Posted by TikunOlam on DovBear's behalf (he is too busy for us all today)
From the New York Times
The silver menorah branches out from its stem at hard right angles, and the plastic rubies glued onto the base add more kitsch than glitz. But the auctioneer, Jonathan Greenstein, owner of J. Greenstein & Company, said the anonymous seller was hoping for bids as high as $15,000 — when similar menorahs would ordinarily go for closer to $800.
That’s because it once belonged to the entertainer Sammy Davis Jr.
“It’s a tremendous conversation piece,” Mr. Greenstein said.
Conversation starter it may have been, but money magnet it was not. No bid met the $9,000 reserve, with the highest bid coming in at $8,000.
To see the full NYT article click here.
Search for more information about Sammy Davis Jr. at 4torah.com.
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Monday, June 08, 2009
More on the Mishlei Mesorah
What follows are some of the arguments and refutations contained on the comment thread that developed beneath this post about Mishlei's authorship.
Truth: Dozens of Rishonim and Achronim have said explicitly that Chazal were, at times, wrong about various matters, and they have gave us explicit permission to follow our brains and the evidence on any question that doesn't touch halacha. Though some pretend that this idea is contained only in a few obscure sources, or based on questionable readings, the truth is that its a widespread opinion and one that is stated many times and in unambiguous language.
(2) Claim: The academics who give Mishlei a late date are using a "non-Orthodox mode of thought" which poisons their conclusions.
Counter argument: Any statement about the attitudes or outlooks of the academics is purely speculative. We have no information about what these particular academics thought about the Sages or the Mesorah. We know nothing concrete about their "mode of thought." Moreover, whatever their "mode of thought" may have been is entirely immaterial to the quality of their evidence and the strength of their arguments. To suggest that evidence can't be considered because it was accumulated by people who are in the grips of the wrong "mode of thought" is an ad hom argument, akin to rejecting Euclid's math on the basis of his paganism.
(3) Claim: To say that the anyone other than Solomon wrote Misheli is to say that Chazal were incompetent at collecting and assessing information.
Counterargument: No it doesn't. To say that anyone other than Solomon wrote Misheli is to say that this one, lone, solitary claim was never investigated properly, and not because Chazal were mentally deficient, but because the necessary tools were not available to them.
(4) Claim: To say that the anyone other than Solomon wrote Misheli is to undermine the authority of Chazal
Counterargument: It doesn't follow from the fact that Chazal may have been wrong about one, solitary, thing that they were also wrong about everything. Besides, the Talmud Bavli overflows with statments made by Tanaim and Amoraim that were, at some later point, determined by other Tanaim and Amoraim to be untrue, or inaccurately transmitted. That fact that Chazal frequently make corrections to the tradition they inherited, strongly suggests that shortcomings in the accuracy of the Mesorah were recognized by Chazal themselves. [One of perhaps hundreds, if not thousands, of examples] Why should we deny what they admit?
(5) Claim: To say that anyone but Solomon wrote Mishlei is to undermine the Mesorah
Counterargument: To the best of my knowledge, only one lonely brysah makes this claim. There's no reason to think that this opinion was widely accepted by other Sages, and there is no evidence at all that this opinion was ever considered an essential, infallible part of the Mesorah. And, even if we stipulate that it was, evidence-based criticism of one small, tiny, little speck of the tradition is not the same as wholesale denigration of all of it.
(6) Claim: To say that anyone other than Solomon wrote Mishlei is to undermine the Oral law stretching back to Sinai.
Counterargument: Solomon lived several hundred years after Sinai, thus any tradition about his activities can't possibly be part of the original, from-Sinai Mesorah. (quoting Anon:) "A tradition about the authorship of a post Sinai book is [therefore] categorically different from a tradition about halacha that does go back to Sinai. So, how can you claim that rejection of a claim from one category of tradition is identical to the rejection of the whole of an entirely different category of tradition?"
What do I believe? Proverbs is an anthology of different Wisdom collections, assembled over time by various authors and editors. Some specific ideas, if not the text of some specific Proverbs may have originated with Solomon or his court, but it seems most unlikely the whole entire book can be attributed to him.
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Geek of the Week
Has to be Gordon Browne, the British PM, for calling Omaha Beach "Obama Beach" at D-Day Ceremonies this weekend.
A new havel havalim is up
... in which my point about Obama's speech is misrepresented
I don't know what the future holds, and I concede its possible the president's conciliatory approach might fail. What's inarguable, however, is that I was right about the speech, and RW Jews like Spira were wrong. Obama didn't announce a new peace plan, he didn't call for the division of Jerusalem, and he did nothing to diminish or alter the United State's special relationship with Israel. Spira, and RW Jews like him, all but promised these things would occur. They did not. And if Spira and RW Jews like him had any guts they would admit it. (like Jameel did)
I don't know what the future holds, and I concede its possible the president's conciliatory approach might fail. What's inarguable, however, is that I was right about the speech, and RW Jews like Spira were wrong. Obama didn't announce a new peace plan, he didn't call for the division of Jerusalem, and he did nothing to diminish or alter the United State's special relationship with Israel. Spira, and RW Jews like him, all but promised these things would occur. They did not. And if Spira and RW Jews like him had any guts they would admit it. (like Jameel did)
Friday, June 05, 2009
The Disaster that May have Saved D-Day
A guest post by JS:
In honor of the upcoming 65th anniversary of the storming of Normandy, an interesting article.
Search for more information about D-Day at 4torah.com.
In honor of the upcoming 65th anniversary of the storming of Normandy, an interesting article.
Search for more information about D-Day at 4torah.com.
Obama at Buchanwald: Rebukes Ahmadinejad Again
June 5, 2009
BERLIN (JTA) -- President Barack Obama visited the Buchenwald concentration camp site, calling it "the ultimate rebuke" to Holocaust deniers.
Obama joined German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Elie Wiesel, the Holocaust memoirist who was a Buchenwald inmate, on the tour on Friday, a day after Obama called on the Muslim world to reject Holocaust denial.
"To this day, there are those who insist that the Holocaust never happened," Obama said at a news conference at the gates of the camp. Such statements are "ignorant, baseless and hateful."
For more than an hour, Obama and Merkel walked the grounds of Buchenwald. Out of sight of cameras, they entered the crematorium building where camp victims were turned to ash. They placed white roses, a symbol of German resistance, at several sites.
Obama said he had wanted to visit this particular camp because his great-uncle, Charles Payne, was among the U.S. soldiers in Infantry Division 89 who liberated the Buchenwald sub-camp of Ohrdruf in early April 1945. Ohrdruf was the first camp liberated by American soldiers. The gruesome sights of burned victims haunted his uncle for a long time, Obama said.
"It is understandable that someone who witnessed what had taken place here would be in a state of shock," he said.
Wiesel, a Nobel Peace laureate whose father died at Buchenwald, said, "Memory must bring people together rather than set them apart."
After visiting Germany, Obama was scheduled to fly to France and take part in ceremonies marking the 65th anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy.
In an interview with NBC, Obama expressed frustration with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who questions the story of the Holocaust.
“He should make his own visit," Obama said in Germany. "I have no patience for people who would deny history. And the history of the Holocaust is not something speculative."
Should he visit Germany, Ahmadinejad could face arrest as a Holocaust denier.
BERLIN (JTA) -- President Barack Obama visited the Buchenwald concentration camp site, calling it "the ultimate rebuke" to Holocaust deniers.
Obama joined German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Elie Wiesel, the Holocaust memoirist who was a Buchenwald inmate, on the tour on Friday, a day after Obama called on the Muslim world to reject Holocaust denial.
"To this day, there are those who insist that the Holocaust never happened," Obama said at a news conference at the gates of the camp. Such statements are "ignorant, baseless and hateful."
For more than an hour, Obama and Merkel walked the grounds of Buchenwald. Out of sight of cameras, they entered the crematorium building where camp victims were turned to ash. They placed white roses, a symbol of German resistance, at several sites.
Obama said he had wanted to visit this particular camp because his great-uncle, Charles Payne, was among the U.S. soldiers in Infantry Division 89 who liberated the Buchenwald sub-camp of Ohrdruf in early April 1945. Ohrdruf was the first camp liberated by American soldiers. The gruesome sights of burned victims haunted his uncle for a long time, Obama said.
"It is understandable that someone who witnessed what had taken place here would be in a state of shock," he said.
Wiesel, a Nobel Peace laureate whose father died at Buchenwald, said, "Memory must bring people together rather than set them apart."
After visiting Germany, Obama was scheduled to fly to France and take part in ceremonies marking the 65th anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy.
In an interview with NBC, Obama expressed frustration with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who questions the story of the Holocaust.
“He should make his own visit," Obama said in Germany. "I have no patience for people who would deny history. And the history of the Holocaust is not something speculative."
Should he visit Germany, Ahmadinejad could face arrest as a Holocaust denier.
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Cairo Quote of the Day
Mobius via Twitter:
OK [RWers] who said Obama was going to give away Jerusalem today in Cairo, time for retractions, apologies, and shutting the f** up
OK [RWers] who said Obama was going to give away Jerusalem today in Cairo, time for retractions, apologies, and shutting the f** up
Dear RW Jews: YOU WERE WRONG
In the run up to the speech, RW Jews made all kinds of assertions about the content of Obama's speech. For example:
Today honest RW Jews are heaving sighs of relief, and because I know JoeSettler and Jameel are honest RW Jews, I'm certain they are already hard at work on posts that set the record straight and offer reassurances to their more nervous readers. Spira of YWN, on the other hand, is a dishonest RW Jew so I expect that before the morning is out, he'll have posted more of his inaccurate, anti-Obama spinning.
Obama in Cairo: Reaffirms US Bond with Israel, Strongly Criticizes Arabs and Holocaust Deniers, Does Not Propose Anything Beyond Bush's Road Map
Obama in Cairo this morning:
The second major source of tension that we need to discuss is the situation between Israelis, Palestinians and the Arab world.
America's strong bonds with Israel are well known. This bond is unbreakable. It is based upon cultural and historical ties, and the recognition that the aspiration for a Jewish homeland is rooted in a tragic history that cannot be denied.
Around the world, the Jewish people were persecuted for centuries, and anti-Semitism in Europe culminated in an unprecedented Holocaust. Tomorrow, I will visit Buchenwald, which was part of a network of camps where Jews were enslaved, tortured, shot and gassed to death by the Third Reich. Six million Jews were killed - more than the entire Jewish population of Israel today. Denying that fact is baseless, ignorant, and hateful. Threatening Israel with destruction - or repeating vile stereotypes about Jews - is deeply wrong, and only serves to evoke in the minds of Israelis this most painful of memories while preventing the peace that the people of this region deserve.
On the other hand, it is also undeniable that the Palestinian people - Muslims and Christians - have suffered in pursuit of a homeland. For more than sixty years they have endured the pain of dislocation. Many wait in refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza, and neighboring lands for a life of peace and security that they have never been able to lead. They endure the daily humiliations - large and small - that come with occupation. So let there be no doubt: the situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable. America will not turn our backs on the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity, and a state of their own.
For decades, there has been a stalemate: two peoples with legitimate aspirations, each with a painful history that makes compromise elusive. It is easy to point fingers - for Palestinians to point to the displacement brought by Israel's founding, and for Israelis to point to the constant hostility and attacks throughout its history from within its borders as well as beyond. But if we see this conflict only from one side or the other, then we will be blind to the truth: the only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states, where Israelis and Palestinians each live in peace and security.
That is in Israel's interest, Palestine's interest, America's interest, and the world's interest. That is why I intend to personally pursue this outcome with all the patience that the task requires. The obligations that the parties have agreed to under the Road Map are clear. For peace to come, it is time for them - and all of us - to live up to our responsibilities.
Palestinians must abandon violence. Resistance through violence and killing is wrong and does not succeed. For centuries, black people in America suffered the lash of the whip as slaves and the humiliation of segregation. But it was not violence that won full and equal rights. It was a peaceful and determined insistence upon the ideals at the center of America's founding. This same story can be told by people from South Africa to South Asia; from Eastern Europe to Indonesia. It's a story with a simple truth: that violence is a dead end. It is a sign of neither courage nor power to shoot rockets at sleeping children, or to blow up old women on a bus. That is not how moral authority is claimed; that is how it is surrendered.
Now is the time for Palestinians to focus on what they can build. The Palestinian Authority must develop its capacity to govern, with institutions that serve the needs of its people. Hamas does have support among some Palestinians, but they also have responsibilities. To play a role in fulfilling Palestinian aspirations, and to unify the Palestinian people, Hamas must put an end to violence, recognize past agreements, and recognize Israel's right to exist.
At the same time, Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel's right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine's. The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop.
Israel must also live up to its obligations to ensure that Palestinians can live, and work, and develop their society. And just as it devastates Palestinian families, the continuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza does not serve Israel's security; neither does the continuing lack of opportunity in the West Bank. Progress in the daily lives of the Palestinian people must be part of a road to peace, and Israel must take concrete steps to enable such progress.
Finally, the Arab States must recognize that the Arab Peace Initiative was an important beginning, but not the end of their responsibilities. The Arab-Israeli conflict should no longer be used to distract the people of Arab nations from other problems. Instead, it must be a cause for action to help the Palestinian people develop the institutions that will sustain their state; to recognize Israel's legitimacy; and to choose progress over a self-defeating focus on the past.
America will align our policies with those who pursue peace, and say in public what we say in private to Israelis and Palestinians and Arabs. We cannot impose peace. But privately, many Muslims recognize that Israel will not go away. Likewise, many Israelis recognize the need for a Palestinian state. It is time for us to act on what everyone knows to be true.
Too many tears have flowed. Too much blood has been shed. All of us have a responsibility to work for the day when the mothers of Israelis and Palestinians can see their children grow up without fear; when the Holy Land of three great faiths is the place of peace that God intended it to be; when Jerusalem is a secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims, and a place for all of the children of Abraham to mingle peacefully together as in the story of Isra, when Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed (peace be upon them) joined in prayer.
The second major source of tension that we need to discuss is the situation between Israelis, Palestinians and the Arab world.
America's strong bonds with Israel are well known. This bond is unbreakable. It is based upon cultural and historical ties, and the recognition that the aspiration for a Jewish homeland is rooted in a tragic history that cannot be denied.
Around the world, the Jewish people were persecuted for centuries, and anti-Semitism in Europe culminated in an unprecedented Holocaust. Tomorrow, I will visit Buchenwald, which was part of a network of camps where Jews were enslaved, tortured, shot and gassed to death by the Third Reich. Six million Jews were killed - more than the entire Jewish population of Israel today. Denying that fact is baseless, ignorant, and hateful. Threatening Israel with destruction - or repeating vile stereotypes about Jews - is deeply wrong, and only serves to evoke in the minds of Israelis this most painful of memories while preventing the peace that the people of this region deserve.
On the other hand, it is also undeniable that the Palestinian people - Muslims and Christians - have suffered in pursuit of a homeland. For more than sixty years they have endured the pain of dislocation. Many wait in refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza, and neighboring lands for a life of peace and security that they have never been able to lead. They endure the daily humiliations - large and small - that come with occupation. So let there be no doubt: the situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable. America will not turn our backs on the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity, and a state of their own.
For decades, there has been a stalemate: two peoples with legitimate aspirations, each with a painful history that makes compromise elusive. It is easy to point fingers - for Palestinians to point to the displacement brought by Israel's founding, and for Israelis to point to the constant hostility and attacks throughout its history from within its borders as well as beyond. But if we see this conflict only from one side or the other, then we will be blind to the truth: the only resolution is for the aspirations of both sides to be met through two states, where Israelis and Palestinians each live in peace and security.
That is in Israel's interest, Palestine's interest, America's interest, and the world's interest. That is why I intend to personally pursue this outcome with all the patience that the task requires. The obligations that the parties have agreed to under the Road Map are clear. For peace to come, it is time for them - and all of us - to live up to our responsibilities.
Palestinians must abandon violence. Resistance through violence and killing is wrong and does not succeed. For centuries, black people in America suffered the lash of the whip as slaves and the humiliation of segregation. But it was not violence that won full and equal rights. It was a peaceful and determined insistence upon the ideals at the center of America's founding. This same story can be told by people from South Africa to South Asia; from Eastern Europe to Indonesia. It's a story with a simple truth: that violence is a dead end. It is a sign of neither courage nor power to shoot rockets at sleeping children, or to blow up old women on a bus. That is not how moral authority is claimed; that is how it is surrendered.
Now is the time for Palestinians to focus on what they can build. The Palestinian Authority must develop its capacity to govern, with institutions that serve the needs of its people. Hamas does have support among some Palestinians, but they also have responsibilities. To play a role in fulfilling Palestinian aspirations, and to unify the Palestinian people, Hamas must put an end to violence, recognize past agreements, and recognize Israel's right to exist.
At the same time, Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel's right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine's. The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop.
Israel must also live up to its obligations to ensure that Palestinians can live, and work, and develop their society. And just as it devastates Palestinian families, the continuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza does not serve Israel's security; neither does the continuing lack of opportunity in the West Bank. Progress in the daily lives of the Palestinian people must be part of a road to peace, and Israel must take concrete steps to enable such progress.
Finally, the Arab States must recognize that the Arab Peace Initiative was an important beginning, but not the end of their responsibilities. The Arab-Israeli conflict should no longer be used to distract the people of Arab nations from other problems. Instead, it must be a cause for action to help the Palestinian people develop the institutions that will sustain their state; to recognize Israel's legitimacy; and to choose progress over a self-defeating focus on the past.
America will align our policies with those who pursue peace, and say in public what we say in private to Israelis and Palestinians and Arabs. We cannot impose peace. But privately, many Muslims recognize that Israel will not go away. Likewise, many Israelis recognize the need for a Palestinian state. It is time for us to act on what everyone knows to be true.
Too many tears have flowed. Too much blood has been shed. All of us have a responsibility to work for the day when the mothers of Israelis and Palestinians can see their children grow up without fear; when the Holy Land of three great faiths is the place of peace that God intended it to be; when Jerusalem is a secure and lasting home for Jews and Christians and Muslims, and a place for all of the children of Abraham to mingle peacefully together as in the story of Isra, when Moses, Jesus, and Mohammed (peace be upon them) joined in prayer.
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Wife Swapping
A guest post by JS:
TO had an interesting post about the limitations on women in the Orthodox world.
In the comments of that post, many comments indicated either that women didn't have it so bad after all or that, if anything, women got the better end of the deal. As a brief example, in terms of tznius, Gabe wrote tznius applies to all, it's just the details that are different, Mar Gavriel wrote he never uncovers his arms and legs and wears a wool jacket and a hat, and Yoni noted that men have to wear so many layers he wished he could wear lighter clothing like women can. Other comments indicated it's a huge pain to be a man and have to have the burden of all of the mitzvot - such as running to shul in bad weather, waking up early for minyan, having to learn, etc. And, of course, continuing from Rabbi Fink's post some pointed out how the Bar Mitzvah experience is terrible and how girls felt lucky to not have to endure it.
So, who's got the better deal in Orthodoxy? How many men would like the chance to swap with their wives? Any volunteers?
I care more about swapping in terms of obligations and rights in Orthodoxy, but let the comments go where they may.
Search for more information about women in Orthodoxy at 4torah.com.
TO had an interesting post about the limitations on women in the Orthodox world.
In the comments of that post, many comments indicated either that women didn't have it so bad after all or that, if anything, women got the better end of the deal. As a brief example, in terms of tznius, Gabe wrote tznius applies to all, it's just the details that are different, Mar Gavriel wrote he never uncovers his arms and legs and wears a wool jacket and a hat, and Yoni noted that men have to wear so many layers he wished he could wear lighter clothing like women can. Other comments indicated it's a huge pain to be a man and have to have the burden of all of the mitzvot - such as running to shul in bad weather, waking up early for minyan, having to learn, etc. And, of course, continuing from Rabbi Fink's post some pointed out how the Bar Mitzvah experience is terrible and how girls felt lucky to not have to endure it.
So, who's got the better deal in Orthodoxy? How many men would like the chance to swap with their wives? Any volunteers?
I care more about swapping in terms of obligations and rights in Orthodoxy, but let the comments go where they may.
Search for more information about women in Orthodoxy at 4torah.com.
An Open Invitation to YidWithLid
Via FaceBook and Twitter I've become re-acquainted with YidWithLid, a blogger who posts from the far right of the political right. In some ways, YidWithLid and I are alike. I respect his showmanship and his ability to write button-pushing, attention-catching posts and I recognize that he is quite good at what he does.
Last night, YidWithLid and I had a little dustup on Twitter, which was a continuation of smaller dustups we've had on FaceBook. These dustups always start when Yid posts something that refers to global warming as a "hoax"(1) or when he suggests that President Obama is ready to stick a knife through Israel's heart (2). Both of these assertions are false: To date, Obama has done absolutely nothing to undermine Israel or previous US policy, while global warming enjoys the support of every single scientific society with the relevant expertise in the world.
But when I share these facts with Yid via Twitter or FaceBook he either ignores me or reasserts that his lies are actually true.
I like YidWithLid. I think he's a good man who believes he is telling the truth, but laboring under vital misapprehensions. Over the last several weeks, I've extended to him several private invitations to post on DovBear, hoping that the great conversations that always result from controversial posts here might provide the necessary correction to his thinking. (I know this works. The blog conversations here have corrected my own thinking too many times to count.) Each time I've made this invitation, YidWithLid has begged off claiming to be too busy with his own blog. When I point out that all he'd have to do is crosspost he doesn't answer.
So now I'm going public with my invitation. YidWithLid, you are cordially invited to cross post any Obama or global warming post to DovBear, where they will be reviewed by one of the sharpest, fairest and most vocal group of commenters in the Jewish blogosphere. My audience is diverse, knowledgeable, and ready to call BS on anyone, be they democrats or republicans. On this blog liberals enjoy no special protection: a bad idea is a bad idea no matter who says it. If you believe your ideas about Obama and global warming are true, please submit them to the scrutiny of the DovBear audience. If your ideas pass muster with them, you will have convinced me of their truth, as well.
You have nothing to lose but your misapprehensions and by inviting you to post here, I'm demonstrating that I'm willing to risk losing mine, too.
UPDATE
Pwak pwak pwak!
YidwithLid has unfriended me from Facebook! If that's not a confession of weakness, what is?
----
(1) You'd be surprised how often he does this. On FB, he mentions the "global warming hoax" with a frightening frequency.
(2) Too many examples to cite them all. Here's one headline, from last Monday, that's representative of the rest: "President Obama Discussing Ways To PUNISH Israel" (YidWithLid seemed blissfully unaware that the article he cited in this post, completely undermined the fear mongering headline. It included quotes like: "The measures under discussion [are] all largely symbolic" and "Placing conditions on loan guarantees to Israel, as the first President Bush did nearly 20 years ago, is not under discussion" and "the official added, “Israel is a critical United States ally, and no one in this administration expects that not to continue.”)
Search for more information about [topic] at 4torah.com.
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Limitations on women in the OJ world
By TikunOlam
While many in the Orthodox world may consider me a feminist, that is not how I see myself. I believe that men and women should be given equal opportunities and marriage is a partnership where each should have an equal say in decisions. I recognize that men and women, as a general rule, have different strengths and weaknesses, generally have different communication styles, ways of processing information and interpersonal relationships. I wear makeup, high heels and wear my hair long. While both my husband and I earned graduate degrees and work outside the home, he is the one to work the long hours while I work part-time and function as the primary caregiver to our children as well as the primary home-maker.
That being said, I started expressing some of my distaste for the limitations on women in the OJ world in Rabbi Fink's thread yesterday. Like many women (and men) I don't find the apologetics and claims that women are "equal but different" to ring true. OJ is a patriarchal system. All you have to do is look in the siddur and see how it says "Elokai Avraham, Elokai Yizchak V'Elokai Yaakov with the Matriachs conspicuously missing to get a clue. In fact, the rest of the Jewish denominations have noticed this as well and my own children have siddurim that include "Elokai Sarah. . ." too.
Some of the other practices that bothered me growing up:
1. "She lo asani isha" (yes, I know the apologetics)
2. Sitting in the back of the shul as a spectator rather than a participant
3. Wearing skirts when pants are so much more comfortable
4. Stringencies on tznius that are much more imposing on women than on men (you know, it is hot in the summer!)
5. Lack of women shul presidents
6. Women's limitations in taking communal spiritual leadership or functioning as rabbis
7. Limits on women's Jewish education. I, for one, was sent to typing, cooking and sewing classes while the boys learned Gemara. Girls were taught "halacha l'maase" only, none from original sources and the classes only covered Shabbat, Kashrut and Taharat Hamishpacha, as though those are the only halachot women are obligated in.
8. The constant discussion of women not being obligated in mitvot (and limited in opportunities to do some of the mitvot) so they can take care of their children. Women are only taking care of young children for a portion of their adult lives. There are plenty of years pre-children and post children to participate in communal life.
9. Not being counted in a minyan. Hey, I understand if women don't HAVE to be there, but if they are there why count a 12 year old boy rather than a grown woman as is done in one small OJ shul that I frequent?
10. Prohibition against women acting as witnesses at weddings
That's a start. Let the apologetics that I have heard a million times before begin. . .
Search for more information about women and Orthodox Judaism at 4torah.com.
While many in the Orthodox world may consider me a feminist, that is not how I see myself. I believe that men and women should be given equal opportunities and marriage is a partnership where each should have an equal say in decisions. I recognize that men and women, as a general rule, have different strengths and weaknesses, generally have different communication styles, ways of processing information and interpersonal relationships. I wear makeup, high heels and wear my hair long. While both my husband and I earned graduate degrees and work outside the home, he is the one to work the long hours while I work part-time and function as the primary caregiver to our children as well as the primary home-maker.
That being said, I started expressing some of my distaste for the limitations on women in the OJ world in Rabbi Fink's thread yesterday. Like many women (and men) I don't find the apologetics and claims that women are "equal but different" to ring true. OJ is a patriarchal system. All you have to do is look in the siddur and see how it says "Elokai Avraham, Elokai Yizchak V'Elokai Yaakov with the Matriachs conspicuously missing to get a clue. In fact, the rest of the Jewish denominations have noticed this as well and my own children have siddurim that include "Elokai Sarah. . ." too.
Some of the other practices that bothered me growing up:
1. "She lo asani isha" (yes, I know the apologetics)
2. Sitting in the back of the shul as a spectator rather than a participant
3. Wearing skirts when pants are so much more comfortable
4. Stringencies on tznius that are much more imposing on women than on men (you know, it is hot in the summer!)
5. Lack of women shul presidents
6. Women's limitations in taking communal spiritual leadership or functioning as rabbis
7. Limits on women's Jewish education. I, for one, was sent to typing, cooking and sewing classes while the boys learned Gemara. Girls were taught "halacha l'maase" only, none from original sources and the classes only covered Shabbat, Kashrut and Taharat Hamishpacha, as though those are the only halachot women are obligated in.
8. The constant discussion of women not being obligated in mitvot (and limited in opportunities to do some of the mitvot) so they can take care of their children. Women are only taking care of young children for a portion of their adult lives. There are plenty of years pre-children and post children to participate in communal life.
9. Not being counted in a minyan. Hey, I understand if women don't HAVE to be there, but if they are there why count a 12 year old boy rather than a grown woman as is done in one small OJ shul that I frequent?
10. Prohibition against women acting as witnesses at weddings
That's a start. Let the apologetics that I have heard a million times before begin. . .
Search for more information about women and Orthodox Judaism at 4torah.com.
Monday, June 01, 2009
Supreme Court influencing the bracha on Pringles
A Guest Post by Rafi G.
The debate about what bracha to make on Pringles is probably about as old as Pringles themselves are.
Pringles are very similar to real potato chips, but in actuality are not made from potatoes, but from processed potato flour mixed with other ingredients. Hence the debate about what bracha to make.
A quick search for sources on the Internet leads to the following opinions:
The British Supreme Court has now come out with a psak, deciding on an appeal by the VAT authorities from an earlier court ruling in favor of Procter and Gamble declaring it a snack and not a potato chip, base don the use of potato flour and not potatoes, along with the content level and mixtures. The ramification for them is what level of taxes they have to pay.
The Supreme Court overruled the earlier decision and decided that Pringles are in fact potato chips, despite the content issue.
I wonder if the British Supreme Court ruling would have any affect on how poskim look at the chip and if from either side of the great Pringles debate a posek would change his opinion because of it...
Search for more information about [Denatured Potato] at 4torah.com.
The debate about what bracha to make on Pringles is probably about as old as Pringles themselves are.
Pringles are very similar to real potato chips, but in actuality are not made from potatoes, but from processed potato flour mixed with other ingredients. Hence the debate about what bracha to make.
A quick search for sources on the Internet leads to the following opinions:
- Ha'Adama is the appropriate bracha according to: Rav Belsky quoting Rav Moshe Feinstein, Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach and Rav Elyashiv. As well, according to this article from the YU website quoting Rav Abadi who references Rav Aharon Kotler...
- She'HaKol is the appropriate bracha according to: Ohr Sameyach in the name of Rav Meier Bransdorfer. The Brachot website quotes Rav Bodner as saying it is a shehakol, but accepts that some opinions claim ha'adama..HalachaNet from Shema Yisrael also paskens She'Hakol..
The British Supreme Court has now come out with a psak, deciding on an appeal by the VAT authorities from an earlier court ruling in favor of Procter and Gamble declaring it a snack and not a potato chip, base don the use of potato flour and not potatoes, along with the content level and mixtures. The ramification for them is what level of taxes they have to pay.
The Supreme Court overruled the earlier decision and decided that Pringles are in fact potato chips, despite the content issue.
Britain’s Supreme Court of Judicature has answered a question that has long puzzled late-night dorm-room snackers: What, exactly, is a Pringle? With citations ranging from Baroness Hale of Richmond to Oliver Wendell Holmes, Lord Justice Robin Jacob concluded that, legally, it is a potato chip.
[...]
The Supreme Court of Judicature had little patience with Procter & Gamble’s lawyerly attempts to break out of the potato chip category. The company argued that to be “made of potato” Pringles would have to be all potato, or nearly so. If so, Lord Justice Jacob noted, “a marmalade made using both oranges and grapefruit would be made of neither — a nonsense conclusion.”
[...]
In other words, sometimes you just have to call them as you see them.Conservatives like to insist that their judges are strict constructionists, giving the Constitution and statutes their precise meaning and no more, while judges like Ms. Sotomayor are activists. But there is no magic right way to interpret terms like “free speech” or “due process” — or potato chip. Nor is either ideological camp wholly strict or wholly activist. Liberal judges tend to be expansive about things like equal protection, while conservatives read more into ones like “the right to bear arms.”
In the end, as Lord Justice Jacob noted, a judge can only look at the relevant factors and draw an overall impression. His common-sense approach was a rebuke not only to Procter & Gamble, but to everyone out there who insists that the only way to read laws correctly is to read them strictly.
I wonder if the British Supreme Court ruling would have any affect on how poskim look at the chip and if from either side of the great Pringles debate a posek would change his opinion because of it...
Search for more information about [Denatured Potato] at 4torah.com.
Was the sota water poisoned?
In progress...
I'm working on a post about the bitter waters given by the priest to a woman suspected of adultery (more here.) Josh has an old post in which he argues that Ibn Ezra believed the kohen added poison to the water before giving it to the woman; thus, the Sota test was a trial by ordeal, and the miracle was not that guilty women died, but that the innocent women lived.
Josh says Shadal and Avi Ezer disagree, but differently: Avi Ezer insists (a little too strongly for my liking) that Ibn Ezra is saying nothing of the sort. Shadal, on the other hand, sees what Josh sees in the Ibn Ezra but rejects the idea as "nonsense and insanity."
I agree with Josh that there is something fishy about Ibn Ezra's comment, and that something rings very false about Avi Ezer's denial; still I don't see what Shadal saw. Why is it so obvious to him (and to Josh) that the Ibn Ezra believed the kohen slipped poison into the potion?
All the relevant sources and arguments are at Josh's
Search for more information about Shadal at 4torah.com.
I'm working on a post about the bitter waters given by the priest to a woman suspected of adultery (more here.) Josh has an old post in which he argues that Ibn Ezra believed the kohen added poison to the water before giving it to the woman; thus, the Sota test was a trial by ordeal, and the miracle was not that guilty women died, but that the innocent women lived.
Josh says Shadal and Avi Ezer disagree, but differently: Avi Ezer insists (a little too strongly for my liking) that Ibn Ezra is saying nothing of the sort. Shadal, on the other hand, sees what Josh sees in the Ibn Ezra but rejects the idea as "nonsense and insanity."
I agree with Josh that there is something fishy about Ibn Ezra's comment, and that something rings very false about Avi Ezer's denial; still I don't see what Shadal saw. Why is it so obvious to him (and to Josh) that the Ibn Ezra believed the kohen slipped poison into the potion?
All the relevant sources and arguments are at Josh's
Search for more information about Shadal at 4torah.com.
The Bar Mitzvah
A guest post by E_Fink
A rite of passage. A boy becomes a man. The Bar Mitzva.
Before I begin I have a disclaimer. Everyone has their flaws, especially me. The one area in which I was blessed is being in the spotlight. This post did not apply to me when I was Bar Mitzva. I relished every moment of the spotlight for my Bar Mitzva. I loved leining, I loved Davening Kabbalas Shabbos and Shachris for the Amud, I loved speaking 3 times over my Bar Mitzva. It was a great overall experience for me. I cannot relate first hand to what I am about to write but I have felt it too often second hand not to write.
What should be a seminal moment in a young man's transition from childhood to adulthood has become something entirely different. Bar Mitzva boys of 13 years old are expected to prepare up to 150 Psukim of foreign text with foreign cantillation notes. They are expected to be able to speak in public in front of large crowds. They are expected to embrace this "opportunity" and these experiences somehow celebrate the Bar Mitzva. All, whilst getting pelted by rock candy and boxes of Mike & Ikes.
A Bar Mitzva celebration is supposed to celebrate the young man's ability to bring Shechina closer to Hashem's people. With 9 men and a 12 year old boy the Shechina is just the same as usual. When there are 9 men and 13 year old boy, the Shechina becomes concentrated on that place and special prayers can be added to the daily services. That is what we are celebrating, more Shechina.
The Halacha is that a Bar Mitzva boy must get called up to the Torah for an Aliyah, The young man is now required to observe almost all Mitzvos, and perhaps most significantly, Teffilin. That's quite a tall order already.
Why do we heap on this poor kid and expect him to develop a difficult, ancient and practically useless skill of leining? Why should a shy boy who can't see over the podium be expected to deliver a coherent, interesting Torah thought? Worse, the bar (no pun intended) is set so high that anything less than this is a failure. The parents and certainly the grandparents are bound to be disappointed by this subpar effort, not to mention the usual shul mumblers and kvetchers. "What, he only leined 4 aliyos? A Shanda", "I couldn't hear a thing that boy said in this speech".]
Wouldn't this time in the boy's life be better spent working on his understanding of mitzva observance? Let the kid be a kid! Let him have fun! All this stress and tension is BAD for Judasim. A child's entry into adult life should be full of happiness and excitement, not dread, fear, stress and failure. If your experience leading the Torah reading or Davening was bad at 13 you are likely to be "turned off" from these types of Jewish experiences. That cannot be good. I think it is terrible.
I know it is a wonderful experience for some, like for me. but I can't help but think the expectations are way too high. It's not as if there is any true necessity for a 13 year boy to lein and give a dvar torah! No one would miss it. For the boys who thrive and revel in the spotlight, the Bar Mitzva is a great opportunity for them to hone those skills, which will likely be very useful to those boys. But to force all the "square" boys into this "round" hole is irresponsible.
Not to mention two other huge issues with Bar Mitzva celebrations.
First, the incredible amounts of money spent on lavish parties and weekends of revelry is becoming wasteful. Times are tough, the standards must be lowered for Bar Mitzva celebrations.
Second, and perhaps this deserves an entirely independent post, is the message we send our daughters. It's as if their puny little Bas Mitzva "sleepover" is a "bone" we throw at them because their entry into the world of Mitzva observance is not so important. Before we get all excited here, there is a fundamental difference between a boy entering a status by which he can bring Shechina to a place. A young woman, as special and important as her Mitzva observance can be, does have different (not inferior, just different) halachic status. Yes, that is true, but the women growing up in our Torah system already have an inferiority complex, this chasm between the Bar and Bas Mitzva only exacerbates the problem.
Both celebrations need to be toned down and brought back to their roots. What do you think?
Search for more information about the Bar Mitzvah at 4torah.com.
A rite of passage. A boy becomes a man. The Bar Mitzva.
Before I begin I have a disclaimer. Everyone has their flaws, especially me. The one area in which I was blessed is being in the spotlight. This post did not apply to me when I was Bar Mitzva. I relished every moment of the spotlight for my Bar Mitzva. I loved leining, I loved Davening Kabbalas Shabbos and Shachris for the Amud, I loved speaking 3 times over my Bar Mitzva. It was a great overall experience for me. I cannot relate first hand to what I am about to write but I have felt it too often second hand not to write.
What should be a seminal moment in a young man's transition from childhood to adulthood has become something entirely different. Bar Mitzva boys of 13 years old are expected to prepare up to 150 Psukim of foreign text with foreign cantillation notes. They are expected to be able to speak in public in front of large crowds. They are expected to embrace this "opportunity" and these experiences somehow celebrate the Bar Mitzva. All, whilst getting pelted by rock candy and boxes of Mike & Ikes.
A Bar Mitzva celebration is supposed to celebrate the young man's ability to bring Shechina closer to Hashem's people. With 9 men and a 12 year old boy the Shechina is just the same as usual. When there are 9 men and 13 year old boy, the Shechina becomes concentrated on that place and special prayers can be added to the daily services. That is what we are celebrating, more Shechina.
The Halacha is that a Bar Mitzva boy must get called up to the Torah for an Aliyah, The young man is now required to observe almost all Mitzvos, and perhaps most significantly, Teffilin. That's quite a tall order already.
Why do we heap on this poor kid and expect him to develop a difficult, ancient and practically useless skill of leining? Why should a shy boy who can't see over the podium be expected to deliver a coherent, interesting Torah thought? Worse, the bar (no pun intended) is set so high that anything less than this is a failure. The parents and certainly the grandparents are bound to be disappointed by this subpar effort, not to mention the usual shul mumblers and kvetchers. "What, he only leined 4 aliyos? A Shanda", "I couldn't hear a thing that boy said in this speech".]
Wouldn't this time in the boy's life be better spent working on his understanding of mitzva observance? Let the kid be a kid! Let him have fun! All this stress and tension is BAD for Judasim. A child's entry into adult life should be full of happiness and excitement, not dread, fear, stress and failure. If your experience leading the Torah reading or Davening was bad at 13 you are likely to be "turned off" from these types of Jewish experiences. That cannot be good. I think it is terrible.
I know it is a wonderful experience for some, like for me. but I can't help but think the expectations are way too high. It's not as if there is any true necessity for a 13 year boy to lein and give a dvar torah! No one would miss it. For the boys who thrive and revel in the spotlight, the Bar Mitzva is a great opportunity for them to hone those skills, which will likely be very useful to those boys. But to force all the "square" boys into this "round" hole is irresponsible.
Not to mention two other huge issues with Bar Mitzva celebrations.
First, the incredible amounts of money spent on lavish parties and weekends of revelry is becoming wasteful. Times are tough, the standards must be lowered for Bar Mitzva celebrations.
Second, and perhaps this deserves an entirely independent post, is the message we send our daughters. It's as if their puny little Bas Mitzva "sleepover" is a "bone" we throw at them because their entry into the world of Mitzva observance is not so important. Before we get all excited here, there is a fundamental difference between a boy entering a status by which he can bring Shechina to a place. A young woman, as special and important as her Mitzva observance can be, does have different (not inferior, just different) halachic status. Yes, that is true, but the women growing up in our Torah system already have an inferiority complex, this chasm between the Bar and Bas Mitzva only exacerbates the problem.
Both celebrations need to be toned down and brought back to their roots. What do you think?
Search for more information about the Bar Mitzvah at 4torah.com.
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