Rabbinical Certification of Disaspora Jewry

My knee-jerk reaction to the entire conversion issue, in which the Israel Chief Rabbinate changed their longstanding process of automatic acceptance from the RCA (and other) rabbinical groups in chutz la'aretz, was that of disdain. It seemed so obviously a petty power-struggle that I chalked it up to one more of the annoyances of the Rabbinate here in general.

With the integration of religion and state here, it's bound to happen that state bureaucracy will trickle down into the religious services... Everyone hates bureaucracy, so when it's part of "organized" religion, it has the potential to create lots of tension.

Getting married here as on oleh, the unfriendliness of a particular "clerk" caused me to remark at the time that if I hadn't been religious, the entire process would have made me anti-Judaism. (That was a while ago, but I think (and hope!) that the process has improved a bit since then.)

However, after reviewing the issue last night with JoeSettler, I've realized that I was wrong and I think (for change) the new process will help streamline matters of conversion here in Israel.

It may be slightly annoying to RCA rabbis, but I don't think the process is out take away from their prestige.

JoeSettler writes:

If you were a potential Ger who wanted to come to Israel. Would you rather go to an authorized/certified Rabbi so that when you make Aliyah the process has its bumps minimized, or would you rather come to Israel and spend a year or two trying to prove that you are Jewish because no one ever heard of this Rabbi from Kalamazoo?

And if you were a Rabbi, wouldn't you want to be certified, knowing that if you give a Get to someone, if they decided to make Aliya (to Israel, the country with the largest Jewish population) they could quickly get on with their life there without a hassle?

Eretz Yisrael is being revitalized in its role as part of the nucleus of Judaism, and Rav Amar is trying to smooth out a lot of the more serious problems that have up to now existed in the bureaucratic process. He's doing this the same way Microsoft, Sun and John Bryce do it: Standardization, Authorization, and Certification (respectively).

Israeli Recognition of Rabbinical ordination from anywhere in the world is serious business.

If you were running a country, and people were showing up with Academic degrees from all over the world, wouldn't you want a standard? A BA degree in English Literature from Yale is different than a degree in Underwater Basekt Weaving from Latvia University...and that's why Israel's Ministry of Education refuses to accept them.

JoeSettler compares the issue to driver's licenses.

These days (actually for around the past decade) if an Oleh wants an Israeli driver’s license and already has a foreign one he is now required to take a driving test - but it didn’t used to be that way. After a noteworthy number of Olim came over from a particular region, the DMV finally realized that a rather significant number of them were showing the DMV fake driver’s licenses...

People with no driving experience (or valid licenses) were getting valid licenses in Israel with fake ids! Not having access to foreign records, or an easy/quick method of determining which licenses where actually genuine (many of the fakes were printed on the same machines as the genuine articles, just so you understand the extent of the problem), the DMV made a decision that all Olim that present a preexisting license must take a driving test.

Not fair to the other Oleh groups that wouldn’t pull that trick, but no one was going to profile a specific Oleh group and say only they had to take the test despite showing a license.

We have enough problems here; this might actually be a step in the right direction to start addressing them.


Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

Those Crazy Settlers and their email lists

Someone forwarded me the following email exchange from their yishuv's email list. Names changed to protect the guilty.

The anonymous yishuv is having a huge public email dispute over changing the nusach of the different tefillot for protection and guidance for the Medina, The IDF, etc...

-----Original Message-----
From: Settler #1
Sent: Tuesday, May 23, 2006 7:08 PM
Subject: [anonymous_yishuv] Nusach Tfila


Let me get this right:

1) Everyone agrees that they are not Halachic authorities, but everyone is giving their Halachic opinions,

2) Everyone agrees that we are not in a position to change the “nusach”, but everyone is cutting & pasting.


Now here’s what we’re going to do: I thought about this on Shabbat at the YI of Kew Gardens Hills where they make a me’shebayrach for the Midna, the US government, the IDF and the US Army.

The system of reciting a global me’shebayrach for the sick, during which the rabbi/gabbi pauses while those present silently mention the name of someone they know has been working very well.

What we do is make a general me’shebayrach for the “Government”. The rabbi/gabbi says “Medinat….”, pauses, and everyone can insert any country they want. You want “Israel”, fine.

You got a bill from Mas Hachnasa yesterday and want to get even -- this coming Shabbat don’t insert “Israel” and use “Barbados” which has lower tax rates.

Same thing with Tzahal. “Chayalei …..”, pause, and then insert anything your want. You can say “everyone except those involved with the expulsion”, or “everyone except my mefaked”.

--Settler #1

-----Original Message-----
From: settler #2
Sent: Tuesday, May 23, 2006 10:29 PM
Subject: RE: [anonymous_yishuv] Nusach Tfila


Settler #1 -

We could probably use the same method for the weekly dvar torah in shul.

The rav says:

"There are so many wonderful Divrei Torah on this week's parasha, and so many important messages, I'll be quiet now and everyone should think of their own dvar torah...It says in this week's parasha...

[10 second pause...]

Shabbat Shalom."

--Settler #2





Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

Who Calls IDF Soldiers Nazis? Machsom Watch

A "Machsom Watch" female activist approchaed an IDF solider yesterday at a roadblock near Tulkarem, swore at him, and told him he is a 'Nazi' and a 'beast.'

Soldiers who were present at the checkpoint at the time said their comrade acted according to IDF regulations and the activist's reaction was inexplicable and "degrading."

"There are a lot of situations where we carry on as usual and don't respond, but this was too much and he was offended," soldiers said.

In the written apology sent to the soldier's commander the Machsom Watch activist wrote that hearing the soldier giving instructions to the Palestinian was "unbearable." (YNETnews)

And yet, the IDF Commander-in-Chief, Dan Halutz meets publically with Machsom Watch women...and at the same time, has been alienating the Religious Zionist Camp.

Caroline Glick comments that it would appear the IDF's General Staff has lost its collective mind.

RATHER THAN contend with this situation with the necessary self-interested sensitivity in light of the damage a breach of relations with the religious Zionist camp will cause to the IDF as a fighting force, Halutz has been going out of his way in recent months to publicly chastise, insult and alienate this public. Several months ago, referring to the violence at Amona and the protests last summer against the expulsions from Gaza, Halutz described the protesters as "poisoners of wells." On Holocaust Memorial Day he accused them of belittling the Holocaust for using the slogan "We won't forget and we won't forgive" regarding the expulsions last summer, although the same slogan has been used by the Left numerous times in the past. Halutz has held publicized meetings with members of the extremist Left wing group Machsom Watch but rudely refused to meet with Col. (res.) Moti Yogev, the former deputy commander of the Gaza Division who was wounded by police at Amona.

Seems like the best way to arrange a meeting with the IDF chief of staff is to berate the army, harass its soldiers at checkpoints and call them Nazis.

If you serve in the army, support the army, send your kids to the army, provide food for the army, you're probably doing something wrong?


Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

Challenges of Life in Israel

Israel is self-defined as a Jewish Democratic State. The constant tension between these 2 seemingly opposite concepts provides us with daily challenges of building a country for the Jewish people. As Jews, our history is based on Judaism as a religion, nationality, and ethnicity. Our Democracy stems from Western Culture along with the historic laws from the Turkish Ottoman Empire and the British Mandate era in pre-1948 Israel.

This past week's B'Sheva newspaper brings the following story. (Couldn't find it on-line, but I'm translating some of it from the hard copy newspaper)

Israeli Supreme Court annuls High Rabbinical Court Ruling

The Israeli Supreme Court (ISC-Bagatz) rained down another blow against the Rabbinical Courts this past week. The Bagatz, chaired by justices Barak, Arbel and Naor annulled the ruling of the Regional Rabbinical Court and the Rabbinical High Court and ruled that the evidence provided infringed on the privacy of one of the sides.

The case dealt with a couple that in the middle of an argument [ed J@TM: not clear from the article how serious the issue was]. While their matter was being dealt with by a Rabbinical Court, the husband obtained photographs of his wife in an intimate position with another man. After seeing the photographs, the Rabbinical Court ruled that based on halacha, the man was required to divorce his wife, even though the pictures infringed on the woman's legal and basic right to privacy.

The woman challenged the Rabbinical Court's ruling in the Bagatz, and Chief Justice Aharon Barak ruled than the basic law of the right to privacy over-ruled that of determining the truth and of the halacha that a husband cannot live with his wife if she committed adultery.

The bottom line is that since the photographs compromised the woman's right to privacy, the Bagatz ruled that they could not be used as evidence to force a "one-sided" divorce.

Unfortunately, the newspaper article's point is to bash the Bagatz (I'm not a big fan of Chief Justice Aharon Barak's judicial activism, but I wish all the facts from the case were presented in the article) and many points aren't clear.

If a woman is proven to be an adulteress, does she automatically lose the right to monetary compensation from the Ketuba?

Should the laws of Dina-Dimalchuta-Dina, (the ruling country) over-rule halacha for monetary matters? (Too bad the article didn't mention what the point of the wife was -- did she want to remain married to her husband, or was she just trying to ensure that she received the money from the Ketuba?)

Is there really a conflict here between the democratic laws of privacy vs. halacha?

Unfortunately, I couldn't find this published anywhere, so the question will remain open for the time being. In the meantime, it's an example of the challenges we face here on a daily basis.

But to end on an optimistic note, there's a settlement that built a municipal swimming pool and the question arose whether it should be open on shabbat or not. The religious residents wanted the pool closed on shabbat, while the secular wanted it open. A compromise was reached, and the pool is open on shabbat -- but the snack bar is closed as well as the cash register. If you want to go swimming, you need to purchase tickets before shabbat. Therefore, the snack bar retains its kosher certification, there is no outright chilul shabbat, and yet, the pool remains open.

This is an excellent example of how to rise to the challenge of making Israel a Jewish Democratic country and a pleasure to live in!

Eretz Yisrael. Living the Dream!

Entire City of Petach Tikva for sale...on ebay.

If you can't make aliya, the next best thing is to invest in Israel's real estate. Not as a monetary investment, but as a spiritual investment -- as it gives you a much closer connection to Israel, and is one more step in the right direction of moving to Israel. Plus, when your kids learn in an Israeli yeshiva/seminar for a year, they'll have somewhere to stay if their yeshiva closes down for a weekend. (I'll be writing more about that soon).

In the meantime, The entire City of Petach Tikva (ebay item #: 7416865947) is for sale on ebay.

The city of Petach Tikva, near Tel Aviv, has been put on sale on auction website eBay, with initial bids standing at just USD 8.57. The auction ends in five days, however, and the Israeli city could certainly be worth more than that. The current highest bid is standing at USD 127.

The auction for the sale of the city was published three days ago, and until now nine bids have been received. (Hat-tip: YNET)

As of this posting, the city is currently valuated by ebay buyers at $255.00

From the Description: Special Bonus: Buy Petach Tikva and receive a bus ticket for the 66 bus line to Tel-Aviv for free. Standing Room only.

If all my holdings weren't tied up in the Muqata Holdings Investment Fund, I'd be bidding as well.

Happy Bidding, and Good Luck!

Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

Rabbinic Accountability

Orthomom, Ezzie, Chana, Dov Bear, Olah Chadasha and Renegade Rebbitzen are only a handful of the bloggers who tackled this awful story.

It does not matter whether the story is true or not - the ideas behind it are abhorrent. "Let's wait to see if it's true" is the wrong approach -- not to the case, but to the ideas behind it.

In cases such as this, action must be taken first - careful action that does not give a presumption of guilt, but action that protects those affected in case there IS guilt.

The big question being asked is "Where was our leadership -- how did they allow this to happen?"

And the answer is painfully simple.

Orthodoxy instills within us that our Jewish leadership comes from the rabbinate. Our rebbeim in yeshiva, our community rabbis in our shuls, our talmedei chachamim -- they are our role models for how a Jew should act.

Yet depressingly, very few rise to the challenge of personally demonstrating how to act when the challenge arises. Instead, cases of abuse are covered up -- with apathy even reaching to the highest levels of rabbinical structure.

The past two decades have amply shown us that the message of standing up for what is right and morally correct -- is usually not demonstrated by our leaders. A clear and effectively broadcast message of zero tolerance towards abuse has not been heard from the vast majority of our rabbinical leadership.

Why is it that the lay-people of the community and the simple (and often anonymous) voices of the JBlogosphere are the only ones expressing today loud and clear on the internet what needs to be said?

Every Community Rav needs to clearly say to his community that this behaviour, and worse, the covering up of this behaviour, is abhorrent and the antithesis of Judaism.

Any Rabbi that doesn't is not worthy of the title, Rav.

He is not worthy of the respect of the children and adults of his community.

And he is not worthy of his semicha, the unbroken chain of rabbinic mesorah from Moshe Rabbeinu.

These harsh words are being painfully written -- not out of rebellion, G-d forbid, but out of a sense of worry that an entire generation is off the derech of how to act properly, and how to protect our future generations from predators within.

Hamas Gunmen Storm Mobile Phone Company Gaza Office

Earlier Tuesday, Palestinian gunmen stormed the headquarters of mobile company Jawwal in Gaza in protest at having their phones cut off in a sign of growing lawlessness in the coastal strip, employees said.

They said around 20 gunmen entered the building saying their cellphone memory cards were not working. A short while later they began shooting, damaging over 10 computers but causing no casualties.

Jawwal, is the mobile subsidiary of Palestinian telecoms firm PalTel "PTEL.AD", which operates in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Employees said the firm's managers were mulling whether to cut services in Gaza on Wednesday in protest at the attack. (YNETNews)

I wonder if the customer support staff in Gaza for this phone company get battle pay?

Hamas Phone User: (waving rifle) My phone's not working! Why is the line so long? I want service now!

(shoots off 10 rounds from his automatic rfile into the ceiling)

Customer Support: I'm sorry sir, I'm in the middle of my falafel break, you'll have to take a number and wait just like everyone else.

Hamas Phone User: But my phone's not working!

(shoots a few more rounds into the ceiling, takes aim at customer service rep)

Customer Support: Sir, shooting me will not make your phone service get returned any faster.

Hamas Phone User: You infidel! Make my phone work!

Customer Support: Sir, if you insist on using profanity, I won't be able to help you.

Hamas Phone User: ARG! Now you've done it, I'm going to come back and blow myself up.

Customer Support: Suit yourself. Have a nice day. Next number please!


And as the article stated, there were no casualties...





Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

Beware the Witch

One has to wonder why newspapers even give credence to stories like this. Is the Maariv newspaper (and its website, NRG) so lame that it stoops to printing stories about a witch who "predicted" the CVA (stroke) of Ariel Sharon?

The first paragraph is translated as follows:

On January 4rth, hours before Prime Minister Ariel Sharon collapsed [from a stroke], the cellphone belonging to his strategic advisor Reuven Adler, rang. On the line was the "mystic" Batya Shneerson (age 75) an old friend of the Sharon family, specifically that of the late Lili Sharon. "Arik won't [continue] to be Prime Minister. He will get sick. I see doctors around him", she warned. [insert spooky music]

(you can read the rest of it in the Hebrew article)

Therefore, which of the following answers should we deduce from this story?

a. Maariv is trying to compare the downfall of Sharon to that of King Shaul meeting with the witch of Ein Dor (before Shaul's fateful battle)

b. Maariv believes that something drastic should have been done to prevent Sharon's stroke in light of the witch's phone call.

c. Maariv believes that people are stupid enough to believe this story has any relevance to Sharon's health.

d. If...she...weighs...the same as a duck,...she's made of wood. And therefore?
She's a witch! Burn her!

e. This post is yet another sinister way to accomplish what the anonymous commenter said about my Typo BaOmer posting,

"Before you argue on customs practiced by thousands of people for generations who were more knowledgable than you and more pious than you...and before you corrupt the innocent tmimusdik masses, make sure you verify your facts and yes... your poisonous ulterior motived agenda... "

Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

Brit Invitation...via the internet

This is a real invitation we received to a Brit.

Subtitles in Hebrew will be translated upon request :)


Eretz Yisrael. Living the Dream!