I am all for the use of Jews and Jewish holidays for humorous promotional purposes. This year I attempted this with my Rosh haShanah greeting.
Sometimes I even think it’s cool when Judaism, or a particular Jew, is used for commercial purposes - as Matisyahu is in the Kenneth Cole commercial.
In both of these cases Judaism is used as a way of communicating something important - like taking life and art seriously or the ability to laugh at ourselves once in a while.
I like Rush. I respect the fact that they’ve consistently made some really good music for many years. But I think VH1’s Rush special billed as “Rush haShanah” was completely off the mark.
If I made the Rosh - Rush pun in a shiur (class) I was giving I would be accused of not only having gone to the Rabbinical School of Incredibly Bad Puns for my Smicha (Rabbinic Degree) but of having flunked out.
There’s NOTHING clever about a pun that uses two words that sound alike but have nothing to do with each other. Example of a good pun: When you dream in colour, it’s a pigment of your imagination. Pigment which sounds like figment is clever because it relates to the subject of the statement. Rush has nothing whatsoever to do with the hebrew word Rosh (meaning head).
Was there some point to this that I’m oblivious to? Some redeeming factor? If I suggested that 7-11 should have a Slurpy sale called “Slush haShanah” - would anyone actually think it was a good marketing idea? Apparently Rolling Stone Magazine whose article referred to this as an “awesomely clever pun” would. This mischaracterization was no doubt what caused Mr. Mike Fink to comment (on the afore-linked article) that “rock and roll is not the only way the Jew destroyed Western civilization”. (No, Mr. Fink, it is NOT the only way - but it IS the most fun way don’t you fink?)
I know what you’re thinking right now. You are thinking two things. 1. “Dude, you ARE missing the point - the special aired ON Rosh haShanah; the date is the connection that makes the pun work.” and 2. “Lighten up - it was just a silly marketing ploy. It’s not like a case of wife or death (an expression sometimes used to punnily define a shotgun wedding).”
OK, you’re right, I’m taking a deep breath, smiling and relaxing and assuming the “final nun” position from Aleph-Bet Yoga. I suppose it could be cool to have a Ween show on Halloween called “Hallowed Ween” or a special performance on Broadway called “Rent on Lent” but neither of those Holidays claim to be the day when the entire world; Jews Christians, Muslims, non-believers and even Zoroastrians are all standing in Judgement before The Creator - something which I suspect may not have come across to viewers of the VH1 special…
So listen Mr./Mrs. VH1 marketing person whoever you might be; Zeit mir moichel (please forgive me) but let’s leave Rosh HaShanah puns to us Rabbis shall we? Your idea lacked geometry as it was pointless. You missed the true meaning of Rosh HaShana; it was just too pasteurized. You know what? I think you should consider switching careers and maybe writing a gossip column for a newspaper - a job more befitting someone with your great sense of rumor.
The All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) has found a new home for its weekly prayer services in Reston in an unusual place, a Jewish synagogue.
The Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation has agreed to rent its multi-purpose room to the Sterling mosque, which has operated a Reston “branch” for several years, in the early afternoon on Fridays.
“Many people [in the congregation] don’t know yet because I just wrote the newsletter article about it,” said synagogue president Hana Newcomb. She accepted an award from ADAMS on behalf of her congregation for its efforts in promoting interfaith dialogues and peace Sept. 27.
“The Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation has opened its doors to our prayers,” said Rizwan Jaka, an ADAMS board member, during the ceremony.
The mosque also honored United Christian Parish, which has hosted its Friday prayer services in Reston for the past seven years. The parish sold one of its facilities and no longer has the extra space to share with ADAMS, said parish board moderator Kay Rodgers.
“We don’t have the space anymore but United Christian Parish is totally committed and dedicated to the interfaith experience we have,” said Rodgers.
Wow. Just wow. This is a beautiful and amazing show of interfaith relations and co-existence. The shul is a Reform congregation of near 500 families, the ADAMS Center serves 5000 families in seven communities in the DC area. What an amazing opportunity not only to embark on some very real and concrete interfaith work, but to also set an example of using the synagogue in the 21st century for applications that have a unique place in our era–this gives a whole new meaning to beit k’nesset (house of gathering).
Plus, in my minimal experience with Muslim-Jewish dialogue it is difficult to get down to discuss the intricacies and structure of our respective traditions because politics (i.e. the Israeli-Palestinian conflict) loom so large. This seems like an incredible opportunity to engage in joint worship and study in ways that have probably not happened much between our communities in, at the very least, the last half-century.
According to Jewish law, we can pray in mosques (not the case with churches, according to tradition) and as far as I understand, Muslims can eat kosher meat (while kosher Jews cannot indulge in halal meat). The Rambam’s brother, David, would practice dhkir, an Islamic meditation on the Oneness of God with Muslims. If we could only put politics aside, we could connect deeply on a religious and spiritual level. The opportunities that have arisen between the All Dulles Area Muslim Society and the North Virginia Hebrew Congregation are endless and provide a great opportunity for the Jewish and Muslim communities of America (and perhaps beyond).
This year there’s a wonderful Jewish-Muslim harmonic convergence: Rosh Hashanah and Eid (the final fast of Ramadan) fall on the same day. Though I read this morning in the NY Times that it’s causing a “monotheistic traffic jam” on the streets of the Old City, I still choose take this dual observance as a sign of additional holiness in our world. May we all be worthy of this double-blessing and do what we can to live up to it…
In honor of this day, I suggest giving to any number of worthy grassroots interfaith initiatives. Here are just a few of my favorites that you might want to consider supporting:
The shofar can be made of the horn of a ram, antelope, gazelle, goat, or Rocky Mountain goat. These horns are not solid bone, but contain cartilage, which can be removed. The word shofar means “hollow.” The above animals are kosher, since they have spilt hooves and chew their cud.
Rams’ horns can be obtained from slaughterhouses. Butcher storeowners may be able to get them from their suppliers.
Step 1
Boil the shofar in water for at least two hours and probably as long as five. A bit of washing soda added to the water facilitates later cleaning. The cartilage can be pulled out with the aid of a pick. If the horns are small, the cartilage can be removed in about half an hour.
Step 2
With a soft wire, measure how far the hollow of the shofar extends. Measure one inch farther on the outside and cut the tip off with a coping saw or hacksaw. The horn should completely dry before cutting.
“There are so many experiences that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people find in their lives as sacred moments that have been invisible,” said Rabbi Camille Angel of Sha’ar Zahav. “This siddur is our contribution to Jewish history and helps us see ourselves reflected in the text. We’ve retained tradition and adapted tradition, which has always been a Jewish project.”
Though both works include the staples of Jewish worship in traditional form, they also feature liturgical changes that aim to make the service less exclusively male and heterosexual. CBST’s prayer book, Siddur B’chol L’Vav’cha (“With All Your Heart”), for example, compares God’s rejoicing not to a bride and groom, as in the traditional version of the Shabbat evening L’cha Dodi prayer, but to the more general “heart [that] rejoices in love.”
Al Hanisim, a prayer traditionally recited on Chanukah and Purim to recall the miracles God performed in the past, is adapted to a service for “Pride Shabbat” and thanks God for the “miraculous deliverance” of the struggle for gay equality.
CBST’s rendition of the Amidah prayer mentions the biblical Jacob’s concubines, Bilhah and Zilpah — both are mothers of several tribes of Israel, but traditionally they are overlooked because they were partners of lesser legal standing….
Sha’ar Zahav’s prayer book goes even further with the Amidah, including several variations to reflect the multitude of orientations within the community — non-believers, women and queers, among others. Worshipers are invited to choose the one they prefer.
Personally, though I’m too much of a liturgical traditionalist for most of this project, I can certainly get behind the idea of writing new prayers for coming out or gender transitioning. Some of it is over the line for this rabbi, though.
Love it? Hate it? Not your thing but you’re glad it exists?
I received an invitation yesterday to an event at a local synagogue sponsored by the Masorti Movement in Israel. I looked at the map and saw something that looked somewhat like this:
To be fair, on the invitation I actually received, Gaza was a tiny strip of yellow. I guess because of the “disengagement.”
The red dots are the cities in Israel which have a Masorti (Conservative) congregation.
I was instantly transported back to the day in college, after it had become clear in late 2000 that the second intifada was not going away any time soon, when I opened my mailbox and found a flier from the “Pro-Palestine” group on campus, with an image a little like this:
I was a bit taken aback, I had simply assumed that the Masorti movement in Israel supported a two-state solution. I know next to nothing about the Masorti movement in Israel, so I’ve been checking out some websites. The map above is a snapshot from the website of the website of Masorti Olami, the worldwide Masorti movement. There is no mention that there is, or ever was, a conflict with Israel’s neighbors. Even on the Masorti Movement in Israel website there is no mention of the conflict or occupation. More after the jump… More »
Today’s Beliefs column in the New York Times, by Peter Steinfels, focuses on the journalistic use of the word “orthodox(y)”, particularly in regard to Christian denominations. Steinfels makes a compelling case that it is not the place of newspapers and magazines to label one side in a controversy as “orthodox”, in the sense of “what constitutes correct or true teaching within that particular tradition”.
In explaining the prevalence of this usage, he delineates between “orthodox” and “Orthodox”:
One obvious reason is the confusion between uppercase Orthodox and lowercase orthodox. Among Jews, it has become conventional to use the word “Orthodox” to designate one segment of the Jewish community adhering to a certain interpretation of what Jewish belief and observance require. The Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist movements within Judaism may joust with the Orthodox over many things, but use of that word has become a settled matter.
Likewise, among Christians it has long been conventional to use uppercase Orthodox as a term distinguishing the Christianity that shared forms of liturgy and theology rooted in the Byzantine, or Greek-speaking, part of the Roman Empire from those who took a separate path in the West. Again, Roman Catholics and Protestants may argue that they are as orthodox as the Orthodox (or more so), but they do not fight about the label.
Lowercase orthodoxy is quite another matter.
I havecomplainedfrequently about the way Jewish denominations are framed in the Jewish and mainstream press, and this column is a breath of fresh air. “One segment of the Jewish community adhering to a certain interpretation of what Jewish belief and observance require” is the most objective and least judgmental description of Orthodox Judaism that I have seen, and is a welcome respite from the usual question-begging descriptions along the lines of “Orthodox Judaism has the strongest adherence to Jewish law and observance.”
In the Jewish world, there isn’t precisely the same linguistic confusion between “Orthodox” and “orthodox”, because lowercase-o “orthodox” isn’t used so much in a Jewish context (though it’s hard to verify this other than anecdotally, since Google doesn’t allow case-sensitive searches). But there is often an implicit assumption that Orthodox Judaism is orthodox Judaism. People talk about “more Orthodox” and “less Orthodox” in such a way that they might as well be saying “more orthodox” and “less orthodox”. Now there is, of course, nothing wrong with Orthodox Jews believing that their path is the correct path. But it is highly damaging and self-defeating for non-Orthodox Jews to believe that about Orthodox Judaism.
So I think the Jewish world would be better off if we were all to fully internalize Steinfels’s approach. Capital-O Orthodox Christianity is a good analogy for how we should be talking and thinking about Orthodox Judaism. No one confuses Orthodox Christianity with orthodox Christianity. Everyone understands that “Orthodox” is just a label to refer to one of the branches of Christianity, and there is no meme out there that Orthodox Christianity is “more religious” or “more observant” than Catholic or Protestant Christianity. One could make a historical argument that Orthodox Christianity is “more traditional” (they still pray in Greek, use the Julian calendar, etc.), but Catholics and Protestants are secure enough in their own traditions that this is of no relevance to their self-understanding. Let’s get the streams of Judaism to that point too.
You shall not abuse a needy and destitute laborer, whether a fellow countryman or a stranger in one of the communities of your land. You must pay him his wages on the same day, before the sun sets, for he is needy and urgently depends on it, else he will cry to the Lord against you and you will incur guilt. (Deuteronomy 24:14-15)
The complaint charges that the plant employed workers under the legal age of 18, including seven who were under 16, from Sept. 9, 2007, to May 12. Some workers, including some younger than 16, worked on machinery prohibited for employees under 18, including “conveyor belts, meat grinders, circular saws, power washers and power shears,” said an affidavit filed with the complaint.
…The complaint also charges that under-age workers were not paid for all the overtime they worked and were forced to work before 7 a.m. and after 7 p.m., a violation of child labor laws. Agriprocessors managers “participated in efforts to conceal children when federal and state labor department officials inspected the plant,” the complaint says.
The silver lining? There is growing evidence that the Jewish world - across denominational lines - is ready to respond to the shandeh that is Agriprocessors. On Wednesday, the Orthodox Union threatened to withdraw kosher certification from the company unless Agriprocessors replaced its management and CEO. For their part, the good folks at Hekhsher Tzedek added their “Amen”:
The pressure from the Orthodox Union added to criticism of Agriprocessors from a movement led by Conservative Jews that is seeking to create an additional seal for kosher food to show it was produced according to ethical standards for wages and worker safety. The movement, Hekhsher Tzedek, praised the Orthodox Union’s “no-nonsense action,” saying it showed that the concept of ethical standards in kosher food “transcends denominational boundaries.”
A few weeks ago, I was asked by a congregant how traditional Jews could justify being so scrupulous about their production of kosher meat while being so unscrupulous in their flauting of the Torah’s clear laws against worker abuse. I’m not sure I had such a good answer, but it is gratifying that Jewish leaders are now publicly asking the same questions and demanding a response.
Just got a press release announcing a new initiative, Rabbis for Obama:
Today, group of over three hundred American rabbis released a letter in support of Senator Barack Obama’s historic candidacy.
This is already something unusual. I mean, 300 rabbis agreeing on something, that’s big.
Its members represent every corner of the American Jewish community, including rabbis from each of the major Jewish Movements in the United States (Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, and
Reconstructionist). Many are distinguished clergy and educators known for their publications and teachings.
This is an exaggeration. Perhaps a well purposed one but an exageration nonetheless. No one is on the list, to the best of my knowledge, from the Haredi world, for instance. Though many important Recon, Conservative, and Reform figures are present, most of the notable Modern Orthodox Leaders are absent. Yitz Greenberg, Avi Weiss, Dov Weiss, Saul Berman, the Teluskins, the Soloveichiks, and others are notably absent. What is perhaps more surprising, is that the best known Renewal rabbis, Zalman Schacter Shalomi and Art Waskow, are also absent. Though the current president of the CCAR (Reform Rabbis Assoc) is not a signer the VP of the CCAR is a vice-chair of the 300. Along the same lines, Toba Spitzer, the president of the RRA (Recon rabbis) is not a signer, but the immediate past pres of RRC, David Teutsch, is. The highest ranking Conservative leaders aren’t signers, but Dorff, Tucker, and Lebeau are.
Among the rabbis are prominent figures such as Rabbi Elliot Dorff (Los Angeles, CA), Rabbi Jack Moline (Alexandria, VA), Rabbi Burton Visotzky (New York, NY), Rabbi Janet Marder (Palo Alto, CA), and Rabbi Ellen Weinberg Dreyfus (Homewood, IL). They join over three hundred others in making a clear statement of Senator Obama’s strong support from the Jewish community in America.
All told, it’s a strong list, quite diverse, and a good step to make inroads into the mainstream Jewish community. This should help in many key states. Pollster.com has 8 states categorized as tossups. I list them below (from East to West) with what percentage of their population is Jewish.
New Hampshire (0.8% Jewish)
Virginia (1.3%)
Florida (3.7%)
Ohio (1.3%)
Michigan (0.9%)
Colorado (1.7%)
Montana (0.1%)
Nevada (2.9%)
Jewish population numbers are always tough to create due to questions like who is a jew? and how to effectively model substantial minority populations statistically. The 2006 Jewish yearbook, whose numbers i pulled, lists the US as 2.2% Jewish. This means only Nevada and Florida, from the list above, have an above-average rate of Jews.
I can’t find the source right now (someone help me in the comments and i’ll update) but a shockingly high percentage of Democratic dollars contributed come from Jews. I believe it is around half. More support in the Jewish community would likely lead to more votes in addition to more $s. Both will be important but probably the latter more than the former in our community.
I received an email from a friend, which they didn’t write but were just distributing it on behalf of “Strike4Jerusalem.”
A quick Google search brings up 5 results, all to the same call to action. According to the email, the purpose of the walk-out is issue this demand “The Jewish establishment must set into motion a serious plan to protest the expulsion by Tuesday, September 16th 12:00pm. The protest plan of the Jewish Establishment will have to be submitted for review.”
An abbreviated reconstruction of the email and personal thoughts after the jump More »
Ha’aretz reports that nearly 200 books destined for the Jewish community of Sumy, Ukraine were thrown away by customs agents at the border with Russia. The books were couriered from Russia, but the deliveryman did not have enough money to pay customs. The books were therefore left with customs until the amount for their transfer was paid. The courier notified the customs office that he had abandoned the books. At least one book was sold, and the rest were to be transfered to the Jewish community of Ukraine despite the payment never being made. However, instead of delivering the books, they destroyed them. A complaint was issued with the European Parliament and the case is now being investigated; prosecutors confirmed the books were destroyed.
Rabbi Yechiel Levitansky, the rabbi of the Sumy Jewish community,said that around 40 people come to daven each shabbos, and they must share siddurim–the shipment was badly needed.
It is shameful to destroy religious books, any books at that. This is just plain old, historic anti-Semitism. I am sure that the investigation will amount to little more than appeasement and a charade, but it says something that they will send prosecutors after the culprits. We may not have moved beyond Jewish books being destroyed for no good reason in places like Ukraine, but at least Jews can safely and successfully report such an abuse AND get some results.
Anyone got a few dozen Ukrainian siddurim laying around?
You shall not abuse a needy and destitute laborer, whether a fellow countryman or a stranger in one of the communities of your land.
(Deuteronomy 24:14)
Want to do something meaningful this Labor Day? Consider supporting the The Employee Free Choice Act: bipartisan legislation that promotes the right to join a union as a fundamental freedom, protecting employees’ rights to form unions without interference from management.
Specifically, the legislation seeks to:
- Establish of stronger penalties for violation of employee rights when workers seek to form a union and during first-contract negotiations;
- Provide mediation and arbitration for first-contract disputes.
- Allow employees to form unions by signing cards authorizing union representation.
The New York Times reports that Israel is digitally photographing the Dead Sea Scrolls to make them available to the public on the internet. According to the report, the project will take two years and will, for the first time, make all of the scrolls publically available.
Unfortunately, the heat and light from the photographs expedite the deterioration of the scrolls. The scrolls, however, are deteriorating anyways, and researchers hope to find this is a means to track the rate of deterioration–seemingly this would help them understand better how to preserve ancient scrolls.
More than that, it makes the scrolls accessible to scholars of all degree, students of all age and interest, and the public at large. According to the report, the technology being employed will even make previously illegible sections legible for the first time.
For “text heads” out there who would like a preview of what this project might look like should check out the Aleppo Codex online, where you can see digital images of the most accurate transcript of the Bible according to the Masoretic tradition.
I can’t tell you how long I’ve been waiting to see the Copper Scroll!
The JTA reported today that for the second year in a row, PETA is calling for an investigation into the pre-Yom Kippur ritual of kapparot - the, shall we say, “quaint” rite in which the sins of a person are symbolically transferred to a chicken or rooster that is held over one’s head and swung in a circle three times before its throat is cut.
This isn’t the first time that this practice has run afoul (sorry) of animal rights activists. Failed Messiah reported back in 2005 that the ASPCA seized more than 200 chickens from a Brooklyn kapparot lot:
The chickens were crammed into crates, stacked on top of one another and left out in the rain for days. These birds were encrusted with dried feces, urine and blood. Many suffered from severed toes, plucked out eyes and severe dehydration. ASPCA agents, sifted through the pile of discarded chickens and rescued the remaining live ones. An investigation into their death is underway.
In the more recent protest, PETA alleged in a letter to the New York State Agriculture Department that a lot in Brooklyn threw away thousands of dead chickens last year after they were slaughtered:
The letter singles out the kapporos center run in Crown Heights by Rabbi Shea Hecht, and asks the state to investigate whether consumer fraud occurred. Jews who bought chickens for the ritual expected the birds “to be processed for meat that would be distributed as tzedakah,” or charity, the letter states.
Beyond the animal cruelty politics of this issue, it should be noted that this practice has been criticized by important Jewish sages (e.g. the Rashba , Nachmanidies, and Rabbi Joseph Caro) for centuries. Many rabbinical authorities have long sanctioned giving the monetary value of the fowl as a proxy for kapparot, and yet somehow, the inexplicable attraction of this ritual endures. If someone can explain its appeal to me, I’m all ears. (It would seem to me that the sacred Jewish value of tza’ar ba’alei chayim - preventing cruelty to animals - would trump chicken fetishism by any reasonable standard).
No sooner does the world learn about the Jewish shame that is Agriprocessors, wouldn’t you know it there’s another shonde fur de goyim. I’d say that its time the Jewish community cried foul (sorry again) on this repulsive ritual once and for all…
Not sure which blessing to say over what foods? No need to live with the shame any more. Just download the new iBlessing application onto your iPhone and with the touch of a finger you’ll know exactly which bracha to utter over fish, meat, bread, fruit, etc. While you’re at it you might as well download the nifty Parve-O-Meter: a timer app that calculates exactly how long you need to wait to eat dairy after you’ve eaten meat (or vice versa).
What’s next, the iSefirah app for those who lose track of the Omer? (I shouldn’t laugh - I’m sure the Apple folks are working on it as we speak…)
If you’ve got iTunes, you can find the iBlessing and Parve-O-Meter here. If you’re blessing-challenged and don’t own an iPhone, don’t fear: check out the Say-a-Blessing Keychain (now offered with the handy LED flashlight feature!)
Thanks to Gizmodo for flagging this one for us - so sorry I didn’t attribute sooner…
