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eCLAL: An Online Journal of Religion, Public Life & Culture Published by CLAL - The National Jewish Center for Learning & Leadership
A Weekly Bulletin from the Editors of eCLAL Magazine
Friday, March 12, 2004 (19 Adar 5764)

(Special Announcement: “Embracing Life and Facing Death: Medicine and Spirituality in Partnership” A free conference for medical students and rabbinical students in health care-related disciplines. Sunday, March 28th, 2004. 2:00 pm - 6:00 pm @UJA-Federation of New York. Click here for more information and to register.)

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Torah Today                       News from CLAL                              CLAL in the News
 

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his week, we bring you a medley of stories that run the gamut from matters of the spirit and culture to politics and society.  In the Spirit and Society section you will find David Brook's reflections on whether our culture is more imperiled by Mel Gibson's religiosity or Mitch Albom's. You will also find theologian Miroslav Volf's reflections on the ethics of memory and an article by Jonathan Sarna occasioned by the 350th anniversary of the coming of the Jews to America.

In the Politics section, you will find an analysis of the political risks that Sharon is taking by advancing his Gaza pullout plan; an interesting poll on Israeli sentiments regarding the fence; and a book review that focuses on the democratic challenge of protecting minority rights against the will of the majority. 

In the Community and Society section, you will find two stories focusing on the changing status of religious practice in China and a story on the recent decision by the Church of England to establish formally a "virtual parish" in cyberspace.

Finally, in the Culture section, you will find a story about how "Jewish public architecture" has changed over the last twenty years, as architects have endeavored to meld postmodern ideas and classical Jewish spatial concepts.

As this Shabbat is Shabbat Parah, we also bring you commentaries this week on Parsha Ki Tisa and on Haftorah Parah.

Thanks for reading!


 


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 Featured Articles


CLAL Torah This Week: Ki Tisa
 
Exodus 30:11 - 34:35

The mountain quaked while, from the midst of the fire and lightning on its peak, the people hear God speak: "You shall not make for yourself a sculptured image, or any likeness of what is in the heavens above, or on the earth below, or in the waters . . . You shall not bow to them . . ." (Exodus 20:4 - 5). Now, waiting for Moses to return, they grow restless and press Aaron to make them a golden calf around which to sing praises to the God who redeemed them from Egypt. Moses descends from the mountain, with the tablets of God's own writing in his hand, to find his people utterly lost to idolatrous revelry. "Moses came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing. . . and he hurled the tablets from his hands and shattered them at the foot of the mountain" (32:9). What was Moses' intent in shattering the tablets? Was it mere anger? What right did he have to do it? Two dramatic pictures are painted by Rabbi Samuel ben Meir, a medieval Jewish scholar of Provence, and by the Midrash Rabbah of the 8th century.

The Rashbam says Moses in his elation carried the heavy stone tablets as if they were feathers. Then he saw the people, his heart sank, his strength ebbed away, the tablets became heavy and cold. He barely had the strength to push them away lest they fall on his feet.

According to the Midrash Rabbah, Moses broke the tablets in empathetic identity with his people. When he saw that there was no hope for Israel, he threw his lot in with theirs and broke the tablets, and said to the Holy One: They have sinned, but so have I by breaking your tablets. If you forgive them, forgive me, too . . . if not "blot me out of the book which you have written.".

 New Articles from eCLAL

CLAL SPOTLIGHT
CLAL At The Washington National Cathedral
"In February, Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, CLAL Vice President, participated in a five-part series on faith, doubt, and evil at the prestigious Washington National Cathedral. Drawing on the award-winning documentary, “Faith and Doubt Beyond Ground Zero,” which aired on “Frontline” (PBS) on the anniversary of the tragedy, the series brought together several of the film’s participants for five evenings of lecture and discussion. Rabbi Hirschfield led the fourth session, where he talked about religion and violence...."

March 12, 2004

Jewish Diversity Through Word And Art

February 20, 2004

TORAH & HAFTORAH THIS WEEK
CLAL Torah This Week: Ki Tisa
""Moses descends from the mountain, with the tablets of God's own writing in his hand, to find his people utterly lost to idolatrous revelry. "Moses came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing. . . and he hurled the tablets from his hands and shattered them at the foot of the mountain" (32:9). What was Moses' intent in shattering the tablets? Was it mere anger? What right did he have to do it? ..."

March 12, 2004

Haftorah This Week: Parah
"This week, in addition to the regular Parsha, we read the section known as Parah. The additional sections of Shekalim, Zachor, Parah, and Chodesh are read prior to Pesach for both commemorative and practical reasons. Shekalim, the first additional section, dealt with the 1/2 Shekel and the public sacrifices. The reading of the second section, Zachor, facilitated our fulfillment of the Mitzvah to remember the evil of Amalek. The two sections of Parah and Chodesh are directed toward our preparations for Pesach.
..."
March 12, 2004

SPIRIT & STORY
Hooked on Heaven Lite
"Who worries you most, Mel Gibson or Mitch Albom? Do you fear Gibson, the religious zealot, the man accused of narrow sectarianism and anti-Semitism, or Albom, the guy who writes sweet best sellers like "Tuesdays With Morrie" and "The Five People You Meet in Heaven?" I worry about Albom more, because while religious dogmatism is always a danger, it is less of a problem for us today than the soft-core spirituality that is its opposite.... We've got more to fear from the easygoing narcissism that is so much part of the atmosphere nobody even thinks to protest or get angry about it...."
March 12, 2004

Kissing the Lizard: On Memory and Forgiveness
"Margalit, professor of philosophy at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, set out to investigate the obligation to remember. Do we have a duty to remember people's names, their stories, or major events in their lives? If we do, what kind of duty is that? In recent decades, many books have been written on memory. Most of them simply assume that such a duty exists. Margalit's is one of the very few explicit treatments of this thorny question...."
March 12, 2004

American Jewry At 350: Struggles Of Colonies’ First Jews
Presaged Later U.S. Jewish History

"About 350 years ago, in 1654, a small vessel named the Ste. Catherine... sailed into the port of New Amsterdam…. Most of the ship’s passengers... were bedraggled Jewish refugees from Recife, Brazil, who had been expelled when the Portuguese recaptured the South American colony from the Dutch…. Over Stuyvesant’s objections, they won the right to set down roots in New Amsterdam, specifically the right to “travel, trade, live and remain,” provided that “the poor among them shall not become a burden to the company or to the community, but be supported by their own nation."..."
March 12, 2004

Between 'Passion' and Purim - An Interview with Brad Hirschfield

March5, 2004

The Crucifixion -- of Haman

March5, 2004

Jews and Christians After the Passion

March5, 2004

For One Catholic, 'Passion' Skews the Meaning of the Crucifixion

March5, 2004

Of Things Unseen

March5, 2004

Post-Orthodox Journey

March5, 2004

POLITICS & POLICY
Sharon's Do-Or-Die Gaza Plan - Or Is It Do AND Die?
"At issue is the initiative to which the prime minister has staked the future of his premiership: his plan to put an end to Israel's presence in the Gaza Strip. With less than a week remaining before Sharon's hesitant Likud cabinet ministers are to debate the issue, and less than a month before the prime minister pays what may be a fateful White House visit in order to lobby for the backing of George Bush, Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon has made a series of statements suggesting that a unilateral Gaza pullout will only make terrorism worse...."
March 12, 2004

Peace Index / Most Israelis Support The Fence, Despite Palestinian Suffering
"The construction of the separation fence is overwhelmingly supported by the Israeli-Jewish public, despite the internal debate and the international pressure against it. The support for the fence is based on the widespread assessment that it can significantly reduce terror attacks, though only a small minority believe it can prevent them completely...."
March 12, 2004

Oppressed of the earth
"This book by Prof. Gad Barzilai, a legal specialist and political science researcher at Tel Aviv University, deals with the clash between the law as legislated and enforced by the dominant majority in a community and the cultures, ideologies, beliefs and normative systems of sub-communities within it...."
March 12, 2004

Phalcon Sale to India Shows Growth of Israel’s International Arms Deals

March5, 2004

With a Little Help from his Friends

March5, 2004

A Question of Faith: Top Democrats have Much Work Ahead to Convince Voters of their Religious Sincerity

March5, 2004

Our Secularist Democratic Party

March5, 2004

CLAL ON CULTURE
The Jewish Shul of Architecture
"Dozens of architects, historians and theoreticians of architecture from around the world will gather at the beginning of next week at Pennsylvania State University for a first discussion of its kind on "Architecture, Urbanism and the Jewish Subject."..."
March 12, 2004

Wrestling For Inclusion - a Review of Wrestling with God and Men: Homosexuality and the Jewish Tradition, a New Book by CLAL Rabbi Steven Greenberg
February 27, 2004

Pearls of Wisdom

January 30, 2004

Living in a Material World: An Interview with Zohar translator, Daniel Matt

January 23, 2004

COMMUNITY & SOCIETY
Church of England Creates Virtual Parish
"The Church of England on Friday announced the creation of its first "virtual parish" and invited applicants for the position of "Web pastor." The purpose of the Internet church, or "i-church," according to the Web site, "is to provide a Christian community for those who wish to explore Christian discipleship but who are not able, or do not wish, to join a local congregation."..."

March 12, 2004

A Struggle for Spiritual Freedom: Buddhist Center Perseveres After China's Crackdown
"Founded 24 years ago, Larung Gar grew into the country's largest monastic community, with as many as 10,000 residents, before the ruling Communist Party began trying to control it and to expel settlers in the late 1990s. Its struggle to survive the crackdown and maintain its independence from the party illustrates how the faithful are pushing the bounds of freedom of religion and association in China -- and what happens when the state pushes back...."
March 12, 2004

China Opens Door To Christianity - Of A Patriotic Sort
"Yet despite the challenges of practicing Christianity in China, there are signs that the once near pariah faith is being given more latitude. Most striking is what appears to be a public admittance by Beijing that Christianity is not only on the rise but is growing rapidly - and that the church is benefiting a spiritually hungry population that is growing more "individualistic." The change is part of a new official formula that is fitfully taking shape here: a basic and perhaps grudging acceptance of faith, including low-level experiments with religious exchange abroad - so long as Chinese believers profess loyalty and patriotism to the state...."
March 12, 2004

 Recently Appearing in eCLAL

SPECIAL FEATURES
Israel at 55 -- Essays on the Challenges Facing the Jewish State
By Zalman Shoval, Amnon Rubinstein, A.B. Yehoshua, Alice Shalvi, Shlomo Riskin 
(from JTA -  The Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
May 2003

Old Demons, New Debates

June 2003

SPIRIT & STORY
Living the Religious Life of a None

December 12, 2003

For Some Cadets at West Point, Jewish Life is Shelter in a Storm

December 12, 2003

COMMUNITY & SOCIETY
The Text of the Decision by the Mass. Supreme Court Striking Down Ban on Gay Marriage

A Religious, Civil Hornet's Nest

December 12, 2003

Homosexuality Is A Religious Sin, Not An Ethical One

December 12, 2003

Reform Jewish Movement Applauds Mass Ruling On Same Sex Marriage

December 12, 2003

To Fix Gay Dilemma, Government Should Quit the Marriage Business

December 12, 2003

Gay Marriage: A Sampling of Editorial Opinion

December 12, 2003

The 'New Anti-Semitism' -- Extended Coverage & Link to EU Report

December 12, 2003

CLAL ON CULTURE
Food and Cultural Change

Our Technologies, Our Selves

The Joy of Style: An Interview with Virginia Postrel

October 24, 2003

Border crossings

November 14, 2003

POLITICS & POLICY
Shooting Iraq

For an Open, Democratic Debate Concerning Israel’s Policies

 

AT FIRST GLANCE (REVIEWS)
Killers in White Gowns: A Review of Stalin's Last Crime: The Plot Against the Jewish Doctors, 1948-1953

October 31, 2003

FACE TO FACE (INTERVIEWS)
Minority Report: A Review of Citizens Without Citizenship: Israel and the Palestinian Minority 2000-2002

October 3, 2003

 Issues & Ideas from eCLAL's Best of the Web
  • The Roadmap to Peace
    A Performance-Based Roadmap to a Permanent Two-State Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (released Apr. 30).
     
  • The Aqaba Speeches
    Speeches by King Abdullah, Mahmoud Abbas, Ariel Sharon, George Bush (June 5, 2003)
  • The Or Commission Report
    The summation of the Or Commission report on the unprecedented disturbances that occurred in the Arab sector in October, 2000


 

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 Torah Today
CLAL Torah This Week New!
Steve Greenberg on Ki Tisa
Archive

CLAL Haftorah This Week New!
on Parah
Archive

CLAL Holy Days
 Steve Greenberg on Purim
Archive

(Links to Recently Featured Articles)
Y. Greenberg on Rosh Hashanah
Irwin Kula on Yom Kippur
CLAL Faculty on Building a Sukkah

This Ritual Life
CLAL Faculty on Preparing Mishloach Manot for Purim
Archive

(Links to Recently Featured Articles)
CLAL Faculty on Rosh Chodesh
Dancing with the Torah (on Simchat Torah)
Taking Down the Sukkah

 

  News from CLAL      Archive

CLAL At The Washington National Cathedral New!
"In February, Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, CLAL Vice President, participated in a five-part series on faith, doubt, and evil at the prestigious Washington National Cathedral. Drawing on the award-winning documentary, “Faith and Doubt Beyond Ground Zero,” which aired on “Frontline” (PBS) on the anniversary of the tragedy, the series brought together several of the film’s participants for five evenings of lecture and discussion. Rabbi Hirschfield led the fourth session, where he talked about religion and violence...."
| more |

Jewish Diversity Through Word And Art
"Perhaps no one photographer has captured the diversity of Jewish identity around the globe as Frederic Brenner....In his new two-volume set, “Diaspora: Homelands in Exile” (Harper Collins, 2003), Brenner explores what it means to be Jewish in a changing world.... Volume 2 offers a series of commentaries by leading contemporary intellectuals who examine the various issues and interpretations at the heart of Brenner’s photographs. Joining Rabbi Tsvi Blanchard, Ph. D., CLAL’s Director of Organizational Development, who wrote the introduction for the volume, are such notable thinkers as Andre Aciman, Daniel Boyarin, Jacques Derrida, Carlos Fuentes, George Steiner, and Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg...."
| more |

Palliative Care: A Seminar on Life and Death Issues for Jewish Professionals
In September, Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, CLAL Vice President, and Rabbi Tsvi Blanchard, CLAL’s Director of Organizational Development, presented a daylong seminar based on the principles of CLAL’s new book on palliative care for the Jewish Funeral Directors of America. The goal was to help these Jewish professionals think about their work in more meaningful and effective ways as they deal with clients and families.... 
| more |

Exploring Truth, Faith and Doubt in Religion: Two Aspen Forums

Reisman Award for Article of the Year Presented to CLAL Rabbi Tsvi Blanchard  

Religious Thinkers & Leaders Gather to Map Interfaith Education

Inter-Religious Dialogue -- Why We Need It

CLAL Report: Fall 2003
"In the last months, CLAL has brought a diversity of ideas, materials, and resources to the larger public square. Through such vehicles as “Simple Wisdom with Irwin Kula,” the new 13-week, half-hour public television series; Embracing Life and Facing Death: A Jewish Guide to Palliative Care (CLAL, 2003); and CLAL’s website, www.clal.org, CLAL has reached tens of thousands of individuals and families with Jewish insights to enhance their lives..."
| more | 

 

  CLAL in the News
Inequity: Is it a Sin?
(from The Christian Science Monitor)
"America is changing: The society that has prided itself on being an egalitarian model for the world has become more unequal than "aristocratic" Europe, economists confirm. The rich-poor gap has doubled in 21 years and now is at its widest since 1929. The number of those in poverty rose by 1.7 million between 2001 and 2002. New tax cuts will add to the disparity..... "Poverty is a theological issue from a Jewish perspective," says Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, of the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, because it "assaults a human being's dignity as the image of God." But, he adds, "I worry even more about the dignity of a society that allows people to be impoverished."..."

Messianic Israelites Blend Faith, Education At Tampa Conference (from The Tampa Tribune)
A recent gathering in Tampa of Messianic Israelites -- a group primarily constituted of Christians who have incorporated Jewish rituals into their religious practice -- occasioned this article in which CLAL's Brad Hirschfield is quoted.

Rethinking just war theory in a time of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction
(from Newsday)
Are just war principles a relevant guide for U.S. foreign policy in a time of potentially apocalyptic terrorism? Can one turn away when faced with ethnic cleansing in the Balkans, genocide in Rwanda or, for that matter, massive human rights violations in Iraq?... "Every religious tradition is wrestling with these questions now in its own way," said Rabbi Irwin Kula, president of the Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, a Jewish think tank in Manhattan. "The bottom line: Almost none of these ethical just war theories allow for pre-emption unless there's absolute clarity that people's lives are in danger."...” .

A Moment of Grace
(from Newsday)
"Whether they speak it simply or with ritual and fanfare, those who routinely pause to give thanks at mealtime find the practice as fortifying as food… Mindfulness is a Buddhist discipline of concentrating on the activity at hand, aiming not to stray from the moment. A tempered tongue makes room for the mind and the heart to pause…. "Food isn't the point. It's the vehicle by which we get in touch with these ideals. With how important the moment is, with how essential eating is, with how sacred the obligation is to make sure that everyone gets enough to eat," said Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, vice president of CLAL...”

Virtual Lit
(from The Jewish Week)
The article explores the proliferation of Jewish book sites on the Web and includes excerpts from an interview with Irwin Kula on the broader implications of the ongoing cultural transformation that which these Websites express. 

Breaking TV's Jewish Barrier (from The Dallas Morning News)

No Simple Task: Breaking TV's Jewish Barrier (from The Forward)
About Simple Wisdom and Irwin Kula's battle to overthrow the narrow definitions of religion that prevail today.

Jewish Wisdom for the Masses (from Jewish Telegraphic Agency)

Rabbis Voice Opposing Views on Same Sex Marriage (from Canadian Jewish News)