חג שמח

Chag Sameach Purim!

So here's an article about why we're supposed to drink ourselves stupid on Purim.

C and I drank ourselves toasty at our synagogue's 21+ Purimshpil last night, but not to the point of embarrassment. Yes, drinking is a mitzvah, but still, we have to be welcome back there.

One of our fifty-something friends did come wandering up to us near the end of the night, asked if someone nearby was someone else (there was a slight resemblance between the individuals in question, but not THAT much) and then declared that he was in no way responsible for anything he said.

"What did they put in YOUR drink?" we asked.

"I don't know, but whatever it was, it's pretty good!" he said.

We think he doesn't normally drink much. We made sure somebody else was driving him and his entourage home.

American Judaism and Racism

This article was posted a couple Martin Luther King Jr. Days ago. The article itself is interesting; the comments are fascinating, involving a lengthy exchange between the author and an American Jew who sees no racism in American Judaism.

I think it's fairly obvious that segregation definitely exists; I attend a multi-thousand family synagogue (I mean, most of them don't go regularly), and I can count on one hand the number of non-white congregants I see on a Friday night. And I live in a diverse metropolitan area. I personally know one family who chose not to join our congregation because they did not think it was racially diverse enough for their half-Asian children (and honestly, I tend to agree).

That does not mean, of course, than any individual Jew is a racist, but that many Ashkenazic Jewish organizations don't do much to encourage racial diversity.

Anyway, the article and comments go into much more detail with much more basis than I can do here. Go forth and read.

Dear Certain Parents:

From Reform Jewish Outreach's Purim newsletter:

'Dress up as your favorite Purim character (or any costume you like). During the service, whenever you hear the name "Hamen," you should spin your grogger (a colorful, loud noisemaker), stomp your feet and do everything in your power to make sure his name is not heard. This is one time when it is truly a mitzvah (commandment) to make noise in the sanctuary.' (Emphasis mine.)

See that bold sentence there? That means that, the rest of the year, it is NOT a mitzvah to make noise in the sanctuary. We all know that sometimes babies cry and toddlers squawk. If these children cannot be quickly soothed, and we do understand if they can't, please take them out.

More to the point, however, if your school-age, verbal, possibly-literate* child is attending services with you, that's a really good time for them to learn about Sitting Down and Being Quiet and maybe...just maybe...even Following Along With The Service. Because even if your kids aren't particularly interested, there are a whole bunch of adults around you who are there to worship, and it's very difficult for some of us to focus and pray when there are unattended children running up and down the aisles. Especially when some of those children are nine or ten years old.

Yours in vexation,

Anath Shalom

Rediscovered mikveh

This article is about a recently uncovered mikveh in Baltimore, which may be the oldest mikveh in the United States, located in the basement of a row house.

The place where I had my mikveh is more like a spa, but really, just about any place in which a person can fully submerge and that is at least partially fed by natural water has the potential to serve as a mikveh.

Patrilineal descent

A short essay by Rabbi Andy Bachman, discussing the idea of patrilineal descent.

I've always had some trouble reconciling Jews-as-a-race versus Judaism-as-a-religion. It was made very clear to me, by more than one rabbi, that the only way to enter the Jewish people as a convert was via religion, and I'm completely fine with that. I love learning, reading, experiencing Judaism in so many ways.

But then, it's always bugged me a little that someone who can trace their Jewish matrilineal descent is automatically Jewish, regardless of their background or whether they've ever set foot in a synagogue or know a word of Hebrew or Yiddish. (Well, I expect most native English speakers know a few words of Yiddish.) And yet, someone who can trace their Jewish patrilineal descent is not automatically Jewish if their mother's not, even if they grew up going to shul every week, observing every Shabbat and holiday, can recite Talmud backwards and forwards. (And yes, if someone's gone so far as to learn Talmud, I would suppose he or she has undergone the conversion process at some point, if necessary.)

The Reform Judaism stance, as I understand it, makes a great deal of sense to me. Reform Judaism accepts both matrilineal and patrilineal descent, as long as the person was raised Jewish.* In the article (and the comments), Rabbi Bachman discusses some of the issues involved.

Personally, it's a moot point for me, but I continue to find the "Who is a Jew?" debate fascinating.

*Edit: In reading through the comments, it seems my understanding of the Reform stance is flawed. Will continue research.

A note on backdating

I'm trying to write at least a little something about each Torah portion. I'm way behind in this, but I want to get them near the correct date, so I'll be backdating and filling in as I go. Not, I think, that anybody is reading, but in case someone is, thought I'd mention it. Carry on.

Details, details

So one of the reasons C. and I appreciate the Reform movement is that Reform Jews don't consider halacha to be binding. We especially consider this around Shabbat prohibitions, or lack thereof...we use electricity; we drive; we cook. (Well, sometimes we cook.) We try not to spend money frivolously, but we will buy things we need or go out to dinner.

We joke between ourselves sometimes that at least we don't have to worry about accidentally winnowing or threshing, since we thought those were purely agricultural prohibitions, and we live in the middle of a city.

We were, however, mistaken, as it turns out. It is, indeed, possible to thresh when one is not a farmer. I have not explored the possibility of inadvertently winnowing.

I do not, of course, intend this as a criticism of Orthodox Judaism; it's more an eye-opener for me as to how very little I know. I do know that, if I attempted Orthodoxy, I'd get so spun up about the details that I'd end up spiritually paralyzing myself. But I have great admiration for those who manage to balance fairly strict observance with living in today's world.