Orthodox Judaism Escalates its War on Women

The Orthodox war on women is not an accidental element in the religion and culture of Orthodoxy. It is an essential defining fact of Orthodox belief and practice. 

An Orthodox "rabbi" in my town has escalated the war. He wrote proudly last week on his blog about how Orthodox Jews won the last battle against women. They kept the women in the back of the shul behind the mehitza. Now he says, they will win the next battle against women. They will prevent women from becoming rabbis.

The evidence is clear across the board. Orthodox Judaism without any doubt preaches that God wants women held in second class status. It teaches that God says that women must be discriminated against and denied civil rights and equality.

The Orthodox segregate women in synagogues, schools and streets and buses. 

Women cannot sit where they wish in synagogue or lead the prayers. Women cannot testify in Jewish courts. Married women cannot divorce their husbands. Women cannot sing for men. Women cannot become rabbis. Women cannot study in Yeshivas. 

The Orthodox segregate women with clothing rules. They say that women cannot wear the clothing of their choice. 

And this war on women is getting more intense. Orthodox men now refuse to sit next to women in public transportation on buses and airplanes. In Orthodox neighborhoods women are told where to walk on public sidewalks and what length their dresses and blouse sleeves must be when they go out of their homes.

Orthodox Judaism denies women the right to divorce their husbands. And there is more.

This war directed against women has been going on for centuries and continues to gain momentum now in 2015.

I have been writing in exasperation about this subject for many years. I originally wrote an essay in 1987 to analyze and characterize some of the darker clouds that I saw on the horizon within Orthodox Judaism's belligerent attitudes, especially its war on women.

These teachings about women are false. Orthodox Judaism is a beautiful religion.

What shall we do to stop this war?

Here is more of my original article...

Here are some other of my articles, reviews, independent study courses and more... 

[An earlier version of this post appeared here 10/28/10]. 

The Right Way to Teach the Talmud

There is a right way to teach Talmud. All Yeshivas essentially teach Talmud the same way - select the Tractate to teach -- open it and start reading. That is not the right way.

Here is a link to a short article that I wrote a while back, "Teaching Mishnah, Midrash and Talmud at the University."

I outline some of the course methods I have used in university courses and I make some generalizations, such as:

...I do not use the traditional Yeshiva approach to designing a "syllabus", i.e., start on page 2A and learn as much as time permits in the tractate. I also do not emphasize the notion of the texts as part of "the Halakhah." This concept is a relatively modern construct, composed of many strata of texts, commentaries and codes. Some would argue it is a tool of those who foster rabbinic authority rather than a purely intellectual asset of our rabbinic heritage.

Please see my article for more details. /repost from 8/5/06/

Rav Aharon Lichtenstein, great Torah Sage and the Quintessential Scribe, has died.

My teacher and rebbe Rav Aharon Lichtenstein has passed away.

He was awarded the Israel Prize 2014 in Jewish religious literature.

He was one of the finest teachers that I studied with in college - a genius as an educator and a sincere and compassionate human being. He is the person that I chose to personify the quintessential scribe personality of prayer in my book "God's Favorite Prayers (p. 71 ff)."

The Scribe’s Prayers

I had the privilege of studying in Rav Aharon Lichtenstein’s Talmud shiur (class) for two years, 1966-1968. Each December, he invited us talmidim (disciples) to his house for latkes (potato pancakes) on Hanukkah. There, in his apartment, we sat with his little kids and his wife Tovah, daughter of Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik. The latkes were good and the Lichtensteins appeared to be a regular family. For some reason, that surprised me.

Once, during the years that I was in his shiur, while I was out with some of the guys playing basketball on the courts between the Yeshiva College dorms, Rav Aharon, a lanky, thin and tall man, came walking by. One of us had the chutzpah to ask him to join the ball game. He said okay and he played aggressively—and just like a regular guy. For some reason, that blew my mind.

And, one year, in our student play, the Yeshiva College Purim shpiel, a satiric revue for the holiday, I played the role of Rav Aharon. In my performance, I hemmed and hawed and exaggerated my rebbe’s mannerisms much more than I should have. And there in the audience sat my rebbe, laughing heartily along with us. For some reason, that really blew my mind.

A Reexamination of Rav Soloveitchik's Ban on Interfaith Dialog

I recommend this insightful article from European Judaism, Volume 47, Number 2, Autumn 2014: 95–106: "SOLOVEITCHIK’S ‘NO’ TO INTERFAITH DIALOGUE," by Angela West.

Abstract
Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, one of the outstanding figures of modern Orthodox Judaism in the twentieth century, was opposed to interfaith dialogue and more particularly, to theological dialogue with the Catholic Church. In guidelines laid down in his paper ‘Confrontation’ in 1964 he proposed that Jews and Christians should discuss social and ethical problems together, but not matters theological. Since he was personally well acquainted with non-Jewish secular learning and had a philosophically sophisticated understanding of the role of halakhah, there has been much speculation as to why he sought to restrict dialogue in this way. Fifty years after ‘Confrontation’ was issued, it may be useful to re-examine his reasons and motivation in this matter and consider what relevance it has for contemporary interfaith relations.

You can obtain a copy (PDF) and additional related material here: To Access the Special Virtual Issue from European Judaism, please visit: http://bit.ly/World-Interfaith-Harmony

For more information about European Judaism, visit: www.journals.berghahnbooks.com/ej

VOLUME 47, NUMBER 2
Soloveitchik's 'No' to Interfaith Dialogue, Angela West
VOLUME 46, NUMBER 1
Reflections on the Promise and Limitations of Interfaith Dialogue, Paul R. Mendes-Flohr­
Social Media and the Movement of Ideas, Edward Kessler
Power and Authority in Religious Traditions in Islam: Reflections about issues of power and authority in the traditions and the present situation of Muslims in Europe, Hüseyin Inam
Growing Up Religiously in a Changing World, Julia Gardos
VOLUME 45, NUMBER 1
The Integrity of John Rayner and Inter-faith Relations, Richard Harries
Rabbi Hugo Gryn as Preacher, Marc Saperstein
VOLUME 39, NUMBER 2
Forty Years of European Judaism – Thirty Eight Years of Dialogue, Michael Hilton
VOLUME 37, NUMBER 1
Dialogue? Thank You, No! Ten Commandments for Interfaith Dialogue, Claus Leggewie

Background on World Interfaith Harmony Week - Virtual Issue from Young Lee:

The first week of February is World Interfaith Harmony Week, which aims to promote harmony between all people regardless of their religious faith. In honor of this event, we are delighted to offer free access to the following articles from our journal, European Judaism that deal with many aspects and opinions of interfaith dialogue and relations.

My Jewish Standard Dear Rabbi Column for January 2015 - Books, Books, Books

Dear Rabbi: Your Talmudic advice column

Dear Rabbi,

I’ve been buying books for many years. Now I look around my house and I’ve decided that I just have way too many volumes. I need to thin out my library, but I’m overwhelmed. I don’t know where to start. Please advise me!

Buried in books in Bergenfield

Dear Buried,

Yes, we are the people of the book. One of the major archetypes of Jewish culture is the scribe, the writer of books. We put passages from our sacred writings on our doorposts and we wear them in our t'fillin. In synagogue we embrace and kiss our Torah, the primary book of our religion.

And for many of us, buying and owning books is an important part of life. As a professor for several decades I amassed quite a library. And of late with the rise of digital books and internet archives of many reference materials, I find that owning paper books is no longer so necessary.

Also, as we get older, we realize the time will come when we leave our children our possessions. And they often do not want to inherit our books. I’ve dealt with the problem of too many books quite recently, as I ponder the destiny of my own impressive book collection and as I continue to deal with my father’s library after his death several years ago.

Here are some of the options and suggestions for what to do with your books that my siblings and I have tried with some small successes.

Understanding the Extensive Connections Between Religions and Terrorism

In light of the awful terrorist attacks that have been launched once again in Israel I thought it prudent to repost this item.

What are the connections between religions and terrorism? 

That's a big question. I tried to answer, explain and understand it in the past through my extensive scholarly research and my academic teaching.

Here is a selected list of my blog posts of study resources in the analysis of the connections between terrorism and religion (compiled when I taught a course on religion and terrorism at FDU a few years ago). Click on each one to read it.

1. Questions about American Christian Terrorism
2. Religion and Jewish Terrorists (and see the JTA report)
3. What is a Religious Culture of Violence and Terror? 
4. Who were Shoko Asahara and the Buddhist Aum Shinrikyo Religious Terrorists? 
5. How did Religion Motivate Sikh Terrorists? 
6. What is the Logic of the Theater of Religious Terror? 
7. Why Do Religious Terrorist Martyrs say that they aim to kill the demons? 
8. What do Sexuality and Humiliation have to do with Terrorism? 
9. Will the War Against Religious Terrorism Ever End? 
10. From Kahane to Osama: How Do Men Make Religious Terrorism Into Cosmic War? 
11. How can we end religious terrorism and achieve the peace of God? 
12. Concluding Questions on Religion and Terrorism

I have studied this subject at great length and taught courses in the area because I believe that a deeper understanding can help us resolve tragic conflicts. 

I also believe in the power of prayer to help us bring peace to the world.

I recommend to you my book: God's Favorite Prayers

We should say kaddish for JFK

Today is the 51st anniversary of the death of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Here is what I published 11/15/13 in the Jewish Standard...

This year, the fiftieth anniversary of the assassination, I want to recant my opinions and actions at JFK's thirtieth yahrzeit. I should have said Kaddish for JFK then, I was wrong. I will do it this year.

Yes, we should say kaddish for JFK.

Here is what I wrote in 1993.

It was bright and sunny in Washington on November 22, 1993, thirty years after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. I was attending an annual conference of over 7000 professors of religion and biblical studies in the capital city. What a shame, I thought, that at this conference there was no formal recognition of the anniversary of the death of this leader at this conference. Here were gathered so many experts in religion and ritual, and they made no attempt to memorialize the day.

At a break between sessions of the conference I headed directly for the hotel entrance. A quick negotiation with a taxi driver confirmed that for $15 to $20 and less than an hour's time I could get out to Arlington National Cemetery walk up the path to JFK's grave site, spend a few minutes and return to the learned discourse of the meeting.

In the cab I wondered what I would do when I stood at the memorial in front of the eternal flame. It was JFK's yahrzeit, the anniversary of his death. In Judaism, members of the family recite the Kaddish prayer for a deceased relative each year on the specified day.

But Kennedy was not Jewish and not my relative. I could not see myself reciting a mourner's prayer for this hero. What then? I'd wait until I got to the site and play it by ear.

In 1978 Prof. Wansbrough Reviewed Prof. Zahavy's Remarkable First Book on Eleazar ben Azariah

In 1978 Professor J. Wansbrough reviewed my first book in the distinguished journal, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 41, No. 2 (1978), 368-369. 

Below is the review. Get the book at Amazon.

TZVEE ZAHAVY: The traditions of Eleazar ben Azariah. (Brown Judaic Studies, No. 2.) xv, 365 pp. Missoula, Montana : Scholars Press for Brown University, [1977]. $7.50.

La scuola di Neusner merits special attention and profound gratitude. One has only to consider the contributions to the series ' Studies in Judaism in Late Antiquity ' (Brill, Leiden, 1973-) and now the ' Brown Judaic Studies ' (Brown University, 1977- ) to appreciate the resourcefulness and extraordinary industry of a single Rabbinic scholar in the United States. Among the remarkable works generated by Neusner's teaching is Dr. Zahavy's study of Eleazar hen Azariah, a peripheral figura of the Yavnean ambient. The contribution of the study is as much methodological as it is substantive, namely, by the application of form and redaction criticism to post-Biblical literature, an exercise (possibly) inaugurated by F. Maass (Formgeschichte der Mischna, Berlin, 1937) and certainly pursued today with vigour and insight by Jacob Neusner (History of the Mishnaic law of purities, etc.).

My Rebbe, Rabbi Gerson Yankelewitz has died at 104

My Talmud teacher in high school, my rebbe for two years, passed away a few days ago at age 104. Rabbi Yankelewitz taught his talmud shiur in Yiddish, a language that I did not speak. Yet I somehow thoroughly understood Rabbi Yankelewitz's shiurim. He made the texts so clear and was so patient, that I learned a tremendous amount while studying with him. After his shiur I went on the study with Rav Aharon Lichtenstein for two years, and then with Rav J. B. Soloveitchik for four years, and I became an ordained rabbi.

I admired Rabbi Yankelewitz for being brilliantly learned and yet never boastful. And my highest compliment, I liked him as a person. He was at once a gentle man and a gentleman and a firm and persistent teacher.

Reading this meaningful obituary below, I found myself near tears. It briefly describes a truly beautiful soul who has departed from our world. I am sure the soul of Rabbi Yankelewitz will cheer and brighten the next world, where I pray that he has everlasting peace in the paradise of Gan Eden with all of the eternal rewards that he so richly earned and deserves.

Long-serving YU Prof Succumbs At 104. Rabbi Gerson Yankelewitz remembered as ‘true giant’; studied with fabled leaders of old world Jewry.
Steve Lipman

...Rabbi Gershon Yankelewitz, died at 104 on Aug. 19 of a heart attack he suffered during the morning Shacharit service in upstate New York, where he spent his summers for several years. He was buried in Israel.

Rabbi Yankelewitz, who lived in the Pelham Parkway neighborhood of the Bronx, was believed to be the oldest person who maintained a regular teaching schedule at any university, yeshiva or rabbinical school in the United States, according to a YU spokesman. With the title senior rosh yeshiva, he taught a daily Talmud class and conducted a weekly Mussar (ethics) lecture for 60 years, and gave a daily lecture on Mishnayot between Mincha and Maariv services at the Young Israel of Pelham Parkway.

New in an Amazon Kindle Edition - Harry Fischel: Pioneer of Jewish Philanthropy

From Kodesh Press Harry Fischel: Pioneer of Jewish Philanthropy Harry Fischel was a household name in Jewish communities throughout the world during the first half of the previous century, but his impact on Jewish life today is even greater than it was when his biography was first published in 1928. What set him apart from virtually all the other philanthropists of his era was the percentage of his time and the amount of his fortune that he devoted to Jewish education in America and in Israel, and his roles in both founding and funding many charitable and educational institutions that changed the face of Jewish life for the better. Now Available on Kindle. (Also available in Hardcover and Paperback.)

Also new in Kindle Editions
The Book of Jewish Prayers in English
Dear Rabbi: The Greatest Talmudic Advice

Bargain Books in Kindle Editions
Kindle Talmud in English @ $0.99
Whence and Wherefore @ $0.99
God's Favorite Prayers @ $2.99

Is Architect Frank Gehry Jewish?

Yes, "the world's most famous living architect," Frank Gehry is a Jew. The Jewish Journal extols him and his new found involvement in Jewish architectural projects in a recent article.

The secret to architect Frank Gehry’s genius? Grandma’s gefilte fish.

Avoiding the press after a slew of praise, Gehry is now completing a number of projects in his Santa Monica offices, including a schematic design for the $130 million Winnick Institute in Jerusalem, a project of the Simon Wiesenthal Center to promote mutual understanding and respect among the world's communities.

It is Gehry's first formal work of public Jewish architecture in his nearly 50-year career, and it has unlocked a host of memories and associations.

"Frank is delving into his Jewish background in a way I don't think he's really done in the past," says Craig Webb, Gehry Associates project designer. Gehry has looked to both the Star of David and the octagonal format of Islamic architecture for inspiration. "We hope this building in any small way can contribute to the resolution of the conflict in Israel and the Middle East."

Considering Gehry's celebrity and Israel's sinking tourism and morale, the project couldn't have come at a better time. The architect's Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, single-handedly put the small regional capital of the Basques on the map. A riot of titanium-clad sails and surfaces, the museum was nearly universally extolled when it opened in 1997 as one of the greatest buildings of the 20th century. Already awarded the Pritzker Prize (considered his profession's Nobel) in 1989, Gehry has become the world's most famous living architect.

Is College Kosher? Not for Women, says Shas' Leader (Haaretz)

Is College Kosher? Not for women, says Shas' leader. Oy.

Shas spiritual leader: Women mustn't even think of higher education
Rabbi Shalom Cohen, who recently took over for the late Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, said academic study by women is 'not the way of the Torah.'
By Yair Ettinger

Rabbi Shalom Cohen, Shas’ new spiritual leader, recently came out against higher education for ultra-Orthodox women, a belated reaction to a 15-year-old education revolution in the community he represents.

Rabbi Cohen wrote in an official letter Shas party letter: “women students should not even think of enrolling in academic studies in any setting whatsoever, since that is not the way of the Torah.” According to the Hebrew-language Haredi website Kikar Hashabbat, which published the letter on Monday, it is the first official letter Rabbi Cohen has written since he took office about two months ago.

Though the letter specifically addresses the issue of female students, his objections apparently apply equally to men.

In the letter, Rabbi Cohen wrote, “We are witness to the fact that women students, graduates of religious seminaries, wish to enroll in academic studies. Our rabbis, the sages of Israel (may their merit protect us), were absolutely opposed to academic studies, even in Haredi colleges, since many of the lecturers are university graduates and do not have the purely Torah-based outlook in which we were brought up,” He added, “The material studied in the colleges is based on scientific research and methods that fly in the face of Torah-based views! Therefore, women students should not even think of enrolling in academic studies in any setting whatsoever, since that is not the way of Torah.”

Rabbi Cohen’s new policy goes against that of the late founder and previous spiritual leader of Shas, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, who was a frequent guest in the first academic college for Haredi women established by his daughter, Adina Bar-Shalom, and who was an open supporter of academic studies for women. In addition, Shas chairman MK Aryeh Deri continues to boast of the support he gave Bar-Shalom’s Haredi College of Jerusalem when he was Shas’ chairman in the 1990s.

Rabbi Cohen’s statement joins attempts by the Lithuanian Haredi movement to put a stop to academic education among Haredi women. These attempts reached a peak in 2007, when the late Rabbi Yosef Shalom Eliashiv, the leader of the movement, imposed a series of decrees on schools, the foremost of which was the abolition of the academic tracks that had begun to gain a foothold in the post-secondary Haredi teachers’ seminaries.

Despite Rabbi Cohen’s firm statement, his letter appears unlikely to stop Haredi women or men from attending academic institutions. Just a few months ago, Haaretz published a study showing that roughly one-fifth of Haredim aged 25 to 39 had academic degrees or were in the process of earning them — an increase of 41 percent compared to data from 2007. The increase was even sharper among women.

Kindle Talmud in English @ $0.99
Whence and Wherefore @ $0.99
God's Favorite Prayers @ $2.99

NY Post: Why Yeshiva University Needs New Leadership Now (which was what I posted 5.5 years ago)

Owing to the latest articles and responses about the losses at the Yeshiva University endowments (Steven I. Weiss' award-worthy report) it behooves me to repost one of my critical posts regarding YU from five and a half years ago. I did speak up about the corruption and poor leadership at YU - and few listened. Now things are monumentally worse.

If Richard M. Joel is telling the truth in his defense of YU after the publication of the Weiss report (he says everything is just fine), then why in the last few months was the YU bond rating dropped to JUNK and why did they sell off ten major holdings in their real estate portfolio, and why did they lose control of Einstein Medical School?

I posted this on January 8, 2009:

The NY Post cites today an irate investment guru who "demands" the Yeshiva University board must be replaced in the aftermath of the Madoff and Merkin scandals [hat tip to the ever vigilant UD Blog].

In a letter to YU President Richard Joel, Andrew Sole of Esopus Creek Advisors says it is time for the school, "...to begin the healing process today by installing new fiduciaries that are untainted by scandal and embarrassment."

Note well that it looks like Andrew has an ax to grind against YU and one of its supporters Sy Syms. Sole leads a, "hedge fund that led a shareholder revolt last year against off-price retailer Syms when the chain's management voluntarily delisted its shares." We don't know what that's all about, but it sounds like Esopus may have lost some money in a failed deal.

We too believe the YU board should resign. But we have no ax to grind. We base our "demand" on our own informed analysis and on another letter, one that we received 1/2/09 by email from a prospective parent of a YU student. He was planning to send his son to YU but now appears to be reconsidering and asks me, "Given the state of affairs of YU... do you have another suggestion for a college program that would encourage him to learn at least an hour or two a day and not otherwise get absorbed by the American college experience." I told him I could not counsel him or his son...

I’m not able to advise you because I don’t know your goals or your son’s character.

You do sound sincere and committed from your brief email so I’m willing to say that wherever your son does go to school he will turn out just fine.

Sadly the leaders at YU are not stepping up to reassure people like yourself about the viability of the resources of their institution at this difficult juncture. Initially I thought it would just take them a little longer to regroup and then they’d do their jobs to get out the message that the school is sound. Now it looks like I was too optimistic...

This email wakes us up to realize that the real loss to YU has been to the capital of its good name. A school's success and viability rests primarily on its reputation, not its bank account. That reputation has been tarnished, perhaps blackened by the scandals of late which demonstrate an abundance of poor judgment over a long period of time, and more so now by what Mr. Sole accurately calls its "ostrich defense... ignoring the crisis."

We agree with Sole that just because you ignore it, this storm is not going to pass. And we agree with him that there is a failure of leadership at YU.

Where we disagree is that we judge the crisis to be critical to the health of the institution -- eating much more into the core of the school's essential mission than at its endowment's bottom line.

How do you define Judaism?

When I taught “Introduction to Judaism,” a popular Jewish Studies course at the University of Minnesota, as a final essay assignment I gave to the class this task: “Define Judaism.” Even though it was an open-ended question, my students considered this to be a tough assignment requiring analysis, synthesis and much thought. I originally wrote up these “seminars” as part of an independent study guide for one version of “Intro to Judaism”—a distance learning offering in the continuing education division of the university. I now offer this volume to the general reader to help seekers and students of all ages and all faiths to better understand and define Judaism.

This book is one way that I once defined Judaism. Hope you enjoy it.

Kindle Talmud in English @ $0.99
Whence and Wherefore @ $0.99
God's Favorite Prayers @ $2.99

My Favorite Talmud Teacher Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein wins the Israel Prize for a Lifetime of Teaching

The Israel Prize is awarded on Yom Haatzmaut. There is a great profile by Professor Alan Jotkowitz of my favorite Talmud teacher: Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein, "Talmud scholar Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein wins Israel Prize: Lichtenstein's work reflects an exceptional combination of knowledge of all aspects of the Torah and a depth of theoretical Talmudic thinking, incorporating original and creative thought, says award committee."

Jotkowitz quotes Rav Lichtenstein regarding the value of humanistic learning, "Above all, culture instills in us a sense of the moral, psychological and metaphysical complexity of human life."

Jotkowitz sums up Rav Lichtenstein's greatness and the premises on which it is built, "In addition to an obvious mastery of the sources, both Jewish and secular, relevant to the topic at hand, what distinguishes these essays is their ability to grasp the complexity of the issue and present both sides of an argument. This skill is sorely missing in the highly politicized and polarized modern Israel society. This skill was ingrained into Lichtenstein by the Brisker method, which highly values the ability to conceptualize and rigorously analyze two sides of an issue, and recognizes that two disparate values can coexist simultaneously."

My view is that it's not the Brisker Method that produced Rav Aharon. His pure and penetrating Talmudic analytical intellect cannot be reduced to any single methodology. He transcends categorization and labelling. I am grateful that I had the honor of studying in his shiur for two of my most formative years when I was a student at Yeshiva College.

Is Belief in God Jewish?

Believe it or not two professors of philosophy discuss this question online: Is Belief a Jewish Notion? is discussed at the NYTimes.comin a section they call Opinionator: THE STONE. Gary Gutting interviews Howie Wettstein who wrote a book, "The Significance of Religious Experience." The subtitle of this interview is, "Theoretical views about God may be less important than religious practice."

Gutting starts off asking Wettstein, "You say you’re a naturalist and deny that there are any supernatural beings, yet you’re a practicing Jew and deny that you’re an atheist. What’s going on here? What’s a God that’s not a supernatural being?"

The discussion hovers around the most basic and primitive notions of prayer, i.e.,the overarching meta-visualization of prayer is that the acts of recitation of prayer texts constitute a dialogue with God.

This is the starting point in discussions of prayer articulated in one way by the former Chief Rabbi of the British Empire, Sir Jonathan Sacks, who summed this up saying, “Prayer is the language of the soul in conversation with God. It is the most intimate gesture of the religious life, and the most transformative.” Sacks characterized the Jewish prayer book saying, “The Siddur is the choral symphony the covenantal people has sung to God across forty centuries from the days of the patriarchs until the present day.” He called it a “calibrated harmony.”

I have said in my essays that this representation articulated by Sacks and many others before him is the general and foundational meta-visualization of all acts of prayer, the contextual background music in which I find the more detailed and specific visualizations that I discuss in my work.

Gutting and Wettstein discuss this basic issue of prayer and speaking to God in the context of belief and practice. In short Gutting can't seem to accept that it makes sense to speak to a God that you don't believe exists, which is what Wettsteins seems to be saying that he does.

Was David Koresh Jewish?

No David Koresh was not a Jew. He was the leader of the Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventists Christians who perished at Waco in 1993.

New Yorker has a section title "ANNALS OF RELIGION" under which they published, Sacred and Profane: How not to negotiate with believers by MALCOLM GLADWELL. Gladwell tells us about Koresh, "David Koresh was born in Houston in 1959, to a fifteen-year-old single mother. He arrived at Mount Carmel at the age of twenty-two, pulling up to the retreat in a yellow Buick—another in the long line of disenchanted Seventh-Day Adventists in search of a purer church."

Gladwell is a journalist known for works which I cite often, like "Blink" and "The Tipping Point." Wikipedia describes his writing thusly, "Gladwell's books and articles often deal with the unexpected implications of research in the social sciences and make frequent and extended use of academic work, particularly in the areas of sociology, psychology, and social psychology."

In this New Yorker article he turns to the area of religion and finds an "unexpected implication" in an unfortunate event that occured April 19, 1993. That "implication" is that you cannot negotiate certain things with some believers. It is "unexpected" because neither the ATF/FBI nor the professors of religion involved in the affair at Waco understood that they were not going to be able to negotiate with the Branch Davidians. Gladwell convincingly argues that the standoff in Waco became a human tragedy because it was a fatally bungled attempt at negotiation.

Is Jewish Studies too Jewish?

What kind of a question is that? Is Jewish Studies in colleges and universities too Jewish?

A very good one, it turns out when discussed by Aaron Hughes in the Chronicle for Higher Education. He says that Jewish Studies is too Jewish and he spells out his reasoning and his conclusion that, "Jewish studies, rather than liberating itself from its ideological heritage, has re-embraced it."

Here is one line of his thought that many of us have been harboring but not saying:

Recent years have seen the creation of numerous well-funded and ideologically driven private organizations that seek to make inroads in Jewish studies. I refer, specifically, to the conservative Tikvah Fund, the secular Posen Foundation, and the pro-Israel Charles and Lynn Schusterman Foundation. These organizations seek entry into the academy—and presumably the intellectual legitimation that it provides—by establishing programs, professorships, and conferences in both Jewish studies and Israel studies at North American universities.

The Tikvah Fund, for example, funds centers devoted to Jewish law (at New York University) and Jewish thought (at Princeton). It also created and subsidizes the Jewish Review of Books, in which scholars (some of whom are associated with other Tikvah programs) air personal grievances, review one another’s books, and trash those with whom they disagree. Tikvah even sponsors a book series, the Library of Jewish Ideas, at Princeton University Press, in which, as a colleague of mine remarked in a recent review, "faith-based sermons and empirically anchored scholarship" commingle uncomfortably. Like Tikvah more generally, the books in this series have no qualms about articulating authentic Jewish ideas and, especially in the inaugural book, these ideas not surprisingly tend to be constructed as religiously Orthodox and politically conservative.

We should be ashamed that we have allowed foundations that push a particular vision of what Judaism is or should be to operate within the administrative structures of universities. None of these foundations, despite appeals to the contrary, are interested in funding scholarship simply for its own sake. The unfortunate result is that Jewish studies, rather than liberating itself from its ideological heritage, has re-embraced it.

See the 36 Volume Kindle Talmud in English
Ponder the Questions of Whence and Wherefore
Experience God's Favorite Prayers

Catching up on the News of Jews: Chained Melodies and Celebrities Good and Bad

Chained Melodies:

I support civil rights for Jewish women in all marital and in all ritual issues. I am surprised that the Agunah issue has become mainstream news all of a sudden in the Times and at the Jewish Channel. The Times has this, "Unwilling to Allow His Wife a Divorce, He Marries Another - NY Times" The reporter presents some of the baffling facts about the rabbinic legal jungle:

Mr. Kin, who in recent years moved to Las Vegas, has repeatedly insisted that Ms. Kin agree to binding arbitration from one particular religious court based in Monsey that is controversial and has been widely denounced by rabbinical authorities in the United States and Israel. Several leading rabbis, including the chief rabbinical office of Israel, have said they would not accept a divorce document signed by this particular court. Mr. Kin has said that the head of the beit din, Rabbi Tzvi Dov Abraham of Monsey, granted him dispensation to marry again.

“The rabbinical court system is such an ad hoc system where any man is able to call himself a rabbi and any three rabbis are able to call themselves a court, so that even if it’s not accepted by anyone, he is able to hide behind this,” said Rabbi Jeremy Stern, the executive director of the group that organized the protests against the wedding. “What empowers him to continue is the support of friend and family and community. We need everyone to say clearly we will not tolerate this kind of behavior.”

The notion that rabbis act within a legitimate system of law has always seemed to me to be a grand exaggeration at best. In the realm of rabbinic law, there is no transparent means of publishing decisions or appealing decisions. Facts are hard to come by and rumors rule. Often a rabbinic case works like this: you go to the local rabbi of your choice and he whispers his opinion in your ear. Then you go tell everyone what he said.

Speaking of rumors, I stumbled on this blog (which when asked, a reporter first told me was Kin's former husband's blog and then he changed his mind and said he was not sure that is the case): THE PHONY AGUNAH: LONNA KIN RALBAG IS A PHONY AGUNAH. The post raises issues and makes me think - did Lonna Kin ever actually go to the court to receive her get? One begins to wonder if this case is a clash of two manipulators who no longer wish to live together. Something doesn't smell right. This instance is probably not going to turn out to be the best poster case for the issue of women's rights in Orthodox Judaism, once we hear all the allegations about these two people. Too bad - the cause of women's rights overall is a just one.

Celebrities Good and Bad:

New Yorker had two fantastic profiles: one on actress Scarlett Johansson - Anthony Lane: The Unstoppable Scarlett Johansson- and the other on Paul de Man who was an acclaimed academic until he was exposed as a writer for the Nazis and all-around scoundrel - Louis Menand: Paul de Man's Hidden Past

And the Times brought us news of some wonderful New York Jews, They Kept a Lower East Side Lot Vacant for 47 Years: telling us, "Nearly four decades ago, a new assemblyman named Sheldon Silver and his young protégé escorted Edward I. Koch, then a mayoral candidate, through the Orthodox Jewish enclave on Manhattan’s Lower East Side where the two had both grown up. It was the first day of Rosh Hashana, 1977..." and going on to extol (?) the contributions of William E. Rapfogel to this neighborhood preservation effort. to recall, "Mr. Rapfogel, who led the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty, was arrested last year and accused of looting the agency." I got a mailing today from the Met Council asking for a Passover donation. I'm gonna pass. You may want to shower thoroughly after reading that article.

After Rattling Rabbinic Sabres Y.U. Backs Down and Will Ordain Rabbinical Student Who Held Partnership Minyan Service

I am mentioned in the Forward article and I am glad this episode is winding down. Too much posturing and anonymity in this struggle.

A longer interview with me got pared down to two paragraphs:

Tzvee Zahavy, a former University of Minnesota professor who received ordination from Y.U. in 1973, also took issue with Penner’s letter. “There’s no asterisk on my semikha certificate saying, you have the authority, but you have to check with us first,” he said.

Zahavy was so taken aback by the letter that he sent an email to Penner, asking whether Y.U. would like to revoke his ordination, since he supports the rabbinical student who held a partnership minyan. Penner wrote back, saying, “No, I doubt that’s necessary.”