Pacific Jewish Center | Rabbi » Shabbos

Half Shabbos, Half Truths, Half Solutions

rabbifink — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 14:05:59 +0000

Just because everyone else is talking about it, doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t…

The Jewish Week became relevant for a few minutes this week with a scintillating indictment of modern orthodox Judaism. It seems the Jewish Week just found out that lots of orthodox teens struggle with Shabbos and many of them are texting on Shabbos.

The phenomena has a name. It’s called keeping “Half Shabbos”. Which is just like the question of whether someone is “shomer negiah” in that it seeks to validate a halachically impossible choice. There is no such thing as a “Half Shabbos in halacha”, nor is there a non-shomer negiah option in halacha. But teens are teens and they need labels and molds by which to sort confusing or difficult things and themes. So teens invent ideas like “Half Shabbos” and shomer negiah to give context to their struggles.

My thoughts on the article?

1) Apply grains of salt liberally. The Jewish Week cites some anecdotal evidence. Anecdotal journalism is not strong journalism. To be fair, I have also written articles based on anecdotes and made broad sweeping generalizations based on those anecdotes. However, I am an “insider” or at least “insider adjacent” to orthodox Judaism whether it be modern orthodoxy or chasidus. I have friends, neighbors, relatives who are part of or have left those groups. I do have some context. ~~The Jewish Week lacks that context and thus their “outsider” perspective~~ (update / correction:) [Although the author of the article and editor of the Jewish Week are orthodox, the tone, tenor and agenda of the Jewish Week are decidedly not and therefore anecdotes in their publication] should to be taken with grains of salt. Further, they couch the phenomena as a “new norm”. Methinks that is a bit of a stretch.

2) The phenomena exists. I don’t think the fact that it exists signals a failure of any stream of orthodoxy, specific schools or schools of thought. This is simply because each stream, school, school of thought has its own sets of challenges. This one, by the way, seems to be prevalent throughout all of them. I worked extensively with at-risk teens from ’99-’02, yeshiva kids smoking pot (on Shabbos), watching movies (on Shabbos) and they had challenges. They rationalized too. But eventually they got a crossroads and either bought in or bought out. Point being, this sort of challenge is not unique to one group. So failure? No. Issue? Yes.

3) Issues needs to be addressed. I believe that parents need to take a proactive role in the lives of their teens. Parents (otherwise known as tuition payers) and certain “experts” (who are paid by parents angry at their schools) love to blame schools for their children’s problems. I don’t believe in placing blame. I do believe in assigning real goals and objectives to address issues. Parents need to be able to limit their teen’s use of cell phones. It can be done with a carrier side block, it can be a condition of cell phone ownership that kids must deposit their cell phones into a Shabbos box before Shabbos, it can be anything the parents and teen agree (or are forced to agree upon). But if a teen has access to their phone of Shabbos, the parent is placing a huge challenge before their teen. It can be avoided.

That being said, if Shabbos is difficult for teens, and it is, there needs to be a way to help them enjoy the experience more. I don’t claim to know or understand the needs of teens and how Shabbos can be tailored to meet their needs. But I am certain that for many teens the Shabbos table discussions of adults are irrelevant, boring and quire frankly can be a turn off. Peopl kvetch and moan about Jewish issues at their Shabbos tables. This is good conversation and important to discuss. But for a teen to hear negative, negative, negative, blah, blah, blah, every single week, it can have a terrible effect. So, I propose more relevant Shabbos discussions for teens.

I also propose advancing humanist or even secular motives for refraining from texting for 25 hours a week. Non-religious people all over the world are able to find meaning and benefits from “turning off”. As much as I dislike trying to attribute a modern benefit to an ancient law, if it can resonate with teens and motivate them to “buy in” it is worth the effort.

4) Then there is the broad picture. I don’t believe this is a new issue. I don’t believe it is a different issue per se than watching TV on Shabbos (I had modern orthodox friends who would sneak some TV watching on Shabbos) or smoking on Shabbos, or eating on Yom Kippur, or skipping tefillin for a few days, (all of which I saw with my own eyes or heard first hand from friends and acquaintances) or any other teen rebellion that is considered completely normal. The biggest factor in determining whether the teen returns to “Full Shabbos” observance (or at least trying) will be the reaction of the public.

If we treat them with respect, compassion, understanding and tolerance there is a chance they will grow out of their teen spirit. If they are shunned, outcast, name called and tossed out of the religion, even if it just their perception and not reality, we will almost undoubtedly have lost them. Let us not forget the lessons of Ari Goldman in Book Review | The Search for God at Harvard that even a small feeling of exclusion can hurt for a lifetime. Let us remember that even if we disapprove of their choices, our teens remain OUR teens. Their issues and problems and OUR issues and problems. So long as we can toe the difficult line of being inclusive and tolerant of their indiscretions with the hope of change and clear message that we do not approve of their choices, their is no reason for me to believe that this new version of an old problem will not see the same satisfying result.

Link: Jewish Week

Where Half Shabbos hit the blogs first: Kavanah

Orthodox Jews and E-Readers

rabbifink — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 17:31:04 +0000

The Atlantic used the headline I would have used in their title so I was stuck with a lame headline…

In an article, semi-appropriately named People of the E-Book? Observant Jews Struggle With Sabbath in a Digital Age, Uri Friedman contemplates the future of e-readers in the hands of orthodox Jews. It’s only a semi-appropriate headline because I don’t think many orthodox Jews are actually struggling with this issue.

It’s not clear why this is an article worth writing. Orthodox Jews are a tiny segment of the population and do not participate in many rites of popular culture. For some reason, Friedman found this a subject worth writing on.

I have some comments on his article and some thoughts on e-readers as they pertain to orthodox Jews irrespective of the article.

First of all, I am impressed that Friedman knows that some prohibit electricity on Shabbos because of “boneh” (building), as you complete a circuit by “flipping the switch”. Nice job!

The article also draws an interesting parallel between the proliferation of electronic devices and the move to the suburbs in the 50′s that resulted in a weakening of Shabbos commitment when conservative and reform Jews began driving to Shul in Shabbos.

But something really bothered me. Friedman does a nice job of including thoughts on the subject by orthodox, conservative and reform Jews. What was disturbing is what can be inferred from their quotes.

The first orthodox fellow believes that someone will invent a workaround solution. Since orthodox Jews are so desperate for an Shabbos e-reader someone will surely invent one. Similar to a timed light, the Shabbos e-reader would turn pages at regular intervals. This idea is insane and will never work. (Do I need to explain why this is dumb? Have you ever read a book?) There is no excuse for mentioning this in a respectable article.

The conservative rabbi in the article expresses reservations about using e-readers on Shabbos because they distract from the beauty of Shabbos. This is a noble idea. Unfortunately, most conservative Jews I know, watch TV on Shabbos. An e-reader is not less of a “distraction” than TV.

But here is the rub. The orthodox Jew looks like a halachic obsessive who is willing to break the “spirit of Shabbos” via an automated e-reader device. The conservative Jew is more concerned about the spiritual parts of Shabbos and even if e-readers are permissible would be sad if they distracted from the “spirit of Shabbos”.

I wish the article had not given this impression.

It’s not really true. Orthodox Jews care about the letter of the law and the spirit of the law. That’s why orthodox Jews don’t leave their TVs on timers over Shabbos. Some orthodox Jews don’t use dish washers on timers for the same reason.

To portray the orthodox Jews as those who ignore the spirit of the law is unfair.

As to the issue raised in the article about e-readers and Shabbos. I have resisted buying an e-reader and e-books for a completely different reason.

Most of the books read in my home are from the library. They are free. We don’t pay $10 for books. Until there is an e-reader subscription where you can read all the books you want for a reasonable monthly fee I cannot imagine paying $200 to have the lucky fortune of buying books for $10 a piece. That is the real reason I am not buying an e-reader. It is true that I read a little more on Shabbos than other days but I read enough during the week that I would love to have an e-reader. I have a nice computer, a Wii, a PS3, an iPod, and iPhone and I only use those during the week too. Who cares?

E-readers are the future. But as long as there is a printing press and people own printers there is no need for orthodox Jews to compromise their commitment to halacha or the spirit of Shabbos.

However, if electricity becomes so ubiquitous that in order to avoid it on Shabbos, orthodox Jews would need to live like the Amish, it is possible that the halachic authorities will reconsider the original decision to consider use of electricity a violation of Shabbos. At that point anything is possible.

In the meantime, if you want to experience a taste of Shabbos with no e-readers, come to the Shul on the Beach where we read from a handwritten Torah scroll and pray from old fashioned books.

You’re Not Crazy Blogger Visits The Shul on the Beach

rabbifink — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 18:40:56 +0000

At the Shul on the Beach we take pride in our small town hospitality.

Many guests have been treated to a special Venice Shabbos thanks to our wonderful community.

This past week we were honored to meet fellow Law Student / Blogger / Jew(ess): Skylar / Chavi of You’re Not Crazy fame. And what a wonderful guest she was. Our Shabbos was definitely better thanks to her and we appreciate her visit.

It seems Chavi had some things to say about her Shabbos experience in Venice. See Crashing Venice, CA, for Shabbat!

My only regret was not spending more time with Skylar. Hopefully next time!

(Special thanks to Liz Danziger for making all the arrangements for Skylar.)

Esther Petrack's Mother Speaks: Esther is observant, it was all editing

rabbifink — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 15:28:52 +0000

Esther Petrack © CW

A few weeks ago I wrote about Esther Petrack, the modern orthodox contestant on America’s Next Top Model (ANTM). I responded to a post I read on Tablet Magazine that reported a conversation on the show purporting to show that Esther gave up Shabbos observance to pursue a career in modeling. See Esther Petrack: Modern Orthodox Jewish Girl on America’s Next Top Model Drops Shabbos on Television

Esther is popular and the post has been the most popular post on this blog since the day it was written. The point of the post was two-fold. One, there is a drama (contrived or real) to seeing someone drop their observance. One moment they are observnt and the next they are not. I found that drama (real or contrived) compelling. Second, the writer at Tablet claimed this was a “blow to modern orthodoxy”. I vehemently disagree. All streams of Judaism have defectors and even if Esther was “leaving” modern orthodoxy it was no “blow”, just a causalty like any other young adult choosing a different life from their parents.

Last night, Esther’s mom (Marina) commented on the original post. (link: Marina’s Comment)

The fateful words “I will do it” in an answer to the question about working on shabbat were the result of editing. Esther never meant or said that she would give up shabbat for the show, neither did she do it. These words were taken from a long conversation about the principles and laws of shabbat and how Esther was planning to observe them. The producers cut out these 4 words to create a more scandalous storyline; judging from the amount of reaction, they were quite successful!

This is very exciting news! It is obscene that ANTM found it necessary to manufacture drama at the cost of someone’s religious beliefs but on the other hand, it is a relief that it was manufactured.

I apologize to Esther, her friends and family and any other persons affected by the assumption that the edited conversation depicted something close to reality. It seems it was not “reality television” rather it was “manufactured television”. I will leave the original post up with a link to this post and Marina’s comment.

Marina added:

Careful viewers could see that there was editing and I would have hoped that non careful readers would have gieven Esther the benefit of the doubt, kaf zechut…

Some people saw that and correctly did not assume. Kudos to them and to the rest of us, the rebuke is warranted.

Finally:

I’m proud of Esther’s midot and comittment to mitzvot which she carried through the show. As a cute example, since you probably know that the girls were housed in a house overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Venice, Esther used the ocean to [ritually] dunk (tovel) a pot she bought to cook for herself in the house.

Isn’t that nice?

Plus, I had no idea that Esther was so close to my shul – I would have invited her for a shabbos meal if I had known… And apparently, Esther remained committed to her Jewish heritage and principles while on the show. Nothing could make me prouder.

Readers: Please help spread the word that Esther was harshly edited by ATNM and she never gave up Shabbos. It was wrong of them to edit her that way and now that we know the truth we have a responsibility to fix the wrong.

Esther Petrack: Modern Orthodox Jewish Girl on America's Next Top Model Drops Shabbos on Television

rabbifink — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 17:21:33 +0000

Esther Petrack © CW

MUST READ UPDATE: Esther Petrack’s Mother Speaks: Esther is observant, it was all editing

Tablet Magazine reports that there is a Modern Orthodox girl from Massachusetts on America’s Next Top Model with Tyra Banks.

It’s always cool to see a fellow member of the tribe on TV show, even a reality show. It is more than a little counter-intuitive to see a Jewish girl competing for a modeling contract when you consider the tradition of tznius (something akin to modesty) that has been a hallmark of observant Judaism. In fact it probably breaches most tznius standards to just participate in a reality show, but certainly a show that celebrates the barely clothed human body.

Yet, I was still wondering (hoping?) that somehow Esther would follow the lead of her biblical namesake (Queen Esther of Purim fame) and somehow make a kiddush Hashem (glorification of Godliness) on the show.

Tablet Magazine reports the following conversation took place:

After letting Esther say a bit about herself—namely, that she was born in Jerusalem—[Tyra] asked her about her Orthodox Jewish practice. “Do you honor the Sabbath?”

“Yes I do,” Esther responded, proceeding to explain the rules regarding the usage of electricity, computers, cell phones, and cars on Friday night and Saturday. Tyra sternly informed her that ANTM contestants work all the time, seven days a week. … Would Esther, Tyra wanted to know, be able to adhere to the ANTM work schedule? Her Jewish identity was all of a sudden squarely on the spot…

…She replied after a momentary hesitation: “Yes, I would do it.”

UPDATE: There is a good chance that this was edited to sound worse than it actually was live. I really hope that is the case. However, the feelings I experienced READING the transcript are colored by the way CW depicted the conversation. My main point is not relevant to whether Esther is a Shomer Shabbos or not. I hope she still is…

I know many non-observant Jews. I know many Jews who “honored the Sabbath” at some time in their life and no longer “honor the Sabbath”. This is different. Not because she is on TV or seeking a career in modeling. It’s different because the world saw the moment that she made the decision. We were witnesses to the “moment”. One minute she was Observant and the next moment she was not.

To me, that is a very dramatic moment.

We all have those kinds of moments in our life. That moment of choice. We are told “Choose Life”.

Tablet Magazine’s Dvora Meyers then goes on to write that this is another harsh blow to Modern Orthodoxy. On that point I disagree. Every sect and stream of Judaism has those who stay on that path, others move to more traditional practice and others to less practice. It is not a “problem” unique to Modern Orthodoxy.

Also, don’t think for a second that the story of Esther Petrack’s connection with her Judaism has been written and is now over. People change. Teenagers do things they later regret. Especially as we are now in the final days of Judgment and we are very aware of the power of Teshuva (Essay: What is Teshuva (repentance) and How Does It Work in Judaism?) it is important to realize that we have all done things that we regret. Esther dropped Shabbos on national TV but we have all dropped things in our lives.

The beauty of this time of the year is that we have a wonderful opportunity to pick things back up. Hopefully, Esther and all of us along with her will be able to pick ourselves up and be the Jewish people that we truly want to be.

Shalom Aleichem Series on The Foundation Stone

rabbifink — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 23:09:48 +0000

Over on The Foundation Stone, Rabbi Simcha Weinberg is running a series on Shalom Aleichem. (No not the author.) Rabbi Weinberg invited some fellow Rabbi bloggers to post their thoughts on Shalom Aleichem and angels.

I found a few minutes to put something together and you can read it on Foundation Stone by clicking here.

You can read the entire series on Foundation Stone by clicking here.

If you’re too lazy to go there to read my post, read on…

The Gemara tells us that on Friday Night, Angels escort us from Shul to our home. Why angels? Why on Shabbos?

In this week’s Parsha (Vayishlach) Yaakov fought hand to hand combat with the Anonymous Angel across the Yobok River. As their battle came to a close Yaakov asked the Angel his name, the angel responded by “pleading the fifth.” Rashi explains that angels have no set names; their name reflects their mission set by Hashem. What is the meaning behind this response? What is the Torah and Rashi teaching us? I believe the lesson is that we too have no names of our own; we are just servants of Hashem and also do what He commands of us. We are only a manifestation of His will and must use our tools we are given for His will. We don’t really have our own talents or strengths, we are only given tools on a loan, to use in our ever-present mission and quest to sanctify Hashem’s name. That is what Yaakov learned from the angel and thus responded to Eisav’s subsequent inquiry about his possessions acknowledging Hashem and His gifts to him.

Each week we are reminded of the mission oriented nature of our lives as we are escorted home by the angels. We and angels have no name other than that which our mission requires from us. Shabbos gives us a chance to refocus and reenergize our efforts towards accomplishing that mission. The greatest gift of Shabbos is the reflection of our week and the pleasure of enjoying our accomplishments. Shalom Aleichem welcomes the angels and their message into our home and into our lives.

Orthodox Jews and E-Readers

The Jewish Home – In Memory of The Holzbergs Formerly of Mumbai | Drasha Vayetze 2008

rabbifink — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:17:13 +0000

Special thanks to community member Elizabeth Danziger, founder of Worktalk Communications Consulting, for assisting in transforming this sermon from last year into an essay for this year.

The Jewish Home

Vayetze 5769

This week marks the first anniversary of the terrorist attack on the Chabad House in Mumbai, India. I dedicate this learning to the memory of the Holzberg, who were brutally murdered at that time.

This week’s Torah portion begins with the flight of Yaakov. He is a fugitive, having just snatched the primary blessings of Yitzchak from under his brother Eisav’s nose. Yaakov begins his exodus en route to the home of Lavan his mother’s brother to find his soul mate and marry her.

Does this storyline sound familiar? Did any other biblical characters leave their parent’s home recently? Of course we know that Avraham had just recently departed from Ur Kasdim and began his life in Eretz Yisrael. This week Yaakov begins his spirit walk from Eretz Yisrael to Charan.

There is one major difference however in the types of journeys that Avraham and Yaakov make. Avraham leaves with his entire family and entourage in tow. Avraham was a made man who just needed to make his life in a holier place. His life and family as a Jew were established – they just needed to move. Yaakov was running and he was running penniless, lonely and scared. This is a stark contrast to the Abrahamic journey. Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch points out this contrast to note that this is central to us as Jews.

Yaakov is also known as Yisrael and the only names for the Jewish people found in the Torah are the Bnei Yisrael and Beis Yaakov. We are named for Yaakov. The Jewish people are the children of Yisrael and the House of Yaakov. Today we read about the emergence of the House of Yaakov. Avraham traveled with his family and his home. Yaakov leaves with nothing and he travels to create and family and a home. He established the first Jewish home to bring the Shechina into that home through its existence. The home of Yaakov is a home where Hashem can rest His presence. And the journey to create that home begins in our Parsha. That journey has continued throughout the millennia as we ourselves embark on that same journey to build a home and bring the Shechina into that home.

On the night of Yaakov’s first stop he sleeps on the Temple Mount. Before resting his head he builds a rock formation to protect himself;’ this is the first home of Yaakov. During his slumber Yaakov experiences tremendous Divine revelations with eternal meaning. He witnesses angels ascending and descending a ladder. They are traveling from the Home of GD in the Heavens into the first home of Yaakov. Every Shabbos we greet angels into our home as well.

When Yaakov awakes he exclaims that this place is Home of God, a Beis Elokim. It is a place where God rests His Shechina. The Jewish home is a place where God rests His presence, and thus, is a place where we can find God.

Conversely, other cultures and religions preach going outside the home to “find”God. They look at nature, beauty, philosophy and they search for God. We always hear and know about people searching for God. We don’t hear too much about observant Jews “searching” for God. The observant Jew has no need to search. The message to the Jew is that God is out there but he is in fact much closer as well – he is right here in the home. God resides in the spiritual home and we create that environment for Him. This gives us tremendous power and an important opportunity that not to be missed!

Truthfully, our enemies knew this to be true as well. Later on in the Torah the gentile (pseudo) prophet Bilaam attempts to curse the Jewish people but is unable to do so. Despite his best efforts, he is only able to speak words of blessing. One of the most poetic and moving sections of the entire Torah is where Bilaam exclaims “Ma Tovu Ohalecha Yaakov Mishkenosecha Yisrael,” “how excellent are your homes,” and he mentions Yaakov. Yaakov is the home and when we allow Hashem to enter we continue the journey that Yaakov began in our Parsha.

The most important asset to Jewish continuity is the Jewish home, which was established outside the land of Israel for the first time by Yaakov. Each one of us is maintaining that home every day. There are some people who raise the ante and are superstars in Jewish home building. Not only do those people establish a home for spirituality, they also share that home with everyone that comes their way.

This week is the anniversary of the terrorist attack on the Chabad House in Mumbai, India. The Holzbergs, previously of Mumbai, took home building to its most positive extreme. They were completely in a spiritual wilderness and managed to bring the Shechina to a spiritually dark corner of the earth. The Holzbergs were tremendous performers of Chesed. Rabbi Holzberg personally shechted chickens each week for all the Jews of Mumbai and for all its guests. Mrs. Holzberg baked 600 rolls per week to give the Jewish people of Mumbai and its visitors. That amount of chesed is a very strong prescription to bring the Shechina into one’s home. Working that diligently to bring Hashem into their home brought a light to their home and to India and to the world that is missed.

One observation I have is that this is the first time I know of that the Jewish home has been under attack. We have gone through attacks on buses, yeshivas, malls, airplanes etc. all in public places. This was the first time we were attacked in the Jewish home. To me this is something to think about. It could be the message here is that our homes are supposed to be immune to attack – but that is only when the spirituality of our collective homes is strong. Our homes have been under siege spiritually for some time now. The pitfalls of Western culture relationships and notions of love and child rearing enter our insulated homes and perhaps it has weakened us to the point where we are now vulnerable to physical attack. As long as our homes are fortresses of spirituality, we are protected but it could be that our homes have suffered from the unyielding onslaught of impurity that permeated our world, leaving us susceptible to attack.

In light of this view our response to terror is not – we must prevent this and raise awareness etc. or maybe if we had more political clout this would not happen or we need to fortify our homes with guns. Our response is purely to replace the missing spirituality from the world that results from their demise. We, as observers, are now charged with the task of replacing the lost chesed and the lost shechina through our own efforts. Incredibly, this is not that hard a task. What it requires from us is a commitment to the Jewish home. To reinforce those barriers that protect us from the spiritual holocaust that is our world. The commitment to continue Yaakov’s journey of building the Jewish home on our own by integrating Torah principles into our home gives the shechina its resting place in our world. The lesson of our Parsha and the lesson of lives lost is the eternal message that we don’t need to find GD – we just need to invite Him into our homes and He will find us.

KCET Visits PJC and Interviews Me

rabbifink — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:13:40 +0000

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.

A Jewish Black Woman's "Henry Gates" Situation

rabbifink — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 02:32:35 +0000

As a Law Student, there are things I find interesting that may not interest “clients” (non-Lawyers, hehe). The following article interests me and will probably interest any lawyer or law student, anyone Jewish, or anyone that has been following the Gates Saga.

I invite you to contribute your opinion in the comments.

The article originally appeared in this week’s Jewish Press as an OP-ED. The writer is Nathan Lewin (read more about him here).

WHAT IF GATES WERE AN UNRENOWNED JEWISH BLACK WOMAN?

Nathan Lewin

Posted Jul 29 2009

Soon after Cambridge police arrested and handcuffed Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. on a disorderly conduct charge, they realized the black man they wanted to prosecute was a renowned academic. As a result, he was released and the charges against him were dropped.

The ensuing public debate – in which Cambridge authorities now try to justify arresting a man because he refused to comply in his own home with police directions and deny that race had any influence on how the police reacted – suggests that if an ordinary black homeowner, rather than a Harvard professor, had been arrested under these circumstances, the criminal charges would not have been dropped so readily.

Consider the pending case of Rivka – a black, very dark-skinned, extremely devout Orthodox Jewish woman. Rivka is employed in New York, spends Shabbat in Washington, and her work frequently takes her on extended trips overseas. Being single and in her mid-fifties, she rented a 3-bedroom apartment on the West Side of Manhattan, and advertised on Craigslist for female roommates willing to accept short subleases. All applicants were informed by Rivka that the apartment was strictly kosher. A special page prescribing the kashrut rules was added to the lease that each roommate signed.

The rules were followed by a series of women Rivka accepted as roommates. In July 2007, a white blond-haired girl named Brooke answered Rivka’s ad and signed a five-month lease with the kashrut provisions. Brooke promptly violated the kashrut rules and admitted, in sworn testimony, that she brought nonkosher food into the apartment in knowing violation of her signed agreement. Rivka told Brooke she would have to leave.

Having e-mailed Brooke that she had arranged, at her – Rivka’s – expense, for a hotel room where Brooke could stay while she was looking for other accommodations, and believing that Brooke had agreed to have her belongings transported to the other location, Rivka began moving Brooke’s clothing to the hotel. Brooke arrived at the apartment unexpectedly and called the local precinct, reporting, “My roommate is currently stealing stuff out of my room.”

When Rivka returned after depositing Brooke’s belongings in the reserved hotel room, she found two policemen at the apartment with Brooke. The senior police officer (who is white), testified that Rivka showed them the lease and the e-mail she had sent to Brooke, and explained that she had moved Brooke’s belongings to the nearby hotel because she had an agreement with Brooke to do so. Rivka insisted to the officers that she wanted Brooke out of the apartment. The officers testified that Rivka interrupted her conversation with them to spend ten minutes in prayer.

Rivka then left the officers and retreated to her bedroom and locked her door. The officers demanded that she come out. On her cell phone, Rivka called a friend from the Georgetown Synagogue in Washington who had a law degree but was not in private practice. He told her to ask the officers for a warrant and for their precincts and badge numbers. The white policeman said in his testimony that he “did not recall” whether he gave his precinct and badge number.

When Rivka did not emerge voluntarily from her bedroom, the sergeant called the Emergency Services Unit – the police department’s riot squad. They came in full force, with more than one dozen policemen. They broke down the door to Rivka’s bedroom, dragged her into the hall and up against the wall at gunpoint, handcuffed her, and then took her downstairs to a waiting ambulance.

The ambulance drove to a nearby hospital. One of the officers tried to have her committed to the psychiatric unit. After an examination, the hospital said there was no basis to admit her. The police then took Rivka to the police precinct, where she was permitted one phone call. She called a person she had befriended while regularly attending Shabbat services at the Georgetown Synagogue, but the arresting police officer hung up the telephone in the middle of Rivka’s call.

Rivka was then taken to another hospital, where she was handcuffed to a bed. Next morning, she was returned to the precinct. The rabbi at the New York synagogue she attends on weekdays heard of her plight and brought a kosher meal to the precinct – the first meal Rivka had since her arrest the day before.

Rivka was charged with “Obstruction of Governmental Administration in the Second Degree” and with “Unlawful Eviction.” The New York D.A.’s office refused to dismiss the charges even after all the facts were presented. The young prosecutor first demanded that Rivka plead guilty and perform community service and ultimately was willing to accept an unconditional “Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal.” Rivka refused to accept any terms other than outright dismissal because she insisted she had done nothing wrong.

The case went to a nonjury trial before a (white) judge who was a former prosecutor. He excluded much defense testimony as irrelevant and hearsay and rejected out of hand Rivka’s right to remain in her own bedroom after her discussion with the police. At the end of the trial, he found Rivka guilty on both counts and fined her $500. Rivka is appealing.

Would the police have broken the bedroom door of a white gentile and charged her with crimes after being called to a dispute between her and a roommate? Is this another instance – as the Gates arrest is said to be – of injustice against blacks, aggravated by Rivka’s Jewish identity?

Rivka is suing New York City, the policemen, and Brooke in federal court. The docket number of her case is 08 Civ. 10065. I am her lawyer.

Nathan Lewin is a Washington attorney who has represented Jewish communities in litigation in federal courts.

Shame on Gizmodo | Shame on Us Too

rabbifink — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 03:21:20 +0000

One of my favorite gadget blogs ran a despicable headline for a post yesterday. Gizmodo is a great blog when it comes to getting information, reviews and opinions on the latest technology and gadgets. Unfortunately, yesterday they disgraced their reputation with a pretty offensive headline.

The headline garnered enough attention that they ultimately changed it to something less offensive.

There is a normal Orthodox Jewish couple who have a vacation home. Originally, the building did not have motion sensing lights but recently changed the system to a motion sensing system. On Shabbos the couple did not wish to be forced to walk in a hallway that would trigger the lights on. They requested the building swap the new system for the old one at their expense. The building refused. The couple sued.

Gizmodo posted the following headline: “Orthodox Couple Imprisoned By Superstition Blame Motion Sensing Light Instead”.

Proof:

Subsequently, the headline was changed to “Orthodox Jewish Couple Sues Over Motion Sensing Light“.

I posted the link on Facebook hoping to get some comments from my Facebook friends. I got a few interesting responses.

One commenter hit the two points that I want to discuss on this blog.

1 – The halachic ramifications of motion sensors and Shabbos for the Orthodox Jew.

2 – The reaction of a non-Jew to a halacha adherent Jew.

I do not want to get into a nitty gritty halachic discourse of motion sensors on Shabbos. Suffice to say, the issue is not black and white. On Shabbos one may not act in a way that will automatically produce a desired result that violates Shabbos. Completing a circuit to turn on a light is a violation of Shabbos. By activated the sensor, one automatically produced the desired result of turning on the light.

There is leeway when the result is not automatic or when the result is not desired.

I am all for striving to keep halacha. When I am met with a choice between what I want and what halacha demands I try my best to choose halacha. So for example, if I am driving late at night and I pull into a rest stop and they have a fast food joint serving burgers that are not kosher I have a choice. I want a burger but halacha demands that my burgers be kosher. I choose to leave the rest stop burgerless. I will not sue the restaurant for not providing kosher burgers. Right?

Now, I know this is a little different from the vacation home. But, it is the same principle. If halacha will not allow for me act a certain way, guess what? I am not going to act that way. Even if I really, really, really want to. So, I know that in the vacation home there are other factors, such as broken promises and flawed reasoning. However, if it were me, or anyone that I advise I would trade that place for a new one.

Adhering to halacha is about making a choice to allow halacha to control your life and not your whims and desires at any given moment. There will be times where the choice is hard or the alternative is very tempting, those are the times where you show your strength of character by making what you believe to be the right choice. Those are not the times to sue because you have been made uncomfortable in your adherence to halacha.

There may be great merit to the lawsuit. I find that all irrelevant. I think, avoiding a legal brouhaha over halacha is more important than the principle of who is right and who is wrong in this situation.

Second, the offensive headline that originally appeared on Gizmodo bothered me. I am NOT an overly sensitive person. I do not cry “Anti-Semitism at every opportunity I get (ala Uncle Leo). I don’t even call this “Anti-Semitism”, I call this insensitivity.

There is nothing against Jewish people, per se, when calling religion a superstition. But there is a tremendous breach of sensitivity.

Gizmodo writer, Jack Lofton doesn’t believe in religion in general and that’s okay. I am not going to call him names about his lack of faith or question his theology publicly. That is just not appropriate for a gadget blog. If he were writing on a religion blog, or even an anti-religion blog then Jack’s opinion about religion might be relevant. Here, it was not and inserting his bigoted opinion was insensitive.

I do not read the headline as an affront to Judaism or even religion in general. I read the headline as an affront to civility.

We live in a big world, with a lot of people. Not everyone is going to agree. You can try and convince everyone you are right or lash out against those who do not. But ultimately, we are not all going to agree. So let agree on this, let’s choose not to fight about our disagreements and otherwise be friends. I mantioned this revolutionary concept on this blog a little while ago. We have more in common than not. Let’s stop fighting about God, or anything else we feel strongly about and move on.

Also, Jack, Gizmodo is the wrong place to make your point about religion.

Time and place, Jack. Showing your prejudice against religion is ugly, it is especially ugly when it is not at all connected to the content of your post. I read Gizmodo for technology news and content. Just because you have a soapbox does not mean you can shout whatever you want whenever you want. Time and place.

Jack, please don’t make fun of other people’s beliefs on one of my favorite gadget blogs. Thanks.

Update: To his credit, the writer apologized.

Great Shavuos Turnout Renders Previous Post Moot

rabbifink — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 00:38:52 +0000

Last week I blogged about my bond of kinship with a pastor in Ocean City Maryland.

We both are clergy working on beaches with fickle crowds. Sometimes we are packed and sometimes we are not…

The post generated a bit of a response from some of our Community Members as well as some other blog readers. We had one commenter wonder if anyone reads this blog. (Yes, a lot of people do read this blog.)

We had another commenter offer to walk from Youngstown PA. (It takes 33 days by foot according to Google, click if you need directions.)

So, how did our Shavuos go?

It was amazing.

Shavuos began with a very nicely attended Erev Shavuos Mincha. The rule is that we count 49 complete days from the second day of Pesach until Shavuos. Therefore we need to wait until nightfall is certain to commence Shavuos Services.

To pass the time we studied the Book of Ruth. I gave an in depth overview of the story as well as some of the deeper insights into why we study the Book of Ruth on Shavuos.

The overall theme that I wished to convey was that the Jewish line of Kings comes from David, who comes from Ruth, who was a convert. Further, the Jewish Messiah will be from the Davidic line as well. This is a powerful take-home lesson.

We followed evening services with a tasty community meal. Then the action began.

Together, we studied a section of Talmud in depth. The topic was “Expression of Ownership” and the marathon 2 hour session “flew by”. I was peppered by great questions and all 40 attendees participated and enjoyed the learning.

The next morning we reconvened for morning services and were blessed with a robust Minyan. I spoke about the “Chosen People” and mentioned the famous Charles Murray essay in Commentary Magazine about that topic. We were treated to a special dairy kiddush on the back patio. Mmmm cheesecake.

Friday night services were very well attended. We had a few guests in our shul, as is very common at PJC. One couple had been guests at one of our community member’s homes on Pesach for a Seder and they came to PJC for the first time for Friday night services. Of course, they were invited to a family for Friday night dinner and I heard that it went really well.

Another guest was a student of mine from a previous position I held at a different job. It was really cool that he came to our shul for services and we had a chance to catch up. He is now at Tufts in Boston and was part of their Maimonodies Scholars (MEOR) program with Rabbi Loketch, who grew up across the street from my wife in Monsey NY. (Small world.)

We had a guest speaker as well. Community member Erez Talmor spoke about what the Shema means to him. I introduced him by reminding the congregation that Torah study is not just for Rabbis and being a Torah scholar is something we all strive for. Erez is a great example of this and he did a great job.

Shabbos morning services were elongated due to several key additions. The congregation stuck it out and we concluded with a satisfying kiddush on the back patio.

Even Shabbos afternoon services were well attended. This is a trouble spot from time to time, but we had a wonderful minyan. Following services we had a small dinner. We were supposed to talk about the number 50 and why Shavuos has no set date in the Torah. Instead we had yet another discussion about clothes and dress codes. Riveting, as always.

Shavuos was a resounding success in Venice. The classes and services were well attended. We had our usual influx of strolling Jews who wandered into the shul off the boardwalk and the spiritual and physical warmth of our shul provided a wonderful Shavuos for everyone.

I guess I do not have so much in common with the Pastor in Ocean City MD after all.

A Piece of Peace

rabbifink — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 16:40:56 +0000

We had a spectacular Shabbos on the beach this week.

Friday Night Dinner was punctuated by a bang. An earthquake struck the area and sent many of us under the table for cover! The earthquake however was no match for the Shabbos Lunch meal the next day…

For the first time anyone can remember all 3 observant Shuls in the Venice / Santa Monica area shared a community meal together. The turnout was incredible, the atmosphere was electric and every participant truly enjoyed themselves.

Leslie Friedman (PJC Office), Mildred Wilson and my wife Tova planned and set up the whole thing and we appreciate their efforts.

It was truly a special moment in time and we are so happy with how the event turned out.

Pacific Jewish Center has an open door policy and this week we backed up our promises and ideas of an open door policy with actions. There will be more such events in the future and we look forward to more unity, harmony, peace and love across the Venice / Santa Monica Community. We share more than just a neighborhood, we share common values, goals and ideas. We can all be so much more effective if we work together.

In a couple of months PJC will also be hosting a Shabbat Across America. This is an opportunity for anyone who has not experienced a Shabbos with us in Venice to join us. There will be group meals and home hosted meals in the neighborhood and now is the time to begin inviting your friends and neighbors. The week will begin with a special Shabbos themed “Connections” exploring the beauty and significance of Shabbos. So mark your calendars! March 16 will be the special Connections and March 20 -21 will be the Shabbat Across America Shabbos.

See you then!

Truth or Consequences – Drasha Vayigash

rabbifink — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 02:25:48 +0000

Thank you to community member Milton Simon for editing these Shabbos speeches given at the Pacific Jewish Center from my notes into these essays.

Today we are going to talk about truth. We will also discuss the opposite of truth. What is the opposite of truth? Something is true when it is in accordance with the facts and reality. The opposite of truth is when something is not in accordance with the facts and reality. Let us keep these definitions in mind as we progress.

As we jump back into the Parsha story we head to end of the Parsha. We have just experienced the most dramatic and moving section of all of Torah and perhaps in all of history. Yosef has revealed himself to his brothers. Yosef forgives his brothers. Yosef tells his brothers it was all part of a master plan and it is water under the bridge. The brothers are then invited to join Yosef and his family in Egypt to avoid the famine (and bring the fulfillment of the prophecy that the Jewish people would be slaves in Egypt.)

We can imagine the good spirits the brothers were in as they returned to their father in Israel. When they left him last they were on the verge of tragedy. One brother was in jail, the entire family was threatened and all this was aside from the gnawing guilt the brothers most certainly felt every day of their lives, imagining their lying to their father caused him massive suffering. They saw their father wither away and lose his spark due to their actions and lies. Now the brothers have their chance at redemption. They see that it was all part of a plan! They are forgiven! Yosef wants them to move to Egypt! We can only imagine their elation as they journeyed back to Yaakov their father.

The psukim tell us what happened when the brothers reached Yaakov. This should be another climactic scene. If we could imagine a movie about when the brothers tell Yaakov the news, the music would swell while the camera goes in real close to capture Yaakov’s unbridled joy. As Yaakov would hear the news the room would brighten, years of sadness would melt off Yaakov’s face as he would stand up from his seat and the scene would slowly fade to black. Well let’s see how it really happened. In fact, Yaakov didn’t believe them!!

What? Yaakov did not believe his sons. Did he think they playing a practical joke on him? Couldn’t he see their genuine joy? How are we to understand this?

Let us continue in the Chumash. Amazingly we see that eventually Yaakov believed that Yosef was alive. What convinced him? How did the truth become evident?

R’ Schwab mentions the saying in Avos of R’ Shimon. “The punishment of the liar is that even when he tells the truth no one listens to him” and we see from the brothers of Yosef that when they lied to their father by telling him that Yosef was dead they were not believed when they tried to tell their father that Yosef was alive.

At this point the Shevatim understood that by covering their misdeeds they would NEVER succeed, even with the truth. Therefore they realized their only option is to now tell Yaakov the entire story. They decided to tell their father all about their jealousy and plots to kill Yosef. The eventual sale of Yosef was discussed and they asked for forgiveness from Yaakov. That is what is meant by they told Yaakov ALL about Yosef – es Kol divrei Yosef. The full truth was finally revealed. At that point Yaakov was able to believe his sons and see the truth.

The truth is not only that the words are true. Truth is consistent with all the facts and reality. Truth does not exist in a vacuum – it is part of a greater whole. It must fit in with the song of the universe and be in perfect harmony with all the other parts. Yaakov was on too great a spiritual level to be a piece of the truth. He needed all of it to complete the circle of truth of reality.

The Talmud teaches us that Emes – truth stand on its own. And sheker – the opposite of truth always falls. We can visualize this by looking at the letters that form the word Emes and the letters that form the word Sheker. Emes is Aleph, Mem, Taf. These are the first, last and middle letters of the Aleph Beis. Truth is from start to finish with a solid middle. This is consistent with what we are saying that truth is part of a greater whole of reality and not independent. Perhaps even more interesting is the formation of each letter. The Aleph has two legs to stand on, the mem has a base on its bottom and the taf has a base as well as two legs. If we would stand these letters up they would not fall. Let’s look at Sheker. Shin, kuf and reish. Those letters all have but one leg and when stood up will topple. Further these letters are “out of alphabetical order” and are all right next to each other in the aleph beis. This indicates that sheker can work for a time because it is kept close and private but once the sheker gets out it cannot stand on its own.

Our Torah world is predicated on Emes. The Torah is emes and stands on its own. We don’t need to make excuses for Torah and it stands the test of time.

The lesson of Yaakov in this week’s parsha is that sheker is hard to undo – we can’t just press control z and magically the sheker disappears. Sheker can stand for a little while but eventually it gets toppled. This is why we need to be so careful to always begin with the absolute emes. It can be very difficult to undo sheker as we saw with Yaakov.

What was are witnessing in the world right now as Israel rains attacks upon its enemies is frightening. When the world is so immersed in sheker the truth is very hard to find. But the truth stands on its own and will eventually be seen. We need to do our part as advocates for Israel and prevent lies from spreading. I say this not because I am concerned with international opinion and political clout – rather I say this because when Jews look bad it reflects upon GD and it is very important to me to help prevent further Chillul Hashem. We can do our part as advocates for Israel.

But why are these lies so easy to spread? Shouldn’t the truth be obvious?

The last point I want to make is that while we do 100% back our brothers and sisters in Israel we also recognize there is a flaw in their reality. The official line of the Government of Israel is not that Hashem put the land of Israel in our hands, they say WE DID IT OURSELVES. Is it any wonder the world disbelieves our stories about the war, or anything? The world KNOWS the truth, and disbelieves us when we hold sheker. Amazing!

Is our leadership in the land of Israel taking all of reality into the equation? Do they recognize the role that GD plays in their lives? So long as they do not have the complete truth, with all its realities and all its beauty – the world will not see that the truth is with us. As we saw with Yaakov – only the whole truth is recognized as the truth. The only time a truth is recognizable to all and stands on it own is when the truth is consistent and the truth is in sync with the realities of the universe. When the truth is part of the harmony of the world then everyone will see it. When our leadership in the land of Israel embraces the spiritual component to the land of Israel the tremendous amount of Torah that spouts from the land of Israel, when the message of truth is consistent with all the facts and realities – that GD gave us this land – he should have a say as to how we use it, when that message is clear – the truth will be unequivocal and unchallenged.

A Good Man Never Rests – Drasha Vayeshev

rabbifink — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 17:04:15 +0000

Thank you to community member Milton Simon for editing these Shabbos speeches given at the Pacific Jewish Center from my notes into these articles.

The Torah tells us in this week’s parsha, “Vayeshev Yaakov b’eretz megurei aviv b’eretz Canaan” Yaakov and his entire family returned to the land of his parents – the land of Canaan. Yaakov has successfully survived the life-threatening conflict with Eisav after preserving his integrity after his father-in-law Lavan has tried to cheat and swindle him during his 20 years of labor. Amazingly, Yaakov developed tremendous wealth despite all of Lavan’s best efforts.

One can imagine a very successful retiree going back to his roots to ride off into the sunset. Yaakov raised 13 children, he had 2 wives plus 2 quasi wives to keep happy. Yaakov has worked very hard to be able to now enjoy his last days basking in the glory of his life’s work. If it were us that is what we would do.

In fact Rashi brings the Medrash Rabba which states that when a Tzaddik has earned a lion’s share of riches in the “world to come” and they ALSO desire to live out their wealthy retirement days in peace and quiet before they die, the Satan (he is the prosecuting angel) complains. He says – “Is it not enough that the Tzaddik will live out his eternal life in Olam haba (afterlife) but he also wants to enjoy a tranquil existence in this world?” The Satan’s complaint “forced” G-d to prove Satan’s complaint unfounded, and this is what happened with Yaakov – just as he is ready to relax the entire incident of Yosef’s kidnapping and sale into slavery occurs. Now Yaakov sits for many years in pain and anguish over his lost son.

Rav Schwab asks the obvious question on this Midrash. What power (why should G-d listen to him?) does the Satan have to stop a Tzaddik from living out his days in peace and tranquility? Leave the poor man alone! Especially when the man is a Yaakov Avinu and his plan is learn Torah day and night!

Avraham, Yaakov’s grandfather took it upon himself to spread the goodness of the Creator to the masses. Avraham made it his life’s mission to inform anyone and everyone that the world has a Master and He has an opinion about how we are to live our lives. Everything Avraham did reflected this mission. His “guest service” was a tool to introduce people to the idea of a single living and loving G-d, and he was rather successful in this endeavor.

As the possuk in Lech Lecha says: Avraham built a mizbeyach (alter) and called out to G-d. Onkelos translates this calling out to G-d as prayer. Ramban disagrees. Ramban learns that the words mean what they say. Avraham literally called out the name G-d to the world. When he was in Ur Kasdim, Avraham was unable to influence anyone due to the prevailing idol worship culture and a dictator in Nimrod who killed all non-idol worshipers. But now Avraham was blessed with “V’avarech Avarechecha” he proclaimed G-d’s existence to the masses and his voice was heard. Ramban continues and says that G-d promised Avroham’s son, Yitzchak that He would be with him and Yitzchak also built a mizbeyach and called out to G-d. Yitzchak was keeping the family tradition alive by proclaiming G-d’s glory to all. Ramban says that we don’t find this anywhere for Yaakov.

Yaakov took a subtler route. Yaakov had children. Yaakov produced a large family which he trained in the ways of G-d. By default they transmitted the message of their grandfather Yitzchak and their great grandfather Avraham to the world. And we continue this mission to this very day.

Rav Schwab adds that Yaakov did actually build mizbeyach but his calling out was personal. He named places with names that reflected a recognition of G-d but (what are you trying to say here?) his influence was certainly palpable. Yaakov wanted to influence the world through his family and this is what is meant by Yaakov seeking peace and tranquility at the end of his days.

On this there is a legitimate complaint the Satan could make. Yaakov should be spreading the word to everyone not just his family. He has limited his exposure to the masses and thereby limited the influence that he could have. This was unacceptable. Yaakov had the responsibility to carry on the tradition of his father and grandfather and bring the masses of people closer to G-d. This was the flaw in Yaakov’s plan.

And it is for this that Yaakov suffered at the hand of the sale of Yosef to Egypt. Yosef goes down to Mitzrayim (Egypt) and affects the masses of mankind, and the “old” Yaakov eventually follows and with 70 family members in tow. They as a group are could have carried out a tremendous influence on the masses, but it was Yosef alone who took the lead.

Yaakov would no longer be able to sit back and raise his family in isolation and avoid the outside world. It fell to Yosef (and eventually his brothers) to influence the world around them. The message of the “fathers” was very clear, be a light to the world, do good and spread Torah and the ways of G-d.

When my great-grandfather Reb Elyah Lopian retired from his post in England as a Torah leader where he served as the Rosh Yeshiva in Etz Chaim he wished to emigrate to the land of Israel. He was 76 years old at the time. He was an accomplished Torah scholar. He had been Rosh Yeshiva at a number of yeshivas already. He had a very large family and desired to live out his days in Eretz Yisrael. He wanted to learn from the Torah of the great scholars of Israel and he looked forward to taking a secondary, less public role to focus on personal growth and Torah study. Reb Elyah was very reluctant to take public speaking roles as his goal was to remain out of the public eye while in the land of Israel.

Reb Elyah had an audience with the Chazon Ish who was the Gadol Hador (the leader of the Jewish religious world, d. 1954). The Chazon Ish asked him what he planned on doing in Israel, Reb Elyah explained that his desire was to learn and imbibe of the Torah of the gedolim (great sages) who were living there. He was convinced that at his age it would not be realistic to seek a position such as a mashgiach or spiritual mentor for teenagers. The Chazon Ish responded with a blessing from Tehillim in our Shir Shel Yom for Shabbos. Od yenuvun bseiva dsheinim veraananim yihyu, which means “they shall yield fruit in a ripe old age.

The mishna in Avos explains that seiva refers to the stage of life where man is in his seventies. The Chazon Ish then added, lehagid ki yashar Hashem, “to proclaim the righteousness of G-d” – yes, he said, at your age you are to be a teacher. Reb Elyah heeded the advice of the Chazon Ish and became the mashgiach in Kfar Chassidim for the next 22 years! His hundreds of Talmidim are ever grateful to the Chazon Ish.

The story echoes of our parsha’s story. There is no rest for the Tzaddik. We can always make a difference.

I know that our community has already accomplished great things in outreach. I know of the many religious families that exist today only due to our influence. You can say confidently – “I did my fair share, it is time for me to take it easy.” To that I say no! You are too great to take it easy. There are people in your neighborhood who are waiting to be invited by you, waiting for you to reach out to them. Bring them to our events. Bring them Monday night to the Chanuka party, bring them every Monday night, bring them to shul on Friday night, bring them to shul on Shabbos morning. Bring them over to me. Let me make a connection with them and give them another reason to come back in all senses of the word.

Together we can do it. We have done it in the past and it is time to get back in the game. We have a variety of opportunities for our neighbors to learn more – let’s reach out to them and give them those opportunities. There is so much energy here ready to be unleashed. We have the infrastructure in place what we need now is the raw material. Don’t ride off into the sunset. Bring Torah to your community by bringing them to the Torah and love for Torah and love for our fellow Jews that we offer at the Pacific Jewish Center.

We can make lay claim to the title Pacific Jewish CENTER – the center for Jewish life in Venice. But only if we make it into a “center” by doing the outreach we are capable of doing.

Happy Hanukah Too: Kosher Machine Only Serves 24/6 Because It's Shomer Shabbos

rabbifink — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 00:47:48 +0000

Happy Hanukah Too: Kosher Machine Only Serves 24/6 Because It’s Shomer Shabbos.

On a gadget blog commentors get a full on education about Shabbos!

It is incredible how many people know about Shabbos and now have a grasp of some of the concepts. Eventually we are going to do a Shabbos Connections with community wide Shabbos participation and invitations. Until then I guarantee if you want a Shabbos meal just stop in the Shul on the Beach during services. You will be invited by someone!

Venice CA and Santa Monica California Jewish Learning and Judaism

rabbifink — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:25:16 +0000

Learn Torah, enjoy a Shabbos / Shabbat meal, join us for services, come visit our Shul, discover your Jewish heritage with Pacific Jewish Center at the Shul on the Beach.

We are located at 505 Ocean Front Walk, Venice CA.

Our website it http://pjcenter.com.

Our email is info@pjcenter.com.

Our Rabbi is Eliyahu Fink, he is always available via email at rabbifink@gmail.com.