Rabbi Landsberg's Blog

Immersion

For a long time I have been an on and off again reader of Phoebe Matz’s blog: What Would Phoebe Do - subtitled The Best Francophilic Zionism in the Blogosphere.  There is much to recommend in Ms Matz’s commentary, not least her articulate enthusiasm for two of the world's most wonderful cities,Paris and Tel Aviv.

In a recent post, Phoebe raises one of the most difficult issues in liberal Jewish communities: is the study of the Jews and Jewishness a route into the understanding of humanity or a lurch into “ethnocentric narcissism” (as one of Phoebe’s more unpleasant correspondents wrote)?  

Let me frame it this way: If understanding Jews is akin to “getting” any other civilization, we can confidently immerse our children in its study--sure in the knowledge that we are not cloistering him or her from critical engagement with the world.  Many of us who were raised in public schools can easily acknowledge the intellectual strengths we've gained in our studies of ancient Greece or modern Europe.

I believe we need to internalize a similar belief towards Jewish civilization and not see it as an alternative track from “secular study” which is provided as a sop to ethnic/religious sensibility (and we certainly need to ensure that Jewish studies time is not used for anything less than a vital part of critical engagement with the world).

I know that many good people will recoil at this point, positing an essential and relevant difference between a national civilization and a group such as the Jews (who in their religious self understanding are born from the encounter with Torah). The answer is simply that it all depends on how you do it. Serious critical engagement will always open doors in one's mind.

This conversation is not just academic.  The debate in the US over charter schools immersed in Jewish civilization rages on, and I won't even mention the question of school funding here in Ontario....

Marguarita Mondays, Talmud Tuesdays...

For many "Jews in the pews," hard labour in a quarry seems more viable than wresting meaning from the Mishnah, the rabbinic legal work codified in 200CE.  Yes, Mishnah study can be daunting, but it offers something of immeasurable value: it is a way of eavesdropping on the Jewish conversation of which we are, in fact, a vital part.

Every Tuesday, for some weeks now, the Union for Reform Judaism's "10 Minutes of Torah" has been dedicated to a particular Mishnah - read a recent post here.  For those who would like to subscribe to this series in future here is the RSS feed - http://feeds.urj.net/urjtmt or you can subscribe by email here.

Guanxi (i.e., Protectzia)

Guanxi is the Chinese word for what in Hebrew is called "protectzia" or"Vitamin P." You may know this as "yichus" or simply as "connections." There is a intriguing essay here in Jewcy on the similarities and dissimilarities between Jews and Chinese. I have to say that there is much to take exception with, but still I found it engaging.

Health warning: the side effects can be severe if not lethal.  In the second part of the piece the author reflects on Kevin MacDonald, the virulently racist, anti-Jewish evolutionary psychologist who has a weird appeal to secular Jews (as demonstrated by the Jewcy piece). I strongly suggest that you read this article in Slate.com before you read the second part of the Jewcy essay, for absolute clarity as to why MacDonald is toxic.

going to the doctor for a check-up...

As a transplanted American rabbi in Canada, I still pay attention to the Jewish conversation south of the border. Over the last few months there have been stirrings of change in talk about Israel. It's hard to tell how enduring it will be, but it does matter for all Jews everywhere (if simply by virtue of American Jews being the elephant of Diaspora life, so to speak).

A young columnist of The American Prospect, Ezra Klein, occasionally tips his hat on his relationship with Jews and Judaism. [He is, btw, the man if you wish to follow the vicissitudes of the US health care debate and many other issues.] As far as I can surmise his feelings are warm if not necessarily defining.

He wrote this article back in April, No Time For Neutrality, which was a call for support for the new J Street progressive Israel lobbying organization. By way of introduction he articulates his dissatisfaction with the nature of Israel talk in synagogues. This is how he puts it:

"More often, the pull of identity overwhelms the call of the ineffable, and whatever mysticism should exist is shattered as the Rabbi does his or her best to rally the assembled Jewry in defense of their besieged brethren -- and shame those who don't go along. It's an odd feeling, akin to going to the doctor for a check-up and being subjected to an angry lecture on payment rates in the upcoming Medicare law"

I do think that Ezra might have a sense of Judaism that leaves little space for the nuts and bolts of actual peoplehood, which is part and parcel of Am Yisrael. Still, I take his point. It matters that was is said in a synagogue not only has sacred sources, but employs an argument for Zionism qualitatively different from the necessary hard ball of the public square. Ezra Klein is (a mere) 25 - that makes his critique all the more important. It matters deeply that a man such as he believes that synagogues are the locus, not the flight from, thinking every bit as sophisticated and nuanced for Zion as he could encounter in other spheres of life.

And you thought you were Jewish....

After a very long hiatus and a three week study sojourn in Jerusalem at the Shalom Hartman Institute I have returned to the virtual world.

So much is happening in the Jewish world and the pace of change is dizzying that it is hard not be a little overwhelmed by the pace of change.  I intend to adopt a new style of blogging and pass on links to the many affecting article and sites I see in the Jewish world.

In that vein let me share this with you Conversion: The American Machers Protest. It from the ever excellent pen of Gershom Gorenberg author of amongst other things The Accidental Empire: Israel And The Birth Of The Settlements, 1967-1977. If you ever want to know in accessible journalistic style the story of how Israel came to Settle about 450,000 people in the West Bank without ever quite realizing it this is the book to read.

I digress. Read Gershom's blog post. It is the $64 million dollar question for the Jewish people. It is happening now and it affects us all.