Who shall live and whom we shall kill

When I was writing Pillage Idiot, I mentioned that I had theological problems with Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur:

I have to say that for me, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are very difficult. Judaism is not very big on theology. It's a religion of practice more than belief. (Yeah, I know that's an oversimplification. Don't bug me about it.) But every year on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the theology is unavoidable, as hard as I try. B'rosh hashanah yikateivun, uv'yom tzom kippur yeichateimun.

The last line in Hebrew means "On Rosh Hashanah it is written, and on Yom Kippur it is sealed." This is from a prayer called "unetaneh tokef" that states that God determines at this time "who shall live and who shall die."

I don't plan to discuss my theological problems here, but I do want to give you some serious advice: If you're Jewish and you go to shul on the High Holidays next month, please consider staying outside for the rabbi's sermon.

Here's why: With his signature health-care "reform" program going down in flames, Obama is calling on rabbis to preach the, er, gospel next month:

President Barack Obama needs some outside help pushing health care reform, and he's turning to rabbis to get it.

In a morning conference call with about 1000 rabbis from across the nation, Obama asked for aid: "I am going to need your help in accomplishing necessary reform," the President told the group, according to Rabbi Jack Moline, who tweeted his way through the phoner.

Rabbi Moline's Twitter feed is not terribly enlightening, but it does say that Obama used the line "who shall live and who shall die":

"We are God's partners in matters of life and death," Obama said, according to Moline (paging Sarah Palin...), quoting from the Rosh Hashanah prayer that says that in the holiday period, it is decided "who shall live and who shall die."

If it's theologically troubling (to me) that God determines each year who shall live and who shall die, how much more troubling is it that Obama is saying humans should be God's partners in that determination? Jews have always thought of doctors as being God's messengers for healing people, but it's hard for me to fathom humans as God's messengers of death. (Yes, I know there are examples in the Bible.) Certainly, it's hard to imagine humans deliberately creating a system of medical care that will operate as God's messenger of death.

But Jews will not be troubled by this.

Back in 1993, when Hillary was trying to kill our medical system, the Commission on Social Action and Public Policy of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism issued a position paper on Judaism and health care reform. A sample:

Jewish values demand that we work to create a society where no one is denied proper medical care. We are all created b'tzelem Elohim -- in the image of God -- health is not a luxury, and it should not be the sole possession of a privileged few. Elderly people should not be required to impoverish themselves in order to receive medical coverage. As one of the oldest demographic groups in America -- with nearly one third more elderly members than the general population -- Jews must work to change the status quo where nursing home care is unaffordable for over 80% of elderly Americans. The health care crisis touches nearly every one of us. It is time for us to act.

Several years later, the Conservative movement issued a responsum (which I can't find on the internet) that argued that Jews have a religious obligation to support nationalized health care for everyone. Why? Basically because, under Jewish law, Jewish doctors have an obligation to treat impoverished Jewish patients without charge if they can't afford the service. This religious principle dated from an era in which the Jewish community was segregated from the rest of society and engaged in self-regulation. But it's extrapolated in the Conservative responsum to modern America, and it's used in support of the conclusion that American Jews, who constitute only 2 percent of the population of the U.S., should force the other 98 percent to pay for a massive government program so that the Jews can satisfy their religious obligations.

You think I'm cynical? Everyone has heard Jews complaining that the Catholics and evangelical Protestants are trying to impose their religious views on abortion on the rest of the country. At least they're not trying to make everyone else pay for it.

UPDATE (8/20): Lest I appear to blame Conservative Judaism only, Rick Richman at Commentary's Contentions passes along parts of a pro-ObamaCare email from the Union for Reform Judaism.

UPDATE (8/21): Via Volokh, an orthodox rabbi on the call had this observation: "Rabbis have enough difficulty understanding the nuances and intricacies of their own religion to be promoting specific policies in areas for which they have no expertise."