Rabbi Eliyahu Stern: November 2007 Archives

In theory the Annapolis summit between Israelis and Palestinians sounds like a good idea. It’s been a really long time since Israelis and Palestinians substantively talked about the possibility of peace. It’s been an even longer time since the Bush Administration actively involved itself in the dispute between the two parties and who even knows when was the last time an Israeli or Palestinian governmental official traveled to Annapolis? If you wonder why I mention this last issue it’s because that when looked at closely it’s the best, if not the only reason why anyone should be going to Annapolis.

Rabbi Grossman has the right idea when she states, “As Jews we seldom have one position on any issue. Certainly, the idea of health insurance did not even exist at the time of those writing our great codes of Jewish law.” That said she goes on to argue why Judaism would support a form of universal health care. While I am less sure than she is as to whether “Judaism” would back the Democratic party’s universal health care proclivities, I am pretty certain that such is the case with the vast majority of Clal Yisrael (the Jewish people) today. Simon Greer in a great post on jspot makes a very compelling argument for why, as a Jewish community, we are (and should be) concerned with the state of health care in America. Greer tells us:

I don’t think Rabbi Waxman meant to say as much, but just to be clear: there is no Jewish position on the Iraq war. There are good wars, bad wars and complicated wars but there are few if any Jewish or non-Jewish wars. That said, when looking at Iraq certainly in the short term it has been, at best, a wasted war. As a nuclear Iran keeps creeping up on us, we realize what a waste of time, energy, resources, and capital the war in Iraq was. It is not that Saddam was a good man who deserved to be in power, but war is a calculus and it involves not just figuring out who is in clear and immanent danger, but also who is in the most clear and immanent danger.

Even with all Israel’s political handicaps, its economy has performed remarkably well. Much credit should be given to Bibi Netanyahu for creating a strong business class and attracting foreign investors like Warren Buffet. So it might come as a surprise to many in America that Israel has a poverty problem.

As it has been reported, “At present, just 30 percent of Haredi [a theologically conservative form of Orthodox Judaism] men participate in the work force. Almost half the Haredi population lives below the official poverty line. As the Haredi share of the population grows, pressure will mount on the tax rolls, the welfare system and inter-communal tolerance and civility.”

In theory Hebrew schools are a great idea. A heavy dose of secular subjects in the morning and a nice light sprinkling of Jewish wisdom in afternoon sounds like a fine balance for the well-rounded Jewish child. But, as we know, theory and practice are two different things. On the ground Hebrew schools are not working.

But what’s not working isn’t the teachers, the curriculum, or the students, it’s the parents. The truth of the matter is that the parents themselves don’t want to spend the time taking their kids back and forth three times a week to a synagogue that they themselves show up to no more than five times a year. For a number of years, parents have been at the forefront of rolling back Hebrew school time for their children. More than the kids, the parents are the one’s who have pushed for Hebrew school to adopt a once-a-week schedule (down from three days a week). To be honest, I am at a loss for what will make Hebrew schools work, but I do know for certain that unless parents are behind them they will go nowhere.