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Eitan Gross is an example of what Modern Orthodoxy is capable of producing. He has captured what I believe to be the major problem facing Modern Orthodoxy today. Which is valuing modernity more than Orthodoxy. And he has suggested ways to improve it.
The sad fact about Modern Orthodoxy is that it consists largely of observant Jews that I have called MO-Lite. Observant Judaism is commonly defined as observing 3 primary Mitzvos: Shabbos, Kashrus, and Taharas HaMishpacha (the laws of family purity). That some Jews may not be conversant with every jot and tittle of these important Mitzvos is not the point. Very few people are. The Halachos are very complex and can be easily violated – mostly inadvertently – by people of all Hashkafos. Some people know more – some less. But the defining feature among them all is that they are observant of those three Mitzvos.
The problem with MO-Lite Jews lies in how they view rest of Halacha relative to their lifestyles or even the level to which they are committed to the big three. Unfortunately most ‘pick and choose’ what they want to observe and how meticulous they want to be about observing what they choose.
Much of reason for that in my view is a lack of basic knowledge of what the Halacha is and the relative importance of it. They have either never learned the value of following Halacha properly, or if they did learn it – ignore those Halachos they consider minor and unimportant.
Their lifestyles are more about assimilating cultural values over Torah values. So that when the two value systems conflict, many MO-Lites end up choosing modernity over Halacha. Absolving themselves from observing a given Halacha by saying that everyone picks and chooses. ‘You will make your choices and I will make mine’.
That there is a difference between actual Halacha, and Minhag (custom) is often not even known to them nor they do they necessarily care to know - since they do not have a high level of commitment to what they believe are minor Halachos. So that lifestyle choices will sometimes outweigh Halachic considerations when they conflict.
That there is a difference between actual Halacha, and Minhag (custom) is often not even known to them nor they do they necessarily care to know - since they do not have a high level of commitment to what they believe are minor Halachos. So that lifestyle choices will sometimes outweigh Halachic considerations when they conflict.
Bearing this in mind, here are some of the things noted by Eitan in his Times of Israel article:
(A)s I grow up and I’m exposed more to how members of the Modern Orthodox community, old and young, act, I realize that there is glaring hypocrisy and internal contradiction...
As kids, we are proactively exposed to media and entertainment that is anti-religious and contrary to Halacha. Is it realistic to assume that a teenager’s value system will not be corroded by the endless subtle and not so subtle attacks on Torah true values?
… the supposed balance between religious values and secular values seems to be much more weighted towards the secular than the religious…
We are infested with American culture, and forget our past. We care about world values, and neglect our own. We care more about Western morals than the true morals of the Torah. We are high school students before talmidim. We are aspiring sports players before yearning Talmud scholars. We are college graduates before yeshiva bachurim. We are Modern before Orthodox...
We are so addicted to the secular world that Hashem is never given a chance…
I wish I could say he’s wrong. But I believe he is very right. I have to assume that the MO world in which he is raised is typical. Which means that the typical MO Jew is MO-Lite.
This is of course not to say that there is no such thing as Charedi-Lite. There certainly is and it is a growing population. By leaps and bounds. As the Charedi world grows so too will those who are ‘Lite’ in their observance. Which is a problem beyond the scope of this post. Besides, it is also true that as large as this segment is in the Charedi world, the percentage of Charedim like that is much smaller than the percentage of MO-Lites.
This is also not to say that all of MO is Lite. Nor does it mean that Modern Orthodoxy should be defined that way. I have said more than once that it is the Hashkafa that defines Modern Orthodoxy, not those that identify as such regardless of their level of observance.
What is Modern Orthodoxy? I’ve defined it many times. It simply means positive engagement with the world. Both in the educational sphere and in the cultural sphere. Modern Orthodoxy believes that educating ourselves in Limudei Chol is a positive value. And that as long as there is no contradiction to Halacha and our Mesorah, engagement with the permissible parts of the culture is of neutral value and sometimes even beneficial.
However, Halacha always overrides the modernity when they conflict. And the values of the Torah always take precedence over secular values. This is how most of those Modern Orthodox Jews who call themselves ‘Centrists’ live their lives. There is nothing ‘Lite’ about our commitment. The MO Hashkafa requires the same level of commitment to the Torah as he Charedi Hashkafa. Torah study is valued as much by an MO Hahshkafa as it is by a Charedi Hashkafa. The only difference being that MO values Limudei Chol and engagement with the culture much more positively than Charedim do.
I have mentioned all this before. I repeat it here to disabuse people of the notion that MO equals MO- Lite. Which one can easily deduce form Eitan’s article. That is absolutely not the case. As an example - if one would observe the many students in the Beis Hamedrash of Yeshivas Rabbenu Yitzchok Elchonon (YU), one would see the same level of commitment to Torah study and observance of Halacha as the students of Lakewood.
Rav Herschel Shachter is a product of this school. As is Rav Mordechai Willig. As is Rav Aharon Rakeffet. Most RIETS (YU) students see them as role models. There are a great many YU products like that (including most of the members of he RCA). Year after year. They reside in Orthodox communities all over the world and integrate nicely with moderate Charedim. They are part of a community I have referred to as the 'new centrists' that will constitute the mainstream Orthodoxy of the future. These are the people that should be seen living the MO ideal. Not MO Lites – even though they are by far the greater proportion of Modern Orthodoxy today.
We cannot rely on liberal Orthodoxy (formerly called Open Orthodoxy) to save the day either. That became very clear to me from a recent survey that showed this demographic on track to assimilate out of Orthodoxy for far too many of its youth - as noted in a recent New York Jewish Week article:
We cannot rely on liberal Orthodoxy (formerly called Open Orthodoxy) to save the day either. That became very clear to me from a recent survey that showed this demographic on track to assimilate out of Orthodoxy for far too many of its youth - as noted in a recent New York Jewish Week article:
Those who reported decreasing levels of observance came exclusively from Orthodoxy’s more liberal camps, the self-identified “liberal” and “open” Orthodox.
Combine the relatively small but vocal liberal Orthodoxy with MO-Lite and you have the lion’s share of Modern Orthodoxy.This is what Eitan is concerned about. These concerns cannot be ignored. It pervades the MO world. And I agree with his ideas about a solution at least as a starting point.. He is right on target.
Modern Orthodox educators need to change their current educational paradigm and culture into one that emphasizes the value of Torah and Mitzvos over the value of the secular world. MO parents need to be a part of that education, both for themselves and as role models for their children. As difficult as it maybe to implement this kind of sea change in attitude, without it, we will have fewer ‘Eitans’ and a lot more MO-Lites. And they can easily end up assimilating out of Orthodoxy altogether.
Modern Orthodox educators need to change their current educational paradigm and culture into one that emphasizes the value of Torah and Mitzvos over the value of the secular world. MO parents need to be a part of that education, both for themselves and as role models for their children. As difficult as it maybe to implement this kind of sea change in attitude, without it, we will have fewer ‘Eitans’ and a lot more MO-Lites. And they can easily end up assimilating out of Orthodoxy altogether.