, I am also curious to know if Nurse Christine Chapel, the character created by Majel Barret, the late Gene Roddenberry's widow will appear in Star Trek XI.

Now that the casting is almost complete, I am starting to get a little nervous. i hoe that there is a method to their casting. I hope they have Star Trek mavens (Trekkers), like myself, on board, people who actually know the details of the Star Trek Series and films. They can help keep this film consistent with previously established story lines.

For example, Dr. McCoy is much older than the rest of the crew, and should have graduated already, stuff like that.

I have a felling that this film will either be really good, or really suck.

OK. We now return you to your regularly scheduled, right-wing, Israeli blog....

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Fire Phasers! On Lebanon?

14 of the Fifth Month 5766

The USS Enterprise Attacking Lebanon
Photos like this one have been popping up here and there, ever since the Reuters photo-doctoring scandal broke. Yes, I know it's shocking that anyone contributing to such a reputable institution as Reuters would do such a thing (sic.). Nonetheless....

One independent journalist (anonymity protected) was quoted as saying that this photo is an obvious fake due to the absence of a Star of David. That's pretty weak if you ask me. The Arabs would be the first to jump up and yell, "Zionist conspiracy! They purposely paint over their national insignia and jam their transponder frequencies in an attempt to escape identification."

As a Star Trek expert (ie "geek"), I feel it is my obligation to proclaim to you the irrefutable evidence that this is photo is a fake.

You see, the original USS Enterprise was a Constitution class starship, and thus unable to navigate through the earth's atmosphere. I know that it's very easy for you lay-people to get confused. Perhaps you recall witnessing the USS Voyager commanded by Capt. [now Admiral] Janeway, landing on the surface of various planets, and thought to yourself, "Hey, if the voyeur can land on an M-class planet, then so can the Enterprise. And, if the Enterprise can navigate through the earth's atmosphere, then maybe this photo isn't a fake after all." Wrong! These two space vessels are completely different classes of ship. The USS Voyager is an Intrepid class ship. It is a well-known fact the old Constitution class ship was not designed to navigate safely through planetary atmospheres.

Well, now that I've cleared that up for you, I must say that Sultan Knish and then Jameel @ The Muqata, among countless others I'm sure, beat me in posting this photo way before me. I, myself, received it from "Frodo" in Israel, via various middlemen.

(20 of the Fifth Month: This just in: It has been confirmed that Sultan Knish was indeed the creator of this mocked up photo. Apparently, in applying for a position at Reuters, the application asked for....)

But, hey, that's the whole point of this blog, to provide my infinitely invaluable and highly opinionated [I hope] "Esser Agaroth" on world events and life's little surprises. Of course, I'll probably be the only one to get sued for copyright infringement, or at the very least a nasty e-mail from StarTrek.com, canceling my subscription to its e-newsletter.

Stay tuned!

And, of course, may the almighty protect us, and grant us victory over our enemies. war is no laughing matter, but it often reveals some of those absurdities inherent in human behavior.

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