Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on September 12, 2021

Application deadlines for three international spring break field studies to Egypt, Poland, and Italy are approaching. But while the trips are publicized on Rollinss website and leaders are accepting applicants, the field studies will not be made official until early November.

We have not yet made a decision about spring travel, said Giselda Beaudin, director of Global Initiatives and leader of the spring break field study to Italy. Since the situation is quite dynamic, we are making decisions early enough to avoid any negative consequences for students, but late enough that we can make as informed a decision as possible.

Beaudin said that the Rollinss International Travel Risk Committee will do a full risk assessment of every study abroad program before it is approved. The committee will analyze local COVID-19 rates, vaccination percentages, healthcare infrastructure, CDC and State Department information, impact on host communities, and other factors.

The committee will review all spring break field studies by early November. Until then, Rollins administration has approved fall semester study abroad programs in some locations.

Rollins strongly recommends that only fully vaccinated students study abroad, in accordance with CDC recommendations. Students who do travel abroad must abide by Rollins protocols; for instance, masks are required indoors except while distanced and eating.

Groups must also adhere to in-country rules and regulations, many of which are stricter than those in Florida, said Beaudin.

For all study abroad trips, the Office of International Programs is providing students with the full risk assessment for their program, including the insurance coverage details, so they can make an informed choice about whether to participate, said Beaudin.

Despite the uncertainty of spring break international travel, the following opportunities are currently being planned by faculty and staff.

Imagining the Past: Egypt and Jordan

This ENG309 course led by Dr. Jana Mathews and Dr. Emily Russell includes visits to Egypts ancient temple complexes and tombs, as well as Jordans Jerash, the Dead Sea, and the Lost City of Petra. Throughout their travels, students will question the authority of western museums and the ownership of archaeological souvenirs and artifacts.

In order to understand where we are going, we have to understand where we have been, said Mathews. There is no better place to study the history of the past and its cultural legacies than in Egypt (Great Pyramids, Sphinx, Luxor, Valley of the Kings) and Jordan (Red Sea, Petra).

Applications are due Sept. 27, and only 12 students will be selected for participation.

Learning and Teaching About the Holocaust

In this RFLA300, Dr. James McLaughlin and Dr. Yudit Greengberg will engage students in reflective discussions to learn about the history and motivations of the Holocaust. Through a trip to Krakow, Poland, students will converse with Polish university students, the staff at the local Jewish Community Center (JCC), and a Holocaust survivor. A vital part of the field study will be a study tour of Auschwitz-Birkenau.

The Holocaust (Shoah) was the furthest point of hatred the attempt to eliminate an entire group of people from existence, said Greenberg. In todays fractured society, we need to understand how discrimination, racism, and antisemitism can have disastrous consequences.

Applications are due Sept. 27, and 12 students will be selected for participation.

Global Citizenship: Italy

INT295F students will engage with contemporary Italian culture in this field study to Rome, exploring vibrant art spaces and a nomad camp, as well as conversing with Italian university students. Students will also take a cooking class to learn about Italian cuisine and visit international landmarks like the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain, St. Peters Basilica, and the Sistine Chapel.

With this field study, students will have the opportunity to immerse themselves into Italian culture and put their global skills to the test, said Beaudin. I hope that students come away from the experience with a sense of cultural humility and a desire to continue exploring other cultures and communities.

The application deadline is Nov. 8, and twelve students will be selected.

To learn about how to apply to study abroad trips, click here. Students are also invited to attend the study abroad information session on Monday, Sept. 13 at 3:30 p.m., either in person at Olin Library Room 230 or on Webex.

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Spring break field studies to Poland, Egypt, Italy now accepting applications - Sandspur

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Posted By admin on September 12, 2021

(JTA) Every year during the High Holidays, Jews recite a litany of ways we have fallen short in a confessional prayer. Known as a viddui, the prayer is a centerpiece of our Yom Kippur liturgy.

This year, we again will reflect on our shortcomings. But one takeaway from the past year is that even when we do our best, it may not be enough.

So many of us joyously awaited the return to in-person High Holiday services, only to have our plans undermined by the threat posed by the Delta variant of COVID-19. Our congregation, Beth Chayim Chadashim in Los Angeles, is planning only a handful of in-person services, all outdoors and we know this may not be the final arrangement.

Against this backdrop, we recognized that our community would benefit from a communal expression of encouragement, comfort and balance. We saw that the work of preparing our hearts, minds and souls for the holiday season as well as dealing with our disappointment in the unpredictability and uncertainty of this pandemic required intentional efforts to create space for optimism.

So together we crafted a positive viddui for our congregation that we are sharing here. In our version, worshippers praise themselves perhaps giving themselves a pat on the back rather than a beating on the breastbone for inspiring, for maturing, for trying.

We are not the first to craft a viddui that inverts the traditional liturgy. Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook, the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of what would become Israel, once said that Jews should celebrate our good deeds as much as lament our sins. Inspired by that, Rabbi Binyamin Holtzman wrote a wonderful complementary confession in 2014 that is available on OpenSiddur (translated from Hebrew to English by Rabbi Joseph B. Meszler). And five years ago Avi Weiss, a Modern Orthodox rabbi, shared his opposite recitation with Jewish Telegraphic Agency readers.

Our version adds to that tradition. Ours is different because we composed it in English, so it functions as an alphabetical acrostic in English the way its traditional counterpart does in Hebrew. It also references the pandemic era in its last line, when we confess that we have zoomed and zoomed in.

With much turbulence and trauma still unfolding, let us be reminded that its OK to give ourselves a break and also focus on the helpful ways that we are navigating these unprecedented times. Despite a global pandemic, an unstable world and a planet hurting because of human choices, by acknowledging the good in addition to all the ways we missed the mark, we aim to remind ourselves of all the things that not just keep us afloat but lift us up, allow us to keep going and offer hope. We hope you find this meaningful.

Weve acted authenticallyWeve blessedWeve cultivated compassionWeve delightedWeve engaged empathicallyWeve favored fairnessWeve galvanizedWeve harmonizedWeve inspiredWeve joinedWeve kindled kindnessWeve laughedWeve maturedWeve nurturedWeve offered optimismWeve perseveredWeve questionedWeve releasedWeve sympathizedWeve triedWeve upliftedWeve vivifiedWeve welcomedWeve xd out excessWeve yearnedWeve zoomed and zoomed in

For all these, Source of Lifeinspire us, encourage us,Sustain our hope.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.

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We have good reasons to give ourselves credit this year. Heres a positive viddui for Yom Kippur. - JTA News - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

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Posted By admin on September 12, 2021

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid gave journalist Ofira Asayag a description of what seems to be his view of the ideal user experience for Israelis in their role as citizens. It seems to me that people are watching the news less, he told her with satisfaction, as if he were nearing his goal. The government isnt a daily event in its citizens lives.

Its easy to understand what hes getting at. Under former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, politics became a reality show (Realitypolitik) and the Knesset almost turned into the house on Big Brother. Just like in a reality show, colorful characters were cast for the Knesset, people who created dramatic conflicts (Jewish-Arab, Ashkenazi-Mizrahi, secular-religious, etc.) for their audience of citizens/viewers.

In the era before reality TV, Amos Oz compared Netanyahu to a noisy compressor underneath your window. Lapid effectively told us, Look, we turned off the compressor for you; here is the quiet you were longing for.

Hes evidently proud of the fact that the government doesnt intend to continue providing political entertainment. Instead, it seeks to provide political boredom the government of change as a government of boredom. Now, its possible to go back to dealing with the truly important things, because the government is working for its citizens.

But what exactly are those issues that Israelis are supposed to busy themselves with while their government is working for them? And more importantly, what exactly is it working on that isnt a daily event in its citizens lives? After all, the state decides life-and-death issues for people every day (such as Palestinians, asylum seekers, the poor, the sick, people with disabilities, but also soldiers).

The citizens Lapid envisions are apparently a very specific subsector of the Israeli population those with a politically apathetic lifestyle (after all, they will do okay or better than that regardless of whos in power). Now, a government has been established to which they can also be emotionally indifferent. Its nothing like the Netanyahu government, which made noise under their windows.

From now on, they can earn a living, consume, fly overseas, and watch television series without all that business with Bibi and Bibism political culture. They can talk without screaming or using their hands.

This governments political eclecticism shows that Lapid merely gave voice to a desire shared by many Israelis. That was the strength as well as the weakness of the anti-Netanyahu protests. Those protests were apolitical not in the sense that they were nonpolitical, but in the sense that they used political tools to promote the depoliticization of politics. Therefore, they were joined by people who had never demonstrated any interest in politics, whereas many very political people felt alienated from them.

However, Netanyahus politics shouldnt be reduced to the political entertainment he provided as a way of controlling the masses. On the contrary, the protesters enemy is the most political person in Israel. Let us not forget that the Netanyahu era began with a political murder and ended with riots in mixed Jewish-Arab cities in what seems to be the beginning of a civil war. While the leader who was nurtured by the protests, Lapid, is the quintessential apolitical leader.

In his inaugural speech, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that what we agree on well run with, and what divides us well leave for another time. But what Bennett and Lapid are both in denial about is that they arent the only ones setting the agenda; reality also has a say.

Two recent security incidents offer exemplifications of how reality breaks through the bounds that seek to contain it, whether its a pistol fired through a hole in the wall along Gaza or prisoners escaping from jail through a tunnel. The more afraid the Bennett-Lapid government is of real-life events that might endanger it, the more reality will keep trying to elude their grasp.

Public relations consultant Rani Rahav tweeted this week that in a law-abiding state, people dont escape from jail! Rahav has an impressive ability to capture the stupidity of our times in all its glory. Lapid and Bennett must be careful not to allow this stupidity to become the key ingredient of their recipe for a politics-free politics.

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The Lapid-Bennett government is learning that apolitical politics is a myth - Haaretz

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Posted By admin on September 12, 2021

Luzzatto High Holiday Mahzor will be up for auction on October 19 at Sotheby's. AFP pic

NEW YORK, Sept 10 Calling all bibliophiles. Sothebys will soon auction off a medieval prayer book in Hebrew at a major auction in New York. The extremely rare document could fetch several million dollars.

This manuscript is known as the Luzzatto High Holiday Mahzor, in reference to its last owner, Samuel David Luzzatto, a prominent Italian scholar of the Jewish faith. It was made between the end of the 13th and 14th centuries by a scribe named Abraham.

At that time, Ashkenazi congregations often spent large sums of money to hire a scribe to copy their prayer rites into two large volumes of the Mahzor, one comprising the liturgy of the winter, spring and summer festivals and fast days (from Hanukkah to Tishah be-Av) and the other that of the autumn celebrations (from Rosh Hashanah to Simhat Torah).

Although produced in southern Germany, Luzzatto High Holiday Mahzor has found its way into many homes in Alsace, the Lake Constance region, northern Italy and France over the centuries. Annotations left in the margins of the book by its various owners attest to its many travels throughout Europe.

In 1870, the manuscript was purchased by the Alliance Isralite Universelle, which has kept it in its possession until now. It will appear on the market for the first time in its history on October 19 at a sale organised by Sothebys in New York. It is estimated to fetch between $4 and $6 million.

However, bids could rise given the rarity and importance of Luzzatto High Holiday Mahzor in Hebrew liturgical literature. Sothebys claims that this is one of the few illustrated Ashkenazi Mahzor still in existence today, and probably the only one in private hands.

This seven-hundred-year-old prayerbook opens fascinating windows onto the lives, rites, and rituals of medieval and early modern Ashkenazic Jewry, said Sharon Liberman Mintz, Senior Consultant of Books and Manuscripts at Sothebys. The fact that it was created by a Jewish scribe-artist at a time when many medieval Hebrew manuscripts were illustrated by Christian artists is especially noteworthy.

The general public will be able to admire this manuscript October 13-18 in the New York galleries of Sothebys, before it goes under the hammer. ETX Studio

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A rare Hebrew prayer book is heading to auction - Malay Mail

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Posted By admin on September 10, 2021

September 9, 2021 marks the Jewish fast day known as the Fast of Gedaliah (Tzom Gedaliah in Hebrew).

Celebrated annually the day after Rosh Hashanah, though the exception is when Rosh Hashanah falls on Thursday and Friday, as fast days cannot be held on Shabbat with the sole exception of Yom Kippur.

Here is a rundown for what you need to know about the first fast day of the Jewish new year.

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His death was recounted in detail by the Roman-era historian Josephus, and is also described in the book of 2 Kings chapter 25 and, in even more detail, in the Book of Jeremiah chapter 41.

The account in Jeremiah details the murder of Gedaliah, who was killed along with many of the Jews and Babylonians who had joined him. Due to the fact that Gedaliah, appointed by Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar, was murdered by a Jew, many Jews feared retribution and thus fled their homes and ran to Egypt.

Gedaliah was the last Jewish ruler in the land of Israel for centuries, and his death marked the end of Jewish autonomy until the time of the Hasmoneans.

The reason for the fast, however, is also due to Gedaliah having been a righteous person. As noted in the Talmud tractate Rosh Hashanah, the fast is meant "to establish that the death of the righteous is likened to the burning of the House of God," equating the tragedy to the destruction of the First Temple itself.

As is the case with most Jewish fast days, the Fast of Gedaliah is from dawn till dusk, beginning early in the morning and ending as night rolls in. The day sees the use of traditional prayer additions for fast days, such as the use of the prayer "Aneinu" during "Shmona Esrei" in the Shacharit and Mincha prayers. The "Avinu Malkeinu" prayer is also recited by the congregation, and the "Tachanun" is omitted.

Slichot is also recited during Shacharit.

When reading the Torah, the portion read is taken from parashat Ki Tissa in both Shacharit and Mincha.

Because the fast also falls during the Ten Days of Repentance between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the typical changes to prayers said during these days also apply.

The Fast of Gedaliah is considered to be one of the four "minor fasts," contrasting from the full fasts of Yom Kippur and Tisha Be'av. As such, it does not have the additional restrictions the full fasts have, and some of the rules may be seen as more lenient. For example, pregnant and nursing women, even when not sick, are not required to fast, as noted in the Shulchan Aurukh.

The following times are taken from MyZmanim:

Jerusalem: 7:20 p.m.

Tel Aviv: 7:22 p.m.

Haifa: 7:22 p.m.

Beersheba: 7:21 p.m.

Eilat: 7:19 p.m.

New York: 7:45 p.m.

Los Angeles: 7:35 p.m.

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Fast of Gedaliah: What you need to know about the first fast of the year - The Jerusalem Post

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Posted By admin on September 10, 2021

Rabbi Elliot Schrier comes to Teanecks Bnai Yeshurun from the Albert Einstein Synagogue at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, where hes been since 2016.

It is clear that he values the personal relationships he formed with congregants. I speak with someone from Albert Einstein almost every day, he said, whether professionally or personally.

He is extremely aware of the demographic differences between his small New York pulpit and the more than 500-family shul he will now lead. Fortunately, he prides himself on his ability to reach out to many different kinds of people, each at their own level.

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Bnai Yeshurun, he said, has a wide demographic, ranging from families with young kids to retirees. His own family is part of that diverse demographic. He and his wife, Rena, have three sons: 6-year-old Coby, 3-year-old Zecharia, and 1-year-old Gavriel.

Describing the shuls membership as robust, he said that my goal is to actively engage with all the demographics and try to be the rabbi for each of them. In addition, I want to bring everyone together, integrating them into a single, cohesive community.

While every community has its own idiosyncrasies, flavor, and culture, whats special here is the passion of the membership, he continued. Theyre eager to get involved. He hopes to channel that enthusiasm into a number of exciting directions.

The synagogues new religious leader comes from Woodmere, one of Long Islands Five Towns, and credits the towns Rabbi Hershie Billet as one of the major influences in his life, inspiring him to become a caring, compassionate rabbi. Like Rabbi Billet, Rabbi Schrier said, he would hope to reach people at their most vulnerable moments, giving them comfort and bringing them closer to God.

In addition to being inspired by mentors such as the Five Towns Rabbi Yisroel Kaminetsky and YUs Rabbi Michael Rosensweig, Rabbi Schrier said that he was led to this career choice by twin passions. Broadly speaking, I was inspired by a passion for the Torah on one hand, and a passion for people on the other. It was almost a natural path, heavily impacted by the many amazing rabbis I had.

Because Bnai Yeshurun requires that its rabbi take on the synagogue leadership as a full-time job, Rabbi Schrier no longer will chair the Talmud department at the North Shore Hebrew Academy in Great Neck, where he taught Gemara to high school students and was the director of the schools advanced learning program. Instead, he will direct his teaching talents to Bnai Yeshurun, and he hopes to launch an educational initiative focused on tefillah. He also is passionate about bringing the benefits of Torah learning to a wide range of people.

Rabbi Schrier comes to Teaneck after the departure of longtime its longtime rabbi, Steven Pruzansky, who retired from its pulpit and made aliyah after serving Bnai Yeshurun for more than 25 years. In a letter to the congregation, synagogue president Steven Becker wrote that Rabbi Schrier will helm a three-man rabbinic team, which includes Rabbi Ari Zahtz and Rabbi Yosef Weinberger.

Rabbi Schrier who wont divulge more about his upcoming Rosh Hashanah sermon than that it touches on themes of renewal has a brother, Rabbi Robbie Schrier, the resident scholar at Fair Lawns Congregation Darchei Noam.

Like most other rabbis, Rabbi Schrier described the covid pandemic as a challenge, but said we are optimistic that we can move forward.utilizing technology to create community even when were apart.

While Rabbi Schriers primary passion is Torah, he said that hes also a passionate skier, and a runner during the summer. Not surprisingly, the native New Yorker who also plays chess is a Yankees fan.

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Rabbi Elliot Schrier leaves the Five Towns to lead Teanecks Bnai Yeshurun - The Jewish Standard

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Posted By admin on September 10, 2021

This weeks parasha is one of the last parashot in the Torah. It describes the last preparations before the death of Moses, and the passing of the torch to his student Yehoshua bin Nun, who would later lead the nation to settling the Holy Land.

God calls to Moses and Yehoshua to enter Ohel Moed (the Tent of Congregation), the Mishkan, and there He conveys to Moses a gloomy forecast of what the future holds for the Jewish nation in the coming years a forecast that came true in its entirety. According to this forecast, the Jewish nation will worship other deities and breach its covenant with God. In response, God will conceal His face from His people:

And My fury will rage against them on that day, and I will abandon them and hide My face from them and many evils and troubles will befall them; and they will say on that day, Is it not because our God is no longer in my midst, that these evils have befallen me? And I will hide My face on that day, because of all the evil they have committed (Deuteronomy 31:17)

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The term is fundamental in Jewish religious philosophy. When we believe in one God, and believe He has a relationship with His creations, we actually believe God is entirely good. We cannot accept evil and suffering from God, even if the person deserves it. Indeed, these verses describe the punishment that happens when God hides His face and temporarily looks away, allowing for chance to afflict the person being punished.

This sense, that there is no evil that stems from God but only because He conceals His face, has accompanied the Jewish people throughout the most difficult hardships.

But sometimes, for the faithful, this experience of God hiding His face and not being present in the suffering he is enduring, is unbearable. Rabbi Baruch Rabinowitz (1914-1997) was a Holocaust survivor who worked to save thousands of Jews from bring sent to extermination camps. At the end of his life, he wrote a book called Binat Nevonim where he describes the Holocaust from the perspective of a believing Jew. He writes as follows:

Though we knew this was all from God despite this, in our hearts, we could not accept this. We could accept Gods decree, but we could not make peace with the feeling that He hid His face from us, and that He does not want to know whats happening to us; as though after He handed us over to our enemies, He turned His back to us, without looking at what these enemies are doing to us. (Binat Nevonim, pages 131-133)

He found a solution to this difficult experience in the words of the Talmud: And I will hide My face on that day, the Holy One, Blessed be He said. Even though I hid my face from them His hand is outstretched over us, as it is stated: And I have covered you in the shadow of My hand. (Isaiah 51:16) (Tractate Chagiga 5:2)

When a person doesnt want someone else to see him, he has two options: to cover his own face and turn his head away, or to extend his hand out to cover the others face so he wont be able to see him. When we read that God might hide His face, we imagine it like a person turning away and ignoring what he sees, or covering his own face with his hand. But the sages of the Talmud say, based on what is written in the book of Isaiah, that hester panim should be compared to a person covering his friends face so the friend cant see him, even though he is still present and can totally see his friend. If so, when someone is suffering, it is not that God is hidden or has disappeared. He is completely present, but temporarily, the person cannot experience His good and compassionate presence.

We hope for a good year, one in which our lives are full of Gods beneficent presence. With that, we still need to remember that even during the times of suffering and sorrow we have endured, God is with us, even if we cannot sense it, as was written by Rabbi Nachman of Breslev:

Even during a concealment within a concealment, Hashem, may He be blessed, is certainly there. Behind all the difficult, confusing, challenging things that stand before you (Hashem says:) I stand. (Likutei Moharan 56:3)

The writer is rabbi of the Western Wall and holy sites.

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Parashat Vayelech: The concealed face of God - The Jerusalem Post

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Posted By admin on September 10, 2021

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) Shanah Tovah, Shanah Tovah was exclaimed Tuesday morning as members of Temple Lev Tikvah in Virginia Beach wished each other a good year during their first in-person visit since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Their services had been virtual since March of 2020, but founder Rabbi Israel Zoberman, in partnership with the Church of The Holy Apostles, presided over Rosh Hashanah services at the churchs Lynnhaven Parkway location.

In a display of hospitality, the Episcopal and Roman Catholic church draped cloths over some Christian symbols and installed a menorah at the entrance.

Zoberman, who has lived in Virginia Beach for four decades, was ebullient as he greeted teen congregants who appeared to have grown several inches during the pandemic.

He offered a pat on the back to other members, many in masks, as the new year celebration doubled as a family reunion of sorts.

Another family joined the service by video conference.

In an interview before the service, Zoberman reflected on the events of the past year in the United States and in his home country of Israel.

Lev Tikva- Heart of Hope in these times we need hope perhaps more than any time in human history, said Zoberman.

The past year has included cries for police reform, a reckoning over race relations, an attempt to overthrow democracy, and as children head back to class, there have been outbreaks of violence over vaccines. Zoberman penned his opinion on the past year and the challenges of the future in a recent issue of the Virginian-Pilot.

Zoberman, the son of Holocaust survivors, sums up the year this way: Everyone, in a sense, has become Jewish; everyone is vulnerable.

A few months ago, Zobermans home country served as the vaccination model with 80% of those over the age of 12 vaccinated.

But with the resumption of travel, business activities, and social activities, Israel is now experiencing a surge in COVID-19 infections. Hospitals are overwhelmed, and anyone over the age of 12 is eligible for a booster shot. A top Israeli health official will brief the Food and Drug Administration on Sept. 17.

President Joe Biden hopes to offer Pfizer booster shots in the U.S. by Sept. 20. Only Pfizer has requested authorization for the booster shot.

From the Talmud, Zoberman offers these ancient words of wisdom that were shared when several men were at sea:

One of them started digging a hole in the boat and he said I can do whatever I want; this is my section of the boat. Of course, he was reminded by the rabbis that what you do affects everyone in the boat. A rabbi responded: You just cant do whatever you want to do; we will all drown unless we cooperate.

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Local rabbi on Rosh Hashanah: We need hope perhaps more than any other time in human history - WAVY.com

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Posted By admin on September 10, 2021

By Neal Lemery

I can find a lot of things to be afraid of. Nights can be long and my imagination can easily flesh out the shapes and skills of many monsters. Whether or not they might be real doesnt matter, for they take root in my brain, where I can easily imagine them in all their hideous glory. They feed on my heart energy, too, sucking away my sense of self-esteem and my sense of purpose in this world, to make it a better place and to live my life as a loving, caring person, governed by kindness and generosity.

Those fears feed on my self-doubt, and the wounds left from previous battles and the cruel words of others, who have felt entitled to evaluate and grade my many possible deficiencies. They are partners with the insecurities that live in that mental file cabinet drawer labeled not good enough. It is also easy to feed on the drama and gloom of the days headlines.

I can see the glass as half empty or half full, and the problems of the day either a disaster or as opportunity. Life has an abundance of choices, and opportunities to act with courage.

We all have choices. Every generation, every time has had its challenges. Society has faced and managed other crises and obstacles, and the human spirit has prevailed. Now it is our time to deal with todays challenges, and we are well-equipped to take them on. We are the descendants of generations of successful problem solvers and leaders.

I am my own gatekeeper, the captain of my own ship. I am the one who has the power to let others in, to march around my heart, and speak to me on a deep, personal, and vulnerable level. If their presence does not serve me well, then it is up to me to show them to the door and to leave me in peace. I remind myself that I live my life for me, and not to please someone else.

If I let fear run my life, to be the governing principle of my existence, my personality, and my spiritual essence, then I need to own that choice, as well as the consequences of that mindset, that perspective of how my life is to be managed and lived. I suggest, however, that such a mindset, of fear and doom, such a psychological software package, is contrary to my own self-interest, and my own self-benefit. Being fearful is not who I want to be, nor how I want to live.

Today is Rosh Hoshana, the Jewish new year, a time of self-reflection and new beginnings. I am both comforted and motivated by these wise words from the Talmud:

Do not be daunted by the enormity of the worlds grief. Do justly now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.

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WORDS OF WISDOM: Living With Fear in Challenging Times Tillamook County Pioneer - Tillamook County Pioneer

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Posted By admin on September 10, 2021

The most restrictive abortion law in the country went into effect on Sept. 1, 2021, after the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 to deny an emergency appeal. In Texas, abortions are now illegal as early as six weeks into a pregnancy before many women and girls know they are pregnant.

To date, 13 other states have passed laws establishing this six-week limit, but they face court challenges for state interference in womens constitutionally protected right to terminate a pregnancy.

Texas got around that problem by forbidding state officials from enforcing it. Instead, the state authorized private citizens to sue anyone who helps these women family members, rape crisis counselors, medical professionals and promises at least US$10,000 plus attorneys fees if they win. Opponents have dubbed it the sue thy neighbor law.

These so-called heartbeat bills outlaw abortion after an embryos cardiac activity can be detected generally around six weeks although many doctors argue that the idea of a heartbeat at this stage is misleading since the embryo does not yet have a developed heart.

In addition, these laws generally refer to the fetus as an unborn human individual. These are strategic choices designed to muster support for the idea of fetal personhood, but they also reveal assumptions about human life beginning at conception that are based on particular Christian teachings.

Not all Christians agree, and diverse religious traditions have a great deal to say about this question that gets lost in the polarized pro-life or pro-choice debate. As an advocate of reproductive justice, I have taken a side. Yet as a scholar of Jewish Studies, I appreciate how rabbinic sources grapple with the complexity of the issue and offer multiple perspectives.

Traditional Jewish practice is based on careful reading of biblical and rabbinic teachings. The process yields halakha, generally translated as Jewish law but deriving from the Hebrew root for walking a path.

Even though many Jews do not feel bound by halakha, the value it attaches to ongoing study and reasoned argument fundamentally shapes Jewish thought.

The majority of foundational Jewish texts assert that a fetus does not attain the status of personhood until birth.

Although the Hebrew Bible does not mention abortion, it does talk about miscarriage in Exodus 21:22-25. It imagines the case of men fighting, injuring a pregnant woman in the process. If she miscarries but suffers no additional injury, the penalty is a fine.

Since the death of a person would be murder or manslaughter, and carry a different penalty, most rabbinic sources deduce from these verses that a fetus has a different status.

An early, authoritative rabbinic work, the Mishnah, discusses the question of a woman in distress during labor. If her life is at risk, the fetus must be destroyed to save her. Once its head starts to emerge from the birth canal, however, it becomes a human life, or nefesh. At that point, according to Jewish law, one must try to save both mother and child. It prohibits setting aside one life for the sake of another.

Although this passage reinforces the idea that a fetus is not yet a human life, some Orthodox authorities allow abortion only when the mothers life is at risk.

Other Jewish scholars point to a different Mishnah passage that imagines a case of a pregnant woman sentenced to death. The execution would not be delayed unless she has already gone into labor.

In the Talmud, an extensive collection of teachings building on the Mishnah, the rabbis suggest that the ruling is obvious because the fetus is part of her body. It also records an opinion that the fetus should be aborted before the sentence is carried out so that the woman does not suffer further shame establishing the needs of the woman as a factor in considering abortion.

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These teachings represent only a small fraction of Jewish interpretations. To discover what Judaism says about abortion, the standard approach is to study a variety of contrasting texts that explore diverse perspectives.

Over the centuries, rabbis have addressed cases related to potentially deformed fetuses, pregnancy as the result of rape or adultery, and other heart-wrenching decisions that women and families have faced.

In contemporary Jewish debate there are stringent opinions adopting the attitude that abortion is homicide thus permissible only to save the mothers life. And there are lenient interpretations broadly expanding justifications based on a womens well-being.

Yet the former usually cite contrary opinions, or even refer a questioner to inquire elsewhere. The latter still emphasize Judaisms profound reverence for life.

According to a 2017 Pew survey, 83% of American Jews believe that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. All the non-Orthodox movements have statements supporting reproductive rights, and even ultra-Orthodox leaders have resisted anti-abortion measures that do not allow religious exceptions.

This broad support, I argue, reveals the Jewish commitment to the separation of religion and state in the U.S., and a reluctance to legislate moral questions for everyone when there is much room for debate.

There is more than one religious view on abortion.

This is an updated version of an article originally published on May 19, 2019.

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When does life begin? There's more than one religious view - The Conversation US

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