Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon (aka Rambam and Maimonides)

ב"ה

Tonight, I went to my synagogue to see a showing of a movie about
Rambam (aka Maimonides). I had previously seen a Rabbi Berel Wein production of a movie about Rashi and enjoyed it immensely. I assumed I would like this one too, and I was not disappointed.

The movie told about the life of Rambam. There were interesting details that included scenes with Muslim zealots called the Almohads coming into Jewish Cordoba and giving the Jews there the traditional non-choice -- leave with just the possessions on your back, convert or die.

To some degree, I understand why Muslims (and a few centuries later, Christians) would give Jews the choice of convert or die. When you know you don't have the truth on your side, you need to keep people under the thumb of death threats. But Judaism is the truth and Jews understand this in a way that people whose version of the truth is anything but the truth will never understand. Because their version of the truth has more holes in it than all the golf courses in the world, they don't understand what the real truth looks like, so they don't understand why we can't give up our way of life.

I understand why the Karaites of Fustat, Egypt, had issues with Rambam. They didn't want the other Karaite Jews to realize that the truth in Rabbinic Judaism and leave the Karaite fold.

What I don't understand is why so many Ashkenazic Jews feel the need to force their customs and interpretations on Sephardic Jews. I don't understand they Sephardic Rabbis are often threatened (by threats of non-acceptance within the Orthodox community) for having different opinions or following their own halakha (version of Jewish Law). I have been learning Shulhan Arukh -- the Code of Jewish Law -- written by the Sephardic scholar Rab Yoseph Karo. In the Shulhan Arukh is also versions of the writings of the Polish Ashkenazic scholar Rav Moshe Isserles (Rama). Right there in one volume is not only the Halakhot for Sephardic Jews and for Ashkenazic Jews side by side. Both are equally acceptable.

Which sort of begs the question: why are so many Ashkenazic Jews bullying Sephardic Jews into discarding their own traditions? Why can't these people accept variations in Halakha that don't match their opinions? Can it be that they are concerned that their way isn't the truth?

Well, Torah bullies, ease your minds. Both versions are Tora, both versions are equally valid Tora paths. Stop trying to create a monolithic Judaism. Monolithic Judaism is antithetical to a living Tora and to the concept of Halakha as a growing, living, breathing, developing entity. Keep Rambam's dream alive and continue protecting his ideals.

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Intermarriage "R" Us

B"H

A couple of weeks ago, there was an article lauding intermarriage in our local Jewish newspaper. I couldn't let this pass without a response. So I wrote an article in answer.

The author of the pro-intermarriage article had some pretty unconvincing reasons for intermarrying. He said that Christians had also suffered at the hands of the Nazis and sort of implied that this made it ok to marry Gentiles. I said that, while it was terrible that Christians suffered at the hands of the Nazis (his figures on the number of Christians killed by the Nazis was inflated and, according to my best friend, who knows more about this sort of thing than I do, probably came from some white supremacist site), but this was irrelevant when it comes to discussing intermarriage because intermarriage has nothing to do with shared suffering and didn't begin when Jews were persecuted. I said that Jews were protecting a way of life, Shabbat, Kashrut, family purity laws, and these were things that were intrusive lifestyle differences.

I got a lot of positive feedback to the article I wrote. But one friend gave me the best feedback of all. She's a friend of mine (and a very sweet person) who I sing with in my Jewish community choir. She told me she loved my article and gave me a big hug. I then told her that I should have added something to my article. I started explaining what I thought I should have said by telling a joke.

A congregation hired a new Rabbi. His first Shabbat giving a d'var Tora, he talked about Shabbat. The board members came to him after the sermon and said, "Since we have a lot of members who don't keep Shabbat, please don't talk about Shabbat." The next week he spoke about Kashrut. The board members came to him after the sermon and said, "Since we have a lot of members who don't keep Kosher, please don't talk about Kashrut." The next week, he talked about intermarriage. The board members came to him after the sermon and said, "Since we have a lot of members who are intermarried, please don't talk about intermarriage." Finally, in desperation, the Rabbi says to the board, "well, what should I talk about?" The members of the board smiled and the president said, "Judaism!"

I should have said that even if you don't keep Shabbat, Kashrut and family purity laws, preserving our heritage is Judaism and Shabbat, Kashrut, family purity and the Mitzvot are what makes Judaism Jewish. These are the essence of what being Jewish means. Judaism isn't some social club. It's a way of life, and a way that gives life meaning.

When Hashem (G-d) gave the Tora, (S)He gave us a guide for living a perfect life. If everyone in the world followed the Tora (Jews following our laws, Gentiles following their 7 Mitzvot) perfectly, we would all have perfect lives. (Of course, since we are human, it would be impossible for us to follow the Tora perfectly, but the closer we come to perfection, the closer our lives will come to perfection.)

Rabbi Kuk used to say that there are two kinds of Jews -- those who are religiously observant and those who are not yet religiously observant. I tend to agree with him. I see every non-observant Jew as someone who might one day be observant and, in being observant, might bring him/herself and the earth closer to that perfection.

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