RCA Issues Strong Resolution Condemning Child Abuse

The Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) today released a resolution reaffirming its commitment to preventing sexual and physical abuse in the Orthodox community and supporting victims and their families. 


The announcement, posted on RCA's website and circulated among community activists and professionals, cites the incidents "of high profile cases in which Orthodox rabbis have been indicted or convicted for child abuse or child endangerment" and  acknowledges the devastation that abuse causes for victims and their families and the difficulties associated with victims' coming forward with reports. It reiterates RCA's position that it is "halakhically obligatory" to report abuse to law enforcement and that doing so does not violate the laws of mesirah (reporting crimes to the civil authorities) or arka’ot (adjudication in civil courts).


The RCA resolves to publicly address future cases involving abuse in the Jewish community and to train members annually in "understanding and responding to issues of child abuse." It also calls on RCA members to prominently post information about abuse services in "all synagogues, schools, and Jewish community institutions serviced by its members" and to " address the issues of child abuse in their communities in at least one sermon, lecture or article within the next twelve months." 


Some activists, while praising the statement, still note that it leaves out mention of adult victims. They caution that that omission might allow the community to view situations of community leaders sexually exploiting adult congregants or followers as consensual relationships rather than as the serious violations that they are. Such situations often result in serious consequences for their victims, including being shunned or threatened by the community and losing custody battles.  


Nevertheless, this strong position and the specificity of the resolution are being applauded by community groups who see it as an important step toward increasing community awareness and responsibility on the issue of sexual abuse. It also sets the RCA widely apart from the Haredi Agudas Yisroel of America, whose executive vice president, Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, addressed the issue in general terms several months ago at their own convention, but have yet to take action or make any specific commitments. 

Autism Spectrum Disorder: 10 Tips from a Mom

By Leslie Drinkwine, Ph.D., Wrightslaw.com

Autism touches all of us. . . through our children, grandchildren or the children of our friends. It is time to take action to combat this scourge that is stealing the minds of our children. If you or someone you know has a child with autism, here are some tips from a family that has been traveling the path for the last five years.

1. Get a diagnosis.
Don’t hide your head in the sand and think that it couldn’t happen to you. If it is there, then the best thing to do for your child is to start intervention. An intervention can be a diet change, a medicine (we use Abilify), Floortime, TEACCH, or ABA (all forms of behavioral therapies). If your doctor hedges on giving you a referral to a developmental pediatrician (sort of a coach for the whole team), then change doctors. Don’t wait.
The American Pediatrics Association has now stated that all children should be tested at least twice before the age of 2. Be prepared, however, to wait a long time (six to eight months) for access to a developmental pediatrician.


2. Learn what testing looks like.
There will be tests for language, gross motor skills, fine motor skills. Ask for clarification. . . if you like statistics, be sure to ask for the z-scores relative to the mean for children at that age. . . .minus 1, 2, or 3 standard deviations below the mean indicate a developmental delay. You can also get the scores in age equivalent scores. . . .for example, when Jack was 3 years old, his expressive language (what he can say) was about 18 months old, his receptive language (what he understood) was a bit older.
A good evaluator will not tell you one way or the other (leave that interpretation to the development peds people), but he/she should be able to tell you what they are testing (fine motor skills, gross motor skills, et cetera). Keep a record of every medical test, every psychological evaluation, every meeting. This will help you “cut to the chase” when you meet a new provider.


3. Subscribe to www.Autismspeaks.org.
They provide great information and a place to begin. When Jack was first diagnosed, I spent hours, days, weeks and, seemingly, months searching for information that would provide insight into programming (oh, and learn the language that the experts speak. . .it makes it much easier. . .I built a glossary as I learned the vernacular of the world of autism) and how to develop something for Jack. www.Austismspeaks.org has a 100 day kit for families which have just received a diagnosis. While you feel like your world is falling apart, this kit allows you to refocus and start the long journey of raising your very special child.


4. Develop objectives that will give you a set of goals.
We went with a three-pronged strategy. Our goal was kindergarten by age six (we will meet this milestone), potty-training (with the huge help of his preschool aide and teachers in NY) and a renewal of language skills. We expected to achieve this through the efforts of the medical profession, the educational system, and our own home environment. It took fighting with the medical professionals over the course of three years before we felt like we gained any ground (their opinion was that it wasn’t their problem).
The schools have been comparatively easy, but as we approach attending a public school, we expect that the road will be rockier. As for our home, we have, with difficulty, become what I refer to as an ABA home. We have changed the way in which we communicate with each other, with our children and with the outside world.


5. Learn your rights as a parent.
We, as citizens of the United States, are guaranteed a federally-mandated free and appropriate education. Unfortunately, what looks like “appropriate” to your basic public educational system may not be appropriate for your child. Understand what advocacy looks like, how you can ask for advocates to work with you, how laws and interpretations differ from state to state (we have now learned how to deal with autism in three different states over the course of four years). A great website that offers great information is www.wrightslaw.com.


6. Work at understanding how to match challenges with appropriate services.
It is not enough for an IEP to be developed, it must also be appropriately implemented and maintained. It must be updated and renewed. If you don’t feel like your child is receiving the appropriate implementation, ask for a meeting. You not only have to learn what issues your child is facing, but you have to understand what types of services will help you to meet them and then what types of providers are appropriate to deliver the services.


At Hopkins, we have a team of about 7 professionals: a psychiatrist, an occupational therapist, a developmental pediatrician, a pediatric gastroenterologist, a developmental psychologist, a speech and language pathologist, a social worker, an internist. At school, we have a behavioral coordinator, a program coordinator, three behavioral technicians, a speech and language pathologist, an occupational therapist, a music therapist, a classroom teacher, and a classroom supervisor. At home, we have trained respite care givers, a behavioral therapist (a BCBA-credentialed professional) and a behavioral technician from Vista (the school Jack attends is The Vista School in Hershey, PA). We use three different curricula: The Complete Learning Model by Victoria Tucci, ABLLS (out of California) and PECS, as well as an assistant technology speech device.


7. Don’t hide in your house.
Your child needs socialization and you can provide that through interacting with the world. Know your child’s strengths and weaknesses and work diligently to provide the best environment for him or her. Get a tougher skin when people give you the hairy eyeball. You would be surprised how much people will respond favorably when you just let them know what is going on in the situation.
My favorite reply is to just smile and say “Autism. . .the gift that just keeps on giving”. If they can’t be compassionate to your situation, then you really didn’t have much to say to them in the first place. At least once a week, our behavioral technician goes with us on a community outing (Jack also has this as part of his program at Vista). We have used this method to go grocery shopping, shopping at stores and malls, events (we just went to the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington DC), and to attend Mass.


8. Don’t let autism rule your lives.
Remember your relationships with your friends, your spouse, your other children and your extended family members. As I have been reminded over and over again, no one wants to be married to a martyr. It is just too much work.


9. Remember to find time to take care of you.
It is not wrong to read a book about something other than autism or to spend the day watching reruns of Law and Order. As we have all heard over and over again, you can’t take care of anyone else until you take care of yourself.


10. Try to find joy in the journey.
There are days when we all wish we were as happy as Jack. We lapse into Jack speak. . . . we watch Ellie try to provide ABA therapy by taking away his toys and then making him “ask” for them back. And, most of the time, we just take it day to day.
Feel free to share this with people you might know who might be hesitant to get a diagnosis or whose pediatrician tells them that “he will grow out of it”. Early intervention is the key to success in dealing with autism.

When to Turn Away Students from Orthodox Schools

Emes Ve'emunah


What should the parameters be for accepting a child into a religious school? 

What if a parent pulls a child out of an Orthodox day school sends that child to a Conservative day school to finish elementary school and then applies to an Orthodox high school? Should the school accept the child? I have been told by an acquaintance that this happened to a parent. The parent was told that there were other reasons for denying but she denies that there were. She ended up sending her child to a public school. 


There are several issues here. Is public school a better alternative than sending a child to a religious elementary school where heretical ideas are accepted? On the one hand I would think such a school is forbidden. On the other hand, I would think that in the lower grades where there is no discussion about those ideas and only the basics are taught, it might be better than a public school where there is hardly a trace of Judaism with the possible exception of Chanukah as a co- holiday with Christmas.


One thing is certain. If a child attends a Solomon Schechter elementary school and then an Orthodox high school, there is a far greater chance of successfully integrating into the religious community – since the basics will have been learned. On the other hand it is possible that the seeds of a heretical idea may have somehow been planted into a child’s mind and that can warp essential Jewish belief in the future – and possibly expose others to those thoughts.(Continued...)

Losing a Parent to Suicide Increases Child's Own Risk of Suicide

Medical News Today

Losing a parent to suicide makes children more likely to die by suicide themselves and increases their risk of developing a range of major psychiatric disorders, according to a study led by Johns Hopkins Children's Center that is believed to be the largest one to date on the subject. 

A report on the findings will appear in the May issue of theJournal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

How and when the parent died strongly influenced their child's risk, the researchers report. And because the findings show that parental suicide affects children and teens more profoundly than young adults, it is likely that environmental and developmental factors, as well as genetic ones, are at work in next-generation risk, the scientists say.

"Losing a parent to suicide at an early age emerges as a catalyst for suicide and psychiatric disorders," says lead investigator Holly C. Wilcox, Ph.D., a psychiatric epidemiologist at Hopkins Children's. "However, it's likely that developmental, environmental and genetic factors all come together, most likely simultaneously, to increase risk."

The good news, the researchers say, is that though children in this group are at increased risk, most do not die by suicide, and non-genetic risk factors can be modified. And there may be a critical window for intervention in the aftermath of a parent's suicide during which pediatricians could carefully monitor and refer children for psychiatric evaluation and, if needed, care.

Family support is also critical, the investigators say.

"Children are surprisingly resilient," Wilcox says. "A loving, supporting environment and careful attention to any emerging psychiatric symptoms can offset even such major stressor as a parent's suicide."

In the United States, each year, between 7,000 and 12,000 children lose a parent to suicide, the researchers estimate.

The current study looked at the entire Swedish population over 30 years, making it the largest one to date to analyze the effects of untimely and/or sudden parental death on childhood development.

U.S. and Swedish investigators compared suicides, psychiatric hospitalizations and violent crime convictions over 30 years in more than 500,000 Swedish children, teens and young adults (under the age of 25) who lost a parent to suicide, illness or an accident, on one hand, and in nearly four million children, teens and young adults with living parents, on the other.

Those who lost a parent to suicide as children or teens were three times more likely to commit suicide than children and teenagers with living parents. However there was no difference in suicide risk when the researchers compared those 18 years and older. Young adults who lost a parent to suicide did not have a higher risk when compared to those with living parents. Children under the age of 13 whose parent died suddenly in an accident were twice as likely to die by suicide as those whose parents were alive but the difference disappeared in the older groups. Children under 13 who lost a parent to illness did not have an increased risk for suicide when compared to same-age children with living parents.

In addition, those who lost parents to suicide were nearly twice as likely to be hospitalized for  depression as those with living parents. And those who lost parents to accidents or illness had 30 and 40 percent higher risk, respectively, for hospitalization.

Losing a parent, regardless of cause, increased a child's risk of committing a violent crime, the researchers found.

The researchers did not count suspected suicides, nor did they include children with psychiatric or developmental disorders who were treated before the parent's death or as outpatients, meaning the effects of parental suicide may be even more profound than the study suggests.

Co-investigators on the study included S. Janet Kuramoto, M.H.S., of Hopkins; Paul Lichtenstein, Ph.D., Niklas Långström, M.D. Ph.D., and Bo Runeson, M.D. Ph.D, of the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden; and David Brent, M.D., of the University of Pittsburgh.

The research was funded by the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD), by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and by the Swedish Research Council. 

Hospitalization Helps Borderline Symptoms

Long-term symptom remission is common among patients after they've been hospitalized because of borderline personality disorder, says a new study.

The disorder is characterized by chronic unhappiness, frequent changes in mood, irrational thoughts, impulsivity and unstable interpersonal relationships.

The study included 290 patients who were evaluated every two years after their release from the hospital. After 10 years of follow-up, 86 percent of the patients had sustained remission of symptoms.

While achieving concurrent symptom remission and good psychosocial functioning seems difficult for many borderline personality disorder patients, this recovery is relatively stable once it's attained, said Mary Zanarini and colleagues at McLean Hospital in Massachusetts.

The researchers suggested that treatment for borderline personality disorder should include a rehabilitative component that focuses on social and work skills.

"Improving interpersonal relationships and job performance is a large part of the goal for many patients and their families. A rehabilitation approach might also have the practical effect of reducing the percentage of patients who receive Social Security disability benefits, and, equally important, it could help alleviate some of their feelings of low self-worth," Zanarini stated in a news release from the American Psychiatric Association.

The study was published online April 15 in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Source: Robert Preidt, MedicineNet

Bullying Bystanders Suffer More Than Victims

Peter Brown
Students who witness bullying of their peers may suffer more psychologically than the victim or the bullies.

Read The Original Research Paper (PDF)

2002 students ages 12 to 16 were surveyed at public schools in England. The survey asked them whether they’d committed, witnessed, or been the victim of several types of bullying behavior (e.g., kicking, name-calling, threatening, etc.) and whether they had experienced psychological stress symptoms such as anxiety, depression, or hostility.

Why bystanders suffer more than victims of bullying

As reported in the article, previous research shows that children who witness bullying feel guilty, presumably for not doing anything to help the victim.

In addition, they may have felt more stressed by vacillating between doing what they thought they should do (i.e., help the victim) on the one hand, and being afraid of being victimized themselves, on the other.  Being in this type of “approach/avoidance” conflict has been shown in numerous studies to create high levels of stress.

The combination of guilt and fear among witnesses that they will experience the same thing may be another reason why they are more affected by bullying than the actual victims.
Uncertainty, especially combined with feelings of fear or guilt, contributes to stress. Stress leads to depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders.

Sitting down and discussing feelings of fear and guilt with your child may help to minimize the destructive force and ultimate impact of those emotions on mental health.  Practical“survival” tips about how to avoid, distract, or other means of handling bullies would help, too, giving kids options if they are cornered by or are a witness to bullies in action.
Read The Original Research Paper (PDF)

Source: Psychological Association (2009, December 15). Witnesses to bullying may face more mental health risks than bullies and victims. ScienceDaily

Bullying and Depression Linked Even for the Bullly

AP
The word "bully" may conjure up images of a 9-year-old punk shaking down a 7-year-old for lunch money. But teenagers experience bullying, too, and research shows it can be a red flag for depression and suicidal behavior.

That is true whether teens are doing the bullying or are its victims.

"If you are vulnerable and being bullied, it can be the straw that breaks the camel's back," said Madelyn S. Gold, a professor of psychiatry and public health at Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute who has studied bullying. Read more...

Religious People: Less Narcissistic?

Science+Religion Today

Here is the reality: The link between narcissism and religion is complex. Many, if not most, religious practices are designed to shut down or minimize the ego: compassion, charity, chastity, gratitude, mindfulness, forgiveness. Each of these is negatively correlated with narcissism. Ideally, then, the practice of religion should result in less narcissistic individuals.

However, religion is also a source of social power and status and that tends to draw narcissistic people (who also tend to be charismatic to make matters worse). The result is the concern that many people drawn to religion—especially in leadership roles—will be narcissistic. This is the same phenomenon we see in other leadership positions, such as politicians and corporate executives. Still, the (very little) research we have suggests that individuals in pastoral roles are less narcissistic than politicians.

Finally, we have the cultural-level issues of the form or structure of religion in an increasingly narcissistic society. What we see is that religion is becoming more “individualized.” For example, almost half of individuals switch religions (when you include switching between Protestant denominations). We also have more “cafeteria” beliefs, like individuals who are Christian but also believe in astrology. According to new Pew data, in the last 30 some years, we even have experienced a huge increase in individuals who report a direct experience with the divine or the mystical. We want an individualized religious experience just like we want an individualized coffee beverage at Starbucks. Not surprisingly, the churches that are increasing most in popularity are megachurches that provide individualized services and experiences and often have a “prosperity component.”

Resetting Your Sleep Clock with Chronotherapy

New York Times. 
People sleep best when the internal clock is in sync with the workday rest/activity cycle. When there is a mismatch, the likely results are insomnia, depressed mood and daytime fatigue.

An unbalanced circadian rhythm can be returned to equilibrium through the application of light to a sleeper’s retina near the end of a person’s “internal night.” Internal night? Yes — it may be night outside, but if your circadian clock is not prepared for sleep, internal night may not start until late and last well into morning. Biologically, it coincides with the secretion of melatonin by the brain’s pineal gland. It is difficult to know where your internal night lies if you artificially force sleep earlier, for example with sleeping pills. You can estimate internal night with a quick chronotype questionnaire that helps determine when light exposure will be most effective for syncing your circadian rhythm with external reality.

In American psychiatry, chronotherapeutics is a new kid on the block, viewed by some as a counter-intuitive departure from conventional medication. By contrast, in Europe, where it is already well established, it is seen as compatible with medication and a means for expediting improvement with fewer residual symptoms. Residual symptoms are harbingers of relapse. To protect our patients, we should be pulling out all the stops.

Stop Hovering: How Not to be a Helicopter Parent

Psych Central- Sometimes parents are the worst people to bring up their own children. Over-invested, over-emotional, over-protective and over-competitive, we can go to great lengths to ensure that our gifted and unique children do not have to suffer the trauma of being stonkingly bored and occasionally directionless, take responsibility for personal injury, make self-determined important life decisions and above all strain their brain against the angst and agony of critical thinking.

Haredim Cancel Protest in Deference to Fallen Soldiers

Ynet. Leader of the Eida Chareidis, Rabbi Yitzchak Tuvia Weiss notified bereaved parents from the Yad Lebanim memorial society on Thursday that he did not intend on holding protests against the relocation of graves found at the Ashkelon's Barzilai Medical Center planned for Monday because he respects Memorial Day, which falls on the same day."Apparently this is held sacred by him, too," says Yad Lebanim chairman.


This is the kind of news report that makes me think (even if only until the siren-blow ends) that there is hope for Klal Yisrael. R' Weiss respected the pleas by parents of deceased soldiers, relayed to him by a letter from Yad Lebanim Chariman Eli Ben Shem, not to hijack the day with their protests. R' Weiss even called Ben Shem personally say that he holds the hospital in high esteem and that he respects the fallen and does not wish to desecrate their memories.

I'm not sure if I would go as far as saying that R' Weiss hold Yom HaZikaron sacred. But I do think this is occasion to hold back cynicism and recognize that this is a significant, if isolated, gesture of good will from one of the most radical poles of Hareidi society. This is even more true in light of the announcement's context: these protests are a hot-button issue that rallies the Hareidi base, and this conciliation was presented as being in recognition of a commemoration that, while sacred to the rest of the country, most Hareidim disparage. This announcement, at the very least, will catch their attention. 

In his letter to R' Weiss, Ben-Shem noted that on Yom HaZikaron, "We all become one united family in front of which stand thousands of families who lost the best of their sons in war while defending the homeland." Who knows? Maybe, this year the radical elements of the Hareidi world will take note of that spirit of achdus and recognize that there might value to finding ways of protecting the Jewish religion that don't have to threaten the unity of the Jewish people.

In the merit of the fallen soldiers' sacrifice, may it be His will.

Burqa Women Reconsidered

Last week I posted an essay on Burqa-wearing women and feminism. Among the thoughtful responses I received was one from a friend in Jerusalem, who called my attention to this discussion from the (actually) feminist Lilith Magazine blog. (For those who linked here from The Matzav, see me after class and I'll explain.)The friend writes:

The author likens Burqa fashion choices among Haredi women to anorexia in that the women internalize a cultural/societal ideal (ie. thinness or modesty) that they take to an extreme. Both anorexia and burqa donning serve to make a person's self and sexuality disappear in some way.

Also, as a proud feminist, I know that many women who make moves in the name of control over their own bodies and lives, may resist and even loathe the title feminist.
I don't think it's fair to label these Haredi women with a term which they would not choose for themselves.

Furthermore, I believe that feminism involves a conscious effort to dismantle gender hierarchy.  Though these women may be behaving in a subversive manner, disobeying the wishes of the men dictating how much clothing they may put on and take off, their action does not serve to question or change the underlying power structure.

I agree with many of my friend's points, especially not to impose a loaded label upon the religious actions of a particular individual. The anorexia perspective is very compelling, and likely has a lot of truth to it, as well. Yet, I think there is still merit to post, even if it's observations are more relevant as a statement about the role of "frumkeit" in maintaining the hegemonic power balance than about the specific intentions of the individuals wearing the burkas. (It's kind of like the wife of the man who waves a shulchan aruch to justify all of his mistreatment of her getting her own s'micha and leaving him to sulk.

News Sites Rethink Anonymous Online Comments

(New York Times) When news sites, after years of hanging back, embraced the idea of allowing readers to post comments, the near-universal assumption was that anyone could weigh in and remain anonymous. But now, that idea is under attack from several directions, and journalists, more than ever, are questioning whether anonymity should be a given on news sites.


This is one of the main contentions that the Gedolim have with the Haredi websites, that people are empowered by anonymity to criticize the leadership and community structure in a way that they would not in person. Alternatively, people who are "meichutz lamachane," whose opinions others in the community would not normally listen to are trusted as normative sources due to their shielded identities.

Hallucinogens for Depression Work Like Magic

(New York Times) “All of a sudden, everything familiar started evaporating. Imagine you fall off a boat out in the open ocean, and you turn around, and the boat is gone. And then the water’s gone. And then you’re gone.” 


That's how Clark Martin, a clinical psychologist himself, with lifelong, seemingly intractable depression described the experience of taking psilocybin, the psychoactive ingredient better known as the "magic" in magic mushrooms, as research subject in a study at Johns Hopkins. 


To  those familiar with mindfulness, a practice imported from Eastern meditation to Western psychology with great, empirically documented success, this could be described as mindfulness squared. Or more like mindfulness cubed. Where mindfulness involves slowly training patients to learn to fully experience their present with full acceptance,  


“Under the influences of hallucinogens,” writes a UCLA researcher working on psilocybin experiments, “individuals transcend their primary identification with their bodies and experience ego-free states before the time of their actual physical demise, and return with a new perspective and profound acceptance of the life constant: change.”


As Dr. Martin describes, "It was a whole personality shift for me. I wasn’t any longer attached to my performance and trying to control things. I could see that the really good things in life will happen if you just show up and share your natural enthusiasms with people. You have a feeling of attunement with other people.”

1UP, indeed!

Sefira: How Long is a Bipolar Episode?

(Psych Central) Now that we're all (hopefully, still) counting by weeks, how about this one? How many weeks does a typical episode of bipolar depression last for? 


Just to be clear, and possibly dispel some popular misconceptions, Bipolar disorder is a mood disorder in the same family as depression, but it is characterized by a cycling from depression to mania. The images we get from popular culture tend to paint individuals who suffer from this disorder as having some sort of tragic light switch that can flip their moods at any moment. 
Well... sorry.


Some people, it is true, do have rapid cycles, but a study recently published in The Archives of General Psychiatry followed 219 patients for five years and found that the median duration for mood episodes (either type: mania or depression) was 13 weeks. 


Patients with rapid cycles fared worse than patients overall, as did patients whose first episode was more severe. Almost 75% of patients' mood episodes resolved within a year.  

Reference:  Solomon, DA, Andrew C. Leon; William H. Coryell; Jean Endicott; Chunshan Li; Jess G. Fiedorowicz; Lara Boyken; Martin B. Keller. (2010). Arch Gen Psychiatry — Abstract: Longitudinal Course of Bipolar I Disorder: Duration of Mood Episodes. Arch Gen Psychiatry, 67, 339-347.

---

Further Reading

For individuals and families coping with bipolar disorder:
The Bipolar Disorder Survival Guide: What You and Your Family Need to Know(2002) by David J. Milkowitz. New York: Guilford Press.


Perhaps the best book on bipolar disorder (adults) for both patients and families. Based on the author's research that education about the disorder and its treatment can alter the course of the illness, this self-help book helps readers identify early warning signs of mood episodes and seek treatment. Filled with good advice on stopping mood swings from taking over life.


Autobiography:

An Unquiet Mind(1997) by Kay R. Jamison. New York: Random House.

The author of this autobiography is a psychologist studying the connection between creativity and bipolar disorder who also has the illness herself. In this compelling book, she discusses the risks of publicizing her illness and the mixed blessing of the disorder that complicated her life while also contributing to her creativity and empathy. 

No Talent? Stop Blaming Your Parents

New York Times. Most of us think of talent as an ability we’re born with and have fairly little control over. But increasingly, experts are questioning the notion that genes limit how far we can go.

Getting Fired Up over the Burqa Ladies

When I was in yeshiva, there was a guy there with darkish skin and a really big beard who used to always get stopped at the airport. Apparently, he bore a striking, but (as far as I know) purely incidental, resemblance to another guy halfway around the world who is even frummer than he is, but in a more... evil sort of way. This story is kind of the same, just a littler weirder. The nod to Islam was a bit more overt, and instead of an innocent yeshiva guy, it involved a follower of a convicted, violent child abuser, dubbed "Taliban mom" by the Israeli media.

This past Tuesday, outside of Kfar Saba, Israel, police officers spotted a suspicious-looking woman wearing what they called a "Taliban-like outfit" and carrying two suitcases. When officers called for her to stop, she ignored them and attempted to flee. At that point, the officers fired into the air, overpowered the woman, and took her into custody. (Kind of ironic that being too tznuah, modest, to talk to the male officers scored her a full tackle.) She's now awaiting a psychiatric evaluation. (Presumably it has something to do with the burqa, but it might also have something to do with the toy airport they found in her other suitcase. Just a guess...)

I've been following the veil tale for a while now (there's even been a spotting in Brooklyn! Tip of the abaya to Y-Love), but I still can't get my head completely around it. Especially in the current world context. Iran has its sights set squarely on Israel, women there and in the U.S. are fighting for more freedom, and Israeli women chose to restrict themselves even more with Persia's finest?! 

Elana Sztokman on Forward's "Sisterhood" blog sees this phenomenon as an extension of the existing rabbinically-imposed stringencies on women's dress, adding that it is difficult for one to "easily distinguish between extreme body cover that is 'normal' and that which is somehow extreme." She continues:

As if women – bombarded with radical messages of body cover supposedly in the name of God that claim the purity of the entire Jewish nation dependent on women’s invisibility – are somehow supposed to be able to know the difference between body cover that is “womanly” and that which is “crazy”. Given the predominance of this rhetoric in the Orthodox community, it was only a matter of time before women internalized the messages to the extreme. What is really infuriating is that none of the male “leaders” in Orthodoxy who rant and rave about women’s body cover now claim responsibility for the current extremism. It’s not their fault. Women have merely taken it “too far.” Right.

The problem with Sztokman's argument is that in defending the rights of the oppressively appareled Orthodox, she also sacrifices their intelligence. Besides, the leader of this veiled rebellion, Bruria Keren, does not seem the model of hegemonic submission (just ask her kids!). Nor do her followers who endure well-placed disdain and outcry in the name of their twisted notion of tznius.

No, I think that the burqa bonanza represents a more sophisticated phenomenon that R/M Horowitz and the Women of the Wall know well, but would likely not recognize underneath all those layers: feminism. 

In both of those cases, the women and their supporters are interested in the same, fundamentally reasonable thing (even if one's hashkafos don't agree with their specific arguments): finding a meaningful place for women in contemporary Jewish life. I believe the Burqa Brigade is motivated by the same drive. The only difference between the maharats and the muftis, between the rabbas and the burqas is the culture from which they emerged. 

In the relatively open Modern Orthodox society, dissent is tolerated, and even civilly engaged. The goals of the dissenting women reflect both the religious and social ideals of their community: scholarship, personal achievement, and spiritual self-actualization. The flexibility of Modern Orthodoxy’s religious boundaries also means that dissenters can envision their goals at just the borders of the movement, stretching just enough while remaining, they hope, within the fold. 

The female dissenters that Haredi Israel produces reflect equally upon that society's socio-religious makeup. There, where overt challenges to religious-political norms are not tolerated, dissent must be more subtle (even if the behavior is not). Where women have no voice, their protest must be without words. There, frumkeit is king (now queen), and individuality a nobody. In the monolith that is Haredi-brand Judaism, boundaries are binary, and there is no stretching; fighting at the margins only guarantees marginalization.   Women who grasp at power in that world cannot stage their battle at the periphery, they must fight at its core. 

The Haredi women who wear the burqa are not looking to be more eidel than your maidel; they're fighting the power. They keenly recognize that purloining power in their communities means reclaiming the reins of religiosity. So they’re really stickin’ it to the man by being frum in the only way he says they can’t. These women are reclaiming sexual repression and hegemony, holding halacha over their own heads as if to say "I'm the boss of me!" as much as "Grab it if you can!" 

Think of it this way... if Lipa is the Haredi Kanye West, and Yidden is the Haredi Stayin' Alive, then donning the Burqa is the Haredi bra burning!

"You Devil, Jew!" Vatican Blames Jew-Devils for Pope Missteps

New York Times. The Vatican and its PR team have beed putting a lot of effort into ducking the mounting accusations of mishandling of abuse reports by church officials that included the then future pope. Rather than beginning to heal the damage that pedophile priests have inflicted around the world, they have preferred to point fingers and (unsuccessfully) avoid shame. This Passover week, Vatican has gone "old-school," taking a page from the good ol' blood libels of Christians past.



In recent statements quoted by the Catholic News Agency, Father Gabriele Amorth, asserted that American reporting casting doubt on the pope's rigor in dealing with pedophile priests, was “prompted by the Devil.” “There is no doubt about it,” said the man Maureen Dowd calls "the chief exorcist for the Holy See." With Pope Benedict being the "marvelous pope" that he is, "it is clear that the Devil wants to grab hold of him.”




In his Good Friday service lat week, the preacher of the papal household compared the current criticisms of the church to the atrocities that the Nazis perpetrated against the Jews. Speaking to an audience that included the Heilige Tatte himself, The Rev. Raniero Cantalamessa,  said that he was thinking about the Jews during this season because “they know from experience what it means to be victims of collective violence and also because of this they are quick to recognize the recurring symptoms.” 


Apparently, the preacher forgot his own church's implication in the "collective violence" that he's been thinking about of late. He also seems to have missed the irony in his trying to borrow sympathy from the Jews in the face of Italy’s La Repubblica's reports that “certain Catholic circles” have been  that “a New York Jewish lobby” was responsible for the outcry against the pope

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But before we Jews gloat too much, let's not forget the bi'ur chametz (purging one's home from forbidden bread before Passover; symbolic of soul searching and repentance) that our own leaders have yet to do. Hopefully, a glimpse at how silly the "other side" comes off looking will turn up the heat (be a pitch-fork in the rear?) and push us all—leaders and critics alike—toward stepped-up action.