Great Classical Music

Here are some of my favorite classical music:

Fifth and Ninth Symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven
The Magic Flute by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
The Messiah by George Frederick Handel
The Brandenburg Concerto by Johann Sebastian Bach
The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi

Great paintings

I have traveled the world and visited some of the great art museums. I would like to share with you some of my favorite paintings and art:

The Mona Lisa by Leonardo de Vinci
Portrait of the Artist's Mother by James McNeil Whistler
The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh
Water Lilies by Claude Monet
The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali
The Last Supper and statute of David by Michelangelo
and
The Jerusalem Windows by Marc Chagall

Picture of Joel at a very early age

The picture was taken of Joel and Jerry Batalsky around 1944 at Gimbel Brothers Department Store in Philadelphia, Pa. Joel was 4 years old and Jerry was 5 years old at the time of this picture.

Trip to Israel and Jordan

I am writing this blog on Tuesday, Dec 21, 2010. Anne and I are planning to visit Israel and Jordan starting on Jan 18 and coming back on Jan 22,2011. We are planning the trip now to see the major sites in both Israel and Jordan as well as meeting Jamie (Anne's cousin) who has been in Jordan the last five years building a film school. When I return I will write a short blog about my experiences and have many pictures to show.

Hebrew Bible

I have been asked to give the sermon at Congregation Israel in San Antonio, Texas on Friday, Dec 4, 2010. Instead of reading or speaking about the portion of the week (Torah, I have decided to talk about the Hebrew Bible and Spirituality. So, here are my thoughts:

The Hebrew Bible is composed of the following books: The first five books is called the Torah, the next section is the prophets, and the final section is called the writings. Together it makes 24 books and it is called the Tanakh. In order to understand the Hebrew Bible you need to read the Talmud. The Talmud is composed of the mishna plus the gemora. These are writings on the Torah that helps us understand it. For example think of an oil well. Can we use the oil that comes out of the ground? No! It first has to be refined to be used for practical purposes. This is like the process that the Talmud filters the teachings in the Torah so that we can understand it. Next we have codes, Responsa, kabbalah, mussar etc. Therefore we are not the people of the book, WE ARE THE PEOPLE OF THE LIBRARY!

New subject: Spirituality - Most Jews do not join synagogues because of a lot of reasons being money, polictics, etc. I believe that they do not understand religion or the meaning of being a Jew. Most Jews were taught some Hebrew and prayers for their Bar/Bat Mitsvah and a little bit of holidays and culture. This was not enough.

Everyone is looking for pleasure, happness or meaning in their life. Perhaps it would be best to define the difference between religion and spirituality.

Spirituality is about how you see the world and what matters to you the most. Spirituality is not something that comes from the outside in, but is something you already possess. In fact, it is who you are. Spirituality is internal while religion is external. Religion is based is a set of beliefs found in a bible. Spirituality is different for each individual. I like to think of it as being positive and looking for the beauty and the best in everyone and everything. I believe more Jews today are looking for swpirituality and meaning in their life and not finding it in the Temples and synagogues. In fact there are now three Spiritual Centers in the United States: one in California, Flordia, and New York City. These Spiritual Centers require solitude and silence. Spritual mentors don't lecture or scold, and do not advise or preach--they simply share their life's journey They are interested in the truth about themselves, their relationships and about their life. Spirituality is a process. It is a journey. It is about the truth that is planted deep inside you. In fact, "The twelve steps" is a spiritual program utilized to battle addiction to alcohol, drugs, food, gambling, and smoking. This is one of the best practical guides to spiritual living.

I believe that Texas can support a spiritual center.

The death of a boyhood friend

Recently I learned that my high school classmate, Ed Eglowsky died on August 26, 2010. I immediately started telephoning my former classmates and friends who knew ed to discuss his life with them. The question that they kept asking me is why am I so upset with his death. My answer is as follows:

I am upset with any person's death when I personally knew the individual. This is the way I am. Ed ws not perfect. He had a lot of faults. One being he did not keep in touch with people. However we all have faults.

I am also upset because I believe that my former school classmates both in college and elswhere as well as friends throughout my 70 years of life may be influencing this world by the way they vote and voice their opinions. What a concept! I had problems with them then and I probably still will have problems with them now.

I am also upset about the following events happening in this world:

Endless War. Not only the ones that get reported but the "hidden wars" where we got troops on "trainers" stationed in them. The U.S. Army is in 192 countries. I believe that in the future we will have to restore order in these countries. In addition the individual and corporate lust for wealth and power will continue to give us war and occupation like it is in Afganistan and Iraq.

I am upset about efforts to feed our addiction to fossil fuels. If we can ever control our addiction, we will be about to change the world for the better.

I am upset about the endless surges of racism and homophobia. Pleasle in the media keep stirring the pots of the "scapegoat stew."

I am upset because we have become victimized by the food industry and their handmaidens the chemical industry. Everyone must see the movie "Food Inc." Look around you and see how many adults and children suffer from obesity and diabetes.

Finally I am upset that people do not realize that science does not and cannot solve ethical problems. Religion deals with ethics not science. Ethics must be taught to everyone. Again everyone needs to watch "American Greed" on CNBC.

Guess what - all the above mentioned issues are connected!!

Yes, I am upset about Ed's death. When do we get it: "Love your neighbor as yourself."

Why I am a liberal Jew

I thought I would share with you my opinion why most Jews are liberal and why I am a liberal Jew.

It is an important teaching of Judaism that our money is not really ours, no matter how hard we may have worked for it. Money is a gift from God, and God has instructed us to share a portion of it with the less fortunate. We can do this directly through our own tzedaka or through the government's social programs. I believe we have to do both. The liberal Democrats in the history of the country have always voted for social programs i.e. social security, health care, etc.

According to the Book of Deuteronomy, "For the poor shall never cease out of the land; therefore, I command you to open your hand to your poor and needy brother." In other words, because there will always be poor people, society or the government has to find a way of helping people.

The conservative Republicans have voted traditionally against all social programs yet they encourage the spending of trillion of dollars on defense. Having been in the military for over 26 years I have experienced the huge dollar waste in the Department of Defense. In fact the current Secretary of Defense have spoken about the waste of funds yet the Republican members of Congress do not get it!

I believe that my goal as a Jew is to constantly try to capture the feeling of standing at Sinai and bring holiness into my life by sanctifying even ordinary moments. Helping people will achieve this goal as an individual or through government.


I hope that by reading this E-mail you will be able to understand why I and most Jews are liberal.