Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on May 14, 2022

Rabbi Benjamin Blau, president of the Rabbinical Council of America and spiritual leader of Green Road Synagogue in Beachwood, is going on a mission to Poland with colleagues in the council to gain understanding of the needs of Ukrainian refugees and Polish relief efforts.

Blau said the national council was scheduled to hold a convention and instead members decided to shift to a four-day mission beginning. He leaves May 15 and arrives in Poland May 16, and will return May 19.

The Rabbinical Council of America is a Modern Orthodox group with membership of 1,000 rabbis, Blau said. A total of about 25 people are going to Poland, including rabbis, spouses and a 13-year-old son of a rabbi who after the mission to Poland will become bar mitzvah in Israel.

The idea is really twofold, Blau told the Cleveland Jewish News May 12. First and foremost, to give support to the Ukrainian refugees particularly the Jewish individuals who have been resettled at the moment. I dont know whats going to happen to them, ultimately. But they definitely need as much support as we can (provide).

In addition, he said rabbis on the mission hope to find out what the needs are. Then, we can be able to come back to the U.S. and give firsthand accounts as to what needs to happen moving forward.

Blau noted that the news cycle has shifted away from the Ukrainian humanitarian crisis amid the Russian invasion in recent weeks, but the needs are ongoing and critical among refugees.

The council decided to bring cash as a convenient way to provide for medical supplies and other critical needs. Blau said he sent a note to his Green Road congregation asking if they would partner with him and support the trip.

In response, on May 12, members of the congregation baked and sold challah with proceeds going toward refugee assistance. Blau said he would have a check cut representing both individual donations, raised in just three days, and proceeds from the challah bake. A total of $1,750 was raised.

Blau said the agenda for the trip was developed by Rabbi Michael Schudrich, chief rabbi of Poland, an American citizen and a member of the Rabbinical Council of America. Rabbi Arie Folger of Vienna, a vice president of the council, worked in concert with Schudrich to develop the itinerary, Blau said.

Per the request of Schudrich for religious items, Blau said he was planning to buy 10 mezuzot from local sofer Rabbi Yosef Heinemann to deliver in Poland.

While in Poland, the group will also dedicate two Sefer Torah scrolls and celebrate Lag bOmer with Jews in Krakow. Their assignment was to provide kosher hot dogs for the celebration.

Our colleague from Vienna said its easier to bring it from Vienna to Poland than it is from Chicago, Blau said.

In addition to Krakow, Warsaw and Lublin, the group will travel to Rzeszow and Medyka, at the border of Ukraine, Blau said.

Im proud that Im doing something on behalf of Ukrainian Jews and Im doing it in conjunction with my shul, Blau said. I think its really important. The rabbi is the agent of the show, and Im happy to do it in that regard.

Originally posted here:

Rabbi Blau headed to Poland on RCA mission - Cleveland Jewish News

Category: Rabbi | Comments Off on Rabbi Blau headed to Poland on RCA mission – Cleveland Jewish News
Tags:

Posted By admin on May 14, 2022

MIAMI (CBSMiami) The Jewish discussion on abortion does not center around pro-life or pro-choice. Instead, Judaism focuses on the mothers right to protect herself from harm.

Within the faith, theres disagreement on what constitutes a threat to the mothers life during pregnancy.

Until the 40th day after conception, they define the fetus as mere water, said Rabbi Rachel Greengrass of Temple Beth Am.

She references the Talmud, a primary text for Jewish Law.

The mitzvah of be fruitful and multiple only falls on the man, said Greengrass.

Because you cant be required to do something that puts your life in danger.

In my conversation with Rabbi Lyle Rothman at the University of Miami Hillel, he explained how Jewish faith leaders approach religious law text.

The wonderful thing about the debate in the Talmud, is that there is debate in the Talmud, said Rothman.

Its very easy to say this is a black and white issue.Were pro-choice or pro-life.Were not.

Even on the most conservative spectrum, Judaism allows protection for the mother, especially in the first 40 days of pregnancy.

Only in those severe, very serious mitigating circumstances, said Orthodox Rabbi Avrohom Brashevitzky, who leads the Chabad of Doral.

He shares how Torah provides wisdom in this discussion.

Very much for the sanctity of life, said Rabbi B.

Rabbi B outlines God says the most sacred thing is to do everything to sustain life.

But, the Torah calls for a mother to protect herself.

According to Torah law, its no different than someone holding a gun to you, where you not only have the right to defend yourself but an obligation to defend yourself, Rabbi B added.

Short of clear, imminent danger, what constitutes a threat to the mother varies.

Another debate in Jewish law is what to do if the fetus has severe life-threatening abnormalities.

Then there would be a consideration, perhaps, if its prior to the 40 days, said Rabbi B.

Rabbi Greengrass shares a couples story at the Temple, choosing to end a pregnancy 12 weeks in.

Embryo was carrying Tay-Sachs, mentioned Greengrass.

If the child was born would have a short and painful existence and die at a very young age.

Theres also rabbinic support even if the womans life is not at risk, including mental health.

Its health care, which means both physical and mental, said Greengrass.

The living has precedence over the potential.

When it comes to Jewish text, theres one universal truth.

To save a life is to the save the entire world, said Rothman.

Rabbi B shared this with me.

He said Jewish law does not give the green light for abortions but instead provides room for debate to protect life in the womb and the mothers health.

Read the rest here:

Rabbi: Jewish Law Provides Room For Debate To Protect Life In The Womb And The Mothers Health - CBS Miami

Category: Rabbi | Comments Off on Rabbi: Jewish Law Provides Room For Debate To Protect Life In The Womb And The Mothers Health – CBS Miami
Tags:

Posted By admin on May 14, 2022

Dario Feiguin, a rabbi for nearly 40 years, recently officiated at his first interfaith wedding a practice forbidden by the Conservative movement that ordained him. The Jewish groom is a close friend of his daughter. The bride has no religious affiliation.

I saw their love and commitment to each other and realized that my moral obligation is to keep the door open, said Feguin, whose synagogue, Congregation Kol Shalom on Bainbridge Island in Washington, is part of the Reform movement.

Feiguin is one of a growing number of Conservative rabbis members of the denominationsRabbinical Assembly who are deciding to preside at interfaith weddings. The issue has been decided in the Reform movement, the largest stream of Judaism in the U.S., which allows it. And it remains strictly prohibited within Orthodox Judaism.

But the question is increasingly divisive within the RA, which has some 1,600 members worldwide. Some rabbis have resigned from the RA over it. Others have been kicked out for officiating at interfaith ceremonies, though Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal, CEO of both the RA and theUnited Synagogue for Conservative Judaism, the movements umbrella organization, said he does not know how many. Others, like Feigun, are hoping to remain part of the movement even though they have broken its prohibition over marrying a Jew to a non-Jew.

There are members of the RA doing it under the radar right and left, said Rabbi Rolando Matalon of Congregation Bnai Jeshurun in New York, who recently left the RA over the issue.

The Conservative movement itself first considered the issue of interfaith couples and marriages in the 1970s. It has since stepped up efforts to welcome interfaith couples married elsewhere, but the prohibition on Conservative rabbis performing those marriages has stood.

Many within and outside the movement wonder if this might change within the next few years. In addition to rabbis like Feiguin and Matalon, who have broken the ban, some Conservative rabbis report an increasing number of requests to preside at interfaith weddings. Undergirding these requests is data that shows intermarriage as the Jewish norm. The 2020 Pew Research Centerssurveyof the American Jewish community found that 61 percent of Jews married since 2010 wed non-Jews.

Rabbis on either side of the debate say its outcome will be consequential for the Conservative movement, which represents about 20% of American Jews, and is shrinking. Those who want to lift the ban say it alienates Jews who want to intermarry, pushing them to other movements where rabbis are free to officiate at these weddings or away from Judaism altogether. Others maintain that lifting the prohibition would signal that Jews are free to bend Judaism to fit personal preferences, and result in a weakened commitment to Jewish life. And what meaningful distinction between Reform and Conservative Judaism will remain, others ask, if Conservative rabbis do not draw the line at interfaith marriage?

The number of rabbis grappling with it is growing, said Keren McGinity, who was hired by the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, the congregational arm of the movement, to serve as its part-time interfaith specialist in 2020. This year, her position was made full time.

As the movements leader, Blumenthal said the question is rising to the top of the RAs agenda and will be addressed at its next convention, in November in St. Louis.

We are in the conversation stage, he said. We have a very diverse membership with lots of different views and our first step is to find ways for our colleagues to be able to have discussions with each other. Thats as specific as I want to be at this point.

In 2010 Chelsea Clinton, the former presidents daughter, married a Jewish man, with a Reform rabbi and Methodist minister co-officiating. Arnie Eisen, then chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary, where the Conservative movement trains clergy and scholars, attended the reception. Though not a rabbi, Eisen was an important Conservative leader, and after the wedding the RAs Committee on Jewish Law and Standards voted to allow Conservative rabbis to attend interfaith weddings.

Since then, rabbis who want the Conservative movement to reconsider the ban have noticed in the movement, among rabbis and within congregations other signs that they hope may signal an openness to change.

Rabbi Adina Lewittes resigned from the RA in 2015 because she felt called to officiate at interfaith weddings. After several years of feeling unwelcome at JTS because of her stance on the issue, she was invited back this semester to teach senior rabbinical students.

She called the invitation an incredible indication of the real hope that the movement can embrace both tradition and change.

Two other rabbis Matalon of Congregation Bnai Jeshurun, and Amichai Lau-Lavie of Lab/Shul, both in Manhattan left the RA more recently over the issue. Matalon was asked to leave in 2018, after his synagogue engaged in a long period of study of interfaith marriage in Judaism and decided to allow its rabbis to officiate.

Bnai Jeshurun decided that it would bless interfaith weddings as long as the couple was serious about creating a Jewish home and engaging with Jewish tradition in a meaningful way. If one doesnt want to convert but wants to raise Jewish children, that for us is a sufficient commitment, Matalon said.

Still, the interfaith weddings the synagogues rabbis perform are different from weddings between two Jews, he said for example, they include four blessings rather than the traditional seven. He compared these distinctions to changes he makes to the traditional Jewish marriage ceremony when officiating at a same-sex wedding, in order to distinguish it from one that is unquestionably compliant with traditional Jewish law.

Lau-Lavie, known as a boundary-pushing rabbi, officiated at about 25 weddings, many of them interfaith, before he entered rabbinical school. A year after his 2016 ordination as a Conservative rabbi he publishedJoy: A Proposal,a 46-page survey of historical and halachic sources on interfaith marriage. His study led him to propose the termJoy for a Jew who is also a Goy.

In St. Louis, Congregation Bnai Amoona is in the midst of studying and grappling with interfaith marriage, which its rabbi, Carnie Shalom Rose, calls the thorniest of issues right now.

Rose officiates at 20 weddings a year and estimates he could be presiding at double that if he decided to stand with interfaith couples under the chuppah. It breaks my heart that we are turning them away, he said. No matter what other alternatives a rabbi offers words of Torah before or after the wedding, for instance it always falls a little short. Once a person has been rejected, its hard for them to come back.

But the consequences of performing these marriages, he reasons, may have unintended consequences for the congregation, one of the first 10 in the country to join the movement, with which 560 synagogues in North America affiliate.

He worries about the Bnai Amoona teens who belong to United Synagogue Youth, which also falls under the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaisms umbrella. If the congregation was no longer affiliated, What would happen to our youth movement? he wondered. Many of our kids are deeply involved.

Anxiety about continuity, and whether American Jews attachment to Judaism and Jewish institutions will persist, underlies many of the conversations about officiation at interfaith weddings. While the Pew study found most American Jews marrying outside the religion, it also showed that the offspring of intermarriages have become increasingly likely to identify as Jewish in adulthood.

For some Conservative rabbis, that does not bolster the case for officiating at interfaith unions.

I understand the enormous sociological pressures that would lead rabbis to make this decision, said Rabbi David Wolpe of Los Angeles Sinai Temple, who is well known for his books and media appearances. But I regret it and think it is ultimately a wrong turn.

Few congregants approach him about officiating at their interfaith marriage, because people know where we stand, he said, adding that Sinai Temple may have lost some young members over the issue, but not many.

Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, who leads Manhattans Park Avenue Synagogue, said he wants to see the Conservative movement unapologetically preach, teach, and value endogamy, that is, Jews marrying other Jews. That should accompany, he continued, more robust efforts to convert non-Jews who want to marry Jews. His synagogues clergy oversee the conversions of about 25 people a year, he said.

Conversion is important not only for halachic reasons but also as a signal that that partner is a participant and not just an observer in the creation of a Jewish home, he said, adding that a non-Jewish partner who chooses not to convert should still be welcomed into Jewish and synagogue life.

Not every choice that everyone makes needs to be sanctioned within the context of Jewish law and practice, Cosgrove said. Even as boundaries are set, I never lose sight of the fact that its a human being in front of me who is seeking to create a home, identity and a sense of wholeness.

In Las Vegas, Rabbi Felipe Goodman of Temple Beth Sholom worries that those who want to lift the ban are too focused on the ceremony and not what comes after. Officiating sends the wrong message, he said. Those 20 minutes we spend under the chuppah will not determine whether they become part of our communities or not.

For rabbis concerned about rejecting people, Goodman echoes Cosgrove, and counsels a stronger invitation to the non-Jewish partner to become Jewish. We should advocate for an easier path to conversion, which we should have done years ago. I dont think officiating will save our situation.

He has done so with great success, he said. When a member of his synagogue approaches him about officiating at an interfaith wedding, he asks about conversion for the non-Jewish partner. Then four out of five times they convert, he said, adding that rabbis may have to put in significant effort to bring two Jews to the bimah. One non-Jewish woman who couldnt take the synagogues Judaism 101 class is instead getting one-on-one lessons from the rabbi. Ill do whatever it takes, Goodman said.

He fears that officiating at interfaith weddings will make Conservative Judaism irrelevant.

The moment we do it the line between Conservative and Reform movements will be completely obliterated. If we do not hold on to the values we hold dear, like endogamy, then I dont know what future we can have as a denomination, he said.

Rabbi Amanda Schwartz, ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary in 2016, has never presided at an interfaith marriage. She was removed from the rolls of the RA last summer for failure to pay her dues. But it was really about its policy on intermarriages, with which she disagrees. For that reason, Schwartz said, she stopped paying.

As family life director at the non-denominationalJudaism Your Wayin Denver which provides buffet-style choices in Jewish education, holiday services and life cycle rituals Schwartzs Conservative credentials are not required for the job and her colleagues do a ton of intermarriages, she said.

Scheduled to preside at her first intermarriage in June 2020, the wedding was postponed because of the pandemic. Shes booked for the rescheduled date this summer. But her history with the issue goes back to her time as a rabbinical student, when two friends about to marry non-Jews asked her to officiate their weddings.

I wanted to say yes but had to say no because I was afraid Id get kicked out of rabbinical school if I did, Schwartz said. After she turned one of the couples down, she lost a friendship.

The other couple is now such a Jewish family, Schwartz said. They are super involved in Jewish life and its a shame that they didnt get to have a rabbi perform their wedding. To me it was so painful.

Schwartz now identifies as post-denominational, and has joined theReconstructionist Rabbinical Association, which is part of the smallest of the major streams of Judaism. It allows its rabbis to preside at unions between Jews and non-Jews and in 2015 became the first seminary to permit its rabbinical students to have non-Jewish partners.

Schwartz said she needed to leave the RA, but that some like-minded peers dont.

I have classmates who have officiated at interfaith weddings but are still members of the RA, said Schwartz. Some are trying to work within the system.

Read more:

Some Conservative rabbis are flouting the intermarriage ban J. - The Jewish News of Northern California

Category: Rabbi | Comments Off on Some Conservative rabbis are flouting the intermarriage ban J. – The Jewish News of Northern California
Tags:

Posted By admin on May 14, 2022

It doesnt matter.

This was not the response I assumed I would get when I asked Rabbi David Bashevkin where he sent his children to day school. However, nothing about my sit-down with Rabbi Bashevkin went as expected. 18Forty was not mentioned once. Twitter essentially didnt exist. The subject of the discussion started with North Adams, Massachusetts and ended with the conclusion that bochurim in Ner Yisrael know how to be mevatel Torah in healthier ways than YU guys.

Most people who have heard of or know Rabbi Bashevkin on a superficial level would assume he is a typical person from Lawrence, NY, who grew up influenced by the regular social norms of the community. This could not be farther from the truth. Who I am as a human being comes from the upbringing of my parents, he said. My religious life is a composite of the generational reaction of my parents to their parents. Bashevkin believes his parents unique cultural background of budding Orthodoxy in small-town America in the 50s and 60s has made him the person he is. The organic and unique influence they brought to his childhood through an authentic and pure form of religious growth nurtured in a small town sticks with Bashevkin until today.

Indeed, Bashevkins parents grew up with a less traditional background than many of his contemporaries. His father hails from North Adams, Mass. Bashevkins grandparents on his fathers side were less educated and observant. His bubby (grandmother) did not read Hebrew and his Zaidy (grandfather) worked on Shabbos until his retirement. However, they were deeply committed to Jewish values in an authentic and pure form. Bubby would travel to a Price Chopper supermarket in Albany to buy kosher meat. They stressed the importance of all their kids marrying Jews.

Bashevkins background is also untraditional on his mothers side. His grandfather graduated Chofetz Chaim and was a rabbi in Portland, Maine, where his mother grew up. Ultimately, Bashevkins parents decided they wanted more infrastructure in communities more deeply rooted in halachik observance. Yet the Bashevkins never forgot to instill within their children the importance of independent commitment to Jewish education and the wholesome organic religiosity that their upbringings fostered. I couldnt go off the derech if I tried, said Bashevkin.

This balance of community infrastructure and organic small town Judaism is the balance Bashevkin seeks to balance in his own house. I try to take the average of organic plus education, he explained. It is likely that we have moved too far into the direction of the educational pedigrees as the sole arbiter of ones religious character.

Bashevkin described our contemporary Orthodox world as airplane food and not home-baked. He explained that it feels like it was made to serve mass production. Yet Bashevkins religious search is for a sincere religious moment in his life. Religious life is so programmed, and a private moment of religious service and practice are harder to find, he commented.

However, Bashevkins religious outlook and search for authenticity were not merely shaped by his parents upbringing in western Massachusetts and southern Maine. It was shaped for four years in central Maryland, where he studied in the hallowed halls of Ner Yisrael.

Bashevkin went to Ner Yisrael right after his years in Yeshivat Shaalvim. Although when he first arrived he was an outsider, by the time he left, he was considered one of them. He went in with a large cohort of students from Modern Orthodox schools who excelled in yeshiva. His morning seder chavrusa married Rabbi Moshe Tendlers daughter.

Most of all, Bashevkin appreciated the authentic experience he got at Ner. Ner Yisrael is a self-contained campus. Everyone stays for Shabbos, and after Succos, you stay until Chanukkah, he explained. Bashevkin believes this created bonding with a chevra (friend group), creating a wholesome and warm atmosphere. Similarly, Bashevkin appreciated the authenticity of a group solely committed to Torah. There is a real culture of movement and the way people speak, he noted. A culture of commitment and dedication to learning. And a dedication to healthy bitul Torah.

Interestingly, Bashevkin noted that much of this authentic Yeshiva culture, and even the culture of healthy bitul Torah, is missing in YU. YU is a very adversarial culture between beis medrash and the rest of your life because people have such little time that they only have 5 hours a day to learn and be shtark, he said. Bashevkin believes that the learning at YU is tremendous and that students leave YU and know a velt (world) of Torah. However, the culture of hock and schmoozing in the context of Yeshiva between people who share a purpose is special, and Bashevkin thinks it is much more prevalent in Ner.

I dont think guys in YU know how to be a mevatel Torah like Yeshiva guys, Bashevkin said. There is a holiness in the way a Yeshiva guy knows how to be mevatel Torah. A walk with a chavrusa, a hock session in the coffee room. Learning how to take a geshmak beis nap or Shabbos nap.

In YU, guys need to grow out of a Shana Aleph and Shana Bet mentality, he remarked. Because chevra growth is not as much a factor in YU, many guys cling onto the Shana Aleph/Shana Bet model.

After four years, Bashevkin left Ner because he thought the community he could serve best would help integrate his religious and professional identity. All his friends in Ner became doctors and dentists. But becoming a rabbi in that community is harder if he wanted to become a dentist, he probably would have stayed in Baltimore. He still tries to incorporate the authenticity of the Yeshiva community into his daily life.

It doesnt matter. Where Bashevkin sends his kids to school is not important because he has a different relationship with education. Its a decision we took seriously, but the role of my kids schooling turns it into a personality that is systematic and inauthentic, and that is not what Bashevkin wants. He wants his kids to be exposed to many different communities and influences that allow them to grow purely and organically.

Bashevkin believes that a lot of the exposure to his organic background is done through family. We have a very diverse family, he explained. I have a chareidi sister, a sister in the Five Towns, a sister in Edison, and an uncle in Bennington, Vermont. I have cousins across the religious spectrum. I make it a point to expose my kids to all family members because thats the best way to create a family connection.

Whether it has been through his roots in small-town Massachusetts and southern Maine or his time learning in the hallowed halls of Ner Yisrael, Bashevkin has always tried to create his own religious growth, fostered by independence and bravery to diverge from communal expectations. There is a place to have courage and live fearlessly. Anyone has a point where they can lean into the norms and desires of a community and a point where they can say we are doing things a little differently. My family did things a little differently. And that has shaped who he is today and how he raises his own children.

Photo Caption: Rabbi David Bashevkin is an out-of-town in-towner.

Photo Credit: Rabbi David Bashevkin

More:

The Out-of-Town In-Towner: Rabbi David Bashevkin and Authentic Religious Experience - The Commentator - The Commentator

Category: Rabbi | Comments Off on The Out-of-Town In-Towner: Rabbi David Bashevkin and Authentic Religious Experience – The Commentator – The Commentator
Tags:

Posted By admin on May 14, 2022

Congregation Etz Chayim will be passing a survivor Torah a scroll that survived the Holocaust in Europe to a rabbi in Israel this summer, marking the next chapter in the life of a Torah with a long and storied history.

The Torah, which has been with the independent congregation in Palo Alto since 2005, will be delivered by Etz Chayim Rabbi Chaim Koritzinsky to Rabbi Lila Veissid in Emek Hefer, Israel.

Veissid is a regional rabbi, meaning she serves not one congregation but all of Emek Hefer, an area of central Israel north of Netanya. Originally from Argentina, Veissid was trained at Hebrew College, a pluralistic rabbinical school and Jewish studies graduate institute in Newton, Massachusetts.

Veissid found herself in need of a Torah after backlash from an Orthodox group new to the region that disapproved of her use of a loaner Torah because she is a woman, and because she was using it to help young women become bat mitzvahs. The group worked to have her access to the Torah revoked.

Koritzinsky learned of Veissids situation when he visited her kibbutz in 2019; the two attended Hebrew College together. He returned later that year with a group of congregants eager to hear Veissids story and offer help.

On the bus right after, we came up with this idea, Koritzinsky said. Is there a possibility that we could actually support her by lending her one of our sacred Torahs?

The Familant Torah, as Koritzinsky calls it, has had a long journey. Originating from Poland, it was used at a synagogue in Wiesbaden, Germany, led by Rabbi Jonah Ansbacher. When the synagogue was set on fire in 1938 during Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, the Torah was saved and kept hidden for many years. It resurfaced in the early 1970s in San Francisco, where Ansbachers son, Rabbi Joseph Asher, led Congregation Emanu-El from 1967 to 1986.

During that time, Rabbi Charles Familant was directing Hillel at Stanford, where he held the first Jewish services at the university. In 1975, after a decade on the job, he retired to become a freelance rabbi, officiating at bnai mitzvahs and religious services for unaffiliated families. During the 1970s and 80s, Familant says he was one of a few American rabbis performing interfaith marriages for couples whose unions were not recognized under Jewish law.

Without a congregation or pulpit, Familant practiced without a dedicated Torah, until he received a phone call one day from Asher. The San Francisco rabbi had heard Familant was in need of a Torah, and said he had one for him. It was not until the two men met in person that Familant understood the gravity of the gift.

I said, youre gonna trust me with this? And he said, you, I trust, Familant, 89, told J. in a recent interview. It brings tears to my eyes.

Familant used the Torah for the rest of his career before passing it on to Rabbi Ari Cartun, who directed the Hillel for more than 20 years and then became Etz Chayims spiritual leader. When Cartun retired in 2015, Koritzinsky came on board.

Koritzinsky and 15 congregants will travel to Israel in July to pass the Torah to Veissid in a ceremony. Until recently, the Torah was pasul unfit for ritual use as it had been damaged, but it has since been repaired and made kosher to prepare for its journey to Israel. The Torah is on a long-term loan, with the stipulation that Veissid will contact Etz Chayim if she ever wants to pass on or return the Torah.

I feel very moved, Koritzinsky said. I feel blessed that we have this opportunity to create a deeper connection with a community with my colleague, with Torah at the heart of this connection. Torah has been at the heart of our communities for thousands of years.

Continue reading here:

'Survivor' Torah scroll will journey from Palo Alto to Israel this summer J. - The Jewish News of Northern California

Category: Rabbi | Comments Off on ‘Survivor’ Torah scroll will journey from Palo Alto to Israel this summer J. – The Jewish News of Northern California
Tags:

Posted By admin on May 14, 2022

London-born Rabbi Chaim Ingram has been working as a dedicated rabbi in Sydney, Australia for 30 years, working tirelessly for the Australian Jewish community, particularly with the elderly, for which he was recently awarded a medal, the Order of Australia (OAM) from the Governor-General of Australia.

Rabbi Ingram has retranslated the burial service and drawn up protocols and guidelines regarding Jewish patients for staff in New South Wales hospitals in Australia, is an accomplished, trained chazan and has successfully used music therapy with a dementia patient and Down Syndrome adult.

He and his wife are senior tutors for the Sydney Beth Din, overseeing candidates conversion process. They visited refuseniks in the USSR during the height of the repression in 1984, and was apprehended in an incident which made the world news at the time and caused a temporary easing of conditions for the Jews there.

The Jewish Press recently spoke to Rabbi Ingram about his life and work as a rabbi.

The Jewish Press: Rabbi Ingram, I believe you are approaching a milestone?

Rabbi Chaim Ingram: Actually three! I am, thank G-d, in my seventieth year of life and the fortieth year of my very happy marriage. And this month marks three decades since I first set foot in Australia, my adopted home where I have been blessed to serve as rabbi and mentor for the past thirty years, bring up (together with my wife, Judith) my two children, both now happily married, and receive, by the grace of G-d and the governor-general, a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM).

Can you tell me about your background? Did you always want to be a rabbi?

As far as I am aware, there are no rabbis in my family within recent generations. I never knew my fathers mother but from photographs of her it is evident she was a frum woman. I was brought up in London, traditional United Synagogue Orthodox. My parents of blessed memory made sure my sister and I had a good cheder education. We did not attend Jewish schools, but I believe I had a better Jewish education in my cheder in Forest Gate in east London than I would have had at a mainstream Jewish school. I took and passed junior and senior examinations set by the London Board of Jewish Religious Education. But I never dreamed I would one day be a rabbi. My grandmother, a.h., thought that I would be an accountant as I loved playing around with numbers and still do!

What set you on the path?

I belonged to the UK-wide Jewish Youth Study Groups movement, probably not dissimilar to NCSY in the USA. I went to a summer school and that fired me up to intensify my commitment to Orthodox Judaism. But it was still a long path to being a rabbi. I spent three years in York doing a music degree.

York had a tiny Jewish community and, as you may know, a tainted history from medieval times. A massacre of the citys Jews occurred in 1190. I used to travel to nearby Leeds for Shabbat. I was very active in the universitys Jewish society.

What did you plan to do with your music?

A good question! I hadnt really thought about it. By the time I was into my second year, all I could think about was that I couldnt wait to attend yeshiva. I spent quality time in Dvar Yerushalyim, a yeshiva geared to university graduates, which was blessed with top rabbeim including Rabbi Baruch Horovitz and Rabbis Aryeh Carmell and Eli Munk, zl. Rabbi Munk was a supreme influence in fashioning my Jewish hashkafa (outlook). I have often quoted him in my books and other writings.

And after yeshiva, what then?

I actually became a music teacher in London for a few years and also worked in the BBC music research library. But I wanted to serve the Jewish community. My first thought was to become a chazan. I studied at Jews College, London, including under Rev. Leo Bryll, zl. Hashem had blessed me with inherent musicality and a naturally resonant voice, and I developed my vocal skills under Bryll as well as a love for nusach ha-tefillah. I had sung in my local shul choir since the age of eleven, and Providence decreed that I step in the breach when the shuls chazan left. However, while I deem it a great privilege to lead a kehila in prayer and be their ambassador to G-d, as it were, I never saw myself as purely a chazan. I had a desire to reach out to others and communicate to them the beauty of Yiddishkeit. It was but a small step to decide to learn for semicha, which I eventually received from Rav Chaim Wolkin of Petach Tikva, with the invaluable help of my landsman and mentor Rabbi Nochum Matlin, zl. After I got married, I took a post in Newcastle upon Tyne as chazan and assistant minister before I was appointed as rabbi of the Leicester Hebrew Congregation. At last, I had my own congregation!

And while in Newcastle, you and your wife rose to international prominence!

Not quite. As a young and enthusiastic rabbinical couple, we were sent as emissaries by the local branch of the 35s (Womens Campaign for Soviet Jewry) to visit refuseniks in Leningrad and Moscow. It was February 1984, during the interregnum between Andropov and Chernenko, and the KGB were out to prove themselves. Consequently we, as well as other Jews visiting at the time, were harassed by the KGB. Although we had done nothing illegal, we were apprehended, interrogated in the presence of a TASS reporter, placed under hotel arrest and eventually had our visa cancelled. On our return we gave an interview which elicited much sympathy for us as well as the people we visited and much distaste for the KGB tactics against innocent foreigners in the British press and beyond. The result was that Soviet harassment of Jewish visitors lessened considerably, at least for a while.

Did you get to meet any refuseniks?

Yes, in Leningrad we met with several refuseniks including Yitzchak Kogan and Gregory Wasserman, both of whom are now rabbis in Moscow and Rekhasim (near Haifa) respectively. Yitzchak, known as the Tzaddik of Leningrad, was a baal teshuva who became a clandestine shochet. We recall him telling us how he always had to find a different site for his shechita operations lest he be caught in the act. He aided many refuseniks under the radar including celebrities like Ida Nudel and Iosef Mendelovitch.

What else do you remember about that visit?

We were told inspirational stories about how Jews who only had a smidgen of Torah knowledge taught those who had none; and how valiant parents bound the right hand of their children in a bandage on Shabbat (Saturday school was compulsory) so that they would not have to write.

All the very special Jews we were privileged to meet expressed their deep appreciation for our visit. It means so much to know that Jews throughout the world care for our plight, they all said. What they did not realize is that they did far more for us than we for them! What we later experienced on that trip gave us a very small taste of the fear under which they lived on a daily basis. They were a tremendous beacon of continuing inspiration. How Soviet Jews not only survived but flourished as Jews is one of the miracles of the twentieth century and its impact is still being felt today!

What did you innovate in Leicester?

Shimon HaTzaddik said that the world stands on three planks: Torah, service of G-d, and acts of kindness. That third plank happily did not need much input from me. Leicester was a well-run boutique community with many social, charitable and welfare organizations. We established regular weekday minyanim, no easy task. I also wanted to imbue a love of Torah learning into the community. I did that initially by forming a body (JOLLE dont ask me now what it stood for!) around the existing organizations which would work together initially towards holding a Book Fayre with inspirational speakers. This led to regular shiurim and SEED program (my wife and I had also co-ordinated a strong SEED in Newcastle) and the staging of a SEED seminar in Leicester. We also spearheaded a local branch of Jewish Youth Study Groups and for many years after I left Leicester, my wife and I gained rich nachas by seeing how so many the youth we had nurtured took up leading roles in their university J-Socs and other Jewish organisations. One even became a rabbi!

Leicester boasts the largest multi-faith community in the UK. I was very active in multi-faith work including hosting diverse communities in the shul and was the Jewish representative on a small Working Party convened to draw up a formal syllabus for religious education in Leicestershire schools.

My wife and set up a Jewish nursery school but sadly the community was not large enough for it to develop into a fully-fledged Jewish day school. Our kids were getting older, and we sensed it was time to move on.

And then you came to Sydney?

Down Under had never really been on our radar. Many years earlier, we had been approached by the Brisbane and Wellington Hebrew Congregations but had never seriously considered accepting. But I received out of the blue a phone call from the president of the Central Synagogue in Sydney who was in the UK and was keen to interview me. When there was no follow-up after the interview, I assumed that nothing would come of it. Then about a year later, I was invited for a two-week trial in Sydney. I recall ringing my wife from a phone booth near Bondi Beach waxing lyrical about its beauty and about Sydneys Jewish facilities which, compared to Leicester, made Sydney in my eyes akin to New York! She was so infected by my enthusiasm she said, without seeing the place for herself, If they offer you the job, take it! They did! And I did!

We comforted our parents with the thought that at least Australia wasnt as far away from England as New Zealand!

But you came principally as chazan?

Thats right. At least initially. I trained the choir and re-harnessed my music skills. It was many months before I was allowed to speak from the pulpit. Later I was promoted to associate rabbi and was acting chief rabbi for a short while. Central was (and remains) a massive congregation of about 2,000 members. I spent eleven very happy years there before moving on to become the rabbi of a small Sephardi community, develop a new community on Queenslands Gold Coast, help set up and teach at a boutique Jewish school for a kollel community, become the regular baal keria for the Adass Yisrael community and, latterly, the fly-in-fly-out rabbi for the Adelaide Hebrew Congregation in South Australia among other pursuits!

Can you tell me something about these other pursuits?

First of all, let me say that I could have achieved nothing without my better half. Judith is a talented teacher of both children and adults in her own right but has also been a bedrock of support to me. Despite or perhaps because of, her present health challenges, she continues to be an inspiration.

At Central, she and I and our two children, Ashira and Gavriel, worked as a team. Ashira built up the childrens services and all the children loved her. Gavriel was in the Central Choir including as an acclaimed soloist from a young age.

Together, Judith and I developed Project SEED (a combination of one-on-one adult learning and shiurim) in Sydney at a time when there was no structured ongoing adult-education here outside the Chabad community. I believe both JLC (Jewish Learning Centre) and BINA, which flourish now here as outreach organizations. took their inspiration from us.

In my role as honorary secretary of the NSW Rabbinical Council, a position I held for over two decades, (serving under a minyan of different presidents) I drew up protocols and guidelines for NSW hospital staff in regard to the needs and requirements for observant Jewish patients including end of life issues. Of course, I too was directly involved, as is every communal rabbi, in hospital visitation, pastoral work and counselling. Also, together with a colleague, I retranslated and reformulated the Burial Service for the Sydney Chevra Kaddisha to make it more accessible to mourners.

For what did you receive your OAM award?

I believe it was partly for my staying power as honorary secretary of the RCNSW (I am now happily retired from that) but principally for my volunteer work with Sydney Jewish Centre on Ageing (COA) spanning 25 years where I held a regular shiur, gave seasonal talks, led demo-Seders and given concerts, and under whose auspices I have visited nursing homes regularly on erev Shabbos to give the Jewish residents a taste of Shabbat.

What would you say were your greatest achievements as a rabbi in Australia?

One never really knows. But I would say one of them has been working as a tutor for the Sydney Beth Din in which capacity I together with my wife have prepared and continue to prepare many sincere geirim and giorot for conversion. I keep in touch with many of them and am in awe at their continued growth. One became a sofer, one a rebbetzin and several are active lay members of their communities. Some regularly ask me shaalot. Also, when we teach couples there is often a Jewish partner, which is sometimes a kiruv challenge. Thank G-d we have overseen secular Jews becoming frum and staying frum! Many pre- and post-bar mitzvah boys I have taught, some from secular backgrounds, have achieved prominence in Torah and other fields.

The other achievement of which I am particularly proud is my four self-published books (with the invaluable technical help of my son) on parasha and the festivals and particularly the fifth, Lattices of Love, on prayer, which is due out in a few months. I hope it will prove inspiring to many Jews. I also have been writing and emailing a weekly Torah essay to over 1,000 subscribers for many years and am also a regular blogger for the Times of Israel. In these, as well as in my articles and letters to the local Jewish press, I will occasionally tackle issues other rabbis shy away from.

Such as?

The moral abyss into which society has sunk where assisted suicide has become legalized, sexual norms have been perverted and secular humanism has replaced the Judeo-Christian ethic. Many Jews have sadly been swept along with this moral and spiritual tsunami. I question if we rabbis in Australia have done enough to attempt to stem the tide even among our own constituencies, let alone been any real influence in the wider society. I cannot speak for the USA and I know there are Orthodox lobby groups there and of course the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, ztl, was a towering influence in spreading the Noachide code among wider society but we are a new generation now dominated by social media, and maybe we arent utilizing the right tools sufficiently.

Is there anything else unusual you have done?

I have been privileged to be a rabbi/chaplain on Royal Caribbean cruise ships leading Shabbat and Chanuka services. My wife and I did this for several years until Covid hit. It is a role I relish as I am able to be an ambassador for the Jewish community. When I walk around the ship, I will wear a yarmulka, not a hat, a white shirt and a badge so that everybody knows who I am. The guests are on holiday, they are relaxed and they will often stop me and engage me in conversation. In that way we discovered once a whole group of assimilated Russian Jews who would never have attended our Chanuka service had my wife and I not disarmed them by engaging in friendly small talk with them first. A few of the non-Jewish partners persuaded their Jewish spouses that they should go! We have several non-Jews attending. It always brings home to me Judaisms mission statement to be both a kingdom of chaplains and a holy nation (Exodus 19:6). To impart to the world while being somewhat apart from the world and to strive to strike a balance between the two.

On a much more micro level, I have gained great satisfaction in my one-to-one mentoring including working with a Down Syndrome young adult and also with an early-onset dementia patient (formerly a close chavrusa). With both I have used music extensively, to great effect, as well as in the nursing homes. I discovered, largely through the use of song, that even where the brain may be weakened or damaged, the neshama remains whole and unimpaired!

Perhaps the highlight of my week is the Tanach shiur (by Zoom since Covid hit) which I give to retirees. I have a very high-powered, knowledgeable, intellectual group of men attending and have to keep on my toes! Presently we are learning the Trei Asar in depth.

Would you term yourself an outreach rabbi?

In the broadest sense, yes.

What are your plans for the future?

I do not plan. Covid-19 ought to have taught us that we cannot plan! I daven for continued good health for my wife and myself and the physical, mental and spiritual strength to continue my work in spreading Torah both through teaching and via the written word (my favourite medium of communication) and hopefully making a small, positive difference in the lives of those with whom I come into contact. I also look forward to us hopefully spending more time with our six grandchildren in Ramat Bet Shemesh and being able to celebrate their milestones with them, G-d willing!

Read more from the original source:

Rabbi Chaim Ingram From London To Sydney And Music To The Rabbinate - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com

Category: Rabbi | Comments Off on Rabbi Chaim Ingram From London To Sydney And Music To The Rabbinate – The Jewish Press – JewishPress.com
Tags:

Posted By admin on May 14, 2022

By Rabbi Alicia Magal

Sedona News Shalom and greetings from the Rabbi, Board of Directors, and congregation of the Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley.

All the services, classes, and programs are listed on the synagogue website.

Come join us either in person or online. See jcsvv.org for instructions to register for in-person services or for online zoom links.

On Friday, May 20, a Friday evening service, led by Rabbi Alicia Magal, begins at 5:30 pm both in person and on Zoom, and livestreamed for members and their invitees. Congregants participate by lighting candles, offering a reading, or having the honor of an Aliyah for the Torah service. Verses from the Torah portion will be chanted from the portion of the week, Behar (Leviticus 25:1 26:2), including the balance between humans and the earth, based on the verse The earth is the Lords. Humankind is given the privilege of using it to sustain life and must never abuse the land. The calendar of Sabbatical years was established, decreeing the seventh year as a time of rest for the land, and every fiftieth year as a Jubilee year, for the land not only to lie fallow but also be returned to its original owners. This whole portion is about returning people and land to a natural state of freedom and renewal. The verse Proclaim Liberty throughout the land unto all the inhabitants (Leviticus 25:10) is inscribed on the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. Blessings for those who are ill and a Mazal Tov for those celebrating a birthday or anniversary will be offered. Kaddish, the Mourners prayer, will be recited in memory of those who passed away either recently or at this time in past years. Shabbat offers a time out from work and worry, an opportunity to be grateful for our lives and the bounty with which we are blessed.

Rabbi Magal will offer the third of four sessions on Kabbalah: The Mystical Tradition of Receiving on Tuesday, May 24, at 3 pm. Registration is through the website jcsvv.org. No charge for JCSVV members. Donations gratefully accepted from non-members who wish to participate in this course.

Wednesday morning minyan begins at 8:30 a.m. on May 25 on zoom. Join the group to offer healing prayers, and to support those saying the mourners prayer, Kaddish, for a loved one who has passed away. Every person counts and is needed!

On Wednesday at 4:00 pm Rosalie Malter and Rabbi Magal lead a class on Jewish meditation on Zoom. Each session focuses on a different tool or aspect of Jewish meditation practices.

On Thursday, May 26, at 4:00 pm, Torah study, led by Rabbi Magal, will be held on Zoom. The Torah portion for that week will be Behukkotai, Leviticus 26:3 27:34, the last chapter in the Book of Leviticus, containing a listing of the voluntary contributions the Israelites made for the upkeep of the Sanctuary. That tradition of generosity towards preservation of houses of worship began with the Tabernacle in the wilderness, continuing with the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem, and ever since with support of synagogues throughout the world.

We will continue to count the days between Passover and Shavuot, the journey of 49 days culminating in the 50th day, the revelation at Mt Sinai when Torah was given through Moses to the Children of Israel. This practice of Counting the Omer is a spiritual preparation and refinement that enables each person to do a check-in of his or her personality qualities that form the focus for each day during this seven week period.

The Social Action Committee is continuing to collect food for the local Sedona food pantry. Please drop of cans or boxes of non-perishable foods in the bin outside the lower level parking lot entrance to the synagogue.

The Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley, located at 100 Meadow Lark Drive off Route 179 in Sedona, is a welcoming, egalitarian, inclusive congregation dedicated to building a link from the past to the future by providing religious, educational, social and cultural experiences. Messages to the office telephone at 928 204-1286 will be answered during the week. Updated information is available on the synagogue website http://www.jcsvv.org.

See the original post:

Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley: May 20-26 - Sedona.Biz - The Voice of Sedona and The Verde Valley - Sedona.biz

Category: Rabbi | Comments Off on Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley: May 20-26 – Sedona.Biz – The Voice of Sedona and The Verde Valley – Sedona.biz
Tags:

Posted By admin on May 14, 2022

TheTorah columnis supported by a generous donation from Eve Gordon-Ramek in memory of Kenneth Gordon.EmorLeviticus 21:124:23

In the two years since the Rabbi of Chelm began Village of Chelm Zoom Torah Study once a week, the wise people of Chelm had learned to mute and unmute, remain calm in breakout rooms (some thought they had to escape) and, mostly, not to slurp soup on camera.

Again, the Torah portion is Emor. Many years before the pandemic, when the Rabbi of Chelm was asked to guest teach at a teen retreat for another congregation, it was Parashat Kedoshim, the portion before Emor. Lucky me, he had thought; the Holiness Code is much better than Emor, what with its sacred calendar and archaic rules about the animals to be offered in sacrifice and the purity of the officiants: All must be without physical blemish.

While leading the Shabbat morning service, he looked at the teens and asked, Who here had Kedoshim and the Holiness Code (Dont put a stumbling block before the blind ) as their bnai mitzvah Torah portion? Half the hands went up. That was odd. He took a guess and asked, Who had Yitro, the Ten Commandments? The other half raised their hands. Turns out the rabbi of this congregation had decided that there were only two Torah portions for a bat or bar mitzvah. All ethics, all the time. As if nothing else happened in the world.

If the teen retreat had been scheduled one week later, coinciding with Parashat Emor, the teens might have heard:

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

Speak to Aaron, saying, No man of your seed to their generations in whom there is a defect shall come forward to offer his Gods bread. For no man in whom there is a defect shall come forward, no blind man nor lame nor disfigured nor malformed, nor one with a cataract in his eye nor scab nor skin flake nor crushed testicle. No man from the seed of Aaron the priest in whom there us a defect shall draw near be to bring forward the fire offering of the Lord. There is a defect in him. (Leviticus 21:16-21)

We are embodied souls, and things happen to bodies. Ironically, the Rabbi of Chelm realized, teens know this well. They are constantly judged on their appearance.

We do not need to avoid difficult passages in the Torah. It is foolish, as the Rabbi of Chelm should know, to apply modern sensibilities to ancient texts. Over the centuries we have transcended the sensibilities of the ancient world, even of the Talmud, because of the Talmud, specifically Berakhot 9:5: It is time to serve the Lord, go against your Torah.

We increase Torah by wrestling with Torah.

Over time, even in Chelm, disability inclusion and ableism awareness are Torah. Judaism and disability begin in the Biblical narrative and continue past it.

This is beautifully described in Zohar, Bamidbar 152a:

Come and see: There is a garment that is visible to everyone. The simple people, when they see a person dressed beautifully do not observe any further, and they consider the garment as the body [of a man] and the body like his soul.

Similar to this is the Torah. It has a body, which is composed of the commandments of the Torah that are called the body of the Torah. This body is clothed with garments, which are stories of this world. The ignorant of the world look only at that dress, which is the story in the Torah, and are not aware of anything more. They do not look at what lies beneath that dress.

Those who know more do not look at the dress, but rather at the body beneath that dress. The wise, the sages, the servants of the loftiest King, those that stood at Mount Sinai, look only at the soul which is the essence of everything, the real Torah.

Rabbi Judith Z. Abrams zl, in her 1998 book Judaism and Disability, wrote: Perhaps Daniel Boyarin puts it best. Though he speaks of attitudes towards sexuality, his words are easily extended to refer to disabilities and disabled persons: My assumption is that we cannot change the actual past. We can only change the present and future; yet this involves changing our understanding of the past. Unless the past is experienced merely as a burden to be thrown off then constructing a monolithically negative perception of the past and cultivating anger at it seem to be counterproductive and disempowering for change.

We dont teach Torah by canceling or avoiding portions we do not like. Rabbi David Hartman taught, The living word of God can be mediated through the application of human reason.

Read more from the original source:

EMOR: We cannot teach Torah by avoiding portions we don't like J. - The Jewish News of Northern California

Category: Rabbi | Comments Off on EMOR: We cannot teach Torah by avoiding portions we don’t like J. – The Jewish News of Northern California
Tags:

Posted By admin on May 14, 2022

About Anger, Hate, Revenge, and Capital Punishment

Ive written against the death penalty over and over again, both from the perspective of Jewish Law and from a psychological perspective. I hate to repeat myself, but I must address the subject, now one of Americas most famous rabbis has raised the issue and has written a book on Kosher Hate.

In short: hes almost completely mistaken.

Rabbi Boteach started out very nicely outside of the box. Being Gay was not against the Torahhow could what you ARE be a sin? He did suggest that Gay-Jewish men should marry Jewish women because they will make such nice husbands and fathers, and otherwise, so many Jewish women would numerically be forced to stay single, but hey, no one is perfect.

He stressed that sex is a positive thing in Judaism, and charmed many Gentiles, even on television, with the wisdom of the Sages and the Rabbis about sex and about relationships. He did a lot of good work. Past tense.

His friend Michael Jackson, suspected (and then confirmed) as a serial pedophile, he advised marrying a woman. He never apologized for that.

Lately, hes really on a slippery slope. He started an election campaign as a Republican. He wasnt elected but, in the process, wrote a lot of unwarranted apologetics for right-wing political deceit. He did write that the GOP should rid itself of its anti-sexuality campaigns: anti-abortion, anti-Gay, anti-marriage equality, etc. It would just go downhill from there.

Boteach chose to debate Evangelicals. I warned that he would lose doing so, and so would all Jews. He went anyway. He flattered them and got nowhere. He didnt castigate them, in the stern fashion that Christians got used to over the ages, about Antisemitism in the churches, and their missionary assault and dreams on the Jews, etc. He had to be lovely.

He wrote a book Kosher Jesus. It has a 15-chapter section: Why the Jews Cannot Accept Jesus, instead of: Why Jews Have no Need for Jesus.

It didnt stop there. He then started campaigning against the fake turning the other cheek and loving ones enemy. He was right that that advice was unfit for humans and that the Christian bloodbath through the ages proved that. But, that doesnt mean that hating is holy and anger is redemptive.

Yes, there is a place for anger and hatein therapy. But, funerals of Jewish-Israeli victims of local Antisemitism are so uplifting because people cry, praise the murdered, and praise G^d. While, funerals of (would-be) terrorists are often marred by screams and threats of hatred and revenge. If one needs to die, its so much better to die a victim than a victimizer. Its so easy and primitive to hate, so elevated and elevating to focus on life.

The good rabbi didnt stop there. Today, he wrote he wants the death penalty for terrorists who murdered Jews in Israel, claiming that is Jewish.

Hes so off the derech (Jewish way). First of all, this is assimilation to the worst of the culture surrounding him. One of the ways the US is backward (besides a lack of universal health care) is capital punishment. All of the trial, incarceration (often for decades), and execution procedures are nothing Jewish Law could agree with. Its plain, stupid, hate-filled revenge and cruelty. Trying to prove the value of human life by killing humans.

On a side note, why does he reserve the word innocent for Jews? Are there no innocent Muslims? He sees The conflicting value systems of the two opposing camps. That is so reminiscent of Christian Dualism (not Monotheism): Evil against Good. The Talmud explains: Theres no sinning but in an attack of folly. Had you thought about it some longer, youd not have done it. There are no inherently evil people. If their nature was bad, theyd be innocent. His anger betrays he thinks they do have free will.

This is on top of Christians saying for 2,000 years that they have God and the Testament of love and Jews have the Testament and God of hatred. International press agencies always call Israels deterrence: revenge.

No terrorist who takes that many lives should be permitted to live. Does He still believe in G^d? Why do we say: May G^d revenge their blood?

He is right that Judaism allows for some revenge and feeling of vengeance but only in very limited fashion (compare the avenger of blood). So, we can find Hebrew Bible verses and Rabbinic comments about revenge, but they pale in comparison to G^ds Advice to forgo this. They were highlighted by father and son Kahane, may G^d revenge their blood. But they almost became a caricature when ignoring the multitude of texts preaching peace.

The summary of the Hebrew Bible is: Dont do unto others which you dont want others to do to you. All the Rabbis agree that An eye for an eye means we must financially compensate, not permission to take revenge.

When we must hurt of stop others, doing so angerly makes it a very grave sin (Jacob protecting Dinah against Esav, Shimon and Levi in Shechem, Shimon and Joseph). Not everyone is as calm and holy as Phinehas.Life in jail stands for: unacceptable deeds AND one can always repent.

The Talmud says that a Rabbinic Court that awards the death penalty more than once in 7 years is a bunch of murderers. Some say: once in 70 years! Here, we sometimes have multiple antisemitic murderers per day.

Besides that, research shows that the death penalty doesnt deter. Plus, in this case, its especially meaningless. These Jew-hating Muslims are not afraid to die. What use is to kill or promise to kill them? House demolitions and withdrawing entry permits of close family somewhat seem to work.

And, is he willing to kill them, or is the dirty work for someone else?

His rationalization for his revenge is that mass murderers who rot in jail could become bargaining chips for hostage-takers. Too easy! Does the rabbi have a donor card to facilitate becoming an organ donor after death? He could add another one, that he doesnt want to be exchanged for any murderer and the like if taken captive. I have. Jonathan Pollard did.

He must do some serious soul searching, including asking his best friends how he got into this assimilated mess. And, consult a real therapist.

But possibly the worst thing he wrote today was about others like Eichmann. You got to be kidding. He must ask forgiveness for this false Holocaust comparison. Even Arafat could not stand in the shadow of Eichmann.

But, I cant recall he ever said he was wrong, Im not holding my breath. Sad. Let him prove me wrong. Reb Shlomo always said: You never know.

MM is a prolific and creative writer and thinker, previously a daily blog contributor to the TOI. He often makes his readers laugh, mad, or assume he's nutsclose to perfect blogging. As a frontier thinker, he sees things many don't yet. He's half a prophet. Half. Let's not exaggerate. He doesn't believe that people observe and think in a vacuum. He, therefore, wanted a broad bio that readers interested can track a bit what (lack of) backgrounds, experiences, and educations contribute to his visions. * This year, he will prioritize getting his unpublished books published rather than just blog posts. Next year, he hopes to focus on activism against human extinction. To find less-recent posts on a subject XXX among his over 1500 archived ones, go to the right-top corner of a Times of Israel page, click on the search icon and search "zuiden, XXX". One can find a second, wilder blog, to which one may subscribe, here: https://mmvanzuiden.wordpress.com/ or by clicking on the globe icon next to his picture on top. * Like most of his readers, he believes in being friendly, respectful, and loyal. However, if you think those are his absolute top priorities, you might end up disappointed. His first loyalty is to the truth. He will try to stay within the limits of democratic and Jewish law, but he won't lie to support opinions or people when don't deserve that. (Yet, we all make honest mistakes, which is just fine and does not justify losing support.) He admits that he sometimes exaggerates to make a point, which could have him come across as nasty, while in actuality, he's quite a lovely person to interact with. He holds - how Dutch - that a strong opinion doesn't imply intolerance of other views. * Sometimes he's misunderstood because his wide and diverse field of vision seldomly fits any specialist's box. But that's exactly what some love about him. He has written a lot about Psychology (including Sexuality and Abuse), Medicine (including physical immortality), Science (including basic statistics), Politics (Israel, the US, and the Netherlands, Activism - more than leftwing or rightwing, he hopes to highlight reality), Oppression and Liberation (intersectionally, for young people, the elderly, non-Whites, women, workers, Jews, LGBTQIA+, foreigners and anyone else who's dehumanized or exploited), Integrity, Philosophy, Jews (Judaism, Zionism, Holocaust and Jewish Liberation), the Climate Crisis, Ecology and Veganism, Affairs from the news, or the Torah Portion of the Week, or new insights that suddenly befell him. * Chronologically, his most influential teachers are his parents, Nico (natan) van Zuiden and Betty (beisye) Nieweg, Wim Kan, Mozart, Harvey Jackins, Marshal Rosenberg, Reb Shlomo Carlebach, and, lehavdil bein chayim lechayim, Rabbi Dr. Natan Lopes Cardozo, Rav Zev Leff, and Rav Meir Lubin. This short list doesn't mean to disrespect others who taught him a lot or a little. * He hopes that his words will inspire and inform, and disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. He aims to bring a fresh perspective rather than harp on the obvious and familiar. When he can, he loves to write encyclopedic overviews. He doesn't expect his readers to agree. Rather, original minds should be disputed. In short, his main political positions are among others: anti-Trumpism, for Zionism, Intersectionality, non-violence, anti those who abuse democratic liberties, anti the fake ME peace process, for original-Orthodoxy, pro-Science, pro-Free Will, anti-blaming-the-victim, and for down-to-earth, classical optimism, and happiness. Read his blog on how he attempts to bridge any tensions between those ideas or fields. * He is a fetal survivor of the pharmaceutical industry (https://diethylstilbestrol.co.uk/studies/des-and-psychological-health/), born in 1953 to his parents who were Dutch-Jewish Holocaust survivors who met in the largest concentration camp in the Netherlands, Westerbork. He grew up a humble listener. It took him decades to become a speaker too, and decades more to admit to being a genius. But his humility was his to keep. And so was his honesty. Bullies and con artists almost instantaneously envy and hate him. He hopes to bring new things and not just preach to the choir. * He holds a BA in medicine (University of Amsterdam) is half a doctor. He practices Re-evaluation Co-counseling since 1977, is not an official teacher anymore, and became a friendly, powerful therapist. He became a social activist, became religious, made Aliyah, and raised three wonderful kids. Previously, for decades, he was known to the Jerusalem Post readers as a frequent letter writer. For a couple of years, he was active in hasbara to the Dutch-speaking public. He wrote an unpublished tome about Jewish Free Will. He's a strict vegan since 2008. He's an Orthodox Jew but not a rabbi. * His writing has been made possible by an allowance for second-generation Holocaust survivors from the Netherlands. It has been his dream since he was 38 to try to make a difference by teaching through writing. He had three times 9-out-of-10 for Dutch at his high school finals but is spending his days communicating in English and Hebrew - how ironic. G-d must have a fine sense of humor. In case you wonder - yes, he is a bit dyslectic. If you're a native English speaker and wonder why you should read from people whose English is only their second language, consider the advantage of having an original peek outside of your cultural bubble. * To send any personal reaction to him, scroll to the top of the blog post and click Contact Me.

Go here to see the original:

No, Rabbi Boteach, the death penalty is barbarian, and hate is idolatry and dumb - The Times of Israel

Category: Rabbi | Comments Off on No, Rabbi Boteach, the death penalty is barbarian, and hate is idolatry and dumb – The Times of Israel
Tags:

Posted By admin on May 14, 2022

Ronald Gerson| Columnist

In the next few columns, I am going to reflect on some important anniversaries that are marking fifty years, going back to 1972.

For Jews and all people who value liberty and decency, Sept.5 and 6, 1972, represent an absolutely horrible day.

The setting, as you may recall, was the Olympic Games in Munich, Germany.In what is supposed to be an occasion of sportsmanship and goodwill, the Black September Palestinian terrorist group took Israeli athletes hostage. Theykilled six Israeli coaches and five athletes. In 2005, this was documented in the popular movie, "Munich."

(On a personal note, this happened a few days before our High Holy Day of Rosh Hashanah, the NewYear.As a Rabbinic student, I was about to preach my very first holy day sermon in the Staunton, Virginia, synagogue.Can you imagine a young twenty-five-year-old faced with preaching on a subject such as this?)

More from Rabbi Ronald Gerson: The scourge of antisemitism is growing: be mindful of your words

What was the overall purpose of the Black September massacre?It was their violent expression, that Jews should not be allowed to live in the free state of Israel.But, obviously,seeing the vibrant free country of Israel today, they failed miserably.

So, in light of this, fast forward to now,the Russian onslaught upon Ukraine which has been going on for weeks.WhateverVladimir Putin says - his political rationalizations about the invasion - this is, again, the denial of a people's freedom, the brutal idea that Ukraine should not be a sovereign, free country.And, needless to say, President Zelenskyy and his people are fighting valiantly for that freedom.

The common nature of these two events - fifty years apart - the attack upon a people's liberty... There is something very horrible about it, beyond the daily news flashes.

Human freedom is more than an event - it is a divine imperative.It is the condition that God wants for human beings.In the Biblical book of Genesis at creation, we read:"And God said, "Let us make man (and woman) in our image" (Genesis 1: 26). Man and woman cannot be God, but, in His image, likeGod, they have free will.To take that away is to take away a God-given right.It is to deny God Himself.That is what Black September was attempting, and this is what Putin is attempting.

More from Rabbi Ronald Gerson: Being content with sufficiency in this season of scarcity

It is interesting how Americans continue to look back with great pride at our struggle to win World War II.It has become known as the "Good War."For this was a fight to save freedom for people around the world.To preserve the divine ideal of freedom.As President Franklin Roosevelt voiced in his 1944 State of the Union address, it was a "sacred obligation."

In the end, I believe that Ukraine will sustain itself.Because freedom is God's will, much stronger than brutality.This is the enduring message of Munich, fifty years ago.

Read more from the original source:

How the Munich Massacre relates to Russia's invasion of Ukraine - Online Athens

Category: Rabbi | Comments Off on How the Munich Massacre relates to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – Online Athens
Tags: