Are clergy and teachers of religious faith/thought public servants? Is their work on par with that of others who work for 501c3 non-for-profit groups and for government agencies? It used to be, but as of January 31st, the federal government has changed its mind about that.

Although not known to most people, the federal government maintains a program called Public Service Loan Forgiveness. According to that program, after ten years of public service work, any remaining federal student loans remaining for that worker would be forgiven. But what counts as public service?

Until the end of January, the government definition was clear and inclusive. It read as follows:

In this photo provided by the U.S. Navy, an Iranian mariner greets a U.S. Coast Guardsman aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Monomoy Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2012 in the Persian Gulf. Monomoy rescued six Iranian mariners who had to abandon their dhow, Ya-Hussayn, after its engine room flooded. It was the second time in less than a week that the American military has come to the aid of Iranians at sea, an official said Tuesday. (AP - AP)

When American sailors rescued Iranian fisherman from their Somali pirate captors, they were greeted not only with relief and joy, but as those sent by God in answer to the captives prayers.“’It is like you were sent by God,’ said one of the rescued fishermen, Fazel Ur Rehman, 28,’ said, as reported by the New York Times. This is a striking response for many reasons, not least among them that these were U.S. personnel from the same naval strike group which had been threatened by the Iranian navy just days before.

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish demonstrators look at a boy (low L) wearing a cloth cap and a yellow Star of David inscribed with "Jude," Jew, in German, sewn on his jacket as he raises his hands during a protest in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighbourhood December 31, 2011. The demonstrators caused outrage on Sunday by dressing children as Holocaust victims to protest against what they see as persecution of devout Jews seeking gender separation in Israel. (BAZ RATNER - REUTERS) Protests have broken out across Israel by members of the ultra-Orthodox community in response to government efforts to uphold civil law. Sparked by issues of women’s dress and behavior on public streets in largely ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods, the protests are driven by neighborhood residents who demand that their understanding of Jewish religious law replace civil law when it comes to these issues.

Over the weekend protesters began to express their anger in a particularly grotesque, but tragically not new way: portraying themselves as Holocaust victims.

Rabbi Shmuel Marcus, of Chabad of Los Alamitos, right, helps Helen Fox, of Seal Beach, Calif., light a six-foot menorah, Sunday, Dec. 18, 2011, two days before Hanukkah in Seal Beach. (Cindy Yamanaka, - AP) Rabbi Brad Hirschfield answers your questions about the festival of lights.

Q) When does Hanukkah begin?

A) Hanukkah 2011/5772 begins on the 25th of the Hebrew month of Kislev, which corresponds in 2011 to the evening of December 20th.

Bonus question: Why at night? Because the Jewish calendar day begins at sundown.

In the wake of a report that showed that the proportion of American adults who are married is at an all-time low, I hosted a live discussion on the state of marriage on Wednesday. You submitted far more wonderful questions and comments than I could possibly respond to in an hour, and that itself tells me that we really are wrestling with the future of marriage in this country.

By way of summary, here’s one more question and my reply — and I encourage you to keep the conversation going below.

Do you feel that the decline in marriage is a good thing, a bad thing, or entirely neutral?

My quick response is that nothing that significant is ever entirely neutral, and in this case, I think the trend indicates both some good things and some bad things.