Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Is Orthodoxy in a Rotten State?

Nothing rotten about the Chicago Chesed Fund - founded by R' Shmuel Fuerst
I have to disagree with Shoshanna Keats-Jaskoll – even while I agree with her. That may sound contradictory. But let me explain. I agree with a lot of her complaints but certainly not all of them. My biggest disagreement is about the very title of her featured article in the Times of Israel. Which reads: The Rotten State of Orthodoxy.

One of the things I completely agree with Shoshanna about is the erasure of women from the public square. From the very beginning I have been extremely critical of the move by the right into territory that was in the past reserved only for those with the most extreme views about modesty with respect to women in public. 

The more extreme segments of the Chasidic world have deemed publishing pictures of woman to be immodest. What has been bothering me (along with Shoshanna) is that this phenomenon has become more mainstream. Orthodox segments that never had a problem publishing pictures of women now will not even publish a head shot of a woman that has written an article for one of their magazines -  while at the same time doing so for a man. 

That is an outrage and symptomatic of a malaise that has infected much of the Charedi world. But it has not infected all of Orthodoxy. Not even all of the Charedi world since even Agudah publishes pictures of women on their website. And ArtScroll/Mesorah – a Charedi publishing house published a biography of Rebbetzin Bat Sheva Kanievsky that was filled with pictures of her. I’m fairly certain they would not have done that without the explicit permission of her husband, Rav Chaim. He is one of the most respected Charedi religious leaders in all of Israel!

What about some of Shoshanna’s other complaints? Let us examine some of them and see.

Shoshanna characterizes Orthodoxy as tolerateing (and in some cases even honoring) sex offenders and their protectors. Yes, there are some unfortunate cases like that in Israel – some of which she mentioned. But I take issue with her about that being the rule. I don’t of know any convicted sex offender that has been honored by mainstream American Orthodoxy once exposed as such. That someone like Eliezer Berland still has many followers does not mean he is respected by the mainstream.

While there is a lot yet to be done in the area of sexual abuse, there has definitely been improvement along these lines – even in the Charedi world. 

What about some Shoshanna’s feminist issues? Like the fact that women do not have religious leadership roles or that their motives are questioned when seeking them?  There I have to disagree with her. At least in part. As I have said on so many occasions, when it comes to matters of faith and tradition, concepts like egalitarianism are out of bounds – as per virtually all respected Orthodox Poskim.

I have said many times that women should not be barred from any pursuit their hearts desire. All that is needed is to rising to the occasion. Equal opportunity with men - and equal pay for equal work is a no brainer for me. Nor is it a problem for Orthodoxy. Any woman that chooses to study the most difficult of subjects and excel in them should be given the same opportunity as men for a career in that field and given equal pay. 

But when it comes to what the role of women is in Judaism, we have no choice but to follow Halacha. This disallows the kind of universal egalitarianism that feminism espouses. As an Orthodox Jewish woman, Shoshanna knows that and would never – for example – demand that she should be counted towards a Minyan. Or demand family seating in a Shul. I’m sure she would agree that these Halachos are not in anyway egalitarian and yet she fully and willingly complies with them. Our Poskim extend that idea to tradition. And they have explained why our religious traditions are so important. Which has nothing to do with a glass ceiling or male prejudice against women by Orthodox leaders.

While the motives of women seeking traditionally male roles in religious contexts might be pure, it doesn’t matter. Nor does it make Orthodoxy any more rotten than does the Halachic barriers of a Mechitza or being counted toward a Minyan.

What is equally troubling is the fact that Shoshanna seems to be only looking at the bad. A title like ‘The Rotten State of Orthodoxy’ makes it appear as though there is nothing at all worthwhile in it – suggesting that it should be abandoned. I know she didn’t intend it that way since she is herself Orthodox. But without a positive word about the life she leads what is the casual reader supposed to think?

What about the exponential growth of Orthodoxy while heterodoxy is at best shrinking? What about the happy and satisfied lives most Orthodox Jews live? …the family values we espouse? …the explosion of Torah study? …the tons of Chesed organization among all sectors of Orthodoxy? These are hardly rotten enterprises.

Sure, there are problems. I deal with many of them right here. But to say the state of Orthodoxy is in a rotten state is just plain wrong.