Israel’s “Jewish government”?
Notice anything weird about this New York Times correction?:
An article last Sunday about the movement for equal access for men and women to pray as they wish at the Western Wall described imprecisely the relevant Jewish law regarding prayer by men and women. Most rabbis agree that women are supposed to pray every day, although only men are required to do so in a group and at specific times, as some women want to do at the wall; it is not the case that Jewish law requires only men to pray daily. The article also described incorrectly the Jewish Agency, which passed a resolution on Oct. 30 calling for a “satisfactory approach to the issue of prayer at the Western Wall.” It is a nonprofit group, not an arm of the Jewish government. And the article misspelled one of the names of a California student who cried at the wall when she was not allowed to wear the prayer shawl her mother had given her. She is Sharon Graetz Strater, not Gretz.
An arm of the “Jewish government”? Israel is often referred to as the “Jewish state,” but “Jewish government” is rarely used, and is technically a misnomer, since the government can include non-Jews and is, according to Israel’s founding declaration, supposed to be a government of all its peoples. (I searched the NY Times archive, and the term “Jewish government” only appears in reference to pre-state Palestine, as in “The President’s statement linked establishment of a Jewish Government in Palestine with the spirit of the four freedoms.” [October 16, 1944])
I can’t find the uncorrected article that led to the correction and can’t tell if it referred to a “Jewish government.” The correction seems only to refer to the mischaracterization of the Jewish Agency, not to the term “Jewish government.”
I bet someone slipped here (Jewish this, Jewish that) and meant to write “Israeli government.”
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JustASC is written by Andrew Silow-Carroll, Editor-in-Chief of the 
December 31st, 2012 at 2:45 pm
Women of The Wall
This is an open letter to the Women of the Wall. I am stirred by all the emotions, morality and activism that is becoming another divisive issue facing our people. We are now facing another immanent holocaust that should preclude a collective unity among all of our people. Instead, we are more concerned about making social statements that has nothing to do with our peril nor our Jewish saga. Judaism is a monolithic religion because our Torah explicitly gives us 613 commandments that must be singularly and collectively observed. It is by no means a religion that could and should endure secular interpretations based on “social feel good” or “egalitarian” interjections. This divisive interjections dilutes the needed glue of cohesion to a loose and open ended interpretation of our commitment to G-d. Reform and egalitarian causes opens the hole of tahome (abyss of emptiness) wider by adding more confusion to our people, which destroys any potential future for the meek and children.
When Moses came down with the second Torah from Mt. Sinai, he gave it to the women because the men were not on a spiritual level of being the care takers. However, women by Torah law had to cede it to the men because of issues of purity and the Avodah (Temple Service). The only one that could approach the Torah are the Cohanim (Preists). Therefore, the only tradition held by Jews regarding the Mitzvah (Commandment) of approaching the Torah is for men, because they are the ones that need the spiritual elevation. Jewish women inherently are elevated spiritually above men. They are the gate keepers of our existence by creating the family and spirituality of the home. In effect, women create Judaism, not the men. The greatest Mitzva of Torah to Judaism, is the gift by women. A lesser understanding of that role which Jewish women play in enhancing the world; by perpetuation of generation and spirituality of the home, renders them to simplicity and ignorance.
On our daily prayer “Blessed Be He did not make me a woman” has many modern interpretations mostly ignorant. To the reform or the egalitarian women, they take it as a swipe, therefore interjected their counter prayer. If the modern woman knew that this prayer was created out of tears Jewish men had in their personal grief and horror they witnessed happening to their wives and daughters, then they would sing a different song at the Wall.
Hannah was the first Jewish woman in Torah that uttered and prayed to G-d. Her prayers were full of tears because she wanted to have children. She did not pray to G-d to open her womb to any behemoth who could inject sperm into her for thrills and self adulation, then wipe it clean at any abortion table. Hannah did not pray for contraception to be disseminated freely by schools and the federal government. Hanna prayed because she kept her Mitzvot and wanted to propagate Tzadikim (Righteous men) into the Jewish world. When Hanna prayed, she did not utter her words out loud in songs and folly to make a social statement. She did not dawn on men’s commandment of wearing Tallit (Prayer Shawl) or Tefillin (phylacteries) for the purpose of being equal. She did not wear a men’s kippah to aggravate and stir an infantile social cause which has no added goodness in the religion of our fathers and mothers. Hanna kept Shabbat holy. She also observed all female commandments especially Nidah and the laws of Kashrut. Her children did not date nor married out of our faith to wipe out any semblance of our commitment to G-d. She understood her special and unique roll in Judaism and succeeded.
Israel is a secular democracy and does allow free expression to all people but has the right to certain reservations. This means that fools, children and adults may retain their infantile state of mind, as long as it does not disturb the peace, health, security and welfare of the nation. Fools have their rights to frolic with nonsense. However, it would be nice for Jews who visit or dwell in Israel to exert their energy in learning about their history, legacy and saga by incorporating the lessons of our wise ancestors. It would be a higher calling for the women of WOW to protest and get arrested in front of the White House for a more moral cause, like bombing Iran; before Iran obliterates 7,000,000 Jews and non-Jews in Israel.
In closing my diatribe in sympathy for the Women of the Wall’s cause; when these women learn to keep 100% their female Mitzvot as written in Torah an as did Hanna; or when they clearly choose to emulated Sara, Rivka, Rachel, Leah, Ruth, Bat Shevah, Deoborah, Ester and so many more Jewish women who brought to this world kings and prophets, instead of emulating Hillary Clinton or Gloria Steinman types, when they reclaim their wayward children from the corrosive secular life’s trappings of the garbage anti Israel/ anti-Semitic left wing education, tattoos, punk rock, rap music, drugs, unbridled sex; then feel they must descend to the lower spiritual level of men by foolishly taking on his needed Mitzvot, then I will tip my hat to them and let them foolishly pray, dance and sing at the Wall. However, if they are liberated egalitarians demonstrating in men’s faces while they inspire for elevation in spirituality, by disturbing his decorum with song and dance, then the unique traditions and beautiful decorum that maintained us over 3200 years, yields division and folly with out legacy to the perpetrators.
P.S. Your Twitter and Facebook account is attracting and inflaming Israel bashers and Anti-Semites. Also your publicity stunts are attracting left wing Jew hating newspapers like the New York Times, Haaretz and others. Maybe a little dose of wisdom should be swallowed in this time of Jewish peril.
Posted 7th October by Aron Avasher