The first ordination banquet of the Hebrew Union College of Reform Judaism did not go smoothly. A group of invited rabbis opened their menus, realized that the first course was to be little-neck clams, and immediately left. Fast forward 125 years, and once again the abandonment of Jewish values was too profound for some of those invited to bear.
In a recent, now infamous, speech PA President Mahmoud Abbas turned his attention to history’s favorite target: the Jews. This is no surprise, as the very name “Palestine” has always served to dissociate the Jews from their homeland.
How often do we hear that Orthodox Jews care only about themselves, and don’t even accept the Jewish status of other Jews? To stereotype a particular group, whether religious or ethnic, as being supremacist is part of the problem, not the solution.
The Western Wall in Jerusalem could (and should) be a place of Jewish unity; instead, it has become for some a target of envy. How much more good would these American leaders do, were they to not increase jealousy but reduce it?
Western civilization depends upon choosing biblical values over those of Greeks, Romans, Huns, and Visigoths. This is not a political posture, but reference to our moral foundation.
No one was “roughed up” due to being a Reform Jew, much as saying so delighted anti-Semitic bigots around the globe. Whatever violence transpired was directly attributable to the behavior of Rabbi Davidson and his colleagues.
A piskah tovah to all! I, too, will keep this brief. The truth to which I referred was the following: The truth is exactly as Rabbi Shafran said most recently: “Torah Jews are perceived,...
I am genuinely delighted that Rabbi Shafran has posted yet again, not least of all because it proves I’m not alone in going at it until we finish the job.
It’s good to have differences of opinion on Cross-Currents. In this case, the more we hone our arguments, we rapidly see how little there is to argue about.
We should acknowledge that beliefs mandated by the Torah are frequently described as “conservative” by American politicos. If we faithfully advocate for Torah ideals, we will not escape being cast as “partisan.”
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