ALEPH DELTA MAO

Well, I figured that I might as well let you in on the secret of ALEPH DELTA MAO. Well, it's not really a secret, actually; the sign (above) is posted on our door.

ALEPH DELTA MAO is a fraternity, founded by me and my roommates on the first night in our room. The name comes from fraternity language, where there are three Greek letters in a row, usually not actually meaning anything (or do they? Do Upsilon Pi Sigmas at one place know other UPS's? Or maybe my package deliverers are all part of a secret society...). But, of course, with a twist: we included letters from different languages. The ALEPH, of course, comes from Hebrew. The DELTA comes from the ancient Greek airliner. And the MAO... well, Jammin', who was sleeping in our room that first night, chose a Chinese symbol from a coin he had and included it. I don't think it's actually called a "MAO;" just with none of us knowing Chinese, we erroneously named it after of the fourth Chinese thing we could think of: Chairman Mao Zedung (the first thing we thought of was the Great Wall, the second was Peking Duck, and the third NBA center Yao Ming).

Some fun facts about ALEPH DELTA MAO:

1. ALEPH DELTA MAO has three Founding Members: me, Josh, and Ilan. Jammin' is one of two Honorary Members because he slept in our room the first night; Micah is the other because he took the photos of the toga party (see pictures).
2. ALEPH DELTA MAO headquarters is our room, Room 8.
3. One key feature of ALEPH DELTA MAO headquarters is the rug that ties the room together, as stated explicitly by the Dude: "That rug really tied the room together."
4. ALEPH DELTA MAO has a special salute: first, the formation of an ALEPH by crossing both arms over the torso, with both fists firmly upon the pectoral region; second, the formation of a DELTA by creating a triangle above the saluter's head (the hands are now open); and the final MAO, by which the saluter brings both hands (now fisted) to either side of his head, as if lifting dumbells. Note that the fists may not exceed the height of the saluters head. For a clearer illustration, see photo.
5. All members must be attending Ma'aleh Gilboa. But special exceptions can be made for non-Gilboans (or non-Gilboites? Or non-Gilboians?). Bribes can often help. Applications for future members will be posted soon.
6. All new members, Honorary or otherwise, must pass an initiation test of perseverance, faith, physical ability, and/or naming the fifty US capitols. Specifications of individual initiations varies, according to the rule, whim, and mindset of the Founding Members at a particular moment.
7. All members are required to shower at least once a week. Failure to do so will result in foul smells and odors of the individual in question, and removal from ALEPH DELTA MAO until shower/Founders' discretion.
8. All members must love the almighty cucumber "with all your heart and all your soul and all your might." (Note: members may replace "cucumber" in this rule with "chocolate," at the approval of the Founding Members.)
9. ACTIVITIES: So far, ALEPH DELTA MAO hasn't actually done anything. Well, we did have a wild toga party. Okay, so all we did was wear togas one night and be photographed by Honorary Member Micah. And we have been talking about a prank, and about shaving David Mayer-Deutsch one night while he's sleeping. But mostly, it's just a connection between yeshiva students. But if you do have a suggested activity, let us know.
10. Edna, a character from Pixar's "The Incredibles," is part of ALEPH DELTA MAO. We found a poster of her on our wall on the first night, and she's still there. We have absolutely no idea why she's there. She's not really a member... is she a mascot? A symbol? A poster child? Whatever. She's Edna, she's on our wall, and she's staying there.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Complaints (thought I can't imagine why)? Call the Israeli number 057-730-5262. Ask for Audrey, then Yoni.