New Book Published (1st Edition): Power at 30

I am excited to announce that I have published my newest book! Entitled שלשים לכח - Power at 30: 30 Essays on Early Rabbinic Literature, this book is currently available in PDF online. 

Having announced the table of contents a half year ago (yes, it was tentative, but what was announced then is what it still is), this release comes out while I am still in my thirties (my final week, but still in my thirties).

I am very excited to share this collection of essays, all of which are on Tannaitic (early rabbinic) literature. A huge focus is on the Mishnah and Tosefta, as a majority of the essays are dedicated to those two bodies of literature.

As I am not fully satisfied with this version being the final version, I am not currently making it available for purchase in hard-copy; it is available only in pdf version at this time. I welcome comments on essays in this volume.

For those interested, my first book was also a collection of essays on Rabbinic literature, entirely having been previously been published as blog posts. 27 of the 30 essays in the new book have previously appeared as blog posts, but I have done some significant improvements on many of them. My previous book is a collection of essays on BBYO history.

Recent Appearances on MCU Podcast

Having previously mentioned here that I have appeared on an MCU podcast to discuss an episode of WandaVision and an episode of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, I realized I wanted to share that I have had further appearances on the MCU True Believer's podcast to discuss MCU material.

Granted, once I created a separate website for my MCU fandom, I have been sharing these appearances there.

I appeared on episode 14 of the podcast to discuss “Marvel Studios Celebrates The Movies”, a sort-of trailer for not only MCU movies past, but also snippets of movies to come.

I appeared on the podcast to not only discuss the first episode of Loki, but also the season finale of Loki.

And I also appeared on the podcast's epic Black Widow episode.

In addition to it making me think more about this content, it has also been quite helpful to have these interactions, both with the hosts and, in the case of the Black Widow episode, with the other guests, to better understand the MCU and its various material.

I will keep you posted as to further appearances.

In the meantime, you are welcome to check out my MCU Facebook page, YouTube channel, and Instagram account.

Updated Highlighting of Talmudic Texts

While speaking with someone over Shabbat yesterday, we got to talking about different layers of the Talmud. In conversation, identifying various layers came up, and I mentioned how I used to use a few colors for various Talmuldic aspects, but have since expanded it to over a half-dozen, highlighting various aspects of text in the Talmud. 

As such, I present here my list

• Tannaitic texts
• Amoraic formal halakhic statement
• Amoraic non-formal halakhic statement
• Amoraic explanation of a Scriptural verse
• Amoraic statement about an incident
• Story (non-Tannaitic)
• Stam
• Introduction to a text

One further aspect I recommend that is currently absent from that list is differentiating between early Amoraic formal halakhic statements and later Amoraic formal halakhic statements, with the delineation being those of the first three Amoraic generations versus those of the fourth generation and on (e.g. Rav, Shmuel, Rav Yehudah, Rabbah, and Rav Yosef being in the first category, while Rava, Abbaye, Rav Papa, Rav Ashi, and Ravina being in the latter category). 

While it is obvious to separate Tannaitic texts from all others, as well as stammaitic texts, I had initially (over a decade and a half ago) lumped all Amoraic texts together. But I soon began to realize that they are not all alike, differentiating between apodictic (formal halakhic) statements and explanations about mishnayos, Scriptural verses, stories, and more.

Separating out the introductions to texts (e.g. תניא, איתמר, etc.) was something I did, since I did not consider it to be part and parcel of the text, itself, but rather a marker of what the text was and how it was being used.

I find these separate colorings of layers to be helpful in approaching various discussions in the Talmud, in aiding my differentiating the aspects of the sugyos to better understand them. If you find these helpful, as well, wonderful!

Few Further Firsts over Memorial Day Weekend

As things get better with the pandemic, there have been some further relaxations. 

Having returned to shul back in March, and with masks no longer being necessary at shul, it has been interesting to take note of further changes.

During this Memorial Day weekend, I experienced a few firsts from prior to the pandemic:

• On Saturday, for the first time since mid-March 2020, our family went to a Shabbat lunch in someone else's house. 
• On Sunday morning, I played softball for the first time in a couple of years. 
• On Monday, I went back to my parents' house for the first time since January 2020. 

These are a lot of firsts, indicative of the changes happening with the vaccinations in the decrease of the Coronavirus.

Morning Minute Musing Series: #111-#120

Having catalogued my Morning Minute Musing series episodes #0-#10, #11-#20, #21-#30, #31-#40, #41-#50, #51-#60, #61-#70, #71-#80, #81-90, #91-#100, and #101-#110, here are #111-#120:

#111 - Curious about BitClout #112 - Experimenting & Learning How to Market to Seniors #113 - Transitioning to Referrals #114 - Getting Press Coverage is Great, Except When They Attribute Factual Inaccuracies To You #115 - Remembering Names Goes Far #116 - Beginning to Pivot Away From Success #117 - Excited About Coffee/Espresso Machine at Work #118 - Increasing PPE at Work #119 - 3 Quick Things I Have Learned in One Year at a Senior Living Facility #120 - Dipping My Toes Into Cryptocurrencies & NFTs

Morning Minute Musing Series: #101-#110

Having catalogued my Morning Minute Musing series episodes #0-#10, #11-#20, #21-#30, #31-#40, #41-#50, #51-#60, #61-#70, #71-#80, #81-90, and #91-#100, here are #101-#110:

#101 - Transition! (& Anxiety) #102 - Cataloguing to Avoid Duplicating #103 - Zoom Meetings Helping Prepare for IRL Meetings? #104 - Why Bother with Instagram Stories? #105 - Instagram Story Highlights? #106 - Teaching Source-Based Classes In-Person Again #107 - Growing Beyond a Podcast #108 - Create a Separate Brand for a Passion Project or Keep It Within My Own Media Streams? Why Not Both? #109 - COVID-19 Exposure & Precautions #110 - Stepping-up my PPE for a Couple of Weeks

Morning Minute Musing Series: #91-#100

Having catalogued my Morning Minute Musing series episodes #0-#10, #11-#20, #21-#30, #31-#40, #41-#50, #51-#60, #61-#70, #71-#80, and #81-90, here are #91-#100:

#91 - Rabbinic Branding Deployment #92 - Clapping it up for Kevin Feige & Marvel Studios #93 - Raising up many students #94 - Quashing Covid Rumors at Work #95 - Carousel of Masks #96 - Not interested in "This user posted for the first time in a while" #97 - It is helpful to have good wifi in one's office #98 - Beginning to Transition from Pandemic Mode #99 - Bye, Face Shield #100 - Clergy can visit!

Morning Minute Musing Series: #81-#90

Having catalogued my Morning Minute Musing series episodes #0-#10, #11-#20, #21-#30, #31-#40, #41-#50, #51-#60, #61-#70, and #71-#80, here are #81-#90:

#81 - Developing Self-Awareness #82 - Reputation=Brand? #83 - Happily Surprising Feedback on COVID-19 Testing Videos #84 - Publishing Videos to Academia.Edu Not Just Simply Because It's Another Platform #85 - Excited to Find Out About OBS #86 - Having been on the job for 9 months, I can't help but think about trimesters #87 - Apparently, social media algorithms do not like quantity 😥 #88 - Rabbis and Technology #89 - Rabbinic Branding: Identifying Content Niche #90 - Rabbinic Branding: Identifying Style/Characteristics

Strange to Experience Masklessness at Synagogue

Having returned to attending shul a couple of months ago, it has been nice to be able to come together at shul amidst this pandemic amongst other masked shul-goers. For me, it has been particularly nice, as our shul has followed CDC guidelines with regards to masking, social distancing and more (not all shuls do (there is a shul across the street that has been largely mask-optional for a while)).

However, with the announcement from the CDC on May 13th that vaccinated people do not need to wear masks inside with other vaccinated people, our shul decided on May 16th that we can shift to adapt to the updated CDC guidelines, as announced in an email:

In light of the very recently issued CDC guidelines regarding mask wearing the Board voted to enact the following change to our Sha'arei Torah Participation Guidelines:

1. For individuals who are fully vaccinated, wearing a mask in the sanctuary is now optional.
2. All un-vaccinated people must wear masks, including children 3 and up.
3. While no active vaccine verification process will be in place it is incumbent upon each participant to be honest and responsible to their fellow congregant, neighbor, and friends. Those who are not vaccinated are to adhere to our guidelines and wear a mask.

The Board acted quickly to make this change to help create the best environment for the late-night torah study event along with the upcoming days of our davening as we celebrate Shavuot together.

Walking into shul that night for the all-night Shavuot learning was a strange sight to see for me. I have gotten used to seeing masked faces in indoor spaces, so to see a room largely masked was - despite being expected - still a shock to me. While there were a couple of people who remained masked, it was more of a visceral reaction than an intellectual reaction, as I knew I would be unmasked, as would many others. That having been said, I felt kind of naked, as I felt strange in not wearing a mask in public.

That continued through yesterday, as it was the first Shabbat since prior to the pandemic that masks were not mandated [for vaccinated folks]. It's one thing to see people for all-night learning at Shavuot, but it's another thing to see Shabbat morning services where people are together in a regular fashion, yet...unmasked. It's still kind of strange for me to experience, yet it makes sense.

Nevertheless, I am still glad that our shul is following CDC guidelines closely in opening up and I hope things go well with the process, as we continue on this journey to getting closer to pre-pandemic processes.

Morning Minute Musing Series: #71-#80

 Having catalogued my Morning Minute Musing series episodes #0-#10, #11-#20, #21-#30, #31-#40, #41-#50, #51-#60, and #61-#70, here are #71-#80:

#71 - Balancing Getting Things Done with Interpersonal Interactions #72 - Loss of a Boss #73 - Glad to Have Taken a Break from Podcasting #74 - Now using outlines for podcasting #75 - Whoops - I haven't been pushing out more awareness of my podcast😮 #76 - Using New Social Media Tools #77 - Reactions to the COVID-19 vaccination #78 - Rabbinic Branding Should be Taught at Rabbinical Schools #79 - Are "Vaccinated" Shirts at Work Braggy? #80 - Excited to discover uploading videos to Academia.edu!