An Independence Day of Disunity

A Charedi speaks with with a non-religious person (TOI)

I often say how proud I am of my country, the United States of America. And how proud and grateful I am to be an American living at this particular time in history. I say this fully aware of the increase in antisemitism, a truly disturbing phenomenon that had been accelerated by the media focus - without context - on the high number of Palestinian casualties during Israel’s defensive war against Hamas.

I am equally proud of my country, Israel. (Yes - both Israel and the U.S. are my country!) I could not be prouder of what my people - both religious and secular - have accomplished in the relatively short span of about 80 years since its founding. I say this despite its many flaws, some of which are deeply troubling. But Israel’s accomplishments far outweigh those flaws. Without getting into details, this should be obvious to anyone with an open heart and open mind.

I only wish the rest of my coreligionists felt the same way I do, whether secular or religious. But what I often find is the opposite. Instead of focusing on Israel’s many accomplishments in fields both religious and secular - the criticism from across the Jewish world is often so harsh that it borders on abandonment of the country.

On the religious side, where the Charedim make up the bulk of the religious world in Israel, the venom I have heard from some of the Charedi leadership about the secular leadership (often parroted by their devoted followers) is reminiscent of rhetoric once reserved for our Nazi tormentors during the Holocaust.

Not to be outdone, some among the secular leadership have openly threatened to destroy the Torah world. One Supreme Court justice was recently overheard saying that this was his mission!

And as if that weren’t enough, we now have religious Jews from different camps saying hateful things about each other. While it may be understandable why some of these things are being said, it does not warm the cockles of my heart to hear them so often.

Today is Israeli Independence Day. A day that ought to signify unity. A day when all factions in Israel - and Jews everywhere - should unite and declare that we are one people: the Jewish people. ‘One nation under God.’ (Sound familiar? If that phrase applies anywhere, it should be the Holy Land. But I digress.) It seems, though, that we are further away from that ideal than ever. Not only in Israel, but also in the United States.

The Jewish people are as divided as ever. Never in a million years, for example, would I have believed that Jewish members of Congress would turn on Israel so sharply. And yet that is exactly what is happening. This does not mean that Israel cannot be criticized. Lord knows there is plenty to criticize. But to abandon her - rejecting her primary advocate in the U.S. (AIPAC) as though it were a supporter of mass murder, while ignoring the great accomplishments and contributions to the world made by its people - Jewish people like themselves - goes far beyond mere criticism. By denying military aid, do they not realize that they place themselves squarely in the category of being collaborators with Israel’s enemies...

To continue reading - and/or to comment on this post  - click on this link: substack. You must subscribe to receive new posts. It's easy and it's free.  

A Tragically Insulting and Destructive Act

Netanyahu promising harsh disciplinary action for this act (Times of India)

I was so angry last night that I couldn’t fall asleep! …thinking about the damage one lone IDF soldier has done to the Jewish people. The kind of damage that fits all too easily into the narrative of every white supremacist whose antisemitic version of Christianity has caused the Jewish people untold pain. Often culminating in mass murder. Even now, in the 21st century, we saw this when one of these ‘fine fellows’ massacred 11 people at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh several years ago.

This soldier has given these people all they need to justify their vile stereotypes about Jews. Having portrayed us as blood-sucking vultures led by an evil Jewish cabal bent on controlling the world and subjugating Christians.

What happened is this. A misguided IDF soldier severely damaged a statue of Jesus with a sledgehammer in the Christian village of Debel in Lebanon.

I cannot begin to express how wrong-headed this was. Not to mention how reckless. I assume he believed he was fulfilling the Torah’s command to destroy idols. Which was given to the children of Israel upon entering the holy land in biblical times. What he was actually doing was endangering the entirety of the Jewish people.

Even though we do not believe in the divinity of Jesus - and are indeed forbidden to do so - it is not forbidden for Christians, or for any non-Jews in general. Provided they also believe in God. (Rema, Orach Chaim 156:1) But by acting on a misunderstanding of halacha, he has caused tremendous harm to the Jewish people.

The tens of millions of Christian fundamentalists who are among the most devout Christians in this country – strongly support us. Catholics, too, have become far more supportive of us ever since Vatican II. They now view Judaism as a sister religion rather than the discredited one they once considered it to be. Their support is vital at a time when public support is waning.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the support shown by Mike Huckabee, former Christian preacher; governor; and current U.S. ambassador to Israel. His backing of the Jewish state often exceeds that of many Jews. Especially secular and heterodox Jewish Democrats.

And that doesn’t even begin to account for leaders like Minister John Hagee, whose organization, Christians United for Israel (CUFI), has likely raised more Christian support (both financial and moral) for Israel than all fundamentalist preachers combined. Many such leaders actively encourage support for the Jewish state - and in some cases even support Israel’s biblical claim to the West Bank. The more devout they are, the stronger that support tends to be.

I can only imagine the regret some of them might feel now after seeing a story like this. Indeed, Ambassador Huckabee publicly expressed his outrage. And voices like Tucker Carlson are probably already saying, “See? I told you so.”

I’m less concerned about Carlson and his ilk, who are increasingly being marginalized. But I am concerned about the mainstream. It is embarrassing in the extreme when good and decent people - many of whom have gone to great lengths to support us in our time of need - are ‘thanked’ by a Jew destroying a statue of their deity...

To continue reading - and/or to comment on this post  - click on this link: substack. You must subscribe to receive new posts. It's easy and it's free.  

An Unpopular But Just War

Rachel Goldberg-Polin (NYT)

Last night I was reminded of why we are in this war. (As if I needed any reminding.) In a rare moment of moral clarity, the left-leaning television news magazine, 60 Minutes aired two segments that should be watched by all doubters of our mission in Iran.

Sadly, even with the massive TV audience 60 Minutes commands, those viewers represent only a minority of the American people. Given the biases instilled in the typical American viewer by an otherwise liberal media, their Democratic role models in Congress, the morally compromised European leadership beholden to the growing number of Muslim immigrants, and the right-wing antisemites pretending to oppose only Israel and not the Jewish people - the true message of those two segments has been lost on many.

That is made clear by the overwhelming number of Americans (according to recent polls) who oppose the war with Iran. But that statistic is misleading

Mark Twain is attributed to have said: ‘There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.” That the media frequently cites those numbers to bolster their own opposition to the war bears this out. They fail to mention that a vast majority of Americans support the goals of the war: preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, ending its ballistic missile program, and stopping its spread of terror by proxy. What many oppose is the method the U.S. has chosen to achieve those objectives. An opposition heavily fueled by the war’s adverse effect on the economy and the fear of American casualties.

That raises a simple question: what is the alternative?

Diplomacy has already been tried. And failed. Iran was caught enriching uranium thus violating JCPOA – the deal the US made with Iran in 2015 to stop enriching uranium for 10 years. Besides, they continued their ballistic missile program and supporting terrorism by proxy. JCPOA never even addressed those issues The October 7^th massacre in Israel and kidnapping of Jews is a brutal reminder of that.

One of the 60 Minutes segments yesterday featured Rachel Goldberg-Polin…

To continue reading - and/or to comment on this post  - click on this link: substack. You must subscribe to receive new posts. It's easy and it's free.  

A Conservative Rabbinical Student Speaks Up

American Jewish University president Jay Sanderson

Conservative Judaism is dead or dying. And The state of American Jewry is dire, with only a generation to fix it.

I don’t like beating a dead horse. But whenever a serious publication like Commentary revisits this issue, it’s hard to stay silent.

The above sentiments were not expressed by me, but they certainly could have been. They are two of the three sentiments expressed by American Jewish University president Jay Sanderson. AJU is the parent organization of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies - one of only two schools that ordain Conservative rabbis.

None of this is new. The Conservative movement has been in decline for quite some time. Nor is it news that its leadership recognizes it. What is different about this particular article by S.A. Weiss is his personal reaction to it. Weiss identifies as a third-year rabbinical student at Ziegler pursuing semicha - ordination as a Conservative rabbi two years from now.

What is not surprising is what Conservative leadership is trying to do to fix the problem. Which is almost certain to put the Makah B’Potish – the ‘final blow’ on its demise. Their plan is…

to shift away from traditional rabbinical-school subjects such as Mishnah and Talmud toward more “timely” and “relevant” topics like conflict resolution, AI, and social media.

This is not a course correction. It is an acceleration of the very trend that brought the movement to this point. For decades, Conservative leadership has treated classical Torah study as increasingly irrelevant, replacing it with contemporary concerns. Now, even the pretense of Torah as the central organizing force appears to be fading. The idea that Torah should inform all of their decisions and practices will effectively be excised from their program.

Please do not misunderstand…

To continue reading - and/or to comment on this post  - click on this link: substack. You must subscribe to receive new posts. It's easy and it's free.  

  

Are Heterodox Jews Increasingly Being Alienated?

I admit to being conflicted. On the one hand, I have no doubt that heterodox departures from millennia-old interpretations of Torah, Talmud, and halacha are mistaken. The original changes were called Reform and were heavily influenced by the culture in which they arose, with the hope that adaptation would ease integration and reduce antisemitism.

That hope proved tragically misguided. German Jews totally assimilated and integrated at the highest levels of society. And yet that did not save them from Hitler’s extermination camps.

The reality is, though, that the horse has left the barn. Generations of Jews were raised with little meaningful connection to traditional observance, while those who resisted change - labeled Orthodox by the Reform camp - remained faithful under difficult conditions.

In the early 20th century, another approach emerged - primarily in America called Conservative Judaism. They sought what they believed was a middle ground. Preserving tradition while allowing limited compromise to help Jews survive in America’s ‘melting pot’ culture. Some of those compromises, like permitting driving to synagogue on Shabbos, were meant to keep Jews connected. In hindsight, that approach has failed. The once-thriving Conservative movement is now in steep decline.

Meanwhile, Orthodox Jews - once predicted to disappear - held firm, even when Shabbos observance threatened their livelihoods. Today, their numbers are growing, while heterodox movements are shrinking. But they still represent the largest proportion of American Jewry.

I remain firmly convinced of the exclusive legitimacy of Orthodox Judaism, grounded in an unbroken chain of halachic interpretation by the sages of each generation. There is consensus on this point across the entire spectrum of Orthodoxy.

And yet, many heterodox Jews sincerely look to their own rabbis as religious authorities.

Therein lies my problem. Rejecting their legitimacy outright undermines any sense of Jewish unity and is understandably experienced by them as dismissive or insulting. This tension has increasingly spilled over into public disputes, particularly in Israel.

An op-ed by Tom Sudow that I saw today argues that non-Orthodox interpretations of Judaism deserve equal standing at Israel’s holy sites. He was particularly angered by proposed legislation that would restrict egalitarian prayer at the Kotel. As he put it: his wife, daughter, and granddaughter can read from a Torah anywhere in the United States. But not at the Western Wall.

I understand his frustration. But I cannot, in good conscience, accept his egalitarian premise. And that creates an inherent conflict between us.

Sudow went further - calling upon all Jewish philanthropies to withhold financial support from Israel until pluralistic practices are recognized. I doubt such efforts will succeed, but the sentiment reflects a deep and growing rift.

Does this mean that Israel - or Orthodox leadership - should compromise on core halachic principles…

To continue reading - and/or to comment on this post  - click on this link: substack. You must subscribe to receive new posts. It's easy and it's free.  

Using a Private Residence as a Shul

Normally, I am not a fan of setting up makeshift Shuls in private homes - at least not in mixed neighborhoods. By which I mean neighborhoods consisting of a variety of ethnicities and religions.

I do wonder: Is there no synagogue in that neighborhood for its Jewish residents to attend? If not - why not? If there is no Shul in the neighborhood, one ought to be built.

I believe that if such gatherings are held on a regular basis, they can alter the character of the neighborhood. I’m not sure, for example, how comfortable I would be if my next-door neighbor held a weekly Mass every Sunday led by a Catholic priest in his home, or if my next door neighbor held weekly Islamic services in his home every Friday led by a Muslim Imam.

This isn’t about whether they have the right to do so. I believe they absolutely do. What people do behind closed doors in terms of religious practice is nobody else’s business - as long as it is not disruptive. They are entitled to worship as they wish - a constitutionally guaranteed right.

However even though they have that right - it would not entirely eliminate my discomfort—minor though it may be.

So, I understand why some residents in a neighborhood in University Heights, Ohio object to a weekly Shabbos minyan in the home of one of their Jewish neighbors. I would therefore suggest that - as a matter of principle - just because someone has a right to do something doesn’t always mean they should do it.

While neighborhood objections may reflect a degree of antisemitism (latent or otherwise) it may simply be discomfort with the idea of a private home being turned into a makeshift house of worship. Which is incongruous with the harmony of block.

That said, there is little doubt in my mind about the antisemitic nature of the city ordinance that blocked Daniel Grand, an Orthodox Jewish homeowner in University Heights, Ohio - from holding a weekly minyan in his home...

To continue reading - and/or to comment on this post  - click on this link: substack. You must subscribe to receive new posts. It's easy and it's free.  

Torah Without Humanity

A recent comment by Joel Rich on Gil Student’s Torah Musings noted an ‘updated’ version of a story about Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer. One tailored, apparently, for a contemporary yeshiva audience.

In the original version, Rav Meltzer walks around the block rather than enter his apartment, so as not to cause the widow cleaning his home to stop singing. Knowing that her singing brings her comfort and joy.

In the revised version, however, he stays out because of kol isha - the Halacha forbidding males to listen the singing voice of a woman

Joel Rich found this change saddening. So did I. But I can’t say I was surprised.

No one doubts that Rav Meltzer took kol isha seriously. That was indeed the halachic component. But to reduce the story to that alone is to strip it of what made it meaningful in the first place - his sensitivity, his empathy, his humanity. It recasts a Gadol not as a compassionate human being guided by Torah, but as a kind of halachic machine, oblivious to the emotional world around him.

And that, frankly, says a great deal about what is being valued and taught in the world of the right wing Yeshiva world.

This kind of revision is not incidental. It reflects a broader shift in that world: a move toward defining greatness in exclusively halachic terms, as though human feeling were secondary. Or worse, irrelevant. Being holy, in this framework, risks becoming detached from being human.

But Torah without humanity is not a higher form of religiosity. It is a diminished one.

When religious life is reduced to technical compliance alone, something essential is lost. Basic decency - care for others, sensitivity to their dignity - can become optional, invoked only when explicitly mandated. And when that happens, even well-intentioned people can rationalize behavior that undermines the very values Torah is meant to uphold.

We see echoes of this in the realm of Kiddush Hashem. When Halacha is misunderstood or narrowly applied, it can lead to outcomes that create a Chilul Hashem. Even when no violation of Halacha was intended. At times, this has manifested in unethical conduct justified, however mistakenly, by a narrow reading of obligation - particularly in dealings with non-Jews. When the human and moral dimension is stripped away, distortion follows.

That is why the original story of Rav Meltzer mattered It didn’t just inform; It formed. It shaped how greatness is imagined...

To continue reading - and/or to comment on this post  - click on this link: substack. You must subscribe to receive new posts. It's easy and it's free. 

The Pope and the President

Forgive him, for he knows not what he does. This is pretty much how I (as a Cubs fan) feel about any White Sox fan. Bob Prevost, being no exception. For those who don’t recognize the name, Bob, who was born and raised in Chicago, is now Pope Leo.

Although my feelings about his support for the White Sox are tongue-in-cheek, I feel a similar way about Leo’s comments on the U.S./Israel war with Iran: He knows not what he does.

Not that I am surprised. Popes have always sought peaceful negotiations over war. Regardless of the context. And the truth is, who wouldn’t prefer peace? You’d have to be completely insane to prefer the hell of war over peaceful negotiations. I am first in line with that desire.

But where the Pope goes wrong is that it takes two to tango. And that some issues are too important to compromise on. Important in the sense that compromise would result in more death and destruction than a war forcing surrender.

Sure. It sounds good to say that the U.S. and Iran should negotiate rather than fight a war. But when one side (Iran) has a record of brutality against its own people, a stated ideological hostility toward Israel that threatens their very existence, and refuses to halt enrichment of uranium to weapons-grade levels, that cannot be compromised. It would be like the FBI making a deal with the Mafia that ends the bloodshed of raids while allowing them to continue their violent methods of settling internal disputes.

The president was outraged by Pope Leo’s comments criticizing his war policy on Iran. (As though some acceptable compromise were realistically possible.) The hard fact is that negotiations are going on right now. But Iran will surely reject U.S. demands to halt its nuclear weapons program. When that happens, the war will resume, with the U.S. and Israel returning to bombing targets inside Iran. Iranian expatriates around the world support such efforts, having firsthand knowledge of life under that regime. Something the Pope and many Western leaders do not share.

It’s true that the war is causing worldwide pain, including in the United States. The energy crisis brought about by Iran’s closing of the Strait of Hormuz has driven up prices globally. The U.S. blockade of Iranian shipping has added to that strain. The president has all but acknowledged that prices may remain high through the midterm elections, potentially costing his party control of Congress. Still, he appears to prioritize national security and support for Israel over political consequences…

To continue reading - and/or to comment on this post  - click on this link: substack. You must subscribe to receive new posts. It's easy and it's free.

Insulation is Not Education

One of the most challenging aspects of education today is the explosion of technology, now ubiquitous among our youth. This is not just an Orthodox Jewish issue. It is a global one. Educators everywhere are struggling with it.

When I was a teenager, the challenge was TV. It often promoted values at odds with traditional Jewish life and, even at its best, was little more than “bubble gum” for the mind - wasting time and distracting from studies.

About 30 years ago, TV became secondary to the internet. The ease of accessing inappropriate content led some religious leaders to call for an outright ban. Remember the “Asifa”? But porn was not the only concern. Heretical ideas became just as accessible, leading many to question the fundamentals of Judaism and even belief in God.

Then came smartphones, making any meaningful ban nearly impossible. Despite ongoing efforts, they are simply too useful to eliminate. Filters became the fallback.

Now we face AI - an even more powerful tool. It is already being used productively, even by prominent Talmidei Chachomim. Banning something so useful is unrealistic.

The broader world recognizes these dangers. Not only are Orthodox schools banning smartphones during school hours, public schools are also increasingly banning them too. Some policymakers are considering age restrictions.

But the real challenge begins after school. And that’s where the problem lies. Choosing the right school then becomes critical.

Studies show that heavy social media use harms both learning and social development, not to mention related issues like online gambling. Which is increasingly being found among young school age people. These are serious concerns.

In response, many parents let fear guide their decisions...

To continue reading - and/or to comment on this post  - click on this link: substack. You must subscribe to receive new posts. It's easy and it's free.

We Are Our Own Worst Enemy

Antisemitism is up in this country. No question about it. But what makes its current incarnation different from antisemitism of the past is that, in some ways, there are Jews contributing to it. Though not in the way one might think.

In the past, it didn’t help matters when a few of our people - some of whom were outwardly very devout - were caught with their hands in the cookie jar. Cases of government fraud by seemingly devout Orthodox Jews have surely contributed to antisemitism, making it easier for antisemites to generalize a supposed propensity for fraud to all Jews, especially the most devout among us. While incidents of that kind of fraud seem to have decreased, antisemitism has nevertheless increased.

Much of that increase is due to closet antisemites who have long lived among us but were relatively quiet about expressing their views. Since the war in Gaza and accusations of genocide, however, they seem to feel they have been given ‘permission’ to voice their true feelings. Often disguised as anti-Zionist or anti-Israel sentiment.

The problem is that a growing number of Jews are now saying many of the same things. Accusations of genocide are no longer uncommon. These are often framed as criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rather than of Israel as a whole. But that framing ignores the reality that, with few exceptions on Israel’s far left, Netanyahu’s conduct of the war has been broadly supported in the Israeli Knesset. That distinction is therefore invalid.

Making matters worse, prominent self-identifying Jews in high office have joined the chorus of Israel-bashing by proxy - using AIPAC as their primary target.

AIPAC is a lobbying group that advocates support for Israel regardless of which political party is in power, both in the United States and in Israel. Yet it has now become increasingly toxic within the Democratic Party…

To continue reading - or to comment on this post  - click on this link: substack. You must subscribe to receive new posts. It's easy and it's free.