FailedMessiah.com

Passover As Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Matthew Wagner writes in the Jerusalem Post:

Orthodox Jewish dietary stringencies on Pessah are considered obsessive-compulsive by some, but a way of cleaving to God's will by others.

Some stringencies even exceed the edible. There is aluminum foil that is kosher for Pessah, soap that is kosher for Pessah, even bleach that is kosher for Pessah - not to mention lipstick.

Hassidic sects, however, are the hands-down champions of Pessah strictures. The faithful say of Rabbi Mordechai Hager, the octogenarian Viznitz rebbe of Monsey, New York, that by the end of Pessah, the poor man can hardly stand on his own two feet. Hager does not trust the kosher supervision in the slaughterhouses of America so he does not eat red meat. He has abstained from chicken since the recent Monsey kosher poultry scandal. On Pessah, he eats matza only on the fist night of the holiday to fulfill the mitzvah. But for the remainder of the holiday, he refuses to touch the unleavened bread, fearing that there are pockets that did not bake properly and could, therefore, be hametz.

Like all Viznitz Hassidim, Hagar also refrains from eating fish. According to legend, the custom was born in Romania, the center of Viznitz Hassidism, before the Holocaust. Due to the harsh winters, Romania's rivers were usually still frozen during Pessah. Therefore, it was necessary to import fish from a great distance. One year, the Viznitz rebbe, for no apparent reason, refused to eat the fish that was brought. It was later discovered that the fish had been marinated in a grain alcohol that was not kosher for Pessah. Ever since, the hassidim have refused to eat fish.

Hager and other hassidim, especially Belz, do not eat carrots. According to legend, in Galicia it was nearly impossible to obtain vegetables for the Pessah seder. One year, the Belz rebbe managed to get a carrot. It later turned out that the carrot, like the fish, had been dipped in non-kosher-for-Pessah alcohol to be preserved.

Many hassidim also avoid garlic for fear it was cut with a non-kosher knife.

In addition, hassidim abstain from any vegetable that is not peeled, such as tomatoes and peppers, for fear that something non-kosher has stuck to it.

Shmuel Poppenheim, a spokesman for the Edah Haredit, an ultra-Orthodox umbrella group of hassidic sects and haredi communities, says that he and many other ultra-Orthodox Jews do not eat anything produced in a factory except for oil. That means no soft drinks, no ready-made baked goods and no canned foods.

Sugar is another problematic product because it may contain wheat flour.

Poppenheim, commenting on Rabbi David Bar-Hayim's recommendation to permit Ashkenazi Jews to eat kitniyot (legumes,) said that "Every Jews carries with him the customs he received from his father and his father's father. Smart alecks like [Bar-Hayim] think they can come along and change everything. We have to wait until [the Messianic era] when Elijah the prophet reveals himself and clarifies all the doubt and answers all the questions."

Elijah's gonna come and he's going to put these 'holy men' and their followers on a good course of Zoloft (no matter what binder is used in the pill-making process).

The Failure Of Ethiopian Absorption

How bad is Ethiopian absorption? This bad:

…[Avraham] Negussie [head of an Ethiopian advocacy organization in Israel] estimates that over 80 percent of Israeli Ethiopians cannot provide for themselves. Those who do work are usually discriminated against and receive less pay than they should.

"Employers make a distinction between Ethiopians and other citizens," he said. "Sometimes I think this is done on purpose. I know of many instances when people who worked 10-12 hours received pay for less hours' work. This is especially bad in private companies and manpower agencies. It is slavery."

According to Negussie, even those who chose to acquire an academic degree cannot find work later.

"Many academics cannot find employment in their field and work as security guards or cleaners. It discourages the younger generation from trying to promote themselves.

"But the government is not concerned because we have no political power. We have no ministers of members of Knesset. The government only attends to those who speak up," he explained.

The Bank of Israel issued a report noting the rampant discrimination in housing and employment and calling for an affirmative action program to repair the damage done. I hope the report is heeded, but I doubt it will be.

The only chance Ethiopian Jews have is to model themselves after Herut and Likud. Build small businesses, employ your relatives and friends, help others get into business. And support an Ethiopian-controlled political party. It will take time, maybe ten years or more, but Ethiopians will finally get the power they need to right the wrongs inflicted upon them by incompetent and sometimes uncaring bureaucrats.

Orthodox Girls Report Incidents Of Sexual Abuse Three Times As Much As Non-Orthodox Girls

Ayelet Cohen Vider writes:

Young Orthodox girls report incidents of sexual abuse three times as much as non-Orthodox girls. Incest among religious families is reported with the same frequency among religious and non-religious girls and women. For years we thought that sexual abuse occurred among the wanton secular society. We dress modestly, do not touch each other and are protected from all harm.

Over the past few years the wall has begun to crack. Quietly and secretly the stories are beginning to be heard with hesitant voices and great worry and fear. It is the fear to blacken the face of this quality society of which I am a part, the fear to harm a family member, an older brother, a respected principal, an esteemed rabbi. It is also the fear that I will harm my chances to be married. They are missiles of fear and terror, of silence and of closed eyes.

“I wore dirty clothes, I neglected my outer appearance to an extreme, and I did not allow any teachers or counselors to touch me. In the beginning they left me alone. Then a wise counselor arrived and asked and understood, and I told her about my brother. He learns in an esteemed yeshiva. Every free weekend and vacation when we were home together, he would come into my room at night and get into my bed and touch me all over…This is what she told the principal, he promised to take care of it but he did not do anything”.

Orthodox victims carry the burden of abuse alone for long periods of time. It is difficult for them to share their situation with others, first of all because it is difficult for them to digest the abuse; the contradiction between the honored and good person in whom they believed and the aggressive and abusive person they have uncovered.

Secondly they have a hard time revealing themselves as abused. In a small familial society where everyone knows everyone else, if you tell one person it is as if you have told a hundred and you will become the conversation of the day.

When the victim dares reveal her story and break the wall of loneliness, society reacts with harsh and scathing accusations. A high level of idealization, especially of male spiritual authority figures, characterizes religious society. The image of the tzaddik (righteous person) is a factor of spiritual and honored importance. He represents the values to which we aspire as a holy society - Torah knowledge, good deeds and a high spiritual level. When a complaint is filed the masses rally around the powers of authority.

He receives wide support from the men and women around him and since he is a powerful man he is surrounded and connected to powerful people. In a confrontation between the accuser and the accused the temptation to stand with the accused is great. The abuser, in his denial of the act, speaks to the universal desire not to see badness, not to hear of it or speak of it. On the other hand, the accuser is asking society to share her painful journey. Her individual pain and society’s pain in shattering this idealized figure is a type of smashing of the tablets.

She requires involvement and action, and she demands the ability to face hard contradictions. This is a harder request and therefore few answer it. Most would prefer to stay out of the story in the best case, or enlist for the good of the abuser in the worst case, and the accuser remains alone again. Now she is no longer alone for everyone is now a partner in her story, her nakedness is exposed in public, but against the doubts, accusations and the lack of the desire to believe her she stands alone.…

[Hat Tip: G.]

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef Admits Not Being Well, Selects Rabbi Amar As Successor

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef has chosen Sefardic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar as his successor. As bizarre as this may seem to many of you, this may turn out to be good for agunot and bad for Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv – all in all, a good thing, even though Amar is tough on conversion and has other problems, as well. Rabbi Yosef passed over his sons to choose Rabbi Amar, striking a blow against the rampant nepotism the pervades the rabbinic world.

Neturei Karta Monsey Headquarters Torched

The Monsey headquarters of Neturei Karta were burned to the ground overnight in what appears to be arson. NK leaders participated in Iran's Holocaust denial conference a few of months ago, and have been ostracized by pretty much everyone since then. By the way, the buildings, one of which was saved, contained an illegal dorm that held 29 beds.

A Farewell, Of Sorts

I've been thinking about dramatically cutting back my blogging. Frankly, I'm bored – even though I enjoy the give and take, and I learn a lot from those of you who comment here. Will I cut back? I think so, although how much remains to be seen.

I think this exchange with ed is a fitting way to segue into a lighter blogging schedule:

>Further, the reason this episode with Succot should not be taken allegorically is because it is found in a book that contends to be history.

So says you, Mr Strawman who seeks to destroy every last piece of our tradition. Chazal had a better understanding of Nach than you'll ever have and they told us how to read this posuk.

>This is not true with Bereshit and Shmot, where we have an existing rabbinic tradition that parts of these books are SUPPOSED TO BE TAKEN AS ALLEGORY. NO SUCH TRADITION exists for Ezra and Nehemia.

Go ahead smartypants, and give me an alternative calculation to the 603, 550 number which will coincide with the individual counts, the counts of the Degalim, and the count of the Shekalim.

Posted by: ed | April 01, 2007 at 05:49 PM

The point, ed, is that Ezra was a real historical person and the book that bears his name (and the book of Nehemiah, as well) are understood traditionally to be histories of the return.

To say that this sentence referring to Succot cannot be taken literally because it is impossible that King David did not know about Succahs is NOT a refutation. It is simply a late attempt by rabbis to cover for their cognitive dissonance.

They were 1000 years too late.

As for the count in Shemot, etc., either it is allegory or it is an error. People – including Orthodox rabbis – have struggled with this for some time now.

But this all boils down to the one thing. Haredim insist on Biblical literalness. When the literal approach cannot be factually true, they attack science or the particular messenger.

But when a part of Tanach shakes their worldview – like the Succos incident – they run to allegory, because the cognitive dissonance is too great.

Science will win in the end, ed. Just as it gave us antibiotics, Viagra, and laser surgery, as it has eliminated many devastating diseases and improved many lives, it will, eventually free us from the eds of this world.

Where will this lead? I don't know. And, as long as it is true, I do not care.

Posted by: Shmarya | April 01, 2007 at 06:00 PM

And that's really it, isn't it? Wherever this process leads, to complete secularism or to a new understanding of Judaism or somewhere else, only one thing matters – is it the truth? In the end, more than continuity or comfort, it is truth that should matter most and it is truth that should win out.

Chag kasher v'samaych to you all.

 

Matzah Bus Catches On Fire?

Remember the school bus that was illegally converted to a matzah bakery? The one with live gas lines running from an occupied home in a crowded neighborhood to the bus, which was attached to the structure via a flimsy shed? The one that had a wood-fired oven?

According to VosIzNeias, the bus caught fire today, apparently while the haredim were illegally baking matzah. And, according to one commenter there, there is a rumor that the rabbi in charge was arrested.

UPDATE 4-2-07: It turns out the rabbi chose to bake matzah illegally rather than comply with the law. A neighbor smelled smoke and turned him in.

The previous post is here. Leave your comments there, please.

Dr. Rick Hodes Writes From Addis Ababa

Dr. Rick Hodes writes from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia:

Before the holiday, we always go to the airport to meet the flights coming in from Israel to ask if any travellers would like to join us. This was taken earlier today.

Rick makes wine by boiling rasins and has seders with many guests, sometimes as high as 35. He's hosted 50 for Shabbat.

Hope to have a status report soon on the two ill children whose treatment we sponsored.

Just In Time For Sefirat HaOmer, Great Music

I recently found a great Internet radio source, Pandora.com. You input the name of an artist or song you like, and Pandora plays other songs like it. You give each song a thumbs up or a thumbs down. Pandora's software uses your choices to program your own personal radio station. You can have many such stations based on songs or artists you like, and you can also play an automated mix from all or some of your stations. Each song is directly linked to iTunes and Amazon.com so you can purchase either downloads or CDs if you choose – but you don't need to do this.

Pandora is ad supported. These are display ads (banners, etc.) on the page. The stations stream 100% music constantly, 24/7. But if these display ads bother you, you can subscribe to the premium service for a small yearly fee.

This is a great service with a really smooth website. Try it out before sefira – or during, if you're a bit rebellious or like classical music.

The Passover Seder – A Banquet Of Greek, Not Jewish, Origin?

Yes, it is true. DovBear notes the stunning similarity between the Greek banquet known as a symposium and the Passover Seder. Few Jews realize the Seder is a rabbinic invention. The rabbis instituted the seder to standardize practice after the destruction of the Temple. The Haggadah is an outgrowth of that standardization. And the Seder mirrors a Greek Symposium in many ways. It also explains the term afikoman, as DovBear notes:

The Greek word epikomon means "after meal entertainment" and likely (again per Wikipedia) refers to the "games, songs, flute-girls, slaves performing various acts, and hired entertainments" that followed the discussion and the food. When the Sages said "one may not add an afikoman after the paschal lamb” they were referring to (and outlawing) this practice.

And also this:

We close each segment of the seder with a cup of wine. At the symposia the same custom was followed.

* Greeks and Romans both started their banquets with vegetables dipped in salt water, and charoset was a common dish (as implied in Pesachim 2:8 where it's suggested that charoset was served year round with flour)

In other words, the rabbis took a common secular practice, widely popular in the Hellenized world, and cleaned it up a bit, removing the raunch and using the order to tell the story of Passover. (DovBear notes NCSY does this borrowing from secular culture all the time.)

Conservative scholar David Golonkin has an excellent article (also linked by DovBear) on the origins of the Passover Seder with much more information. Read it, if you have time, before the big event.

Another opinion on Afikomon here.

The custom of not eating gebrockts (wet matzah) deconstructed here.

Did the Exodus really happen? 1 and 2.

Kitniyot deconstructed here.

Marijuana as kitniyot here.

UPDATE 4-2-07:

BTA posted on the so-called Kuzari Proof here.

I see that Jewish Atheist has a post on the Succot incident here.