Religion

The baby is evidently a boy. And, yes, he is a Jew. Today I am in mourning for my kin--three teenaged boys, well out of diapers but still with their whole lives in front of them, boys whose murdered bodies were found this afternoon on the other side of the world--boys whom I know, although I have met them only through their internet photos and through my prayers, offered (I now learn) after they had already been killed..

Jewishness is not a faith, not a religion.
It is a kinship with those of whatever race, nation, or color who uphold Torah.

That is reality.

The man with the moustache is worlds away from this awareness.

We can't deal with him right now. We are busy lighting candles for our boys.

We are in mourning. Reply

well broght up baby Reply

Love it! This video awesomely conveys so much - I'm going to write a blog about it and try to spread the word :) Reply

Why does the baby look at his diaper? Is the diaper transparent? Also, if the baby is female, she will not see anything there to tell her "religion". Finally, "religion" is a small category. It defines a set of beliefs and rituals guaranteed to get a person into heaven. Yiddishkeit is far more than a narrow set of beliefs and rituals. It is a way of life. It is a relationship with Gd. It is a set of intimate kin. To a Jew I have never met on the other side of infinity, I can say, "When you are cut, I bleed," and mean it absolutely. This feeling is absent among people who share a mere "religion". How many people, regardless of religion, care about the Christians being murdered in Egypt and Syria? Which Christian nation has offered sanctuary to them? When I mention these Christians on Facebook, I get no Christian response. It can't be that I, as a Jew, care more about the Christians of Egypt and Syria than do their fellow-Christians. Or can it? Reply

hey miss feminist! firstly,behind every great man is a greater woman ,one doesn't have to look to far! just take a look at the Rebbetzin! also would your kids not read about Einstein and the other (men) scientists who built the a-bomb! and last "accept the truth from he who says it" ....even a man! Reply

And also Mom there . . .is reading a book about baby care whilst her own baby needs serious attention at the moment! (Just an amusing observation.) Love your vignettes!! Keep them coming!! Reply

Dear Cute but.... the baby didn't have good memory so he looked at his diaper Reply

cute but... cute video.... but why was the baby looking down at his dipper was he checking if he had a bris or someting? Reply

Dear Dovid,

I love the videos there the best there are hilarous and a great way to learn more. Keep on making the videos. Also i understand the negative comments can bring you down and make you think your work its worthy.
Ignore that in everywhere people will bring you down. Remeber :) Reply

Response to mustache man I thought that the baby was going to ask the moustach man if he was Jewish. I think only a Jew would answer like the mustache man.

But this is very cute. Reply

over thinking Mustache guy was me and how I compulsively had the need to define/describe my spiritual beliefs which were eerily similar to his. I'm starting to see that maybe I have been trying to be "the most unique" as opposed to the true essence of who I am. No definitions are necessary only right actions. I hope to get back to my state of mind as a wide-eyed inquisitve child that is open and without fear of embarrassment. I do have a wish I could turn off the "thinker" at the right times! Reply

response to "I only ask" Please call in rabbi Tzvi Freeman to answer this question. Reply

LOL... All your vignettes make me laugh. This one totally reminds me of some of my extended relatives. They always talk at me in the same way as the man on the bench, and I always chuckle to myself, because it seems to me that they don't know who they are, yet they want to convince me that my knowledge of who I am is flawed.

They like to ask things like "What deeper psychological need drives you to organized religion?" (Backhanded insult much? LOL.)

The fact that they throw so much effort into rationalizing their equivocation (and trying to make me join them in their spiritual floundering) always smacks of guilt for not taking the time to study, learn, and make a decision about their beliefs.

I have much more respect for the religious beliefs of an atheist than for those of an individual who thinks there may be a deity but fails to take the time to learn about it. At least the atheist is seeking the truth, even if (IMHO) he hasn't found it. Reply

Torah stories Last night i pulled out a kiddies Torah book with all the stories of the Torah. I was about to read it to two girls i look after.

"That's for boys" they said.

All the heros in the Torah ( at least the obvious ones) are male. I think the 2 little girls had a point. They are 5 and 7 so way to young to be called feminists. Reply

Cute, but lacking substance - response Moshe,
Your comment is very compassionate and deep and thank you for it. Yet, I think there is only so much you can ask from a stick vignette. I dont think a vignette is supposed to be a treatise of the Jewish faith aimed at converting the unconverted from the beginning of the quest till "the end" of the discovery. It is just expressing something very poignant and subtle and yet mightily powerful.

You are very right - circumcision is not synonymous with faith, YET it is certainly a connection I believe. A connection invented by Him, and carried out by us. And as for failing and over-failing, I know about it, because I am one of them. I was the mustache man/woman - now turned baby, and my path was not clear cut. I think that the baby is not necessarily just "a newly born individual," but he also represents a newly and divinely born idea - that identity flows from heaven down and not from earth up. Reply

Intellect vs. Experience I like the question from Staten Island...where would a baby girl "look"? I think that needs to be addressed.

But in addition to that, I think this one brings out the difference between living your religion and thinking your religion. In Judaism, we are supposed to do both (IMO). But when you get down to the nittty gritty, if it's not under your skin, already in your flesh, so to speak, already in your human DNA, then is it Religion, or isn't it just mere Ideology? Reply

I only ask. Where would a girl baby look? Reply

Keep It Simple I seem to watch this clip every few weeks and it makes me smile every time. I like the simplicity of it.
One's relationship with G-d does not have to be complex, it's simple. Things only get complicated when we let our egos get in the way. Reply

Religion What an awesome vignette. Keep it simple because it is all about Him. Reply