Been There Wrecked That!
And all I got was this lousy t-shirt. ;-)
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
November 11, 2021
November 10, 2021
The Amazing Turtle
November 9, 2021
Colorful Drinking
November 8, 2021
November 6, 2021
Jewish Unity Is Strength
It didn’t matter what race or nationality the person who had been hit by the car was, she was a human being in pain and who needed the help of others. We Jews need to remember that this is life in a nutshell. Life can change in split instance for better or G-d forbid, for worse. We need one another. No man is an island. We can’t afford to play holier than thou with anyone else. Only G-d can judge who is really “religious” and who is wanting.
It brought to my mind the irony that with the Jewish people, we are a small minority in the world, and yet we often disagree, fight, and can be intolerant and neglectful of one another despite facing anti-Semitism and other crises. This is far from the ideal of demonstrating love and acceptance, unifying ourselves together, and becoming as strong and effective as a “light unto nations” that we could and should be.
We can have our personal and communal ideals and standards, but at the same time have empathy for the journey that people are on. Therefore, we should strive to treat each other with kindness and tolerance and put aside the lofty and phony airs of personal judgement and exclusivity. Because in the end, no one knows who is laying next on the street waiting for that ambulance to come.
(Credit Painting: Dannielle Blumenthal)
November 4, 2021
Hatchet Halloweenie
November 3, 2021
Bath Time Ducks
November 2, 2021
Delicious Knafeh
November 1, 2021
Sleep Apnea and Respiratory Disorders
You can get full face, nasal mask (2 versions), or nasal "pillows".
How does one choose? I guess your doctor knows.
Looks challenging to try and sleep with these, but I guess you may have to do what you have to do.
At least, there are therapeutic options these days, and hopefully many more in the future for all the illnesses out there! ;-)
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
(Note: Not intended as medical advice in any way!)
October 31, 2021
What’s Your Kindness
When we are happy, we are able to graciously and generously give to others, and when we give to others, we are able to be happy! All the other pursuits in life such as wealth, ego, good looks, and so on are nothing but vanities (like King Solomon said in Ecclesiastes), and in the end lead to nothing but loss and suffering. However, giving and the happiness and positive spiritual energy it creates endures.
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
October 29, 2021
Japanese Umbrella
October 28, 2021
Horse on Blue
October 27, 2021
Metaverse Arriving Soon
October 26, 2021
October 25, 2021
Looking Up
October 24, 2021
October 23, 2021
Love Your Family As The Stranger
When it comes to strangers, it’s almost easier to put on a face, act all proper, and do what’s right because they aren’t our family, thus Avraham could run to help the strangers. Yet, when it comes to our own families, we don’t feel it necessary to keep up pretenses. We sometimes say and do things to family that we would likely never say to or do in front of strangers, like Avraham telling Hagar and Ishmael to get out! We may even betray and hurt the ones we love, like when Avraham said Sarah was his sister putting her at jeopardy with Avimelekh. Further, we “sacrifice” our children and spouses by putting our work (sometimes 24/7), social media, and our own brand and needs first, and don’t adequately pay attention to what’s really going on with our families, their needs, aspirations, and troubles; for example, Avraham was going to sacrifice Isaac, his and Sarah’s only child and “the son of her old age.” We take for granted and even advantage of our families, because we can. And some at the further bad end of the spectrum, “go home and kick the dog!” Yes, the pictures that everyone posts on Facebook and Instagram are what people want you to see and think about them (their personal brand): that everything’s all rosy and they have the perfect lives and families, but I venture to guess that often, it’s far from the reality of what goes on “behind closed doors.”All of us need to pay attention and do what’s right not only when we want to look good in front of others, but knowing that even in our own homes, G-d is watching what we do and how we treat each other.
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
October 22, 2021
Lime Green Bowl
October 21, 2021
Buddha Planter
October 20, 2021
Politically Incorrect Ointment
Didn't think any legitimate product would actually be named "Butt Paste."
Can you imagine going up to the pharmacist and asking:
Do you have any butt paste?
Pharmacist:
Oh yes, it's in Aisle 7. Do you want me to show you where it is?
Now, we're really going down a rabbit's hole! ;-)
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
October 19, 2021
Choose A Doll
October 18, 2021
Weight Discrepancy
October 17, 2021
Moving Me Down The Highway
October 15, 2021
Our World of Fake News
Fake news about Israel and the Jews continues to proliferate from many mainstream news sources that have sold out to the devil any credibility, they may have one had. Whether it’s the “Failing New York Times,” “Fake News CNN” or any other of the notorious media sources that are alleged to report biased, tainted news, unfortunately, it seems like a virtual non-stop barrage of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic spewing. It may be overt or more subtle, but there are organizations like Honest Reporting that are tracking and calling out the false news reporting for the lies that they are.Whether it’s 1984 “Big Brother” telling you what to think and do or the media twisting the truth so that’s unrecognizable anymore, this is dangerous not only to the Jews as scapegoats, but to the souls, freedom and future of our world.
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
October 14, 2021
Fun Cars To Pretend
October 13, 2021
VW Love Van
The Hippie generation knew just how to make them gorgeous.
Peace, Love, Rock and Roll!
And the rainbow streaks and flowers for added good cheer.
If VW would make these already with the paint job with all this expression, I bet they would sell like hotcakes! ;-)
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
October 12, 2021
Eye Earrings
October 11, 2021
October 10, 2021
The Mother of all Cactus Needles
When I checked out from the store with this deadly plant, the cashier oulls the cactus from the shopping cart and gets one of the pins stuck right in her finger.
It was just sort of caught there with the other end hanging out a couple of inches from her finger.
A little shocked and not sure what to say, I just sort of stumbled "Oh, Are you okay? I so sorry!"
She said she was and reached over and plucked the needle out holding her hand limply in the other.
On the way home then, this guy says to me, "you better not sit on that thing."
Ah yeah, you're not kidding! ;-)
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
October 9, 2021
Light at the End of The Ark
Why was Noah commanded to build a skylight in the ark?
Noah and all the fascinating people in the Bible weren’t just characters in a novel, but they were real people and they experienced up and downs, as we all do in life. The key to remember is that there is always a window where we can see our relative good fortune and everything we have to be grateful for, where we can keep an eye on the light at the end of tunnel (as my father used to say about bad things, “this too shall pass”), and we can look up to our Father in Heaven and remember that He will bring deliverance to us. Even in the mightiest of floods that devastated the world, G-d was still there for us, and He was, is, and always will be!
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
October 8, 2021
He Who Saves A Life
We all know the Jewish dictum of “He who save a life, saves the world.” In Judaism, every single life is invaluable, and hence we are even allowed to violate the holy Shabbat for the preservation of human life (“Pikuach Nefesh“). Similarly, when it came to a prisoner exchange for IDF Sargent first Class, Gilad Shalit, who had been held by Hamas terrorists for five years (2006-2011), Israel exchanged1,027 Palestinians in a prisoner exchange for Shalit. Life is truly sacred to the Jewish people.
This week, I had the opportunity to meet and hear from members of Israel Air Force’s Elite Search and Rescue, Unit 669, at Magen David Synagogue in Rockville, Maryland. There I was reminded of the brave Israeli soldiers who not only defend the holy land and people of Israel, but also who are there to search for missing soldiers and rescue them and civilians “regardless of location or conditions” when faced with war, terrorism, or other disaster. Soldiers from unit 669 go into every possible dangerous situation, and under fire, to save lives at whatever cost to themselves.
(Source Photo: Flikr)
Beautiful Bonsai Tree
The way it is on one hand natural and on the other hand "sculpted" by people.
Sort of a metaphor for life, where G-d gives us the raw material and asks us to go do good with it.
G-d creates and people shape that creation.
Beautiful partnership makes a beautiful Bonsai! ;-)
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
October 7, 2021
Pineapple Umbrella Drinks
October 6, 2021
Hat of Hats
October 5, 2021
Fish of the Sea
October 4, 2021
October 2, 2021
True Meaning of Torah Observant
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
October 1, 2021
September 30, 2021
A Soul-Stirring Holocaust Memorial
As we recently completed the Jewish high holidays between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, a time of Judgment, and we ask G-d to forgive us, so we are told that we are asked to forgive others. However, can we ever really forgive the magnitude and cruelty of this genocidal crime to the Jewish people? I don’t think that is really humanly possible to forgive the premeditated and scientifically executed, brutal murder of a third of all Jews in the entire world. However, I do thank the artist, Wolfgang Stiller for his sentiments with the Magen David to remember and never forget the Holocaust, and most importantly, to never let it happen again! Finally, my hope is that this artwork memorializing the Holocaust finds a suitable home in perhaps Yad Vashem or other major Holocaust museum or exhibition where people can broadly experience and benefit from the important sentiments conveyed.
September 29, 2021
True Self Is Helping Others
The Rebbe’s message was that self-improvement was really about helping others! All the changes we commit to around the Jewish New Year and make in ourselves is not really about us, but rather about us being able to develop ourselves in order to “give it all away” to help others. Too often, people think in terms of self-help, self-improvement, where everything is sort of in terms, well, ourselves–my looks, my degrees, my career, my bank account, my family, and so on. However, people should not lose sight that everything that Hashem gives us is really for a higher spiritual purpose, for giving to others or “paying it forward.”
In this vein, we learn Torah not just for the sake of learning, but rather in order to actually do Mitzvot! Rabbi Kaplan explained that the Rebbe would make each and every person feel special and important. Why? Because by building up the individual, each could then go out and build up the world. And this is one of the reasons that I love and respect Chabad so much—from my experience, people like Rabbi Kaplan and Chabad in general, are all about living this life lesson from the Rebbe and giving, giving, and then giving some more in order to really improve the Jewish community globally and by extension the world.
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
September 28, 2021
September 27, 2021
Taste Like Nothing
It's hot in the Florida sun, especially at the beach.
So, I was interested in ordering a cup of Thai bubble tea with Boba.
I ask the lady:
What does it taste like?
Lady answers:
The boba [taste] is like nothing!
I ask:
Can you put in a lot of boba?
She says:
Tea sweet, but no more boba.
I ask:
Why?
She tells me:
Because it's nothing.
I try again:
But if it's nothing, why can't you put in some more?
She says:
It's tapioca, but it taste like nothing and I can only put in a handful.
My final try:
Ok, give me some Thai tea with the boba in it.
Lady:
Are you sure? It tastes like nothing.
Me:
Yes, yes, yes. I love boba with nothing taste, just make sure the tea is plenty sweet!
Like my dear dad used to say:
The food here is terrible, and on top of it the portions are too small! ;-)
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
September 26, 2021
September 25, 2021
Turning Nakba to Babka
The term Nakba, in relation to Israel, was actually was first used in August 1948 by Syrian Professor Constantin Zureiq not to condemn anything Israel did to the Palestinians, but rather is a call for the Arabs themselves whereby:
We must admit our mistakes…and recognize the extent of our responsibility for the disaster that is our lot.The displacement of the Palestinians and their refugee problem is attributed not primarily to Israel, but rather to the mistakes that the Palestinians and Arabs made themselves! So, while, the Arabs and Palestinians have tried to make Israel into the aggressor and blame them for their troubles, the truth of the matter is that the Palestinians Nakba is to a great extent caused by their own religious intolerance, gross hatred of the Jews, including the desire for their genocide, and that this has led them down a true disastrous path of Middle East recklessness and extremely bad decision making, over and over again.
The goods news is that in more recent times, the Arab nations are thank G-d changing their hostile approach to Israel and instead moving to make peace. Not only Egypt (1979) and Jordan (1993), but in the last year with the Abraham Accords with both the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, as well as with Sudan and Morocco normalizing relations with Israel. Even this morning, I was amazed once again to read an editorial in the Wall Street Journal calling for Iraq to join the Abraham Accords too! Of course, the hope is that more and more Arab countries as well as the Palestinians will choose the path of peace and collaboration with Israel, as Ben-Gurion had originally held out to them in 1948 (it’s never too late). The prophetic vision of swords turning to ploughshares is perhaps today’s turning of the shedding of tears and assigning blame over a perceived Nakba into sitting down together on Sukkot for a nice piece (peace) of chocolate babka!
September 23, 2021
Gourds Everywhere
September 22, 2021
Two Flutes Are Better Than One
September 21, 2021
What She Smoking?
September 20, 2021
In Case Of Emergency
September 19, 2021
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