A Yiddishe Thought

Parshat Chayei Sarah and the Importance of Clarity

2011-11-18T10:20:00.001-08:00

Abbott: I say, Who’s on first, What’s on second, I Don’t Know’s on third and then you…

Costello: You the manager?Abbott: Yes.

Costello: You know the guys’ names?

Abbott: I’m telling you their names!

Costello: Well who’s on first?

Abbott: Yeah.

Costello: Go ahead and tell me.

Abbott: Who.

Costello: The guy on first.

Abbott: Who.

Costello: The guy playin’ first base.

Abbott: Who.

Costello: The guy on first.

Abbott: Who is on first!

The dialogue I just referenced is of course not my own but rather that of Abbott and Costello from the classic 1930s skit “Who’s On First?” Besides being a hilarious episode between two particularly humorous comedians, it is also a classic tale of miscommunication. Another moment that comes to mind is the scene from Fiddler on the Roof where Tevye goes to talk with the butcher about his milk cow and the butcher thinks he is talking about the prospect of marrying his daughter. In both instances what would have tremendously helped was an infusion of clarity. The difference between a moment of understanding and a moment of conflict can rest many times on the precise discourse of those involved.

In this week’s parsha we confront the death of the patriarch and matriarch of our people. The great risk-taking, iconoclasts who began forging a new approach to human conduct and our relationship to the Divine pass away and in so doing leave open the potential for a real void in leadership, succession and continuity. History is full of stories of failed movements after the death of the charismatic founder or founders. Perhaps the most difficult task a leader has before their retirement or passing away is to successfully pass the mantle on to the next generation of leadership.

It is at the very end of our parsha that we find the moment where Avraham ensured a successful transfer of the covenantal destiny to Yitzchak. In Genesis 25:5 the Torah states: “And Avraham gave all that he possessed to Yitzchak.” The next verse records Avraham giving gifts to his other children and then immediately after we encounter the death of Avraham. That is to say that this bequeathing of his possessions to Yitzchak was his last living act; the future vitality of this ethical monotheistic endeavor hinged on the success of this action. I also believe that if we examine this moment a bit closer we can learn some important lessons for our own lives as well.

Rashi commenting on this verse quotes the Midrash in Bereshit Rabbah to say that Avraham bestowed an everlasting blessing on Yitzchak. Earlier in the Divine selection process of Avraham, God declares that “and you shall be a blessing,” and the Midrash here understands that to mean that Avraham had the ability to bless whomever he chose and he chose to offer his final and full blessing to his son Yitzchak. Perhaps the most effective way in appointing a successor is by taking them under your wing, mentoring them and guiding them and a bracha from one person to the next is the deepest expression of relationship and connection.

However, when we turn to the Torah Temimah, the insightful commentary authored by the great early 20th century Lithuanian rabbi, Rav Baruch Epstein zt"l, we find a tremendous teaching with great relevance for our own lives. The Torah Temimah conceives of Avraham’s last act as essentially a way of resolving all doubt before his passing: “For the children of Yishmael come into adjudication with Yisrael and they said, the Land of Israel is ours and theirs as it says, ‘These are the generations of Yishmael the son of Avraham’ and ‘These are the generations of Yitzchak the son of Avraham.'” In other words, we are both the heirs to Avraham – the legacy must be split down the middle; one father, one leader becomes two sons and two competing legacies.

This scenario though is both anticipated and rejected by Avraham. The act of bequeathing all that he possessed to Yitzchak right before his death was a clear and unequivocal method of eliminating confusion that would subsequently arise after he passed away. The last thing Avraham does with his few remaining breaths of life than is nothing less than guaranteeing and establishing clarity; clarity of vision and clarity of succession.

The goal the parsha challenges us to work towards is not to live an Abbott and Costello life but rather to strive towards achieving a holistic precision in what we want to do or what we say and what we actually accomplish. We do not need to wait for our last breath to achieve this but rather every transitional period in our lives, from college graduation to retirement, offers us the opportunity to achieve a bit more clarity in our actions with others and in our own inner life.

Light a Candle for Gilad and Remember Our Shared Humanity

2011-06-27T12:36:00.000-07:00

This Friday night, the Hebrew date of the 29th of Sivan, will mark five years since the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was abducted by the terrorist organization Hamas. It has been five years since anyone besides Hamas, not his family, government or even international aid organizations such as the Red Cross have seen him. It is a travesty of justice that Hamas has not allowed their prisoner to be examined by, at the very least, competent medical professionals, to assess his health and well being.

To mark the five year anniversary of his capture, Rabbi Avi Weiss has called upon all Jews to light an extra candle for Gilad on Friday afternoon prior to sunset. The hope is that all these candles as Rabbi Weiss describes will help "dispel the darkness of Hamas' terrorism."

My family will be lighting a candle for Gilad this Friday afternoon but before we do it is important to reflect further on what we are doing. In a world where casualties from wars across the globe reach staggering numbers and where close to 4,000 crimes were committed for every 100,000 people in the United States in 2009, what does it mean to raise world consciousness about the fate of a lone individual? The heartbreaking stories of suffering and despair cry out from every corner of our planet, why focus in on the misfortune of one person?

The Shulchan Aruch (Y"D 251:3) lays out an order of prioritization for the giving of charity. The vast majority of us have limited funds to distribute to the needy and therefore it becomes essential to understand where to begin. First one begins with their own needs, if you are not properly taken care of you will not be able to help anyone else then the Shulchan Aruch expands to one's family, moving next to one's neighborhood then one's city and ending with the rest of the world. While this intuitively makes sense, the idea that underlies this halacha is critical in understanding what we will be doing when we light a candle for Gilad this coming Friday.

True love and care for others is possible when I truly love and care for myself. When I have a positive self-image then I can incorporate other people into my orbit of concern and love. Thus a healthy respect for one's self is essential. The people that one is most intimately connected to is one's family. A person is born into their immediate family and later in life many will make the choice to commit themselves to a single person and by doing create an entirely new branch of that family. These are people that you know better than any other people on the planet. Their faces, voices and personalities are etched into your mind in a way that no one else is.

The combination of a healthy self-respect and self-care with a genuine love and concern for one's family creates the foundation for which sustainable and long-lasting giving can be accomplished. The roots need to be firmly grounded before a tall and confident tree can emerge. It is after these roots of self and family are solidly established and continue to be nurtured that one's network of care reaches out beyond to one's community and on from there.

In other words, I can most care for the world when I care for myself and my family. My love and concern needs to be directed and focused so that when the cries of people throughout the globe reach my ears, I can hear it and respond accordingly. When my family lights a candle for Gilad Shalit this Friday we will be reaching out our hearts and souls to a single individual who is suffering and in tremendous pain. We will zoom in on his face, his name and his story out of the thousands and thousands of other stories of misfortune that cry out from all over the world. All of the numbers and the statistics of casualties of war and casualties of crime have names and identities, they have stories and personalities, they are unique lives, people created in the image of God. By lighting a small flame for one of these numbers, transforming him from a statistic to a person, we can begin to feel the humanity of all the others. Lighting a candle for Gilad this Friday is to affirm our shared humanity, which begins at home and reaches out from there.

I hope you will join us in lighting a candle for Gilad.

Marital Commitment and Social Media

2011-06-07T12:20:00.000-07:00

By now all the syndicated news outlets are talking about a certain New York Congressman and his online behavior. They are debating his political future, his marriage and all other sorts of sundry details. In my opinion, the most interesting element of this story is the medium by which his actions were committed. As Hendrik Hertzberg of The New Yorker pointed out this scandal is "the first to have been conducted entirely via e-mail, and online social media."

Is an affair an affair when it is conducted entirely online? Is it cheating when a spouse engages in intimate communications with another person but never meets them in person? If this situation transpired with a Congressman then it is most likely occurring in the lives of other people as well, although their stories do not make the evening news.

It seems to me that while this is one area where traditional Judaism gets criticized, it is also the specific teachings from this aspect of Judaism that can contribute much to the conversation. The Talmudic sages understood that acts of marital indiscretion do not, for the most part, manifest spontaneously but rather are the product of emotional attachment and lustful yearning. The power of these hirhurei aveirah - passing thoughts of indiscretion, to build and gather until a person finds themselves in a scenario they would later regret is tremendous.

In fact, the rabbis argued that these thoughts can be even worse than the act itself (Yoma 29a). The reason being that these thoughts of fantasy and lust can be so utterly overpowering that they end up consuming the life of a person thereby disrupting their marital harmony and could even extend into other areas of their personal and professional life.

It is because of these concerns that Jewish tradition has taken a very cautious stance towards casual relationships between people. One should be thoughtful about the sort of friend one chooses as inevitably friends come to influence and shape each other. This caution is even more strongly adhered to when it comes to relationships between people who have the potential to be attracted to each other. While some in contemporary society may find this caution to be overdoing it, like whether one can shake the hand of a person of the opposite gender (see for example Igrot Moshe Orach Chayim 1:113 and Even HaEzer 1:56) the values that form the foundation for these practices are values that ought to be well heeded in our modern era.

The wisdom from Jewish tradition tells us that a relationship is a relationship regardless of whether or not a physical encounter occurred. Indeed, by the time one meets in person, the relationship is most likely well established and the damage to one's moral life is well under way. It behooves us to inject an element of caution, perhaps even some formality, into our societal norms, even in the arena of Twitter and Facebook.

Life Lessons From My Newborn Son

2011-06-02T17:29:00.000-07:00

My newborn son will be two months old soon and on reflecting on the past two months I would like to share some of the things I have learned from him:

Remember to take a nap: Most things worth doing will be done better when you are well rested so don't be afraid to take a mid-afternoon nap.
Express yourself: Upset about something? Don't feel the need to hide it and keep it in. Let those who care about you know and together you can find a solution.
Light fixtures are amazing: Pay attention to the small things in life. Let the ordinary amaze you and feel the wonder of our magnificent world. Even a door knob can be captivating.
Go outside: Nothing can be as refreshing as a crisp breeze or as beautiful as the rustling of the leaves. Listen to the birds chirp and watch the ants on their march.
Live fully in the world: Grab something. Immerse yourself in the tactile world. Feel the contours of the world around you. Don't live only in the visual and auditory to the exclusion of the tactile.

Shopping as Relationship Building

2011-05-30T12:13:00.000-07:00

An older gentleman sat down next to me in the courtyard of a mall this afternoon, and as he sat he let out a long sigh. A moment passed and he turned to me and exclaimed, "there should be a law against going to the mall with your wife!" I smiled back at him but in reality it is shopping excursions with your spouse that can be one of the best things for strengthening your relationship that you can do.

It does not have to be shopping outings necessarily but taking an active interest in what your spouse is interested in is a fundamental key for a successful marriage. Nothing could be easier than saying, "have a nice time and see you when you get home," but by doing so a person misses out on a significant opportunity to show, not just in words but with deeds, how much they care about their partner in life.

When someone asks their spouse to join them on an outing they are going on, it is not just because they want someone to hold their bags or find the parking space, it is because they value their time with you and want to journey with you as they do some of their enjoyable activities. If there was a contemporary Shulchan Aruch on maintaining a strong marriage, going shopping with your spouse would be considered an obligation expressed in the strongest language.

So the next time your wife or husband says "want to join me at the mall?" the answer should be an exuberant (or at least not kvetched) yes!

Parshat Zakhor: Remembering to Remember

2011-03-17T12:10:00.000-07:00

This week in synagogue we will read a selection of the Torah that the Torah itself commands us to recall: Parshat Zakhor. It is within the narrative of Zakhor that we replay the story of Amalek attacking the Jewish people on their way out of slavery in Egypt towards the Land of Israel. The Torah tells us in Parshat Zakhor, as we might expect, to zakhor, to remember what injustice Amalek performed against us while we were weak in the desert: zachor... v'lo tishkah! Remember and do not forget!

The global community has experienced tremendous tragedy this past week. We were witness to a horrific earthquake, tsunami and now the continuing saga of the nuclear reactors in Japan. Untold numbers of people have been lost and it may take decades for the people of Japan to fully recover. This tragedy betrays any possibility of explanation and all we can and must do in the face of it is to galvanize whatever support we can offer to the Japanese people. I encourage everyone reading this to donate to a trusted relief agency whatever they are able to.

In addition to the catastrophic events that are still unfolding in Japan, the Jewish community suffered a great loss as members of the Fogel family in Israel, including the parents and three of their children (Yoav, 11, Elad 4 and Hadas, 3 months), were savagely and ruthlessly butchered in their home late Friday night last week. It is beyond all grasp or possibility of reason to comprehend how anyone could stand over the crib of a 3 month old baby and murder her. Our hearts scream with agony and pain and there exists no words that could possibly offer any nehama, comfort, to the remaining family or all of Klal Yisrael.

What are we to do in response to this horrific event? It is a tragic coincidence that we read Parshat Zakhor this week as the Torah itself provides us with a way to begin to cope with the enormity of the tragedy that lays in front of us.

In recounting the savagery of Amalek and its desperate, unending desire to rid the world of Am Yisrael, the first act the Torah enjoins upon us to do is zakhor, remember. Sit in the pain and the suffering with the mourners, listen to their cries, be there to hold them in their agony. In the immediate aftermath of such a savage act, speeches must be restrained and responses must be silenced. First, zakhor, remember and mourn. Do not look past the human suffering of those most impacted as plans of response are drawn up and debated.

Eventually some action must be taken, those who commit acts of savagery must face justice, but as the Torah states, first mourn, grieve and remember until one can begin to experience some solace and comfort, "be'haniah Hashem Elokecha lekha mi'kol oyvekha," then we can be sure our response comes from a place of justice and not a lashing out in pain and revenge.

Sephardic Tradition and Modern Life

2011-01-25T12:41:00.000-08:00

The Jerusalem Post reports today that MK Haim Amsalem has created a new "social movement" in Israel called Am Shalem that will promote the "moderate Sephardi halachic approach in public life" and strive to restore "the crown of moderate religious and Sephardi social activism to its former glory." This news follows the recent approval by both former Sephardic Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef and current Sephardic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar of conversions to Judaism performed through the IDF. I believe both of these events tell us a tremendous amount about the spirit of the Sephardic approach to halakhah and tradition and how it represents a powerful paradigm for observant Jews in the modern world.

The approval of the military conversions by the two Sephardic Chief Rabbis caused an uproar amongst the Ashkenazi Israeli Haredi rabbinic establishment because they claimed many of the converts did not remain as observant Jews post their conversion. Rav Amar responded to their critique by outlining the essential halakhot of conversion; what the halakha requires and what it does not. Rav Amar by insisting on the actual halakhah (Rambam, Hilkhot Issurei Biah 13:4, 14, 17; Shulhan Arukh, Yorah Deah 268:3, 12) and not taking on unnecessary stringencies tells us that in matters of personal status and in matters that impact the very nature of the State of Israel, we have an obligation to act in accordance with the authentic tradition. Furthermore, it demonstrates true sensitivity to the plight of the individual and by so doing continues the Sephardic tradition on this topic (see for example She'alot U'Teshuvot Piskei Uziel, She'alot HaZman 64).

The report in the Jerusalem Post about MK Amsalem's new social movement makes it clear that he alone is not starting this movement but rather "it was the outcome of a grassroots movement that saw in the MK a leader who represented their beliefs." There is a real need in our world for religious leadership, and in Israel also political leadership, that has a clear grasp of both the details and of the beauty of the Jewish tradition with an appreciation for what it means to be a Torah Jew who does not reject the modern world but embraces it within the context of the mesorah. The Sephardic tradition has both the intellectual weight and the historical precedent to truly lead this renaissance in modern Jewish life.

The Limits of Technology

2010-12-14T17:05:00.000-08:00

It would not be an overstatement to say that we live in an age of unprecedented access to information. This access to information meanwhile is not only a uni-directional process. People, through the medium of blogs, Twitter feeds, Facebook and other services are not only consumers of content but we can be creators as well. The line between journalist and amateur is getting thinner and thinner as the tools to create content become more available and more affordable to masses of people.

From my own personal experience, I recall first hearing about the "Miracle on the Hudson" not by traditional media outlets but by the Facebook status updates of my friends who were witness firsthand to the different moments of the crash of US Airways Flight 1549. This episode and the multitude of stories like it are having profound implications on the way groups form and act, and on the very structures of society itself.

The truth of this statement extends beyond the domain of news media and enters into every facet of human life; from religions to political movements and everything in between. Isolated stories of wrongdoing in disparate locales throughout the globe no longer remain simply on the minds of residents of that area but rather we, as beneficiaries of the globalization of information, can connect the dots between a wrongdoing in Albany, another one in Brooklyn and another one in Los Angeles and uncover trends and respond in ways that would have been much harder a decade ago. In other words, the transaction costs of organizing for positive social change nationally has dramatically dropped thus making it significantly more accessible for a larger group of people to work towards that goal.

It also means that the temptation to find our outlet for human connection via electronic means will only grow greater as the technology to facilitate that becomes cheaper and easier to use. Robert Putnam in his now generation-defining book, Bowling Alone, argues that social groups, whether they be bowling leagues or rotary clubs, increases "social capital" that allows for healthy and functioning society. The loss of social groups has the predictably opposite effect by reducing social capital and thus negatively impacting the functioning of society. I do not believe that a community where the majority of social interactions are done by distance electronic methods produces the same qualitative results of either the need for human connection people crave nor the increase in necessary social capital that society requires.

I do not want to be mistakenly understood to say that online interaction is utterly unhelpful. On the contrary, online communication allows for the maintenance of long-distance relationships, provides an immeasurably valuable resource for the disabled and home-bound and a whole host of other benefits. However, no matter what benefits may arise from online communications, the need that people have for face-to-face human interaction, with real human touch, will in my opinion never disappear. Just because we may be able to Skype with home-bound senior citizens in Manhattan does not mean that organizations that provide volunteer visitors should fold and close shop. Just because we may be able to connect to a Daf Yomi shiur online does not mean we should altogether stop attending one in person at our local synagogue.

As the march of technological progress continues at its current fast clip, we must not forget to be always cognizant of the limits of any tool. Personal coffee makers and newspaper opinion columns did not replace the coffee shop nor did the telephone replace a regular visit to the grandparents and Skype, Facebook, Twitter and online webinars and whatever else may come will not replace a simple hug and a pat on the back.

Parshat Vayishlach: It's a Matter of Perspective

2010-11-18T15:14:00.000-08:00

"I have become small from all the kindnesses..." (Bereishit 32:11)

Yaakov is on the verge of reuniting with his brother for the first time in years. By all accounts this is not to be a joyous occasion. Immediately after securing the firstborn blessing from their dying father, Yaakov flees into exile from his home and from his elder brother. It is only now as he seeks to return to his family and to his land that he must reckon with his brother, Esav. Will there be warfare? Will they both be able to put their past grievances behind them and turn a new page? These are the questions that must have been flashing through Yaakov's mind as he prepared for their imminent meeting.

It is in the midst of all the preparations for their reunion that Yaakov stops and prays. He turns to God and asks for help in overcoming this last challenge between him and his home. It is within that prayer that we uncover remarkable language that can play a truly transforming role in our lives. "I have become small from all the kindnesses and from all the truth that You have rendered Your servant..." Rav Saadia Gaon (b. 892- d. 942), the prominent Babylonian Geonic figure, offers an interpretation that many others after him have adopted: I am small and insignificant, Yaakov cries out, and thus how am I fit to be deserving of all the kindnesses that You have performed for me?"

The plea that Yaakov utters profoundly shifts the paradigm away from an ego-centric to a God-centric perspective. It is all too easy to see ourselves as the center of our own universes. The reality being that for the vast majority of our lives we are totally consumed with our own needs and objectives. The world operates for us and we do not operate for the world. All too often it is natural to see a goodness that occurs for us to be part of the natural order of things, while any negative action, even an unwanted red traffic light, to be entirely alien and foreign to our perceived way of the order of the world.

When we stop and examine Yaakov's plea, we are confronted with a real challenge. Yes, it is true that we must take care of our own needs. There is a Jewish value to making sure one does not abandon themselves. However, it is beneficial to have times where we step outside ourselves and move our position in our ordered universe from the center to a more peripheral position. Doing so allows us to take a broader, more balcony driven perspective on the world and is a healthy action to do regularly.

Yaakov in what to him was perhaps one of the most frightening and difficult periods in his life, stops and considers how small he truly is within the grand scheme of God's universe and from that place of smallness seeks God's help and indeed receives it.

Building Inclusive Jewish Community

2010-11-16T10:37:00.000-08:00

I have a short article up today in the On the Square feature section of the religion journal First Things on the topic of building inclusive Jewish community. In the article I propose a different paradigm for the foundation of inclusive Jewish community. A short excerpt:

Perhaps we require a different paradigm for Jewish inclusiveness. For a generation we have relied on shared ritual. But ritual runs directly into contentious issues such as gender separation, and leads to the stark contrast of the highest or lowest common denominator. The result is to uproot ritual—the articulation of faith as expressed differently by each denomination—from its foundations, and force a compromise with which no one is comfortable.

The rest of the article can be found here.

Parshat Toldot: Discovering the Positive

2010-11-05T05:50:00.000-07:00

There are some things in our lives which we struggle to ﬁnd the positive element of. Situations present themselves which cause us to wonder what is there to be thankful for in regards to this?

In this week's Parsha we are witness to the birth of two nations, the entrance unto the world's stage of two major actors that would shape the face of human civilization: Yaakov and Esav. Yaakov, who would father the twelve tribes of Israel, brings forth into the world the Jewish people. While our rabbis, through the Midrash, understand Esav as the spiritual father of the Roman Empire and later the Western World.

Esav, a hunter with little time for transmission of covenantal destiny, blessings or pondering the nature of God must have presented a challenge for Yitzhak. Yet, our parsha clearly states "ve'ye'ehav Yitzhak et Esav ki tziyad be-ﬁv - and Yitzhak loved Esav because the game of the hunt was in his mouth."

Rav Dovid Kimchi (b. 1160 d. 1235), states that of course Yitzhak loved Yaakov but the difﬁculty was to ﬁnd a reason to love Esav. How does one come to appreciate, to be thankful for someone who represents practically the opposite of all one holds dear? Yet, despite all the difﬁculties, all the challenges in coming to grips with Esav, Yitzhak found a reason, found a way to connect with him. Rav Kimchi concludes that Yitzhak was able to appreciate Esav because "ki tziyad be-ﬁv," because he was able to provide for himself and his family, to provide food for those who needed.

The challenge presented to us through this week's parsha is to ﬁnd ways to appreciate and to be thankful for people, situations and things in our lives that may not be the easiest to do so with. "Ve'ye'ehav Yitzhak et Esav ki tziyad be-ﬁv - And Yitzhak loved Esav because the game of the hunt was in his mouth".

Parshat Chayei Sarah: To be of...?

2010-10-28T18:53:00.000-07:00

What does it mean to be 'of the world' and not at the same time? In many ways this is the task the Jewish people are charged with by God. Avraham, the father of the Jewish people, is called an ivri - Hebrew, the word essentially meaning "the other."

Indeed Avraham was vastly different than any other person residing in his time period. He believed in a unique single God that created humanity and deeply cares about the world and all of its inhabitants. He believed in a world of objective morality and had the courage to voice his sentiments even to God ("Will the Judge of the whole earth not judge justly?"). Yet, he was also very much of this world. He owned property, was married and had children and interacted with his neighbors and the cultures they were steeped in.

An incident in this week's parsha exemplifies Avraham's tension between otherness and non-otherness. In his negotiations to acquire a burial plot for his wife he states: "ger v'toshav anochi imachem - A stranger and a resident I am with you (23:4)." Within one sentence contains the core of the seemingly paradoxical existence that Avraham championed and the existence that was transmitted to us through the generations of Jewish faith.

To be of the world and not of it simultaneously means to live a life that fully appreciates the positives of the surrounding cultures. It means cultivating a discourse of respect and appreciation for people who are not Jewish and it means striving to be a model citizen in whatever country we live in. It also means staying true to our traditions, values and heritage and being above the fray of what is not so positive about the society we live in.

The life we are called to lead, the life modeled on Avraham, is not a necessarily easy life nor is it meant to be. However, to be in the creative tension of "ger v'toshav" can help shape us into spectacularly vibrant, thinking, God-centered people who while rooted in our majestic mesorah are also civil and respectful central actors in the public square.

Esther Petrack and the Complexity of Modern Orthodoxy

2010-10-19T18:19:00.000-07:00

I have to admit I do not watch the popular TV show, America's Next Top Model (ANTM). It is not that I am opposed to television - I am not, but reality television has never been my thing, especially when the show is all about modeling. However, even those of us in the Modern Orthodox community who do not watch ANTM heard about the Modern Orthodox model from Brookline, Esther Petrack. The video clip was circulated wide and far of the host of the show, Tyra Banks, asking Esther if she would be able to give up Shabbat to be on the show and Esther apparently replied with the famous words "I will do it."

Many pundits, both in the Jewish online and print media and in the blogosphere, took this as an example of the unrealistic life of Modern Orthodoxy. Many of them declared that Esther's words were testament to the fact that it was impossible to raise a child simultaneously in both the Torah and secular communities and that one would be sacrificed in pursuit of the other.

The newest report according to Esther's mother Marina is that Esther actually never said what she was made out to say. Rabbi Eliyahu Fink of the Pacific Jewish Center in California blogged about the incident and received an email from her mother in response. I encourage you to visit Rabbi Fink's blog to read the excerpts from her email but in essence what transpired was that the production team behind ANTM edited a much more lengthy response from Esther to Tyra Bank's question. In her more detailed actual response Esther outlined, according to her understanding of halakha, what she could do and what she would be unable to do. The editing team of the show for whatever reason chose to edit her response to appear as if she would wholesale forsake Shabbat for the television program.

Now that we have been given a more complete understanding of what occurred on the television program I believe we are left with an example of not the unsustainable nature of Modern Orthodoxy but rather the complexities of the lives Modern Orthodox committed Jews lead. I do not have to agree with every choice all committed Modern Orthodox Jews make in their negotiations between the world they live in and the world of Torah but I will never discount or not appreciate the thought and care that goes into making those decisions. To be a Modern Orthodox Jew is to fully embrace the messiness of life with all of its manifold and complicated interests.

It is not an easy life but most human endeavors worth doing have never been easy.

Parshat Lech Lecha: The Open Road

2010-10-15T10:40:00.000-07:00

What a difference one parsha makes. We had ended last week's parsha with a discussion of the Tower of Babel. The Tower of Babel in the mind of Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin (the Netziv) was world's first attempt at totalitarianism. Those intrepid citizens of the world decided to build one tower and one city as the catalyst towards the cultivation of one people and one world. Indeed, the Torah remarks that the language of all the inhabitants was the same and so were their thoughts.

The story of Babel is a warning about the dangers of too much uniformity and conformity. It is a story that cautions us about the difficulties in urban and settled life; how the rush to build a single city can very soon lead to the crushing of difference and diversity.

It is then all the more revealing that the parsha that follows last week's telling of Babel begins with the pre-political story of the Jewish nation with the narrative of Abraham. And it is even more revealing that the narrative begins with the command to "go forth from your land, your birthplace and your father's house." Abraham is told to pack his belongings, gather his family and begin sojourning to an unknown destination. He is thrust into the life of a wanderer. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berdechiv, the great Chasidic teacher, is quick to mention that Abraham was not a nuisance or a vagabond but was a man intentionally journeying to a place he did not know, a mission drive life.

This is in stark contrast to the consolidation and fortification represented by the Tower of Babel. While there have been people throughout Jewish history who have led the life of spiritual wanderer, it is certainly not a normative nor prescribed lifestyle. However, perhaps the Torah by juxtaposing these two narratives together is teaching us to strike a balance between the rigidity of urbanization and the fluidity and potential of the open road. These two modes of life when existing as poles in tension and conflict with each other create for us the potential of spiritual discovery while providing the safety of rootedness. The challenge is not letting Babel and the call to "go forth" operate in isolation from each other but allowing them both to inform and deepen our lives.

Tragedy and our duty

2010-09-29T14:38:00.000-07:00

During Yom Kippur a Jewish resident of nearby Somerville, Mitchell Heisman, committed suicide in Harvard Yard on the steps leading up to where the Reform services were taking place. I wrote a response to this tragic event for Boston's Jewish Advocate. The full text of the article follows:

The liturgy of Yom Kippur felt much more pronounced and real this year than perhaps in years past. As we stood and chanted “mi yihiyeh,” who shall live and “mi yamut,” who shall die, our minds could not help but turn to the tragedy that happened in our own back yard. Mitchell Heisman, a 35-year old Jewish Somerville resident, took his own life on the steps leading up to Harvard’s Memorial Church, the site of Harvard Hillel’s Reform Minyan Yom Kippur services. On a beautiful Saturday morning, as we proceeded through the rituals of Judaism’s most holy day, we were shaken from the beauty of the world around us, and a glimpse of human tragedy and suffering was revealed.

It is unclear from news reports how affiliated Mitchell was with the Jewish community. A quick glance through his 1900 page suicide note does reveal that he did view himself as a Jew and that this element of his identity played a seminal role in his formation. The question though of whether Mitchell was affiliated or not is a red herring.

The Torah in Deuteronomy 21 commands a peculiar ritual upon the discovery of an unidentified corpse near one’s city. The leaders of that city are meant to both declare their innocence in the person’s death and to ask forgiveness from G-d for the murder that occurred. How are both possible? If the community is innocent, why ask for forgiveness; and if the community is not innocent, why declare its innocence? The Torah teaches us that as a community we are collectively responsible for the welfare of those amongst us. We may be factually innocent from the death of that particular person, but that does not exonerate us from the collective responsibility; and we, as a Jewish community, must seize this moment and take stock of our preparedness.

Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twerski in his 1997 book “Getting Up When You’re Down” asks a fundamental question in his introduction: “What need is there for a book on depression in the Jewish family? Are there books on arthritis amongst Jews, or pneumonia among Jews?” The unfortunate reality is that mental illness, as Dr. Twerski explains, is “shrouded in a cloud of suspicion, secrecy and even shanda (shame).” This cloud obscures our ability to effectively reach out to those most in need. Perhaps the greatest tragedy is that the cloud is all too often only lifted once the suicide has happened.

The magazine of the Orthodox Union, Jewish Action, carried a groundbreaking article by Rabbi Nathaniel Helfgot in 2001, “Dimensions – A Young Man’s Story of Torment: Surviving Depression.” Rabbi Helfgot is a world renowned educator, author of several books and a public intellectual in the Modern Orthodox Jewish community. He went through a period of major depression in the ’90s and shared his story to help further open the Jewish community. He poignantly writes the following:

“Every few years, one reads in the newspaper of the frum boy who jumps off the George Washington Bridge or of the successful frum lawyer who shoots himself in the head, or the young adolescent yeshivah girl who runs away from home, never to be heard from again. And I sit and wonder, could these people have been helped before they reached the point of no return? Would they have felt less shame turning to someone if the community had created a culture where mental illness was not ‘someone’s fault’ or reflective of a personal flaw, but a disease to be treated and discussed in the same way and with the same empathy that one speaks of kidney disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure?”

We need to work tirelessly toward cultivating a greater atmosphere of loving concern and care amongst our community members. There is a fine line between gentle concern and “being nosy,” but simply being on the lookout for those who exist on the fringes of our community is a big step forward. Dr. Rosalynn Carter in her work “Helping Someone with Mental Illness” highlights several of the warning signs for mental illness, such as marked personality change; confused thinking; apathy; withdrawal from community; thinking or talking about suicide; or anger and hostility that is out of proportion to a situation. People exhibiting any or all of these symptoms need to be reached out to and proactively included in the community. Most importantly, they should not be kept a secret. Let a rabbi know what you have observed and hopefully a rabbi will be able to assist the person in finding a competent mental health practitioner.

The disorientation and shock we experienced on the tragic suicide of Mitchell Heisman should be the catalyst for a transformation in our communal perception of mental illness. The clouds that obscure our view of those most in need should be lifted, and those who exist on the fringes of our communities should be embraced with an open heart and open arms.

Covenantal Promise and Destiny: Wisdom for Life

2010-09-14T05:38:00.000-07:00

I recently self-published a new book, Covenantal Promise and Destiny: Wisdom for Life. The book is the product of much reflection and study with students at Harvard Hillel on the books of Genesis and Deuteronomy.

I chose to focus in on those two books not only because they serve as the bookends for the Chumash but also because they form critical moments in the narrative arch of the Hebrew Bible. Within Genesis we uncover the greatest stories in human history; from God creating the world through the epic trials and tribulations of humanity and with it the process of narrowing unto one person and eventually unto one family to be the vehicle of holiness in this world. Deuteronomy is the greatest re-telling of the greatest storyline of the Jewish people by Moses, the greatest human leader. In every re-telling there is an act of interpretation and in that interpretation one can uncover great insights. When Genesis and Deuteronomy are studied together they reveal great wisdom that is directly applicable to our circumstances and to our time.

For those who decide to purchase my new book I hope it proves meaningful and worthwhile in aiding in your own development and in your study of Tanach and I look forward to hearing your comments. A book is not the end of a journey but rather one step along the way and I always appreciate feedback and reflections.

Shanah Tovah!

2010-09-07T16:59:00.000-07:00

To all those who visit this blog wishing you a sweet new year filled with lots of Torah learning and deep engagement with Judaism!

Shanah Tovah!

Demystifying The Amnon Yitzhak Affair

2010-09-01T06:21:00.000-07:00

Many may now be familiar with the well circulated video clip of a former Israeli singer receiving lashes (malkot) by a rabbinic court (Beit Din). The story had appeared in several news outlets including the Jerusalem Post and caused quite a stir amongst many people throughout the Jewish world. There are two aspects to this story that need to be clarified for people to truly understand what transpired.

First, there is the personality of Rav Amnon Yitzhak himself. Rav Yitzhak is a tremendous public figure in Israel who has dedicated his life to bringing Jews closer to halakhic observance through his Shofar organization. His typical events can draw anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand people and that is because he utilizes outlandish skits and routines in order to simultaneously entertain while educate the crowds. The former singer who became the center of all this talk was not coerced into receiving lashes but rather he volunteered and asked for the treatment to assist him in achieving repentance. [It's another discussion altogether why performing for a mixed-gender audience should warrant such feelings of severe repentance.]

Second, one needs to understand the nature of these lashes. The lashes that were administered to this singer were essentially taps on his back and were entirely symbolic. The Beit Din did not severely beat him but rather gently struck him. The only sort of rabbinic court that can administer actual lashes is one comprised of rabbis possessing authentic ordination (semuchim) that was lost millenia ago through persecution. However, Jews have been using the instrument of honorary symbolic lashes for hundreds of years to serve as an impetus for repentance. This is especially true during the period of time between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. For example, the Shulchan Aruch in O"H 607:6 explicitly states that "All the congregation receives 40 [symbolic] lashes after the afternoon service [before Yom Kippur] because through this their heart will turn away from transgressions that are close to them." Both the Magen Avraham (9) and the Mishnah Berurah (18) are quick to point out that these are in no way obligatory nowadays nor do they serve to actually mitigate the need to do the work of repentance but they can serve as instruments towards that repentance.

Therefore, the request of that former singer to receive symbolic lashes was actually quite in line with rabbinic tradition as practiced for centuries. What was not quite in line with rabbinic tradition was the broadcasting of that moment over the Internet by the Israeli celebrity rabbi Amnon Yitzhak.

Whether we choose to follow this custom or not, may this season of introspection and reflection be a meaningful and transformational one.

Parshat Ki Tavo: Meaningful Labor

2010-08-26T13:37:00.000-07:00

Work can be an uplifting experience. Work can give pride to those who view the fruit of their labor and marvel at their accomplishments. It can enable men and women to provide sustenance and shelter to themselves and their families, and assist people on their way toward discovering the “good life.” However, work can also be demeaning and humiliating. Work can destroy an individual’s self-worth and self-esteem and can obliterate their very humanity. Instead of leaving from a day’s work, able to provide a home and food for themselves and their children, they find their pockets nearly empty and their backs and hands sore from excruciating labor. Rather than experiencing a life filled with work that uplifts and inspires, the individual finds himself or herself stuck in a monotony of pain, depression and mounting bills.

What is the differentiating factor between those who find their work meaningful and uplifting and those that come home everyday from their occupations empty, broken and dejected? Why do some take pride in their work and others only seek ways to escape from the torture they call their life? This week’s Torah portion, Parshat Ki Tavo, presents a possible explanation and solution to this quandary.

Moses, addressing the Nation of Israel, a nation that at that point in history had only recently been freed from the brutality of two centuries of harsh slavery, details the procedures the Israelites will follow when they come to the Land of Israel. The first law given in this Parsha is the law of bikkurim, of the first fruits. Upon entering and establishing sovereignty over the Land, the Jewish people are enjoined to bring the first fruits of their yearly agricultural labors to the Temple in Jerusalem and offer them up to God. At the moment of the transfer of the fruits from the one who toiled over their production, the farmer to the kohen, the farmer declares:

An Aramean sought to destroy my forefather, and he went down to Egypt and sojourned there with a small number of people, and there, he became a great mighty and numerous nation. And the Egyptians treated us cruelly and afflicted us and imposed harsh labor upon us. So we cried out to the Lord, God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil and our oppression. And the Lord brought us out from Egypt with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm, with great awe, and with signs and wonders.

And he brought us to this place, and He gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. And now, behold, I have brought the first of the fruit of the ground which you, O Lord, have given to me.

The Torah is commanding the one who offers the fruit to make this declaration is creating a clear contrast between the existence suffered in Egypt and the life in the Land of Israel. Furthermore, Rashi highlights the contrast even more by mentioning that the law of bikkurim did not become binding until the land that they toiled on was their property and sovereignty was established on it.

The process of bikkurim, of the offering of the first fruits, establishes an important principle in meaningful work. Labor has the potential to provide a sense of accomplishment and pride to the laborer only when the laborer has, at least, some ownership over the work of their own hands. When work is completely and utterly
appropriated by others, and the worker receives, at the most, pennies for each product they produce, that is a form of slavery. Slavery demeans, dehumanizes and destroys a person, reducing them from an individual to a thing possessed by their masters. The slavery experienced by the Israelites in ancient Egypt was not only meant to produce a product but to destroy the soul of the slave and demoralize them from collective action. Therefore, Moses in the first commandment in this Parsha, enjoins the people to experience a work that has purpose and meaning.

Those that brought the bikkurim declared to the presiding kohen, to all those in attendance, to God and to themselves, that the work that produced those first fruits was their work; they planted the seeds, they tilled the ground, they reaped the fruits and they had the ownership over the product to do with it as they saw fit. By being able to make the choice to bring that fruit to the Temple, the farmer is exercising control over the work of his or her hands that someone who does not own the result of their labor cannot do. This is the differentiating factor between the labor done in ancient Egypt and that done in the Land of Israel. This is also perhaps the differentiating factor between those in our own modern era who experience their occupations as a source of pride and those that go from one torturous day to the next in the jobs they perform.

This Shabbat, with the lessons of bikkurim fresh in our minds, let us commit ourselves to find ways to take ownership over the fruit of our hands. Let us not give up hope in being able to find meaning and self-worth in our occupations. Similarly, if we are (future) managers, executives or owners of businesses, let us commit to try and find ways to share more with those who make our businesses possible; with the laborers who toil everyday, those that make our success a reality. In order so that we may “rejoice with all the good that the Lord, your God, has granted you and your household you, the Levite, and the stranger who is among you. (Deuteronomy 26:11)”

Parshat Ki Teitzei - God and the Slaves

2010-08-19T14:45:00.000-07:00

"You shall not deliver a slave to his master if he desires refuge with you from his master." (Devarim 23:16)

There is quite a lot of discussion within the rabbinic literature, both ancient and modern, as to the institution of slavery as codified within the Torah. No matter how one understands slavery in the Torah - as an intrinsic value or as a concession to the state of human affairs - one cannot deny that slaves had a better life in the Torah's system than in other ancient societies. One proof of this elevated sense of compassion towards those without societal privilege is the verse quoted above. A runaway slave is not to be compelled back into the brutal arms of their master but rather is accorded sanctuary within your domain.

The next verse continues this conversation and includes a very powerful textual reference that illustrates how profoundly important this mitzvah is. The Torah states that: "Rather, he shall dwell among you, wherever he chooses [bamakom asher yivhar]..." This is the only time the phrase "bamakom asher yivhar" is used in the Torah to refer to a circumstance other than the future site of God's dwelling on earth, the Temple.

The message is resoundingly clear. The level of investment, effort and the sanctity we accord to the place where God's presence is felt on earth must be matched with the same for how we treat the least amongst us.

May we strengthen our commitment to the underprivileged and by so doing strengthen our relationship with God.

Parshat Shoftim: The Pursuit of Truth

2010-08-10T12:44:00.000-07:00

"Justice, justice shall you pursue..." (Devarim 16:20)

It has been displayed on fliers and on billboards. It has been shouted at rallies and sung at demonstrations. “Tzedek, tzedek tirdof – Justice, justice shall you pursue” became the rallying cry of every social action and social justice Jewish organization around the world. And then it became dull, dry and overused. New phrases had to be implemented, new songs created and new fliers printed in order to replace the once all-popular but now defunct catch phrase of “tzedek, tzedek tirdof.”

What does “tzedek, tzedek tirdof” actually mean? Does it live up to its hype? Rashi understands the phrase to enjoin upon us to seek justice in a proper Beit Din. His reading is based upon the interpretation of the Sifre. This is how Hizkuni, among others, also understand it. The double use of the word tzedek is to teach us that the court we choose to adjudicate our cases must be one which judges with truthful justice.

A Beraitah is quoted in the Gemara in Sanhedrin 32b, that says the same idea eloquently “justice, justice shall you pursue, the same for judgment and for compromise.” A judge is to show no favor, no partiality regardless of the case or the petitioners. Unwavering truthful justice - tzedek tzedek tirdof.

There is another way to read this phrase though and that is the interpretation of Ibn Ezra. He reads the double usage of the word tzedek to emphasize the importance of pursuing righteousness. No matter whether the righteousness “benefits you or harms you". The work of justice is not meant to be a money making scheme or a path to getting rich quickly. On the contrary, it could harm chances for moving up the employment ladder, could distance a person from others and could seriously harm a person's chance for material success. If, on the other hand, it does contribute to the financial success of a person that is fine and not to be looked down upon but that is not the goal of working towards justice.

Perhaps Ibn Ezra's comment on tzedek tzedek tirdof might help us better understand the connection between this verse and the one that follows. The following verse warns Israel to not plant anasherah tree next to the altar. The asherah trees were used for the worship of the pagan mother-goddess asherah but also had a decorative, ornamental function in houses of worship in the ancient world. While the primary reason to not plant an asherah tree near the altar had to do with its idolatrous significance, one does have to wonder about the decorative aspect to it as well.

Ramban suggests that the verse is admonishing Israel not to plant an asherah next to the altar “for beauty and to think that it is an honor and glory for the altar of God.” In other words, to beautify unnecessarily the altar and to distract from the service being performed. One does not need to be beguiled nor distracted when the religious act being performed is one of righteousness and truthfulness.

The thread therefore that runs between tzedek tzedek tirdof and the asherah tree is integrity and truth. Seforno explicitly links the corruptible judge and the asherah tree as matters that are pleasing but despicable for their inner deficiencies. So while this explanation of tzedek tzedek tirdof might not elicit sudden bursts of protest chants or camp songs it sure does convey a powerful message about the qualities of truthfulness, honesty and integrity. In the end it is not the most popular judge nor the most aesthetically beautiful religious practice that wins the day but rather the pursuit of truth no matter its cost is the ideal embodied in those famous words of tzedek tzedek tirdof.

The Jewish Advocate on the Statement of Principles

2010-08-04T20:35:00.001-07:00

The newspaper that covers Boston Jewish life, The Jewish Advocate, has an article this week on the Statement of Principles. As someone who was one of the first to sign the Statement and as a local Boston rabbi I was interviewed for the article. The newspaper only allows access to its articles by subscription so I can only post a few quotes but I encourage those who are in the greater Boston area to subscribe to the Advocate and support a local institution if you have not done so already:

Orthodox Rabbi Benjamin Greenberg of Harvard Hillel – who signed the letter along with his wife, Sharon Weiss-Greenberg– said: “My hope is that any GLBT Jew who is struggling with their orientation will see this letter and realize, ‘There are rabbis who are willing to hear me and will welcome me. I can be who I am.’”
Greenberg said he hoped the letter would help ease the crisis of identity and level of depression among young Orthodox Jews. “I think this letter clearly states the person is to be fully embraced; it’s not just lip service,” he said.
Sharon Weiss-Greenberg said she hoped the letter would spur further acceptance of gays. “Many [Orthodox] communities are at this stage or well beyond this stage, but there are some communities that could learn,” she said. “Leaders in the community should be treating everyone equally, giving someone a hug or inviting someone to your house and showing you’re accepting.”

The full article (subscriber access only) can be found here.

Parshat Eikev - A Manna Mentality

2010-07-27T13:00:00.000-07:00

“Every commandment that I command you this day you shall keep to do so that you may live... (Devarim 8:1)”

Moshe in the opening words of Chapter 8 of our Parsha admonishes Klal Yisrael to observe and to guard the mitzvot in order that they may live and that they may prosper in the Land of Israel. The challenges that await Klal Yisrael are great as they stand at the threshold of territorial acquisition and eventual sovereignty. To lead a life that is guided by moral rectitude within the solitude of the desert is one matter but to do so within the hustle and bustle of cities, towns and marketplaces is an entirely different matter altogether. Hence, as Moshe is in the midst of delivering his final sermon to the Jewish people, as they stand at the threshold of entering the Land of Israel, he is especially concerned with the continuity of religious purpose and moral vision.

This is something that I think many of us are concerned with lately as well. With images of political corruption, money laundering and Ponzi schemes etched into our minds from the front covers of so many newspapers over the past year there seems to be a severe breakdown in the moral character of our society.

What did Moshe choose to emphasize when cautioning Am Yisrael? “He afflicted you and let you hunger, then He fed you the manna that you did not know, nor did your forefathers know, in order to make you know that not by bread alone does man live, rather by everything that emanates from the mouth of God does man live (8:3).” Moshe decides to conjure up the memory of the manna as an illustration to why the Jewish people on the verge of becoming free, with all of its trappings and temptations, should continue to observe the precepts of the Torah.

The manna, as Nahmanides explains, vividly teaches the dependence of humanity on God and that all of human life is woven within the plans of God. In other words, the manna educates us about the humility of life. It puts all of our grand plans, our desires and our wants within the infinitely larger framework of God.

When one is reminded that even the most basic commodities like bread to eat and water to drink is dependent on God, it makes the lure of an unethical behavior just that bit less attractive. I think society at large, and the Jewish people in particular, could benefit from a little more of a manna mentality. The cautioning of Moshe to Klal Yisrael as they stood in that wilderness all those years ago remains as relevant today as it did then.

Therefore, it is my prayer that the next time we open up the Boston Globe or the New York Times and we read articles of communal leaders, both in general society and in the Jewish community, it is a depiction of just and upright work and not the reverse.

Statement of Principles on the Place of Jews with a Homosexual Orientation in Our Community

2010-07-22T18:29:00.000-07:00

We, the undersigned Orthodox rabbis, rashei yeshiva, ramim, Jewish educators and communal leaders affirm the following principles with regard to the place of Jews with a homosexual orientation in our community:

1. All human beings are created in the image of God and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect (kevod haberiyot). Every Jew is obligated to fulfill the entire range of mitzvot between person and person in relation to persons who are homosexual or have feelings of same sex attraction. Embarrassing, harassing or demeaning someone with a homosexual orientation or same-sex attraction is a violation of Torah prohibitions that embody the deepest values of Judaism.

2. The question of whether sexual orientation is primarily genetic, or rather environmentally generated, is irrelevant to our obligation to treat human beings with same-sex attractions and orientations with dignity and respect.

[Full article can be found here.]

Signed by the following as of July 22, 2010:
Rabbi Yosef Adler
Rabbi Elisha Anscelovits
Rabbi Hayyim Angel
Rabbi Marc Angel
Rabbi Maurice Appelbaum
Mrs. Nechama Goldman Barash
Rabbi Avi Baumol
Rabbi Dr. Shalom Berger
Rabbi Dr. Joshua Berman
Rabbi Todd Berman
Dr. David Bernstein
Rabbi David Bigman
Rabbi Yitzchak Blau
Dr. Erica Brown
Rabbi Yuval Cherlow
Rabbi Mark Dratch
Rabbi Ira Ebbin
Rabbi Rafi Eis
Mrs. Atara Eis
Rabbi Yitzhak Etshalom
Rabbi Dr. Shaul (Seth) Farber
Ms. Rachel Feingold
Rabbi Jeffrey Fox
Rabbi Aaron Frank
Rabbi Aharon Frazier
Rabbi Avidan Freedman
Rabbi Shmuel Goldin
Rabbi Mark Gottlieb
Rabbi Barry Gelman
Rabbi Benjamin Greenberg
Rabbi Zvi Grumet
Rabbi Alan Haber
Dr. Aviad Hacohen
Rabbi Tully Harcsztark
Rabbi Nathaniel Helfgot
Dr. Daniel Kahn
Rabbi Yosef Kanefsky
Rabbi Jay Kellman
Rabbi Aryeh Klapper
Mrs. Judy Klitsner
Rabbi Shmuel Klitsner
Rabbi Jeff Kobrin
Dr. Aaron Koller
Rabbi Barry Kornblau
Dr. Meesh Hammer Kossoy
Rabbi Binny Krauss
Mrs. Esther Krauss
Rabbi Dr. Benny Lau
Rabbi Zvi Leshem
Rabbi Dr. Martin Lockshin
Rabbi Dr. Haskel Lookstein
Rabbi Asher Lopatin
Rabbi Chaim Marder
Rabbi Dr. Adam Mintz
Rabbi Jonathan Morgenstern
Rabbi Dr. Yaacov Nagen (Genack)
Mrs. C.B. Neugroschl
Dr. Caroline Pyser
Rabbi Daniel Reifman
Rabbi Avi Robinson
Rabbi Jeremy Savitsky
Rabbi Noam Shapiro
Rabbi Yehuda Seif
Rabbi Adam Schier
Ms. Lisa Schlaff
Rabbi Yehuda Septimus
Rabbi Adam Starr
Rabbi Chaim Strauchler
Rabbi Yehuda Sussman
Rabbi Mordechai Torczyner
Mrs. Dara Unterberg
Rabbi Michael Unterberg
Rabbi Dr. Avie Walfish
Dr. Dina Weiner
Ms. Sara Weinerman
Rabbi David Wolkenfeld
Rabbi Elie Weinstock
Rabbi Alan Yuter
Dr. Yael Ziegler
Rabbi Dr. Stuart Zweiter

Tisha b'Av and Personal Loss

2010-07-20T08:33:00.000-07:00

The Talmud (Gittin 58a) relates the following story:

Rav Yehudah said in the name of Rav: It is related that the son and the daughter of R. Yishmael b. Elisha were carried off [and sold to] two masters. Some time after the two met together, and one said, I have a slave the most beautiful in the world. The other said, I have a female slave the most beautiful in the world. They said: Let us marry them to one another and share the children. They put them in the same room. The boy sat in one corner and the girl in another. He said: I am a priest descended from high priests, and shall I marry a bondwoman? She said: I am the daughter of a priest descended from high priests, and shall I be married to a slave? So they passed all the night in tears. When the day dawned they recognized one another and fell on one another's necks and bemoaned themselves with tears until their souls departed. For them Jeremiah utters lamentation, For these I am weeping, my eye, my eye pours forth water.

This tragic story is transformed into one of the most evocative of the kinnot, the liturgical poems, recited during Tisha b'Av. The kinnot written by a variety of authors throughout the history of Jewish exile relate the diverse ways the Jewish people have suffered in the last two millennia. They weave through the destruction of both Temples, the exile by Babylon, the exile by Rome, the havoc and destruction caused by the Crusades, the persecution of our religious leaders and guides and eventually the utter obliteration of European Jewry that was the Holocaust.

It is within this spectrum of death and destruction, of tears that know no end, that we relate the loss of two individuals. These individuals, the children of Rabbi Yishmael the Kohen Gadol, were not particularly remarkable or notable. They were two people amongst throngs of suffering, humiliated, ridiculed exiles. Yet, the Talmud and later the composer of the kinna, chose to highlight their particular form of humiliation and eventual death. In so doing the mourning transitions from events of national calamity, of places and great personalities, and moves to the individual and the personal. On Tisha b'Av we sit on the floor and cry. We cry for the loss of our spiritual and national centers of life. We cry for the loss of our teachers and role models. We also cry for the loss of every individual, every person who was made to suffer throughout the two thousand years of Jewish wandering and exile.

This Tisha b'Av afternoon, during Minha, I will recite the mourners kaddish as I do every year. I have spent some time over the years researching my family history and piecing together the history of my family through Europe. I think of my family in Austria, the Ukraine and Lithuania amongst other places that perished in the Holocaust. I think of my cousins who did not persevere through the torment of Stalin's Russia. I think of my family who suffered untold horrors during the Kishinev Pogrom of 1903. I also think of all the family members of whom I will never know their name who suffered degradation, torture and persecution and with all those memories I stand and recite kaddish in the merit of their neshamot.

Each individual is precious and priceless. Each individual is made in the image of God. On Tisha b'Av we reflect on both the loss of our communities; our autonomy, our religious centers and leadership and on the loss of every person - from the son and daughter of Rabbi Yishmael to the members of our own extended family.

May we who mourn for Jerusalem and all of her offspring merit to see her complete rebuilding with compassion.

Parshat Devarim - The Destructive Power of Hatred

2010-07-15T16:13:00.000-07:00

"These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel..." (Devarim 1:1)

This week we cross the threshold from the Book of Bamidbar to the Book of Devarim, the last book of the Torah. Devarim is unique in the constellation of the five books in that it is less a vehicle for introducing new legislation or a record of what is happening as it is the last great speech of Moshe to the people. Not much longer from the opening words of the book of Devarim will Moshe take his last breath and leave the world of the finite and entire the world of truth.

In his last days on earth, Moshe offers advice and counsel to the Bnei Yisrael as they are poised to enter the Land of Israel and take hold of their destinies. As someone who knew his people extraordinarily well and had an intimate understanding of their nature, he feels confident in rebuking them for their past failures and reminding them of where they fell short so as not to repeat those errors of judgment again.

The Sifrei, a classic compilation of Biblical exegesis, narrows in on the addition of the words "all of Israel" in the first verse and explains that these words are crucial to Moshe's objective at that moment. Moshe made sure that all of Israel was present for his offering of rebuke for if even one person was not they could claim naive innocence if they fell into their old habits. Improvement hinged on all of the people being present to hear and integrate Moshe's last teaching. In other words, ultimately the collective success or failure of the group depended on everyone being held accountable; everyone responsible for themselves and each other.

As we enter this Shabbat let us appreciate the moment in our year that we are fast approaching. This coming Monday night we commence an intensive 25-hour mourning period for all the national calamities that befell our people during the last two millennia. on Tisha B'Av we reflect on the disasters that have struck the Jewish people, internalize the memory of collective pain and draw ourselves closer to the often tragic but also tremendous past of our people.

However, Tisha B'Av is not just a moment to think about the past but it is also a time to reflect on the present and where we are going as a people. In the past few weeks there has been a lot of difficult and complex testing moments for the integrity and unity of the Jewish people. To name but a few: the disagreement transpiring in Syracuse, New York between a small Orthodox congregation and the National Council of Young Israel; the bill in front of the Knesset that would change the landscape of conversion throughout the world; the arrest of a woman carrying a Sefer Torah through the path adjacent to the Kotel and the protests and arrests as the Israeli Supreme Court weighed in on allegations of racism in a Beis Yaakov school in the city of Emmanuel.

All of these events try our ability to think compassionately and about the best interests of the Jewish people. Every new moment of tension makes it more difficult for us to see from the balcony perspective and to not get bitter and cynical. The Talmud (Gittin 56a) relates the well known story of two individuals, Kamtza and Bar Kamtza. The story goes that Bar Kamtza was delivered an invitation to a party meant for Kamtza. The host of the party can not stand Bar Kamtza and when he arrives demands that he leaves. Bar Kamtza, in an effort to prevent being humiliated, offers to cover his costs at the party but his offer is refused. He keeps on upping the offer until he eventually offers to pay for the whole party and once again he is refused. All the while the rabbis are seated at the party and remain silent. Bar Kamtza enraged leaves the party and makes his way to the Romans instigating what would lead to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple.

The rabbis understand this story allegorically to teach us about the destructive nature of hatred and animosity. When we can no longer see each other as made in the image of God, as fellow members of the brit, of the covenant, we lose the ability to think rationally and we perform actions that have deep negative consequences. The rabbis by connecting this Talmudic story to the collective losses we recollect on Tisha B'Av are demanding that we grow in our sense of love and respect for each other and try to find the common good that benefits all.

Moshe in his final speech to the Jewish people chose to offer constructive rebuke. He did not admonish for the sake of admonishment but rather so that we would learn and grow. Our people faces significant challenges now both here in the States and abroad. As we reflect on Moshe's rebuke this Shabbat and later sit and recollect the tragedies of our people on Tisha B'Av, let us learn the lesson of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza. Let us lessen our rhetoric, open our eyes and see those who we disagree with as members of the same large family. Let us not see disagreements, whether they be here or in Israel, as opportunities to feed our cynicism and scorn but rather as chances to come to better solutions and to work cooperatively for the good of all the Jewish people.

Jewish Summer Camp and Jewish Continuity

2010-07-12T15:54:00.000-07:00

To say that I grew up not as a camping sort of person would be an understatement. When I look back at my childhood I never wanted to leave the confines of a city and was more comfortable around computers than climbing walls. I am still very happy within city limits but I have come to realize a powerful truth about imparting Jewish values and tradition to the next generation - the key is Jewish summer camp. Many of you might know that my wife Sharon is a Jewish summer camp rockstar. She spent the majority of her life attending Camp Stone in Pennsylvania, eventually becoming the head of camp for two summers and is now doing her doctoral research for NYU on the topic of gender studies in the Jewish summer camp setting. Sharon introduced me to Jewish summer camping and allowed me to see firsthand the profound impact it has on young Jews.

Imagine close to 400 people gathered around together in concentric circles. All of these people are under the age of 30 and the overwhelming majority are between 8-15 years of age. It is hard to conceive of any situation in which 400 young people are all refraining from chatter and are focused on the activity at hand. Yet, this is precisely what I observed, not once but every time I have been to camp for Shabbat: A chorus of voices rising together singing during Seudah Shlishit as the sun was beginning to hide itself amongst the treetops. Remarkable moments involving hundreds of children of devotion and spirituality do not occur in a vacuum. They are the result of living daily in a community infused with a love for Judaism. They are the result of being surrounded by a community that does not only observe Judaism but celebrates a life of Torah and mitzvot.

It is rare indeed to be situated, at any point in your life, in a place of sustained rejoicing and celebration of Judaism. We may gather a small glimpse of that utopian life but then it escapes us and leaves behind only a faint imprint in our hearts and minds. The search for the cloistered and serene life though is not the purpose of living Jewishly. The raison d’être of the Jewish life is to make the profane sacred, to transform the world and lift it up to holiness. It is not to escape from the mundane to the holy but rather to bring holiness down into this world and suffuse our environment with the Divine. Nonetheless, from a pedagogical perspective the effect of a summer of sustained positive Jewish living as a young person can never be underestimated. Jewish summer camp provides for children the opportunity to be an active member of a mini-society that wholly and unequivocally loves Judaism, where one could find that they are even dancing at a Tuesday morning Shacharit minyan.

My observations may be obvious to many of you but for me they are a hiddush, a novel idea. For those of you with young children I urge you to consider the option of Jewish summer camp. It is, in my opinion and without exaggeration, a crucial key towards the transmission of positive Jewish identity to the next generation.

Parshat Massei - The Reflective Life

2010-07-08T11:38:00.000-07:00

"... but he was not his enemy and bore him no malice." (Bamidbar 35:23)

Revenge is one of those things that can take over a person's life and utterly consume their every waking thought and action. The impulse to take action against those who have wronged us can be absolutely overwhelming. Shylock in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice famously defends his basic humanity with the well known words, "If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?" In other words, revenge is as basic to humanity as our very mortality.

It is within this understanding of the nature of revenge that the Torah decrees that cities of refuge shall be constructed throughout the Land of Israel. These protected spaces are meant to serve as safe havens for those who have unintentionally killed another human being. The threat of revenge from family members enraged over the loss of their loved ones is just too great to risk exposure for these individuals and for their own safety they must remain within the confines of these cities.

The Torah though does not allow all murderers refuge in these safe spaces. The act of murder must have been done within a certain set of parameters for the individual to be granted asylum. The Parshadescribes in great length the specifications and it is within the context of that description that we come across a fascinating statement:

"But if he pushed him accidentally, without malice, or threw an object at him without premeditation, or, with any stone which is deadly, and without seeing [his victim] he threw it down at him and it killed him, but he was not his enemy and bore him no malice (35:22-23)."

In describing some of the parameters that define an unintentional murder the Torah specifically points to the intent of the murderer (e.g. "without malice," "without premeditation," "was not his enemy" and "bore him no malice"). I have been told by trial lawyers that one of the most difficult elements to prove beyond a reasonable doubt is the actual intent of the defendant. One can reasonably demonstrate based on various pieces of evidence what the intent most likely was but as long as the defendant denies malicious intent, it is very difficult to absolutely and unequivocally prove.

The Torah serves as both a judicial roadmap towards creating a just society and as a living document that challenges us religiously, spiritually, morally and ethically. In its judicial capacity this text needs to be understood in a way that is manageable and doable for human courts and a human justice system. Thus, the Gemara in Makkot 7b learns a basic principle from this verse that those who while throwing things down kill someone can claim refuge, the same is not true for those who heave heavy objects upwards. The assumption is that throwing a heavy object up requires more focus and attention and thus one should notice if someone is standing right in your direction while throwing an object downwards is relatively easy and one can easily just drop an item without realizing who is standing below.

Simultaneously, this pasuk is challenging us to live a life of self-awareness and honesty. When one throws objects around one should look before they throw. The same is true for when one does any action in this world - one must be aware of what they are doing, be in the moment and also think about the consequences of that action. A person must also be honest with themselves and with others. It takes great courage to be truly honest with one's self and that is even more true when it comes to others. A person could only rightfully claim refuge when they really bore no malice or bad intentions towards their victim. Knowing one's own intentions and feelings towards others is a critical piece of being part of community and towards greater self-understanding. The Parsha challenges us to live up to a life filled with moments of self-reflection and a life of honest interactions with our own self and with the rest of humanity.

International Rabbinic Fellowship Press Release

2010-07-06T19:30:00.000-07:00

Press Release

Contact: Rabbi Jason Herman, Executive Director

Phone: 917.751.5265

Email: jlherman@jlherman.net

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

9 A.M. EDT, July 2, 2010

ORTHODOX JUDAISM’S NEWEST RABBINIC GROUP, INTERNATIONAL RABBINIC FELLOWSHIP (IRF), CONVENES CONFERENCE TO FORGE ITS FUTURE, ADOPT CONVERSION POLICIES, OUTLINE ROLE OF WOMEN AS SPIRITUAL LEADERS

The International Rabbinic Fellowship, an organization of over 150 American, Israeli, and world rabbis met this past week at the Pearlstone Conference and Retreat Center outside Baltimore, Maryland to strengthen collegial relationships, study torah, and discuss ideas that impact rabbinic practice. The group voted on and adopted several policies and resolutions that will guide Orthodoxy’s future.

A highlight of the conference was the presence of Rav David Stav, Rabbi of the Shoham community in Israel, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Hesder Petach Tikva and founder of Tzohar, a large Israeli Rabbinic group. Conference attendees were privileged to discuss at length with Rabbi Stav critical issues facing the State of Israel and the Jewish people.

Resolutions that were discussed in depth and adopted by the IRF included the official establishment of the IRF’s conversion committee (Va’ad Giur) that will oversee, guide, and ensure the thoroughness of conversions performed by IRF members. The committee consists of several American and Israeli well known rabbinic scholars and has been constituted as a body not to centralize conversions but to help guide the group’s members in conversions that they may effect for their own congregants and constituents.

Said Rabbi Barry Gelman, IRF president, "The IRF's Vaad Giur will serve to ensure that each rabbi retains the proper ability to care for and guide their own candidates for conversion. The IRF Giyur process, which includes a very important mentorship component, guarantees that candidates for conversion will be well prepared and that the Rabbis are provided with ongoing guidance and support."

Orthodoxy’s broadest resolution yet outlining the role of and opportunities available for women working in Orthodox synagogues in Rabbinic capacities was also adopted at the conference.

The following is the text of the resolution as adopted by the International Rabbinic Fellowship:

IRF Resolution on Women in Communal Leadership Roles

The International Rabbinic Fellowship is thankful and grateful to the Almighty and to a cadre of visionary educators, rabbis and communal leaders of the Modern Orthodox community for the amazing growth of Torah learning for women, in all its forms, which has transformed the face of the Orthodox community for the better in the last fifty years.

We strongly support the work and efforts of the myriad of Torah learning programs and institutions for women, both long-established and new, both in the Diaspora and in Israel. We hope that these institutions continue to grow and that even more opportunities for talented women who would like to continue on to the next level of Torah scholarship, involving multi-year opportunities for serious Torah learning, will emerge in the years to come.

We express our support for the sincere desire of the graduates of these learning programs to contribute their spiritual talents to the Jewish people as teachers, spiritual guides and mentors. We also affirm the dedication and sacrifice of so many women in our community, and their desire to serve their congregations and their people in formal leadership capacities, while affirming the specific areas that Halakha delimits.

We strongly encourage communities and their rabbinic leaders to create opportunities to discuss this important phenomenon in an open and reflective manner, in order to enable continuing progress in a spirit of shalom and communal harmony.

In an effort to outline some practical guidelines that we believe our communities should consider – recognizing that each community and its rabbinic leadership retain the authority to determine what is appropriate for their communal context – we affirm that:

Observant and committed Orthodox women who are learned, trained and competent should have every opportunity to fully serve the Jewish community:

1. As teachers of Torah, in all its breadth and depth – Shebikhtav, Shebe‘al Peh and Practical Halakha – to both men and women.

2. As persons who can answer questions and provide guidance to both men and women in all areas of Jewish law in which they are well-versed.

3. As clergy who function as pastoral counselors – visiting the sick, helping couples work through relationship difficulties, taking care of the arrangements for burial, speaking at life-cycle events and giving counsel to individuals and families in distress.

4. As spiritual preachers and guides who teach classes and deliver divrei Torah and derashot, in the synagogue and out, both during the week and on Shabbatot and holidays.

5. As spiritual guides and mentors, helping arrange and managing life-cycle events such as weddings, bar- and bat-mitzvah celebrations and funerals, while refraining from engaging in those aspects of these events that Halakha does not allow for women to take part in.

6. As presidents and full members of the boards of synagogues and other Torah institutions.

For more information about the International Rabbinic Fellowship or its conference contact any of the following IRF officers:

Rabbi Barry Gelman, tel. 713.723.3850, email

Rabbi Hyim Shafner, tel. 314.583.4397, email

Rabbi Nissan Antine, tel. 301.279.7010 x 209, email<rabbiantine@gmail.com>

Rabbi Yosef Kanefsky, tel. 310.276.9269, email

Rabbi Marc D. Angel, tel. 212.724.4145, email <mdangel@jewishideas.org>

Rabbi Jason Herman, IRF Executive Director, tel. 917.751.5265, email

The Orthoprax Rabbi and The Legitimacy of Struggling

2010-07-06T18:45:00.000-07:00

I was introduced to a fascinating new blog thanks to Harry Maryles. This new blog is the work of a rabbi who calls himself "The Orthoprax Rabbi". The author is an ordained Orthodox rabbi with a pulpit position, and here comes the catch - he no longer believes in God or in the halakhic system. Essentially, he is a closeted atheist who is using his blog to discuss the topics that he has been thinking and pining over for an untold amount of time. As I was reading through the comments to his postings there was a consistent thread of people viciously attacking his integrity and his intellectual depth.

I do not want to add to the chorus line of rebuke of this individual. First of all, from a halakhic perspective one should only offer rebuke when the recipient is in a place to be able to hear it. It is far from apparent to me that this individual is looking for rebuke or that any offerings of such will resonate in his heart and mind. What I do want to discuss is the legitimacy of struggling with faith and the validity of doubt.

We as a community need to be able to create space for people to express concerns and struggles with Torah and halakhah. In many places it has practically become taboo for someone to think critically and wrestle with their emunah. This is true for the average community member but of course even more true for those in rabbinic positions. Rabbis must have colleagues and professional organizations that they can turn to for guidance and support. It is essential that every rabbi has his own rabbi that he can lean on; someone to call their rebbe. No individual and certainly no rabbi should be stigmatized for struggling and grappling with Torah.

I do believe there is a critical distinction though between those rabbis who are struggling and those who have definitively become convinced of a path that is contrary to halakhah. There are few things more disheartening to a community than discovering that their rabbi does not practice what he preaches. It is unethical to deceive one's community and a rabbinic position is not like any other job. Rabbis, and all clergy for that matter, are hired to represent and embody their faith and to teach and inspire others in that faith. A rabbi who has become absolutely convinced that faith in God is erroneous and that their particular faith is utterly misguided should and must resign his position at once.

In the end of it all, my heart truly goes out to The Orthoprax Rabbi. The challenges he is facing and will come to face in the future as he reveals himself to his community and to his family are going to be tremendous. It is truly commendable that he is now grappling with his new reality post-belief and demonstrates genuine integrity. I may not agree with his conclusions but I respect the quest for self that he has engaged in.

Parshat Pinhas - Radical Inclusion

2010-07-01T10:24:00.000-07:00

"Why should our father's name be eliminated from his family because he had no son?" (Bamidbar 27:4)

There are rare moments in the entire narrative arch of Tanakh where the status quo is challenged and that challenge is subsequently upheld. Even more rare is the moment where a challenge lends way to an entire new application of halakhah. One example of this that comes to mind is the incident of the impure individuals and the creation of the Pesah sheini to facilitate their inclusion. Another incident is the one in this very parshah of the daughters of Tzlafhad.

John Quincy Adams, one of the most accomplished men in American history, inherited his first residence from his father John Adams. The property that was bequeathed to him included a house on what was then the main road in Quincy, Massachusetts. That house was built by John Quincy Adams' grandfather, Deacon John Adams. He diligently saved and saved until he had enough to buy a piece of land because in his words "land was not going to run away from you."

The ownership of land has and continues to be a vital ingredient in the financial portfolio of many families. The land deed more than so many other things grants families a sense of confidence and assuredness. It was no wonder than that Deacon John Adams throughout his life amassed a lot of land, about 200 acres in total because land, unlike many other forms of property, "is not going to run away from you."

The daughters of Tzlafhad understood that without the ability to inherit their father's land they would have been put in a vulnerable position. Ownership of land from the times of Tanakh through ancient Greece and up through the modern era means so much to the financial, psychological and political welfare of an individual and of a family. We have therefore a remarkable piece of Midrash from Yalkut Shimoni 27:

"When the daughters of Tzlafhad heard that the land was being divided to the tribes but not to the women, they convened to discuss the manner. They said, 'God's mercy and compassion is not like the compassion of mankind. Mankind favors men over women. God is not that way, His compassion is on men and women alike...'"

In what could only be called a forerunner to the convention in Seneca Falls, the daughters of Tzlafhad made a powerful plea and case for inclusion. Their plea remarkably did not fall on deaf ears and none other than God responded, "The daughters of Tzlafhad speak justly (27:7)."

While the daughters of Tzlafhad made a poignant and sharp critique of the ability of humanity to unnecessarily privilege one group over the other, let us be cognizant of that fault and work towards the betterment of ourselves and all of humankind. May our compassion be on "men and women" and all groups and classes of people alike.

Parshat Balak - The Link Between Failure and Success

2010-06-24T19:57:00.000-07:00

"Balak said to him: Come with me to another place..." (Bamidbar 23:13)

Thomas Edison, one of the greatest inventive minds in American history is famously quoted as saying, "I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Edison understood that an integral component of success is failure. The two seeming opposites go hand in hand and function in a complimentary manner. The key to achieving success is an attitudinal one: how does one view failure?

Balak was on a quest to uproot the Jewish mission. We of course find his objective deeply troubling but nonetheless he had a specific task and his reaction to the various setbacks in that task imparts a powerful lesson for us. Balak understood that at the root of it all the Jewish people were in the midst of a spiritual journey and thus the way to subvert them was through a spiritual means. He therefore commissions the prophet Balaam to level a curse upon the people.

As we progress through the narrative we find that Balaam far from cursing the Jewish people ends up blessing them each time he attempts to do so. One can imagine how infuriated this must have made Balak who entrusted the success of his mission to the potency of Balaam's mystical incantations.

His response to each failure though was not to re-evaluate the objective or at the very least to think critically about the methods employed. Rather, he decides to move to another place and try again. Instead of turning inwards, he looks outwards and finds the fault within the environment itself. It is much easier to place the blame on circumstances that cannot be controlled, however by doing so one forfeits their ability to grow from the failure and come one step closer to success.

We are grateful Balak did not self-reflect and use his failures as opportunities for growth. Nonetheless, we can learn the lesson taught to us by both the Parshaand by Thomas Edison and shift our attitude and by doing so begin to truly reach for success.

Parshat Hukat - The Invisible Amongst Us

2010-06-18T05:29:00.000-07:00

"Miriam died there and was buried there... the congregation had no water..." (Bamidbar 20:1-2)

The juxtaposition of two events next to each other in classical Biblical exegesis can oftentimes have deep significance. In this week's Parsha we are informed of two occurrences, one right after the other: the death of Miriam the Prophetess and the lack of water. The Gemara in Taanit 9a learns that in the merit of Miriam the people had water throughout their sojourning through the desert and upon her passing they lost that water.

Water in the environment of the desert is perhaps the most crucial ingredient to survival next to food and occasional shelter. A person will not survive very long in the harsh conditions of the desert without water. The Gemara explicitly teaches us that it was because of the righteousness and sanctity of Miriam that the nation of Israel merited to have such a precious resource wherever they journeyed. This is no small feat and attests to the greatness of Miriam.

However, of the three siblings; Moshe, Aharon and Miriam, she is probably the least acknowledged within both the narrative and our subsequent tradition. There is so much to be said for those who work behind the scenes, quietly and modestly doing their life saving work. There is also much to be said about recognizing and appreciating the contributions of those in the community. A balance must be maintained between recognition and the sanctity of anonymity. There is no answer to this question but how many thought about the gift of water that Miriam daily bestowed upon them? The text itself does not make even an allusion to her contribution until after her passing.

Let us strive to demonstrate our appreciation and acknowledge those who work tirelessly behind the scenes so that our personal lives and indeed our very society may function. There are so many "invisible" people in our midst: from toll booth collectors to hotel cleaning staff and so many other professions, too numerous to mention. May we learn the lesson of this Parsha, to express our gratitude to them once they have passed on but also not forget to do so while they are still living.

Mission Driven Peoplehood

2010-06-15T17:21:00.000-07:00

When I was a yeshiva student at The Lander College for Men I remember a moment during my learning that later became transformative in defining the ways that I try to teach Torah to individuals and communities. I was sitting across from my hevruta and we were grappling with a particular piece of Talmud in Tractate Bava Kamma. In the midst of discussing a particular Tosafot I looked up from the page and asked my hevruta, "Why is this relevant?"

I did not ask that question because I was having a crisis in my learning. The contrary was true, I was immensely enjoying the study for the sake of the study itself but I nonetheless felt that something was missing. In that one moment a light shone in my mind that the job of the rabbinic community today is to reinvigorate Jewish life and learning with a mission and a vision. If we can connect the dots from Tanakh to Talmud to Halakhah and frame a picture of a Jewish purpose driven life then we can create a renaissance of Judaism in the modern age.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks in his newest work, Future Tense, sheds even more light on this initial aha moment I experienced years ago:

"... They mean that Jews must go back to the beginning and to the Hebrew Bible and ask again what it is to be Jewish, part of a singular people in a plural world, conscious at one and the same time of the uniqueness of identity and the universality of the human condition. What is it to be true to your faith and a blessing to others regardless of their faith? That is the Jewish question...

The single most important challenge facing the Jewish people, in Israel and the Diaspora, is to recover the Jewish story. It inspired George Eliot. It inspired Dr. King. The time has come for it to inspire Jews."

It is not always easy to derive meaning from every text that we delve into. Nonetheless, I am in complete agreement with Rabbi Sacks that recovering the Jewish story is the single most important challenge for the Jewish community. In what ways do you connect what you learn to the richness of the Jewish story, to the mission and vision of the Jewish people? How do you reignite your own Jewish imagination towards the great narrative of Am Yisrael?

Innocent Until Proven Guilty: Sholom Rubashkin

2010-06-11T12:07:00.000-07:00

Sholom Rubashkin, the former owner of a kosher slaughterhouse in Iowa, was vilified and decried relentlessly by various Jewish social justice organizations for his alleged labor abuses. This past week the Iowa state court acquitted Mr. Rubashkin on all child labor charges. All other labor violations were previously dropped by the Attorney General's office. Rubashkin was however found guilty of bank fraud prior to this acquittal. Nonetheless, the American justice system has not found Sholom Rubashkin guilty for any of the labor allegations leveled against him throughout this ordeal.

It was absolutely unethical and unlawful for Mr. Rubashkin to overstate the assets of his company in order to secure a greater line of credit from his bank. The issue of his bank fraud though was never the primary, nor even a tangential issue for the organizations that rushed to vilify him. The overriding and central set of allegations that occupied the prime spot for the motivation to launch a nationwide campaign were undocumented workers and child labor; both of which Rubashkin has either been acquitted of or the charges have been dropped. (Interestingly, the new ethical kosher seal, Tav HaYosher, launched by Uri L'Tzedek does not monitor or verify for undocumented workers before granting certification.)

How will Uri L'Tzedek and other Jewish social justice organizations respond to this new reality? Will they release new protocols that will help ethically guide them when they feel compelled to take drastic actions, such as a boycott or public shaming of people in the press? Will they offer an apology for their actions they committed prior to letting the American justice system deliver a verdict?

It is my assertion that all the events surrounding this case, from day one, demonstrate the truth that there is no situation that is black and white, an easy right or an easy wrong. Almost all situations are complex and multifaceted and call for careful research, patience and working alongside the processes of the American legal system before making quick decisions or performing actions which one will come to regret later. I pray that as we reflect on this entire ordeal, we will learn those lessons, both as a collective community and as individuals.

Sacred Disagreement - Parshat Korah

2010-06-10T14:29:00.000-07:00

"They assembled against Moshe and Aharon, and said to them..." (Bamidbar 16:3)

Judaism is a tradition of canonized and sanctified argumentation. Some of our most central texts of the tradition are recorded disputes. It is through the mechanism of disagreement that we are able to uncover the multiple layers of meaning and profundity from different texts and practices. In the words of the Sages we thrive on "disagreement for the sake of Heaven."

What though defines a disagreement for the sake of Heaven? One way to understand what a disagreement for the sake of Heaven is, is to understand what it is not. The events surrounding the great dispute between Korah and Moshe as exhibited in this week's Parsha exemplifies a very mundane dispute.

Korah presents a challenge to the very legitimacy of Moshe's authority over the Nation of Israel. This act is a very severe one and must not be discounted fully and disregarded. After all, murmurings of discontent left alone will eventually morph into an all-out rebellion. While the content of Korah's complaint is important and deserves close attention, for our purposes we will focus in on the manner in which it was delivered and its structure.

The challengers to the status quo show no facade of politeness or assuming positive intentions. They do not ask clarifying questions or provide space for Moshe to explain from his perspective and offer an alternative view of the events they are disgruntled about. Korah and his followers immediately and without delay jump into a tirade assuming the worst intentions of Moshe.

One does not begin a "disagreement for the sake of Heaven" by assuming the worst in the other. In fact, one tries to assume as little as possible about the intentions of the other and rather lets the other explain their actions and decisions. Sacred disagreement, the kind that has sustained the Jewish imagination for centuries, is not about proving the other wrong. Sacred and holy disagreement is about uncovering the complex layers of truth and drawing out distinctions in the service of the discovery of that truth.

Moshe's response to their tirade then is a demonstration of an extreme reaction to an extreme situation. Since Korah and his constituents were not utilizing the methods of sacred disagreement, the only reaction Moshe could exhibit was one of extreme deference: "Moshe heard and fell on his face." Rashi based on the Midrash Tanhuma understands Moshe's action as one of prayer on behalf of the people. However, we can see Moshe's actions in another light. They showed no signs of respect at all towards Moshe thus Moshe as the great pedagogue of the people uses his moment to respond to demonstrate utter respect by bowing low to the ground.

The Parsha of Korah teaches us the pivotal and defining concept of "disagreement for the sake of heaven." It reinforces for us that all disagreements must be in the search of truth and not based on assumptions of the character or integrity of the other person. May we heed the challenge of sacred disagreement.

Let's Not (Continue to) Institutionalize Mediocrity

2010-04-27T19:42:00.000-07:00

Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein is a Haredi blogger on the blog Cross-Currents. I do not typically read the blog posts on Cross-Currents as they generally revolve around issues that are outside of the Modern Orthodox community. However in his most recent blog post he directly addresses the perceived growing mediocrity in the Modern Orthodox rabbinate. He attributes the rising state of mediocre rabbis on the fact that both YCT and RIETS have taken away educational time from pure study of Torah to pastoral counseling and professional development. The more time a rabbinical student spends delving into Torah for its own sake the better a congregational rabbi he will make, argues Adlerstein. He continues and asserts that the more time a rabbinical student spends learning the methodologies and practices in counseling a person through death and mourning, divorce, alcohol and substance addiction, etc the more mediocre the rabbi will be.

Rabbi Adlerstein is not the first Haredi blogger to pontificate on the downfall of the rabbinate based on this argument. One needs only to think seriously about this argument to realize its intrinsic flaws and shortcomings. There are people who have devoted their lives to talmud Torah and the institutional framework of kollel. Then there are people who have devoted their lives to the institutional framework of the congregation and serving the community. Both are pursuing paths of avodat kodesh. To argue that a rabbinical school that devotes time to training their future communal rabbis in how to be compassionate counselors, effective communicators and trained administrators is in someway forming a mediocre rabbi is ludicrous. That is not to say that many rabbis who did not receive this training do not function as wonderful congregational rabbis - it only means that their rabbinical school essentially hopes they are natural prodigies in counseling, communication and administration (among many other areas) instead of providing the actual education. We do not place our bet on the prodigy factor in any other profession and we should not make that bet on a profession that serves for many people as the front line responders to a whole array of life challenges and difficulties.

So yes, Rabbi Adlerstein, let us not institutionalize a mediocre congregational rabbinate. Let us continue to support institutions such as RIETS and YCT that believe a Modern Orthodox congregational rabbi today needs to be able to counsel a couple; work with a suicidal teenager; recognize eating disorders before its too late; balance budgets and understand P&L reports; communicate in a language that can reach and inspire the Jews of today and so many other dimensions that it would take pages and pages just to list them.

Sholom Rubashkin and the Human Element

2010-04-26T18:59:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking a lot recently about the court proceedings against Sholom Rubashkin in Iowa. Let me preface by saying that I am deeply opposed to any and all unethical and illegal business practices. I believe that it is the lofty responsibility of every Jew to represent the paradigm of a person of profound faith in God and scrupulous commitment to Torah with the utmost commitment to ethics and good citizen behavior. The actions that Sholom Rubashkin did personally, and the actions for which as CEO he is ultimately responsible for, are inexcusable and represent a severe lapse in ethical reasoning. Sholom Rubashkin should and must face the punitive consequences for his actions.

My colleague Shmuly Yanklowitz in a column in The Jewish Week argued that the Jewish community in campaigning for a punishment other than life in prison, the punishment being asked for by the prosecution, is demonstrating a public display of our wrong priorities. What about the workers arrested in that now infamous raid? Why isn't the Jewish community collecting signatures on their behalf, Shmuly asks. ("One must consider priorities in these cases and the message sent by defending the owner's case...")

I agree with Shmuly that the case of the workers should be addressed and the workers dealt with compassionately. I commend organizations such as The Jewish Council on Urban Affairs for making immigration reform a central piece of their agenda. However, caring about the workers does not by necessity demand ignoring Sholom Rubashkin. In asking for a life sentence the prosecution is clearly interested in utilizing this case as an example to all would-be offenders. I am opposed on moral and religious grounds to the concept of excessively punishing one person to set an example for others. First, it turns a real human being into a means towards an end. Secondly, it ignores the fact that all matters of din (judgement) must be tempered by rahamim (mercy) and a court that exercises only pure din is an unjust court.

For these reasons I have decided to support the campaign to seek a sentence that both reflects the severity of his crimes and is tempered with mercy.

The Meaning of Remembrance

2010-04-19T06:22:00.000-07:00

Today marks Yom HaZikaron, Israeli Memorial Day. On this day the people of Israel pause, reflect, mourn and remember the thousands of individuals; men, women and children who have lost their lives in defense of the State of Israel. Many died in the formative wars of the early days of the State. Many died in the wars with the Iranian proxy group of Hezbollah in Lebanon or with the Islamic fundamentalist group Hamas in Gaza and the West Bank. Many died sitting on a bus or having dinner at home or celebrating a Passover Seder at a hotel or reading the newspaper in a coffee shop. All of them died al-Kiddush Hashem, as martyrs and are kodesh kodeshim, the modern day human embodiment of the holy of holies.

What does it mean to remember? Every year the yahrtzeit candles are lit, memorial ceremonies are held and prayers uttered. All of these acts are rituals meant to evoke memory. The memory though can not sit idle. To remember is to be transformed. To remember is to act. During holidays we recite memorial prayers called Yizkor, literally translated as "may God remember." The Divine does not possess a human memory nor does the Divine forget. The essence of what we ask of God in that moment is that God should act on the memories of our beloved. The lives they led; their passions, convictions, hopes and faith should become the impetus for Divine action.

The same is true today on Yom HaZikaron for us. When we remember those who have perished, we should seek to turn the emotional content of those memories into concrete action. The rituals we perform to evoke the memory should be a springboard for action that authentically and genuinely reflects their memory. In that vein, I suggest that we view this day of remembrance as a moment to strengthen and rededicate ourselves to the work of peace. Ultimately, it is the dream and yearning of Israeli society at large to see the day when peace will finally be achieved. It too was the inspiration and motivation for many soldiers who gave their lives in defense of their country. May we, in their memory, continue their work.

The Agudah and Misplaced Values

2010-04-13T13:14:00.000-07:00

The Beis Yaakov school, a Haredi girls primary school in the Israeli city of Emmanuel has been denying admission to any girl from a Sephardic family. They refuse to even entertain the idea of admitting a girl who is not Ashkenazic. This blatant case of racism found its way to the Israeli Supreme Court and the court fined the Israeli Beis Yaakov system 5,000 NIS a day until the school agrees to integrate.

The response from the Haredi rabbinic leadership has been unequivocal opposition to the idea of allowing Sephardic girls into the school. Rabbi Shalom Elyashiv, the preeminent rabbinic leader of Haredi Ashkenazi Jewry in Israel, called for protests against the Supreme Court. He furthermore said that he would be willing to sit in prison rather than allow Sephardic girls into the Beis Yaakov school in Emmanuel. He compared the efforts of the Israeli court to end racism to the Czarist Russian anti-Semitic authorities.

The elite rabbinic leadership (the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah) of the American branch of the Agudas Yisrael convened an emergency meeting to discuss their response. The head of this rabbinic group, the Novominsker Rebbe, issued a statement on behalf of the organization essentially agreeing in whole with the response by their Israeli counterparts. They affirmed the position that one should rather sit in jail than send their Ashkenazic daughters to school with Sephardim.

This should be compared to a recent proclamation by the very same Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah on the subject of the ordination of a female Orthodox rabbi. They condemned the agreement reached between Rabbi Avi Weiss, one of the rabbis who ordained her and the Rabbinical Council of America, a rabbinic body representing Modern Orthodox and Centrist rabbis. They specifically condemned the decision of the Rabbinical Council of America to acknowledge the value of women's leadership in Orthodoxy and to not outright reject the notion. [Specifically the following quote: The RCA reaffirms its commitment to women's Torah education and scholarship at the highest levels, and to the assumption of appropriate leadership roles within the Jewish community.] They declared that any synagogue that has a woman in a leadership position is not Orthodox.

The very same organization that supports blatant and outright discrimination in the Jewish community condemns Orthodox women who want to teach Torah and serve as a spiritual, halakhic and moral guide for the Jewish community. Even if one finds personal resonance in the Agudah's condemnation of female leadership and does not see it as an obvious case of sexism, how can anyone ever take them seriously? They have lost all moral standing and respect by openly supporting discrimination solely on the basis of one Jewish racial background over another.

Standing Up for the Armenian Genocide

2010-03-12T09:25:00.000-08:00

The Forward is reporting today that Jewish-American groups have been backing off on their support for a bill currently in Congress that would publicly and officially recognize the 1915 Ottoman Empire attempted genocide of the Armenian people. The groups cite their concern for Turkish-Israeli relations which at present is strained. Turkey, the successor to the Ottoman Empire, vehemently denies any reports of genocide and claims that the upwards of 500,000 Armenians murdered was part of a war and not a systematic attempt to wipe out a people based on their race or ethnicity. This assertion, however, is disputed by a wide consensus in the academic community. The Ottomans did indeed attempt genocide against the Armenians.

Jess Hordes, Washington Director of the Anti-Defamation League is quoted as saying in the article: "Inevitably, for some people the enthusiasm isn’t as great as it was in the past, because of concerns about Turkey’s policy on Israel." This is utterly and unequivocally unacceptable. We as a Jewish community need to rally behind those who have been oppressed by the hands of others. The continued denial of the Armenian genocide on behalf of world governments has led to a demoralizing condition amongst the Armenian people. Would we as a Jewish community tolerate our vivid memories of persecution being denied internationally?

Israel has very real needs and benefits greatly from a positive relationship with Turkey. However, our moral conscience must not be sacrificed on the altar of Israel's strategic needs. It is time for the Jewish community to stand with the Armenian people and shout from the rooftops, "Never Again!"

A Man of Vision: Rabbi Dr. Bernard Lander ז"ל

2010-02-09T07:24:00.000-08:00

I remember the first time I met him as if it was yesterday. It was after a long five hour flight from my hometown of San Diego and my first New York City taxi ride from JFK Airport to Kew Gardens Hills, Queens that I met one of the greatest Jewish leaders of the 20th century. Rabbi Dr. Bernie Lander welcomed us, the second class of students to inhabit the magnificent space of The Lander College for Men. He did not just speak about providing an institution of academic excellence or about making it, the experience of college education, more accessible to Orthodox Jews; he spoke about the creation of a new generation of Jewish Orthodox leadership. He spoke about the leadership that Jews who at once firmly rooted in their Mesorah and also highly engaged in their professional lives could exhibit in the Jewish community. He told us that "Landers," as we affectionately called our college, would be the place that would forge us into the best of citizens, members of the public square, and talmidei chachamim, serious life-long students of Torah and our tradition.

To hear him speak was so utterly inspiring. It was not only inspiring because you could feel the passion with which he spoke but because here was a man that was well past the age of retirement going about the business of transforming the Jewish educational world throughout the entire world. He did not rest after the creation of Touro College in Flatbush nor after creating his subsequent schools in Manhattan, Queens, California, Russia, Germany and in every other place where there was potential to positively impact Jewish lives.

He gave his entire life to the betterment and advancement of Jewish and secular education. He had a vision one day many years ago and carried that vision with him through the many decades of his life. He was relentless in the fulfillment of that vision and worked tirelessly to see its realization. There are few times in a person's life where one gets to sit at the feet and learn from true greatness. I feel tremendously fortunate to have had such an opportunity during my college years with Dr. Lander. The entire Jewish community has suffered a tremendous loss with his passing and I for one will truly miss him.

May his resting place be in Gan Eden and may his soul be bound up in the bonds of life.

Social Networking and the Obliteration of the Private Life

2010-02-08T07:12:00.000-08:00

"I'm at MTA - 42nd Street Station "

"Getting condiments for the super bowl party @ Walgreens"

"Lunch: Tuna sandwich on rye bread with a diet coke"

The quotes above are all examples of real messages sent out over Twitter, Facebook and the new service Foursquare by people all over the country. I have modified a few details of the quotes in order to protect the anonymity of the authors, even though the authors themselves were not concerned about their anonymity. These sort of messages are sent out daily, thousands of them, from people in every corner of the globe and in every major language.

There are a multitude of reasons for why people choose to utilize the variety of social networking tools to divulge every detail of their day to the Internet. For some people there is a profound loneliness pervading their lives and the Internet becomes a constant friend. In this vein, I am reminded of the great sociology book Bowling Alone which began to discuss this phenomenon more than a decade ago. For others the allure of achieving a celebrity status is too great to resist and the Internet presents an almost effortless path to notoriety and stardom. And yet for others social networking becomes an organizer and scheduler for their daily life; it presents an upgrade from a paper and pen organizer to a Palm Pilot to a Blackberry to finally leading to Twitter and Facebook.

No matter the reason for why people become deeply invested in sharing every mundane detail of their lives, the end result remains the same: a blurring or even the obliteration of the line that separates our public and private existence. I argue that it is of critical importance for there to be a division between one's private and public life. Many people have bemoaned the lack of etiquette or civility present in this new phenomenon while others have decried it as inane and mind-numbing. Those points may be true or they may not be but what is certainly true is that it is detrimental to personal development to lose one's private life.

The public sphere is where we project our persona and ego. It is where we assert ourselves, question others, comply with what has been asked of us and perform a variety of other tasks that reflect our identities. The private sphere is where we reflect and further develop ourselves. It is in the sanctum of home that we can pause and think deeply about our beliefs, our convictions and our identities. Without the space that a private life affords us, we can become disjointed, fraught with anxiety and stunted in our emotional, psychological, intellectual and spiritual selves.

There are all types of people that do not have a choice but to lose much of their private life: politicians, celebrities, etc. However, the rush to self-surrender every detail of one's life to the world of Foursquare or Twitter is not advisable and in plain speak not healthy living. We ought to remember that the God who divided the heavens from the earth also divided our public and private spheres and we must learn to appreciate the resource the private life offers us, even if that means everyone will not know what cereal was consumed for breakfast.

The Orthodox Moment

2010-01-20T08:33:00.001-08:00

My latest article "The Orthodox Moment" has been published in the February issue of First Things and is also available on their website. A short excerpt from the article:

"With the increased numbers, visibility, and confidence of Orthodox Judaism comes a profound challenge: The Orthodox world must decide how to engage decisive issues from within the commitment to tradition and continuity of Jewish law that defines Orthodoxy. A source of anguish to many in the Orthodox community is the role of women in religious life. Whether Halacha permits the ordination of female rabbis remains the subject of heated contention. Other issues on which the Orthodox world is divided include interfaith dialogue, academic study of classic Jewish texts, and the debate between dedicated full-time Torah study or pursuit of a secular profession. Many of these fall into the meta-question: How and in what way can Jews lead a life true to Torah while engaging the larger society and culture?"

The Minhag of Reform Judaism

2009-12-09T15:41:00.000-08:00

Is Reform a proper noun or a verb? Is the process of "reforming Judaism" a continuous endeavor that adapts to the needs of the time or was there a great moment of reform and now Reform Jews are left with Reform Judaism?

These are critical questions for the thinkers of Reform Judaism and apparently there are those within their camp that are advocating essentially the halakhic argument of minhag avoteinu b'yadeinu, which literally translates as the custom of our forefathers is in our hands. In other words, we have a received tradition and we can not alter it. According to a recent JTA report an entire organization has been created to promote and advocate for the preservation of Classical Reform Judaism.

What are the central Classical items that these individuals are fighting to preserve? According to the news story: "... its distinctive worship style -- services conducted mainly in English, accompanied by organ music and a choir." In a world that is constantly changing, where cultural and political shifts are happening all around us, it is tremendously comforting to have religion be an anchor amidst turbulent waters. I do not believe it is a coincidence, as the article points out that "the split is largely generational."

I remember when I first had moved to the neighborhood of Washington Heights in New York City. I was so thrilled to attend services at K'hal Adath Jeshurun (KAJ), the German Orthodox synagogue that is the direct heir to the legacy of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch. One of the unique innovations of Rav Hirsch was to increase the meaningfulness, access and relevancy of services to the members of his congregation by instituting a weekly sermon in German and creating a choir. The spirit behind those changes was to continue to seek ways to make Jewish ritual meaningful and inspiring while still staying true to the eternal truth of the Torah. I was very curious to see what the institution that he began in Frankfurt am Main would look like now, over a hundred years later, in New York City.

To my surprise the services looked pretty much like they probably did in Frankfurt during the time of Rav Hirsch. The sermon was in English but other than that, the melodies employed were the same and they still kept with the style of a Hazzan, with the grandiose Hazzan's hat, and a choir. What had happened? The original innovations of Rav Hirsch developed into the status of minhag avoteinu b'yadeinu and thus unalterable.

Perhaps to the chagrin of the new Society for Classical Reform Judaism, in order to preserve a tradition which declared the "Mosaic Law" irrelevant they end up using -- albeit unintentionally -- a principle of the very same Mosaic Law to do so.

The NEW Pop Chanukah Song

2009-12-09T07:55:00.000-08:00

From Tablet Magazine and Senator Orrin Hatch:

Eight Days of Hanukkah from Tablet Magazine on Vimeo.

Rabbi tweets Torah 4 Jews on the go

2009-12-04T06:54:00.000-08:00

(Courtesy of The Jewish Advocate - Boston's Jewish newspaper. They have a great online subscription plan of only $18 for full access, with PDFs available.)

Rabbi tweets Torah 4 Jews on the go
Harvard chaplain sermonizes in 140 characters or less
By Elise Kigner Advocate Staff

Rabbi Ben Greenberg and his Twitter page.

As he talks about Torah and Twitter, Rabbi Ben Greenberg compares the Internet messaging service to the New York subway system. "The great people equalizer," Greenberg calls it, providing a platform for preachers with and without a realworld platform.

As with everyone else, Twitter gives Harvard's 27-year-old Orthodox Jewish chaplain just 140 characters to express his thoughts on a Torah portion. Greenberg sees the forced brevity as a good thing, especially when it comes to wordy rabbis. He likened the Twitter challenge to a Talmud class he took in rabbinical school, where at the end of each 60- minute session students had to summarize everything they learned in one sentence.

"If the message resonates with people, then it's impactful," Greenberg said. "It has meaning without all the poetry and all the rhetorical tools that rabbis use in sermons, just the meaning itself."

This fall, Greenberg self-published, "Twitter Torah: Thoughts on the Hebrew Bible in 140 Characters or Less," a collection of tweets from himself and four other rabbis, among others. Each chapter includes reflections on a different Torah portion.

He assembled the 53-page paperback despite acknowledging that most people don't have time to read books anymore. So why did he write one about Twitter?

"I think the book exposes a wider audience to the dynamic and vibrant conversations on Torah that happen on the Internet," he said.

He tweets regularly on TorahTweets.org, a site created by Rabbi Shai Gluskin last spring to generate excitement for Shavuot. Citing a book of Torah commentary, Kedushat Levi, Greenberg tweeted, "1st step to success: know that you're capable of succeeding. 1st flaw of Noah: he didn't know his capacity 4 success."

Gluskin, who is also a Web developer, works at the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation in Pennsylvania.

Not everything that Greenberg tweets is an interpretation of holy writings. On Oct. 21 he tweeted, "Cambridge moment: Davening at Hillel, looking out the window and seeing Ben Affleck struggling to get a police belt on outside."

Last month, he attended the inaugural conference of the International Rabbinic Fellowship, an organization of modern Orthodox rabbis from the United States, Canada, South America, Israel and Hong Kong.

At the conference, they debated Orthodox conversions and the question of whether to admit women acting in a rabbinic capacity as full voting members. And Greenberg tweeted his own reflections:

On Nov. 17: "Confirmed in my career choice of rabbi and not lawyer."

And 40 minutes later: "Wouldn't be an irf conference w/o dancing."

Before coming to Harvard, the San Diego native attended rabbinical school in New York at Yeshivat Chevei Torah. He served as a rabbinic intern at the Jewish Center of Teaneck in New Jersey and the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale in New York.

Greenberg said Twitter keeps him in touch with friends and congregants across the country. As of Monday, he had 293 followers on Twitter.

"No matter where you move from, or where you move to, you can stay in a relationship with them," he said.

His wife, Sharon Weiss-Greenberg, Harvard's first Orthodox Jewish female chaplain, recently joined Twitter, using it to campaign in the Jewish Community Heroes contest, sponsored by United Jewish Communities. With more than 8,000 online votes, she was among the 20 finalists.

Rachel Barenblat, a rabbinic student from the western Massachusetts town of Lanesborough, also contributes to Twitter Torah. Barenblat is in the Aleph rabbinic program, which includes online, phone and in-person classes.

A published poet, she said both poetry and Twitter involve "trying to say the most with the fewest words."

Barenblat, who also has a blog called the Velveteen Rabbi, said part of the appeal of Twitter is that people will pay attention regardless of whether you have a title. "Both Twitter and the blogosphere are places where you can make a reputation," she said.

Barenblat has never met Greenberg, but just received an email from him asking whether he could reprint her Torah tweets. "That's part of the joy, that serendipitous connection," she said.

With a baby on the way, she hopes to be ordained by January 2011. When she does become a rabbi, she doesn't expect tweets to replace sermons. Some ideas, she acknowledged, require more than 140 characters.

Still, she said, Twitter, blogs and Facebook provide a convenient way for people to keep up their Torah studies. Rabbis can use Twitter to reach people in their homes, on their computers. "Part of it is going to people where people are," she said.

But Barenblat noted that people who tweet about the Torah do run the risk of making shallow rather than thoughtful commentary.

"I think it probably encourages us to be cute rather than meaningful," she said. "I think that's the challenge, how to say something that's meaningful rather than gimmicky."

The Holiness of the Unexpected

2009-11-27T11:18:00.000-08:00

“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life

he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”

- Henry David Thoreau

This quote from Thoreau aptly describes the juncture in life that Ya'akov finds himself in as he begins his exile from family and home. "Va'yetzei Ya'akov - Ya'akov leaves," on his journey away from the quickly
unraveling family dynamics at home. Rashi comments on this verse to tell us that the reason why it includes both the language of "va'yeitze" and "va'yeleikh" is to inform us of the tremendous impact a righteous person has on a place, and, when they leave, the place they have left becomes notably worse. The language of "va'yeitzei" can mean more than just going away; va'yeitzei is indicative of the immediacy and necessity of the departure. He is not only going towards, "va'yeleikh," Haran, he is exiting Be'er Sheva. While the note by Rashi is certainly true, the inclusion of the language of "va'yeitze" hints at the abrupt and unexpectedness of this move. Ya'akov was suddenly thrust away from the safety and comfort of his known world and now finds himself on the road, by himself.

It is precisely in this moment of tension and disjointedness that Ya'akov experiences transcendence. "Va'yifgah ba'Makom - And he encounters the place." Rashi informs us that this "place" is none other than The Place - Mount Moriah, the foundation stone of the world and the place where Heaven and Earth meet. It is in encountering this place that Ya'akov comes to encounter God. Furthermore, this specific encounter becomes the paradigm for the Divine encounter we as a community experience every day, that of the evening tefillah. It is paramount that we take a moment and probe deeper into the word that defines this moment. This moment is encapsulated in the phrase "va'yifgah," an encounter or a meeting. The language of pegiah comes up in a few other places in Tanakh. In both Joshua 16:7 and 19:11 we find the term being used in the allocation of portions of the Land of Israel to the tribes. The usage of a word that has been defined by Hazal, our Sages, to be a prayerful word, in what appears to be a wholly mundane activity of allocating land is very telling. The term also comes up in Jeremiah 7:16 in the midst of a rebuke of the Jewish people for their departure from the ways of Torah.

The theme that unites both the Joshua texts and the narrative in our Parsha is experiencing a Divine encounter when you least expect it. One might consider the division of lands and the setting up of borders to be an act totally devoid of holiness. One can imagine a terrified Ya'akov, alone for the first time, fearing the revenge of his brother and the disappointment of his father not expecting to experience Divine transcendence at that moment. What is most striking is the rebuke that Jeremiah offers the people in chapter seven is for their transgressions against one another; in their acts of theft, oppression, murder and other violations against their fellow person. Jeremiah rails against the false separation between those acts which are a violation against God and those against other people. All misdeeds impact on our ability to encounter God. The opposite is of course also true. All actions we perform that help others impact positively our encounter with God. Whether the action we are speaking about is the proper division of land or refraining from stealing both fall within the prayerful category of pegiah.

May we strive to encounter God not only in shul but in every area of our lives.

Shabbat Shalom.

International Rabbinic Fellowship

2009-11-24T16:39:00.000-08:00

International Rabbinic Fellowship

347 West 34th Street

New York, NY 10001

Press Release

Contact: Rabbi Jason Herman, Executive Director

Phone: 917.751.5265

Email: jlherman@jlherman.net

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

9 A.M. EDT, November 20, 2009

NEW ORTHODOX RABBINICAL GROUP ESTABLISHED

Rabbis from across the United States, Canada, South America, Israel and Hong Kong came together last week to officially establish a new and long awaited organization of Orthodox Rabbis. The International Rabbinic Fellowship (IRF), several years in the making, is the brainchild of Rabbi Avraham Weiss of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale in Riverdale, the Bronx, New York, and founder of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School, and Rabbi Marc D. Angel, Rabbi Emeritus of New York’s oldest Jewish congregation, Shearith Israel, and director of the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals.

A board and officers was elected consisting of the next generation of Orthodox Rabbis who have shown themselves to be at the forefront of modern Orthodox leadership. The organization’s 120 or so founding members elected Rabbi Barry Gelman, Rabbi of the United Orthodox Synagogues of Houston, Houston, Texas, as the IRF’s first President, Rabbi Hyim Shafner, Rabbi of Bais Abraham Congregation, St. Louis, Missouri, as Vice President of Education and Communication, Rabbi Nissan Antine, Rabbi of Beth Sholom Congregation and Talmud Torah, Potomac, Maryland, as Vice President for Membership and Conferences, Rabbi Joel Tessler, Rabbi of Beth Sholom Congregation and Talmud Torah, Potomac, Maryland, as Vice President, Rabbi Saul Strosberg, Rabbi of Congregation Sherith Israel, Nashville, Tennessee, as Treasurer, and Rabbi Yosef Kanefsky, Rabbi of Congregation B’nai David-Judea, Los Angeles, California, as Secretary. A code of ethics that will bind the new group was provisionally adopted.

This first conference of the International Rabbinic Fellowship included the voting into reality of several new initiatives that promise to transform the Orthodox community and perhaps the Jewish world. A committee to formulate new procedures for Orthodox conversions, so much in the news in Israel and the United states as of late, was appointed. The committee is tasked with presenting to the IRF a final outline of requirements and processes for Orthodox conversions to be adopted by the membership in June at its annual meeting. The committee’s chairs are Rabbi Dov Linzer, Head of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School in New York City and Rabbi Joel Tessler, Senior Rabbi of Beth Sholom Congregation and Talmud Torah, Potomac, Maryland.

Though Orthodox Judaism does not ordain women as rabbis, several Orthodox women who serve in a handful of Orthodox congregations in rabbinic capacities were present. A long discussion was held at the conference on the question of admitting women acting in a rabbinic capacity as full voting members among the Rabbis. The group voted to task the membership committee with creating criteria for the potential consideration of admission of women. If the IRF votes to admit women, criteria for membership will also be voted on in June. The IRF recognizes that there are highly capable women serving in rabbinic roles and as such the group might benefit from their presence, ideas and guidance. This heralds the first time that an Orthodox rabbinical group has entertained the possibility of admitting women as full members into its ranks.

For more information about the International Rabbinic Fellowship and the proceedings of its seminal inaugural conference held this past Tuesday and Wednesday November 17-18, please contact any of the following members:

Rabbi Barry Gelman, tel. 713.723.3850, email

Rabbi Hyim Shafner, tel. 314.583.4397, email

Rabbi Nissan Antine, tel. 301.279.7010 x 209, email<rabbiantine@gmail.com>

Rabbi Yosef Kanefsky, tel. 310.276.9269, email

Rabbi Marc D. Angel, tel. 212.724.4145, email <mdangel@jewishideas.org>

Rabbi Jason Herman, IRF Executive Director, tel. 917.751.5265, email

Thoughts on the 2009 General Assembly

2009-11-12T08:27:00.001-08:00

This past week I attended the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America (formerly known as the United Jewish Communities) in Washington D.C. Over 3000 people from across North America came to the conference from all walks of life. I found it heartening to see so many Jews actively interested in contributing to the Jewish community. While there were plenty of Jewish professionals in attendance there were also many lay leaders and volunteers who had taken off time from work and spent a significant amount of their own money to attend the General Assembly and their dedication should be honored.

Overall, I left the assembly with a few critiques that I offer for people to consider:

Disconnect between rhetoric and reality: During the first plenary the new C.E.O. of the Jewish Federations of North America, Jerry Silverman, addressed the urgent need to make Jewish life more affordable. How though could he genuinely address this very important need while utilizing a caterer that charged $16 for a kosher sandwich at the conference? One needs to keep in mind that access to food at all, not to mention kosher food, was very hard to come by at the conference and this caterer (I believe it was Prestige Catering) essentially had a monopoly. How is charging $16 for a sandwich modeling affordable Jewish life?

The balance between lecture and discussion: I made an effort to attend as many sessions as I could and having done so I noticed that the conference relied heavily on the frontal, lecture style of presentation. There was one session in particular that even attempted to have a discussion format ("Growing Jewish Education in Challenging Times") but ended up utilizing about three quarters of its time with two frontal lectures. Furthermore, during the last quarter of the session when the audience was invited to have smaller conversations the organizers of the session had people at each table which presented even more in a lecture format rather than facilitating conversation amongst the attendees.

Quality vs. Quantity: There were lots of sessions to choose from at the General Assembly but I, along with many other educators who attended, found the sessions to be quite underwhelming. The last GA that I attended in 2007 had a scholar-in-residence, Rabbi Dr. J.J. Schachter, who presented sessions for rabbis and educators that were quite thought provoking and rich in content. This year, however, there was no scholar-in-residence and I also noticed there was no "rabbinic cabinet" sessions, which provided a smaller forum for some very engaging learning opportunities.

Anti-Climactic: During the closing plenary there were two separate events which ended up being very anti-climactic. Firstly, there was a moment of pomp and circumstance when a delegation of high ranking Jewish officers marched an incomplete Torah scroll to the front stage where a scribe was waiting to, what looked like, finish the Torah scroll. It ended up that the scribe only was going to write a couple more letters in the scroll and not finish it. Before this became clear the idea that a scroll was being finished for the Jewish soldiers of the U.S. Army had spread throughout the Jewish Twitterverse and ended up being a major let down. Secondly, for the past three months an intense competition for The Jewish Community Hero of the Year had been occurring on the internet. The winner, out of the five finalists, was chosen at the closing plenary. This should have been a moment of excitement and build up. Rather, the ceremony was done after the keynote speaker, Rahm Emanuel, had addressed the conference and everyone was making their way out of the room. It was done quickly and promptly with no enthusiasm.

There is certainly much excitement about the new name for the organization and its new C.E.O. and this excitement was palpable at the General Assembly. I hope my critiques will help make the next General Assembly in Orlando an even greater opportunity for people to engage with their Jewish community.

A Parshat Vayeira Dvar Torah

2009-11-05T10:45:00.000-08:00

This week’s Parsha is rich with both narrative and depth and there is much that could be said on many points within the text. I would like to focus on a couple lines in particular. In 18:17 the Torah records God in the midst of a reflective moment. These reflective moments are not that common as usually the text takes note of God’s communication with people and not the actual private reflections of the Divine. The verse states, “And the Lord said: Shall I conceal from Abraham what I am doing?” The action being contemplated is of course the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Rashi filling in the picture a bit more states that “לא יפה לי לעשות דבר זה שלא מדעתו – It would not be nice (or pleasant or proper) for me to do this without his [Abraham’s] knowledge.” This one moment of reflection conveys a great deal about the importance of the bilateral relationship between God and humanity. As Heschel famously argued, “God is in search of man as much as man is in search of God.” There is no doubt that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were overrun with depravity and that if the course of action chosen by God was utter destruction then that was the proper course of action to bring an end to the rampant wickedness. Yet, God wants even a decision of this magnitude and gravity to be in relationship with Abraham.

Perhaps though the most instructive point in this process is what occurs only three verses later: “And the Lord said: Since the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah has become great…” Rashi has a remarkable statement when he mentions, “שעשה כאשר אמר שלא יכסה ממנו – for He [God] did as He said, not to hide it from him.” In these three short verses we have the movement from planning to full completion. It was not going to be an easy dialogue for God to have when He declares to Abraham that the time has come to annihilate two cities. Indeed, Abraham’s response could be seen as challenging and provocative (e.g. “Will the Judge of the entire earth not perform justice?”). However, God demonstrates to us the fundamentally important lesson to not let difficulty or challenge stop us from doing what needs to be done and saying what needs to be said. It is vital that when the time calls for it that we do not shy away from hard conversations with those we care about. To pursue a path of concealment and deception is not healthy nor is it the path put forward for us by God in this week’s Parsha.

May we find strength and encouragement from the model God sets forth for us and do and say what is right even when it is challenging.

The Advice of the Hertz Chumash

2009-10-26T05:19:00.001-07:00

The classic Chumash one will find in a Modern Orthodox synagogue is the Hertz Chumash. It offers the commentary of Rabbi Dr. Joseph H. Hertz (b. 1872 d. 1946). Rabbi Dr. Hertz was the Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth from 1913 until he passed away in 1946. As I was reading his commentary on this past week's Torah portion of Noah I couldn't help but be amused at the following quote discussing the incident of Ham's transgression against his father Noah:

Some Jewish and non-Jewish teachers omit this story in children's Bible classes. Yet, it is of deep significance in a child's moral training. An intelligent child cannot help now and then detecting a fault or something to laugh at in his parents; but instead of mockery or callous exposure, it is for him to throw the mantle of filial love over the fault and turn away his face. 'Am I the one to judge my parents?' a child should ask himself. Few Jewish children have parents who are drunkards, but there is a great number whose fathers and mothers do not, e.g., speak the language of the land as fluently as they do. Instead of laughing at them, Jewish children should be taught to feel: 'Have my parents had the opportunities in life that they have given me?' - pg. 34

Donating your life?

2009-10-19T12:56:00.000-07:00

Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, the former chief Sephardic rabbi of Israel, has been hospitalized in serious condition for more than a month. We all pray that he should have a refuah shlaymah, a full recovery. However, one devoted follower has taken it a step further as reported in Haaretz:

The advertisement, displayed all around Jerusalem, asks for people to donate a year of their life towards the lifespan of Rabbi Eliyahu. Where does this idea come from? There are other more traditionally grounded approaches in Judaism of contributing towards the recovery of a sick person. These approaches include adding a name to their Hebrew name, the recitation of Psalms, the inclusion of their name in a prayer for the sick said in synagogues and the donation of charity in their merit.

What does this significant request come to signify about the relationship of certain segments of Orthodox Judaism with their rabbinic leadership? What role do the rabbis play in these communities, both pragmatically and theologically? There are no easy answers to these very difficult questions.

Why start with creation?

2009-10-17T18:46:00.000-07:00

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

- Genesis 1:1

Why does the Torah begin with creation? I would like to offer one possible approach based on the teachings of Nahmanides, Kli Yakar and Rabbeinu Bahyah.

Nahmanides (Rabbi Moses ben Nahman, b. 1194 d. 1270, Spain and Land of Israel) in his introduction to the Book of Genesis asks two fundamental questions in Biblical exegesis. Why does the first paragraph of the Torah not begin with the oft-repeated phrase “And God spoke to Moses, saying…” and why does Moses always address himself in the third person?Nahmanides argues in regards to the first question that it would not have been proper to include himself in the narrative prior to the account of his birth. Moses, according to Nahmanides, exercised tremendous humility in choosing to not mention his own self in places that it would have been seen as arrogant to do so. In regards to the second question:

The reason the Torah is written in this form [namely, the third person] is that it preceded the creation of the world, and needless to say, it preceded the birth of Moses our teacher.

Once again, the answer offered by Nahmanides is centered on the humility of Moses. The ability to copy down what would become arguably the most important literary work in human civilization and not flash your name everywhere was a deep testament to the integrity of Moses.

There is one phrase in the explanation offered by Nahmanides that I believe has a great amount to teach us as to why the Torah began with the story of creation and not with, for example, the first commandment of sanctifying the new month. Nahmanides states “… that it [the Torah] was written with letters of black fire upon a background of white fire.” How are we to understand this statement? What does it mean to have letters of black fire emblazoned unto a background of white fire?

Kli Yakar (Rabbi Shlomo Ephraim Luntschitz, b. 1550 d. 1619, Poland), a medieval commentator on the Torah, suggests an explanation of the phraseology of “black fire on white fire.” He writes in his commentary on Parashat Haazinu:

Like there is white and black similarly in the Torah there is what is revealed, like the color white, and what is hidden, like the color black… and both are dependant on each other.

Thus, the colors white and black take on new meanings as representative of that which is readily known and accessible and that which is secretive and difficult to penetrate. With every story mentioned in the Torah one can view it as white fire or as black fire and, indeed, both methods of interpretation are dependant on each other to create a full and holistic picture of Torah.

The account of creation offered in the Book of Genesis, on the surface level, provided a framework for understanding the formation of the world. However, if we end the discussion there or get bogged down in trying to reconcile religious truth with scientific truth, we will have missed the central point of the creation narrative which lies somewhere in the mix of white and black fire.

Rabbeinu Bahya (Rabbi Bahya ben Asher, 13th century, Spain) suggests that if the Torah would have only begun with the first commandment, it would have not provided us with the background behind the One who commands. We would have not gained a deep sense of appreciation for the wonder of God and how central the role of love is in the entire narrative of the Torah. Indeed, there are many commandments and directives in the Torah. Those rules and regulations though come from the same God who created all life and invested that life with sacredness. An omniscient, omnipresent and all-powerful God has no compelling reason to create life and sustain it. Thus, it is only the overwhelming force of love that causes God to bring the entire universe into existence.

Genesis then teaches us both to approach life with a sense of humility and recognize that it is appropriate at times to write about ourselves in the third person. It also provides insight into the character of God which becomes essential as the commandments begin to be given only shortly thereafter. The ultimate challenge for us as we begin anew our study of the Torah is to transcend a bit the black fiery letters and embark on a journey into the white fire of Torah.

Why Jews Pray

2009-10-15T05:01:00.000-07:00

From my latest article for the On the Square web segment of First Things:

Every moment that we stop and begin to move our lips in prayerful words towards God is a testament to the notion of purposeful creation. The basic ability to pray, to yearn for a connection to God, demonstrates the meaningfulness of life. Yet, this only explains a broad universalistic Jewish motivation for prayer. What lies at the core of Jewish prayer?

The article, Why Jews Pray, can be found in its entirety on the First Things website.

Twitter Torah now only $10!

2009-10-13T13:59:00.000-07:00

My book Twitter Torah is available for only $10!

Twitter Torah brings the profundity, beauty and depth of the Torah to you in 140 character messages based around the weekly Torah portions. The book shares insights from seven unique and thoughtful people. The contributors to this book all come from different places in the Jewish community: traditional and non-traditional, men and women, Jewish professionals and lay members. The common denominator that brings these people together is a love for Torah and a desire to share their short and profound thoughts with the wider world.

The following Torah Twitterers contributed to the book: Rachel Barenblat, Harriet Goren, Michael Green, Mark Hurvitz, Andrew Pepperstone and Phyllis Sommer.

Rethinking Judaism in the public square

2009-10-12T10:23:00.000-07:00

Michael Paulson, in today's Articles of Faith segment of the Boston Globe, presents a fascinating interview with David F. Wells, a professor at the evangelical Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. I was particularly struck by the following quote from the interview:

Many of those who claim to be born again don’t live very differently than those who don’t make that claim. Biblical faith really should be producing moral authenticity and integrity -- you should see it in honesty, courage in articulating enduring moral principles, and the sacrificial giving to good causes.

This quote got me thinking about Judaism in the public square. How does Judaism interact with the public? What is the face that we present in the larger society? Are we more than Lubavitchers asking if you have put tefillin on yet? Can we be more than only concern for Israel?

What are the ways that we as a community exhibit "moral authenticity and integrity"? How can we do a better job of "articulating moral principles" and contributing to the national conversations on ethics and morality?

Enabling Community Through Sukkot

2009-10-07T19:59:00.001-07:00

We are now in the midst of the pilgrimage festival of Sukkot. During the holiday of Sukkot, Jews dwell in booths which act as temporary living spaces. The "walls" are usually made of canvas and the "roof" of palm fronds or something similar. The ritual of living in these booths is meant to recall the booths our ancestors lived in during their journey through the wilderness from the bondage of Egypt to the Land of Israel. Another tradition understands the booths to represent the clouds of glory that accompanied the Children of Israel through the desert and guided them along the treacherous, sun scorched path to a land of their own.

While celebrating the holiday this year I have observed how the act of dwelling in a sukkah leads to the strengthening of community. As a campus rabbi I see all too often students get overwhelmed with their course load and in an effort to stay afloat spend the entirety of their non-class time locked in their dorm rooms or behind a cubicle in a library.

However, for those students who choose to observe at least some of the holiday of Sukkot, the tradition itself demands that they leave their rooms or library cubicles and emerge into a shared communal space. They are to enjoy their breakfast, lunch and dinner in the company of others celebrating the holiday and can not sit in solitude and confinement.

For one week a year we are commanded to move out of our comfort zones and enter the unstable and quickly constructed booths that we are to call home and dwell therein. For those who are students that means, for a week, calling a public space home. Thus, for one week a year, we are compelled to surround ourselves with friends and the sounds of community. It is my sincere hope that the moves towards furthering community that have transpired within that booth this week continue throughout the rest of the year.

Twitter Torah

2009-10-06T13:10:00.000-07:00

I just published my first book on Lulu.com called Twitter Torah. It brings the profundity, beauty and depth of the Torah to you in 140 character messages based around the weekly Torah portions. The book shares insights from seven unique and thoughtful people. The contributors to this book all come from different places in the Jewish community: traditional and non-traditional, men and women, Jewish professionals and lay members. The common denominator that brings these people together is a love for Torah and a desire to share their short and profound thoughts with the wider world.

The following Torah Twitterers contributed to the book: Rachel Barenblat, Harriet Goren, Michael Green, Mark Hurvitz, Andrew Pepperstone and Phyllis Sommer.

Truth on Yom Kippur

2009-09-30T13:54:00.001-07:00

Yom Kippur has a lot to do with seeking atonement by repenting for all the misdeeds one committed throughout the year. It also has a lot to do with accepting God as the Creator and Ruler of the world. Indeed, at the climax of the final service of Yom Kippur, the Ne'ilah Service, we shout out "The Lord is God!" seven times.

Throughout the Yom Kippur services I could not help but focus in on the Truth of God as the following image was hanging off the wall directly in front of the room:

The image representing Harvard University contains the word Veritas, which means in Latin, truth. Hence, all of Yom Kippur "the truth" was quite literally hanging over my head.

Points to Consider for a Meaningful Yom Kippur Prayer

2009-09-27T12:22:00.000-07:00

(From Rabbi Barry Gelman, originally posted on Morethodoxy)

The Yom Kippur davening is challenging in that it is very busy ,full of choreography and very long.
Some find it difficult to focus and create moments of quiet introspection.

Do not feel rushed to keep up. It is more important to internalize the prayers.

The Yom Kippur Mussaf is an amalgam of prayers with High Holiday themes as well as recreations of the Temple service, mourning dirges and the account of the Ten Martyrs.

Use this guide during the silent Mussaf Amidah or the repetition of the Mussaf Amidah to help you focus on the prayer themes. Various sections of Mussaf will be briefly described followed by some questions to help us focus on each theme.
Instead of talking to your neighbor when the service starts to feel too heavy, use this sheet to redirect your thoughts.

Fasting:

Did you ever wonder why we are obligated to fast on Yom Kippur? How can fasting help us return to God? The Torah considers the Yom Kippur fast an act of affliction. One the one fasting makes perfect sense. A day on which we are judged is hardly a day on which to be concerned with food.

Perhaps we can consider the idea of self denial a positive spiritual practice. On Yom Kippur fasting reminds us that it is very often the material aspects of our lives and the need to supply them (like food and shelter) that take us away from spiritual pursuits. On Yom Kippur we are told not to worry about food and we find outselves under the protection of the synagogues. With our basic needs either cared for or removed we can focus on spirituality.

Fasting may also remind us that we have the capacity to survive with far less than we usually have.

Ask yourself:

How does fasting help me attain a deeper spirituality on Yom Kippur?
Would Yom Kippur “work” the same if we were allowed to eat? If not, what added benefit does fasting bring?

Mussaf Amidah

Seder Ha-Avodah (Description of the Temple Service)

We recite or even re-enact the temple service that cannot be performed today because of the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash. It is not really a prayer, but rather a detailed description, in poetic terms of what used to happen in the Temple.

What purpose does the Seder Ha-Avodah serve?

To keep alive the ancient tradition in a vivid way
To reassure us that even in the absence of the Temple service we can achieve forgiveness and closeness to God
Create a longing for the Beit HaMikdash.
The seder ha-avodah is introduced with a magnificent prologue – essentially a brief summary of Jewish History from creation to the Temple service.

There is heavy concentration on God’s interaction with and direction of the world in the prologue. Perhaps this is to indicate the cosmic importance of the Avodah. Consider the “path” of the prologue: descent to sin thought Adam and Chavah, Cain and the generation of the flood and the subsequent ascent from Noach to Avraham to Yaakov and his sons – from whom came Levi, eventually entrusted with the service of the Beit Hamikdash.

Ask Yourself:

Has the progress of the spirituality expressed in the prologue continued? Do we live in an age where people feel connected to God? Do I feel connected to God? If not, why not?

Rabbi Solovetichik defined spirituality as: “the descent of divinity into the midst of the concrete world.” Perhaps the recitation of the Temple service is supposed to give us a chance to relive the divine descent as the Yom Kippur service represented the pinnacle of divine revelation as the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies.

Ask Yourself:

How can I experience the Divine descent?
Choose one area in life that you will work on this year in order to be more God aware.
The section of the Temple service ends on a celebratory note when we say: “True – how majestic was the Kohen Gadol as he left the Holy of Holies in peace, without injury. “

“Why The Happiness in reciting the end of the Temple service? Why was it sung with such a happy tune? The answer is that the Kohen Gadol reflected the radiance of God. Throught witnessing the radiant appearance of the Kohen Gadol, there could be no doubt of God’s acceptance of the prayers of the children of Israel” (Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik).

Ask yourself:

Who in my life helps me feel like I am in the presence of God? What experiences have I had where I truly felt like I was in God’s presence? How can I recreate those moments?

The Ten Martyrs

Immediately after the joy of reciting the Avodah, we recite mourning dirges. “Suddenly Yom Kippur is transformed in to the Ninth of Av, the morning reaching its most intense point when we read of the ten martyrs.

What role do these dirges play on Yom Kippur?

Perhaps we are pleading to God: “We have suffered enough. Put an end to our torments and tormentors. Show mercy not only by forgiving us but by bring complete redemption.
We remind ourselves of a sin not listed in the long list of “al chet” – the admission that our sins have extended the state of the destruction and delayed redemption.

Ask Yourself

How does the contrast of the joy and the mourning enhance our prayer experience? What does it take to fully appreciate what we had and what we lost? How can I be more appreciative this year of the people and blessings in my life?

“The startling contrast of the joy of the avodah recitation and the pain evoked by reciting the mourning dirges immediately following serve a basic cognitive purpose. In order to truly feel a loss, a person must internalize two key points: 1) how wonderful life was before the loss and 2) hoe terrible life is after the loss. In the words of Jeremiah: “Jerusalem remembered in the days of her affliction and of her miseries all her pleasant things that she had in the days of old” (Eicha 1:7). (Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik)

Ten Martyrs: What Are You Willing To Die For?

The inclusion of the Ten Martyrs in the Yom Kipur prayers is noteworthy. Why is it included and whay it is supposed to add to our prayer experience? Perhaps the inclusion of the Ten Martyrs is supposed to help us focus on what is really important in life by compelling us to ask ourselves: asking: What are we willing to die for? These sages were willing to give their lives for Torah and Jewish life. What are our ultimate values?

Perhaps we are asked to judge what is really important in life by the answer to the question of what are we willing to die for.

Is there anyone who would willingly sacrifice his life for wealth? Or honor? For a high position? On the contrary: We would readily give up all this in order to buy health… On the other hand, are there not mothers who would sacrifice even their own lives for the life of their children? Aren’t there many who would die for freedom and peace?

Ask yourself:

What are my ultimate values? How are they similar or different to those of the ten martyrs?

Ripping Up Evil Decrees

2009-09-23T12:48:00.000-07:00

Now that we are in the midst of the week in between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur many people are thinking or are supposed to be thinking about repentance. The word repentance is one of those words that is loaded with connotations and associations. Does it mean entering the confession box at a Catholic Church? Does it mean fasting and other forms of self-denial? There is a fascinating piece of Talmud, and one particular comment within it, that I would like to focus in on for the purpose of this discussion. The Talmud in Tractate Rosh HaShanah 16b states:

ואמר רבי יצחק: ארבעה דברים מקרעין גזר דינו של אדם, אלו הן: צדקה, צעקה, שינוי השם, ושינוי מעשה
Rebbi Yitzhak said: Four things tear up the decree of judgment on a person, and they are: tzedakah, tza’akah (screaming, prayer), a change of name and a change of deed.

The term "tear up the decree of judgment" refers to someone who successfully repented and therefore has become a new person. If the judgment was issued for Joe but once Joe repents, he no longer is the same Joe the decree was issued for, then the decree of judgment is nullified.

Most of the items on the list seem to fit. Someone who commits acts of charity changes and becomes a person who is a giver. Someone who invests themselves in a life of serious prayer ("tza'akah) becomes a more reflective person. Someone who totally reinvents their persona with a new name starts all over. The last one on the list, change of deed, though is peculiar.

Should it not be obvious that the first and perhaps the most important step towards repentance is to change one's actions? Why should that even be on the list? All the other steps on this list are items that help craft a new and better person but before one can even start re-imagining themselves, don't they have to first change their actions, at the very least?

Rabbi Yom Tov Asevilli, a great 13th century Spanish rabbinic commentator on the Talmud, notes this difficulty and presents us with a resolution that contains great import for us today as people seeking to become better human beings. Rabbi Asevilli writes on his commentary to this passage:

והנכון שאפילו מעשים של רשות שאינם הגונים קצת הוא משנה
It is better understood that even optional deeds that are not all that respectable, these are changed.

The sort of deeds being referenced in the Talmud are not the obvious misbehaviors that anyone observing would condemn. Rather, we are referring to the sort of actions that fall within the gray area of life. The list of these sorts of actions can go on for a mile. In my opinion, the barometer for these actions is: if your mother called you asking what you were doing, would you tell her?

The obvious misdeeds absolutely need to be rectified before any sort of self-transformation can begin. But once the big hurdles have been overcome, the challenge becomes evaluating the little things, the small actions that we are not so entirely proud of. A person who does that can say that they have truly and profoundly changed for the better.

The Different Ways We Pray

2009-09-17T06:01:00.001-07:00

There are so many diverse ways people come to express their desire and yearning for God, the one that transcends all description and language. Throughout all of the methods and techniques utilized by people of faith around the world there is one common denominator: an attempt to connect to a force greater than ourselves and a desire to become a better human being through that process. Zev Chafets in the New York Times magazine discusses the ways in which some communities, most notably a 3,500 seat church in downtown Brooklyn, Brooklyn Tabernacle, goes about doing that. I would like to expand upon a Jewish approach to the different ways we as people can come to a deeper relationship with God.

The Talmud (Berakhot 26b) presents two opinions as to the source for the concept of prayer. The one opinion which we will focus in on is that of Rabbi Yosi the son of Rabbi Hanina who states that prayer began with the life stories of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. It was through their triumphs and difficulties, their ups and downs and their own personal "aha!" moments that we have before us the different modalities of prayer.

Let's begin to look at this piece of Talmud:

אברהם תקן תפלת שחרית – שנאמר +בראשית י"ט+ וישכם אברהם בבקר אל המקום אשר עמד שם, ואין עמידה אלא תפלה

Abraham instituted the morning (shaharit) prayer, as it is stated: “And Abraham arose early in the morning to the place where he had stood (Genesis 19:24).” And “standing” in the verse refers to nothing other than prayer

Abraham embodied in the very life he led, the iconoclast (which means a destroyer of idols, Abraham being literally the very first iconoclast in recorded history), the man of mission and vision who followed God into a land he did not know because of the call of faith and responsibility he so profoundly heard. Abraham more than anyone else represents a "morning person." The morning symbolizes new opportunities and renewed hope. One "arises" and "stands" in that hope proclaiming a new day full of possibilities and opportunities. This is the prayer of promise.

The Talmud continues:

יצחק תקן תפלת מנחה – שנאמר +בראשית כ"ד+ ויצא יצחק לשוח בשדה לפנות ערב, ואין שיחה אלא תפלה

Isaac instituted the afternoon (minha) prayer, as it is stated: “And Isaac went out to speak in the field towards evening (Genesis 24:63).” And “speech” in this verse meaning nothing other than prayer

Upon the passing of a great, charismatic founder of any movement there exists the possibility for that movement to wither and falter eventually being left in the pages of history. To be able to assume leadership and simply carry on what the founder had begun is no simple feat and characterizes an incredible human being, one of endurance and stamina. Isaac was that person. Upon the death of his father Abraham, he continues the life work of his father. He makes sure the wells of water his father had dug remain sources of vitality for all those who rely upon them. The ability to continue through the day, when the vigor of the morning, with its newness and potential, begins to wear off, is a tremendous feat. This is the afternoon and this is what Isaac was able to accomplish. To be able to go out into the field, continue the work, remain "speaking," in conversation with God even when so many hours have passed and fatigue begins to set in is the challenge and opportunity presented to us by the afternoon prayer.

Lastly, the Talmud in this section concludes:

יעקב תקן תפלת ערבית – שנאמר +בראשית כ"ח+ ויפגע במקום וילן שם, ואין פגיעה אלא תפלה

Jacob instituted the evening (maariv) prayer, as it is stated: “And he encountered the place and spent the night there (Genesis 28:11).” And the term encounter in this verse refers to nothing other than prayer

The moment that Jacob was transformed into Israel where he wrestles throughout the night with an unidentified person, presumably an angel, and overcomes albeit hurt in the process, is paradigmatic for who Jacob was. He was a man who forged ahead and was the father to twelve sons who would become the twelve tribes of Israel. He was also a man deeply impacted by the events that transpired in his life. From running away from home in the cover of night from a revengeful and angry brother to being led to believe he had lost his beloved son, he had experienced much pain and fear in his life. Jacob was a Jew who lived in exile; whether the exile from physical space or the exile from family. He taught us much about how to live in a world that is in need of serious repair and also how to strive to bring that world closer to how it should be and not be content with the world as it is. Imagine night time prior to the advent of electricity. It was a fearful and scary time, especially if you were vulnerable. Yet, it was in this night time that Jacob "encounters" God and realizes that God was "in this place and I did not realize it." In the darkness, in the difficulties and pain God is there. It can be difficult to perceive and appreciate but once we do, once we "encounter" God even there it is transformative. There is a Hasidic teaching that exile is not the absence of God, the absence of light, but rather being blinded by an overwhelming amount of light and when our eyes adjust to the brightness we can then see God even in that place. This is what it means to pray like Jacob, to pray the evening prayer.

As we begin Rosh HaShanah this weekend and begin the days of examination leading up to Yom Kippur, let us think about the different ways we, as individuals and as a community, pray. Let us be conscious of those times when we are praying like Abraham, Isaac or Jacob and tap into those different existential states of spiritual depth and meaning.

The soulfulness of Dr. Eli Kranzler

2009-09-13T18:50:00.000-07:00

The blogger Honestly Frum has a new post where he discusses attending the first night of selichot at The Hebrew Institute of Riverdale where Dr. Eli Kranzler leads the services. As someone who had the privilege to be a rabbinic intern this past year at HIR I absolutely agree with his assessment of Reb Eli, "One thing that I thought about while listening to Dr. Kranzler singing selichos, was, 'wow, I really believe this guy, he means what he is saying.'"

The whole post can be found here: http://honestlyfrum.blogspot.com/2009/09/lishmoah-el-ha-rina-v-el-ha-tefila.html

Real men collaborate

2009-08-27T08:34:00.001-07:00

This past week I had a conversation with a colleague where we were discussing the "standard" things: the weather, West Wing episodes and where do we see our careers in 5 years from now. As we discussed the last subject it both occurred to us that we are amongst the first generation of men who can not make these decisions in a vacuum. Both of us have wives who are brilliant and talented and have their own career aspirations in addition to ours. While in previous generations questions like "where do you see yourself in 5 years?" could have been answered unilaterally that is not the case anymore.

How do I feel about this? It feels great. It is empowering, in a real and authentic way, to be in relationship with another person that is not dictatorial. Rather, decisions are shared and both people have a voice in the decision making process. Real strength comes from collaboration. Real men collaborate.

Is Judaism Boring?

2009-08-19T13:34:00.001-07:00

Dr. Erica Brown in her recent opinion piece in The Jewish Week addresses the question of boredom and Judaism. Why do so many people find services boring? Shabbat meals boring? Torah study boring? Is there something inherent to the services, the meals, the study, the social action, etc that is boring or is it something else?

She writes in one of the most telling quotes from the article:

One of the reasons we fail to look within is that we blame others for our boredom. If a child is bored, it’s a parent’s fault. If school is dull, it must be the teacher. If shul is tedious, it’s probably the rabbi. The poet Dylan Thomas once said, “Something is boring me. I think it’s me.” When boredom strikes, it may be time to look in the mirror.

The first time I seriously thought about boredom was in a class with Eitzah: Center for Congregational Leadership. One of the directors of Eitzah, Dr. Bill Kahn, challenged us to seriously think about why we get bored. He pushed us to stop blaming the environment, the program, whatever but to rather look at ourselves. Dr. Kahn argued that boredom often times is a defense mechanism to protect us against whatever we are engaged with.

Ever since that class I have tried to assess the moments I get bored. Sometimes I get bored of assessing why I am bored but there are times when it leads me down a path of real reflection and introspection.

I wonder what a larger conversation with members of a synagogue or a Jewish organization would look like around boredom. Instead of ignoring the bored expressions of members, what would it be like to direct that boredom head on?

In any case, I highly recommend reading the whole piece by Dr. Brown. It is well written and quite thought provoking.

What is Jewish spirituality?

2009-08-18T12:18:00.000-07:00

The following is a clip from Reuters about using Twitter to communicate to God. As you can see from the video the person who started the project does not look particularly religious. That fact led me to think further about the difference between religiosity and spirituality. Can one be spiritual without being religious? Does traditional Judaism recognize spirituality outside of the framework of the Torah?

Why I miss The Jewish Channel

2009-08-17T13:14:00.000-07:00

It has been two weeks since my wife and I moved to Boston to begin our positions. We are in love with this city. The architecture is beautiful. The people are super friendly. The city has a real feeling of culture and history that permeates every aspect of this place. Yet, there is one thing missing: The Jewish Channel.

The Jewish Channel is a great on-demand TV network that runs on Time Warner, Cablevision and RCN amongst other providers. Anytime you want to watch a great Israeli film or curious what's the latest in the Jewish news, you can turn to The Jewish Channel and have that need satisfied. For example, one of the feature films now is "Jews and Buddhism: Belief Amended, Faith Revealed." How cool is that?

For some unknown reason though The Jewish Channel is not in Boston on Comcast. It needs to be. In the meantime I'll have to do with just watching the weekly (and shorter) online version of the week in review.

Parshat Re'eh: Thought for the Week Podcast

2009-08-14T07:04:00.000-07:00

Parshat Re'eh 5769: Thought for the Week

Want to get married? You seem a little young...

2009-08-13T16:20:00.000-07:00

As I was busy in my office today preparing shiurim for this coming academic year, I get a phone call from the receptionist saying that there is a young couple in the lobby looking to get married. I look at my calendar. It can't be the couple I am marrying in a few months from now. I am not meeting them until next week. Who could it be? I take out a notepad and a pen and head to the lobby.

When I get to the lobby I notice that there are 3 adults and about 6 five year old children waiting for me. I wonder, who is looking to get married? Two of the adults introduce me to two of the children and tell me that these two very children are the ones looking to get married. I look at them incredulously until after a moment the adults told me they are teachers at a school and the kids are going on a field trip through the neighborhood learning about what they are interested in from "experts" in the various areas.

One child previously, they tell me, was interested in doing pedicures so they want to a nail salon and learned about pedicures. And now these two children are interested in marriage so they have come to a rabbi to learn about marriage.

Suffice it to say that everyday is a new adventure in the rabbinate.

A Prayer for the Slain and Injured at the Gay Community Center in Tel Aviv

2009-08-11T10:13:00.000-07:00

by Rabbi Dov Linzer

This prayer expresses grief and sorrow over the horrific and murderous attack at the gay Community Center in Tel Aviv on August 1, 2009 and the heightened sense of responsibility and obligation that all Jews and communities, across the denominations, must share in response. This tfillah was recited in numerous synagogues on Shabbat Parshat Ekev (August 8, 2009), both Orthodox and non-Orthodox, and was delivered at an interdenominational memorial and tehillim service at the JCC of Manhattan on Monday night, August 10, 2009.

מי שברך אבותינו אברהם יצחק ויעקב ואמותנו שרה רבקה רחל ולאה, הוא יברך וירפא את החולים והחולות שנפגעו
בפיגוע החבלני והרצחני בתל אביב, בארצנו הקדושה, בעבור שאנחנו מתפללים בעבורם. בשכר זה, הקב"ה ימלא
רחמים עליהם, להחלים ולרפאותם, ולהחזיקם ולהחיותם, וישלח להם מהרה רפואה שלמה מן השמים, בתוך שאר חולי
ישראל, רפואת הנפש ורפואת הגוף, שבת היא מלזעוק ורפואה קרובה לבא. השתא בעגלא ובזמן קריב ונאמר אמן.

Master of the Universe, watch over the souls of the slain and bring healing to those who were injured in the violent and murderous attack in Tel Aviv in our Holy Land. See how not only the bodies, but the souls and lives of these persons have been shattered. See how this support group for teenagers - this place which for many of them was their one refuge of protection, support, and acceptance - how this haven has now been violated and has now become a place of danger, of vulnerability, and of death. Heal their bodies, heal their souls and heal their spirits.

O Lord, you have taught us in Your Torah the mitzvah of the עגלה ערופה . You have taught us that when a person is murdered and it is not known who the murder is, or what the motives are behind the murder, that it is the leaders of the community who must look inward and ask what sins of commission or omission could have possibly contributed to this tragedy. Who among us in the Jewish people, whatever our denomination or affiliation, can say ידינו לא שפכו את הדם הזה, that we have done everything in our ability to protect against such a tragedy? Who among us, throughout the Jewish people, can say, לא ראינוהו ופטרנוהו בלא מזונות ובלא לויה, that we did everything in our power to ensure that these victims were cared for physically and emotionally, to ensure that we gave them friendship and protection? O Lord, we cannot make this declaration of innocence.

Master of the Universe, give us the courage to stand up to and reject all forms of hateful speech and violence. Give us the strength of spirit to refuse to tolerate the rejection of any human being, each of whom is created in בצלם א- לוהים, in Your Divine image. Help us to internalize in our hearts and to manifest in our actions the mandate of the verse in this week’s parsha ואהבתם את הגר כי גרים הייתם בארץ מצרים, that it is our responsibility to care for, to love, and to protect all members of our society, and in particular those who are most vulnerable and most likely to feel estranged and rejected. Help us to value every member of our society for whom he or she is, to care for them, to support them, and to recognize that they are an equal part of our community כגיהיה. Give us the strength to fully actualize – in our speech and in our actions – the maxim that כל ישראל ערבים זה בזה , that the entirety of the Jewish people, straight and gay, is interwoven with and responsible for every one of its members.

We cannot change the past, but we can work to change the future, so we pray, O Lord, that You accept our mourning and our prayers, and give us the strength to change. We pray that we can make the necessary sacrifices to live up to our obligations to You and to every human being who is created in Your image, and that this can bring partial atonement for the,דם נקי בקרב עמך ישראל for the innocent blood that has been shed and allowed to have been shed in the midst of Your people, of Israel.

כפר לעמך ישראל , Atone for Your people, O Lord, bring us healing, a healing of persons, a healing of society, help us create a society where all are protected, cared for, and valued, and let no innocent blood ever again be spilled. Now and speedily in our days, and let us say, Amen.

One Wedding = Two Conversions

2009-08-06T13:31:00.000-07:00

A couple is getting married and the non-Jewish partner decides to convert to Judaism. The other partner decides now is the time to become naturalized as an American citizen. The result is two distinct systems, two different processes and two unique bureaucracies to navigate and in the end there are two conversions.

Triangle-K, Hebrew National and Rav Ralbag: Is It Kosher?

2009-07-25T12:46:00.000-07:00

A letter from Rav Asher Lopatin (posted with his permission):

Chaveirim,

Before Shabbat I have to ask charata: I mentioned that someone told me that Rabbi Ralbag said not to eat Hebrew National. However, this week I had a long conversation with Rav Aryeh Ralbag, and he told me that you can rely on Hebrew National 100%, that he follows all the p'sakim of the Aruch HaShulchan, the Posek Acharon for Lita, and that he does eat Hebrew National products himself. In his home he buys only 'glatt', but he is happy to eat Hebrew National outside his home, and he tells his congregants that they can eat it also.

There is a lot more to discuss, but I was impressed on the phone. Rav Aryeh Ralbag is also the chief rabbi and posek for the Jewish community in Holland. He also assured me that his meat is not shackled and hoisted, but, rather, follows the suggestions of animal expert Temple Grandin - she was praised in the Orthodox Israeli magazine, "Mishpacha" - in shechting in a way that is least painful and traumatic for the animals. He also assured me that all his foreign mashgichim, bodkim and shochtim have R1 visas issued by the govt. He says the shochtim are given regular b'chinos every few months, and that implied to me, that they are well supervised.

I realize that many in the hashgacha world have questions about the Triangle K, but, I wanted to correct and error that I had about Rav Ralbag's attitude towards his products.

Shabbat shalom,

Asher Lopatin

Gerut: The Necessity To Think Outside New York

2009-07-22T02:40:00.000-07:00

Much has been written about the Rabbinical Council of America's "Gerus Protocols and Standards (GPS)". I have been thinking about it recently while attending the 2nd annual conference of Israeli and Diaspora Rabbis coordinated by Rabbinei Tzohar. I would like to just highlight one area that I find to be particularly problematic. That area being their policies towards the conversion of minors (ger katan).

According to the GPS the parents of an adopted child must commit to the following for the child to be converted under the auspices of the RCA:

... commit to 12 years of Orthodox day school education for that child. The Bet Din should set criteria for what it considers to be schools in which the child will receive a serious Orthodox day school education...

Now, how can any parent living throughout the United States or Canada not in a major Jewish metropolitan area like New York, Chicago, Toronto or Los Angeles possibly send their child to an Orthodox day school? There are very few Orthodox day schools outside of the major areas of Orthodox concentration in North America.

This requirement effectively puts up an iron barrier impenetrable by couples yearning to have a child. The adoption process is a thoroughly complicated and financially burdensome endeavor without this additional requirement which is absolutely unrealistic for anyone living in most of North America.

The geographic impossibility aside, this requirement additionally makes adoption only feasible for the very wealthy. Day school education is quite expensive and 12 years of it could prove impossible for countless couples.

All rabbis interested in the continuity and vitality of the Jewish people are concerned with the education of the next generation. To criticize this requirement is not to say that one does not support Jewish education. It is to say that the realities of Amkha (our people) have to be taken into consideration and one can not decree something which is impossible to implement or maintain.

Blurry Lines

2009-07-19T12:56:00.000-07:00

The lines are blurry between who is defined as "secular" and who as "religious" when men carrying cellular phones on Shabbat proceed to take a napkin and put it on top of their head for the duration of their meal so as to not eat bareheaded.

The lines are blurry between who is defined as "secular" and who as "religious" when a child, who only a few minutes prior was playing a video game on a computer, chides his parents for forgetting to perform the ritual of netilat yadiyim before partaking of their bread.

The lines are blurry between who is defined as "secular" and who as "religious" when a woman, sitting by herself looking at her PDA, stops what she is doing and walks over to the "religious" couple dining at the next table over and asks to hear kiddush.

Some observations from this past Shabbat.

Haredim Are Protesting and Everyone Asks Why?

2009-07-15T12:12:00.000-07:00

The opening line in The Yeshiva World article on the violent rioting happening right now in Jerusalem (see earlier post) is particularly poignant:

Police seem to be wondering why the chareidi community in Yerushalayim is coming to the defense of the mother being described by authorities as an “abusive mom"

.

Indeed, everyone is wondering - why are they protesting? Why are tehillim rallies not being organized on behalf of the young child? How are these actions, in any sense of the word, appropriate?

For more see:
- Emes Ve-Emunah
- Jerusalem Post

When Protesting Is Not Effective

2009-07-14T13:36:00.000-07:00

An article today in Haaretz Online Edition reports on the arrest of an Ultra-Orthodox mother who was starving her toddler for months. The arrest came after inquiries and investigations into the matter. It is thought that the mother suffers from Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy. The response by her Ultra-Orthodox community? Mass protests in Meah Shearim against her arrest.

An example of bad strategy and not well thought out community relations tactics.

Full story at: http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1100106.html

Kibbutz Galiyot (Return of the Exiles): On Ben Yehuda Street

2009-07-14T07:57:00.000-07:00

If anyone needed proof that there is a movement of kibbutz galiyot happening right now one needs only to reflect on the following scene:

Enjoying iced coffee at California based Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf on Yaffo Street near the Ben Yehuda Pedestrian Mall in downtown Jerusalem.

If you can't understand immediately how this demonstrates kibbutz galiyot then reflect some more.

The Yated Blasts Open Orthodoxy: Who Cares?

2009-07-14T07:35:00.000-07:00

The Ultra-Orthodox newspaper, Yated Neeman, ran an article this past week decrying Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, Rabbi Avi Weiss and Open Orthodoxy. It called for the RCA and others to condemn YCT. My only really thought on the article is: who cares? Why am I supposed to care that an Ultra-Orthodox newspaper does not like YCT? Yeshiva University used to be their target of choice, now apparently YU is the Yated's new best friend as they have chosen a new target for their intolerance and minimalist read of Judaism. Let them vent. Who cares?

(As an aside the author of the piece, Yisroel Lichter, inadvertently [or perhaps intentionally] insults male social workers by writing: 'YCT has emasculated the position of Rabbi... to a Rabbi that is a glorified Social Worker...')