Photo: Oded Balilty

One of the starkest differences between orthodox Jews and others can be observed at a wedding. The orthodox Jewish wedding is really two weddings. One for the men and one for women. They are in the same place but in today’s society, they eat and dance while completely separated. It can seem strange. But in another sense it can be quite beautiful.

The beauty comes from seeing a large gathering of people, usually orthodox Jewish wedding parties are attended by several hundred people, all joined together for one holy purpose. Marriage is a very important milestone in orthodox Judaism and the awe, reverence, and respect according the event creates a very special atmosphere.

The unity of the event can also be seen superficially by the uniform standards of dress. Everyone dresses conservatively and they kind of blend together. When one pulls back, it can be visually stunning. Especially to an outsider.

An outsider had a unique opportunity to photograph a superstar wedding in Israel. Oded Balilty is a Pulitzer Prize winning photojournalist. He lives right around Bnei Brak but his world is very different. Take a look at his perspective from behind the lens of this world that is closer to his own than he realizes. The photos are on the NY Times website today and they are amazing. His commentary is excellent as well.

Check out the photos on the NY Times Lens Blog: So Close, Yet So Far

Related posts:

1. Beautiful Photos of Hoshana Rabbah at Pacific Jewish Center | The Shul on the Beach
2. A Jerusalem Wedding
3. A Beautiful Peek Into Our History
4. Thoughts on That Basic Religion Test in the New York Times
5. Happy 160th Birthday to the New York Times

I must share with you a beautiful article that brought tears to my eyes. Someone, I don’t remember who, linked to this article and it popped up in my Twitter feed. Luckily I clicked and eventually read the article. So whoever you are, thanks for sharing!

The article is written by a Jewish atheist. When her only child moved out of the house she took up babysitting. Her favorite clients are orthodox Jews.

Why?

In her own words:

An Orthodox Jewish upbringing makes for smart, engaged, articulate, and imaginative kids. Orthodox Jewish children—at least the ones in my upscale suburb—don’t spend endless hours in front of televisions and computers. They read! They play! They pretend! They converse! Hannah Montana means nothing to them. Children like this are increasingly rare in our pop-culture-adoring, screen-addicted world.

This is all true. It’s a side benefit to being religious and using Torah values to raise a family. Sure, believers do mitzvos out of a sense of obligation but done right, the lifestyle of mitzvah observance should influence an emphasis on good values.

There are two important points to take away from this article.

First, observant families should not lose sight of these alternative benefits to a wholesome, orthodox Jewish life. This means we cannot forget to nurture that positive home environment. We cannot just look to mitzvah observance and Torah study as the only attractions to our lifestyle. We have to focus on the home as well. Shabbos meals should be cherished and cultivated as opportunities for family bonding and community building. The positive lessons of Torah and mitzvos should be emphasized. There should be less focus on the boogeyman goyim or the evil media or the dangerous heretics. We have a beautiful life. Live it for its own sake.

I believe this is a missing ingredient in orthodox Jewish education. We should be teaching our children that our lifestyle is beautiful on its own. Even without magical rewards or special prizes in the next world. There is value in the acts themselves when they are part of a healthy observant lifestyle. There is a humanist aspect to orthodox Judaism that carries with it tremendous beauty. I cannot stress this enough.

This also becomes a charge that we must be living that beautiful life. Shady business practices, poor ethics, bad manners, or other social flaws should be strongly discouraged. The more pleasant and pleasing our lifestyle can be, the more we stand a chance of imparting that beauty to our children and grandchildren without coercion or isolation.

Second, this is an absolutely refreshing article from an atheist. The stereotype of atheists that portrays them as cold and antagonistic to all religious people is just as ugly and incorrect as any other stereotype. As the article suggests, this atheist is a loving, warm and open person. She is able to learn from and appreciate a live she would never live herself. She compliments those with whom she disagrees theologically. That’s something we can all learn from as well.

It must feel good for her to retain some connection with the religion of her ancestors and her distant Jewish cousins. I am happy for her that she is able to connect with these orthodox Jewish children. I am even happier that she sees the beauty of a life that many within the community fail to see or fail to live by.

Her words are inspiring and they made me emotional. I hope you enjoy the article as much as I did.

Link: Women’s Voices for Change

Related posts:

1. Orthodox Jews and E-Readers
2. A Message for Orthodox Jews in the wake of Joel Alperson’s Op-Ed on Tikkun Olam
3. Why Orthodox Jews Should Follow the Fight Between the Vatican and the LCWR
4. New Nike Commercial for Jumpman23 Features Orthodox Jews
5. Orthodox Jews Are Not Sneetches

You might find it odd that the day after Thanksgiving I am writing about Thanksgiving. The truth is that I am not really writing about Thanksgiving rather some of the nutty things that happened this year on Thanksgiving.

Of course I am talking about some the controversies that arose regarding the celebrations of Thanksgiving that don’t fit the mold of the religious Christian Thanksgiving. Two incidents in particular created some buzz but I am sure there were others as well.

First we turn to the Butterball Turkey situation. One blogger called upon her readers to boycott Butterball because they dared to have their Turkeys Halal certified. This means that it is slaughtered in accordance with Islamic law. It is very similar to Shechita, the method of slaughter required by Jewish law. According to Ms. Geller:

“Halal turkey, slaughtered according to the rules of Islamic law, is just the opposite of what Thanksgiving represents: freedom and inclusiveness, neither of which are allowed for under that same Islamic law.”

First of all, Thanksgiving DOES NOT represent freedom or inclusiveness. It never has and never will. I can provide Ms. Geller with a hint as to what the holiday represents – it’s in the name. Oh yes. It’s thanks and appreciation.

More importantly, any religious ceremony is by default not free or inclusive. Jewish law, Canon law, Islamic law, any religious law that makes specific requirements is not (on the surface) “freedom”. They are restrictions. Moreover, religious law is never going to be inclusive. It calls for rituals that make the performer of the ritual a religious person and by default the one who does not perform the ritual irreligious. This can create a barrier between the religious and irreligious. All religions suffer this potential flaw.

Just look at my Tim Tebow post from a couple days ago: Tim Tebow’s Relationship With His God. Not everyone is so comfortable with Tebow’s religious proclivities. But have a look at the comment left by the Christian fellow in the comments. Do you think his religion is “inclusive” of me? (Or Ms. Geller?) Is that the sound of freedom? In Ms. Geller’s world that makes Tebow the commenter people who should not allowed to celebrate Thanksgiving. They are not inclusive enough.

Ms. Geller calls Halal slaughtering a form of torture. This is obviously offensive to all kosher eating people as well.

But the real point is that Ms. Geller is being as two-faced as one can be. By denying an entire group the right to have a Thanksgiving dinner, Ms. Geller is being as freedom hating and non-inclusive as one can be. But that was obvious.

Finally, I imagine that the reason Butterball markets Halal turkeys is because it is good business. To me, that’s just the free market that Ms. Geller loves so much.

Now we turn to controversy number two. The President gave the traditional Presidential Thanksgiving address and neglected to mention God in his words. The president dedicated this year’s holiday celebration to the troops fighting our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also thanked the volunteers in soup kitchens across America. So what was the problem? He did not mention God. This is a terrible sin that violates the ancient and holy laws of Thanksgiving.

Never mind that in the Presidential Thanksgiving Proclamation he did mention God.

The omission set off a firestorm of vitriol toward the president.

A particularly bombastic twitterer called Obama a “militant atheist” for not mentioning God in the address. As irresponsible and insane of a statement it is to “out” someone as an atheist when they clearly are not an atheist, the tweet ignores the Proclamation and Obama’s 2009 and 2010 Thanksgiving addresses where he did mention God.

How is this reconciled? Was he a believer before but now he is all of the sudden a “militant atheist”? Or maybe he was a “militant atheist” all along but he has finally decided to own up to his true non-beliefs?

As far as militant atheists go, Obama would hardly be very successful. He goes to Church, says the appropriate God Bless Americas and to my knowledge has never engaged a believer in debate trying to convince the believer that belief in God is wrong.

Obama is not an atheist and certainly is not a militant atheist. This the kind of message that someone tweets to pander to right wing conservative Christians and bait left wing liberal non-Christians. It’s a call for attention. Well, he got it. Congratulations. But at what cost? Credibility. You can only say so many crazy things before everything you say is considered crazy.

All the silliness aside, I think that Thanksgiving is one day that should be enjoyed and celebrated by people of all faiths and people of no faith. That Ms. Geller and the bombastic twitterer feel that Thanksgiving must be celebrated in one way and in no other is a fallacy. Thanksgiving is the perfect time to push aside our differences and be thankful for the wonderful things in our lives to whomever or whatever we attribute them to.

The irony is that both Ms. Geller and the bombastic twitterer are Jewish and that they would prefer a Christian version of the holiday than a non-denominational celebration tells me that they have sold out the ever important freedom of religion and inclusiveness of America’s Constitution for the sake making friends in religious right.

Thanksgiving is for everyone. Let’s keep it that way.

Links: American Thinker, Twitter

Further Reading: Economist, Gawker

Related posts:

1. Thoughts on That Basic Religion Test in the New York Times
2. A Collection of Thoughts on James Kugel’s Recent Book
3. Non-Rational Thoughts on the Fogels of Itamar
4. Small Church Does Something Nice for Muslims and All Heck Breaks Loose
5. Tisha B’Av Thoughts 2011: Necessity is the Best Motivation

Over Yom Tov I read some great books and articles. I hope to share some of them with you over the next couple of weeks.

Perhaps the most compelling book I read was hot off the presses: Strictly Kosher Reading by Yoel Finkelman. Briefly, the purpose of the book is to present an academic study of the fiction and non-fiction reading that is published within the charedi community. Analyzing books for children, adults, women, religions and secular audiences gives the scholar access to the framework of charedi Judaism.

The book posits that charedi Judaism is a conscious effort to recreate a Utopian version of Eastern European orthodox Judaism. The book disputes that this society ever truly existed in the way it is imagined and recreated today and calls this version of history unhistorical and a myth. But the point of the book is not to prove or disprove whether or not this is a myth or fact. Rather, the book tries to prove that there a Herculean effort to establish that myth/fact as the reality in 21st century America.

The book only analyzes the charedi community and uses a specific (and very accurate) definition of the charedi community. It is a non-chasidic, “yeshivish” community that does not completely shun the outside world. Charedi communities are not absolutely insular. They teach secular subjects, many obtain secular jobs, English is the primary language, yet there is a conscious effort to reject much of secular culture. Whether it is culture, science, diversity or other contemporary values in secular society, these are all rejected.

This creates a very interesting phenomena. The charedi community is situated inside the secular, “outside” world but ultimately rejects much of it. This balance is what creates much of the tension in the book and in the charedi world. Ideas are only acceptable if they are found in Torah, secular recreation is frowned upon, yet, and this is the key, ideas not found in Torah have crept into charedi Judaism, secular recreation (fiction books, sports, movies etc) have found their way into the charedi community.

Strictly Kosher Reading analyzes this phenomena and does so excellently.

I read a lot as a teenager and read a lot of the books that Finkelman uses in his analysis. At times, I found myself agreeing wholeheartedly with his findings. Particularly with regard to books that claim to teach the “Torah approach to X (parenting, depression, divorce, whatever)” but really are just regurgitated ideas from popular science, psychology, pop-parenting, etc.) that are repackaged with Torah lingo and jargon is this most egregious. Further, trying to codify any specific parenting, family, psychology advice as Torah advice is at best disingenuous because of the myriad sources that disagree, contradict or talk above one another. Also, it is clear that many of these sources are products of their times and the vicissitudes of the environments in which they were written.

I recommend Strictly Kosher Reading for any curious reader.

I do have two criticisms of the book. One in style and one is substance.

The style critique is that the book seems to jump around a lot. There are times where I was reading and wondering how what I was reading was related to the paragraph I had just completed. Things seem disjointed at times and there is no clear order to the book. Also, similarly, the author is constantly telling the reader “what he is going to do” and when he is going to do it. It was a bit distracting. I do not revoke my recommendation based on this I just wish it were easier to read.

The substance critique is a bit more serious.

Throughout the book various rabbis, gedolim and Roshei Yeshiva are mentioned. Mostly because there are books written about them and they provide more data to support the book’s arguments. Three specific gedolim are mentioned and I feel strongly that mentioning them in the context of this book is disingenuous.

The three are: R’ Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz, R’ Shimon Schwab and R’ Yaakov Weinberg. I admit, I have a bias towards these three great men. They are three of my personal heroes.

Finkelman tries to prove that the American yeshiva is a facsimile of an Eastern European yeshiva that never really existed. One of his “proofs” is a famous idea from R’ Shraga Feivel who is credited with inventing the modern day charedi yeshiva / day school. In his view, R’ Shraga Feivel was saying that the goal of the American yeshiva is to follow the model of the Eastern European yeshiva. The thing is that R’ Shraga Feivel’s model was specifically a drastic departure from the prior Eastern European model. The same quote Finkelman uses to prove his point is actually a disproof! R’ Shraga Feivel’s theory of education is quoted as follows:

“Reb Shraga Feivel sel-consciously set out to create a new type of bochur in the melting pot of America, one who would… draw from all that was best of the many strands of European Jewish life. America… would produce a new Jew combining within himself the best elements of Europe: the Lithuanian intellectual acuity, the bren (warmth) of Chasidus, the organizational abilities of German Jewry, and the appreciation of hiddur mitzvah (beautification of the mitzvah) of the Hungarians. Above all, the American Jew would be characterized by his temimus (sincerity), a trait that was much more a part of American culture than of Europe.”

My grandfather was a talmid muvhak of R’ Shraga Feivel and is mentioned several times in the book. He is also credited with facilitating the book’s publication in the acknowledgments. I probably heard this idea from my grandfather several dozen times. This was R’ Shraga Feivel. It was his essence and the essence of the yeshiva system he envisioned for America.

The entire point R’ Shraga Feivel was making was that America is different and requires a more well rounded yeshiva student. He is quoted in the same Artscroll book as saying that yeshivas in America needed to produce “soldiers” and not “generals”. This in itself was a huge modification to the yeshiva system as it was in Eastern Europe where the goal was to produce Torah giants and not be as concerned with the general public.

Therefore, I find it disingenuous to use R’ Shraga Feivel’s words to make the point that American yeshivos recreated the Eastern European version when he was in fact saying and doing the very opposite.

The book uses a famous quote from R’ Shimon Schwab to support the idea that charedi Judaism specifically creates a sanitized version of history that supports the charedi view of history. His words:

What ethical purpose is served by preserving a realistic historic picture? Nothing but the satisfaction of curiosity. We should tell ourselves and our children the good memories of the good people, their unshakable faith, their staunch defense of tradition, their life of truth, their impeccable honesty, their boundless charity and their great reverence for Torah and Torah sages. What is gained by pointing out their inadequacies and their contradictions? We want to be inspired by their example and learn from their experience…

On the surface this quote plays right into Finkelman’s thesis. I believe that R’ Schwab meant something slightly different. He meant that the focus of studying history for frum Jews is not for historical accuracy. It is for inspiration. It is not a science. It is literature. Meanwhile he clearly acknowledges that the charedi view of the past is skewed. But he says that’s okay as long as one realizes the difference between inspirational myth and history. I don’t believe R’ Schwab meant that we should purposefully ignore or rewrite history. Rather that if the goal is to inspire (and usually it is in charedi schools) then it should not be taught as history or claim accuracy, rather it is inspiration.

R’ Yaakov Weinberg is quoted in the book as well. The context is not important at all. What is important is that if anyone with gadol credentials would agree with Yoel Finkelman it would be R’ Yaakov Weinberg. His learning was classically rationalist in many respects, his yeshiva approved of college and secular education and his students are more acculturated than the students of almost any other yeshiva to the right of Yeshiva University. He was maligned for his “left wing” views and fought for moderation in the charedi community. It seems silly to toss R’ Weinberg’s name into a conversation about charedi censorship and rewriting of history and casting him as part of the process. He certainly did more to slow that process down than any other ostensibly charedi gadol.

My father is a talmid muvhak of R’ Weinberg. I met R’ Weinberg several times myself. I grew up hearing his insights and opinions on a daily basis. That he could be lumped in with the most narrow version of charedi Judaism is absurd by all accounts.

Similarly, I think R’ Shraga Feivel and R’ Schwab would more likely be allies of Yoel Finkelman on many matters in this book. If he felt it was necessary to include them in his study and place them on the side of the fence that is criticized in Strictly Kosher Reading I wish there would have at least a footnote at the mention of the names of these three gedolim indicating their general stance as being more sympathetic to the author’s than the current charedi establishment.

There is much more wonderful, insightful, fascinating and constructive material in the book. I strongly recommend it for anyone who wants an academic lens into charedi culture. Whether you know nothing about the charedi community, are in the charedi world now, were in the charedi world at one time, or plan on being in the charedi world sometime in the future, Strictly Kosher Reading is a great read.

Click any of the links in the post to purchase from Amazon: Strictly Kosher Reading. (Softcover version here: Strictly Kosher Reading)

Related posts:

1. Book Review | Hush
2. Book Review | The Queen You Thought You Knew
3. Book Review | The Search for God at Harvard
4. Book Review | The Color of Water
5. Unorthodox | Book Review (and analysis)

This is cute.

Showcasing basketball leagues across the country, this Nike ad includes the “Jewish Under 40 League” in Brooklyn.

I have no idea if they are actors or bona fide “Jewish Under 40 League” ball players, but the cameo of the rabbinic looking figure on the sideline has got to be the funniest part of the commercial.

UPDATE:

GET YOUR VERY OWN “JEWISH UNDER 40 LEAGUE” T-SHIRT! CLICK –> HERE 

Related posts:

1. An Atheist Who Loves Orthodox Jews
2. A Message for Orthodox Jews in the wake of Joel Alperson’s Op-Ed on Tikkun Olam
3. Orthodox Jews and E-Readers
4. Orthodox Jews Are Not Sneetches
5. KCET Departures Features Pacific Jewish Center

(Photo via NY Times) Branca was disconsolate after giving up the home run that won a pennant in 1951.

The NY Times has been busy with a story about Ralph Branca and his heritage.

Who is Ralph Branca? He’s the guy who gave up the “shot heard ’round the word”.

What’s the “shot heard ’round the world”? The home run hit by Bobby Thompson of the New York Giants that was immediately followed by “THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!”

Branca has a largely ignominious place in sports lore because he gave up that epic home run.

During an investigative report on his life by reporter Joshua Prager, it was discovered that Branca’s mother was a Jew who emigrated to the United States in 1901 from what was then Hungary. Branca was as shocked as anyone to learn that his mother was a Jew. Perhaps he was even more shocked to discover that he was a Jew as well. For in Jewish law, if one’s mother is Jewish, one is Jewish!

Branca was raised Catholic.

As a kid, Branca was a “Shabbos goy”, a term I despise for its less than glamorous connotations. He performed certain tasks forbidden for Jews on the Sabbath. (In all likelihood, it was equally impermissible for those Jews to ask young Ralphie to perform those tasks on their behalf, but I digress.) Branca is quoted at the end of the story in the Times as saying that he better remain a Catholic, otherwise he would have been liable for all his “helpfulness”. To save his soul, Branca, now 85, says he must remain Catholic.

His faulty logic notwithstanding, Branca is a Jew.

At least according to Jewish law he is a Jew.

Alan Dershowitz is of a different mind.

“Ralph Branca is not a Jew,” said Alan Dershowitz, a Brooklyn-born Dodgers fan, lawyer and Harvard professor. “Whatever the definition, it doesn’t include someone who willingly accepted a different religion. He didn’t stay home on Yom Kippur like Koufax.”

“Koufax altered strength and guile and knew that you pitch for six days and you rest on the seventh,” he said. “Branca was straight-on; you could see there was nothing Jewish about Ralph Branca.”

It’s unclear if Dershowitz made these comments before the revelation that Branca’s mother was Jewish. If it was before, the big reveal then I am not sure what the Times is using this quote for. It is was after the revelation that Branca’s mother was a Jew I am completely at lost at how someone’s non-choice, Branca was raised Catholic or someone pitching style can be the determining factor as to one’s Jewishness. What in the world is Dershowitz saying?

According to Jewish law Branca is a Jew. Whether he knew it or cared for or not, he is a Jew. In this respect, Judaism is a family. A long lost cousin who did not know he was related to you can’t be excluded from the family because he has a different style than the rest of the family (if that is even a reasonable assertion, which it is not).

I am disappointed in Dershowitz and I welcome Ralph Branca to the tribe. Even if he was always part of it and even if he doesn’t want to be…

Links: NY Times 1 and NY Times 2

Watch the “shot heard round the world”:

HT: BG

Related posts:

1. When Times Are Tough
2. Philosophy for Tots
3. Some People Are Making Certain That The Typewriter Does Not Die
4. Landmark Eyewitness Identification Case Decided in New Jersey Supreme Court
5. Yom Hashoah: Two Holocaust Survivors And Their Emotional Reunion

For my many readers outside the New York Jewish community I report with sadness the following news:

The insular orthodox Jewish community in New York woke up this morning to a horrific end to a harrowing past few days. A 9 year old boy never came home from camp. A massive search ensued, uniting all types of Jews and non-Jews in an effort to find and rescue the boy. Volunteers from all over the New York Metropolitan area came to Brooklyn to assist in the search.

Eventually the FBI found the boy. But it was too late. He had been murdered and dismembered. A suspect, who has confessed is in custody. The suspect is, according to reports, an orthodox Jewish male may have been friends with the boy’s family.

It is all to much to handle at this point. Even tears seem too trite under the circumstances.

An innocent boy has been brutally murdered.

The only thing to say at this point is how my heart and the hearts of every single other human being must go out for this child’s family and friends. They say there is nothing more difficult than burying a child. I can’t imagine the pain involved. But I can imagine that it is even worse under circumstances like these.

Let us hope that the family will find the strength to cope with this tragedy and let us give each other support through this difficult time.

There is a silver lining to every dark cloud. I think I have found a silver lining**, even in this case, but now is not the time to discuss silver linings. Now is the time to grieve and support.

המקום ינחם אתכם בתוך שאר אבלי ציון וירושלים

Link: NY Times (and others)

**Please see this post for the silver lining: Social Issues Raised by the Recent Tragedy
and please see this post to understand my usage of this idiom: Silver Linings: An explanation and an Apology

Related posts:

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2. An Atheist Who Loves Orthodox Jews
3. A Real Time Capsule Was Found!
4. Modern Orthodox Mormons
5. New Nike Commercial for Jumpman23 Features Orthodox Jews

A little controversy arose when the First Lady invited several performers to the White House for an evening of poetry.

The controversy surrounded the invitation of a rapper named Common. The controversy was not over whether rap is actually poetry. It was about the character of this man named Common.

I confess, I never heard of Common before this controversy. But in October 2010 a Foxnews.com report called him a rap legend and told him “your music is very positive. And you’re known as the conscious rapper.” (See this link: Fox News, as seen here: Media Matters.)

Seems like a great choice.

But Bill O’Reilly disagreed. It was his opinion that having Common sing at the White House was a travesty. His reasoning? Common sings a song in support of a convicted cop killer who was part of the Black Liberation Army. O’Reilly opines that anyone who sings a song like that must never be allowed to perform at the White House.

Jon Stewart took him to task and O’Reilly invited him to debate the issue on The O’Reilly Factor.

This is how it went down [watch this now if you haven't already seen it]:

Stewart wins this debate. Clearly. There is a selective outrage machine in all of us. In this instance it was O’Reilly’s selective outrage machine that was exposed as inconsistent if not racist.

It is important to note that although we may have a selective outrage machine, there are very different ways we can deal with that outrage.

I disagree with O’Reilly’s other premise that if a man sings a song about a cop killer that defines him as a person and any further discussion of that person that does not express outrage over that song is some sort of approval of that song. In other words, just because Common sings one song about a convicted cop killer, that should not disqualify any other positive contributions he can make as as an artist or a human being.

Agreeing with, or celebrating, or hosting someone does not and should not mean that that person has carte blanche approval for anything and everything they do.

Yet this phenomena exists. It exists all over the place. One place it exists is Orthodox Judaism. Especially more insular, right wing brands of Orthodox Judaism (RWOJ).

Theologically and historically speaking, this is an important phenomena in RWOJ. Certain people and their opinions are acceptable, others are not. Thus, the entire life of the person is considered when deciding if their opinion can be relied upon or considered.

This may be important to the theology and history of RWOJ, but I find it unfortunate. Many good ideas could be lost or discarded simply because of the names of the people who thought of them. People are complex. Their ideas in one area might be wrong or unacceptable, but by acknowledging another aspect of their ideas that is not wrong and is acceptable we are not giving approval to the entire corpus of the persons previously held ideas and positions. It’s a standard that is impossible to uphold. No two people agree on everything. Inevitably everyone can be thrown under the bus for something.

But that’s not what happens. What ends up happening is exactly what happened with O’Reilly. Selective outrage.

In the RWOJ community it can mean that thieves or abusers are still voices that can and must be heard, but others with far less severe crimes, perhaps they wear the wrong head-covering or the wrong color suit, are marginalized and disqualified by the selective outrage machine.

It is completely normal to be selectively outraged. We all have biases and we all have different priorities. The problem is when the selective outrage machine also determines who has a voice and a right to be heard. Then we risk losing important ideas and contributions to our communities. There is no machine I know of that can bring those lost voices back.

Related: Our Penchant For Defining Ourselves By Excluding Others

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1. Happy Hanukah Too: Kosher Machine Only Serves 24/6 Because It's Shomer Shabbos
2. Madoff's alleged misdeeds spark feelings of betrayal, outrage in L.A.'s Jewish community – Los Angeles Times
3. Where Is The Outrage? | The Plight of Middle Eastern Jewry
4. The Shofar: A Time Machine | Connections 9/7/09
5. Michael Vick, Bill Simmons, Forgiveness and Restorative Justice

Here’s another post about my recent trip to Israel:

For many religious people, the most important city in the world is Jerusalem. In the early days of the city, after King David purchased the Temple Mount and the First Temple was built by his son King Solomon the city of Jerusalem was not where the “Old City” is today. It was on the opposite side of the Temple Mount. The “Old City” is a much newer city probably around 500 years old. It’s possible that people inhabited the area currently known as the Old City as early as the late Second Temple period, but it wasn’t formally fortified with the walls in their current position until about 500 years ago.

The Old City is rich in religious significance and religion. The Western Wall, the holiest site for Jews, is in the Old City as are the Dome of Rock and Al Aqsa Mosque, two of the most important holy places for Muslims. Additionally, Christians place special significance on several places in the Old City including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

The Old City is divided into “Quarters”. The Quarters are not a quarter a piece. They are randomly shaped and sized. The smallest quarter is the Armenian and the second smallest quarter is the Jewish Quarter. The largest quarter is the Arab Quarter. Very few Jews live in the Arab Quarter. (Now, there are more than there had been for quite some time.) One of the more well known Jewish residents of the Arab Quarter is a family named Zilberman. They are also famous for their famed (and perhaps slightly controversial) Torah academy for boys.

It happens that a cousin of my wife married a Zilberman. But not one of the children of the residents of the Arab Quarter. That is his uncle.

He offered to take us to his uncle’s house and show us around. We immediately took him up on the offer.

The Zilbermans live pretty deep into the Arab Quarter. We walked through the Arab Shuk (market) and then up and around a few streets that I had never been on before despite my many trips to Jerusalem. I had never been through the main thoroughfares of the Arab Quarter before.

We arrived at their home.

In Hebrew: Zilberman

Their home is neighbored on one side by a Muslim family and on the other by a Christian family. The three of them get along well. They share a cup of coffee (literal, not figurative) every so often.

The first thing that was pointed out to us as we entered the home was something in the threshold. It was a nook for a mezuza. The nook is carved out of the wall so that a mezuza can be placed near the door. It is nearly impossible to affix a mezuza to stone so the nook is necessary. Interestingly enough, the nook was there when the Zilbermans bought the home about 10 years ago. This means that is was either built for Jewish inhabitants when it was first constructed or sometime along the way a Jewish family lived there. That was very interesting to me.

The nook for the mezuza is in the center

We went through the doorway and saw the entrance-way to the home. It is a very narrow house with at least 3 stories. The bottom level is the dining room. The room was full of garbage when they bought the home. They cleared it out and removed all the rubble and created a beautiful new space. The Zilbermans host a huge Shabbos meal (just about) every week. Their entertaining room is used as a place to welcome hundreds and hundreds of guests into their home every Shabbos. The room is beautiful.

Zilbermans dining room

The real treat of the home is the balcony. The Zilbermans have several balconies. The uppermost balcony has a view that most Jewish people don’t get to experience. The Zilberman’s home is much further north than any other Jewish homes so that the view of the Temple Mount is more straight away as opposed to on an angle. From the balcony there is a clear view of the Temple Mount square. The stone tiling on the floor of the Temple Mount is a rare sight for Jews seeing as we are prohibited from approaching the Temple Mount by Jewish law and the views from the Jewish Quarter don’t quite get the right angle. Here is the view looking a bit south from the Zilberman’s balcony. If you look carefully to the left of the photo you can make out some of the Temple Mount floor.

View from the Zilberman's balcony

After we took some photos from the balcony we went back down to the dining room for some group photos and to ask a few more questions. Down there we also saw a very old cistern in the dining room bathroom. They also have an album of the construction of their home while they were living there. It was a very ambitious project and it turned out really well. I also got to take a photo with my wife’s cousin’s husband (a Zilberman) and just writing that, makes me realize how fortunate I am to have such wonderful family to share experiences and learn from.

Me and my wife's cousin's husband (it was cold and rainy - hence the sweater and coat)

Before we left I just had to ask how their relationship was with their non-Jewish neighbors. The answer was that they got along really well. As I mentioned above, they have coffee together every now and again. They consider their non-Jewish neighbors their friends. I asked what happens between them when there is tension or even terror attacks. I was told that their relationship is unaffected by the actions and rhetoric of others. They have mutual respect for one another and what happens politically or militarily is not of very important consequence between friends. I have to say, I was impressed with that approach and it mirrors my personal experiences as well.

The Zilbermans believe that they are doing good work by making a kiddush Hashem in an area that is generally devoid of Jewish influence and spirituality. They are doing a great job at that. I believe that they are a wonderful example of devotion to religion and tolerance.

We all can learn from them.

Related posts:

1. The Jewish Home – In Memory of The Holzbergs Formerly of Mumbai | Drasha Vayetze 2008
2. The Churva Shul Rises From the Ashes
3. A Member of the Pacific Jewish Center Family Making Us Proud in Thailand
4. A Jerusalem Wedding
5. Mourning The Living On The 9th of Av

A couple weeks ago I traveled to Jerusalem for a wedding. The marriage was a marriage of an American yeshiva boy and an Israeli girl. It was a marriage of cultures as well.

The wedding was beautiful. I had a really great time celebrating together with the other revelers that evening, But I couldn’t help but take note of some of the subtle and not so subtle differences I noticed between this wedding and all the other weddings I have attended.

At American Jewish Weddings, there is a pomp, circumstance and pageantry. Orthodox Jewish weddings are grand events. Money is spent like it’s going out of style and people expect a lavish affair. There is enough food for four meals per person with enough leftover to send to a third world country and feed a small tribe. During the chupa ceremony, men and women have specific places and most people are sitting. When the bride walks down the aisle people rise and quiet down. An MC calls up the various honorees who have been preselected and informed of their honor. The entire procession is done with deliberate awe and reverence. [I am aware that in many places there is a raucous din from the talking. But I am speaking about the expected mode of behavior.] The guests all have seats with placecards [sometimes the friends of the bride and groom are at a few collective tables] and the dais is for the bride and the groom. The band usually consists of 3 pieces or more. I’ve seen up to 20.

At the Jerusalem style wedding I attended, which I was told was absolutely typical of Jerusalem orthodox weddings everything is different. There are no seats at the chupa ceremony. Everyone crowds around a makeshift canopy. The women don’t have a real place to stand and the men are lucky if they can see at all. There is an MC, but he himself has no idea what he is doing (in this case it was me) because the honors are given out haphazardly. There is no procession. The bride and groom almost magically appear under the chupa. No one can hear what is happening, and it seemed that no one cared. After the chupa the guests went to the main hall and sat wherever they pleased. There were no assigned seats. The dais was for men on the men’s side and for women on the women’s side. Rabbis who felt they belonged there took seats at the dais. The band was a one-man guy with an iPod doing most of the work. [The wedding I attended was beautiful and a very upscale.]

A big contrast in style. The pageantry of the American ceremony comes at a high cost. A cost that for many is too much to bear. A cost that goes against all reasonable thinking. Spending that much money on one night is a bit loony if one is struggling to pay their bills as so many people are. A Jerusalem wedding is cheap but it also comes at a cost. The wedding does not have the same feeling of reverence or specialness.

In the end, all weddings are beautiful and wonderful occasions to spend with friends and family. To this American Orthodox Jew, the cultural differences were worth noting.

May we share in many smachos together.

Related posts:

1. The Royal Wedding: A Jewish Perspective
2. The Zilberman Home: A Thriving Jewish Family in the Arab Quarter of Jerusalem
3. Officially a Rabbi
4. Do Children Need Married Parents to Thrive?
5. Rebuilding Jerusalem One Smile at a Time | Dvar Torah Ki Savo

A couple of weeks ago I read The Color of Water, a really excellent book. I don’t write about every book I read, but this one was worth sharing with you.

The book tells the story a white-Jewish woman Rachel Shilsky / Ruth McBride Jordan, who married two black men and raised a very successful family in the inner city. Alternating chapters, the book tells the story of her childhood from her perspective and the story of her adult life from her son, the author, James McBride’s perspective. The Color of Water reads like a novel but is biographical.

Rachel’s father was a rabbi in Virginia. According to his daughter, he was a really horrible person. He was violent, unloving and unfaithful to his crippled wife. He was cheap, racist and a hypocrite. Rachel’s experience with her father was her only Jewish experience and eventually led her to a life as far from Judaism as she could run. Reading about her limited understanding of her Judaism and her father’s gross behavior was depressing.

But despite it all, she persevered as a person. She left Judaism but she turned herself into a very strong woman. She led a large family against the odds to great success. Perhaps most importantly and ironically, her son attributes their success to her “Jewishness”. She pushed her children to get an education and stereotypically, many of them are “professionals” that would make any yiddishe mama proud.

As much as Rachel ran away from her Jewish roots, those Jewish values were nevertheless instilled in her family and led them to great success.

The book is fascinating, educational, heartwarming, heartrending and challenging. It is well written, fun to read, leaves room for much discussion, indeed, the book is part of many high school and college curricula and I recommend the book for teens and adults.

I would love to meet Mr. McBride and his mother after reading this book. I am pretty sure you will too.

Purchase here: The Color of Water

Related posts:

1. Book Review | The Search for God at Harvard
2. Book Review | The Queen You Thought You Knew
3. Book Review | Unchosen
4. Book Review | Strictly Kosher Reading
5. Book Review | Hush

This song was more popular when I was a kid. Back when Adam Sandler used to be funny. In those days of yore, Sandler used to sing songs that were mildy funny and usually entertaining.

One of those songs was the now famous Chanukah song. With its pop culture references, wacky rhymes and Sandler’s whiny voice, it has become the staple of Chanukah songs that non-Jews know.

So, here is Adam Sandler and the Chanukah song…

Enjoy.

Related posts:

1. This Year’s Hottest Chanukah Song: Candlelight by The Maccabeats | Jewish Holiday Music
2. How Do You Spell Chanukah? The LeeVees | Jewish Holiday Music
3. Chanukah Posts of Note So Far
4. Pacific Jewish Center Chanukah Party 2008
5. The Soul of Jewish Music Concert in Los Angeles

The NY Times has a write-up on a little controversy in Germany. There are two main rabbinical seminaries in Germany. There is a “Liberal” seminary and an “Orthodox” seminary. The Orthodox seminary is the reincarnation of the Hildesheimer seminary which was founded in 1873. It has reopened as the Orthodox community has grown.

The controversy stems from funding that the government provides the Jewish community. The Liberal seminary is receiving funds while the Orthodox institution is not. See the article for the details.

There are three very interesting things I noticed in the article.

1) Read this quote:

The Hildesheimer seminary, which was founded in 1873, was forced to close in 1938 as life for Jews became intolerable under Hitler.

Intolerable? Really? That’s a pretty poor word choice for “systematic extermination of all Jews in Germany”. I have no problem with current Germans or Germany or German products. I do have a problem with whitewashing the Holocaust and calling it “intolerable”.

2) There is a general secretary of the Central Council of Jews named Stephen Kramer. The council represents and tries to unite all Jews. In the United States, there is no central Jewish agency. Jews in America have created a ton of independent agencies but they all work independently. The CCJ in Germany works hard to unite all Jews from all denominations. There is no such agency in the United States, nor does it seem that there is any effort made to that end. I would like to see that change. We are all family, regardless of differences in theology.

Without a central agency, perhaps we can try on our own. That would be good.

3) This issue is creating a divide between Jews in Germany. The CCJ is trying hard to prevent that from happening. As Mr. Kramer says: “We need both pillars if we want to rebuild the community here. But the longer this dispute continues, the more it could force Jews to choose one side or the other. Until now, the majority of Germany’s Jews are somewhere in between.”

It would be a shame to see the Jews of Germany become as fragmented and divided as we are in the United States. We have strength in numbers across all denominations. So in a sense we can afford to be divided. I don’t like it. It’s unfortunate, but it works.

However in the fledgling Jewish German community they need strength of unity. Hopefully the issue can be resolved soon and they can go back to working together again.

Link: NY Times

Related posts:

1. A Message for Orthodox Jews in the wake of Joel Alperson’s Op-Ed on Tikkun Olam
2. Orthoprax Jews and Orthoprax Christians
3. Orthodox Jews and E-Readers
4. Chinese Jews Returning to Their Roots
5. Rabbi J.H. Hertz’s Epic Introduction to the Talmud (with a little controversy mixed in)

This post has been crossposted to DovBear. More discussion there: Reform Jews Interested in Kashrus

Ask most Orthodox Jews about Kashrus and Reform Judaism, you’ll most likely hear a snicker from the uninformed or a reference to the “Treyfe Banquet” (see: New National Museum of American Jewish History In Philadelphia Apparently Misses the Mark) from the more informed. As far as I know, Reform Judaism has never officially sanctioned Kashrus observance.

I remember reading an article 3 years ago about young Reform Jews pining to add more ritual observance to their summer camp experience. They wanted to add tefillin, kashrus and a more traditional Shabbos. At the time, I thought that was really cool. (read about it here: The Jewish Week).

Today, I saw another step in this direction referenced on Twitter (HT @schnit). A new book has been published for Reform Jews that want to observe some level of Kashrus. Apparently, this is a first. The book tackles broader issues than simple dietary restrictions such as animal cruelty and treatment / paying laborers.

I think it’s great. I would only hope that just as Reform Jews are learning from the ideals of Orthodox Jews as far as Kashrus is concerned, Orthodox Jews can learn from the concern the Reform Jews express for animal cruelty and treatment / paying laborers.

(link: JTA)

Related posts:

1. Reform Girl Tries Out Orthodox Judaism For a Week
2. Glenn Beck, Radicalized Islam and Reform Rabbis
3. Jon Stewart Helps You Understand Judaism With A Handy Flowchart
4. Dogs in Judaism and an Apology to Bill Simmons
5. The Future of Women in Orthodox Judaism

In the comment threads that follow the two posts I wrote about Esther Petrack (who has been eliminated from ANTM) (Esther Petrack: Modern Orthodox Jewish Girl on America’s Next Top Model Drops Shabbos on Television and Esther Petrack’s Mother Speaks: Esther is observant, it was all editing) I noticed something that I feel needs to be discussed.

Much of the conversation was about whether Esther could be considered “Orthodox” or “Modern Orthodox” in light of her decision to model. The first comment thread assumed that she dropped Shabbos (even though we knew it could be editing and my post was not about her per se) and the second thread assumed that even if she kept Shabbos there was a problem with her modeling.

Quite a few commenters found the need to “draw a line” between what they do and what Esther did. Some said she desecrated God’s name. Others said that violated a law and not being ashamed is enough for them to be ousted from orthodoxy or modern orthodoxy. I debated the merits of those claims on the thread (and even received a number of emails thanking me) and I don’t care to debate them further.

What I find most interesting is this need that has been expressed to self define by whom we exclude.

This phenomena is part of what drove the “separate but equal” laws of the first half of the 20th century. Sure blacks couldn’t be used as slaves anymore, but by excluding them from social life, and certain privileges the white majority still felt superior.

In politics you’ll see the same kind of lines of demarcation drawn. Someone is only as right or left wing as they are compared to the next guy. So political groups find it necessary to define themselves by who and what they are not. The last two major election campaigns (’08, ’10) both focused on change. “We are not like them”.

In religions it is the same way. Folks want to feel superior or more authentic so they say “we are the REAL ____ [Jews / Christian / Muslims (/ Atheists)]. Huge sects of Christianity and Islam are built on this principle. Judaism is smaller and has been united by common persecution so these tendencies may have existed but it did not yield similar results.

Once Jews were freed from the ghetto this phenomena found its way into Judaism. Different sects within Judaism formed and people began to define themselves by whom they were not like. Most people do what their parents do. It wasn’t a conscious choice, yet they self define “real Judaism” as their version. And their version can be so narrowly construed that no one else can fit in to their little world. It’s isolationism at its best.

This is what many Modern Orthodox Jews find so disturbing about Charedi Judaism. The Charedi establishment excludes non-conformists. This includes in action and in thought. For example Rabbi Natan Slifkin performs the same actions / mitzvos as the Charedim. But he is excluded for his thoughts. On the other hand, those who look the part but don’t act like Charedi Jews are also excluded. For some (maybe most) this doesn’t affect them because they have self selected themselves out of the Charedi world. But for Rabbi Slifkin who self selected himself as a Charedi Jew, this created a personal conflict. Subsequent to the entire affair he self excluded himself. The merits of Rabbi Slifkin’s opinions and the merits of the Charedi criticisms are not relevant. The point is that he was excluded for his thoughts.

Modern Orthodox Jews are more inclusive. There is a broader range of activity and thought that is acceptable. But when someone so much as tiptoes over the line they are out. Rabbi Avi Weiss dared tread just across the line and everyone and their grandmother has “excluded” him or proclaimed him to be “beyond the pale”. The truth is that Modern Orthodoxy is more inclusive but only because they have a broader definition of what is acceptable thought and action. However, going outside that self-defined perimeter means you are outside Modern Orthodoxy. There is not more tolerance, just more tolerated activity.

The same thing drove the comments that ousted Esther Petrack from Modern Orthodoxy. Esther’s mother wrote that her family goes “mixed swimming” (and wear bathing suits in public). This is an accepted action within Modern Orthodoxy. (Forget halacha for a minute, this is a social issue, not a halachic issue.) Yet, Esther’s modeling was outside what some people want to define as Modern Orthodoxy so she is out. Esther self defines as Modern Orthodox. Somehow people think they have a right to tell others how they are to be defined.

How does it help Modern Orthodox Jew be a better person or a better Jew by excluding Esther? What is the motivation?

It’s the same phenomena. People need to feel better about themselves and they take the feel good shortcut by telling themselves and others that they are better / more important / more religious / more privileged than someone else.

Isolating others from the place that they define as their place is self serving. Further it can hurt others. Esther is 18 years old. If you care about her as your sister and you want her to be successful professionally and more importantly, spiritually then you would be best served offering her support and reminding her that we are her family no matter what.

Teens who are at-risk are the darlings of the Orthodox Jewish community. Money, time, resources, blog posts and magazine articles are dedicated to solving their problems. Do we hear anyone trying to exclude them from the places they want to be included? Of course not. I am not equating at risk teens and Esther. All I am saying is that even we have come to understand that inclusion is a much more powerful tool than exclusion.

This is not just about Esther. It is about being inclusive. Halacha tells us how to act. It doesn’t tell us to exclude those who may not follow halacha to the standards that we arbitrarily create.

Above all else: V’ahavta l’reyacha kamocha, zeh klal gadol baTorah.

Related posts:

1. Esther Petrack's Mother Speaks: Esther is observant, it was all editing
2. Esther Petrack: Modern Orthodox Jewish Girl on America's Next Top Model Drops Shabbos on Television
3. Mourning The Living On The 9th of Av
4. Defining Greatness | A Guest Post
5. The Day After Thanksgiving: Some Thoughts on Yesterday’s Controversies

The NY Times has a write-up on the study done by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. 3,400 Americans were asked basic questions about religions, religious figures and laws that relate to religion in America.

By now you probably know that the group who scored highest on the survey were atheist and agnostics. You may also know that just a slim margin behind them were Jews and Mormons. The senior researcher said: “Even after all these other factors, including education, are taken into account, atheists and agnostics, Jews and Mormons still outperform all the other religious groups in our survey,”. So athough some of the headlines say atheists and agnostics performed best, the researchers consider them to be statistically close enough to Jews and Mormons for the “Winner”s of the study to be Atheist, Agnostics, Jews and Mormons.

I wonder who the study included in the category of Jewish? Was it people who consider themselves Jewish? Jewish parents? Practicing Judaism and religiously Jewish?

If it was anything but religiously Jewish it would seem that the Jewish respondents may have been less religious that their counterparts from other religions.

Also, most religions don’t teach other religions. The survey asked all faiths about all faiths. It would stand to reason that religious folks would not know much about the other faiths. So it is not a surprising result that they did poorly.

The two biggest things that I take away from the article are:

1) Atheists (and maybe agnostics) should have done BETTER. They scored an average of 20.9 out of 32. That is a terrible score. If one is choosing not to believe in God and not have any religion in one’s life, I would presume that it would after considering the options available. If proper due diligence was made before deciding on atheism I would imagine that they would be more knowledgeable about all religions than the 60% score says.

2) Many religious people are ignorant of their own religions. This is inexcusable. People need to do things out of education not ignorance. You can force any group of ignorant people to do almost anything a powerful leader tells them to do. You can get religious people to act immorally and perhaps in violation of their own religion if they do not know what their religion tells them to do. This is bad. Very bad.

Note to Dave Silverman who is quoted as saying “Atheism is an effect of that knowledge, not a lack of knowledge. I gave a Bible to my daughter. That’s how you make atheists.”: I have no problem with atheism. I think our world is designed to make it difficult to believe in an invisible God. Atheism can be a logical conclusion. But, belief in God is not premised on the Bible. Reading the Bible is premised on the belief in God. In other words, the Book is not a treatise on faith, it is a Book for those who have already believe.

Overall, the survey is disturbing on many levels. Let’s hope everyone does better next time.

Oh, and I took the 6 question mini-survey. Here’s how I did…

Related posts:

1. Beautiful Photos of Charedi Wedding in Israel in the New York Times
2. Irresponsible Journalism From the New York Times
3. I Don’t Care About 11/11/11 11:11:11 (but the New York Times did in 1911!)
4. Where Did Religion Come From?
5. Interesting New York Times Video of Ezekiel's Tomb in Iraq

When we think of 19th and early 20th century history, we think of everything in greyscale. It’s not our fault, picture and films from the era have clouded our ability to see those times in color.

Much of that era’s Jewish history is captured in black and white photos from Europe. It gives rise to a sense that their time was one of darkness and sadness, devoid of color. Of course this is completely false. (In fact, many would counter that the black and white mode of dress common among many orthodox Jews is more doom and gloom than the the modes of dress present in the 19th and early 20th century.)

I happened upon a selection of absolutely stunning color photographs taken in Russia in the early 20th century before the world was thrust in upheaval during the First World War. The photos are in full technicolor and they tell a compelling story with almost garish colors and of people unaccustomed to photography¹.

The article shows 34 photos. They are all worthy of your attention. However, I call your attention to Photo #16. (click for full frame version)

A group of Jewish children with a teacher in Samarkand, (in modern Uzbekistan), ca. 1910. (Prokudin-Gorskii Collection/LOC)

This photo shows Jewish children studying with their teacher. I find it beautiful. The boys are attentive. They are wearing various styles of yarmulkas. The teacher looks regal. They are sharing their books. And the CLOTHES are amazing! This is a rare, colorful and bright view of a Jewish Education of a century ago.

Some of my great-grandparents were in “White Russia” in 1910. They may have known these boys, they may even be one of these boys.

I feel so blessed to have seen this picture and I am pleased to share it with you.

Head on over to Russia in color, a century ago to see all the photos. Enjoy them.

1. Compare that to the era of camera phones and Facebook photo albums, we are ALWAYS taking photos and we know just how to behave and act when we are being photographed. The subjects in these photos look almost as if they do not believe that a picture is being taken

Related posts:

1. New National Museum of American Jewish History In Philadelphia Apparently Misses the Mark
2. The Speed of History
3. Beautiful Photos of Hoshana Rabbah at Pacific Jewish Center | The Shul on the Beach
4. A Very Sad Photo
5. A Beautiful Explanation of Kol Nidre

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5. How Did We Get Here? Explaining the Unabashed Support for Rubashkin

A Facebook friend, (Jewish Atheist), posted a really fascinating article on his Facebook profile.

The article is a Boston Globe piece and is called “The Unbelievers“. I recommend reading the entire article as this post will just highlight a few parts of the well researched article to illustrate some points of interest to this audience.

Lately, there’s been a lot of talk of Orthopraxy within the Orthodox Jewish world. See my post: The Real Orthoprax Issue. There are even some blogs dedicated to its theology (and challenging the traditional OJ theology). Interestingly, the Orthoprax people I know of (NOT Orthoprax by default) are lay people. Not Rabbis. True, they are very learned and could probably pass as rabbis, but they remain lay people. Though I wonder if there are “closet Orthoprax Rabbis”…

According to this article, there are significant clergy members of various Christian denominations that for all practical purposes are “Orthoprax Christians”. They value the rituals, the connection with others, the music, but they don’t believe their religion’s theology. They don’t believe in God.

When comparing ministers and Christianity with Rabbis and Judaism there is a marked difference. Almost all Orthodox Jews spend several years of Torah study. Many lay people in the OJ community are more learned than their Rabbis. The article led me to believe that it is highly unlikely that lay people in the Christian community would be “Orthoprax Christians” because they don’t know enough about the Bible and Christianity for the gaping holes, flaws and problems to bother them. But the educated class, the clergy, is susceptible to disbelief because they know what the problems are

Cynics have said that the reason for “Daas Toyrah” ousting rationalism and “Slifkinism” from the “mesorah” is to keep the public ignorant so that they won’t revolt against the rabbis. Perhaps there is some truth to that cynical belief. Ignorance will definitely keep people in line. It also shows is a complete lack of confidence in Torah.

Reading through the article I noticed little things that are virtually the exact ideas that Orthoprax Jews talk about. One idea is the “more benign forms of religion”. That is a religion without God. It takes the moral aspects of religion and the rituals but divorces them from divinity and yet brings people together. Another idea is the issue of who wrote the Bible. Orthodox Jews don’t usually struggle with this. But those who are aware of the issues, do.

In short, this article is not written about Jews. But it very likely could have been. It seems to me that there is nearly endless room for discussion about the questions it raises for us. I urge you to read the article and think about how it makes you feel.

The article made me feel confused about how I feel. How about you?

Related posts:

1. The Real Orthoprax Issue
2. The Orthoprax Rabbi Takes the J-Blogosphere By Storm
3. Thoughts on Ami Magazine’s Orthoprax Article: The Impostors Among Us
4. In Madoff Scandal, Jews Feel an Acute Betrayal – NYTimes.com
5. Ode To The Jews

Today is Yom Hashoah. It is a day designated to Holocaust Remembrance. In the spirit of this special day I would like to share a story with you.

Over on Cross-Currents, Rabbi Adlerstein has linked to a very powerful article in the Detroit News.

Most Orthodox Jews have heard the song called “The Man From Vilna” by Abie Rottenberg. It tells a powerful story in post liberation Europe. It was the day of Simchas Torah, a grand celebration at the completion of the weekly Torah readings. Typically, the day is marked by feverish dancing and rejoicing for hours while holding the Sefer Torah Scroll. However, on this dark day the synagogue in Vilna had no Sefer Torah. They had been destroyed by the Nazis.

A Jewish Russian soldier spotted a young boy. This was an anomoly as most young children were killed in the holocaust. But this boy was hidden in a convent during the war and had survived. The soldier scooped up the boy and danced with the boy as if he were the Sefer Torah Scroll. His act symbolized to all that although the physical Torah Scrolls were destroyed and Six Million Jews had been killed, the Torah and Judaism live on through the next generation of children.

After that moment, they never saw each other again.

Until last week.

They finally met for the first time in 65 years. They both remembered that incredible day and that poignant moment all this time. It was a very emotional reunion.

Like many great stories, people thought of this as a legend, with perhaps some basis in reality. But these two men confirmed its veracity. It also identifies the two men as prominent Jewish leaders. Abe Foxman was the boy and he is the New York based director of Anti-Defamation league and Leo Grossman, was the soldier and became the Rabbi of Shaarey Shamayim Synagogue in Oak Park Michigan. Their story and inspiration became inspiration for others as well as action in their lives for others.

I recommend reading the article in the Detroit News.

Someone has taken the song and made a homemade music video. I have included the video below:

Related posts:

1. Exhibit: Albanian Muslims Saved 2000 Jews During the Holocaust
2. Glenn Beck and PETA in Lockstep (Goose Step?) on International Holocaust Remembrance Day
3. Tell Someone You Love Them
4. Message From Auschwitz: I Will Survive
5. Yom Kippur Message: The Bird of Hope

The 2009 PJC Chanukah Party was a tremendous success.

As the Shul on the Beach, a community institution, we are charged with the responsibility and opportunity to bring Judaism to the boardwalk. Our Chanukah party, the first in a series of events and programs designed to reach that end was incredible.

Thank yous are in order to Jeff Liss for organizing, planning and executing the whole thing. Thank you so much. Many others contributed as well and for that we express our appreciation to you as well.

I have no way of knowing how many people came through our doors today,but it was a very large number. Rabbi Mintz was particularly effective at luring passers by into the shul. Thank you so much! The shul was packed with community members as well as many passers-by ranging from observant friends to completely unaffiliated Jews as well as many curious non-Jews.

I had the fortune of meeting some wonderful people. Like the father of an adorable daughter whose expectant wife was home. He thought a Chanukah Party would be the perfect way for this non-Jewish father to celebrate with his Jewish daughter. He noted, that as soon as possible, he will be bringing his wife and, God-willing, twin daughters, when mom and babies are up and about. He cited the generosity and friendliness of the community members as impressive.

I met people from all over Los Angeles. Locals, from Santa Monica and Venice. From all over Los Angeles from as far as the Valley to Marina del Rey. I met visitors from Chicago, New Jersey, Miami, Israel and the UK. It was truly a universal Chanukah celebration.

Once inside everyone was treated to warm hospitality, friendliness and traditional Chanukah foods. (Of course there was food.) Towards the end of the party I spoke to the remaining crowd and the audio has been posted here.

Our very talented Office Manager, Leslie Friedman took a lot of great photos. You can see them in a slideshow below. If you spot yourself leave us a comment and say hi!

Related posts:

1. PJC Chanukah Party 2010 Wrap Up and Photos
2. Chanukah Party 2011 Photos and Wrap-up
3. PJC Chanukah Party 2009 Address
4. Invitation: Chanukah Party on the Beach 12/13/09
5. Pacific Jewish Center Chanukah Party 2008

As part of the festivities of our Chanukah Party on the beach, I addressed the attended with a speech on Chanukah and this week’s parsha, Miketz.

It was an addendum to my Shabbos drasha, which I hope to publish shortly.

Enjoy the class. Audio is below.

All audio classes are available by clicking podcasts on the top of this page. Or just click here.

You can also subscribe to all classes in iTunes by clicking here.

Related posts:

1. PJC Chanukah Party 2009 Wrap Up and Photos
2. Pacific Jewish Center Chanukah Party 2008
3. PJC Chanukah Party 2010 | Rabbi’s Speech
4. Invitation: Chanukah Party on the Beach 12/13/09
5. Mesillas Yesharim 11/22/09

The only time of the year that there is an obligation to publicize a Jewish Holiday is Chanukah. It is in this spirit that we invite the entire Venice / Santa Monica Community to our Chanukah Party at our historic location at the Shul on the Beach. (Map Link)

Stop by on Sunday afternoon and join us in celebrated the Festival of Lights.

I look forward to greeting you there!

Related posts:

1. PJC Chanukah Party 2009 Wrap Up and Photos
2. Purim Celebration at The Shul on the Beach Invitation 2/28/10
3. PJC Chanukah Party 2009 Address
4. PJC Chanukah Party 2010 Wrap Up and Photos
5. Pacific Jewish Center Chanukah Party 2008

We ventured further into Chapter 9 today.

The Ramchal’s insights into laziness, anxiety and rational fear continue to amaze me.

Today contrasted rational fear for one’s safety with imagined fear used to excuse laziness.

Worth a listen, as always…

Audio is below.

All audio classes are available by clicking podcasts on the top of this page. Or just click here.

You can also subscribe to all classes in iTunes by clicking here.

Related posts:

1. Mesillas Yesharim 9/6/09
2. Mesillas Yesharim 11/22/09
3. Mesillas Yesharim 10/25/09
4. Mesillas Yesharim 11/1/09
5. Mesillas Yesharim 11/15/09

KCET (the local PBS affiliate) has been working on a city-wide project. It is called Departures and it focuses on the people and places that make the neighborhoods of Los Angeles. For the last six weeks they have been working on Venice. Today they came to the Pacific Jewish Center Shul on the Beach to learn about us and to be included in their upcoming Venice piece.

It was a true honor and privilege to be a part of this worthwhile project. The production should be finished in February and I look forward to seeing that.

The camera crew shot some footage of our morning services and did two interviews. First, they interview Gary Dalin. Gary has been part of PJC since 1979 and provided great insight into the rich history of Pacific Jewish Center and the greater Venice Jewish community. He was eloquent and impressive in his interview and represented us very well. Great job Gary!

I was interviewed next. I hope I did okay. I myself have interviewed so many Jewish College student on camera and made those interviews into documentaries, so I know how hard it can be. (For two of my videos click here for JAM 2006 and click here for Chase Edler.) Among many topics, we talked about the juxtaposition of the historic quality of the Shul on the Beach to the future of outreach including this blog and my relative youth as a Rabbi. We also talked about the role the Shul plays in the boardwalk community, surrounded by the wild atmosphere of the boardwalk. It wasn’t too long, maybe a 35 minute interview in total, but we covered a lot of topics. Of course, there were some delinquents that felt the need to disturb us, that is just life on Venice Boardwalk…

I hope the final product reflects well on our special community and those who see it are inspired at least to check us out some time. I ended the interview with an open invitation to anyone who would like to see what we are all about and I extend that invitation to all of you reading this right now.

I also, want to thank Justin, Dan and Matt for including us in this project. I wish you much success in this endeavor and anything you do in the future.

Here are a couple pictures that Leslie Friedman took with her BlackBerry during the interview.

Related posts:

1. You’re Not Crazy Blogger Visits The Shul on the Beach
2. KCET Departures Features Pacific Jewish Center
3. That's What I Call Ambition
4. Venice Historical Society Visits Pacific Jewish Center at the Shul on the Beach
5. Purim Night! | Connections 3/9/09

A guest post by Rabbi Aaron Fink (my father), Dean of Ateres Bais Yaakov on Monsey NY. Part of a weekly Dvar Torah (Torah “Thought”) series.

Chessed L’Avraham

The beginning of Parshas Vayera describes the hospitality uniquely associated with the home of Avraham Avinu and Sarah Imeinu. The psukim are filled with practical lessons in the “how to’s” of Chessed. The entire scenario with the malachim visiting Avraham as he recovers is inspiring.

One phrase in the story, v’hu omeid aleohem tachas haeitz vayocheilu encapsulates the art of being a ba’al chessed, a master of Chessed, teaching us how to give and how to receive. We learn that despite the pain of having just undergone a bris milah, Avraham, together with his wife prepared a feast for strangers. They not only presented each of them with a meal fit for a king, but personally waited on them, trying to fulfill their every desire.

Chazal derive a valuable perspective on the middah of chessed from this posuk. Kindness is also measured by the way in which it is performed. Surely, after Avraham presented this abundant feast, he could have gone back to his study and gone about his own business. He could have sent Yishmael, Eliezer or one of his other servants, to tend to his guests. This, however, may have been construed by the visitors as a lack of interest in their welfare. Avraham Avinu wanted them to know that at this point in time their needs were his most important and pressing concern. Acts of chessed are not enough. They must be combined with an attitude of chessed and a sensitivity to the feelings of others. Avraham’s sensitivity benefited us all. The personal involvement of Avraham in providing food, water and a doting interest in the welfare of his guests was reflected back to Klal Yisrael, midah kineged midah, in the form of the mon, be’er and annanei hakavod!

There is an art too, of being a recipient of chessed. This same posuk tells us that as the angels were presented a magnificent feast, vayocheilu,, and they (the angels) ate. Rashi quotes the Gemarah, which tells us that the angels made themselves appear to be eating like humans, in following with the precept of lo yishaneh adam min haminhag – a person should not deviate from the accepted practice. It is important to learn how to accept kindness from others in a manner that does not affect the sensitivities of the giver. Imagine how disappointed and offended Avraham and Sarah could have been if their guests, after all their work, would have said: “No thanks! We’re not hungry!” Hashem’s messengers model for us the role of “recipients of kindness.” Chessed is a two-way street. The giver has to know how to give, the recipient, how to receive, with each one concerned about the sensitivities of the other.

Still despite all the wonderful expressions of kindness modeled by Avraham Avinu, we cannot help but wonder why he is considered and designated as the Av, the father of chessed. After all, he was not alone in being a giving, caring and helpful person. Even Lot displayed a magnanimous nature and risked his very life when he greeted the malachim that came his way. So many personalities in Tanach are filled with goodness. What is it about Avraham that defined him as the Av of Chessed?

My father, Harav Berel Fink z”l, used to point out, that while it is true that there are many personalities throughout the Torah who were giants of chessed – when the need was there, only Avraham Avinu was a mitztaeir when he could not do chessed. Suffering pain when he was unable to be kind, that is what set Avraham apart as the model for us to strive to emulate. It is not enough to be reactive to need, we must be proactive in our chessed pursuits. So much so that it hurts when we cannot help!

There is so much each of us can do as we know, mirubim tzarchei amcha. We, too, must be so concerned and devoted to our fellow Jew that it hurts not to help whenever and wherever we can.

Related posts:

1. It’s All A Gift | A Guest Post
2. Abraham As A Role Model For Making Choices | A Guest Post
3. Defining Greatness | A Guest Post
4. God is With You | A Guest Post
5. Heralding the Unheralded | A Guest Post

I first heard of Matisyahu while working as a Campus Rabbi at USC. The Jewish students on campus were really into his music (this was ~5 years ago) and some of my students invited me to join them at a Matisyahu concert.

He was performing at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood which was right near my home. I went and it was really cool. The music was great, the message was equally wholesome and the connection that I got to build with my students was profound.

I liked it enough that I took my wife to a Matisyahu show at the American Jewish University a few weeks later. It was a bad venue for a concert. It was more like a movie theater than the right venue for a reggae concert. Still, we enjoyed the music.

I knew that Matisyahu had made it, when I was listening to my then favorite sports radio show, “The Loose Canons” on AM 570 in Los Angeles (oh how I miss those guys…) and they played Chop ‘em Down as their bumper music. That was an epiphany for me. At that point, Matisyahu has “made it” in my books.

If that wasn’t sufficient proof that Matisyahu had “made it”, I received another clue a few weeks ago. I was playing the NBA 2K10 video game and the background music was… Matisyahu!

I found a video of the NBA 2K10 playlist so you can see for yourself.

I thought that was pretty cool.

But today around the blogosphere and on Twitter the latest Matisyahu news is regarding the new NBC advertisement for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

This is, by far, the best exposure that Matisyahu has seen in the public eye. The commercial is perfect. The content, the timing of the cuts, the slow – motion, the music and the message are woven together to create a really perfect ad. The emotion that the 30 second spot exudes are exactly what NBC wants you to feel.

I like NBC as a network and I hope that they can mount a comeback and become relevant again. This ad is a great start.

I am sure Matisyahu is proud to be part of such a great ad. I am proud to share it with you.

Related posts:

1. There Will Not Be a Moment of Silence For the Victims of Terrorism at the Munich Olympic Games
2. Improv Everyone Will Make You LOL (Again)
3. Television Ad for Call of Duty: Black Ops – Controversial or Just Great?
4. Klezmer on the Beach Concert Was a Great Success
5. Happy Birthday Tetris

We took the family to Santa Monica Pier on Sunday and our six year old son proved to be smarter than a Supreme Court Justice!

It is so beautiful to walk along the beach and observe all the excitement along the boardwalk and pier. As always, we had a great time in Santa Monica.

For the last few years there has been a protest / exhibit just north of the pier. The protestors are against war in general, the Iraq war in specific and pretty much the entire defense budget of the United States.

They call it Arlington West and they have set up a faux graveyard in the sand representing the fallen soldiers in what they call a criminal war.

It can be quite powerful when you see it.

As we walked by the lines and lines of crosses on this occasion, my 6 year old son asks, “How do they know all the soldiers who died were Christian? If they were Jewish or Muslim or ‘nothing’ they probably wouldn’t want a cross.”

Excellent point kiddo! Score one for the six year old.

In fact you may have heard about this exact issue arising in the Supreme Court of the United States in Salazar v. Buono. The issue in the case is an eight-foot high cross that was erected as a memorial to fallen soldiers in foreign wars.

The case made recent headlines when Justice Scalia could not fathom that a non-Christian would perhaps be offended by a Christian symbol as a memorial for the dead. The exchange between Justice Scalia and ACLU lawyer Peter J. Eliasburg went something like this:

JUSTICE SCALIA: The cross doesn’t honor non-Christians who fought in the war? Is that — is that –

MR. ELIASBERG: I believe that’s actually correct.

JUSTICE SCALIA: Where does it say that?

MR. ELIASBERG: It doesn’t say that, but a cross is the predominant symbol of Christianity and it signifies that Jesus is the son of God and died to redeem mankind for our sins, and I believe that’s why the Jewish war veterans –

JUSTICE SCALIA: It’s erected as a war memorial. I assume it is erected in honor of all of the war dead. It’s the — the cross is the — is the most common symbol of — of — of the resting place of the dead, and it doesn’t seem to me — what would you have them erect? A cross — some conglomerate of a cross, a Star of David, and you know, a Moslem half moon and star?

MR. ELIASBERG: Well, Justice Scalia, if I may go to your first point. The cross is the most common symbol of the resting place of Christians. I have been in Jewish cemeteries. There is never a cross on a tombstone of a Jew. (Laughter.)

MR. ELIASBERG: So it is the most common symbol to honor Christians.

JUSTICE SCALIA: I don’t think you can leap from that to the conclusion that the only war dead that that cross honors are the Christian war dead. I think that’s an outrageous conclusion.

MR. ELIASBERG: Well, my — the point of my — point here is to say that there is a reason the Jewish war veterans came in and said we don’t feel honored by this cross. This cross can’t honor us because it is a religious symbol of another religion.

(Credit: Huffington Post)

DovBear posted about this last week (Impeach Scalia) click for discussion there.

What amazes me is how my 6 year old son can see something so patently obvious and yet Justice Scalia can’t seem to process the concept…

Incredible.

Related posts:

1. This Blog Post is in Honor of (one of) My Incredibly Accomplished Grandmother(s)
2. Mesira (The Jewish Informant) in Halacha
3. Wonderful Article on the “Three Faiths” Exhibit at the New York Public Library
4. Too Smart For Their Own Good
5. Is the Rubashkin Saga / Trial Anti-Semitic?

This post is really two Public Service Announcements.

Please read both and if you are able to help in any way possible, it is much appreciated.

One great thing about blogging is the opportunity to connect with other people for the sake of an important cause. Today, I present you with two important causes.

First, there is a blogger who writes vitriolic, hate laced blog posts against anyone with whom he disagrees. He does so under the guise of Authentic Judaism. He makes no real arguments, just yells loudly at those he views as a threat (read: anyone who thinks differently than he). Apparently, he thinks that God spoke to him directly and gave him Torah and nobody else. A number of bloggers are trying to snatch the Google search result ranking from his blog.

I am here to help.

More importantly, DovBear is looking for some kind souls to help a family in desperate financial need. The economic downturn has claimed some more victims and from what I understand, their situation is dire. It is really easy to help, Just click here and click donate in the upper right hand sidebar and donate just a little money. Type in the amount you can give and indicate it is for #famliyneedsdough. If you can give just a few dollars it would make a tremendous difference to this family. Every penny donated will be given directly to the needy family.

I appreciate any relief you can provide.

Other Authentic Judaism Posts:

• Hirhurim
• ParshaBlog
• Rav Aaron
• Izgad
• Kvetching Editor

Related posts:

1. Misleading Charity Campaign
2. The Future of Women in Orthodox Judaism
3. A Heartwarming Story of Charity
4. Some More Wonderful Charity Stories
5. Reform Judaism is Reforming Its Approach to Kashrus

This evening we tackled another oft discussed them of Rosh Hashana, the Shofar.

We used a deep understanding of Shofar to answer a common and troubling calendaring issue regarding Rosh Hashana and Creation.

Overall, the participation was great, the energy was high and it was a great way to continue our preparatoins for Rosh Hashana.

All audio classes are available by clicking podcasts on the top of this page. Or just click here.

You can also subscribe to all classes in iTunes by clicking here.

Listen to the class here.

Related posts:

1. Rosh Hashana: Beginning of all Beginnings | Connections 8/31/09
2. Physical Reward For Spiritual Deeds | Connections 9/14/09
3. Truth and Faith | Connections 10/26/09
4. Prayer in Judaism | Connections 11/2/09
5. Fast of Gedaliah: Meaning and Lessons | Connections 9/21/09

This essay was inspired by a recent post on DovBear. I have cross posted this post there as well. Head over there for more discussion.

What follows is my understanding of The Oral Law and its transmission to us. This article does not attempt to validate or prove its transmission as fact, rather it explains just what is being transmitted when we refer to Torah SheBaal Peh (TSBP).

I am sure there are plenty of maamarei Chazal that are not 100% congruent with this approach. I am also sure that there are many maamarei Chazal that do jive with this approach. I have spent many hours studying and analyzing the concept of TSBP and what follows is what I believe to be a rational, coherent, non-apologetic approach.

Much of this essay is accessible in audio format by clicking here.

The Torah preceded the world. One tradition tell us that God looked into the Torah and created the world. That means that the Torah contains within it the spiritual genetic code of the world and the world is a physical manifestation of that code. Another metaphor would be a blueprint. All the information necessary to build is in the blueprint, yet it is merely ink and paper. What can this mean? God looked at the stories of Adam and Eve and created the world? Or God looked at the sale of Joseph and created the word? Impossible. The metaphor does not even make sense. I believe Chazal are telling us that Torah is not the stories or even laws in the Chumash. “Torah” refers to the all encompassing Oral Law (this idea is attributed to Rambam). In other words, the Oral Law refers to the natural and supernatural rules of the universe that manifested themselves in a physical sense once God put them into motion during “Creation”.

What this means is that the Torah and our universe are really two sides of one coin. The spiritual code on one side and the physical manifestation on the other side. Thus, someone could potentially rewrite the spiritual code by examining the physical manifestation side. Just as with a blueprint, a talented architect could possibly rewrite a blueprint by examining a building a talented spiritualist would be capable of figuring out the spiritual code the world is made of.

This spiritual code contains within it the natural rules of our universe and some of those rules are recommended limitations on human activity designed to help a person maximize their existence in the world. In this light, the Torah is a guide that gives the physical world its characteristics and contains the instructions for living in that world.

A few individuals were in tune with this reality and implemented some of the Torah’s concepts into their lives. Shem, Ever, Noach and Enosh were a few of the first people who were able to glean spiritual rules from their observations of the world.

Abraham was the first to grasp enough of the code for God to choose him to begin a nation of people to whom God would eventually charge with keeping and teaching this code. Slowly, Abraham taught these concepts to whomever would listen. The Abrahamic family was also aware of these Torah rules and whether they kept them or not is not relevant. They knew them and may have practiced them.

Upon Abraham’s family being enslaved in Egypt, the concepts and their rules became more and more forgotten. The exodus occurred just before the point of no return. The point that Chazal call the 49th level of impurity. The slaves were just as Egyptian as their slave-masters save for 3 (or 4) areas. Such, a large nation of people would need a guide book to remind them of their Abrahamic, monotheistic, Torah tradition. The Bnei Yisrael left Egypt for the sole purpose of receiving these instructions in the form of the Torah.

At Sinai, God gave Moses the entire code. This code included the spiritual rules, the laws, the stories (which all contain important moral and quasi-historical lessons) as well as all the information necessary to live according to those laws. God then gave Moses a written version of notes to this code. These notes were the bare minimum necessary to reconstruct the entire code as God gave it to Moses.

At this point, Moses has all the information in his head and gives the people this written book of notes that we call the Written Law or Torah SheBiksav (TSBK). As time progresses Moses added (probably divinely inspired) notes to the end of the TSBK to complete the books. The Jewish people try to live a lifestyle as Moses taught them according to the code and had the notes in TSBK to help them remember their obligations. As we are taught at the start of Ethics of our Fathers, Moses “kibbel” (received) the “Torah” (including the TSBP) (and again this does not mean the Chumash, why would there need to be a mesora for that if it was written) and gave it all to Joshua, who gave it to the elders etc. There was a central Torah authority who could resolve disputes. Originally, it was a one man show starring Moses. But at the behest of Jethro, some delegation gave Torah authority to others. There was no machlokes (disagreement) among the Torah authority as Moses could always be consulted to give them the truth.

The system was designed to ensure that there would be a transmission from parent to child and teacher to student. This guaranteed the Torah would remain a “living” Torah and not relegated to a library. Codifying the bare minimum in text form forced the Jewish people to rely on a system of relationships and living the life of Torah to remember all its laws. This is an integral part of the Oral Transmission that has stood the test of time, as we shall see.

This system remained in place throughout the 1st Temple. A central Torah authority was the final arbiter of disputes and there was no machlokes as to what Moses claimed God wanted the Jewish people to do in their service of God.

Many called this entire concept into question. Korach, Yeravam and others wished to undermine the Mosaic Torah authority. But it always existed.

During the Second Temple, due to oppression it was literally impossible to maintain a central Torah authority. Torah study was banned, Torah scholars were killed and Yeshivas were disbanded. Students began taking notes to ensure TSBP would be remembered.

In a revolutionary move, Rabbi Yehuda HaNassi collected many of these notebooks and canonized a version of TSBP notes called the Mishna. He too, followed the Mosaic formula of writing just the bare minimum necessary for a scholar to recreate the code from the Mishna. He wrote the Mishnayos in a format that would induce questions and those questions would in turn produce the TSBP tradition. He was successful to an extent. But due to the increased hostility and lack of central Torah authority disputes were common. R’ Yehuda HaNassi completely succeeded in the broader goal of maintaining the need for the parent to child, teacher to student relationship to transmit TSBP.

Mishnaic literature was discussed, argued and taught for a couple hundred years. Students continued taking notes and eventually these notes became the Talmud. Ravina and Rav Ashi collected these notes and recorded these conversations to canonize the understanding of the Mishna in order to recreate the entire code. Although to a lesser degree, they also made an effort to be concise and include only the discussion necessary for recreating the method of Jewish life briefly described in the Mishna that was based on the written notes of the Chumash that God gave to Moses. Their brevity, once again maintained the familiar generation to generation connection that TSBP demands.

Since the closing of the Talmud it has been discussed and argued vociferously. This is a good thing. It gives its scholars the chance they need to arrive at the truth. TSBP is not their discussions, it is what they are discussing. TSBP was given to the Jewish people at Sinai but in truth it exists all around us. It is the rules of nature and spirituality that govern our world. Distant cultures and tribes can come to similar conclusions as the Torah because they are examining the world that is the physical manifestation of that Torah. People who never heard of Torah can relate to many of its laws as they seem natural to them. In fact they are natural to the world.

In conclusion, when we say that Moses received Torah SheBaal Peh, what we mean is that Moses had all the information necessary to live and appreciate the Torah lifestyle. The Written Torah were the original notes to this information as time progresses, we now have Mishanic and Talmudic notes as well. Thus, our study of Talmud today continues the Oral Transmission of TSBP as we attempt to decode the original version of the Oral Law handed from God to Moses on Sinai. Today, our greatest resource to that end is the study of Talmud.

Related posts:

1. Essay: What is Teshuva (repentance) and How Does It Work in Judaism?
2. Solar Eclipse In Judaism
3. The Future of Women in Orthodox Judaism
4. Mesira (The Jewish Informant) in Halacha
5. The Library of Congress and Maimonidies Disagree

Today we began Chapter 7 of the Mesillas Yesharim. Having established that Zrizus is the opposite of Laziness the Ramchal explains how and when we must implement Zrizus.

We need to know how to use good behaviors to maximize their benefits.

Learn all about it by listening to the class below.

All audio classes are available by clicking podcasts on the top of this page. Or just click here.

You can also subscribe to all classes in iTunes by clicking here.Listen to the class here.

Related posts:

1. Mesillas Yesharim 9/13/09
2. Mesillas Yesharim 11/1/09
3. Mesillas Yesharim 12/06/09
4. Mesillas Yesharim 10/25/09
5. Mesillas Yesharim 11/22/09

As we continue our journey through Elul, marching towards Rosh Hashana, Connections returned the Pacific Jewish Center.

Our approach was that if we are “preparing” for Rosh Hashana, we need to understand just what Rosh Hashana means. What is a succesful Rosh Hashana and how do we get there?

We analyzed one angle of Rosh Hashana that can help us this year on Rosh Hashana and throughout the year.

All audio classes are available by clicking podcasts on the top of this page. Or just click here.

You can also subscribe to all classes in iTunes by clicking here.

Listen to the class here.

Related posts:

1. Physical Reward For Spiritual Deeds | Connections 9/14/09
2. The Shofar: A Time Machine | Connections 9/7/09
3. Good Stuff For Rosh Hashanah From the Archives
4. Prayer in Judaism | Connections 11/2/09
5. Truth and Faith | Connections 10/26/09

This post has been cross-posted to DovBear – more discussion there.

The topic of mesira is complex. I do not claim expertise on the subject of who is a moser, but I have heard a discourse from an expert on Jewish and American Law named Rabbi Breitowitz. Aside from teaching law at University of Maryland, Rabbi Breitowitz is a practicing Rabbi in Silver Spring Maryland. When I lived in Baltimore, I heard Rabbi Breitowitz speak on the topic of mesira and I was able to find the same speech online to refresh my memory.

This is my basic understanding of his take on mesira.

He mentions three contemporary positions, Reb Moshe Feinstein, the Aruch HaShulchan and Rav Wosner.

He begins with Reb Moshe. Reb Moshe holds that there is a prohibition of mesira when the secular punishment is worse than the Torah’s punishment. A moser has a halachic status of a rodef, one who is trying to kill another, and must be stopped from his mesira. There are 3 big exceptions. 1) When the person about whom the moser is speaking of is a rodef himself. This is because a person who kills a rodef is not a killer nor is his act of attempting to kill the rodef is not considered a rodef. As an aside, a sexual or physical abuser is considered a halachic rodef and thus there is no prohibition of mesira in those situations. 2) If the moser is preventing a major communal disaster then there is no prohibition. 3) If it one’s job to inform, then mesira will not apply.

This is the most narrow view of when one is permitted to be moser that Rabbi Breitowitz mentions.

The Aruch Hashulchan says in a footnote to section 318 in Choshen Mishpat that in a benevolent and fair country where there is a justice system that does not unfairly imprison Jews, one is not guilty of mesira by informing the government of a fellow Jew’s crimes. He continues by saying “for example in wonderful Czarist Russia”. There is a question as to the seriousness of this footnote as he could not have possibly meant that Czarist Russia was fair and benevolent. The question is whether the entire footnote has value or if the entire thing was a false gesture of good faith to the Czar. It is not likely that the Aruch Hashulchan would add a deliberately misleading footnote and the reasoning of his footnote stands whether his country was wonderful or not. Thus, the Tzitz Eliezer holds that the Aruch Hashulchan means that wherever there is a “procedural justice” there is no mesira.

The third opinion is that of Rav Wosner. His approach integrates the rules of dina d’malchusa dina with mesira. His reasoning is that when the non-Jews follow the Noachide law of creating a set of laws it becomes a halachic basis for the Jew to obey those laws. Thus, he concludes that it cannot be possible to violate the prohibition of mesira if one is following the laws of their country. Since, he must follow the laws of that country his mesira is not against halacha. This does not mean one is required to be a moser, rather the reporting is not a violation of mesira.

It is necessary to define when dina d’milchusa dina constitutes to determine when mesira is not prohibited according to Rav Wosner. The Mechaber says that dina d’malchusa dina is limited to government interests. The Rama disagrees and says that it applies to anything that is designed to promote the well being of society. Most poskim agree with this definition which includes but is not limited to, criminal law, minimum wage laws, environmental laws and child labor laws.

In conclusion, mesira is a term bandied about to protect our own criminals. In reality, it is very difficult to pin down a halachic moser according to the Aruch Hashulchan or Rav Wosner and although it is possible according to Reb Moshe to be a moser it is still unlikely. We need to be honest with ourselves and stop hiding behind archaic halachic terms to justify false ideas.

To listen to the entire discourse online click here.

Related posts:

1. Essay: The Oral Law in Judaism
2. A Missed Opportunity | Dvar Torah Vayishlach 2010
3. Does Jewish Law Favor Capitalism or Socialism?
4. An Ex-Chasidic Reality Star Breaks Barriers (and Halacha)
5. Lessons in Anti-Semitism From Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean

Lately, all the Jews in the News have been getting into trouble with the law or dying. It has been troubling.

Sometimes, we wonder what other people are saying about us. In light of the last few weeks, it just can’t be good.

This recent (true) anecdote is a change of pace and hopefully it can start a new trend.

Jessica* was driving her car down a Monsey road. Her route was taking her past a non-Jewish camp called Camp Sunshine*. On this particular day Camp Sunshine had a camp trip and as it happens, the buses with the campers was a little late and the camp parents were waiting to pick up their children.

A woman was directing traffic. Her concern was that the parents should not get into the camp before the buses arrived because the buses would not be able to enter to camp. She was stopping traffic in all directions and tryiong to direct the buses around the cars so that the buses could enter and then she would allow the cars to enter.

Unluckily for her, no one was listening to her. People were driving by at high speeds cursing her out as they passed. Irate camp parents were yelling at her as if she could magically conjure the buses into the camp.

Jessica was not going to Camp Sunshine but as she passed the woman who was directing traffic told her to stop. Jessica followed instructions and stopped as people behind her swerved around her ignoring the traffic directing woman. Eventually, people began to stop and order was restored. As the lines of cars waited peacefully for the buses.

The woman struck up conversation with Jessica, they lamented the lack of order, but Jessica reassured her that it was okay, no one is really upset with her and she was doing the right thing. They had a nice 10-15 minute conversation while the buses made their way into camp.

Eventually, traffice was ready to resume and Jessica was being directed into the camp. She stuck out her head and told the woman, “I am actually going somewhere else, can I pass?”. The woman nearly fell over. She exclaimed “You mean, you waited this entire time and you are not even coming into Camp Sunshine?”. Jessica replied in the affirmative.

The woman came over to Jessica’s car and said: “I see that you are an Orthodox Jew. Everyone around here has been talking about the Jewish criminals, the dishonesty and anti-social behavior that we have seen around town. You know what? I am going to tell them all about you. I see that not all Orthodox Jews are like that. They need to know that there are people like you too.”

It is the small things that show the world that we are not represented by some hooligans on CNN.

As Ghandi said “Be the change you wish to see in the world”.

Be the Kiddush Hashem you want to see in others.

And yes, everyone is watching us.

*names have been changed

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