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| Volume 4 Number 47 | Tue Oct 18 23:55:06 1994 |
Date: Sun, 16 Oct 1994 09:54:55 -0700 From: Tracey L. Billado <tbillado@moose.uvm.edu> Subject: Re: Aish HaTorah: Truth in Advertising (Administrivia) Adam Reed (avr@mttec.mt.att.com) writes: > Readers who are new to the Internet may not realize that Aish HaTorah is an > organization strongly opposed to liberal forms of Judaism, and that by > subscribing to its publications they will expose themselves to precisely the > kind of gratuitous abuse of our Judaism that this list was set up to shield > us against. I have to disagree with you here. While Aish HaTorah may be opposed to liberal forms of Judaism, I have never found any "gratuitous abuse" of, attacks on or even mention of liberal Judaism on the ShabbatShalom mailing list. I found nothing that I might want to be "shielded from." (Then again, maybe I haven't been subscribed long enough. ;-) ) I have learned some interesting things from this list although I disagree with their underlying philosophy. I also put to use their request for social action regarding the Argentinian Jewish community. The announcement was not intended to be misleading and I think people can choose for themselves whether they're interested in anything that Aish HaTorah has to say. As long as they are not forwarding copies of their entire newsletter to the mailing list (which, I trust, our moderator would not allow through anyway), I for one am happy to hear of whatever Jewish resources are out there in cyberspace, whether they some from liberal groups, Aish HaTorah, or even Chabad. I hope our moderator will continue to forward such announcements to us. Tracey Billado tbillado@moose.uvm.edu tbillado@smith.smith.edu
Date: Mon, 17 Oct 1994 08:49:46 -0700 From: Aaron Schuman <schuman@kaweah.esd.sgi.com> Subject: Aish HaTorah: Truth in Advertising (Administrivia) I've been subscribing to an Aish HaTorah mailing list for a year now. It has advanced my Jewish education, and it hasn't caused me to become illiberal. Like most lj readers, I can read and learn from authors with whom I sometimes disagree, and still maintain my independent outlook. There is nothing to fear from Aish HaTorah.
Date: Mon, 17 Oct 1994 08:52:49 -0700 From: Herb Shukiar <Herb_Shukiar@rand.org> Subject: Re: Aish HaTorah: Truth in Advertising (Administrivia) Adam Reed expressed concern about the Aish HaTorah Shabbat Shalom weekly list being "advertised" in the m.l-l posting. Mr. Reed further notes "that Aish HaTorah is an organization strongly opposed to liberal forms of Judaism, and that by subscribing to its publications they (the members of the m.l-j list) will expose themselves to precisely the kind of gratuitous abuse of our Judaism that this list was set up to shield us against." I would only say, as a liberal Jew who has been a subscriber to the Shabbat Shalom weekly for almost a year, that I have never experienced the abuse about which Mr. Reed expresses concern. Indeed, I have learned much about the Torah readings and associated interpretations that the list addresses. It is clear from reading the Shabbat Shalom postings that the author places a decidedly orthodox slant on the interpretations. I have found this slant to be neither gratuitous nor abusive.
Date: Tue, 18 Oct 1994 18:00:27 -0700 From: ravianm@tmxmelb.mhs.oz.au (Ian Morris) Subject: Re: Aish HaTorah: Truth in Advertising (Administrivia) [Note: Although this is strongly worded against my inclusion of the list announcement and Aish HaTorah in general, it does not question the "Jewish"-ness of the movement, and hence I felt it appropriate, IN THE CONTEXT OF THIS DISCUSSION, to let it through. -- Yr. Mod.] I feel compelled to express my agreement with Adam Reed's reservations regarding the acceptance of advertising from Aish HaTorah on this list. (Vol 4. #46). Even here in far distant, little Adelaide we have seen the means that Aish HaTorah uses to do their "thing", and what it boils down to is that a) they have nothing but contempt for what Progressive Judaism (or more correctly, non-Orthodox Judaism) stand for and b) they will use *any* means (including lies) to get a foot in the door. Call me paranoid, but this constitutes a foot in the door. Without retelling the gantze megilla, when the Aish HaTorah "Discovery" program was brought here a year or two ago, they purported to be general "Jewish" program, neither Orthodox nor anything else. Indeed, when I alerted members of my congregation (who were actively being recruited for the unique Aish HaTorah blend of cybernetics and Medievalism), as to the nature of the organization, Aish HaTorah struck back with a list of "big Reform supporters" of Aish HaTorah that purported to "prove" that my facts were wrong and that I was just a scare mongerer. In retrospect, you've got to wonder why they did something that dumb. It did not take a great deal of research to expose the "list" as a fraud. I suppose they figured that nobody in Australia could or would check up on North American names. While they were here, gems such as "Reform Judaism is worse than Christianity because at least the Christians don't pretend to be Jewish" were dropped. Bottom line: Aish HaTorah is big budget, inimical to Liberal Judaism and quite prepared to lie and cheat in order to get a toe hold in any Jewish venue they regard as vulnerable. I think that we do ourselves a disservice by providing the toe holds. Rabbi Ian Morris Phone: +61-8-362 8281 Beit Shalom Synagogue Fax: +61-8-362 4406 P.O. Box 47 e-mail: ravianm@tmxmelb.mhs.oz.au Stepney 5069 South Australia (If you're having trouble with a map, AUSTRALIA. "Stepney" is a suburb of "Adelaide"...) [I think the conclusion of the postings above is as follows: Although Aish HaTorah itself may have attitudes against liberal Judaism, those who have read the list in question have not found evidence of those attitude ON THE SPECIFIC MAILING LIST IN QUESTION. A word of sagely moderator advice: I post the new list announcements if I feel they may be of interest to someone on the list. Please read them closely for who is running the list to see if the ideas are likely to be compatible with yours. Remember, YOU have the ultimate power: You can always unsubscribe from the list if you do not like it (and that also applies to this list). With that, since this is an ADMINISTRIVIA dicussion, I think I'll close off the topic (unless something really interesting comes through. :-) -- Yr. Mod.]
Date: Sun, 16 Oct 1994 11:22:31 -0700 From: Louis Gross <gross@packed.enet.dec.com> Subject: Bereshit In V4 N45, Steve Gindi (responding to my talking about multiple authors of the Torah) asks whether I "really believe that the Torah was written by many authors? These authors would have been trying to teach monotheism, Were the final editors stupid enough to leave in concepts which teach the opposite? These authors should have been pushing monotheistic ideas not paganism!" That each author had a different view of God's personality isn't that surprising, and certainly doesn't imply that they weren't monotheist. My opinion about the R (Redactor) author is that he/she was a consummate diplomat, who created a text that contented each of the factions, by including their essential stories (which is why there are two separate creation myths, and some events, like Abraham passing off Sarah as his sister) are told in two versions. The Rabbinic commentators recognized that the resulting God has different personalities, and harmonize them by talking of different aspects of God (the E version is the severe, judging aspect, the J (yod hey vav hey) version is the compassionate aspect). Lou Gross
Date: Sun, 16 Oct 1994 05:51:18 -0700 From: Ricardo Ben-Safed <rbensafe@cap.gwu.edu> Subject: Christian Seminaries & Rabbi's I have noticed that several Rabbi's in the Reform Movement have or are getting their Doctorates at Christian Seminaries. And also that they have been teaching at these same Seminaries! Is this a overall strategy of the Reform i.e. to teach/study to reduce friction and Anti-Semitism in these Non-Jewish religions. If so, is this really the policy? Are there any tangible results and if there are...would some Rabbi's who have participated in this ...share their experiences with the list? Shalom, Ric Ben-Safed email: rbensafe@cap.gwu.edu
Date: Thu, 11 Aug 1994 20:24:08 -0700 From: lschweit@stu.athabascau.ca (Lawerence D. Schweitz) Subject: Germany, Niazism and Anti-semitism I would like to add some of my observations to this discussion on Germany, the "old" and the "new" one. First, I was German born and then converted to Judaism. Second, I have lived in Germany for a while before Unification. Essentially, there is really *no* difference between the old Germany and the new one. I have a story from personal experience that illustrates this point. While I was living in Germany, I attended High School. At the high school that I attended, there were many immigrants from all over Europe. Some of the youths who attended with me were born in Germany, but were not classed as Germans. They were frightened by this fact, and tended to associated with me because I treated them like I treated everyone else: *equally*. There were also the targets for being beat up and other racist acts. Another notable thing was the Jewish Cemetary in Frankfurt am Main. I used to walk past it all the time, and even though it was considered one of the historical sites in the city, not much attention was payed to it by residents of Frankfurt. So, the Geermans were still trying to protect themselves fom there own history, even during the 1980's (pre-Unification). Today, the "new" Germany is worse off when it comes to racism and Anti-Semitism. Eastern Germany seems to be the problem, as the youth have had their futures drastically altered by Unification. Today, Anti-Semitism is directed at the Jews and worse yet, is spreading to other groups that have helped Germany's economy grow to the largest in Europe. The government has lost control. There are adds all over Germany discussing the fact that all Germans should live together in harmony. Thieir words have outdone their deeds. Prosecution against Neo-nazis is slow, and the growth, thank in part to Internet and other forms of communication, cannot slow down the growth. Therefore, at this time, while the majority of Western Germans live in reletive peace and harmony with the immigrants, many in the East do not. Threfore, for the foreseeable future, I feel that Germany is not a very "safe" country to live in. Most of my experiences in Germany were happy and good. Until the economic problems get solved in Eastern Germany, and many of the youths that are now on the streets get jobs, there is going to be continued anti-semitism and racism directed against immigrants. Something to think about. Shalom, Lawerence
Date: Sat, 15 Oct 1994 19:15:29 -0700 From: Gregory Davis <gdavis@isnet.is.wfu.edu> Subject: Judaism and Ecology A friend of mine at shul is taking a class for which she must write a paper, and the subject she has chosen is along the lines of the interface of Jewish thought and the environment, Jewish views of ecology, etc. I have supplied her with some information about Tu BiShevat, but she desires to delve deeper if possible. Would any on the list have some thoughts, ideas, suggestions, directions in which I should point her? B'shalom, Greg Davis Winston-Salem, NC USA
Date: Mon, 17 Oct 1994 22:50:49 -0700 From: Rabbi Steve Gindi <RabiSteve@aol.com> Subject: Labels People often ask me to deal with politics, especially Israeli Politics. When they say that they hope that I will come up with what should be an obvious opinion. In my eyes the only difference between Shamir and Rabin is that one will stab you in the back while the other will shoot between the eyes. People who seem honest are not and those who are known to be dishonest can do some good things. Things are not black and white. We love to label other people because that makes things look black and white. That is to say that every one has to fit into a category. We define them as good or bad, religious or secular, normal or abnormal and a million other labels which classify people. The problems with labels is that they do not give people a chance to change. Being able to change is a given in Judaism. The concept of Teshuvah relies on the fact that you change. Just because you regularly do something bad does not mean that you are a bad guy. Unfortunately, once your mind puts someone into a category even though he has changed you still view him as the same person: I have a cousin who is very religious. I do not know if he got that way from his bouts with cancer or not, but I do know him as being very pious. Someone else only knows him from when he was a cantankerous kid. At least thirty years have passed since the original label was placed, today he has changed but the label remains. We label people and expect them to remain that way. It is very inconvenient to relabel them. In this Perasha the city of Sedom gets destroyed. They were very bad people. They did not like strangers. This is clear even from a brief reading of the perasha. The Gemara discusses Sedom. In the Gemara we see that they had a very solid labeling system which excluded outsiders. They wanted to kill anyone who did not completely fit into the sick Sedom personalty. Whenever I tell you a story from a Midrash it is the very deep meaning which I want to convey, not some childish sounding story. We are told that in Sedom they had a special guest bed. Whoever was too tall for it would be sliced down to the right size. Whoever was too short was stretched to size. When Abraham's servant Eliezer went there they told him to lay down on the bed. He told them that since the day his mother died he promised never again to rest on a bed. The true meaning of this story is that they forced people to comply with their sick ways. Whoever was too honest, too smart, or could not steel would be placed on the bed and done away with. There are many more stories about Sedom from which we can learn. The most incredible thing about the story of the destruction of Sedom is that Avraham Avinu actually tried to defend them. I hope that we can be like Avraham Avinu and look beyond people's labels and see that people grow and change. [Note: This story highlights a growing concern I've had with society in general, and often in Judaism: the tendency to see things only in Black and White, Good and Bad, Orthodox and Reform :-), without recognizing that there are shades of grey in everything. We must all learn to see the shades of grey. Yr. Mod.] RabiSteve :)
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