Chaviva Forgot to Hide Her Plagiarism

[GryffindorFTW]

Chaviva (Kvetching Editor) has been writing the Judaism section on about.com for a few months now, and just published a new article about the kittel. Unfortunately, she forgot to delete the Wikipedia paragraph she was ...erm... paraphrasing, and which she must have copy-pasted over for reference, before publishing the article:

The white color is meant to symbolize purity, which is one reason why it is used during weddings. The pure color is also believed to relate to the groom's unity with the bride (who also wears white), as well as the beginnings of a new life together. Also, because the kittel has no pockets, it shows that the groom cannot have anything of value in his pockets, so the couple is marrying for love and not what they possess. (The bride comes to the chuppah, or wedding canopy, without any jewelry for this very reason.)

The white color is said to symbolize purity, which partly explains its use during weddings. It is also felt to signify unity with the bride (who also wears white) and the beginning of a new life together. Another reason worn at the wedding is because it has no pockets, showing that the couple is marrying for love, not for what they possess.

http://judaism.about.com/od/glossary/fl ... Kittel.htm

The second paragraph is lifted straight from Wikipedia, and the first one almost is. I don't know if Chaviva is being paid by about.com, or what kind of editor doesn't know what plagiarism is, but that poor a paraphrase at my college would be considered intentional plagiarism and grounds for disciplinary action.

[lagenialester]

Wasn't she in a PhD program for awhile? Shouldn't she know how easy it is to catch people plagiarizing, and shouldn't she be, as someone with a career in social media, good enough to AT LEAST paraphrase a few sentences? Yikes. It's one thing for her to plagiarize as a blogger, especially if she was lesser known. Even that would still be awful. But about.com has a HUGE audience and she may or may not be getting paid for that.

ETA: It's a long shot, but maybe she wrote the wiki article too?

[GryffindorFTW]

Wasn't she in a PhD program for awhile? Shouldn't she know how easy it is to catch people plagiarizing, and shouldn't she be, as someone with a career in social media, good enough to AT LEAST paraphrase a few sentences? Yikes. It's one thing for her to plagiarize as a blogger, especially if she was lesser known. Even that would still be awful. But about.com has a HUGE audience and she may or may not be getting paid for that.

ETA: It's a long shot, but maybe she wrote the wiki article too?

I wondered about that too, but I don't think so for a couple of reasons; none of the contributors to the WP article have screen names that sound like her, and if she were well-versed enough to have written the WP article she wouldn't have to plagiarize herself.

ETA: I know she has Google alerts set up but, wow, she's already yanked the identical WP paragraph from her About article. No mention of the edit in her article, and the remaining text is still the plagiarized version quoted above. Screen caps for posterity:

[lagenialester]

:naughty: I get that she's been really busy, but don't take on the extra work if you aren't going to actually DO the work!

I tend to like a lot of what Chaviva writes, or at least what she's written in the past. I know how crazy life can be with a little one, and I know how crazy life can be moving to another country. (Even if she's technically returning "home" after living abroad) It all sounds really stressful and I'm sure it's nice to have some job security through it all. I can't imagine risking it if I was in that position.

[Peas n carrots]

Very weird. I'm leaning towards giving her a pass...I'm guessing she had meant to quote and source but forgot. Seems like she is going through a lot at the mo' with having a baby, Mr. Chaviva getting settled and her dad having health issues. Hopefully she will go back and edit soon.

[GryffindorFTW]

(I don't mean to harp on, but I really, really hate plagiarism.)

Just out of curiosity, I had a look at the about.com article on bikur cholim that she linked to in her most recent blog post. It, too, has sections ripped almost exactly from the Wikipedia article on bikur cholim, using the same sources, in the same order, with almost identical phrasing. I don't have time to look through her entire about.com portfolio, but she's 2 for 2 so far, and I'm not so sure she should be given the benefit of the doubt. I know her personal life is in turmoil right now, but she should know better than to publish stolen work.

Chaviva's about.com article:

Bikur cholim literally means "visiting the sick" and is considered an act of gemilut chasidim or loving-kindness.

History

The earliest record of this mitzvah is found in the Torah when God visits Abraham as he recovers from his circumcision in Genesis 17:26-18:1.

The mitzvah is mentioned in the Babylonian Talmud, as well, including in Nedarim 39a and 39b where it says that "[One must visit] even a hundred times a day" and that "He who visits a person who is ill takes away a sixtieth of his pain." In Nedarim 40a, it says,

"anyone who visits the sick causes him to live and anyone who does not visit the sick causes him to die."

The section also offers the harsh reality that those who visit the sick are spared from the punishments of Gehenna ("hell") and that God sustains the sick (Psalm 31).

Wikipedia (source text for this section of Chaviva's article bolded):

Bikur cholim (Hebrew: ביקור חולים‎; "visiting the sick"; also transliterated Bikur holim) refers to the mitzvah (Jewish religious commandment) to visit and extend aid to the sick. It is considered an aspect of gemilut chasadim (benevolence, selflessness, loving-kindness). It is traditional to recite prayers for healing, such as the Mi Shebeirach prayer in the synagogue, and Psalms (especially Psalm 119) on behalf of the sick. Bikur cholim societies exist in Jewish communities around the world. The earliest Bikur cholim society on record dates back to the Middle Ages.

History

The roots of Bikur cholim can be traced back to the Torah, when God visits Abraham after his circumcision (Genesis 18:1).

Bikur cholim is mentioned in the Babylonian Talmud several times, in Tractate Nedarim 39a, 39b, and 40a. Nedarim 39a and 39b state that "[One must visit] even a hundred times a day" and that "He who visits a person who is ill takes away a sixtieth of his pain." Nedarim 40a says that "anyone who visits the sick causes him to live and anyone who does not visit the sick causes him to die"; it also states that those who visit the sick are spared from the punishments of Gehenna (hell) and that God sustains the sick, citing the Book of Psalms Chapter 31.

[LucySnowe]

Oh FFS. Nothing like setting yourself up as an expert only to steal chunks of your material from the source written by A Million Monkeys With Typewriters.

[LucySnowe]

From the about.com ethics policy page (http://www.about.com/gi/pages/ethics.htm):

About.com contractually requires that Experts maintain high ethical standards and all legal requirements, including FTC disclosure requirements. The Experts, and not About.com, are responsible for their own compliance with these standards.

Which probably explains why there isn't any way to contact about.com to say "this 'expert' is plagiarising.'" (Or anything else, it looks like.)

I was actually feeling much more kindly towards Chaviva - one of her recent pictures made her look incredibly vulnerable, and she's clearly going through a difficult time on many fronts. But a social media maven (or whatever she calls herself) blatantly ripping off Wikipedia? She must be desperate to still be relevant, and someone people look up to as a font of knowledge about Judaism.

She's doing another Ask Me Anything. At least this time she isn't handslapping people who ask her questions she doesn't approve of.

[It'sFunToRun]

I do not find the kittel to be attractive at all. It either looks like a dentist's cloak, a white bathrobe, or a cross between the two.

Dentist's cloak:

Bathrobe:

Hybrid:

[It'sFunToRun]

It also comes in a Prisoner's variation

[lagenialester]

I totally agree with those comparisons! Haha But I think part of the point is that it isn't attractive.

[LucySnowe]

Nope, my bad. She's still handslappy as ever.

Why did you move back to the US?

I thought I addressed this question in a previous post, but in case you missed it: bikur cholim.

Well, if by 'addressed' she means: "The reasons we're going to the U.S. aren't easy. But this isn't yeridah (the opposite of aliyah), it isn't running away from anything. If anything, we're running toward something. We're running in the direction of peace, health, happiness."

God forbid anyone can't read between the lines of her vagueness. :roll:

[yupitsme]

Nope, my bad. She's still handslappy as ever.

Well, if by 'addressed' she means: "The reasons we're going to the U.S. aren't easy. But this isn't yeridah (the opposite of aliyah), it isn't running away from anything. If anything, we're running toward something. We're running in the direction of peace, health, happiness."

God forbid anyone can't read between the lines of her vagueness. :roll:

My dad has suffered a quadruple bypass and lymphoma over the past several years. He's now suffering from unexplained strokes and seizures, not to mention that he doesn't have the support around him that he needs to feel like his life is valued and worth it. So that's why I'm back.

[It'sFunToRun]

My dad has suffered a quadruple bypass and lymphoma over the past several years. He's now suffering from unexplained strokes and seizures, not to mention that he doesn't have the support around him that he needs to feel like his life is valued and worth it. So that's why I'm back.

Leaving Israel to live in Galut (anywhere except Israel) is considered yerida no matter what your reasons are for leaving. The only way it could not be yerida is if you are only temporarily visiting the US and planning to return to Israel.

[yupitsme]

Leaving Israel to live in Galut (anywhere except Israel) is considered yerida no matter what your reasons are for leaving. The only way it could not be yerida is if you are only temporarily visiting the US and planning to return to Israel.

We are temporarily visiting the U.S. ... we are returning to Israel within the next 2-5 years. It all depends on how things go. We still have stuff there, we still have citizenship.