June 2004 Archives

Homosexuality and Orthodox Judaism

A few months ago, Avraham pointed me to this Forward review of Rabbi Steve Greenberg's new book Wrestling with God and Men. I wrote some preliminary thoughts based on the review, but the YUCS server crashed as I submitted it for posting. This technical glitch proved to be fortuitous in that Rabbi Greenberg visited UC later that week and I was able to talk to him personally and purchase a copy of the book. Although he still did not convince me of his arguments, he conveyed the emotional turmoil with which people live. In halakhic matters, people often ignore the human dimension involved of an issue and develop their opinions in a social vacuum. However, halakha is ultimately followed by people many of whom face difficult conflicts for a myriad of personal reasons. While personal issues alone are not sufficient to change Jewish law, we cannot ignore the tension and struggles that people face in their quest to be observant Jews.

Below is my review of Rabbi Greenberg's book, as submitted to a writing seminar.

Today is special day in the extended Yuter family. Avi, Esther, and family are packing up out of their home for the past two years in Ramat Bet-Shemesh and heading out to Modi'in. Wish them luck by sending them an e-mail!

In honor of the big move, here are some more nibling stories from e-mails I've collected.

First, Eli shows the frum side of sibling rivalry:

Over Shabbat, Eli had a friend over. While they were playing, things got a
little out of hand, and Eli kicked Hadassah. After the friend went home, we
sat Eli down and asked him why he kicked her. This was his answer:
"Inside of me, I have "yetser ha-tov" and a "yetser ha'ra". I just couldn't
stop the yetser ha'ra."

I asked him where he learned about all of this. He explained to me that it
was from Yehoshua's talk with the 2 1/2 tribes that settled on the other
side of the Yarden, towards the end of the sefer.

Displaying his affinity for intertextuality:

Eli needs to learn the berachot that Ya'akov gave to his sons in va-yechi. We were reading Yisachar's berachah, and read, "va-yar menuha KI TOV". Eli looked up and me and said, "Hey, that's what it says in Bereshit for the days of creation!"

Hadassah on the other hand has become somewhat of a fashion critic.

While waiting for Avi after shul today, Hadassah saw a lady with her 3 sons,
all dressed in all white. She curiously asked me, "why are they wearing so
much white?" (It did look kind of strange).

While this did happen after Memorial Day, it's harder to keep track of these things in Israel.

Finally, we have a really cute one from Shelomoh:

Now that Shelomoh is talking more, he is doing cute things!
Shelomoh has South African teachers this year. He found a toy pacifier while
I was packing, and didn't know it was called a pacifier; He called it a
"dummy". Today, I asked him what a "nappy" was, and he told me it was a
diaper, but looked at me funny why I was using that word. Then I asked him
if he knew what a "pram" was. Avi asked, "Isn't that a stroller?" Shelomoh
answered, "yes, pram stroller". Maybe Hebrew won't be so hard for him
after all if he already understands that objects can be called by different
names (this is the first stage of bilingual awareness). Though, it's funny
to think of him starting bilingualism with different dialects of English!

For more nibling fun, check out some older stories

Today's topic is inspired from the people at www.ProtestWarrior.com. I'd recommend checking out the whole site including the FAQ, a high-schooler's experience, the photo gallery, and videos. For the abridged version, take a look at their sign collection.¹

These "ProtestWarriors" peacefully demonstrate for their cause using the democratic rights given to all American citizens. Whether or not one disagrees with their politics, they have an equal right to freely express their positions. By facing their "enemy" head on, they become warriors of protest.

In contrast, Israel is faced with a different type of protest warrior - the soldiers who are protesting the government's orders. A while ago, several soldiers refused to serve where their personal or ethical beliefs were compromised. Today, many rabbis are calling for a similar insubordination to protest Sharon's withdrawal plan.

As expected, some support and some criticize these insurrections, often changing their views on if they agree with the politics. Prof. Asa Kasher² has been particularly critical, but in reinterpreting his ambiguous code of ethics, the dissenters may have rights themselves.

What are the legitimate rights of protest for soldiers? On one hand, we would expect soldiers to be obedient to their superiors. On the other hand, in the case of crimes against humanity, most would reject the defense of "we were just following orders." The U.S. created a special category of "conscientious objector" for some servicemen. However, were this to be applied in Israel, the entire military would be dismantled since everyone would object to some element of the government's policies.

Is it be possible for a military to have its own Protest Warriors without jeopardizing the delicate chain of command? When should we expect soldiers to disobey orders?

1. Ironically, I first noticed this sign on campus which was taken down by the next day.
2. Also son of R. Menachem Mendel Kasher, author of the Torah Sheleima, and to whom I am (or was) personally connected in an exceedingly roundabout way.

Apparently, if I'm not blogging. people think something terrible must have happened. Between numerous e-mails and random IM's I realized that either have a loyal fan base or disturbed cult following. Either way, I figure I've got to get back and somehow work out a way to turn a profit. In the meantime, I'll try to respond in due time.

As to what I've been doing for the past month or so, I leave that as an exercise to the reader, especially if you're proficient with Photoshop.

Getting back to normal here, you might have seen the stories about the Church Of Fools, the first interactive sanctuary on the net.¹ As part of my ecumenical procrastination, I decided to check out this community which serves the spirituality seekers who cannot be inconvenienced to leave their computer.

Behold, my first foray into Church.² Screenshots included.

Disclaimer: I don't have the time right now to thumbnail the images. If you are offended either by Christian imagery or slow web pages, please to not read any further.

FYI - Yes, I'm still alive, and just about ready to get back to blogging on a regular basis. And believe me, there's much to discuss.¹

Still, I was able to make it to the annual free outdoor Chicago Blues Festival. I camped out at Gibson sponsored sound stage - had a great spot in the shade on a wonderful day. I got there a little early, but while they were setting up for the acts, they played some John Lee Hooker over the massive speaker system.

I only had time for one of the shows,

You can see the details of the performers.

Les Getrex started his set with a tribute to Ray Charles, went into his own stuff, covered Boom Boom.

Deitra Farr

Right now

1. Between Indian wigs, bugs in the water, secular marraiges in Israel, I've really missed out on quite a bit.