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MIPtalk - conversations with the world's most interesting people.
conversations with the world's most interesting people.
Amichai Lau-Lavie – The Toilet Paper Dilemma
It was an impossible situation for Amichai Lau-Lavie. He was “sitting on the john one Sabbath afternoon” and realized that there were no more squares of toilet paper left from the pile that his older brother had precut in advance of the Jewish day of rest. On the Sabbath, observant Jews are called upon to cease from creation; to be and not to do. In this Orthodox Jewish household, tearing toilet paper off the roll was considered doing, because “you take something that is and create a new entity” and was therefore not allowed.
The absence of precut toilet paper on that particular day was actually the result of 4 year old Amichai’s discovery that the squares burned beautifully when he feed them to the Sabbath candles, a ritual he had taken to practicing when his father and brothers would leave for synagogue. Somehow he was never caught and the burning continued unabated.
So there he was on the toilet, horrified to discover that there were no more toilet paper squares and wrestling with the decision of whether he should cut a square off the roll or not. Would he tear (a sin more serious than even burning) and risk the wrath of the Lord or not wipe his ass and risk the wrath of his mother?
To find out what happened next, check out the latest episode of MIPtalk.
You can learn more about Amichai here.
For additional reference we’ve included links to some of the people, places and things discussed in this episode:
Garrett Creek Ranch
Reboot
Orthodox Judaism
The Holocaust
Zionist
Israel
Sabbath
Sabbath Candles
Heresy
Torah
Yeshiva
Homosexuality and Judaism
Leviticus
Israeli Army
Pilpul
Talmud
Rainbow Gathering
Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin
First Intifada
Ehud Barak
Ariel Sharon
The Stages of Jewish Mourning
Binding of Isaac
Yigal Amir
Congregation B’nai Jeshurun
Sephardic
Ashkenazi
Marshall Meyer
Benjamin Netanyahu
Rabbi Shmuley
Torah Service
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Maven
Storahtelling
El Al
Rosh Hashanah
Cool Tool For School
Bar and Bat Mitzvah
Hadassah Gross
Havdalah
Jerusalem Open House
The Met: Live in HD
Obama Inauguration Invocation Prayer
Rick Warren
Saddleback Church
The Purpose Driven Life
Rick Warren on Gay Marriage
Genesis One Vs. Genesis Two
Faith House
Exodus
Hagar
Moses
Hamantashen
Purim
Neil Gaiman
The Sandman
Watchmen by Alan Moore
Grant Morrison
The King David Report by Stefan Heym
Kings
Melila Hellner-Eshed
Zohar
2 Comments
Loved the interview (Being Jewish myself might have had something to do with it). It would have been interesting to have Brad Rowe there, to hear questions from a prespective of a non Jew (I’m making an assumption here.. My apologies)
(Commenting here to make sure Brad sees it *crosses fingers*)
Brad- congrats on Shelter winning at GLAAD! Awesome achievement and well-deserved! Keep up the good work.
And so I stay a little on-topic…I’m loving the podcast, I’ve listened to all of them and found them all fascinating. You guys have done a great job at picking guests with good stories to tell and I hope you continue for a long time.
~Vivian (a.k.a.- the maker of those icons? Remember? lol)