Mail.Liberal-Judaism

• Your Moderator <faigin@pacificnet.net>

• Jonathan Mark <JMARK@fcc.gov>
• Rabbi Bob Kraus <BOB2070@DELPHI.COM>

• andreaf@netcom.com (Andrea Frankel)
• Rabbi Bob Kraus <BOB2070@DELPHI.COM>

• Deborah P. Brodie <dbrodie@CapAccess.org>

• rdb5@cornell.edu (Robin Diane Biderman)

• andreaf@netcom.com (Andrea Frankel)
• ao692@LAFN.ORG (John Sherwood)

• Jerry Blaz <ffdog@earthlink.net>

• Libby Bottero <lbottero@efn.org>

• David Philips <DNPhilips@aol.com>
• rebsteve@dakota.net (Rabbi Steve Forstein)

• Gregory Davis <gdavis@bgsm.edu>

From: Your Moderator <faigin@pacificnet.net>
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 08:29:57 -0800
Subject: Administrivia: Upcoming Change in Mailing Procedures

Sometime in the next month, I will transition the list to use the Shamash
listprocessor to mail the list, instead of the current approach of using
sendmail and 50 name chunks. The only visible change from a subscriber point
of view will be that you will received an updated "welcome" message, and the
header of digests will be smaller. Subscription management will be the same as
before; you may send your request to me, and I'll update my file (which will
send the appropriate listproc commands). You should also be able to send the
appropriate listproc commands, which if I have set things up right, will be
forwarded to me.

On another note, one reader has complained about the current announcement
policy, where I let throught the occasional short announcment on issues I
think will be of interest to the list -- no more than one or two per issue,
and always sorted to the end. If other readers have a problem with this,
please let me know in a note marked NOT FOR SUBMISSION so that I can get a
sense of the readership.

Daniel

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From: Jonathan Mark <JMARK@fcc.gov>
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 12:12:31 -0500
Subject: Building Bridges or Aid & Comfort

Peter Goselin writes of Farrakhan:
>>his consitutency cannot reasonably be expected to extend beyond the
incredibly oppressed minority group to which he belongs.<<

In my view there is little difference between the anti-Semitism of some
white people and that of some black people.  They both use many of the
same documents (e.g., _Protocols of the Elders of Zion) and voice the
same complaints about Jewish "control."

To the extent that Farrakhan or anyone popularizes these views among
the black minority they will spread to the white majority and vice-versa. 
A belief in astrology is common among both blacks and whites.  Black
people started listening to rap music, but now a lot of whites including me
listen as well.  Styles, including irrational beliefs, go back and forth even
among people who do not like each other.  

Being a black nationalist does not hurt Farrakhan in spreading his
anti-Semitic message to the American population, it helps him, because it
provides him with a core of support.

                                       Jonathan Mark

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From: Rabbi Bob Kraus <BOB2070@DELPHI.COM>
Date: Wed, 21 Feb 1996 04:24:17 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Re: Building Bridges or Aid & Comfort

I read with interest Peter's response to my comments re: Farrakhan. Yes, I
must admit, I dsee him as a real threat the same way I see anyone who uses
anti-semitic language. Granted, his followers may be few in number, but I
don't think we can afford to discount the threat nonetheless. It is
interesting that I could be shot as a racist for telling the same kinds of
*jokes* Blacks tell about Whites with impunity. The point about White
Supremicists never accepting a Black Hitler is well taken, but I don't think
that should make us less fearful. Oh well, I will admit to being a bit
paranoid, but History does have a way of repeating itself if left unchecked.

As for my not being willing to dialogue with Farrakhan or Jackson, I need to
say that I am always open to dialogue, but not to giving anyone a platform to
spout hatred and anti-semitism in the *guise* of dialogue. These guys have
already made up thier minds and if they are the *chosen ones* of the Black
community, then it must mean that those Blacks have also made up their
minds. Dialogue has always meant (to me) the willingness to learn from someone
with another point of view. The retoric of the Black extremists leaves no room
(in my mind) for their learning anything and, again, I would not be willing to
give them a the appearance of respectability.

If someone, however, has a thoughtful rebuttle, I think I am open-minded
enough to listen and learn. It is just that I have not heard any good defense
for these extremist views in the Black community.

Shalom,

Rabbi Bob Kraus

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From: andreaf@netcom.com (Andrea Frankel)
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 12:49:30 -0800
Subject: Handholding at Services

Looks like I'm in the minority here, but I'll speak up nonetheless.

I was a completely agnostic, "lapsed" Jew for thirty years or so.
When I finally felt the need to at least try going to Shabbat services,
I was lucky enough to pick out Temple Adat Shalom (Reform, Poway CA)
from the Yellow Pages (!) for my first attempt.

After the candle lighting and an opening reading, the congregation was
asked to rise and either hold hands or put their arms around each other,
and we swayed together as we sang Hinei Ma Tov.  Some people sitting
alone in the back stood alone to sing, but everyone in the front 3/4
managed some kind of contact without apparent discomfort.  Me, I was
so touched I got all choked up and teary-eyed.

It made me feel like I had come home, like I was family, like I belonged.
I cannot describe how important this was to me at that point in my life.

That (and the absolutely heavenly voice of Cantor Lori) inspired me to
come back for more services, and eventually to learn more about Judaism,
leading to an adult Bat Mitzvah that was very meaningful to me.

Since moving away to a rural town with a smaller Jewish population, I
have learned many new melodies for old prayers, but just don't feel
involved and included the way I did in Poway.  I thinkk the lack of
touching may very well be key to that.

As I recall, people dealt with their "comfort level" at being touched
in a variety of ways, all of which worked.  Some rested their hands
lightly on their neighbor's shoulders.  Some used just the first two
fingers to link with their neighbor's fingers, avoiding palm contact.
Some started with a handshake to greet their neighbor, which made the
hand contact after that seem less intimate.  And some of us welcomed
the full warmth of the contact.

I wish there were a way to accomodate both those who long for touch
and those who are bothered by it.  As I recall, the rabbi suggested
rather than "ordered" us to hold hands, although I could see how
even a mild suggestion could be seen as an order to someone sensitive
to a power/control situation.  Perhaps being in a temple blessed with
both a female cantor AND a female rabbi created a situation more open,
less overtly controlling than a more traditional temple might have been.

Anyway, my feeling is that those bothered by what they see as forced
intimacy should try explaining their feelings to their rabbi, rather
than simply leaving for another temple.

Andrea Frankel, andreaF@netcom.com  (note new address!)   (916) 274-1921
Snail: Flying Dog Ranch, 11864 Deer Park Dr., Nevada City, CA 95959-8921
"...wake now! discover that YOU are the song that the morning brings..."

p.s.  hi, Rabbi Mark!

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From: Rabbi Bob Kraus <BOB2070@DELPHI.COM>
Date: Wed, 21 Feb 1996 04:40:41 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Re: Handholding at Services

I appreciated Alana's very thoughtful response to my comments about
hand-holding and touching at services, especially her point about the power
implications. It seems to me that her focus really is on power although she
was very clear about her discomfort that hand-holding and touching is a breech
of formality which is very important to her. I respect that.

As for power, it seems to me that in a congregation the power rests with the
congregants as expressed by the Board of Directors. If a Rabbi or a Religious
Practices Committee should want to introduce hand-holding, etc. I think
congregants have an absolute right to go to the Board and express their
displeasure (or pleasure). If the Board over-rides the feelings of the
congregants, the congregants have an absolute right to find another
congregation, refuse to come to those services, or try to impeach the Board. A
somewhat healthier approach would be a congregational meeting where all the
issues were put on the table and solutions could be found. Perhaps different
kinds of services for different preferences. Whatever. Problem solving can be
very growthful if all parties enter into it with a sincere desire to solve the
problem for the entire group (without compromising their own feelings, of
course).

As for discomfort with touching because it breeches formality, I must say I
was very moved. I don't hear alot of talk about formality these days and I
think we should. It would be nice if people, as a whole, learned to *behave*
themselves better. I think we threw the baby out with the bathwater when we
stopped reading Miss Manners.

Having said that, however, I must say touching, in and of itself, is not
impolite if it is mutually agreed upon. This mutual agreement need not always
be formal. They say that 90% of our communication is non- verbal. I think many
of us can tell when someone wants to hug us and we can respond in kind or
gently back away. As I said earlier, I have taken a rather long journey in
learning to enjoy touching other people and, while I don't force this on
others, (directly or subtley), I do think we need to explore its benefits.

Shalom,

Rabbi Bob Kraus

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From: Deborah P. Brodie <dbrodie@CapAccess.org>
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 11:33:05 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Hate and Anger Between Communities

Last year my son was the political cartoonist at the University of Maryland.
After the Black Student Union scheduled a speaker who had blatantly declared
that the AIDS epidemic was the fault of the Jews (the Jewish physicians had
injected the virus into the African American patients), he drew a picture for
the Jewish newspaper showing a black woman introducing the BSU's next
speaker--and there was a picture of Hitler.  There was a tremendous racous
over this cartoon--the BSU asked that their members burn down the building
where the JSU had their offices; the BSU said that the BSU president would
NEVER be able to be employed because of this cartoon.  The Jewish student and
organizations came down on the editor of the paper and on my son for harming
black-Jewish relations--not even looking deeper into what was being said by
these speakers.  And, we as Jews, sit quietly by, thinking, it's just a
college campus (these speakers are paid through our taxes)--what harm could
this be?  I was afraid at this time--afraid for my son's life--because he
spoke his mind.  He was upset with all the reaction this one small cartoon
made--but he was more horrified over the Jewish reaction of trying to make
'nice-nice' when the real issue was that speakers are talking throughout
campuses about anti-Jewish ideas.

Deborah :)

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From: rdb5@cornell.edu (Robin Diane Biderman)
Date: Wed, 21 Feb 1996 00:46:34 -0400
Subject: Havdalah Bat Mitzva Service

I just wanted to comment on this topic since, I have been reading a lot about
it in this discussion group.  From my personal experience, the people who had
Bar/Bat Mitzvah services which were Havdallah services were seen as people who
wanted to get the "quick" version of the religious ceremony.  The Havdallah
services were only 45 minutes to an hour long whereas the regular ceremonies
during Shabbat were over two hours long.

My congregation does not have Havdallah services for Bar/Bat Mitzvahs but
instead it doubles two people on one day.  I personally feel that children
should be made to go through the longer service because they learn more and
tend to have more of a connection to Judaism.  It is also not right to have a
"quick" version of an important life ceremony.

Robin

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From: andreaf@netcom.com (Andrea Frankel)
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 12:51:56 -0800
Subject: In the Spirit of Purim...A Laugh...

A priest was hearing confession one evening when an elderly gentleman entered
the confessional.

"Forgive me father, for I have sinned.  I'm 80 years old and have been
faithful to my wife for all 60 years of our marriage.  That all ended last
night when I spent the evening with two attractive twins that just moved into
our building."

"Our God is a merciful God.  Tell me, when was your last confession?"

"Never.  I'm Jewish."

"Then why are you telling me your confession?"

"Are you kidding?  At my age, I'm telling EVERYONE!"

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From: ao692@LAFN.ORG (John Sherwood)
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 01:15:03 -0800
Subject: In the Spirit of Purim...A Laugh...

[John Sherwood has forwarded the following for the digest, in the spirit of
Purim... This was originally written by eriklfc@radiks.net (Erik
L. F. Contzius), and is reposted with his permission.]

"Peanut Butter, Poppy, Prune, or Chocolate Hamentashen"
(to the tune of "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious," from Mary Poppins
words by Erik Contzius)

Peanut Butter, Poppy, Prune, or Chocolate Hamentashen
If Purim is the Holiday this snack you will be Noshin'
It's Haman's hat or ears or eyes (on this, I am not Joshin'!)
Peanut Butter, Poppy, Prune, or Chocolate Hamentashen!
        Yum-diddle diddle diddle yum diddle-eye=8A

When I was just a little kid, a long long time ago
The month Adar had just come in, but how was I to know
that there was such a holiday with food I would sequester
That yummy treat I love to eat when reading about Esther

Peanut Butter, Poppy, Prune, or Chocolate Hamentashen
        Yum-diddle diddle diddle yum diddle-eye

The first time that I saw these things, triangular in shape,
Their smell was oh, so heavenly that there was no escape
I took a bite, my appetite just grew and grew and grew
Without Oznei Haman and Purim, oh what would I do?

Peanut Butter, Poppy, Prune, or Chocolate Hamentashen
        Yum-diddle diddle diddle yum diddle-eye

So when we read of Mordechai around this time of year
Just don't forget a mitzvah which will bring all lots of cheer
We give out gifts to one and all, they're called shaloch manot
(And in English, that's presents of food!!! So put Hamentashen in MY boat!
MMMMM MMMMM!)

Peanut Butter, Poppy, Prune, or Chocolate Hamentashen (4X)

(shouting:)  Where's the Apricot one???

erik l. f. contzius
eriklfc@radiks.net

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From: Jerry Blaz <ffdog@earthlink.net>
Date: Wed, 21 Feb 1996 00:52:31 -0800
Subject: Israeli Politics: Rabbi Amital--a Liberal?

Rabbi Amital, who had been brought into the current Israel government by
Shimon Peres as a sign of the national unity after Rabin's assassination,
represents the "liberal" Meimad wing of Israeli Orthodoxy.  As non-O's who
have an understanding that liberality in viewpoint infers a tolerance for
those whose ideas are different, we are probably surprized to learn that for
Israel, this is not always the case.

The good Rabbi Amital, now sitting in on Cabinet meetings along with
Shulamit Aloni, will not be joining a panel discussion of the Israel
Sociologists Association this week on the subject, "Religion, Fundamentalism
and Democracy."  As it turns out, his objection is to sit with Rabbi Einat
Ramon, a female member of the Conservative rabbinate.  Others on the panel
include a priest and a muslim leader.  Rabbi Ramon was substituting for a
female member of the Modern Orthodox movement, so it is not a matter of
"modesty," but the objection to a female/non-O rabbi. 

Rabbi Amital has also protested the High Court decisions permitting non-O
religious leaders to sit on local religious councils and the decision
permitting the registration as Jews, those who have been converted by Reform
and Convservative rabbis in Israel.  My question is, 'Was he voting his
conscience or was he merely looking over his right shoulder?'  (My second
question is who decided he was a liberal! My third question is why have we
non-O's been so overjoyed to find so -liberal- a group as Meimad!!)

Oi,
Jerry Blaz

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From: Libby Bottero <lbottero@efn.org>
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 13:55:11 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Mikveh and divorce

My experience in liberal Judaism is that mikveh is used for many different
purposes by women and men, including markers of life-changing events such as
conversion, marriage and divorce, as well as before Shabbat and holidays. Use
of mikveh is especially common in the Jewish Renewal movement, and it is also
used by some Reform, Reconstructionist and Conservative Jews on various
occasions. Moshe Shulman has accurately presented the traditional Orthodox
halachic perspective on women's use of mikveh for family purity. We are
blessed to have such a deep and beautiful ritual of renewal in Jewish
tradition which can be adapted in meaningful ways to symbolize and celebrate
life-transformations. I've known several women who used mikveh ceremonies as
part of the process of letting go of the past and preparing for the future
after divorce; I've also seen it used as a healing ritual after rape. Many
liberal Jews use natural water sources such as rivers, lakes, seas, and hot
springs for regular mikveh immersion.

Libby

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From: David Philips <DNPhilips@aol.com>
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 19:46:22 -0800
Subject: Roll Your Own Judaism

You can, of course, add my name to those fervently hoping for a 'small
congregations' mailing list. And I beleive we need an (informal, anyway)
organization, 'The Federation of Small Communities,' or some such. The
National Havurah Committee probably has some members that could participate,
or there may be other synergies with that organization (I just heard of the
Umqua Valley (OR) Havurah; they gotta be small). Canada has a 'Canadian Jewish
Congress of Small Communities,' supported, I suspect, by Edgar Bronfman. Maybe
they could help/advise us. Maybe they'd let us join, or maybe we could start a
World Jewish Congress of Small Communities, starting with us and them.

As far as our needs go, I've listed them before: circuit-riding Jewish
educators, access to learning/liturgical materials on loan by mail or by
download, a home of our own, etc. And from an internet meeting place, help in
finding/creating the same, as well as moral support.

But I have a general question to those active in the Reform movement (UAHC) on
this list: Dan Yurman says that the chances of a vigorous Reform outreach
program to rural/small town Jews is nil, except as an affiliation recruitment
device, because of institutional/political facts of life. Do you agree?
Considering that we (the galut of diaspora Jewry) are unlikely to pay our
'fair share,' compared to big city communities? Considering that when you have
30 families, you frequently _can't_ affiliate because to do so would split an
already too-small group? Considering that the 'Reform Movement' is largely a
confederation of congregations, and the welfare of its congregations is its
prime concern (if that's true)? Because the Reform Movement could do a lot for
us out here. A lot.

By the way, I want to take this chance to thank whoever it was in UAHC that
decided that someone like me could subscribe to Reform Magazine, even though
unaffiliated. We haven't gotten our first issue yet, but I've turned in the
subscription form, and am looking forward to it.

Shalom chaverim!

David Philips
East Wenatchee, WA

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From: rebsteve@dakota.net (Rabbi Steve Forstein)
Date: Wed, 21 Feb 1996 10:58:39 -0600
Subject: Re: Roll Your Own Judaism

This is a response to Dan Yurman's post of 2/17.

I think Dan has a wonderful idea, to have an on-line presence for small Jewish
communities, whatever their the status of their affiliation with the larger
structures of Jewish life in the US. On the whole, the larger organizations do
not and cannot pay the kind of consistent attention to our situation that
problem-solving requires. I do not fault them for this. It is simply their
sitz-im-leben to direct their attention to the situation the vast majority of
their constituents live in. If we are to organize resources we must do it
ourselves.

I also believe that we, not they, are on the cutting edge of developing
non-Orthodox Judaism in the US. The reasons are many, but here is one:

I believe that our form of "do it yourself" Judaism is the only form that will
be viable in the post-modern environment. Big city, "We pay the rabbi to do it
for us" Judaism cannot provide the substance and meaning that we all need to
sustain ourselves. Meaning comes from what I do, not what I am told or what
someone does on my behalf. One of the major messages of the Baal-T'shuva
movement in Orthodoxy is that "I can do it myself." We need Baalei-T'shuva
(includes Baalot-T'shurva) in post-denominational Judaism and we are growing
them here west of the Mississippi.

What we need to do is share resources, including, for instance, the expertese
in how to teach children about Judaism, in small isolated communities, with
families just beginning to understand their Jewish parenting responsibilities,
with small, mixed grade classes and inexperienced and often not very
knowledgable teachers.

What if we had a materials evaluation service for communities and families in
that situation (home schooling being better than no schooling at all, even if
you believe in the communal nature of Judaism.)?

What if we had a curriculum bank, with canned lesson plans on recommended
materials, so that inexperienced teachers could be guided by those who have
been in their place and succeeded?

What if we had an internet mailing list for small community Jewish education
assistance, or a weekly on-line conference, or a weekly telephone (or internet
phone) conference?

What if we had an 800 number "Jewish Education Help Line?"

What if we had a personnel referral service for resource persons trained (and
with available educational materials) to teach kids for life cycle events,
like bar and bat mitzvah, confirmation, etc?

What if we had post-confirmation classes for committed kids, on line with
text, audio or even video, over the internet or some other distance
technology, so that we could provide the kind of depth Jewish education that
some kids need and want after the minimum is completed (and most communities
don't have enough of these kids or the personnel required to teach them in
depth and keep their interest)?

These are the kind of services that we are dreaming of as we develop "The
Jewish Resources Network of the Mountains and the Plains" or "Har V'Kikar". We
may be only six months away from starting to provide them, G-d willing! Right
now, we need committed persons to work with us, converse with us, donate to
us, help us find structure, priorities, etc. etc. Dan's proposal for a small
communities presence would fit right in. I'm close to volunteering to moderate
it, with some help, please, just give me a couple of weeks to talk with
financial backers to see if we can squeeze $$ and time enough out to do it.

And, the presence would not be confined to our target communities of the
Dakotas, Wyoming and Montana, but would accept contributions (words and money)
from wherever there is a match between our situation and yours.

The spirit has been in eclipse for some years, but now it is moving again in
the mountains and the plains, between Zorach and Eshtaol. (see Judges 13:23)
It's time to move with it.

Rabbi Steve Forstein         rebsteve@dakota.net
605/332-4099                     fax 605/332-9261
P.O. Box 1451                    Sioux Falls, SD  57101

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From: Gregory Davis <gdavis@bgsm.edu>
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 16:59:55 -0500 (EST)
Subject: Shofar-Blast of Alarm

As Jews, we must not separate ourselves from the community, and part of being
a community is being aware of what our political candidates are all
about. Lest one think Pat Buchanan is truly "mainstream," it would be a good
idea for all to check out Deborah Lipstadt's _Denying the Holocaust: The
Growing Assault on Truth and Memory_, published by Plume (Penguin) in 1993. To
quote Lipstadt:

"He [Buchanan] argued that it was physically impossible for the gas chamber at
Treblinka to have functioned as a killing apparatus because the diesel engines
that powered it could not produce enough carbon monoxide to be
lethal. Buchanan's "proof" was a 1988 incident in which ninety-sevenpassengers
on a train in Washington, D.C., were stuck in a tunnel as the train emitted
carbon monoxide fumes. Because the passengers were not harmed, Buchanan
extrapolated that the victims in a gas chamber using carbon monoxide from
diesel engines would also not have been harmed. He ignored the fact that that
the gassings at Treblinka took as long as a half an hour and that the
conditions created when people are jammed by the hundreds into small
enclosures, as they were at Treblinka, are dramatically different from those
experienced by a group of people sitting on a train. Asked where he obtained
this information, Buchanan responded, "Somebody sent it to me." Buchanan has
also referred to the "so-called Holocaust Survivor Syndrome." According to
him, this involves `group fantasies of martyrdom and heroics.'"

Buchanan's statements above were uttered as part of his defense of John
Demjanjuk. Lipstadt notes that Buchanan has consistently opposed any
prosecution of Nazi war criminals.

Buchanan refused to retract any of his contentions during the '92 campaign,
just as he refused last night [2/19/96] on a radio talk show.  It is amazing
to me that more journalists are not calling him on his thinly-disguised
anti-Semitism. Iowa and New Hampshire should make all of us concerned.

B'shalom, Greg Davis

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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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