Haveil Havalim: The Post-Chagim Edition

What's going on here today?
Founded by Soccer Dad, Haveil Havalim is a carnival of Jewish blogs -- a weekly collection of Jewish & Israeli blog highlights, tidbits and points of interest collected from blogs all around the world. It's hosted by different bloggers each week and coordinated by Jack. The term 'Haveil Havalim,' which means "Vanity of Vanities," is from Qoheleth, (Ecclesiastes) which was written by King Solomon. King Solomon built the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and later on got all bogged down in materialism and other 'excesses' and realized that it was nothing but 'hevel,' or in English, 'vanity.'

Please please please publicize HH on your own blog and share the news about it!

Please read this first:
Rabbi Harold Robinson is Remembering Captain Benjamin Sklaver (as is my friend, Rabbi Yair Robinson), and I think you should be too. Small soapbox: no matter how we feel about the fighting, the politics, etc, that is no reason to vilify our troops in any way. This is a lesson that we learned after Vietnam, and I am proud that for the last 2 years our congregation has been reading the names of the military dead each Shabbat with our Kaddish list. I sincerely hope for the day that we no longer need to read the names. In over 2 years, we've never had a week with no names. It's been a very sobering reminder. This week, as we read Captain Sklaver's name, I had a real story to go with it and I was even more sad to know that all of these names have stories. Zichrono livracha, may his memory be for a blessing. The organization that Captain Sklaver started, Clearwater Initiative, is pretty incredible. I will give ONE DOLLAR for every comment left on today's Haveil Havalim to Clearwater in memory of Captain Sklaver.

Things That Might Be Funny...cuz it's best to start with a joke or two

Toby at A Time of the Signs thinks that Someone really needs to tell them.
Torat Yisrael is riffing on the idea of Gaza zoo disguising jackasses as Zebras.
Benji Lovitt is being funny again: More Great Moments in Israeli Marketing: Oh Dear... and also with Forget Madoff, Hadassah Has Other Issues to Deal With. He's also getting psyched that BREAKING NEWS: ALF to Attend Jerusalem Tweet-Up Sunday Night! I wish I could be there too!

Israel

Good News from Israel has Photos of Second Hakafot.
Esser Agaroth shared Jew Encouraging Ascension To The Temple Mount Incurs Intimidation From Police.

Israelity has these interesting posts: Let the children stay, Pomegranate economics, and Unrolling the Torah.

Our Shiputzim is visiting National parks: Caesarea edition.
The Rebbetzin's Husband wants to know CNN - Did something blow up in Lebanon, or not?
David Morris at Tzedek-Tzedek asks Did Barak Overspend? and also The Third Temple as a Political Objective
Joel Katz of Religion and State in Israel presents Religion and State in Israel - October 15, 2009 (Section 1)Religion and State in Israel - October 15, 2009 (Section 2) (completely different material in both, btw) AND
Yechezkel presents Happy Birthday to Avigayil as the Wellsprings of Salvation Overflow (K"Y) offering analysis on newly released statistics about the chareidi growth rate in Israel and how it impacts the "shidduch crisis"...

Judaism

Shmuel Sokol presents Pilgrims visit Joseph's Tomb, under armed guard.
Yechezkel gives us Ezer or Kinegdo?, an exerpt from his book about the role of Women in Judaism.
Shiloh Musings offers us The Year of Double Kohelet, Ecclesiastes, and No Simchat Torah.
The Real Shliach thinks it's fun for the whole family: The Real Shliach: Blues can be a good thing too (he was in my hometown!)
Seraphic Secret has this post about the right to bear and keep arms: Jews, Guns and Torah.


Yisroel wants to know, Is It Halachly Permissible to Leave Eretz Yisroel To Go Touring?
Ilana-Davita worked through some Blogger's Block to offer her interpretation of Bereshit.

Miscellaneous....

Samson BLinded presents Civilized anti-semites need nuclear mullahs.
Eliyahu Fink presents Too Smart For Their Own Good at Pacific Jewish Center.
The Rebbetzin's Husband muses on Knee-biters.
JackB is Listening to Her Breathe.
Harry-er hopes for peace: R' Kook and the Nobel Peace Prize.
leah aharoni considers Mothers' Guilt.
David Levy wonders about the UJC's Hero Project...America’s Next Top Jewish Communal Professional.
Yisrael Medad has a few posts: Koutsoukis Corrupts The News, J Street in Three, My Right Word: Gershom Gorenberg - Gosh and Canaanites, Jebusites Welcomed But No Jews.
Mottel shares Mottel and the Mystery of the Imaginary Cliff People and also Hit The Road Jack.
Annette Berlin presents Bubby’s Lemon Pie, which rightly belongs in the Kosher Cooking Carnival, but sounded pretty yummy to me!
A Mother in Israel has a great post about Leftovers and the Kosher Kitchen...a dilemma easily solved, imho, with vegetarian eating!
Leora was thinking about her favorite books from childhood.
The Head Yenta is wondering if it's meshugenah that Anne Frank has a YouTube channel?
David is wondering what it really takes to be a rabbi these days...


Did you know it was Blog Action Day this week? Here are some of those posts:
Caring About the Environment Jewishly at The New Jew
Israel: Blog Action Day at Global Voices Online
Raising Our Voices, One Blog at a Time at the Religious Action Center's blog
Do Not Destroy right here at my blog
Did you participate in Blog Action Day? I tried to catch them...sorry if I missed you.


That's all for this week's Haveil Havalim! Please link up so lots of people can share the Haveil Havalim fun...

You could just cut and past this:
This week's Haveil Havalim is up over at Ima on and off the Bima. Check it out!



Submit your blog article to the next edition of Haveil Havalim using our carnival submission form.