Giddy November 9, 2009
Posted by qvashty in feminism/gender.1 comment so far
Thanks, OTD, for your “Comment of the Month” award!
I’d like to thank my parents, Bais Yaakov, Rabbis S., H., A., M., and the rest of their colleagues, plus the Tanaim and the Amoraim… But where would we be without their wives, many of whom are smart women who have chosen to subjugate themselves to men of equal or lesser wit, to bear them child after child, and to find spiritual gratification in the kitchen and the laundry room? Yes, it is through the silence of their partners that talmidei chachamim have shone the light of the Torah throughout the ages. And so, my gratitude is for the example of those benos torah, a quiet example which has served me through the years as the clear opposite of how I want to live my life. I accept this award for you, you who have mastered the Tanach while your husbands splashed in the homoerotic seas of the Talmud, you who must be frustrated or relieved by the celibacy of niddah, and who admit to neither. It is the humility of your tichel-framed faces, your smug assertion that frequent teumah leads to respectful husbands and a joyful monthly honeymoon, to which I owe this honor.
HUC-JIR Faculty Release Results of Survey of American Jewish Language and Identity November 5, 2009
Posted by qvashty in language.2 comments
The survey results can be found at: http://huc.edu/survey/09/index.php
It was very interesting to read. The survey sought answers to the following questions:
How do American Jews speak English? Who uses Hebrew and Yiddish words and New York regional features? When using Hebrew words, who prefers Israeli pronunciations and who prefers Ashkenazic ones? Which Yiddish-origin features do some non-Jews use? Two researchers from Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion have begun to answer these questions. Linguist Sarah Bunin Benor and Sociologist Steven M. Cohen have released the results of a large-scale survey of Jews and non-Jews in the United States.
They included a range of observance from non-Jewish to black-hat. This is a good read but I have to warn you that they don’t even discuss the speech of OTDers, as if we don’t exist. I think this is because we have bucked the overall trends of American Judaism. The social trend is towards a greater feeling of specialness as Americans seek unique identities (what can be more unique than “Chosen People?”), BTs and Reconstructionist havurot growing in number, and the linguistic trend found in the study is that certain Hebrew, Aramaic and Yiddish words and phrases are increasing in usage among American Jews… I don’t know why they didn’t analyze those Jews who became less observant, but it could be because it messes up the neat trends.
You can still take the survey through the website.
Jews and Others November 2, 2009
Posted by qvashty in philosophy, politics.add a comment
A very interesting piece appeared in Slate magazine about Hannah Arendt’s relationship with Heidegger and anti-Semitic thought. I was quite convinced by the discussion of Arendt’s “banality of evil” phrase with regard to the Eichmann trial. But then the author, Ron Rosenbaum, goes out on a strange and offensive limb:
It may forever remain a mystery, even more so now. Wasserstein believes she internalized anti-Semitic literature; I would perhaps modify this to say she internalized the purported universalism of Germanic high culture with its disdain for parochialism. A parochialism she identified with, in her own case, her Jewishness, something she felt ashamed of on intellectual grounds, so primitive, this tribal allegiance in the presence of intellects who supposedly transcended tribalism (or at least all tribes except the Teutonic).
One can still hear this Arendtian shame about ethnicity these days. So parochial! One can hear the echo of Arendt’s fear of being judged as “merely Jewish” in some, not all, of those Jews so eager to dissociate themselves from the parochial concerns of other Jews for Israel. The desire for universalist approval makes them so disdainful of any “ethnic” fellow feeling. After all, to such unfettered spirits, it’s so banal.
Never mind the fact that people of Jewish heritage have rejected the xenophobia and particularism of Jewish tradition since before the Holocaust, before Arendt and within other, non-German schools of thought! And never mind the fact that the State of Israel is a new “homeland,” from which few Diaspora Jews can say their families emigrated. Is it really “the desire for universalist approval? What about the sincere adoption of universalist values? I think Rosenbaum’s suggestion is dangerously close to a racist one. We should be able to adopt universalism without being questioned on the basis of ethnic background.
Ah well, today’s news demonstrates (in case it was needed) the dangers of Jewish particularism in the modern world. Shin Bet has arrested a Jewish terrorist from a West Bank settlement who is accused of murdering Palestinians and attempting to murder Messianic Jews and at least one Israeli universalist. This is what happens when a people is chosen, a state must maintain ethnic purity, etc.
New Fossil Discovery Changes Everything! October 28, 2009
Posted by qvashty in procrastination, what part of this is true.add a comment
This came up on a social networking site. Hope it goes viral.
http://blog.sarcasmsociety.com/science-technology/new-fossil-discovery-changes-everything.html
Hitchens on Debating Religious People October 26, 2009
Posted by qvashty in atheism.1 comment so far
Christopher Hitchens is often painted as a disrespectful firebrand, but in this piece he has nice things to say about the people with whom he has been debating:
I have been all over the South, in front of capacity and overflow crowds, exchanging views with Protestants most of the time, but also with Catholics and, in New York and the West Coast and Canada, with—mostly Reform—Jews in large and well-attended synagogues. (So far no invitations from Orthodox Jews, Mormons, or Muslims.)
I think he reserves much of his ire for those whose beliefs are held to be beyond debate.
Perhaps his experiences are not so helpful for an OTDer dealing with frum family or local rabbis. For one thing, of course, he doesn’t debate Orthodox Jews, but he also gets to occupy the comfortable position of being completely out of the closet. He is not identified as an ex-Christian, atheist-Jew/Arab, etc., but as the atheist in the room. (He may be called an ex-Marxist.) Being a white guy may help provide a blanker slate for that. But wouldn’t it be nice to start the discussion with that out in the air for all to see?
I don’t think that a Jew, whatever his beliefs, can be seen that way by other people- at least not as easily. Once you start questioning, abandoning, disagreeing and condemning, there are always the people who will accuse you of self-hatred/disrespect of supposedly ancient traditions/forgetting that people suffered and even died to keep this religion/finishing Hitler’s work/ingratitude or whatever I’ve just missed. I think that many Reform and Conservative Jews might think these thoughts about you even though they may not want to give up their own freedom and become frum. Plus, outside Orthodoxy, your atheism will be marked as Jewish somehow.
This last bit used so many modal verbs, I have to admit that your experiences might be very different from mine. Would love to hear them.
Here is the article: http://www.slate.com/id/2233586/
What’s a Little History of War and Torture? October 20, 2009
Posted by qvashty in feminism/gender, religious curiosities, what part of this is true.add a comment
The history of gay pride parades in Jerusalem was inaugurated several years ago with the stabbing of several participants. But it has also brought together, in the holy city of inter- and intra-religious squabbling, the three major Abrahamic faiths with their shared opposition to homosexuality. Spiritual leaders of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam denounced and opposed the invasion of their sacred streets by a common enemy. It’s amazing that this reconciliation was not celebrated around the world.
And today we are brought the news of another such reconciliation. The Catholic Church has extended a papist hand to Anglicans. (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/world/europe/21pope.html?hp) Once people were put on the rack until they confessed one erroneous creed or another, then beheaded… But now, in a heartwarming ecumenical spirit,
the Vatican on Tuesday announced it would make it easier for Anglicans uncomfortable with the Church of England’s acceptance of women priests and openly gay bishops to join the Catholic Church.
That’s right! Centuries of animosity and violence can now be laid to rest.
The Vatican’s decision, they said in a statement of unity between the two churches, was “further recognition of the substantial overlap in faith, doctrine and spirituality between the Catholic Church and the Anglican tradition.”
Asked at the Vatican news conference what would happen if an Anglican congregation led by a woman priest wanted to join the Catholic Church, Cardinal Levada smiled and said, “I would be surprised” if that happened.
Next the Vatican plans to open its arms to Muslim brethren, who share its messianic vision of Jesus but have quibbled with the Church in the past on the matter of his divinity. Catholics believe that Jesus is divine, while Muslims consider this to be a breach of monotheism. It is time, after over a millennium of minor disagreements, to embrace the ecumenical spirit of shared disdain for women and gays. The Church is still working out the details of this arrangement as few traditional Muslims have shown interest in conversion to Catholicism as a purer expression of their faith, but is confident that it can find a way to allow converts to continue to recite the Shahada after communion.
What Happens When an OJ Rabbi Gets Creepy? October 18, 2009
Posted by qvashty in OJ schooling, religion.4 comments
Lately there has been a lot in the news- and the blogosphere- about the Orthodox community and sexual abuse, particularly concerning its failures to address the problem. This has gotten me thinking about my own OJ school. I can not really say if anyone was abused or not, since of course I heard nothing about it. There was a rabbi that the boys claimed was touchy-feely with them, but nothing beyond that. He was the principal, anyway, so there was nowhere to go for complaints.
But there was a rabbi with a very unfortunate last name whose girls’ halacha class I really hated (intellectually) and was able to get out of. This is how:
Another girl, one who was known for being well-behaved and a model bas torah, insisted that he touched her in class and made her uncomfortable, so she got to take a private class with a female teacher. I claimed that Rabbi —–’s class was too difficult for me and I got to join the private class.
It is interesting upon reflection that the school clearly believed this girl- otherwise she would have been forced to stay in the class like everyone else- but took her out of the classroom and left the rabbi there with a bunch of teenage girls. I can’t say what happened in class after that, because I had escaped to more intellectually fertile terrain. But while we girls could be publicly reprimanded by whatever rabbi had the pleasure of doing “skirt check,” apparently smichah protected our authority figures from the same scrutiny.
Salon Interview with Dawkins October 16, 2009
Posted by qvashty in atheism, biology.add a comment
Reading The God Delusion, while an enjoyable experience with an engrossing book, also gave me a sense of affirmation that religion is child abuse and some interesting new ideas on wonder and morality in a godless world (they increase, although it is often assumed otherwise). So here’s a new interview with Richard Dawkins about his new book on evolution:
http://www.salon.com/books/int/2009/10/16/richard_dawkins/
God on Trial (Review) October 14, 2009
Posted by qvashty in pop culture.4 comments
I highly recommend “God on Trial” by Masterpiece Theatre. I must admit that for the last several years I have tried not to overdose on Holocaust media (as a child this was a fixation of mine), but this really does stand out.
It’s performed like a play, and pretty much all takes place in one room. The dialogue is mainly composed of intellectual arguments. The prisoners put God on trial for breach of contract (covenant). So there are all the different arguments for and against, plus discussions of assimilation and the new ideas which replaced religion among Jews and others. Perhaps because this was a British production, the canned arguments didn’t feel canned. Or maybe I’m just a geek for intellectual arguments. Anyway, some specificity to Jewish-OTD concerns as well as the mainstream value for which it was produced by Masterpiece Theatre. It is available on Netflix as a streaming video. If you have seen it I would love to hear your thoughts.
Vegetarianism October 11, 2009
Posted by qvashty in religion, religious curiosities, vegetarianism.4 comments
There was a story in the Times about a ruling on Shabbos elevators:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/10/nyregion/10elevator.html?em
And one by Jonathan Safran Foer on vegetarianism:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/magazine/11foer-t.html?ref=magazine
It is likely that you may have seen these. I have to say that I loved the way Safran Foer ended his piece. He is trying to figure out how, after he and his wife examined their values and decided to raise their children vegetarian, they could still have a culinary bond with his grandmother, a Holocaust survivor who used to clip coupons for food she’d never eat, and always made chicken with carrots.
“Even at the worst times, there were good people, too. Someone taught me to tie the ends of my pants so I could fill the legs with any potatoes I was able to steal. I walked miles and miles like that, because you never knew when you would be lucky again. Someone gave me a little rice, once, and I traveled two days to a market and traded it for some soap, and then traveled to another market and traded the soap for some beans. You had to have luck and intuition.
“The worst it got was near the end. A lot of people died right at the end, and I didn’t know if I could make it another day. A farmer, a Russian, God bless him, he saw my condition, and he went into his house and came out with a piece of meat for me.”
“He saved your life.”
“I didn’t eat it.”
“You didn’t eat it?”
“It was pork. I wouldn’t eat pork.”
“Why?”
“What do you mean why?”
“What, because it wasn’t kosher?”
“Of course.”
“But not even to save your life?”
“If nothing matters, there’s nothing to save.”
I find the abstinence from pork to be as empty of a value as the Shabbos elevator concept and the whole lot of rituals that religions have come up with. But I wonder if it would have been as easy for me to become a vegetarian had I not started out in life with the obsessive-compulsive eating disorder that is OJ kashrus. I check food labels, get grossed out by meat cooties, ask annoying questions to waiters, warn my hosts ahead of time, and have trouble travelling sometimes. But that doesn’t seem nearly as difficult- socially or at the supermarket- as it was to keep kosher. What is different about it?
- It does not prevent me from breaking bread with people who do not share my diet. Kashrus as we know it is designed to isolate the Jewish people from sharing bread and wine (or in today’s terms, packaged foods) with outsiders.
- I can buy bulk and packaged foods based on the label, not on the authority of a rabbinic cartel. On the other hand, while it might be different in the UK, there’s no vegetarian certification in the country- and I often turn down kosher products, such as Breyer’s yogurt, because of the ingredient list.
- “If nothing matters, there’s nothing to save.” Wise words indeed. But in the case of vegetarianism, we get our humanity from an ethical practice; in the case of kashrus, from an arbitrary ritual practice. Jews don’t feel bad for the pig. I feel bad and grossed out when I see a dead body at the dinner table.
The bad thing about keeping kosher growing up is that I can’t shake the cootie factor. If somebody has a hamburger and fries on the same plate, I won’t nibble the fries. If I accidentally eat meat, I throw up. I am uncomfortable with people bringing meat into my house. I get nervous when I think people might mix up the serving utensils or when they clink the food onto their plates with full contact. This is a social problem that was lessened during the kosher years because an OJ is hardly ever in mixed company with food.
Frum Scientists October 3, 2009
Posted by qvashty in biology, religion, religious curiosities.3 comments
We all know frum people who shun science and the outside world. I think that this is pretty consistent and easy to understand. What confounds me is the widespread phenomenon of frum people- not all of them MO!- who are also quite educated in secular matters.
For example, I know a family in which the patriarch is a physician, the matriarch has a BA in science, the TV has cable, and the charedi belief includes “girls shouldn’t learn Mishnah. That’s just not right.” In college I encountered frum people in science, the humanities, and even religious studies (they learned biblical source criticism). I’ve met frum people who are physicists (enough said), archaeologists (who had to work with the Documentary Hypothesis), doctors (who thus had to know all about evolution), some MO, some otherwise charedi.
I’ve always found MO to be an odd thing which at its core does not work, and UO to make sense, at least. If you are insulated enough and have your own untested set of rules about how the world works, you can live without the contradictions that come up with exposure to secular knowledge. But how does it work when you have that set of beliefs, and then delve into that secular knowledge? Haven’t physics, biology and religious studies developed to the point at which they convincingly contradict fundamental OJ beliefs? (A rhetorical question…) What is going on in their heads when they decide to become physicists? Who dreams of teaching science in a frum high school? I’m sure there is at least some reflection on this, as these are smart people. At least some of them must be thinking about it. I can imagine that a number of them are essentially orthoprax, that they like the lifestyle and find wisdom in the books which they know to be fallible. But this is not everyone. It’s just not right to teach girls Mishnah.
Article: On the Biblical TV Show You Shouldn’t Have Missed September 25, 2009
Posted by qvashty in Uncategorized.add a comment
Read this, and whether or not it convinced you, you really should watch Kings. Alas, it’s been canceled because people did not take notice. It’s based on the story of King Saul, David, Jonathan, etc…
OTD Sexuality: Part I (or: When Showing Some Knee Makes You a Dirty Slut) September 24, 2009
Posted by qvashty in feminism/gender, religion.3 comments
A comment on this blog asks: “I understand not being religious but does that completely devalue sex for you?” The answer would be very complex due to the wording “devalue” but I would like to address one aspect of ex-fundie sexuality.
I think that many people off the derech, like myself, did not join another religion after leaving Orthodox Judaism. Many of us become not more moderate, but atheist or agnostic. This means that upon our entrance into mainstream American society, we are not adopting its Protestant values. Instead, we try to figure out two things at once: 1) what our own values are, and 2) social norms, expectations and cues outside of the OJ world (these two may not jive, but we still need to at least know what they are). I found #2 especially confusing.
The little mistakes that we make along the way can be inconsequential, but many are serious.
After being told to cover up my whole life, I emerged with no concept of what Americans consider to be decent attire. It took years to figure out any of it, and in the meantime I am remembered by some as being “the girl who always wore a low-cut top” and such. Television and stores were full of such clothes; how could I know that they have their place (and no other)? When a “mini-skirt” has always been defined as something which shows a little knee, then lots of American women are walking around in mini-skirts. It’s all a jumble. I blush at some of the crazy things I’ve worn. I was even unsuccessfully attacked in one of my crazy outfits, but that’s not a story for this blog (and although it’s an interesting coincidence, I’m not big on blaming clothing choices for assault). The point is that it is hard to figure out.
All the more so: social interactions with the opposite sex. After yichud, the negiah ban and all the rest, there are two problems. First, all interactions with people of the opposite sex have been assigned a significance and a charge which makes one nervous and uncomfortable at times. Second, going off the derech means having the great opportunity to become friends with people of the opposite sex, or to take lovers of either, but these opportunities may be courted unsuccessfully due to a total lack of playbook. How can you tell if someone wants to be your friend? How can you tell if someone is sweet-talking you with sinister motives? How can you tell when physical contact is friendly and appropriate? Under what circumstances is it okay to be alone with someone? You can make terrible mistakes and get into real trouble with people.
But I only know about the problems after the fact. I broke free in order to be free to do as I pleased, hoping that a sense of right and wrong would be enough discernment to get by. I imagined free love, hippy-style or something. But you can’t really land in some sort of bohemian superparadise of kind, nonjudgmental people who share the exact branch of feminism that you espouse. Instead, here we are in a sex-soaked yet Puritanical, free yet religious, confusing country. The flames of sexual rebellion are fanned, not doused, by entrance into this society. Many years out of fundie OJ, you find yourself in fundie something else and don’t quite achieve what you started out to do.
Okay, you know you’ve strayed from your main point when you start to use generic you.
Video- on Creationist “Origin into Schools” Program September 24, 2009
Posted by qvashty in biology, religion.add a comment
This is a response to Kirk Cameron’s promotion of a campaign to distribute Darwin’s book on college campuses- with a 50-page fundie creationist introduction.
