“To Heal the World?” The Tikkun Olam Distortion
(This article first appeared in Arutz Sheva.)
Jonathan Neumann’s To Heal the World? is nothing short of a lethal indictment – actually a conviction – of the leadership of liberal Judaism, documenting the gross distortion and massive destruction wreaked by an assortment of misguided and agenda-driven left-wing icons and activists during the past half century.
We have all read about the rampant rates of intermarriage and assimilation among heterodox Jewry, which are resulting in projections for near disappearance of the non-Orthodox American Jewish community over the next several decades. And we all know about the heretical bases of the heterodox Jewish movements, whose denial of the Torah as absolute Divine Truth has led to dissolution and disintegration; such has been the case of all deviant movements within Judaism, from the Sadducees to the Boethusians to the Karaites and beyond. A new book about these phenomena would not have been needed.
To Heal the World? therefore propels the discussion to the next, unchartered step, demonstrating with extreme detail and clarity how heterodox leadership has crafted a novel, political-oriented version of Judaism, based on liberal social values which are foreign to Judaism and which have been twisted like pretzels into a new creed, resulting in a “Tikkun Olam” (“Heal/Repair the World”) pseudo-Judaism that has become a fierce weapon against Torah tradition and support for the State of Israel. The warped concoction that is Tikkun Olam Judaism has in fact come to replace old-fashioned non-Orthodoxy, such that what was a very weak and diluted vestige of tradition has now become the antithesis of Judaism.
For those of us who are blessed to have received an advanced Torah education, the distortion of Tikkun Olam Judaism is obvious. We know the source texts which are misrepresented by Tikkun Olam Jewish leadership and are morphed into messages that convey the exact opposite of the texts’ content and meaning; we see how the slogans of Tikkun Olam Judaism are comprised of a mongrelization of Judaism and that which is anathema to it; it is clear to us that the architects of the Tikkun Olam movement are ignorant of Judaism and, since they know slightly more than their followers, they take advantage of their followers’ ignorance, dosing large amounts of Tikkun Olam Kool-Aid into their followers’ mouths and minds.
However, the majority of the Jewish public lacks the knowledge to appreciate what has been foisted upon it – and even the more educated Jewish public is largely unaware of the broad schematics and the sweeping agenda that constitute the Tikkun Olam Judaism movement. Jonathan Neumann has done us all a service by methodically laying forth the facts with a well-organized, rich historical presentation, including the provision of all major source texts upon which Tikkun Olam Judaism is based and demonstrating how these texts have been hijacked to serve a false cause, and documenting how that cause has developed into a Judaism that is a mere front for social liberalism and radicalism that lacks Jewish content and that has basically erased all Jewish vestiges from its manifestation.
As the massive data mustered by Jonathan Neumann substantiates all too well, Tikkun Olam Judaism has become the embodiment of anti-Zionism. Many of worst enemies of the State of Israel and Jewish security and autonomy over the Holy Land are products of the Tikkun Olam movement, who have attempted to embolden support for the Arab position and to arouse self-doubt among Jews regarding their right to their Land. One must read the detailed, factual portrayal of this all in To Heal the World?. It is one thing to read a story here and there about heterodox (and even fringe Orthodox) Jewish support for such enemies; it is something else to be presented with a systematic pattern and sweep of the problem, documented with full sources and context, that bring the issue home in a shocking manner, as Jonathan Neumann has done.
Readers are also advised to go through a great and important clarification of the true nature of Tikkun Olam, as posted by Rabbi Y.A. Korff. Had heterodox Jewry followed Rabbi Korff’s advice, there would not have been a need for Jonathan Neumann’s pivotal new book.
Why have the heterodox Jewish movements invented and embraced a pagan Tikkun Olam religion? You may be surprised for me to write this, but I believe that the root is a noble one. Please allow me to explain:
God endowed His chosen people with a thirst for spirituality and meaning, and to strive for lofty goals. The Jew of tradition, who finds immense inspiration and life purpose in the Torah, quenches this thirst and satisfies this quest by living and studying the dynamic and all-encompassing Word of God. The sense of meaning and fulfillment that one experiences by following a Torah life, in the real sense, cannot be underestimated.
However, for the Jew who has abandoned the Torah, there is a huge existential void that must be filled. Sadly, contemporary heterodox Judaism has created Tikkun Olam to fill that gap. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the gap was filled by heterodox Jewry’s immersion into various new political movements and social causes, as well as acute involvement in the entertainment industry and secular academia; this still holds true today in large measure, as the Jew’s spiritual DNA propels him to keep searching for something that he believes will satisfy his profound thirst for meaning and fulfillment. Once heterodox Judaism became diluted to the point of seeming empty and farcical even to many of its own adherents, and once those adherents no longer identified with traditional values and beliefs, the next stage was a natural synthesis and merger of liberal social and political values with highly-diluted Judaism, resulting in Tikkun Olam Judaism. Perhaps appreciating how we got into this mess is the first step of getting out of it. Certainly, To Heal the World? serves as a venue toward this important realization and the need for serious action.
As I recently wrote elsewhere on a very related topic:
The Torah requires us to follow the example of Abraham, whose trajectory was one of counterculture relative to the surrounding society’s values. Abraham’s divine mission, which established eternal path and precedent for Judaism, set him apart and provided the narrative of submission to God’s laws, irrespective of prevailing moral values and considerations. As Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik explained, when addressing the Torah’s curious omission of the sacrifices offered by the Biblical Patriarchs on the altars they erected:
Apparently, the mizbe’ach (altar) of the Avos (Patriarchs) was not for the purpose of offering a live sacrifice. The mizbe’ach symbolized submission, their own surrender. Because the highest sacrifice is not when you offer an animal. It’s very easy when you offer an animal. The highest sacrifice is when man offers himself.
What do I mean ‘offers himself’? The Torah hated, condemned, human sacrifices… It’s one of the most reprehensible abominations. Yes, physical human sacrifice was rejected, but spiritual human sacrifice — submission and surrender, acceptance of God’s will, to abide by His will even if His will sometimes runs contrary to our aspirations, His will sometimes makes no sense to us — [such was valued and required]. We can’t understand it, it’s incomprehensible. We are full with questions, we can point out so many contradictions. [But] if we surrender and submit ourselves, actually this is the highest.
And that’s what Avrohom (Abraham) taught himself, and he taught others. This means ‘vayiven sham mizbe’ach’ (‘he erected an altar there’) actually. Whom did he sacrifice? His own independence, his own pride, his own comfort, his own desires, his own logic, his own reason. He believed. If one believes, it is an act of surrender, sacrifice…
And, as Rabbi Soloveitchik stated at a 1957 convention of the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA):
Any attempt to inject contemporary meaning, which should be in agreement with the morality and the value system of the pagan New York Times, in sinful, and a crime on the part of the rabbi.
Being a Jew means to choose the Torah’s ways over those of contemporary society. Torah is a challenge, but if we choose to defend that which is antithetical to the Torah rather than choosing to follow the Torah, what does that say about us as Jews?
Read Tikkun Olam : Social Responsibility in Jewish Thought and Law(The Orthodox Forum Series) edited by David Shatz, Chaim Waxman and Nathan Diament for different Orthodox perspectives on Tikkun Olam
As illusions about people and society have spread, feeling good and preening in public have become the popular PC substitutes for doing good. There is always some beguiling, specious excuse for a spectacular policy failure. Every failure leads to calls for more extreme variations on the same theme.
There are even those who have no illusions about the likely outcome, but want to destabilize society, join the enemy, etc. What to us is a bug is to them a feature.
RGordimer demonstrated very convincingly that the infatuation with the progressive agenda as defined by its adhetents as Tikun olam and its antecedents was a result of the search for an ersatz set of values in place of and instead of Torah Avodah and Gmilus Chasadim. There is a sad joke that one such contemporary adherent asked how to translate Tikun Olam into Hebrew.
Heterodox Judaism is down to one issur kares: “There shall not enter unto your congregation a Republican.”
The Orthodox Forum book mentioned by Mycroft discusses Noachide laws and offers views on some political and social issues. that were pressing at the time of its publication in the early 1990s. it by no means examines the social issues facing the Torah observant community today.
When you separate Tikun Olam from being part of Malchus HAShem the result is the progressive agenda and its ideological antecedents.
There is a wonderful memoir of how a Jew remained a Shomer Torah UMitzvos in the former USSR during the pre Glasost years. The author noted that many Communist apparatchiks were Jewish. It is no secret that Communism and Socialism because of their appeals to social justice and political reform in theory appealed to many Jews. Yet, as Irving Kristol observed “Socialism is as Socialism does”, and Communism and Socialism in practice as a governing theory perniciously oppressed human rights and led to notoriously unproductive economies with privileges accorded only to those at the top of the ruling class. No country has ever succeeded in maintaining totalitarian political control such as Communism while simultaneously being welcoming of open trade with the West.
Listen to
https://www.yutorah.org/lectures/lecture.cfm/882568/dr-tova-lichtenstein/creativity-and-tikkun-olam-the-rav-and-rav-aharon/
“Chaim Eliezer
June 26, 2018 at 7:52 am
Heterodox Judaism is down to one issur kares: “There shall not enter unto your congregation a Republican.””
Chaim Eliezer
June 26, 2018 at 7:52 am
Much of Orthodox Judaism revolves around their ikkar: “There shall not enter unto your congregation one who believes in social justice and helping the downtrodden.”
“When you separate Tikun Olam from being part of Malchus HAShem the result is the progressive agenda”
Who says Malcus Hashem won’t have a progressive agenda? I see no place where malchus Hashem is synonymous with treating 1% of population deserving more than the other 99% altogether
I doubt that RYBS or RAL ZL would have endorsed any of todays so called progressive agenda or any of its historical ideological or siciological antecedents.
I doubt that RYBS or RAL ZL would have endorsed any of todays so called progressive agenda or any of its historical ideological or siciological antecedents. Todays progesdive agenda has a strong ideological antipathy to any objections to feminism and tbe LGBT agenda that can be legitimately and strongly based on religious values .Malchus HaShem embraces both Shemittah Vyovel Nidah and Pru vRivu as well as recognizing the need to compensate the injured and the protection of property rights and ownership. It embraces tzedaka and chesed but by no means entitlements or a free lunch or a blank check with no restrictions or limitations. It is wrong to claim that reproductive freedom is a core Jewish value
Mycroft talk to anyone who survived the Holicaust or the Gulag. They can explain why the progesssive avenda is nothing more than a reworking of Communism.in theory.we all are born with the potential to seek our potential. That does not mean that those who succeed are privileged.rather it means they maximized their potential
WADR why are so antipathetic to calitalusm.and democracy and so willing to apologize and offer a defense of socialism .in practice?
Mycroft ever hear or participate in Tomchei Shabbos or any of the many groups that help the downtrodden in the Orthodox community? Compare the work accomplished by Achiezer after Sandy with little pr np government assistance with the results in NewOrleans or Puerto Rico where decades of entitlements just like socialism uproot any idea that people can revuild on their own.
Mycroft–take a look at Musaf for RH and especially Malchiyos -Lsaken Olam BMalchus Shakai, as explicated and explained by RYBS in many of the shiurim available in primt in the Noraos HaRav series,.means that we hope that the nations of the world will accept Malchus HaShem. It does not refer to any political agenda because at best man is a Melech Evyon.
“one who believes in social justice and helping the downtrodden”
the whole point of the social justice movement is to not help the downtrodden. the torah commands that the individual be involved in helping the unfortunate, and not pass it off to the group (society). the social justice movement was created to so that the individual would no longer feel responsible for the less fortunate as it has become the responsibility of some anonymous bureaucrat.
orthodox judaism is chock full of people who help the downtrodden (often without concern for whether or not they are the politically correct group to help) but very few who believe in passing off that responsibility by supporting social justice.
“Mycroft talk to anyone who survived the Holocaust or the Gulag. They can explain why the progressive agenda is nothing more than a reworking of Communism” Do you think George Soros would feel that way? How about Congressman Tom Lantos? How about Elie Wiesel? How about Warsaw ghetto uprising leader Marek Edelman? There are quite a few holocaust survivors who are progressives.
See the annexed column https://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/264582/paying-the-price-for-abandoning-jewish-peand especially the linked letter by a prominent R clergyman who together witha a RY at BM wrote a fascinating book based on their emails re their views of Judaism. This is what happens when you separate Tikun Olam from Malchus HaShem
See the annexed column https://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/264582/paying-the-price-for-abandoning-jewish-peand especially the linked letter by a prominent R clergyman who together witha a RY at BMG wrote a fascinating book based on their emails re their views of Judaism. This is what happens when you separate Tikun Olam from Malchus HaShem
Charles Krauthammer ZL was a wonderful example of a conservative public intellectual who had a very strong day school education and traditional upbringing. Regardless of whether you agreed with Krauthammer’s stances, he expressed his POV cogently and fearlessly. FWIW, I found his book as well as a collection of essays by Peggy Noonan of the WSJ (a regular columnist every Shabbos) always compelling-no other columnists in the media today have warned us so eloquently about the social consequences of a society detached from and unaware of basic religious principles such as Lo Sirtzach. I tend to doubt that too many in the Tikun Olam world view either Krauthammer ZL or Noonan as worth reading but this interview with Krauthammer ZL is compelling nt.https://tikvahfund.org/library/transcript-charles-krauthammer-at-last-zion/
“why are so antipathetic to calitalusm.and democracy and so willing to apologize and offer a defense of socialism .in practice”
Judaism does capitalism and it does not equal not equal socialism I don’t espouse either on an Orthodox blog,one can be a capitalist or socialist Rabbis have been both,neither are contradicted by halacha or Torah
“the whole point of the social justice movement is to not help the downtrodden. the torah commands that the individual be involved in helping the unfortunate, and not pass it off to the group (society).” Torah makes society responsible see eg eglah arufah and yadeinu lo shafhchu and why chachamim had to say that.
“orthodox judaism is chock full of people who help the downtrodden (often without concern for whether or not they are the politically correct group to help)”
chock full of peopleReally? I have seen many fundraising events for Rebbe x or Rebbe Y or to try and spread Torah,I have not seen much activity to raise funds for societies poor.
“Mycroft talk to anyone who survived the Holicaust or the Gulag. They can explain why the progesssive avenda is nothing more than a reworking of Communism”anyone?
Does Abraham Foxman believe that?
“Socialism in practice as a governing theory perniciously oppressed human rights and led to notoriously unproductive economies with privileges accorded only to those at the top of the ruling class”
Not true, The Gini coefficient is much higher in capitalist countries.
“Not true, The Gini coefficient is much higher in capitalist countries”
Probably most important is to have progressive taxation and transfer payments to lower gini coefficients
Who benefits yhe most from.socialized medicine in Cuba othet than high tanking party officials? Abe Foxman is not representative of most survivors. Your views have been decidedly socialist for years.Soros admitted on 6o minutes that he saved his own nwck at the expense of his fellow Jews. Marek Edelman wad a far leftist.Eglah Arufah is offered solely because of the discovery of a mes. It is not a basis for extapolation to an agenda for social justice today. Again look at Achiezer and Tomchei Shabbos before you mischaracterize chesed.and tzedaka in tbe Torah world.
“Charles Krauthammer ZL was a wonderful example of a conservative public intellectual who had a very strong day school education and traditional upbringing. Regardless of whether you agreed with Krauthammer’s stances, he expressed his POV cogently and fearlessly”
I read Krauthammer often,as I have George Will for decades, but I hope that you don’t use as a model someone brought up Orthodox who was educated who rejected what we consider important. You like his ideology fine ,acharei mot kedoshim emor but please not for someone who rejected traditional Judaism as you consider important.
Those states in the US with srate income taxes aych as Ct California and Illinois are suffering from.an exodus of citizens to Florida and Texas where there are no such taxes.
Socialism.in practice represses individual rights China Vietnam Cuba the former USSR and Cambodia are notoriously obvious examples. The quality of medical care and research in socialized countries pales with that in the US.
I’ve been in a lot of shuls in my life of all denominations and stripes. Outside of the progressive Orthodox synagogues i have belonged to (where diversity is welcomed as are political positions spanning the gamut) most Orthodox hew a very dogmatic line in terms of their membership. Obama supporters were sure to be socially isolated and ostracized if tolerated at all. Meanwhile we have Trump supporters in our shul and everyone gets along.
Oh yes and we sure do our Tikkun Olam too.
Steve
You attack medical care in Cuba straw man. US life expectancy 43 behind among other countries, Israel, Canada, Norway,Sweden, France UK. We pay much more than other countries for health care.We have a health care system that is a disgrace, we tolerate a situation where many US citizens go without basic health care
Steve
You mischaracterizing socialist countries, you list Communist totalitarian governments as socialists. No more legitimate than if someone lists murderous regimes as typical capitalists. See eg Germany at how many companies survived the war with same controlling families on big companies frm 1932 to . Way past WW 11. Interesting for a ideology that kept big businesses operating and did not transfer assets to the common man used socialist term as a fake marketing tool
California and NY have higher per capita income than Texas and Florida, hike infant mortality rate in Texas and Florida is higher than the rate in New York and California
“Eglah Arufah is offered solely because of the discovery of a mes.”
But what did the leaders of the communities have to swear that they didn’t kill the person. not that we had any doubt that leaders actually murdered victim, but have to swear that victims needs were taken care of.
“Abe Foxman is not representative of most survivors.”
Do you have data of views of survivors, but irrelevant I was responding to “Mycroft talk to anyone who survived the Holicaust or the Gulag.”
“Your views have been decidedly socialist for years.”
I proudly believe that society has an obligation to our less fortunate, you disagree fine.Read our Neviim,especially Haftarot for fast days and Yom Kippur
“Soros admitted on 6o minutes that he saved his own nwck at the expense of his fellow Jews. ” Not my hero, but mah inyan shmittah ezel har sinai. How do you think many survivors survived?Al dan chaveircha ad shetagiyah limkomo.
Mycroft-I stand by my reading of history since 1917. Socialism in practice produced the Holocaust the Gulags boat families and the horrific policies that characterize Cuba Cambodia and Noth Korea and excessively regulated no growth economies in the UK Israel India and Europe for many years and much of the Third World. Socialism in practice remaimd the greatest threat to human rights and individual initiative and accomplishment today.
Krauthammers views on politics including Israel and what he viewed as Jewish continuity were superb. Halevai thay he had met and learned And been inspired by RYBS while in Boston. He could have become a fascinating Talmid Chacham as well.
Reb Yid socialists always rewrite history. When Onama was president anyone who criticized him was inevitably called a racist despite rhe merits of their views.
Mycroft-in terms of quality of care and medical research-none of the countries that you mentioned compare to the American medical system. HHC for example offers the equivalent and concomitant poor quality of care as expected in the socialized medicine world and is kept afloat by politics and the fact that major medical centers have affiliation contracts whereby their residents and interns gain valuable training at such poor hospitals.
The ideological basis of socialism and especially the pernicious belief that the state knows more and can provide more and better quality services than the private sector in all phases of life other than preserving law and order and protection from domestic and foreign enemies., and remains the core value of the progressive world- Despite this mythological belief, it is difficult to maintain that the VA or the USPS , FEMA, and he NYFD provides better quality and more efficient services than private medical care, Fed Ex or faith based initiatives such as Achiezer. and Hatzala. If you want to see where redistribution of wealth takes place albeit on a very slow basis, just visit any courthouse in any area of the US. The Marshall Plan post WW2 and the benevolent occupation of Japan where far less was required politically and economically of Japan than even of Germany, were deemed necessary to avoid Communism from moving the boundaries of the Iron Curtain and fueled the economic recovery of West Gwermany, as opposed to East Germany, which was a an economic basketcase and ruled by Communists , and Japan. Statist progressives believe that only the state can dictate what educatiion parents should choose for their children, despite the fact that public education today is predicated on social promotion and scandalously low passage rates on tests and the discouragement of any discussion of basic morality.
There are many examples of how statist progressives view the world through rose colored glasses. Progressives in general view all social problems as remedied only through governmental intervention and regulation. One can argue both sides of the right to bear arms and masss shootings but I would suggest that the mental health issues and the responsibility of the media in manufacturing videos that depict violence and sexual imagery graphically and the decline of the family and religious values have been ignored as well as a little or no emphasis on the pathology and psychological background of the perpetrators. Again, I would suggest that those who urge walk outs in sympathy with the victims should read this column. eggynoonan.com/the-parkland-massacre-and-the-air-we-breathe/
Hareidi Judaism has also produced a bumper crop of anti-Zionists. Shkoyach!
I think that a Yom Iyun on the right to bear arms and related issues as viewed by Chazal and Rishonim would be far more worthwhile as a Jewish response to mass shootings than joining in a PC Zomboid like call forgun control as the only solution to the issue of who should be allowed to possess a weapon. I would note that in Israel many IDF members keep their weapons at home and israel has no history of mass shootings.
Mycroft-Soros is AFAIK the only survivor and I have read the memoirs of many and spoken to many over the years, who has admitted to aiding and abetting the Nazis in an extermination camp . His funding BDS groups and anti Israell and anti border views are a matter of matter of public record.
For those interested see the annexed video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8Id0-Lsyr0
Many post war Poskim including RMF dealt with ShuT posed by those who thought that they accted improperly in saving their own lives. Obviously, Soros , as per the video, was not bothered by such issues
Mycrroft-look at it this way. Phillip Roth and Tom Wolfe both passed away recently. Roth’s career can be fairly described as one describing the psychological angst of post war American Jews as they assimilated in heart and mind. Wolfe was OTOH a fearless and satiric critic of the PC and a great chronicler of some of the best ( The Right Stuff) and worst elements of post WW2 American life and especially the PC tendency to mainstream the radical and the unacceptatble.
FWIW, Michael Chabon, whose views we talked about here recently, probably knew less about Judaism than Roth and is not in the same league as Wolfe as a great writer and social critic
For those of us who attended a high school in NY where the Regents tests were your final, take a look at how watered down the tests have become//nypost.com/2018/06/22/regents-score-sham/
Mycroft-Rambam based on Chazal writes that Neviim all focused on having Klal Yisrael perform all mitzvos properly and not in a perfunctory manner and to do teshuvah, as well as to add strength to Dinei Torah., and that Leasid Lavo the only Neviim that will be relevant will be Joshua because of Yishuv EY and Esther because she was successful in restoring Jewish unity and acceptance of TSBP amd a communal wide teshuvah and ultimately the Binyan Bayis Sheni. The Neviim did not advocate a social agenda divorced from Shemiras HaMitzvos. Your comment in this regard is classical R propaganda
“Mycroft-Soros is AFAIK the only survivor and I have read the memoirs of many and spoken to many over the years, who has admitted to aiding and abetting the Nazis in an extermination camp”
Al dan chavercha, how do you think people survive in concentration camps,not by leading resistance.
Mycroft-noone on welfare is denied medical care, That is a canard.
Mycroft-read the memoirs and talk to survivors-Soros is the only one who has zero regret for his actions in aiding and abetting the Nazis in an extermination camp, as opposed to many survivors who engaged in many different means of defying their would be exterminators. His anti Israel and pro BDS views speak for themselves
“that Leasid Lavo the only Neviim that will be relevant will be Joshua because of Yishuv EY and Esther because she was successful in restoring Jewish unity and acceptance of TSBP amd a communal wide teshuvah and ultimately the Binyan Bayis Sheni. ”
What will happen in leasid lavo is not my concern,we live in the present.Are you seriously maintaining that the message of Neviim is not relevant to us right now? If you are more interested in Chazals message than Neviim,look to the message Chazal chose for this weeks haftorah-the last haftorah not tied to before or after Tisha Bav before Rosh Hashana. Read the last three verses especially.
“The Neviim did not advocate a social agenda divorced from Shemiras HaMitzvos.”
Depends on how one defines terms, certainly many disagree with you. See RAL eg An ethic independent of halacha. The Rav “halacha is a floor on proper behavior not the ceiling”
Your comment in this regard is classical R propaganda. Maybe treating Neviims message is anathema toyou, but it is classic yahadus, you choose to call it Reform fine,but learn Tanach. easy way is by http://www.929.org.il they are finishing tanach in a couple of weeks will start again immediately.
“I would note that in Israel many IDF members keep their weapons at home and israel has no history of mass shootings.”
Actually,Israel has very strict gun laws-much stricter than US .
Re mass shootings in Israel,what do you call Baruch Goldsteins murderous rampage or is Hebron not Israel ? Re general comment see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Mass_shootings_in_Israel
“Hareidi Judaism has also produced a bumper crop of anti-Zionists. Shkoyach!”
In general they have produced even a greater percentage of ant-Zionists
“Mycroft-noone on welfare is denied medical care, That is a canard.”
It is not easy to get on welfare in many states. The Clinton administration limited welfare extensively. It is a lie to say that our poor people are in the health care system, true hospitals have to treat in emergency,but not non emergency care.They show up there their whole life and family life is ruined, the Hospitals are very aggressive in collecting their claims, effective SOL is close toa quarter a century,see eg NY SOL on making a claim,then once reduced to judgement the SOL on collection of a judgement.
Want all to have effective health care give everybody what I’m on-Medicare.Make it a single payer and expenses go down by a quarter-reduce all medical offices eligibility bureaucracy etc..
The party was created as a means to draw workers away from communism and into völkisch nationalism.[8] Initially, Nazi political strategy focused on anti-big business, anti-bourgeois and anti-capitalist rhetoric, although such aspects were later downplayed in order to gain the support of industrial entities and in the 1930s the party’s focus shifted to anti-Semitic and anti-Marxist themes.[9
After using socialist language as a marketing device,once in power they joined up with the industrial elite who made out nicely during the third Reich,many continued to have great wealth at least decades after WW11
“Krauthammers views on politics including Israel and what he viewed as Jewish continuity were superb. Halevai thay he had met and learned And been inspired by RYBS while in Boston. He could have become a fascinating Talmid Chacham as well.”
He rejected traditional Yahadus, yet you treat him as a hero, yet you attack OO and they dont claim to reject traditional yahadus.I read Krauthammer and if I knew when he would be on TV and try and watch him,but he rejected except for political views.So political views more important than traditional yahadus as long as the person is conservative.
Goldstein was an exception to the rule. Gun control is not the reason . It is simply the fact that Israel trains and trusts its soldiers to act properly. There are many conservative thinkers who have very sound ideas on politics and culture who are not observant or even Jewish. They also do not make a mockery of halacha in the way that OO does.
Mycroft i have been learning Tanach for years. Name one traditional commentary tbat justifies your POV.
Mycroft I reject your attenpt to graft Tanach or any other source that you tend to quote as a basis for rationalizing todays far left progressive ideology . The progessive ideology spawned by feminism and continued by the LGBT agenda is and always had as its goal the destruction of the conventional family.
Mycroft Chazal derive numerous rabbinic mitvos and gzeros from.Tanach. Rambam explains that Zachor and Shamor in terms of content were certainly explicated and stengthened by the Neviim. The Neviimm gave tbeir messages to address spiritual deficiencies in Shemiras HaMitzvos and to encourage Klal Yisrael to do teshuva.
Why do so many citizens in single payer system.countries seek medical care in the US? The answer is that the US system is far better in quality and research and rewards those who excell as opposed to penalizing excellence which is another hallmark of socialism. Look at CUNY simce open admissions if you need more proof.
There is a very interesting study posted at https://www.statista.com/statistics/546678/top-global-destinations-by-number-of-medical-tourists/ It would appear that the United States ranks third in the number of patients coming from a foreign country seeking medical care, behind Thailand and Mexico. And by the way, there are quite a few US citizens that go abroad to seek medical care as well. Google “medical tourism” and see what you come up with.
“Why do so many citizens in single payer system.countries seek medical care in the US?”
Data please-even assuming that number is large compared to size of US medical facilities,easy explanation,US has a lot of rare treatments available for the wealthy, rest of population is ignored. See life expectancy figures for US vs OECD countries,and we spend much more per capita
” The answer is that the US system is far better in quality and research”
Thus profits ofdrug companies much greater and we pay much more for the same drug than foreigners do. I am discussing medical care received by allAmericans vs what medical care foreign citizens receive
“and rewards those who excell as opposed to penalizing excellence which is another hallmark of socialism.”
The American system rewards medical providers and insurance companies much more than do other countries,but that does not translate into better care for Americans. We spend more and have worse outcomes.
“It does not refer to any political agenda because at best man is a Melech Evyon”
I am not the one who advocates political, ideological agendas. I do not advocate either a conservative or liberal agenda. I look at results, not merely conservative or liberal talking points.
I am not the one who has quoted ideologues in this thread,see eg Irving Kristol.This whole discussion started when I simply wrote the following
“mycroft
June 25, 2018 at 3:21 pm
Read Tikkun Olam : Social Responsibility in Jewish Thought and Law(The Orthodox Forum Series) edited by David Shatz, Chaim Waxman and Nathan Diament for different Orthodox perspectives on Tikkun Olam”
Is anything that may have some disagreement with the politically correct conservative views that you espouse automatically espousing Reform?
“Mycroft I reject your attenpt to graft Tanach or any other source that you tend to quote as a basis for rationalizing todays far left progressive ideology”
I read Tanach as a crucial source of hashkafa, I do not engage in theological gerrymandering which is often done by those on both sides, the conservative and some Orthodox groups, and liberalism and some non Orthodox groups.
Abe Foxman despite his long tenure at ADL. should be regarded as warning about and looking for evidence in vein of the revvival of the KKK and looking for swastiskas when in fact the real and most problematic form of anti Semiitism exists on college campuses and the rise of leftist intersectionalism as well as ADLs steadfast defense of the Establishment Clause at the expense of the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment
Steve
Re Anti semitism
It is far from exclusive on the left see eg
“But there is something new in the pervasive and relentless nastiness of Trump’s supporters, especially as they represent themselves online. While it’s certainly true that most of Trump’s supporters are neither racists nor anti-Semites, it appears to be the case that all of the racists and anti-Semites in this country (and many beyond) support Trump.”
see https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/trumps-terrifying-online-brigades/
Basically, Tikkun Olam is the liberal’s (socialist) is their substitute for Torah. This way, they pride themselves on being Jews without behaving as Jews and forfeiting our holy Torah so they can mix with the other nations and be like them, and yet pretend to be good guys. They deceive themselves and the world. They are ignorant of Jewish law and their purpose on earth. They usually wind up being the worst anti-semites. ‘From within your midst will come your worst enemies’. How true. Intermarriage and assimilation is the greatest holocaust. Today’s liberals are worse than ever.
There is plentyof antisemitism tolerated by the right,it is far from an exclusive left issue
” think that there are certainly Republicans who look out at those chanting mobs at Trump rallies and say, “Well those are our voters.” What that spawns is kind of this whataboutism. You see it from the Republican Jewish Coalition. They always say, “Hey, well, what about Louis Farrakhan, or what about the anti-Semitism of the left?” I feel like we actually have to be able to draw distinctions here, and there is a distinction here between the anti-Semitism of a Louis Farrakhan whose power peaked, if he ever had much power, in 1995 with the Million Man March, and the anti-Semitism of a movement that is global in scope right now in white nationalism. Louis Farrakhan doesn’t have 100,000 people marching in Budapest or actually securing a nomination for a major party in France. It’s not the same, and the fact is, OK, it might be uncomfortable for Republicans to speak out, but that doesn’t absolve them of the need to speak out. The reluctance to speaking out might be aided by the fact that it seems like if you dislike Muslims, a lot of very conservative Jews will be willing to give you a pass for anti-Semitism. I saw a touching photo of Ben Shapiro and Steve King together the other day.
That worries me as well. I absolutely understand what you’re saying. The anti-Semitism of the left that Republicans love to point out is born of anti-Zionism. The anti-Zionism has spilled into anti-Semitism. My God, if you’re chanting death to the Jews in the streets of Paris or London, you can’t say that that’s not anti-Semitism. But the alt-right kind of likes Israel. The alt-right sees Israel as an ethnic homeland, just like what they want in the United States. They want the United States to be a white homeland and the Jews here can all go to their ethnic homeland in Israel”
from
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/03/how-to-understand-anti-semitism-in-trumps-america.html
“Basically, Tikkun Olam is the liberal’s (socialist) is their substitute for Torah. This way, they pride themselves on being Jews without behaving as Jews and forfeiting our holy Torah so they can mix with the other nations and be like them, and yet pretend to be good guys”
Read the end of the Haftarah for this Shabbas, Prophets says God doesn’t need your sacrifices but what he needs is that you act in righteousness,mercy and justice.
unshalma parim sfateinu. Obviously,we currently don’t have sacrifices but our substitutes are important but they are not the essence of Yahadus to act properly and improve the earth. Obviously, we don’t believe that is all that is required, we all have obligations bein adam lemakom, but it is ludicrous to attack those who spend effort and time doing chesed work for the world. Study Neviim, they make the message clear.
The photos of Keith Ellison and other politicians with Farrakhan and Obama having Al Sharpton on his speed dial are strong evidence of anti Semitism.being tolerated by the Democratic Party and the most recent President who in jis heart wad not a friend of Israel. How do you define a worse outcome? Anyone who treats an inner city payient yakes the risk of being sued for treating a patient whoseifestyle is compromised by a lifestyle which leads to end stage liver kidney and heart disease. You cant expect the medical system to change lifestyles predicated on alcohol and drug abuse.someine who chooses to live free of addiction stands a far bwtter chance of a better medical outcome and life. One should never confuse rejection of the progressive agenda with anti Semitism. What one sees on college campuses is proof that anti Semitism is alive and well.
“Basically, Tikkun Olam is the liberal’s (socialist) is their substitute for Torah”
Certainly,if Tikkun Olam is a complete substitute for Torah,it is a distortion,Torah is a complete package.One must follow it,not picking and choosing, thus one can’t decide to just do Tikkun Olam and ignore Shabbos, Limmud Torah etc. Similarly,one can’t just learn Torah 24/7 and ignore ones family,societal obligations. Doing Razon Hashemis doing everything that God desires.The exact breakdown for anyone is beyond my pay grade,the trade offs due to scarcity of resources, for starters limited hours in a lifetime make the actual breakdown for anyone a tough question,humility would indicate not believing that one can attack others for their allocation.
Steve
Id rather discuss Jewish issues,I have no desire on a Jewish blog to respond on health care systems. We are talking past each other, you do not quote data to me. I will respond to an analysis that shows an analysis of why my data is wrong.
Every President since at least Reagan has been consistent in how they treat Israel, each one has done some positives and each one has been negative as well. Eg Reagan, selling AWACS to Saudi Arabia, recognizing PLO etc.
Re Presidents and antisemitism
https://www.momentmag.com/opinion-anti-semite-chief/
https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium-to-my-friends-who-support-trump-because-hes-pro-israel-1.5447539
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/28/opinion/valerie-plame-anti-semitism.html?login=email&auth=login-email
I would rather discuss Jewish issues aldo. I do tbink that the question of whether adcocacy and support of the progressive agenda today anc claiming that the same per se is either an authentic expression of Jewish continuity without Kabalas Ol Malchus Shamayim and Kabalas Ol Mitzvos is an issue of critical import. Obviously scientific and technological progress are part of the meaning of the first bracha of Krias Shema. I would question whether any political agenda is so included but any agenda which just won a primary in NYC and who is an avowed Hamas supporter deserves to be told why her views are anti Semitic as opposed to being lobbied for her vote.
Rejection of the progressive agenda should never be confused with anti Semitism. When It becomes impossible to perform Bris Milah prockaim.Rosh Chodesh and observe Shabbos and the YTs as well as to study Torah and worse RL then we will know that rhe most ancient of all social diseases has reached American shores.
Trunps father built a shul for free in Brooklyn
When educational authorities barge into a yeshiva or girls school and level the rhreat of closure necause a yeshiva or girls school refuses to acknowledege the feminist and LGBT agenda which has happened in the UK that is anti Semitism generated by the progressive movementwhich is presumably identical with many advocates of Tikun Olam.
For those interested this is the progressive agenda at work in the UKhttps://www.commentarymagazine.com/politics-ideas/british-education-regulators-get-creepy-with-jewish-girls-yesodey-hatorah/
There is no point in bringing in the atheistic wreckers of society to improve it.
For more about how and why anti Semtism is a mirror of anti Americanismwww.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/265365/anti-americanism see
Mycroft-I would rank Truman, LBJ Nixon Reagan WJC and even Bush 43 as far more friendly ( i.e. not just approving appropriations) but as understanding and appreciating the unique role that Israel has for the Jewish People and the importance of the US Israeli alliance far more than Eisenhower, JFK Ford Carter Bush 41 and Obama. Dennis Ross’s book is quite informative and instructive in this regard
Mycroft wrote:
“” unshalma parim sfateinu. Obviously,we currently don’t have sacrifices but our substitutes are important but they are not the essence of Yahadus to act properly and improve the earth. Obviously, we don’t believe that is all that is required, we all have obligations bein adam lemakom, but it is ludicrous to attack those who spend effort and time doing chesed work for the world. Study Neviim, they make the message clear.”
First of all, the Verse that you quoted means that our Tefilos are a substitute for Karbanos. I object to someone stating that merely doing chesed is the end all and be all of Judaism without a concomitant commitment to Bris Sinai.
For those interested in the limitations of statuistics by Gini Coeffiicients see the footnoted articles to the annexed article. at Footnotes 52 and 53https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gini_coefficient#cite_note-52
FWIW, neither the NYT ( excluding Brett Stephens staunch defense of Israel ) Moment or Hararetz should ever be confused with or accused of publishing “data” in defense of Israel
“Chesed for the world” as Mycroft used the phrase does not IMO mean that you have an open door policy to any sector of the world that perpetrates terror ( ask yourself who has perpetrated acts of terror pre and after 9-11) and that serves as a conduit for violent human trafficking and a population that blames the US and its institutions for high rates of crime and drug addiction,. and a poor family structure.
Mycroft referred us to a review in Slate of a recent book. The interested reader might also be interested in this review as well.https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/05/anti-semitism-in-america/559544/ For those seeking a more partisan review see Ben Shapiro’s review in Commentary.
Ben Shapiro’s critique of Weisman can be found here.https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/alt-blight/
Daughtry Sharpton and Farrakahn and their allies all were and remain close to not only the most recent occupant of the White House but all exercise much power. The current mayor of NY while he worked for Dinkins did nothing in response to the riots in Crown Heights that were in large part led by Daughtry and Sharpton
“Israel, Canada, Norway,Sweden, France [and ] UK.” were posited as socialist successes by Mycroft. In fact, thanks to reforms and privatization in Israel and the UK, socialist based economies were allowed to flourish . Milton Friedman told someone in Sweden that socialism worked well in homogeneous countries like Norway and Sweden-the latter of which has had a high suicide rate for decades and provided much of the bases of Ingmar Bergman’s films that depict a psychologically unhappy populace.
For those enamored with the single payer system try this articlewww.wsj.com/articles/yet-another-reason-to-thank-the-founding-fathers-1530649821?mod=djemBestOfTheWeb
I guess the derech ha-emtzoi died in the blogosphere. Yehi Zichro Baruch.
The latest WHO statistics show a suicide rate of 15.4 per 100,000 of population for Sweden, as opposed to 14.3 per 100,000 for the United States. That’s not that big a difference.
Many have noticed how often the secular (often aggressively anti-religious) panaceas for world problems have made things much worse over time. Many others, too ignorant or indoctrinated to take notice, have replicated failure and called it success. Our job is not to split the difference between truth and falsehood.
For those interested in a single payer medical service at work see http://www.wsj.com/articles/reform-the-nhs-before-it-kills-again-1530723064
Socialists and Tikkun Olam adherents are Jews with either no Jewish souls (Erev Rav) or just plain Ignoramuses in Judaism.
They throw off the yoke of Torah and have no Yirat Shamayim, but use the words Tikkun Olam as their view of Judaism, justifying to themselves what good Jews they are (in reality, the worst that can be) and thereby no need to work hard and do mitzvot nor adhere to any of G-D’s Laws, as many do not even believe in G-D. Phony Jews. Suggest they do teshuvah in these end times! As a commenter above wrote, ‘socialism’ brought on most of the world’s ills and destruction, but yet these chachamim learned absolutely nothing from history. They are no different than the other nations of the world because their excuse is no different than when H’ came around to each of the nations and asked if they would accept the Torah and when they were told what’s in it, they said they can never adhere to these laws. These messed up ‘jews’ are the same.
Mavin
Read
http://seforim.blogspot.com/2008/03/rabbis-and-communism-by-marc-b.html
For those interested in how Sweden, and feminists) devalues parenting see the annexed linkhttps://www.wsj.com/articles/the-human-cost-of-swedens-welfare-state-1531346908