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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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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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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The Onset of Death in Halakha IV: In the Media

February 11, 2011

Here is are some of media links on the RCA’s Vaad Halacha’s paper, which I consider noteworthy, along with some editorial comments [UPDATED 2011-02-11 – split off and expanded from an older, overlong post].

But first, A Comment About Comments

Many of the comments in the blogosphere show that there is considerable disagreement about fact, in addition to the disagreements about doctrine.In previous posts, I expressed the hope that major halakhic authorities, including but not limited to those who already wrote on the issue, would revisit the question of the onset of death in halakha. I did so believing that many important facts that may previously have been ignored, have now become well known, so that we are ready to revisit the issue.

However, seeing how much disagreement there is a about facts, I think that we must also call for a broad based international investigative committee, which should only concern itself with the facts, making no value judgements whatsoever. Let’s remember that science deals with facts, while values are the domain of religion, morality, philosophy, ethics. But having clear facts would surely be most helpful.

Click for more on London Beth Din, Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, the Lancet, the Forward and National Geographic Read the rest of this entry »

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The Onset of Death in Halakha III: Noteworthy Discussions

February 10, 2011

The paper published by the Vaad Halacha of the RCA (for my previous posts thereon, see here and here) has definitely achieved one of its unstated but obvious purposes: it has generated a flurry of activity. It is my sincere hope that this activity will not be restricted to blogs and newspapers, but will also lead to a reappraisal by today’s major posqim.

Here is are some of discussions I consider noteworthy, along with some editorial comments [UPDATED 2011-02-11 – split into two posts]: Read the rest of this entry »

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How Does One Teach Social Skills?

January 3, 2011

In 1999, the “late” Jewish Observer (partial archive here) ran a feature on how to teach middos, i.e. proper, morally upright, religiously inspired behavior. The major question was, whether behavior is most efficiently and most effectively acquired through formal or informal means. In his article Dr. Benzion Sorotzkin argued that formal middos education is neither the most efficient, nor the most effective way to help the students internalize these values. Sadly, I could not find R’ Joseph Elias’ article on the web, but IIRC in that feature, he argued for the utility of formal middos education.

In many yeshivot, the study of the underlying philosophical-ethical material, the so called mussar works, constitutes an integral part of the curriculum. However, some would argue that any such study only becomes truly useful after properly developing and nurturing a moral disposition. Take Lashon haRa’, for example, the sin of gossip and slander. Some would argue that the most effective way to train students would be through the intellectual study of works on this topic, such as the Chafetz Chaim. However, consider that the following reason for the prohibition on gossiping: that God wants people to live in peace and harmony with each other, while tale bearing and slander are major contributors to strife (Sefer haChinukh §236).

If the purpose is to increase interpersonal peace and harmony, perhaps it is best achieved by … promoting interpersonal peace and harmony. Which is why the following article caught my eye:

Elementary school students who participated in a three-month anti-bullying program in Seattle schools showed a 72 percent decrease in malicious gossip. Read the rest of this entry »

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Dodging the Draft in Dogy Ways

December 21, 2010

There is an article up on YNET about Charedi yeshiva students who dodge the draft by feigning minor insanity.

I told them that I tried to commit suicide when I was younger, but it wasn’t enough. When the mental health officer said he wouldn’t release me, I told him I hated Arabs – so he lowered my medical profile to 21. Later on, a committee approved it, and I was out.”

As the article points out, not everyone who claims a draft exemption based on mental reasons are frauds. There are people who are really not mentally suitable for army service. And the mental clause for draft exemption isn’t the most common form of draft exemption. That honor falls to the תורתו אמנותו, the Torah is his occupation, exemption, which depending on the extent of its use, may actually be a very valid exemption, depending on one’s viewpoint.

I do not want to enter here into the discussion of whether and in what measure that exemption is commendable, nor whether serving in the Israeli military is a mitzvah or something best avoided. That’s been extensively discussed elsewhere.

But I am very troubled by the fact that people would lie in order to avoid the draft. The Torah commands that we stay away from lying (Shemot 23:7, Keep thee far from a false matter), prohibits lying (Vayiqra 19:11, Ye shall not … lie one to another), and particularly prohibits misrepresenting facts in matters that may bring about monetary loss to another party (Vayiqra 25:17, And ye shall not wrong one another).

[UPDATE 20101221 at 20:26: Read the rest of this entry »

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Brain Death and Organ Transplantation in Halacha – Redux

December 21, 2010

Recently I posted an entry entitled “When Does Death Begin, According to Halacha?” about a long awaited paper which the Rabbinical Council of America’s Vaad Halacha recently published. It turns out that it’s not just the RCA that has recently revisited “brain death” and organ transplantation in halakha, nor was their opinion piece long in the making. Turns out that British Jewry has been grappling with the same issue. The Chief Rabbi’s and London Beth Din’s rulings had yet to be published, as of last summer.

However, while the RCA’s paper is billed as a research paper and an educational tool, the London Beth Din’s decision is supposed to be an actual halakhic ruling from a national organization in a country with a significant Jewish population, making it particularly interesting.

From the Jewish Chronicle (July 15, 2010):

The founder of a campaign to encourage Orthodox Jews to carry organ donor cards has voiced frustration at the time taken by the Chief Rabbi to issue new guidelines on the subject.
…
Mr Berman, who lives in Jerusalem, said that after meeting the Chief Rabbi in March 2009, he had agreed not to lecture on organ donation in the UK until the Chief Rabbi and the London Beth Din decided their position in the summer.
…
Arguing there had been no major new developments on organ donation in medicine or Jewish law over the past decade, he declared: “I hope this review will not drag on for years, as I fear it will. This issue is of an urgent life-saving nature and should be given priority.”
…
A spokesman for the Office of the Chief Rabbi said for the past 12 months, the London Beth Din had been engaged “in careful consideration” of organ donations and living wills.

Can anyone report whether the Beth Din has meanwhile issued this ruling?

One wonders whether one of the things the Beth Din was waiting for was the RCA’s paper, as it significantly contributes to the field by documenting the medical conditions the landmark published halakhic responsa responded to.

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When Does Death Begin, According to Halacha?

December 18, 2010

One of the most vexing questions in contemporary medical ethics is when a dying patient can be considered dead. Until several decades ago, the answer was simple: when a patient stopped breathing and his heart stopped beating. However, since the invention of artificial respiration, the answer is no longer straightforward.

During the last fifty years, a number of landmark halakhic responsa have been written, evaluating whether neurological definitions of death (a.k.a. “brain death“), such as the Harvard Criteria of 1968, are valid in the eyes of halakha. However, up until now, there has been no systematic attempt to research which medical information had been used as a basis for those halakhic responsa.

Recently, the Vaad Halacha of the RCA has done just that and published a extensive paper on the determination of death in halakha. The paper has been picked up by the news media [Jewish Week] and been extensively discussed in some blogs [Hirhurim I and II].

While the paper does is presented as an educational exploration, not forcing any conclusions, the paper nonetheless demonstrates that to date, there has been very little support from the halakhic responsa literature, to support accepting “brain death.” See below for my take on this. Anyway, understandably, those who advocate accepting the neurological standard were not pleased, and not everybody welcomed the paper.

The lead author of the study is R’ Asher Bush, the chairman of the Vaad Halacha, and yours truly had the privilege to contribute as an editor of the paper.

Despite having contributed to the paper’s final form, the comments below are mine only and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the article’s authors. Read the rest of this entry »

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Nicht Rassismus, sondern ein mildes Urteil

September 7, 2010

11. Juli berichteten die Medien über die Verurteilung in Israel eines Arabers namens Sabbar Kaschur. So berichtete die Süddeutsche Zeitung:

Jetzt muss der Vater von zwei Kindern 18 Monate ins Gefängnis und umgerechnet 2000 Euro Schmerzensgeld zahlen, weil er sich vor dem einvernehmlichen Sex mit einer Israelin als Jude ausgeben hatte.

Die Welt (und manche Israelis) schrie “Rassismus!” Die Gratiszeitung 20-Minuten schrieb sogar den Titel “Sex mit Judin — Araber muss ins Gefängnis”.

Die Süddeutsche Zeitung war zwar einigermasse vernünftiger, und liess das Urteil, wo sich schnell herausgieb, dass es hier überhaupt nicht um Rassismus geht, denn Juden werden genau so für solchen Dingen verurteilt. Es ist nähmlich strafbar in Israel, einen anderen unter Vorspiegelung falscher Tatsachen und Identität zum Geschlechtsverkehr zu überzeugen, was die Süddeutsche auch erklärte. Immerhin gab es für das Urteil wenig Verständnis.

Die Wahrheit ist aber überraschender. Nicht Rassismus, sondern ein erfolgreicher Versuch des Verurteilten, nur eine milde Strafe zu bekommen, war Anlass zu diesem Urteil. Haaretz berichtet nähmlich, dass es hier nicht einmal um strafbare Vergewaltigung unter Vorspiegelung falscher Tatsachen und Identität ging, sondern um die “übliche”, gewalttätige Art, berichtet Haaretz. Sabbar Kaschur war bereit eine mildere Straftat zu anerkennen, und bat nur für jene mildere Straftat verurteilt zu werden.

Die grosse Verliererin ist natürlich sein Opfer. Immerhin stimmte sie vielleicht zu, so vorzugehen.

Immerhin ist das Gesetz lobenswürdig. Auch wenn ein demokratischer Staat den moralischen Verhalten ihre Bürger nicht zu eng vorschreiben kann, kann sie aber ihre Bürger einigermasse von Süssholzraspler schützen und die Moralität damit stützen.

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