Ok. This doesn't really have much to do with this post and it perhaps should be an email rather than a comment; but since I don't have Noah's email, this thought was triggered by his Baal Shem Tov reference above, and it at least seems to fit the spirit of the Blazing Saddles video embedded at the top, here goes:
Despite being a huge sports fan, I only recently discovered Joe Posnanski (https://joeblogs.joeposnanski.com/), who pretty clearly is the best sports writer on Substack (and perhaps period). And only a few weeks ago, at his book signing in San Francisco, did I learn about his annual holiday drafts:
So that was lurking at the back of my mind during Rosh Hashanah services, when our Rabbi made a reference to the Baal Shem Tov. And I suddenly began to wonder if there ever was a holiday draft of Jewish sages and philosophers where the Baal Shem Tov would rank?
Since my knowledge of Talmudic scholarship pretty much begins and ends with being super into The Chosen when I was eight years old, I really have no idea. But I definitely believe that regardless of his scholarly contributions, the Baal Shem Tov deserves extra points for having the most bad ass moniker of pretty much anyone, regardless of religion or occupation (and it's worth noting that some of his fellow sages, like Ramban and Maimonides, have not too shabby names themselves).
Anyway, although Joe Pos is apparently Jewish, I suspect that he never will do a holiday draft of Hebrew sages, which probably doesn't make for a great podcast. But someone should definitely do such a ranking. And it occurs to me that Noah might be a good candidate. So consider this a content suggestion for one day when he's struggling with writer's block.
Elie Weisel wrote a nonfiction book many years ago asserting that Columbus was probably a Jew. I read the book, and two evidentiary items presented by him were striking to me. One, most cartographers in that era were Jews, and Columbus set sail before midnight on the last day Jews were permitted in Spain by royal decree. The title is long out of print, but part of the title had the word "Sails" in it. If it's any consolation, probably every nation in Europe bears some responsibility for the sins of the colonial era(s).
Ok. This doesn't really have much to do with this post and it perhaps should be an email rather than a comment; but since I don't have Noah's email, this thought was triggered by his Baal Shem Tov reference above, and it at least seems to fit the spirit of the Blazing Saddles video embedded at the top, here goes:
Despite being a huge sports fan, I only recently discovered Joe Posnanski (https://joeblogs.joeposnanski.com/), who pretty clearly is the best sports writer on Substack (and perhaps period). And only a few weeks ago, at his book signing in San Francisco, did I learn about his annual holiday drafts:
https://joeblogs.joeposnanski.com/p/the-poscast-holiday-draft
So that was lurking at the back of my mind during Rosh Hashanah services, when our Rabbi made a reference to the Baal Shem Tov. And I suddenly began to wonder if there ever was a holiday draft of Jewish sages and philosophers where the Baal Shem Tov would rank?
Since my knowledge of Talmudic scholarship pretty much begins and ends with being super into The Chosen when I was eight years old, I really have no idea. But I definitely believe that regardless of his scholarly contributions, the Baal Shem Tov deserves extra points for having the most bad ass moniker of pretty much anyone, regardless of religion or occupation (and it's worth noting that some of his fellow sages, like Ramban and Maimonides, have not too shabby names themselves).
Anyway, although Joe Pos is apparently Jewish, I suspect that he never will do a holiday draft of Hebrew sages, which probably doesn't make for a great podcast. But someone should definitely do such a ranking. And it occurs to me that Noah might be a good candidate. So consider this a content suggestion for one day when he's struggling with writer's block.
Elie Weisel wrote a nonfiction book many years ago asserting that Columbus was probably a Jew. I read the book, and two evidentiary items presented by him were striking to me. One, most cartographers in that era were Jews, and Columbus set sail before midnight on the last day Jews were permitted in Spain by royal decree. The title is long out of print, but part of the title had the word "Sails" in it. If it's any consolation, probably every nation in Europe bears some responsibility for the sins of the colonial era(s).