I previously posted about the “Statement of Principles” that is making news around the Orthodox Jewish community. In his blog, Rabbi Pruzansky makes some excellent points in response to the statement.
His first point is to show that insensitivity is a sin. But it is not a sin whose effects are limited to one group of victims. Read more…
Recently a petition called the “Statement of Principles” has gone around the Orthodox Jewish community about the status of homosexual members of Jewish congregations. The petition makes a number of good points. For instance, it reaffirms the obligation to treat one’s fellow with dignity and respect. It also reaffirms the impossibility of marriage redefinition according to Jewish Law.
Rabbi Reuven Spolter responds to that petition. He correctly points to some of the flaws in its reasoning.
First and foremost, I agree with the vast majority of the statement. I take issue with some of the language in the section about the children of openly gay couples which states that,
…communities should display sensitivity, acceptance and full embrace of the adopted or biological children of homosexually active Jews in the synagogue and school setting. Read more…
There is a lot to be said for cultivating stoic virtues. The best people in the world, as far as I’m concerned are those that are determined to bestow upon others what they need. And they will make their own wants secondary.
The pursuit of happiness is fine. But assigning too high a priority to happiness and pleasure makes a person into a narcissistic jerk.
And here’s where I wonder if we ought to re-examine our commitment to happiness. It seems to me that there’s possibly some merit — if we persevere and have the sense to learn from it — in the other-orientation that is (good) parenting. It’s fine to go through life happy, in other words, but I suspect we also want to go through life without becoming big fat self-absorbed jackasses. Children really help in that regard. Read more…
Wisdom is about making distinctions.
The great medieval Jewish commentator on the Bible, Rashi wrote (in his comments to Leviticus 11:47) that it is not sufficient to have great knowledge of our moral precepts. Instead, the Torah requires us to be able to make distinctions between the pure and the impure. Between right and wrong. Rashi continues that it is not sufficient to be able to be able to make these distinctions only in the obvious cases. Instead, one must also be able to distinguish in those cases in which the difference between purity and impurity is as fine as a hairsbreadth.
That is the nature of wisdom.
The Left is at war with wisdom. Read more…
In my last post, I discussed the difficulties of raising children. Nevertheless, the enterprise is essential. Here’s an article about what the Jewish sources have to say about the issue:
The Bible depicts procreation as both a blessing and a commandment (Genesis 1:28, 9:1-7). Some medieval scholars count it as the first mitzva, both in order and importance, since it facilitates the settlement of the world and the ability for mitzvot to be performed (Hinuch). Procreation is further deemed as a central purpose of marriage, albeit not its exclusive goal (Tur EH 1), and one may even sell a Torah scroll to support a marriage (Megila 27a). Conversely, the Talmud declares, “He who has not engaged in procreation, it is as if he committed murder,” or alternatively, “has diminished the divine image (Yevamot 63b). Read more…
Every time I hear a debate about redefining marriage, those in favor of redefining the institution always uncork the same old argument. Marriage, they say, is an institution that has changed very much over time. Marriage used to be an economic and social institution. It had much less to do with love and much more to do with practical considerations, such as acquiring land or wealth, allying families, or increasing social and political connections. Nowadays, marriage is about self fulfillment and happiness. Why not change it so that gay people can be fulfilled and happy as well?
It should be obvious how dishonest this argument is. But it’s sometimes tough to come up with exactly the words that express the fallacy of the argument. Life Coach Stuart Schneiderman has done just that.
The institution of marriage has constants and variables. The constants are its reality; the variables are different customs and rituals that are part of different cultural practices.
If you were to ask me, the wisest rabbi now in practice is Abraham Twerski. Here are some of his thoughts on marriage:
The Talmud says that the relationship of a husband to his wife should be “to love her as much as he loves himself, and to respect her even more than he respects himself” (Yevamos 62b). It is of interest that Rambam, in citing the Talmud, reverses the order and places respect before love. Why? Because it is unrealistic to expect that one can have so intense a love from day one. It takes time for true love to develop. However, respect is something that can begin on day one.
See what I mean. Wisest rabbi around.
Some of his phrases are untranslated Hebrew, but I think it may be self explanatory from the context. If not, just ask for translation in the comments, and I will answer.
In the January 2010 issue of First Things, (unfortunately not yet on-line) David Goldman rhetorically asks: “Have Birtain’s jews ever undergone a legal assault on the practice of thier religion within their own institutions?”
They have now. A British court has ruled that an Orthodox Jewish school’s admission policy violated the UK’s civil rights laws which prohibit discrimination on the basis of race or ethnicity. The offending action by the school was to deny admission to the child of a Jewish father and a non-Jewish mother who converted to Judaism at a progressive synagogue. The implication of this decision, if it is allowed to stand, is not only that the Orthodox Jewish community cannot control their own institutions. It is that the British court has declared Judaism itself to be racist. According to Britain’s cheif rabbi, Jonathan Sacks, Read more…
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