Reform Judaism: Ethics Archives

Food, Ethical Food!
November 30, 2009

by Rachel Cohen
Legislative Assistant, RAC
(Originally published on The Jew and the Carrot)

As Jews, we have always cared about the food that we eat. Some of us choose to embrace traditional notions of kashrut - and many of us do not - but we can all agree that our food, and how we get it, plays an important part in our lives.

That's why Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, opened one section of his 2009 Biennial Shabbat sermon with these words: "Jewish history begins with a Jew - a new Jew, the first Jew - saying to others: come, eat with me. And ever since this first Jewish meal, Jews have believed that eating matters."

These words have never been truer than they are for us today. Our Jewish values - caring for our neighbors, being good stewards of our earth and its resources, valuing our family and our community - all point to the need to think critically about the way we eat.

Filed Under: Ethics | Jewish Living

Godwin's Law, Halbanat Panim and Health Care
August 21, 2009 (6 Comments)

by William Berkson

Godwin's Law is a rule of internet conversations, which says that the longer a discussion thread continues, the higher the probability that someone will mention Hitler or Nazis. A popular variation is that the first person to invoke Hitler or Nazis is considered to have lost the debate.

There is a lot of truth in both these variations. There is something about the conditions of the internet that unleashes the furies in many who post in forums. Fortunately, this name-calling is generally of little consequence.

However, this dreadful practice has migrated more and more to the television and face to face political events. The more personal and public the name-calling becomes, the more dangerous it is. In Pirkei Avot it is written that a person who shames another in public will "have no place in the world to come." The Hebrew phrase for public shaming is halbanat panim, which means literally "whitening the face" of the other person, causing the other person to blanche. And the sages said that as blood drains from the face of the person insulted, that halbanat panim is so grave a sin as being equivalent to bloodshed, because it often leads to bloodshed.

Filed Under: Ethics | Social Action

Paying It Forward vs. Paying In Full
August 18, 2009 (3 Comments)

By JanetheWriter

God said, "Let the water beneath the sky be collected in one place, so that the dry ground may be seen!--and so it was. And God called the dry ground Earth, and called the collected waters Seas. And God saw that this was good."
Genesis 1:9-10

When God uttered those words, God didn't then go on to say, "Only those who own the dry ground where it joins the Seas may--without paying a fee--walk endlessly in the foam that laps at it, bask in the sun that beats down upon it and frolic in the rolling green swirls that rise and fall on their way to meet it." The Eternal may as well have.

And so it was that during our family's recent vacation at Point Pleasant Beach, we paid daily for access to the sandy beach and the warm ocean swells--$7 for adults and $2 for children. (Yes, I understand that lifeguards on a clean and safe beach come with a price that often must be shared among public, private and government entities. And, indeed, we paid a price...perhaps just not all of what was due.)

Filed Under: Ethics | Jewish Living

Teachable Moment
July 28, 2009 (8 Comments)

by William Berkson

President Obama said he hoped the confrontation between Cambridge policeman James Crowley and Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates would prove to be a "teachable moment."

But it's hard to find any light on what we are supposed to learn. One lesson from our tradition is that when we approach a situation that can escalate into conflict, we should use techniques to defuse conflict, and to promote cooperation.

One of these techniques is in Ecclesiastes, and another in Proverbs: "The mouth of the wise charms, but the lips of a fool are his undoing."(Eccl 10:12) "A soft answer turns away wrath, but grievous words stir up anger." (Prov. 15:1)

Modern psychology has in fact found that these techniques are of critical importance in interpersonal relations. Marriage researcher John Mordechai Gottman found that the best predictor of divorce is not how often a couple argues, but rather whether arguments escalate. And he found the couples who handle conflict successfully have the skill of "a soft start up" and a mollifying, rather than angry, response to an upset spouse.

Filed Under: Ethics | Jewish Living

D'var Torah: The Real American Idol
March 8, 2009 (3 Comments)

by Irwin A. Zeplowitz
(Originally published in Ten Minutes of Torah and Reform Voices of Torah)
The popular television show American Idol seeks the most talented singers, hoping to promote each one as the next "superstar."There is a lot that is positive about American Idol. It is founded on the belief that there is the potential for great talent in anyone. The show allows "ordinary people"a chance they might not otherwise have to achieve the most they can in life. The success of the show has transformed the term "idol"from its original connotation of something false and deviant into something positive. Then again, perhaps the trivialization of the term "idol"is a hint to the shallowness of what popular culture truly values. The ultimate goal of American Idol, of course,is not simply to showcase talent, but to have the winner get "a major recording contract". In this, the real purpose is revealed--not fame, but fortune; not glamour, but gold.

The dramatic story of eigel hazahav, the "Golden Calf,"is at the center of this week's parashah, Ki Tisa. Commentators debate what it is that the people truly yearn for when they say to Aaron, "Come, make us a god"(elohim, literally "gods"[Exodus 32:1]). Rashi indicates that the people seek a pantheon of gods as a substitute for God. Many argue that the people are afraid because Moses has not returned from the mountain, so they want a "new Moses"(Ramban on 32:1), "someone to go before them"(Ibn Ezra on 32:1) as a leader. Others suggest that the "Israelites are demanding a god, rather than the God,"hinting that any diversion from the people's fears of abandonment is as comforting as any other (The Torah: A Women's Commentary, ed. Tamara Cohn Eshkenazi and Andrea L. Weiss [New York: URJ Press, 2008], p. 502).

Filed Under: Ethics | Torah

D'var Acher: Engaging in Righteous Killing
March 8, 2009 (2 Comments)

by Barry Cohen
(Originally published in Ten Minutes of Torah and Reform Voice of Torah)
Something has always bothered me about this week's Torah portion: to regain control of the rebellious mob dancing around the Golden Calf, we engage in "righteous killing."Moses exclaims, "Whoever is for the Eternal, come here!"(Exodus 32:26). He proceeds to give instructions to the tribe of Levi to "slay sibling, neighbor, and kin"(Exodus 32:27).

On a smaller scale, such "righteous killing"had happened before, after the rape of Dinah (Genesis 33:18-34:31). Simeon and Levi massacred the perpetrators and their families. Many years later at Sinai, we kill three thousand of our own (Exodus 32:28). Arguably, if this did not happen, the story of our people could have ended in the wilderness.

Filed Under: Ethics | Torah

On Gaza, Sense and Centrism
January 1, 2009 (30 Comments)

By Rabbi Eric Yoffie
First published in The Forward
Wars sicken me, even wars that I support. I support Israel's offensive in Gaza, but watching it on TV -- the images of bombed-out buildings, crying women and, inevitably, the bodies of innocent bystanders -- is a painful experience.

I suspect that most American Jews feel the same discomfort that I feel. They support the military offensive too, but they are well aware of the risks that it entails, and they expect Israel to be both politically wise and morally sensitive in how it fights. It is especially important to us that Israel do everything humanly possible to avoid the death of innocents and to prevent a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. There is much evidence that Israel has worked hard to limit the carnage, and the credibility of Israel's leaders in providing assurances on these points is an important factor in assuring the continued support of American Jews -- and, indeed, of all Americans -- for the Gaza campaign.

Filed Under: By Rabbi Eric Yoffie | Ethics | Israel

A Bad Day at School
October 24, 2008 (12 Comments)

By dcc
I have a cousin in his mid-80s who often reminds me that it was good for the Jews in Austria before Hitler. He was a scholar, his sister was a lawyer (yes a woman in the 1930s), their family was well connected in Vienna. I often remind him that the United States is not inter-war Europe and we know better now. He then waves his hand at me and calls me naive. On days like today I think he might be right.

Reading the award-winning Dallas Morning News Religion Blog I found this gem of a post. A group of children in Suburban St. Louis, as part of the officially sanctioned school "Spirit Week" comprised of "High Five Day" and "Hug a Friend Day," choose to celebrate "Hit a Jew Day" as just one more way to be true to their school.

Filed Under: Ethics

Lashon Tova
October 20, 2008 (7 Comments)

By Larry Kaufman
A recent discussion in these precincts about Lashon Hara, intended to present a Jewish "take" on permissible and impermissible political discourse, gave rise to a peripheral discussion about the propriety of using words and phrases from languages other than English.

That article provided a literal translation of lashon hara as "the bad tongue," and provided as English explanations defamation, character assassination, or 'bad mouthing." The subsequent discussion suggested another meaning, malicious gossip.

As a relatively new entity, this blog had not previously articulated any "rules of the road," but the discussion provoked messages from the blog managers at the Union for Reform Judaism reminding bloggers the Union is not and cannot be in the business of endorsing or supporting candidates, and that the blog exists to look at the world through a lens of Reform Judaism. I propose an additional rule - we should follow the minhag (custom) that prevails on the Union list-servs, and translate expressions from languages other than English.

Filed Under: Ethics | Holidays

Control
October 20, 2008 (4 Comments)

By dcc
Tamar Fox at Mixed Multitudes writes about Y-Love's finding that there are "activists" in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg who are destroying advertisements because the food pictured in these billboards is "excessive and indulgent." These ultra-Orthodox food-pleasure police are defacing property of surrounding businesses because they think photographs of food that is just too tasty will distract people and lead them into a life of crime, mischief and non-Jewish activity. Stop me anytime now, but isn't vandalism criminal, mischievous and non-Jewish?

Outside of the somewhat backwards tactics of resistance, why can't the ultra-Orthodox practice restraint and control?

Filed Under: Ethics | Jewish Living

Tzedek, tzedek tirdof: My Father's Legacy
October 20, 2008 (1 Comment)

By Andi Rosenthal
My father Leo - may his memory be for blessing - had some definite ideas about justice. A 22-year veteran of Manhattan South Homicide, a detective first grade, and later in his second career, a tireless VP of Protective Control for Bank of New York, he spent a lifetime bringing people to justice, righting wrongs where he could, never afraid to stand up for what was right and see that the appropriate penalty was handed down. And he managed to do it all with tremendous style. Above all things he found a way to connect with people whether they were do-gooders or perps, always with an irrepressible grin and a twinkle in his eye. His way with people was a weapon far more powerful than the .44 he carried or the Glock he kept in the kitchen cabinet.

He cared about justice as much as he cared about his family, because he cared about families who had been touched by the damage that unchecked injustice can do. He never forgot a victim, never forgot a name, always made sure that he remembered that no matter what sort of evil or physical or emotional mutilation or destruction had occurred, that what he was bearing witness to was the human relationship of life-to-life in an ultimate transaction gone awry. He understood that all human beings contained the yetzer ha-tov and yetzer ha-ra - the good and evil impulse - in equal balance. But what he never let himself understand or accept was how people could justify their actions when they led to such a destructive end.

Filed Under: Ethics | Shabbat

Lashon Hara and Elections
October 13, 2008 (29 Comments)

By William Berskon
The last few days have dramatized the gravity of the sin of lashon hara, literally "the bad tongue." Known in English as defamation, character assassination, or in slang 'bad mouthing,' lashon hara is part of the vidui, the confession at Yom Kippur which we have all just said. It has traditionally been seen as one of the most common, yet also most serious of sins.

It is a frustration to me that public discourse in America has lacked this concept: that it is wrong to say something bad about another person, even if true, without a compelling reason. Such compelling reasons include testimony at a trial, preventing serious harm to others from a bad actor, and self-defense against lashon hara.

Filed Under: Community | Ethics | Holidays

Learning from youth
October 10, 2008

By Gardening Grandma
A story in this morning's New York Times about the growing army of "eco-kids" not only grabbed my attention, it made me proud: "Pint-Size Eco-Police, Making Parents Proud and Sometimes Crazy" highlights how children are teaching their parents a lesson or two about caring for this earth, sometimes to the frustration of their parents.

While Judaism was not mentioned in the story, nothing could be closer to our hearts than protecting the earth and working to repair the damage we've created. As today's emailed Ten Minutes of Torah by Rabbi Marla Feldman notes, "to neglect our role in maintaining the fragile balance of nature is to default on our very first commitment in our covenant with God - our sacred duty to be stewards of God's Creation." She goes on to note that Sukkot is a perfect time to reinforce our connection to the natural world around us.

For more ideas about what to do this Sukkot, check out www.urj.org.

Filed Under: Ethics | Holidays | Social Action

L'Shana Tovah
October 6, 2008 (1 Comment)

By David Singer
Yes, a good year and a happy year. But to whom? To my family everywhere and to my friends also, and to colleagues, clients, and those I will meet this year. It goes without saying; I want all to have a good year with health and peace for them. And for myself, don't forget myself, who needs good health, who seeks peace for his daughter and wife and clients. But for whom else is L'Shana Tovah said?

It depends where you listen. If you were to visit a synagogue today, would you hear L'Shana Tovah said in honor of families who lost loved ones at wars fought today? Indeed, you would hear thoughts for those Americans fighting in Iraq. But would you hear thoughts of health and peace for Iraqi citizens in their country? Perhaps you would hear words for them, perhaps not. Some Iraqis are part of the war there; most are not and simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Do you hear L'Shana Tovah for them? Not much, I say.

Filed Under: Ethics | Holidays

This Week Is Like a Box of Chocolates
September 28, 2008

By Barbara Weinstein
Legislative Director of the Religious Action Center
I'm an I Love Lucy aficionado. I have seen every episode, can recite by heart the Vitametavegamin routine that ends with Lucy sloshed on the alcohol-laced health tonic, and know that the longest laugh the show recorded came when Lucy did the tango with a shirt stuffed full of raw eggs. But for my money, the funniest episode is called "Job Switching," where Lucy and Ethel get jobs in a candy factory. Watching Lucy-as-candy-wrapper try and keep up with the ever-faster conveyor belt of chocolates is watching a master comedian at her best.

Sometimes, I feel a bit like Lucy at Kramer's Kandy Kitchen. That's particularly true this week as Congress tries to work through myriad bills that have languished for months, while also dealing with the economic challenges on Wall Street, and trying to leave town to campaign before Election Day. The legislative team at the RAC has been busily strategizing, posting action alerts, firing off letters to members of Congress, issuing press releases, and trying to make sure that social justice values are reflected in our laws.

Filed Under: Community | Ethics | Social Action

Philanthropy as a Rite of Passage
September 22, 2008 (1 Comment)

By Gardening Grandma
Every synagogue I know has some sort of "mitzvah" requirement built into the bar/bat mitzvah program. Often the mitzvah is so small--"I spent an afternoon reading to children in an after-school program!" or "I gave my old children's books to the hospital!" -- that the chance that the 13-year-old learned a lifelong lesson is pretty slim.

But today I read about Jared and Colby Kash on Jewlicious. I've no doubt that these two brothers are on their way to a lifelong habit.

What's happening in your family?

Filed Under: Community | Ethics | Lifecycle

Is Your Food Just?
September 16, 2008 (2 Comments)

By Emily Grotta
I don't keep kosher, but I have been appalled at the news about the Agriprocessors plant in Postville, IA and the company's treatment of its workers. It's the kind of news story that gives all Jews a bad name.

That's why I applaud the news today that the movement to develop a "ethical standard" for food today received yet another stamp of approval from the Reform Movement, as the Union for Reform Judaism joined the Central Conference of American Rabbis in endorsing the Conservative Movement's Heksher Tsedek Commission.

Filed Under: Community | Ethics

Straight or Gay, Marriage is Sacred
September 10, 2008 (1 Comment)

By JanetheWriter
Three years ago last week, the California Assembly voted to legalize same-sex marriage in the Golden State. Earlier this week, the JTA reported that on September 4, perhaps to mark this anniversary, Orthodox Jewish and Catholic leaders signed a statement that affirms that affording same-sex unions the status of marriage "dilute[s] the special standing of marriage between a man and a woman."

The signatories "hope that even those outside of our common religious traditions will recognize that we speak from the truth of human nature itself which is consistent with both reason and the moral life." Although one of the statement's signatories, Rabbi Fabian Schonfeld, chairman of the OU/RCA Joint Committee on Interreligious Affairs, and I share a religious tradition, I don't believe that he speaks from the truth of human nature and I certainly don't believe that that truth is consistent with either reason or with the moral life.

Filed Under: Ethics | Lifecycle

Hechsher tzedek
September 10, 2008

By Larry Kaufman
Well, our Reform rabbinate has endorsed the Conservative "hechsher tzedek" stating whether or not the meat is kosher isn't just a factor of how the animal was slaughtered, but of how the workers were treated.

Back in the days when we were boycotting California grapes, we probably talked about social justice and prophetic values - but the Reform movement wasn't at the point where it could have talked about kosher and treyf.

As it happened, our speaker at Shabbat services on Labor Day weekend talked about his participation in the recent protest march at the Agriprocessors plant in Postville. (For those arriving in the middle of the movie, that's the large kosher meat company that's been the subject of a Forward investigation and of a raid and roundup of undocumented workers by the Feds.) I told our guest that I don't keep kosher, but I consider the Postville meat treyf.

Filed Under: Ethics | Social Action

A Newer, Slower Kosher
August 1, 2008 (1 Comment)

By dcc
Recently I have been reading Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma, which while partly polemical in its approach to local food consumption as opposed to what Pollan calls "the industrialized food chain," did a lot to reinforce my love of good, tasty, carefully created food.

But it seems that I am not alone in this re-discovery. In the last week or so my local paper has dedicated significant front page real estate and bandwidth (complete with a new "Times Topic Page") to local and natural food movements. Many people are concerned by the number of pesticides, hormones and antibiotics fed to what becomes our food. We are beginning to ask why everything has the same five ingredients and most of the time we can't pronounce them. The inherent ignorance necessary to continue Pollan's industrialized food chain is coming to an end; people have decided they want to know what they are eating.

Filed Under: Ethics | Jewish Living

From Black and White to Shades of Gray
July 28, 2008

By JanetheWriter
Recently, someone I know told me he is a gun owner. When I heard this, I was dumbfounded and I was speechless.

In my head, guns and associated imagery, most of it violent, churned--a visual stream of consciousness. His handgun, a compact, weighty black rock nestled among dark socks in a nightstand drawer...the McDonald's in San Ysidro, CA, where 21 people were killed and 19 injured, all by gunfire...the aerial view of Columbine High School, a single line of students streaming from its doors... DayGlo orange-vested hunters traipsing into the woods, just yards from my office on a cool fall morning in rural New England...a photo of Rabbi Eric Yoffie speaking at the Million Mom March, the only religious leader to do so.

Filed Under: Ethics

The False Choice of Peace v. Justice
July 23, 2008

By Jonah Perlin
(First posted on the RACBlog)

The last month has been an important one for international war crimes proceedings. Monday night the "most wanted man in Europe," a Serbian war criminal was captured. Even more remarkable, on July 11, just six days before the 10th anniversary of the ratification of the Rome Statute which established the International Criminal Court (ICC) -- a treaty which the U.S. and Israel have still yet to become a party to -- Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the maverick Chief Prosecutor of the ICC, announced that he was brining charges against President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan.

In indicting Bashir the ICC not only made a commitment to holding individuals responsible for the ongoing genocide in Darfur, it also sent a signal to all sitting world leaders that they would no longer have immunity from perpetrating unthinkable crimes simply because of their status as heads of state.

Filed Under: Ethics | Social Action

Dónde están las mujeres
July 17, 2008 (4 Comments)

By dcc
This week the Saudi government sponsored an interfaith meeting in Madrid, Spain. Rabbi Scott Sperling, director of the Mid-Atlantic Council of the Union and representative of the Commission on Interreligious Affairs, is there for the Reform Movement. Ari Alexander, co-founder of Children of Abraham, is also attending. He is live blogging at Mixed Multitudes about the event. He was shocked to see so few female participants at the conference. In a week were where we read Parashat Pinchas, a seminal work of feminism in the Torah, his point resonates even louder for me.

It is all too easy for men to say nothing about the lack of women in a room, Alexander writes. As a young man working in a world with far more women than men, but where there are very few women in positions of power, not saying anything is not an option. We must say something when there is a clear issue of discrimination. It is also the responsibility of all involved--both those in the majority and those being discriminated against--to work against these trends.

Take a look at Alexander's post. It is worth the read.

Filed Under: Ethics | Social Action

Witness to History: Past, Present and Future
July 1, 2008 (2 Comments)

By JanetheWriter
Today marks the first anniversary of my visit to Oświęcim, the Polish shetl town in which the Nazis built the Auschwitz concentration camp. Sometimes, still, when I close my eyes, I see the infamous "Arbeit Macht Frei" entry gate and the iconic low brick building that marks the entrance to Birkenau, the neighboring extermination camp. On that long, long day last year, I walked the railroad tracks, stood in the barracks and in the crematoria. I gazed into the glassy water of the pond whose dark depths still cradle the bones and ashes of those whose lives were snuffed out there. I saw their tallitot, their tefillin. I saw their shoes, their eyeglasses, their hair. I saw the canisters of Zyklon B used to kill them. Their names--known and unknown--are indelibly etched in my heart. I know these people. I am a witness to their history--to my history.

Filed Under: Ethics | The Future

ACH, Traditional Reading
June 30, 2008 (1 Comment)

By William Berkson
Ok, folks. I'm peeved. I'm just curious if others are irritated by this kind of thing. Last week Dr. James Dobson said that Sen. Barack Obama was deliberately distorting "the traditional interpretation of the Bible" when he pointed out that the plain reading of Leviticus prohibits eating shellfish, and that the Defense Department would have a problem with Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. Sen. Obama's point was that political leaders would be wiser by not being sectarian in their arguments for public policy--which I thought was a pretty good point.

Filed Under: Ethics | Torah

Kashrut cleaning products?
June 20, 2008 (1 Comment)

By Bryan Freehling
I began observing kashrut not when I converted to Reform Judaism thirteen years ago, but when I became a vegetarian almost three years ago. Although I considered observing kashrut upon becoming a Jew, my life partner of fifteen years who had kept kosher until he was 21, was not too amiable to that notion. However, after the passing of our beloved canine companion, Bella, both of us chose to become vegetarian.

Filed Under: Ethics | Jewish Living

Do I really belong?
June 11, 2008 (12 Comments)

By Elise May
I received a phone call yesterday that really bothered me. It was from a local Jewish organization that my young son and I belong to. The person (let's call her Miss Smith) was calling to inform me that I was behind in my membership fees. I explained that I send in as much as I can each month when I receive a bill. I was absolutely appalled to be asked, "Is $20 and $30 a month the best you can do?" If that is the amount I am sending in, one might think that is all I can afford, right? The call ended by Miss Smith basically saying that if I do not get caught up with the fees, my son and I won't be able to continue our membership.

To their credit, this organization did offer us a lower fee than the standard membership fee, but it is still much more than I can pay. Thus, I have been sending the $20-$30 per month. After this recent conversation, I feel completely unwelcome and don't know if I want to continue my membership (even if I could somehow get caught up).

Filed Under: Community | Ethics | The Future

Does Public Lying Matter?
June 3, 2008

By William Berkson
The Talmud says, "Sins repeated seem permitted." With recent events this keeps ringing in my ears. And news media seem tolerant of dishonesty, at least to the extent of not thinking it matters a great deal.

Something seems to be very wrong.

Let's start with the list of recent clear-cut examples of public dishonesty. President Clinton lied to a grand jury, and was impeached for it. Karl Rove lied about leaking damaging information to the press about Valerie Plame. President Bush promised to catch and punish leakers of national security information. But then he approved leaking more information to discredit Plame's husband, target of the original leak. And when Rove was exposed as a liar and leaker, President Bush did not fire him. Clearly, President Bush broke his word to the American people. Last week the spokesman lied to, and tasked with spreading Rove's lies, Scott McClellan, issued an angry book denouncing the way he was used. At the same time Rove was honored with space in the Wall Street Journal to give a long critique of Senator Obama's not being forthright enough in his political comments!

Filed Under: Ethics

Where do we draw the Line?
June 2, 2008 (1 Comment)

By Elise May
Imagine sitting in synagogue during Rosh Hashanah services, the choir is singing, the sun is setting and casting a beautiful glow on the stained-glass windows, and suddenly a deafening sound pierces the voices of the choir. Everyone looks around and the whispering begins, "A chair must have fallen over. A table might have tipped over. Perhaps there was a car accident right outside." Then, the unmistakable smell of gunpowder is noticed. All the while, the choir keeps singing much like the sailors on the Titanic.

Sounds like a dream, right? Well, this happened at my Temple last year. A member had brought his gun to services, and it fell when he stood for one of the prayers. Luckily, no one was seriously hurt, but the man's daughter was slightly injured.

Filed Under: Community | Ethics

Cracking the Stained Glass Ceiling
May 30, 2008

By dcc
With all the talk about disappearing men from Jewish life, it would seem as if all the Reform Jewish institutions were run by woman...not so much. However there have been significant improvements in the sharing of power. Kudos to HUC-JIR, which is significantly increasing the voice and presence of women in its leadership. The Jewish Week reports:

[Shifra] Bronznick's strategies have already begun to change the culture of certain Jewish organizations. As a consultant for Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, she helped integrate women into the seminary's administration. Female board members soon jumped from seven out of 55 in 2001 to 21 out of 55 in 2005, and a woman -- Barbara Friedman -- currently serves as chair.

"Shifra's insights about the ways in which women could enrich our organization through their leadership is something to which I gave great credence." said Rabbi David Ellenson, president of HUC. It is a step in the right direction.

Filed Under: Community | Ethics

The Anger Factor
May 27, 2008 (2 Comments)

By William Berkson
Our society is now filled with anger, and with angry people who see their expressions of anger as positive, even courageous.

The most dramatic example has been the harsh anger of Reverend Wright, particularly at the National Press Club. But we also have the daily rage of some radio and television talk shows, where it is practically a communal ritual. Viewers join in an orgy of rage against those they view as misguided or wicked, adding daily to the list of grievances, of reasons to be angry.

The point of the comedy film Anger Management (2003) was to ridicule the notion of anger management. The problem of the lead character, Adam Sandler, is that he can't get angry and is too meek. 'Doctor' Jack Nicholson 'cures' him by provoking him mercilessly throughout the film until he loses his temper, gets enraged and stands up for himself. Again, rage is seen as a healthy step to courage and proper self-assertion. This 'pneumatic' theory of anger seems to have originated with Freud: repress anger and it will pop up another way and harm you; "get it out" and you will become healthier of mind.

Wisdom books of the Bible and the Sages have quite a different view, seeing anger as dangerous and foolish.

Filed Under: Ethics | Torah

Israel: Land of Book Burning?
May 22, 2008 (4 Comments)

By dcc

I missed the story about Israelis buring copies of the New Testament this week in the town of Ohr Yehuda. When I read this story, it made my stomach turn. What a horrible message to send to Christian neighbors in Israel and here at home.

Rabbis Eric Yoffie, Peter Knobel and David Saperstein issued a joint statement about this event. It is summed up in this one sentence:

We are appalled that Jews would engage in the burning of books that are held sacred by Christians around the world.

I join our rabbis in their disgust of the actions of these few radicals.

As Jews, we know better they explain:

We Jews remember the burning by Christians of the Talmud in 13th-century Paris and 16th-century Italy. We remember as well the book burnings in Nazi Germany. It staggers the imagination that in the year 2008, Jews would engage in actions of this type.

It is a shame. We are better than this.

Filed Under: Ethics | Israel

Inextricably Bound
May 20, 2008 (2 Comments)

By Mike Sims

Living an ethical life and Reform Judaism’s imperative to engage in acts of tikkun olam are inextricably bound. How can you say that you are committed to repairing the world if you destroy the lives of others through deceit? The first step toward making the world a better place is to make your own life, your part of the world, an ethical place.

Filed Under: Ethics