Stuff is coming to Minnesota. Not all of it good.

No, I don't mean winter. 

Apparently, Hasan Piker is coming to Minnesota. He was invited to attend an event with Omar Fateh (who is running unopposed for state senate) and Congressclown Ilhan Omar. Now, when someone is running for office, they can appear with anyone they want, and in this particular case, since he's running without opposition, I'm guessing he can say anything at all without someone complaining about it. In this case, however, Hasan Piker isn't just anyone with an opinion; he is a well established hate monger. Not content to complain about Israel, he goes much beyond the boundaries of what one might think is civil discourse to be had in an election. The invitation is just an opportunity for him to espouse his usual hate-filled rhetoric, it becomes a tacit endorsement of his position by two legislators, one of whom serves a congressional district where Jews live.

I'm not gonna attempt a history lesson here because frankly, I'm not in the mood, but I wonder about a sitting congressclown's willingness to share a stage with someone who routinely calls another ethnic group. Here's just one quote from Piker take from an interview with Congressclown Rashida Tlaib at the Democratic Socialist of America national convention in August of 2025:

Zionism is an exterminationist ideology built around ethnoreligious supremacist values. So, when people say, like, ‘oh well, you know, I'm a liberal Zionist…I want there to be a Jewish ethnostate.’ I'm like, okay, like, what do you mean? It's like saying you’re like a liberal Nazi, you want an Aryan majority ethnostate? Like, what are you talking about?

Draw your own conclusions. If he spouted his signature rhetoric at any other group, there would be burning effigies. But he's saying heinous things about Jews, so there you go. 

I am so freaking tired of writing impromptu history lessons for people too stupid to good something like a timeline. I'm tired. And worst of all, I'm bored by having to do this bull-hockey over and over. 

And just so you know, I'm already well-repulsed by Ilhan Omar ....but I still think siccing the DoJ on her yet again criminal use of the department. Go figure that out. 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch....

I'm getting ready for the Minnesota screening of THE DARKEST LIGHT October 28 at the Walker West Music Academy in Saint Paul. A few people have asked me if I think this makes "us" look bad, and that the antisemites will latch on to this film as an example of our moral depravity. Obviously, I said, "No, it does not." If anything it is timely and supports the need for transparency even in the worst of times. 

Since I'm intimately involved with the documentary (it's taken up four years of my life, and yes, I'm in it) I figured I should let you see a bit of what others have written:

From Norman Gidney of MuseTV:

The Darkest Light is one of those documentaries that will haunt you long after it’s over. It follows the problematic legacy of Rabbi and musician Shlomo Carlebach who rose to fame on a message of love and light, only to be posthumously accused of being a predator and pedophile. Director Simon Mendes and writer Aimee Lyde pull focus on Carlebach‘s daughter Neshama Carlebach who is forced to reconcile the father she knew with the human that he was. We also consider just how personal the process of trauma recovery is. There is no right answer, only a positive direction.

From Jeremy Fogelman of Hotchka.com:

For her part, Neshama [Carlebach] says she believes the victims, but doesn’t want that to be the full definition of who her father was — this is certainly a pivotal aspect of the documentary, because it’s hard to acknowledge anyone else that was as deeply, personally connected to the positive aspects of Carlebach’s life. Thus her grappling with the darkness is a compelling one, and the documentary implies a judgment on the past. 

From David Wilensky for the Jewish News of Northern California

At the beginning of the film, his daughter lays out the stakes, asking: “What do you do when there’s someone that you really love and then you find out they did something, or some things, that were really terrible?”   

That question is at the heart of both the film and Carlebach’s legacy. And it’s not just a dilemma for his daughter. It’s a dilemma for Jews around the world who love, or loved, his music and his teachings. Some dodge the question, refusing to believe the allegations or taking refuge in the idea of separating art from artist. But the film itself is a persuasive argument that it’s their dilemma too and that they should face it, whether they want to or not.

And from Neshama Carlebach herself, as published in The Blogs of the Times of Israel:

We grow when we learn to live in the uncomfortable space between truths, resisting the urge to turn people into saints or sinners. 

Both can be true. 

And yet complexity must never become an excuse for moral confusion. Holding two truths does not mean that they carry equal moral weight. Love does not excuse harm. Admiration does not erase accountability. And acknowledging what was beautiful does not require us to minimize what was wrong. 

To deny either side, though, is to deny a piece of our own experience. Perhaps becoming whole means having the courage to hold all of it, and to allow some of the tension to remain unresolved.

The road traveled to make this film possible has not been without its moments of utter desperation. Simon Beychok-Mendes has done a remarkable job in threading this very narrow, complex needle, somehow managing to balance the film between the good, the bad, and the exceptionally ugly. We had endless conversations about what this movie is supposed to be about...and in the end, it is, at least for me, about what is to be done about the music. 

Trust me when I say this is not an easy decision. My grandson has been known to endlessly hum AM YISROEL CHAI, and for the last two decades, my walking pace-setter just happens to be a Carlebach Hallel nigun. And no, I did not realize it was Carlebach when it started rattling around my head 20-some odd years ago. If you can get my brain to scrub that earworm, I'll be your best friend. Lord knows, I've tried, but the damn thing keeps coming back OVER my playlist. 

After the Twin Cities Jewish Film Festival, we are at the Santa Barbara Jewish Film Festival, then the Rutgers Jewish Film Festival before we head into the city for Doc NYC, probably the most important documentary festival in the country. We sold out our Sunday, November 15th screening two weeks ago, so a second screening has been scheduled for November 18th. Click here for more information. As more festivals are added, the list will be updated. 

I want everyone to see this film not just because I'm in it (which is bonus enough) but because of how the subject is handled. I am so proud to be a part of THE DARKEST LIGHT. 

The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week

If you can, vote in advance in person.

Don't rely on the postal service to get your ballots in.

This is serious stuff; don't screw it up