Tuesday, May 6, 2014

זה היום עשה ה' נגילה ונשמחה בו! Happy Yom Ha'atzmaut

Some Israel Independence Day thoughts I sent out yesterday.

For 2,000 years prior to 1948, despite centuries of Jewish longing and ambition, the State of Israel was an unattainable dream.  We are the generation that, thank God, witnessed the establishment of a Jewish homeland, and tangibly expressing solidarity with Israel is a mitzvah.  (Here are several inspiring videos to set the mood.) 

Jews pray for Zion three times a day every day, and many Jews feel a strong attachment to our homeland.  We all have our own connection to Israel.  It may be a visit, a relative, a friend who made aliya, or even watching a Jerusalem documentary or attending the Celebrate Israel Parade.  Today and tomorrow – Yom HaZikaron (Israel’s Memorial Day) and Yom Ha’atzmut (Israel Independence Day) – are days that cannot just pass us by.  We are obligated to recognize the sacrifice of so many to establish and maintain the State of Israel and give thanks to God and celebrate this miracle in our time.
Dr. Daniel Gordis wrote an article that made me think about what Israel means to me.  He mentioned Yuli Kosharovsky, a Soviet refusenik who died in a tragic accident on the first day of Pesach.  Kosharovsky had little patience for hypocrisy.  When asked why he never became religious, he was said to have replied that nothing turned him off to religion more than watching observant American Jews pray three times daily for God to restore Jews to Zion - while they stayed right where they were in the United States.  He believed people should either mean things, or they shouldn't say them.
Ouch. 
I do not plan to stop praying these words nor is my aliya imminent.  At the same time, though, these words should give us all pause for reflection on these days of commemoration and celebration of the State of Israel.
Moadim l’simcha li’geuah shleimah - Let our celebration of this day be a harbinger for the future complete redemption of the Jewish people!

Friday, March 28, 2014

Some Torah to end the week…

This week, I make my debut in the world of online video Torah commentary. I am featured on Israeli journalist Shmuel Rosner’s “Torah Talk” featured on his blog hosted by the Los Angeles Jewish Journal.

See here for the video.

For a more traditional medium, here is my weekly Taste of Torah sent to the KJ Beginners Program. Shabbat Shalom!

"V'hisgir ha-kohen et ha-nega shiv'at yamim - The kohen shall quarantine the affliction for seven days." (Vayikra/Leviticus 13:4)
This week's Torah portion discusses the Jew who is afflicted with tzara’at because of the sin of lashon ha-ra (evil or inappropriate speech). Rabbi Pinchas Menachem of Piltz explores some of the reasons that the sinner is isolated for seven days. One of the intentions is to ensure that the person will experience one Shabbat during his time of atonement. There is an idea in the Kabbalistic "Sefer Yetzira" that "v'karata la-Shabbat oneg - You shall call the Sabbath a delight." The Hebrew word for affliction (nega) has the same Hebrew letters as delight (oneg). Shabbat has the power to change the "nega" to "oneg" and to help the afflicted individual achieve perspective of what has happened.
One of the most important lessons from the discussion of Lashon Ha-ra and the spiritual affliction of tzara’at is to focus on not only on avoiding the evil speech but to learn how to change our perspective from negative to positive.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

“This is where I belong because there is a Jew in need.” In tribute to Rabbi Avi Weiss

I had the privilege of attending the Yeshivat Chovevei Torah (YCT) dinner on Sunday night honoring Rav Avi and his family. (That’s where I heard Rav Avi’s quote that is in the title of this entry.) I have previously mentioned my admiration and respect for Rav Avi. The dinner was a spirited affair suffused with love.

See here for the video that was shown. It is definitely worth watching. Mamash, a gevalt!

Rabbi Yosef Kanefsky of Los Angeles, a former assistant to Rav Avi, posted the lessons he learned from him. They are well worth learning – whether you’re a rabbi or not.
 (1) No matter what else is going on in the world, in the moment that someone is sharing his or her personal struggles with you, there is nothing else going on in the world. For each person is a world unto himself.
(2) Try your utmost to love everyone. If you can’t, the rabbinate’s probably not for you.
(3) Don’t be afraid to be different. Especially when you are being different in the name of including and embracing those who would otherwise be left out.
(4) A shul is family. And like any family, it has older people, and younger people. Healthy people and sick people. People who are more typically “abled” and people who are in some way disabled (and we are all in some way disabled). People whose Judaic knowledge is strong and people who are just now learning. When you look around shul on a Shabbat morning, it’s got to look like a family.
(5) Not everyone who is ritually observant is religious, and not everyone who is religious is ritually observant. Rabbis need to deeply understand this.
(6) Don’t sit on the bima. That’s not where the Jews are.
(7) It’s (almost) never a bad time for a niggun.
(8) Lifecycle ceremonies are teaching times. They are precious moments when people’s hearts are open in an unusual and wondrous way. Don’t let these moments become mechanical rituals.
(9) It makes no difference whether you’re teaching a class of 3, or giving a sermon in a room of many hundreds. You always give it your all.
(10) Your wife is the most important person in the shul.
Rav Avi: May you be blessed with many more years of good health, together with your family, so Am Yisrael and the entire world can be the beneficiaries of your love and passion.

Friday, March 14, 2014

Whoops! I forgot one more Israel and Purim connection...

While on the subject of Israel and Purim…

See here for a truly inspiring video of IDF soldiers on their way to intercepting the missiles being smuggled by Iran. It was Friday, and our soldiers are singing Shabbat songs. I am not interested in politics. I am not interested in who took the video and maybe it was already Shabbos. These are our soldiers, our heroes. They represent what is glorious about Israel: it is our Jewish state, and it is the place where Judaism and Jewish values meet the real world. That, too, is a message of Purim.

Think about what kind of intelligence was necessary to find out about this missile shipment and intercept. (If the US was involved, great.) It is a story of intrigue, luck, coincidence – kind of like Purim. Of course, the hand of God is in the background here, too.

A story of potential danger to the Jewish people, twists and turns, and Jewish heroes coming to the rescue (singing Jewish songs). I’ll add that to the list of things I celebrate this Sunday.

Happy Purim!

V'nahafoch hu! It's all backwards!

I had been hoping to post more (and I have a few other items in the works), but I wanted to leave you with some Purim thoughts.

Purim is the holiday when the tables turned – v’nahafoch hu, and Haman’s plans were thwarted. The Jews finally/actually caught a break. Having recently attended the AIPAC Policy Conference, I was thinking about how backwards the world is when it comes to Israel. I am not saying Israel is perfect, but take a look around the Middle East. Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, Al Qaeda, and the list goes on. Which other country comes close to Israel when it comes to democracy, freedom of the press, women’s rights, gay rights and others? NONE.

For a few great articles on this double standard, see here for a recent article by Daniel Gordis. A highlight: “To this day, no Palestinian leader will look at their people and say “The Jews, too, are indigenous here. They, too, have a right to a homeland here, so let’s share.’”
See here for what it is like to be a Jew visiting Saudi Arabia.

Wake up world! It’s time for a modern v’nahafoch hu!

Happy Purim!

Friday, February 21, 2014

Time for a Taste of Torah - Vayakhel 2014

Each week, I include a Dvar Torah in my email to the KJ Beginners community. Here is this week’s edition.

“Vayakhel Moshe et kol adat b’nei Yisrael…sheishet yamim tei’aseh melacha u’va-yom ha-sh’vi’i yihyeh lachem kodesh Shabbat shabbaton la-Hashem – Moses assembled the entire assembly of the children of Israel…For six days work may be done, but the seventh day shall be holy for you, a day of complete rest for Hashem.” (Shemot/Exodus 35:1,2)

As the construction of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) commences, Moshe gathers the entire Jewish community and instructs them about the laws of Shabbat. It is an interesting convergence of laws and terms. The Mishkan, the house for Hashem and a place of concentrated holiness, is being built. The entire Jewish people are gathered by Moshe using the Hebrew word for community (kahal). This is deemed the appropriate time for reiterating the laws of Shabbat. What is the connection?

The classic explanation given by our Sages in the Talmud is that, even though the construction of the Mishkan is important, none of the work may be done on Shabbat. (This is the source in the Oral Tradition of the 39 Melachot – forbidden categories of creative activities or work on Shabbat.) This, however, does not explain the strange language to gather all the Jews and the special Hebrew term used. The opening verses of our parsha may also be viewed as a reminder of the three most important aspects of the Jewish religion and how interconnected they are. The Mishkan (or contemporary synagogue) represents sacred space; Shabbat represents Jewish observance and sacred time; and the call to the entire community as a kehilla – united group – represents the sacred community. Judaism requires all three, and all three complement each other.

The interplay between shul, Shabbat, and Jewish community are a great lesson each Shabbat as we gather in shul to learn and grow as Jews. It is essential never to forget how important Jewish community is in shul, on Shabbat, or at any time. It is an even timelier message as Shabbat Across America approaches. In two weeks, each of us has the opportunity to gather together as a holy community in a holy place for a holy experience. Be a part of it and encourage others to be a part of it as well!

For a really great dvar Torah on the power of community, see: Rabbi Jonathan Sacks – “Team Building” He’s always great.

Monday, February 17, 2014

I'm back!

It has been a while, but I am back and hope to be posting a little more regularly.

Below is my recent Shabbat sermon. I had been thinking about counting and community, and community member Howard Blas told me about Jewish Disabilities Awareness Month (JDAM). The light bulb turned on, and the result is the sermon below.



Atone For Your Souls
Ki Tisa 5774 – February 15, 2014
Rabbi Elie Weinstock

            There is a prohibition against counting Jews.

            The Talmud (Yoma 22b) quotes Rabbi Yitzchak who teaches that one may not count Jews for any purpose – even for a mitzvah. It is based on the verse in Hoshea (2:1):
וְהָיָה מִסְפַּר בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל כְּחוֹל הַיָּם אֲשֶׁר לֹא יִמַּד וְלֹא יִסָּפֵר

            Not counting Jews is most relevant when counting Jews for a minyan. To do so, we are instructed to count body parts or to say “not-one” or to use a pasuk with 10 words. When the State of Israel conducted its first census, various halakhic opinions were expressed as to its permissibility. (Those allowing it noted the goal of the census is not to count specific people, rather to gain necessary information.)

As far as issurim go, this prohibition does not seem anchored in the legal realm. It is more of a spiritual concept. Rashi reinforces this reasoning by noting:
שהמנין שולט בו עין הרע והדבר בא עליהם, כמו שמצינו בימי דוד:
We’re worried about the ayin ha-ra. And we have proof that counting Jews leads to calamity. It Shmuel II, chapter 24, King David counts Jews, and a plague leads to the death of 70,000 people. What is the ayin ha-ra and why should it dictate our behavior?

I would like to suggest that there is something wrong when we count Jews. This is the ayin ha-ra to which Rashi refers. It need not be a spiritual danger, rather there is a negative influence or perspective which accompanies counting Jews. There are times when numbers are needed, but counting people can lead to a negative result, an ayin ha-ra. It is this concern that the Torah addresses in the opening verses of parshat Ki Tisa.

יב) כִּי תִשָּׂא אֶת רֹאשׁ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לִפְקֻדֵיהֶם וְנָתְנוּ אִישׁ כֹּפֶר נַפְשׁוֹ לַיקֹוָק בִּפְקֹד אֹתָם וְלֹא יִהְיֶה בָהֶם נֶגֶף בִּפְקֹד אֹתָם:
(טו) הֶעָשִׁיר לֹא יַרְבֶּה וְהַדַּל לֹא יַמְעִיט מִמַּחֲצִית הַשָּׁקֶל לָתֵת אֶת תְּרוּמַת יְקֹוָק לְכַפֵּר עַל נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶם:
(טז) וְלָקַחְתָּ אֶת כֶּסֶף הַכִּפֻּרִים מֵאֵת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְנָתַתָּ אֹתוֹ עַל עֲבֹדַת אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד וְהָיָה לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לְזִכָּרוֹן לִפְנֵי יְקֹוָק לְכַפֵּר עַל נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶם:

            Why is there such an emphasis on kaparah? The simple explanation is to atone for and avoid the sin of counting Jews. But why the repeated mention of and noticeable emphasis on kaparah? The term kaparah is usually associated with atonement as on Yom Kippur. Kaparah involves a correction. Repenting for our sins leads to kaparah. At the same time, kaparah can also mean redemption (c.f. Ba’al Ha-Turim), to change course or to look beyond what is right in front of us. The kaparah achieved by the half-shekel method of counting helps us avoid pitfalls inherent in counting. It guides us towards a proper appreciation of what it means to count and be counted and how we look at the totality of the Jewish people. We need to be concerned with how individuals view their role as part of the community, who we include in counting the community, and the strength and challenges of a broad community. Achieving these outcomes when counting Jews provides 3 kaparot, 3 important lessons on how we view our individual roles and the concept of community.

            There is the kaparah for the individual who must realize the need to become part of the whole. At times, the individual may not want to ally her/himself with the community. Some may feel that their individual talent or viewpoint does not fit into the whole. Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch teaches that the half-shekel contribution reminds the individual - as talented as s/he is – does not really “count” without contributing to the whole. When we count Jews with the half-shekel coin instead of counting each person individually, we create a framework that posits a value in everyone seeing themselves as part of the whole. The capacity for community is far greater than the sum of its individuals and each person must recognize their true value as being part of the whole – whether they like it or not. This is an important kaparah, correction in the individual’s perspective.

            There is the kaparah for the community to recognize the value of each individual. When we look to create community, there are people who are easily overlooked. It is like the game of kick-ball in school. Someone is bound to be chosen last. That hurts – and needs to be addressed. Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, teaches:
People differ in their intellect, character, and talents, in the quantity of their material resources and the timbre of the spiritual sensitivities. But all are equal in the very basis of their bond with God.
 He-ashir lo yarbeh v’ha-dal lo yam’it. Each individual contributes equally to strees the importance that everyone counts.

            February is Jewish Disability Awareness Month (JDAM). It is an initiative bringing together federations, synagogues, and other Jewish organizations to raise awareness and support efforts to foster inclusion of people with disabilities and their families in Jewish communities worldwide.  How many people have heard about it? I had never heard of the initiative until a community parent and educator, Howard Blas, told me about it. Like so many important issues, it is something we implicitly endorse but easily and innocently ignore. JDAM was created to put the need to include everyone on our radar screens, and we need these reminders. There are people who are easily overlooked. Think of the people you don’t see often. Think of people who are unfamiliar. They count. The half-shekel method of counting so as to include everyone is a kaparah – a mandate to make sure not to leave anyone out of the community.

            The kaparah of the half-shekel directs the individual to associate with the greater community, and it reminds the community to include each and every individual within the count. There is also a kaparah for the community to recognize that it is strong enough to include the disparate individuals and ideas contained within it.

            Rabbi Shlomo Ephraim Lunschitz, the Keli Yakar, writes that we assign numbers and count things of value. If it doesn’t matter, we don’t count it. Ki kol mispar moreh al ha-ma’alah ha-peratit she-yesih l’kol ish va-ish. While we don’t count individuals, we can’t just ignore the fact that our collective contains many unique talents, perspectives, and voices. We know this is true. When you have two individual Jews, there are, at least, three opinions. We can’t let differences prevent us from maintaining as broad a community as possible.

            The Jewish people are an amalgam. In fact, the Hebrew word for congregation, Tzibur, is homiletically interpreted as the acronym for Tzadikim, Beinonim and Reshaim (righteous, average and wicked). In the 19th century, there were some religious leaders who raised the idea of separating from the sinners in order to create exclusively Torah-observant communities. Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin (known as the Netziv) sharply criticized this idea. He wrote: (Meshiv Davar I:64):
The author suggests that the only way to remain vigilant is to separate (from those who are bad influences) the same way Abraham separated from Lot. With all due respect for the author, this suggestion is a sharp sword in the heart of the Jewish people and its continued existence.

The Jewish people must remain a nation of all Jews. Rav Avraham Yitzchak Kook, the first Chief Rabbi in Israel and a disciple of the Netziv, writes similarly (Kovetz Yesod Mishpat):
[T]o decide that sinners are not part of Klal Yisrael, and that the nation includes only the good and righteous – this is the path of heresy…it is a wrong opinion that is forbidden to enter Am Yisrael…

I fear the issue of separation and fragmentation is back with a vengeance. You know the issues, and you have heard many of them discussed from the KJ pulpit, in the Jewish press, and in our community. In Modern Orthodoxy, there are differences of opinion concerning Open Orthodoxy, Partnership Minyanim, women wearing tefillin, conversion, and the role of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate. More broadly in the Jewish community, there are voices who wish how to give up the fight against intermarriage or to circle the wagons and ignore those who seem to be leaving the community at an alarming rate. There are disagreements about what it means to support Israel. Recently, a number of Jewish leaders (including New York City rabbis) said those who support AIPAC are right-wing fanatics. It may be tempting to draw the lines of community to encompass only “the righteous” or like-minded people, but we cannot. If when we count, the community matters more than the individual, those who are “outside the pale” of tradition or communal consensus should be written off.

This mindset requires a kaparah, and we cannot let our focus on the collective cause us to ignore the individual voices that are out there even if they differ from what we feel is correct. It is not easy to do. Ultimately, we are a strong nation because of our diversity and disparate personalities.

The half-shekel method of counting is a mitzvah, and it is a kaparah. It helps us properly understand the responsibility of the individual to be part of the community. It reminds the community to include those who are easily left out of the count, and it calls for a definition of community that is strong enough to include those who may differ.

We don’t count Jews, but each and every Jew – individually and as part of a broad Jewish community - counts.

Monday, January 27, 2014

Not going to talk about girls and tefillin…

I think this excerpt from Rabbi Dov Linzer’s Dvar Torah for Parshat Mishpatim provides much food for thought (including how we approach the topic I am not writing about):

And so it is for the halakhic process. Without an a priori commitment to submit to God’s will, a person may read his own values into the halakha, may force the halakha to say something that is true to his values but false to the Torah’s values, or the Torah’s laws. But if one starts with a disposition of submission, then, says Sfat Emet, they can truly partner with God, for God gave the Children of Israel the ability for their words to have the power to be part of the reasons of the Torah, just like God’s words… And this is the idea of the Oral Law: that the Children of Israel merit to innovate those things that were carved out before God.

We play a role in interpreting and applying halakha. If we come to impose our will on the halakha, then we do violence to the system and we are working in opposition to God. If, however, we come to let the halakha guide us, to be led by the mitzvot and their reasons, then we can be part of the process, we can be part of discovering what those reasons are. We can engage those reasons in interpreting the halakha without the fear that we will overstep, that we will abuse this privilege.

Our voice will matter, because it is God’s voice that matters most. If we start with na’aseh, we can reach the level of nishma. We can live a religious life brit in its fullest sense: a life of Torah observance and a life of Torah values. A life guided by God’s law, and a life in an ongoing relationship with God.

Pirkei Avot (2:4) teaches: Aseh retzono ki’retzonecha…u’vateil retzonecha mipnei retzono – Make God’s will match your will…Set aside your will for the sake of His will…

Living Jewish lives means living lives of being commanded by God. With that as a guiding principle and within this framework, we go forth to meet the challenges of the day.

Pretty complicated, yes?

(And if you want to read about girls and tefillin, just Google the topic.)

Friday, January 10, 2014

Shabbat Shalom! Some week-ending thoughts

Some thoughts to stimulate your thinking over Shabbat.
1.  Dr. Daniel Gordis is a terrific writer and thinker. His recent piece in the Jewish Review of Books (see it at http://bit.ly/KJu9zT) was a response to those who responded to his analysis of the Conservative movement. Very Just Judaism in tone. I strongly encourage reading the whole article, but here are some of my favorite parts:
What all this suggests, though many Orthodox rabbis will publicly deny it, is that a large percentage of Modern Orthodox Jews are not theologically Orthodox; “revelation” and “commandment” are key words in the lexicon of their communities, but not so deep down, they’re motivated as much by sociology as theology.  When the daughter of a childhood friend of mine recently married, she bought a sheitel, a wig, in order to keep her hair covered at all times. This would have been unimaginable in the crowd in which we grew up. When I asked her mother where the kids were heading for their honeymoon, she mentioned a place where I knew there was no kosher food. How were they doing that, I gently inquired? When they’re away, they eat in non-kosher restaurants, she told me.

Halakhically, eating out in such restaurants is far more problematic than not wearing a sheitel (which many would claim is not necessary at all). But intellectual consistency, the celebrated hallmark of Conservative Judaism, is not what these young people are seeking. What they want is meaning, community, closeness, and a sense of striving (incidentally, that’s what their non-Orthodox peers seek too). They have found these things in a halakhically demanding universe. And, although some of my interlocutors would scoff at their way of life, the fact is that it works.

In that community, the Jewish calendar is the metronome of life; they have homes infused with much more ritual, they learn more Torah, they intermarry much less, they visit Israel more often than their Conservative and Reform peers. They sing together and daven (which is not the same thing as worshipping) together. The best of them (not all, not enough) read just as much, think as broadly, and are as fully engaged in the modern world as their non-Orthodox counterparts, despite the intellectual tensions.

Many of the women among them find the opportunities for high-level Talmud study—opportunities that their mothers did not have—a profound indication that even in Modern Orthodoxy, feminism is alive and well. Pace Professor Judith Hauptman, most of them don’t need “ritual egalitarianism” to feel that they matter. Those who do, leave. That is what is wonderful about the American Jewish spiritual marketplace. (For the record, despite Dorff’s intentionally misleading suggestion to the contrary, nothing in my original article can fairly be construed as an endorsement of Orthodoxy.)

Minhag k’lal yisrael works, but it’s working for Modern Orthodoxy—because Orthodoxy was never afraid of cognitive dissonance. Does it help that Orthodox rabbis still speak in theological terms? Yes, it does, and that would have been challenging for Conservative rabbis. It may not have worked even had we tried; there is something powerful about the theological certainty that is elusive for most of the lettered class, and that is undoubtedly the reason that Pew shows Modern Orthodoxy struggling now too.

I do not see these elements as the basis for a movement, Capital-C Conservative or otherwise. The world of intellectual openness coupled to halakhic rigor is hard, which is precisely why what is called for is not robotically soldiering on, but seeking new partners and new ideas as we seek to teach and inspire American Jews. One possibility worth trying is a broad coalition of people who disagree strongly about matters of Jewish law and might not even be able to pray together, but who nonetheless become partners in articulating forcefully the necessity of these three elements, even as they go about implementing them in radically different ways.

This coalition could include the most intellectually courageous Modern Orthodox rabbis (including, but not limited to, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah and its “open Orthodoxy”). It will include the “socially Orthodox” along with the world of www.thetorah.com in which mostly Orthodox rabbis wrestle with the challenges of biblical criticism. It will include non-denominational institutions like Yeshivat Hadar and Pardes, along with the more serious Conservative rabbis and their communities. It will evoke the commitments of Magen Tzedek, the Conservative movement’s attempt to make kashrut a moral enterprise, more liberal communities like Ikar in Los Angeles and Reform rabbis who are also committed to the necessity of ritual and the centrality of study.  Such a broad coalition might succeed where movements have failed; they could change the face of Jewish life in America by banding together even in the face of all their principled differences, precisely because Pew shows that time is running out.


2.  Daniel Gordis postscript – What if Israel Were a Jewish State? http://bit.ly/1gpN6lL We Jews have our work cut out for us.


3.  Can Jewish law get its creativity back? I sure hope so! That is the title of a Mosaic essay by the talented (and Ramaz alum) Joshua Berman. See here.


4.  The Torah portions of the Exodus are full of miracles. The stated goal is for God to be recognized by the Children of Israel and the world. Sometimes the miracles seem completely unbelievable. That’s what makes them miracles. To end on a humorous note:

A student at the Hebrew University was noticeably affected while reading the Bible. When his professor inquired about what had so aroused his enthusiasm, the young man replied that it was the story of the parting of the Red Sea. The professor, who was not Torah-observant, told the young student to relax, because, according to the scientists, the Red Sea at that time was, at most, ten centimeters deep. A few minutes later, the young student became even more enthusiastic about what he was reading, and again the professor asked for the reason. The student replied, “What a great God we have. He was able to drown the entire Egyptian army in just ten centimeters of water!”
-          Story by R. Nachman Kahana, posted here.

Monday, January 6, 2014

We should all be as Orthodox as Rabbi Avi Weiss

I know I said I didn’t want to spend time on this issue, but what is a blog for if not to put out some of things I am thinking, saying, or writing? Here is the email Rabbi Haskel Lookstein and I sent to the KJ community entitled “We should all be as Orthodox as Rabbi Avi Weiss.” It is basically the same as my previous post, but here you go:

Dear KJ Family,

Recently, there has been a lot of press about the Israeli Chief Rabbinate's questioning the status of Rabbi Avi Weiss as an Orthodox Rabbi and his reliability as a validator of someone's Jewish identity.  You can read about the issue here and see statements in support of Rav Avi here

It is unfortunate that time and energy are being spent on an issue that generates more heat than light.  We will only say one thing (that shouldn't need to be said): Rabbi Avi Weiss is an Orthodox rabbi, a great Jewish leader, and a very special menschIf all Orthodox rabbis were like him, we wouldn't be wasting time on an issue like this. We don't agree with everything he does, nor do we expect him to agree with everything we do. To question his commitment and reliability as a rav, however, is a new low.

There are real issues that require our attention.  We can all identify something more important on which to spend our time and energy.  Let's do so.

Haskel Lookstein           Elie Weinstock              

Friday, January 3, 2014

It is a privilege to be a colleague of Rabbi Avi Weiss

I really don’t want to write about any of this.

You may have seen the latest brouhaha regarding the Chief Rabbinate’s misguided questioning of Rabbi Avi Weiss. If not, here are a few articles:

Yeshivat Chovevei Torah felt it reached the point that a response was needed and issued this:

I am sure we’ll now also see (if we care to waste more time on this) opinions about why the Chief Rabbinate is right to question people with “liberal” views that are “outside the mainstream,” and this is not just about Rav Avi. All rabbis should be vetted, etc. Blah, blah, blah.

Once again, more light than heat. Is this really necessary? Let’s move on, people! I am sure everyone can identify one agenda item more important than this. PLEASE DO SO!

As for me, Rav Avi is a Jewish hero. I don’t agree with everything he does nor do I expect him to agree with everything I do. But to question his commitment? This is a new low.