Tweet

Share
 

True obscenity

Rabbi Avi Shafran should stop beating around the bush and just come out and say it in his Sept. 16 article "It's hard to look past the prurience of the 'Big Easy.'" He thinks God used Hurricane Katrina to tell us that we shouldn't enjoy smutty entertainment so much.

I'm not sure if the good rabbi has looked at a map of the devastated area, but New Orleans' French Quarter occupies a tiny part of it — and that sinful neighborhood survived the catastrophe fairly well intact. So a Category 4/5 hurricane seems like a rather clumsy and imprecise way to deliver this wake-up call.

Let us learn real lessons from this disaster, not use other people's tragedies to fight another round of the culture wars.

Yes, we should take a long, hard look at ourselves. We as a society have failed — not because we enjoy a Mardi Gras parade or a little skin on television but because we have tolerated the growing disparity in our society between the richest and the poorest. A disparity that cost thousands of people their lives because they didn't have the means to escape. That is truly obscene.

Katherine Falk | Oakland




'Tone of shame'

I find your editor's note to the Sept. 16 letter "Anti-gay 'balance'?" to be disheartening and nonfactual. While I agree issues like same-sex marriage do warrant opposing viewpoints, I feel j. has misstated some facts.

You state: "As we all know, homosexual weddings are still illegal in the state of California. They are still banned by halachah."

Same-sex weddings are not illegal; they are not recognized to have the same legal status as heterosexual unions in California. There is a difference between that which is legally recognized by a legislature and that which is "illegal." When couples have a same-sex "marriage," they are not breaking any statute that says it is against the law. In fact, on Sept. 1, the legislature passed AB 849, recasting the definition of marriage as between "two persons," not between a man and woman.

I also find your reference to halachah condescending. Halachah forbids interfaith marriage as well, yet your focus on same-sex union conveys a tone of shame toward one particular group. You owe the community an apology — better yet, you owe my 2-year-old son an apology for misrepresenting the loving relationship that my partner and I have as something illegal and wrong.

Avi Goldberg | San Francisco

EDITOR'S NOTE: We'd like to apologize for the editor's note in last week's paper. It was written in haste and included various misstatements as Avi Goldberg points out. This paper has been and will continue to be very supportive of the LGBT community. We believe we were the first Jewish newspaper to treat same-sex weddings the same as any wedding. Let us emphasize that we are truly sorry for anything we've written to offend the LGBT community. Despite our receiving many more letters, we feel we have covered this particular issue adequately. Meanwhile, we wish Ed Jones and Eddie Reynolds a mazel tov and happy life together.




'Choose your metaphor'

Thanks to reporter Alexandra Wall for her appreciation regarding the Shabbat celebration at Burning Man. I challenge her detractor (Sept. 16 letters) by asking: In our free society, how do you expect Jewish traditions to be sought, understood, much less appreciated, when you judge our observance without ever experiencing it for yourself?

Regardless, Jews from around the world show up in droves. Getting past the debauchery, spirituality and healing abound. No doubt Judaism certainly has what to offer the world in the way of spiritual healing; we decided at a minimum it should be among the choices Jewish Americans make. So we established the Black Rock JCC.

Over the years we've increased from barely a minyan to 200 worshipers. It may not be the version your grandparents practiced off the boat, but the sound of authentic Hebrew prayer chanted by adults who normally avoid Jewish institutions sounds like ecstasy to me — because they made the choice.

Choose your metaphor and liken our experience to the golden calf, or see it as we do — reconnecting to our roots as a people claiming our legacy.

Amy Stein | Chicago
Black Rock JCC executive director

Active Reconstructionists

In your Sept. 16 article about Henry Shreibman, the rabbi is paraphrased as saying, "Just as the Reform movement began in Cincinnati and spread to New York and Los Angeles ... if there is enough interest, Reconstructionism could potentially open a center in the Bay Area."

The Reform movement did not begin in Cincinnati, it began in Germany; what began in Cincinnati was the first American Reform rabbinical school. While the only Reconstructionist rabbinical school is in Philadelphia, there are two active congregations affiliated with the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation in the Bay Area — Keddem Congregation in Palo Alto and Ner Shalom in Cotati.

The reporter writes, "Shreibman is offering independent Reconstructionist High Holy Days services this year, to offer a taste of what Reconstructionism is about." Keddem Congregation has offered Reconstructionist High Holy Days services free of charge to the Bay Area community since 1996.

In addition, the liberal services at Stanford Hillel have been using the Reconstructionist machzor (High Holy Days prayerbook) for the last several years.

Elaine Moise | Mountain View




'Excited, saddened'

I was both excited and saddened to read the Sept. 16 j. article "Ex-Brandeis Hillel head wants to raise visibility of Reconstructionism" concerning Rabbi Henry Shreibman. I am excited that he wishes to give the Reconstructionist movement greater visibility. I was saddened with the reference to Reconstructionists' "peripheral presence in the Bay Area."

There are two vibrant Reconstructionist congregations here. Both offer full religious programming, including High Holy Day services. In the case of Keddem Congregation in Palo Alto, services are free to anyone who makes reservations.

More importantly, these congregations model a major theme of Reconstructionism: "the community as cornerstone."

For those who wish a taste of both a Reconstructionist service and a Reconstructionist community, please contact either. You will find that inclusiveness and community are more than just words.

Kate Lorig | Mountain View




Failing the test

The disengagement from Gaza was no more than minutes old and the gates were locked by Israel's last troops when the first act of the newly "liberated " Palestinians was to send mobs to ransack the abandoned synagogues and set them on fire.

Recently, the first post-disengagement rocket landed in Sderot.

Lame justifications aside, what kind of message does this send over the Palestinians' intentions going forward? The Palestinians have so far failed miserably their first test to provide minimal order and security in Gaza and should be called on it by the international community.

One can debate whether Israel's decision not to demolish the remaining Gaza synagogues was correct or not, but the reality is that if Israel is to be held to a higher standard to protect Muslim holy places under its control (as it has with numerous mosques and churches throughout Israel), then why can't the Palestinians be held to the same standard?

As we move to the next phase of the critical discussions on peace and security for the region, now is not the time for evenhandedness, but for holding the Palestinians accountable for their actions and for their commitments under the internationally sanctioned road map.

Steve Lipman | Foster City




Is the right right?

In his Sept. 2 opinion, James Besser warns us Jews to shun people he calls the "religious right." Who are these "dangerous" guys? Besser names two men who are known to say dumb things, Pat Robertson and James Falwell, but he has no contact with them.

I, personally, have lived in Israel with several dozen evangelical Christian Zionists (ECZ), having gone to Israel on four ECZ "solidarity missions." I carefully read literature from some several such groups. They do not talk or write about American politics. They do not call themselves "Christian right."

They frequently quote 20-plus sections from the Hebrew prophets in which God promises to someday return us Jews to the Promised Land. They look upon the Zionist return of millions of Jews to the land of Israel as being the work of God, Who is keeping promises. This shows that God exists and that He keeps promises.

There is no connection between our Zionist return to our land and the second coming of Jesus, whom they often call by his Hebrew name, "Yeshua," which mean salvation. They refer to Jews as "God's people," because God said, "I will be your God, and you will be My people."

Yehuda Sherman | Lafayette




Letters policy

j. the Jewish news weekly welcomes letters to the editor, preferably typewritten. Letters must not exceed 200 words and must be dated and signed with current address and daytime telephone number. j. also reserves the right to edit letters. The deadline is noon Monday for any given week's publication. Letters should be sent by e-mail to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or by mail to j., 225 Bush St., Suite 1480, San Francisco, CA 94104.

most popular rss feeds