Three ladies, three lattes: The Reform rabbi

Like a guiding pillar of fire Judaism defines us and sets us on our path, both individually as well as collectively (‘halacha’ means walking the path). While haredim may seem rigid and unyielding, we are actually stable and authentic, diligently sticking to the letter of the Law, the path set out for us as a people. We could be viewed as the biggest threat to Israel, or as ushering our tiny state to a unique God-orientation rather than just being another state.

The very term “reformed” alludes to something that needs fixing; something that has expired, decomposed. This is a monstrous misnomer because learning Torah is forever dynamic and evolving, as well as anchoring. This dialectic sustains our way of life. My concern is that “reform” will break down definitive barriers. The questions of kashrut, Shabbat, marriage and death, conversion, are not matters of political correctness or popularity; they form the structure of Judaism. I see “Reform” as severing our very roots, for the sake of something unstable and unknown. I am much more afraid than Tzippi about secular society’s dictates.

If we don’t know who is Jewish, haredim will need our own archives; if we cannot trust rabbinate food, families will be fragmented. If we don’t trust that a person is lawfully divorced, who will remarry them? In short, Reform will ostracize a big piece of society. We will not reform. We will simply create our own society, separate and isolated. I don’t mind so much, but my rabbi says that means abandoning our brethren, leaving them to secularism, bereft of Judaism. 

Who would have thunk the last election round saw Pam and moi voting for the same party? Yet, we voted “same” for very different reasons. Pam views haredim as the greatest threat facing the Jewish nation. I view them as an out-of-control tantrumming sector of society with the saddest of leadership. We both want them out of government. Pam would love to send them on a spaceship back to Extraterrestrial Cult Central while I advocate incentivizing their policies and practices to become contributing members of society that can pave a return to government. Sorry, Danit, we’ve enabled them to be out of control for too long.

Still, I’m not in the least interested in a government that will sell out Judaism either. Ideally, I’d love to see an informal triumvirate consisting of Reform, dati-leumi and haredi reps stand in lieu of Gilad Kariv’s appointment. An Israel void of Jewish content is just as chilling as a haredi takeover of influence. While Israeli law does not derive its authority from Torah strictures, it should hopefully be inspired by that wisdom and instruction in pursuit of a better life for all of our citizens. 

I would ask Pam and other secularists that wish to steer a government course away from Jewishly infused waters, what is the governing wisdom that you preach and who is the authority for that wisdom? If it’s merely society’s dictates of the flavor of the month – then we’ve become another aimless US of A! 

We’ve had some juicy humdingers recently from our august religious leaders: United Torah Judaism MKs Yitzhak Pindrus and Moshe Gafni respectively advocated the killing of Jews in mixed marriages and called Reform Jews “pigs”; the Chief Sephardi Rabbi of Israel told haredim not to make aliyah if they planned to live near secular Jews. Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef also claimed that math and science are “nonsense” and called on the youth not to study anything but holy texts. 

This respectful rhetoric accompanied the Knesset formation of the parliament’s powerful Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, led by Labor MK Gilad Kariv. Kariv is a Reform rabbi, the first to serve in Israel’s parliament. “We can’t be part of such an injustice,” said UTJ’s Uri Maklev. “The intended chairman represents the Reform Movement, which is trying to destroy the Jewish people with malicious intent.” 

You know what? If I had to choose between a country run by Reform Rabbis like Kariv, or UTJ ranting lunatics and chief rabbis, I wouldn’t need too much soul-searching. Is it “Jewishly infused waters” to label other Jews “swine,” to reject secular education, to call for the killing of our own? 

My God. What have we come to?

If there is a God, and I hope there is and that He is looking out for us, may He speedily remove the ultra-religious from our Knesset and may He let this healing Change Coalition get down to fixing up the unconscionable mess that mixing politics and religion got us into in the first place. Then we can strengthen our Jewish Democratic State. 

(For the record, I vote Meretz. But I wholeheartedly support Tzippy’s Yesh Atid.)