Yom Yerushalaim: The Alternate Ending

Today was Yom Yerushalaim - the anniversary of the day in 1967 when the Jewish people liberated the city of Jerusalem, the Western Wall, and the Temple Mount.  

In those six days in 1967 the Jewish people went from fearing another Holocaust to achieving an unprecedented military victory and reclaiming the historic cities of Hevron, Schem, Shiloh, Beit El, and the heartland of the state of ancient Israel.

The Six Day War had a profound impact on Jews around the world.  Being a Jew in May of 1967 was different than being a Jew in July of the same year.

Jews around the world who were ashamed to be Jewish suddenly felt a surge of Jewish pride.  The Jewish chest stuck out a bit more.  A star of David necklace could be worn above the shirt.

Many Jews were inspired to move to Israel.  Some say it was the beginning of a wave of Jews returning to their Jewish roots.

Natan Sharansky has said many times that he remembers huddling around a radio in secret in Communist Russia and hearing the famous words "The Temple Mount is in Our Hands"  He said that they didn't know what the words meant, but they all knew that they were proud to be Jewish.  And it filled them with hope.  If Israel could overcome their struggles, they could too.

Yom Yerushalaim is celebrated by Jews around the world as a day of joy and thanksgiving.

As we said Hallel this morning I had a chilling thought.  I imagined a parallel universe where the Arabs won the war in 1967.  In this alternate world the 28th of Iyar is a day of mourning and lamentations to commemorate the tragic destruction of Israel and the death of millions of Jews.  

There are museums and monuments set up to remember the short lived Jewish State, and at a special ceremony held on this day the US president and world leaders gather together to give speeches and to say "Never Again!"

The trauma of a second Holocaust so soon after the first was too much for the Jewish people to take.  Jews abandoned their Judaism en mass.  Around the world synagogues lay empty.  Assimilation increaased dramatically.  Without Israel as a focal point there was nothing left to unite the Jewish people.  The JEwish nation fell apart.

Without Israel the Middle East had no democratic presence.

There was still no Palestinian state.  The Arabs who lived there continued to suffer as Egypt, Jordan, and Syria fought for control over the land.  Without Israel the world was not interested in helping them form a state of their own.

Islamic fundamentalism continued to grow in the region, and without Israel as a scape goat all of the ire was focused on America.

Iraq was the first to develop nuclear weapons as their was no country to prevent them from doing so.  The other Islamic countries soon followed.  Life in that world is bleak.

Thank God Israel won and the Jewish people live on!  And while I doubt that the president and other world leaders will flock to Jerusalem or Hevron to celebrate their liberation any time soon, we know that the world is a better place because of Israel's victory on that day.  

Yom Yerushalaim is a pivotal day in the history of the world.  

May Hashem continue to bless His people and His land.  May Israel and its people dwell in security.  And may Jerusalem, the land of Israel, and the entire world soon see a day of peace, prosperity and happiness for everyone.

Happy Yom Yerushalaim!

How the Credit Card Companies Get You!

Yesterday I posted an ethical question that was posed at my Shabbat table last week.  "Is it ethical to work the system and cash in on credit card rewards with no intention to be a customer?"  There was a great deal of off line discussion on the matter.  My uncle Mark Honigsfeld (yes the same famous Uncle Mark who had the idea to sell Warren our chametz!) sent the following response which I found informative and compelling:

Credit card companies (CCC) are managed by some of the savviest known business minds in the financial world. They are also experts in marketing strategies (often referred to as gimmicks) to lure consumers using legitimate legal methods of what many consumer advocates would call "bait and switch". 

Credit card companies, as you noted in your blog, earn their fees in different ways. It would be totally naive to believe that CCC don't expect a certain percentage of consumers to take full advantage of the offer and subsequently canceling or not renewing their subscription. 

As by your example, I don't equate this to shoplifting but would offer a different example: 

If a store were to run a sale and promote the sale as follows "selling the 1st 100 customers a certain item at below cost" I assume there would be no question of ethics regarding anyone who arrives 1st, intending only to purchase the item on sale. Although the full intent was for the store to lure you in and expect you to purchase something else while in their store. Does this pose any moral or ethical question?

Is intent not to respond to a promotion in a way the merchant "may" have hoped for considered unethical or rather is it merely a consumer's inherent rights in fair dealing practices?  

So too as my example above, with these offers from the CCC, they lure you in, hoping to get a long term customer and with that "bait" they offer you a promotion. The majority of subscribers do in fact keep the card, and those who don't have given the CCC other fair consideration and financial returns. 

• Fees for the sales that the consumer must purchase with the card for the consumer to earn the rewards, also get paid fees from the merchant. 

• In some cases consumers who intentionally think they will beat the system, pay exorbitant interest charges when they are not able to pay off the CC balance at end of billing cycle. CCC know this fact and factor it in to the cost of the promotion. 

• Awards often expire and also become worthless. This is known as breakage and is also used in calculating the cos of any promotion. 

• CCC also use the data the consumer provided when applying for the credit card for marketing purposes and often sell this information to mailing list houses for significant fees.  

When one understands the profiteering that results when such offers are made by CCC then one should be comfortable in taking full advantage of the offer. 

If canceling the card after awards are realized are of concern, then I would think the CCC would charge a penalty for doing so but they don't because they understand the business advantages not to do so. 

This is one man's opinion which is not based on Halacha but rather an understanding of business and as a credit card merchant.

The Ethics of Credit Card Rewards

I was asked an interesting ethical question at my Shabbat table and I am not sure of the answer.

Credit cards offer certain deals to potential customers.  They offer airline miles, points, or cash for people who sign up and spend a certain amount.

There is a whole genre of blogs that search for these deals and share them with their subscribers.  They instruct their subscribers on how to game the system: sign up for the deal, receive the reward, and then cancel the card.

Is it ethical to play the credit card rewards game?

On the one hand, I am certain that the credit card companies factor in the people who learn to work the system.  They are offering the deal and must realize that people can take advantage of it.  They must factor that into their costs.

But grocery stores factor shoplifters into their pricing too.

Or perhaps the credit card companies profit from the people who work the system.  Maybe the fees that they receive from the vendors offsets the rewards that they give the customers.

Or perhaps the credit card companies are counting on people signing up for the card thinking they will profit, while most people end up forgetting to cancel, or end up becoming a regular customer.

Does anyone have any insight into this question?

The Warren Buffett Shabbaton!!!

This Shabbat thousands of people are flocking to Omaha for the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting to attend the Warren Buffett Shabbaton.

Unfortunately the meeting is on Shabbat and Jewish people have a conflict as we have a weekly meeting with The One who has even more money and wisdom than Warren Buffett and to whom the entire world is His subsidiary.

Fortunately because of YouTube none of us has to miss out on the main event of the meeting..

The Talmud teaches that certain things are 1/60th of something else.  Meaning, if you want to know what some unattainable experience is like, there are available experiences that represent a small taste.

For instance, we can no longer taste the maan that the Jews ate in the desert for 40 years, however honey is 1/60th of the maan.  Taste some honey and whatever that tastes like, multiply it by 60 and that is what maan tasted like..

Not everyone has the capacity to experience prophecy, however, a dream is 1/60th of what that experience is like.

I sincerely believe that the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting is 1/60th of what is was like to be in the dessert with the ancient Israelites learning Torah from Moshe Rabbeinu.

Some might say it trivializes Moshe Rabbeinu to compare him to Waren Buffett. After all, you may say, Moshe gave us the Torah.  All Warren Buffett did was make a big pile of money.  How can they be compared? Even as 1/60th?


I would argue that Warren Buffett represents so much more than just a big pile of money.  His speeches - which constantly draw from stories, parables, and wisdom ancient and modern - are sometimes less about money and more about how a person should conduct himself honestly, ethically, and with integrity.

Never the less, it is true that ostensibly, he is mostly talking about money.

But I am not talking about the substance as much as the experience.


A few days ago those who learn Daf Yomi learned how Moshe and his brother Aharon sat side by side with the other leaders and taught the Torah to the nation.  The Jewish people gathered and sat at the edge of their seat reveling in every word that came from the mouth of Moshe.

When Moshe's father in law first Yitro visited the camp of Israel, he saw how the people waited day and night on long lines to have a chance to speak with Moshe, even if only for a minute.

Moshe was more than just a leader.  The historian Josephus says that Moshe's impact on the Jewish people was so profound that even thousands of years later the Jewish people obeyed his laws as if he were alive and standing before them.  This was not out of fear of Moshe, but out of love for a great leader who saved them, who cared for them, who fed them, and who lead them through the perilous dessert for 40 years. But mostly they loved Moshe for transmitting the Divine wisdom to our people.

Today in Omaha the excitement is palpable.  People are waiting with great excitement for their great leader, Warren Buffett, to speak.  They have traveled great distances to come to Omaha, Nebraska which many of them consider the wilderness.  Tomorrow they will push and shove and squeeze into the convention center to hear words of wisdom from the man that they so admire and wait with excitement and anticipation for every word that comes from his mouth.

Tomorrow Warren and Charlie Munger sitting side by side will be like Moses and Aharon teaching the Israelites.  They will share their wisdom and the people will learn and rejoice.

Tomorrow the speech will be about investing, but one day those crowds will gather once again to hear the words of the Torah.  The people will gather - "the men, the women, and the children ,and the stranger who is in your cities - so that they will hear and so that they will learn and they shall fear Hashem, your God, and be careful to perform the words of the Torah."  (Devarim 31:12)

Imagine a national convention where the world's smartest people will speak of justice and righteousness, and we will all rejoice in their wisdom.  The Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting gives us a taste as to what that will be like.

I, however, will have to miss the crowds tomorrow and catch the speeches after shabbat on youtube, which is fine with me.  I will be with my community in shul celebrating Shabbat - which as the Talmud says - is 1/60th of heaven.

This Year's Hagaddah Picks

Every year i like to mix up the Hagaddahs that I use at the Pesach seder.  This year I have some good ones picked out for my own personal seder.  Here are this year's Hagaddah picks:

1. The Gurs Haggadah: Passover in Perdition - Great Hagadah that includes pictures of the hagadah written from memory by the Jews in the camp.

2. Haggadah: Go Forth and Learn by David Silber - I must admit, I have not read this one yet, but i really like the cover.

3. Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sack's Haggadah - Always a winner!

4. The Chief Rabbi's Haggadah - by Yona Metzger - be the first to review it on Amazon!

5. 300 Ways to Ask the 4 Questions - the mah nishtana in 300 languages!  So much fun!  My favorite is Morse Code.

6. The Un-Haggadah by Mitchell Wohlberg - Best Haggadah if you have unafiliated guests!  Absolutely brilliant!

Marc Shapiro Shabbaton at Beth Israel

In 1984 Jerry Seinfeld performed at Yeshiva University.  Rabbi Neil Fleischmann told me that because he was not so famous at the time he only attracted a small audience.  (His opening line was "wow, Yeshiva University.  I am not sure if I should do my routine or my haftarah!")  Years later when Seinfeld achieved superstardom, those who went to hear him and had a chance to meet him personally remember fondly how they knew him when.

Last week Beth Israel had the privilege of hosting the great Jewish scholar historian Dr. Marc Shapiro.  I truly believe that those in Omaha who came to learn from him this past Shabbat will one day recount how they had an opportunity to hear and meet Dr. Shapiro before he was world famous.

Dr. Shapiro is the chair of Judaic studies at the university of Scranton and has written numerous books and articles on Jewish history, philosophy, and theology.  (wikipedia)  He is considered by many to be one of the fastest rising stars in the world of Jewish historical scholarship.

I have been a big fan of Dr. Shapiro's writings for some time through his books and articles.  He is a contributor to the seforim blog and a lecturerer on Torah in Motion.

He also does historical trips in Europe.  Anyone who signs up through Beth Israel can get a $200 discount.  Check it out!

It was really thrilling for me to be able to get to know him in person over Shabbat.

Dr. Marc Shapiro in Omaha at the grave of Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Grodzinsky

When he speaks he does so much more than just convey information.  He expands your mind and challenges you to think more.  After the lecture you not only know more, you are qualitatively smarter than you were before the lecture.

Dr. Shapiro is a wealth of information on any area of history and he delivers his information in a clear and organized manner.  He never sensationalizes historical figures.  He does not indulge in anecdotes but rather presents historical figures only through their writings and the direct impact that they had.  His approach is never speculative.  

Dr. Shapiro is brutally honest in his presentation of significant Jewish personalities, which to a large degree include venerated Rabbis.  This has made him somewhat controversial.  He presents them and their philosophies in full.  He presents the strengths and weaknesses of their works and thoughts.  He does not shy away from presenting ideas, rulings, or actions that may appear to us as absurd or sometimes even immoral in hindsight.  But he is always respectful and he gives us a full historical background so that we can understand these great men in the context in which they lived.  He shows that if we were faced with the same tensions and challenges that they faced we may have made the same mistakes.

He presents information objectively, but does not remain completely objective.  He presents conflicts and tensions between different schools of thought of great thinkers of the past.  He pits two conflicting ideas against each other and shows how those tensions are still relevant today.  He lays out the calculus of the equations presented by moral dilemmas, explains the costs and benefits of both schools of thought, and usually courageously opines as to what he thinks is the right course.  These views can always be applied to modern tensions and always leads to stimulating discussion.  

As an example, on Friday night he spoke about Orthodox Judaism's response to non-Orthodox Judaism in Germany in the 19th century.  At the time the Orthodox leader in Germany was the great Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch.  Hirsch is famous for his advocacy of Orthodox Jews engaging in the modern world and is referred to by many as the father of modern Orthodoxy.  

Lesser known was his strict position on Orthodox separatism.  He believed that the Orthodox in Germany should separate themselves completely form the non-Orthodox community.  At some point he went head to head with Rabbi Seligman Baer Bamberger who at the time represented the more traditional Orthodox approach.  Rabbi Seligman was opposed to the Hirshian attitude of engagement in the modern world.  While is was expected that Rabbi Seligman would side with Rabbi Hirsch on the issue of separatism, ironically he was not in favor of Orthodox Jews seceding form the general community.  Dr. Shapiro suggests that Bamberger's leniency on this issue stemmed from his stringency in other areas.  Bamberger and his followers acted so vastly different from the Reform Jews so he had no fear that the Reform would have a great deal of influence.  By contrast, the more "modern" Orthodox were similar in many regards to the Reform Jews and Hirsch felt that mingling and coexistence would have a negative influence on his followers.

In his defense, Hirsch countered in a letter to Bamberger that had Hirsch's philosophy been around two generations earlier there would have been no Refrom because the traditional Orthodox model presented Jews with a false dichotomy where they had to choose between either the secular world or the Jewish world.  Seemingly, Reform presented them with the only alternative.  

On Shabbat Dr. Shaprio spoke about the great early 20th century Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook and his philosophy.  He outlined the major points of his philosophy and showed how it is relevant today in Israel and throughout the Jewish world.  

But he also presented some critiques of Rav Kook's philosophy.  

Rav Kook believed that the non-religious atheist Zionists were really part of God's master plan.  Whereas they thought that they were building Israel for the sake of some socialist non-religious utopia, in reality they were just laying the ground work for the messianic era where everyone will recognize God.  

While this sounds wonderful and inclusive, at a symposium in Israel in 1985 commemorating the 50th anniversary of Rav Kook's death, Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein pointed out that this attitude is condescending and it negates people's thoughts, motives, and ambitions.  Dismissing people's true intentions and pretending that they are actually just working to serve your own agenda, even if they don't know it, is very disrespectful to others.  Better to understand your opponents and at least allow them the dignity of their own ideals, even if they differ from your own.

But as always, even when Dr. Shapiro presents critiques he does so with the utmost respect and it was clear that he indeed is a great admirer of Rav Kook.

On Shabbat afternoon Dr. Shapiro and I had an arm chair discussion where he took questions form the congregation.  He discussed a variety of topics including women in Orthodoxy, Orthodox attrition, and Orthodoxy's relationship with other denominations.

All of his answers were subtle and complex, yet clear and reasonable, and always positive and optimistic.  

Regarding the question of Orthodox children leaving the fold, he pointed out that our generation has the lowest attrition of Orthodox youth than any generation since the enlightenment over 200 years ago.  At the beginning of the 20th century it was only a small minority of Orthodox parents that were able to pass traditional Judaism down to their children.  Today the percentage of children who maintain their parents tradition is overwhelming.

We had a large crowd from other synagogues who came to ask questions.  The recent New York Times piece about "The Orthodox Surge" was mentioned and the question of why Orthodox Judaism seems to be on the rise while Conservative Judaism - 50 years ago considered the future of American Judaism - seems to be in sharp decline nationally.

Dr. Shapiro mentioned half joking (and he said I could quote him) that if he were in charge of non-orthodox Judaism he would CANCEL YOM KIPPUR.  He explained that there is a large number of non-orthodox Jews who only show up for Yom Kippur services, a long and somber event.  This then becomes there only view of Judaism and they are not interested.  If they are only going to show up twice a year then let it be Purim and Simchat Torah instead of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.  That way their view of Judaism will be joyous rather than somber.

He also openly discussed his view of Orthodox women Rabbis, saying that he thinks there is no problem and there is long historic precedent.  He thinks, however, that changes must be implemented in modern times in a more organic and natural way, rather than imposing ideas or institutions on a community that may not be ready to accept them.

A highlight of the weekend was taking Dr. Shapiro to meet with Rabbi Kripke at the Blumkin Home.  Rabbi Kripke, Hashem should bless him, is now 99 years old, and occupied a time in history that Dr. Shapiro studies.  He was ordained by Professor Louis Finklestein at the Jewish Theological Center in 1937.  He was also a student of Mordechai Kaplan.  Dr. Shapiro got to ask Rabbi Kripke all sorts of questions about his experiences and encounters with these and other notable historic figures.  It is always a great privilege to hear Rabbi Kripke talk about his past.  May he be blessed with many more years of good health!

Having Dr. Shapiro here in Omaha was really a great treat.  I hope that we have an opportunity to host him again someday.

Travel Blog AIPAC 2013

Last week I accompanied the Omaha Teens 4 Israel group to the 2013 AIPAC policy conference.

It was the experience of a lifetime!

In addition to the Teens 4 Israel our delegation included a dozen people from Nebraska, making this our largest delegation in history.  Next year we hope to at least triple that number.

You can see all of the AIPAC speeches o their website, but I must say there is nothing like being there in person!

The conference alternates between plenaries for everyone and smaller breakout sessions.  The plenaries take place in the large auditorium and are attended by all 13,000 conference participants. They feature the headline speakers which included the Prime Minister of Israel Netanyahu, Former Prime Minister and current defense minister Ehud Barak, and the Vice President of the United states Joe Biden.
The dozens and dozens of different break out sessions are given on a wide variety of topics, each given by the top experts in the field.  Every speaker could be a headliner in their own right.

AIPAC enables participants to preselect their sessions before the conference.  At our last meeting we made our selections and the kids were ready to go.

For their first session they attended a panel discussion on the situation in Syria.  Like all sessions at AIPAC the speakers were all experts in the field and gave an in depth look at the horrifying massacre that is taking place as well as how it may impact the US, Israel, the Middle East, and the world.  This was of particular interest to the Teens 4 Israel because at one of our Teens 4 Israel meetings at Starbucks we heard from a Syrian boy whose uncle in Syria was one of the victims.

While they attended that lecture I went to a special session for Rabbis where we got a chance to hear from Lord Jonathan Sachs, chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom.  I am a huge fan of Rabbi Sachs.  Over the conference I had the opportunity to meet him personally.  At one point during the conference his director of communications and programming approached me and thanked me for always mention rabbi Sachs on Twitter. (@chiefrabbi)

Rabbi Sachs gave the Rabbis some inspiring thoughts on Israel and on Pesach which I would share, but there were 350 rabbis in the room and I imagine most of them, including myself, will incorporate those thoughts into our pesach sermons.  I don't want to ruin the surprise.

In addition to hearing great speakers the kids were also thrilled to meet Jewish celebrities like Israeli ambassador to the US Michael Oren, former director of national NCSY Rabbi Steven Burg, and "America's Rabbi" Shmuley Boteach.  Sadly Rabbi Shmuley did not attend the conference as a congressman this year like he wanted to.

Teen 4 Israel Max P. with Rabbi Steve Burg

We left the hotel early Monday morning so that we could get through security to get good seats for the opening plenary.  This was only my sixth AIPAC conference.  I have heard that 10 years ago it was hard to get a minyan.  At this conference yarmulka clad heads were everywhere you looked and there were multiple options to daven shacharit minchah and maariv.  We joined a 7 am minyan in one of the conference rooms (there is even a daf yomi class at AIPAC) and then headed straight to the main ball room.  Security was tight because the featured speaker was the Vice president of the United States, Joe Biden.

Before Biden there was a panel discussion moderated by Dan Senor, author of the book Start up Nation.  The Teens 4 Israel had read start up nation.  They met Dan Senor when he came to speak in Omaha two years ago.  They are all big fans.

On the panel was Senator John McCain.  It was a great panel.  The issue of Syria came up.  There is a great deal of uncertainty around Syria.  On the one hand it is a humanitarian crisis.  80,000 have already been killed and almost a million people have been displaced.  On the other hand, to assist the rebels and oust Assad may allow the Syrian stockpile of chemical weapons to reach the hands of radical terrorist groups.
McCain took a strong stand in favor of assisting the rebels and ousting Assad.
He said it was a great shame that we have so far done nothing.

Then VP Joe Biden took the stage.  He is a truly great speaker.  He held the audience captivated for a long time.  He spoke about all of the things that the US has done to support Israel during the last four and a half years.  He contends that Israel has never had a better friend than president Barack Obama.

• He came out and openly said that Hezbollah is a terrorist organization - something that other nations have yet to do.

• He said that Assad must go but we cannot support another terror regime in his place.

• He said when it comes to preventing Iran from going nuclear president Obama is not bluffing and a military option is on the table.

• He also said that he wants to exhaust every diplomatic option before we get to a military option.

• He said that when he visited Europe with his family his first stop was to see the Dachau concentration camps. 

He ended by saying that Obama is going to Israel and Biden is jealous because Obama can now say "this year in Jerusalem."

it was a great speech and there was really nothing to argue with.  I hope that the historic relationship that Israel has had with the US continues throughout the Obama presidency and beyond.

After the vice president we heard a presentation from Team Space Israel.  They are working to send a shuttle to the moon and finally get an Israeli flag up there.

We heard form the widow of Israeli hero and astronaut Ilan Ramon.  I remember exactly where i was when I heard that he had died.  She subsequently lost her son who was also a pilot.  It was very moving to hear her speak with such optimism for the future.

Prime Minister Netanyahu joined us from his office in Israel.  He spoke about Iran, Syria, and Palestinian peace.

After the plenary we split up for lunch.  I went to a special lunch for Rabbis.

Over 350 congregational Rabbis attended the conference representing over 200 synagogue delegations including 4,500 delegates.  As I have said many times, synagogues are the lifeblood of Israel support.  Anyone who considers themselves a supporter of Israel should be in synagogue every Shabbat joining the rest of the Jewish people around the world as they learn about and pray for the well being of the state of Israel.

Over the rest of the afternoon we split up and heard a number of different sessions.  I heard one about European efforts to prevent nuclear Iran and another on China's Middle East strategy.

One of the kids heard a session given by Eli Groner.  Groner is currently the Israeli economic envoy to the US but his real claim to fame is that his grandfather was a Rabbi in Omaha in the 1960s.  It turns out that his grandfather bar mitzvad the Omaha teen's father.

Another teen mention that she found many of the speeches too bleak but finally found a session that she really enjoyed - "The Good News in the Middle East."

Later the kids joined up with NCSY groups from all over the country to hear from Howard Friedman.  Friedman is a former president of AIPAC.  This was his 26th conference. But he has been on hundreds of NCSY shabbatons. He has personally taken over 200 congressmen on trips to Israel.  But he said that his most memorable trips to Israel are when he visits with NCSY summer programs like Kollel and TJJ.

At the evening plenary we heard some great Jewish music, heard from Daniel Gold - the man behind Iron Dome, and heard from Republic Majority leader Eric Cantor and from Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer.  Israel is a truly bipartisan Issue and every congressman who spoke commented on how despite all other disagreements the US house is unified on its support of Israel.

The next day we went lobbying and got to meet with our senators Johanns and Fisher, and with our reps Terry and Smith.  All of our elected officials are staunchly pro Israel.

It was an experience of a life time for the kids.  I have already signed up for next year's conference and I hope that the Nebraska delegation continues to grow.  Many thanks to all of the generous donors who sponsored the teens 4 Israel.  It was a great investment, not only in Israel advocacy by also in the future of our Omaha Jewish community.

Purim with Warren Buffett

Last year before Pesach we sold Warren Buffett our chametz. 

Besides being a great story, it raised awareness for the local food bank- and we had the most successful pre-Pesach food drive ever.

As the holiday season was approaching, I decided to give him a call and ask the wizard if he would  participate again.  And he did.

This year however, I decided to introduce him to the holiday of Purim.

On the day of Purim every Jew has two obligations.  The first is to give gifts of food to friends.  This is called Mishloach manot  The second obligation is to give gifts to the poor.  This is called matanot l'evyonim. 

The Rambam writes that it is better to give to the poor than to give to one's friends because Purim is a day of joy and "there is no greater joy than gladdening the hearts of those in need." 

Purim, Pesach, and all Jewish holidays are a great time to think of your local food bank. 

My wife Miriam made up two mishloach manot to give to Warren Buffett. One special for him with Coke and Sees Candy- two items that we knew he would enjoy. 

The larger one was filled with all of the most needed items found on the Food Bank for the Heartland's website. 

The list included pork and beans.  We of course did not give him pork, Instead we gave him a can of Heinz vegeterian beans - which in 1927 became the first product to proudly display the OU kosher symbol on the label.  I can't help wondering whether that had some influence on his recent purchase of Heinz- which happened the very next day. 

Immediately upon receiving the larger basket Mr. Buffett donated it to Sue Ogborn from the Foodbank for the Heartland who accompanied us.

The real highlight of the visit was getting to have a chevruta with Rabbi Kripke and Warren Buffett as we learned together the passage in the Megillah that contains the mitzvot of mishloach manot and matanot li'evyonim. 

Mr. Buffett was his usual witty self.  When we told him that we came to perform the mitzvot of Purim he said, "I hope I don't qualify for the gifts to the poor!"

We had some fun, he told some stories, and we made this commercial promoting Purim and Sees Candy - a Berkshire subsidiary. 

Many thanks to Warren Buffett for once again helping us with our food drive and of course thanks to the Food Bank for the Heartland for all of the great work that they do. 

May we all experience the true joy of Purim - helping those less fortunate and celebrating with family and friends.

OU solving the tuition crisis in Nebraska

The most pressing issue facing the American Jewish community is what people call the "tuition crisis."
Study after study has demonstrated that the key to Jewish continuity is Jewish day school education.
The problem is tuition keep getting higher and higher making it more and more difficult for families.  In some cities tuition is upwards of 20,000 per child.  That is quite a burden for a family with 4 children in school.

The Orthodox Union (OU) has committed a great deal of its resources to alleviating this burden and making day school affordable for everyone.

Leading the charge is the OU's Institute for Public affairs (IPA). 

Last week the IPA hosted a summit in Washington DC bringing together all of the Jewish communities in States that have been working on legislation that will help promote school choice.  One of my lay leaders and I attended the one day summit.  We had a chance to hear from the OU professionals as well as from the lay leaders and Jewish professionals from all over the country who have experienced success or challenges.

The entire day was filled with important and practical information and there was not a second of wasted time.

• We learned how to find government money that is already available for non-public schools.
• We learned how to identify and build relationships with the important local legislatures who are advocating for school choice.
• We also learned how to identify and partner with other groups interested in school choice.
• We learned how to navigate through proposed legislation for school choice and which points affect our community the most.

In the afternoon we broke out into states and met with professionals to discuss the current issues.  

In Nebraska we are currently looking to pass legislative bill 14 (LB14) which would "enable the greatest number of parents to choose among quality educational opportunities for children."

The bill provides tax credits to corporations who give towards scholarship funds for non-public schools.  

Thanks to the OU we have already been in close cooperation with the Catholic community and other partners who want to see this bill passed into law.  

The bill is up for a public hearing on Thursday, February 21 at 1:30pm in Lincoln, Nebraska at the state capital building in room 1524.  

A couple of leaders from the Jewish community and I will be testifying on behalf of the bill and I encourage anyone who can to come out and show support for this legislation that is good for the Jewish community and good for Nebraska.

Much thanks to the OU for taking on this issue and teaching us how we can make our voices heard.

Female Orthodox Rabbis? We Already Have Them

Guest Post by Rabbi Dan Friedman

The pressure on Orthodoxy for the ordination of women has been mounting for many years. Nowhere in the Torah does it say that women cannot be teachers of the Law; halacha merely precludes women’s judicial roles. Why is traditional Judaism so steadfastly opposed to women’s rabbinic leadership roles?

The job of a pulpit rabbi is multifaceted. He is a teacher, a pastor, a counselor, a preacher, a political advocate, a halachic advisor, a marketing executive, a shul director, a fundraiser, a life coach. Which of these roles would be a halachic obstacle to women’s involvement?  Many women could fulfill these roles just as successfully as men, if not better. The only role that stands out as a potential cause for concern is perhaps the halachic advisor. And interestingly, Orthodox women have already begun to enter this sphere with relatively minor opposition. The positions of toenet (advocate) and yoetzet (advisor) are fast achieving widespread approval and approbation.

While there are clearly rabbinic roles that are judicial in nature and problematic for women from a Torah perspective, the average pulpit rabbi rarely acts in such a capacity. He is not a dayan (judge), almost never attending to Beth Din (legal) matters. He is not a posek (halachic authority), posing most major questions to experts in the field, or referring the inquirer to the expert. For most rabbis, their halachic rulings extend only so far as the knowledge of basic everyday decisions, the likes of which are accessible to any learned individual with the capacity to open up and understand a Mishna Berura.

Given the apparent lack of halachic difficulty with women serving in a rabbinic capacity, why then has mainstream Orthodoxy not opened the doors of the rabbinate to women? 

The answer is that it already has. Orthodox women have served in the rabbinate for centuries, if not millennia. They have a unique title – rebbetzin, or rabbanit. The role of rebbetzin has traditionally encompassed many of these duties – pastoring, counseling, teaching, advising. In traditional Judaism, the rabbinic role has both masculine and feminine aspects. And that is why no serious shul will employ a rabbi without a rebbetzin. In fact, most shuls today insist on the rebbetzin being present throughout the interviewing and hiring process. She is not merely the first lady; she is an integral part of the spiritual leadership of the community. 

Contemporary viewpoints calling for the complete equality of men’s and women’s roles in every facet of life fail to recognize the unique contributions that women and men have to make. The problem lies not in women’s lack of traditional involvement in the rabbinate; the issue is that many of her traditional roles have been taken over by men.  Women, as nurturers, often have a greater capacity as pastors and counselors. And yet, the institutionalization of the rabbinic role and the contemporary mistaken view that only one person is the rabbi of the shul have pushed men into roles that they may be less capable of performing than women spiritual leaders. This does not mean that men should not be involved in pastoral work. Rather, it means that we must recognize the important contributions that women have to make in this area and never take them for granted.

Which aspects of the rabbinate are closed to women? Not even preaching – most Modern Orthodox shuls today invite female guest lecturers to address the congregation. True, they do not speak in the middle of the service, but that is a minor amendment that could be made – how about both men and women speak at the end of the service to avoid differentiation?  As it turns out, most rabbinic duties not only may hypothetically be performed by women; indeed, they already are.

The big question is how a woman may pursue a rabbinic career, short of marrying an ordained man? There are a number of ways to remedy this issue. One is to extend the limits of the title ‘rabbi’ and recognize that it is not synonymous with rov. A rov is someone who paskens, or determines halacha. While certainly there are some outstanding rabbonim and for certain shuls that is an absolute prerequisite for the position, it is not the realm of most contemporary Orthodox rabbis. A rabbi is not a rov.

The thought of an Orthodox woman ‘rabbi’ probably remains an inadequate solution, given the longstanding association with the title. In addition, despite the usage of the term ‘rov’ since Talmudic times, the fact is that we do find earlier in our history – during the Mishnaic era – that ‘rabbi’ was the title of preference. Thus, a second solution would be to elevate the title of ‘rebbetzin’ and recognize that this has always been a rabbinic designation. The rebbetzin already serves in a rabbinic capacity; she is essentially a female rabbi. If that is the case, then following a period of study and examination, why not qualify women as certified rebbetzins or rabbanits? In a similar vein, a yeshiva day-school first-grade male teacher magically earns the title ‘rabbi,’ independent of ordination status. In contrast, the female teacher is known as ‘morah’ (teacher). Why does she not become ‘rebbetzin’ by virtue of her role? 

Proponents of women’s ordination would probably find the ‘rebbetzin’ solution unsatisfying, given the longstanding association with that title. Thus, the only solution remaining is to invent a new term for women serving in the Orthodox rabbinate. That term might be maharat, it might be rabba, or it might be something else. The point is current opponents to Orthodox female clergy have failed to understand that women have always served in the rabbinate, albeit primarily in partnership roles together with their husbands. In an age when women are encouraged to pursue all manner of career path, independent of marital status, there is no good reason to deny them an independent role in the rabbinic field. We are only depriving ourselves of the potential leadership roles of a significant percentage of our community. 

Would Orthodox communities accept women rabbis, even if they were officially called rebbetzins or an alternative title? Some would, some would not. Many female graduates might end up in more pastoral lines of rabbinic work, such as chaplaincy.   But the first step is that we, as a community, recognize the important contribution that women have to make, and allow them the opportunity to qualify to serve in a rabbinic capacity.

For starters, shuls must openly acknowledge that they are hiring a rabbinic couple, and let the couple determine – in consultation with the synagogue leadership – who is to fulfill which rabbinic duties.  

There is nothing in halacha that excludes women from the rabbinate. Ultimately, however, we need both sides to compromise.  Opponents of women’s ordination must accept that women have always served in the rabbinate; and proponents of women’s ordination need to be sensitive to the psychological, sociological, and historical implications of the rabbinic title. Most importantly, it is high time we recognized the spiritual partnership that leads Jewish communal life and allow rabbinic couples to decide whether he or she will play the more active role.

(This article was inspired by my wife, Rabbanit Batya’s recent participation in the Rebbetzin Esther Rosenblatt Yarchei Kallah, under the guidance of Rabbi Jacob J. Schacter and Rebbetzin Meira Davis of Yeshiva University’s Center for the Jewish Future.)

Daniel Friedman is rabbi of the Beth Israel Synagogue in Edmonton, Canada.