Daily Archives: August 6, 2022

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Abortion is a religious issue, but not in the way you think - Santa Fe New Mexican

(JTA) Were about tosee a liturgical convergence in the Islamic and Jewish calendars. On Sunday, Jews around the world will fast and mourn on Tisha BAv, a day remembering thedestructionof the Temples inJerusalem. On Monday, many Muslims will fast and mourn in observance of Ashura, recalling the death of a revered Muslim forebear in the year 680.

The occasions share parallel themes and practices, and they may tempt leaders on both sides to use the convergence as an occasion for joint activities.

But Muslim-Jewish relations will be best served if we dont come together for this commemoration.

Dont get me wrong, I believe that when Muslim and Jewish holidays overlap, we often stand to benefit from cultural exchange and shared celebrations. This year, for example, Passover fell during the Muslim month of fasting, Ramadan (as did Easter, Vaisakhi and others). The Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council an advocacy coalition co-founded by my organization, American Jewish Committee hosted U.S. Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and State Deparment official Rashad Hussain at a national iftar, or Ramadan break-fast. Members of many faith groups came together at the event to recognize the beautiful tapestry of American religious diversity.

Many in the field of Muslim-Jewish relations are primed to pounce on any point of shared interest with joint programming. Similar dietary laws make for good dialogue and common prophets are grist for the mill of shared text study. Points of shared concern (such as combating hate) allow us to rally together for advocacy and action.

Some may be tempted to do the same with Ashura and Tisha BAv, given the similar observances of fasting and common theme of tragedy born of disunity. However, on these days Jews and Muslims should focus on the needs of our own communities and not cross the boundaries.

Tisha BAv, literally the ninth of the month of Av, (observed on the tenth this year because the ninth is Shabbat) commemorates tragedies of Jewish history with 25 hours of abstinence from food and drink, sexual relations, leather shoes, makeup and bathing. Traditionally, Jews sit low to the ground for most of the day and recite the Book of Lamentations in synagogue. The firsthand account by Josephus (d. 100 CE) that the Temples destruction was brought on by Jewish political fractiousness is echoed in the Talmuds assertion that the metaphysical trigger was baseless hatred between Jews (Yoma 9b).

Ashura, too, came to be associated with political discord and the destruction it wrought for early Muslims. In Muhammads lifetime it marked the day on which God delivered the Israelites from the hands of Pharaoh. However, Ashura also came to take on a more somber tone for Muslims, Sunni and Shia alike, in 680 CE. It was the day of the Battle of Karbala, when Muhammads grandson Hussein and his family were slaughtered by Muslim forces loyal to another claimant to the mantle of leadership.

The event was foundational for Shia Muslims, who commemorate Ashura with intense mourning practices and ritualized reenactments. However, many Sunni Muslims also treat the day as a time for somber reflection on the need for Islamic unity, and fasting and added prayer is common in both communities.

Muslims and Jews may take solace from the fact that another religious group knows the experience of collective grief and that it too struggles with intra-communal conflict. However, the spiritual experience of loss is most affective and effective within our own separate worlds of symbolism, history and heritage. If you are not a member of the Jewish community, having tied your own fate to that of the collective, then you cannot fully comprehend the meaning of the loss of a unifying religious structure and the subsequent exile.

Likewise, as a Jewish person, I do not presume to understand how chilling and sorrowful it must be for Muslims to recognize the massacre of Muhammads own family less than 50 years after his death.

And yet: Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, a luminary of Modern Orthodox Judaism, famously argued that while one can never fully enter the experiential world of another faith tradition, that barrier cannot prevent us from building trust and cooperation.

Leaving aside the question of whether interreligious empathy is possible, it is still essential that religious communities dedicate space to focus on intra-religious acceptance. Theidentity politics, polarization and cancel culturewe seeacross the globe often lead our religious communities totransforminternal communal difference into demonization.Those engaged in Muslim-Jewish relations often get labeled as traitors by members of their own communities.They are accused of selling out the Palestinians or ignoring antisemitism and religious extremism or simply empowering people whose policy positions are anathema. Blacklists, smear campaigns, petitions, threats of boycott and withdrawn donations are far too common in our field. Sadly, internal communal discord is among the chief barriers to advancing Muslim-Jewish rapprochement and cooperation.

Islam and Judaism are each blessed with diverse forms of expression, whether across denominations, ethnic cultures or political camps. Our traditions both have ample sources to embrace this diversity: A widely attested hadith, or Muslim belief, is thatdisagreement among the people is a mercy. The Talmud declares that the Torah has 70 faces that is, it is open to diverse interpretations.

This Tisha BAv and Ashura, I hope Muslims and Jews committed to interfaith work are able to grieve our tragedies separately, work to heal our own internal divides and then come back together for interreligious education, cooperation and celebration.

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The post Jews and Muslims are fasting next week. Lets hold the interfaith activities another time. appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

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Jews and Muslims are fasting next week. Let's hold the interfaith activities another time. - Cleveland Jewish News

Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano greets supporters on May 17, 2022. Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

By Jacob KornbluhAugust 02, 2022

In response to Pennsylvania GOP gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastrianos distancing of himself from Gab, after he was widely criticized for his embrace of the antisemitic social media platform, Gab users have stepped up their antisemitic postings including death threats and calls for violence against Jews a new report showed.

Mastriano, a state representative and leader of the Stop the Steal movement aiming to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, is running against Pennsylvanias Jewish attorney general, Josh Shapiro. Democrats and Jewish Republicans criticized Mastriano after it was reported that he paid Gab and its founder, Andrew Torba, a $5,000 consulting fee in April and maintained an active account on the site.

Gab, a far-right social media platform launched in 2016 has long been an online echo chamber for white nationalism and antisemitic tropes. Robert Bowers, the man who killed 11 Jews at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018, had been a verified user of the site, where he posted neo-Nazi propaganda and calls for violence against Jews.

Under pressure, Mastriano last week disassociated himself from Torba, who frequently shared his antisemitic beliefs and anti-Jewish conspiracy theories in posts promoting the Republican candidates campaign. The candidate condemned antisemitism in all forms and closed his account.

Gab users responded with anger to Mastrianos move, according to Media Matters, a nonprofit group that monitors social platforms.

Where is Adolph when he is needed, wrote one user, referring to Nazi leader Adolph Hitler. Dear Lord, Smite Josh Shapiro, that weasel lying Jew, another user wrote. Other comments included, I would like to see their masonic temple in DC burnt to the ground, exterminate all Jews and they are a disease. Like cancer, need to be cut out and removed.

In a video on Saturday, Torba attacked the Godless media and doubled down on Christian nationalist views he had previously expressed. The only groups of people that are chosen are those that believe in Jesus Christ, he said, adding that the values cited in the Talmud disgusts him. He attacked Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the anti-Defamation League and called the group a Jewish Nationalist organization that endorses, promotes, and defends Zionism, or Jewish Nationalism.

Earlier this year Torba, celebrated the destruction of the Temple. Almost 2000 years later, that Temple is still not standing, he said in remarks at the America First Political Action Conference (AFPAC), founded by Nick Fuentes, a white supremacist, as an alternative to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

Though Mastriano issued a statement saying Torba doesnt speak for him or his campaign, he stopped short of denouncing Torba or asking for a reimbursement.

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A Pennsylvania candidate for governor cuts ties with Gab, and antisemitism on the site spikes - Forward

It was with great anticipation that I read Rabbi Hayyim Angels latest commentary, Psalms: A Companion Volume (Kodesh Press, 2022). Like so many of his other books on biblical text, Rabbi Angels newest volumethis time a commentary on the Book of Psalms or Tehillimdoes not disappoint. Overall Rabbi Angel has written a relevant and readable commentary that will grow the readers appreciation for Psalms.

Tehillim often stands out as one of the most compelling yet enigmatic books in the biblical canon. Its authentic and powerful insight into human experience produces a uniquely penetrating and reflective experience that has endured for centuries. Psalms are often quoted by religious and secular leaders for inspiration and recognized as one of the great literary works of Western Civilization. In recent history leaders ranging from former President Barack Obama to former President Donald Trump have publicly reflected on Psalms (chapters 46 and 34 respectively).

The new commentary is divided into 13 discrete chapters covering a handful of Psalms. Each chapter stands on its own, exploring a different thematic or structural aspect of the Psalms. The subdivision of the book makes for pleasant readings that can be done in short bursts or longer continuous studies. Many classic points are discussed, including the original context, authorship, structure and overall message that helps the reader gain deeper appreciation and insight for these compositions. More in-depth discussions of intentional omissions, imperfect acrostics, difficult phrases, repetitive psalms and superscriptions are also addressed for more advanced readers seeking to engage with deeper biblical scholarship. Despite the complexity and advanced sources shared by the author, the text remains surprisingly approachable and readable.

Understanding Psalms is doubly important for Jewish readers as many chapters and verses are enmeshed in the traditional liturgy. Psalms forms the bedrock of traditional Jewish prayer, encompassing no less than 50 Psalms throughout the weekly and Shabbat prayers. While many chapters of Psalms may be familiar to readers, without context they can remain somewhat opaque in meaning. Having a masterful overview such as the one provided in this new volume gives one a deeper appreciation of these compositions and ultimately can contribute to more significant prayers.

Rabbi Angel quotes widely, citing secular academic, rabbinic, American, Israeli and even Karaite sources. His introduction of many contemporary Jewish scholars to the general reader is of particular interest and a real contribution to the field. High quality insights by the likes of Amnon Bazak, Amos Hakham Yehudah Elitzur, Elhanan Samet and Yakov Medan present the reader with new and sophisticated observations. Equally impressive are the array of traditional rabbinic scholars who are not often quoted in modern analyses such as Rabbis Yosef Albo, Moshe ibn Gikatilla and Yosef Hayyun. Both groups of Jewish scholars, contemporary and medieval, are given the spotlight in this volume to help decipher the intricate meaning of Psalms. That these rabbinic opinions are lesser known today is a lament underscored by the author in this short but powerful book.

The Maimonidean principle of accepting the truth from whoever speaks it is loudly reinforced throughout the rabbis commentary as he gives equal deference to all textually supported opinions. The volume includes a subtle suggestion that critiques on both ends of the commentary spectrum have forsaken the diversity of high quality rabbinic voices in the exegeses of Psalms. On one hand the ultra-orthodox approach produces an invented homogenous interpretation that this volume demonstrates was never maintained by traditional commentators. On the other hand, an equally extreme secular approach, which the author quotes often, operates on the opposite end of the same echo chamber by ignoring many important opinions from the rabbinic corpus. Rabbi Angel reinforces the idea that many of the modern secular scholarship issues related to biblical study were already addressed centuries ago by the traditional first rate scholarship of the rabbis in the Talmud and Midrash, leaving the reader with a greater appreciation for both rabbinic commentary and the Psalms.

The volume includes a subtle suggestion that critiques on both ends of the commentary spectrum have forsaken the diversity of high quality rabbinic voices in the exegeses of Psalms.

Interesting forays in the commentary include reading the Psalms as a midrashic-intertextual window to understanding the narratives of the Bible. Psalms often references biblical narratives or personalitiessuch as events in the life of King David, the destruction of Jerusalem, or the crossing of the Red Sea. Rabbi Angel contends that Psalms functions as an early form of commentary that helps elucidate these narratives for the reader.

Most importantly, the commentary focuses on the multiple understandings of the Psalms that can speak to readers on different wavelengths. For example, many familiar chapters of Psalms can simultaneously address issues on a personal, historical and national level. For example, what was once a lament of national proportions for the destruction of Jerusalem, can now be repurposed by an individual seeking to rebuild their personal lives after tragedy. Or a Psalm recounting the celebratory nature of the exodus from Egypt can be utilized for personal thanks and celebration. These multiple meanings are what Rabbi Angel contends have made the Psalms eternally relevant to generations of readers.

The wide diversity of opinions quoted in this volume demonstrates the complexity of Tehillim while leaving the reader with a sense of appreciation for the biblical text and the excellent arrangement of these sources by the author. Overall the resulting commentary is a very amicable volume rooted in traditional interpretation while fully taking into account modern scholarship. It will leave the reader inspired by timeless messages of Psalms and enthusiastic to further their study.

Dr. Murray Mizrachi is a business professor at the Murray Koppelman School of Business at CUNY. His advisory firm, Murray Mizrachi Consulting LLC, is based in New York City where he resides with his family.

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Reading the Book of Psalms in the Twenty-First Century - Jewish Journal

Rabbi Avremel Caroline delivered a powerful invocation at last Thursdays Village of Key Biscayne Mayoral Debate presented by Islander News and the Key Biscayne Chamber of Commerce, featuring candidates Fausto Gmez, Katie Petros and Joe Rasco.

The message was well received and even cited by some of the candidates. Here is a reprint of Rabbi Carolines invocation:

We have come together this evening, ultimately for the purpose of strengthening our community. Our shared vision is for a community where we all, together, live healthy, prosperous, and meaningful lives in a safe and beautiful environment. This is something we all have in common.

During a time of transition, especially a transition in leadership as our community is preparing for the upcoming mayoral election, it is especially important to remind ourselves of our shared vision and interests. While there will always be different views on how to achieve that vision and in which order to prioritize those interests, it is appropriate for us to emphasize and appreciate our shared commitment to our community and to each other.

It is for this purpose that we are invited to take a moment before the exchange of perspectives and opinions begins, and to share a moment of prayer and reflection, to call forth the very best version of ourselves, and to do so together.

The Talmud, in the section called Pirkei Avot, has a passage where it describes four qualities - wisdom, strength, wealth, and honor, giving a new insight and deeper definition to each of them.

First, ,

Who is truly wise? One who learns from every person

Wisdom is not knowing a lot; it is knowing how to listen and learn from others. It is not having the best opinions but having the skills and the humility to hear somebody else's.

Second, ,

Who is truly mighty? One who controls their own impulses.

While strength and power are often associated with controlling others, the strongest people are those who have true control over themselves

Third, ,

Who is truly wealthy? One who is happy with their portion.

Gratitude makes someone far richer than any amount of possessions ever will, or even can.

Finally, ,

Who is truly honored? One who honors others.

Putting others down can be a quick way to be acknowledged, but to be truly respected means to earn peoples trust, and that can only be accomplished by truly respecting others (even ones adversaries), by lifting others up, and by speaking positively about everyone.

With this in mind, please join me in prayer to the Almighty God, that our community be blessed to live in true harmony, to celebrate our differences and the wholesome community they create.

May we be blessed with the wisdom to learn from every person and appreciate their unique qualities, experiences, and points of view.

May we be blessed with the strength to face and overcome our own weaknesses and shortcomings.

May we be blessed with the wealth of being grateful and appreciating the countless blessings we experience every day.

And may we be blessed with the honor of honoring others, with enough confidence in our own message that we can respect someone else's message, and with the honor and trust that this brings.

And may our community be blessed to achieve our shared vision of building a beautiful community where we live together in peace, harmony, and friendship.

And let us say, Amen.

You can watch a replay of Rabbi Caroline's invocation by clicking here.

To reach Rabbi Caroline or the Chabad of Key Biscayne, visit chabadkeyb.com or email info@chabadkeyb.com. You may also call (305) 365-6744.

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Rabbi's Caroline's invocation kicking off the Mayoral debate - Islander News.com

Republican candidates from Arizona to Pennsylvania ought to worry. On Tuesday, voters in Kansas rejected efforts to gut a womans right to choose. In 2020, Donald Trump trounced Joe Biden there 56-42. Two years later, an anti-choice referendum went down in defeat 59-41. Suburban moms and dads had thundered; turnout soared. The supreme courts wholesale attack on Roe backfired.

The competing opinions authored by Justices Alito, Thomas and Kavanaugh may gift the Democrats a two-seat gain in the Senate, and doom Republican pick-ups of governorships in Michigan and Pennsylvania. Grasp more than you can hold, and you will be left with nothing, the Talmud says. On primary day, the high courts decision in Dobbs seems to have energized plenty of otherwise loyal Republicans. By the numbers, 65% of Americans believe the constitution enshrines a right of privacy even as they hold doubts about abortion.

Trump-endorsed Senate hopefuls JD Vance (Ohio), Mehmet Oz (Pennsylvania), Herschel Walker (Georgia) and Blake Masters (Arizona) must now answer for the Republicans war on autonomy. Vance also wants to ban pornography as he gives a greenlight to guns and embraces Marjorie Taylor Greene. He claims smut harms fertility rates.

A recent Fox News poll shows Democrats with double-digit leads in Pennsylvanias Senate and governors races. Doug Mastriano, the Keystone states Republican gubernatorial candidate, came under recent fire for his embrace of Christian nationalism and ties with antisemitic figures. And Dr Oz is Dr Oz.

Tudor Dixon, the Trump-backed winner of Tuesdays Michigan Republican gubernatorial primary, believes that a 14-year-old raped by a relative should be forced to carry her pregnancy to term. Yeah, perfect example, she told an interviewer.

Her remarks now are a centerpiece of incumbent Democrat Gretchen Whitmers re-election efforts. Dixon opposes exceptions to an abortion ban in cases of rape and incest. She trailed Whitmer by 11 points in a July poll.

The Michigan Right to Reproductive Freedom Initiative may also appear on the fall ballot. Once upon a time opponents of Roe claimed the ruling was wrong because it was anti-democratic.

Adding fuel to this Great Lakes dumpster fire, Matt DePerno, Michigans prospective Republican attorney general, openly mused about restricting accessibility to contraception. At a Republican debate, he questioned the validity of Griswold, the pertinent 1965 supreme court ruling. For good measure, DePerno previously spearheaded efforts to undo Bidens 150,000-vote win in Michigan.

Tuesdays contests were also about the 45th president exacting revenge and promoting the big lie that he was defrauded of victory.

To be sure, not all Republicans were buying what the former guy was selling. But he had greater success than Kansass pro-lifers. Trumpism remains very much alive.

In the state of Washington, incumbents Jaime Herrera Beutler and Dan Newhouse stand on the verge of rebuffing primary bids by Trump-endorsed challengers. Both Representatives Herrera Beutler and Newhouse voted to impeach the ex-reality show host over his role in the January 6 insurrection.

On the other hand, Michigans Representative Peter Meijer, who voted for Trumps impeachment, lost to John Gibbs, a Trump-backed challenger. Gibbs had received a boost from congressional Democrats, as part of an audacious strategic move to empower Republicans they think will lose in the general elections. Meijer, a supermarket chain scion, lost by four points.

With the rightwing Gibbs as the Republican nominee, the Democrats may actually pick up a House seat. Had Meijer emerged with the Republican nod, he would have been favored. All this raises the question of whether Democratic talk about putting the country ahead of party is partisan blather.

Elsewhere, Trump claimed the head of Republican Rusty Bowers, the outgoing speaker of the Arizona senate. He had opposed efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and appeared before the January 6 select committee.

Days after Bowers testified, Trump declared: Bowers must be defeated, and highly respected David Farnsworth is the man to do it.

Farnsworth believes that Satan stole the 2020 election. Really.

This is a real conspiracy headed up by the devil himself, he explained at a debate.

Along with Farnsworth, Mark Finchem, a diehard election denier and conspiracy theorist, notched the Arizona Republican nomination for secretary of state. He too had Trumps blessing.

As for the states Republican primary for governor, Kari Lake holds a two-point lead with more than 80% of precincts reporting. Like Finchem and Farnsworth, Lake garnered a Trump endorsement and rejects Bidens legitimacy as president. Whether she actually wins the primary and can prevail against Democrat Katie Hobbs, the current secretary of state, remains to be seen.

With Kansass resounding no vote, Democrats have good reason to make abortion a major issue for the midterms. Of course, as Republicans learned on Tuesday, it is all too easy to go off the deep-end.

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Tuesdays primaries offered a glint of hope for Democrats this fall - The Guardian

Rabbi Jack Shlachter

Los Alamos Jewish Center News:

Over the course of two recent consecutive Monday evenings, the Los Alamos Jewish Center hosted an adult education mini-series entitled Jewish Perspectives on Termination of Pregnancy.

The presenter, Rabbi Jack Shlachter, shared relevant Jewish source text passages with the in-person and Zoom audience.

Rabbi Jack, who returned to Los Alamos this spring following a few years in New York, explained that the Jewish perspectives are heavily nuanced; some situations require that a pregnancy be terminated, others permit termination, and yet others prohibit abortion.

This complex, contemporary topic can be informed by examining the Jewish sources; attendees at the Jewish Center were able to see the two full cartons of books assembled for the talks.

Texts providing insight into Jewish perspectives on abortion include materials from all three parts of the Jewish Bible; from ancient expansions on those biblical passages; from the Talmudic literature and sections from a medieval Jewish code of law; from the Jewish mystical tradition; and from questions and answers posed to rabbis on contemporary issues that may not be directly addressed in the ancient texts, such as use of electricity or airplane travel.

One such question-and-answer, composed in the Kovno ghetto during the Nazi occupation, is about abortion. The Nazis had ordered that pregnant Jewish women in this Lithuanian ghetto would be immediately executed, and rabbinical ruling was that in order to save the womans life, a pregnant woman was permitted to have an abortion.

Future adult education programs at the Los Alamos Jewish Center will address other contemporary topics such as gun control, and separation of church (synagogue) and state, using Jewish texts as primary resources.

Los Alamos Jewish Center offers Shabbat and Jewish holiday services, community Shabbat dinners, childrens religious/Hebrew school, adult learning, and holiday and social events.

For more information, visit http://www.lajc.org, email losalamosjewishcenter@gmail.comor call 505.662.2140.

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Jewish Perspectives On Termination Of Pregnancy - Los Alamos Daily Post

At the beginning of the book of Devarim, Moses reviews the history of the Israelites experience in the wilderness, starting with the appointment of leaders throughout the people, heads of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. He continues:

And I charged your judges at that time, Hear the disputes between your people and judge fairly, whether the case is between two Israelites or between an Israelite and a foreigner residing among you. Do not show partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be afraid of anyone, for judgment belongs to G-d. Bring me any case too hard for you, and I will hear it. (Deut. 1:16-17)

Thus, at the outset of the book in which he summarized the entire history of Israel and its destiny as a holy people, he already gave priority to the administration of justice: something he would memorably summarize in a later chapter (Deut. 16:20) in the words, Justice, justice, shall you pursue. The words for justice, tzedek and mishpat, are repeated, recurring themes of the book. The root tz-d-k appears 18 times in Devarim; the root sh-f-t, 48 times.

Justice has seemed, throughout the generations, to lie at the beating heart of Jewish faith. Albert Einstein memorably spoke of Judaisms pursuit of knowledge for its own sake, an almost fanatical love of justice, and the desire for personal independence these are the features of the Jewish tradition which make me thank my lucky stars that I belong to it. In the course of a television program I made for the BBC, I asked Hazel Cosgrove, the first woman to be appointed as a judge in Scotland and an active member of the Edinburgh Jewish community, what had led her to choose law as a career, she replied as if it was self-evident, Because Judaism teaches: Justice, justice shall you pursue.

One of the most famous Jewish lawyers of our time, Alan Dershowitz, wrote a book about Abraham, whom he sees as the first Jewish lawyer, the patriarch of the legal profession: a defense lawyer for the damned who is willing to risk everything, even the wrath of G-d, in defense of his clients, the founder not just of monotheism but of a long line of Jewish lawyers. Dershowitz gives a vivid description of Abrahams prayer on behalf of the people of Sodom Shall the Judge of all the earth not do justice? (Gen. 18:25) as a courtroom drama, with Abraham acting as lawyer for the citizens of the town, and G-d, as it were, as the accused. This was the forerunner of a great many such episodes in Torah and Tanach, in which the prophets argued the cause of justice with G-d and with the people. (See Abraham: The Worlds First (But Certainly Not the Last) Jewish Lawyer, 2015, by Dershowitz.)

In modern times, Jews reached prominence as judges in America among them Brandeis, Cardozo and Felix Frankfurter. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the first Jewish woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court. In Britain between 1996 and 2008, two of Britains three Lord Chief Justices were Jewish: Peter Taylor and Harry Woolf. In Germany in the early 1930s, though Jews were 0.7 percent of the population, they represented 16.6 percent of lawyers and judges.

One feature of Tanach is noteworthy in this context. Throughout the Hebrew Bible some of the most intense encounters between the prophets and G-d are represented as courtroom dramas. Sometimes, as in the case of Moses, Jeremiah, and Habakkuk, the plaintiff is humanity or the Jewish people. In the case of Job it is an individual who has suffered unfairly. The accused is G-d Himself. The story is told by Elie Wiesel of how a case was brought against G-d by the Jewish prisoners in a concentration camp during the Holocaust. At other times, it is G-d who brings a case against Bnei Yisrael.

The word the Hebrew Bible uses for these unique dialogues between heaven and earth is riv, which means a lawsuit, and it derives from the idea that at the heart of the relationship between G-d and humanity both in general, and specifically in relation to the Jewish people is covenant, that is, a binding agreement, a mutual pledge, based on obedience to G-ds law on the part of humans, and on G-ds promise of loyalty and love on the part of Heaven. Thus, either side can, as it were, bring the other to court on grounds of failure to fulfill their undertakings.

Three features mark Judaism as a distinctive faith. First is the radical idea that when G-d reveals Himself to humans He does so in the form of law. In the ancient world, G-d was power. In Judaism, G-d is order, and order presupposes law. In the natural world of cause and effect, order takes the form of scientific law. But in the human world, where we have free will, order takes the form of moral law. Hence the name of the Mosaic books: Torah, which means direction, guidance, teaching, but above all law. The most basic meaning of the most fundamental principle of Judaism, Torah min haShamayim, Torah from Heaven, is that G-d, not humans, is the source of binding law.

Second, we are charged with being interpreters of the law. That is our responsibility as heirs and guardians of the Torah she-be-al peh, the Oral Tradition. The phrase in which Moses describes the voice the people heard at the revelation at Sinai, kol gadol velo yasaf, is understood by the commentators in two seemingly contradictory ways. On the one hand it means the voice that was never heard again; on the other, it means the voice that did not cease, that is, the voice that was ever heard again (Deut. 5:19). There is, though, no contradiction. The voice that was never heard again is the one that represents the Written Torah. The voice that is ever heard again is that of the Oral Torah.

The Written Torah is min ha-shamayim, from Heaven, but about the Oral Torah the Talmud insists Lo ba-shamayim hi, It is not in Heaven (Bava Metzia 59b). Hence, Judaism is a continuing conversation between the Giver of the law in Heaven and the interpreters of the law on Earth. That is part of what the Talmud means when it says that Every judge who delivers a true judgment becomes a partner with the Holy One, blessed be He, in the work of creation (Shabbat 10a).

Third, fundamental to Judaism is education, and fundamental to education is instruction in Torah, that is, the law. That is what Isaiah meant when he said, Listen to Me, you who know justice, the people in whose heart is My law; do not fear the reproach of men, nor be afraid of their insults (Is. 51:7).

This is what Jeremiah meant when he said, This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the L-rd: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their G-d, and they shall be My people (Jer.31:33).

This is what Josephus meant when he said, 1,900 years ago, Should any one of our nation be asked about our laws, he will repeat them as readily as his own name. The result of our thorough education in our laws from the very dawn of intelligence is that they are, as it were, engraved on our souls. To be a Jewish child is to be, in the British phrase, learned in the law. We are a nation of constitutional lawyers.

Why? Because Judaism is not just about spirituality. It is not simply a code for the salvation of the soul. It is a set of instructions for the creation of what the late Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein, ztl, called societal beatitude. It is about bringing G-d into the shared spaces of our collective life. That needs law: law that represents justice, honoring all humans alike regardless of color or class; law that judges impartially between rich and poor, powerful and powerless, even in extremis between humanity and G-d; law that links G-d, its Giver, to us, its interpreters, the law that alone allows freedom to coexist with order, so that my freedom is not bought at the cost of yours.

Small wonder, then, that there are so many Jewish lawyers.

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Why Are There So Many Jewish Lawyers? - The Jewish Press - JewishPress.com