This is the speech I gave this morning at my son's bris this morning. I waited a while befor eposting anything, because I wasn't sure what to say. I hope this is good enough for now...


Good morning, everyone.

Before we begin, I’d like to give thanks…

…the truth is, I find it quite difficult to express my gratitude, because I know that no matter how many praises I sing, no matter how much shvach I offer to the Master of the World – all these words of thanks are dwarfed by their own inadequacy in the face of the magnitude and sheer volume of blessing that HaShem has seen fit to bestow upon me.

Indeed, throughout my whole life, the Master of the World has poured out his goodness and favor. He has given me parents who have a strong commitment towards their children and their community, and have remained invested and involved with all of their children, even well after they have moved out and are on their own. And in this past year alone, I have received such shefa from Him – first in the meeting, courting and subsequent marrying of my wife, who fits the description of an Ezer K’Negdo in every sense in the word, always inspiring and encouraging me in my own personal growth in addition to our growth together – and now, most recently, with the birth of my son, the Rach HaNimol. I can never give enough thanks to Him, and I know that what I offer now is feeble at best, but I pray that my HaKaras HaTov - the recognition of what I have been given and the actions necessary to thank Him for it - will suffice for now as a step towards the proper expression of gratitude.

The Bris Milah is one of three things referred to in the Torah as a “sign”. The other two – being Shabbos and Tefillin - testify to God’s Omnipotence as the Creator of all things and the Manhig of all things, respectively.
Milah is the testimony that there is a holiness to both the body and soul. Indeed, we are created B’Tzelem Elokim, and the Milah demonstrates that the two are not separate entities but rather two parts in a larger whole. By sanctifying the body through Milah we raise it to a level where it is used solely in the service of HaShem, as it should be.

In a similar vein, the Sefer HaChinnuch writes that the act of Milah – which is the removal of an extra, unnecessary part of the body – is in fact an act of perfecting the body, an act that was specifically left for us to do. The Master of the World wants the Am HaNivchar to be perfect, and he wants us to do it ourselves. HaShem gives us this opportunity, this mitzvah, to teach us a valuable lesson: Just as we can perfect our physical beings, we can also bring about the perfection of our spiritual beings through worthy deeds.

Now that we have been able to perform this awesome mitzvah, thereby helping to perfect the physical needs of the Rach HaNimol, and starting him on his lifelong task of seeking perfection throughout the course of his life, we need to ascertain what exactly the necessary tools are that he will require in the perfecting of his soul.

While I can think of several offhand, I believe that one trait above all is needed - the trait of Truth, of honesty. In Tehillim (15:2), among the first of David HaMelech’s criteria for one who can dwell in HaShem’s tent is “Dover Emes B’Lvavo”, one who speaks truth from his heart.

It is honesty - and the desire and need to maintain the principle of honesty - that can cause a man to walk the path of the righteous. When one is truly honest, he is forced to deal with others in an ethical, courteous manner. His honesty does not allow him to make compromises on anything that would cause a deviation from what he has set out to do, in any situation. His intellectual honesty will allow him to open his heart to his mentor’s teachings and to the mussar of his predecessors, and will help to guide him in his search for growth.

The Rach HaNimol’s namesake, Reb Yonah ben Shlomo Yosef Mantel, was such a man, I’m told. His honesty and commitment toward serving the Master of the World was known by all. He never compromised on his avodah, and he dealt with everyone he came in contact with with that same honesty. I can say that I personally see the effect he has had in transmitting his mesorah, through his son, my father in law. I have no doubt as to where the good traits my father in law carries comes from, and he in turn has passed it down to his own children.

When we name a child, we’re not just giving them a label. There’s a certain amount of nevuah involved, one that allows us to give the child a name that is related to his or her essence. In addition, when we name a child after someone, we establish a bond between the two of them. The deceased relative is honored by the naming, and also benefits from whatever good accomplishments the newly named child will do in the future.
The child gains from the naming, as it is said that the deceased’s traits are passed on to him and he develops similar characteristics as the deceased. This helps to intensify the transmittal of the mesorah further.

It is my hope and blessing that my son, Yonah will indeed take this trait of Truth and utilize it to the fullest extent, keeping our mesorah of Torah Judaism alive. May he be a source of nachas to all of us, and may he grow to become an outstanding member of the Jewish nation.

Baruch Dayan HaEmes...

The Jewish world has lost yet another important personality. Reb Noach Weinberg, founder and dean of Aish HaTorah in Jerusalem passed away last week after battling a severe illness.
Known for his pleasant demeanor and strong belief that every Jew has a responsibility to reach out to one another - be they unaffiliated, assimilated, or just going through a rough patch - Rabbi Weinberg served as an inspiration to us all, spearheading the global Kiruv (outreach) movement with his own inimitable way of teaching.

I had the honor of working for one of his sons when I was volunteering at the Zone, back in the Holy Land, and I was able to see first hand the lessons he instilled in his children and students. I met him briefly - too brief to really engage him in any hashkafic discourse, but even in that fleeting moment, I felt the warmth he genuinely exuded.

May his memory indeed be blessed, may the many Ba'alei Teshuva (returnees to Judaism) that he caused to return - be they direct or through students and institutions set up by him - serve as a merit for him, and may he continue to help us up therre, near the Holy Throne...

cooking food for two
cleaning, shaving, dressing up
L'Kavod Shabbos



Still considering my options - whether to satrt completely anew, or what. I may just reformat the page, and change the title...

Good shabbos everyone!

Two weeks notice...

Well, it's been absolutely crazy since I got engaged. The wedding's just around the corner (not soon enough, if you ask me), and I'm in the Holy Land for Pesach. I miss her terribly, but ultimately these few weeks of being apart will be good in the long run...

Or so they say.

Anyway, a lot of you have probably seen this coming, and even if you haven't, I can't imagine that you'd be all that surprised. After careful consideration and deliberating, and finally, discussion with my lovely intended, I will no longer post on this blog.

There's an old adage that "all good things must come to an end", and while I believe that Ziontrain is a good thing, it doesn't represent the potential that a married man can accomplish, as opposed to that of a single boy.

Ziontrain was quite the undertaking for me, on a myriad of levels. While it started of as a random blog, chock full of miscellaneous writings, etc., I like to think that for the past two years, there's been more of a focusing.

Of course, none of this would have been possible without the feedback of my readers. All of you - whether you were casual readers, those who had stumbled on the blog only once or twice, or regular fans - your comments, criticisms, encouragement and insights all contributed to the refining (and defining) and direction of my writing style, and to a degree, my outlook and hashkafah on life. No words can ever truly express my gratitude. I thank you all, and I will sorely miss all of you.

Is this it? Is jewmaican20 done for? What will be?

Good question. I haven't decided in what forum I'll continue to write in, but make no mistake: I will continue to write. Thankfully, there are many different options out there; who knows? Maybe I'll actually get paid, even!

In the meantime, I'm still a member on Kindness Happens, and when the matter arises, I'll continue to post there...

My jewmaican20@yahoo.com address is still open, so feel free to continue contacting me for whatever reasons...

And, don't forget: Love Is The Motive...

And it's official!

I'm engaged!

Thank God, she's everything I've hoped for, prayed for, waited for...and then some!

So much to do already, but it seems like I just have to show up and recite my lines...

Things are only gonna get busier!

Interesting...

The other day, she and I went to the Bodies exhibittion in New York City. For those of you not familiar with the exhibit, Bodies illustrates how the human body - the musculature system, the skeletal system, the pulmonary, respiratory, et al. - works in an unusual yet innovative fashion: they use real cadavers.

All the bodies are Asian, and from what I understand, they were all executees.

The exhibit can take anywhere from one hour and on to go through, and we had an amazing time. Actual bodies are shown, the flesh peeled away, and - depending on what they are trying to point out - cross sectioned. In order to show the veins and arteries, for example, they inject them with a sort of latex material that solidifies once the veins are full, then take away everything else, leaving just the circulatory system standing alone.

It truly is amazing, and we had a blast.

For the record, I got the idea from her. She had been there as a requirement from school, and was fascinated with the display, and was more than willing to go again. At the end of the exhibit, near the exit, they have real preserved organs that patrons can touch.

Naturally, I hefted the human brain, and made a quip of "enjoying some nice Chianti." The guy behind the desk got it, and we shared a laugh. My date didn't get it, but didn't seem to mind, either.

Anyway, we had a very good time at the exhibit, but after I spoke with my father, I got to thinking...

My father thought that it might have been inappropriate to go to the exhibit, because of Nivul haMes (basically, desecrating the dead). To be honest, I hadn't really considered it - I thought about it briefly, but decided that since the bodies are most likely not Jewish, it's probably not an issue. However, my dad countered, we don't know for sure whether or not it applies to just Jews, or even gentiles, because we know that everything is created B'Tzelem Elokim (literally, in God's image). Thus, it's possible that the Bodies exhibit may not in fact be the best place for a nice Jewish boy to take a girl, let alone go himself.

After we hung up, I started thinking of the amazing dichtomy I was presented: on the one hand, we have this potential issue of doing something inappropriate, if not downright wrong. However, on the other hand, I can honestly say that this exhibit deepened my appreciation for the way God created us.

How often do we encounter such situations? We can rationalize everything, make it into something that we can channel towards service of God, but where is the line? At what point do we need to determine what is right, and good for us, and what isn't? I'm aware of this particular issue, but it was definitley raised again last week after the exhibit, and it lent towards some good thinking...

Any thoughts?

The plot thickens...

Well, our fourth installment was today.

I picked her up at 2 in the afternoon, and had her back at a quarter to twelve. A whopping nine and three-quarter hours, and I must say that I'm exhausted.

The thing is, I can't sleep.

While our comfort around each other is growing (or at least, I think it is), after each subsequent date my fear of rejection intensifies that much more.

I start analyzing everything. I can't determine how much of myself to let her see, can't tell what the balance is between too much information and not enough. On the one hand, I want to share me, in all my me-ness. On the other hand, I'm afraid it will scare her away if it's too much too soon. She's so normal (that being a relative term, of course).

I'm staying honest about myself, open. I won't hide who I am and what makes me myself. I've never done it before, and I won't do it now. I'm not embarassed. But how do I get to that point where it can happen without it blowing up in my face?