Rabbi's Blog - December 2010

Anti Semitism: Reality Check

29/12/2010

It’s open season on Jews again. In just two most recent breaking news items, high ranking officials in different parts of the world were reported to have issued disturbing Anti Semitic tirades. A lawmaker in Chile, Senator Eugenio Tuma, publically condemned Interior Minister Rodrigo Hinzpeter, who is Jewish, as an activist and militant for the Israeli cause. While over in Greece, the Metropolite of Piraeus Seraphim - a leading Greek Orthodox Priest went onto national television to blame Jews for Greece’s financial woes.

Cue all the various censures and condemnations. The American Jewish Committee was quick to issue a statement of outrage in response to Senator Tuma, and the Central Board of Jewish Communities in Greece did the same. Government officials in both places also countered with strong criticism. Yippeekayay, as they say! Till the next time. The point is that these people of prominence feel sufficiently at ease to express those sentiments in today’s society and for every voice of condemnation out there, there is probably at least three silent applauses. If it took however long before those racists were “comfortable enough” to air their tirade then it is only a matter of time before those applauses become all that much louder as well. does that then leave us?

Credit has to be granted to governments which have prioritised legislation against race-hate crimes. It certainly makes people think twice before they choose to express any sort of racial sentiment. But what does legislation do apart suppress something, rather than genuinely cure it? Racism is not some virus like polio that can be eradicated by social and legislative medicine. Dare I say it: You don’t have to go to statistics for this: Anyone who looks into their own hearts honestly enough knows it to be true. Prejudice is one of the principle constituents of the human personality. So the question is to the extent that society can genuinely control what can only be described as an irrational hatred? The tragic reality is that racism, xenophobia, Anti Semitism, are not dead by any stretch of the imagination. They are more like sleeping dogs, waiting to rear their ugly heads when the opportunity presents itself.

Still, there is at least one thing we can do about it. Take it serious enough. A recent posting on this blog flagged up a comment made by vocalist and former pop singer Melissa Burke (mother to X Factor winner Alexandra Burke), at a recent Jewish function she told the caterer that he should have been left behind in Germany. I think the band leader – Phil Moss – should fire her. To date I don’t know that he has. Meanwhile, one twitter follower of mine @RabbiYYS commented that it is a “yawner of a story.” In other words, suggesting that a Jew should have died in the Holocaust, anytime, let alone while working at a Jewish function, is no big deal. Really?

Then there’s Rabbi Shmuley Boteach in the USA who is organising a lecture with Rick Sanchez in order to “clarify his misconstrued remarks.” Sanchez was fired CNN for making Anti Semitic comments about Jews controlling the media and now he’s got a Rabbi championing his cause. Is Boteach arrogant enough to think that CNN didn’t research the remarks before daring to fire him? Maybe the two of them should lawyer up and sue CNN for unfair dismissal. Or better still, maybe Boteach, my twitter follower and all other apologists out there should start taking the increasing threat of Anti Semitism a little more seriously, however flippant or “yawning” they perceive them to be.

Will it stamp out Anti Semitism? Hardly! But much like a ‘Whack the Mole’ game, we’ve got to keep beating it down if we want to win. Otherwise, we lose.

Anti Semitism Watch

25/12/2010

I’m not turning this blog into some witch hunt, nor am I getting obsessed with Anti Semitism as other forms of media might do. But what with the rise of it throughout much of Europe – and with some purporting commitment to stamping it out, I want to do my bit to raise awareness and flag up the occasional incidents as I become alerted to them. Last week I wrote about some flippant remark some mindless thug. This week’s episode is considerably more disconcerting.

At a wedding last weekend some in Northwest London, a waiter a reputable catering firm accidently knocked the head of one of the band’s vocalists with a plate as she sat eating her meal. I don’t know whether an apology was uttered, or whether the waiter was even aware that he had knocked the woman but ten or so minutes later she apparently approached the proprietor and asked for his name and company details as, she suggested she might have concussion. The proprietor, a Chassidic looking man, insisted she was fine and she shouldn’t be ridiculous. Words were exchanged. She made a comment about his food and he retorted that it was better than her singing. And then, to the gasps of those assembled, she came out with: “They should have left you in Germany!”

I’ve always maintained that Anti Semitism is merely a sleeping dog, always waiting to rear its ugly head. For some it might lay buried deep, for others, as in this instance, one need only scratch the surface to expose the malice beneath.

The question is whether Phil Moss, the band’s owner is going to invite Melissa Bell (aka Burke, otherwise known as mother to X Factor winner Alexandra Burke) to sing with the band again. We’ll be keeping an eye out.

The Shabbat Seinfeld Show

24/12/2010

Big news! Jerry Seinfeld is coming to town! As a Rabbi who likes to use a fair dose of humour in his sermons, Im very particular about my choice of comedians. As much as the family I left behind in North America insist that my sense of humour has become Anglicised my favourite comedians are still all American. When The London Times profiled me many years ago they noted my favourite comedian being Robin Williams. That was before I knew of Mr. Seinfeld. Since then I’ve become one his biggest fans.

His first visit in twelve years is not without its hiccups however. Tickets are being sold at £100 a head for a seat in the O2 arena and Jerry is said to be rather perturbed. Hes apologised for the exorbitant cost and insists he will be taking it up with the promoters.

Personally, Id pay the money. Hes worth it and at a laugh a minute Id be getting more than my moneys worth.

My problem is the date - June 3rd, which happens to be a Friday night. What a shame that a nice yiddishe boy is denying another yiddishe boy a good time. I mean we could hold synagogue services on a Saturday afternoon and so deprive football season ticket holders, but we dont. Knowing that most would certainly choose religion over football we look to accommodate such that there is enough time to come along and recite a prayer or two (and maybe even put in a word for ones team) before heading out into the weekend. This should not be misconstrued as a sanction of attending the football on the Shabbat. Im just pointing out how coincidentally convenient our religion can sometimes be.

This then is an appeal to Mr. Seinfeld and his most likely Jewish promoters. Spare a thought for your biggest fans who put religion before comedy and will otherwise be sitting with their heads in chicken soup wondering, What great line is he coming up with now? or nibbling their way through gefilte fish imagining hundreds of other fans laughing their socks off. Better still think of all the other Jews you’ll be luring away their Friday night table.

Im free on the immediate Thursday night prior Jerry and would welcome the opportunity of showing my wife why you’re so much funnier than the likes of Alan Partridge or Ronnie Corbett – even at £100 a head. Accommodate me, and you’ll be more than welcome to attend my Synagogue on the Saturday morning. It’s a win-win situation.

How to Deal With Anti Semitism
(Or Not As The Case May Be)

20/12/2010

My poor kids! Just as they’re enjoying a tranquil walk home synagogue on Friday night on the snow deserted streets of Mill Hill, some mindless thug has to hurl some pathetic racial abuse his car window. I always notice my kids tense up, even if only momentarily and I ask myself, “Why do they have to put up with this?” I remember when on Sabbatical in Israel seven years ago, the lightness with which they walked the streets like free spirits blissfully coasting about. I often pine after those moments and wonder whether then wouldn’t have been a good time to make aliyah. There was the one time early on in the Sabbatical when we were walking our rented apartment in Katamon to the nearby basketball courts when a group of six teenagers were coming the other side. My defence mechanism kicked in as I’m anticipating some confrontation and thinking how I will protect my teenage sons. Before I knew it they walked right on past, and I had to remember, this is Israel not the UK. They are my brothers, not the enemy.

We were about half way home Synagogue last Friday night, when one of the cars creeping by on the slippery roads, slowed down even more as the driver rolled down his window and yelled: “Oi! Oi!” We instinctively looked up. “There’s Hitler over there!” I know that most people would immediately look away, keep their heads down and walk on. That’s probably the sensible thing to do and surely what the CST (Community Security Trust) would strongly recommend. I’m sorry I can’t help myself. My kids already knew what to expect as I stopped and shouted back: “Oi! Watch your mouth!” What do you want a guy who when studying in New York back in the eighties would take the C train Ocean Parkway to Kingston Avenue at 11:00 at night, even as my friends shared a taxi. (For those who don’t know, this is the equivalent of walking around Moss Side on a Saturday night with a yarmulke and a T shirt that reads “Bring It On.” Well maybe not quite, but close to it). Some will argue I’ve got more guts than brains and that may be so. I just can’t stomach the mindless thugs and loath the idea of assuming what novelist Israel Zangwill described in his Children of the Ghetto as the “ghetto shtoop.”

There is legislation against race hate crimes but I wonder the extent to which these are properly enforced. I’m sure action would be taken were it to become physical, but how far do we go to combat verbal abuse? I caught the first four digits of the registration - SF02 - and I’m certain that going through CCTV covering Mill Hill Broadway between 4:15PM and 4:45PM would certainly pick out the car. But will anyone really bother to do that? And if not, is there really any point in my reporting it, apart the purpose of building a profile and determining statistics?

I’m sure what I endured is just a blip on any radar and my kids will have long forgotten about it. For them it’s just another typical Anglo-Jewish experience, sad as that may be. But maybe if police would vigorously pursue and prosecute even ‘minor’ racial slurs, more of us would be inclined to report them. And maybe the mindless cowards would think twice - assuming they’re capable of thinking – before mouthing off again. Until then, for better or worse, I’ll continue mouthing back.

A Little Respect, Please!

16/12/2010

It was one of those rare weeks I was inundated with bereavements; four to be precise. My heart goes out to all the mourners. But if there is one thing I find all the funerals shared in common it is the yentes and the yachnes who find funerals the ideal catch up time with friends and family.

At one funeral I couldn’t help but overhear football results being discussed. At another it was just a benign conversation about the weather. Yet a third involved someone picking up on my North American accent and asking me I was then proceeding to tell me all about his trip to New York last summer.

Come on people – it’s a funeral for heaven’s sake. Someone just passed this world. The family are mourning the loss of a loved one. You are there to pay your last respects – ‘respect’ being the operative word here.

Overall the United Synagogue Burial Society has come a long way to ensuring a funeral is carried out sensitively and is meaningful for everyone. Granted, health and safety necessitates that the coffin has to be carted by trolley rather than carried by hand. But there is an ear loop system in place, busses to accommodate those who find difficulty in walking and even a routine announcement (always ignored by someone) about turning off all mobile phones. In recent years earth is made available for female mourners so that they too can participate in the burial of a loved one and the superintendents have all polished up their acts.

Kovod HaMet – respect for the deceased is an extremely important principle. Jewish law is replete with details on how we are to conduct ourselves in the presence of the dearly departed. Hence there is specialised training for the Chevra Kaddisha (sacred brother/sisterhood) who are entrusted with the task of looking after the body prior to burial. Until such point as the body is laid to rest it is incumbent upon all of us to appreciate the somberness and conduct ourselves with utmost dignity.

May you never have the need to, but should you be in attendance at a funeral anytime in the future, remember that regardless of Arsenal is in the premier league, no matter how strong the sun is shining, or how many stairs you had to climb during your recent visit to the Empire State Building, you are there to say goodbye to someone and the moment should be only about them. We talk of them resting in peace. Their final journey to that resting place should be just as peaceful.

“On simchos,” as they say.

Patience Is More Than Just A Virtue

13/12/2010

One of the most popular catchphrases in Israel is savlanut which means “patience.” Anyone who’s ever experienced sitting in a traffic jam in the centre of Jerusalem, or walked through a shuk (market) on a Friday afternoon will understand why this one word tends to drip off everyone’s tongue.

The Bible is replete with references extolling the virtue of patience. The patient man shows much good sense...” (Proverbs 14:29); A patient man allays discord. (Proverbs 15:18); and A patient man is better than a warrior. (Proverbs 16:32). The emotion is also discussed in other sections, such as Ecclesiastes: Better is the patient spirit than the lofty spirit. (Ecclesiastes 7:8-9).

But my all time favourite is that little rhyme: Patience is a virtue, Possess it if you can; Seldom found in woman, Never found in man.”

That was proven otherwise in the Philippines the other day a man has won the countrys largest ever lottery jackpot after letting a woman push in front of him in the queue to get her ticket first.

The 60-year-old man and the woman he let cut the line both chose their numbers by lucky dip.

In an interview with Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office Chairman, Margarita Juico, she said the gentleman was about to place his bet at a lottery outlet in Southern Philippines when a woman suddenly cut in front of him and placed her bet first.

“He said you know when I won, I thought of her and I thought that maybe if she had been patient enough to wait, then she could probably have won this prize instead of me, the official said.

Ever stop to think what would happen if you slowed down the bustle of your day, just long enough to pause and smell the roses, to call your spouse, to hug your child, to talk to a friend?

Patience is a virtue. The lack of it can cost you plenty.

The Philippine man took home a prize of 17 million dollars.

Ouch!

A Tale Of Two Cities (and standards)

12/12/2010

Last month Mick Davis, chairman of UJIA made some very critical remarks about Israel. He questioned the Israeli government: “I don’t understand the lack of strategy in Israel.” He challenged Israel’s moral standing: “Additional building on settlements, or the bulldozing of houses of people in circumstances which just doesn’t seem to be morally conscionable…” He even attacked PM Netanyahu: “but it’s a leadership which has never, ever spoken up publicly” Just for good measure, or, some might say, to add insult to injury he decided to drag a whole bunch of other people down with him by suggesting they are mostly inclined to agree with him: “If you try to characterise the leadership of the Jewish community…you would probably find most of them are left of centre...”

This kicked off a raging debate in the community with some Anglo-Jewish leaders siding with him and others taking umbrage at his remarks. It all came to a head however, when everyone was stunned into silence by Mr Ron Prosor, the ever popular Israeli Ambassador who accused Mr Davis of “using our opponents’ language” and urging him to stop. As opinionated as some may be, no one wants to be seen facing off with an Israeli Ambassador, not in the UK anyway, we have enough ‘opposition’ doing that already.

Meanwhile over in Israel, a group of Rabbis including several Chief Rabbis were creating their own kerfuffle. They issued a statement declaring that Jews are forbidden to sell or rent homes in the Holy Land to non-Jews. Their declaration has been picked up by the non-Jewish press and gone round the world several times, as proof that Israelis are obdurate and that Orthodox Jews are bigoted.

One leading ultra-Orthodox Rabbi, Aharon Leib Shteinman, condemned the statement and pointed out that had such a letter been written in Berlin about Jews, the whole of the Jewish world would have been in uproar.

So what do these two tales have in common? Well for one thing they both demonstrate how deep emotions run both in and outside of Israel. Questions can be asked such as, “are these Orthodox Rabbis really so protective of Israeli territory or do they simply resent any Arab occupancy? Or “does Mick Davis really care how Israeli policy will impact on its own citizens, or he is more concerned about how it might affect him in the Diaspora?”

These are questions that we can only speculate on. But the bigger question is this: Is there really any difference between a group of Rabbis who believe in the halachic validity of their argument on the one hand and the chair of UJIA who believes in the moral conviction of his own argument on the other? You can’t tell one to shut up and not the other when they both impact negatively on Jews every, even if in different ways. That’s double standards!

The band of merry men who came rushing to Davis’s defence will most likely have been just as quick to condemn the Orthodox Rabbis in Israel. Even as one ultimately reeks of sheer racism while the other can be justified on some moral high ground, the end result is the same. If, as most rational thinking people would argue, these Rabbis are best off keeping schtum, then frankly so must Mick Davis. What is it they say about having your cake and eating it?

theres smoke...

8/12/2010

This is one of those situations that raises real moral dilemmas. The top of this picture is actually a mural painted onto the ceiling of a smokers lounge. Its connotation is obvious: Smoke here if you must but bear in mind the consequences.

Im amazed how many youngsters still take up smoking these days. Ive received a fair share of letters teenagers to my Ask the Rabbi column in the JN querying the rights and wrongs of smoking. I was surprised recently to see a sign at Heathrow allowing smokers to light up in a particular area. With the law forcing smokers out of most public domains why would any facility look to accommodate them even in some cordoned off section? Shouldnt we all be in this together for the sake of our future?

I passed the picture around my dinner table. Personally I think its a brilliant stunt and drives home an uncomfortable truth. My twenty-one year old thinks its in really bad taste. If youre going to let them smoke lay off their conscience. My wife is in two minds. What do you think?

When Rabbis Think Theyre Prophets!

8/12/2010

Many years ago – in a previous lifetime – while I was still at Richmond Synagogue, I used to moonlight as a teacher at JFS as well. I would teach advanced Jewish studies to the GCSE class. I got to set my own curriculum and it was a particularly memorable experience. I still meet old pupils who vividly recall the many exciting discussions and debates.

One particular debate that stands out is “Why do bad things happen to good people?” When I presented the case that it was wrong to say that suffering happens because of sin, they were especially perturbed because their main Jewish studies teacher had told them otherwise. “The Holocaust occurred because of the decline of Jewish observance and the emergence of the reform movement etc.” is pretty much what he told them.

To resolve these conflicting messages they brought this other teacher into my class one afternoon and staged a live debate. We sparred with sources – he kept bringing some contemporary writer, scholar or thinker while I cited ancient sources like Mishna, Talmud and so forth. By unanimous consensus I won that debate hands down but I didn’t walk away feeling good about myself. I was actually very disturbed. It was my first year at the school. The other teacher had been there for more than a decade. Had he inculcated so many students with that same unfortunate misinformation? That our suffering is because of our sins? That we brought the Holocaust upon ourselves?

I stopped thinking about it after I left the school, but every now and then I get a stark reminder. Especially when Sephardic leader, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef pontificates after terrible calamities occur in Israel. There was the time a wedding hall collapsed killing several, and he insisted it was because they were conducting themselves immodestly with members of the opposite sex by dancing with one another. He may be right on the halachic point of mixed dancing. But to declare that is why tragedy befell them is sheer arrogance.

Then there’s the more recent tragic fire on Mount Carmel. I wondered whether the good Rabbi would tell us which sin we are supposed to have committed this time. Sure enough he didn’t disappoint. On the Saturday night we were duly informed that those living in the area were not keeping Shabbat properly. First, how does he know that - CCTV or Mossad informants? But more to the point, how does he know that the two – Shabbat observance and the loss of lives in the fire are linked - prophetic ability or second guessing?

Sephardim have their own set of rules because they follow a slightly different halachic code. While Ashkenazim tend to follow the rulings of Rabbi Moshe Isserles as brought in Code of Jewish Law, Sephardic Jews follow the views of Rabbi Yosef Caro, author of the Code of Jewish Law. Hence Sephardim can enjoy numerous delicacies on Passover which Ashkenazim are otherwise deprived of.

So it occurs to me that perhaps R. Ovadia Yosef, in venting his diatribe, relies upon some Sephardic halachic sources. Here’s the problem: Maimondies, one of the greatest Sephardic thinkers and codifiers of all time, writes categorically that one is not allowed to say that someone else’s suffering is because of sin and in doing so violates a Biblical command! Does R.O.Y profess to have a higher moral code or some deeper spiritual insight than that of his sacred ancestor?

I certainly don’t want to make this into a Sephardic/Ashkenazi issue. It’s not. There are enough Ashkenazi rabbis who were quick to suggest certain events were because of particular sins. Ponovitz leader Rabbi Menachem M. Shach declared during the first gulf war that “the scuds falling on Israel were a wake-up call just as the Holocaust was a punishment.”

I don’t care how great these men are purported to be. I say to you - it’s wrong, it’s arrogance, it’s blasphemy. Unless I am a prophet and G-d told me why this happened, to suggest anything of my own accord is fundamentally flawed. How can one explain the death of precious souls or innocent children is a result of our commissions or omissions? If we are oblivious of the causes of incidents in our own day-to-day lives, how much less can we know about cosmic events, especially those affecting so many righteous people and the world at large? It is only a prophet speaking on behalf of G-d who can declare the reason for suffering.

These are Jewish ‘leaders’ with thousands of followers who hang on to their every word. They need to either demonstrate their qualifications as a prophet or embrace the Talmudic dictum “Teach yourself to say ‘I do not know.’”

Or to put it differently: “Either put up, or shut up!”

Wikileaks at the US
2/12/2010

If you think Cameron and Obama are in trouble, wait till WikiLeaks publishes its secret reports on the United Synagogue:

Allegedly, confidential cables will cover the following categories:

1) Which US Synagogues have the most members talking during services.

2) What members really think of their Rabbis.

3) Names of members that fall asleep during sermons.

4) Who comes just for the kiddush.

5) Who consumes most fishballs at the kiddush.

6) Names of Board members that always gets stroppy at meetings.

Leaks will also expose shenanigans at US Centre. These include:

1) The abouts of US President, Simon Hachausser.

2) Who is on the shortlist for next Chief Rabbi.

3) Details of the clandestine Stanmore Accord meetings.

4) How many Chabad Rabbis there are in the US and secret efforts to block any more coming in.

5) Confirmation of a bunker beneath the offices of the London Beth Din WMD [Wannabe converts (they have to stay some when there’s no Golders Green family to house them) Malts (single and blends) & Dayanim (you need back-up when the incumbents are all tending to their non-US shtiebels)] are said to be stored.

Panic is said to be setting in.

When Bloggers Are Cowards
1/12/2010

There’s a wonderful guy who maintains this website. In real time, no matter how busy, he ensures to keep this site regularly d. I’ll be the one he has to contend with most regularly, whether uploading sermons, events, media tidbits and particularly the Rabbi’s blog.

He’s also a particularly nice guy, which would explain why he’s chosen not to post a blog entry on a different website that refers to mine. I’m going to draw attention to it anyway. For a number of years now, the JC website has a blogger who goes by the name NWJew. He’s usually at pains to sound funny and punchy and many of his blogs contain some nastiness. I’m not sure what it says about people, but let’s face it - that is what attracts audiences. Isn’t that what makes Simon Cowell so attractive to viewers?

My most recent piece on this blog is about the Limmud conference in December and the possibility of my attendance. I made reference to the issue and controversy of Orthodox attendance which NWJew insists is a storm in a kiddush cup (cue laughter here). Whether he’s very young or has simply crawled under a rock, it was and remains one of the biggest issues of contention in the United Synagogue Rabbinate. At the time that I refer to, it was a very hot potato (you can check the JC archives on this), which went off the boil for a number of years. I am fairly certain that my attendance will turn the heat up all over again.

I also wrote about the importance of more Orthodox attendance at Limmud which would enable our own congregants – who make up more than eighty percent of attendees - to have a wider array of Orthodox options. To distort that, as NWJew does, and suggest that I am merely looking to make Limmud Orthodox, is just plain stupid. Perhaps he ought to refer to a previous piece of his own he writes: “Limmud is, let’s face it, about as non-Jewish an experience as any Jew could possibly contemplate.” What a way to describe one of Anglo-Jewry’s premier educational events. Shame on you NWJew!

Even as most bloggers use pen names much more often than not their real identity is known to the public. They’re not afraid to stand by what they write. Every now and then you get the occasional coward who, by virtue of their own spite, needs to maintain anonymity. In one of his entries NWJew proudly declares that “the only people who know my true identity are one or two people at the JC and my wife. Not my parents, not my children…” In other words, “I’m a coward and proud of it.” By his own attestation, one of the reasons he doesn’t like to go to Limmud is because “I’m just a bit fed up with having to be so nice to people the whole time.” In other words, to him it comes naturally. I wouldn’t want my parents to know either.

I come under a fair bit of criticism at times. But that’s because I’m prepared to put my name to my statements. Perhaps we should consider exposing NWJew (I have enough contacts at the JC) and make him stand up like a man. Or maybe we should just let him continue hiding under the aforementioned rock. Then again maybe I am NWJew playing both ends. You’ll never know.