My Favorite and Least Favorite Jewish Athletes

Per Squeedle’s and Oyster’s request to add some Jewish flavor to my NBA post, here we go. The only Jewish NBA player I can think of was Danny Schayes, a third string center for the Phoenix Suns back in the day. He wasn’t that remarkable though, so he’s not my favorite. I guess I would have to say that my favorite Jewish basketball player is Tamir Goodman (a.k.a. the Jewish Jordan). This article doesn’t sync up with my memory, but I recall him leaving Maryland because they didn’t accept him not playing on Shabbat.

My least favorite Jewish athlete is Gabe Kapler of the Boston Red Sox for playing ball on Yom Kippur. I seem to recall him tearing up his knee rounding second base in a game the following season, putting him out of commission for the rest of the season. I don’t mean to sound mean-spirited, but he had it coming. You don’t blow off the Day of Atonement.

Ish Tov’s 2007 NBA Mock Draft

I don’t know how many people in the community are NBA fans. But I know there are at least a few. With the NBA Draft just around the corner (Thursday at 4:30PM on ESPN), I thought I’d share my mock draft here. I do this each year, but I usually just send it out to a few friends. The only caveat I have is that there could be quite a few trades between now and the draft that might shake things up.

Okay here goes:

1. Portland – Greg Oden

2. Seattle – Kevin Durant

3. Atlanta – Al Horford – He can help right away. And Atlanta already has a bunch of thin, athetic types.

4. Memphis – Joakim Noah – He can provide some interior defense, length, and championship experience.

5. Boston – Jeff Green – If we don’t get a big name in a trade, we’ll probably have to trade Pierce. Jeff Green is a pretty good replacement, an offensive player with a unselfish, passing mentality.

6. Milwaukee – Mike Conley – With Mo Williams looking for a big contract, Conley makes sense as a cheap replacement.

7. Minnesota – Brandan Wright – It seems like KG will be traded. So getting a KG type player in Brandan Wright could work.

Beth David Shelters Homeless People

Last Thursday evening the young adult gang spent some time hanging out with homeless people as part of Beth David’s participation in the Cupertino rotating shelter program. It’s difficult to use the term “homeless people” now because after spending some time with them, you realize that they’re not homeless people. They’re real human beings. For different reasons they are in situations where they can’t afford the rents and mortgages in the pricey Bay Area, but they didn’t come across as people just looking for a hand out.

For example, I spent some time talking with a man named Dale about sports. He’s a Yankees fan, but I didn’t hold that against him. When we started talking NBA, we discovered that we both are disappointed that Lebron James won’t sign the petition to stop the genocide in Darfur. Dale used to work delivering packages until his delivery truck got rear ended. Now he is trying to get back on track, starting up his own package delivery business (DeWitt Courier & Transportation Services).

I also want to give major props to the Beth David community as a whole, for sheltering these good people for a month in the synagogue. I’ve been to several synagogues on the east coast and quite a few in the Bay Area, and I’ve never seen this before. Many communities volunteer at homeless shelters, but to actually open up your synagogue as a shelter for people is a really beautiful thing. According to the Help The Homeless post below, Beth David has been doing this for 14 years now.

I’m not sure how to express how wonderful this is. But it really shows that the Torah values of loving your neighbor as yourself are alive and well at Beth David. In the prophet Isaiah’s first recorded prophecy (Isaiah 1:1-18), he warns of the danger of only focusing on Jewish ritual. If we ignore the plight of the less fortunate, our prayers and ritual observance become meaningless. Beth David does a great job of focusing on both Jewish observance and community service. Everyone who has helped out with this great effort over the last 14 years should be very proud.

Gear up for Our Great Events This Weekend

We know a lot is going on this weekend, but that means you should be able to find something to your liking. Details can be found on our Events page.

We’re kicking off our series of events, Thursday night, by feeding and schmoozing with 15 homeless men that Congregation Beth David is hosting for the month of June, as they try to get back on their feet. Find out more about Helping the Homeless.

Up next is our Experience Shabbat duo, with our Shir Shabbat with special Young Adult oneg on Friday night and Saturday with traditional Conservative morning services, lunch and Torah Study. This week’s Torah Study features the insights of Rabbi Pressman. Come for all or part.

Sunday we’re getting outdoors with a hike at Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve. Whether you’re in shape or not you’ll be able to do this hike. Be sure to bring water, and sorry no dogs.

Drop us line at cbdyag [at] gmail.com.

P.S. Candid Camera was recently updated

Karaite Judaism: A Path That Can Unite Am Yisrael

In America we have Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, and Humanistic Judaism. If you go onto Frumster (a Jewish singles site dedicated to marriage oriented dating) and choose Orthodox, you get seven Orthodox subgroups to choose from. And I’m not even going into the partitions in the rest of the world. Religiously it seems like we have never been more divided. I propose that Karaite Judaism can bring us all back together.

The Karaite approach to Judaism is that the Tanak (the Hebrew Bible) is the word of God. Now you’re probably asking how is that any different than Orthodox Judaism? The difference is that in Orthodox Judaism the oral tradition of Judaism (i.e. the Mishna and the Talmud) is considered to be the Oral Law, passed down orally from Mount Sinai when God gave us the Torah through Moses. In the Orthodox approach, the Torah consists of two parts: the written Torah and the Oral Torah. The Written Torah can only be correctly interpreted by using the Oral Torah.

The Karaites believe that only the Tanak is the word of God. It is complete on its own. The oral tradition is considered to be a collection of human wisdom, not a binding component of Jewish Law. I plan on going into the reasons why in a future post. There’s a lot that I want to say about Karaite Judaism, but the nature of blogging is to keep things short and sweet. So I won’t cover everything here.

One important observation is that it is a lot easier to be Torah observant without all of the additional rules of the oral tradition. It’s a shame that people often associate being Torah observant with being Orthodox. They assume it’s too much for them; or those additional rules don’t mesh with their own intrinsic feeling of how to connect to God. But either way, I think the mistaken assumption that one has to follow the oral tradition to observe the Torah, often causes people to not even try.

Now please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying easier is better or easier is right. The real appeal is that Karaite interpretation of Torah depends on the plain meaning of the text, the context of a particular passage within the Tanak as a whole, and the historical context in which the Torah was given. In other words, common sense plays a large role. Rabbinic interpretation of Torah is a more complicated endeavor that is often inconsistent with the plain meaning of the text.

The Karaite community has a new booklet out, “As It is Written” that makes the case for Karaism in more detail. It’s a great read and even includes a section of responses to often cited arguments in favor of an Oral Torah (for example kosher slaughter and tefillin).

You can also learn more about Karaite Judaism at the following websites:

http://www.karaites.org
http://www.karaite-korner.org

Recipe Exchange

At our Kosher Meet and Greet you asked for a recipe exchange, it’s here!

To make it work, please send cbdyag [at] gmail.com recipes you want to share, Kosher please.

Look for them posted on the Recipe Exchange tab above.

Please include as much info as possible, measurements, ingredients, step-by-step directions, how many it serves, type of dish (main, side, drink, dessert), etc.

If you make a dish, please leave feed back, stories, etc for others.

Happy Cooking!

Ultimately Successful

Thank you to everyone who came out to Sunnyvale for some hardcore ultimate frisbee on Sunday. We had about 16 people, which gave us enough for some solid 5 on 5 with substitutions. Props go out to Squad Leader and Foxhole for taking pictures. The game was pretty competitive with one guy getting knocked to the ground by a girl half his size. There were some smooth passes, great catches, and stealthy fast breaks. It just goes to show that here on the west coast people take their ultimate frisbee pretty seriously.

After the game we went to Izzy’s Brookly Deli for dinner. Speaking of which, don’t forget about Kosher Meat and Greet Tuesday at 1PM.

Help the Homeless

Thursday, June 21, 7:45pm Mitzvah with Rotating Shelter

Each year CBD participates in Cupertino Community Services Rotating Shelter program, housing men trying to get back on their feet. We’ll be greeters to set up the food and visit with the men from 7:45pm to 9:00 or 9:15 when they finish. Please RSVP to cbdyag[at]gmail.com if you’re able to be there. Thanks so much

If you can’t join us on Thursday, CBD has a few other ways you can participate:

Rotating Shelter
Volunteers & Donations Needed!

This year marks the 14th year our congregation is participating in the Cupertino Community Services Faith in Action Rotating Shelter program. During the month of June, our congregation is responsible for providing shelter and meals for the 15 shelter residents. To make this program work, many “hands” are needed—we need YOUR help!! You can volunteer to help out in one of the following ways:

• Prepare an evening meal – this is great to do with your family, or with a group of friends or your havurah.
• Greet the guests when they arrive and serve the food.
• Act as a “captain” for one week – simply be the contact person for the week’s volunteers and be available as needed. Write them thank you notes.
• Monetary donations are especially needed as the Social Action Committee pays for weekly groceries.

Ultimate Event, Kosher Meat and Greet and More

CBDYAG’s calendar is packed for the month of June!

• This Sunday come play ultimate frisbee (or cheer others on) and maybe some basket ball too. Check out IshTov’s post for all the details.
• Tuesday, June 12 is our first monthly Kosher Meat and Greet. Come meet new people and say hi to your friends on your lunch break.
• June 23, around 1:30 Join us for Torah Study with Rabbi Pressman and Oyster your also invited to come early for Shabbat morning services
• Young Adult Shir Shabbat returns this month on June 22 at 8pm
• And June 24th we’re going hiking! A great warm up for our 10k AIDS Walk in July. (Register to walk with us here)

We hope to see you at one or more of our events this month.

While you’re welcome to just show up and bring a friend, we truly appreciate RSVPs to cbdyag at gmail.com or to evites, facebook events, etc.

Jewish Music + Gamers=Klezident Evil

Klezident Evil

Klezident Evil is a band based in Cupertino, California (ok, we’re all over the Bay Area but that’s where we practice). We play a variety of music, centered on Klezmer and other Eastern European folk music, with a little bit of jazz and video/computer game music thrown in.

What makes this group special? They are gamers too, so they know their video games, and if you listen to the clips on their site you know they know their Klezmer too. Not to mention one is a CBDYAGnik!

Grab a friend and come out and show your support for a CBDYAGnik, when Klezident Evil plays Saturday, June 9 at Barefoot Coffee Cafe, Santa Clara, CA, between 8pm and 11pm.

Get a sneak peak at their music or buy their gear on their website. They are looking for some new members too, gamer not required.