If anyone had any doubts that the Chabad telethon has become a landmark on the pop culture scene, consider this: The entire cast of \”Friends,\” one of NBC\’s top-rated sitcoms, has produced a segment of the show to air only on the telethon.
First, please understand that it has nothing to dowith health. The laws of kashrut — the food restrictions imposedupon Jews by the Bible and the Talmud — were not intended to keep ushealthy.
Predictably, it happened again. Conservative and Reform Jews choseto demonstrate their right to worship at the Kotel in their way, menand women together. This time, however, the worshipers had officialclearance. But their permit did not help. Sadly, but alsopredictably, Orthodox Jews prevented them from praying in their way.Passions flared. The scene became ugly. Religious extremists,unconcerned about Torah prohibitions against striking another person,became violent. Hurt and humiliated, the non-Orthodox worshipers wereforcibly removed by the police. And, of course, the media had beenprepped. The cameras were ready. They captured the tears of thevanquished and the jeers of the violent. The angry scenes wereflashed across the world.
In the midst of an international crisis over Who is a Jew, with Israeli police stopping Conservative and Reform men and women from praying together at the Western Wall and a small Orthodox group declaring that liberals are not practicing Judaism, it\’s good to know there is, apparently, still one thing that all Jews can agree upon: Who is not acting as a Jew.
Another Melee Erupts as Women Pray with Men at Western Wall.\n
It turns out that there are more Jews in the South Bay than many had imagined — about 45,000, according to a just-released population study by the Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles.
In truth, though, many other Orthodox Jews — including most of Agudath Israel\’s constituency — do not consider Yom Ha Shoah to be the appropriate time for focusing on the destruction of Jewish Europe.
On Salah a-Din Street, the main street on the Arab side of the capital, the spirit was very different. People kept their heads down,aware that they were being watched, aware that the Jews weren\’t too fond of them these days. But if they were expected to feel remorseful about Mahane Yehuda, some did, while others felt roughly the opposite.
Tisha B\’Av, the day of mourning in commemoration of the destruction of the two Temples, is notable for at least two reasons. For one, it may be the only holiday that Hallmark hasn\’t designed a card for. And it seems to be the one holiday that most Jews have heard of, but few seem to know much about. As with quarks and RNA and Rothko, we can drop \”Tisha B\’Av\” into a conversation, hoping all the while that we won\’t be asked to actually explain it.\n
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.