Holiday Art

April 4, 2011

The image left is on the 1892 edition of the Rödelheim Machsor, the well known German Jewish holiday prayerbook. It seems to represent the holidays, and I can make out most items. In the center are the Tablets of the Law, for the holiday of Shavu’ot. At the bottom, we find an incense burner in front of a shofar, representing Yom Kippur and Rosh haShana, respectively. The shofar doubles as a stringed instrument, representing the Levitical chants in the Temple. Left, above the shofar, is part of a trumpet, again evoking the Levitical musical performances during the Temple service. To the right and left are myrtle and date palm branches, two of the four species held during the Sukkot services.

However, I am mystified by the other four symbols. On top is the sun, which I am not sure what it is doing here; is it an allusion to Pessach, which always falls out in the early spring? Is it actually a radiating matza, rather than a sun? Immediately to the right of the Tablets of the Law is a structure that could be a building with lots of windows, a box for sorting little items like nails, spices, or whatever, or it could be a book with a very peculiar cover; I don’t know. On the immediate upper left of the Tablets is a kind of tube, which I cannot make sense of, either. Finally, on the left side, there seems to be a kind of chain or arc connecting the trumpet, the shofar or the myrtle branch to the sun, which I can’t interpret, either. Do you have a suggestion? If so, please leave a comment.

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Posted by Arie Folger

Will the Judge of the Entire World Not Do Justice?

April 1, 2011

I tried to avoid this issue as it was propping up in conversations and in private chain emails, in the hope that sober minds would prevail and this opinion would die down, but I was wrong, and this philosophy has now hit the media. What I am talking about is the attempt of some opinion leaders to explain the Japanese triple disaster by linking it to a particular wrong the Japanese are accused of: the conviction of three young Jewish men for unknowingly smuggling a large amount of drugs into Japan.

Rabbi David Twersky, the leader of the Rachmastrivka Hasidic dynasty, says the recent tsunami in Japan, which has left thousands of people dead, was the result of the arrest of two yeshiva students by Japanese authorities after being convicted of smuggling drugs, YNET reports. In truth, I am loath to respond, because the Rachmastrivka Rebbe is a great, G”d-fearing, holy man, infinitely more learned than I am. It is thus with quite some trepidation I write these words, but, I believe that we must write them. The notion that about 27000 people lost their lives because three Jewish men were too harshly punished, is so disproportional, that no response would be needed. However, I feel that when the internet is obscured by such incomprehensible statements, it behooves us to seek what the Torah really has to say about these matters. Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted by Arie Folger

When Theodicy Is No Theodicy

April 1, 2011

There is an old, venerable strain in Jewish thought, which would have us allow current events to inspire us to greater introspection and inspiration in our service of G”d. The question being answered is not “Why has G”d allowed such a thing to happen,” but ” how should I change my life, now that these terrible tidings have reached my ears – how to I shake myself awake to become a better person?”

To understand that approach, we should delve a little further into this citation of “the world was created for me.”* Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted by Arie Folger

Bi-Religious Eucation, or: How to Teach No Faith At All

March 28, 2011

Prof. Alan Brill has a post up on his blog about a Bi-religious afterschool program, teaching both Judaism and Christianity, presumably to the children of interfaith families. It is a project of the Trinity day school, a Christian school, at least half of whose students reportedly have at least one Jewish parent. The program self-describes itself with, among others, the following statement:

In 2010, a two-year class for teenagers was launched in the Westchester and Orange/Rockland chapters that caters to children from 12 to 14 years old. It helps them grapple with identity questions specific to that age, regarding who they are and who they want to become. The program educators, however, stress that no decision needs to be made, that identity is something that builds over time and that it can change at any time.

While the program may be very convenient for interfaith parents, who cannot make up their mind regarding faith, it is my contention that such a program cannot instill faith, any faith, Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted by Arie Folger

Homosexuals, Tolerance, the Apple App Store, and Freedom of Speech

March 24, 2011

Mobile phone “app stores” have become the new sociocultural battlegrounds. Apple, which owns and operates its iTunes application and media stores, maintains relatively tight guidelines as to what may or may not be sold through their platform. Recently, they banned an application that purported to help homosexuals become heterosexual, through what is known as reparative therapy.

Without taking any particular stand on reparative therapy (about which I should share some ramblings in the future), I found the following comment on a technology web site [slashdot.org], which strongly leans left socially, very much on the mark:

Thanks for injecting some rationality here. This is the thing I can’t understand: if someone wants to change their gender, that’s something that’s seen as acceptable, even if a bit unusual. If someone wants to change their sexual orientation, it’s presumed that someone with an agenda must have brainwashed that person and the community that shares their (original) orientation takes offence. No-one should be pushing this sort of thing on anybody, but I can’t understand why it’s an issue for such software to exist.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted by Arie Folger

What’s More Meaningful Is More Easily Remembered

March 23, 2011

Many a bar mitsva boy, or even a seasoned ba’al qeria, has spent countless hours trying to memorize the proper vowelization and cantillation of a text spanning sometimes well over one hundred verses. Is there a secret to make this process easier? Is there a golden bullet, a holy grail? Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted by Arie Folger

A Christian Theologian Living in a “Yeshivishe” Community

March 16, 2011

Maria Poggi Johnson, a professor of theology and a Christian…

the mother of four, moved into her current home “sort of accidentally,” figuring that while the neighborhood could not be described as upscale, with so many religious people living there, “it wouldn’t get too bad.”

Admittedly, she knew about religious Jews “only in theory. All too often, Christians think Judaism is just a thing that prepared the way for Christ,” she said. “But Judaism is alive and kicking.” (from the New Jersey Jewish Standard)

Being a religion scholar and a keen observer, after a while, she made a remarkable observation: Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted by Arie Folger

Bilinguals See the World in Greater Depth

March 15, 2011

When Jewish kids in the Diaspora are taught Hebrew, the purpose is not primarily to make vacationing in Israel easier, but to put it to liturgical use and to make thousands of years of Jewish tradition more accessible.

However, I’d like to believe that with the language we not only open intellectual avenues, but enable the student to experience the world differently, to see it colored by the sensitivities and the rich experiences of generations of Jews from the recent and distant past.

Now, a new study of bilingual people sheds light on how, indeed, to see the world differently, to experience it from the vantage point of different cultures. Even the simple act of describing a color becomes enriched:

Panos Athanasopoulos, of Newcastle University, has found that bilingual speakers think differently to those who only use one language. Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted by Arie Folger

Why is Birkat HaMazon So, So Long? (Video Lecture)

March 15, 2011

Explore the structure of the Birkat HaMazon (Grace After Meals). This lecture is based upon a previous lecture given in German (Danksagung ausserhalb der Synagoge: Das Benschen), and answers some of the questions raised at the conclusion of that lecture. Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted by Arie Folger

Was Esther Slow on the Uptake? (Multimedia)

March 9, 2011

After building up to a very thrilling, potentially tragic moment, which is most pregnant with potential for salvation, when Queen Esther gathers her courage and enters the inner palace of the king, uninvited, King Achashverosh extends his golden sceptre to her and proclaims his readiness to fulfil every desire she harbours.

But, in a most anti-climatic moment, Esther fails to use this opportunity to request that the king spare the Jews, and two more days must pass until she finally reveals herself and beseeches he king on behalf of her brethren. Why? Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted by Arie Folger

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