Jonah: Reluctant, Rebuked and Remembered
A Yom Kippur Reading
Ayala Emmett

Reluctant
Jonah would not be an interesting protagonist if his story was just about a reluctant prophet who demurs when called by God to deliver a message. There are great prophets in TANACH, like Moses and Jeremiah, who were called by God to speak truth to power, to warn rulers and nations, and who, at the moment of revelation, were reluctant. God says to Moses, “I will send you to Pharaoh, and you shall free my people” and Moses understandably says, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and free the Israelites?” (Exodus 3:10-11). God tells Jeremiah, “I established you a prophet unto the nations” and the reluctant prophet says, “I do not know how to speak for I am just a youth” (Jeremiah 1:5). In hindsight, who could blame them for their reluctance? Moses faces a rebellious people and doesn’t enter the Holy Land, and Jeremiah is threatened, stoned, imprisoned, and taken forcibly to Egypt by the exiles, his own people. read more

A Note on the Origins of the Avinu Malkeinu Prayer
Matia Kam

Avinu Malkeinu, Our Father our Sovereign, is a special prayer recited on the Days of Awe (and on days of fast). It is customary to recite the prayer in the synagogue, in the morning (Shaharit) and during the afternoon (Minha) service. In most Jewish communities, this prayer is recited standing, as the Holy Ark is open. In Ashkenazi communities the Avinu Malkeinu is not recited on Shabbat, with the exception of Neilah at the end of Yom Kippur when it is included in the service.(1) In Sephardi communities the Avinu Malkeinu is recited on Shabbat though parts of it are also omitted in honor of Shabbat. read more

THE JEWISH PLURALIST WISHES YOU
SHANAH TOVAH

and

G’MAR HATIMA TOVAH

MAY YOU BE INSCRIBED IN THE BOOK OF LIFE, AND MAY WE ALL HAVE A YEAR OF PEACE, JUSTICE, EQUALITY AND HUMAN DIGNITY

Thoughts on Scotland
Peter Eisenstadt

I don’t know how I feel about Scottish independence. On the one hand, why not? Why shouldn’t the principle of self-determination and sovereignty, which has been extended to 206 or so nations around the world, not include Scotland, with its thousand years of history? Why should Scotland be forever tied to England? On the other hand, why? What will Scotland really gain that it currently lacks? Should this permanent divorce be decided on current political issues, which by their very nature, are ephemeral? What are the causes, the burning issues, that require a separation? And how will this separation work? If Scotland keeps the pound sterling and the queen, as the Scottish Nationalist Party has pledged to do, what, really does independence mean? read more

A Jewish Grandma’s Thoughts About Climate Change
Deborah L.R. Kornfeld

On a sunny day, after an evening rainfall, you might find me in the garden pulling weeds, solving problems, worrying, and dreaming. I wasn’t always able to spend time in the garden. We had years and years where we were so busy with work and children we barely had time to breathe. Now our children have grown, married and we are enjoying the bonus and blessing of grandchildren. I am a safta and as a safta I worry about the world I am leaving to my grandchildren. read more

Ben Gurion: The Book of Jonah and the Value of a Human Being
Matia Kam

The book of Jonah is read as the Haftrah on the afternoon of Yom Kippur prior to the Minhah service. The book of Jonah illustrates God’s compassion for every living thing—human and nonhuman—and therefore reflects the special meaning of the Days of Awe. Unlike other festivals, the High Holy Days are not national celebration but are days of judgment of humans and the world—all that inhabit the world and its nations as well. Thus High Holy Days have a two-fold aspect: a general, universal aspect as well as a particular and interpersonal one. They highlight the standing of both the individual and the community (tzibur) before God, as seen in the actions of the people of Nineveh and of Jonah in the whale—in prayer, in repentance and in hopes for mercy, compassion and forgiveness. read more

Reexamining the NFL Response to Domestic Violence:
Why is No One Listening to Janay Rice?
Ahavya Deutsch

Domestic violence is complicated because victims may not want to end their relationship with the abusers, or to see him/her prosecuted.

As a victim advocate, I see my role as restoring power to the victim by listening to what she tells me she wants (although I try to tell them my concerns and lay out their options). Ultimately, the victims must make their own decision, because they are the one who must live with the consequences of their actions. Once that decision is made, I try not to judge a victim who has made a decision I don’t agree with, since the victim has more information than I do about their circumstances. read more

Overwrought over ISIS
Peter Eisenstadt
September, 10

This, from the New York Times this morning. ISIS has created “perhaps the most turbulent moment for the Middle East since the split centuries ago between Sunnis and Shiites. “ The usually level-headed Daniel Kurtzer, former US ambassador to Egypt and Israel added, ““I don’t think there has been anything like this since the 7^th century.” Really?

Have Ambassador Kurtzer or the reporters for the New York Times ever heard of Genghis Khan and the Mongols, Tamerlane, the Crusades, the Ottoman Turks, the Napoleonic invasion of Egypt, World War I, the Iran-Iraq War, the two American invasions of Iraq, and the various wars, on which I am not expert enough to list, of the Fatimids, the Mamuluks, the Ayyubids, and so on, etc? read more

What Happens in a Casino Elevator Doesn’t Stay There
Ayala Emmett
September 9, 2014

A vicious assault on a woman in a casino elevator in Atlantic City took place in February 2014. Several months later on September 8, the attack in the elevator was on our TV screens: a woman treated like a punching bag, receiving a knockout and her unconscious body pulled out like a garbage bag. A Ravens’ star Ray Rice attacked his girlfriend Janay Palmer, knocked her down and mopped the floor with her limp body. read more

 An Open Letter to American Jew

Israelis for a Sustainable Future
September 1,  2014

Israelis For a Sustainable Future is a group of Israelis living in New York, who reached out to each other spontaneously, during Protective Edge, in order to somehow respond to the horrific news coming out of Israel and Palestine. We decided to reach out to the American Jewish community because we recognized that our voice, the voice of Israelis who object to the occupation and the endless military campaigns, is not heard enough, and we saw an opportunity for dialogue. read more