Friday, April 17, 2009

The last of the Litvaks

So here I am, at an obscene time of the night, listening to Yosef Karduner's a capella; and now it's the same style from the Friedman family. My point? Pesach has passed over, and now we're in that six week period between the festival of Matzos and Pentecost, characterized by a severe lack of hair cutting and other forms of merriment. The more religious/gullible among us also refrain from listening to proper music, and so we're left with vocal efforts. Happens to be that these two albums were excellently produced, but they still can't compare to the majesty that is any one of the old MBD or Avraham Fried albums. Oh well, what can be done?

Meanwhile, in other news, this afternoon I walked a disappointing 9.6 miles from beautiful S. Paul, MN, to not-quite-so beautiful but-not-entirely-without-charm S. Louis Park. I call the walk disappointing because I thought it nearer to thirteen or fourteen miles than sub-ten, but I suppose I'll get over it. Every year there's a, in the words of Rabbi Lieff, "Neilas Hachag, or as it's known here, Seudas haGra, or as it's known by Chassidim, Moshiach Seudah." A wit among us (moi) suggested that in fact it was not only the neilas hachag but also the neilas harav. That's right, Rabbi Lieff is leaving the community, moving onto greener pastures, i.e. the Agudah Shul on Nostrand and Avenue L. What will next year bring? Who knows? I for one can't wait to find out.

37 comments:

e said...

subscribe do I subscribe.

Dovid said...

I think pentecost means sukos not shavuos

Just like a guy said...

e: You know that I've started talking like this? It's really annoying.

Dovid: no, sukkos is the feast of tabernacles. anyway, what does pentecost mean? fifty days, or something like that.

bonne said...

obscene time being 3:39 am?

le7 said...

Yeah e. so did I. Even TRS pointed out that I do it too. Thanks a lot do I thank you.

Just like a guy said...

sara: bingo

Yitzchak said...

seudas haGra? you've gotta be kidding me.

Just like a guy said...

Really? It's fake? I always thought there was something suspicious about it...

e said...

Le7 and TRS: my little bro pointed out that we started this mishegas exactly one year ago. I claim that he started it, but he claims that I started out. Agree we can agree that last Pesach started it was.

Just like a guy said...

And end it shall you end it?

Yitzchak said...

TRS: Litvaks call it neilas hachag and eat our standard shalshudus fare. Descendants of the besht call it "seudas habesht" and eat toasted kneidlach among other allegedly symbolic things and tell the maaseh shelo haya about his trip to the Holy Land. Chasidim and MO chasid wannabes of all types and stripes call it seudas hamoshiach.
e: Like a cross between Yoda and Nosson Scherman's translation of סקול יסקל this sounds.

e said...

of course not.

Anarchist Chossid said...

Who cares what people call it? There are two groups of people: those that come together and drink, eat, sing, and give annoying little vorts and those that have seudas Mashiach (whatever they call it).

e said...

CA: you exclusionary fundamentalist you.

Anarchist Chossid said...

Thank you I do.

I may be a fundy, but I happen to know that this also sounds like Domovoi character from Quest for Glory IV computer game.

Can one be a fundy and an ex-nerd?

Anarchist Chossid said...

By the way, this Shabbos I may have converted an atheist into a proto-Chossid. That’s a life worth living — coming to local Chabad House Friday night and preying on unsuspecting freshman apikorsim.

e said...

If it happened that quick, I'd be very wary.

Yitzchak said...

CA: annoying little vorts I suppose you mean what I heard at my local chabad house?

Just like a guy said...

Depends who was saying them.

Anarchist Chossid said...

Precisely. Just like the same day can be a Shabbos for a Jew and a Saturday for a goy, the same seuda can be a bunch of drinks, food, and (I still haven’t found the right word) speeches for one person and seudas Mashiach for another.

Anarchist Chossid said...

Re: atheist — I said “proto”. The seed is planted. The man finds the idea of every single act in life being bottul to Eibeshter natural.

Yitzchak said...

I believe the word you are searching for is BFM. Also, it can be neilas hachag which is not really seudas Mashiach even though it happens at the same time. Seudas mashiach refers to a meal in honor of mashiach and expressing hope that he will come BB"A. THe other is a meal in honor of the chag and not mashiach. Seudas hagra is just some people who want to blend the worst aspects of chasidus with the worst aspects of snagginess.

Anarchist Chossid said...

Honor-shmonor. Exactly.

le7 said...

What's a seudas hagra? When I googled it, the search brought me to a bunch of arabic sites and this here fine internet establishment.

Just like a guy said...

Ask lieff.

Anarchist Chossid said...

I haven’t found the word I was looking for (it sound like “precipious”), but I am trying to choose between “sappy”, “garish” and “ostentatious”.

Just like a guy said...

You mean pretentious?

Anarchist Chossid said...

Nope.

Just like a guy said...

Well tell us when you figure it out.

Anarchist Chossid said...

Finally! I went from sappy to mawkish — and then found it. The word that describes at the same time snagginess and pseudo-chassidishness and MOness.

Insipid.

That’s why I love English language.

Just like a guy said...

Insipid: Like a bad cup of tea.

Anarchist Chossid said...

You should send this to Aish as a proposed motto.

e said...

what's BFM?

Just like a guy said...

CA: I believe they already have one: Burning bridges one Jew at a time.

e: eh?

Aish PR said...

Our motto is:
And the televangelists think they're whacked.

Just like a guy said...

Cute

Chabad PR said...

Our motto is:
beating Rick Warren at his own game on one show a year.