 |
| Rabbi Eytan Feiner |
I am sympathetic to the goals of liberal rabbis (formerly
known as Open Orthodox). What do they want except to be fair and welcoming to
the widest variety of Jews? What rabbi worthy
of the title would not want that?!
It is the near fanatical pursuit of that goal that
has gotten them into trouble. In their zeal
to accommodate the sincere modern Jew that has been influenced by the humanistic culture
of our time they have thrown tradition to the wind.
I can understand why they
balk at all the criticism of this approach. They see it as an attack on their sense of
fairness and justice which they do not see as a contradiction to observance. Which undermines the guidance they give to modern Jews seeking it. In short they view what they do as
Kiruv and see criticism as undermining it. Which they believe will end up pushing
these sincere modern Jews away from authentic Judaism.
It’s hard to not to be sympathetic to that kind of
thinking. Most of these rabbis are sincere and believe in what they are doing.
In light of all the attrition of Jews away from Judaism that is taking place among
American Jews, one would think that liberal rabbis should be supported rather
than criticized. Which is why they get so upset.
This is one of the reasons why I am so sad about
the direction they have taken. I believe in their mission. But the path they
have taken is a ‘bridge too far’. They have lost their way and are
unfortunately on a path to destruction. It hurts me to say it, but I think the
demise of this new more open approach to Orthodoxy will fail much the same way
an earlier movement who tried a similar approach is now failing. It took about
100 years. But it is happening.
Yes there are important differences between
Conservative Judaism and the new liberal approach of the left. But when
external factors influence your religious behavior in ways that have been
traditionally rejected in the past and are rejected entirely by the leaders of the
very movement you are supposed to be a part of - then you have in essence started
a new movement. One whose goals are eerily similar to the original goals of
the Conservative movement. Which was to conserve Judaism.
They wanted to
accommodate the spirit of their time and started nibbling at the corners of
Halacha in ways similar to what liberal Orthodoxy is doing now.
Orthodoxy
rejected Conservative Judaism from the very start. Even when the differences
were relatively minor Halachic breaks. Like removing the Mechitza from their
Shuls and allowing mixed pews for their prayer services. That was the spirit of
their time. The spirit of our time is egalitarianism and humanism. Liberal
rabbis are nibbling at the corners of those Halachos.
Whether they have embarked on a path towards
tolerating heretical views is a matter of debate. But the ambiguity about that
is at least a matter of concern.
The Agudah Moetzes has already spoken. Like their
predecessors of 100 years ago who completely rejected the legitimacy of Conservative Judaism,
they have completely rejected the legitimacy of this new liberalism. So too has
the Young Israel Movement. As has the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA). Their
rabbinic leadership does not recognize the new crop of liberal rabbis ordained
by their flagship school, Yeshiva Chovevei Torah (YCT). And have rejected many of liberal Orthodoxy's new innovations and practices.
The OU has recently done the same. They now require their member Shuls to adhere to traditional Orthodox values and reject any of
the new liberal innovations. And yet there are Shuls that are still members in
good standing of the OU that have violated some of those requirements.
Matzav reports that Rabbi Eitan Feiner has called
on the OU to completely break from those Shuls. He has threatened to break his
affiliation to the OU if they don’t. I understand how he feels. I even agree that
Shuls that do not comply with the OU standards should be removed as members. But what will happen to the modern liberal members of those Shuls?
I never met Rabbi Feiner. But I know a little bit about his background.
He attended KBY, a Hesder Yeshiva (the American program) with my son back in
the late 80s. He was even invited to my son’s wedding. His brother is one of
the finer (no pun intended) products of the Lakewood Kollel (CCK) here. I
attended his Daf Yomi Shiur for a while. (He has since become a very successful
real estate developer.) And his sister is a Yoetzet.
It is with this background in mind that I have to
ask, will Rabbi Feiner step up and tackle the need to reach out to the same constituency that liberal rabbis have? If their liberalism has been so discredited,
what will happen to that constituency? Who will reach out to them? Who will
guide them?
It doesn’t not take much to condemn a group that is already condemned
by virtually all of Orthodoxy. I am saddened
by the direction taken by liberal rabbis. But being sad is not enough. If these new liberal rabbis
have gone too far, who is going to pick up their slack?
I believe that Rabbi Feiner’s background makes him
a candidate for doing that. The question is does he feel the same way? We have enough people leaving Yiddishkeit. We can ill afford to give
up on sincere Jews of the left that seek rabbinic guidance. We may not be able
to reach them all. Especially if the new liberal rabbis keep insisting they are
Orthodox despite being rejected by the entire Orthodox Jewish establishment.
Every sincere Jew seeking guidance should have a
place to find it. Including modern liberal Jews. They should not be left to the
misguided approach of these new liberal rabbis. Nor can they be abandoned either. There is enough attrition from Judaism going on. We have
to do what we can to stop it. Orthodox rabbis with a more modern background need to step up. How they do that is a good question. But it is imperative to at least try.
