You’d think that somebody somewhere would have known better, but NOOOOO!. Here you have the false bravado of an inarticulate teenager countered by the ham handed tactics of Governor Brownback’s team of totalitarians. Great move team, thank you for validating an airhead whose contribution to free speech is to lie about a confrontation and then smear the Gov. with an ad hominem remark so popular with the unlettered youth of America. Sucking and blowing are two integral parts of breathing, but maybe I’m missing something here–might there be a disparaging innuendo afoot? I am being a little facetious here in case someone accuses me of being clueless.

It’s great to be an American where you can spread the word to your friends that the Governor blows and you are hailed as being independent minded,then catapulted into thousands of tweetie birds waiting to hear what profound pithy pearly aphorism should come before the herds. I really hate Twitter’s contribution to public discourse. I hate that Brownback’s office chose to apply China’s tactics toward a girl with limited influence, and intellect. I hate the fact that academics and first amendment advocates did not see that although she may have had been within her rights, some taken the high road.  Might someone have mentioned to her that if you wanted to be taken seriously in life, maybe you should try to add more than sucks and blows to your political commentary?  Might someone have said that even though one abhors the individual that the office still deserves some respect? There is nothing heroic in name calling, that its basically a cheap shot that reflects as much on you as it does the target?

For all of us who take freedom of speech issues seriously, are we happy with Emma Sullivan as being the standard bearer?  

On the coattails of this non-event comes a new book by Joseph Epstein on Gossip which is validated for its naughtiness, but chastened for its lack of seriousness. Jewish tradition sees nothing trivial about gossip, about gleaning pleasure from another’s woes, or circumstances.  Epstein admits that the missteps of so called celebrities hold little interest for him, but the tzuris of colleagues is irresistible.  Free speech as precious as it is without ethical moorings is profoundly corrosive. Emma Sullivan’s heroic status is a testimony to the narcissistic confidence of one who has nothing to say, but does so vehemently, confidently, loudly and publicly.

Secular and atheist enthusiasts bristle when elected leaders  pray to God for guidance when making critical decisions.  I, too, was deeply uncomfortable when God was implicated in political decisions.  At a glance, the atheists were more consistent than I was.  According to them, why consult an entity that didn’t exist, much less receive guidance from a delusion?  I, however, believe in God, so what’s my problem? Am I only religious when it has no political consequence, or is there a religious reason that creates this discomfort?

The Talmudic examples of prayer as petition reflect a need for a particular outcome.  God “speaks” through the healing of someone who is critically ill.  If one prays for success in a particular endeavor, he doesn’t ask God for advice, but humbly prays for success.  Jews pray for rain, but don’t ask God which crops should they plant. The person is aware that although necessary, his hard work is not sufficient to ensure success.  He therefor prays for a desired outcome.  He doesn’t presume that God will make decisions for him, and he therefore bears no responsibility. Au contraire, one assumes responsibility for decisions on the one hand, but humbly prays for success on the other.  Without the help of his “Partner”, the farmer’s hard work, and the attendant plans may be for naught.

To pray for rain, however, acknowledges a human can only do so much, and the rest is either left to chance or the Creator. To assume that prayer can provoke a conversation akin to the Prophets in the Hebrew Bible would mean that the petitioner was on their level, and that God would see him as worthy of such an encounter.  This, I think, is hubris bordering on arrogance.  The humility of praying for a positive outcome is worlds apart from praying to God to make a decision.  For in the end, who is responsible for that decision?

The Jewish version of praying to God to help effectuate a decision is the relatively recent phenomenon of da’as Torah where people go to a Torah personality, a godol, to help make decisions not necessarily related to Jewish law.  There is little Talmudic precedent for this, but, in this case people are deferring to the wisdom of someone whom they consider more capable. If the decision turns out to be undesirable there is a this worldly recourse for ones grievance.  The petitioner hears an answer from a real person who for whatever reason, he considers to be more capable than he is.

When, however, God is the adviser, we only have the petitioner’s word for it. Even for believers like myself, this should give one pause. Especially since the Talmud teaches that “After the destruction of the second Temple only fools and children give (and presumably receive) prophecy.” (Baba Batra 12b)

More than a handful of years ago, in a vainglorious attempt to accelerate the de-nerd-ification of  Hillel, there was a push to identify the least nerdy of contemporary icons who happened to be Jewish.  It didn’t matter how much they connected to us, we were going to claim our connection to them. The allure of a name like Winehouse, especially after Grammy award honors, was the new source of pride for the next generation of Jews.  As much as Hillel heralded her Jewishness six years ago, that was then. Now she no longer counts.  Not cool enough.

This whole issue of cool versus nerdy is possibly the falsest, lamest, and stupidest of dichotomies. For in undergraduate terms, a nerd might be defined as a student who appreciates her parents, makes good grades, and doesn’t get comatose on weekends. She may avoid piercings, tatoos, and prefer not to explore her sexuality, by allowing multiple partners to use her as a map to Nirvana.  The nerd doesn’t find it the least bit funny that there was a website lottery devoted to guessing when Ms Winehouse would finally peg out for the grand prize of an iPod.

Having values, and being grounded is definitely not cool, but it defines what most parents want for their children.

Hillel’s attempts at cool were never  particularly successful with the kids to whom they wished to target. Chabad, however, by being themselves, seemed to be much more attractive to those cool bad boys and girls.

Instead of the classic role models, Hillel went for edgy. They hired cool Jewishly ignorant kids to attract other cool Jewishly ignorant kids, to engage them in a Judaism that was as foreign as Zoroastrianism–but they were definitely not nerdy.  It is probably not great to define one’s mission on another’s terms.

It was, however, great for many of those who were hired because many of them  got genuinely interested in Jewish communal service, and a surprising percentage are still serving in Jewish organizations throughout the country. In the end, many have come to be educated Jews. The law of unintended consequences sometimes works in a people’s favor.

The early Zionists defined a new Jew, and brought thousands into their ranks.  It seemed to work better in Israel than in the diaspora where the once strongly felt cultural common denominator diminishes with time.  It is pathetic to hitch your wagon to one who makes not going into rehab an anthem. And what about poor, tragic Amy Winehouse who was only celebrated Jewishly when she was topping the charts while bottom feeding with a level of degeneracy that was virtually impossible to emulate.

Then, the glitter was gone,  the star appeal was replaced with missed performances, and   one debauched spectacle after another until finally, and, unspectacularly, at the age of twenty-seven, she died. This time, no comment from Hillel. What was once cool had become cold.

Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, and yes, Amy Winehouse, all died at age twenty-seven. The gematria of twenty-seven is “ZaCH” which means pure. In the Torah, olive oil used to light the menorah must be pure.

All of these imperfect, deeply flawed vessels, voiced a purity of spirit that is the unique province of music. Their brief lives struggling between thanatos and eros, with death emerging as the inevitable victor will continue to be remembered, not so much for the way they lived or died, but for the light that shined from their voices, their guitars, and their songs.

If we Jews piggybacked on Amy’s celebrity taking pride in sharing the same roots, the very least we can do is take a moment and acknowledge her passing. Goodbye Amy, what never left you alone in life, may it leave you now in death. Peace.