Print This Post
Jul
25
No one’s pulling my notes out, I’m sure, but sheesh – this is absolutely unforgiveable:
After Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, left a written prayer in the cracks of the Western Wall in Jerusalem, a Jewish seminary student dug it out and the newspaper Ma’ariv published it (assuming of course that the note is the correct one).
…
Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitz, the rabbi of the Wall who accompanied Obama on his visit there told Israeli Army Radio, per the AP, that “the notes placed between the stones of the Western Wall are between a person and his maker. It is forbidden to read them or make any use of them.” Ma’ariv’s decision to publish the note “damages the Western Wall and damages the personal, deep part of every one of us that we keep to ourselves,” he said.
Here’s the Ma’ariv front page – scroll down for the image of the note.
If it was a seminary student, talk about making a mockery of the studies he or she is pursuing.
I was just repeating this to someone over the weekend at BlogHer. At Yom Kippur, the Jewish religion’s day of Atonement, we ask God to forgive us for sins against God. But for sins against other people, we must ask them for forgiveness.
I look forward to reading that seminary student’s apology to Barack Obama for allegedly pulling out Obama’s note in the Western Wall and for giving it to the Ma’ariv newspaper.
Utterly, totally oy.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 1:30 pm July 25th, 2008 in Barack Obama, Culture, Israel, Politics, Religion, WH2008
Comments
24 Responses to “Shame on yeshiva student, Ma’ariv for pulling, publishing Obama’s note in Kotel”
Leave a Reply
2010 WE Magazine 101 Women Bloggers to Watch
Category Specific RSS
Pepper Pike Cleveland+ Politics Women Ohio Elections Law Jewish
by Tips and TricksNews Now
Jill – I must say, as a Jew, this upsets me more than I can say. I’m with you on the Yom Kippur apology.
Tx, Judy. It’s disgusting, really. I pray something is wrong in the re-telling but I have never heard of such a thing. Just crazy. And then I wonder, did someone pay the student and who would do that – and who would take the money and on and on. So wrong.
I was upset when they decided to take prayers via fax at the Wall. Now this.
Oh, no no no… That’s appalling, both the theft and the publication. (I bet the student did get payment after giving the prayer to Ma’ariv — which just makes it all the more disgusting….)
Here’s the actual note
Make that here’s the actual prayer
…was hoping you would comment and knew you would. Though it was a great prayer, it is horrible that it was made public. Totally agree on your take. I think Tom Blumer and his ilk would dispute that the note was real. They are currently searching wildly at WND and Free Republic for the REAL note which is said to be addressed to Allsh.
lol. Allah, of course.
There’s just nothing acceptable about it, in any of the actors’ roles – the one who took it, anyone who asked for it, the people who published it. I’m not sure we have anything exactly equivalently sacred in the U.S. that, say, the NY Post or something would publish – private text messages, e-mails you think no one will read, letters to Santa. I don’t know.
Just totally totally asinine. Not to mention, if people just wanted to know, they could ask and respect him saying I’m not telling.
That student can be sure he’s going to have a few problems when the gates are closing on him at the High Holy Days this year.
letters to Santa made me laugh out loud. For reasons that may offend some.
You know, it’s just before Shabbat right now. I was talking with my husband, and I had a revelation. The student stole the note from G-d.
Oy – Muffet – I can definitely see that, yes.
Odd…I have no desire to read the mans prayer.
To read it is just as bad as to take it?
Would you think that nobody would sieze the opportunity to take it and sell it? I would think that it would be a better bet on how many minutes before it was taken.
Obama new that, he knew and more than likely wrote what he knew would be read to the world. That prayer was it to God or to voters?
What is really intersting is that if you new that it was wrong to take it and read it, and one also new that it would be taken, then is Obama the cause of the sin?
Creepy…if no Jesus no Judas, it all happens for reason.
Oengus -I completely completely completely disagree with you. Do you know how many heads of state or otherwise newsworthy people have gone to the Kotel and put notes in there? Have you ever heard of someone digging out the note, selling or giving it to a news outlet and the news outlet publishing the contents? Maybe I’m naive and I’ve just never heard of such a thing before – but I don’t think so.
I visited the Kotel many, many times in the year I lived there and never in a billion years would there be an expectation that a note would be taken – I think you are absolutely wrong that he should have expected that. That’s just wrong.
I will stay in the wrong on this one.
Obama, Jerusalem is not for sale…but your prayer is.
another cynical theatrical political trick. all staged to make obama appear as if he has been victimized. phonies
It’s only a cyncical trick because you don’t have a problem with letting your mind be bent that way. It must be hard being you.
Ditto Oengus – I vehemently disagree with your take on this – it’s a horrible precedent to suggest.
How about wiring up everyone in confession and releasing that?
Seriously.
Pfft.
yes, i am with you. i was horrified by this one. i have avoided the news stories because i don’t want to read the note…so hard to avoid news these days.
To me it is all contrived, fascinating but none the less contrived. I do not get dirty simply because I recognize that dirt exits.
I did not read the prayer, I would not I am still clean.
I cannot convince myself that any prior president of the US or even presidential candidate historically has placed a prayer into the western wall, I doubt in sincerity that their has been many presidents that have even visited Jerusalem, the naiveté’ on that exists, then to wear a Yamika that could also very well be a first. In the big picture of all faiths it is for a measurable percentage of the population controversial. Furthermore that percentage is falling fast, less and less know less and less about their own faiths.
Could Obama travel to Mecca and touch the sacred stone?
I personally see it all as blasphemous, selfish vanity and ignorance.
I cannot respect any of it because the truly devote are inherently at odds, the remainder are in fact infidels are they not, if Obama is Christian then did he ask to visit Bethlehem? Oh no then that would be disrespectful and bring about the controversy of the other wall.
A Jew doing the stations of cross, a Christian wearing a Yamika and placing notes in the Wailing wall…its like Madonna wearing rosary beads like jewelry.
This is or was written to assist those that have some trouble understanding the dichotomy of these three faiths, the diversions of monotheism and that of orthodoxy and it dissention which would be its antithesis.
So what was the issue with the seminary student, that was dissention and for greed, self serving and vane, and to me so was Obama’s theatrics.
That is why the Rabbi said “Obama Jerusalem is not for sale” an Orthodox
[...] Like She Talks reports on the shanda at the Kotel. As she points out, “if this story is true, then there is no excuse for a yeshiva student [...]
The concept of a prayer “stolen” from god is truly a victimless crime. I mean really now, even within the logically-challenged context of religious claims, let’s back up and be sensible. Stop and consider the theological implications of this claim.
When does any Wailing Wall prayer become the “property” of god? When it is inserted into the wall? When written? When first conceived with prayerful intent? Is it possible to “steal” an already-offered prayer? Presumably, once offered the prayer would have somehow found its way to its “all-powerful” audience. It makes no sense to claim that it was somehow “stolen” from a deity; such a contention implies that the rightful owner of a given property no longer owns said property. Is the efficacy of prayer considered to be dependent upon the medium and its undisturbed physical placement? How pagan, petty and small.
Think of the practicalities: it seems that given the number of people who visit the wall annually, there almost has to be some means of periodically removing the accumulated paper. If not, eventually there would be no more cracks between the stones to wedge one’s contribution into — it would become nothing but a mass of paper.
What happens to these prayers which exceed their “shelf life?” Are they merely left in place to disintegrate by the action of the elements? If so, what happens to the debris that would naturally collect around the wall? Is it swept up like trash and tossed in the nearest can? Are prayers periodically collected from the wall (manually) and disposed of more delicately, in order to free the wall’s crevices for continued use?
Not to say that (regardless of my opinion of the religious aspects) it wasn’t astonishingly presumptuous and rude to publish what was justifiably expected to be a private matter, of course. The thing is that this isn’t about religion per se. I think this is reprehensible more because it’s a violation of Obama’s dwindling scope of personal privacy, rather than some kind of religious sacrilege. Running for the White House, he can realistically have very little expectation of privacy. His personal prayers would have represented one of the few remaining instances where such an expectation would be reasonable. Now even that expectation has been extinguished, snuffed out by the messianic cult of personality which surrounds the man.
I do not believe that the temple mound is closest to the gates of heaven. I do not think that there is a gateway. I was not raised to believe that, I was raised with religion and in that I was raised without regard for other religions. Its typically not part of a religious indoctrination, in fact most religions do discount other religions. Not a matter of right or wrong but more of matter of how it is, be careful not to judge or you shall be judged. That’s part of our culture our society, the response to adversity is often adversity.
I suppose it difficult for a Zionist to address the lack of understanding of Islam and certainly a lack of understanding of Islam by the western power structure that assisted in the creation of Israel. I believe now more than ever the subject is very heated and perhaps the most dynamic it has ever been.
The politicians are not effectual, it is on the street and engrained in the minds of so many. I get unnerved by a western politician approaching what is believed to be the gates of heaven and making a request of God. I have no trouble with an individual doing it, the problem is with the cameras and publicity of it.
What we do not know is if Obama felt compelled to, why would he, he is Christian, its not a Christian ritual belief. Did he know this? Did he know of the practice and felt compelled or was he told this would be a good photo op? Something to get some Jewish votes. That gets into hedging ones bets, it not his beliefs but what the heck it can not hurt in respects to getting into the gates of heaven? So wrong, so vane. But then again perhaps he was sincere, a sincere Christian that sincerely believes in a Jewish belief.
I attended a wedding once a catholic ceremony, then when the Eucharist was offered this person went to receive it and I stopped her, said no, she scoffed and went on to receive it. The ignorance is amazing sometimes, I did not receive the Eucharist, I can’t, outside of it not able to. The attitude was so offensive, the reckless disregard.
You are either all in or all out, I say, you can’t pick and choose and play the part when the mood strikes you or when its convenient or you believe the act serves you well.
It is so good to study the variety of faiths in detail, what is not is haphazard participation in rituals that are not inherently your own. It is a form of dissention, if that’s your goal go right ahead, but please do not call it acceptance or even respect, its not whether you realize it or not.
must be hard being me? it is at times. the times in which it is least hard being me is when i’m most [we'll leave that private - and no more, hm?
] follow?
oh yes, i follow. i’ll have you know i drive a very hard bargain and wish to penetrate deeply into your blogospherical mind. perhaps you could teach me how to create my own blog.