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THE RAINBOW SWASTIKA - Scattered Seed Ministries

THE RAINBOW SWASTIKA - Scattered Seed Ministries

THE RAINBOW SWASTIKA - Scattered Seed Ministries

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also.] The "New Judaism" must reject "the image of God expressed in it [this liturgy, and by<br />

extension, Torah] and the relationship between God and the people of Israel conveyed<br />

through it" as similarly tainted. Ackelsberg emphasizes that a sexless translation of Hebrew<br />

prayers will not suffice [certainly not for those who pray in Hebrew, where gender is<br />

unmistakable...]; it will take nothing less than "new modes of religious expression which<br />

incorporate the femaleness of God", and eventually "a liturgy which can address a genderless,<br />

non-personal God." [Thus, the efforts of the Greenbergs combine to promote an "alliance" in<br />

which Orthodox Jewish women are encouraged to "network with" and "learn from"<br />

visionaries of a "new Judaism" that is neither new nor Judaism. Either Blu and Yitz are living<br />

light-years apart spiritually and never noticed, or we have here a masterful smokescreen for<br />

NA infiltration which has fooled thousands of earnest Torah-observant women - and a few<br />

good rabbis as well. Even those who have challenged the orthodox feminist movement have<br />

failed to realize the true nature of the threat they are confronting.]<br />

Orthodox-Buddhist "dialog": Assuming that the participants and rabbinic backers of the<br />

Orthodox Feminist Conferences are aware of the interfaith dialog which Blu and Yitz<br />

Greenberg are maintaining with Tibetan Buddhist leaders, they may have accepted it as the<br />

Greenbergs present it: mutual encouragement of two peoples dealing with exile. But the fact<br />

that the rest of the dialog team is solidly in the JR (Jewish Renewal) camp reveals that the real<br />

agenda is that of Zalman Schachter-Shlomi: to "renew" Judaism and make it "relevant" to<br />

modern society by incorporating Buddhism into Jewish thought. The documentary film, "The<br />

Jew in the Lotus" (written by Roger Kamenetz, directed by Laura Chiten, winner of the<br />

Outstanding Personal Vision Award at the 1998 New England Film Festival), shows the<br />

Greenbergs standing with Reb Zalman as "Jewish Renewal icons" (from a review at the San<br />

Francisco Jewish Film Festival, July 7, 1998). Kamenetz also documents ("Partners in Exile",<br />

World Tibet Network News, Dec. 27, 1999) some of what Yitz Greenberg shared with the<br />

Dalai Lama when the Buddhist leader asked for the secret of Jewish survival: "The<br />

reinvention of Judaism by the rabbis [who] changed it from a temple-based cult to a religion<br />

of memory." This answer sums up the main rationale of the JR movement for claiming the<br />

right to "reinvent" Judaism once again.<br />

[But read that quote again. Whereas JR is known for discarding orthodoxy, Greenberg as an<br />

ostensibly "orthodox" rabbi is presenting a version of rabbinic history which defies<br />

explanation. The first flaw here is that the rabbinic prayers are not merely "in memory" of the<br />

Temple cult, but explicitly look forward to a complete and literal reinstatement of Templebased<br />

worship. The second is that Judaism as a "religion of memory" was not a rabbinic<br />

"reinvention" but was mandated as far back as Sinai - or at the Exodus if we consider the<br />

"memorial" of Passover. More basic than either of these, the Torah states continually that it is<br />

G-d who is the secret of Jewish survival - the only Reason why the Jews outlived those dark<br />

times when we not only neglected our "religion of memory", but we made a religion out of<br />

trying to forget! How awful that instead of the amazing truth, an inquiring non-Jewish<br />

religious leader received an answer from an "orthodox rabbi" which cannot even stand up to<br />

the facts of basic Judaica, let alone explain the mystery of Jewish longevity. But most<br />

relevant to our examination is the serious question of Yitz Greenberg's right to call himself<br />

either "orthodox" or "rabbi".]<br />

Another account of the same interfaith meeting presents an interesting contrast. Nathan Katz,<br />

a dialog team member who kept a journal (briefly mentioned above) of this 1999 encounter,<br />

expresses misgivings which one would expect from an orthodox Jew (he identifies himself<br />

only as a "committed Jew"). Among the things that he challenges is the delegation's answer<br />

to the Dalai Lama's question about Jewish survival (offered mainly by Greenberg, quoted

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