1. Time for a Twitter class / shiur!

Today's topic: "A Jew is a Jew"

Special focus: Does a Jew's beliefs or actions make someone not Jewish? 2. The following is a modified version of my Sacred Slogans version entry on "A Jew is a Jew."

Usual disclaimers apply that this is neither comprehensive nor definitive.
joshyuter.com/2018/09/16/spe…

For those insisting on differentiating between Hamas and the Palestinian people as a whole, as recently as March 2023, 58% of those polled by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research supported armed confrontations.
pcpsr.org/en/node/938
And from June 2022, "59% view armed attacks against Israelis inside Israel as serving the national interest in ending the occupation and 56% support these attacks"
pcpsr.org/en/node/912

1. Time for a Twitter Shiur!

Today's topic: Religious Coercion in Torah 2. This is an updated version of my earlier shiur from 2012:

I'm revisiting in light of a recent podcast ft @JewishCoffeeH and @RStomel re the current situation in Israel.
joshyuter.com/2012/01/15/pod…

https://twitter.com/JYuter/status/1691401728766124032

1. I've made several comments about the debate over judicial reform in Israel. Due to Twitter being Twitter, criticizing one argument from one side is taken as an endorsement of the other.

For anyone who cares, here's my actual opinion 🧵 2. Checks and balances are not just a slogan, but in theory, ought to curb the potential excesses of any branch of government. The main problem is that any institution of power is susceptible to corruption.

This includes the checks and balances.

1. Time for a Twitter shiur / class!

Today's topic: Blaming Tragedies and Suffering on Sin 2. When bad things happen in the world, e.g. natural disasters, it's not uncommon to find religious figures attributing these disasters and associated suffering to God rendering punishment for sin.

1. There's a lot to unpack in this story and with strong opinions, you're also going to find some bad-faith arguments.

And as it happens so often with Israel, this is one more conflict of religious and political interests. 🧵
timesofisrael.com/ben-gvir-calls… 2. Without getting into the details of Jewish law, the standards of converting to Judaism implemented by Reform Judaism generally do not meet the criteria defined by halakhah.

I'm Starting something new. Since having the baby I've been unable to keep up with my Midrash podcast. However, I've also set myself a goal of completing the entire Midrash Rabba starting with Bereishit through the 5 Megillot. I've gone through several chapters already but I'm happy to double back and highlight some midrashim that stood out for one reason or another.

Just saw Chappelle's #SNL monologue. With the caveat I'm terrible at predictions I expect:
1. People will be annoyed (either for the monologue itself or as an excuse for other things he's said)
2. People (including Jews) will defend him (either on principle or substance) 3. It's not that I think Chappelle is bulletproof (though he's close) he's very intelligent in what he says and how he says it. But bec of his status and stature, he also becomes a proxy for a lot of other fights.

In any event, I don't see his career being meaningfully impacted

I have many objections to the rhetoric of "Jewish values" but if you're looking for precedence, I think Maimonides' Laws of Charity 10:7 (cited in next Tweet) might work (or at least, it's not nearly as much of a stretch as other claims I've seen).

https://twitter.com/jessicaelgot/status/1558054198788427777

Note that he's talking about charity for helping someone start their own business which I don't think would constitute a "Conservative" value (at least not if said "charity" is from the state).

1. I deleted a long thread about the Dobbs decision and Korach (this week's Torah reading in Israel where Shabbat ended abt an hour ago) because it wasn't going anywhere useful. I will highlight a few points though: 2. @AkivaMCohen's thread is really important but this observation is most critical. The surest way to lose legitimacy is to not play by one's own rules. This is exceedingly dangerous for the highest court in the land.

https://twitter.com/AkivaMCohen/status/1540351537863598081

1. In light of this recent tweet, I'd like to go out on a limb and attempt a corrective at what I consider to be misreadings or misinterpretations of certain rabbinic texts regarding gender in Judaism.

https://twitter.com/JYuter/status/1519673842226147328

2. I want to be clear that this is *not* a thread on gender in Judaism in general; that would be a *much* longer discussion and I see no way to do that responsibly over Twitter.

1. Over the past several months I've been reading about merit and meritocracy (and going back further, on the related concept of personal responsibility). Prompted by @ETVPod, I have some thoughts. 🧵 2. I think people have an intuitive sense of what is meant by "merit" and "meritocracy" but there can be important nuances depending on how they're formulated.

Passover Myth 1: Popular conceptions of a kosher for Pesach oven are way stricter than as defined in Shulhan Aruch
joshyuter.com/2006/04/10/jud… Passover Myth 2: When baking matzah, the 18-minute clock doesn't start when water hits the flour but when you stop kneading the dough
joshyuter.com/2015/03/29/jud…

1. I've long thought about the politics of what constitutes "authentic" religion (at least in the context of Judaism) and there's a fascinating contrast in attitudes surrounding Passover. 2. On one hand, you have traditionalists who for the most part do everything "by the book" (in this case the haggadah) with minor variations based on family practices.

I recently introduced my wife to #KidsInTheHall just last week!

My personal favorites are...

https://twitter.com/TaraAriano/status/1498184499926118400

Dr. Seuss Bible:

1. Time for another Twitter shiur / class!

Today's topic: Hell in Judaism 2. One sentiment that comes up a *lot* on Twitter is that Jews don't believe in Hell or Judaism doesn't believe in Hell.

103. I wish people would make up their minds about when it's ok to fire professors for expressing political opinions 104. I wish people would make up their minds about the standards for accepting apologies vs. when we damn them forever

1. Time for a Twitter class / shiur!

Today's topic: Equal to the Entire Torah 2. Many people are familiar with the oft-cited Talmudic dictum of Hillel, "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor." What makes this statement so impactful is the next statement, "This is the entire Torah, the rest is commentary."

Lev Tahor has been known for a while, though I don't think I've seen as much depressing detail as in here.

Suffice it to say, while the people who run this are Jews, they have little to do with Judaism.

https://twitter.com/JayShams/status/1457350609481383938

I say the above reflecting my own bias about what Judaism is (or isn't) and where the boundary lines of Judaism are.

If the Talmud isn't central to one's canon, I question the legitimacy. If the Talmud isn't included in one's canon at all, I deny the legitimacy entirely.

It's hard to express how much I love this story and @elonmusk's brilliant response.
businessinsider.in/international/… General Rule: Anyone who makes grandiose claims like these without showing their work deserves to be ignored if not mocked and ridiculed.

1. When I was in the US and officiated weddings, I'd often try to get as many women involved as possible depending on the needs and wishes of the couple.

Here's a brief thread of a few things I did to integrate more women into the ceremony without compromising halakhah.

https://twitter.com/mominisrael/status/1449808867727220749

2. First, where relevant, I'd ask women to sign the civil marriage license. Although women cannot serve as halakhic witnesses, there is no problem for signing on as civil witnesses