Leah Rayburn

🎣 Phish never said it out loud this time. They just did it. 9 nights, 161 songs, no repeats. Read David "DaveO" Onigman's recap of Phish's historic @SphereVegas finale + setlist, The Skinny + videos 👇 jambase.com/article/phish-…

I’m entirely convinced that the key to life and happiness is having low expectations for things outside your control and high expectations for things within it.

“He who has a Why, can bear any How.”

gaps in NJ relationships: 
- central jersey gap (believer vs. non-believer)
- breakfast meat gap (taylor ham vs. pork roll)
- sandwich gap (hoagie vs. sub)
- gesture gap (🤌 vs. 🖕) - bagel gap (toasted vs. non-toasted)

It’s come to this: Antisemites aren’t even ashamed anymore, even on the Upper West Side. I am so grateful to class act @jlynnpic and the rest of the staff at @nycomedyclub for acting so quickly and doing the right thing. #comedy #standup #standupcomedy #jewish #nyc

Apologies if this is triggering to some... I've been thinking about the 1930s recently. A lot. Wondering what Jews went through in the months and years leading up to the Holocaust. At what point did people become aware of what was going on? Was it gradual? Or did they not realize it until they were taken from their homes in the middle of the night, stuffed into cattle cars and taken off to concentration camps and gas chambers? Did people know the extent of what was coming? Did people outside of Germany fear the impending invasion, knowing the Germans would be coming for them next? Were people rushing to grab the newspaper each day, looking for news of what was going on in Germany, and then in other European countries? Were Jews outside of Europe as hyper-focused on what was going on as Jews are today? Was the rest of the world as tone-deaf to what was going on as it is today? There were no cell phones back then. No instant messaging. No social media. No way to quickly find out what was going on in your own city, let alone half way around the world. How did Jews feel when they saw and heard the marches on the street? Did they feel the anxiety and fear that Jews feel today? How did they react when they saw Jewish businesses being boycotted?Signs that refused to do business with Jews? Vandalism of Jewish homes and businesses? Did they feel the same disappointment in human behavior? Did they feel as hated as Jews feel today? And Kristallnacht. What went through their minds as Jews watched as their buildings, stores and synagogues were smashed, as the authorities looked on, and did nothing? Was it a similar feeling to how the Jews feel today, when the authorities once again, look on, and do nothing? What did they go through when the realization hit that there was a movement, an ideology that was focused on their extermination? On the murdering and execution of them, their family members, their friends, of anyone who had any Jewish blood? How strong was the dread when they realized there was nowhere to go? That countries were closing their doors to Jews? That all they could do was wait? How strong was the resolve of the resistance? How did it feel to be fighting for their lives,every single day, for years? How terrified were they when their homes were searched? When the Gestapo showed up at their door? When their possessions were stolen? Their homes taken? Their family members removed? And how similar were those feelings to how Jews of the world are feeling right now? Was it different because they didn't have access to the information that we have? Was it different, because they didn't have a previous Holocaust just 80 short years earlier as a point of reference? Or did they know? Did they fear and dread the same way many Jews today do? Was it less scary because it was "over there"? "Only in Germany"? "Only in Europe"? What if it was everywhere? What if we knew every single thing that was happening? In near-real time? What if it was in our countries? In our cities? In our neighborhoods? What if we saw signs of it as we drove our kids to school? Or went shopping? Graffiti? Posters? Flags? Symbolizing an ideology that hates us. That wants us dead. What if we were seeing the progression of it on a weekly and sometimes daily basis? What if we were seeing the continued deterioration of support from our police and our governments? Am I feeling what Jews in 1930s Germany felt? Were they as concerned then, as I am today? Were they as mortified at the level of hate, vitriol and dehumanization targeted at us, for no other reason than who our ancestors were, and which set of holidays, customs and traditions we followed? And will our fate, be any different than theirs? #NeverAgainIsNow

In the gym, if you experience no stimulus your muscles won't grow. If you step under 10,000 pounds your body will break. Life is similar. Too much challenge makes life hard, but so does too little.

The Olympics are starting, and it's a reminder of how we come together to support our athletes and take pride in a shared goal. Herb Brooks knew that to win, we had to trust each other and become one team with one purpose. That unity is what makes the Games special. 🇺🇸

Today we honor Bob Weir, guitarist, storyteller and founding member of the Grateful Dead, and one of live music’s great innovators. His improvisation made every show a one-of-a-kind experience that was both immersive and community driven. RIP 🤍

Mayor Mamdani’s first day in office and he’s managed to get condemned by <checks notes> the U.S. Holocaust Museum.

The best advice I got in my 20s: Nobody cares. I often wonder how many extraordinary people waste their entire lives fearing the judgement of people who were never even thinking about them. Nobody is thinking about you. They’re too busy thinking about themselves. Go do the thing.

First off, Happy Hanukkah 🕎… May your lamp never run out of oil. Secondly, I was just told by the owner of Katz’s Deli that I order my sandwich like a “90 year old Jew”… Which is like being awarded the Nobel Prize for eating.

I think of this photo a lot. The owner, Rachel Posner, donated it to Yad Vashem, and on the back wrote in German: “Chanukah 5692 (1932). ‘Death to Judah,’ so the flag says. ‘Judah will live forever,’ so the light answers.” Some lights cannot be extinguished. Chag Sameach.

A hill I’m willing to die on: I think most people would be better served by learning how to carry on a great conversation than learning the latest AI prompts.

I am disturbed. Deeply deeply disturbed. And somehow, I am simultaneously hopeful and proud. Ok, what am I talking about? I just walked in the door to my house. I came back from the movies. Haven’t been to a movie theater in years. We went to see Nuremberg. It was a fantastic movie, if one can even use the word fantastic about something so deep and sinister. What I mean is that the movie was done well, the cast was excellent, and the acting superb. If you’re not familiar, it’s a movie about how the world prosecuted some of the Nazi leadership after the war and after trying them for their crimes, they executed them by hanging. (Besides those cowards who took their own lives before they could be held accountable for their actions. Our enemies are always cowards.) Of course it was a very heavy movie but that is not why I am so disturbed. I am so disturbed by the fact that if I had watched this movie just five years ago, even three years ago, I would have spent the majority of the movie thinking to myself “How on earth did that happen?” “How did moral people sit back and let this happen?” “How did the hatred of the Jew get so bad before the Holocaust that it could possibly have led to this?” “How could any human see what Hitler was doing and what his people were doing and not yell at the top of their lunges 24/7 until someone heard them?” “This can’t be real. This could not really have happened. I can’t understand how this could have happened.” But I didn’t think any of that as I was watching the movie today. Want to know what I was thinking the entire time? I was thinking “Well, yea, that’s happening now.” “Yep, that happened yesterday in NY. A charismatic leader who speaks openly about his hatred of the Jew was elected by the public.” I was thinking “Yep, Jewish shops were vandalized this week too…” “Yea, we have antisemites in governments around the world today too. Half of congress is antisemitic!” “Yep, Jews are again being banned from places. Campuses. Social events. Jobs. It’s all happening again exactly as it happened then.” “Today, too”, I thought to myself, “people around the world are also pondering how they can find a final solution to the Jew problem.” I watched this movie about evil Nazis and found myself nodding my head thinking how each one of the Nazis in the movie reminded me of some leader somewhere in the world today whether in the US, the UK, Australia, Ireland, and you know the rest. The list is long. And if you’re going to come back at me with the “Stop comparing, it’s not the same.”, I have two words for you. Shut up. No, seriously, shut up. It is EXACTLY the same! And that’s not me saying it. My great aunt who survived three Nazi camps said it to me. I asked her, “You saw the rise of antisemitism before the Holocaust and you’re seeing it again now. How do they compare?” Her answer. “The same!” So if you’re still in denial that we are seeing the 1930s all over again, then just shut up and go live with your head in the sand somewhere else. It’s the same rhetoric only we’ve replaced “The Jews contaminate our blood.” To “The Jews are committing genocide”, “The Jews are occupiers.”, “The Jews are colonizers.”, “The Jews have too much control.”, “The Jews get too much aid and are too influential in my country.”, “The Jews killed Kirk.”, “The Jews did 9/11.”, “The Jews killed JFK.”, “The Jews sexually abuse innocent Palestinians.” Do I even need to go on? I can go on for a long long time. The blood libels today are as ridiculous as they ever were but somehow, just like back then, the masses are listening to these lies and believing them. The only thing that’s changed is the why. But that’s the thing with antisemitism. The why doesn’t matter. They hated us then because we weren’t white enough. Now they hate us because we’re too white; we’re white colonizers. They hated us when we were poor and called us parasites. They hated us when we were rich and called us controlling. They hated us when we were stateless and now they hate us because we have a state. Back then, they told us to get out of Europe and go back to Palestine (Israel.). Now they’re telling us to get out of Israel and go back to Europe. The why doesn’t matter. It’s just an act, a charade, a mask. So watching this movie, I was and am deeply disturbed at the reminder that we are seeing it all happen right in front of our eyes and just like the world saw it and was silent then, today the world sees the Jew hatred spiking all over the globe and again, they are silent. This, of course, isn’t some new realization that I had after watching this movie. Of course I knew this to be the case for a long time. Never again is a lie we were told as kids. It’s a lie because the world will ABSOLUTELY (try to) do it again, they’ll just come up with some new excuse to scapegoat the Jew. This movie just sharpened it for me because I watched the characters stand trial for the crimes of the concentration camps and I’m reminded that these people, the Nazis, they weren’t monsters. It’s easy to paint them as monsters so we don’t have to deal with the question of how can a human being, a person of my species do what they did? So we call them monsters. But they weren’t. They were sons. Fathers. Husbands. They truly believed they were doing the right thing. They truly believed the Jews were evil and needed to be exterminated like insects. They didn’t think of themselves as evil monsters. They gassed Jews then went home and had dinner with their families. They were progressive. They were patriots. All they were doing, in their minds, was protecting their country from the evil Jew. The people around the world today who love those internet memes with the Jew and his hook nose? The people holding signs that call to clean the world of Zionist trash? The ones who pull down signs of innocent baby hostages? The people behind the stands in the international criminal court? They are EXACTLY, yes EXACTLY like the Nazis were before the camps opened. Don’t give me the whole “But the Nazis killed 6 million.” Do you think for a second that these people around the world, the radical islamists, the “progressive” left anti Israel activists, the extreme right antisemites like Tucker or Candace, do you think they’d stand up for the Jews if someone tried to kill 6 million Jews today? You think Hamas wouldn’t jump at the opportunity to kill 6 million of us today? Then you’re delusional. And you know what else? The Nazis drank themselves to sleep every night. Somewhere deep down, many of them had shame. Hamas live streamed what they did. The majority of Gaza, by all polls, support 10/7. Many Germans saved Jews. Their conscience forced them to. NOT ONE GAZAN, DESPITE BEING OFFERED MILLIONS OF DOLLARS, NOT ONE GAVE ISRAEL ANY INFO ON A HOSTAGE. NOT ONE GAZAN SAVED EVEN ONE JEWISH LIFE! So don’t give me this “Today is different.” I’m done listening to that lie. So yea, deeply deeply disturbed. But also, I have two words to say to those modern day Nazis; the Jew haters of all kinds. Two words. Hell no! You can’t round us up today and send us to concentration camps. Wanna know why? Because the IDF will eliminate you if you try. You can’t exterminate us by the millions. Want to know why? Not because you wouldn’t want to but because the Mossad knows where you live! You can lie all you want, make up stories about us all you want, incite to violence and murder of Jews all you want, but you’ll fail. Want to know why? Three letters. I. D. F You can attack Jewish events and vandalize synagogues. You can harass Jews and assault them. That’s on you. But ultimately, your plan will fail. You can no longer bully us and I know that’s hard to hear. This time, it’s different. This time, we have Israel. This time, the Jews are not weak. This time we can and will fight back. This time, the Jewish state leads the world in sophisticated military weaponry. This time, the Jewish state has the world’s best intel agencies. The best Air Force. A miraculously powerful army. This time your lies will only get you so far. This time, you will lose. The only one that’ll be exterminated here is you, if you don’t leave us Jews alone. So bring your internet memes. Boycott us. Harass us. Give it your best shot. You will lose and it won’t take decades. This time, you’ll lose a lot faster and a lot more painfully. So, I left this movie with an internal conflict. Can we say never again or can’t we? The answer is that we can. We can say proudly that it’ll never happen again but not for the reason I was told. It won’t happen again not because the world is too moral today or because western civilization is too progressive. It won’t happen again not because today we have social media so it’ll all be exposed to the world. It won’t happen again not because anyone would care if it did. I can say that the mass extermination of Jews will indeed not happen again because, for the first time in history, WE WON’T LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN! So to all you closeted and not closeted antisemites out there, I say to you, you are no better than the Nazis. They were no more monstrous than you are. You can find all the excuses in the world to justify your Jew hatred. It all won’t matter. You’re insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Long after you’re gone, we, the Jewish people will be here. We will be here winning Nobel Prizes. We will be here developing cures for cancer. We will be here developing world leading aerial defense systems. We will be here leading the world in cutting edge innovation. We will be here leaving a positive mark on the world. You, you will be some footnote of a page in a history book that tells the story of all those who came after the Jews and perished. You’ll be gone and we’ll be here thriving and flourishing. An Yisrael Chai is not just an empty phrase. It’s a historical reality. How many Babylonians do you know? They’re all gone. And we’re here. That’s our story. And that’s how this ends. So enjoy your bullying now because what you don’t realize is that when we hit back, you’re going to wish you never poked the bear. Never again, no thanks to you! Never again, thanks to Hashem who gave us the miraculous state of Israel that is here to ensure that it’ll never happen again! Antisemitism doesn’t exist because of the state of Israel. The state of Israel has to exist because of antisemitism. We saw what happened when we depend on others to defend us. Those days are over. Now, for the first time, we can defend ourselves and that’s exactly what we plan on doing. To all you Jew haters out there, you don’t get it, so I’ll make this perfectly clear to you, and say… Am Yisrael Chai, you fools!

Everyone go and live Otherwise what was it all for

Worth taking a minute to say, “fuck you” to the Red Cross.

We hear Hamas and their supporters attempting to draw a moral equivalence between hostages stolen, some in their pyjamas from their beds, and Hamas terrorists convicted of mass murder or detained in the process of planning mass murder. It’s a lie, of course. Hamas kidnapped 251 people, tortured them, some for over two years. Israel is releasing some of the worst people in the world. Evil people who may go right back to trying to kill Jews. We do it because we worship life and want our family members back home. We’ll take the risk. Don’t buy the Hamas lie. There’s no equivalence. They’re evil. The hostages are innocent. This is about two opposites, not two equals.

Avinatan Or is met with cheers. He looks so skinny and unwell, but look at how he takes the time to thank the crowd and cheer with them. Once again, Hamas fails to break Israel's spirit.