{"id":13457,"date":"1998-09-07T16:50:47","date_gmt":"1998-09-07T16:50:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jewishaction.com\/?p=13457"},"modified":"2020-07-27T08:24:00","modified_gmt":"2020-07-27T08:24:00","slug":"rabbi-mayer-schiller","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jewishaction.com\/opinion\/rabbi-mayer-schiller\/","title":{"rendered":"Rabbi Mayer Schiller"},"content":{"rendered":"

Orthodoxy is not merely a comfortable source of tribal bonding\u2026It is God\u2019s revealed path to Him.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Judaism teaches that spirituality is pursued in public as well as private realms.\u00a0 The \u201cfuture of American Orthodoxy\u201d will, thus, be played out on three stages:\u00a0 that of America and the world at large which we share with non-Jews, that of the Jewish people as a whole, both Orthodox and \u201cnot-yet-frum<\/em>,\u201d and internally in the communal and individual lives of shomrei Torah<\/em>.\u00a0 A cautionary note:\u00a0 we may all speculate a bit about the future.\u00a0 Ultimately, though, Providence is not bound by the rules of sociological cause and effect.\u00a0 We may safely anticipate many Divine surprises in the future as there have been in the past.<\/p>\n

The World and National Stage<\/strong><\/p>\n

There is an inevitable moral tension in being a \u201ckingdom of priests and a holy nation\u201d chosen in some way to forever \u201cdwell alone.\u201d\u00a0 In the Written and Oral Torahs and throughout Jewish history we have grappled with the rival demands of universalism and uniqueness.\u00a0 It is a tension which cannot be avoided for we live alongside non-Jews and inevitably relate to them as individuals and groups.<\/p>\n

There have, of late, been certain hesitant attempts to scrutinize our dealings with Gentile individuals.\u00a0 These efforts are commendable, but they fail to touch on Gentile group identity.\u00a0 This failure is a potentially dangerous one, for the non-Jew is as desirous as we are to experience the consolations and fulfillments of peoplehood.\u00a0 Jewish communal relations toward the non-Jewish world which ignore this basic human need are morally insensitive and sure to provoke resentment.<\/p>\n

How does our national-religious existence (which transcends borders and civilizations) relate to that of other nations amongst whom we often find ourselves?<\/p>\n

What is a nation?\u00a0 There are two types of national social contracts with which we are familiar.\u00a0 The first is identity based.\u00a0 It sees society as rooted in a commonality beyond that of mere ideas.\u00a0 Shared ancestry or religious fellowship is the raw material from which the social fabric is sewn.\u00a0 Think of England, Spain, Iran and Zaire in this regard, to cite some otherwise diverse examples.\u00a0 Israel is also an example of an identity-based society.\u00a0 A far smaller number of nations are (or, at least, attempt to be) idea-based.\u00a0 America today would be an example of this.\u00a0 According to this latter view, the nation is seen as devoid of specific identity.\u00a0 It is composed of many peoples and faiths, all pledged to the national ideology.\u00a0 In America, for example, this ideology has been variously defined in our 200-year history as a limited, constitutional republic at the founding and a multicultural, global crusade for egalitarian democracy today.<\/p>\n

The great ethical dilemma for Jewry since the Emancipation has been how<\/p>\n

to approach the non-Jew\u2019s sense of his own identity and social cohesion.\u00a0 Traditionally, our public advocates and organizations have attempted to convince the Gentile that he would be best with idea-based societies.\u00a0 We fear — and with much evidence from history — that Gentile societies rooted in identities, be they of faith, race, culture or ethnicity, will see us as a different people and persecute or, at very least, treat us in some ways as strangers.<\/p>\n

Is this advocacy duplicitous?\u00a0 The obvious question — whether this policy is good for the survival of Gentile group identities or their faiths — is never raised.\u00a0 The answer — again based on history — is obviously, no.\u00a0 Secular, heterogeneous, multicultural, capitalist societies devoid of commitment to peoplehood inexorably destroy the group identities of their inhabitants.<\/p>\n

In Netzach Yisrael<\/em> (Chapter 2) the Maharal posits that in pre-Messianic<\/p>\n

days all nations are deserving of independence because, \u201cGod created them all separately; therefore, none should rule over the other.\u201d\u00a0 Thus, all nations by virtue of a process which \u201cinheres in creation\u201d should have their own existence.\u00a0 It is easy to view self-determination favorably when we as a people are not effected by it.\u00a0 (Tibet should be free of the Communist Chinese or Kurdistan from Iraq.)\u00a0 What is more difficult is when self-determination is asked for by those whom Big Brother despises (the Afrikaner and Zulu in South Africa, the Scots-Presbyterians of Ulster or Quebecois in Canada).\u00a0 It is most difficult when nations among whom we dwell seek to preserve their peoplehood.<\/p>\n

The inevitable, vexing question then:\u00a0 Is it moral to publicly promote pluralist models for the Other?\u00a0 May we zealously guard our group loyalty (and in the case of Israel, see our Jewish identity as the nation\u2019s core) while stripping Gentiles of their identities in the name of global capitalism, open immigration, multiculturalism, egalitarianism and the like?<\/p>\n

Until we attempt to deal with this question honestly, Jewish social activism is doomed to be merely Machiavellian maneuvering for our own good, masquerading as social concern.<\/p>\n

There are four moral answers to this problem:\u00a0 1) Zionism, that is, living in Israel.\u00a0 This is the end result of proclaiming our peoplehood and answers the question of \u201cAre Jews English, French or German?\u201d with a resounding \u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0 2) Patriotism, a loyalty and sense of identity with the nation, people, culture, history where we dwell.\u00a0 3) Autonomy, no longer discussed as an option today, in which Jews would have their own authority structure within Gentile nations but be excluded from the Gentile governing procedure.\u00a0 4) Absolute universalism which seeks to obliterate all distinctions between peoples.<\/p>\n

Of course, the last approach, would it be sincere, would mean the end<\/p>\n

of our people along with all others in a global homogenization and must be ruled out.\u00a0 The current approach is to \u201chomogenize the non-Jews\u201d in order to protect ourselves.\u00a0 This view may be legitimate if we grant a Hobbesian view of intergroup relations, where all are seen as forever at war with each other and any means to survive, fair or foul, are demanded.\u00a0 Morality then becomes that of the tribe\u2019s survival and is neither universal nor ultimate.<\/p>\n

Currently this is the across-the-board Jewish approach.\u00a0 To me, it is unconscionable and fraught with danger, for the non-Jew is not as oblivious to the facade as he sometimes seems.\u00a0 Its rectification, following any of the above four options, should be at the top of our group agendas.\u00a0 Yet, this would require an openness of soul of which we are seemingly incapable at present.<\/p>\n

Two trends compete today for the allegiance of mankind.\u00a0 The first, which has humorously been labeled \u201cMacWorld,\u201d sees reality as economic (global capitalism) or political (\u201crights,\u201d \u201cpluralism,\u201d \u201cmulticulturalism\u201d ) and views national, religious, ethnic, racial, cultural, historical and local loyalties as meaningless relics of earlier ages.\u00a0 Although the former has money and power in the West today, the latter, both in the Third World, Europe and North America, has the dedication which extra-personal, group loyalty brings.\u00a0 Jews, who know the blessings of peoplehood, should be careful never to deny them to others.<\/p>\n

The Non-Orthodox<\/strong><\/p>\n

The \u201cnot-yet-frum<\/em>\u201d are another matter altogether.\u00a0 Here we must tread the delicate line between proclaiming the truth of Torah while reaching out to those tragically beyond its embrace.\u00a0 Although we are morally bound to all men, it is to Jewish souls that we are mystically linked.\u00a0 We are to love them unconditionally.\u00a0 This axiom of faith is one of the many which the Baal Shem Tov imbued with a renewed passion for our generations.\u00a0 Love conquers, if not all, at least much.\u00a0 It is what made the Lubavitcher Rebbe world revered and Reb Shlomo Carlebach inspiring.\u00a0 (Incidentally, both extended their concern to non-Jews as well.)\u00a0 It still possesses great potential if applied by shomrei Torah<\/em> to all Jews and all men.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, it does much harm to obfuscate basic truths.\u00a0 Pledged allegiances to \u201ctolerance\u201d and \u201cpluralism\u201d when relating to the ideologies of non-Orthodox movements have no place in Torah philosophy.\u00a0 Glib use of these phrases can only further confuse those Orthodox Jews whose minds are already clouded by modernism\u2019s plentiful heresies.\u00a0 Notions such as \u201ceveryone is entitled to their own opinion,\u201d or, \u201cOrthodoxy is true for you, but not for them,\u201d when mouthed by shomrei Torah,<\/em> are tantamount to an unwitting denial of faith.\u00a0 There is only one Judaism, that of the Torah.\u00a0 At what point in an individual or group kiruv<\/em> effort this axiom is stated is a prudential decision.\u00a0 Yet, at no point in the process should we say or imply that it isn\u2019t true.<\/p>\n

Whither kiruv<\/em>?\u00a0 Until recently the total domination of media, education and politics by secular decadence left me pessimistic.\u00a0 Today, though, the advent of alternative media on the Internet which bypasses secularism\u2019s censors combined with a growing sense that Big Brother doesn\u2019t always know best, provide a glimmer of hope.\u00a0 These alternatives of faith which we offer must be dignified, learned and charitable but willing to state the truth with courage.<\/p>\n

There is no reason to suspect that the unraveling of the social fabric taking place all around us will not continue.\u00a0 As a result, Jews are reaching and will continue to reach beyond the public school system.\u00a0 They will grow ever more disdainful of mainstream politicians and popular media.\u00a0 This appropriate skepticism may prove beneficial to their souls if Orthodoxy is creative, caring and, of course, courageous.<\/p>\n

A relatively recent development, linked in many ways to the just noted<\/p>\n

social disintegration, is a desire on the part of growing numbers of Jews in the Conservative and Reform movements for mitzvah<\/em> practice.\u00a0 A difficult question is, how are we to view these practices if done under non-Orthodox direction and auspices?\u00a0 At first glance, we are tempted to say that any mitzvah<\/em> a Jew does, any connection he makes with the Torah and his people is positive.\u00a0 However, I cannot help but be plagued by certain doubts.\u00a0 What is the halachic and subsequently metaphysical status of mitzvot<\/em> performed by those whose belief in their Divine origin is questionable?\u00a0 Whether we maintain mitzvos tzrichos kavanah <\/em>[mitzvos require intent] or not, surely, one cannot fulfill one\u2019s duty while maintaining a conscious belief that the mitzvos<\/em> are of human origin.\u00a0 It is one thing to say that the odd mitzvah<\/em> performed by a tinok shenishbah<\/em> [one raised in a milieu devoid of Torah] is valid if he has no thought about the source of the mitzvah<\/em> at all.\u00a0 It is another thing when mitzvos <\/em>are performed by the products of Reform and Conservative Day Schools and adult educators who teach explicitly that they are not Divine.<\/p>\n

Further, the performance of more mitzvos<\/em> in non-Orthodox circles may<\/p>\n

soothe the consciences of their practitioners to the point where the Torah-true path will not even be considered.\u00a0 This a complex issue which requires much serious thought.\u00a0 Suffice it to say, though, that our not-yet-frum<\/em> brethren are searching and we must be capable of quenching their spiritual thirst.<\/p>\n

Accordingly, no good is accomplished by blurring the Torah perspective<\/p>\n

to others or even to ourselves on matters which run counter to \u201cBig Brother\u2019s\u201d prevailing dogmas on sexual perversion, egalitarianism, abortion or modernity\u2019s lax mores of discipline, manners, respect and so on.\u00a0 A faith which must forever accept the root assumptions of whatever revolutionary vanguard is current is doomed to be no more than a holding action, forever jettisoning ever-larger areas of its own beliefs and practices.<\/p>\n

And Within<\/strong><\/p>\n

Feminism represents a crucial Rubicon for Orthodoxy. Torah faith clearly sees men and women as fundamentally different and postulates that this difference be reflected in a halachic structure of hierarchy with men in positions of authority and public action.\u00a0 The halachos <\/em>(biblical and rabbinic) where this is manifest are too numerous and well known to elaborate here.\u00a0 The matter is really breathtakingly simple:\u00a0 Either Torah norms or Big Brother\u2019s whimsies are to shape our view of reality.<\/p>\n

Pure emunah<\/em> requires immersion in Torah.\u00a0 Due to our flawed nature the initial stages of our confrontation with any aspect of Torah may prove puzzling.\u00a0 Indeed, God\u2019s actions in our own lives are often beyond any human comprehension.\u00a0 This, though, is faith — acceptance of our creaturely status and kabbolas ol Malchus Shamayim <\/em>[acceptance of the Kingdom of Heaven].<\/p>\n

I deeply fear that the unwillingness of many Modern Orthodox leaders to courageously reject the zeitgeist’s dogmas in this area will lead to a fundamental break between them (as they inevitably accept ever more radical \u201creforms\u201d) and the rest of Klal Yisrael<\/em>.\u00a0 Rest assured, too, that once homosexual acts are completely accepted legally and socially and their condemnation fraught with the same cultural stigma which accompanies anti-feminism today we will witness a similar chipping away at Torah beliefs and practices there as well.\u00a0 Unless we are willing to say that the \u201crespectable world\u201d is capable of abominable evil then there is no end to the compromises possible.<\/p>\n

Internal problems?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have a sense that despite the well stocked Judaica stores full of<\/p>\n

seforim<\/em>, books, CDs, videos etc., despite the exploding population of all segments of Orthodoxy and institutions to service them, a sense of our faith\u2019s God-centeredness is missing.\u00a0 Orthodoxy is not merely a comfortable source of tribal bonding and the best guarantee for the folk\u2019s survival.\u00a0 It is God\u2019s revealed path to Him.\u00a0 That is the essence of Torah study and halachah<\/em> observance.\u00a0 Absence of this awareness yields an aridity which makes for rote religious performance while ignoring the vast bounty of a life of the spirit.<\/p>\n

Many of the faults which stalk Orthodoxy\u2019s assorted communities may be<\/p>\n

traced to this root problem:\u00a0 the lack of a personal yearning for God and attendant unwillingness to experience mitzvos<\/em> in their essence — e.g. muktzah<\/em> as a means to create an alternative, non-weekday reality; laws governing middos tovos<\/em> as a means to express and incarnate empathy and caring for others.\u00a0 As a result we find, for example, even the halachically committed, lacking a sense of p\u2019nimius <\/em>[spiritual reality] are far too prone to spend money they don\u2019t have on things they don\u2019t need.<\/p>\n

I suppose the solution lies in a re-immersion in works of the spirit capable of refocusing our gaze upon the Creator — Chassidus<\/em>, musar<\/em>, Rav<\/em> Kook, Rav<\/em> Hirsch etc., or in some new literature yet unborn.\u00a0 The yearning is there.\u00a0 Those who turn to Rabbis Avigdor Miller, Moshe Wolfson, Yaakov Mayer Shechter, and others like them, are searching.\u00a0 In Israel the hesder yeshivah<\/em> world is producing men of spirit and inspiration.\u00a0 Whether the old or new enthusiasms can yet stir us beyond the confines of small groups, whether the large Modern Orthodox synagogues, Chassidic courts and \u201cyeshivish\u201d yeshivos<\/em> can be permeated by their warmth remains to be seen.<\/p>\n

On the other side of the coin, Torah learning and halachic observance are constantly increasing.\u00a0 Talmud study, the life blood of our people, is becoming ever more common.\u00a0 Chesed<\/em>, communal and organizational, abounds.\u00a0 Perhaps these improvements are most notable among the Modern Orthodox where, as a result of having their young people travel en masse<\/em> to study in Israel, they are experiencing an internal renaissance of Torah study and halachic observance.\u00a0 This trend will continue and we will witness an increasing commitment to the Shulchan Aruch<\/em>.<\/p>\n

America\u2019s future will have an inevitable impact on Orthodoxy and all Jews. Two important questions: What will right wing Orthodoxy do in an economy where it becomes increasingly difficult for the unskilled and uneducated to earn a living? What effect will the rapid demographic transformation of America into a Third World country have on all Jews? For the Modern Orthodox, firmly entrenched in the nation\u2019s economic upper strata the question is, will the new American majority continue to allow the concentration of wealth and power to\u00a0 remain in the hands of a few, or will they seek to forcibly redress the imbalance as they are doing in South Africa and Zimbabwe (Rhodesia) by unbearable taxation, mass \u201caffirmative action\u201d and finally actual dispossession of property?<\/p>\n

And the ultimate question:\u00a0 How well will Orthodox faith, nurtured at present on creature comforts, survive the more difficult economic and political times ahead?\u00a0 How well will it fortify us for the final nisyonos<\/em> [trials] of war and suffering, of mienus <\/em>[heresy] triumphant that will usher in Moshiach<\/em>?<\/p>\n

Yet, imperfection, ambiguity and doubt are forever part of this world before its ultimate redemption. Torah, tefillah<\/em> and chesed<\/em> form the rhythms of life; emunah<\/em> and bitachon<\/em> are its essence in all Torah camps.\u00a0 From Yeshiva University to Lakewood to Williamsburg, the sweetness of God\u2019s proximity is available.\u00a0 Civilizations rise and fall. Heresies abound.\u00a0 Many Jews are sadly lost.\u00a0 There may, indeed, be rough times ahead.\u00a0 But the ship of faith sails on and its passengers, while awaiting Moshiach, have, Baruch Hashem<\/em>, found the best accommodations available.<\/p>\n

Rabbi Schiller is a <\/em>maggid shiur at Yeshiva University High School in New York.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Judaism teaches that spirituality is pursued in public as well as private realms. The \u201cfuture of American Orthodoxy\u201d will, thus, be played out on three stages: that of America and the world at large which we share with non-Jews, that of the Jewish people as a whole, both Orthodox and \u201cnot-yet-frum,\u201d and internally in the communal and individual lives of shomrei Torah. 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The \u201cfuture of American Orthodoxy\u201d will, thus, be played out on three stages: that of America and the world at large which we share with non-Jews, that of the Jewish people as a whole, both Orthodox and \u201cnot-yet-frum,\u201d and internally in the communal and individual lives of shomrei Torah. A cautionary note: we may all speculate a bit about the future.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/jewishaction.com\/opinion\/rabbi-mayer-schiller\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Rabbi Mayer Schiller - Jewish Action","og_description":"Judaism teaches that spirituality is pursued in public as well as private realms. The \u201cfuture of American Orthodoxy\u201d will, thus, be played out on three stages: that of America and the world at large which we share with non-Jews, that of the Jewish people as a whole, both Orthodox and \u201cnot-yet-frum,\u201d and internally in the communal and individual lives of shomrei Torah. A cautionary note: we may all speculate a bit about the future.","og_url":"https:\/\/jewishaction.com\/opinion\/rabbi-mayer-schiller\/","og_site_name":"Jewish Action","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/JewishAction","article_published_time":"1998-09-07T16:50:47+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-07-27T08:24:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/jewishaction.com\/content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/jewish-action-logo.png","width":1,"height":1,"type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_misc":{"Written by":"","Est. reading time":"14 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/jewishaction.com\/opinion\/rabbi-mayer-schiller\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/jewishaction.com\/opinion\/rabbi-mayer-schiller\/"},"author":{"name":"","@id":""},"headline":"Rabbi Mayer Schiller","datePublished":"1998-09-07T16:50:47+00:00","dateModified":"2020-07-27T08:24:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/jewishaction.com\/opinion\/rabbi-mayer-schiller\/"},"wordCount":2793,"commentCount":2,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/jewishaction.com\/wp\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Opinion"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/jewishaction.com\/opinion\/rabbi-mayer-schiller\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/jewishaction.com\/opinion\/rabbi-mayer-schiller\/","url":"https:\/\/jewishaction.com\/opinion\/rabbi-mayer-schiller\/","name":"Rabbi Mayer Schiller - Jewish Action","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/jewishaction.com\/wp\/#website"},"datePublished":"1998-09-07T16:50:47+00:00","dateModified":"2020-07-27T08:24:00+00:00","description":"Judaism teaches that spirituality is pursued in public as well as private realms. 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