tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-95724372024-03-12T21:55:31.931-05:00Rabbi Bruce's BlogTorah, Musings, & Links
by a Campus RabbiRabbi Bruce B Seltzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17846297119444706664noreply@blogger.comBlogger288125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9572437.post-8276618909543315572023-06-20T09:08:00.002-05:002023-06-20T09:08:41.426-05:00Return to Blog, Updates<p><span style="font-size: medium;">It is been a few <span style="color: #2b00fe;">minutes (years)</span> of mostly posting on <span style="color: #2b00fe;">https://www.facebook.com/rabbi.bruce</span> or other social media sites (Instagram: <span style="color: #2b00fe;">https://www.instagram.com/rabbi.bruce/</span>)</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Check out some of what I have been up to on those sites.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I left <span style="color: #800180;">Amherst College</span> <span style="color: #800180;">Religious & Spiritual Life</span> after 21 years at the end of the 2023 academic year and am now working on the next chapter of my life journey. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Here are a few pictures from my work over that time (ironically, it is harder to find pictures from recent years than earlier years. Hopefully, I can track down more pictures to add):</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEPbCAmE8sloTnJJucMTEQD33NbLrA3y3FG4XZUNEbYv--njfBLiu4R8yKrVQdYLC65D5hyF_YcFPUNrG4naBgBrLAhLd2JUwkwyTX218pQLxT0JXiCKs9OYkJnw1jR4E_ErfmQGbnXz7-_tPJIScj5Z_xmlWnoIrD1W1wgFvQ3g3IdOoVAcHXlQ/s1600/Rob%20and%20Ethan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEPbCAmE8sloTnJJucMTEQD33NbLrA3y3FG4XZUNEbYv--njfBLiu4R8yKrVQdYLC65D5hyF_YcFPUNrG4naBgBrLAhLd2JUwkwyTX218pQLxT0JXiCKs9OYkJnw1jR4E_ErfmQGbnXz7-_tPJIScj5Z_xmlWnoIrD1W1wgFvQ3g3IdOoVAcHXlQ/s320/Rob%20and%20Ethan.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCcUcDSTfthM4VpRaGNBVb4JbcpvYE15JF40MBgcWN34hUfpUYD213kbmhxiCc382svnNSM4o5zedNHGT-_v1rQo1d1ZrM_VP91-G87OfulP-ac1DWYQ7tKYblWLdIty1ZmIwAjYhRYQuxnuAhkjkPpzEv4TsRKVBrqJV7tnjZZaQ8NV0NNNP8yQ/s2048/18671754_10155268796493818_8814164512705134993_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCcUcDSTfthM4VpRaGNBVb4JbcpvYE15JF40MBgcWN34hUfpUYD213kbmhxiCc382svnNSM4o5zedNHGT-_v1rQo1d1ZrM_VP91-G87OfulP-ac1DWYQ7tKYblWLdIty1ZmIwAjYhRYQuxnuAhkjkPpzEv4TsRKVBrqJV7tnjZZaQ8NV0NNNP8yQ/s320/18671754_10155268796493818_8814164512705134993_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9o3SYiN7tWXg2ikWRr3yCg2vUScGTRdZYYesjqiqH8hYks3ZNUvXHJu3AiLnejxqxlAmCiLf87FowSUGjPpzcNdbEkSsM35AJKNPwzIGgjHPEKeL1S9PeGZYT9jMUMpUdSvUeGVp41aGhcQcnBtzolUvI5ipEHzl19mHLpDX1wQ5f_BMmrb_GgQ/s2048/21427351_10155607851588818_770249759924419418_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9o3SYiN7tWXg2ikWRr3yCg2vUScGTRdZYYesjqiqH8hYks3ZNUvXHJu3AiLnejxqxlAmCiLf87FowSUGjPpzcNdbEkSsM35AJKNPwzIGgjHPEKeL1S9PeGZYT9jMUMpUdSvUeGVp41aGhcQcnBtzolUvI5ipEHzl19mHLpDX1wQ5f_BMmrb_GgQ/s320/21427351_10155607851588818_770249759924419418_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_pMmVFPu8MOPqK_0KwOb3XS4Gcm7WLcubCUwklR6L-Ljn03Xiygmo3rmrr8ZVRFb9EISer3EytEsNziwv57xU2gbw5_B3Nrr0sd6TKDPKp3GMwO-j7e21AUd2PVGJGwNY-KutZLD-bQP0SOMP_NdOKAKK09T6NwrGDyQlBBYO7TB_3mcJxfjAOQ/s2048/301774330_501032772027338_2349669616367232082_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_pMmVFPu8MOPqK_0KwOb3XS4Gcm7WLcubCUwklR6L-Ljn03Xiygmo3rmrr8ZVRFb9EISer3EytEsNziwv57xU2gbw5_B3Nrr0sd6TKDPKp3GMwO-j7e21AUd2PVGJGwNY-KutZLD-bQP0SOMP_NdOKAKK09T6NwrGDyQlBBYO7TB_3mcJxfjAOQ/s320/301774330_501032772027338_2349669616367232082_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI7V9CAsvg-XQCFwbCsHZ3JIvre5ApNmRIB8yQGnmPydlFEaRNsfuqX-qu08_w7KzPgpIInjWJuiAErbXevUblKa8BROtxe3sSuxy1O1nDQ664F6-jbTCD5dLjbwhHXX06JU5WYD7G7Ol-iwy_VbFzrMEe437Ibm0Y0nHqblFhvSS1L0LHCnyZ8Q/s2048/hh%20fLYER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1324" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI7V9CAsvg-XQCFwbCsHZ3JIvre5ApNmRIB8yQGnmPydlFEaRNsfuqX-qu08_w7KzPgpIInjWJuiAErbXevUblKa8BROtxe3sSuxy1O1nDQ664F6-jbTCD5dLjbwhHXX06JU5WYD7G7Ol-iwy_VbFzrMEe437Ibm0Y0nHqblFhvSS1L0LHCnyZ8Q/s320/hh%20fLYER.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl4vDNfYCPyNb0D2oCLJ6Px06YPKWrt80E65VQPbaN0YiNNe4dMqlaojXJSCJQ_lIReiy2uptzldKVEjTLwi8og3d-fOzp28ryMRZoT12ZVrNUh5F0JmM7hrNsG7-OX-bdZ3l3w-usUw0svJo_ezryQXQn95ZZKRXBIWbx65S89gjqD2DCgO1L-Q/s1280/17192575_10155010831853818_1791236879000898750_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl4vDNfYCPyNb0D2oCLJ6Px06YPKWrt80E65VQPbaN0YiNNe4dMqlaojXJSCJQ_lIReiy2uptzldKVEjTLwi8og3d-fOzp28ryMRZoT12ZVrNUh5F0JmM7hrNsG7-OX-bdZ3l3w-usUw0svJo_ezryQXQn95ZZKRXBIWbx65S89gjqD2DCgO1L-Q/s320/17192575_10155010831853818_1791236879000898750_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Even though it was long before I started at Amherst, an early highlight of my campus experience was giving an invocation before former Israeli Prime Minister spoke at Drew University in 1997 or 1998:</span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk6WlrU6n8h5c_xI3XMp9T647CestTNnb-d0uimt10poO7DgbfRTqh9pg8cgDMKI37fu3sVWMlzwkHyNLIJX6GrUsFSgJmodUrMFfskpqNh2Bo1xeIVrDeRbQ3Tbgp2FgHE54ospIH-Yf9OGpZyJRS0_v3Lo32A0e_Vzw4MhEN6cQx7Dy--QvBZg/s2048/Shimon%20Peres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1462" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk6WlrU6n8h5c_xI3XMp9T647CestTNnb-d0uimt10poO7DgbfRTqh9pg8cgDMKI37fu3sVWMlzwkHyNLIJX6GrUsFSgJmodUrMFfskpqNh2Bo1xeIVrDeRbQ3Tbgp2FgHE54ospIH-Yf9OGpZyJRS0_v3Lo32A0e_Vzw4MhEN6cQx7Dy--QvBZg/s320/Shimon%20Peres.jpg" width="228" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;">In a recent </span><a href="https://www.gatesnotes.com/NAU-Commencement-Speech" style="font-size: large;" target="_blank">Commencement Speech</a><span style="font-size: large;">, Bill Gates wrote: </span><p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">T<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lusitana, serif; font-size: 18px;">he first thing is, </span><strong style="font-family: Lusitana, serif; font-size: 18px;">your life isn’t a one-act play</strong><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Lusitana, serif; font-size: 18px;">.</span></p></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Lusitana, serif; font-size: 18px; margin-left: auto !important; margin-right: auto !important; max-width: 700px;">You probably feel a lot of pressure right now to make the right decisions about your career. It might feel like those decisions are permanent. They’re not. What you do tomorrow—or for the next ten years—does not have to be what you do forever.</p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Lusitana, serif; font-size: 18px; margin-left: auto !important; margin-right: auto !important; max-width: 700px;">When I left school, I thought I would work at Microsoft for the rest of my life.</p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Lusitana, serif; font-size: 18px; margin-left: auto !important; margin-right: auto !important; max-width: 700px;">Today, I still love my work on software, but philanthropy is my full-time job. I spend my days working to create innovations that fight climate change and reduce inequalities around the world—including in health and education.</p><p style="background-color: white; font-family: Lusitana, serif; font-size: 18px; margin-left: auto !important; margin-right: auto !important; max-width: 700px;">I feel lucky that our foundation gets to support amazing institutions like NAU—even if it’s not what I imagined I’d be doing when I was 22. Not only is it okay to change your mind or have a second career… it can be a very good thing.</p></blockquote><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I am embracing this teaching that my life isn't a one-act play. Like Bill, I decided what I wanted to do while I was a college student. I knew during my time leading Franklin & Marshall Hillel that I wanted top be a rabbi and work on campus. </span></p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span></span>Now, I am looking for new challenges and opportunities to fulfill my next chapter in life. I am open to ideas and networking opportunities. </span></p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Homemade Apple; font-size: large;">Please be in touch,</span></p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: Homemade Apple; font-size: large;">Rabbi Bruce</span></p>Rabbi Bruce B Seltzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17846297119444706664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9572437.post-49322437421506574232014-01-23T14:32:00.003-05:002014-01-23T14:34:43.919-05:00Birthright Expands<img height="300" src="https://scontent-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/t1/261_18028758817_5263_n.jpg" width="400" /><br />
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<a href="http://www.birthrightisrael.com/Pages/Default.aspx" target="_blank">Birthright Israel </a> just <a href="http://www.jns.org/latest-articles/2014/1/22/birthright-expands-eligibility-for-free-trips-to-israel" target="_blank">expanded its eligibility guidelines </a>to include student who participated in an educational trip during High School (it was already opened to students who visited with family members). Additionally, post-college students will have some chances to go on the trip past the previous cut-off of age 26.<br />
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This is welcome news but leads to a few questions.</div>
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Why exactly are they making these changes? </div>
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What other trends are impacting Israel trip applications?</div>
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How will this impact other educational trips to Israel (especially those for high school students run by <a href="http://ncsy.org/" target="_blank">NCSY</a>, <a href="http://nfty.org/" target="_blank">NFTY</a>, and <a href="http://www.usy.org/escape/israel/pilgrimage/" target="_blank">USY</a>)?</div>
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Before I can tackle the questions about trends, here are my thoughts on why they are changing.</div>
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Noa Bauer, birthright's VP of International Marketing explains the party line here:</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 26px;">“I think everybody thought about [the change in the eligibility guidelines] for many years, and everybody wanted to have it,” Bauer said. “It was a matter of funding, and I think today you see more anti-Israel things on campus, and we realized over the years that people that have been to Israel again have more confidence for talking about Israel, and geopolitics, and anything pertaining to Israel after visiting with Birthright Israel. I think we’re one of the best platforms to do that for college students.”</span></div>
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They wanted to do it but it was a matter of funding.</div>
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I am not so sure... Last year saw a longer application period (it seemed as though it would never end). I was told that it was because the application numbers are down. Many of the qualified student who would go on the trip have already gone (then there are the usual issues of dates, time with family, etc.).</div>
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I found this reason curious because I learned this summer that movement-related trips to Israel are down as well. The reason conveyed to me is that is because many parents were hesitant to send students on a paid trip that would prevent them from going on a free trip.</div>
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This was troubling because birthright trips are ten days long (although some programs have birthright plus that extends the program and individuals can extend their ticket for a small fee) that offer an introduction to Israel at a rapid pace and the movement trips (see above for links) are 4-6 week programs that offer more in-depth trips. Increased time = increased effectiveness when it comes to immersion (or most other things--see <a href="http://gladwell.com/outliers/" target="_blank">Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers: The Story of Success</a>).</div>
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There is probably more going on. Some issues I would like to research more include the declining population of college-age students, the pressure on students to have jobs and internships, and competition from other Jewish educational programs.<br />
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For more information on Birthright, see my<a href="http://www.linkedin.com/redir/redirect?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Erabbinicalassembly%2Eorg%2Fresources-ideas%2Fpublications&urlhash=PFsY" target="_blank"> review</a> of a book about the trip.</div>
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Rabbi Bruce B Seltzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17846297119444706664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9572437.post-60325166183564161452013-10-31T08:17:00.001-05:002013-10-31T09:08:03.441-05:00The Artist as Leader: Idan Raichel<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: blue;">Tzimtzum Leadership in Action</span></h2>
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<a href="http://www.cumbancha.com/files/album_covers/118/idan_raichel_project_highrez__press_resolution.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="177" src="http://www.cumbancha.com/files/album_covers/118/idan_raichel_project_highrez__press_resolution.jpg" width="200" /></a>I attended a concert of the <a href="http://www.idanraichelproject.com/en/" target="_blank">Idan Raichel Project</a> at the <a href="https://fac.umass.edu/Online/" target="_blank">UMASS Fine Arts Center</a> the other night. It was an amazing concert that was enjoyed by the crowd from the first notes until the last encore.<br />
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The IRP began when Idan recorded music in his parents basement--inviting an eventual total of 95 musicians from many ethnic backgrounds, musical styles, and languages to contribute to the ever-growing project. The Project's breakthrough single, "Boee," was different than anything on the radio in Israel. It mixed Amharic, Arabic, Spanish with Hebrew lyrics and brought together musical styles from Africa, Europe, the Middle East, the Caribbean, and Latin America.<br />
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<a href="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRm4vzCToFzbFbJwDg0KwJh3mJgnTUk9oi6Su8Xlxyw39bgyg4ccw" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRm4vzCToFzbFbJwDg0KwJh3mJgnTUk9oi6Su8Xlxyw39bgyg4ccw" width="320" /></a>The roots of IRP are evident at the concert: I had never been to a concert where the headliners did so little headlining.<br />
From the start to the end of the concert, Idan was on the side of the stage (as far from the center as any musician performing with him) with three singers in the middle of the stage. OK, he wandered a bit but rarely took center stage. But the three singers pictured on the right were at the center of the group. This is not accidental. On the IRP website, it makes clear that this is part of the project's DNA:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;">"From the beginning, Idan saw the project as a collaboration between artists who each bring their own musical culture and talents to the stage. “There would be no front man,” Idan says. “I would sit at the side and watch things and see what occurs. Every song would have a different singer, we would sit in a half circle and each musician would have a chance to demonstrate what they have to offer"</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;"> (</span><a href="http://www.idanraichelproject.com/en/">http://www.idanraichelproject.com/en/</a>)</blockquote>
At a reception following the concert organized by the <a href="http://jewishwesternmass.org/" target="_blank">Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts</a>, I went up to him to explain how impressed I was with his leadership style. If I had it with me, I would have shared the famous article by <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px;">Rabbi Eugene Borowitz entitled <a href="http://shma.com/2010/01/rethinking-rabbinic-leadership/" target="_blank">“Tzimtzum: A Mystic Model for Contemporary Leadership.”</a> (This is not an exact link but instead a link to an article in <a href="http://shma.com/" target="_blank">Shma </a>that discusses the 1974 article). </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px;">This article discusses a method of leadership that is not about individual power but about the community empowerment: "</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px;">leaders to exercise restraint of power in order to “make space” for people to emerge in their full humanity."</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px;"> </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px;">Today it may not be as unusual as an idea as it was in 1974 but it is still far from the norm (especially in many parts of the Jewish community). </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px;">I have never seen as compelling example of this type of leadership as Idan Raichel in his performance (and in the project as a whole). </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 25px;">When I mentioned this to Idan (who recently shaved his well-known dreadlocks), he smiled and said "that is exactly it but I have never thought of it that way." He may never have thought in terms of Leadership by Tzimtzum but it is obvious that he is a regular practitioner of it:</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;">"This sentiment is reflected in the decision to name the collective The Idan Raichel Project. Says Raichel, “If I had called the album just ‘Idan Raichel,’ people would have thought that Raichel is the main voice on all the songs. I wrote the songs and I arranged and produced them, but I perform them together with other vocalists and musicians. On the other hand, we are not a group. It’s something in between." To date over 95 different singers aged 16 to 91 years old from dozens of different countries and cultural backgrounds haveparticipated in the Project’s recordings or performances.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;">” </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;">(</span><a href="http://www.idanraichelproject.com/en/">http://www.idanraichelproject.com/en/</a>)</blockquote>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">What examples of this type of leadership do you see in your communities? Does it work?</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">How can we better bring this type of leadership to our communities?</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">How can I be this type of leader?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I look forward to your comments and reactions.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Rabbi Bruce</span><br />
<br />Rabbi Bruce B Seltzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17846297119444706664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9572437.post-10774453750048821912013-03-21T14:00:00.000-05:002013-03-25T12:54:31.158-05:00Passover Preparation and Sources<span style="font-size: large;">For the last week or so I have been "all Passover, all the time."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I have been cleaning and kashering (Amherst and CBI first, now at home) and arranging for Seders (two seders at our house plus one at Amherst).</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you are joining us for Passover Seder or meals at Amherst and have not <a href="http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/H2YFYYF" target="_blank">signed up</a>, please do so now.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Starting a few weeks before Passover, I start seeing lots of material on Facebook or in my in-box.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here are some selections of note:</span><br />
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">The Maccabeats released a </span><a href="http://www.maccabeats.com/les-miserables-medley-passover/" style="font-size: x-large;" target="_blank">Les Mis Passover medley</a></li>
</ul>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/qmthKpnTHYQ?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<br /></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Jacob Richman posts educational/entertaining videos for Jewish holidays. </span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><a href="http://www.jr.co.il/videos/passover-videos.htm" style="font-size: x-large;" target="_blank">Here is this year's Passover list</a><span style="font-size: large;">.</span></li>
</ul>
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<li><span style="font-size: large;">Rabbi Dov Lerner collects Passover material and has downloadable Haggadot for you to make your own at <a href="http://jewishfreeware.org/">Jewishfreeware.org</a> I have seen this site grow in material and use--it should keep you busy for years of Seders.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">For Kosher for Passover (K4P) recipes and great general Kosher recipes, I suggest <a href="http://www.joyofkosher.com/holidays-and-guides/" target="_blank">Jamie Gellers' Joy of Kosher</a>.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">I use the Rabbinical Assembly <a href="http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/sites/default/files/public/jewish-law/holidays/pesah/rabbinical-assembly-pesah-guide-5773.pdf" target="_blank">Pesah Guide</a> and the <a href="http://koshernexus.org/general-topics/operation-passover-faq-2/" target="_blank">Operation Pesach FAQs</a> for information on K4P, kashering, ingredients, etc.</span></li>
</ul>
(I am a member of the <a href="http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/" target="_blank">Rabbinical Assembly</a>-- the international organization of Conservative/Masorti Rabbis. Operation Pesach, run by <a href="http://koshernexus.org/" target="_blank">Kosher Nexus</a>, is a program of the <a href="http://utj.org/" target="_blank">Union for Traditional Judaism</a>)<br />
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: large;">Last Minute Addition (not for those without a sense of humor):</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A <a href="http://bobmarleypassover.com/" target="_blank">Bob Marley Passover Haggadah</a></span></div>
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<br />Rabbi Bruce B Seltzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17846297119444706664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9572437.post-79752741232837767502013-03-06T15:30:00.000-05:002013-03-10T17:35:34.186-05:00Where Have I Been? Where am I going? Reflections From Ten Days Withouta SmartphoneIt all started with a <a href="http://www.theonering.net/torwp/the-hobbit/characters/gollum/" target="_blank">"birthday present"</a> (not the one from the Hobbit). In a rush to run an errand on the way into work, I dropped my phone, an <a href="http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/htc-rezound-verizon-wireless/4505-6452_7-35023866.html" target="_blank">HTC Rezound</a>. Just like not-yet King David <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=david+goliath&hl=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=mqI3Uc68E6T00gH7w4CQBg&sqi=2&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1920&bih=955" target="_blank">defeated Goliath</a> with a stone, my screen protector and case were defeated by a <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cathy-cate/5728634761/" target="_blank">pebble</a> on the ground. The cracked screen was barely noticeable at first until I opened the phone to put in the extended battery. Since I am not due for an upgrade for a while, I decided to live with it. Around two weeks ago, the plug stopped working consistently. I started to use the phone less while I researched my next move. No more mobile internet or gps use. I didn't have insurance, so I found the best step would be to replace the phone on <a href="http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p2050601.m570.l2632.R0&_nkw=htc+rezound&_sacat=9355&_from=R40" target="_blank">eBay</a>. First the main battery died and then my extra extended battery was slowly being used by "important calls." While I kept the phone with me, I did not use it last week at all. I ordered a phone from an eBay seller no specializes in phone replacements, had strong ratings, and a 30 day return policy. The phone arrived yesterday, working and in near perfect condition. A half hour at Verizon and time re-installing apps,and I back to where I was before. Or am I? (I will come back to this point).<br />
<br />
It is not as though I had no technology access. Our family has three laptops, two iPads, one desktop computer with internet access, and two other smartphones and iPod touches (and a Nook that is mostly used when we go on vacation). I also have a computer in my Amherst office and one in my WNE classroom. I almost always have my laptop and iPad (although if I wasn't teaching at WNE, I would just use the iPad). None of the devices I use regularly have 3 or 4g mobile Internet, so I needed to be in a location with wi-fi to have web access. (By the way, it is a little depressing once I started making that list. None of that includes non-working/old devices).<br />
<br />
The problem is that most of my information life is on the cloud--housed primarily at google and Dropbox. This meant that I was always "behind" on email, didn't have up-to-date access to my calendar (yet alone Deborah's), ... <br />
<br />
Since I was laid off from Smith in the 2010 budget cuts, I have added a lot of part-time jobs. When working 8 years at Smith and Amherst, I thought it was hard having a full-time job split between two colleges 9 miles apart. It is much harder working at one college 9 miles from, teaching two sections of an academic class 25 miles in another direction, and driving out to camp (45 minutes drive) every week or two for retreats. I spend a lot more time in my car which means I get to hear lots of NPR and other talk radio. Since November I have been at Amherst more as I am Interim Co-Director of Religious Life. In general I spend a lot less time in one place than I used to. Engaging in social media and writing my blog have suffered. Also, I have found that I am reading different kinds of material than I used to read-- a lot about Israeli History, politics, and culture for my Modern Israel course at Western New England. It is not just the kind of reading that has changed, there always seems to be more I want to read. Having a smartphone means I can read a few emails or rss items while waiting or if I arrive somewhere early. It also means I find more to read.<br />
<br />
Back to my 10 days relatively unplugged. I found that I paid closer attention to everything around me when I had no phone pulling at my attention. I enjoyed driving more when I didn't have the phone set to Google maps (where I always toggle to e.t.a.). Although I was not sure when I would get there, I got there with a more settled mind. While the cloud helps me have access to data, calendar, phone numbers, etc., it also saps at my attention span (academic studies have shown that there is little or no multi-masking in our brains).<br />
<br />
The challenge is figuring out how to learn from this experience. To bring it back to the Lord of the Rings/Hobbit, perhaps technology is like the One Ring--it slowly takes over our lives. At first we notice the convenience and the power but only later do we learn the consequences. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/opinion/sunday/is-gps-all-in-our-head.html?_r=0" target="_blank">Does our (over-)reliance on GPS devices impact our innate sense of direction</a>? (More on this <a href="http://blog.geogarage.com/2010/06/about-effect-of-gps-technology-on-human.html" target="_blank">here </a>and <a href="http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=sense-of-direction-innate" target="_blank">here</a>) Phone numbers are much harder to remember since everyone has different area codes (<a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/brain-memory-magic-number/story?id=9189664" target="_blank">seven digits was chosen in the 1950's</a> because it was the typical capacity of <a href="http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/memory.html" target="_blank">working memory</a>). With cell phones, you don't even have to remember the phone numbers of your close friends and family.<br />
<br />
While I hope to add to this in the future, I will start by sharing this selection from Rabbi Rami Shapiro's, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Wisdom-Jewish-Sages-Modern-Reading/dp/0517799669" target="_blank">Wisdom of the Sages</a></i> (a modern reading of Pirke Avot):<br />
<br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>"Rabbi Judah haNassi said:</b></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>What is the right path for a person to follow?</b></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>One that honors both self and other.</b></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></i>
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Be attentive in all you do;</b></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Do not judge one deed small and another great,</b></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>for you cannot always know their significance.</b></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></i>
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Be virtuous, even if virtue is costly. </b></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Avoid sin, even if sin is profitable.</b></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></i>
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Remember three things and you will not err:</b></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>If your deeds shouldn't be known,</b></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>perhaps they shouldn't be done.</b></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>If your words shouldn't be shared,</b></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>perhaps they shouldn't be spoken.</b></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Act with attention, for all your deeds have consequence." (II, 1; p. 22)</b></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br /></b></span></i>
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</b></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">An hour after finishing the original draft of this blog, I received an email from <a href="http://askbigquestions.org/" target="_blank">Asking Big Questions</a> with this month's discussion guide, <a href="http://askbigquestions.org/question/how-does-technology-change-us" target="_blank">How Does Technology Change Us</a>? Great minds think alike.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">_________________________________________________________________________________</span><br />
Sunday March 10th: I received this today from <a href="http://thedailyrabbi.com/">thedailyrabbi.com</a>: <a href="http://www.thedailyrabbi.com/jewish-popular-stories/unplug-spiritual-lessons-from-a-lost-cell-phone/" target="_blank">UNPLUG: Spiritual Lessons From a Lost Cell Phone</a>.Rabbi Bruce B Seltzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17846297119444706664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9572437.post-254437203861057622013-02-01T15:24:00.002-05:002013-02-01T16:12:22.338-05:00Four Chaplains Shabbat<br />
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In addition to the celebrations in New Orleans and nationwide in honor of the Super Bowl, we will mark<a href="http://www.fourchaplains.org/"> 4 Chaplains</a>' Shabbat: The 70th anniversary of the sinking of the USAT Dorchester. </div>
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On February 3, 1943, the Dorchester was attacked by a German U-boat, and four chaplains -- one Catholic priest, two Protestant ministers, and one rabbi -- gave their lifejackets to other sailors and went down with the ship. Read below to find out about their inspiring story.</div>
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This Shabbat, we read <a href="http://www.myjewishlearning.com/texts/Bible/Weekly_Torah_Portion/yitro_index.shtml" target="_blank">Parshat Yitro</a> which contains the peak of the Israelite experience in the desert--Revelation at Sinai (notably, the Ten Commandments, Aseret Ha-Dibrot, which I translate as the Ten Utterances to more fully represent the Hebrew and Jewish theology). This important Torah reading begins with Yitro, Moses' father-in-law and a priest of Midian, to the Israelite camp. He offers Moses' important instructions on communal leadership and justice. Just as the story of the Four Chaplains reminds us of the connections we have to people of different faiths, the part of the Torah containing Revelation begins with an acknowledgment that practical and theoretical knowledge comes from multiple traditions.<br />
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My work on campus as a Chaplain/Religious Advisor/Hillel Director (the titles vary) and now as Interim Co-Director of <a href="https://www.amherst.edu/campuslife/religiouslife" target="_blank">Religious Life at Amherst College</a>) has taught me that despite the many important differences between various faith and ethical traditions, we hold similar views about the importance of helping others and reaching out to people in need.</div>
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Shabbat Shalom,</div>
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<a href="https://www.amherst.edu/campuslife/religiouslife/staff/Seltzer" target="_blank">Rabbi Bruce</a></div>
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<h3>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: blue;">The Four Chaplains</span></span></h3>
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<img height="200" src="http://www.fourchaplains.org/images/ALEXANDER-D.-GOODE.jpg" style="font-size: 10pt;" width="163" /><img height="200" src="http://www.fourchaplains.org/images/GEORGE-L.-FOX.jpg" style="font-size: 10pt;" width="163" /></div>
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<a href="http://www.fourchaplains.org/goode.html" target="_blank">ALEXANDER D. GOODE</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fourchaplains.org/fox.html" target="_blank">GEORGE L. FOX</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fourchaplains.org/images/CLARK-V.-POLING.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.fourchaplains.org/images/CLARK-V.-POLING.jpg" width="163" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fourchaplains.org/images/JOHN-P.-WASHINGTON.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.fourchaplains.org/images/JOHN-P.-WASHINGTON.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.fourchaplains.org/images/JOHN-P.-WASHINGTON.jpg" width="163" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fourchaplains.org/poling.html" target="_blank">CLARK V. POLIN</a>G</div>
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<a href="http://www.fourchaplains.org/washington.html" target="_blank">JOHN P. WASHINGTON</a></div>
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Click on the names for their Biographies</div>
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: blue;">
THE STORY </span> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;">(copied from </span><a href="http://www.fourchaplains.org/story.html" style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;">The Four Chaplains Memorial Foundation</a><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;">)</span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: large;">THE SAGA OF THE FOUR CHAPLAINS</span></div>
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I<span style="font-size: x-small;">t was the evening of Feb. 2, 1943, and the U.S.A.T. Dorchester was crowded to capacity, </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">carrying 902 service men, merchant seamen and civilian workers.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Once a luxury coastal liner, the 5,649-ton vessel had been converted into an Army transport ship.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The Dorchester, one of three ships in the SG-19 convoy, was moving steadily across the icy</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">waters <span style="color: #222222;">from Newfoundland toward an American base in Greenland. SG-19 was escorted by Coast</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #222222;">Guard Cutters Tampa, Escanaba and Comanche. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br />Hans J. Danielsen, the ship's captain, was concerned and cautious.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Earlier the Tampa had detected a submarine with its sonar. Danielsen </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">knew he was in dangerous waters even before he got the alarming</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> information. German U-boats were constantly prowling these vital sea </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">lanes, and several ships had already been blasted and sunk.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The Dorchester was now only 150 miles from its destination, but the </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">captain ordered the men to sleep in their clothing and keep life jackets</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">on. Many soldiers sleeping deep in the ship's hold disregarded the order</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">because of the engine's heat. Others ignored it because the life jackets</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">were uncomfortable.<br /><br />On Feb. 3, at 12:55 a.m., a periscope broke the chilly Atlantic waters.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Through the cross hairs, an officer aboard the German submarine U-223</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">spotted the Dorchester.<br />The U-223 approached the convoy on the surface, and after identifying</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">and targeting the ship, he gave orders to fire the torpedoes, a fan of</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">three </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: x-small;">were fired. The one that hit was decisive--and deadly--striking the</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">starboard </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: x-small;">side, amid ship, far below the water line.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br />Danielsen, alerted that the Dorchester was taking water rapidly and </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">sinking, </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: x-small;">gave the order to abandon ship. In less than 20 minutes, the</span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-size: x-small;">Dorchester </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: x-small;">would slip beneath the Atlantic's icy waters.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br />Tragically, the hit had knocked out power and radio contact with the three escort ships. The CGC Comanche,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">however, saw the flash of the explosion. It responded and then rescued 97 survivors. The CGC Escanaba circled </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">the Dorchester, rescuing an additional 132 survivors. The third cutter, CGC Tampa, continued on, escorting the</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">remaining two ships<br />.<br />Aboard the Dorchester, panic and chaos had set in. The blast had killed scores of men, and many more were</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">seriously wounded. Others, stunned by the explosion were groping in the darkness. Those sleeping without </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">clothing rushed topside where they were confronted first by a blast of icy Arctic air and then by the knowledge that</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">death awaited.<br /><br />Men jumped from the ship into lifeboats, over-crowding them to the point of capsizing, according to eyewitnesses.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Other rafts, tossed into the Atlantic, drifted away before soldiers could get in them.<br /><br />Through the pandemonium, according to those present, four Army chaplains brought hope in despair and light in </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">darkness. Those chaplains were Lt. George L. Fox, Methodist; Lt. Alexander D. Goode, Jewish; Lt. John P. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Washington, Roman Catholic; and Lt. Clark V. Poling, Dutch Reformed.<br /><br />Quickly and quietly, the four chaplains spread out among the soldiers. There they tried to calm the frightened, tend </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">the wounded and guide the disoriented toward safety.<br /><br />"Witnesses of that terrible night remember hearing the four men offer prayers for the dying and encouragement for</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">those who would live," says Wyatt R. Fox, son of Reverend Fox.<br /><br />One witness, Private William B. Bednar, found himself floating in oil-smeared water surrounded by dead bodies</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">and debris. "I could hear men crying, pleading, praying," Bednar recalls. "I could also hear the chaplains preaching </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">courage. Their voices were the only thing that kept me going."<br /><br />Another sailor, Petty Officer John J. Mahoney, tried to reenter his cabin but Rabbi Goode stopped him. Mahoney, </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">concerned about the cold Arctic air, explained he had forgotten his gloves.<br /><br />"Never mind," Goode responded. "I have two pairs." The rabbi then gave the petty officer his own gloves. In </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">retrospect, Mahoney realized that Rabbi Goode was not conveniently carrying two pairs of gloves, and that the</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> rabbi had decided not to leave the Dorchester.</span><br />
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<a href="http://www.fourchaplains.org/images/story2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.fourchaplains.org/images/story2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="248" src="http://www.fourchaplains.org/images/story2.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">By this time, most of the men were topside, and the chaplains opened a storage ocker and began distributing life jackets. It was then that Engineer Grady Clark witnessed an astonishing sight.<br /><br />When there were no more lifejackets in the storage room, the chaplains removed theirs and gave them to four frightened young men.<br /><br />"It was the finest thing I have seen or hope to see this side of heaven," said John Ladd, another survivor who saw the chaplains' selfless act.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Ladd's response is understandable. The altruistic action of the four chaplains constitutes one of the purest spiritual</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">and ethical acts a person can make. When giving their life jackets, Rabbi Goode did not call out for a Jew; Father</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Washington did not call out for a Catholic; nor did the Reverends Fox and Poling call out for a Protestant. They</span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-size: x-small;">simply gave their life jackets to the next man in line.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br />As the ship went down, survivors in nearby rafts could see the four chaplains--arms linked and braced against the </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">slanting deck. Their voices could also be heard offering prayers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Of the 902 men aboard the U.S.A.T. Dorchester, 672 died, leaving 230 survivors. When the news reached American </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">shores, the nation was stunned by the magnitude of the tragedy and heroic conduct of the four chaplains. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">"Valor is</span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">a </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">gift," </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Carl Sandburg once said. "Those having it never know for sure whether they have it until the test comes."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">That night Reverend Fox, Rabbi Goode, Reverend Poling and Father Washington passed life's ultimate test. In</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">doing so, they became an enduring example of extraordinary faith, courage and selflessness.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The Distinguished Service Cross and Purple Heart were awarded posthumously December 19, 1944, to the next</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">of kin by Lt. Gen. Brehon B. Somervell, Commanding General of the Army Service Forces, in a ceremony at the</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">post chapel at Fort Myer, VA.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A one-time only posthumous Special Medal for Heroism was authorized by Congress and awarded by <span style="color: #222222;">President</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #222222;">Eisenhower on January 18, 1961. Congress attempted to confer the Medal of Honor but was blocked by the </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #222222;">stringent requirements that required heroism performed under fire. The special medal was intended to have the </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #222222;">same weight and importance as the Medal of Honor.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #222222;"><a href="http://fourchaplainsshabbat.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Additional material for Four Chaplains Shabbat</a></span></span></div>
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Rabbi Bruce B Seltzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17846297119444706664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9572437.post-63974076508793673572012-11-13T23:03:00.000-05:002012-11-13T23:03:25.977-05:00Reflections on Renewing the Eruv at Camp Ramah New England"Legal fictions such as Eruv just aren't my thing," remarked a rabbi in this area.
"it doesn't make sense," said another rabbi (I will preserve their privacy by keeping both rabbis anonymous.
"I once heard a joke about making an Eruv . . . The prince of the city told the rabbi asking for permission to build an Eruv: 'if you can imagine a wall by putting up a bunch of strings, why can't you imagine the wall as well?'". This is how a lay leader responded to my climbing on a ladder to repair the Eruv.
Then, I saw this: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-march-23-2011/the-thin-jew-line
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Here is a description of the concept of Eruv from the website<a href="http://vahi.patch.com/articles/the-virginia-highland-eruv"></a> of an eruv in Atlanta: Some Jewish communities, including one Virginia-Highland synagogue, use strings, wires, and utility poles to create enclosed areas that help relax strict religious laws that prohibit carrying objects during the 25-hour Jewish Sabbath.
Known as an eruv, the enclosure is virtually invisible to most people. Eruv is a Hebrew word that means to mingle or mix.
Eruvim are built to create domains in public spaces, like sidewalks and streets, that form virtual courtyards that symbolically represent domestic space. Jewish law prohibits carrying items like keys and umbrellas outside of homes on the Sabbath. The rules also keep people from using baby strollers and medical devices like canes and walkers. Inside an eruv, Jews can enjoy the same freedoms to carry and push things that they do inside their homes.
Although eruvim have been used in Jewish culture for more than 1,000 years, they are a relatively recent arrival in American cities. There are about 140 eruvim in the United States and they enclose spaces commonly associated with Jewish communities in large, older urban areas like Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, and Baltimore.
They also cover large areas in Washington, DC. The White House, the U.S. Capitol, and the Supreme Court buildings all are located inside the Washington Eruv.
When you stop to think about it, an Eruv is a strange concept.Rabbi Bruce B Seltzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17846297119444706664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9572437.post-32576366737142351042012-11-13T23:02:00.004-05:002012-11-13T23:04:00.351-05:00A History of JDubI just read a <a href="http://thebrooklynink.com/2012/11/12/50511-klezmer-punks-gangsta-rabbis-an-oral-history-of-jdub-records-2002-2011/">great interview</a> about the history of JDub records (its rise and fall).<br />
<br />
Interesting look at an important (but now defunct) institution in the New Jewish Culture world.<br />
<br />
I have found culture a great way to reach students who otherwise not come to Jewish programs.<br />
<br />
It is an entry but not an endpoint.<br />
<br />
Read the interview and let me know what you think.<br />
Rabbi BruceRabbi Bruce B Seltzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17846297119444706664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9572437.post-87997148208153884942012-10-16T15:38:00.000-05:002012-11-13T23:03:06.286-05:00Elect to Get Engaged in ElectionI am going to try to post a little more often than I have over the last year.<br />
<br />
While I am not interested in talking about the election directly, I will pose some questions I would be interested in having each candidate address.<br />
<br />
<b>Questions for Governor Romney:</b><br />
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1. Can you explain the real reason you refuse to release the past ten years of tax returns? Given the doubling of the stock market (and the leveraged nature of many investments funds), could it because you are significantly better off financially than you were when President Obama took office (despite reporting no wage income)?<br />
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2. If elected, would you close all of your off-shore trusts, accounts, and partnership interests?<br />
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3. Why do you refuse to release details of many of your domestic policy plans? Is that the type of leadership the American people should accept?<br />
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4. What about being a one-term Governor of Massachusetts has prepared you to be President (especially given your frequent absences from the state during the final years of your term)?<br />
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5. How will your Presidency differ from that of President George W. Bush? <br />
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<b>Questions for President Obama:</b><br />
1. Do you feel that your previous work experiences adequately prepared you to be the head of the Executive Branch of our government in a time of crisis? If not, what other experiences and skills would you have wanted to have prior to running?<br />
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2. Given that you have faced a confrontational and inflexible Congress, what responsibility do you have for government inaction and negative political tone?<br />
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3. What would you have done differently during your first term in office?<br />
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4. What staffing changes and policies will you change going forward?<br />
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5. Has your changes to foreign policy been beneficial or harmful to the US?<br />
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Readers, please respond through comments.<br />
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<br />Rabbi Bruce B Seltzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17846297119444706664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9572437.post-17111356411770135862012-01-31T20:38:00.000-05:002012-01-31T20:38:02.216-05:00Check it out. I just rated [A Gem in the Valley] on the Day School Video Academy Awards. #JDSVA #jed21<a href="http://www.dayschoolvideoacademy.org/VideoView.aspx?MovieId=172#.TyiXcyfxfeU.blogger">Check it out. I just rated [A Gem in the Valley] on the Day School Video Academy Awards. #JDSVA #jed21</a>Rabbi Bruce B Seltzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17846297119444706664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9572437.post-40451383947811099492011-12-01T00:14:00.000-05:002011-12-01T00:14:00.894-05:00A Place Could Make You Cry Part I--Reflections on Seeing the Film UnsettledTo paraphrase Groucho Marx: before I start writing, I would like to write a few words.<div>The title of this blog post is a take-off on a book title by a senior rabbinic colleague, Rabbi Daniel Gordis, an American Jewish leader who made aliyah in the late 90's and started writing emails about his families experiences in an Israel at war. He collected a number of the emails into a book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Place-Can-Make-You-Cry/dp/1400046130" target="_blank">If a Place Could Make You Cry--Dispatches from an Anxious State</a>. It has been a while since I read the book, but the title has stayed with me. Now that you know the literary allusion, I will skip to the incidents that provoked this post.</div><div>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br />
<div>This week is <a href="http://amherstisraelpeaceweek.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Israel Peace Week</a> at Amherst College. This ambitious program was created by <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Amherst-Israel-Alliance/118859658224228" target="_blank">Amherst Israel Alliance</a>--a new Israel-oriented student organization which was created this fall (the last group, Amherst Friends of Israel, stopped functioning when most of its leaders graduated in '10). I have had only limited input in the programming, which was organized by student leaders and Amherst's <a href="http://www.cjp.org/page.aspx?id=169733" target="_blank">CJP IACT</a> Fellow, Kylie Fisher.</div><div>Even though the week is only half over, yasher koach on a great first program.</div><div><br />
</div><div>The first night brought the <a href="http://boston.mfa.gov.il/index.php/en/consulate/consul-general" target="_blank">Consul General of Israel to New England</a> to campus for a reception with student leaders and an informal talk. It had a good turn-out and feedback seemed positive.n </div><div><br />
</div><div>The second night was a showing of the film, <u>Unsettled</u>, and a talk by its director, Adam Hootnick. I had not seen the film but read a few positive reviews about it. Interestingly, the film did not make it past the first step of selections for this year's <a href="http://www.pvjff.org/" target="_blank">Pioneer Valley Film Festival</a>. </div><div>Watching the film prompted me to write this post.</div><div>----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</div><div><br />
</div><div>I don't often cry at films, which sometimes upsets my wife. Even if I get emotional, it usually has to be a very sad movie for me to openly cry. Last night, while watching Unsettled, I got very emotional at a few points. I arrived a few minutes late and sat in the back row. I didn't realize it at first but I sat next to the filmmaker, Adam Hootnick. The film chronicles a group of charismatic young Israelis involved in different ways in Israel'</div><div>s disengagement (pull-out) of Gaza in 2006. Through these Israelis and their experiences (as religious and secular settlers removed from their homes, peace activists, and soldiers who worked the disengagement, we are exposed to a nation at war with itself. While I have often thought of the individual Israeli families who were uprooted from their homes in Sinai ( for me, through Safam's powerful song <a href="http://www.safam.com/safam-lyrics.shtml#bittersweetyamit" target="_blank">Yamit</a>), this film brings you into the living rooms and cars of those involved. It is full of powerful, and sometimes disturbing, human moments in the midst of a historical drama that has been all but forgotten in the West--a country using 55000 soldiers and police forces to uproot a few thousand settlers that were encouraged by their country to settle in Gaza.</div><div>One scene that I spoke about during the Q&A was filmed inside the living room of one of the character's family as the soldiers come to evict them. In contrast to some of the houses which were packed up and even partially dismantled--this home looked like a normal home. A major and a soldier calmly knock on the door and are admitted with every courtesy. They sit at the dining room table and talk about what is happening. The father of the household--like all Israeli males a veteran of the IDF--tries to tell them that they could disobey orders. When it is clear that they are there to do their job, they talk a little bit more and share the emotions of the moment. It is clear that each side is not going to back down but they explain why they believe and act the way they do. The soldiers demonstrate empathy and try to express that they realize how difficult it is for the family. An elderly man sitting on a couch explains that none of them will fight or harm Israeli soldiers in any way but that they will need to be physically carried out by soldiers. Around when it is time for the family to be removed, coffee is placed in front of the soldier and the officer. The young soldier starts to get up to do his duty and the officer stops him by saying, "Drink first." In the Middle East, it is very rude to refuse food or drink offered to you by a host. This is one of the times that I cried. Here they are about to carry a family out of their home, place them on a bus, and take them over the line out of Gaza for the last time. At least one day before, their presence in Gaza was no longer legal. The older officer is teaching his soldier a powerful lesson in manners--you don't forgot how to be a guest even in the middle of taking the family out of their own house. This is one of the times that made me say out loud (before I knew who I was sitting next to): they are all kids. (The film does a great job at showing parts of the careful training that was given to the selected non-combat soldiers who were in the inner circle of disengagement. A powerful part of this is when they were repeatedly warned to not look happy in any way while they were doing their job--even if they were successful at clearing a house). </div><div><br />
</div><div>For now, I will put this blog post up since I am getting tired but their will be more to come tomorrow. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Shalom,</div><div>Rabbi Bruce</div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div></div>Rabbi Bruce B Seltzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17846297119444706664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9572437.post-49652107513610875752011-11-20T15:55:00.000-05:002011-11-20T15:55:27.319-05:00Dvar Torah at My Niece's Bat MitzvahMy niece recently celebrated becoming at Bat Mitzvah.<br />
I was honored with offering a dvar Torah at shul Saturday morning.<br />
Here is the text as written:<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">Shabbat Shalom<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">Earlier in her dvar Torah, Aliza mentioned the mitzvah of hachnasat orchim –welcoming guests--performed by Avraham and Sarah in this week's parashah. The first eight verses of Chapter 18 describe how they welcomed three guests. This is seen as the paradigm of hachnasat orchim.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">The first few verses contain Avraham’s extension of hospitality. Avraham could have simply said: “My lords, please, stop to rest and refresh your selves.” Instead, the Torah says: “</span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">As soon as he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them and, bowing to the ground, he said, "My lords, if it please you, do not go on past your servant. Let a little water be brought; bathe your feet and recline under the tree. And let me fetch a morsel of bread that you may refresh yourselves; then go on—seeing that you have come your servant's way."</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">In the next verses, we learn how Avraham involves the household in preparing bread, meat, and other refreshments for the guests. Instead of just telling us this information, the Torah specifies what Avraham asked Sarah to bake, how he selected a calf and then how Avraham and a servant prepared the rest of the food. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">Nechama Leibowitz taught that the Torah does not normally provide details of everyday incidents in a particular narrative. Therefore, when the Torah offers us such detail, the added information is instructional and not just to enhance the narrative. We learn two types of details about the mitzvah of welcoming guests. The first type concerns the offer of hospitality and the actions involved. These demonstrate taking care of the physical and emotional needs of the travelers by breaking down the offer and actions into many parts: stopping to rest, bathing feet, reclining, eating bread to refresh themselves, and the preparation of food. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">The second type of details concern the way in which the household of Avraham and Sarah performed these actions. One example highlights their eagerness to care for others. The verses containing the offer of hospitality and food preparation include five forms of the words “hasten” or “run”. Their actions are the paradigm of hachnasat orchim not just because they teach us the particular actions involved but because of the way in which they were approached. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">Aliza, you are no stranger to hachnasat orchim. Your house is always filled with countless family, friends, USYers, and so many others that it would be hard to keep track without a guestbook. You are not a passive observer to welcoming guest, but you help perform the many types of actions involved. When we show up, you often imitate Avraham and run to help us with our bags, take your cousins out of the way, and get us situated. Although I am not there to see you welcome others, I imagine you do it in the same way.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">The three guests are understood to be angels, but this is not explicit in the text which describes them as men. This raises a question about the motivations for parts of Avraham’s actions: does he know that they are angels or especially important people or does he treat everyone that way? Commentators differ in their view of some of the particular actions Avraham engages in when welcoming the guests. Abravanel believes that Avraham knew they were not ordinary people since the text describes them far away and then immediately in front of him. He perceived their special status and therefore went to them rather than calling to them from afar. The Sifre teaches that Avraham acted no differently than normal since he did not learn about the special nature of the guests until after he welcomed them. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">I found the Sifre’s approach that Avraham treats everybody the same to be more convincing then Abravanel’s view that he treated the guests in a special manner. I even asked Aliza about it yesterday afternoon and she confirmed that all people should be treated equally in general but appropriate to their individual needs. At first I was troubled by going against Abravanel at a family simchah since he is one of Aliza’s ancestors. Luckily, Aliza in her dvar torah came to Abravanel’s rescue and reconciled the two approaches. Aliza taught us to pay attention to the miracles around us. Looking at the world through Aliza-colored lenses and seeing everyone as a potential miracle allows us to perform hachnasat orchim in the same way as Avraham and Sarah do. Every guest, indeed everyone we meet, is as special as the angels visiting Avraham and Sarah’s tent and must be treated accsordingly. Aliza, I hope you continue to view the world through your miracle glasses and treat everyone as a treasured guest. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">Dodo (what our nieces and nephews call Deborah) and your cousins, join me in wishing you and your family mazal tov.<o:p></o:p></span></div>Rabbi Bruce B Seltzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17846297119444706664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9572437.post-9711671351507102572011-09-08T11:12:00.003-05:002011-09-08T11:12:54.246-05:00My Dvar Torah at Zev's Bar Mitzvah<div style="background-color: transparent;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.3914872845634818" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is the Dvar Torah I offered at Zev's Bar Mitzvah--Parshat Shoftim, September 3rd, 2011.</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.3914872845634818" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.3914872845634818" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span id="internal-source-marker_0.3914872845634818" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Shabbat Shalom and yasher koach zev,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Sefer Ha-Chinukh, written in 13th century Spain, outlines each of the Mitzvot in the Torah, portion by portion. According to it, the Torah reading you leyned this morning, Parshat Shoftim, contains 14 positive and 27 negative mitzvot. That is almost 7% of the mitzvot in the Torah. Knowing that you already taught us about one mitzvah in your drasha earlier, I figured I should take a different approach and examine the Parashah as a whole. As you mentioned, these 41 mitzvot cover broad swaths of Jewish law and ethics. Parshat shoftim explains how to create just courts, how leaders such as as prophets, priests, and kings relate to the community. And, It also presents the laws for waging war--one of which is the mitzvah of Baal Tashchit that you taught us about earlier.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When I examined these disparate laws together, one aspect jumped out at me--they all revolve around responsibility. The responsibility of a judge or witness to insure justice, the responsibilities and requirements on leaders due to their leadership roles, the responsibility of an army towards its own people and its enemies during war, and in your maftir aliyah--the responsibility that a community holds to take care of a dead body. Each of these mitzvot describes a responsibility the Torah places on individuals or groups in relation to the community. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As we studied together, many of these mitzvot are contingent--they do not apply until and unless you find yourself in particular circumstances. That they are contingent means that many--if not most of the mitzvot--will not happen to any one person in their lifetime. Yet, they remain part of the Torah and the Jewish tradition. You are responsible for observing them if and when they apply. I don’t think you should get your hopes up about being king any time soon--despite the fact that your ancestor Abravanel was a descendant of King David.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When you turned thirteen earlier this summer, you assumed the responsibilities to fulfill the mitzvot--the how’s of why’s Jewish life. Today, by publicly reading Torah, haftarah, davening and teaching us, you demonstrate that you are developing the skills to do so--to make them a part of your daily life. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Until this age, our tradition views that you need to learn how to observe but are not responsible for observing. Over the last few years, you have demonstrated this process of learning in order to be able to do. Let me offer a few examples of this: at eight or nine, you started fasting the whole day on Yom Kippur, you get yourself to shul on time Shabbat morning even if it means leaving on your own, and you are adamant in your desire to continue your Jewish education after you graduated LGA Schechter. Ima and I have very proud of you for the actions you took on yourself. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While in the past you had the obligation to learn and chose to act, you now have the obligation to act. As an adult member of the community, you now have new responsibilities to fulfill the mitzvot. These place requirements on you that are not always optional. If you walk into a room where nine are trying to make a minyan, you have to stay to make the required ten. You have a responsibility to be counted. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Up to this point, since you did not have the general responsibility to fulfill all of the mitzvot, the responsibility for your actions were on me. Now, you count and are responsible for your own actions. Ima and I will continue to guide you on your way and help you with your procrastinating but you are your own person and you have the responsibility to step up and take part in Jewish life. To mark this, I recited a short bracha after you finished your aliyah--baruch she’patrani m’onsho shel ze.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Everyone is here today to celebrate with you on this special day. We are all proud of you. Your grandparents, siblings, other relatives, friends, and especially Ima and I are all glad we could be here. On your birth announcements, we quoted from a Hebrew song that describes the blessings of an angel to a boy. In echoing that song, I wish you a shining smile, eyes open to the beauty of our world and all that inhabit it so you fill your heart and soul with wonder, meaning, and happiness. Mazal tov. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>Rabbi Bruce B Seltzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17846297119444706664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9572437.post-35122006130866876762011-03-02T09:51:00.003-05:002011-03-04T16:58:35.412-05:00Will it Ever Go Away: Galliano and Assange Make Anti-Semitic Remarks<span class="Apple-style-span">I don't often post (or even talk) much about anti-Semitism. In my life, I have only experienced it a few times (two of the incidents occurred while I attended college). Still, when I see two media darlings make anti-Semitic at the same time, it is worth noticing.</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">John Galliano, the just-fired designer for the </span><a href="http://www.dior.com/file/prehome_new/index.html">House of Dior</a> who is famous <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; ">for his outlandish behavior, was accused of making anti-Semitic remarks in a Paris bar. This type of speech is a crime in France. A few days later, a British paper posted a <a href="http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3436757/Film-of-John-Gallianos-racist-rant-in-bar.html">video</a> of similar remarks made at the same bar months ago. According to the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/02/fashion/02galliano-dior.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha25">NY Times</a>, he has been fired from his job. Natalie Portman, perhaps the most Jewishly involved A-list star and the spokesperson for <span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px; ">Miss Dior Cherie perfume denounced him immediately, which the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px; "><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/02/fashion/02galliano-dior.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha25">NY Times</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px; "> thinks sealed his fate.</span></span></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px; "><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px; ">This morning, I saw an <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/02/world/europe/02assange.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha26">article in the NY Times</a> about anti-Semitic comments supposedly made by <a href="http://toolbar.inbox.com/lp/lpu.aspx?tbid=80481&c=Wikileaks&k=WikiLeaks&b=GGL_XT_ppc15_80481_06_02_00_*GeoUSCA*_-Search-__wikileaks&s=awppc15&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=wikileaks&utm_campaign=ppc15-06">Wikileaks </a>founder Julian Assange in an interview. The account, which is disputed and is less disturbing even if true, is based on the well-known anti-Semitic staple of a Jewish media conspiracy. Assange has longed blamed his prosecution on rape charges and other legal issues to international conspiracies (some of which may be true as his organization has upset many governments). The move from general conspiracies to anti-Semitism is common. The most notorious example in my mind is the prominent role Israel plays in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9/11_conspiracy_theories#Israeli_agents">9-11 conspiracy theories</a>.</span></span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px; "><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px; ">This semester, I am teaching a class about Diaspora Jewish cultures throughout history at<a href="http://www.wnec.edu/">Western New England College</a>. Many of the students commented that they were unaware of the history of anti-Semitism and the historic connections between Christianity and anti-Semitism.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px; ">Anti-Semitism is <a href="http://www.jewishjournal.com/nation_world/article/obama_vows_to_combat_anti-semitism_scourge_20110202/">known </a>as the "Scourge that won't go away."</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px; "><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px; ">It is far beyond my time or abilities to explain why <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisemitism">anti-Semitism</a> won't go away. It is just important to note that exists. In many parts of the world (especially Europe and countries with<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabs_and_antisemitism">Arab and/or Muslim majorities</a>, it is rampant. Even in the US, it increased with the economic downturn (which is a typical pattern as it is easier to blame others for problems than to face up to our own responsibility) although it is lower than it once was and is currently much lower than anti-Muslim and anti-Arab bigotry (which is not <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisemitism">anti-Semitism</a> even though Arabs are Semites).</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px; "><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px; ">On college campuses, most anti-Semitism is connected with anti-Israel sentiment and activism. See my previous <a href="http://www.hillel.org/about/news/2010/aug/17aug10_JTAIsrael.htm">blog post</a> about it to learn more of my opinion about it.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px; "><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia; line-height: 22px; font-size: medium; ">I will restate a few things which may not have been clear when I said them before: not all anti-Israel sentiment or activism is anti-Semitic. Even when anti-Israel sentiment is anti-Semitic, it may not be intentional. Anti-Israel rhetoric regularly published in Arab media uses recognized anti-Semitic stereotypes, images, Holocaust denial and more. In a few cases, I have heard students and faculty who grew up in the Middle East use similar stereotypes and images without understanding their meaning or how they are viewed in the US. When I have confronted them about it, they are usually surprised and have always sincerely apologized. I am willing to attribute some of the anti-Semitic stereotypes and imagery in anti-Israel activism to similar lack of understanding (it is possibly more common in non-Arab students involved in activism who follow others' lead).</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia; line-height: 22px; font-size: medium; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px; ">I do want to reiterate that picking on Israel alone (or disproportionately) for its evils while ignoring similar issues elsewhere in the world is anti-Semitism. Those who do it (including many of the people involved in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boycott,_Divestment_and_Sanctions">BDS</a>) don't like it when I say that but that doesn't make it any less true.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px; "><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px; ">The only cure (and I hesitate to use the world since history suggests it can not and will not be cured) is education and open communication. Let this post be part of your education.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px; "><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px; ">As always, I welcome your thoughtful and respectful comments and responses (either publicly or privately).</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px; "><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px; ">Rabbi Bruce</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;">Personal Content Update: I was asked by a college friends what the incidents were in college. One Shabbat morning we arrived to services at the Conservative synagogue to find a large swastika painted on the door (it was the second time that happened). One night while joining Lancaster Theological Seminary Students at a bar-b-q (during the two years I lived there), a white van with no license plates drove the wrong way through the complex. Both the driver and passenger were wearing full Klan Regalia. In retrospect, it was more bigotry than Anti-Semitism. Two incidents happened after I started wearing my Kippah all of the time. In the first, a group of teens yelled at me out of a car while I was crossing the street. Another time, I drove with James to a farmer's market some ways outside of town. While we were shopping at a stall, the proprietor started sharpening a very long knife and saying: "I know about you people." We quickly walked to our car and drove away!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;">General Content Update:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;">This arrive in today's email to members of the New York Board of Rabbis:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal; "><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span ><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Cambria; ">Although the Academy Awards have already been given, I would like to suggest that two more be announced to the </span></span><span ><span style="font-family: Cambria; color: windowtext; ">public.</span></span><span ><span style="font-family: Cambria; "> The first I would call the <i><span style="font-style: italic; ">Best Condemnation by an Actress in a Leading Role</span></i>, and the winner is Natalie Portman for her powerful statement protesting the anti-Semitic diatribe of former-Christian Dior head designer John Galliano. Her remarks reflected her great pride in her people. In an official statement, Ms. Portman said:</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0.5in; "><span ><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Cambria; "> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0.5in; "><span ><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Cambria; ">“I am deeply shocked and disgusted by the video of John Galliano’s comments that surfaced today. In light of this video, and as an individual who is proud to be Jewish, I will not be associated with Mr. Galliano in any way. I hope at the very least, these terrible comments remind us to reflect and act upon combating these still-existing prejudices that are the opposite of all that is beautiful.”</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span ><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Cambria; "> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span ><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Cambria; ">The second award would be the <i><span style="font-style: italic; ">Best Action Taken by a Leading Corporation</span></i>, and the winner is The House of Dior which quickly terminated the employment of John Galliano. We didn’t hear the usual weary defense that the remarks were taken out of context and misinterpreted. The House’s chief executive, Sidney Toledano, who is also Jewish, made the following statement at the beginning of today’s runway show in Paris:</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0.5in; "><span ><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Cambria; "> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0.5in; "><span ><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Cambria; ">“Since its founding by Monsieur Dior, the House of Christian Dior has lived an extraordinary and wonderful story and has had the honor of embodying France’s image, and its values, all around the world. What has happened over the last week has been a terrible and wrenching ordeal to us all. It has been deeply painful to see the Dior name associated with the disgraceful statements attributed to its designer, however brilliant he may be. Such statements are intolerable because of our collective duty to never forget the Holocaust and its victims, and because of the respect for human dignity that is owed to each person and to all peoples. These statements have deeply shocked and saddened all at Dior who give body and soul to their work, and it is particularly painful that they came from someone so admired for his remarkable creative talent.”</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span ><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Cambria; "> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span ><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Cambria; ">Rabbi Charles Klein told me of two expressions often used in the Torah, <i><span style="font-style: italic; ">B’inai Yisrael</span></i> and <i><span style="font-style: italic; ">Bayt Yisrael. </span></i>At the beginning of the Exodus, we would read of the Jews as individuals (<i><span style="font-style: italic; ">B’nai Yisrael</span></i>), but as they formed a bond with their people, they were transformed </span></span><span ><span style="font-family: Cambria; color: windowtext; ">into the House of Israel (<i><span style="font-style: italic; ">Bayt Yisrael)</span></i>.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span ><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Cambria; "> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span ><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Cambria; ">It is most heartening to see people who identify with <i><span style="font-style: italic; ">Bayt Yisrael</span></i> not just on a screen or a runway but in real life.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span ><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Cambria; "> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span ><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Cambria; ">Shabbat Shalom,</span></span></p><div style="border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: windowtext; border-bottom-width: 1.5pt; padding-top: 0in; padding-right: 0in; padding-bottom: 1pt; padding-left: 0in; "><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span ><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Cambria; ">JP</span></span></p></div></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 22px; "><br /></span></span></div>Rabbi Bruce B Seltzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17846297119444706664noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9572437.post-43882891325201350472010-12-02T10:39:00.003-05:002010-12-02T10:42:59.008-05:008 + Songs for ChanukahLike everyone else I know, I didn't figure out everything that needed to happen for Hanukah until getting back from Thanksgiving Break (which for Amherst was quite long).<div>Since I think these songs are fun, and given the lack of time, it made sense to link to last year's <a href="http://rabbibruce.blogspot.com/2009/12/music-for-eight-nights-of-chanukah.html">post</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >Hag Urim Sameach! Have a great festival of lights.</span></div><div>Rabbi Bruce</div>Rabbi Bruce B Seltzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17846297119444706664noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9572437.post-27689032305629523402010-08-30T07:48:00.010-05:002010-08-30T09:10:07.373-05:00Israel Advocacy in a Complicated TimeIn June, an interesting and controversial <a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2010/jun/10/failure-american-jewish-establishment/?pagination=false">essay</a> appeared in the New York Review of Books. Peter Beinart, a professor of Journalism and Political Science at CUNY. It examined trends in Zionism and the American Jewish community in frank language that opened the eyes of the community to trends and issues that have been brought up internally and rarely externally.<div><br /></div><div>The essay starts with the clear divides based on generations (older and younger Jews) and affiliation (Orthodox) in regards to support (or even caring) about Israel. Basically, American Jews in each younger age group have less interest in Israel than the generations that proceed them. The article starts with a description of research conducted by prominent Republican pollster Frank Luntz (whose framing of politics and culture have informed debate in the US for the last two decades). In the groupings of young Jews, Israel often did not come up until it was specifically asked about, with language of "they" instead of "us." Beinart views this divide as having a number of causes: the liberal values American Jews raised their children on, the less liberal stances (especially regarding Israel) of the American Jewish establishment, and the divisions in Israeli society which have led to resurgence of right-wing parties. (I did not do it justice, please read the <a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2010/jun/10/failure-american-jewish-establishment/?pagination=false">article</a> and see the <a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2010/jun/24/failure-american-jewish-establishment-exchange/">response </a>between Beinart and the <a href="http://adl.org/">ADL</a>'s Foxman that followed in the next issue. See also this article in <a href="http://www.commentarymagazine.com/viewarticle.cfm/peter-beinart-and-the-destruction-of-liberal-zionism-15442">Commentary </a>and this one in <a href="http://www.tnr.com/blog/jonathan-chait/75015/reply-peter-beinart">New Republic</a>). Here is a <a href="http://www.brandeis.edu/cmjs/noteworthy/still.connected.html">report of the latest views of American Jews on Israel</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>The last few years have seen anti-Israel activism reach levels rarely seen in my lifetime. I started college during the First Intifada (1987-1993) but anti-Israel sentiment at the time was not that bad (or at least not in retrospect). My first full-time job on campus coincided with the Second Intifada (2000-2005). I worked at Duke at the time, where we faced anti-Israel activists. I remember clearly Ronit, a pro-Israel student, coming to talk to me after the first few anti-Israel protests in September. She was a progressive student leader on campus, involved in all of the issues of that community. Now, her fellow progressive students were standing across from her with hateful, anti-Israel signs. Since Israel was a strong part of Ronit's identity, she read the signs as being anti-Ronit. This personifies some of what Beinart writes about. We also faced a Palestinian leadership that was better organized and more aggressive than anything seen on campus before (An interesting aside appears below)</div><div><br /></div><div>The past few years, anti-Israel sentiment on campus has been much more pronounced than anything I faced as a student or in my first few years as a professional.</div><div>The Boycott, Divestment, Sanction movement does not mince words and is well-organized, web savvy, and compelling. This <a href="http://www.hillel.org/about/news/2010/aug/17aug10_JTAIsrael.htm">article</a> from Hillel describes the training and approach Israel's campus advocates are taking to face the new threats.</div><div><br /></div><div>While I despise the language, approach, and message of the BDS movement--<a href="http://rabbibruce.blogspot.com/2009/10/why-my-zionism-isn-racism.html">which is based on antisemitic ideas even though many of its proponents deny it</a>--I fear that Beinart is correct in describing the generational disillusionment with Israel even if his analysis is flawed. I wonder what the new school year will bring. While I hope for peace, I doubt that we will see much <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/30/world/middleeast/30summit.html?_r=1&ref=world">progress this fall on the political front</a>. I hope we can at least advance talks between the two sides on campus. </div><div><br /></div><div>Rabbi Bruce</div><div>____________________</div><div>The aside I mentioned above: The leader of the Palestinian student group is the son of Sami Al-Arian who was prosecuted for support of terrorism in a notorious case. Al-Arian pleaded guilty after he was acquitted on 9 charges and deadlocked on the other 8. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Arian_Controversy">Wikipedia article about Al-Arian</a> case demonstrates the complexities of anything on the web about Palestine and Israel. See the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Sami_Al-Arian">talk section</a> for details about the case and the Wikipedia entry. I often tell students about a conversation I had with his son Abdullah Al-Arian in which he demonstrated familiarity with any pro-Israel source I had studied. I had far less familarity with the Palestinian sources he mentioned.)</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Rabbi Bruce B Seltzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17846297119444706664noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9572437.post-88034356240803185022010-08-29T18:45:00.003-05:002010-08-29T18:55:29.447-05:00High Holiday Preparation<a href="https://www.amherst.edu/campuslife/deanstudents/new/orientation">Orientation for Amherst Class of '14</a> started today and I have been at Amherst for the last few hours. Welcome to the Pioneer Valley and Amherst College.<div><br /></div><div>I attended a few events and will shortly attend the first Religious Life Event (in Chapin at 8:30pm).</div><div><br /></div><div>Tomorrow night, we have our first Hillel event: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=153878624627543&index=1">Schmooze with the Jews</a>. Other events include Shabbat services and dinner, Sunday Brunch, and fifty or so hours after classes begin Rosh Hashanah services and meals. It will be a busy few weeks.</div><div>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</div><div><br /></div><div>As I meet new students and welcome back old students, I am getting ready for High Holidays by preparing services and organizing meals.</div><div><br /></div><div>I offer the following link to a great series of articles that are helping me think about Tshuvah (the concept of return/repentence that is at the center of the High Holidays). Kathryn Schulz wrote a book that I have been reading (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0061176044?ie=UTF8&tag=slatmaga-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0061176044">Being Wrong--Adventures on the Margins of Error</a>). The book has been followed by a series of interviews about error and being wrong in diverse fields and their lives. This is the description at the bottom of the blog: "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; ">This blog features Q and As in which notable people discuss their relationship to being wrong. You can read past interviews with NASA astronaut-turned-medical-error-guru<a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/thewrongstuff/archive/2010/06/28/risky-business-james-bagian-nasa-astronaut-turned-patient-safety-expert-on-being-wrong.aspx" style="text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(7, 81, 154); outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; ">James Bagian</a>, hedge-fund manager<a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/thewrongstuff/archive/2010/06/21/hoodoos-hedge-funds-and-alibis-victor-niederhoffer-on-being-wrong.aspx" style="text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(7, 81, 154); outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "> Victor Niederhoffer</a>, mountaineer <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/thewrongstuff/archive/2010/06/14/into-thin-error-mountaineer-ed-viesturs-on-making-mistakes.aspx" style="text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(7, 81, 154); outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; ">Ed Viesturs</a>, <i>This American Life</i> host<a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/thewrongstuff/archive/2010/06/07/on-air-and-on-error-this-american-life-s-ira-glass-on-being-wrong.aspx" style="text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(7, 81, 154); outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; "> Ira Glass</a>, celebrity chef <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/thewrongstuff/archive/2010/05/31/eat-your-words-anthony-bourdain-on-being-wrong.aspx" style="text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(7, 81, 154); outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; ">Anthony Bourdain</a>, <i>Sports Illustrated</i> senior writer <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/thewrongstuff/archive/2010/05/23/finally-something-i-know-about-sports-illustrated-writer-joe-posnanski-on-being-wrong.aspx" style="text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(7, 81, 154); outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; ">Joe Posnanski</a>, education scholar and activist <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/thewrongstuff/archive/2010/05/17/diane-ravitch-on-being-wrong.aspx" style="text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(7, 81, 154); outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; ">Diane Ravitch</a>, and criminal defense lawyer and pundit <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/thewrongstuff/archive/2010/05/12/alan-dershowitz-on-being-wrong-part-i-lawyers-pundits-error-and-evil.aspx" style="text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; color: rgb(7, 81, 154); outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; ">Alan Dershowitz</a>." (As it appears August 29th, 2010 at 7:54pm)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; ">Please read them and let me know what you think. Comments are appreciated.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; ">Have a great year,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px;">Rabbi Bruce</span></span></div><div><br /></div>Rabbi Bruce B Seltzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17846297119444706664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9572437.post-48074770258684984122010-08-26T21:12:00.003-05:002010-08-26T21:55:39.100-05:00Park 51, the Pentagon, and IslamophobiaThe <a href="http://www.park51.org/faq.htm">Park51 Community Center</a> (often referred to as a Mosque although that will be an independent non-profit located in the building) is being built in lower Manhattan.<div>It has been approved by the appropriate New York City institutions and has significant support from local leaders (see the P<a href="http://www.park51.org/faq.htm">ark 51 website FAQ's</a> for a list and other important clarifying information). </div><div><br /></div><div>In the last few weeks, there has been a lot of inappropriate opposition to the Mosque, anti-Muslim demonstrations and violence, and a lot of discussion. At first, I didn't see the point of the commotion. It is legal, appropriate, and in no way connected to Ground Zero. When the section of the Pentagon was rebuilt after the 9-11 attack, a non-denominational prayer room was constructed as a memorial to those who died. According to <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/mosque-controversy-skips-pentagon-muslims-gather-911-crash/story?id=11417673">Abc News</a>, it is used for Muslim prayers without any question raised about the appropriateness of that use. <a href="http://www.factcheck.org/2010/08/no-pentagon-mosque/">Factcheck.org</a> confirms that the room is non-denominational, built at the crash site, and used for Muslim prayers among many others.</div><div><br /></div><div>Why is it OK for the United States Government (especially the military) but not OK for Lower Manhattan (even when Community Board approves of it)? Is their any difference except for degree? I think there is a clear symbolic difference due to the number of deaths. For the vast majority of people, 9-11 = World Trade Center and not all three crash sites. I have heard people make a claim that the Pentagon was closest to an actual target (indeed, I raised a similar issue regarding Hamas rockets--the terrorism aspect is the targeting of civilians. If they targeted military bases, it would be a different legal and moral issue). In any case, I do not see any moral issue with building a Muslim community center and Mosque near Ground Zero. If it were at Ground Zero, than it is inappropriate to build a one-religion only prayer location; however, I believe Ground Zero is an excellent location to build an interfaith center or multi-faith chapel (like at the Pentagon). Park51 is not in view of Ground Zero or Ground Zero in view from Park 51 (I take them at their word--again see the organization's <a href="http://www.park51.org/faq.htm">website</a>). The response to 9-11 must be increased tolerance and understanding, not increased vitriol and Islamophobia (see an interesting take on the role of Islamophobia in the Jewish community by my teacher Shaul Magid in <a href="http://zeek.forward.com/articles/116925/">Zeek</a>. This article is worthy of reading, reflection, and discussion. I hope to write about it at length).</div><div><br /></div><div>I applaud Amherst alum and former Hillel leader Joshua Stanton for his leadership of <a href="http://religiousfreedomusa.org/">Religious Freedom USA</a> which is taking a lead in publicizing the challenges to everyone's religious freedom which accompanies oppositions to Park51.<br /><div><br /></div><div>In the end, the protests seem to come from politicians and the media rather than from the families of the victims (although 9-11 qualifies as a national tragedy to which we are all connected). To me, it is clear that it is an attempt to leverage the continued, mistaken <a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/08/why_do_more_people_think_obama.html">view that President Obama is Muslim</a> to drive votes away from the Democrats. I find it fascinating that the same right-wing groups that made a big deal about his connections with Reverend Jeremiah Wright during the election now try to make him out to be Muslim (full disclosure, there are pictures of me with Reverend Wright when he spoke at Amherst MLK Multifaith Service the day before Obama declared his candidacy for President. He was a masterful speaker).<br /><div><div><br /></div></div></div></div><div>I look forward to your reactions and comments. Please remember to be civil.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rabbi Bruce</div>Rabbi Bruce B Seltzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17846297119444706664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9572437.post-72247859242835510492010-08-23T07:20:00.003-05:002010-08-23T07:28:50.638-05:00More Posts Coming SoonLast weekend, we attended our cousin's wedding. At the reception, the groom's father mentioned that I haven't posted much on the blog.<div><br /></div><div>Despite being laid off by Smith College this May (perhaps because of it), this has been a busy summer. </div><div><br /></div><div>Now that school is starting back up, I hope to make more regular blog posts.</div><div><br /></div><div>Since we started the month of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elul">Elul </a>(<a href="http://www.myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Jewish_Holidays/Rosh_Hashanah/High_Holidays/Elul.shtml">the last month before Rosh Hashanah</a>), my thoughts increasingly turn towards the coming year. For the first time in a dozen years, I am not leading <a href="http://www.myjewishlearning.com/holidays/Jewish_Holidays/Rosh_Hashanah.shtml">Rosh Hashanah</a> services (which I previously led at Smith). It will be interesting to see how the holiday experience is different for me sitting with my family during services. I wonder if it will be more or less meaningful to not lead services (especially given that I will not be as prepared for Rosh Hashanah as I had been previous years).</div><div><br /></div><div>This year, Rosh Hashanah falls as early in September given the late date of Labor Day (the Jewish calendar basically follows a 19-year cycle but there are many differences--I am not sure</div><div>how Labor Day is figured out). I will try to follow up with a further post about the Jewish Calendar.</div><div><br /></div><div>Best,</div><div>Rabbi Bruce</div>Rabbi Bruce B Seltzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17846297119444706664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9572437.post-9904564810326074072010-07-12T16:04:00.004-05:002010-07-12T16:09:43.234-05:00Tzelofhad's Daughters - for Anat (Women of the Wall Chair Anat Hoffman arrested at Western Wall) by Abby Caplin<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; "><div><p><span style="font-size: large; ">Tzelofhad's Daughters<br />for Anat<br /><br />The five daughters of Tzelofhad,<br />Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, Tirtzah<br />Strong Bible women, sisters,<br />Stood together, sand between toes,<br />Toe to toe with their male elders,<br />Just in sight of the Promised Land.<br /><br />Our father died and left no sons.<br />Give us our inheritance! they insisted.<br />Moses, confused, did not know what to do,<br />Except to simply ask<br />God, who said,<br />The plea is just!<br />Give them their share!<br />And it was made so.<br />In the Torah, it is written.<br /><br />Now the great great-granddaughters of centuries of<br />Daughters of Tzelofhad, grown women with daughters,<br />And granddaughters of their own<br />Stand before the stones of<br />The Western Wall, what remains of the great Temple.<br />These are Women of the Wall.<br />They tender prayers to God<br />And plead their case.<br />Give us our share, our place before the Wall,<br />To pray freely, as full Jews,<br />This is our inheritance!<br /><br />But those who rule do not ask God what is just,<br />Will not think to listen for<br />God's answer, instead<br />Allow the pitch of chairs,<br />Prayer books ripped from mothers' hands,<br />Allow the din of curses raining down<br />Upon the daughters of the hot desert sands.</span><br /><br />Abby Caplin</p><p>© 2010 Abby Caplin. All rights reserved.</p><p>Here's also a link to the "Silver Thread Ritual," which got posted on Ritualwell.org: <a href="http://www.ritualwell.org/shabbat/shabbatlife/PrimaryObject.2010-05-12.4923" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(42, 93, 176); ">http://www.ritualwell.org/<wbr>shabbat/shabbatlife/<wbr>PrimaryObject.2010-05-12.4923</a><br /><br />Abby Caplin MD, MA<br />Mind-Body Medicine and Counseling<br />415-255-9981<br />San Francisco, CA</p><div><br /></div><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p></div></span>Rabbi Bruce B Seltzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17846297119444706664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9572437.post-16870014030830253732010-07-01T08:54:00.002-05:002010-07-01T09:03:12.721-05:00On A Lighter Note: Few Companies Make Rapping Monkey Songs to Announce Their Purchase--Woot DidI have never used <a href="http://www.woot.com">Woot</a><a href="http:/www.woot.com/"> </a>but I did look at the site once.<div>On this mornings electronic read of the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com">NYTimes</a>, I saw a brief article about <a href="http://www.amazon.com">Amazon </a>buying Woot.</div><div>Amazon keeps purchasing eclectic e-commerce experiments.</div><div>Woot has an interesting corporate culture, so in addition to a funny Q&A by the CEO, they released this <a href="http://www.woot.com/Blog/ViewEntry.aspx?Id=13391">video</a>.</div>Rabbi Bruce B Seltzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17846297119444706664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9572437.post-85038833947465708132010-06-30T11:35:00.003-05:002010-06-30T12:22:55.905-05:00Does Opinion Conflict With Fact or is Economic Development the Future of Peace?During the summer, I have been keeping up with the world by reading the Electronic Digest of the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com">NY Times</a>. Although it doesn't have the entire paper, it is a good start and works reasonably well on my <a href="http://www.android.com/">Android</a>-powered <a href="http://www.motorola.com/consumers/US-EN/Motorola-DROID-US-EN.do?vgnextoid=256875f95f2c3210VgnVCM1000008406b00aRCRD">Droid</a>. <div><br /></div><div>First the bad news:</div><div>This morning, I saw a brief <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/30/world/middleeast/30mideast.html?ref=world">article </a>about a statement made by Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman (I don't write that too often since those words are in themselves quite depressing).</div><div>While holding a joint news conference with Russia's foreign minister in Jerusalem, the Foreign Minister (less depressing to write it that way) said that he can't imagine a Palestinian state by the end of 2012: "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; ">I’m an optimistic person, but there is absolutely no chance of reaching a Palestinian state by 2012,” said the minister, <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/l/avigdor_lieberman/index.html?inline=nyt-per" title="More articles about Avigdor Lieberman." class="meta-per" style="color: rgb(0, 66, 118); text-decoration: underline; ">Avigdor Lieberman</a>. 'One can dream and imagine, but we are far from reaching understandings and an agreement.'"</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">On the surface, this is quite depressing but not surprising. Although the Israeli people did not directly elect Netanyahu or his coalition, they knew what they were getting and haven't pressured for a vote-of-no-confidence. It is interesting that this immigrant to Israel from the former Soviet Union whose electoral base are Soviet-born Jews made this statement with his Russian counterpart. To me, this shows the distance between Netanyahu and Lieberman's policies and those of the Obama administration. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">Now for the good news:</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">In his <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/30/opinion/30friedman.html?ref=opinion">column </a>in the opinion section titled "The Real Palestinian Revolution," Thomas Friedman writes about the growth in the Palestinian economy and the success of the institution and economy-building efforts of Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. While I am not a fan of the economic boycott component of his work, I think Fayyad is taking a page from Israel's success--the Yishuv built up political and economic institutions of a state before they were given political authority. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">It seems that the Palestinian stock market index is the best performing one in the Arab world. More companies have been added recently and the economy is growing. According to Friedman (and he has a lot more contacts and experience about this than I do), previous Palestinian leaders did not want to build an economy or central institutions for fear of aiding the occupation. I am not sure it is only a result of this policy since apart from the Emirates, most of the Arab world has either wasted its oil wealth (GDP is stagnant or fallen over time, unemployment is very high and they have created unsustainable welfare states) or given the vast majority to the ruling elites.*</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">Are these conflicting statements? On one hand, they are but Thomas Friedman does not deny the lack of political progress. He just highlights the success of the Palestinian Authority on building the economy and creating a safe environment for business (their US and European-trained security forces are keeping the piece and encouraging business to open (a few Sundays ago there was a <a href="http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/06/06/travel/06next-1.html?scp=22&sq=Palestinian%20Authority&st=cse">feature </a>on Jericho in the NY Times travel section that provides color to Friedman's opinion). </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">Maybe the buck is supreme and peace will come through the economy. The one problem (which I learned this in an earlier column by Friedman that I can't locate) is that Israel's economy is also improving which decreases their need to make the concessions required for peace.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">Hopefully, the political track will catch up to the economic track. If Friedman is right, the new jobs for Palestinians, competent national institutions, and success of the Palestinian Authority will allow Palestinians to believe that they have a real future for an independent state so they stop supporting Hamas. At the same time, the reduction in terrorism and increase in trade will strengthen Israel's center (does it even have a left any more?) and allow Israel's to elect a government that will bring it a secure and lasting peace.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">Have a great summer. Keep reading and learning. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">____________________________________________________________________</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif;font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px;">* I only found a few sources to back up these claims. <a href="http://www.studentsoftheworld.info/infopays/rank/PIBH2.html">In 2002</a>, only two Arab countries had GDP per capita in the top 20 (above Israel): Qatar and UAE. Malta and Slovenia appear before the next Arab country Saudi Arabia. Additional sources include this piece from WRMEA (probably a pro-Israel think-tank), <a href="http://www.wisegeek.com/which-country-has-the-highest-income-per-capita-in-the-world.htm">wiseGeek</a>, and check out these economic fact sheets on <a href="http://www.gfmag.com/gdp-data-country-reports/250-israel-gdp-country-report.html">Israel </a>and <a href="http://www.gfmag.com/gdp-data-country-reports/186-saudi-arabia-gdp-country-report.html">Saudi Arabia</a> as examples.</span></span></div>Rabbi Bruce B Seltzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17846297119444706664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9572437.post-3982924671459815192010-05-03T14:38:00.004-05:002010-05-03T14:41:19.581-05:00New Local Jewish Blog: A Jew Grows in NohoOur friend, Bil Zarch, just started writing a blog about Jewish life in the Pioneer Valley.<br /><div><a href="http://ajewgrowsinnoho.blogspot.com/">http://ajewgrowsinnoho.blogspot.com/</a></div><div><br /></div><div>I know of one other local Jewish blog (beyond my own which has focused on my work as a Campus Rabbi). I will do some research and update the blog with what I find.</div><div>B'vracha,</div><div>Bruce</div><div><br /></div>Rabbi Bruce B Seltzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17846297119444706664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9572437.post-29542932127586251962010-03-15T16:16:00.003-05:002010-03-15T16:21:48.192-05:00Student Q: Can I use Lactaid on Passover?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; "><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;">Here is a question about using Lactaid milk/pills on Passover. My answers includes a lot of information about why we can eat some foods without Kosher-for-Passover symbols as long as they are Kosher and bought before Passover.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Tahoma, sans-serif;">Since many students have medical issues, are lactose intolerant, or are not that familiar with the rules of Passover, I was given permission to share this with you.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; "><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; ">Rabbi Bruce,</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; ">So I have a few questions regarding food that is kosher for Passover. I've become lactose-intolerant and soy-intolerant in the last year, and know that soy milk isn't kosher for Passover which is fine. I've been trying to research what is kosher and what isn't, but want to get a Conservative rabbi's view on the matter. The Orthodox Union says that lactaid milk is kosher as long as it is bought before Passover, do you think ___ stash of lactaid milk would have been bought beforehand? Is this a stringency or something you would hold to? Are lactaid pills kosher for Passover? The OU said that chewable pills aren't, but are the non-chewable ones? I've never been too stringent about this, but am trying to be more stringent. Thanks for your help!<br />Sincerely, R</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; "><br /></span></div>R,<br />Thanks for writing. First, the only dairy meals we will have will be<br />student-cooked breakfasts in Dawes Kosher K. There will also be some<br />dairy products out at breakfast in Cutter-Ziskind.<br />Do you mind me posting your question and my answer on my blog (w/o<br />your name)? it may interest other students.<br />RB<br /><br />I will start with my answer and then give you an explanation (that has<br />to be fairly long).<br />If you buy Lactaid yourself, you should follow what the OU says. If I<br />buy Lactaid for use of Jewish students, I would do so as well. Smith<br />Kosher dining would do so if it bought milk for Passover (it may buy a<br />small amount but the meals are all meat/pareve). People often forget<br />that Smith is not Jewish and the campus is not a Jewish home (although<br />your room and the Kosher K are considered to be Jewish spaces).<br />Unless you have reason to believe that Lactaid has Chametz (and not<br />potential or accidental Chametz--see below) as an ingredient, then it<br />should be fine for you to drink. I will see what we can do to have<br />enough in advance.<br />Pills often contain non-listed ingredients used to make the shape,<br />capsule, etc. If a pill is important, necessary, etc., I take it on<br />Passover regardless of the ingredient. I would not advise taking<br />vitamins, minerals, unless you have a serious issue that requires it<br />daily. lactaid pills are complicated. If you don't eat dairy, you<br />don't need to have them. Even at most dairy meals, you can avoid it<br />by eating other foods.<br />Do you eat meat, chicken, fish? If not, I can see where you would<br />need dairy for protein. If that is the case, let me know.<br /><br />Let me explain to you why the OU said what they said about Lactaid.<br />First the basics and then the Passover differences. Regarding<br />year-round (ie. non Passover) Kosher items, there is a difference<br />between accidental and intentional mixing of kosher and un-kosher<br />items (kosher meat and pork) or kosher items that are not permitted to<br />mix (such as milk and meat).<br />Any intentional mixing is not permitted. For unintentional mixing,<br />you have to remove anything visible (ie. a visible piece of shrimp in<br />a fish stew) but can use the rest as long as the forbidden is 1/60 or<br />less (remember that in the ancient world they counted in 60ths--we<br />still do for time).<br />We are not allowed to eat, cook, or derive benefit of mixtures of milk<br />and meat. We are allowed to possess it.<br /><br />Regarding Chametz on Passover, the Torah uses the language of removing<br />Chametz from your possession: " by the first day all chametz shall<br />have been removed from your home." This adds a few stringencies to<br />Chametz which does not exist with other non-Kosher foods: in addition<br />to the three prohibitions above, we can not possess it. To accomplish<br />that, one searches for chametz, donates or uses it, puts aside<br />anything not being donated, and then sells the rest to no longer have<br />ownership. In many haggadot, there is a prayer to say during the<br />search for chametz and a different version during the burning. This<br />nullifies any chametz you do not know about, missed, etc. It does not<br />apply to actual chametz you might eat (you can't do this and then have<br />a bagel on Passover) but it applies to non-listed Chametz in items<br />such as milk, sugar, pure juice, etc. If you buy something before<br />Passover and nullify the Chametz (which I usually do for Smith's<br />Jewish community), those items are fine for Passover since any<br />accidental crumbs or unlisted ingredients are nullified. Once<br />Passover begins, we can no longer nullify such items. The sources say<br />Chametz found on Passover is Chametz even to the smallest possible<br />amount imaginable.<br /></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; border-collapse: collapse; ">Rabbi Bruce</span></div>Rabbi Bruce B Seltzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17846297119444706664noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9572437.post-91791277238414459192010-02-01T15:25:00.003-05:002010-02-01T15:36:08.872-05:00First 31 Days, 31 Ideas; Now 28 Days, 28 Ideas<a href="http://danielsieradski.com/about/">Daniel Sieradsky</a> is an interdisciplinary artist and documentarian investigating post-normative forms of Jewish cultural expression. He is Director of Technology for Repair the World, former Director of Digital Media for JTA News and founding publisher of the pioneering blog Jewschool.<br />For January of 2010, he blogged a daily idea for how technology could help the Jewish people in a series <a href="http://31days.tumblr.com/">31 Days, 31 Ideas</a>. It is fascinating reading and I hope to see many of those ideas. Now, he is back as part of a February series (this time with partners <a href="http://jta.org/" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outbound/article/jta.org');">JTA</a> & <a href="http://fundermentalist.com/" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outbound/article/fundermentalist.com');">The Fundermentalist</a>, the <a href="http://forward.com/" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outbound/article/forward.com');">Forward</a> and its <a href="http://blogs.forward.com/sisterhood-blog/" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outbound/article/blogs.forward.com');">Sisterhood Blog</a>, <a href="http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outbound/article/ejewishphilanthropy.com');">eJewish Philanthropy</a>, <a href="http://jewcy.com/" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outbound/article/jewcy.com');">Jewcy</a>, <a href="http://jewschool.com/" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outbound/article/jewschool.com');">Jewschool</a>, the <a href="http://ujc.org/" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outbound/article/ujc.org');">Jewish Federations of North America</a> and <a href="http://31days.tumblr.com/" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outbound/article/31days.tumblr.com');">31 Days, 31 Ideas</a>, a project of Daniel Sieradski) will together publish 28 ideas from 28 Jewish thinkers. I can't wait to see what they come up with. The<a href="http://blogs.jta.org/philanthropy/article/2010/01/31/1010413/idea-1-jewish-media-mashups"> first idea</a> is for Jewish media to cooperate and cross-link, creating Jewish media <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mashup_%28digital%29">mashups</a>.<br /><br />I challenge any of the students (or campus professionals) reading this to try the same thing: come up with a new idea for campus Jewish life each day. If you do, let me know.Rabbi Bruce B Seltzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17846297119444706664noreply@blogger.com0