Friday, May 7, 2010

About Time


Iyar, 5770

You may have seen the new Z'man magazine at your newsstand or supermarket. You may have been intrigued by the $2.75 introductory price and bought it - for the wife and kids, of course. You, of course, have no time for it. What makes this different from all other frum English language publications is that it's packed to the gills with real reading. No fluff, no rambling on about unknown characters (or little known) who "revolutionized" and "pioneered" this and that. No preaching to the choir, and no interviews with guitar makers. There also seems to be no agenda here; which is amazing in this day and age. No "I'll scratch your back if you'll scratch mine," and no paid advertorials that look like real stories. No press releases either. Just good reading. Long reading. Reading that can take a month of Shabbosim to finish, which is good, since it's a monthly magazine priced right - check that, it's basically a small book, not just a magazine. Reading that gives you all the facts about current events and issues that concern and interest many of us across the spectrum of Jewry. And best of all most of the issues are general ones, not necessarily of Jewish interest, but definitely of interest to Jews, no matter what background. I was skeptical at first, not imagining that a new Heimishe publication could bring anything new to the table, but I was pleasantly surprised. Instead of a plethora of boring stories and features, what we have now is a few stories and current events that let you get the complete story, not some sanitized abridged new-age version with catch phrases. Issue 3 is way ahead of Issues 1 and 2, and we can look forward to the improvement from month to month based on the progress it's made in its short history.

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

I bought it and read it, and yes, what you say is true that it is throrough.

Its better then the papers But it lacks the spice and professionalism (writing, graphics, photos) of Mishpacha and doesnt have the womens appeal of Binah.

Its a nice thing, but most readers are the Mishpacha-Binah type, not the Zman type.

Anonymous said...

Dr. Zalenko is a true tzaddik

shmilu said...

This is off topic
I want to explain however,k?
Your blog is generally seen(seen by who? By me for sure but I"m pretty certain that it's the same by many, after all your mission statement is to "defend" lubavitch..) as a Lubavitcher/defense/apologist site but it's difficult to ever have a decent q&a session without getting into ad hominems especially when you weasel out of tough questions with non sequiturs or using the censor button.
So, I don't have much to say about Zman mag, though I heard it was good in depth stuff something almost not seen in the frum press.
Anyway, for the question:
Check out this link from COL.Tell me if you are comfortable with a mainstream Lubavitch site publishing a letter and such a totally crazy letter inmho, from this guy, who in my opinion is a total nutter, apparently from the same "school" as the nutter Telsner.Same school means people who are apparently talmidei chachomim .Since talmidei chachomim are a bit of a rarity in Chabad these guys stand out a bit.If it was stam an classic ignorant Lubavitcher ala the style who can't read properly I would not have such an issue with it.
I understand that you won't want to post this after all I called them crazy, but you can post an answer if you think the letter is meshigeh.
Than you, here is the link http://www.col.org.il/show_news.rtx?artID=54681

Anonymous said...

Who is Dr Zelenko?

shmilu said...

Hirshel,
I hope you"l answer the question I posed

Hirshel Tzig - הירשל ציג said...

I hope you realize how frustrating it is to be busy with questions like these when they're TOTALLY off topic.

Mottel said...

-Shmilu: Get a life.

Anonymous said...

Mishpachah has yonasan rosenblum which sweetens the din...but also storys of terrorists va shar marin bishin...(in hebrew)...maybe we shoud torah...

Beit vegan said...

Regarding magazines , r shlomo carlebach used to say the biggest avera is to be shallow...

Ma. Rabbi said...

I thought the article about heath care was well written and to the point. Some of the other stories were totally secular and of no special interest to the Frum community.

fakewood inc. said...

Good call I had an awsome read over shaBbos

Hirshel Tzig - הירשל ציג said...

shmilu

the reason they published the letter was to show that even he is coming out against Tzik.

Anonymous said...

Zman is literally miles ahead of Mishpachah and Binah. Their piece on Martin Grossman had more solid info and did a better job of laying out the events than anything I've seen anywhere. Their story on the parachute hijacker was great. The Prohibition story was insightful. None of the shallow stuff you expect from the other two. None of the interviews with daughters and sons of gedolim of yore that add nothing to your knowledge base. No self-serving stories which make up such a large part of Mishpachah's weekly fare and none of the silly touchy-feely stuff in Binah. For G-d's sake, how many times can I read advice on how to fight with my Mother in Law or how to survive the death of twins? Mishpachah and Binah can close down forever and I wouldn't remember to miss them. Zman, on the other hand, is proving to be far more interesting and so far, I'm in for a subscription. If they try the popular stuff of the other two, I'll cancel like I canceled those.

shmilu said...

Mottel,
Mind your own business.I was not addressing you.
Hirshel.
The guy who wrote the letter is a respected Chabad rabbi.If not for his over Meshichism he would be top tier.
My "problem" was that this letter is downright childish and dumb!
Also I understood it was off topic, that is why I very apologetically asked.But you see, that you seem to avoid tough questions with excuses.

Hirshel Tzig - הירשל ציג said...

Akselrod lost the respect of many Lubavitchers over the years BECAUSE of his attachment to the fringe group.

did I answer the question? or do you want me to somehow explain to you what he's thinking?

shmilu said...

Hirshel
I am maskim that he made non meshichist Chabad feel uncomfortable.But that is not my point.My point is that if NOT for his association, with what you call fringe but is actually a very large group, he would be top tier as he was before he aligned with the Meshichists, yet read this nonsensical letter! It's amazing in it's childishness and stupidity!

Mottel said...

-Shmilu: I am my minding my own business - if I'm following the comments on a blog post - then it's within my right to ask you to stop clogging my inbox with your inane and off-topic ramblings.

shmilu said...

Mottel
Go fly a kite.This blog is not meant for underage crybabies

Mottel said...

Understood - so then S'fregt zich di sha'alah - why do you keep commenting?

Anonymous said...

I also agree with your thoughts on Zman but noticed while browsing thru the other magazines available on the newstand that Zman it's an exact copy of the Yiddish Stern Magazine. So i am guessing that those publishers decided to launch an English language version.

Anybody notice this as well?

Unknown said...

Can someone please put up the email address, phone number or website details for the Magazine.

I do not live locally and I would like to contact the publishers.

Thanks

Mordi

Hirshel Tzig - הירשל ציג said...

M: See Here

Anonymous said...

Anon,

You're right - it's the English version of the Yiddish Stern. They're the one's behind it.

Anonymous said...

And now it costs 5 bucks...

Leib said...

and who's Zalman Jacobs?