In defense of Shas
Recently, the coalition negotiations with Kadima have brought up some very ugly epithets about Shas and its leadership. The political discourse has become rather unsightly. Regular readers of this column are aware that I am no great fan of Shas. Although some years ago I toyed with the idea of voting for the party, I feel that most Sephardim are not duly represented by Shas. In the two decades since its founding, little has been done to improve the lives of those impoverished Sephardim that are supposedly its constituency. Those who wish to defame Shas have pointed to the fact that many of their important decisions are made, not by their elected members of Knesset, but by a Council of sages, headed by Rav Ovadia Yosef. Don't mess with the stereotype
I have to admit it; I really enjoyed Adam Sandler's new film "Don't mess with the Zohan". If all of Sandler's previous films barely elicited a smirk from me, with Zohan I was in tears. The Israeli stuck in the age of 'Disco' and obsessed with matkot (beach racket game) was spot on.
While Sandler's attempt at an Israeli accent sounded more Marseille than Metulla, there was another stereotype which bothered me more. It is time to decide
There is a battle raging in Israel that has long been simmering just below the surface of the mainstream Israeli perception. However, recent events have meant that the dispute has reached such a magnitude that it has become well known to even those outside of its parameters. Recent accusations against Rabbi Haim Druckman, head of the Conversion Authority that have since led to his being dismissed from his position, have opened this simmering dispute into something akin to an all-out rabbinical war. For those who are not aware of these latest events: basically a ruling by a panel of High Rabbinical Court judges upholding an earlier decision by the Ashdod rabbinical court retroactively annulled a woman's 15-year-old conversion to Judaism by Rabbi Druckman. The issue was that it was felt that Rabbi Druckman had converted someone that he supposedly knew would not lead a completely observant lifestyle. The beautiful game
I was invited to my first Israeli basketball game earlier in the week and I was curious to witness a live game and its accompanying atmosphere. Having been brought up in England, football (I refuse to use the word 'soccer' which is anyway a shortened version of Association Football) is the only sport that matters, however, I am always curious to experience any quintessentially Israeli events. In England and most of the world, 'Football is life'. As one English manager famously put it: "some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that." The Nature of Yom Ha'Atzmaut
Every year there is a major debate amongst the religious community as to how much emphasis Yom Ha'atzmaut should be given in the synagogue. In most prayer books there are special prayers to be said on the evening of Yom Ha'Atzmaut which includes parts of Leha Dodi and tehillim, one sung to the tune of the HaTikva. While many Ashkenazi haredim will not acknowledge Yom Ha'Atzmaut, amongst the Sephardim the debate is more about the nature of the day. During the day there is a debate amongst Sephardim about whether to say Hallel with a blessing or without. The Kitniyot debate: between tradition and unity
At no other time of the year is there such seeming distinction between Ashkenazim and Sephardim. There are few customs - and it is only a custom - which are belittled by even respectable Ashkenazi authorities as the laws of kitniyot on Pessah. Rabbenu Yeruham ben Meshullam (Provence, 14th century) said "those accustomed to not eating rice and various kinds of cooked kitniyot on Pessah abide by a stupid custom which makes it harder on themselves (to observe and enjoy the festival) and I have no idea why they do so". Rav Yaaqov ben Asher rejected the custom, saying "it is an excessive restriction and improper". Rav Zvi Hirsch Ashkenazi known as "Zvi the Wise One" (1660-1718) and his son Rabbi Yaaqov Amdan (1697-1776) opposed the custom with all their might and wanted to eliminate it. They called it "a restriction that has no rhyme or reason for ever existing". Rav Shmuel of Falaise (in the 13th century), supported the custom but nevertheless admits that this custom comes from a mistake and prohibits things that had been permitted. Restoring the Crown to its rightful place?
Recently a heated debate has occurred in the haredi world concerning the issue of organ donations. While most haredim would not dream of carrying an organ donor's card, a law that has just been passed in Israel may change some of the perceptions. The Knesset approved a law last Monday intended to regulate organ donations in compliance with Jewish Law. The bill was passed with the support of the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party, while United Torah Judaism voted against the law citing halacha. This law is the culmination of a very deep process of discussion between rabbis and doctors. The new law is supported by some of the major rabbis of both the religious-Zionist and Sephardi world, including Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar, former Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, former Chief Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu and others. The law was opposed by the leader of the Lithuanian haredim, Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv. A leading in UTJ, MK Moshe Gafni explained at the Knesset plenum during the debate, "A brain dead person is a living being." Reclaiming the Jewish word
While we look forward to Purim, there are many other reasons that Adar is such a celebratory month. The third of Adar commemorates the completion of the Second Temple, the seventh is the hilula of Moses and the 28th of Adar is a Talmudic celebration to commemorate the rescinding of a Roman decree against ritual circumcision, Torah study and keeping the Shabbat. However, another important date is often overlooked that goes to the root of the 'People of the Book' in the modern era. Next week is the anniversary of the creation of the first printed and dated Hebrew book ever published with movable type on the 10th of Adar, Feb. 17, 1475. The book is a copy of Rashi's commentary of the Five Books of Moses. It was printed by Abraham ben Yitzhak ben Garton in Adar 5235 in the city of Reggio di Calabria, Italy. The sole copy of this book that still exists is kept in the Palatine Library in Parma, Italy. The method of type was called incunabula, which is a block-book printed from a single carved or sculpted wooden block for each page, made with individual pieces of cast metal movable type on a printing press, in the technology made famous by Johannes Gutenberg. When Balkan Muslims were rescued by Jews
The recent turmoil in the Balkans and the hosting of the Global Forum for Combating Anti-Semitism in Israel last week make it an auspicious time to remember a little-known event in Jewish history. During wars and fractious national events, Jews are usually caught in the middle to a devastating extent. The Jewish community as the ultimate 'other' is rarely trusted by any side in conflict and tries to keep as low a profile as possible. The opposite was the case during the siege of Sarajevo from 1992 to 1996. The Jewish community of Sarajevo can trace its existence back to a safe haven for those Iberian exiles that fled the Inquisition and ultimately the expulsions. Even today the majority of the Jewish community is Sephardi and although many were wiped out during the Holocaust, Ladino is still spoken by many. Sephardi Zionist-Skeptics
Recently, I have held many discussions with certain Sephardim who have disparaged Zionism and the State of Israel. These 'intellectuals', all from North America, have only distaste for Sephardi Zionists, denigrating them Ashkenazi dupes or worse. Many of the arguments revolve around the fact that Sephardim were dispossessed of their culture and heritage by the mainly Ashkenazi political activists who helped create modern secular Zionism. These Sephardi Zionist-skeptics have reinterpreted a version of Jewish history in Asia and North Africa which barely resembles the actual events that took place. For every individual that was cited as a success story for Jewish integration in the wider Muslim milieu, there were dozens of events which prove that these instances were the exception and not the rule. The Jewish status of al-Dhimma necessitated a repression which even in the best of circumstances meant that the Jew was never equal to the Muslim. |
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