http://jcarrot.org/driven-beyond-reason-tisha-b%e2%80%99av%e2%80%99s-connection-to-cannibalism Jews, Food, and Contemporary Issues Tue, 16 Mar 2010 23:40:31 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 http://jcarrot.org/driven-beyond-reason-tisha-b%e2%80%99av%e2%80%99s-connection-to-cannibalism/comment-page-1#comment-10087 Keith Barton Sun, 10 Aug 2008 08:24:45 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/driven-beyond-reason-tisha-b%e2%80%99av%e2%80%99s-connection-to-cannibalism/#comment-10087 I just attended a reading of Eikha this evening. I think it describes the conditions that will soon confront the US, not to mention many other places which already face the desolation of hunger and separation from the land as the trajectory of capitalism and globalization drive people to shanty towns to survive. The question that confronts the person who takes the Tanach seriously is WHICH of Torah's many laws take precedence: feeding the hungry, gleaning of fields, defending the widow and orphan, paying just wages, terminating debts and servitude, avoiding idolatry, granting sabbath to the land, sexual purity. There is no concept in Torah of fossil fuels, crop rotation, global warming, public transportation,family planning, Malthus, ethanol from grains, herbicides, insecticides, etc. Creating eco-Kashrut sensitivity requires an extrapolation from the rabbinic codes, which are themselves an extrapolation from Tanach. I'm all for eco-Kashrut sensitivity, but there are those who attribute the current calamities exclusively to sexual impurities in modern society, and they are arguably closer to the text of Torah than those who have a neo-Hasidic eco-Kashrut sensitivity. I realize that the Tanach is for everyone to use and to interpret, but that in itself means that it will never be the basis of a widespread consensus on these critical issues. In many ways, we are as handicapped today as the prophet Jeremiah was in the face of Nebuchadnezar's army. The more things change, the more they remain the same. Eikha! I just attended a reading of Eikha this evening. I think it describes the conditions that will soon confront the US, not to mention many other places which already face the desolation of hunger and separation from the land as the trajectory of capitalism and globalization drive people to shanty towns to survive.
The question that confronts the person who takes the Tanach seriously is WHICH of Torah’s many laws take precedence: feeding the hungry, gleaning of fields, defending the widow and orphan, paying just wages, terminating debts and servitude, avoiding idolatry, granting sabbath to the land, sexual purity. There is no concept in Torah of fossil fuels, crop rotation, global warming, public transportation,family planning, Malthus, ethanol from grains, herbicides, insecticides, etc. Creating eco-Kashrut sensitivity requires an extrapolation from the rabbinic codes, which are themselves an extrapolation from Tanach.
I’m all for eco-Kashrut sensitivity, but there are those who attribute the current calamities exclusively to sexual impurities in modern society, and they are arguably closer to the text of Torah than those who have a neo-Hasidic eco-Kashrut sensitivity.
I realize that the Tanach is for everyone to use and to interpret, but that in itself means that it will never be the basis of a widespread consensus on these critical issues. In many ways, we are as handicapped today as the prophet Jeremiah was in the face of Nebuchadnezar’s army. The more things change, the more they remain the same. Eikha!

]]> http://jcarrot.org/driven-beyond-reason-tisha-b%e2%80%99av%e2%80%99s-connection-to-cannibalism/comment-page-1#comment-10042 Jenn Sat, 09 Aug 2008 02:28:02 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/driven-beyond-reason-tisha-b%e2%80%99av%e2%80%99s-connection-to-cannibalism/#comment-10042 In response to Renana's comment--I think the question is not about morals or the punishment of innocent children, but rather an acknowledgement of cause, conditions and effects (what other traditions call karma). If we are in alignment with our covenant with God--the results of our collective actions will be beneficial to our children--the narrative in Eikhah speaks to a misalignment and the consequent impact of this misalignment. So, it's not about God's "punishment" of innocent children--it's about our own capacity to see clearly the consequences of our collective actions. If we see this connection with clarity it becomes a compelling stimulus toward right relationship with the land and her bounty. In response to Renana’s comment–I think the question is not about morals or the punishment of innocent children, but rather an acknowledgement of cause, conditions and effects (what other traditions call karma). If we are in alignment with our covenant with God–the results of our collective actions will be beneficial to our children–the narrative in Eikhah speaks to a misalignment and the consequent impact of this misalignment. So, it’s not about God’s “punishment” of innocent children–it’s about our own capacity to see clearly the consequences of our collective actions. If we see this connection with clarity it becomes a compelling stimulus toward right relationship with the land and her bounty.

]]> http://jcarrot.org/driven-beyond-reason-tisha-b%e2%80%99av%e2%80%99s-connection-to-cannibalism/comment-page-1#comment-9946 Renana Thu, 07 Aug 2008 19:10:41 +0000 http://jcarrot.org/driven-beyond-reason-tisha-b%e2%80%99av%e2%80%99s-connection-to-cannibalism/#comment-9946 Your points are quite well made and I enjoyed reading the d'var, but it fails to address the fact that the 'caring' God allows innocent children to go hungry and eventually be eaten because of the sins of their parents. The famines and punishments in the tanach are always justified by the actions of the Jewish people, but they also seem to bring pain on those who do not deserve it. Today there are millions of people who starve to death from famine, and it is not because of some moral misdeed. I may be able to learn from this story that God punishes us because God cares, but the reality of the world just doesn't seem to support the morality of the story. Your points are quite well made and I enjoyed reading the d’var, but it fails to address the fact that the ‘caring’ God allows innocent children to go hungry and eventually be eaten because of the sins of their parents. The famines and punishments in the tanach are always justified by the actions of the Jewish people, but they also seem to bring pain on those who do not deserve it. Today there are millions of people who starve to death from famine, and it is not because of some moral misdeed. I may be able to learn from this story that God punishes us because God cares, but the reality of the world just doesn’t seem to support the morality of the story.

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