HEARTILY APPROVE.
Posted on 01/31/2016 6:03:48 PM PST by Olog-hai
Israel's Cabinet voted Sunday to allow non-Orthodox Jewish prayer at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, a move advocates said marked a historic show of government support for liberal streams of Judaism.
The issue is of particular importance to the Jewish community in the United States, where the more liberal Reform and Conservative streams of Judaism are dominant. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed the plan in an attempt to please American Jews, a key source of support for Israel, despite stiff opposition by ultra-Orthodox and religious nationalist elements in Israel who are key members of his own government. [...]
According to the government plan, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, Israel will build a new plaza for mixed gender prayer at the Western Wall, adjacent to the Orthodox prayer plaza but separate from it. ...
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted.ap.org ...
Northern Kingdom.
... Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed the plan in an attempt to please American Jews ...This will not work.
But its just about letting Reform and Conservative Jewish groups do their own prayer rituals at the wailing wall? SO WHAT? Why should the government have any say in what Jewish prayers are "allowed" at the wailing wall? Makes as much sense as issuing a decree saying protestant and Catholic groups will be "allowed" to offer their own Christian prayers at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where Jesus was crucified, instead of just Eastern Orthodox Christians.
I nominee this thread for non-story of the year, like that silly thread where people were "alarmed" that McCain said he was willing to appoint a Democrat to his cabinet (like every GOP president in history did, by the way)
I don’t see any valid comparisons.
The three main Jewish denominations are Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform
The three main Christian denominations are Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant.
If the government has to “authorize” which denomination’s prayers are “allowed” at Jewish holy sites, then they could do the same to Christian holy sites as well. I don’t think protestant groups would be too happy if they were banned from praying at Christian holy sites because their prayers didn’t meet the standards of the local Orthodox Christian leadership in the area.
It’s not about denominations.
Funny, when I read the article, that’s EXACTLY what its about.
Currently, non-Orthodox Jewish prayer is not allowed at the Western Wall. Reform and Conservative Jewish prayer, the two other main denominations of the faith, wish to offer their own prayers, and the government is allowing it.
Had the article ACTUALLY been about “liberal prayers” at a holy site (like some radical leftist organization praying for free abortions at the Mount of Olives), there would be a valid reason people would be offended by it.
But it’s not. It’s about one denomination having exclusive prayer rights at the wailing wall, and other two denominations wanting to offer their own prayers.
“Had the article ACTUALLY been about “liberal prayers†at a holy site (like some radical leftist organization praying for free abortions at the Mount of Olives), there would be a valid reason people would be offended by it.”
That’s more or less, broadly speaking, what it IS about.
Yeah, Conservative Jewish Rabbis will use the opportunity to pray for lesbian adoption rather than mourn the destruction of the temple, I’m sure. Wanna take bets on that?
I’m with you, I don’t get it.
They were having a baby naming that day for a newborn baby girl to a young married couple. The Rabbi blessed the baby with a Hebrew chant, gave a nice English-language sermon about it and most of the remainder of the service was in Hebrew and just some Old Testament readings, music, and other stuff. For "liberal" Jews, it seemed pretty traditional to me, with them reverently bowing to the Holy of Holies and all that. They talked a lot about the holocaust throughout the service and prayed for holocaust survivors.
If having that kind of stuff at the wailing wall is a threat to Israel, they're pretty thin skinned.
No, that is not what it’s about. You are unfamiliar with Reform and Conservative (in name only) Judaism? Comparing Orthodox/Conservative/Reform Judaism to Orthodox/Catholic/Protestant is apples/oranges.
Yup, that’s the mainstream of Conservative and Reform and Reconstructionist and Humanistic Judaism’s proclaimed values today.
Most of the schools of theology, Christian and Jewish, were infiltrated by the Marxist agenda, in the same way as were the universities and other opinion-making institutions and professions.
At an established Conservative synagogue I attended on the first day of Rosh HaShanah a few years back, the new young rabbi formally greeted the congregation as follows from his lectern: “Welcome to all our congregants and a special welcome to our gay members.”
A special welcome? A special welcome? Why? What about the elderly members who dragged themselves there with great difficulty? If special welcomes are in order, what about members of the military, or the teachers or the handicapped or the especially short members? Nope, only gays, gays, gays. That agenda is always front and center, no matter what the event or what the topic.
Reform and Conservative Movement and Reconstructionist and Humanistic congregations fancy themselves “progressive” and laudable for seeking out and hiring homosexual religious leaders to be one of the primary “role models” for their impressionable children. Not too smart if you ask me.
A bright female rabbinical student at the Conservative Movement’s seminary reported to her parents and friends about 15 years ago that the only topic covered, lesson after lesson, in an entire rabbinical school course on Talmud was a modern apologia for homosexuality. She realized that the curriculum of that rabbinical school had become a sham, with only a political agenda, not a religious one, and decided that she wanted no part of that and decided not to become a rabbi.
She then became more observant of Jewish law and tradition and more learned in its texts and became part of the orthodox movement.
Ridiculous. One is the three major sects within the Jewish faith, the other is the three major sects within the Christian faith. Ask any religious scholar, Orthodox/Conservative/Reform Judaism & Orthodox/Catholic/Protestant are the major divisions within their respective faiths. The two faiths are DIRECTLY related to one another and even use a large amount of the same scripture as their sacred texts. How is it "apples and oranges" to point out the three major denominations of each respective faith?
Another freeper argues Conservative and Reform Jews should be banned because many of there synagogues have been corrupted and welcome "gay rabbis" and so on. The same could be said for the divide in Christianity and a comparison to modern protestantism and Catholic churchs vs. modern Orthodox churches. While no mainstream Orthodox Christian denomination ordains women ministers or celebrates gay marriage, plenty of modern protestant denominations do. While the Catholic Church has "updated" some of its liturgical services and prayers, the Orthodox Churches are extremely conservative and haven't made any major changes since the 8th century.
If its OK to ban Reform & Conservative Jewish movements from praying at historical Jewish holy sites because they only developed their traditions in recent centuries and many don't use traditional Jewish prayers, then you should be fine and dandy with banning protestants from ancient Christian holy sites because most of their churches only came into existence in the last 200 years, and many offer new prayers rather than traditional Christian prayers and customs from antiquity. We'd have to allow ONLY ancient Greek language prayers at those sites so we don't corrupt them with modern Christian ideals and especially so we don't "pander" to American Christians and allow Christian worship that is a product of 19th century American culture to taint the Christian customs of the region where Jesus lived.
Thank you for posting this! :)
Haredim don’t want women to have access to Torah scrolls at the Kotel.
It’s not all Orthodox; it’s certain sects of ultra-Orthodox.
False comparison. The line of declension from more conservative to more liberal that runs from Orthodox Judaism through Conservative to Reform is not matched when one goes from Orthodox to Catholic to Protestant. Same goes for doctrinal differences.
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