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1996

Familiar Strangers: Orthodox Jews Encountering Non-Orthodox Jews and Non-Jews (1996)

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Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Jews in the United States (1955)

Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Jews in the United States – Second article of a series on Responsa of Orthodox Judaism by Rabbi Dr. Joseph B. Soloveitchik. Question: American Jewish organizations tend to become more and more centralized, and in some instances, even integrated. What is the position of Orthodox Judaism toward this tendency? Is cooperation between Orthodox and non-Orthodox congregations, and between musmachim of yeshivot and other spiritual leaders, possible or not? Especially, we should like to know why Orthodoxy fights the Conservative movement, notwithstanding that the spokesmen of Conservative Judaism claim to recognize the authority of the halakhah. Responsum: The question of cooperation between the various groups is a very complex one. It is currently one of the most burning issues on the agenda of the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA). I should like to review briefly here the proposal which I presented at the last conference of the RCA this past summer in Detroit. The proposal is based upon a halakhic–aggadic concept. First, unity in Israel is a basic principle in Judaism. We have formulated this principle in one sentence: “You are One, Your name is One, and who is like Your people Israel, a unique nation on the earth?” The principle of unity expresses itself in two ways. First, the unity of Jews as members of a spiritual community, as a congregation which was established through the conclusion of a covenant at Mt. Sinai: “And you shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” The unity of Knesset Yisrael as a community is based upon the uniqueness of the Torah way of life, as practiced by us through Torah existence. What ties the Yemenite water carrier in Tel Aviv to the Jews of Boston? A uniform Orach Chayim, the Shema Yisrael, Shabbat, the Kol Nidrei night, the Seder night, kashrut, tefillin, the trait of kindness, the hope and waiting for redemption. The Hebrew word edah (congregation) is the same as ed (witness), edut (tes…
Orthodoxy & Other Denominations

Outline

Orthodoxy and the Rest of the World: An Alternative to Buzz Words and Fuzzy Concepts (1997)

I. Introduction: I’ll not comment on specific “cases” described in your brochure and which you’ve discussed earlier today. Rather, I want to make some observations on the general background of our inter-communal relationships – or the lack of them – and show how often – too often! – we substitute clichés for meaningful terms, and that our penchant for clichés clouds our minds and yields to passion instead of reason. Buzz words reign supreme, and the fuzzier they are, the more influential they become. Semantic confusion leads to silliness profusion – and worse… to ideological delusion.II. Significance of Words before and after ש מ״ ע… purify lips… ה' שפתי תפתח ופי יגיד תהילתך… נצור לשוני מרע ושפתי מדבר מרמה Rambam: whole first chapter of Guide… So: Examples…Ill Buzz Words:A Segregation: The bane of the early Day School movement ...Wrong, but...Ludwig Lewisohn: ®-greg=out of flock. . .(So: discrimination)...B Judgmental: Prof. David Gelerenter, in his Drawing Life: before 1960’s, word never pejorative, now rarely used otherwise...”A society whose citizens were not judgmental would be a society without justice.”C. Tolerance: I’ve been arguing for tolerance for long time—CJHV concentrating on tolerance —but that’s for us Orthodox, who have been excessively intolerant... But Gelerenter: “Transcendental tolerance “—you can tell quality of a society by what it does/does not tolerate. . .Tolerance should never “trump the principles of justice and common decency”. . . In attacking the arrogance of the intellectual class—editors, journalists, academicians—, Gelerenter says: “In their world, tolerance is a cardinal virtue. In fact, it comes pretty close to being the only virtue.” In other words, it’s a buzz word. And a fuzzy one at that1D. Pluralism:* w egalitarianism—the new catechism of Reform/Conservative—replacing שמע and...עשרת הדברות* what they mean by it: form of relativism ...* is there any value to Pluralism? Yes: political.racial...halakhic...religious (in sense of …
Orthodoxy & Other Denominations

Speech

The Jews and Society: A Religio-Cardiological View (1999)

I believe it necessary to begin my lecture in honor of the memory of one of the most significant families in the annals of this historic congregation by explaining the rather strange sub-title. Jewish tradition and history have woven a web of paradox over Jews and their relations to the environing society. On the one hand, the pagan prophet Balaam, his words enshrined in the Torah, gazes upon us and declares in admiration that Israel is עם לבדד ישכון, a people that dwells alone (Numbers 23:9). On the other, Isaiah summons us to a universal mission: ונתתיך לאור גויים, to be a light unto the nations (Isa. 49:6). We are both particularistic and universal. The tension between the two poles has subsisted over the centuries, and has defined not only our self-understanding, but also our role on the world scene. The great Spanish-Jewish poet and philosopher, Rabbi Yehuda Halevi (1085-1141), conjoined both of these elements in a classic formulation, in his immortal work, the Kuzari (2:36): ישראל באומות—הם בבחינת הלב באיברים. The role of Israel amongst the nations is akin to the function of the heart amongst the other organs of the body. Yehuda Halevi thus adopts a “religio-cardiological” view of the Jewish mission in the world. The metaphor reveals an underlying dialectic: Israel, as “the heart of the nations,” is weakened by the moral and spiritual diseases that ravage the world even as, at the same time, it sustains and energizes the same world. It is a separate organ, in and of itself, yet it is intimately connected with the rest of the body. We are a nation alone, but charged to be a light to the world. That assuredly is not an easy task, but it is our glory as well as our burden. And never may we permanently sever these functions from each other. Our story as a people begins with the revelation at Mt. Sinai. It is there that we were commissioned to undertake a dual function for all posterity. ואתם תהיו לי ממלכת כהנים וגוי קדוש, you shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests…
Orthodoxy & Other Denominations