Presence

R. Heinemann Stands By "Sabbath Mode" Ovens

The Yeshiva World recently posted letters from prominent Israeli and American rabbis against the use of "Sabbath Mode" ovens. The letters made reference to an individual opinion that they believed to be erroneous. That opinion, although not explicitly attributed to him, was that of R. Moshe Heinemann of Baltimore's Star-K.

Today, the Star-K sent out an email stating that R. Heinemann stands by his ruling:

June 5, 2008

Regarding Star-K certified Sabbath Mode ovens

Rav Heinemann, shlita, stands by his Psak that it is permissible to raise and lower temperatures on Yom Tov on ovens equipped with that particular Sabbath Mode feature. Please see Star-K website at http://www.star-k.org/consumer.htm , or call our office for details about your particular model. Star-K will, in the next few days, post an audio presentation from Rav Heinemann explaining his views.

For those who wish to refrain from placing their ovens in Sabbath Mode and still use their oven on Yom Tov, please be aware of the possible serious "Michshol" on many models. Opening the oven door will immediately shut off the heating elements, an act clearly forbidden on Yom Tov. Thus, even if you don't raise or lower the temperature, it is still important to keep the oven in Sabbath Mode.

Star-K Certification

Below is R. Heinemann's original teshuva on Sabbath Mode ovens, which can also be found on the Star-K's website, along with additional information regarding Sabbath Mode appliances:

Baltimore Hatzalah Makes The News

Baltimore's Hatzalah made the news yesterday responding to an accident near Fallstaff and Reisterstown Rds. A woman was trapped between her minivan and another car, and was later rescued by fire firefighters. Hatzalah was first on the scene and provided support. The woman suffered minor injuries, everyone else is ok. WJZ has a story on the incident, including brief video footage; the Baltimore Sun has an article as well.

A Solution to the Jewish (Genealogy) Problem?

JWorld Famillion is a worldwide family project that connects Jewish people all over the world for an online family reunion. It is an advanced technological system that enlarges your detailed family tree by merging it with other family trees from all across the globe.

I'm sure this is legit, but every time I'm about to sign up for one of these things, I can't help but think this is some kind of secret Nazi-run Jew-tracking system. Like I said, I'm sure it's fine, but one can never be too careful.

I Want To See This Movie

The Forward, Haredi Life, Too Purely Rendered, reviews the film My Father, My Lord (in Hebrew, "Hofshat Kayitz").

It's not available on Netflix; if anyone in Israel knows where to get this on DVD, please get in touch.

Happy Birthday Uncle George

My Uncle George turned either 99 or 100 today (he claims he was born in 1908; we have documentation that says 1909, but it's from the 1930's and could be incorrect). The local paper up in Rutland, MA wrote an article about him entitled 100 is the new 80, and has a great photo of him (click through for a larger version). In a previous article, they wrote more about his various business ventures, including the world famous George Gershman's Health Drink.

Hasidic Jews in House

On last week's episode of House, patient of the week was a woman who became suddenly ill at her wedding. The catch: the patient was "a music producer living in the fast lane until she converted to Hasidic Judaism."

I'd heard much about this episode, but hadn't seen it when it aired; it recently became available online and I got a chance to watch it.

House is insistent that people don't change. He is adamant that the woman's religious renewal is related to her illness. House characterizes religion as both mental illness and masochism before it is revealed that, in fact, the woman's illness was unrelated to her choice to become Orthodox. Throughout the episode, there is a parallel between House's diagnosis of the woman's illness, and his argument with Wilson regarding his girlfriend (known on the show as CTB). At the end of the episode, House consents to Wilson dating CTB, even though it will damage their friendship. Wilson accuses House of changing, but House continues to insist that people don't change.

I think House's point is: people don't change; we may make changes, sometimes even drastic ones, to our lives and lifestyles, but those changes are often only superficial, done in service to something deeper in our psyche that is unchangeable. The woman's illness, although unrelated to her religious changes, doesn't indicate that people do change. Becoming Orthodox, for her, was simply following the same inner compulsion that she had been following her whole life. Although her life may seem drastically different to the casual observer, when looked at as a whole, her entire life's actions would fit into a single context. This is also illustrated by the Dr. Taub, who left a career as a plastic surgeon to become House's intern; although a drastic change in career, the change was preserve his marriage, to prevent change. House's change of heart for Wilson is simply based on the fact that he now feels that the relationship is good for his friend.

On note of trivia: the actress who plays the patient of the week is Laura Silverman, sister of comedienne Sarah Silverman.

Oorah Says "No" to Women

A message from the folks at Oorah:

I tried emailing yeswomen@oorah.org, but it bounced. I think there should be a third option: womeninburkas@oorah.org.

[Hat tip: AS]

Movie Trailer: Defiance

"In WWII Russia, Jewish refugees band together into a brigade that hides in the forest, ambushes Germans and survives until war’s end, eventually 1200 strong."

Starring Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell. Directed by Ed Zwick. More information at IMDB.

Shomer Shabbos

From the NY Times article on Ethan Coen's new play "Almost an Evening," way down at the bottom:

“Our next movie is all about Hebrew school,” Mr. Coen said, with excitement, “in a big way.” It starts shooting in Minnesota this spring.

Candidly autobiographical, “it’s about a family of four in the Midwest, in 1967,” he said, “and one of the kids is about to be bar mitzvahed. Yes, horrible things happen.”

Can't wait! Looks like it might be called Suburbicon.

Respect Your Elders

Baltimore expat Elliott Cahan has an article on Arutz Sheva entitled Identity Crisis, on the state of senior care in Israel. Quite an eye-opening article, and proof that a big opportunity exists in providing decent elder care in Israel.

Dylan, Yom Kippur and Atlanta

YudelLine: by Reb Yudel
Bob Dylan Yom Kippur sighting, 2007

I know one person who is going to be a little upset he was in Baltimore for Yom Kippur. (Hat tip: AS)

The Abstinence Song, or Why Chrisitanity is a Religion, and Judaism is a Culture

I've had this in my "to-blog" queue for a while, and figured that this week would be an appropriate time to let it out. I give you: The Abstinence Song.

I'm forwarding this on to the folks at the OU (v'hamvin yavin).

This video comes from a site called GodTube, which is basically YouTube for Christians; it's full of videos all focused on Christianity, with titles like "The Reality of Hell" and "Little Girl and Psalm 23."

On a whim, I typed in JewTube.com, where the top videos are Borat and Lewis Black. Oy vey!

Cost of Being an Observant Jew

CartoonBarry has a good breakdown of the costs of being an observant Jew. His prices are based on Monsey cost of living, and some of the numbers seem strange (who pays $800 a month to their shul?) but overall it's a fairly accurate accounting.

We just signed our payment agreement for tuition for our three kids for the coming year: $26,000. And that's before scholarships, banquet ads, scrip; not to mention hot lunches, books, uniforms, and who knows what else. It boggles the mind.

Right Move, Wrong Reasons

They finally banned Jewish music. It's about time. That stuff has been getting on my nerves for years.

More on Abuse

DMZ writes about his experience with the subject of the Baltimore Jewish Times' latest article on sexual abuse, adding a unique and personal perspective to the topic.

Zoo Torah in DC

Via the Baltimore Achdus mailing list:

Join a Torah Tour of the National Zoo in Washington DC, led by the famous "Zoo Rabbi," Natan Slifkin! The tour will take place on Sunday, July 22nd, from 2pm to 5pm. It is aimed at adults and older kids, but all ages are welcome. The cost of the tour is $18 for adults and $12 for children. Advance registration is essential as group spaces are limited. If you would like to join the afternoon tour, please email zoorabbi@zootorah. com with the number of people in your group and a contact cellphone number, and you will be sent details of exactly where to meet.

A Dangling Participle Grows in Brooklyn

The Shtus Blog posts a picture of a sign in Boro Park with one heck of a dangling participle:

Non-Parisians: shop elsewhere.

The Imaginary Jew and the Unimagined Jew

Michael Chabon's new novel The Yiddish Policemen's Union, which takes place in a fictionalized present in which the State of Israel never was, the Jews instead living in a giant ghetto in Alaska, has sparked some interesting commentary regarding the contemporary Jewish experience. In an article in The Nation entitled The Imaginary Jew, William Deresiewicz writes:

But over the past three decades, the dense particularity of American Jewish life has, outside the Orthodox community, largely disappeared. No one speaks Yiddish anymore, or even English that sounds like Yiddish. There may be suburbs with a lot of Jews, but there are no Jewish suburbs as there were once Jewish neighborhoods. With Jews as senators and governors and Ivy League presidents, the wounding, binding sense of exclusion has melted away. Communal institutions remain strong, traditions are still cherished, but American Jewish experience is now, by and large, simply American experience. Jewish mothers don't say "Ess, ess" anymore; they say, "Do you want me to call Sophia's mom to make a playdate?"

While there are young Jewish writers aplenty, no important voice has emerged to speak about contemporary Jewish life. Jonathan Lethem's The Fortress of Solitude, perhaps the finest recent novel by a young Jewish writer, is not about being Jewish at all; it's about the quintessentially American subject of race. But there have always been Jewish writers who have chosen to speak about things other than being Jewish (most notably, in the Bellow-Roth generation, Norman Mailer and J.D. Salinger). What's really telling about the current state of Jewish fiction is that even those prominent young writers who do speak about Jewish experience don't speak about contemporary experience.

It's true; "Jewish" fiction is either about the past (mostly the Holocaust), or the early struggles of Jews in America. There is hardly anything in the contemporary Jewish experience, outside the Orthodox world, that can be called uniquely Jewish.

On the flip side, there remains little to no work within the Jewish community that attempts to understand and reflect on the contemporary Orthodox Jewish experience in America (there likely is some such stuff in Israel, but I'm not familiar with it). There's a lot to be said on this, both on the fact that this kind of literature is not seen as valuable by the community leaders, and the fact that it's not really sought after by the general public.

R. Weinreb in Sderot Kassam Attack

R. Tzvi Hirsch Weinreb was in Sderot during a Kassam attack. R. Weinreb has been "blogging" many of the details from his Blackberry. No one from the OU delegation was injured in the attack.

Conversion and Shavuos

I meant to link to this before Shavuos; better late than never. Last year I wrote an essay entitled: Conversion, Covenant and Commandments: Maimonides on Joining Yisrael. The basic idea is that the acceptance the commandments, according to Maimonides, is not a pre-requisite to conversion, but instead acts as the terms of the deal, so to speak. At last week's Kollel Yom Rishon, I had a chance to speak with R. Zvi Sobolofsky after his shiur on assorted topics in conversion, and he told me that he believes that R. Soloveitchik understood the Rambam that way as well, but the majority of rishonim felt differently.

Jewish Times Cover Baltimore Rabbis

The Baltimore Jewish Times has an article about the statements of both the Vaad and the Baltimore Board of Rabbis condemning abuse. I'm glad the Jewish Times is finally covering the efforts of the Vaad, as it's an important part of the overall story; unbeknownst to many, they are still working on steps to combat the problem of abuse in our community.

Shekels Getting Stronger

The shekel is getting stronger; the exchange rate is now below 4:1 shekels for dollars (around the price it was when I was last in Israel...8 years ago). Check out this interesting post over at Six Kids and a Full Time Job about the various ramifications of the growing strength of the NIS; most of them have to do with business, but one which I found interesting on a general level:

Charity dollars raised in the USA are not going as far. You gave to your favorite Israeli charity 12 months ago? Well, expect to see the collector back in 11 months this year and your favorite charity short on money. Scant few charities had sufficient foresight to conservatively plan their budget on a rising shekel.

Worthy of Condemnation

I don't enjoy much of what is posted over at Cross-Currents; I find no pleasure or satisfaction in the typical apologetics or rhetoric posted on the site, in simply pointing out the shortcomings, real or perceived, of others, and proclaiming the self-assured righteousness of Orthodoxy. So usually when I read something on the site that rubs me the wrong way, I just ignore it. But Toby Katz's latest post crossed some line in my mind, to the point where I feel it warrants a response.

Katz made the following statement:

Orthodox Jews stand with Rabbi Hildesheimer, and unequivocally condemn the ad hoc killing or stoning of Reform rabbis. It is totally inappropriate and contrary to halacha to impose the death penalty in the absence of authoritative judicial proceedings, when we are in exile and there is no proper Sanhedrin. We await the coming of Moshiach speedily and in our days.

I suppose she thinks she's being coy, but let's be clear as to what she is saying: Katz looks forward to the Messianic era when Reform rabbis can be executed with proper jurisprudence for their supposed heresy. This is deplorable and wrong for many reasons. It's wrong because it attributes guilt to a class of people, rather than affording each person individual justice. It's presumptive of the fact that a truly religious Sanhedrin would be so quick to shed blood, completely ignoring the statements of R. Akiva that a Sanhedrin that killed a single person in seventy years would be considered blood-thirsty. And finally, it's arrogant, hateful and flat-out rude. It's statements like these that convince me that there's good reason Moshiach has yet to come; as the Rambam says in Laws of Kings (12:7):

"The Prophets and Wise Men yearned for the Messianic Era - not so that they could rule over the entire world, not so that they could dominate the other nations, not so that they would be exalted by the other nations...but instead so that they are free to delve in Torah and it's wisdom, with no distractions, so that they merit the World to Come."

If anything that's been said on this topic deserves condemnation, it's Katz's statements.

From the Yeshiva to the Swimming Pool

From Sunday's Baltimore Sun, an article entitled Subsidy cuts send students from yeshivas to outside jobs:

Growing up as a member of Israel's ultra-Orthodox community, Eli Louzoun had a life as traditional as his conservative black hat and dress. Cloistered in his yeshiva, he spent his days poring over religious texts and supported his family with a small government stipend. He never earned a high school diploma or held a job. So dedicated to his spiritual life, he shunned television, sports and exercise. He never even learned how to swim.

But these days you're more likely to find Louzoun at a swimming pool than in the yeshiva. He's a newly trained aqua therapist, a type of physical therapist specializing in water exercises to help treat patients with physical disabilities.

Read the whole thing, it's well-written, from an unbiased perspective, and anecdotally makes a few very important and cogent points. My thoughts: It's working.

R. Weinreb's Contract with OU Extended Two Years

After reports that R. Weinreb would be leaving the OU upon the expiration of his contract this summer, it has now been announced that R. Weinreb's contract has been extended for two additional years.

The Orthodox Union reversed course and extended the contract of Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, its executive vice president, for two more years. Weinreb’s contract was to expire this summer and a search committee had been established to find a replacement. The committee has since disbanded.

Continue reading the rest of the article from JTA.

[Hat tip: T, Esq.]

More on Confronting Abuse in Baltimore

The Forward has an article entitled Baltimore Roiled by Abuse Charge Against Late Rabbi. Overall, it looks like a decent summary of the situation; there was, however, one error, I believe

More research, including conversations with victims, rabbis and mental health professionals, led to a February 23 cover story, which told the story of “Steve,” a survivor of sexual abuse in the synagogue.

The paper did not reveal the identity of the victim nor of the alleged abuser. According to Jacobs, the paper suspected that Shapiro was the rabbi in question but could not confirm it.

After the first article came out, a friend walked up to Jacobs and identified Shapiro as the rabbi in question.

In the "Steve" article, the Jewish Times did not reveal the victim, but did name one of the alleged abusers. Also, as far as I know, none of the alleged abusers in the "Steve" article were Shapiro. In fact, according to the article, "Steve" is now 25, which means he would have been seven in 1989, the year Shapiro died, so something here is either vague or incorrect.

Another article in The Jewish Press by Elliot Pasik entitled How To Eradicate Abuse In Our Communities, offers suggestins for how Jewish organizations can help prevent abuse.

[Hat tip: Hirhurim]

R. Teichman Opening Shul, Beis Medrash Near Smith Ave.

A letter is circulating with details of a metting in the coming weeks to discuss a new shul and beis medrash in the works, with R. Zvi Teichman as rav. The new shul is planned to be in the Pickwick/Indian Village area (in other words, near, possibly across Smith Ave.). The letter is somewhat vague, but it sounds like what is being planned is more than just a shul, but a kind of post-high school yeshiva/college hybrid program, along the lines of the beis medrash program at Yeshiva of Greater Washington in Silver Springs.

R. Teichman is the former Rosh Mesivta of Talmudical Academy.

Yom Ha-Atzmaut, Hallel and Politics

Gil Student posted what appears to be a fairly comprehensive and well-researched list of various rabbis opinions regarding saying Hallel on Yom Ha-Atzmaut.

People tend to get worked up over this issue, while, in my opinion, a much more important issue is overlooked. If I had my druthers, I'd say Hallel without a bracha after davening; but I don't always have said druthers. A few years back, I happened to daven Shacharis at the Agudah on 5 Iyar. So I said Tachnun. Other times, I've been in shuls that say Hallel in the middle of davening. So I say Hallel in the middle of davening, along with everyone else. Every year I see someone make a big production over saying this, or not saying that, or simply, in a less-than-inconspicuous fashion, walking out of the shul in a huff at a certain point. On a weekly basis, I get to watch people assert their definitive approach to Zionism (or lack thereof) by standing up for all, part of or none of the prayers for the welfare of the US government, State of Israel and Israeli soldiers. In my opinion, this is all ridiculous. Making your little point about your personal beliefs is not more important than being a part of the tzibbur. If you don't like how something is done where you daven, either daven some place else, or go along for the ride, but please spare us the pomp and circumstance.

That's just my opinion; take it or leave it.

Response to Jewish Times Article

This week's edition of the Baltimore Jewish Times has four editorial letters from members of the Baltimore community in response to last' week's article.

• How Terrible
• Alleged Molester
• The Real Issue
  (best of the bunch, in my opinion)
• The Unspoken

Rabbis: Under Arrest!

Steg has some great photos of the protest outside the United Nations led by R. Avi Weiss. Twenty-two people (mostly rabbis - list at the bottom of this link) were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct for demonstrating against Iran's membership in the United Nations.

Kashrus at Communal Events

The Washington Jewish Week has a very interesting article about kashrus at communal events (where communal inidcates the entire Jewish community, not just the Orthodox). For the first time, the DCJCC's annual dinner will be "kosher-style," meaning those who adhere to traditional standards of kashrut will likely be enjoying the airplane meal experience. Towards the end of the article, there are quotes from a broad array of rabbis from all denominations; most support traditional kashrus standards at communal events.

Only somewhat ironic, as the function of kashrus is, if not explictly then at least implicitly, to encourage, define and reinforce Jewish community. I once again refer you to R. Meir Soloveitchik's article The Meaning of Kashrut.

[Hat tip: The Jew and the Carrot]

Baltimore Examiner on Jewish Times Article

The Baltimore Examiner has an article about the Baltimore Jewish Time article (it's like a play within a play, only different). The article makes no mention of the statements from the Vaad HaRabonim.

More on Confronting Abuse

A few tidbits from over Shabbos:

• R. Shmuel Silber was scheduled to speak on the topic at Suburban Orthodox. I haven't heard what he had to say.


• R. Shmuel Kaplan also addressed the topic. I am somewhat hesitant to recount what he said without clarifying with him, but I believe he said that he thought the article in Jewish Times was well done, and offered anecdotal evidence that going to the secular authorities did not always produce satisfactory results in all cases.


• Baltimore's Shalom USA radio show did a segment on this morning's show on the general topic of abuse, featuring Phil Jacobs, Murray Levin and Yaakov Margolese. I'll see if I can get a clip and post it.


• There were some signatures missing from the letter distributed last week. Although the letter states that not everyone was available to sign due to the Pesach holiday, there are some who did not sign intentionally. Those that did not sign the letter (whether intentionally or unintentionally, I do not know) include: R. Yosef Berger, R. Yaakov Horowitz (Darchei Tzedek), R. Shlomo Naiman (Adas).


• R. Yosef Shaul Nathanson (1808-1875), author of the responsa Shoel U'Mashiv, wrote a teshuva on the issue of a teacher who was accused of child abuse. Hirhurim posted the text of the teshuvah, along with a translation, a few weeks ago.

Vaad HaRabbonim of Baltimore: Abuse in our Community

The letter below was sent to the entire Baltimore Orthodox Jewish community from the Rabbincal Council of Greater Baltimore. It is the letter referred to in R. Gottlieb's drasha. Click on the pictures to enlarge, use the arrow keys to scroll down.

The signatories are:

• R. Elan Adler


• R. Reuben Arieh


• R. Menachem Goldberger


• R. Emanuel Goldfeiz


• R. Dovid Gottlieb


• R. Moshe Hauer


• R. Dovid Heber


• R. Moshe Heinemann


• R. Yaakov Hopfer


• R. Shmuel Kaplan


• R. Nesanel Kostelitz


• R. Chaim Landau


• R. Elchonon Lisbon


• R. Sheftel Neuberger


• R. Gavriel Newman


• R. Shlomo Salfer


• R. Jonathan Seidemann


• R. Simcha Shafran


• R. Mordechai Shuchatowitz


• R. Shmuel Silber


• R. Amrom Taub


• R. Y. Zvi Weiss


• R. Mitchell Wohlberg

[Hat tip to Aishel for the scans]

The Jewish Times Article

Baltimore Jewish Times: Rabbi's Abuse Victims Suffer Years Later.

The Positive Value of the Internet in Orthodox Jewish Society

I wanted to post my thoughts on R. Gottlieb's drasha, but I wanted to do it as a separate post, so there would be no confusion as to what I am saying and what R. Gottlieb said. There will be much news that will be coming out over the coming weeks, and I will have to decide if, what and how I want to comment on it. In the mean time, I wanted to offer a concise thought on how and why these changes came about.

My main thought about this is that it shows the positive value of the Internet in contemporary Orthodox society. I firmly believe that the reason this issue is finally being dealt with in a forthright manner by the rabbinate is that they have no choice but to do so. The way information is controlled and disseminated to and within the community has fundamentally changed. This is due in large part to the web in general, and blogs in particular. That is not to say that everything done on the web is done appropriately or in the best possible fashion, but the very existence of the medium, and the fact that information can be published and circulated freely and quickly, has made past approaches to this problem no longer viable. That is not to say that past approaches were correct, either; the existence of the web has enabled a more accurate understanding of the magnitude of the problem to become apparent to those who erred with good intentions and now have the ability to make changes.

Let me make it clear that I do not mean this to be critical of the rabbinate; on the contrary, the fact that they are addressing the issue, rather than not, is responsible and commendable. I do think, however, it is important to recognize the crucial role that the "grass roots" had in bringing about this change.

As a general rule, in any social ecosystem, those in positions of authority by definition maintain the status quo; change must come from the people, and it is the responsibility of those with authority to be sensitive to the needs of the people and judge how to best respond. There is a famous interchange between two poskim that beautifully illustrates this point. The Terumat HaDeshen would often invent theoretical cases to server as the basis for responsum. The Magen Avraham frowned on this practice, arguing that a posek receives special divine guidance when weighing an issue of halachic jurisprudence from an actual real, live person. I don't think it's homiletics to explain this as meaning that halachic decisions are more meaningful when considered in the context of those that practice them, and that the posek must first and foremost respond to the individual.

At any rate, those of us who believe that blogs in particular, and the web in general, have a positive role to play in the Jewish community can count this as a point in our favor.

For more thoughts check out Kefirot's post on the subject.

Baltimore Rabbis Address Sexual Abuse in the Jewish Community

Just before the last days of Pesach, congregants of Shomrei Emunah received an email from R. Gottlieb that he would be addressing the entire shul on "a very important and timely issue confronting our community," over Yom Tov. Speculation abounded as to the topic, but most thought the issue at hand was sexual abuse in Baltimore community.

The second day of Yom Tov, R. Gottlieb did indeed devote his drasha to the topic of sexual abuse. The drasha came in advance of a letter that is being sent to the Baltimore community with a statement adopted by the Va'ad HaRabbonim of Baltimore on the issue of sexual abuse.

Since taboo and silence are the two greatest enablers of abuse, R. Gottlieb asked us to resist our natural inclination to do several things:

• To deny allegations are true.


• To hide behind the laws of lashon hara or chillul Hashem (*).


• To minimize the damage done to those that are victimized.


• To not talk about the issue of sexual abuse with our children.

R. Gottlieb acknowledged that, in the past, cases of abuse have been mishandled because of giving in to these natural inclinations, and that, even if the intentions were from a good place, that this resulted in even greater damage.

The Va'ad is in the process of putting together a systematic approach that will delineate proper behavior in an effort to prevent sexual abuse, such as guidelines for schools and educators. As an example, the Va'ad is looking to the city of Chicago, which recently formed a special beis din to address claims in an open and forthright manner. This will hopefully help prevent incidents of sexual abuse from occurring, as well as help ensure an open process of addressing incidents that do arise, God forbid. There is also the very real concern of false accusations, which, R. Gottlieb also mentioned, has occurred as well.

More details will be available in the letter coming sometime this week. R. Gottlieb is also in the process of formalizing his remarks and will make them available to those that are interested. My thoughts will follow in a separate post.

* By "ignoring" the laws of lashon hara, it is my understanding that R. Gottlieb did not mean that issues of abuse are open for public discussion, nor that one should readily believe anything that is printed in the press or on the web. Rather, if one knows of a case of abuse and does not investigate, or does not report it, or does not inform others of the potential danger, out of a fear of spreading "lashon hara," they are in error. There is no issue of lashon hara if you are protecting an innocent person from damage. This is commonly applied in the realm of shidduchim.

The Battle over Kitniyos

The battle over kitniyos is heating up. Like all modern Jewish debates, it's not only taking place in the real world, but online as well. In one corner, losing weight and going hungry over Pesach, we have the Kitniyos Defense League, and in the other corner, fingers sticky with peanut butter, we have the Kitniyot Liberation Front. Folks, things are about to get ugly!

[Hat tip: The Kosher Blog]

R. Adlerstein on Shomrei

R. Adlerstein has a very nice post extolling the virtues of Shomrei Emunah; he perfectly captures and explicates one of the reasons I like Shomrei, and Baltimore, so much. And I very much appreciated the comments by "LOberstein," and, of course, "BubbyT."

[Hat tip: Jewboy]

An Apology for Charedi Orthodoxy

An apt title summarizing R. Adlerstein's weekend as Scholar-in-Residence at Shomrei would be, "An Apology for Charedi Orthodoxy." In two, possibly three, of the five times R. Adlerstein spoke, his focus was defending a fundamentalist viewpoint from criticism.

Friday night, R. Adlerstein spoke about the banning of R. Natan Slifkin's books.

R. Adlerstein was, and remains, one of R. Slifkin's supporters. R. Adlerstein gave a bit of background on how the ban unfolded (the infamous call that R. Slifkin received where he was threated, "You have two hours to recant your position, or you will be put in herem."), and how R. Slifkin sought an audience with any of the rabbis threatening to ban him, and they all refused. R. Adlerstein explained that three basic groups of people were affected by the ban were ba'alei teshuvah, kiruv professionals and anyone else who has an education. R. Adlerstein related that, as a kiruv professional himself, he had considered discontinuing his work, as the conflict between presenting Judaism as not in conflict with scientific or rational thought while at the same time conveying the system of authority inherent to Orthodox Judaism was impossible. R. Adlerstein continued by asking us to appreciate the ban from the perspective of the Charedim. This apology consisted of a critique on the general approach of interpreting Genesis as allegory (due to the potential to slippery-slope taking as allegory other parts of the Torah), as well as a general appeal to unification of the Orthodox world. While R. Adlerstein was adamant that his feeling was that the ban was unfounded on rational, logical and historical levels, he felt that falling into line with the approach outlined by the rabbis in Israel that issued the ban was a more important value than speaking out against the ban.

R. Adlerstein closed by answering questions. I asked how the rabbonim in Israel, who themselves speak either Yiddish or Hebrew, and little English, became aware of a book written in English. R. Adlerstein acknowledged that the rabbis banning the book did not read it, and that this was not an issue that was at all pertinent to their communities. What happened was that two overzealous YU guys read Slifkin's work and started shopping it around in an effort to get it banned. After failing to get any traction in Monsey and Lakewood, they took it to B'nei Brak and Israel and finally found someone that would listen to them. When the ban hit the States, R. Adlerstein explained that many within American Orthodoxy have an axe to grind with the Kaminetsky family, as they felt that R. Yaakov Kaminetsky had long fostered a version of "Charedi-lite" Orthodoxy to which they took issue with. R. Yaakov Kaminetsky was well known to openly teach that Chazal were not infallible and that often their science was wrong. As such, some on the American Orthodox community took this as an opportunity to get back at the Kaminetsky family by supporting the ban. I really don't know all the details here, but it was clear that, whatever went on, decisions to support or oppose the ban were not being made on rational grounds.

So all in all, the talk left me depressed and disheartened at the state of present-day Orthodox Judaism. It doesn't bother me so much that some rabbis in Israel feel that what R. Slifkin wrote is heretical; I suppose they are entitled to their opinion, and certainly have the authority to make statements for those that listen what they have to say. Their statements, however, should not be beyond criticism from others (especially when, in this case, their arguments are certainly assailable on a number of levels). I am also extremely disappointed by the lack of a response by those, both in America and Israel, who have, and continue to believe the opposite to not only be a legitimate approach (both historically and haskafically), but true in an objective sense. R. Adlerstein made a consistent appeal for unity of opinion, that for some reason we are better off all supporting the position espoused by the rabbis in Israel. But why? This seems to me to be a pretty big deal, and if those that believe Judaism isn't still shackled to pre-medieval dogmas aren't willing to take a stand on this issue, what are they willing to take a stand on? There were a few notable exceptions, rabbis who did speak out in support of R. Slifkin, such as R. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb. But by and large, the proclamation by the rabbis in Israel that a significant portion of Orthodox Jewry held heretical beliefs was met with little to no resistance, because people are afraid to stand up for the truth. To me, this is the saddest part of the whole affair.

Shabbos afternoon, R. Adlerstein spoke about the differences between Islam and Judaism. His approach was to take a passage from the Koran or the Hadith which seemed to correspond either to an established Jewish tradition, or a recent Charedi stringency. One example: the Islamic court in Saudi Arabia ruled that a woman is not allowed to drive her dying brother to a hospital if her husband is not accompanying her; apparently, women in Islam are not allowed to drive a car by themselves, as it would promote lewdness. A woman must have her husband present, and therefore, even if someone's life were in danger, she would not be able to drive him to the hospital (I apologize in advance to any Muslims who might read this and find fault with my portrayal of their law; I am relating this from memory as it was explained in a lecture, I have regretfully done no research to verify if this is in fact the case, or even if I am explaining it correctly. I intend no disrespect). Compare this to recent proclamations in Lakewood that woman should not drive their husbands to yeshiva. R. Adlerstein offered a few reasons why, despite almost identical phenomenologies, why Judaism is different (i.e. better), and how we don't really need to worry about the manifestation of what appear to be fanatical, fundamentalist, misogynistic, etc. behaviors in our community, because our system of halacha will prevent things from ever getting too off course.

My response to this is, with all due respect, "bologna." If anything, the Slifkin affair demonstrates the complete opposite to be the case. If those in power are willing to trample over several hundred years worth of Jewish history and thought, and continue to foster an oligarchy that has little to no oversight and zero checks and balances, and is afraid to even criticize itself on the most fundamental of issues...there's nothing that will stop Judaism from backsliding in the same direction.

In summary, and in conclusion, I was extremely disheartened after R. Adlerstein's visit. He painted a bleak picture of contemporary Orthodox Judaism, not so much because specific factions take fundamentalist approaches, but because those factions that have reasonably justified non-fundamental approaches in the past are unwilling to stand up for what they have heretofore supported. I was led to believe that R. Adlerstein would be presenting a controversial approach, but what I got was standard apologetics for the status quo.

R. Adlerstein Scholar in Residence

This Shabbos, Shomrei Emunah is hosting R. Yitzchok Adlerstein as Pearlstone Scholar-in-Residence. R. Adlerstein wil be speaking five times over Shabbos:

• Friday Night Oneg at 9:30 PM at the home of Mr. And Mrs. Jordan Wiener (2502 Shelleydale Dr.) L'Affaire Slifkin: In this forum, Rabbi Adlerstein will give his assessment of this controversial issue. He will both advocate his position and defend his critics.


• Shiur at the 8:15 AM Minyan: The Frum Yellow Pages: Does Halacha Demand That We Buy Jewish?


• Shabbos Morning Drasha at the 9:00 AM Minyan


• Keynote Address Shabbos Afternoon at 5:45 PM: The Burka and the Sheitel: Judaism and Halacha heavily influenced the development of Islam. How Islam did things differently is a fascinating study. The comparison and contrast of legal systems will help us appreciate Halacha all the more.


• Seudah Shlishis: Haggadah Gems From Rav Kook

For a preview, please see R. Adlerstein's original post on L'Affaire Slifkin at Cross-Currents.

Posted by Greg at 12:33 PM

Cheers and Jeers: Hirhurim

Jeers: In Musings on the Proper Way to Learn Chumash:

The same goes for learning Chumash. If your question and answer are what a rishon would ask and answer, then you're doing great. If not, well, maybe you're doing something wrong. You shouldn't be going out on any limbs that way.

I'm not sure why the Rishonim are all of a sudden the gold standard when it comes to biblical exegesis. Certainly a lot went on before them, as well as after them, that is worthy of aspiring towards. Whatsmore, the Rishonim were by and large working from a medieval view of the world, and looking at the Torah through a medieval lens. This often influenced their understanding of a specific passage or entire narrative. With information we now have available, interpretations of narratives can now be made that were unavailable to the Rishonim. A good example is the idea of the wife-sister.

Cheers: In Abandoned by the Rabbis?:

When I read a book like this, I feel profoundly sad. It makes me think that the rabbis have abandoned us. There was once a time when rabbis recognized that people struggle to feed and clothe their families. They considered working to be a devar mitzvah and struggled to find leniencies to allow people to earn a living. And what do we get? Don't shake hands.* Don't make small talk. Don't compliment a woman. Etc. etc. Unrealistic advice does not help us get through our challenges. It just leaves us abandoned, trying to figure it out on our own. No wonder there are many people who fail these challenges.

Amen. Read the whole post. I have worked with a few people in the past who thought they were being "frum" by acting completely inappropriately in social situations in the workplace. The worst part of it is that these folks always had a smug sense of self-satisfaction about it; they knew they were looking odd in the eyes of their non-Jewish and non-Orthodox co-workers, and reveled in their supposedly higher level of conduct. I've had non-Jewish co-workers ask me wha tthe deal is with these people, why they act in such an odd manner, and I have very little to tell them.

An anecdote: I worked as a contractor for a brief period of time at one of the local government enclaves where the Orthodox Jewish population is quite significant; where the frum folks walk around with hats on and tzitzis out (or snoods in some cases), don't shave during the three weeks, have minyanim three times a day and a daf yomi shiur. Which is all very nice, don't get me wrong. But when, on my first day, I shook the hand of my new female supervisor, she exclaimed, "Oh, you're not allowed to do that!" I have no problem with someone making a decision on how to comport themselves in the workplace, but please take responsibility for your choices as your own, so that others don't have to apologize for their legitimate behavior.

Jew vs. Jew in Lemburg

On September 6, 1848, a young Orthodox Jew with the very inauspicious name of A.B. Pilpel (Hebrew for pepper), bearded with sidelocks and dressed in a black hat and a long caftan, entered the kitchen of the district rabbi of Lemberg, Abraham Cohen, and, pretending to light his cigar from the stove, poured arsenic into the Cohen family’s soup. Within hours of their supper later that evening, the entire Cohen family was severely ill. And by 3 o’clock the next morning, Rabbi Cohen and his infant daughter, Teresa, were dead.

The book chronicles the case of what might have been the first Jewish assassination by another Jew since the times of the Second Temple. It's a tale of Jew vs. Jew that seems to have application for today.

Nadler concludes his review with:

Stanislawski has written not only an important historical morality tale about the dangers of religious extremism, but also a cautionary tale about the unforeseeable perils unleashed when governments try to force modernity, or, for that matter democracy, on a deeply traditional religious society.

Rumor: Mega Millions Jackpot Winners From Lakewood, NJ

The NY Times, and everyone else, is wondering who is the Mega Millions jackpot winner from New Jersey. The holder of the winning ticket sold in Woodbine, NJ is entitled to about half of the record $390 million jackpot from last Tuesday's drawing; the other jackpot winner, a truck driver from Georgia, took the cash payout option and will receive $116.5 million.

Presence has received a tip that the New Jersey jackpot winners are a group of Orthodox Jews from Lakewood, NJ. No further information is available, we're working on contacting our primary sources, who are in a unique position to confirm or disconfirm this rumor (they are very reliable). At this time, we're treating this as a likely, but unconfirmed, rumor. If it turns out to be true, you heard it here first. If it turns out not to be true, we apologize for your lost time.

Although Woodbine, NJ, where the winning ticket was sold, is about 75 miles from Lakewood, the area had a large Jewish population in '70s, and could be frequented by Lakewood residents scouting out or managing real estate investments.

770

Via Nextbook, a photography exhibit in San Francisco entitled 770:

This building, often referred to as "770," has been replicated worldwide with varying degrees of precision, as Chabad centers or for other purposes. Currently there are twelve 770's, including the original, in the United States, Canada, Israel, Italy, Brazil, Argentina, and Australia, and more are under construction in Cleveland, U.S.A and Santiago, Chile.

The Original, Brooklyn, NY

Milan, Italy

K'far Chabad, near Tel Aviv

More pictures at the 770 exhibit site (scroll to the right).

Finding the Happy Medium

Jewboy writes:

I think that the stigma the frum community puts on drinking can have its negative effects. While teens should be discouraged from drinking, I believe that they should also be educated that alcohol is not inherently evil but a pleasure that must be controlled. As evidenced by my actions, I think alcohol can be enjoyed by the right person at the right time, and in the right amount. The problem with much of the Orthodox slamming of drinking is that it teaches kids that all drinking is bad, and therefore if they do drink they think of themselves as bums.

A related point which Jewboy makes is the increasing amounts of stigmatization in the Orthodox community. Taking a potentially benign act and making it a black and white issue changes the act's societal significance, making the act an outlet for rebellious behavior, or reinforces a negative self-image. This is occurring in all sorts of areas in the Orthodox community, from things like television and movies, to modes of dress, to educational curriculums; the examples are very many and very common. What results is kids who think they aren't up to par because they don't do something insignificant, like dress a certain way. From there, they progress into violations of halacha, or even worse, into self-destructive behavior such as drug or alcohol abuse. As Jewboy says, the focus should be on creating a happy medium and teaching our kids how to approach life responsibly.

By the way, Jewboy wins my award for best Purim costume. Very nice!

Drinking on Purim

R. Gottlieb (and, from what I've heard, other rabbonim as well) came down hard on drinking on Purim. Apparently alcohol abuse is on the rise in the community, and many kids who get tangled up in drugs get the first taste on Purim. I've heard many were upset with what the rabbis were saying (our minyan was all abuzz well after the rabbi's speech), which I think is a good thing. If a rabbi never upsets anyone, he's probably not doing his job.

I had what I thought to be a symbolic explanation for drinking on Purim, but it was based on the existence of a statement I can not find. I had thought that somewhere there was a statement that the extent to which one must become inebriated was formulated in terms of, "until unable to to tell the difference between good and bad." Stranger yet, I specifically remember this being in Aramaic (bein tav l'bish). But I am unable to find this formulation anywhere. I am aware of the formulation in the Talmud Megillah 7b. If anyone knows the source of my perceived formulation, please let me know, I would be much obliged.

OIB of the Day: Goldberg's Bagels

Goldberg's Bagels has a nifty online order form, you can fill it out and supposedly, your order will be ready in 20 minutes. I used it this morning to place an order for a baker's dozen of bagels for a small family gathering. Five minutes after I placed my order, the phone rings. It's Goldberg's Bagels telling me that Sunday morning is walk-in orders only!

OIB. In the time it took for them to call me, they could have filled my order and had it waiting.

The Baltimore Jewish Times is Blogging

Just noticed that the Baltimore Jewish Times has launched a blogs section, Buerger Bites, authored by Andrew Buerger, publisher of the BJT; On My Mind, by Phil Jacobs, executive editor.

Both blogs have RSS feeds (scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page), so you can subscribe to them in your favorite RSS aggregator, and have comments enabled, so you can communicate directly with the authors. I did notice that the blogging software used does not create permanent link pages on the home page for each individual blog post; creating and exposing a linked, individual page for each blog post is a good idea, as it allows for other to directly link to your posts, and increases a posts visibility in search engines like Google (which brings in traffic, increases readership and advertising revenue). As an example, I want to link to Phil Jacobs' recent blog post entitled Too Much Fear, where he gives his personal thoughts about the state of abuse in the frum community, but I have to look in the RSS feed to find the link). It's also nice when comments appear with the article, as it creates a sense of conversation around the post. It's possible that these options are available with the current blogging software they are using, it may just need to be configured correctly.

Baltimore Jewish Times on Sexual Abuse in the Frum Community

From the February 23, 2007 edition of the Baltimore Jewish Times, an article entitled Today, Steve Is 25:

Steve is from an Orthodox family of eight children. He is no longer observant. Still, he remains close to his parents and siblings. He was a student at a Baltimore-area yeshiva and then a yeshiva high school in the Midwest.

But along the way, everything went so very wrong.

This article is notable as it is the first time the Baltimore Jewish community, perhaps even the entire Baltimore media establishment, has made reference to the Juravel case.

There's a lot to say here. My brief thoughts: There should be no arrogance with being frum. The frum community needs to internalize the fact that, as individuals, each of us are no better, holier or righteous than any other person, be they frum or not, Jew or Gentile. At the same time, it is important to believe that, as a community, if the dictates of our religion are taken seriously, there is a real potential for true goodness and greatness.

I think the article was well done. It confronts a very controversial topic without shying away from the truth but at the same time maintaining a very high level of respect. Kudos to Phil Jacobs.

Rav Documentary Playing Charles Theatre on Sunday

Baltimore Hebrew University is holding a screening of Lonely Man of Faith: The Life and Legacy of R. Joseph B. Soloveitchik this Sunday, February 25th at The Charles Theatre. Although both the film's site and The Charles' website don't specify a time, I've heard it's showing around 2:00PM. Matinees at The Charles are usually $6.

Truth in Advertising

[Note: to get the full effect, read this post here]

A few weeks ago, the following ad ran in Baltimore's The Advertiser:

Last week, the following ad ran in Baltimore's Jewish Times:

They are the exact same picture, only in The Advertiser version, someone photoshopped skirts onto all the non-frum/non-Jewish employees.

Peninah and I disagreed as to the reason why the digital alterations were made. My theory was that The Advertiser refused to run an ad with "un-Tznius" women (I say "un-Tznius" in quotes both because it's a colloquialism and because there really isn't anything terribly "un-Tznius" about how these women are dressed). Peninah thought that the ad was altering in hopes of better marketing to frum people by making all the subjects of the ad appear frum. The reason why I think my answer is better is because most people would not think a black woman was frum just because she's wearing a long khaki skirt. Any other ideas?

Say it with me now: OIB.

A New York Moment

Last Friday afternoon, Peninah and I were in Century 21 in Manhattan doing a little shopping. If you're a single frum lass and want to scope out the bochrim with an eye for fashion, head on over to Century 21 on a Friday, the place was crawling with 'em.

One particular lad, a pretty normal looking yeshiva kid who thought he was a lot cooler than he actually is, provided us with a hearty laugh. As we entered the men's section, we saw this guy carrying a few white shirts and (wait for it) three very colorful pairs of silk boxer shorts. The dorms at his yeshiva must be quite a happy place, or else he's got some after-mishmar business to attend to. Either way, I nearly regurgitated my Kosher Delight.

Survey on Jewish Sexuality

JewishSurveys.org, run by some Ph.D. types, is conducting an anonymous survey on adherence to the laws of family purity. I'm very interested to see the results of the survey, and any conclusions that may or may not be drawn from the information.

Chemo for Karta

R. Yaakov Menken wants to know what haredim can do to dissassociate themselves from Neturei Karta.

My thoughts: the association comes from the fact that both groups openly embrace fundamentalist doctrines. This is what motivates the outspoken, fundamentalist response, whether it be throwing rocks at cars on Shabbos, rioting over parades or attending a Holocaust conference hosted by the most dangerous man in modern history since Hitler. Until haredim begin to act more reasonably and tone down the fundamentalism, the association will continue, and might even be justified.

Note: one can be religious without being fundamentalist.

Yeshivat Rambam Advertises for Baltimore

The following message was posted to the TeaneckShuls Yahoo! Group:

Baltimore, though an `out of town' community, has all the amenities that an Orthodox Jew would need. This includes a wide variety of shuls, schools, and eateries, only 3.5 hours from NYC. In addition, Baltimore has an affordable cost of living & housing and solid career opportunities which makes life for young couples much more comfortable. Yeshivat Rambam of Baltimore, closely affiliated with Yeshiva University is seeking to attract families to the Baltimore area and build up a community based on the values of halacha, Torah umadda, and religious Zionism.

Representatives of Yeshivat Rambam including the current administration and Mr. Barry Nabozny, a well-known real estate agent will be presenting the community. They will discuss Yeshivat Rambam, shuls, careers, real estate market, and provide a general picture of the community.

The meeting will take place on Thursday evening at 7:45 PM at Erica and Efraim Markovitz at 1496 W. Terrace Circle, Teaneck NJ.

If you are interested in more information please contact: Rabbi Kovie Wagner (Assistant Principal of Yeshivat Rambam Elementary School) or Rabbi Uriel Lubetski (Principal of Yeshivat Rambam Middle School & High School).

It's no secret that Yeshivat Rambam has been feeling the heat and looking to attract new families; it doesn't help that a significant number of existing Rambam families make aliyah each year. Teaneck is overcrowded and overpriced, and very close by (if you drive straight, you can get to Baltimore in under three hours), so Baltimore should represent a real alternative for many Teaneck families.

While in the past Baltimore has not had a significant YU presence, that has changed as of late. Two of the larger shuls in Baltimore have YU musmachim, and Yeshivat Rambam itself has many RIETS graduates on staff, as well as a strong connection to YU (when Rambam instituted changes to their educational policy, R. Yosef Blau came down to answer questions from the parent body), not to mention a growing number of YU/Stern alumni in the community.

Housing is much more affordable than Teaneck (or anywhere in NY, for that matter). The kosher restaurant situation is not comparable to Teaneck, but there is certainly a decent selection. The job market isn't comparable to NY either, but there are ample opportunities for professionals, many large state and federal government offices and a few large financial institutions, as well as opportunities for those in chinuch. There are also many diverse and ample opportunities in Torah learning.

It will be interesting to see if this bears any fruits.

Documentary on the Resurgence of Anti-Semitism in the 21st Century

Last night (edit: Monday night), PBS aired a documentary entitled "Anti-Semitism in the 21st Century: The Resurgence." It was quite an interesting show; despite my familiarity with most of the major incidents, such as various prime ministers making public anti-semitic statements, the overall affect of their presentation in documentary form was quite disconcerting and shocking. The NY Times has a review of the program.

Many of the clips shown during the documentary were from MEMRI.org and MEMRITV.org. Search MEMRITV.org for al shatat, the name of a documentary in which a dying Baron Rothchild discusses the Jewish conspiracy to take over the world, and Hasidim kidnap and slaughter a Christian child in order to obtain blood for their matzah. Or read this transcript from an Iranian TV special on The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Or, for giggles, read this transcript of an Iranian TV show that claims Tom and Jerry (yes, the cat and mouse) was created to bolster sympathy for Jews:

The Jews were degraded and termed "dirty mice." Tom and Jerry was made in order to change the Europeans' perception of mice. One of terms used was "dirty mice"...Tom and Jerry was made in order to display the exact opposite image. If you happen to watch this cartoon tomorrow, bear in mind the points I have just raised, and watch it from this perspective. The mouse is very clever and smart. Everything he does is so cute. He kicks the poor cat's ass. Yet this cruelty does not make you despise the mouse. He looks so nice, and he is so clever... This is exactly why some say it was meant to erase this image of mice from the minds of European children, and to show that the mouse is not dirty and has these traits.

It's amazing, unbelievable and terrifying.

MEMRITV is an amazing site; in my opinion, they should be uploading their videos to YouTube to increase public awareness.

In case you missed it, the documentary will be airing again tonight (Thursday night/Friday morning) at 2AM (if you have a TiVO...) on WETA 26 (in Baltimore) and on Sunday on WHUT 19 at 11PM.

JTA on Abuse in the Jewish Community

The JTA has published a collection of articles on abuse in the Jewish community.

One article focuses on how the Internet in general, and blogs in particular, are changing the way abuse is treated within the community. R. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb is quoted:

"I read everything with a grain of salt," he said. "On the other hand," Weinreb said, the Awareness Center and the blogs "have served the purpose of keeping this in the public spotlight and keeping the pressure on established institutions to police their constituencies."

[Hat tip: A Town Crier]

Jewish Ninjas: Caught On Tape!

Videos of some Jewish ninjas have come to my attention (screenshot only, click on the video to watch it on YouTube; also search for Abir Warrior):

Please note: I've made no attempt to understand this, instead I'm going to make fun of it.

• Looks like a combination of Tai Chi and the Hora.


• All that training, and yet they refuse to fight in the army!


• Did you see their new movie? It's called Crouching Tiger, Hide the Afikoman? Starring Jet Levy and Chow Yun Schmaltz.

More Rabbinic Movements

For those of you at Shomrei, you may remember R. Jonathan Rosenberg. R. Rosenberg interviewed for the position of Rabbi at Shomrei after R. Weinreb left. He was offered the job, but negotiations broke down when his shul in Columbus offered him a lifetime contract.

While looking around for more information on R. Weinreb and the OU, I found the following at LukeFord.net (the only other blog I've seen mention of the OU story):

Valley's Biggest Orthodox Shul Hires Columbus Rabbi

Jonathan Rosenberg wowed the shul a few weeks ago and was a popular choice. Rabbi Rosenberg has seven children.

The Valley's "Biggest Orthodox Shul" is Shaarey Zedek.

R. Weinreb Moving On

The word around town last Shabbos was that R. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, Executive Vice President (and figurehead) of the OU is moving on, either to a newly created position within the OU or to new endeavors. I think I heard this was reported in one of the mainstream Jewish news sources, but I haven't been able to find anything online.

Update: I have heard that R. Weinreb's replacement is someone from Los Angeles named Rabbi Weil.

Update: On page 51 of the December 8, 2006 edition of The Jewish Press, the following was printed:

Beth Jacob Beverly Hills is another west coast shul searching for a new rabbi. Rabbi Steven Weil will be heading to New York to take over Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb's position as OU executive vice president.

The Baltimore Chevra

On this morning's edition of Shalom USA they featured a new organization in Baltimore called The Baltimore Chevra:

The Baltimore Chevra is a social network designed to facilitate communication among young Modern-Orthodox Jewish professionals and graduate students living in the Baltimore community.

The unique thing about The Baltimore Chevra is that it is co-ed, and although it was not created explicitly for dating purposes, it does function as a way for guys and gals with similar backgrounds and interests to meet in a safe environment, as the shidduch system does not work for everyone.

We'll Have a Gay Old Time

Lots of big news last week, not the least of which was Conservative Judaism's decision on homosexuality. I read through part of the responsum over Shabbos (Canonist has a link); I haven't had time to get all the way through, Josh has done a good job of summarizing it though.

One thing I did notice, the responsum concludes by quoting the following verse (Psalms 149:4-5):

כִּי-רוֹצֶה יְהוָה בְּעַמּוֹ; יְפָאֵר עֲנָוִים, בִּישׁוּעָה. יַעְלְזוּ חֲסִידִים בְּכָבוֹד; יְרַנְּנוּ, עַל-מִשְׁכְּבוֹתָם.

Obviously someone has a sense of humor. ;)

Put On Your Yamuka, It's Time to Celebrate...

This just in from XM Radio:

DC-based XM Satellite Radio, a provider of satellite radio service to more than 7 million subscribers, said on Monday that it will launch a special channel to coincide with the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. The company said that its "Radio Hanukkah" channel, to air Dec. 15-23, will feature a broad spectrum of Jewish music and conversation.

With a specific focus on the music and traditions that celebrate the festival of Hanukkah, classic and off-the-wall renditions of traditional Hanukkah songs, such as "I Have a Little Dreidel" and "Maoz Tzur," will be showcased on the channel along with nightly broadcasts of the traditional Hanukkah candlelight blessings which will air at the appropriate times in both the Eastern and Pacific time zones.

In addition, Radio Hanukkah will feature specials focused on contemporary and traditional Jewish music, comedy, children's programming and more. Barenaked Ladies, Matisyahu, Al Franken, Kinky Friedman, Neil Sedaka, Dr. Ruth and Larry Miller are among the Jewish celebrities who will be participating in XM's Radio Hanukkah programming.

Oy Gevalt! What's more Jewish than Al Franken (besides Al Sharpton)? I think we should start a pool, here's how it will work: everyone who enters picks a number, and, at the end of the week, whoever's number is closest to the number of times they played Adam Sandler's Channukah Song wins.

Tags: radio, xm radio, judaism, jewish, music, hannukah

The Abuse of Power

WCBS-TV in New York has a feature story about Isaac Heschel, a New York diamond dealer who had emergency lights and sirens installed in his car. The story exposes his abuse of power, using his flashers and sirens to make his way quickly through rush hour traffic, for no apparent reason other than because he can.

On the one hand, this guy is obviously a ne'er do well, and it's good they caught him and hopefully put a stop to his abusive and dangerous behavior. On the other hand, I thought the article was a bit condescending. I suppose it's not unwarranted to expect that outwardly religious individuals would adhere to a higher moral standard than your average Joe, but the fact that this guy is referred to as "Rabbi" and subtitle the article as "Too Good for Gridlock" is a bit sensational.

On a related note, there was a recent incident where a Hatzaloh member was pulled over by NYPD while responding to a call. There was a post on Vos Iz Neias, along with a discussion in the comments (the site seems to have disappeared, so I can't link to it) where a few of the regulars got indignant and ended up getting into it with an NYPD officer who defended the actions of the NYPD.

More blogs posting on this topic.

[Hat tip: the inimitable RDE]

Reports from the Agudah Convention

Conflicting reports from the Agudah Convention. Gil seemed to think the whole things was pretty parve, while a few comments on his blog said otherwise. Other than that, there's really very little substantive information to come out of the convention.

On a related note, I've been getting a ton of new visitors searching for agudah, convention and blogs (this blog currently rates in the top 10 on Google for various combinations of those terms). From the Agudah's perspective, this is a reputation management issue, one would assume that they would want their information to appear prominently in major search engines results.

Next Time, Try a Little Humilty

I try my best to remain positive on this blog, but the following incident which occurred to me today got me so miffed I just had to vent.

Begin rant:

I'm out in my front yard this morning, putting away my Sukkah, and up walks a gentleman who is collecting for a yeshiva called Hechal HaTorah (I didn't see if the yeshiva was in Israel or New York; the gentleman spoke perfect English with a New York accent, so I'm assuming the later). I looked at his letter from the Agudah, saw that the date was current and the "Standard Donation" box was checked. If this gentleman would have approached me in shul, it's likely I would have given him a dollar. I'm personally of the opinion that just because someone comes to my home doesn't mean I need to break out the check book. So I offered him a dollar, and although I wasn't really surprised, my offer was met with scorn. The gentleman told me that nobody gives a dollar these days, that was for his parents generation. As he turned to leave, I quoted him a passage from Mishlei, to which he pshawed. I concluded our discussion by telling him to get lost.

What bothers me the most about this incident is the sense of entitlement this guy had. I have never heard of his yeshiva, I don't know him at all, and I'm willing to bet that his school is just a bit antagonistic to my hashkafa. Yet there was a presumption that I'm supposed to open up my wallet with little to no justification. Never mind the fact that this guy didn't even inquire as to my financial situation, my tuition situation, but just assumed that he was entitled to a more than standard donation. And it's actions like this that make it all the more difficult for other honest and respectful people who collect (which is not an easy job in and of itself).

End rant.

At the DC Jewish Film Festival

Also screening at the DC Jewish Film Festival is Be Fruitful and Multiply:

For ultra-orthodox women there is no higher commandment than the biblical imperative to “be fruitful and multiply.” In many instances this results in families with 10, 12 or even 16 children—as is the case of one Brooklyn mother profiled in this probing documentary. What must it be like to spend most of your married life either pregnant or nursing? Director Shosh Shlam presents us with a pair of women who revel in their roles as head of their large broods. On the other hand, Shlam also presents two ultra-orthodox women who decided to limit their family size. Yentl, who appears in the film without her husband’s knowledge, goes so far as to assert that many of these perpetually-pregnant women are not as happy as they claim, but caught up in the peer pressure to produce large families. With an even-handedness that gives voice to both sides of the debate, Be Fruitful and Multiply provokes a fascinating discussion of the role of the ultra-orthodox woman.

It's like Trembling Before God, only for balabustas. There's a panel discussion afterwards that looks to be incredibly well-rounded.

It's playing the same night as The Rav flick. Who's up for a road trip?

The Rav, The Movie

Lonely Man of Faith, the documentary film on the life and legacy of R. Soloveitchik, is screening at the DC Jewish Film Festival on Thursday, December 7th at 8pm.

New Blog: My Jack Abramoff Story

I stumbled across a new blog entitled My Jack Abramoff Story. The author opens with an introduction:

My name is Brian J. Mann and I was involved in The Jack Abramoff Scandal, and I'm going to be using this blog to tell you all about it.

His second post goes into a bit more detail. I have no idea if this is legit, but I thought it was interesting.

Agudah Convention Takes Aim at Blogs

Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zweibel, on the theme of this years' Agudah Convention, "Torah Wisdom/Torah Authority: Are We Losing the Connection?":

"In recent years, though," the Agudah leader observes, "due to a variety of factors, the authority of daas Torah has been significantly undermined, even within our own chareidi circles. Most troubling has been the proliferation of Internet 'blogs' where misguided individuals feel free to spread every bit of rechilus and loshon hora about rabbonim and roshei yeshiva, all with the intended effect of undermining any semblance of Torah authority in our community. It is most appropriate for an organization like Agudath Israel, whose very essence was built on the recognition of the authority of Torah leaders, to address this issue head on, and formulate concrete plans to reinvigorate public awareness of this essential element of the Torah way of life."

[Hat tip: Aishel]

Your #1 Source for News and Information on Chasidic Studs

Thank God for the Internets. It enables us to learn so much about all types of people we would never have access to in normal life.

For example, check out Chasidic Stud, who describes himself as a "20 Year old Chassid who is muscular and very good looking." In his inaugural post, he writes:

...as I was growing up I noticed that I want to be different in my physical appearence without giving up my Chassidic beliefs, it was hard at first but after I succeded I knew that all the hard work was worth it, I also noticed that there are more out there like me and I am not the only one.Before I go into my body details I want to say that I am not Gay, I am a very happy married young man.

Of course, you're not gay...

Then there is Shmekidik, who I suspect might be the same person, starts off his blog with:

This blog is especcially geared to let all Chasidic people know that it is important to look good and smell good by dressing neatly bathing daily and using underarm deoderant every day...

It's like an accident on the highway...I want to look away, but I can't. [Hat tip: GH]

More Talmudic Logic

Remember the yeshiva bochur who called in a bomb threat to delay his plane from taking off without him? Well, he was indicted last week on one count of making a hoax threat, punishable by up to five years in prison. And he plead not guilty. So, did he or did he not call in a bomb threat? According to the article:

When questioned, Wells acknowledged calling in the threat after he and two friends traveling with him arrived about 15 minutes before the Jet Blue flight to Fort Lauderdale was scheduled to leave around 9:10 p.m. and was denied a boarding pass, Gates claimed.

I'm trying to figure out how that blibs a not guilty plea. I guess if you don't actually have a bomb, but pretend to, it's k'ilu you didn't even make a threat, since a threat is only real if you can back it up, otherwise it's just devarim b'alma. I'm also guessing there's some legal-eze at work here, but come on.

On a related note, this reminds me of the time I got a speeding ticket for going 48 in a 30, which was actually a 40 mph zone. When the judge asked me how I plead, I said, "Innocent." The judge looked at me and said, "You plead guilty or not guilty, I'll decide if you're innocent!" I thought he was going to throw me in jail, but I ended up getting off scott free. If I had plead guilty, the best I could have hoped for was a reduced fine with no points.

[Hat Tip: Aishel]

Attack The Jew!

A deleted scene from the Borat movie:

Someone should write an article or post detailing how Baron Cohen/Borat effectively uses faux-bigotry to disarm and expose the latent antisemitism that still thrives in the hearts and minds of much of the enlightened world.

Protocols

I normally don't go for this stuff, but this song has a catchy tune; I first heard it a while back on MySpace, and now I see you can get it on iTunes.

What is it with Jews and Lines?

Just got back from Jew Day at Hershey Park. I always relish the opportunity to learn new things from my co-religionists, most especially in areas where we've historically been envelope-pushers. I am referring, of course, to 3000 years of beautiful history of Line Cutting. It seems that ever since the Tribe of Ephraim tried to sneak into Israel, we Jews have been unable to wait our turns. A few novel approaches to this age-old tradition I observed today:

• The "B'diavad" (or "What's Done is Done") Approach: An entire family, strollers and all, cuts the line to get into the park because they prepurchased tickets and feel this entitles them to bypass the collection stage of the ticketing process (I'm not sure why the ticket office is, in this case, responsible for both selling tickets on site and collecting them upon entry, but that is immaterial). When confronted by the ticketing officials, the husband offers, "Well, it would be too much work for us to backtrack to the ticket booth at this point, so you might as well let us go through without collecting our tickets." This, of course, does not work, so we all have to move out of the way while this family moves back upstream.


• The "Go Stand with Your Cousin" Approach: We're in line for the Space Ship ride, behind a few people, but clearly up for the next go-round. Then, right as the ride is emptying out, some mother shtupps an extra six brothers/sisters/cousins/neighbors who've just come off another ride (so they weren't waiting in line) up to the front to stand with the one kid who was "holding their place." This results in my kids, and many kids behind us, having to wait for another go-round, as there are no longer seats left after the Shmuckenstein family invaded the line.


• The "In-The-Out-Door" Approach: This one was my personal favorite. Most rides have an in door, and an out door. You can usually tell the difference by looking for a line. If there is a line, this is the in door; if not, it's probably the out door (or a sucky ride). So we're waiting in line on the Tilt-a-Whirl, and as the ride clears out, a family walks in the out door and proceeds to occupy one of the cars. The ride operator walks over and explains the whole in/out situation, and is rebuffed by the family partriach, who offers an explanation: "I looked at the in-line, and saw that, had we walked all the way around, we would have gotten on without waiting, so we didn't think we needed to bother. We weren't going to deprive anyone of their fair turn." He then proceeded to patronize the ride operator addressing her by name and saying very sarcastically, "No, I understand. You're just doing your job, playing by the rules. Sure, you're the first one all day, but you are right."

To be fair, after I told the "Go Stand with your Cousins" guy that his behavior was "disgraceful" (the steroids I'm taking for my colitis cause insomnia; insomnia, at least in me, causes orneriness, and I was well beyond ornery by the time I got to the park), the husband came over to me and apologized (he said, "I thought about it, and you're right." Well, duh). But I was happy that he apologized. And all in all, the day went better than I expected, and the kids had a good time, which was the most important thing.

Shomer Shabbos!

More Jews in the news. Last night, WBAL ran a story on the 11 o'clock news about a local man, David Brown, a Towson University police officer, who is suing his employer for discrimination (video included). Brown is an Orthodox Jew, and is suing Towson for insisting he roll out on Shabbos.

Make sure to watch the video, and catch the incisive legal punditry by hotshot discrimination attorney Ari "S.Z." Taragin, Esquire. Not since Bubby Susan's rendition of "Home on the Range" graced the airwaves has the family been this proud.

A One-Hit Wonder No More

In a commercial break during the 11PM Law and Order CI tonight was a spot for a new "show". During commercial breaks for a showing Meet the Parents on USA, Evan and Jaron will travel cross-country in a convertible and interview odd people (one guy they interview apparently talks to bananas; I'm not sure either). Anyway, it beats a desk job.

Baltimore Agunah Making News

After yesterday's piece in the Examiner, the Sun and WJZ have picked up the story of Cynthia Ohana's struggle to obtain a get from her husband Ephraim Ohana.

For more information on what is being done about the agunah problem in general, see the Orthodox Caucus' Prenuptial Agreement page, which includes a sample prenup that obligates a husband to pay a very large sum of money to his wife if he refuses to grant her a get. Many rabbis will now refuse to perform a wedding if a prenup such as this is not signed.

Ironically, those who've seen Lilo and Stitch know that, in Hawaiian, ohana means family (and "family means no one is left behind").

"Oy, kill me with a knife."

This is hilarious (and a little bit sad):

Thanks to D. for the tip.

The Truth about Mishulachim Drivers

AlanLaz posts on the economics of the mishulachim drivers, which brings to mind an issue I've been meaning to look into for some time now.

Seeing as how the Baltimore Jewish News has pretty much abdicated the role of provider of substantive, informative journalism to the community (actually, this past Shabbos' issue was not horrible, but it's going to take a lot to make up for the weeks previous), I'm going to take it upon myself to get the story on the mishulachim drivers; the who, what, when, where, how and why (well, I think we know the why...). If anyone has any information, please email me (greggersh AT yahoo DOT com). We'll go from there.

A Gemmorah Kupp

What does a bright, young yeshiva bochur do if he's running late and needs a few extra minutes to catch his plane?

Call in a bomb threat on the plane, of course! Shtark!

If found guilty, he could get several years in prison. Shkoyach!

Yeesh.

[via Ricky Ricardo]

On Jewish Fiction

A while back I meant to compose a post about the paucity of religious Jewish fiction. I did a little research and found very little in the way of serious, introspective literature that dealt with life as a contemporary Orthodox (or even traditional/affiliated) Jew.

Then I found an article by Yoel Finkelman entitled, "Medium and Message in
Contemporary Haredi Adventure Fiction" (via the now-defunct AJHistory, who also links to a bunch of good reads). I was all in a twitter. I read the article two weeks ago, and was very impressed; I would say that this article is about 40% as important as Rupture and Reconstruction. It provides a very cogent analysis and deconstruction of modern haredi culture by focusing on the kind of literature (and, by extension, popular culture) it supports. In addition, the insight into the idiom of Yair Weinstock is fascinating; when first approaching this subject, I dismissed Weinstock's work as insignificant due to it's pop/pulp nature. After reading this article, I think Weinstock's works are central to understanding modern haredi popular culture (and, if you read the article, you're spared having to read any of it).

Anyway, give the article a read, it provides excellent insight into modern haredi culture, as well as affirms and presents what I have been thinking for a while about the Orthodox Jewish world. Triumphilism be damned. Good stuff.

Meet the FACKer

On Friday night August 5, Shomrei Emunah was vandalized. On Shabbos morning, congregants were greeted with the word "FACK" spray-painted in big red letters on the front of the shul. The FACKer is either really bad at spelling, or is attempting to make some sort of statement about Emil Fackenheim. Word is Larry Soltz has secured a sniping position in the Wach attic, should he return. Consider yourself warned, FACKer.

Shomrei is equipped with a state-of-the-art video surveillance system, and I was able to review the video surveillance tapes from the night in question. At 3:37 AM, a young male approached Shomrei from the north. He spent less than one minute in front of the shul, his act of vandalism clearly recorded by the video camera mounted just outside the main entrance. The video does not have a clear shot of his face, but a partial profile is visible; we've got the boys down at the crime lab working in shifts (in all seriousness, I have no idea if the police are actively investigating the matter). Of note, the perpertrator is left-handed. After completing his vandalism, he continued south along Greenspring Ave. I may be able to get a hold of a copy of the security video, and if I can, I'll post it. In the mean time, I've posted some photos of the graffiti.

As far as I know, Shomrei has never been vandalized in the past. I would speculate that the current climate appears to be weakening the stigma of, for now, covert expressions of latent anti-semitism.

Look who's "Moving to Israel"

Check who's the #1 Top Story on CNN.com (as of 7:50 PM Sunday).

Tip o' the hat to Bill Selliger.

Baltimore Jewish History

OnTheMainLine drudged up a search engine for the The Jewish Mueseum of Maryland's collections (hence his post on Baruch Aronson's hat!).

I did a search for Taragin (Peninah's family), and came up with lots of very interesting stuff. Nothing for Mihaly.

I am sure there are hours of interesting stuff here.

A picture of Zaydie Mendel (R. Menachem Mendel Taragin, Peninah's great grandfather).

Ner Israel students, circa 1960. R. Herman Nueberger on the left (is that Jerry Kadden in the back row, center? I may be way off here in terms of chronology...).

The Original Shomrei Emunah, now a hole in the ground.

If you find anything else interesting, post it in the comments.

Conversion Concession

ADDeRabbi posted a letter from the RCA announcing concessions reached between the RCA and Israeli Rabbanut.

What appears to be good news:

1. It was also agreed that all conversions, authorized from the Rabbinical Council of America in the past, and as such, previously accepted by the Chief Rabbinate, will continue to be recognized by the Chief Rabbinate.

2. Until the recommendations of the Joint Commission will be accepted and put in place, all conversions currently under way or shortly upcoming, that will have been authorized by the Rabbinical Council of America will be similarly recognized by the Chief Rabbinate.

I find the statement that "...all conversions, authorized from the Rabbinical Council of America in the past, and as such, previously accepted by the Chief Rabbinate" somewhat strange, 'cause wasn't the Rabbanut's denial of a marriage license to an RCA convert what got this whole brohaha started in the first place?

Conversion, Covenant and Commandments: Maimonides on Joining Yisrael

At the conclusion of our last discussion of conversion, we saw that Maimonides' approach to the essence of conversion was strikingly different from that of the Talmud's. What I'd like to show in this post is that Maimonides did not actually feel he was restating the gemara's position in anyway; rather, he felt he was clarifying it. This is going to be long, but, I promise, will be worth it. If you don't like reading things online, I would suggest printing out this post and reading it on Shavuos, as it is very, very apropos to the themes of the day.

As you may recall, the purported point of contention between Maimonides and the Talmud seemed to be an issue of praxis vs. doxis; Maimonides refocused the conversion process to concentrate on issues of belief, ikkarei ha'das, rather than practical religious observance. But a quick review of the gemara in Yevamos shows that this is not the case. What is the intention of the gemara in stating that one teach a potential proselyte, "a few stringent commandments, and a few easy commandments?" It cannot be that we are attempting to give the convert a crash course in halacha, in order to provide him with practical knowledge to help his everyday life; what good would an assortment of legal tidbits do him in his new day-to-day life. Rather, it must be that we are attempting to expose him to the concepts behind the commandments (for lack of a better term, the haskafas haTorah). By relating to him a few critical commandments, along with a few non-critical ones, we are showing him the breadth of Torah, and how it relates to ones life in various ways. A further proof to this is the continuation of the gemara: the "sin of leket, shicha and pe'ah" as well as the other tenets mentioned, are all not to explain those commandments in particular, but to illustrate some conceptual idea of Judaism (such as kindness, justice, etc.) that the proselyte may be unfamiliar with before converting.

With this approach, the Rambam can be seen as continuing the ideas laid out in the Talmud, rather than opposing them. Maimonides reformulation is not an attempt to shift the focus of conversion (and, by extension, Judaism) from praxis to doxis; instead, Maimonides is simply expanding upon the formulation dictated in the Talmud with, what was in his mind, the contemporary content of the essense of Judaism. The common claim that the Talmud does not legislate matters of belief is misguided: in Talmudic times, the characterization of halacha was such that the beliefs underlied the practical rulings. As time went on, and Greek thought progressed and spread to the Jewish communities, Chazal were forced to more directly confront issues of belief (hence, the statements in Chapter 10 of Sanhedrin). Maimonides felt that, in his day, these matters of belief were clearly settled and delineated, to the point that the conversion process should be modified to better coincide with it's actual intention, namely to convey the foundations of Judaism to the convert.

All this is well and good, but here's where it gets exciting.

When it comes to the ikkarei ha'das, what does Maimonides quote? One would think that he would detail all of his thirteen "fundamentals of faith." Why, then, are only two fundamentals listed in the Mishneh Torah (Maimonides uses very definite language: "...the fundamentals of our religion, which are the oneness of the Name and prohibition against idol woship," which would preclude us from assuming he meant the others by extension). To fully understand this, we need to take a closer look at how Maimonides details the laws of conversion.

Chapter 13 of the Mishneh Torah's "Laws of Forbidden Relations" begins: "How does a Yisrael enter into the Covenant?" Note, this is NOT talking about conversion. Maimonides begins by detailing how the Jews, after the exodus from Egypt, became part of the bris. The three prerequisites are: circumcision, immersion and the bringing of a sacrifice (based on Krisos 6A). Only after detailing the how the Jewish people originally entered into the covenant does Maimonides then turn to the issue of conversion of proselytes: "And so throughout the generations, when a non-Jew wishes to enter into the covenant, and find solace under the wings of His Presence, and accept upon himself the yoke of the Torah: he requires these circumsion, immersion and a sacrifice."

Where did Maimonides (and the Talmud, for that matter) come up with these three requirements for conversion? The sources detailed in the gemara and in the Mishneh Torah make it clear, along with the connection to all of Yisrael entering the bris: at Har Sinai, at Matan Torah.

But why, then, does Maimonides seperate the process of conversion (Chpater 14) from the prerequisites for conversion (Chapter 13)? Here is where we can finally understand Maimonides unique interpretation of the gemara, and the connection between conversion and Matan Torah. Matan Torah, to Maimonides, was more than a simple giving of the Torah; it was the Jews entering into the covenant with God, accepting the yoke of the Torah, effectively converting. The process Maimonides lays out in Chapter 14 is nothing less than a recreation of Matan Torah. Recall the famous statement of Maimonides that the first two of the Aseres HaDibros were heard by all the people:

The Israelites heard the first and the second commandments from God, i.e., they learnt the truth of the principles contained in these two commandments in the same manner as Moses, and not through Moses. For these two principles, the existence of God and His Unity can be arrived at by means of reasoning, and whatever can be established by proof is known by the prophet in the same way as by any other person; he has no advantage in this respect. These two principles were not known through prophecy alone.”

Maimonides alters the conversion process as detailed by the Talmud to more closely resemble the revelation on Har Sinai! The ikkarei ha'das that are mentioned are the very same (Anochi and Lo Yihyeh) that the Jews heard directly from God at the mountain!

This has profound implications for how we view conversion. It is not, as we commonly perceive it, a process by which one "converts" to another nationality or race or religion. Rather, it is a process by which one joins the covenant by recreating the revelation at Sinai. The prerequisites for conversion are circumcision, immersion and sacrifice; without these, the act of conversion does not take affect. But the common conception that "kabalas hamitzvos," acceptance of the commandments, is a prerequisite for conversion, is, according to Maimonides, a misunderstanding of the fundamental nature of conversion. In Maimonides formulation, acceptance of the commandments, entering into the covenant, that IS the conversion. The process that Maimonides lays out essentially walks one through a recreation of the revelation at Sinai, where God introduced his Law to the Jewish people (the subsequent 8 commandments are viewed as the "miktzas chamuros v'kalos). That is why Maimonides splits up the laws pertaining to the prerequisites for conversion, and the actual process of conversion itself.

[It should be pointed out that the traditional statement that, once converted, if a proselyte returns to his former ways, even right away, he is considered a mumar, but still a Jew, makes sense. Acceptance of the commandments is not a prerequisite of conversion, rather, in Maimonides estimation, it is what you are signing up for! If you then choose to turn your back, that is a seperate issue.]

In summary, we've seen how Maimonides reformulation of the Talmud's process of conversion does not in fact point to a bias towards doxis over praxis; rather, it gives us deeper insight into the connection between conversion, covenant and what it means to become a Jew. Since Maimonides formulation seems to have been accepted by the Shulchan Aruch, this raises interesting questions regarding how we view converison nowadays. And regarding Shavuos, this helps give a better understanding of what we are really commemorating with the holiday. Shavuos is not a holiday that celebrates limud haTorah, but rather a celebration of the covenant between God and Yisrael. We learn not for the sake of learning, but to famliarize ourselves with God's ways, and to understand His love, justice and truth, so that we can recommit ourselves to our responsibilties.

Conversion: What Does it Take?

With Shavuos around the corner (and the recent RCA business), I thought I'd post some scattered thoughts on the relationship between Shavuos, conversion and the giving of the Torah. I'm sort of developing my thoughts on this as I go, with only an instinct as to how this stuff all fits together.

We will begin with a comparison of a passage that originates in the Talmud, noting the permutations it undergoes as we follow it through the Rambam, Tur and the Shulchan Aruch.

Yevamos, 47A:

Our rabbis taught: if at the present time a man desires to become a proselyte, he is to be addressed as follows: "What reason do you have for desiring to become a proselyte? Do you not know that at the present time Israel is persecuted and oppressed, despised, harrassed and overcome by afflictions?" If he replies, "I know, and yet am unworthy," he is accepted forthwith; and we make known to him a few simple commandments, and a few stringent commandments...

Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Laws of Forbidden Relations, 14:1-2

How do we accept righteous proselytes when one of them comes from amongst the idol worshippers, and we have ascertained his sincerity? "What reason do you have for desiring to become a proselyte? Do you not know that at the present time Israel is persecuted and oppressed, despised, harrassed and overcome by afflictions?" If he replies, "I know, and yet am unworthy," he is accepted forthwith; and we make known to him the fundamentals of our religion, which are the oneness of the Name and prohibition against idol woship, and we expound at great length upon this topic; and a few simple commandments, and a few stringent commandments, but we do not expound upon this topic.

Note the comment of the Maggid Mishneh:

All this is explained over there [i.e. Yevamos 47], except for the passage, "and you go into great detail regarding the oneness of the Name and the prohibition of idol worship," which is not mentioned there; but the matter is simple: since these things are the fundamentals of our religion and belief, we must clearly make them believed and known, and go into great detail regarding them, as they are the fundamentals of Judaism, religion and conversion.

Tur, Yoreh Deah, s. 268

...and make known to him some of the simple commandments, and some of the stringent commandments...

Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah, s. 268:1

...and we make known to him the fundamentals of our religion, which are the oneness of the Name and prohibition against idol woship, and we expound at great length upon this topic; and a few simple commandments, and a few stringent commandment...

Hopefully you noticed: Maimonides takes the gemara and flips it on its head. While the Talmud focuses on the legal obligations of the Torah, Maimonides focuses on ikkarei ha'das, the fundamentals of faith, making the main criteria for conversion not the acceptance of the yoke of the commandments, but knowledge of the dogmas of Judaism. This is a huge innovation, with huge ramifications for what it means to convert. As you can see, Rambam's formulation was not accepted by most of the rishonim (the Tur follows the Rosh, who did not make alterations to the gemara); the Shulchan Aruch, however, did incorporate the Rambam's formulation, with a slight adjustment.

To better understand what this means and why the Rambam would make such drastic alterations, we must examine the source of geirus, and than means examining the Giving of the Torah, from the perspective of both the Talmud and Maimonides.

R. Gottlieb on RCA Conversions

This past Shabbos, R. Gottlieb addressed the RCA Conversion issue. I'm going to do my best to summarize his message.

R. Gottlieb began by discussing the blasphemer (Lev 24:13-23). The blasphemer is incarcerated while Moshe asks God what his punishment should be. The Divrei Shaul explains that the people were unsure if they should even recognize his crime, as the idea that one could in some way harm God with words is absurd; perhaps by punishing him, they would lend validity to his actions. Their hesitation and clarification with God was to ascertain if his crime was worthy of a response. God answers that in this case, a response is needed.

R. Gottlieb continued, stating that in cases of communal "scandals," it's often a very fine line, and rabbis need to decide whether or not to countenance a story by officially recognizing it and addressing it. In some cases, however, the amount of harm done, and the amount of false information, demands a response. In the case of The Jewish Week's original article, R. Gottlieb said, a response was warranted. Without going into too much detail, he told us that The Jewish Week's article contained very little in the way of actual fact, and, in particular, attributing to them motivations such as a Modern Orthodox vs. Haredi or Tendler backlash were patently false (he gave several examples, such as a conversion done by haredi batei din outside Israel that were also rejected). R. Gottlieb also related the anguish caused to many members of the community as a result of the poor research presented as fact in The Jewish Week's article. R. Gottlieb did not go into further specifics as to the details of the situation, only saying that the Rabbanut was looking to implement a universal standard for conversion.

Further information from R. Basil Herring (via Canonist) corroborates this. ADDeRabbi has done some good digging into the inner-workings of the Rabbanut, but I am hesitant to state that his findings unequivocally prove that there is a specific Modern Orthodox bias at work here. Then again, articles like this one leave one wondering.

The Jewish Week published a follow-up article in last week's edition, again by Michele Chabin, which basically contradicts statements from the original article. If it was meant as a retraction, it should have been stated more explicitly.

Meshulach Alert

We've been visited by the same gentleman twice in the past week. A short, elderly Israeli man with a white beard, speaks Hebrew. He does not have a teudah from the Agudah (although he has several from out-of-town). He claims to be collecting for three cholim, and will show you checks from several people in town who have given him $100+ donations. He asks for checks, and refuses cash donations.

This same man was here a few months ago, with the same story and the same lack of credentials. He came to us this week (Wed. or Thursday) and was back this morning, making that three times he's visited us.

I usually refrain from discouraging people in areas of mitzvos, and obviously you're free to make your own decisions, but in this case, I'm fairly certain there's something shady going on, and I'm sick of this community being taken advantage of.

Baltimore Jewish News - A Review

I picked up a copy of the Baltimore Jewish News (which I am assuming is the publication formerly known as the Baltimore Orthodox Times) at Shoppers, hot off the presses. Keeping in mind that this is the first edition, I was, by and large, unimpressed.

The first half of the BJN can be summarized as, "Every day, more and more Orthodox Jews are born. They like to build things and eat." Seriously, who are these articles for? They aren't for the frum people, unless restating the obvious counts as news (What?!? There's a Goldman's Bakery, and Jews shop there?!? Whoah! Jews who keep kosher spend extra money to have kosher kitchens?!? Well I'll be!). So this must be for the non-Orthodox, in which case I would consider the articles superficial and voyueristic.

The second half of the BJN consisted mostly of columns, either of opinion, editorial or a Torah nature. This is where Avi Shafran let's us know that, really, his family is responsible for making Baltimore the place it is. Oh, and some other people. I counted two articles about R. Nueberger, one of which bore a striking resemblance to a column published the the Jewish Times a few months back. A Divrei Torah section, this week featuring Rabbi and Rebbetizen Goldberger, along with a column on local politics that looks promising, although it's too early to tell for sure. I did like the short interview with Dr. Andrew Goldfinger; I was jumping out of my chair when it looked as if we might get a substantive discussion of intelligent design from a frum Ph.D. in theoretical physics, but unfortunately all it left me with were some things to look up on Wikipedia (cf. Copenhagen Interpretation).

The advertising was unrestrainedly frum, replete with Yinglish slogans; clearly these advertisers have just been chomping at the bit to burst forth in all their yiddishe glory. The ads were actually the most informative part of the publication, with information about things going on in the community.

When I first heard about the imminent launch of a seperate publication for Baltimore's Orthodox community, I was skeptical and dismayed. Skeptical that it could (or would) be done in a way that would add something to the community, and dismayed by the fact that it represented a schism in the larger Jewish community. I don't blame the publishers for chasing the advertising dollars of the frum community, but if this is all we're going to get, I don't see the need. If I sound harsh it's because I really would like to see this be successful, and I do think the Orthodox community could use a publication that provides an honest look from a knowledgable yet detached point of view, to offer perspective, along with content that resonates with the communal interest. If we can't keep the greater Jewish community together, we can at least aim towards informing and uniting the Orthodox community, which is on the verge of breaking apart as well. Hopefully, the BJN can evolve into this; after all, this is only the first edition. We shall see.

Update: It was pointed out to me by one of my loyal readers that the regular Jewish Times contains pretty much all the articles recycled into the BJN; in which case, it's pretty clear what is going on: facing declining interest in the Jewish Times in the Orthodox demographic (attributed to various different causes, such as non-kosher restaurant reviews, under-dressed women in ads, and general non-Orthodox content), the JT has decided to re-purpose the Orthodox-friendly bits of content into a new publication, rebranded with ads from the community. Totally a business move.

Baltimore Orthodox Times Website

The Baltimore Orthodox Times is set to debut this week. Although nothing is live yet, it appears that the Baltimore Jewish Times has registered www.baltimoreorthodoxtimes.com. So, if they do have a web version, this is likely where it will be.

That's it for now. Move along, nothing to see here. These aren't the droids you're looking for. An so long, Ana Lucia.

Jews Love Idaho

I stumbled across a fascinating post entitled "Mapping Religion in America," which, not coincidentally, posts a bunch of maps detailing concentrations of different religious groups across the US. Read the entire post, if you have time, it's quite interesting. Or you can just look at the maps; lots of pretty colors.

Of particular interest to readers of this blog might be the map of Jews by county; bottom line, there's a lot of America where you might have trouble finding a minyan. Except if you happen to be in Idaho, in which case, you're in luck. The original post attributed this concentration to a ski resort that has attracted a large number of California expatriates, which could be true, but I wonder if there might be some other explanation.

Zeit für Rache?

The whole freedom of religion thing we've got going here in the U.S. of A. is nice and all, but every once in a while things happen that make me wonder if perhaps we are getting just a bit too comfortable here. Today's latest harbinger of doom:

Khal Ahavas Yisroel Tzemach Tzedek has arranged a siyum bechorim at BWI and Reagan National Airports on early Erev Pesach morning Wednesday April 12.

Never forget, people. Never forget.

The Rebbe Goes To Washington

In case your in DC tomorrow morning, stop on by the US Senate, which will open with a prayer in honor of the 104th birthday of R. Menachem Mendel Schneerson (hat top: Voz Iz Neias).

If you happen to be stuck up in New York, don't fret. You can still catch the Grand Mitzvah Tank Parade.

A grand Mitzvah Tank Parade of 56 (corresponding to the Rebbe's years of leadership) decorated RVs (recreational vehicles) will depart Lubavitch World Headquarters, on Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, on Thursday, April 6, at 10:30 a.m. The parade, with a special police escort, will go through the Manhattan Bridge, and will continue North on Avenue of the Americas to 59th Street, East to Fifth Avenue and South on Fifth Avenue to 23rd Street. From there the parade will disperse to 56 different "nerve centers" in the New York metropolitan area...

In other news, still no end to world hunger.

Orthodox Apprentice - Episode 5 - Jew vs. Jew

Dan is out. He fell for the oldest trick in the book, bringing the wrong person into the board room. Even more, he tried unsuccessfully to make a sacrifice of Lee (although his alternative was Lenny, so either way, it was Jew vs. Jew).

Ain't that always the way it goes down? They lift us up, and then let us kill each other off, one by one. Brother against brother. It's been that way for thousands of years, it's not stopping now.

At least now I can stop watching the show. Good job Dan, best of luck in all your future endeavors. Good luck to Lee, although your fate has most likely already been decided.

Matisyahu at Ram's Head Live

I've somehow managed to obtain tickets to tonight's sold-out Matisyahu show at Ram's Head Live. I'm debating whether or not to dust off the old Borsalino and dress up for the show. Peninah and I were at Ram's Head last week for O.A.R.'s show; it's a really nice venue, and they've got some pretty good shows (Friday night, Kansas is playing...KANSAS!). While the O.A.R. crowd was pretty monolithic ("Valley of Color" must be in refererence to the variety of polo shirts in the audience), I'm expecting Matisyahu to draw a more diverse audience.

We're planning on hanging out on the second level, so if you're at the show, stop on by and say hello (if you mention you read my blog, I might buy you a beer; or at least give you a sip of mine). We'll be the older, fatter guys trying to look cool with the women in shietels and knee-high leather boots.

Been Caught Learning

Perry Farrell, former member for Jane's Addiction and Porno for Pyros, has rediscovered his Jewish roots with the help of Chabad's San Francisco sh'liach, R. Yosef Langer. It's an interesting article, although the author seems a bit confused as to the proper usage of the phrase 'Messianic Judaism,' using it to refer to Lubavitch, which, while possibly correct, isn't the colloquial usage. I also find it interesting that, according to the article, R. Langer spends so much of his time with Farrell; it's reminiscent of Kabbalah's courtship of Madonna. Either way, I find stories like this interesting, not because I care if some former rock-star find religion, but for their explanations as to what aspects of religion led them back to their roots.

Farrell recently joined Matisyahu in San Francisco for Purimpalooza, a concert on Purim night, preceeded by a Megillah reading.

R. Langer calls Farrell by his Hebrew name, Peretz Farrell (reminds me of Rueven ben Peretz Farfel, for all you Frednecks out there).

The Orthodox Apprentice - Shomer Shabbos!

On tonight's Apprentice, Dan and Lee inform their team that they are taking off for Rosh HaShannah. Check out the preview of tonight's episode, found on The Apprentice homepage. Make sure to catch Lenny's equivocation of equation of working on the show to serving in the Israeli army (from which we learn that (a) Lenny is Jewish and possibly that (b) although the show bills him as Russian, he might be an Israeli-Russian).

Regardless of how this affects Lee or Dan on the show, it's a big Kiddush HaShem. I still think it would be awesome if one of the guys got fired for taking off, although I don't think that is going to happen (although with MOT George Ross sidelined for tonight's episode, anything is possible).

Orthodox Apprentice - Episode 2 Recap

Tonight's Orthodox Apprentice summary is courtesy of my own personal Carolyn...give it up for Peninah:

Just a few thoughts on tonight’s Apprentice:
-I neglected to pay when the candidates came back to the loft after the firing. That is usually when the other candidates are eating. Anyone notice what Dan and Lee were eating (or not eating)?
-Lee was project manager. He started off weak, but one thing that impressed me was that he was able to change course and recognized that he has a lot to learn. Nice job there.

-Dan was pretty much a non-entity again this week. I can only assume that is a good sign for him for the long term

-The scene in the Gillette offices when team gold rush was eating Pizza. Neither Dan nor Lee had food and in my personal opinion, both looked hungry.

-During the reward, the person in charge’s name was Brody. Dan looked ecstatic to meet/see him. Wonder if they are related. Could the reward have been more patronizing?

-Dan and Lee still safe. Keep it up, members of our tribe.

Orthodox Apprentice in the News

Steven I. Weiss has a JTA article about the Orthodox Apprentices; keep an eye out for the money quote from yours truly about four paragraphs in. Oh, and make sure to check out the rest of the article, too.

Orthodox Apprentice - Episode 1 Recap

So let's recap episode #1 of The Apprentice. As you may recall, the latest installment of The Apprentice with Donald Trump features two Jews (aside, of course, from George) with Orthodox backgrounds, Daniel Brody and Lee Bienstock. Both Daniel and Lee ended up on the same team, Gold Rush. Team Gold Rush lost the challenge and ended up in the board room. While Dan made it back to the suite safely, Lee ended up in the board room, but wasn't fired.

If I had to compare, Daniel looked very confident and presented himself well. Lee looked very nervous and, at times, unsure of himself, but did a good job sticking up for himself in the board room.

Nothing of a Jewish nature came up on the show this week, and neither Lee nor Daniel sported a yarmulka on the show. Hopefully we'll see more next time. Make sure to check back next week!

Apprentice Update

Some updates on the whole Orthodox Apprentice thing. I've been getting lots of hits for folks looking for info on Daniel Brody. Daniel has his own website, www.danielbrody.com; they were nice enough to link to Presence from their news page (Daniel, if you're reading this, your site is in desperate need of a blog; I'm available for consulting, if you like).

Some commenters have pointed out that Lee, another contestant, is also religious, and sports a yarmulka on the show. I don't have any other details other than what is listed on The Apprentice site.

The Orthodox Apprentice

Breaking News. Presence has learned, from various inside sources, that one of the contestants on the next season of The Apprentice is an Orthodox Jew. We have confirmed that the contestant Dan, from Miami, Florida, is none other than Daniel Brody (married to Baltimore's own Amy L.):

Dan (Miami, Fla.) Clothing Company Owner
Dan, 31, is the founder of Brody Sport, a designer brand of active-wear currently sold in prominent boutique shops and popular department stores. Dan has successfully launched several businesses during his entrepreneurial career beginning with a college venture, NYC Cafe "Grandma's Cookie Jar." This wholesale retail bakery boutique served as one of the earliest bakery suppliers for the city's Starbucks stores. Dan also owned YoCookie, a ready-to-bake cookie-dough brand shelved in more than 30 grocery stores even before "Grandma's Cookie Jar" was successfully sold. Dan's next venture was Swan Hat, one of the only "Made In The USA," headwear companies still in existence today. Swan Hat has a healthy department store base and the company's Straw Headwear division annually outfits the New York State Teachers Union - Labor Day Fifth Ave Parade, as well as other union parades and events throughout the country. Dan is passionate about religion and family and feels that you must make an exerted effort for those you love and give back to those in need. - from The Futon Critic

Update: Further blog-digging seems to indicate that Dan's Sabbath/Holiday observance did indeed cause problems on the show. No details whether or not this made it into the final cut. I personally think it would be AWESOME if Dan ended up getting fired for refusing to work on Shabbos or Yom Tov. The typical Tamir-Goodman-esque discussions of what constitutes a Kiddush Hashem are inevitable.

If you visit The Apprentice Season 5 home page, Dan is in the top right corner of the candidates picture. In the picture below, Dan is #12 (click to enlarge).

The new season of The Apprentice debuts on Monday, February 27 from 9-10 p.m.

Signs of the Apocolypse

Just in case you really miss the old bais medrash days, check out this CD of background noise from a real yeshiva to play while you laern at home, to "strengthen your private Torah study, creating a holy atmosphere and providing the experience of the pleasantness and life of Torah at all times and at all hours." There's really endless uses for this sort of thing. Play it at night, after the kids go to sleep, or in the car on the way to work. You can even bring it into your office, and shteig during your lunch break (if I play it while I daven mincha, am I davening with a minyan?). There's a sixteen minute sample available; if, for some inexplicable reason you find this insufficient, you can order a whole CD's worth.

Alternatively, you could listen to this mp3 of cicada sounds; they're only slightly less annoying, and will bring back those good old camp days when giant bugs tried to eat you alive. Take your pick.

[via AddeRabbi]

Baruch Dayan HaEmes

R. Naftali Neuberger, of Yeshivas Ner Israel, passed away over Shabbos. I knew R. Neuberger only by reputation, but I think it is safe to say that hundreds, if not thousands, owe their lives to him.

The Jewish Times has a triubute page to R. Neuberger. May his memory be for a blessing.

Time for Another Google Bomb

Many of you might remember the whole "the first result in Google for 'jew' was an anti-semitic website, let's all link to some other site to influence their results" episode that rippled across the Internet like a cannonball dive into a mikvah last year (details saved for posteriority at removejewwatch.com). The end result was a successful unseating of the anti-semitic site from the top spot (it now languishes in obscurity in the never-clicked #2 position) along with a permanent disclosure on Google's results page (explaining that, Hey, we love Jews, some of us are even married to Jews, and the fact that our system, which is designed to gauge the collective opinion of authority of the entire World Wide Web, considers an anti-semitic site to be the most authoritative resource on 'jew,' means that either there's a lot more anti-semites than Jews out there, or that Jews don't use the Internet, but reflects not a bit on how much we love Jews, even though we don't have kosher food in our cafeteria).

Today, I found another query that, I believe, warrants a new jihad-style Google Bombing: the top Google result for jews is the Jews for Jesus homepage. This is because people often link to the Jews for Jesus homepage with the words 'Jews for Jesus.' - Google's algorithms see this as an indication that their site is an authoritative source on the word 'jews'; for more information, take an Information Retrieval on the Web course at your local university.

The simple way to counter this is for everyone to link to a site that we want to push as the authoritative resource for the term 'jews.' The question is: which site to link to? As much as we'd all like the top result for 'jews' to be the Federal Reserve Board, or perhaps, some pointer to Hollywood, we must be realistic. We will achieve the quickest results by promoting the current #2 site, the Jews for Judaism homepage.

So, I call upon you, my wholly over-excitable brethren of the Internet: link to Jews for Judaism with the word jews. We shall take back our rightful place as the #1 result on Google! Of course, our other option is to sit back, chill out, and realize that this is all a bit ridiculous, Google can't define us (it's not like Google shapes world opinion in any such way, right?), and, yeah, there's a lot of people out there who don't like us. Ahh, that's better.

Note: a suggestion to our Christian brethren: the top result for Jesus in Google is the Jesus dress-up site. We may have taught you a lot over the last 2000 years, but none of it compares to what we can teach you now about the value of the Google Bomb!

Update: For a good laugh, check out the Google ads on this post (click through to the individual entry page if you're reading this from the homepage). Talk about conspiracies! I've also been made aware that the folks at Jews for Judaism have been alerted to this problem and are gearing up for action as we speak. To tell you the truth, this was meant more as a joke. Oh well. Get 'em boys!

In shul, no one knows you're a blogger...

A brief excerpt from an email conversation I had with Aishel (formerly of Aishel).

AISHEL: I'll be at the 9:00 minyan [at Shomrei] on Shabbos.
ME: I frequent the 8:15 minyan (I'm the gabbai); [if you come] I can guaruntee you an aliyah.
AISHEL: whoah, you're the gabbai? You gave me hagbah last week! LOL

Radio Ga-Ga

So, apparently, a lot more people than I thought listen to Shalom USA. Yes, I was the "Greg" who called in towards the end of the show. For the few of you who weren't listening, the show's host, Jay Bernstein, mentioned something about Sri Lanka's rejection of aid from Israel. On a typical Sunday morning around 10:45 in the AM, I'm trying to get my kids to play something that allows me to nap on the couch without the house burning down; today, it just so happened, I was on my way back from Annapolis after helping my father install an ice heater, and so I was able to tune in. I've always enjoyed the show, but am usually not able to listen to more than a few minutes, and certainly unable to call in. Today, however, a long, open stretch of 695 lay between me and my couch, nights and weekends were free, and I was feeling a tad ornery after missing the segment with Alan Mittleman while installing said ice heater. And so, I felt the urge to speak up.

It seems, despite the fact that so many people seem to listen to the show, the line to get on the air is disproportionately small. My call was quickly taken, and I pointed out that Sri Lanka had, in fact, only rejected aid from Israeli military personnel, not from Israel, or Jews, in general. Jay then responded that, in any case, the military personnel rejected were competent and trained doctors with extensive experience in emergency situations, and the rejection was irrational and detrimental to their citizens' well-being. Jay's probably right, although I could, in some way, understand a country's reluctance to allow soliders from a foreign military with a low popular regard (independent of whether this view was founded or unfounded) to enter the country as a somewhat reasonable position, especially at a time when their infrastructre was ashambles after a sudden and unexpected tragic geological event, and their populace not readily controllable by customary methods. But I'm willing to concede the point.

I then made a somewhat cryptic comment about the Vatican, which I will now spin as having been a comment on the mistranslation of the article by the CWN, not the actual statement, of the L'Observatorio, which may or may not have been what I was originally talking about. More detail available from less muddled sources is readily available.

Lessons learned? Probably none, other than, apparently, only wackos actually call into the show (I'm fighting an inner impropriety demon not to make a joke here), and that if you call in the morning, expect to hear about it at mincha. Special thanks S.J. and E.L. for giving my face that special shade of red.

Jewish Bloggers Blogging

All this talk of Jewish blogs reminds me I've been meaning to link to a few new/renewed Jewish blogs.

The first is Braindrops. If you wonder why the posts here have been so sparse, it's partly because I'm trying to get through Moishe Potemkin's caffeine-fueled, libertarian-leaning Bush-doctrine apologetics and general political stylings. In all seriousness, he's quite good, and not the least bit unpragmatic. I'll even go so far as to dub him "Andrew Sullivan Jr." or something like that. Check him out.

In other news, Elliott Cahan, still on the ballot for a Baltimore City Council seat next Tuesday (despite the fact that he now lives halfway across the world) has transformed his Cahan for City Council blog into The Cahans in Israel. Elliott is posting pictures and thoughts about his last few weeks in the States, and his experiences on making Aliyah, as well as pictures of him and assorted Baltimore Ravens. My campaign contributions hard at work. And remember, send a message this Tuesday: Vote Cahan!

The 142nd fastest gun in...Rockland County?

This article about a Hasidic cop in good ole' Rockland County looks to be about five years old, but the picture makes it timeless.

And, of course, where would a Hasidic man of the law be with out the standard set of Yiddish cop lines:

...a collection of useful phrases:
"Vas is dan numen (What's your name)?"
"Is ales in ordernung (Are you all right)?"
"Vi azoi hot er oizgesen (What did he look like)?"

Conspiracy? What Conspiracy?

The recent edition of the YU Commentator comments on the cardinals visit to Yeshiva University. The head of the delegation was Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, Archbishop of Paris. Towards the end of the article, an interesting factoid is mentioned:

Cardinal Lustiger, considered by some to be a likely candidate in the next papal conclave, is of exceptional interest to the Jewish community. Lustiger, 77, was born Aaron Dov, the son of Polish Jews who immigrated to France. He attended school at a Catholic monastery where he was safely hidden throughout World War II. Though he chose to convert to Catholicism at the tender age of 13, the archbishop has consistently refused to shake his Jewish heritage. His mother was killed at Auschwitz in 1943 and, to this day, he recites Kaddish for her. Cardinal Lustiger has been at the forefront of bridging the gaps between Catholics and Jews, and his role in the next papacy could have reverberating effects.

I know there's no conspiracy, but sometimes I wonder...

The Commentator also has an interesting interview with Joe Kashnow, G.I. Jew.

G.I. Joe

For those of you who remember my post about the Orthodox Jewish Baltimorean U.S. solider wounded in Iraq (Joe Kashnow), check out this cover story from last week's Baltimore Jewish Times.

Joe is still recuperating, but, as the article details, he has started the Jewish Soldier Foundation, whose mission is to help Jews enlisted in the U.S. armed forces. The article recounts some of the situations Joe faced as an Orthodox Jew in the U.S. Armed Forces, including a lack of kosher food and scorn from fellow soldiers. The foundation's goal is to make sure these things don't happen again.

What Joe is doing is a tremendous thing. Every day, people suffer, some more than others. And every day, people wonder why it is they who are suffering, and not others. Some take their suffereing and grow from it, by giving it meaning. We may never be able to understand the reason for our suffering, but we can give it meaning and help others, to alleviate their suffering.

Lastly, I have to quote one part of the article that made me chuckle:

When he first reached his wife by phone at their home in Colorado Springs, near his home base at Fort Carson, shortly after the attack, Mr. Kashnow launched into detail about the explosion. He told her only that a nameless member of his company had been hurt, describing the soldier's wounds — open fractures of his left tibia and fibula, shrapnel wounds in both legs and one arm — and making it clear the injured man would be fine — never letting on the soldier was himself.

"'So, how are you,'" she remembers asking, once he had finished his tale. "Then he said, 'Yeah, it was me.'

Pure, 100% Kashnow.

Please continue to daven, learn, and say tehillim for YOSEF ELIYAHU BEN MALKA ITA.
May he, and all of the sick in Klal Yisroel have a SPEEDY AND COMPLETE RECOVERY.

Talking in Shul?

Our new rabbi is conducting a series of meeting with the membership of the shul (this is quite an ambitious task; at last check, we have about 450 families). Each week, a group of around 20 families is invited over to discuss what they like and don't like about Shomrei. The G's and H's went last week.

The most common complaint in our group had to do with the amount of talking during davening. Many voiced the concern that there was entirely too much talking, that it was disrespectful, and ruined the davening. The comments, I believe, were directed mostly towards the main minyan, which I rarely attend, so I can't say whether or not they are founded or unfounded claims (I do know that the amount of talking at the Shabbos Mincha minyan has steadily declined to what I would consider acceptable levels). It was interesting that R. Gottlieb mentioned at the end that our group was the only group so far that focused so heavily on talking. Perhaps there's a lesson in group dynamics in there somwhere.

My observation was that most of the people who were more concerned about the talking, when they described how they viewed the shul, characterized it as a "Makom Tefillah". I took this to mean the shul is a place to fulfill your daily obligation of praying with a minyan three times a day, and not much else. In fact, most shuls in Baltimore are probably best characterized as such. But not Shomrei, or at least, not the Shomrei that R. Gottlieb is trying to build (and, I would add, not the Shomrei of the past, either). For many people, the shul is more than a place to pray; it is also a place to study, a place to see your friends, eat copious amounts of unhealthy food and in general to engage in social activities in a religious setting. Obviously there is a time and a place for each of these (no chulent during laining), but the fact of the matter is, the shul is really, for a lot of people, myself included, their connection and central point religiously.

For many, however this is not the case. More and more, people are connected with their yeshiva (in Baltimore's case, Ner Israel), and maintain a strong connection well after their departure. This is not a bad thing at all, but I think here we begin to see the effect it has on the community. For these people, shul is a place to pray, and nothing else. Their focal point remains outside the community and their neighbors. When it comes to bigger issues like building funds, activities, or even small things like being sensitive to the needs of others around you, this attitude takes its toll.

I'll end off by saying that one of the last things R. Weinreb spoke about before he left was making the shul more of a focal point in the community, particularly regarding children and teenagers. He felt that part of the problem we are facing with teens-at-risk could be alleviated by developing a stronger, friendlier environment away from the schools and yeshivos.

Jewish Baltimore Bloggers

Found one! David Gerstman (no relation) contributes to not one, but four (4) active blogs (one more than I contribute to, by the way). His main blog is SoccerDad, along with Doubting Thomas, a blog aimed at critiqueing the work of Thomas Friedman of the New York Times. He also contributes to Israpundit and Bsurot. Check it out.

I emailed David and told him about Baltiblogs, so hopefully we can get him to switch over. Baltiblogs uses MovableType, which supports easy import of Blogger archives, and provides built-in comments, trackback and RSS. Blogger is a great free service, but once you get serious about blogging, you start to realize the advantages to MovableType.

Either way, I should start a list of Baltimore J-Bloggers...

Small world

Ivyjews discuss Harold Bloom's legacy, which is interesting in and of itself. What I found the most intriguing was this:

...Harold Bloom is none other than [Yeshiva University] President [Richard] Joel's uncle!

I had no idea I went to high school with Harold Bloom's great-nephew! I'm surprised HAGWASH never tried to cash in on this. I'm not sure I would have cared back then, but Vanderwalde would have plotzed.

In other news, Mazel Tov to Avery Joel and Ari Vanderwalde on their recent engagements (not to each other, mind you). I'm sure, one day, they'll find this via Google and wish they'd invited me to their weddings.