The False Blessing of J Street

    Sitting here in Jerusalem, overlooking the Temple Mount, I am watching the proceedings of the J Street Conference (10-26-09).  It is a combination of shock and awe that I watch these assimilated middle-aged Jews in their "deep concern" for Israel.  The ignorance and audacity of these people is best summarized by the article by M.J. Rosenberg.  Here Rosenberg suggests that we make a bracha l-vatalla-a blessing a vain.  Cleverly he uses the blessing "shehecheyanu"-He who has kept us alive to witness this moment.  What moment are we witnessing?  Female "rabbis" telling the world that Israel is "occupying" its own country!  No thanks, M.J., we don't need your false blessings!

Praying At J Street

By M.J. Rosenberg - October 26, 2009, 1:33PM

I don't know what did it.
Sure Jeremy Ben Ami worked for two years to get to this moment, and then assembled a terrific team. Obama helped. So did the disastrous Gaza war and its ugly aftermath. And then the haters piled on, only causing hundreds of people to sign up for the conference at the last minute. (I stood on line to get my credentials behind a mob that didn't sign up in advance at all).

One woman said, "We're from New York and don't do 'conferences.' But then we saw that e-mail from that settler who condemned J Street for accepting a contribution from an Arab-American girl and had to come."

There are many more people in attendance than J Street expected. All the last-minute folks have made it impossible to get into the sessions unless you push your way in early. I heard that Ben Ami expected a thousand but it's looking more like 1700-2000.

I gave my seat in one session to one very old man. He grabbed my hand. "These are the Jews I've been waiting for since 1967. Actually, I feel like I've been waiting for them since the Balfour Declaration. I feel like saying a sheheceyanu." That is the prayer thanking God for letting us live to see the day.

And, although I am not a praying man, I said, "let's say it." And we did Quietly.
"Baruch ata adonai elohenu melech ha olam, shehecheyanu, v'kiyimanu, v'higiyanu laz'man hazeh.

Blessed are You Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe who has given us life, sustained us, and allowed us to live to see this day."

Amen.

Mondolies: "Why I Am Secretly For Intermarriage"

    

I don't like to make a habit of quoting entire article from the people I satire on this blog.  However, I could help but take note of the following article from anti-Israel blogger Philip Weiss:

why I am secretly for intermarriage, though I shouldn’t proselytize

by Philip Weiss on May 9, 2009 · 42 comments

My wife and I went to a party last night. Cocktails–a foreign concept to me, growing up. It was called for 6 and as we drove we listened to All Things Considered. Robert Siegel was discussing political developments with David Brooks and, filling in for E.J. Dionne, Harold Meyerson of the American Prospect and Washington Post. As I listened, I thought, Boy these guys are smart. How do they know so much about so many different areas?
We came to a red light and the segmented ended. I was stuck in thought. My wife said, "What are you thinking?"
"Well I feel guilty about this, but you asked, and this is what I was thinking. They just had their political roundtable and I just thought, Why are there three Jews on there? A very important task, explaining events, and there's no diversity. Then I reflected that when I had the opportunity to expand my blog, I chose another Jew, Adam Horowitz. Obviously I feel some comfort with Jews. And just this week I made recommendations of young journalists to editors I know. Both of them were Jewish. I know there are really good young non-Jewish journalists but it's not as if I don't have prejudice in favor of my own tribe. This book I'm reading speaks of professional kinship networks, and I realize I'm in one myself, have been since college."
My wife said, "I do the opposite. Sometimes I think that working with X, it would be a lot easier. She's a WASP and we understand all the cues and manners, and it makes working with her easier. But I realize I clubbed that out of myself. Though you could say that M and I (the latest person she's working with, half-Jewish) are in the same tribe, of flakey arty types."
I said, "I think this is why I'm for intermarriage, without pushing it on people. I think it's a good thing, it breaks up some of these networks. Because when the networks are associated with social power, they're much more problematic."
Then we went to the party.

    It looks like Silverstein's spiritual brother is more honest than he is.  He doesn't pretend to be Everyman.  No, Philip Weiss is just another lost Jew campaigning for his new religion-Tikun Olam.  Meanwhile he has no understanding of Judaism, nor does he want to.  Yet-he thinks of himself as an educated man, with a degree in PBS!

Idiot Update

    When I was in yeshiva, I remember there were many English speaking students who came from "conservative" backgrounds.  For one reason or another, they felt it necessarily to "make tsuvah," or to repent and come back to Torah Judaism.  However, over the years, after having interacted with more Jews from non-"Orthodox" backgrounds, I now understand some of the strange views that some of them held.
    Recently I came across a site posted by Barnaby Yeh, who, ironically was one of the first individuals I covered in Taming Korach.  His on-line journal assamite36 list a collection of the likes and dislikes of a liberal's champion. 
    Barnaby (and Silverstein) originally pegged me as a kind of Southern conservative Bible-Belt type.  Defying all stereotypes, I started Taming Korach.  Having recently come across Barnaby's online opinions, it jogged my memory.  Now I realize, as someone who stepped into a Conservative synagogue one time (before I was a Jew) in my life, where people like Barnaby learn their hatred for "Orthodox" or Torah Judaism and Israel.
    Looking below at the words I have boxed in red (click on the picture), being conservative means being "anti-haredi." 

Now, if you've read previous postings, you'll remember Yeh's sarcasm towards the Torah world:

B.BarNavi:
Tigers do not change their stripes, and if he came from an ultra-conservative Virginian background, he’d find a home in the black-hat world.

This is the same "conservative convert" who is giving me (and others) mussar (moral chastisement) about how to be a Jew!  He is also "anti-aish."  Ironically, the Rabbi at the Orthodox synagogue he sometimes attends, sends his kids to Aish Ha-Torah.  This is simply his blind hatred towards Aish for supporting The Clarion Fund-probably a bias Barnaby picked up from his mentor in Israel-hate, Richard Silverstein.  Another testimony to Barnaby's stupidity is that Matisyahu is a baal-tsuvah and is "haredi" himself.
    Of course the profile of a would-be liberal American Jew wouldn't be complete unless:

-it lists anti-nazism (and traditionalists aren't).
-it mentions Shlomo Carlebach.  Carlebach is the accepted-by-all Jewish entertainer. 
-it mentions the word Torah.  Apparently Barnaby doesn't like Torah enough to capitalize it-or to remove all of the vulgarity and profanity from his "journal."

    Finally, I'd like to point out that Jon Stewart (Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz), who Yeh describes as "my President, but also my Secretary of State and UN Secretary General," studied at  the College of William and Mary-in Virginia.  So, his hero, like Yeh himself, was schooled by Virginia!

From Jews To Christians

    The following Jerusalem Post article is very timely.  I friend from college told me this past week that his 37 year old sister married a non-Jew.  They went to a Conservative synagogue, but I think it makes no difference-both "movements" were a rebellion against Torah Judaism, and not we see the consequences!

Yishai: Reform US Judaism assimilating

Interior Minister Eli Yishai on Thursday accused Reform Judaism of assimilating.

Interior Minister Eli Yishai.
Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski [file]

"Look at what's happening with the reform because of assimilation. They're disappearing," Yishai said to a chorus of boos in a speech at the presidential Facing Tomorrow conference at Jerusalem's International Convention Center. "Those are merely the figures that I have received. I'm not making it up. There's huge assimilation and it's very severe. We're losing the Jewish people in the US."

Yishai called for the rapid immigration of Jews from the US and elsewhere in the Diaspora to prevent more assimilation.

When asked whether a Reform or Conservative Israeli chief rabbi should be appointed, Yishai answered, "In essence, in the halachic framework, there are a series of leniencies… but we cannot break the rules and the values that have been here for years, destroy them and make new ones that cause assimilation. Instead of preserving those values, it will lead to doubled assimilation."

The Writing of Torah Shebal Peh (the Oral Law)

Many Jews that I have talked to are quite confused regarding the history and purpose of the "Oral Law" (Mishna, Gemara, ect).  I am posting this Torah Lab article in order to clarify this issue.

The Writing of Torah Shebal Peh (the Oral Law)

Based on Halichos Olam
Torah Shebal Peh is not allowed to be written down (Gittin 60b)

The reason for this is that this ensures an accurate transmission from generation to generation because one will have to study from a master who will ensure that he is understood correctly. (Ritva Ibid).

Rabbeinu HaKadosh (also known as Rebbi and Rav Yehuda Hanasi) (165-220CE) lived in the last generation of Tannaic scholars, and realized that due to the series of tyrannical rulers over Israel, and the laws and edicts forbidding Torah study, Torah Shebal Peh was being forgotten.
 
Due to Rebbi’s unique relationship with Antoninus, the Roman Emporer, there was a brief respite from the Jews troubles. Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi took advantage of the opportunity to, with the agreement of his contemporaries, convene a meeting of all the receivers of the mesorah of the Oral Law. They all recalled their teachings and it was written down and organized by Rebbi.

This work, known as the Mishnah (literally review) included anything that was transmitted from Moshe Rabbeinu on Mt Sinai and all their practical applications and disputes in theory practical applications. It also included later edicts, rules and safeguards that were enacted by the Rabbis.

The Mishna has six sections:
a) Zeraim – deals with the laws of agriculture
b) Moed – deals with calendrical events
c) Nashim – laws of marriage, divorce, levirate marriage and other marriage and vow related issues
d) Nezikin – laws of damages and monetary law
e) Kodshim – laws of sacrifices and other Temple related laws
f) Taharos – laws of Ritual purity and impurity

As the Mishnayos were typically precisely worded and cryptic, several of Rebbi’s students wrote parallel texts explaining the Mishanayos with additional reasoning and textual sourcing. These are known as Braisos or Tosefta.

Several generations later, a need was once again established to write down the Torah Shebal Peh by Rav Ashi, this time with much more detail and in greater length. This work, known as the ‘Gemara’, is based on the Mishnah but is an all-encompassing work and much broader in scope than the Mishnah.

The Gemara, or Talmud, has four objectives:

1) To fully explain the Mishnayos in their entirety and to add any additional dialogue that may have postdated the Mishna. To this end, the Gemara will often bring in Braisos to help elucidate the Mishnayos.
2) To issue a definitive ruling in the case of a dispute
3) To add any gezeiros or edicts that had been issued since the Mishna
4) To add various moral and ethical lessons to the masoretic tradition

This work was largely done by Rav Ashi in two editions (Baba Basra 157b) it was then added to very minutely by the Rabanan Sovrai, at which point (498CE) it was closed to further annotations.

For a more over-arching view of Torah Shebal Peh please read Rabbi Fink’s excellent article. Make sure to read the comments as well.

Israeli Doctors Barred From Conference In Egypt

Here is a message from Z Street founder Lori Marcus:

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Lori Lowenthal Marcus <lorilowenthalmarcus@yahoo.com >
To: BCasey@komen.org
Sent: Wed, October 21, 2009 1:59:11 PM
Subject: BC conference in Egypt

Ms. Casey,

I was dismayed when I heard that Israeli doctors were barred from attending the Susan G. Komen conference in Egypt.  I understand that it was the government of Egypt and not Komen that banned them, but you must realize that allowing such discrimination sets a terrible precedent.  I cannot imagine that any organization in the world - and I hope there are none - would allow the barring of Blacks or Muslims or Lebanese, etc. to take place under their name.

Having seen emails in which you explain why you chose to go forward and given that the conference is already underway, I have a suggestion.  The foundation should make a statement, both written and oral, in which it deplores the banning of the Israeli doctors and expresses the intent of the foundation to hold another conference in Israel.  This conference has already been politicized in a reprehensible way, regardless of the role you have played.  

Please at least address the issue in a forthright way, one that makes clear that the Susan G. Komen For the Cure truly supports "cooperation" and inclusion, and did not intend to be a tacit endorser of racism and discrimination.

Most sincerely,

Lori Lowenthal Marcus

Philadelphia, PA  USA

Breast Cancer Survivor

--
Lori Lowenthal Marcus
Philadelphia, PA  USA
http://ziostreet.wordpress.com

Lori Lowenthal Marcus
Z STREET co-founder
http://ziostreet.wordpress.com

National Securiy Advisor Gen. James Jones And J Street

AMERICANS IN ISRAEL CALL UPON PRESIDENT OBAMA TO RESTRAIN U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR GEN. JAMES JONES FROM APPEARING AT J STREET CONFERENCE 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - OCTOBER 21, 2009

For more information, contact  Aaron Tirschwell  aaron@aiacoalition.org  

 

The American Israeli Action Coalition (AIAC) today urged U.S. President Obama to direct his National Security Advisor General James Jones not to appear at J Street’s conference scheduled to be held in Washington DC next week. J Street had previously announced that General Jones will be the conference’s keynote speaker. 

 

AIAC is a non-partisan, non-political, issue-oriented NGO which was formed in Israel to represent the united voice of the more than 250,000 American citizens living in Israel on issues pertaining to the continued safety and security of Israel and the Jewish people worldwide. 

 

AIAC Chairman Harvey Schwartz stated: "Although J Street describes itself as a 'pro-Israel' organization, the American-Israeli community is well aware  of the truth: that J Street is a far left, radical, anti-Israel group, at least partially funded by Arab and Moslem sources, whose purpose is to undermine the safety, security and continued vitality of the State of Israel. Accordingly, the overwhelming majority of the American-Israeli community views any supporters or expeditors of J Street as unfriendly to them, the State of Israel and, indeed, the Jewish community living in the United States.” 

 

“Numerous U.S. Senators and Congressmen, upon becoming apprised of the truth about J Street and the strong anti-J Street views of the American-Israeli community, as well as those of the Israeli government and a large majority of America's Jewish population, have already withdrawn their consent to appear at this conference,” Schwartz continued.  “The American-Israeli community--in the strongest possible terms--- urges President Obama to direct General Jones to do the same.  Indeed, the appearance at the conference of any U.S. government official will be viewed as a most unfriendly act and an impediment to peace, not only by the American-Israeli community but by worldwide Jewry as well.” 

 

AIAC urges the Obama administration to do the right thing in this instance. 

 

AIAC is devoted to effectively recruiting and activating the more than 250,000 expatriate American citizens in Israel in order to create a united voice that will be heard by the governments and people of the United States and Israel on issues that pertain to the continued safety and security of Israel and the Jewish people worldwide.