QED

60,000 Jews over the fence are living on borrowed time...

2020-12-12T18:12:00.000+02:00

What are we going to do about it?[this post is going to stay at the top until someone gives me a satisfactory answer]

Update your bookmarks

2010-06-29T21:42:00.002+03:00

Hi, I've decided to move over to wordpress. The old blog will stay up for the enjoyment of my few readers (esp. Anon :) ). aiwac

Shut It Down! (On the Kiruv Industry in Israel)

2010-06-27T22:06:00.001+03:00

[The following is a reworked version of a speech given by one of the columnists written in last week's weekend Makor Rishon. I feel it is necessary to post it, as the local discussion of the Immanuel school is missing the bigger picture. [Shabbat section] - aiwac] Rabotai, We are all gathered here today, Rabbis and educators, all people dedicated to bringing non-religious Jews back into the

A True Individualist: On Rabbi Moshe Avigdor Amiel

2010-06-11T15:52:00.000+03:00

[Note: I'd love to write a post on the Brisker, but I am unaware of any non-hagiographical sources on him. Anyone who knows of such is invited to post them in the comments – aiwac] I've mentioned before how Eretz Israel in the first half of the 20th century attracted more than its fair share of brilliant, off-the-wall Orthodox thinkers. Today, we'll take a brief look at one of the oddest of them

The Murder of the Mind (on Disillusionment)

2010-06-07T00:11:00.000+03:00

Recently ADDeRabbi introduced yet another term for the ever-splintering groups of O Jews – Ironic Orthodoxy. ADDeRabbi is right, IMO, that for now this is more a "mindset" of individual O Jews across the spectrum rather than an ideology (See the forum "Stop! Here We Think" internet forum for a look at Charedi "Ironic Orthodox Jews"). I am something different. In addition to being a centrist (or

The Pointlessness of it All (On Higher Criticism)

2010-05-29T22:09:00.005+03:00

[This will be the last post I write on the subject. I intend to spend my time from here on in on more productive issues - aiwac]Menachem Mendel has put up the entire program of a major conference in Jewish Studies taking place in Ben-Gurion University. There is a heavy emphasis on the relationship between Bible Studies and Orthodox Judaism, with most of the First session being by Orthodox

Good Diagnosis, Bad Cure (On Esther Lapian)

2010-05-23T15:35:00.000+03:00

[The following is yet another "fictional letter" meant to deal with Esther Lapian's article in the latest issue of Conversations (no.7) – the article itself is unfortunately not online. Enjoy, aiwac] Dear Esther Lapian, I recently read your article in Conversations regarding the "Charedization" of the Mamad educational system. You complain of the anti-intellectual atmosphere and attitude of the

National Learning Day (On Shavuot in Israel)

2010-05-18T13:49:00.003+03:00

I've had opportunity to mention the various Jewish learning initiatives that take place in Israel year-round. Today I'd like to talk about an even more amazing phenomenon: the transformation of Shavuot into "National Jewish learning day". Anyone who has lived here in the past ten years or so can attest to what can only be called a revolution. The old religious minhag of studying all Shavuot night

Is Bar-Ilan a "religious university"? What does that even mean?

2010-05-10T18:07:00.000+03:00

[The following post is based on my own thoughts and a long talk I recently had with a former professor of mine on the subject. Constructive feedback is welcome - aiwac] I am a proud graduate of Bar-Ilan University. I consider it a badge of honor. Unlike some, I have no feelings of inferiority towards the "secular" universities (Hebrew U, Tel Aviv U &c). I have read the scholarship of people from

It's not just what you say, it's how you say it (On Yishayahu Leibowitz)

2010-05-09T22:22:00.000+03:00

One of the most interesting and controversial Israeli Orthodox thinkers of the second half of the twentieth century was Prof. Yishayahu Leibowitz. I bring him up because in the five or so years I've spent perusing Orthodox blogs, I don't remember him ever being mentioned. I've tried to understand why this is, and I have a few possible reasons. The first is that Leibowitz wrote primarily in

A Life on the Firing Line; Thoughts on Modern Orthodoxy

2010-05-09T01:24:00.001+03:00

To a fellow Charedi Jew, There's a story that makes the rounds in the perennial debates between MO Jews of all types and Charedi Jews. I can't vouch for its historical accuracy, but it certainly explains a mindset: The neo-Kantian Jewish philosopher Herman Cohen met a simple Jew from the east along the road. Excited at the chance to expound on his view of God as a Kantian ideal, he went into a

The "Yishuv" Model

2010-05-05T14:05:00.000+03:00

All this talk of the importance of giving charedim good secular education brings me back to the good ol' days of the British Mandate. Why? You'll see in a moment. Eretz Israel in the first half of the 20th century attracted much more than its fair share of original, brilliant, independent and often idiosyncratic Rabbinic thinkers. One of the lesser known of these was Rabbi Moshe Avigdor Amiel,

Rabbi Segal, Hold Your Tongue! (On the IDF Chief Rabbinate)

2010-05-04T23:26:00.001+03:00

I often frequent (Orthodox) blogs of people with whom I disagree, within reason. It is an enriching experience and has helped me form and mold the way I look at the Jewish world today. Evanston Jew in particular has helped me in this regard, especially when it comes to the importance of being "empathetic" to (if still strongly disagreeing with) the other side. Rabbi Shael Segal is another such

Statistics don't lie...Read 'em and weep, seriously

2010-05-04T17:50:00.002+03:00

Here's a run-down of stats on the Charedi community for 2009-2010 from a study conducted by the Israeli Government: 56% of Charedim are classified as poor. Despite being around 8-9% of the population, they represent 19% of the poor people in Israel.The overall employment rate of Charedim (women and men) is 43.2%, compared to 72% for the secular population. 37% of Charedi men work in a

Not Simple, but Necessary: A Parent's Burden (On Jewish Education)

2010-05-04T14:37:00.001+03:00

[I apologize for not following up until now on my earlier posts on Jewish education; work and exhaustion got in the way. – aiwac] Before I get into the issue of how to teach, I would like to address the more important question: who should teach. Tons of symposia, lectures and conferences are conducted year in, year out on Jewish schools – both here and abroad. I don't think there's a single

The AIWAC prize

2010-04-19T23:21:00.006+03:00

I hereby announce the AIWAC prize, an award given by one judge (myself) for contributions to Judaism made in the great State of Israel. The contributions can be social, cultural or religious. Each prize will contain a theme, and is not limited to one recipient. This post's theme: Making Jewish sources user-friendly and accessibleAfter long deliberation, I have decided to award the prize to the

My Independence Day

2010-04-18T22:20:00.001+03:00

"Don't it always seem to go/That you don't know what you got till it's gone" – Counting Crows You know, we take a lot for granted in our lives. That we'll have our health, our family, our jobs. Yom Hazikaron is just such a painful reminder to many not to take their loved ones for granted. Yet I can't think of anything we as Jews take for granted more than the very existence of the State of

What is to be Done? (American Secular-Liberal Jews and Israel)

2010-04-13T18:46:00.000+03:00

Every so often you see on the net another article on how liberal American Jews are becoming "disenchanted" with the State of Israel. The usual litany of reasons is given: Israel's treatment of the Palestinians, the Orthodox monopoly on religion &c &c. Diaspora should be at the center of Jewish life (ostensibly leaving Israel at the periphery). I certainly understand their point of view on these

Waltzing with Wellhausen

2010-04-12T17:25:00.001+03:00

[This case is a hypothetical based on Ben Chorin's latest riddle. I consider it an especially important dilemma, since the DH is one of the big emuna landmines for intellectually curious OJs. I guarantee you it is more common than you think. – aiwac] A religious university student (or professor) is in a bind. He feels intellectually compelled to accept the Documentary Hypothesis (either wholly

Plus Ca Change

2010-03-08T21:09:00.000+02:00

Once again Reb Nachum has won the day on conversion. I really hate Reb Nachum right now.

God Bless the Ba'alei Bayit, Every One

2010-03-03T23:18:00.000+02:00

[A few weeks ago, Tzohar's parashat shavua sheet dealt with the touchy subject of integration and the lack thereof in MO Israeli education. I was shocked to read an article by a generally liberal Rabbi singing the praises of elitist religious education and complaining about how mass Jewish education dumbs everything down. The sub-text, of course, is that the only type of Jew that's worth

Pot, Meet Kettle

2010-02-11T22:02:00.006+02:00

Speaking of Dr. Leon, an article of his recently came out in the latest Israel journal no. 15 (in Hebrew, sorry). In the article, Leon argues that two key social changes took place around the 1977 Likud electoral victory that enabled the ascendence of the Shas party. The first one was the increased confidence and power of the Mizrahi middle class and Rabinnic leadership, who now fought to stake

The Day After Hitkansut

2010-02-09T20:26:00.004+02:00

I really don't want to write about this. The very thought scares me to death. Nevertheless, I think it needs to be out there.At present, over 60,000 Jews live beyond the "fence" or "wall" or whatever you want to call it. This includes two of my best, closest friends (and I don't have many of those). They are all living there "on borrowed time", in territory that will not be Israeli under any

An Open Letter on Operation Cast Lead

2010-02-06T21:41:00.001+02:00

To: Professor Daniel Statman, Haifa University Dear Sir, I read with much interest your response to Prof. Asa Kasher's article on the IDF's conduct in Operation Cast Lead from a 'moral warfare' point of view. You claim to be among the 'moderate voices' who voice reasonable doubts about the IDF's conduct, as opposed to the "functional pacifists" both here and abroad by whom Israel can do no

Mizrachi Jews

2010-02-02T20:32:00.004+02:00

[OK, now that I've gotten my rather depressing political rants out of my system, we can return to our regularly scheduled programming. – aiwac] In my first post on Israeli MO policy, I brought up the touchy issue of interaction with that vague population of Jews in Israel which defines itself not as "religious" or "secular" but rather "traditional" or "masorti". This amorphous group, largely

Desperation or Derangement?

2010-02-02T17:39:00.005+02:00

The new Hebrew Azure is out, with plenty of goodies - including a very enlightening article about the differences between value-laden education and education that focuses solely on equality. I would like to dedicate this post to another enlightening article by Asaf Sagiv on the mentality of the radical Israeli anti-Zionist left. Sagiv, editor of Azure, is in my opinion a brilliant and erudite

The Pointlesness of It All (The IDF and Goldstone)

2010-02-01T15:29:00.003+02:00

Yaacov Lozowick has a nice discussion of the IDF's thorough response to the Goldstone Report. The army clearly made a concerted effort to adress the specific accusations made therein. I salute Avichai Mendeblit, the Army JAG (and an Orthodox Jew, BTW), for his work. Nevertheless, I am not rejoicing, important a step though this may be. The first reason is that thorough studies like this should

On Hitchazkut and Hozka

2010-01-31T20:41:00.000+02:00

Whenever the debate about the "slide to the right" comes up in the Israeli media, one of the most common replies of the "rightists" goes something like this: Jews are being mitchazek! They are being more careful about halacha. How can this be a bad thing? (I will leave aside the question of what is and what isn't halacha proper) My reply to this is simple: I do not have, nor could I have, any

Halachic Policy: Decision Making

2010-01-28T20:55:00.001+02:00

A commenter on this blog argued that I speak in terms that are too general, and that I don't sufficiently deal with the problems in praxis. To this charge I plead "Kind of Guilty". While I have tried to bring up issues and make some concrete suggestions for issues (see my posts on sex-ed, for instance), it is true that I did not discuss every single problem that could come up in practice. There

Don't Just Preach, Practice (Part III: Women's Rights)

2010-01-24T22:34:00.004+02:00

[In light of the recent Bnei Akiva "walkout" disgrace, I decided to speed up writing this post. I hope the point gets across. – aiwac]In one of the comments to My Obiter Dicta's post on MO, the author asked about the connection between the status of women and MO. What has one got to with the other, he wondered? Well, unfortunately, it has everything to do with MO and the difference between it and

Not Simple, but Necessary: Why NOT Isolation?

2010-01-23T20:15:00.002+02:00

I'm pretty sure I know what you're thinking: OK, you've explained the logic of isolation. Why do you think it such a bad thing? Indeed, at first glance, the isolation-only policy seems to work, at least in the short-term. It's quick, easy, and ostensibly doesn't require any hard choices or risks. Anything and everything that is perceived to be "dangerous" is banned or cut off. Halachic decisions

Not Simple, but Necessary: Why Isolation?

2010-01-21T20:54:00.002+02:00

[If there's one thing I've learned from the brilliant and irreverent Evanston Jew, it is the importance of empathy towards those with whom you disagree, even if virulently. If you truly understand where your rival is coming from, then a genuinely constructive dialogue can potentially commence. The following is an explanation of the RW impulse against integration and interaction with non-Orthodox

Ich Bin Ein Realist

2010-01-20T23:01:00.001+02:00

Benjamin Kerstein has been one of my favorite authors on the web ever since his days on the Anti-Chomskyite blog. His essays, whether on film or current affairs, are always a joy to read. So my decision to disagree with him completely is not one that was taken lightly.Recently, Kerstein reviewed a book by the well-known radical Barbara Ehrenreich, in which the latter conducts a full-scale assault

Not Simple, but Necessary: Introduction

2010-01-20T22:24:00.002+02:00

A way back, I began a series of posts on how to actually practice Modern Orthodoxy in Israel, rather than just talk about it. The first post, on the necessity for integration and social interaction with "traditional" Jews, sparked a veritable firestorm. Comments, both positive and negative, taught me a great deal about the various positions in this fight. I even tried to "get into the head" of

Translate! (On YU and Israel)

2010-01-16T22:37:00.003+02:00

YU recently declared a "cross-pollination" program whereby students from the states will visit specially-tailored programs in Israel and implement lessons form there back in the US. All well and good, but this seems to me to be investing far too much energy in the wrong direction. A far more effective method for cultural "cross-pollination" is that time-honored method of translation. It is

Some Thoughts on Critique And Ideological Rigidity

2010-01-14T18:36:00.008+02:00

One of the problems of being a Centrist MO Jew in academia is that the overhwelming majority of professors (esp. philosophy) who deal with Jewish subjects are doctrinally LWMO and beyond. My problem is not with the positions per se, but with the ideological monotony that results. Academia claims to be a place for the free flow of ideas, but I have difficulty taking this seriously when most walk

Empathy for an Opponent (On RWMO)

2010-01-10T19:41:00.004+02:00

[The following letter is fictional, but I believe the sentiments are real. I intend to try and deal myself with the issues here in a later posting - aiwac] Dear Dr. Aviad Hacohen, I read with some interest your article against the phenomenon of self-segregation in our circles. You complain of our establishing "committees" for screening potential candidates, our sending kids to religiously

Between Halacha and Halachic policy

2010-01-09T22:47:00.008+02:00

Hirhurim has caused quite a stir with a list defining "post-Orthodox" Jews. Others have already pointed out the problematic nature of this list, and I will not retread this ground at present, though I might deal with some of the specific points at a later date. I am concerned with something else - what should be the social and halachic policy towards those who have ostensibly "crossed the lines",

Achdut is not Achidut

2010-01-07T18:58:00.006+02:00

There is no area in which MO/RZ Rabbis feel a greater sense of inferiority towards Charedim than in the field of halakha and halakhic public policy. Ever since we established our own yeshiva system in the US and especially in Israel, there was always this feeling that we were playing second fiddle to the great "black-hat" world. This feeling expresses itself mostly in the constant need for

Do you believe in Hakadosh Baruch Hu?

2009-12-29T21:58:00.019+02:00

Ostensibly, this is a silly question. If you're a religious Jew, then by definition you believe in God, even if you have doubts from time to time. You might even find the title of this post offensive. All good, except that you misunderstood my question. I didn't ask if you believe God exists, I asked whether you believe in God. As in the same way one believes, lehavdil, in one's parents, one's

In Defense of the Old "Burgeouis" Mafdal

2009-12-24T11:10:00.004+02:00

The secular establishment pitied them. Everyone to their religious left and right - the Brisker Rav, the Religious Kibbutz, Yeshayahu Leibowitz and various major Rabannim - despised them. People like Ben Chorin hold them in contempt. They were too sanguine, too naive. They kow-towed to the secular establishment on virtually anything not related to religion, and even then they often backed down.

Don't Just Preach, Practice. Part II: Principled Halachic Kulas

2009-12-14T19:09:00.008+02:00

I though I might delve into a very touchy subject that is often the bane of discussions of MO - halachic laxity and what is perceived to be laxity. Who hasn't heard the accusation that MO Jews follow "Rav Noach" (roughly: Rav whatever's comfortable) or that Mizrochnikim don't take halacha seriously? That we don't really learn Torah or have yirat shamayim? Like any accusation, this one has a (

Addendum to My Post on Sex

2009-12-09T19:36:00.006+02:00

Well, my post was intended to provoke response, and it certainly succeeded. Now that the dust has settled (a little) I will now take this opportunity to take stock of some of the main arguments placed against my attempt at a wake-up call. One commenter by My Obiter Dicta complained about the post being coarse and that I should have gone about in a more "tsniusdig" fashion. My response in this

An answer to Hirhurim

2009-12-09T15:40:00.002+02:00

Hirhurim, the closest thing the Orthodox Jewish world has to Instapundit, recently discussed the question of who has the theoretical halakhic authority to decide big isssues. While very nice in the abstract, this isn't how it works nowadays. Actual halakhic public policy increasingly resembles the following joke, several variations of which exist in these parts: Halachic policy is decided by Rav

The Ultimate Taboo

2009-12-05T21:34:00.000+02:00