Month: January 2011

Remembering Debbie Friedman

Post author By Rabbi Jason Miller
Post date January 9, 2011

In Memory of Debbie Friedman (1952-2011)

Debbie Friedman’s music is so fully integrated into synagogue liturgy,
that in many congregations it is considered “traditional.”

I don’t remember the Jewish Theological Seminary in the late 90’s as a very spiritual place. I began rabbinical school in 1998 and there was a general consensus that the Seminary was lacking ruach (spiritual energy).

I do, however, remember a day when, for a few hours, the Women’s League Seminary Synagogue was transcended into the most ruach-filled place I ever experienced. Before classes officially commenced again following winter recess, the rabbinical school had a mandatory “mini-mester.” One year, the theme was on spirituality in prayer.

To conclude the mini-mester, the popular Jewish singer and songwriter Debbie Friedman came to the Seminary to lead a healing service. Her energy electrified the Seminary’s synagogue where students, faculty and guests were singing and dancing. I remember thinking that if I could bottle up her ruach and sell it to congregations around the globe, I’d be a billionaire. Her music adds so much life and feeling to our liturgy.

Debbie Friedman’s version of the Mi Sheberach (prayer for healing) has inspired Jews all over the world to make a communal prayer for healing a staple of every Shabbat service. Her “Alef-Bet” song is how my three children learned the Hebrew Alphabet. So many brides have walked down the aisle or circled their grooms to Debbie Friedman’s “Lechi Lach.” “Miriam’s Song” has become the theme song at every gathering of Jewish women, especially at the yearly Passover seders for women that Debbie Friedman led in New York. And hundreds of thousands of current and former Jewish campers only know Debbie Friedman’s version of havdallah, the prayers ending the Jewish sabbath.

Debbie Friedman died today in an Orange County, California hospital after being hospitalized for pneumonia. She spent Shabbat in a medically induced coma. She had battled health problems in the past, which likely led to her dedicating much of her career to healing services and soulful prayers for the ill.

Ann Coppel’s award winning documentary about Debbie Friedman, “A Journey of Spirit,” gave her fans an inside perspective of her life and health battles. According to the “A Journey of Spirit” website, “For children and adults alike, Debbie Friedman’s music is living Judaism. With her honest, pure voice as their guide, a whole generation of Jews has come to embrace the liturgy through her melodies. Here they find relevance and meaning in the words of the prophets, the messages of ancient rabbis, and the sacred texts of the Jewish religion. In her 30+ year career, Debbie Friedman has recorded 19 albums. She was influenced by American popular music of the 1960’s and 70’s… Now she is influencing younger singers and songwriters with her own dynamic style.”

May the memory of Debbie Friedman be for spiritual blessings always.

American Jews Basketball Humor Jewish

My All Time Jewish Basketball Team

Post author By Rabbi Jason Miller
Post date January 6, 2011

I’m surprised this hasn’t gotten more attention, but on the Tablet Magazine website (a project of Nextbook) basketball fans are able to create their own starting lineup among the best Jewish-American Basketball players of all time. Tablet teamed up with FreeDarko, “the amazing five-year-old collective of basketball writers known for its wit, one-of-a-kind drawings, and revealing focus on unorthodox statistics, to let you select your top all-time Jewish-American starting five, plus a Jewish coach.”

I’m glad I didn’t have to choose a Jewish American team owner because that would be a difficult choice with so many to choose from (Bill Davidson of blessed memory left a legacy of philanthropy here in Detroit, the Cavaliers’ Dan Gilbert’s a great guy and a smart businessman, the late Wizards’ owner Abe Polin was a mensch; and then there’s also Bruce Ratner of the Nets, Jerry Reinsdorf of the Bulls, and even Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz owned the Supersonics at one time).

My selections are listed below, but I’ll offer some background on my choices (note that there are only three options for each position). I chose Red Auerbach as coach. He was definitely the greatest of all time. It’s interesting that of the three Jewish American coaches listed, two are named “Red.” Being from Detroit, I might have picked Larry Brown or Ron Rothstein, but they weren’t listed in this category. Larry Brown was an option for Point Guard, but I went with current player Jordan Farmar.

For Shooting Guard, I went with Max Zaslofsky simply because you can’t even make up a more Jewish name than that (and I never heard of the other guys). At the Small Forward spot I didn’t recognize any of the players so I went with Jack Molinas since I know a rabbi with a name that sounds similar (Rabbi Jack Moline). I almost went with Art Heyman because my high school English teacher was Art Heymoss freshman year.

At Center I went with Neal Walk because of the mustache. I would love to go with Nate Huffman (pictured with me) who Wikipedia lists as a Jewish player, but I learned a few months ago that he isn’t actually Jewish. Since the Michigan Jewish Sports Foundation wasn’t able to induct him in the Michigan Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, it presented him with the Tree of Life Award. I think any award with the word “tree” in it is a fitting tribute to a guy who is 7’1″. Huffman’s from Michigan and played for Maccabi Tel Aviv. He signed as a free agent with the LA Clippers but never played with them.

Finally, for Power Forward I was going with Dolph Schayes, but I couldn’t resist selecting Amare Stoudemire since his questionable Jewishness has been so widely discussed lately. By the way, if Dolph Schayes’ son Danny was an option at Center, I might have gone with him. And former Detroit Pistons Center Earl Cureton probably could have been included even though he’s not Jewish since he works out at the Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit more than any Jewish person I know.

Food Holidays Jewish Yom Kippur

Will Jewish Runners Fast & Then Try to Run Fast in Chicago Marathon After Yom Kippur

Post author By Rabbi Jason Miller
Post date January 5, 2011

I’m not a marathon runner, but I know that most marathon runners will say that running 26.2 miles the day after fasting for 25 hours isn’t a walk in the park. But that’s precisely what Jewish runners in the Windy City will have to do if they plan to abstain from eating and drinking on Yom Kippur this year and then run the Chicago Marathon the following day.

While I don’t think the schedulers of the Chicago Marathon were attempting anything malicious against Jewish runners, I’m starting to question if Yom Kippur even appears on calendars in the City of Chicago. This past Yom Kippur, a Dave Matthews Band concert was held at Chicago’s Wrigley Field on the night of Kol Nidre, the solemn prayer service commencing the full-day Yom Kippur fast. I know a lot of young Jewish Chicagoans who saw the Dave Matthews concert as a quandary testing their religious convictions. Now, many young Jewish Chicagoans who planned to run the Chicago Marathon will face this conflict.

Marathon runners typically eat a lot of carbs throughout the day before the marathon so the typical eating regimen on Yom Kippur of abstaining from food or drink for a full 25 hours and then gorging on such Jewish staples as smoked salmon, egg souffle, bagels, and coffee cakes cannot be healthy preparation. My friend Dawn Sherr is a dietitian in Chicago who will no doubt be asked to consult several marathon runners concerned about fasting before the run. She told me, “Fasting before a marathon is a hard thing to do. In the days leading up to the big day getting enough carbohydrates, protein, and fluid are essential for peak performance. Trying to cram in the all the fluid and nutrition after fasting can be hard to achieve and after spending so much time training many runners may not want to risk a bad run.”

The Chicago Tribune reported on the scheduling conflict yesterday in an article appropriately titled “Hurdle arises for Jewish runners in Chicago Marathon.” The Tribune quoted an angry Jewish runner who has run in four Chicago marathons. Chicagoan Barry Stoltze said, “To Jewish runners, you’re forcing a choice. Either sacrifice your running and don’t do the marathon this year, or sacrifice your religion and cheat on the fast.”

Marathon organizers did not directly address whether they considered the holiday in their planning but said the scheduling process was years in the making. The marathon, generally held on Columbus Day weekend, is planned with city officials so as not to conflict with other events and to ensure that area venues, such as hotels, can handle the thousands of out-of-town visitors.

“It’s not a simple date change,” marathon spokesman Jeremy Borling said. “It’s really wheels that are in motion several years in advance pointing to that one date.”

Michael Kotzin, executive vice president of the Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, said there would surely be some annoyed runners but steered clear of calling this a controversy. The JUF was asked by organizers to provide outreach for Jewish runners who could be affected by the fast, he said.

I was contacted by a friend who told me he wasn’t planning to run the Chicago Marathon this year, but was disappointed that the city would schedule it without regard for the most solemn day on the Jewish calendar. He was also outraged that the JUF wasn’t willing to advocate for the sake of the many Jewish runners who’s training and preparation would be adversely affected by the date of the Marathon.

No matter how many Jewish runners complain, it doesn’t look like the date of the Chicago Marathon is going to be changed. So, my advice would be that Jewish runners continue to train for the marathon (Judaism promotes exercise), but take this year off from the marathon rather than put their bodies in a dangerous situation. They should also exercise their right to protest by complaining to the marathon organizers, the JUF, and especially the Chicago Marathon sponsors. Hopefully, in future years the Jewish calendar will be considered before scheduling such a big event.

Jewish Law Michigan Politics Women

Rep. Dave Camp Should Force Staffer to Grant Ex-Wife a Jewish Divorce

Post author By Rabbi Jason Miller
Post date January 4, 2011

On the final day of the AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington, thousands of conference attendees descend on Capitol Hill to lobby members of Congress on issues important to the State of Israel. A few years ago I joined other pro-Israel Michiganders and lobbied Representative Dave Camp. The congressman wasn’t available to meet with us and left an ill-prepared staffer to answer our questions and try to assure us of his boss’s support of the Jewish State. Since Dave Camp represents the 4th Congressional District of Michigan (an area pretty far north of where I live), I didn’t think I’d find myself lobbying him on any other issues in the future. And I surely never thought I’d lobby him on the issue of an agunah — the case of a Jewish woman whose ex-husband refuses to grant her a get (a Jewish bill of divorce).

Rep. Dave Camp becomes the chairman of House Ways and Means Committee tomorrow taking over from Rep. Sandy Levin, and The New York Times reports that there is already controversy surrounding his office. Aharon Friedman, a 34-year-old tax counsel for the Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee is an Orthodox Jew who is refusing to give his wife, Tamar Epstein, 27, a get.

The NY Times says that Friedman “finds himself scrutinized in the Jewish press, condemned by important rabbis, and attacked in a YouTube video showing about 200 people protesting outside his Silver Spring, Md., apartment on Dec. 19…The Friedman case has become emblematic of a torturous issue in which only a husband can ‘give’ a get. While Jewish communities have historically pressured obstinate husbands to give gets, this was a very rare case of seeking to shame the husband in the secular world.”

One rabbi wrote to the House Ways and Means Committee asking that he lean on Aharon Friedman to grant the Jewish divorce. The couple has been civilly divorced since April and share custody of their daughter, but they are still married according to Jewish law. Without the get neither one of them is permitted to remarry within the faith. Tamar Friedman is considered an agunah, or chained woman until Aharon presents her with a get.

I implore Representative Dave Camp to compel Aharon Friedman, his staff member, to do the ethical thing and grant his wife a Jewish bill of divorce. I’m sure that Rep. Camp wants everyone who works with him to be of moral character. On his first day as the chairman of this important committee tomorrow, I hope Dave Camp will take Aharon Goldstein aside and tell him what he needs to do to “right this wrong.” This matter has nothing to do with the Committee on Ways and Means or the 4th District of Michigan, but it has a lot to do with character and hopefully the leadership of the 112th Congress will make that a top priority.

As Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld told The New York Times, “I don’t think the Messiah can come, as long as there is one agunah in the world.”