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| Rabbi Pesach Lerner (Arutz Sheva) |
As much as I long for genuine Jewish unity, I don’t believe
complete unity is attainable when the theological and ideological divide
between Orthodox Judaism and heterodox movements is as profound as it is today.
Nevertheless, that does not mean unity is impossible. We should still be able
to stand together in those areas where we share common interests and a common
destiny as Jews.
The challenge is identifying where those areas begin—and
where they end.
When it comes to matters of Halacha, I see little room for
compromise. Orthodox Judaism regards Halachic observance as binding, just as it
has been throughout Jewish history until the Enlightenment gave rise to
movements that rejected its authority. That is a divide that cannot simply be
wished away.
These thoughts came to mind after reading an Arutz Sheva op-ed
by Rabbi Pesach Lerner about a deeply disappointing incident at a meeting of
the Jewish Agency’s Unity of the Jewish People Committee.
Rabbi Lerner serves on that committee by virtue of his
leadership of the Eretz HaKodesh faction within the World Zionist Organization.
As a member of the Jewish Agency’s Board of Governors, he is entitled to
participate fully in deliberations on policy issues and vote on them.
Instead, this is what he encountered:
“I walked into the meeting room of the Jewish Agency’s Unity of the Jewish People Committee—a committee on which I sit—and was handed an official statement, already written, already finalized, ready to be voted on. I had never seen it. I was never asked for input. There had been no discussion, no draft circulated, no deliberation of any kind. A committee whose very name invokes the unity of the Jewish people had prepared a statement on that unity while excluding a member of the committee who represents a different voice.
“That statement committed the Jewish Agency for Israel to actively work in support of pluralism, to enhance the egalitarian platform at the Kotel, to oppose any change in the Law of Return, and to oppose anything ‘that undermines Jewish pluralism and weakens the Jewish People.’”
Rabbi Lerner objected - not to the substance of the
statement, at least initially - but to the process. How could any committee
committed to “unity” produce a policy statement without circulating a draft to
all of its members or even inviting discussion?
His objection was entirely justified.
What makes the episode even more telling is that even some
of the non-Orthodox committee members supported his procedural objection after
realizing they had been led to believe that everyone had been consulted when,
in fact, they had not.
This episode illustrates precisely why authentic unity
remains so difficult to achieve. It is impossible to build unity while
simultaneously marginalizing those who hold a different worldview.
At its core, the dispute reflects a much larger debate. Not
only within Israel, but throughout the Jewish world.
Should Judaism adapt itself to contemporary cultural norms
whenever they conflict with biblical values? Or should biblical values continue
to define the moral framework by which Jews live…
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