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Mail.Liberal-Judaism |
| Volume 5 Number 158 | Tue May 7 23:55:07 US/Pacific 1996 |
From: joshuah@chelsea.ios.com (Joshua Hammerman) Date: Tue, 7 May 1996 00:07:02 -0400 Subject: Introductions: Rabbi Joshua Hammerman [As is our custom, I'd like to introduce to you another rabbi on our list, Rabbi Joshua Hammerman. Rabbi Hammerman writes:] I'm Senior Rabbi of Temple Beth El in Stamford, Ct., a Conservative congregation of 650 families in Farfield County. I grew up in Brookline Mass, attending Hebrew College there, then went to Brown U. undergrad, majoring in religious studies. I was ordained from JTS in 1983, while receiving an M.A. in journalism the same year from N.Y.U., and since, I've tried to combine the professions. My journalistic training has helped me to focus and refine my own message, as well as anchoring me in the real world, the one my congregants live in, the one rabbis so often are distant from. I write regularly for the New York Jewish Week (the column is entitled "On One Foot"), and other articles have appeared in the New York Times Magazine (two essays for the now defunct "About Men" column, most recently on performing my son's brit milah). I would say, though, that I'm much more interested in reading what others have to say on this list than in propagating my own views.
From: silvesb@mail.auburn.edu (Steven B. Silvern) Date: Tue, 7 May 1996 09:49:18 -0500 Subject: Adult Jewish Growth and the Internet Rabbi Kipper wrote: >What is sorely missing and readily available from the Conservative and >Orthodox, is weekly sidrah commentaries. We should have some of our top guys >contributing as well as sharing the JTS weekly commentary. It would be nice to get the weekly JTS commentary, especially since Orthodox is easily obtained. But commentary is uni-directional, where the internet lends itself to bi-directional communication. Study is not just reception, it is reflection and testing of that reflection. I propose that more devices for interactive Torah be developed.
From: David_Isaacs@prodigy.com (David E Isaacs) Date: Tue, 7 May 1996 13:05:12, -0500 Subject: Re: Annotated List Of Women Scholars In Judaism In v5n157 Maxine Gold wrote: >I am looking for an annotated list of women scholars in any and all aspects >of Judaism, Jewish culture. Although they can of course be feminist works, I >am also interested in general scholarly--and recognized--work achieved by >Jewish women. >The National Foundation for Jewish Culture is about to make its sixth annual >awards presentations in New York City. Not one award is going to a female. I >think that's outrageous in this day and age. I am curious why you think this is outrageous. I'm not familiar with this award or what its' selection process is (I've also never heard of NFJC). Implicit in your comment is the thought that there should be a woman recipient, regardless of qualification. If you where a scholar, would you want to receive an award just on that basis? I'm sure that there are good Jewish women scholars. Demonstrate that such a woman is more qualified for this award (by the criteria set by NFJC) and was not selected because she is a woman. I'll join you in your outrage. We unfortunately live in a time when it is quite all right to claim discrimination, with no proof. More than a few careers, lives and businesses have been ruined this way. Inequality of results does not mean there is an inequality of opportunity. David Isaacs Somerset, NJ
From: Thomas G. Shafer <tgshafer@fly.hiwaay.net> Date: Sun, 5 May 1996 15:39:31 -0500 Subject: Christian Seders Just a few brief thoughts on Seders in Christian churches. I attended one in my former life as an Episcopalian. The priest got copies of the Haggadah, got instructions from a member of the local Jewish congregation and billed the event as a "reinactment of the Jewish Seder." He went to great lengths to explain the various symbols, step by step, and many people who attended found it a very powerful religious experience. It might have been a little "too powerful", in fact. One retired physician, who had been born Jewish, returned to Judaism at the local Temple and one of the lay ministers (me) converted to Judaism. As we say in the South, "Go figure." Shalom, Tom
From: Stephanie Wells <swells@exo.com> Date: Mon, 06 May 1996 11:30:22 -0700 Subject: Christian Seders Ruth Levenstein wrote: > While we are at it, how do people on the list feel about Christian churches > having seders to explore their "Jewish roots." I have a real problem with Christian churches having seders. I recently heard an evangelical Christian refer to Lent and Easter as the second Passover. I know that many Christians are trying to feel closer to Jesus' roots and want to participate in Jewish celebrations and rituals for this reason. If they are invited to a seder, or participate in a Jewish-led mock seder, that is fine. If they are making their own seders, I feel they are appropriating Jewish religious ceremonies that can in no way be considered Christian "Jewish roots." First of all, does not the form of the modern seder really date from after the destruction of the temple, which is definitely post-Jesus? Nor has Passover ever been considered a Christian holiday. To me the symbolism of evangelical Christians celebrating Passover is that THEY are the only rightful heirs of the "Old Testament" (indeed, they believe they are the "new Israel" and that God disinherited the Jews), so that it was really THEY who were led out of Egypt. Evangelical Christians (the only ones I have heard of having seders) believe that Judaism and Christianity are almost the same religion, except that Jews don't accept Jesus. That may seen innocent enough, until you follow it to its logical conclusion, that Jews are blind/ignorant/stupid/evil because they are rejecting (Jesus as) God. Since Judaism is not really a distinct religion in its own right, but only a preliminary "subset" of Christianity, they feel they have the right to appropriate any parts of Judaism that appeal to them. This is also what, in their minds, legitimizes the efforts of Jews for Jesus and "Messianic Judaism." Christians making seders may sound a bit like Jews having Christmas trees, but in reality it is more like Jews holding Christmas Eve midnight mass in a synagogue. The Passover seder is a Jewish religious ceremony and I for one am very much offended by the thought of Christians celebrating it. Stephanie Wells swells@exo.com
From: Jonathan Mark <JMARK@fcc.gov> Date: Sun, 05 May 1996 09:20:02 -0400 Subject: Churches That Are Judaizing While I agree with just about everything which Ruth Levenstein had to say about Unitarianism, I disagree with her impression that Jerry Blatz tried to show that Unitarian churches are seeking to convert Jews. My understanding of the term "Judaizing" is that it comes from the Christian New Testament, and is used disdainfully by Paul the author of much of that work to refer to Christians who sought to incorporate Jewish rituals into their worship. Thus if Jerry Blaz says that a church is Judaizing it does not mean that they are seeking to convert Jews, merely that they are doing stuff such as holding Seder services or singing Jewish hymns. A missionary group targeting Jews might be Judaizing, and a Judaizing church might be missionary, but the two concepts are different. My reading of Mr. Blaz is that he took issue with what he and I might feel is the degenerate consciousness of a Jew who would convert to a non-Jewish religion and even become a clergyman in that faith. Most of us would probably feel more comfortable with the theology of Unitarianism than with that of Islam but apostasy is equally reprehensible regardless, and opposition to apostasy does not imply a negative opinion of the religion the confused Jew is converting to.
From: Thomas A Longstaff <tl2b+@andrew.cmu.edu> Date: Sun, 5 May 1996 12:11:55 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Re: Ethical Culture Society Ethical Culutre is not a religion but a society of people that believe in living a moral and ethical life. They do not claim to be a religion. They have no concept of a higher power. I went to Fieldston, the Ethical Culture HIgh School. The basis of there teaching is philosophy and how to be a ethical person and what ethics is. They are a very intereting group. Most of there members seem to be Jews by birth. BY that I mean cultural Jews, not religious Jews. As I said before this is not a religion so religious peopole would not join. The nice thing about the school was that all people are accepted, no matter what they believe and certain behaviors are expected from students. Andi Kaufman
From: idela!markb@ide.com (Mark Bells) Date: Tue, 7 May 96 09:29:00 PDT Subject: Re: Jewish Traditions and Candy Quoth Mark Kolber <MKOLBER@gic.gi.com> > Date: Mon, 06 May 1996 09:45:38 -0400 (EDT) > > There seems to be a growing "tradition" of pelting the bar/bas mitzvah'e with > candy upon completion of the ceremony. I think so! I've seen this at three or four Conservative synagogues recently and two weeks ago I was at a Bar Mitzvah at an orthodox schul and sure enough all the kids (and most adults) were armed with candy by a helpful usher. Since the whole place was the size of a large living room we were able to pelt him pretty good! Mark Bell Northridge California
From: Elizabeth Basch <baschel@ksg1.harvard.edu> Date: Tue, 7 May 1996 09:42:39 Subject: Raising Jewish Adults and Same Sex Marriages The question was asked what can be done to transmit the love of Judaism to children so that they remain active Jews as adults. The answers so far are mostly to show that Judaism is important to you, and to involve kids in age-appropriate rituals. I think these are both important, but not enough. I really think that it is important that, even at a young age, children learn that Judaism is about ethics as well as ritual. And kids have wonderful noses for hypocracy. If you ignore the homeless person on the street because you are in a rush to get to services, your child will notice. Which brings me to the second topic of this posting, the ongoing discussion of recognition of marriages between same-sex partners. I've been hesitant to post, partly because these discussions never seem to change anyone's mind, partly because I'm tired. But I do think it's important to stand up and be counted. I can not help but believe that love of all sorts is an affirmation of God's creation and that celebrating that love is a mitzvah. The reason I think these two topics are linked, is that I don't think there is any hope of children growing up to be Jewish adults if Judaism does not speak to the realities of their life. If you find yourself wincing at the wording of the prayers, if you have to make excuses for rules that you find absurd, if you quietly ignore half of what the rabbi says, your children will probably find a better way to spend their Saturdays. Elizabeth
From: Rabbi David M Horowitz <Todaho@aol.com> Date: Mon, 6 May 1996 21:44:44 -0700 Subject: UAHC and Homosexual Weddings I must respond to the posting by Rabbi Leon Rogson. I write both as a rabbi and the father of a lesbian daughter. Rabbi Rogson may not believe that homosexuality is "inborn," yet more and more evidence exists that it is. Compare it not to diabetes (a disease that needs a cure) but to being left handed, or having blue eyes, or curly hair, or a big nose, or any one of a myriad of traits that have, at different times, be considered dangerous by those who would have us simply accept taboos. But even if homosexuality were not "inborn" (and I believe the evidence will confim that it is), it is not the end of society and Judaism as we know it. It may have been used in pagan ritual (then, of course, by those assummed to be heterosexual and denying God), but that makes the point. It no longer is a pagan ritual, but an sexual orientation shared by millions of religious and committed people, including thousands of Jews. My daughter has been lucky to be able to find open and affirming rabbis in her life. The message of Rabbi Rogson causes such pain, that death by suicide is sometimes the result. I would not ask Rabbi Rogson to officiate at a gay marriage ceremony, but I will gladly, for kiddushin is more than simply something for procreation and for heterosexist privelege. It is a vehicle by which we give significance and spirituality to a loving union. I pray my daughter will find such love. Rabbi David M. Horowitz
From: ao692@lafn.org (John Sherwood) Date: Tue, 7 May 1996 03:59:15 -0700 Subject: Re: UAHC and Homosexual Weddings My personal salute to Peter Goselin, Adam Reed, and Rabbi Richard Schacket for their very understanding posts on this issue. A few additional thoughts. To many of us, the love our our gay/Lesbian brothers and sisters and children is just as sacred as our marriages. Therefore, to label it as depraved, as has been done earlier in this discussion, is patently offensive. Let us remember the reality that acceptance of our fellow Jews of a different sexual orientation is not a matter of what "some human being" feels comfortable with. It is a matter of what a lot of human beings are by their nature, and their way of expressing their love and spirituality without harming other people. It is not the case that " like diabetes we should be seeking for a cure" What harm does it cause, except when society villifies it? While some people are uncomfortable with gay and Lesbian relationships, and seem to express the idea thatsuch relationships negate the value of their own, my wife and I don't experience this when we are together with any of our gay/Lesbian married friends. Each of us is entitled to our own comfort or discomfort level. Many of the statements bypeople who are opposed to the progress we have made in teaching the world to accept that our g/L fellow Jews and their relationships are just as worthy as we heterosexuals and our relationships, no more, no less, remind me of similar statements that have been made in support of racism and sexism,including racism and sexism. There was wonderful song in "South Pacific", "You've got to be taught to hate." Having been involved in the gay rights issue since 1952, long before "Stonewall", this rabbi is hardly concerned with the issue of political correctness. It was also not PC to do abortion counselling prior to Roe v. Wade, and reform rabbis were in the forefront of that battle. Kivie Kaplan, a UAHC leader, was one of the founders of the NAACP at the turn of the century, and that wasn't PC. Our defense of our g/L fellow Jews and their full entitlement isn't PC, unless I have been reading the wrong newspapers. The CCAR newsletter reports births and adoptions of our g/L members just as it reports all the other simchas. If we are equal in the rabbinate, let our laity have the same equality. Rabbi John M. Sherwood
From: wright@storm.simpson.edu (Mike Wright) Date: Tue, 7 May 1996 09:08:25 -0500 Subject: Re: UAHC and Homosexual Weddings Peter Goselin noted that, in the discussion of the UAHC and homosexual weddings, it appears that we've forgotten that gays and lesbians are human beings. I would like to add that some of these same gay and lesbian human beings are subscribers to this list. Specifically, me. And the mix of frustration, anger, and utter sadness much of this discussion has engendered in me might amaze some folks. It would seem that liberal Jews are willing to hear opinions and ask questions about any issue, halakhic, social, etc. except those which involve gay men and lesbians. At this point, minds can be heard snapping shut like steel traps. To read of your self variously as being "depraved" "unnatural", etc. can be pretty damaging, and the venom is no less poisonous in the polite language of this list than it is coming from a rabid hate-monger. Nor can I take heart in statements which make it clear that I am an "OK" person as long as I don't have sex with the gender to which I am attracted. I didn't think Jews did the martyr routine. I am a human being. I am gay, and certainly not by choice (who would choose to be a pariah?) My partner and I have been in a monogomous, loving relationship for 11+ years. Our son (heterosexual) has experienced a home life that is the envy of his peers--a caring, yet disciplined environment where respect is key. We mow the lawn, fix the car, and play with the dogs. There is a mezuzah on the doorpost, and Shabbat dinner is at 7:00 PM. It is not a depraved existance. My hat is off to the UAHC, for the courage shown in calling for recognition of a civil ceremony for gay and lesbian people. Only by such leadership will society, and Jews, continue to reform and evolve. Meanwhile, it's clear to me that I have a lot of work to do. End of rant. Thank you. Mike Wright
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