No clue what this silly stuff is all about. Hat tip to Yitz.
5/21/13
5/19/13
Michelle Bachmann Warns us that Minneapolis - St. Paul are the new Sodom - Gomorrah
The Daily Currant reported last week that Michelle Bachman has threatened to "Leave Minnesota Over Marriage Equality" because the new Twin Cities are now just like the old Twin Cities of the Bible. This is funny stuff (5/13/13):Congresswoman Michele Bachmann threatened to leave Minnesota today if the state goes ahead with its plans to legalize gay marriage.Update: The governor signed the bill ("Minnesota Legalizes Gay Marriage: Gov. Mark Dayton Signs Bill Into Law") and, so far, no destruction.
In an interview with a local television station, the conservative firebrand said she believes God will destroy Minneapolis once the legislation is enacted, and wants to be far away when the reckoning happens.
"The Bible is very clear on this issue," she told KSTP-TV this morning. "Homosexuality is a sin, and God will punish communities that support it.
"Sodom and Gomorrah thought they could defy the will of God, and we all know what happened to them. If the governor signs this legislation into law the Minneapolis-St. Paul region will be next.
"I have a friend from Eden Prairie who's already packed everything she owns into her car and is driving out to Montana as we speak. These are very scary times. I don't want my family to be the last ones out."
...Although none of the other states has suffered from Biblical-like destruction, Minnesota's most outspoken voice in Congress told anchor Bruce Nolan that it's only a matter of time.
"I don't know what it will be, Bruce," she said. "It could be an earthquake. It could be a volcano. It could be some sort of flesh eating virus. All I know is that God does not let homosexuality go unpunished, and Minneapolis is next in line for his wrath.
"It breaks my heart to think that the Democrats are willing to play politics with the lives of so many Minnesotans. And I hate to leave so many of my constituents behind, but I urge them - please, please - follow my example and get your loved ones to safety before it's too late."
In a subsequent interview with The Daily Currant, Bachmann says she's not sure where she'll go if she leaves, but is seriously considering Oregon as a possibility since its constitution bans same sex marriage.
"I've heard wonderful things about Eugene," she says, "and I think (Democratic) Congressman (Peter) DeFazio may be vulnerable to a challenge. They're the nicest people in the world out there. I'm sure we'd be welcomed with open arms."
5/16/13
Top Ten Reasons We Eat Dairy on Shavuot
It seems we can never remember exactly why we eat dairy on Shavuot. Multiple thanks to our good friend who researched and thought about this question and sent us a retrospective for this year and reminder for years to come. After immersing myself and my family in milk, cheese, eggs and noodles for the past two days, the question remained, why? Why do we eat dairy on Shavuot? Here are the top ten reasons that I came up with.
My first thought was to look for some Biblical or Talmudic reason and for that, I turned to "The Jewish Book of Why", which gave three reasons:
1. "Dairy foods should be eaten on the day the Tora was received on Mount Sinai because the words in the Song of Songs, 'honey and milk under thy lips' (4:11) imply that, like milk products and honey, the words of the Tora are pleasant and good for our spirits".
2. From Exodus 23:19: "'The choicest first fruits shalt thou bring to the House of the Lord. Thou shalt not cook a kid in its mother's milk.' The 'first fruits'... refers to the Shavuot holiday. The second part... is taken to mean that the two main dishes to be served at the holiday meal are to be first a dairy dish, followed later by a meat dish".
3. According to a legend repeated in "The Jewish Book of Why", the Israelites returning from Mount Sinai did not have enough time so slaughter an animal and instead made the quickest possible meal, which was dairy.
I don't find any of these explanations convincing, so I turned to the experts. We are, after all, talking about food, so where better to look than in Jewish cookbooks? So, here we go:
Joan Nathan, noting the origin of Shavuot as a harvest festival in the iconic "The Jewish Holiday Kitchen", asks "how do dairy dishes fit into a barley harvest festival?" and she gives the following explanations:
4. "At this time of year...such foods are eaten because of the large amount of cheese produced. Churning and cheesemaking are common features of spring harvest festivals the world over, when goats, sheep, and cows begin to graze more and thus produce more milk."
But wait, there's more from Joan Nathan:
5. Psalm 68:16-17 refers to Mount Sinai as the "mountain of peaks (har gavnunim). She notes that gavnunim comes from the same root as gevinah, Hebrew for "cheese". "Thus (writes Joan Nathan), it could also be called Cheese Mountain, a common folk image."
6. Another reason Nathan cites is a follow-up to Reason #3, in which the Israelites returning to camp after receiving Ten Commandments or Torah, found that they had been gone so long that their milk turned sour and was made into cheese.
7. Nathan cites another rabbinic source which says "the Israelites fasted while they went to receive the Ten Commandments and returned so hungry that they drank milk immediately rather than go through the long process of preparing a meat meal."
Marlene Sorosky's "Fast and Festive Meals for the Jewish Holidays" refers to Reason #4 above, but suggests there is an abundance of milk, rather than cheese, and to another explanation
8. that "the Hebrews abstained from eating meat the day before they received the Torah".
9. Sorosky also suggests that "perhaps it's because the whiteness of milk is symbolic of the purity of the Torah".
So I offer Reason #10. Yes. Let's eat dairy meals because they're fun to make, and when the holiday is over, you can work off all that cheesecake and those blintzes.
5/14/13
תפילה לירושלים מילים הרב שאר ישוב כהן Video: Chief Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen's Inspiring Prayer for Jerusalem
Aaron Reichel, my friend of many years, sent me this update about a video of Chief Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen's inspiring Prayer for Jerusalem and related matters:
Thanks to Rabbi Itzchak Marmorstein, whose work relating to the late Chief Rabbi Kook our Harry and Jane Fischel Foundation has supported, I just received a you-tube link to the Prayer for Yerushalayim, to be recited or sung annually on the Shabbat before Yom Yerushalayim, authored by the Chairman of the Board of our Foundation and President of the Machon and of Ariel, Chief Rabbi Emeritus Shear Yashuv Cohen (also former Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem), chanted by a chazzan and a full ORCHESTRA! I don't know about you, but I can't think of ever having heard ANY prayer -- let alone a prayer intended for recitation in Orthodox synagogues (though not exclusively, of course) -- chanted with such an orchestra! I hope you will savor this you-tube presentation as I did. I'm not a music connoisseur, so I won't offer any comments of evaluation. The u-tube presentation (of course made on a weekday) speaks -- sings? -- for itself!
Thanks to Rabbi Itzchak Marmorstein, whose work relating to the late Chief Rabbi Kook our Harry and Jane Fischel Foundation has supported, I just received a you-tube link to the Prayer for Yerushalayim, to be recited or sung annually on the Shabbat before Yom Yerushalayim, authored by the Chairman of the Board of our Foundation and President of the Machon and of Ariel, Chief Rabbi Emeritus Shear Yashuv Cohen (also former Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem), chanted by a chazzan and a full ORCHESTRA! I don't know about you, but I can't think of ever having heard ANY prayer -- let alone a prayer intended for recitation in Orthodox synagogues (though not exclusively, of course) -- chanted with such an orchestra! I hope you will savor this you-tube presentation as I did. I'm not a music connoisseur, so I won't offer any comments of evaluation. The u-tube presentation (of course made on a weekday) speaks -- sings? -- for itself!
Aaron adds:
While on the general subject of special prayers sung in Orthodox synagogues but composed in relatively recent times, a few weeks ago, the very prominent Rabbi J. J. Schacter spoke at the West Side Institutional Synagogue as the featured "scholar in residence" and guest speaker at the annual Rabbi Herbert S. Goldstein Memorial Lecture (subdivided into three full-length lectures), in conjunction with the recent publication of the augmented biography of Harry Fischel, originally edited by Rabbi Goldstein. Rabbi Goldstein was the father-in-law of Chief Rabbi Cohen, who wrote the preface to this augmented edition. Rabbi Schacter was as eloquent and informative as ever, but among the things that stand out about his presentation is that despite the fact that, unlike me (who might be considered biased in favor of Rabbi Goldstein, notwithstanding the objective documentation in the biography I wrote), Rabbi Schacter would be expected to be biased AGAINST Rabbi Goldstein, having been the rabbi of a historically competing synagogue, on various levels, The Jewish Center, and having co-authored a book about Rabbi Goldstein's "nemesis" -- Mordechai Kaplan, the first rabbi of the Jewish Center and the founder of reconstructionist Judaism, and, to some extent, the CJI before it, of which Rabbi Goldstein became the first director. Yet Rabbi Schacter was extremely gracious in his praise of Rabbi Goldstein and Rabbi Goldstein's place in history, and even had some kind words about the biography of Rabbi Goldstein, which he cited extensively. These tangents now lead up to the main tangent to what I'm leading up to, in the context of the you-tube link.
At the Shabbat at the WSIS featuring Rabbi Schacter (referred to above), the Chazzan of the WSIS, Zev Muller, sang Avinu Shebashamayim, a/k/a the Tfila L'Shlom Hamedinah (the prayer for the country of Israel) a rendition composed by Cantor Sol Zim, with a solo at the beginning and at the end, which was absolutely mesmerizing, no less than what listeners of the you-tube link below are about to hear. Among the other compositions that Chazzan Muller sang was Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach's Mimkomcha. Rabbi Schacter, the guest speaker, began his primary speech -- the Shabbat morning sermon -- with some words about the synagogue and the current rabbi and the history of the synagogue and its founding rabbi, but he also said that had he come to the West Side just to hear this chazzan (Chazzan Muller) sing these two compositions, it would have been worth it! I've heard many guest speakers and many notable chazzanim, but I never before heard any guest speaker make such a statement about any chazzan! I would hope that the readers of this email will come to the WSIS and/or encourage other people to come to the WSIS for many reasons, but now they can add this one!
Cantor Muller, by the way, is to be one of the guests of honor at the forthcoming dinner of the WSIS, and I'm sure that, PG, he will do more than a simple acceptance speech! So if you want to hear him during the week, this is an opportunity to do so.
--Aaron
5/13/13
Book of Ruth - Free for Shavuot
From our collaborator Reuven Brauner:
Hi Everyone,
Shavuos is coming up and that means Sefer Ruth.
In order to facilitate your learning of this important work, traditionally read on Chag Matan Torah, I have included the link to my Hadgashas Hane’emar version on halakhah.com which should make this book’s understanding easier, quicker and, maybe even, more fun.
Please feel free to copy it, print it out and pass it on to all your friends. Enjoy.
Happy Rosh Chodesh, have a Good Shabbos and Good Yom Tov
Check Out - Talmudic Books
See the Kindle Talmud in English
Ponder the Questions of Whence and Wherefore
God's Favorite Prayers
5/11/13
5/10/13
JStandard: Do Angels Speak Aramaic?
My Dear Rabbi column (May 3) sparked an urgent letter to the editor at the Jewish Standard. I answered it.The Dear Rabbi Column, “ ...based on timeless Talmudic wisdom” (May 3), writes the following about the Kaddish: “Yet this prayer is especially apropos for a mourner because we believe that it is the Aramaic praise that the angels recite in God’s presence in the heavens.”
1.The Talmud (Shabbos 12 A) states that the angels do not understand and certainly do not communicate in Aramaic.
2.The prophets, Isaiah 6 and Ezekiel 3, inform us of the praises that the angels recite to God, verses that are incorporated in the daily prayers as the Kedusha, not the Kaddish.
3.The rabbis have explained that the unique quality of the Kaddish, which elevates it even beyond the Kedusha ( Berachos 21 B), derives from the fact that it is the result of human initiative.
Israel Polak
Teaneck
Dear Rabbi, aka Rabbi Dr. Tzvee Zahavy, replies:
I thank Mr. Polak for his letter. My column targets the issues of people, not of angels. Since I have not yet been to heaven, I can only speculate on the language skills of angels and their activities based on the assertions of our traditions. The Talmud passage Mr. Polak refers to cites the individual view of one rabbi regarding the language skills of angels. Other authoritative rabbis in the Talmud and later times argue that some angels do know Aramaic or that the question is moot, because angels know what you are thinking. Putting the language and angel issues aside, I do agree, as I proposed in my column, that the Kaddish is a powerful prayer of praise, a “human initiative” that mourners recite here on earth to act as if they are intercessors to gain heavenly immortality for the soul of a departed loved one.
2006: When Rabbi Aryeh Strikovsky ordained Aviva Ner-David
I wrote this seven years ago:
On one level, I was overjoyed to read in the Jerusalem Post report (May 4, 2006) that a Jerusalem Orthodox rabbi Aryeh Strikovsky has ordained his woman student Aviva Ner-David as a rabbi saying that her "knowledge and mastery of Jewish law are remarkable."
This was a breakthrough that I awaited, but frankly never expected to see in my lifetime. I thought, as I read the news, that this marks the end to the male monopoly on the Orthodox rabbinate. The Reform movement had torn down this wall in the 70s. The Conservative movement had started routinely ordaining women in the 80s. And now, the Orthodox will be ordaining women.
In theory, I want to see this is a good development in the history of Judaism. With women rabbis, more talent can be unleashed into the ranks of religious leadership. With double the talent there can be double the learning and twice as much new theological insight, imagination and energy.
In theory, since the Orthodox rabbi is not a sacerdotal position, a woman should be able to fill it regardless of the patriarchal roots of the system. A woman can become an expert in Jewish law and practice and act in all capacities as a rabbi just like men have been doing for centuries.
But we don't live in a theoretical world. A real reading of the nature of contemporary Orthodoxy will lead one to conclude that it is a system run by men whose political and social power in society at large is marginalized. And yet these men do see themselves as guardians of a particularly important male-dominated world order of their own.
On one level, I was overjoyed to read in the Jerusalem Post report (May 4, 2006) that a Jerusalem Orthodox rabbi Aryeh Strikovsky has ordained his woman student Aviva Ner-David as a rabbi saying that her "knowledge and mastery of Jewish law are remarkable."
This was a breakthrough that I awaited, but frankly never expected to see in my lifetime. I thought, as I read the news, that this marks the end to the male monopoly on the Orthodox rabbinate. The Reform movement had torn down this wall in the 70s. The Conservative movement had started routinely ordaining women in the 80s. And now, the Orthodox will be ordaining women.
In theory, I want to see this is a good development in the history of Judaism. With women rabbis, more talent can be unleashed into the ranks of religious leadership. With double the talent there can be double the learning and twice as much new theological insight, imagination and energy.
But we don't live in a theoretical world. A real reading of the nature of contemporary Orthodoxy will lead one to conclude that it is a system run by men whose political and social power in society at large is marginalized. And yet these men do see themselves as guardians of a particularly important male-dominated world order of their own.
5/9/13
Are Your Emailed Prayers Kosher?
No, if not addressed properly your emailed prayers to Joel Osteen will fail. So we are told on Huff Post by Bianca Bokser....Osteen's staff has instructed online congregants to post prayers to his Web site or phone prayers to a 1-800 number. They've also provided an email address -- prayer@joelosteen.com -- assuring digital participants that the church has dedicated prayer partners on hand who will field their missives and pray for them.
But at this moment, those emailed entreaties have no prayer of reaching anyone. The email address Osteen's helpers have supplied is the wrong one. It's an address that doesn't exist -- the staff was meant to offer up "prayerrequest@joelosteen.com." Thanks to the error, an automatically generated email reply is informing the faithful that delivery of their prayers has "failed permanently."...
Is Stephen Hawking Jewish?
No, the famous scientist Stephen Hawking is not a Jew. He attended St. Albans, an independent Christian school, as a child.
Hawking is a noted British theoretical physicist and cosmologist. He has written a new book in which he challenges the notion that God created the universe.
According to the Guardian: Stephen Hawking says universe not created by God.
Even though Hawking is not a Jew, British Chief Rabbi Sacks has seen fit to challenge his heresy:
Chief rabbi challenges Stephen Hawking in row over origins of universe
Wikipedia informs us that, regarding religion:
Purchase the Kindle edition of this book here: Whence and Wherefore
He brilliantly defends the notion that God created the universe and finds solace and wisdom in that conclusion. In 2010 we sent a copy to Professor Hawking. We did not hear back from him.
Hawking is a noted British theoretical physicist and cosmologist. He has written a new book in which he challenges the notion that God created the universe.
According to the Guardian: Stephen Hawking says universe not created by God.
Even though Hawking is not a Jew, British Chief Rabbi Sacks has seen fit to challenge his heresy:
Chief rabbi challenges Stephen Hawking in row over origins of universe
Wikipedia informs us that, regarding religion:
Hawking has stated that he is "not religious in the normal sense" and he believes that "the universe is governed by the laws of science. The laws may have been decreed by God, but God does not intervene to break the laws."Our dad, Rabbi Dr. Zev Zahavy, wrote a book on the subject of cosmology and religion -- "Whence and Wherefore - Cosmological Destiny to Man Scientifically and Philosophically Explained: An Analysis Relating to 'In the Centre of Immensities' by Sir Bernard Lovell ".
Purchase the Kindle edition of this book here: Whence and Wherefore
He brilliantly defends the notion that God created the universe and finds solace and wisdom in that conclusion. In 2010 we sent a copy to Professor Hawking. We did not hear back from him.
Is Blackballing Tim Tebow from the NFL Kosher?
Yes, we think that blackballing Tim Tebow from the NFL is kosher and proper. Michael Silver, writing on Yahoo Sports, understands why this is happening but is not sure that it is kosher ("Tim Tebow blackballed by NFL teams because of cult-like following, media frenzy").We think that Tebow violates two major league sports conventions. (1) He grandstands way too much and (2) he broadcasts his religious beliefs in public, even on the field during the game.
In team sports individual grandstanding is frowned upon. Too much of it leads to what coaches call "a circus" around a player. That's a "distraction" and the management in major sports do not want that. By the way, professional wrestling perfectly mocks this aspect of all other professional sports by making individual grandstanding the main component of their events.
We've railed against Tebow's religious expressions since they became widely publicized during his college football career. Why? Because our studies have taught us that a strong element of American public culture is maintaining a separation between your church beliefs and the state of your actions in the public arena - especially in the workplace, in politics and in sporting events. Religious expression is proper in the family and in the church where it plays a role n the celebration of rites of passage (births, weddings, funerals) and in rites of seasonal celebrations (feasts and fasts).
Silver opines about Tebow on Yahoo:
...even though I sort of understand why Tebow is toxic, the fact that he's not even being given a chance to compete for a third-string job is troublesome. And just as I feel compelled to call out the league when it comes to injustices like the dearth of minorities in offensive play-calling roles, the apparent blacklisting of a quarterback who went 7-4 as a starter in 2011 and won a memorable playoff game over the Pittsburgh Steelers doesn't seem kosher to me.Bottom line: We believe that keeping the Tebow circus and religious crusade out of the NFL is kosher. We recommend that he try his hand at professional wrestling.
Tebow, by all accounts, is a hard worker who radiates a relentlessly positive attitude. He has obvious leadership qualities and, as Broncos fans, 2011 opponents and "Saturday Night Live" aficionados alike can attest, an uncanny knack for getting the stars to align in his favor. (Or, perhaps, his deep Christian faith really does translate into things like Marion Barber inexplicably running out of bounds in high altitude. After the weirdness I witnessed that season, I'm not ruling anything out.)...
5/8/13
Happy Mishna Day
On this day in history the first Mishna was printed. Joshua Solomon ben Israel Nathan Soncino, the first member of the distinguished family of printers, completed publication of the work in 1492.From Ha`aretz by David B. Green:
On May 8, 1492, Joshua Solomon ben Israel Nathan Soncino completed publication of what is believed to be the first printed edition of the Mishna. The text is accompanied by Maimonides’ commentary on the Mishna, in Hebrew translation.
Joshua Solomon Soncino (died 1493) was the first member of the distinguished Soncino family of printers to publish a book, a tractate of the Talmud (Berakhot), which he created in 1484. (Johannes Gutenberg had produced his first block-printed Bible in 1455.) The family took its name from the Italian town of Soncino, in northern Italy, east of Milan, where it lived for some time, but it could trace its origins to a German Jew called Moses of Speyer, in the 14th century.
5/5/13
Announcing a new Edition of Shoroshim by Reuven Brauner
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Enjoy and B'Hatzlahah!
5/1/13
Is the author and spiritual seeker Paulo Coelho Jewish?
No Paulo Coelho is not a Jew. He was brought up Catholic and attended a Jesuit school in Brazil. Coelho is not a big fan of any organized religion. He speaks with lyrical disdain and disparagement in his books about the wisdom and ritual of religions.His current publication, Manuscript Found in Accra, is set in Jerusalem before a battle. The people in the book gather to ask about life so that they can learn enough to save "the soul of Jerusalem." The publisher tells us:
July 14, 1099. Jerusalem awaits the invasion of the crusaders who have surrounded the city’s gates. There, inside the ancient city’s walls, men and women of every age and every faith have gathered to hear the wise words of a mysterious man known only as the Copt. He has summoned the townspeople to address their fears with truth:This book is new age in every respect that we can think of especially in the way that it wanders through spiritual landscapes and themes without a care for a conventional framework of organization or presentation.
“Tomorrow, harmony will become discord. Joy will be replaced by grief. Peace will give way to war. . . . None of us can know what tomorrow will hold, because each day has its good and its bad moments. So, when you ask your questions, forget about the troops outside and the fear inside. Our task is not to leave a record of what happened on this date for those who will inherit the Earth; history will take care of that. Therefore, we will speak about our daily lives, about the difficulties we have had to face.”
The people begin with questions about defeat, struggle, and the nature of their enemies; they contemplate the will to change and the virtues of loyalty and solitude; and they ultimately turn to questions of beauty, love, wisdom, sex, elegance, and what the future holds. “What is success?” poses the Copt. “It is being able to go to bed each night with your soul at peace.” ...
Now, these many centuries later, the wise man’s answers are a record of the human values that have endured throughout time. And, in Paulo Coelho’s hands, The Manuscript Found in Accra reveals that who we are, what we fear, and what we hope for the future come from the knowledge and belief that can be found within us, and not from the adversity that surrounds us.
One passage struck us because it sounded like the utter opposite of the philosophy of life and values that we heard espoused at Yeshiva University by our teacher the Rav, Rabbi Soloveitchik and by his followers.
We will cite Coelho's passage and leave it without explanation; and we wish that understanding will flow to those who understand:
Beauty is present in all creation, but the dangerous fact is that, because we human beings are often cut off from the Divine Energy, we allow ourselves to be influenced by what other people think... And we become ugly and embittered.
At that moment, we can draw comfort from so-called wisdom, an accumulation of ideas put together by people wishing to define the world instead of respecting the mystery of life. This "wisdom" consists of all the unnecessary rules, regulation, and measurements intended to establish a standard of behavior.
According to that false wisdom, we should not be concerned about beauty because it is superficial and ephemeral.
That isn't true. All the beings created under the sun, from birds to mountains, from flowers to rivers, reflect the miracle of creation.
If we resist the temptation to allow other people to define who we are, then we will gradually be able to let the sun inside our own soul shine forth... (pp. 60-61)Back in 2011 we wrote about his previous book Aleph saying that the book... will greatly entertain the spiritual seeker. By that we mean if you are open to the concepts of past lives and the mystical energies of the universe, this book will speak to you. But even if you are such a seeker, you may feel, as we do, that at times the book overdoes some of its themes.
Within the story Coelho provides some gems of writing. We identified with his metaphor of the Chinese bamboo plant since we had spent several years putting down the roots of our latest book. And now, that book (God's Favorite Prayers) has sprouted up boldly after its publication. Coelho explains that the Chinese Bamboo first, “...spends 5 years as a little shoot, using that time to develop its complex root system. And then from one moment to the next, it puts on a spurt and grows up to 25 meters high.”
Within the narrative Coelho casts in what can be wonderful observations, if they resonate for you. On the life-value of mistakes he tells us, “...only mediocrity is sure of itself, so take risk and do what you really want to do. Seek out people who aren’t afraid of making mistakes and who, therefore, do make mistakes. Because of that, their work often isn’t recognized, but they are precisely the kind of people who change the world and, after many mistakes, do something that will transform their own community completely”.
He does get this inspiring exhortation partly right. We'd say to seek out people who are afraid to make mistakes -- that is a human trait -- but who nevertheless go ahead and make them. And he does need to differentiate and specify what he means by "mistakes". He surely means the worthy and meaty and bold and creative mistakes, not the foolish ones. And then of course, we all need to know some definition of the notion of "transform" -- but we never do get that from most of those who throw out the idea. We just know that they mean that transformation is something good and different and fresh and original.
It's all in a narrative that is highly intuitive and new age. And we get it and we like it. We also like the title.
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4/29/13
QB Tim Tebow: Update on John 3:16 and Hebrews 12:1-2 and the NFL Jets
Update: Tim Tebow did not merit eternal life with the Jets. See this report, "Noisy Courtship, Quiet Breakup - Jets Dump Tebow" on the NYTimes.comThe Times ran a lengthy article about Tebow, when he entered the NFL and struggled as a QB: "In Tebow Debate, a Clash of Faith and Football". Tebow was still over the top in his religious ostentation, almost Pharisaic in it, dare we use the term. And the Times used this instance to open a much needed discussion of religion and sports.
The Daily News added:
In 2009 we wrote: This week Tim Tebow has on some new verses, Hebrews 12:1-2 -- rubbing his religion on his face and in our faces again. This blogger is one Hebrew who opposes such public religious pronouncements on the field of sport, as sponsored by a state university, see below...
We have the greatest respect for Florida quarterback Tim Tebow as an athlete and as a humanitarian. He sets a great example for all of us.
Just one tiny little thing Tim. You had inscribed for all of us to see during the championship game last year in the black glare block under your eyes the reference to "John" under one eye and "3:16" under the other.
4/28/13
Is Jonathan Krohn Jewish?
No and yes. According to the Times, the young (former) conservative is being brought up as a Christian. So no, definitely Jonathan Krohn is not Jewish by religion.Update: At 17, Krohn was doing teshuvah - repenting his conservatism - i.e., he adopted liberal ideas and went to study philosophy at NYU. MSNBC reported in the video clip below, wherein Lawrence O'Donnell lauded him for converting to the "bright side".
Update 2: The Times reported on Krohn: "The Growing Pains of Jonathan Krohn" (4/28/2013)
As to his religion, according to the Times, Jonathan Krohn's mother was Jewish before she converted to Christianity. According to Jewish law, Jonathan is a Jew. Appropriately, the Times is silent on the issue of whether his Baptist parents gave him a bris. It seems the young Christian conservative did not have a bar mitzvah but he did get a present,
He received a computer from his maternal grandfather for his 13th birthday. “In the Jewish culture in which my mom was raised, 13 is a big deal,” he said. “But since I’m a Jewish Christian, I don’t do a bar mitzvah.” (Decades ago, his mother became a Baptist.)Even in parentheses, the fact that the boy has a Jewish mother, makes him a (latent) member of the tribe. In 2009 we said: We do envy this young man who has concluded at such an early age that the world is precisely the way it should be, that progress is not needed, that government ought to be curtailed and that Rush Limbaugh is NOT a big fat idiot. We wish we had learned all that by the time we were 14. Even now we are struggling to rid ourselves of the desire for progress and the esteem with which we hold those who dedicate their lives to public service in the quest for better government and leadership in our country. //reposted from 3/8/09 because this little feller is finally talking a bit of sense//
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4/25/13
Update: Rabbi Michael Broyde is Sinking Fast
Yet another update 4/25/2013:
The Jewish Channel's Steven I. Weiss reports that it turns out that Broyde himself (posing as David Weissman) circulated the story that he was being considered as a candidate for the British Chief Rabbi post. And so it was Broyde who called Broyde "the finest mind of his generation" in the name of Norman Lamm in a claim to a reporter at The Times of Israel on 8/8/2012. More on all of this here.
Isn't that nice. But we wonder now. Why stop there if you are making all of this up? Why not have Rabbi Lamm call you, "The Greatest Jew Since Moshe Rabbenu"? Or why not have the Lubavitcher Rebbe call out from his grave and proclaim that you indeed are the Messiah and that he is but your humble servant?
On our 4/15/2013 update we said:
We wrote about a book by Michael Broyde in 2011 and reposted it in 2012.
Due to the recent revelations about Broyde, we repost our review again. In 2011 in short we concluded that Broyde's book called "Innovation in Jewish Law" is not about any innovation and not about any Jewish law. It is about the atrophy of a prayer and discusses the customs and regulations for that prayer. Accordingly we thought that the title was misleading. Nevertheless, at the time, we politely complimented the book as "learned." Here is our 2012 post...
The Times of Israel reported (8/8/12) that Rabbi Michael Broyde "emerges as frontrunner for British chief rabbi post."
A "source close to the search process" supplied information on the process to the TOI including this tidbit, "There has also been strong lobbying for Broyde by the chancellor of Yeshiva University, Norman Lamm, who in a letter called Broyde 'the finest mind of his generation,' says the source."
Not knowing this reputation, we commented on a book by Broyde on 2/20/2011 on this blog. We found the book filled with imprecisions of language and analysis and overstatements of broad conclusions drawn from a non-representative sample of religious liturgical regulations (called by the author "laws"). We were not overly impressed with the work for these additional reasons that we gave back in 2011....
The author of Innovation in Jewish Law: A Case Study of Chiddush in Havineinu
has wonderful credentials as the publisher tells us:
The Jewish Channel's Steven I. Weiss reports that it turns out that Broyde himself (posing as David Weissman) circulated the story that he was being considered as a candidate for the British Chief Rabbi post. And so it was Broyde who called Broyde "the finest mind of his generation" in the name of Norman Lamm in a claim to a reporter at The Times of Israel on 8/8/2012. More on all of this here.
Isn't that nice. But we wonder now. Why stop there if you are making all of this up? Why not have Rabbi Lamm call you, "The Greatest Jew Since Moshe Rabbenu"? Or why not have the Lubavitcher Rebbe call out from his grave and proclaim that you indeed are the Messiah and that he is but your humble servant?
On our 4/15/2013 update we said:
We wrote about a book by Michael Broyde in 2011 and reposted it in 2012.
Due to the recent revelations about Broyde, we repost our review again. In 2011 in short we concluded that Broyde's book called "Innovation in Jewish Law" is not about any innovation and not about any Jewish law. It is about the atrophy of a prayer and discusses the customs and regulations for that prayer. Accordingly we thought that the title was misleading. Nevertheless, at the time, we politely complimented the book as "learned." Here is our 2012 post...
The Times of Israel reported (8/8/12) that Rabbi Michael Broyde "emerges as frontrunner for British chief rabbi post."
A "source close to the search process" supplied information on the process to the TOI including this tidbit, "There has also been strong lobbying for Broyde by the chancellor of Yeshiva University, Norman Lamm, who in a letter called Broyde 'the finest mind of his generation,' says the source."
Not knowing this reputation, we commented on a book by Broyde on 2/20/2011 on this blog. We found the book filled with imprecisions of language and analysis and overstatements of broad conclusions drawn from a non-representative sample of religious liturgical regulations (called by the author "laws"). We were not overly impressed with the work for these additional reasons that we gave back in 2011....
The author of Innovation in Jewish Law: A Case Study of Chiddush in Havineinu
has wonderful credentials as the publisher tells us:Inventing the Past: Michael Broyde and Morton Smith
The Jewish Channel's Steven I. Weiss continued his outstanding investigative reporting with a new story on Rabbi Michael Broyde of Emory University, "Investigation Reveals Additional Questionable Identity With Connections to Broyde’s Scholarship". It now appears certain that Broyde invented letters by two imaginary rabbis to support his opinions on religious matters. Weiss also found that an 83 page article published by Broyde in the journal Tradition was bolstered in part by evidence from Broyde's manufactured authorities and was published with subventions funded by Emory and the Templeton Foundation.
The Broyde matter has reminded us of Morton Smith, another professor at a major university who went to great lengths to invent a religious letter to boost his reputation and his scholarly agenda.
Wikipedia summarizes the Smith matter in an article that starts, "Morton Smith (May 29, 1915 – July 11, 1991) was an American professor of ancient history at Columbia University. He is best known for his controversial discovery of the Mar Saba letter, a letter attributed to Clement of Alexandria containing excerpts from a Secret Gospel of Mark, during a visit to the monastery at Mar Saba in 1958."
Along with many other professors of religion, we believe that Smith's discovery was an intricate hoax that he perpetrated out of some unknown and twisted scholarly motives. Smith was quite clever in committing and defending his deception. And there remain a few scholars who still accept the authenticity of Smith's find.
Weiss now has proven conclusively in his reporting that Broyde committed equally intricate academic hoaxes. In our view though Broyde's hoaxes are far less clever and dramatic than Smith's.
The Broyde matter has reminded us of Morton Smith, another professor at a major university who went to great lengths to invent a religious letter to boost his reputation and his scholarly agenda.
Wikipedia summarizes the Smith matter in an article that starts, "Morton Smith (May 29, 1915 – July 11, 1991) was an American professor of ancient history at Columbia University. He is best known for his controversial discovery of the Mar Saba letter, a letter attributed to Clement of Alexandria containing excerpts from a Secret Gospel of Mark, during a visit to the monastery at Mar Saba in 1958."
Along with many other professors of religion, we believe that Smith's discovery was an intricate hoax that he perpetrated out of some unknown and twisted scholarly motives. Smith was quite clever in committing and defending his deception. And there remain a few scholars who still accept the authenticity of Smith's find.
Weiss now has proven conclusively in his reporting that Broyde committed equally intricate academic hoaxes. In our view though Broyde's hoaxes are far less clever and dramatic than Smith's.
Labels:
christianity,
inventions,
morton smith,
orthodox,
rabbis,
religion,
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