Re: Whoa there!

[Sylvia Schildt <creativa...>]

Dear Jordan,

I can understand your taking offense at the comparison of burkas and
chastity belts to Kol Isha -- but instead of cooling the tone, you really
shot an arrow by characterizing the questioning of halakhic demands as not
reflecting Judaism to a very sly form of anti-semitism.

That is a very hurtful thing to say.  Kol Isha is an "isha" to only a very
small minority of Orthodox Jews. And it is not a monolithic interpretation
within Orthodoxy as a number of thoughtful postings have pointed out.

Halakha is a flexible movable thing - consider its root - hey lamed khes -
to go.. 
Halakhic rulings have changed over time and the role and power of those who
interpret it is undergoing transition.

This ability to change and redefine is the secret of our survival as Jews.

I for one question the right of Rabbis to make definitive rulings that
oblige me to obey. While at the same time, I respect their collective wisdom
over the centuries as it was the glue that held us together in Exile. But as
a Jew I cannot check my brains at the door - I have a thinking mind, honed
by the centuries of thinking Jews, and I can ask the hard questions.

This is not anti-Semitic, sly or overt. The Rabbinic/halakhic era was our
survival response to separation from the Temple. There was a form of Judaism
that predated the Temple. Elements of these stages are still part of our
Jewish observances, but they are superseded and transformed by changing
times.

Now there is an Israel in our lives again. Now women are as well educated
and a part of the workplace as men. Their voices, physical and metaphorical,
are heard everywhere.

This is not the doom of Judaism, but an indication that our needs are
changing and if we respond properly, we will continue as a people and as a
religion into the millennia.

Don't be surprised if women feel KI to be as restrictive as chastity belts
and burkas - it does have that effect in their lives, in their pursuit of
parnassa which in today's world is a necessity not an option.

Disagree with it yes. But don't call it sly anti-semitism.

That which makes us Jews transcends the temporal -- it is the vision of a
better humanity, of higher values, of a loving, merciful and Creative Deity
who has created the universe and who has a special place for us as mankind
evolves.


Sylvia Schildt
Baltimore, Maryland

 1/28/04 2:11 PM, Jordan Hirsch at trombaedu (at) earthlink(dot)net wrote:

> I am sorry if I do not seem sympathetic, but this statement is horribly
> offensive to me, and quite frankly, I do not care how justified your
> desire to sing in front of whatever audience you desire is, or whether
> or not you or I or anyone else observes the demands of Halacha.
> Suggesting that Kol Isha and burkas or Kol Isha and chastity belts are
> the same is a polemical flame, and in my opinion should have been left
> off the list. Your categorical assertion that God, religion, or Judaism
> has nothing to do with Kol Isha may make you feel better, but it
> suggests that Halacha has nothing to do with Judaism or God if it does
> not meet the criteria ofyour version of twenty first century feminist
> dogma. In fact, asserting that halachic demands do not reflect Judaism
> is a very sly form of anti semitism.
> Religions should be flexible, but what makes a religion a religion is
> that it answers to it's own systems.
> 
> Jordan
> 
> 
>> but things like Kol Isha, Burkas, Chastity belts, (shall I
>> continue...?) are ALL things that men do to women. G-d,
>> religion, and our beloved Judaism have nothing to do with
>> these rules as such - only provide the "legitimization" for
>> this form of abuse. Women, representing 50% of humanity had
>> NO SAY in the CREATION of these so called "cultural" or
>> "religious" customs.
>> 
> 
> 

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