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HagaheletA Publication of The Union for Traditional JudaismVolume 7 Number 2 Summer 1994 Copyright 1994-1995 by The Union for Traditional Judaism |
Mail Lists Get Feedback
Passover Hotline -- 5754
Congregational News
Have Modem -- Will Travel
Jewish Marriage: Optimal, But Optional? A Critique
of the Conservative Movement's "Pastoral Letter on Human Sexuality"
Reaching Hagahelet
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Our computer Mail Lists (Jewish bulletin boards) have been getting rave reviews from all over the country. From Donna A. Comes this note:"...Those of you who live in large Jewish communities may not understand how isolated one can be without lots of Jews around and particularly those sharing the same ideologies....Those of you who DO live in small communities may understand what a wonderful gift this UTJ computer forum is, for it connects us Jews all over the place with lots of information that may not be accessible in our own communities....["It"] helps fight the sense of isolation that we experience. I think the sharing of information via this forum could help many ["of"] us become stronger links in the chain."
We at the Union for Traditional Judaism appreciate your comments and feedback on all our projects and ventures.
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by Rabbi J. Leonard Romm
I have participated in the Passover Hotline at the UTJ ever since its inception. Each time it has been a tremendous learning experience.
The calls come in from all over the North American continent. In variably, the callers express their gratitude for this Passover "question and answer" service. The questions are mostly "nuts and blots" questions for Passover about specific food items and even brand-name products. Sometimes, callers ask for information on conducting a seder. Occasionally, people ask about being connected with a public seder in their community. We answer, advise, research, and help.
We answered many questions this year that arose due to the special circumstances of Pesah beginning on *motza-ei Shabbat*. We all consistently endorsed egg matzah for *ha-motzi" at the Shabbat meals before Pesah.
Each year we learn more and more about the lifestyle and special Passover needs of observant vegetarians. The number of vegetarians who call the hotline is truly amazing.
Sometimes, we are forced by a specific question to consider *halakhic* problems that we never thought about before. Due to callers' questions, we will have to look up sources and become aware, with a new depth of understanding, of a particular concept that we otherwise would not have been forced to learn. We are sometimes as grateful to the callers as most of the callers are to the hotline.
I am encouraged by the obvious interest in Pesah observance countrywide evinced by our numerous callers as well as by the certain knowledge that there is a need out there for a central address for all traditional Jews.
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Dateline, Atlanta, GA: We are pleased to welcome Congregation Shearith Israel into the UTJ family. Shearith Israel, with a membership of more than 800 families, celebrated its 90th anniversary this year.
The community is headed by Rabbi Mark Kunis, Co-Chair of MORASHAH, the Rabbinic Fellowship of the UTJ.
Our President, Burton G. Greenblatt, and our Executive Vice President, Rabbi Ronald D. Price, visited Shearith Israel on June 21 at the congregation's annual meeting, at which time the affiliation was confirmed and celebrated. Both Mr. Greenblatt and Rabbi Price commented on the exceptional unity of the community, and the friendliness of the members, not only to guests, but toward one another as well.
We are proud to welcome Shearith Israel as a affiliated congregation of the Union for Traditional Judaism.
Dateline, Vancouver, B.C., Canada: Our affiliate in Vancouver, British Columbia, Congregation Shaarey Tefilah, has just announced the acquisition of a new site for the synagogue and the hiring of its first full-time rabbi. Shaarey Tefilah was the first congregation to be founded as a UTJ congregation, over two years ago. Rabbi Price was named "honorary rabbi" of the congregation at last year's annual UTJ conference in Toronto, because of his ongoing relationship with the community. The Union and its board and membership wish Shaarey Tefilah and its members mazel tov and pray that they will go from strength to strength under the leadership of their new rabbi.
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The following are excerpts from Long Island Jewish World, April 22-28, 1994. (Reprinted with permission.) The "Ed. Notes" found periodically within the article are written by the co-editor Hagahelet.
Have Modem, Will Travel UTJ offers information through E-mail
by Andrew Wohlberg
It's making front page headline news on the Union for Traditional Judaism's (UTJ) newsletter, Hagahelet. "Berukhim Habaim, welcome to the mail list of the Union for Traditional Judaism." it reads -- on the computer screen. UTJ has just driven off the information highway's entrance ramp and maneuvered all the way to the left lane--the speed lane with two free information services accessible through the Internet and Prodigy computer network systems. (Ed. note - the lists are also available through America On Line, CompuServe and Delphi to name a few others.)
Called "mail lists" in computer lingo, UTJ is translating Hagahelet from newsprint to computer coding for free global transmission to a world known as cyberspace -- the term computer "wonks" use to describe the computer "world", with its growing community of users and services. A second newsletter called Kosher Nexus made its debut on UTJ's first network transmission. It contains an assortment of articles, legal rulings, recipes and tidbits concerning kashrut and kosher foods.
The keys needed to enter this cyberspace and retrieve the latest Hagahelet and Kosher Nexus are just basic modern technology. First is a computer. Second, a modem. Through telephone lines, a modem allows computers to connect and communicate with one another. The result of two or more computers connected is a network. Internet and Prodigy are two of the largest computer networks, spanning the planet. After paying a hookup fee, a person is then "logged on" and given a network account, which includes an electronic mail (e-mail) address, which can transfer information at key-stroke speed. From then on it's easy going. UTJ provides all the directions needed to receive Hagahelet and Kosher Nexus.
The following are the steps to subscribe to UTJ services via modem:
(Ed. Note: some corrections have been made in the printed directions.)
You can sign up now or contact the UTJ regarding Hagahelet and Kosher Nexus.
Once subscribed the UTJ newsletter and Kosher Nexus appears in the mailbox. Beside beaming articles and editorials to homes across North America, Europe and Israel, The UTJ Mail List will serve as the nerve center of an open forum on any topic relating to traditional Judaism and halachah (Jewish Law). The discussion elicited by the UTJ Mail List forum thus far has ranged from the halachic response to the Hebron massacre to the need for a mechitzah in a traditional synagogue to whether smoking is permissible according to halachah. Rabbi Ronald Price, executive vice president of UTJ, said that the discussion group has received e-mail from a group in Virginia They are trying to start a synagogue and have been seeking advice through the UTJ Mail List.
Several hundred people subscribe to UTJ's electronic services. The more subscribers, the deeper the pool of opinions, thoughts, questions and answers. . . . Since the UTJ is not affiliated with any kashrut organization, the Kosher Nexus contains news from different organizations, including the Orthodox Union and Chaf K. Price characterized Kosher Nexus as "good, serious and valuable information on kashrut presenting in an entertaining, non-neurotic way." UTJ's motivation for taking this electronic step was simple. "There are many people who are looking for ways to communicate about subjects of mutual interests," explained Price. "There are (computer) bulletin boards on pets and politics. There are Jews throughout the world whose approach is 'open-minded Judaism' who are looking for others to communicate with," he continued. "We decided to experiment to see if those out there are interested in what UTJ had to say." Texas residents (Alex & Andrea Herrera) who discovered the UTJ through computer e-mail with Rabbi Jeffrey Rappoport (of Staten Island) established UTJ's Internet and Prodigy hookup.
UTJ believes that the world is encompassed by Torah. "There is no aspect that is foreign to the Torah and Jewish living and thinking, including all of the secular world," he said. "There's no question that cannot be asked and answered within the context of Jewish law and tradition." A main goal is outreach, Price said. And e-mail is just another way of doing that. "We are finding out that all over the world there are people who have concerns about Jewish living with no place to express them because they are isolated, "he said. "Now they can get in touch with rabbis and resources." "Anyone with an computer anywhere in the world can link into other Jews around the world and expand their Jewish horizons," Price added.
Rabbi J. Leonard Romm, spiritual leader of the Bellmore Jewish Center and co-editor of Hagahelet, views the electronic media as technologically the most advanced method for distributing information. "E-mail is, of course, coming into the next stage of communication. A lot of people are computer literate today. There are many publications available through e-mail." An advantage to this medium, Romm said, is the ability to research quickly -- much faster than thumbing through periodical indexes. The service, he said, "is just carrying the message forward into the next phase of communication, where we hope to reach more people." This is not the first time UTJ has extended to the cutting-edge of technology. A UTJ press release boasts it's "being the first traditional Jewish organization to offer such a service." But it isn't the first time the organization pioneered advanced technology to spread its message. In 1985, the UTJ according to the release, was the first "Jewish religious organization to take advantage of toll-free 800 lines, then a technological tool still in its early development." (Editor's Note: Some minor corrections have been made to the above article.)
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by Rabbi Bruce Ginsburg
(Editor's Note: Rabbi Bruce Ginsburg, national Vice President of the Union for Traditional Judaism has written an insightful and instructive essay in response to the Rabbinical Assembly's report, "A Jewish pastoral Letter on Human Sexuality".)
Did you always assume that rabbis could be counted upon to defend Judaism's age-old conviction that sex is holy only in the context of marriage? Well, guess again! Earlier this month, (May) the Conservative Movement's 1500 member Rabbinical Assembly issued a report entitled "A Jewish Pastoral Letter on Human Sexuality." It argues that homosexual and non-marital heterosexual relations -- emphatically prohibited by Jewish Law -- should now be deemed acceptable. Without offering the slightest foothold in biblical or rabbinic sources, it further asserts that such practices can even attain "a measure of holiness" simply by expropriating general Jewish values such as "modesty," "respect for others," "safety," and "love". According to the document, the traditions of bride and groom chuppah and kiddushin, the veil, ketuba, rings, blessings, and plans for children are optimal of course, but ultimately optional.
While affirming Judaism's "preference" for marriage, the letter seems intent on elevating the status of non-marital sex. With considerable empathy and even deference it offers reasons why people engage in such relations. Some can't find a suitable mate we are told (and apparently may therefore pursue a non-marital arrangement with an unsuitable partner). For others, marital commitment is deemed emotionally premature (while presumably a sexual relationship is considered timely enough). Then there are those who have gone through divorce and require "a gradual healing process, including experience of several [sic] transitional relationships prior to remarriage." Throughout this catalogue, the letter registers not the slightest bit of religious or moral discomfort.
Turing to the subject of homosexuality, the document acknowledges its explicit Biblical prohibition in Leviticus 18:22, but focuses on the premise that homosexual identity may often be fixed at an early age by nature and/or nurture. It explains that the Conservative Movement's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards has validated two quite different approaches on the matter. One approach holds that when a person's homosexual orientation is not changeable, he/she should abstain from sexual activity. The other approach contends that since today's scientific consensus suggests that an individual's homosexual orientation cannot be altered, our assessment of homosexuality must change. According to this view, Jewish legal impediments should be removed and the religious norms commonly associated with heterosexual relationship should be applied to homosexual ones. The letter explains that this outlook leads some on the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards to advocate performing homosexual we ddings "as a way of creating strong, monogamous, loving and Jewishly committed relationships among homosexuals."
Though the document doesn't explicitly endorse one approach over the other, the fact that it gives the more permissive approach the last word and incorporates into it a rebuttal of the more traditional view clearly reveals the Rabbinical Assembly's tilt. Moreover, its conclusion entirely ignores the recommendation of abstinence while explicitly adopting the liberal view's advocacy of applying heterosexual religious norms to homosexual relationships. What the pastoral letter offers, then, is a transparent policy of gradualism leading to the acceptance, normalization, and legitimating of homosexual activity as part of Jewish life.
Let us not be misunderstood. The suffering endured by homosexuals in our society rightly spurs all thinking people to combat foolish stereotypes, homophobic violence, arbitrary job discrimination, and the scourge of AIDS. The fact that few of us are saints in everything we do should also stem self-righteousness when discussing non-marital heterosexual relations. But such calls for compassion and humility in no way justify extending rabbinic sanction to behavior which is explicitly proscribed by Jewish Law. Yet that is precisely what the pastoral letter has done. With absolutely no attempt to justify their position with a halakhic rationale, the members of the Commission who drafted the letter have offered non-marital sexual activity a substantial measure of rabbinic blessing. In doing so, they have forgotten a basic principle: rabbis have a responsibility to interpret Jewish Law, but they don't have a right to dispense with it.
Marriage is no guarantee of attaining holiness in one's sexual life. But according to Judaism, it is a prerequisite. To imply otherwise is a disservice to honesty and the tradition. We show neither love nor respect to hose involved in non-marital relationships by promising them that so long as they conduct themselves modestly and safely they will acquire a "measure of holiness".
The chief victims of the pastoral letter, however, are the unmarried individuals who until now have been able to demonstrate exceptional character by adhering to our sacred traditions but suddenly find their religious moorings rudely shaken: the teenager who has kept his surging hormones at bay; the young college woman who has resisted premarital relations despite peer pressure; the middle -aged man who has checked his homosexual impulses by choosing abstinence; the lonely widower who has declined mere sexual companionship.
And why indeed, we may ask, should all these individuals resist nature? Why should they mute the prompting of their hearts? Because, we must answer, that is the essence of Judaism. When the Torah was given at Sinai, we were commanded to transform and transcend human nature as a response to the supernatural. No one has claimed that it is easy to be a holy people, but it is precisely that difficult mission which has granted us a glimpse of immortality and an abundant share of Divine blessing.
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