Levend Joods Geloof # 9, July 1996
A new prayerbook, or 'the art of Eged busdriving'
Leo Baeck College at forty - David Lilienthal at 25
Ambivalence in Proselytism
Kedushat Ha-am, Kedushat Ha'aretz
Toward a vision of Liberal Religious Zionism
Experimental animals and the Halakhah
Medical aid and Halakhah
(In)fertility treatment of men and Jewish medical ethics
A new prayerbook, or 'the art of Eged busdriving'
In this article Rabbi Awraham Soetendorp describes in a personal, often humorous way, how his relationship with collegue Rabbi David Lilienthal has developed over the years. An important part of the article is about the long and and often difficult road that had to be travelled before the work of compiling a new liberal siddur for The Netherlands could even begin...
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Leo Baeck College at forty - David Lilienthal at 25
'We were the biggest graduating class of Leo Baeck College - eight of us crowding the bimah at West London Synagogue. About as divers a group of Rabbis as you could expect to meet - except that in those days it was still a 'boys' club'. Five are still in the full-time congregational Rabbinate - in the UK, Holland and South Africa, the other three have had full- or part-time work within the Jewish world at various times in our careers. It is an uncomfortable thought that we are the 'older generation' for recent graduates and students coming through the College now.'
Thus begins the article by Rabbi dr Jonathan Magonet, principal of the Leo Baeck College, the Liberal/Reform rabbinical seminary in London. Rabbi Magonet describes the development of this educational institute and shares memories of his student-days with Rabbi David Lilienthal.
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Ambivalence in Proselytism
'Eight hundred years ago, a Palestinian rabbi humiliated a proselyte by denigrating the allegedly idolatrous practices of his Muslim ancestors. The convert, R. Obadiah Ger Zedek, complained to Maimonides, who reprimanded the rabbi an d warned him that the Torah commands us to treat the proselyte with tenderness and understanding.'
In this article Rabbi Moshe Zemer, director of the Institute for Progressive Halakhah in Tel Aviv, gives an overview of the different opinions and attitudes of rabbis towards proselytes over the past eight centuries.
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Kedoesjat ha'am, kedoesjat ha'arets
Rabbi Richard Hirsch, executive-director of the World Union for Progressive Judaism, explains his views on the relationship between Judaism and Israel.
'From the depths of the Israel experience, we can imbue the Diaspora with the conviction that without Jewish peoplehood, there can be no Judaism. From the diaspora experience, we can help to imbue Israel with the conviction that without a relevant Judaism, the jewish people will not perpetuate its unique inheritance.'
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Toward a vision of Liberal Religious Zionism
Rabbi Dow marmur, author of various books on Judaism and Zionism, evaluates the last decades of Liberal Religious Zionism. A plea for more true and substantial support for the Progressive-religious Jews in Israel.
'Needless to say, in order to have a legitimate stake in Israel, we need a strong reform movement there. The time has long passed for the ritual of breast-beating for our earlier sins of omission. Instead, let us remember and pay tribute to the many Reform leaders who have played an important part in the Zionist movement since its earliest days. But even more urgent, let us pay tribute and renew our commitment to those Liberal Jews who today are our chalutzim in the historic effort to integrate Progressive Judaism into the fabric of israeli society.'
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Experimental animals and the Halakhah
'We in this century are concerned with animals which are used for experimentation of all kinds. Whether we send them into space to test theories of weightlessness or use them in medical and scientific experiments, we are using them in a new way. They are not a source of power, food or entertainment. Animals from the humble fruit fly to species of monkeys are bred entirely for eperimentation.'
Rabbi Walter Jacob, a specialist in Halakhah and writer of responsa for the American Reform movement evaluates the relationship between human beings and animals in Judaism, focusing on the question of the acceptability of animal experimentation.
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Medical aid and Halakhah
Attorney-general of the Amsterdam Court of Justice Joop Al searches medical-halakhic sources for an answer to the question whether it is justifiable to stop lifesustaining medical treatment of patients who are incapable of expressing their wishes.
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(In)fertility treatment of men and Jewish medical ethics
Gynaecologist Dr Peter Hein describes new medical techniques in the field of fertility as well as in the field of anticonception and tries to answer the question of their admissibility from the point of view of halakhah and Jewish ethics.
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