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| .. and what a perfect example of.. social (in)justice... |
Today in class I had somewhat of an epiphany. Let's see.. I don't know how it started, but somehow, well.. To be truthful, I do not know exactly what was happening in the classroom. But there was a lot of screaming going on; there was also a lot of accusing. I
think that it was all fun and games, but it made me think of situations that really aren't as playful as the one that took place in class. In reality, there are some pretty terrible things that happen to innocent people and some pretty innocent people who end up doing some terrible things. How perfect it was that I was thinking this during Navi class! After all, we have been learning about the importance of social justice and the negative effects of social injustice for a while now, while studying Sefer Yishayahu. Yishayahu rebukes the people for a number of things of which the basis is always hubris, and as a result of their hubris the nation commits horrible crimes against their fellow man. They become partial in their judgment and give into bribes. They do not give proper attention to the orphan and the widow, the downtrodden, and instead make them suffer unattended. They put themselves on a higher level than everyone else.
I can't say that I'm perfect(, though must admit that it is not as if I haven't declared that before). The truth is: we all make mistakes, especially as girls in highschool in an all girls school. It seems as if the most important thing to do is to do things that make no sense. What I can take out of Yishayahu and the lessons of Yishayahu is the realization that social injustice is
really, really, terrible. I have decided to try as hard as I can to make social justice a top priority. It doesn't matter how good your other deeds are, if you are not treating your fellow neighbor with respect, there is something wrong.
In conclusion, it is impossible to decide all of a sudden that tomorrow you will not do any social injustices, but if we take the messages of Yishayahu with us, hopefully over time we can get to a point where we feel like we are not putting ourselves on a higher level than everyone and are exhibiting social justice.
"In reality, there are some pretty terrible things that happen to innocent people and some pretty innocent people who end up doing some terrible things."- Rachel E Tsuna
ReplyDeleteWow, that is a very beautiful, but sad, statement. I think that our reality today really is something sad. There is so much injustice around us, and we ourselves aren't innocent either. What can we do to help? I really think that that should be a bigger focus in school- how can we make a difference? I know Sarah Belz, Shira Osdoba and Hannah Leigh I think, made the no lashon hara poster...
Needless to say, your post was inspirational and got me thinking about everything I do that is wrong.
This is all very true! but we also need to realize that being mean to people (I'll just use that as an excuse) has become such a habit that its unintentional. The first 2 weeks I was here I learned that many people enjoyed telling others that their questions were stupid when they were asked. I finally confronted one person who replied to my question with "that is the stupidest question you have ever asked in your entire life". I replied not so calmly (I am sorry to say). I said "why can't you just answer my question? It takes more breath for you to give me that answer than it would have taken to just give me the yes or no answer I needed in the first place! My point to this heartbreaking (that might be exaggerating just a tad) story is that after I pointed i her answer to my question out to her she told me how sorry she was and how she does that to everyone. I started thinking after that that either her friends (who she does it to all the time) don't realize when she does it because she does it so often or they are just too scared what she would do if they confronted her. I though it was particularly interesting how she told me she does it to everyone! Do we really live in a world today where people don't realize when they do something mean to other people?
ReplyDeleteOrly- I agree that we live in a world where being mean is something so normal, that we don't notice or care anymore.
ReplyDeleteBut in this instance, it is a little different. I agree that perhaps those comments shouldn't be directed at you, because you are new and even if we are friends, we're not so close that I can insult you without you getting offended. But when she does it to other people, they are people who know her. Like, I wouldn't feel comfortable telling you "You're an idiot!" in a joking way, because we're not close enough for that. But, for instance, racheli and i have been friends for a while, so it's a little different.
Then, considering what you've said and what Racheli has said- instead of sitting here speculating and talking about what we do, what can we do to make a difference? [i feel like an infomercial for saving the earth or something]
Orly! What you said is absolutely true and very sad! It's just like in the Navi how people became so stooped in sin, so too have we become so stooped in saying hurtful things that we don't even realize that chances are we are hurting people half of the time. And yes, everyone always calls people's questions stupid here- me included sometimes (and personally, I've been trying to stop that)- and it is unfair to the person who is asking the question. Anyways, I guess it's all about pausing before you speak- which is probably the hardest thing.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad that we're having such deep realizations and understands and conversations, which I am mushing into the word realunderstatiosn, and yet...
ReplyDeletehow can we help with this issue? because even a school so small and "tight-knit" like ours has issues
I think it all boils down to how comfortable you are with your life. If you have a lot of friends you won't care about telling a few people their questions are stupid.
ReplyDeleteZahava- I think it's great that you feel comfortable enough with Racheli that you can call her stupid and she wouldn't care. I just feel like sometimes even with your best friends they get insulted. And sometime even more insulted when their best friend calls them stupid. I can't talk for your relationship so I won't (hehe). Anyways I still don't think it is ok to call your best friend stupid. We all ask some not so intelligent questions sometimes and I don't see why they can't just be answered. Being called stupid is irrelevant and hurtful.
I completely agree that knowing the person helps but I still think that me personally wouldn't call my best friend stupid because I have respect for her and I would never want to hurt her feelings.
I am not assuming anything about your friendship with Racheli or anyone else in our school again. I honestly don't think our school is "tight-knit" at all. On the contrary I think our school is so separated by all the different cliques. And more so I think the cliques are so uninviting. I am just stating my opinion. I am an outsider and a new girl.
Really the only way to help the issue is to start thinking before we talk and standing up for ourselves when our friends make fun of us rather than let it slide because they are their friends.
Hmm.. well, also, as I was reading your comment, I realized that you're right- I don't tell Racheli her question was stupid when it pertains to her honestly needing to know something during class, like... I don't know, if she had a question during english that I knew the answer to, I wouldn't say she was stupid. You're right. and she doesn't do that to me during math, she helps me. and chemistry... or in anything...
ReplyDeletehmm..
well racheli, see what you've done? we're picking apart the school... i guess it just needed to happen though ...
Perhaps this post needs to be deleted.
ReplyDeleteThis was not my intention.
Ah..
All I meant was for us each to think about ourselves and the social injustices that we commit and to try to limit them.
Let us not tear apart the school.
I think this post was very smart Racheli since although we might be focusing too much on the school, we can still learn from this, how we have to be carefull with what we say. I did not know that this happened to Orly and it really is a good example of how we have to be careufull with anything we say because it can always hurt the person.
ReplyDeleteOrly i don't think that this person meant to hurt you, but maybe that person was jelous of you? I think that we have to learn from this to help the innocent, and since I was also (and still kind of am?!) the outsider and new girl, I understand how important it is to help those, since they are the "weak" people in the schools society just as the Almana and Yetom.
I think that sometimes, Jews focus too much on doing mitzwot and not doing what Hashem has prohibited (like pray, eat kosher , not to break tzniut) and they focus less on being good people, with morals, who then would focus on trying to do social justice.
An example for that is some Chasidim in Israel who throw rocks at women who don't wear tzinut clothes or people who drive by on Shabbat. They are so focused on those Jews who don't agree with their belief on fallowing G-ds laws, that they don't stop to think that they are actually also sinning.(They might cause to hurt or kill the people whom they throw rocks at)
In this day and age, although it is hard, we have to learn to balance between being moral and fallowing mitzwot since I believe that G-d wants the Jews not to only fallow mitzwot but be good "ben adam lechavero" (I think there are even opinions who say that "ben adam lechavero" is even more important to G-d than being good to him) I feel like some Jews are like those Jews in the time of the Navi where they did Korbanot and were good to G-d but they didn't have social juctice.
I wish we had a Navi who would come rebuke us(or those who do not realize they are doing this), but since there isn't one who came yet we have to make the best of it ourselves and try our best to have social justice so we won't be punished, but that we will all soon be in Israel together with the third Beit Hamikdash.
I know people are going to wonder why I am coming back to this post, but I was just thinking.
ReplyDeleteSharon said she wishes we would have a navi who would come and tell us what to do and not to do, and to rebuke us. And I agree. I wish we could have one too, if we would listen to him. But first off, I think that even though it does't come from G-d directly, that's kind of what the Rabbis do, and the Torah and whatever.
But aside from religious things that we wish people could help us with, there are other things we should be aware of. As Racheli pointed out about social justice, which everyone should have. I just think that sometimes people don't think at all and they do such stupid things that they think is okay because you're a teenager and these are the years for you to try and make mistakes and have fun. But really that's a very dumb outlook, pardon my language. I mean, yes, it's okay to make mistakes but you shouldn't seek out to do things purposefully that are just irresponsible and wrong. Even if you think it's okay, it obviously isn't if people tell you not to.
Also, just think- in ten years you can be a mother, or even just married and you'll look back and be so ashamed of the way you act, and disgusted with yourself. Not any of you specifically, just people in general. So don't do dumb things!
I don't think the Rabbis are at all like the Navis since the Navis were direct messengers of G-d and what they said was 100% true and must be fallowed. Now, there are so many Rabbis with so many different ideas, approaches and beliefs towards things, that I think everyone more or less pick and chooses what he believes to do or which Rabbis to fallow, or the more simple way, just fallow the ways of their parents. im just a little confused since there are so many different Rabbis of different Jewish branches (Reform, Orthodox, Chareid, Conservative) that it is sometimes hard to simply say that we have to fallow the Rabbis and do as they say because there are many different Rabbis, and all of them could be the ones who have the "right" approach to Judaism.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Sharon said. Rabbis definitely cannot be seen as being similar to Navi'im, because they just aren't. First of all, what is being a Rabbi? Yes, getting smicha is a big deal, but that doesn't mean that you're automatically an awesome and learned person who is able to paskin halacha. All they know is what they're learned, they do not have a direct connection to G-d, and I'm not saying that we should be expecting them to. Also, I do not know why it is not accepted by everyone in the orthodox Jewish community to have a woman Rabbi- it doesn't make any sense for a woman not be be a Rabbi... (sorry, yeah, that was totally random, but it had to be said.)
ReplyDeleteNavi'im were out on missions. I guess the only way that we can compare Navi'im to Rabbis is that we hope that Rabbis, like Navi'im, will try and make people see the light and bring them closer to Judaism. Besides that, though, Navi'im are on a totally different level than Rabbis.
I concur with Sharon.
Well, let me just say I'm not entirely sure why we are talking about the rabbis, but i think it may have something to do with the fact that I wrote, "the rabbis and the torah etc do..."
ReplyDeleteWell, let me just say that i don't think if you're a rabbi you're some learned person. i mean, it does take time to become a really good learned Jew. There are so many young people nowadays who are rabbis by the age of 20, that practically everyone is a rabbi. But i'm not talking about the title, you know? I guess I mean someone like rav nata.. is that how you spell it? He is old and deserves the title rabbi because he devotes himself to torah etc. not that the younger rabbis at school aren't reliable, but i feel that until you reach a certain age, you are that person people will come to [students] with general questions most adult Jews know. Does that sound wrong? I'm not sure this made sense...
also, about racheli's random comment- i think we all just want to find problems. i bet the boys all wish they were girls just so they wouldn't have to do all of those crazy things, like wrapping tefillin all over and getting weird hair. we're lucky. it's not like we want to do this extra stuff, so why do people take it personally, like, oh, this is so sexist. first of all, we can't really say that because we don't know everything about halacha; we are only 14-16.5! i'm sure if we looked into everything all the way, reasons would pop up... there should be a class on that. also, i think during class once rabbi stein was asked that by you, and he said that women can be rabbis. they just never were so its weird... why do you want to be one? who cares!
But where is this coming from? conversation wise...?
Yes, I started taking about the Rabbis, because of the "the rabbis and the torah ect do.." I know you probably didn't mean to say that they are like the naviim, but I thought I'd comment about it anyway.
ReplyDeleteI am glad that Racheli agrees with me, and I also agree with all of her points.
About Zahava's second paragrah:
I personally am not trying to find the problems, but they just simply come to mind, since I don't think that Judaism is perfect. I am not looking to find the things that are wrong with it, I just notice them since they always come up. I think it is a big deal, and it is not about the "oh we won't have to do exta stuff, we're lucky" it's about the whole idea that men are mostly more recognized to do things and mentioned more in the Torah ect...
I think it is sexist and it is because of the past, when women weren't equals and therefore, since Judaism is a religion that takes the past with it, this stayed that way and took that sexist appooach with it.
Also, women cannot be rabbis and we have a speaker on that, that there was only one women who became a rabbi, and after her they did not let other women do it, so no, we cannot become rabbis.
Its not only about what we want to be, it's about the general idea, and that is what I care about. It might not be important to you because you don't care about the bigger picture and you don't want to be a rabbi, but I think it is important to look at how something like that looks like in a whole.
Yeah, I don't know how we came to be talking about this either.. But Sharon said something about the Rabbis, so I came in and said something about the Rabbis.
ReplyDelete*I think it is Rav Natan..
[I surely hope that] Boys do not become Rabbis because they feel obligated. I think that one becomes a Rabbi because they want to devote a lot of time to learning, they want to feel accomplished, and they want to be someone that people can go to with questions and stuff. So, if you want that, I don't get how it's "lucky of us" or us making everything seem like a sexist thing to think "wow, it's not fair how I will be shunned by my community." So yes, definitely not lucky to be denied that. And I know that technically speaking a woman can become a Rabbi, but it's sad that if she wants to be an orthodox rabbi, she will be rejected. People think that it's funny if a woman wants to read from the Torah (and sometimes the idea seems funny to me at first, which is wrong and it's just an instinct from not being used to it) but there's nothing wrong with that. If that's what someone truly wants to do- not because they are obligated but as a way to feel spiritually and physically closer to Hashem, there is nothing wrong with that.
I started writing this and then noticed that Sharon also commented! Aw man, she beat me to it! Well, I agree with what she is saying. There is no way getting around the fact that men are on a much higher standards in religion. I dont' get why there has to be a distinction at all! I mean, yes, what Mrs. Perl said "testosterone.." but still..
There should be equal laws, not laws for men and laws for women. Like- why is a women's mizumen soo weird? And why should we think it's okay to sit around and enjoy the fact that we weren't included? Aren't mitzvoth an honor? Don't you get zcar for doing mitzvoth? So why wouldn't we want as much as possible and elevate as high as possible? "Oh, being a mom and lighting candles..." -- no. Whatever special mitzvoth we get are not only fewer in number but also not as significant (debatable obviously).
(I'm glad that Sharon agrees with me :) )
a few things.
ReplyDelete1] it seems that people have low opinions of rabbis, so why do we care if women can or cannot be.
2] if women were rabbis as well, would we still have low opinions?
3] maybe people keep things 'sexist' now because, as you say, there was that whole idea up until a hundred years ago that women were second best. but that doesnt mean judaism is... it just means people are stooped in tradition....
also, i wanted to say something else but i forgot... o well
As a response to:
ReplyDelete(1&2)- Maybe you/we do of certain rabbis or of the concept of becoming a rabbi if you are under qualified and going in with the wrong intentions, but in general, people have a lot of respect for rabbis and look up to them. In an ideal world, if a woman was a rabbi and she was a good rabbi, she would get the respect she deserved. If she was a bad rabbi then it's not like I'm saying she should be held at high esteem just because she's a woman. However, if someone sees a woman as a rabbi, they're just going to be judgmental at the beginning and have false presumptions about her not being religious or not being good enough. True, this isn't everyone, but it is a great majority of the orthodox Jewish population. I am not saying that girls are better than boys- I'm saying that everyone is as great as they make themselves to be.
(3) I am definitely not saying that the whole religion is sexist (but you did choose to ignore the point about the mitzvoth that I made) but since people are so stooped in tradition- especially the orthodox people- and are unwilling to change, it makes things hard to progress. Therefore even though it may be allowed and stuff and the secular society doesn't view women as such low individuals (although there are... well.. let's not get not that), because nothing is happening about it, it is as if it is not allowed at all. As you know if you've seen fiddler on the roof (which I haven't but I've heard): Jews are really obsessed with tradition..
A a respone to (And adding on to what Racheli said):
ReplyDelete1&2: Once again it's not only about us, that we have low opinions on rabbis and therefore shouldn't care if women can or cannot be rabbis. It's about the bigger picture and the option in general that orthodox women do not have.
3: I also don't think the whole religion is sexist, but certain aspects of it have the touch of sexism that was very famous in the olden days. Being a rabbi is like being a buissniss man for example. A long time ago, most buissniss people, were men and i doubt that there were any female buissniss people. This was because society thought that the men were more adequate for the job, women won't know how to do the job well and so on. The Same thing is with the ideas of rabbis, that the men just had the job and women would not be fit to do the job. In these days, we know that men and women are both adequate to do any job it just matters who the person is and the persons qualities.
As for Racheli's last comment about Jews being to obsessed with tradition, I agree. I know tradition is important, but why take all that old,outdated stuff with us, time changes!
(maybe we should make a post about this)