The Modern World - Insularity or Exposure?

One of the greatest dangers to Jewish continuity is the extent that insulation has taken hold in certain segments of the Jewish world. The further to the right one goes religiously, the greater the degree of insularity. Two of the most prominent examples are the New York municipalities of New Square and Kiryas Joel, which have taken insularity to its logical extreme: isolationism.

These two Chassidic villages were created explicitly to insulate their inhabitants from the influences of the modern world. The fear is that any exposure at all will undermine everything that has been painstakingly taught in the effort to keep their communities holy and pure.

Why is this such an existential danger?

When people live in isolation, exposed only to the narrow views and customs of their own community, and then inevitably come into contact with the outside world - only to discover that it is not nearly as evil as they were taught - it can call their entire way of life into question. That includes the observance of halacha itself. While this is not the usual outcome, it is certainly a contributing factor among those who ultimately abandon observance.

I understand the desire to shield children from the immorality of the broader culture. I even sympathize with that goal. But isolationism is not the best way to accomplish it. Nor is its kissing cousin, extreme insularity.

Many people defend this lifestyle as a matter of choice and religious freedom. That is certainly true. But at what price? Is it worth it? And is there a better way to achieve the same goal?

I believe there is.

Some degree of insularity is necessary and even beneficial. But there is a point at which it becomes absurd and counterproductive. Obviously, I would not allow a young child to watch an R-rated movie. But would I allow that child to have a smartphone? I’m not so sure. And if not, should I forbid them from befriending a child who has one?

These are legitimate questions without easy answers. Where do we draw the line between necessary insularity that strengthens a child and excessive isolation that ultimately harms them?

The Charedi world is increasingly moving in the direction of greater insularity—approaching outright isolationism. As a Centrist looking in from the outside, I believe this is a serious mistake.

I was therefore pleasantly surprised to see Rabbi Avrohom Neuberger, a frequent contributor to Mishpacha Magazine, make precisely this case in his latest column. His message closely mirrors my own, though he presents it in the context of Lakewood-style communities...

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Is Jewish Unity Even Possible Anymore?

NCSYers (public high school kids) in Lakewood

My differences with the Charedi world are well known to my readers. Some of those differences are profound. And yet, I long for unity among my people. A unity that surely includes the Charedi world.

That is because, despite my differences with them, Charedim are an essential cog in the wheel of Jewish continuity, and in defining one of the most vital missions the Jewish people on this planet: the study of the Torah – the word of God as interpreted by the sages throughout Jewish history.

No single Jewish demographic pursues that mission more diligently than does the Charedi world. Especially the yeshiva world, which is dedicated entirely to that purpose, to the exclusion of almost everything else.

I am not going to debate whether there are other ways - or even better ways for some people to achieve this goal. But there is no debate about the time and intensity of Torah study that takes place in a yeshiva like BMG (Beis Medrash Govoha) - better known as Lakewood. And there are many other Yeshivos, both here and in Israel, about which the same can be said.

And yet, the differences that I - and many others - have with them are so divisive that they almost seem insurmountable. If anything revealed that sad reality more clearly than the war in Gaza, I would like to know what it is. The anger between religious Jews who support army service for Charedim and those who oppose it has never been greater. And it still prevails even now, after the fighting in Gaza has ceased.

I am a Centrist Modern Orthodox Jew, with some pretty strong opinions that and - about other Jewish demographics. And yet, I long for unity among all the people of Israel. Including left-wing Orthodox Jews, secular Jews, heterodox Jews, Sephardi Jews - and certainly no less Charedi Yeshiva type Jews and Chasidic Jews.

At the core, however, the unity that should be a given - is the unity of observant Jews. This does not mean we cannot be unified as a people with non-observant Jews. It is simply that by our observance -  and their lack thereof - we have less in common. That being said, the love we must have for each and every Jew is the same.

Meanwhile the shared observance that should automatically unify Jews of every observant demographic  - is about the furthest thing from reality. And even further from reality is the Orthodox unity with non-Orthodox Jews.

Strangely enough, it may be non-Orthodox youth who can show us the way.

NCSYer shaking hands with BMG's R' Yisroel Neumann

Yesterday, NCSY took a group of public school students to BMG, where they were given a shiur by BMG’s Rabbi Freundlich. Today they met Rabbi BMG Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Yisroel Neumann.

One might think this is the last place you would take a group of public high school teenagers to inspire them. But that is exactly what happened. These young men were exposed to a part of Judaism they probably didn’t even know existed. And I would be willing to bet they admired what they saw.

That’s  because they have not been tainted by the personal biases the rest of us carry. True - we have legitimate differences with them  But that does not mean we shouldn’t unite as one large observant family despite those differences. We need to hear what the other side says and understand how sincere they are in their beliefs. At the same time we need to admire what each side contributes, agree to disagree on some things and still consider ourselves part of the same family. Unified as a people despite those differences.

These young public high school students show us that it can be done.

The question then becomes: what about heterodox rabbis who preach what observant Jews consider anti-Torah views? How can we possibly unite with them?

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The Demise of Solomon Schechter Schools

Former Schechter Queens, now the Queens Hebrew Academy (JTA)

Hard to believe. But as of now, there are no longer any Solomon Schechter (Conservative) day schools in New York City. As reported by JTA:

Last December the first-ever Solomon Schechter day school—part of what was once a thriving network of Conservative Jewish day schools—voted to rename itself the Queens Hebrew Academy. That decision meant that, for the first time in nearly 70 years, New York City had no Solomon Schechter school at all, following the closure of Schechter Manhattan in 2023 due to declining enrollment.

This is an astonishing development. Even for a skeptic like me who has been noting the steady demise of heterodox Judaism in general, and Conservative Judaism in particular, for quite some time. It is astonishing precisely because of the very reason the Solomon Schechter system existed in the first place. And because the Conservative movement itself understands, at least intellectually, that education is the key to Jewish survival. Education is the one factor that has any real track record of perpetuating the Jewish people into the future.

The reasons for the demise of the Conservative educational system are not difficult to identify. For starters, it amounts to the ancient adage: too little, too late.

The Conservative movement has long claimed to be halachic, while simultaneously tolerating - indeed normalizing - widespread non-observance among its synagogue members. This tension has existed since the movement’s founding at the beginning of the 20^th century. It took decades for its leaders to fully grasp an uncomfortable truth: Judaism without meaningful observance is a prescription for the eventual abandonment of Jewish identity altogether.

Seeing the success of the Orthodox day school system, the Conservative movement created one of its own in the 1950s. But by then, Conservative Jews were already assimilating so deeply into American culture that it became increasingly difficult to motivate nonobservant parents to send their children to schools that might introduce observance into their homes.

To be sure, the movement initially experienced some success. Additional schools opened across the country. At the time, Jewish identity still mattered. Even to Jews who were so assimilated that they observed little, if any, recognizable halacha. Solomon Schechter schools survived because parents wanted to instill in their children a sense of Jewish identity, pride in their heritage, history, and culture.

That approach worked for a while. But what was taught in school was rarely lived in the home, and what is not modeled at home is unlikely to endure into adulthood. If a child does not see Judaism practiced as an obligation, there is little chance that he or she will embrace it independently later in life. Teaching Judaism primarily as a cultural identity rather than as an obligatory way of life is simply not a formula for long-term continuity.

Culture is optional. Obligations are not.

Anything optional can be discarded when something else seems more personally fulfilling...

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A Turning Point for Conservatives?

Ben Shapiro calling out antisemitic conservatives at a TPUSA event (JTA)

To say that I am alarmed would be an understatement. Given the history of politically conservative ideology over the past several decades - when support for Israel was not only a given but enthusiastically embraced, I am genuinely shocked! Shocked by what is now emerging among far too many conservative pundits.

And yet there is no denying it. Support for Israel is no longer assumed; in some quarters it has devolved into questioning Israel’s value as an ally. Or worse, portraying Israel as a liability to the United States. Disturbingly, this sentiment is no longer confined to the fringe.

I never thought I would see this day. Not when so many stalwart conservatives in Congress and Republican leadership have stated unequivocally that Israel is among America’s most important allies—if not the most important. Among them are Speaker Mike Johnson, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Senators Lindsey Graham and Ted Cruz, Ambassador Mike Huckabee, and former Vice President Mike Pence, to name just a few.

The shift seemed to begin when Candace Owens, once a supporter of Israel, started promoting conspiracy theories about the Jewish state and the Jewish people. Soon after, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene launched her own anti-Israel crusade, complete with conspiratorial rhetoric. Then came Tucker Carlson, who not only echoed similar themes but went further—platforming Holocaust deniers and open antisemites like Nick Fuentes on his show.

The most troubling aspect of all this is not that a handful of outliers espouse conspiracy theories so absurd that only a fool - or someone harboring antisemitic tendencies—would take them seriously. Rather, it is that mainstream conservative politicians like the vice-president and pundits like Megyn Kelly continue to treat these figures as legitimate voices within the movement, entitled to their opinions even when those opinions cross clearly into antisemitism.

How did Israel go from being viewed as a vital ally to being treated as something close to a pariah in their minds? And why has supporting Israel become conflated with disloyalty to the United States? As though American Jews or Israel’s supporters are somehow beholden to a foreign country that offers no tangible benefit to America?

The answer is not difficult to find. And it isn’t pretty...

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Looks Can Be Deceiving. Are They Here?

Mamdani lights the first Hanukkah candle with Mandy Patinkin (JTA)

As concerning as the thinly disguised antisemitism of people on the right like Tucker Carlson is… and
as troubling the soft-pedaling of criticism of him by a high-profile individual like the vice-president is… I have not forgotten about antisemitism on the left. It is still alive and well. Spectacularly so. Nowhere has this become more obvious than in the wake of the election of the first anti-Zionist mayor in New York city’s history.

His election has helped make left-wing antisemitism a more acceptable part of American culture. By disguising it as anti-Zionism, one can always claim not to be antisemitic. Just anti-Israel. That can be a legitimate distinction when it is genuinely the case. One can be critical of the State of Israel without being antisemitic. Just ask a typical Charedi Jew how they feel about the State of Israel. Clearly, they are not antisemitic.

I do, however, believe that much - if not most - anti-Zionist expression is, at its core, based on antisemitism, expressed through the socially acceptable medium of criticism of Israel.

How to know this for certain is sometimes impossible. The criticism one hears may sound identical to criticism voiced within Israel itself, by one political party against another.

Which brings me once again to the mayor-elect of New York. The question arises: where does he truly stand? Is he anti-Zionist, or is anti-Zionism simply his way of expressing antisemitism with plausible deniability?

The more I read about him, the more I believe he is the former, not the latter. That said, it is conceivable that this could all be an act designed to mislead his electorate about his true feelings. But I do not think so. He is working too hard to demonstrate that he is not antisemitic.

The latest such example occurred on Chanukah. From JTA:

Zohran Mamdani was welcomed to a Hanukkah celebration at the home of Jewish actor Mandy Patinkin, his wife, actress Kathryn Grody, and their son Gideon.

• The mayor-elect helped prepare latkes using a recipe from Grandma Doralee Patinkin’s Jewish Family Cookbook, lit the first candle, and listened to the blessings in a video he shared on X. “Your mayoral tenure has now been blessed,” Patinkin said to Mamdani.

Mandy Patinkin’s embrace of Mamdani should not surprise anyone. They share the same progressive political philosophy and, according to JTA, similar attitudes toward Israel. (I do, however, find it hard to believe that Patinkin thinks Israel does not have the right to exist as a Jewish state, given his strong identification with Jewish peoplehood. I suspect what he really agrees with Mamdani about is Israeli genocide and that Netanyahu is a war criminal that should be arrested. Not that the Jewish people don’t have a right to a Jewish state. But I digress.)

The point is that I am hard-pressed to see an antisemite doing the kinds of things Mamdani is doing. As I have said many times before, I believe him when he says he will protect the Jewish community from antisemitic acts.

That does not absolve him, however, of responsibility of helping to foment the rise in antisemitism that he now claims he wants to combat. He has yet to acknowledge this. He seems oblivious to it.

And then there is the following:

A sweeping report released by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has ignited controversy by alleging that a significant portion of Mamdani’s administrative appointees are connected to anti-Zionist activist groups—some associated with rhetoric and symbolism widely viewed by Jewish organizations as crossing the line into antisemitism.

This is what is so worrisome about the mayor-elect. His propensity to hire people who share his anti-Zionist views will almost certainly exacerbate the already high incidence of antisemitic violence in New York.

The mayor-elect must do more to convince Jewish New Yorkers of his sincerity than simply make promises.

Before suggesting what that might look like, it is worth considering the source of his anti-Zionism...

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America, Antisemitism, and J.D. Vance

Vice-President J.D.Vance

One of the most comforting aspects of the American ethos is the founding principle that protects the right of every American to practice their religious beliefs freely, without government interference. This right is enshrined in the First Amendment to the Constitution.

Along with this protection comes a corollary principle: people of all faiths are welcome here. As it pertains to us, the Jewish people, we were warmly welcomed and embraced by George Washington himself in his 1790 letter to a synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island.

I believe that the warm embrace of the Jewish people by America’s first president is rooted in the Judeo-Christian values derived from a shared biblical narrative. (Please do not conflate theology with values. Our theologies are entirely incompatible, but our moral frameworks draw from the same biblical stories governing human behavior. Values later carried by Christians into their New Testament originate in that same narrative.)

Although we Jews have suffered our share of antisemitism in this country over its nearly 250 year history, the vast majority of our experience here has been overwhelmingly positive. I don’t believe any fair-minded person would say otherwise.

That said - and as noted - antisemitism has never entirely disappeared. There have always been right-wing extremists who harbored antisemitic views, sometimes with deadly consequences. After the horrors of the Holocaust were exposed to the world following World War II, that kind of extremism was largely relegated to the fringe—few in number and not generally seen as a threat to the everyday life of American Jews. While some mainstream antisemitism undoubtedly persisted in certain circles, it mostly took the form of relatively harmless stereotyping, often lampooned by Jewish comedians themselves.

For the most part, Jews came to be seen as fellow citizens, hardly different from their Christian counterparts. By the late twentieth century, Jews were fully accepted and immersed in every aspect of American culture. That was, by and large, the substance of mainstream America.

But with the rise of the Palestinian cause—framed as an oppressed, indigenous people suffering under a powerful occupier—many of its proponents found their way into academia through diversity initiatives. Combined with leftist ideologues who embraced this narrative, antisemitism on the left was born and has been steadily ascendant ever since.

While studies show that antisemitism exists in roughly equal measure on both the right and the left, they also show that approximately 80 percent of Americans harbor no antisemitic feelings at all. Even today, despite relentless negative rhetoric promoted by Palestinians and their willing enablers in academia, amplified by a mainstream media that too often repeats these claims unquestioningly.

But still - I have always taken comfort in the belief that mainstream America does not buy into the Palestinian narrative, in part because of how that movement has historically pursued its cause: airline hijackings, kidnappings, suicide bombings on buses, in restaurants, and at weddings filled with innocent people. No civilized person can justify such acts. The United States got a taste of that kind of terrorism on 9/11. I had believed that experience would permanently end any sympathy Palestinians had enjoyed.

I was wrong.

Then came October 7, 2023 - the Israeli version of 9/11... 

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Justice Delayed - is Still Justice

Whistleblower, Sam Kellner (JTA)

We’ve come a long way since the days of Baruch Lebovits. At least I hope we have, judging by the reduced number of cases of sexual abuse within the Orthodox Jewish community being reported in the media these days.

Not all that long ago, the very idea of reporting sexual abuse by religious Jews was considered morally unjustifiable in some Orthodox communities, regardless of evidence. Evidence that usually consisted of not believing the accounts of survivors. The reasons for this reluctance were rooted in the incredulity that such accusations could be true when leveled against individuals who were prominent, respected, and otherwise religious and contributing members of the community.

Rabbinic leaders from the various communities where these accusations arose were often protective of the accused. They believed the allegations were fabricated by people who had gone OTD (Off The Derech) and harbored a vendetta against their former communities. Seeking revenge by smearing them with false claims.

Resistance to reporting abuse to secular authorities was reinforced by the Jewish law of Mesirah – informing on a fellow Jew to an unjust authority. Added to their consideration was that undeniable fact that - even if an accused offender were eventually cleared, the damage to his reputation - and the serious collateral harm to his family - would be irreversible. Preventing the injustice of a false accusation became their overriding concern.

Given the presumed pristine reputations a religious individual so accused – combined  with their belief that accusers were no longer observant and thereby  no longer felt bound by Halacha to tell the truth, community leaders felt justified in refusing to report any abuse at all.

Over time, however, many in the Orthodox world became convinced that credible reports of abuse must be reported. Even when the accused were prominent and respected community members. They came to recognize that false accusations are rare, that survivors deserve justice, and that the public must be protected from future abuse. While the system is still far from perfect - and while sympathy still persists for abusers who receive harsh sentences - that sympathy is no longer as widespread as it once was. In that sense, progress has been made.

I am far less certain that the Chasidic community has fully embraced this new standard of conduct...

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If You can Beat 'em - join 'em?!

It is almost as though leaders of the Conservative movement read my Substack article yesterday and decided to respond to it. Of course, that isn’t what happened.

What feels like a response is really a development that has actually been in the works for over two years—an effort to address the catastrophic attrition out of their Jewish identity and high  intermarriage rates among non-Orthodox Jews. As reported by JTA:

The Conservative movement, one of the major Jewish denominations, is formally apologizing for decades of discouraging intermarriage and committing itself to a new approach centered on engagement…

In its report, the movement also accepted responsibility for the consequences of that approach.

“We acknowledge that our movement’s historical stance has resulted in hurt, alienation, and disconnection from our community. We deeply apologize,” the report said.

The report does not formally lift the ban on Conservative rabbis officiating at interfaith weddings.

Instead, it asks the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards (CJLS) to revisit how its rulings are interpreted, while recommending new educational, pastoral, and ritual approaches aimed at intermarried families.

“All discouraging intermarriage did was push people away who really should have been part of our communities,” said Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal, CEO of both the Rabbinical Assembly and United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.

In other words: If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.

The proposed solution to the tragedy of American Jewry abandoning their heritage through intermarriage is not merely to welcome interfaith couples into the community, but to stop even discouraging interfaith marriage in the first place. This approach is justified by pointing to Pew data showing that ‘fewer than half of Jews raised Conservative still identify with the movement’.

Intermarriage is prohibited by Torah law. That much is clear. Yet once again, the Conservative movement is changing the rules to fit the times. While maintaining plausible deniability by insisting that it isn’t really changing them.

But you cannot have it both ways...

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Shifting Jewish Support for Israel

Conservative Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove - exposing a rift (Jewish Journal)

Even though I am not surprised, I am nevertheless taken aback by the numbers. American Jewish youth are shifting away from supporting Israel. This point was made recently by a rising star of heterodoxy, the charismatic Conservative Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove.

Speaking at the American Zionist Movement’s Biennial last week, Rabbi Cosgrove addressed the generational rift in how American Jews relate to Israel. A divide that has been growing for years. He pointed to the recent New York mayoral election, where roughly 33 percent of Jewish voters cast ballots for mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani...

He also cited data from JPPI’s 2025 Annual Assessment, which found that 43 percent of American Jewish millennials say Israel is not important to their Jewish identity—nearly triple the 16 percent found among American Jews overall in Pew’s 2020 survey. That gap has only widened since October 7, with non-Orthodox Jews under 30 reporting the sharpest declines in attachment to Israel.

Rabbi Cosgrove then offered his explanation for why this divide exists. He seems to attribute it to the long-standing assumption that traditional support for Israel requires never criticizing it - or the decisions made by its leaders. Regardless of whether one agrees with those policies or not. Any such criticism feeds the anti-Israel narrative promoted by Israel’s mortal enemies and their supporters in academia - and even in Congress.

According to Rabbi Cosgrove, the erosion of support among young Jews is directly related to their frustration at feeling that their legitimate criticism is being ignored or silenced, motivating them to walk away entirely from any connection to the Jewish state.

To a certain extent, that is true. But I believe there is a deeper underlying cause that Rabbi Cosgrove does not address... 

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Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Young Chasidic Jews

OTD is the oft used acronym for going ‘off the derech’. Derech is the Hebrew word for ‘path’. The path in this case is the path of observant Judaism.

This phenomenon is not new. It is as old as Judaism itself. There are many reasons why someone raised to be observant would choose to stop being so, but they are beyond the scope of this post. What this post addresses is the difficulty of transitioning from a lifestyle of observance that, to one degree or another, conflicts with the cultural milieu in which one finds oneself.

The degree of conflict depends on one’s approach to that culture. Modern Orthodoxy’s conflict centers on Halacha. When a popular cultural practice or event contradicts halacha, modern Orthodox Jews stay away from it. Otherwise, they tend to engage. That engagement covers a broad area of commonality with the prevailing culture. So that our uniqueness as Halachic Jews does not impede social interaction in a general way. We tend to dress similarly, root for the same sports teams, and enjoy the same kinds of secular music and entertainment as non-Jewish members of American society.

In other words, there is a certain degree of integration with the culture - an assimilation of sorts - that is both acceptable and even laudable in the sense of good citizenship and camaraderie with our neighbors, coworkers, and acquaintances. At the same time, it remains critically important for us to be a people apart. But only in the sense of our relationship with God, by following His laws as dictated in the Torah and interpreted by the sages throughout the generations.

The further to the right one goes religiously, however, the less this is the case. The prevailing view on the right is that the less one involves oneself with the surrounding culture, the better. Ideally not at all. The most extreme example of this is the world of Chasidim...

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