No Anti-Obama Jews Wanted in These Synagogues
Inside the synagogue, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, who mindlessly called Israeli settlements obstacles to peace, was going to speak. Outside B’nai Torah, in Boca Raton, Florida, members were anxiously pointing out Alan Bergstein, writer and pro-Israel activist, to the reinforced law enforcement detail. Bergstein and other anti-Obama Jews were denied entrance and told by law enforcement to leave the property.
How far and how shamelessly some in the Jewish community have sunk in their embrace of Obama is ineradicably seen in this action. A Jew being denied entrance to a synagogue brings to mind Germany in the 1930s. This is a poignant and symbolic imagery written in infamy, an image that one would think Jews would avoid at nearly all costs. But this Jewish congregation gave it not a second thought.
What would Bergstein and the others have done? Would they have detonated suicide bombs? Created a physically threatening disturbance? Of course not! They would most likely have asked Rice some difficult questions. They could have pointed out that Rice and Obama adviser Samantha Power have a long history of being anti-Israel. Power, in fact, advocated using American troops to create a Palestinian state that would be forged with American firepower pointed at Israelis. The anti-Obama Jews might have noted that Obama has been so pro-Palestinian that he carved out positions on limiting the expansion of Jerusalem that exceed the demands of both Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Yasser Arafat.
Days later, just down the road in Miami, in another Jewish congregation, Temple Israel, a conflict was stirring over the planned speech of Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, one of Obama’s strongest and most vocal supporters. Schultz’s speech, which was clearly partisan electioneering on behalf of Obama for the Jewish vote in Florida, was met with objections from synagogue members who did not believe that being Jewish was synonymous with being Democrat. Moreover, religious institutions are tax exempt and are not supposed to be forums for clearly partisan activity, even though all denominations breach this behavior in excess and both partisan camps are represented in the breach.
Stanley Tate, an eighty-five-year-old Republican activist, was denied time to offer a rebuttal to Schultz. A six-decade-long member and strong financial supporter of the congregation, Tate resigned. Soon the synagogue found that it had “security” issues and cancelled Schultz’s appearance, giving one pause to consider that, perhaps, Bergstein was seen on his way to Temple Israel armed to the teeth with difficult questions.
The people who instituted these events call themselves liberals and Jewish. In fact, Temple Israel prides itself on its agenda geared to social change. But these people are neither liberal nor Jewish in any real meaning of the terms. Liberalism is supposed to be open to the broad challenge of ideas, the clash of positions, in a stirring environment ensconced by the free market place of ideas.Liberals traditionally extol process as much as outcome. It is not only necessary to do what is right. For traditional liberals, it is also necessary to do what is right the right way.
Judaism at its essence is a religion open to debate and interpretation. A page of Talmud is surrounded by different commentaries, but even commentary is not limited to what is written on the page. The reader of Talmud can pursue his own interpretation.
The American Jewish community has no chief rabbi. Jews have no pope. I sat once in synagogue as the rabbi delivered a stirring “drosh” (sermon), when suddenly he was interrupted by one of the congregants, who unabashedly said the rabbi misinterpreted the meaning of the biblical text. The rabbi, accepting this interruption, then went into great detail about the root meaning of the terms to which he was referring. The congregant observed that the rabbi was correct only if the terms originated in Hebrew, but what the rabbi missed was that the terms were Aramaic in origin and consequently their meaning was different, a meaning the congregant went on to explain as the rabbi patiently listened.
Could this exchange take place at either B’nai Torah or Temple Israel? Could such diversity of perspective be tolerated? I think not, for these people are not true liberals. Nor can they be considered Jews by any longstanding philosophical tradition.
They are not people of the book, but people who are the philosophical heirs to the leftist New Jewish Agenda. These are people who seem to confuse Tikkun Olam, saving the world, with every harebrained leftist social policy that is evaluated by philosophical intention rather than empirical outcome. These are people who are all too quick to follow the New Jewish Agenda in its embrace of the Palestinian narrative.
It is not surprising the B’nai Torah’s rabbi, David Steinhardt, is a supporter of CAIR’s fight against anti-Sharia laws, in keeping with the Obama administration’s position on the issue. And while B’nai Torah claims to be pro-Israel, Congressman Allen West (R, FL), a strong supporter of Israel, would no more be able to speak to B’nai Torah than Alan Bergstein could get through the door to ask Susan Rice a demanding question.
Jacob L. Talmon, who wrote seminal works on totalitarianism, noted that there is a collective mindset (which originates with Jean Jacques Rousseau) that sees democracy as only meaningful if the individual’s interest is aligned with the collective interest. Talmon coined the term “totalitarian democracy” to define this concept. Totalitarian democracy as an idea is the progenitor of Stalinism and the excesses of the French Revolution. It is an idea that is embodied in the statism of the Obama administration. Totalitarian democracy is seen in the New Jewish Agenda, which perceives collectivism as the solution to social problems. There is no room in this philosophy for an individual who stands at variance with the collective. Just as there is no room in these synagogues for those who do not agree that the collective will of the majority should define and limit the political interests of the individual.
That is the lesson of what happened in Florida. That is increasingly the lesson of this administration.
This is stunning to me. Can someone please explain the purpose of a synagogue? Having been raised Catholic, I think of the church as THE place for a “sinner” (as the rejectors at B’nai Torah considered Bergstein et. al.), as s/he is the one most in need of the sacraments, prayer, counsel, and refuge. To deny someone because they’ve supposedly gone astray is like a hospital turning away someone because they’re sick. Where are “wrongful” Jews supposed to go?
“Can someone please explain the purpose of a synagogue?”
I’ve often wondered the same thing. I’m also from a Catholic background, I have also worked as an operations manager for a Catholic college where I had daily contact with clergy. In discussions in the lunch room I was told by several priests that the orders from on high were to shut up and say nothing in the sermon to give the impression that the Church had a political position at all. Even to the point where they were silent on the Pro-Choice/Pro-Life ideas that were in the full mix of issues in 2008. It’s a “tax thing”, ya know.
It seems those rules don’t apply to a synagogue.
Recently I spoke to a priest and asked why no mention of the thousands of murders of Christians all over the world have not been spoken of from the pulpit. I was informed that the priests are told essentially what subjects can be used an appropriate homily, presumably because the Hierarchy, have no wish incite controversy. With that attitude, Jesus, would become persona non grata to one third of the Cardinal Princes, and Archbishops of the Roman Catholic Church. Church has become the one place where one can be assured the concept of sin will never be mentioned.
In the catechisms I was taught way back in the dark ages there was said to be two types of sin; the sin of commission, and the sin of omission. The sin of commission was whatever bad thing you did, and the sin of omission was the good thing you should have done, but didn’t. I know, its a very gray area.
In regards to the new modern Roman Catholic Church’s eagerness to avoid political controversy I do understand that Catholic hospitals, universities, and other for profit endeavors, those are money makers that support the rest of the Churches charitable works and basically pay the bills. The Church cannot afford to lose that revenue stream. However by avoiding preaching against these sinful things promoted by dishonest politicians, i.e., about abortion, free contraceptives, morning after abortive pills, etc., the Church, by keeping silent, has itself committed the sin of omission. I know that flies in the face of Catholic doctrine in that we are taught that the Church is infallible. I would like to remind our clergy that that infallibility only lies in articles of faith, social welfare issues do not apply.
I am gratified that the Bishops have recently filed several lawsuits fighting Obamacare, however I believe strongly worded sermons from the pulpit might do more to sway the faithful to vote against the wrong doers in our midst. If the Black Baptist Churches can do it with impunity why can’t we?
The same with black churches. Democrat politicians get in the pulpits and give campaign speeches and no one threatens them with losing their tax status.
It is understandable that non-Jews are not familiar with the various splits within Judaism in response to thousands of years of persecution, followed by emancipation in Europe, where they finally entered the mainstream. But also, the splits between Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Jews cannot be understood without understanding long term antisemitism, and its persistence since the French Revolution, for which conspiring Jews were blamed by ultraconservatives. I wrote about antisemitism here: http://clarespark.com/2010/11/14/the-abcs-of-antisemitism/. But if one were to pick one aspect of antisemitism that is most salient to this PJM article, it is the belief that authority is always on the docket, to be questioned with regard to its meaning. This makes Jews the stereotypical troublemakers for more settled sects.
It’s a nice article, but the premise it still partly incorrect. Judaism does have a concept of heresy; a number of heresies are listed in the Talmud (Sanhedrin, Perek Chelek, at the beginning). In theory, a heretic cannot be counted in a prayer quorum; however, we generally follow Maimonides’ rule that someone brought up in a heretical domination (based on his definition, today this would be anything other than Orthodoxy) is not considered responsible for his beliefs.
Maimonides listed 13 basic required beliefs of Jerusalem, from God the creator to the Resurrection. While there is no central authority, there is a basic agreement as to approxmately what beliefs are required, certain loudmouthed Jewish Studies professors notwithstanding.
To understand Judaism, you have to look at its basis. It is a simple man and G-d relationship. Everyone has the right to pray to G-d. The synagogue is based on Abraham’s ten righteous men. When Abraham learned that G-d was going to destroy Sodom and Gamora, he bargained with G-d. Would you destroy it if there were 100 righteous men, the answer was no. The bargaining went down to 10 righteous men and G-d let Abraham know that he would not destroy Sodom and Gamora for the sake of 10 righteous men. In that root, although we may pray alone, we go two where at least ten of us can gather for prayer. In that vane, our synagogues are based from the bottom up. Groups of ten or more form the center of prayer and it is not centered on a central figure such as a Rabbi. Not since the ancient Temple days have we had a head of religious group. Yes there are various sects that have their Grand Rabbis, none dictate to all Judaism. Denying a Jew entrance to a synagogue violates the very basis and spirit of our religion. It is tantamount making the person an apostate or a person who has been excommunicated. Here is a religion where the lowest of the low, socially or morally is allowed entrance to a synagogue so they may pray and ask for repentance for their personal sins. Not allowing a Jew into the sanctuary violates every premise of our religion.
Thanks for the very enlightening missive Andy.
Based on what you wrote, is it fair to say say that the synagogue attendees who denied admission to Mr. Bergstein are perhaps only Jews ethnically, and, whose political ideology trumps their religious views to the point where the synagogue becomes a de facto party apparatus?
I’m asking honestly without trying to beg the question. There are a number cultural practices by leftist Jews I find quite bewildering so any assistance you can provide is most genuinely appreciated.
Cheers.
Were they even in the synagogue, or in the social hall? This not being a religious service, I don’t really think this applies.
At any rate, certain denominations of Judaism AND Christianity have replaced the Bible with the Democratic platform. If you hear the term “tikun olam”, be VERY suspicious.
Yes you are correct
I SEEMS AS IF MANY OBAMA SUPPORTERS, INCLUDING MANY JEWS, HAVE AN OBJECTION TO HEARING ANOTHER VIEWPOINT. THEY ARE SO SURE OF THEIR POSITIONS AS SUPPORTERS OF THIS MAN THAT THEY CANNOT ALLOW ANY CONTRADICTORY FACTS OR OPINIONS TO INTRUDE ON THEIR ALREADY CLOSED AND POSSIBLY GIVE THEM ANOTHER VIEW. IT IS TRULY AKIN TO THE OLD SAYING “MY MIND IS MADE UP AND PLEASE DO NOT CONFUSE ME WITH THE FACTS”
BY THE WAY, THE MYTH OF JEWISH SUPERIOR INTELLECT IS COMPLETELY REBUTTED BY THE JEWS THAT SUPPORT OBAMA. HOW CAN ONE BE SO SMART AND STILL SUPPORT THIS ARROGANT FOOL THAT WILL NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANYTHING. THE ONLY THING HE HASN’T BLAMED ON BUSH IS HIS WIFE’S PREGNANCIES.
This has nothing to do with Judaism. The synagogue is a place for prayer and community but in this case, as in others, the totalitarian instinct of all Obamaniacs has taken over any other cultural/religious feature of the community.
The campaign is all, all hail the Thief in Chief.
Seriously unbelievable. But then, that’s the reaction I ahve to many articles/readings about anything to do with the Dems and Obama connections.
Ni, Jill. Completely believable.
You’ll be seeing more of this.
I worked in a very liberal synagogue and it never failed to astonish me that they were liberals first, Jews third. I could stand it no longer and got out as soon as I found another job.
To be fair, it’s not a religious function, and they can limit it to members.
Joos.
What are you going to do? Pretty soon they’ll be lining up for the box cars again. You would think they would remember. As in “Never Forget”.
We don’t have to forget. We have a**holes like you to help us remember. I had an acquaintance who found it funny that we circumcised all our male children. He bragged about not being circumcised and made fun of us. That is until he came down will some form of penile skin cancer. He’s not laughing any more. Believe me, if the boxcars were waiting for us right now, there would be plenty of a**holes like you forced to join our procession.
Dude, are you trying to be a prick or does it happen naturally? Not only are you patently unfunny, you show the rest of the PJM world that anti-semitism is alive and well outside of the Muslim world.
Hot tip for ya: I hear troglodyte.com is looking for talent.
Wait, I can get even better!
I could be wrong, but I think Poppa was replying to the Paul A’barge comment.
This type of behavior is straight out of Philip Roth’s novel ‘The Plot Against America’ (2004).
Liberals aren’t!
My family nad I were memebers of a Conservative synagogue for 15 years. By 2008 we realized that this was no longer a place of worship, but a Democrat Party club that occasionally engages in prayer. We left and have been attending a Chabad synagogue since then.
Chabad is not the answer. It is a new form of Christianity. I saw a program on Messianic Jews and word for word it was like being at a Chabad service.
Andy,
You need to actually attend a chabad service. they are very frum. the messianic component doesn’t come from christianity but from their belief that certain rabbis’ studies of mystical beliefs led to a deeper understanding of judaism. their services would be disputed by other branches but not much more than the disputes between reform, conservative, modern orthodox, and orthodox.
i was raised as an old school conservative, what is basically now modern orthodox, and when i attended yom kippur services at a chabad synagogue i was perfectly comfortable with the text of the service. though i was thrown at first by the fact that they had the divider up. i hadn’t seen that since i was a child and attending services at an orthodox shul. To be quite honest, they were exceptionally welcoming to me.
While I don’t like the Yechi concept, the Chabad service is the same as it was before the it took over a certain portion of the group. It’s just a traditional Jewish service, with mixtures of Western and Eastern customs. The only difference from other Chasidim is that they are a bit more Eastern.
Now if you want something really different, more like services were a thousand years ago, try a Yemenite Baladi service. Really amazing!
But all traditional Jewish services are basically the same, unless it’s been modified for beginners. Unfortunately, the Conservatives (not to be confused with conservatives, small “c”) slightly modified the service to remove the hope for the restoration of the Temple (sacrificial) service.
Shula,
My husband and I have had the same experience. We are looking for an orthodox synagogue now – hopefully it won’t be liberal. I have seen an infiltration of leftist ideology now even in the orthodox community.
Mr. Miller – Gut gesukt (well said). I especially like your line about, being neither liberal nor Jewish (in the religious sense of the word). Also I might wonder if the synangogue where the congregant interrupted the rabbi was an Orthodox one? My impression is that 99.9% of the congregants in non-Orthodox synagogues would not have the knowledge to question the rabbi about anything.
I also love name adopted by this brand of non-Orthodox Judasim: Conservative Judaism. Had it followed in the footsteps of Solomon Schechter, it might have been something that today we call Modern Orthodox. Unfortunately, it chose another path, and so is not conservative and deviates far from normative Judasim.
Actually, it was a conservative congregation but an unusual one. There were a number of people in it who were very learned in Torah, Hebrew, and Aramaic. There was a never-ending Torah class on weekdays. The rabbi was very smart and had a doctorate in the social sciences. He possessed the humility of a true scholar. People interrupted droshes all the time with comments, and they were good and reflective comments.
Mr. Miller – Frankly, I’m surprised. It must be a very unusal congregation. In my contact with Conservative Jews, I do not find them to be at all knowledgeable about Judaism. To know that there are those who are is refreshing.
The only difference between the Conservatives and Modern Orthodox is in counting the women toward the minyon. I’ve seen plenty Orthodox steebles go down. Maybe if they had included the women toward the minyon, they would still be open and viable. Conservative Judaism recognized female Rabbis, Orthodox doesn’t. Although I strongly favor the traditional approach, I see where there might be a necessity for female Rabbis. Talmudic knowledge is not just limited to men and I’ve heard some women give a drusha any Rabbi would have been proud of. There is no prohibition in the Torah for a woman to put on teffilin. Plus in the past when Jewish men were called into the army for service and there weren’t any men around, the women took it upon themselves to continue in all levels of tradition and worship. I venture to say that the reason our religion survived was on the strength of our women. The men weren’t always around.
Andy – Surprisingly, I agree with you for the most part. Indeed, one of my daughters is a Yo’etzeth Halakhah in the New York City area. Not quite a rabbi, but on the way. My only disagreements would be on counting women in a minyon and mixed seating. My reason for not wanting to count women is more sociological than religious. Men need more supervision than women, and what better way to do that than keep them tethered to the shule by excluding women from the minyan. (Otherwise, the shule could end up looking like a Catholic church, with mostly women in attendance.) I also prefer separate seating because it really is less distracting to daven when women are behind the mechitzah.
One could in theory make an argument for women rabbis, there is no way (to my knowledge) to squeeze Jewish law to allow women to be counted in a Minyan. For certain, not as witnesses at a wedding or divorce.
At any rate, Conservative Judaism – and by this I mean 99.9% of its rabbis – has completely broken off theologically with historical, traditional Judaism. By fully accepting Biblical criticism(*), they deny that the Torah we have was given at Sinai. This basically means the religion has no basis; it is harder to imagie a greater heresy.
The old JTS is completely gone. I suspect they will eventually break with the Torah altogether, and permit male homosexual behavior. As Maimionides says, the problem beigns when you claim that part of the Torah is basic, and part is secondary. (At that point, anything can be permitted; just claim this particular rule is not divine.)
(*) By this I mean the documentary hypothesis.
Interesting but not surprising. Both the Reform and Conservative streams of Judaism in the U.S. are heavily Democratic in political persuasion. In fact, about 80% of all American Jews reliably vote Democratic. But in this case, shame on B’nai Torah.
Judaism as practiced in the U.S. runs the gamut from “way of life” Ultra Orthodox to just slightly more “Jewish” than the Universal Unitarians. And that, if truth be told, is one of the great things about being Jewish in the U.S. As a Jew one really can practice what you preach.
On Saturday – late afternoon – our Rabbi takes questions from the congregation about everything and anything. He is bright enough and learned enough to make Jewish sense of the world, but such discussions can easily come to include three or more people people. Either the world is an integrated whole or it is chaotic to the point of making questions irrelevant. I am afraid that the Left has long ago decided that only a subset of information is useful for the people. Anything that confuses them must be placed behind a barrier. It is, unfortunately, Darwinism that provides the proper framing in a world with a limited supply of ideas and people who seek dominance.
So, Steinhardt supports The Shari’ah becoming the law of the land in the US.
How exactly is he a Jew again?
Perhaps he’s a JINO (Jewish in name only)? One thing he absolutely is: dhimmi.
Agree. And it didn’t work for collaborators during the Shoah either.
I don’t look with much favor on this Tikkun Olam, saving the world ideology.
It brings to mind; am I my brother’s keeper? but no answer back … usually means tread lightly.
Nor does the Lord share His Glory. Tikkun Olam is on the razor’s edge. It can also infect the finite mind with ideas way beyond his tiny ability.
Tikkun Olam can also be a handicap in the instruction; to walk humbly with the Lord.
So, no I do not like it or have much favor for it.
It is also noticable to me that Jews who prefer the Obama methods are also much in favor of the homosexual/abortion agendas. This will put them front and centre in opposition to the Lord will and purpose.
So their unthinking Rabbi’s can stand by and watch how they led their people to no sparing of the rod.
American Jews must wake up. It is long over due.
Tiqun Olam gets a lot of lip service but is rarely explained correctly. It represents two words out of a four word phrase excerpted from a prayer that concludes every Jewish prayer service. The translation of this phrase is: to improve/perfect the world within/under the Kingdom of the Almighty. Leftist activists who are ethnically Jewish take the first two words to imply that Judaism is merely an early version of leftism. We traditionalists understand the phrase to imply that it is our job to make ourselves worthy of the inevitable Kingdom of the Almighty, by following His book of covenantal instructions, the Torah. That book has some inconvenient instructions if you’re a lefty, such as “choose life”, homosexual activity is an “abomination”, etc.
Thank you for explaining that. Shalom!
I would explain Tikkun Olam even more simply. Jews are supposed to be or l’goyim, a light unto the gentiles. We are supposed to show, by how we live and treat others, how the gentiles should behave. By following the laws of G-d we live as examples of proper behavior.
When you combine this with Hillel’s summation of the Torah, “Do not do unto others what is hateful to you”, it is a prescription to live and behave as a responsible member of the community.
Well, don’t be surprised – it can get a lot worse.
In the concentration camps Jewish Kapos assisted the Nazis. While this is really,really bad, one can say, well, they at least they had some sort of excuse because they were hoping to save their own hides. People will do very desperate things when things get desperate.
On the other hand, the Nazis recruited jews in germany during the war to locate other jews in hiding, so that the Gestapo could arrest them. I do not remember the german word for these jewish-gestapo helpers.
Lastly, many of the murderers in Lenin’s inner circle were “fallen jews;” atheists really, of jewish heritage. I call them murderers because they helped organize and implement the bolshevik policies that led to the death of millions of people. Of course, upon Stalin’s rise to power, most (all?) of these individuals wound up in front of a firing squad in the Cheka’s Lubyanka prison.
Anyway,rest assured that at least 80 to 85% of all jewish voters will cast their vote for Obama; this is a slam dunk.
What is your point? While much of what you say is historically true, it is totally irrelevant within the current context and situation at hand, which is bad enough.
He just loves to point out the ‘bad’ Jews and the fact that 80-85% of the Jews will vote Democratic. With these kinds of friends here, its no wonder that 80-85% of the Jews will vote Democratic. He hasn’t got a clue to the reality within the Jewish community. Scratch his thin skin and you’ll find a pure Jew hating anti-Semite. Remember now that 80-85% of the Jews will vote Democratic. If you say this enough times and click your heels together, you will find yourself in Kansas.
Jews, along with the rest of us, will get to have the final say in November. We will all be standing together to throw Obama out of office. Hopefully, it will not be too late for Israel. Iran is about to get a nuclear bomb and time is running out. If it’s any consolation to the Israelis, there are plenty of Americans that stand by them. We will let all our voices be heard this November. Count on it.
Chickens, hatchets, and counting jobs.
Or maybe hatchet jobs on the counting, but either way, don’t count on it.
Work for it, yes.
But don’t count on it.
The Reform and many Conservative synagogs are soo off the the Jewish traditional chart is hard for me to call the members of those synagogs Jewish. Those are the descendents of the Reform Jews who initially rejected Theodore Herzl’s called for a homeland in Palestine. It seems to me after a century they are going back to their initial premise of rejecting Jewish homeland all over again. Unfortunately we the Jews are our own worst enemies
“own worst enemies” – I’ve been saying this for years. If Austria and Germany hadn’t produced a Hitler there would have been some deluded Jews to create him.
In America this species is called “the Suicide-Voters,” the political cousins of the Arab suicide bombers.
Reform Judaism, it has been said, is “the Democratic Party with holidays.”
This is what has often been said, Jews would vote for Hitler if he had a “D” after his name…
Modern Liberalism, leftism actually, IS a mental disorder…
It’s a suicide cult, the flip side of the Islamic terrorists. Both want to kill the West, and they seem to be succeeding hand in glove.
There is an old term for those people. KAPOs. They were the Jews who ran the Concentration camps.
Lefty, Catholics have “Liberation Theology,” a marxist, godless way of thinking about social problems.
A SHOCKING ARTICLE ABOUT SYNAGOGUE POLITICS WELL WRITTEN BY THE AUTHOR.
Please don’t SHOUT.
Maybe that shouting person can’t see the small type.
As far as I can tell, the “Jewish religion” today has almost nothing to do with God — many Jews who go to schul will gladly admit they’re atheists and that the schul is really a cultural organization — and has become a “social justice” or “progressive” gospel. “Left identity” is the true Jewish identity for many non-orthodox Jews today.
That may be true for some liberal Jews, but those of us who are secular, politically Conservative and believe in G0d have the option to go to a modern Orthodox shul such as Chabad or Aish HaTorah. They perform a lot of excellent services in both the Jewish and non-Jewish communities. I know of no Jews in my community who are athiest.
Get him girl, get him!
as far as YOU can tell…
Samantha Power – wife of Cass “Nudge” Sunstein. Interesting connection, no?
Another well reasoned, well written pertinent effort by Mr. Miller. Always enjoy seeing his work.
I read Arutz Sheva everyday and have note the amount of Israel hatred among the Jews there. I trace it back to the Marxist roots modern Zionism.
It has always seem to me that Tikkun Olam always to be something begin yourself working in the world rather than trying to impose your will on the world. That alternative is cheaper, others bearing the onus.
In no way should the following observation be viewed as endorsement of what the misguided souls who run Congregation B’Nai Torah are reported as having done.
“Nor can they be considered Jews by any longstanding philosophical tradition.”
Really? How about the tradition in Asora Yuchsin (the final chapter of Tractate Kiddushin), that talks about being a Jew by virtue of matrilineal descent? How about the statement in Shas (Tractae Shabbos? I forget) that the verse “Israel has sinned” means that even a Yisroel (a Jew) who sins is still a Yisroel (Jew), or the one that says that even when the Jewish nation sins they are still called children of HaMakom (G-d)? That’s enough of a philosophical tradition for me.
The rules from Sinai determine who is a Jew, not whether someone meets your standard or mine for Americanism or courtesy (which this bunch seems to have failed on both accounts, by any standard). Neither you nor I, Mr. Miller, get a vote on whether or how to change them.
Now, if you wanted to tell me that they may call themselves B’nai Torah but did not act like B’nai Torah, I’d have to agree.
These liberal Jews fit the pattern of every Jew I’ve known growing up in Chicago’s Kenwood, Hyde Park, and South Shore neighborhoods in the 40′s and 50′s. Fierce socialists, they were the first to demand their neighborhoods be integrated and when sucessful, the first to move. They never change and they never will. They remain a small minority simply because they get themselves murdered from time to time.
Highly distressing but not surprising. Liberals in general tend to be increasingly strident and totally intolerant of anyone who doesn’t follow the party line.
Why should Jewish liberals be any different?
I am accustomed to a traditional synagogue where dissent is not only tolerated but encouraged. From where I sit, it seems that the farther left a synagogue moves (i.e., away from traditional observance), the more stereotyped it becomes.
Gimme that ol’ time religion!
I find it unbelievably ironic that I and others like me (members of the Southern Baptist Convention) are exponentially more in favor of defending Israel than most Democrats of the Jewish faith.
And by “ironic” I mean of course HYSTERICAL!!
Mazel TOV!!!
I’m struggling with the unpleasant irony that a faith which constantly exhorts the world ‘to not forget’ has become itself the one who ‘can not remember’ the price of intolerance. It would be funny – if it weren’t so scary.
it’s funny, really, how anti-semites who are totally ignorant of anything having to do with judaism are always drawn to comment about jews, like moths to a flame. these people, the ignorant jew haters should be made aware that their hatreds and stupidity are quite transparent.
it never fails to amuse.
Why do you assume they’re all Jew-haters? Maybe some are just trying to understand why so many goyim want to help Israel more than so many Jews. Maybe they’re actually Jew-lovers. Does that automatically make them Jew-haters in your book? Do you think the righteous gentiles of Hitler’s time automatically loved all Jews and thought nothing but good thoughts about them all the time? If they ever questioned any Jews, did that make them anti-semites?
NO!!! All congregations do not breach the line between church and politics. Go to a Mormon church, try to bring up Romney, try to talk about Obama. No one will talk about it inside the church. You will be met with polite smiles and people who change the subject. Everytime. Certainly anyone who tried to talk politics from the podium in Sacrament Meeting, a meeting dedicated to the worship of God would be very out of place and politely dismissed.
Church is a place for God and for unity.
Get your politics out of your religions!!!! Your religions will not continue if you don’t. Politics causes unkind feelings. And that is the death of a church.
This is truly a disgrace on two counts: to invite a political speaker of a certain party and bar Jews who have different views from entering a synagogue. However, the comparison with Nazi Germany is, as so often, a specious one. I am not aware, and correct me if I am wrong, that any Nazi had ever been invited to speak at a synagogue and Jews who disagreed with that particular viewpoint were barred from entering a Jewish house of worship. We really should be a little bit more careful with such facile historical analogies and maybe leave the Nazis out altogether. The Obamaites are bad enough in their own right.
I recently had lunch with a Jewish couple visiting from the S.F. Bay Area. They are old friends so I thought I could talk to them about how bad Obama is. The woman got up and took a walk – she didn’t want to even hear anything. Her husband had the usual denial and Bush blame syndrome. But what really got me was when I said that Obama was really bad for Israel. First, he said, “That’s not a litmus test.” I then pointed out that Iran would soon have a nuclear weapon. I was floored when he said, “Well, let them drop one on Tel Aviv. Maybe 13,000 Jews will die. Then we’ll wipe out Iran.”
WTF???
You should keep away from that type of Jews.
I think that ‘Unity’ as a concept is way over-valued. That is one of the reasons that Jewish congregations can be so raucous… there are as many opinions as there are congregants. Why should anyone be ‘sheep-like’ in their thoughts?
The problem here in B’nai Torah and in Temple Israel, is that they only wanted one type of speaker to have his chance at the podium — that of the Democrat-Socialist-Lefty. These descriptions are interchangeable nowadays.
If someone wanted to discuss differing points of view, they were not allowed to speak or even to enter the synagogue.
God help our jewish friends who are lost and direct them back to us.
Please get a home in Tel Aviv and we’ll try to find you.
A word to the Jews of the board. This isn’t just happening in synagogues but places of Christian worship, Catholic and Protestant alike. Trust me, you are not alone in this conflict, and this has been going on for some time across the spectrum of faith in America.
But the only worship whether Jew or Christian you will find in that referenced in the article, is leftist political activism under the guise of some pseudo religious dogma to mask the stench.
Also….
Though not Catholic, thank God for Benedict having the conviction of calling the bluff of these feminists dressed in habits. Thank God for Albert Mohler, President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminar, for firing these charlatan political activists.
These frauds are every bit the snake of one named Obama and as a collective, even more dangerous.
Thumbs Up Tex!
As a Jew this shames me and dismays me tremendously. That they would so forget our history and traditions so as to close the doors on a fellow Jew is intolerable.
The Jews were in the Sinai and sent spies to check out their future homeland. When they reported back, they frightened everyone with their tales of the people who lived there. Moses was dismayed. G-d got angry and wanted to smite all the Jews because they were unworthy. It was Moses who saved us. He spoke to G-d, “Listen, G-d I know you are angry; but, if you smite all these Jews, I’ll be out of work. You know how hard it is to get a job these days?” G-d relented and instead gave them all a long vacation. That vacation lasted 40 years as they toured the sunny Sinai desert. When they finally died off and their children replaced them, they decided it was time to take matters in their own hands and marched on their Promised Land. That’s what it is going to take here. Its going to take some act of G-d to make these idiots die off so that the rest of us can have peace and freedom in our home land. Unfortunately, we have no Moses to intercede for us.
We don’t have Moses, but we have Mitt. Mitt is It!
This is typical of big-city reform temples. The rabbis and the boards are usually made up of very liberal members, who pretty much control the agenda.
The very leftist board probably hired the rabbi. Important holidays are celebrated and mostly follow the script, but the rest of the year, it’s Democrat Party Training Center. I argued politics with a reform rabbi before quitting his temple. ‘Abortion’ is the new HaShem in reform Judaism.
It seems to me as a Canadian that so many Americans including Jewish Americans, are so thrilled with the idea that a Black man actually made to the highest office in the land that they are very reluctant to say anything negative about his performance, for fear of being considered racist.
Obama is half black and half white.
If one doesn’t vote for Obama, what kind of racist are they?
This entire argument is really moot in there is absolutely no demonstrable proof that a mythical all present being is now or has ever existed. All we have is the ravings of a bunch of desert rats eating their own feceses trying to give their miserable lives meaning. That goes for all religions… Every last one of them including the two greatest hoakster religions ever known who go around clipping their male members in a rediculous blood deal with their all knowing Oz! The great and all-knowing Oz! Thomas Paine was right when he proclaimed….”and man created god in his own image!”
Let me put a little ointment on you, it might help. There are two major elements in the torah which are pivotal. The first is the Exodus. Archeologically evidence points to the fact that it did happen. Were the Jews in Egypt, yes. Did things change for them, yes. Did they leave there, yes. There are hieroglyphs of Semites, with their coats of many colors. There is a canal by the ancient Egyptian capital that is still called the “Canal of Joseph”. We didn’t name it. The description of the Sinai is accurate. The death of many Egyptians at the time is also accurate. The second major point I want to make is the promised future G-d gave us. It was a prediction of terrible suffering, separation from our homeland and our eventual return to it. The diaspora was predicted. Our realization of our Jewishness is to be discovered and our return predicted. Just as the Jews pulled themselves out from under the yoke of the most powerful nation on earth, the Jews of today must pull themselves together and return home. Whether you chose to recognize our G-d is your business. Whether we chose to follow that same G-d is ours. You can quote Thomas Paine, it is meaningless to us. We can quote you talmudic scholars that pale Thomas Paine. These Talmudic scholars formed the basis of all ethics in our civilization. Thus came our mores, our laws and basis to this civilization. You are in fact performing in that same scenario just by your arguments and me by my counter arguments. Thomas Paine was just a drop in history. Our religion is its own river which continuously gives us sustenance.
Oh, for Pete’s stake, stop the Nazi imagery here. Jews didn’t allow each other into synagogues for AGES. It was so common that there’s an old joke that a Jew needs three synagogues: one he goes to, one he USED to go to, and that third one, he refuses to set a foot in under any circumstances.
If you recall, “Ysreal” means, literally, “he who wrestles with G-d.” Every Jew has an obligation to interpret the Torah, Talmud…and every other Jewish religious text for themselves…there is, currently, no “priesthood” to dictate the what being a Jews means to each individual…we are all obligated to “wrestle with G-d” on what it means to be a Jew, every single day.
Rich Vail
aka, Ariel Ovadia ben Avraham
Pikesville, Maryland
WRONG. That is why there are Rabbis. Rabbis who have spent years studying Jewish texts. Not to say that all Rabbis are correct – especially “progressive” ones that put politics over Torah.
For those that don’t understand fully, reform Jews seem to have a different religion than conservative, or othodox jews.
And that religion is liberalism, not Judaisim.
And in the name of liberalism they seem to forget their upbringing their roots, and and their history.
And in doing so they make alot of jews, such as the person that quit the temple ashamed to be lumped in with those Jews.
Forgive me for asking, and I mean this respectfully, but how are Conservative and Reform different here? Both have distorted an obscure Kabbalistic term, Tikun Olam, which simply means that service God improves the world, into a means for replacing the Bible with the Democratic platform. Both deny the veracity of the very basis of Judaism, the five Books of Moses.
I don’t mean to start an inter-denominational war here, but I would like clafification.
I teach in a Conservative Day School and there are many political opinions there. Some are conservative and some are liberal. There is a large amount who will be voting for Romney,not based on his social agenda or perks for the rich, but based on the threat of militant Islam all over the world. No social agenda can trump Iran giong nuclear with Israel and the entire West in its sights.
Re: first paragraph: from 18 beneictions
And for informanta let there be no hope, and let all wickedness perish as in a moment; let all Your enemies be speedily cut off, and the dominion of arrogance uproot and crush, cast down and humble speedily in our days. Blessed art thou, O L-rd, who breaks the enemies and humbles the arrogant.
I was one of the people evicted from B’Nai Torah by uniformed guards. I am a registered independent. I protested nothing, I held up no sign, I was not part of an organized protest, I did not interrupt the speaker. I simply decided to leave after hearing Rabbi David Steinberg’s slobbering introduction and Susan Rice’s transparent attempt to woo the Jews of Florida in spite of her previous actions and statements. I stood in the lobby listening to a man being interviewed and was immediately approached by temple executive Cheri Kolvant and told that since I had left the sanctuary I had to leave or be issued a trespassing warrant. I said that I did not feel I should have to leave the lobby of a house of worship for simply listening to a discussion, at which point she summoned two unformed guards to remove me from the temple property. This was the most shameful experience of my life as a Jew – and it was intentionally orchestrated by the temple congregational leadership. Our temples are becoming nothing more than outreach centers for the Democratic Obama enthusiasts and using the same type of strong arm tactics that anti-semites of the past have used against out our people. Shame Shame Shame B’Nai Torah.
I suggest to you that they have done you a great service by showing you that these JINO’s have nothing to do with what you seek as a Jewish child of G-d. Best wishes in your search for truth and like minded brethren. Been there, done that, escaped. Happy.
oldest, most cherished of Jewish prayers, in some Reform and Conservative synagogues today, sadly, might just as well be changed to Obama Malkeinu.