Tikkun Olam

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach has written a very thoughtful article on gay and lesbian couples adopting children.  It really is giving this Orthodox Jew food for thought. It is below in its entirety.  The original article is here . The Morality of Gay Adoption By SHMULEY BOTEACH 11/27/2010 22:18 Leaving orphans to drown without love is deeply immoral, but to stop others from rescuing them is an abomination.   On December 14, Rosie O’Donnell and I will be conducting a public conversation in New Jersey about families and kids, the celebrity culture and the effects of fame, balancing work and career, and learning how to inspire our children. It’s a subject Rosie is eminently qualified to address. This is, after all, the woman who walked away from one of television’s most successful programs and tens of millions dollars per year to raise her children. It will be followed by a fund-raiser for Turn Friday Night into Family Nig...

Over the weekend, several friends alerted me by email and in person (one of them while I was walking on the way to shul, actually) that my daughter's company was featured in a photo in our local newspaper. As I've said before, Baby K'tan is one of the best baby carriers on the market.  I am so proud!! Here is a reproduction below: Holiday shopping campaign is locally honed By Margaret Jackson The Denver Post Posted: 11/27/2010 01:00:00 AM MST Real Baby general manager Annie Mullens, left, talks with Elisabeth Levy about the proper fit for a Baby K'Tan carrier . Levy, holding a 1-week- old girl whom she is in the process of adopting, was shopping in Denver's Highlands Square district on Friday. (Andy Cross, The Denver Post )   Black Friday shoppers were waiting outside The Chocolate Therapist in downtown Littleton when Winds...

Yes, that famous Jewish Blog Carnival, Haveil Havalim #293 the-post-Thanksgiving-pre-Chanukah Edition is now up and running at Homeshuling . Go, read it.  After all, what else have you got to do? (Um, me? All I have to do is write up my copious notes for my preschool kids' developmental milestones for their portfolios and  read and organize my staff meeting notes and my curricula for the next two weeks. Think I'll read Haveil Havalim...)

Not to give this story a bad rap (oy), but rapper Shyne has now publicly embraced his Jewish heritage, has undergone a symbolic conversion in Israel (he already was an Ethiopian Jew) and is now an Orthodox Jew, readying his return to rapping . A significant statement he made explaining his choice to lead an Orthodox Jewish life: “What are the laws?” he said, explaining his decision to adhere to the Orthodox level of observance. “I want to know the laws. I don’t want to know the leniencies. I never look for the leniencies because of all of the terrible things I’ve done in my life, all of the mistakes I’ve made.” I can't wait to hear his next rap song.  Is it time for Matisyahu to move over...?! *Copyright alert: No infringement of any text or graphic copyright is ever intended on this blog. If you own the copyright to any original image or document used for the creation of the graphics or information on this site, please contact the blog administrato...

This is amazing.  Representatives of the U. S. and Swiss Amish communities actually violated their own principles of avoiding modern technology and transportation to fly to Israel and visit the Kotel (meaning "the Wall," in Hebrew). The sole purpose of this visit was to ask forgiveness from the Jewish people , for not speaking up against the Sho'ah (Holocaust) during the Nazi attempt to exterminate the Jews. According to an announcement issued by the office of Rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites Shmuel Rabinovitch, with whom the group met, the Amish delegates saw a great importance in coming to Israel and expressing their contrition, as well as declaring their unreserved support of the Jewish people and the State of Israel.  The Amish then promised to publicly pledge support of Israel and the Jews in the future, especially in light of the existential threats towards Israel by Iran's Ahmadinejad. It's really nice to have a friend.  Now we have two: Ca...

I posted the first video in this series by Toldot Yisrael on my post of Sept. 6th .  Now (hat tip Daled Amos , who saw it at The Muqata ), here is the second. I've already wiped my tears.

Here we go again.  The new TSA airport security regs are now in place.  Now, we can look forward to little old ladies in wheel chairs and children over twelve being scanned in a very revealing manner, or if they refuse, going through very personal pat-downs.  Is this necessary? Is it effective? Not really, on both counts.  These methods are for the people who are afraid.  Not of terrorists, but of political correctness, i.e., that which is called racial profiling .  This fear in the end, could kill us. Funny, Israel, subject to more terror threats than most other countries and surrounded by enemies who have publicly called for her destruction, doesn't do that.  And their security is pretty thorough, thank G-d.  Their international airport, Ben-Gurion, is considered one of the most secure airports in the world (hat tip The Israel Situation ). What do we learn from this? That Israel is smart. That it faces reality and doesn't hide it's head in...