Strollerderby : judaism

Kids Sing Religious Song, Parents Sue

JeanneSager — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 13:35:00 GMT

There are songs that mention religion, and there are songs that are religious. When a song is named "In God We Still Trust," and features the words "Bible," frequent references to "Him," and the word "believe," wouldn't you think that falls into the latter category?

Apparently, it doesn't matter. At least not to a Florida public school where a third grade teacher was training her students to sing the song by country group Diamond Rio for their end-of-year program. The kids had the song memorized when one made mention of it to Mom and Dad. When the parents complained, the teacher told the kids they wouldn't have to sing it if it violated their beliefs, but told them they would be excluded from participation in the program. Sounds like punishing kids for their beliefs to me.

The superintendent yanked the song just before the parents filed a lawsuit, which they filed anyway, looking for compensatory damages because (according to the suit), teaching the song "amounts to religious indoctrination and interferes with the parents’ right to raise their children according to their own beliefs."

I'm not a big fan of lawsuits, but what's upsetting here is the defense from the school. They're acknowleding they're aware of separation of church and state, but they say a religious song is different. The lawyer for the St. Johns County School Board said choruses are traditionally exempt from the rules against public prayer in school. According to a report in a Jacksonville newspaper, the attorney said, "Courts have held that a choral curriculum can be expected to include religious songs because a significant percentage of choral music is based on religious themes or texts."

In general, I agree. I sang Hanukkah songs when I was a kid in school, and I'm Catholic. It never bothered me because they were historical (and honestly, I thought the festival of lights was pretty cool!) and not heavy on religious rhetoric. There was no "we will believe in X, Y and Z."

But this isn't an old song with a passing reference to religion. It's a song released on an album in 2006 by a contemporary band. And it talks heavily about believing and following God (click here to watch the music video and see for yourself). And if the teacher told kids who didn't believe that they couldn't participate in the school program, that's religious persecution.

What do you think? Are the parents overreaching or are they right to be upset?

Image: AnswerBag

Hitler Mom Wants Her Kids Back

Brett Singer — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:45:00 GMT

You know, with a story like this one, you want to give it a somewhat serious treatment. But it's difficult to avoid using "Hitler Kid" and "Hitler Mom", especially when that's what every news outlet leads with. So I'm a sheep. Sorry.

Anyway, the mother of Adolf Hitler Campbell, JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell and Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell is defying a judge's order and speaking out about having her children removed by Family Services.

We have a few more details now. A neighbor called Family Services, claiming that the kids were being abused physically, mentally, and emotionally. Proud parents Deborah and Heath Campbell deny it all. They say that they are "not racists," and that they have the right to give their children whatever names they like. The Daily News had the best quote of all: "The parents insist they're not racists and want only to honor the heritage of the Third Reich." Right. It's that whole "trains running on time" thing. That's all they want to remember. Must be railroad enthusiasts. What's the problem?

All kidding aside, I do still have some misgivings here. If the only abuse was the names and the fact that the parents are racists, is that enough of a reason to remove the children from the home? If it is, aren't there a lot of other kids that should also be removed?

On a side note, could the article on MyFoxSpringfield have any more misspellings? Sheesh.

Source: Fox (1, 2)

Image: NY Daily News

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Kid Named Hitler Taken From His Parents By Family Services

Brett Singer — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 16:30:00 GMT

I bet you thought we'd never hear any news about this family again. Or maybe you just hoped you'd never hear from them again. Or maybe that was me. I get us confused sometimes.

Anyway, for reasons that are not being disclosed at this time, 3-year-old Adolf Hitler Campbell was removed from his home by the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services. Adolf's sisters, 1-year-old JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell, and the comparatively normal-named 8-month-old Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell, were also removed by authorities.

As far as I know, it's unusual for Family Services not to give a reason to the public when kids are taken from their parents. According to the Daily News, "Holland Township police chief David Van Gilson told the site they had not received any reports of abuse or negligence." Which makes this even stranger.

In case you've forgotten, the Campbells' received some fame in December when a store refused to make a cake for little Adolf Hitler. At the time, the father, Heath Campbell, said, "They're just names, you know. Yeah, they (the Nazis) were bad people back then. But my kids are little. They're not going to grow up like that."

The swastikas that decorate the Campbell home, and the fact that they are reported Holocaust deniers, tells a different story. (Post-racial America? Um, I don't think so.)

We don't know the details yet, but the parents were scheduled to attend a hearing on Tuesday to discuss their children which "was apparently postponed", according to the News. So something is definitely going on.

That said, I’m not sure if being a Nazi lunatic is illegal. If it were, wouldn't Hutton (Mel's dad) Gibson be in jail?

UPDATE: Here is a video report via Yahoo! News. Listen to the reporter say the kids' names.

Source: NY Daily News

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Will Our Kids Be Allowed to Say Merry Christmas or Happy Hanukkah?

JeanneSager — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 18:59:00 GMT

I'm all for thinking the neighbor's holiday light show is just five blinking strands of twinkle lights this side of tacky, but telling someone they're being offensive to non-Christians? That's what they call political correctness gone wild.

A mom of three in England got a call from her community association, telling her she had to take down her elaborate display because it might offend the neighbors. Not that it was too big. Not that it was too gaudy. Not that she'd had it up since early November (who has the time for that? or the money to pay the electric bill).

Dorothy Glenn's kids are well past the Santa belief stage, but with three still at home, I get that she still wants to "do up" the holidays. So, apparently, do most of the people in her neighborhood, and the area politicians who have decried the community association for being ridiculous.

The problem has been solved - the lights are still up, but this kind of thing has made it harder to enjoy Christmas (or Hanukkah for that matter) with the kids. Instead of taking in the spirit with which tidings of joy are meant, people are quick to take offense at a "Merry Christmas" when they're not Christian or "Happy Hanukkah" when they're not Jewish. And lest you think the easy answer is to say "happy holidays," try standing in the post office, clutching your toddler's hand while an older member of your family's Catholic parish berates you for taking Christ out of Christmas. Not exactly what my daughter needed to hear - or me for that matter.

So what do we teach our kids to say? Happy Kwanahanamas? That way they can offend everyone. Or maybe their's will finally be the generation that just lets people be.

Image/Source: The Daily Mail

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Mumbai Hero Nanny May Get Top Israeli Honor

JeanneSager — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 14:32:00 GMT

When we leave our kids with a sitter, we always hope they'll take at least as good a care of them as we would. Risking life and limb to save theirs isn't too much to ask.

In the midst of the terrible tragedy of the Mumbai terrorist attacks, nanny Sandra Samuel has stood out for her bravery - and her devotion to her charge. Now Israel is considering conveying one of its highest honors, an award reserved in the past for Holocaust-era heroes.

Samuel had a "special connection" with toddler Moshe Holtzberg, the son of Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife Rivka. After hours locked in her room, hiding from the attackers, Samuel says she heard Moshe calling for her. Despite terrorists still on the premises, Samuel unlocked the door and followed his voice, finally finding the boy covered in blood beside his dead parents. She grabbed the child and ran outside. She escorted the boy all the way to Israel, where his grandparents have taken in the toddler and the country is discussing the possible conference of the Righteous Gentile award. It's an award given in the past to non-Jews who helped rescue Jews during the Holocaust, including Schindler's List inspiration Oskar Schindler.

It should help the Indian native stay in Israel if she so desires, and it's one of the brighter stories coming out of the tragedies. In some ways, it's even more amazing than Hannah's story earlier this week about the dad who snuck into the hotel under siege to bring milk to his wife and children. This wasn't Samuel's child. She could have stayed locked up safe in her room. She could have assumed the child's parents would take care of him.

I love my babysitter, but if anything ever happens, I've got to tell you - I wouldn't mind having this woman watch my daughter.

Image: The Age

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Christian Parents Opt for Religious Circumcision . . . Even if It's Jewish

JeanneSager — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 17:27:00 GMT

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but I always thought participating in a religious ceremony was supposed to have something to do with your religion. I know, call me crazy.

Christian parents who have started calling on Jewish mohels to perform their sons' circumcisions apparently don't care that they're not, well, Jewish. They don't even care that it costs a little extra.

Traditionally, Christian parents who have opted to circumcise their little boys have it done in a hospital setting - where it's often covered by a parent's health insurance. Many Jewish parents, however, follow the traditional method of a bris - a ceremonial circumcision performed after the baby has been released from the hospital, in the presence of friends and family. A mohel - a specially trained Jewish circumciser - traditionally does the honors, not only cutting the foreskin but leading the onlookers in a small religious ceremony. The whole thing can cost upwards of $300 to $800 - and that's not including the party the parents' usually throw for their guests.

So why would Christian parents call on a mohel? Philip Sherman, a mohel in the New York City area, told the Houston Chronicle parents would rather have the process done in the comfort of their own homes; they like to make it spiritual. Plus, he claims, the process is much quicker for the baby - he says it's a few seconds for a mohel, half an hour in a hospital (The American Academy of Pediatrics actually calls for anesthetic cream to be applied sixty to ninety minutes before the procedure in a hospital or the use of some other, faster-acting anesthetic. The AAP also suggests a clamp be left on the area for several minutes to stop bleeding).

The mother of a daughter, I never had to make the "to circumcise" or "not to circumcise" decision. I don't have a feeling either way. But where I can accept a Jewish parent's decision to call in a mohel to practice their faith, I find the concept of a Christian parent doing the same slightly bizarre. Even odder? That mohels are adjusting their usual ceremony to make them less Jewish. In the case cited in the Chronicle, he actually handed out a prayer booklet that was appropriate for the largely Presbyterian crowd. Instead of religious, they call it "holistic" circumcision.

Isn't this a bit like calling on a rabbi to perform your Catholic wedding? Maybe I'm just not well-versed enough in the Bible. Is there really any religious meaning to a bris outside of the Jewish faith?

Image: Houston Chronicle

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Make Your Own Religious Doll

Brett Singer — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 17:00:00 GMT

Doll Creation Station allows people of all religious persuasions to make dolls featuring the accoutrements of their faith. To be fair, the site only offers Christian, Jewish and Muslim dolls, but the company suggests that you "Check back with us as we expand into other religious and ethnic markets."

The best seller at the moment is "Set 3J", which is the Jewish doll.

The set comes with "a Jewish themed t-shirt and matching denim skirt, socks and shoes," as well as a "matching Magen David bracelet set for you and your doll as well as a silver plated matching Magen David necklace set for you and your doll!" But wait! There's more! "Dress your doll in a satin white and gold trim Queen Esther costume with gold crown and sceptre, and play Shabbat with a 10 piece wooden toy Shabbat Set that includes challah, wine, and candles."

Maybe it's just me but "Let's play Shabbat" doesn't really have the same appeal as "Let's play house." But again, maybe that's just me.

Also, if I were a more observant Jew, I wonder if I might be slightly offended by the idea of "playing" a religious ritual. Do Catholic children "play communion"? Also, is it fair to lump all of Christianity together? And what exactly does a "butterfly hooded sweatshirt" have to do with being Christian? (The Muslim doll sets include a "2 piece Hijab", which is more specific to the doll I suppose.) Will the atheist doll come with a copy of "The God Delusion"? (I'll go out on a limb here and say that I don't think they will ever make an atheist doll. Although it would be funny if they did.)

The idea of dolls that better reflect the way the world actually looks is not a new one and it is important. But I always thought the point was more physical than spiritual – that is, all dolls shouldn't have blonde hair and white skin. The company does plan to expand to include other ethnicities, and offers a choice of hair color and type, so part of the pitch is definitely "a doll that looks like you." But another part of it is "a doll that shares your faith."

Would anyone out there buy a religious doll for their child?

Source: dollcreationstation.com

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Supreme Court to Father: No, You Can't Circumcise a 13-year-old

JeanneSager — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:33:00 GMT

I'm not even a guy, but this story made me want to pull a Michael Jackson and grab ~~a little boy~~, uh, my crotch. Well, that and grab the not-so-little boy whose father wants to have him circumcised and run.

James Boldt has actually been shot down by the United States Supreme Court in his bid to have the highest court in the land hear his plea to circumcise his 13-year-old son. That doesn't mean the case is closed, however. A trial judge in Oregon will now get the case that's been argued since the boy was 9 and agreed to follow his father in a conversion to Judaism. Boldt, who has custody of the boy, had actually scheduled the procedure when his ex-wife, Lia, stepped in.

Lia, a member of the Russian Orthodox Church, has said the procedure is dangerous and told courts that her son is afraid to tell his father he doesn't really want the procedure done. James, meanwhile, claims the court is infringing on his right to religious freedom by not allowing him to circumcise his son. I'm not Jewish, so I'm not clear on the exact rules surrounding conversion and circumcision. And I thanked my lucky stars when I gave birth to a girl - so my husband and I never had the "should we" or "shouldn't we" discussion.

But circumcision at 13 seems preposterous:

It's painful (and, yes, it's painful for a baby too - but the chances of the emotional scars from this sort of pain are far greater).
It's not medically necessary. Not at 13. Not if he's had no problem with that little flap of skin for the past 13 years.
Lia Boldt is right. It could be dangerous. With ANY surgery there is risk, however minute. Which is why elective surgeries are often discouraged by doctors (well, except plastic surgeons).

And the biggest question here is how does Little Boy Boldt keeping his foreskin violate his father's right to practice his religion? Would letting the boy wait until he's 18, and he can make the decision really make him a bad Jew? Again, I'm not Jewish, so I would love the hear the Semitic viewpoint on this one.

Image: August Chronicle

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Happy Rosh Hashanah, here's a Shofar video

Brett Singer — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 18:00:00 GMT

In March someone commented that we were doing tons of posts on Easter but none on Purim. One reason for this is that Easter has, you know, CANDY; that is, I don't celebrate Easter as a religious holiday but I do enjoy the trappings (meaning THE CANDY).

That said, in the interest of being fair and balanced, here is a post about Rosh Hashanah, complete with video of a Shofar. The post is a day later than it should have been because I was busy going to Temple and eating brisket. (Mmmm...brisket...)

For the uninitiated, Rosh Hashanah is the celebration of the Jewish New Year. (The traditional greeting is not "Happy Jew Year", but "Shana Tova", which is Hebrew for "good year".) It is also the first of the two times each year that not-very-observant Jews, such as myself, go to Temple. The second time is next week, for Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur is "The Day of Atonement," kind of the one-day version of Lent. (As Jon Stewart once said, "Even in sin you people pay retail!" Ba-dum-bum.) There is a one-day fast, and then at sundown we eat, usually lox and bagels. (Any excuse to eat salty fish. Mmmmm…salty fish…)

One of the key elements of the Rosh Hashanah service is the blowing of the Shofar, which is a kind of trumpet made out of a Ram's horn. Since YouTube has a video of absolutely everything, here is a clip of the traditional Shofar blasts. It's not easy to do, as you can see; this year at the service I attended, I was slightly concerned that the Shofar blower was going to pass out, although he didn't.

By the way, one reason that not much happened in Congress yesterday was because some folks took the day off for Rosh Hashanah. If anyone was annoyed by that, try to imagine the government working on Christmas. Yeah. Didn't think so.

So Shana Tova everyone! Next week – Yom Kippur.

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Interview With A Mohel

Amy Kuras — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:02:00 GMT

I'm not Jewish and don’t live in a heavily Jewish area (although the front door to my house has a mezzuzah on it, since I believe my neighborhood was a more Jewish area back in the day). I have never attended a bris, although I did go to the baby naming for a friend's daughter, and we didn’t circumcise our little dude.

So I found this interview with a mohel (the Jewish official who performs the bris, or ritual circumcision, of Jewish babies) really interesting.

I didn’t know that the ceremony takes 21 minutes, which includes the circumcision procedure, special prayers and a blessing over the baby, and the announcement of the baby's name.

Part of the ceremony involves giving the baby sweet wine to suck on, which has both religious significance and a practical use. Babies like the sweetness and it acts as an analgesic. Mohel Sam Pessaroff actually carries backup wine in his car, because sometimes parents purchase a nice dry something they like instead of the sweet stuff that does the trick.

He also carries special instruments used in ritual circumcisions, cloth diapers, bacitracin ointment, Vaseline, and skullcaps.

And the vanity plate on that car reads "MOHEL." Which is just funny, any way you slice it (sorry, really, I couldn't resist).

Madonna No Longer Jewish

Brett Singer — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 15:30:00 GMT

Madonna will no longer study the Kabbalah, something she has done for over a decade. The reason? Bat Mitzvahs are expensive.

According to people close to her, Madonna was horrified by the 2007 case of David Brooks, who reportedly spent $10 million dollars on his daughter's Bat Mitzvah. "If he spent that much, I won't be able to get away with anything less than $5 million… if we're lucky," the Material Mom told a friend. Madonna's daughter, Lourdes Ciccone, will turn 12 years old in October, meaning that her Bat Mitzvah could have occurred this year.

Madonna has been very involved with the Los Angeles-based Kabbalah Centre, and quoted the Talmud at her recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Her husband Guy Ritchie has stated in the past that the family no longer exchanges gifts on Christmas.

Photo: socialitelife.buzznet.com

Babble Talk: Choosing a Religion Ain't Easy

Stefania Pomponi Butler (CityMama) — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 11:32:00 GMT

Erin K. Blakeley is Catholic, her husband is Jewish, and their son is...um... In Babble's latest personal essay, Blakeley recounts the process of choosing a religion for her son.

Blakeley and her husband agreed that faith for their son was important, they just weren't sure which. After all, they aren't really religious and the Lord's name is usually only uttered at their house when they've "lost (their) internet connection or broken a wine glass."

So—they talked. They consulted friends and family. They reflected on their past personal experiences and family traditions: decorating Easter eggs, a Bar Mitzvah, Christmas trees, Hebrew school.

In the end, after much soul-searching, and careful consideration, they chose...well, you're just going to have to read and find out.

Barbie as Cultural Catalyst

Patti — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 23:35:00 GMT

Jenna Weissman Joselit's essay at the Jewish Daily Forward about facing off with her niece in the Barbie aisle of the toy store strikes a nerve with me. Barbie is always such a touchy subject for feminists--she has her supporters and detractors, and we are all certain we are correct in our opinions about her.

Something hard to argue about, though, is Barbie's mutability. In the hands of a little girl she is a blank slate, capable of representing nearly any aspect of femininity and yes, of feminism. And in the hands of an adult she can be even more so--witness Joselit's example, Tefillin Barbie--a modified Mattel doll bearing the trappings of a modern Orthodox Jewish woman. This is what has kept Barbie at the top of the toy charts for fifty years: the fact that no matter how much artificial personality her manufacturers and marketing team try to inject her with, she is nothing until she's in the hands of a human being. Once she's out of the box, she is, for better or for worse, whatever you want her to be. There are probably worse symbolic messages to send to little girls than that.