BARBARA'S TCHATZKAHS

AN AMERICAN TUNE Paul Simon Many's the time i've been mistaken And many times confused Yes, and often felt forsaken And certainly misused Oh, but i'm alright, i'm alright I'm just weary to my bones Still, you don't expect to be Bright and bon vivant So far a-way from home, so far away from home I don't know a soul who's not been battered I don't have a friend who feels at ease I don't know a dream that's not been shattered Or driven to its knees Oh, but it's alright, it's alright For we lived so well so long Still, when i think of the Road we're traveling on I wonder what's gone wrong I can't help it, i wonder what's gone wrong And i dreamed i was dying I dreamed that my soul rose unexpectedly And looking back down at me Smiled reassuringly And i dreamed i was flying And high up above my eyes could clearly see The statue of liberty Sailing away to sea And i dreamed i was flying We come on the ship they call the mayflow

Are Jews Smarter? by Jennifer Senior Did Jewish intelligence evolve in tandem with Jewish diseases as a result of discrimination in the ghettos of medieval Europe? That’s the premise of a controversial new study that has some preening and others plotzing. What genetic science can tell us—and what it can’t. This story begins, as it inevitably must, in the Old Country. At some point during the tenth century, a group of Jews abandoned the lush hills of Lucca, Italy, and—at the invitation of Charlemagne—headed for the severer climes of the Rhineland and Northern France. These Jews didn’t have a name for themselves, at first. They were tied together mostly by kinship. But ultimately, they became known as Ashkenazim, a variation on the Hebrew word for one of Noah’s grandsons. In some ways, life was good for the Jews in this strange new place. They’d been lured there on favorable terms, with promises of physical protection, peaceful travel, and the ability to adjudicate their own quarrels. (T

Religious Tests and the Court Questions about a nominee's beliefs about a Supreme Judge lead to trouble - Jonathan S. Tobin One of the oddest things about the recent debates about the qualifications of Supreme Court nominees is the way that some of us have been tiptoeing around a subject that is theoretically off limits. Even though Article VI, Clause 3, of the Constitution of the United States reads that "No religious Test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States," that hasn't stopped a lot of us from thinking a great deal about the faith of both John Roberts, recently sworn in as Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, and Harriet E. Miers, nominated to be an associate justice by President Bush. Given the cut-throat partisanship that has characterized recent judicial nomination fights, it's not surprising that foes - and friends - of the nominees would seize upon anything that might hurt or help their caus

A woman is like a tea bag- you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water. Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962)

FROM IDDYBUD - BUSH INVOKES 9/11 AGAIN ! Bush's 9/11 Spin - NY Times editorial nails it : The president's inability to grow beyond his big moment in 2001 is unnerving. But the fact that his handlers continue to encourage him to milk 9/11 is infuriating. For most of us, the memories are fresh and painful. We mourn the people who died on Sept. 11, as we mourn Daniel Pearl and other Americans, not to mention innocents from other countries, who were murdered by terrorists. The administration's penchant for using them as political cover is offensive. It threatens to turn our wounds, and our current fears, into cynical and desperate spin. More: President Bush delivered what the White House promoted as a major address on terrorism. It seemed, on the surface, like a perfect topic for the moment. But his talk was not about the nation's current challenges. He delivered a reprise of his Sept. 11 rhetoric that suggested an avoidance of today's reality that seemed downright fr

I DEFENDED HER FOR A WHILE BUT NOW SHE'S REALLY ANNOYING ME... IS SHE TAKING A PAGE FROM HER CATHOLIC UPBRINGING BY 'USING' KABBALAH FOR PROFIT? ugh! Some Rabbis Criticize New Madonna Song By RACHEL HOAG A song on Madonna's upcoming album dedicated to a Kabbalist rabbi is drawing criticism from other rabbis, the Israeli Maariv daily reported Sunday. The album, "Confessions on a Dance Floor," is to be released on Nov. 15 and features a track entitled "Isaac" about Yitzhak Luria, a 16th century Jewish mystic and Kabbalah scholar. Rabbis who oversee Luria's tomb and a seminary in the northern town of Safed are unimpressed with Madonna's musical tribute and see the inclusion of the song about Luria on the album as an attempt by the pop star to profit from his name. Rabbi Rafael Cohen, head of a seminary named after Luria, suggested Madonna's actions could lead to divine retribution. " Jewish law forbids the use of the name of the holy ra