Day 14 - A Large-Necked Lie

Ever since my brain has had the pleasure of thinking critically, which I would estimate began around sophomore year in high scool, I started to notice that certain things taught in elementary school were not as factual as we, the students, were lead to believe.

For example, anyone that has learned through Sefer Bereishit on their own will surely be well aware that the Torah taught to them in elementary school is NOT the Torah in our chumashim; rather, midrashim, commentaries, and Torah Sheba'al Peh on the Torah were taught, disguised as Torah proper.

The legitimacy of such practices is not the question here. Rather, I merely wanted to bring attention to a fact that I just became aware of: the reason why we don't slaughter giraffes has nothing to do with not knowing where to cut. I don't remember which teacher it was that told me this, but I vividly remember being taught this in a classroom setting. Thus, for all of these many years I have been under this false impression.

Fortunately, this false impression was dispelled in shiur a few days ago. For some reason, Rabbi Wieder mentioned this fact, and said that that there are three real potential reasons why we don't shecht giraffes today. The first, he said, was that we have no mesorah for shechting it and therefore we can't. He quickly dismissed this possibility, however, for he felt that the giraffe's split hooves and cud chewing was "mesorah" enough. The next two reasons offered were that 1) giraffes are extremely hard to catch and 2) even if someone did manage to catch one he would still have a very difficult time cutting the neck; he would need both a ladder and to manage cutting the neck without the giraffe killing him in the process.

Thus, not knowing where to cut has nothing to do with why we don't slaughter giraffes; in fact, he said, all other factors equal, it's probably the easiest animal to shecht, for it has the largest target zone (under the larynx and above the stomach) when compared to other animals!

Finally, my erroneous understanding has been corrected, my false impression has been shown the light. (And how ironic is it that the animal with largest permitted slaughtering zone, and by extension largest margin of error, is the animal that people claim to be "un-shechtable" from doubt?!?)

Day 13 - For Whom Can Jews Vote? No One!

Rabbi Yehuda Levin, of the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the U.S. and Canada, recently issued a statement regarding today's election as well as any future ones (italics mine):

It is very important for our community to demonstrate its appreciation for our wonderful country by exercising our civic obligation to vote. However, it is even more important that we do not support any candidate whose position is in any way antithetical to our Torah based morality. Candidates who support abortion on demand, the “toeiva” agenda, liberal attitudes towards pornography of any sort - are antithetical to our way of life and it is forbidden to support or vote for them.

Our former president, internationally acknowledged as the premier legal decisor, Rabbi Moshe Feinstien was most vigorous in condemning abortion on demand and the “toeiva” agenda and we take his legacy as our guide.

If one has to vote in an election or primary where both candidates are anti-Biblical family values, G-d forbid, that they use the “lesser of two evils” approach. Rather, let the voter cast a write-in protest vote, but do not compromise by voting for the “lesser evil”. If we value the purity and holiness of our children and grandchildren, we dare not compromise.

It is our sincere hope that not only our own Jewish community, but our fellow citizens of all faiths, and their leaders, will draw a line in the sand and institute policies forbidding voting for anti-traditional family- values candidates. We are confident that were this policy instituted, within one or two election cycles, we would find many more pro-family candidates on every level of government.

After having reading this ridiculous statement and while writing my response, I came across The Wolf's reaction to it, and since he said what I was going to say, only better, I have included his response here:

OK, my question is as follows:

Since freedom of religion is antithetical to Torah-based morality (after all, Avoda Zara [idol worship] is forbidden even to non-Jews according to halacha), just whom are we to vote for? I don't think any candidate favors restricting the worship of any deity except the Jewish Deity. As such, they are *all* have positions that are antithetical to our Torah-based morality and hence, according to the proclamation by Rabbi Levin, it is forbidden to vote for any of them. So, stay home everyone!*

*I'm kidding. Go out and vote.

The Wolf really hit the jackpot here. Let's all ignore Rabbi Yehuda Levin. His foolish words speak for themselves.

Day 12 - May One Enjoy Life?

That’s me in the above picture, right after losing a fencing bout. If I indeed emerged un-victorious as I claim, many of you might be wondering why I’m smiling in the picture. Well, it was a momentous occasion for me: it was only my third ever bout in competition yet I managed to score three points off of their number-two starter.

Why do I bring this up? Because when I first joined the fencing team, some people started harassing me by asking if I had anything better to do with my time. Now, I understand where they were coming from considering that practice takes up four precious hours of my week.

However, my response was simple: it depends how one defines better. Meaning, I enjoy fencing tremendously, I get a good work out through both footwork drills and fencing proper (which also makes my mom happy), I get credit for it - an easy A for my GPA, I take pride in the fact that I’m improving (self-esteem can always use improvement), and it motivates me and inspires me to do and be the best that I can. But yes, perhaps saving lives would be better in the long run.

Many responded to this that they were sorry and had simply assumed that fencing was purely an extracurricular activity that drained hours upon hours from my schedule. I feel that a response is necessary to such a comment.

The more I think about it, save for the first, all of the reasons listed above that explain how fencing is not purely an extracurricular activity are unnecessary; the mere fact that I enjoy fencing should suffice. Meaning, why must I justify enjoying myself and having a good time? I don’t recall the Torah saying that it's assur to enjoy one’s self (within the confines of halakha, of course); to the contrary! It says in Tehillim 100:2, “ivdu et Hashem b’simcha” – serve Hashem with joy! Tell me, Must I also justify playing piano? After all, it is bitul torah?!?!

It seems to me that in modern times (meaning the right-wing shift of orthodoxy) it has become the norm to bash anything that isn’t seen as explicitly “productive.” Why don’t some people start realizing that mental health is important too and that it’s important to enjoy life? Obviously, of course, different people enjoy life differently: some by reading books and expanding their knowledge; others through touring and seeing the marvelous creations of God; others by spending time in the park with their family. To each his own.

The point that I’m trying to make is that our purpose on earth is to serve Hashem and live by the Torah. As such, the Torah commands us to live by the mitzvot, “V’Chai Bahem” (Vayikra 18:5); here’s what I think – a person should do whatever best helps him be the best Jew that he can be. Whether that means going to the movies to chill out, playing sudoku, or even fencing, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that people need chilling outlets and that mental health is very important. Let’s start acknowledging this fact and stop giving people a hard time for having a good time.

(By the way, for anyone who is interested, I won my first match this past sunday against a guy from William & Mary! Yes!)