Those of us in the community who have found themselves addicted to the fine web publication entitled Chabad.org are familiar with the mighty R' Manis Friedman and his online show 'It's Good to Know'. The show has a late-night feel to it with cool jazz music and a dimly lit ambiance. It features pearls of wisdom such as:
'When you hear something you've never heard before and you have no information on the subject, the normal, sane, healthy, and constructive thing to do is to assume that it's true and that you've just learned something new.'
Damn, that's good advice! Perhaps my favourite all-time Manis skit is the one entitled 'Proud to Be a Jew?', in which he talks about his 'non-Jewish friend'.
'My non-Jewish friend who says to me, "Hey, I'm not really comfortable with Jews; I don't like Jews, but you're different. I don't even think of you as a Jew." I say, "And you call yourself a friend?"'
Good work, Manis! You tell that antisemitic friend of yours how it is! But wait a minute - let's just examine that last sentence again. This statement was made by a Charedi rabbi wearing a black yarmulke and kapote, who by profession writes articles and books on the importance of fulfilling mitzvot. Seriously, Manis Friedman has to be one of the top ten frummest people on the planet, and yet we are to assume that out there somewhere is a member of the Nations who accidentally befriended him and started in on an antisemitic tirade without realising R' Friedman's true persuasion. Hmm...I'm sorry to say, I think Manis is telling us a fib. In fact, not just a little fib, but a gigantic bobe-mayse! Surely there should be some halakhic ruling against this?
However, what R' Friedman's videos lack in plausibility is more than made up for by the countless pearls of wisdom that he imparts. Check them out at http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/media_cdo/aid/899663/jewish/Jewish-Wisd.... Some of my own personal recommendations:
Learning Something New (in which Manis explains why you should believe anything anyone ever tells you)
Equality or Morality? (in which Manis discusses reasons why equality is rubbish)
Who Wants to be a Gerbil? (in which Manis scoffs at the foolishness of a Christian chaplain)
Kick back, open a packet of למהדרין crisps and enjoy!