Good-bye to you old Halakhic-Man

In its blurb, Halakhic Man by Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik is described as, "A profound excursion into religious psychology and phenomenology; a pioneering attempt at a philosophy of halakhah; and a stringent critique of mysticism and romantic religion. Exuding intellectual sophistication and touching upon issues fundamental to religious life, Rabbi Soloveitchik's exploration seeks to explain the inner world of the talmudist - or, as he is referred to here, halakhic man -- in terms drawn from Western culture."

The book starts with a discussion of cognitive man contrasted with religious man (Homo Religiosus). Neither of these should be confused with Halakhic man who is called, “the master of talmudic dialectics” (p. 5). Sadly, a search via Amazon's Look Inside tells us that the Rav never comes back in this book to use either the term “talmudic” or “dialectics”.

So we recall a passage from Melville's Billy Budd (p. 7), where we are told of the protagonist, "Then making a salutation as to the ship herself, 'And good-bye to you too, old Rights-of-Man.'”

We say, good-bye to you old Halakhic-Man. And why? Because in the end the Rav does not, "explain the inner world of the Talmudist." He certainly knew the talmud, but surely does not talk about the corpus in any comprehensive or representative manner. He selects things talmudic to paint a picture of a "highly personal vision."

The Rav commits a succession of mis-steps in this book, seeking to be "profound" and in "exuding... sophistication" and in claiming to address the "issues fundamental to religious life."

In fact, we have eschewed the Rav's category formation in this blog from day one. What we do here is to apply the categorical conceptual model of what we might have called "Talmudic-Man" on a wide range of data from our contemporary world.

But we seek never to be profound, sophisticated or fundamental because those are not the underpinnings of talmudic living - as we see it. And dear readers, feel free to disagree -- for that is the prime directive of talmudic discourse.

Talmudic-Man does apply dialectics and does roam for his content across the broad spectrum of human experience, far and near. At least that is what we found in the talmud that we studied.

And that is what we try to do here.

Should Popes be made into Saints?

There will be controversy about every move by the Vatican to make Pope Pius XII a saint. The discussion should be conducted in a substantive manner within the Vatican on the criteria that exist for this process. We Jews ought to have input - if letters of recommendation from outsiders are taken into account in the "sainthood" evaluation.

We suspect such input is not officially welcomed. Catholics ask other Catholics who to make a Catholic saint.

We sure can and should express our outsider's opinion that Pius XII was not a hero because of his refusal to condemn Hitler and in his non-existent opposition to Holocaust.

From our talmudic vantage we see a deeper problem for the church.

We all know that by definition a pope is a political appointee, not chosen for his distinctive inherent saintliness, but on the basis of other and more complex criteria. Accordingly, even to consider a pope for sainthood creates a category confusion. To an objective outsider, one who is a great political leader in the church is not to be confused with one who is a great religious saint.

Plainly put our common sense tells us that if the pope is good at politics, that means by definition that he is  no saint.

Now Catholics will disagree and say that being a good pope is exactly what they mean by being a saintly person. We just don't buy that kind of muddled thinking.

We think that by rule no pope should ever be considered for sainthood. It's a category and archetype confusion of serious magnitude. The archetypal saint is a person who is a pure and elevated homo religiosus, a person of miracles, and not a political animal and a maker of deals.

If they insist that a pope can be a saint, then the only real solution for Catholics is to create another category of saint - a "papal saint." That way their other saintly saints will not be subjected to the papal taint and its concomitant controversy.

Vatican says steps to sainthood for Pope Pius XII are not anti-Jewish

The Vatican, fighting a public backlash from some Jewish groups, says the pope's decision to move controversial Pope Pius XII closer to sainthood is not an act of hostility toward Jews...more...

Invention of the Week: Digital Synagogue Memorial Plaques

We were in a TV store recently and we got shelf-shock from the sheer variety of 42 inch and bigger digital displays at prices that went down by more than 50% in some cases in the past year.

What does this video technology advance and price point mean for society? Is it good for the Jews?

One Israeli company has answered that question with their product line of Digital Memorial Plaques for synagogues.

It's so obvious that this is a good invention, there is no need for us to even spell out why. Here is what the Tel Aviv company says on its site. They even provide rabbinic endorsements....

לוחות הנצחה אלקטרוניים

‘זיכרון חי’ הוא לוח הנצחה וזיכרון דיגיטלי המנוהל על ידי מחשב המעלה לכותרת הלוח את שמות הנפטרים ביום הזיכרון שלהם, בהדגשה יתרה ובאופן אוטומטי. הכוונה להחליף את לוחות הזיכרון הסטטיים הקבועים בבתי הכנסת היום. במתקן הזיכרון החדיש, שגודלו כ - 70 ס”מ גובה ו-100 ס”מ רוחב "42 ואו "50 אינטש בגדלים של עד 123 ס"מ ( מטר ו - 23 ס"מ), במתקן המוצע הוכנסו שכלולים טכנולוגיים המתאימים את לוח הזיכרון לתקופתנו.

אנו מתכבדים להציג בפניכם מערכת חדשנית להנצחת שמות הנפטרים שהלכו לעולמם. באמצעות לוח הנצחה דיגיטלי של “זיכרון חי”. המערכת פותחת בפני באי בית הכנסת את האפשרות להתעדכן במועד יום הזיכרון של כל נפטר המופיע בלוח הזיכרון. המערכת החדשנית, שפותחה בעמל רב וביראת שמים, מאפשרת לגבאי בית הכנסת לנהל את מכירת שלטי הזיכרון בצורה פשוטה וידידותית כפי שנסביר בהמשך. לנגד עיננו עומדת מטרה קדושה והיא הנצחת יקירינו ההולכים לעולמם ואשר עם השנים, מטעמים אלה ואחרים, אנו פוגעים בכבודם שלא במתכוון, בכך שאנו שוכחים להתייחד עם זכרם במועד הפטירה.

לצערנו ישנם כאלה הנוטים לשכוח ימי זיכרון למקורבים ולרחוקים והדבר גורם לבושת פנים ותסכול רב. ‘זיכרון- חי’ היא מערכת המתריעה על מועד יום הזיכרון של כל נפטר ומראש, ההתרעה תוצג מספר ימים קודם ליום הזיכרון ועד למועד שבו יחול יום הזיכרון בפועל . המערכת החדשה מאפשרת בעזרת לוח ההנצחה הדיגיטלי, להוסיף שמות נפטרים ללא הגבלה ובאופן מיידי וקל במיוחד, (ללא תלות בגורם חיצוני המצריך חריטה והדבקה על הלוח המסורתי).

המערכת הוצגה בפני רבנים ידועים ואלה הביעו התפעלות רבה מעצם הרעיון והיוזמה לפיתוח המערכת ואף נתנו את ברכתם (בע”פ ובכתב).

בברכת הצלחה וברכה.

‘זיכרון חי’ בע”מ

לוח הנצחה וזיכרון דיגיטלי.

Hat tip to Rav Billy. Keep those business ideas coming.

Is Rachel Uchitel Jewish?

Yes, Tiger Woods' girlfriend, Rachel Uchitel is a Jew.

The Hollywood Jew Blog reports:

Uchitel, 34, is the granddaughter of Maurice Uchitel, a Jewish immigrant from Ukraine who parlayed a successful business in women’s shoulder pads into ownership of the Eden Roc Hotel in Miami and the El Morocco nightclub, Manhattan’s society hotspot in the 1930 and 1950s.

Is Robert P. George Jewish?

No. Robert P. George, a Princeton University professor of jurisprudence and a Roman Catholic who is this country’s most influential conservative Christian thinker, is not a Jew.

According to the article by DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK, "The Conservative-Christian Big Thinker," in the Times Magazine, George's wife Cindy is Jewish.

...George’s left-leaning colleagues say he is unfailingly polite and even helpful. He co-teaches­ a great-books seminar with the African-American scholar Cornel West, who told me he thinks of George as “just a nice brother.” George and his wife, Cindy, who is Jewish, socialize with liberal professors. But his relationships with other Catholic scholars are sometimes more contentious, especially about politics...

Pope Asserts Ownership and Control of His Copyright and Brand

We applaud the Pope for standing up to protect his copyright. We know how much aggravation the Pope must feel when he sees others using his intellectual property without attribution, or worse, infringing on his brand.

And yet, we see this no-context-mode of a blanket declaration by the Vatican, without reference to any specific violations that provoked it, to be inviting humorous responses. And so we begin by saying, we hold the truth to be self-evident that the Pope was endowed with certain unalienable copyrights...

Holy See declares unique copyright on Papal figure
Vatican City, Dec 19, 2009 / 12:23 pm (CNA).- The Vatican made a declaration on the protection of the figure of the Pope on Saturday morning. The statement seeks to establish and safeguard the name, image and any symbols of the Pope as being expressly for official use of the Holy See unless otherwise authorized.

The statement cited a "great increase of affection and esteem for the person of the Holy Father" in recent years as contributing to a desire to use the Pontiff's name for all manner of educational and cultural institutions, civic groups and foundations.

Due to this demand, the Vatican has felt it necessary to declare that "it alone has the right to ensure the respect due to the Successors of Peter, and therefore, to protect the figure and personal identity of the Pope from the unauthorized use of his name and/or the papal coat of arms for ends and activities which have little or nothing to do with the Catholic Church."

The declaration alludes to attempts to use ecclesiastical or pontifical symbols and logos to "attribute credibility and authority to initiatives" as another reason to establish their “copyright” on the Holy Father's name, picture and coat of arms.

"Consequently, the use of anything referring directly to the person or office of the Supreme Pontiff... and/or the use of the title 'Pontifical,' must receive previous and express authorization from the Holy See," concluded the message released to the press.

Hat tip to Sarx

StarTribune: St. John's Returns Petters' Tainted Donations

If you want to preach morality, you must practice it impeccably. The Catholics at St. John's University in Collegeville Minnesota have acted in a way that sets the standard for religious institutions in an era of financial corruption. We are impressed.

St. John's Abbey monks drop Petters name from pavilion, will return $2M
PAUL WALSH, Star Tribune

The unhitching of the disgraced Petters name and his money from various locales continues.

The latest reversal of fortune -- in this case $2 million -- came when the monks of Saint John's Abbey in Collegeville, Minn., voted Tuesday to return the gift from the Thomas J. Petters Family Foundation for construction of the Petters Pavilion, the order announced.

The Petters name will also be removed, the monks decided. A new name for the facility, which was completed in May 2007, has yet to be determined.

The donation by Wayzata businessman Tom Petters, convicted Dec. 2 by a federal jury of orchestrating a $3 billion Ponzi scheme, was made in honor of his parents, Fred and Rosemary. The Abbey Church is where his parents have worshipped.

The abbey said it is currently negotiating the terms for how the money will be returned.

Times: Reform Buddhism on the UWS of Manhattan

Not to worry. We are not converting to Reform Buddhism or any other Reform type of relgion.

In 2006 we read about Buddhism With a New Mind-Set - in the New York Times:

"Western spiritual seekers who have focused on meditation have fueled a remarkable growth in Buddhist practice in the United States. So what to do if you are part of an ancient Buddhist tradition that is huge in Asia but has failed to catch on in the United States, in part because it has no real place for meditation?"

The Times reported that Rev. T. Kenjitsu Nakagaki (they call a monk a reverend) has added meditation to his Pure Land Buddhist service in his Upper West Side NY Buddhist Church (they call a Temple a Church). If this sounds vaguely reminiscent of the Reform Judaism, or at least of assimilationist Judaism, reporter Luo makes the comparison more explicit.

"In some ways, the story line is familiar. Religious traditions have long adapted to fit changing cultural circumstances. Consider how Hanukkah, a relatively minor holiday on the Jewish religious calendar, has leaped in importance among many Jews in the face of the crush of attention surrounding Christmas in this country. But while Zen and Tibetan Buddhism — the Buddhist forms that have largely driven the religion's surge among Western practitioners — focus on meditative practices as a way to achieve enlightenment, Shin Buddhism, the Pure Land school that the Buddhist Churches of America embraces, teaches that meditation is ultimately useless because of the inherent human limitations."

Finding this Pure American "give-the-people-what-they-want" philosophy in Buddhism is jarring but not surprising. After all this is the Upper West Side - where women study Talmud and Pure Land Buddhists practice meditation. Wow. Anything goes. //repost from 6/13/06//

Jewish Press: How Archaeology Boosted Jewish Nationalism

How Archaeology Boosted Jewish Nationalism

By: Yitzhak Zahavy

Collectors have long recognized that Israel uses archaeology on stamps, coins and currency to advance its political and nationalist goals. Actually, while archaeology in recent years has declined as a mechanism that helps shape Israeli national identity, it has, at the same time, grown both as a discipline and in the way it is practiced in Israel.

My new book illustrates this pervasive early use and recent decline and sheds light on how archaeology found its way - through stamps, coins and currency - into the daily lives of Israelis.

In the summer of 1997 I came to Israel to participate in the first season of excavations at Tel Rehov with Professor Amichai Mazar. Two years later I began studying archaeology with Professor Israel Finkelstein at Tel Aviv University's Institute of Archaeology. During my studies at Tel Aviv University I participated as an excavator, assistant registrar, assistant area supervisor and area supervisor in a number of archaeological excavations including Tel Yaffo and Tel Megiddo.

While studying in Tel Aviv I benefited from the excellent archaeological methods and practices taught by the professors, as well as the theoretical or non-practical seminars they offered.

One of these seminars was Dr. David Ilan's "Archaeology and the Public." This seminar came for me at a perfect time in my education. I had taken a number of the theoretical classes and found them interesting and intellectually challenging. But I had a hard time making the connection from theory to what archaeology means for the average person.

I would ask myself: How can I explain the importance of archaeology; why is archaeology important and what is its connection to everyday life? Dr. Ilan's seminar helped me find the answer.

That answer inhered in everyday objects such as stamps, coins and banknotes.

My book demonstrates some aspects of how and why symbols and motifs from archaeology have made their way onto everyday objects. It shows that archaeology has helped create a collective identity in modern Israel through the construction of a shared past.

Resurrecting the God Idea

We recommend “The Evolution of God,” by Robert Wright. It's the single most logically argued book we read in many years. Wright has read widely and has understood the scholarly insights into numerous biblical studies issues. He presents them lucidly and all within a framework of analysis that seeks to trace exactly what he promises, the evolution of an idea, a social construct, and with that the meaning and import of the development of the concept over centuries and through several cultures.

Not many writers could pull off this task. Wright does it with great skill. And he even tries to rescue God out of his historical account and construct a universal theology of sorts. We admire that attempt at resurrecting the God Idea after having parsed it into its little pieces.

 The Time's reviewer seems to like this book too.

The Religious Wars
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
Just a few years ago, it seemed curious that an omniscient, omnipotent God wouldn’t smite tormentors like Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris. They all published best-selling books excoriating religion and practically inviting lightning bolts.

Traditionally, religious wars were fought with swords and sieges; today, they often are fought with books. And in literary circles, these battles have usually been fought at the extremes.

Fundamentalists fired volleys of Left Behind novels, in which Jesus returns to Earth to battle the Anti-Christ (whose day job was secretary general of the United Nations). Meanwhile, devout atheists built mocking Web sites like www.whydoesGodhateamputees.com. That site notes that although believers periodically credit prayer with curing cancer, God never seems to regrow lost limbs. It demands an end to divine discrimination against amputees.