Sure, I went to Israel when I was a teenager -- Teen Tour, y'all? And during that time I discovered several important things about my faith: Mogen David should not be consumed by the barrel (or thimble, for that matter), Israeli-brewed Budweiser tastes like warm urine even when ice cold, Against All Odds and Supergirl are terrible in Hebrew and English, and there's nothing sexier than a female Israeli solder dancing in a Jerusalem discotheque with an AK-47 over her shoulder. Kids today might miss that profoundly religious experience.
This week comes word that there's now a virtual Israel floating around Second Life. That's due, in part, to a 33-year-old Dallas artist named Beth Brown, who, in 2006, created Second Life's first synagogue, Temple Beth Israel. Brown, who goes by Beth Odets in virtual temple, created Second Life Israel with New Jersey's Chaim Landau, who apparently doesn't like to travel, maybe? --Robert Wilonsky
