Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on February 21, 2022

Last week, a firestorm erupted when MK Bezalel Smotrich set foot on British soil. Smotrich, who heads the Religious Zionist party affiliated with the ultra-Orthodox side of the national-religious sector in Israel, is known for his extremist views on various issues such as the attitude toward the Arab minority in Israel and the LGBT community, and Judaism and State issues. British Jewish organizations issued strong messages disavowing MK Smotrich for his well-known positions.

Why did MK Smotrich decide to visit Britain and France? Deviating from his habit of not flying abroad much, he released a statement before the trip claiming that he had in mind pressing changes in issues concerning the entire Jewish people, and in particular the issue of conversion. He was referring, of course, to the conversion bill proposed by Minister of Religious Affairs Matan Kahana, a bill based on principles agreed on in the coalition agreements. Smotrichs statement further notes that conversion is not only an internal Israeli matter but one that concerns the entire Jewish world and therefore changes in it must be made through dialogue and joint thinking with Diaspora Jewry.

Smotrich is right. When dealing with the question of who can convert, we open the sensitive question, Who is a Jew? Or rather, who can determine who is a Jew? Who sets the boundaries of this definition, at least in Israel? But even if it is ultimately a bill that mainly concerns the citizens of Israel, it is not possible to relegate such an issue to internal Israeli debate, since it has implications for the entire Jewish people.

But before we get to the implications, we should first explain a little about what the bill proposes. Israel currently has no conversion law. Despite this, government decisions and various High Court rulings stipulate that conversion to Judaism in Israel is subject, as are many religious issues, to one centralizing body, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. The administrative body that handles the conversion process operates under the Prime Ministers Office and not under the Ministry of Religious Affairs, but is still guided by the Chief Rabbi. In its current form, the conversion system does not allow for many conversions. Therefore, many Israeli citizens who are not considered Jews according to the rabbinate but immigrated under the Law of Return, about 460,000 people, are not recognized as Jews by the Israeli government.

RELATED: Chief rabbis lead rally urging religious affairs minister to scrap his reforms

The new bill proposes to expand conversion options. Instead of a small number of conversion, rabbinical courts that usually follow strict halakhic approaches, the new bill proposes to allow local rabbis to establish their own conversion courts. This will ensure that rabbis who adopt more inclusive halakhic approaches, which are currently excluded from the conversion process of the State of Israel, will be able to officially convert and accept those who wish to join the Jewish people. In Israel, conversion is not only a matter of belonging to a people, but it also has legal implications. Religious conversion in Israel requires the rabbinate to recognize the Judaism of the convert and allow her to marry, divorce and be buried as a Jew.

So how does this bill affect Diaspora Jews? As stated, the bill deals mainly with the conversion of Israeli citizens and hardly touches the conversion of foreign nationals. However, it will for the first time regulate how conversion takes place in Israel. Therefore, for the first time, the bill would also regulate how foreign nationals, including Diaspora Jews, can undergo a conversion process in Israel. In addition, anyone who lives outside of Israel but is entitled to immigrate to Israel under the Law of Return and is not considered a Jew according to Halacha that is, someone who only has a Jewish father, grandfather or grandmother, will at some point be able to enjoy more options for joining the Jewish people.

The bill also affects the status of non-Orthodox converts. Although one of the agreements within the current coalition is that the expansion of conversion options will remain within Orthodoxy, at the same time there is an understanding and agreement that the achievements of the non-Orthodox movements obtained through petitions to the High Court will remain intact. The most recent of these achievements is the ruling of the Supreme Court about a year ago that first recognized non-Orthodox conversions that took place in Israel as being covered by the Law of Return. In the proposed bill, this ruling and others will not be reversed, unlike previous proposed conversion legislation.

Finally, any law passed in Israel that directly concerns the question of the boundaries of the Jewish people greatly affects the status of those who set these boundaries in the Diaspora as well. Conversion courts in the Diaspora that havent been recognized before will be able to request recognition after the law is passed. In many countries, there is only one conversion court recognized by Israels Chief Rabbinate, and those monopolies will likely be contested if the proposed bill were to pass.

The question of who can convert to Judaism directly relates to the question of Who is a Jew? which deserves to be discussed in dialogue with and in consideration of the variety of voices and views that exist among the Jewish people. It is therefore for the best that Bezalel Smotrich travels to consult with who he considers leaders in the Diaspora, and the Israeli government and the Knesset members backing the proposed bill should make sure that all facets of the Jewish people have a say in the matter.

Tani Frank is the Director of the Judaism and State Policy Center (JSPC) at the Shalom Hartman Institute.

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What Smotrich got right: The Conversion Bill and Diaspora Jewry - The Times of Israel

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Posted By admin on February 21, 2022

The Israel Advocacy Forces are in overdrive. The talkbacks are humming with experts ready and willing to attack any criticisms of Israel, especially accusations of apartheid, with an arsenal of facts and figures proving the injustice and spuriousness of the allegations: the critics of Israel are antisemitic, applying double standards; they ignore context and lack nuance; fail to take into account the decades of peace overtures on the part of Israel and their rejection by the hands of Palestinians, and so on.

These efforts have borne fruit as every one of our North American and European political allies has rejected Amnesty Internationals preposterous accusations. Yet we are still losing the next generation of young American Jews, as powerfully modeled by Sophie Balmagiya in her blog post, Dear Israel: End the Occupation or Force A Generation of Jews to Abandon Zionism. Indeed, its actually the talkback armys fact-based defense and antisemitism allegations that are turning them away. These messages are working with the pro-Israel untroubled committed, but they are alienating the pro-Israel troubled committed and pushing them into the camp of the uncommitted.

Increasingly, the response to Sophie and her fellow progressives is to simply dismiss them. They are leaving anyway through assimilation. Sophie is not a good Jew, so who cares?

I care. I care because if the Jewish people separate from each other, the foundation of Judaism and the Jewish people is undermined. I care because I care for every Jew and want them to love Judaism and Israel and be inspired by them.

We all need to engage Sophie and her generation. The challenge is how.

Like Jews of all ages, some are not blessed with an abundance of Jewish and Zionist knowledge, but this deficiency is neither the source of their angst nor the antidote to their troubledness. The untroubled committed defenders of Israel fail to internalize the fact that the source for Sophies distress is Israels current policies and not a lack of knowledge or commitment.

She is troubled because Israel is no longer acting as if the Occupation is a temporary condition, to be tolerated until peace becomes possible. Instead, Israel is talking about annexation and creating facts on the ground through settlement building and expansion, which are making it impossible to end the Occupation. The fact that Israel offered peace and a two-state solution in Oslo and its aftermath, and the Palestinians said no does not justify Israels failure to initiate a single peace plan since 2005. Israel should be presenting its plans for peace again and again and again. It is also true that things are complicated, but the complexity defense does not justify a litany of occupation power abuses unrelated to Israels legitimate security concerns.

If we care about the next generation of Jews and their relationship with Israel and we should care we need to talk differently. Let me try.

Hi Sophie,

Thank you so much for writing. I need to begin with an apology. My generation, whose hopes were shattered by the demise of the Oslo Accords two decades ago, has been in a PTSD fog for too long. We tasted the end of the conflict and dared to believe that our children would have a new and better future. We have been too slow in getting over our deep sense of mourning and loss. As a result, we have spent much of the last two decades angry: blaming the Palestinians for saying no, and defending Israel from any critic who dared to blame us for the situation.

While protecting Israel from those who would not admit to how complicated the conflict was, we essentially stopped pursuing peace; stopped thinking about Palestinian rights; stopped envisioning a different future, and failed to put in place policies that could make it possible. We failed you, and are bequeathing to you a Zionism with which you cannot engage. The problem is not that you failed Judaism 101 or Zionism 101, but that you rightfully care about the essential Jewish values of justice, kindness, and equality. That you believe that all human beings, created in the image of God, are deserving of respect and care. That you rightly believe that if the Jewish people have a right to sovereignty, so should the Palestinians.

Many tell me its too late. They argue that progressive forces in America aligned against Israel and Jewish white power, now control you, and we cannot combat that large cultural trend. But you chose to write. You reached out. You have proven that it is not too late even for someone who has spent more time in churches than in synagogues.

I deeply apologize for the current state of affairs which I have helped to preserve, but apologizing is not enough. Are you willing to work together? Can we forge a new partnership in building the Israel that the Jewish people deserve? An Israel that is not merely marketable to your generation, but an Israel worthy of our people, our values and our mission? Yes, an Israel that works tirelessly to end the Occupation?

The Zionism that I grew up with, which entered my soul and inspired me, was founded on a simple core value Justice. Justice for our people and justice for any and everyone who lives in or is within the sphere of Israels control. I am a Zionist because I believe that the Jewish people have a right to our own home. A right to the independence, peace and security afforded to other people and nations in the western world. At the same time, what is hateful unto you do not do to others. I cannot claim justice for my people without demanding and pursuing it for the Palestinian people.

We have allowed Zionism to stray from its core moral foundations, its reason detre. Lets reclaim our purpose and work together to implement it.

One last word, which I hope you do not find paternalistic. One of the most painful lessons that I learned post-Oslo, is that we can do many things right and at the same time fail. We can work to establish justice as the cornerstone of Zionism, engage Israeli partners and advocate for policies that will bring the Occupation to an end, and still fail if the Palestinians do not reciprocate. At times, reality is indeed complicated.

You havent experienced an Oslo-like failure. The reason, however, is that you have grown up with an Israel that has stopped trying. So lets embark on this journey together knowing that there is no certainty as to the outcome. As our tradition has taught, it is not for one to complete every task, but neither is one free from trying. We need to know that we have done everything that we can, and at times that has to be enough

Thank you for loving Israel and for hopefully giving my generation another chance.

Sincerely yours

Donniel Hartman

Rabbi Dr. Donniel Hartman is the president of the Shalom Hartman Institute and the author of 'Putting God Second: How to Save Religion' from Itself. Together with Yossi Klein Halevi and Elana Stein Hain, he co-hosts the 'For Heavens Sake' podcast. Donniel is the founder of some of the most extensive education, training and enrichment programs for scholars, educators, rabbis, and religious and lay leaders in Israel and North America. He is a prominent essayist, blogger and lecturer on issues of Israeli politics, policy, Judaism, and the Jewish community. He has a PhD in Jewish philosophy from Hebrew University, an MA in political philosophy from New York University, an MA in religion from Temple University, and rabbinic ordination from the Shalom Hartman Institute.

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Dear Sophie, Israel has failed you | Donniel Hartman | The Blogs - The Times of Israel

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Posted By admin on February 21, 2022

The University of Michigans University Musical Society will present a world premiere this weekend with a concert performance of Fiddler on the Roof. It features John Williams orchestral arrangement of the 1971 film score, which is being done live for the first time.

Broadway performers Chuck Cooper and Loretta Ables Sayre star alongside U-M musical theaterstudents in the performance, and the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra will accompany the singers. Next month, the showwill travel to Philadelphia, where the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra will provide backing.

Jerry Bock and Joseph Stein wrote the music for "Fiddler," a1964 Broadway smash, andlegendary Star Wars composer Williams, who turned 90 this month, was hired to expand the musical arrangements from pit orchestra to full orchestra for the film version. However, many of the parts were lost after the film score was recorded, so Williams work never received a live performance. Hisscore was painstakingly replicated under his watch and advisement for the Ann Arbor show.

Sarna Lapine (who directed the 2017 Broadway revival of Sunday in the Park with George) serves as director for the U-M production with Alison Solomon choreographing. Music direction and conducting duties are being handled by Andy Einhorn.

The thing about 'Fiddler' when you think about it is it's a very universal story, said Einhorn. It really deals with a very, very simple theme, which is family and tradition. I think it's a truly exciting moment to be able to premiere the John Williams orchestrations. And I think that people are going to be in for a treat to hear a show that they think they know, but be asked to listen to it in a very different context. And having the orchestra onstage will allow an audience to really feel the thrum of the music.

Also, he said, we're featuring a cast that's incredibly racially diverse. And I think that's important also because the story is one of identity in one's homeland, and thats such a prescient topic right now for the world we're living in. It's happening right before our eyes, in terms of immigration, in terms of antisemitism. 'Fiddler on the Roof' could not be more timely. But it reminds us that even in times of hardship, there are small miracles.

U-M senior Ella Olesen, who plays eldest daughter Tzeitel, glowed with enthusiasm when she spoke about the production and its creative team.

Theyre brilliant, she said. I find myself writing down everything they say, every single night. Theyre fountains of wisdom, Sarna and Andy. And Chuck Cooper, who plays Tevye I was almost taken aback at how good he is at reacting to whatever Im doing. I dont have to trybecause hes giving me everything I need. Its a lot more professional than Im used to, and its wonderful. Its been a really great lesson.

Zeev Barmor, who plays Mendel, is one of three Jewish cast members in the show. Hefound a powerful connection to his spirituality during the production process.

We brought in rabbis and professors in Judaic studies to talk about American Judaism and Eastern European Judaism, as (the shows) community is situated in very specific circumstances, with very specific customs and cultures. And even though I'm Jewishand someone whose background is from this culture, it was still a learning environment where I was taking a lot away.

At first, he continued, I was nervous about it because I havent been able to share my Judaism in such a very explicit way before. Relearning and reconnecting with my own faith has been a very heartwarming and empowering experience.

Einhorn described the process of working with the cast as joyful.

For me, I love any circumstance where teaching is a part of what we do. I think as a conductor, were always teaching in some capacity because its naturally a leadership job. But theres something really spectacular about working with the students here at the University of Michigan, which is arguably one of the best musical theater programs in the country.

Contact Free Press arts and culture reporter Duante Beddingfield at dbeddingfield@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @DBFreePress.

Featuring the orchestrations of John Williams

8 p.m. Sat., 4 p.m. Sun.

Hill Auditorium, University of Michigan

825 N. University Ave., Ann Arbor

734-764-2538 or ums.org

$14 and up

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This weekend's U-M production of 'Fiddler on the Roof' will be like nothing heard before - Detroit Free Press

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Posted By admin on February 21, 2022

Israels High Court of Justice will hear arguments on Wednesday seeking state funding for the circumcision of all converts. The costly procedure is currently free for Orthodox converts but not for those seeking Reform or Conservative paths to Judaism.

Meanwhile, here in the United States, at least a few Jewish hopefuls are seeking to join the tribe without undergoing circumcision.

Circumcision doesnt make one Jewish. Indeed, anyone born of Jewish parents is considered to belong to the Jewish people without further acts. This has been an important take-home message for the growing number of Jewish people who are rejecting circumcision for their newborns.

Since launching Bruchim in October, our organization has fielded hundreds of reach-outs from non-circumcising Jews across the globe. Bruchim is the first and only nonprofit whose mission is to foster the open welcome and inclusion of non-circumcising Jews in Jewish spaces of all kinds, from synagogues to summer camps and Jewish Community Centers.

Questions Abound

For parents of uncircumcised Jewish children, questions abound. Where can we find a rabbi to officiate at a birth ceremony for our child who wont be circumcised? Will a specific synagogue bar mitzvah my child who lacks circumcision? Should we attempt to keep our childs circumcision status secret or let the school/camp/synagogue know? Might my child be asked to leave a Jewish space if its discovered hes intact? These are the kinds of questions we expected when we launched Bruchim and weve gotten them in spades.

The questions and concerns come in through our concierge service, our general email, and in response to a questionnaire thats been available on Bruchims website. So far that questionnaire has generated more than 100 responses from Jewish people including a number of progressive rabbis who say they dont follow or support the circumcision tradition. But were also getting queries we didnt anticipate, many of which are related to conversion.

According to traditional Jewish law, male converts are required to undergo brit milah or, if the person is already circumcised, hatafat dam brit the ritual extraction of a drop of blood from the penis. Yet some men dont want to be subjected to a ritual that changes, or even interacts with, their genitals. Some parents of converting minors feel the same.

Different Circumstances, Similar Concern

Just in the past few weeks, Bruchim has heard from an older gentleman on the East Coast of the US who studied for conversion at a Conservative shul and now, faced with the mandate of an adult circumcision, is looking for a way to both become Jewish and avoid a late-in-life surgery. Theres a young man in South America who has been turned down for conversion by even the most progressive rabbis there unless he gets circumcised. Hes now seeking an online rabbi somewhere anywhere who will sponsor his conversion absent circumcision. And theres a prospective mother who opposes circumcision. She isnt Jewish, but her husband is, and worries their future children will have to convert (and be circumcised) to be welcomed by her husbands traditional synagogue, which only recognizes matrilineal descent.

Conversion without brit milah or hatafat dam brit is complicated. Orthodox and Conservative rabbis almost universally take a strict approach, which likely has the practical effect of discouraging conversion by those born male. In a sense, the conversion of women is more important to these branches anyway, because they dont recognize patrilineal descent. For Jewish men who plan to marry and have children with non-Jewish women, conversion is the only path by which their future children will be recognized as Jews in traditional settings: either the woman must convert prior to having children, or the child must convert.

Progressive branches of Judaism do have paths for conversion without brit milah or hatafat dam brit but these paths can be difficult to find. Much depends on securing both a willing rabbi and a Jewish community thats open to welcoming an uncircumcised congregant.

Differing Approaches

The Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association (RRA) of the United States endorses brit milah as a possible ritual for conversion, but gives its rabbis freedom in deciding what to require. The RRA doesnt question the validity of conversion without brit milah, and its rabbis have officiated at many conversion ceremonies of adults where interaction with the genitals doesnt occur.

The Reform movement, like the Reconstructionist, leaves the decision to individual rabbis. A Reform rabbi in the Western part of the United States whom we reached out to on behalf of a potential congregant told us if a man seeking conversion wants it recognized by the Conservative movement, circumcision is required. If it does not matter to the person converting, this rabbi convenes a Reform beit din (rabbinical court) as opposed to a joint beit din with Conservative colleagues.

Humanistic rabbis (who are non-theistic) dont require any rituals. However the affirmations of belonging they may perform for those wishing to join the Jewish people are limited in their acceptance.

Still, its not as simple as finding a willing rabbi. The young man in South America, for example, may be able to work remotely with a progressive rabbi in the US but in order for that rabbi to sponsor his conversion that man will likely need to be affiliated with an inclusive Jewish community in which to participate and experience communal Jewish practice. And that could be a more difficult hurdle.

While the ethical calculus of an adult circumcision will always be different from that of a minor child, Bruchim is committed to the open welcome and inclusion of all Jews who arent (or dont wish to be) circumcised. This mission includes helping those studying for conversion to find welcoming Jewish spaces where circumcision status isnt a barrier to full involvement.

Rebecca Wald, J.D. has been advocating for circumcision choice in Jewish life for more than 15 years. She is the Executive Director of Bruchim. She is also the founder of Beyond the Bris, a widely profiled Jewish voices website for those questioning circumcision. She is also co-author of the ritual guide "Celebrating Brit Shalom" a book of ceremonies for those choosing not to circumcise. Rebecca graduated with honors in English from The George Washington University, and received her J.D. from Brooklyn Law School, where she served on the editorial board of the Brooklyn Law Review.

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Circumcision doesn't make someone Jewish | Rebecca Wald | The Blogs - The Times of Israel

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Posted By admin on February 21, 2022

Chazakah is a fascinating concept in Judaism. This word, with its roots in the Hebrew word for strength, has many halachic applications of which perhaps the best known relates to an action repeated three times. Following tri-fold repetition, an act becomes a chazakah, setting a precedent.

In this vein, I am honoured to write the third op-ed on behalf of the Rabbinical Council of Victoria in relation to ShabbaTTogether. February 18-19 will see a global event taking place in over 800 communities across five continents highlighting mental health and disability inclusion. ShabbaTTogether takes place in February in conjunction with Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month (JDAIM).

Considering that this is the third time the Rabbinical Council of Victoria is highlighting this wonderful initiative, I hope that it will no longer just remain a theoretical concept. All of us should now embrace this as a precedent, a way of life, and a mindset. A commitment to inclusion should not be limited to a specific weekend or a particular project, rather it should be a chazakah, rooted in our convictions and commitment to lead our lives this way.

Listening to those you wish to include is one of the key ingredients needed when it comes to being inclusive of others.

This years ShabbaTTogether theme, Being inclusive begins with listening, is a theme which is so crucial to inclusivity.

In the main online event, called One Thing I Wish You Knew, participants from across the mental health and disability communities will be invited to share their journeys, struggles, and personal experiences while offering words of hope, change, and empowerment in their communities.

We can learn if we listen. By learning, we can make real and lasting changes.

It does however require active listening. Active listening is a concept that is used in a variety of contexts, including counselling. Listeners must concentrate, comprehend, respond, and then remember what has been said.

According to the Kotzker Rebbe, we can absorb what we hear on three levels. The first is when we simply hear what has been said. The second is when it touches our hearts. The third is when it affects our soul.

We live in a world filled with so much noise and distraction that sometimes I think that that which is said doesnt even reach our ears. We dont pay attention to what the speaker is saying, and he or she might as well be talking to a wall. When we only hear our own voice the entire time, we cant make any significant or worthwhile changes. The questions are often not even asked.

I think it was particularly fortunate for our country that Dylan Alcott was honoured as Australian of the Year for 2022. Dylan embodies the idea of breaking stigma, allowing everyone to feel and know that they have a place and a purpose.

He also inspired us to listen and to ask! He said that people were often scared to ask a question to someone with a disability , which he explained is just the wrong way to go about it. People need to ask questions and listen to answers.

When a person or community organisation wishes to create a space for individuals with mental health conditions or disabilities, we should open our ears and allow their words, their ideas, and their experience to open our hearts and souls.

The first step to reaching any of the three levels mentioned by Kotzker is to respect and care for the other person. When you listen to what they have to say with genuine interest, you will be much more attentive.

You might be surprised at what you learn about that person and yourself if you listen carefully.

So, this year, let us open our minds and hearts and encourage diverse perspectives. Let us listen attentively and actively to discussions about how we can come together as a community to create an environment where everyone feels valued. Ultimately, we are all created in Gods image. That is what truly defines us as human beings. No doubt, together we can create systemic change, Together we can make this a chazakah!

Daniel Rabin is senior rabbi of Caulfield Hebrew Congregation and past president of the Rabbinical Council of Victoria.

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ShabbaTTogether time to hear the message - Australian Jewish News

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Posted By admin on February 21, 2022

A page of Talmud. Photo: Chajm Guski/Wikimedia

Recently, a new translation of the Jerusalem Talmud was made available on Sefaria, the free access web interactive platform for Jewish texts that was established a little over 10 years ago. The Babylonian Talmud, including Modern Hebrew and English translations by Rabbi Adin Steinsalz, was placed on Sefaria in 2017.

The Babylonian Talmud, which is substantially larger than the Jerusalem Talmud, has been the Talmud of choice. The worldwide sequential one-page-a-day Daf Yomi study of the Talmud, initiated in 1923, which takes place over a seven-and-a-half year cycle (the last cycle involved 350,000 participants), uses the Babylonian Talmud.

The Jerusalem Talmud often gets overlooked, in part because it was not as well edited as the Babylonian Talmud, but also because it focuses on issues related to life in what was then called Palestine, the place where it was written. While the commentaries in the Babylonian Talmud are extensive and far reaching, the Jerusalem Talmud is a terser document.

The Talmud, a compendium of Jewish law (Mishnah) and commentaries (Gemara), was written early in the Common Era. The Jerusalem Talmud (the Yerushalmi) was compiled roughly between the 3rd and 4th centuries, after two Jewish revolts (67 and 137 CE) against the Romans. While written in the Holy Land, it was not written in Jerusalem, but further north, primarily in Tiberius, Sepphoris (Tzipori), and Caesarea, the centers of Jewish life after the destruction of Jerusalem.

February 20, 2022 8:34 am

The Babylonian Talmud (the Bavli) was written in Babylon (modern day Iraq) in various Jewish academies the most prominent of which were Sura and Pumbedita. It was mainly written during the 4th and 5th centuries, but editing continued into the 10th century.

Because of their size (the larger one, the Babylonian Talmud, is made up of 2,711 double sided folios containing 63 tractates, or treatises), and the fact that both editions are written in ancient Aramaic, Talmud scholars have, until recent times, been a somewhat select group.

Emanuel Deutsch published the first English description of the Talmud, its history, and what it contains, in the Quarterly Review in 1867. The first English translation of a tractate of the Babylonian Talmud was published in 1891. Print editions of the Talmud in modern Hebrew and in English have been available for a while, but placing them on the Sefaria platform has made them available to a much wider audience.

So, why two Talmuds?

I think the existence of the two Talmuds reflects the major historical transition that took place when the center of Jewish life shifted from Israel to the Diaspora.

The shift was gradual, taking place over five to six hundred years. The Jewish population in Israel did not just disappear after the 67 CE and 137 CE revolts. True, the population center moved from Jerusalem to the Galilee; but Jews continued to constitute a majority of the population of the Holy Land until at least the 6th century. An autonomous Jewish Patriarchate was allowed to exist until 425 CE, and dozens of new synagogues were built throughout the land during this time. The Beit Alpha synagogue, noted for its elaborate mosaic floor, was built in the 6th century, while the extensive ruins at Tzipori (Sepphoris) are in keeping with a large and active Jewish community.

Today we appear to be going through a transition in the opposite direction. A significant number of the Jewish population now lives in Israel, and the higher Israeli birth rate (for secular and religious Jews), as well as continued aliyah, means that this difference will increase. At the same time, Israel has become a vibrant center in all aspects of Jewish life, including Judaic studies. The Diaspora wont disappear, but its influence in Jewish affairs will likely diminish.

Jacob Sivak, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, is a retired professor, School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of Waterloo.

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Why Are There Two Talmuds? The Answer: The Diaspora - Algemeiner

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Posted By admin on February 21, 2022

Lets start with a few scoops

Kehoe Gets Police Endorsement for 2024

Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe secured another major endorsement for his 2024 campaign for governor. This one is from the Missouri Fraternal Order of Police. The announcement was made by FOP State President Rick Inglima on Saturday night in Kansas City at the FOPs annual Policemans Ball which featured National FOP President Pat Yoes as the honored guest.

What It Means

The early endorsement reaffirms Kehoes solid relationship with law enforcement organizations throughout Missouri.

It shows that Team Kehoe is aggressively working the 2024 cycle even before 2022 filing opens. This follows an endorsement last month from the Missouri Cattlemen.

The early conventional wisdom was that Jay Ashcrofts name ID made him a lock on the Republican gubernatorial nomination. Not so. Between strong fundraising quarter and early endorsements, Kehoe has proven its a wide-open race.

1st in MOScout: GOP Problem Returns for 2022

It appears that avowed antisemite Steve West will be filing for House 15 tomorrow. He started a candidate committee on Friday. See the paperwork here, which shows West plans to run again as a Republican.

West first emerged in Missouri politics in 2016 when he ran against Democrat Jon Carpenter for state representative. During that campaign, online videos of West surfaced which ranged from bizarre to deeply antisemitic and bigoted.

When he ran in 2020 for the same seat, House leadership issued a statement: Steve West's shocking and vile comments do not reflect the position of the Missouri Republican Party or indeed of any decent individual. West's abhorrent rhetoric has absolutely no place in the Missouri Republican Party or anywhere. We wholeheartedly condemn his comments. To our knowledge, no member of the Missouri Republican Party, the House Republican Campaign Committee, or sitting member of the General Assembly recruited Mr. West to run for office; we find his statements to be vile, offensive, and out of line with our party's values.

See a Kansas City Star article about him here.

West still won that Republican primary, losing in the general election, to Rep. Maggie Nurrenberg. West took 42% of the vote in the general.

House 15 is one of the 27 districts considered competitive, though it tilts Democratic.

One option for Republicans: they could refuse to accept Wests filing fee, a necessary requirement to run. There is precedent for taking this action.

A sample from Wests website:

[Jews] PROMOTE INSANE DEBT to enrich themselves w/usury, bankrupting nations, & then steal public & private assets for pennies on the dollar, as they did w/the collapse of the USSR. This is their plan for us!!!...

They're allied w/China, and incite war with Russia, Iran, Syria, & Venezuela, while hiding their duplicity & sedition

They are the adversary of Christ & mankind. Judaism today bears only superficial resemblance to the Old Testament, but instead, relies on the Talmud. Talmudic Judaism gave us Communism, and has caused well over 15 fold the death & destruction of Nazism

House and Senate Off Today

Today is Presidents Day. The legislature is not in session. Theyll be back tomorrow. House Floor Leader Dean Plocher, in a note to members, warns of another upcoming winter storm expected to arrive Wednesday or Thursday, but says he has no plans for another shortened week. Reps should plan accordingly, he writes, if theyll need to stay an extra day until roads are cleared.

Filing Opens Tomorrow

It sounds like most candidates for congress and state senate will be in line Tuesday morning for filing despite the lack of new redistricted lines being drawn.

And one reader says a lawsuit regarding the undrawn congressional districts wouldnt be ripe yet. There is no requirement in the federal Constitution for a congressional candidate to live in the district they are elected to represent. There is also no timeline established for drawing the districts and a lawsuit now should be thrown out as premature.

I think hes right, but the clock is ticking

Danforths Last Charge

I heard from a number of folks about Jack Danforths charge into the US Senate race. He released polling information and declared that a Republican, running as an Independent, could win the race. Missourians are hungry for someone whos less divisive than the current field. He expects a candidate will emerge, and they will be well-funded.

Theres a lot of skepticism out there in the political class.

Finding The Dream Candidate

One source says that Danforth has already received no thanks from at least two possible candidates, leading to speculation that hes gone public now because finding a candidate is hard.

But several folks think its a nearly impossible task

I dont think they will find a legitimate candidate. There are only few states that have seen successful independent runs and I cant think of any as red as Missouri. Anyone that has ran as a Republican before will know the best impossibility as being elected an independent.

Although I agree with Danforths position on this field, his approach is unwinnable unless he can convince a celebrity to run: Ozzie Smith, Adam Wainwright, Carl Edwards. If he funds a candidate not on that list, he is simply handing the seat to Kunce. People on Twitter are talking about Matt Blunt, Kenny Hulshoff, Steve Ehlmann, Charlie Shields. All of those names are laughable. We have a 2-party system. Independents cant win unless they are legitimate celebrities. Anything short of that simply hands the election to the Democrat.

Should Danforth Be Playing the Long Game Instead?

One consultant: What the Danforth circle should instead be focused on is supporting center-right candidates running for lower level positions to help stack the bench with these types of candidates. They couldve stepped in last cycle and prevented Mike Moon and Rick Brattin, maybe even defeated Bill Eigel though a stretch They also could support candidates like Shamed Dogan. Danforths circle funding Dogan could incentivize a return to normal Republicans by rewarding those who refuse to engage the crazy train just for votes and retweets. They need to know they have a path forward after term limits and so far most center-right groups and donors have refused to step up to the plate for these candidates in the same way the fringe groups, donors, and activist have for their far right candidates.

Schatz as Alt-Danforth Candidate?

More than one consultant wondered if Sen. Dave Schatz could capitalize on this. One suggested he should file as an Independent on Tuesday.

Another asked: If no Independent emerges, does Danforth rally behind Schatz? Hes the only candidate in the race that would perhaps fit closely to their goal. The things Schatz is hit ongas tax, etcare things Danforth would almost assuredly applaud. Schatz is called a RINO by the fringe that Danforth despises, so that seems to make them the closest aligned of the current field.

What This Says About the State of GOP

There should be some soul searching among Republicans as to why we are taking positions that abandon many swing voters. Republicans cant vilify Antifa and BLM far left Democrats while justifying January 6th rioters. Republicans voted to impeach Bill Clinton for moral indiscretions yet they give Donald Trump a pass for trysts with a porn star. Independent voters are watching to see which candidates will step up and call bullshit.

New Committees

Missouri Conservation Alliance was formed. Its a PAC. Its treasurer is Amber Watson.

Jeffco Patriot Initiative was formed. Its a PAC. Its treasurer is Scott Steinmann.

$5K+ Contributions

Together KC - $50,000 from Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce.

Lobbyists Registrations

Noah Reandeau added Kids Read Now, Inc.

Chelsea Chaney added National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies.

Franc Flotron and David McCracken deleted Adam Puchta and Son Wine Company.

Richard McIntosh and David McCracken deleted Corizon Health LLC, and Drivewyze Inc.

Richard McIntosh deleted WellSky Corporation, Filtered Inc., Allen Law Offices LLC, and Hannegan Landau Poersch Advocacy.

Birthdays

Happy birthdays to Rep. Donna Baringer, Craig Unruh, Jo Mannies, Harry Kennedy, and Steve Stenger.

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MOScout Daily Update: Kehoe Gets FOP for 2024 - Steve West Again... - Reaction to Danforth Plan and more... Missouri Scout - Moscout

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Posted By admin on February 21, 2022

Russia and the United States (with NATO behind it) are eyeball to eyeball, and the world waits to see whether Vladimir Putin blinks, to borrow from Dean Rusks comment regarding the Soviet Union from 60 years ago, or whether he orders his military to invade Ukraine (which, as of this writing, he had not).

Tensions are running high throughout the world because of it.

War, though, is a constant presence these days because of the many ongoing global conflictsin Libya, Syria, the Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea, in various South American countries in one form or another, and even in Ukraine itself, among many others. Ever since Russia illegally seized Crimea in 2014, separatists in Ukraines southeast have been waging war with the regime in Kyiv, often with the help of regular Russian army units.

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History argues that wars are inevitable. All too often, though, God is used as the excuse for those wars. That was the rationale behind the Muslim conquest that began in the 7th Century and the series of Christian crusades that followed beginning in the 11th.

God is often used today to justify conflicts in our world. We saw it in Bosnia in the early 1990s, where Christians waged war on Muslims. We see it today in such places as Nigeria, where Muslims wage war against Christians.

While it certainly can be argued that God approves of war, the evidence in Jewish law is that God in fact disapproves of war outside very limited situations.

Gods views on the sanctity of life are evident in the Torah from the very beginning. Because all humans are created in Gods image (see Genesis 1:26-27), to maim or kill a fellow human is to commit sacrilege against Gods very own likeness. God says as much to Noah after the Great Flood, as will be seen further down.

Clearly, God disapproves of gratuitous physical violence of any kind. When Cain kills Abel, Gods agony is clear (see Genesis 4). Nevertheless, God sets a protective mark upon Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him. In pre-Flood days, one life was not to be traded for another.

God even tries to keep the pre-Flood humans from killing animals for food. In Genesis 1:29, the First Human is told, I have given you every herb-bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, on which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food.

One verse later, God issues virtually the same command to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to all that creep upon the earth, where there is life.

All life is sacred.

This changes after the Flood, but not because Gods had second thoughts.

In Genesis 9:1-6, God begins by conceding that humans now can eat meat, but only from a dead animal. Human behavior, it seems, had sunk so low that people did not wait to kill the animals to get their meat; they just ripped limbs right off (a practice that still happens in many non-kosher meat packing plants). Gods dispensation recognizes that human nature is baser than God hoped, and that the only way to prevent such bestial behavior by humans on animals requires making some concessions and setting new rules.

Next comes the equating of human life and animal life. Yes, God says, you can eat meat, but your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it. To make the point that taking animal life qualifies for life-for-a-life treatment, this is immediately followed by Whoever sheds mans blood, by man shall his blood be shed. The positioning of these two statements makes clear that if man wants to be a meat-eater, the animal kingdom has the right to become blood-avengers, just as a man may become a blood-avenger for his beloved dead (although God is not keen on blood-avenging).

This message is brought home in Leviticus 17:3-4, where we are told that a person who kills an animal for food without some kind of sacred justification, blood shall be imputed to that man; he has shed blood. In the immediate case, that sacred justification required that the animal be killed within the precincts of the Tabernacle, presumably as a sacrifice of some kind. The late 19th century founder biblical commentator Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch put it bluntly in commenting on those verses. Killing an animal for no sacred purpose is to be taken as murder.

If to all this we add the laws God makes prohibiting murder, severely restricting the taking of human life in general and otherwise protecting the sanctity and dignity of human beings, there should be no doubt where God stands.

On the other hand, God never issued a blanket ban on killing. God never said, Thou shalt not kill, that oft-quoted phrase that is nowhere to be found in the Torah. Murder is the word used in the commandment (see Exodus 20:13).

As God continues to set forth Israels laws in the Sefer Ha-brit, the Book of the Covenant, in the chapters that immediately follow the Ten Commandments, a distinction is made between murder and manslaughter (see Exodus 21:13). Then, in Exodus 22:1-2, God denotes a difference between justifiable homicide and cold-blooded murder.

While God does not like violence and bloodshed, God also is a realist. If someone is coming to kill you and killing that person is the only way to prevent being killed, that is justifiable homicide.

Gods pragmatism is evident in the commandment regarding an unbelievably cruel enemy, Amalek. As we are commanded in Deuteronomy 25:17-19, You shall blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. Amaleks goal was our annihilation. War against Amalek also is justifiable homicide.

Time and again, God also tells us in the Torah that we will have to go to war against the seven Canaanite nations living in the Land of Israel. And, in Deuteronomy 20:1-18, God sets out some of the rules of war, and even promises to fight for you against your enemies, to save you. It is hard to make a case that God is anti-war given such a declaration. (It needs to be noted, though, that these wars against the Canaanite nations had no religious motivation attached. They made war on us, and we were commanded to fight back, or strike pre-emptively.)

Based on all that the Torah has to say (both pro-life and pro-war), Jewish law deduces the existence of two kinds of acceptable war: the obligatory war and the discretionary, yet divinely sanctioned, one. (Women, by the way, are required to fight alongside men in obligatory wars, according to the Babylonian Talmud tractate Sotah 44b.)

An unsanctioned discretionary war is obviously an illegal war. Davids war of conquest against Syria may be one such, because it was a discretionary war with no divine sanction. (See Sifre to Deuteronomy, Piska 51.) Any deaths that occur in such a war are considered to be outright murder.

The Talmud in BT Sotah 44b attempts to explain the two legitimate categories in this way: The wars waged by Joshua to conquer [Canaan] were obligatory, [while] the wars waged by the House of David for territorial expansion [that did have divine sanction] were discretionary.

Obviously, the eternal war against Amalek also is an obligatory war since it is mandated by the Torah. That would seem to shut down the possibility of obligatory wars in the current day, since neither the seven nations of Canaan nor Amalek exist any longer. Maimonides, however, includes as obligatory a war waged to fend off an attacking army (see Mishneh Torah, The Laws of Kings and Their Wars, 5:1). Elsewhere, he refers to the defensive war as a commanded one, perhaps in an effort to distinguish it from an obligatory war. Ostensibly, he bases this on Numbers 10:9, which recognizes the need to go to war in your land against an enemy who oppresses you. Others have argued, however, that obligatory and commanded are synonymous where war is concerned.

Pre-emptive strikes against an enemy who poses a credible and somewhat immediate threat fall under Maimonidess definition of a defensive war.

If Putin invades Ukraine, that war clearly falls under the category of an illegal war, just as Davids war against Syria was illegal.

As for God wanting wars waged for religious reasonsin order to compel the people being attacked to convert or dieGod never said any such thing. In fact, when Moses, speaking for God, warned Israel not to consider joining alien religions, he specifically said that those religions also were given by God (see Deuteronomy 4:19), so declaring war against those religions defies God. While it is true that the Hasmonean John Hyrcanus forcibly converted the Idumeans, that was an exceptionand one of which Judaism disapproved.

God reluctantly approves of war in very limited circumstances, but to use God as an excuse for making war is abject heresy.

Shammai Engelmayer is a rabbi-emeritus of Congregation Beth Israel of the Palisades and an adult education teacher in Bergen County. He is the author of eight books and the winner of 10 awards for his commentaries. His website is http://www.shammai.org.

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Of God and war - The Jewish Standard

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Posted By admin on February 21, 2022

PODCAST Hello Rapids Fans! This week on Holding The High Line, its a new season, new intro, who dis? Rabbi and Red have Rapids CCL Fever. We react to the kit drop and that tweet congratulating the Los Angeles Rams. Also weve got a bunch of stickers you can just have if you message us a mailing address and how many you want.

The guys review the final preseason game, a 1-1 draw with Orlando City. Then we preview the first leg Round of 16 match with Comunicaciones FC. The show ends with an interview with Academy Technical Director Chris Cartlidge.

Heres the link to the armadillo trophy.

Holding The High Line is an independent soccer podcast focused on the Colorado Rapids of MLS and a member of the Beautiful Game Network. If you like the show, please consider subscribing to us on your preferred podcatcher, giving us a review, and tell other Rapids fans about us. It helps a ton. Visit bgn.fm for a bunch of other great podcasts covering soccer in North America.

We also have anewsletter. Visit ourSubstack pageto read our content and sign up for our newsletter via email.

Find us on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Blubrry, and many other podcatchers. See the full list of podcatchers with subscription links here. For full transcripts of every episode, check out our AudioBurst page. Our artwork was produced by CR54 Designs. Juanners does our music.

We are brought to you by Ruffneck Scarves and Icarus FC. Ruffneckscarves.com is your one-stop-shop for official MLS, USL, and U.S. Soccer scarves as well as custom scarves for your group or rec league team. Icarusfc.com is the place to go for high-quality custom soccer kits for your team or group. With an any design you want, seriously motto, they are breaking the mold of boring, expensive, template kits from the big brands.

Have your team looking fly in 2022 like Andre Shinyashiki with bleached hair with custom scarves and kits from Ruffneck Scarves and Icarus FC.

HTHL is on Patreon. If you like what we do and want to give us money, head on over to our page and become a Patreon Member.

We have partnered up with the Denver Post to sustainably grow soccer journalism in Colorado. Listeners can get a three month trial of the Denver Post digital for 99/month. Go to denverpost.com/hthl to sign up. This will give you unlimited and full access to all of the Posts online content and will support local coverage of the Rapids. Each month after the trial is $11.99/month. There is a sports-content-only option for $6.99/month.

Follow us on Twitter @rapids96podcast. You can also email the show at [emailprotected]. Follow our hosts individually on Twitter @LWOSMattPollard and @soccer_rabbi. Send us questions using the hashtag #AskHTHL.

Matt Pollard is the Site Manager for Last Word on Soccer and an engineer by day. A Colorado Convert, he started covering the Colorado Rapids as a credentialed member of the press in 2016, though hes watched MLS since 96. When hes not watching or writing about soccer, hes being an outdoorsman (mostly skiing and hiking) in this beautiful state or trying a new beer. For some reason, he thought that starting a podcast with Mark was a good idea and he cant figure out how to stop this madness. He also hosts Last Word SC Radio.

Mark Goodman, the artist formally known as Rapids Rabbi, moved to Colorado in 2011. Shortly thereafter he went to Dicks Sporting Goods Park, saw Lee Nguyen dribble a ball with the silky smoothness of liquid chocolate cascading into a Bar Mitzvah fountain, and promptly fell head over heels in love with domestic soccer. When not watching soccer or coaching his sons U-8 team, hes generally studying either Talmud or medieval biblical exegesis. Which explains why he watches so much MLS, probably. Having relocated to Pittsburgh in 2019, he covers the Pittsburgh Riverhounds of the USL for Pittsburgh Soccer Now.

Photo courtesy of Colorado Rapids.

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Rapids Podcast: CCL Fever, Chris Cartlidge Interview - Last Word on Baseball

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Posted By admin on February 21, 2022

Locally, the Anti-Defamation League is asking all faith-based organizations to be vigilant and to have a plan in place for any type of violence that could occur.

HOUSTON "I was horrified. I was scared, terrified, really. And I was very, very concerned for the safety of those individuals who were being held hostage at the synagogue."

That was the reaction Mark Toubin had to Saturdays hostage situation. Hes the director of the Southwest Regional Anti-Defamation League.

"It's so unfortunate that houses of worship in this country are targets for terrorism and for violence," he said.

He says across the country, they have seen an increase in anti-Semitism.

"It has been rising significantly over the last few years. And the last couple of years, we have seen some of the highest levels we have ever encountered."

Toubin also says the league has seen violence increase against other minority groups. Its that hate they fear can turn violent.

"There have been a rise in all forms of hate in this country over the last few years," said Toubin.

That's why theyre asking every faith-based organization to be vigilant and prepared for any worst case scenario.

According to the Associated Press, the rabbi in Saturday's incident said they wouldn't have been able to act if it hadn't been for the training they've had previously.

"Make sure you have a written, documented plan and make sure you have training that goes on a few times a year and make sure you get it right," said Precinct 1 Constable Alan Rosen. "We are here and other agencies are willing to come out."

But they say responsibility also falls on the members of the congregation to keep their eyes open to anything suspicious.

"If you see something, say something," said Toubin. "Dont be embarrassed or shy about raising the question."

If you would like to report any suspicious activity, be sure to call the police first. But you can also report it online to the Anti-Defamation League.

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Colleyville hostage scene triggers calls for action ...

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