Comments on: Rabbi Avi Weiss: Conservative Judaism for Orthodox Jews

By: Shloimi

Shloimi — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 13:03:58 +0000

Chutzpah? Let’s talk about chutzpah, shall we? Since when did a Rabbi become a Priest?! I am disappointed at the narrow minded view we seem to have of our world. Let us not forget that women are not bound by time-bound mitzvot… more importantly let’s consider WHY women are not bound to mitzvot in the same way as a man…you think that is by accident? Just because one is orthodox does not make him or her any better a jew and anyone else and if a women wants to become a teacher whats the harm? My mother taught me how to eat, how to treat others with respect, how to be a good man… by the way, she’s a woman.

By: stzc18

stzc18 — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 06:10:32 +0000

1) “so yes i do know more than r moshe, in this one issue.” Wow #37-hanavon-WHAT CHUTZPAH!!!! R’ Moshe was a Gadol Hador – how can you talk like that? Have some more respect when you speak about someone like that!

2) And to “Not Bubby” – I wonder what was in your response to me that wasn’t posted. Must have been a doozy if they didn’t post it.

3) To Flatbush Bubby. You’re welcome. By the way, I guess your big boy in Eretz Yisroel and my daughter in seminary in Eretz Yisroel didn’t get to have fun with any snow. It only rained, sleeted, and hailed, and was quite windy, but no snow.

By: hanavon

hanavon — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:48:22 +0000

flatbush bubby, about r’ moshe feinstein and his disagreement as to whether a woman can be a rabbi,
first of all, r moshe did allow a woman to serve as the head of a hashgachah organization, and even allowed her to answer sheilos.
r’ moshe was probably not familiar with the case of asenath barzani, who was in fact called “taana’it” and who was a rabbi in the 1600′s, r’ moshe never opened a history book, so yes i do know more than r moshe, in this one issue. believe me, in the 1600′s in iraq, there were rabbunim who were much greater than r moshe, and they allowed it.
furthermore, r moshe can say whatever he wants, but we answer to the shulchan aruch, not to igros moshe. the shulchan aruch allows it, again, look in choshen mishpat, hilchos dayanim. now, i know r moshe knew this halacha, and probably felt it was a “horas sha’ah” because reform was allowing women rabbis at the time. but, again, the shulchan aruch is very clear that a woman can serve as a morah horah (although the difference is that her psak is not as binding as a rav’s psak, but thats another shmooze) although a woman cannot serve as a dayan.
now women have been serving as leaders of communities, and even rabbis, for thousands of years…ever since devora. the rambam says that women cannot learn gemara because, as he says, “most women” dont have the mind for it, the operative word being “most”, not “all”.
we do have to understand that things change, times change, the world changes…we have always changed with it.
during the bronze age, they couldnt have had a halacha about steel knives for shchita, because they didnt have steel, but now they do, and so we have new laws. in fact, the only knife that is ever used for shchita is an iron blade, anything else wouldnt be accepted as being kosher.
the passuk mentions that shaul became upset when the women would sing about david, we know from this passuk and several others that women used to sing in public, but with the jewish exile into the eastern lands, which had customs about the singing voice of a woman, it is now a halacha that we dont listen to a womans voice when shes singing.
and ther was a time when we could drink the wine of non jews, but now we cannot.
halacha is ever changing and needs to adapt to the world as it changes.

By: tzippi

tzippi — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:07:08 +0000

Milhouse, who else has farhered her to know that she has bekius? Among all the other reservations about Rabbi Weiss’s educational approach is the minimal time YCT students learn seriously.

And I’m not the type who won’t sneeze without a kol koreih with a minimum of the right signatures, but the lack of support also gives me pause. I don’t have enough confidence in R Weiss to listen to his daas yachid.

By: justajew

justajew — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:37:19 +0000

There is no point in having any sort of conversation here when 90% of your comment gets edited before it’s seen.

#32 Bubby -

Please quote what you are referring to, because I’m guessing you are mixing up his teshuva about a woman reciting a tefila in front of a male congregation.

By: Not Bubby

Not Bubby — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:14:32 +0000

Don’t get me wrong. Everyone I know finds your posts amusing. Or something.

By: Flatbush Bubby

Flatbush Bubby — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:52:27 +0000

I forgot one thing, stzc18, thank-you very, very much for defending me. I always appreciate it when one of the bloggers comes to my defense.

By: Flatbush Bubby

Flatbush Bubby — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:50:19 +0000

Not Bubby, I will not disregard what you posted.

As far as akuperma, justajew, and hanavon said, the Igros Moshe goes into detail why a woman is prohibited from being a rabbi.

But, to all of you four beki’im, I guess you know more than Rabbi Moshe Feinstein did.

By: Not Bubby

Not Bubby — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:26:00 +0000

Disregard #30. My post didn’t show up about why I responded to Flatbush Bubby.

By: Not Bubby

Not Bubby — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 12:38:54 +0000

Forgot to say that #27 was in response to #25.