Prime Minister Ehud Olmert promised a visiting delegation of Conservative rabbis from the United States that Israel would maintain a "policy of openness" on the issue of conversions to Judaism overseas. Olmert met the rabbis on Sunday.
At the meeting, Rabbi Jerome Epstein, Executive Vice President of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, told Olmert of the Conservative movement's objection to Chief Sephardi Rabbi Shlomo Amar's initiative not to recognize Diaspora conversions in Israel.
Olmert said that Amar's initiative had not been discussed in the cabinet and that he was committed to maintaining the present open policy on conversion.
Epstein, who reported to his colleagues in New York about his conversation with Olmert, said on Monday that the prime minister's message was clear - Olmert supports the Conservative rabbis' position on conversions.
Epstein said the prime minister also promised that if a new committee were to be formed on conversion, like the Neeman committee in the past, Conservative movement members can expect to play a role in it.
Gasp! A committee representing a plurality of Jews! Nooo!
For reasons he himself probably doesn't know, Yona Metzger agreed to an online Q&A at the Jerusalem Post. Highlights here (hat-tip to Failed Messiah).
Max Rositan, Toronto, Canada: Since there is absolutely nothing explicit in the Torah about considering someone being Jewish only because person's mother is Jewish isn't it time to start considering people who only have Jewish father being Jewish? In our times when thanks to DNA evidence we can establish with a 100% certainty who person's father was lets stop alienating almost 50% of Diaspora Jews. These people are not at fault for "transgressions" of their fathers. I am writing this as a traditional Jew who can trace my maternal Jewish ancestors at least to the beginning of the 19th century.
Rabbi Metzger: The basic assumption is wrong. The Torah clearly states that appropriating a person to a specific nationality is determined by the mother only, just as the Talmud tractate of Kidushin interprets the verse forbidding a man to wed his daughter to a gentile "for they will turn away thy son from following me" in the sense that only if your son was born to an Israelite mother can be called "your son" but if your son is born from a worshiper of the stars, he can only be referred to as her son. Therefore it is not allowed to consider the identity of a person by the identity of the father.
What about Moses' kids? What God did the Midianites worship?
Liza Zimmerman, Budapest: Dear Rabbi, my question is about the Kabbalah. Is there any stream in Judaism that doesn't accept it? Is the Torah, which has been given direct from Hashem not enough? Rabbi Metzger: There is no stream in Orthodox Jewry - the original Jewry - that does not accept the Kabbalah, the Kabbalah is a secret Torah and is one of the deepest layers of interpreting the Torah and understanding the Creator's way in running the world. Debunked here.
Gil Bashe, Metuchen, NJ: Rav Shilt"a, how can we best address the challenges of intermarriage? What do you recommend to welcome these families into our community and encourage fuller participation? B'Todah
Rabbi Metzger: Jewish education should be encouraged - Jews in the Diaspora should study in Jewish schools teaching the values of Jewish tradition, which emphasizes the uniqueness and special status of Jews among other nations, and strengthens our national pride. The problem you mentioned exists mainly in universities, and I believe that after a rooted, proud Jewish education, University encounters would not lead to intermarriages.
Or better yet, don't send your kids to college. Or keep them in an insular ghetto and don't tell them about the outside world. Tell them goyim put Jewish blood in their Bud Light! The possibilities abound!
Tracy Drucker, New York: I'm concerned about the lack of solidarity, the outright hostility among different secular and religious groups within Israel at a time of extreme vulnerability. Couldn't leaders like you initiate a temporary "truce", and foster a spirit of kindness, integrity and brotherhood to be strong to face Israel's enemies? It hurts so much to watch the country tearing itself apart. Thank you for this opportunity.
Rabbi Metzger: We are acting in many ways to bridge the gaps so that we can live together as one people. The situation is definitely not encouraging and openness on both sides is needed. I think there were harder times in the past, and genuinely hope that we can take the right way together. It is important to point out that one of the foundations of the unity of the nation between religious and non-religious people is the education system of the schools:
A) Educating towards respecting one's peers and loving Israel, as the Torah states "Love thy neighbor".
B) Expanding Jewish studies - the values of religion and the sources of prayer and Mitzvoth that would help bridge the gap, which stems mainly from lack of knowledge and prejudice.
Why not have haredim study the ways of the world, while you're out it? You know, things like science and archeology and astronomy, so that in addition to Talmud, Jews of all different approaches can discuss facts in addition to theology.
What you're suggesting here, rabbi, is that if only every Jew became frummer, hostilities would cease. Not only is this extremely patronizing to non-frummies in its assumptions, it's also damn ignorant. Take a look at Satmar and Bobov sometime and get a clue. And ditto for you, Tracy. Jews fight. It's what we do. Is it optimal? Maybe not. But better some infighting than a moribund bunch of yes-men. It's GOOD that Jews, all kinds of Jews, care enough to disagree with each other. Saying we should all just sing kumbaya because "Israel is vulnerable" is the product of a really bizarre worldview. This isn't the Warsaw Ghetto. Israel (and the rest of the world's Jews) is a vibrant democracy, and that's good for the state and the faith. Furthermore, a lot of the divisive issues constantly being batted around are IMPORTANT. Asking someone like Metzger (who doesn't represent anyone) to put a band-aid on the whole situation isn't just unfeasible, it's also undesirable. Putting on a front of false unity doesn't accomplish anything- Somehow I doubt Iran or the Palestinians are going to care much if Jews stop fighting about women at the Kotel or following Orthodox halakha on conversions.
Last one:
Barry Hammer, Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Do you feel that there is a lack of people who can properly guide Jews into answering "Why should I be religious" without falling back on the answer "Because that's how you're supposed to live your life" or "Because G-d said so"? If so, what would you suggest we do to help fight this problem? If not, how would you approach a Jew who has fallen off the derech?
Rabbi Metzger: The true answer is "because this is the only true way and there is no other." There are not several truths and the way of Judaism is the only one that can be logically proven. It is hard to give general advice on how to approach a Jew who has left the righteous way, and each case should be regarded individually. Keeping the Mitzvoth should be encouraged while observing the wholeness they give to the person keeping them.
Logically proven, huh? I'd be interested in reading that book.
El Al fired their "Chief Rabbi" (thereby causing this to appear in my Google Alerts messages under "Chief Rabbi"). Question- why is he a Chief Rabbi? Are there Ashkenazic and Sephardic Chief Rabbis, to deal with different issues, like whether El Al can serve rice over Passover?
It's unclear exactly who was behind the move to fire the guy, but it looks like he's been phased out in favor of his haredi subordinate.El Al said the layoff of Lt.-Col. (res) Katzir, former deputy chief rabbi of the IDF, was part of streamlining measures. However, haredi sources in El Al said that Katzir was superfluous.
"He did not help El Al in the recent negotiations with the haredim because he is a religious Zionist," said the source. "And kosher supervision of food is already taken care of by the caterers."
Maybe he didn't help because no one would talk to him. But clearly that's his fault. Doesn't ANYBODY ELSE fly on this damn airline?
Well, it's not all bad...
So, basically, guy number 1 replaces Katzir, guy number 2 wants him back, and guy number three (also known as "vote for me, get amulet, vote against, go to hell), waffles. Interesting.Katzir, who held a part time position at El Al, told The Jerusalem Post that he did not know the reason for the layoff. But he verified reports that Rabbi Avraham Yosef, son of Shas's spiritual Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, was working behind the scenes to get Katzir reinstated.
Avraham Yosef, now chief rabbi of Holon, was Katzir's deputy when Katzir served as chief rabbi of the IAF.
However, sources in El Al said that during a friendly meeting between El Al CEO Haim Romano and Rabbi Ovadia Yosef three days ago, Yosef, who already knew about Katzir's layoff, did not try to convince Romano to backtrack.
"All he said was that Katzir should be treated respectfully," said the El Al source.
Other news: Ukrainian Jews are asking the government to give them their Judaica objects back so they can restart their communities again. It's an interesting idea:
Testifying to a rich Jewish past, museums in the western Ukrainian city of Lvov hold hundreds of Jewish artifacts that once belonged to local synagogues and Jewish institutions.
Now the few practicing Jews here say they need the artifacts back to reinvigorate their community. "Our congregation is trying to bring Jewish tradition back, and we need these Torah scrolls and religious objects," said Valentina Zamichkovskaya, 67, a member of the Lvov Reform Jewish congregation.
Ukrainian authorities seem open to the possibility.
"We are ready to transfer some items to the Jewish communities upon their request," Roman Kurash, a representative of the Lvov Regional Administration in charge of religious affairs, told JTA. "Ukrainian authorities are ready to resolve the issue on the condition that these objects are used for religious community purposes," said Alexander Sagan, a senior adviser to President Viktor Yuschenko.
Well that's good. Of course, some things aren't always so simple.
Lvov now is home to some 2,000 Jews. Aside from the Reform congregation, there's a large Orthodox shul run by Rabbi Mordechai Shloime Bold, a Karlin-Stonliner Chasid. The synagogue was confiscated by the Bolsheviks but was returned to the community in 1989, shortly before the fall of communism. Another Orthodox minyan, or prayer group, is run by a longtime Jewish community and human-rights activist, Meilach Sheichet.
Members of these groups acknowledge that many of the scrolls and Judaica objects may never be returned to proper religious use, given the small size of the community. But they insist the city should help the community transfer Judaica from municipal museums to a new Jewish museum that Jewish organizations want to open.
Politics, anyone? Still, if anyone's to have auspices over confiscated Judaica in the former SU, it's probably better that it be the Jews. But then you get into the problem of which Jews- the Orthodox? The Chief Rabbis (mostly Chabad emissaries)?
Oh, and speaking of Chabad...
"Museums must return all Torah scrolls to the communities," Rabbi Azriel Chaikin, a chief rabbi of Ukraine and the main Chabad-Lubavitch authority in the country, told JTA. "Religious silver and some other objects we can discuss separately, but Torahs must be returned."Hmm. Well, they do tend to be a little more brusque than most.
Baruch Marzel's been in the news a bit lately. First he offered to help "expel" Yonatan Bassi. Now he's calling Ephraim Sneh a slut. Fair enough, I guess, as long as he's willing to apply the same fine-tooth comb to his own guys- like the would-be child killers in Bat Ayin, and the FBI informant (narc?)-turned-black-beater-enabler-of-terrorism-and, oh yeah-philanderer- Meir Kahane. How about it, Baruch?
The Jpost has some interesting remarks about Hebronites, though. A pretty good article, though the author seems to fall into this weird guilt-trap:
what the officer and the settler pragmatists fail to acknowledge is that there is no one else prepared to go through what the Hebron settlers do. Ninety-nine percent of settlers live in what are in effect dormitory suburbs of Jerusalem and Gush Dan. Those living deeper in the West Bank at least enjoy large villas and gardens at prices that won't buy a two-bedroom flat in Petah Tikva.But of course, no one asked Mrs. Alkobi to go to Hebron, no one forced her into it. The people in Hebron are there because they believe that it is where they are meant to be, and they treat their neighbors the way they do because they think that's the right thing to do. These people volunteered to live in these "warrens", and they can leave if they truly want. Besides, what happened to the Israeli pioneer ethos? Somebody choosing a difficult life doesn't excuse bad behavior, not even if they feel they're doing it "on behalf" of somebody else. Baruch Goldstein, so the story goes, thought he was killing Arabs on behalf of his fellows. That doesn't excuse what he did.The Hebronites raise their large families in cramped warrens, with windows blocked off from the Palestinian's line of fire, in constant danger of terror attacks, cut off from most of the material benefits of Israeli society. That kind of life calls for a certain type of idealist, and also causes a certain coarsening of character. Most of their supporters prefer to do so from afar. More moderate right-wing politicians and spokespeople prefer not to be drawn into questions on the Hebron settlers, not wishing to condone their actions while being careful not to appear anything less than steadfast in their support of the Jewish people's right to the city of our forefathers.
...The short video of Yifat Alkobi repeatedly calling a Palestinian woman, hiding behind bars protecting her home, "sharmuta, sharmuta" (whore) dominated the airwaves and Web sites more than any yearly report. Perhaps it was the incongruity of a head-covered religious woman using such coarse language. Alkobi drew almost universal denunciation except from the ultra-rightists, who retorted that she was merely voicing her frustration at the joint persecution of the settlers by the Palestinians, left-wingers, journalists and IDF soldiers.
But more that anything, it revealed something that most Israelis, especially on the right-wing, would prefer not to admit. The Hebron settlers might be a tiny minority in Israeli society, but as they have been allowed to live there for almost four decades, defended by the IDF and receiving most of the social, educational and health services there, they are indeed the representatives of the state, whether we like it or not. Whether or not we as Israelis support the right of Jews to continue living in Hebron, Yifat Alkobi is there on behalf of all of us.
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