Rainbow in the Night

If you haven’t yet seen it, you should watch the following short film / music video

From the producer:

Rainbow in the Night, a short YouTube clip, is a brief but exceptionally powerful video created specifically for today's fast paced generation. Using stunning cinematography, a haunting score, hard hitting lyrics and vocals that will touch the deepest recesses of the soul, this historical work offers a glimpse into World War II Krakow as seen through the eyes of a survivor. Beginning with footage of a 1939 original oil painting of a synagogue being ravaged by the Nazis, shown at a private event in the survivor's home, Rainbow in the Night is an exquisitely emotional journey, as the survivor recalls first the warmth of his childhood home, then the shock and disbelief as people are forced to leave their homes for the Krakow ghetto, taken to an extermination camp and after enduring unspeakable cruelty, finally liberated. Set against a backdrop of utter despair and hopelessness, the survivor relives the inexplicable power that enabled him to persevere, the rainbow in the figurative night that promised better days to come. Culminating triumphantly with our hope for the future, the faces of hundreds of modern day Jewish children, Rainbow in the Night is both a euphoric tribute to the indomitable human spirit that enabled the Jewish people to survive against all odds and also a call to arms, to rekindle the spark of Jewish pride and unity among Jews worldwide, as we continue to rebuild the generations that were destroyed by the Nazis.

http://www.rainbowitn.com/

Follow up on Netvision Fiasco

I said that if I would post any follow up from Netvision.

This morning I got a call from Tami at Netvision who had read my last post and was keen to try to make amends.

She again repeated that I must have agreed to the Internet plan when they called, she said that they would not have given me an Internet account unless they provided me with a user name and password.

I repeated that I definitely did not agree to open an Internet account and I am certain that I never received a user name or password. Again I asked for a copy of the original conversation, and again she said that they could not provide it without a court order.

She did however agree to a full refund and she said that she would personally review the original call to verify what happened.

She said that the refund will take up to 30 days – Bli neder I’ll leave a comment to this post if/when it arrives.

So it seems that the only way to get any service from Netvision is to write about it on the Internet. With that in mind, if anyone else has a story that they would like posted on this blog, please leave a comment and I’ll get back to you.

013 Netvision – Customer Service at its worst

If any readers are considering 013 Netvision as an Internet Service Provider or long distance phone carrier – don’t.

If you already have an account with 013 Netvision, you should carefully check your monthly statements to make sure that there are no additional charges for services that you did not agree to.

If you want details of what really bad customer service looks like, take a look at the following (sorry that this is such a long post). If anyone else has had an interesting customer service experience with 013 Netvision, whether good or bad, please leave a comment.

For the past several years, we have used 013 Netvision for long distance phone calls. About 3 months ago, a representative of 013 Netvision called to offer us their Internet service. She offered a similar service to what I’m getting for a better price and the first moth free.

Because I never agree to any deals over the phone without first seeing the details in writing, I asked her to email me further information, including specific technical details that she was unable to provide me on the phone. They never sent a follow-up email, and because I am very happy with my current ISP and had no interest in changing, I never followed up with them.

To my surprise, when I opened my 013 bill last month, I was astonished to see that they were charging me for the Internet Service, in spite of the fact that I never agreed to it and never used it – nor did I ever get the technical details how to connect to them, so I could not have used it even if I had wanted to.

Assuming that this was a simple misunderstanding, I called their client services number to explain what had happened and to get a refund.

After more than half an hour on hold, the agent I spoke to transferred my to Omaima, a manager in the Client Services department. She pulled up my information, and said that according to their records I agreed to the deal. She then had the Chutzpah to try to sell me the deal instead of cancelling it. I explained several times that I was not interest in their Internet Service, I just wanted my money back and for them to cancel the account.

After a long conversation, Omaima agreed to get someone to review a recording of the original sales call, and if I had not agreed to the deal, she would refund the money and cancel the service. She said that she would call me back later that day or the next business day to confirm that the issue had been resolved.

When she didn’t get back to me the following business day, I again called, was put on hold for almost an hour and left a message with Bracha who said that someone would get back to me (which they didn’t).

The following day, after almost an hour on hold, I spoke to Rinat who said that the case was being reviewed and someone would get back to me later that day or the following day (which they didn’t)

2 days later again I spent an hour on hold. This time I spoke to Irene (who was the only representative I spoke to who even sounded sympathetic), who said that she would investigate the case and get back to me later in the same day (which she didn’t).

Irene did transfer me to a senior representative, Yasmin, who said the same thing – that the case was being reviewed and she would get back to me the same day (which she didn’t).

This morning, I spent almost 2 hours on the phone with them. I spoke to a manger called Adi who outright lied to me claiming that I must have given a credit card number to the sales representative, which I am 100% certain did not happen. When I asked for a recording or transcript of the verbal contract she said that there was no way for them to send me a copy without a court order.

She also had the chutzpah to again try to sell me their Internet plan service based on their terrific client services (I kid you not!).

She said that there was no way for them to refund the money, I asked if they could compensate me in a different way, for example credit in long distance phone calls. She said that she would get someone from the phone service department to call us back, which (surprise surprise) they did – to offer us almost the same phone deal that is advertised on the radio (great compensation).

So bottom line, we are looking for a new long-distance provider.

I have sent a copy of this post to 013 Netvision’s Customer Service department. If I get a response, I will post it as a follow-up message.

If anyone else has any 013 Customer Services experiences, please leave a comment.

The Dateline and Halacha

One of the most famous Halachic questions to come out of New Zealand (and Japan) is the question of where the Halachic dateline is.

Briefly the question is where the dateline should be. The International Dateline marked on maps is loosely based on 180 degrees from Greenwich. Given that Halacha doesn’t (necessarily) recognize Greenwich as the center of the Earth, there doesn’t seem to be reason for Halacha to accept the arbitrary dateline in common usage today.

There are various Halachic opinions as to where the halachic dateline should be, most famously the Chazon Ish who moves the dateline West of its current location, making Shabbat on Sunday in New Zealand and Japan. Rav Tucazinsky moves the dateline East, which would make Shabbat on a Friday in Hawaii. (For further background to the issue, see this article by the Star K.)

A lot of people have trouble understanding the question, because they think of the dateline as something that is fixed and universally accepted. How can there be a question whether a day is Friday or Saturday. To put the question in perspective, you should realize that historically there have been many changes to the dateline, and in fact there will be another adjustment this week.

The South Pacific Islands of Samoa and Tokelau have decided that they should be on the Western Side of the Dateline to make their time zone more similar to their closest neighbours and major trading partners, New Zealand and Australia.

This means that on these Islands, Thursday December 29 was followed by Saturday December 31.

As far as I am aware, there are no Jewish Communities on these Islands, but the Jewish Virtual Library estimates 100 Jews in Oceania outside New Zealand and Australia. If any of these Jews are in Samoa or Tokelau, they would be faced with an enormous Halachic issue.

Assuming that until now any Jews in Samoa followed the opinion of the Tucazinsky, and kept Shabbat on Saturday, seven days after last Shabbat will be Sunday January 1st, which according to Tucazinsky should be Shabbat.

It would be difficult to justify keeping Shabbat on Saturday one week, and then keeping the following Saturday which is only six days later, based on an arbitrary decision of the government to modify their time zone.

If anyone has a Halachic solution for the Jews of Samoa and Tokelau, feel free to leave a comment.

OK - Here's my favourite Christmas Song

Simply Jews just asked "What Is Your Favourite Christmas Song?" and responded with a really funny "They ain't making Jews like Jesus any more" (click on the link above, you won't regret it).

However, I prefer a more traditional Christmas Song, like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer - in the Moma Loshon (Yiddish):

Shana Tova to all

Shana Tova to all my readers,

May the comming year be a year of health, happiness, Yirat Shamayim, and Peace for all klal Yisrael and the entire world.

See ya'll in 5772

Ethics Question of the Day

The following question was posted today in the Ethics Column of the New York Times:

My husband and son took a New York-to-Milwaukee flight that was supposed to leave Friday at 11:29 a.m. The flight boarded after 4 and didn’t leave the gate until 4:40, and a half-hour later the pilot announced it would be another hour until takeoff. At that point a devout Jewish family, worried about violating the Sabbath, asked to get off. Going back to the gate cost the plane its place in line for takeoff, and the flight was eventually canceled. Was the airline right to grant that request? M. W.,NORWALK, CONN.

Before looking at the response from the NY Time’s resident Ethicist, consider some of the following points:

• Is it reasonable for an Orthodox Jew to book a ticket on a short flight leaving late Friday morning in the Summer (the flight took place in August).
• If there is a 4 hour delay before boarding, is it reasonable for a passenger to refuse to board and demand that their luggage be removed from the plane, which could would cause further delays to other passengers.
• If you end up on a plane close to Shabbat, is it reasonable to ask the crew if you can get off. If so, If the crew is unable to accommodate your request, how much of a “fuss should you make?
• What are the Halachic implications of being stuck on a plane when Shabbat comes in? Could you deplane? If there is a hotel in the airport terminal, or within walking distance, could you check into it? What about issues of Tchum Shabbat, could you leave the terminal on Shabbat?

Now, go and take a look at the answer in the NY Times, take a look at the comments, and draw your own conclusions.