Psalm 126 — Weshalb sprechen wir diesen Psalm öfters vor dem Tischgebet? Weshalb vermischen sich das landwirtschaftliche Thema mit der Rückkehr der Weggeführten Zions? Read the rest of this entry »
Audio-Schiur – Psalm 126 – Gedenklernen für Herrn Heinz Althof s.A.
February 8, 2011
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audio shiur, Deutsch | Tagged: Psalm 126, Psalmen, Tehillim | 
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Posted by Arie Folger
Le psaume 92 – cours multimédia en français
February 8, 2011
Le psaume 92 est l’un des plus connus, car nous le retrouvons trois fois chaque semaine, toujours dans la liturgie du Chabbat. Que l’on visite la synagogue plus ou moin régulièrement, c’est un psaume que l’on reconnaitra.
Mais quel est donc le sujet de ce psaume? Est-ce le chabbat, comme la superscription (le verset titre) l’indique? Que est-ce-que d’autres psaumes peuvent nous enseigner à propos de ce psaume? Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by Arie Folger
Is Outsourcing Ethical?
February 8, 2011
Randy Cohen, the resident ethics columnist for the New York Times Magazine, responded to a query about whether a long time unemployed IT worker should take a job setting up an offshore help desk, considering that once up and running, the present help desk employees will be out of a job.
The anonymous job applicant heroically is inclined to forgo this job offer, having seen a relative suffer the effects of outsourcing, and he believes he has a greater ethical duty to fellow citizens of his country (this is actually a misuse of the concept of ethics; while he may have a greater obligation toward fellow citizens, it is a different kind of obligation, beyond the purview of ethics — see below). In order to fulfil his duty to his fellow citizens, he is willing to forgo this sorely needed job.
His wife agrees with the ethical assessment, but disagrees with his willingness to forgo the job, since forgoing the job will not achieve the desired results, as it will not prevent the outsourcing from taking place. Therefore, he might as well take the job.
Finally, Cohen disagrees with both of them, as he believes there is a greater ethical duty toward the residents of India or whichever country to which the help desk will be outsourced to, as outsourcing will give jobs to people who would otherwise remain stuck in a vicious cycle of poverty. In Cohen’s words:
Americans do not enjoy moral precedence over Indians. Some people feel we have a greater ethical duty to those closest to us — our neighbors — but in an era of global trade and travel, that is a recipe for tribalism and its attendant ills.
Drawing from the wisdom of Judaism, who is right here? Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by Arie Folger
Kalendernotiz: Neue Vortragsreihe zum Thema Gebet
January 5, 2011
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Posted by Arie Folger
How Does One Teach Social Skills?
January 3, 2011In 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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Posted by Arie Folger
Dodging the Draft in Dogy Ways
December 21, 2010There 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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Posted by Arie Folger
Brain Death and Organ Transplantation in Halacha – Redux
December 21, 2010Recently 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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Posted by Arie Folger
When Does Death Begin, According to Halacha?
December 18, 2010One 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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Posted by Arie Folger
Nicht Rassismus, sondern ein mildes Urteil
September 7, 201011. 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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Basler Gymnasium experimentiert mit Chawrutá-Lernen
September 2, 2010Im gegenteil zum Lehrplan einer gewöhnlichen Schule wird in Jeschiwót kaum ein Bruchteil des Lernpensums in den Klassenzimern verbracht. Täglich besuchen die Schüler ein bis zwei Lektionen, die zwischen dreiviertel und zwei Stunden dauern. Die andere Stunden des Tages verbringen sie im Bejt Midrásch, im Lehrhaus, wo sie meist zu zweit das Lehrmaterial zuerst grundlich vorbereiten, und anschliessend nach den Lektionen, das Material wiederholen und die neue Einsichte des Lehrers zu verstehen, analysieren, und versuchen vielleicht sogar zurückzuweisen. Das Lernen zu zweit heisst Chawrutá-Lernen, und beruht auf einer Stelle in der Mischná und im Talmúd. Jetzt experimentiert ein Basler Gymnasium — Bäumlihof — mit einem ähnlichen Modell; das Experiment soll bis 2016 läufen. Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by Arie Folger
Mikolot Mayim Rabbim 