Halakhic Thought

[debka_notion]

So the egal minyan at JTS does not give the first and second aliyot to a kohen and levi, respectively. However today the person to whom they gave the first aliyah was a kohen. And they went on about their usual progression, so the next person was not a levi, nor did they give the second aliyah to the same person. And I understand not giving out aliyot based on that status issue, and since it was established for the sake of peace, I wouldn't complain about a minyan that does not hold by it for the sake of peace. But once you do call a kohen for the aliyah- I do wonder what the best choice of action would have been. On the other hand, they had handed out the aliyot in advance, and I know that once you call someone, you don't replace them, even if you should have called someone else- so maybe handing out the aliyot has some of the same status. It's just an interesting thing to think about.

Comments

[debka-notion.livejournal.com]

What makes someone a communal leader though? At least "my teacher" qualifies as a direct-judgement call, so it's relational rather than a matter of necessary achievement or not, if the gabbay is allowed to choose when to use the title or not... (Rather like when I heard someone call up his granddaughter as nekhdati, or some such.) But I'd guess that the gabbay isn't so allowed.

And in a shul that duchens, it is a mark of something they do for the community, no? So if one's community were to do both, even though that opens another can of worms...

[debka-notion.livejournal.com]

"I'll concede that I have the requite hours. I hold two degrees- a baccalaureate in humane arts... meaning I squeaked through... and a doctorate from an old and prestigious school- a Ph.D. in eduction.'
'Zebediah! You wouldn't!' (I was horrififed)
'But I did, Deety. To prove that degrees per se are worthless. Often they are honorifics of true scientists or learned scholars or inspired teachers. Much more frequently they are false faces for overeducated jackasses.'
...
"Grandpa Zach was as contankerous an old coot as you'll ever meet. hated government, hated lawyers, hated civil servants, hated preachers, hated automobiles, public schools and telephones, was comtemptuous of most editors, most writers, most professors, ost of almost anthing. But he overtipped waitresses and porters and would go out of his way to avoid stepping on an insect.
Grandpa had three doctorates: biochemistry, medicine and law- and he regarded anyone who couldn't read Latin, greek, Hebrew, French and German as illiterate."
-Robert Heinlein, Number of the Beast p. 79 (in my copy)

Just felt so relevant I wanted to tack it on here.