Touring Israel With The Museum of the Bible (MOTB)

Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein writes:

An Orthodox young woman who works for MOTB argued that the greatest change she has seen in a decade is that Israelis have learned how to do a traffic merge – quite a change from the old standstills and shouting matches. They have become more Westernized in other ways as well. The tour included many upscale restaurants and the best hotels. The quality of service was amazing, fully up to the expectations of Americans used to superior service – polite, quick, and intelligent. The providers were equally represented by Jews and Arabs, working harmoniously together.

The result can be comical. I was one of the first to check in at our hotel in Tveryah. The fellow behind the desk asked if I had a reservation. I did, but he could not find it under my name. I explained that I was with the MOTB group, but he could not find that reservation either. Quickly it dawned upon him. “Christian bloggers!” he exclaimed triumphantly, but eying my black yarmulke suspiciously. I explained that I was not Christian, but indeed a blogger. I asked him where I could find a beit knesset in the morning. He thought for a moment, took a good look at me, and responded that I would probably be happier at Stolin then Chabad! Did I mention that he was an Arab?

In the restaurant in the morning, chassidim, Christian bloggers (and tourists) and one Muslim imam took breakfast together without the slightest amount of tension. I saw this in other areas of the country as well, particularly in the north, near the traditional Israeli Arab communities. I used to think that Haifa was the exception to the rule, the place where Jews and Arabs lived generally peaceably with each other. This is not the case at all. It is Yerushalayim (and Chevron) where the tension between Arabs (non-citizens by choice) and Jews is palpable. The foreign press (present in greater number than in any European capital) experience only this tension, which helps shape their (negative) opinions about Israel. They never see the proven capacity for Jews and Muslims to live together in a democratic state. The ridiculous charge of “apartheid,” falsifiable in so many ways, melts before visual scrutiny after 60 seconds in the Mamila Mall – even in Yerushalayim! – as Jews and Arabs shop together in elegant stores…

Plans for the Museum are equally accommodating. Each guest’s stay at the Museum will be personally programmed and guided by a tablet. There will be a Jewish option for those who just don’t want their kids or themselves exposed to overtly Christian material. This option will steer them away from all of it, taking them only to more pareve exhibit areas.

The people turning the Museum into reality have put their lives on hold to put the project together. They are friends of the Jewish people, and friends of the State of Israel. They include the people behind what in effect is a Christian Birthright program, that will be a powerful tool in creating positive sentiment for Israel among young Christians. Their passion for, and devotion to, what they regard as the word of G-d is a pleasure to behold. To be sure, there will be bumps in the road ahead. My guess, however, is that we will be able to talk through our differences amicably and cooperatively.

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Freedom In Orthodox Judaism

Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein writes: Jonathan Rosenblum and I discovered decades ago that we were kindred spirits. We rarely disagree. We did disagree twice about the recent[1] Klal Perspectives shabbaton in Baltimore, although he won’t find out about the second disagreement until he reads these lines.

The first dispute is a matter of public record, having occurred at one of the three panel discussions that were the chief stuff from which the event was constructed. Jonathan remarked at one point that he was jealous of me, because I could write without constraints, while he had to be ever mindful of his P’s and Q’s. Each of the magazines and newspapers for which he wrote established their no-fly zones, determining at times what he could and could not say. I countered that, to the contrary, I was jealous of him! His guidelines were clear, and when they weren’t, some irate editor would let him know. He rarely had to worry about suddenly falling off a cliff. On the other hand, I work without such clear direction. I have to guess the reaction of a sometimes unpredictable “street, and find myself looking out at minefields ahead without a chance to blink. The upshot, I claimed, was that both of us are burdened, like so many others in our community, with imposing muzzles, and rarely get to speak with complete candor. I have more license than he does – but not much more.

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The North Carolina Legal Battle and the Its Larger Message for the Jewish People

Rabbi Avrohom Gordon writes:

It’s described all over mainstream media as the North Carolina Anti-LGBT Law – intentionally creating a picture of old-time Southern bigotry, conjuring up images of signs in North Carolina establishments that bar people from entrance or deny them the right to be served. Journalistic flourish at its best.

The truth is that the matter under immediate dispute is that North Carolina had the chutzpa, as contended by homosexual/transgender lobbying organs, to insist that only men, being defined as human beings with male physiology, be allowed to enter men’s restrooms, and vice versa for physiological women being allowed to enter only women’s restrooms. People who are transsexual and claim to really be the opposite gender than their natural bodies may indicate allege that the North Carolina law is discriminatory, as it prevents physiological men who self-identify as women from using women’s restrooms, and the reverse.

We are not speaking here about people who have necessarily undergone sex surgery and now have anatomies of the opposite gender of their birth, which is itself a complex situation; rather, we speak even about people who are physically fully male, but who have elected to be registered as female and are certified to have undergone therapy for such, by dint of their self-perception and belief that they are really female. The US government, with the support of homosexual/transgender lobbying organizations, argues in its lawsuit against North Carolina that to require these biological men to use men’s restrooms rather than women’s restrooms is a fundamental form of illegal discrimination and that abolishing the North Carolina law “is part of the ongoing civil rights struggle”. (More use of Old Southern bigotry images, of course.)

Never mind the great discomfort as well as the feelings of invasion of privacy and breach of modesty that women will experience when biological men who self-identify as women enter the ladies’ room. And never mind that a male-looking person who enters the ladies’ room with the claim that he self-identifies as a woman may in truth actually be a “real” male, believe it or not, desirous to spend time in the ladies’ room to satisfy his male curiosities and interests. Somehow, these very real concerns become annoying secondary details when the agenda of the transgender/homosexual lobbyists and their political allies is on the move.

The Talmudic Sages tell us that the legal system in Sodom was topsy-turvy, such that those who were the object of offense were penalized, and those causing the offense were awarded. To turn public protocol on its head and impose upon people policies which violate their rights to basic privacy and security, for an elusive cause that until recently never raised its head and is not recognized by many in the first place, is utterly mind-boggling and shocking.

Although many in the American public may not care to hear about how the assault on the North Carolina law is an affront to Biblical values, one would expect that common sense and public safety would at least be taken into consideration – but alas, that was too much to hope for.

Why does this all matter to those of us who do not live in North Carolina and who do not anticipate encountering biological men in the ladies’ room and vice versa within our own communities? It matters greatly, as it illustrates ever so acutely both the deterioration of the most basic Biblical values throughout Western society, as well as the fact that the fringe left, in pursuit of its agenda, is totally oblivious to arguments of reason and even safety.

Read more.

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The Realignment of American Jewry

Rabbi Dovid Eliezrie writes:

If only traditional Judaism would lower its standards, become more open minded, there would be a Jewish renaissance. That is the assertion of Rabbi Yitz Greenberg, in a recent article in the Jewish Week. He points to what he calls “open Orthodoxy” as proof that a shift is underway. He believes that if this movement continues to grow it will create a new Jewish middle.

American Jewish life is already experiencing a fundamental realignment. There is a new Jewish middle and it’s not Greenberg’s brand of an orthodoxy that has lowered classical standards of Halachic observance, pushed time honored principles of belief to the edge, and some would argue beyond it. That new Jewish middle is Chabad, and, as they say, the proof is in the numbers.

Today in North America there are more Chabad Centers than either Reform or Conservative Temples. And while many liberal congregations are consolidating and merging, Chabad is booming and building. Evolving in cities and towns across the US, from living rooms, to storefronts, and eventually impressive centers, filled with Jews of all backgrounds. This shift is happening without compromising core values of Halacha and belief. If you walk into a Chabad Center in Bozeman or Boston, you will only find Chalav Yisroel on the table. The Mechiza will be the proper height, and there is no initiative to institute “Partnership Minyanim.”

The recent demographic survey, by the very non-orthodox Jewish Federation of Greater Miami, reveals remarkable statistics on Chabad involvement. These numbers are indicators of the restructuring of the American Jewish community already underway. In Miami 27% of local Jews are active in Chabad, among Jews 35 and younger the number skyrockets to 47%. What is most intriguing is that only 20% of those who attend Chabad self-identify as Orthodox. The Jewish middle is clearly shifting, and while tiny numbers may gravitate to Greenberg’s new brand of orthodoxy, the numbers are infinitesimal in relation to Chabad. By choosing Chabad the new generation is boarding a train headed towards observance instead of away. For some it may move at a slow pace, for others more rapid, but the direction is a new one for many Jews.

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The Cure For Islamophobia

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