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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message -----
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A
title=akeen@capital.net href="mailto:akeen@capital.net">Annette Keen</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=admin@ngfp.org
href="mailto:admin@ngfp.org">admin@ngfp.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, February 21, 2007 4:47 AM</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Re: [NGFP-BookClub] on to second session</DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=msros@mscc.huji.ac.il href="mailto:msros@mscc.huji.ac.il">michael
Rosenak</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=ngfp-bookclub@lists.ngfp.org
href="mailto:ngfp-bookclub@lists.ngfp.org">ngfp</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, February 18, 2007 1:16
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [NGFP-BookClub] on to second
session</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT><FONT
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman">Prof. Rosenak et al,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Dr. Halberstam argues that, in essence, only the one who
observes the mitzvot is free, because he and she have liberated themselves
from behavior that is dictated by others, persons or forces, that serve
as an excuse "not to be responsible". What might a non-observant person
respond to this claim?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"><EM>Note: Since the level of
observance Dr. Halberstam advocates is not defined, I am left to assume by the
implacable tone of the "only the observant" comment that he lobbies
for a "complete" frumness and withdrawal from non-orthodox society.
I also assume he represents the middle ground, modern
pro-Zionist orthodoxy. And I address my responses only to the religious
sphere and since I am an American Jew, I limit myself to this
category.</EM></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><EM><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT></EM> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman">There are many ways to define freedom of
choice in a democracy -- political, social, economic,
psychological and religious -- and these freedoms of choices
are impinged to a lesser or greater degree by a host of secular laws,
as well as national and local mores and customs, limitations
that range from the open and obvious to the subtle and subconscious.
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman">As an individual and as an American,
limiting myself to Dr. Halberstam's clever but narrow - and needlessly
confrontational - argument, I agree; one can look at withdrawal from
obvious influences that mitigate against a conscious decision to be orthodoxly
observant as a kind of personal liberation from outside worldy
influences. To be the captain of one's ship, so to speak, but clearly
that ship is moored to a higher controlling authority and morality - God
and Torah. This is an ideal view and there is great comfort in this
God-permeated life, supported by a highly structured order of daily
living that elevates the mundane with rituals that feed the
spirit and give meaning and certainty to one's place in this fallen
world. I am heartened that the orthodox community continues to display
that this way of life can endure and prosper into the 21st Century. I will go
so far as to grant that perhaps this community redeems us all. But practically
speaking, this community does not and will never recruit us all. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman">For the vast majority of American
Jews, who enjoy</FONT><FONT face="Times New Roman"> full political
rights, are at home in the culture, fluent in the language and literature of
the host country, whose lives and living spans a wide vista of interactions
with a multitude even if no longer a melting pot of people, and who
participate in numerous overlapping activities, causes and institutions,
only a "pick and choose" menu of mitzvot observance, and in some cases, less
than that, will define their Jewishness. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman">Are Jews so populous in the world, and is
being Jewish so sought after, that we can as a people afford <EM>not</EM> to
count as a Jews, each Jew who feels himself a Jew and longs to connect in his
own way to Judaism? Has history not traumatized us enough? Is there so much
love in the world for Jews that Jews need not love one another even as they
differ over degrees of observance and pathways to God? </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman">In my upstate New York community, several
thousands of Jews live together in harmony. There are in the Albany capital
region about 12 synagogues, including some reform, some conservative
[these range from leaning more towards orthodox to leaning more towards
liberal, inclusive and egalitarian with women given full bima rights] some
orthodox and a thriving Chabad community. We move freely among all
these groupings and are welcome in each other's homes and synagogues;
there is free movement among each synagogue's activities and adult education
programs and it is not unusual to find at the weekly Torah
portion study class given at the orthodox synagogue, more reform and
conservative Jews than orthodox members. Come Simchas Torah and
Purim, Chabad service attendence swells with non-orthodox Jews who
relish the joyousness so spontaneous to this segment of our Jewish
family. For weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs, and at funerals and burials,
it is not unusual for all denominations to be present, including the clergy. I
recently attended a funeral and burial of a member of our conservative
synagogue, who was known by both the reform and orthodox rabbis in our
immediate area. I was especially moved that our conservative rabbi had invited
the two other rabbis, and that each rose to give a eulogy, recounting how
each came to know the deceased, whether as a neighbor, a student at their
classes, an occasional visitor to a service or other activity that brought
them together. Each rabbi had visited this woman in the hospital
regularly, and each had comforted her in their way, because she was a Jewish
person, a member of the tribe, not a member of the enemy camp.
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman">That is not to imply that American
Jewry has no problems with assimilation and intermarriage and that our
open society is not encroaching more and more on the personal life. How to
survive as Jews in America in a practical sense will require a broad outreach
and education effort and this is a big topic being taken very seriously. But
it is clear to me that </FONT><FONT face="Times New Roman">we are too few
Jews in this world to set up walls that separate us as a people from each
other. We should agree to disagree theologically, and encourage all
Jews to turn as much as they can towards a positive identity of
their Jewishness. If there is one sure thing that I can say I believe, it is
that there is a place for each Jew, and that is as protector of every
other Jew.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT
face="Times New Roman">Annette </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT> </DIV>
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