Toras Emes And Modernity

Written by Rabbi Amos Bunim

Wednesday, 13 September 2006 19:00

On the front page of an issue of the Jewish Press published earlier this year (July 14), an essay appeared by Rabbi Saul Berman, the founder and head of an organization called "Edah." In this article, Rabbi Berman articulates his view of what the ideology of Modern Orthodoxy should be. He writes that the revival of this movement is necessary, because it represents modernity in Judaism. Owing to financial constraints, Edah was forced to close its doors. However, it has recently joined forces with Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, headed by Rabbi Avi Weiss.

The lay leadership of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah expressed their feelings that Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS), an affiliate of Yeshiva University, has leanings that are more to the right and that it was necessary to organize Yeshivat Chovevei Torah as a Modern Orthodox yeshiva that would have leanings more to the left.

Edah and Chovevei Torah are creating a movement that will encompass those who identify themselves as part of the Orthodox left. The leaders of these organizations, however, should be prepared to face the fact that such a step involves enormous challenges to the very fabric of our religious beliefs. Yeshivat Chovevei Torah and its leaders should therefore redouble their efforts to remain true to the tenets of Torah and Yiddishkeit.

The situation that existed in the early 1920s is most instructive. The founders of the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), including Sabatias Morias, were Orthodox rabbis. They believed that Orthodox Judaism could not survive in

America in its original form. They thought that they had to "modernize" Judaism to make it more palatable to the American Jew-that compromises had to be made, and Orthodox Judaism had to be revised, in a sense, in order to fit into "modern society."

My rebbi, Rav Yoshe Ber Soloveitchik, zt'l, once discussed with me one of the founders of the Jewish Theological Seminary, Rabbi Dr. Louis Finkelstein. Rabbi Soloveitchik said, "Louis Finkelstein was a man who wore a tallis over his head and tied a handkerchief around his neck on Shabbos (to avoid the prohibition of carrying on Shabbos)... How could a man with such dedication to adherence to mitzvos organize a seminary based on compromises and try to modernize traditional Judaism?"

Rabbi Finkelstein made his first compromise when the use of the mechitzah was discontinued. The physical parallel to Hashem's Temple was thus discarded, in order to make the women feel that they were partners in worship.

The next compromise: Conservative constituents were given dispensation to drive to the synagogue on Shabbos. It was felt that this would increase attendance in the synagogue, since they were driving to the mall and to Saturday-afternoon soccer games anyway. The cardinal error in this approach was that instead of trying to educate and develop their constituency to explore and appreciate the beauties and ideals of Judaism, the leaders of the Conservative movement brought Judaism down toward the rampant assimilation of a society trying to distance itself from the heritage of Sinai.

The Conservative movement considered compromise to be the panacea of living Modern Judaism in America. The compromises did not end.

Today, we can observe the devastating results of these compromises. The Conservative movement is now on the verge of fully recognizing gay marriages and gay rabbis (Jewish Week, September 1). The current dismal state of affairs was recognized by Ismar Schorsch, chancellor emeritus of JTS. He said at their last commencement exercise,
"Our forebears embraced history to enlarge and enrich Jewish observance; we wield it, if at all, to shrink it."

In Pirkei Avos (5:22), our sages ask, "Mah bein talmidav shel Avraham Avinu l'salmidav shel Bil'am HaRasha?" ("What is the difference between the students of Avraham Avinu and the students of Bilaam the Rasha?")

Rav Chaim Volozhin asked on this question, Why didn't the sages formulate their question using a more simple construct: "What's the difference between Avraham and Bilaam?" Why refer to their students?
Rav Chaim answered that if you looked at Avraham, obviously you saw a tzaddik, and if you perceived the visage of Bilaam bringing offerings to Hashem, you would have seen him as a fully righteous individual. You would not have been able to tell the difference. If you wanted to distinguish between them, you would have to look at their students; there you would see the difference.

It would be instructive to look at the students-the products of the approach of compromise.

The current products of the Jewish Theological Seminary are, in their misguided idealism, undermining the foundations of Torah. They argue for evolving cultural changes in secular mores and for all sorts of "progressive" positions completely foreign to true Torah values. And, le'havdil, look at the students of the great gadol of our age, Rav Aharon Kotler, zt'l, (mori v'rabi in shimush haTorah), who built an institution called Bais Midrash Govoah. This Torah fortress is one of the foremost Torah establishments in this world. It is bulging with 5,000 dedicated and remarkable Torah scholars (ken yirbu), and many of the talmidim are disseminating Torah throughout the world. They are building yeshivos and kollelim. These kollelim are literally transforming secular Jewish communities into true Torah communities.

Let us also examine the history of the Conservative movement. Its three great leaders-Dr. Judah Magnes, Dr. Israel Friedlander, and Dr. Mordechai Kaplan-saw the future of Judaism in the Young Israel movement. They attempted to either merge with or take over this movement. However, Dr. Bernard Revel (the president of Yeshiva College), through his great wisdom, sagacity, and foresight, convinced the leadership of Young Israel that the Conservative movement, with its concepts of modernity and compromise, was woefully misguided and would sow the seeds of the destruction of Torah in America.

I point to this instructive model of the 1920s, because I fear that there are some noteworthy parallels. Are Edah and Yeshivat Chovevei Torah opening up the possibility of a new type of Conservative movement? Many of their ideologies and platforms run counter to normative Judaism and Torah thought.

We have lived for centuries by the teachings of Chazal, including "Kol kevodah bas melech penimah." To anyone who has studied the feminist platform, its roots and notions will be seen as the antithesis of Torah thought. The direction and tone of these organizations regarding the role of women are following the beat of a different drummer. The great poseik of our age, HaRav Moshe Feinstein, zt'l, found the concepts of women's minyanim and sermons very foreign to Torah.

Rabbi Berman makes reference to movements that began 200 years ago, proffering that these movements displayed healthy differences. But some of these differences were in fact quite disastrous to Torah observance.
One of the main leaders of the Enlightenment movement, known as the Haskalah movement, was Moses Mendelsohn (1788-1861). He was an Orthodox Jew-shomer Torah u'mitzvos-who received a traditional education. In order to make Judaism more palatable to the masses, he took some radical steps and positions. He felt that secularism and modernism would help perpetuate Judaism. His grandchildren did not remain Jewish. While hailed in some circles, the Haskalah movement was actually quite damaging to Judaism and the Torah world. It took Torah scholars and transformed them into secular scholars totally removed from Torah.

We must also consider the revolution and evolution of the Reform movement, which was rooted in this ideology of secularized Judaism. Stephen Wise and his Progressive Judaism movement adopted a position that intentionally sought to disallow the saving of hundreds of thousands of Jewish lives during the Holocaust. His brand of Judaism caused him to believe that "social welfare" was more important than saving lives. His Progressive Judaism movement also destroyed much Torah Judaism in America.

As a talmid and musmach of Rav Soloveitchik, I remember his vociferousness in speaking out against any relationship with the Conservative and Reform Jews on any and all religious matters.

I once heard from Rav Aharon Kotler in 1956, when 11 rashei yeshiva met and issued an issur against the Synagogue Council of America and the New York Board of Rabbis. Rav Kotler was the chairman of that meeting, and he requested that there be no mention of the issur until he had a chance to discuss the matter with Rav Soloveitchik.

However, an overly zealous individual (not one of the rashei yeshiva) found out about the issue and publicized it before Rav Kotler had the opportunity to meet with Rav Soloveitchik. Rav Kotler was very upset and he told me, "This day is a tragic day in the history of Judaism in America."

After the petirah of Rav Soloveitchik, I went to Brookline, Massachusetts, to be menachem aveil. The family told me the depth of Rav Soloveitchik's hurt stemming from the fact that he was not included with the other rashei yeshiva.
Rabbis Berman and Weiss ought to look into some of the positions and philosophies espoused by some musmachim of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. These positions need to be corrected in order to ensure that critical errors not be made.

What needs to be done now is to reevaluate many of the positions and philosophies that have developed within this new movement, with an eye toward reestablishing the primacy of Toras emes. My wish for them is, "chazak ve'ematz" in Torah values.

It is important to note that despite the strong concern that Judaism in America would not thrive unless altered, the camp of b'nei Torah is flourishing and blossoming. The underlying reason for the burgeoning of the b'nei Torah camp cannot be dismissed: it represents true, unadulterated Toras emes. Refusing to compromise in dikduk ha'mitzvos and Torah-true values is the secret behind the success of the b'nei Torah movement.

In the merit of the continued adherence to Torah values, may we all be blessed to see the coming of Mashiach in the very near future. May Klal Yisrael see redemption from all the evil forces of the world and may Eretz Yisrael be blessed to live in peace and tranquility, b'ezras Hashem.