I suppose the fact that it’s a typically-hurried Erev Shabbos leaves me short on time and long on sarcasm, but… this is news?

The above is the home page title of a JTA article more fully entitled “New study of young Jews finds signs of growing Orthodox clout.” Anyone even vaguely familiar with Orthodox demographics will find this mind-boggling — “this” being that so much money was spent reaching such an obvious conclusion.

The study, which looked at the 1.5 million U.S. Jews between the ages of 18-39, found that Orthodox Jews comprise some 11 percent of all U.S. Jews, and 16 percent of 18-29 year-olds. Among even younger Jews, the percentage of Orthodox is even higher, those behind the report speculate.

Further, the survey found, Orthodox Jews marry at a younger age, have more children and are more Jewishly engaged than their non-Orthodox counterparts.

This is genius. Sheer genius! One hesitates to imagine how many hours of the nation’s leading Jewish demographic minds were required to “find” that “Orthodox Jews marry at a younger age, have more children and are more Jewishly engaged.”

The report found that the percentage of Orthodox Jews aged 18-29 is nearly double the percentage in … Read More >>

It became a ritual, part of Shavuos morning in the Holy City. After learning all night, tens of thousands descended upon the Western Wall of the Holy Temple. The entire plaza was packed — Chassidim, Ashkenazim, Sephardim, Charedim, Datiim, all praying according to their own custom.

And then, into this sea of traditional Jewry dove a mixed group from the Masorti (Conservative) movement, mixing men and women in prayer in a manner foreign to Jewish tradition — indisputably for the last 2000 years, and, according to us, even before that. While the vast majority of the assembled ignored them, a small fraction would protest and jeer. A few, disgracefully, even threw pebbles to harrass the group, leading to comparisons with the aim-to-kill rock throwers of the Palestinian Intifada, and an annual PR blitz claiming that Conservative Judaism has no freedom of worship in the Holy Land.

As the Masortim eventually admitted, it was provocation more than prayer. When mixed tour groups pray each Friday night on the plaza, no one has a hostile word, because they are not there to send a message. The Conservatives were trying to say “this, too, is Jewish tradition,” and left it to the 30,000 others to … Read More >>

Everyone has his or her pet theory by now about the root causes of the Boro Park “incident” a few weeks ago. Whether provoked or not provoked, whether there was large scale participation in the disturbance, or merely a few bad eggs in a wonderful and pious omelet, the fact remains that it was a massive chilul Hashem (desecration of G-d’s Name). There is value in listening to all the theories – perhaps there is some truth in all of them.

I will offer my own speculation – that is all it is – about a contributing cause. There are people in our community who see any kind of secular authority as hostile. In Israel, still in the throes of a kulturkampf that began a century and a half ago in Europe between religious and secular visions of a Jewish future, it is not difficult to understand why new generations continue to propagate the old notions. (I offer this as social commentary, not as justification.) The established brutality of out-of-contol Israeli police (who routinely flout every Western expectation of not venting anger and hatred under the color of authority) allows old ideas to … Read More >>

by Jeff Jacoby

Of the five candidates running to succeed Mitt Romney as governor of Massachusetts, all but one have chosen to send their children to private schools. Nothing wrong with that — millions of parents would move their kids out of public schools tomorrow if they thought they could afford something better. For millions more, government schooling isn’t an option in the first place: They would no sooner let the state decide what their children should learn than they would let it to decide whom they should marry.

Earlier this month, Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey, the only Republican in the governor’s race, explained in an interview why she and her husband picked a private school for their son and daughter. “I want my kids to be in an environment where they can talk about values,” she said — talk about values, that is, “in a way that you can’t always do in a public school setting.”

It’s hard to see anything objectionable in Healey’s words, but they triggered a broadside from Attorney General Thomas Reilly, a Democrat and the only gubernatorial candidate whose children all attended public schools.

Healey is “completely out of touch with the lives of regular people,” he snapped. “Somehow … Read More >>

There is more than one story in the Valis case, and I would like to add my own comments to what R’ Yakov Menken wrote.

Story One, the death of an infant:
The first story is the tragic story of a baby’s death. The young father is accused of having killed his baby in a fit of rage over the baby’s crying, while others say the father was playing with his baby, threw the baby up in the air playfully as fathers do, and then tragically lost his grip, with the baby landing hard on the floor, emergency called, baby rushed to the hospital and dying in the emergency room.

Either this case was one of horrible abuse and murder, or it was a tragic, heartbreaking accident. The case is not clear, not yet proven one way or another. Demonstrations demanding the accused’s release were therefore at best premature.

I consider it unlikely that the young father is guilty, but it is certainly possible. I believe that abuse is extremely uncommon in charedi circles, but it does happen. Statistically, babies are FAR more likely to be killed by unrelated males (with Mommy’s boyfriend being … Read More >>

A few weeks ago, a Chassid named Yisroel Valis was arrested in Israel and charged with murdering his infant son. Police claimed physical signs of injury, plus a confession from the father, proved his guilt — allegedly the baby had weak neck muscles and other developmental issues, and police say the father could not tolerate his son’s “defects.” Widespread Orthodox demonstrations protested Valis’ innocence, nonetheless.

Thanks to the demonstrations, we were treated to an incredible barrage of anti-Orthodox vitriol. The basic line was that “the Orthodox want a child killer released,” despite the statements from various Rabbis that, simply put, they did not believe he was a killer. What makes the slander especially outrageous is that no credible source doubts the incredible value and love of children in the Orthodox community.

Newspapers confidently informed us recently that Rav Yosef Sholom Elyashiv and Rav Chayim Kanievsky, two of the greatest Torah scholars alive today, had issued a “psak,” a “halachic ruling” that Valis was innocent.

In our forums, one reader posted what actually appeared on walls:

The text says, in translation:

“Holy Call” from our masters and teachers, great scholars of Israel, may they have long lives. [This is relatively standard.]

Since several of the dearest of … Read More >>

This is a story about faith meeting disloyalty. It has very little to do with Judas, though.

For many centuries, the accepted New Testament account meant that Judas was a symbol of terrible things, like betrayal and treachery. You know, craven, money-grubbing Jews. The recent translation of a second century document referred to as the Gospel of Judas stands centuries of tradition on its head. According to this ancient work, Judas was a good guy, who would bear the burden of condemnation and vilification by a world that would not understand that he was faithfully facilitating the Will of G-d.

That sent millions of Christians into a quandary. Churches are hemorrhaging from an exodus of the formerly faithful. Having learned that a treasured part of their tradition has been upended, they have quickly moved to question anything and everything. Theologians are scrambling to find a place in which they can hunker down and lick their wounds after a hasty retreat from previously held positions. The Vatican is in a state of pontifical panic.

Well, no, actually.

With regret, we must share condolences with:

The Herzberg family, on the passing of Arthur Herzberg a”h.

Jonathan Rosenblum and family, on the passing of his father, Paul Rosenblum, a”h.

Rabbi Joel Feldman and family, on the passing of his wife, the family’s mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, Shoshana, a”h. She was the sister-in-law of our writer, Rabbi Emanuel Feldman.

By Rabbi Yakov Horowitz

It is almost exactly one week after the chilul Hashem in Boro Park where fires were set in the streets and a police car was torched after a respected 75-year-old man was roughly treated by police officers while being issued a summons.

I spent this past Shabbos in Boro Park celebrating a simcha in our extended family. Walking the streets and enjoying the tranquility of Shabbos in a predominantly Shomer Shabbos neighborhood, it was hard to imagine that such mayhem occurred in those streets just a few days past. Over the course of Shabbos, I spoke to many people who were in the vicinity during the melee. The vast majority of adults spoke of their horror and disgust at what happened. Several people told me that they found it to be the most embarrassing experience of their lives.

If charedi Yiddishkeit was a product, I would suggest that we took a terrible body blow to our marketing campaign (which we refer to as our kiruv movement) as a result of the events of the past Tuesday. Don’t believe me? Speak to anyone who works with or interacts with secular Jews or Gentiles and ask them how they enjoyed fielding … Read More >>

Recent comments questioned why it is worthwhile to discuss the Conservative movement, and why the various Cross-Currents writers seem to be spending so much time on the topic.

To answer the second question first, Cross-Currents finds itself, in Rabbi Adlerstein’s words, at the “intersection between the timeless flow of authentic Torah thought, and the ebb and tide of current affairs.” So what we’re going to talk about often depends upon the news of the day. The grand total of posts in February discussing Conservative Judaism? Zero. In January? One — a response to Rabbi Neil Gilman’s speech at the United Synagogue convention. In the past month, on the other hand, they’ve announced a non-decision on homosexual ordination and selected a non-theologian to head the theological seminary. That, plus two articles from lay leaders declaring the movement has no future — one based upon sociological observation, and the latter, discussed herein, based upon its contradictory positions on basic issues in Jewish thought — and, barring a decision to ignore them, we find much to discuss.

Recently, I was invited to write for a local journal serving the Orthodox community. I knew immediately that whatever I wrote about, I wouldn’t be re-editing … Read More >>

The Forward reports:

Two sources familiar with the search for the next chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America told the Forward that the choice will be Stanford University professor Arnold Eisen, a leading expert on Jewish identity.

Eisen, a professor of religious studies, has written a number of books on the future of American Judaism, including the 2000 book “The Jew Within: Self, Family and Community in America,” which was co-written with Steven Cohen, an associate professor at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The book used survey data to argue that American Jews increasingly see religious identity as an individual matter, and opt to craft their own religious practices and identities, rather than depend on rabbinic authorities.

So a non-Rabbi, who, as an expert on Jewish identity, thinks that Rabbis are becoming less and less relevant, is going to be in charge of creating the next generation of Conservative Rabbis.

You couldn’t make this up if you tried.

As noted by Rav Yitzchok Adlerstein:

Rabbi Yakov Horowitz, a respected educator and public figure, said it all.

Quinoa [pronounced KEEN-wah] looks like a grain, but comes from a plant related to spinach.

Is Quinoa Kosher for Passover? The Star-K says yes; the Eidah HaChareidis says no [that article since archived here]. According to the latter article, the Chicago Rabbinical Council also says it is KFP.

The reason the Eidah prohibits it, says the article, is because “quinoa is included in the gezeiroh of kitniyos on Pesach for Ashkenazi Jewry.” There is a decree applied 1000 years ago by Ashkenazic Rabbis, to refrain from kitniyos, various types of legumes, beans, etc., on the grounds that they either can be confused with or can arrive mixed with actual grain products. So everyone agrees that Sephardic Jewry can eat Quinoa like any other kitniyos (sorry, to Sephardic Jewry, kitniyot), because the Sephardic world never had such a decree.

Rabbi Tzvi Rosen’s article calls our attention to Igros Moshe O.C. Vol. 3, 63. In that teshuvah, Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l says that “there is nothing in this thing [the decree] except that which is explained [in writing] that they were accustomed to prohibit, and also that which is known and publicized.” So … Read More >>

The [London] Jewish Chronicle offered several participant reports about the recent conference in Spain. AP had a brief item about it, but there has not been much depth coverage of this fascinating event.

Minimally, we now know what both religions share in common: spritual leaders who speak too long.
[Thanks to Martin Brody, Los Angeles]

As I stepped into the enormous lobby of the Alcora Hotel in Seville, I was met by a cacophony of multilingual greetings, handshakes and embraces. The Second World Congress of Rabbis and Imams was about to start and participants from across the world in a variety of religious garb were renewing their acquaintance around the giant fountain.

I had been fortunate to attend last year s, inaugural event in Brussels, organised, as was last month’s, by Hommes de Parole, an international humanitarian foundation. Ar-ound 100 rabbis and imams had gathered on this occasion in Spain, along with interfaith activists, academics and directors of NGOs (non-governmental organisations).

Israel s Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi, Yonah Metzger, was there, together with a contingent of Charedi rabbis including representatives of various Israeli batei din (rabbinical courts) and yeshivot. As a rule, the Charedi community is reticent to engage in interfaith dialogue and … Read More >>

Israel National News ran a similar story to the one on JPost that Mrs. Schmidt and Mrs. Katz referenced, but under the far more fitting title, “Study: Religious Girls More Comfortable With Their Bodies.” It should be a shock, but unfortunately is hardly unexpected, to find a JPost editor finding an extremely negative title with which to spin an article describing superior health in the Orthodox community.

Not so, however, when it comes to prayer, with another JPost article called “Attendance at religious services may increase life expectancy.”

Weekly attendance at religious services can add up to three years to your life, a new US medical study has found.

Dr. Daniel Hall, of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, the author of the study published in the March-April issue of the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, compared the impact of regular exercise, statin therapy and religious attendance on life expectancy, and found that each accounted for an additional two to five years of life.

Hall found that regular physical exercise provides the greatest boost to longevity, adding 3.0 to 5.1 years. Use of statin medications accounted for 2.1 to 3.7 additional years, … Read More >>

In the Spring 2006 issue of Reform Judaism Magazine, there is an article of particular interest to me because it is about my own father, Rabbi Nachman Bulman, of blessed memory.

The article is by David Ellenson, the president of Hebrew Union College–the Reform rabbinical seminary. He is from Newport News, VA — a city I remember with great affection from my own childhood. My father was the rabbi of the Orthodox shul there when I was a little girl.

I am particularly indebted to Menachem Butler and his American Jewish History blog, without which I never would have known about this amazing article. It was featured in his March 28 blog entry, entitled “Growing Up in Newport News,” which was sent to me by several friends.

R’ Bulman was one of the founders of NCSY and won the hearts and minds of many young Jews back to the Torah of their grandparents. But David Ellenson was not one of his success stories. Indeed, my father might well have been distressed by what became of that young boy he once taught. A Reform rabbi? The head of all … Read More >>

Last night, the religious, Jewish community of Boro Park came out in droves to protest the alleged mistreatment of an elder Jew by the local police. The protestors believed that the police had been unjustifiably physical and assertive against an unthreatening 75 year old. The authorities assert that the police did nothing improper, and in any event, the elder man had violated the law, and had acted in an uncooperative and belligerent manner.

Not long ago, the religious community of Lakewood, New Jersey responded in similar public protest when word spread that an elder rabbi had been physically mistreated by local police. There, too, the authorities maintain that the police, responding to a traffic violation, acted in accordance with proper police protocol. The Lakewood community, led by leading local rabbis, nevertheless, held an organized march to the Lakewood police station, seeking to ensure that the police mistreatment not be ignored, and certainly not be repeated.

As a young boy, not yet in high school, I often participated in local rallies in support of Soviet Jewry. Just a bar mitzva boy, I attended rallies in support of Israel during the Yom Kippur War. But then I enrolled in … Read More >>

As a follow-up to Shira Schmidt’s post about religious girls, weight, and self-esteem:

In one area I think we do a lot better than the non-Jewish world, and that has to do with social expectations in high school. Stephanie Wellen Levine, a non-Orthodox journalist, spent a year studying high school girls in Crown Heights (Lubavitch-town) and found that they had nothing like the cattiness and cliquishness of high school girls she knew in the non-Orthodox or non-Jewish schools. She reported that most of the girls did care about clothes but to a much lesser extent than in the public school she herself had attended. She also found that the heavy girls were just as socially popular and accepted as the thin girls—again, unlike the situation in non-Jewish schools.

What she found in Crown Heights squares with my own experiences teaching in a girls’ high school in Miami—not Lubavitch but of course Orthodox. The girls’ popularity and happiness and confidence do not seem related to how thin or heavy they are. On the other hand, everyone would rather be thin, that’s a fact.

Among girls and women, in my community at least, thinness is not much of a social issue, and Baruch … Read More >>

Everything about Chovevei Torah’s hosting of a group of cardinals to its beit midrash was appalling, wrong, and dangerous. Everything other than receiving them with warmth and dignity, and recognizing some of the important changes that many Christian groups have made in their dealings with Jews.

Don’t get me wrong. I have clocked more hours of close dealings with members of other faiths than most. I have published laudatory pieces about Nostra Aetate, and the past and present Popes, pieces that were well received in Catholic circles. I can proudly point to many Christians as exemplary people and personal friends. Their growth through their deep desire to do the Will of G-d is manifest. I do not believe that all non-Jews hate Jews. I welcome non-Jews often to my home, and am proud to showcase the beauty of a Torah lifestyle to them. All the while, I firmly and unhesitatingly reject major planks of their religious platform. Nonetheless, I am more than impressed by the real quest for connection to G-d that I have found in many of the people … Read More >>

7 bNissan
The article “Thin is not a mitzvah for religious girls” appeared in the Jerusalem Post April 2 (by Judy Siegel-Itzkovich, an observant woman herself). Probably someone other than the reporter gave it a misleading title, giving the impression that religious girls tend to be or like to be fat. But the actual article reported on a study emanating from Haifa University that was quite complimentary to the national religious sector, with the researchers finding that

The more religious the girl, the less her drive for thinness, the higher her perceived self-esteem,

and

observant girls are taught to internalize traditional values such as modesty and simplicity rather than beauty and appearance. “Jewish tradition praises internal characteristics and traditional principles and not beauty,” said [Prof] Letzer. “Instead, religious girls focus on a strict lifestyle and observance of the commandments.”

Note that this study did not come out of Bar-Ilan University, YU, or Touro College (institutions founded by religious Jews) but from that bastion of free-thinking, Haifa University.

In contrast, I would like to cite two writers from the religious/haredi sector who have described an over-emphasis on thinness in these … Read More >>