Yesterday in one of my Journalism classes, a woman from the US Census Bureau visited and spoke about the changing demographics in America. As I started to nod off from all the slides and slides of statistics, she stood and passionately proclaimed that soon, in our own lifetime, we will see America change from a country with a white majority to what is a called a ‘minority majority’ state, with most of the citizens being either black, Latino or Asian. She also looked around the room full of young 20 year-olds and told us that we were going to be greatest generation that America had ever seen because we are the ones who elected a black president, we have more opportunities and less prejudice than any demographic  in history and we were going to change the world.

If my class of 15 20-somethings were going to rule the world (which is a scary thought in of itself since I’m pretty sure most of them spend 85% of class time playing Angry Birds) it made me wonder how the Jewish 20-somethings will feel about the new America. We are not our parents’ generation who were raised by immigrants, we have fewer connections with other countries and nationalities and although we still maybe identify with other cultures, most of us are completely and totally Americanized.

With elections coming up in November, do our Jewish values even factor into the candidates we choose? Do we care that Mitt Romney cut funding to a nursing home thereby taking away seniors option to have kosher food? Do we care whether a candidate supports abortions or gay marriage or Israel? How much influence does our Judaism have over our choice for a presidential candidate?

From the diverse group of young adults I asked (the sample size being taken from whomever was on Facebook chat at the time of this article), the answer was ‘very little’. Graphic designers living in Harlem agreed with young Rebbetzins and politically apathetic engineering students: Voting for an American president is best done as an American and not as a Jew.

“In terms of Israel…I wouldn’t vote for a candidate who wanted to get rid of the state or whatever but I don’t just vote for the candidate who’s the “most” pro-Israel” says Sharon, a 22-year old Hunter College senior, “religion and politics shouldn’t mix.”

Some list Israel as a point of concern but other issues are not as important. Mel, a 21 year-old Hebrew school teacher admits “Same sex marriage isn’t as strong as my feelings for Israel. Obama care won’t make or break a vote from me, but it will tip the scale towards no.”

Others note that these issues don’t affect them so they’re arbitrary. Kenny, a 20-year old from Queens notes, “Other people could marry the same sex or have abortions. I don’t really care about if they do or don’t. I don’t think their stances in those would affect my vote.”

The Jewish youth of today (or ‘Jewth’, copyright Aviva Woolf 2012) seem to concentrate on their American spirits rather than their heritage. Maybe the face of “New America” will really be a country with a divided Church and State. Sharon added, “Voting against gay marriage or abortions or whatever because your religion is against them is unfair to other people”. I guess someone hasn’t told that to Mitt Romney.

Once a year in elementary school, my class would line up single file, walk down the block to check out a tree that was blossoming outside a small doctor’s office. As children of New York City, where our playground was the fenced enclosure of the school roof (and any rogue soccer balls kicked over the fence were gone forever), we were enthralled by any interaction with actual nature. This day was Tu B’shvat.

We would then go back to the classroom and mildly enjoy dried fruits. Ask anyone from my 5^th grade class today what Tu B’shvat is all about and they’ll tell you it’s to celebrate trees. Actually I just asked some of them (I haven’t made any new friends since 3^rd grade) and answers varied from ‘something about fruit’ to ‘why are you calling me at 3 a.m. to ask me about Tu B’shvat?’.

Anyways, despite what misinformed former 5^th graders will tell you, Tu B’shvat is not just to celebrate trees but is actually the New Year for trees. Which just begs the questions, do trees get to dip their own apples in some beehive-y goodness like we do on Rosh Hashana? What’s this holiday’s deal and how can I, as a born and bred native of the urban jungle fully appreciate what it means to rejoice over some bona-fide arbor?

The “New Year” for trees is referring to the fact that this is the time of year when the sap rises in trees, getting it ready for the Spring season. So while it’s still bitter cold winter (or 60 degrees this year in NY for some reason), trees are always preparing for the future.

But why specifically ‘trees’? Why not a celebration of water? Or animals? Or double stuff oreos? Two reasons.

One is that the Jewish nation and trees have a special connection. In the book of Deuteronomy (20:19), it states that “man is like a tree of the field.” And ‘Tzadikim’” (righteous) are like tree near a source of water. Trees, like us, are at the complete mercy of God to bring rain and protection. The Torah also likens the Torah to water, so Jews and the Torah go together like trees and water. When we commemorate trees, we really recognize our dependence on God.

Another reason to celebrate all things green is possibly to make sure future generations HAVE green to celebrate. Sure, in the times of the Tanach there were forests upon jungles of the stuff. Today? Not so much.  According to USDA Forest Service, in the US alone, 6,000 acres of forest are lost every day. Without action, children of the future could be walking to the Natural History Museum to look at trees. Or at least have to beg the Lorax for one precious fern seed to save us from ourselves.

So, whether  you live in a Manhattan penthouse or a cabin in rural Appalachia, Tu B’Shvat is still important because it recognizes not only nature but us as a Jewish people. As long as there are trees, God will take care of us. As long as we care about future generations, God will never leaf us (sorry.) Happy Tu B’Shvat!

-Aviva

I’m writing this post on an Apple computer (my second one).  On my way to work this morning, I was reading through emails on my Apple Iphone.  I’ve owned two Apple Ipods.

Until about a month ago, none of this bothered me in the least.  Then reports of conditions at Apple contractors in China started emerging in the press.

First I read a scathing review of the recent Steve Jobs biography in New York Review of Books, which includes with the following passage: According to a study reported by Bloomberg News last January, Apple ranked at the very bottom of twenty-nine global tech firms “in terms of responsiveness and transparency to health and environmental concerns in China.”

Then I listened to a recent episode of This American Life and I started feeling concerned. This was followed by a two-part series on the economy of the IPhone in the New York Times, which you can read here and here.  The last article is by far the most disturbing.

I recently wrote the following short piece that will appear in the Febuary issue of Shma:

“And you shall bring no abhorrent thing into your house or you will be under the ban like it.  You shall surely despise it and shall surely abhor it, for it is under the ban.”

Simply read, this verse bans the abhorrent from the Jewish home. In doing so, it asks us to define the abhorrent; that which is so despised that it has no place in Jewish life and must be put under ban. The Rabbis of the Talmud have traditionally identified the abhorrent with idol worship. In their reading, anything that is contaminated through the worship of a foreign  God cannot be consumed by Jews.

In the 13^th Century, this views is radicalized by the anonymous author of the Sefer ha-Chinuch. Building on the traditional view, the Chinuch  writes that any object “that was gained through theft, violence or exploitation, or from any disgusting element” is considered abhorrent.  He continues that “man’s heart is inclined towards evil, which desires [items paid for by any means] and brings it into the home; and this inclination towards evil is called idol worship”  Idol worship is not what we initially thought: it is anything, any consumer good, which is produced through exploitative means is now identified as abhorrent  and banned.

In this era of globalization, in which 30 million people live as slaves, and millions more work in sweatshops around the world, the Chinuch’s identification of the abhorrent as exploitation forces us, as consumers, to ask uneasy questions about our consumption habits.  Knowing what we know, can we continue to naively purchase goods, globally produced, without the fear that we are bringing the abhorrent into our homes?

Here is my question: are Apple products abhorrent?  Is it forbidden to bring there products into our homes and offices? Should we place them into cherem as the Chunich suggests?

- Rabbi Ari Weiss, Director of Uri L’Tzedek

Anyone who’s had a free moment at work or any student with an 8 page history paper due the next day is familiar with Youtube, the procrastinator’s paradise. Every hipster who wants to download the new Bon Iver song and every grandma who wants to watch a rerun of Matlock online can tell you how to. And guess what, the new Stop Online Piracy Act bill (SOPA) introduced by Senator Paul Smith this year wants them all to be classified as criminals. Sorry, Granny.

While this bill is still being debated and refined, it’s not a new thing. File sharing and illegal downloading have been around since the only ‘book’ Mark Zuckerberg knew of was The Cat in the Hat.  SOPA has already shut down some websites which share copyrighted material which caused a backlash from the internet community like we’ve never seen before. Pasty internet addicts clutched their Red Bulls and screamed that punishing websites that share intellectual property is a violation of the First Amendment. But is it? And how do we as Jews feel about this downloading phenomenon?

Obviously, the Talmud speaks no mention of Wikipedia or Megaupload, but we do have some interesting thoughts on the topic.

In Igrot Moshe by Rav Moshe Feinstein, he responds to a question about using copyrighted material without permission by saying that it falls under the concept of
‘Dinah Malchut Dinah‘ which states that we follow the law of the land that we live in. Which would make it illegal since most websites and DVDs show a disclaimer before you can upload saying that using copyrighted information without permission is punishable by up to five years in jail.

But isn’t the Freedom of Speech also the “law of the land”? Not when it comes to intellectual property. Paul Almeida, from the AFL-CIO, and one in favor of SOPA, said “The First Amendment does not protect stealing goods off trucks.” An action also not condoned by the Torah.

“But Katy Perry is so rich,” you say “the royalty she would be getting off this one song is so negligible that it shouldn’t even count as stealing.” And it’s true that the Torah says stealing something under one “Prutah” (a minimum of 5 cents in today’s currency) is not considered stealing. But Hollywood studios, recording labels and publishing houses lose up to $135 billion dollars a year in revenue every year due to piracy. And that’s not just the artist losing money, it’s every day people who do their jobs and deserve to be paid. You might also suffer from piracy as well, according to the Washington Post, the Association of Firefighters support the SOPA bill because piracy saps tax dollars that support emergency services.

The World Wide Web is still in a Wild Wild West phase with very little regulation, with millions of unknowing thieves. Fortunately, SOPA is only targeting websites which run illegal or infringing services, so Youtube, Facebook and all Red Bull fueled anger is safe …for now.

- Aviva Woolf, Uri L’Tzedek Blogger

The United States adopted the use of solitary confinement within prisons during the 1970s.  This controversial method of punishment has served as an alternative to the death penalty, and has left many prisoners with disturbing psychological effects.  According to several recent studies, here’s a list of some of the symptoms:

• Visual and auditory hallucinations
• Hypersensitivity to noise and touch
• Insomnia and paranoia
• Uncontrollable feelings of rage and fear
• Distortions of time and perception
• Increased risk of suicide
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

We all know the story of the famous Gilad Shalit, right?  Hamas (“Palestinian Resistance Movement” in Gaza) captured Israeli Defense Forces soldier Shalit and held him captive for over five years.  But what many of us do not know about this story is that the Hamas placed Shalit in solitary confinement for the duration of his captivity.  Besides the rare phone calls and videos to his family that were forced by Hamas officials, Shalit had absolutely no contact with others until his release.

Shortly after his release, Shalit underwent several interviews.  When asked what he missed the most about his life, he said that he missed talking.

As Jews, we have a moral obligation to implement fair and just punishment to the greatest degree possible.  This widespread form of punishment has become a form of acceptable torture, and we, as the Jewish people, must take a stand to prevent this from hurting others and our own people.  Please sign this online petition to end the use of solitary confinement: http://bit.ly/ucqddR

Also, check out Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz’s article regarding solitary confinement for more information.

To what extent do we honor the dead?  How do we, as the Jewish people, deal with the issue of benefiting from those who have passed away?  While arguably the highest expression of loving kindness in the Torah is caring for the bodies of the dead, because of the selfless nature of the act, are we then able to derive any benefit from the deceased?

We should not protect ourselves from ideas that seem foreign or uncomfortable, thus it is our obligation to raise awareness about the controversial Bodies Exhibit.  I recently learned of this shocking exhibit by reading an article by Uri L’Tzedek founder and President Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz, “The Bodies Exhibit & The Jewish Value of Honoring The Body.”

Located in Atlanta, Las Vegas, and New York, the Bodies Exhibit is one of the most viewed public displays in America.  The exhibit has preserved the deceased (from other countries) and placed their bodies in particular arrangements for the purpose of others’ entertainment.  In his article, Rabbi Yanklowitz discusses the issue of how Jews should react to placing bodies on display for entertainment, specifically against the backdrop of Jewish law and culture.

I urge you to read the Rabbi’s article, and view the exhibit’s website – if you have the stomach for it.

- Shira

The United States has suffered a financial crisis for the last few years, with trillions of dollars in public debt affecting the lives of every American.

Several business figures, some even within our own Jewish community, have not made these matters better.  They have caused thousands of people to lose their jobs and all hope for a brighter future.  But they have raised awareness about what we can do to educate ourselves about the often grey financial issues that we face everyday.

Join Uri L’Tzedek on Monday, December 5, 2011 for their Social Justice Beit Midrash on Financial Ethics.  Reb Ari Hart of Uri L’Tzedek and organizer Stephanie Basile of the Living Wage NYC Campaign will tackle difficult halachik issues relating to financial matters within the business world.

Is your approach to grey financial matters a halachik approach, an approach that is consistent with Torah and Rabbinic law?  Find out.  Educate yourself.

Visit the Facebook event for more details.