Orthodox Judaism

The most important thing to say is that if it were not for the Orthodox, Judaism in America might by now be approaching life support. I am referring here to Jews who may be proud of their heritage, contribute to Israel through UJA, and attend synogogue on High Holy Days, but are not strictly observant. There is about a 50% rate of intermarriage among the offspring of "secular" Jews; this typically results in assimilation into the American mainstream and the disappearance of passionate religious belief and practice.

Having given due respect and credit to Orthodox Judaism, I have never been able to understand some of their practices and beliefs. For example, do religious Jews really believe that the Earth is only 5,772 years old? Similarly, do they really believe that God would be offended if women served as rabbis, were called to the Torah, or sat next to their husbands in synagogue? The irrationality of some of these practices was brought home to me last weekend while I waited in a subway station for the train to arrive. Everyone was appropriately dressed for a summer heat wave in shorts and short sleeve shirts except an Orthodox Jewish man and his young son. Despite heat approaching 100 degrees, this gentleman was dressed in a long black suit and signature black hat. It gets more serious when one remembers that Orthodox Jews in Israel have physically harassed female children for wearing what they considered "immodest" clothing.

Some of the practices seem outright looney to me. My favorite was the time Orthodox Jews in New York City ran out to buy expensive water filters when microscopic organisms, invisible to the naked eye, were reported to exist in the City's drinking water. These creatures were not considered a health hazard but simply non-kosher. It is more serious when Orthodox Jews in Israel believe they should be exempt from military service so they can study Torah full time. It is also totally unfair to say that an Orthodox Jewish woman cannot get divorced these days without obtaining a "get" from her husband, which he may arbitrarily refuse to give. My understanding is also that the Orthodox rabbis in Israel assert the right to decide who is a Jew, and that anyone who is not Orthodox does not qualify.

It is time to modernize and liberalize some customs of this ancient and beautiful religion. Tikkun olam-- repairing the world-- can usefully start at home. Fortunately, most of their practices are peaceful and harm no one, but change is sometimes good.