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July 29 Toda rabaPlus de 23 000 consultations sur ce modeste blog. Je suis flatté et cela m'encourage à continuer de parler du judaïsme sous toutes ses coutures, des laïques aux Neitura Karta, en passant par les Reform, Conservative, New orthodoxes et les autres..
En attendant, Tisha BeAv oblige, plus des vacances à l'issue vont m'éloigner quelques jours du net.
A plus sur les ondes et encore merci.
  July 22 Vatican teaching Hezbollah how to kill Jews, says pamphlet for IDF troopsJ'hallucine !!
The Pope and the cardinals of the Vatican help organize tours of Auschwitz for Hezbollah members to teach them how to wipe out Jews, according to a booklet being distributed to Israel Defense Forces soldiers.
Officials encouraging the booklet's distribution include senior officers, such as Lt. Col. Tamir Shalom, the commander of the Nahshon Battalion of the Kfir Brigade. The booklet was published by the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, in cooperation with the chief rabbi of Safed, Rabbi Shmuel Eliahu, and has been distributed for the past few months.
The booklet, titled "On Either Side of the Border," purports to be the testimony of "a Hezbollah officer who spied for Israel."
"The book is distributed regularly and everyone reads it and believes it," said one soldier. "It's filled with made-up details but is presented as a true story. A whole company of soldiers, adults, told me: 'Read this and you'll understand who the Arabs are.'" The copy obtained by Haaretz included a Pesach greeting from Shalom, "in the name of the Nahshon Brigade." The story is narrated by a man named Avi, who says he changed his name from Ibrahim after he left Hezbollah and converted to Judaism. Avi says he was once close to Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, and describes Hezbollah's purported close relationships with the Vatican and European leaders. The IDF Spokesman's Office said in a statement: "The book was received as a donation and distributed in good faith to the soldiers. After we were alerted to the sensitivity of its content, distribution was immediately halted." According to the book, Nasrallah was invited to join a delegation to tour France, Poland and Italy, including the Vatican. Nasrallah could not refuse an invitation from the Vatican, Avi explained: "We knew [the Pope] identified with Hezbollah's struggle." The book describes the alleged visit of Hezbollah officials to Auschwitz, led by the Vatican: "We came to the camps. We saw the trains, the platforms, the piles of eyeglasses and clothes ... We came to learn ... Our escort spoke as he was taught. We quickly explained to him: Every real Arab, deep inside, is kind of a fan of the Nazis." The booklet also describes how European politicians and journalists ostensibly work against Israel. "Our escort introduced us to important figures who identify with our causes. Rich people, people with authority ... They allocate big budgets to all sorts of Israeli organizations that erode the standing of the IDF ... We have a special budget for encouraging politicians and journalists who serve our purposes. Every opinion piece that conforms to our position is rewarded generously." Rabbi Shmuel Eliahu, the son of former Sephardi chief rabbi Mordechai Eliahu, is known for his extremist views, and was once charged with incitement to racism after calling for the expulsion of all Arab students from Safed College after a terror attack in the area. The younger Eliahu was also behind an online video in which he described the "miracle of our matriarch Rachel," whom he claims appeared before Israeli soldiers in Gaza to warn them of booby-trapped buildings during Operation Cast Lead. "In some of the places we went in Gaza there was a woman who warned them ... 'Did they tell you who I am,' she said, 'I am the matriarch Rachel," Eliahu says in the video. He claims his father confirmed the veracity of the story, and told him that he had prayed to Rachel: "I told her: Rachel, there's a war... Go to God, Blessed Be He, pray over the soldiers who sacrifice themselves for the People of Israel, so that they will strike and not be struck." David Menahemov, an aide to Eliahu, claims the book is not fiction. "Avi is a real person and everything in the book is absolutely true," insists Menahemov. "It's a totally true story, I know the guy personaly. He's an Arab, who even though he converted still acts like an Arab. We helped him to write and to translate it. We changed a few details to protect him and his family."  Appel aux promeneurs du samediJe voudrais aller manifester samedi prochain, mais je ne trouve personne qui accepte de venir avec moi. Oui ! Je souhaite marcher entre la place de la République et Nation pour scander mon soutien aux Ouighours, vous savez ces musulmans qu'on assassine en Chine dans
July 21 American Jewish soldier killed in insurgent attack in AfghanistanAn American Jewish soldier was killed during an attack on his base in eastern Afghanistan Saturday, the U.S. Army has confirmed. Pfc. Aaron Fairbairn, 20, of Aberdeen, Washington, was killed when an insurgent drove an explosives-filled truck into Combat Outpost Zerok and detonated it. Another soldier - Pfc. Justin Casillas - was also killed in the attack, and 12 other soldiers were injured. Fairbairn and Casillas were both Alaska-based paratroopers. Fairbairn's death comes just weeks after a British Jewish soldier was killed in Afghanistan in June. Lieutenant Paul Mervis, 27, was killed when a roadside bomb exploded near him while leading his platoon on foot patrol. Two Jewish U.S. intelligence officers, Shawn Pine and Lieutenant Roslyn Schultte, were also killed recently in Kabul. Schulte, 25, was the first female graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy to be killed in action in Afghanistan or Iraq. Australian Jewish soldier Gregory Sher, 30, was killed in January when his patrol base in southern Afghanistan came under rocket attack from Taliban insurgents. July 20 Religious minister's staff adopts modesty codesComme quoi, quand tout le monde y met du sien...
Since ultra-Orthodox MK Yakov Liztman took office as deputy health minister, female employees working with him have started wearing less revealing clothes in his presence. 'We respect his sensibilities,' one worker explains
Ari Galahar The appointment of Yakov Litzman (United Torah Judaism) as deputy health minister has led to a significant change in the ministry's offices: Secular female employees working in proximity to the ultra-Orthodox minister have started wearing more modest outfits, and some even keep a shawl at the their desk's drawer in case they are asked to meet with Litzman directly. Litzman did not order this new "dress code," and staff members explain that the ministry's women simply felt it was more respectful towards the new boss.
One senior female employee, who has toned down her attire since Litzman took office, said there was no coercion involved in her decision to do so.
"As part of work procedures I meet with him regularly, and because I know he is a haredi person, I decided, along with other employees, to respect his sensibilities of my own free will, and put something on when I'm wearing a sleeveless or revealing blouse," she explained. "It's not as if we now look like religious women or cover ourselves completely, but we do put on something extra. We don't want to make the minister feel uncomfortable when he's meeting us," she added. One of Liztman's associate told Ynet that the employees' conduct was admirable, especially in light of the fact they had not been ordered to change their dress. Orthodox community chooses title for female rabbiParticipants of Kolech conference decide on title for ordained female rabbi. And the winner is: Rabba. Chairwoman of Kolech's board of directors: We will appeal Hebrew Language Academy to make word official
Tzofia Hirschfeld The Religious Women's Forum Kolech decided at their conference last week to choose a Hebrew title for a woman ordained as a rabbi by an Orthodox institution, although no woman in Israel yet holds this position.
The title chosen by a majority of conference participants is "rabba."
A few months ago, a woman was ordained by the Orthodox rabbinate in the United States and was given the title "maharat" – an acronym for the Hebrew words spiritual, Halacha, and Torah teacher. The decision to create a name for the controversy-loaded position in Israel grew out of a desire to encourage women to strive to reach such a level in their Torah learning. "The women's learning revolution has existed for quite some time," said Rachel Keren, chairwoman of Kolech's Board of Directors, to Ynet. "Women are advancing in Torah study, but there is a glass ceiling hindering their advancement. The glass ceiling was already shattered in the course for female halachic advisors and on the issue of female legal counselors, but still hasn't been shattered in the field of rabbis and religious judges. This issue is of prime importance. "There is a threefold interest that this ceiling is shattered – the interest of the woman who wants to advance and gain recognition, a societal interest, and the interest of the Torah world that there be as many Torah studiers as possible. By choosing a title, we wanted to raise public awareness to this need. We believed that the public discourse (on the subject) would encourage women to continue learning." Now that a decision was made on the title, the women of Kolech intend to discuss making the word official with the Academy of the Hebrew Language. During deliberations at the conference, other names that came as options were "maharat," "rav," and "hachama" or wise. "Cooperation with the Hebrew Language Academy is very important," explained Keren. "There is a need for this word, and the roll of the Academy is to fill this need. We just now approached them, and they are very pleased by the initiative." July 19 Un burqa non bienvenue ... Différents types de voile islamiqueSource : Reuters.
La burqa - dont on ne parlait guère qu’à propos de l’Afghanistan, voir les articles de ce blog à partir du mot en libellé - a fait une irruption fracassante dans le paysage politique, depuis qu’une soixantaine de députés de tout bord se sont inquiétés de sa multiplication dans nos villes, et depuis que même le Président Sarkozy a abordé le sujet dans son discours à Versailles, le 22 juin dernier ! Extrait de l’article du « Figaro » résumant son intervention : « S'exprimant sur la polémique qui a enflammé la classe politique française, le président de la République a estimé que la burqa soulevait un «problème de dignité et de respect de la femme». « Ce n'est pas un signe religieux, c'est un signe d'asservissement (...) Elle ne sera pas la bienvenue sur le territoire de la République française », a-t-il tranché. Il reviendra au Parlement de se prononcer sur l'opportunité d'un texte de loi. ». Pas inutile donc de rappeler, au moyen de l’illustration ci-dessous, les définitions exactes des mots « burqa », « hijab », et « niqab ». Avec quand même une petite correction : ce ne sont pas les seuls types de « tenues islamiques » pour les femmes, et on voit dans nos rues des Musulmanes porter des voiles ou coiffes bien plus discrètes ! Sources : rencontrejudaïquesfm July 18 No glatt kosher for jailed recalcitrant husbandAH...l'amour ! On ne badine pas avec la cachroute, non mais !
Man who has been jailed for two years for refusing to grant his wife a divorce goes on hunger strike after rabbinical court orders prison service to stop providing him with strictly kosher meals
Kobi Nahshoni The Great Rabbinical Court has ordered the Israel Prison Service to deny a jailed long-time recalcitrant husband glatt kosher meals, as means to pressure him into granting his wife a divorce. In response the man declared a hunger strike and is currently being fed intravenously. The couple got married 10 years ago, and two years later, after they already had two children together, the two separated and have been living apart ever since. When they filed for a divorce with the rabbinic court it seemed that both sides were interested in a quick procedure, and the husband even stated at the time that he did not want to see his wife ever again. But since then, and for the last eight years, the man has come up with various arguments and demands that have prevented the divorce from being finalized. As the situation got more and more complicated, the woman agreed to give up alimonies, and visitation rights have been agreed upon. But the husband continued in his attempts to blackmail the wife. Sanctions failThe case was finally handed over to the Great Rabbinical Court, where the judges soon ruled that the man was in fact a recalcitrant husband, who is not genuinely interested in a divorce. "This situation must be put a stop to," they said in their verdict. The court then sentenced the man to five years in prison, of which he has already served two. However, even after he was incarcerated, the man continued to present demands and conditions to his wife in return for a divorce. Having used up most of the sanctions available to them, the judges then came up with a new idea. They ordered the IPS to take the man out of the religious wing in which he was being held, put him in solitary confinement for two weeks, and stop providing him with strictly kosher meals. But it seems that the stubborn man is willing to do anything but grant his wife her freedom. In recent days he has been on a hunger strike in protest of the change in his food's kashrut level, and the wardens were forced to forcefully put him on IV. July 16 Sur l’antisémitisme
July 14 le mariage mixte en FranceS’il existe un certain flou au niveau des chiffres dû notamment au fait qu’en France les études statiques faisant référence à l’origine ethnique ou à la religion ne sont pas autorisées, il y a quand même quelques certitudes. Tout d’abord, le taux des mariages mixtes (que l’on entendra au sens large avec à la fois les mariages proprement dit et les concubinages où l’un des deux conjoints n’est pas juif ) est le phénomène saillant de la démographie juive française, comme d’ailleurs de toute la diaspora.
Selon le rapport « Tomorrow » de 2008 du Jewish People Policy Planning Institute de Jerusalem (www jpppi.org.il), le taux de mariages mixte et le faible taux de conversion des époux non-juifs ont induit une baisse du nombre des juifs aux Etats-Unis de 200 000 personnes entre 1970 et aujourd’hui (de 5,4 à 5,2 millions). En Grande-Bretagne les chiffres sont encore plus impressionnants de 390 000 juifs en 1970 à 297 000 en 2006 avec une projection de 238 000 en 2020. En Europe (hors ex-URSS) il est prévu que la population juive va passer de 1,3 millions à environ 1 million. En Russie et dans l’ancienne URSS la tendance est encore plus alarmante : de 2,1 millions en 1970 à 366 000 aujourd’hui, la population juive devrait être de 173 000 en 2020. Ces données doivent être rapprochées de celles obtenues par E. Cohen dans son étude sur la population juive française effectuée pour le Fond social juif unifié en 2002 « les juifs de France, valeurs et identité », qui a fait l’objet d’une longue synthèse dans le numéro de l’Arche de décembre 2002. Le chercheur E. Cohen a évalué le taux de mariage mixte à environ 30% des unions. Le taux des concubinages mixtes serait encore plus élevé, de l’ordre de 80 %. Seuls un petit nombre de mariages mixtes seront « régularisés » par une conversion. Le phénomène tend même à s’accélérer puisque dans son rapport pour 2007 le JPPPI donne un taux de mariages mixtes de 40-45%. Au-delà des statistiques, l’ampleur du phénomène est perceptible également au niveau individuel. Qui n’a pas dans son entourage des exemples vivants d’unions mixtes ? Il est vrai que dans nos sociétés postmodernes où l’affirmation de l'identité est facilement étiquetée de raciste, le métissage et la mixité sont considérés de façon positive voire encouragés. A cet égard, les medias, même parfois ceux de la communauté juive ne se lassent pas de monter en épingle des « célébrités » mariées avec un conjoint non-juif. Cependant il faut être clair. Le mariage mixte est un danger pour l’avenir des juifs, du judaïsme et d’Israël. A terme la véritable conséquence du mirage mixte c’est la disparition inéluctable du peuple juif dans sa dimension religieuse. Certes il restera toujours la dimension culturelle et culinaire mais franchement on peut espérer un autre avenir pour notre identité que le duo «couscous boulettes et carpe farcie». Au plan matériel, l’augmentation des mariages mixtes s’accompagne d’un désintérêt pour Israël tant au point de vue de la philanthropie que du soutien à sa politique. En effet, les mariages mixtes et les enfants qui en sont issus ont tendance à moins s’intéresser à Israël, à moins lui donner et à se sentir moins concernés par son avenir (Voir le rapport du Jewish People Policy Planning Institute pour 2007). Face à cette situation, plusieurs attitudes existent. Tout d’abord, il y a les indifférents, pour eux ce qui comptent c’est l’individu, ses sentiments et peu importent les conséquences sur le plan collectif. A l’opposé, il y a ceux qui considèrent que s’ils restent en ghetto le fléau les épargnera eux et leurs enfants. Il suffit donc de rester entre soi de ne pas se mêler aux juifs moins pratiquants et encore moins aux non-juifs et tout ira bien. Enfin il y a ceux qui se sentent concernés mais qui ne savent pas trop comment réagir. Partagés entre fatalisme et volontarisme, ils ne savent pas quoi proposer aux âmes en peine, aux parents dont l’enfant est sur le point de céder ou aux jeunes qui ne trouvent pas leur moitié juive et qui se disent qu’en allant voir « ailleurs » il y aura plus de choix donc plus de chance de trouver l’élu(e). Les initiatives se multiplient : sites internet de rencontres, vacances, cours, activités de toutes sortes pour tout les publics du plus orthodoxe à l’assimilé presque total. Ces initiatives sont louables mais il convient aussi d’élargir la réflexion sur le problème. Cette démarche a été notamment proposée par un rabbin américain, le rav Packouz directeur du Fond Aish HaTora pour Jérusalem à Miami. Dans son best-seller « How to prevent an intermarriage » (comment éviter un mariage mixte, Feldheim, 2004), il invite les parents à faire réfléchir leurs enfants tentés par l’expérience aux conséquences de cet acte. Nous souhaitons donner de ce texte écrit en anglais (www. preventintermarriage.com) une version adaptée mais fidèle à l’esprit. Il ne s’agit pas de proposer des recettes infaillibles car en la matière il n’y en a malheureusement pas. A travers une démarche pragmatique, le rav Packouz qui n’est ni un cabaliste ni un gourou veut amener les gens concernés à s’interroger sur leurs motivations et finalement à se remettre en question.
Fillette de 4 ans victime d'antisémitime dans une école à LondresLes parents d’une fillette juive de 4 ans ont dû la retirer de l’école qu'elle fréquentait à Paddington (ouest de Londres) depuis janvier en raison de remarques antisémites répétées dont elle faisait l’objet de la part d'autres enfants. L’école est multi-confessionnelle et la majorité des élèves sont de confession musulmane. Son père, le journaliste Nick Johnstone, reproche au directeur de n’avoir rien fait pour mettre un terme à ces exactions. Les intimidations physiques et verbales débutèrent il y a quelque temps, auxquelles vinrent s'ajouter il y deux semaines des injures à caractère religieux. Une petite fille lui a dit que les "Jewishes" sont beurk, qu'ils ne pensent qu’à eux, qu’on ne peut pas leur faire confiance et qu’il ne faut pas jouer au ballon eux parce qu'ils vous le jettent à la figure. Une autre fillette lui a lancé que les "Jewishes" ne sont pas des gens sympa. On lui a également prétendu qu’Allah la ferait brûler par le feu car elle n’était pas musulmane. Le père a déclaré : "Ni ma femme ni moi n’avions jamais entendu, et encore moins utilisé, le terme "Jewishes" auparavant. Nous sommes absolument choqués et horrifiés qu’une situation pareille soit survenue dans une école primaire gérée par l’Etat. Nous pensons qu’il est honteux qu’une enfant de quatre ans ait été la victime de racisme alors qu’elle était sous la garde de l’école." Source: Jewish Chronicle via Engage (Four-year-old is abused by school racists) Who is a Jew ? Let the civil court decideAu lieu de faire preuve de tolérance avec tout le Klal Israel...on leur force la main et tout va partir en sucette !
Jewish schools are guilty of racial discrimination if they reject children on the grounds of their parentage, a British court has ruled.
In a decision that has shocked the country's 300,000-strong Jewish community, the Court of Appeal held that ongoing personal acts of faith, rather than birth or conversion, must define who is a Jew. In doing so, the court overturned an earlier high court judgment upholding the decision of the JFS in London (the oldest and largest Jewish school in Britain) to deny a boy admission because it did not recognize his mother's conversion.
The three judges, one of them Jewish, ruled that any selection criteria that gives ethnic priority to a Jew is showing racial discrimination. They cited the Race Relations Act 1976, which was introduced to prevent discrimination on the grounds of race. The ruling means that Jewish schools of any denomination, whether privately or state funded, will be barred from giving priority to children who are born Jewish or who convert, and instead must consider how the children and their families practice their Judaism. The move throws into disarray the admissions arrangements for Britain's 97 Orthodox schools and may force them to introduce "faith tests" - like church schools, which require fortnightly attendance at Sunday services. Such a radical intervention - unprecedented since the time of Oliver Cromwell - calls into question the relationship between church (or synagogue) and state. The United Synagogue, the denominationto which JFS belongs, already has spent almost $250,000 in legal costs to fight the case, and is now planning a challenge at the highest court in the land, the House of Lords. The boy's mother had converted under the auspices of an independent progressive synagogue but JFS rejected his application in line with its admissions policy, which prioritizes children recognized as Jewish by the Office of the Chief Rabbi. Despite representing its largest religious Jewish denomination - the Modern Orthodox United Synagogue - the Chief Rabbi is not a religious representative of all British Jewry. The father of the boy - for legal reasons identified only as Child M - challenged the school at the high court, claiming the school's actions had been racist and illegal. He lost. But, after two years of legal wrangling, the Court of Appeal found in his favor on 25 June. The judges said: "The motive for discrimination, whether benign or malign, theological or supremacist, makes it no less and no more unlawful." They held that it was lawful to discriminate between Jewish and non-Jewish children on religious grounds, but not on what they called racial grounds. Atalia Cadranel, spokeswoman for the Board of Deputies, an elected body representing all Jews in the United Kingdom, said: "This is a landmark judgment that has major ramifications for every Jewish school in the U.K. The ruling says that the school's actions were ethnically inspired - and in contravention of the Race Relations Act of 1976. In fact, all Jewish schools base their admissions criteria on religious law and not ethnic criteria. "Unless the judgment is overturned, schools admissions will be on the basis of a faith test. "It could be dependent on things like shul attendance, but will be determined by the relevant rabbinic authority of the given school. The concern is that this is a retrograde step and could end up with families feigning observance in order to secure school places. Likewise, some families may be denied the chance to give their children a Jewish education." Rabbi Tony Bayfield, head of the Movement for Reform Judaism, strongly disagrees with the JFS admissions policy but remains opposed the court's intervention. He said: "JFS denies Jewish status to converts from Reform, Liberal and Masorti, and we abhor that ? But we are also extremely worried about the state interfering in our right as a Jewish community to define for ourselves who is a Jew." Jack Rabinowicz, a Jewish lawyer and expert in education law, said: "It's the first time since the resettlement of Jews in this country more than 350 years ago that the state has intervened in the question of who is a Jew. That's quite a remarkable thing. "Jews have benefited over the last several decades from the Race Relations Act. You have had Jewish policemen, for example, who have claimed discrimination if they're asked to work on Shabbos. The court accepted you can have discrimination on the basis of faith. The difficulty for schools, old-age homes and other institutions is that if you have discrimination on the grounds of religious practice, then that's very much more difficult. You can a have a Reform Jew who is very careful about their practice and an Orthodox Jew who is very much more lax." Rabinowicz suggests the House of Lords may take the view that the ruling goes too far in terms of state intervention, and reverse it. The Liberal movement is the only denomination to welcome the ruling. Rabbi Danny Rich, chief executive of Liberal Judaism, said: "We have taken the most clear and outspoken position on this. Judaism is transmitted not by birth, but by identity and upbringing." He further noted that it was not proper for a state-funded school to decide its admissions based on the status of the child's mother and with reference to only one British Jewish religious authority. Joshua Rowe, chair of governors at Manchester's King David High School, the largest state-funded Orthodox school outside London, said: "The selection process at JFS and other denominational schools is based on religion, not race. The test of birth is a religious test, not a racist one. It is a test utilized to define who is a Jew, and it is a test which is intended solely to preserve the religious character of the school and the right to preserve 'difference.' To the extent that it might be argued that Judaism is itself racist (because it defines membership on the basis of birth), the rebuttal must surely lie in the fact that anyone who is not Jewish by birth is nevertheless entitled to join the faith." JFS itself has issued a brief statement saying it is disappointed and believes the ruling will undermine its ethos. It said it was still unclear how the ruling would affect admissions for the new school year in September, but declined to comment further. Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks said: "Ethnicity is irrelevant to Jewish identity, according to Jewish law. Education has been the crucible of Judaism throughout the millennia, and the development of Jewish faith schools is one of Anglo Jewry's greatest achievements." July 09 Organic is the true kosher'After years of living in dark, cold cities of Europe, we lost contact with nature and its produce,' says Phyllis Glazer, guru of the organic kitchen, at Schechter Institute's study day 'Jewish Women Maintain a Healthy Soul.' Glazer calls to return to real kosher – no food coloring, preservatives, cruelty
Tzofia Hirschfeld The issue of Jewish nutrition takes up quite a bit of space in the volumes of Halacha. In actuality, we received a rigorous, thorough, and strict gastronomic guide at Mount Sinai describing in the finest detail what is permitted to eat, what we can eat it with, and in how much time. The Jewish diet has thus been preserved for thousands of years.
And, of course, the day has come when even this foundation is being kosherly slaughtered. The Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies held a study day for traditional women on the subject "Jewish Women Maintaining a Healthy Soul."
During the conference, the spiritual mother of the organic kitchen, Phyllis Glazer, along with her sister, a traditional rabbi and professor of literature at Jewish University, Miriam Glazer, asserted that what we find today in the Jewish kitchen is a culinary deviation from the original source.
"The food we have today is a result of life in exile, a life of cold and suffering. But this is not true Judaism," clarifies Miriam in a conversation with Ynet. "After we lived for years in the dark, cold cities in Europe, we lost touch with nature and its produce.
"We must return to Judaism that celebrates nature. We must return to eating what we ate in the Garden of Eden. To eat every type of fruit and vegetable. Meat comes only after the flood. We today need to return to the Garden of Eden within and be vegetarians," she explained.
Two sides to a holiday: the natural and the spiritual"Life in the ghettos of Europe brought us away from the source. The ultra-Orthodox as they are today is not true Judaism. They aren't even remotely part of this world. They forgot that all of our holidays celebrate the beauty found in nature. Even Shavuot is originally a harvest holiday. After the exile, rabbis turned it into a holiday of the giving of the Torah. This is fine, but the spiritual origin of the holidays is built on the physical phase of nature," Glazer continued. "What is happening today is that kibbutzim celebrate only the holidays' nature aspect, and haredim celebrate only the holidays' spiritual aspect. I say that one side without the other lacks meaning," Glazer asserted.
"Nature is holy," added Miriam's sister, Phyllis. "As long as we distance ourselves from nature, we will suffer. We received the earth with a detailed menu. We have here a land blessed with seven species of fruit, each of which, it is known today, contribute something unique to bodily health. Inherent in nature's natural output is divine wisdom.
If it's cruel, it's not kosher"When we try to play with this, we only hurt ourselves; we hurt God's intention. The original Judaism flew under the banner of organic living. What we have done, is we have created other things that aren't real food," Phyllis explained. "Religious people eat kosher. But this kosher is sometimes full of food coloring and preservatives. This isn't kosher in my eyes," said Miriam. "True kashrut must be based on real things. It must take into account things like ethics and morals, under what conditions the animals were raised, in what conditions workers were employed. Because if the food came to us by way of exploitation and cruelty, this isn't kosher food. We must remember that God said about everything He created 'and it was good.'"
"In Judaism, there are many references to the issue of a health soul in a healthy body," said Prof. Alice Shalvi, a board member of the Schechter Institute. "The Rambam referred to this extensively, but, just as with any theory, just because you are aware of it, doesn't mean you act according to it. We wanted to show the connection between Jewish thought and bodily health." Why our kids are abandoning religionTwenty percent of religious youths become secular because they find education system too strict and restricting
Rachel Yurovitz One of the greatest fears of the religious public is the fear of leaving religion. Neither the Iranian nuclear program nor the economic recession can create such terror as the phenomenon of "ex religious" that is becoming ever so prominent in this society. It's true, after whitewashing the terminology we no longer call those who chose a change "heretics" or "seculars," God forbid; they are now called "ex religious." Can you imagine calling a woman who used to be overweight and lost a lot of weight, "ex fat"? The name reflects the difficulty religious society has with dealing with this situation, and with admitting that a kid who has abandoned religion is a true, happy secular, present tense. Religious society contemplates the question of "why" - why do they become secular? The automatic answer is education. The education isn’t good enough, not strict enough. Most people believe that strictness will save their children from looking for answers elsewhere. I think there's another way of looking at this. It is a well-established fact that from an early age, we need positive reinforcement, warmth and love. We need to be told we're doing great. At a young age this goes without saying. The parents, and at kindergarten and school everyone makes an effort to encourage us and give us a feeling of success and self-worth. For those of us born to an observant family, another wonderful aspect is added. As young children Judaism induces warmth, and observing many mitzvoth gives a great feeling. The religious child feels at home with Judaism. Religion is imbued with songs, dances and family rituals. Observing the mitzvoth provides another aspect of life through which our kids win compliment and prizes. It's rare to find a four-year-old who doesn't like being religious. And still we cannot argue with statistics that say 20% of these kids grow up to become former-religious. What about those who don't fit in?When one looks at this process it's easy to see that the change in the approach to religion goes hand in hand with the youth's rebellion. When the children grow up, the educational tendency is to add more and more prohibitions and restrictions. The amount of positive feedback drops, while bans and limitations abound. For some, this style works and they grow stronger and thrive in their worship of God. But what about those who don't fit in? Those for whom spirit is as important as content, if not more so? Yes, there are religious pacifists who want to be religious without having to join God's army and serve 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They love God dearly, but interpret this love differently. They wander the system in search of someone to tell them that that's okay: different, but beautiful. In most cases they will find out that the system isn't tolerant. There's only one truth, and their truth isn't it. Attempting to fall in line with the system creates distance between actions and what's in their heart. And the hearts don't always follow the actions. In some cases the distance becomes social alienation and ends up in complete abandonment. And so, like a self-fulfilling prophecy, the desire to safeguard the youths leads to desertion on the one hand, and to mitzvoth observing "workaholics" on the other. It should be kept in mind that not everybody can get accustomed to this mitzvoth race. In this process the good word has been replaced by the motivating word. And some of us have been motivated to go someplace else, quieter, more accepting. A place where one can, and is allowed, to feel good. Those in charge of the religious education system should address this problem and find a solution for this phenomenon within the schools. They should provide real Torah education – one that not only says the Torah has 70 faces, but only accepts the face it sees in the mirror, but education that embraces the other 69 faces as well. Education that understands that the disputes from the Gemara, in their modern-day version, are here and that we are obligated to hold a genuine, non-judgmental dialogue in order to keep the thing that is most precious to us – our kids, at home. Rachel Yurovitz is a member of the Realistic Religious Zionism movement Il y a cent trois ans, Dreyfus réhabilité
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