Tikkun Olam

There seems to be a serious problem in the U.S. and Israel with the Haredim (translated as"ultra-Orthodox" by some) being forced--by their own standards--to pay for extravagant weddings for their children which they can't afford. Some fathers of marriageable daughters have considered selling an organ in order to pay for their daughter's wedding! In addition, their children are also not encouraged to learn a trade and earn a living, but rather study Torah--exclusively--and they end up living in poverty. When their children are at marriageable age, the cycle repeats again. The fact is that not everyone is cut-out for full-time Torah learning. In Eastern Europe, most boys learned a trade, and continued learning Torah, if they were so inclined. Learning was and still is greatly respected; only the geniuses and those who exhibited great promise were supported by people in the community in order to learn. Not everyone is a Torah genius, an ilui . Most people are aver...

I am remiss: I meant to write about this months ago, and other issues got in the way. But this is such an important topic that I am writing about it now. The issue of a woman's role in scholarship and Judaic ritual leadership, which has been 'whispered' about just under the surface for a while now, was raised aloud again and brought to the forefront recently. This has happened particularly by the big news made by Rabbi Avi Weiss with his "Open Orthodoxy" idea, opening the door for women to have a leadership and public role in Jewish ritual observance , and also by Rabbi Yuval Sherlo , head of the Petach Tikva Hesder Yeshiva, when he created his "halachic document" enabling women to increase their participation in synagogue services, and by various other articles and blogs on the subject. Here are some excerpts: from The Forward : Rabbi Avi Weiss, a leading advocate for a more liberal Orthodoxy, and Sara Hurwitz, a protégé of Weiss, are now taking inquir...

(photo at right: Gil Yohanan at YNet News:http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3750813,00.html ) I have been reading the recent news items about serious breaches of the law by prominent religious rabbis and raucous "demonstrations" (read: rioting) against other Jews by "religious" Haredim (Ultra-Orthodox) in Jerusalem, and my mind is reeling. Instead of a public outcry from the Haredi leaders against the lawless rabbis, there is mostly silence. Unfortunately, there is also mainly silence from these leaders with regard to their own sect violently clashing with police and overturning and burning city dumpsters while strewing trash all over the streets and sidewalks, turning parts of Jerusalem into a veritable stinking garbage dump. This is at best a disgrace, and at worst, in my opinion a big chilul Hashem (desecration of G-d's name). I said mainly silent, because except for one article I read in which a Haredi protester was interviewed. He stated that t...