 |
|
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
|
| |
Jewish World Review
April 5, 2005
/ 25 Adar II, 5765
The difference between Jews and Judaism
By
Rabbi Avi Shafran
The Schiavo tragedy highlighted an unfortunately little known and often misunderstood aspect about Jewry
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
The phone began ringing here at Agudath Israel of America mere hours after we released a statement asking Michael Schiavo
to spare his wife's life.
We asked the late Terri Schiavo's husband to "recognize that what a court may consider legal can still constitute a grave
violation of a higher law," and pointed out that "none of us can claim to know what constitutes a meaningful existence," and that
"all of us have a responsibility to preserve even severely compromised life."
Our statement appeared in some media, primarily newspapers servicing the Orthodox Jewish community, like the weekly
Yated Ne'eman and the daily Hamodia. But it also found its way onto the popular website JewishWorldReview.com as well
as one maintained by supporters of Mrs. Schiavo's parents' struggle to save their daughter's life. Thence ensued the flood of
calls.
Some were from observant Jews, gratified that we had articulated a straightforward Jewish take on the matter. But many — in
fact, many more — came from non-Jewish Americans, clear across the country.
The callers' accents testified to their geographical diversity; the voices comprised a musical medley of northeastern enunciation,
western drawl, mid-west mannerisms and southern comfort. And all were Christians, calling a Jewish organization just to say
thank you.
More striking still, though, was something else, the single sentiment voiced, in different words, by a good number of the callers.
As one succinctly put it: "You know, I never realized there were Jewish people who cared about 'life' issues."
What those callers meant, of course, was that their impression of Jews — likely culled from the media, as most had probably
never met a member of the tribe in person — was of the stereotypical social liberal. And in fact, while most Jewish
representatives quoted in the press expressed, properly, the Jewish view that even severely compromised lives may not be
regarded as less worthy for their deficits, there were other voices.
Like that of Reconstructionist Rabbi Elizabeth Bolton, who cited Ecclesiastes that "there is a time to be born and a time to die";
her colleague Rabbi David Teutsch equated the food and water sought for Mrs. Schiavo with a respirator, about which, he
contended, one can act on "what is in the patient's best interest." Conservative Rabbi Elliott Dorf also characterized a feeding
tube as an "extraordinary measure."
And then there were displays of Jewish ambivalence on the issue like the one witnessed by writer David Klinghoffer, who
recounted in National Review how, during a talk at a Conservative synagogue, he lauded Christian support for Mrs. Schiavo's
continued nutrition and "the crowd reacted with a sharp intake of breath, shocked murmurs as if I'd said a kind word about the
Spanish Inquisition."
Maybe my callers had such reactions in mind. But I think their assumption that Jews, G-d forbid, do not adequately value life
owed less to any reaction to the Schiavo case than to many Jewish organizations' attitude toward the termination of fetal life as
a "woman's right." And for that, unfortunately, there is ample evidence. Jewish clergy and organizations regularly fall over one
another to see who might more loudly champion the preservation of Roe v. Wade, the hallowed "right" to an act that Jewish
law forbids in no uncertain terms in all but rare circumstances.
All the same, I explained to the callers — as I did to a national talk-show host when he expressed a similar sentiment to theirs — that the Jewish community is more variegated than is often assumed, and that, in any event, more important than what any Jews
may think about a particular "life" issue is what Judaism does.
There may still be perfectly sound reasons for some Jews to take liberal positions on social matters, even on end-of-life issues
or abortion. But if they do, their reasons are personal, social, economic or political, not Jewish — not, that is, reflective of the
Jewish religious heritage.
And that distinction is all the more vital in light of something that is occurring with increasing and disturbing frequency: the active
misrepresentation, even by ostensible representatives of the Jewish community, of Judaism's teachings on vital issues. Whether
through the portrayal of the Torah's attitude toward homosexual relations as flexible; or of its position on intermarriage as
tentative; or of its stance on killing the unborn as benign, political correctness in Jewish clothing abounds, and it does violence
to the integrity of all Jews' religious heritage.
Reflecting on my fleeting telephone acquaintances makes me want to plead with all the Jewish clergy, columnists, organizations
and pundits who have strong feelings about social issues: Advocate to your hearts' content. Make whatever case you see fit
for whatever you feel is the wisest public policy. But please don't mischaracterize our mutual religious tradition. Have the
courage, whatever your personal convictions, to show respect for the timeless Torah to which all we Jews are heir.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in Washington and the media consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Rabbi Avi Shafran is director of public affairs for Agudath Israel of America. Comment by clicking here.
© 2005 Am Echad Resources
|
