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| One of the hostages - Reform Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker (Dallas News) |
This is of course not to say that Orthodox opposition to heterodoxy’s push for recognition and thereby legitimacy is wrong. I believe that Orthodoxy must be opposed to it as a matter of principle. Legitimizing what we believe to be illegitimate would be a gross violation of principle. Although I might disagree in how we go about it. There is no question that we must ‘go about it’. And yet – as I said - it’s a pity that it has come to this.
I mention this in light of the attack last Shabbos against a Reform synagogue in Texas by Malik Faisal Akram - an Islamic terrorist. There were four Jews taken hostage, one of which was the synagogue’s Reform rabbi, Charlie Cytron-Walker.
It doesn’t matter how observant they were or which denomination they are affiliated with. We are all brothers and sisters - together in the same ‘boat of the Jewish people’. We need to thank God that they survived. And thank local and national law enforcement for seeing to it that this event was brought to a successful conclusion. I don’t think it could have been handled in a better fashion than it was.
(As an aside – I am once again gratified at the near universal unqualified support for the Jewish people by the American people of all faiths – regardless of political affiliation. This is the America that I know and love.)
There has been some talk about the lack of a response by some of our Orthodox leadership about this ordeal. I’m not sure whether the criticism is deserved or not. But I would not be surprised that in some Orthodox circles, the fact that this involved a Reform synagogue and a Reform rabbi might be why the response was muted – if it was even there at all.
This is wrong headed. But let us examine why that might be the case.
Because of this event, the rabbi’s views about Israel’s treatment of Palestinians has become known and it is not flattering (to say the least). Unfortunately those views have become an increasing theme among liberal streams of Judaism of which this rabbi is by definition a leader. As recently as last May, a vicious criticism of Israel – calling it an Apartheid state – was made in by a group of Reform rabbinical students.
I have no sympathy for such views. And I cannot protest them enough. They are based on a combination of ignorance and a culture of left wing influences prevalent among leftist academics.
One may ask, if all this is the case why have any sympathy at all for them?
The fact is that as difficult as it is for any Orthodox Jew to hear those kinds of things being said about Israel by fellow - even non-religious Jews, that does not make Rabbi Cytron-Walker or any of his congregants any less Jewish (assuming they are children of a Jewish mother – which is increasingly becoming questionable since Reform’s re-definition of who is a Jew. But I digress.)
I have sympathy for them in spite of those views. Views that are no doubt the result of the fact that they had little to no authentic Jewish education. They have inadvertently substituted a liberal/left ethos as their definition of Judaism through no fault of their own. In other words they are Tinokos SheNishbu – The vast number of Jews raised in non observant homes have been ‘captured’ by the liberal ethos of our time.
I do not mean to sound condescending. As I said - Reform Jews are my brothers and sisters. But this is what I believe to be the truth.
On the other hand there is another side to Reform Judaism that is being ignored. A positive side that could be cultivated but instead is being pushed away by the current animosity between us.
Not that long ago, (probably about 30 or so years ago) something amazing happened to Reform Judaism. Their leadership realized what has been obvious to Orthodox Jews all along. A Jewish movement devoid of any recognizable Jewish content is not Jewish at all and has no way of surviving. So instead of discarding every ritual in the Torah as archaic and unnecessary in the modern era, they did a 180. They started embracing Mitzvah observance. Not as a requirement. But as a very positive option for purposes of identity and perpetuation.
Before that time, a Reform rabbi wouldn’t be caught dead wearing a Kipa. But many Reform rabbis now do. Including Rabbi Cytron-Walker. There is still some pushback by the old guard that insists on avoiding all ritual. But the pendulum has definitely swung in the direction of more observance.
It’s true that increasingly - as Pew has shown - most American Jews could not care less about their Judaism. But there are a significant number of Jews that care enough to at least attend a Reform synagogue once a week – or at least watch the synagogue’s services via live-stream.
Which is why I started out by saying it’s a pity that all this animosity exists. It is driving a wedge between us that may be irreversible.
It would be far better if we could have had a positive relationship with Reform Judaism. And used their increased observance as a means of reaching out to them. There are surely more than a few of Reform synagogue attendees that would like to know more about Judaism and find that their denominations falls short on information. It should not stretch the imagination to suggest that they might seek it from those of us that have had an extensive Jewish education and are fully observant.
It would not be the first time a Reform Jew has become a fully observant Orthodox Jew after searching for truth and finding it among us. But with what is going on now in Israel, that is becoming an elusive goal to hope for. The current animosity between us generates only hatred. And hatred is not a good Kiruv tactic.