Teach Above

B"H

Tisha B'Av was just a few days ago. [Tisha B'Av is the saddest day on the Jewish calendar -- it is marked by fasting and it commemorates the destruction of both Jewish Temples in Jerusalem, one by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar in about 586 BCE and the second by the Romans circa 70 CE.] On  Tisha B'Av I was thinking about what is going on in the Jewish community and how it makes my heart ache.

I see many wonderful people who "do G-d proud", helping people and accepting others who are different from them. I see a positive framework for many within the Jewish world.

But I also see hatred and judgmentalism, I see people protesting to keep Sephardim out of their Ashkenazic school, I see people who want to turn away honest converts, people who chose to be Tora true Jews, simply because they don't follow the Tora the way THEY follow the Tora.

I see people who tell others how they should be keeping the Tora. Oftentimes, I see the same people who are being judgmental about others' observances calling for Moshiah (The Messiah). Don't they understand that not loving their fellow Jews is in a large part the reason the Moshiah hasn't come. This was the reason, the Rabbis say, for the destruction of the second Temple and this, say the Rabbis, is what we need to repent about, what we need to change, before the Moshiah will come.

A number of weeks ago, an issue came up related to a blog entry on one of the blogs I follow. The woman who writes this blog told a story about some issues she was having getting her son kosher food after he was detained in their local prison for several weeks -- Read the blog by clicking here.

So I put the link up on Facebook and expected to get support from my friends. I couldn't believe the reactions I got from some people.

Their attitude was that if someone did something so terrible as to land him/her in prison (something that could happen to a person for not giving a source if you're a reporter, get arrested at a protest demonstration or in some cases, just p***ing off a police officer or judge) that person loses the right to kosher food.

I couldn't believe that people would react that way. This goes along with the whole "it's my job to decided who is and who isn't Jewish or religious enough or the like". Once you get into the realm of deciding what G-d's decision would be, how G-d would be judging this or that person, you run the risk of ticking G-d off yourself.

I know that I am pretty good at putting myself in another person's shoes (granted, I'm not perfect, but I digress...) and I generally feel I should fight for people's right to keep their religion, particularly when it comes to food (for those of you who don't know, I'm a vegan and I'm also diabetic, which means I can't go for very long without food, but I won't eat animal products. So I'm very sensitive about telling people, "sorry, but you got into a bit of trouble [possibly of your own doing but possibly not] so you don't deserve to eat."

I think it's important for us to fight for our coreligionists when they have no power to fight for themselves. Even Bernie Madoff deserves kosher food in prison, in my humble opinion. For centuries, we Jews have ended up in prison for no reason other than being Jewish. When we're in a country that accords all prisoners rights we need to ensure that our rights are among those protected.

We also need to remember that WE'RE NOT G-D! -- we don't know what G-d thinks about our own level of observance. To tell others that what they're doing isn't good enough is a tad egocentric. You don't know how G-d will judge you or others. I wouldn't want G-d to judge me as one who doesn't care about my fellow Jews.

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Mouthy Mel Makes More Mortals Mad

ב"ה

Mel Gibson is at it again. He hasn't offended enough people by offending the Jews, he has to add African-Americans and women into the mix. By telling the mother of his child that "You're an embarrassment to me. You look like a f***ing pig in heat, and if you get raped by a pack of n***ers, it will be your fault."

For those of you living in a cave, that is offensive to African-Americans firstly because of the "n" word and secondly because it implies that they are more likely to gang-rape a woman than any other group. It is offensive to women because it implies that women bring rape (a crime of violence again ALL women and NOT a crime of sexual attraction) upon themselves.

So, thanks to Mouthy Mel's mouthing off, I decided to dig up an old article I wrote a number of years ago (6?) about "The Passion etc." produced by Mouthy Mel. Here, for your reading enjoyment, is my article entitled "What do Jews Want?":

The stage is totally dark. A small spot light pinpoints in on the haggard face of a man. He isn't moving. His head is hanging down, limp against his chest. The light stays there for a few moments. Gradually the man's eyes open. They are bloodshot and you can see tears forming in the corners. Suddenly, you hear a cracking sound, like a whip, then the sound of leather against flesh and the man's face contorts. Finally, the light opens to reveal a torture chamber, the man hanging from the ceiling by his arms from slightly rusted but strong iron shackles. The man wielding the whip is wearing Catholic cleric's clothing.


Is the scene being depicted some bizarre alternative universe? Is this Shakespeare gone mad? No. This is my vision for a movie that tells the truth, the truth about the Christian love that Mel Gibson is just perpetuating. This is my vision for a movie about medieval European history through the lens of Jewish suffering.


As a student of Sephardic history, I have read many books, fiction and non-fiction, about the atrocities of the Spanish (and Portuguese) Inquisition. As a "yeshiva girl" through the end of high-school, I learned a version of world history I would never have learned in the New Jersey or even the New York public school system. I learned that the Crusades, far from being a "noble" war for G-d, were a slaughterfest. Jewish men were murdered and Jewish women were raped in the name of the Christian god.


I am the student who gave my college art history professor a different perspective on the scene from the Arch of Titus that depicts the Romans removing and defiling the Temple Menorah and other vessels after their "glorious victory" over the Jews of Jerusalem (which we commemorate in the saddest day of the Jewish calendar, Tisha B'Av). To her credit, she gave my version of the story full credit on the final.


So I am quite nicely aware of how historic perspective can come into play. And, though I haven't seen Mel Gibson's Passion, I can tell you right now, the issue, from my perspective, isn't whether or not the movie itself or even Mr. Gibson is anti-Semitic. The issue to me is the effect the movie will have on the average person.


This movie is simply a modernized retooling of the medieval passion plays. These plays were popular around Easter time throughout Europe. And these plays inculcated generations of Christians with a hatred for their local Jewish population that often led to pogroms and led to the biggest and most organized pogrom of the 20th Century ? the Holocaust. Christians, im"passion"ed by these plays, saw Jews as disciples of the devil, the incarnate of evil. We all know that G-d has given us the job of destroying evil in this world. But, in order to destroy evil, we must know what evil is.


Right now, evil is the lie of hatred. Evil is the lie that all evil stems from Jews. Evil is deception. Pope John XXIII, a very brave and loving man, told the Christian world through Vatican II, that Jews were not responsible for the death of Jesus. Mel Gibson sees this change in policy as inconsistent. I don't. I see it as the Vatican finally acknowledging publicly something it had known for centuries, but found easier to bury because of their anti-Jewish agenda. It was a lot easier for Christian clerics to keep their congregants from exploring Judaism by telling them that Jews were evil incarnate than to justify their own theological positions. Pope John Paul II recently apologized to Jews for centuries of persecution. Pope John XXIII, for his vision and courage, realized that a lot of that persecution can be traced directly to the belief that Jews killed Jesus.


Mr. Gibson's movie, in its haste to blame the Jews and exonerate the Romans, ignores simple historical evidence. The Jews never used crucifixion as a form of execution. The Jews were not in political control of the area at the time. And the Romans had a history of brutality. And they did use crucifixion as a means of execution.


Oh, and by the way, the Gospels were written as missionary tracts. They weren't too terribly concerned with truth, justice or the American way, so to speak. They needed to tell a story and they did. And they needed to make us the "bad guys". The book of Matthew was written specifically to convert Jews. It takes verses from the Tanakh out of context, mistranslates others, and creates others out of "whole cloth". It is designed to convince Jews that the prophets predicted Jesus' life and death.


So that brings us back to my vision. My vision awaits a producer, one who is acquainted with the real truth or is willing to learn it, one who is bold enough to depict it. Do people want to see the truth? I'm not quite sure. But we'll never know until it's out there for them.


* The title of this article is a take off on the only Mel Gibson movie I ever saw, "What Do Women Want?

Adar 16, 5764 / 09 March 04

Potential Energy

B"H

I was reading an article called Secrets of a Disappointed Life by David Harris. I mostly talks about how he learned from things about his father; how his father was a teen intellectual wunderkind scientist in Austria before he had to flee the Nazis.

Mr. Harris thought about his father's lost life, the loss of his potential as a great chemist or physicist. And, reading this, I thought about the macrocosm; I thought about how much potential the world has lost, not just because of the Holocaust, but because of all the potential lost when, throughout the centuries Jews were limited in what fields they could go into (for example, Benjamin Disraeli had to convert to Christianity to get into Parliament), Jews were kept from educational institutions, Jews were killed just for being Jews.

I wonder why people are so worried about us that they feel the need to keep us down. I wonder why they don't want to benefit from Jewish brains. I wonder how many Freuds, Einsteins and Salks never had the opportunity to rise to their highest potential because they were born in Syria or they had to flee from the Nazis or they were silenced by the Inquisition. I wonder how much the world has lost in brainpower by dismissing our contributions, by suppressing our creativity, by limiting us. I wonder if the world will ever learn, if they will ever understand what they are giving up by hating Jews and not accepting us for what we are.

And when I do, I wonder where this world would be if prejudice in general didn't exist and no boundaries were put on people and their potential.

The 50 Most Influential Rabbis are Dead......

B"H

We talk about them as though they are still with us (my teachers didn't say "Rashi said" -- they said "Rashi says"). But, in my opinion, the 50 most influential Rabbis are all dead.

My list would include my favorite Rabbi, Rabbi Akiva, a man who was a shepherd and didn't even learn to read until he was 40. He spent 24 years learning and teaching (thanks, in a huge part, to his wife, Rahael's encouragement (courage being the operative part of that word -- Rahael was the daughter of one of the richest men and he disowned her for marrying a shepherd) and was one of the tannaim -- the Rabbis of the Mishnaic (early Talmudic) era.

My list would include several of the Gaonim (post Talmudic Rabbis). These Rabbis took the Talmud and explained it for the people in their generation.

My list would include Rashi, Rabbi Shelomo the son of Yitzhak, one of the most famous biblical commentators. His commentary is simple enough for any Yeshiva 2nd grader and deep enough for the most learned Talmid Haham (wise "student").

My list would include Maimonides, also known by his initials Rambam (Rabbi Moshe the son of Maimon), who is famous not only in the Jewish world, but also in the Gentile world. He wrote "The Guide for the Perplexed" and several other books about Jewish law and Jewish philosophy while earning a living as the physician to the Sultan.

My list would include Nahmanides, also known by his initials Ramban (Rabbi Moshe the son of Nahman), who defended Judaism in debates all over Spain until he was forced to flee to Israel.

My list would include the Ari (Rabbi Yitzhak Luria) (literally the Lion), a middle ages Kabbalist from Tzefad, and his student, Rabbi Moshe Luzzato who wrote down the Ari's thoughts and teachings.

My list would include Rabbi Yosef Caro, the author of the Shulhan Arukh, literally the "Set Table" -- a book of Jewish Law for the "everyman" Jew.

My list would include Rabbi Moshe Isserlis, who wrote a commentary on the Shulhan Arukh. And the Taz and the Shach (who also wrote commentaries on the Shulhan Arukh).

My list would include Rav Yisrael Salanter who started the Mussar movement (that encourages people to examine their lives and be the best people they can be).

My list would include Shamshon Refael Hirsch, who showed that you can still be Orthodox in a secular world. It would include the Gra (also known as the "Vilna Gaon") and the Hofetz Hayim, who encouraged people to watch what they say about other people. I would include Rav Aharon Kotler who was largely responsible for the Lakewood, NJ Jewish community. I would include Rav Soloveitchik and Reb Moshe Feinstein who were Gedolim (great men of learning) when I was growing up.

To be honest, I think these Rabbis were far more influential in the Jewish world than anyone on the Newsweek list of the 50 Most Influential American Rabbis (granted most of the people on my list aren't American, but, so what??? They did influence many Americans). I hope you agree.

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He Madoff with all the cash.....

B"H

Bernie Madoff has been in the news for some time now. For those of you who don't know who he is, he has apparently been running a $65,000,000,000 (that's 65 billion dollar) ponzi scheme, an enormous shell game, a con of monumental proportions. In the process, he swindled a huge number of people and organizations, including many charities. I doubt he single-handedly created the economic turn down we are now experiencing, but I have a feeling he made a big contribution to the cause.

(It seems, from what I've been able to glean, this was originally designed as a small con, but it's been going on almost 20 years and mushroomed....)

In any case, it's hitting a bit of a crescendo with Madoff being sent to prison, away from his "house arrest" in his gorgeous, expensive penthouse apartment. Legions of "fleecees" (people who were fleeced by the billionaire swindler) were in the courtroom or trying to get into the courtroom when the judge sent him to prison.

But, despite my anger at this man, despite my embarrassment that he's Jewish, despite my strong feelings that he committed not only an enormous crime, not only a sin, but a huge Hillul Hashem (loosely, a black mark on the name of G-d by not reflecting G-d as good), despite all this, I get very little joy in sending Bernie Madoff to prison for the rest of his life.

Why? Well, probably because sending him to prison, from my perspective, accomplishes nothing except pure punishment. The Tora, in my opinion, supplies the appropriate response to this.

While I don't want to go into a long halakhic (Jewish legal) discussion about the ins and outs and specifics, Jewish law calls for the repayment to the victim of anything stolen, often having to repay double or up to 5 times the amount stolen.

I much prefer this as a solution for two reasons -- firstly, it takes the needs of the victim, someone largely ignored in the justice system, into account and makes those needs paramount. Secondly, this system makes robbery, thievery, burglary, a potential loss of income. How many movies, TV shows, books, plays have we all seen where someone makes a big "hit", was sent to prison, but hid the money and came out of prison to live well on the money "socked away". In Jewish law, however, this couldn't be.

In Jewish law, where the stolen money or goods end up is irrelevant. It's not THAT money that needs to be "returned" -- the perpetrator is required to PAY the victim. Part of the problem with the whole Madoff pyramid scheme is that different people got some money and who gets to keep what when. In the halakhic system, this would be irrelevant. All that would matter is who Lost money and how much they lost. That would be what Madoff would have to make good.

Selling Mr. Madoff's extravagant possessions might go a long way toward raising the money to pay the victims. But so would having him work to pay off the victims. I prefer having him work for money and having this money (or at least a huge chunk of it) go to pay his victims for what he stole from them. I prefer having him repay what he stole with interest.

Unlike a murderer, who can never compensate for the loss he has caused, Bernie Madoff can. He can return his ill-gotten gains to Hadassah, Yeshiva University and the scores of other people and organizations who swindled. I would feel as though justice had been done if Mr. Madoff can be in a different kind of prison, one where he works hard and earns money to repay his victims' losses. That is justice. Having him sit in prison with murderers and rapists may assuage people's feelings of vengeance, but it does nothing toward helping the people he swindled to rebuild their lives. And that, in my opinion, is a travesty of justice.

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The Slippery Slope to gods of Wood and Stone

B"H

I was talking with my friend today about Israel. She was telling me about how much has changed in Israel since I was doing my "year in Israel" (mind you, I wasn't 18 when I did this.... but I digress). She was bemoaning the "Chabadish Invasion" -- the ubiquitousness of Chabad all over the world (including Israel).

I need to tell you right off that I think Chabad has done a lot of good work. But I have a major problem with them. A large percentage of Chabad people are what my friend and I call "Jews for the Rebbe". The problem is Avoda Zara.

I was listening to a "Tora tape" (a download) by Rabbi Akiva Tatz. He was talking about how the world went from believing in G-d (Adam and Hava -- Eve) to idolatry in the space of 10 generations and then again from Noah to Avraham. He said something that made a lot of sense.

What happened was that people started to think that G-d was too busy for their petty little issues. So they would say that since their problem was so small and simple they would just pray to an angel or an ancestor... this eventually translated into the mental creation of "smaller gods" which translated into people making images of these gods and eventually to them praying to the little gods.

This reminded me of what a friend of mine said to me once upon a time. She asked me why I didn't pray to G-d for help with my problems and I told her I didn't think they were important enough to bother G-d about. She asked me if I didn't think G-d could handle my little problems and I told her of course I thought G-d could handle them. I just didn't want to take G-d away from more pressing issues. But, she continued, didn't I think G-d could take care of all the issues? That made sense to me and I began praying to G-d directly about even the most seemingly insignificant issue in my life.

So what does this have to do with "Jews for the Rebbe" and other "cult of personality" groups? These groups offer up an intermediary. The problem with that is that G-d is available to everyone and when you begin to believe that you need an intermediary, you begin to fall down the slippery slope towards believing that your intermediary is a god. This is especially true if you have pictures of them hanging on your wall. It's a fine line between pictures and statues.

So what's the bottom line in all this? Trust in G-d and pray to Him/Her directly. Don't get bogged down in the whole "I don't want to bother G-d with my insignificant problem/issue". It puts you on the precipice looking down on the slippery slope to Avoda Zara.

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Quick Vegan Cooking
Creating new recipes from old
Strong Biblical Women Part 3
Hanuka
About the Jewish Calendar
Witches and Morality
Presidential Trivia Quiz
Christmas and the Jewish Single
Math Hints 1 -- Adding Fractions
Presidents1: George Washington
Passover: Holiday of Freedom
Ruth and Naomi
John and John Quincy Adams
Television Trivia Quiz
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