Weekly Digest – News and Essays In and Out of Orthodoxy – Week of Parshas Metzora 5776

Rav Chaim Yosef Goldberg zt”l

71 Years Later, Dachau Victim’s Remains Are Brought to Rest in St. Louis

OU KOSHER PRE-PASSOVER WEBINAR 2016

Orthodox Union Rejects Sen. Sanders’ Statements about Israel

Bernie Sanders: A Jewish Candidate in Name Only

Fearing Trump, Republican Jews give Cruz another look

The Civil Illiberties Union Targets a Yeshiva

Orthodox rabbinical group in Israel calls for welcoming ‘people with homosexual orientations’ –  It’s anyone’s guess as to what the Beit Hillel organization will come up with next. No one argues with the idea of working privately with homosexuals, but to welcome public homosexuality at shul, etc.??

Exclusive: Some Trump Vodka, popular as kosher for Passover spirit, may not be kosher

Rabbi Lila Kagedan: A history-making title in Orthodox Judaism

Driving the Wedge Further – Excellent commentary on the above story.

Torah.org – Please take a look at this superbly revised site. Absolutely splendid.

Reconstructionist Rebels Form Splinter Group After Schism Over Intermarried Rabbis

Parshas Metzora – Some Things Are Better Left Alone

Ted Cruz walks into an NY matzah bakery – Twitter supplies the punchline

Arguing with God – This article by a prominent Open Orthodox leader really bothered me, and is also highly inaccurate. Snippet (but please read the whole article):

Thus the diminishing of the moon by God is symbolic of the imperfection inherent in creation. Our world is full of beauty, wonder and astonishing harmony. Yet it is also fatally flawed and astoundingly cruel. Natural disasters and human atrocities conspire to bring unspeakable suffering into the world.

“Death is the embodiment of all that is imperfect in God’s creation. Death is not abstractions for Aharon; his two eldest sons were just consumed by God’s fire. By refusing to partake in the sin offering of God, he is refusing to absolve God of criminal liability for death and suffering in the world.

“This point is more acute when we realize that this sin offering for this rosh chodesh is the first rosh chodesh. While later generations brought and consumed the sin offering of Rosh Chodesh, accepting God and the imperfect world He created, Aharon has registered his protest. God will have to bear His sin alone; Aharon will not atone for Him.

Beyond the pale – I am honored that the Cross-Currents Weekly Digest was featured in this article against “heresy hunting”: “One rabbi has a weekly blog dedicated to shaming writers he considers non-Orthodox.” But in all seriousness, this article is an admission that the movements and ideologies which are portrayed as being “hunted” have in fact materially deviated from the normative path of Orthodoxy, as the writer (here and in his other blogposts) needs to redefine the parameters of emunah and Halacha in order to defend the movements and ideologies under discussion. The writer is apparently unaware — or, at least, is going to great lengths to appear unaware — that no one is interested in hunting anyone; the interest is in preserving the integrity of Orthodox Judaism and alerting those who are unaware of the issues.

Last week’s installment of Weekly Digest – News and Essays In and Out of Orthodoxy can be viewed here.

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11 Responses

  1. joel rich says:

    any way to get the ou webinar downloaded?
    KT

    (The webinar link now allows downloading of it. – AG)

  2. joel rich says:

    Don’t see download function  at the link above

    KT

    (My apologies. But please click it open, and it will play. -AG)

  3. Eli Blum says:

    Re: The Civil Illiberties Union Targets a Yeshiva

    Unfortunately, by not filing Form 990 (and getting the IRS to issue a letter that they are not required to do so), BMG undermined its case that it is a school and not a religious entity/church. Perhaps Mr. Schick was/is unaware that BMG has not filed a 990 since 2007, and therefore calls BMG a “School” instead of its legal status as a religious entity/church?

     

    • mycroft says:

      On the surface at least BMG appears to take contradictory approaches to what they are-by not filing a 990 they are stating that they are a church. I believe the grants the ACLU issuing about are those for educational institutions etc which can’t discriminate on the basis of religion-thus they apparently have included in their lawsuit other theological institutions. Church affiliated institutions that operate as normal schools/hospitals etc must treat all religions equally.

  4. joel rich says:

    BMG is certainly doing something right. About 5% of its graduates become rabbis, and many become educators. But most of its alumni enter secular professions and do well there. They also regularly gain admission to Ivy League graduate schools. I guess the admissions officers at Harvard, Columbia and Penn know something that the ACLU doesn’t about a BMG education.

    ===========================

    Define regularly, perhaps as compared to the 5% figure  or the percentages from other undergraduate institutions?
    KT

    • mycroft says:

      “I guess the admissions officers at Harvard, Columbia and Penn know something that the ACLU doesn’t about a BMG education.”

      Or maybe the admissions officers don’t know exactly what the curriculum is at BMG.

      ===========================

      “Define regularly, perhaps as compared to the 5% figure  or the percentages from other undergraduate institutions?”

      We need data-since BMG is apparently selective-it does not mean that BMG is adding anything of material value to the students intelligence. In general BMG students have an excellent verbal aptitude.

  5. Steve Brizel says:

    As a follow up to the link about the kvurah of a Dachau victim, I think that the following linked article warrants careful reading.http://mosaicmagazine.com/essay/2016/02/the-problem-with-jewish-museums/ One can argue that we live in an age where the particular cruelty of the Shoah/Churban Europa has been cheapened by universalizing it in a PC way so as to allow for a feeling of comparable suffering by every side in every tribal conflict-none of which approach the magnitude of Hitler’s intentions and near complete anhilation of  European Jewry.

  6. Noam Stadlan says:

    If you want to apologize to the members of Beit Hillel for speaking ill of them(“it is anyone’s guess…”) here is the list of leaders to start with:

    Rav Moshe Aberman
    Rabbanit Naomi Adler
    Rav Yitzhak Ajzner
    Rabbanit Ruth Alster
    Rav Elisha Ancselovits
    Rabbanit Racheli Avisar Label
    Rav Avi Baumol
    Rav Efraim Beck
    Rav Adi Ben Shachar
    Rav Yoni Berlin
    Rabbanit Ariela Bigman
    Rav David Bigman
    Rabbanit Tamar Bitton
    Rav Asi Blank
    Rav Yitzhak Blau
    Rabbanit Shoshana Boublil
    Rav Tzuriel Boublil
    Rav Shlomo Brin
    Rav David Brofsky
    Rabbanit Mali Brofsky
    Rav Chaim Burgansky
    Rav Moshe Cahn
    Rav Adiel Cohen
    Rabbanit Yardena Cope-Yosef
    Rav Benny de la Fuente
    Rabbanit Atara Eis
    Rav Raffi Eis
    Rav Meir Ekstein
    Rabbanit Tehila Elitzur
    Rav Yehoshua Engelman
    Rabbanit Devora Evron
    Rabbanit Carmit Feintuch
    Rabbanit Miriam Feldmann Kaye
    Rav Shmuel Feuchtwanger
    Rabbanit Esther Fisher
    Rabbanit Ilana Fodiman-Silverman
    Rabbanit Sarah Friedland ben Arza
    Rabbanit Chana Friedman
    Rabbanit Tova Ganzel
    Rabbanit Nechama Goldman Barash
    Rav Yehuda Gilad
    Rav Zvi Grumet
    Rabbanit Sharona Halickman
    Rav Aviram Hariv
    Rabbanit Hanna Hashkes
    Rav Shlomo Hecht
    Rav Nati Helfgot
    Rav Aviad Hollander
    Rav Seth (Avi) Kadish
    Rav Ari Kahn
    Rav Avi Kannai
    Rav Ysoscher Katz
    Rav Warren Kaye
    Rabbanit Tirza Kelman
    Rabbanit Rachel Keren
    Rabbanit Yafit Klimer
    Rav Shmuel Klitsner
    Rabbanit Oshra Koren
    Rav Zvi Koren

    Rabbanit Batya Kraus
    Rabbanit Ora Krausz
    Rav Amit Klia
    Rabbanit Noa Lau
    Rav Binyamin Lehman
    Rav Aaron Leibowitz
    Rabbanit Rachel Levmore
    Rabbanit Ayelet Libson
    Rabbanit Rebecca Linzer
    Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
    Rav Ronen Lubitch
    Rav Yaakov Mozer
    Rabbanit Tamar Meir
    Rav Michael Melchior
    Rabbi Dr. David Mescheloff
    Rabbanit Uria Mevorach
    Rabbanit Vered Mezuman Aviad
    Rabbanit Karen Miller Jackson
    Rabbanit Michal Nagen
    Rav Yaakov Meir Nagen
    Rav Meir Nehorai
    Rav Kalman Neuman
    Rabbanit Pnina Neuwirth
    Rav Ronen Neuwirth
    Rabbanit Anat Novoselsky
    Rav Ilai Ofran
    Rav Yaakov Ohayon
    Rav Shlomo Riskin
    Rabbanit Avigail Rock
    Rav Yehuda Rock
    Rabbanit Esti Rosenberg
    Rav Yoni Rosensweig
    Rabbanit Tamar Roth
    Rav Aviad Sanders
    Rabbanit Na’ama Sat
    Rav Mike Schlitz
    Rav Morey Schwartz
    Rabbanit Ayelet Segal
    Rav Daniel Segal
    Rav Yeroham Simsovic
    Rav Hanan Schlesinger
    Rachelle Sprecher Fraenkel
    Rav Yair Silverman
    Rav Yossef Slotnik
    Rav Yossi Soffer
    Rav Moshe Speter
    Rav Gideon Sylvester
    Rav Ohad Teharlev
    Rabbanit Michal Tikochinsky
    Rav Avraham Walfish
    Rabbanit Ruth Walfish
    Rav Avi Weiss
    Rav Daniel Wolf
    Rabbi Pesach Wolicki
    Rav Dr. Jeffrey Woolf
    Rav Yair Yaniv
    Rav Alan Yuter
    Rav Josh Yuter
    Rav Mishael Zion

    • sb says:

      Not sure what your point is. I must assume that you somehow feel that since there are so many people on your list , therefore they must be right and Rabbi Gordimer wrong. Clearly you must realize the pointlessness of arguing numbers. The original avraham was a lone voice of truth in a world of sheker.

      If you have an intelligent rebuttal please feel free to post it. But as is typical of all OO responses you skirt the issue.

      • dr. bill says:

        While containing a few names associated to varying degrees with the US OO stream, this is just a SMALL example of what MO life in Israel includes.  As I have noted repeatedly, while the right has infiltrated many MO institutions in the US, the future of MO is growing robustly in Israel.   For those less familiar with the individuals on the list, it includes a number of Ramim at Gush, one of whom is IMHO without a doubt RAL ztl’s most distinguished talmid, the wife of a friend (not a Rabbi) who is identified as Rabbanit despite receiving semicha, (no one attacked her semicha as she, unlike ANY semicha student I know, can answer sheailot in all arba helkei SA), one of the few yadin, yadin graduate of Riets, etc. etc.  I thank Dr. Stadlan for helping me make my by now too often repeated point about happenings in Israel.  I doubted anyone MO  would attack a group like this; perhaps I was not wrong. 🙂

      • Noam Stadlan says:

        i suggest you google the names and understand the number and greatness of the tamidei chacham represented in the list.  That was the point.

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