One of my commenters, Honestly Frum, has noted on his blog that he once attended a lecture by a noted Rav in which the following content was raised:
it is well known that a number of years ago R. XX YY from Brooklyn was brought to Bergenfield for shabbos and during a question and answer session he said publicly that if there is no material chance of getting caught then there is no issur in cheating on ones taxes. Further when questioned on this privately, he said that theft from gentiles is also permissible and that one can ignore the halachos in shulchan aruch regarding tax evasion and gezel akum because these halachos were probably only codified because of fear of the goyim.
Now, if this attitude strikes you instinctively as incorrect, you'd be on the right track. While there is certainly definitive evidence that many of our important legal texts have been censored in the past (the Mishneh Torah, Shulchan Aruch, Chayei Adam and even parts of the Gemara) by non-Jewish authorities who were looking to remove what they felt were offensive references to their religion, it is also clear that most relevant material in this regard escaped the censors' notice.
What is also poorly understood is that in halacha there are goyim and then there are goyim. There are genuine idol worshippers whose religion encourages them to lead immoral lifestyles and there are non-Jewish societies in which the rule of law is encouraged. Thus when the Gemara refers to all non-Jews being suspected of being murderers or having stolen the land they claim to own, it can be understood that these references were to the more anarchic, immoral non-Jews that lived around our ancestors some 2000 years ago.
No less an authority than the Meiri has written that one can safely conclude that non-Jews today are not to be considered the same as the idol worshippers the halacha warns us about.
Having said that, there are those for whom old traditions die hard. It is an unfortunate fact of history that our ancestors were oppressed in both Europe and Muslim lands for many centuries. The only way to survive was by outfoxing the non-Jewish authorities in their attempts to impoverish and/or wipe out their local Jewish communities. For too many, this survival mechanism has become mesorah. Hence the cries of mesirah when genuine Jewish criminals are outed by their communities even though a cursory knowledge of halacha shows that this charge simply does not apply. And one can assume the above-referenced dismissmal of the need for honesty while paying taxes comes from the same source.
Fortunately, this past Shabbos I came across as clear a refutation of this attitude as one could hope for and I would like to share it here. This is from the Tanna D'Vei Raba Eliyahu 28 (translation mine):
2: From where do we learn the mitzvah for man to love God? The love of man for God is an important mitzvah from the Torah, for the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven is written from the aspect of love, as it says: "Hear o' Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one." (Dev 6:4)
5: From here they said, a person should distance himself from theft, whether from a Jew or a non-Jew. And not only that, but one who steals from a non-Jew will ultimately come to steal from a Jew. And if he swears (falsely) to a non-Jew, he will ultimately swear (falsely) to a Jew. And if he deceives a non-Jew, he will ultimately deceive a Jew. And if he murders a non-Jew, he will ultimately murder a Jew. The Torah was only given to sanctify His great name and it says "I shall place within them a sign and send some of them as survivors" (Yishiyah 66:19). What does it say at the end of the verse? "And they shall tell of my glory to the nations."
Somehow I doubt Eliyahu HaNavi was afraid of non-Jewish censors. This statement of his is a clear rebuttal to those who would tell us that Torah observance permits theft and lying, as long as the victims are just "goyim".
Navonim - The Ramblings of Garnel Ironheart
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Sunday, 17 May 2009
Friday, 15 May 2009
Reverse Racism is Still Racism
Right on schedule, Rav Avi Shafran has put out yet another piece whose logic is, at best, suspect. The object of his ire this week is an unmentioned columnist he came across who committed the sin of disparaging the Chofetz Chayyim, ztk"l:
Even with the surfeit of silliness passing these days for “Torah commentary”– the manufactured “midrashim,” “original interpretations” and Biblical passages turned on their heads – I was flabbergasted to read a homily disparaging the Chafetz Chaim.
The Chafetz Chaim, of course – Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan – was renowned for his saintliness and sagacity, and for his monumental works on Jewish law, including two on the laws against slander. When the Polish sage died, in 1933, The New York Times’ obituary noted that he had shut down his store when he realized that its success born of his renown was imperiling other local storekeepers’ income.
What exercised the contemporary sermonizer, whose words appeared in an Israel-oriented magazine, was the Chafetz Chaim’s comment on an undisputed halachic ruling, that even a sinner, if Jewish, can be counted as part of a prayer-quorum. The Chafetz Chaim had elucidated the reason behind the ruling: “Even though he is a sinning Jew,” the great rabbi explained, “his holiness endures.”
Now the idea that this unnamed person had a problem with what the Chofetz Chayim wrote is difficult to understand. Too often we hear complaints from our non-religious brethren about how we in the observant community treat them differently, exclude them from feeling like they belong with us and act disparagingly towards them. The idea that the Chofetz Chayim wrote the opposite should be a source of encouragement for them. A Torah observant person who dismisses the importance of a non-observant one can now be reproved in no uncertain circumstances. But this reader did manage to find a dark lining to the silver cloud:
The magazine-homilist, a Jewish educator, found that statement “not so enlightened,” indeed “particularly problematic in an era when racism has fallen out of favor.”
Now, I could comment that this is not entirely unaccepted. Some squeaky wheels can be greased all you want and they'll still find a way to squeak. Tell this non-observant Jew that his place in the minyan is just as important as anyone else's and he moved one step to the left: Yeah? Well that means you're racist against Gentiles!
But Rav Shafran's answer makes no sense at all:
But affirmation of “Jewish election” – the concept that the Jewish people was chosen by G-d to be a holy nation with a holy mission – has about the same relationship to racism as a sizzling steak has to a slab of cold tofu...
The bottom line: Jewish chosenness, from the Jewish perspective, entails no disparagement of others. It is not a license but a responsibility, to live by the laws of the Torah and to set a holy example for others – to shine forth in belief and behavior as the prophet Isaiah’s “light unto the nations” (42:6).
Understand? Negative beliefs - you're inferior to us - are racism. Positive beliefs - we're better than the rest of you - is not.
Maybe I'm just dull about this but I can't really see the difference. While Rav Shafran notes that we have "a responsibility to live by the laws of the Torah and to set a holy example for others", too often this responsibility reverts into a licence to abuse and denigrate those who are different because they're not on the same "high level" as the rest of us.
We are different from the nations around us, but that's not racism, just an noting that the English and French are different from each other is. Drawing conclusions on superiority/inferiority based on that difference is something else and should be avoided.
Even with the surfeit of silliness passing these days for “Torah commentary”– the manufactured “midrashim,” “original interpretations” and Biblical passages turned on their heads – I was flabbergasted to read a homily disparaging the Chafetz Chaim.
The Chafetz Chaim, of course – Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan – was renowned for his saintliness and sagacity, and for his monumental works on Jewish law, including two on the laws against slander. When the Polish sage died, in 1933, The New York Times’ obituary noted that he had shut down his store when he realized that its success born of his renown was imperiling other local storekeepers’ income.
What exercised the contemporary sermonizer, whose words appeared in an Israel-oriented magazine, was the Chafetz Chaim’s comment on an undisputed halachic ruling, that even a sinner, if Jewish, can be counted as part of a prayer-quorum. The Chafetz Chaim had elucidated the reason behind the ruling: “Even though he is a sinning Jew,” the great rabbi explained, “his holiness endures.”
Now the idea that this unnamed person had a problem with what the Chofetz Chayim wrote is difficult to understand. Too often we hear complaints from our non-religious brethren about how we in the observant community treat them differently, exclude them from feeling like they belong with us and act disparagingly towards them. The idea that the Chofetz Chayim wrote the opposite should be a source of encouragement for them. A Torah observant person who dismisses the importance of a non-observant one can now be reproved in no uncertain circumstances. But this reader did manage to find a dark lining to the silver cloud:
The magazine-homilist, a Jewish educator, found that statement “not so enlightened,” indeed “particularly problematic in an era when racism has fallen out of favor.”
Now, I could comment that this is not entirely unaccepted. Some squeaky wheels can be greased all you want and they'll still find a way to squeak. Tell this non-observant Jew that his place in the minyan is just as important as anyone else's and he moved one step to the left: Yeah? Well that means you're racist against Gentiles!
But Rav Shafran's answer makes no sense at all:
But affirmation of “Jewish election” – the concept that the Jewish people was chosen by G-d to be a holy nation with a holy mission – has about the same relationship to racism as a sizzling steak has to a slab of cold tofu...
The bottom line: Jewish chosenness, from the Jewish perspective, entails no disparagement of others. It is not a license but a responsibility, to live by the laws of the Torah and to set a holy example for others – to shine forth in belief and behavior as the prophet Isaiah’s “light unto the nations” (42:6).
Understand? Negative beliefs - you're inferior to us - are racism. Positive beliefs - we're better than the rest of you - is not.
Maybe I'm just dull about this but I can't really see the difference. While Rav Shafran notes that we have "a responsibility to live by the laws of the Torah and to set a holy example for others", too often this responsibility reverts into a licence to abuse and denigrate those who are different because they're not on the same "high level" as the rest of us.
We are different from the nations around us, but that's not racism, just an noting that the English and French are different from each other is. Drawing conclusions on superiority/inferiority based on that difference is something else and should be avoided.
Thursday, 14 May 2009
Two Kinds of Gedolim
“Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai had five dsciples and they were: Rabbi Eliezer ben Horkinos, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananya, Rabbi Yose HaKohen, Rabbi Shimon ben Nesanel and Rabbi Elazar ben Arach. He used to enumerate their merits: Rabbi Eliezer ben Horkinos is a cemented cistern that does not lose a drop… Rabbi Elazar ben Arach iis like a spring which steadily increases its flow.
“He used to say: If all the sages of Israel were on one scale of the balance and Eliezer ben Horkinos was on the other, he would outweigh them all. Abba Shaul said in his name: If all the Sages of Israel were on one scale of the balance and Elazar ben Arach was on the other, he would outweigh them all.” (Avos 2:8)
The dispute in this mishnah is difficult to ignore. If encyclopedic knowledge is the most important quality for a Jewish sage to have, then how can Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai change his mind and praise innovative thinking (according to Rambam)?
Two different approaches are used to reconcile the disagreement. According to Rabbeinu Yonah and the Bertinoro Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai was noting two different things. When it came to encyclopedic knowledge, Rabbi Eliezer outweighed everyone. When it came to innovative creatitivity, Rabbi Elazar won out.
An alternative approach is suggested by the Tiferes Yisrael. According to the version of the tradition of the tanna kamma, Rabbi Yochanan believed Rabbi Eliezer’s strength to be the superior while Abba Shaul, who was also a tanna, had learned that he had favoured Rabbi Elazar.
But I believe there is a third approach to this dilemma that also resolves the conflict.
One must remember that Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai lived at a tumultuous time in Jewish history. In the first part of his career, our Temple (may it be speedily rebuilt) stood in all its glory in the midst of the bustling metropolis of Yerushalayim. As recounted in Gittin, in the second half of his career he was in Yavneh busily rebuilding Torah Judaism from the ashes of the destruction of the Temple and Yerushalayim. A contrast greater than that is difficult to imagine.
What happened to Judaism after the fall of Yerushalayim? Until that point, our worship had been mostly Temple-centered. Yes there were prayers and rituals that were performed in local areas but the bottom line was that Jewish worship centered around the sacrificial cult. If you had committed a sin, saying sorry wasn’t good enough in many cases. You had to bring a sacrifice. Three times a year you were expected to go up to the Temple to celebrate the holidays (those of us who go away on Pesach to nice hotels are attempting to keep that custom alive). If you had an opportunity to thank God, it wasn’t enough to make Kiddush in the local shul. You could go up to the Temple with a thanksgiving offering. And so on.
After the fall of the Temple, Judaism had to fundamentally change. Now the religion had to be made more portable. The danger was that without a dynamic centre, those on the periphery would drift away unless they were provided with a way to be Jewish that did not involve the constant presence of the Temple. It was this transition that Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai managed. The Judaism he ended his life with was much different than the one he started it with but had he not done what he did, who knows where we would be today?
And perhaps this is the clue to understanding the mishnah. The tanna kamma is reported what Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai felt before the destruction of the Temple while Abba Shaul, a later tanna who lived after the destruction, is reporting Rabb Yochanan’s later attitude change.
To wit: before the destruction of the Temple, faithful transmission of the mesorah was key to running the religious life of the nation. We were in our land, we had a Temple, almost every single mitzvah was available for performance. It was therefore a great skill to be able to retain and recall all the rules for all the situations. In this kind of environment, Rabbi Eliezer excelled.
But with the destruction of the Temple, perfect knowledge suddenly wasn’t the priority. Let’s face it, without a Temple one third of the Talmud is theoretical. Without national sovereignty and a functioning court system, another third becomes limited in application. But what’s left now becomes very important as those observances that were still available to us needed to be adjusted to the new paradigm of Jewish life.
An imagination is a terrible thing for someone with encyclopedic knowledge. After all, if one is tasked with remember things with perfect precision, musing on the information, imagining the possibilities such information contains, can lead to unwanted distortion. Is what the person remembers what he was actually supposed to remember or rather his interpretation of the matter?
But when it comes to adjusting to new situations, innovation is crucial. Until the destruction of the Temple certain scenarios needed never to be considered. Now with the Jewish people scattered to the four winds of the Earth, new situations would arise all the time. Answers to questions that address novel concepts but that stayed firmly within the bounds of halacha needed to be written. And it was here that Rabbi Elazar shone.
Looking around at the Torah world of the last 150 years of so, it is quite clear that most major, influential gedolim come in one of the two flavours: the Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Elazar ones. Some have worked to retain the achievements of their forebears without trying to add to them. For them, the faithful transmission of the mesorah was challenge enough. Others living in these changing times knew that innovation was important to help our people struggle through and make the most of the opportunities God provided us with.
The difference between the two is subtle – even the names of the two rabbonim are similar in sound and meaning. But both their contributions are vital for the survival of Torah observance and the spiritual vitality of klal Yisrael.
Sometimes we need a Rabbi Eliezer, sometimes Rabbi Elazar, but let no one say that only one or the other truly can be a gadol b’Yisrael.
“He used to say: If all the sages of Israel were on one scale of the balance and Eliezer ben Horkinos was on the other, he would outweigh them all. Abba Shaul said in his name: If all the Sages of Israel were on one scale of the balance and Elazar ben Arach was on the other, he would outweigh them all.” (Avos 2:8)
The dispute in this mishnah is difficult to ignore. If encyclopedic knowledge is the most important quality for a Jewish sage to have, then how can Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai change his mind and praise innovative thinking (according to Rambam)?
Two different approaches are used to reconcile the disagreement. According to Rabbeinu Yonah and the Bertinoro Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai was noting two different things. When it came to encyclopedic knowledge, Rabbi Eliezer outweighed everyone. When it came to innovative creatitivity, Rabbi Elazar won out.
An alternative approach is suggested by the Tiferes Yisrael. According to the version of the tradition of the tanna kamma, Rabbi Yochanan believed Rabbi Eliezer’s strength to be the superior while Abba Shaul, who was also a tanna, had learned that he had favoured Rabbi Elazar.
But I believe there is a third approach to this dilemma that also resolves the conflict.
One must remember that Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai lived at a tumultuous time in Jewish history. In the first part of his career, our Temple (may it be speedily rebuilt) stood in all its glory in the midst of the bustling metropolis of Yerushalayim. As recounted in Gittin, in the second half of his career he was in Yavneh busily rebuilding Torah Judaism from the ashes of the destruction of the Temple and Yerushalayim. A contrast greater than that is difficult to imagine.
What happened to Judaism after the fall of Yerushalayim? Until that point, our worship had been mostly Temple-centered. Yes there were prayers and rituals that were performed in local areas but the bottom line was that Jewish worship centered around the sacrificial cult. If you had committed a sin, saying sorry wasn’t good enough in many cases. You had to bring a sacrifice. Three times a year you were expected to go up to the Temple to celebrate the holidays (those of us who go away on Pesach to nice hotels are attempting to keep that custom alive). If you had an opportunity to thank God, it wasn’t enough to make Kiddush in the local shul. You could go up to the Temple with a thanksgiving offering. And so on.
After the fall of the Temple, Judaism had to fundamentally change. Now the religion had to be made more portable. The danger was that without a dynamic centre, those on the periphery would drift away unless they were provided with a way to be Jewish that did not involve the constant presence of the Temple. It was this transition that Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai managed. The Judaism he ended his life with was much different than the one he started it with but had he not done what he did, who knows where we would be today?
And perhaps this is the clue to understanding the mishnah. The tanna kamma is reported what Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai felt before the destruction of the Temple while Abba Shaul, a later tanna who lived after the destruction, is reporting Rabb Yochanan’s later attitude change.
To wit: before the destruction of the Temple, faithful transmission of the mesorah was key to running the religious life of the nation. We were in our land, we had a Temple, almost every single mitzvah was available for performance. It was therefore a great skill to be able to retain and recall all the rules for all the situations. In this kind of environment, Rabbi Eliezer excelled.
But with the destruction of the Temple, perfect knowledge suddenly wasn’t the priority. Let’s face it, without a Temple one third of the Talmud is theoretical. Without national sovereignty and a functioning court system, another third becomes limited in application. But what’s left now becomes very important as those observances that were still available to us needed to be adjusted to the new paradigm of Jewish life.
An imagination is a terrible thing for someone with encyclopedic knowledge. After all, if one is tasked with remember things with perfect precision, musing on the information, imagining the possibilities such information contains, can lead to unwanted distortion. Is what the person remembers what he was actually supposed to remember or rather his interpretation of the matter?
But when it comes to adjusting to new situations, innovation is crucial. Until the destruction of the Temple certain scenarios needed never to be considered. Now with the Jewish people scattered to the four winds of the Earth, new situations would arise all the time. Answers to questions that address novel concepts but that stayed firmly within the bounds of halacha needed to be written. And it was here that Rabbi Elazar shone.
Looking around at the Torah world of the last 150 years of so, it is quite clear that most major, influential gedolim come in one of the two flavours: the Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Elazar ones. Some have worked to retain the achievements of their forebears without trying to add to them. For them, the faithful transmission of the mesorah was challenge enough. Others living in these changing times knew that innovation was important to help our people struggle through and make the most of the opportunities God provided us with.
The difference between the two is subtle – even the names of the two rabbonim are similar in sound and meaning. But both their contributions are vital for the survival of Torah observance and the spiritual vitality of klal Yisrael.
Sometimes we need a Rabbi Eliezer, sometimes Rabbi Elazar, but let no one say that only one or the other truly can be a gadol b’Yisrael.
Orthodox Selflessness
"It never rains but it pours." (Dr. Leonard McCoy, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)
For Conservatism, it's been a lousy few years. First there was the appointing of a non-rabbi as the head of the movement. Then came the split over gay marriage, then the financial crisis hit home. Now apparently many congregation within the movement are upset with how the Jewish Theological Seminary is running things:
In yet another indication of the problems plaguing the Conservative movement, as many as 40 synagogues are considering withdrawing from the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism because the movement’s congregational arm doesn’t serve their needs, according to a leader of a new group pressing for change.
“I say stay and change from within, but 30 to 40 other synagogues may leave,” said Arthur Glauberman, a founder of Bonim (“Builders”). He was referring to multiple comments on a United Synagogue listserv.
Bonim, which claims to represent about 50 synagogues along the East Coast, is now speaking openly of ousting the current United Synagogue leadership, slashing the group’s $14 million budget and restructuring the organization. It is also calling for the closing of all 15 of the
movement’s regional offices in order to save money on rent and staff.
“The United Synagogue has become so absorbed with its own power and is out of touch with providing services to member organizations,” said Glauberman, president of Shaarei Tikvah in Scarsdale.
Perhaps Rav Lamm was aware of this when he made his controversial statements regarding the future of Jewry at a recent function:
Rabbi Norman Lamm, former president and now chancellor of the Orthodox Yeshiva University, was even more blunt about the future of the Conservative movement. He told The Jerusalem Post last weekend: “The Conservatives are in a mood of despondency and pessimism. They are closing schools and in general shrinking.”
Rabbi Lamm, who was in Israel to receive an honorary doctorate from Bar-Ilan University, was referring to statistics from the National Jewish Population Survey. It found in a 2001 survey that of the 46 Jewish households that belong to a synagogue, one-third were affiliated with Conservative synagogues — a 10 percent drop since 1990.
Although the Reform movement grew from 35 percent to 38 percent during those 10 years, Rabbi Lamm said it was “because if you add goyim to Jews, then you will do OK.”
The Reform movement in 1983 adopted a policy of patrilineal descent, which recognizes as a Jew the child of a Jewish father and a non-Jewish mother provided the child is raised as a Jew.
“Reform is out of the picture, because they never got into the picture, and the Conservatives are getting out of the picture,” Rabbi Lamm told the newspaper. “With a heavy heart, we will soon say Kaddish on the Reform and Conservative movements.”
Naturally the response to this from the non-frum portions of the blogsphere has been understandibly harsh. However, while Rav Lamm made one good point in the excerpt quoted above, I believe he was incorrect in his conclusion.
His point regarding Reform's Jewish dilution is, unfortunately for us as a people, spot on. The bottom line is that Reform has, for the last 25-30 years, bolstered its numbers by creating what any country would call a very lax immigration policy. Are you the child of a Jewish parent? Do you want to convert by having some chicken soup sprinkled on your forehead? Well then you're a member. It is only by counting non-Jews who have been falsely told that they are Jewish that they have managed to maintain their dominant position in the Jewish demographic situation in North America. Eventually the dilution will go to far and Reform will pay the price through lack of identity.
Conservatism, on the other hand, has had the opposite problem. In a society where the mushy middle is considered out of fashion as opposed to a firm position at one end of the spectrum or another, they have suffered as they have tried to be all things to no people. They have attempted to maintain a facade of halachic legitimacy to satisfy their traditional side, but have acquiesed to every politically correct initiative to satisfy their avante garde members. As a result, it has become blindingly obvious that anyone who is serious either about Torah observance or about being on the cutting edge of lack of observance has no place in the movement. That's why they're hemorrgaing and their stubborn insistence that they must occupy the middle ground (the only thing they seem to be stubborn on) is costing them.
However, as I mentioned, I don't think we will soon be saying Kaddish on the Reformers or Conservatives. What Rav Lamm did not wish to address is the issue of Orthodox dropout, a phenomenon that is too real to be ignored. Even without statistical information, it is quite obvious that it's happening. After all, if the old statement that no Reformer has a Jewish grandson, then who's filling all those grand ol' temples two days a year? It's our folks who have not felt an adequate sense of connection to Torah and mitzvos to remain in the fold and who have gone looking for faith and spiritual satisfaction elsewhere. That Reform and Conservatism still exist is a sign of failure on the part of Orthodoxy to retain our own.
We can stand back and enjoy a feeling of smug satisfaction at the ongoing downfall of Conservatism (thus ignoring Shmuel HaKatan's advice not to gloat over the downfall of someone you don't like) or we can reflect on the tragedy of the loss of so much Jewishness on both their side and ours.
For Conservatism, it's been a lousy few years. First there was the appointing of a non-rabbi as the head of the movement. Then came the split over gay marriage, then the financial crisis hit home. Now apparently many congregation within the movement are upset with how the Jewish Theological Seminary is running things:
In yet another indication of the problems plaguing the Conservative movement, as many as 40 synagogues are considering withdrawing from the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism because the movement’s congregational arm doesn’t serve their needs, according to a leader of a new group pressing for change.
“I say stay and change from within, but 30 to 40 other synagogues may leave,” said Arthur Glauberman, a founder of Bonim (“Builders”). He was referring to multiple comments on a United Synagogue listserv.
Bonim, which claims to represent about 50 synagogues along the East Coast, is now speaking openly of ousting the current United Synagogue leadership, slashing the group’s $14 million budget and restructuring the organization. It is also calling for the closing of all 15 of the
movement’s regional offices in order to save money on rent and staff.
“The United Synagogue has become so absorbed with its own power and is out of touch with providing services to member organizations,” said Glauberman, president of Shaarei Tikvah in Scarsdale.
Perhaps Rav Lamm was aware of this when he made his controversial statements regarding the future of Jewry at a recent function:
Rabbi Norman Lamm, former president and now chancellor of the Orthodox Yeshiva University, was even more blunt about the future of the Conservative movement. He told The Jerusalem Post last weekend: “The Conservatives are in a mood of despondency and pessimism. They are closing schools and in general shrinking.”
Rabbi Lamm, who was in Israel to receive an honorary doctorate from Bar-Ilan University, was referring to statistics from the National Jewish Population Survey. It found in a 2001 survey that of the 46 Jewish households that belong to a synagogue, one-third were affiliated with Conservative synagogues — a 10 percent drop since 1990.
Although the Reform movement grew from 35 percent to 38 percent during those 10 years, Rabbi Lamm said it was “because if you add goyim to Jews, then you will do OK.”
The Reform movement in 1983 adopted a policy of patrilineal descent, which recognizes as a Jew the child of a Jewish father and a non-Jewish mother provided the child is raised as a Jew.
“Reform is out of the picture, because they never got into the picture, and the Conservatives are getting out of the picture,” Rabbi Lamm told the newspaper. “With a heavy heart, we will soon say Kaddish on the Reform and Conservative movements.”
Naturally the response to this from the non-frum portions of the blogsphere has been understandibly harsh. However, while Rav Lamm made one good point in the excerpt quoted above, I believe he was incorrect in his conclusion.
His point regarding Reform's Jewish dilution is, unfortunately for us as a people, spot on. The bottom line is that Reform has, for the last 25-30 years, bolstered its numbers by creating what any country would call a very lax immigration policy. Are you the child of a Jewish parent? Do you want to convert by having some chicken soup sprinkled on your forehead? Well then you're a member. It is only by counting non-Jews who have been falsely told that they are Jewish that they have managed to maintain their dominant position in the Jewish demographic situation in North America. Eventually the dilution will go to far and Reform will pay the price through lack of identity.
Conservatism, on the other hand, has had the opposite problem. In a society where the mushy middle is considered out of fashion as opposed to a firm position at one end of the spectrum or another, they have suffered as they have tried to be all things to no people. They have attempted to maintain a facade of halachic legitimacy to satisfy their traditional side, but have acquiesed to every politically correct initiative to satisfy their avante garde members. As a result, it has become blindingly obvious that anyone who is serious either about Torah observance or about being on the cutting edge of lack of observance has no place in the movement. That's why they're hemorrgaing and their stubborn insistence that they must occupy the middle ground (the only thing they seem to be stubborn on) is costing them.
However, as I mentioned, I don't think we will soon be saying Kaddish on the Reformers or Conservatives. What Rav Lamm did not wish to address is the issue of Orthodox dropout, a phenomenon that is too real to be ignored. Even without statistical information, it is quite obvious that it's happening. After all, if the old statement that no Reformer has a Jewish grandson, then who's filling all those grand ol' temples two days a year? It's our folks who have not felt an adequate sense of connection to Torah and mitzvos to remain in the fold and who have gone looking for faith and spiritual satisfaction elsewhere. That Reform and Conservatism still exist is a sign of failure on the part of Orthodoxy to retain our own.
We can stand back and enjoy a feeling of smug satisfaction at the ongoing downfall of Conservatism (thus ignoring Shmuel HaKatan's advice not to gloat over the downfall of someone you don't like) or we can reflect on the tragedy of the loss of so much Jewishness on both their side and ours.
Gedolim Who Matter Part 4 - Rav Moshe Feinstein
From his Wikipedia page:
Biography
Rav Moshe was born, according to the Hebrew calendar, on the 7th day of Adar, 5655 (traditionally the date of birth of the Biblical Moshe) in Uzda, near Minsk, Belarus, then part of the Russian empire to his father Rabbi David Feinstein, rabbi of Uzdan. His father was a descendant of Rabbi Yom Tov Lipman, Rabbi of Kapolye, whose glosses on the Talmud have been published in the back of the Gemarah; and also the author of other Talmudic works.
He studied with his father and also in yeshivas located in Slutsk, Shklov and Amstislav, before being appointed rabbi of Lubań where he served for sixteen years. Under increasing pressure from the Soviet regime, he moved with his family to New York City in 1936 where he lived for the rest of his life.
Settling on the Lower East Side, he became the rosh yeshiva of Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem. He later established a branch of the yeshiva in Staten Island, New York, now headed by his son Rabbi Reuven Feinstein. His son Rabbi Dovid Feinstein heads the Manhattan branch.
He was president of the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada and chaired the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Agudath Israel of America from the 1960s until his death. Rabbi Feinstein also took an active leadership role in Israel’s Chinuch Atzmai.
Rabbi Feinstein was revered by many as the Gadol Hador (greatest Torah sage of the generation), including by Rabbi Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky, Rabbi Yonasan Steif, Rabbi Elyah Lopian, Rabbi Aharon Kotler, Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky and Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, even though several of them were far older than he. He was universally recognized as the preeminent Torah sage and Posek of his generation, and people from around the world called upon him to answer their most complicated Halachic questions.
Rabbi Feinstein participated in the Rabbis' march on Washington on October 6, 1943.[citation needed]
Notable decisions
Owing to his prominence as an adjudicator of Jewish law, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein was asked the most difficult questions, in which he issued a number of innovative or controversial decisions. Soon after arriving in the United States, he established a reputation for handling business and labor disputes. For instance, he wrote about strikes, seniority, and fair competition. Later, he served as the chief Halakhic authority for the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists, which suited his growing involvement with Jewish medical ethics cases. In the medical arena, he fiercely opposed the early, unsuccessful heart transplants and, over time, it is unclear if he shifted toward acceptance of brain death criteria. The last 'responsa', printed after he had died, suggested it. On such matters, he consulted with various scientific experts, including his son-in-law Rabbi Dr. Moshe Dovid Tendler who is a professor of biology and serves as a rosh yeshiva at Yeshiva University.
As a leader of American Orthodoxy, moreover, Feinstein issued opinions that clearly distanced his community from Conservative and Reform Judaism.[1] Nevertheless, he faced intense opposition within Orthodoxy on several controversial decisions, such as rulings on artificial insemination and eruv. Indeed, on the former, Rabbi Feinstein may be read as having reversed or seriously qualified his position. In the case of his position not to prohibit cigarette smoking, Orthodox rabbinic authorities overruled, in effect, his decision after his death. He made noteworthy decisions on the following topics:
Artificial insemination from a non-Jewish donor (EH I:10,71, II:11, IV:32.5) [2]
Cosmetic surgery (HM II:66)[3]
Bat Mitzvah for girls (OH I:104 (1956), OH II:97 (1959), OH IV:36)[4]
Brain death as an indication of death under Jewish law (YD IV:54)[5]
Cheating for the N.Y. Regents exams (HM II:30)
Classical music in religious settings (YD II:111)
Commemorating the Holocaust, Yom ha-Shoah (YD IV:57.11)
Conservative Judaism, including its clergy and schools (e.g., YD II:106-107)[6]
Donating blood for pay (HM I:103)
Education of girls (e.g., YD II:109, YD II:113 YD III:87.2)[7]
End-of-life medical care[5]
Eruv projects in New York City
Financial ethics (HM II:29)) [8]
Hazardous medical operations[5]
Heart transplantation (YD 2:174.3)[5]
Labor union and related employment privileges (e.g., HM I:59)
Mehitza (esp. OH I:39) [9]
Psychiatric care (YD II:57)
Separation of Siamese twins [10]
Shaking hands between men and women (OH I:113; EH I:56; EH IV:32)[11]
Smoking marijuana (YD III:35)
Tay-Sachs fetus abortion, esp. in debate with Rabbi Eliezer Waldenberg [12]
Smoking cigarettes [13]
Veal raised in factory conditions (HM I:103)
Note: Responsa in Igrot Moshe are cited in parentheses
Moshe Feinstein's grave
Death
Rabbi Moshe Feinstein died on the 23 March 1986 (13th of Adar II, 5746 on the Hebrew calendar). It has been pointed out that the 5746th verse in the Torah reads, "And it came to pass after Moshe had finished writing down the words of this Torah in a book to the very end." (Deuteronomy 31:24). This is taken by some as a fitting epitaph for him.
At the time he was regarded as Orthodoxy's foremost rabbinic scholar and Posek. His funeral in Israel was delayed by a day due to mechanical problems to the plane carrying his coffin, which had to return to New York. His funeral in Israel was said to be the largest among Jews since the Mishnaic era, with an estimated attendance of 300,000 people. Among the eulogizers in America were Rabbis Yaakov Yitzchak Ruderman, David Lipschutz, Shraga Moshe Kalmanowitz, Nissan Alpert, Moshe David Tendler, Michel Barenbaum and Mordechai Tendler. The Satmar Rebbe and the son of the deceased, Rabbi Reuven also spoke.
In Israel, Rabbis Elazar Menachem Shach, Dovid Povarsky, Yitzchak Yaakov Weiss, Yehuda Tzadkah, Rabbi Feinstein's son Reuven and Rabbi Feinsteins's nephew Rabbi Michel Feinstein, all tearfully expressed grief over what they termed a massive loss to the generation.
Rabbi Feinstein was held in such great esteem that Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, who was himself regarded as a Torah giant, Talmid Chacham and posek, refused to eulogize him, saying "Who am I to eulogize him? I studied his sefarim; I was his talmid (student)."
Rabbi Feinstein was buried on Har HaMenuchot in proximity to his teacher, Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer; his friend, Rabbi Aharon Kotler; his son-in-law Rabbi Moshe Shisgal and next to the Belzer Rebbe.
Prominent students
Rabbi Moshe invested much time molding some of his select students to become leaders in Rabbinics and Halacha. Those students, over the years, spent countless hours a day serving as apprentices to their great Rabbi. Most are considered authorities in many areas of practical Halacha and Rabbinic and Talmudic academics. Some of those students are:
Rabbi Dovid Feinstein, (New York), his son
Rabbi Reuven Feinstein, (New York), his son
Rabbi Nissan Alpert, (New York, NY)
Rabbi Moshe David Tendler, (New York, NY), his son-in-law
Rabbi J. David Bleich, (New York, NY)
Rabbi Ephraim Greenblatt (Memphis,TN)
Rabbi Avrohom Blumenkrantz, (Far Rockaway, NY)
Rabbi Elimelech Bluth, (Brooklyn, NY)
HaRav Chaim Ozer Chait, (Far Rockaway, NY)
Works
Rabbi Feinstein's greatest renown stemmed from a lifetime of responding to halachic queries posed by Jews in America and worldwide. He wrote about two thousand responsa on a huge range of issues that affect Jewish practice in the modern era. Some responsa may be found in his Talmudic commentary (Dibros Moshe), some circulate informally, and 1,883 responsa were published in Igrot Moshe. Among Rabbi Feinstein's works:
Igros Moshe; (Epistles of Moshe), a classic eight-volume work of Halachic responsa.
Dibros Moshe (Moshe's Words), an eleven-volume work of Talmudic novellae.
Darash Moshe (Moshe Expounds, a reference to Leviticus 10:16), novellae on the Torah (published posthumously).
Some of Rabbi Feinstein's early works, including a commentary on the Talmud Yerushalmi, were destroyed by the Soviet authorities.
Rav Moshe was born, according to the Hebrew calendar, on the 7th day of Adar, 5655 (traditionally the date of birth of the Biblical Moshe) in Uzda, near Minsk, Belarus, then part of the Russian empire to his father Rabbi David Feinstein, rabbi of Uzdan. His father was a descendant of Rabbi Yom Tov Lipman, Rabbi of Kapolye, whose glosses on the Talmud have been published in the back of the Gemarah; and also the author of other Talmudic works.
He studied with his father and also in yeshivas located in Slutsk, Shklov and Amstislav, before being appointed rabbi of Lubań where he served for sixteen years. Under increasing pressure from the Soviet regime, he moved with his family to New York City in 1936 where he lived for the rest of his life.
Settling on the Lower East Side, he became the rosh yeshiva of Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem. He later established a branch of the yeshiva in Staten Island, New York, now headed by his son Rabbi Reuven Feinstein. His son Rabbi Dovid Feinstein heads the Manhattan branch.
He was president of the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada and chaired the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Agudath Israel of America from the 1960s until his death. Rabbi Feinstein also took an active leadership role in Israel’s Chinuch Atzmai.
Rabbi Feinstein was revered by many as the Gadol Hador (greatest Torah sage of the generation), including by Rabbi Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky, Rabbi Yonasan Steif, Rabbi Elyah Lopian, Rabbi Aharon Kotler, Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky and Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, even though several of them were far older than he. He was universally recognized as the preeminent Torah sage and Posek of his generation, and people from around the world called upon him to answer their most complicated Halachic questions.
Rabbi Feinstein participated in the Rabbis' march on Washington on October 6, 1943.[citation needed]
Notable decisions
Owing to his prominence as an adjudicator of Jewish law, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein was asked the most difficult questions, in which he issued a number of innovative or controversial decisions. Soon after arriving in the United States, he established a reputation for handling business and labor disputes. For instance, he wrote about strikes, seniority, and fair competition. Later, he served as the chief Halakhic authority for the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists, which suited his growing involvement with Jewish medical ethics cases. In the medical arena, he fiercely opposed the early, unsuccessful heart transplants and, over time, it is unclear if he shifted toward acceptance of brain death criteria. The last 'responsa', printed after he had died, suggested it. On such matters, he consulted with various scientific experts, including his son-in-law Rabbi Dr. Moshe Dovid Tendler who is a professor of biology and serves as a rosh yeshiva at Yeshiva University.
As a leader of American Orthodoxy, moreover, Feinstein issued opinions that clearly distanced his community from Conservative and Reform Judaism.[1] Nevertheless, he faced intense opposition within Orthodoxy on several controversial decisions, such as rulings on artificial insemination and eruv. Indeed, on the former, Rabbi Feinstein may be read as having reversed or seriously qualified his position. In the case of his position not to prohibit cigarette smoking, Orthodox rabbinic authorities overruled, in effect, his decision after his death. He made noteworthy decisions on the following topics:
Artificial insemination from a non-Jewish donor (EH I:10,71, II:11, IV:32.5) [2]
Cosmetic surgery (HM II:66)[3]
Bat Mitzvah for girls (OH I:104 (1956), OH II:97 (1959), OH IV:36)[4]
Brain death as an indication of death under Jewish law (YD IV:54)[5]
Cheating for the N.Y. Regents exams (HM II:30)
Classical music in religious settings (YD II:111)
Commemorating the Holocaust, Yom ha-Shoah (YD IV:57.11)
Conservative Judaism, including its clergy and schools (e.g., YD II:106-107)[6]
Donating blood for pay (HM I:103)
Education of girls (e.g., YD II:109, YD II:113 YD III:87.2)[7]
End-of-life medical care[5]
Eruv projects in New York City
Financial ethics (HM II:29)) [8]
Hazardous medical operations[5]
Heart transplantation (YD 2:174.3)[5]
Labor union and related employment privileges (e.g., HM I:59)
Mehitza (esp. OH I:39) [9]
Psychiatric care (YD II:57)
Separation of Siamese twins [10]
Shaking hands between men and women (OH I:113; EH I:56; EH IV:32)[11]
Smoking marijuana (YD III:35)
Tay-Sachs fetus abortion, esp. in debate with Rabbi Eliezer Waldenberg [12]
Smoking cigarettes [13]
Veal raised in factory conditions (HM I:103)
Note: Responsa in Igrot Moshe are cited in parentheses
Moshe Feinstein's grave
Death
Rabbi Moshe Feinstein died on the 23 March 1986 (13th of Adar II, 5746 on the Hebrew calendar). It has been pointed out that the 5746th verse in the Torah reads, "And it came to pass after Moshe had finished writing down the words of this Torah in a book to the very end." (Deuteronomy 31:24). This is taken by some as a fitting epitaph for him.
At the time he was regarded as Orthodoxy's foremost rabbinic scholar and Posek. His funeral in Israel was delayed by a day due to mechanical problems to the plane carrying his coffin, which had to return to New York. His funeral in Israel was said to be the largest among Jews since the Mishnaic era, with an estimated attendance of 300,000 people. Among the eulogizers in America were Rabbis Yaakov Yitzchak Ruderman, David Lipschutz, Shraga Moshe Kalmanowitz, Nissan Alpert, Moshe David Tendler, Michel Barenbaum and Mordechai Tendler. The Satmar Rebbe and the son of the deceased, Rabbi Reuven also spoke.
In Israel, Rabbis Elazar Menachem Shach, Dovid Povarsky, Yitzchak Yaakov Weiss, Yehuda Tzadkah, Rabbi Feinstein's son Reuven and Rabbi Feinsteins's nephew Rabbi Michel Feinstein, all tearfully expressed grief over what they termed a massive loss to the generation.
Rabbi Feinstein was held in such great esteem that Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, who was himself regarded as a Torah giant, Talmid Chacham and posek, refused to eulogize him, saying "Who am I to eulogize him? I studied his sefarim; I was his talmid (student)."
Rabbi Feinstein was buried on Har HaMenuchot in proximity to his teacher, Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer; his friend, Rabbi Aharon Kotler; his son-in-law Rabbi Moshe Shisgal and next to the Belzer Rebbe.
Prominent students
Rabbi Moshe invested much time molding some of his select students to become leaders in Rabbinics and Halacha. Those students, over the years, spent countless hours a day serving as apprentices to their great Rabbi. Most are considered authorities in many areas of practical Halacha and Rabbinic and Talmudic academics. Some of those students are:
Rabbi Dovid Feinstein, (New York), his son
Rabbi Reuven Feinstein, (New York), his son
Rabbi Nissan Alpert, (New York, NY)
Rabbi Moshe David Tendler, (New York, NY), his son-in-law
Rabbi J. David Bleich, (New York, NY)
Rabbi Ephraim Greenblatt (Memphis,TN)
Rabbi Avrohom Blumenkrantz, (Far Rockaway, NY)
Rabbi Elimelech Bluth, (Brooklyn, NY)
HaRav Chaim Ozer Chait, (Far Rockaway, NY)
Works
Rabbi Feinstein's greatest renown stemmed from a lifetime of responding to halachic queries posed by Jews in America and worldwide. He wrote about two thousand responsa on a huge range of issues that affect Jewish practice in the modern era. Some responsa may be found in his Talmudic commentary (Dibros Moshe), some circulate informally, and 1,883 responsa were published in Igrot Moshe. Among Rabbi Feinstein's works:
Igros Moshe; (Epistles of Moshe), a classic eight-volume work of Halachic responsa.
Dibros Moshe (Moshe's Words), an eleven-volume work of Talmudic novellae.
Darash Moshe (Moshe Expounds, a reference to Leviticus 10:16), novellae on the Torah (published posthumously).
Some of Rabbi Feinstein's early works, including a commentary on the Talmud Yerushalmi, were destroyed by the Soviet authorities.
Why he matters:
What made Rav Feinstein, zt"l, different was that he was not beholden to a political ideology. Too often nowadays what makes one a Gadol isn't so much immense Torah knowledge but belonding to a particular party or group. Rav X, being Chareidi, is a Gadol. Rav Y, being Modern Orthodox, may be just as knowledgeable but doesn't qualify for Gadol status because he's not Charedi. As a result, many halachic decisions by certain rabbinic figures get ignored by either the Chareidi or the Modern Orthodox communites because the ruling came from someone who "wasn't one of ours".
However, Rav Feinstein was beyond all such nonsense. He clearly paskened for the sake of finding halachic truth, not because he was beholden to a pre-packaged ideology. In addition, unlike today's Gedolim, he was not surrounded by askanim who definitely come to their leaders with their biases unfurled for all to see. One can therefore understand why quoting from the Igros Moshe carries more currency across the Orthodox spectrum than from the latest volume of Rav Eliashiv or Shteiman's teshuvos.
As Rav Feinstein noted in the introduction to his Igros Moshe, God did a wonderful thing leaving the Torah in our hands. Because the Torah is truth, and because it is not in Heaven, poskim have the opportunity (along with the heavy responsiblity it involves) to create truth. It is this purity of attitude that distinguishes him from many who came after and why he continues to hold so much influence in the Torah world today.
Keeping the Eye on the Ball
If one looks at any successful organization, it seems to me that one quality stands between it and its less prosperous competitors: focus. I will illustrate this with two Jewish examples.
The Jewish example is Chabad Lubavitch. Think about it for a moment. Fifty years ago they were a small Chasidic clan. Their rebbes had, over the centuries, produced a couple of influential books, but overall they were nowhere in the league of Ger or Belz, for example. Today, while still not the most numerous clan in the Chasidic world, they are a multi-billion dollar organization easily the best known Chasidic clan and the most influential. What happened to change their status?
The answer is simple: they had a leader, the Rebbe, z"l, who took the movement and focused it on a singular goal. His dream was to bring Moshiach to the world through the dissemination of Chabad philosophy and the ultimate takeover of world Torah Jewry. He spent decades building a "brand", convincing countless Jewish communities and organizations that his version of Judaism was the authentic one, that his interpretations of Torah and the future history of the world were the authoritative ones, and he raised an army over two generations of shlichim who were brainwashed into believing in this goal and working towards it with all their power.
Now, take a step back and look at what this philosophy has morphed into today. Grown men who believe the world is flat, because the Rebbe said so, who believe the Rebbe himself is still alive and up in Heaven guiding world events and just waiting to come back as Moshiach. Their beliefs defy Jewish law, they defy physical reality, and they continuously triumph over their ideological opponents. Why? Because they keep their eye on the ball. They have a goal and no side interference is going to prevent them from moving towards it.
As a result, their opponents flail at the wind and they keep going from strength to strength.
The second example is the Agudat Yisrael, as exemplified by their premiere PR hack, Rav Avi Shafran. Like him or hate him, you have to admire the guy's stamina. No matter what's happening in the outside world, Rav Shafran continues week after week to create the illusion he is seeking to foist on others. His goal? To convince the world that the Chareidi community is the ultimate expression of Judaism, that it is the only legitimate form of Torah observance and that it can trace itself back to Har Sinai itself. He further wishes us to believe there is no spousal abuse in the Jewish community, no drug use, no pedophilia in their Yeshivos and that the Rubashkins are decent folks who ran an upright slaughterhouse. It doesn't matter that the truth is against all these beliefs. He has his eye on the ball too, and he doesn't let detractors get in his way. With only one exception, he never backtracks or corrects what he says, and he never, ever enters into arguments with his opponents for fear that his agreeing to hear their side might imply that the other side has a legitimacy he does not wish to provide it with. Like I said, you might like him or hate him, but you can't ignore him and his success.
Which brings me to this blog.
(No, I'm not about to crown myself as the Shvantzer Rebbe or engage in a takeover of the Jewish world.)
When I originally started blogging, I had two goals for this forum. One was to share my personal philosophy regarding Jewish matters, share divrei Torah I'd come up with, etc. The other was to comment on news events in Israel and the Jewish world.
Unfortunately over the last few months I've become distracted. I have allowed myself to be diverted into areas I really don't care to be in and enter into arguments I really have no interest in fighting. I have attempted to support blogs of people I disagree with in order to help them build a hit count only to be labelled with the most foul terms or be called a terrible person for challenging their ill-thought opinions. And I've decided that enough is enough with that.
I am going to work on bringing the original focus back to this blog. I'm posting to share my thoughts with people and engage in respectful discussion. If you don't like the content you see, it's a free blogsphere, go elsewhere. If you disagree and want to discuss it, by all means do so. Hopefully with this new focus, and by keeping my eye on the ball, I can return this blog to where it's supposed to be.
Thank you.
The Jewish example is Chabad Lubavitch. Think about it for a moment. Fifty years ago they were a small Chasidic clan. Their rebbes had, over the centuries, produced a couple of influential books, but overall they were nowhere in the league of Ger or Belz, for example. Today, while still not the most numerous clan in the Chasidic world, they are a multi-billion dollar organization easily the best known Chasidic clan and the most influential. What happened to change their status?
The answer is simple: they had a leader, the Rebbe, z"l, who took the movement and focused it on a singular goal. His dream was to bring Moshiach to the world through the dissemination of Chabad philosophy and the ultimate takeover of world Torah Jewry. He spent decades building a "brand", convincing countless Jewish communities and organizations that his version of Judaism was the authentic one, that his interpretations of Torah and the future history of the world were the authoritative ones, and he raised an army over two generations of shlichim who were brainwashed into believing in this goal and working towards it with all their power.
Now, take a step back and look at what this philosophy has morphed into today. Grown men who believe the world is flat, because the Rebbe said so, who believe the Rebbe himself is still alive and up in Heaven guiding world events and just waiting to come back as Moshiach. Their beliefs defy Jewish law, they defy physical reality, and they continuously triumph over their ideological opponents. Why? Because they keep their eye on the ball. They have a goal and no side interference is going to prevent them from moving towards it.
As a result, their opponents flail at the wind and they keep going from strength to strength.
The second example is the Agudat Yisrael, as exemplified by their premiere PR hack, Rav Avi Shafran. Like him or hate him, you have to admire the guy's stamina. No matter what's happening in the outside world, Rav Shafran continues week after week to create the illusion he is seeking to foist on others. His goal? To convince the world that the Chareidi community is the ultimate expression of Judaism, that it is the only legitimate form of Torah observance and that it can trace itself back to Har Sinai itself. He further wishes us to believe there is no spousal abuse in the Jewish community, no drug use, no pedophilia in their Yeshivos and that the Rubashkins are decent folks who ran an upright slaughterhouse. It doesn't matter that the truth is against all these beliefs. He has his eye on the ball too, and he doesn't let detractors get in his way. With only one exception, he never backtracks or corrects what he says, and he never, ever enters into arguments with his opponents for fear that his agreeing to hear their side might imply that the other side has a legitimacy he does not wish to provide it with. Like I said, you might like him or hate him, but you can't ignore him and his success.
Which brings me to this blog.
(No, I'm not about to crown myself as the Shvantzer Rebbe or engage in a takeover of the Jewish world.)
When I originally started blogging, I had two goals for this forum. One was to share my personal philosophy regarding Jewish matters, share divrei Torah I'd come up with, etc. The other was to comment on news events in Israel and the Jewish world.
Unfortunately over the last few months I've become distracted. I have allowed myself to be diverted into areas I really don't care to be in and enter into arguments I really have no interest in fighting. I have attempted to support blogs of people I disagree with in order to help them build a hit count only to be labelled with the most foul terms or be called a terrible person for challenging their ill-thought opinions. And I've decided that enough is enough with that.
I am going to work on bringing the original focus back to this blog. I'm posting to share my thoughts with people and engage in respectful discussion. If you don't like the content you see, it's a free blogsphere, go elsewhere. If you disagree and want to discuss it, by all means do so. Hopefully with this new focus, and by keeping my eye on the ball, I can return this blog to where it's supposed to be.
Thank you.
Wednesday, 13 May 2009
How I Make a Living
So yesterday I have these patients come in. (All names have been changed to protect the stupid). Grandma, mom (who's 17) and little Billy, who's 2. The complaint is that Billy's bum hurts. He's been complaining about it intermittently for a couple of weeks. So I ask: what's the concern today? And mom, bouncing Billy on her lap looks at him and says "Tell him: 'my bum hurts!'"
So I look at mom and say "Wait, it's your bum, or his?" with a joking smile on my face. And to her credit, mom gets it and goes "No, his bum!"
And then grandma looks over and says to her daughter: "Wait, your bum hurts too?"
So I look at mom and say "Wait, it's your bum, or his?" with a joking smile on my face. And to her credit, mom gets it and goes "No, his bum!"
And then grandma looks over and says to her daughter: "Wait, your bum hurts too?"
Tuesday, 12 May 2009
The Dilemma
So here's the story. There's this one meshulach who comes to my door every couple of months, asking for money to support poor families in Montreal and Tosh, a chasidic 'burb just north of Montreal.
He comes in full regalia, with the black felt hat with a round upturned brim, the long curly peyod down past his shoulders and the long black coat. He refuses to speak Hebrew because it's loshon kodesh and he is very much against Zionism of any kind because the Satmar Rebbe says Zionism is bad and if he said it, Moshe Rabeinu, a"h, might as well have put it into Sefer Devarim.
So for a long time I've been giving him cheques. Fine, I have a principle that anyone who comes with an open hand gets it filled. But then something happened.
We had an Israeli family in town and he knocked at their door too. Before giving him anything, the Israeli man asked him a simple question: If a Dati Leumi family came to you for help, would you give them money?
The answer was a simple: "No, Zionism is wrong and we believe these people are sinning by supporting it so we would not give them money."
Now, kudos to the guy for his honesty, especially for telling it to an Israeli and naturally the guy closed his wallet and told the meshulach to get lost but it got me thinking, seeing as I'm a Dati Leumi and all.
The Torah gives us two very difficult mitzvos to perform: thou shalt not revenge and thou shalt not take a grudge.
On the face of it, the value of these mitzvos to help create a functional society cannot be overstated. But did you ever stop and think about how hard not holding a grudge can be?
Think about my case, for example. Knowing that if our positions were reversed, he would leave me to die in the gutter I should still give him the cheque the next time he comes. After all, to withhold it would be saying "I'm not going to help you because you wouldn't help me", clearly a case of taking revenge.
The alternative, to hand him the cheque and say "Here, I'm a better Jew than you because even though I think you and your Satmar friends are totally on the wrong track and a bunch of sonei Yisrael, I will still help you." That would be not holding a grudge.
But then what do I do, knowing what I know about him? I can't simply sit there, listen to his shpeil and not think about how giving him money shows that I'm better than him.
So I'm asking: any suggestions?
He comes in full regalia, with the black felt hat with a round upturned brim, the long curly peyod down past his shoulders and the long black coat. He refuses to speak Hebrew because it's loshon kodesh and he is very much against Zionism of any kind because the Satmar Rebbe says Zionism is bad and if he said it, Moshe Rabeinu, a"h, might as well have put it into Sefer Devarim.
So for a long time I've been giving him cheques. Fine, I have a principle that anyone who comes with an open hand gets it filled. But then something happened.
We had an Israeli family in town and he knocked at their door too. Before giving him anything, the Israeli man asked him a simple question: If a Dati Leumi family came to you for help, would you give them money?
The answer was a simple: "No, Zionism is wrong and we believe these people are sinning by supporting it so we would not give them money."
Now, kudos to the guy for his honesty, especially for telling it to an Israeli and naturally the guy closed his wallet and told the meshulach to get lost but it got me thinking, seeing as I'm a Dati Leumi and all.
The Torah gives us two very difficult mitzvos to perform: thou shalt not revenge and thou shalt not take a grudge.
On the face of it, the value of these mitzvos to help create a functional society cannot be overstated. But did you ever stop and think about how hard not holding a grudge can be?
Think about my case, for example. Knowing that if our positions were reversed, he would leave me to die in the gutter I should still give him the cheque the next time he comes. After all, to withhold it would be saying "I'm not going to help you because you wouldn't help me", clearly a case of taking revenge.
The alternative, to hand him the cheque and say "Here, I'm a better Jew than you because even though I think you and your Satmar friends are totally on the wrong track and a bunch of sonei Yisrael, I will still help you." That would be not holding a grudge.
But then what do I do, knowing what I know about him? I can't simply sit there, listen to his shpeil and not think about how giving him money shows that I'm better than him.
So I'm asking: any suggestions?
Public Announcement
In order to clear up some recent confusion about my identity, I would like to once again clarify who I am:
I'm a mythical hero from the "The Unending War" trilogy who was granted great power in the battle against the Undead Overlord only to misuse it and wind up defeated. The lesson: The battle is not always to the mighty, nor the race to the swift, but that's the way to bet.
This means I am not:
SJ, although I have a good idea what meds would be good for him
OTD, although I think he's my biggest fan and does lots of great advertising for this site
Ari, although I agree with him a lot
Sarah and Richard Feldman from mainstreamjew's blog
I'm also not a superhero. It's "mythical warrior" for those not paying attention. There's a world of difference between the two, the outfit for one thing...
Thank you for your attention.
I'm a mythical hero from the "The Unending War" trilogy who was granted great power in the battle against the Undead Overlord only to misuse it and wind up defeated. The lesson: The battle is not always to the mighty, nor the race to the swift, but that's the way to bet.
This means I am not:
SJ, although I have a good idea what meds would be good for him
OTD, although I think he's my biggest fan and does lots of great advertising for this site
Ari, although I agree with him a lot
Sarah and Richard Feldman from mainstreamjew's blog
I'm also not a superhero. It's "mythical warrior" for those not paying attention. There's a world of difference between the two, the outfit for one thing...
Thank you for your attention.
Thursday, 7 May 2009
Whither the North American Day School
One of the most frequent complaints one hears from religious parents (and a non-insignificant number of non-religious ones) is about the high cost of tuition for Jewish day schools.
Admittedly, Jewish day schools are, like non-Jewish ones, expensive. But the difference is that in the non-Jewish population it is usually only the upper levels with the income to support it that use the private school system. Within the Jewish community, the desire for a Jewish day school education is not affected by one's place in the economic strata. As a result, the financial burden on many Jewish families is incredible, especially the ones with many children in the system all at the same time.
Is it any wonder, then, that people are talking about how the system is starting to collapse? This article from The Jewish Week openly questions whether the current model is sustainable:
It’s time to recognize that, with the collapse of the economy, the American Jewish day school model is breaking, if not already broken.
We have to deal with a new reality, and that calls for revisiting and reassessing the sacred cows surrounding how we approach the education of our children — from pedagogical, social and financial points of view.
In future columns, I hope to deal with the range of efforts being undertaken in our community to deal with this crisis. For now, let’s focus on a few central facts:
- An American Jewish community obsessed with its survival has determined through numerous studies that the most successful means of maintaining Jewish identity and affiliation among young people is through a sustained Jewish day school education.
- The increasingly prohibitive costs of such an education, the lingering perception that day schools are primarily for the Orthodox, and the strongly held belief that the separation of church and state would be harmed if government provided tuition relief for parochial school families, has kept the issue from becoming a priority on our national agenda.
- In the traditional community, the belief that public schools and Hebrew schools are to be avoided at all costs has kept us from using our imagination and inventiveness in responding to a new, perhaps permanent, landscape of limited financial resources.
We need to think on a communal level which values and lifestyles we are willing to sacrifice and which are most important to keep.
Loyal day school families, long faced with financial hardships in meeting rising tuition costs, cannot assume that God, the schools or grandparents will provide somehow.
While I agree with most of Mr. Rosenblatt's points, I do not agree that the current model is unaffordable. First of all, the economic collapse is not expected to be prolonged. Many major economists are now predicting that the recessesion ended 2 months ago. Anyone who started investing in the stock market in March is now 30% richer. Industry is starting to recover and banks are lending again. Within a couple of years, people will be talking about the big, bad recession of 2008/9 even as they praise the good times that will "never end". Therefore, any desire to reshape the day school system based on the current economic situation is not reasonable.
But more importantly, even if this collapse were to have been prolonged, I can cynically note that I don't think it has to affect the Jewish school system in a critical way. The money is there, only it's being spent in the wrong places.
Don't believe me? How many $100 000 weddings took place in large, affluent Jewish communities last year? How many $50 000 bar mitzvos? How many "monster homes" are being built? How many fancy cars get parked in the shul parking lot on Friday afternoon? How many $2000 sheitls get sold each year?
Someone is paying out all this money. The question is: Why are they buying materialistic goods they don't actually need and not dedicating it to saving the Jewish educational system? After all, for Jews education is the number one priority when it comes to guaranteeing our future.
Perhaps what is needed isn't so much a rethink of the system but a rethink of where we place our disposable dollers.
Admittedly, Jewish day schools are, like non-Jewish ones, expensive. But the difference is that in the non-Jewish population it is usually only the upper levels with the income to support it that use the private school system. Within the Jewish community, the desire for a Jewish day school education is not affected by one's place in the economic strata. As a result, the financial burden on many Jewish families is incredible, especially the ones with many children in the system all at the same time.
Is it any wonder, then, that people are talking about how the system is starting to collapse? This article from The Jewish Week openly questions whether the current model is sustainable:
It’s time to recognize that, with the collapse of the economy, the American Jewish day school model is breaking, if not already broken.
We have to deal with a new reality, and that calls for revisiting and reassessing the sacred cows surrounding how we approach the education of our children — from pedagogical, social and financial points of view.
In future columns, I hope to deal with the range of efforts being undertaken in our community to deal with this crisis. For now, let’s focus on a few central facts:
- An American Jewish community obsessed with its survival has determined through numerous studies that the most successful means of maintaining Jewish identity and affiliation among young people is through a sustained Jewish day school education.
- The increasingly prohibitive costs of such an education, the lingering perception that day schools are primarily for the Orthodox, and the strongly held belief that the separation of church and state would be harmed if government provided tuition relief for parochial school families, has kept the issue from becoming a priority on our national agenda.
- In the traditional community, the belief that public schools and Hebrew schools are to be avoided at all costs has kept us from using our imagination and inventiveness in responding to a new, perhaps permanent, landscape of limited financial resources.
We need to think on a communal level which values and lifestyles we are willing to sacrifice and which are most important to keep.
Loyal day school families, long faced with financial hardships in meeting rising tuition costs, cannot assume that God, the schools or grandparents will provide somehow.
While I agree with most of Mr. Rosenblatt's points, I do not agree that the current model is unaffordable. First of all, the economic collapse is not expected to be prolonged. Many major economists are now predicting that the recessesion ended 2 months ago. Anyone who started investing in the stock market in March is now 30% richer. Industry is starting to recover and banks are lending again. Within a couple of years, people will be talking about the big, bad recession of 2008/9 even as they praise the good times that will "never end". Therefore, any desire to reshape the day school system based on the current economic situation is not reasonable.
But more importantly, even if this collapse were to have been prolonged, I can cynically note that I don't think it has to affect the Jewish school system in a critical way. The money is there, only it's being spent in the wrong places.
Don't believe me? How many $100 000 weddings took place in large, affluent Jewish communities last year? How many $50 000 bar mitzvos? How many "monster homes" are being built? How many fancy cars get parked in the shul parking lot on Friday afternoon? How many $2000 sheitls get sold each year?
Someone is paying out all this money. The question is: Why are they buying materialistic goods they don't actually need and not dedicating it to saving the Jewish educational system? After all, for Jews education is the number one priority when it comes to guaranteeing our future.
Perhaps what is needed isn't so much a rethink of the system but a rethink of where we place our disposable dollers.
Seven Arabic Children
SEVEN
ARABIC
CHILDREN
a play for Israel
Garnel Ironheart
No children appear in the play. The speakers are adults, the parents and if you
like other relations of the children. The lines can be shared out in any way you
like among those characters. The characters are different in each small scene as
the time and child are different. They may be played by any number of actors. All the actors must be smoking but if asked if they are smokers, they must deny it.
1
Tell him it’s a game
Tell him it’s very serious
You must frighten him so he knows what’s at stake
Tell him they’ll kill him for being here
Tell him it’s important to be kill them first
Tell him she’ll have pita and humus if he’s good
Tell him to practice firing the rife.
Tell him they’ll be back soon.
Tell him to come out when he hears the triumphant shouting
Don’t frighten him
Tell him to come out when he hears “We’ve killed the Jews!”
Tell him there will be a big party.
Tell him we’ll do it again and again.
Tell him something about the Jews
Tell him they’re stealing our land
Tell him we have to kill them first
Tell him they’ll go away if we attack them enough
Tell him we can make them go away if we keep shooting at them
By the grace of Allah
2
Tell him this is a photograph of her grandmother, her uncles and
me
Tell him that the Zionists killed her uncles
Don’t tell her they were killed attacking the Zionists in the first place
Tell him they were killed in cold blood
You must frighten him.
Tell him his grandmother was clever
Don’t tell him what they did
Tell him she was brave
Tell him she taught me how to make pita
Don’t tell him how his grandfather sold the land
Tell him the Jews stole it instead.
Tell him more when he’s older.
Tell her there were Zionists who hated Arabs
Tell him over and over
Tell him we can still kill them and take back the land we sold them
Tell him the Europeans sent them here because they were sick of them
Tell them the world hates us but Allah loves us so we will triumph
Tell him more when he’s older
Tell him it was before he was born that they stole our land
Don’t tell him there’s any question of not getting it back.
Tell him dead or alive Allah will avenge him
Tell him his grandmother would be proud of him.
3
Don’t tell him we’re going for ever
Tell him he can write to his friends, tell him his friends might come with us
Tell him it’s only for a short while
Tell him we’re just waiting for our brothers to wipe the Jews out
Tell him it’s the land Allah gave us
Tell him their religion is all lies and ours is all truth.
Tell him his great great great great lots of greats grandad lived
there
Don’t tell him they used to live in Iraq and only came here a few years ago
Tell him, of course tell him, tell him that the Zionists drove us out and that our
country is waiting for us to come home
Don’t tell her we’ll be staying in this camp forever.
Tell him of course he likes it here but he’ll like it there even
more
Tell him it’s an adventure
Tell him that the Zionists won’t be able to kill her there
Tell him he’ll have new friends
Tell him he can take her toys
Don’t tell him that we ran because our brothers told us to
Tell him he can be a shahid some day
Tell him about Mecca and Medina
.
4
Don’t tell him who they really are
Tell him something
Tell him they’re European and that the other Europeans kicked them out
Tell him about how they invented this thing called “Holocaust” and used it to extort
Billions from the other Europeans
Tell him they live in our homes they stole from us
Tell him this wasn’t their home
Tell him they’re going away as soon as our brothers regroup and attack again
Tell him they hate him and want to kill him
Tell him to be careful.
Don’t tell him that we ran when our brothers told us to get out of the way lest we
Be caught in the battle
No but don’t tell him our brothers lost the war and now we’re stuck here.
No but don’t tell that our brothers now won’t let us leave the camps, that we have to stay
Here until they can kill the Zionists.
Tell him not to be frightened
Don’t tell him he can’t play with the children
Tell him they have plenty of friends and family
Tell him for miles and miles all round they have lands of their own that the Jews stole
Tell him again this is our promised land.
Don’t tell him that the Jews also lived here, that they had a kingdom and Temple here because
Our people left the deserts of Arabia.
Don’t tell him that the Jews never left.
Tell him maybe we can share until we’re strong enough to drive them out
Don’t tell him that!
5
Tell him we won
Don’t tell him how we started the fight.
Tell him his brother’s a hero
Don’t tell him how we lost.
Tell him how big their armies were
Tell him how we almost turned them back but that they were deceptive.
Tell him we’re fighters even though we’re still in these camps and the Zionists
Are still on our land.
6
Don’t tell him
Don’t tell him the trouble about the hospital
Tell him it’s okay to steal their cars, they stole our land
Tell him they steal our water, our land, our air
Don’t tell him anything about the pollution we put in the water.
Don’t tell him about the belt
Don’t tell him not to want to wear the belt
Don’t tell him what it’ll do when he pushes the button
Tell him it’s a fashion statement
Tell him it look good on him
Don’t tell him about the queues at the checkpoint
Don’t tell him about how the soldiers check everyone
Tell him to walk slowly, casually
Tell him to walk to where they are standing and sitting
Tell him not to say anything to them
Tell him it’s for the glory of Allah and our people
Don’t tell him about how they’re innocent. None of them are innocent
Tell him how they stole our land, how they killed our children and raped our women
Don’t tell him they’re civilians. They are all soldiers, even their children
Tell him they poison our waters
Don’t tell him that.
Don’t tell him that bombing cafes is wrong
Tell him that his friends all want to bomb cafes
Tell him to be careful so he won’t get caught.
Don’t frighten him.
Tell him the wall was their idea and we did nothing to deserve it
Don’t tell him how we threatened to drive them into the see
Tell him they want to take our blood for their Passover crackers.
Tell him about how they control the banks and the US Congress
Tell him about how many virgins he will get in Heaven.
Don’t tell him that
Tell him we will endure
Tell her we are blessed by Allah
Tell her they don’t deserve anything except violence
Tell them we want peace, but only in English
Tell him to say he’s going to visit a sick relative.
7
Tell him he should stand in their way
Tell him the schools were closed so he can go fire rockets at the Zionists
Tell him that the Zionists will kill him if they catch him.
Tell him the rockets will scare and intimidate the Jews
Do frighten him , then blame the Jews.
Tell him that many of us were killed, that it was a massacre
Tell him their army is slaughtering our men and raping our women
Don’t tell them how their cousin now works in one of their companies.
Don’t tell him how our leaders said we should become human shields
Tell him the Zionist fighters have been driven off
Tell him they’re animals
Tell him they’re the sons of pigs and monkeys
Don’t tell him about the family of dead girls who were killed by our own people
Tell him you can’t believe what you see on the Zionists’ television
Tell him they kill babies on purpose, to terrorize us
Don’t tell him anything about the fighting between Hamas and Fatah
Tell him, tell him about the army, tell him to be proud of his people.
Tell him about the family of dead girls, make up names and dead girls if you have to
Tell him the whole world will know how they massacred us
Tell him there’s dead babies, did she see babies? Show them to her.
Tell him about Mohammed Al Dura and what happened in Jenin.
Tell him the Zionists deserve to roast him hell.
Don’t tell him about how they supply us with power and clean water.
Don’t tell him how they built us schools and factories and gave us jobs.
Tell him we want our children killed to make people sorry for us,
Tell him there can we no sympathy for the sub human Zionists
Tell him they suffered in Europe and now they’re Nazis too
Tell him there was never a Holocaust, that they made it all up
Tell him we survived the Crusaders, we endured the Ottomans
Tell him we won’t stop attacking them until they’re all dead
Tell him they’re animals, that Allah created them to be destroyed
Tell him that the world hates them and will laud us for killing them
Tell him that when I see one of their children dead I laugh and shout “Allah hu akhbar!”
Tell him that we dream of rivers of their blood flowing in the land they stole from us.
Tell him that it is better to live in misery and dream of killing them than to make peace and
Live in prosperity beside them
Tell him that with blood and fire we will redeem Palestine.
Tell him we love him.
Don’t forget to remind him about how proud we will be when he’s in Heaven as a shahid
.
Seven Jewish Children is Garnel Ironheart’s
response to the anti-Semitic bulls—t written by Carly Churchill
Caryl Churchill has asserted her moral right to be identified as
the author of Seven Jewish Children even those she’s an immoral Jew-hating wench.
The play can be read or performed anywhere, by any number
of people. Ask your friends who liked Seven Jewish Children if
they think this is just as amazing a play or if, suddenly this is a racist hate-filled
diatribe.
ARABIC
CHILDREN
a play for Israel
Garnel Ironheart
No children appear in the play. The speakers are adults, the parents and if you
like other relations of the children. The lines can be shared out in any way you
like among those characters. The characters are different in each small scene as
the time and child are different. They may be played by any number of actors. All the actors must be smoking but if asked if they are smokers, they must deny it.
1
Tell him it’s a game
Tell him it’s very serious
You must frighten him so he knows what’s at stake
Tell him they’ll kill him for being here
Tell him it’s important to be kill them first
Tell him she’ll have pita and humus if he’s good
Tell him to practice firing the rife.
Tell him they’ll be back soon.
Tell him to come out when he hears the triumphant shouting
Don’t frighten him
Tell him to come out when he hears “We’ve killed the Jews!”
Tell him there will be a big party.
Tell him we’ll do it again and again.
Tell him something about the Jews
Tell him they’re stealing our land
Tell him we have to kill them first
Tell him they’ll go away if we attack them enough
Tell him we can make them go away if we keep shooting at them
By the grace of Allah
2
Tell him this is a photograph of her grandmother, her uncles and
me
Tell him that the Zionists killed her uncles
Don’t tell her they were killed attacking the Zionists in the first place
Tell him they were killed in cold blood
You must frighten him.
Tell him his grandmother was clever
Don’t tell him what they did
Tell him she was brave
Tell him she taught me how to make pita
Don’t tell him how his grandfather sold the land
Tell him the Jews stole it instead.
Tell him more when he’s older.
Tell her there were Zionists who hated Arabs
Tell him over and over
Tell him we can still kill them and take back the land we sold them
Tell him the Europeans sent them here because they were sick of them
Tell them the world hates us but Allah loves us so we will triumph
Tell him more when he’s older
Tell him it was before he was born that they stole our land
Don’t tell him there’s any question of not getting it back.
Tell him dead or alive Allah will avenge him
Tell him his grandmother would be proud of him.
3
Don’t tell him we’re going for ever
Tell him he can write to his friends, tell him his friends might come with us
Tell him it’s only for a short while
Tell him we’re just waiting for our brothers to wipe the Jews out
Tell him it’s the land Allah gave us
Tell him their religion is all lies and ours is all truth.
Tell him his great great great great lots of greats grandad lived
there
Don’t tell him they used to live in Iraq and only came here a few years ago
Tell him, of course tell him, tell him that the Zionists drove us out and that our
country is waiting for us to come home
Don’t tell her we’ll be staying in this camp forever.
Tell him of course he likes it here but he’ll like it there even
more
Tell him it’s an adventure
Tell him that the Zionists won’t be able to kill her there
Tell him he’ll have new friends
Tell him he can take her toys
Don’t tell him that we ran because our brothers told us to
Tell him he can be a shahid some day
Tell him about Mecca and Medina
.
4
Don’t tell him who they really are
Tell him something
Tell him they’re European and that the other Europeans kicked them out
Tell him about how they invented this thing called “Holocaust” and used it to extort
Billions from the other Europeans
Tell him they live in our homes they stole from us
Tell him this wasn’t their home
Tell him they’re going away as soon as our brothers regroup and attack again
Tell him they hate him and want to kill him
Tell him to be careful.
Don’t tell him that we ran when our brothers told us to get out of the way lest we
Be caught in the battle
No but don’t tell him our brothers lost the war and now we’re stuck here.
No but don’t tell that our brothers now won’t let us leave the camps, that we have to stay
Here until they can kill the Zionists.
Tell him not to be frightened
Don’t tell him he can’t play with the children
Tell him they have plenty of friends and family
Tell him for miles and miles all round they have lands of their own that the Jews stole
Tell him again this is our promised land.
Don’t tell him that the Jews also lived here, that they had a kingdom and Temple here because
Our people left the deserts of Arabia.
Don’t tell him that the Jews never left.
Tell him maybe we can share until we’re strong enough to drive them out
Don’t tell him that!
5
Tell him we won
Don’t tell him how we started the fight.
Tell him his brother’s a hero
Don’t tell him how we lost.
Tell him how big their armies were
Tell him how we almost turned them back but that they were deceptive.
Tell him we’re fighters even though we’re still in these camps and the Zionists
Are still on our land.
6
Don’t tell him
Don’t tell him the trouble about the hospital
Tell him it’s okay to steal their cars, they stole our land
Tell him they steal our water, our land, our air
Don’t tell him anything about the pollution we put in the water.
Don’t tell him about the belt
Don’t tell him not to want to wear the belt
Don’t tell him what it’ll do when he pushes the button
Tell him it’s a fashion statement
Tell him it look good on him
Don’t tell him about the queues at the checkpoint
Don’t tell him about how the soldiers check everyone
Tell him to walk slowly, casually
Tell him to walk to where they are standing and sitting
Tell him not to say anything to them
Tell him it’s for the glory of Allah and our people
Don’t tell him about how they’re innocent. None of them are innocent
Tell him how they stole our land, how they killed our children and raped our women
Don’t tell him they’re civilians. They are all soldiers, even their children
Tell him they poison our waters
Don’t tell him that.
Don’t tell him that bombing cafes is wrong
Tell him that his friends all want to bomb cafes
Tell him to be careful so he won’t get caught.
Don’t frighten him.
Tell him the wall was their idea and we did nothing to deserve it
Don’t tell him how we threatened to drive them into the see
Tell him they want to take our blood for their Passover crackers.
Tell him about how they control the banks and the US Congress
Tell him about how many virgins he will get in Heaven.
Don’t tell him that
Tell him we will endure
Tell her we are blessed by Allah
Tell her they don’t deserve anything except violence
Tell them we want peace, but only in English
Tell him to say he’s going to visit a sick relative.
7
Tell him he should stand in their way
Tell him the schools were closed so he can go fire rockets at the Zionists
Tell him that the Zionists will kill him if they catch him.
Tell him the rockets will scare and intimidate the Jews
Do frighten him , then blame the Jews.
Tell him that many of us were killed, that it was a massacre
Tell him their army is slaughtering our men and raping our women
Don’t tell them how their cousin now works in one of their companies.
Don’t tell him how our leaders said we should become human shields
Tell him the Zionist fighters have been driven off
Tell him they’re animals
Tell him they’re the sons of pigs and monkeys
Don’t tell him about the family of dead girls who were killed by our own people
Tell him you can’t believe what you see on the Zionists’ television
Tell him they kill babies on purpose, to terrorize us
Don’t tell him anything about the fighting between Hamas and Fatah
Tell him, tell him about the army, tell him to be proud of his people.
Tell him about the family of dead girls, make up names and dead girls if you have to
Tell him the whole world will know how they massacred us
Tell him there’s dead babies, did she see babies? Show them to her.
Tell him about Mohammed Al Dura and what happened in Jenin.
Tell him the Zionists deserve to roast him hell.
Don’t tell him about how they supply us with power and clean water.
Don’t tell him how they built us schools and factories and gave us jobs.
Tell him we want our children killed to make people sorry for us,
Tell him there can we no sympathy for the sub human Zionists
Tell him they suffered in Europe and now they’re Nazis too
Tell him there was never a Holocaust, that they made it all up
Tell him we survived the Crusaders, we endured the Ottomans
Tell him we won’t stop attacking them until they’re all dead
Tell him they’re animals, that Allah created them to be destroyed
Tell him that the world hates them and will laud us for killing them
Tell him that when I see one of their children dead I laugh and shout “Allah hu akhbar!”
Tell him that we dream of rivers of their blood flowing in the land they stole from us.
Tell him that it is better to live in misery and dream of killing them than to make peace and
Live in prosperity beside them
Tell him that with blood and fire we will redeem Palestine.
Tell him we love him.
Don’t forget to remind him about how proud we will be when he’s in Heaven as a shahid
.
Seven Jewish Children is Garnel Ironheart’s
response to the anti-Semitic bulls—t written by Carly Churchill
Caryl Churchill has asserted her moral right to be identified as
the author of Seven Jewish Children even those she’s an immoral Jew-hating wench.
The play can be read or performed anywhere, by any number
of people. Ask your friends who liked Seven Jewish Children if
they think this is just as amazing a play or if, suddenly this is a racist hate-filled
diatribe.
Wednesday, 6 May 2009
Seven Jewish Children, One British Anti-Semite
Carly Churchill's new blood libel against the Jewish people, a short play entitled Seven Jewish Children is making the rounds in civilized society, much as accusations that we use Chrisian childrens' blood to bake our matzos once did. The play is short and admission to its performances is free at the request of the author. The only stipulation is that patrons make a donation to a so-called Palestinian charity upon attendance.
And, in the finest tradition of all post-Holocaust Jew haters, all those involved with the play deny being anti-Semitic. This includes, of course, the Jewish directors who just have to involve themselves with this filth:
"People have a right to be offended, and I respect those who have read the play and are offended," said Roth, the artistic director of Theater J at the Washington DC Jewish Community Center where the 10-minute play was performed this week. It also will be staged Saturday night and Sunday afternoon in Washington at the Forum Theater.
Roth himself was upset by the script.
However, he has added two pro-Israel plays to the evening as well as a panel discussion as part of an effort to give a broader context to the play.
One of the great canards Jew-haters recite is that it is legitimate to criticize Israel just like it is fine to criticize any country for its perceived failings. And if they were being honest abou it, there would be little to argue about. Israel, chalilah, has a great many failings. Its determination to survive despite its enemies' wishese, is not one of those failings.
Pointing this out leads to one of two further lies. "I'm not anti-Semitics. I just hate Israel." Why, pray tell, of all the countries in the world do they specifically choose Israel to heap vitriol on? If its because of its supposedly brutal occupation, well China is more brutal in Tibet. If it's because they are supposedly denying an indigenous people their right to unfettered autonomy, doesn't Britain still occupy Northern Ireland?
The other lie is: I can't be an anti-Semite. I'm Jewish. The answer to that is also simple: You can be a self-hating Jew.
But let's look at the play itself (linked above) and it will become obvious where the biases are:
Tell her this is a photograph of her grandmother, her uncles and
me
Tell her her uncles died
Don’t tell her they were killed
First, look at the wording. "Tell her..." implies that the child has asked a question and, instead of receiving an honest answer, is getting a lie, a fabrication, something to make the situation easier. "Tell her the divorce isn't her fault" for example. Is this an implication that the people in the photos aren't her real relatives, that we somehow all carry around black and white pictures to use as guilt-inducers when someone questions our right to insist on surviving? Is this a reference to the anti-Semitic statement: You Jews suffered in the Holocaust. How can you do the same thing to the Arabs?
Tell her there were people who hated Jews
Don’t tell her
Tell her it’s over now
Tell her there are still people who hate Jews
Tell her there are people who love Jews
Don’t tell her to think Jews or not Jews
Tell her more when she’s older
Tell her how many when she’s older
Tell her it was before she was born and she’s not in danger
Maybe I'm just not into art but this isn't writing. This isn't even good poetry. It's rambling, aimless, meaningless rambling. What is the point here? Is it to convey that we'll say anything to our children, give them any answer to justify what we're doing to survive?
Tell her it’s sunny there
Tell her we’re going home
Tell her it’s the land God gave us
Did you know that the reason the Arabs care about Yerushalayim so much is because they have a tradition that Mohammed, y"sh, ascended to Heaven on his magical horse from there? Not that any of their sacred texts actually say that, but somewhere along the way they took the name of the place, al Aksa (the farthest place), decided it was Yerushalayim and this is why they consider it a holy city.
How many times is Yerushalayim mentioned in the Bible? Hundreds. How many times in the Koran and the Hadit? Zero, zip, nada. Israel is the land God gave us. How can that be presented as a shallow excuse, unless we are expected to stop believing it?
Tell her they’re Bedouin, they travel about
Tell her about camels in the desert and dates
Tell her they live in tents
Tell her this wasn’t their home
Until the Jews returned to Israel, the above is an unfortunately accurate. Mark Twain, upon touring the land in the late 19th century, was amazed at the emptiness and desolation. Until the Jews returned there was nothing there. No mythical, prosperous and civilized Palestine. They wandered in one end, wandered out the other. Only the Jews tenaciously stayed. And when the time came to fight for it, only they didn't run.
Of course, Churchill has a few lines for that:
Tell her for miles and miles all round they have lands of their own
Tell her again this is our promised land.
Don’t tell her they said it was a land without people
Don’t tell her I wouldn’t have come if I’d known.
Another little known fact about early Zionism is that it succeeded as a movement despite the attitude of some of the early Zionists. Since they were secular, the idea that God had chosen that time in history to begin the ingathering of the exiles was missed by them. Instead they were attracted by the idea of an empty land, a "land without a people for a people without a land". And when they discovered that a few Arabs actually lived there, they were horrified. All that they had been organizing went against their secular European values (the same values that would build the gas chambers of Auschwitz a few decades later).
Well the truth is different - the Arabs do have countless empty miles around and around. They have 23 states of their own. And the majority of the people who came knew why they were coming and would have come anyway because they simply had no place else to go.
Don’t tell her anything about bulldozers.
Don’t tell her about the queues at the checkpoint
And by all means, don't tell her about the suicide bomber who lived in the house getting bulldozed. Don't tell her about the terrorists that created the need for the checkpoints in the first place. The typical Jew-hater's response to Jewish survival - they start the fight, we survive and suddenly we're guilty for the whole fight in the first place.
Tell her we’re stronger
Tell her we’re entitled
Tell her they don’t understand anything except violence
Tell her we want peace
Ms Churchill, by the grace of God, for the first time in 1900 we are stronger, we are entitled, they don't understand anything except violence (ask them yourself if you don't believe me) and we don't want peace but they have rejected every legitimate offer. You might make these sound like worthless excuses but they are the inconvenient truth.
Is there any point in going on? This play should be ignored and any Jews who either help promote it or are involved with it should be shunned with the same hatred we now reserve for the Neturei Karta. For in the end, they are no different.
And, in the finest tradition of all post-Holocaust Jew haters, all those involved with the play deny being anti-Semitic. This includes, of course, the Jewish directors who just have to involve themselves with this filth:
"People have a right to be offended, and I respect those who have read the play and are offended," said Roth, the artistic director of Theater J at the Washington DC Jewish Community Center where the 10-minute play was performed this week. It also will be staged Saturday night and Sunday afternoon in Washington at the Forum Theater.
Roth himself was upset by the script.
However, he has added two pro-Israel plays to the evening as well as a panel discussion as part of an effort to give a broader context to the play.
One of the great canards Jew-haters recite is that it is legitimate to criticize Israel just like it is fine to criticize any country for its perceived failings. And if they were being honest abou it, there would be little to argue about. Israel, chalilah, has a great many failings. Its determination to survive despite its enemies' wishese, is not one of those failings.
Pointing this out leads to one of two further lies. "I'm not anti-Semitics. I just hate Israel." Why, pray tell, of all the countries in the world do they specifically choose Israel to heap vitriol on? If its because of its supposedly brutal occupation, well China is more brutal in Tibet. If it's because they are supposedly denying an indigenous people their right to unfettered autonomy, doesn't Britain still occupy Northern Ireland?
The other lie is: I can't be an anti-Semite. I'm Jewish. The answer to that is also simple: You can be a self-hating Jew.
But let's look at the play itself (linked above) and it will become obvious where the biases are:
Tell her this is a photograph of her grandmother, her uncles and
me
Tell her her uncles died
Don’t tell her they were killed
First, look at the wording. "Tell her..." implies that the child has asked a question and, instead of receiving an honest answer, is getting a lie, a fabrication, something to make the situation easier. "Tell her the divorce isn't her fault" for example. Is this an implication that the people in the photos aren't her real relatives, that we somehow all carry around black and white pictures to use as guilt-inducers when someone questions our right to insist on surviving? Is this a reference to the anti-Semitic statement: You Jews suffered in the Holocaust. How can you do the same thing to the Arabs?
Tell her there were people who hated Jews
Don’t tell her
Tell her it’s over now
Tell her there are still people who hate Jews
Tell her there are people who love Jews
Don’t tell her to think Jews or not Jews
Tell her more when she’s older
Tell her how many when she’s older
Tell her it was before she was born and she’s not in danger
Maybe I'm just not into art but this isn't writing. This isn't even good poetry. It's rambling, aimless, meaningless rambling. What is the point here? Is it to convey that we'll say anything to our children, give them any answer to justify what we're doing to survive?
Tell her it’s sunny there
Tell her we’re going home
Tell her it’s the land God gave us
Did you know that the reason the Arabs care about Yerushalayim so much is because they have a tradition that Mohammed, y"sh, ascended to Heaven on his magical horse from there? Not that any of their sacred texts actually say that, but somewhere along the way they took the name of the place, al Aksa (the farthest place), decided it was Yerushalayim and this is why they consider it a holy city.
How many times is Yerushalayim mentioned in the Bible? Hundreds. How many times in the Koran and the Hadit? Zero, zip, nada. Israel is the land God gave us. How can that be presented as a shallow excuse, unless we are expected to stop believing it?
Tell her they’re Bedouin, they travel about
Tell her about camels in the desert and dates
Tell her they live in tents
Tell her this wasn’t their home
Until the Jews returned to Israel, the above is an unfortunately accurate. Mark Twain, upon touring the land in the late 19th century, was amazed at the emptiness and desolation. Until the Jews returned there was nothing there. No mythical, prosperous and civilized Palestine. They wandered in one end, wandered out the other. Only the Jews tenaciously stayed. And when the time came to fight for it, only they didn't run.
Of course, Churchill has a few lines for that:
Tell her for miles and miles all round they have lands of their own
Tell her again this is our promised land.
Don’t tell her they said it was a land without people
Don’t tell her I wouldn’t have come if I’d known.
Another little known fact about early Zionism is that it succeeded as a movement despite the attitude of some of the early Zionists. Since they were secular, the idea that God had chosen that time in history to begin the ingathering of the exiles was missed by them. Instead they were attracted by the idea of an empty land, a "land without a people for a people without a land". And when they discovered that a few Arabs actually lived there, they were horrified. All that they had been organizing went against their secular European values (the same values that would build the gas chambers of Auschwitz a few decades later).
Well the truth is different - the Arabs do have countless empty miles around and around. They have 23 states of their own. And the majority of the people who came knew why they were coming and would have come anyway because they simply had no place else to go.
Don’t tell her anything about bulldozers.
Don’t tell her about the queues at the checkpoint
And by all means, don't tell her about the suicide bomber who lived in the house getting bulldozed. Don't tell her about the terrorists that created the need for the checkpoints in the first place. The typical Jew-hater's response to Jewish survival - they start the fight, we survive and suddenly we're guilty for the whole fight in the first place.
Tell her we’re stronger
Tell her we’re entitled
Tell her they don’t understand anything except violence
Tell her we want peace
Ms Churchill, by the grace of God, for the first time in 1900 we are stronger, we are entitled, they don't understand anything except violence (ask them yourself if you don't believe me) and we don't want peace but they have rejected every legitimate offer. You might make these sound like worthless excuses but they are the inconvenient truth.
Is there any point in going on? This play should be ignored and any Jews who either help promote it or are involved with it should be shunned with the same hatred we now reserve for the Neturei Karta. For in the end, they are no different.
Celebrating Yom Ha'atzmaut
Rafi of the famous Life In Israel blog had a piece in The Jerusalem Post which raised a question that I've also asked myself - as an observant Jew, how does one best celebrate Israel's Independence Day? I reject those who say we can't innovate new holidays. There's ample precendent for communities to declare days of remembrance for good and for bad. If enough competent halachic authorities say that we can declare the 5th of Iyyar as a national holiday for all Jews, if they can also show that it is consistent with halachah that we recite the Hallel with a beracha (which is my custom) then it is established amongst the people of Israel.
But that's where my comfort ends. By my understanding, there are Jewish ways to celebrate and Jewish ways to mourn. Long-time readers of my blog (both of you) know that I'm not comfortable with the current format used by most secular communities on Yom HaShoah but that doesn't mean I am against the remembering of the six million kedoshim, chalilah. It's just that from time immemorial Jews have recalled their sorrows and mourned their losses through fasting, public acts of sadness and prayer to God that He should redeem us from our exile.
Similarly when jews celebrate it they do it with God and His Holy Torah at the centre. Look at all our major holidays that involve partying. On Simchas Torah, we dance with the Torahs in our arms and conclude the festivities not with one drunken belch but when the reading of the final and first sections of the Torah. On Purim, well okay we finish with a drunken belch but we start with the reading of the Megillah to remind ourselves that we are only alive to celebrate today because God quietly intervened in history and overthrew the wicked Haman's plans.
So it should be, in my opinion, for Yom Ha'atzmaut. A military parade in Tel Aviv (I don't think they do that anymore, do they?) and street parties across the country are fine but how does that satisfy the traditional Jew's desire to celebrate God's kindness to us and His miracles that have wrought us this deliverance? Partying for the sake of partying, seeing the establishment of the State exclusively as a result of the bravery of the men and women who fought for it without recognizing that their efforts were supported by the Ribono Shel Olam, doesn't sit well with me. As Rafi himself notes:
By nature I am a very patriotic person. I love Eretz Yisrael and I love Medinat Yisrael. I sometimes do not like things a particular government does, going against values I think should be promoted, but as a state, I love this country.
Sometimes we forget 61 years later, but the state was founded with the goal of creating a homeland for the Jewish people. Nobody wanted us back then. Now we look back and say we could have lived anywhere. But when we say that, we are saying it with the perspective and history of 61 years which would have been completely different were it not for the State of Israel.
The state gave us the ability to live as Jews in our own country, and it also gave us the ability to live as Jews in other countries. Ask any Holocaust survivor, ask anybody who was around at the formation of the state, and they will describe to you how everything was different in Western countries after the state was founded.
These things should all be recalled, lest we begin to take them for granted. But how? His solution was something I think that could be worked on. (I'm ignoring the other thread in his article, the idea that being Chareidi means you can't celebrate Yom Ha'atzmaut):
So why don't we in the general haredi world? Why are we afraid that if we wave the flag we will be ostracized? Why will we be ostracized if we wave the flag?
I don't know.
The rabbis and shuls all plan learning programs on Yom Ha'atzmaut for those men who are normally at work but have the day off. It is great to be able to spend part of the day learning. These special study sessions are often on interesting topics. But do they ever plan one on the topic of Yom Ha'atzmaut? Do they ever explain to us that it is okay to celebrate somehow - or if it is not okay, then why not? All I know is that it is not accepted, but I have no idea why.
The mere existence of the state has given us so much that I have no understanding of why it is wrong to celebrate it. It seems that if the special study session was on the topic of Yom Ha'atzmaut (either explaining why it is right or wrong to celebrate), aside from the fact that the yeshiva hosting such a session would likely be packed because so many people want to hear a Torah discussion on the subject, many people would know how to approach the day properly - with direction from their rabbi via the session.
It is up to the Dati Leumi community to show the way in this regard. It has been one of my goals, mostly unstarted, to create a series of shiurim for Yom Ha'atzmaut so that Jews can get together and, on the day that God remembered us after 1900 of sufferinig, come together and learn from His Torah that this is indeed part of His plan for history, that we indeed watching the first flowering of the final redemption, may the rest of it flower real soon.
Maybe I'll get to it next year but it seems like that's the way we can show the entire Torah world that this day carries real significance for all Jews.
But that's where my comfort ends. By my understanding, there are Jewish ways to celebrate and Jewish ways to mourn. Long-time readers of my blog (both of you) know that I'm not comfortable with the current format used by most secular communities on Yom HaShoah but that doesn't mean I am against the remembering of the six million kedoshim, chalilah. It's just that from time immemorial Jews have recalled their sorrows and mourned their losses through fasting, public acts of sadness and prayer to God that He should redeem us from our exile.
Similarly when jews celebrate it they do it with God and His Holy Torah at the centre. Look at all our major holidays that involve partying. On Simchas Torah, we dance with the Torahs in our arms and conclude the festivities not with one drunken belch but when the reading of the final and first sections of the Torah. On Purim, well okay we finish with a drunken belch but we start with the reading of the Megillah to remind ourselves that we are only alive to celebrate today because God quietly intervened in history and overthrew the wicked Haman's plans.
So it should be, in my opinion, for Yom Ha'atzmaut. A military parade in Tel Aviv (I don't think they do that anymore, do they?) and street parties across the country are fine but how does that satisfy the traditional Jew's desire to celebrate God's kindness to us and His miracles that have wrought us this deliverance? Partying for the sake of partying, seeing the establishment of the State exclusively as a result of the bravery of the men and women who fought for it without recognizing that their efforts were supported by the Ribono Shel Olam, doesn't sit well with me. As Rafi himself notes:
By nature I am a very patriotic person. I love Eretz Yisrael and I love Medinat Yisrael. I sometimes do not like things a particular government does, going against values I think should be promoted, but as a state, I love this country.
Sometimes we forget 61 years later, but the state was founded with the goal of creating a homeland for the Jewish people. Nobody wanted us back then. Now we look back and say we could have lived anywhere. But when we say that, we are saying it with the perspective and history of 61 years which would have been completely different were it not for the State of Israel.
The state gave us the ability to live as Jews in our own country, and it also gave us the ability to live as Jews in other countries. Ask any Holocaust survivor, ask anybody who was around at the formation of the state, and they will describe to you how everything was different in Western countries after the state was founded.
These things should all be recalled, lest we begin to take them for granted. But how? His solution was something I think that could be worked on. (I'm ignoring the other thread in his article, the idea that being Chareidi means you can't celebrate Yom Ha'atzmaut):
So why don't we in the general haredi world? Why are we afraid that if we wave the flag we will be ostracized? Why will we be ostracized if we wave the flag?
I don't know.
The rabbis and shuls all plan learning programs on Yom Ha'atzmaut for those men who are normally at work but have the day off. It is great to be able to spend part of the day learning. These special study sessions are often on interesting topics. But do they ever plan one on the topic of Yom Ha'atzmaut? Do they ever explain to us that it is okay to celebrate somehow - or if it is not okay, then why not? All I know is that it is not accepted, but I have no idea why.
The mere existence of the state has given us so much that I have no understanding of why it is wrong to celebrate it. It seems that if the special study session was on the topic of Yom Ha'atzmaut (either explaining why it is right or wrong to celebrate), aside from the fact that the yeshiva hosting such a session would likely be packed because so many people want to hear a Torah discussion on the subject, many people would know how to approach the day properly - with direction from their rabbi via the session.
It is up to the Dati Leumi community to show the way in this regard. It has been one of my goals, mostly unstarted, to create a series of shiurim for Yom Ha'atzmaut so that Jews can get together and, on the day that God remembered us after 1900 of sufferinig, come together and learn from His Torah that this is indeed part of His plan for history, that we indeed watching the first flowering of the final redemption, may the rest of it flower real soon.
Maybe I'll get to it next year but it seems like that's the way we can show the entire Torah world that this day carries real significance for all Jews.
The Chtuzpah To Ask
Most people who are not well acquainted with history don't know the complete details of the 1947 United Nations partition place. Most people know that the land was to be divided into six parts, three to be given to the Arabs and three to the Jews. What many don't know is that Yerushalayim was not to be included in any of those six parts but rather was to be maintained under the control of the United Nations as the world's only "international city".
Fortunately God frustrated those plans and today the city is in the hands of its rightful owners. Unfortunately no matter how many years have passed since the miracle of 1967, there are powers in the world that simply cannot accept Jewish sovereignty over our holy city.
Of course there is the Arab world. But even more worrisome now is the new attitude of the Vatican which, in advance of Pope Ratzinger's upcoming visit to Israel, is making an incomprehensible demand:
The Chief Rabbinate issued a special clarification Wednesday stating that according to halachic rule, no Holy Land assets can be handed over to the Vatican.
The ruling followed Pope Benedict XVI's request to be given the title to several of the Christian faith's holy sites, ahead of his upcoming visit to Israel.
On Tuesday the Rabbinate's Holy Sites Commission convened an emergency session on the matter, after which it issued a statement demanding that the government "cease all discussions on the matter".
In heated Knesset meeting, Michael Ben-Ari refers to Benedict XVI as 'graduate of Hitler youth,' says pope 'continues to blame Jewish people for killing of Jesus'
Sources within the committee told Ynet that the Foreign Ministry tried to pressure Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger into calling off the meeting.
The statement further read that the Holy Sites Commission convened the meeting after being approached by "rabbis from Jewish communities around the world who expressed their shock and amazement over reports of negotiations on the possible transfer of holy sites in Jerusalem and throughout all of Israel to the Vatican's control."
Rabbi Simcha Hakohen Kook, a member of the commission, told Ynet that he has obtained a list of dozens of sites the pope is asking that Israel hand over to the Vatican's control -19 in the West Bank and 28 in Jerusalem – including the Last Supper room on Mount Zion.
This is amazing. On what are they suddenly basing this claim for Israel to withdraw its control over its own sovereign territory? Because they held those places briefly during the Crusades? Because they can be trusted to be better guardians of those sites?
I realize there is an issue of diplomatic senstivity but then I read that the government has actually enterred into negotiations?
Throughout the 1900 years of history since the fall of the Second Jewish Commonwealth, Yerushalayim has been ruled by many authorities. Only one, count 'em - one, has guaranteed freedom of access and worship to all religions - Israel. When the Crusaders, y"sh, held the city they massacred or drove out all its Jews. The Muslim record of crimes against Jews is longer than any scroll can hold. Only when Jews have held the city have all peoples and faiths been free to walk its streets. And now the Israeli government is considering giving that up?
For shame!
Fortunately God frustrated those plans and today the city is in the hands of its rightful owners. Unfortunately no matter how many years have passed since the miracle of 1967, there are powers in the world that simply cannot accept Jewish sovereignty over our holy city.
Of course there is the Arab world. But even more worrisome now is the new attitude of the Vatican which, in advance of Pope Ratzinger's upcoming visit to Israel, is making an incomprehensible demand:
The Chief Rabbinate issued a special clarification Wednesday stating that according to halachic rule, no Holy Land assets can be handed over to the Vatican.
The ruling followed Pope Benedict XVI's request to be given the title to several of the Christian faith's holy sites, ahead of his upcoming visit to Israel.
On Tuesday the Rabbinate's Holy Sites Commission convened an emergency session on the matter, after which it issued a statement demanding that the government "cease all discussions on the matter".
In heated Knesset meeting, Michael Ben-Ari refers to Benedict XVI as 'graduate of Hitler youth,' says pope 'continues to blame Jewish people for killing of Jesus'
Sources within the committee told Ynet that the Foreign Ministry tried to pressure Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger into calling off the meeting.
The statement further read that the Holy Sites Commission convened the meeting after being approached by "rabbis from Jewish communities around the world who expressed their shock and amazement over reports of negotiations on the possible transfer of holy sites in Jerusalem and throughout all of Israel to the Vatican's control."
Rabbi Simcha Hakohen Kook, a member of the commission, told Ynet that he has obtained a list of dozens of sites the pope is asking that Israel hand over to the Vatican's control -19 in the West Bank and 28 in Jerusalem – including the Last Supper room on Mount Zion.
This is amazing. On what are they suddenly basing this claim for Israel to withdraw its control over its own sovereign territory? Because they held those places briefly during the Crusades? Because they can be trusted to be better guardians of those sites?
I realize there is an issue of diplomatic senstivity but then I read that the government has actually enterred into negotiations?
Throughout the 1900 years of history since the fall of the Second Jewish Commonwealth, Yerushalayim has been ruled by many authorities. Only one, count 'em - one, has guaranteed freedom of access and worship to all religions - Israel. When the Crusaders, y"sh, held the city they massacred or drove out all its Jews. The Muslim record of crimes against Jews is longer than any scroll can hold. Only when Jews have held the city have all peoples and faiths been free to walk its streets. And now the Israeli government is considering giving that up?
For shame!
Monday, 4 May 2009
A Word on Influenza
Although it's a departure from the main theme of the blog, I would like to inform folks of what to worry about and what NOT to worry about regarding the current outbreak of H1N1 influence virus.
1) You can call it swine flu. However, it is traditional to name influenza outbreaks after the country of origin, hence the Spanish flu of 1918. As a result, the WHO is currently working to rename the outbreak as Mexican flu. This is not due to any chareidi attempts to control the WHO. They already control the banks.
2) Mexican/swine flu is simply a genetic variant of the common influenza virus. Because of this genetic variance, human immune systems have no initial defence against it, nor will the influenza vaccines injected last autumn/winter offer any protection. However, unlike the 1918 and 1968 outbreaks, this virus lacks the super-virulence genes that cause millions of deaths. It is unlikely (at this point) that we will see any further deaths except in people who are already quite ill and can't handle the strain of the infection.
3) The best way to prevent transmission of the virus is to practice meticulous handwashing, avoiding coughing in someone's face, and don't share drinks and food. In other words, the same as preventing the transmission of the common cold.
4) If someone has been to Mexico, they are not automatically plague infested. If they have been back a week and don't have any symptoms, they do not have the virus. Simple as that. Therefore, if your friend or neighbour just got back from Guadalajara and shook your hand on Shabbos, don't panic and run to your doctor for Tamiflu. It wastes your time and annoys the doctor.
5) Don't call your doctor and ask him for a prescription for Tamiflu "just in case". You won't get the 'script and the doctor will think you're a paranoid nut. If you have symptoms of the flu, then go see the doctor and he will decide if you need the medication.
6) Finally, in the unexpected event of the virus undergoing a genetic shift and becoming dangerously virulent, then I will delete this post, deny its existence, and run for the hills.
1) You can call it swine flu. However, it is traditional to name influenza outbreaks after the country of origin, hence the Spanish flu of 1918. As a result, the WHO is currently working to rename the outbreak as Mexican flu. This is not due to any chareidi attempts to control the WHO. They already control the banks.
2) Mexican/swine flu is simply a genetic variant of the common influenza virus. Because of this genetic variance, human immune systems have no initial defence against it, nor will the influenza vaccines injected last autumn/winter offer any protection. However, unlike the 1918 and 1968 outbreaks, this virus lacks the super-virulence genes that cause millions of deaths. It is unlikely (at this point) that we will see any further deaths except in people who are already quite ill and can't handle the strain of the infection.
3) The best way to prevent transmission of the virus is to practice meticulous handwashing, avoiding coughing in someone's face, and don't share drinks and food. In other words, the same as preventing the transmission of the common cold.
4) If someone has been to Mexico, they are not automatically plague infested. If they have been back a week and don't have any symptoms, they do not have the virus. Simple as that. Therefore, if your friend or neighbour just got back from Guadalajara and shook your hand on Shabbos, don't panic and run to your doctor for Tamiflu. It wastes your time and annoys the doctor.
5) Don't call your doctor and ask him for a prescription for Tamiflu "just in case". You won't get the 'script and the doctor will think you're a paranoid nut. If you have symptoms of the flu, then go see the doctor and he will decide if you need the medication.
6) Finally, in the unexpected event of the virus undergoing a genetic shift and becoming dangerously virulent, then I will delete this post, deny its existence, and run for the hills.
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