Sexual Identity - Transgender protected by law

Regarding the previous comment about a transgender teacher the following item from CNN shows why it is a difficult situation.[See also Time Magazine]

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A former Army commander who underwent a sex change operation was discriminated against by the U.S. government, a federal judge ruled Friday in an important victory for transgenders claiming bias in the workplace.

Diane Schroer won her federal lawsuit against the Library of Congress after officials backed out of a 2005 job offer when told of her intention to become a transsexual. At the time of the job interview for a position as a senior terrorism research analyst, David Schroer was a male. He had been a onetime Army Special Forces commander.

U.S. District Court Judge James Robinson said Schroer's civil rights were violated.

"The evidence established that the Library was enthusiastic about hiring David Schroer -- until she disclosed her transsexuality," Robinson wrote. "The Library revoked the offer when it learned that a man named David intended to become, legally, culturally and physically, a woman named Diane. This was discrimination 'because of ... sex.' "

The judge will later rule on what financial damages Schroer is due.

"It is especially gratifying that the court has ruled that discriminating against someone for transitioning is illegal," said Schroer in a statement from the ACLU, which represented her in court.

"I knew all along that the 25 years of experience I gained defending our country didn't disappear when I transitioned, so it was hard to understand why I was being turned down for a job doing what I do best just because I'm transgender. It is tremendously gratifying to have your faith in this country, and what is fundamentally right and fair, be reaffirmed."

After Schroer had retired from the military, she applied for a job at the Library of Congress. Court records show that Schroer, then a male, took her future boss to lunch to outline her transition to a female, as she planned to present herself as a female on her first day of the job.

Schroer testified that on the day after the lunch, the job offer was rescinded, and she was told she wasn't a "good fit" for the library.

The ACLU said the ruling sends a "loud and clear" message to employers against firing or refusing to hire someone for changing their gender.

There was no immediate reaction from the library, which had claimed at trial that transgender people are not covered under federal anti-discrimination laws.

The case is Schroer v. Billington (Cv-05-1090).

Ger as dayan for geirus

The above page is the first of a 7 page article discussing the question. Shana b'Shana 5752. It is from the Cotar Database of Bar Ilan. I could not post the whole article due to the restrictions of the use of the program. Bli Neder I will gather more sources after Shabbos. I just wanted to post this to show that it is a serious question in the literature.

Conversion - Beis Din/ Can a ger be a member?

There is a recording on the internet of a typically excellent shiur given by Rav Herschel Shacter, shlita on the subject of geirus.

In an incident of hashgacha protis someone kindly notified me yesterday of the existence of this shiur [Posted on Hirhurim Audio Roundup XI by Joel Rich] and noted that at the end of the recording [118 minutes out of 125] there is a discussion about a"certain Spanish speaking rabbi in New York who is himself a convert" and is part of the beis din for conversion. Rav Shachter notes that there is a serious question regarding the validity of such a beis din in which a ger is one of the judges and that it shouldn't be done.

Shortly before receiving that email - I had received an email from someone else who is seriously contemplating conversion with a "certain Spanish speaking rabbi in New York who is himself a convert" - and that correspondent noted that he had been informed by one of the readers of this blog that the conversion might be problematic. He wanted to know if I had any information on the matter.

Child abuse - Fear of lashon hara induces silence

Mob Mentality comment to "Child abuse - Rabbi Simon Jacobson's views":

Sexual predators are rodefim and "witch hunts" are in order.

A few years ago, my husband was in a community position to know when a Rabbi moved in who had twice convicted and then deported for molestation.

My husband was warned via phone which he then verified with the Beis Din of the community that the information was indeed true. My husband personally notified each of the Rabbis in the area.

My husband's warnings were greeted with admonitions about "speaking Lashon Hara" and "not giving the benefit of the doubt" to someone who surely must have done teshuva.

Out of frustration, my husband asked the Av Beis Din of this man's former community to call several local Rabbis and speak to each one personally due to the gravity of the situation.

The molester was hired to be a youth director, to teach at a local yeshiva and also to do sofrut.

It is clear that our Rabbis and community leaders are either unable or have no interest in protecting our children from molesters.

It is up to parents to protect our own children.

Ethiopians - Sefardim also discriminate against them

YNET reports:

Israel's chief Sephardic rabbi issues plea to community's schools, asks that they stop refusing Ethiopian students' admission

Israel's Chief Sephardic Rabbi Shlomo Amar has issued a letter asking heads of religious schools not to discriminate children of Ethiopian descent, who wish to apply to their respective educational institutions.

In his statement, Rabbi Amar noted that Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, Shas' spiritual leader, approved his plea. The letter was also posted on Shas' website. Rabbi Amar's letter states that "our sages of blessed memory have taught us that the land of Israel is redeemed in agony, it is true that the difficulties of aliyah are immense. "One of the more immense difficulties is the feeling of discrimination, especially in children's educational institutes," he emphasized. "Apart from the grief it causes in the parents, it affects the children's soul, which can cause bitterness."

Rabbi Amar's appeal came after he was presented with several examples of children being discriminated against by schools, based on the color of their skin. In the spirit of the upcoming Rosh Hashana, Rabbi Amar has called the heads of the various religious schools to "search inside their souls". "Sadly, we hear about more and more cases in which schools reject children based on the color of thier skin, though citing a different reasons... A thousand excuses, no matter how well written or said, cannot change the simple truth, and will not helo anyone during judgment day," said Amar."If they are weak, we must make them stronger through their studies. Please, do not sin against the child, because from each child a new world will rise. Our sages said 'care for sons of the poor who the will read the Torah, for you will not know who will succeed.'"

Phenomenon of 'blatant racism' MK Mazor Bahaina (Shas), said he hoped Rabbi Amar's letter will end the what he called "blatant racism" and the shameful phenomenon of discriminating children based on their background. Bahaina stressed that his comments were not directed at the heads of Ashkenazi institutes, since "we have the same difficulties with them, as everyone else... I don't expect Ethiopians to be treated better than those of Moroccan decent," he added, noting that his appeal is more directed at the Sephardi institutes, which are the subject of the majority of the complaints he receives. The racism from Sephardi institues, according to Bahaina is the most infuriating. "Some places won't accept you even if you did go through all the approved conversion channels. We are talking about the same people who were themselves mistreated and know something about discrimination." Bahaina hopes that Rabbi Amar's letter, which is co signed by Shas' spiritual leader Ovadia Yosef, will "bring around the soldiers to follow their orders and not rebel against them," referring to educational institutes who follow instruction from their spiritual leaders. Bahaina hopes that the letter will end the discrimination, though he says that he will "continue to fight the phenomenon if it persists". [...]

Ethiopians - Integrated Schools?

YNET reports:

Veteran Israelis gradually transfer children from local school following influx of students from immigrant families. 'This isn't about discrimination, there are some really sweet children amongst them, but the teachers can't handle the violence – enough is enough,' says concerned mother. [...]

A former teacher at the school said that 14 years ago there were almost no Ethiopian students at the school. According to her, when Ethiopian families began moving into the neighborhood the school worked to integrate the new arrivals.But, as the years lapsed, the number of Ethiopian students rose and that of the veteran Israelis decreased.“They just ran away to other schools,” said the teacher. One mother who transferred her children to a different school spoke with Yedioth Aharonoth. "This isn't about discrimination. There are some really sweet children amongst them, but a few years ago I decided that enough is enough,” said the mother. “The situation became intolerable. The academic level plummeted while the level of violence rose to the point where the teachers just couldn't control it,” she explained.

"An outrage," one of the teachers currently working at the school called the situation. "It's hardest on the children, especially on field trips. People keep asking them if this is an Ethiopian school," she said. Eli Sadeh, who until three years ago was the school principal said, “It is clear that when veteran Israelis see the percentage of Ethiopians increasing, this is their reaction. “The absurd thing is that veteran Ethiopian immigrants have also asked to transfer their children from the school after they saw it was filling solely with Ethiopians,” he said. “The problem is that some schools are flexing their muscles, and they don’t want to absorb Ethiopian students. “When I was the principle I sounded the alarm when 50% of the students were Ethiopian. We did whatever we could to take care of these wonderful children,” he said.

Some 800 Ethiopian children study in Petah Tikva’s schools, most of them in the state-religious school system. In order to discourage the creation of a 'ghetto' and with the intent of maintaining integration, a quota has been introduced, limiting the amount of Ethiopian students the schools can absorb.

Pre-Expulsion Spain - Christian vs Islam society

Guest Post: Jersey Girl's comment to "Evangelicals & Hedonistic Secularism vs. Judaism":

I urge everyone to study the history of Pre Expulsion Spain, which sadly, is no longer taught in our day schools.

In Spain, Jews enjoyed social freedoms and economic prosperity similar to that enjoyed by Jews in the US today. Because of the status enjoyed by Spanish Jewry, thousands of converts were drawn to join the Jewish nation.

The Iberian peninsula was marked by a battle between Christianity and Islam for about 500 years before the completion of the Christian conquest in 1492. Many Jews under the influence of the Rosh (Rabbi Asher Ben Yehiel 1250-1328 who felt that Sephardic philosophy was too entrenched is Islamic thought)felt it better for Jews to live under Christian rule than the more open and permissive Moorish society.

As the Christians gained in power, their intensive outreach efforts convinced hundreds of thousands of Jews to convert. There was no Reform or Conservative in Spain nor was any Jew "assimilated" out from the Jewish community.

Many Rabbis and community leaders converted to Christianity (including the father and brother of Don Isaac Abarbanel). On the eve of the Expulsion, the vast majority of Spanish Jewry chose conversion to Christianity over exile. And the vast majority of those who converted fully and willingly assimilated to Christianity, lost to the Jewish people forever.

Our family is fortunate to have access to letters and documents authored by my ancestors in pre Expulsion Spain (they are now in the museum of Bevis Marks, London). The words written then, ring timely and true to us today, as observant Jews in the US.

For example, mentioned in one of the letters which was written by a father to his grown daughters (Naomi Ragen adapted the actual letter in the "Ghost of Hannah Mendes") is the influence of Catholic maids on children and the potential socialization to Christianity.

We may "say it isn't so", but how can we deny the growing numbers of "kids at risk" emerging from frum homes? Ask any Rabbi who works with these kids and he will tell you that many of them harbor a skepticism towards Judaism that they say was instilled by their Gentile maids or secular studies teachers, etc. (One of the anti Missionary orgs, had a copy of a letter that was sent by a Protestant pastor to the women of his middle class congregations telling them to take jobs as maids in Orthodox Jewish homes in order to influence the children).

Those who have studied the Kuzari know that Judah HaLevi regarded the influx of converts, along with many of "the proselyte's pious saint-like sub-prophetic inspirations" as a dire threat to the character of the Jewish people as a whole.
(Introduction Daniel J. Lasker "Proselyte Judaism, Christianity and Islam in the Thought of Judah HaLevi").

Reflecting upon some of the changes in the norms and mores of Orthodox Judaism over the past decades (ie marked increase in rulings on tznius, bans of music, chumros etc etc) Halevi's admonitions seem to read current rather than past tense.

There is no question that freedom and enlightenment is destructive to the Jewish people, (ie Emancipation of the Jews 1849 which began Haskala and birthed a 50% intermarriage rate in Pre WWII Germany by the 1920s) but we should examine why Jews in historically liberal Ottoman society, did not assimilate as have Jews emancipated in Europe and the US. I do not believe that we can discount the evangelical component of Christianity even as a factor in secular assimilation.

Foolish piety & lashon harah - protecting the oppressed

Pischei Teshuva (Orach Chaim, siman 156): All the mussar books admonish people regarding the sin of lashon ha’ra. I admonish the world about a greater, more prevalent sin, namely, not speaking up when necessary to protect the oppressed from the oppressor…. (By not speaking up], you violate the commandment lo ta’amod al dahm rei’echa. Similarly, in monetary matters, we are obligated by hashavat aveida, returning a lost article to its owner. If you see that someone’s employees are stealing from him, or a person’s partner is taking advantage of him, someone is being misled in a business transaction, or an individual seeks to borrow money and he is someone who doesn’t pay his debts, and similarly, in matters of matchmaking, if you possess knowledge that this person has a bad character, all these are examples of hashavat aveida. [translated by Steven Oppenheimer D.D.S.]

See the similar view of Rav Sternbuch posted previously

Leaders are judged by followers

Garnel Ironheart asked: "Important question: is a leader to be judged by his words/actions or his followers?"

This question is dealt with in Pirkei Avos (5:19) which indicates that a we judge a person by his students or the consequences of his beliefs and actions.

ר' צדוק הכהן מלובלין - ליקוטי מאמרים עמוד קעו

והיינו על דרך שאמרו (אבות ה', י"ט) מה בין תלמידיו של אברהם אבינו לתלמידיו של בלעם הרשע שההכרה בתלמידים וכן בבנים,

Avos (5:19): Whoever possesses these three things, he is of the disciples of abraham, our father; and [whoever possesses] three other things, he is of the disciples of balaam, the wicked. the disciples of Abraham, our father, [possess] a good eye,an humble spirit and a lowly soul. the disciples of Balaam, the wicked, [possess] an evil eye, a haughty spirit and an over-ambitious soul. What is [the difference] between the disciples of Abraham, our father, and the disciples of Balaam, the wicked. The disciples of Abraham, our father, enjoy [their share] in this world, and inherit the world to come, as it is said: that I may cause those that love me to inherit substance and that I may fill their treasuries,but the disciples of Balaam, the wicked, inherit gehinnom, and descend into the nethermost pit, as it is said: but thou, o G-d, wilt bring them down to the nethermost pit; men of blood and deceit shall not live out half their days; but as for me, I will trust in thee.

Evangelicals & Hedonistic Secularism vs. Judaism

Guest Post: Recipients and Publicity's comment to "Evangelicals - Mass conversion - not dialogue - is...":

To Jersey Girl, the Evangelical threat to the Jews is far less bad than the continuing slide of the bulk of America's Jews into the arms of secular life and sensory hedonism that is assimilation and intermarriage as witnessed by the way they are all fawning over Barak Hussein Obama to give him their hundreds of millions of dollars (all his big donors and advisers are assimilated Jews, with even the ultra Modern Orthodox Ambassador Daniel Kurtzer being a close adviser), not to mention blindly handing over their hearts and souls to their new "black Messiah from Chicago/Kansas/Kenya/Hawaii/Harvard etc", so that he can triumph and become president.

Just last night, one of Hollywood's biggest Jewish stars and symbols Barbra Streisand threw a party for Hollywood celebrities that raised $9 million dollars for Obama's campaign. In years gone by she did this for the Clintons. Jews love sleaze more than they could ever love Evangelical Christianity that would not tolerate such behavior. To boot, Evangelicals are the biggest gentiles Zionist around (as you well know) but the Hollywood crowed cares far less about Israel and is more leftist and pro-Arab in its leanings. They could care less if Israel would be wiped off the map. So keep your eye on the ball, and don't let that anti_Christian "Evangelical mantra" throw you off when the dangers are more primal and lustful that come from Hollywood and the "entertainment" industry.

It's not really an industry as such, it is more like a huge fantasmagorgic deception machine that charges money for creating optical illusions and deafening and blinding experiences that are actually more akin to the illegal drug "industry" than to anything else. Entertainment and drugs, Hollywood and Las Vegas, movies and music, sex and self-gratification have decimated modern Jewry far more than Evangelicals have.

The threat of crass secular immoral and amoral popular American culture is far, far worse than anything the Evangelicals can throw at the Jews. While the Christian threat coming from Esav is great, the HELLENISTIC threat coming from the spirit of Yavan (ancient Greece) is even worse!

The world's Jews are far more likely to fall into the dangerous embrace of the ideals of American democratized Hellenized society, with its pseudo-good high-mindedness than fall victim to the fire and brimstone preachings of fundamentalist redneck morons. For every Jew that becomes a Hebrew Christian there are a thousand or maybe ten thousand that become more deeply secular, assimilated and intermarried (many are also gay and weird).

Most intermarried Jews do not practice any religion, even though eventually studies by the NJPS show that many of their kids and grandkids (if they have them) will become Christians by default following the culture around them voluntarily to fit in with the surrounding society which is Christian and not because Evangelicals convinced them of anything.

Welcome to the American melting pot, that "melts down" Jews and Judaism. Without Torah and Mitzvos and the help of Avihem Shebashamayim, and of course miracles, Jews have little chance of making it against the forces that confront them in the modern world.

Breslov I - Why viewed negatively?

I recently received an offer to have Breslov explained from the inside. The offer came from someone while not being a Breslover himself, has invested much time and energy to acquire an understanding of Breslov which he wants to share with us. He would prefer not having his name attached to these posts so I will refer to him by his email Elrport where he can be reached for any direct questions. For the intial post I asked him why Breslov's are viewed negatively.
There are also several posts on A Simple Jew that are helpful

http://asimplejew.blogspot.com/2007/12/guest-post-by-rabbi-dovid-sears-breslov.html

http://asimplejew.blogspot.com/2008/01/guest-posting-by-rabbi-dovid-sears_08.html

http://asimplejew.blogspot.com/2008/01/guest-posting-by-rabbi-dovid-sears_09.html

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Guest Post: Elrport wrote:

You wanted to know why people have the impression of Breslov which they do. I believe that it is a combination of several factors. (1) The ideological/ political differences that Breslov has had with other schools of Chassidus, both (a) historically and (b) today (2) the lack of understanding of the true dynamics and demographic make-up of the Breslov movement, and (3) as believing Jews, who believe that there is an element of "hasgacha pratis", as will be explained.

I believe that the most prevalent factor is the second one. People meet "interesting" individuals who claim to be affiliated with Breslov, and build their impression of a movement of several thousand people based on that. The results are, that many people think that Breslov is either a leaderless, hippie like movement, or some other wrong impression. Many people think that Breslov teaching makes people crazy.

What your readers should know is as follows, without getting into the whole history of Breslov. Up until the 1970s, post-holocaust Breslov existed as a relatively small group based in Meah Shearim with a yeshiva in Bnei Brak. Because of their size and other factors, much of the Charedi world did not know too much about them. All this time, they were for all purposes a regular, normal group of Chassidim.

This is the "real" Breslov, the original Breslov. If so, who are all these wackos?

Since the 70s, many baalei teshuvah have been attracted to Breslov. There was a BT yeshiva established for them called Shuvu Banim. The Rosh Yeshiva, Reb Lazer Berland, although a big masmid and talmid chochom, is himself somewhat of a "wild" personality, and the BTs started imitating his every move, thinking that it he was the role model of everything Breslov. At the same time, some BTs found an older chassid living in a nursing home, R' Yisroel Ber Odeser, who in his apparently senile old-age believed that he had received a letter min hashamayim. There developed a group around him, also, with a culture of copying his senile behavior.

The behavior of these groups has nothing to do with Breslov, just with their members trying to copy their leaders. Reb Lazer Berland himself is a choshuve person, its just that he has his own personal quirks which get grossly exaggerated by BTs trying to copy every hand movement that he makes.

To make a long story short, these BTs were never accepted into Breslov proper, but established their own groups. But once a culture of wild-BT Breslov had been established, any BT looking for Breslov either joined their groups, Shuvu Banim and Nanach, or started additional groups that incorporated elements of their culture, such as white yarmukes and long frazzled payos. These, and other funny things, are not mentioned anywhere in Breslov writings. Besides these behaviors, these people may sometimes also be following the Breslov derech, but that's an individual thing.

There was a small movement in the late 1990s by members of Shuvu Banim, already holding by the 2nd generation, to "chap" bachurim from the original Breslov into their group. It was successful for a few years until Reb Yaakov Meir Shechter and Reb Noson Liebermensh, leaders of the original group, waged a heavy campaign against them. For this reason you sometimes find "heimishe" Breslovers who are also trying to imitate the culture of copying Reb Lazer.

There's also a phenomenon called "pitzuey hanachal" which is the Breslov version of kids-at-risk. The Breslov paradigm makes it extremely difficult to take "going off the derech" as a serious option. (This could be explained another time) Instead, their "problem kids", usually from Shuvu families, created a sub-culture of Breslov in which they mixed in mishigassen, usually just for the fun of it.

I understand that I've been mekatzer and that there's a lot left to be explained. Let this be an opening for more discussions, or you can ask questions on other issues in Breslov.