Thursday, September 18, 2008

Teaneck International Film Festival

Just read some good news. The Teaneck International Film Festival, which will take place November 14 through 16, has received a grant from Target which will allow them to offer FREE admission to children under 12 throughout the weekend.
I haven't been around for the last two festivals, but I did notice that last year's selections included "A Cantor's Tale" and "Secret Courage: The Walter Suskind Story," both movies with Jewish themes.
I think it would be great if the organizers (I see Tom Abbott's name on the list) would offer up a few movies from Israel, with subtitles, for the Jewish community to enjoy.


66 comments:

Anonymous said...

I would love some movies from Germany shown and what about some Bollywood movies to boot?!

Anonymous said...

Are you able to enjoy a movie without a "Jewish theme?" Is there anything you perceive as a universal human theme? Or are you so caught up in the particular that you can't see any connection between Jews and everyone else, and particularly Orthodox Jews and everyone else?

Anonymous said...

Anyone else getting the feeling that Ms. Rightfield is baiting all of us in the Teaneck blogosphere? Something is very fishy about all these ridiculously provocative posts. Someone is trying to stir up trouble around here, and we should probably all ignore her/him. The name of the blog isn't Teaneck Orthodox Talk, yet anyone looking for a
Teaneck discussion will find it in a search. I think we've all fallen for this hook, line and sinker. (Sorry--I couldn't resist continuing the "bait" motif).

esther said...

This is America. It's our right as American's to be culturally myopic. I'm going to boycott the film festival because there's not enough accordion content.

Out Of Rightfield said...

Yous guys are ridiculous.
It's an INTERNATIONAL film festival, get it, international.
Last year there were films from (or set in) India, Sweden, Serbia, Australia, Germany and Ireland. There were also two films with Jewish themes and a bunch of other movies. There were NO movies from Israel.
How do you figure my post is divisive? I PRAISE the festival for getting the grant from Target for free kids admission and merely ASK if Israeli movies could be included along with the other films.

Out Of Rightfield said...

The double standard in this country is getting to be ridiculous. If I were Hispanic and complained there were not enough Spanish movies, you can be sure the film festival would rush out to procure some Spanish movies.
Half of the radio stations in the New York area are now playing Spanish music, yet we have no All-American good old country music station in the biggest city in America. Should I complain because we have no longer have a country station in town even though the dozen or so Spanish stations are not serving more than half the community? How about the fact that this is the city with the largest Jewish population outside of Israel, yet we no longer have a Jewish radio station since WEVD went off the air.
Yes, I think the Jews are getting a raw deal. Jews (culturally, not religiously) are supposed to fall into the great melting pot of America while Hispanics are free to keep their own language, culture and even have dozens of TV and radio stations speaking only Spanish, which the majority of people in town can't understand.
So when I ask for one or two Israeli movies at an International Film Festival in a town with a large Jewish population, I get shot down like I'm the Queen of Racism!

Out Of Rightfield said...

Using the word "International" in the film festival's title reminds me of when I was a kid, we were up in the Catskills and passed the rinky dink Sullivan County International Airport. I asked my uncle which international cities they served. He told me that once, a few years ago, some guy flew to Toronto in a private plane, so they got to put International on the sign.

esther said...

You think the Jews are getting a "raw deal"!! Jews have a whole country!

What I get?

Accordion Awareness Month.

Like a skin disease, I get an awareness month.

Anonymous said...

Excuse me Jews can keep their own culture, language and heck cable now has a whole Jewish channel/network thing going on.

So what raw deal are you getting?

Unknown said...

Yes, I think the Jews are getting a raw deal. Jews (culturally, not religiously) are supposed to fall into the great melting pot of America while Hispanics are free to keep their own language, culture and even have dozens of TV and radio stations speaking only Spanish, which the majority of people in town can't understand.

42 million spanish speakers in the US command a powerful marketing attraction! Are there 42 million Jews in the US?

Anonymous said...

Have I missed something here? I thought Jewish was a religion not a culture or nationality or race. Hispanic, African American, Indian are all nationalities/races. You can choose what religion you will practice you can not choose the race you are born. So I do not think you can compare being Hispanic and Jewish. Apples and oranges.

Out Of Rightfield said...

You can be a Hispanic, learn English like every other ethnic group that has come to this country, and watch/listen to English TV & radio.
But with all these Spanish language TV and radio stations, that is evidently not happening.

Out Of Rightfield said...

The only "Jewish" channel on cable TV is actually just a video on demand service, which costs extra money per month and has a limited amount of shows and movies.
Dish Network offers an Israeli channel for $20 a month, but it's not available on cable (you can watch it fee at Cafe Adam).
Jewish radio consists of an amateurish 3 hours a day in the morning on a non-commercial FM station (on which the host is illegally charging guests for their appearances to promote events and stealing money from the community by running pledge drives that pay him a salary and support the station's 24/7 programming without telling people their money is not specifically for the Jewish show, but that's a subject for another posting) and an hour on Sunday morning on WFDU.
We USED to have WEVD, but they sold out to ESPN. Where, oh where, has Art Raymond gone?

Anonymous said...

Anon in response to your question about a "jewish" race/culture:

Are Jews a Race?

In the 1980s, the United States Supreme Court ruled that Jews are a race, at least for purposes of certain anti-discrimination laws. Their reasoning: at the time these laws were passed, people routinely spoke of the "Jewish race" or the "Italian race" as well as the "Negro race," so that is what the legislators intended to protect.

But many Jews were deeply offended by that decision, offended by any hint that Jews could be considered a race. The idea of Jews as a race brings to mind nightmarish visions of Nazi Germany, where Jews were declared to be not just a race, but an inferior race that had to be rounded up into ghettos and exterminated like vermin.

But setting aside the emotional issues, Jews are clearly not a race.

Race is a genetic distinction, and refers to people with shared ancestry and shared genetic traits. You can't change your race; it's in your DNA. I could never become black or Asian no matter how much I might want to.

Common ancestry is not required to be a Jew. Many Jews worldwide share common ancestry, as shown by genetic research; however, you can be a Jew without sharing this common ancestry, for example, by converting. Thus, although I could never become black or Asian, blacks and Asians have become Jews (Sammy Davis Jr. and Connie Chung).

Is It a Culture or Ethnic Group?

Most secular American Jews think of their Jewishness as a matter of culture or ethnicity. When they think of Jewish culture, they think of the food, of the Yiddish language, of some limited holiday observances, and of cultural values like the emphasis on education.

Those secular American Jews would probably be surprised to learn that much of what they think of as Jewish culture is really just Ashkenazic Jewish culture, the culture of Jews whose ancestors come from one part of the world. Jews have lived in many parts of the world and have developed many different traditions. As a Sephardic friend likes to remind me, Yiddish is not part of his culture, nor are bagels and lox, chopped liver, latkes, gefilte fish or matzah ball soup. His idea of Jewish cooking includes bourekas, phyllo dough pastries filled with cheese or spinach. His ancestors probably wouldn't know what to do with a dreidel.

There are certainly cultural traits and behaviors that are shared by many Jews, that make us feel more comfortable with other Jews. Jews in many parts of the world share many of those cultural aspects. However, that culture is not shared by all Jews all over the world, and people who do not share that culture are no less Jews because of it. Thus, Judaism must be something more than a culture or an ethnic group.

http://www.jewfaq.org/judaism.htm#Race

Alan Sohn said...

Can't quite say the rightfielder and I agree on much, but an effort to reach out to all of Teaneck's diverse communities, as it already has in the past.

I'd love to see some classic (and little seen) Israeli films such as the 1964 comedy "Sallah Shabati" or the 1955 drama "Hill 24 Doesn't Answer" on the big screen (OK, medium-sized screen) or other more recent fare. I'd also love to see films that have no Jewish or Israeli content whatsoever from the United States and from all over the world.

While Teaneck may lack the urbane cultural sophistication of Bethel, New York and its international airport, there's no reason that we can't build on the fine work that the Teaneck International Film Festival has already done in creating a broad-ranging program that reaches out to our entire Teaneck community.

Alan Sohn

esther said...

Out of Rightfield - For the past two years there HAS been Jewish content in the film festival.

And as for your complaint about the lack of the overt Jewish content in the media - it's simple a question of demand. Perhaps you can become a filmmaker or you can start your own radio station or can start a rival film festival called the Teaneck JEWISH ONLY Film Festival.

As for your tired swipe at people who speak Spanish - give me a friggin' break with your politics of resentment.

When my grandparents came to this country from Eastern Europe and Germany - they slowly learned English but spoke their native languages at home. They read magazines and newspapers in their native languages and listened to radio shows in their native languages. Their children, my parents, grew up bilingual. I speak only English. This is the way it works.

This exact pattern holds for all immigrants including people who speak Spanish.

Anonymous said...

Esther,

Why is it that RF complains about the lack of Jewish/Israeli media content and you tell him to become a film maker.

WHen you complain about the lack of a cafe in town and people suggest you open one, you seem to get offended?

I guess speaking openly on a blog means that YOU get to say whatever YOU want, and if people don't conform they are bashing one group or another.

If the guy wants more Israeli/Jewish movies as part of the film festival, he's entitled to ask. That's all I heard him do.

Anonymous said...

"Thats all I heard him do"-- Did you miss the bashing of spanish speaking residents?

esther said...

anonymous - In telling RF to become a filmmaker, I was mocking YOU.

Anonymous said...

ah....in telling you to become a cafe owner...I was mocking you, and your whining.

esther said...

Anon- I'm not a whiner. I can't help it if you read what I write using the whiney voice in your head.

What Lola Wants said...

Esther 2:46 pm - I agree with you 100%.

Out of Rightfield - It's sad but hopefully not to late to learn that it is not always what you say, but HOW YOU say it. Many of us may agree with some of the things you say but you say them in such an inarticulate, uneducated and snarky tone that all you do is offend people.

YOU are forgetting that it was less than a generation ago that you did not have a large amount of Orthodox Jews in many "high end" professions. They had to learn the manners and mores on how to get along with the culture that they are living in while keeping their own beliefs intact.

Today there are many Orthodox Jews in big business but people are forgetting that they have to leave their clannish manners at home. At my company alone, 2 interns from an Orthodox college were fired this summer for not knowing how to behave, dress or have proper grammer (you don't stay "by" someone for the weekend, you stay with someone or at someone's home. "By" is a yiddishism and poor English syntax.) You can't continue to make it in the melting pot if you are going backwards. I was mortified by their behavior. You can't claim to be part of a greater community if all you want is your own group to dominate.

Out Of Rightfield said...

Lola,
The Jews who were fired made the grammatical mistake was saying "by" instead of "at."
Meanwhile, there are millions of Spanish people who can't speak a sentence in English. Go try to fire them and see the repercussions.
I can't help it if I sound uneducated. I'm not.

Anonymous said...

RF-

Is it a requirement to speak english to live in this country?
I have a feeling you will find it is not. Now if you are upset because no one is catering to your jewish culture withdrawal then perhaps you should start contacting people in the media business to see if they would be interested in catering to it.
Also in this day and age you can get your fill of jewish culture on the internet I would think. I know that I am able to hear the local german radio stations and read the daily newspapers from germany on my home computer. I do watch german movies but I confess I get those shipped directly from germany on DVD from friends and relatives but I know that I can see them in NYC if I so desired at several different venues that cater to foreign films.
Perhaps you should contact the Yeshiva (the university in NYC) and see if they can point you in the direction of where to go or whom to contact so you can have your fill of jewish culture.

Out Of Rightfield said...

Karin,
All I was asking is if the INTERNATIONAL film festival could show some movies from Israel. Nothing more. These good folks on the blog somehow turned me into a KKK member.

Anonymous said...

You really are too much RF.

So your mentioning of Spanish radio and t.v. was for what?

What Lola Wants said...

Right Field,
The Jews were not fired for speaking poorly but dressing not within the dress code of the company and and DEMANDING things that they were not entitled to and calling it religious. Since we are a company that deals with a financially high end public, we can't "dumb down" the company and expose these people to the public. By the way, the other Orthodox Jews were just as embarrassed as I was by them.

I do know one person who was Not hired at a major accounting company for saying "by" instead of "with". The Orthodox partner who told me why this kid was not hired said that the yeshivas have to stop dumbing down the education in the English studies for our kids to be able to make it in the real world. Oh, and before you scream, they will not hire anyone who speaks Ebonics either.

I was in Shop Rite one friday and one of the yeshiva students asked for a ride back to his yeshiva in Englewood. I said, "of course". Neither he or his companion - high school students could speak properly and by that I mean put a sentence together. He decided to give me driving directions to avoid some long red lights. When I told him what he wanted me to do was against the law and I would not he said that people he knows do it all the time. I told him that I hope they are all ticketed by the police. We live in this country and ACCORDING TO JEWISH LAW HAVE TO FOLLOW THE LAWS OF THE LAND. What is wrong with these people???

"I can't help it if I sound uneducated. I'm not."

HUH????? Were you asleep during English classes? Social studies classes or did the sub-par yeshiva you attended not even offer social studies? Do you realize how stupid that sentence was????

Anonymous said...

LOLA-

Is english grammar not a required class/subject at the yeshiva?

Also just curious but what did this kid want you to do to avoid some red lights that was illegal?

What Lola Wants said...

Karin,
I have found that the secular studies in the yeshivas in Bergen county have been put last on the agenda for the last 20 years or so. The kids are being taught not to succeed and shoot for the highest stars but be happy to get by with a 9-5 backroom job. To me that is NOT the American Dream anywhere. Parents who want their kids to get a better yeshiva education are sending their kids to NYC.

We were stopped at a red light while about 3 young grades of a local elementary school were crossing the street near the traffic circle on Palisade Avenue, going to city hall. The geniuses in my car told me to ride on the side walk to avoid them OR to lean on the horn to get them to move faster and make a path for us. "After all" they said, "they're just public school kids, they can move for us". I screamed "WHAT?????" and became furious. I asked what planet my companions were from and they said "Brooklyn and Monsey". I told them that they should go back, learn to drive accoring to New York state law and then gave them a lecture about their behavior being against New Jersey Law and (thinking they would relate more) Jewish law. I think I was more upset at their attitude and how I had to have them repeat their sentences twice because I could not undertand their grammer (or lack of it).

Anonymous said...

Karin,
I have found that the secular studies in the yeshivas in Bergen county have been put last on the agenda for the last 20 years or so. The kids are being taught not to succeed and shoot for the highest stars but be happy to get by with a 9-5 backroom job. To me that is NOT the American Dream anywhere. Parents who want their kids to get a better yeshiva education are sending their kids to NYC.


Ok help me out here Lola, is the yeshiva just a generic name for a jewish school? does it encompass all grade levels? are they not held to certain academic standards? As an example I know that my kids schools are all middle state accredited, do the yeshiva's have a similar accreditation?


We were stopped at a red light while about 3 young grades of a local elementary school were crossing the street near the traffic circle on Palisade Avenue, going to city hall. The geniuses in my car told me to ride on the side walk to avoid them OR to lean on the horn to get them to move faster and make a path for us. "After all" they said, "they're just public school kids, they can move for us". I screamed "WHAT?????" and became furious. I asked what planet my companions were from and they said "Brooklyn and Monsey". I told them that they should go back, learn to drive accoring to New York state law and then gave them a lecture about their behavior being against New Jersey Law and (thinking they would relate more) Jewish law. I think I was more upset at their attitude and how I had to have them repeat their sentences twice because I could not undertand their grammer (or lack of it).



You have to be kidding!
Is this mentality typical?

Out Of Rightfield said...

Karin,
I mention Spanish radio and TV because those are the stations on my dial that are not in English. There are many Chinese, German, Jewish, Irish people in town. I'm suer they'd love to have stations that speak their languages and/or have programs related to their culture, but it seems only the Spanish get their own language stations.
That's mainly because every other ethnic group has learned English. By having these Spanish stations (and bilingual signs in the subways, or every company or government agency you call you hear "para espanol marque dos," etc.) we are in essence telling Spanish speaking people that there is no reason to learn English like every other ethnic group that has come here, but instead, we'll translate everything for you. And we fear being sued if we don't.
I speak only because the four radio stations I used to listen to, WLIR, WEVD, WPAT & WYNY have all become Spanish speaking stations. We no longer have a Jewish station, an 80s new wave (alternative) station, a country music station or an easy listening station in the New York City area. Why? The Hispanics!

Out Of Rightfield said...

Lola,
Let's make a distinction between the Englewood Yeshiva, where the kids come AFTER they receive an extremely poor secular education in the black hat yeshivas in Monsey and Brooklyn and the local day schools and yeshiva high schools, which do not put secular studies on the back bench.

Anonymous said...



That's mainly because every other ethnic group has learned English. By having these Spanish stations (and bilingual signs in the subways, or every company or government agency you call you hear "para espanol marque dos," etc.) we are in essence telling Spanish speaking people that there is no reason to learn English like every other ethnic group that has come here, but instead, we'll translate everything for you. And we fear being sued if we don't.


Have you visited Pal Park recently? Koreans are not bothering to learn english either.
Also have you been to the DMV recently, you can now take the test in numerous foreign languages. Now if you feel that foreigners are not learning english perhaps you can volunteer your time to teaching them.


I speak only because the four radio stations I used to listen to, WLIR, WEVD, WPAT & WYNY have all become Spanish speaking stations. We no longer have a Jewish station, an 80s new wave (alternative) station, a country music station or an easy listening station in the New York City area. Why? The Hispanics!


Did you ever think that perhaps these types of stations went bust because there was no demand for them? Or not a large enough demand to make it PROFITABLE.

Anonymous said...

RF-

So it is only the "black hat yeshivas" that do not teach english?

Anonymous said...

RF-

Here are some Jewish radio stations for you.

From Teaneck we have WFDU 89.1FM Sunday Simcha is a one hour Sunday program of Jewish talk and music, at 10am each Sunday--with at leat 12 minutes on what I call Comedy Corner. And, of course, commemeration via music and spoken word of the various holidays and special events. WFDU 89.1 FM Teaneck New Jersey

and from NYC we have these three options:

My radio segment "Muzikalishe nayes" appears on he "Forverts-sho" every Saturday night, 8-9pm, WMCA AM in NYC, 570 AM. It features the latest in Jewish music or on selected themes.

Lorin Sklamberg, of the Klezmatics and Living Traditions, hosts a music segment on WBAI's show, "Beyond the Pale, Sundays, 11-noon, 99.5FM.

WSIA, 88.9FM, Staten Island, NY, is broadcasting live on the internet, www.wsia.fm. You can tune in to our live shows: The Kol Isha Show with the Rockin' Rebbetzin Michele Garner every Friday morning 8-10am e.s.t. and The Happy Chevra Show with Rabbi Eliezer Garner every Sunday from 11 am-1 pm.

and from PA we have: You may be able to get this, not sure.


WNWR AM 1540 in Philadelphia broadcasts Jewish programs seven days a week. The Barry Reisman Show is the station's featured program, and is on the air Monday - Friday from 3:00 P.M. - 4:00 P.M. and Sundays from 6:00 P.M. - 7:00 P.M. Reisman's blend of klezmer, Yiddish, and Israeli music along with interviews and listener phone calls have made his program a fixture in the Philadelphia radio market since 1965.

What Lola Wants said...

Karen,
Yeshiva USED TO be the name of advanced, higher learning schools, for the creme de la creme, mainly for boys starting in high school and above. In Israel and for higher learning, this is still so. Even though the general population calls the Jewish Day Schools yeshivas, all they are today in the U.S are Jewish schools with a dual curriculum. Similar to the Catholic schools except 1/2 the day is Jewish studies and 1/2 the day is secular studies. It is a long day to make up for this. For one school in Bergen county the day is something like 8-6 (this includes morning and afternoon prayer) for the upper grades. That is why "some" parents scream they can't take advantage of the wonderful programs offered after school at the public schools or at the Rhodda center.

Yes, there are standards, but just like in public schools, some schools are better than others. At private schools of all kinds if the administration is not strong the parents can run the school and dumb down the curriculum while keeping within state standards. I don't know the story of each Jewish Day School in Bergen County, but there are many times I am amazed at what the older kids DON'T know. SOME parents in town think its not important but especially if you are going to socilize in upper class circles with people of ALL faiths in the business world it is important to know who the Vanderbilts were, who owned the mansions in Newport (where is Newport?) Who were John Hancock, Andrew Carnegie or Robert Moses?

For instance, the Jewish day school my kids attended in NY rotated the secular studies and Jewish studies so that one week the secular studies were in the morning and the next week they were in the afternoon. The belief was that some kids were fresher in the morning and all the studies were getting equal treatment. If there was a 1/2 snow day and they missed the secular studies, the next snow day the schedule would be rearranged to miss the Jewish studies. In many Jewish Day schools in this area I find listening to parents talk that if a day has to be cut for some reason, most of the time it is the secular studies that go.

The schools are accredited but as I said, some schools are better than others where ever you go.

Most of our ancestors came to this country because they were dirt poor in the Europe, could not make a living and struggled to make a better world for their children. (This does NOT include the holocaust generation which has their own story). In this country our grandparents would be turning over in their graves if they saw all these parents who were telling their kids to take the easy way out. The parents went to the Ivys, yet this generation is encouraging their kids to go to RCC so it will be "easy" and they could study Jewish stuff all day. Not my world.

The story about the kids in Englewood? I don't think that this thinking is typical except by certain exclusionistic people such as Out of Right Field. I don't have a handle on that school yet. I have asked rabbis and teachers in the community what their story is and got different responses. Some said that the boys there are "troubled", were kicked out of schools around the tri-state area and the school was trying to straighten them out. Others said that they were from wealthy homes, were going into family businesses and the parents just wanted to get them through high school and keep them out of trouble until they could either ship them off to Israel or go into the family business. (this is a minority but typical way of thinking in many ethnic groups) I really don't know the true story yet, but I'm running away from these people as fast as I can!!!!

Anonymous said...

Lola-

Thank you.

Out Of Rightfield said...

Yes, Karen, these stations did go off the air because of economic reasons. There was more money to be made by playing Spanish music.
That's the problem!!!!!
If the Hispanics learned English and listened to English stations we would have an even playing field and with 50 stations, let's say, in the NYC market, we'd have enough stations to satisfy every taste in music and talk. But BECAUSE of the Hispanics, we have 15 or so stations broadcasting in Spanish and screwing the English speakers, get it?

What Lola Wants said...

Ho hum, Out of Rightfield, move on from this Spanish music stuff. Why do you love to argue so much? Do you not feel heard in life?

Out Of Rightfield said...

Karin,
The black hat yeshivas, with some exceptions, stress the Judaic part of the curriculum and teach only the most basic secular studies, as required by law.
I speak from personal knowledge, having had many relatives in these schools in Brooklyn.
Shame on them.

Out Of Rightfield said...

Sorry Lola, I miss Kenny Rogers and The Human League.

What Lola Wants said...

BINGO Out of Right Field! You JUST proved my much earlier point about not being educated! If you (or anyone)socialzes with uneducated people it starts to rub off!

Out Of Rightfield said...

I wouldn't say they're not educated, they're just not educated in the subjects which YOU think are important. They can out-Talmud you, that's for sure.

Anonymous said...

RF-

Oy Vey! Oy Vey!
Vat shall ve do???

Just for the record as an english/german/latin/farsi speaker I do not feel screwed by the hispanic radio stations!

Anonymous said...


The black hat yeshivas, with some exceptions, stress the Judaic part of the curriculum and teach only the most basic secular studies, as required by law.


Ignorance breeds ignorance!

What Lola Wants said...

Out of Rightfield,
you are such a baby. They can out-talmud me? Good that will be very good for them in this world. Let them try to make a living honestly and get off of the dole. This is the example you set up for your kids? No wonder the Jewish Day school curriculums in Bergen County are in trouble...

Karin,
I'M SO IMPRESSED that you are so multi lingual. I too took Latin in high school but unfortunately the only Latin I remember is church Latin. Yes, me, a nice Jewish girl. Just love that stuff. Give me a heartfelt mass or requium any time and I'm in heaven!

Oh, and by the way Out of Rightfield? One of the Jewish Day Schools in NY does offer Latin AND the classics in high school and has many kids going to the Ivys. They are not interested in being "out talmuded". They are interested in making a living and being a kiddush hashem in the world (Karin - kiddus hashem - sancitification of God's name in other words, a stellar and good example).

Anonymous said...

LOLA-

I'M SO IMPRESSED that you are so multi lingual. I too took Latin in high school but unfortunately the only Latin I remember is church Latin. Yes, me, a nice Jewish girl. Just love that stuff. Give me a heartfelt mass or requium any time and I'm in heaven!

you are too funny Lola dear! I learned Latin while my son was taking it and loved it, and heck the only thing that it is good for outside of the medical field or improving your english SAT scores is Church/Mass :) Heck I can now attend a Latin Mass and follow along without any problems or if the occasion arises I can speak to the Pope.
I grew up speaking german and farsi I picked up in my teens. I do speak spanish too, but I only know the bad words (HEHE!!) so I would not be able to converse with others but I could cuss them out!

Oh, and by the way Out of Rightfield? One of the Jewish Day Schools in NY does offer Latin AND the classics in high school and has many kids going to the Ivys. They are not interested in being "out talmuded". They are interested in making a living and being a kiddush hashem in the world (Karin - kiddus hashem - sancitification of God's name in other words, a stellar and good example).

Lola that is totally cool! And thank you for the translation.

What Lola Wants said...

Karin,
A few years ago my husband and I were invited to Rome for a conference at the Vatican (no, unfortunately we did not meet the Pope) but I took some quicky Italian classes to get by (it is VERY important to know how to ask where the bathrooms are in a foreign country!). I found that my Latin did help quite a bit and I picked it up faster than any other quicky languages that I have had to learn.

I know that this is your faith and I don't want you to think that I am making fun, but I DO miss the Latin Masses, I'm a traditionalist (duh, that's why I'm an Orthodox Jew) By the way, the Sanctus part of the Mass is the exact same thing as one of the holiest parts of Jewish prayer. Word for word. How cool is that???

What Lola Wants said...

By the way, the Pope speaks German. That's his first language. They offer Mass in Rome in Italian, not Latin. I was SO disappointed!

Anonymous said...

By the way, the Pope speaks German. That's his first language. They offer Mass in Rome in Italian, not Latin. I was SO disappointed!

Oh yeah german rrrocks (notice my r rolling) :)
And I have been to the Vatican several times and while I like the Italian mass I do wish they would have one mass in Latin...give us traditionalists something to drool over (so to speak)

I know that this is your faith and I don't want you to think that I am making fun, but I DO miss the Latin Masses, I'm a traditionalist (duh, that's why I'm an Orthodox Jew) By the way, the Sanctus part of the Mass is the exact same thing as one of the holiest parts of Jewish prayer. Word for word. How cool is that???

LOL Lola! And no worries. I think it is cool that you an Orthodox Jew know the prayers of the mass in Latin...that is totally cool!
That is cool about the Sanctus, I did not know that!


Latin does help with the Romance Languages hence it helped with the Italian :) And yes it is very important to be able to ask where the WC is when in a foreign land!

Out Of Rightfield said...

The Pope speaks German because he's from Germany (and was a member of The Hitler Youth)

Anonymous said...

Duh RF didn't Lola say that German was the Pope's first language?!

And what is your point about the Hitler Youth? He joined at the age of 14 AS WAS REQUIRED of the youth at the time.

Out Of Rightfield said...

And the concentration camp workers were REQUIRED to kill the Jews. That makes it right?
The "I was required" to do it excuse was heard countless times at the Nuremburg trials, and rejected EVERY TIME.

What Lola Wants said...

Out of Rightfield,
You are such an asshole. I DARE anyone to hold an adult to the standards and things they did in their childhood!!! Are YOU that innocent? If you knew anyone who was in Germany or Austria during WWII who was non Jewish (oops! probably impossible since you are such an isolationist) you would know that many adults had their kids join the Hitler Youth to SAVE THEIR OWN SKINS!

Don't you believe in Repentance? Ach! So close to Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur! I would hate to be a child in your house, you judge people harsher than God judges. Shame on you for not knowing facts. Oh! That's right! You don't want to know about how the rest of the world thinks if they are not Jewish. I forgot.

This Pope has been wonderful for the Jews. He has reached out time and again. And the Jews are reaching back. Even Orthodox Jews.

Sheesh, you are soooo into fighting! I really would hate to live in your house!

What Lola Wants said...

Out of Right Field,
I know that you would probably feel that you would get cooties if you touched a book written by Pope Benedict XVI, but it is worth reading Jesus of Nazareth. Don't be scared, it will not convert you but it will give you intellectual insight as to the Pope's theology and Jesus being a Jew.

I know I'm just screaming in the wind. As I said, you will probably think that the book will give you cooties.

Anonymous said...

Lola thank you.

RF-

Your post is not even worthy of me replying.
Your ignorance is shining through!

Out Of Rightfield said...

Lola, if you are an orthodox jew as you claim to be, you would know of the prohibition of meeting with the pope.
I am the daughter of a Holocaust survivor. My father was placed with a Christian woman to save his life. I now have hardly any cousins on my dad's side because ALL his aunts and uncles (except for one) was MURDERED in Auschwitz and Sobibor by Germans who were just doing what they were REQUIRED to do. So no, I will not forgive any Nazi, whether he is now hiding in Argentina or is the pope.
Too bad if you think I'm ignorant. I'm sure you were one of those Jews who thought Yasser Arafat (may he rot in hell) also changed his ways later in life after having gallons of Jewish blood on his hands.
Forgive and forget does not apply to Nazis or Arab terrorists.

Anonymous said...

Well lets get something straight RF-

the definition of a Nazi is:
Nazi - Abbreviation for National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP)
http://www.holocaustcenterbuff.com/vocabulary.htm#n

Now since Pope Benedict 16th was never part of the party he was never a Nazi :)

Now you may argue since he worked for the Nazi army he was a Nazi but let me ask you if I work for a Jew does that make me a jew? Of course not just as if you worked for a Muslim that does not make you a Muslim.

Out Of Rightfield said...

He worked for the Nazis? No. He was a member of the Hitler Youth.
If I am a member of Al Qaeda, what does that make me? An innocent bystander?

Anonymous said...

LOL RF!

So what he was 14 and HE HAD TO JOIN, no ifs and or buts about it. As a minor child what do you suggest that he should of done? Not join and risk his life?

Anonymous said...

Also RF I point out to you again he NEVER JOINED THE NAZI PARTY, so while he may of been a Hitler Youth for a short period of time that does not make him a Nazi, as the Nazi's were a political party, kinda like the Democrats and Republicans

What Lola Wants said...

Ok, NOW I understand. There have been all kinds of medical studies done on the mental illness of the daughters of holocaust survivors. Yes, the daughters. The findings have been that they are affected more than the sons. I guess you are one of those.

Hmmmm prohibition of meeting the Pope? Where is that written? Please give me a source. Is it the same made up source that Jews are not allowed to own dogs because dogs gave away Jews that were hiding from the non-Jews by barking? Narishkeit. Nonsense. Ignorance and stupidity. I just love you ignorant morons who make up their own religions.

Along your lines of made up reasoning, then the chief rabbi of Rome (Orthodox) who met with the Pope blew it. Is he going straight to hell? I have a photo of the 2 of them them hugging. Not photo shopped, and I know for a fact it happened. Rabbi Lau, Rabbi Metzger (chief rabbis of Israel) are also in hot water according to you. I'm sure that I can think of many others because there is NO assur (prohibition) except in your warped mind but its too late at night. Wow actual proof that the daughters of holocaust survivors are raised in a world of mental illness.

I feel horribly for anyone who was put through the horrors of that time in the 20th century, but you can't make it your religion or it warps you. You are proof. Do you use any goods manufactured in Britian? How about the massacures at York? Do you pick and chose who to hate or hate anyone who is not Jewish?

"If I am a member of Al Qaeda, what does that make me? An innocent bystander?"
Hmmmm your father was placed with a Christian woman during the war so I guess that makes him a Christian!!! Why would anyone have anything to do with you who denies her Christian roots?????!!!!!

Yeshiva Dad said...

I don't wan't to get involved in this discussion but I wanted to set the record straight on the current Pope & his wartime actions. Read this article from the NY Times:

http://bc.edu/research/cjl/meta-elements/texts/cjrelations/topics/new_pope_defied_nazis.htm

Yeshiva Dad said...

That didn't work - the URL was too long.

Here it is from TinyURL:

http://tinyurl.com/5fqmjr

PublicSchoolParent said...

THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT'S WRONG WITH OPEN COMMENTS.

What starts out as a pretty good (IMO) comment on the Teaneck International Film Festival degenerates into an arguement about what the Pope did or did not do during WW II -- and does it by way of another senseless argument about Spanish speaking immigrants! Unbelievable! As my father used to say to me while I was watching The Beverly Hillbillies, "The morons are taking over everything!"

Anonymous said...

Public School Parent,
The owner of this blog changed the topic and tends to bait people