I confess to being unable to catch what the speaker is saying through her mumbley brit accent, nor do I quite understand how the three people standing between the bride and groom are related, but doesn't the video make for an interesting slice of Jewish life?
Showing posts with label Culture (ours). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Culture (ours). Show all posts
Wednesday, November 09, 2011
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Yair Nehorai gets a bum rap from Failed Messiah
"We will know we have become a normal country when Jewish thieves and Jewish prostitutes conduct their business in Hebrew." -- David Ben Gurion
Haredi types love to indict Zionism by pointing to the Hebrew speaking prostitutes of Tel Aviv, but what about the Hebrew speaking gangsters in their own neighborhoods? I speak specifically of the class of criminal defended by Yair Nahorai, of Meah Shearim, the subject of a feature article in today's Haaretz
In pursuit of that goal, he has an absolute right to advance any argument he chooses. He can't lie, but he's not allowed to do a half-ass job because he knows his client is guilty. Scumbags are also entitled to vigorous defenses.
Short-sighted people may object that this puts criminals back on the street, but without strong defense lawyers, what protects innocent people from over-zealous prosecutors? In an adversarial system, the prosecutor, and to a lesser extent the judge, are supposed to be the safeguards against fallacious arguments advanced by the defense. Its not Nehorai's fault his bogus arguments are swaying hearts and minds. He's merely doing his job, and putting his client's interests first, and (dare I say it?) he's also improving society by forcing prosecutors to do their own jobs honestly and fairly.
The problem isn't Nahorai. The problem is the Israeli prosecutors and judges who are accepting his malarkey, instead of pushing back with crisp, vigorous, counterarguments of their own.
Search for more information about Yari Nahorai at 4torah.com
Haredi types love to indict Zionism by pointing to the Hebrew speaking prostitutes of Tel Aviv, but what about the Hebrew speaking gangsters in their own neighborhoods? I speak specifically of the class of criminal defended by Yair Nahorai, of Meah Shearim, the subject of a feature article in today's Haaretz
Of late Nehorai has had his hands full of work in wake of the Jerusalem Police efforts to restrain the Sikarikim, who use threats and violent tactics to "cleanse" Jerusalem. The police have carried out several arrests and are carrying out intensive investigations into violence, tax evasion and extortion or protection money. Many in Mea She'arim have anointed Nehorai with the title "redeemer of prisoners," a status that fills him with pride. In recent years, he says, he has represented at least 300 ultra-Orthodox clients who were arrested in demonstrations against desecration of Shabbat at the Carta parking lot and the Intel plant in Jerusalem, at demonstrations of support of the mother accused of starving her child and in other cases.My good friend Shamrya, in his post today, strongly criticizes Nahari's general approach to wining many of those acquittals
But to argue that and entire class of criminal should be treated leniently because they are religious zealots, not 'real' criminals, is not only offensive but it is contrary to the legal systems these criminals supposedly live under...civil society should have jailed [the alleged gangster/button man Avraham] Hirschman years ago, but it didn't do so, in part because of Nehorai...People hate lawyers for many good reasons. The disgraceful Yair Nehorai is one of them.I understand why Shmarya is upset, but he's attacking the wrong person. A lawyer works for his client, not for society. The job of a criminal attorney like Nahorai is to get his client an acquittal.
In pursuit of that goal, he has an absolute right to advance any argument he chooses. He can't lie, but he's not allowed to do a half-ass job because he knows his client is guilty. Scumbags are also entitled to vigorous defenses.
Short-sighted people may object that this puts criminals back on the street, but without strong defense lawyers, what protects innocent people from over-zealous prosecutors? In an adversarial system, the prosecutor, and to a lesser extent the judge, are supposed to be the safeguards against fallacious arguments advanced by the defense. Its not Nehorai's fault his bogus arguments are swaying hearts and minds. He's merely doing his job, and putting his client's interests first, and (dare I say it?) he's also improving society by forcing prosecutors to do their own jobs honestly and fairly.
The problem isn't Nahorai. The problem is the Israeli prosecutors and judges who are accepting his malarkey, instead of pushing back with crisp, vigorous, counterarguments of their own.
Search for more information about Yari Nahorai at 4torah.com
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Quote of the day (sex)
“Orthodox Jewish couples are taught, once they get engaged, to have phenomenal, shout-out-loud, swinging-from-the-chandelier sex.” - Shmuley Boteach
This has appeared on two or three FB accounts I follow, and inevitably the comments ran something like this:
A: He's crazy. I didn't find anything out until the wedding day, and the information was just about what went where.
B: He's exactly right. Only we got that information from our mechneches in H.S
C: Pure propaganda. Orthodox couples are only taught what to avoid. Not how to do it right.
D: Is that why Hungarians are big into chandeliers?
In other Kosher Sex news, the proprietor of that new Torah True kinky toy store told the newspaper that furry handcuffs are his best seller. What's pshat? Any arm chair sociologists care to explain?
This has appeared on two or three FB accounts I follow, and inevitably the comments ran something like this:
A: He's crazy. I didn't find anything out until the wedding day, and the information was just about what went where.
B: He's exactly right. Only we got that information from our mechneches in H.S
C: Pure propaganda. Orthodox couples are only taught what to avoid. Not how to do it right.
D: Is that why Hungarians are big into chandeliers?
In other Kosher Sex news, the proprietor of that new Torah True kinky toy store told the newspaper that furry handcuffs are his best seller. What's pshat? Any arm chair sociologists care to explain?
Monday, September 19, 2011
Yet another post on she lo asni isha
By Rabbi Zev Farber
Taken from here, without permission
(Rabbi Zev Farber was ordained (yoreh yoreh and yadin yadin) by YCT Rabbinical School. He is the founder of AITZIM (Atlanta Institute of Torah and Zionism) - an adult education initiative. Rabbi Farber serves on the board of the International Rabbinic Fellowship (IRF) and is the coordinator of their Vaad Giyyur. He is also a PhD candidate at Emory University's Graduate Division of Religion.)
Recently, my friend and colleague, Rabbi Yosef Kanefsky, wrote a blog-post describing how uncomfortable he has become with men reciting the blessing thanking God for not making them women. If I remember the original post correctly (it has since been deleted), R.Kanefsky felt that this blessing reflected an outdated view of women as something less than men. In our society that belief is no longer held and implying it would be discourteous to women.Therefore, he argued, the blessing should not be said nowadays.
The latter point, i.e. that the blessing should be dropped or changed is, of course, debatable, since where and when halakha is supposed to change is a tricky question. I myself have an article in the works on this subject, advocating an adjustment to our nussah, and I am looking forward to a constructive dialogue on this topic in our community.
R. Kanefsky’s first point, that the blessing reflects, or, at least, originally reflected, a viewpoint of women as being somewhat “less” than men is so patently obvious that it is amazing to me that it needs to be defended. And yet, the nature of our Orthodox world has become one where the patently obvious can be denied as if it were itselfabsurd. This can be seen from the numerous blog posts that have been written over the past week attacking Rabbi Kanefsky for not being “really” Orthodox (a favorite form of “j’accuse” amongst Orthodox bloggers nowadays). At best, some have chalked it up to his strong emotional nature clouding his judgment. I will not engage these posts or their authors directly because of their mean-spirited and inappropriate tone, but I do think a number of points need to be made.
Taken from here, without permission
(Rabbi Zev Farber was ordained (yoreh yoreh and yadin yadin) by YCT Rabbinical School. He is the founder of AITZIM (Atlanta Institute of Torah and Zionism) - an adult education initiative. Rabbi Farber serves on the board of the International Rabbinic Fellowship (IRF) and is the coordinator of their Vaad Giyyur. He is also a PhD candidate at Emory University's Graduate Division of Religion.)
Recently, my friend and colleague, Rabbi Yosef Kanefsky, wrote a blog-post describing how uncomfortable he has become with men reciting the blessing thanking God for not making them women. If I remember the original post correctly (it has since been deleted), R.Kanefsky felt that this blessing reflected an outdated view of women as something less than men. In our society that belief is no longer held and implying it would be discourteous to women.Therefore, he argued, the blessing should not be said nowadays.
The latter point, i.e. that the blessing should be dropped or changed is, of course, debatable, since where and when halakha is supposed to change is a tricky question. I myself have an article in the works on this subject, advocating an adjustment to our nussah, and I am looking forward to a constructive dialogue on this topic in our community.
R. Kanefsky’s first point, that the blessing reflects, or, at least, originally reflected, a viewpoint of women as being somewhat “less” than men is so patently obvious that it is amazing to me that it needs to be defended. And yet, the nature of our Orthodox world has become one where the patently obvious can be denied as if it were itselfabsurd. This can be seen from the numerous blog posts that have been written over the past week attacking Rabbi Kanefsky for not being “really” Orthodox (a favorite form of “j’accuse” amongst Orthodox bloggers nowadays). At best, some have chalked it up to his strong emotional nature clouding his judgment. I will not engage these posts or their authors directly because of their mean-spirited and inappropriate tone, but I do think a number of points need to be made.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Another Aish video insults our intelligence
Received by email:
If you haven't seen it yet, the video starts with a bored, bright-eyed kid in a Jewfro worrying that Rosh Hashana will be a snooze. "Oh no," a black hat wearing friend assures him. "It'll be great. Let me show you" On cue, the speaker is joined by a team of break-dancing, park-our performing rappers, who proceed to bounce around leaping off walls, performing back flips and trying just a little too hard to let us know how cool and hip they are.
The problem, of course, is Aish is neither cool nor hip. And a deeper problem is that reducing the majesty and marvel of Rosh Hashana to a poorly performed break-dance with inaudible lyrics is sort of like serving a Happy Meal to the guests at your wedding feast. This is supposed to get the "Jewish nation excited about the upcoming Jewish New Year?" This? Are we that low brow?
Here's some past commentary about other Aish Videos that have made us wish to hurl
After the jump, I give you a classic example of song and dance used in a film to achieve a narrative objective, a objective that isn't much different from what Aish attempts to achieve in their video. In both clips, the main character dances and sings his way to overcoming another party's objection. Ginger Rogers can't see what's so great about Fred Astaire, but by the end of the musical number she gets it - and so do we. In the Aish video, the Jewfro has similar doubts about Rosh Hashana. When the music stops his doubts are relieved, but ours are not. In the Astaire clip the lyrics and choreography tell the story. They show us why Ginger should be with Fred. In the Aish video the dance is just a distraction that fails to sell us on the holiday, or to explain why we should give it a second thought.
Perhaps next year, an organization will go to the trouble of making a viral video that actually conveys some of what makes Rosh Hashana outstanding
I wanted to share with you an amazing Rosh Hashanah video featuring one of Israel's top break dance teams. We hope that you can post this video on your site, blog, Facebook or twitter accounts and hopefully we will get the entire Jewish nation excited about the upcoming Jewish New Year.The message was sent by an executive at Forbidden Fruit Media, and it refers to the new Aish Hatorah video currently making the rounds. Both the message and the video sort of make my skin crawl.
If you haven't seen it yet, the video starts with a bored, bright-eyed kid in a Jewfro worrying that Rosh Hashana will be a snooze. "Oh no," a black hat wearing friend assures him. "It'll be great. Let me show you" On cue, the speaker is joined by a team of break-dancing, park-our performing rappers, who proceed to bounce around leaping off walls, performing back flips and trying just a little too hard to let us know how cool and hip they are.
The problem, of course, is Aish is neither cool nor hip. And a deeper problem is that reducing the majesty and marvel of Rosh Hashana to a poorly performed break-dance with inaudible lyrics is sort of like serving a Happy Meal to the guests at your wedding feast. This is supposed to get the "Jewish nation excited about the upcoming Jewish New Year?" This? Are we that low brow?
Here's some past commentary about other Aish Videos that have made us wish to hurl
After the jump, I give you a classic example of song and dance used in a film to achieve a narrative objective, a objective that isn't much different from what Aish attempts to achieve in their video. In both clips, the main character dances and sings his way to overcoming another party's objection. Ginger Rogers can't see what's so great about Fred Astaire, but by the end of the musical number she gets it - and so do we. In the Aish video, the Jewfro has similar doubts about Rosh Hashana. When the music stops his doubts are relieved, but ours are not. In the Astaire clip the lyrics and choreography tell the story. They show us why Ginger should be with Fred. In the Aish video the dance is just a distraction that fails to sell us on the holiday, or to explain why we should give it a second thought.
Perhaps next year, an organization will go to the trouble of making a viral video that actually conveys some of what makes Rosh Hashana outstanding
Tuesday, September 06, 2011
West Indian Parade Honors Leiby Kletzky
I'm trying to remember the last time a Hasidic or Yeshivish group ran a program to raise money in memory of a non-Jewish child. This is why:
New Yorkers with Caribbean heritage have been packing Brooklyn's streets for 43 years to celebrate the West Indian American Day Parade.In response, a Hasidic guy I invented, replied, "What?! I should be united with a shvar---?"
But this year, organizers decided to add a religious element to the lineup - a gospel concert that featured calypso, hip hop and reggae with spiritual themes.
"We normally go for the party, but Caribbean people are people of faith," said the Rev. Caleb Buchanan of the Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, who helped organize the event. "We wanted to showcase that."
The gospel concert was also intended to raise awareness and to prevent youth violence.
A chunk of the proceeds went to benefit the Leiby Kletzky Memorial Fund, set up in memory of the young Orthodox Jewish boy found butchered by a madman.
"We're a community that should be together, united and peaceful," said Yolanda Lezama-Clark, president of the West Indian-American Day Carnival Association.
Read more about the concert at : http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/brooklyn/2011/09/05/2011-09-05_theme_is_spiritual_at_w_indian_parade.html#ixzz1XBkBm5kx
Search for more information about failures to reciprocate at 4torah.com
Thursday, September 01, 2011
Ibn Ezra: Sometimes, people just die.
More heresy from Ibn Ezra:
This comment appears on Deuteronomy 20:10, the verse that provides a military exemption to engaged men. In English:
The words ארס אשה ולא לקחה refer to someone who has betrothed, but not yet married a women and the verse comes to tell us that some people die on their appointed day, but one who dies in a battle has not died on his appointed day, and the prooftext is Sam 26:10 which says: And David said: 'As the LORD liveth, nay, but the LORD shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall go down into battle, and be swept away.'
So, as per Ibn Ezra it seems clear that not all deaths are divinely ordained. Sometimes, people just die, and not necessarily because "it was their time" .
See also:
ארס אשה ולא לקחה -- בנשואין
והנה זה הכתוב לאות כי יש מי שמת בבא יומי, רק
המת במלחמה מת בלא יומו , על כן
אמר דוד או במלחמה ירד ונספה
This comment appears on Deuteronomy 20:10, the verse that provides a military exemption to engaged men. In English:
The words ארס אשה ולא לקחה refer to someone who has betrothed, but not yet married a women and the verse comes to tell us that some people die on their appointed day, but one who dies in a battle has not died on his appointed day, and the prooftext is Sam 26:10 which says: And David said: 'As the LORD liveth, nay, but the LORD shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall go down into battle, and be swept away.'
So, as per Ibn Ezra it seems clear that not all deaths are divinely ordained. Sometimes, people just die, and not necessarily because "it was their time" .
See also:
- Ibn Ezra's War on Piyutim
- Azazel: Ibn Ezra's Secret
- Ibn Ezra's heresy on Gen 12:6
- This Just In: Ibn Ezra and Rambam's approach to witchcraft was not "in keeping with Judaism"
An invitation to a place that does not exist
Think there's "no such place as Palestine?" Well, guess again.
H.T Shmarya, who says the host is a high ranking Nateuri Kartanik.
H.T Shmarya, who says the host is a high ranking Nateuri Kartanik.
Monday, May 04, 2009
Boycott J-Post!!
Will heads roll in the advertising dept, or is this business as usual for Israel's #1 English newspaper?
Search for more information about pulled pork at 4torah.com.
What's this I hear about swine flu being in the Talmud? (Taanis 21b)
Today's example of Jewish credulity comes from BT Tannis 21B courtesy of the CoolJew, where a headline shouts "Rabbis Knew About Swine Flue 1500 Years Ago!".
Here is Aish's translation of the pertinent section:
1. The strain of influenza currently affecting humans did not exist in the time of the Talmud. The type of swine flu that infects humans is believed to have resulted from the seasonal reassortment of two different strains of swine influenza.
2. The Meiri's suggestion that the absence of a rumen makes pigs and humans susceptible to the same diseases is unverified, and has no backing. The only mammals with rumens are the cud-chewers. No other type of mammal has one. If the Meiri is right every non-ruminant mammal (including rodents, canines, felines, etc.) is at risk for swine flu. There is no evidence this is true.
3. Human susceptibility to swine flu has little if anything to do with any similarity between the swine and human digestive tracks. In fact, the strain of swine influenza sickening humans is not the same strain that sickens pigs. They contain common genetic elements, but they are different. To date, the human strain has not been isolated in pigs. (Wikipedia)
Afterthought: Perhaps Rabbi Yehuda observed a different, earlier strain of swine flu? This is certainly possible, and I concede the liklihood, but why find it astounding? Wouldn't you expect any agriculturalist to notice if livestock and people were coming down with similar illnesses? If Rav Yehuda is discussisng swine flu, this is merely a routine observation and no evidence of his superior torah-based wisdom.
--
*Link to CoolJew via @gruven_reuven @ashleyroz and @jtowncrier on Twitter. I have no reason to think these three fine Tweeters endorse the idea that swine flu is discussed in BT Taanis.
Here is Aish's translation of the pertinent section:
They informed Rav Yehudah: There is a deadly plague affecting the pigs. He decreed a fast. Do we say that Rav Yehudah holds that a plague which affects one [animal] species is likely to affect all species (and therefore, kosher farm animals were threatened also)? No. Pigs are different since their digestive tracts are similar to those of humans.Adds the Meiri (13th century commentary on the Talmud)
Since both pigs and humans lack a certain abdominal organ (the rumen), there was reason to fear that epidemics that affect pigs may also affect humans.In under 8 seconds I came up with the following objections to the claim that Rav Yehuda and the Meiri are discussing swine flu.
1. The strain of influenza currently affecting humans did not exist in the time of the Talmud. The type of swine flu that infects humans is believed to have resulted from the seasonal reassortment of two different strains of swine influenza.
2. The Meiri's suggestion that the absence of a rumen makes pigs and humans susceptible to the same diseases is unverified, and has no backing. The only mammals with rumens are the cud-chewers. No other type of mammal has one. If the Meiri is right every non-ruminant mammal (including rodents, canines, felines, etc.) is at risk for swine flu. There is no evidence this is true.
3. Human susceptibility to swine flu has little if anything to do with any similarity between the swine and human digestive tracks. In fact, the strain of swine influenza sickening humans is not the same strain that sickens pigs. They contain common genetic elements, but they are different. To date, the human strain has not been isolated in pigs. (Wikipedia)
Afterthought: Perhaps Rabbi Yehuda observed a different, earlier strain of swine flu? This is certainly possible, and I concede the liklihood, but why find it astounding? Wouldn't you expect any agriculturalist to notice if livestock and people were coming down with similar illnesses? If Rav Yehuda is discussisng swine flu, this is merely a routine observation and no evidence of his superior torah-based wisdom.
--
*Link to CoolJew via @gruven_reuven @ashleyroz and @jtowncrier on Twitter. I have no reason to think these three fine Tweeters endorse the idea that swine flu is discussed in BT Taanis.
Monday, April 27, 2009
A Story of Hashgacha
A Guest Post by Rafi G
(originally posted on LII)
I had to take a watch to be repaired. It needed some quality workmanship so we did not just want to walk into any jeweler for this. The place I usually use, somewhere near work, recently closed down. So I asked for recommendations and decided where I would go.
We head out to our choice. This is a jeweler we never would have gone to - his shop is in a different neighborhood and I just would never have even known about him.
We take in the watch, and the shop is very busy. the father, who fixes the watches, was out, and we chose to wait for him. After a while we step outside and my wife looks in the window. To her surprise she sees a bracelet that she recognizes as being very similar to one owned by a relative that recently had it stolen from them!
We let the relative know - they had some very specific simanim on the bracelet as they had made some changes to the original bracelet. They go down there and see the bracelet and inspect it. Sure enough it is their bracelet.
Obviously the store did not steal the bracelet. Someone else probably did and sold it to the jeweler (selling old jewelery for the gold value is very common nowadays in Israel). The jeweler placed it on display in the window, and we spotted it.
So, we took a recommendation for a jeweler we would never have gone to, spotted our relatives stolen bracelet and now they are in the process of retrieving it via the police and insurance company. And for added measure, that jeweler was not able to fix the watch we had brought in - we ended up taking it to someone else who did fix it.
The only reason we were sent to this place was to find that bracelet.
What do you think? Pure coincidence or hashgacha? If hashgacha, as I think, why would Hashem get so involved in helping us find a stolen bracelet - for what purpose? Just to retrieve it?
Search for more information about [topic] at 4torah.com.
(originally posted on LII)
I had to take a watch to be repaired. It needed some quality workmanship so we did not just want to walk into any jeweler for this. The place I usually use, somewhere near work, recently closed down. So I asked for recommendations and decided where I would go.
We head out to our choice. This is a jeweler we never would have gone to - his shop is in a different neighborhood and I just would never have even known about him.
We take in the watch, and the shop is very busy. the father, who fixes the watches, was out, and we chose to wait for him. After a while we step outside and my wife looks in the window. To her surprise she sees a bracelet that she recognizes as being very similar to one owned by a relative that recently had it stolen from them!
We let the relative know - they had some very specific simanim on the bracelet as they had made some changes to the original bracelet. They go down there and see the bracelet and inspect it. Sure enough it is their bracelet.
Obviously the store did not steal the bracelet. Someone else probably did and sold it to the jeweler (selling old jewelery for the gold value is very common nowadays in Israel). The jeweler placed it on display in the window, and we spotted it.
So, we took a recommendation for a jeweler we would never have gone to, spotted our relatives stolen bracelet and now they are in the process of retrieving it via the police and insurance company. And for added measure, that jeweler was not able to fix the watch we had brought in - we ended up taking it to someone else who did fix it.
The only reason we were sent to this place was to find that bracelet.
What do you think? Pure coincidence or hashgacha? If hashgacha, as I think, why would Hashem get so involved in helping us find a stolen bracelet - for what purpose? Just to retrieve it?
Search for more information about [topic] at 4torah.com.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
The Myth of the (Non) Fighting Jew
Cross-posted to Friar Yid.
There was a line in a Haaretz article about the upcoming Defiance movie that rubbed me the wrong way. Actually, most of the article was raising alarm bells. Not because the movie won't be good, I'm sure it will be. But the focus of the piece happened to be remarking on the fact that four or five Bielski grandkids are in the IDF, and tying this in with a family military tradition:
Here's the problem: the whole piece (supported by the comments of Bielski pere and fils) suggests that only "certain families" have it in them to be warrior Jews- which, of course, means that other people don't. The reason the "fighting Jew" myth is so disturbing because it is based on a false premise, and because it libels all who do not neatly fit under it as (sterotypically?) weak pacifists.
This has been part-and-parcel of Jewish sociology for well over one hundred years, since the days when the Bund cells and Hashomer societies first started rallying Jews around the concept of self-defense and pride. Back then, their opponents were the maintainers of the status-quo and the perception that Jews were meek and submissive yeshiva students who would rather beg for their lives or offer their enemy a bribe than crush his skull with a rock- in short, the rabbinical establishment.
Ironically, in those early days of the 1880s and 1900s when the "fighting Jew"/Ghetto Jew dichotomy was being set up by ideologues and propagandists, most of the recruits coming into the Jewish Socialist and Zionist movements were from religious homes whose families did not have specific martial traditions. Yet somehow they adapted when given the proper training, motivation, and community support. The same is mirrored in the history of American Jews and the modern Israeli army- one does not need to be born into a "warrior family" to become a capable soldier or tactician. Yet today in Israel there is an unspoken assumption that the Haredim choose not to fight because they are somehow incapable of fighting- a stereotype that persists despite the existence of units like the Nahal Haredim (as if the long history between the Mafdal and IDF was not proof enough that there is no reason an Orthodox Jew cannot be a warrior as well).
One could even go back further- to use just the example of one country I'm familiar with, Poland, Jews fought for Napoleon at the Battle of Warsaw and in each of that country's Revolutions. This fighting was not restricted to secularists or those drifting from the faith (Berek Joselowicz's unit was known as "The Beardlings" because they would not shave; they also demanded the Sabbath off and would only eat kosher food); there are also cases of revolutionary rabbis. Check out this story about two rabbis you may have heard of, courtesy of an old article in Polin:
Bet you never heard about that in yeshiva. Neither, mind you, would you have encountered it in any book about these rabbis. This is part of the split Jewish tradition over how to deal with Jews that don't fit the "peaceful" paradigm- which, by the way, is itself a construct, since there are plenty of "fighting Jews" in the Torah- and afterwards! (What would you call the Bar Kochkba revolt, or the Zealots at Massada?) We would prefer to identify "tough Jews" as a vicarious exception to the meek, pious or status-quo Jews that were the standard, rather than taking an objective look at the history and consider that, god forbid, there were revolutionary rabbis or frum soldiers fighting for Napoleon.
Look forward to the twentieth century and you see the same obfuscation when it comes to Jewish criminals- plenty of whom used violence for achieving their goals. Even before the days of Lansky and Siegel, you had organized crime in Warsaw, Lodz and Odessa. Modern Yiddish writers like Sholem Asch freely depicted the "Jewish underground" in novels like Mottke the Theif, and his play God of Vengeance. For crying out loud, prostitution was a cottage industry in Jewish Buenos Aires, and there were many layers of violence involved in maintaining business as usual.
And, ironically, when Jews took a stand against these undesirable elements within their community, preying on their weakest members, it was again, the "fighting Jews" who took action. One notable flare-up was the May 1905 Alphonsenpogrom [Pimp-Pogrom], where the Jewish Bund in Warsaw went on a three-day rampage through the city's red-light district, attacking brothels and cafes. The New York Times wrote about the Socialists' assault on not only the pimps' places of business, but also their worldly possessions:
The Alphonsenpogrom left 8 dead and 100 injured. (Not necessarily the Bund's finest moment, but a "tough Jew" moment? Unquestionably.) And it was not the only incident. According to Prostitution and Prejudice (the primary source for Nathan Englander's latest novel), there were others, as well. In 1903 The Jewish Vigilance Society in Cardiff, Wales, challenged their pimps in street combat and won. In Buenos Aires in 1909, the Poale Zion beat up local white slavers after an altercation in a theater of a play critical of prostitution. In 1910 some young men in Rio de Janero accosted the "pimps' congregation" on their way back from dedicating a new Torah scroll. The pimps were attacked and the Torah scroll given to "more-deserving" folks.
We don't hear about any of this controversial history because the personalities don't fit in with cookie-cutter views of secular or religious Jews, or rich vs. poor. By doing this we do our ancestors, and our descendants, a disservice. By censoring the Jewish past we impair the Jewish present, and further limit the Jewish future to take honest assessments about who we are as a people, based on factual information.
The Bielskis accomplished an amazing thing, and no one is contesting that. But to suggest that being a "fighting Jew" is genetic also means that you are passing a judgment on all the non-warriors in the Jewish family, essentially establishing a caste system between those rough-neck toughs and those meek yeshiva bochurs. The irony is that there are plenty of cases, in history and today, where the two may be brothers. Or one and the same.
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Buy Dov's book. (please)
Buy Mrs. Dov a gift (please)
There was a line in a Haaretz article about the upcoming Defiance movie that rubbed me the wrong way. Actually, most of the article was raising alarm bells. Not because the movie won't be good, I'm sure it will be. But the focus of the piece happened to be remarking on the fact that four or five Bielski grandkids are in the IDF, and tying this in with a family military tradition:
A family of warrior Jews, from partisan to paratrooper
It's a story made for Hollywood. The grandfather fought the Nazis, the son fought in the Yom Kippur War, and last month the American-born grandson decided to make Israel home and join its defense forces.
...While Bielski's native New York may not have presented the same challenges as those suffered by his grandfather in World War II-era Belarus, the 21-year-old has decided to follow in the footsteps of his ancestors and immigrate to Israel.
"I came to Israel on birthright when I was a freshman in college," he said. "I loved it. My whole family was in the army here."
Bielski finished college in three years, not even pausing to don a cap and gown. Instead, the day after his last class, he flew to Israel where an Israel Defense Forces uniform was waiting.
The scene was familiar for Elan's Israeli-born father, Yakow, who returned to his native land in 1973 with his brother after a stint in the U.S. to fight in the Yom Kippur War. Zus, who had settled in Israel for ten years after the Holocaust and fought in the 1948 Independence War , was reluctant to see his sons go.
Yakow himself is proud of Elan's decision to join the army, though he said that one of the reasons his own father had left Israel was because of all the wars.
While Elan echoed his father and grandfather's concern of seeing their children enlist in the army, he said: "I'd be proud of my kids to make the same decision I did."
Love, war, and genetics
...In addition to Elan Bielski, two other descendants of the brothers are serving in the IDF, and another is now in the reserves. Bielski's twin sister also plans to move to Israel; his older sister is married in the U.S. with a four-month old named after Zus.
Two, going on three, generations of parental instinct can't seem to stop the Bielskis from joining Israel's army and society. "It's just genetic," Yakow said. We're warrior Jews."
Here's the problem: the whole piece (supported by the comments of Bielski pere and fils) suggests that only "certain families" have it in them to be warrior Jews- which, of course, means that other people don't. The reason the "fighting Jew" myth is so disturbing because it is based on a false premise, and because it libels all who do not neatly fit under it as (sterotypically?) weak pacifists.
This has been part-and-parcel of Jewish sociology for well over one hundred years, since the days when the Bund cells and Hashomer societies first started rallying Jews around the concept of self-defense and pride. Back then, their opponents were the maintainers of the status-quo and the perception that Jews were meek and submissive yeshiva students who would rather beg for their lives or offer their enemy a bribe than crush his skull with a rock- in short, the rabbinical establishment.
Ironically, in those early days of the 1880s and 1900s when the "fighting Jew"/Ghetto Jew dichotomy was being set up by ideologues and propagandists, most of the recruits coming into the Jewish Socialist and Zionist movements were from religious homes whose families did not have specific martial traditions. Yet somehow they adapted when given the proper training, motivation, and community support. The same is mirrored in the history of American Jews and the modern Israeli army- one does not need to be born into a "warrior family" to become a capable soldier or tactician. Yet today in Israel there is an unspoken assumption that the Haredim choose not to fight because they are somehow incapable of fighting- a stereotype that persists despite the existence of units like the Nahal Haredim (as if the long history between the Mafdal and IDF was not proof enough that there is no reason an Orthodox Jew cannot be a warrior as well).
One could even go back further- to use just the example of one country I'm familiar with, Poland, Jews fought for Napoleon at the Battle of Warsaw and in each of that country's Revolutions. This fighting was not restricted to secularists or those drifting from the faith (Berek Joselowicz's unit was known as "The Beardlings" because they would not shave; they also demanded the Sabbath off and would only eat kosher food); there are also cases of revolutionary rabbis. Check out this story about two rabbis you may have heard of, courtesy of an old article in Polin:
Even though the hagiographies of the hasidic leaders neglect Polish politics, there is some evidence that hasidim suppoorted the 1830 revolt. We have an account that Rabbi Menahem Mendel Morgenstern of Kotzk and his pupil Rabbi Isaac Meir Rothernberg, founder of the Ger dynasty, actively encouraged the Jews to aid the Poles in their rebellion and that after the Russian victory both were forced to travel to Lemberg (Lwow), then the capital of the Austrian province of Galicia, to hide from the Russian authorities. They were only able to return to Kotzk after changing their names; Menahem Mendel changed his last name from Halpern to Morgenstern, Isaac Meir from Rothenberg to Alter.
Bet you never heard about that in yeshiva. Neither, mind you, would you have encountered it in any book about these rabbis. This is part of the split Jewish tradition over how to deal with Jews that don't fit the "peaceful" paradigm- which, by the way, is itself a construct, since there are plenty of "fighting Jews" in the Torah- and afterwards! (What would you call the Bar Kochkba revolt, or the Zealots at Massada?) We would prefer to identify "tough Jews" as a vicarious exception to the meek, pious or status-quo Jews that were the standard, rather than taking an objective look at the history and consider that, god forbid, there were revolutionary rabbis or frum soldiers fighting for Napoleon.
Look forward to the twentieth century and you see the same obfuscation when it comes to Jewish criminals- plenty of whom used violence for achieving their goals. Even before the days of Lansky and Siegel, you had organized crime in Warsaw, Lodz and Odessa. Modern Yiddish writers like Sholem Asch freely depicted the "Jewish underground" in novels like Mottke the Theif, and his play God of Vengeance. For crying out loud, prostitution was a cottage industry in Jewish Buenos Aires, and there were many layers of violence involved in maintaining business as usual.
And, ironically, when Jews took a stand against these undesirable elements within their community, preying on their weakest members, it was again, the "fighting Jews" who took action. One notable flare-up was the May 1905 Alphonsenpogrom [Pimp-Pogrom], where the Jewish Bund in Warsaw went on a three-day rampage through the city's red-light district, attacking brothels and cafes. The New York Times wrote about the Socialists' assault on not only the pimps' places of business, but also their worldly possessions:
Wardrobes, pianos and mirrors were thrown out of the windows. The mob in the streets left open spaces for the falling articles and then completed the work of destruction. In one place, a quantity of valuable jewelry was taken out and deliberately smashed with stones.
The Alphonsenpogrom left 8 dead and 100 injured. (Not necessarily the Bund's finest moment, but a "tough Jew" moment? Unquestionably.) And it was not the only incident. According to Prostitution and Prejudice (the primary source for Nathan Englander's latest novel), there were others, as well. In 1903 The Jewish Vigilance Society in Cardiff, Wales, challenged their pimps in street combat and won. In Buenos Aires in 1909, the Poale Zion beat up local white slavers after an altercation in a theater of a play critical of prostitution. In 1910 some young men in Rio de Janero accosted the "pimps' congregation" on their way back from dedicating a new Torah scroll. The pimps were attacked and the Torah scroll given to "more-deserving" folks.
We don't hear about any of this controversial history because the personalities don't fit in with cookie-cutter views of secular or religious Jews, or rich vs. poor. By doing this we do our ancestors, and our descendants, a disservice. By censoring the Jewish past we impair the Jewish present, and further limit the Jewish future to take honest assessments about who we are as a people, based on factual information.
The Bielskis accomplished an amazing thing, and no one is contesting that. But to suggest that being a "fighting Jew" is genetic also means that you are passing a judgment on all the non-warriors in the Jewish family, essentially establishing a caste system between those rough-neck toughs and those meek yeshiva bochurs. The irony is that there are plenty of cases, in history and today, where the two may be brothers. Or one and the same.
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Sunday, April 22, 2007
Rebbe Lex
Fellow bad actor Psychotoddler writes:
200 years ago whole countries were run like PT's shtieble. No rules. No professionalism. No accountability. You'd sit where the king or his gabbai told you to sit. If he, or his gabbai, wanted to give someone a shtender after point-blank denying one to you there was nothing you could to about it.
The King's word was the law, and the law was often capricious and unfair. In shteibles like PTs and mine something like Rex lex still exists. Call it Rebbe lex with a lifetime sinecure for his gabbai leading to abuses and indifference of the sort that PT describes in his post.
You may enjoy my grumpy old man post...The post, as it happens, is very good, and also a good illustration as to why the victory of Capital "L" Liberalism over the monarchies of Europe was such an important win.
200 years ago whole countries were run like PT's shtieble. No rules. No professionalism. No accountability. You'd sit where the king or his gabbai told you to sit. If he, or his gabbai, wanted to give someone a shtender after point-blank denying one to you there was nothing you could to about it.
The King's word was the law, and the law was often capricious and unfair. In shteibles like PTs and mine something like Rex lex still exists. Call it Rebbe lex with a lifetime sinecure for his gabbai leading to abuses and indifference of the sort that PT describes in his post.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Calling all thoughtful moderates
My friend Rabbi Horowitz is under attack from the right. His correspondant thinks yeshivot are perfect just as they are, and wishes Rabbi Horowitz would stop attempting to supercede the wisdom of the gedolim with his own. Excerpt:
If you disagree, stop by the Rabbis blog and show him some (platonic) love.I was surprised and upset that Mishpacha printed a column which, reading between the lines, recommends going back to the “old school,” where subjects were taught which opened up “more careers” for the students — computers, math, science, etc.
I understand the logic: If the “best schools” would teach subjects which were interesting to children on the brink, these children might remain. Now these schools teach only Gemara, so these children are bored and fall even faster.
If we teach many secular subjects in our school, will Torah giants emerge? Or does that not make a difference? How does Rabbi Horowitz know that it’s more important to save the falling children? Maybe it’s more important to save the ones with true potential to reach the greatest heights?
Rabbi Horowitz is worried that within a few years many children will fall off the derech. I’m afraid that if his plan for the yeshivos is accepted then the children will fall off the derech — if not this generation, perhaps the next. The responsibility of changing the schools based on a doubtful theory is very scary. (Is the dropouts percentage smaller in girls’ schools which teach secular subjects? I don’t think so.)
Absence of Self-Awareness Alert
Seven Israeli Bes Yaakov girls were punished this week for daring to stand up during the Yom Hashoa moment of silence. The reason? A moment of silence is "goyish" not Jewish, and those who observe it are embracing a foreign custom.
Sigh.
And, I suppose that once upon a time bes yaakov girls were expelled from school for wearing masks on Purim.
Sigh.
And, I suppose that once upon a time bes yaakov girls were expelled from school for wearing masks on Purim.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Messianic AND Misogynistic?
Actualy, it is not clear if the Chabadnik described here is a Meshichist. His view of woman, though, is clear as day:
Hatip: Tzippers
At that point, Rabbi E. carefully checked if any women were present ( there weren't) and then gave a whole big drasha on... the halacha of stomping on your bride's foot under the chuppah right after the glass is broken. According to Rabbi E., this is an extremely important halacha (yes, he used that term) because right away the man needs to show his bride who is the boss, who is the mashpia and who will be the mekabel in this relationship. Apparently, there is a machlokes about whether this is allowed when the bride is niddah and so some people have stopped following this rule altogether, but this is a terrible mistake and Rabbi E. is hoping to correct it. He is, in fact, teaching his sons the correct way to behave under the chuppah and he hopes that his audience will take this message to heart and teach their own boys the proper way to start off their marriages as well.I'd like to know why this moron wasn't chased out of town. What's gone wrong with the Jewish people? Why do we continue to tolerate these outrages?
Hatip: Tzippers
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Jewish heroism at Virginia Tech
CA writes:
Not only was one of the Va Tech shooting victims Jewish and Israeli, he was a Holocaust survivor -- and he died saving the lives of other potential victims. We spend a lot of our time on these blogs making necessary criticisms of the foibles and errors of Jews, but it's also fitting we should honor those whose who die al kiddush hashem.
Not only was one of the Va Tech shooting victims Jewish and Israeli, he was a Holocaust survivor -- and he died saving the lives of other potential victims. We spend a lot of our time on these blogs making necessary criticisms of the foibles and errors of Jews, but it's also fitting we should honor those whose who die al kiddush hashem.
A Tale of Two Tables
Baltimore Steps Up
The leaders of Baltimore's Jewish community have published a letter to the community on pedophilia, and how parents and rabbis can work together to stop it. Boro Park and Lakewood: Now it's your turn.
(A copy of the letter is available on request. Please send a note to yourfavoriteblogger@gmail.com)
Related
(A copy of the letter is available on request. Please send a note to yourfavoriteblogger@gmail.com)
Related
Monday, April 16, 2007
Harry's Howler
In an otherwise okay post arguing that Yom Hashoah protests are rude and worse Harry says: "Whether this day should forever remain the day of observance is a question for posterity. I should not be debated now. Perhaps someday it can be folded into Tisha B’Av along with all other tragedies that befell us"
Uh Harry? All the other tragedies are folded into Tisha Ba'av? You mean like the...
- Loss of Jewish sovreingnty (Tzom Gedalya)
- Loss of Rabbi Akiva's school (Sfira)
- Crusades (Sfira)
- The murder of 34 Jewish men and 17 Jewish women in Blois France, 1171, as a result of the first ritual-murder trial in Europe. Rabbeinu Tam declared a fast day to mark the event. (Kaf Sivan)
- Chelmniki (Kaf Sivan)
- The Monsey chicken disaster (a day of fasting was declared)
And this is just the short list. Jews in every generation have declared the days of fasting, repentance and remeberance. The idea that all tragedies are folded into Tisha B'av is belied by the actual behavior of real Jews.
Uh Harry? All the other tragedies are folded into Tisha Ba'av? You mean like the...
- Loss of Jewish sovreingnty (Tzom Gedalya)
- Loss of Rabbi Akiva's school (Sfira)
- Crusades (Sfira)
- The murder of 34 Jewish men and 17 Jewish women in Blois France, 1171, as a result of the first ritual-murder trial in Europe. Rabbeinu Tam declared a fast day to mark the event. (Kaf Sivan)
- Chelmniki (Kaf Sivan)
- The Monsey chicken disaster (a day of fasting was declared)
And this is just the short list. Jews in every generation have declared the days of fasting, repentance and remeberance. The idea that all tragedies are folded into Tisha B'av is belied by the actual behavior of real Jews.
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