I love Rosh Hashana. The music. The gathering of the community. The opportunities for connecting deeply with people at services and in conversations during the day.
I wonder sometimes what it's like to be at other congregations. So, in what was likely an ill-advised moment today, I took a quick online tour of some Reform temples' websites. What struck me was the fear and negativity on the subject of Israel.
One temple offers hyperlinks to "Israel news" sources such as the partisan Debka files. Under "Palestinian media" this synagogue offers a link to a Jewish-Israeli site that documents Palestinian media critical of Israel.
Hatred and fear.
This synagogue offers is no credible Palestinian source, but plenty of rightwing Jewish sources.
Another temple's website features their rabbi's blog on their homepage. In this week's missive, the rabbi offers a succinct attack on the Palestinian bid for statehood. To summarize:
If the Palestinians win a state - the result will be violence (I presume against Jews. Violence against Palestinians hardly qualifies as news).
And if the Palestinians lose - well, that too will lead to violence.
Whatever the outcome of the Palestinians' intitiative, Israel will suffer. So, let's all be terrified of the Palestinians' honest desire for self-determination. Yea for victimhood!
What is deplorable about these attitudes is how normative they are. Even supporters of peace and justice in Israel/Palestine are expected - and do - live with their synagogues and clergy fomenting hatred for and fear of the Palestinians.
Traditionally, on Rosh Hashana you are not supposed to take a daytime nap. But let me daydream for a moment....
Imagine if the norm was that Jewish leadership took the opposite view. Synagogues praised the courage of this peaceful bid for membership at the UN. Jewish leaders expressed excitement at the unfolding of the Palestinian quest for statehood. Synagogues websites offered credible Palestinian and Jewish viewpoints that presented a vision of hope and a just peace for both sides...the promise that Palestinian statehood holds for Israeli Jews.
May the passing year be the end of a culture of fear
and the new year herald solidarity and a vision for a just and sustainable future
May the passing year see the end of Israeli intransigence
and the new year be one of Jewish pride in the peaceful agenda of the State of Israel
May the passing year see the end of a Jewish identity bound up in erecting walls of mistrust
and the the new year be one of understanding our power and using that power to stand in solidarity with the downtrodden and oppressed
May the passing year see the end of the domination of hatred and fear in the American Jewish community
and the new year see a Jewish community that welcomes voices of peace and justice...for Israel, Palestine, for the United States and for the whole world.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
An Israeli Wake-Up Call
Israel is waking up. Rabbi Donniel Hartman of Jerusalem's Hartman Institute issues a call for Israelis to engage with the Palestinian bid for statehood. Hartman declares the Abbas UN bid a game changer. Israel needs to step into its own power and deal with the new reality.
Of course, Hartman couches his call for a reappraisal of Zionist aspirations in classic Zionist language. It is the sovereignty of the State of Israel that changed the course of Jewish history - not the unprecedented success of American Jews or the changing attitudes of the world; the only time he relates to the Jewish community is as a forum for complaining - Israel is the source of strength; Jews get together to complain and so on an so forth.
But this is just the language he uses. The content is a brave call for Israelis to engage with their Palestinian neighbors. Hartman has previously spoken out in support for Arab self-determination such as his clear support of the Arab spring (Hebrew). This was at a time when the Israeli and American administrations were still expressing concern over the changes in the Arab world.
Good for Israel's two leading newspaper websites, Haaretz and Ynet, for publishing Hartman's article.
Of course, Hartman couches his call for a reappraisal of Zionist aspirations in classic Zionist language. It is the sovereignty of the State of Israel that changed the course of Jewish history - not the unprecedented success of American Jews or the changing attitudes of the world; the only time he relates to the Jewish community is as a forum for complaining - Israel is the source of strength; Jews get together to complain and so on an so forth.
But this is just the language he uses. The content is a brave call for Israelis to engage with their Palestinian neighbors. Hartman has previously spoken out in support for Arab self-determination such as his clear support of the Arab spring (Hebrew). This was at a time when the Israeli and American administrations were still expressing concern over the changes in the Arab world.
Good for Israel's two leading newspaper websites, Haaretz and Ynet, for publishing Hartman's article.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Shana Tova
For lovers of Hebrew, the Jewish Daily Forward has a wonderful column called "Philologos." This week's column was on the Jewish New Year greeting "Shana Tova".
This week's column is packed with good information.
As a grammar buff, I took pleasure in his review of the ins and outs of the pluralization of feminine nouns in Hebrew. Pluralization of feminine nouns in Hebrew is surprisingly complex. The inconsistencies in the treatment of Hebrew feminine nouns reveals Hebrew's roots in other Near Eastern languages.
Two comments:
Perhaps it is because of the constraints of a newspaper column, but Phililogos fails to distinguish between the different levels of Hebrew.
Phililogos writes:
"In the genitive, shana takes the feminine plural all the time, so that one says sh’not he-me’ah ha-esrim, “the years of the 20th century,” not sh’ney ha-me’ah ha-esrim, as one normally would with a masculinely pluralized noun. "
While that is true in Israeli Hebrew, this is not always the case in Biblical Hebrew. As in Genesis
23:1 sh'ney chayey Sarah not sh'not chayey Sarah. (But sh'not in other places such as Deuteronomy 32:7)
Also, several of the irregular feminine nouns Philologos mentions, such as the segolate derekh, while being feminine in modern Hebrew can be either masculine or feminine in the Biblical Hebrew. The Talmud (the beginning of BT Kiddushun among many others) addresses the irregular gender of Biblical nouns. There are hundreds of nouns in the ambiguous category. In addition, there are many nouns that had one gender in Biblical Hebrew and switched in later, Rabbinic Hebrew.
As I said, I'm a grammar geek. This is my fun.
Shana Tova to all, however you choose to genderize and pluralize!
This week's column is packed with good information.
As a grammar buff, I took pleasure in his review of the ins and outs of the pluralization of feminine nouns in Hebrew. Pluralization of feminine nouns in Hebrew is surprisingly complex. The inconsistencies in the treatment of Hebrew feminine nouns reveals Hebrew's roots in other Near Eastern languages.
Two comments:
Perhaps it is because of the constraints of a newspaper column, but Phililogos fails to distinguish between the different levels of Hebrew.
Phililogos writes:
"In the genitive, shana takes the feminine plural all the time, so that one says sh’not he-me’ah ha-esrim, “the years of the 20th century,” not sh’ney ha-me’ah ha-esrim, as one normally would with a masculinely pluralized noun. "
While that is true in Israeli Hebrew, this is not always the case in Biblical Hebrew. As in Genesis
23:1 sh'ney chayey Sarah not sh'not chayey Sarah. (But sh'not in other places such as Deuteronomy 32:7)
Also, several of the irregular feminine nouns Philologos mentions, such as the segolate derekh, while being feminine in modern Hebrew can be either masculine or feminine in the Biblical Hebrew. The Talmud (the beginning of BT Kiddushun among many others) addresses the irregular gender of Biblical nouns. There are hundreds of nouns in the ambiguous category. In addition, there are many nouns that had one gender in Biblical Hebrew and switched in later, Rabbinic Hebrew.
As I said, I'm a grammar geek. This is my fun.
Shana Tova to all, however you choose to genderize and pluralize!
Monday, September 26, 2011
Dispora or datpora?
In an odd inversion, the grand project of the world's Jews, the State of Israel considers all Jews, wherever they are, to be part of its, Israeli diaspora.
It all started with Zionist ideology. Zionist logic follows these steps:
1) The State of Israel is the rightful heir of the ancient Israelite kingdom of two millenia ago.
2) All Jews today are descendants of the ancient Israelites and have therefore maintained their forbears' rights to the Land of Israel.
3) Israeli Jews exercise these ancient rights to the Land on behalf of all Jews.
4) Therefore, all Jews who choose to remain outside the Land, are living in exile or "the Diaspora".
The appearance of the word "diaspora" in the English language coincided with the birth of political Zionism in the late 19th century. The Greek word was used to describe the Babylonian exile of the Bible and was used specifically in relation to the Jews.
The State of Israel's first leader, David Ben-Gurion, claimed the word "Israel" for the new state. In correspondence with the Chicago Jewish thinker Simon Rawidowicz, he declared that, with the formation of the Jewish state, Jews around the world could no longer call themselves "Israel." That word was now the sole property of the Jewish state; "Israel" means "the State of Israel." Ben Gurion was successful; this is the popular meaning of the word "Israel" today.
Ben Gurion wasn't so successful with pinning the word "diaspora" on the rest of us. The only ones who use that word are Israelis, and mostly Israeli officialdom at that.
The State of Israel takes its responsibilities for its fellow Jews seriously. It even has half a cabinet posted allocated for staying in touch. But wouldn't it be nice if they could spell the word correctly (top left corner).
Greek is hard enough as it is.
It all started with Zionist ideology. Zionist logic follows these steps:
1) The State of Israel is the rightful heir of the ancient Israelite kingdom of two millenia ago.
2) All Jews today are descendants of the ancient Israelites and have therefore maintained their forbears' rights to the Land of Israel.
3) Israeli Jews exercise these ancient rights to the Land on behalf of all Jews.
4) Therefore, all Jews who choose to remain outside the Land, are living in exile or "the Diaspora".
The appearance of the word "diaspora" in the English language coincided with the birth of political Zionism in the late 19th century. The Greek word was used to describe the Babylonian exile of the Bible and was used specifically in relation to the Jews.
The State of Israel's first leader, David Ben-Gurion, claimed the word "Israel" for the new state. In correspondence with the Chicago Jewish thinker Simon Rawidowicz, he declared that, with the formation of the Jewish state, Jews around the world could no longer call themselves "Israel." That word was now the sole property of the Jewish state; "Israel" means "the State of Israel." Ben Gurion was successful; this is the popular meaning of the word "Israel" today.
Ben Gurion wasn't so successful with pinning the word "diaspora" on the rest of us. The only ones who use that word are Israelis, and mostly Israeli officialdom at that.
The State of Israel takes its responsibilities for its fellow Jews seriously. It even has half a cabinet posted allocated for staying in touch. But wouldn't it be nice if they could spell the word correctly (top left corner).
Greek is hard enough as it is.
Palestinian Pride
Abu Mazen's bid for a Palestinian state may not result in full statehood but it's invigorated the Palestinian people. I like my Israeli/Palestinian pickles. I got accustomed to the flavor in Israel. I confess that I violate my commitment to BDS when I buy Kibbutz Yavneh's pickles. I defend myself in that a. I used to live across the street from Kibbutz Yavneh's pickle plant and b. theirs are the only decent pickles in vinegar.
But most pickles coming out of Israel are in brine and I have yet to find Palestinian pickles in vinegar. (Vinegar must have been an Ashkenazi innovation in the Middle East.)
So, I frequently buy the Chicago-based Ziyyad brand of pickles, but, today, this one caught my eye.
It's the first time I've seen a Palestinian company proudly display the Palestinian flag.
Congratulations! Mabrouk!
And the pickles taste good too. Just like the the Kibbutz's.
But most pickles coming out of Israel are in brine and I have yet to find Palestinian pickles in vinegar. (Vinegar must have been an Ashkenazi innovation in the Middle East.)
So, I frequently buy the Chicago-based Ziyyad brand of pickles, but, today, this one caught my eye.
It's the first time I've seen a Palestinian company proudly display the Palestinian flag.
Congratulations! Mabrouk!
And the pickles taste good too. Just like the the Kibbutz's.
Wedding Music
Yesterday I officiated at the wedding of the daughter of a musician friend. The music was beautiful and I learned of a new genre of Jewish wedding music. Just when I thought I had a pretty good handle on what I do for a living, I discovered a totally new text with many musical settings. I spent some time today educating myself on you tube.
"Mee ban see-ach" is a mediaval liturgical poem ('piyut') based on a an ancient Midrash on the Biblical Song of Solomon. I prefer this translation:
The One who comprehends the rose among the thorns
The love of (or for) the bride, the joy of the betrothed -
May He bless the bride and groom!
Either way, it's a beautiful text and it echoes the traditional opening lines of the Jewish wedding ceremony: Mi Adir . Mi Ban Se-ach has become a song of praise for the bride and is popular in Orthodox ceremonies. I found several musical settings on you tube. I liked this one best. I suspect that the melody and arrangement were originally Christian rock, or, that it could make that crossover very easily - but then again, what's new. and here's another a capella arrangement. As my Jewish music professor, ELi Schleiffer taught me - there is no such thing as Jewish music. We are always taking - and some times influencing - the religious music of our neighbors.
"Mee ban see-ach" is a mediaval liturgical poem ('piyut') based on a an ancient Midrash on the Biblical Song of Solomon. I prefer this translation:
The One who comprehends the rose among the thorns
The love of (or for) the bride, the joy of the betrothed -
May He bless the bride and groom!
Either way, it's a beautiful text and it echoes the traditional opening lines of the Jewish wedding ceremony: Mi Adir . Mi Ban Se-ach has become a song of praise for the bride and is popular in Orthodox ceremonies. I found several musical settings on you tube. I liked this one best. I suspect that the melody and arrangement were originally Christian rock, or, that it could make that crossover very easily - but then again, what's new. and here's another a capella arrangement. As my Jewish music professor, ELi Schleiffer taught me - there is no such thing as Jewish music. We are always taking - and some times influencing - the religious music of our neighbors.
Top Israeli Rabbi Defends Palestinian Rights
The State of Israel's former chief cleric, Chief Rabbi Israel Lau declared today (Hebrew):
"When we arrived here there was a people that had already been here for a long time."He argued that the Israeli government had the right to dismantle West Bank settlements and cede territory to the Palestinians.
Lau's statement is remarkable. Golda Meir famously denied the existence of a Palestinian people. Israel's right wing has echoed that statement to this day. No group more so than the Orthodox.
Lau is still not ready to share the State of Israel with non-Jews, but this statement on the West Bank opens the door for a broader conversation on the rights of non-Jews in Israel/Palestine.
As Israel's top cleric, Rabbi Lau was known for his ability to satisfy the warring camps within Orthodoxy: the militant, pro-settler Religious Zionists and the so-called ultra-Orthodox.
Rabbi Lau has navigated his successful career by anticipating and responding to the expectations of his constituency. His current position is Chief Rabbi of Israel's secular capital, Tel Aviv. This statement will be welcome to his Tel Aviv flock.
Lau's break with mainstream Orthodoxy has started a firestorm in the Orthodox press.
"When we arrived here there was a people that had already been here for a long time."He argued that the Israeli government had the right to dismantle West Bank settlements and cede territory to the Palestinians.
Lau's statement is remarkable. Golda Meir famously denied the existence of a Palestinian people. Israel's right wing has echoed that statement to this day. No group more so than the Orthodox.
Lau is still not ready to share the State of Israel with non-Jews, but this statement on the West Bank opens the door for a broader conversation on the rights of non-Jews in Israel/Palestine.
As Israel's top cleric, Rabbi Lau was known for his ability to satisfy the warring camps within Orthodoxy: the militant, pro-settler Religious Zionists and the so-called ultra-Orthodox.
Rabbi Lau has navigated his successful career by anticipating and responding to the expectations of his constituency. His current position is Chief Rabbi of Israel's secular capital, Tel Aviv. This statement will be welcome to his Tel Aviv flock.
Lau's break with mainstream Orthodoxy has started a firestorm in the Orthodox press.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
I prefer to live with Jews
Rabbi Eric Yoffie's vision for the future of State of Israel left me feeling queasy.
Rabbi Yoffie declares that he can work with a Jew whose ideology he rejects. Rabbi Yoffie suports a Palestinian state. His collaborator doesn't. The objective they are collaborating on: the defeat of the Palestinian bid for UN recognition.
There is a classic reading of Judaism that sees the religion as a normative system of actions. Beliefs are less significant than actions. It is what we do that binds us as a community not what we think. Rabbi Yoffie seems to have found a nice way to apply that teaching today.
Yet, what would a Palestinian - even one who disagrees with the Abbas plan - think when he learns that Rabbi Yoffie is using his influence as a Jewish leader, in the name of what he says is best for the Palestinians, to defeat the Palestinian plan.
Rabbi Yoffie would like to reserve the right for himself to be able to move to a Jewish State that has a dominant Jewish character. He prefers to live with Jews. I assume that, like almost all Reform Jews, Rabbi Yoffie lives in suburbia in a comfortable, overwhelmingly White neighborhood.
In the suburbs I see a great thirst for a healing of the rift between the city and suburbia that dates back to the 60s. Of all the musical programs I brought to my synagogue the one that had the most enthusiastic appreciation and broadest participation was the African American Jewish choir and band from the far South Side of Chicago.
As I wrote in a previous post, the conversion of Reform Judaism to Zionist activism followed on the heels of the great migration of Whites from the city to the suburbs, in the 50s and 60s. In Chicago's case: from the South Side and West Side of Chicago to the northern suburbs. Because of the events that precipitated "White Flight" this migration was particularly significant for the Jewish population.
According to Rabbi Yoffie, while American Jews enjoy the energy of Israel when they visit as tourists, they won't move there unless they can take their suburban lifestyle with them. This is certainly true of the American settlers on the West Bank. Not for them the the cramped apartments of the older Israeli cities. They went to the West Bank to their government-subsidized house-and-a-garden.
Rabbi Yoffie goes beyond showing his loyalty as a "Diaspora Jew" to Israeli policy. In his full-throated allegiance to Israeli policy he declares that he has a personal investment as an American Jew in Israel rejecting Palestinian emanicipation.
This is condescending not just to Palestinians but to Israelis too.
Let the Israelis and Palestinians work out what's best for them. Let's not tell the Palestinians how to go about their quest for dignity and justice. And let's not put out American needs on the Israelis. They have enough on their plates.
And, Rabbi Yoffie, it's ok to disagree with Jewish opponents of Palestinian self-determination.
Rabbi Yoffie declares that he can work with a Jew whose ideology he rejects. Rabbi Yoffie suports a Palestinian state. His collaborator doesn't. The objective they are collaborating on: the defeat of the Palestinian bid for UN recognition.
There is a classic reading of Judaism that sees the religion as a normative system of actions. Beliefs are less significant than actions. It is what we do that binds us as a community not what we think. Rabbi Yoffie seems to have found a nice way to apply that teaching today.
Yet, what would a Palestinian - even one who disagrees with the Abbas plan - think when he learns that Rabbi Yoffie is using his influence as a Jewish leader, in the name of what he says is best for the Palestinians, to defeat the Palestinian plan.
Rabbi Yoffie would like to reserve the right for himself to be able to move to a Jewish State that has a dominant Jewish character. He prefers to live with Jews. I assume that, like almost all Reform Jews, Rabbi Yoffie lives in suburbia in a comfortable, overwhelmingly White neighborhood.
In the suburbs I see a great thirst for a healing of the rift between the city and suburbia that dates back to the 60s. Of all the musical programs I brought to my synagogue the one that had the most enthusiastic appreciation and broadest participation was the African American Jewish choir and band from the far South Side of Chicago.
As I wrote in a previous post, the conversion of Reform Judaism to Zionist activism followed on the heels of the great migration of Whites from the city to the suburbs, in the 50s and 60s. In Chicago's case: from the South Side and West Side of Chicago to the northern suburbs. Because of the events that precipitated "White Flight" this migration was particularly significant for the Jewish population.
According to Rabbi Yoffie, while American Jews enjoy the energy of Israel when they visit as tourists, they won't move there unless they can take their suburban lifestyle with them. This is certainly true of the American settlers on the West Bank. Not for them the the cramped apartments of the older Israeli cities. They went to the West Bank to their government-subsidized house-and-a-garden.
Rabbi Yoffie goes beyond showing his loyalty as a "Diaspora Jew" to Israeli policy. In his full-throated allegiance to Israeli policy he declares that he has a personal investment as an American Jew in Israel rejecting Palestinian emanicipation.
This is condescending not just to Palestinians but to Israelis too.
Let the Israelis and Palestinians work out what's best for them. Let's not tell the Palestinians how to go about their quest for dignity and justice. And let's not put out American needs on the Israelis. They have enough on their plates.
And, Rabbi Yoffie, it's ok to disagree with Jewish opponents of Palestinian self-determination.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)