The following was taken from a story in the New York Times.
(Rabbi David Ingber says,) “I grew up in a modern Orthodox family in Great Neck, and most of my life revolved around sports,” he said. “I went to yeshiva, and I played hockey, basketball, baseball. When I was 18, I went to Israel, and I had this intense religious experience. I stayed and prayed for hours and hours on end, and I lost 30 pounds.”
“He returned to New York two years later with long side locks and a fundamentalist’s fervor. “I enrolled at Yeshiva University, but I thought it was too liberal,” he recalled. “Much to my parents’ chagrin, I went to Flatbush, Brooklyn, and enrolled at an ultra-Orthodox Lithuanian yeshiva. I wore a black hat, the whole nine yards. It was a trip.”
“But after two years, it had become a bad trip. He did not recognize himself. “I was so depressed — I had lost my vitality,” he said.
“He moved to the Upper West Side and shunned Judaism for the next seven years, exploring alternative forms of spirituality and the mind-body connection. “I tried almost everything that had to do with breath work and opening the body,” he said. “I sat in meditation retreats. I did rebirthing. I did water tai chi. I did a lot of different yoga styles. I went to shiatsu school.”
This is a chilling story of what can happen when sincere people seeking Emes and a Torah lifestyle are not not properly understood and dealt with in the Charedi educational system. His indoctrination into the Charedi world was way too intense considering his background. He entered that world as a young person and took on everything that was thrown at him. It turned out to be too much. And he ended up rejecting everything.
As the article points out, he did comeback somewhat and a few years ago enrolled in Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. But if one looks at his “unorthodox” Shul, described in the article, one wonders whether he couldn’t have done better had he been treated with a more understanding and a more open Derech. Chanoch L’Naar Al Pi Darko was apparently not done in his case, not in his MO youth and even more so, not in his Charedi period.
Is Rabbi David Ingber now Shomer Shabbos? Hopefully. Is his Shul Orthodox? I don't know. If so, do such Shuls keep Jews on the fringes of observance Orthodox? Or are they just catering to people who value non Torah ideals such as social feminism greater than they do Torah ideals? Is it OK to cater to such people in an effort to keep them Frum?
Probably. I suppose it is better than leaving a void that will all too easily be filled by Egalitarian Conservative Shuls. Most of Rabbi Ingber’s Shul membership would probably gravitate to that.
But I think it is important to point out as I have in the past, that these kinds of Shuls are a B’Dieved. I am hard pressed to believe that one can so drastically alter traditional practice so as to make it unrecognizable in the service of social feminism. While such Shuls may technically not violate any specific Halachos, they definitely are not in the spirit of the concept of what a Shul is supposed to primarily be: a Makom (place) for a Minyan of Jewish men to be able to Daven Tefila B’Tzibur… a Mitzvah Kiyumis which applies only to men.
Of course Orthodox Shuls should be open, accommodating, and welcoming to woman as well. Women should be given every opportunity to Daven with a Minyan as they benefit from the experience, as long as the Halachos of a Beis Haknesess are observed and there is a Mechitza between the men and women. But Teffila B’Tzibur is no Mitzvah for women at all. They do not get Schar (spiritual rewards) for Davening with a Minyan of men. And the concept of Minyan for women does not even exist.
And that brings me to Shira Hadasha, an innovative Orthodox congregation in Jerusalem's German Colony. That Shul is really a questionable endeavor. I realize that there are some people who need innovation to keep them motivated but how far does one go before it crosses a line into absurdity… even if it is within Halacha? How close to the edge do we go to accommodate a system of social feminist ethics that in part are anathema to the Torah?
Shira Hadasha labels itself Orthodox Egalitarian. From a column in the Jerusalem Post:
"Orthodox egalitarian," in the Shira Hadasha interpretation, means that services don't begin unless there are 10 men and 10 women, seated respectively on opposite sides of the divider. From the women's section of the synagogue, women can lead the optional prayers of the services, like Kabbalat Shabbat on Friday night and the early morning psalms on Shabbat morning. Women are called to and read Torah. Women open the ark and say Kaddish."
"A detailed explanation of the halachic dimensions is best articulated in Rabbi Mendel Shapiro's article "Qeri'at ha-Torah by Women: A Halakhic Analysis," published in the Orthodox journal Edah, and subsequently Rabbi Dr. Daniel Sperber's article, "Congregational Dignity and Human Dignity: Women and Public Torah Reading."
It may be technically OK to wait until 10 women show up in the Mechitza section before commencing Teffila, but what are they doing? What are they saying?
Sometimes one can go too far even when staying within Halacha. I don’t say this is case of Naval B’Reshus HaTorah. But you can certainly see it from here. To go so far as to not permit Teffila B’Tzibur when there are 10 men present until there are also at least 10 women present is truly ridiculous… as are the other innovations mentioned. And I’m not sure that is really keeping people in the fold, if they would so easily, in its absence find a Conservative Egalitarian Shul acceptable.
