The Awesome Power of MNFBBQ

While NoahDaddy did a pretty good job in summarizing another joyous MNFBBQ meeting, he missed a key component. During our most recent soiree, Gil mentioned that he had a meeting at YIOP that evening at 10:30. You may be asking yourself why any meeting would start so late. Well, there is only answer and it is "MNFBBQ."

A few years ago, when NoahDaddy and I were both on the YIOP executive board, the president told us that he had scheduled a meeting for us for the following Monday night at 9:00. NoahDaddy and I immediately both said that we would not attend because it conflicted with the MNFBBQ and we had our priorities. The president fully understood and never scheduled another Monday night meeting. We knew then just how revered the MNFBBQ was.

No Waitress, however, taught us the other night the level of respect that others understandably have for the MNFBBQ. Here he was, part of a group that was meeting to discuss our rabbi's contract and time was of the essence. Nothing, however, was more essential to No Waitress than attending the MNFBBQ. (My attendance has been far from perfect lately and I therefore give No Waitress extra props for taking his stand.) No Waitress' fellow committee members fully understood and thus agreed to not schedule the meeting until 10:30 at night. As it was, No Waitress was still at Stale Bun's house at 10:40 when his cell phone rang, as always. The caller wanted to know when they could expect No Waitress to attend the meeting.

After we all appreciated yet one more sign of the MNFBBQ's awesomeness, we engaged in a discussion of just how great is the respect we have rightfully earned. We had questions. If an MNFBBQ meeting were to occur on Yom Kippur, would the entire holiday be rescheduled or would there just be an allowance for us to eat that night? Should we now reconsider our longstanding policy of not meeting on Passover since the buns are an essential part of MNFBBQ, except when Blackjack gets to them? Feel free to offer your own questions and comments. While the MNFBBQ's membership is exclusive, we are always open to receiving fan mail.

Amazing Finish

For all the buzz about the NCAA Division I tournament, people forget that there are other college tournaments. Courtesy of DeadSpin comes this finish, from the Division II tournament championship is one of the best ending to any sporting event ever. Enjoy.

High Art

I was shocked and dismayed this morning to read in this story that the Cincinnati Symphony & Pops Orchestra was cancelling an appearance that the Dukes of Hazzard themed program that the television show's stars, John Schneider and Tom Wopat, were to make. The cancellation was because "some in the community found the show racist and offensive." This story strikes a chord with me, not because I have any great affinity towards the show, but because a well-respected artistic institution was going to have a Dukes of Hazzard themed program in the first place. What's next, The Metropolitan Opera doing a Gomer Pyle set?

Stay Classy Zlog Readers

To my legion of fans, I must apologize for my paucity of postings as of late. Before the bar exam, I was just too busy with work and studying to post. I am still quite busy at work (O's fan-ixnay on the ournamenttay) but, more importantly, I just haven't had much to say or share. I hope to rejoin the world of active blogging soon. Meanwhile, enjoy this 1970's commercial for a Cleveland news show. Besides its own entertainment value, it makes me appreciate just how well "Anchorman-The Legend of Ron Burgundy" nailed it.

A Purim Thought

On this day of Purim, when we celebrate the Jewish people's salvation from an enemy that sought to destroy us, an incident that occurred last week has really stuck with me. One of the commandments surrounding this holiday is the requirement to eradicate Amalek. This involves not just physically fighting mortal men who want to end the Jewish people but also battling the evil within us.

Last week, while waiting before one of the sections of the Florida bar examination, I was talking to the young Jewish woman sitting behind me. We were discussing children, her thirteen month old boy and the Baby Zwicker that will arrive shortly and healthy, God willing. The woman, Julie, said that her son has, in her words, the coolest Hebrew name, Zev. Upon my asking, she said that she didn't know his Hebrew middle name. I found her ignorance to be very sad. Julie is not totally assimilated. She is active in her reform temple and is even a Sunday school teacher there. Also, her son is only thirteen months old, barely a year removed from his naming.

In this day and age in the United States, there is not much reason to fear the Jewish people's physical safety. Of the individuals seeking the major party nominations for president next year, there is none whose views on domestic Judaism concern me one way or the other. (Israel, of course, is another story and a post for another day.) What does concern me, and I hardly think I'm alone, about the future of Judaism in this country is the assimilation and ignorance that threaten so many Jews. During yesterday's reading of the commandment to destroy Amalek, I thought of Julie. If she doesn't even know her son's Jewish middle name, what kind of future as a Jew does it promise him? What kind of future awaits so many others?

The war to regain our own people is like many other great conflicts, whether physical or spiritual. While there may be one decisive tipping point in any war, most wars are won and lost through many battles. Some battles are large but most are small and quick. The key is to fight every one of them. In the war against assimilation and ignorance, we must be ever vigilant to show those not as fortunate in Jewish education just how beautiful our religion is. Whether it is inviting someone to a religious event that he or she would not otherwise attend or discussing even a few words of Torah, the opportunities for us to fight this war are endless. It is up to us to seize the opportunities.