Rage, not respect
Headlines proclaim the Muslim world is seething because of cartoons depicting a warlike Muhammad in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.
Yet, we have never read of a Muslim protesting rage over Muslim killings of thousands of innocents in United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Israel, Bali, etc.
It seems there is great respect for Muhammad’s image but little for his teachings, which we are told include compassion and respect for other humans.
Bud Rubin | Palo Alto
Doula sites cited
Thank you for highlighting the extraordinary work doulas do (Jan. 27 j., “Mothering the mothers). I grew up in an Orthodox community and can appreciate the effort the doulas contribute to these families.
Doulas, women who help during labor and postpartum life, provide a tremendous service. Clinical research has shown that using a birth doula tends to result in shorter labors with fewer complications, reduces the need for Pitocin (a labor-inducing drug) or use of forceps or vacuum extraction, and reduces the request for pain medication and incidence of caesareans.
They also help identify postpartum depression, give breast-feeding education and assistance, educate the family on newborn care, and give families added rest and companionship in the weeks following a birth.
In addition to the DONA International that you recommended at www.dona.org there are local resources as well to help families find doulas. In San Francisco, Natural Resources at www.naturalresourcesonline.com; and in Palo Alto, Blossom Birth at www.blossombirth.com; and, then, in the South Bay, Harmony Birth at www.harmonybirth.com; and, finally, Bay Area-wide, Bay Area Birth Referrals at bayareabirth.org.
I am a new postpartum doula and was excited to see this Jewish angle on my profession. Keep up the good work.
Sara Russell | Moss Beach
Sooner than later?
At the very end of a roundtable interview in which I participated (Jan. 20, “In what direction is the Conservative movement headed?”), we were asked about what would happen with the gay and lesbian issue.
Because of time, I answered too quickly that it was a “non-issue.”
What I meant to say is that most of us believe that this issue will be resolved in an inclusive manner. Many of us have been working to ensure that gays and lesbians be openly accepted as rabbis and cantors by our seminaries and professional organizations.
We hope that this will come sooner rather than later.
Rabbi Gordon Freeman | Walnut Creek
Tree day
Many contemporary Jews look on Tu B’Shevat (Feb. 13) as a Jewish Earth Day, and use Tu B’Shevat seders as occasions to discuss how Jewish values can be applied to reduce many of today’s environmental threats.
While Judaism teaches that “The Earth is the Lord’s” (Psalms 24:1), and that we are to be partners with God in preserving the environment, there are daily news reports about global warming, water shortages, air and water pollution, the depletion of the ozone layer, and soil erosion and depletion.
Tu B’Shevat is the New Year for Trees, the date on which the fate of trees is decided for the coming year. Hence, it is an ideal time to consider the rapid destruction of tropical rain forests and other valuable habitats.
In view of the above and much more, I urge Jews to use Tu B’Shevat to start to make tikkun olam, the repair and healing of the planet, a central focus in Jewish life today.
Tu B’Shevat can be a great opportunity for education about environmental crises locally, nationally and internationally. This can also help energize our congregations and bring many Jews back to greater Jewish involvement.
Richard H. Schwartz | Staten Island
What moderation?
In the Feb. 3 story “Bay Area conference ponders fate of peace process,” Marcia Freedman, president of Brit Tzedek v’Shalom, is quoted as saying, “We hope that the effect of ascending to political power will have a moderating effect on Hamas just as it once did on the [Palestine Liberation Organization] several decades ago.”
Given that the accession of the PLO to governing status was followed by the complete collapse of the West Bank and Gaza economies, an uninterrupted stream of anti-Semitic incitement, and an insurrection that has taken thousands of lives, in what sense has the PLO moderated?
Richard C. Roistacher | Belmont