The Exodus and Dancing Asians

So, I've been meaning to get a few blog posts up. There has been two ideas brewing in my head, and I intended to post them at the blog of my former employee, Moment Magazine. Due to the adjective "former", I have since decided against using their blog as a forum for my unsubstantiated comparisons between Jewish related topics and the real world. Anyways, here's the first.

I woke up one morning, about 6 weeks ago, and, as I always do, checked my email. What made this day different was that there was actually something in my inbox. But what really made this day different was that I had emails from two completely different friends, both requested I follow a certain link to youtube. I obliged, and, much to my delight, a small group of Asian women dazzled my dusty computer screen with a professionally performed synchronized dance to a Miami Boys Choir classic. Pure comedy. But what really amazed me was that two people, from completely different areas of my life, both got a hold of the same video. And both sent it to me. It was crazy.

As many of you are probably aware, the Jewish holiday of Passover is rapidly approaching. Aside from the unhealthy amount of Matzah consumed, the Holiday is mostly in celebration of the Jewish Exodus from their slavery in Egypt. The Bible tells us of the trials and tribulations the Israelites endured living a bitter life as "strangers in a strange land". But after enough time passed, and enough plagues were executed on the Egyptians, God told Moses to gather up the people and leave. Seems easy enough. Until you remember that over 600,000 people were there. And by people I mean men between the ages of 20 and 60. Including women, children, and maybe even a few elderly, that number can reach as many as 3 million, according to the Rabbis who taught me in Elementary school. The exact number doesn't matter. What does matter, is that it's a lot of people. I mean...a LOT of people. How did the speech impaired and self described "World's Most Humble Man" Moses spread the word fast enough to that many people?

That morning, after watching the ridiculous video of pre-pubescent males singing beautifully in Hebrew, I checked the amount of views the video had. A little over three-thousand. Not astounding, but definitely more significant than the 2007 UMD Purim Shpiel videos. Later that night, I was in the mood for a few more laughs, so I watched the video again (I'm a senior...I have time. Well, at least until we rediscovered the N64, arguably the most imporant discovery since the Dead Sea Scrolls). The views had swelled to more than 10,000. A week later, the views had tripled to over 30,000.

The conclusion is clear. If there's one thing that has stayed consistent throughout the history of the Jewish people it's this: we can spread news faster than any other people out there...whether it's regarding something as important as leaving slavery or something as ridiculous as dancing Asian women.

Oh, by the way, here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eAgxnaVirg