Did you catch the Alyson Krueger’s story in Thursday’s New York Times on the growth of B MITZVAHS for non binary, gender fluid, and other gender non-conforming 13 years olds?
Also known as Both Mitzvahs, B’nai Mitvahs, and They Mitzvahs, the story contains interviews with leaders and participants from Manhattan’s Romemu congregation, Park Slope Brooklyn’s Beth Elohim congregation, Keshet, Moving Traditions, and Eshel. The story also is the first time I saw in print “they doesn’t” instead of “they don’t.”
Krueger, a Penn grad and journalist, explains how some teens and their families, burdened by grammatical-gendered language of Hebrew (like Spanish, Greek, German, Celtic, Welsh, and others) choose the more neutral title of B MITZVAH for this lifestage ceremony and event.
The best line of the story is how one parent reports that the teen’s relatives sent cards with the incorrect pronoun (he, she)… but the family cashed the check anyway.
Even more exciting is the moving gif graphic from Portland/Brooklyn artist Cari Vande Yacht. Check out her work HERE I will definitely be on the lookout if she has a future art show and sells her works.
NOTE: Not to be confused with the STorah-Telling B Mitzvah of 2011.
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Speaking on works of art…. the American media went ape-insane (no offense to apes and other primates) when a midwestern man (or he presents as male) ordered several bagels and had then sliced vertically.
It all began when Alek Krautmann brought in some bagels as a treat for coworkers, and he dared slice the bagels verticals top to bottom and not with one horizontal incision. That is how he buys them at St. Louis Bread Company. But he wasn;t in St. Louis. HE WAS IN THE NATION’S CAPPITAL: WASHINGTON DC.
It’s all about DIVERSITY, people!!!
Nevertheless, the incident made national and international news. The NYPD was contacted, and one NYPD captain on Staten Island actually responded that it was not a crime for which an arrest can be made and out of their jurisdiction. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of Brooklyn – who normally shuns media attention – commented on the fray, as well.
Krautmann, a meteorologist, is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma (and APO) and Ohio University, and works for NOAA.
He knows about extreme weather, and now knows about extremes of social media. Even though he once attended MONASH in Austrlia, he is not a MOT.. so give him a break.
BY THE WAY… The SAINT LOUIS BREAD COMPANY is the original name of PANERA. Doron Berger, an Israeli emigre to the United States, was a co-founder. They would slice bagels in a bread slicer to create small samples for customers unfamiliar with bagels. But customers liked these sliced bagel bites so much that it became a regional product offering.
Berger founded the chain with his neighbor, Ken Rosenthal, in 1987. They sold their interests many years ago. The chain was public for awhile, but is now private and owned by JAB Holdings, which also owns Krispy Kreme, Peet’s Coffee, Caribou Coffee, Keurig Green Mountain, Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Intelligentsia, Noah’s Bagels, and Einstein Bros. Bagels. JABS is controlled by the Reinmann family, one of the wealthiest families in Germany, which made their fortunes working with the Nazi Party in WWII. One of its modern founders, Albert Reinmann Sr., helped finance the creation of Hitler’s SS. But even the family admits he should have been imprisoned. But that is history and a a story for another day.
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Speaking of Washington, DC, U.S. POTUS Donald J. Trump spoke at a victory rally in Grand Rapids, Michgan on Thursday evening. He discussed a range of topics about his successes and railed against liberal elites, calling the schleppers. He denigrated them as not having as nice a house, bank account, or position as he does. Some think he called them schleppers as a dog whistle, meaning East Coast Jews. I think he just was using NYC jargon.
Trump also singled out House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) for attack, mocking him as a “pencil neck” and shifty. President Trump also criticized House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) but did not deride him with a name other than saying his work was “bullshit.” Trump called out, several times, a supporter in the crowd, NYC Real Estate developer and friend of Century 21 department store, Stanley Chera, whose company has executed property deals with the Kushner Family. Chera is a leader and philanthropist in NYC’s Syrian Jewish communities. Trump praised Chera but told the crowd they might not like him since he is a large landlord.
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Speaking of fakes, The ATLANTIC breaks news with a story on wasabi According to the reporter, Emily Buder, 99% of wasabi is actually green colored hoseradish, with a hint of Japanese mustard. So can you use wasabi at your Passover seder? Ask your rabbi.
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Speaking of rabbis… New Yorkers are shunning ultra-Orthodox Jewish people or people who appear Jewish in Rockland County, NY.
Given the current measles outbreak among the unvaccinated, many of them ultra-Orthodox Jews, some residents are literally crossing to the other side of the street in fear of catching the virus. On Tuesday, the county banned unvaccinated children under 18 from restaurants, shopping centers, houses of worship, parks, schools and other public areas.
Nearly a dozen frum female physicians issued a statement HERE condemning the anti-vaccination and delayed vaccination families.
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Has anyone shopped at Lucky Ruckus Vape Shop in 4254 rue Principale?
Has anybody ever shopped at Vixen Vapor Ecigarette Shop in 2537 Broad Ave?