Presence

I must say that I found this letter to be disappointing. The minor points first - there were no conditions in Ammiel Hirsch's statement. Furthermore, the Council of Torah Sages frequently co-operates with political leaders when their interests align, and that is never taken as a blanket endorsement of the political parties' platforms.

Major point - if in fact the CTS wants to reach out to the unaffiliated masses without the attendant taint of heresy, why are they not doing so? Why is Rabbi Reinman not touring the U.S. on his own, taking advantage of the notoreity of the book to promulgate his beliefs?

I had a similar reaction. It all seemed a bit sanctimonious. Should be interesting.

I am frustrated that he would say that the premise of the book was wrong. I don't understand why the opportunity to reach Jews of all kinds can be wrong. I think that many Jews who would never pick up a book by only an Orthodox rabbi would read this, and therefore be exposed to Orthodox Judaism for possibly the first time. Will they be convinced by the book? Probably not, but maybe, just maybe it will inspire them to learn more. And I don't think that could ever be wrong.

Shoshana- I agree with you but I think it should be looked at from the other perspective as well. I think it is important for orthodox Jews to read what the Reform perspective is as well. If the Rabbonim are nervous that it may cause people to question their faith than they have a big task ahead of themselves.

Greg, since I'm out of town I hope that you'll post a summary of the sesion. I was disappointed in the content of the letter, and I hope that R. Reinman will be more positive when he speaks to you about the relationship of Orthodoxy with the rest of Judaism. I don't think anybody's rabbi is "holding them hostage," but it is true that some people find one method of practice more or less attractive. Like it or not, the majority of American Jews are NOT Orthodox, and since Orthodox Jews share the same goal as American Judaism at large of maintaining our religion and culture, the Orthodox leadership will have to make some effort to not reject Reform and Conservative Judaism. It will be sad if Orthodox Jews follow R. Reinman (many Orthodox I know, obviously, do not agree with him) and set themselves off completely from the majority of Jews in this country. Such a policy does nothing but isolate the majority from the rich and valuable teachings of the Orthodox, and encourage them NOT to learn about traditional Jewish practice.