Southern California is Burning.

I haven't had the time to post in the past few days. So much going on here. First off, of course, is the fact that LA is surrounded by fires. Over a million people in Southern California have been forced to evacuate. Baruch Hashem, my family and I are safe and away from the danger but my fellow Californians sure could use your tefillos.

We are entering an age of chutzpah, my friends. I know that the Gemara says that chutzpah will rise in the time before Mashaich, but when it actually happens...

Hatred of G-d is growing. This sad, misguided individual, Shalom Auslander, is coming to LA to promote his book "Foreskin's Lament," his twisted diatribe on how he left Frumkeit. Truly sad, and I would avoid reading his work or having anything if you don't want your neshama to ache. Here's a proud quote he has on his website:

"Foreskin's Lament is a filthy and slightly troubling dialogue with God, the big, old, physically abusive ultra orthodox God who brought His Chosen People out of Egypt to torture them with non-kosher Slim Jims. I loved this book and will never again look at the isolated religious nutjobs on the fringe of American society with anything less than love and understanding." -- Matt Klam, author of Sam the Cat

Southern California is burning.

How about the LA Times? They ran an editorial from Mary Lefkowitz (sigh) about how much better polytheism is than monotheism.

"Prominent secular and atheist commentators have argued lately that religion "poisons" human life and causes endless violence and suffering. But the poison isn't religion; it's monotheism. The polytheistic Greeks didn't advocate killing those who worshiped different gods, and they did not pretend that their religion provided the right answers. Their religion made the ancient Greeks aware of their ignorance and weakness, letting them recognize multiple points of view."

So now advodah zara is back in fashion.

Southern California is burning.