Mail.Liberal-Judaism

• Adina S Levin <alevin@world.std.com>

• peter@seattleu.edu (Peter Mark)

• Jonathan Mark <jsmark@aol.com>

• Sherman Kaplan <Sherman_Kaplan@cpsnet2.cps.edu>

• Rabbi Andrew M Sacks <mssing@pluto.mscc.huji.ac.il>

• Jeffrey Cohen <JC924@albany.albany.edu>

• lschweit@stu.athabascau.ca (Lawerence D. Schweitz)

• feldmhs2@aplcomm.jhuapl.edu (Howard Feldmesser)

Date: Mon, 4 Jul 1994 20:29:20 -0700
From: Adina S Levin <alevin@world.std.com>
Subject: 9 Av Interpretations

I would like to seek information about contemporary interpretations of Tisha
B'Av. I have always had some trouble with the day as traditionally
practiced. How does one mourn the destruction of Jerusalem when cranes and
earthmovers are rumbling through the Old City?  How is 9 Av interpreted by
Jews who do not hope to restore a theocracy in Israel?

Does anyone have sources they can recommend, or stories they can share about
observances, and liturgies for Tisha B'Av.

Thanks, ASL

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Date: Tue, 5 Jul 1994 15:08:11 -0700
From: peter@seattleu.edu (Peter Mark)
Subject: Re: Bilaam the Psychic Fool

On Mon, 27 Jun 94, Rabbi Steve Gindi <RabiSteve@aol.com> wrote a note about
Bilaam the psychic fool.  His original comments are preceded with the ">"
symbol, my responses and questions are interspersed.

Rabbi Gindi begins:

> Part of the importance of the giving of the Torah to the Jews was to prove
> that the gentiles of the time were mistaken in everything they believed in.

I find the above sentence objectionable for several reasons.  First, it
asserts knowledge of God's purposes.  Even if God exists, it seems highly
unlikely that any mortal could ever know his/her purposes.  Second, it assumes
that the Torah is in fact the divine revelation of God, rather than the work
of human authors writing to satisfy human needs.  (The latter possibility
strikes me as the more likely, since I base my beliefs on physical evidence
and not on religious faith.)  Third, claiming that the "gentiles of the time
were mistaken in everything they believed" seems a bit exaggerated, to say the
least.  The effect is to dehumanize, perhaps even to demonize all individuals
of another culture.  I suspect the authors of the relevant passages of the
Torah did this to justify the wholesale slaughter (described in detail in the
Torah) of the various gentile tribes who were (inconveniently, for the
Israelites) living in Canaan at the time.  Perhaps you could elaborate your
claim that "the gentiles of the time were mistaken in everything they
believed."  As it stands, the passages suggests a virulent strain of ethnic
chauvinism that lacks justification.

> They believed that with the correct nonsensical incantation you can change
> G-d's will.

This is a charge that could equally be levelled at any person of any faith who
prays to any deity.  Dismissing the prayers of another culture as "nonsensical
incantations" (while presumably considering the prayers of one's own culture
as highly sensible).  Pick any prayer from the Jewish liturgy that asks God to
bring peace and prosperity to the people of Israel.  Why isn't this any more
an "incantation" than the prayers of the gentiles?

> The fact is that no incantations or sacrifices can affect a change in G-d's
> will. That is what we learn from our [Torah -- I'm guessing the Hebrew]

The Torah details how the Israelite culture of the time was based on animal
sacrifices, and how the society was stratified into a class system in which
the priestly class (the cohens and levites) intoned a variety of
"incantations" (or should I say "prayers" ... what's the difference?) over
sacrificed animals in a belief that this would please God.  This would appear
to contradict your above assertion.

> special location which had magical powers at a special time and gave a
> tremendous amount of oxen as sacrifices.  G-d made him bless the Jews
> instead. This story repeated itself at different places with better blessing
> for the Jews each time.

[I've deleted here a parable about a willful angel, a talking donkey, and a
character named Bilaam who has powers to curse and bless, and a special
location with magical powers.]

> There is no doubt that Bilaam had supernatural powers. His predictions were
> accurate and his blessings or curses would always come true.

Please clarify: do you really believe that this story is *literally true*, not
just parable intended by its authors to be understood metaphorically?

> Dir Aalah is in the Jordan valley, which is now part of the Jericho Autonomy
> region.  There Archeologists have uncovered a plaster with a prophecy of
> Bilaam. This prophecy is not in the Bible. In this plaster we see the very
> same Bilaam prophesying in service of certain gentiles in the name of some
> Idol. There should be no doubt that the gentile prophet is the same person
> as in the Bible.

Why not?  And even if the two are the same, so what?

Peter Mark
peter@seattleu.edu

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Date: Sat, 2 Jul 1994 14:29:50 -0700
From: Jonathan Mark <jsmark@aol.com>
Subject: Korah and Midrash

In discussing a midrash on Korah, Rabbi Steve Gindi writes (Volume 3 Number
174):

>The intent of these fiery words is to say to Moshe that if the whole
>community is holy, how come you are the king and your brother is high priest?

>Moshe did not answer the questions addressed to him because Korah was not
>interested in hearing a true answer. He only wanted to usurp authority.

This midrash also teaches us a lesson on the proper way to behave towards
someone who is being verbally antagonistic.  Do not respond to the specifics
of what they say.  They are not interested in reasoning with you anyway.  This
is true with respect to one's personal life, and also with respect to public
life. [And it also works quite well on USENET, in particular on s.c.j -- Yr.
Mod. :-)]

In the July 1, 1994 issue of _Forward_, the playwright David Mamet says
"Explanation, reason and, importantly, tolerance in respect to anti-Semitism
are disastrous for us."

I feel that the response of Jewish organizations to Louis Farrakhan has given
him millions of dollars worth of free publicity, and does not harm him with
his intended audience at all.  It would be better if Jews could learn a lesson
from this midrash and combat him without responding to him directly, just as
Moses did not respond to Korah.

Jonathan Mark

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Date: Tue, 5 Jul 1994 05:10:58 -0700
From: Sherman Kaplan <Sherman_Kaplan@cpsnet2.cps.edu>
Subject: Lack of Faith/Loss of Faith

To the rabbi he posted on the subject of lack or loss of faith, I have no
problem in discussing my feelings on the subject. While I recognize what seems
to be a deep human need for a "spiritual" existance and identity, my common
sense tells me that the god to which Jews traditionally have prayed does not
exist with any of the attributes we apply to him. As to whether there really
is a directing creative force in the Universe, how can anyone know? Certainly,
there is no just god in the sense which judaism (or other monotheistic faiths)
teach; one need only look around at the human condition for evidence of
that. At the risk of over simplifying a complex subject, my lack of faith
really boils down to The Holocaust and the feeling that a god who really
cared, would not have allowed such a thing to happen. And, if some suggest
that this was punishment for past sins, thank you but I want no part of such a
belief.  My Judaism remains cultural, ethical and historical, not theological.
Someone once asked me whether I beleived in an afterlife.  I said I had no
idea what happens, but I firmly beleive that if I live this life well, the
next one will take care of itself. BTW, for those of you who are committed
theists, I do nto mean to insult or challange your beliefs. A beauty of
Judaism is (or should be) its wide diversity and toleration for all beliefs,
and doubts.

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Date: Sat, 2 Jul 1994 16:02:23 -0700
From: Rabbi Andrew M Sacks <mssing@pluto.mscc.huji.ac.il>
Subject: Liberal Jewish Marriages in Israel

There was a supreme court decision handed down in Israel this past week which
may be of interest to our readers. I hope this is not considered Political --
although in Israel it is difficult to separate religion and politics.

The courts have upheld the legal validity of marriages performed in foreign
consulates in Israel if at least one of the partners has duel citizenship.
This means that a couple can be married civilly at an embassy, rather than
going abroad to Cyprus for their civil ceremony.  They can then arrange to be
married by the rabbi of their choice (including Reform or Conservative) in a
religious ceremony.

Unfortunately The USA has no federal marriage laws (only state by state) so
the US consulate is not one where weddings will take place.

Rabbi Andrew M. Sacks (Jerusalem)

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Date: Tue, 5 Jul 1994 07:28:54 -0700
From: Jeffrey Cohen <JC924@albany.albany.edu>
Subject: Locating Old Friends

A friend of mine is trying to locate some old friends. Unfortunately, he has
very little information, so I offered to help him by posting this request on
m.l-j.  He is looking for Harry and/or David Hachen (or Haiken or Haichen).
At least one of them lives (or lived) in Cincinnati and at least one of them
is (or was) a rabbi. Does anyone know them or how to get in touch with either
one of them?  My friend is going to be in Cincinnati soon and would like to
look them up.

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Date: Sun, 3 Jul 1994 11:54:49 -0700
From: lschweit@stu.athabascau.ca (Lawerence D. Schweitz)
Subject: Sense of Community for Singles

I was at Shul on Firday, and a friend of mine, who is contenplating conversion
had noticed that single people in general in our Shul don't have a sense of
community like the families.  We are a small liberal congregation, and our
numbers are usually increased by conversions.  I have become a Jew-By-Choice
recently myself; however, some people like myself have no problems fitting
into the community.  My question to you is: do the single members of your
congregation have a sense of community?  I would like some feedback from
singles and others on this subject.

Lawerence D. Schweitz

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Date: Tue, 5 Jul 1994 01:44:48 -0700
From: feldmhs2@aplcomm.jhuapl.edu (Howard Feldmesser)
Subject: Re: Synagogue Dues Structure

        It seems that each synagogue has it's own method.  We use a
combination dues structure developed many years ago (a time when I was serving
on the Board of Directors or as an officer, so I have some first hand
knowledge of the thought process that went into the structure).  Initially, we
had a fixed dues level for each "household" regardless of income or number of
family members.  Since we had no religious school or other amenities, this
seemed appropriate.  We then discovered, as our needs as a Temple increased
(translation: costs went up), that some could not afford it.  We then
instituted the "reduced dues" concept mentioned in an earlier post using the
same private methods that the other synagogue uses.  Later, after further
increases in dues were necessary, we added a tier structure.  New members,
singles, seniors, and senior singles each have their own dues payment.  We
also do an annual "personal giving" campaign to ask those who can pay more to
do so.  This last step is to avoid the system often referred to as "fair share
dues" where the congregant pays according to the family taxable income, which
we felt would lead to massive mistrust, discontent, and the rest of the
effects we though of as horrible.  So far our system seems to be working
albeit with a momentary glitch caused by an influx of Russian Jewish
immigrants who have large programmatic needs and small (usually zero for a
significant length of time) incomes.

        No system is perfect.  It's interesting to see other solutions to the
same problem.

Howard S. Feldmesser
feldmhs2@aplcomm.jhuapl.edu
feldmhs1@teomail.jhuapl.edu

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"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)

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