Drake’s Bar Mitzvah [JTA]
The rapper’s Jewish roots are well known. His new music video, featured above, allows viewers to see inside his ‘re-bar mitzvah’, held last fall. However, members of Temple Israel in Miami, the synagogue where the video was filmed, are less than pleased with its lyrical content.
“And even though the song’s lyrics are decidedly more profane than sacred, the Reform synagogue’s president said he hoped the video would help Jewish youth connect to Judaism.”
Forget Camp, Repair the World [Tablet]
A Jewish teen laments the lack of community service among her age group, and cites her Christian friends’ humanitarian efforts as proof that faith can be used for Tikkun Olam.
“There are a few Jewish organizations that send hundreds of volunteers overseas to improve communities in need. These organizations, such as the American Jewish World Service and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, incorporate Jewish values into their relief projects while reaching out to Jews and non-Jews alike, no matter where their ZIP codes may be. But these groups are so distinctive and acclaimed, not only because of the commitment they have to social justice, but also because they are so rare. Our Jewish community at large has yet to consider service groups as anything more than growing organizations, or even worse, “Jewish missionary programs.” The concept of utilizing the values of our faith to rebuild and sustain communities worldwide is still foreign to many Jews in this country, especially to those who may not be visibly in need themselves.”
Simi Lampert Media Blitz [Tablet]
The New Voices blogger has extended her takeover of Jewish media. The above piece is a touching account of a Jewish woman considering donating her eggs to infertile couples, and the profound connection to family that ended up defining her decision.
“I had done all the research: I found the organization I wanted to do it through, I read up on the medical processes. I even decided I would do it over the summer, when I had more time to undergo the various procedures. It was all but done.
And then. Then, a conversation with a friend made me feel the connection with this anonymous egg of mine that everyone else had been feeling instead of me. I didn’t expect my mind to be changed—I’m as stubborn as they come, I like to think logic can always trump emotion, and I certainly didn’t think of this unfertilized egg as anything that would be related to me. But in the end, it was emotions that tripped up my get-rich-quick plan. Finally I connected with what everyone was making such a fuss over. And this came, unexpectedly, out of a conversation about my cousins.”
Palestinian man carrying bombs stopped at checkpoint [JTA]
A 19-year-old male was stopped at a security checkpoint in the Jordan Valley after soldiers noticed him acting suspiciously. A search of his body revealed seven bombs, as well as several knives.
AEHazing? [Forward]
Boston Police have launched an investigation after finding five men tied up in the basement of a house belonging to the Boston University chapter of international Jewish fraternity AEPi. Both Boston University and AEPi’s national headquarters have spoken out against the incident, saying that they will take proper recourse to address the hazing.
“The men were found bound together by duct tape around their wrists, clothed only in their underwear and covered in flour, honey, hot sauce and other food products, according to a police report. They also had welts on their body.”
