YItzchak Adlerstein and the RCA

In a recent piece by Yitzchak Adlerstein at Cross Currents, he makes the point that the RCA's new decision about not accepting women's ordination has officially made them almost like the Agudah. He states that the the Agudahness of the RCA is in how they came to the decision to deny women's ordination as opposed to the decision itself.  It seems the primary reason for not allowing ordination is again the issue of, it looks like Conservative Judaism.  This argument has been used in the past 10 years regarding the debate about women receiving Aliyot in synagogue (see Mendel Shapiro and the response by Rav Yehuda Henkin in the Edah Journal and the more recent rehashing of the debate by Rabbi Riskin in 2008).  Anyway, I think we are beginning to see the true break between RCA Centrist Orthodoxy and something which would be defined as "Modern Orthodoxy."  I am not sure what the ramifications of a decision like this would be.  Would women now have to choose whether to be ordained or just learned with some sort of certification?  Perhaps we really are just arguing about the semantics of calling a woman a rabbi as opposed to something like Yoetzet Halacha? 

Articles of interest April 28 and 29

New health care law traps some in pricey state plans
I guess this means health care reform isn't for everyone.  Surprise, surprise.  I would have thought the federal government's goal was to lower health care cost, even retroactively for people who need it.  I guess not.  In the end, it is all about making bottom line numbers, and clearly government health care specifically for pre-existing conditions is an expensive endeavor. 

Justices allow cross on public land in California
In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court overturned a decision that would have removed a cross from public land.  An interesting case of the question of separation of church and state.  See the earlier coverage on this case: Justices appear divided over cross on park land

Consumers' tastes make it difficult to dash salt from diets
The latest health crusade is the cutting of salt from our diets.  The goal is to seemingly reduce our risk of hypertension.  If you read the article carefully, you will notice that salt reduction in fact might not reduce risk of hypertension/blood pressure at all.  I find we are sometimes to self conscious of our diets.  I do agree with moderation, but moderation should come from personal choice, not more government mandates.

Sen. Sessions Warns Obama on Supreme Court Pick

The argument is presented that people are afraid the Supreme Court pick to replace John Paul Stevens will be someone who is less concerned about the precedents in the legal system and more on the impact a decision would have on American people. I am not sure I completely understand the distinction between the two categories, as a judge should take into account the particular case, with precedents set, and then make an informed decision. This would possibly entail ruling differently due to a given situation.

Why I Love Barack Obama
Great Op-Ed about how people in Israel can find the good in Obama being president of the US. I think this piece is suggesting that Israeli’s realize again that self-reliance is still the best policy.

Articles of interest April 27, 2010

I think we will try this one again as a means of getting back into writing online. 

Survey: 72% of Millennials 'more spiritual than religious'
This articles presents findings from a recent survey indicating the 18-29 yr old crowd tends to find themselves more spiritual than religious.  To me, reading this would be further proof of the ending of the latest religious revival in America.  Of note is that spirituality, the non-praxis based faith, still pervades. 

How Our Brains Make Memories
An article about how our mind creates memory, selecting events to create stories.  This is an old problem with narrative descriptions of events by people who lived through the event.

Obama isn't radical. His party is.
Pundit Michael Medved makes an interesting case for the problem, not with the president himself, but the Democratic party.  I think one of the difficulties with our current political culture is the parties.  Both parties, Democrat and Republican, tend to play political games with each other instead of working for the greater good.  Medved's piece is more about the blame game.  Those opposed to Obama need to look more carefully at the fact that the rest of his party is almost as far left as he appears to be.