http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3328663,00.html
Read the two opinions, the first by Eli Yishai of Shas, and the second by Yossi Piritzky formerly of Shinui, on the desecration of Shabbos by the Israeli Electric company. Yishai writes an intelligent piece about why Shabbat is important for the country even for secular Israelis. Paritzky basically said that if he was religious then none of the shabbos violations would bother him and neither would the gay parade. He feels the entire thing is just to keep the religious and secular divided. He also indicates that he does not see any difference between what people do in private and what the state does on an official level.
It is very easy to say that something wouldn't bother you if you had the same ethos and beliefs as someone else. Itis easy to say that if you were in their situation you wouldn't react in the same way. That's like saying to the PETA people, "If I loved animals, I wouldn't care if other people hunted." He quoted a mishna, to try and make himself seem knowledgable about Jewish issues, but anyone who knows the context of the reference would not be able to understand how he made his point.
We have to remember who Paritzky is and put this all into context. Paritzky was the government minister from Shinui who tried to frame a colleague in his own party with a criminal act. It seems to me that if his buddy went to jail for doing nothing wrong, that wouldn't have bothered him either.
Paritzky may be representative of the people when he doesn't see any difference in the way people behave in public and when they are representing the country. This is why we have incidents such as the chief of staff trading his stocks right after he decided to go to war. This is why the government of Israel is considered so corrupt by the majority of the country, yet they don't feel a need to rectify this.
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Etrog Orla
A friend just gave me a new esrog tree that he is growing from seeds. This is my first real orla experience. Orla, for those who don't know, is one of the few farming mitzvas that is kept in both Israel and outside of Israel. During the first 3 years of growth ou are not allowed to derive any pleasure from the fruit. In the 4th year (during the time of the bais hamikdash) you are supposed to take it to Jerusalem and eat it there. Most of the rules are the same as maaser sheni. Today, since we don't take it to Jerusalem, we redeem it on a coin and then destroy the coin. You used to be able to redeem it on a coing and then spend the money in Jerusalem, but we don't do that today for some reason having to do with Jerusalem having been destroyed and not officially rebuilt yet. I'm sure my chavrussa will be quick to correct me on the Zionist progoganda reason (having to do with tuma or something) right after he reads this.
In any case, I can use the esrog for a mitzva in 3 years after tu bshvat (rosh hashana for the trees).
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Israeli Education
I was speaking with a friend of mine last week who purportedly wants to make aliyah. His big problem, and apparantly the big problem of a lot of would be olim is that the education in Israel leaves a lot to be desired, and there is no place where they can fit into society as everyone here is an extremist.
You can either be a chareidi, in which case your kids will learn in kolel for their entire lives or a dati leumi, which means that they wear an asimon kippa, go to the army and probably go off the derech.
Comparing this to the American yeshiva education system, which is ideal (???), it is impossible to move to Israel.
OK. Now lets think about this for a minute. Do you know anyone in America who is happy with the yeshiva education system? In my yeshiva high school class, 25% went off the derech after learning one year post high school learning. There is nobody I know that is happy with the Bais Yaakov system. You deal with it because the other options in America are much, mcuh worse.
In Israel, unbeknowest to everyone, there is a middle of the road. You have 2 options, one is to be a liberal chareidi and the other is to be a torani dati leumi. Dati Leumi yeshivas have kolel programs now. The boys can stay and learn as long as they want and it is even encouraged. The hesder yeshiva boys go to the army as a unit, after 2 years of learning in yeshiva. They have each other to lean on if any questions of religion come up. Can that be any worse then going to college after 2 years in yeshiva? What is middle of the road in the US if not college after a couple years of learning.
The way the boys in yeshiva here dress reflects the way society here dresses. I'm the best dresser in my office, full of secular Jews, wearing a button down shirt every day, I didn't change my dressing habits from working in the US, where I wasn't even on the list of best dressers.
The real difference is that Americans see the kippa sruga and associate them all with modern orthodoxy. While that was definitely true 20 years ago, the dati leumi yeshiva world has made tremendous strides in the past 20 years. My Israeli friends who grew up in the dati leumi culture are just as frum as my friends back home from the yeshivish world. Learning is a priority as is tzedaka and doing mitzvos.
My children learn in a sefardi school. What that means is that they learn the same Torah and the same secular subjects and a couple of the customs are different. Sefardim wash each hand 3 times before they wash and ashkenazim wash only twice. That is something we teach our children at home, as well as the order of davening and what words to say in benching. When there is a real difference, they let the kids know. On Pesach Sheni, they announce that the ashkenaziot should wash their hands before eating matza, because sefardim say mezonot, except on Pesach. They even told my daughter that she was an ashkenazit the first year we were here, because I never thought to bring it up and she didn't know.
I look at the people my age and the teenagers who graduate as results of the education system. While I may not be happy with everything that goes on in third grade, the girls who graduate the ulpana are fine on an educational and hashkafic level. Something must get passed through at some point.
In short, I will not say that there are not problems with the Israeli system. There are a lot of problems with it. However, to base staying in America solely on the high quality of religious education is disturbing to say the least.
You can either be a chareidi, in which case your kids will learn in kolel for their entire lives or a dati leumi, which means that they wear an asimon kippa, go to the army and probably go off the derech.
Comparing this to the American yeshiva education system, which is ideal (???), it is impossible to move to Israel.
OK. Now lets think about this for a minute. Do you know anyone in America who is happy with the yeshiva education system? In my yeshiva high school class, 25% went off the derech after learning one year post high school learning. There is nobody I know that is happy with the Bais Yaakov system. You deal with it because the other options in America are much, mcuh worse.
In Israel, unbeknowest to everyone, there is a middle of the road. You have 2 options, one is to be a liberal chareidi and the other is to be a torani dati leumi. Dati Leumi yeshivas have kolel programs now. The boys can stay and learn as long as they want and it is even encouraged. The hesder yeshiva boys go to the army as a unit, after 2 years of learning in yeshiva. They have each other to lean on if any questions of religion come up. Can that be any worse then going to college after 2 years in yeshiva? What is middle of the road in the US if not college after a couple years of learning.
The way the boys in yeshiva here dress reflects the way society here dresses. I'm the best dresser in my office, full of secular Jews, wearing a button down shirt every day, I didn't change my dressing habits from working in the US, where I wasn't even on the list of best dressers.
The real difference is that Americans see the kippa sruga and associate them all with modern orthodoxy. While that was definitely true 20 years ago, the dati leumi yeshiva world has made tremendous strides in the past 20 years. My Israeli friends who grew up in the dati leumi culture are just as frum as my friends back home from the yeshivish world. Learning is a priority as is tzedaka and doing mitzvos.
My children learn in a sefardi school. What that means is that they learn the same Torah and the same secular subjects and a couple of the customs are different. Sefardim wash each hand 3 times before they wash and ashkenazim wash only twice. That is something we teach our children at home, as well as the order of davening and what words to say in benching. When there is a real difference, they let the kids know. On Pesach Sheni, they announce that the ashkenaziot should wash their hands before eating matza, because sefardim say mezonot, except on Pesach. They even told my daughter that she was an ashkenazit the first year we were here, because I never thought to bring it up and she didn't know.
I look at the people my age and the teenagers who graduate as results of the education system. While I may not be happy with everything that goes on in third grade, the girls who graduate the ulpana are fine on an educational and hashkafic level. Something must get passed through at some point.
In short, I will not say that there are not problems with the Israeli system. There are a lot of problems with it. However, to base staying in America solely on the high quality of religious education is disturbing to say the least.
Friday, November 10, 2006
Pride Parade
We had a pride parade last night in our village. It took almost 3 hours to go about half a mile. There was loud music, everyone was dancing and singing in the street. The were were fireworks and the kids were given toys with lights on them to wave. A number of people held torches.
This parade was not about sexuality, this was real Jewish pride. A member of the kehilla was bringing his brand new sefer Torah into the shul.
A large protion of the community participated, each one taking a turn being in the center of the action, holding the brand new Torah scroll, with its gleaming silver crown. My kids were running all over the place, my 5 year old tried dancing with the teenagers.
The excitement grew as we got close to the shul and the other Torah's in the shul came out to meet the new Torah and they all danced together in the street. We finally entered the shul and the Torah was placed in the aron all by itself, as the new prince of the shul. The other Torahs were then placed around it and some tehillim were recited. The new Torah was then brought out and the last portion of the Torah, the "chosson torah" was read.
I remember the first time I was at a new Torah ceremony. Someone from our community was bringing a Torah to Chicago, to Telz, his alma mater. I was probably around 10 years old at the time, and I went with my father to the bg occassion. I very clearly remember holding the Torah while we were on the plane and how special it felt to be a part of the simcha.
The Torah is the true pride of the Jewish people
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Our pride parade
We had a pride parade last night in our village. It took almost 3 hours to go about half a mile. There was loud music, everyone was dancing and singing in the street. The were were fireworks and the kids were given toys with lights on them to wave. A number of people held torches.
This parade was not about sexuality, this was real Jewish pride. A member of the kehilla was bringing his brand new sefer Torah into the shul.
A large protion of the community participated, each one taking a turn being in the center of the action, holding the brand new Torah scroll, with its gleaming silver crown. My kids were running all over the place, my 5 year old tried dancing with the teenagers.
The excitement grew as we got close to the shul and the other Torah's in the shul came out to meet the new Torah and they all danced together in the street. We finally entered the shul and the Torah was placed in the aron all by itself, as the new prince of the shul. The other Torahs were then placed around it and some tehillim were recited. The new Torah was then brought out and the last portion of the Torah, the "chosson torah" was read.
I remember the first time I was at a new Torah ceremony. Someone from our community was bringing a Torah to Chicago, to Telz, his alma mater. I was probably around 10 years old at the time, and I went with my father to the bg occassion. I very clearly remember holding the Torah while we were on the plane and how special it felt to be a part of the simcha.
The Torah is the true pride of the Jewish people
This parade was not about sexuality, this was real Jewish pride. A member of the kehilla was bringing his brand new sefer Torah into the shul.
A large protion of the community participated, each one taking a turn being in the center of the action, holding the brand new Torah scroll, with its gleaming silver crown. My kids were running all over the place, my 5 year old tried dancing with the teenagers.
The excitement grew as we got close to the shul and the other Torah's in the shul came out to meet the new Torah and they all danced together in the street. We finally entered the shul and the Torah was placed in the aron all by itself, as the new prince of the shul. The other Torahs were then placed around it and some tehillim were recited. The new Torah was then brought out and the last portion of the Torah, the "chosson torah" was read.
I remember the first time I was at a new Torah ceremony. Someone from our community was bringing a Torah to Chicago, to Telz, his alma mater. I was probably around 10 years old at the time, and I went with my father to the bg occassion. I very clearly remember holding the Torah while we were on the plane and how special it felt to be a part of the simcha.
The Torah is the true pride of the Jewish people
Sunday, November 05, 2006
no gay parade
I must be the last blogger to actually write about the gay parade in Jerusalem. This is not because I have been sitting on the fence or undecided, it is because I am lazy.
The other day,DAG wrote about gay people parading in Jerusalem. He feels that as long as Israel decares itself to be a Democracy they are obligated to allow the freedom of expression. He also feels that Israel must remain a democracy. Traditionally, when a Jew disagrees with what another Jew has said he starts calling him names and does not answer the actual points made by the guy he disagrees with.
At the rock of galilee, when we disagree with someone we not only call them names, we also answer their points.
Gay people should not be allowed to march in Jerusalem. A democracy does not mean freedom of expression, a democracy is defined as giving citizens the right to vote. If the citizens vote to suppress freedom of speech, then so be it. One of the powers granted to the citizens of Israel is the right to protest. If the government shows that it completely ignores protests, and couldn't care less what the protesters want, then the protesters have to get their attention. This is when protests turn violent. We saw that the mass peaceful protests against the deportation of the katifians did not change anything. If a protest does not have the power to change anything then it is a sham of a protest.
Freedom of Expression is not absolute anywhere. The classic example is yelling Fire in a crowded theater. There are laws against disturbing the peace. The language that you use and the pictures that you show are limited. Israel would not allow the nazis to march in Jerusalem, and even Dag would be hardpressed to insist that they should. They also would not give a parade permit to a group who has a slogan "Rapists Unite" or even "Beastility is fun." Personally, I would be almost as horrified if their was a heterosexual parade. Sexuality is not something that should be paraded in public.
When a group comes in and says, we want to piss on your Torah and your values and we insist that your tax money pays for it and not only that but it will be in the center of town and we will inconvenience you at the same time, the answer must be a strong NO. Jerusalem is a holy city and it has sensitivities that must be respected. We let the Mormons build on the mount of olives, despite Mordechai ben David's best efforts. The gay people should not be allowed to march.
Until the time of Moshiach, we may not have the ability to stop people from behaving indecently, but we certainly can stop them from marching through our streets, waving their abomination in our faces.
The other day,DAG wrote about gay people parading in Jerusalem. He feels that as long as Israel decares itself to be a Democracy they are obligated to allow the freedom of expression. He also feels that Israel must remain a democracy. Traditionally, when a Jew disagrees with what another Jew has said he starts calling him names and does not answer the actual points made by the guy he disagrees with.
At the rock of galilee, when we disagree with someone we not only call them names, we also answer their points.
Gay people should not be allowed to march in Jerusalem. A democracy does not mean freedom of expression, a democracy is defined as giving citizens the right to vote. If the citizens vote to suppress freedom of speech, then so be it. One of the powers granted to the citizens of Israel is the right to protest. If the government shows that it completely ignores protests, and couldn't care less what the protesters want, then the protesters have to get their attention. This is when protests turn violent. We saw that the mass peaceful protests against the deportation of the katifians did not change anything. If a protest does not have the power to change anything then it is a sham of a protest.
Freedom of Expression is not absolute anywhere. The classic example is yelling Fire in a crowded theater. There are laws against disturbing the peace. The language that you use and the pictures that you show are limited. Israel would not allow the nazis to march in Jerusalem, and even Dag would be hardpressed to insist that they should. They also would not give a parade permit to a group who has a slogan "Rapists Unite" or even "Beastility is fun." Personally, I would be almost as horrified if their was a heterosexual parade. Sexuality is not something that should be paraded in public.
When a group comes in and says, we want to piss on your Torah and your values and we insist that your tax money pays for it and not only that but it will be in the center of town and we will inconvenience you at the same time, the answer must be a strong NO. Jerusalem is a holy city and it has sensitivities that must be respected. We let the Mormons build on the mount of olives, despite Mordechai ben David's best efforts. The gay people should not be allowed to march.
Until the time of Moshiach, we may not have the ability to stop people from behaving indecently, but we certainly can stop them from marching through our streets, waving their abomination in our faces.
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