Tea With Terrorists pt 2: Debate at QT

As I was picking up my coffee this morning I noticed I was parked next to a Jehovah Witness. One might ask "Mas...how can you tell a JW just by looking at one?" Simple! The New World Translation on his lap and the stack of Awake! rags on his dash board.

When he noticed me staring at him he began to look nervous. He was flipping through his propaganda booklet pretending not to see me, but stealing glances from the corner of his eye from time to time. Finally, I spoke.

"Hey, Publisher!"

He jumped somewhat in his seat. He looked over at me and put on that same fake smile and those absent eyes promising the false hope of the resurection if you joined the cult and put your faith in a mutant Angel. He asked me if he could help. I could tell he couldn't give me the answers I was looking for so I asked him for his partner. His partner finally came around the car. He also had that same smile. It faded when I asked the question.

"Why do you hate Jews?"

The question took him back a bit. I doubt he ever had a preaching opprotunity begin like that. He asked me why I felt he hated Jews. So I told him about the exploits of the two JWs I spoke of in the previous post. His response was very predictable. He tried the whole "We aren't all like that" line. I guess he was used to talking to the ignorant goy of Johnson County. My response was:

"Yes you are, every one of you."

Not fair you say? Am I slightly bitter? YES! That's what happens when you are CONSTANTLY persecuted by these zombie god followers simply because you're Jewish. The average christian loves us with their mouths yet hates us with their hearts.

The Publisher (JW door knocker) and I debated for some time. We also left on good terms. I showed him the video of the incident. He was shocked at what he saw. Shock is the usual response I get from most people.

He promised me that he would do something about this. I'm not holding my breath. I have no faith in people like that. My hope would be a simple apology, but I know I won't get that. Forgiveness is supposed to flow from me like water off of a mountain stream. Honesty, it doesn't. That is why I failed this test.

Honestly, though, maybe this can be fixed. Hopefully the people involved will be removed from power and we can get on with our lives.

Thanks for reading

The Masorti

The Talmid Masorti

I am a Talmid.

For those of you who are not Jewish, the best way I can explain what a Talmid is goes like this.

The Jedi has a Padewone learner. The Jedi is the Rabbi and the learner is the Talmid.

I had my first lesson with the Rebbe last night. I learned more than I bargained for. I learned that I do not know anything at all. Sure, I can argue the mishna with anyone you put in front of me. I can confound the Rabbi of your choice with questions and questions pertaining to the spaces between the Aleph and the Bet on the holy text. Shoot, I can tell you the Jews accepted Torah because HaShem held a mountain over our heads! But his lessons, they were about me. How I spoke to G-d. What learning means to me. How will my walk with the Creator of the Universe has improved with my studies. I learned that I have amazing knowlege, but little faith.

My Rebbe teaches from the House of Hillel. He is warm, caring, loving, and always brings a smile to the table. He is truly annointed. His Rival, though unintentional, is a Rabbi from another shul. The very definition of Shammi flows from this rabbis words.

The two Rabbis were once close and worked in the same shul. No one knows exactly what happened, or why, but my Rebbe was told to leave. It was interresting. The man had very little, if anything, to do with the chaos going on at the time. However, he went on to start the Shul I attend now.

When I look at these two great minds, and I see the two houses flowing from this small community, I am reminded that our G-d is a G-d of justice and balance. The house of Shammi could not exist unless Hillel was there to counter it. The split that occured after my Rebbe left was hurtful to many, but necessary for the cause and the greater good.

That brings me back around to my point. I pray for an understanding between the two houses. Our community is too small for that nonsense to occur. However, I have given up hope on the two houses coming together. There has to be balance. Without Hillel there can be no Shammi. Our G-d is a just and fair G-d, very balanced.

HaSatan exists to give humanity a choice to follow HaShem or not to follow HaShem. The rain exists so the Desert remains dry. Pain exists so we, as humans can know what joy is. Hatred and indifference for love. Truth for lies, the list goes on. Everything is balanced in the universe He created.

Even my situation. A Man of G-d can not exist in a Den of sin. There is no balance there. It is a very toxic situation that HaShem delivered me from. Though I still feel the pain and fear of what happened, the world looks a bit brighter knowing our just G-d is still in control. That he will maintain balance in the universe. And, if I let him, in my life.

Thanks for reading,

The Masorti

Tea With Terrorists: My experience with a Jehovah Witness and her Elders

For as long as I can remember, I have always believed there is no reason Jews and Gentiles couldn't co-exist and remain in their own cultures. This was something I longed for, worked for, and prayed for. That belief was shattered by one incident.

It all starts with a girl. A girl I met at the local Barnes and Noble book store. We grew to become friends, only calling each other on occasion. Nothing too juicy. Religion was something we discussed often, as our faiths were so important to us in our lives. I am a Jew, she is a Jehovahs Witness. The Watchtower.

I could go into great detail as to what recently happened. When it occurred, I swore it was a violently anti-semitic brainwashing cult and their immature drone that caused all of it. She had changed in seconds over the fact that I was a Jew. Something she had known for the past year.

Apparantly, according to the Elders of her Kingdom Hall, we Jews drew a curse upon us for killing Christ. He went on to say that the proof is in the bible. He quoted the gospel of Matthew: And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!"

Lets look at this passage, found in the Christian New Testament, with a bit of grey matter. I understand that Christians are taught not to think, but come on! This is obvious. Lets look at the secular reason first.

THE JEWS DID NOT KILL JESUS! THE ROMANS DID!!!

I'm glad that was cleared up. Honestly, though, had those few Jews not killed Jesus you gentiles would be dancing naked under the moon while masterbating with pumice.

You don't agree? Lets explore a few truths.

At the time the Jews were the only ones who had a sin sacrifice. Meaning, if you screwed up we were the way to go. We had a sacrifice for whatever you did.

Second, with the GENTILES performing the actual execution, the Jews were left to oversee it. Interesting how that is alot of the same way our sacrificial system worked. The priests oversaw the execution of Jesus. The Sacrifice YOU GENTILES made for the sins of the world.

Now, the religious side.

“His blood be on us and on our children!"

According to Christianity the blood of Jesus is atonement. Really? Are you seriously suggesting that we cursed ourselves by asking for the blood of atonement to cover us? Again, Christians are taught WHAT to think..as opposed to actually thinking.

I have never experienced such a brainwashing, violent, racist cult in my life like the WatchTower. Honestly, the position these people put me in was so unlike anything Jesus would have done, it only shows how far away from the truth they are. My views are changed forever. I do not believe the christians have a clue about G-d, the bible, or basic life in general.

This incident was actually a very good lesson for my daughter. She saw what a false religion and a false god can do to someone. My daughter will never convert after what she saw.

HaShem has blessed us beyond measure after surviving this incident with the JWs. We are among our own people again. We are taken care of and loved. Warm, fed, and safe. Gentiles, you can take a lesson from us.

As far as Us killing Jesus, let me say this; You're Welcome. You wouldn't have your religion had he lived.

As far as how I feel about how we see each other..well..let Maurice Samuel answer that one.


"You have your way of life, we ours. In your system of life we are essentially without 'honor.' In our system of life you are essentially without morality. In your system of life we must forever appear graceless; to us you must forever appear godless." - Maurice Samuel


Thanks for reading!

The Masorti

round and round

The heading read "If I could make one person DEAD with my mind it would be you"

Panic gripped me, only for a moment as I tried to understand this hatred.

I won the children.

That was her response. Despite the smiles and thank yous I get every time I drop our youngest off to see her. That was her response.

MySpace is quite the sewing circle.

I am tired of being nice. I am tired of letting it slide.

Fuck her

WTF, Becky

It is the job of all parents to be a model citizen. We are required to lead our children by example.
As a single parent, I do everything I can in order to fulfill that obligation of mine. If I do not need it, I do not take it. I NEVER lie to get it if I am not eligible for it. I do things the old fashioned way. I work hard for it. I do not take hand outs. My kids want someting (barring birthday ahd Hanukkah gifts) they usually have to work for it. It builds integrity. It builds ethics.

This brings me to a conversation I overheard, then came to participate in. You would have been proud of me! I shut my mouth when it was time to shut my mouth. I decided to give my opinion here, in this blog, to you nice people.

She's a baby momma. I would call her a single parent, but hey, she lives with her son and HER parents. She makes the same money I do. She GETS child support. So here she was, filling out an application for reduced school lunches for her son. That, in and of itself, is not the problem. The problem came in when she realized she made too much money and decided to lie on the application. Thus, taking the spot of some child who ACTUALLY needs that program.

I actually kept my mouth shut. I was disgusted by what I heard. It's bad enough all I hear about is how hot she is, how many boys shes fucked, how drunk she got, or that she lives with her momma. But now I actually had to listen to her go on about committing fraud just because buying her kid some lunch at the regular price will put a dent in her beer money.

This is why I do not date white girls. The last white girl I dated constantly cheated and treated me like shit. This one, across from me, is turning her daddy money ass into white trash because shes stuck in the persona of the 30 year old party girl. Baby mommas piss me off.

I could go on for weeks about this chick. But she is not a single parent. She is a baby momma.

It's that simple.

Single parents have pride.

Something she obviously lost in her sea of entitlement.

Thanks for reading,

The Masorti

The Darkest Hour

Normally I wouldn't ever post something so personal. However, after much thought I think this story needs to be told.

It had been about two years since my middle son, Riley, passed away. My ex wife had already decended into the bad, and I was pulling double shifts at the ambulance service I was working for. We owned a house, but were on the verge of losing it because of the bad. Depression came over me like a flood. I felt something I had never felt before..Hopeless.

I was on my off time. 48 hours of no work. The sups told me I had pulled too many shifts to continue and I needed a day or two to decompress and recharge. The depression was unbearable. I didn't want to stay home, due to the overwhelming feelings of worthlessness that came over me. I didn't want to deal with my friends either.

I called my insurance broker and trippled my life insurance. Then I set out for my final solution. I drove to the station to say goodbye to my friends. My plan was simple. The time was 1:40 am. I was going to drive down the highway of my city, as fast as possible, disconnect my seat belt and crash head on into a retaining wall. My life insurance paid double if you died in an accident. I figured the ex wife and the children would be set. The house would be saved. My selfishness didn't think about the future, only what I was feeling. Dispair is a murderous emotion.

The curious thing is, when I made my decision, I felt happy. At peace, if you will. I walked to all of my friends and gave them hugs. Told them how awesome they were. Honestly, they were a bit taken back. They hadn't seen me like this before. They knew something was amiss, but they only returned the hug and told me I was awesome too.

As I made my way out to my car, I heard him call for me.

"Masorti!"

I ignored him. He was a rookie. I didn't much like the punk anyway. He had the worst attitude of anyone I had known in that business. He was young and knew he knew everything. I continued to my car.

"Masorti!"

He called to me again. This time I heard the thump of his boots on the pavement as he walked towards me. I was already at the car, I opened the trunk and turned off the air bags. By the time I closed the trunk, he was there.

"Hey man." was all I could get out. I even faked the best smile. I deserved an oscar.

His face was saturated of disappointment as he looked at me. He almost looked puzzled. Then he said something that changed everything. Something that pierced the wall I built around my soul. Something that broke my heart, and smashed the mask I was wearing to oblivion.

"Wheres your light man?" he asked.

My smile faded. My eyes welled up. I shook my head and walked to the drivers side door, keys in hand.

"Mas, what are you doing?" He followed me "Stay mas, just for a second."

I told him I had to go. I sat down in the car and he took my keys. I jumped out of the car and demanded my keys back. He demanded that I stay put. I lunged at him for my keys. He simply threw them. As dark as it was, I couldn't see where they went. I spent hours looking for them as he stood over me, prying. I never told him what my plan was, but he knew.

The morning sun was breaking over the horizon. He clocked out and came back outside. I still didnt have my keys. He told me to get in his truck, to go for a ride. I complied. He told me I couldnt follow through with my plans because there were too many people on the road. He also talked to me about my light being gone. My faith waivering. I was in tears at that point.

We stopped at a gas station and he bought me a soda. He handed it to me and said the soda was a favor. I looked at him puzzled. He said he wanted something for the soda. I asked him what he wanted. He held up my keys, put them in my hand, and said he wanted one more day. He said someday he would come to me for that day, but until then I needed to stay alive to keep my promise, to give him that one day. I agreed.

I am perplexed as to how this young man knew what I was going to do. However, I do believe G-d sent him. Thoughts of hurting myself have never entered my mind since that night. I became a fighter after that. A random act of kindness from someone I did not even like. My own friends didn't even pick up on the fact that something was wrong. This kid, this mouthy, know it all, punk kid saw it. He saw my light was gone. It had dimmed and finally flickered out.

He gave me hope based on a promise. I don't know when I'll be released from this oath I made to him, but He can take his time. I am in his debt. He saved my life.

Further proof that G-d sent him; Aside from the fact that he saw something was wrong, that he kept me from doing something stupid, G-ds finger print was all over his name.

That night, my saviors name, was Riley.

Thanks for reading

The Masorti

Before I am a Man I am a Jew

It seems there are a few questions I need to answer for some readers.

The most common is "What the hell is a Masorti?"

Here is the definition:

The Masorti Movement is a pluralistic, religious movement in Israel, affiliated with Conservative Judaism. Its philosophy combines commitment to Jewish tradition and halachah (law) with an open and positive approach to the modern world, to democratic culture and to Zionism.

So yeah...in a nutshell we are modern conservative jews. The name means "Tradition" but we understand and embrace the way modern culture has evolved.

I believe the thirteen principles of faith as taught by the Rambam. They are:


1. G-d exists
2. G-d is one and unique
3. G-d is incorporeal
4. G-d is eternal
5. Prayer is to be directed to G-d alone and to no other
6. The words of the prophets are true
7. Moses' prophecies are true, and Moses was the greatest of the prophets
8. The Written Torah (first 5 books of the Bible) andOral were given to Moses (although the Oral is more for commentary on the law itself)
9. There will be no other Torah
10. G-d knows the thoughts and deeds of men
11. G-d will reward the good and punish the wicked
12. The Messiah will come
13. The Dead will be ressurected.

Lets talk about these. 1. G-d exists 2. G-d is one and unique 3. G-d is incorporeal 4. G-d is eternal. The first four are pretty cut and dry. G-d alone is G-d. Throughout the ages people have tried to put a face on Him, a Body, anything to make haShem corporeal. No. He is G-d. He was and always will be G-d. That's it.

5. Prayer is to be directed to G-d alone and to no other.

You would think this would be a no-brainer for the Judeo-Christians. Bottom line..only G-d is to hear our prayers. Not Mary, not Moses, not even Jesus. Only G-d.

6. The words of the prophets are true 7. Moses' prophecies are true, and Moses was the greatest of the prophets 8. The Written Torah (first 5 books of the Bible) andOral were given to Moses (although the Oral is more for commentary on the law itself)9. There will be no other Torah

All of these explain how important and unique the Torah of G-d is and how special of a servant Moses was. There will be NO other torah aside from what HaShem has given us. Accept no substitutes!

10. G-d knows the thoughts and deeds of men 11. G-d will reward the good and punish the wicked.

The simple and basic proof that G-d loves us. He knows our thoughts. He is involved in every aspect of our lives. His love for us is the basis of our rewards and punishment.


12. The Messiah will come 13. The Dead will be ressurected.

These last two happen together. When the Messiah finally comes, he will ressurect the dead. It is at that point where we are judged. We will be brought into the fold of eternal life and worship of G-d in the world to come, with the Messiah as our king and priest. Lets hope and pray for his speedy arrival.

Aside from these principals of faith, there is the most important commandment of all. Rabbi Hillel said it best

"Love G-d with all of your heart, love your neighbor as yourself"

There is no greater commandment than that. It is our purpose for existance. Not to obtain wealth, or status. Not to have the most toys and hottest spouses. We were put here for one reason...for love.

Any questions?