1953-2008
THE CYBERSHUL

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This Week’s Torah Reading

B’SHALAH

B’shalah The Israelites leave Egypt, guided by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Pharaoh has a change of heart and pursues the Israelites with an army of over 600 horse-drawn chariots. Moses holds his arm over the Sea of Reeds and the waters split. The Israelites cross over, the Egyptians follow but the waters close in over them—not one horse or charioteer survived. Moses and the Israelites sing a song of relief. Miriam, the prophetess, leads the women in dance. The Israelites march into the desert, but soon complain due to lack of water and food. God helps Moses find the essential water. God also gives the people a flaky substance called manna. The people gathered it each day except Shabbat when it would not fall. Joshua leads the people into victorious battle against the Amalekites.

A SHABBAT THOUGHT

In the absence of clearly-defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily trivia until ultimately we become enslaved by it.

~~ Robert Heinlein ~~

WEB OF THE WEEK

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErqgRrm4Nn4

Israel welcomes President Bush with lots of song and as always, children. This one is heart-warming and inspirational.

AURAL TORAH

Aural Torah takes a break this week due to the heartbreak of:
Cyber - Laryngitis!

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Ms. Magazine Blocks Ad on Israeli Women
A HIT AND MS. STORY

January 10, 2008 — Ms. Magazine has long been in the forefront of the fight for equal rights and equal opportunities for women. Apparently that is not the case if the women happen to be Israeli.

The magazine has turned down an AJCongress advertisement that did nothing more controversial than call attention to the fact that women currently occupy three of the most significant positions of power in Israeli public life. The proposed ad (The Ad Ms. Didn't Want You To See) included a text that merely said, "This is Israel," under photographs of President of the Supreme Court Dorit Beinish, Vice Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni and Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik.

"What other conclusion can we reach," asked Richard Gordon, President of AJCongress, "except that the publishers - and if the publishers are right, a significant number of Ms. Magazine readers - are so hostile to Israel that they do not even want to see an ad that says something positive about Israel?"

When Director of AJCongress’ Commission for Women’s Empowerment Harriet Kurlander tried to place the ad, she was told that publishing the ad "will set off a firestorm" and that "there are very strong opinions" on the subject - the subject presumably being whether or not one can say anything positive about Israel. Ms. Magazine publisher Eleanor Smeal failed to respond to a signed-for certified letter with a copy of the ad as well as numerous calls by Mr. Gordon over a period of weeks.

A Ms. Magazine representative, Susie Gilligan, whom the Ms. Magazine masthead lists under the publisher’s office, told Ms. Kurlander that the magazine "would love to have an ad from you on women’s empowerment, or reproductive freedom, but not on this." Ms. Gilligan failed to elaborate what "this" is.

"The only conclusion that one can reach from this behavior is that Ms. Magazine feels that an ad highlighting the accomplishments of three incredibly talented and dedicated women would offend their readership. Since there is nothing about the ad itself that is offensive, it is obviously the nationality of the women pictured that the management of Ms. fears their readership would find objectionable. For a publication that holds itself out to be in the forefront of the Women’s Movement, this is nothing short of disgusting and despicable," stated Mr. Gordon.

Ms. Magazine has a long record of publishing advertisements rallying readers to support reproductive choice; opposing the Religious Right; highlighting the fragility of the pro-Roe v. Wade majority on the Supreme Court; charging that "Pat Robertson and his Religious Right cohorts don’t like individual freedom;" announcing support for the "struggle for freedom and human rights;" opposing the Bush administration’s campaign to fill federal courts with judges who "will reverse decades of progress on reproductive rights and privacy, civil rights, religious liberty, environmental protection and so much more;" as well as accusing the Bush administration of being "bent on rewarding big corporations and the rich, turning back the clock on women’s rights and civil rights, and promoting a U.S. empire abroad."

"This flagship publication of the American women’s empowerment movement publishes ads that are controversial in the general culture but not so among its readership," Ms. Kurlander said. "Obviously, Ms. believes our ad would enflame a significant portion of their readers."

Mr. Gordon added, "What really amazes me is that just recently, in their Winter 2007 issue, Ms. ran a cover story with a picture of Congresswomen Nancy Pelosi with the heading in big letters: "This is What a Speaker Looks Like." While Ms. has every reason to be proud of Speaker Pelosi and her accomplishments, as are we, the only discernable difference between Speaker Pelosi and Speaker Itzik apparently is that Speaker Pelosi is not Israeli."

Mr. Gordon noted that while Israel was apparently too hot to handle, Ms. Magazine did not extend that taboo to Arab and Moslem women. "What is even more amazing is that, while refusing to publish a simple ad praising three very notable women, women who embody the ideal that Ms. Magazine seemingly espouses, Ms. has run a cover article in the Fall 2003 issue on Queen Noor of Jordan, has featured a number of articles on Muslim women, and even ran an article in the Winter 2004 issue entitled, ‘Images of Palestine,’ which discussed the Ramallah Film Festival and gave sympathetic reviews to films concerning ‘the liberation of South Lebanon’ from Israel as well as numerous films which portrayed terrorism as legitimate ‘revolutionary’ activity against Israel and miscast Israel’s activities to counter terrorism as ‘oppressive.’"

"Clearly Ms. has changed a great deal from the days when AJCongress members and leaders of the AJCongress’ Commission for Women’s Equality - including Betty Friedan, Bella Abzug and Ms. co-founder Letty Pogrebin - were at the forefront of the Women’s Movement that led to the creation of Ms. Magazine."

AJCongress President Gordon concluded, "Ms. has the right to turn down our ad. But in exercising that right, it has spoken loudly about itself and its readership, and their lingering hostility to Israel."

Mr. Gordon and Ms. Kurlander are available for further comment. Contact David Twersky at (212) 360-1586 or dtwersky@ajcongress.org.

The American Jewish Congress is a membership association of Jewish Americans, organized to defend Jewish interests at home and abroad, through public policy advocacy, in the courts, Congress, the executive branch and state and local governments. It also works overseas with others who are similarly engaged.

RECONCILING FAITH AND TRAGEDY?

Dear CyberRav,

My oldest child just began Hebrew school this year. A Jewish education was not something I was brought up with. So I, too, am in the learning process now. I have always "believed" in God, prayed informally on occasion, and wanted to feel that there is a higher, loving power. I have been truly enjoying going to Temple recently, and growing in my religious life. But then, something happens that shakes me to my very core.

On the news recently was a terribly tragic story about an 8 month old baby mauled to death by the family dog. On a normal basis, stories like this affect me deeply, and it becomes difficult for me to stop obsessing. This one hit much closer to home as I know the family. The baby was difficult to conceive. He was their only child.

Rabbi - I cannot tell you how sad and depressed I am, and how my faith has been so shaken. I cannot stop thinking about that little boy, or his parents or his family. How will they go on? I have a little child and a dog as well. I can't stop holding my little boy and smelling him and kissing him, something that mother will never do again. Why? How does one "keep the faith" in the face of such horrible circumstances…even just an onlooker like me? I am now so obsessed with the welfare of my children, that I am quivering just writing this letter.

I have to ask what I am sure is an age-old question...How can God allow something like this to happen?

Thanks for listening.

Questioning Again

THE ANSWER

Dear Questioning Again,

I heard about this terrible story and am so sorry to learn that you know the family. Alav hashalom--May this little baby rest in peace.

I have a few thoughts to share with you--

The natural world can be a pretty unforgiving and cruel environment. Babies tend to be helpless and certain dogs tend to attack. The combination of the two is a recipe for tragedy. Our faith in God rests not in the idea that our faith alone will prevent such tragedies, but rather that our faith will help us cope with the tragedies that inevitably occur. In this case, I pray that the parents, and you too, will find the inner-strength so necessary to go on in life with the knowledge that these tragedies are the aberration and not the norm.

Your feelings of sorrow and sadness are natural. How else could a normal person respond to news as tragic as this? But you also mention that you find yourself obsessing over this, and this may not be a good thing. It could point to certain irrational fears that we all bury within our hearts and that surface from time to time, especially in response to a traumatic event, only to hamper our daily functioning. A sad response and an obsessive response are two different things. So if you find yourself obsessing, this is a matter that you may want to discuss with your health care professional.

Finally, I have to tell you that e-mail is a limited form of communication, and in dealing with an issue as weighty as this, e-mail is pretty ineffective. If you would like to come in and talk, I would be more than happy to meet with you and explore your feelings further.

A little boy was killed. It is clearly a tragedy. We have to mourn, to be sure. But everyone must find a way to bring a certain degree of closure to the mourning. We all too often lose the present by allowing our feelings to trap us in the past by events which we can do nothing about nor alter in any way. That is a tragedy in and of itself.

Be well and I will say a little prayer for you with hope that you will find the way to lift your own spirits. You deserve to be happy.

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