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From Lippy - hayim (2 replies) FED08 - benjoosh (1 replies) are you a communist? - Asher (5 replies) Welcome Nitzan - Rosh Website (0 replies) Confused? - reuben (0 replies) aliyah quotes - Snow (5 replies) TotM: The Palestinian Unity Government - Nidorf (0 replies) boneh 06 - thriple (33 replies) what the ideology is missing - benjoosh (0 replies) Habo in the News - reuben (0 replies) U.N. - Israeli relationship. - Foreigner (0 replies) North Korea's Nuclear Kibosh - Foreigner (1 replies) Famous Habonnikim! - hayim (0 replies) Peace with Syria? - reuben (3 replies) Indian food - sfray (3 replies) Fed camparino! - Snow (2 replies) Do you enjoy hadracha? - Nathan B Brown (13 replies) socialist groups - jasma (0 replies) Asephot Resolutions - Snow (1 replies) The right of return - (1 replies) Yay Ma'ayan - reuben (1 replies) Fed Camp Photos - reuben (2 replies) Welcome Zohar - reuben (1 replies) Shnat around the world - Rozenbaum (6 replies) Helloooo habonim - bones_silver (1 replies) hello from israel - sharon (0 replies) Sounds Of Sudan - hayim (3 replies) How excited are you for fed?!! - Lauren (2 replies) Books to take on shnat - loweyperth (3 replies) David Grossman's Speech at the Yitchak Rabin Rally - Nathan B Brown (0 replies) |
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From Lippy By: Nathan B BrownCultural Judaism (Sgoin on, shkedi, shtat, sappnin) This article is intended to act as the impetus for what hopefully will manifest itself into a thorough and expansive analysis of Cultural Judaism and Habo’s Judaism. I hope to kick start, with this piece, a forum which invites every single person, with an opinion regarding this topic, to voice their views on the matter, be it positive or negative, brief or extended. I strongly believe that such an investigation is extremely belated and desperately needed as for far too long Cultural Judaism has been perceived as some abstract idea which is both unintelligible as well as holy and untouchable. This is an issue that I perceive to be integral to both Habo as a movement and all of us as Jewish individuals. Cultural Judaism is the notion of a shared Judaism, one which seeks to bind and unite rather than separate and divide. It is founded upon the idea that rather than clinging to a religion that is cloaked in meaningless and antiquated traditions that today bear no meaning or purpose, we should seek to thoroughly examine our presupposed beliefs and practices and find a common ground where everyone finds increased meaning and belonging. It insists that actions performed solely “for the sake of tradition” are not valid reasons for perpetuating such an act and challenges individuals to look at Judaism with a critical eye, rejecting aspects that don’t sit well with them and thus creating a service and ultimately a religion that is of renewed strength and meaning. All of this will hopefully combine to create a wind of vigour and excitement within Judaism, resulting in a resurgence of Jewish identity and ensuring the continuation and perpetuation of the Jewish people both as a nation and a religion. Unfortunately, I vehemently oppose this approach to Judaism and believe it to be naïve, impractical and dangerous. I hold this view for a number of reasons which I intend to methodically work through and expound upon. 1) First and foremost I disagree with the latest trend in Habo to progress down a new cultural Jewish track, seeking to finally act upon its beliefs and embrace its religious stance, without coming close to fulfilling the initial demand of Cultural Judaism. Cultural Judaism holds Jewish education as its highest value, demanding that change to Judaism should be based on knowledge and understanding rather than ignorance and impulsiveness. Currently there exists an atmosphere within Habo that perceives change as urgent. Nevertheless, Cultural Judaism is completely the opposite. It is intended to be a significantly slow process which views change only as a result of deep and prolonged study of Judaism and its texts. This does not have to be Orthodox Judaism that is studied but study must occur. At the moment I believe I am correct in saying that very few within our movement could honestly say that they have a satisfactory understanding of the many elements of Judaism and therefore, I urge us to resist the temptation to change for the sake of change and first fulfil our most important duty; the duty of study! To create a new stream of Judaism is a task that must not be underestimated in difficulty and significance. The emergence of Reform, Conservative and Modern-Orthodox Judaism did not just simply happen as a result of people feeling disenchanted with Judaism as it stood. Conversely, each new movement was spearheaded by people who were extremely learned and had spent many years studying, grappling with the complexities of Judaism. Then and only then did they decide for themselves that a new path was warranted to be paved and even then was it paved with extreme caution and patience. A 3 thousand year old tradition deserves at least a bit of study before it is rejected or traded in for something newer and more appealing. 2) Furthermore, I am a staunch opponent to all those that claim that the enormous increase in assimilation and alienation among world Jewry is a result of the unappealing rigidity and inflexibility of today’s Judaism for two main reasons. First of all, with the plethora of streams within Judaism, there is certainly a spot for everyone to feel comfortable be it Orthodox, Conservative or Reform. Nevertheless, if for argument’s sake this was not true I would still assert that the reasons for the aforementioned problems were not rigidity. After attending a lecture on this very subject, spearheaded by Amos Oz’s daughter, it became clear to me that our parents’ generation made one enormous blunder that has resulted in the catastrophic situation we find ourselves in today, vis-à-vis Jewish identity and continuation. For years now, there has been this false notion of a ‘Jewish feeling’ which can be passed down throughout the generations and indeed this, a generation later, has been proven disastrous. One can not convey a feeling to another person as well as one might pass on a detailed and outlined religious framework that if allowed some flexibility can serve as a unique constant in a world otherwise riddled with passing phases and eras. I might feel extremely Jewish and wear my Magen-David on my sleeve but one day when I have a child, I hope all I have to instil that same identity upon my child isn’t a mere feeling that can neither be adequately explained nor enforced. This idea that I am attempting to explore is one of great significance and requires a certain degree of eloquence that I don’t believe I have, therefore, I am going to quote Chief Rabbi of the Commonwealth, Sir Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, from his book “The Home We Build Together” when he articulates: “Ethnicity does not last. It fades over time. First-generation immigrants remember the language, dress, customs and cuisine of home; their children less so. What lasts is religion. This alone can be handed on across the generations. Culture does not command; religion does. Nor does culture define. Enjoying sushi does not make me Japanese; liking Monet does not make me French. But Judaism makes me Jewish, and not Christian, Sikh or Zoroastrian.” This exact line of thinking outlines perfectly the problem which is posed by Cultural Judaism. Singing Lecha Dodi or enjoying Israeli dancing does not make me Jewish, Judaism in its entirety does. Now offcourse I recognise that the issue here is that the current forms of Judaism have not satisfied everyone in the past however the solution is not to reject them and surge forward into an abyss of uncertainty and vagueness. To the contrary, the response should be pluralism as an interim situation while Habo embarks upon a path of study and religious investigation. This would allow everyone to enjoy the greatest gift Habo has always had to offer, that being the gift of self-expression. We should encourage all forms of Judaism that can attract people and help people find their own unique place within the religion while we are currently far too under-prepared to create this new mythical stream we like to call ‘Cultural Judaism’. 3) Ultimately, the final issue I wish to raise is that of Habo’s position and purpose within the wider Melbourne/Australian Jewish community. I completely agree that Habo has a unique and special role to play as do all of the 6 Zionist youth movements. Nevertheless, I fear that Habo has lost sight of the purpose it has and the void it fills within the community. Each of the movements were created due to a void within the community. Hineni serves as the only modern-orthodox movement that people not comfortable at Bnei can come to. Netzer, serves as the only Reform movement etc, etc. Habo’s purpose within the community is to be there for the kids that are not particularly religious and often lacking in a strong, grounded Jewish identity. It generally attracts the more popular kids and plays a very important role, as if it did not exist, it is likely that many of its members would have fallen into the ever feared black hole of the Jewish community. Indeed, one reason Habo has always been extremely strong in numbers is that it has valued quantity due to the fact that its role was and is to attract the periphery of the community and thus be as inclusive as possible. To pigeon hole ourselves into an ideology of Cultural Judaism will only serve to alienate kids and thus undermine the very purpose Habo was created to fulfil. It is imperative that I stress that all three of my arguments are extremely limited and can be expanded upon at length in discussion but for the sake of brevity, it was necessary to shorten them as much as I could without losing what I believe to be the essence. In no way am I suggesting that Judaism is an untouchable religion that belongs behind a glass case inside a museum, nor is it a perfect religion that requires no change. Indeed the root of the word halacha (Jewish law) is holech (to progress) and Judaism has managed to survive for all these years due its very unique ability to advance and adapt with the times, however, change is something that must be treated with the utter most caution and must only be implemented after thorough examination. If Habo wishes to experiment with services and other such religious activities then I 100% embrace such ventures, however to do so exclusively while simultaneously rejecting all other religious avenues will undoubtedly prove to be highly detrimental to the Melbourne Jewish community as well as to Habo itself. Therefore, pluralism is the only viable option at this point in time at least on a practical level if ideology is seen to be sacred and less negotiable. |
FED08 By: reubenhttp://www.fed.hdoz.com http://www.fed.hdoz.com http://www.fed.hdoz.com http://www.fed.hdoz.com http://www.fed.hdoz.com http://www.fed.hdoz.com http://www.fed.hdoz.com http://www.fed.hdoz.com |
Confused? By: reubenRead this - http://www.habodror.org.uk/documents/CJprint.pdf it may help you with Cultural Judaism from UK's perspective.  |
what the ideology is missing By: benjooshA friend just sent me the most recent version of the HDOZ ideology. its looking very spiffy, reads well, organised well, very concise. however, i felt there was something missing, the concept of responsibility and service to the jewish people. all youth movements were born and continue to exist within the framework of taking responsibility for the fate of the jewish people. sure, we each prescribe different solutions, and we can vigorously debate these, but what is core is the sense that, by virtue of being young, and by virtue of our heritage, we have a responsibility to our people, our species, our planet, and not only to ourselves and co-believers. There is a fundamental aspect of what we do that is, or atleast ought to be, altruistic. I think our ideology also needs to mention the word "service", that we exist not only to work towards our vision and our needs, but also to serve the identified needs of others. Service is entangled with concepts of altruism, responsibility, and being humble. So I suggest some variation on the following for the chalutziut platform: HDOZ and its members believe in actively taking responsibility not only for ourselves, but for the well-being of others. In particular we see ourselves as responsible to our community, the Jewish people, and the State of Israel. In this spirit HDOZ is committed to the service of our people, our species, and our planet through acts of charity, altruism and volunteerism. We believe in a shared humanity and the vital importance for all to care and take responsibility for each other and our planet.
The other thing that is missing from our ideology is the concept of pacifism. Sure, we believe in the struggle and the fight for what's right, but do we believe that using violence is appropriate or acceptable? Most people would agree that using violence in self-defence or to intervene in the protection of others is sometimes necessary in the gravest of circumstances, but do we believe that it then becomes acceptable? Violence may be necessary, but is never acceptable. Meaning that, it should never become accepted as appropriate, and should always remain repugnant and totally regretable. Only by constantly and consistently affirming that violence is unacceptable will it ever diminish. I think that non-violence is particularly relevant to HDOZ today, in the wake of unrelenting violence between ISrael and her neighbours and the current war on terror. HDOZ believes that the only path to a peaceful state of affairs between peoples and nations is through non-violence and the absense of intimidation. We believe that, although the use of violence may be required in the gravest of circumstances, it should never be deemed 'acceptable' or 'legitimate'.
what do you think? p.s. isnt this stuff kinda fun? |
TotM: The Palestinian Unity Government By: NidorfGood Day Everyone, Welcome to the first TotM (Topic of the Month). Basically, it's an initiative aimed at ...initiating... discussion between Habo People, and stirring our interest in various topics to keep us informed and mentally agile. To start us off, the first topic is the recently-formed Palestinian Unity Government comprised of Haniyeh's ruling Hamas faction and Abbas' Fatah party. The agreement to form a unity government was reached at the Mecca Summit on the 8th of February, and calls for a re-forming of the Palestinian Government in five weeks (15th March). So the question is: what do you think of the new Palestinian Unity Government? Is it a PR play by the Palestinians, or is it a sign of compromise to come? Don't let the poll confuse you if you don't agree with any of the options - you can add your own! |
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