"Broccoli" in bloom
See July 28, 2009 "originals" here.
(Click on photos to see them in close-up.)
Shabbat Shalom.
A tallit-and-tefillin-wearing woman in a traditional Conservative synagogue?! An unorthodox—and non-orthodox—perspective on Jews and Judaism from a perpetual misfit. This blog, welcoming the entire Jewish community, is dedicated to those who take Judaism seriously, but not necessarily literally.
And here's a link to last Friday's post, Where are the baal*ot* t'shuvah commenters?
6?/2009 There Shall Be No Needy: Pursuing Social Justice through Jewish Law and Tradition
Rabbi Jill Jacobs
Her most striking point, in my opinion: “Even today, the bulk of government housing subsidies go to the wealthy and to homeowners. Homeowner tax breaks, instituted in 1912 to help family farmers, now provide more than $119.3 billion a year in subsidies, compared with approximately $37 billion/year for low-income housing.” It certainly never occurred to me that ____ and I are living in subsidized housing.
7/10?/2009 Saving
Daniel Gordis
Among other things, he urges that we get it out of our heads that Judaism is basically a pacifistic religion—we’ve fought when necessary, all the way back to the days of the Tanach. Saul lost the kingship for being too merciful to an enemy. Medinat Yisrael could be lost the same way, if
He also asserts that it’s vital to teach Jewish, not just Israeli, tradition to all Israeli children, so that they’ll know that what they’re fighting for is not just a Hebrew-speaking version of the
He also raises the quite distressing question of whether “transfer” is the only realistic solution to the demographic time-bomb, asking why transfer is considered a legitimate means of separating enemies everywhere else except
Labels: Hadar--https://www.hadar.org/, Kisui rosh (head-covering)
Labels: Hadar--https://www.hadar.org/, Kisui rosh (head-covering)
Here’s my original.
Here’s the update.
As if the peer pressure of trying to “keep up with the Jones” isn’t bad enough, now it’s halachah/Jewish religious law??!! In all my life, I’ve been to only one brit milah (ritual circumsion) at which meat was served (to the best of my recollection). Since when does halachah dictate what foods a person is allowed to serve at his or her own simchah/joyous occasion (beyond the obvious fact that the food must be kosher)?
Lion of Zion’s response reflects my own opinion:
"If one simply cannot afford to serve meat to the many guests that are expected to attend, then meat need not be served."
the alternative is not to invite 200 people to a fancy bris. the truth is that even the "standard" milchig bris these days is not cheap. i think romer in teaneck charges more than $15-20 per person for what is essentially $3 worth of food.
"there were even communities in which the meal following a bris consisted of little more than a "l'chaim" and some cake due to the dire financial straits of the time."
i thought this was the standard in the previous generation? i don't remember my own bris too well, but my brother's was held in my grandparents' (modest-sized) living room.
Lion of Zion Homepage 07.07.09 - 8:40 am #
Our son’s brit milah was performed by a mohel (ritual circumcizer) in the hospital, where I was still recovering from a Caesarian. The only people in attendance were members of my husband’s and my immediate families, and we served bagels with dairy. What’s the big deal, that a bris has to be such a big deal?
Today’s bris is like the Bar and Bat Mitzvah celebrations of my childhood. Today’s Bar or Bat Mitzvah celebration is like the weddings of my childhood. Today’s weddings? Off the chart, and guaranteed to leave a pile of debt. The Jewish community—of all denominations—has lost all sense of proportion.