Epigenetics - a bump in the road for Darwinian Evolution

Click this link of Dr. Eva Jablonka

Now this kind of thing is resisted because it is felt that this is going against the prevailing view of evolution, where natural selection is the only factor that is shaping adaptation.  If you introduce epigenetic inheritance, and the inducible aspects of epigenetic inheritance into evolutionary theory, it looks like Lamarckian inheritance – it looks like you have the inheritance of a quiet epigenetic variation, which are or can be sometimes a specific response to the environment.

Supreme Court strikes down Defense of Marriage Act

New York Times    Supporters of same-sex marriage celebrated the Supreme Court rulings on Wednesday as landmark decisions that brought the nation closer to full equality. Opponents said the court had badly overreached in striking down the Defense of Marriage Act, and they vowed to press on against same-sex marriage in the courts and through a constitutional ban. 

“This doesn’t end it,” said Representative Tim Huelskamp, Republican of Kansas. “If anything, it’s been ignited and continues to be discussed.” He said the court action was an attempt to “short-circuit the process and to undo a decision, a strong bipartisan decision, signed by President Bill Clinton and supported by then-Senator Joe Biden; for this court to overrule it, I think folks are tired of judges dictating.” 

Backers of same-sex marriage in Washington and around the nation embraced the rulings and welcomed what they said was the demise of a biased federal law that turned gay Americans into second-class citizens.[....]

But he insisted that same-sex marriage opponents had scored a victory in the case involving California’s ban, Proposition 8. Rather than embrace a broad constitutional right to same-sex marriage, as the lead lawyers Theodore B. Olson and David Boies had urged, the justices issued a ruling that ensured a return to same-sex marriage only in California.

Rav Kook at Hebrew University - The importance of a University if subordinated to Torah

Rav Kook  (Hebrew University): some excerpts from Tradition Magazine. 29:1 1994 page 87-92.

 It is interesting to note how similar his vision is to   Rav S. R. Hirsch and how different from Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks.

It is also important to understand that this speech has been severely misunderstood and misrepresented in the Chareidi world - in particular by the Yated. 

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


The prophet of consolation prophesied (Isaiah 60:4-5 ):

Your sons shall be brought from afar, your daughters like babes on shoulders.As you behold, you will glow. Your heart will fear and rejoice for the wealth of the sea shall pass on to you; the riches of the nations shall come to you. [...]

But why "fear"? Why did the prophet preface the phrase "Your heart will rejoice" with the notion of fear? When, however, we look back in retrospect at past generations, and at the spiritual and intellectual movements that have influenced us, we readily understand that the notion of fear) in conjunction with rejoicing, is appropriate.

Two tendencies characterize Jewish spirituality, One tendency is internal and entirely sacred; it serves to deepen the spirit and to strengthen the light of Torah within. Such has been the purpose of all Torah institutions from earliest times, especially the fortresses of Israel's soul - the ycshivot. This includes all the yeshivot that ever existed, presently exist, and will exist in order to glorify Torah in its fullest sense. This spiritual tendency is fully confident and assured. "Those who love Your Torah enjoy well-being; they encounter no adversity" (Psalm 119:165). Despite such confidence, Rabbi Nehunyah ben Haqanah, upon entering the house of study, used to pray that nothing go awry with his presentation and that it not lead to error.

The second tendency characterizing Jewish spirituality served not only to deepen the sacredness of Torah within, but also as a means for the propagation and absorption of ideas. It served to prop· agate Jewish ideas and values from the private domain of Judaism into the public arena of the universe at large. For this purpose we have been established as a light unto the nations. It also served to absorb the general knowledge derived by the collective effort of all of humanity, by adapting the good and useful aspects of general knowledge to our storehouse of a purified way of living. Ultimately, this absorption too serves as a means of a moderated propagation to the world at large. Toward the attainment of this end, the Hebrew University can serve as a great and worthy instrument.

Here, dear friends, there is room for fear. From earliest times, we have experienced the transfer of the most sublime and holy concepts from the Jewish domain to the general arena. An example of propagation was the translation of the Torah into Greek. Two very different Jewish responses to this event emerged. In the land of Israel, Jews were frightened their world darkened. In contrast, Greek Jewry rejoiced. There were also instances of absorption. Various cultural influences, such as Greek culture and other foreign cultures that Jews confronted throughout their history, penetrated into our inner being. Here too, many Jewish circles responded to absorption with fear, while other Jews rejoiced.

When we look back on the previous generations, and reckon with hindsight, we realize that neither the fear nor the rejoicing was in vain. We gained in some areas and lost in others in our confrontation with foreign cultures. This much is dear: Regarding those cirdes that welcomed absorption and propagation joyously, with unmitigated optimism and with no trepidation, very few of their descendants remain with us today, participating in our difficult and holy task of rebuiling our land and resuscitating our people. For the vast majority of them have assimilated among the nations; they found themselves caught up in the waves of the ''wealth of the sea" and the "riches of the nations" that have come to us ..

Only from those who resided securely in our innermost fortresses, in the tents of Torah, enmeshed in the sanctity of the law, did emerge the truly creative Jews-that great portion of our nation who are loyal to its flag who work tirelessly to build our great edifice. Among these were many who propagated and absorbed. They exported and imported ideas and values on the spiritual highway that mediates between Israel and the nations. Their attitude, however, toward this undertaking was never one of rejoicing only. Fear accompanied their joy as they confronted the vision of the "wealth of the sea" belonging to the "riches of the nations."

Quite rightly did the prophet say: "As you behold, you will glow. Your heart will fear and rejoice for the wealth of the sea shall pass on to you; the riches of the nations shall come to you."

But how does one overcome the fear? How do we assure the safety of the nation against the mighty stream engulfing it?

As a representative of the Jewish community, standing on this honored platform, I submit to you the reflections of many distinguished segments of the community of traditional Judaism. It must be understood that the Hebrew University by itself cannot fulfill all the educational requirements necessary for the success of Our national life. We must realize that, first and foremost, it is the great Torah yeshivot, those that now exist and those to be constructed that are worthy of the name including the Central Yeshivah which we are establishing in Jerusalem, which shall be a light onto Israel in all areas of Torah, whether halakhah, aggadah, Jewish action, or Jewish thought that uphold the spirit of the nation and provide for its security. Moreover, the Hebrew University must maintain standards so that the name of Heaven, Israel, and the land of Israel are sanctified, and never desecrated, by it. This applies to administration, academic staff, and students alike. In particular, it is essential that academicians teaching Jewish studies, ranging from biblical study the light of our life to talmudic study, to Jewish history and thought, aside from their academic excellence, be personally loyal emotionally and intellectually to traditional Judaism. Only then will the fear we experience, together with the magnificent vision we behold this day, lead us to glow and rejoice in blessing.

These are our aspirations regarding the institution crowned today with the glory of Israel by the "wealth of the sea" and the "riches of the nations" that have come to us. May the prayer of Rabbi Nehunyah ben Haqanah be fulfilled in us: May my presentation not lead to error. [...]

Chief Rabbi Sacks attacks Chareidim for their isolation from world

Times of Israel  Retiring British Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks has launched a blistering attack on ultra-Orthodox Judaism, which “segregates itself from the world and from its fellow Jews.” Speaking at his own retirement dinner Monday night, Sacks drew an equivalence between assimilated Jews “who embrace the world and reject Judaism, and those who embrace Judaism and reject the world.”  

That the center is shrinking is “worse than dangerous,” said Sacks. “It is an abdication of the role of Jews and Judaism in the world. We are here to engage with the world, to be true to our faith and a blessing to others regardless of their faith.”

During his 22-year tenure, which will come to a close on September 1, Sacks was often accused of deferring too much to Haredi rabbis – including amending the text of his book, “The Dignity of Difference,” in response to criticism by ultra-Orthodox leaders – leading some in the audience to speculate that he will take a harder line post-retirement.

Monday night, the last in a series of communal events marking his departure, highlighted his position as a leading religious voice in Britain today. [...]

Although the Chief Rabbi has not yet indicated what formal position he is likely to accept after September, he seemed to stake out a strong role for himself promoting a centrist Orthodoxy, pledging to work to “inspire a new generation of leaders for the Jewish world, rabbinical, educational and lay, who will have the courage to face the world and all its challenges without fear, will have the responsibility to lead and the spirit to be a source of light in a sometimes dark and difficult world.

“I want to inspire young Jews throughout the world to believe in and live a Judaism that is tolerant, inclusive, embracing, non-judgmental; that is intellectually open and ethically uplifting; that is neither defensive nor arrogant, but that lives the life of faith in such a way as to enhance the life of others within and beyond the Jewish community.”

He expanded on the vision in a new pamphlet, “A Judaism Engaged with the World,” which was personally signed and handed to every guest, and is available for free download.

Free download - A Judaism Engaged With The World, by Chief Rabbi Sacks

The Rise of the One Minute Workout

NY Times   In an article under his byline for Sports Illustrated in December 1960, “The Soft American,” President-elect John F. Kennedy lamented the state of the nation’s fitness. As president he exhorted citizens to plunge into activities like 50-mile hikes.

As anyone sitting quietly and reading this article probably knows, that message did not resonate with most Americans. And these days, a majority get no planned exercise at all.

So at the recent annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine, one of the hottest topics was not how much exercise Americans should be completing, but how little.[...]

In the past, formal recommendations have called for a substantial amount of regular exercise. For example, published guidelines from the Health and Human Services Department in 2008 suggested 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week — the equivalent of five 30-minute walks. The guidelines added that 75 minutes of vigorous exercise a week, like jogging, could be substituted.[...]

This approach to exercise started to take off in 2006, when Martin Gibala, a physiologist at McMaster University in Ontario, and his colleagues published a study showing that a three-minute sequence on an electronic stationary bicycle — 30 seconds of punishing, all-out pedaling followed by a brief rest, repeated five or six times — led to the same muscle-cell adaptations as 90 to 120 minutes of prolonged bike riding. [...]

Researchers haven’t established a definitive period of time for an interval to provide maximum health benefits, Dr. Gibala said — although in his research and experience, a minute of hard effort followed by a minute of gentle recovery is effective.

Complete 10 such intervals three times a week for a total of 30 minutes of strenuous effort, he said, and “our data would indicate you’ll be in pretty good shape.”

Excellent summary of the Draft & Curriculum issues in Israel

Cross-Currents   The situation in Israel resembles a playing field upon which multiple teams descend at the same time, each one playing by different rules. What spectators in the stands observe is utter chaos, frustrating in its incomprehensibility. Consider this a half-time look back.

What do we know about what is really in store for our brethren in the charedi camp in Israel? Very little, since none of the opposing forces speak the language of the other. We can safely say that, whatever one’s feelings are about the coalition agreement on the charedi draft and the imposition of the core curriculum in charedi schools, our charedi cousins are living through a time of great angst and uncertainty. They deserve our solicitude and tefilos. It is part of our mesorah to treat pain with sympathy, regardless of the source or cause. 

The handful of postings on Cross-Currents have evoked much passion from our readers, and occasionally some real illumination. I will try here to summarize some of what emerges from pooling all that has been said here and published in other places, combining it with off-the-record conversations with unnamed Israeli government officials. I will make no judgments about the issues themselves, other than to reformat material about them that strikes me as plausible enough to be worthy of consideration. 

From what we can tell, the charedi community in Israel has split into two camps. One camp sees the proposed legislation as a gezeras shmad. It demonizes everyone connected with the effort, and refuses to talk of any compromise. They call it a war – and you can’t negotiate effectively while the bullets are flying around your head. Within this camp of absolute resisters is R. Shmuel Auerbach shlit”a, the Briskers, and many, many more. The press associated with this camp speaks in martial terms.

A second camp tacitly recognizes that things are going to change, and has expected the change for quite some time. People in this camp understood that one day, Israeli society would no longer wish to substantially foot the bill for a large group of people who had turned long-term full-time learning into the norm. Those in this camp, however – reportedly including Rav Aharon Leib Shteinman shlit”a – feel that a system that was regnant for so long and set in motion by Torah giants cannot be undone by lesser individual of a later generation. It will not resist as strongly as the first camp, but neither will they preside over the dismantling of a Torah-only society. So far, they have refused to meet with architects of the coalition agreement who wished to start a dialogue. The decision of the Peri committee to add criminal sanctions to non-compliance with a charedi draft shifted many people away from this group convinced great numbers of people that the first camp was correct, that charedim were targeted for a full-scale assault on their way of life.

The non-charedi world seems to have found its uniting slogan in shivyon hanetel, or the equal assumption of responsibility by all members of the State. (Almost equal. In good Orwellian form, all Israelis are expected to be equal, but some are more equal than others. The Arabs are left out of it. No one wants them for the military because of the security risk.) The Haaretz crowd cannot disguise its disdain for charedim, but it is not at all clear that the average Israeli wants anything more out of the entire effort than a bit of justice and a bit of financial relief. The hysteria whipped up by the Haaretz yefai nefesh is matched by the hysteria whipped up by the charedi press (in the US as well) in creating a public mind-set in which every bigoted, over-the-top remark by some secular leftist is lovingly embellished and sent on to the public as representative of the majority of secular Israeli society. This is simply unwarranted, and likely not true. There is a reason why everything is coming to a head just now, and it still seems to be economics. At least it was when it got started. Any apologia for charedim which does not address the present and future projected burden of an underemployed community on the national economy is inadequate.[...]

Chief Rabbi Metzger arrested - Who cares?

Times of Israel    Rabbi Shmuel Pappenheim of the haredi Orthodox organization Eda Haharedit shares little common ground with Reform Rabbi Uri Regev, a religious pluralism activist. But when news broke last week that Israel’s Ashkenazi chief rabbi, Yona Metzger, was arrested on suspicion of fraud and money laundering, Pappenheim and Regev had the same reaction: Who cares? 

For Pappenheim, the chief rabbi is a political figure who has scant influence as a religious leader. And to Regev, he represents a coercive religious authority whose actions have little meaning for Israel’s secular majority.

Both regard the chief rabbi’s legal troubles as both unsurprising and largely irrelevant.

“Whom does the chief rabbi serve?” asked Regev, who heads Hiddush, a religious pluralism nonprofit. “The secular sector has no connection to the rabbinate. It doesn’t have any expectations of the chief rabbinate.” [....]

3 year review declares Jesse Friedman properly convicted of sex abuse

NYTimes   Jesse Friedman, the Great Neck, N.Y., teenager whose role in a sexual abuse case a quarter-century ago was portrayed in the Oscar-nominated documentary “Capturing the Friedmans,” and came to symbolize an era of sensational, often-suspect accusations of child molestation, was properly convicted and should not have his status as a sexual predator overturned, according to a three-year review that was released on Monday. 

In a 155-page report written with very little ambiguity, the Nassau County district attorney, Kathleen M. Rice, concluded that none of four issues raised in a strongly worded 2010 ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit were substantiated by the evidence. 

Instead, it concluded, “By any impartial analysis, the reinvestigation process prompted by Jesse Friedman, his advocates and the Second Circuit, has only increased confidence in the integrity of Jesse Friedman’s guilty plea and adjudication as a sex offender.” 

The review concludes another chapter in a case that came to national attention after the 2003 release of the film, which portrayed both the breakup of a deeply troubled family and what was characterized as a flawed, biased police investigation and judicial process. The case led to guilty pleas in 1988 by Jesse Friedman, then 18, and his father, Arnold Friedman, who ran a popular computer class at his house on Piccadilly Road in the affluent Long Island community of Great Neck. 

The report’s conclusion was not entirely unexpected, even by Mr. Friedman and his advocates, given the explosive nature of the charges, the impossibility of a definitive finding on many of the allegations more than 25 years in the past and the high bar for prosecutors to overturn convictions, especially those based on confessions. 

Still, Mr. Friedman; his lawyer, Ron Kuby; and the film’s director, Andrew Jarecki, reacted with disappointment and anger, saying the report was a biased whitewash by the office that originally botched the case.[...]

The Mitzvah of Chesed – An Overview by Rabbi Yair Hoffman

5tjt  Thankfully, we live in a community that is blessed with people who perform remarkable, remarkable acts of Chessed.  The efforts of Yeshiva students and others in the wake of Hurricane Sandy were remarkably inspiring.  Very recently, we were witness to local Yeshiva students from Yeshiva of Far Rockaway who danced vigorously to bring joy to a groom, local high school girls (TAG) working the kitchen and waitressing a wedding, local elementary boys (Siach Yitzchok) waitering for another Simcha.  Mothers of the high school girls joined their daughters in this Mitzvah as well, fathers happily provided transportation and other support.  Girls returning from seminary joined up too.  So impressive is the extent of the chessed in our community, that the daughter of a very famous Rosh Yeshiva in Brooklyn who came to one of these Smeichot remarked, “I have never seen this level of Chessed before. This should be a model for all of Klal Yisroel.”

The truth is that this is just a drop in the bucket of the extensive chessed that goes on around us.  In light of this remarkable activity, an overview of the general Mitzvah of Chessed is presented below.

THE TWO GEMORAHS

The Gemorah (Sotah 14a) discusses the pasuk which says, “Acharei Hashem Elokecha taylechu – you shall walk after Hashem your G-d (Dvarim 13:5).”  The Gemorah poses a question.  It asks, “How is it possible to physically walk after the Divine Presence?”

The Gemorah responds that it means to follow after the Midos, the character traits, kavyachol, of Hashem. Just as He provides for the unclothed, so too must you provide clothing to them.  The Sefer Mitzvos Gedolos states that this verse is part of the related Pasuk of “v’halachta b’drachav – and you shall walk in his ways.”  In other words, the verse of Acharei Hashem Elokecha Taylechu is referencing the verse of v’halachta b’drachav.

The Gemorah in Shabbos (133b) discusses another entirely different pasuk, “Zeh Kaili V’anveihu..” The Gemorah in Shabbos understands it to mean that we must attempt to liken ourselves to Him.  Just as He is kind and merciful, so too must you be kind and merciful. [...]

Arab Brooklyn

Abuse prevention: Friendly Message to Camp Summer Staff

Three Weeks - an Overview by Rabbi Yair Hoffman

5tjt.   Although the Three Weeks and the other two fasts are a period of mourning and introspection, Zechariah the Navi tells us (Zechariah 8:19) that eventually, the four fasts of Klal Yisroel will be a source of joy and gladness – if we but embark upon the goal of loving both truth and shalom.  These two themes are central to Torah life.  Rabbi Chaninah tells us (Shabbos 55a) that Hashem’s seal is truth.  Shalom is also one of the names of Hashem, in addition to being a central theme of our daily Tefilos.  If we learn to love these ideals – the fasts will be turned around.

The four fasts mentioned in Zechariah are:

• The fast of the fourth month. [Tamuz - the 17^th of it]
• The fast of the fifth month.          [Av – the 9^th of it]
• The fast of the seventh month. [Tishrei - the 3^rd of it]
• The fast of the tenth month. [Taives – the 10^th of it]

Clearly, we are counting these four fasts from the month of Nissan.  Why do we start from Nissan?  Because this is the first month that we became who we are –  a nation.

MODIFIED DATES

The exact dates of two of the fasts were not always these dates – they were somewhat modified.  As far as the 17^th of Tamuz, originally, in the time of 1^st Beis HaMikdash we observed it on the 9^th of Tamuz because that is when the city walls were first broken through.  Hundreds of years later, during the time of the 2^nd Bais HaMikdash, on the 17^th of Tamuz, the enemy breached the walls of Yerushalayim once again.  The date of the Tamuz fast was moved from the 9^th to the 17^th.   The fast of Tishrei was to be observed on the 3^rd because the tragedy had occurred on the second day of Rosh haShana itself, one day earlier, and we do not want to fast then.

PURPOSE OF THE FASTS

Why do we fast on these days? [...]

Rav Yisroel Salanter: Why doesn't knowledge stop sin?

Prof Mark Stein ( Torah u-Madda Journal 9  (2000) page 46 ) In the talmudic tradition, action takes precedence over theory (at least in theory!), and the idea of disinterested philosophical reflection is discouraged." In the European-Christian tradition, contemplation is encouraged. In fact, among the philosophers, I can think of only one thinker, Benjamin Franklin, who gives serious consideration to the question of inculcating virtue in the individual, as distinct from the question of exploring the essence of virtue.

R. Israel was concerned with bridging the gap between religious ideals and religious practice, which is a question of therapy, not philosophy. But to construct his form of therapy, R. Israel had to analyze the illness: why do people who espouse values act counter to these values in everyday life? Debate over this question is one of the earliest in recorded philosophy, between Socrates and Aristotle. Socrates (in the Protagoras held that virtue is knowledge. Or to put it as a yeshivah student would: hissaron in practice reflects a hissaron in knowledge. Aristotle (Nicomachean Ethics VII, 3) rejected this view as simplistic; his own sug­gestion as to how "weakness of the will" (akrasia) is possible-despite knowledge-will not concern us here."

R. Israel's solution is given, if only by implication, in the first words Iggeret ha-Musar. R. Israel suggests not only a solution to the problem of akrasta, but a deeper one than that of either Plato or Aristotle:

The imagination of Man is free; his reason is bound. His imagination leads him astray ... so that he fears not the certain future ... when he will suffer harsh judgments. No one else will be caught in his stead - he alone will bear the fruit of his sin; he is one, the sinner and the punished ....

R. Israel's explanation for the failure of the good man to live up to his beliefs goes far beyond the mere invocation of the "evil inclination." The question is what the evil inclination is, and how it functions. R. Israel's answer is that the believing sinner becomes alienated from his future self, so that he becomes as indifferent to his own future suffering as most of us are to suffering in a faraway land. It is therefore the task of musar to bring the future to the present, so that the sinner feels the pun­ishment already in his imagination. The philosophical analysis suggests a program of therapy, and this therapy R. Israel calls "learning musar"

But the problem is not just the "remoteness" of the future state. R. Israel's disciples, for example R. Isaac Blaser, reported that their teacher explained that the problem is (or is aggravated by) the great difference between our bodily existence and our eternal one, a difference so great that we find it difficult to identify ourselves altogether in the unimagin­able bodiless state. So we cannot act on our belief in divine punishment after death." R. Israel's view, as attributed to him by disciples, bears a striking resemblance to that of the famous atheist, Hume, who expresses mock horror at...

 the universal carelessness and stupidity of men with regard to a future state .... There is not indeed a more ample matter of wonder to the stu­dious, and of regret to the pious man, than to observe the negligence of the bulk of mankind concerning their approaching condition .... A future state is so far removed from our comprehension, and we have so obscure an idea of the manner, in which we shall exist after the dissolution of the body, that we are never able with slow imaginations to surmount the diffi­culty .... And indeed the want of resemblance in this case so entirely destroys belief, that except those few, who upon cool reflection on the importance of the subject, have taken care by repeated meditation to imprint on their minds the arguments for a future state, there scarce are any, who believe the immortality of the soul with a true and established judgment ....

Though the resemblance to R. Israel's analysis is obvious, R. Israel's is still the deeper. Hume presumes that sinners simply do not believe what they profess, on account of the weakness of the idea humans can have of a future state. Thus, in the end, Hume's diagnosis is a variant of Socrates': a defect in action presupposes a defect in belief. But Hume's diagnosis is based on a superficial account of the nature of belief itself, as constituted by a vivid idea-an account refuted by Thomas Reid in Hume's own lifetime, with the simple objection that we can have the most vivid hallucination without believing in its veracity." R. Israel, on the other hand, locates the problem not in believing in a future state, but in locating ourselves in the future state and relating to our future state as ourselves.

Bar Noar Club - "the proud community" and deviance

Zomet Institute  "Take all of the leaders of the people and hang them before G-d, in front of the sun" [Bamidbar 25:4].

The Discussion Itself gives Legitimacy

In almost twenty years that I have been writing this column (since 5754, that is, 1994) I think that only one time I wrote about "inverted sexual orientation" within the religious community, and I immediately regretted it. One solitary time I agreed to state my position in a television discussion, and I also regretted this afterwards. My reason is very straightforward: Every public discussion on this and similar issues adds to the legitimacy of the subject matter, even if the opinion that is voiced is very critical and sharply and strongly condemns the situation. Some sins are such that any public discussion about them spurs afflicted people to action, and even entices others to emulate them. This, for example, is thought to be true of suicide. Any report accompanied by a discussion – no matter how tragic and sad – is quite likely to encourage others to follow in its footsteps. This is all the more so true with respect to sins of the evil inclination, where every sinner who tells about his sins is interested and even strongly wants to encourage new people to join the "community of sin." Every act of publicity and raising the subject "against the sun" reduces social pressures and enhances the legitimacy, in the eyes of the perpetrators and those who surround them.

But this time I have decided to speak out, in the wake of the solving (?) of the murder in the Bar Noar Club, which has once again turned the spotlight on this dark corner of our lives. My main point is my outrage at the use of the phrase "the proud community" to describe this phenomenon, in this way making it the object of a sophisticated and friendly value judgment. I therefore come to raise my pen in protest at this flawed "community." These two words, prestigious and festive as they are, community and pride, are being used as an envelope of purity for anomalous behavior that is a dramatic perversion of family and social norms. And the entire phenomenon is a prime example of anti-religion (no matter which one) and anti-Judaism. [...]

I do not call for banishment, casting out, or out-and-out rejection from the religious community of the sinners who are aware of their situation and who seek help. They should be welcomed with bonds of love. I do not propose that we use the word from the Torah, an abomination, which can be seen as offensive and can have the effect of pushing a person away forever. A better word is "stiya" – deviation – but this too is considered as a rejection and no longer maintains its original meaning as being different from the norm (such as a deviation from an original plan for a building). But I do call for the religious – and secular – communications media to completely abandon the word combination "proud community." The proper word to use is "choreg" – a deviation from the norm. And this should not be used with any connotation of forgiveness and acceptance, but rather with the meaning of a deviation which can be treated and which deserves to be pitied.

On the other hand, I call for total rejection and for removal beyond the religious and social boundaries of anybody who shows pride about their fault, those who publicly flaunt their "status" or gather together to show "community pride" and who join active social clubs of this type. Every attempt to show off this way of life is to be considered "enticement and seduction," something that is very harmful and should be punished in a harsh way. Making the deviations public is treated in this week's Torah portion, in the verse quoted above: "Hang them in front of the sun." [...]