Tuesday, July 29, 2008

The past behind

We are currently in the period between the 17th of Tammuz and the 9th of Av which is known as the three weeks. These three weeks are a traditional time of mourning for the Jewish people, as they commemorate the destruction of the Temples in Jerusalem. Our sages teach us that the destruction of the first Temple came about because the Jews were guilty of the three cardinal sins; murder, illicit carnal knowledge, and idolatry. The second Temple was destroyed because of baseless hatred between one Jew and another. As you can probably guess, being a jerk is a big sin.
All this leads us to a nice little issue: how do we stop being jerks? This isn't only a Jewish question of course. Many people throughout the world would be a lot happier if they stopped being mean. So why don't they stop? Maybe because they don't know how?
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The above was a public informational message, brought to you by the corporation for public blogging and the TRS charitable trusts, both of which are always happy to accept your donations at www.therealshliach.blogspot.com/kesef. The purpose of this message was to inform the general readership that unless they can all settle down and behave themselves, this blog will begin to look like the message displayed above. No more will commenters have free reign; no longer will snark be an excuse for intelligence; history itself will come crashing down and pulverize the poor minions gathered below.
Some people today made some comments which I intended to respond to, but then they made it clear that they weren't interested in my response. This annoyed me for a couple of reasons: first of all, it's not nice to judge someone without allowing them to respond to accusations, and second of all, it denied me the chance to have a nice long post; if anyone doesn't like tonight's shtuff, well, blame the brave commenters who can't even leave a name to go with their diatribe.
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In conclusion, I'd just like to say that loving your fellow man is a tried and true method. What this method accomplishes? I'm not quite sure.

34 comments:

Anonymous said...

I HATE YOU

Just like a guy said...

Now now boys and girls, just ignore the strange man who walked into the room a few minutes ago; that's Eliezer's alter-ego uncle, and even though he drools uncontrollably, we shouldn't laugh or gouge out his eyes.

Anonymous said...

Alef) Calm your nervous liver.
Beis) What diff. does it really make whether my name is Yanky, Chanan, Sara, or Rochel? It wouldn't change the message.
Gimmel)The reason I said not to bother answering was a)because that is what Nemo said and b)because I am not interested in arguing. I thought that perhaps you would be interested in the message, take it, realize that you have erred and make amends....(A while ago,there was another case where I mentioned to a certain blogger something that in my opinion was inappropriate - to his credit, he took my words seriously - I guess he is a more emeser bochur.) And no, I don't go around telling everyone what to do.
Daled) Just because someone points out something to you, does NOT mean that there is a lack of love. L'hefech, only because I love you and care about you, do I mention it. To someone you don't care about you don't bother. Right?
Hey) Hey you.
Vov)I was very happy to see someone apologize to someone else (don't remember who), that was a brave act.
Zayin) Zzzzzz.... very late.

Alls well ends well.

Leo de Toot said...

Dear Mr. Real Shliach:

Concerning is the fact that the causes of the destruction of each Temple are now all operative at the same time i.e. the three cardinal sins and baseless hatred are rampant among the Jewish people. Apart from the obvious solution i.e. major improvements all round (which doesn't seem likely), things are not looking good for Temple #3. Are they?

Feeling doomed,

L d T.

Anonymous said...

what about a merkos shlichus report? you did nothing for the last 3 days?

Just like a guy said...

Passerby: Bichlal, I'm impressed that you came back; didn't you say that you had better ways to waste your time, or something like that? As for the Taanos: 1. L'mailah you provide a reason to do so...
2. When you're identity is known, when there's some form of accountability, then words are tempered and tempers do not flare.
3. Again, you assume that I accept your message, without giving me a chance to justify my actions. Once again, you are simply judging me without giving me a chance to respond. This is America, where there is a presumption of innocence.
4. Major Lav Davka. I know many people who are quite happy to point out perceived faults in others; it's not that they're kind, they're just vindictive, spiteful types.
5. Alive?
6. Clap...Clap...Clap...
7. Wake up, everybody say Wake up...

Much ado about nothing

Just like a guy said...

LdT: Hope springs eternal in the human breast. But seriously, as Norm Coleman constantly quotes, the word is a scale, a balance; this is probably a topic that deserves more than a quick comment, but it's not as dire as it seems. Or maybe it is. Anyway...

Anon: This is what, the third time that I'm dealing with this issue? Go read http://therealshliach.blogspot.com/2008/07/rain-in-connecticut.html

Nemo said...

Honestly Passerby, I have no idea what you're talking about. You speak in generalities about this blog being so un-Chassidish and what an embarrassment it is to the Rebbe, but I don't see what the issue is. Is it the Charles Schultz quote? Or is it that females commented? Perhaps it's that a Bochur writes candidly for a change?

What's your issue?

Nemo said...

TRS- Wow, I just read that line quoted in a book and I meant to look it up, but couldn't remember the line. Good timing!

Anonymous said...

TRS, they always come back!

e said...

Pardon my ignorance, does Norm Coleman really say that?

e said...

LTD, you're forgetting that mitzvot accumulate from generation to generation whereas avairot don't.

I'm really impressed how you managed to dress up your comment in such high-falutin language. I don't think I could do that.

Anonymous said...

Nemo - It was the whole lingo and "the real shliach" didn't put a stop to it or delete it forever. That's it.

YochananG Aust said...

if you are just a Passerby how come you are commenting so often

YochananG Aust said...

TRS: i liked the MS reports please restart them

Nemo said...

What lingo?

Is there a Chassidishe Inyan to "put a stop to it or delete it forever?"

I mean, you're making all sorts of serious accusations about TRS being an embarrassment, not being a Shliach of the Rebbe, not living up to a title and acting immature; but have you any standard for making those accusations? What, in your estimation - being the accuser and the one fatally embarrassed - was his crime?

e said...

Go Nemo! Passerby, support your accusations!

Anonymous said...

Oh and now Eliezer is the moderator?

Anonymous said...

Actually I very much agree and support what 'passerby' said. What started out innocent and fine turned ugly. Both the language and the content are embarrassing to read-all the more so if it's coming from someone who claims to be a shliach of the rebbe. Which mission exactly are you helping the Rebbe fulfill?

Nemo said...

Sabra- Who said the ugly "language and content?" Was it the person who "claims to be a shliach of the rebbe," or one of the commenters on the blog?

When did anyone claim that this blog was out to help the Rebbe fulfill a mission?

Just like a guy said...

Holy smokes! I go and do Mivtzoyim for five or six hours, and I miss a whole conversation! Nu nu.

Just like a guy said...

Now for the responses. First of all, thank you all my defenders. Specifics...
Nemo: Glad to be of service.
Eliezer: That line was supposed to say "world", not "word". And yes, I've heard him say it several times in speeches, and they weren't to Lubavitch crowds either. In fact, he usually prefaces it by saying, "The Lubavitcher Rebbe would always say in the name of Maimonides..."
Simply put, Norm is a force for good.
Yochanan: As soon as something interesting happens...
Sabra: Are you the passerby or something?

e said...

Sabra, TRS was acting like any shliach would: he allowed everyone their first amendment rights. And then, when the dust cleared, he gave his own opinion, which actually happened to reflect that of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Shlita.

Passerby's incendiary remarks are unwarranted. BTW, anyone who hides behind an alias usually has something to hide. We're still waiting for passerby to comment with a real blogger account or at least hint to his identity.

Nemo said...

TRS- Wait, are you serving me or am I serving you?

Nemo said...

"the Lubavitcher Rebbe Shlita"

Indeed Eliezer, life is chock full o' surprises.

Anonymous said...

Y'all shooting the messenger so fiercely - it's impossible not to see past that and what lies behind ur offenses. interesting that nobody thought that perhaps passerby doesnt have a blog. nemo-don't play dumb. you know good and well that stayin silent shows sufficient support. you yourself, at one point, made sure to disassociate yourself from comments/commenters you deemed inappropriate.

Just like a guy said...

Funny, I was just blogging about this very issue. Sabra, Nemo, and Eliezer, could you please give me 45 minutes to respond properly? Otherwise this'll turn into a war and I'll be up until 3 again, which is not a time I'm particularly interested in seeing tonight.
Thanks all.

e said...

sabra, maybe he doesn't have a blog, but i bet he has a google account. I also have not blog, but when I'm not fooling around I use my google account

Nemo said...

Sabra - You're wrong.

I'm not shooting the messenger, I responded to the messenger's points.

I disassociated myself from that person because I felt what he was saying was so reprehensible, that even though we seemed to be saying the same thing, we were in fact ecumenically divided.

Just like a guy said...

I'm taking votes; Is Lina spam or not?

Nemo said...

And then they try to convince us you don't need word verification ...

Just like a guy said...

Oh, the pain and suffering of us bloggers. Where's Eliezer, this is all his fault!

YochananG Aust said...

nemo: when there is word verification allot of times i need to do it twice

e said...

I believe the benefits outweigh the costs. If our commenting habits and the evil forces of the internet's sapmming habits continue as they have the past couple days, we'll get approximately 200 comments for every spam message. That's worth it, no?