A Weekly Bulletin from the Editors of eCLAL Magazine
Friday,
March 12, 2004 (19 Adar 5764)
(Special
Announcement: “Embracing Life and Facing Death: Medicine
and Spirituality in Partnership” A free conference for medical
students and rabbinical students in health care-related disciplines.
Sunday, March 28th, 2004. 2:00 pm - 6:00 pm @UJA-Federation of New York.
Click here for more information
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Torah Today
News from CLAL
CLAL in the News
T
his week, we bring you a medley of stories that run the gamut
from matters of the spirit and culture to politics and society. In
the Spirit and Society section you will find David Brook's reflections
on whether our culture is more imperiled by Mel Gibson's religiosity or
Mitch Albom's. You will also find theologian Miroslav Volf's reflections
on the ethics of memory and an article by Jonathan Sarna occasioned by
the 350th anniversary of the coming of the Jews to America.
In the Politics section, you will
find an analysis of the political risks that Sharon is taking by
advancing his Gaza pullout plan; an interesting poll on Israeli
sentiments regarding the fence; and a book review that focuses on the
democratic challenge of protecting minority rights against the will of
the majority.
In the Community and Society section,
you will find two stories focusing on the changing status of religious
practice in China and a story on the recent decision by the Church of
England to establish formally a "virtual parish" in cyberspace.
Finally, in the Culture section, you
will find a story about how "Jewish public architecture" has changed
over the last twenty years, as architects have endeavored to meld
postmodern ideas and classical Jewish spatial concepts.
As this Shabbat is Shabbat Parah, we also bring you
commentaries this week on Parsha Ki Tisa and on Haftorah Parah.
Thanks for reading!
Order your Sacred Days Calendar and
Planner for 5764-5765/2003-2004 from CLAL today!
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CLAL Torah This Week: Ki Tisa
By Steve Greenberg
Exodus 30:11 - 34:35
The
mountain quaked while, from the midst of the fire and lightning on its
peak, the people hear God speak: "You shall not make for yourself a
sculptured image, or any likeness of what is in the heavens above, or on
the earth below, or in the waters . . . You shall not bow to them . . ."
(Exodus 20:4 - 5). Now, waiting for Moses to return, they grow restless
and press Aaron to make them a golden calf around which to sing praises
to the God who redeemed them from Egypt. Moses descends from the
mountain, with the tablets of God's own writing in his hand, to find his
people utterly lost to idolatrous revelry. "Moses came near the camp and
saw the calf and the dancing. . . and he hurled the tablets from his
hands and shattered them at the foot of the mountain" (32:9). What was
Moses' intent in shattering the tablets? Was it mere anger? What right
did he have to do it? Two dramatic pictures are painted by Rabbi Samuel
ben Meir, a medieval Jewish scholar of Provence, and by the Midrash
Rabbah of the 8th century.
The Rashbam
says Moses in his elation carried the heavy stone tablets as if they
were feathers. Then he saw the people, his heart sank, his strength
ebbed away, the tablets became heavy and cold. He barely had the
strength to push them away lest they fall on his feet.
According to the Midrash Rabbah, Moses broke the tablets in empathetic
identity with his people. When he saw that there was no hope for Israel,
he threw his lot in with theirs and broke the tablets, and said to the
Holy One: They have sinned, but so have I by breaking your tablets. If
you forgive them, forgive me, too . . . if not "blot me out of the book
which you have written.".
CLAL SPOTLIGHT
CLAL At The Washington National Cathedral
"In February, Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, CLAL Vice President, participated
in a five-part series on faith, doubt, and evil at the prestigious
Washington National Cathedral. Drawing on the award-winning documentary,
“Faith and Doubt Beyond Ground Zero,” which aired on “Frontline” (PBS)
on the anniversary of the tragedy, the series brought together several
of the film’s participants for five evenings of lecture and discussion.
Rabbi Hirschfield led the fourth session, where he talked about religion
and violence...."
By Judy Epstein (from CLAL)
March 12, 2004
Jewish Diversity Through Word And Art
By Judy Epstein (from CLAL)
February 20, 2004
TORAH & HAFTORAH THIS WEEK
CLAL Torah This Week: Ki Tisa
""Moses descends from the mountain, with
the tablets of God's own writing in his hand, to find his people utterly
lost to idolatrous revelry. "Moses came near the camp and saw the calf
and the dancing. . . and he hurled the tablets from his hands and
shattered them at the foot of the mountain" (32:9). What was Moses'
intent in shattering the tablets? Was it mere anger? What right did he
have to do it? ..."
By Steve Greenberg (from CLAL)
March 12, 2004
Haftorah This
Week: Parah
"This week, in addition to the regular Parsha, we read the section
known as Parah. The additional sections of Shekalim, Zachor, Parah, and
Chodesh are read prior to Pesach for both commemorative and practical
reasons. Shekalim, the first additional section, dealt with the 1/2
Shekel and the public sacrifices. The reading of the second section,
Zachor, facilitated our fulfillment of the Mitzvah to remember the evil
of Amalek. The two sections of Parah and Chodesh are directed toward our
preparations for Pesach...."
By Aron Tendler (from Torah.org)
March 12, 2004
SPIRIT & STORY
Hooked on Heaven Lite
"Who worries
you most, Mel Gibson or Mitch Albom? Do you fear Gibson, the religious
zealot, the man accused of narrow sectarianism and anti-Semitism, or
Albom, the guy who writes sweet best sellers like "Tuesdays With Morrie"
and "The Five People You Meet in Heaven?" I worry about Albom more,
because while religious dogmatism is always a danger, it is less of a
problem for us today than the soft-core spirituality that is its
opposite.... We've got more to fear from the easygoing narcissism that
is so much part of the atmosphere nobody even thinks to protest or get
angry about it...."
By David Brooks (from New York Times)
March 12,
2004
Kissing the Lizard: On Memory and Forgiveness
"Margalit,
professor of philosophy at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, set out
to investigate the obligation to remember. Do we have a duty to remember
people's names, their stories, or major events in their lives? If we do,
what kind of duty is that? In recent decades, many books have been
written on memory. Most of them simply assume that such a duty exists.
Margalit's is one of the very few explicit treatments of this thorny
question...."
By Miroslav Volf (from Christianity Today Books and Culture)
March 12,
2004
American Jewry At 350: Struggles Of Colonies’ First Jews
Presaged Later U.S. Jewish History
"About 350
years ago, in 1654, a small vessel named the Ste. Catherine... sailed
into the port of New Amsterdam…. Most of the ship’s passengers... were
bedraggled Jewish refugees from Recife, Brazil, who had been expelled
when the Portuguese recaptured the South American colony from the
Dutch…. Over Stuyvesant’s objections, they won the right to set down
roots in New Amsterdam, specifically the right to “travel, trade, live
and remain,” provided that “the poor among them shall not become a
burden to the company or to the community, but be supported by their own
nation."..."
By Jonathan Sarna (from JTA)
March 12,
2004
Between 'Passion' and Purim - An Interview with
Brad Hirschfield
By Rebecca Philips (from Beliefnet.com)
March5, 2004
The Crucifixion -- of Haman
By Joseph Yahalom (from Ha'aretz)
March5, 2004
Jews and Christians After the Passion
By Yossi Klein Halevi (from Jerusalem Post)
March5, 2004
For One Catholic, 'Passion' Skews the Meaning of
the Crucifixion
By Mary Gordon (from New York Times)
March5, 2004
Of Things Unseen
By Jack Miles (from Beliefnet.com)
March5, 2004
Post-Orthodox Journey
By Neri Livneh (from Ha'aretz)
March5, 2004
POLITICS & POLICY
Sharon's Do-Or-Die Gaza Plan - Or Is It Do AND Die?
"At issue is
the initiative to which the prime minister has staked the future of his
premiership: his plan to put an end to Israel's presence in the Gaza
Strip. With less than a week remaining before Sharon's hesitant Likud
cabinet ministers are to debate the issue, and less than a month before
the prime minister pays what may be a fateful White House visit in order
to lobby for the backing of George Bush, Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon
has made a series of statements suggesting that a unilateral Gaza
pullout will only make terrorism worse...."
By Bradley Burston (from Ha'aretz)
March 12,
2004
Peace Index / Most Israelis Support The Fence, Despite Palestinian
Suffering
"The
construction of the separation fence is overwhelmingly supported by the
Israeli-Jewish public, despite the internal debate and the international
pressure against it. The support for the fence is based on the
widespread assessment that it can significantly reduce terror attacks,
though only a small minority believe it can prevent them completely...."
By Ephraim Yaar and Tamar Hermann (from Ha'aretz)
March 12,
2004
Oppressed of the earth
"This book by
Prof. Gad Barzilai, a legal specialist and political science researcher
at Tel Aviv University, deals with the clash between the law as
legislated and enforced by the dominant majority in a community and the
cultures, ideologies, beliefs and normative systems of sub-communities
within it...."
By Moshe Negbi (from Ha'aretz)
March 12,
2004
Phalcon Sale to India Shows Growth of Israel’s
International Arms Deals
By Leslie Susser (from JTA)
March5, 2004
With a Little Help from his Friends
By Yossi Melman (from Ha'aretz)
March5, 2004
A Question of Faith: Top Democrats have Much Work
Ahead to Convince Voters of their Religious Sincerity
By The Editors (from Christianity Today)
March5, 2004
Our Secularist Democratic Party
By Louis Bolce & Gerald De Maio (from The Public Interest)
March5, 2004
CLAL ON CULTURE
The Jewish Shul of Architecture
"Dozens of
architects, historians and theoreticians of architecture from around the
world will gather at the beginning of next week at Pennsylvania State
University for a first discussion of its kind on "Architecture, Urbanism
and the Jewish Subject."..."
By Esther Zandberg (from CLAL)
March 12,
2004
Wrestling For Inclusion - a Review of Wrestling
with God and Men: Homosexuality and the Jewish Tradition, a New Book
by CLAL Rabbi Steven Greenberg
By Sandee Brawarsky (from The Jewish Week)
February 27, 2004
Pearls of Wisdom
By Sandee Brawarsky (from The Jewish Week)
January 30, 2004
Living in a Material World: An Interview with
Zohar translator, Daniel Matt
By Staff (from Nextbook)
January 23, 2004
COMMUNITY & SOCIETY
Church of England Creates Virtual Parish
"The Church of England on Friday announced the creation of its first
"virtual parish" and invited applicants for the position of "Web
pastor." The purpose of the Internet church, or "i-church," according to
the Web site, "is to provide a Christian community for those who wish to
explore Christian discipleship but who are not able, or do not wish, to
join a local congregation."..."
By Thomas Wagner (from Yahoo News)
March 12,
2004
A Struggle for Spiritual Freedom: Buddhist Center Perseveres After
China's Crackdown
"Founded 24
years ago, Larung Gar grew into the country's largest monastic
community, with as many as 10,000 residents, before the ruling Communist
Party began trying to control it and to expel settlers in the late
1990s. Its struggle to survive the crackdown and maintain its
independence from the party illustrates how the faithful are pushing the
bounds of freedom of religion and association in China -- and what
happens when the state pushes back...."
By Philip P. Pan (from Washington Post)
March 12,
2004
China Opens Door To Christianity - Of A Patriotic Sort
"Yet despite
the challenges of practicing Christianity in China, there are signs that
the once near pariah faith is being given more latitude. Most striking
is what appears to be a public admittance by Beijing that Christianity
is not only on the rise but is growing rapidly - and that the church is
benefiting a spiritually hungry population that is growing more
"individualistic." The change is part of a new official formula that is
fitfully taking shape here: a basic and perhaps grudging acceptance of
faith, including low-level experiments with religious exchange abroad -
so long as Chinese believers profess loyalty and patriotism to the
state...."
By Robert Marquand (from Christian Science Monitor)
March 12,
2004
SPECIAL FEATURES
Israel at 55 -- Essays
on the Challenges Facing the Jewish State
By Zalman Shoval, Amnon Rubinstein, A.B.
Yehoshua, Alice Shalvi, Shlomo Riskin
(from JTA - The Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
May 2003
Old Demons, New
Debates
By YIVO (from YIVO)
June 2003
SPIRIT & STORY
Living the Religious Life of a None
By Don Lattin (from San Francisco Chronicle)
December 12, 2003
For Some Cadets at West Point, Jewish Life is
Shelter in a Storm
By Peter Ephross (from JTA)
December 12, 2003
COMMUNITY & SOCIETY
The Text of the Decision by the Mass. Supreme
Court Striking Down Ban on Gay Marriage
A Religious, Civil Hornet's Nest
By Robert J. McClorey (from national
Catholic Reporter)
December 12, 2003
Homosexuality Is A Religious Sin, Not An Ethical
One
By Shmuley Boteach (from Beliefnet.com)
December 12, 2003
Reform Jewish Movement Applauds Mass Ruling On
Same Sex Marriage
By Mark Pelavin (from Reform Action Committee)
December 12, 2003
To Fix Gay Dilemma, Government Should Quit the
Marriage Business
By Alan Dershowitz (from LA Times)
December 12, 2003
Gay Marriage: A Sampling of Editorial Opinion
By Terence Smith (from PBS News Hour)
December 12, 2003
The 'New Anti-Semitism' -- Extended Coverage &
Link to EU Report
By Staff (from Ha'aretz)
December 12, 2003
CLAL ON CULTURE
Food and Cultural Change
By Hasia Diner (CLAL)
Our
Technologies, Our Selves
By David Kraemer (CLAL)
The Joy of Style: An Interview with Virginia
Postrel
By Sage Stossel (from The Atlantic Monthly)
October 24, 2003
Border crossings
By Talya Halkin (from The Jerusalem Post)
November 14, 2003
POLITICS & POLICY
Shooting Iraq
By Daniel Brenner (CLAL)
For an
Open, Democratic Debate Concerning Israel’s Policies
By David Kraemer (CLAL)
AT FIRST GLANCE (REVIEWS)
Killers in White Gowns: A Review of Stalin's Last
Crime: The Plot Against the Jewish Doctors, 1948-1953
By Samuel Kassow (from The Forward)
October 31, 2003
FACE TO FACE (INTERVIEWS)
Minority
Report: A Review of Citizens Without Citizenship: Israel and the Palestinian Minority
2000-2002
By Joseph Algazy (from Ha'aretz)
October 3, 2003
- The Roadmap to Peace
A Performance-Based Roadmap to a Permanent Two-State Solution to the
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (released Apr. 30).
- The
Aqaba Speeches
Speeches by King Abdullah, Mahmoud Abbas,
Ariel Sharon, George Bush (June 5, 2003)
- The
Or Commission Report
The summation of the Or Commission report on the unprecedented disturbances
that occurred in the Arab sector in October, 2000
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CLAL At The Washington National Cathedral
New!
"In February, Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, CLAL Vice President,
participated in a five-part series on faith, doubt, and evil at the
prestigious Washington National Cathedral. Drawing on the
award-winning documentary, “Faith and Doubt Beyond Ground Zero,”
which aired on “Frontline” (PBS) on the anniversary of the tragedy,
the series brought together several of the film’s participants for
five evenings of lecture and discussion. Rabbi Hirschfield led the
fourth session, where he talked about religion and violence...."
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Jewish Diversity Through Word And Art
"Perhaps no one photographer has captured the diversity of Jewish
identity around the globe as Frederic Brenner....In his new
two-volume set, “Diaspora: Homelands in Exile” (Harper
Collins, 2003), Brenner explores what it means to be Jewish in a
changing world.... Volume 2 offers a series of commentaries by
leading contemporary intellectuals who examine the various issues
and interpretations at the heart of Brenner’s photographs. Joining
Rabbi Tsvi Blanchard, Ph. D., CLAL’s Director of Organizational
Development, who wrote the introduction for the volume, are such
notable thinkers as Andre Aciman, Daniel Boyarin, Jacques Derrida,
Carlos Fuentes, George Steiner, and Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg...."
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Palliative Care: A Seminar on Life and Death Issues for
Jewish Professionals
In September, Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, CLAL Vice President, and Rabbi Tsvi Blanchard,
CLAL’s Director of Organizational Development, presented a daylong seminar based on
the principles of CLAL’s new book on palliative care for the Jewish Funeral Directors
of America. The goal was to help these Jewish professionals think about their work in more
meaningful and effective ways as they deal with clients and families....
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more |
Exploring Truth, Faith and Doubt in
Religion: Two Aspen Forums
Reisman Award for Article of the Year Presented to CLAL Rabbi Tsvi
Blanchard
Religious Thinkers & Leaders Gather to
Map Interfaith Education
Inter-Religious Dialogue -- Why We Need It
CLAL Report: Fall
2003
"In the last months, CLAL has brought a diversity of ideas,
materials, and resources to the larger public square. Through such
vehicles as “Simple Wisdom with Irwin Kula,” the new 13-week,
half-hour public television series; Embracing Life and Facing Death:
A Jewish Guide to Palliative Care (CLAL, 2003); and CLAL’s website,
www.clal.org, CLAL has reached tens of thousands of individuals and
families with Jewish insights to enhance their lives..."
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Inequity:
Is it a Sin?
(from The Christian Science Monitor)
"America is changing: The society that has prided itself on being an
egalitarian model for the world has become more unequal than
"aristocratic" Europe, economists confirm. The rich-poor gap has
doubled in 21 years and now is at its widest since 1929. The number
of those in poverty rose by 1.7 million between 2001 and 2002. New
tax cuts will add to the disparity..... "Poverty is a theological
issue from a Jewish perspective," says Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, of
the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, because it
"assaults a human being's dignity as the image of God." But, he
adds, "I worry even more about the dignity of a society that allows
people to be impoverished."..."
Messianic Israelites Blend
Faith, Education At Tampa Conference (from The Tampa Tribune)
A recent gathering in Tampa of Messianic Israelites -- a group primarily constituted of
Christians who have incorporated Jewish rituals into their religious practice --
occasioned this article in which CLAL's Brad Hirschfield is quoted.
Rethinking just war theory in a time of terrorism and weapons of
mass destruction
(from Newsday)
Are just war principles a relevant guide for U.S. foreign policy in
a time of potentially apocalyptic terrorism? Can one turn away when
faced with ethnic cleansing in the Balkans, genocide in Rwanda or,
for that matter, massive human rights violations in Iraq?... "Every
religious tradition is wrestling with these questions now in its own
way," said Rabbi Irwin Kula, president of the Jewish Center
for Learning and Leadership, a Jewish think tank in Manhattan. "The
bottom line: Almost none of these ethical just war theories allow
for pre-emption unless there's absolute clarity that people's lives
are in danger."...” .
A Moment of Grace
(from Newsday)
"Whether they speak it simply or with ritual and fanfare, those who
routinely pause to give thanks at mealtime find the practice as
fortifying as food… Mindfulness is a Buddhist discipline of
concentrating on the activity at hand, aiming not to stray from the
moment. A tempered tongue makes room for the mind and the heart to
pause…. "Food isn't the point. It's the vehicle by which we get in
touch with these ideals. With how important the moment is, with how
essential eating is, with how sacred the obligation is to make sure
that everyone gets enough to eat," said Rabbi Brad Hirschfield,
vice president of CLAL...”
Virtual Lit
(from The Jewish Week)
The article explores the proliferation of Jewish book sites on the Web and includes
excerpts from an interview with Irwin Kula on the broader implications of the ongoing
cultural transformation that which these Websites express.
Breaking
TV's Jewish Barrier (from The Dallas
Morning News)
No Simple Task: Breaking
TV's Jewish Barrier (from The Forward)
About Simple Wisdom and Irwin Kula's battle to overthrow the narrow definitions of
religion that prevail today.
Jewish
Wisdom for the Masses (from Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Rabbis Voice Opposing Views on Same
Sex Marriage (from Canadian Jewish News)
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