The Brochos Dialog

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Do you talk to yourself? I don't, but occasionally the old id and superego will have a little back and forth. For example:

ID: Num num, Hungry. Going to eat bread and cheese

Superego: Don't forget to wash and say "hamotzi"

ID: God no care. God no need hear me chant dumb words. God big. Me small. Him not petty. Him great.

Superego: Yes, of course that true. But we don't say brachot to benefit God. We say them to benefit ourselves. He doesn't need our praise, but we need to be reminded of our dependence on Him. Brachot are a way to remind ourselves of God's presence and to bring Him into our daily routine...

ID: OK, done, thanks to this conversation I have been reminded of God! Eat now!

Superego: Well, its also a good character trait to say Thank You to the one who provides you with things.

ID: Thank you God. Eat now!

For me the problem isn't with the (supposed) idea behind brachot but with the format. Saying thank you and recognizing God are fine, but why can't we do it in our own words? If we don't believe the words have any special, magical, properties why must we use the prescribed formula? Also, my hunch is the explanations for brachot suggested here by the Superego were developed after Jews started saying brachot. See, I think we originally thought God wanted to hear blessings or received some benefit from them just as we originally thought God benefited from sacrifices. [ עֹלָה אִשֵּׁה רֵיחַ-נִיחוֹחַ לַיהוָה] As time passed, and doctrines developed, it became untenable to think of God as desiring anything from us or benefiting from anything we say or do. 

But rather than drop brachot, they were reinterpreted.

 Search for more information about brachot at4torah.com

What the stork can teach us about the mind and morals of (some) Orthodox Jews

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Here's a classic example of sloppy OJ thinking. It was provided in an earlier comment:

The חסידה bird is traife because it only shows compassion for those residing in her own nest.

So many mistakes, so little time. But lets begin at the beginning.

The bird in question (commonly believed to be the stork) is not treif for the reason provided here, but  because the Bible says so. (Lev 11:19 and Duet 14:8.) It is listed with a score of other birds (20 total in Leviticus, 21 total in Deuteronomy) all of which are identified as unfit for consumption by Jews. No special reasons are given.

Later, the Mishna (Chulin 3:6) explains what the listed and unlisted birds have in common. It says kosher and non-kosher bird can be recognized by four features: "every bird that is 1) dores ("a predator") is not kosher. Every bird that has 2) an extra toe, 3) a zefek (crop)  and 4) a korkuvan (gizzard) that can be peeled, is kosher."

A stork is a predator. It eats frogs, reptiles and other birds. Per the Mishna this qualifies it as non-kosher.

Nonetheless, the stork developed a reputation for kindness, a reputation that is evidenced in both Torah and non-Torah sources. It's Hebrew name, hasida, seems derived from hesed the word for kind or pious. On BT Chulin 63a R' Hisda is quoted, saying:

The hasidah is the white stork. And why is it called hasidah? Because it shows
kindness [hasiduth] to its companions. The anafah is the heron. And why is it called anafah?
Because it quarrels [mean'efeth] with its companions.

Several hundred years later Rashi develops this idea, writing on Lev 11:19:

The stork: Heb. הַחֲסִידָה. This is a white dayah, [called] zigoyne [in Old French, cigogne in modern French]. And why is it called חֲסִידָה ? Because it does kindness (חִסִידוּת) with its fellow birds [by sharing] its food (Chul. 63a)

Concurrently, non-Jews were attributing similar characteristics to the stork. For instance, the ancient Greek law about how children must care for their parents, Pelargonia, is derived from pelargo, their word for stork. R' Hisda's idea (above) seems based on a different interpretation of the same observation, namely the fact that storks continue to feed and care for their offspring for a very long time. The Greeks seem to have noticed that the young birds stay with their parents, and imagined the children were providing their parents with care. Meanwhile R' Hisda seems to have believed the storks were feeding each other, rather than their own, older offspring (as Rashi says outright)

In the 18th century Yitzchak Meir Alter (Chidushei Harim),  the first Ger Rebbe, introduced a new wrinkle. 

Following Rambam, he says all of the non-kosher birds have a cruel nature, and asks: What then is the cruelty of the stork which shares food with its companions? 

The obvious answer, of course, is that the stork's cruelty is identical to the cruelty of every other non-kosher bird. Like the eagle, and the heron, and the falcon, the stork is a predator. Predators (arguably) are cruel to the animals they hunt and eat.

But for reasons unknown (I confess to never having seen this particular teaching inside; maybe its clearer there) R' Alter rejects this obvious answer and suggests the stork is cruel because it only cares about its own kind.* I suspect R' Alter was mussering his people and encouraging them to take more responsibility for the well-being of other Jews, but this is just a guess.

*It would be interesting to see if R' Alter criticizes the stork for carrying only about its own family or only about its own species. 

The sloppy-thinking OJ, on the other hand, sees it differently. Instead of exploring the historical context and seeking to understand R' Alter's message, he makes unfounded claims about the nature of storks and the basis of its kosher status. 

Worse, R' Alter's apparent lesson goes right over his head. Instead of doubling down on chesed or making a point to go out and do something charitable for people who belong to other subsects, sects or (horrors) other religions, the sloppy-thinking OJ goes back to his cholent, congratulating himself on having decoded and explained a mystery of kashrus.

Nearly, every OJ knows R' Alter's teaching, but how many take it to heart and seek opportunities to help people from other Jewish groups? Eg: After Sandy, I noticed that areas like Far Rockaway and Sea Gate received assistance from black hat neighborhoods like Monsey, while modern neighborhoods like Oceanside and Long Beach were helped by modern people from Teaneck. Isn't R' Alter discouraging this sort of behavior? Isn't that his real message? Yet, it seems to fall on deaf ears. 

 Search for more information about OJ at4torah.com

Reasons why Israel's new segregated bus lines are the most justified thing ever

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As you may have heard, an Israeli bus line is no longer allowing Palestinians and Jews to travel together.  Effective today, the two groups will ride separate buses. But don't you dare call it apartheid, you anti-Semite! There are all sorts of awesome reasons why this is totally justified.  For instance, Israeli women are already forced to ride in the back of some buses, so where were we supposed to put the Palestinians? On the roof?

OK, just give us a few minutes, and we'll think of some more totally awesome justifications...

Oh right! They all want to kill us! Of course! This is the convenient excuse trotted out by tyrants to justify injustice. Want to get rid of an undesirable? Just label them an enemy of the state, on the basis of their heritage or the behavior of their neighbors and then let the mistreatment commence.

Oh, and here's another justification for Israel's appalling behavior: Saudi Arabia is much worse! See, as civilized people with a two-thousand year tradition of moral exquisiteness we deserve gold stars whenever we outperform tyrannical Wahhabi regimes. Arabs set the moral standard of excellence, see, so as long as we're slightly better behaved then they are, nothing further is required of us. High fives all around!

What else, what else... Oh right: Must mention this:

The new lines are not separate lines for Palestinians but rather two designated lines meant to improve the services offered to Palestinian workers who enter Israel through Eyal Crossing.
"The new lines will replace irregular, pirate lines that charge very high prices from Palestinian passengers. The new lines will reduce congestion and will benefit Israelis and Palestinians alike."
According to the statement, "The Transportation Ministry is forbidden from preventing any passenger from boarding any line of public transportation, nor do we know of a directive to that effect. Instating these lines was done with the knowledge and complete agreement of the Palestinians."

See guys? The segregated bus lines are totally optional, and aside for subjecting Palestinians who choose to ride the Israeli buses to checkpoint humiliations and delays, absolutely nothing will be done to discourage Arabs from riding with the white people.

Search for more information about the plan to segregate restrooms and water fountains  at4torah.com

The OU's work is not done: Here are some other eateries with names that must be changed!

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The other day we reported on the OU's decision to withhold a kosher certification from a restaurant called "Jezebel" on the grounds that the original Jezebel was an evil queen and:

"The basis in Jewish law is that a name has significant influence on who you are, what you are and who you represent.” 

The owners of Jezebel caved, and now call their place JSoho. With the Jezebel problem solved (Huzzah!) I say let's keep up the momentum. Onward and upward!

Because I like to help, here are some other OU certified restaurants with names that endorse individuals or qualtiies that should not be associated with Torah, mitzot, or self righteous kashrus organizations:

Kosh,  located in CT, and apparently named after Kosh Narenek, the Vorlon Ambassador in the Babylon 5 universe. Is it appropriate for a kosher restaurant to be named after someone like that? I mean look at him. What does that say about the place, who it is, and what it represents?

Cravings. Doesn't a name like that say something about who you are and what you represent? Should a ben Torah crave anything? Very prus.

Pardes.The Talmud says four men entered the Pardes, and only one survived. Clearly a Pardes is not something proper Jews should enter. So doesn't the OU risk confusing the issue and inadvertently misleading people by endorsing a restaurant with that name?

Agas v'Tapuach. An "agas" is a title used for Turkish leaders, most of whom were probably Muslims. Not the influence you want, I am sure.

Papagaio That's Portuguese for parrot, a non-kosher animal. Surely, the OU doesn't want people eating at a place that celebrates such a thing.

Espirit Events. Espirit is the "quality of being lively, vivacious, or witty" all negative characteristics when demonstrated by a Bas Yisroel.

Fisher Brothers and Leslie. Leslie is the title character of the aptly named  Leslie, My Name Is Evil. The character appears on the movie poster wearing nothing but a flag and with a cross blazed into her forhead.  Not the best influence, I am sure.

Olympic Pita. I hear "Olympic" and I think of naked Greek men, sensuality and sports. Also, the mountain was the home of your major Greek Gods. This is not the sort of thing you want associated with a nice kosher restaurant.

Renaissance Hotel That horrible R word connotes nudity, free thinking, and new ideas. Torah Jews should not be caught dead frequenting such a place.

Dougies: Named after Dougie "Dr. Evil" Powers (we think), the archvillian who tried to take over the world in at least two movies starring Mike Myers.

Mendy's: Named after Mendy Weiss, the notorious hit man (we think). Weiss was on the team that killed Dutch Shultz. He was found guilty of several murders and executed at Sing Sing in 1944.

Like you, I expect the OU to act against these places immediately.


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A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words?

by @azigra

This photo was shared around Facebook last week, juxtaposing the first blessing of Grace After Meals with a few starving children somewhere in Africa. This photo could really have been taken anywhere in the world, as poor and hungry children and adults and even animals can be found everywhere. 

Starving children do not have to be an argument against the existence of God for you (thought it is often cited as proof that God is either evil or doesn't exist) but it may be an argument against the claims made in this blessing. The Talmud suggests this blessing was composed by Moshe our Rabbi. Let's assume this is correct, or even argue that it was written in the Talmudic era, it is fair to assume that pre-twitter, internet, newspapers, etc. it was easy to believe that the whole world was similar to how you saw it. 

But can we say this blessing nowadays and mean it? Are the claims made true? Aren't there children in your own neighborhood who go to sleep hungry?  Can you go on saying that God "gives food to all flesh, for His kindness is everlasting." when you know it isn't true? Should this blessing me changed or removed from Grace After Meals?

Blessed are You, L-rd our G-d, King of the universe, who, in His goodness, provides sustenance for the entire world with grace, with kindness, and with mercy. He gives food to all flesh, for His kindness is everlasting. Through His great goodness to us continuously we do not lack [food], and may we never lack food, for the sake of His great Name. For He, benevolent G-d, provides nourishment and sustenance for all, does good to all, and prepares food for all His creatures whom He has created, as it is said: You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. Blessed are You, L-rd, who provides food for all.

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Text here Search for more information about Grace After Meals at4torah.com

Great moments in Rabbinic Over Reaching

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Today the Daily News tells us about Jezabel, a kosher Manhattan restaurant, and its encounter with the kashrus police at the Orthodox Union. According to the paper the restaurant changed its name to JSoho at the OU's request/suggestion.

There are two ways to interpret the story:

UNFAVORABLE READING
After the restaurant applied to the OU for kosher certification, the organization bullied the restaurant into changing its name. This is a clear example of rabbinic over reaching and the OU should be condemned for using its power inappropriately.

FAVORABLE READING
After the restaurant applied to the OU for kosher certification, the OU delivered some good advice, saying something like, "Hey, if you want to appeal to kosher consumers perhaps you shouldn't name your joint after an evil non-Jewish Queen who's often associated with promiscuity." This, of course, is excellent advice, and the owners were wise to act on it.

Unfortunately, the  account provided by the Daily News supports UNFAVORABLE READING. See for yourself. The report also includes a quote from R' Moshe Elefant in which the head of the OU's kashrut division clouds the issue even further.

"Jezebel was an evil person,” Rabbi Moshe Elefant, the head of the Orthodox Union’s kashrut division in charge of Jewish dietary laws, told the Daily News. “It is not appropriate to name a kosher restaurant after her. 

I agree but that's the restaurant's call. Not yours. Anyway, we see Tannaim named Ishamael (also an evil person) and modern day Sefardim called Nimrod. So it would seem these things have a statute of limitations. Besides, calling the place Solomon or David is no better. Over the course of history, there have been evil people with both names.

“The Talmud [Bible] [sic] is clear,” he added. “The basis in Jewish law is that a name has significant influence on who you are, what you are and who you represent.” 

This is mysticism masquerading as halacha. Of course, your name is important. But there's nothing magical about it. When I meet someone called Humbert P Horfillnilly I am going to relate to him differently than I would relate to someone called John Kennedy. That's human nature. For the same reason, choosing the right name for a restaurant is an important marketing decision. But like any other marketing decisiosn that's the owner's call. All the OU is asked to do is indicate if the food is kosher. Naming the place isn't their role or responsibility and by connecting it to the kashrus certification, they crossed into bullying.


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Blood Purity... not just for Voldemort and Nazis

The great Tesyaa comments:

(Perhaps there have been isolated incidents, but a Catholic descendent of a Jew is treated as, you know, a Catholic.)

Well, no. It was a big machlokes in the church. See, in Spain (1300s) lots of Jews converted. Over a 100,000 by some estimates. Only, after getting baptised many of them still acted like Jews. This confused the Church as baptism was supposed to be this magic things that made you a new soul, and clearly it wasn't working on Jews. So the doctrine of blood purity arose to explain it. As a result the decendants of converts were banned from church offices and certain orders (the Jesuits officially banned  anyone "descended of Hebrew or Saracen stock". This was their official policy until 19 - not a typo - 1946.

The Vatican was opposed to this... except when someone who believed it sat on the throne of St. Peter. So there was some back and forth.   For a long period this blood purity crap was Vatican Law. Then it wasn't. Then it was again. 

By World War II it was out of favor (except in, you know, Nazi Germany where they coopted this and other lovely Catholic ideas about Jews) which is why that great Jew lover, Pius 12, was able to raise up such a holy storm in the name of protecting CONVERTED Jews while staying completely silent regarding the fate of nonconverted Jews.

 Search for more information about the Jesuits at4torah.com

Why the way Jews have treated Catholics is nothing like the way Catholics have treated Jews.

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I am sick unto death of people and their sad attempts to hoist me on my own petard re: the Pope, the Church and the nasty things it has said about Jews. Can I explain to you why a stray line in the Talmud about non Jews being donkeys and the Aleinu prayer are nothing like eg: Cum Nimis Absurdum, Hebraeorum gens, or the Good Friday prayer?

Good. Listen up.

DIFFERENCE #1: Aleinu and the Talmud passages never killed anyone. They have not been the cause of massacres, pogroms, expulsions, ghettos, libels, or any of the other hate crimes perpetrated against us by the Church thanks to the above-mentioned prayers and teachings. No doctrine of blood purity developed from the Talmud passages. Gentiles weren't locked in ghettos, or forced to wear yellow hats, or forbidden from owning property on the basis of the Aleinu prayer. Sure, things might have gone differently had we Jews ever acquired political power over Catholics but if your aunt ran on batteries she'd be a Prius. Meanwhile, Aleinu and the Talmud passages never killed anyone.

DIFFERENCE #2: There is no institution dedicated to spreading the word about Aleinu and the Talmud passages. Lots of Jews grow up without ever hearing about either of them, and you can deny them while remaining a Jew - even an Orthodox Jew - in good standing. Meanwhile, the King of all Catholics told his people as recently as 2009 that they were required by the law of God to pray for us to be converted and  the official, central governing body of Catholicism still recognizes antisemitic teachings and considers some of their authors to be saints. And meanwhile there is no central governing body of Judaism dedicated to teaching Jews to hate Catholics.

Please note: We have no issue with those Catholics who ignore the Pope, just as we have no issue with individual Catholics who have personally repudiated the Church's antisemitism. To them we say High Five. However, until such time as the Church repudiates its own behavior and its own teachings we still have a problem with it and with those who represent it. I think that's a fair and meaningful distinction. Don't you?

DIFFERENCE #3 There are no gutless Catholics begging for love, respect and attention from Jews who swear by the Aleinu or the Talmud passages. I am happy to keep this intellectual, meaning I am willing to respect the Catholic's religious right to say and think a lot of nasty stuff about Jews so long as he doesn't act upon them, and so long as I get to tell him off whenever I feel like it. That's a situation I might abide. But what we won't abide are the legions of Jew, eg Shaul Robinson, Abe Foxman, etc, who are behaving like teenage girls at a Beatles concert as depicted on the Ed Sullivan show. Oh, the Pope said Happy Passover to me! Oh the Cardinal is coming to my shul! I think I may faint. Such an honor. Such a privilege.

This pathetic behavior sends the wrong message to both Catholics and Jews. It tells the Church that they have finished their Teshuva process when the reality is it has barely begun, while it tells Jews that we are still second-class citizens beholden to the Church and to its whims.

  Search for more information about ### at4torah.com

Haredim shouldn't be drafted as they are the only people in the universe who learn Torah

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If you are wondering what casual bigotry looks like, here is Jonathan Rosenblum of Cross Currents to show you. He was on Israeli TV discussing the plan to draft Haredim. After being asked why non-Haredim are required to carry the full burden of defending the country,  he says*

I have heard chareidi debaters counter this argument: Well, is it fair that we have to do all the Torah learning for the country? 

It’s safe to say that argument has never convinced a single non-chareidi. Not just because of the emotional response – How many yeshiva bochurim are killed in the tents of Torah? – but because it misses a fundamental distinction: Yeshiva bochurim are doing what they most want to do. IDF recruits are acting under legal compulsion

And, um, hello? What about the other, better reason why this argument won't convince non-Charedim? 

Can't work it out? Here are a few clues:

Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh ( Yeshivat Sha'alvim (1961) Yeshivat HaKotel (1967) Yeshivat Har Etzion (1967) Yeshivat Kiryat Arba (1972) Yeshiva HaGolan (1973) Yeshivat Maalot (1974) Yeshivat Neveh Dekalim (1976) Yeshivat Kiryat Shmonah (1977) Yeshivat Birkat Moshe—Maaleh Adumim (1977) Yeshivat Shvut Yisrael—Efrat (1977)

Yeshivat Or Etzion (1978) Yeshivat Shilo (1979) Yeshivat Karnei Shomron (1981) Yeshivat Beit Orot Har HaZeitim (1990) Yeshivat Midbarah K'Eden (1991) Yeshivat Har Bracha (1991) Yeshivat Otniel (1993) Yeshivat Shadmot Neryah (1994) Yeshivat Ramat Gan (1994) Yeshivat Yerucham (1994) Yeshivat Birkat Yosef—Elon Moreh (1995)

Yeshivat Nahariya (1995) Yeshivat Afikei Daat—Sderot Yeshivat Heichal Eliyahu (1996) Yeshivat Siyach Yitzchak (1996) Yeshivat Tzfat (1997) Yeshivat Ayelet Hashachar—Eilat (1998) Yeshivat Rishon L'Zion (1998) Yeshivat Petach Tikvah (1998) Yeshivat Tekoa (1999) Yeshivat Maaleh Efraim (2000)

Yeshivat Netivot (2001) Yeshivat Ruach Tsfonit—Akko (2003) Yeshivat Or Vishua—Haifa (2003) Yeshivat Holon (2004) Yeshivat Birkat Ha'Torah—Shavei Shomron (2004) Yeshivat Meir Harel (Modiin) (2005) Yeshivat Moreshet Yaacov—Rechovot Yeshivat Binot, Raanana (2002

Still stumped? Okay, I'll let you off the hook

This is Wikipedia's list of hesder yeshivas. At the hesder yeshivahs non-charedim learn Torah during their IDF service. So the #1 reason why Jonathan's argument fails is this:

HAREDIM AREN'T THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO ARE LEARNING TORAH. DO YOU HEAR ME JONATHAN ROSENBLUM? PLEASE MAKE A NOTE OF THIS.

*from the article it isn't clear if Rosenblum actually said this, or if it was a thought that crossed his mind, either during the program or afterwards.

   Search for more information about the maddening assumption that only Haredim do things right at4torah.com

Lickspittle Alert

Here's Abe Foxman kissing the Papal toes in Huff Post, with my fisking:

The resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, which officially takes effect on February 28, brings to a sudden and unexpected close a remarkable eight-year period of very positive relations between the Vatican and the Jewish people.

Positive relations? Yeah right. What was so positive about it? Ok, he didn't publish antisemitic articles in his official newspaper like most of the 19th century posts or propagate antisemitic encyclicals like the 15th, 16th and 17th century Popes, or steal our children like all of the Popes, or condemn us to eternal slavery like the worst of the Popes so, sure, by the standards of his predecessors Benny was decent. But that's a terribly low bar. Here's a thought: Instead of judging him against former Popes, why don't we measure him against ordinary standards of human decency? Are we measuring him as a Pope or a person? Because even a reasonably decent Pope can still be quite an awful human being. 

Pope Benedict was the only German Pope in history who was an eyewitness to the Holocaust.

Did Abe's ghostwriter read this over before publishing it? 

He may be the last Catholic leader of that generation to serve as the spiritual leader of more than one billion Catholics around the world.

I mean seriously. The ADL can't spring for a proofreader?

His was a memorable papacy of mostly positive relations with the Jews. During his tenure Benedict made a series of important, defining statements on antisemitism and the Holocaust.

Can you name one? Because I've read your whole article already and it appears that you can't.

These are remarkable statements coming from a German native who had been unwillingly drafted to serve the Nazi war machine, first in Hitler's Youth as a teen and later in the German anti-aircraft corps.

Right. So where is an example of one of those "important, defining.. remarkable statements"?

In assessing Pope Benedict's record with the Jewish people, one must take into account the symbolic gestures as well as his statements and actions.

Ok, so no "important, defining, remarkable statements", eh? Just symbolism?

In October 2011, the pope hosted an extraordinary delegation of world religious leaders for a day of dialogue and reflection in Assisi, Italy.

In 2011 was it so extraordinary for a bunch of religious leaders to get together? I don't see why. Did something amazing happen at this seminar, or did everyone just stand around and mug for the camera?

It was a strikingly colorful scene. Hindu swamis in flowing orange garb mingled with Orthodox Christian clerics in black hoods. Daoist priests in ceremonial vestments chatted with bearded turbaned Sikhs and bald Buddhist monks in saffron robes.

This happens any day of the week in any number of diverse, multinational cities. Why should I be impressed at something so ordinary? It only matters if you consider the Pope to be some kind of spiritual giant with his faith having some kind of special claim on truth. Then you can be pleased that the leader of the Absolute and True Faith in making room around the table for us. But as a Jew I reject the claims of Catholicism. Which is why none of this impresses me.

But one of the most striking images was the special attention that Pope Benedict gave to the small delegation of Jewish representatives. At the closing ceremony, Benedict singled out the Jewish participants, "who are particularly close to us."

Six words, and Abe Foxman's panties get all wet. Sorry for the crudeness, but I can't think of a better way to let you know how I really feel. Benedict brought back antisemitic prayers and antisemitic bishops. He continued an evil man on his path to sainthood. But all that is forgiven because he said some Jews were "particularly close" to him.

And really, why would any Jew with any sense WANT to be "close" to that decrepit antisemite?

And when he visited Washington, D.C. in 2008, holding an interfaith meeting with American religious leaders, Benedict arranged for a special private meeting with the Jewish delegation in order to wish us a happy Passover.

Jesus God. A "happy Passover" and he's some kind of Jew loving superstar? This is like applauding a well-educated adult for tying his shoes.

The official record of Pope Benedict's relationship with Jews and Israel is formidable.

Has their theologically-tainted diplomatic position been revised? No, it has not. So "formidable" probably isn't the right word.

First, it is important to remember that Pope Benedict, as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, worked closely for 26 years with his predecessor Pope John Paul II in developing a historic new relationship between Catholic and Jews as "loving brothers and sisters" after centuries of tragedy.

What is this new relationship of which you speak? Where, exactly, is the love? What have they done, aside for ceasing to torture us? For this they deserve roses? The Buddhists and the Canadians don't torture us . Where is their testimonial dinner?

Shortly after being elected in 2005, Pope Benedict arranged meetings with ADL and other world Jewish leaders. Four months later he visited a synagogue in Cologne. He would visit several other synagogues, most notably in Rome, and become the first pope to visit a synagogue in the United States.

BFD. When the Vatican pays reparations for the synagogues they destroyed you can get back to me.

He clearly condemned anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial.

He did not. But, even so, why would we dance a hora for someone condemning antisemitism and holocaust denial in freaking 2013? Why is Abe Foxman so desperate to give this Pope a gold star?

His visit to Israel solidified the Vatican's relationship with the Jewish State, and his church's commitment to its security and survival. In Israel, he honored the memory of the "six million Jewish victims of the Shoah,"

While meanwhile the ongoing sainthood effort for evil Pope Pius and the already completed cannonization of Edith Stein dishonors the Holocaust and denies the historical reality of what happened and what helped cause it. 

and said that "every effort must be made to fight anti-Semitism wherever it is found." By going to Yad Vashem and the Western Wall, he helped institutionalize a precedent set by Pope John Paul II.

Yes, yes. We know that by the standards of 1913 Pope B was a hell of a guy. Alas, he served in 2013.

To be sure, there were also missteps, starting with his 2005 speech at Auschwitz, when he failed to acknowledge the legacy of Christian anti-Jewish teachings -- the soil in which Nazi ideology was planted.

Right. A mere "mishap" and not the latest in a series of things the Church has done to paper over the facts and deny the reality of their role in causing the destruction of European Jewry. A little oops, and not part of a strategy to absolve itself of blame for the holocaust.

His decision to rewrite the old Latin version of the Good Friday prayer (still) titled "For the Conversion of the Jews" -- and his lifting of the excommunication of four bishops from an anti-Semitic schismatic -- were a profound disappointment. 

So let me get this straight, Abe. Wishing us a "happy Passover" is awesome times 20 and proof he loved us with his whole heart, whereas rehabilitating holocaust deniers and antisemitic prayers are silly little mishaps. 

He also moved wartime Pope Pius XII one step closer to sainthood, even as the Vatican's Secret World War II archives remained closed to scholars and Holocaust survivors.

We know enough about what Egenio Pacelli said and did (and didn't do) as nuncio, Vatican Secretary 
of State and Pope to pass judgement on him. He was a Jew-hater par excellence.

Yet at the same time, Benedict issued historic positive theological and historical statements about Judaism.

He said that the Catholic Church should not try and convert Jews.

My God. That isn't what he said! Also he didn't do it as Pope! He did it before he became Pope. In brief, Ratzinger wrote that at the end of time all Jews will convert, and that therefore the Church no longer has to make winning every single one of us over to Jesus their #1 overarching occupation. (Notably American Cardinals disputed this saying that a Catholicsm that didn't actively seek our conversion wasn't Catholicism) But never mind, because it wasn't a display of respect for Judaism. Ratzinger/Benedict still thinks we are wrong. He still thinks God's covenant with us is broken. He still thinks we're all going to hell, and he still thinks that Jews, as individuals, should be missionized. The statement wasn't about our theological fitness, it was about the Churchs goals regarding all of us as a people. Foxman makes it seem like the Church's historic mission of converting us has been dropped, which is completely not so. See more here

In his trilogy on the life of Jesus of Nazareth, Benedict re-interpreted problematic passages in the Gospels of Matthew and John, dismissing negative images and false charges against the Jewish people which prompted millennia of persecution and death.

I don't know what this is a reference to. Help?

So what is Benedict's legacy with the Jewish people?

How can you even ask? He wished us Happy Passover. Best Pope EVER!!

Holocaust issues are still a cloud looming over us. The archives are not open, but Pius XII has not been beatified -- yet.

What did Benedict do to slow it down? Oh right. Nothing. In fact he moved it one step closer. 

One measurement is whether his positive teachings about Jews become embedded in Catholic education around the world -- particularly the fast-growing regions in South America, Africa and Asia -- where knowledge of Judaism is stuck in the problematic past.

There is no reason to expect this to occur in that (a) there were no positive teachings and that (b) the little bit he did say about us was said by a scholar named Ratzinger, not the Pope.

Pope Benedict clearly demonstrated his closeness to the Jewish people, symbolically, and in word and deed. He listened to our concerns, and tried to address them.

Oh, this is just such horse manure I don't even know how to respond. Can you name one concern that he addressed? Just one. And what closeness? The happy Passover? The shoutout at a conference? That's all you need? How sad. How unbecoming. I don't know what's worse. That you desire the Pope's approval, or that you're satisfied with so little.

That demonstrates the trust and respect that has evolved between our two faith communities, and how much more work we need to do together, Catholics and Jews, to help repair a broken world.

Nothing in either Catholic or Jewish theology allows for us working together, as some kind of generic, neutered "people of faith" to heal the world.

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Boycott Ted

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I didn't watch the Academy Awards on the grounds that movies and self-congratulation don't interest me  but of course I heard about Seth McFarlen's caddish performance.After seeing all the complaints on Twitter, I caught the best bits on YouTube.

All and all, I think the unhappy people missed the point.

"We Saw your Boobs", for instance, was (a) funny(!) and (b) framed by the Captain Kirk intro as a "really dumb song performed by an idiot with poor judgement." So if you agree with (b) and are upset about it, well, jokes on you. The Rhianna remark was a shot at her dumb, brutal boyfriend not an endorsement of domestic violence. And since when is it not OK to mock a racist idiot like Mel Gibson?

However, there was one bit that didn't sit well with YourFavoriteBlogger. I am speaking of Ted's casual antisemitism.

Now, I understand Ted is a fictional creation, and that being a jackass is part of his shtick. And I understand that this fact is suppose to kasher the performance. But no sale.

The myth that Jews own Hollywood  is ugly because its used by  the likes of Toby Katz and Fat Billy Donahue to suggest that Jews (or in the case of Toby, "Jews she doesn't like") are anti-family and anti-values. We don't need it trotted out for a cheap laugh in front of a billion viewers.

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Nice kids

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So many things about this story confuse me. First, didn't this happen already only the kids were Jewish and the sport was baseball? I am thinking of a famous story involving a gifted home run that sounds a lot like this one. Also, the announcer claims this occurred in Texas which must be a mistake: generous, neighborly Texans? Finally, the hero is of Hispanic heritage which as per official T-Party Myth can't be true. Those people are takers, not givers.

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Stupid moron of Purim 5773

Round of applause for Dov Hikind who seems to be the last person in America who still thinks black-face is okay.

Report:

The assemblyman, Dov Hikind, a Democrat who has been a longtime power broker in the Orthodox Jewish community, wore an Afro wig, orange jersey, sunglasses and brown makeup or face paint as part of a costume that Mr. Hikind said represented a “black basketball player.”

And let's be clear. I don't think Hikind is a racist. I think he's an idiot for not realizing, or worse, for not caring, that responsible, educated adults don't appear in public with their faces painted black.

Glossing Pur

Why does the author of the megilla gloss the word "Pur"?

The NIV translation makes the gloss obvious: "in the first month, the month of Nisan, the pur (that is, the lot) was cast in the presence of Haman to select a day and month"

See what I mean?

So are we correct in assuming that the author believes his audience doesn't know what a pur is? Does this suggest that the holiday of Purim was celebrated before the Megillah's account was written? Or should we just say that some later editor penciled in the definition

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I don't even know what to say about this...

From the Post

Pass the hat, please.

It was a truly religious experience for bar-mitzvah boy Jacob Feit Mann when he and Timothy Cardinal Dolan swapped skullcaps — one black and the other red — yesterday at an Upper West Side synagogue.

“I was just, like, ‘Wow! I’d better not lose this one!’ ” said the exuberant youth.

Jacob was sitting with his parents in the front row of the Lincoln Square Synagogue, where Dolan had been invited to speak on relations between Catholics and Jews.

But before Dolan spoke, Jacob read from the Jewish religious texts, as is tradition at a bar mitzvah.

G.N.Miller/New York Post

JACOB FEIT MANN Today this colorful boy is a man.

G.N.Miller/New York Post

TIMOTHY CARDINAL DOLANVisiting synagogue yesterday.

After he stepped down, he went up to the cardinal and asked if they could switch kippahs —the Hebrew word for yarmulke — his black one for his eminence’s traditional red zucchetto.

Dolan replied, mischievously, “I think that might happen.”

As the cardinal addressed the congregation, Jacob said, “He called me over while he was speaking, and we switched skullcaps. That was fun.

“I thought it was really cool. I think I probably had the coolest bar mitzvah in my class.”

After swapping caps, Dolan kept Jacob’s yarmulke on throughout the rest of the service.

Dolan asked Jacob to autograph his, but the boy said he couldn’t because writing is forbidden on the Sabbath.

Dolan quipped it was OK for him because “it’s not my Sabbath until tomorrow.”

Dolan signed the inside of his red cap: “To Jacob, Tim. Cardinal Dolan 23/2/13.”

“When we switched, I asked if he wanted my clips [to secure the yarmulke],” Jacob recalled.

But the receding-haired cardinal “said he didn’t think he would be needing them.”

Jacob’s dad, Jordan Mann, added, “This is about the most exciting thing to happen in a bar mitzvah in 500 years. I was happy Jacob could have this experience.”

His mother, Alison Feit, joked, “He no longer needs a topic for his college essay.”

Rabbi Shaul Robinson quipped that Jacob and Dolan might meet in the future as world religious leaders — Jacob as chief rabbi of Israel and Dolan as the newest pope.

“Jake has a much better chance of becoming chief rabbi than I do of becoming pope,” Dolan said drolly.

At the end of the ceremony, the cardinal wanted to return Jacob’s yarmulke but was asked instead to take it with him to Rome to vote for a new pope next month.

“I guess it makes me feel kind of important. I think it’s awesome,” said the barmitzvah boy.

“He seems like a really great guy. I knowhe’ll make a great decision. I hope maybe he thinks of me when he’s there and remembers that his decision affects everyone, including Jacob Feit Mann.”

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Amulike Kugel is Now A Thing, Apparently

Guest Post by @azigra

A friends of mine just posted this picture on Facebook. It's a Satmar brand "Amulike" Kugel with of course the ingredients listed (which if read too quickly seems to contain "male forshken" among other things) as well as the entire verse of Timche Ess Zecher Amulike Mitachas HaShumayim Loi Tishkuch. 

As an aside, I am not familiar with the word "Amulike" and have no clue what language that is from.

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Why do we wear costumes on Purim?

Actually, the title of this post is wrong. I don't mean to explain the reason for Purim costumes, but to hazard a few guesses as to how the custom was established. Here they are

• At a particular moment in time, a group of illustrious Rabbis gathered to formally address our spiritual shortcomings by establishing new customs. This is how we got upshurin. Its also how we got Purim costumes. (My view: BWAHAHAHAH.)
• At a particular moment in time, perfectly good Jews came up with a perfectly good Torah  reason for wearing costumes. So they started doing it (likely after asking a shaylah) When the Rabbis acquiesced the custom caught on. (My view: Meh.)
• At a particular moment in time, Jews had Catholic neighbors who wore costumes in celebration of Mardi Gras. So the Jews copied it - just as we copied Upshurin from Muslims, just as we copied clothing styles from Polish noblemen, just as we copied leaning at a banquet from Greeks, and just as we copied the idea of using lights as decorations in our sukka from Christmas trees. (My view: Who know if this is really what happened, but of the three this is the only one supported by anything resembling evidence. The very first mention of costumes  for Purim is from a 15th century Italian teshuva. Its author and his audience would certainly have seen Mardi Gras costumes.) 

And why do the Catholics dress up for Mardi Gras? Unclear. The celebrations themselves have been linked to Lupercalia a February Roman festival with circus elements  that scholars believe the church co-oped.

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