Word: rabbis
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...Because a literal reading of this passage would essentially mean that Jews must put themselves in danger in order to commemorate escaping from danger, alternative readings abound as to how much alcohol one must actually take in. My favorite opinion, however, is that of Rabbi Moshe Isserles, who asserts that regardless of how much you drink, you should only imbibe “for the sake of Heaven.” That is, there is nothing inherently wrong with getting gratifyingly tipsy (within reason) on Purim, as long you are getting intoxicated not for its own sake...
...that end, Shapiro talks with her old family rabbi, meditates, practices yoga and produces a memoir preciously divided into 102 tiny chapters loaded with mantras, definitions and people chatting over cups of herbal tea. The sense is of an essay padded to book length, but some of these miniatures work. A charmingly self-aware one describes the family car being struck by a bottle of salad dressing. Shapiro is taken aback; she had not put salad dressing on her list of fears...
...other Jewish leaders who attended that 1986 service will also likely be revisiting his memories this weekend. Toaff was five years older than John Paul when he greeted him on the steps of the synagogue on that spring day. When John Paul died in 2005, the rabbi was one of just two living people mentioned in his last will and testament. At 94, still with a wry smile, Toaff will be there Sunday to help welcome the new Pope. It's possible that in his own way, John Paul will be there...
...thunderclap of applause. After centuries of Jews suffering through pogroms, ghettos, Nazi death camps and arm's-length-at-best cohabitation with Christians, the first-ever papal visit to a Jewish house of worship - entering the synagogue side by side with Rome's avuncular chief Rabbi Elio Toaff - was much more than a photo op. It was a shared embrace to begin to heal the wounds of history...
...Some Jewish leaders, however, are not as upset about Benedict's synagogue visit. Riccardo Di Segni, who took over as Rome's chief rabbi in 2001, has not always seen eye to eye with Benedict. He cancelled a Catholic-Jewish meeting last year after the Pope's decision to allow wider use of the traditional Latin liturgy, which includes a Good Friday prayer calling for the conversion of the Jews. But he and other Jews felt it was better to move ahead with the synagogue visit as planned...