During my last trip, I heard a commercial for the Lottery, which made me nauseous.
It's true that this isn't the first time that Arale's voice has appeared in my car, but when I listened to the text that came up in the conversation, I was filled with disgust.
- Hello, this is Arala.
"Ariella, Ariella," the eastern man, apparently from the periphery, shouted from the other side as he distorted her name.
- Are you sitting down? Because I'm happy to inform you that you won 125,000 shekels.
- Ariella, you made my day, you changed my life...
- Ariella, you don't know how long I've been hearing your voice on the radio and I'm telling myself, you have to subscribe.
That's more or less the wording. Add to that cheers, shrill cries of joy, and words of greeting peppered with the not-so-good humor of Arala from the lottery.
So what's the problem?
This lighthearted advertisement oozes hypocrisy, exploitation, not to mention extraordinary wickedness. The number of winners, which is statistically lower than the chance of discovering that they are in fact the biological children of Arala, like the foolish jubilations of the man who won a ridiculous sum of tens of thousands of shekels, whets the appetites of today's hard-working people, who spend huge sums on the moments of imagination that bring them happiness when they hear Arala's voice in their daydreams.
Who is the man whose life was changed by 50,000 shekels, or even 125,000?
A responsible, working person who supports his family with his own labor should not scream in the ears of 'Ariella' that the stupid amount he won after spending decades on behalf of the Lottery 'changed his life'.
And the allegations are not against Arale. She does her job, and apparently makes a great living. Certainly more than the poor people who throw their money at this hungry body called the 'Lottery Factory'.
The question is addressed to the authorities, to the policy leaders, to the ministers of education and perhaps the interior: How can a formal body prohibit the broadcasting of this ridiculous advertisement, which causes people, just like the oil and gold miners of the 19th century, to waste their salary money when the likelihood of winning something is lower than the likelihood of them becoming Ariela's good friends. Ariela's apologies.
•
I have been working professionally as a news editor for a long time.
Dozens of items, interviews, and columns pass through my hands, some of which, naturally, involve the name of President Reuven Rivlin.
Today, too, I edited an item in connection with the man's visit to Moscow, and at the end of it, I felt that something was bothering me. I tried to find and put my finger on the point, but without success.
Only after many minutes did enlightenment come to me.
Rivlin didn't say anything stupid today.
This is no joke. Over the long time I've been covering the news, and President Rivlin, I've become accustomed to the fact that on almost every subject he speaks about, he manages, with considerable skill, to 'come off as a fool.' Sometimes, even in trivial matters, where the likelihood of 'falling' is low, this not-so-smart man manages to irritate with an offensive, confused, incoherent, or, in short, stupid statement.
But today, he spoke out about the Jews in Russia, was happy to see the writings of the ancient Chabad rebbes, and behaved with a stately and not unusual force.
In news editor terms, this is real news.
•
It seems like everything has already been said about Yeshayahu Leibowitz, the professor who held four different doctorates.
What hasn't been written about him? That he was one of the greatest Jewish thinkers of the twentieth century, but also a staunch heretic, who was a provocateur in his own right, but also a prophet who was ahead of his time, who expressed himself rudely, but also who was soft as butter to visitors to his home.
But who heard that he served as a repentant? So that's true, journalist Sivan Rahav-Meir has already said in the past that Professor Hamor Hasbar was one of the people who influenced her life as a teenager, when she began a process of repenting, as did the esteemed singer Ehud Banai, but I found an interesting reference to the man's thinking in a column written by journalist and businessman Adam Shob, who grew up as "Nahum" in the Haredi neighborhood of Matersdorf, until he chose to abandon religion.
And so he writes again: "Some may disagree with his definition as a religious man, but Prof. Yeshayahu Leibovitz was undoubtedly one of the most important figures we had here. In my youth, when I was struggling with whether to abandon religion, reading some of his books and visiting and talking with him at his home in Rehavia, Jerusalem - almost stopped the process for me.".
If Leibowitz were alive today, one can only imagine the following announcements: The holy public is invited to the upcoming lecture of the one who produces pearls, the one who qualifies many, the one who brings the son of Israel to our Father in Heaven, Rabbi Yeshayahu Leibowitz, may God bless him. Cantorial and prayer chapters: Amir Benayoun.
Join the Haredim 10 Facebook page >>
Join the X page of Haredim 10 >>
Want more news, videos and stories? Join the Haredim 10 WhatsApp channel >>
