Ruth Calderon's Speech, Yair Lapid's Religion, the Temple Mount, and Tattoos

Events in Israel and around the Jewish world remain as interesting as ever, and I've tried to contribute a bit by writing when I have the opportunity (i.e., when I'm paid to write; can't afford the lucrative work-for-free opportunities).

Having been inspired by Ruth Calderon's inaugural Knesset speech, I contacted several Jewish media outlets about translating the speech, and the New York Jewish Week agreed that it would be important to get this remarkable speech in front of the English-speaking Jewish world. The translation, like the speech, was shared far and wide and was adapted as subtitles on the original speech. Here is a link to my translation:
http://www.thejewishweek.com/editorial-opinion/opinion/heritage-all-israel

Yesterday's events at the Kotel have drawn, as usual, a global audience, but as many of you know I have long advocated viewing the struggle for women at the Kotel and for Jews on the Temple Mount as fundamentally linked. So in addition to the standard articles, we have this from Matti Friedman, exploring the increasing relevance of Har Habayit. He quotes me at the end of the article and links back to a blog post I wrote on the subject last year. Here's hoping that attitudes continue to deepen, soften, and converge.

Elsewhere on the Israeli scene, I analyzed Yair Lapid's well-known Ono College speech from over a year ago, in which he "conceded defeat" to the Haredim. It was a remarkable speech, which articulated a vision for a new type of Israeli secularism. In his tone, Lapid has certainly distanced himself from his father. But is that change merely tactical? Check it out:
http://www.jewishideasdaily.com/5979/features/yair-lapids-religion/

Finally, on a different note, I explore, in the New York Jewish Week, the ancient Jewish ban on tattoos. There is a talmudic argument about whether the ban is due to the perception of tattoos as a pagan practice or is simply not rational - whether as a taboo or divine fiat. I contend that this ancient argument continued through the medieval debate and continues to frame the contemporary debate as well. This was a fun article - it combines quotes from the Torah, Tanakh, Talmud, and Maimonides with references to Lenny Bruce, Amy Winehouse, Drew Barrymore, The Nanny, and Curb your Enthusiasm. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/short-takes/tattoo-stil-taboo

Jews with Tattoos

The tragic and untimely death of Amy Winehouse has raised the not-so-age-old question of whether Jews with tattoos can be buried in Jewish cemeteries. Apparently, this myth is so pervasive that it is even believed by large segments of the traditionally observant Jewish community. Although the "primary sources" for this myth seem to be popular culture - a line from Lenny Bruce's autobiography, an episode of the Nanny (4:9), an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm - discussions on mainstream media blogs, as well as the first question I was ever asked on an interdenominational panel, indicate that the myth is widely believed.

I am hopeful that the emerging discussion will lay to rest, once and for all, this terrible falsehood. Tattoos - perhaps because of their associations with the Holocaust, perhaps because of their indelibility, but who really knows? - remained taboo for Jews who had given up many other observances (when a distant relative started going out seriously with a non-Jew, the immediate family wasn't terribly happy, but they made their peace with it; but when they found out he has a tattoo, all hell broke loose). The tattoo taboo seems to have disappeared in recent decades, and perhaps the young generation has latched onto this myth as a way of conceptualizing the earlier generations' opposition. Alternatively, perhaps the earlier generation latched onto it because it allows them to distinguish between tattoos and the myriad observances that they abandoned. In either case, a myth is a myth, and it will hopefully be recognized as such.

My favorite Jewish teaching about tattoos is a responsum from Dayan Yitzchak Yaakov Weiss, which is reproduced and translated below. The greatness of the responsum is that it does not moralize or criticize, implicitly acknowledging that a tattoo, in the eyes of Jewish law, is a discretionary error like any other, which need not limit access to the Jewish community, living or dead:

שו"ת מנחת יצחק חלק ג סימן יא

ע"ד אחד ששימש כחייל, ובצבא שם לו כתובת קעקע ביד שמאל, במקום הנחת תפילין, תמונה של אשה ערומה, שא"א להסירה מבשרו, ועכשיו נעשה בעל תשובה, והתחיל להתפלל, ורוצה לדעת אם יכול להניח תפילין ביד שמאל, על אותה התמונה, או שיניח ביד ימין.

(א) הנה בהשקפה ראשונה נלענ"ד, דאף דהוי דבר מגונה מאד, ויש שאלה אם רשאי לברך, בשעה שהתמונה מגולה, וכמו שמבואר באחרונים מזה, דיש לומר דשייך משום טפח באשה ערוה, גם בתמונה פוטוגרפית ... אבל עכ"פ לא נסתלק המציאות מיד השמאל, שהוא היד הכהה, ולדעתי היות שמקום יש בזרוע להניח שתי תפילין, כמבואר בש"ע (או"ח סי' כ"ז סעי' ז'), וא"כ אף אם יהי' התמונה מתפשטת בכל הקיבורת, הלא אפשר לכסות חלק גדול ממנה בתמידית, ורק להניח פנוי מקום הנחת תפילין (ויעשה לו תפילין קטנים שאפשר עפ"י דין), אשר באותו מקום לא יתראה כ"כ צורתה, ושם יניח התפילה ש"י, וכמובן שבשעת הברכה יהי' מכוסה כל המקום, וגם הכסוי שמכסה החלק ממנה בתמידית, יהי' נעשה מעור דק מאד, באופן שאם בשוגג ישמטו התפילין קצת על מקום הכיסוי, יהי' אפשר לצרף השיטה דשייך בזה ג"כ משום מב"מ =מין במינו= אינו חוצץ… וצ"ע עוד בזה, וכפי מה שאומרים אפשר להעביר ע"י בקיאים כתובת קעקע.

Responsa Minchat Yitzchak (R’ Yitzchak Yaakov Weiss) 3:11

Regarding one who served in the army, where he got an indelible tattoo of a naked woman on his left arm, in the place where one lays tefilliin. He has now become a baal teshuvah and wishes to know if he can place his tefillin on his left hand, on top of the image, or if he should place it on his right arm.

It seems at first glance, in my humble opinion, that even though it is a contemptible thing, and there’s a question if he can make a bracha when the picture is uncovered, as the latter authorities explain, that ‘tefach be-isha ervah’ applies to a photographic image as well…nevertheless the weaker left arm still exists. In my opinion, since there is room on the bicep for two tefillin (see Shulchan Arukh OC 27:7), so that even if the image covered the entire bicep, it’s possible to permanently cover a large portion of it, and to leave open only the place where he lays tefillin (and he should get the smallest kosher tefillin possible) in a way that her form won’t be seen that much in that spot, and there he should lay his arm tefillin. When he makes the bracha, the entire area should be covered. Also. The permanent cover for most of the image should be made of thin leather, so that if the tefillin slip onto the cover, it’s possible to rely on the opinion that a similar material doesn’t constitute a barrier…and this requires further study since they say that experts can remove tattoos.

By Faith Alone: The Story of Rabbi Yehuda Amital

By Faith Alone: The Story of Rabbi Yehuda Amital

My translation of of R. Amital's bio will be out later this month and can now be pre-ordered. I'm too close to the action to give an objective review, but I think it succeeds in capturing the multifaceted personality of a very unique, complex, and sorely missed individual.

If the rabbi is like an angel...

According to the Talmud (Mo'ed Katan 17a), one should only study under a rabbi who is angelic:

אמר רבי יוחנן, מאי דכתיב +מלאכי ב'+ כי שפתי כהן ישמרו דעת ותורה יבקשו מפיהו כי מלאך ה' צבאות הוא אם דומה הרב למלאך ה' - יבקשו תורה מפיו. ואם לאו - אל יבקשו תורה מפיו

Rabbi Yohanan said:  What is meant by (Malachi 2:7) "For the lips of the priest guard knowledge, and they shall seek Torah from his mouth, for he is a messenger/angel of the Lord of Hosts"? If the rabbi is angelic--seek Torah from his mouth. If not--do not seek Torah from his mouth.

Several years ago, I wrote about why it's a dangerous passage; after all, angels are lousy role models.

But every once in a while, a delicious irony presents itself. The most recent case (HT: FailedMessiah) of a rabbi being charged with sexual abuse involves the scion of a little known-offshoot of Chabad and ally of Satmar called "The Malochim." So we can now go completely against that Gemara and say, "If the rabbi is like a malach, stay far the heck away."
Another talmudic passage that I would advise against on similar grounds appears in Brakhot 28b:

מנעו בניכם מן ההגיון והושיבום בין ברכי תלמידי חכמים

Keep your sons away from logic, and seat them between the knees of Torah scholars.

That can actually be the motto of certain yeshivas.

Segula is Live

UPDATE: Here's a link to a .pdf of the entire issue. The link will expire in 2 days. Hopefully there will be a link to a full color .pdf from the site by then. For those interested, here's a link to the Hebrew edition.

The first English issue of Segula is out and can be viewed in its entirety here. It can even be printed or viewed as a .pdf. As I mentioned I'm the translation and literary editor (even though they forgot to put my name in the first issue; I'm told that will be remedied!). And check out my brother-in-law's review of Sara Stroumsa's Maimonides in His World: Portrait of a Mediterranean Thinker (Jews, Christians, and Muslims from the Ancient to the Modern World).
I doubt that the publication will remain free in the long term, but this should give an idea of what it will be like. I'm not objective about it, but I've found that it's a very interesting, beautiful, and diverse popular Jewish history magazine. No need to take my word for it, though. Read the first issue - and then subscribe!

Introducing Segula: A New Jewish History Magazine

A new magazine has been published in Israel - the Hebrew edition hit the stands last week and the English will be coming out this week or the beginning of next. The two versions are very similar but not identical.

There's a lot I can say about this publication, but since I have a vested interest - I'm the translation manager/ editor and literary editor of the English edition - I'll let readers form their own opinions.

http://www.segulamag.com/he/

Of Fruit, Dried and Fresh

The custom to eat dried fruits on Tu B'Shvat is a funny one, and currently an ironic one.

While Tu B'Shvat has evolved over time, and clear historical layers can be discerned, it became a day to celebrate specifically the produce of the Land of Israel in the sixteenth century (I designed a 'Seder Tu B'Shvat' whose different elements are based on these historical layers; the 'haggadah' is available here).

Growing up in the US, we celebrated Tu B'Shvat with fruits that, if they did not actually come from Israel, reminded us of Israel (for some odd reason, carob, or 'buckser', always featured prominently, as though it were edible). And the fruit was always dried.

Indeed, someone asked me a few weeks ago why we specifically eat dried fruit on Tu B'Shvat. The obvious answer is that in the middle of the winter, fresh fruit was hardly available, especially in colder climes. Moreover, the whole reason that fruits were dried in the first place was to make them more durable (the other major way to preserve fruit through the winter was to ferment it into an alcoholic beverage; for some reason, wine was always more popular than raisins). This is an example of a 'custom' born out of a very straightforward reality. Nevertheless, back in grade school, they gave us dried buckser instead of fresh apples. It was part of the whole experience.

The ironic part is that here in Israel, the dried fruits are mostly imported, and from Turkey at that. Some are dealing with this either by prohibiting Turkish dried fruit or by marketing Israeli dried fruit. My solution would simply be - eat fresh fruit! The whole dried fruit thing was a concession to reality, not an ideal!

There is actually precedent for this idea in rabbinic literature. The mishna in Bikkurim 3:3 states: "Those who were close brought figs and grapes, and those who were distant brought dried figs and raisins." This tells us that the ideal, when using fruit for religious purposes, was fresh fruit. However, in the interests of portability and durability, dried fruits were permitted.

There is a deeper level to this as well. At the end of Rav Kook's Eyn Ayah to Brakhot, he has several pages of notes on some of the mishnaic tractates at the end of Zera'im. His comments on Bikkurim (which, taken together, would constitute an excellent text for study on Tu B'Shvat) were actually published in English a work called Of Societies Perfect and Imperfect: Selected Readings from Eyn Ayah.

In a nutshell, Rav Kook discusses how those who are "close" and those who are "distant" represent either two distinct spiritual states. 'closeness' is associated with prophecy, the land of Israel, and the fullness of the potential of Jewish existence, whereas 'distance' is associated with the 'four ells of halakha', exile, and a Jewish existence that sacrifices its fullness for the sake of durability, but which still retains the essence of the original flavor. The first group is thus associated with fresh fruit, and the latter group with dried fruit. Both, however, bring their produce to the Temple and take their place within the range of modes of Jewish worship.

A little something to consider as you eat your Tu B'Shvat fruits - dried or fresh.

Book Announcement/ Review: The Single Volume Rambam

[Full disclosure: I was involved in the publication of this volume, as I translated the Hebrew introduction into English and have helped them with their website and English language communications. That said, I gain nothing from increased sales.]

Debate has long raged between the community of philosophers and the community of Torah scholars regarding the intellectual legacy of the Rambam, with each side claiming him as his own. The Rambam of the beit midrash and the Maimonides of the university can seem so different that it is hard to reconcile them into one person. In fact, many have gone to great lengths to minimize or discount those aspects of the Rambam that seem at odds with the beliefs of the particular scholar.

There is, however, a third Rambam, who is often ignored. He is not the contemplative, philosophical Rambam of the academy, nor the great halakhic authority whose every word teaches mountains of halakhot. He is everyman’s Rambam, the Rambam that was preserved best by those Yemenite communities who saw the Rambam and his Mishne Torah as a practical guidebook for every aspect of Jewish life. Of course, some could delve deeper and some remained closer to the surface, but the image of the Rambam was one of inherent and supreme simplicity. They viewed the Yad as its author intended it – as a comprehensive but intelligible guide to Jewish life.

The vision of the editors of this volume is to restore this forgotten image of the Rambam. They did so by doing primarily two things, though they have done a host of other things as well: they have published the entire Mishne Torah in a single volume with no commentary, and they have meticulously restored the version of the text based primarily on the best Yemenite manuscripts, omitting the thousands of errors that have crept into the various printed editions. In addition, there are several helpful indices to help the reader navigate the text.

I recall hearing Rav Lichtenstein opining that learning Rambam Yomi is far more useful than learning Daf Yomi. With the Rambam, one truly gets a systematic overview of the entire Torah she-Be’al Peh in a coherent, organized fashion.If the goal is ‘beki’ut’, mastery and familiarity with a broad corpus of information, the Yad is a far better vehicle to that end than Daf Yomi. Furthermore, the Yad presents a much more holistic vision of all of Torah that is best appreciated through the overall structure of the Rambam’s magnum opus. It remains, to this day, the single best restatement of Torah she-Be’al Peh, and perhaps the single greatest monograph, ever produced by the People of the Book. The present volume refocuses the learner on that aspect of the Rambam which is the aspect that the Rambam himself chose to highlight in his introduction, and which guided the name that he chose for his masterwork.

Of course, the present volume certainly has value as a desk reference and in schools where multi-volume editions can be cumbersome or where specific passages of the Rambam are studied on their own. The volume is quite beautiful as well. Nevertheless, its greatest contribution is in the restoration of that aspect of the Rambam that has been omitted from the yeshiva as well as the academy – the man who created a digest that would allow the average Jew to understand and live the fullness of his heritage.

The volume is (or will be) available at local Jewish bookstores. It is being distributed in the US by R. Yankel Levitz (718-377-0047), and available worldwide through the project’s website: http://www.mishnetorah.com/en/

Check Out my Article in Jewish Action (and other ramblings)

I have an article in the Jewish Action that just came out. The topic of the article is the construction of eruvin on college campuses in the past decade.

I'll post a link when it's up.

A couple of random thoughts during the drive up to Akko this week:
1) Does Baka al-Jarbiyeh mean "the Valley of Socks"?
2) It would be extremely cool if there was ever a Megadeth concert at Megido.

While at Akko, Raphi thought that the gallows in the Akko citadel/ prison were really cool: "Just like in 'Pirates ofthe Caribbean'". I actually did some of the translation of the museum signs there, so that was nice to see (if you're there and you notice any spelling mistakes - those are not mine).

I'm currently working on several long-term Torah- and Jewish- related translating and editing projects, with more on the horizon. I can now count five different Hesder yeshivot as clients, plus a half-dozen other Jewish educational NPOs. It's like I'm back in kollel, just the pay is a bit better.

'Hear' vs. 'Listen'

The Chief Rabbi's translation (in the Singer Siddur and in the newly released Koren Siddur - linked at the right and reviewed by me here) of the word "shema" has been discussed a good deal. Rather than the more common "Hear O Israel", he translates it as "Listen, Israel".

In general, I think that "listen" makes a lot more sense. However, this seems to be precisely the debate between Rabbi and the Sages in Brachot 13a. Each of them derives a different law from the word "shema". Rabbi derives from there that one's recitation must be audible - it must be heard. The Sages derive from there that the Shema may be recited in any language, as long as the speaker understands what he is saying.

In general, the word "listen" captures bot the biological (hearing) and cognitive (understanding) elements of the process.

As someone with ADD, I have a listening problem, but not a hearing problem.
This is a fairly intuitive distoinction, immortalized in S & G's "Sounds of Silence" ("people hearing without listening") and le-havdil, in "White Men Can't Jump", albeit with a bit of a counterintuitive bent ("Look man, you can listen to Jimi but you can't hear him. There's a difference, man. Just because you're listening to him doesn't mean you're hearing him.")

Biblia PaupeRam

I attended part of conference on the new Tanakh Ram (see here and here for an overview of the debate; see here for an overview of the book) today. For those who have not been following, there has been a bit of controversy in Israel lately about the publication of a new translation of the Tanakh, or parts of it, into Modern Hebrew. Thankfully, the conference was about more than just debating the merits and problems with this new edition, and actually had some very interesting lectures on the history of bible translations and on issues with translating into a more modern form of the original text (not necessarily biblical).

There was one lecturer who pretty much stated the obvious – that the Tanakh is already translated into Modern Hebrew in classrooms, even Haredi ones. I think that misses the point of these criticisms, as I will explain.

I got a chance to look at the translation, and, honestly, was not impressed. I thought that the original and the translation are too equally weighted (they have slightly different fonts, but are the same size and stand side by side in columns; I would have much preferred to see the original in a much larger font). The translation itself was really not so good. The term “yerei Hashem” is consistently translated as “mi she-ma’amin ba-Shem”. Aside from being an inaccurate and even misleading translation, I don’t understand the need to translate the phrase into Modern Hebrew in general. The purpose of this translation should not be to create a Hebrew Biblia Pauperum, in a manner of speaking. It should facilitate the mastery or comfort with the original text. The current set-up is not conducive to that goal, though. I’d much rather see a Tanach with a brief commentary to elucidate difficult words on the bottom.

The Fun Stuff

I divide the stuff I translate into three categories:
a) The boring stuff
b) The interesting stuff
c) The fun stuff

Anything where I have to learn something new is interesting, even if it's totally technical. If I learn about a medical condition, an area of law, whatever, it can be interesting. Things that are just a drag - for example, a will or a birth certificate or anything repetitive or banal is the boring stuff.

I don't necessarily get paid more for the boring stuff or less for the interesting or fun stuff. However, if a project is neither fun/interesting nor decent-paying, I am much more likely to turn it down.

The fun stuff is, well, fun. My goal is to someday have my entire day filled with fun stuff. Of course, I can't put my finger exactly on what constitutes "fun stuff", so let me give an example from today. Granted fun stuff doesn't always have to be THIS much fun:
The Hebrew panel that you see here is an inscription from the tomb of Fernando (Ferdinand) III, King of Castille and Leon in the early 13th Century. His tomb contains inscriptions in Hebrew, Latin, Arabic, and Castilian.

Below is my (legible) Hebrew reconstruction as well as my translation. Like I said, the fun stuff:

וזה המקום הוא קבר המלך הגדול דון פרננדו אדון קסטיליה וטליטלה וליון ווליסיה ואשבילה וקרטבה ומרסיה וניאות חי נפשו בגן עדן אשר לכד כל ספרד הישר הצדיק המשוח המגדול הגבור החסיד העניו הירא מייי ועובד אותו כל ימיו אשר שבר ואבד כל אויביו והרים וכבד כל אוהביו ולכד מדינת אשבילה אשר היא ראש כל ספרד ונפטר בה בליל יום שישי שנים ועשרים יום לחדש סיון שנת אלפים ושתים עשרה לבריאת העולם

This place is the tomb of the great king, Don Fernando, Lord of Castille and Telitala [Toledo] and Leon and Valesia [Valencia] and Asvila [Seville] and Karteva [Cordoba] and Murcia; and his soul lives well in the Garden of Eden; who captured all of Spain; the upright, the righteous, the anointed, the tower, the mighty, the pious, the humble, who feared God and served Him all his days; who broke and destroyed all his enemies and who elevated and honored those who adored him, and who captured the province of Asvila [Seville], which is the head of all Sepharad [Spain] and died there on the night of Friday, the twenty second day of the month of Sivan, in the year five thousand and twelve from the creation of the world.

Time Magazine on the Translation Industry

Translation Nation - TIME
Maybe I should learn Arabic, too.

Quick Purim Riddle

Q. What is the difference between Purim and the 2008 bailout package?


A. With regard to Purim, the הלכה is: "כל הפושט יד נותנים לו"
With regard to the bailout package: "כל הפושט רגל נותנים לו"

Les Mis and Gush?????

This is truly bizarre. I was in the supermarket today, and I noticed, in the checkout line, a Hebrew DVD rendition of Hugo's Les Miserables (עלובי החיים) for kids. Portraits of two main characters adorned the jackets.

Here's the really bizarre part. The two portraits look astoundingly similar to Rav Aharon Lichteinstein and Rav Ezra Bick. Is this coincidence? See for yourselves. Freaky, no?

He counteth the number of stars; He giveth them all their names

The title verse of this post (from Psalms 147:4) provides an interesting opportunity to engage in imitatio Dei. I'm not talking about those lame quasi-romantic name-a-star-after-someone gimmicks, but about the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to actually name a planet.

I first heard about this contest from BZ's post at JewSchool. Since the contest is cosponsored by the Academy of the Hebrew Language, which I posted about yesterday, my memory was refreshed, and I entered the contest.

I wanted to come up with names that reflect the same mythic dimension that the English planetary names reflect, and also wanted to preserve some echo of those names. Fortunately, I've read some of Cassuto's work on the Israelite Epic, so I'm familiar with the names of some of those demigods of Israelite myth who were demythologized in the Torah and reincorporated as angels or sarim. I also wanted to stay away from the gods of neighboring tribes (after all, Ma'adim, not Nergal, is the Jewish name for Mars). I considered, in the spirit of Ma'adim and Noga, of looking for names that reflect some type of physical attribute, much as Steg did here (I even thought of Techelet or Tcheltan for Neptune), but in the end decided to go with the mythic names of deities and demigods.

Given these constraints, Neptune was easy. TaNakh contains numerous references to mythic sea creatures and monsters (such as Leviathan, Naham Akalaton, Nahash Bariach, and others), one of which is named Rahav (רהב). In Iyov 26:12, Rahav represents the sea personified: "By his power He stilled the sea; by His skill He struck down Rahav". The Gemara (Bava Batra 74b) identifies Rahav as "Saro shel Yam" - the Ministering Angel of the Sea. This is a slam dunk as a biblical equivalent of the Roman sea-god, Neptune. Rahav also has a good cadence and rhythm, and is not a well-known mythic figure in other contexts. I felt that the other sea-creatures either were too unwieldy (I cannot imagine a planet Nachash Akalaton) or too familiar from other contexts (Leviathan, Tanin). Leviathan is also too close and too phonetically related to lavyan, the modern Hebrew word for "satellite".

Uranus was a bit tougher. At first I considered that the biblical equibvalent of Uranus would be Pe'or (guess where I thought of that), but quickly dismissed that idea for pretty much the same reasons that I thought of it in the first place. I looked for a deity mentioned in the Torah as some type of master of the heavens, as Uranus was the Greek god of the sky. I considered Shachar, who seems to have been some type of god of the dawn and later associated with a particular star, probably Venus, and ultimately with Lucifer. Thus, the name was already associated with another planet and is already familiar as the mundane term for dawn. Out.

Then I hit upon the name that I submitted - Elyon. Before being merged with God, Elyon seems to have been some type of independent or semi-independent deity who is creator of heaven and earth (see Bereishit 14:18-19). Elsewhere (such as Yeshayahu 14:13-14 and II Sam 22:14) Elyon is depicted as dominating the heavens. Perhaps the most interesting connection between Uranus and Elyon comes from the translation of the Sanchuniathon by Philo of Byblos. There, he identifies Elyon as the father of Uranus.

The drawbacks of this name are that it is a common Hebrew word, and that as the name of a deity, it has long since (I believe that the Torah tells us about how Avraham effected this merger in the story linked above) merged and is closely associated with God.

Ultimately, I like BZ's proposal of "Shahak" (שחק) better than my own. It preserves the archaic and mythic feel, is associated with the sky, and has an excellent cadence and rhythm. I especially like it as the counterpart to Rahav. So there you have it. Uranus and Neptune and Shahak and Rahav. Now we just have to wait for the contest judges to make it official.

Some Questions that have been Bugging Me?

1)If the Academy of the Hebrew Language (Akademia le-Lashon ha-Ivrit) is so good at coming up with new Hebrew words for nearly any development (amongst the new ones are 'zamrir' for 'jingle', 'samlil' for logo', and 'le-masrer' for 'to send a text message'), why could they not come up with something better than "Akademia" for "Academy"?

2) Why is the NFC championship game, which will be played on the West Coast, starting at 3pm, while the AFC championship game, which will be played on the East Coast, starting at 6:30pm?

Whatever. It's all a mystery. Go Ravens.

V: The National-Religious Chanukah

As commenter Chardal (ke-shmo kein hu) pointed out, the National-Religious Chanukah is a synthesis of the Chareidi and Zionist Chanukahs. In addition to the writings of R’ Kahane, with which I am not familiar but assume that Chardal is correct, this was written by R. Shlomo Aviner (and translated into English by my colleague and fellow Baltimorean [Go Ravens!] Rafi Blumberg). It sums this approach up pretty well.

I know I’m late, but I still have three to go!

Rosh Hashana for Translators

According to the Geonic addendum to Megillat Taanit, the 8^th of Tevet (which is today) was a fast day that commemorated the translation of the Torah into Greek for the Egyptian King Ptolemy. Contra the Letter of Aristeas, the Rabbinic work views the translation of the Torah negatively.

This challenge, translation form Hebrew into Greek, is indeed both tragic and a cause for celebration. If Levinas is correct that “The translation of the Septuagint is not yet complete”, then the task of the translator remains in this fundamental tension. On this day, I reflect on the service that we translators provide to humanity – allowing disparate cultures to engage each other and facilitating communication between people who have no common language. At the same time, since it is impossible to translate anything perfectly, I also contemplate the limitations of our trade and the loss that translation inevitably entails.

I have written about the tensions inherent in translation here and here. Perhaps this also explains why, no matter how good Google Translate gets, there will always be a need for those who practice the art of translation.

BBC Translators

I have taken it upon myself to translate some news posted by the BBC into plain English. The examples come from this article on Operation Cast Lead:

Wherever Hamas operates, civilians live and work close by.

Translation: Hamas uses civilian shields to deter attacks that will include inevitable civilian collateral damage.

The United States is arguably the only outside power Israel deeply cares about.

Translation: The United States is arguably the only outside power that deeply cares about Israel.