[Avodah] TIDE and Austritt

[T613K at aol.com]

>   From: "Richard Wolpoe"  <rabbirichwolpoe at gmail.com>
>> >>In Holy Name Hospital in  Teaneck, the nuns often do things like shave 
the
>> people in a coma.  Should we deny both the patient and the nuns this act of
>> Hessed lest  someone construe them as "legitimate?" <<
>  --
>
>
> >>>>
>   Neither I nor  any Orthodox
> rabbi, not even Rabbiner Hirsch himself, would object to a  Reform rabbi
> shaving a person in a coma. [--old  TK]
>
>
>


>>   1. So if a Reform  Rabbi serves as chaplain in Hospital X you are saying
unequivocally that it is NOT a recognition of his  legitimacy?<<

 


>>>>>
Do the nuns shave comatose patients in their role as nurses or in their  role 
as chaplains?  
 
If a Reform rabbi or a Reform Jew were a doctor or a nurse, I would not see  
a problem with using their services.  
 
If shaving a patient is part of some Catholic rite, like baptism, then I  
certainly would /not/ want the nun to do that.  
 
If a Reform rabbis serves as a chaplain in a hospital, that certainly DOES  
confer legitimacy in a way that is completely different from a Reform Jew  
serving as a doctor in the hospital.
 
As a patient I would not welcome a visit from a Reform chaplain.
 
But I have no control over what a hospital does.  But if it was an  
Orthodox-run hospital, I would certainly object strenuously to their hiring R/C  
chaplains. As to an Orthodox rabbi serving as a chaplain in a  non-Jewish hospital 
where the other chaplains are R and C rabbis -- or  serving as a chaplain in 
the American army, ditto -- that is a very gray  area.  Many would not permit 
it, others would.
 
As for granting legitimacy to Catholic nuns, it is no concern of mine  
whether Protestants or other Christian sects consider a Catholic nun or priest  
"legitimate."  To me anybody who claims to be a nun, monk, priest or  minister is 
"legitimate" -- as long as they don't claim to be a representative  or officer 
of JUDAISM.





--Toby  Katz
=============






**************Get fantasy football with free live scoring. Sign up for 
FanHouse Fantasy Football today.      
(http://www.fanhouse.com/fantasyaffair?ncid=aolspr00050000000020)
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.aishdas.org/pipermail/avodah-aishdas.org/attachments/20080723/0d081209/attachment-0002.htm>