Tu BeAv

[lethargic_man]

Tomorrow is Tu BeAv, on which the Talmud tells us (תענית ד.ח):

The daughters of Jerusalem would go out and dance in the vineyards located on the outskirts of the city. Everyone who didn't have a wife would go there. And what would they say? "Young man, lift up your eyes and choose wisely. Don't look only at physical beauty—look rather at the family—'For charm is false, and beauty is vanity. A G-d-fearing woman is the one to be praised...'" [Proverbs 31:30]

In modern times, it's become a kind of Jewish Valentine's Day, and aviva_m has somehow managed it without my quite realising that on Tu BeAv this year, we'll be in Verona, visiting the balcony from which Juliet is supposed to have made her "Wherefore art thou Romeo?" speech. Nice one! In vain do I protest that Juliet was a fictional character; she never existed, and the earliest version of the story is set in Siena, not in Verona. But the humbug in me will back graciously down this time, I think.

All of which is by way of saying I'm going to be away for the next week and a bit, and won't be following LJ (or my email).

Toodle-pip!

Comments

[pseudomonas.livejournal.com]

Have a lovely time!

[curious-reader.livejournal.com]

Well, thanks for that. I don't like my family and if somebody really knows what's going on nobody would likes this family either. I hope nobody actually cares that much about the family rather the person him/herself. Nobody chooses parents and other relatives.

[curious-reader.livejournal.com]

Does she believe in fairies, too?

[lethargic-man.livejournal.com]

There's no need to insult her, particularly given that she's a reader of this blog.

[curious-reader.livejournal.com]

I am taking the miki. Insults she gets from her country folks. She has to expect people to take the miki if she does not know the difference between fiction and non-fiction. I am very surprised if she supposed to be so intellectual that she lost the connection to reality. My brother has that problem in a different way but I am sure he knows Shakespear wrote fiction stories. Even his stories about kings is mostly fiction than real historical events. I am sorry she has to know that. She will get in trouble being at an age and still believing fiction stories are real.

I also said the same to my friend because she took the bible face value. She did not grow up
with Judaism and rarely goes to Shul. So I tried to explain that Jews don't take it facevalue and literally. But Bible is different and I am sure there are a few Jews who take it literally and believe everything written down.

[lethargic-man.livejournal.com]

I am sorry she has to know that. She will get in trouble being at an age and still believing fiction stories are real.

aviva_m is perfectly well aware of the difference between fiction and fact, thank you. Unlike you, however, it would appear, she has a sense of the romantic.

[curious-reader.livejournal.com]

What has it to do with believing in a romantic fiction story to be fact with being romantic. People can be realistic and still be romantic without believing in fiction. Actually the shakespear story is awful. They are not allowed to love each other and kill each other at the end. That is not romantic. Speak of yourself. You are not a romantic person at all. You would never watch any of the films I watch. What you watch is bizzar and brutal. I do like romantic films with a happy ending but do not believe they are true or could ever happen to me in some form. I gave up on that. There are no happy endings. Welcome in the world of reality!

[lethargic-man.livejournal.com]

What has it to do with believing in a romantic fiction story to be fact with being romantic.

Who said anything about believing fiction to be fact? Go back and read my original post; I didn't say anything of the sort. The relevance, which you seem to be incapable of seeing, is the association of the story with Verona. (The balcony in question is that of the Capulet family house, so it's where Juliet would have made her speech from if she had existed, not that Shakespeare probably knew of its existence...)

Actually the shakespear story is awful. They are not allowed to love each other and kill each other at the end.

They don't kill each other; they kill themselves. Romeo and Juliet were a couple of lovesick teenagers who needed someone to bash their heads together and knock some sense into them. But most people have always had a soft spot for idealised romantic love, which is why even today most Hollywood films portray an idealised form of relationships rather than anything which correlates in any way with reality.

[curious-reader.livejournal.com]

You said in vain you protested Juliet being a fictional character. So I understood that she believed it was a true story and all the character were real. Ok, I mixed it up. I know they commited suicide. It is still not romantic. As I said I do not believe that Hollywood represents the reality. You even believed that Ben Stiller is really wanted by women. I tell you he is not. It was just a film not reality for not the best looking men ageing and dreaming of young women running after them. It was a comedy, anyway. The actors who are still run after although they almost hit their 50s are Tom Cruise and Brad Pit. You can ask women about it if you like. I think Ben Stiller looks ugly and not young anymore.