B"H
Several places in Israel, unfortunately, have a high per centage of Jewish women marrying Arabs. For instance: Nazeret, Yaffo, Haifa but also Zfat (Safed). The strange thing in Zfat is that mainly religious, even haredi, girls getting involved with Arabs studying at the local academy.
Why are Jewish girls getting involved with Arabs ?
Mostly because the girls feel neglected at home. Maybe the parents don't have money but the girl has desires such as new clothes, the latest cell phone or only attention. Then suddenly someone shows up and is giving her presents. The girl is happy and forgets that the guy giving her the presents is an Arab. The girl keeps on telling herself that everything is not so bad and that her new boyfriend is a good Arab.
After a while, the Jewish parents freak out and throw the girl out of the house. The girls doesn't know what to do and, in the worst case, may marry her Arab boyfriend. If she does, he will take her to his village and there usually waits hell. His family doesn't want the Jewish girl, the Arab my have further wives, he beats the Jewish girl, he doesn't let her out of the house. In other words, the Jewish girl is trapped.
The above video was produced by a haredi organization "Nekudah Tova" specializing in helping such girls and providing shelter for them.
In an article published today on VIN (http://www.vosizneias.com/70860/2010/12/11/israel-rabbis-ban-on-selling-homes-to-arabs-has-stopped-sales), you can read the following:
ReplyDeletecounselor Harel Hetzroni quotes the mukhtar of Jabel Mukabar, a neighborhood in eastern Jerusalem, who said to him:
“By us, Muslims are very concerned with women’s modesty. A Muslim man of every age knows that if he wants to start up with a girl pre- or extra-maritally, he must think twice, because issues of ‘family honor’ could cost him his life. But if he really wants, he has a simple solution – Jewish girls… We see how the Jewish women… dress immodestly, and the Jewish men like that; a Jewish man whistles at a girl as if she was a dog, showing exactly what he thinks she is worth… so what do you care if we take some of your garbage?”
B"H
ReplyDeleteSo, why don't the Arabs tell the girls beforehand that they consider them as garbage ?
In Zfat this is not the case, as many of those Jewish girls come from haredi homes.
I'm glad I live in the USA. This is such a sad and pitiful situation. Praying just does not solve every situation.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that women/girls are being treated like second class citizens in our times just goes to show that the Dark Ages are still upon us. Every woman needs to be educated and to learn self defense.
When the Maimonides mentality / opinion of women dies, our world will become such a wonderful place to be. Rambam must have been a misogynist. Re: he says women have no place studying Torah, and doing so will not help them in the eyes of HaShem whatsoever. See: http://www.lookstein.org/articles/harvey.htm
You know, when people wake up every morning and thank HaShem for not making them a woman there is no hope for humanity. I don't care what kind of BS excuse the Ortho's give for that line of drek in the sidur, it's just evil. Pure evil.
I have been toying with the idea of writing a real Women's sidur, even if it's just for myself. Some days I get nauseated just trying to get thru all the secret doctrine of the son chazzerai that pervades just about every prayer in our sidur.
It's no wonder that the founders of the Women's Liberation Movement here in the USA were Jewish Women.
But that's just one woman's opinion.
B"H
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, Jewish girls marrying Arabs can also happen in the US. I once had a former boss who was an American Jew but married a Lebanese Muslim in California and, later on, made Aliyah.
Secondly, one has to study the Rambam with commentaries.
Third, the reason for thanking G - d not to have been created as a woman is that a man should be happy (full of Simcha) fulfilling all the Mitzvot whereas a woman is, accroding to Halacha, limited. Due to kids and family. She is limited and freed from certain Mitzvot and a man is not. Thus, he is thanking G - d.
Makes sense to me but, you are right, it still doens't have to be the correct answer.:-)))))
Do you know that America has the biggest rate of assimilation among Jews? So it's not only in Israel.
ReplyDeleteConcerning the brakhah, we read in Masechtes Makkos:
"Rabbi Chananyah ben Akashya says, G-d wanted to give merit to Israel, so He gave them an abundance of Torah and Mitzvos"
So how is it sexist to bless Hashem for giving us the opportunity to have more Mitzvos than women? Do you forget that we also bless Hashem for not having created us "goyim"? Is it racist? Not at all, it's just that we have other morality and more laws to follow than goyim, and it's something to be proud of. We also bless Hashem for not having made us slaves. So is it something negative? What I want to say is that every time feminists show the "negativity" but they forget that there are many many many good things said about women in our tradition and halacha. But they don't care, they just want to show what's "wrong" and "sexist" in their eyes. In fact, if you look closer, Jewish women have more rights, are more valuable and have more responsability than any other women in other religions. Why don't you read the wonderfull words we sing to our wives every single Shabbes? If you find the same elsewhere, give me a call!
Right, that's the brainwash excuse. Enlightened minds don't buy it. It was added in the middle ages. If you want to know the man's name who added it to the daily prayers back then I can look it up for you. But IIRC, it was added in the 1400's. IMO it should have the women saying, thanks Gd for not making me a man, besides the man saying his line. And then both men and women saying thanks Gd for making me according to Your will. Just my opinion. That's how the Sidur that I'm preparing to write will be. And as I mentioned, if it helps just me, that's enough. If it helps others, that's HaShem's will.
ReplyDeleteIn USA there are all kinds of intermarriage of course. All kinds of religious and racial intermarriage. Purity of the races is a thing of the past and good riddance. All it does is cause strife, like Hitlar and his purity of the races adgenda item.
I am currently reading some of Rav Abraham ben Rambam's writings (among other things). He's got it going on. What I am reading of his does not need explanation / commentary. It stands on its own.
The way I look at it is if you have to have someone else explain everything that is written, then what's the point? Of course there are things that were not written for the masses and from which only a few will gain insight. (There's an old Yiddish saying Shtup zikh nit vu men darf nit. Don't put yourself in places you don't belong. Like, I don't belong in a Haredi minyan, of course.) If it isn't for me, then why force it? The hidden meaning will be revealed to whomever it is supposed to be revealed. Misogynists and their writings are not for me. They drain my energy and damage my soul, just like Bible thumping Baptists. They drain my energy and damage my soul also. I am not saying that all of Rambam is invalid. But after all, he also said that all the other planets revolve around Earth, even the Sun. And there are rabbis today who say that is truth, sun revolving around earth. We know that is flawed science. Middle Ages mentality. Maimonides is not taken as "word of Gd" by every Jew that ever lived. Plenty of Rabbis, thru time, have rejected Rambam's 13 articles of faith. Some say that only 6 of those 13 are truth. We know the Torah was changed from its original form. That's a well known fact. The fonts were changed and Gd knows what else. Can look that up for exact details, but I'm just using it for an example. Many of us do not have blind faith in everything Jewish. We know that Gd gave us brains and tools for rational thinking.
Miriam, I really do enjoy your blog. Your views of the Israel of our times are super. Love your pictures and your insights. And thanks for the opportunity to interact with you. Intelligent exchange of ideas is always desirable. No one is always right and no one is always wrong. Even the sages of Talmud have changed their opinions on some points. Also, we know that when you have 4 rabbis debating issues, you get 10 opinions. LOL.
Thanks!
B"H
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, the Torah was not changed. The best example is that when the Torah of the Jemenites and the Torah of rest of the Jewsih world where compared, there were only very few differences found. Furthermore, the Torah wouldn't work (Gematria or Codes) if it really had been changed.
The Gemara is full of Machlokot and hardly ever comes to a clear conclusion. It is not mind changing but discussing different discourses applying to different circumstances and Torah sources.
It is not an old Yiddish saying but from the Talmud. I forgot the exact Tractate but the Gemara here uses Avshalom as an example because he was striving for something he wasn't supposed to be (King).
I find it quite feminist that Jewish women are exempt from certain Mitzvot in order to take care of their children.
Brother, there is obviously truth in what you write. Not denying that.
ReplyDeleteWe share the belief in the singularity of Source. However, the dogma gets in the way sometimes and blocks the progress. When that happens we look for solutions outside of the box.
All the world's a stage and all the men and women have their part to play, paraphrased from Shakespeare, of course.
Thanks for the discussion.
Excuse me but the berakhah "she-lo asani ishah" was not written in the middle ages. See in the Talmud in Masekhtas Menachot 43b-44a.
ReplyDeleteSo, review your statement.
Every thing should be put into its own context. So if your read Menachot 43b-44a into context you understand that there is no problem of sexism in saying that blessing: Jews thank G-d daily for having been given the obligation to do mitzvos. We use the language from Menachot because a Jewish man has more obligations than a Jewish woman; and Jews have more obligations than non-Jews (I assume you have no problems being thankful that you were not created a slave!) Therefore, it makes sense that a Jewish man would thank G-d for not creating him as a woman/non-Jew/slave who have few mitzvot (if any, concerning the slave) to observe. Not willing to admit that put into context there is no sexism it's dishonesty.
ReplyDelete"All the world's a stage and all the men and women have their part to play" nobody said the opposite. Quite the contrary.
I don't understand why Arabs have many wives?
ReplyDelete