Makes sense to me. What's a BuJew?
A good argument. I didn't realise this was a government-funded event.
In the distant past (ten, twenty years ago) this was a Jewish Agency sponsored event, although it is possible that in recent years the Ministry of Education has taken over sponsorship. Having said that, Israel is NOT a Western democracy. There are numerous "government sponsored" events for Druze or other non-Jews that Jewish citizens of Israel would never be welcome participating in. Why does that "community centricity" cut only one way?
Yoel:
a) this is a national (nay, international) event, not a local communal one.
b) who says you can't participate in a gov't funded Druze cultural event?
That it's particularly geared toward Druze means nothing - the chidon is clearly geared toward Jews.
and if this girl were a convert to catholicism and showed up to the hidon with a big fat cross hanging from her neck --
this would be acceptable [if in bad taste]? after all, she would still be, technically, jewish.
fred - i think that if enough participants deemed the cross offensive, she'd have to either tuck it in or take it off. but she should not be disqualified.
heck - i'd say let her compete even if she's a catholic who's not technically jewish.
adderabbi- i agree wholeheartedly with you. And the excuse that "israel is not a western democracy" is pretty lame. It certainly does identify itself with the western democratic tradition, even if it doesn't always live up to those ideals.
I support the girl's right to compete and Yad L'achim is only compounding whatever "danger" there was in her messinism with the added publicity.
Moishe Potemkin:
BuJew = Buddhist Jew
Oh.
Thanks.
Are there really enough examples to warrant a class?
Wow.
Moishe-
Don't get any ideas. YTS would not be pleased.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=y...feature=related
Just to point out how hairy it could get for chabad. The response of the messianics(according to JPost)
"It is about time that they stop having a monopoly over determining who is a Jew. The beauty of the Jewish world is the diversity. If you can still be considered a Jew even if you believe that the Lubavitch Rebbe [Menachem Mendel Schneerson] is the messiah, the same thing should hold true if you believe Jesus is."
joe - awesome!
I agree completely with ADDeRabbi. The whole point of the chidon, I had thought, was to encourage interest in knowing Tanach. So what if a kid from a deviant group, or even a Gentile, enters the contest. If they won, it would sure stimulate some teachers and school administrators to beef up their Tanach curriculum in the hipe of avoiding such embarassments in the future. Besides, wasn't there an Arab or Druze girl who made it to the finals in the last several years and generated little commotion?
Y. Aharon
Kenny: The late Senator Moynihan was heard to pose that question as, if the Jewish messiah can be dead, why can't it be Jesus?
ADDeRabbi: I'd agree that ideally the chidon should be open to all regardless of religion. I assume it is conducted in Hebrew? Chances of non-Jewish participation would be minimal, though if more Christians made it in, it would be educational for all.
Hi, not related at all to this post, but take a look as soon as you can at ynet.co.il Yahadut.
http://www.ynet.co.il/home/0,734...,L-
4403,00.html
The beit hadin harabbani hagadol has invalidated all past giyurim by Rav Druckman and Rav Avior, including everything signed by Rav Druckman as rosh minhal hagiyur. I.e. every giyur done over the past few years but the knitted-kipah batei din is considered null and void. The dayanim who decided this are Litvak charedim. It is a declaration of a war for total delegitimization not only of gerim, but of rabbonim.
When I read this, believe it or not, I was immediately happy. Not about what they did, but about what its consequences might be. It is exactly something like this that might bring on the end of the rabbanut, which would be incredibly good for Torah in Israel in the long run!
It's sad and disturbing that the child in Israel whow knows the Bible best is a J4J. Evangelicals always tell me that Jews reject Jesus because we don't know the Bible, and I respond that their experience is with non-religious Jews, and religious Jews know the Bible well. Apparently not well enough to beat a Christian at a Bible bee.
I'm sure the counter-missionaries are (not surprisingly) embarrassed that this shaatnez Christian knows so much about the Tanakh, because a primary weapon in their arsenal is the claim that signs of Jesus can only be found in selected passages read out of context and misinterpreted. How embarrasing, to find a Christian who knows the Bible better than Jews.
Your contrariness has gone over the boundary.
Do not minimize the effects of Jews for Jesus.
The real question is:
What Would Jesus Do?
Don't get any ideas. YTS would not be pleased.
Not to worry. I lack the inner peace necessary to pull that off.
Why is it so hard to say that Israel is a Jewish state, and that Judaism has a special status? If that's called politically incorrect, fine.
Does the law of return grant Druze or Hindus Israeli citizenship? No, Israel is the Jewish homeland.
I don't understand the point that if something is governmental in Israel, that it cannot be exclusively Jewish.
I can only imagine entering the Dubai International Holy Koran Award contest, not being Muslim.
All the more so, someone that is a pernicious version of a faith that poses a clear and present threat to our people should be excluded.
Adamchik - you clearly did not read this post.
Chief Rabbis Shlomo Amar and Yona Metzger respond:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Sat...icle%
2FShowFull
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