Beethoven - Piano Concerto No 5

Beethoven - Piano Concerto No 5 - Krystian Zimerman

Not for those who are obsessed with anti-antisemitism since the orchestra is the Hamburg Philharmonic, the pianist is Polish, and the composer is German. Obsessed means that one cannot say anything about Poles without mentioning antisemitism and same with the Germans and French. I often play a game where any time I am with frum people and anything about France enters the conversation I tell them how much I enjoy the French language. And every time, 100% of the time thus far, one or more people will make some disparaging comment about the French and about how antisemitic they are. (I know several French gentiles who are not antisemitic at all.)

I think it shows what sheep we are, how conformist, that every person responds in exactly the same way and a way that's uncalled for. Is is a sin to enjoy a language? Who creates languages anyway? I would think HaShem guides their creation. And how did the topic of antisemitism find its way into the conversation? Can we give it a rest and enjoy life a little?

By the way, I find the same thing when I complement almost any gentile place. Oh, you are from Belgium, what a lovely country. Oh, you are from Florida; I have always enjoyed Florida. An alarmingly high percentage of the time the person just can't accept the complement and goes on to say something negative about the place. Or they just look very uncomfortable. After all, I complemented something that has nothing directly to do with Jews. Evidentially, we are not allowed to enjoy the planet earth. Recently, a man told me he was from Los Angeles. I said, Oh, I spent a month there once. He said, did you hate it. I said, no. I liked it. I liked the ocean, the mountains, the laid back feeling. (Obviously I didn't like the tumah). These are not Torah Im Derech Eretz people. A Torah Im Derech Eretz person enjoys parts of the planet earth even the parts with gentiles. Oftentimes, it's the gentiles that make those parts enjoyable. I didn't say they make it holy. But they can build nice cities. HaShem helps them to do that. Rabbi Avigdor Miller says when a town has city ordinances and inspectors, HaShem made that happen. Rabbi Miller also said, we don't hate goyim, we just don't mingle with them. We are not obligated to hate everything.

Anyway, this performance of Beethoven's 5th piano concerto is impeccable. Even Bernstein who conducts takes the back seat and to his credit lets the pianist shine. I try not to share videos of non-religious Jews but I couldn't resist here and the star of the show is not Jewish. What a performance. And since it took place in 1989, the orchestra was dressed modestly. Imagine that! Today, one cannot go to a symphony hall.

None other but God

"When during the reign of Hadrian, the uprising led by Bar Kokhba proved a disastrous error, it became essential that the Jewish people be reminded for all times of another important fact; namely, that Yisrael must never again attempt to restore its national independence by its own power; it was to entrust its future as a nation solely to Divine Providence… This fourth Blessing is an acknowledgement that it has always been God and God alone Who has given us, and still gives us to this very day, that good in which we have had cause to rejoice and that for future good too, we may look to none other but God, and none beside Him." Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch on Birchos HaMazon

More Torah Im Derech Eretz from Chabad

Turning Disappointment into Food for the Hungry

By Dovid Zaklikowski

"When Shirley Chisholm was elected in 1968 to represent New York's 12th District, which included her own neighborhood of Crown Heights, she made headlines as the first African-American woman elected to Congress. However, she soon found her congressional career stunted at its start by race-related politics. Bowing to political pressures from southern politicians, the House's leadership assigned Chisholm to the Agriculture Committee, a place where it was assumed that she could have little influence.

"At the time, some in the New York media questioned the appointment and expressed doubt as to Chisholm's ability to affect the legislative agenda.

"The less-than-open-arms welcome caused Chisholm, who died in 2005, an understandable amount of frustration, according to Anna V. Jefferson, a former state senator from New York's 22nd District.
She was interested in taking care of the issues in the inner city. That committee had no power
"She was trying to help poor people," explained Jefferson. "She was interested in taking care of the issues in the inner city. That committee had no power" to do that.

"But a phone call from the Rebbe's secretariat – a simple "the Lubavitcher Rebbe wants to see you" – changed her attitude, says David Luchins, who was a senior advisor to the late U.S. Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.) and chairs the political science department at Touro College".

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Halelu Choir Annual Shabbos Shira Performance in Beit Shemesh

The chazanut, the cantor's hats, the dignity and organization, it all seems pretty Yekke to me. The annual Shabbos night and day davening by the Halelu choir is coming this Shabbos in Beit Shemesh. Olam sport building.

Yarzheit of Rav Hirsch, 27 Teves

"One of them writes: "He conversed with us in our own language, took interest in every blow dealt us by pupils of the Philantropin, checked on the class of the stamps we exchanged, gave a rigorous examination to our footballs-in brief, he was our intimate." Another one relates : "He never raised his voice to a pupil. If he traveled to another city, he would say to him, 'Behave so that they will see you are a pupil of Rabbi Hirsch.' He influenced them by his personality; the look of his burning eyes was engraved deep in the memory of those he had educated.""

Torah with Derech Eretz, Mordechai Breuer