Category: Jews

The rabbi who guided Reform Judaism

An obituary appearing in THE WEEK magazine dated February 24, 2012.  W. Gunther Plaut (1912-2012)

The rabbi whose commentary on the Torah helped introduce tens of thousands of Reform Jews to their faith got an early lesson in the importance of literary interpretation soon after arriving in America, in 1935. He saw a newspaper in Cincinnati that, to his eyes, announced surprising news of a revolution in Italy. The headline: “Reds Murder Cardinals.”

Wolf Gunther Plaut was born in Munster, Germany, and earned a doctorate in law at the University of Berlin, said the Toronto National Post. But when the Nazis came to power, they barred Jews from practicing law, so Plaut began studying Jewish theology. “I wanted to know what it truly meant to be a Jew if I was made to suffer for it,” he later said. He received a scholarship to study in the U.S. in 1935, was ordained as a rabbi in 1939, and became a U.S. citizen in 1943. Having enlisted with the U.S. Army as a chaplain, he witnessed the liberation of the Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp at the end of the war. He recalled the survivors as desperate for theological relief. “Their first request was not for food, but for Jewish religious items,” he said.

Plaut settled in Toronto, said The New York Times, where he wrote his “magnum opus,” a modern commentary on the Jewish holy scriptures that became a “touchstone for Judaism’s liberal branches” upon its publication in 1981. Prior to Plaut’s edition, the only available translation of the Torah was one published in the 1920s with an Orthodox commentary. Plaut’s Torah interpreted Hebrew scripture “in ways that a strict adherence to tradition did not admit.” The book is now used in Reform synagogues throughout the U.S. and Canada. “You may never have met Rabbi Plaut personally,” said U.S. Reform Rabbi Jan Katzew, “yet it is likely that he taught you Torah.”

Plaut was a fierce opponent of discrimination and prejudice throughout his life, said the Toronto Star, whether it was directed against Jews in the Soviet Union or racial minorities in North America. “He was a defender of human and civil rights at a time when many didn’t even know its meaning,” said Bernie Farber, former head of the Canadian Jewish Congress. “We stand on the shoulders of such men.”

South Korea Embraces the Talmud

Just when you thought that you saw it all in the Jewish world.

Talmud Study is now Mandatory in South Korea.

The following fascinating article was translated by The Muqata from YNET.

Close to 50 million people live in South Korea, and everyone learns Gemara (Talmud) in school.
“We tried to understand why the Jews are geniuses, and we came to the conclusion that it is because they study the Talmud,” said the Korean ambassador to Israel. And this is how “Rav Papa” became a more well known scholar in Korea than in Israel.

It is doubtful if the Aramaic scholars, Abbaye and Rava, imagined their discussions of Jewish law in the Beit Midrash in Babylon would be taught hundreds of years later in East Asia. Yet it turns out that the laws of an “egg born on a holiday” (“ביצה שנולדה ביום טוב”), is actually very interesting to the South Koreans, who have required that Talmud study be part of their compulsory school curriculum.

Almost every home in South Korea now contains a Korean-translated Talmud. But unlike in Israel, the Korean mothers teach the Talmud to their children. In a country of close to 49 million people who believe in Buddhism and Christianity, there are more people who read the Talmud-or at least own their own copy at home- than there are in the Jewish state of Israel. Much more.

“So we too will become geniuses”

“We were very curious about the high academic achievements of the Jews,” explains South Korea’s Ambassador to Israel, Young Sam Mah, who was recently a host on the program “Culture Today.”

“Jews have a high percentage of Nobel laureates in all fields: literature, science and economics. This is a remarkable achievement. We tried to understand what is the secret of the Jewish people? How they-more than other people-are able to reach those impressive accomplishments. Why are Jews so intelligent? The conclusion we arrived at is that one of your secrets is that you study the Talmud.”

“Jews study the Talmud at a young age, and it helps them, in our opinion, to develop mental capabilities. This understanding led us to teach our children as well. We believe that if we teach our children Talmud, they will also become geniuses. This is what stands behind the rationale of introducing Talmud Study to our school curriculum.”

Young says that he himself studied the Talmud at a very young age: “It is considered very significant study,” he emphasized. The result is that more Koreans have Talmud sets in their homes than do the Jews in Israel.

“I, for example, have two sets of the Talmud: the one my wife bought me, and the second was a gift from my mother.”

Groupies of Jews

Koreans don’t only like the Talmud because they see it as promoting genius, but because they found values that are ​​close to their hearts.

“In the Jewish tradition, family values ​​are very, very important,” explains the South Korean Ambassador.

“You see it even today in your practice of the Friday evening family meal. In my country we also focus on family values. The respect for adults, and respect and appreciation for the elderly, parallels the high esteem in my country for the elderly.”

Another very significant issue is the respect for education. In the Jewish tradition, parents have a duty to teach their children, and they devote to it lots of attention. For Korean parents, their children’s education is a top priority.

David Bancroft

Jewish Newlyweds

Please excuse the four-letter words toward the end of the

following story… I would have deleted them, but the story wouldn’t be the same..

—

A young Jewish couple got married and went on their honeymoon.

When they got back, the bride immediately called her mother.

“Well”, said her mother, “so how was the honeymoon?”

“Oh mama”, she replied, “the honeymoon was wonderful! So romantic”… Suddenly she burst out crying.

“But, mama, as soon as we returned, Sam started using the most horrible language — things I’d never heard before!

I mean, all these awful four-letter words!

You’ve got to take me home!!

“PLEASE, MAMA !”

“Sarah, Sarah”, her mother said, “calm down! You need to stay with your husband and work this out. Now, tell me, what could be so awful?

WHAT four-letter words?”

“Please don’t make me tell you, mama,” wept the daughter.

“I’m so embarrassed, they’re just too awful! COME GET ME, PLEASE!!”

“Darling, baby, you must tell me what has you so upset. Tell your mother these horrible four-letter words!”

Sobbing, the bride said, “Oh, Mama…, he used words like: “DUST, WASH, IRON and COOK…

“I’ll pick you up in twenty minutes,” said her mother.

ISRAEL’S PECULIAR POSITION

THIS WAS WRITTEN IN 1968. 43 years ago – Astonishing!

You probably don’t remember the name Eric Hoffer.

He was a longshoreman who turned into a philosopher, wrote columns for newspapers and some books.

He was a non-Jewish American social philosopher.
He was born in 1902 and died in 1983, after writing nine books and winning the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

His first book, “The True Believer”, published in 1951, was widely recognized as a classic.

Eric Hoffer was one of the most influential American philosophers and free thinkers of the 20th Century. His books are still widely read and quoted today. Acclaimed for his thoughts on mass movements and fanaticism, Hoffer was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1983. Hopewell Publications awards the best in independent publishing across a wide range of categories, singling out the most thought provoking titles in books and short prose, on a yearly basis in honor of Eric Hoffer.

Here is one of his columns from 1968 — 43 years ago! Some things never change!

~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~

ISRAEL’S PECULIAR POSITION…by Eric Hoffer – Los Angeles Times 26/5/1968.

The Jews are a peculiar people: things permitted to other nations are forbidden to the Jews.

Other nations drive out thousands, even millions of people and there is no refugee problem. Russia did it, Poland and Czechoslovakia did it.
Turkey threw out a million Greeks and Algeria a million Frenchman.

Indonesia threw out heaven knows how many Chinese and no one says a word about refugees.

But in the case of Israel , the displaced Arabs have become eternal refugees.

Everyone insists that Israel must take back every single one.

Arnold Toynbee calls the displacement of the Arabs an atrocity greater than any committed by the Nazis.

Other nations when victorious on the battlefield dictate peace terms.

But when Israel is victorious, it must sue for peace.

Everyone expects the Jews to be the only real Christians in this world.

Other nations, when they are defeated, survive and recover but should Israel be defeated it would be destroyed.

Had Nasser triumphed last June [1967], he would have wiped Israel off the map, and no one would have lifted a finger to save the Jews.

No commitment to the Jews by any government, including our own, is worth the paper it is written on.

There is a cry of outrage all over the world when people die in Vietnam or when two Blacks are executed in Rhodesia .

But, when Hitler slaughtered Jews no one demonstrated against him.

The Swedes, who were ready to break off diplomatic relations with America because of what we did in Vietnam , did not let out a peep when Hitler was slaughtering Jews.

They sent Hitler choice iron ore, and ball bearings, and serviced his troops in Norway .

The Jews are alone in the world.

If Israel survives, it will be solely because of Jewish efforts. And Jewish resources.

Yet at this moment, Israel is our only reliable and unconditional ally.

We can rely more on Israel than Israel can rely on us.

And one has only to imagine what would have happened last summer [1967] had the Arabs and their Russian backers won the war, to realize how vital the survival of Israel is to America and the West in general.

I have a premonition that will not leave me; as it goes with Israel so will it go with all of us.

Should Israel perish, the Holocaust will be upon us all.

Norway says Terrorism Against Israel is Justified

With galling Chutzpah, Norway’s Ambassador to Israel has suggested that Hamas terrorism against Israel is more justified than the recent terrorist attack against Norway!

Alan Dershowitz responds…
 

Is Terrorism Against Israel Really More Justified Than Terrorism Against Norway?

July 28, 2011 at 4:30 pm

In a recent interview, Norway’s Ambassador to Israel has suggested that Hamas terrorism against Israel is more justified than the recent terrorist attack against Norway. His reasoning is that, “We Norwegians consider the occupation to be the cause of the terror against Israel.” In other words terrorism against Israeli citizens is the fault of Israel. The terrorism against Norway, on the other hand, was based on “an ideology that said that Norway, particularly the Labor Party, is foregoing Norwegian culture.” It is hard to imagine that he would make such a provocative statement without express approval from the Norwegian government.

I can’t remember many other examples of so much nonsense compressed in such short an interview. First of all, terrorism against Israel began well before there was any “occupation”. The first major terrorist attack against Jews who had long lived in Jerusalem and Hebron began in 1929, when the leader of the Palestinian people, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, ordered a religiously-motivated terrorist attack that killed hundreds of religious Jews-many old, some quite young. Terrorism against Jews continued through the 1930s. Once Israel was established as a state, but well before it captured the West Bank, terrorism became the primary means of attacking Israel across the Jordanian, Egyptian and Lebanese borders. If the occupation is the cause of the terror against Israel, what was the cause of all the terror that preceded any occupation?
 
I was not surprised to hear such ahistorical bigotry from a Norwegian Ambassador. Norway is the most anti-Semitic and anti-Israel country in Europe today. I know, because I experienced both personally during a recent visit and tour of universities. No university would invite me to lecture, unless I promised not to discuss Israel. Norway forbids Jewish ritual slaughter, but not Islamic ritual slaughter. Its political and academic leaders openly make statements that cross the line from anti-Zionism to anti-Semitism, such as when Norway’s former Prime Minister condemned Barak Obama for appointing a Jew as his Chief of Staff. No other European leader would make such a statement and get away with it. In Norway, this bigoted statement was praised, as were similar statements made by a leading academic.
 
The very camp that was attacked by the lone terrorist was engaged in an orgy of anti-Israel hatred the day before the shooting. Yet I would not ever claim that it was Norway’s anti-Semitism that “caused” the horrible act of terrorism against young Norwegians.
 
The causes of terrorism are multifaceted but at bottom they have a common cause: namely a belief that violence is the proper response to policies that the terrorists disagree with. The other common cause is that terrorism has often been rewarded. Norway, for example, has repeatedly rewarded Palestinian terrorism against Israel, while punishing Israel for its efforts to protect its civilians. While purporting to condemn all terrorist acts, the Norwegian government has sought to justify Palestinian terrorism as having a legitimate cause. This clearly is an invitation to continued terrorism.
 
It is important for the world never to reward terrorism by supporting the policies of those who employ it as an alternative to reason discourse, diplomatic resolution or political compromise.
 
I know of no reasonable person who has tried to justify the terrorist attacks against Norway. Yet there are many Norwegians who not only justify terrorist attacks against Israel, but praise them, support them, help finance them, and legitimate them.
 
The world must unite in condemning and punishing all terrorist attacks against innocent civilians, regardless of the motive or purported cause of the terrorism. Norway, as a nation, has failed to do this. It wants us all to condemn the terrorist attack on its civilians, and we should all do that, but it refuses to live by a single standard.
 
Nothing good ever comes from terrorism, so don’t expect the Norwegians to learn any lessons from its own victimization. As the Ambassador made clear in his benighted interview, “those of us who believe [the occupation to be the cause of the terror against Israel] will not change their minds because of the attack in Oslo.” In other words, they will persist in their bigoted view that Israel is the cause of the terrorism directed at it, and that if only Israel were to end the occupation (as it offered to do in 2000-2001 and again in 2007), the terrorism will end. Even Hamas, which Norway supports in many ways, has made clear that it will not end its terrorism as long as Israel continues to exist. Hamas believes that Israel’s very existence is the cause of the terrorism against it. That sounds a lot like the ranting of the man who engaged in the act of terrorism against Norway.
 
The time is long overdue for Norwegians to do some deep soul searching about their sordid history of complicity with all forms of bigotry ranging from the anti-Semitic Nazis to the anti-Semitic Hamas. There seems to be a common thread.

What If Jews Had Followed the Palestinian Path?

Postwar Jewish refugees left everything they had in Europe—no ‘right of return’ requested.

By WARREN KOZAK

It is doubtful that there has ever been a more miserable human refuse than Jewish survivors after World War II. Starving, emaciated, stateless—they were not welcomed back by countries where they had lived for generations as assimilated and educated citizens. Germany was no place to return to and in Kielce, Poland, 40 Jews who survived the Holocaust were killed in a pogrom one year after the war ended. The European Jew, circa 1945, quickly went from victim to international refugee disaster.

Yet within a very brief time, this epic calamity disappeared, so much so that few people today even remember the period. How did this happen in an era when Palestinian refugees have continued to be stateless for generations?

In 1945, there were hundreds of thousands of Jewish survivors living in DP Camps (displaced persons) across Europe. They were fed and clothed by Jewish and international relief organizations. Had the world’s Jewish population played this situation as the Arabs and Palestinians have, everything would look very different today.

To begin with, the Jews would all still be living in these DP camps, only now the camps would have become squalid ghettos throughout Europe. The refugees would continue to be fed and clothed by a committee similar to UNRWA—the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (paid for mostly by the United States since 1948). Blessed with one of the world’s highest birth rates, they would now number in the many millions. And 66 years later, new generations, fed on a mixture of hate and lies against the Europeans, would now seethe with anger.

via Warren Kozak: What If Jews Had Followed the Palestinian Path? – WSJ.com.

Bin Laden’s Big Mistake

One thing made Osama bin Laden public enemy #1.

One thing made him a target for America’s hit squad.

One thing – and only one thing – made his assassination justified and praised by world leaders. He didn’t just kill Jews. Had he limited his terrorism to Jews only, he would not have been targeted. 

The same world leaders, who today take great pride in his death, would have celebrated his life. He would not have been killed by President Obama; he would have dined with him. He would have been invited to the United Nations. He would have been a featured speaker on the world speaking tour. He would have won the Noble peace prize. 

Think I’m crazy? Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is the President of Iran. His resume includes a lot more than just politics. It has been proven that he personally ordered the attacks against the Jewish community of Argentina where hundreds of Jews were killed. He has stated – time and again – that he wants to destroy Israel. He wants to kill the 6,000,000 Jews (interesting number) who live and he is feverishly working to build a bomb that will do just that. 

Has he been targeted? Is this animal on any one’s “hit list”? Actually, just the opposite is true. He recently spoke in the UN. He was a guest speaker at Columbia University. Why? Because he is only interested in killing Jews. 

Khaled Mashaal is the leader of Hamas. Hamas is the sworn enemy of Israel. It has killed over 1,500 Jews in the last 10 years. It has fired over 5,000 missiles into Israel, aiming for Jewish homes and hoping to kill Jewish children. Has he been targeted? Is this beast on any one’s “hit list”? Actually, just the opposite is true. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently invited Mashaal to Moscow. Former USA President Jimmy Carter has embraced Mashaal and considers him a partner for peace. Why? Because he is only interested in killing Jews. 

Yassir Arafat was the founder and leader of the PLO. He has more innocent blood on his hands than Osama bin Laden. Yet, this murderer was invited numerous times to dine with President Bill and First Lady Hillary Clinton in the White House. He spoke in the UN. He was accepted around the world as a leader and spoke in over 30 countries. He won the Noble Peace Prize. Why? Because he was only interested in killing Jews. 

Although I can go on, I will give just one final example: Adolph Hitler.  The world knew about concentration camps as early as 1933. 

The world knew about Kristellnacht back in November of 1938. Yet, the entire world called this monster; Herr Hitler.  They gave his respect. They recognized him as a leader. All that changed when Hitler invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. From that point on he became an enemy. Why? Because until that day he was interested in killing Jews only.  Osama bin Laden violated the golden rule: In addition to killing just Jews, he also killed non-Jews. That is why he was targeted and for no other reason! 

The message to Jews – and the State of Israel – is very clear. Learn to defend yourself. Learn to take revenge yourself. The world will not help you with Iran or Hamas. Ahmadinejad and Mashaal will not make the same mistake as Bin Laden and will continue to be accepted and embraced by the world. Understand this, accept this and deal with this. “We have no one on which to rely, other than our Father in Heaven”. May today’s Jewish leaders – and the brave warriors of the IDF – engrave this on their hearts. And may they – very soon – do to these terrorists exactly what was done to Bin Laden.