After a talk with my rebbetzin, and after hearing a great drash on the topic on Shabbat, I have decided to remove some of my earlier writings from this blog and work on shmirat haloshon (guarding the tongue), both in my written and in my spoken word. The Chofetz Chaim (Rabbi Israel Meir HaCohen Kagan, 1838-1933) was the preeminent teacher on shmirat haloshon, and his teachings have been condensed into a daily lesson book called Chofetz Chaim: A Lesson A Day, which I have just purchased. Interestingly, the Chofetz Chaim got his nickname from Tehillim 34:13, which states, "Who is the man that desires life (hechafetz chaim), who loves days to see good? Guard your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking guile...." The Chofetz Chaim also wrote the Mishnah Berurah, a widely accepted halachic work that provides current remarks and practices from the Rishonim based on the teachings in the Shulchan Aruch.

Labels: Judaism

At work earlier this week I noticed an interesting structure poking out of the carpet in my cubicle:

It was apparently a termite tower, complete with at least three of the little guys inside. It stood about 3 or 4 inches tall, and, as you can tell, looks like it should be in a Dr. Seuss book. The other guys and I were hoping that it would grow a few feet tall, but apparently our little architect friends didn't do such a good job on the design. It fell over that night and was later vacuumed up by the janitor.

Labels: Work

Well, after dealing with this issue for 2 months, it has finally been resolved. I spoke with Mr. Fontaine at IRIS this morning. He has sent me a free upgrade to ReadIris Corporate 10, which does not have the limitations of the Pro edition. I think that that is an acceptable resolution strategy, and one that I fully expected to see happen.

We spoke at length about the problem of IRIS not letting potential buyers know about the limitations of their software. While Mr. Fontaine agreed with me that users have a right to know, he did not actually tell me that the company would add the information to their website. It will be interesting to see if and how they address that issue.

Prior Posts: I, II, III, IV

Labels: Technology

See Prior posts in order: I, II, III.

Well, it appears that my letter to the Better Business Bureau has made some heads turn. I got the following e-mail this past week:

Mr Tallent,

I am picking up a copy of your email. I am back from a business trip and your letter is on my desk. Question. Has your problem been solved?

If it isn’t, could you call me on Monday at the number below and either talk to me directly or leave me a phone number I can call you. We are capable of landing on the moon, I do not see why we can’t find a reasonable solution to your problem.

Best regards,
Jean-Marc Fontaine - IRIS Inc
Director of Operations

I will be calling Mr. Fontaine back tomorrow to see what he plans to do to make this whole situation right. I hope that he is able to see that IRIS has a responsibility to its clients to give them all of the necessary information on a product before they buy it. I have already received one e-mail from another ReadIris 10 user asking if I had seen any resolution to this problem, and my original post and first update are the top two results on Google for "readiris 50 page".

I will post again after I get off the phone and let you know what happens.

UPDATE: A Final Resolution has been reached

Labels: Technology

Though it was totally unintentional, my good friend Israel has brought to my attention a valuable lesson regarding this special time of year. Before Pesach begins we clean all of the leaven (chametz) out of our houses. This act of preparation, called bedikat chametz, hopefully reminds us to clean out all of the sin (related to leaven in many ways) that has accumulated in our lives over the past year, too. What Israel brought to my attention is that there is another item that is equated with chametz in many ways in the Torah: se'or.

The word se'or refers to a piece of old dough that has become fermented and can be used for leavening, like sourdough. Se'or is the precursor to chametz, and the rabbis saw se'or as a metaphor for the drives and passions that can lead us into sin (see Brachot 17a). As we continue our celebration of Hashem's redemption, let us not forget that getting rid of the chametz is not enough. We must also get rid of the se'or that can lead us to chametz.

More on chametz and se'or at JewishGates.

Labels: Holidays

To all of you celebrating Pesach this year (begins sundown Wednesday), Lindsey, Chaya, and I wish you a Chag Sameach v'Kasher — a Joyous and Kosher Pesach!

Labels: Holidays

Rabbi Dauermann posted an excerpt regarding the Jewish people from an unnamed book on missiology. He asked for comments on the excerpt, and I am posting my comments here for you to read. Please read Rabbi Dauermann's post and the excerpt first:

As I read this excerpt I found myself speaking back to the author in my head, at times quite loudly, so here are a few of the thoughts that came to my mind:

The author puts "faith" in the first paragraph in quotation marks, showing his opinion clearly from the get-go. According to him, there is no faith in Judaism, only "traditions".

"the Jewish faith constitutes enemy territory" -- Herein lies the thesis of the author's approach to Jews and Judaism. However, this thesis is critically flawed. The passage he quotes later in the excerpt shows an important difference between the author's approach and G-d's approach: "As regards the gospel, they are enemies of God for your sake" (Rom. 11:28). The first problem is that the author places Jews and Judaism as his own enemies, not as enemies of G-d (as far as the Besorah is concerned), as Paul is clearly saying. The second problem is that the author ignores the extremely important point that Paul goes on to make in the second part of verse 28 and in verse 29: "but as regards election they are beloved, for the sake of their ancestors; 29 for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable." Jews may arouse G-d's wrath (just as Gentiles may do the same, see verse 30), but regarding election they are still beloved by G-d because of the Patriarchs, and He will never revoke their calling as His people. The author's thesis is thus irreparably damaged. He (the author) has no enemies, and G-d has determined that His people will be His people for eternity. Thus, speaking to Jewish people about Messiah is not "an invasion of alien territory". G-d fights a battle in the hearts of all people, and He does not need us to fight this battle for Him. As he said to Shmuel, "the L-rd does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the L-rd looks on the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7)

"Today’s Jews are divided into groupings ranging from the outspoken atheists of Reform Judaism and uncommitted agnostics of Conservative Judaism to Orthodox Jews who are faithful to Jewish rites and rituals." -- Obviously the author has never met the Jews that I know. The vast majority of Jews that I have met from all backgrounds are committed, spiritual people with real faith in G-d. The author is entirely too quick to relegate them to the trash bin and cast aspersions on their faith based on his assumptions about their beliefs and their hearts.

"There are historical reasons for this insistence that Messianic believers must be pushed from the family but the chief reason..." -- with these words, the author effectively dismisses the long history of Christian aggression against Jews. If we lived in a world that did not have that history of persecution, I firmly believe that the extreme dissonance between Messianic believers and their non-messianic families would be dramatically different. When Jews look back and see the forced conversions, the millions raped and murdered in the name of "the Gospel", it is no wonder that they are opposed to Christianity and to Messiah. The Church forgot that Yeshua is the stumbling block, and instead became the stumbling block in Yeshua's place.

"Paul faced enmity because his gospel did not make room for the "traditions" (Gal. 1:14)." -- I don't know what Bible the author is reading, but he has missed the entire point of Galatians 1:14 and has read into Paul a distaste for the traditions of his people that Paul did not possess. Paul says nothing disparaging in Galatians 1:14 about the traditions he followed. He merely states a fact: he was more zealous for the traditions than his peers, so he advanced further than they did in his observance. We must remember that Paul considered himself to be Jewish his entire life. He had the same zeal for G-d when he wrote Galatians that he had had before his experience on the Damascus road. He did not consider himself to be a "Christian" because there was no such thing. He approved of Torah and of its observance, and continued to follow it until his death. What changed for him? Messiah. That's all.

Labels: Messianic Judaism

Richard points to another report, this time on vegetarianism. The report says that vegetarianism is effective for people wanting to lose weight, but Richard points out that he has no anecdotal evidence to support that position. He mentions my expanding tummy, despite my kosher vegetarian diet, as proof. I have to say that my weight gain over the last year is not due to eating vegetarian but due to eating badly. Eating vegetarian can be very unhealthy if it is not practiced correctly. Some people get into the vegetarian thing and end up eating more carbs and sweets than when they were carnivorous, thus increasing caloric intake and nullifying the value of a vegetarian diet. If all you eat is white bread and over-cooked (non-raw) vegetables, then your vegetarian diet will likely fail.

As the article points out, a vegetarian diet leads to "lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and other life-threatening conditions linked to overweight and obesity." The thing is that vegetarians are, as a whole, much more concerned with overall health and nutrition, which means that they are more likely to know and follow healthy nutrition practices.

Labels: Health

My brother has made a big deal on his blog the last few days about people he knows who promote what he considers to be "junk science". I wonder if he considers me and Lindsey to fit in that category, especially considering the fact that we support and practice unassisted childbirth, no vaccinations, and quite a few other "alternative" viewpoints. I guess if the shoe fits....

As Lindsey mentioned to me, at least three of the "warning signs of junk science" given in the article linked above can be easily applied to modern hospital childbirth. What is extremely interesting is that the author of the article leaves out one key ingredient of true junk science: The belief that a scientific practice is valid because it uses the latest technology. The entire modern medical establishment stands on that belief, which is why consumers buy more medications now than ever before, go through elective surgeries at amazingly high rates, and expect the latest and greatest medical discovery to change their lives forever. Time-tested, proven practices, such as wholesome nutrition and regular exercise, will provide more for our health than the plethora of medical "discoveries" out there.

Don't get the impression that I am completely opposed to modern medicine. The thing is that I see its value in the repair of major issues, not in making my life easier while not requiring me to change what I am doing to hurt myself. I thoroughly support setting broken bones, fixing failing hearts, and developing cures for cancer; I do not support stapling stomachs, drugging kids with "ADHD", and having elective C-setions.

One of Richard's recent posts is about a study that apparently vindicates aspartame, the sugar substitute found in a large amount of processed food including diet soft drinks, of any harmful effect on the body. While I am not an expert, I do not see how this one study conclusively proves that aspartame is not dangerous, especially when there is a large corpus of evidence to the contrary. So, to counterbalance, here is a short list of resources, including articles by doctors, study results, and other information, all about aspartame and the harmful effects it has on the body.

• Article - Life after Aspartame
• Article - Aspartame: What You Don't Know Can Hurt You
• Article - Aspartame Disease: An FDA-Approved Epidemic
• Article - Emerging Facts About Aspartame
• Study shows that aspartame causes cancer
  • News Article
  • Study (PDF)
• Later analysis of the same study by other doctors shows more links to cancer
• Study - Increasing brain tumor rates: is there a link to aspartame?
• References cited in the article "Neurotoxic Potential of Aspartame" by Barbara Mullarkey
  • First half
  • Second Half

Labels: Health

Here is some great news about the Hatzevah region of Israel, where I spent a week digging in the dirt in January. The Israeli government has decided to block strip mining for phosphates in order to perserve part of an ancient spice route that runs through the Aravah.

No, this is not a post about joining a nudist colony. Wednesday, April 5 is the First Annual CSS Naked Day, a day designed to boost awareness of Web Standards. I have gone to considerable effort to develop this site in strict XHTML, so I will be participating in the CSS Naked Day. If your site is not Standards compliant, I encourage you to read up on what getting compliant is all about, and how beneficial being compliant can be for you. The possibilities are endless!

Labels: Technology

(Update to this prior issue.) After running into brick wall after brick wall with I.R.I.S., I have finally decided to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. You can read my letter to the BBB if you are interested.

Whatever you do, I highly suggest that you never buy a single product from I.R.I.S. Inc. The company has some major issues with dishonesty and has an apparent inability to address customer complaints.

UPDATE: An new update to this situation is here, and the final resolution is here.

Labels: Technology