![[MLJ Logo]](http://www.mljewish.org/mlj.gif)
www.mljewish.org
|
www.mljewish.org |
Mail.Liberal-Judaism |
| Volume 2 Number 12 | Tue Jul 21 11:04:59 1992 |
Date: Mon, 20 Jul 92 17:59:46 PDT From: mdcsc!ah@uunet.uu.net (Alexander Herrera) Subject: Re: Abortion Abortion is such an emotionally charged subject that it seems to polarize people. People are thrown into one camp or the other. If one says that there may be circumstances where an abortion is justified, one is immediately labeled a "baby-killer." On the other hand, if one agrees that some restrictions on abortion are appropriate, one is labeled a right-wing, facist fundamentalist. The real problem is when someone falls close to the middle where one believes that abortion should be made available, but some restrictions on abortion are appropriate. That is where Reform seems to fall. If the liberal interpretation of Halacha puts the abortion limit at 27 weeks, I feel quite uncomfortable with Reform's decision even though it seems like they give a good amount of consideration for the fetus. On the other hand, 40 days seems somewhat restrictive. In either case, I am not going to put up a fight even if it became law. Most abortions done in this country are immoral. It is my perception that most abortions are done because of inconvenience, poor planning, or as a means of reverse birth control. Considering the special status of a fetus, these are not very good reasons and I think I conform to Reform's position on this. Nevertheless, just because I think something is wrong doesn't mean I will organize a march against it. I think adultery is wrong too, but I don't want people arrested for doing it. 93% of the abortions done in this country are in the first trimester anyway. That seems reasonable to me. This is all serious business. I am saddened by the number of abortions performed in this country. I am Pro-Choice, not Pro-Abortion. Alex Herrera uunet!mdcsc!ah [Note: Politically-based responses are more appropriate for the net (talk.abortion) or via Email. If possible, I'd like the discussion to be your reaction to the Reform reasoning (full details in our archives, in info-files/abortion). -- Yr. Mod.]
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 92 18:15:52 IST From: Bob Klein <kl2@cu.nih.gov> Subject: Is there a need for foster care for Jewish Children? After reading about refugees from Bosnia, my wife and I were wondering whether there was any need for foster care for Jewish children. We have in mind something like what was done for Iranian Jewish children after the fall of the Shah. If anyone on this list is aware of such a need or such a program, please let me know. Fell free to crosspost this to any other list you think appropriate. I can be reached on both BITNET and the Internet: BITNET kl2@nihcu Internet kl2@cu.nih.gov Thanks in advance for any input. Bob Klein
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 11:43 EDT From: Michael J. Snider <mjs@utrc.utc.com> Subject: Judaism and its perseverance I have been reading various recent articles on the subject of intermarriage, etc. and was struck by the abundance of vague, philosophical approaches and the lack of practical ones. In particular, the fact that not one of us ever questions HOW we Jews managed to survive the past 2000 years in exile. I doubt that anyone can put forth a satisfactory answer from a secular humanistic or sociological perspective, because our story is unique - other nations have been conquered, other nations have been dispersed, other nations have been persecuted (see Toynbee, History of Nations) yet Judaism is the only one to have survived. But our survival is more amazing than that! Just consider: For approximately 1000 years BCE (before the common era) we existed as an independant nation (except during the Babylonian exile) with unique characteristics: - Monothiesm (not just belief in one god, as opposed to their gods, but a belief that there _is_ only one G-d, Who created and rules over all, to the exclusion of all other possibilities) - Exclusivity - Spirituality - G-d as absolute - Morality - Human brotherhood - Against homosexuality The various cultural/secular variants which appeared throughout have all disappeared (idol worship, Babylon, Hellenists, Sadduccees). THEN we were in exile for 1900 years: - Minorities, scattered, with no central authority, under varied cultural influences - in comparison with Christianity, which was never under anyones control, we should have a few hundred different types of Judaism, all claiming to be the sole authoritative one... no such thing. This is based on the fact that these sects differ on the content of the -original information- which their so-called prophet/man-god gave them, as opposed to Jewish groups which reject the lifestyle... We are historically unique in this regard. - Instead, we find relative unity in the Traditional camps on the original information - Torah, Mishnah, Talmud. Possible explanations: - Persecution; it is illogical to infer that the thousands of different types of persecutions we suffered KEPT US ALIVE! Was it a twisted goal of theirs to torture versus kill us? "Let's teach them a lesson - we will let them LIVE!" Not. Different persecutions of different minorities scattered all over the globe which produced nearly identical, surviving groups cannot be reasonably ascribed to as the reason for our survival. - Genes/genius for survival; Not possible - compare with the offshoots of Judaism (Hellinists, etc.) which disappeared. - Unique values, literature, customs, etc.; there is simply no proof for this theory; on the contrary - it begs the question (how did they originate? Could these unique values be born in a culture which rewarded them with death? Why would they be born?) this area also poses a problem for the naturalistics' explanation (Kaufman). What is the lesson? Maybe, just maybe - a specific cultural form survives inexplicably because of........G-d, who wants us to. Think about it. Mike
Date: Mon, 20 Jul 92 10:14:29 EDT From: heidia@med.unc.edu (Heidi Aycock) Subject: Re: Reform Judaism and Common Sense Doesn't religion defy -- or at least claim immunity from -- common sense? Common sense tells us that the Red Sea couldn't have parted like it did without some influence that isn't bound by the rules of common sense. In case you can come up with a practical explanation for the Red Sea, here's another. Common Sense tells me that the light that I see in my child is pure parental pride. It is not his soul; it is not anything inside my son. However, Jewish myth tells me that the light is piece of the shattered perfection of creation, one of the pieces that must be used to mend the vessel (I'm probably bending this myth a little because I can't remember it completely, sorry). For my money, the myth makes more sense than the reason in this case. Both reason and religion should inform our decisions, I think. They complement each other and sometimes conflict. Decisions that somehow reconcile these conflicts are, for me, better decisions. I believe this position was taught to me during my reformed religious education. Certainly not in the public schools. In my mind, both reasons and religion are necessary sources to turn to when I face an ethical dilemma. For others, I'm sure this is different.
Date: Mon, 20 Jul 92 11:32:18 PDT From: mdcsc!ah@uunet.uu.net (Alexander Herrera) Subject: Re: Reform Judaism and Common Sense Lenore Levine <levine@symcom.math.uiuc.edu> writes: > So I'm throwing the matter up to you readers: What do you think is the > *ultimate* guide on matters of ethical policy: Your own intuition, or some > specific manual, whatever it might be? Many ethical matters are complex, and whether to appeal to your common sense or to "manuals" depends on what you base your moral authority on. If you base your moral authority on G-d, then you must consult those documents that speak with the authority of G-d. The Torah comes immediately to mind for me. If you do not believe there are any such documents and you believe in G-d, your second choice might be to consult G-d directly through prayer and meditation. This is fraught with difficulties because it is easy to mistake one's own desires for G-d's will especially in emotion packed issues like abortion. Unless one is practiced in prayer and meditation (and in my opinion, Torah), this is a less reliable path to a decision. One might also consult G-d's vicar on earth. I don't think Judaism has such a representative of G-d unless you count the Great Sanhedrin. It no longer exists anyway (as much as I'd like it to). This is a world where we can keep a person's body alive indefinitely and without pain while his torn and battered soul remains tortured. G-d says we shall not murder, but if we take away some of the life support devices, are we committing murder? Some people's intuition says yes. Others' intuition says no. Who has the authority to arbitrate? A new life is conceived, but in a month it is swept away by an abortion attempt. Was the fetus alive as we are? Did we just murder? These are tough questions even for one who doesn't believe in G-d. If each person is his own authority (following his own intuition without regard to G-d's authority), then the decision to abort has the same moral value as the decision to have a child. This is not a Reform position. Reform does not regard Halacha as binding, but it does regard Halacha as guiding, and will often look to it for such guidance in making these decisions. I think the individual should do no less if they are Reform. Ultimately, intuition is not enough. I haven`t covered what is to be done if one does not believe in G-d. I will leave that to the atheists on this list. Alex Herrera uunet!mdcsc!ah
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 11:09 EDT From: Mike Snider <mjs@utrc.utc.com> Subject: Reform vs. Reconstructionist What is the difference between Reform and Reconstructionist? As far as I can tell, they are quite similar. Although I am not familiar with the 'theological views' of either one, I would be interested in hearing from those in either camp as to what makes them unique and viable. Mike [Please note: This mailing list is not the place to debate that viability. You are free, however, to state as a member of the movement why you think it is viable (but be careful with your words). Debates regarding the viability or validity of movements are for the morass of s.c.j, which we can mercifully bypass here. -- Yr. Mod.]
Submissions should be mailed to either submit@mljewish.org or mlj@shamash.org. Please clearly mark your submission as a submission, and include either a relevant subject line or a reference to the issue to which you are replying.
If you would like to subscribe to MLJ, please complete the Subscription Request Form, or send a message to the moderator (listmgt@mljewish.org) requesting to be added to the list. Please include your first and last names in your request.
Backissues may be obtained by Email by completing a Backissue by Email Request Form. A specific backissue may be retrieved interactively by completing a Request Form.
Publishing any of the mail.liberal-judaism digests or portions thereof on any other medium including soc.culture.jewish without consulting the moderator and/or the originator of the article represents a breach of trust. Please remember why this list was created and that contributers may not want to discuss the "correctness" of their beliefs from your point of view. Also note that many of the people who write in wish their privacy preserved. Thank you for your cooperation with these restrictions.
"It is not our task as liberal Jews to complain about the Orthodox attitude or to be bullied by it, but rather to choose our legitimate path according to the inner logic and development of liberal Judaism" (Rabbi Walter Jacob)
| Previous Issue: v2n11 | Next Issue: v2n13 | |
MLJ Home Page
|
Return to Retrieval Form |