Monday, March 26, 2007
No news is good news
It's the week before Passover, making it time for the annual update on quinoa. And, so far, I haven't heard of any more bans. And, the pro-quinoa articles are all still on their originating websites; some include their original "check with your rabbi" disclaimers. Overall, this year, quinoa looks like it's safe from further kitniyotization.
Labels: halacha, judaism, kashrut, kitniyot, kosher, passover, yay
Shhh... Don't tell Andrew Sullivan...
From Andrew Sullivan's reaction to the JTS announcement that they will knowingly admit and ordain gays and lesbians:
Should anyone tell him that Conservative Judaism is a liberal denomination?
Here's an eloquent, profound and conservative defense of inclusion (emph is his)
Should anyone tell him that Conservative Judaism is a liberal denomination?
Labels: conservative judaism, gay, lesbian, oops, politics
From a University Police Log...
I just noticed this in a University police log:
3/4/2007 2:48AM SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY
Officers dispatched to a report of suspicious individuals walking around the area. Officers arrived and report there is a party going on at [the building] and all is in order.
And 3/4/2007 was...
3/4/2007 2:48AM SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY
Officers dispatched to a report of suspicious individuals walking around the area. Officers arrived and report there is a party going on at [the building] and all is in order.
And 3/4/2007 was...
Monday, March 12, 2007
Awkward Minyan Situations
This post was inspired by a (friends-locked) post on another blog; I actually do want to know the answers to the questions, if anyone has any insight.
Has anyone ever been to a minyan in one of the following (or similar) situations?
A 10+10 minyan* where there were 10 men present, fewer than 10 women present, and:
What was done?0
Does anyone know of any halachic defense that has ever been put forward for a group to daven as if a minyan were not present** in either of these situations?
An egalitarian minyan that followed the Golinkin or Wald teshuvot as their theory of egalitarianism, and a woman who followed the Roth teshuva and did not consider herself obligated was the tenth adult Jew in the room in time for a part of the service that required a minyan***? Same questions.
By the way, the "minyan check" method proposed by BZ does not make some of these types of situations any less awkward if the person who has to say kaddish is one who thinks there's a minyan in the room.
[Update: Clarified what one of the questions means.]
* A "10+10 minyan" means one where it is agreed upon that the group waits for 10 men and 10 women before proceeding with davening as if there were a minyan. Note the confusing use of the word "minyan" to mean both "prayer community" and "quorum" in the same sentence.
0 I do actually have one answer from the other post, and, it was that the 10+10 minyan davened as if no minyan were present. What I found most interesting was that it was phrased in terms of the "halacha" of the community. (Posted by hotshot2000 as a comment to the private post and reposted here (thanks!), see comments.).
** To the best of my knowledge, everyone in the room agrees that the requirement of a quorum for prayer is satisfied by the 10 men. In both of these cases, halacha contradicts the 10+10 principle.
*** The not-obligated Roth teshuva adherent would not consider the room to have a minyan in it. The Golinkin/Wald teshuva-(only)-adherents may have no choice other than to consider her obligated. Does anyone know if any such group exists?
Has anyone ever been to a minyan in one of the following (or similar) situations?
A 10+10 minyan* where there were 10 men present, fewer than 10 women present, and:
- someone had to say kaddish?
- the time for Shacharit was rapidly expiring?
What was done?0
Does anyone know of any halachic defense that has ever been put forward for a group to daven as if a minyan were not present** in either of these situations?
An egalitarian minyan that followed the Golinkin or Wald teshuvot as their theory of egalitarianism, and a woman who followed the Roth teshuva and did not consider herself obligated was the tenth adult Jew in the room in time for a part of the service that required a minyan***? Same questions.
By the way, the "minyan check" method proposed by BZ does not make some of these types of situations any less awkward if the person who has to say kaddish is one who thinks there's a minyan in the room.
[Update: Clarified what one of the questions means.]
* A "10+10 minyan" means one where it is agreed upon that the group waits for 10 men and 10 women before proceeding with davening as if there were a minyan. Note the confusing use of the word "minyan" to mean both "prayer community" and "quorum" in the same sentence.
0 I do actually have one answer from the other post, and, it was that the 10+10 minyan davened as if no minyan were present. What I found most interesting was that it was phrased in terms of the "halacha" of the community. (Posted by hotshot2000 as a comment to the private post and reposted here (thanks!), see comments.).
** To the best of my knowledge, everyone in the room agrees that the requirement of a quorum for prayer is satisfied by the 10 men. In both of these cases, halacha contradicts the 10+10 principle.
*** The not-obligated Roth teshuva adherent would not consider the room to have a minyan in it. The Golinkin/Wald teshuva-(only)-adherents may have no choice other than to consider her obligated. Does anyone know if any such group exists?
Labels: halacha, judaism, minyan, shul, synagogue
