I’ve also been informed that we’ve been nominated for “Best Small Blog.” You’d think I’d hear of these things in advance. Regardless, vote if you’d like while Round 1 is still going on.
I’m also mildly amused that someone thought to hack the system. Anyone remember when blogging was lishma?
*sigh*
The classic cliche of Jews arguing has recently been joined in with a new cliche of calls for dialogue and conversation. Too often these “conversations” turn into venting sessions for individuals to speak their mind for the indulgent purpose of “putting things out there” and rarely are participants interested in an exchange of ideas.
Given how these forums usually turn out, Sunday’s Town Hall meeting at Mt. Sinai was a welcome departure from the norm, largely due to the rational and emotional sincerity of all the participants.
Yom Haatzmaut has always been a controversial holiday given the religious and political significance of the State. For some, the State of Israel is a harbinger of a messianic age, while others are theologically opposed to a Jewish presence in Israel. Then of course there are secularists who minimize the religious aspect of Israel and emphasize the importance of Israel purely as a political entity.
But regardless of how one views the State of Israel, most will acknowledge (and often complain) about how Israel functions. Religiously, Israel is be too oppressive for some and too accommodating for others. Israel’s public policy has also been debated at length, with similar dissatisfaction from leftists and rightists.
I have not conducted a formal study on the qualitative strength of Zionism today, but I would suspect that as the government and rabbinate continue to make controversial decisions that it would erode some of the Zionistic passion and support. On the other hand, Aliyah continues to grow at a steady pace and most Jews across denominations still support Israel in some way. I suggest that this is because the relationship with Israel does not follow usual patterns of logic but rather the commitment of emotion.
One of my favorite verses in Tanach is the insightful Mishlei 10:12 “sin’ah t’oreir m’danim, v’al kol p’sha’im t’chase ahava” – hatred awakens strife, but love covers all offenses. This astute observation is repeatedly validated in most interpersonal relationships. Someone who hates another will consistently focus on negative characteristics (real or imagined). This can range from denying positive aspects to actively stirring up trouble and picking fights. In contrast, even the most obviously explicit shortcomings are blissfully overlooked when love is involved.
In this past week’s Torah reading of Tazria/Metzora we find an example of this principle demonstrated in the halakha. Vayikra 14:33-57 describes the process by which a kohein declares a house to be infected with tzara’at and the method of repurification. The first step in the process is one of exposure; before the kohein conducts his examination, he removes the entire contents of the house (14:36). Presumably this would be a practical instruction to facilitate a more thorough examination. Considering that the consequence of a diagnosis of infection is the house must be dismantled (14:45), we should expect the kohein’s examination to be as comprehensive as possible.
However despite the literal airing of one’s laundry in public, the kohein’s inspection also literally leaves a stone unturned. Specifically, when the kohein enters the house, he needs to open the door. While the door is open the kohein obviously cannot check the obstructed area behind the door. Yet according to B. Hullin 10b the kohein only closes the door when he leaves, bypassing that hidden area. In other words, despite the practical and potentially spiritual consequences, the Torah instructs that there be some area left unchecked.
I suggest that this detail is crucial for the understanding of tzara’at. B. Arachin 16a lists some of the sins which tzara’at of the house, which include stinginess and lashon hara – bad speech. Perhaps the public removal of ones property and the meticulous examination of the violator’s house parallels the personal judgments he imposed on others. However, by leaving part of the house coved (kisuyi) and outside of scope his examination, the kohein is also demonstrating to the offender that this examination is not done of hatred or revenge, but rather out of ahava – love.
I heard a speaker this past Shabbat who in extolling the greatness of Israel emphasized the triad of Eretz Yisrael – the land of Israel, Am Yisrael – the nation of Israel, and Torat Yisrael. Recent events have shown that this model is not only insufficient, but also wildly inaccurate. The “nation” of Israel is fractured both politically and religiously that the unity implied by “Am” is tenuous at best. Torat Yisrael is repeatedly abused due to rampant (and illiterate) fundamentalism on the left and right. Even the Land itself is unstable given the unsettling policies of the Israeli government.
The problems with the State of Israel are beyond the scope of this essay. What is relevant is that despite all the valid criticisms and difficulties of Israel, people are still making aliyah and strengthening their connection with Eretz Yisrael. Such a commitment would not be possible with a purely rational perspective, but would require some degree of cognitive dissonance – the ability to intentionally overlook the adversities out of the love for Israel and her people.
In other words, Eretz Yisrael, Am Yisrael, and Torat Yisrael can only survive and succeed if they are first predicated and dependent on Ahavat Yisrael.
We’ve been nominated for the Jewish Blog Award for “Best Anti-Establishment Blog as well as for our coverage of the Conservative teshuvot on homosexuality. It seems to be an open voting (read: popularity) contest which given the open nomination process needs to be conducted in rounds.
Anyway, if you’d like to vote for YUTOPIA and give me the opportunity to add another snazzy graphic to the sidebar, you can start with the best in class voting (the best post and series voting is not open yet).
I’ll post updates as needed.
I’m a bit pressed for time at the moment (what else is new) so we’re going to do an abbreviated recap of Pesach. Fortunately Pesach was somewhat less eventful since this time since as opposed to last year I went with a completely cleared schedule. This allowed for a slightly more relaxed and disorganized trip best recapped in the Bullet Points of Randomeness below the jump:
I recently received the unfortunate news that the Eden Wok on 72nd is now closed (though not updated on their website). I’ve always liked Eden Wok for the quality/price, and the $20 all you can eat Mondays was remarkably convenient for sheva berachot.
The best story I have though has to be the time when Jose and I split a pu pu platter. I noticed one of the egg rolls was precariously close to the flame thingie in the middle, and then the nearby wontons started smoking. Before we knew it, all the deep fried goodies started catching fire which spread to the wooden serving bowl itself.
It took a while to flag down a waiter – in retrospect service could have been faster that day – and they promptly doused the thing in water and gave use a new one. I guess what made it funny at the time was how nonchalant Jose and I were to the point where the guests seated nearby looked like we were crazy for being so calm – which of course was a completely accurate assessment.
Ah, good times.
In a statement released yesterday, the Jewish Theological Seminary has officially changed its policy and will admit gay and lesbian students to its rabbinical and cantorial school. We have previously covered this issue with our initial reaction when the news broke, a detailed response to the Dorff teshuva which provided the halakhic basis for the policy change, and a brief survey of the reactions from other denominations.
For most observers the official decision to admit homosexual students was a forgone conclusion and largely anti-climatic. Given the history and hermeneutics of Conservative Judaism, it would of little suprise that the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards (CJLS) would eventually rationalize a dispensation, and once articulated the dispensation would likely be implemented.
However, this controversy is particularly interesting as not only exemplary of how Conservative Judaism functions organically, but also of its most recent trends and implementations. In our previous discussions, one of our recurring themes was that despite the specific innovation of ordaining homosexuals, the decision and process followed well established ideological, halakhic, and social patterns of Conservative Judaism. In his explanation of the decision, JTS Chancellor-Elect Arnold Eisen continues in the Conservative tradition through the lens of his own personal interpretations.
Last summer we discussed the deplorable conditions at the popular eatery Kosher Delight. As you may recall, KD failed its 05/05/2006 inspection with a score of 33 violation points, and after briefly rebounding to a more respectable score of 9, is currently holding its precarious score of 26.
A score 28 or above is considered failing, and requires a reinspection.
Much to my surprise (and dismay) KD doesn’t even come close to being the worst in New York. According to Sen. Jeff Klein (D-Bronx) that dubious distinction belongs to Cafe La Fonduta which somehow racked up an astounding 160 violation points, and my own quick lookup returned D.M. International Restaurant with an impressively pathetic score of 174.
Once again, the failing score is 28.
After some more poking around I noticed that at least three of the worst offenders were presumably Kosher establishments, interestingly, all located in Brooklyn. Souad Glatt Kosher Catering received a 105 on 12/26/2006, then the homely named Ess N’ Bench scored a 106 on 02/15/2007, and finally “Moses Wertzberger” received a 122 on 12/12/2006.
The dates here are relevant for the all important “historical context;” some establishments have a long history of negligence while it’s possible that other just had a bad day. For example, in 2006 Souad Glatt failed three other inspections (29,32,55) before finally dropping to a more respectable 8. On the other hand, Ess N’ Bench has had generally been acceptible score-wise.1 (No history was listed for Mr. Wertzberger)
We also find this variation on the most extreme end of the scale. D.M. International typically scored high (37,22,20,59) but Cafe La Fonduta was relatively acceptable scoring 12 and 16 in previous inspections.
How do these establishments degrade so drastically? My guess is that there would have to be either a significant change in the establishment or in the health codes, possibly both. If a restaurant changes ownership, the new proprietors may be either oblivious or incompetent in the areas of food safety and city guidelines. Changes in the establishment may also include irresponsible physical alterations. Violation 7 of Ess N’ Bentch is labeled “Facility Design,” a violation notably absent in their previous inspection. This would lead me to conclude that somehow the design or layout changed of certain areas which could have led to not only the specific violation but facilitated every other one as well. Finally, any changes in the health codes would obviously impact the final scoring if what was once acceptable is now deemed to be a violation.2
Even so, some of these increases do seem high to me. While I suggest avoiding the above establishments, I am also wondering if we also should take these reports with a grain of salt.
1. As I mentioned in one of the earlier posts on the subject, I personally view some violations more severe than others. Lacking an “Employees Must Wash Hands” sign does not bother my sensibilities as much as any violation involving “mice” or “vermin.”
2. There are many other possibilities, but I am focusing on those which do not involve anything illegal.
In a move sure to placate literally tens of people, I have removed the TypeKey requirement for commenting on the blog. As an alternative, all you need to do is enter the name of this blog (case insensitive) in the supplied field and your comment will be posted automatically. Otherwise you will not see an error, but your comment will be labeled as “junk” and will likely been discarded with the blog-spam. If you were one of the few who registered, your TypeKey account will still work and will let you bypass the filter.
Hopefully people will find this mechanism to be less intrusive than having to register with TypeKey.
Thanks again go out to Shaya for the plugin installation.
Like all Jewish communities Washington Heights has its share of internal controversies, but rarely do they become publicized. Most discussions on the Maalotwashington message board did not get circulated and at times they were moderated when the discussion happened to get out of hand. In the rare instances that a significant problem arose, we have usually been able to achieve some resolution or at least mutual understanding and do so with minimal fanfare.
But as the community continues to grow and the transient community constantly changes, the internal dynamics will naturally have to adapt. Having more people in the community means more ideas and opinions among the congregation, but fewer outlets for an individual to express them. In Washington Heights this can be particularly frustrating since the community is ideologically diverse (relatively) there are more opinions and perspectives which would be ignored or in some cases suppressed. From the other point of view, it is likely that an established community would have confronted many of the “new” issues at some point and would not wish to repeatedly revisit old arguments every few years given the high turnover of members. The mutual question at hand then becomes how can individuals express themselves, and in turn, how does the community respond.
The past few weeks have been unusually eventful with a heated debate over women speaking in the synagogue and the formation of a new “progressive” minyan. While both could be considered controversial to varying degrees, the discussions surrounding them demonstrate different examples of expression within a religious community.