Blog Am

I found this site using [url=http://google.com]goo...

2009-11-07T23:35:09.117-08:00

I found this site using [url=http://google.com]google.com[/url] And i want to thank you for your work. You have done really very good site. Great work, great site! Thank you!

Sorry for offtopic

Never thought about Noah decorations and the story...

2009-10-28T04:19:05.734-07:00

Never thought about Noah decorations and the story meaning. Interesting!

Never thought about Noah decorations and the story...

2009-10-28T04:19:03.298-07:00

Never thought about Noah decorations and the story meaning. Interesting!

Happy to oblige! If you're ever interested, here...

2009-10-16T21:27:30.952-07:00

Happy to oblige!

If you're ever interested, here is a searchable version of the catechism online: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/index.shtml

Missy - thanks! I knew I could count on you!

2009-10-16T05:29:32.074-07:00

Missy - thanks! I knew I could count on you!

Stef - there's no doubt that our tradition has a "...

2009-10-16T05:29:04.484-07:00

Stef - there's no doubt that our tradition has a "couple-centric" view of life, which is often painful to those who, through choice or circumstance, find themselves with a different kind of life. I've spoken with a lot of people, over the years, who are not part of a couple, and who don't plan to be, and there seem to be a few responses.

One is anger at a tradition which excludes, or at least marginalizes, them. That's an honest response, obviously.

One is to acknowledge that Judaism is speaking to the "average" case; it can't cover every situation in every teaching and every text. In other words, they acknowledge that they are an exception to the norm. So, some acknowledge that they aren't "normal," and try to see that as a neutral statement, rather than a judgment.

And, I've spoken to some who use this as an opening to talk about, and deal with, their own pain. Some are single because they chose to be; some find it painful. Whether you accept that marriage and "couplehood" are ideal and necessary, I don't think anyone finds loneliness to be a positive in life. So, some I've talked to have read these teachings somewhat wistfully - as an expression of an ideal that they can't reach, and and a chance to talk about how that makes them feel.

Okay, I'll bite if you want to open that can of wo...

2009-10-15T18:11:26.081-07:00

Okay, I'll bite if you want to open that can of worms! First off, let me say that I am defnitely not a Catholic scholar, but I am Catholic and have had MANY discussions on this topic, so I'll share my understanding.

I think we may have an issue of semantics. It is not celibacy that is the ideal, but chastity. According to the "Catechism of the Catholic Church" (2349), "'People should cultivate [chastity] in the way that is suited to their state of life. Some profess virginity or consecrated celibacy which enables them to give themselves to God alone with an undivided heart in a remarkable manner. Others live in the way prescribed for all by the moral law, whether they are mmarried or single.' Married people ae called to live conjugal chastity; others practice chastity in continence..."

We read the same book of Genesis that you do, and therefore our views are actually not different. Again from the Catechism (1605), "Holy Scripture affirms that man and woman were created for one another: 'It is not good that man should be alone.' the woman, 'flesh of his flesh', his equal, his 'helpmate'; she thus represents God from whom comes our help. 'Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh.' The Lord himself shows that this signifies an unbreakable union of their two lives by recalling what the plan of the Creator had been 'in the beginning': 'So they are no longer two, but one flesh.'"

You didn't ask about the Catholic views on sex, divorce, etc., so I won't go into those here. They are probably not what you've been led to think, though (okay, the divorce thing is true). For a complete explanation, you can wade through Pope John Paul II's "Humanae Vitae" or read Christopher West's "Theology of the Body", in which he tries to go through the pope's writings in layman's terms. I understand the teachings, I don't necessarily agree with all of them, but I see his reasoning and the Catholic Church's reasoning on the hot-button topics of today. We can debate those, if you'd like, and my guess is that we'll likely agree on many of them.

As a Jew who is not married and not at an age wher...

2009-10-15T17:24:23.890-07:00

As a Jew who is not married and not at an age where I see many prospects in the near future, this teaching always troubled me. How do the Rabbis justify this? Or is it just justification for depression?

I've been thinking about this a lot since I read t...

2009-10-15T12:14:19.509-07:00

I've been thinking about this a lot since I read the same article a few days ago. I think the Jewish concepts of Tikkun Olam and being "strangers in a strange land" are large contributors to the findings.

It is normal for people to set up different levels of caring, starting with the family. However, it isn't as standard for a religion to focus on constantly perfecting the world or remembering their own exile when they see a stranger.

Actually, Tzedakah has a lot to do with it, too. I have never seen a universal ritual for charity in another religion. And, while much of that money goes towards Jewish institutions, I'm sure a good amount also goes towards all sorts of social, research, and cultural organizations that help the wider world more than they help the Jewish community.

I think the results have a lot to do with context. Because of the Jewish concepts I mentioned earlier, Jewish people can imagine the situations of others, and because they have so much comfort in family, community, and study, they probably see members of different ethnic groups as more vulnerable and therefore see them as being in more pain.

Jason- To be fair you are correct that hiding from...

2009-10-15T11:03:16.001-07:00

Jason- To be fair you are correct that hiding from the truth is never good. However, I would argue that we constantly hid from the truth about the origins of our food. Do you truly know where everything you eat came from? Can you be certain that no adulteration has taken place?
I think you see my point.
As far as the religious aspect of this argument goes I have only one thing to say. We all hide from the truth when it comes to the big questions about how we live our lives and the best thing we can do is to constantly try to improve and surround ourselves with those that aide in that improvement.
P.S. I still think keeping kosher is important. I just can't get my husband on board with the idea.

Candice - I agree that, if you are truly sure abou...

2009-10-15T05:37:24.529-07:00

Candice - I agree that, if you are truly sure about the care of the animals (e.g. you see the farm), then a lot of the moral quandary goes away. Not all of it, though - it still seems axiomatic to me that it's better to not kill living things than to kill them.

But, I'd really disagree with your last point. I'm not sure that hiding from the truth is ever a good religious practice!

Jason, I think your thoughts and your path show gr...

2009-10-14T19:55:05.771-07:00

Jason, I think your thoughts and your path show great concern over the "right" thing on so many levels. I have been a vegetarian for 18 years now and I think there is something to the idea that we are really so far removed from our food sources that most people don't realize exactly where food comes from. In our family we raise our children as vegetarians until they can understand that if you eat a chicken nugget, it used to be a live chicken with feathers and then once they can understand that, it is their choice what they want to eat (well, as long as it is Kosher - but that whole ethical treatment thing does bug me a bit). It is tough to change your habits and to stop eating something that you enjoy. I find for me that time has really solidified my ways for me and I have no interest in eating any meat, but it is all about baby steps. Good luck on the rest of your journey.

Welcome to the world of people who love meat and c...

2009-10-14T19:00:25.430-07:00

Welcome to the world of people who love meat and choose not to eat it (or to eat less). Next time you're in Toronto I'll take you for vegetarian bbq pork buns... hmmm. You've touched on all my favorite reasons for not eating meat. But another occurs to me. We were just at an apple orchard the other day. You could smell the sweetness of the apples on the breeze and none of us could resist pulling an apple from the tree and eating it, then and there... right from nature. (Which, thankfully was allowed at that orchard!). But never once have I walked past an animal, a herd of cows, a lamb... and had my mouth water. I honestly don't think we're natural meat eaters. Yes, my mouth waters at the smell of a good barbecued steak. But it's so far removed from nature... it's completely disconnected. Even nicely cellophaned pieces of meat at the grocer is psychologically very far away from the source. I can't imagine too many people having a genuine desire to go out and slaughter that animal in order to get that steak. But to pull fresh sweet corn off the cob, boil it up and sink my teeth in... I'm there.

One more thing... If I lived somewhere where there were truly no viable alternative to meat -- if it was truly a matter of survival, break out the steak knives. But this really isn't the case. Eating meat is really just something we choose for pleasure, at great expense to animals and to the earth.

I read your full post and I completely understand ...

2009-10-14T17:57:40.315-07:00

I read your full post and I completely understand your point of view. However, as someone who grew up around farms I have a slightly cheerier view of the meat and dairy industries than most. I grew up with a very practical view of animals and their place in the food chain. As a result I feel that the eating meat is perfectly fine but that we have a responsibility to the animals. Unfortunately we (modern Americans) have become very disconnected from our food sources. We buy our food in sterile supermarkets with no thought of where it came from and we no longer demand that it is treated respectfully. The result of this being massive slaughter houses and inhumane treatment of animals. There are really only two ways to deal with this issue. One is to purchase meat directly from the farmer and have it butchered by a reputable butcher. The other option it to simply not think about it and just be glad that we have food on our plates as many do not.

And now that I've gone back and read your original...

2009-09-30T16:24:41.862-07:00

And now that I've gone back and read your original post, I see that your opening thought was "I can't decide if it's brilliant, or ridiculous". So I don't feel so bad for calling it ridiculous.

Actually, that was my response, not my son Benjami...

2009-09-30T10:56:38.542-07:00

Actually, that was my response, not my son Benjamin's response. Benjamin would have probably used a little more tact and a more respectful tone in his response than I did. (I'm not sure he completely agrees with me anyway.) I apologize for my crass choice of words.

Thanks for the response. I can certainly see the value of considering the original problem as a stimulating intellectual exercise. I don't find such diversions ridiculous at all. Also, I can appreciate that some may find deeper value and meaning in the issue. So I don't mean to denigrate those who do. But for me personally, this goes a little too far.

In the spirit of having an interesting discussion, it seems to me that the fruit solution is kind of a cop out, a cover your a-- situation. Either you're breaking the law or your're not. Or is it one of those "These and These" situations?

By the way, the fact that I own this book "Baseball Hacks: Tips & Tools for Analyzing and Winning with Statistics" (which contains a variety of programming activities for the baseball/computer geek), shows that I too enjoy the occasional "ridiculous" mental exercise.

Yes, well...you and I could spent hours...days...t...

2009-09-29T11:22:54.917-07:00

Yes, well...you and I could spent hours...days...talking about this. It is perhaps the core philosophical dilema of the past 15 years of my life. Love the quotes, by the way.

Mike

In my humble opinion, the entire discussion is rid...

2009-09-28T12:03:23.338-07:00

In my humble opinion, the entire discussion is ridiculous. I followed the link and read the referenced article and I'm even more amazed that this question seems to have been debated for centuries. To me, this is a tremendous waste of intellectual energy. Should we say this prayer or not? Oh no, we may waste a prayer. Come on. How can the answer to this make us better Jews or better human beings? Why not spend this time and energy on thinking about how we can improve ourselves, how we can help our community, or how we can make some small contribution to making the world a better place? How does puzzling over this question get us any closer to the "Truth" as you eloquently described in your Rosh Hashanah sermon? On the other hand, after the Yom Kippur morning sermon, I am trying to see merit in the other side of this discussion.

Stephen

Isn't intent a core aspect of prayer? What is the...

2009-09-23T23:13:32.736-07:00

Isn't intent a core aspect of prayer? What is the intent in the fruit solution? Or perhaps I should say "where" is the intent? Or "when"?

Gamesmanship is not a substitute for logic. Nor should it be for ritual or "real" prayer, if such are your thing.

Mike

As a concession to the shortness of life (no pun i...

2009-09-23T23:04:03.124-07:00

As a concession to the shortness of life (no pun intended), I'll keep this brief: I agree entirely with the Rabbi's conclusions for the very reasons he provides. And I will confess that it has taken me a very long time, nearly 20 years, in fact, 15 of which I've spent as a practicing lawyer in California, to get there. The idea of placing the power of life and death in the hands of a law court (even one in which a jury sits as the finder of fact) is madness in my mind.

Mike

BTW, I thought I should mention -- I'm still thi...

2009-09-23T22:55:54.290-07:00

BTW, I thought I should mention -- I'm *still* thinking about this one, and trying to figure out my personal answers to the very good questions you pose without giving completely free reign to the often black and usually cynical humour with which I ordinarily tend to engage such things. All in good time, I suppose.

Great post, in any event. I've thought so from the very first time I read it, and I've read it many, many times now.

Mike

Well done, Rabbi.

2009-09-23T22:37:18.562-07:00

Well done, Rabbi.

good for you for doing it! nice job.

2009-09-23T08:16:48.620-07:00

good for you for doing it! nice job.

Yes - I'd say that's the standard. If we're going ...

2009-09-17T05:13:01.975-07:00

Yes - I'd say that's the standard. If we're going to be taking a life, then we have to be perfect in our system. The smallest imperfection leaves open the very real possibility of taking an innocent life, and that simply can't be acceptable.

I think that the Rabbis would agree. The restrictions that they placed on capital punishment essentially said that "beyond reasonable doubt" or even "near absolute certainty" weren't enough. The Talmud imagines this scene: two witnesses see me chasing someone with a knife, screaming, "I'm going to kill you. My victim and I enter a building, and the witnesses follow. As they enter, they see my victim, on the floor, blood pouring out of a fresh wound and their life expiring, and I'm standing over them, with blood dripping from my knife. In this case, I am still not liable for the death penalty, because there is the faintest, theoretical possibility that I didn't kill them - no one saw it. Clearly, this case is meant to say that the standard for the death penalty is "100%, absolute, beyond a scintilla of a doubt."

As for the case of a confession, I'm still opposed. First of all, I said in my initial posting that I'm opposed to the death penalty in theory, even though I think that the practical arguments against it are stronger. But, aside from that - even confessions aren't iron-clad. There have been false confessions. There have been coerced confessions.

So long as there is a death penalty, there is a chance that an innocent will be executed. And, that's wrong, plain and simple.

On a completely different line of thought, what ha...

2009-09-16T19:03:55.222-07:00

On a completely different line of thought, what happens to your doubts if the murderer confesses?

Blog Am

I found this site using [url=http://google.com]goo...

Never thought about Noah decorations and the story...

Never thought about Noah decorations and the story...

Happy to oblige! If you're ever interested, here...

Missy - thanks! I knew I could count on you!

Stef - there's no doubt that our tradition has a "...

Okay, I'll bite if you want to open that can of wo...

As a Jew who is not married and not at an age wher...

I've been thinking about this a lot since I read t...

Jason- To be fair you are correct that hiding from...

Candice - I agree that, if you are truly sure abou...

Jason, I think your thoughts and your path show gr...

Welcome to the world of people who love meat and c...

I read your full post and I completely understand ...

And now that I've gone back and read your original...

Actually, that was my response, not my son Benjami...

Yes, well...you and I could spent hours...days...t...

In my humble opinion, the entire discussion is rid...

Isn't intent a core aspect of prayer? What is the...

As a concession to the shortness of life (no pun i...

BTW, I thought I should mention -- I'm *still* thi...

Well done, Rabbi.

good for you for doing it! nice job.

Yes - I'd say that's the standard. If we're going ...

On a completely different line of thought, what ha...

BTW, I thought I should mention -- I'm still thi...