Interesting Posts and Articles #235

1. Birth of a new species witnessed by scientists. Check it out at Wired.
   
   
2. The Jewish Side has a list of segulos, from a class in segulos. Many of them appear to simply be medieval medicine, whether it works or not. E.g.:
   

   For ear infection, Put the mothers milk in the ear of the child, or mix with white of egg and put in ear. – It works, it’s medicine.

3. At Vos Iz Neias, tensions in Kiryat Gat. Many years ago, after chareidim moved in, they tried to get the main entrance to a school closed for modesty reasons. Now that there are more "ultra-Orthodox" elements on the city council, they are closing the main entrance because of security concerns, because it is near traffic. Teachers in the school are not buying it.
   
   If this is indeed so, I can understand how some secular Israelis might not want chareidim to move into their neighborhoods. Because it is not just a matter of live and let live. If those who move in intend to change the practices and impose their own religious vision once they become powerful enough, then secular Israelis may be very smart to worry about the future threat.
   
   
4. Remember "I almost sold a Yid for a quarter"? Now the Witnesses have adapted it, and other Witnesses discovered that fact.
   
   
5. At the Washington Post, Nidal Hasan's PowerPoint presentation.
   
   
6. Emes veEmunah considers whether the Rubashkin verdict was a blood libel.
   
   
7. JPost on the talmudic dangers of bathing. Such that we understand why there was a special prayer upon entering and departing.
   
   
8. Rationalist Judaism about how he is a bore, rather than a maverick:
   

   My response was that in the intellectual circles into which I was (at that time) moving towards - frum academics and frum people who subscribe to their rationalist approach - nothing that I say is remotely radical. All the aforementioned views are completely normative. In fact, in these circles, I am considered as a person who has not contributed any original or interesting ideas.

   
   
9. Here at parshablog, a roundup of posts for parshas Toldos.