Kesher Talk

Women of Color. "Women in Black is a loose network of women world-wide committed to peace with justice and actively opposed to war and other forms of violence. It is not an organisation, but a means of mobilization and a formula for action. . . . WIB vigils were started in Israel in 1988 by women protesting against Israel's Occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, demanding peace between Israel and the Palestinians."

"The Women For Israel's Tomorrow (Women In Green) is a growing grassroots movement of grandmothers, mothers and daughters, dedicated to the security and Jewish heritage of Israel. Described as "the most authentic and exciting popular resistance movement to have arisen [in Israel] in the last few years," by the Hebrew daily Maariv, the Women in Green, with their street theater, creative posters, and newspaper ads, have captured the imagination and heart of the Jewish People."

posted by Judith @ 10/26/2002 08:29:40 PM  

I love the Forward Dept. Lots of inter-denominational in-jokes in this cute piece about dueling rabbinical softball teams:

The Reform academics, dubbed The Running Commentary, trash-talked that their creative approach to the game would prevail against the Conservative U.J.'s obsession with the rules. The U.J. players, nicknamed Sixty Daf and Out (a reference to the 60 pages of Gemarah necessary for ordination), responded by voicing their fear that if their Reform colleagues found any of the softball rules ethically troubling, perhaps they would just toss out the rule book.

PM Sharon quotes a popular Hasidic song in a speech to the nation, and the Forward gives us its history:

Rabbi Nachman himself took the image of life's task as a fearless crossing of a narrow bridge from an older Jewish source — namely, the medieval Jewish philosopher Yedayahu Bedershi or Yedayahu of Beziers . . . . from a 13th- and 14th-century philosopher to an 18th- and 19th-century chasidic rabbi, and thence to a popular song and a speech by the prime minister in the Knesset, we can trace a straight line. Only in Israel!

I've sung "Kol ha'olam kulo" for years, and it tickles me to think Sharon is using it as a morale booster.

From the archives: A review of two new books on the topic of Conspiracy Theories as Comfort Food.

. . . . initially . . .it was the Masons and then the Catholics who were victims of the conspiratorial imagination. Anti-Mason and anti-Catholic political parties drew a large following both in the early and middle parts of the 19th century. The revival of the Ku Klux Klan in 1915 was as much directed against Catholics as it was blacks, and during Al Smith's run for the presidency in 1928 the Klan promoted the rumor that his election would result in the pope ruling the United States. It was only after World War I, against the background of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia and Henry Ford's dissemination of the "Protocols," which accused Jews of being bent on world domination through their leadership of Bolshevism and international finance, that Jews in the United States became the target of widespread conspiracy theories. They have remained so ever since.

Lucky us. I had a few choice words for devotees of Mr. Ford some years ago.

The yin and yang of Jewish-related music: "Old-school Jewish hip-hop":

. . . . clarinet virtuoso David Krakauer said . . . "Through some kind of magical alchemy I can't really describe, he found a way to make a kind of contemporary dance genre really evoke an old Brooklyn of the 1940s" . . . . Listening to Mr. Dolgin's "Hip-Hop Seder" is akin to re-experiencing a lifetime of seders — including some you wish you had never attended — while hallucinating in a roomful of record-freaks.

and the influence of Jewish ritual on George Frideric Handel:

Purim, the Jewish celebration of the ultimate mixed marriage, must have had powerful resonance for the Age of Enlightenment. And only in such a heady epoch could there have been such an extravagant concatenation of international juxtapositions: The Saxon composer Handel, on a carefree, youthful music "research" jaunt in Italy, stayed with Jews in Venice and was captivated by their community's colorful celebration of Purim, retelling a story of Jews in ancient Persia. After returning to his adopted country of England, Handel discovered a 1689 play about Esther with choruses by French playwright Jean Racine in an English version by Thomas Brereton, and asked his drinking companions John Arbuthnot and Alexander Pope to fashion a libretto. Handel's "Haman and Mordecai" premiered in 1718 to great acclaim. . . . Handel created many other oratorios, usually premiered during Lent, and he based almost all of them on Jewish subjects or texts.

posted by Judith @ 10/26/2002 07:10:46 PM  

Hate-crime victim sweepstakes. According to the FBI, a larger percentage of Jews are targeted for hate crimes than either Blacks or Muslims. According to the Justice Department, Muslims are slightly ahead of Blacks but still behind Jews. Of course, Jews, being better integrated into American middle-class society than the other two groups, may be more likely to report. And this item (via Joanne Jacobs) doesn't mention homosexuals, who I suspect trump the ethnic groups for this dubious honor.

posted by Judith @ 10/26/2002 12:27:23 AM  

Food, glorious food.Why I don't keep kosher. Also this. I know, I'm weak. There are Jews who only step inside a shul twice a year, but they won't touch pork. I go to shul several times a week, chant Torah, lead services, study texta, but - geez, I love food as an art form and a sensual experience. Keeping kosher will be the last frontier of observance for me.

posted by Judith @ 10/25/2002 02:36:47 PM  

Muslims for Adonai. This story of a devout Palestinian Muslim who reconnected with his Jewish heritage made me think of the Jews for Allah site, which has caused a bit of angst for some bloggers. But if you inspect their list of "Jews who have converted to Islam," you find:

A rant against Jews with quotes from the Quran.

Historical figures:
* a rabbi converted by Muhammed himself
* a prominent Jew in a Muslim caliphate in 930 CE (when conversion was the road to professional advancement)
* a supposed former rabbi - no Jewish name is given and the writing is somewhat antiquated, so no way to tell if it is another historical or legendary figure.
* Shabbatai Z'vi, a prominent Sephardic Jewish mystic of the 17th c. who proclaimed himself the messiah, gathered a huge movement from Jewish communities still traumatized by the expulsions from Spain and the Inquisition, and finally converted to Islam after being imprisioned by the Turks. They are really grasping at straws if they have to claim Shabbatai Z'vi.

Contemporary converts whose Judaism was weak or non-existant:
* eight of "Jewish heritage" but no or mixed religious upbringing (including our new friend Stephen Schwartz)
* two who rejected a weak Jewish upbringing at an early age and never hung out with Jews
* two whose former exposure to Judaism is not presented

Contemporary converts from a strong Jewish background:
* what appears to be a formerly Orthodox Jew who spends half his post on how much he misses Judaism.
* a former Orthodox Jew who thinks Judaism is blasphemous for exactly the reason I think it is wonderful: humans can argue with God and win. (more on this Talmud passage here)
* a former rabbi in Daghestan, who seems to have converted for mystical reasons and sounds like a bit of a lost soul.
* a former Reform Jew who seems to have embraced Islam because, unlike the Judaism she was exposed to, it satisfied her intensity and "quest for absolute values."
* the only literate independent thinker in the bunch - he paints a complex story about how he was attracted to Islam, but in the end he actually converts because he is marrying a Muslim woman. But I like this guy, he sounds like a mensch.

So out of 21 testimonials, 8 had none or mixed religious upbringing and only one or no Jewish parent. That's almost half who can't really be considered Jews. Another 3-4 date from another historical period, in which case why not just give the statistics on Jewish conversion to Islam through the ages, and their historical contexts?

The 5 who came from strong Jewish backgrounds are the most interesting. They weren't just casting about in the dark - they changed from one set of beliefs and habits to another, which is as wrenching as some of the political "conversions" people describe from left to right or vice versa. I respect any convert on this path who has to do some hard thinking and risk losing friends, family, and a familiar way of life for a calling that is stronger.

I assume there are more Jewish converts to Islam today than on this list, but I don't think that many. As I mentioned in the lgf discussion with Stephen Schwartz, I do know Jews who mix Sufism in with their mystical Judaism, and there is a historical basis for this. None of these Jews would consider actually converting to Islam, especially more austere varieties. Most of them also borrow from Buddhist mysticism for practices and insights as well, with varying degrees of understanding and respect for both traditions. (I think this is valid - certainly mystics of all stripes have borrowed from each other for centuries - but must be approached with a solid grounding in and commitment to one tradition, and a commitment to spending time learning about the other, or it just becomes a syncretic mishmash like most New Ageism today, which is what you get when you cross spiritual hunger with an extremely short attention span.)

posted by Judith @ 10/22/2002 08:41:00 PM  

Donate to Israeli terror victims. In the wake of the most recent terror attack, I want to remind everyone about the many worthwhile projects of The Israel Emergency Solidarity Fund, which raises money for the families of terror victims. I previously mentioned the Million Cookies campaign in which I participated (where else can you buy chocolate chip cookies that may have been baked by a blogger?). There are several other fundraising projects as well as pictures of and stories about each terror victim on the IESF site.

IESF fundraisers can serve as catalysts for a bit of educating, or at least letting people know where you stand, as well as contribute financially to victims' families. Imagine bringing a box of cookies, to a potluck or as a gift to a friend, which states on the box it is a fund-raising project of IESF, or wearing a memorial bracelet and telling the story of the victim when people ask you about your unusual jewelry.

posted by Judith @ 10/22/2002 06:44:37 PM