Jeff89862
58p49 comments posted · 4 followers · following 0
10 years ago @ Jewish Daily Forward - America\'s Not \'1984\... · 0 replies · +1 points
Did God reveal his will directly to the Rabbi?
The Rabbi’s statement reminds me of the comment made by Susan B. Anthony a long time ago: “I distrust people who claim to know what God wants, because it always seems to line up really well with their own wishes.”
As an attorney, I will tell you that God is not mentioned anywhere in the U.S. Constitution, and although the Constitution protects what its citizens believe, it does not protect all of their acts in furtherance of those beliefs.
Opening a business to the public and then refusing to accommodate members of the public based upon suspect classifications is patently illegal. So when this orthodox “baker” refuses to sell his goods or products to all members of the public, he won’t be in business for much longer.
The Rabbi is merely using his religious beliefs as a fig leaf for discrimination, bigotry and intolerance. For me, this is not only illegal, but morally reprehensible.
10 years ago @ Jewish Daily Forward - Give Up Pizza? No Way ... · 0 replies · +3 points
By an accident of birth, I am one hundred percent Jewish (at least according to my parents and grandparents). That's what they told me. And, yet, I have the ability to remember the story of the Exodus without following the nitpicking legalistic rules about what foods to eat or not to eat. My spouse follows it much more closely than I, but doesn't interfere with what I do. She doesn't try to foist her observance on me; and, I don't force my lack of observance on her. We love each other. We don't have to do everything in the same way.
It's time for everyone to take a deep breath and grow up. With all of the trouble in the world we have, if God is going to punish you for eating a piece of bread during Passover, then he/she/it has way too much time on his/her/it's hands.
10 years ago @ Jewish Daily Forward - When Papa\'s Seder is ... · 1 reply · -1 points
10 years ago @ Jewish Daily Forward - Sure, He Was the The S... · 3 replies · +13 points
10 years ago @ Jewish Daily Forward - What Do You Call a Jew... · 0 replies · 0 points
10 years ago @ Jewish Daily Forward - What Does a 21st Centu... · 1 reply · +2 points
Nonetheless, this woman and her children can still be contributing and participating members of the Jewish People. As I said in a prior post in this thread, we are a nation with a long, rich and remarkable history, filled with customs, traditions and practices--including religious beliefs. But, these religious beliefs do not constitute the entirety of Judaism. One doesn't have to become a fundamentalist or perform every ritual in order to be a member of the group. And, since we have so few people (13.5 million out of 7 billion) identifying with us, we should accept those wishing to remain and those wishing to join.
10 years ago @ Jewish Daily Forward - What Does a 21st Centu... · 3 replies · -1 points
10 years ago @ Jewish Daily Forward - What Does a 21st Centu... · 0 replies · +3 points
In fact, you can be an atheist and still be a contributing and participating member of our people. You can identify with and support Jewish causes, including the right of the Jewish People to a nation-state of their own. For far too long, the Jewish People have been subjected to discrimination, persecution and genocide; and, unfortunately, quite a bit of it continues to this day. Therefore, learn about us, teach your children about us, identify with us, join us and contribute what you can to make us even better. Many of us are waiting for you with open arms.
10 years ago @ Jewish Daily Forward - I Find Your Obsession ... · 0 replies · +1 points
Our lack of acceptance of others has doomed us to minority status and made us weak and vulnerable. The other monotheistic faiths had unlimited capacity to grow through conversion and otherwise, because national origin, ethnicity, race, or kinship didn't have significance to them or limitations on those wishing to join.
As a historical example, go to 458 BCE, when Ezra returned to Jerusalem, with another large group of Jewish exiles, where he nullified the marriages of Jewish men to non-Jewish women, including those marriages that produced children. Instead of converting and incorporating these women and children into the Jewish faith, they were exiled. Was Ezra preserving Judaism or was he destroying it?
We make it difficult, if not impossible, for others to join us. And, when a person does convert, the conversion is often times questioned and not accepted as legitimate by other group members. And, then we want to know why the children and grandchildren of these unions don't identify with Judaism. Would anyone identify with someone that doesn't completely accept you?
Our refusal to readily accept others becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy of danger to our survival.
10 years ago @ Jewish Daily Forward - Is Circumcision Ritual... · 1 reply · +6 points
It's disgraceful that mohels-- along with the parents of these infants--would expose these precious newborns to infections, death and/or brain damage! The mohels and the parents should be criminally prosecuted for child abuse and child neglect. Freedom of religion does not permit physical injury to others.