Sunday Jan 18, 2009
Posted by Elana Sztokman
Saving the environment is not just a noble cause; it is a religious imperative. That is the message coming from an intriguing new political initiative of Rabbi Michael Melchior and Prof Alon Tal, who have recently joined forces to form a counter-intuitive and seemingly unlikely political merge between a religious and a green party. Tal's environmentalist Green Movement and Melchior's religious-liberal Meimad have decided to unite in order to lead the country not only towards intensive environmental and social activism but effectively towards implementing an entire vision of what it means to build a Jewish society.
"What kind of Jewish state are we if are not looking after our environmental and social needs?" Tal asked. "The answer is, we are not a Jewish state. We are not embodying Jewish values."
Wednesday Dec 24, 2008
Posted by Elana Sztokman
All these years, I thought I was alone. I thought I was the only one who struggled nightly for hours on end, letting go any hopes of having some relaxing time with my family after a long day of school and work. I did not realize that everyone else who has school-age children in Israel also spends every evening battling homework.
I really did not picture parenthood this way. Before the kids enter school, nighttime is often a time of bath, books, stories, and play. At 8PM, all gets quiet and my spouse and I can have some quiet breathing time to remember what the other one looks like. But as soon as school starts, the dream of creating a family life slowly fades into the distance. My kids are doing homework until way past my bedtime, and there is never, ever a release from pressure. I find myself telling young mothers who are deliberating over work and home balancing that the balance is easy when the children are little. It's when they get into school that they really demand your time. That's when we have to teach them all the subjects that teachers drop in our laps.
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About this blog
A Woman's Own
The Talmud says there are seventy faces to the Torah. I believe there are seventy faces to the person. I am a teacher, writer, researcher, activist, educator, thinker, organizer, fundraiser, feminist, parent, spouse, daughter, sister and friend. Or, if you prefer, I am an Israeli, American, energetic, opinionated, passionate, religious, determined and generally optimistic Jewish woman. It's not quite seventy, but we're getting there.
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Recent Comments
DALevit Palm Springs, CA USA: With all due respect, your post implies that the "separation" is indefinite, and yet it is only for the two weeks during the time of the female's flow. Is the morbid sentiment expressed really necessary, when all will all go back to normal soon? Is that 2 weeks enough to nullify everything else good about the relationship? Won't there be plenty of hugs and kisses in a few days, after the period of uncleanness passes? Anyone reading this with no knowledge of the Orthodox ways would get a terribly distorted view of things from reading this. DAL
Dr S McCosker Australia: I have a suggestion for Tal & Melchior. Google 'Peter Andrews' 'Australian Story' 'Natural Sequence Farming', 'Natural Sequence Association'. What Andrews does in arid infertile Aussie landscapes, to turn flash-flooding gullies into healthy streams, recharge aquifers, heal salinised soil, stop erosion, build soil fertility, restore biodiversity [& thus boost farm productivity & animal & human health]- ought to work in Israel. I urge Tal & Melchior: invite Andrews to Israel & show him the Negev & give him a wadi & an eroded hillside to work his magic on, for a demo project.
Joseph London: An interesting alternative interpretation of the saying of the Sages. Many of us understand it to refer to a chavruta in learning, i.e. a partner to share one's learning, not a marriage partner. There are, of course, many sayings praising marriage such as all the blessings a man receives are because of his wife, etc..
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