Selling Judaism by the Pound

Just a note about something I heard which was truly shocking to behold. A prominent reform rabbi in the UK is ditching the normal friday night proceedings to celebrate with the local muslims. The community will "pray" with the muslims (of regents park) and break bread together in the name of interfaith dialogue. I have heard of another reform rabbi who is, surprisingly enough, quite observant and who will be unable to attend the interfaith event because they cannot get to the venue on Shabbat. Upon hearing of this inability to attend the head rabbi said that it is a problem that this person keeps Shabbat because it excludes them from the events organised by the synagogue.

This initially conjured up all sorts of images as I have been very interested recently in the Disengagement Plan (disaster) of Gaza and have watched lots of videos on the subject. It is surreal to watch Jews forcing Jews to leave a place they were invited to by the government. Here is a situation whereby large established communities were forcibly removed from their homes on land that was not in contention even as far as the international community were concerned, by Jews themselves in order to foster better relations with their Muslim neighbours. In time it was hoped that the population of Gaza would grow to be self-sufficient and self-sustaining and would come to use the existing agricultural infrastructure to this end. Not one of the desired outcomes became a reality and the expulsion was in vane. The episode mentioned above is (at least in my mind) quite similar. Here we have a situation where a community leader leads his community away from their place of worship with intention to eat with Muslims (sacrificing Kashrut) in the hope that this will increase peaceful relations between interfaith communities.

If we learn anything from the failure of the Tochnit HaHitnatkut (plan of disengagement) it is that selling your people and your way of life for the sake of peace is simply not worth it. Muslims will not compromise on their practice and if the intention is to meet them on terms which are agreeable to both Jews shouldn't compromise either. During the month of Ellul we should be very careful not to be Choteh (commit a wrong act) and be Machtii (causing other to commit wrong acts).

Thanks for reading

For videos on this subject please visit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbzOVJCWykw&feature=related

New Lot

Here I refer to the growing trend of open-egal-all is truth-all is love, independent, unafilliated minyanim whom congregate is participants houses. I think the thing that makes them different from your bog standard well established community is that they are tree huggers. They are young, intelligent and for the most part single. It is, in my opinion, solely down to this singledom that they are able to manifest their version of community. My point being that very few are married and there aren't that many kids running around making all the parents worried about how to educate them. Part of being part of a community is having to accept many different types of people and attitudes but not separating yourself from them. In essence they are as selective as anyone else is.

On the flip side they are encouraging many Jews to engage with an intellectual/cultural aspect of Jewish life much like the Limmudniks who are albeit wishy-washy, milky, all social conscience, PC and right on, do seem to have the kept Anglo-Jewry engaged is something for much longer than any of these new communities have.

I am conflicted.

The Mahamad

The recent developments of the Rabbi of Bevis Marks and the Mahamad's treatment of him are difficult to bear. The Rabbi in question has had a terrible year. I don't wish to list the details as the case has been widely reported in the Jewish media in the UK. The more I hear the more I deplore these old committees with their stale attitudes and inability to adapt. It reminds me of the Pasuk in Mishlei


אַשְׁרֵי אָדָם מְפַחֵד תָּמִיד וּמַקְשֶׁה לִבּוֹ יִפּוֹל בְּרָעָה

What to do?

More info can be found here: http://www.levibrackman.com/politics/malice-at-britain-s-oldest-synagogue.html

Thought for the day

After watching a programme about Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries I can't help wondering whether Arab Nationalism, which established itself well before 1948, was goaded by the prevalent Anti-Semitic policies of Nazi Germany. In short was there a direct correlation between the rise of the Nazi's and the rise of Arab Nationalism? After all the Palestinian Mufti met with Hitler to discuss final solution plans regarding Jews of Arab Countries. One of the effects of this close association with the Nazi's resulted in the Farhud or Pogrom in Iraq in 1941 in which Arab Mobs killed 180 and wounded 240. There are even horrific stories of pulling limbs away from Jewish babies.

click here for more information http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farhud
The documentary can be viewed on Youtube in four parts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nz9LPfB2ytM&feature=channel