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Posted by Rav Yosef Kanefsky
Dr. Ruth Calderon's Knesset speech has created more buzz around the Jewish world than any speech like it in the history of the State of Israel. Probably because nothing remotely like it has ever happened before. The unexpected, unprecedented, yet incredibly moving sight of a non-Dati woman passionately teaching Gemara in the Knesset has captured the attention of Jews everywhere. Most of the reaction has been extremely enthusiastic. I think it might turn out to be one of the most pivotal moments in the last 300 years of Jewish history.
As a religious people, we still haven't figured out how to engage modernity. Since the mid-18th century we have been trying to figure out how Judaism should respond to the opportunities and challenges presented by the Enlightenment and Jewish political equality. To this end, we have created political Zionism and Haskallah, Reform and Reform's counterpoint Orthodoxy, Historical Judaism, Conservative Judaism and host of other movements and frameworks, each one intended to help us live Jewishly either in concert with, or despite, modernity. None of these approaches has proved completely successful, which is why there are so many Jews who are not connected to their roots, but each has made contributions, some of enormous historical import.
For the most part, the State of Israel has known only two of the models, Orthodoxy and secular Zionism. Both have contributed enormously to the strength and vitality of Israeli society and the rebirth of our people in its land. At the same time though, each is irremediably limited in its ability to forge a Jewish-Israeli identity that can carry the country forward. Even as we are eternally indebted to secular-Zionist ideology for creating and building the State of Israel, its weakening grip on successive generations of Israelis is well-documented and a cause of great concern. And while Orthodoxy can rightly claim credit for numerous important achievements, such as Israel's living by the Jewish calendar in a meaningful way, and largely preserving Jewish tradition around life-cycle events, it has not – and by its internal rules frankly cannot – accommodate the thinking, the needs and the choices of most Israelis. As an Orthodox rabbi here in the States, I know only too well that the Orthodox community lacks the halachik tools and the theological leeway to satisfactorily address many people's principled, ethical concerns around issues of universalism, intellectual honesty, and the religious inclusion of women and of gays. I obviously believe that Orthodoxy nonetheless has enormous contributions to make (through, for example, its joyful acceptance of the Divine will, and its willingness to be counter-cultural in its approach to standards of physical modesty), but like secular Zionism, it will not lead the Jewish people to redemption, at least not in the foreseeable future.
With the emergence of people like Ruth Calderon however, and with the emergence of self-described "secular" institutions of classical Jewish learning such as Alma, and Elul, and Bina, we are seeing a development that just might step into the breach. A new way of thinking and learning and behaving as a Jew in the modern world which can actually serve as a vital partner and ally of traditional Orthodoxy, living in dynamic intellectual and spiritual interchange with it, and with it weaving a net of Jewish life that will capture so many who might otherwise fall through the cracks.
It takes great courage of course to enter this kind of partnership and alliance, but the first signs of a willingness to do so where on display as Ruth Calderon offered her "shiur" in the Knesset.
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February 12, 2013 | 6:39 am
Posted by Rabbi David Wolkenfeld
The first time I heard Rabbi David Hartman speak was in the summer following my "shannah aleph" year in Israel between high school and college. After spending a year in the yeshiva one of my teachers invited me to accompany him to a panel discussion taking place one evening at the Machon – the Shalom Hartman Institute – in Jerusalem's German Colony. I barely remember what was said that evening by any of the panelists – including Rabbi Hartman. But I do remember the thrill of encountering a vibrant Jewish intellectual conversation that was taking place outside the walls of my Orthodox beit-midrash. Hearing about his death this week, at the age of 81 (an age that does not seem old when considering a scholar with so many insights left unsaid), has caused me to reflect on his legacy within my own life and work.There are two ideas that have become central to my own worldview and teaching that I learned from Rabbi Hartman. Additionally, his place within (and outside of) contemporary Orthodoxy has an additional message for the future.
The quest by Jews, in the aftermath of the Enlightenment, to translate the message of Judaism into something with universal significance was, to Rabbi Hartman, a mistake. The Torah is not a universal book with universal significance to all people. Rather, the Torah should be understood as a particular book about the relationship between the Jewish people and God. One therefore cannot turn to the Torah for guidance about other nations, other religions, and their place in God's universe. That just is not what the Torah is about.
The Torah is a book for Jews to learn about our relationship with God and our responsibilities to God. We need to look elsewhere to learn about other people. In his "Heart of Many Rooms" Rabbi Hartman explains:
When revelation is understood as the concretization of the universal, then "whose truth is the truth?" becomes the paramount religious question and pluralism becomes a vacuous religious ideal. If, however, revelation can be separated from the claim of universality, and if a community of faith can regain an appreciation of the particularity of the divine-human encounter, the pluralism can become a meaningful part of Biblical faith experiences…
This passage, quoted in Professor Alan Brill's excellent book "Judaism and World Religions" is a core text when I teach about the possibility of inter-religious pluralism from a Jewish perspective. It always strikes a chord with students and I believe it offers a productive way forward for Jewish understandings of other religions.
Rabbi Avraham Kook had imagined the State of Israel as a messianic synthesis of traditional Orthodoxy and the vitality and creativity of secular Jewish nationalism. A utopian visionary, Rabbi Avraham Kook wrote that only in the aftermath of the First World War ("the war to end all wars") was it appropriate for sovereignty to return to the Jewish people. Rabbi Avraham Kook died in 1931 and it was left to his son, Rabbi Tzvi Yehudah Kook to interpret his father's messianic hopes for the State of Israel in light of the actual State of Israel that arose in the aftermath of Holocaust and war, and that continues to fight wars for its survival. For Rabbi Tzvi Yehudah Kook, and his students – many of whom occupy positions of influence throughout Israel today – the existing State of Israel can be identified entirely with the messianic state of Rabbi Avraham Kook's writings. This Messianic Religious Zionism has fueled the idealism, energy, and fervor of the Israeli Religious Zionist community and has brought it from the margins of Israeli society to its center. But there has been a steep price as well. Messianic Zionism has coincided with an intransigent stance regarding territorial compromise as a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Whether one has a more right-wing or a more left-wing political orientation, one can see the problematic nature of a theological position that locks the Religious Zionist community into absolute rejection of all territorial compromise. Coming as the Religious Zionist sector achieves political prominence, Israel's leaders are denied the flexibility to act proactively on behalf of Israel.
Rabbi Hartman's book "Israeli's and the Jewish Tradition" articulates an alternative theology for Religious Zionism that is not connected to identifying the State of Israel as being located on a specific point in the process of redemption.
Today we have an opportunity to reestablish the normative moment of Sinai, rather than the Exodus story, as the primary framework for evaluating the significance of Jewish history. To be religiously significant, a historical event does not have to be situated between the moment of the Exodus and the coming of the Messiah. It can be significant by encouraging us to discover new depths in the foundational moment of Israel's election as a covenantal people… In reestablishing the Jewish nation in its ancient homeland, Jews have taken responsibility for all aspects of social life. The divine call to become a holy nation committed to implementing the letter and spirit of the Torah must influence our economic, political, and religious institutions. Through the establishment of the state of Israel, we are called upon to demonstrate the moral and spiritual power of the Torah to respond to the challenges of daily life.
In the aftermath of the Six Day Way, the Messianic Religious Zionism of Rabbi Tzvi Yehudah Kook gained increasing ascendancy within the Religious Zionist community in Israel. Rabbi Hartman has been one of the most vigorous and articulate opponents of Messianic Religious Zionism and has offered a compelling theology of Religious Zionism that is rooted in the rebirth of Jewish peoplehood in its fullest expression and not in the expansion of Jewish settlement throughout every inch the historic Jewish homeland.
Rabbi Hartman's final book, The God Who Hates Lies, written with Rabbi Charlie Buckholtz was the subject of a critical review in Tradition "the journal of Orthodox Jewish thought." The review was intelligent, respectful, and raised objections to Rabbi Hartman's thesis that I thought were cogent and compelling. However, reading the review left me with a feeling of sadness. In publishing the review, the editors of Tradition (a group that includes many of the individuals I most respect) were acknowledging that responding to and evaluating Rabbi Hartman's ideas was a priority for the "journal of Orthodox Jewish thought" but it had been many years since Rabbi Hartman himself had been published in Tradition. In the fifteen years or so that I have been a reader of Tradition, the journal has published erudite rejections of partnership minyannim, a respectful and thoughtful critical review of Rabbi Yitz Greenberg's theology of Jewish-Christian relations, and a scholarly rebuttal of Tzvi Zohar's book on the history of conversion standards. All of these episodes illustrate that the Modern Orthodox intelligentsia recognizes that there are ideas and phenomenon taking place at the periphery of our community that demand a response. But, the advocates for these new paths and ways of thinking are relatively absent from our journals, our schools, and our synagogues.
No idea deserves acceptance just because it's new. And I personally often sympathize with more conventional and traditional ways of thinking and behaving. But it seems that we have become more afraid of the "wrong idea" in contemporary Orthodoxy than we are excited about discovering the next "right idea." Too often our scholars devote more effort to rebutting a solution they dislike than they devote to using their Torah scholarship to create new solutions to the problems facing our community.
Figures of great influence and authority within contemporary Orthodoxy, (such as Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks on religious pluralism and Rabbi Yehuda Amital z'l on non-messianic Zionism) have shared ideas that Rabbi Hartman had developed years earlier. His intellectual legacy is broad within Orthodoxy and his ideas are easy to find. But it is harder to find the voice of Rabbi Hartman himself. There is much to celebrate in his legacy after such a productive and rich life, but for the Orthodox community, the absence of Rabbi David Hartman from our communal discourse is a warning for the future.
January 31, 2013 | 6:55 am
Posted by Rabbi Barry Gelman
News of the suspension from school of Ophir Ben-Shetreet, for performing on the Israeli hit show, "The Voice" in violation of her school's policy of Kol Isha (the ban of women singing in public) is now well known.
The school's decision to suspend Ophir is theirs alone. It is also true that schools have the right to discipline students for breaking the rules. No one should fault the school for implementing a standing policy.
Having said that, this story does offer an opportunity to discuss an issue that is present when rendering Halachik rulings.
This particular ruling on Kol Isha is an example of a ruling that, given the current social reality, may very well result in people feeling alienated from Halacha. On this concern I quote Rav David Bigman, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Ma'ale Gilboa from a full treatment of Kol Isha: "The assertion of the Maharshal, (accepted as practical halakha) that psychological and spiritual need is considered an important concern that justifies reliance upon a lone or minority halakhic opinion. And according to reliable accounts, there are women in certain communities who are so offended by the ruling forbidding them to sing in public that they turn away from the Torah and commandments due to it."
Writing about Kol Isha (Techumin Vol. 32), Rav Moshe Lichtenstein noted this point and rightly points out that as far as many in the public are concerned, a strict ruling on Kol Isha, is a rule that sheds light on the entire system of halacha, i.e. a system that discriminates against women by restricting their self expression.
There are legitimate and well-substantiated alternative views regarding the nature of the Kol Isha prohibition.
Rav Bigman notes that according to some authorities, the prohibition of Kol Isha only applies in the context of the recitation of the Shema.: "Important Rishonim held that the main prohibition of listening to a woman's voice is only during the recitation of the Shema and other core parts of the prayer service, in accordance with the intuitive context of Shemuel's statement "the voice of a woman is erva."
Rabbi Avraham Shammah wonders why the stricture against Kol Isha is upheld with such vigor while other prohibitions meant to limit contact with women and possible transgression are not. For example, he notes that Shulchan Aruch rules as follows: " A [male] person has to distance himself from women, very very much" and then asks: "Do all of those who arise to forbid hearing the voices of women uphold everything that is written in this halahka? Do they distance themselves from women very, very much? The answer is "absolutely not!"; certainly not [according to] the intent of our teacher [R. Yosef Karo]. It should be expressed in clear language: in our day, society is mixed (men and woman). And even in the most stringent haredi groups, there is a mixed society at various levels. Work places are mixed, even in the haredi sector, and married men and married women meet there on a daily basis for the course of hours. The grocery stores in this sector are completely mixed, at banks married men and married women work and meet; likewise, in the markets, the streets, and every locale. We find, then, that this halakha has been dismissed and ignored, until it is no longer regarded strictly. Go out and see what people do in the market."
His answer is insightful: "From a logical point of view, this [inconsistency] is intolerable, especially because those same people who rule stringently are not generally known for deficiencies in [halakhic] judgment. It seems to me, and this should be said as a generalization, that what is being considered is not really a matter of [women's] modesty. Rather, halakha is being used as a religious marker. That is to say, in a situation where it is quite impossible to be stringent, such as distancing oneself from women very, very much, people aren't careful. But it is very easy to be stringent in forbidding hearing a woman's voice, while – in the best case - the added value of an internal sense of religiosity is great. In a less positive light, it is a minute effort for a huge return of being able to externally demonstrate one's religiosity. This phenomenon, that generally is quite widespread, is worthy of penetrating criticism, and the words of the prophets are brimming with such [criticism]."
Rav Shammah makes another interesting point about how Halacha considers subjective reality. "Centuries ago, the Ritv"a relied on this principle, [and wrote] at the end of Kiddushin: " … and so is the law that everything is according to what a person knows about himself, if it is appropriate for him to maintain a distance [from women] because of his sexual urges, he should do so, and [for him] even to look at women's colored clothing is forbidden … while if he knows that his sexual urges submit to him and are under his control … he is permitted to look and to speak with a woman who is forbidden to him and to ask the well-being of another man's wife, and that was the situation with Rabbi Yohanan who sat near the gates of the mikve and was not concerned about his evil inclination, and [with] Rabbi Ammi,
in front of whom the king's maidservants went out [to sing and praise him], and [with] several of the Sages who conversed with those ladies, and [with] Rav Ada bar Ahava of whom it is said in K'tubot that he lifted a bride on his shoulders and danced with her and did not concern himself with [unseemly] thoughts- [all these behaved as such] for the reason that we stated …".
In addition, in spite of all the complexity and difficulty with the matter, one should not easily dismiss the [concept] of the public becoming accustomed [to mixing with women], or that [the public] does not perceive a woman's voice as [provoking] lewdness. This [aspect] of being accustomed [to mixing with women] has significant weight in general reasoning, and the poskim have relied on it, each according to his method."
Others have limited the prohibition to circumstances when one intends to enjoy forbidden pleasure (Sdei Chemed citing Rabbi Aharon De Toledo. This is also the opinion of Rambam according to Rabbi Yechiel Yakov Weinberg) or only to women whom the listener knows personally.
The Orthodox establishment should consider these views as L'Chatchilla rulings in the service of the overarching goal of making Halachik living accessible and tolerable to as many people as possible.
I will close with a quote form Rav Chaim of Volohzin reminding us of the difference between theoretical Halacha and the very real people affected by Psak Halacha.
"I see that regarding most things we are headed in the same direction. It is just that you incline toward stringency, since the matter is not cast upon you. Just like you, I too did not turn to the allowances that emerge from study before the burden of decision-making was placed upon my shoulders. Now, however, as a result of our many sins, our environs have been orphaned of its sages, and the yoke of ruling for the entire area was placed on my shoulders … And I calculated with my Maker, and I saw it a personal obligation to gather all my strength in order to persevere in finding a remedy for the agunot. (Responsa Chut Ha-meshulash I:8) (see here - Halakha and Morality Part 2)
How Ophir will react to a very strict interpretation that ostracizes her by marginalizing other, equally valid, interpretations, in anyone's guess. What is so disappointing here is that Halacha is being used to drive people away from observance instead of being used to bring them closer.
January 30, 2013 | 7:12 pm
Posted by Rabbi Zev Farber
In response to my previous post, Rabbi Barry Freundel has written a characteristically thorough critique of my presentation. I am honored. Although Rabbi Freundel and I seem to be reading matters differently in a myriad of areas, I wish to take this opportunity to offer a brief reframing of my main point in order to further clarify the nature of my claim. I again apologize to Rabbi Freundel for not taking up all of his detailed critiques, with the hope that I will be able to do so some time in the future.
I argued in my first post that there are two types of shaliaḥ tzibbur (the person leading the synagogue service). The first is one who recites certain prayers or blessings out loud on behalf of the congregation or of individuals in the congregation. This person must be one who has the same type of obligation as members of the congregation whom said shaliaḥ tzibbur is representing. The second type of shaliaḥ tzibbur is someone who sets the pace for the congregation, chooses the tune for various songs, etc. This person is not reciting anything on behalf of the congregation (being motzi people in halakhic terminology) and, consequently, the limits imposed on who can be the shaliaḥ tzibbur in halakhic literature do not apply to this type.
Rabbi Freundel, in his critique of my response, argues that I have woven these categories out of whole cloth. Where are the sources, he asks, for allowing women to lead services in the capacity I call shaliaḥ tzibbur type II? The problem with these questions is that it is not I who has invented a new category of halakha, but Rabbi Freundel. I was simply clarifying what has been the given among writers of halakha.[1]
To explain: Rabbi Freundel argues that once a prayer service is generally said in the synagogue as a part of a minyan it becomes either a tefillah be-tzibbur, or at least, a tefillat ha-rabbim. This is a ḥiddush (a novel interpretation) and hardly a consensus position. He then makes the leap that once a given prayer service has attained this status, anyone who leads it must be "obligated" in this prayer service. Nevertheless, there is no evidence that a halakhic category of "leader of Qabbalat Shabbat" or even Pesuqei de-Zimrah exists. In fact, in many yeshivot, nobody leads Pesuqei de-Zimrah, and Rabbi Freundel notes (p. 16) that "in some corners of the world" (some of these "corners" being Jerusalem and New York, I might add) no one leads Qabbalat Shabbat either.
Customs as to whether someone leads these services or not vary because there is no halakhic requirement for anyone to lead them. There is no halakhic requirement for a leader because these services are themselves only customs and they are performed by each individual in the congregation reciting the service to him- or herself. Nothing that these shliḥei tzibbur say is said on behalf of anyone, hence such a shaliaḥ tzibbur has no halakhic status. Finding a text that discusses who can be the shaliaḥ tzibbur in cases where a shaliaḥ tzibbur is unnecessary would be rather difficult.
One may then ask: Why is the prevalent custom for these services to have a shaliaḥ tzibbur? I think the simple answer is that we are accustomed to praying in this fashion, and it makes the experience feel more "community-like" if someone sets the pace and chooses the tune for everyone. I called this (non-halakhic but prevalent) practice shaliaḥ tzibbur type II.
Allow me demonstrate this point with a thought experiment. Let's imagine that after reciting Barkhu (or the repetition of the Amidah, or any prayer with the status of davar she-be-qedusha) the shaliaḥ tzibbur disappears—it turns out he had been a hologram (I'm a Star Trek fan, mea culpa). The congregants turn to the rabbi and ask whether the congregation had fulfilled its obligation to have Barkhu recited? I assume the rabbi says no. If then asked whether someone else should go up to the amud and recite Barkhu again, I assume the rabbi would say yes.
Now let's imagine the same case, but immediately after Lekha Dodi, as the mourners enter the synagogue, the hologram shaliaḥ tzibbur disappears, and the rabbi is asked whether the congregants have fulfilled their "obligation" (to use Rabbi Freundel's concept) to recite Qabbalat Shabbat. What would the rabbi say? I assume he would say that since everyone recited the proper Psalms together, the congregation has indeed fulfilled its requirement to recite the Qabbalat Shabbat service, and that the congregation may proceed with the evening service without the need to repeat anything.
However, I assume the rabbi would add that he believes that having the hologram lead Qabbalat Shabbat (or Pesuqei de-Zimrah) was inappropriate and should not be repeated. The reason, I believe, he would say this is because it is not kavod ha-tzibbur (in keeping with the dignity of the congregation) to have a hologram lead the services. This point, that the customs adopted by a congregation should be in keeping with their "dignity" has gone unspoken in the debate thus far, but is an important one because it answers the second of Rabbi Freundel's questions: Why hasn't anyone until recently discussed the possibility of women leading these services? The answer is that until the feminist revolution, such conduct would have been considered "undignified" for the congregation as well as for that woman.
This is why the Mendel Shapiro article, which Rabbi Freundel consistently claims is irrelevant to this discussion, is, in fact, very relevant. Rabbi Shapiro's point is that, in modern times, the leadership role of women is a sociological given and, therefore, not a violation of the congregation's "dignity," unlike the hologram in my thought experiment. In short, I repeat my previous conclusion. Since there is nothing halakhically speaking barring women from leading these services, and there is no longer any fear that their doing so would be beneath the congregation's dignity (again I apologize for the us-them language), whether women lead such services is a matter of custom and convention. Personally, I would encourage synagogues to allow women to lead things like Qabbalat Shabbat, but, in the end, such decisions are in the hands of each individual community and the community's rabbi.
This brings me to one final point. Rabbi Freundel writes that he is well aware of the fact that there have been a number of other debates about women's issues in halakha, but that this one differs from these others since, in his words, it does not follow "legitimate Orthodox halakhic epistemology." This is an exceedingly subjective claim.
It is well-known that Rabbi Freundel has championed a number of "changes" on behalf of women in the synagogue that he considers acceptable. He mentions that Kesher Israel (R. Freundel's synagogue) has a female president, something that many (including the National Council of Young Israel) believe to be forbidden halakhically. It is also well known that Kesher Israel has a women's prayer group, and one that includes a women's Torah reading service, something many Orthodox rabbis (including a number of YU Roshei Yeshiva) have vociferously opposed and claimed to be forbidden.[2]
I have great respect for Rabbi Freundel having taken a stand on these issues. Furthermore, although I do not agree with his position on women leading Qabbalat Shabbat, I respect his right as a scholar and rabbinic leader of a community to say that he does not believe a certain practice is halakhically acceptable and will, therefore, not allow that practice in his synagogue. What bothers me is that Rabbi Freundel does not extend this same courtesy to the people on his left, but argues that since he does not agree with their reading of the halakha, this means that they are not "really" Orthodox.
Granted that the idea of women leading any part of the service is a sociological departure from what has been, but the question of who leads Qabbalat Shabbat seems a rather trivial one halakhically speaking, and it is only Rabbi Freundel that seems to believe that it is really "halakha" that is at stake here. In my opinion, most Orthodox rabbis, even the ones who oppose women leading Qabbalat Shabbat, would admit that it is not a question of halakha but one of sociology or public policy. Even though Rabbi Freundel disagrees, and believes it is one of halakha, for him to put such stock in his ḥiddush such that he can dismiss a large swath of halakhically observant men and women—even some rabbis—from the Orthodox camp is disappointing.
Rabbi Zev Farber, Atlanta
[1] See, for example this random sampling of modern day Orthodox responsa (1, 2, 3) where each author explicitly assumes that Qabbalat Shabbat is not a "real" halakhic service and that the issue of who may lead it is one of minhag and/or public policy.
[2] See: Nissan Alpert, Abba Bronspigel, Mordechai Willig, Yehuda Parnes and Zvi Schachter, "Teshuva be-Inyan Nashim be-Hakafot ve-khu," Ha-Darom 54 (Sivan 5745): 49-50.
January 30, 2013 | 6:56 pm
Posted by Chaim Trachtman
[Chaim Trachtman is the editor of Women and Men in Communal Prayer: Halakhic Perspectives. Dr. Trachtman is a pediatric nephrologist, a graduate of Haverford College and University of Pennsylvania Medical School. He is currently the Director of the Division of Nephrology at NYU Langone Medical Center and is the principal investigator for NIH-funded clinical trials in glomerular disease.]
Rabbi Freundel has weighed in on the topic of partnership Minyanim, opening his review with a lament that halakha has been "the silent partner in the development of Partnership Minyanim", and concluding that there is no halakhic justification for women to lead tefillah. I suggest that Rabbi Freundel check out Women and Men in Communal Prayer: Halakhic Perspectives, a book published in 2010 by KTAV and JOFA, and welcome him as a new partner in the dialogue.
Rabbi Freundel chooses to focus his review on tefilla be-tsibbur and specifically on the halakhic permissibility of a woman leading Kabbalat Shabbat. He asserts that the groundbreaking article by Mendel Shapiro (Edah Journal 2001) only addresses women being called to the Torah to get an aliya or to read a portion. However, Rabbi Shapiro does distinguish between parts of the tefilla that involve dvarim she-bi-kedusha such as borchu, the amidah, and kedusha versus other parts of the tefilla. He posits that the former category can be led by women while the later portions mandate leadership by men with a quorum of at least ten men. This is the key point that must be considered in analyzing Rabbi Freundel's position. If tefilla be-tsibbur is invoked anytime ten men constitute themselves into a group for prayer and covers everything from start to finish then Rabbi Freundel is correct and there is no space for women. However, is there intellectual room for Rabbi Shapiro's interpretation? I think the answer is yes. For one, the Rabbis clearly distinguished parts of the tefilla with regard to prohibitions about allowable conversation and interruption, indicating that the tefilla is not one homogeneous activity. In addition, as Rabbi Freundel acknowledges, it has been customary in many synagogues to allow underage boys to lead parts of the tefilla. Rabbi Freundel may disagree with this practice but it does support the notion that there is a gradient in intensity within the tefilla service. This variability in the sanctity of the tefilla provides a halakhic basis for decisors to justify the inclusion of women in select portions of the prayer service.
Rabbi Freundel appears to take a maximalist position of what constitutes tefilla be-tsibbur to include anything done that includes the word tefilla in it, such as tefillat ha-derech, tefilla ketzara. If ten people on a flight to Israel decided to say tefillat ha-derech together does that imply that that he would prohibit a woman from leading the recitation? Moreover, he goes even farther and asserts that the category of tefilla be-rabim, prayer said in a public setting, constitutes a diminished form of tefilla be-tsibbur, but a form of tefilla be-tsibbur nonetheless. As such, women would not be allowed to lead any such service. He uses this logic to further disqualify women leading Kabbalat Shabbat. But consider other forms of public prayer from which he is thereby excluding women. Communal services for Kristallnacht or Yom Hashoah usually include recitation of tehilim and conclude with Kaddish. Would Rabbi Freundel prohibit a woman from leading the recitation of the chapters of tehillim? The fact that women regularly participate in and lead services like this in many Modern Orthodox settings suggests that the community has a broader conception of tefilla be-tsibbur than Rabbi Freundel does.
Once Rabbi Freundel has decided what constitutes tefilla be-tsibbur, the key argument that he applies to prohibit women from leading the tefilla is their lower status as non-commanded versus men who are commanded in community prayer. The operative legal principle is that one who is not commanded cannot fulfill the obligation of one who is commanded to perform a mitzvah. However, Rabbinic classifications can and do change. The most compelling example is the movement towards inclusion of deaf individuals into full participation in Jewish life without exception. This Rabbinic adjustment flies in the face of the frequent Talmudic linkage and exclusion of minors, mentally incompetent, and deaf individuals as a class from the performance of mitzvoth and is evidence of the inherent dynamism of halakha. Moreover, it demonstrates the Rabbinic appreciation for the value of social inclusion, for the importance of ensuring that all members of Klal Yisrael feel like they are part of the collective. Indeed, there are Rabbis who feel that the same sensitivity should be applied to women, for whom the pain of social exclusion is no less poignant than that of the deaf. Some suggest that a new class of women should be created to acknowledge the profoundly different status of women in modern society – in secular and religious contexts. Partnership Minyanim reflect an acceptance of this position by a group of men and women in Israel and around the world.
Rabbi Freundel briefly addresses the issue of kevod ha-tsibbur and kevod ha-briyot in the justification for Partnership Minyanim. He speculates that there is no "evidence" of significant numbers of women to warrant the modifications to the traditional tefilla that are practiced in Partnership Minyanim. However, this rationale is problematic. For one, Chazal did not generally require hard statistical evidence to justify changes in practice. Second, the standard phrase used by the Rabbis is "go out a look" and if, in fact, we were to do just that we would find that most major American cities with significant Orthodox communities currently have at least one Partnership Minyan. According to research done by William Kaplowitz, there are some 25 or so Partnership Minyanim, and the number is growing all the time.
Another difficult claim is Rabbi Freundels' presumption about what is in women's minds. He argues that the modest changes that have been made in Partnership Minyanim are unlikely to satisfy women interested in participating in tefilla. Considering the sheer excitement with which women everywhere embrace their new-found practice of leading services and reading Torah, this is a very difficult claim to sustain. (See, for example, the beautiful description of the powerful effect that newly discovered Torah reading had on a group of women in Toco Hills, Atlanta, this past Simchat Torah.) Moreover, I can imagine many women taking offense at this analysis. Rather than using the advent of Partnership Minyanim with its limited changes as evidence that the women are trying to adhere to a halakhic framework while embracing expanded roles in tefilla, he patronizingly dismisses their spiritual yearnings and the meaningfulness of the practices that have been adopted.
Finally, an interesting aspect of Rabbi Freundel's review is his assertion that that irrespective of the origins of Kabbalat Shabbat in Kabbalistic prayer services in the 15th and 16th centuries, it is now a staple of tefilla be-tsibbur. He justifies this by prioritizing a survey of current practices about Kabbalat Shabbat which show that Orthodox Jews around the world go to shul Friday night and say Kabbalat Shabbat and end it with Kaddish. Therefore, it is an integral part of the tefilla and can only be led by a man. But, if we give such credence to current practice, that undermines one of the key criticisms of Partnership Minyanim, namely that the fact that it was not done in the past is the strongest halakhic proof that is it impermissible.
It is important to note that most Partnership Minyanim are self-constituting. They always represent the product of a choice made by a community of like minded people and are never imposed from the outside. As Rabbi Sperber has correctly written, they will not seem necessary or be satisfying for many people. But for those groups of women and men who embrace this as a form of tefilla, it is important to acknowledge that there is substantive halakhic basis for them to draw upon and that the social need they are addressing is immediate and legitimate. Moreover, the decision to form a Partnership Minyan should not be viewed as an intellectually dishonest stitching together of random sources to create something from nothing. As David Berger points out in an thoughtful essay in the new book "Radical Responsibility" dedicated to Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Rabbis who adopted novel positions did not see themselves as capitulating to external circumstances but rather as formulating responses that they thought were right, that were compatible with their conception of the overall objectives of halakha. So too for those like Rabbi Sperber and Shapiro who have written in support of Partnership Minyanim. I fully respect Rabbi Freundel's detailed response. But I would hope that he see Modern Orthodoxy as broad enough to include those who adopt practices that differ from his own.
Chaim Trachtman, New Rochelle, NY
January 24, 2013 | 7:09 pm
Posted by Rabbi Zev Farber
Partnership minyanim such as Shira Hadasha in Jerusalem and Darkhei Noam in New York, wherein women lead certain parts of the service, are becoming a significant force in the prayer experience of the Modern Orthodox community. Although these currently exist only in the biggest Jewish communities, they also exist on numerous college campuses, and as time goes on the phenomenon will probably expand. For some, like me, this is an exciting possibility. However, those in the Modern Orthodox camp who believe that women's leadership of any part of the synagogue service is a violation of halakha, are concerned.
This concern has recently been expressed articulately and forcefully by Rabbi Dr. Barry Freundel, noted author and Rabbi of Kesher Israel in Washington D.C., in an article titled, "Putting the Silent Partner back into Partnership Minyanim," available on Hirhurim. I commend Rabbi Freundel for his thorough analysis and critique of the phenomenon and will use his piece as an opportunity to share my own thoughts on the subject in the spirit of collegial debate. (I apologize in advance for responding to a 35 page paper with a blog post, and for inevitably skipping over a number of details.)
Rabbi Freundel opens with the surprising assertion that there has been no "formal attempt in writing" to discuss whether the partnership minyan's practices are indeed halakhic. Although Rabbi Freundel may be making a unique contribution to the discussion with this article, he is actually part of a larger conversation that began with Rabbi Mendel Shapiro's article on Women's Torah reading (which Rabbi Freundel cites) and moves on to other aspects of tefillah as well. Dr. Chaim Trachtman has an edited volume on the subject, with essays by a number of authorities, Women and Men in Communal Prayer: Halakhic Perspectives, and Rabbi Dr. Daniel Sperber has an entire book on the subject, On Changes in Jewish Liturgy: Options and Limitations. The very issue Rabbi Freundel wishes to discuss, women leading Qabbalat Shabbat, was debated by Rabbi Michael Broyde, Women Leading Kabbalat Shabbat: Some Thoughts, and Rabbi Josh Yuter, Land of Confusion: A Response to R. Broyde on Women Leading Kabbalat Shabbat.
It seems unfair to characterize halakha as the "silent partner", implying that not much thought was put into teasing out the halakha from the sources. It is my understanding, from speaking with people who were involved in the process of designing these minyanim, that halakha committees were formed and many discussions held, with sources analyzed carefully and thoughtfully. Although not all their analyses were written up, there is an entire booklet—as Rabbi Freundel himself references—put together by Michal and Elitzur Bar-Asher Siegel, and available for download on the Kolech website, which describes in detail the practical findings of these committees. In short, Rabbi Freundel's characterization of halakha as the silent partner, and his article as the first, seems "ungenerous."
Before getting to the main halakhic point, Rabbi Freundel addresses the question of whether it is incumbent upon the Orthodox community to allow women's public participation in the synagogue service since barring them completely is hurtful. (Note: I am aware of the "us-them" language here and the fact that this debate is yet again two men talking about women – but I see no way around this as Rabbi Freundel and I are both men.) To this, Rabbi Freundel writes:
"We would need to know who or what group is entitled to speak for women—all women, all Jewish women, observant women, Orthodox women, etc. It is also necessary to have a clear idea of what percentage of women actually feel demeaned, troubled, or unhappy at not being able to lead services, and what percentage is happy or unconcerned with the status quo. To my knowledge no one has made a formal presentation of the data that exists on these questions—if any does exist. Absent an attempt to gather that information scientifically we are dealing with anecdote and hearsay."
Though I do not have any statistics to offer Rabbi Freundel, I do not think his request for data is to the point. The fact that the Orthodox service, and often the Orthodox shul, is designed for men only should be clear to any objective observer. I have written about this previously, in "Davening Among the Loyal Order of Water Buffaloes." Some Orthodox women have also written about their experience in shul and the pain it causes them; the piece by Dr. Vered Noam (in Hebrew), a Rabbinics professor at Tel Aviv University, is a poignant example. Furthermore, Rabbi Freundel does not mention that a growing number of men are unhappy with this situation as well, a phenomenon one can read about in Elana Sztokman's The Men's Section. Simply put, many women and men find the complete lack of female public presence in Orthodox synagogue services to be hurtful. Many women and men wish for a change. These are facts, although not quantifiable; I do not see what more information is needed.[1]
This brings us to the main halakhic point in his essay. Rabbi Freundel describes the argument for the legitimacy of women leading Qabbalat Shabbat as two-pronged. First, Qabbalat Shabbat is not a Talmudic requirement, but a qabbalistic custom that began in the 16th century, so the question of whether women are obligated is irrelevant. Second, Qabbalat Shabbat does not require a minyan, so the question of whether women are part of the minyan is irrelevant.
Rabbi Freundel believes the above analysis to be mistaken. Qabbalat Shabbat, he argues, is a custom that was accepted amongst all Jews and is therefore as binding as if it were halakha. A discussion about when the service was instituted is of academic interest only and he believes such discussion to be an example of the Genetic Fallacy (i.e., assuming historical accident defines the essence of a thing.) Additionally, as the custom is to have a mourner recite Qaddish at the end of this service, it seems clear that it was instituted as part of the public synagogue service—Rabbi Freundel calls this category tefillah be-rabbim (public prayer)—and should be subject to the usual requirements that the leader must be "obligated" in the service and be part of the minyan, in other words, the leader must be a man.
With all due respect to Rabbi Freundel, I believe his analysis is dependent upon a category error. There are two possible functions of a shaliaḥ tzibbur (prayer leader). The classic function of the shaliaḥ tzibbur is to say certain prayers out loud either on behalf of the congregation as a whole, e.g. Qaddish and Barkhu, or on behalf of individuals who do not know how to recite the prayer on his or her own, e.g. the repetition of the Amidah (=ḥazarat ha-shatz) and the repetition (Rashi) or out-loud recitation (Rambam) of the Sh'ma service (=pores al Sh'ma, no longer practiced in most synagogues).
The second function of the shaliaḥ tzibbur is to set the pace and tone of the prayers. In such cases, the shaliaḥ tzibbur is not reciting prayers out loud in order to fulfill anyone's obligation, but to enhance the collective prayer experience by keeping the various participants together, saying the same prayers, singing the same tunes, etc. This is how the shaliaḥ tzibbur functions in the Qabbalat Shabbat service as well as in the Pesuqei de-Zimrah service, for example, another staple of partnership minyanim. The leader will generally recite the psalm silently, like the rest of the congregants, but will say the last couple of lines out loud so that everyone will know "where they are." Sometimes, the leader will sing one of the psalms and the rest of the congregation may join in.
This tone and pace-setting function of the shaliaḥ tzibbur is entirely different from the recitation-on-behalf-of-others function since the leader is not reciting any prayer on behalf of the congregation or any individual. Rather, each participant is reciting the prayers on his or her own. Therefore, even if Rabbi Freundel were correct in claiming that there is an actual halakhic obligation to recite Qabbalat Shabbat (I do not think he is), this does not mean that the leader of the service need share this obligation. The shaliaḥ tzibbur is simply setting the pace and tone for the service, he (or she) is not reciting anything on anyone's behalf.
This point can be illustrated in two examples Rabbi Freundel brings to demonstrate the existence of a public recitation not limited to the classic Sh'ma and Amidah prayers: Magen Avot on Friday night and the ten-person zimmun after meals. The first, although instituted as a way of extending the evening service, was built as a kind of mini-repetition of the Amidah. For this reason the leader recites the prayer out loud on behalf of the congregation. The second is a classic example of a prayer said by one person on behalf of the participants. In both of the examples, the shaliaḥ tzibbur fulfills the classic function of reciting a prayer on behalf of those obligated in that prayer service (Ma'ariv and Birkat ha-Mazon respectively), and must be someone obligated in the prayer service in order to do so.
Another example referenced by Rabbi Freundel is seliḥot, which he correctly points out is treated as a davar she-be-qedushah (a holy service requiring a minyan) even though it is post-Talmudic. This is an excellent example because the function of the shaliaḥ tzibbur in this service is subject to interpretation. In some traditions, the leader recites certain parts out loud (the 13 attributes of God, the aneinu paragraphs, etc.) while the participants listen silently. In other traditions all of these are said together or privately. The difference between these two traditions is illustrative precisely of the difference between whether the shaliaḥ tzibbur is performing the function of recitation on behalf of the community or whether the shaliaḥ tzibbur is setting the pace and tone for the participants' prayers. (Ostensibly, whether there is a restriction on who can lead seliḥot would be dependent on which custom one follows.)
Rabbi Freundel finds further support in his claim that a woman can never be a shaliaḥ tzibbur by pointing to the Tosefta (Ḥagigah 1:3; b. Ḥullin 34b) which states that for a male to be the shaliaḥ tzibbur he must have a full beard. Clearly, Rabbi Freundel points out, the text does not even contemplate the possibility of women fulfilling this role. Firstly, the fact that the Rabbis didn't discuss it doesn't prove that they thought it was halakhically illegitimate. More importantly, I will again point out that the Rabbis are talking about a shaliaḥ tzibbur who recites the prayers on the people's behalf, not someone who sets the pace and chooses the tune. There was no Qabbalat Shabbat service or Pesuqei de-Zimrah service in the Talmudic period; the former didn't yet exist and the latter was recited privately by individuals. In Talmudic times, the shaliaḥ tzibbur only fulfilled the function of reciting prayers on behalf of others—a very important role in an age before prayer books.
Considering the above, it appears to me that since the shaliaḥ tzibbur for Qabbalat Shabbat (and Pesuqei de-Zimrah) is not reciting any part of the service in order to fulfill the participants' obligations, but is merely setting the pace and tone of the prayer service, there is nothing, halakhically speaking, to bar women from leading these services.
This brings me to my final point. Although this blog post has focused on questions of halakhic minutia, this really isn't the main issue. The main issue is that the way Orthodox services and synagogues are run is hurtful to the sensibilities of a number of contemporary women and men, who have become accustomed to social parity in every place but the synagogue. Solutions must be found. Sadly, instead of trying to find a solution Rabbi Freundel—and he is just one example—goes to great lengths to create an issur (prohibition) where there is none. Now I do not know whether partnership minyanim will prove to be the solution; nevertheless, I believe they are halakhically defensible and sociologically critical.
Rabbi Freundel ends his piece by urging Orthodox people not to have partnership minyanim, and warning the reader that this phenomenon might "split the community." In my opinion, offering an option that many Orthodox people (even rabbis) consider to be halakhically valid is not what splits the community. What splits the community is the threat from one group to declare the reasonably defended practice of another to be illegitimate. The Orthodox community has survived halakhic debates of more gravitas that who gets to lead Qabbalat Shabbat. There are debates about what foods are kosher and what actions violate Shabbat. These debates often concern real Torah prohibitions (not just customs) and yet both sides remain Orthodox. There are serious debates about whether day schools should be mixed-gender or separate or what prayers should be instituted to celebrate the founding of Israel. The Orthodox community has survived these as well. If the community splits over this issue as Rabbi Freundel predicts, it will not be the fault of the partnership minyanim.
The partnership minyanim are trying to offer a religious service to Orthodox people who feel uncomfortable with the level of participation available to women in the establishment synagogues. The disenfranchisement of women in our synagogues is a real concern and many women—and men—need a different venue. A short while ago I wrote about the need for a paradigm shift in Modern Orthodox prayer services. The presence of women in the synagogue needs to be felt, and their voices need to be heard. The partnership minyan is an excellent example of this type of necessary paradigm shift, and I, for one, wish to see them go mi-ḥayil el ḥayil, from strength to strength.
Rabbi Zev Farber, Atlanta
[1] Two technical notes: Rabbi Freundel states that he does not wish to discuss the already highly debated question of women reading from the Torah. Instead he limits his discussion to the Qabbalat Shabbat service. For the sake of this blog post, I will do the same and, as he suggests, will forego discussion of the oft-quoted Talmudic passage of kevod ha-tzibbur (the honor of the congregation), which forms the basis of the debate surrounding women's Torah reading. Rabbi Freundel goes on to discuss whether kevod ha-briyot (human dignity) should be a mitigating factor in this debate – he thinks not – but I will skip over this issue for the sake of brevity, as I think it unnecessary to invoke kevod ha-briyot here.
January 8, 2013 | 11:12 am
Posted by Rav Yosef Kanefsky
I began reading Victor Hugo's Les Miserables during the summer, around the time that my wife started rehearsing for the Jewish Women's Reparatory Company's production of the musical version. (The show was staged a month ago. I'm still reading…). Naturally, we rushed right out to the theater when the movie version came out a few weekends ago. The film is mercilessly true to its title, of course. I never drink, but I really felt that I could have used a shot of something as the credits were rolling.
But the story also features a great redemptive theme of course. And although Jean Valjean's fall and rise is a great Christian drama of grace and self-sacrifice, Jews can easily enough transpose it into a story of profound teshuva, repentance. The sort of teshuva that Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik described as "redemptive". It was for this reason that I was disappointed that one particular scene from Hugo's tome was not chosen for the film (nor for the show I presume, but who can remember that far back?) I'm referring to the scene which portrays the essential moment and the primal power of teshuva, in a way that rivals and indeed exceeds almost any composition on the topic.
After leaving the bishop of Digne's home with the additional gift of the silver candlesticks in tow, having been granted another chance and having been told by the bishop that his soul no longer belonged to evil but to good, Jean Valjean comes across a child who is in possession of a forty-sou piece. When the coin drops from the child's hand and rolls toward Jean Valjean, he brings his heavy boot down upon it, and is deaf to the child's pathetic pleadings that he lift his boot and return the coin to him. Soon enough, the child runs away, weeping. Jean Valjean watches until the child disappears into the darkness. And then, a moment later,
"…he shuddered; he had begun to feel the cold night air. He pulled his cap over his forehead, fumbling mechanically to do up his smock, took a step forward and stooped to pick his stick up off the ground. At that moment he spotted the forty-sou coin that he had half-ground into the dirt with his foot, and that was glistening among the pebbles. The sight of it was a bolt from the blue. "What the hell is that?" he hissed between clenched teeth."
Jean Valjean searches frantically for the child, screaming his name like a wildman and asking every passer-by if they had seen him. But all this proves futile, and the child is nowhere to be found.
"…his legs suddenly gave way beneath him as if an invisible power had suddenly bowled him over with the weight of his guilty conscience. He dropped, exhausted, onto a big slab of rock, his hands balled into fists and buried in his hair, his head propped on his knees, And he cried, "I am a miserable bastard".
He burst into tears. It was the first time he had cried in nineteen years."
And the story of course pivots right there. This is teshuva's primal essence.
All of us have felt regret over particular deeds that we've done. But how often do we part the clouds and see that it's not the deeds, but the doer that is twisted and corrupt. How often does our introspection and reflection bore through the layer of specific actions we wish we could retrieve, and touch the heart the matter, the person who we are? It's not that we don't know that this is what we need to do if we hope to change, to redeem, ourselves. But we are often frightened by the sheer amount of courage and inner strength that parting the clouds requires.
Maybe it's better that this scene didn't make it from the page to the screen. This way, I have the freedom to imagine myself within it, rather than only having the image of its happening to 24601.
January 2, 2013 | 9:01 am
Posted by Rabbi Barry Gelman
Recently comments made by Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein on the topic of Homosexuality and the way that the Orthodox community approaches this issue have been posted on the internet. Follow the links below.
Follow this link for a statement of principles on the place those in the Orthodox community who have a homosexual orientation.
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1/22/2002: North Korean Defector to Testify at Hearing on Religious Freedom in North Korea |
Contact: WASHINGTON - The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, an independent government agency advising the Administration and Congress, announced today the addition of Mrs. Soon-Ok Lee, a North Korean defector, to the list of witnesses to testify before the Commission Thursday. Mrs. Lee witnessed brutal treatment of Christians in North Korean labor camps. Her testimony will take place during the Commission's hearing on "Promoting Religious Freedom in North Korea." The hearing will examine religious persecution in North Korea and explore policy options for the U.S. government to improve the situation of religious people there. The hearing is scheduled from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. January 24 in the Longworth House Office Building, Room 1302, Washington, D.C. The confirmed witnesses and schedule are as follows: 9:00-9:15 Welcome and Introductory Remarks by Michael K. Young, Chair Panel I: 9:15-10:15 Religious Freedom Conditions in North Korea Norbert Vollertsen, former volunteer medical doctor in the DPRK Sang-Chul Kim, Secretary General, Commission to Help North Korean Refugees Soon-Ok Lee, North Korean defector and author of Eyes of the Tailless Animals 10:15-10:30 Break Panel II: 10:30-12:00 U.S. Policy Options for North Korea Stephen Linton, Chairman, Eugene Bell Foundation Donald Oberdorfer, Adjunct Professor, SAIS, Johns Hopkins University Chuck Downs, Private consultant and author of Over the Lines Jack Rendler, Vice Chairman, U.S. Committee on Human Rights in North Korea
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A single copy of this article may be reprinted for personal, noncommercial use only.
Undigested food in stool: What does it mean?
By Mayo Clinic staffOriginal Article: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/undigested-food-in-stool/AN01743
- With Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist
Michael F. Picco, M.D.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
Michael F. Picco, M.D.
Michael F. Picco, M.D.
Dr. Michael Picco has been with Mayo Clinic since 1999. He is board certified in internal medicine and gastroenterology. Dr. Picco is an assistant professor of medicine at College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, and a consultant in gastroenterology at Mayo Clinic in Florida.
He has authored numerous publications in the area of gastroenterology, including original research, editorials and textbook chapters. He works with a team of gastroenterologists that takes care of complex gastrointestinal conditions and has a particular interest in diarrheal illnesses and inflammatory bowel diseases (ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease). He is also active in medical education in training new gastroenterologist and internists.
"Mayo Clinic's website is an invaluable resource for patients and their families," Dr. Picco said. "Informed patients are better able to participate in their own health care. A patient's participation is vital to the treatment of his or her disease. I hope to assist in helping patients understand their digestive problems and current treatments that are offered. This will allow for better communication between patients, their physicians and other health care professionals."
Dr. Picco serves as a reviewer of new research for several medical journals in the area of gastroenterology and is an active member of the American Gastroenterological Association, American College of Gastroenterology and the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America. He serves on numerous committees that address physician training, research and clinical practice in gastroenterology, both at Mayo Clinic and at the national level.
"Patients need to know about their disease, what to expect, the latest treatments and side effects so that they can make informed decisions about their health care. Gastrointestinal disease affects not only patients but also their families. My goal is to assure that our website provides accurate, reliable information and resources for patients. We must always provide the latest, most cutting-edge information to assist patients in dealing with their medical problems," Dr. Picco said.
Undigested food in stool: What does it mean?
For the past few days, I have noticed undigested food in my stool. Should I be concerned if this persists?
from Michael F. Picco, M.D.
Occasionally, you may see undigested food fragments in stool. This usually is high-fiber vegetable matter, which isn't digested by the enzymes in your digestive tract. Undigested food in stool generally isn't a problem unless it's accompanied by persistent diarrhea, weight loss or other changes in your bowel habits. If you have such signs and symptoms, consult your doctor.
- Salwen MJ. Laboratory diagnosis of gastrointestinal and pancreatic disorders. In: McPherson RA, et al. Henry's Clinical Diagnosis and Management by Laboratory Methods. 22nd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2011. Accessed Dec. 20, 2011.
- Overview of malabsorption. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Health Care Professionals. http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/gastrointestinal_disorders/malabsorption_syndromes/overview_of_malabsorption.html. Accessed Jan. 4, 2012.


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If you transit through this city it is very nice stay for 1 night fir budjet and middle range stay. We paid 250 dh and got spacious clean room, centre location, parking for car, good view.
If you transit through this city it is very nice stay for 1 night fir budjet and middle range stay. We paid 250 dh and got spacious clean room, centre location, parking for car, good view.
Lovely hotel in Asilah. Nice rooftop deck. Very centrally located and convenient to seeing the city, beach, etc. Friendly staff. TV, AC, and a great view of the ocean from our room.
With every trip to Morocco docking in Tanger and driving south we stop over in Asilah for the first night and then on our return trip for a couple of nights. The Hotel Azayla is our first choice. This hotel is a basic, cheap hotel situated a few minutes walk from the medina and beach. The rooms are clean, equipped... More
Nice rooms, small but well equiped with f.e. an airconditioning. Its nicely located just outside the centre, walking distance from the coast, medina and very nice fish restaurants. Negative points during our stay: no hot water for one day and the internet was not working. In adition we had to pay 20d to parl on the street outside the hotel.
The rooms are small, but very clean and with a nice street view. It's missing a restaurant but you home deliver anything.
We arrvied in Azayla by train and were un ceromoniously dumped on the train tracks we did not see the station it was that tiny and besides which there were no awaiting taxis so we just walked down the road with the rest of the passengers, eventually Azaylas one and only bus stopped and asked us if we wanted a... More
We found this place through the Lonely Planet and it turned out to be a mixed bag, coloured no doubt by the fact that during our one night stay we were suffering the full effects of a Moroccan parasite. Getting from the train station to Asilah town was a bit of an ordeal – with no transport of any kind... More
Ibis Tanger City Center 169 reviews | El Oumnia Puerto 31 reviews |
Hotel Al Alba 197 reviews | Hotel Zelis 22 reviews | Hotel Al Khaima 55 reviews | Hotel Dar Manara 158 reviews |
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Seth MacFarlane and Emma Stone reveal the Academy Award nominations for 2013.
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Watch: 2013 Oscars: The Surprise Nominations
Peter Travers on what was left out and included in this year's nominations.
Watch: 2013 Oscars: And the Nominees Are...
Dan Kloeffler and Peter Travers discuss nominations for 85th annual Academy Awards.
Watch: 'GMA' Oscar Movie Tribute
The "GMA" team pays tribute to the best performances with some stellar acting of their own.
Watch: Golden Globes Nominations
"Lincoln," "Argo," "Django Unchanged" make strong showings.
Watch: Golden Globe Nominations 2013: Who Are the Big Surprises?
Chris Connelly explains why some selections are more surprising than others.
Watch: Seth MacFarlane to Host 2013 Academy Awards
The "Family Guy" creator has been tapped to host next year's Oscars.
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Actor joins "GMA" to discuss movie about the Iran hostage crisis.
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ABC's "Nightline" and "Jimmy Kimmel Live" shake up late night line-up with new time slots.
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In a joint interview, the lead actor and director discuss their childhood memories of Lincoln.
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Photos: Backstage Moments at the Oscars
The Emotional Backstage at the Oscars


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BREAKING NEWS: House Approves Budget Agreement, 332-94
Washington, DC
On the Phone: Laura Whittington, Roll Call, Politics Editor
Topic: Reporter will discuss uncalled House races and the latest in Florida.
Fred Barnes, Weekly Standard, Executive Editor Twitter: @fredbarnes
Topic: Guest will discuss the future of the Republican Party in the wake of Election Day losses and who might lead it going into 2016.
Max Sevillia, National Association of Latino Elected & Appointed Officials
Topic: According to Election Day exit polling, President Obama received 71% support from Latinos. Guest will discuss what drove the support, if immigration reform could be possible in a second term and if there are lessons for Republicans in future elections.
David Lauter, Los Angeles Times, Washington Bureau Chief @DavidLauter
Topic: A look how demographic and attitudinal groups voted in Tuesday's elections, along with voter turnout, based on exit polls and other data.
Updated: Friday, November 9, 2012 at 10:06am (ET)
Video Playlist
Related Resources


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Tuesday, 20 January 2009 | |
In March 1963, renowned Black American activist Martin Luther King Jr uttered those timeless words: "I have a dream". Today, that dream has come true with the ascension of Barack Obama to the American Presidency. When Obama takes oaths today in Washington, he will enter history books as the first African American President in the country's 233-year history. It is fitting that he is being sworn in as Americans celebrate Martin Luther's 80th birth anniversary and President Abraham Lincoln's 200th birth anniversary. Lincoln called for a Government of the people, by the people, for the people. Today, ordinary Americans - white, black, coloured, Hispanic and immigrants from all over the world - have made that a reality. In a sense, Obama's election as the 44th President of the United States marks the pinnacle of emancipation of an oppressed minority and the true realisation of equality in the Land of the Free. Obama's story exemplifies the fact that America is a land of opportunity where anyone can aspire to reach the Highest Office. It also drives home the multifaceted nature of America's demographic composition, with Obama tracing links to countries as diverse as Kenya and Indonesia. Obama's four or eight years (if re-elected in 2012) in office is not going to be easy. Once the euphoria surrounding the swearing in of the first African American President fades, Americans will be eager for action. They will want him to deliver. The world, too, will watch as to how Obama copes with being the most powerful man on Earth. The American people - and the world - had an uneasy relationship with the outgoing President George W. Bush who called himself a much 'misunderestimated' leader. His administration was littered not only with such gaffes, but also with misplaced priorities and downright wrong decisions. His 'War on Terror' response to the 9/11 attack in New York has spelled disaster for the peoples of Iraq and Afghanistan. Even some of the closest allies have distanced themselves from the US on many occasions thanks to Bush's policies. The economy is in the doldrums. Inheriting such a legacy will test the mettle of even the most hardened political survivors, but in terms of political experience, Obama is still a novice. Obama will need all his skills - the combined vision and experience of his Cabinet, advisors and other officials - to extricate the country out of the present quagmire. Obama has picked the right team, starting with Senator Hillary Clinton - to help and guide him. But when it comes to the toughest decisions, the onus will solely be on him. The challenges he faces are Herculean. In his own words, "Only a handful of times in our history has a generation been confronted with challenges so vast". On a global scale, he faces the onerous task of restoring America's battered image in the eyes of the world. The US remains deeply unpopular around the world, mostly due to the actions of President Bush. We already have indications that this would be a priority for Obama. According to reports, he has vowed to close down the infamous Guantanamo Bay prison facility in Cuba which has sullied the country's human rights record. He should also mend fences with the Central/South American nations and work towards lifting the economic sanctions on Cuba. Even America's closest allies such as the UK have staunchly opposed these sanctions for years and voted against the US at the UN. Obama should also forge closer ties with China and India, the emerging Asian giants and adopt a more pragmatic approach towards Iran. On the environmental front, he should consider joining the rest of the world on matters such as the Kyoto Protocol on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. He will also have to play an active role in ensuring peace in the Middle East - an immediate challenge will be forging an effective ceasefire in Gaza. Yes, the US should play a pivotal role in combating terrorism worldwide, but it should be a focused effort undertaken in unison with the rest of the world, not a personal 'with us or against us' crusade centred on vague objectives. Domestically, Obama's immediate task will be salvaging the sinking economy. The US economy has hit rock bottom and threatens to drag the world economy along with it. Bailouts alone are unlikely to solve the problem. Obama must forge long term plans to address this issue, even as he tackles it in the short term. There are many other issues that will require his attention from health to education. Obama seeks to be the quintessential People's President. In fact, he rolled into Washington by train, eschewing America's obsession with the motor car. He chose the correct place to start his journey - Philadelphia, where the founding fathers launched the independence struggle. The aim, as enshrined in the US Constitution they drafted, still remains the same - ensuring Justice, Tranquillity, Defence, Welfare and Liberty. The people of the United States have given President Obama a mandate to uphold these noble values and steer their country in a new direction towards a new world order. Only time will tell whether he would live up to these expectations. Courtesy: Daily News |
Last Updated ( Friday, 14 August 2009 ) |
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text: When was the last time you picked up the phone and dialled for mutton biryani, steamed vegetables and boiled rice for your dog? But if your pet is a part of the family, you will gladly make the call to order freshly prepared meals for him. Pet food delivery at your doorstep is fast becoming a popular trend among ardent pet lovers. Many agencies across the capital are offering such services. And with a vast menu to choose from, these agencies are certainly getting doggy tongues drooling.


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There are a wide range of benefits that can come from feeding your pets quality holistic pet food at each and every meal. It not only benefits the pet, but also the owner. Holistic foods may be expensive, but if you look at it closer, you will realize that it is advantageous to buy when compared to the rest of the food in the market. We all want to give our pets the best care possible so that they are healthy, lively, and at their peak performance. As a pet owner, you should be able to treat your pet just like you would your child. To encourage pet owners, we have listed a few benefits involved with feeding your pet holistic pet food. Feel free to head over to our products page to view the top brands we recommend for your pet.
#1: It saves you money.
You may not buy this pet food because the price tag appears to be too expensive, but feeding your pet cheaper varieties may result in gradual, yet serious medical conditions. This will end up costing you much more money in the long run for veterinarian visits and medications. Some pets may also have allergies to lower quality foods and feeding your pet those types of food could trigger the reactions causing indigestion, gas, and messy accidents all over the house.
#2: They are easily digestible.
This fact about holistic pet food is what makes it the best. Food which cannot be digested easily causes constipation and upset stomach. This results to your pet being irritable, unhappy, and certainly not playful. The easier the food is to digest, meaning the less "fillers" it contains, the more nutrients your pet will receive. It's comparable to a person easting organic foods vs. fast foods.
#3: It reduces the chances of premature aging.
Premature aging happens when your pet has poor nutrition for almost all of its life. As a result, it suffers from degenerative diseases like cancer, heart disease, and bowel related problems. The recommended pet food will ensure that these diseases are avoided, which will support a youthful, healthy pet for a very long time.
#4: It helps strengthen the immune system.
Pets need to have a very strong immune system since they are usually unable to resist certain viruses and infections when it is low or malfunctioning. Providing it with holistic pet food ensures that your pet eats healthy, receives all the necessary nutrients needed to maintain vibrant health, and as a result, it maintains a functioning immune system.
#5: Holistic pet foods offer a balanced diet for your pets.
Eating a balanced diet ensures that your pet is healthy and also strong. This is because this type of pet food consists of a variety of nutrients which are meant to provide your pet with the energy to keep it going. It is made from human grade nutrients so it is perfectly nutritious for your pet. Sometimes, we may feed our pet the same quality of food we eat ourselves. Which is why it's likely that a pet owner who eats a balanced diet, will also provide the same for his family and pets alike.
#6 It is meant for all pets, despite the age.
Holistic pet food has plenty of nutrients to meet all the needs of any pet, despite the age. It works effectively to nourish their bodies immediately upon digestion. There is no better time to start feeding your pet holistic food than now, even if your pet is in his senior years.
You love your pet and want it to live longer. Therefore, you will want to provide this type of food for your pet because it has no chemicals or by-products. This will make sure you end up with a happy, healthy, and playful pet to enjoy life with. The holistic pet foods will not only help your pet, but they will also give you, the owner, a great feeling when seeing your pet act so lively.
Now that you see all the benefits of holistic pet food, hop on over to our pet products page and have a look at the variety we recommend for your pet!


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Award Winners
- Award Type: Creative Award
YoungGuns International Advertising Award is the world's first and only award forum that is specifically for 18-30 year olds. The YoungGuns Jury consists of 13 internationally recognized creatives such as Alex Bogusky (Crispin Porter + Bogusky), Tony Granger (Saatchi London), Marie-Catherine Dupuy (TBWA France), Nick Worthington (Publicis
Mojo Auckland), Tales Bahu (Almap BBDO Brazil), Pushpinder Singh (Ogilvy & Mather India), Masako Okamura (Dentsu Japan), Marcus Rebeschini (TBWA Singapore), Lara Palmer (DDB Canada), Oliver Devaris (M&C Saatchi Sydney), Rafa Anton (Vitruvio Leo Burnett Madrid), Trevor Clarence (Terraplane South Africa) and Andrew Ostrom (BMF Sydney). The 14th judge is the founder of last year's Student Winning school, Pippa Seichrist (Miami Ad School). The overall YoungGun of the Year will wins US$5000 and the benefits of a global publicity campaign. YoungGuns also has a separate Student Award offering the winners a paid job placement at a Leo Burnett Worldwide office. The types of creative work accepted are: Television/Cinema, Print & Outdoor, Art Direction & Copywriting, Radio, Maverick Media, Interactive, Pure Comedy, Abstract Ads and their famous 'Bottom Drawer' category.
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YoungGuns 2003
Philips Lighting - "Bench" - Leo Burnett
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Agency | Leo Burnett |
City | Singapore |
Campaign | Monsters - Philips Lightings |
Advertiser | Philips |
Brand | Philips Lighting |
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AMD today announced that revenue for the third quarter ended September 29, 2012 is expected to decrease approximately 10 percent sequentially. The company previously forecasted third quarter 2012 revenue to decrease 1 percent, plus or minus 3 percent, sequentially. The lower than anticipated preliminary revenue results are primarily due to weaker than expected demand across all product lines caused by the challenging macroeconomic environment. The company now expects third quarter gross margin to be approximately 31 percent; less than the previous expectation of approximately 44 percent primarily due to an inventory write-down of approximately $100 million due to lower anticipated future demand for certain products. Third quarter gross margin was also negatively impacted by weaker than expected demand, which contributed to lower than anticipated average selling prices (ASPs) for the company's Computing Solutions Group products and lower than expected utilization of its back-end manufacturing facilities. Operating expenses for the third quarter are expected to decline approximately 7 percent sequentially as a result of tightly controlled expenses in the quarter. AMD will report third quarter 2012 results after market close on Thursday, October 18, 2012. AMD will hold a conference call for the financial community at 2:00 p.m. PT (5:00 p.m. ET) that day to discuss third quarter financial results and to provide information regarding expected fourth quarter results.
> AMD stock heads towards $3/share > AMD insert rumour that [large tech company with excess free cash reserve] is interested in acquiring AMD > AMD share price lifts for a week > AMD release PPS featuring ALL NEW*FUTURE FORWARD LOOKING*[insert future product/brand of unspecified feature set] Wash.Rinse.Repeat. Interesting that the stock price is now exactly half what it was ($6.49) the day Rory took the helm. In related news, Chas D at SA notes that: Seems as though the reduced cash flow is now chewing hard into R&D...although, since the source is Charlie D, the chances are equally good that he's 100% wrong.
It's worse. Half an hour ago it was "only" 7% down. Now: After Hours: 2.90 -0.30 (-9.38%) Sea Islands seem so far way when you're in the middle on an ocean full of sharks.
It's speculated that he's a paid marketeer of intel. His hate and disdain has been incredibly prevalent forever.
start putting sensible price tags on your gpu's and people might start buying them again. £300+ for a top end card is just ****ing insult to their customers intelligence. Do they really think we dont understand a simple price performance analysis. The performance barely increases gen to gen but the prices keep going up.
Amd is about done methinks unless they get a sudden massive influx of cash or deliver astounding good performance with pile driver there done they won't make it to 2015 I am not even sure they will make it to 2014... 50 some odd years is a pretty good run ... O well lesson learned trust your employees
What makes you think AMD are profitable ? With this updated guidance, it is now certain that the company will experience a net loss. With gross margins of 31%, revenues 10% down from the previous quarter to roughly $1.26B, and operating expenses down 7% from the prior quarter's $557M, the operating loss will likely be about $128M Yeah, and I'm not sure I trust the crew...
I don't think that's an issue. By the same token Nvidia insult their customers by placing their product at a similar initial price point and keeping it there longer. Besides the expensive discrete gpu market isn't where the money is anyway. Price performance analysis is not relevant either. So many products out there are way overpriced for the performance they offer but they will still be bought by consumers. People still buy the i7 3960x model when they don't need it. Hell I bought the i7 3930k and i dont need it. But it was shiny and I bought it. With Trinity out and getting positive reviews for an APU and AMD pushing it's relevance in small form factors maybe things will improve. The market is in flux now with the small portable electronic market gaining so much momentum. If AMD can make use of their smaller gpu focused designs, maybe they'll stick around a while longer.
AMD is still to big to die. Someone will either buy them or they will be aloud to live in debt. What is odd is the graphics side is doing well the products perform as good and sometimes better than the competition. On the CPU side the APU's are starting to really catch on in laptops as well as inexpensive desktops. On the server side the BD chips hold on well enough in certain server markets which is AMD's big spenders. Just seems odd to me that their stock is under $3 a share right now. Seems to me like the upper management is doing a shit job at controlling a downward spiral.
If the cross licence agreements with Intel are rendered null and void if AMD are purchased then they probably don't rate high as an acquisition. I could see Intel buying AMD chips just to keep them viable enough to keep the FTC off their back. ATI have always been less dysfunctional than AMD Unfortunately for AMD, the same can be said for the Sandy/Ivy Bridge ramps. Since the majority of OEM sales are entry level $450-599 type systems, it's probably safe to say that most buyers are only interested in basic functionality. It's also safe to say that the $100m write-down was due to unsold Llano inventory ( " Regarding the Llano overstock, CEO Rory Read says "we'll work through that in the next two quarters" and that the company will "execute inventory burn-off," which could mean processor discounts into the holiday season) Seems like a false economy. The main drawcard for AMD's Valencia/Interlagos seems to be drop in compatibility with the existing C32/G34 sockets. With cloud computing (HSA) now being pushed front-and-centre, how much lead time is AMD giving Intel? Low power Xeon, increased bandwidth and lower latency/reduced encode/decode overhead PCI-E3.0 with DDR4 and 12 core Haswell-EX/-EP waiting in the wings makes a formidable obstacle to overcome. Enterprise class systems should be the frosting on the cake for any processor/platform vendor, and from what I see, AMD are still scavenging crumbs off the table. The crux of the whole problem imo. Just look at the board. Virtually the whole group of them that have presided over AMD's fortunes (or lack of) since before Barcelona's time, are still sitting on the board- they just add new faces to the core group...meanwhile the lengthy list of fired CEO's and VP's just gets longer. Everyone is fairly quick to blame Hector, Dirk and Co.....nobody seems to question the people that OK'ed the hires.
Which is fine since each of them owns one of the license they will just have to reach a new agreement. Since Intel owns the less useful side of the stick I don't know how well that would work out for them. Not owning the ability to make processors 64 bit seems like a really shitty side of things. This is true however with the volume of GPU's and chipsets pumped out under the ATi/AMD franchise you would think that alone would be able to hold up a company. It seems to hold up Nvidia without an issue. FM2+Llano will likely be dirt cheap to push them out. Just like AMD's introduction of dirt cheap dual, tri and quad core phenom's under the "B" series. Piledriver continues to be drop in compatible with lower TDP's than the older Bulldozer modules. While it doesn't gain them everything how much work is it really to add another module onto the die? Isn't that the entire idea behind these modular dies anyway? Yep... I vote a full redux of the upper management especially within the marketing division.
This was not unexpected with unemployment at 10% - 20% in the USA and the world loosing so much money due to big banks and wall street! This was nothing that should have surprised any one at all. When FOOD and gas prices go up to equal ones pay check for the week who can spend any thing MORE if they just don't have it? It is simple no one has extra cash (600+) to spend on computers or there parts. It is only going to get worse as long as the OIL rich countries continue to DRIVE up prices and gas and food costs keep going up and pay checks keep getting smaller. Wake up it is economics 101!
I don't know the details of the cross-licence, but knowing the amount of muscle Intel wield, and the fact that the US Govt. is unlikely to look kindly on foreign ownership of a US semiconductor design house, it might not be too much of a leap to think that there are contigencies built in if AMD goes tits up. My guess is that that AMD could file Chapter 11, restructure and continue on. Fine for AMD- not fine for competition or us as consumers Big difference. While desktop/mobile might be a near enough 50/50 split between AMD and Nvidia -give or take, Nvidia owns 80% of the pro graphics market, and more than that in math co-processors (HPC Tesla). Nvidia's decision when planning GPGPU with G80 to offer a complete hardware/software ecosystem (CUDA based apps like OptiX, SceniX for example) has kept Nvidia afloat (and cash rich). Business and enterprise have their own built in inertia, so AMD not only have to offer a better product -hardware and software/SDK's, they need Nvidia to fail in the eyes of pro clients. The only way you make money off dirt cheap is to sell in huge volume. Revenue numbers might look good on selling at basement prices, but it doesn't pay for R&D for future projects My argument has always been that AMD needs to have a bigger sustained presence. Replacing previous iterations of Opterons with Bulldozer, Piledriver just keeps AMD ticking over at the same level. Buying SeaMicro seems like a step in the right direction, but the volume of sales are still a long way from ideal. SeaMicro isn't that much of a goldmine- if it were then Intel would have purchased it
I never claimed they were profitable. They are foregoing restructuring plus they more than likely scored a hat trick when next gen console graphics
Minimal profit margins, not to mention it's their CPU division that is bleeding, not their GPU division. As a frame of reference--their CPU division is exponentially larger than their GPU division.
So, supposedly the AMD engineer count is around 6000 to 7000. 30% cut would lead to: 4,800 to 5,600. Which leads to an employee loss of: 1,200 to 1,400. This on top of the 10% of marketing and management cuts. Which in turn will pave the way so AMD can continue to build notebook/tablet/smartphone chips with very competitive ASPs and very competitive performance.
4 things. - AMD's share price was already at or below $1.50. And they recovered. - AMD needs to make major BOD changes in order to recover just as they did with the Athlon 64 era. There are a few high end personal that seem to care about there wallet and not AMD. - AMD's Sea Islands (HD8900) may be a basic refresh of the HD7900. In order for them to release new hardware sooner. Picture the HD5800 > HD6900. But this time Sea Islands will provide better performance than what the HD6900 offered. - AMD needs to push price/performance, they need to move a lot of hardware vs. Selling them at higher prices. Just my input.


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September 5, 2011
Rayven Tirado and Emily Nerland UGASports.com
With football season back and in full swing, Martin Luther King wide receiver Blake Tibbs is busy increasing his stock. ...More... To continue reading this article you must be a member. Sign Up Now for a FREE Trial
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Browsing all articles tagged with how to style a top knot.
5 Easy Ways To Update Your Hair For Summer!
Monday, June 18, 2012
Hey Glamazons! Summer is all letting your hair down and having a good time. It's also a time to make plans to get some R&R with friends and family. One of the biggest concerns that Glamazons have around vacation season is how to style their hair in quick, easy but stylish ways. Welp, we've got [...]


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2Wire 2-Line Phone DSL Filter
2Wire 2-line in-line DSL filter with modem giveback port eliminates all the interference between your DSL line and analog telephone lines, resulting in clear lines for all your analog devices. This filter works with any 2-line phone device.
Item SKU: 1001-000077-000(2Wire 2-Line Phone DSL Filter)
One (1) Year Warranty.
AT&T guarantees from one (1) year of purchase this equipment will
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For warranty information, technical support and returns, click here.
Retail Price | $5.00 |
Total Due at Time of Shipping | $5.00 |


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This video embodies what we are aiming to do at the Center for International Studies. Through education and travel we can open our eyes to a world we otherwise couldn't see. It is not about the destination, it is about what you gain along the way and how you apply it to benefit others. Our students are the generation with the potential to change the world.
The Center for International Studies is devoted to expanding knowledge and understanding about people and culture. Since its creation, our Center has supported and encouraged students to become internationally minded through different programs such as the Kenneth and Verena Wilson Fellowship, and the Helen Ratliff Cleaves Memorial Fellowship.
International Studies majors have taken the lead in becoming immersed in true international atmospheres. Our students have volunteered, interned, and studied in many countries around the world. Cambodia, Germany, the Netherlands, China, Honduras, Syria, Spain, and Austria are only a few of the places which have provided our students with a broader and clear view of the current dynamics of the world.
Recent students Abroad:
Maria Cortez, Cleaves Fellowship recipient for Honduras, summer 2011
Rachael Gillespie, Cleaves Fellowship recipient for Honduras, summer 2011
Jeffrey Kazmierczak, Cleaves Fellowship recipient for Honduras, summer 2011
Austin Grady, Kenneth & Verena Wilson Fellowship recipient for Cambodia, summer 2011
Peter Buva, Kenneth & Verena Wilson Fellowship recipient for Cambodia, summer 2011
Current Students Abroad:
Hylary Arehndt, volunteer with Vikasana, a Non-Governmental Organization in India