Revival Judaism

[Sveta]

Shalom all. What exactly is "Revival Judaism". I recently cam across a charlatan"rabbi" (probably not really Jewish) who claims he got his smicha from a Zalman Schacter-Shalomi. I don't know much about Shalomi other than he used yo be Chabad. So I used to think it might be some Orthodox organization called "Revival Judaism". However when I looked up the "rabbinical school" of this group, I noticed females and "nondenominational".
 
So, this is like reform...? Anyone heard of it?

[muman613]

This was discussed in a thread last week...

It is a phony baloney so-called Jewish based faith..

I can find no mention of it in any real Jewish source. The term 'Jewish revival' simply means a revival of authentic Torah judaism... So this guy has hi-jacked the term for his own cult.

This guy (the Rabbi) is an 'acid-head' and he embraces obviously forbidden by Torah ideas...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zalman_Schachter-Shalomi

He was initially sent out to speak on college campuses by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, but left after experimenting with "the sacramental value of lysergic acid." [2] With subsequent rise of the hippie movement in the 1960s, he moved away from the Chabad lifestyle.

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He is committed to the Gaia hypothesis, to feminism, and to full inclusion of LGBT people within Judaism. His innovations in Jewish worship include chanting prayers in English while retaining the traditional Hebrew cantillation, engaging worshippers in theological dialogue, leading meditation during services and the introduction of spontaneous movement and dance. Many of these techniques have also found their way into the more mainstream Jewish community.

[muman613]

Yemach Shemo to the whole bunch of heretics who follow this charlatan.

[Sveta]

I'm sorry, I didn't know it was posted about so recently.

I am also sorry to read about Schacter-Shalomi going off the derech. The danger is that people like me who didn't know, see him as the founder and I thought it might have been some observant organization. But it is just the opposite!

I only got suspicious because another charlatan who may or may not be Jewish himself is going around telling the so called "bnai anusim" that their obscure Jewish ancestry 400 years ago, makes them all 100% born Jewish. And he is facilitating them to do something called a "halachic return"...they reject conversion...conversion is an insult to them since they feel they were born Sfardic. (Regardless of the fact that their Jewish links were broken in 1492 and their families have lived all over Latin America as catholics for generations and intermarried for centuries).
This struck me as completely illegitimate and invalid. I was just reading this charlatan say that they're complete valid, valid for aliyah to Israel and that he got his smicha from Schacter-Shalomi, which did not sound right. Also, his "beth din" is full of conservative and reform rabbis and this strange maybe Jewish....maybe not rabbi, questionably.

So, this is the work that "Revival Judaism" has enabled. To bring charlatans in our midst. .

[muman613]

I'm sorry, I didn't know it was posted about so recently.

I am also sorry to read about Schacter-Shalomi going off the derech. The danger is that people like me who didn't know, see him as the founder and I thought it might have been some observant organization. But it is just the opposite!

I only got suspicious because another charlatan who may or may not be Jewish himself is going around telling the so called "bnai anusim" that their obscure Jewish ancestry 400 years ago, makes them all 100% born Jewish. And he is facilitating them to do something called a "halachic return"...they reject conversion...conversion is an insult to them since they feel they were born Sfardic. (Regardless of the fact that their Jewish links were broken in 1492 and their families have lived all over Latin America as catholics for generations and intermarried for centuries).
This struck me as completely illegitimate and invalid. I was just reading this charlatan say that they're complete valid, valid for aliyah to Israel and that he got his smicha from Schacter-Shalomi, which did not sound right. Also, his "beth din" is full of conservative and reform rabbis and this strange maybe Jewish....maybe not rabbi, questionably.

So, this is the work that "Revival Judaism" has enabled. To bring charlatans in our midst. .

It seriously bothers me that people like this can do so much damage to Klal Yisroel and nobody can stop them from preaching complete nonsense. According to the wiki page they believe things which clearly contradict the Torah, they must not keep the commandments, and their keeping the holidays is simply a cultural thing.

I was so bothered about it I was going to call my Rabbi and ask him for some comfort... But it was too late when I got home (he called me this morning and I missed his call)...

See this thread from last week...

http://jtf.org/forum/index.php/topic,75720.0.html

[ChabadKahanist]

It's called "Jewish" Renewal & it is complete BS.

[Binyamin Yisrael]

This is something similar. It claims to be Orthodox and they say that women getting aliyot in synagogue is okay if men and women sit separately.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partnership_minyan

[Israel Chai]

I had a run in with "modern open Orthodox" and beat them with a group of Jews as they were trying to cancel a Rabbi's lecture, and he ended up getting 10 lectures in England after we contacted every shul in London.

I can tell this is wrong on every level, but someone give me a dvar Torah on why accusing your own sins is completely wrong by using the excuse that so many other supposedly religious Jews out there are phonies. Need yetzer hara defence.

[Binyamin Yisrael]

Modern Orthodoxy should not be an ideology. For me being Modern Orthodox is my observance level and that I am not against being exposed to Secular culture. My ideology is Religious Zionism. Modern Orthodox Jews by observance level don't try to justify their observance level. That's why not everyone who is Modern Orthodox can be a rabbi.

There are terms like Modern Orthodox Liberal or Modern Orthodox Lax. These are just observance levels. More observant people are called Modern Orthodox Machmir. I think both groups should believe in the same thing but the former just isn't as strict on following every single law and are more lenient on some things. But these should not be separate ideologies.

Open Orthodox or Centrist Orthodox are movements trying to change Judaism. Modern Orthodox Liberal is not a movement, it just means people observe Judaism more Liberally (Not Liberal on politics.).

Then there is the YU crowd that claims Modern Orthodox is an ideology of combining both Judaism and the Modern World but these people are Machmir on observance. They claim to follow Rabbi Soloveichik although he never called himself Modern Orthodox but rather Orthodox in the Modern World. Rabbi Soleichik's ideology also doesn't celebrate Yom Ha'Atzmaut in the religious way of reading Hallel, etc... but rather just skips Tachanun. So it's actually more in tune with the Litvish Yeshiva World in the way they practice except the Litvish World actually would read Tachanun on those days.

[Binyamin Yisrael]

I think the way Israel's Religious Jews are is the real way to define Orthodoxy. All the others make up their own ideology. IF any of them have real ideology, they would be Religious Zionist or just simply Torah believing Jews. Modern Orthodox Jews of all sorts should be Torah believing Jews and should be Religious Zionist as well.

1. Religious Zionist
2. Haredi Zionist
3. Chassdic Haredi
3. Non-Zionist Non-Chasidic Haredi

[Sveta]

Ok, I understand now. Jewish Renewal.

It is sick, I noticed the "female rabbis" they have as teachers and directors of their study programs. I can't take any of these people seriously. It's very sad to see that the founder has approved of this travesty!