✡︎ Shalom & Good Shabbos! ✡︎
We open this week's newsletter with a quote from Rabbi Ahron Soloveitchik, zt"l, who warned us that, “the Torah is compared to the sneh, the Burning Bush, because “fire gives heat, light and devours fuel, but the light of Torah must only give warmth and light, love and hope; it must never be used to destroy or kill. This is not Torah; it is a perversion of Torah.”
Rabbi Soloveitchik would be dismayed to learn that this week in Jewish History will be remembered as the week that two American Jewish organizations inflicted serious attacks against God, our Creator.
2) Repro Shabbat, 2022 hosted by the NCJW.
Described as an 'opportunity for congregations, organizations, and communities to celebrate the critical importance of reproductive health access, reproductive rights, and reproductive justice, and to learn more about Judaism’s approach to these issues.
Reproductive freedom is a Jewish value.
Our communities should be places where anyone impacted personally by these issues feels loved and welcomed. They should be places where people understand what our tradition teaches. And they should be places where we understand the importance of fighting for reproductive health, rights, and justice for everyone.'
We did our best to oppose the YU event by alerting YU President Rabbi Berman of the dangerous repercussions anticipated if the event occurs. Thank you to everyone who wrote letters, sent emails, and made phone calls. We understand that our efforts have resulted in 'discussions.'
To mitigate the dire consequences from Heaven that Repro Shabbat will inflict on Judaism and Jewish attendees through zoom events at temples and Hillels, we offer a blog post celebrating the wisdom and life affirming context of Exodus 21:22-25, contained in this week's Torah portion, Mishpatim.
