From Our Facebook Page


New posts are added to the Bet Menorah Facebook page almost daily, drawn from a wide variety of sources. The following article was one of the posts receiving the most views from group members, and is reprinted here for the interest of those not members of our Facebook page (and in the hopes that they might be inspired to join): Is This Orthodox Rabbi Breaking Jewish Tradition With Anti-Trump Prayer? Marcy Oster, Jewish Forward, January 22, 2017 Jews have been praying for the welfare of the governments they live under for hundreds of years. But what happens when they lose faith in the individuals elected to lead those countries? That’s the dilemma faced by Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz, an Orthodox rabbi who is president and dean of Valley Beit Midrash in Phoenix and founder and president of Uri L’Tzedek, an Orthodox social justice organization. Saying he “cannot pray for the success of this President,” Yanklowitz has written a new text that, without naming President-elect Donald Trump, prays to “Guide the incoming leader of this country away from his basest instincts, thwart his plans to target certain groups and strengthen white supremacy.” The idea of a Jewish prayer for a successful government harks all the way back to the prophet Jeremiah, who advised the Jews who were taken by the Babylonians: “Seek the welfare of the city to which I have exiled you and pray to the Lord in its behalf; for in its prosperity you shall prosper” (Jer. 29:7). The first official Jewish prayer for the welfare of the state and its governing officials was introduced in prayer books in the 14th century.


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