My Mission

The Kvetcher.net blog has a recent post indicating that a chabad propaganda unit by the name of Ronen Levi Yitzchak Segal (who is really a Breslov Hassid not a Chabad Hassid) has gotten a one way trip to Davy Jone's locker and there ain't gonna be no Black Pearl out comin to rescue him.

I didn't take the news to hold any kind of gravity and used it an opportunity to bash Segal again by saying that on his grave it's gonna say "liar liar pants on fire" and that Segal has a candy company called Truth Twisters.

The question now is, what truth did Segal twist? Segal lied to me on a pathological level the true nature of Chabad and the yechi statement (yechi adonaino marainu harabainu melech HAMOSHIACH leoylum voed) which translated means Long live our lord our teacher our rabbi our king the messiah forever and ever. You see, Segal tried to spew that this statement can't possibly refer to the seventh lubavitcher rabbi by saying that Chabad does not believe that the seventh lubavitcher rabbi is the messiah (not officially anyways, the keyword being -not officially-). The yechi statement refers to the easter bunny, michael jackson, or buddah, but it can't possibly refer to Schneerson! Naaaa! (sarcasm) Never mind that the Chabad movement is obsessed with Schneerson.

Love me or hate me, my mission as a blogger is not necessarily to be "civil" but rather to oppose falsehood.

Typical Non-Profit Organization

YESHIVA OHR YITZCHAK INC
Contact info
c/o SHMUEL WALLERSTEIN

1373 E 13TH ST

BROOKLYN NY 11230-5957

Last update: 2007-04-01

This nonprofit has assets of $2,875,196, income of $1,396,050, revenue of $1,081,361.

http://www.implu.com/nonprofit/113604665

True Freedom

I've heard rabbis who say that true freedom is when you are no longer slaves to your desires. I find this definition of freedom to be absurd since the way capitalism works is that having desires is EXACTLY what's supposed to be your motivation to improve your life.

It is not true freedom to be in a community that intrudes on what one eats how one dresses and how one spends his weekend.

I value my personal autonomy, and the ultimate irony of Passover is that it celebrates a kind of "freedom" which in reality is aesceticism and blind faith.

The Atheist Questionnaire

1) How would you define atheism? Lack of a belief in God.

2) Was your upbringing religious? In and out. If so what tradition? Several Jewish denominations/sects..

3) How would you describe "Intelligent Design," using only one word? Wishfulness

4) What scientific endeavor really excites you? Science itself.

5) If you can change one thing about the "atheist community" what would it be and why? I'd make it larger for obvious reasons, preferably at orthodox judaism's expense.

6) If your child came up to you and said "I'm joining the clergy," what would be your first response? I'd get him through high school ASAP and then either college or trade school so he can be employed in a non-clergy industry ASAP.

7) What is your favorite theistic argument and how do you usually refute it? I don't have a favorite theistic argument they all suck balls.

8) What is your most controversial (as far as general attitudes among atheists goes) viewpoint? I think in terms of viewing things as other atheists do in general, i'm rather noncontroversial, as far as Jewish issues go in particular I'd say that I don't view the modern orthodox as legitimately modern due to their anti-television undercurrent, their support of shomer negiah (God will punish you if you are a guy and you commit the terrible atrocity of having a high five with a girl), and their tacit approval of stricter orthodox sects.

9) Of the "four horsemen" (Dawkins, Dennett, Hitchens, and Harris), who is your favorite and why? Hitchens because he kicked Shmuley Boteach's ass in debate.

10) If you could convince just one theistic person to abandon their beliefs who would it be and why? Borg Leader Rabbi Eliashiv, because his apostasy would be deeply troubling for the orthodox community. XD

11) Name 3 other atheist blogs that you'd like to see take up the atheist 13 gauntlet? I don't really care to.

Hillel and Shammai

Hillel and Shammai had an argument. Shammai said, "colors should be banned because colors could get men to want to look at girls and that is assur. We should all be wearing night vision goggles." Hillel said, "infrared goggles are fine." Shammai said, "Naaa, you would still be able to see if the girl is hot." Hillel said, "We settle for monochrome suits?" "Fine," Shammi answered. Hillel and Shammai had an argument. Shammai said "Everyone must wear ten pairs of tzitzit now." Hillel said that one's enough. Shammai and his followers went nuts screaming and arguing. In protest, Hillel took off his shirt and started dancing on the table. Thus said Rashi, "Loosen da fack up."

Passover Sucks

Passover is indeed, one of these holidays that I can PASS OVER.



As well as Shabbat.



As well as Yom Kippur.



Only in Judaism more holidays equal more restrictions more pain in the ass bull shit. Shabbat is the only rest day I ever heard of in which you can't do anything you want for fun, and you have to dress formally for it. The last I checked, a day like that is called a work day, not a rest day.



Yom Kippur is even better. Synagogues charge for seats in apparent violation of the rule against commerce and in my experience practitioners only bother to apologize to friends to whom they've done nothing wrong to.



However, this is about passover, the holiday that everyone wants to be over, because it's such a pain in the ass, and I myself have decided to take a pass. No cardboard matzah for SJ this year. No ten hour long hagadah reading for SJ this year, or any year for that matter.



Now would be a good time to mention the kuzari proof that orthodox jews use as apologetics where basically the argument is that you can't fool thousands of people at the exodus into believing something thus it must have happened.



The idea behind the kuzari "proof" is that a lie can be told by one person and everyone will know it's a lie, but not when it's thousands of people who allegedly saw the same national revelation.



- Hinduism did not have a founder.

- Ancient Egyptian religion has no stated founder.

- Ancient Greek religion has no stated founder.

- Japanese Shintoism has no stated founder.

- I highly doubt native American religion has a stated founder.



Basically the first flaw of the kuzari "proof" is a strawman argument that religions are either started by one person or started by national revalation. As per the historical record, this is not the case.



The second flaw of the kuzari is the total lack of contemporary documents and other archaeological evidence of the alleged time of the exodus saying that anything supernatural happened.



The third major knife in the heart of the kuzari proof is that an unbroken chain of traditon dating back to the alleged "national revalation" at Mount Sinai is in fact unsupported by the Old Testament itself. I learned the last two counterarguments from http://www.talkreason.org/articles/kuzariflaws.cfm.

And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old. And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathheres, in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash. And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim: And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger. (Judges 2:8-12)

If Judaism has an unbroken chain of tradition, 1+1=5. (sarcasm).

It gets even better.

And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD ... And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes. And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Michaiah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asahiah a servant of the king's, saying, Go ye, enquire of the LORD for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found: for great is the wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that which is written concerning us. (2 Kings 22:8-13)

So, the high priest Hilkiah just magically "finds" the law book that everyone forgot. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

Lastly I would like to say, the New Testament suggests that Jesus blessed 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish and Jesus fed 5,000 people. Next, Jesus is suggested to have fed 4,000 people with a small amount of food. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feeding_the_multitude) Does this mean we should all become Christian as per the kuzari "proof?"

Rabbi Contest

The Orthodox Union has held a contest for rabbis on how many new chumrot they can come up with in one day, and what the best chumrot was. Only rabbis who keep chumrot were allowed, i.e. no talking to women, huge payoses.

The winning chumrot were as follows:

first place winner, Rabbi Moses Mendel Moses Cohen from Crown Heights: all orthodox men must wear blindfolds when walking in the street so as to not look at women.

second place winner, Rabbi Avrohom Strickt from Borough Park: dress shirts must also be black to go along with the hat pants and jacket. No more choosing between white and blue.

third place winner, Rabbi Chiam Wiser from Flatbush: all foods must be marinated in ethanol to kill any possible bugs. All people must be marinated in ethanol to kill any possible (microscopic) bugs. Rabbi Moses Mendel Moses Cohen insisted that using vodka is permissible.

Some average jews tried to protest but the orthodox rabbis reminded them that the rabbis do the thinking for the people.

The first place winner won a vacation to Israel, but the OU made him wear a blindfold.