by zt · Friday, April 25th, 2008
It is fairly well known that, in Israel, many recognize and observe seven days of pesach and a single seder whereas, outside of Israel, many recognize 8 days of pesach and two seders as proper observance.
Where did the extra day come from?
A piece over at my jewish learning does a good job explaining:
The Jewish calendar is lunar. Over 2,000 years ago, a council of rabbis from the Sanhedrin, the ancient legislative and judicial body, held special sessions in Jerusalem at the end of each lunar month to receive witnesses to the first sliver of the new moon. Because a lunar cycle is approximately 29 days long, it was no mystery when the new moon should appear, but the Sanhedrin still declared months and holidays only on the basis of these witnesses. …
Once the sighting was legitimated, the rabbis declared the next day Rosh Hodesh, the beginning of the new month. Originally, beacon fires would be set on mountaintops to spread the word to distant Jewish communities already living in far away places such as Egypt and Babylon. Watchers on faraway hills set their beacon fires as soon as they saw them, continuing the relay “until one could behold the whole of the Diaspora before him like a mass of fire” (Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 2:4)… Celebrating festivals for an extra day would ensure that, regardless of whatever confusion reigned about the exact start of the new month, at least one day of their celebration would be on the correct day.
Okay, that makes sense but we started to switch to a rule-based fixed-arithmetic lunisolar calendar system after the destruction of the second temple. That made the days designed to prevent error obsolete since everyone everywhere in the world used the same system and derived the days similarly. It no longer mattered how close one was to the Sanhedrin so why keep the extra days?
There are two major answers.
Our own BZ’s:
At the end of Beitzah 4b that issue is addressed. “Now that we know the fixed new month, what’s the reason for doing two days?” The answer there is hizaharu b’minhag avoteichem (be careful about your ancestors’ minhag), because in the future there might be a decree preventing us from keeping the calendar…And we can even agree on the value of minhag avoteinu (see Beitzah 4b), and you can follow the minhag of your ancestors who kept 2 days, while I’ll follow the minhag of my ancestors who have been Reform for at least five generations.
The other common answer is given by a Rabbi from Aish here:
So why was a second day Yom Tov added? In order to make a distinction, to add to the Jewish awareness that one is living in the Diaspora and does not claim permanent residence in the Holy Land.
BZ’s answer to Minhag Avoteinu is compelling as is the issue that there has ceased to be a consistent mihag in the diaspora. The Reform, Renewal, Reconstructionist, and Conservative movements have all offered decisions permitting the use of a 7-day pesach. Here is some CCAR (Reform) analysis. The Cons and Recon movements both provide flexibility for local congregations but the result is that a majority of American Jews, and nearly all Israeli Jews fall under a 7-day authority. Many have been in such a situation for generations.
Now to respond to the idea that we should have an extra seder to remember we aren’t in Israel…
Was anyone really confused? In case you were here are ten ways to conclude you are in the US rather than in Israel that have nothing to do with extra days of passover.
10:The falafel is overpriced and underspiced.
9: Municipal services are transparent and efficient.
8: Sunday is for football not school.
7: Teacher strikes are generally limited to a few days, max.
6: People talk slowly and get uncomfortable with interruptions (supreme court excepted).
5: Holocaust jokes are rare and usually generate discomfort.
4: People have difficulty making political and religious assumptions based on the type of kippah a person is wearing. Many can’t remember the word and use “beanie” or “skull cap” instead.
3: Though people talk about God non-stop in government there aren’t religious parties associated with single religious approached.
2: Nation’s founders where individual rather than collective farmers.
1: Look around. No occupations and settlements for miles in any direction? You probably aren’t in Israel.*
*If you are, time for new bifocals.
by Kol Ra'ash Gadol · Sunday, September 2nd, 2007
A few days ago, the New York Times ran an article describing the apparent renewal of kibbutzim in Israel. After years of decline, beginning inthe 1980’s, recently, people are again lining up to get into kibbutzim.
The article points out a couple of interesting things, one of which is explicit: that the renewed kibbutzim are not quite (for the most part) run inthe way that traditional kibbutzim were run, but rather as, “a kind of suburbanized version of it.”
The article continues, explaining,
On most kibbutzim, food and laundry services are now privatized; on many, houses may be transferred to individual members, and newcomers can buy in. While the major assets of the kibbutzim are still collectively owned, the communities are now largely run by professional managers rather than by popular vote. And, most important, not everyone is paid the same.
Now, granted the old, purely socialist system didn’t really work all that well. We all know human nature, and in Israel, as anywhere else that this particular ideology was exercised, all kinds of unfortunate consequences resulted, the mildest of which is the obvious: that many people just didn’t pull their weight. Not to mention all the later reported problems with the communal children’s houses: the bullying and sexual abuse that sometimes resulted.
Nevertheless, I can’t help but wonder about some things that weren’t said: the recent changes in Israeli (following American) society such as the “greed is good” mentality of the 1980’s resulting in the dismantling of Israeli social support systems - and how that process perhaps actually contributed to the current revitaization of the kibbutzim, as people tire of a society in which everyone is completely out for themselves, and the future is economically very uncertain. I also wonder if the suburbanization of the kibbutzim is any kind of success story. Aren’t there other ways of attracting people into a community?
In some ways, it seems to me that this question is the exact same one facing Jews in communal institutions all over the place: how do you entice people into building communities in which people are actually part of a community and not just a fee for service relationship? The sad thing is, that this is indeed what most people are craving, but at the same time, our societies are currently so individualistic that we see any kind of responsibilty to others over the long term as inconvenient. And let’s not even get started on the subject of intergenerational responsibilty. Of all the various shuls and independant minyans out there, how many are genuinely welcoming of people of very different backgrounds and places in their lives?
How have we come to this? -”young professionals” minyans, 20 something minyans, old fart minyans, whatever… where is the sense that we need to sacrifice having things our way some of the time? And I am not targetting any particular group when I say this. In my opinon, there is no one who isn’t a culprit. From wealthy older folks holding onto services which barely anyone attends, to younger groups who are unwilling to make any kind of provisions for people who might not love the all-Carlebach channel. I suppose I could list on forever all the different niches who aren’t talking to one another. And lest I leave it out, that includes the various “movements” as well.
I suppose I have wandered a bit astray from the point of the article, but I often wonder, when we talk about renewal, if the things we are renewing have the value and the solidity to really be communities for the long term, because what I don’t see in many of these renewed communities, is obligation, love, or community.
xp to Kol Ra’ash Gadol
by LastTrumpet · Saturday, August 25th, 2007
(Cross-posted to The Last Trumpet)
Tshuva, translated as repentance but literally meaning “return,” is, on the cognitive level, simply a return to what the Buddhists call Right View, or in the words of the popular Neo-Hasidic song, the “Return to Who you are.” It’s the shuv of ratzo v’shuv, running and returning — coming back to the Source, the undifferentiated Awareness that somehow gives birth to the cosmos. Running out into differentiation, with (for all but the most awakened of us) all its traps and delusions — but then, at special times in the year, returning. And from that place of unity, reflecting on the actions of the small self, observing how they may have caused harm, and attempting to repair the harm by reconnecting with other people and with God. - Jay Michaelson Full story.
A king once wanted to test the faith and love of his subjects. So he chose one of his closest servants, dressed him up as a great king and sent him out to declare war against his subjects. When the servant appearing as king met the first group and declared war, they immediately prepared themselves for the battle. When he came to the second group, they said “Since he is such a great king, why should we fight?” Finally, the faux king traveled farther until he came to a town of sages. The sages inquired deeply, until they were able to see through the disguise. (Sefer Toledot Ya’aqov Yosef, Va-yaqhel, see Sefer Ba’al Shem Tov, Bereishit, 141).
The meaning is that serious challenges that confront us are essentially tests of our faith in the non-dual nature of reality and our love and devotion to the divine source. Whenever we face these tests, there are basically three ways of responding. The two conventional responses are either to be overwhelmed by the challenge and to capitulate without a fight or to attempt to combat the problem with the rigidity of “fight or flight” mode. Although both of these conventional responses may be the best that we can do at certain stages in our development, neither will aid us very much in our conscious quest to further evolve. The third mode of dealing with such tests is the way of the wise, who have cultivated judges and executors (see previous parashah). In this way, one neither avoids nor rushes into combat, but sees through and dissolves the shell of separation from Divine Presence with the gnostic eye of faith. - Reb Miles Krassen Full Story.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
First, a little background - at LimmudNY in ‘06, my first dip into Jewish pluralism (and my first in-person connection to Jewschool), Chefitz made quite an impression. After we’d had an intense breakfast conversation about my possible future in the Rabbinate, I attended a workshop he was offering on Storytelling as a Mystical Discipline. Chefitz, who learned to tell stories from Carlebach, told stories through the four worlds, and I may have had my first serious mystical experience. The primary result was my enrolling in a course on Zohar taught by Arthur Green, the rector of the Hebrew College Rabbinical School, and a subsequent course on niggunim with Nehemia Polen, whose clearly had learned some of his love of niggunim from Reb Shlomo.
Back to the story - I shared Carlebach’s Gam Ki Eilech at NHC Shalosh seudos, which prompted Chefitz to tell Shlomo stories, and just before Havdallah, he explained to a small group of us that there were only three who came from pre-war Chassidism, had a deep understanding of the Jewish spiritual tradition, and had the chutzpah to share that openly with all of us maskilim: Those three were Shlomo, Zalman, and Heschel. Chefitz explained that in his mind, Hebrew College is maintaining that line - training Rabbis to carry on their legacy.
The following Shalosh seudos at Contemporary Kabbalah week at Elat Chayyim, Rabbi Miles Krassen, with whom I’d been studying The Future of Judaism & The Evolution of Consciousness all week, spoke about Elul and the process of Tshuvah. Check out his drash on the parsha for a taste of his style. Shabbos afternoon, at the culmination of a week of teaching, Reb Miles broke down the barrier between ego and Ein Sof - I’ve gotta say, it truly blew my mind. All week, we’d learned about the shift from a consciousness represented by the sefirah of Binah, which separates and differentiates (about orange/green in the spiral dynamics model) to Chochmah consciousness, a non-dual, integral way of being (2nd tier). Shabbos afternoon, as Reb Miles taught Likutei Moharan, I experienced for the first time what he had been talking about, if only for a brief moment.
I spent the better part of this last week (until I get sent home with poison ivy) singing with 130 teenagers at NFTY-NE Summer Institute (I tried to stay away from smooth jazz) - the organization that in my teenage years helped me understand the real power of music, and of the Jewish tradition. I served as a regional board member when I was in high school, and this summer a fellow board member and dear friend became regional director. All in all, four members of the nine-member board (and a member-by-marriage) were working to facilitate the retreat. Our advisor was also on faculty, and got to schep some more nachas (he already officiated at two of our weddings this summer). There was a sense of torch-passing, and I was thrilled to see the region finally in the hands of someone who remembers how much Torah we learned back in the day. The credit for our experiences goes to the individuals running the organization when we were members, but the movement provides the structure that made those experiences possible. For the past 11 years, NFTY-NE has been both my spiritual home and laboratory - and I get the feeling that many of these kids are tasting the next step in their evolution, and without that first taste, how can we know to want more?
At Shabbos dinner, I had a fascinating debate with a faculty member and Reform Rabbi on denominationalism and post-denominationalism, (it began as a conversation about the job prospects of the students in the Hebrew College Rabbinic program, to which I hope to apply in the near future primarily for the aforementioned reasons). In NFTY-NE I see room for growth (I suppose we can’t teach them to do everything), but I see sparks of holiness, and have faith in those guiding the region’s growth. In a non-dual world, that is to say if everything (and then some) is G!d, G!d is in the Reform movement too (and the other ones), at least for the time being. Judaism certainly has further to evolve, and I believe that denominationalism is resultant of Binah consciousness, that of separation and differentiation, and post-denominatiolism represents a step toward Chochmah, toward the unity that we acknowledge in the Sh’ma.
Reb Miles taught in the name of Rebbe Nachman that as we move to a higher madrega (level) there is always someone to step into our previous level. It is up to each of us to pass on each bit of soul-warming Torah, because once it’s stopped warming us, it’s ready to warm someone else, and that is how we will all grow together.
by Shir-Yaakov ůéř–éň÷á · Thursday, February 1st, 2007
Elat Chayyim at the Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center has just opened online registration for all of our Spring and Summer Retreats and Training Institutes.
Other than the weekend and week-long retreats featuring Jewish meditation, yoga, kabbalah, prayer, organic farming, wilderness trips, and family programs, we also have four two-year training programs beginning this year:
There are new internship opportunities, and the ADAMAH: Jewish Environmental Fellowship is accepting applications. There are even a few job opportunities if you want to come and work with us at Freedman; feel free to contact us.
More »
by Kol Ra'ash Gadol · Monday, September 18th, 2006
JTA has quite a few posts today to continue and add to our recent thread on indie minyans and the failings of synagogues.
On synagogues who have multiple offerings. I will note that this is frequently not an option in small communities. One of the things that those of us who are committed to enlivining traditional Judaism will have to deal with is that in many communities, there simply isn’t any way to have multiple options at once - once you start splittling people up into mini-minyans, you often have barely enough to count a minyan, let alone give it the kind of energy that brings people in.
-In Boston
-In Manhattan
-On writing your own siddurim
-What matters?
“Programs come and go. But experts agree that the key intangible that makes synagogue transformation possible is strong rabbinic and lay leadership — the human catalyst that links the pulpit to the congregation. ”
-Does any of this stuff actually work?
by YehuditBrachah · Thursday, September 14th, 2006
I have to admit that I’m surprised and delighted at how much conversation the JTA article has produced both on Jewschool (see “Trifecta” and “indie minyans”) and across the spectrum (rumor has it that the Shefa Network’s email list is afire with discussion about independent minyanim). As someone interviewed in the article who is also a rabbinical student, I want to pose the question to the Jewschool community: what is the role of the person who has completed rabbinical training in all this?
I have a very good idea of my critiques of the mainstream Jewish community’s passivity and hierarchy, its funding priorities, as well as the “wine and cheese party” focus for people in their 20s and 30s (I wanted her to use my other quote in which I said, “They’re so concerned with making Jewish babies that they forget about making Jewish lives,” but I digress).
But, at the same time as I am fully engaged in building a vibrant, authentic, empowered (read: non-hierarchical) Jewish expression and community(ies), I have a little “problem”:
I am going to be a rabbi. I have actually chosen to go to many years of schooling in the Jewish tradition, and to devote my professional life to realizing change in the Jewish world and beyond. As some commentators on “indie minyans” were mentioning, a non-Orthodox rabbinical student (and many Orthodox) comes out of school today with lots of debt because of lack of funding, which makes it impossible for her or him to work for free with a little minyan or to do part-time work in community-based groups without significant other funds.
Looking at the commentators’ discussions on these two Jewschool posts, I want to summarize the multiple definitions of what these minyanim are doing and present the question. Commentators here have thrown out different constitutive definitions of these minyanim as:
being lay-led
being spirited with an empowered approach to organizing
being for a specific age demographic
informality
providing Jewish religious experience without demanding high fees
small, tighter community that cares about each other
Kol Ra’ash Gadol said in “indie miynans”:
Recently the gaze seems to be upon the fact that many of the attendees are Conservative Jews, rabbinical students and rabbis. Why this seem to be so shocking is a bit bemusing to me: the fact that young Conservative Jews aren’t getting what they want from synagogues is not news.
Perhaps it isn’t having a building fund and membership sign-up — having the trappings of being “official” — that makes us run away.
I assert and believe (and hope?) there are ways that the current generation of rabbis-in-training who are on board with and are in fact co-creating these independent communities can actually join with good holy souls to *gasp* bring these visions into the batei knesset of American Judaism (and further). The above qualities that are to describe these minyanim need not exclusively apply to unfunded minyanim that don’t own meeting space and lack a sisterhood.
They are mistaken, those in the movements who, because they can’t hear the critique the minyanim are launching against the mainstream, are gleefully and ominously predicting the downfall of these independent minyanim once we grow a little older. But I challenge us: What are the next steps? What kind of shteiblach might we create — ones with all the qualities listed above, but in which we can mark life cycle events, raise kids, be cared for in our old age?
More to the stated topic of this post: What IS the role of the rabbi in the independent minyan movement? I truly hope that the rest of us who are creating these communities can think about ways that we rabbis-to-be and recently ordained rabbis can actually serve as resources for these communities. Because, just as one cannot learn quantum physics without a teacher, it is also extremely difficult to learn/create a spritual practice without teachers. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without important Jewish teachers who have changed my life (both with and without official titles). We are all teachers and learners.
It also happens to be true that some of us have spent 5+ years in school so that we can serve the rest of us as resources for building our Jewish lives. Please. Please! Use us as such. And help us all figure out a way that we rabbis don’t have to take a job in a large, impersonal, suburban temple in order to pay off our school loans.
Won’t you come to my small, spirited, lay-empowered, caring, justice-motivated, pluralistic store-front shteibl? Oh, and help me create it?
by David Kelsey · Thursday, June 15th, 2006
Oil dependency emerges as priority for organized Jewish community
One of the obstacles for many of us in the Jewish community concerned with our dependency on oil is that when we explain why this is a Jewish issue, we are greeted with disbelief that this is truly a specific concern to the Jewish community, or even if it is, not one that need be a priority. It isn’t that Jewish an issue.
But it is. Because of the disproportionate power oil rich Middle Eastern countries have on geopolitical considerations, and the lack of oil in the Jewish state, this is a Jewish issue which affects realpolitik considerations.
And now it is finally being recognized as such. Thanks to the Prime Minister of Israel.
The Forward reports,
A plug from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has given new life to congressional legislation granting Israel $120 million over five years for energy research and development, Jewish organizational officials said.
The breakthrough on Capitol Hill is being credited to Olmert’s May 24 speech to a joint session of Congress, during which he mentioned American-Israeli cooperation in developing alternative energy sources[…]
Communal leaders say that the prime minister’s remarks have energized the efforts of Jewish organizations to push the legislation.
“Olmert’s speech really gave our efforts momentum both on Capitol Hill and within the Jewish community,” said Hadar Susskind, Washington director of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs[...]
Although Jewish groups have been deeply involved in attempts to shape America’s energy policy, they have not aggressively mobilized to support or oppose specific energy legislation in recent years. This bill, Jewish activists said, could provide a focus and a cause for the Jewish community on the issue.
“This bill is a small part of a larger effort to get more involved in energy policy,” said Neil Goldstein, executive director of the American Jewish Congress. […]
“We believe that what is needed is a project on the scale of a Manhattan Project or an Apollo Project,” Goldstein said. “We believe that this is of such grave consequence for the U.S. and the Western world that it really deserves that kind of attention. Our bill is a very small piece of that.”
This is the best news I have heard in a long time. It used to be that the Prime Minister of Israel would come to the U.S. merely to collect money.
Now it seems he also comes to give the Jewish community a much needed kick in the ass.
The Prime Minister hath spoken. And U.S. Jewish organizations concur.
Alternative energy is a Jewish issue. And must be a priority.
by Mobius · Thursday, June 8th, 2006
Kol hakavod to Gary Rosenblatt for exhibiting true menschlekeit:
My role is journalist, not judge. But in hindsight, I think I should have written at the time that I found the women far more credible than Gafni.
In the wake of Gafni’s apparent downfall, I spoke about the case to several colleagues who practice and teach journalism. One thinks I should have acted on my instincts and been tougher on Gafni, even though I had no first-hand accounts on the record. Another said I was right to have held out for on-the-record attribution.
Several of Gafni’s most fervent defenders in the community now acknowledge that they were taken in by his protestations of victimization. Each seemed to rely on the other as the source of proof of Gafni’s innocence, underscoring the lack of serious and professional investigations into such murky matters. At least one rabbinic defender was so upset at the time with the tone and tenor of Gafni’s critics, particularly on blogs and Web sites, that he seemed to conflate their stridency with Gafni’s claims of innocence.
But just because critics can be zealous and over the top at times doesn’t mean the source of their ire is blameless.
A hat tip to you sir. But you’re not off the hook so easy.
by deitybox · Thursday, May 25th, 2006
Not very impressive, no real condemnation. The lashon hara bit seems unproductive, and to say that “the first thing that must happen after the revelation of sexual abuse and/or abuse of power by clergy is full and honest disclosure to the community of the facts” is just hypocritical.
But don’t take my word for it:
Rabbi Mordechai Gafni: a formal announcement
Dear members of the Elat Chayyim community
I am very saddened to share with you a situation about which I have recently learned.
Mordechai Gafni, a talented rabbi who has taught at Elat Chayyim and in many other places, has been accused of sexual misconduct by women within his spiritual community in Israel, several of whom have filed complaints with the police. He has not denied the allegations. These are serious offenses because although these relationships were apparently consensual, there is no place for relations like this between a rabbi and his students or between an employer and his employees.
Some of you may have studied with Mordechai Gafni, or participated in other events with him. For others he might be a complete stranger, and this letter may be irrelevant.
I am writing to you because experts who deal with abuse of power indicate that the first thing that must happen after the revelation of sexual abuse and/or abuse of power by clergy is full and honest disclosure to the community of the facts, as accurately as they are known.
It is in this spirit that I am passing on to you the information that I received from Israel, and informing you that Mordechai Gafni will no longer teach at Elat Chayyim. Those who have registered for his classes have been notified, and may either choose another workshop or receive a refund.
The Program Committee of Elat Chayyim had, in anticipation of our move to Isabella Freedman, begun to review our Code of Ethics, which all teachers are required to abide by. This unfortunate incident has strengthened our determination to maintain our high standards and continue to create an environment that is safe and heartfelt for all our guests.
The Committee continues to work in this regard.
This situation is only beginning to unfold. As always, at moments like this, there is a tendency to want to share and speak about what has happened. I urge all of us to do so with the highest awareness of what our tradition teaches about lashon harah, negative speech. We have both the obligation to know and to teach about abuse of power, and the obligation to strive to refrain from gossip — and any harm that we may cause others by our speech.
This is also a moment to send our love and support to those women who have been harmed, and to acknowledge their courage in coming forth.
May we each send forth our blessings for healing, for all those who are involved in this situation and for each of us as we face our own shadows in the journey through our lives,
b’shalom
Lynne Iser
Chairperson, Board of Directors
by Mobius · Thursday, May 18th, 2006
I’ve just spoken with one of my friends who’s closer to this issue than I, and he clarified the following for me:
First of all, there is no accusation of rape whatsoever, and I apologize for repeating that charge thereby inflaming this issue. All three charges are in regards to consensual sexual relationships. The allegation of rape was the result of a misunderstanding on the part of my friend inside Bayit Chadash. While those relationships were inappropriate and result from Gafni’s abuse of his power dynamic with his students, his actions cannot rightly be equated with rape.
Secondly, Jacob Ner David and Avraham Leader relied upon the investigations of Rabbis Saul Berman and Arthur Green who would have benefited in no way from staking his their reputations on exonerating Gafni. I believe they acted appropriately and I retract my statement questioning Ner David’s hiring of Gafni.
Thirdly, while I still believe that the investigation conducted inside the Renewal movement with regards to prior allegations (before Berman and Green’s investigations) may not have been handled appropriately, and I do believe Yosef Blau, I do not believe that there was any intent on the part of the Renewal leadership to ignore legitimate charges for their own benefit, as has been alleged in some comments. I think they screwed up and that they need to own that, but I don’t think there was any mal intent on their part and they have as much forgiveness and support from me as they do my scrutiny and my criticism.
That said, I would like to make the following clear: My stake in this is simply to insure that this type of abuse not happen again in the future. I care about this issue primarily because I care about my friends inside the Renewal movement, and I want to make sure that they are safe and that they not fall victim to this sort of misconduct. I do not have it out for Renewal nor Renewal’s leadership and I would prefer to see a productive and meaningful conversation come from this which leads to a positive resolution than to allow this conversation to spiral into irresponsible and wasteful mudslinging. I believe this conversation should focus A) on the power dynamics between charismatic leaders and their followers, B) on the most appropriate way of handling allegations of clergy abuse. Anything else is unhelpful, and probably does fall under the category of lashon harah.
I regret that as a “citizen journalist” I don’t have the formal journalistic training to always approach these issues most tactfully or appropriately. And I regret that as a benoni, I do not always approach such sensitive matters from the most enlightened perspective. I have no interest in making matters worse for anyone involved and I apologize for any statements I may have made that have done so.
[Update] ynet reports: “According to Attorney Olman, the complainants accused Gafni of rape, sexual harassment and indecent assault.” Now I don’t know what to think…
by Mobius · Thursday, May 18th, 2006
Lightweight treatment. It only took a week.
[Update] JTA issues a brief. ynet reports, stating police mishandled investiation, giving Gafni room to flee; makes no mention of Gafni contributing to ynet.
by Mobius · Thursday, May 18th, 2006
The Forward reports,
At least five female students and staff members have come forward to accuse Rabbi Mordechai Gafni of luring them into sexual relationships through intimidation, psychological manipulation and deception. Late last week, Gafni, an Orthodox-trained rabbi who has become a star of the New Age-style Jewish Renewal movement, was dismissed from his position as the head of Bayit Chadash, a center on the Sea of Galilee that he co-founded six years ago.
Gafni subsequently issued a public apology for having “hurt people I love,” and said that he would seek in-patient treatment for what he called “a sickness.”
A number of prominent American rabbis who publicly backed Gafni when allegations surfaced in the fall of 2004 have said that they now regret their previous support. Among those voicing regret are Rabbi Saul Berman, the leader of the liberal Orthodox organization Edah; Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, an Orthodox author best known for his accessible books on Judaism; Rabbi Arthur Green, dean of the rabbinical school of Hebrew College in Newton, Mass., and former president of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College; Rabbi Tirzah Firestone, leader of Congregation Nevei Kodesh, a Jewish Renewal community in Boulder, Colo., and Rabbi Arthur Waskow, director of the Shalom Center in Philadelphia and a leader of the Jewish Renewal movement.
In recent years, the Orthodox Jewish community has suffered several high-profile sexual abuse cases. It also has been accused by some critics of being insufficiently alert to the nature of abuse and overly protective of leaders at the expense of alleged victims. The dismissal of Gafni — who had been dogged by a welter of rumors and allegations over the past two decades — has shone a similar spotlight on the responses of a number of individuals on the liberal end of the Jewish spectrum and in liberal Orthodox circles generally untainted by previous scandals.
“The saddest part of the story is that there were these women from the past who had the courage to speak up despite their isolation and their own pain, despite being threatened by him repeatedly, and nobody came forth to give them support,” said one of the current accusers at Bayit Chadash, who did not want to be identified by name. “People in this culture [chose] to support the male predator rather than…the women’s voices that were alone.”
Full story. (And not to nitpick, but Bayit Chadash is in Tel Aviv-Yaffo, not on the Kinneret.)
by Mobius · Wednesday, May 17th, 2006
The following was written by Ken Wilber, one of Gafni’s friends and colleagues, on his weblog. Wilber apparently intends to treat Gafni for his “sickness,” and seems to expect his eventual return to teaching.
See also Vomiting Confetti, whose author Tuff Ghost writes, “Wilber’s response reads like there is no history of controversy with Gafni, and it makes some cloying claims.” Here are his posts — one and two.
***
On Tuesday, May 9th, 2006, three women from Bayit Chadash, a spiritual community in Israel headed by Rabbi Marc Gafni, filed complaints of sexual misconduct against Gafni with the police. Upon reviewing relevant testimony, the steering committee of Bayit Chadash decided to remove Marc Gafni from the Bayit Chadash staff. (See below for the formal announcement.)
Subsequently, rumors have been rife. After long conversations with many of the concerned parties, I have come to the following conclusions. At this time, these are my personal opinions, and are open to immediate revision in light of any further evidence. Marc Gafni is a close friend of mine, but in circumstances like this, friendship decidedly takes a backseat to ethics and justice. In my opinion, the viewpoint that takes the most number of perspectives into account is the more likely to be the better moral judgment, with the Basic Moral Intuition the ultimate guide.
These are my conclusions at this time:
1. There is substantial truth to some of these allegations.
2. This has caused something of a feeding frenzy for the mean green meme, which is understandable but I believe inexcusable. Frankly, some of these have reached pathetic portions.
3. Nonetheless, there is some truth to these allegations because of grave wrongdoing on Marc’s part, and I believe this wrongdoing is due not just to bad judgment on Marc’s part, but to a pathology or dysfunction affecting Marc.
4. Marc, in a letter to Bayit Chadash, agreed that some of his actions indeed stemmed from a pathology or, as he termed it, a “sickness.”
5. I do not believe that somebody with an acknowledged emotional illness or sexual pathology is competent to be a public spiritual teacher. Therefore, at this time, Marc will not be involved in public teaching or presentations of any sort at Integral Institute.
6. With Marc’s agreement, I have asked Frances Vaughan to begin a consultation with Marc focused specifically on his dysfunction.
7. I have other suggestions for therapeutic work that I believe would be helpful to Marc, and I believe he is sincere in pursuing them. He will be stopping in Boulder/Denver periodically to consult with me and with Rabbi Zalman as to these directions.
[Correction: Since having written this, I have spoken with Rabbi Zalman. Zalman has decided that it is best neither to meet nor speak with Mordechai until further notice.]
8. I realize that some people doubt Marc’s sincerity. This is understandable. My strong recommendation has therefore been to create a board of advisors to oversee Marc’s therapeutic work. This board would biannually review Marc’s progress, and make specific recommendations at each juncture. This board would have to be composed of individuals completely acceptable to both sides (i.e., to Bayit Chadash and to Marc Gafni).
9. I have stated my conclusion, after reviewing the evidence and as many perspectives as I can, that there is truth to some of these allegations and that this is due in part to Marc’s illness, and that as long as this dysfunction is not addressed, I do not believe that Marc should be teaching. But I want to point out that emotional illness can be treated and in many cases cured. Marc may or may not be sincere, and his therapy may or may not be effective—but that is exactly the purpose of the therapeutic board: namely, to make that decision, and not to let either of the partial sides do so. I do not know if this solution will work, but to date it is the only rational, compassionate, and fair one that I have heard, and therefore the only one which serves justice.
10. Whatever is decided on that issue, my understanding is that there is no objection to Marc pursuing his writing. We all recognize the brilliance of his contributions in this area. If we are accepting a “levels and lines” argument, then allowing Marc to pursue this line seems reasonable to me, and is something I would certainly recommend.
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by Mobius · Wednesday, May 17th, 2006
Six days ago I broke the Gafni story here on Jewschool. Eleven days ago, the UPI and the NY Daily News both ran stories on Kolko. Three days ago, also focusing on Kolko, New York magazine dropped one of the most exhaustive reports on a Rabbinic sex offender ever published.
Yet not a single Jewish newspaper has yet reported on either of these issues. And while I forgive the weeklies (for now; we’ll see what happens when they drop later this week), where is The JTA, The Jerusalem Post, ynet, and Haaretz on these subjects?
Why are they ignoring the two biggest clergy abuse scandals presently rocking the Jewish world?
I’ve e-mailed all of them to find out. Somehow I don’t expect I’ll be getting a response…
[Update] The Jewish Week has an article out. Steven I. responds.
by Mobius · Monday, May 15th, 2006
My friend at Bayit Chadash wanted me to post the following on their behalf:
This story is filled with pain and with sadness and with heroic ventures.
Two men stood by the women and the voice of truth and commited to undergoing this process despite the pain.
These two men are Avraham Leader and Jacob Ner David.
Avraham Leader has been not only a major support in unveiling the truth, but has been an incredible reservoir of strength, courage, and justice. The second the first woman spoke to him he knew that the behavior of anyone in this sort of power position was totally unacceptable and was ready to confront the situation. Even if it meant his own job was on the line. Avraham first and foremost loves his students and is a voice of truth and of righteousness.
Jacob Ner David responded immediately to the situation, met the different women, and took a stand for the voices of truth and justice.
Despite both of their pain from having also been deceived by Mordechai, they supported the women, in their voices, in their safety, and in their grief.
[Update] Luke Ford offers a different take. (Hey Luke, why don’t you use actual blogging software?) I don’t necessarily want to legitimate his speculation, nor his slander of Jacob Ner David, but with all the outstanding allegations against Gafni, it’s necessary to ask why Ner David overlooked those allegations and hired Gafni in the first place.
by Rooftopper Rav · Monday, May 15th, 2006
The following piece was posted today on Yossi Abramowitz’s blog. There’s what to be said about it, but I still feel hesitant to comment on any of this awfulness. I’ll leave it to you.
***
Renewing Bayit Chadash
Jacob Ner David, my friend, asked me to serve on the Board of Directors of a wonderful non-profit that is transforming the spiritual landscape of Israel by making Judaism lively and accessible in untraditional ways to secular Israelis. Their festivals attract tens of thousands and teachings reach even more.
I’ve been a symbolic member of the Board of Bayit Chadash and an annual contributor, happy to lend my name and networks. I share their pain and sorrow that a personal crisis spilled over to affect real people and the institution as a whole.
The greater the person, the greater the Yetzer, the energy that the evil inclination can dominate. There is a fine line, Wiesel teaches, between the prophet and the madman and what happens when the prophet needs help? The spiritual leader of Bayit Chadad is one of the great teachers of Torah in our age; we must say that because it is true. He is a genius and a soul. But there are multiple truths. Below appears an excerpt from an email from Bayit Chadash co-founder Jacob Ner- David.
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by Mobius · Monday, May 15th, 2006
To my holiest friends,
I want to say I understand I have made grave mistakes. I made choices that clearly hurt people I love. I am infinitely saddened and profoundly sorry for the pain I have caused.
I take full responsibility for all the pain I have inflicted. Clearly all of this and more indicates that in these regards I am sick. I need to acknowledge that sickness and to get help for it. That is what I am doing in this letter.
I want to state clearly and unequivocally that I now recognize that I am sick in these ways and I am committed with all of my energy to check myself into the appropriate programs that will get me healing on this. I have already turned to a leading figure to guide my treatment program and am entering treatment immediately. want to enter into the most appropirate healing process with both myself and where appropirate with the others involved.
I promise you from the bottom of my heart and in the name of everything that is holy, I am taking this crisis with utmost seriousness. I am making healing the number one priority of my life. I must act now to discover what led to me to make these damaging choices that hurt people I care about, hurt my community, and hurt the people who have supported me for years in building Bayit Chadash.
In light of all that has happened I am leaving all of my rabbinic teaching capacities. I am looking now, together with a professional team, for in-house treatment centers where I can go and learn about what led me here, where I can grieve for all the pain that I have caused, and where I can
heal so that this never happens again. I apologize with all of my heart and soul to everyone.
With love and pain beyond words,
mordechai
Here’s what’s shady about this, as far as I’m concerned: He fled to America before he could be arrested, and is now looking to check himself into a treatment program. Could this simply be a way to earn the mercy of the US courts when Israel inevitably attempts to extradite him?
by Mobius · Sunday, May 14th, 2006
This message just went out to the entire Shalom Center list…
Dear friends,
Once again we face the news that a position of spiritual leadership has been turned into a platform for sexual abuse.
I am sending you a statement issued Friday by Avraham Leader, head of the Board of Bayit Chadash in Israel — a community dedicated to the spiritual renewal of Judaism..
The statement announces that its Board has just fired Rabbi Mordechai Gafni (its founder and chief teacher) because of his actions described in the formal depositions of four women, and the statements of others — some who had been students and subordinate staff — that he had had sexual relationships with them, and had sworn them to secrecy. Leader affirms his
and the Board’s conviction that the accusations are true.
I hardly need to say how sad, how angry, and how betrayed Gafni’s behavior makes me feel — And how much it raises questions once again about how to walk that thin line between spiritual ecstasy and the domineering frenzy that is not only damaging in itself but sometimes even leads to sexual abuse.
I am grateful that these women have come forward to say the truth.
There is a lot more to say. Some of it I will say below, after inserting here Avraham Leader’s announcement so that we can all know what we are talking about.
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