Recently in Judaism Category

This picture of a US warship built out of metal salvaged from the Twin Towers blown up on 9/11, is on the cover of today's New York Times and papers all over the nation. As I saw the picture of the ship, I could not help but think of what might be the Bible's best-known teaching on recycling, Isaiah 2:4, "They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks".

Are Isaiah's words relevant to this picture? Is it, and the entire story of how scraps recovered from the worst terror attack on American soil were used to build a new ship for the navy, offensive? Beautiful? Sad? Empowering? I think the answer is "yes".

I appreciate the empowerment and even the beauty of repurposing metal dipped in the blood and ash of murdered victims, and turning it into a tool which could be used to prevent further victimization. But if that is the end of the story, then I think we should all be a little sad, if not offended.

I would love to see other scraps repurposed as ploughshares, libraries, voting booths, and other symbols of civil society in the contemporary world. I would love to see front page images like that, at least alongside, if not instead of the one pictured above.

We do not yet live in the perfected world about which Isaiah spoke, but I think that having more pictures like that would move us in that direction.

Despite the headlines in this CNN story about "New Jews", there is nothing really new here. Most of the new practices being described are not so new, as in the case of recently founded prayer groups or Hebrew school teaching techniques which are wonderful but hardly radical departures from that which preceded them. And for those that are new, such as tattooing, the newness lies in the practice, while the intent of those doing it is, in their own words, about ethnic pride and communal connection. What could be more traditional?

In fact, when Jessica Ravitz (Jessica Rabbit's Jewish cousin?) writes, "When Moses came down from Mount Sinai about 3,300 years ago, he couldn't have seen these Jews coming", she is drawing on a Talmudic passage which anticipated the on ongoing evolution of Jews and Judaism, almost 2,000 years ago.

Over the past two days, I have posted about the appropriateness of hate crime legislation and about people's concern over anti-Semitism. Today's shooting at Adat Yeshurun Valley Sephardic Orthodox Synagogue in North Hollywood, in which two members were shot at close range, brings together both of those previous posts. And in what some might find surprising, does nothing to alter my previously stated views.

One commenter's observation on my hate crimes post, that I would change my tune if someone spray-painted a swastika on a synagogue and suddenly embrace such legislation, is now demonstrably wrong. This is a whole lot worse than graffiti, and I still resist the rush to label this a hate crime, let alone prosecute it as such. And in this case LA Mayor Villaraigosa is with me.

Having received numerous questions about the Coen brothers' most recent film, a contemporary commentary on the Book of Job, called A Serious Man, I am going to respond even though I have not yet seen the movie. How can I do that? I can do so because the comments have had little to do with the actual movie. They are really about the amazing level of insecurity which Jews feel about how we are portrayed in popular culture.

Most of the comments have focused on how the rabbis come off in the film. People are concerned that the apparently poor showing they make as counselors to the suffering Jew who turns to them in his time of need. Will, those who write me ask, audiences come to think poorly of Jews because of this?

For Starters, the questions assumes that most people think that all Jews are like rabbis, and that alone is a big presumption - one which gives rabbis far more status than is either real or appropriate. But the larger issue has to do with our fears about how we are seen, even as we live with greater acceptance in America than we have in any country other than Israel, ever in Jewish history.

One woman wrote: I have to admit that I was also becoming very concerned about how non-Jews would perceive this film, and whether this would encourage Anti-Semitic stereotypes. My 88 year old Yiddish speaking mother went to see the film with her 93 year old friend, and they were completely horrified and disgusted!!

My response:

Starting this morning adds begin appearing in New York City subways which tell us that for millions of people, the answer is 'yes'. Following past campaigns in Dallas, Chicago and other locations around the nation this advertising campaign for Greg Epstein's book of the same name, is clearly meant to provoke, not educate. That may be good for book sales, but renders this initiative far less interesting than it otherwise might be. In fact, it looks and sounds remarkably similar to the kinds of pro-God campaigns which annoy those who sponsored this one!

The add campaign is mounted by the "New York City Coalition for Reason", whose name alone is problematic. It suggests, in precisely the way that pro-God groups with names like "union for decency" and "coalition for American values" suggest that atheists are amoral, un-American, or indecent, that atheists are reasonable and theists are not.

What do you think? Can be people be good without God? I ask in two senses and eagerly await the discussion that follows. First, can people be good, in the moral and ethical sense, without being grounded in some kind of faith in some kind of being greater than themselves? Second, can people be truly happy, as in "I'm good with that", without believing in something they call God?

It's clear to me that the answer is 'no' to the first question, but that in which someone believes may be far different from the standard personal "Guy-In-The-Sky" which many people think of when talking about God. As to the second, I am really not sure. I think it depends upon the circumstances of one's life and how seriously they take the concept of gratitude. Ultimately, it is gratitude which is the key to happiness and although I feel deeply grateful to God, I think the gratitude part is more connected to my being happy than the being to whom it is directed.

Your turn....