The "Nicole Factor" Is Online

Welcome to the Nicole Factor at blogspot.com.
Powered By Blogger

The Nicole Factor

Search This Blog

Stage 32

My LinkedIn Profile

About Me

TwitThis

TwitThis

Twitter

Messianic Bible (As If the Bible Isn't)

My About.Me Page

Views

Facebook and Google Page

Reach Me On Facebook!

Talk To Me on Fold3!

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Okay; Here's the Deal Regarding the Once-In-a-Lifetime, Unexpected Opportunity

As far as the opportunity, who would be willing to travel to New York with me to a Superbowl party? Long story short, I won two tickets from WABC Radio to their Big Game Party on the 19th—and it was seriously an unexpected opportunity. I actually thought that I would not win, but I did. 

Nonetheless, I don't know with whom or how I would get to New York. I invited Mom to go with me and/or count it as my graduation gift, but she said that I'd have to find someone else to take if I was going to do. Also, I have no money for a flight—unless I win $1,000 or something (e.g., some kind of miracle happens). If anyone would be willing to take me up on the opportunity, please send me a private message (on Facebook or Twitter) or e-mail me, and I will send you the information.


PS Here's a conversation that I had with a friend about the matter—which shows you how badly I want to go. Originally, I had kept this specific news among only Facebook friends; so, that's why his or her name is not public, etc..

Also, I don't drive; so, I'd have to take the bus and subways.


  • Friday, January 10, 2014

    Why Not Convert To Non-Messianic Judaism? Tanakh Itself Should Give You A Hint As To Why.

    If I were you, I would not convert to Judaism. I come from a Jewish background (unbeknownst to me for years), and Yeshua did not have me find out until I was secure in the Messianic Jewish (Jewish Christian) faith (and Christianity is a Jewish sect that derived from Essenism, which is with what John the Baptist was affiliated).

    In Judaism, you have to keep 613 laws. Concerning the Moabites, for example: "4 An Ammonite or a Moabite shall not enter into the assembly of the LORD; even to the tenth generation shall none of them enter into the assembly of the LORD for ever; 5 because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Aram-naharaim, to curse thee. 6 Nevertheless the LORD thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the LORD thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the LORD thy God loved thee. 7 Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days for ever."

    Yet there are other mitzvot, or laws, which state, "Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart; thou shalt surely rebuke thy neighbour, and not bear sin because of him. Thou shalt not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD."

    In light of those seemingly-contradictory mitzvot, the New Testament states the following (See Romans 7:4-25 for context.):

    "13 Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. 16 If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me."

    The point is that we were willing to, in this case, hold a grudge against the Mo'avim and Amonim; and Yehovah knew that. That's why He gave us over to that sin.

    Yet, if you convert to Judaism, you will have to follow logic like this:

    "Whereas certain other nations are allowed to marry into Judaism (if they have converted) after a certain number of generations, when it comes to men from Amon and Mo’av descent, the Torah rules that no such people are ever allowed to marry Jews (23:4). Why are they given such harsh treatment? The pasuk (23:5) tells us that this ban is due to the fact that they hired Bilam to try and curse us, as well as the fact that they did not allow us to pass through their land to go to Eretz Yisrael; they did not greet us with food and drink. But why does this mean that they get harsher treatment than the Egyptians, for example, who can join our ranks after three generations? The Ramban (23:5) explains that these two nations (Amon and Mo’av) were expected to act kindly to us. For generations ago Avraham Avinu saved Lot (the father of both these nations) from captivity, and as such these two nations should have been grateful to us and should have aided us. But since they spurned Avraham’s kindness and exhibited a lack of gratitude, they showed themselves unworthy of joining the Jewish ranks - for a Jew’s life revolves around gratitude. The first word of the day we say is thanks (modeh), and the word yehudim comes from the word hoda’ah, which means to thank. Indeed, such is the centrality of this trait of gratitude, that the reason the Torah gives for eventually allowing Egyptians to join the Jewish fold is because (23:8) we were hosted in their land. Yes, they treated us harshly for two centuries, but (before that) they hosted us in their land and provided us with food when famine had hit Eretz Yisrael. Even for this we are to show a degree of gratitude."

    On the other hand, you could become a Karaite Jew; but I already laid out what Romans 7:5-24 says, and Karaites do not believe it. So,

    "Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve Him in sincerity and in truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. 15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.'"

    The rabbis treat themselves as gods. In Bava Metzi'a 59 of the Talmud, for example:

    Why [the oven of] 'Aknai? — Said Rab Judah in Samuel's name: [It means] that they encompassed it with arguments2  as a snake, and proved it unclean. It has been taught: On that day R. Eliezer brought forward every imaginable argument,3  but they did not accept them. Said he to them: 'If the halachah agrees with me, let this carob-tree prove it!' Thereupon the carob-tree was torn a hundred cubits out of its place — others affirm, four hundred cubits. 'No proof can be brought from a carob-tree,' they retorted. Again he said to them: 'If the halachah agrees with me, let the stream of water prove it!' Whereupon the stream of water flowed backwards — 'No proof can be brought from a stream of water,' they rejoined. Again he urged: 'If the halachah agrees with me, let the walls of the schoolhouse prove it,' whereupon the walls inclined to fall. But R. Joshua rebuked them, saying: 'When scholars are engaged in a halachic dispute, what have ye to interfere?' Hence they did not fall, in honour of R. Joshua, nor did they resume the upright, in honour of R. Eliezer; and they are still standing thus inclined. Again he said to them: 'If the halachah agrees with me, let it be proved from Heaven!' Whereupon a Heavenly Voice cried out: 'Why do ye dispute with R. Eliezer, seeing that in all matters the halachah agrees with him!' But R. Joshua arose and exclaimed: 'It is not in heaven.'4  What did he mean by this? — Said R. Jeremiah: That the Torah had already been given at Mount Sinai; we pay no attention to a Heavenly Voice, because Thou hast long since written in the Torah at Mount Sinai, After the majority must one incline.5
    R. Nathan met Elijah6  and asked him: What did the Holy One, Blessed be He, do in that hour? — He laughed [with joy], he replied, saying, 'My sons have defeated Me, My sons have defeated Me.

    Wednesday, January 8, 2014

    Script For Practice Job-Seeking Video

    Hello; my name is Nicole V. Czarnecki. I am a graduate of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. I graduated in December of 2013 with of a Bachelor of Arts degree in the field of Political Science, and I am seeking a career in the political or journalist field. Specifically, I desire to be a politics-and-news commentator and analyst. 

    In full disclosure, I did not do as well in college as I could have done, and I have never had an internship. This is because I have Obsessive Compulsive/Generalized Anxiety, Major Depressive, and Attention Deficit Disorders, and Diplegic-Spastic/Mild Quadriplegic Cerebral Palsy that required an Intravenous Baclofen Pump to improve. Nonetheless, what I lack in academic and professional experience is what I make up for in life experience, passion and conviction, and character.

    I was born as a prematurely-born twin on January 23, 1990, and my twin and I were supposed to be born on April 22, 1990. Both my twin and I had complications due to our premature births, and my complications included a Category-Three brainbleed which effected me to have Cerebral Palsy. I was diagnosed with my form of Cerebral Palsy about a year and six months later.

    I was in the hospital for 75 days—from January 23, 1990 to April 7th of the same year. I, according to what my doctors told my mother, was not supposed to ever walk, write, or catch up with my peers. I proved my doctors' suppositions wrong—I walked independently on May 26, 1994; I learned to write very well, and I finally caught up to my age cohorts after some time and earned my B.A. degree. Also, I stayed in line with my peers until after high school—my college years were some of my roughest years, and I came out of those years in one piece and with a fair amount of success.

    I was raised by a divorced mother who has her own amazing life story, and I owe her more than the world—she helped me, for example, complete college and was with me during the difficult periods in my life. She stood by me and supported me  during, for instance, the first 75 days of my life—when I was in Saint Agnes Hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit—, the fallout of her difficult divorce—which affected me, as a disabled child of divorce, profoundly—, and my Intravenous Baclofen Pump Surgery and recovery—which lasted from July 17, 2013 to August 2nd of the same. She also did the best that she could do in helping me deal with my abusive and otherwise-very-difficult dad.

    Speaking of my dad, I also come from an interesting background on his side. On my paternal side, I am a bat-Anusim Ashkenazim—the daughter of Ashkenazi Crypto Jews. Because of this, I am very interested in Israeli and Jewish Diasporan matters—and I myself was born in the Jewish Diaspora, and plan to make aliyah if ever God wills that I should do so. I also am working on learning to speak fluent Hebrew—ani talmidah b'ivrit v'lomedet ivrit b'bayit.

    Relatedly, one of my classes in my final semester at UMBC was Hebrew 101—and I did so well on the oral final, that my professor had "no comment" as to how I did. I also received an "A" in the class. Besides learning to speak Hebrew, I am also interested in learning about my family history—which, for a mispachah-Anusim, is quite an interesting one, as I have learned.

    In that vein, I consider myself a Messianic Jew—I was baptized as a Roman Catholic, raised as an Episcopalian for the first 10 or 11 years of my life, became a Christian within those years, and went to a Presbyterian church and high school during the rest of my childhood years. I also began to suspect that I have Jewish heritage within the latter part of those years, and finding out about my Jewish heritage has only strengthened my Christian faith.

    Because of my faith, I believe in having a good character. I believe in being as honest as possible—and, as people in my life have told, sometimes honest to a fault—, trustworthy, loving, kind, patient, forgiving, and all other manner of good. I also believe that my politics do reflect my worldview—for that reason, I am a conservative Republican (much to the chagrin of, for example, my late paternal granddad—who was one of the three IRS agents who served tax papers to then-President Nixon through President Nixon's attorneys—and my granddad was an ardently-liberal Democrat who did not like Republicans in any way, shape, form, circumstance, fashion or manner).

    Speaking of my politics, I am volunteering on the campaign of a Howard County Executive candidate—namely, current Republican Maryland State Senator Allan H. Kittleman. I also blog about politics—among other matters—on my Blogspot blog, "The Nicole Factor." 

    Relatedly, I can be found utilizing other social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, and—of course—YouTube. In fact, I have an About.Me page on which you can find out more about me. As you will see, I am quite savvy in utilizing social media.


    In conclusion, I hope that you consider me worthy of being interviewed as your potential employee, and I hope that my qualifications, experience, and character will prove my worth. Thank you for your time and consideration of me.

    Monday, January 6, 2014

    Submission For Essay Contest As Sponsored By the Galilee Center for Studies in Jewish-Christian Relations

    Jews, Christians, and Religious Persecution—and My Own Family
                My name is Nicole Victoria Czarnecki, and I am set to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science. I am to be counted as having graduated in December of 2013, provided that I am able to pass a class which I had trouble completing over the semester. To make a long story short, I was recovering from surgery which I had in July, and my granddad died on the weekend before the exam for the class with which I had difficulty.
                Speaking of my granddad, I had found out the fact that he is the son of a pogrom survivor, about which he was not happy. That fact bothered him, and he hid it from me and his other grandchildren for years. He also changed his story from that we are somehow related to Stefan Czarniecki, to something along the lines of “If we had any Jewish blood, I don’t know about it.” He never outrightly admitted that we are Jewish, although he did have very-Jewish wishes for when he died. His obituary reads, in part:
    “Visitation with the family will be held at Singleton's Funeral Home, 1 2nd Ave. SW, Glen Burnie, MD 21061 on Wednesday, December 18, 2013 from 3:00-5:00PM and 7:00-9:00PM. Services will be held on Thursday, December 19, 2013 at 11:00AM at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, 126 Dorsey Rd., Glen Burnie, MD 21061. Private Interment at Glen Haven Cemetery, Glen Burnie, MD. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations be made to either of the following organizations: NCEON, 305 5th Avenue SE, Glen Burnie, MD 20161, or H.O.P.E. for All, P.O. Box 1548, Glen Burnie, MD 21060…”
                As I remember, having a visitation was expressly against his wishes. In fact, as my Aunt Mary recalled to me, he had expressed that he wanted to either have a funeral without calling hours beforehand or be cremated. He did, however, get to keep his wishes of having tzedekah done in his name and being buried in a non-Catholic cemetery.
                The cremation wishes, meanwhile, probably come from the fact that his wife’s—my grandmother’s—cousins were murdered in Auschwitz, and he perhaps felt guilty about that. He also may have had cousins who were murdered in the Holocaust, as an e-mail from my granduncle Tony reads:
    “In mid 1960's the Polish family asked the American family to deed the farm to them since the Americans would not be returning.  One hundred twenty nine (129) signatures were required from the American family members to complete the transfer, because under Polish law, all living survivors of Julian were an heir to the property.”
                Before the mid 1960s, our side of the family was not talking to the side of the family whom stayed in what eventually became Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, and Russia. In fact, they were quite angry at Great-Granddad Czarnecki’s parents, Julian John “Felix” and Alexandria Alice Andrulewicz Czarnecki, for being Anusim during the pogroms. For Alexandria’s family, however, being Anusi was nothing new. This is because some Andrulevičuses had become Anusim beforehand, and Alexandria’s branch was among the last of the Andrulevičuses to become such. In fact, some Andrulevičuses—the family of whom carried variants of “Andrulevičuses” such as “Andrulewicz”, “Andralowitz”, and “Andrulevich”—continued to identify as Jewish even while they remained Catholic.
                For example, Jacob L. Androlowicz, who served in World War Two, was counted among wounded Jewish soldiers. His wounded-soldier card reads as follows:

                He was buried in a Catholic cemetery when he died in 1974, and his gravestone reads “Jacob Androlowicz”. As for his cousin Alexandria’s family (Great-Granddad Czarnecki’s branch), they were among the Andrulevičuses who were not open about being Jewish, although they did observe some minhag v’nusach. For example, there was no “Mary” among Alexandria’s daughters—they were named Regina, Alexandria Alice, and Cecelia. In fact, the first “Mary” in Alexandria’s line was my aunt Mary, who was named for her grandmothers—Mary Trudnak Czarnecki (the daughter of Anusim Mihály “Michael” and Anna Amalia Munková “Anna Monka” Trudniak) and Marysia “Mary” Elizabeth Rusnak Gaydos (the daughter of Anusim András Stef “Andrew Stephen” and Juliana Foczková “Julia Fosko” Rusnak).
    Given that the Andrulewicz, Czarnecki (originally “Czernecki”), Trudnak (originally “Trudnyak”), Monka (“Munka”), Rusnak (originally “Rusznak”), Fosko (originally “Foczko”), and other families of Alexandria’s grandson and in-law daughter (Joan Adele Czarnecki née Gaydos) were Anusim Ashkenazim, how they observed some minhag Sefardi surprised me. I suspected, therefore, that the Andrulewiczes et. al. had Sefardic heritage and were well aware of what their Sefardic ancestors suffered in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Holland. I turned out to be correct, as my dad’s AncestryDNA autosomal DNA test shows that Dad has 1% Iberian Peninsular DNA:


    In fact, my great-granddad Anthony Czarnecki was named for Anthony Claret of Spain when he was baptized. I suspected this—and was able to confirm my suspicion per Dad’s DNA results[1]—because, as I found out, Anthony Claret was born on October 24th, the same date (even though not in the same year) as the birthdate of my great-granddad.
    As I mentioned beforehand, Great-Granddad Czarnecki was a pogrom survivor. He was born on October 24, 1904 in Cumań, Wołyn, Rusia (now Tsuman, Volyns’ka Oblast in the Ukraine). At the time, his mother was en route from or to visiting a cousin named Vil’gel’m Andrulevich. According to Hebcal.com and given Vil’gel’m lived in Buzhanka, Zvenigorodka uyezd (now Tsuman in the Ukraine’s Cherkas’ka Oblast), she was visiting Vil’gel’m to celebrate either HaRosh-HaChodesh Cheshvan 5665 (since she lived in Lipsk nad Bierbzą, Suwałki Gubernia with her husband, and she would not have been able to visit on the 1st of Cheshvan) or the 15th of Cheshvan (since Tanakh reads, “Blow the horn at the new moon, at the full moon for our feast-day.”[2]). Since she gave birth to her son on 15th Cheshvan, however, that she was visiting Vil’gelm to celebrate Rosh Chodesh seems more likely.
    After all, the Andrulevičuses were originally Orthodox, and at least one branch—the Andrelewitzes—remained so throughout the 1900s. The Andrulevičuses were Litvakn Yidn who took Tanakh and Talmud seriously. In fact, one cousin—Rochla Andrelewtiz—identified herself as “Hebrew” and her dad as “Gitla Andrelewitz”. They had no aversion to identifying as Jewish or taking identifiably-Yiddish names.

    Then came the times of Anti Semitism in the Russian Pale and the Congress of Poland. For Alexandria’s branch, the times were the era of the pogroms in and around Lipsk nad Biebrzą. As my granduncle Tony wrote:
    “I don't know who came with the group to America.  It seems that there were only a few family members and friends.  These people mostly settled in NE PA.  Your Great Grandfather had a few cousins living within 50 miles of Wilkes-Barre…There were several "friends" in Sugar Notch and the area that would periodically return to Lisco Poland to visit family and mail was occasionally received by them from family in Poland.  One of the friends who lived in Sugar Notch would bring pictures of Great Grandpop's family to share with him.  Since he left at a young age, he didn't recognize anyone but as I recall they all had names of the people in the pictures on the back.
    “The move from Poland was permanent.  There was never any talk of returning.  Not even for a visit…
    “I never seen nor did anyone mention anything special brought from Poland.  A friend from Sugar Notch, Mrs. Bertha Wawrzyn, visited Poland every few years to see her family and would visit the family while there.  All she ever brought back were photos that she took of the Polish Czarnecki's…
    “There was very little discussion of the Polish life and family.  Usually, when there was, it was a brief mention of the farm that was left behind.  There did not seem to be any regrets about leaving for a better life.  After all , they settled among Polish, Slavic, Hungarian, Lithuanian, and Ukrainian people just like themselves.  Similar language, similar customs, similar faces, houses, churches, etc.  But life was much better than on the farm.  They were quite happy in America and much better off.  The motherland, Poland, was far off and just a memory, not to be forgotten but no regrets for leaving either.
    “Periodically a church pastor would run a heritage trip back to Poland for a group.  Very few of those who immigrated would return.  Occasionally someone "in the family" in America would join a relative for the return trip, Usually meeting the Polish or Slovak relatives for the first time and occasionally maintaining a letter writing relationship afterwards.  This DID NOT happen in our family… 
    “Bertha's photos which came after the trips were the only contact until they asked for the deed to be changed in the mid 1960's.
    “There was no special items from Poland that were kept by the family that I know of.  They came with little and acquired everything they had in America.  Over the years all traces of Poland disappeared.  They were now AMERICANS and wanted to be known as such…..”
                The more that I researched and talked to family members, the more that what happened became quite evident: the Andrulewiczes, Czerneckis, and other families (e.g., the families of Great-Granddad’s grandmothers—the Morgiewiczes and the Daniłowiczes) were very unhappy about their family members giving up their Jewish faith at the hands of Czar Nicholas the Second and the Polish and Russian Churches. Therefore, their son Julian and their daughter Alexandria left for Sugar Notch, Pennsylvania, and blended in there by pretending to be Polish-Lithuanian Catholics.
                This did not mean the end of trouble for Great-Granddad, though. In fact, his wanting to marry a Jewish Catholic—Mary Trudnak by name—extremely upset his mother, who did not believe in anything other than shidduch or marrying fellow Yidn. Marrying who she considered to be a meshumadah—since Great-Grandma, as I remember and as Aunt Mary told me, was a genuine Jewish Catholic—was Great-Granddad’s way of asking for trouble. In fact, as Great-Grandma told Aunt Mary, Great-Granddad’s and Great-Grandma’s doctor warned them to leave Great-Great-Grandma’s house before Great-Grandma could have a mental breakdown.
                Great-Great-Grandma died of nephritis on April 6, 1936, shortly before my granddad was born. Nonetheless, the damage had already been done, and Pop-Pop was not born into a stable family or raised in a stable household. In truth, Pop-Pop became just like his grandmother, whose son became just like her. My granduncle Tony even once quoted the following about my great-granddad, my granddad, and my dad: “Like father, like son.”
                In sum, the persecution that the Poles and Russians enacted against my paternal granddad’s dad and his family affected my granddad’s family to consider their Jewishness a dark secret, and a secret that—by becoming and being kept a secret—affected much of the dysfunction in our family. As HaShem warned through Moshe, “HaShem is slow to anger, and plenteous in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation.”[3] This has certainly been the case in our family, and this has caused me to do what Great-Grandma wanted to do with Aunt Mary at the end of her 93 years—“talk about it”.
                I myself will never commit a chillul HaShem by hiding my Jewish heritage and perverting my Jewish heritage into a secret that will destroy my children and grandchildren. While I myself am a Jewish Christian and will never give up Yeshua (since I became a Christian long before I knew that I am Jewish, and I believe that being a Christian is fully compatible with being Jewish), I understand why my granddad was an Anusi up until his dying day. I also know that my dad, if he was honest with himself, would be Reform Jewish (much to the chagrin of his dad’s late paternal grandma).
                I can also see the effects of Polish and Russian Anti Semitism that was committed in the name of Yeshua, and know that HaShem would have this to see about the Poles and Russians who claimed to be Christians in order to hurt my family:
    “And the L-rd said: Forasmuch as this people draw near, and with their mouth and with their lips do honour Me, but have removed their heart far from Me, and their fear of Me is a commandment of men learned by rote”.[4]


    Works Cited
    Ancestry.com. New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957[database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
    “. U.S., WWII Jewish Servicemen Cards, 1942-1947 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.
    “. Web: New Jersey, Find A Grave Index, 1664-2012 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
    Czarnecki, Anthony J., Jr. "RE: Family Research Project For School." Message to the author. Oct.-Nov. 2012. E-mail.
    Czarnecki, Gregory M. "DNA Tests for Ethnicity & Genealogical DNA testing at AncestryDNA." DNA Tests for Ethnicity & Genealogical DNA testing at AncestryDNA. http://dna.ancestry.com/#/ethnicity/85CDAAEB-7A37-4BAF-8B86-86BA65C81CB2 (accessed January 6, 2014).
    “. "Jack Czarnecki." The Capital Gazette. Legacy.com, Dec.-Jan. 2013. Web. 06 Jan. 2014. .
    JewishGen.org, comp. Russia, Duma Voter Lists, 1906-1907 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008.
    The JPS Tanakh. 1917 ed. N.p.: n.p., 1917. Jewish Virtual Library. The American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, 2013. Web. 6 Jan. 2014. .
    Sadinoff, Danny, and Michael J. Radwin. "Hebrew Date Converter." Hebrew Date Converter. HebCal.com, 1999. Web. 06 Jan. 2014. .




    [1] Which, according to Ancestry.com, could be updated. The screenshot results come from AncestryDNA Version 2.0..
    [3] Numbers 14:18, JPS. Obtained via Jewish Virtual Library.
    [4] Isaiah 29:13, JPS. Obtained via Jewish Virtual Library.

    Sunday, January 5, 2014

    "Who Is Andrew Sandubrae's Mother In Oklahoma?"

    Really? Firstly, I have never talked about Andrew Sandubrae's mother. Secondly, I don't even care who she is. All I know about her is that her son married a certain daughter of a country singer, and that may speak volumes about her. I don't know how she raised her son, and how she raised her son may not necessarily correlate with her son's marriage choices.

    As for Andrew Sandubrae, that he married a certain nepotist speaks volumes about him.

    By the way, the question about whether Toby Keith abuses his children is one that I can't answer. However, that he shoved another child by the head might indicate something. Incidentally, he also threw an object at a now-former fan.

    I will also say that I am a survivor of verbal, emotional, mental/psychological, spiritual, and physical abuse. So, I would not be surprised if Toby Keith does indeed abuse or has indeed abused his children (which might explain a lot about Krystal and Stelen—and trust me when I say that Stelen is no better than his sister).

    amnion levi anusim
    1
    messianic congregations near hollywood sc
    1
    who is andrew sandubraes mother in oklahoma
    1

    Saturday, January 4, 2014

    Speaking Of Shabbat...

    If I already posted this from Yahoo! Answers before, please let me know. Nonetheless, a refresher always helps. On Shabbat especially, to talk about the different forms of Judaism would begin to give others—including Jews who don't know what the heck their own people do, and those who suspect that they are Jewish and would like to have an idea of what Jews do—an idea of what Jews do on Shabbat. Granted that this is basic, modified from the original Yahoo! post, and more for reference than anything else; but it should still give you an idea of what Jews do on Shabbat.

    Conservative Judaism is the closest form of Judaism to Orthodox (really, Orthodox Pharisaic) Judaism. Conservative (Masorti) Judaism broke away from Reform Judaism in order to maintain Matrilineal Descent as the rue for "Who is a Jew?" and other traditions, although they do not believe in the inerrancy of Tanakh or the Talmud. The hierarchy is something along the lines of: 

    1) Haredi ("Hasidi", "Chabad") Judaism (including Kabbalah) 2) Orthodox Judaism 3) Conservadox Judaism 4) Reformodox Judaism 5) Conservative (Masorti) Judaism 6) Reform (Liberal, "Progressive") Judaism 7) Reconstructionist Judaism 8) Renewal Judaism or Alternative Judaism 9) Humanistic Judaism 10) Atheistic Judaism 


    There's also Karaite (Mikra'iti, Scripturalist) Judaism and Messianic (Christian) Judaism, neither of which are accepted by Pharisaic (Mainstream) Judaism.

    Now that you have an idea of each of the forms of Judaism, you can pretty much guess what a Jew who affiliates with a given denomination of Judaism does on Shabbat. If you can't, keep reading...

    1) Haredi ("Hasidi", "Chabad") Judaism (including Kabbalah)—will not work on Shabbat. "Work" certainly includes even writing, and may even include walking for the extremely-haredi Jew. For the Jew who does not even walk on Shabbat, he or she may sit in his or her home and privately worship (He or she would certainly not walk to shul.). If he or she has any light on in his or her dwelling, the light will come only from the Shabbat candles, as "work" includes turning on a light switch!
    2) Orthodox Judaismwill not work on Shabbat. "Work" may include even writing for the more-Orthodox Jew (as opposed to the Modern Orthodox Jew, depending on what he or she is writing). He or she will usually walk to shul, and drive only if tikun ha'olam v'piku'ach nefesh (e.g., getting a disabled family member to shul) requires him or her to do so (He or she may hire a shabbos goy to drive the family member, however.). If he or she has any light on in his or her dwelling, the light will come only from the Shabbat candles, as "work" includes turning on a light switch!
    3) Conservadox Judaism—will mix Conservative and Orthodox practices.
    4) Reformodox Judaismwill mix Reform and Orthodox practices. 
    5) Conservative (Masorti) Judaismmay or may not work on Shabbat, depending on whether he or she leans toward being Orthodox or Reform. "Work" may include even writing for the more-Orthodox Conservative Jew (as opposed to the more-Modern-Orthodox Jew, depending on what he or she is writing). He or she will usually walk to shul, and drive only if tikun ha'olam v'piku'ach nefesh (e.g., getting a disabled family member to shul) requires him or her to do so (He or she may hire a shabbos goy to drive the family member, however.). If he or she has any light on in his or her dwelling, the light may come only from the Shabbat candles, as "work" may include turning on a light switch! 
    6) Reform (Liberal, "Progressive") Judaismmay or may not work on Shabbat, depending on whether he or she leans toward being more traditional or more liberal. "Work" may include even writing for the more-Orthodox Reform Jew (as opposed to the less-Orthodox Reform Jew, depending on what he or she is writing). He or she will usually drive to shul—if he or she attends shul at all.  He or she will also likely turn on light switches.
    7) Reconstructionist Judaismmay or may not work on Shabbat, depending on whether he or she leans toward being more traditional or more liberal. He or she will write, usually drive to shul—if he or she attends shul at all—, and likely turn on light switches. 
    8) Renewal Judaism or Alternative Judaismmay or may not work on Shabbat, depending on whether he or she leans toward being more traditional or more liberal. He or she will write, drive to shul—if he or she attends shul at all, and turn on light switches.  
    9) Humanistic Judaismwould not be opposed to working on Shabbat. He or she will write, drive to shul—if he or she attends shul at all, and turn on light switches.  
    10) Atheistic Judaismwould not be opposed to working on Shabbat. He or she will write, drive to shul—if he or she attends shul at all, and turn on light switches. 


    Karaite Judaism and Messianic (Christian) Judaism, meanwhile, accept few to no Orthodox practices as authoritative. Karaite and Messianic Jews, therefore, usually work on Shabbat except for in the ways which are prohibited by TaNaKh—for Messianics, TaNaKH ("H" stands for "[B'rit] Hadashah", or "New [Covenant] [or "New Testament"]"). Both Karaites and Messianics usually write, drive to shul, and turn on light switches.







    Wednesday, January 1, 2014

    (Some Of) My Big Moments In 2013 (Including at the End)

    This is not an exhaustive list, but it's way more than what I mentioned in the video:


    1. Being called Geraldo Rivera's "favorite tweeter"
    2. Establishing that I have kohen and Levi heritage through the Gajdoszes, Dudays, Foczkos, Rusznaks, and Levais.
    3. My ITB Pump surgery (and I envy Geraldo—the lucky guy got well over a total of 100 Facebook and Twitter "likes", well wishes, etc. regarding his foot surgery. I got no more than 52 "likes" at a time—actually, that was my uncle who posted about me and the ITB Pump surgery. Geraldo's probably going to hate me for that, and I may not be his favorite tweeter anymore; but, c'mon—I was under anesthesia on both July 17th and July 18th. Plus, I was in Johns Hopkins until July 22nd, and then Mount Washington Pediatric Hospital until August 2nd. Furthermore, they had to give me caffeine and have me drink coffee to prevent further caffeine withdrawal and headaches. All I got was a few visits, comic books back from my dad, and a few other things).
    4. My granddad passing.
    5. My dad disowning me—but at least I got the atDNA test from him before he did.
    6. Great-Granduncle Andy's passing—that's huge, given that my generation of Fosko Rusnaks is second in line to carry to torch (Dad's is the first.).
    7. The first year that I did not attend the DeBoy Family Reunion (I was recovering from ITB Pump Surgery).
    8. Almost (almost!) graduating college (One more paper to revise and turn in!).
    9. Having major people follow me on Twitter
    10. Figuring out that I'm related to Thomas Andrew, Michael Andrews, and Kirk Douglas (By the way, some of 2012 is going to have overlapped into 2013.).
    11. Getting a resume written (Well, my friend wrote it for me. I still owe him a handmade tallit, even if I don't ultimately use the resume that he wrote.).
    12. Being a formal סטודנטית ללשון העברית—and getting an "A" in הכיתה. (Of course, I don't why I thought "הרבה" was "class" as I was typing this.).
    13. Turning 23 on January 23 (Ok, I really turned 23 on January 12, 1990; since that was טבת 26, 5773. יהוה, ברוך הוא, goes by the lunar Hebrew year. In Gregorian terms, I did turn 23 on the 23rd of January.).
    14. Getting bullied by and watching vengeance against Krystal Keith and her dad.
    15. Beginning to write my family-history memoir.
    16. My aunt attempting suicide (I sat שבע for her for an hour days before—that was a big deal, and I didn't know that that's why she moved without telling me.).
    By the way, my mom feels that 2014 is going to be my year...we'll see, Mom.