by Kung Fu Jew [➚] · Friday, November 30th, 2007
After damn near two years of planning, fundraising and designing (and re-planning, re-funding and re-designing) the improved New Voices web site is up! Archives, comments, free subscriptions, and all — welcome to the 21st century, Jewish Student Press Service. If you’re not familiar with the sordid history of JSPS/New Voices and it’s thorn-in-the-side approach to Jewish campus life, then read editor Josh Nathan-Kazis’ enemies list below…
The November/December 2007 issue of New Voices is online now at newvoices.org. Highlights include:
A Quiet Freshman’s Secret Past, by Arielle Reich. One year ago, Sam fled his isolated Satmar upbringing for the secular world. This fall, he’s starting college. And you thought your first year was tough.
A Student-Run Shabbaton Falters, by Ashley Bagan. Once the vanguard of the post-denominational movement, Jews in the Woods has fallen on hard times. Will it be a casualty of its own success?
The Best Years of our Lives, by Marissa Brostoff. Harvard sociologist Nathan Glazer reflects on his time as editor of Avukah Student Action, a Jewish student newspaper of the World War II era.
My Enemies List, by Josh Nathan-Kazis. Hillel’s domination of Jewish campus life is dangerous for Jewish students, and the Jewish community as a whole. Here’s why.
Plus, a homelessness protest in Jerusalem (see cover image), a Jewish American Girl doll, Reb Schneerson skips the Acid Test, an original comic, reviews, and more.
You can subscribe to the print edition of the only national, independent student magazine for free. Enjoy!
by sarah [➚] · Monday, November 12th, 2007
San Francisco’s Rabbi Gedalia Potash, our own Matthue Roth and his amazing wife Itta gave me and Bill a fascinating tour of Crown Heights yesterday on my unannouced one day drive-by of Brooklyn.
Luckily for me, ChabadCon (aka the shluchim weekend) was going on and there was lots of action in the streets, chaos in the shul and plenty of deals to be had on Judaica. I got a tour of 770, met shlichim from Sao Paolo and Chicago, and tried out the new and holy local juice bar on Kingston. (Very, very shuk.) Thanks, Bill for some awesome shots (headed to my Flickr space) as well as this one, of a chartered bus taking Chabad youth on a tour of the city.
by LastTrumpet [➚] · Wednesday, November 7th, 2007
In the last issue of Reform Judaism Magazine, R. Eric Yoffie, the president of the URJ, cited Chabad’s willingness to celebrate the Bar/Bat Mitzvah of any Jewish child as problematic:
Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox synagogues routinely require families that want their child to have a bar/bat mitzvah to meet certain requirements—the son or daughter must attend religious school for a year or more, and the parents must commit themselves to study and congregational worship. The reason is clear: absent Torah learning and familial involvement, the bar mitzvah will be without meaning, an excuse for a party. Chabad centers, however, generally provide a bar mitzah service with few, if any, requirements. Chabad says that no child should be denied a bar mitzvah, and the family—which is usually unaffiliated—may be drawn later into Jewish life. Perhaps. More likely, the lesson is that Judaism is not a serious endeavor and that even the most significant milestones require only a modicum of commitment.
Now what R. Yoffie fails to mention is the reality that many families end their memberships at their local Reform synagogues as soon as their youngest child has celebrated their Bar Mitzvah. IMO, if a child becomes Bar/Bat Mitzvah, and then disassociates him/herself from the Jewish community, that means that the children have learned nothing about what it means to be a son/daughter of the Mitzvot. Synagogues requiring students to study for a number of years prior to “allowing” them to celebrate seems to me at least a little bit financially motivated.
In an editorial on Lubavitch.com, Chana Silberstein takes R. Yoffie to task:
To be sure, he is correct that Chabad downplays the importance of bar-mitzvah preparation when considering their long-term educational goals. In a recent survey of directors of Chabad Hebrew Schools, only 11 respondents selected “preparing kids for bar mitzvah†as their most important goal.
…
What Yoffie fails to consider is that Chabad’s willingness to offer all children a bar mitzvah stems not from lowering of religious standards, but from a refusal to make children the pawns in a game of institutional extortion.
More »
by matthue [➚] · Sunday, November 4th, 2007
My family’s way of saying “things could always be worse” was saying, “We could always be in Russia.” Last week, one of our friends, 17 years old, stayed over on his way to learn in yeshiva in Russia. He was bubbly and excited. It was his first time in the country his family had come from, and everything about it thrilled him — a new country, a new culture, the prospect of talking to people who’d never spoken to a real Orthodox Jew before.
Last Thursday, Russian police shut the yeshiva down. They rounded up everyone in the building, confiscated their belongings and cell phones, and threw them in prison. While they were allegedly making arrangements to send the kids to Israel, according to Shmais:
The 13 Bochurim were held over Shabbos is a cell 8×15 [feet, I think] that is meant for 4 people! There were two wooden slabs in the cell and a hole in the floor that was meant to be a bathroom. When the Bochurim finally got food at 2:00am on Shabbos morning most of them were so nauseous from the conditions that they couldn’t even eat!
UPDATE: Ok! According to the family, they just landed in Israel. But, damn, whatever happened to the Russians liking Jews again? Was this a glitch in official documentation? Cause putting underage Americans in a jail cell for a 24-hour period doesn’t sound like a diplomatic glitch to me…..then again, Russian bureaucracy inspired more than one Communist manifesto.
by Kol Ra'ash Gadol [➚] · Wednesday, October 17th, 2007
Dr. David Berger, recently appointed director of YU’s Yeshiva College’s Jewish Studies Department, writes a response to the accusation that he excludes a major Jewish group from Orthodoxy (the Lubavitchers) and requires members of the Chabad-Lubavitch communityat YU to “take some sort of oath declaring they do not believe the Rebbe is the Messiah to be considered accepted within Orthodoxy.” This accusation, appearing in the Commentator
challenges Berger to be more open-minded – I suppose about whether or not it’s okay to believe that the Lubavitch rebbe is either the messiah or divine.
The gist of his response is that “a large majority of Lubavitch hasidim believe that the Rebbe is the Messiah while a very substantial number believe that he is pure divinity. (For a succinct presentation of the evidence, see chareidi.shemayisrael.com/archives5766/pinchos/olubavtchpnc66.htm),” suggests that parties interested in the matter read his book, The Rebbe, the Messiah, and the Scandal of Orthodox Indifference, states that he is not calling for excommunication – comparing his call to be similar to that of moderate Orthodox to Conservative and Reform Jews, which tickles me in oh, so many ways.
He concludes, more or less,
We live in an olam hafukh, an upside-down world, where spokespersons for a movement permeated by Christian-style posthumous false messianism and even avodah zarah can accuse Jews who deny them automatic Orthodox legitimacy of violating Jewish values. This is how I formulated the point in the Hebrew book: “Chabad hasidim have largely succeeded in silencing their critics with the accusation that those critics are fomenters of strife who undermine Jewish unity and disdain the supreme value of ahavat Yisrael. Permission is thus granted to the destroyer (nittenah reshut la-mashchit) to hijack your religion as you watch, while you remain helpless-because you are a decent person who loves the Jewish people and shuns divisiveness.”
Students in my Bernard Revel Graduate School course on messianism will testify that although I assigned some of my writings on Chabad-along with the works of Lubavitch hasidim-I kept classroom discussion as analytical and non-polemical as possible. As to Yeshiva College, it no doubt contains students who are not fully committed to Orthodox Judaism, and I do not see the need to ask questions of Lubavitch applicants that are not asked of others. But attending Yeshiva College is not the same as serving as a rabbi, a dayyan, a Jewish Studies principal, and, in the context of avodah zarah, a shochet, a sofer, and a wine producer.
Wow, and they say I’m blunt.
xp Kol Ra’ash Gadol
by matthue [➚] · Monday, October 15th, 2007
From my Uncle Richie comes this story about Jews at a tailgate party in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
What’s really cool about the story, imo, is that it’s from a regular old perspective — it’s not a Chabad story, it’s not even really a story aimed at Jews. Hidden inside is the subtext of a Packers offensive lineman who became baal teshuva, but at the story’s heart it’s middle America seeing religious Jews as, hey wait!, they’re normal folks who do this instead of going to church on Sunday.
Check this out:
The group’s morning prayers include the use of a prayer book.
Pretty awesome, no? In the end, the article finishes on a high note: “‘I think it’s important to be proud of being Jewish,’ said Veingrad, the former Packers offensive lineman.” Word.
by matthue [➚] · Wednesday, October 3rd, 2007
This comes courtesy of my friend Alisha, who is awesome. And which goes to show you, those kiruv organizations — and those insistent concert promoters — have something; more people do look at fliers on the ground than fliers that are handed out:
Yesterday I was walking to the supermarket, when I saw a guy selling books on a blanket on the sidewalk. Normally, I would walk by, but I decided to stop for a moment. And I’m glad I did. One of the first things I saw was a tiny book with ‘Zohar’ written in Hebrew letter on the front cover. The guy wanted 30 RMB (about 4 USD) for it and was not willing to budge on the price. I asked him how he came to be in possession of such a book, because I know that they are not exactly allowed here. His only response was ‘I own a book shop, these books come from there.’ As if that answered my question. After I bought it, I read the introductions in English and saw that the book was originally part of something called the Zohar project, which intended to distribute copies of this small book for free. It seems that this book has had a very interesting life before it came to my home.
I’m not sure that this story has a purpose, but feel free to share it with others.
(Side note from matthue: does anyone have a photo of the mock-vodka ad posters all over Crown Heights? They say “Drink Responsibly” in Absolut-text, and, beneath it: “It’s the Chassidish thing to do.” Kol ha’kavod to whoever’s watching out for their brothers and sisters.
by sarah [➚] · Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007
“They’re a little insistent, but that’s the way Jews are.” – Bouncing Baby, on Chabad’s presence at the Rainbow Gathering.
Like a lot of you on this page, I go to a lot of festivals, gatherings, hoedowns and whatnot. The one big festival I’ve never been to is the Rainbow Gathering, that annual summer celebration of peace, love, and shared food in the national forest. I was pretty curious for a long while, but never got it together, and then I met E, my next-door neighbor on East 12th Street in the Village. (This was back in 2000, before I made the Westward Migration.)
E was born into the “Family,” raised in Yogaville and bringing light and music to the world with Doofus and other NYC hobos. She went to every Rainbow gathering in New York and tried to bring me along. But I was having my baalat teshuva moment at the time and all I wanted to do was gather with my newfound family…down on Grand Street. All of E’s friends seemed like mooches that wanted to eat all her food and stink up the the hallway with patchouli.
So years later, it was with interest that I today watched Under the Rainbow, Ryan Lifchitz’s documentary about a group of Lubavitchers who go to the 1998 Arizona Rainbow gathering to set up a kosher kitchen and basically, do the Chabad thing. They Bar Mitzvah people, wrap tefillin, share their food, upgrade some neshamas and so forth. They also get their minds opened a little bit about the counterculture. Our heroes have varied experiences of the scene – some are more interested and accepting than others, who see the nudity, drugs and seeker vibe as a symptom of our greater ailing moral culture.
This is a fun little documentary, and a good glimpse of a world many haven’t had the chance to see in person. The film is a bit heavy on crazy old hippies talking shit, and far too few women doing anything, but still, if you’re at all interested in Rainbow, or in Chabad, it’s worth a peek.
San Francisco seekers will get a special kick out of an adorable young Yoav Potash, who’s excited to see the Chabadniks in the forest and what the event will do to them, as well as how they will elevate the event.
Under the Rainbow (three clips of about 20 minutes each)
by Rav Shmuel [➚] · Monday, September 17th, 2007
Thank you Nikol for ruining my day.
Well, maybe not for ruining it but certainly for injecting a sour note.
In a response to my post earlier today about Yidcore’s new “shteller” (position) you wrote; “That’s all fine. What, however, do you think about Obadiah Shoher’s criticism pf Rosh Hashanah as a holiday that has nothing to do with New Year?
Nikol, Nikol, Nikol. I’m not really sure what your comment has to do with my post other than the fact that the topic is Rosh haShanah. But think. Do we really need to spend our time paying attention to what far right doomsday prophets are saying about Rosh haShanah? I think not but I sensed that you were upset and followed your link despite myself and that’s where the sour note entered my day.
Obadiah Shoher’s post about Rosh haShanah is so offensively ignorant that if he didn’t seem to be a radical supporter of Israel I would think he was an Anti-Semite. His post even includes the prerequisite Anti-Semitic cartoon! But you’d be proud of me Nikol. I made up my mind not to let this get to me and I’ve decided instead to have some fun with his post!
I propose a little game. I put together a list of 9 quotes from his post that are blatant and completely ignorant errors. The rules are as follows: Read his post. As you’re reading come up with a mental list of errors. Then compare your list to mine and if we agree then you win! 
Now, on your mark get set, GO! (READ POST)
Here’s my list:
More »
by Rav Shmuel [➚] · Monday, September 17th, 2007
For a minute there I thought the world had come to an end.
According to The Forward, on Rosh haShanah at The North Eastern Jewish Centre, an Orthodox synagogue in Australia, the largely conservative, middle-class congregants were “forced to face a Jewish choirmaster named Bram Presser”, who just happens to be the lead singer of Australian punk band Yidcore!
Nothing wrong with that – but I was having a hard time imagining an Orthodox synagogue here in New York ever appointing someone like Joey Ramone as choirmaster.
Not that there wouldn’t be an Orthodox synagogue open-minded enough to do so, I’m sure there’d be many – just I’d find it hard to believe that Joey Ramone would show up in time for services that routinely start as early as 6:30AM – at least in my neighborhood! What kind of a punkster could Bram Presser be with that kind of early morning schedule!?
So I googled North Eastern Jewish Centre and then I understood. At North Eastern Jewish Centre Shacharit during Festivals begins at 9:15AM!
Not bad Bram, and I’m sure you did a bang-up job, but you and I both know that even at 9:15AM Joey would’ve overslept.
———
[Note to God: In deference to the 10 days of Teshuva I have made no mention whatsoever of the fact that North Eastern Jewish Centre is Chabad in this post; no judgments or innuendos, not even an oblique reference to 'zman krias shma' - I hope that counts for something!]
by LastTrumpet [➚] · Monday, April 16th, 2007
Jewcy’s got a post on why Chabad has been so much more successful than the Reform movement in Russia. The statements about the situation in Russia are, as far as I know, true. I take issue, however, with some of the more general descriptions of the Reform Rabbinate .
Russian Reform leadership is trained on a western model of Jewish community and religious pluralism. Since there are no Reform seminaries in Russia all Russian Jews who get trained as Reform rabbis end up in one of three places—the U.S., Israel or England (and recently the Reform movement began ordaining rabbis in Germany). This means that Russia’s Reform rabbis are trained as western rabbis and then “sent back.†…
Reform rabbis are trained to be educators and to give pastoral care, but ultimately many of them see their primary role as CEOs of the Jewish community, appointed by wealthy boards of donors, and charged with the operations of the community. For Reform Judaism, at least in its American and British forms, the rabbinate is a job, not a calling.
Now I grew up in the Reform movement, and work in a Reform synagogue. I have been blessed to work with dozens of Reform Rabbis who are a product of the Reform seminary, and I think each and every one would take issue with that last sentence. They are trained as educators and pastoral care-givers, and they do exactly that, as well as social justice work, outreach and a host of other things. The fact that they are the heads of large organizations (my place of work for example, has 800 families, 13 full-time staff people, a nursery school, etc.), and that their positions in terms of their shuls sometimes resemble that of CEO does not, in my mind, mean that they’re approaching it as a CEO, and not as a teacher and pastoral care-giver who also needs to do that other stuff, in order to teach Torah.
More »
by Mobius [➚] · Tuesday, March 6th, 2007
A few days too late but amusing nonetheless:
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported today that leaders from the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation and Chabad Lubavitch will be announcing the merger of their movements in a press conference scheduled for this Sunday, March 4, the 15th of Adar.
Sources close to the negotiations were amazed by the exuberance, nay euphoria, expressed by professionals and lay people of the two organizations.
“No one is going to believe this!” giggled JRF’s Executive Vice President Dr. Carl Sheingold. Negotiators from Chabad’s international headquarters reportedly led all the negotiators in raucous song and dance. One said, “To bring liberal Jews under the wings of halacha (Jewish law) is definite proof that the Moshiach (messiah) is coming soon!”
Apparently some of the details are still being worked out…
Just kidding!
by YehuditBrachah [➚] · Thursday, December 21st, 2006
I just got back from the Matisyahu concert in Boston. Like, the I’m still sweaty kind of just got back. I am totally blown away. And not necessarily by what you might think.
I felt a little weird going tonight because of the whole Jdub break. But I’m pulled to any places that have some twinkle of reaching upward. So tonight I left my history paper on second Temple period apocalypticism and ventured over to Lansdowne St in Boston.
I witnessed a deeply puzzling phenomenon: the Pseudo-Jew.
Walking into the Avalon ballroom, first thing I noticed was this was not your Moshav Band crowd. This was not Jewish hippies. There were few kippot and lots of pointy-toed shoes and frat t-shirts. That “us-ness,” that camaraderie I feel at Jewish gatherings, was distinctly absent. Because what creates a collective is a shared understanding of what you are participating in. I expected people to not quite get it, many to not be Jewish, but I was disappointed by the depth of it. It’s one thing not to know how to sing along to “yibaneh beis hamikdash, bimheira b’yameinu.” It’s another to be freak dancing with your girlfriend to the lyrics of a song describing the Jewish people’s survival of the Holocaust.
After two experiences at the concert tonight, my question is this: what makes people pretend to be Jewish at a Matisyahu concert?
More »
by Mobius [➚] · Tuesday, December 19th, 2006
The War on Chanukah continues, Long Island now the latest front in the assault on minority religions in America.
The AP reports,
A menorah was badly damaged when a man ran up to it and knocked it to the ground with a flying kick, police said.
The 8-foot high Jewish holiday candelabra, made of plastic piping, was “shattered and was totally destroyed” early Sunday, the second day of Hanukkah, Suffolk County police said in a news release, citing a surveillance video that captured the vandalism.
The surveillance camera had been set up on a nearby building because of earlier incidents, police said. It showed a man getting out of a car that had other people in it, running to the menorah and kicking it to the ground.
The pieces of the menorah, which was outside the local Chamber of Commerce building, were found lying on the grass. A nearby nutcracker and Nativity scene were untouched.
The bulbs on the menorah, which the St. James Chamber of Commerce and residents light each night during Hanukkah, an eight-day festival of lights, had fallen off but were not broken.
I initially thought that last bit was an irrelevant detail until Michael pointed out the great significance of this little miracle.
“The bulbs on the menorah [...] had fallen off but were not broken.”
Once again, though we, the Jewish people — represented by the menorah, our historic symbol of perseverance — were attacked, our light continues to survive and shine forth, as exemplified by the sparing of these small glass lightbulbs, a modern analogue to the oil of the Chanukah story.
Amen, selah! Am yisroel chai!
Unt oy, gag me.
by matthue [➚] · Tuesday, December 12th, 2006
We’re getting closer to secular New Year’s, and if anyone’s heathen enough to make New Year’s resolutions and holy enough to want to make them for something cool, the yearly cycle of reading daily Tanya has just started again, and it’s a great jumping-on point. (We’re on something like the third day — talkbackers, feel free to correct me — and just finishing up the Compiler’s Forward.) You know what that means — actual material coming up soon! Click above for the accurate (but somewhat uninspiring) commentary by the offical Kehot Lessons in Tanya book, or check out this daily drash by Rabbi Manis Friedman, of “Doesn’t Anyone Blush Anymore?” fame. Of course, the absolute best translation is Rabbi Y.Y. Jacobson’s, but ain’t no mp3s I can find. Go buy ‘em yerselves.
by Mobius [➚] · Sunday, December 10th, 2006
For all the talk about America being a melting pot, blah blah blah, I still recognize and accept the fact that America is a Christian-dominant society. So when I see a menorah in a holiday display in a store window, I usually think, “Look at the goyim pander. Isn’t that cute?” Likewise, if I see a holiday display in which there is no menorah, I generally don’t take it personally. Perhaps it’s because I’m not big on the whole “Chanukah as a Christmas analogue” thing. That, and I don’t really feel the need my faith to be affirmed by municipal halls and department store windows. It’s just not worth having a bug up your ass about, as one Chabad rabbi in Washington state recently discovered, after he threatened to sue the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport for not having a menorah in their holiday display:
All nine Christmas trees have been removed from the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport instead of adding a giant Jewish menorah to the holiday display as a rabbi had requested.
Maintenance workers boxed up the trees during the graveyard shift early Saturday, when airport bosses believed few people would notice.
“We decided to take the trees down because we didn’t want to be exclusive,” said airport spokeswoman Terri-Ann Betancourt. “We’re trying to be thoughtful and respectful, and will review policies after the first of the year.”
Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky’s lawyer responded to the airport’s decision saying, “There is a concern here that the Jewish community will be portrayed as the Grinch.”
No shit? Maybe the good rabbi should’ve thought of that before threatening a lawsuit. Thanks for looking out, chief.
by Mobius [➚] · Tuesday, November 21st, 2006
First they came for the Mashichists, but I wasn’t a Mashicist so I didn’t speak up…
About 20 minutes later, when 770 was empty of all “Meshichistimâ€, the villains grabbed the paroches of the Aron Kodesh and forcefully pulled off the “Crown†of the paroches with “Yechiâ€. In the morning the shamash of 770 brought a old “Crown†of the paroches, replacing the stolen one.
Following this Yisroel Shemtov brought police to the ATAH offices, which broke down the door and Y.S. ordered them to arrest the bochurim inside.
In addition to the damage to the Yechi signs and the paroches 770live was broken into and the computer and other equipment was stolen and put into a black car of the Shomrim.
Full story.
by Mobius [➚] · Saturday, April 8th, 2006
Education and Sharing Day, U.S.A., 2006
A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America
A quality education is the cornerstone of a hopeful tomorrow for all our children. Education and Sharing Day highlights our strong support for our young people as they pursue lives of learning, prepare to become responsible leaders, and work to reach their full potential.
On Education and Sharing Day, we remember the efforts of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, who promoted the importance of education and ethical teachings to every student’s future. He sought to improve lives and communities through a vast network of education and outreach centers and social service programs around the world. We continue to be inspired by the Rebbe’s good works and all those who dedicate their time, talents, and energy to helping our next generation grow into caring, responsible adults. Through devotion to faith, family, education, and community, we can continue building a better and more compassionate society.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim April 9, 2006, as Education and Sharing Day, U.S.A. I call upon government officials, educators, volunteers, and all the people of the United States to reach out to young people and work to create a better, brighter, and more hopeful future for all.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirtieth.
GEORGE W. BUSH
Source.
In case you missed that, Bush just referred to Schneerson as “the Rebbe.” Previously…
My favorite part is where he invokes “the year of our Lord.” Is his “proclomation writer” taking a jab at mashichists?
follow us on Twitter
follow us on Facebook
subscribe to our email