Someone who comes to services voiced her upset because during my sermon I said that we are SUPPOSED to live our lives a certain way and I went on to say that we OUGHT to do as many mitzvot as possible.

She told me she couldn’t stand when somebody tells her that she is “supposed to do something.” You see her idea of freedom is the ability to do whatever she wants, whenever she wants, no matter how much it may hurt another.

Rabbi Bradley Artson, wrote about a conference organized by Elie Weisel. Weisel had seen so much hate in his life, and having survived the Holocaust he knew what hate could lead to. The main questions that arose during this conference had to do with why people hate and why people band together to express hatred. But there was another question that arose that I wanted to pose to you today.

Many people have historically criticized Judaism as being a religion of law instead of faith and love.

And yet, when Nobel Lauriet Elie Weisel held a conference on hate, the question was posed — what is the opposite of hate? You might think that the great minds at the conference immediately thought that the opposite of hate is love. But I have a surprise for you. These amazing minds felt that only a belief in an execution of the law can defeat hatred.

Rabbi Artson notes that this confirms the Jewish conviction that law is the indispensable expression of love and decency. And, when people abandon law, it is at the peril of their own character, justice and survival.

The mitzvot that are given in the Torah are a list of laws, a list of the things we are supposed to strive to do. They are a list of oughts. So, today, I am dubbing The Commandments and The Golden Rule as “OUGHTISMS.” If you look up the word “ought” in the dictionary, you will find that it refers to obligations; it refers to things we owe to G-d, to others and to ourselves.

It is also defined not only as a duty or moral obligation, but as a natural expectation. And we certainly have natural expectations of others and of ourselves. For instance, we ought to honor our parents, we ought to avoid stealing, we ought not murder and we ought to find ways to help others.

Someone came up with a very clever idea for helping others. They came up with this idea of raising money through a bucket challenge, not a bucket list; but a bucket challenge, where one would use a bucket full of ice and have it dumped on them to raise money for the Amyotrophic Lateral Schlerosis (ALS) foundation.

This ought to have been a wonderful way of raising money for this cause. And indeed a great deal of money has been raised. Even a young teen with Autism wanted to help. And when classmates approached him, he was delighted to get the chance. But these rotten kids did something that I simply can’t comprehend; instead of using ice, they dumped a bucket full of feces and urine onto that boy. They ought to have known better; they should have behaved differently, but they didn’t. It would seem that the laws of human kindness have no meaning to them.

I have been asking myself all week — if one of them was a child of mine, what on earth would I say? What would I do? How would I feel?

Dear readers, I hope you take some time this week to think about what you would do!

Shalom my friends,

Rabbi Craig H. Ezring

Rabbi Ezring is the Spiritual Leader of Temple Beth Shalom of Deerfield Beach just South of Hillsboro Blvd. on Military Trail. You can come and hear his message of the week during regular Shabbat Morning Services (9 – 11:30 a.m.).

DBHS stepped out onto the field last Friday night for their first regular-season loss since the 2012 St. Thomas finale.

Photos by Jacob Shendell

After an impressive victory against Northeast of 43-6 the week before, “We still have a lot of work to do; we are young and we are going to struggle. I expect some of our veteran role players such as Montel Jordan, Roodney Leon and Jason Strowbridge to step up as leaders.” said Coach Jackson.

And struggle they did; during the first quarter Deerfield Beach High School (DBHS) Bucks went down 7-0 after Tajue Williams, a Dillard RB, ran the ball up the middle of the field for a 24-yard touchdown. Following this score, Deerfield put up its own points with a 34-yard fieldgoal scored by Jefferson Souza.

It all went down-hill from there; Dillard went on to make the score 13-3. Before the half, the Bucks defense stopped the extra point. In the 2nd half, Dillard’s quarterback Jason Collins connected for two more touch-downs, Jordan Merrell an 8-yard reception, and Basil Spencer a 15-yard reception, to put the score up to 25-3. In the middle of the 4th quarter, Kobe Farrish put a 12-yard run in the end zone for Deerfield, decreasing the margin to 25-9.

This Friday, DBHS plays their cross-town rival Blanche Ely High School from Pompano at home in what is sure to be a sold-out game. Ely is coming off of a 12-42 loss to Clewiston High School. Both teams are sure to be looking for redemption and would have it no other way than to defeat one another.

“We need to finish the game, cut down on our mistakes. Ely is our hometown rival and that’s about all it is. We don’t really need to make any changes for them. We have Jefftey coming back out of a two-week injury to fill the quarterback role so we plan on incorporating him back into our offense slowly with Cortez. We need to save him for our district games,” said Jackson.

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal.Com

One of my favorite memories from last year’s Ft. International Film (FLIFF) Festival was the screening of One Chance, which made The Observer’s Top 10 List for one of the best films of 2013.

As the lovable lunk who aspires to sing like Luciano Pavarotti, James Corden proved his chops and revealed potential.

Starting in January 2015, Corden will now replace Craig Ferguson on The Late Late Show on CBS. Also FLIFF’s 2013 honoree, Lea Thompson, will be on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars. Perhaps, this is a reminder that now is the time to gear up for this annual fall event.

FLIFF has been known as the world’s longest film festival, lasting from mid October until Veteran’s Day, but, this year, FLIFF will open its red carpet on November 7 and wrap up the weekend before Thanksgiving. With an opening night, centerpiece and festival finalé, FLIFF promises three weekends of unique cultural activities.

Before November, Cinema Paradiso, (FLIFF Headquarters) will be showcasing some major theme parties. Next week, Sept. 19, Cinema Paradiso-Hollywood will be hosting the 20-Year Anniversary screening of Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. Often imitated, but never duplicated, Pulp Fiction created iconic roles for John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce Willis, who breaks his deal with the devil.

Cinema Paradiso encourages ticket buyers to come dressed in mobster attire or as a favorite Pulp Fiction character for a costume contest. There will also be door prizes and a display of paintings inspired by the movie. Perhaps even a Chuck Berry dance contest?

Last but not least, Cinema Paradiso will be converted into “Cinema Inferno” when Fright Asylum (www. frightasylum.com) moves in this Halloween night. Chief inmates Woody Meckes & Manny Cologne will be hosting the 40th Anniversary screening of The Last Man on Earth, starring FLIFF Lifetime Award honoree, the late Vincent Price.

This evening will also include a costume contest, with one of the prizes being a copy of my latest book, The Querulous Nights of Athena Minerva. Expect a night of thrills, chills and multiple belly laughs.

Do you still remember how you felt? Do you remember the feelings you had that day 13 years ago?
Maybe you had feelings of fear because you did not know when or where the next attack was going to come from. Maybe you felt anger because you lost family or friends in the attacks. Maybe you felt confused because you did not understand why all this bad stuff was happening to our country. I remember seeing all three of those emotions from people all over our country. I pray that we not only remember one day every year what happened on Sept. 11, 2001; but, I pray that we always remember!
2 Peter 3:2
2 I want you to remember what the holy prophets said long ago and what our Lord and Savior commanded through your apostles.
-NLT
It has been 13 years now and we need to make sure we remember that we, as a united country, turned to God in our time of need and He brought us comfort.
I remember all the members of Congress standing on the Capitol steps and praying to God for help. I remember seeing men and women risk their own lives to try and save those who were in the middle of those disasters with no fear. I remember our enemy trying to scare us and intimidate us on our own soil, in our very own country. I remember a great country and a great people rising up together and turning to God for help. With God’s help (because we asked for it), we rose above what our enemy tried to do to us. I even remember feeling anger when we went to New York City the following year to visit family and being able to see the two holes in the ground that were left.
Please do not ever forget the tragedy that happened that day. Do not forget the lives that were taken in those horrible events. Do not forget the lives that were given by our civil servants. Do not forget that God helped us through that horrible time and allowed us to begin to heal. Remember and pray for those that lost their lives and also for those who gave their lives to help others.
2 Kings 17:38-39
38 Do not forget the covenant I made with you, and do not worship other gods.
39 You must worship only the Lord your God. He is the one who will rescue you from all your enemies.”
-NLT
I want you to remember not only how we all felt as a nation but also remember how we responded by turning to God and by protecting our freedom. God wants us to remember the teachings we got from the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. Do not forget God’s teachings or the way you felt that day 13 years ago. Please do not forget that still today our military has men and women fighting for our freedoms overseas and let us all pray they come home safely.
Tony Guadagnino is the pastor at Christian Love Fellowship Church.

By Gary Curreri

In one short year, Dangelo Fuentes is making quite a name for himself in the boxing ring.

Fuentes, 15, who lives in Delray Beach and is a freshman at Olympic Heights High School in Boca Raton, said he took up the sport to stay out of trouble and he has racked up seven wins in seven bouts and recently captured the 125-lb., 15-16 Novice Division at the Ringside World Tournament at the Independence Events Center in Independence, MO.

“I’m very glad,” said Fuentes, who turned to boxing after a stint with the Pompano Tigers youth football program. Fuentes defeated Daniel Fulton (Missouri) by unanimous decision to take the title. “It is amazing. I never thought that I would win the world championship in just one year. I have great people around me with Coach Steve (Collazo) and boxers like Jordon (Murphy).”

Fellow Deerfield Beach Broward Sheriff’s Office PAL boxer Jordon Murphy, 14, also captured the 90-lb., 13-14 Open Division championship in the international tournament that featured more than 1,700 participants from 15 different countries. The completion included six rings, seven sessions and over 1,000 bouts.

Murphy’s win came just six months after winning the National Silver Gloves Tournament, also held in Missouri. It marked the second consecutive Ringside World Tournament title for the Deerfield Beach teenager. He won last year in the 85-lb. Division.

“It was cool winning it two years in a row,” said Murphy, a freshman at Monarch High School in Coconut Creek. “There was a lot of pressure on me to win it this year because I had won last year too.”

Murphy won by unanimous decision over Jeremy Adorno (Pennsylvania) in the championship bout. He moved up a weight class this year and won all of his fights by unanimous decisions.

“I focused on my training and what my coaches told me,” Murphy said. “It was more difficult this year than it was last year. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it was going to be. This will help me with my confidence going into my future fights.”

All PAL programs are free of charge. All participants must be currently in a school or home schooled. For more

information, contact BSO Deputy Butch Santy at 954-778-0174.

P I C K L E – BALL SLATED FOR SATURDAY

The City of Pompano Beach Parks and Recreation Dept. invites you to take part in a lively racket game for all ages and abilities called Pickle-ball! The Pickle-ball showcase will be held at the newly constructed Pickle-ball courts at Community Park next to the basketball courts on Saturday, Sept. 6, from 4 to 6 p.m. A demonstration will be given so everyone can learn how to play this fast growing sport.

Pickle-ball is a net game that incorporates tennis, badminton, ping pong and racquetball. It is played on a badminton-sized court with special Pickle-ball paddles, made of wood or high-tech aerospace materials. The ball used is similar to a whiffle ball, but slightly smaller.

The lower net and whiffle ball allow the game to be accessible to people of all ages and abilities, while still allowing more competitive players to test their skills. It was designed to be easy to learn and play whether you’re five, 85 or somewhere in between. It is a fun sport that has picked up a lot of popularity in recent years.

For more information call 954-786-4119.

DEERFIELD BEACH GIRL WINS NATIONAL TITLE

Florida juniors won three singles titles and five doubles championships at United States Tennis Association (USTA) Clay Court National tournaments played across the country recently in the 12 through 18 age groups.

Among the winners was Deerfield Beach’s Taylor Russo, who teamed with Miami’s Adriana Reami to capture the Girls’ 16s doubles title in Virginia Beach, VA. The unseeded pair upset the Californian No. 2 seeds Katie Chang and Claire Liu 6-4, 6-4 in the final.

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal. com

With the exception of the juggernaut box office of Guardians of the Galaxy, August 2014 will be remembered as a very disappointing month for The Expendables and Sin City fans. So it is a sense of relief that we begin the new season with more gentle fare with new movies opening this weekend, The Discoverers and The Last of Robin Hood.

Written and directed by Justin Schwarz, The Discoverers is a family drama about loss and redemption with humorous moments spread throughout the film. Griffin Dunne portrays Lewis Burch, a history professor who works for a paper mill university by day and moonlights as a security guard by night. He has written a 500+ page book about the Lewis & Clark expedition and he hopes to present his book at a swanky writer’s conference in Oregon.

Professor Burch uses this opportunity to create a family trip for his son and daughter. The son is a pot smoking womanizer and the daughter, Zoe (Madeleine Martin), is having the worst birthday ever. Along the way, Burch is forced to take a detour to his parent’s house, which leads to more personal trauma.

The family trauma is real, but how the family deals with the drama is unreal. The deluded grandfather (Stuart Margolin) finds solace by recreating the 19th Century world of the American discoverers Lewis & Clark. The Burch family join Grandpa in this world minus cell phones, vegan meals and other modern conveniences. The results are painfully, but tastefully, amusing.

The Last of Robin Hood also deals with history; it is a film about Errol Flynn’s final years as a fading Hollywood icon. It has been said that when Flynn passed away at age 50, he had the organs of an 80-year-old man from his hard living, drinking and womanizing. It seems appropriate that the elder swashbuckler is portrayed by 67-year-old Kevin Kline, who eerily seems possessed by the ghost of Errol Flynn.

While the ghost of former glory is significant, The Last of Robin Hood is about the actor’s last love, Beverly Aaland (Dakota Fanning), and her embittered stage mom Florence (Susan Sarandon). The winter-spring romance appears genuine, but unfortunately a mother’s ambition becomes fodder for the sleazy paparazzi.

This film feels like a time capsule of the same world presented in Oscar-winning movie L.A. Confidential. Like that film, The Last of Robin Hood features authentic performances from Kline, Sarandon and Fanning. If you like movie history that is timely, go see this film.

By Emily Rosen

ERosen424@aol.com

www.emilyrosen424.com

Am I the only person suffering from chronic password-itis?

When, where and who is the person who will come up with one single way to ID oneself in the cloud. Surely, the technology is already there. Is it possible that every time Obama goes into a new website, he needs to establish a user ID and then come up with a password (how many times can he use POTUS 1600?) which must be case sensitive, have at least nine characters, including at least one number, and it must be “STRONG?”

So, do I care if someone uses my ID to get into Amazon, Walmart, Fandango or the Ritz Carlton (oh yeah!) or any one of a zillion websites I surf regularly?

I am sick and tired of inventing passwords and changing my “user ID,” as ‘they’ recommend doing every so often. And what’s worse – if I don’t write them down immediately, poof … out of my head and I have to start all over. Time Magazine this week is touting all kinds of “cloud” statistics – but I wonder if anyone ever compiled the number of wasted hours spent on filling out the information requested in order to browse most websites? And then you make one eensy weensy typo and, bang, you have to start all over again. If, like me, you have fat fingers that mistakenly wander to adjacent letters on the keyboard, fergetaboutit … You’re doing this three and four times over.

The ‘they’s have me coming and going – and ‘they’ know everything there is to know about me already. This past week, every time I go into my email, I get pictures of hammocks, shoe racks, Italy, designer sheets and – well – you don’t have to know everything – but those were my most recent searches.

So, I wrote down my latest password for www. XYZ – It’s on a scrap of paper somewhere in the jungle of my desk. But where? Ah yes … there it is, finally. NOW what do I do with it? What do YOU do with yours? Okay, I’m feeling risky — and I’m telling! I go into my WORD DOCS and simply add (in alphabetized order) the new site and password. I have four single spaced pages of passwords, some of which I used only once, recently. Others of which I used only once seven or more years ago, and, when I try to get back into the site, my password is no longer valid. Here I go again.

Ah, but then I’m always changing one or more … and back into my DOCS I go. The clock is ticking. More time wasted. So I print out the entire four pages – and Computer be damned – I find one of those old fashioned things called pencils – cross out the old password and do a write-in with the new one.

What happened to fingerprints, voice ID, retina recognition or whatever new technology is surely in the pipelines? One year away? five years? 10? Meanwhile, I consult the four-page printout on my desk for each “open sesame” to a website. I feel like I have retro-gressed to the dark ages.

Forget Google drones, 3-D printing, computer watches – get me one universal SECURE password. Puleeeze!

Labor Day just came and went and many of us are right back where we were before, at work!

So, you might be wondering, what does Jewish tradition say about work? Let me give you just a few examples.

For those of you who are struggling, working overtime, working two jobs, for those of you who come home achy and exhausted from heavy labor, and for those of you who are under constant stress in the workplace, this line from the Talmud might be of interest to you. It says, “To earn a living can be as hard as to part the Red Sea.” (Talmud: Pesahim, 118a)

Also in the Talmud (Kiddushin), we read, “Not to teach your son to work is like teaching him to steal.”

And there is an old adage that says, “The hardest work is being idle.” And you will have to pardon the pun here, but I simply can’t resist telling you that if you disagree with this statement, you just might be an “idle worshipper.” (Feel free to groan … LOL).

I read a story many years ago from the works of Psychoanalyst Morris Mandel. As I recall, it tells of a young woman who has a most unusual job. She sits in a store window all day with one of those old potter wheels where one foot sits on a pedal that must keep a good and constant rhythm going up and down while the other foot rests flat on the floor throughout the work day.

A customer watches in fascination for a while and goes over to the woman at the potter’s wheel and says, “Your foot must get awfully tired having to move up and down so rapidly all day long.”

To which the laborer responds, “No, it’s not the foot that works that’s tired …it’s the foot that just sits there; it’s the foot that is idle.”

Indeed for some of us, idleness just might be, as my Christian Colleague would say, “The Devil’s Work.” And whenever I hear that, I can’t help but picture Flip Wilson using his famous comedic excuse, “The Devil made me do it.”

On Labor Day weekend, many of you may have gotten to travel. Many of you might also have to travel on business during the year. When I was growing up, United Airlines had a wonderful advertising slogan that said, “Fly the friendly skies of United.”

But nowadays, instead of being united in the skies, it seems that many just have too much idle time on their hands. And so it was that two passengers recently thought of themselves and of no one else and, in the midst of the idleness sitting on a plane for hours, they both lost their cool.

One was using a device, a knee defender that makes it impossible for the person sitting in front of you to lean their seat back. He refused to remove it when a complaint was made and that is when the other passenger lost it as well and threw a cup of water in the other’s face. Both will argue that they were in the right, but they both had too much time on their hands and they were both wrong. On top of that, their childish behavior led to everyone else being delayed.

“Drink not from the bread of idleness,” lest it lead you to sin. Keep busy with your labor and with Mitzvoth and you will not become an “idle worshipper.”

Shalom my friends,

Rabbi Craig H. Ezring

Rabbi Ezring is the Spiritual Leader of Temple Beth Israel of Deerfield Beach. The Temple is located one block South of Hillsboro Blvd. on Military Trail. Come by and see how warm and haimishe this Congregational Family is. Better yet, become a part of our family!

By Gary Curreri

Not much has changed in the approach that Deerfield Beach football coach Allen Jackson is taking with his team this year.

“We want to be excellent,” said Jackson, who has compiled a 20-10 at Deerfield Beach in his four seasons at the school. “Our motto is new team, new faces and the same goal.”

Deerfield Beach had an outstanding season last year as the Bucks had their first undefeated regular season, won the District 11-8A crown and earned its first playoff victory since 2008. After defeating Flanagan in overtime, 14-7, the Bucks fell 43-6 to Miramar in the regional semifinal.

Jackson knows he has his work cut out for his football team this season as the squad graduated its starting backfield from last year including running backs Brandon Powell (University o f Florida) , Aeron McNeil ( University of Alabama- Birmingham), quarterback Denard Graham (Garden City), along with wide receiver Justin Morgan (Lafayette).

“We have Alex Pierre back from last year,” Jackson said. “He is going to have to carry the load. We have some other kids that we expect big things out of, including Markel Yarbrough, who transferred from Plantation.”

Deerfield Beach will also rely on senior defensive end/tight end Jason Strowbridge and two-way lineman Montel Jordan, and addition to Antonio Cartagena, Jeffrey Joseph and James Pierre. Junior Aeron Cartagena is also expected to contribute.

“Even though we lost 10 starters from our senior-laden team, we are going to focus on the same thing we did last year,” Jackson said. “I think we can; with the additions we have and with what we have coming back, I like what I see as a team. I like the attitude and the work ethic the kids have demonstrated. I am trying to get back to where we were at and get a little further on.”

“I see some big things and the goal is going to be the same,” Jackson added. “We are not going to change that.” This is Jackson’s second time around at the school as he served a variety of titles, including D-Line coach, offensive coordinator and linebacker coach from 1990-2003. Before returning to Deerfield Beach, Jackson coached at Monarch for four seasons and at Coconut Creek for three years. He’s been coaching football for 29 years.

“It is an intelligent team,” Jackson said. “Losing those guys was a big hurt, but we added to the program and I think it will be a little better. I think the program is heading in the right direction. In a sense, we are rebuilding. We added a lot of kids who are young. I guess it is a rebuilding process of old and new. I think we can get to the playoffs. Time will tell.”

Quarterback Jeffrey Joseph moves up from a JV team that went 7-1. Jackson said he is more of a pocket passer than Graham was.

Strowbridge, a 6-4, 250 lb. senior, said his game really took off after his freshman year. He is hopeful of another strong season this year. He said he studies NFL players and tries to model his game after them.

“I don’t know if you can do what they did, but I think we have a lot of young kids who are willing to learn and I think it will be fun this year,” Strowbridge said. “We definitely feel the pressure because last year’s team was the best team I have ever been on. I think there is definitely pressure to do that and do what they did.”

Jordan said the team would need to do what it did last year and be even more aggressive. He said there is a big difference between last year’s squad and this year’s version.

“Last year, we had more experience,” Jordan said.

“We have a younger team this year, but we are more disciplined. Last year, we had Brandon Powell. We had Aeron and a new quarterback (Graham), so we are going to have to work hard to get back to where we were last year.”

By Dave Montalbano

http://cinemadave.livejournal. com

Thirty years ago this Labor Day weekend, I began my film writing studies under Peter Stowell, an English professor with Florida State University. I was taking the class Film Genres: Film Noir and the required reading was The Dark Side of the Screen: Film Noir, written by Foster Hirsch, who is a regular moderator with the Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival.

Beyond talking about cinematic motifs, acting and themes, Foster’s book reviews the literary influences of Film Noir and how many of these stories grew out of the original pulp fiction of the early 20th Century.

Released in 2005, Sin City, considered “Neo Noir,” was a natural extension of the literature of James Cain, Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, or the 1940s movies starring Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan and Barbara Stanwyck as the femme fatale. Created from the graphic novels written by Frank Miller, wunderkind director Robert Rodriquez used green screen techniques and hired an all-star cast to recreate the mean streets of Sin City. A Sin City sequel has been one of the most anticipated movies of the decade.

Alas, with Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, one thinks about the time Rodriquez wasted with projects like Grindhouse, Machete Kills and the Spy Kids reboot. As fans clamored for the Sin City sequel, we mourned the loss of cast members Brittany Murphy and Michael Clarke Duncan as Manute.

As the murderous henchman with impeccable manners, Dennis Haysbert does a commendable job as the younger version of Manute. His behemoth battle with Marv (Mickey Rourke) is better than what Frank Miller envisioned in his graphic novel. However, this is only one story of the four and there are stretches of dullness between each action set piece.

The movie opens with Another Saturday Night, which features Marv dealing with his amnesia and dead bodies. The film then introduces two new stories not produced as a graphic novel. In The Long Bad Night, Joseph Gordon Levitt plays a gambler with a death wish. The ghost of Bruce Willis returns in Nancy’s Last Dance, in which Jessica Alba avenges the loss of her protector. Sadly, these new stories are just not as interesting as Frank Miller’s original graphic novels.

Good Film Noir is a triumph of style over content. As Film Noir of the 1940s grew from literary giants, this “Neo Noir” has grown upon weak imitation of 1940s film noir. Sin City A Dame to Kill For does not live up to its potential.

For those seeking some literature before the professional football season begins, authors Darrell House, Rachel Galvin and I will be among the approximately 25 authors attending August Authors & Autographs this Sunday Afternoon at the Butler House. This event will feature the debut of my latest book, The Querulous Nights of Athena Minerva.