Tags
It is day 4 of Chanuka – Chanuka sameach!
30 Saturday Nov 2013
Posted Chanuka
inTags
It is day 4 of Chanuka – Chanuka sameach!
29 Friday Nov 2013
Posted Chanuka
inIt is day 3 of Chanuka – Chanuka sameach!
28 Thursday Nov 2013
Posted Chanuka
inTags
It is day 2 of Chanuka – Chanuka sameach!
27 Wednesday Nov 2013
Posted Chanuka
in26 Tuesday Nov 2013
Posted Jewish Community, Personal
inTags
community, conservative judaism, inspiration, learning, Limmud, orthodox judaism, Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, reform judaism
Limmud is a forum for Jewish learning organized by volunteers. It started in England, but now exists in many countries all over the world. Limmud is mostly attended by non-orthodox folks. Orthodox rabbis have even "banned" attendance. But this year, the new (orthodox) Chief Rabbi of England has decided to attend Limmud which put into motion some discussion about the pros and cons.
Instead of re-iterating what has been said, I will quote Rabbi Fink who writes in his article:
Non-Orthodox Judaism has kept many of our brothers and sisters in the fold. They are Jewish and religious in their own way thanks to Reform, Conservative, and the rest of them. For that we sincerely thank them. But many yearn for more. Not everyone that yearns for more will become Orthodox. Many of them would never attend a lecture that has Kiruv written all over it. But they will attend Limmud. They will attend other pluralistic events. That is our opportunity to inspire them.
I want to add two (maybe contradictory) personal statements from my experiences at Limmud.
First, I am a Limmud fan since my first Limmud three years ago. The atmosphere is just great. And it is decidedly a Jewish atmosphere. If you life so far away from a bigger community like me, it is very rare to have this feeling of Jewish community, so this is a big part of why I enjoy Limmud. But in all the Limmud conferences I have attended, there have been very few orthodox people, rabbis or otherwise. And that is something I would really like to change! If I had the choice between some orthodox Torah lecture and a drum lesson, I would attend the Torah lecture – after all I go to Limmud because it is an opportunity to explore Judaism. I can get drum lessons everywhere, I don’t have many Jewish learning opportunities where I live. So by "banning" orthodox participation in Limmud, you make my Limmud experience less rich than it could be.
My second point might seem to contradict the first. I have only come into contact with Reform and Conservative Jews through Limmud. My first contacts, the books I read, everything was orthodox (I live in a city with a very small community that is nominally orthodox, the rabbi is orthodox, but the community is mostly not). I thought all non-orthodox Jews are like the secular Israeli who thought Yom Kippur is a great opportunity for a barbecue (after all, it’s a holiday, shouldn’t you celebrate it?). Until I met non-orthodox Jews at Limmud who were committed, inspired, informed, practicing and searching for meaning in their Judaism. Now I might end up converting through a non-orthodox movement. But who knows, had there been a Limmud-like event for orthodox Jews or more committed, inspired, … orthodox Jews at Limmud, I might have gone in another direction, with different contacts made, different opportunities opened up. What if I had considered myself bound by the "ban" and never had gone to Limmud? I might have dropped Judaism alltogether, I was getting really lonely and frustrated at that time. Or maybe not, and I would still convert orthodox (and probably be not a step closer to conversion than 3 years ago) – who knows.
So, what is the point of this post? I would like more orthodox presence at Limmud. I do not think it will lead to people losing orthodoxy (even if I myself might be a counter example). I think the "banning" of working with other denominations causes more harm and strife and may even cause people to turn away from orthodoxy because of that. The most important goal should be that every individual finds the type of Judaism that is right form her/him and that gives her/him joy and meaning.
19 Tuesday Nov 2013
Posted Women and Judaism
in17 Sunday Nov 2013
Posted Chumash and NaKh
inAfter Moses’ death, Joshua ben Nun took over for him and led the 12 tribes into the land of Israel. Starting point is on the east side of the Jordan river (they didn’t really take the shortest route!). Mainly the book describes how one city/state after the other falls to the Israelites’ conquest (until chapter 12) and when this is done how the land is distributed between the tribes (look it up in a map in the tribal allotments of Israel article on Wikipedia) and the cities of refuge are instated. The book ends with Joshua’s death when he is 110 years old.
Stories:
You can read the complete book of Joshua in parallel English and Hebrew at Mechon Mamre or Chabad (with Rashi).
13 Wednesday Nov 2013
Posted Jewish Community, Jews and Non-Jews
inYou are aware that most Jews in the world abandoned Torah observance in the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries. This is because this “indoctrination” you laud simply could not answer the questions young Jews were asking at the time. Who says such a mass falling off couldn’t happen again? Once people start questioning the indoctrination they received and see that it wrong on one thing, instead of learning to view things with a logical, open mind, they will start asking “what else did they lie to me about?”
There is no question that a properly educated, logical, inquisitive NON-INDOCTRINATED mind can accept Torah, we all know people like that. This is the only Torah that can stand up to the challenges of modernity.
(comment from Y. Ben-David at October 30, 2013 at 4:48 PM)
We should not be afraid of modernity, science, curiosity! We need to know how to react and what is essential and needs to be kept, and what needs to go if it is proven to be wrong or untenable.
11 Monday Nov 2013
Posted Israel, Women and Judaism
inTags
David Bar-Cohn, kotel, omfwow, peace, politics, women of the wall
A quick link to a proposal of a new group called Orthodox Men For Women of the Wall. It is nice to hear a balanced point of view on the issue!
(The author also has a new blog called Truth and Peace that you might want to check to learn more)