Monthly Archives: May 2022

MIAMI (CBSMiami) The Jewish discussion on abortion does not center around pro-life or pro-choice. Instead, Judaism focuses on the mothers right to protect herself from harm.

Within the faith, theres disagreement on what constitutes a threat to the mothers life during pregnancy.

Until the 40th day after conception, they define the fetus as mere water, said Rabbi Rachel Greengrass of Temple Beth Am.

She references the Talmud, a primary text for Jewish Law.

The mitzvah of be fruitful and multiple only falls on the man, said Greengrass.

Because you cant be required to do something that puts your life in danger.

In my conversation with Rabbi Lyle Rothman at the University of Miami Hillel, he explained how Jewish faith leaders approach religious law text.

The wonderful thing about the debate in the Talmud, is that there is debate in the Talmud, said Rothman.

Its very easy to say this is a black and white issue.Were pro-choice or pro-life.Were not.

Even on the most conservative spectrum, Judaism allows protection for the mother, especially in the first 40 days of pregnancy.

Only in those severe, very serious mitigating circumstances, said Orthodox Rabbi Avrohom Brashevitzky, who leads the Chabad of Doral.

He shares how Torah provides wisdom in this discussion.

Very much for the sanctity of life, said Rabbi B.

Rabbi B outlines God says the most sacred thing is to do everything to sustain life.

But, the Torah calls for a mother to protect herself.

According to Torah law, its no different than someone holding a gun to you, where you not only have the right to defend yourself but an obligation to defend yourself, Rabbi B added.

Short of clear, imminent danger, what constitutes a threat to the mother varies.

Another debate in Jewish law is what to do if the fetus has severe life-threatening abnormalities.

Then there would be a consideration, perhaps, if its prior to the 40 days, said Rabbi B.

Rabbi Greengrass shares a couples story at the Temple, choosing to end a pregnancy 12 weeks in.

Embryo was carrying Tay-Sachs, mentioned Greengrass.

If the child was born would have a short and painful existence and die at a very young age.

Theres also rabbinic support even if the womans life is not at risk, including mental health.

Its health care, which means both physical and mental, said Greengrass.

The living has precedence over the potential.

When it comes to Jewish text, theres one universal truth.

To save a life is to the save the entire world, said Rothman.

Rabbi B shared this with me.

He said Jewish law does not give the green light for abortions but instead provides room for debate to protect life in the womb and the mothers health.

More:

Rabbi: Jewish Law Provides Room For Debate To Protect Life In The Womb And The Mothers Health - CBS Miami

Jewish tradition teaches us that being part of a kehillaha communityrequires thoughtful responsibilities and actions.

All Jews are responsible for one another (Babylonian Talmud, Shevuot 39a).

The wicked son [at the Passover Seder is so designated because he] excludes himself from the community (Mekhilta commenting on Exodus 13:8).

If I am not for myself, who is for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? (Pirkei Avot 1:14).

To live Jewishly includes being with other members of the Jewish community. Helping to make a minyan so that mourners kaddish and other prayers may be recited; celebrating life cycle ceremonies; observing holidays; and studying Jewish texts and traditions require us to be with each other. One of the positives of the horrible impact of the pandemic is how Jewish organizations learned to quickly onboard new (at least to many of us) technology which allowed us to be together virtually. We adapted to be able to show up for those who needed us for a shiva minyan, a Pesah Seder, for Shabbat services and in so many other ways.

We need each other to live Jewishly. We have a responsibility to take care of each other, to celebrate together, to mourn together and to enjoy life together.

Community building happens when we all opt in to make decisions for the wellbeing not just of ourselves or our loved ones, but for all members of the community. Our Jewish Federation is honored to work with all of the Jewish organizations throughout Atlantic and Cape May Counties to help build and support our Jewish community. Our communitys incredibly successful LIFE & LEGACY efforts are a great example of how we have all worked together to ensure the financial viability of our Jewish organizations for generations to come. We are proud of the fact that our communitys efforts were recognized as one of the top performing communities of the Harold Grinspoon Foundations (HGF) national LIFE & LEGACY program. The Legacy program provides Jewish Federation with the resources and tools to bridge gaps among community institutions, strengthen our culture of philanthropy, and make after-lifetime giving normative behavior.

We have much to be proud of, and the Jewish Federation and Jewish Community Foundation invite you to come celebrate with us at our Annual Meeting and LIFE & LEGACY Year 4 Celebration on Wednesday, June 15, 6 p.m., at the Milton & Betty Katz JCC. Join us as we celebrate the great work the Jewish Federation is doing at home and around the world; to honor our 2022 award recipients; Year 4 of LIFE & LEGACY and our communitys 267 Legacy Society donors; and to honor Rebecca Taylor for 17 years of service to the Jewish Federation.

The Jewish Federation is pleased to honor individuals and organizations being presented with the following awards at our Annual Meeting:

Harry Cassman Award Eric Share, immediate past president of the Milton & Betty Katz JCC and Board member of the Jewish Federation and Seashore Gardens.

Jack I. Fox Leadership AwardMary Sluzenski, finance director, Jewish Federation.

One Jewish Community: Beron Jewish Older Adult Services of Atlantic & Cape May Counties, Inc.

Young Leadership Award: David Kratchman, co-chair of NextGenAC and Jewish Federation Board member.

We will have plentiful kosher hors doeuvres, wine, beer, and non-alcoholic beverages, as we celebrate our kehillahour sacred community.

Our celebration is free to attend, but pre-registration is required for attendance. If you have not done so already, please take a moment to confirm your attendance by registering via jfedannual.eventbrite.com.

Please reach out to Rachel Waldman, assistant director, at rachel@jewishbytheshore.org or (609) 822-4404, ext. 145, or me roberta@jewishbytheshore.org or (609) 822-4404, ext. 150, with any questions you have about the Jewish Federations Annual Meeting.

Read more:

Celebrate with our community at the Jewish Federation Annual Meeting - Jewish Community Voice

(May 17, 2022 / Jewish Journal) When the San Diego Community College District announced that Alice Walker would be the keynote speaker for the new chancellors installation, immediate protests followed. Various Jewish organizations criticized the invitation and The San Diego Union-Tribune reported on the controversy. At least two opinion pieces (here and here) came out against Walkers appearance.

Walker, best known for her 1982 novel, The Color Purple, made into a movie in 1985 and a musical in 2005 (which garnered 11 Tony Awards), has become an icon of American culture. Why this is the case is something of a mystery, since none of her subsequent novels achieved anything like the success of The Color Purple. Unlike, say, Toni Morrison, Walker cannot point to a substantial body of work to justify her reputation. Nonetheless, she remains a popular figure on the lecture circuit and a selection of her journals has just been published to considerable acclaim.

But Walker is also an anti-Semitic conspiracy theorist. She follows the deranged ideas of David Icke, who believes, as Vox puts it, that the world is run by a secret cabal of alien lizard people, many of whom are Jewish. Walker herself authored a poem that is riddled with anti-Semitic libels. In the screed, Walker encourages her reader to study the Talmud, but not by actual Talmud study. Instead, she says:

I recommend starting with YouTube. Simply follow the trail of TheTalmud as its poison belatedly winds its wayInto our collective consciousness.

What does one find on YouTube? A litany of anti-Semitic tropes taken straight from The Protocols of the Elders of Zion:

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Is Jesus boiling eternally in hot excrement,For his crime of throwing the bankersOut of the Temple? For loving, standing with,And defendingThe poor? Was his mother, Mary,A whore?

Are Goyim (us) meant to be slaves of Jews, and not onlyThat, but to enjoy it?Are three-year-old (and a day) girls eligible for marriage and intercourse?Are young boys fair game for rape?Must even the best of the Goyim (us, again) be killed?Pause a moment and think what this could meanOr already has meantIn our own lifetime.

Now, one would think that at a time when the slightest hint of racism is enough to sink a career, Walkers unapologetic adherence to anti-Semitism would disqualify her from the role of keynote speaker on a college campus. But the response to the wave of protest to her invitation shows that David Baddiel was right when he titled his book Jews Dont Count. Progressives, says Baddiel, believe that anti-Semitism is not real racism, or that it is a lesser form. So when anti-Semitism occurs, its either ignored or discounted as something minor. That is a perfect description of the response to Walkers anti-Semitism.

After The San Diego Union-Tribune published an article that questioned Walkers invitation, the Districts PR person, Jack Beresford, responded:

The San Diego Community College District is pleased to welcome Alice Walker as keynote speaker at the May 31 investiture celebration. Walker is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and her participation is consistent with the Districts support of the free exchange of ideas and opinions. This does not mean the District agrees with every statement made by her now or in the past. Walker is a source of inspiration for many in the community. This includes chancellor Carlos Cortez, who says Walker played a key role in his decision to focus his academic studies on African-American feminist political history.

It is inconceivable that someone who spouted Walker-style slurs about blacks, Hispanics, Asians, LGBTQ persons or any other minoritized group would be treated with such respect. It is inconceivable that the repetition of some of the worst racist anti-black or anti-Hispanic tropes would be treated as part of the free exchange of ideas and opinions or described as the subject of legitimate disagreement. This is to treat anti-Semitism as if it were a dispute over the causes of inflation or whether students and teachers should continue to wear masks in the classroom.

Imagine the response if someone floated the idea of an invitation to Don Black, the white supremacist who created Stormfront.org, because he pioneered the use of the web to spread ideas? After all, we dont have to agree with every statement made by [him] now or in the past. What about an invitation to David Duke, the former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, because he was also a successful politician and, whether we like it or not, a source of inspiration for many in the community?

I am glad that Walker has had a positive influence on Cortez and that she has been an inspiration for him. But Jewish faculty at several San Diego community colleges see Walker as a serious threat. The refusal to take their concerns seriously is alarming in the extreme. As one writes in a private email, Walkers invitation clearly exemplifies the Jews dont count mentality. This district has sent a clear message that Jews better watch their backs because anti-Semitism is clearly tolerated, and in this case invited, to campus.

At a time when the ADL reports that anti-Semitic incidents in the United States are at an all-time high when attacks on synagogues and JCCs have increased 61%, when a white supremacist posted a virulent anti-black and anti-Semitic manifesto before he went on a murder spree in Buffalo, N.Y., it is sickening that Alice Walker will be accorded the honor of a keynote address.

Jew-hatred needs to named, confronted and condemned, not brushed aside as unimportant or something upon which reasonable people may disagree.

Peter C. Herman is a writer whose books include Unspeakable: Literature and Terrorism from the Gunpowder Plot to 9/11 and Critical Contexts: Terrorism and Literature. His opinion pieces have appeared in Newsweek, Salon, Areo, Inside Higher Ed and The Times of San Diego.

This article first appeared in the Jewish Journal.

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Alice Walker and the Jews, again - JNS.org - JNS.org

The posuk describes the pursuit of Torah study as being, Yikara hi mipninim More precious than pearls. Homiletically, the Gemara interprets this posuk to mean, Mkohein godol hanichnas lifnei ulifnim, that the study of Torah is more precious than the High Priest who enters the Holy of Holies. This is an extraordinary statement. We must understand that the Kodesh Kodoshim, the Holy of Holies, is the holiest place on earth. It is entered only on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year, and only by the Kohein Gadol, who is arguably the holiest person on earth. And yet, the Gemara categorically tells us that when one sits down to study Torah, it is a greater activity than the Kohein Gadol entering the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement.

We should not be surprised, however, when hearing such grandiose descriptions about Torah study for the Gemara in Megillah also teaches us, Gedolah Talmud Torah yoseir meihatzolos nefoshos Greater is Torah study even more than saving a life. Now, dont misunderstand this Talmudic dictum. If you are sitting and learning Gemara and you see someone drowning and you say to yourself, I cant be bothered to save that person Its bitul Torah, its taking time away from Torah study, you are a chosid shoteh, a pious fool, and youre guilty of felonious behavior. What it does mean is that in raw merit, time spent in learning Torah has more Eternal value than saving a life.

This is why Mordechai was demoted in the pecking order of the leadership of the Anshei Knesses HaGedolah from the rank of four to the rank of five when he got involved in the political intrigue to save Klal Yisrael during the days of Purim. For, although he saved the Jewish people, he would have had even more merit if he had been able to learn instead. Think how incredible that is. You have two people who spent their Sunday night from 8 to 9 p.m. One administered the Heimlich maneuver and saved a person from choking and another person attended the Daf Yomi. In the scales of merit, it is the latter person who comes out on top.

That should give us a whole new perspective on how to prioritize our time. Or, as the Chofetz Chaim, ztl, zya, put it, if you saw somebody having a massive heart attack and you didnt react on time to call Hatzalah and he died before your very eyes, you would rue that day for the rest of your life. So thats the way you should feel, and more, when you have a whole Sunday ahead of you without anything pressing to do and you dont spend any of that precious time on the study of Torah. If you would rue the inability to save the life, then your inability to spend time learning Torah, which is even more precious than saving a life, should certainly distress you to no end.

As we count sefira, and declare nightly our longing and our appreciation of the national treasure of Torah which has been given only to us, may we concretize our sefira declaration by making more use of our daily time for the greatest of all occupations, and the very purpose of the creation of the world, which is Torah study. In that merit, may Hashem bless us all with long life, good health, and all Torah blessings.

See more here:

The Supremacy Of Torah - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com