...The Power of Speech The tongue holds the keys to life and death. One man spread a rumor about another. He later felt regret, and went to the rabbi to ask how to make amends. “Go to the store and buy a bag of seeds,” said the rabbi, “then go to a big open field and scatter the seeds into the wind. Do so and report back to me in a week.” (Rabbi Zelig Pliskin). The man did as he was told, and came back the next week to find out what to do next. “Now,” said the rabbi, “go back to the field and pick up all the seeds.” “But,” the man protested, “those seeds have scattered far and wide! I’ll never find them all. Many have even already taken root!” “Exactly,” explained the rabbi. “Now you understand. When we speak badly about another person, the effect is far and wide. And it is damage that can never be fully undone.” To Build or to Destroy What is mankind's unique advantage over the animal kingdom? Man is certainly not the fastest or strongest creature. Recent studies of dolphins and other animals suggest than man may not even be the most intelligent of creatures. Yet man possesses something that no other creature in the universe has – the ability to creatively communicate. While other animals can communicate as a survival mechanism, none but mankind can express a philosophical query. The Torah says that when God blew a soul into Adam, he became a "speaking being" (Genesis 2:7). The driving force of humanity is verbal interaction. This is why the Torah so strongly emphasizes...
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...could no longer ignore them. The yeshiva that I was in was rampantly racist, misogynist, and homophobic. I was horrified at some of the extremist concepts that seemed to be taken for granted by everyone except myself, and began to conscientiously object. It was easily apparent that I was not fitting into their mold. The school’s dress code at that time was somewhat lax- button down shirt, no jeans or sneakers (although in subsequent years that changed to only white shirts and black pants). I fully conformed to those rules, yet I was sent home several times for wearing shirts that the principal deemed “too gay”. My iPod was taken away because it contained Beatles songs (when I told the rabbi that my parents had introduced me to the Beatles at an early age and did not view them as offensive, the rabbi looked at me with a mixture of suspicion and pity). I cannot recall writing a single essay in my first two years of high school, although I might have had one or two. One day, after I had expressed my desire to go to college, my principal...
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...Great Israeli Rabbis of Iraqi Descent Among the Jewish people there are two major cultures. There are those of Sephardic Descent and those of Ashkenaz descent. Although both cultures are very diverse and have separate communities, they follow the same religious guidelines and rules. However, Sephardic Jewry originated mainly from Spanish and Arab countries while Ashkenazic Jewry originated mainly from European countries and Russia. The most scholarly advanced of the Jews over the last hundred years are those of Iraqi descent which produced prestigious rabbis such as Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, Rabbi Yitzchak Kaduri and Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu. Many of todays great Iraqi Jewish Rabbis are not just of Iraqi descent but were even born in Baghdad, Iraq. Many Regard Rabbi Ovadia Yosef as the greatest Rabbi of the last one hundred years. Rabbi Ovadia Yosef was born on September 20, 1920 in Baghdad, Iraq. Rabbi Ovadia Yosef attained his incredibly high level of knowledge through vigorous study and a top-notch education starting from a young age. As a teenager Rabbi Ovadia Yosef studied at Porat Yosef Yeshiva, which till today is considered to be the most prominent Sephardic Yeshiva for producing future rabbinic leaders. This prestigious yeshiva is located in the Old City of Jerusalem. It can be compared to a minor league farm system in baseball that produces the top prospects. Rabbi Ovadia Yosef quickly rose to the highest-level lecture taught by Syrian born Rabbi Ezra Attiah. Rav Ovadia...
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...but equal. Women's commitments & responsibilities are dissimilar from men's, but are not any less important. Women have been in positions of admiration in Judaism since biblical times. Miriam is considered as one of the liberators of the Children of Israel, along with her brothers Aaron & Moses. One of the Judges (Deborah) was a woman. Seven of the 55 prophets of the Bible were women. There were a lot of educated women of note. The Talmud & later on rabbinical writings verbalize on the knowledge of Berurya, the wife of Rabbi Meir. In quite a few occurrences, her opinions on halakhah (Jewish Law) were acknowledged over those of her male colleagues. In the ketubah (marriage contract) of Rabbi Akiba's son, the wife is compelled to educate the husband Torah! A lot of rabbis over the centuries have been well-known to confer with their wives on matters of Jewish law concerning the woman's role, such as laws of women’s cycles & kashrus. The spouse of a rabbi is referred to as a rebbetzin, virtually a label of her own, that ought to give some suggestion of her meaning in Jewish life. There can be no...
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...Yonah Seewald March 10, 2016 English Report Who Is My Hero? A hero is someone who you look up to, who you respect and who you want to be when u get older. I have many hero’s in this world that have changed me and have changed many people. Buts my ultimate hero is my Rebbe, teacher and good friend Benjy Renov. Rabbi Benjy Renov is my hero and he is the most inspiring person i have ever known. He has helped me love Judaism, make Hashem everything and helped me be nice to people and respect them. We met in Camp Morasha about 5 years ago and it was time for shiria which is a singing competition in the camp between girls and boys. I love to sing so i wanted to go try out for a solo and he was running tryouts. So when i song to him he took me on the side he said you have the most amazing voice and my face just lit up. He is so nice, not only me but everyone he talks too he make them feel amazing. So the song i song for him he started explaining what the hebrew word’s and you can see in his eye how much he loved Judaism and everything about this world. After that year in Camp Morasha he didn't come back but we kept in touch and always met up once in a while. My eighth year in Halb I was super excited for the first day and when i walked in the door i saw him. Turns out that he is Rebbe in Halb and he subbed in most of my classes. We got much closer and we started learning after lunch everyday. I wasn't really involved in learning until that year but ENGLISH REPORT...
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...A Dialogue between a Rabbi and an Atheist about the Problem of Evil (On a sunny Monday morning in Ukraine, Rabbi Samuel Goldfarb is taking a leisurely walk through the town marketplace. The Rabbi is well loved and respected in the community, always exchanging greeting with the townspeople. He comes upon a newcomer to the town, Radical Enchain, whom he does not recognize and starts a polite conversation with him.) Rabbi: Top of the morning to you sir. My name is Rabbi Samuel Goldfarb. I would like to welcome you to town. What is your name? What brings you to this lovely town in Ukraine? Radislav: Nice to meet you Rabbi and good morning to you as well. My name is Radislav Venchkin. I just emigrated here from Poland. I was looking for a fresh start so I’m here trying the town out and trying to get a feel for the town and its culture. Rabbi: Radislav, you made an excellent choice. This town is a diverse town with a tight knit community. There is a close relationship between everyone in town even though it looks as if everyone is all over the place. I’m sure you will find it quite nice here. Radislav: Well Rabbi, I would love to hear more in detail about the community and what it has to offer. May I speak with you in a more formal setting? Rabbi: It would be my pleasure Radislav. I happen to be on my way to Temple in the center of town. I have scheduled an emergency prayer service for my congregation. With all the bad things happening in the world; hurricanes...
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...Rabbi Sacks is a phenomenal writer, especially in his explanation of the the Torah verse Lech Lecha. He gives us some heavy duty, critical thinking with his four interpretations of what Lech Lecha means. Rabbi Sachs’s four interpretations are: “journey for yourself,” “go with yourself,” “go to yourself,” and finally “go by yourself.” All four of his interpretations give us something to think about. His first interpretation, “journey for yourself,” at first from Rashi, or known as “going for yourself” explains Abraham going for his own benefit or good. Abraham is implied by G-d when they have their talk, that Abraham should leave because it would be better in the long run, so Abraham listens to G-d and packs up his things because it would...
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...Religious rigidity is not something that is widely accepted in society. People have become too fearful of someone knocking on their door and pushing religion on them. Likewise, people see religion as too organized and archaic, questioning why they have to believe in an invisible presence that is looking out for them or abide by rules and commandments to be accepted into an invisible eternity. In Flannery O’Connor’s “Parker’s Back” and Eileen Pollack’s “The Rabbi in the Attic”, there is a gross imbalance of rigidity and laxness among the main characters (Curtis, 1998, pp.167-185, 236-266). In O’Connor’s “Parker’s Back”, O. E. Parker is the typical rebel who makes his own rules and says or does what he wants, not thinking about consequences. His life takes twists and turns that even he cannot foresee. For instance, he gets his first tattoo, joins the Navy with false information, and meets his wife, Sarah Ruth, who is a strict Christian. He is lacking in knowledge regarding Christianity and it is apparent in his responses to Sarah Ruth’s comments about salvation. His position on this subject is that he does not “see it was anything in particular to save him...
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...Women in Judaism did have important roles in the Jewish culture before modernity took over. In the last few decades, female rabbis have been ordained from Reform schools along with other types like Conservative and Reconstructionist. In traditional sense, Jewish male assumed the role of rabbis but now in the modern times, women are starting to assume the role of rabbis just like the males. Female rabbis are establishing themselves in important roles in Judaism besides being a mother, wife and homemaker. The first woman rabbi was ordained in the United States in 1972 at the Reform Judaism Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Ohio. Since 1972, there has been over 150 female rabbis ordained through Reform Judaism which led to Reconstructionist...
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...Conservative rabbis of the Jewish faith. She gained popularity in this niche field by passing out business cards in the lobby of a hotel housing Conservative rabbis. The conservative rabbis have something in common: they need to negotiate contracts for themselves but are inexperience in the matter. Traditionally, when Jewish rabbis and cantors negotiate with the synagogue boards, the agreement is based on handshakes and respect. Bringing in Lawyers is a necessary change that Conservative Jews have made in order to protect their own well-being. Many Conservatives have even began to recommend Lawyers. Kelman speculates it's because they don’t know how to...
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...Rabbis’ redacted the Mishnah in the early on rabbinic era to set a standard interpretation of the Torah. The Mishnah was meant to layout a blueprint of how society should interact and the obligations of women to men and men to women. The Mishnah being a work with multiple contributors holds many people views, such as Rabbi Eliezer, and the Tanna Eliezer ben Hyrcanus. Both Rabbis’ held a similar view when it came to women and Torah studies. Rabbi Eliezer believed when women were to study the Torah it would make them more devious and they would try to hide their transgression from their husbands. The Tanna Eliezer ben Hyrcanus believed who’s ever daughter was thought the Torah she would be considered as a tiflut (impure). Both Rabbis from the Mishnah era viewed educated women in Torah study as a threat to their husbands....
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...Rabbi looked out the car's window to see Lebanon’s tall mountains which protected the historical buildings of his hometown, Ehden. The view gave him comfort, to see the town he calls home instead of the tall modern glass buildings that plagued the view of Australia’s cities. The taxi curved along the road, avoiding the rocky mountains and it's neighbours, the cement houses. Some of these houses looked completely new and foreign to this old city making Rabbi feel out of place. He pouted, his town changed. As the taxi kept moving, Rabbi kept noticing differences. He noticed a stump instead of the tall green Cedrus Libani tree where he used to climb with his school friends and eat their carrots dipped in hummus after school to waste time. Rabbi then turned and faced the other side of the road, seeing his old school signalling him that his almost home, but that's not what caught his mind. His school's name changed from ‘Madaris Ehden’ *2 to ‘Abdel Halim’, almost reminding Rabbi of this new town....
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...Reform Judaism Tamara Rice Instructor: Eric Speir REL 212 March 11th, 2012 Background Over a month ago when I selected the topic of Judaism as the subject for my field research paper, I thought that the outcome would be cut and dry. I knew that Judaism served as the foundation for my own faith (Christianity) and that Jews honored the Sabbath from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. I also had in my mind the imagery of the Star of David, the Torah scroll and the male rabbi in the synagogue donning a prayer shawl over his shoulders and a kippah on the crown of his head. I believed that I had the general concepts of the Jewish faith in my mind; I just needed to witness a virtual worship service and fill in some of the minor details while gathering some additional intelligence on some misconceptions. So I decided to go over to the Ustream for “Shir Hadash” and witness a Community Shabbat (Sabbath) Service (Ustream, 2011). What I discovered watching the 2.5 hour Shabbat service followed by some additional research gave me a rude awakening. The impression of Judaism that I’ve carried with me up to this point is what is known as Orthodox Judaism. The Jews that I’ve witnessed in tight-knit communities in places such as Brooklyn, New York and Oak Park, Michigan were towns filled with Orthodox Jews. In addition to Orthodox Judaism, there is also Conservative Judaism. Conservative Judaism reverences traditional Jewish practices in America, but...
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...An Outside Perspective of Messianic Judaism John W. Stroud HUM/130 November 28, 2010 Terry Barnes An Outside Perspective of Messianic Judaism Many people are born and raised in a religion without ever feeling complete or whole. There are those born and raised Jewish but never felt Judaism provided the answers for which they sought. These unsatisfied Jews have often looked to other religions for their answers. Many of those answers have been found in a form of Judaism that is often looked down upon by the more traditional Jews. This Messianic Judaism combines the core beliefs of Christianity with the traditional Jewish lifestyle. This combination of two distinct religions has shown the world that a religion can allow its members to maintain their traditional lifestyle while providing them with the spiritual nourishment they long for. Messianic Judaism Messianic Judaism is a branch of Judaism that believes Yeshua or Jesus was the Son of God and the Messiah as foretold by the prophets in the Old Testament of the Bible. Messianic Judaism also believes that the Bible, which consists of the Tenach or Holy Scriptures and the B’rit Hadasha or New Covenant, is the only infallible and authoritative word of God (Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations, 2008). This belief includes that the Bible comes from divine inspiration and its teachings are the final authority in matters of faith and how to practice that faith (International Alliance of Messianic Congregations and Synagogues...
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...(CNN)Books, filled with prayers for peace, splattered with blood. Sacred vestments shredded by bullets and knives. Lifeless bodies in the sanctuary. The rabbis had gathered to ask God to bestow blessings upon their troubled land. Their prayers were interrupted by two men wielding butcher knives and a gun. An Israeli police officer and four rabbis were killed, including an American whose family is considered "rabbinic royalty." Combined with the site of the slaughter -- a synagogue in West Jerusalem -- the targeting of rabbis struck at the soul of Jews around the world, several Jewish leaders said Tuesday. "This is an attack on all of us," said Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld, who leads Ohev Sholom Synagogue in Washington. "Any terrorist attack is a horror. But to attack people while they are engaged in prayer, are talking to God, is a new low." In fact, both sides in the seemingly endless fight between Israelis and Palestinians have attacked people at prayer. In 1994, a Jewish extremist murdered 29 Palestinians worshiping in Hebron. In 2002, Palestinian extremists attacked a Passover Seder in Natanya, killing 30. Like those assaults, Tuesday's murders threaten to ignite another inferno of unholy violence. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attack, but Hamas and other Palestinians praised the terrorists, identified by police as two cousins from East Jerusalem. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office vowed to "respond with a heavy...
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