[Parts I, II and III of this four-part essay can be read at http://www.israelnn.com/article.php3?id=2628 and at http://www.israelnn.com/article.php3?id=2661 and at http://www.israelnn.com/article.php3?id=2687, respectively.]
Libertarian Implications of Contemporary Realia
When I was learning for smikha here in Jerusalem, I remember being invited to my first Gemara rebbe?s house for Shabbat. I was quite proud of how much I had accomplished being under his tutelage and was eager to show him my abilities. I prepared what I considered to be a very sophisticated Beit haLevi on that week?s parsha. That Shabbat, when I finished saying the d?var Torah, I looked at my rebbe for the approval I expected. Instead, he responded with two words ? ?So what!? He went on to explain that the difference between his yeshiva, which was a mussar yeshiva, and Brisk, was that in his yeshiva, a d?var Torah could not just be an intellectual exercise, but rather had to have some practical conclusions that would help, in some way, to make one a better Jew.
So what! So what practical conclusions, if any, can we gain as a result of the preceding analysis. One conclusion we can suggest is to realize that the entire halachic enterprise is threatened when we avoid reality and truth. As a result, I think we should show greater willingness to stand up for truth. Many of us are far too indulgent of that which is false.
In my neighborhood, it is common practice to distort information about a family?s personal standards or orientation, in order to get into certain schools whose code is at odds with that of the home. In defense of such a practice, I heard of a parent declaring that when it comes to your children, you are willing to lie, cheat or steal.
I would like to make one thing clear: One cannot lie, cheat or steal for one?s children, one can only do such things against one?s children. No matter how wonderful and spiritual a school environment may be, any resulting spiritual benefits are completely undermined by lying to get in.
When we don?t stand for that which is true, we often end up not standing for that which is morally correct either. Blurring distinctions between true and false is a very short step away form blurring distinctions between right and wrong. In a world more and more sophisticated, traditional Judaism can afford neither.
Another practical conclusion has to do with a conversation whose its implications may provide us with an appropriate charge. The individual I spoke with is a rebbe at a Charedi yeshiva. He told me that our lectures [at the David Cardozo Academy - ed.] were being heard by the wrong people. Recognizing that we are trying to engineer social change, he told me that the audience attendance is not able to create that social change. He continued, saying that leadership is in the hands of the Charedi yeshiva world. They are the ones setting the tone of contemporary Orthodoxy. While not meant as an attack, it behooves us to take this as an attack, nonetheless. Moreover, this is an attack that we must address soberly.
If tonight?s analysis suggest that Judaism is taking a course that is more and more divorced not only from acknowledgment of realia, but also from reality and ultimately that which is at the center of the halacha ? morality and spirituality ? then we must all ask ourselves, what can I do about it? If our critic is correct, we must further ask ourselves, why is the impact of my opinion and action so limited? In other words, why are those of us who want to promote a more open self-aware vision of Orthodoxy not making a difference?
The main attack against a more open vision of Orthodoxy is that it doesn?t work. It does not promote high levels of observance. It does not promote intensity of commitment. What it does do, is allow for easier access to the paths of assimilation. These are convincing arguments and they have convinced many of our Orthodox brethren. These arguments are so convincing that in speaking with a major Modern Orthodox leader in the United States, he told me that he spends sleepless nights, wondering if he is not actually promoting a vision that pushes most people away from serious commitment.
Herein is the challenge: if we really believe that Judaism is in crisis, then we must do something. Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch compared Judaism to a house on fire. I don?t think that fire was ever completely put out. In our generation, the house sometimes looks intact (in fact, we have even done shiputzim and added on a floor or two). Upon more careful inspection, however, one realizes that a ferocious blaze is destroying the foundation. Once that foundation is destroyed, the house will cave in before anyone can even realize what is going on. A leadership that allows, and perhaps sometimes even promotes, cultural ignorance, petty corruption and intolerance can not help us.
We now have a choice - we can watch critically, wave our fingers at our brethren and smugly say, ?I told you so,? as things fall apart, or we can try to push ourselves to religious levels that will command respect, allowing us to push aside a leadership that is failing. If the Lithuanian yeshiva community has been able to usurp the direction of Orthodoxy, it is partly our fault. If we are not taken seriously, it is largely our fault. If we are to compete ideologically, we must also compete with their level of seriousness and commitment. We must also compete with their dedication to Torah study. As Rabbi Kooperman of Michlala once put it, we must be permeated by Torah and not just punctuated by it. If Torah is not the raison d?etre of our existence, we will be relegated to the position of helpless bystanders even as our diagnosis of the contemporary crisis is correct.
Friends, we must throw our hats into the ring. I am actually speaking to all those who find common cause with our vision of an open, sophisticated and intellectually honest brand of Orthodoxy. For the sake of the holy Torah and for the sake of the future of the Jewish people, we must compete. With our daily actions, words and thoughts, we must show that an open Orthodoxy can work. With every ounce of our strength, we must show that an open Orthodoxy will work. I am convinced that, if we can do this, the tide will change and we will be able to set the tone. A tone that will be consistent with contemporary realia and, accordingly, consistent with truth itself.
Libertarian Implications of Contemporary Realia
When I was learning for smikha here in Jerusalem, I remember being invited to my first Gemara rebbe?s house for Shabbat. I was quite proud of how much I had accomplished being under his tutelage and was eager to show him my abilities. I prepared what I considered to be a very sophisticated Beit haLevi on that week?s parsha. That Shabbat, when I finished saying the d?var Torah, I looked at my rebbe for the approval I expected. Instead, he responded with two words ? ?So what!? He went on to explain that the difference between his yeshiva, which was a mussar yeshiva, and Brisk, was that in his yeshiva, a d?var Torah could not just be an intellectual exercise, but rather had to have some practical conclusions that would help, in some way, to make one a better Jew.
So what! So what practical conclusions, if any, can we gain as a result of the preceding analysis. One conclusion we can suggest is to realize that the entire halachic enterprise is threatened when we avoid reality and truth. As a result, I think we should show greater willingness to stand up for truth. Many of us are far too indulgent of that which is false.
In my neighborhood, it is common practice to distort information about a family?s personal standards or orientation, in order to get into certain schools whose code is at odds with that of the home. In defense of such a practice, I heard of a parent declaring that when it comes to your children, you are willing to lie, cheat or steal.
I would like to make one thing clear: One cannot lie, cheat or steal for one?s children, one can only do such things against one?s children. No matter how wonderful and spiritual a school environment may be, any resulting spiritual benefits are completely undermined by lying to get in.
When we don?t stand for that which is true, we often end up not standing for that which is morally correct either. Blurring distinctions between true and false is a very short step away form blurring distinctions between right and wrong. In a world more and more sophisticated, traditional Judaism can afford neither.
Another practical conclusion has to do with a conversation whose its implications may provide us with an appropriate charge. The individual I spoke with is a rebbe at a Charedi yeshiva. He told me that our lectures [at the David Cardozo Academy - ed.] were being heard by the wrong people. Recognizing that we are trying to engineer social change, he told me that the audience attendance is not able to create that social change. He continued, saying that leadership is in the hands of the Charedi yeshiva world. They are the ones setting the tone of contemporary Orthodoxy. While not meant as an attack, it behooves us to take this as an attack, nonetheless. Moreover, this is an attack that we must address soberly.
If tonight?s analysis suggest that Judaism is taking a course that is more and more divorced not only from acknowledgment of realia, but also from reality and ultimately that which is at the center of the halacha ? morality and spirituality ? then we must all ask ourselves, what can I do about it? If our critic is correct, we must further ask ourselves, why is the impact of my opinion and action so limited? In other words, why are those of us who want to promote a more open self-aware vision of Orthodoxy not making a difference?
The main attack against a more open vision of Orthodoxy is that it doesn?t work. It does not promote high levels of observance. It does not promote intensity of commitment. What it does do, is allow for easier access to the paths of assimilation. These are convincing arguments and they have convinced many of our Orthodox brethren. These arguments are so convincing that in speaking with a major Modern Orthodox leader in the United States, he told me that he spends sleepless nights, wondering if he is not actually promoting a vision that pushes most people away from serious commitment.
Herein is the challenge: if we really believe that Judaism is in crisis, then we must do something. Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch compared Judaism to a house on fire. I don?t think that fire was ever completely put out. In our generation, the house sometimes looks intact (in fact, we have even done shiputzim and added on a floor or two). Upon more careful inspection, however, one realizes that a ferocious blaze is destroying the foundation. Once that foundation is destroyed, the house will cave in before anyone can even realize what is going on. A leadership that allows, and perhaps sometimes even promotes, cultural ignorance, petty corruption and intolerance can not help us.
We now have a choice - we can watch critically, wave our fingers at our brethren and smugly say, ?I told you so,? as things fall apart, or we can try to push ourselves to religious levels that will command respect, allowing us to push aside a leadership that is failing. If the Lithuanian yeshiva community has been able to usurp the direction of Orthodoxy, it is partly our fault. If we are not taken seriously, it is largely our fault. If we are to compete ideologically, we must also compete with their level of seriousness and commitment. We must also compete with their dedication to Torah study. As Rabbi Kooperman of Michlala once put it, we must be permeated by Torah and not just punctuated by it. If Torah is not the raison d?etre of our existence, we will be relegated to the position of helpless bystanders even as our diagnosis of the contemporary crisis is correct.
Friends, we must throw our hats into the ring. I am actually speaking to all those who find common cause with our vision of an open, sophisticated and intellectually honest brand of Orthodoxy. For the sake of the holy Torah and for the sake of the future of the Jewish people, we must compete. With our daily actions, words and thoughts, we must show that an open Orthodoxy can work. With every ounce of our strength, we must show that an open Orthodoxy will work. I am convinced that, if we can do this, the tide will change and we will be able to set the tone. A tone that will be consistent with contemporary realia and, accordingly, consistent with truth itself.