by LastTrumpet [➚] · Monday, April 9th, 2007
Conservative author Charles Murray begins his piece “Jewish Genius” in Commentary thusly:
Since its first issue in 1945, COMMENTARY has published hundreds of articles about Jews and Judaism. As one would expect, they cover just about every important aspect of the topic. But there is a lacuna, and not one involving some obscure bit of Judaica. COMMENTARY has never published a systematic discussion of one of the most obvious topics of all: the extravagant overrepresentation of Jews, relative to their numbers, in the top ranks of the arts, sciences, law, medicine, finance, entrepreneurship, and the media.
The article begins with a historical perspective, making a case that post-haskalah (enlightenment), Jewish involvement and accomplishment in the brainy parts, namely arts and sciences (notice we’re not very good at sports) of the broader society has been vastly disproportionate to our meager numbers (“our” not including Murray, who isn’t Jewish).
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by Danya [➚] · Thursday, March 15th, 2007
Two texty treats:
by Kol Ra'ash Gadol [➚] · Friday, February 9th, 2007
Cleanliness is next to… disease?
Recent findings show that the Essenes practiced some extreme forms of ritual hygiene which ironically, lead to them being a rather sickly bunch.
According to an article at Physorg.com,
(Best phrase in article, “exotic toilet practices”)
In an article forthcoming in the next issue (winter 2006/2007) of Revue de Qumran, an international research team reports the results of an investigation of a suspected remote latrine site. Located by following clues in the ancient sources that specify the remote placement of latrines, the team positively identified the site as a latrine area through analysis of sub-surface soil samples.
University of North Carolina at Charlotte biblical scholar James Tabor suggested the investigation at a site outside the ruins of Qumran, noting instructions in two of the Dead Sea Scrolls (the “War Scroll†and the “Temple Scrollâ€) specifically requiring latrines to be located at a significant distance “north-west of the city,†and also to be “not visible from the city.†Tabor had also noted that the first century Jewish historian Josephus described very similar exotic toilet practices among the religiously strict sect known as the Essenes….
“I started thinking that in the scrolls they have these very explicit descriptions of where the latrines have to be,†Tabor explained. “It has to do with religious ritual purity — the latrines have to be located in a place that the ancient texts designate as ‘outside the camp’. That’s a phrase used in the Torah, where Moses tells the ancient Israelites ‘build your latrines outside the camp.’ When you go to the toilet, take a paddle or a shovel with you and use the toilet and then cover it up,†he said, explaining that the ancient practice appears to have been revived at Qumran.
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by Danya [➚] · Saturday, December 16th, 2006
Haaretz reports on a new theory suggesting that the tale of the Maccabees’ response to religious oppression may be about as well-founded as the claim that there are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq:
Antiochus IV Epiphanes (215-163 BC), ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire, was known as an eccentric king. He spent his childhood as a hostage in Rome and ascended to the throne only due to the surprising death of his father and murder of his brother.
When he inherited the kingdom it was already in decline. However, this does not explain the moves that made him infamous to this day – the brutal edicts he issued against the Jews in 167 B.C., forbidding them to practice their religion.
“The reason for Antiochus’ oppression of the Jewish faith, attack on the Temple and prohibition of the Torah precepts is not explained by the existing historic sources,” says Dr. Steven Weitzman, a lecturer of Judaism in the University of Indiana and the author of Surviving Sacrilege: Cultural Persistence in Jewish Antiquity.
Weitzman analyzes the description of the edicts in the Hanukkah tale, and concludes that the story was concocted by the Hasmonean kings as propaganda intended to legitimize their precarious rule. The Hasmoneans used literary tales dating back to ancient Eastern kingdoms as the basis for their story of Antiochus, he says.
Full story here.
(Hat tip to Aryeh Cohen for the link.)
(X-posted to Jerusalem Syndrome.)
by sarah [➚] · Friday, October 6th, 2006
The link below (apparently WordPress doesn’t let me embed Flash?) goes to a really neat cartoon that shows the various empires that have controlled the Middle East from 3000 B.C.E. until today. I’m not a history buff, but I found this really entertaining and perhaps it will be of interest and use to some of you.
Imperial History of the Middle East
One piece of this project that’s pretty interesting is the author’s “Revisions” page, which describes changes made to the map over time due to user comments. It seems there was originally a predicted Iranian empire on the timeline. Joy. Anyway, now that we Jews can go get a look at the thing, perhaps we can offer our own predictions of a Messianic time. (w00t! In our days!)
by Ruby K [➚] · Wednesday, August 30th, 2006
Here in the US, Labor Day is approaching. Got this nice piece that ties in traditional sources and the Jewish involvement in the development of the American Labor movement, from Eli Fishman and Arieh Lebowitz of the Jewish Labor Committee. Take a read, and think about what we need to be doing to help workers have decent lives now.
(if anyone knows how to fix the hebrew, great, if not, I’ll delete it shortly as I don’t know how to fix it.)
Take it away, gents:
Jewish Labor Committee
September 2, 2006
èòèéîà ÷Îøòèòáøà øòùéãéé
LABOR DAY MESSAGE
In describing the Laws of Equity, Humanity and Kindness, the Torah’s most elemental precept with respect to the treatment of one’s fellow man is found in the first chapter of the Torah’s first book, Genesis, verse 26. It is written: ‘…åðúåîãë åðîìöá Ããà äùòð Ãéäìà øîà éå.’ “And God said: ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…’ Remembering that all people are made in God’s image, we are reminded that treating all employees with dignity that befits their humanity is a biblical injunction. More specifically there is an important passage in the Torah that unequivocally explains responsibilities towards labor: (ãéÓãë Ãéøáã) ‘Óêéøòùá êöøà á øùà êøâî åà êéçà î ïåéáà å éðò øéëù ÷ùòúÎà ì.’ “You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he be of your brothers, or of your foreigners who are in your land within your gates.†(Deuteronomy 24:14) The Torah also explicitly calls for the prompt payment of a worker’s wages: “On the same day as his work, you shall give him his wages: the sun shall not go down without this, for he needs these wages, and sets his heart on it; lest he cry against you to God, and you will incur the guilt of a sin.†(Deuteronomy 24:15) More »
by TheBarkin [➚] · Tuesday, July 25th, 2006
A few months ago, Rabbi Jack Riemer decided that Islamo-Fascists are an incarnation of Amalek.
Last week, Rabbi Marc Gellman made a similar declaration in his Newsweek column. It turns out, according to Gellman, that Amalek utilized the same tactics as Hezbollah:
What made Amalek so dastardly was that unlike any other enemy who attacked the Israelites fleeing slavery in Egypt from the front, Amalek attacked the rear. This meant that his soldiers could kill women and children, the elderly and the infirm and in so doing avoid engagement with the soldiers at the front. In this way he could produce maximum carnage and maximum terror.
Of course Deut. 25:17-19 instructs us to remember Amalek for a good reason. Sayeth Gellman:
I believe this is because the planned and plotted slaughter of innocents even during wartime cannot be condoned and must be remembered as a bright moral line which can never be crossed.
Sorry. I have a bullshit meter that buzzes whenever someone uses the Torah to score political points. But maybe that’s just me. Perhaps the Amalek label is appropriate here.
[Don't worry. Newsweek's erudite readers bash Gellman plenty in this week's Letters to the Editor.]
by David Kelsey [➚] · Monday, July 17th, 2006
The sin of sinas chinum, (translated as “baseless hatred,†“needless hatred,†and “unwarranted hatredâ€) was given by our sages as the root cause for the destruction of the second temple. It is frequently invoked as an admonishment for how we treat our fellow Jew.
But common attempts to explain this term as strictly referring to Jewish divisiveness and lashon hora (evil speech) specifically during the second commonwealth do not add up historically.
During the first commonwealth, there was idol worship and murder, a split in the kingdom, and a civil war. Do we really believe there was less divisiveness and evil speech than in the second commonwealth?Â
Even during Moshe’s reign, there were detractors and even a full scale attempt at rebellion.  Â
What was unique during the second commonwealth was not signature Jewish divisiveness, but rather, striking Jewish unity and unchecked power during the peak of the fundamentalist Hasmonean regime. And it was their sinas chinum, and the sinas chinum of zealous Jews in subsequent generations, that led to a continued deteriorating situation with Rome, and the subsequent destruction of the second commonwealth, in varying and increasingly severe stages.
The Hasmoneans sure did hate the Greeks. And there were certainly good reasons to hold a grudge. But the Greeks were defeated, even if only to the point the Americans were defeated in our conflict with Cuba. Even today, the U.S. military base remains. But unlike Castro, who continues to accept Guantanamo Bay as a reality he must swallow, the Hasmoneans were blinded by their hatred, and invited Rome in to drive out the Greeks, even though the Greeks were no longer the threat they once were, nor did they have the designs for us they once did.Â
And Roman intervention was (surprise, surprise) not for free. The Greek base was merely replaced with a Roman one. And we were now on the expansive Roman map.Â
Even the pro-Roman King Herod can be traced to Hasmonean sinas chinum, as he was a paternal descendent of Hasmonean conversions by sword.  So too, after eventually being conquered by the Romans, many Jews continued to resist out of bitter rage, consistently rejecting realpolitik. It had all the success of pulling on a slip knot. The destruction only increased in severity with each ill-fated rebellion.Â
As we look with anger towards Lebanon, Syria, and Iran, it is important that we do not emotionally focus on the wrongs that are being done to us, or even the wrongs that are intended for us.Â
It is simply not a luxury that a small civilization with one tiny country can afford. We always have to think rationally, and not set policy out of anger.Â
It is not enough to condemn sinas chinum towards each other. We must not have sinas chinum towards others. Even towards our enemies.
by John Brown [➚] · Thursday, June 1st, 2006
Jpost reports:
Eight species of invertebrate animals dating back millions of years that have been previously unknown to science have been discovered in Israel, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem announced Wednesday.
The species, which have a “a new and unique ecosystem,” were discovered in a cave that was uncovered as a result of excavations in a quarry in the vicinity of the central Israeli city of Ramle.
by David Kelsey [➚] · Sunday, April 23rd, 2006
Holocaust Day is frequently presented by Holocaustians as a day that should be celebrated universally by world Jewry and preferably the entire world, for the sake of both. But it is neither a Jewish holiday nor a secular ecumenical one, though it is frequently promoted as both. It is a Zionist construct.
Jews will often feel pressure to respect this “holiday,†at least nominally. Holocaustians in particular will attempt to guilt trip at least tokens of public respect from the affiliated Diaspora Jewish community and from gentile political leaders for their High Holiday. But while some Holocaustians are not intentionally acting as the enforcer of the Zionists (though many certainly are), they are still responding to their directives.
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by David Kelsey [➚] · Sunday, April 9th, 2006
There are so many wonderful socially responsible Haggadahs out there these days. If you’re like me, you are probably having trouble deciding on just one or two, and with all the shopping, last minute plans, and of course, cleaning, the choice can seem overwhelming.  Â
These progressive Haggadahs excise those aspects of the traditional Haggadah that are reactionary and replace them with a more palatable focus. They offer more acceptable language and prayers so we can all be more comfortable with Pesach on our own moral terms.
So which one(s)? Well, I instinctively prefer those new Haggadahs which parallel the ancient narrative with a modern one in order to illuminate the continued relevance of Passover, which I suppose is the goal of the Holocaust Haggadah (it just isn’t Yom Tov without the Holocaust) as well as the New American Haggadah (because Matzo is as American as apple pie). The Kibbutz Haggadah is perfect for so many of us, because nothing screams “fresh†and “my generation†quite like the glorification of the Labor-Zionist kibbutz movement’s glory days.  But there is also the Feminist Haggadah, which offers additional rituals around Miriam’s Cup (because there isn’t ever enough weird shit cluttering the Seder table), an ancient tradition (estimated around 1976 A.C.E.) replete with preferred gender neutral blessings, perfect for the entitled American Jewess who can’t spell her own name in Hebrew but still knows everything gender sensitive person uncomfortable with the basic structure and laws of the Hebrew language.Â
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by Danya [➚] · Friday, February 17th, 2006
A little too ironic for my taste: The Simon Wiesenthal Center “Museum of Tolerance” is building on top of a Muslim cemetary in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Mamila.
The Antiques Authority has reported the removal of at least 250 gravesites so far. A Muslim NGO has appealed to the High Court, and is due to be heard in two weeks–but a lot of graves can get dug up in that time.
Rabbi Arik Ascherman of Rabbis for Human Rights reports,
I spoke yesterday with the executive director of the Wiesenthal Center,
Rabbi Marvin Hier. One of our Orthodox founders, Rabbi David Rosen, has
also been in touch with them. To his credit, he almost immediately
returned my call. He indicated concern for the feelings of Muslims, but
said that they have passed a point of no return, having spent large amounts
of money and after plans were published in the newspapers, City Council
hearings were held with no Muslim objections expressed, etc. I told him
that this was very strange, seeing as we have heard concerns about the
desecration of this cemetery for years and that unfortunately bitter
experience from years of work in the field of human rights has taught us
that the authorities may not have been entirely honest with them. Islamic
authorites have told us that they did not know about this specific plan
until the work began.
A Haaretz op-ed in English on the subject can be found here.
A Haaretz article on the building plans can be found in Hebrew here.
The Israel-Palestine Center for Research and Information also has some information about the building, under “What’s New”, here.
Register your protest against the desecration of Muslim graves by calling the Wiesenthal center:
310 553.9036,
800 900.9036 (toll-free from within the U.S.)
310 553.4521 (fax)
information@wiesenthal.net
Address all correspondence to Rabbi Marvin Hier, Director and Founder of the Wiesenthal Center.
by John Brown [➚] · Monday, January 2nd, 2006
Uri Avnery reports on the Chanukah action shown in this post at the Gush Shalom website:
The soldiers and settlers who looked on from a distance did not believe their eyes: some seventy Israeli peace activists, members of Gush Shalom and sympathizers together with Palestinians among them a lot of children, lighted the candles of a huge Hanukkia at the Palestinian “outpost” put up by the villagers of Bil’in on their land, only a hundred yards from the houses of the Modi’in Illit settlement.The action took place on the eighth evening of Hanukka, the first day of 2006 – as an expression of solidarity with the Bil’in struggle as well as a message to Israelis.
“Perhaps it seems strange that we light the candles of a Jewish holiday at this place’” Uri Avnery said, “but we are standing here on the land of the Maccabees. It is here that they were born and here they started their revolt. The rebellion of the Maccabees is not only a Jewish symbol, long ago it has become a world-wide symbol of the struggle against oppression, occupation and injustice. The people of Bil’in are the Maccabees of these days, and the occupation is Antiochus.” (Antiochus Epiphanes was the Greek king of Syria, against whose tyrannical rule the Maccabees rebelled 2174 years ago.)
The Hannukia (candelabrum), more than two meters high, was constructed on the spot from irrigation pipes. Some days ago the villagers of Bil’in have set up an “outpost” on their land that lies between the “separation fence” and the settlement – a large area that has been effectively cut off from the village by the fence, in order to build there new neighborhoods of Modi’in Illit, which is already a huge settlement. The settlers, all Haredim (orthodox Jews), have been put there by real estate speculators, some of them Canadian companies, who have earned many millions by selling the stolen land. The Bil’in villagers have decided to call the place “Center of Joint Struggle”.
One of the young village leaders, Muhammad Hatib, described to the Israeli activists how the outpost – a brick structure – was set up in one single night, in order to thwart the efforts of the army to prevent it . Then eight of the activists lighted the “candles” – actually large torches – each one making a short statement:
“I light this torch for the fighters against occupation and oppression, in the spirit of the Maccabees, who were the sons of this soil!”
“I light this candle against injustice and discrimination, in the spirit of the best spiritual leaders of Judaism throughout the ages!”
“I light this candle for human dignity and human rights!”
“I light this candle against the settlers who take by force possession of the land that belongs to others, contrary to the Jewish values they profess to honor!”
“I light this candle in honor of the State of Israel within the Green Line, a state of liberty and justice!”
“I light this candle against the hooligans who cut down Palestinian trees and steal the olives, and who last year destroyed 5000 Palestinian homes, who besmirch the honor of Israel.”
“I light this candle for the love of human beings, wherever they are!”
“I light this candle for peace between the two peoples, sons of this country!”
There are photos by Rachel Avnery available here. More photos here and background on the events in Bil’in at Orthodox Anarchist.
by John Brown [➚] · Tuesday, January 25th, 2005
The Scotman reports,
The caretaker of Afghanistan’s only functioning synagogue — and the country’s second-to-last Jew — has died after years of bitter feuding with the only other survivor of a once-thriving community.
Ishaq Levin, aged about 80, died, apparently of natural causes, in his quarters in the small synagogue in Kabul, said his 45-year-old Jewish neighbour, Zebulon Simentov.
Full story.
On a related note:
The Pashtun, the main Afghan ethnic group and Taliban supporters, also believe they are descended from the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel , and later converted to Islam. Dozens of Pashtun names and customs sound Jewish, from the Pashtun tribe names of Asheri and Naftali to the Pashtun custom of a wedding chupah and the circumcising of the sons on the eighth day after birth. The Pashtuns claim that the city of Kabul stands for “Cain and Abel” and Afghanistan is derived from “Afghana,” the grandson of King Saul of the tribe of Benjamin.
Read more on the subject here and here.
by John Brown [➚] · Wednesday, March 10th, 2004
Israel Insider has an article about Gibson’s film The Passion of the Christ in which it says:
“Former minister of labor and social affairs Shlomo Benizri, told a Haredi pirate radio station a number of weeks ago that the Jews did, in fact, kill Jesus. “According to Torah law, they decided to hang Jesus.”
Benizri, who confirmed the comments yesterday, said Jesus was put to death according to Sanhedrin (ancient Jewish court) tradition, Maariv reported. “They took him up to a high roof, and threw him crashing to the ground. Afterwards they hung his body on wooden beams in the shape of a “T,” but not as the Christian legends say that he was crucified. That’s nonsense.”
Benizri told Maariv that Jesus’ death was an internal Jewish affair. “What is there to deny? We’re talking about a yeshiva student who left Judaism, and the Sanhedrim put him to death.”
Strangely, in all the discussion of the film, this is the first I’ve ever heard anyone claim this. Do the Separdis know something about History that other people don’t or something?
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