To her credit, Whoopie Goldberg simply sits through the anti-Lubavitch crap looking rather pissed off. And Joy Behar makes a vague attempt to come to the Lubavitcher defense.
To her DIScredit, Baba Wawa lets the guest go on... I mean really Barb.. you've been conducting hard-hitting interviews since before I was born. You could have taken control of the situation much earlier.
And I gotta ask... what is WITH self-hating Jews and their need to write ridiculous screenplays and directors who are willing to produce these things without any research whatsoever... I wonder if the BBC gets scripts across their desk about how the Anglican Church is burning heretics at the stake in modern-day London... "Smashing idea! Wonder if we can get Hugh Laurie back on this side of the pond if we offer him the role of Bishop... it'll be a step up from playing that annoying Yank he's become popular with...
Showing posts with label blogger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blogger. Show all posts
Monday, February 02, 2009
Sunday, November 09, 2008
A Semi-Religious Experience.
I spent Simchat Torah at the Chabad in the city of Ness Ziona with my friends David and Dan (<--for more Israel stories, check out his blog).
I pulled on my long black skirt (purchased for those times that I'd need to costume as a highly observant Jew) and my other conservative clothes and sat down behind the mechitza with the ladies in their sheitls. They tended to their children while the men danced, sang, prayed, and took “L'chaim tishim v'sheish” (shots of "Victory" brand vodka, 96% alcohol). When their festivities ended, my two friends and I helped serve the men and women dinner (eaten separately, of course). It was fun – I played with babies and spoke all the Hebrew I could. I even complimented a little girl on her shoes. She grinned back at me.
We stayed at the house of one of the “chabadniks,” a pretty cool guy whose name I don’t feel I’m at liberty to share. Before he became religious and a member of the chabad, he was…well…a nerd (not unlike the boys here in Rishon). He was a hardcore Trekkie who went to University and majored in science and mathematics.
After the party the first night, we went back to his house with his wife and four children (all very, very cute). We stayed up a while longer, talking to him about life. We tried to talk philosophy, but he stopped us. Philosophy is fickle, he says. We asked him what he meant – wasn’t his religion just a personal philosophy that he followed?
No, he answered. “Philosophy comes from many different sources and isn’t necessary. Religion is necessary. It is not a philosophy – it is my life, what I do.”
We asked him to tell us just what he believed. He shook his head and told us this story.
“There was a famous Israeli director who became known for his promiscuous lifestyle. He attended a wedding where the rabbi was renowned for his wisdom. As the rabbi was speaking, a man interrupted and asked, why should we believe what you say?
“The rabbi answered, ‘unless you have the time to listen and to be changed by what I will share with you, I don’t want to waste my time. Anyone whose mind is not open to change should get up and leave now.’ And what happened? Everybody except for the director got up and left.”
The chabadnik ceased pacing and looked at us. “I don’t want to waste time unless I think I will convince you that my beliefs are right. Philosophy is amusing. My life is not something for you to find ‘interesting,’ it is my life.”
We were so impressed we didn’t know what to say. We didn’t question him any further, and we're still not sure why. Perhaps it's because we truly didn't want to waste his time. We didn't want to tell him that we really did find him extremely interesting. It seemed to offend him.
Chabadniks really know and believe their stuff with all of their hearts. It’s good to know that people still have a strong faith in something.
I pulled on my long black skirt (purchased for those times that I'd need to costume as a highly observant Jew) and my other conservative clothes and sat down behind the mechitza with the ladies in their sheitls. They tended to their children while the men danced, sang, prayed, and took “L'chaim tishim v'sheish” (shots of "Victory" brand vodka, 96% alcohol). When their festivities ended, my two friends and I helped serve the men and women dinner (eaten separately, of course). It was fun – I played with babies and spoke all the Hebrew I could. I even complimented a little girl on her shoes. She grinned back at me.
We stayed at the house of one of the “chabadniks,” a pretty cool guy whose name I don’t feel I’m at liberty to share. Before he became religious and a member of the chabad, he was…well…a nerd (not unlike the boys here in Rishon). He was a hardcore Trekkie who went to University and majored in science and mathematics.
After the party the first night, we went back to his house with his wife and four children (all very, very cute). We stayed up a while longer, talking to him about life. We tried to talk philosophy, but he stopped us. Philosophy is fickle, he says. We asked him what he meant – wasn’t his religion just a personal philosophy that he followed?
No, he answered. “Philosophy comes from many different sources and isn’t necessary. Religion is necessary. It is not a philosophy – it is my life, what I do.”
We asked him to tell us just what he believed. He shook his head and told us this story.
“There was a famous Israeli director who became known for his promiscuous lifestyle. He attended a wedding where the rabbi was renowned for his wisdom. As the rabbi was speaking, a man interrupted and asked, why should we believe what you say?
“The rabbi answered, ‘unless you have the time to listen and to be changed by what I will share with you, I don’t want to waste my time. Anyone whose mind is not open to change should get up and leave now.’ And what happened? Everybody except for the director got up and left.”
The chabadnik ceased pacing and looked at us. “I don’t want to waste time unless I think I will convince you that my beliefs are right. Philosophy is amusing. My life is not something for you to find ‘interesting,’ it is my life.”
We were so impressed we didn’t know what to say. We didn’t question him any further, and we're still not sure why. Perhaps it's because we truly didn't want to waste his time. We didn't want to tell him that we really did find him extremely interesting. It seemed to offend him.
Chabadniks really know and believe their stuff with all of their hearts. It’s good to know that people still have a strong faith in something.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Tzvee's Take
I have recast the Forward's headline for one of this week's stories in accord with my more accurate view of what is transpiring.Professor David Berger published an attack on Lubavitch in a full blown religious polemic. Instead of reconsidering, recalling and retracting his vitriol, he now is republishing his book as a paperback. And he now is receiving full support from Yeshiva University as head of Jewish Studies at the school.My case against Berger simply put is -- who appointed him head of the holy office of the grand inquisition? His book is stage one of a true Jihad. Who asked him to issue a fatwa against Lubavitch messianists?The answer now appears to be - Yeshiva University promotes and supports his outrageous crusade.Berger calls for the removal of the LMs from all Jewish communal positions worldwide. What is next Dr. Berger? Indeed.
Yeshiva U. Brings On Critic of ChabadMarissa Brostoff Wed. Oct 24, 2007Rabbi David Berger, a historian who is a sharp critic of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, has been appointed head of Jewish studies at Yeshiva University’s undergraduate college in a move that has ruffled some feathers on the campus.Writing in the college’s student paper, the Commentator, Josh Shteir, a senior at the school and a co-president of the Chabad Club on campus, argued that Berger’s “intolerance” of Chabad is unacceptable at Y.U. The university is affiliated with the Modern Orthodox movement but welcomes Orthodox Jews who practice differently.“How am I, a student at Y.U., as well as someone with a strong connection to the Lubavitch movement, supposed to understand this appointment and its apparent conflict with the cultural open-mindedness espoused by the University?” he wrote in a missive directed at university administrators.Y.U. announced last fall that it would hire Berger, who had been a history professor at Brooklyn College for 37 years and had taught part time at Y.U. for almost as long, as a full-time faculty member. He was appointed to the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies and later to the Jewish studies department at Yeshiva College, Y.U.’s undergraduate division. Then, as now, some students publicly objected.Yosef Levine, alumni president of Y.U.’s Chabad group and a 1999 graduate of its business school, said that he campaigned against Berger’s appointment last year because Berger was inappropriately hostile regarding the subject of Chabad.According to Levine, the trouble began about two years ago when Berger, who occasionally led Sabbath services at Y.U., “dove into ruthless soliloquizing against Chabad” at a post-service “shmooze,” disturbing even non-Chabad students and leading several to walk out.The debate is centered on Berger’s well-known critiques of the block of Chabad adherents who believe that Menachem Schneerson, the late Chabad leader, is the messiah. Berger, who is Modern Orthodox himself, claims that this belief is tantamount to heresy. In his 2001 book, “The Rebbe, The Messiah, and the Scandal of Orthodox Indifference,” Berger argued that Judaism rejects the idea that the messiah can be a deceased person. That belief, he wrote, has differentiated Judaism from Christianity for 2,000 years. He censures the Chabad movement and the Orthodox establishment at large for what he sees as their lack of outrage in response to the messianic elements in the Lubavitch community.Berger responded to Shteir’s article with an opinion piece of his own, in which he claimed that Shteir was taking part in a Chabad campaign to silence critics. “[My position on Chabad] is not closed-minded, unless Mr. Shteir believes that open-mindedness requires the abolition of all theological boundaries defining the Jewish religion,” Berger wrote.Both articles delve into complex hermeneutics, as do many of the dozens of reader responses posted on the Commentator Web site.In an interview with the Forward, Berger said he was unconcerned about the controversy, which he called “a tempest in a teapot.” He suggested that Y.U. is big enough for both Chabad students and their critics.“Yeshiva College [does not ask student applicants] about personal beliefs, and I don’t think Lubavitcher students should be asked either,” he said.Chabad officials agreed with Berger that the controversy should not be overplayed.“While we don’t agree with Berger, this is not a Lubavitcher issue — it’s a Y.U. issue,” a spokesman for the group said.
Yeshiva U. Brings On Critic of ChabadMarissa Brostoff Wed. Oct 24, 2007Rabbi David Berger, a historian who is a sharp critic of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, has been appointed head of Jewish studies at Yeshiva University’s undergraduate college in a move that has ruffled some feathers on the campus.Writing in the college’s student paper, the Commentator, Josh Shteir, a senior at the school and a co-president of the Chabad Club on campus, argued that Berger’s “intolerance” of Chabad is unacceptable at Y.U. The university is affiliated with the Modern Orthodox movement but welcomes Orthodox Jews who practice differently.“How am I, a student at Y.U., as well as someone with a strong connection to the Lubavitch movement, supposed to understand this appointment and its apparent conflict with the cultural open-mindedness espoused by the University?” he wrote in a missive directed at university administrators.Y.U. announced last fall that it would hire Berger, who had been a history professor at Brooklyn College for 37 years and had taught part time at Y.U. for almost as long, as a full-time faculty member. He was appointed to the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies and later to the Jewish studies department at Yeshiva College, Y.U.’s undergraduate division. Then, as now, some students publicly objected.Yosef Levine, alumni president of Y.U.’s Chabad group and a 1999 graduate of its business school, said that he campaigned against Berger’s appointment last year because Berger was inappropriately hostile regarding the subject of Chabad.According to Levine, the trouble began about two years ago when Berger, who occasionally led Sabbath services at Y.U., “dove into ruthless soliloquizing against Chabad” at a post-service “shmooze,” disturbing even non-Chabad students and leading several to walk out.The debate is centered on Berger’s well-known critiques of the block of Chabad adherents who believe that Menachem Schneerson, the late Chabad leader, is the messiah. Berger, who is Modern Orthodox himself, claims that this belief is tantamount to heresy. In his 2001 book, “The Rebbe, The Messiah, and the Scandal of Orthodox Indifference,” Berger argued that Judaism rejects the idea that the messiah can be a deceased person. That belief, he wrote, has differentiated Judaism from Christianity for 2,000 years. He censures the Chabad movement and the Orthodox establishment at large for what he sees as their lack of outrage in response to the messianic elements in the Lubavitch community.Berger responded to Shteir’s article with an opinion piece of his own, in which he claimed that Shteir was taking part in a Chabad campaign to silence critics. “[My position on Chabad] is not closed-minded, unless Mr. Shteir believes that open-mindedness requires the abolition of all theological boundaries defining the Jewish religion,” Berger wrote.Both articles delve into complex hermeneutics, as do many of the dozens of reader responses posted on the Commentator Web site.In an interview with the Forward, Berger said he was unconcerned about the controversy, which he called “a tempest in a teapot.” He suggested that Y.U. is big enough for both Chabad students and their critics.“Yeshiva College [does not ask student applicants] about personal beliefs, and I don’t think Lubavitcher students should be asked either,” he said.Chabad officials agreed with Berger that the controversy should not be overplayed.“While we don’t agree with Berger, this is not a Lubavitcher issue — it’s a Y.U. issue,” a spokesman for the group said.
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