My detached academic side always finds it interesting to watch the time delay between the trends and ideas emerging in American religious life and the way they get picked up and adapted by those in the Jewish world. And yet when I read this week about the Orthodox Union’s pathetic attempt to mimic the most fundamentalist elements of the Christian right in creating a campaign for sexual abstinence, all I could do was shack my head in disbelief.
Before continuing I want to be clear that I actually agree with the website’s basic message: teenagers by and large are not ready for and would do well to desist from having sex. (My own personal position on the matter of sexuality is much closer akin to the views expressed by Rabbi Irving Greenberg, who stresses the tzelem elohim, the Godliness and Holiness, of the human body). That said, I would disagree with virtually everything else on the website.
Luckily the website has been wildly condemned drawing criticism not only from liberals, but from many in the Orthodox community. My friend and sharp Jewish commentator Josh Yuter has done a fine job at pointing out some of the disturbing internal elements of this sophomoric piece of religious kitsch. He notes that the website:
a) Compares those who engage in pre-marital sex as equivalent to animals
b) That teenagers have inferior minds
c) Compares rape victims to vegetarians in that both can desist from their desires and lusts
d) Most importantly that the piece manipulates Torah sources, which misread the Jewish position on everything from women to sexuality to the role of ritual baths
Likewise, those such as Rabbi Waxman notes on this blog, note the problematic scientific research employed by the website and those who maintain such positions.
My problems with the website are, however, more general and political. Specifically, I am not sure who this website is directed at.
Relative to America at-large there is no teenage pregnancy or AIDS problem in the Jewish community let alone the Orthodox community!!
So who on earth is this website trying to speak to?
Would the OU deny condoms to Chinese women who have millions of abortions every year? Would the OU proclaim their abstinence only message to an Africa being ravished by AIDS? Would the OU object to condoms be given out to the over 25 million people infected by AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa?
Unfortunately, the piece expresses the worst of Orthodox myopic thinking. The truth of the matter is that Judaism has so much to teach America and the world on the issue of sexuality. Unlike the Catholic Church, Judaism has and continues to promote a very healthy understanding of the human body and sexual activity. It’s a shame the OU has ignored all of that and has become so.......Christian.
Read the Full Debate: Should We Teach Abstinence to Teens?
Rabbi Eliyahu Stern: May 2007 Archives
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Add to StumbleUponMonday May 21, 2007
Shavuot: Choice and Coercion in Modern-Day Life
The issue of intermarriage and conversion has most recently been reawakened by the Israeli Chief Rabbinate's attempt to take over the full conversion process of the American Orthodox Rabbinate. This difference between American Jewry and the Israeli Chief Rabbinate comes through in the two stories of Shavuot, the stories of choice and coercion.
On Shavuot, Jews celebrate God's giving of the Torah at Sinai to his chosen people. The holiday however also includes another narrative, that of Ruth the convert, who came from Moab and married Boaz, an established leader of the Jewish people. The conversion-choice story of Ruth balances out what the Talmud describes as "God forcing the Mountain" and ergo the Torah on the Jewish people. Ruth, unlike those at Sinai, chose to be Jewish.
In 1990 the National Jewish Population Survey reported that there was a 52 percent intermarriage rate among Jews. In 2001, those numbers were lowered to 43 percent. Either way, the numbers more than anything else highlight the ascendancy of the choice model in Jewish life. For better or for worse American Jewry sees Judaism not in the obligatory terms of the Sinaitic experience but in the choice model of conversion embodied in the Ruth story.
As if it was not bad enough that Israel has allowed the Chief Rabbinate to dictate who is a Jew thereby preventing the conversion of hundreds of thousands of Russian Jews--whom they deem fit enough to serve and die in the Israeli army, but unfit to be called up to the Torah--the Chief Rabbinate is now trying to force the American Orthodox Rabbinate to adopt a rigid system that would severely curtail the number of converts to Judaism.
At a time when we should be reaching out and becoming a more welcoming community, the Israeli Rabbinate is doing its best to lift up walls and create barriers between Jews.
Read the Full Debate: Conversion, Choice, & Shavuot's Message
On Shavuot, Jews celebrate God's giving of the Torah at Sinai to his chosen people. The holiday however also includes another narrative, that of Ruth the convert, who came from Moab and married Boaz, an established leader of the Jewish people. The conversion-choice story of Ruth balances out what the Talmud describes as "God forcing the Mountain" and ergo the Torah on the Jewish people. Ruth, unlike those at Sinai, chose to be Jewish.
In 1990 the National Jewish Population Survey reported that there was a 52 percent intermarriage rate among Jews. In 2001, those numbers were lowered to 43 percent. Either way, the numbers more than anything else highlight the ascendancy of the choice model in Jewish life. For better or for worse American Jewry sees Judaism not in the obligatory terms of the Sinaitic experience but in the choice model of conversion embodied in the Ruth story.
As if it was not bad enough that Israel has allowed the Chief Rabbinate to dictate who is a Jew thereby preventing the conversion of hundreds of thousands of Russian Jews--whom they deem fit enough to serve and die in the Israeli army, but unfit to be called up to the Torah--the Chief Rabbinate is now trying to force the American Orthodox Rabbinate to adopt a rigid system that would severely curtail the number of converts to Judaism.
At a time when we should be reaching out and becoming a more welcoming community, the Israeli Rabbinate is doing its best to lift up walls and create barriers between Jews.
Read the Full Debate: Conversion, Choice, & Shavuot's Message
Wednesday May 16, 2007
Jewish Mothers, Take a Joke
Rabbi Grossman has spoken like a true Jewish mother. Her moral finger-wagging at those who crack a few jokes is either obvious or prudishly naive about human nature. Yes, Jewish mother jokes can be insensitive and downright hurtful. But they also can be, at times, acutely accurate.
To use Rabbi Grossman's line of thinking: How many Jewish mothers does it take to change a lightbulb? Jewish mother replies: "It's ok i'll just sit here alone in the dark." Of course not all Jewish mothers are such martyrs, but I sure know a few who would qualify. What makes a joke step over the line from being a positive form of social critique to a weapon wielded by the hands of cruel bigots, is something no one has ever figured out. But just because Jewish mother jokes have the potential to be hurtful and false does not mean that the whole genre of humor should be morally outlawed.
To use Rabbi Grossman's line of thinking: How many Jewish mothers does it take to change a lightbulb? Jewish mother replies: "It's ok i'll just sit here alone in the dark." Of course not all Jewish mothers are such martyrs, but I sure know a few who would qualify. What makes a joke step over the line from being a positive form of social critique to a weapon wielded by the hands of cruel bigots, is something no one has ever figured out. But just because Jewish mother jokes have the potential to be hurtful and false does not mean that the whole genre of humor should be morally outlawed.
Humor shows how ironic life can be. Even amidst something as painful and as sensitive as 9/11 or the Holocaust (as Roberto Benigni’s demonstrated with his tragicomedy "Life Is Beautiful"), there is room for laughter. Someone who can't laugh a little at themselves is missing out on a very serious part of what it means to be human.
Read the Full Debate: Is Jewish Mother Humor Harmless or Harmful?
Monday May 14, 2007
Are Jews Intellectually Superior? Who Cares!
I would agree with both Rabbi Waxman’s and Rabbi Grossman’s comments regarding Charles Murray’s recent essay in Commentary Magazine on Jewish brains. Even if his answers seem a bit strained, Murray’s article certainly has a certain grain of truth. The only question I would pose is what exactly is Murray trying to get at? Yes, there is much to be said for seeking truth as an end in and of itself, but Commentary is not some ivory tower journal, it’s a high-brow, popular magazine whose political censor has always shaded and shaped its articles. So what is the magazine trying assert? Great, so Jews are smart, maybe even smarter than everyone in the world. Ok now what? Is this merely a pat on our back (or our brains)? Or is there perhaps something more chauvinistic? Maybe a scientific justification for chooseness?
Most importantly, I find it interesting, but not surprising, that a magazine, which only a couple years ago was running articles in support of creationism has now become a great supporter of Charles Darwin. I guess Darwin is no good for public schools, but when it comes to Jewish superiority he is kosher. Murray’s piece is nice, but where does it lead and what’s its purpose? Honestly, I have no idea. Maybe Commentary would like to tell us.
Read the Full Debate: Are Jews Intellectually Superior?
Most importantly, I find it interesting, but not surprising, that a magazine, which only a couple years ago was running articles in support of creationism has now become a great supporter of Charles Darwin. I guess Darwin is no good for public schools, but when it comes to Jewish superiority he is kosher. Murray’s piece is nice, but where does it lead and what’s its purpose? Honestly, I have no idea. Maybe Commentary would like to tell us.
Read the Full Debate: Are Jews Intellectually Superior?
Tuesday May 1, 2007
Saving Darfur Is the Highest Form of Charity
Last week I had the chance to stop into B'nai Jeshurun on Manhattan's Upper West Side for early Friday evening services (a little bit of cross denominational socializing and praying is always healthy), and was moved by the massive sign hanging above the congregation appealing their conscience to stop the genocide in Darfur. All the rabbis on this blog have written on a number of occasions about Darfur. Since we last wrote on the issue some positive strides have been made including the U.N. approval of resolution 1706, which ordered a large-scale peace keeping unit to be stationed in the Darfur region. Unfortunately, that peace-keeping force has been in absolute disarray and the Sudanese government has done everything in its power to undermine its success. However, it's encouraging to see the recent news that China has finally decided to pressure the Sudanese government to stop the genocide.
Don’t fool yourself. There is nothing altruistic in China’s new found ethical impulses. China had been noticeably silent until a number of major world figures including Steven Speilberg (who himself needed to be pressured) and Mia Farrow threatened to boycott the 2009 Olympic games being hosted by the Chinese.
For the most part, however, the U.N. continues to spend more time condemning Israel than on pressuring the Sudanese government. The U.N. still has yet to even label the killing of 400,000 people genocide! The reason is simple: Why care about a million lives when there is nothing to gain by protecting them? Most governments would rather stay on good terms with the Sudanese than save a few hundred thousand people. Sudanese natural resources, its oil fields, and the position it holds in the chaotic world of Arab politics makes many governments shy away from involving themselves. Governments unfortunately seem to only do acts of righteousness and kindness when there is something in it for them.
It’s truly unfortunate, but, at this point, helping to stop the genocide is the truest sign of one’s charitable instincts. There is no tangible net benefit of saving Darfur except of course being able to say that we live in an ethical and moral world. The truest form of charity, states Maimonides, is when one does something kind and good for someone else even when the giver has nothing to gain from the act. Such is the sad state of affairs surrounding Darfur. The question for governments around the world today is do they really care about living in an ethical and moral world?
Read the Full Debate: What Should Jews Do About Darfur?
Don’t fool yourself. There is nothing altruistic in China’s new found ethical impulses. China had been noticeably silent until a number of major world figures including Steven Speilberg (who himself needed to be pressured) and Mia Farrow threatened to boycott the 2009 Olympic games being hosted by the Chinese.
For the most part, however, the U.N. continues to spend more time condemning Israel than on pressuring the Sudanese government. The U.N. still has yet to even label the killing of 400,000 people genocide! The reason is simple: Why care about a million lives when there is nothing to gain by protecting them? Most governments would rather stay on good terms with the Sudanese than save a few hundred thousand people. Sudanese natural resources, its oil fields, and the position it holds in the chaotic world of Arab politics makes many governments shy away from involving themselves. Governments unfortunately seem to only do acts of righteousness and kindness when there is something in it for them.
It’s truly unfortunate, but, at this point, helping to stop the genocide is the truest sign of one’s charitable instincts. There is no tangible net benefit of saving Darfur except of course being able to say that we live in an ethical and moral world. The truest form of charity, states Maimonides, is when one does something kind and good for someone else even when the giver has nothing to gain from the act. Such is the sad state of affairs surrounding Darfur. The question for governments around the world today is do they really care about living in an ethical and moral world?
Read the Full Debate: What Should Jews Do About Darfur?
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Brad Hirschfield currently blogs on Windows and Doors.
Author, radio and TV talk show host, and President of CLAL-The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, Brad Hirschfield is the author of You Don’t Have To Be Wrong For Me To Be Right: Finding Faith Without Fanaticism. Listed as one of the nation’s 50 most influential rabbis in Newsweek, and a regular commentator on Court TV, he is the creator of the popular series, Building Bridges, airing on Bridges TV, and the co-host of the weekly radio show, Hirschfield and Kula.
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