Philosophy
So the central body of Conservative Judaism has moved to allow for gay rabbis and same-sex commitment ceremonies. Sure, reform and reconstructionist congregations have been on the morally right side of the line for years, but this bold move by the middle is a major development because it shows that the mainstream of the Jewish community is there too.
After the debacle with the gay pride parade in Jerusalem, it is times like this that make me very proud to be a Jew.
Funniest lines of the day: In the story about this in the New York Times, Rabbi Jerome Epstein is quoted as saying, "Most of our congregations will not be of one mind." A large group of Jews not of one mind, who could ever imagine such a thing? And Rabbi Kassel Abelson said, "We recognized from the very beginnings of the movement that no single position could speak for all members." Reb Abelson, my friend, these are JEWS, no single position could speak for any single member.
The next step is to get the commitment ceremonies recognized as legitimate marriages so that Jewish lesbian comedians don't have to say, "Take my rabbinically recognized same-sex partner...please." Ruins the timing.
- Atheism, Religiocity, And Spiritualism
A twist today on the old chestnut, what is the difference between being religious and being spiritual. Can an atheist be either? I was best man a few years back for a dear friend who got married by an atheist rabbi. He was a working rabbi, conducted services...
- Bullshit Or Not: Einstein Edition
On the eve of his birthday, let's play Bullshit or Not. There's an old sketch film called Amazon Women on the Moon and one of the bits is a parody of the old Leonard Nimoy show, "In Search Of..." called, "Bullshit or Not?" with the tagline "Bullshit...
- Bullshit Or Not: Einstein Edition
There's an old sketch film called Amazon Women on the Moon and one of the bits is a parody of the old Leonard Nimoy show, "In Search Of..." called, "Bullshit or Not?" (found a link to it on YouTube!) with the tagline "Bullshit or not? You decide."...
- The Chanukization Of Judaism
In the space between Chanukah and Christmas, I had one of those realizations that on the one hand is trivial, but on the other makes you really think. We were saying the blessings before lighting the candles at my brother?s house on the third night and...
- A Secular Jew At Easter
A colleague asked me the other day whether we were having a seder for Passover. We're not. She's not Jewish, but her husband is...well, he is as much as I am which is not very much. They were doing it for the kids. Now, if there were anything...
Philosophy
Today I'm Proud to Be a Jew
So the central body of Conservative Judaism has moved to allow for gay rabbis and same-sex commitment ceremonies. Sure, reform and reconstructionist congregations have been on the morally right side of the line for years, but this bold move by the middle is a major development because it shows that the mainstream of the Jewish community is there too.
After the debacle with the gay pride parade in Jerusalem, it is times like this that make me very proud to be a Jew.
Funniest lines of the day: In the story about this in the New York Times, Rabbi Jerome Epstein is quoted as saying, "Most of our congregations will not be of one mind." A large group of Jews not of one mind, who could ever imagine such a thing? And Rabbi Kassel Abelson said, "We recognized from the very beginnings of the movement that no single position could speak for all members." Reb Abelson, my friend, these are JEWS, no single position could speak for any single member.
The next step is to get the commitment ceremonies recognized as legitimate marriages so that Jewish lesbian comedians don't have to say, "Take my rabbinically recognized same-sex partner...please." Ruins the timing.
- Atheism, Religiocity, And Spiritualism
A twist today on the old chestnut, what is the difference between being religious and being spiritual. Can an atheist be either? I was best man a few years back for a dear friend who got married by an atheist rabbi. He was a working rabbi, conducted services...
- Bullshit Or Not: Einstein Edition
On the eve of his birthday, let's play Bullshit or Not. There's an old sketch film called Amazon Women on the Moon and one of the bits is a parody of the old Leonard Nimoy show, "In Search Of..." called, "Bullshit or Not?" with the tagline "Bullshit...
- Bullshit Or Not: Einstein Edition
There's an old sketch film called Amazon Women on the Moon and one of the bits is a parody of the old Leonard Nimoy show, "In Search Of..." called, "Bullshit or Not?" (found a link to it on YouTube!) with the tagline "Bullshit or not? You decide."...
- The Chanukization Of Judaism
In the space between Chanukah and Christmas, I had one of those realizations that on the one hand is trivial, but on the other makes you really think. We were saying the blessings before lighting the candles at my brother?s house on the third night and...
- A Secular Jew At Easter
A colleague asked me the other day whether we were having a seder for Passover. We're not. She's not Jewish, but her husband is...well, he is as much as I am which is not very much. They were doing it for the kids. Now, if there were anything...