- Revolving Door Judaism
Twentieth century American Judaism has created the inevitable and perhaps desirable revolving door Judaism. People coming in and people going out--Jews entering at certain entry points and others leaving at different points of egress. That is what living in a democracy is all about - - choices and the freedom to choose. Not only is the twenty first century Jew a Jew by choice, but he can also decide what type of observance and intensity he wishes. - A Bintel Brief
This pervasive attitude reflecting a chronic problem in the ultra orthodox community is what created the problems for the anonymous letter writer. At the turn of the twentieth century, when thousands of eastern European Jews immigrated to the United States it is understandable that they would have need to write to the Jewish Forward's "A Bintel brief" for advice and help - Abra Cadabra
Many of the laws handed down to us originated during the geonic and medieval periods. Many of these laws were based on superstitious beliefs that were prevalent at the time. To be sure, when these laws were legislated, they were not seen as a response to superstition, but reacting to their cultural norms. Spirits and demons were considered real, and thus to be contended with. Concepts such as "Ayin Harah," (evil eye) were as real to our ancestors as bacteria is real to us today. - Atlas Shrugged Tikkun Olam
The Jewish system does not believe as the "yefeh nefesh" (socialist leaning or liberal minded) do in the redistribution of wealth and a reordering of society, in order to help the poor. Judaism understands the disparity between rich and poor makes no value judgment in that, but our willingness to give Tzedakah. But no one is expected to provide Tzedakah to the lazy, alcoholics or drug addicts. There is nothing in our value system that condemns materialism, wealth or the pursuit of wealth. In fact we are not embarrassed to ask God for his munificence, as is expressed in our tefillot (prayers). There is no justification for Jews to be made to feel guilty about pursuing careers where amassing wealth is its by product. There is nothing in our tradition that justifies affirmative action at the expense of more talented people or where Jews will be discriminated against. - Her Price is Beyond Pearls
In the 1960's when orthodox Jewish divorce was practically non existent "Eshet Chayil" was not part of the Friday night Shabbat ritual. As the divorce rate has gone up, so coincidentally, has the amount of men chanting Eshet Chayil in praise of their wives. I do not mean to suggest that a correlation exists between the increased frequency and trendiness of chanting "Eshet Chayil" and the rising divorce rate among orthodox Jews. - In Your Face
Our history, unfortunately is riddled with terribly ugly shades of anti-Semitism and my intention here is not to exonerate the predators but to pause a moment and check whether or not we may have indirectly become enablers-enabling them to perpetrate their evil. A minority group too visible in its host society is begging for a backlash. Could this be the lesson of the enslavement of the Hebrews? It is very easy to assess the African American or the Hispanic community in the USA through this prism and see the forces of prejudice coalesce in response to the minority groups' growth politically and socially. - Crossroads
That meeting between us was perhaps the most important one during those formidable years because it created a pattern by which I would live my life. There have been many occasions since then when I had to choose a principled path even though it meant some hardship. In the long run I’ve never been sorry for any of those decisions. I say this because many years have passed and once again I am at the crossroads and its time for a decision on how to live a life as a principled person and as a principled Jew. - The Greening of Agudah
Environmental issues have not been on their agenda hitherto, I assume because these issues were not critical nor is there a significant body of halachic (Jewish law) literature relating to these issues. Our history and halachic approach heretofore hasn’t had to deal with environmental issues that threaten our existence or our quality of life. I do believe however that the time has come when we need to adjust our halachic models to include the threatening affects of global warming and other factors negatively impacting our environment. - Lihyot O Lo Lihyot Am Hofshi B’artzenu
The ultra-orthodox / haredi community, for some unexplainable reason, believes that they have a monopoly on truth, history and religious values. Most Israelis however are very committed to their history and tradition, understand it and accept it with all its warts and foibles. How they chose to express our tradition is part of the beauty and dynamics of a free society which treasures and values democracy, freedom of thought and expression. The haredi community, on the other hand, understands history according to their scheme of things revising it as a justification for their raison d’etre. - M.M. Schneerson: Messiah or Member of the Ibbur Class
It is a fantastic story and utterly believable-- if you believe in a personal Messiah as elaborated on by the Rambam (Maimonides) and others. What amazes me is the same people who cast doubt on the claims of the mishichistim (messianics) believe in the myth of a personal messiah. If you believe in a personal moshiach (messiah), then there is not much of a leap of faith to believe in M.M. Shneerson as the moshiach incarnate. Why not? They are both rooted in faith. - Tefilin Wrap
How is it, that the level of tolerance is obvious among the Sephardim, but visibly absent among the Ashkenazim? It goes back to the fact that Sephardim feel more comfortable in their skin because it is their only skin, while for Ashkenazim it is their second skin. As a result they are less comfortable and less tolerant. Perhaps the difference in the way the two edot (communities) wrap tefilin (phylacteries) is telling. Sephardim tend to wrap their tefilin around their arm outwardly while Ashkenazim wrap them inwardly. Would this in some way symbolize the difference between the two cultures? - The Hubris of Daas Torah
Critical thinking is anathema to Daas Torah. They seek to undervalue individual rights, independent thinking, and the ability to make an informed and intelligent decision. Daas Torah doesn't allow for dissent. It is noble for a faith based Jew to consult with his spiritual mentor for guidance always with the option for accepting or rejecting that advice. Daas Torah, however, seeks to control the individual and thus the community, molding it into its own image, squashing dissent and undermining free will by manipulating peer pressure in order to insinuate its singular control and presence. - True Beliefs vs. Necessary Beliefs II
There are many who believe that if one "questions" than one is on the path of Elisha Ben Abuya. Not necessarily. If we don't question than how can discovery ever be made and how can we ever honestly validate our religious convictions? Surely we all agree that it was God's plan to have man designed with a brain with incredible potential for discovery. The purpose of mankind is to increase and maximize his potential for transcendence. As in every field of the sciences and humanities mans advancement can't be expected without framing intelligent questions and seeking the answers. - True Beliefs vs. Necessary Beliefs
The picture becomes more complex when one takes into account the fact that there wasn't one masoretic text, but many. Furthermore, as far back as the Babylonian period when the Talmud was edited there was awareness of gross errors in the Torah text regarding spelling and orthographic notation. As Shapiro suggests, there were halachic discussions on what happens if the Torah text differs with that of that quoted in the Talmud, or a discrepancy between texts quoted in Talmud and that of the masoretic text. - When She's Hot, She's Hot-or-Not
I also wonder if the sheitel lost its purpose and has morphed into a meaningless and self defeating mitzvah. If I've got this straight, women's natural hair according to Talmud is Ervah, a word difficult to translate, so we’ll just call is sexually provocative. Because it is provocative it needs to be covered. Hence-the tichel, snood or sheitel.
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