Patrilineal Descent in a Pluralistic Community

Some people are trying to lobby the university to make sure that it doesn’t become a forum for incitement, although I am not sure if they would really like to see it cancelled.  A university should be about critical discussion of ideas and issues and not ignoring them.

Call for Papers:

Location and schedule: The Jewish Law Association in conjunction with Yale University Program in Judaic Studies will hold the 17th
International conference of the JLA at the Yale University Law School, New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.A., on July 30-August 2, 2012.

Proposals for papers: The Conference will include a thematic stream on Interaction of Jewish and Other Legal Systems (from ancient to modern times), but presenters may choose any topic and approach to Jewish Law (historical, doctrinal, comparative or philosophical).

Papers will be allocated 45-minute slots, to include 15 minutes of discussion. Papers at the Association’s conferences are normally
published in Jewish Law Association Studies, subject to peer review.

Proposals for papers should include the paper’s title, a short description of its contents (200 words maximum), and be accompanied by an updated C.V. Please transmit all this material to the conference committee at the following e-mail address: jla2012conference-at-gmail.com no later than January 31st, 2012.

Founded in 1978, the Jewish Law Association seeks to promote study and research in Jewish Law. It provides a major interdisciplinary meeting point for scholars and practitioners in both Law and Jewish Studies. Its membership represents diverse religious, philosophical and intellectual perspectives, and is drawn from many nations, from Israel to Brazil, from Canada and the United States to Australia, from Western Europe to South Africa.

Registration for the conference will include the $50.00 membership fee for 2012 (and its member privileges, including publications: see the Membership page on the Association’s website, at http://jewishlawassociation.org/), if not already paid.
Conference papers are, in principle, to be given in English. As in the past, members who prefer to present in Hebrew are asked to prepare for distribution a translation of their paper into English.
The conference academic committee will review each proposal and its relevance to the conference. The committee is not obligated to accept any proposal.

The last few weeks have not been helpful for the image of ultra-orthodox in Israel. In Beit Shemesh, some ultra-orthodox have expressed their opposition to the opening of a national-religious school for girls (they also opposed the opening of the parallel school for boys) near their neighborhood through the vile harassment of elementary school girls and their parents that sometimes included the throwing of rocks, garbage, and feces. We used to live close to where the school is located and some of our friends have children attending the school, so this isn’t just a headline.

There have also been a number of attacks on religious book stores near Meah Shearim that weren’t religious enough. For updates on what is happening in Beit Shemesh see this Facebook group. Here is a recent report from this group of what recently happened:

The situation with Orot has not calmed down, if anything it has escalated. The kitzonim have moved on from name calling and shouting to throwing eggs, tomatoes, dirty diapers, stink bombs and stones. Yesterday they spit on a woman and shoved the man walking next to her.

Life in Israel, who lives in Beit Shemesh, has been reporting about both the school in Beit Shemesh and the attacks on the book stores.

With all of this in mind, it is welcome news to see that the photographer Gil Cohen Magen’s book on Hasidic Courts is now available.

Magen is a fantastic photographer who has been photographing the Hasidic community in Israel for a number of years. His photographs show the human side to a community that is all too often only known through the actions of its most fanatic and violent members.

On Monday, September 25, there will be an evening at Gesher House in Jerusalem dedicated to the book.

Update: I was contacted by the American distributor of the book, and it is available here for purchase in the US.

Dates: Mondays, September 19-October 3, 7:30-9:00pm
Location: Mechon Hadar, 190 Amsterdam Avenue (@69th Street)
Price: $5 per session, $10 for whole series

Can’t make it in person? Watch live on UStream.

Session I: Meaning (September 19, 2011)
Taught by Rabbi Elie Kaunfer

Is prayer meant to be read as prose or interpreted as poetry? This session will look at the many layers beneath the text of the siddur and the mahzor and see how words and phrases have the potential to unlock deeper meanings beneath the text. Take home a methodology that will open up new pathways to make meaning from the text of prayer.

Session II: Spirit (September 26, 2011)
Taught by Rabbi Elie Kaunfer

The words are only the beginnning. How loudly we say them, how we move, where we stand and the nature of our prayer space significantly impacts the prayer experience. We will explore all of these issues by examining traditional sources, with the goal of emerging with a greater consciousness of how aesthetics are critical to prayer.

Session III: Music (October 3, 2011)
Taught by Joey Weisenberg

The printed page only has a hope of penetrating to the soul through music. In this session, we will explore the ways in which music can not only enhance prayer, but build communities who truly know how to pray together.