tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-132987782012-01-15T18:05:59.363-05:00MC Aryehhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15391548803569665725noreply@blogger.comBlogger201100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13298778.post-1166194660117421442006-12-15T09:57:00.000-05:002006-12-15T10:06:12.226-05:00

Just a quick note to thank everyone who has been reading A Whispering Soul over the course of the past year and a half. I have really enjoyed the blogging experience, and especially all of the wonderful people I have gotten to know through this medium. Partly due to time constraints and partly due to being uncomfortable with where to draw the public/private line (I felt like it was getting too

MC Aryehhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15391548803569665725noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13298778.post-1157905427430683492006-09-10T12:11:00.001-04:002009-08-21T09:21:40.659-04:00

Some people are allergic to peanut butter, others to chocolate (the poor souls), some to both. Mainly, they need to respectivey avoid peanuts, cocoa, and Reeces Pieces, and they should be fine. I think most allergies are like that - you avoid what you are allergic to, and are none the worse for wear.It ain't like that for me.Lucky guy that I am, I am allergic to mosquito bites. Not only do

MC Aryehhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15391548803569665725noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13298778.post-1155710137041834552006-08-16T02:03:00.002-04:002009-08-21T09:24:23.234-04:00

I believe very strongly in giving credit where credit is due. And the fact is, we all owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Justin Timberlake. Justin's new single, SexyBack, which can be heard on his myspace page, for those of you with a hankering for ear punishment, is one of the worst singles to come out so far this year (only slightly ahead of Fergie's London Bridge for that honor). In it, Mr.

MC Aryehhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15391548803569665725noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13298778.post-1150365045174602352006-06-15T05:51:00.001-04:002009-08-21T09:23:38.999-04:00

Can't sleep. I tried giving in to dreams, then reading, then a drink of water, and now finally, reluctantly, A Whispering Soul. There is too much quiet. Not the comforting quiet of lights closed in a warm house at night, but the unsettling quiet of a restless, searching mind.I had a wonderful weekend with 'laizer, savior of souls, in from the Holy Land; shabbat and muffins and gourmet meals with

MC Aryehhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15391548803569665725noreply@blogger.com44tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13298778.post-1140062082607960712006-02-15T23:02:00.001-05:002009-08-21T09:22:20.340-04:00

As I was sitting in front of my computer working on a business writing project for hire, wishing I could be doing something more creative, I thought back to my childhood, and how great it was to be four. My entire world then was playing, running, drawing, and imagining. My parents were infallible, and I couldn't wait to turn 5, so I could be big, and go to school like my older brother. School, as

MC Aryehhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15391548803569665725noreply@blogger.com66tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13298778.post-1138514044195038092006-01-28T23:58:00.001-05:002010-12-22T02:18:38.109-05:00

As a pop culture junkie and lover of fine films, I have been predicting who will be nominated for the Oscars for at least 12 years now. It is kind of funny, I guess, that I do this, seeing as how I have only seen a handful of films in the last six years (part of a religious conflict I may blog about later). I don't care who wins, and I won't be watching the Awards telecast, but I enjoy predicting

MC Aryehhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15391548803569665725noreply@blogger.com48tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13298778.post-1136967021391668362006-01-11T02:44:00.001-05:002009-08-21T09:13:23.379-04:00

Nice little old blue-haired lady: "You have such beautiful red hair!"6 Year Old Me: "My hair is brown!"Nice little old blue-haired lady turns to my mother, who nods vigorously up and down and sighs, "It's brown." Nice little old blue-haired lady thinks we are both nuts and walks away confused.This scene played itself out more times than I can recall (substitute any number of other people for nice

MC Aryehhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15391548803569665725noreply@blogger.com52tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13298778.post-1121629758904483162006-01-08T00:38:00.001-05:002009-08-21T09:19:38.333-04:00

The following began life as a blog post, was reworked for an article in a magazine, and now, in light of (good) questions posed by Jameel, Treppenwitz and various real-time friends who have the privilege and merit to make Eretz Yisrael home -most specifically, "why have you not made aliyah?" - has been reworked again slightly to answer that question. I look forward to the discussion it will

MC Aryehhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15391548803569665725noreply@blogger.com38tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13298778.post-1135669214871849652005-12-27T01:09:00.001-05:002009-08-21T09:19:03.770-04:00

Live in New York, where Jews can be Jews without Judaism. Question, but know when to accept. Be idealistic to a fault. Daven your way - in your own words, in silence. Meet angels in your dreams. Linger near the waters and rocks. Write before sunrise and after sunset. Welcome solitude and laughter. Love films by unafiliated Jews - Ernst Lubitsch's Trouble In Paradise and The Smiling Lieutenant;

MC Aryehhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15391548803569665725noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13298778.post-1122547984541509132005-12-25T00:36:00.001-05:002009-08-21T09:18:49.194-04:00

Why, it's Christmas music! All the time! Everywhere! And (in the hopes that this will somehow pass as fulfilling the I confess meme I was tagged with by Daled Amos) I confess that I have a weak spot for it. No, not the `barump ba bum bum, yay Jesus!' variety of Christmas music, but the less overtly religious, more innocuous "Winter Wonderland", "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" type Christmas music

MC Aryehhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15391548803569665725noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13298778.post-1135204888019275732005-12-21T17:37:00.001-05:002009-08-21T09:18:26.543-04:00

There was a picture taken when she was delivered, but we did not see it; the gravemarker at her tiny plot says only "baby," followed by our family name. Instead of being surrounded by family, she lies in a section of the cemetary surrounded by other stillborns, and babies who lived for less than a week.Our rabbi gave her a name, a name of comfort, given to many stillborns, but not allowed to be

MC Aryehhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15391548803569665725noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13298778.post-1133330574054307022005-11-30T01:03:00.001-05:002009-08-21T09:17:17.323-04:00

Jimmy Soul had a number one hit on the Billboard charts in 1963 singing the advice "if you wanna be happy for the rest of your life, make an ugly woman your wife." After the last woman who I was madly attracted to turned out to be more than a little psychotic, Mr. Soul's words sound quite sagacious. The reality, however, is that I don't know anyone who specifically sets out to find a spouse they

MC Aryehhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15391548803569665725noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13298778.post-1132805444341834082005-11-24T00:08:00.001-05:002009-08-21T09:16:54.182-04:00

I don't do winter well. Even though technically winter does not begin for another month or so, once we push the clocks back and it begins to get darker earlier, and colder outside, it is already winter for me, and I tend to hibernate, both physically and spiritually. Already, I can feel it beginning - I grow more reflective and wistful and internal, instinctively grab for sweaters, think of how

MC Aryehhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15391548803569665725noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13298778.post-1132324898281708782005-11-18T12:00:00.001-05:002009-08-21T09:16:17.739-04:00

I have always had a strong affinity for road trips, whether with friends, family, or even on my own. A car, the open road, good tunes, meaningful conversations or deep meditations, and sometimes, breathtaking beauty - there is nothing quite like driving up the California coastline for sheer magnificence.When E-the-Brotha suggested a road trip to Cleveland, however, I was a bit apprehensive, on

MC Aryehhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15391548803569665725noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13298778.post-1130643364028742092005-10-31T16:02:00.001-05:002009-08-21T09:14:53.253-04:00

Though never a vegan/raw or live food adherent, like any good crunchy person, I was for a time a vegetarian.It all started when I was 8 and impressionable, especially, apparently, when it was a militant vegetarian teacher doing the impressing. Mrs. Dinner (her real name! for Yonah's benefit) had been an eighth grade teacher at , my school, who after hitting a student, was "demoted" to teaching

MC Aryehhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15391548803569665725noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13298778.post-1127276281433633552005-09-21T00:08:00.001-04:002010-02-14T12:01:07.571-05:00

When I was a kid, one of the things my mom would do to keep us busy was give us a picture or a group of phrases and ask us to write a story. When Hilary over at Superfluous Juxtaposition presented a list of odd search phrases which brought people to her site, and laid down the challenge to write a story using them all, there was no way I could resist.....The phrases:.dirty employee

MC Aryehhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15391548803569665725noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13298778.post-1126751333103843842005-09-15T00:01:00.001-04:002009-08-21T09:08:20.990-04:00

Technically, she wasn't really a lesbian.To say that I grew up sheltered would be a massive understatement. I never had an actual conversation with someone who wasn't white and Jewish until I reached college. The good part about that: when I did meet people from other religions and races, I came with no preconceived notions or prejudices. The bad: I felt a bit like Woody Allen's character in

MC Aryehhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15391548803569665725noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13298778.post-1121396340481987062005-07-18T18:19:00.001-04:002009-08-21T09:02:22.291-04:00

My parents left this morning, with my youngest sister in tow, on their annual "states no one else wants to visit" summer vacation. My mother's fear of flying meant all our family trips were limited to where you could drive by car without depleting the energy and patience of the driver - my dad. So from ages 5-14 or so, after exhausting all the enjoyable east coast destinations (Florida, D.C. ,

MC Aryehhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15391548803569665725noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13298778.post-1120817406734695932005-07-14T19:52:00.001-04:002009-08-21T09:05:31.742-04:00

Before four years in Israel, shoko b'sakit, dodgy and ort, my love was an island off the coast of Maine. I had just started my masters thesis and thought it would be a good idea to get away and have time to myself to write. I rented this wonderful cabin - sight unseen - on Mount Desert Island. I still had the car I bought in high school with my bar mitzvah money (what a good racket that whole bar

MC Aryehhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15391548803569665725noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13298778.post-1119602208667148192005-06-24T16:02:00.001-04:002009-08-21T09:00:36.194-04:00

There are some things in life it's difficult to own up to. When I was a child, I insisted that my hair was brown, though it was obvious to everyone with or without bifocals that my hair was clearly, undeniably red; I never willingly admit to being a New Yorker by birth (could I help it if I was conceived in Brooklyn, which I am beginning to suspect is really the origin of humanity as we know it -

MC Aryehhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15391548803569665725noreply@blogger.com5