Settlement of abuse by popular teacher case to cost L.A. $170 million

Fox News        Once lawyers began digging into Mark Berndt's past, they discovered a three-decade pattern of odd behavior and complaints about the teacher that school administrators either missed or ignored. 

Both students and teachers had complained about the popular elementary school teacher who was eventually convicted of committing numerous lewd acts on his students.

The settlement involving 81 students is believed to be the largest ever for a school sex abuse case, according to victims' lawyers, and increases the public price of the scandal to $170 million when combined with 65 cases settled earlier for $30 million.

"There was a volcano of evidence," attorney John Manly said. "The district settled this case because there as a gun pointed at their head, a legal gun, and it was about to go off and the public was going to find out everything."

Lawyers said none of it would have come to light if it hadn't been for a gutsy pharmacy photo clerk who called police when she discovered the troubling photos and learned Berndt had been processing similar pictures there since 2005.

The 19-year-old woman had only been on the job a month and her supervisors told her not to call police. She did it anyway.

Lawyers for the children said they managed to unearth a dozen incidents involving Berndt between 1983 and 2009 and found that no action was taken to remove him from teaching.

Har Nof massacre: Rav Chaim Kaniefsky and Rav Reuben

Arutz 7

Rabbi Yitzhak Mordechai Hacohen Rubin, rabbi of the Kehilat Bnei Torah synagogue in Jerusalem that was brutally attacked on Tuesday, went to visit hareidi leaders on Thursday to ask their participation in a eulogy for the four Jews murdered in the attack, in which a Druze police officer was also murdered. [...]

The hareidi leader explained that "there needs to be an atonement" for the generation so as to merit the coming of the Mashiach, an atonement he argued the victims of the terror attack partially made.

Rabbi Kraus follows in the footsteps of Rabbi Rackman in "solving" the Aguna problem

Jewish Week    The court, called the International Beit Din, was formed in June and is headed by Rabbi Simcha Krauss, a highly respected former pulpit rabbi in Queens and Religious Zionist of America leader who made aliyah in 2005. It is interpreting Jewish law in new ways — still consistent with tradition, its leaders say — to procure a get, or religious divorce, for agunot, women stuck in marriages with recalcitrant husbands.[...]

While the number of agunot is not known, the problem has gone largely unsolved, pitting traditional Jewish law against those who feel deep empathy for women stuck in loveless marriages. At the root of the issue is the husband’s absolute right when it comes to issuing a get, or Jewish divorce. And while rabbinic authorities offer sympathy for these women, they maintain they are constrained from action in many cases by the boundaries of halacha. The result, at times, has the husband using extortion before granting a divorce, insisting on large sums of money and/or refusing joint custody of children. According to Jewish law, if the agunah marries and has a child, the child is considered a mamzer, illegitimate, and cannot marry a Jew. (This is not true in the husband’s case.)

Concerns about the moral injustice of the “absolute right” principle have led to a myriad of efforts to resolve the agunah problem, or “crisis,” in recent years. In the 1990s, the late Rabbi Emanuel Rackman, a major figure in Modern Orthodoxy and president of Bar-Ilan University, convened a beit din that issued divorces on the basis of kiddushei ta’ot, a Talmudic concept for annulment. The principle reasons that the woman never would have married her husband if she had known he would act in an abusive fashion during the marriage.

While deeply respected on a personal level by his peers, Rabbi Rackman, who died in 2008,was unsuccessful in persuading them to accept his approach, which was considered too lenient. The practical result was that many rabbis refused to officiate at the subsequent weddings of women who had been freed by the rabbi’s bet din.

Rabbi Krauss is introducing the legal concept of get zikui, annulling a marriage based on what is best for both parties. The principle operates on the premise that the divorce will ultimately benefit the husband as well as the wife.

“There is no more relationship — they have gone their separate ways,” explained Rabbi Krauss in an email. “The husband doesn’t want to give the get unless he gets money. It’s not true that he doesn’t want to give a divorce, but he wants money. Deep down, he wants to be free and pursue his life.”

The International Beit Din will not use get zikui to the exclusion of other methods, explained Rabbi Yosef Blau, another of the three judges on the panel and the spiritual adviser at Yeshiva University.

“A number of tools can be used,” he said. “Each case will be evaluated on its own merit. The goal is to free women in a way that the decision will be accepted in the broader community.”[...]

Still, despite support from abroad, the new religious court has already met with resistance here. According to a source close to the court, several leading rabbis at Yeshiva University, including Rabbi Mordechai Willig and Rabbi Hershel Schachter, have already expressed reservations about the court’s methodology. The source wished to remain anonymous in order to avoid “mahchlocet,” public disagreement. [...]

Aside from methodology, the International Beit Din will also implement a new policy of transparency. According to traditional Jewish law, members of the court do not have to give any explanation for their rulings. But Rabbi Ronnie Warburg, director of the International Beit Din and the court’s third judge, explained that “transparency is an imperative.” [...]

Rav Moshe Sternbuch: Har Nof Massacre

  Rav Sternbuch 

Rav Sternbuch's shul at the time of the attack

Haf Nof Massacre: Rav Malinowitz

Har Nof massacre: Widows ask that everyone be more loving and caring

Book Review: "Why Evolution Matters: A Jewish Approach" (2014)

available at Amazon

Why Evolution Matters: A Jewish Approach (2014)

JOEL YEHUDAH RUTMAN  is a graduate of Brandeis and Harvard Medical School with Board certification in Pediatrics and in Neurology with Special Competence in Child Neurology . He has been involved in clinical care and teaching of pediatric neurology for many years . Since graduation from Orthodox Jewish institutions in Cleveland , Ohio , he has had a second career as a professional hazzan ( cantor).

=====================================

I recently came across this book. It is written by a prominent pediatric neurologist (Harvard Medical School). It is also quite expensive – over $75 on Amazon over $100 on eBay.

He is obviously well acquainted with biology – however I was disappointed about how he dealt with the fundamental questions of  Evolution and Religion. Anybody who disagreed with him - e.g., the Lubavitche Rebbe  he simply dismissed - meaning those who rejected Evolution or those want to keep the two compartmentalized or those who want to reject religion. Thus there is no meaningful discussion about the Scientific issues. He also didn't display a sophisticated level of understanding of the theological issues. He takes for granted that Science is correct and that Evolution is true and that what he explains with Evolution can not be explained otherwise.

His purpose is simply to show that one can reasonably believe in the Torah and Evolution. However he fails to demonstrate why his position of accepting Religion and Evolution should be accepted by someone who rejects either Science or Religion – and in fact he doesn't really try. He is basically taking Rabbi Kelman's approach of Permission to Believe and showing that it is not irrational to accept both Evolution and Religion -  without having to prove the validity of either.

I copied part of his Introduction and his conclusion

==============================

This book is organized around three questions:
 

First Question: How can Judaism insist on a Creator God when evolution informs us that everything out there just happened - with no plan, no purpose? The answer requires an overview, however sketchy, of cosmic and biologic evolution (chapters 2 to 3). This is followed by the main point of the book, which is a proposed way of understanding evolution that is compatible with an intended world (chapters 4 to 6).

Second Question: Where do Genesis and evolution agree or disagree? The answer requires us to look at the Genesis text for its religious, rather than scientific, messages (chapters 7 and 8). Chapter 9 explains the contribution of evolutionary science to Jewish concepts of suffering and death.
 

Third Question: How does human evolution relate to moral behaviour? The answers will require a brief summary of human evolution and brain development and their contribution to Judaism's ideas of free will (chapters 10, 11 and 12).

NOTES

1. Among notable works in this area are: N. Slifkin, The Challenge of Creation: Judaism's Encounter with Science, Cosmology and Evolution (http://www. zoororah.corn, Zoo Torah, 2006); G. Cantor and M. Swerlirz (eds), jewish Tradition GIld the Challenge of Darwinism (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2006); ~!'S. Cherry, 'Creation, Evolution and jewi h Thought' (Unpublished PhD dissertation, Brandeis University, 200]); A. Carmel and C. Dornb (eds), Challenge: Torah Views 011 Science and Its Problems (Jerusalem and New York: Feldheim, 1978}. The Catholic Church, relying on its Patristic tradition of biblical interpretation, hJS been increasingly supportive of Darwinian evolution. For instance, the 2009 conference on Catholic teaching and evolution at the Pontifical Gregorian Institute in Rome assumed without protest the validity of biological evolution. Conservative Protestantism has been more wary, as detailed in R.l. Numbers, The Creationists. From Scientific Creationism to Intelligent Design (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2006).

2. Slifkin, The Challenge of Creation, p.20.

3, Quoted in D, Hartman, Israelis and Jewish Tradition (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2000), p.95.

4. Tanakh. The Holy Scriptures (Philadelphia, PA: Jewish Publication Society, 1985).

5. Hebrew-English Edition of the Babylonian Talmud (London: Soncino, J 990).

6. Daniel Gordis, 'The Shape and Meaning of Biblical History ', Azure, 45 (Summer 5771/201 J), pp.80-1.

=========================================================

The Answers 

First Question: How can God be considered to have created the world when, according to evolution, everything just happened? The answer is that evolution did not just happen. The predictability and progress of evolution mark it as intended (Chapters 1 to 6).

Second Question: How can we believe in the truth of Genesis when it conflicts with the facts of evolution? The answer is that Genesis is a religious text, a source of purpose, meaning and values, rather than a scientific text. Evolution's facts deepen our appreciation of Judaism's truths - as in issues related to suffering and death (Chapters 7 to 9).

Third Question: How does human evolution relate to human moral behaviour? The answer is that even though we evolved, as have all other species, we are nevertheless intended and unique; even though evolution explains much of our moral behaviour, divine law remains necessary; and even though our brain function is heavily determined we retain free will (Chapters 10 to 12).

Funeral of brave Druse policeman who stopped Har Nof Massacre - attended by thousands from diverse communities

Arutz 7    The funeral for a Druze police officer killed in yesterday's terrorist attack in Jerusalem has begun in his home town of Yanuh-Jat.

Sergeant Major Zidan Seif (30) was shot in a firefight with terrorists as he heroically intervened to stop the massacre at the Kehillat Yaakov synagogue in Har Nof; he died of his wounds late Tuesday night.

 His funeral began at 2 p.m.

Thousands were in attendance, including leaders of the Druze, Jewish, Christian and Muslim communities, as well as President Reuven Rivlin, Minister of Public Security Yitzhak Aharonvich (Yisrael Beytenu), and Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino.

"Zidan entered into the heart of hell, boldly and without fear," Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino stated. "He risked his life for the security of Israeli citizens." 

"The actions of Zidan and his colleagues saved the day," he continued. "It was a rapid and professional response, which avoided any more people from being hurt and prevented the terrorists from widening the scope of the attack as they intended."

"Israel owes a deep debt to Zidan," Danino said," a deep debt for this person and this excellent officer, a debt to remember his greatness, his career, his character, his belief in justice, bravery and courage. This is the legacy of Zidan, and as such is eternal."

"The strength of Zidan, a hero, strengthens and unites us into one family," Danino added. "We are strengthened in light of his memory and his legacy of fearlessness as a cop."

President Reuven Rivlin eulogized Zidan as well, noting that he acted out of a deep sense of human values. 

"Yesterday morning, terror struck in Jerusalem again," Rivlin stated, adding that it "does not distinguish between people, between blood and blood. [...]

Many hundreds of hareidi Jewish mourners are also present, after a campaign urging community members to attend the went viral online and on Whatsapp. Buses were charted from Jerusalem to accommodate the high number of requests.

"He protected our brothers in prayer with his own body - we have come to show him our gratitude and sanctify God's Name," said one of the organizers of the hareidi initiative. He added that buses were arranged, free of charge, from central Jerusalem, sponsored by hareidi donors seeking to honor Seif's memory.

Hareidi websites have also been publishing a psak halakha (religious ruling) by former Sephardic Chief Rabbi and Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, who ruled that "A Druze soldier on duty who defended Israel against its enemy... and was killed at the hands of the Ishmaelites (Arabs), for the sake of guarding the security of Israel, it is correct to recite for him hashkava [a Jewish prayer for the dead - ed.] in the synagogue for his soul."[...]

What is the meaning of "the other" in Judaism, Psychology and Sociology?

My current investigation of the concept of judging others has led to a much more basic issue - what exactly is meant by "the other".

It is clear that this is a very fundamental idea underlying a lot of halacha, hashkofa and psychology. "Judge others favorably", Don't judge others until you are in their place. Be kind to the stranger. Love others as yourself, Don't torment others,  woman is the other, Satan is the other, Amalek is the other, Why was Acher named Acher?, cherem and kares make a person into the other, t  etc etc

WHAT IS THE CONCEPT OF THE OTHER? Is it simply whatever lies outside of yourself?' In other words is it "not you".

I have come across one book [which is out of print] that deals with this האחר -בין אדם לעצמו ולזולתו עורים חיים דויטש מנחם בן ששון

ה"אחר “הגדרתו ומעמדו הם נושאים הזוכים לתשומת לב רבה"בעולם כולו; יש העוסקים ב"אחר" כדי להגדיר לעצמם את זהותם, הפרטית והקיבוצית ; יש המבקשים למצוא בו את מהות המוסר שבגישה האלטרואיסטית, ויש המוצאים בו את המפתח לפרשיות היסטוריות סבוכות, העובדה שהעם היהודי נתפס לאורך ההיסטוריה כאחר טבועה היטב בזיכרון הקיבוצי ובתודעה הלאומית היהודית - הן בסיפר הקיבוצי והן בהנחיות העשייה הנתלות בו ; למן הצורך לאהוב את האחר-הגר, השב ומופיע במקרא 36 פעמים, ועד להצהרותיה של מגילת העצמאות באשר למקומו של האחר כמיעוט במדינה המודרנית המתוקנת, הבסיס ליחסים חברתיים כוללים נמצא ביחס שבין אדם לחברו, שעל עבירות שביניהם אין הקב"ה סולח עד שירצו זה את זה, הצורך באהבת הרע, המשמש בסיס לכל התורה, הוא התשתית לקיומה של החברה, ליד הציוויים לאהבת האחר ולשמירת זכויותיו, יש גם ביטויים קשים של הררת האחר, דמוניזציה שלו, שנאה כלפיו ונכונות לכוון אליו את הקשה שבפגיעות, באסופת מאמרים זו נעסוק במושג ה"אחר בעיקר בהקשר היהודי"כדי להציע תשתית עיונית לשיח המתנהל בעולם המודרני בכלל ובישראל בפרט, נביא דיונים עקרוניים וננתח דוגמאות ספרותיות והיסטוריות בכלים חינוכיים, משפטיים, הגותיים, סוציולוגיים ופסיכולוגיים. בחרנו לעסוק בנושא זה גם משום שהיה קרוב מאוד ללבו של בן, חבר ודמות מופת לסובלנות, שמת בדמי ימיו, דודי דויטש ז"ל. דודי הרבה להדגיש - הן בדיבורים והן במעשים - את הצורך לדון את כל האדם לכף זכות ולהוביל את החכרה לאחדית למרות הפערים הגדולים שבה. כדי להביע את הרב-גוניות והרב-תרבותיות של החברה שבה נוצר קובץ זה, חברו לברר את שאלת האחר נציגים ממגוון תחומים - גברים ונשים, שומרי מצווות .. וחופשיים, אנשי הלכה ומשפט, מטפלים ואנשי אקדמיה, מחנכים וראשי מוסדות, ילידי הארץ ועולים. אין אנו מתיימרים להקיף בספו זה את הנושא מכל צדדיו ולא נעלם מאתנו שיש עוד "אחרים" שחשוב להתמקר בהם. כאמור, בחרנו להתמקד בנושאים שהבאנו מתוך תקווה לתרומה צנועה לשיח בתחום

Har Nof massacre: 4 killed in shul during prayers 1 policeman killed during rescue & 8 wounded

update CNN Hours after the attack, a policeman shot during the rampage while pulling a woman to safety died from his wounds,  The latest victim has been identified as Zidan Seyf, 27, a police officer from the Arab [Druse] village town of Yanuh-Jat, located in northern Israel, northeast of the city of Akko.

YNet   has descriptions of the 4 rabbis
 
ynet         see also   NY Times
 

Four people were killed Tuesday morning in a terror attack on a synagogue and yeshiva in the Har Nof neighborhood in Jerusalem. Eight others were wounded; four are in moderate to serious condition. Two police officers were among the wounded.

Two terrorists wielding axes, knives and guns arrived at around 7:30 am at the site on Harav Shimon Agassi Street, which includes a synagogue and yeshiva (rabbinical seminary), and carried out attacks in more than one location.

The terrorists were killed, following a gunfight with security forces who arrived at the scene. According to an initial investigation the terrorists came from East Jerusalem. The wounded were taken to Shaare Zedek Medical Center and Hadassah Ein Kerem. [...]

"This is an area with a number of rooms," said Megen David Adom spokesman Zaki Heller. 

"The Wounded were scattered throughout different rooms and the paramedics who arrived at the scene dispersed to deliver first aid. The wounded were quickly evacuated by ambulance to hospital."

He said,"It is definitely true to say that the image there - of casualties wearing prayer shawls - are very difficult." 

Akiva, a Magen David Adom paramedic, said that when he arrived he saw a worshiper with stab wounds. "Inside there was someone singing. I ran into the synagogue, there was a gunshot victim lying on the floor. I tried to treat him, but the gunfire started in my direction and we fled. I pulled the wounded man along. The police arrived and surrounded the entrance and then the terrorist ran out and they shot him. there was wild gunfire. People ran out of the synagogue. It was hell." [...]

An official Hamas statement said that the attack was a response to the death of bus driver Yusuf Hassan al-Ramouni, who was found hanged at a Jerusalem bus terminal Sunday night.

While al-Ramouni's family claimed foul play, autopsy results confirmed police's suspicion of suicide on Monday afternoon.

Why the RCA conversion system is best by Rabbi Mark Dratch

Times of Israel    In a recent JTA Op-Ed, Rabbis Marc Angel and Avi Weiss made a number of claims about the Rabbinical Council of America’s conversion system. While some of their arguments have merit, they paint only a partial picture of what we’re doing in the North American modern Orthodox community. And some of their arguments are just wrong

“The Israeli government recently moved to decentralize the conversion system by allowing local courts to convert individuals on their own.”

Yes and no. Conversion authority was extended only to courts run by municipal rabbis. Most rabbis in Israel still are not authorized to perform conversions. In fact, the new system is an Israeli version of the RCA’s current structure.

“The RCA accredits only those conversions conducted under RCA’s batei din, or rabbinical courts, using the GPS process.”

Individual rabbis are not barred from conducting conversions, and those who do still perform their own conversions find that they are accepted in their communities and by those who respect their conversions (no different than the model advocated by Rabbis Angel and Weiss). If the halachic standards of those conversions are accepted by the RCA’s Beth Din of America, then even those privately conducted conversions will be widely accepted. The advantage of the RCA’s system, known as GPS (for Geirus Policies and Standards), is that conversions performed by its rabbinic tribunals are guaranteed to receive the support of the Beth Din of America.

Centralization is dangerous.

Yes, centralization has the potential for corruption and abuse. That is why there were checks and balances built into the GPS system, why we do our best to ensure our batei din are comprised of people of integrity, and why – in light of the lacunae identified in the Rabbi Barry Freundel case – we are reviewing the entire system with a commitment to improve it.

But a decentralized system is also subject to corruption and abuse – even more so. Who supervises the individual rabbi and protects the conversion candidate from the same possible abuses that Rabbis Angel and Weiss are concerned about? Who protects that rabbi from undue political and financial pressures that may compromise his judgment? Who protects converts and their descendants from rabbis who “sell” conversions or whose conversions are not widely accepted? [...]

Halacha versus Middos:Understanding Eliezer's process of identifying Yitzhok's future wife

I have been spending a lot of time trying to understanding the distinction between halacha and middos.  Dr. Benny Brown's article  has been very helpful.

With this context I noticed what seems to be a discrepancy between the Torah description of G-d's designating or chosing Rivka as Yitzchok's future wife - and Rashi's explanation that she was fit to be because of her midos.  [Of course this is also tied up with the issue of whether Eliezer was praying for G-d's assistance or whether he was using prohibited divination.]

==============================
The language of the Torah is that the woman who gives water to Eliezer and his camels it הֹכַחְתָּ; which means to prove, to appoint, to admonish, to instruct, chose, selected, indicated. All of which indicates something similar to psak - there is one correct answer. Thus there is no inherent relationship between the process Eliezer chose and the results. This is why Chullin 95b says that Eliezer was using Divination to find a wife for Yitzchok. An omen which is not after the form pronounced by Eliezer, Abraham's servant, or by Jonathan the son of Saul, is not considered a divination

Bereishis (24:14) says  And let it come to pass, that the girl to whom I shall say, Let down your water jar, I beg you, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give your camels drink also; let the same be she whom you have appointed (or designated) for your servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that You have shown kindness to my master.

ספר בראשית פרק כד

(יד) וְהָיָה הַנַּעֲרָ אֲשֶׁר אֹמַר אֵלֶיהָ הַטִּי נָא כַדֵּךְ וְאֶשְׁתֶּה וְאָמְרָה שְׁתֵה וְגַם גְּמַלֶּיךָ אַשְׁקֶה אֹתָהּ הֹכַחְתָּ לְעַבְדְּךָ לְיִצְחָק וּבָהּ אֵדַע כִּי עָשִׂיתָ חֶסֶד עִם אֲדֹנִי:
======================================

In contrast Rashi says [Rav Chavell's translation ] . HER THOU HAST APPOINTED FOR THY SERVANT, EVEN FOR ISAAC. Rashi comments: "She is fit for him since she is charitable and worthy of admission into the house of Abraham."

According to Rashi the process is inherently related to the results. She has to show the proper midos of chesed and kindness. Rashi uses a different term "fitting" or "appropriate". then the Torah and he asserts that the Torah is saying that if she passes this test of midos it will show that G-d will approve of her.

רש"י על בראשית פרק כד פסוק יד
(יד) אותה הוכחת - ראויה היא לו שתהא גומלת חסדים וכדאי ליכנס בביתו של אברהם ולשון הוכחת ביררת אפרוביש"ט בלע"ז (דו האסט בעשיעדען):

In sum, Torah expresses that the test or sign that Eliezer is using will determine the woman that G-d has already designated for Yitzhok. There is only one correct answer. On the other hand Rashi is clearly saying that the critical concern is that she have the midos (values) that make her fitting for Yitzchok and therefore he will test her middos. Even if she passes the midos test it is a necessary but not sufficient condition to be Yitzhok's wife. There are many women who can pass the test. She also has to be from Avraham's family and he hopes that G-d will help out by having a family member take and pass the test. Thus Rashi is best understood as praying for assistance from G-d in a process which is rational and task related. It is is not divination at all.