Women's Learning and Women Rabbis

I surprised myself the other week by engaging in a passionate Feminist speech. I say surprised myself, because as I see it I have never held particularly Feminist views. I have certain problems with Shira Chadasha - the current cutting edge of Orthodox (?) Feminism - and I frequently find Feminist activism as petty, irritating and destabilising/anti-establishment.

So my harangue began as we raised the topic of the Maharat ordination (link1 link2). For the uninitiated, the Marahat is a title aimed at ordaining women as Rabbis in the Orthodox community. It has been instigated by Rav Avi Weiss of HIR in Riverdale and Yeshivat Chovevai Torah.

I guess a few comments are in order as a prelude:

1. I am a big believer in Limmud Torah for women. I believe that true depth in Jewish belief, practice and emotional experience is a function of the extent to which we have learned and absorbed classic Jewish texts into our consciousness. This can only happen through serious and extensive Talmud Torah. I see no difference between men and women in this regard.

2. I have many role models of wonderful women Talmidot Chachamim in my community (Alon Shevut). My neighbours include several women who are widely respected and consulted for their Halakhic knowledge as Yoatzot Halakha (link). Then there are my colleagues and friends - some of the finest and most sought after women Torah teachers in Jerusalem. Alon Shevut has a women's Daf Yomi that meets daily, and every day, I encounter committed, bright, halakhic, spiritually and religiously motivated women who are living exemplars of Torah and who are certainly learned by any definition of the term.

3. I have said for some time, in conversation with my students, that Rabbis serve four primary functions:
#1. psak halakha; #2. teaching; #3. Counseling and giving guidance/advice; #4. A synagogue function.
As for women, functions #1-3 they already do. Women DO pasken (Yoatzot Halakha), DO give guidance and advise, and DO teach men and women Torah (Nehama Leibowitz anyone?) All this is de rigeur in the Modern Orthodox community.

Function #4. is more problematic since we have seperate zones in shul. But effectively, ignoring that, what is wrong with a woman "Rabbi"?

... And having said all of that, I didn't see it important to push for a title, or a communal status. It just didn't seem that important!

So, back to my harangue. It is connected to my experience, and frustration, with my daughter's schooling. My daughter is an excellent student, thank God, and is generally at the top-end of her class. She frequently acts as if school just isn't that challenging.

So imagine my surprise when I discovered that in her school, she has just started a Torah Shebal Peh program this year. Let us begin with the fact that this topic receives only 2 hours/week, and she is in 5th grade...not exactly reinforcing the importance of the topic. But OK, if we do accept that, what are they studying in these 2 hours? - A single Mishna from Pirkei Avot each week. ONE MISHNA! These are Israeli kids who can simply read it. They aren't doing mepharshim. What are they doing???!!! Let me add that I have already studied multiple massechtot of Mishna with my daughter including Massechet Shabbat (24 chapters!) She knows Mishna. Why is Avot the only Toshb"p that she is doing in school?

[Just to make things clear, they study 18 hours+ Tanach a week! It is a high-level seriously religious girls school]

So why are they doing so little? So many excuses were given. But two things stood clear to me after some investigation:

1. The school doesn't particularly see the great need to teach my daughter Torah shebAl Peh. Let me add that in a neighboring school, boys are given the opportunity to study 2 extra hours of Gemara after school (called Tigbur - strengthening!) and the girls simply go home. Apparently girls don't need strengthening! But also it is clear that even in Gush Etzion with so many learned women and the towering institute of Migdal Oz, women's Torah Shebal Peh is not taken nearly as seriously, and is far below the level of their male counterparts.

2. One of the problems was that there simply were no female teachers on the staff of this particular school who felt adequately trained to teach Mishna at the requisite level. After all, a great Mishna teacher has studied Mishna and Talmud for years. He or she knows the material at a very high level and can bring all his or her experience to bear when teaching even basic material (Mishna) thereby injecting interest and investing the subject matter with depth and relevance. No women on the faculty had this capability.

So how can I change things? How can I get the school to take my daughter's brain and soul seriously? How can I get the teachers who know Torah Shebal Peh into the school?

And so, I began to think: In the Western world, when High Schools failed to take girls' physics seriously, someone said: "Well, we need women physics teachers. Until the students see a female role model, they will never take it seriously. And to get women's physics teachers we need female University professors. Because unless we have women teaching physics in University, we will never have physics taken seriously for girls at High School. " And I guess that is Feminism. And maybe - just possibly - it applies to my frustration. Maybe what is true for physics is true for Torah, or in our case, Mishna.

And I suddenly thought, well maybe we DO need to have publicly recognised communal figureheads who are versed in Torah ShebAl Peh. Maybe we do need women Rabbis, or at least women Talmidei Chachamim with some hefty public recognition. Why? -So that someone will take 5th grade Mishna seriously for my daughter!

Now, .... I am still torn, still a little stuck on this one. Maybe I am just torn between innovation and traditionalism. Maybe I am wavering due to my inability to read the long-term implications of such a move. I know that I don't particularly like the Maharat title as such. To be honest, I would like to see the Yoetzet title develop as the prime title that recognises women as masters of Halakhic study, (even if it is in Hilchot Nidda... after all, traditional Semicha is just on Kashrut topics.) I also have no real clarity as to the precise role I want such a women to play in shul, if she were to be the sole spiritual leader of a congregation. And yet, let me reiterate that unless the community see women Talmidei Chachamim ( - It doesn't have to be a Rabbi, or a Maharat, or a Yoetzet - ) and recognise that role of scholar, teacher and religious guide as a valuable pursuit, as a noble status for women; until then, our daughters' Talmud Torah will be relegated to second-rate status. Always.

Maccabiah 18. Everyone is Jewish!

The Maccabiah is a phenomenal enterprise. I saw this headline in Haaretz this week, which sort of sums it up:

'It's Amazing! Everyone's Jewish' (link)

To participate in a sporting event with over 5000 Jews coming together in Israel, is quite something. Many of these Jews mix predominantly in non-Jewish social circles. Some are from small communities where there are small Jewish populations. Suddenly they are in Israel, with 5000 Jews. It must be quite a celebration.

I spent a wonderful Shabbat this week at Kfar HaMaccabiah. It was quite a happening scene. A beautiful hotel and sports complex teeming with young and old - over 180 athletes and 150 delegate leaders - all dressed in colourful sports clothing, branded with their national colours and the Maccabiah symbol.

So why was I there? The Rabbinic organisation, Tzohar, sent me. They figured that with so many Jews, there should be some Judaism. This excellent initiative sent Rabbis to each of the Maccabiah hotels in order to inject some Judaism. We ran a lovely Kabbalat Shabbat and kiddush on Friday night. We tried to run some other programs in the course of Shabbat. (They didn't all succeed mainly due to lack of publicity. Next time - in 4 years - I will have understood better how to manouver the Maccabiah organisational system.)

We met some incredible people, including a lovely 84 year-old South African man, Isaac Joffe, who plays tennis in the over '80's category, and Albert, the head of the French delgation, as well as the Chilean rugby team who all attended Kabbalat Shabbat.

And yet, what does strike me is that we were a drop in the ocean there. There are so many Jews., but very little Judaism. Shani - the Israeli Culture Coordinator at our hotel, a young secular looking woman - was really excited at the prospect of a good spiritual Kabbalat Shabbat. I don't know her background, but as an Israeli, she had participated in Birthright and the spiritual quality of Kabbalat Shabbat on that program made a deep impression on her. It was strikingly evident that Shani was really hoping for a Jewish spiritual Friday night experience, as were many others. But 80% of the athletes were doing other things. (Yes - I know these people come for the sport, and have their mind on sport, but still, since this is a Jewish event, how DO we give it greater Jewish content?)

I have to be honest; I generally educate in Modern Orthdox circles, a world which I know intimately. I am more than a little puzzled whenever I come into contact with very secular Jewish groups, especially from abroad. I am always wondering: Where is their Judaism rooted? Of what does it consist? For me, my Judaism rests on the foundations of Halakha, ritual, community, study. It is everything to me. Without that, my Judaism would feel flimsy, unsubstantial. But can a Maccabiah identity be the totality of a person's Judaism? Can a Judaism that consists of vague rituals on Pesach and Yom Kippur, of sporting groups and some social and fundraising events, truly mobilise young people to be proud Jews? What content do these people give their Judaism? I don't mean to patronise. I am genuinely curious.

Tzohar have made a start. I would love to find ways to take this sort of thing further. But I also need to understand better what makes these young proud Jews tick. After all, these Jews are the majority of the Jewish world. What excites them? When they are proud to be Jewish, what is the source of that pride? These people do not observe shabbat, and their cultural context is entirely secular. I wonder, what acts ro situations do they consider to be "Jewish?" What contitutes their Judaism? What role does Israel play in all this? And will this be powerful enough to pass on to their children?

Simple Kindnesses

Chassidic stories and the like have a legend of "hidden tzadikkim", good people who look ordinary but do very special work behind the scenes, when no one in particular is looking. Where does one find such people?

Well, we made a "simcha" this past weekend - my eldest son's Barmitzva. It was all wonderful, and we had much to celebrate. It is the first "simcha" that we have made beyond the rushed organisation of a "Brit." And so in our planning and running of the events, we discovered certain things, or maybe I should say, people, that we did not expect.

Planning the Shabbat of a Barmitzva is quite a feat. If one wants to avoid the inordinate cost of a full blown caterer, how does one manage? After all, one needs tablecloths, napkins and dishes, and one wants them to be elegant, colour coordinated and the like. Moreover, one may wish to eat of china rather than plastic plates. How do we do this for forty people in a cost effective way?

What we discovered is that our Yishuv (community) has a Gema"ch (free loan society) for family celebrations. They have a storage room with tablecloths in about 20 colours, serving dishes, decorative pieces for the table, every last detail including a board to cut the Challah, and a mirror on which to place Shabbat candles. and the amazing thing is that one can take all these things for FREE! (One has to pay to get the tablecloths laundered but that is the total cost.) The people who work there volunteer. I don't know who set it up, nor who donated all the beautiful things there. But what an amazing concept! Everyone has bar/batmitzvas, aufrufs, and other family parties. Why not have a central facility that helps everyone to have a high-quality upscale simcha for minimal running costs? The fact that all this is offered to the community without charge is astounding.

And after the Shabbat, we had leftover food. Friends informed us of a man in our community who distributes leftovers to needy local families. We took him the food. He ensured that needy families received it. This man has created a discreet network which ensures that he is informed of families in need, and he provides for their basic needs.

Once again, here is a shining example of exemplary work performed without fanfare or prestige but this is a service which, no doubt, restores dignity and hope (let alone nutrition) to many desperate homes.

And I am quite amazed that I have lived in this community for 15 years and I was absolutely unaware of these terrific public services. It would appear that certain acts of kindness are done quietly; so quietly that until a person stumbles upon them, one just doesn't know about them.

But beyond these special acts and institutions let me mention something even simpler. we received many phone calls: from friends abroad, family, my parents' friends, all wishing us Mazal Tov. It warmed our hearts. So many people cared to boost our simcha. It doesn't take much to pick up the phone and speak and listen for 60 seconds, but it made a powerful difference to us. I frequently forget to call people in these situations. Now I understand just how incredible it is. The sense that people who you care about are remembering you and celebrating together with you is deeply heart warming. so this has taught me an important lesson, of the power of joining with others in their simcha, the potent force of caring and expressing love to others. That nurturing a friendship and demonstrating concern for friends - not the needy but friends - is also an act which raises us up and make our lives happy, worthwhile and meaningful.

Notes on Parashat Korach

1. Korach's political slogan is כי כל העדה כולם קדושים ובתוכם ה in other words, the people are holy, sacred. Hence they are entitled to leadership. This seems like a wonderful democratic egalitarian argument.

I recall Yishayahu Leibowitz's comment when he notes that the paragraph that preced Korach is the parsha of Tzitzit where the people are also called holy:

"... in order that you may remember and perform all my command AND YOU WILL BE HOLY TO THE LORD."

Yishayahu Leibowitz puts it in the following way:

"The difference between these two perceptions of 'holiness' is the distinction between religious faith and pagan worship. The holiness of Parshat Tzitzit is not a given assumption but a task. There we are not told, "You are holy", but a demand is made to "become holy." But in the religious consciousness of Korach and his followers, "The entire congregation is holy." Holiness is something bestowed upon one.

The distinction between the two concepts is deeper still: ... In Parshat Tzitzit, holiness is expressed in the most sublime aspect of the life of faith and the religious mindset of man; that he is required to accept upon himself a task. Nothing is promised or assured. He is simply charged with a demand ... But, in the holiness of Korach and his group ... man frees himself from responsibility, from the mission with which he is charged and from the obligation to struggle." (Notes on the weekly Parsha pg.96-97)

2. Nonetheless, it is interesting that there may appear to be some truth in this egalitarian approach. I think from our modern perspective, we also have a difficult time understanding priesthood i.e. religious ritual leadership as restricted to a particular family or tribe. We value equal opportunity. Do we truly understand why the Kohanim and them alone, are selected as Aharon's descendents? Would a system of "bechor" with every tribe and family represented be so wrong - and don't we know that the priesthood was certainly open to corruption as was seen during 2nd Temple times.

Maybe there is some truth or sanctity here in the argument of the 250? And indeed certain fringe elements of the story do indicate that theer is at least some substance to their acts in that the firepans (of the 250) are "raised" (17:2) "for they are sanctified." Their act did have some residual sanctity. It was not all blasphemy. It was holy! Does this signify a kernel of truth in their motivation, their cause? See the Netziv who suggests that the group of 250 were Tzaddikim and their motivation was pure (if mistaken.)

3. Why did the 250 leaders agree to the ketoret (incense) test at ENTRANCE to the Mishkan? Why not INSIDE the Mishkan? Is it not a recipe for failure? After all the Ketoret is brought inside the Mishkan!
Two possibilities:
a. They were fearful of the inner chamber of the Mishkan. They were concerned not to enter inappropriately such as the acts of Nadav and Avihu. This was an exercise in caution.
b. Their bringing ketoret OUTIDE is a reflection of their call for access, for deregulation, for lowering the entry requirements and quotas. Their aim is to bring the Ketoret to the nation! Bringing the ketoret in the "hidden" chamber is an insult to the nation. They don't want to separate from the nation. They want to be connected. Bringing the ketoret OUTSIDE is precisely what they are about.

4. Moshe and Aharon's role and conduct in the parasha is nothing other than outstanding. They have suffered incredible personal attack and yet, twice in the parasha , God offers to destroy the nation (see 16:21 and 17:9) and Moshe and Aharon, despite the fact that they may have felt hurt by all the wranglings, refuse absolutely to "allow" God to decimate the nation. TWICE God tells them that they should remove themselves from the sinning throngs. each time they refuse.

Moshe and aharaon show themselves as the true champions of the nation, rather than Korach and his group who each seem to have a personal agenda clothed in idealism.

Obama's Perspective

Much has been said and written about Obama's Cairo speech. I am going to add a couple of thoughts of my own. (For some other responses, see here and here)

Let me begin by saying that Obama's speech was an attempt to be balanced, sophisticated and intelligent about the Middle East, respectful and generous about Islam. From an American perspective I think it was a good speech. From our perspective however, Obama's attempt to embrace the Muslim world isn't such great news for the Jews. We certainly drew the short straw. To quote a summary from the (London) Times:

"His toughest message was reserved for Jewish settlers on the West Bank, whose communities he termed illegitimate. He added that Jerusalem, claimed by Israel as its capital, should be a home for Jews and Christians and Muslims."

I should add that I support Obama, I like him, and his general approach. I should also add that I am frequently despondant that our leaders, both Left and Right, seem to be in an impasse as regards the Peace Process. The Right ignore the Palestinian's Rights, the Left seem unrealistic as to the threats of the enemy and the need to address and cultivate the Jewish soul of Medinat Yisrael. New ideas ARE needed. Israel is crying out for solid and final borders and a solution to the stalemate so that we can apply our energies to other things. Nonetheless, it is not fun to have the American President put us on the spot and effectively point the finger primarily at Israel as the major culprit or hindrance to Peace.

I have two comments.

1. There is no doubt whatsoever that Obama has shifted the U.S. administration's attitudes towards Israel. (I wrote about this months ago - link). And this shift is uncomfortable from the Israeli perspective.

One feels that Obama is picking on us in particular, day by day. I cannot help feeling that the pressure that he is applying regarding Israel is excessive. After all, Obam has repeated at least five times over the past 3 weeks as to how Israel must stop settlement activity, Clinton has also driven the message home, and so has Biden. what happened to being "diplomatic" in the sphere of diplomacy? This is a very heavy handed approach.

And one wonders, is settlement activity the most heinous crime in the region?
why is this policy in particular being singled out? - Is it the most dramatic obstacle to a two-state solution?
And whereas I feel that he is treating Iran with kid's gloves, we are feeling the heat.

At some level, this single minded focus on settlement building feels simplistic and shallow, easy pickings. But there are so many other factors to this crisis, not least amongst them, Hamas's ongoing refusal to recognise Israel, that one wonders how Obama can see settlement restriction as the panacea to a 100 year war.


2. And possibly this second point will help us understand how Obama sees things. See this quote from his speech:

"Palestinians must abandon violence. Resistance through violence and killing is wrong and does not succeed. For centuries, black people in America suffered the lash of the whip as slaves and the humiliation of segregation. But it was not violence that won full and equal rights. It was a peaceful and determined insistence upon the ideals at the center of America's founding."

To understand Obama, one must realise that the civil rights movement, the oppression of the blacks in America and their eventual equal rights, is a force that animates his perspective. (Just read his book. It is at the centre of his consciousness.)

In this passage he explains something simple. From his viewpoint, Israelis are the whites, the oppressors, and the Palestinians are the oppressed, the blacks. For me this may explain why Obama feels so passionate about this issue. It also helps me understand why we shouldn't anticipate Obama to sympathise with our perspective. The way he sees things, the Palestinians are an oppressed nation. They are his brethren and they should be freed from their slavery. It's not a Muslim thing; it is deeper and more emotive than all that. His heart lies with the Palestinians. we are the rich, white slaveowners.

Now that doesn't look to good for our prospects over the coming years.

It's going to be a rough ride.

Parashat Behaalotecha: My Parsha Podcast

For Parashat Behaalotecha (link)

Enjoy!

The Silence of Israel's PM

I am jealous of the US. I am jealous of them because they have a leader who communicates. Obama's weekly YouTube video communications may be a gimmick, but nonetheless they express a deep respect for the electorate and a significant commitment to the spirit of democracy as he engages with the nation directly, explaining and inspiring, informing and sharing. These video communiques allow the general public to hear his messages and to understand his policy, to comprehend how their country is being run, on a regular basis.

And how about us here in Israel? Silence! - Bibi is supposed to be the great Communicator, the media genius, the TV wonder kid. And yet, we don't hear him. Except for a snippet or two at the start of a cabinet meeting, or a 5 second soundbite from a conference speech, I don't feel that my PM is communicating with me.

This is a problem at a number of levels. The first is that I don't know his plans: not on health, education, energy, let alone the Peace process and the problem of Hamas and what have you. Sometimes, one has the feeling that policies are invented at the last minute, that it is all very Israeli, patched together, off the cuff. Tell us the game plan, demonstrate that there is a plan, a strategy.

Second, there is the question of the national mood, the sense of leadership. Talking, imparting a message, communication is vital. It allows a leader to instill a sense of mission and common purpose in the nation. To share enthusiasm and passion, to have the nation embark on a journey together, to get everybody on board.

We need this desperately here in Israel. With so many challenges, some vision and hope are in short supply. If the PM were to address the nation regularly, we might be able to join together to address in unity certain key national objectives. The PM doesn't even need to reveal his Peace strategy (although it might be nice.) He could simply discuss topics less in conflict eg. Clean energy, Higher Education, the Zionist endeavour of settling the Negev and Galil, and outline thoughts on the more complicated and controversial policies too. we would like to hear his thoughts, his values, his ideas, hopes and fears. If ideas are shared, if thoughts are transmitted then we can truly work together.

And furthermore even when we disagree, if policies were expressed, presented and explained, it could foster a sophisticated discussion, rather than the awful political climate of shallow slogans and empty platitudes.

Why don't Israeli Prime Ministers talk to the people?

Sharon made silence and art form when he realised (or his spin doctors) that words just lose votes. He made silence a virtue when it came to electioneering, allowing images and a slogan or two to do the talking. Olmert followed in his footsteps talking little in election campaigns. and the result is that Israelis are not shocked when Prime Minister's make completely unpredictable policy shifts, light years from their election promises. Israelis are unfazed. as if to say... what do you expect?

But politicians are answerable to the nation. We simply know too little, we have not heard the leaders articulate their policy, we - the citizens - do not understand the views and proposed actions of our leaders , the directions in which they are leading us.

Go on Mr. Netanyahu. Talk to us! You are the Communicator. Tell us what is on your mind. Include us in the debate, in the conversation. Outline your plans, share your views, your policies and dreams. Let us share your vision. Let us begin a conversation. Let's get it out in the open. Enough feeling that all the decisions are made, ad hoc, behind closed doors, in dark shadowy rooms by faceless nameless advisers and aides! Enough of feeling that everything is a political compromise. We need more transparency. We need more inspiration, more vision. Talk to us! You will only win friends that way... and you may even convert some enemies.

Basic Books and Questions of Cultural Literacy

This post is appropriate at any time, but maybe especially in the lead-up to Shavuot, raising questions of our Kabbalat Torah and the extent to which we engage in the commitment of Brit Sinai (the Covenant that we made at Sinai.)

I'll begin with an anecdote. The other day, I took my son to the Hebrew bookshop i.e. the Sefarim store - Sifrei Kodesh. we were supposed to make a Barmitzva List - a list of books that he has designated, so that guests to the Barmitzva can have an easy time choosing a gift.

When I asked him what he wanted, he didn't really know, so I suggested that we buy the basic books that a person who wants to learn Torah should have. So we chose a Mikraot Gedolot, a Ramban, a Mishna Berura, Shemirat Shabbat Kehilchata, Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch on Chumash, Nechama Leibowitz and much more. My son asked me what I was choosing and why, and I kept on repeating (somewhat unaware that this was my mantra,) that these are fundamental books that one should have and study. It became apparent that as the list grew in length, my son was getting somewhat nervous, and he challenged me: "Are you saying that ALL THESE are things I have to know?" And at that moment I realised that he was wondering how he was ever going to absorb all of that stuff!

But what is the basic Jewish bookshelf? and what is basic Jewish literacy? and why is it important?

I would say very simply that in every culture there is a corpus of knowledge - intellectual and cultural - that form the bedrock of that civilisation. and that in order to function successfully, let alone to play a central role, to become productive, to lead, to be valued in that society, one must have absorbed that bookshelf. We are talking about facts and ideas that form a foundational set of cultural vocabulary, the very language of that society. And to say something credible or articulate, to be a full member of that society, one must have absorbed that knowledge set.

This is certainly true in western society. and even in the various sub-groups and communities, each group has its own essential knowledge base and culture-set. For academics it will be certain books and papers, for the business community it will be interest rates and stock prices, for the average person it might be what is on TV last night ... i.e. the things that are assumed in your social surroundings.

And now to Judaism. what is literacy for us? For sure, it will differ within our sub-communities. But I have a feeling that if we wish to be "Torah" Jews, Jews who don't simply live life in a robotic set of ordinances and prescriptive directives, then we need to be knowledgeable. If we seek to produce thinking, self-reflective, articulate people who can understand their tradition - Torah Shebichtav and Torah ShebeAl Peh - then there is a certain knowledge base that allows a person to converse within the tradition, to evaluate positions and to find intellectual satisfaction within the world of Jewish ideas. It is from within the traditional bookshelf that we obtain that literacy, and it is only once we speak that language that we can really think Jewishly in the absolute sense of the word.

And it might be precisely this principle that underpins the mitzva of Talmud Torah - daily Torah study. We need to refresh our knowledge base, to encounter new ideas with regularity. We need to be conversant with our Torah texts and concepts in the same manner that we check our emails and favourite web-pages... daily (or multiple times a day.) For these are the experiences that give substance to our experiential reality, to the "now". to the ideas, emotions and impulses in my head.

I was discussing this with my students at Yeshivat Eretz Hatzvi. My students are currently about to leave Yeshiva and to start college. When on campus, where is your head space? Are you totally in the rhythm of the liberal value set of the college campus? Or are your thoughts, behaviour, speech and consciousness dictated by Torah and its values? I am not calling for sidelining college. But what I am raising is what is the "basic" literacy that governs our lives.

as we renew our covenant of Torah this Shavuot, we might want to mull this question, as to the prominence of Jewish substance at the bedrock of our daily reality.

A message to Shimon Peres: The Making of True Leadership

I was rather appalled this weekend to read in Maariv (link) that the President (Peres) has had new lawns installed at the official Presidential Residence. Let's not even get into the cost which is a reported 3 million NIS. But what bothers me is the issue of water.

Every day on the TV and radio are commercials that inform us to take more water-economical showers, that the kinneret is drying up.



Indeed, our water resources are at a dismally low point. This is the fault of years of government negligence. They knew the problem and just failed to address it. Now, in order to seed new grass, a huge quantity of water is needed daily. Currently, the government are allowing us to water lawns only twice a week (link). Officially Peres' residence is subject to the same laws. It is "defined" by law as a private residence.

So why is Peres any different? - according to the article quoted above, a spokesman at the President's Residence said something to the effect of: What do you want? That Obama will come for a visit and see yellowed, dried-out lawns?

And I say - Yes! Do it Mr. President! Let Obama see dried out lawns. And then he will ask Shimon Peres why his grass is in such a terrible state. Shimon - citizen no.1 will answer him:

"We are a country with few water resources. We are currently suffering from severe water shortage. I have decided to set an example to the country. People will see my dried up grass and realise that this water situation is serious. I do not live in an ivory tower. I am one of the people. I need to lead by example."

And Obama will smile in admiration at this man who is willing to forgo the outer Presidential trappings and frills, in order to be a true leader. Shimon. If you just act in that way, you will win the admiration of any and every world leader.

In Bnei Akiva, we were always taught that to be a leader is to set a personal example. Our Hadracha (leadership training) was built upon the cardinal rule of "Dugma Ishit" - that the most effective leadership is one of personal example. That the ultimate hypocrisy is to preach one thing and to practice another. My experience in the world of education, community and parenting has demonstrated to me that this is true. If you genuinely want to change things, if you want to be an effective educator, a person who effects real internal change in others, start by acting in a manner that others can and will emulate.

Shimon. Show us all what a leader you are. Your Jerusalem residence is not Versailles. Join us, the people of Israel, in saving water, and we will all respect you more.

(For another just disgraceful and embarrasing example of total govermental blindness and arrogance in the water sphere, see this article. Is there no shame?)

What does one do with music cassettes?

Naturally, when cleaning for Pesach, one throws out stuff; old papers, clothes that don't fit etc. But there is one thing that is sitting unused and unwanted that I am having a hard time with: my old cassettes. I barely own a cassette recorder anymore. Nonetheless, I am finding it hard to get rid of my cassettes: The first Police album that I purchased at age 13. Best of Queen, a full set of Beatles albums, Duran Duran, E.L.O, Blondie, Phil Collins and Genesis, Michael Jackson, and Simply Red, just to mention a few. In short, the best of the '80's. OK, and also some Miami Boy's Choir!

When I made Aliyah, I gave all my records (vinyl - yes!) to Oxfam. I hear that there is a new retro interest in records. But by my assessment cassettes are never going to make it back. No sentimentality there. And soon, even CD's will be dinosaurs.

I have nothing to do with the stuff. But it seems rather obscene to just throw 300 cassettes in the garbage! Any ideas? Do I just chuck them?

Comments are welcome!

Yom Hazikaron 5769 - Siren and Silence

יום הזכרון תשס"ט

Pierre Koenig 11:00 am. Talpiot

The siren sounds,

A busy street comes to a standstill.

A call to attention,

A call to unity,

A summons to remember.

The world stands still.

אם יתקע שופר בעיר

ועם לא יחרד?

And I stand and think:

ונזכור את כולם

My cousin Yitzchak Hirschberg, who died in מלחמת שלום הגליל

Danny Frei – Larger than life. How charismatic! How driven to help the Jewish people, How filled with energy, warmth! Killed by a terrorist (in his bed!) in Michmas

Yoni Jesner – my Talmid. What potential!

Yeoshua Friedberg – who served his country. Gentle person. Part of our Katamon "chevra". Picked up at a trempiada. Killed by terrorists. How did he spend his last moments, in that speeding car?

Daniel Mandel - fighter, soldier, officer, from my Yishuv. Parents still distraught

יזכור אלוקים

May God remember them.

(Why do I know so many people...?)

אבינו שבשמים

ברך את מדינת ישראל

הגן אליה באברת חסדיך

ופרוס עליה את סוכת שלומיך

שים שלום בארץ

הגן את מגיני ארץ קדשינו.

הלנצח תאכל חרב?

The siren ends,

It splutters.

Breaths its last breaths.

groans.

- silence.

Life resumes,

traffic hums,

people walk,

Continue their daily routine.

But I observe:

A burly taxi driver wipe a tear from his eye,

A young man embracing and comforting the young lady who he is with,

And an elderly man, still standing to attention ... a full minute after the siren is quiet. Still there.

Life resumes?

Doing and Teaching. Two very different things.

In a couple of months it is my son's Barmitzva. It's all very exciting for us as the big day approaches.

The other evening I had the privilege and pleasure to show him how to put on a pair of Tefillin. But when I tried to teach him, I got all confused! I simply couldn't remember the precise moves that one uses in order to tie them! I was so unsuccessful in my instructions as to the steps of donning the Tefillin without actually doing it myself that in the ebd, I simply got out my Tefillin and tied them onto my arm, and then my son followed my lead. I have to admit, it was quite bewildering. I have put on Tefillin every day of my life since I was 13. How could I find it hard to explain and instruct another person as to how to tie them? How could it be that I wasn't sure how to wind them when it was somebody elses arm?

But apparently there is a huge difference between doing something yourself, and teaching it to others. I manipulate the straps of my Tefillin so intuitively, that I am not even aware when I pull it back or quite how I wind them! I had to take a step back and actively, consciously think through each micro movement so that I could clearly communicate that knowledge.

I have always found teaching and communication to be a natural skill. I love them, and they come relatively easily to me. I always found it hard to appreciate that some people are really bad at explaining things, and cannot communicate clearly or succinctly.

It is amazing that certain things are so deeply rooted that they defy even our own awareness. We just do them. We are not aware of how we do it. Which things are in that intuitive category? What else is so automatic, so deeply enrooted that I am unaware of even the way I perform that act?

Religious sensitivities and Israeli Media

I rarely watch TV. At home, we don't have cable/sattelite, and so we have to make do with internet and DVD's. The only live Israeli TV that I encounter is while I am running at the gym.

I have to say that it is makes rather dismal viewing. The morning shows are quite boring. and the evening shows tend to be a variety of news, shallow reality shows, and "talk shows" (read "shout shows.") I don't know how our TV fares on the world scale, but it is pretty mind numbing.

But worse than that, our TV truly represents only a fraction of the population. Generally the anchor people are secular Israelis, generally Ashkenazi, thin, good looking (the women). Where are the Russians, the Ethiopians, the Haredim, the Arabs. I figure that Israeli TV represents about 20% of the Israeli population! (Yes, I do see Sivan Rahab-Meir on the morning show, and I know that there is Rav Beni Lau on Friday afternoons but that hardly appeals to the mainstream... anyway, who watches ch.1 anyhow?)

So imagine my surprise while running on the treadmill (Thursday morning) to see two interesting surprises.

The first was Avri Gilad, who is a great guy. He is funny and ecologically sensitive, and I like his atttudes on Galei Tzahal. He was interviewing the producer of a reality show called "The race to the Million" where couples do all sorts of challenges all over the world, and I guess that there is a NIS million prize. Apparently one of the challenges, in China, was to eat a concoction of all sorts of rather disgustung creatures; lizards and bats etc. Avri Gilad - not a Kippa wearing Jew, but clearly a proud one - challenged her again and again: "But we are Jews! Jews subjected themselves to inquisition rather than succumb to eating Non-Kosher, how can you do this?" He was quite relentless. The producer on the other hand, seemed unfazed and totally didn't grasp his concern. Anyhow, it was heartwarming to see how some secular people have an unabashed and deep Jewish sensitivity.

The other piece on TV was this ad for the cellphone company Celcom.



It depicts a girl from a religious kibbutz/moshav who has clearly moved in a rebellious direction, coming home to join her family. Again, even the scripwriters are clearly acknowledging an understanding of the complexities of religious and traditional families and their place in mainstream Israeli society.

Jewish tradition is growing in the mainstream media. We are seeing more kippot, more head-covering on women. This year, numerous leading music artists have recorded tracks and even entire albums, based upon Jewish themes. To my mind, this is just the start of a revival both of religion, and also the openness to see religious Jews enter the mainstream.

About time.

Yom Atzmaut Sameach!

Winds of Change

There are times when one feels rather small, watching on as huge currents swirl around us, feeling rather powerless as the contours of the world we have come to know, alter and shift before our very eyes. These are such times.

One example of this is the economic crisis which, as it unfolds, becomes more and more incredible. Huge companies collapsing, shares in freefall, people losing their jobs, a world economy that has lost its confidence. One wonders where this is going and whether anyone understands how and when we will see an upturn, and an end to the fear, the panic.

Here at home, I feel that things are similarly out if kilter, with the unsuspected taking us by surprise.

We had to vote for Bibi or Tzippi. OK fine. But we got Leiberman! Currently it seems that we face the prospect of Leiberman as Foreign Minister. See this Haaretz article (link). Even if it is exaggerated... after all, it IS Haaretz, nonetheless, Leiberman as certainly the "anti-diplomat" espousing belligerent attitudes and an "anti", provocative political culture. I certainly have no desire to see Leiberman as the face of Israel around the world. But whether "Bibi" or "Tzippi" became PM, it seems that Leiberman would be the key politician.

And then there is the question of the world changing its attitudes towards Israel. Britain recognised Hezbollah this week, and they are establishing diplomatic ties. Britain see no problem with one of our most formidable of enemies. Heart-warming!

America with Obama is certainly striking a very different path than Bush. Whether they are sending diplomats and invitations to Syria, or expressing a willingness to talk to Iran, the mood has certainly shifted. Moreover, it isn't just the mood but the substance too. See this VERY important and excellent article (link) that shows that America is in the process of a significant move AWAY from Israel. Whereas Bush and Condoleeza backed Israel whatever they did, Obama and Clinton intend to tread a very different path. Clinton's criticism of Israel this week (link) is just the beginning. The US government is going to be calling for settlement construction to be halted. There will be condemnations of Human Rights abuses and what have you. The wind is blowing in a different direction. We better get used to it.

Add to that, the increased anti-Israel mood worldwide, post-Gaza. Campuses have become battlegrounds. So have sports fields, whether in Sweden with the Davis Cup, or Shahar Peer being banned from Dubai, these are not good days for Israel internationally. The pressure is on Israel, and increasing. We are being delegitimised with increasing frequency and intensity.

So what does this mean? How are we to respond to this world shift? Should we capitulate to the world view? - after all, we cannot stand totally alone. Or should we stoically hold our ground?

(Last year, in a Knesset debate, Leiberman publically denounced Mubarrak for not visiting Israel, ever. This blatant critique sent Peres and Olmert groveling to Mubarak with apologies. But on the radio many talk-show hosts were praising Leiberman's courage to say the truth, which is that if Egypt are truly a friend then why can Mubarak not visit.

On second thought, if the world is turning increasingly towards the arabs and calling on Israel to alter its course and political views, maybe it will take a Leiberman to represent us!

But maybe not. The guy still scares me.)

New realities abound as we sit still. The world is changing, and it is a huge challenge to know how to respond.

Parashat Mishpatim:Every Jew a King

Last week I attended a fabulous lecture at Machon Pardes (where I work) by Rabbi Dr. Joshua Berman. He has published an interesting book (link) and one of the points that he made is a perfect chiddush for this week's parsha.

He spoke about Vassal Treaties (more here). what is a Vassal Treaty? It is quite simple. Nowadays, international agreements are genrally contracted assuming that each Nation-State or party has autonomous equal standing. In the ancient world, that was not the case. Most agreements were contracts between stronger and weaker States. A king or nation who were in distress (war, famine and the like) would appeal for assistance to a more powerful king. They would then make an agreement which involves recognision of the supremacy of the "protector" king.

Now, as Joshua Berman pointed out (and I am not interested in elaborating here) many features of the Covenant at Har Sinai mirror these ancient treaties. It is like God was using the cultural language of the times in order to make His treaty with Bnei Yisrael. Of course God is the supreme King and we are the lower "protected" nation, but the good news is that we have a contracted association with God.

So now, let me add a second detail. These contracts or treaties are between kings. They are never between the citizens of different states.

Joshua Berman then moved on to one of the details or features of these Vassal Treaties. They frequently contain a clause obligating the lower King to visit or "see the face" of the protector king on an annual basis. Here is an example:

“Sunashshura (the vassal king here) must come before his Majesty and look upon the face of His Majesty."

Now this very interestingly reflects a passuk in Parashat Mishpatim. In respect to the law of Aliyah LaRegel, the Torah says:

"...three times a year, all of your males shall be seen by the face of the Lord" (Shemot/Exodus 23:17)

Now, we must realise the deepest and most phenomenal observation. What God is telling us here, is that he wants each of us to see His face. In other words, EVERY JEW IS A KING! Every Jew has a contract with God. Every Jew must appear before God 3 times a year to express the treaty, the relationship, the fact that God protects us (and we need protection and support) and we, in turn, serve Him.

Hence, Aliya LaRegel takes on a new meaning. It is a deep expression of the fact that every Jew matters. We don't have a king, priest or prophet who mediate our relationship with Hashem. Each one of us has a direct link, a personal contract and audience with God.

Shabbat Shalom!

Parashat Beshalach

Waltz with Bashir, Gaza, and Israeli Militarism

This week, the Israeli movie “Waltz with Bashir” won a Golden Globe for best foreign film. It is up for an Oscar as well.The movie has been highly acclaimed around the world for its exceptional animation as one of the most creative movies for years. Mazal Tov! So, what is the movie about? It is about a soldier who is trying to piece together his traumatic memories of the Lebanon War. The horrors of war and sense of moral compromise that wars bring are illustrated graphically.

Why am I mentioning this? Because here, yet again – even as we win awards around the world – Israel is portrayed and cast as a military nation, dedicated to violence, addicted to it. Likewise, last summer’s hit movie, “Don’t Mess with the Zohan” (link), despite being a farce and a comedy, highlighted Israelis as military machines (as well as sex-obsessed and crude. The values of the Zohan movie have been discussed in this article.)

If this was only in the movies, I wouldn’t mind, but I believe that we are living in a generation where for a great number of people around the world, Israel is perceived as an aggressor, as a personification of the “blessing” to Esau – על חרבך תחיה – and not as a purveyor of morality, truth, wisdom, sensitivity and the like. The word Israel is synonymous with war. See this interesting blog piece by Treppenwitz (link) as he describes a visit to Sky News’ offices in Jerusalem. He pays attention to the art on the walls and what they say about Israel:


On the walls of their Jerusalem office are ten or twelve beautifully framed black & white photographs that are clearly supposed to demonstrate to a guest, the space's occupant's appreciation for the rich, multi-cultural tapestry that is Israel.
There are photos of Christians in and near the ancient Churches of Jerusalem... Muslims (including crying children) near mosques and in pastoral settings, and of course Jews... mostly in prayer:

Jew photo #1- A close-up of a hand holding an open siddur (Hebrew prayer book) with a sub-machine gun in soft focus on a table in the near background, within easy reach.

Jew photo #2- An Israeli soldier wrapped in tallit and tefillin praying in front of an enormous battle tank (not the famous one from sukkot taken during the Yom Kippur war).

Jew photo #3 - An Israeli soldier wearing a helmet and holding an assault rifle next to his face, peering around a corner of a stone building as if trying to line up a difficult shot.

After viewing the first two images of Jewish Israelis, an observer could be forgiven for assuming that the soldiers were praying, not to G-d, but to the tools of war before them. And the third photograph does nothing to dispel the notion of Jewish Israelis as an entirely militaristic society.

Whereas we within Israeli society perceive ourselves as peace loving and gentle, as interested in furthering our society, Israeli technology, poetry and the like, the outside view frequently looks upon Israel as aggressive, militaristic and violent.

2.

Now some will say that the world likes Jews as docile and powerless. They are disturbed to see a Jew in a position of force and domination. If this is true, then possibly this feeling has Christian roots, in that Christianity believed in the destiny of the Jews as a degraded, displaced and shameful people. Christian doctrine sought to subject the Jews to humiliation and disgrace. And indeed, Zionism came to change that. The notion of the fighting Jew is central to Zionism. The idea that we can take care of ourselves is a cardinal principle of the modern State of Israel.

As Dominic Lawson put it last week in The Times: (link)

I was startled by the monument that stands at the entrance to Yad Vashem, Jerusalem’s memorial to the Holocaust. One side of Nathan Rappaport’s diptych is what looks like a caricature of Jews. The hunched, twisted figures, with hooked noses and heavy-lidded eyes, seem devoid of physical energy. The other panel displays a group of heroic young men and women who are heavily muscled, standing tall, weapons at the ready.

It turns out that the first group is meant to depict Jews being marched to their deaths, while the second is the leaders of the Warsaw uprising; the whole monument is constructed of granite imported from Sweden by the Nazis for the construction of what was meant to be one of the Third Reich’s victory towers.

The message is in fact close to the view expressed with brutal clarity by Israel’s founding father, David Ben-Gurion: “That masses of exiled Jews walked to the death trains . . . silently, stupidly . . . is a decisive, embarrassing and painful statement of the disintegration of spiritual-ethical strength. What is their place among us?” Ben-Gurion envisaged that “new Jews”, with the security of their own nation state, would erase what he saw as the shameful memory of a “submissive, lowly camp of strange creatures . . . who know only how to arouse pity”.

In short, Israel decided that it would represent the empowered Jew, the fighting Jew.



3.

But after the fighting in Gaza, after any fighting, I always experience a personal backswing. After listening to and reading the foreign media, I am disturbed by this military personification of Israel. Is that our message to the nations? Is that our legacy?

I recall how Rabbi Jakobovits, a man who I admired, spoke out against excessive militarism in Israeli society. He warned of the ethically corrosive nature of the Israeli-Arab conflict, of the moral compromise that is war. He insisted that we keep in mind even our enemies suffering: “Compassion extends to all who suffer, even our enemies.” He was deeply disturbed that Israel was one of the world’s major arms exporters, trading in death. He spoke of how we were meant to export “Torah from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem,” rather than tools of destruction.

We have just been to war. Let there be no doubt about it, this war has been justified absolutely. We have engaged in a battle against an amoral enemy which doesn’t balk at using women and children, schools and mosques as weapon launching pads, as arms stores. These people have perfected the demonic art of the “Human shield” uncaring as to how many will die as they seek to achieve their hallowed goal of destroying the “Zionist Entity.” As Nassrallah said some years back:

"We have discovered how to hit the Jews where they are the most vulnerable. The Jews love life, so that is what we shall take away from them. We are going to win, because they love life and we love death."

He said it! This culture of Hamas and Hizbolla is evil personified. This is the culture of Molech. This is the ideology of suicide bombers and people who let miserable refugees fester in hatred, despair and squalor rather than allowing them rehabilitation, hope, life, a future. In this regard, this war has been a supremely moral war, the sons of light against the sons of darkness, hatred and death.

And yet, at the same time, we have now killed over 1000 people, many of them innocent; so many children. How do we regain our sensitivity to life? Morality needs hard work in times like this. How do we ensure that the bullets of war do not warp and twist our moral direction? How do we refine our ethical compass so that we educate our children to love life and to understand that human life is still ultimately sacred?

I recall the famous Midrash quoted in the name of our patriarch Jacob. As he prepared for battle when his life and the lives of his family were threatened, the Torah tells us:

“Jacob was greatly afraid and was distressed.”

Rashi elaborates:

“Greatly afraid: that he might be killed; Distressed: That he may kill other people.”

In war, we have to protect ourselves, we must know that our first priority is to protect our people. However woe to us if we lose that worry, that concern with the lives of others. We may not delude ourselves that our right to defense is a license to kill. We must retain a sensitivity to the life of our enemy. Furthermore, we must understand that even when we kill justifiably, the act of killing desensitizes us and darkens us. We do not remain unaffected.

My feeling is that in the dialectic between War and Peace, between sensitivity and softness on the one hand, and aggression and violence on the other, in the excruciating dance between the hand reaching for the gun, and alternatively, extending it in Peace, we are in need of a rebalance. Not for the world, not for the media or the UN or international opinion; No! - for ourselves! We need to teach our children to preserve, to love and protect life; Not only our own lives, but the lives of the children in Gaza, as well.

No Withdrawal without Gilad Shalit

If we are the winners in this war, If we have indeed "crushed" Hamas, is there any justification whatsoever for Israel to accept a Ceasefire without the safe return of Gilad Shalit?

(And I would say furthermore, that unless we get Shalit back, Hamas will always proclaim this as their victory. The return of Shalit will prove inconclusively that we had the upper hand.)

I call upon our leaders: No Withdrawal without Gilad Shalit!

Brothers in Arms

I received a letter today which reported a visit by two chayalim (who had been in Gaza this week) to a Jerusalem Yeshiva. It gives the picture above added meaning:

"After Mincha, our Rosh Yeshiva broke into a round of "Am Yisrael Chai" (figuring the non-dati chayalim would be familiar). We danced around the beit midrash, and then the dancing came to an end.

As we were about to "break ranks," Omri called for our attention. Putting his arms around the students next to him, he shared a description of the moments before they entered Gaza.

"We stood in a big circle like this, prepared for battle. We put our arms around each other, and we sang the following song." Recreating their experiences of two weeks, we gathered in a large circle encompassing the beit midrash, and sang with them: "Yisrael b'tach bashem, ezram u'maginam hu. Anachnu maaminim bnei maaminim v'ein lanu al mi l'hisha'en ela al avinu shebashamayim." Yisrael, trust in Hashem! He is their help and defense. We are believers, the children of believers, and we have nobody in whom to trust but our father in Heaven.'"

Destruction above Human Life and Wellbeing

From today's Guardian, I loved this quote (link):

I will never stop criticising Israeli policies that I take to be wrong-headed, short-sighted or immoral. But I have no sympathy for the critics of Israel who refuse to see that there are ideologies who put destruction above human life and wellbeing. Hamas has changed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from something that can be solved, to a clash defined by the principle that only one side can survive - critics cannot expect Israel to accept this simply because it is the stronger side.

• Carlo Strenger is a professor of psychology at Tel Aviv University strenger@freud.tau.ac.il

See this piece from the NYTimes:

January 9, 2009
Fighter Sees His Paradise in Gaza’s Pain
By TAGHREED EL-KHODARY

GAZA CITY — The emergency room in Shifa Hospital is often a place of gore and despair. On Thursday, it was also a lesson in the way ordinary people are squeezed between suicidal fighters and a military behemoth.

Dr. Awni al-Jaru, 37, a surgeon at the hospital, rushed in from his home here, dressed in his scrubs. But he came not to work. His head was bleeding, and his daughter’s jaw was broken.
He said Hamas militants next to his apartment building had fired mortar and rocket rounds. Israel fired back with force, and his apartment was hit. His wife, Albina, originally from Ukraine, and his 1-year-old son were killed.

“My son has been turned into pieces,” he cried. “My wife was cut in half. I had to leave her body at home.” Because Albina was a foreigner, she could have left Gaza with her children. But, Dr. Jaru lamented, she would not leave him behind.

A car arrived with more patients. One was a 21-year-old man with shrapnel in his left leg who demanded quick treatment. He turned out to be a militant with Islamic Jihad. He was smiling a big smile.

“Hurry, I must get back so I can keep fighting,” he told the doctors.

He was told that there were more serious cases than his, that he needed to wait. But he insisted.

“We are fighting the Israelis,” he said. “When we fire we run, but they hit back so fast. We run into the houses to get away.” He continued smiling.

“Why are you so happy?” this reporter asked. “Look around you.”

A girl who looked about 18 screamed as a surgeon removed shrapnel from her leg. An elderly man was soaked in blood. A baby a few weeks old and slightly wounded looked around helplessly. A man lay with parts of his brain coming out. His family wailed at his side.

“Don’t you see that these people are hurting?” the militant was asked.

“But I am from the people, too,” he said, his smile incandescent. “They lost their loved ones as martyrs. They should be happy. I want to be a martyr, too.”