Ask Annie

No, I am not trying to copy Shifra, Margo Howard, Emily Yoffe, a ninja, or even the despised Amy Dickenson (can you tell that I love advice columns?). Instead I will try to figure out what question brought people to this blog, and answer it.

Here goes:
1) What does b'sheret mean?

Well, basically it means "fated" or "meant to be" and is often referred to in the context of a soulmate. Your b'sheret is your soulmate. However, if something is b'sheret, it is meant to be.

2) Jews and Diamonds. I think that the question is What is the connection between Jews and diamonds?

Tiffany Shlain's movie The Tribe answers this question quite well. Basically, at several points in history European Jews were forbidden from owning land, from attending university, or from practicing many professions. As a result Jews were forced into professions such as usury (money-lending being forbidden by the New Testament) or portable professions, such as goldsmithing, silversmithing, and gem-cutting. Hence the connection between Jews and diamonds. This connection is often referenced in pop culture when talking about the Holocaust. See the movie Inside Man for an example.

3) Jews looking like Italians, which I can only assume is meant to be Do Jews look like Italians?

The answer is both yes, and no. First of all Italians look different depending on the region of Italy. Some Northerners are blonde, with blue eyes, while Southerners (such as Sicilians) tend to have dark, curly hair and swarthy skin. Italians really run the gamut of looks. Secondly, Jews look like the people among whom they lived. So, Eastern European Jews tend to look a lot like other Eastern Europeans. As Jews in the United States are largely from this region (I think) it stands to reason that many people believe that Jews look one way. This is obviously not the case. There are Jews of color (for instance, my Chilean, and Venezuelan second cousins) from all over the world, and "white" Jews whose appearance does not match the stereotype. For instance, I am tall, with straight hair, a small nose, and green eyes, Harley is a redhead, and CJ is a blonde with blue eyes. So yeah, there are probably some Italians that we look like (Prettyboy is also blonde, so there's one example).

4) Condition of Stuart Sarshik?

He seems to be fine, and practicing medicine (urology) in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. Thanks for asking.

5) Jewish term Machlokes, which I am taking to mean What does the term machlokes mean?

Machlokes is the Ashkenazic pronounciation of the Hebrew word machloket, which means disagreement. The term is often used in the Talmud to signify a difference of opinion between two sages.

and last, but not least:

6) Shirtless JT. JT, you want to handle this one? Clearly there are some ladies (gentlemen?) out there who sweat you hardcore. Or Justin Timberlake. Either or.