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Every party acted according to its outlook and views. However, all of their activities had one side that was equal, in that they didn't limit themselves to the four cubits of private benefit, or local benefit, but their ultimate goal was the good of the entire nation.
The most active party in the city was the Zionist party, and we have devoted earlier pages of this book to describing the founding of the Zionist association and its early activities. I mentioned there the names of several of its founders and their endeavors.
However, over time the first group came apart; some of them passed away, some of them left Kielce, some of them, one by one, abandoned the camp and became indifferent to the national project. Many left Zionism and joined other groups.
But in their place new members arrived, most of them from the seats of the study hall. They stood with the Zionist camp as a solid rock. Even during the most difficult days of the Zionist movement they stood at their posts and did not abandon camp.
Zionism encountered crises after the death of Herzl, ZL, the initial enthusiasm faded. Also during the period of the Russian liberation movement, many left the national movement and the vision of the rebirth of the nation in its homeland. Impatient spirits found themselves disappointed when they saw that the redemption was tarrying and began to believe that the political and social revolution would bring salvation and redemption to the nation of Israel as well. They deluded themselves that the source of anti-Semitism lay in the policies of an autocratic government that was backwards in its reforms for the benefit of the masses, and in order to divert people's anger in a different direction, purposely inflamed the hearts of the masses to hatred against the Jews, by pointing to them as exploiters of the populace, as the only ones responsible for the decrepit state of the nation. But when the revolution succeeded and the people will take the reins of government in their own hands and establish democratic rule, then the situation of the masses would be improved by social reforms. In the new conditions, the country would turn into a Garden of Eden, peace and goodwill would exist between the nations and there would no longer be any place for anti-Semitism.
the twenty fifth anniversary of the movement, 1909-1934
Thus argued many of those who turned their backs on the Zionist movement. Also later, when the revolution did not succeed, and the reactionary force returned to its former rule and demonstrated its power in riots that it held in dozens of cities and towns, in spilling Jewish blood and in despicable plots that they conspired against them Zionism did not succeed in those difficult days in acquiring new adherents in Kielce or in penetrating the masses, on the contrary, many of its earlier disciples left it.
Bitter disappointment attacked the masses of Jewish people at that time, they saw no salvation or redemption in any of the movements, despair overcame them, and to escape their distress they left their places of residence, took up the staff of the wanderer and immigrated to the countries of the Americas and to other parts of the world. The Zionist movement at the time was quieted; its impress was no longer noted on the Jewish streets. Besides selling a few Shekels and gathering money for the Odessa committee, there was no real Zionist activity on the Jewish street.
However, even in days of crisis like these there were a few for whom Zionism was a part of their spiritual essence, their faith in it was strong and no force could uproot it from their hearts. They stood on guard and kept the flame burning so that it didn't go out. They endeavored to keep an eternal flame burning on the altar of the Zionist idea.
I will mention here mention the names of the active Zionists who were most distinguished in the field of Zionist action in Kielce.
In the front row stood the Kajzer brothers. They were the priests of the Zionist idea in Kielce, they lived the life of Zionism, did not let the Zionist flag out of their hands in all conditions and circumstances. While still on the benches of the study hall they began to spread the Zionist idea among their comrades in scholarship.
Later as well, when they left the study hall and began to work in negotiation and trade, the Zionist idea continued to glow and shine in front of their eyes. They arranged their homes, educated their children in the spirit of the Zionism they had been instilled with in the days of their youth. In Kielce, the name Kajzer was a synonym for the concept of Zionism. The elder of them, Szymon Kajzer, ZL, who owned an emporium for books and writing implements, made his home a center for the Zionists. In his shop and also in his home, those friendly to the idea and to action would gather to consult about Zionist matters. When a young man happened to arrive in the city and was thinking of joining the Zionist circle, his first path was to the home of Szymon Kajzer. He was the address for the pads of Shekels for sale, flyers and brochures with a Zionist content to be distributed.
Even during times when Zionist activities were forbidden by the Czar's government, Kajzer continued his activities for Zion in spite of the ban and in spite of the searches of the police, who would visit his home from time to time. Once, the police arrested him, when they found pads of Shekels in his possession. When he was released he continued with his work.
Meetings of the local members were held in his house. In order to throw off the police, the members didn't enter or leave all together, but one at a time from different directions. They would take short cuts, walk a round about way to show that they had another goal in mind until, quite innocently, they found themselves at Kajzer's house.
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When a Zionist speaker came to Kielce, or a national preacher or activist their first stop was the home of Sz. Kajzer.
Towards the end of his life he traveled to the land of Israel as a tourist. He wanted to first see the conditions there and later also to settle there with his family. He toured the country up and down and returned to his home to liquidate his business and his assets and realize the dream of his soul; however, death caught him first, and his bones did not get to lie in the soil of the holy land, object of his heart's desire his entire life, whose rebirth and reconstruction he had so yearned to see.
His brother Nechemja was also devoted to the Zionist idea his whole life. He was the agent of the Zionist Organization in Kielce, all the affairs of the Zionists were in his hands: the affairs of the national funds, matters pertaining to immigration to the land of Israel. His wife, Ester Kajzer, a woman of valor, and activist in WIZO [Women of the International Zionist Organization], also participated in every Zionist and national enterprise. They sent their son Icak to the land of Israel; he is now a doctor in the Israel Defense Forces. Their commercial ties did not allow them to leave their dwelling place and to move to the land of their inspiration themselves. Their younger brother settled in the land of Israel when he was still young and as a construction worker he worked towards the rebirth of the country. The flesh-pot of the Diaspora did not have the power to draw him back to his parents and his brother, who lived a life of wealth and lacked nothing.
At the side of the Kajzer brothers stood the Zionist Mosze Piekarski. A man of noble spirit, instilled with Jewish values, well read in its ancient and modern literature, he devoted his physical and spiritual strengths to the Zionist idea and the rebirth of the nation in its homeland. His home was also filled with a Zionist atmosphere; his children were educated in the national-Zionist spirit. He was a model and exemplar of the Jew who was complete in his attributes, his opinions and his manners. Attached to the tradition of his forefathers, he did not regard the new currents in Jewish life negatively. His opinion was that whatever a Jewish mind conceived and thought, whatever Jewish energies created and activated was dedicated to the nation, and entered its treasury of assets. Having common sense of his own, he knew how to appreciate the common sense of others too.
As the head of the Zionists in Kielce he did much to infuse the Zionist idea in the hearts of the Jewish masses, and to this end he gave popular lectures on subjects and problems of current interest and also in the field of Hebrew literature. He was one who did what he said. After the publication of the Balfour Declaration, when the vision of generations began to be realized, he liquidated his assets and moved to the land of Israel with his family, to the land his heart desired.
When he arrived in this country he did not take up trade as he had in the Diaspora; he knew that the land needed active hands to be renewed from its desolation and he became a farmer. Even though he was approaching old age, he approached the difficult agricultural work in an unaccustomed climate with youthful heat and enthusiasm. The idea that he had been able to be one of the builders of the homeland and among those making its wasteland fruitful, made all the work pleasant to him, including the most difficult. This is the figure of a Jew complete in all aspects!
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Here is another elevated figure of one of the Kielce Zionists: Alter Ehrlich, the son-in-law of Rabbi Cwi Zagajski. Alter Ehrlich this is a delicate figure, an undramatic sort of generous character. The son of a wealthy family he chose in his life not a life of pleasure and private happiness, as his situation warranted and allowed, but devoted himself with every fiber of his being to the national task, the Zionist task, in which he found satisfaction for his soul and ease for his spirit. He did not seek out other pleasures. True pleasure he found only in the opportunity to do something for the good of the nation. Every piece of information that contained a hint about some Zionist success, he brought to me in excitement, and his face glowed with inner joy. It was as if a private life did not exist for him. He lived the life of the nation. He rejoiced in its joys and was saddened by its sorrows.
As the son of Chassidim, he did not initially leave their community even when he was a Zionist. However, he was not able to remain in their company for long. He could not tolerate the mockery, the scorn and the pointed remarks at the expense of the Zionists on the part of the zealous Chassidim. His sensitive soul was full of love and affection for every single individual of the people of Israel, and jealousy and hatred were foreign to his spirit and he was unable to calmly tolerate the arrogance of certain Chassidim who felt that they themselves were the creme de la creme of the nation; and that those who were not members of their community were like garlic skins in their eyes, and they would annul them like dirt [a phrase from the Passover rituals].
He separated himself from them not out of hatred, heaven forbid, but because he was unable to remain in their narrow confines. His soul yearned for spaciousness and wished to include all segments of the people all were important in his eyes.
According to his views, every single limb of the national body had an essential role. Although there were weaker limbs, limbs which would eventually detach themselves from the body. But as long as the limb is part of the body, and is supported by it it was not superfluous, it has value for the entire body. There is a mutual influence between the body's limbs.
This was the opinion of Ehrlich the Zionist, at which he arrived not as the result of thought, but which flowed directly from his heart's values, from the warm affection that burned in him like a holy flame for his people who were enslaved and bound by the bonds of the exile. Zionism was an exalted vision of his heart, upon whose realization the redemption of the nation depended, as well as its internal and external liberation, and he devoted himself to the movement and worked and acted in its favor until his last breath.
Even during the days of his long illness, he did not abandon his national work. He was also a delegate to the Zionist Congress in Vienna. With the aid of his wife, who was a loyal partner in his Zionist endeavors as well, he continued to weave in his spirit's dream the long thread of the redemption of Israel, so that its tip would reach a rebuilt and liberated Jerusalem.
I will mention here also Mosze Kalichsztajn, ZL. He was also one of the outstanding Zionists in Kielce. He also came to Zionism from the benches of the study hall. The Zionist idea took him hostage and did not let him go until the day of his death. He was devoted to it not only with abstract love, with him Zionism took a concrete form. First of all, he gave his sons and daughters a Zionist education. And when they grew up, most of them moved to the land of Israel and settled there. He himself also moved to the land of Israel and lived there for a number of years. Here in Israel he did difficult labor and did not get upset; for the land of Israel he accepted everything with love and satisfaction.
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However, he was not buried in the soil of the land of Israel, of which he was so fond all of his life. He returned to visit his old birthplace for family reasons and remained there for several years. When he was preparing to return to the land of his aspirations, whose praises and glories he had never ceased to sing, he took ill with a terminal illness which cast him upon his deathbed, from which he did not arise again.
This enthusiastic Zionist did not have time to pack his belongings and to return to the renewed homeland, to his offspring, who had meanwhile become involved with the land that was being reborn.
The inhabitants of Kielce gave him great honor at his death, eulogized him properly and as befits a man who devoted his life not only to selfish goals, to establish a standard of life for himself, but for the national task, its culture and the rebirth of its homeland.
Among the outstanding Zionists a leading position was given to Mosze Rotenberg, ZL. The son of a family of lineage, the grandson of the Rabbi of Witoslaw in the Kielce district, he entered the Zionist circle when still a young man, there he found his place. He lived the task of the nation body and soul. He worked for his brother and the members of his community in the city of his birth in public institutions, and in gratitude the inhabitants of Kielce elected him to be a member of the municipal council; in the council he was elected to the municipal authority. There he stood, firm as a rock among the Polish members of the city authority who were mostly anti-Semites and struggled with them and did not allow the municipality discriminate against the Jewish inhabitants of the city.
However, he could see in his soul that there was no future for Jews in Poland, in which anti-Semitism was growing stronger. He moved to the land of Israel with his family and settled there. Here he also did not disdain any work; every job, even the most difficult, was attractive to him, for he knew that working here was national work; the homeland would be built only by much hard and exhausting labor. In the land of Israel he devoted the entire warmth of his heart to the work of Kofer HaYeshuv [Ransom of the Yishuv tax owed to Turkish authorities] and organized the payments of Kofer HaYeshuv from [fees from] transportation and margarine. He was also very active in the Conscription Appeal which was founded during World War II as the financial project of the Hagana.
One of the most popular and favorite figures among the Zionists of Kielce was Szmuel Lewartowski, ZL.
From his youth an enthusiastic Zionist, public activist and devoted to the common weal.
He was one of the founders of the Zionist Association in Kielce. During the pogrom in 1918 he was seriously injured during the Zionist meeting, when he defended the national honor. He was active in the Zionist institutions and a generous contributor to the national funds, was known as the gabbai of the Zionist study hall and synagogue of the Zionists, Sha'arei Zion [Gates of Zion] for many years.
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Not only Zion captured his heart, but also the fate of the disadvantaged and those suffering in society was another area of his broad public activity.
With all the warmth of his heart and his energy he was devoted to the Orphanage, and was also one of the activists on the committee of the new old age home, Moshav Zekeinim.
Concerns for education were also not foreign to his mind he was among the first to be a patron of the Jewish Gymnasium and one of its loyal friends and supporters.
In 1937 he visited the land of Israel to investigate the possibility of settling here with the members of his family; he remained in the land for three months and was enthusiastic about every thing large and small that was being done in our land.
Upon his return he fell victim to the Fascist and anti-Semitic regime in Poland. He was jailed in the infamous camp Bereza Kartuska on suspicion of transferring funds to the land of Israel.
When Hitler's minions entered Kielce he was taken along with the forty respected Jews of the city as a hostage. During the days of the Nazi occupation he was known as an indomitable spirit which did not give in to the suffering that existed in the alleyways of the ghetto, and perished together with his wife, Rachel Lewartowski, nee Szofman, who was an exemplary Jewish mother, and their two daughters, Guta and Cwia.
His third daughter and two sons survived who, thanks to the Zionist education they received from their parents, moved to the land of Israel in time and still live here.
There were other active personalities in the Zionist party; but these were also well known in other spheres of action and I will yet have an opportunity to mention their names and discuss their activities.
In general, the Zionists of Kielce were very aware of everything that was going on in the Jewish world and the outer world and reacted according to the principles of Zionism.
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Its early founders were Chassidim who clustered in the shadows of various Admors, whose attitude to the land of Israel was a positive one. The Chassidim of Radomsk, Piaseczno, Checiny and a portion of the Alexander Chassidim joined the Mizrachi movement in Kielce. Only the Gur Chassidim stood apart and did not allow anyone of their number to move into the Mizrachi. The married students [avrechs] whose hearts were devoted to laboring for the nation were forced to leave the sztibl [small synagogues attached to specific Chassidic rabbis] and the Admor as well, in whose shadow they had clustered until now. The Zionist idea, which penetrated deep into the hearts of the masses of the nation of Israel, also in circles which had been, up to this time, its chief opponents overcame the courts of the Admors as well, whose field of vision had until now been limited to the four cubits of the members of their courts and their adherents and had not strayed from their narrow framework.
The young rabbis who came to Kielce to preach religious Zionism caused a revolution among the various ranks of the Chassidim. The Chassidim and very orthodox were surprised by the appearance of rabbis propagandizing Zionism, a role that until now only members of the free intelligentsia had filled, who were far from traditional Judaism.
First a young rabbi named Rapaport visited Kielce, the rabbi of the small town of Andrzejewo in Lodz province. With fiery words he preached the Zionist concepts. His words awakened voices and strong yearnings for Zion deep within the hearts of his listeners. This was an unimaginable sight that a rabbi with a rabbinical cloak should stand on the platform and speak in praise of Zionism and shower praises and compliments on those who stood at the head of the movement and on its leaders, and the name of Herzl would be mentioned by his lips with awe and honor. Words of mockery, protests and smears about Zionism and its words had been heard from the mouths of rabbis up until now, and suddenly, here was a revolution in the spirits of the rabbis. One after another they come up and join the Mizrachi, join the wing of the religious Zionist, and begin widespread public relations on the Jewish street.
The words of these rabbis found listening ears and a wide field of activities opened up before the lovers of Zion. The echoes of redemption were in the air. On one side were the horrors of the war, which had especially injured Jewish habitations, false libels, expulsions, riots, murders, which poured down upon the heads of the Jews during the war years. In spite of the full participation of the Jews in the war, at the side of all of the other soldiers, they were still not exempt from the disasters; their homes were destroyed, their families moved from place to place. It was not enough that they spilled their own blood on the battlefields, the additional blood of their fathers, brothers and sisters who remained behind the front lines was spilled as well. Jewish blood was spilled for no reason and no purpose. The tragedy of the Jews in all of its terror was revealed to all eyes.
On the other side, rumors of a Jewish legion fighting in the land of Israel to release its homeland from the yoke of the Turks. They heard about a second Cyrus in the form of Balfour, the British Foreign Minister, who publicly declared before the nations that the land of Israel would be given to the Jews, and that they would establish there a national home for their brothers who were scattered in all the countries of the world. All these rumors excited the minds and prepared the hearts to receive the consolatory words of the Zionist propagandists and to join their ranks.
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The zealous opponents of Zionism in the city wanted to weaken the tremendous impression that the rabbi of Andrzejewo made upon his Chassidic listeners, especially upon the younger ones, therefore they put out a story that some Zionist propagandist had dressed up like a rabbi and was traveling around the cities of Poland in order to steal souls from the Torah of God and obtain them for the camp of the free-thinkers and those who had overthrown the yoke [of religious observance]. However, these scornful words had the opposite effect. People were no longer innocent and gullible enough to believe everything, as they had been at the start of the Zionist movement. The war, and mainly the press, which was mainly pro-Zionist, had done its work, eyes were opened, hearts were prepared to understand how things truly stood. The Zionist movement became dominant on the Jewish street and became a grass-roots movement.
This mood allowed the founding of the Mizrachi Association in Kielce, which had illustrious people among its founders: Hilel Oberman of the Piaseczno Chassidim, Zew Kluska, of the Alexander Chassidim, Icak Kirszenbaum of the Kozienice Chassidim, Jakob Szlomo Zylbersztajn, of the Radomsk Chassidim, Izrael Zylbersztajn and Zyskind Herman, of the Sokolow Chassidim, Awraham Ber Ajzenberg of the Checiny Chassidim, and aside from them, a large group of young people and avrechs [married yeshiva scholars], who had left the sztiblach because they couldn't bear the atmosphere that reined there.
After the first rabbi, a second rabbi came to Kielce, Rabbi J.L. Zlotnik from Gombin [Gabin], a great speaker; with his words, spoken with enthusiastic pathos; he took many souls hostage. Women threw their jewels at his feet; men committed themselves to donate large sums to redeem the land. The youth were charmed by his speeches and were ready to get right up and move to the land of Israel, and even to sacrifice their lives for the homeland. I have never seen such enthusiasm envelope the masses as that which was revealed when this rabbi spoke about Zion and Jerusalem. Those gathered carried the speaker on their shoulders. Cheers and applause were deafening. The tremendous impression that this rabbi made in his speeches was not erased from the hearts of his audience.
After these two rabbis other rabbis of repute would visit Kielce from time to time. Especially Rabbi Amiel of Grajewo, who was later the chief rabbi of Tel Aviv, made many souls for the Mizrachi idea. This rabbi was a speaker of a different sort, he spoke from the mind and not from the heart. In his style the brain was stronger than the emotion. His words were logical. He would convince not with his pathos, not with his enthusiasm, not with his flowery words or empty phraseology his strength was not in these. He was moderate in his speech; emotionally calm, he would analyze the matter about which he was speaking. With his logic, his great knowledge of our ancient and modern literature, and that of other nations as well, with his literary style which would have placed him among the first rank of modern speakers with these qualities of spirit he triumphed over his opponents and gathered souls to his opinions and views, which were all devoted to the nation, to Israel, to its teachings and its land.
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Faced with this rabbi, who had a reputation also as a Gaon [religious prodigy] in his own generation, even the zealots lowered their heads, the fiercest opponents of Zionism did not dare to assault him crudely and mockingly. Their opposition to his opinions was expressed by proof texts from scripture and Jewish law that forbade connection with evildoers, who have thrown off the yoke of the Torah.
At a debating party which was held in the Kostarski hall, in which members of the Aguda participated, and at which their best speakers gave speeches, with the goal of weakening the great influence of Rabbi Amiel upon his listeners, his opponents didn't dare to attack him with crude epithets as was their wont; they referred to him politely and with manners, with quotes taken from Jewish law and lore with which they attempted to prove that the path of the rabbis who were joining the Zionist camp was not the correct one and is opposed to the Torah and also to the decisions of later arbiters.
The rabbi, of course, gave them satisfying answers; the national emotion that beat in his heart, together with his healthy logic gave him what to say in response and he contradicted their words with ease. According to the verse: answer the fool with his nonsense, the rabbi gave proofs with the generosity of his great knowledge, that according to Jewish law and the arbiters there is no ban on joining even with free-thinker, when the good of the entire nation is their goal; the reverse is true, when they reveal a love of Israel and give their lives for the nation, they are kosher Jews and cannot be considered with those who sin against the nation, whose actions cause catastrophe for the entire people.
The explanation of one of the maxims of the sages that I heard from this rabbi at that party remains etched in my memory. He quoted the sayings that are brought in the Talmud about the reasons that led to the destruction of the second Temple. In one place it says: Jerusalem was destroyed only because people based their words upon the law. and in another place it says: Jerusalem was destroyed because of baseless hatred. These two reasons are the same in their essence, there were people who wished to sow hatred between the various parts of the people, they would search and find a law, and based upon it they would justify their acts of separation.
After Rabbi Amiel's visit to Kielce the Mizrachi grew stronger and many members joined its ranks.
Kielce was also fortunate enough to greet Rabbi Kowalski of Wloclawek. This enlightened rabbi had become famous among the Jews of Poland from the time he was elected as a Senator in the Polish Senate. It was a time when the election of the president was supposed to take place, the head of the Polish state. The president, according to the country's constitution, was elected by a majority of the votes of the delegates of the Sejm [parliament] and the Senate. The candidate for the head of the state was Professor Narotowicz, a well-known democrat, and he had a good chance of winning an absolute majority of the votes. This progressive and popular candidate was a thorn in the sides of the Endeks [National Democrats], who objected to his election. In order to reduce the number of democratic voters, the Endeks used acts of terror against the delegates of the Senate and the Sejm. They enlisted student thugs to stand in long rows along the streets that led to the Sejm who would stop the democratic delegates and especially the Jewish delegates and force them to retrace their steps, and if anyone refused to do the bidding of the thugs, he would be savagely beaten.
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Rabbi Kowalski was not afraid of this terror, and with unusual courage traveled to the Siem by carriage, together with Deuczer, the delegate from Agudat Yisra'el, in order to fulfill his civic and Jewish duty. The thugs, of course, had no respect for the aged and honored him with a hail of blows. The rabbi and Rabbi Deuczer, beaten and injured, entered the gates of the Sejm to cheers of encouragement and respect. The democratic delegates shook their hands in appreciation of their coming to fulfill their responsibility without regard for the dangers involved.
When this rabbi came to Kielce on Zionist business, his reputation preceded him and the city's inhabitants showered him with honor. The synagogue was opened for him and there he preached to the audience sermons that attracted the heart of whoever heard them, in their content and in their beautiful style. Every time the rabbi appeared to give his speeches the synagogue was filled to the brim.
This rabbi did not avoid bringing quotes and opinions of Jewish and non-Jewish scholars to bolster his opinions. Ranak [Rabbi Nachman Krochmal], Achad Ha'am [Asher Ginsburg], also Hegel and Kant were people he frequently mentioned, not to argue with them, but to demonstrate how the words of our sages in ancient times also contained opinions and views that were expressed by wise men who lived many years after them. He used simple and popular language, which came from the heart, full of love for the nation and all it held holy. He was not used to bringing a verse and introducing the many problems it contained, like the other preachers, and afterwards by sophistry solving them with clever thoughts; instead he approached a verse directly, in order to reveal its true meaning. Maxims of the sages he approached without short cuts and revealed their inner meaning. He based his words on his knowledge of the ancient and modern literature of Israel and Jewish history. His speech, which usually lasted for two hours, did not bore; the gathered stood as if nailed to their places, their ears pricked up to listen and not to lose even one of his words. He opened new horizons before them. Things they had never heard, their ears told them and all of it in simple language understandable even by someone who had not read and learned much.
Those gathered would leave the synagogue full of pleasure and relaxation; their eyes had seen and their ears had heard, that in their own generation there were rabbis who were worthy of the rabbinical cloak and who were graced with a heart full of the love of Israel, and who had an eye that could see to great distances, encompassing times and places far removed from their narrow field. Everyone saw it as a sign of the times when a group of rabbis appeared who were patient and who were willing to work for the good of the entire nation and did not limit themselves to the four cubits of their own communities. The rebirth of the nation's hopes for redemption is what, finally, awakened its words, its propagators, those who aroused it and its heralds.
The Mizrachi' at that time gained esteem in the camp of its opponents as well. They learned that the movement included famous Torah leaders of the day, whose qualifications, purity of spirit and depth of thought should not be ignored. The Mizrachi became a major carrier of all Jewish values: Torah and commandments, national goals and rebirth.
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Among the nationalist rabbis who visited Kielce the figure of Rabbi Zew Gold, president of the International Mizrachi Association, especially was engraved on the hearts of its inhabitants. This was the type of rabbi they had in the western countries. The rabbis of the west attempted to influence their listeners not only with depth of thought and precision of mind; but also with their outer look, with the harmonious movements of their limbs, the expression on their faces, and mostly the way their voices went up and down. They had something of the art of an actor. Rabbi Gold was expert in these attributes to a very great degree. When he was speaking, he passed pictures and figures before his listeners, and with his gestures, his facial expressions and the colors of his voice he gave them a three-dimensional shape. It seemed to you as if they were standing, live, in front of you.
When he first spoke in Kielce he reminded the audience of the popular legend that in the days of the Messiah, the Jews would walk upon a bridge of paper and would not fall into the water, and their enemies would walk upon a bridge of iron and would perish in the depths. The way he told this legend charmed his listeners; with his graphic speech and his gestures he awakened the imagination of the audience until it seemed to every one that the bridge was in front of us, the Jews were walking securely and their enemies faced the yawning abyss.
He had the power to transport his listeners from the real world to the imaginary world. When he described the life in the land of Israel he gave it colors, light and glow; the shadows faded in the light that he was able to grant them with his gifts of speech. He did not deny things or change the facts, he did not want to win hearts to the movement by altering the situation; but it seemed as if the deep love that dwelled in the heart of this speaker for the homeland that was renewing its youthfulness, this forced us to see all the forms of its development as positive phenomena which warmed the heart, until even the shadows within them shone with the light of rebirth.
An argument between the sellers in the Tel-Aviv market was in itself a negative social event. The fight of poor women over a meager penny this was certainly not a pleasant vision for sophisticated minds. But with an artist-speaker like Rabbi Gold, who saw sparks of rebirth and development even in the ugliness of life, the insults of She-donkey! Despicable one! Stupid! become pleasant to the ear, showing the distinct signs of the rebirth of the Hebrew language, which had penetrated even to the lower classes of the Jewish settlement there.
The pathos that did not leave him for even a moment did its work; the listeners were charmed by his manner of speech and were hypnotized by him when he stood on the platform and described to them, like a movie, scene after scene of life in the Jewish settlements in the land of Israel as it was being reborn.
The Jews of Kielce yearned for Rabbi Gold. An announcement of his arrival would fill their hearts with joy. The last time he visited the city he lectured in the hall of the local theatre. Great masses of people came then to hear his words. The hall was crammed with people, because Rabbi Gold was a great favorite of the Jews of Kielce.
Also Rabbi Sz. Brot, head of the rabbinical court of the holy congregation of Lipno, a delegate to the Polish Siem, visited Kielce once.
Mizrachi celebrated the completion of the writing of a Torah scroll. In honor of this important event this rabbi was invited to glorify the celebration of a commandment with his presence. This gave the Jews of the city an opportunity to meet this important rabbi and to hear his wonderful sermon from his mouth, which demonstrated the depth of this sharp mind and also his amazing knowledge in all areas of Judaism.
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I will also mention here the visit of Rabbi Bronrot of Ciechanow in Kielce, who later became head of the rabbinical court in the Tel-Aviv community. He was a type of Chassidic rabbi. Even after he joined the Mizrachi camp he did not cease from remaining close to the Admor of Alexander. When he arrived in Kielce, the Alexander Chassidim received him with great respect as a most important one of their number.
This rabbi clung to the habits of the rabbis of the older generation who generally approached the verses with questions and afterwards, in their efforts to answer them, inserted intentions and ideas into them, which suited the purpose of sermon. According to their final conclusion, all difficulties were removed, all questions were cancelled, the verses emerged from their veil, clear in every way.
Rabbi Bronrot did not like fancy speech; his style was straightforward, popular. He used simple means when he came to influence his listeners, and his words made an impression. The listener saw before him a rabbi, speaking words that came naturally from the heart, without pretensions before those gathered of brilliant, artificial words; therefore his words entered the heart and his influence was no less than that of the greatest of speakers for whom speaking was a profession.
After every visit of a rabbi, the Mizrachi received a new infusion of blood and continued its national labor with renewed energy. Young forces were added to it that were alert and always prepared for work. The Mizrachi acquired a lovely, spacious apartment with many rooms, and there installed the prayer room for the Mizrachi members, a room for the secretariat, a reading room. Evening classes in Hebrew and Jewish history were arranged; with classes in Talmud on Sabbaths and holidays as well as on The Kuzari [philosophical text by medieval Sephardic Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi], Chovat Halevavot [Requirement of the Hearts, a moral treatise from 19 th century central Europe], etc. Young and old were especially drawn to the Mizrachi hall for the Oneg Shabbat [Sabbath Pleasure] parties, at which participants found physical and spiritual pleasure; singing, poetry, dancing and interesting lectures, and after them a glass of wine or beer which warmed the hearts and raised them above the lowliness of life, spreading a sublime holiness among the members.
The classes in scientific texts were given in a new method, with historical and philosophical interpretation, and they were something of a surprise to their listeners, sort of a revelation of new worlds and the participants grew in number from Sabbath to Sabbath.
The Culture Committee, which was composed of the members Cwi Nibilski, Josef Kaszanski, Elijahu Iser Rozenblum, Fiszel Guthart and the writer of these lines, worked without cease and with great enthusiasm in order to strengthen the light of the Torah in the hearts of the young people and to keep them in the Mizrachi camp, so that they would not leave and go off to other camps and follow foreign slogans.
It is worth writing a few lines about every one of these members just mentioned.
[Page 115]
Cwi Nibilski, the son-in-law of the Rabbi of Wloszczowa, was a married scholar filled to the brim with knowledge about Judaism, expert in ancient and modern Hebrew literature, fluent in foreign languages and well-read in their literature. However, he was shy by nature, humble, modest in his intercourse with others.
He never wanted to stand out or to brag about his knowledge; only in a narrow circle of friends did he come to reveal his soul, among them he found the appropriate atmosphere for his soul and spirit, and among them he would freely express his opinions and ideas, which came out of his mouth like an unending river current. It was pleasant to sit in his company or to walk with him during the summer days, on a Saturday afternoon, after learning in a class at the Mizrachi, between the fields of grain. He would explain every difficult saying in the Talmud or the Midrash, in Rashi and other commentaries in an easy manner by adding a word, or setting it in its proper place. Sometimes he would explain an enormous question by changing a letter. He would easily settle contradictions and straighten out misunderstandings, for this man was expert in the pearls of the Talmud and in various literatures, ancient and modern. By nature he was a literal thinker, and casuistry was hateful to him; he would attempt to banish the difficulty with understanding by studying the different versions [of text].
His powers of observation were highly developed. On walks along the paths in the fields, he would identify every bird and insect by name, and he would describe at great length the attributes and nature of every tree and grass; and it seemed to you as if some professor of science was standing before you and giving a lesson in zoology or botany.
His profession was bookkeeping. And in this too he injected much of his talent. For a long time he worked as a clerk at the Hebrew Gymnasium, afterwards at banks and private commercial concerns, and in every place he excelled in his precision and devotion to his profession.
Josef Kaszanski was a rival of Nibilski. Neither wanted to recognize the advantages of the other. Mr. Kaszanski had ambitions to be a poet. He would compose poems and send them to the newspaper editors; but they were never printed. His habit was to complain to his friends about the newspaper editors. He worked as a teacher of religion at the S. Wolman's Gymnasium for girls.
His faith in his own strengths and knowledge was so strong that he had successes in life because of it. First of all, he got the job as a teacher in the Gymnasium without any complication. Secondly, he became the official translator at the district court. Others, whose knowledge of languages and general education were much greater than the knowledge and education of this professor, didn't dare to vie for official posts, and he with his mediocre knowledge attained what others in their wisdom did not.
His post as official translator in the district court intensified the hatred between him and Nibilski. How? And why? I will tell things here as they happened, because they reflect the relations between the Jews and the Poles, which worsened drastically in the years before World War II. This detail comes to describe the generality.
[Page 116]
Hitlerism, which was rampant in Germany with its point aimed at the Jews, penetrated Poland also. Anti-Semitism, which lurked in the hearts of the Poles, raised its head and increased seven-fold. The Nazis were their exemplars and they imitated their actions. Wild anti-Semitic incitement began to take place. On the pages of the newspapers, from the platform of the Sejm and the municipal councils the anti-Semites dripped poison and venom upon the Jews. Assaults on Jewish students in the institutions of higher learning, riots against the peddlers on market days, were regular occurrences, to which no one paid any attention. This got to a point where Polish thugs dared to assault Jewish passersby in the streets of the city, or those walking in the city's parks with iron gloves and sticks in broad daylight and in full view of the police.
These things also happened to the Jews of Kielce.
One Saturday afternoon, when the Jews of the city went out, as was their habit, to walk in the city park and along Karczowka Boulevard, thugs assaulted them with bloody blows. When they went to the police for help and protection, they received the response that as long as no one had been killed in the fight between the two groups, they would not get involved. Fights like this can always break out, and one doesn't need to call the police for such ordinary matters.
The local paper, Kielcer Zeitung, published a detailed description of the events in the city park and together with this pointed out that the attitude of the police and its behavior were unjust: not only did it not respond to the events, but even after being turned to for help, it insolently [with chutzpah] evaded helping and protecting the victims.
The police considered itself insulted by the word chutzpah and sued the newspaper's editor, Cwi Nibilski, for insulting the police in print, when it [the police] was guarding the country and keeping the peace.
During the proceedings at court, Nibilski announced that the newspaper delivered the facts as they had actually occurred and that he had had no intention whatsoever of insulting the police. In his opinion, the term chutzpah, has a specific meaning that is: having a stubborn and brave position and does not contain any hint of insult. As evidence and proof of his words he brought the Talmudic sentence Chutzpah even towards the heavens is pleasing. And there it is impossible to put any other intent into the word chutzpah, except the definition appropriate to the sayings meaning, that is, a brave and stubborn attitude is successful even towards God.
The prosecutor, on the other hand, argued that according to the translation of the description it appears that the meaning of the word chutzpah was effrontery that knows no shame, and that is an insult to the police, which must defend its honor. The police are a public institution, and whoever injures it injures the political authorities. Finally, the accuser demanded that the court give the editor a severe sentence.
The court could not make a decision about this philological question and decided to postpone the proceedings until they could hear the opinion of a philologist, someone who was expert in linguistic questions.
As an expert, Professor Kaszanski was summoned, the official translator, this expert found it convenient to side with the police and testified that also in the Polish-Hebrew dictionary the word chutzpah was translated as bezczelnosc effrontery.
[Page 117]
At this time, a lawyer represented for the newspaper who discredited Kaszanski entirely from being an expert in this question, but establishing that the person posing as an expert knew neither Polish nor Hebrew. As an aid to his words, he pointed out mistakes in his speech, and that he didn't know how to follow the stylistic rules of the Polish language, and that the court must not rely on the opinion of a man who doesn't have any familiarity with scientific questions.
During the speech of the lawyer, Kaszanski attempted to apply to the head of the court and demand that the latter protect him from the attacks of the lawyer, but with no result. The head of the court declared that the accused had the right to discredit the expert who is testifying against him with arguments that he, the accused finds to be correct.
The court postponed the proceedings once again in order to hear the opinion of Professor Szor in this matter.
The expert left the courthouse with his head hung low. He was humiliated in full public view before the judges and the people in the courtroom who had come to follow the proceedings.
This trial continued for a long time. Professor Szor did not respond to the summons of the court. He was out of the country at the time, participating in some scholarly convention. Meanwhile, World War II broke out and the order of the world was changed.
From then, from the beginning of the trial and its continuance, the hatred between Nibilski and Kaszanski grew stronger and each one of them would attempt to publicly demonstrate the ignorance of the other.
Despite the flaw of pride and the desire to be superior, which Kaszanski had, to a great extent, he also had positive characteristics as part of his make up. First of all, he was a national religious Zionist. And to a certain extent he knew the Torah, was well read in the Scriptures, in the Hebrew language and its grammar. Thanks to these characteristics he found a place in the ranks of the Mizrachi. He participated in classes for youth, gave speeches at various opportunities and worked on public relations for the land of Israel and its funds.
Since he was a member of the cultural committee of the Mizrachi, the other members with whom he came in contact influenced him quite a bit. Slowly, he grew to respect other peoples' opinions and to change his own opinion regarding his own importance.
Elijahu Iser Rozenblum he was a very special type of both public and national activist. It is worth spending some more time, therefore, and to reveal the hidden paths along which the spirit of this man developed.
If a person has a sensitive spirit and an inner ability to be impressed, no security measures will suffice. Even if he is hidden in darkness, even if he is kept from contact with other people, he will still extend his limits and absorb the opinions and the yearnings that are borne and reveal themselves in the space of the world.
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the translation. The reader may wish to refer to the original material
for verification.
JewishGen is not responsible for inaccuracies or omissions in the original work and cannot rewrite or edit the text to correct inaccuracies and/or omissions.
Our mission is to produce a translation of the original work and we cannot verify the accuracy of statements or alter facts cited.
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Updated 16 Sep 2005 by LA


text:
Tomorrow's kitchens may be radically different from the ones we have now. They need to be space-saving, sophisticated, and more than anything, be kind to the environment. Take a close look at these kitchens of the future for you may be using one sooner than you expect (Especially since some of them are already out on stores!).
The above kitchen (designed by Cheng He, Liu Guang Kui and Zhou Dong from China) was the winning design at "Kitchen is heart of the home", a kitchen design contest organized by DesignBoom where 2980 designers from 102 countries participated. Sow how does it work? Here is the description from the designers themselves.
(1). Creating the new concept of happy kitchen: Sharing the joy with relatives and friends face-to-face.
(2). Cupboard adopts double-deck rotator structure, can rotate 180°respectively, the three major work center of washing, mixing and cooking can rotate in the front of the operator, let "zero" distance in each workflow; And can lift in certain distance in order to be suitable for the different operator.
(3). Flume has two kinds of outlets: The parallel water outlets of induction type lie on both sides of flume; The holding type faucets with metal hose lie in the middle of two flumes, that can be suitable for operating under various environments.
(4).Abandon the board type, slide rail and hinge of the traditional cupboard completely. This cupboard regards the structure frame of aluminium alloy and the combination of stainless steel pipe as the integer structure. Adopt level bearing, hydraulic pressure system, shutting system to realize lifting of cupboard and wall cupboard.
(5). Integrative structures with operational table-board, flume and kitchen, cupboard distribute icebox, disinfector and oven symmetrically, other borders are closets.
(6). Lower cupboard is drawing structure, can pull out wholly while using, and make the operation simplify. Hang the kitchen ventilator under the top cupboard with function of illumination.
Here is another concept kitchen designed by Hieu Tranngoc and Hao Tran from Vietnam which drew inspiration from the shape of an apple tree with fruits hanging from its large branches. It incorporates a closet, a small fridge, an electric cooker, and the microwave oven the two large fruits hanging from the two branches. Additionally, there is provision for mounting an LCD monitor if you are into browsing while you cook.
At first glance, Lebrun's design looks more like a kitchen garden than the actual kitchen. But that is before you get to know that the panel can be opened to reveal a workspace, cooking surface and sink. The plants on top are specialized ones that were developed by the aerospace industry for their filtering and cleaning properties. They provide a renewable supply of clean water and vegetable soap.
If you are conscious of conserving space, you will like this design by Fevzi Karaman which packs nearly everything the kitchen needs in one sleek module.
Alight kitchen from Altera Design Studio is an award winning design at the Incheon International Design Competition 2007 and it hosts a number of features.
Only ready-made food and beverages are consumed in sheet-metal packaging so people will be conscious about what and how much they eat.
Food and beverages packs will be kept inside the cooling unit of the system. It only allows storage of 3 days' worth of food.
A Smart oven warms up the food in groups to minimize how often it's used. It arranges the ideal time and temperature for the packs by reading their barcodes.
There are 4 hollow plates located on the main dining table. Each of them can rotate on its center-axis so you can eat on the either side of the plate. The center of the table houses a small flatware station.
The integrated dishwasher conserves water by filtering and reusing previous wash water.
All plates are stored underneath in their own compartments.
Whirlpool's 'green kitchen' is a concept that pays a lot of attention to reduce wastage by diverting 60% of the water and heat generated from itself to fuel other appliances or functions in the kitchen. For example, it uses the heat from the fridge compressor to produce hot water for the dish washer.
Okay, so far we showed you kitchens that are not in the market yet. But those below are already out.
For example, this tech kitchen from designer Sebastien Poupeau is height adjustable, music enabled and web connected.
Who says the kitchen table needs to be rectangular? Not Enex… Their curvilinear design breaks away from the conventions and the kitchen seems to be taken right out of a Sci-Fi flick! Built in entertainment system seems to be a nice touch too.
More curvy kitchen workspaces…
This unit from Tokyo Kitchen can be arranged in a variety of ways depending on your space. It is aesthetic and functional with three electric cooking rings, a generous circular sink and plenty of space for storing kitchen items.
Futuristic is not your style? How about some retro kitchens then?
Recommended Reading
50 Insanely Useful Smart Home Products You Can Buy Right Now
50 Cool Kitchen Gadgets That Will Make Your Life Easier

subset: commoncrawl


text:
|MH-278 Thirsty Fish - Watergate
Watergate is the very latest wikileak from Dumbfoundead, Psychosiz and Open Mike Eagle, the three-headed chimera that make up Los Angeles' Thirsty Fish. While each is an established solo artist, coming together as Thirsty Fish has allowed them to indulge different sides of their personalities and explore the sounds that come out of the synergy. Featuring invited guests Busdriver and Swim Team over production by a slew of heavy hitters including Para One, Exile, Daedelus and Tokimonsta, each member is at the top of his game. The album displays all the elements that make up the Project Blowed signature. It is melodic and wity without losing any of its verbose bite. The songs are clever, the concepts relatable, the hooks embed in your brain, and the lyricism does not disappoint. Watergate proves that not only is hip-hop alive and well, it's Thirsty, in the form of Open Mike Eagle, Psychosiz and Dumbfoundead.
|Reviews Summary
|Watergate is a fun, artsy album filled with humorous, witty lyrics - Exclaim / A cartoony and witty album that highlights each MC's considerable strengths - LA Record / Watergate features all three MCs in top form - Potholes In My Blog / This one doesn't fail - The Milk Crate


text:
"Dwelling on the negative simply contributes to its power." ~Shirley MacLaine
I love her to death, but it's draining to talk to her.
Every time I call this friend of mine, I know what I'm in for: a half-hour rant about everything that's difficult, miserable, or unfair.
Sometimes she focuses on the people she feels have wronged her, and other times she explores the general hopelessness of life. She never calls to see how I'm doing, and she rarely listens to what's going on in my life for more than a minute before shifting the focus back to herself.
I tell myself I call because I care, but sometimes I wonder if I have ulterior motives–to pump up my ego offering good advice or even to feel better about my own reality.
I'm no saint, and if there's one thing I know well, it's that we only do things repeatedly if we believe there's something in it for us. Even if that something is just to feel needed.
I thought about this the other day when a reader wrote to me with an interesting question: "How do you offer compassion to someone who doesn't seem to deserve it?"
While I believe everyone deserves compassion, I understand what she meant after reading more. She went on to describe her offensive, sexist, racist boss who emotionally exhausts everyone around him. He sounds a lot more hateful than my friend, who is, sadly, just terribly depressed.
But these people have one thing in common: boundless negative energy that ends up affecting everyone around them.
So today I started thinking about how we interact with negative or difficult people. People who seem chronically critical, belligerent, indignant, angry, or just plain rude.
When someone repeatedly drains everyone around them, how do you maintain a sense of compassion without getting sucked into their doom? And how do you act in a way that doesn't reinforce their negativity–and maybe even helps them?
Here's what I've come up with:
1. Resist the urge to judge or assume.
It's hard to offer someone compassion when you assume you have them pegged. He's a jerk. She's a malcontent. He's an–insert other choice noun. Even if it seems unlikely someone will wake up one day and act differently, we have to remember it is possible.
When you think negative thoughts, it comes out in your body language. Someone prone to negativity may feel all too tempted to mirror that. Try coming at them with the positive mindset you wish they had. Expect the best in them. You never know when you might be pleasantly surprised.
2. Dig deeper, but stay out of the hole.
It's always easier to offer someone compassion if you try to understand where they're coming from. But that can't completely justify bad behavior. If you show negative people you support their choice to behave badly, you give them no real incentive to make a change (which they may actually want deep down).
It may help to repeat this in your head when you deal with them: "I understand your pain. But I'm most helpful if I don't feed into it." This might help you approach them with both kindness and firmness so they don't bring you down with them.
3.Maintain a positive boundary.
Some people might tell you to visualize a bright white light around you to maintain a positive space when other people enter it with negativity. This doesn't actually work for me because I respond better to ideas in words than visualizations. So I tell myself this, "I can only control the positive space I create around myself."
Then when I interact with this person, I try to do two things, in this order of importance:
- Protect the positive space around me. When their negativity is too strong to protect it, I need to walk away.
- Help them feel more positive, not act more positive–which is more likely to create the desired result.
4. Disarm their negativity, even if just for now.
This goes back to the ideas I mentioned above. I know my depressed friend will rant about life's injustices as long as I let her. Part of me feels tempted to play amateur psychiatrist–get her talking, and then try to help her reframe situations into a more positive light.
Then I remind myself that I can't change her whole way of being in one phone call. She has to want that. I also can't listen for hours on end, as I've done in the past. But I can listen compassionately for a short while and then help her focus on something positive right now, in this moment. I can ask about her upcoming birthday. I can remind her it's a beautiful day for a walk.
Don't try to solve or fix them. Just aim to help them now.
5. Temper your emotional response.
Negative people often gravitate toward others who react strongly–people who easily offer compassion or get outraged or offended. I suspect this gives them a little light in the darkness of their inner world–a sense that they're not floating alone in their own anger or sadness.
People remember and learn from what you do more than what you say. If you feed into the situation with emotions, you'll teach them they can depend on you for a reaction. It's tough not to react because we're human, but it's worth practicing.
Once you've offered a compassionate ear for as long as you can, respond as calmly as possible with a simple line of fact. If you're dealing with a rude or angry person, you may want to change the subject to something unrelated: "Dancing with the Stars is on tonight. Planning to watch it?"
6. Question what you're getting out of it.
Like I mentioned above, we often get something out of relationships with negative people. Get real honest with yourself: have you fallen into a caretaker role because it makes you feel needed? Have you maintained the relationship so you can gossip about this person in a holier-than-thou way with others? Do you have some sort of stake in keeping the things the way they are?
Questioning yourself helps you change the way you respond–which is really all you can control. You can't make someone think, feel, or act differently. You can be as kind as possible or as combative as possible, and still not change reality for someone else. All you can control is what you think and do–and then do your best to help them without hurting yourself.
7. Remember the numbers.
Research shows that people with negative attitudes have significantly higher rates of stress and disease. Someone's mental state plays a huge role in their physical health. If someone's making life difficult for people around them, you can be sure they're doing worse for themselves.
What a sad reality, that someone has so much pain inside them they have to act out just to feel some sense of relief–even if that relief comes from getting a rise out of people. When you remember how much a difficult person is suffering, it's easier to stay focused on minimizing negativity, as opposed to defending yourself.
8. Don't take it personally, but know that sometimes it is personal.
Conventional wisdom suggests that you should never take things personally when you deal with a negative person. I think it's a little more complicated than that. You can't write off everything someone says about you just because the person is insensitive or tactless. Even an abrasive person may have a valid point. Try to weigh their comments with a willingness to learn.
Accept that you don't deserve the excessive emotions in someone's tone, but weigh their ideas with a willingness to learn. Some of the most useful lessons I've learned came from people I wished weren't right.
9. Act instead of just reacting.
Oftentimes we wait until someone gets angry or depressed before we try to buoy their spirits. If you know someone who seems to deal with difficult thoughts or feelings often (as demonstrated in their behavior), don't wait for a situation to help them create positive feelings.
Give them a compliment for something they did well. Remind them of a moment when they were happy–as in "Remember when you scored that touchdown during the company picnic? That was awesome!" You're more apt to want to boost them up when they haven't brought you down. This may help mitigate that later and also give them a little relief from their pain.
10. Maintain the right relationship based on reality as it is.
With my friend, I'm always wishing she could be more positive. I consistently put myself in situations where I feel bad because I want to help, because I want her to be happy. I've recently realized the best I can do is accept her as she is, let her know I believe in her ability to be happy, and then give her space to make the choice.
That means gently bringing our conversation to a close after I've made an effort to help. Or cutting short a night out if I've done all I can and it's draining me. Hopefully she'll want to change some day. Until then, all I can do is love her, while loving myself enough to take care of my needs. That often means putting them first.
I've learned you can't always save the world, but you can make the world a better place by working on yourself–by becoming self-aware, tapping into your compassion, and protecting your positive space. You may even help negative people by fostering a sense of peace within yourself that their negativity can't pierce.
About Lori Deschene
Lori Deschene is the founder of Tiny Buddha. She's also the author of Tiny Buddha's Gratitude Journal, Tiny Buddha's Worry Journal, and Tiny Buddha's Inner Strength Journal and co-founder of Recreate Your Life Story, an online course that helps you let go of the past and live a life you love. For daily wisdom, join the Tiny Buddha list here. You can also follow Tiny Buddha on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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text:
1,443 days ago
Dominic Ford, Editor
From the Inner Planets feed
As seen from Seattle , Mercury will reach its highest point in the sky in its Oct 2019 evening apparition. It will be shining brightly at mag -0.1.
From Seattle, this apparition will be unobservable, reaching a peak altitude of 4° above the horizon at sunset on 19 Oct 2019.
Oct 2019 evening apparition of Mercury
|03 Sep 2019
|Mercury at superior solar conjunction
|14 Oct 2019
|Mercury at highest altitude in evening sky
|19 Oct 2019
|Mercury at greatest elongation east
|25 Oct 2019
|Mercury at dichotomy
|11 Nov 2019
|Mercury at inferior solar conjunction
A graph of the angular separation of Mercury from the Sun around the time of greatest elongation is available here.
Apparitions of Mercury
|11 Apr 2019
|Morning apparition
|23 Jun 2019
|Evening apparition
|09 Aug 2019
|Morning apparition
|19 Oct 2019
|Evening apparition
|28 Nov 2019
|Morning apparition
|10 Feb 2020
|Evening apparition
|23 Mar 2020
|Morning apparition
Observing Mercury
Mercury's orbit lies closer to the Sun than the Earth's, meaning it always appears close to the Sun and is lost in the Sun's glare much of the time.
It is observable for only a few weeks each time it reaches greatest separation from the Sun – moments referred to as greatest elongation. These apparitions repeat roughly once every 3–4 months, taking place alternately in the morning and evening skies, depending whether Mercury lies to the east of the Sun or to the west.
When it lies to the east, it rises and sets a short time after the Sun and is visible in early evening twilight. When it lies to the west of the Sun, it rises and sets a short time before the Sun and is visible shortly before sunrise.
However, some times of the year are more favourable for viewing Mercury than others. From Seattle, it reaches a maximum altitude of between 4° and 20° above the horizon at sunset during each evening apparition, depending on the time of year. During its Oct 2019 apparition, it will peak at 4° above the horizon at sunset on 19 Oct 2019.
This variability over the course of the year is due to a combination of two factors.
The inclination of the ecliptic to the horizon
At all times, Mercury lies close to a line across the sky called the ecliptic, which is shown in yellow in the planetarium above. This line traces the path that the Sun takes through the zodiacal constellations every year, and shows the plane of the Earth's orbit around the Sun. Since all the planets circle the Sun in almost exactly the same plane, it also closely follows the planes of the orbits of the other planets, too.
When Mercury is widely separated from the Sun, it is separated from it along the line of the ecliptic. But, at different times of year, the ecliptic meets the horizon at different angles at sunset. This means that Mercury appears at different altitudes above the horizon at different times of year, even if its separation from the Sun is the same.
If the ecliptic meets the horizon at a shallow angle, then Mercury has to be very widely separated from the Sun to appear much above the horizon. Conversely, if the ecliptic is almost perpendicular to the horizon, Mercury may appear much higher in the sky, even if it is actually much closer to the Sun.
At sunset, the ecliptic makes its steepest angle to the horizon at the spring equinox – in March in the northern hemisphere, and in September in the southern hemisphere. Conversely, it meets the horizon at its shallowest angle at the autumn equinox. Because the seasons are opposite in the northern and southern hemispheres, a good apparition of Mercury in one hemisphere will usually be poorly placed in the other.
At sunrise, these dates are also inverted, so that for morning apparitions of Mercury, the ecliptic makes its steepest angle to the horizon at the autumn equinox, and its shallowest angle to the horizon at the spring equinox.
Mercury's elliptical orbit
A secondary effect is that Mercury is unusual among the planets for having a significantly non-circular orbit, which varies in its distance from the Sun by 52% between its closest approach (perihelion, labelled P in the diagram to the right) and greatest distance (aphelion, labelled A).
This means that Mercury's separation from the Sun at greatest elongation varies, depending where it lies relative to the aphelion or perihelion points of its orbit. In mid-September and mid-March, the Earth is well placed to view the long axis of Mercury's orbit edge-on.
So, if Mercury appears in the evening sky in mid-September, or in the morning sky in mid-March, then it appears more widely separated from the Sun than usual. Specifically, at each apparition, Mercury reaches a separation from the Sun of between 18 and 28°. During its Oct 2019 apparition, it will reach a maximum separation of 24° to the Sun's east at greatest elongation.
The optimum time for an apparition of Mercury
The two effects described above are of similar magnitude, though the inclination of the ecliptic to the horizon is the more significant. They conspire to make Mercury much easier to observe from the southern hemisphere than from the north.
In the southern hemisphere, apparitions of Mercury which occur when the ecliptic plane is favourably inclined to the horizon also coincide with apparitions when Mercury is close to aphelion. In the northern hemisphere, unfortunately the opposite is true: when the ecliptic plane is favourably inclined, Mercury is close to perihelion.
The plot to the right shows the maximum altitude of Mercury during all its evening apparitions between 2000 and 2050, as observed from a range of different latitudes on Earth. The highest altitudes are seen exclusively from the southern hemisphere.
Mercury's position
The position of Mercury when it reaches its highest point will be:
The coordinates above are given in J2000.0.
The sky on 15 Oct 2019
|The sky on 15 October 2019
17 days old
All times shown in PDT.
The circumstances of this event were computed using the DE430 planetary ephemeris published by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
This event was automatically generated by searching the ephemeris for planetary alignments which are of interest to amateur astronomers, and the text above was generated based on an estimate of your location.
Related news
|15 Oct 2019
|– Mercury at highest altitude in evening sky
|19 Oct 2019
|– Mercury at greatest elongation east
|11 Nov 2019
|– Transit of Mercury
|26 Nov 2019
|– Mercury at highest altitude in morning sky
Image credit


text:
Picturesque Style & Breathtaking Wedding Images -Francois Laborde Photography
By dcarpenito at May 17, 2012 | 10:01 am | 0 Comment
Take a look at Destination Wedding Photographer Francois Laborde Photography, our Wedding Photographer Showcase!Francois Laborde is known for his picturesque style and breathtaking wedding images. He specializes in capturing elegant, romantic moments along with fun candid shots and an essence for amazing details. "I never imagined I would be able to live my


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Wordless (nearly) Wednesday
Two May 1961 Photos on way to California from Iowa
I just came across this box of photos, and am systematically scanning each one. The one below was taken the day before, I believe in the Painted Desert/Petrified Forest area, in eastern Arizona. [We didn't know it at this time, but a year later we were living in Winslow, between where these two photos were taken - small world!]
Families are Forever! ;-)


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Software Details
- Command & Control Feed
- 1 gateway
- Subscription license (1 year)
Know your gear
Juniper Networks Security Intelligence (SecIntel) is a security framework that protects web servers in the DMZ against evolving security threats by employing threat detection software, both local and cloud-based security information, and control software with a next-generation firewall system. SecIntel delivers dynamic threat intelligence to the firewall. It enables automatic and dynamic traffic filtering at both the network and application layers.
Enhance your purchase


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The Must-Read Blog for Northern California Golfers
Keep up to date with all the headlines and happenings at the NCGA. The NCGA Blog offers the best golf news in the area, providing tournament results, photos, player interviews and special golf features from around the Northern California region and beyond.
Read the Blog
NCGA Golf Magazine
Read the current and past issues of our award-winning publication NCGA Golf Magazine. Along with features stories on travel, courses and interesting personalities, the magazine offers regular columns and insights from professionals and experts around Northern California on instruction and the rules of golf.
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Vehicle Options
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Vehicle Description
Contact Lone Star Muscle Cars at 940-691-1070, 228-342-4525 or email us at firstname.lastname@example.com for more information about this vehicle.
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Vehicle Disclaimer
Lone Star Muscle Cars of Texas and Lone Star Muscle Cars Gulf Coast invites all customers to view our cars in person. These are classic and specialty cars and trucks, therefore we offer no written warranty. We invite you to send in your independent inspector or mechanic prior to the completion of your purchase. All payments are *WAC and 10% down APR is based on credit worthiness. All Texas residents must include Tax Title and Registration at the time of sale. See dealer for details. Out of state customers are responsible to register their purchased vehicles. If vehicle is financed the title will be sent to the lienholder on account.
*With Approved Credit


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Alpay Kasal's Twitter-enabled "Twistmas"
twee tree responds to specific keyword mentions by lighting corresponding ornaments –
After designing a Twitter based installation for GE Healthcare, I looked forward to putting some Arduino's and LED's to work on a personal project. While speaking with Psytek, a founder of a hackerspace in Brooklyn called AlphaOneLabs, we decided an interactive Christmas tree would be a lot of fun. He bought a tree. I hunted for clear ornaments to stick the led's into, and after coming up dry, we set out to make our own. I thought this would be the easy part, it wasn't, I underestimated the elusive nature of ornaments in the wild. Eventually I found "golf display cases" at The Container Store.
Read more of the story over at LitStudios and check out a live feed of the tree in action at Alpha One Labs


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There are few things that are off limits to the were-bears of Pine Falls, but humans are one of them. Which is a real pain, because I've had it bad for curvy Adelaide Laurent ever since she sashayed into town. The fact that she's forbidden fruit just makes my fantasies all the sweeter.
But when she signs up to go on a weekend camping trip with the town's biggest player, it's time for a bear to step in and claim his mate.
I don't care if it breaks the rules. She's mine, and it's time she knew it.
Life's given me the short end of the stick on looks – I'm big, ugly and brutish. Normally I wouldn't care about the packaging except for the fact that the woman of my dreams is Ryann Brown, a human half my age and so lovely she makes my body ache. What's a were-bear to do in this situation?
Whatever he can to forget her, of course.
Except Ryann's not taking no for an answer. And when she catches me watching her one night, she gives me a show I'll never forget. Did I think I'd be able to walk away and not touch her? Not claim what's mine?
Not a chance.
I've been looking for a mate in all the wrong places. When the right one shows up in Pine Falls with a man in tow, I almost miss her. Caroline Abbott is a sweetheart of a city girl who is making one last stab at keeping her (dead) relationship together. When her fool of an ex takes off and leaves her alone in the forest, I'm more than happy to step into his abandoned shoes.
While I can make her shout with pleasure, I worry those screams will turn to fear when she realizes that my hidden half is a bear.
I can't keep the secret much longer, but telling her might scare her off for good.
I'm a loner for a reason. I don't have much in the way of social skills. I'd rather sit on my deck and watch the sunset than hit a tavern with coworkers. My idea of grooming is to trim my beard with a straight blade when it hits my collarbone. I can't put two words together in the company of a pretty woman…and they don't come much prettier than wolf-shifter Madison Thorne.
She's everything I'm not—outgoing, easy on the eyes, and sweet. There's no way I'm convincing her to come home with me. Fortunately I don't have to. Maddie seems to like my gruff, unpolished self. At least, she likes me enough for one night.
The problem is getting her to stay forever.
I swipe a hand across my mouth. "You're so fucking beautiful, Maddie Thorne. You should be in town or with one of the Millers but fuck if I'm going to take you there. Now get your pretty ass over here."
She hops to, submissive to her core. I've heard about wolves like her. They want to be ordered around. It makes them feel wanted, appreciated. And if you don't work them with a firm hand, then they don't respect you.
If I'm going to have Maddie more than once, I'll have to show her that I understand her peculiar needs. And I'm going to want to have her again and again. Once isn't going to be enough. I don't even need to taste her to know that I want to keep her. Maybe not as my mate. No, not a mate, but I can't see myself letting her go in the near future. Or the far future.
I lick my lips. The urge to feast on her body is almost too strong to resist. But I know I have to wait even if it kills me.
"Come on inside." I beckon for her to join me.
"This is a big shower."
"I'm a big man."
Her eyes fall to my cock that's pointing straight up in the air.
"Yes, you are," she says in full appreciation.
My cock jumps toward her, seeking her wet heat. I grab my junk and pull down hard. This is about Maddie's needs. Not mine.
"Shampoo," I manage to grunt out. "Wash me."
I take a seat before I fall down and keep a painful grip on my cock as Maddie pours shampoo into her hand and begins to lather me up. Her fingers dig into my scalp, and her lush tits press against my head. Sometimes I feel a nipple against my neck or shoulder. It's a goddamn tease, a fucking torture. But I bear it so she knows that I can be in control no matter what she does.
It's the hardest test I've ever endured.
When she moves to the front and stands between my legs, I nearly spurt all over her creamy skin. I bite down on the inside of my mouth hard enough that the tangy taste of copper spreads across my tongue. The blood and pain are just enough to keep the edge off as she commences petting my beard.
"Your hair is a lot softer than I thought it would be," she comments almost absent-mindedly as she scrapes her fingernails across my jawline.
A moan builds in my throat, and my breath turns choppy and harsh as I fight for control. Her pussy, slick from her arousal, from the water, from the soap, slides across the top of my fist. She's trying to break me, but it's not happening.
"You done yet?" I ask, my tone harsh and angry.
"Almost." There's a tease in her voice that tells me that she could do this all night. It's time to up the game.
"You're done," I tell her. I surge to my feet and grab a wet hank of her hair. I tug hard until the long column of her neck is exposed. "I was going to let you suck my cock, but you were a bad girl, trying to tease me like that. You were trying to make me come, weren't you?"
She returns my hard stare with a bright, mischievous one of her own. "I was just washing you like you had ordered."
I shake my head. "That kind of sass is going to earn you more lashes." I whip her around to face the tile. "Hands up on the tile. You do not move for any reason. Hear me?"
She nods.
"Use your words, babe."
"Yes. No moving until you tell me to."
"Good girl." I give her a light slap on the ass and then kneel down between her legs. In this position, I can see every inch of her sweet pussy, from her swollen lips to her eager little clit. The puckered skin around her ass tempts me just as much. One day soon, I'm going to take her there. But for now? Now I'm going to eat her like I'm a starving man and she's my first meal.
Ruby Dixon is the seekrit pen name of a NYT and USA Today Bestselling Author. Under Ruby, she writes naughty, fun stories about sexy bikers and aliens.
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A pair of month-old Sumatran tiger twins have become inseparable playmates with a set of young orangutans, an unthinkable match in their natural jungle habitat in Indonesia's tropical rainforests.
The friendship between 5-month-old female baby primates Nia and Irma, and cubs Dema and Manis, has blossomed at the Taman Safari zoo where they share a room in the nursery.
After being abandoned by their mothers shortly after birth, the four play fight, nipping and teasing each other, and cuddling up for a shared nap when they are worn out.
"This is unusual and would never happen in the wild," said zoo keeper Sri Suwarni, bottle-feeding a baby chimp on Wednesday. "Like human babies, they only want to play."
The four have lived side-by-side for a month without a single act of hostility, she said.
Indonesian tigers and orangutans are both endangered species, threatened by rapidly shrinking habitats.
Conservationists estimate there are fewer than 700 Sumatran tigers still alive, while fewer than 60,000 orangutans remain in the wild. Around 90 percent of the jungle has been destroyed by illegal logging, poaching and cut-and-burn farming practices on Borneo and Sumatra islands.
The exceptional friendship will likely be short-lived, said veterinarian Retno Sudarwati, because as the animals grow up their natural survival instincts will kick in.
"When the time comes, they will have to be separated. It's sad, but we cant' change their natural behavior," she said. "Tigers start eating meat when they are three months old."
Source: Boston Herald
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Unusual Friendship
Posted by Fresh Pics at 2:06 PM
Labels: Animals, love, Paranormal, Weird Pics
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National College Credit Recommendation Service
Board of Regents | University of the State of New York
First year students will be able to: discuss the substance and essence of the Talmudic text; apply analytical skills in Talmudic explication; follow the dynamics of Talmudic argumentation leading to Halachic conclusions and resolutions; utilize the major medieval, modern, and contemporary commentaries to comprehend the underlying assumptions and consequences of the legal principles implicit in the text. Second year students and beyond: In addition to the outcomes above, students will be able to analyze abstract legal concepts and formulate abstract legal categories based on the Talmudic text.
Students read and study tractate Bava Metzia employing the major standard commentaries. Instruction and peer study involve the resolution of competing claims of possession and with modes of acquisition of lost objects and claims over bought objects. NOTE: This tractate is studied by all students in a given semester. While the scope of instruction is the same, the depth of study depends upon what year of study the student is in.
First year students: In the lower division baccalaureate/associate degree category, 2 semester hours in Judaic Studies, Jurisprudence, Near Eastern Studies, or Religion; Second year students and beyond: In the upper division baccalaureate degree category, 2 semester hours in Judaic Studies, Jurisprudence, Near Eastern Studies, or Religion (10/06) (7/22 revalidation). NOTE: Credit can be awarded for this course and the Survey course of the same title.
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DJ SpinKing Featuring 50 Cent, Jeremih & Ty Dolla $ign – This Big Lyrics
DJ SpinKing
Dolla $ign
(Chorus – Ty Dolla $ign)
You only had a few ni**as
You ain't rachet like them other bi**hes
You ain't got a no kids
You say you've never had a d**k this big
A dick this big
Said she never had a d**k this big
You ain't got no kids
And you never had a d**k this big
(Verse 1 – Jeremih)
Give 'em long d**k, I need a deep throat
Talking here while the heat throw
Shooting at her face like a free throw
Now girls want the freak show
I got that make you cum out of your body
Dick done got her 100 miles and running
Dick up in her, f**king up her stomach
Finger in her booty, I'ma thumb it
I'm up at Luv's and I'm straight cashing
When she throw it back I just hit it and I pass it
She on whatever I'm on, ain't ask it
And when I get the pussy, gotta put it in the casket
(Repeat Chorus)
(Verse 2 – 50 Cent)
Go head ask about me, she gon say I'm the s**t
I pop pills and I f**ked her, I bet she never forget
I caught her fresh out the shower
You know the pu**y is power
And Bryson Tiller went off, I've been in that pu**y an hour
Ay, these bi**hes f**k with me, wanna see em?
They've been all in my DM, ni**a AM through the PM
Attract the bees with the honey
Get the hoes with the money
First the diamonds is blinking
Then the bi**h get to thinking
I should f**k with a real ni**a
Come up with a real ni**a
Live it up with a real ni**a
Grind till the paper all straight
Bag some up, sell some of the s**t, weight, wait
(Verse 3 – Ty Dolla $ign)
Girl take off them panties
I'm a grown man, understand me
Yeah hit her with the long d**k
She take it to the throat like a bong rip
Yeah all the way down
You keep coming like K rounds
Ass up, face down
Go deep in the bi**h, make her say owww
I be stroking
You ni**as jacking off with lotion, ugh
Ni**as looking for a handout
Your bi**h on the floor getting maxed out
Girl look back at it, how you like me now?
Smack you on the booty while you getting choked out
Hit it from the back with my fingers in your mouth, uh
(Repeat Chorus)
Come on
Jeremih, Ty Dolla $ign, 50 Young Graveyard
Spin we up


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For a sport timed down to the thousandth of a second and measured in millimetres, Formula One seems to be finding it difficult to get to grips with a calendar, with little more than two months to go before the Australian season-opener in Melbourne on 17 March, the sport has yet to confirm how many races there will be in 2013 as well as the locations for two of the races.
The fans can expect to see fewer teams on the grid, with HRT seemingly defunct but still supposedly seeking a buyer, but they are also still waiting for a definitive driver line-up with vacancies remaining at Caterham and Force India.
The first official test of the new campaign kicks off at the Jerez circuit in southern Spain on February 5 with McLaren currently set to be the first out of the box with plans to launch their car on January 31.
Most, but probably not all of the teams will have their new cars ready to hit the track as soon as the off-season testing ban is lifted – by which time they should also have a clearer picture of what the future holds.
July is the month of uncertainty as things stand, with the German Grand Prix – triple world champion Sebastian Vettel's home race – scheduled for the seventh at a venue yet to be decided.
This year should be the Nurburgring's turn to host the race under an alternation agreement but the circuit's financial problems could mean it stays at Hockenheim, the country's other Formula One track.
Either way, time is running out with local promoters usually seeking to maximise their chances of breaking even by putting tickets on sale for the race almost as soon as the previous one has finished.
"If the issue over whether there will be an F1 race at Nuerburgring in 2013 is sorted out by year-end, that would still be early enough," Nurburgring GmbH managing director Thomas Schmidt said in November last year.
Subsequent reports in Germany have spoken of further meetings scheduled for this month with commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone. F1 tour packages for the German round have been conspicuously absent on the usual ticket websites.
The 20-round calendar also has an empty slot for July 21 – reserved for another unnamed European event that Ecclestone has identified as being the Turkish Grand Prix.
However, the impetus to bring that country's Istanbul Park circuit back into the championship stalled when the country's government baulked at subsidising a race attended by few locals.
Ecclestone told Reuters last month that he was waiting for a response from the Turkish authorities and that the season was likely to be 19 races.
Bahrain, which was the big uncertainty last year due to violent civil unrest, remains on the calendar with an April 21 date as the fourth round of the season. The situation in the Gulf kingdom presently is described as tense.
The official starting list for 2013 that was issued in December had 11 teams, one down on last year, who have paid their entry fees.
While most of the empty spaces for drivers' names have now been filled, Force India have a coveted vacancy with Germany's Adrian Sutil and Frenchman Jules Bianchi the recognised frontrunners.
Sutil has the experience, as a former driver for the Mercedes-powered team, and some financial clout but Bianchi is their reserve as well as being a member of Ferrari's young driver academy.
If, as some reports suggest, Force India are considering switching to Ferrari engines in 2014 then Bianchi would likely sweeten the deal.
Russian Vitaly Petrov, who raced for Caterham last year, appears likely to retain that seat but he, like the fans holding off on their travel plans, would like a little more certainty. (Reuters)
Subbed by AJN.


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Let's face it: things happen while you're traveling. Although many travels go off without a hitch, occasionally there are unforeseen hurdles, which simply need to be navigated. Sometimes this can be as minor as your bag ending up in Hamburg when it's supposed to be in Berlin, as unlucky as contracting swine flu in Mexico, or as downright scary as ending up in a knife fight in a back alley in Spain (more on those stories another time).
Of all the travel inconveniences I've experienced over years of vagabonding, however, the one which happens with undoubtedly the most frequency is being cornered into paying off the police. Sometimes this is my fault, sometimes it's someone else's fault, and other times it's nothing more than rampant corruption. Either way, I've paid off the police enough times while traveling to warrant mentioning it with some authority.
One thing I want to set straight, however, is that I have never intentionally bribed the police, because that, I believe, is illegal. In every situation where money has exchanged hands between myself and an officer of the law the idea was proposed to me without my offering it first. I don't by any means condone corruption because it's one of the largest social cancers plaguing much of the developing world. Nevertheless, when staring down the barrel of a sticky situation there is often too little time for letting your morals get the better of you.
It's worthy of mentioning that all of these situations occurred while driving vehicles in Latin America. If the idea of confrontations with police officers doesn't rank high on your list of travel plans, perhaps my number one rule of advice would be avoid operating vehicles in Latin America.
If your bucket list includes a surf safari across Central America or driving the length of Highway 1, however, I offer this mini-survival guide for navigating an awkward situation in places where the lines of justice and extortion are frequently blurred.Rule #1: Anticipate the scenario.
Just like you shouldn't travel with any item you don't fully expect to get stolen or lost, you should never drive in a foreign country and expect everything is going to be ok. One solution is to take a pre-determined amount of money, usually around $20-$40, and stick it in the glove box as a precautionary measure. In Mexico, this is officially known as "la mordida," (the bite), and on about 50 percent of trips to Mexico I have found myself needing to pay off the police with the money stashed aside for just that reason. If you expect that you're going to be hassled and plan accordingly you already have the upper hand.
Rule #2: Let them do the talking.
In situations like these, the issue of who is right and who is wrong is completely null and void. Arguing will get you nowhere except into a deeper hole.
Usually, what will happen is the police will lay out a long, difficult series of events, which need to take place in order for you to right your horrendous wrong. This often involves talk of following them to the police station, the arrangement of court dates, the confiscation of your passport, or your inability to leave the country now that you are a roadside criminal. Often times fear tactics are also employed in that they will most likely mention you are going to be arrested and potentially spend some time in jail.
Regardless of how scary the situation gets, however, just keep letting them talk because usually it's building up to them offering you the easy way out.
Having been pulled over for "speeding" in a rural town in Costa Rica, the policeman even launched into a long-winded dialogue about how proceeds from traffic violations were now going to underprivileged Costa Rican children and how my wife and I would need to drive to the capital of San Jose immediately to pay our $240 fine at a specifically named bank. Then, as expected, the offer was laid out before us.
"Or, we could always just take care of it right here."
One $20 bill and five minutes later, we were headed towards Playa Samara completely free and clear.
Rule #3: Only leave a small amount of cash in your wallet and hide the rest elsewhere.
In Uruguay, there is a law which mandates headlights must be turned on regardless of whether it's day or night. Having just made a bathroom stop my wife and I had forgotten to turn the lights back on, and in the twelve seconds it took me to realize the mistake, police at a roadside checkpoint had already seized upon the opportunity.
I again endured the long-winded diatribe about how our passports would be seized, we'd miss our flight, have to appear in court in three weeks in Montevideo, etc. and so on. I was then made to step out of the car and follow the policeman towards the back of his vehicle.
Opening the passenger side door so as to block the line of sight for oncoming traffic, he threw me the much-anticipated olive branch.
"You want to make your flight right?"
"Yes sir."
"You don't want your wife to see you go to jail do you?"
"No sir."
"2,000 Uruguayos."
The equivalent of $100, I explained that I simply didn't have that much on me. This, of course, was the truth, because I had only left $40 in my wallet for precisely this reason. The rest was in my backpack sitting safely in the backseat.
"It's everything I have," I explained, being sure to dramatically open my wallet and show its empty recesses.
Placing the green and red Uruguayo notes beneath a piece of paper on his clipboard I was allowed to swiftly return to my car and drive away.
Rule #4: Follow directions and you will be fine.
Of all the times I've been forced to pay the police, things really were looking pretty dire in Tijuana, Mexico. Having spotted empty beer cans in the front of our truck, a bicycle cop concluded that our sun-bleached pack of surf friends must have been drinking and driving. Though the cans were left over from our lunch in Ensenada, this was a point we had little way of proving. According to the policeman there was nothing we could do and we were all going to jail.
Seeing as the official judicial policy of Mexico is essentially "guilty until proven innocent," the idea of spending the night in a Tijuana prison was beginning to appear more and more likely.
Then, as quickly as we had been pulled over, we just as quickly were told to leave. Before nervously pulling back into the border line, however, we received some very curious and detailed instructions.
"The cross. It costs $80. You will buy it under the bridge."
In no mood to ask questions we resumed our spot in the border line more than a little shaken. Though we were back and moving and on the road, however, we couldn't lose the feeling that this encounter wasn't over.
Sure enough, a quarter mile up the road, while stopped in gridlock border traffic, a street vendor approached us with a faux-wood crucifix of Jesus. As had been prophesied by the policeman, he approached us while underneath a bridge. Knowing full well what to do, we handed the vendor the aforementioned $80. As a final slap in the face we weren't even allowed to keep the cross.
I would later find out that in an effort to crack down on police corruption, cameras had been installed to monitor the shady dealings of roadside police. The cameras, as it would happen, are not able to see beneath the bridges.
So does the fact that you can get away with paying your way out of traffic violations mean I recommend reckless irresponsibility while abroad? Of course not. Preying on tourists who have laughably little rights may be a devious way to earn a buck, but unfortunately, with the depressed level of foreign wages and low government pay, it's a twisted means towards making ends meet.
There are many whom will cry foul and claim that succumbing to "la mordida" is simply like feeding the bears in the woods – if you encourage bad habits they will cease to go away. Whether you choose to do so is ultimately up to you, but should you find yourself in a situation like those described above, may this long-winded log of my own personal bad decisions serve as an illicit road map for procuring your much-deserved freedom.
Want more travel stories? Read the rest of the "Vagabond Tales" here.
[Images courtesy of: blmurch, danielmvier.com, and tiffa130 on Flickr]