Quality Post

by DovBear | 9:14 AM |

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... and one I requested on Twitter!

We DID change our names and clothing in Egypt

by DovBear | 9:06 AM |

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There are some well known midrashim that tell us Bnei Yisrael merited redemption from slavery in Egypt becuase they held on to certain symbols of Jewish identity:

Rav Huna says in the name of Bar-Kappara (Midrash Vayikra Rabba 32:5) that we did not change our names or our language, we did not speak lashon ha-ra, and everyone observed the laws of arayot (forbidden relationships).

In the Mekhilta R. Eliezer haKappar is quoted saying: "Did not Israel possess four mitzvot [while they were in Egypt]…: that they were sexually pure, that they did not gossip, that they did not change their names, and that they did not change their language!?

And in Midrash Lekach Tov on Parshat Va'eira someone (can't find it right now) someone adds that the redemption was merited because the Israelites in Egypt wore distinctive clothing.

Problems
(1) The torah seems to say outright that the redemption was merited because of blood, namely the blood of circumcision and the blood of the Korban Pesach. ['I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, and I said to you, "In your blood, live; in your blood, live!"' (Ezekiel 16:6)]

(2) In what sense did the redemption require "merit?" Abraham received a straight promise that his descendants would be taken out of Egypt. It says nowhere that this promise is a function of merit.

(3) How do we justify the claim that they "kept their names?" It seems clear from the textual evidence that the Isralites did change their names. The names of the original nation of seventy that settled in Goshen are given. We also have the names of the tribal leaders who took part in the Exodus, and the names of a few others dignitaries. Not one of them is a repeat. If the Jews who were redeemed from Egypt understood this Midrash in the way that most Jews do today, wouldn't we find at least one Avraham, and maybe a Yosef or a Yehuda, among the dor hamidbar? Yet, we don't.

(4) The redeemer himself seems to have an Egyptian name. As noted by many, Moses seems similar to Ahnmose, Thutmose, Ramose and many other attested New Kingdom names. The names are theophoric (that is embaded with the name of a God) and the suggestion has been made that some Egyptican divine name was originally attached to "Moses" (or more likely "Mose") as well, but dropped at some point. (Aside: The Torah, of course, links his name to the fact that he was "drawn" from the water, a claim that raises all sorts of notorious and well-discussed grammar problems. A solution: His mother named him (the verse actually supports this, and so does logic: How could an Egyptian princess have come up with a Hebrew name?), but she gave him a name that worked in Egyptian, too. If Yocheved was trying to find a way to name Moshe that worked in two languages, she likely wasn't picky about the grammar.)

(5) Other famous men and women from that generation also seem to have Egyptian names, including:
::   Miriam The first part of her name "mry" is Egyptian for beloved; this was a common Egyptian personal name (Noth) and is also the proposed etymology for her ancestor Merari.)
::   Chur Egyptian skygod Horus  (Noth)
::   Pinchas Pi is a definate article in Egyptian; the second part of the name belonged to an Egyptian king (Hoffmier)

(6)Though the Midrash claims the Israelites in Egypt wore distinctive clothing, the textual evidence suggest otherwise: At the Exodus, the Israelites asked the Egyptians for gold, silver, and clothing

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Tim Tebow's Superbowl Ad

by EFink | 9:04 AM |

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A Guest Post By E. Fink

This is a crosspost from my blog.

UPDATE BELOW

The most well-known athlete in America might be Tim Tebow.

Tebow is possibly the most celebrated, successful college football player of all time. He was a 2 time national champion with the Florida Gators and a Heisman Trophy winner. His success, as well as his good looks and supernatural physique has made him a household name across the United States. Oh, there is one more thing, Tebow is the son of missionaries who is very religious and (at this point) celibate.

Tebow has used his star power to advocate for Christianity. He spent a couple of summers working with missionaries in the Far East and has always been vocal about his religiousness. Tim Tebow is an athlete who is using his star power to make a difference in the world. We may not agree with his message, but he is certainly a better role model than felon Gilbert Arenas or even LeBron James.

During the upcoming Super Bowl, Tebow will be featured in a $2.6 Million ad for a strong Pro-Life Organization called Focus on the Family. This has set off a firestorm of reactions from groups that oppose Focus in the Famliy, like the National Organization for Women (don't you love these names?) who do not approve the message of the ad. Additionally, advocate groups like PETA are up in arms because they have been denied Superbowl air time for their causes.

Honestly, the reason CBS approved this ad are probably related to the economy. If you're willing to pay $2.6 Million for an ad in the economy - they'll take your money.

What is interesting to me about all this are the circumstances of Tim Tebow's birth. In the ad Tim is expected to tell the story of his mother's pregnancy. Mrs. Tebow became very ill during a mission to the Philippines and was advised to terminate the pregnancy to save her life. She ignored the doctor, Tim was born and Mrs. Tebow survived.

First, Jewish Law does not share the same views as Christian Law on abortion. In a situation where the mother's life is in danger, many traditional authorities hold that the mother MUST abort the pregnancy. There is an assumption that fundamentalist Christians and Orthodox Jews agree on abortion. That is just not true.

Second, even those that hold that abortion is immoral and should never be allowed, is this a wholesome message? To ignore a doctor's strong recommendation? Isn't reckless? Don't we look at Scientology with disdain when a life is lost because of their refusal to see a doctor? What if Mrs. Tebow lost her life in the pregnancy and Tim dies before birth?

It seems that advocating for the sanctity of life is a fair cause to support, but advocating in a manner that breeds recklessness... That seems irresponsible.

UPDATE:

It seems that the only danger may have been to the fetus. If that was the case, the issue is slightly different than when there is danger to the mother if she would not abort. Still, opinions remain that permit abortion in such cases., though they are less vocal and a smaller minority than when the life of the mother is in danger. The ad is still reckless.

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The dying during darkness or a new way to deal with literalists

by DovBear | 5:04 AM |

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Old Way

Midrashic Literalist: So we know that during the darkness plague 80 percent of the Jews were slaughtered by God.
DB: Um... we know?
ML: Yes, we KNOW. It says so right here in Rashi, (Exodus 13:18) and he's quoting a Midrash, so it's TRUE.
DB: Are you sure?
ML: YES!
DB: Well, that's somewhat puzzling isn't it? After all no mention of this massacre is mentioned in the verse. Wouldn't we expect God to tell us that he murdered 80 percent of the Jewish people? Also, the Exodus is described as a moment of supreme joy. Could that be true, if every family was sitting shiva? What you're insisting on is actually a holocaust, not an Exodus.
ML: Hmmmmm.....
DB: Also, if you look at the math, how did we get from 70 original Jews to 5 * 600,000 people plus women, plus children, plus men older than 60 and younger than 20?
ML: Well, they had six kids per pregnancy...
DB: Even so, each woman would need to have like 60 kids, so that means for 210 years every single slavewoman had 10 sets of septuplets?
ML: Hey.......are you some kind of KOFER?
DB: No....
ML: I mean JUST WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TO DISAGREE WITH RASHI!??!
DB: Um...
ML: Don't you think he was aware of all your "questions?"
DB: Um...
ML: And anyway Rashi had RUACH HAKODESH so what he said was TRUE and HOW DARE YOU QUESTION IT.
DB: Well....
ML: You're just a LIBERAL who feels the NEED to question everything. Can't God do anything? Can't he kill 80 percent of the Jews if he feels like? Huh? Can't he? What's with you? Every time the Torah says something that doesn't fit into your narrow, human conception of how things are supposed to be you think you can ask questions?

- Fin -

New Way 

Midrashic Literalist: So we know that during the darkness plague 80 percent of the Jews were slaughtered by God.
DB: Um... we know?
ML: Yes, we KNOW. It says so right here in Rashi, (Exodus 13:18) and he's quoting a Midrash, so it's TRUE.
DB: Are you sure?
ML: YES!
DB: Well that's odd, because it says right here in the Gemarah (Sanhedrin 111A) that God massacred over a 100 billion Jews during the darkness plague?
ML: A 100 billion?
DB: Why yes, a certain Rav Samai says that just as only 2 people of the original 600,000 survived to enter the land of Israel, only 2 of every 600,000 survived the slavery, so if you do the math...
ML: A 100 billion?
DB: Yes.
ML: With a B?
DB: uh-huh
ML: Well that's... um... a billion? How can that be? It would mean... I mean... how did they get that many Jews in the first place?
DB: HEY! YOU'RE NOT SOME KIND OF KOFER ARE YOU?! Can't God do anything? Can't he kill several billion Jews in three days if he feels like? Huh? Can't he? What's with you? Every time the Torah says something that doesn't fit into your narrow, human conception of how things are supposed to be you think you can ask questions?

Notes
1 - This actually happened.
2 - Though Rashi's view is that Rav Simai means to say several billion Jews were killed during darkness, this isn't the only way to understand his statement. Perhaps Rav Samai is saying that just as only 2 people survived the desert (ie Kolev and Yehoshua), only 2 survived the slavery (Yocheved and Serach bat Asher, I presume, who, according to some (but by no means all) liver supernaturally long lives)
3 - The math (via JS):


2/600,000 = 1/3 * 10^-5

600,000/X = 1/3 * 10^-5

1/X = (1/3 * 10^-5)/600,000

1/X = 1/18 * 10^-10

X = 18 * 10^10

X = 180,000,000,000 = 180 billion

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Rahav sheds light on the splitting of the sea

by Rafi G. | 1:55 PM |

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A Guest Post by Rafi G

In Sefer Yehoshua in 2:10, Rahav is talking to the two spies Yehoshua had sent. She is describing how they know the Jews are going to take over the land. Rahav says "for we heard that Hashem dried out the waters of the Yam Suf before you, when you left Egypt".

I wonder - does this statement by Rahav shed any light on to how the actual splitting of the sea went down? Can we rely on her statement to understand the splitting of the sea? Perhaps she heard wrong? Perhaps the news media outlets got the details inaccurately? Or maybe this is how it went down - rather than moving the waters to the side, the water in the middle (on the created paths) dried up leaving a path...

What do you think?

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President Obama on the 65th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz and Birkenau

by DovBear | 11:24 AM |

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Weak speech. Says nothing new, and even the hoary old tropes it rehashes aren't repeated in interesting ways. If you're looking for a way to judge it favorably, though, its true he does say all the right/expected things.

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The power of Moshe's hands

by DovBear | 10:23 AM |

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At the end of Beshalach, we're told of Joshua's battle with Amelek. During the fight, Moshe, Aaron and Hur went to the top of a hill to watch, and "whenever Moshe held up his hands, Israel prevailed; whenever he lowered his hands Amalek prevailed."

On the surface, it may have seemed to early readers like there was something magical about Moshe's hands. This is a theory ancient interpreters apparently wished to defeat.

Thus we see:

(1) The raised hands were just a symbolic message [Philo]
(2) The raised hands inspired Israel to trust God, and when they trusted God He performed miracles for them. [Mechilta de Rabbe Yishmoel]
(3) Moshe raised his hands in prayer [Targum Neophyte]

The early Christian interpreters took a similar approach, only they added an interesting wrinkle

(4) Moshe stretched out his hands in a representation of the cross [Letter of Barnabas]

I admit to doing a double-take when I saw this. I've read this story dozens if not hundreds of times, and in my mind's eye Moshe's hands were raised above his head in prayer. I see now that this was a form of interpretation, and one not necessarily shared by those who approach the text from a different set of assumptions.  While Jewish interpreters thought of Moshe as praying, or otherwise inspiring the Israelites, Christian interpreters saw this episode as foreshadowing of an event that would play out later in the New Testament, as follows.

According to early Christian interpreters, Joshua (Jesus in Greek) is a type (that is a representation) for the New Testament Jesus, and his battle with Amalek, a type for the Devil, was a foreshadowing of Jesus's victory over sin.  During the battle with Amelk/sin, Moshe (also a type for Jesus) interceded with God through the sign of the cross, ie, his raised hands. There are many examples of this style of exegesis. (Crossing the Red Sea = baptism; Sacrifice of Isaac = crucifiction; Story of Joseph's sale = Jesus's betrayal; and many, many more.) This approach to interpretation is called "typology".

Now, there's no doubt that these Christian interpretations were the result of pre-existing set of assumptions.  Christian interpreters wanted to justify a view of history, and the role of Jesus in it, and to explain why the Old Testament was necessary and valuable yet inconsistent with what Jesus was believed to have taught. The typological approach, that is the "discovery" of allegories and foreshadowing in the Old Testament, was the answer.

Question for discussion: Did something similar happen in Jewish interpretation, that is were some passages and events understood in ways that fit a different pre-existing set of assumptions?  I think so.... As an example, let's close the post where it began: Some ancient interpreters had the pre-existing view that magic wasn't real; thus, they had to read the story of Moshe's hands in a way that put the power in God's hand, rather than man's

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Obama's Bow: WWGWS (what would George Washington say?)

by DovBear | 8:10 AM |

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Will this do anything to blunt the teeth of those who delight in unreflectively criticizing Obama for everything and anything? Perhaps not, but its an interesting historical curiosity nonetheless: Apparently our first president, and founding father had the practice of bowing to his guests. Can Obama claim "minhag avoseinu?" Might that put an end to some of the nonsense?

Note: I see no mention of a presidential hand-holding or romantic stroll custom.

Source: Reader (name on request) (name is Hedyot) photograph of sign at Smithsonian Museum of American History.

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Is Parshat Ha'Mon a segulah or not?

by Rafi G. | 9:39 AM |

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A Guest Post by Rafi G

Today is the day people consider it a segulah, or perhaps a better word would be a "yom mesugal", to say Parshat Ha'Mon - the psukim of the portion in the Torah describing the falling of the Mon, and how Hashem sustained the Jews in the desert for 40 years with this miracle manna.

The idea of the segulah is that this week is Parshat B'Shalach, in which the portion of the manna is found, and reading it is meant to remind us that it is Hashem who provides us with our sustenance, not our own toil and efforts, no matter how necessary and important they might be. With this reminder and reconsideration of the real source of sustenance, perhaps Hashem will be more inclined to give the extra assistance in providing the sustenance.

If you have not yet said the parshat ha'mon and still want to, Tefillos.com has the set the table for you...

And once on the topic, Kikar Shabbos has a write-up about how this segula is false. Basically it is recommended, and brought in Shulchan Aruch, that one should read the parshat ha'mon every day. There is no special power in reading it today, but should be read every day.

According to their research, the source for the segula is given as Reb menachem Mendel of Rimanov. yet when looking at the calendar of the year that prints all the minhagim, one will see that he says he spoke with the descendants and they deny his being the source and that they have no special minhag of saying it today.

The only source found for it, according to the article, is printed in a sefer that quotes someone who quotes Rav Shalom of Stropkov, who supposedly said in the name of Reb Menachem Mendel of Rimanov that it is a segula to say it on this day. Their conclusion is that such a weak source cannot be relied upon to actually consider it a real segula.

Real segula or not, say it every day or not, any time you say, today or any day, it you should think about the source of your sustenance and reconsider that while you have to put in your effort, it is ultimately Hashem that provides parnassa, and hopefully reconsidering this will be a merit for Hashem's beneficial sustenance.

RELATED
DovBear: Did you say Parshas Haman?

DovBear: Why parshas haman is nothing like dipping an apple in honey

Song of the Sea: How did everyone know the words?

by DovBear | 12:06 PM |

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After the collapse of the walls of water onto the pursuing Egyptians, Moshe and the people burst into song. How were several million people able to sing together? One famous Jewish source (Tosefta Sota 6:2) says it happened through a low grade form of prophecy: "The holy spirit came over them, and they praised Him."

Other ancient interpreters, pointing to the first words of the Song (I will sing unto God...") had other suggestions:

(1) Moshe sang, and those who heard him (ie not everyone) joined in for two choruses [Philo]
(2) Moshe composed it himself (and presumably taught it to the people?) [Josephus]
(3) Moshe sang it and the people repeated, line by line [Rabbi Akiva in m. Sotah 5:4]
(4) Moshe sang in sections, the elders answered " אָשִׁירָה לַיהוָה כִּי-גָאֹה גָּאָה סוּס וְרֹכְבוֹ רָמָה בַיָּם." and the people answered עָזִּי וְזִמְרָת יָהּ, וַיְהִי-לִי לִישׁוּעָה [Tibat Marqa]

It should be noted that the LXX and the Samaritan Bible both have SING (plural) rather than I WILL SING.

Additionally, there are traditions that everyone at the Sea experienced prophecy. This is concluded in two different ways. First the song itself seems to indicate that the people saw God. After all they sang "This is my God and I will glorify him." The word "this" seems to suggest they saw something. [Mechilta De Rabbi Yishmael] Meanwhile, in Deut 26:8 Moshe says "the Lord brought us out with great fear." Where the MT has "fear", the LXX and Vulgate have "visions" and Targum Onkelos, Targum Yonatan, and the Peshitta have "sights."

In the Pesach Haggadah, the gap between the two readings is bridged with the drash that the great fear was caused by the revealing of God's being, which would have also been the great vision/sight indicated in the other sources.


[Based heavily on James Kugel]

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A miraculous failed segulah

by Rafi G. | 10:07 AM |

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A Guest Post by Rafi G

Do you believe in the power of a segulah? What about the magical aspect of a segulah not working - would you chalk it up to a segulah that didn't work or would you say the failure was also a miracle and magical?

A segula that did not work, is now being called a miracle.

Rav Yisrael Yaakov Fisher, aka Dayan Fisher, ztl, was big into providing segulas for pregnant women who were having problems. And of all the different segulas an rabbis who gave out segulas, people swore by Dayan Fishers segulas and considered him a master at these things, despite his not being sfardi.

Kikar reports that one of Dayan Fishers segulas was tested recently, and it didn't work. But they then found out that it was a miracle it didnt work.

The situation was that a woman was told her baby was breach. Being that she was already in her 9th month of pregnancy, it had to be turned quickly. Instead of hoping for it to turn on its own and instead of having the doctor force the baby to turn, they decide they would first try Dayan Fisher's segula.

The segula for getting a baby to turn is to go to the Sataf (a spring near Ein Kerem) and to drink water from the spring, passing the water first from the husband to the wife (note: before you rely on this, get the exact details of what needs to be done).

Rav Fisher swore by this segula saying it always worked and he promised it would always work. The only time it would not work is if the umbilical cord was wrapped around the babies neck.

Sure enough, his couple with the breach baby went to Sataf and performed the segula.

When they went back to the doctor, they found out the baby was still breach, meaning the segula had not worked.

As they were preparing for the doctors appointment for the baby to be physically turned, they went through some monitoring and ultrasound tests. After the results came back that all is ok and they can go for the procedure, the husband asked the technician to please check again to make sure the cord is not wrapped around the neck. She agreed and checked it again. After calling in a doctor, they realized the cord was wrapped around the neck.

Had the baby turned, the baby would have died. The segula did not work because the cord was around the neck and the miracle saved the baby.

They performed a c-section and the baby was BH healthy.

Miraculously in this case the segula did not work! Mazel tov!

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Haredim dont vote Democrat

by Rafi G. | 1:57 PM |

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A Guest Post by Rafi G

In the past, many have wondered why Ultra-Orthodox, haredi, Jews have supported the Republicans and not the Democrats, unlike the majority of Jews in general (that vote Democrat).

I finally found the real reason.

Hillary Clinton today spoke out against China and other countries that limit and censor Internet access. She said Internet freedon is part of US foreign policy.

It is clear now why haredim oppose Democrats, and especially the Clintons. The haredim are among those who ban the Internet, and the Democrats fight for Internet freedom.

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by DovBear | 7:43 AM |

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Back when it wasn't "President's Day" but "George Washington's Birthday" do you suppose bitter, unhappy, selfish, chip-on-their-shoulder members of one demo or another refered to it disparagingly as "Landed Gentry Day" or "Rich White Guy's Day?"

If ask, because some fine Jews are known to complain on torah true blogs about MLK Day and to dismiss it with nasty appellations. Do you think the problem will disapear if one day MLK Day morphs into Civil Rights Day, or similar?

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Chazal, Jewish women, and the color red

by DovBear | 12:46 PM |

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One of the things I "know" but have never bothered to investigate is that Jewish women aren't supposed to wear red. I don't know where this comes from, or if anyone actually obeys this restriction. Nor do I know the history or the development of the idea. So I didn't have much of an answer when someone semi-famous sent me this in an email slugged "Chazal proven right again." Money quote:

Professor of psychology, Dr. Andrew Elliot and researcher Dr. Daniela Niesta, conducted five psychological experiments which showed that the colour red makes men feel more amorous toward women and found men are unaware of the role the colour plays in their attraction.

Since, I'm not sure what they said, I can't be sure they were proven right, see? Also, I rather doubt "Chazal" spoke on the subject in one unified voice of agreement in that, well, that never happened.

Can anyone fill in some of the blanks here?

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Proud of Israel stepping up to the plate

by Rafi G. | 12:32 PM |

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A Guest Post by Rafi G

There has been a debate on twitter about Israelis helping or not helping others. the issue is specifically helping Palestinians from Gaza getting medical treatment. Some people think that while some are helped, the Israelis are mean, insensitive and cruel because they reject others and don't help them.

Personally I find it to be a kiddush hashem when Israel allows Palestinians in for medical treatment. That being said, I see no reason why we have to let them all in. The army has decided that some people are safe and we can help them, while others are still a danger and we should not help them. I see no reson why we have to help everyone indiscriminately, and am fine with the army and/or politicians being selective. Many of them are hostile to us, and if the army decides certain people are unsafe or it is not prudent for whatever reason that is fine by me.

Some people though are using the rejected Palestinians and making it look like Israel is: a) mean and not helping other sick people and b) bad at PR because if we helped them they would become our friends.

It is easy to second guess, but we don't know why these people were rejected from entering Israel. If the army deemed them unsafe or hostile, so be it. There are other countries who can help them out. Nobody is looking at Egypt. Why do we have to solve everyone else's problems alone? We help plenty, but for certain reasons we cannot help everyone.

The following clip, while nothing to do with the Palestinians, shows Israel does help, and goes well beyond the levels that other countries help and stick their necks out for other people. I would even suggest that the fact that we are willing to go so far out of our way to help, more than others do, shows that when we don't help it is for a good reason.

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More from the Israel-hating New York Times

by DovBear | 9:38 AM |

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Whoever it was that said the Times often goes out of its way to make Israel look bad was dead right. Here's more proof from today's edition:

Meanwhile, Col. Cormi Bartal, a doctor in the Israeli Army’s newly established field hospital here, pulled back the flap of a tent serving as the hospital’s pediatric section and pointed to a woman, Guerlande Jean Michel, 24. She identified a sleeping newborn on her cot, one of the first born in the city after the earthquake, and spoke in a halting voice. “This is my child,” said Ms. Jean Michel, a primary school teacher. “His name is Israel.”

Colonel Bartal said the hospital had carried out amputations on 10 people, treated patients with burns on 70 percent of their bodies, and saved two people with gunshot wounds. “There are the injuries from the earthquake, but those are subsiding,” he explained. “Now we’re treating those affected by the aftermath, not from the earthquake.”

 Start writing those letters of protest to the editor please!

HT: STGG

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by DovBear | 8:45 AM |

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Hope you're home from work, today. It's what Martin would have wanted.

Martin Luther King, Jr: Selected Readings

We are not satisfied and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together. --Martin Luther King, Jr., Address at the Freedom March on Washington D.C, 28 August 1963


For nonviolence not only calls upon its adherents to avoid external physical violence, but it calls upon them to avoid internal violence of spirit. It calls on them to engage in that something called love. And I know it is difficult sometimes. When I say love at this point, I'm not talking about an affectionate emotion. It's nonsense to urge people, oppressed people, to love their oppressors in an affectionate sense. I'm talking about something much deeper. I'm talking about a sort of understanding, creative, redemptive goodwill for all men. --Martin Luther King, Jr., Address at the Freedom Rally in Cobo Hall, 23 June 1963

Selected Speeches and Essays:
'I've Been to the Mountaintop'
'I Have a Dream'
Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech
Letter from Birmingham Jail 

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Why Do University Professors Tilt Left? Part of the blame lies with Rush et al.

by DovBear | 7:37 AM |

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The Times, today,offers the best explanation yet for what it calls the "overwhelmingly liberal tilt of university professors:"

...new research suggests that critics may have been asking the wrong question. Instead of looking at why most professors are liberal, they should ask why so many liberals — and so few conservatives — want to be professors.... A pair of sociologists think they may have an answer: typecasting.

According to the study, the stereotype of a university professor as secular and liberal is what "influences younger people’s ideas about what they want to be when they grow up." Just as few young men grow up with an ambition to become nurses, the study claims that hardly any young conservatives acquire a desire to become university professors. In the former case the profession is typecast by gender; in the latter the typecasting is political.

The study goes on to argue that this problem is one conservatives helped make themselves. When conservatives complain about the liberal academy, and speak of it as a place when students are brainwashed and subjected to liberal bias they're also effectively telling young conservatives not to pursue careers in the academy. As the article concludes: “The irony is that the more conservatives complain about academia’s liberalism the more likely it’s going to remain a bastion of liberalism.”

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new hechsher - for authentic Jewish music

by Rafi G. | 9:38 AM |

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A Guest Post by Rafi G

Bechadrei reports that a new rabbinic committee has been formed. This one is to control what is considered Jewish Music. They will put their shtempel on disks being published to certify that they consider it Jewish Music.
Ostensibly, anything without their shtemple means that composer and/or singer did not follow their guidelines and the disk should not be bought.

Bechadrei has posted the document listing various guidelines of how to play music according to what they consider Jewish music.

And what is authentic Jewish music anyway? Just because a few people decide that the style of music they like is authentic makes it so? The style some people think is authentic based on the fact that they played it 100 years ago? 100 years ago they thought that was also not authentic and was too modern.

I recommend that there be a consumer boycott against any disk, and the artist, that plays along with these guys and puts the shtemple on their disk. Don't buy the disk and don't use the artist for your weddings and affairs. By playing along with the new Vaad they give them power and help them increase their power. If people don't buy disks with the shtemple, artists will think twice before they agree to give this Vaad the power...

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by DovBear | 9:32 AM |

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Enjoy more tasty Maneggs at maneggs.com

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Slate and OJ homosexuality

by DovBear | 9:26 AM |

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Slate ran a Steven I. Weiss story about OJ and homosexuality on Friday. Its well researched and reported and worth a read. The one glaring omission (and, please: this is not a serious complaint folks) is that not one of the many well-commented posts I've written on the subject was referenced. I've been pointing out that OJ society is hypocritical about toevah since 2005

Ah well. Still, not a bad job Steven. Its nice to see one of our own up on the big stage.

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Va'ayrah Notes (2010)

by DovBear | 8:32 AM |

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What everyone should know

- EGYPTIAN MAGIC The presence of the court magicians is not necessarily evidence that the magic is real. Though Alter and Rashi agree that the story is written from the perspective of someone who believes the magicians had real power, other commentators disagree. Notably, Samson Raphael Hirsch reads the magician verses in a way that presents them as frauds. Ralbag and Seforno are two other bold face names who said the magicians were frauds. Ibn Ezra, who also doubted their power proposes that the very word latayhem (enchantments or spells) indicates their chicanary. The word, he says, comes from l-h-t, or flame, which Robert Alter says links the work of the magicians to the "fire and flash technique of the illusionist." Those who disagree with Ibn Ezra and imagine the spells were real might say the root of latayhem is l-'-t or conceal. Even according to the ancient interpreters, who almost certainly thought magic was real, what the Egyptians magicians could do were merely pale imitations of Moshe's miracles.

- THE PLAGUES The stuff "everyone knows" about the plagues, is actually a matter of serious dispute among the Rishonim. For instance, if you go around telling people that one frog came out of the river, and that it multiplied as it was hit, you're disregarding contrary opinions of Rabbi Eliezer ben Azarya, Rashi and the Abravenel. If you say the Israelites weren't affect by the first plagues you're over-ruling Ibn Ezra. And so on.


External Parallels
Our parsha begins with a formula ("I am X") that is found in many ANE documents, both as a royal statement, or as the announcements of various deities. (Alter)

Against the crux
At the beginning of the parsha, God seems to say that he never once told the Patriarchs his four-letter name. Rashi says what this means is that Patriarchs weren't aware of the attribute represented by this name. [More]Alter points out that literally its true: Nowhere, does God reveal himself to Patriarchs by that name. Alter points out that literally its true: There's no special episode, such as this one, in which God's four-letter name, or the meaning of it, is revealed; on the other hand, there's also no concrete indication that they were ignorant of it either.

Anomaly
The second time Moshe's stick* is transformed into a reptile, the animal is called a tanin. Previously its a nachash. The difference? A nachash is an ordinary snake, but a tanin might be a crocodile, or a dragon.

*Here I follow those who said there was one magic stick, which Aaron borrowed as needed.

Symmetry
The plagues come in three groups of three. The first of each triad is announced by Moshe in the morning at the water's edge, with the . the second is announced in the palace, and the third isn't announced at all. Also, the first two affect the Nile, and end with a stench. The second two involve insects (per those who take orov not as a horde of beasts but as a swarm of bugs.) The third pair are epidemics, and the fourth destroy crops. The final two plagues pair darkness with death.

See all I've done so far on Exodus

Me too!

by DovBear | 7:48 AM |

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A guest post by N of "Geshmack Dvar Torah Weekly"


A wonderful idea from the Sifsei Cohen, a student of the Arizal.

After Hashem sends down the hail that destroyed all the vegetation of Egypt, Paroh calls for Moshe and Ahron and says "ה' הַצַּדִּיק וַאֲנִי וְעַמִּי הָרְשָׁעִים" This is generally translated as– Hashem is righteous, וַאֲנִי וְעַמִּי הָרְשָׁעִים – and I and my people are wicked. But this pasuk can be split up in a different way, which results in a change in its meaning; !ה' הַצַּדִּיק וַאֲנִי -וְעַמִּי הָרְשָׁעִים – Hashem is righteous - as am I! וְעַמִּי הָרְשָׁעִים – and it is my people who are wicked!" . Paroh is faking innocence – and attempting to side with Hashem, and claims it is his people whom are wicked, not he!

In addition, if we take out וַאֲנִי, the roshei teivos (initials) of the remaining four words spell Hashem’s 4 letter name. The וַאֲנִי is in the center of this; it is interrupting the shem Hashem. He is claiming parity with G-d, and within G-d's Name itself!

Paroh proceeded, and told Moshe that he will allow the Jews to go, so Hashem stopped the hail, yet Parah did not keep his word, and did not allow them to leave. Hashem says to Moshe in the first pasuk of next week's sedra "בֹּא אֶל פַּרְעֹה כִּי אֲנִי הִכְבַּדְתִּי אֶת לִבּוֹ וְאֶת לֵב עֲבָדָיו לְמַעַן שִׁתִי אֹתֹתַי אֵלֶּה בְּקִרְבּוֹ - The Lord said to Moses: "Come to Paroh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, in order that I may place these signs of Mine in his midst" (10:1).

There is a problem with this that is not evident from a translation. Why does Hashem say כִּי אֲנִי הִכְבַּדְתִּי? The אֲנִי is superfluous , as הִכְבַּדְתִּי is in the first person, so there must be more to it than meets the eye. Literally, כִּי אֲנִי הִכְבַּדְתִּי means because of אֲנִי I have hardened – Hashem is saying that it is because of Paroh’s arrogance and usage of the word אֲנִי in 9:27 that הִכְבַּדְתִּי – I have hardened his heart so that שִׁתִי אֹתֹתַי אֵלֶּה בְּקִרְבּוֹ. Except, אֹתֹתַי can mean My signs or My letters. Hashem hardened Pharoah’s heart so that he can see ‘My letters’ in his midst. Which letters are we talking about? The letters that make up the name of Hashem which Pharoah had previously attempted to infiltrate!

So in essence, "because of אֲנִי, I have hardened their hearts to show my letters {ie G-d's name, with all His power,} and showing it in their midst".

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The mouth just hangs open

by DovBear | 7:50 PM |

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Kieth Olberman delivers a viscious (and well deserved) open-handed slap to the face of both Robertson and Limbaugh

   

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Ktav ivri vs ketav ashuri

by DovBear | 11:44 AM |

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Suppose I told you that I thought the Torah was given in cyrillic letters. You'D think I was nuts, wouldn't you? So what do we about the fact that there are actual Jews who make an analogous claim? I'm speaking of the very famous ktav ivri vs ketav ashuri argument.

Background
What we call ktav ivri is a cuneiform script, is an abjad offshoot of the ancient Semitic alphabet, barely discernible from the Phoenician alphabet from which it was derived. The square script used for Hebrew today is a direct decendant, not of Phonenician, but of Aramaic/Assyrian or ketav ashuri, a script first attested to in the 9th century BCE. Sometime around the 3rd or 4th century BCE, ketav ashuri began to gradually replace ktav ivri for Hebrew writing as Aramaic became the region's most important language.

The Torah, you will recall, was revealed on Mount Sinai around 1300 BCE or about 400 years before ketav ashuri appeared, and perhaps 1000 years before Jews started using it.

The problem
Now then. what script did Moshe use when he took on the role of Executive Secretatry, and wrote the Torah, according to the divine dictation? There are four views:

Some (1) say the original Torah scrolls were written in ketav ashuri. According to other opinions (2) the ketav ashuri in which the Torah was given was forgotten and for many years  ktav ivri was used for Torah scrolls, until the ketav ashuri script was restored by Ezra. A third opinion (3) is that the Torah was originally given in the ktav ivri ; later the ketav ashuri script was introduced by Ezra. A fourth opinion (4), which I made up just now, is that the ktav ivri was just an ancient form of shorthand, used by Moshe because God simply refused to slow down.

The most logical opinion, of course, is the third one. Perhaps this is why it's also the least popular.

Jay-Walking
Anyway, I once had the misfortune of speaking (in the yeshivish dialect) to a young yeshiva student who outright refused to accept the testimony of archelogists who know from their research and discoveries that ketv ashuri did not exist when the Torah was given.

Young yeshiva student: Archeologists? Feh!

When I told the young yeshiva student that his view, the view expressed by the Rabbis who took the first opinion, was analogous to saying the Torah was revealed in cyrillic letters, he had this clever reply:

Young yeshiva student: Chazal said that a Torah is only kosher if it's written in ketv ashuri. That's a halacha! So how could it be possible that all the Torahs written by Dovid Hamelech and the other kings of Israel weren't kosher? And by the way: Archeologists? Feh!

At this point, I considered terminating the conversation and heading for the nearest cliff, but I took one last stab:

DovBear: Look, you know that Chazal made mistakes with medicine. We've had that conversation, and you agreed with me. So why can't you accept that those who say the Torah was originally written in ketv ashuri were wrong about that, too?

Young yeshiva student:  Liberal! Have some faith!!

Sigh. I don't know what will become of our young yeshiva student. Like so many other young yeshiva students, he has an acute contempt for science. And as he goes, so goes our world.

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Earthquake in Haiti - the Jewish connection

by Rabba bar bar Chana | 7:18 AM |

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A guest post by Rabba bar bar Chana

Actually, there isn't really much of a Jewish connection. Port-au-Prince doesn't even have a Chabad house. (I think the nearest one is in the Dominican Republic.)

But as Jews, we should all be thinking about this horrible tragedy affecting fellow human beings.  Unfortunately, a look at my blogroll this morning revealed no posts on the Jblogosphere about the earthquake. So I figured I'd put one up here. There's not much that I can add to the news, except to urge everyone to give tzedaka to relief organizations helping out there. And if you feel more comfortable giving to a Jewish organization, and find one that is helping out in Haiti, please post that information in the comments so others can give too.

And for those of you who need a Jewish/Israeli connection, see this article. Israel is sending relief workers to Haiti, and several Israelis are missing. Also see this history of Jews in Haiti.
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UPDATE: For the REAL Jewish connection, see the first comment -- DB

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Why the Republicans get a pass on National Security

by DovBear | 4:04 PM |

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The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Fright Club
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

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Black Hats Are Just Like Kugel

by EFink | 10:24 AM |

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A Guest Post By E. Fink

Please don't take this post too seriously. It's partly written tongue in cheek. I bear no grudge against hat wearers. I myself was a devout hat wearer for many years and I may return to hat wearing sometime in the future. But then again, I've also waffled on kugel...

Black hats are just like kugel. Don't you agree?

Kugel has been around for 800 years. It has evolved and ingredients and variations have been added. But it is all kugel. According to Wikipedia, Kugel is a Jewish word that describes a pudding or casserole made from noodles or potato. Kugel was a common food in eastern Europe and the Jewish housewives made it a staple of the Jewish diet.

Does kugel have any holiness attached to it? Is there any meaning behind kugel? No and no. Kugel is a social phenomena.

Jewish people eat kugel for the nostalgia. Kugel evokes the shtetl, a simpler time that has become romanticized within American Jewry.

Black hats are just the same. Jewish people wore hats of various shapes and colors for hundreds of years. It was part of the lifestyle of all European cultures to wear a hat. The hat was a basic part of the wardrobe of all Europeans, Jews and non-Jews alike. Up until JFK ascended to the presidency all US presidents wore their hats in public. JFK was a young whipper-snapper whose generation did not all wear hats. Slowly the rest of western culture followed JFK's lead and the hat became an anachronism. No one wears hats anymore.

Well, some people wear hats. Construction workers, baseball players, Kentucky Derby enthusiasts and Orthodox Jewish Men wear hats.

Does the black hat have any holiness attached to it? Is there any meaning behind the black hat? No and no.

The fedora was standard issue for Europeans and Americans, Jews and non-Jews up until about 50 years ago. It was a style of dress that was appropriate for its time. Why do we cling to it today?

We cling to it like we cling to kugel. The black hat evokes the shtetl. There is a nostalgia associated with the black hat. It is a social phenomena.

So what's wrong with that? Nothing if that is where it ended. But the black hat has come to mean more than that. It has become like the handshake of the Freemasons. It is an entry into the exclusive club of orthodox Judaism. Shouldn't the entry into the club have more meaning than kugel? Wouldn't we be better off if entry was shmiras hamitzvos?

There are other problems. There is the idea that Jews are like Amish folks. We don't move on, we don't welcome change or adapt in outsider's eyes. Worse, we have started to think that we don't embrace change or adapt. See the latest bans on internet or the fear of joining the work force or pursuing advanced degrees. Orthodox Jews are becoming an anachronism and the black hat is the banner of stagnant thinking.

How about this one? Sephardim now wear black hats. To me that is blatant discrimanation. Sephardim wore turbans as their non-Jewish mediterranean neighbors did. Why should their anachronsitic head gear not be accepted and they have to adopt European anachronistic head gear. It just seems narrow-minded and bigoted.

Fast forward 100 years. Orthodox Jewish men will look as silly in their black hats as many of THOSE HAT WEARERS describe chassidic men. Those crazies wear hats from 200 years ago. We are only wearing 60 year old hats! /sarcasm/ Do you see how silly this is?

On a slighty more humorous note, hats are also associated with the Mob 'look'. Is it a coincidence that so many Orthodox Jews have been in the news (and the prisons) for their Mobster like behavior?

Then there is the halacha. The Mishna Brura paskens that when praying, a man must wear a hat. Does this give the hat holy status? Does this mean the hat is a requirement for effective prayer? Or perhaps it would have been just blasphemous to show up to shul with no hat as it would have been for Woodrow Wilson to leave the White House with no hat on his head?

Think about it this way: Would you go to an important job interview wearing a black hat? Is a black hat a normal way of "dressing up" in our society? Of course not? So why should we go to shul or for those that wear their hats at the supermarkets, go to the supermarket in a black hat?

Just because some social phenomena was a certain way in Europe 200 years ago does not make it Jewish or more Holy.

As it stands now, the black hat is the symbol of the yeshivish Jew. If you don't wear one you are saying "I am not one of you". That is a pretty drastic statement that one implies by not wearing a hat. So if you mind being labeled that way you probably should still wear that hat.

Personally, I don't mind all that much. I can still be frum without my hat and I don't feel like a gangster when I go out of the house.

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I dreamed a dream

by DovBear | 9:40 AM |

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Just once, I'd like to hear a pulpit Rabbi say, "According to one famous interpretive tradition, Pharaoh's court magicians had real powers, but many rishonim (*) reject that interpretive tradition and say they really had no powers at all."

Instead, we're subjected to half-truths like:  "We know the magicians had powers, but..." or "We know that magic/kishuf was very strong in Egypt." 

Can someone explain why shul Rabbis are so maddeningly imprecise on matters such as this? Are they ignorant? Do they hold in contempt the intelligence of their congregations? And if you're a shul rabbi yourself, will you please make a commitment, this year, to giving your congregation the full story?

(*) Ralbag, Abravanel, Rambam, among others.

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More on the GOP's anti-Obama Hypocricy

by DovBear | 7:48 AM |

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From the current Atlantic:

...Republicans rage against the Democrats’ bailouts, takeovers, deficits—yet all three commenced under George W. Bush, not Barack Obama. Almost every concept in Obama’s intensely controversial health plan has at one point or another been advanced by a senior Republican, from Bob Dole to Mitt Romney. I type these words having just watched Fox News’s Glenn Beck liken President Obama’s call for voluntary national service to something out of Maoist China. Obama’s service program barely differs in form, content, and rhetoric from Bush’s program, which in turn was almost identical to the program created by the elder President Bush in 1989.

We see the same thing when it comes to Israel. Obama's mid-east policy is hardly any different from Bush's - the big change came when George W. (Yes! George W.!) introduced the Road Map and the 2-State Solution - yet to hear the typically hysterical anti-Obama Israeli speak (Hi Joe Settler!) you'd think Obama was personally carving up Jerusalem, when the reality is he's basically Bush with better locution.

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Is God color blind?

by Rafi G. | 7:02 AM |

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A Guest Post by Rafi G

Chevron Granovitch, a haredi columnist, writes about a friend of his who is in the year of mourning for his father who passed away.

Granovitch writes that his friends father worked for a living but studied Torah in his free time. The son as well works for a living, and studies Torah in his free time. he never misses his daf yomi shiur, and he is careful to daven three times a day with a minyan.

Sometimes, over the course of the year, gathering a minyan can be difficult, and you might just scrape out the minyan after a lot of time of waiting for the tenth man.

Granovitch describes something that has happened to this fellow who just wants to be careful to daven with a minyan in his father's memory and say kaddish - just as he successfully gathers the minyan and starts the service, one of the people in the minyan state a protest and say they cannot be part of the minyan. The protest is often something like "Somebody with a trimmed and combed beard cannot lead the services." and sometimes it is that "someone who wears a blue shirt, his prayers will not be heard."

Granovitch obviously feels his friends pain and decries the superficial concerns about shirt color and trimmed beard when there is a neshama waiting for the zchus of having a kaddish said in his memory and an amen said for him.

I don't know what Granovitch expects when workign for a living, and especially wearing colored shirts, is demonized in many yeshivas. Suddenly someone who does those things should be considered part of the community and a worthy person? It goes against everything they have been taught. How can they be sensitive to this mans attempt to find a minyan when they consider him barely religious? The problem starts well before the insensitivity displayed when looking for a minyan.

The fact is though, people who are that extreme are rare. I have seen many minyanim in many places, ad hoc gatherings from the side of the highway to museums and amusement parks, along with shuls in places that are extremely remote to extremely busy. Most of the time people are very accepting of davening with people dressed differently than themselves and the problem Granovitch describes is not extremely common. Though it does happen occasionally that someone will not like the appearance of some of the other people in the minyan and soemtimes even refuse to daven with such people..

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Obama Hates Israel

by DovBear | 12:14 PM |

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The very latest:

U.S. to double weapons stockpile in Israel
January 11, 2010
JERUSALEM (JTA) -- The U.S. Army will double the amount of emergency military equipment it stockpiles in Israel.
Jerusalem and Washington agreed that Israel will keep $800 million worth of U.S. equipment, according to Monday's issue of the U.S. weekly Defense News publication, Haaretz reported.
Israel would be allowed to use the equipment in a military emergency, according to the report.
Missiles, armored vehicles, aerial ammunition and artillery ordnance already are stockpiled in Israel.
America stockpiles weapons in areas where its military may need to operate that also assists U.S. allies.
The United States began stockpiling $100 million in military equipment in Israel in 1990, according to the report.

Know what I find funny? Back when Bush was president and dreaming up schemes like the Road Map, or the Two-State Solution everyone on the right still thought he was the very bestest friend Israel ever had. He went beyond Clinton in terms of demand-making on Israel, yet all his GOP-Jew buddies gave him a free pass, and never questioned the received wisdom about what an excellent friend he was. Now, Obama (arguably) is going beyond Bush - but in ways that are still loads smaller then the ways Bush went beyond Clinton - and Bush is still getting a free pass. Even though he made demands on Israel that exceeded the demands made by any other president he's still considered the best. Not only that, but when Obama makes the exact same demands no one recalls Bush made them first! And when Obama takes baby-steps beyond Bush? Well, forget about it. In GOP-Jew myth making Bush's giant steps beyond Clinton meant nothing, but Obama's tiny steps past Bush are proof that he's Hitler on steroids. Makes no sense. And they said Reagan was Teflon.

HT TTC

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What a big day for Shmarya (and such a bad day for Matzav)

by DovBear | 11:08 AM |

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Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Matzav supposed to be the moderate among blogs who make their living ripping off stories reported first in the legitimate newspapers? I do seem to recall hearing something like that, back when the site launched in competition with the very good VIN and the god-awful YWN. Well, that's out the window. Today Matzav greeted an approving NYT profile on Shmarya of Failed Messiah with a furious, red-in-the-face screed that can only be understood as anger over the fact that Shmarya does such a great job bringing light to the dark corners of Orthodoxy. Attack the messenger, and all that.

And if that's not enought, the comment moderators at Matzav have apparently been deleting pro-Shmarya comments while allowing this death threat to stand:

Nice, right? So much for moderation. Its not Matzav's fault this comment appeared, of course, and I don't like deleting comments, but (a) if you're going to delete the pro-Shamrya remarks how can you let this stand, and (b) what kind of "moderate" post attracted such an evil response?

Anyway, my spider sense suggests that perhaps someone connected with Matzav is the author of this obscene little comment. Who else would congratulate Matzav for identifying Shmarya? Shmarya's blog Failed Messiah is older, more popular, and more successful then Matzav. If anyone should get credit for bringing Shamrya to the world's attention its the New York Times. All Matzav did is what the news aggregating websites always do. They traded on someone else's work -- this time even while insulting it.

Hat-tip: Kvetcher

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BBC article on Jews who leave Observance

by DovBear | 7:46 AM |

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Here's the best, by which I mean most disturbing, bit:

Those who choose to leave [Ultra Orthodoxy] know little about the world they are entering."They are like aliens," says Irit Paneth of the organisation Hillel, which offers practical help to former Haredim. They often do not know how to open a bank account, use the internet, find work and rent an apartment, she explains, or how to operate socially in the secular world.

Is it cynical for me to presume Ultra-Orthodoxy refuses to prepare people for adulthood, specifically so that they'll remain trapped? What other community produces adults who don't know how to find work, or open a bank account?

Rest of it here with videos

HT: Two of you

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Moshe and the lump of coal

by DovBear | 4:25 PM |

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There's a story in Shmos Rabba (with at least two parallels) which explains Moshe's speech impediment. It goes something like this:

Once baby Moshe reached for Pharaoh's crown and put it on his own head. His advisors said, "Ah-ha! This is a sure sign that Moshe will one day dethrone you. Kill him now!" But Yisro intervened, saying the child has no sense yet, and we can prove it by putting before him a platter of gold and a platter of burning coals. If he takes the gold, by all means kill him, but if he takes the coal this is proof he meant nothing when he grabbed at Pharaoh 's crown. Pharaoh did as Yisro recommended, and when Moshe reached for the gold the angel Gabriel intervened and knocked the baby's hand aside. He took the coal instead, put it in his mouth and permanently burned his tongue.

Reasons why this story makes no sense:
(1) What child doesn't reach for sparkling jewels? Why would such an ordinary act alarm the advisors to the point of wanting to execute an infant? (In the Josephus parallel, Pharaoh gives Moshe the crown as a gesture of affection, and Moshe throws it on the floor and stomps on it. This is what alarmed the advisors).
(2) Likewise, why would it prove anything if Moshe were to reach for the gold. Shouldn't that be expected?
(3)  If the coal was hot enough to permanently maim Moshe's tongue, how was he able to hold it in his hand and bring it to his mouth? (In the Armenian parallel Moshe burns his finger with the coal, and burns his tongue with the bunt finger. In Josephus there's no test: After an enraged advisor responds to the attack on the crown by calling for Moshe's death, Pharaoh and his daughter protected him.)

Update: Additional reasons why the story can't be legit history
(1) If this story is a true story, and one that actually happened to Moshe, please explain how it entered our tradition. Moshe was an infant. He couldn't have remembered the story. Did Pharaoh publish it, or tell it over to the Hebrews? And if you say Yisro, Moshe's father-in-law, was a witness, and that he relayed it to the Hebrews at some point, you still haven't solved the problem:
-- (a) Did Yisro see Gavriel? Who added/invented that detail?
-- (b) We only have Yisro identified as an advisor to Pharoah in the later sources. He first appears in that role in Sota, and a coal-story featuring Yisro is first seen in Shmos Rabba, which is a mideival compilation. In the earliest source (Josephus) Pharoh's advisors have no name, and in the slightly later sources (nearly half a dozen) the advisors are called Jannes and Jambres (See Targum Yonatan Exodus 1:16 for one example) So Yisro-saw-it-and-told-us doesn't work as a solution as Yisro isn't identified as an advisor in the first versions of the stories about Pharaoh's court

Solution: According to James Kugel, the error is assuming this story is historically true. Rather, the story was written (and not necessarily by Sages) for a particular purpose, ie, to solve a problem. See below The Bible as it Was by James Kugel pages 295-298 for more.

To correctly understand this famous midrash you really must read those three pages. Nothing of significance is omitted.



Summary for those who ignored the instructions and skipped the embedded text:
In the ancient word it was inconceivable that a leader, such as Moshe, would not be skilled at rhetoric. Therefore the ancient interpreters needed to explain Exodus 4:10 "I am heavy of speech and heavy of tongue" in a way that made it clear that Moshe suffered from a deformity, and not from a poor education. The development, over time, of the famous story about the platter of coal was part of the solution. (Update: The Josephus account, which is the oldest of the three cited by Kugel, does not mention the coal. Kugel (in note 6) speculates Josephus left it out)

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I Exist Support Group

by EFink | 12:41 PM |

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A Guest Post By E. Fink

If you look carefully, I think you'll find the dybbuk at this support group. :)

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Fighting over the Chief Rabbinate in Jerusalem

by Rafi G. | 5:51 AM |

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A Guest Post by Rafi G

The competition for the position of Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem has gotten very confusing. Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat has come out, as he promised he would during his mayoral campaign, in favor of the candidate of the Dati Leumi, Rav Aryeh Stern.

The committee has gotten drawn down into fights that might end up in the court system, with the Haredi shuls taking a majority of the positions in the voting body. The fight right now causing the stalemate seems to be, if I understand it correctly, that some of those shuls are not in haredi neighborhoods, but are in secular or DL neighborhoods, though the specific representative shul is controlled by haredim. The haredim say the shul is haredi, so our percentage goes up, and the DL say the vote has to be representative of the people and neighborhoods, and the neighborhood is not haredi, so those representatives need to be ours.

In a war of words, Rav Stern has said that the position needs to be held by a Dati Leumi rav. Rav Stern said in a radio interview, "The position belongs to us, and not to the haredim... there is a surplus of candidates and of fighting among the haredim. By us, we are united, and therefore I will win. Barkat will not allow himself to lose."

Former Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem Yehoshua Polk has responded to Rav Stern's claim. Polk said, "In my eyes Rav Stern is a very honorable man, but his claim that anyway we don't rely on the Rabbanut is not a relevant claim. In the time of Rav Kolitz zt"l and Rav Zolty zt"l who were the city Chief Rabbis, the kipa sruga people didn't rely on them and went to ask their questions to Rav Shapira zt"l. Each person has his own rabbi, and that does not change the fact that each sector wants that the chief rabbi should be form his group.

It is true that the haredim have Badatzes and other poskim, but in the State of Israel everything, at the end of the day, must go through the Rabbanut - the marriages, the kashrut.. we are not looking for a candidate with a knitted kipa or a black kipa, but what must establish worthiness is greatness in Torah.

Nowadays, as we control the Religious Council, everybody uses the mikvas as they meet the most mehudar criteria. Even Rav Elyashiv recommends using them. Jerusalem is the capital city, and its kashrut gives a solution to a very large and diverse community. Today, the haredi public benefits from the kashrut services in hotels and restaurants. The Dati Leumi community also relies on the kashrut system. Nobody is hurt by it and everybody gains. So why change it.

Somebody who is lenient has no problem relying on somebody more stringent, but the opposite is not true. If you bring into Jerusalem a system of kashrut that is more lenient, the haredi community cannot rely on it. Better a rav who can provide the service for everyone.

Nowadays, thousands of young couples register for marriage in Jerusalem. There is a standard in place that is more stringent. Whoever, anywhere in Israel, is presented with a certificate from Jerusalem will check no further, because they know that the system is administered by haredim who are very stringent. Nobody denies it - Rav Stern is a great talmid chacham, but a haredi rav will provide greater coverage [to more people]. Don't forget, the haredi community in Jerusalem is 3 times as large as the Dati Leumi community."

Polk's argument is really backwards considering the subject of the argument. They are arguing over the Rabbanut - the Rabbanut was designed to be more lenient, not to be more stringent. The Rabbanut is meant to provide the services for people who would otherwise not keep kashrut or kosher marriage. It is meant to make it easier for them and therefore make them more willing to keep at least certain, less stringent, standards.

The argument that they make everything more stringent seems backwards to me, as they end up helping the people who don't need the help, and make it more difficult for the originally targetted audience to continue relying on them. As the Rabbanut's more stringent (under haredi control) requirements keep getting more stringent, less and less secular will find the ease and convenience in staying kosher, or in registering marriages, and will instead open restaurants with no supervision and not bother registering their marriages.

Also, he claims that haredim are benefiting from the Rabbanut services, because right now it is under haredi control. I don't know what he is referring to. I have never heard of haredim eating in Rabbanut certified restaurants (unless it is Rabbanut Mehadrin and even then not the majority of haredim), those that do are a very small minority, and the haredim all register their marriages through the Badatz and not through the Rabbanut.

I am not saying the Chief Rabbi should not be a haredi rabbi for these reasons. I am just saying Polk's argument seems to me to be backwards and objectively might strengthen the Dati Leumi position. Nobody involved is objective though, so it is completely meaningless.

NOTE: I do not know Rav Stern, and I do not even know who the haredi candidate is (I heard Rav Grossman' s name mentioned in the past as a possible candidate among others, but I do not know who the final candidates are), and I have no current favorite or preference. Just like there is probably a very qualified Dati Leumi rabbi for the position, there is probably a very qualified Haredi rabbi for the position. This post is only commenting on the specific argument and quotes quoted above.

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Obama is Toast

by DovBear | 6:39 AM |

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Jon Stewart, Samantha Bee, and the other intermarried, latte-sipping liberals at the Daily Show put aside the brie for a moment to explain in their typically elitist manner why Barak Hussein Obama is going to be a one termer: Too many concrete promises.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Stealth Care Reform
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

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Wig Theft On The Rise

by EFink | 8:55 AM |

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A Guest Post By E. Fink

Many Orthodox Jewish women adhere to the halachic requirement of covering their head in public by wearing wigs. These are not halloween wigs that run $40. Many of these wigs cost up to $3000.

I have heard from a local "Sheitel Macher" (retailer and hairdresser of wigs) some eye-opening developments.

It seems that some frum women steal wigs from the retailers. Many retailers allow payment plans and as in every business many people just cancel the credit card or dispute charges. But it gets worse. Sometimes the woman asks if she can take home the wig to show it off to her husband and they say they will return the next day to decide if they will buy the wig. Many times the women never return. Wig stolen. Sometimes a wig needs to be repaired or colored and this establishment offers loaners until the service is complete. Very often women don't return these loaners either. They pick up their wigs and say they "forgot" to bring in the loaner. They never bring the loaner back. Another wig stolen. Sometimes they say "my husband dropped it off". He never did. Another wig stolen.

In the last month, this particular Sheitel Macher estimates 8 wigs have been stolen. These wigs are the ~$2500 variety.

Three things to think about:

1) Stealing money, or stealing pens from the office, or cheating on taxes are egregious enough. But the money is not directly used in the adherence of halacha. There is a buffer zone between the theft and its use for religious observance. But in the case of wigs, the stolen item is ONLY being used in the adherence of halacha. To me, this is worse.

2) The cost of wigs is prohibitive. So some women steal their wigs. But this only makes the price of wigs rise for the honest folks. Currently, Sheitel Machers must include the overhead of "Stolen Wigs" in their pricing structure. Stealing affects more than the thief and the victim. It affects all of us.

3) There has been plenty of talk within the Frum community about honesty in business. Invariably these events and publications focus on the men. It seems the women need a pep talk as well. No one is innocent.

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