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From: trb@masscomp.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.religion.jewish
Subject: Fence around the Torah
Message-ID: <198@masscomp.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 27-Feb-84 19:30:39 EST
Article-I.D.: masscomp.198
Posted: Mon Feb 27 19:30:39 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 28-Feb-84 12:40:27 EST
References: <121@nwuxd.UUCP> <191@masscomp.UUCP> <713@ihuxq.UUCP>
Organization: MASSCOMP, Littleton, MA
Lines: 97

ihuxq!amigo2 (John Hobson) pegged me pretty well with his note which I
will reproduce in entirety, because I don't feel I could paraphrase it
better:

	Andy Tannenbaum seems to be saying that only the Orthodox form of
	Judaism is authentic, no others need apply.  If you want to live by
	your own interpretation of Torah, and it is not to be found in the
	Talmud, then what you are doing is all right, but it is not being
	Jewish.

	I know that he apologized for casting aspersions on the Reform
	movement, but that seems to be exactly what he is doing (and, yes, I
	don't think that playing a French horn along with a shofar is
	appropriate on Rosh Hoshana either).  So tell me, Andy, what about
	those people who think that the "fence around the Torah" is too high
	and too enclosing?  Are they being authentic Jews?

This opens a subject which I'd really like to talk about.  On
the other hand, we must be careful, let me explain:  At the basis of
this problem is the question "What is a Jew?" and the discussion about
that can quickly degenerate into a quagmire, like the answers to the
questions "What is life?" and "What is reality?"

I grew up as a yeshiva student through grade school: not what I'd call
a complete Jewish education, but certainly a sizable basis.  I do not
deny Judaism, I don't say that it's bad or wrong.  Over the years, due
to my family's influences and of course, my decisions, I have chosen
to not adhere to some of the Jewish laws.  I don't do so saying "I
think Judaism should allow us to to eat in Chinatown," I just say that
I'm going to do it, and not follow the Jewish law.  I don't say that
it's acceptable Judaism or that it doesn't matter because those laws are
archaic anyway!  This is what I despise about the Reform movement!
They just hack up Judaism for their own convenience and then grant the
resulting mess their stamp of approval.  It's disgusting.

As Jews, as members of today's American society, primarily, as individuals
in a free society, we each have the choice of what path to follow.

Where John paraphrases me above about "what you are doing is all
right, but it is not being Jewish," I am saying it's alright by me
because I'm not your judge, and I don't care to be.  There are Jews
who worry about the way other Jews practice their religion; a Rabbi
who leads his congregation has an obligation to ensure that he guides
them to practice properly, his obligation is still as a teacher and not
usually as a judge.  I make absolutely no claim to be a rabbi, but I
hope I can cast some light, and if I make an error while carrying some
of the burden of casting the light, I trust that someone in the
community who reads this note (a sort of virtual rabbi) will set us all
straight.  (I figure that I can do the mundane Jewish hacking here,
and leave the bug fixes, if needed, to a Judaism guru, ok?)

I know many Chasidim (a radically observant sect of Jews) who claim to
follow the Torah to the letter.  These Chasidim (like any other group)
are not all good and beautiful people.  I guess what I'm saying here is
that following the letter of the Torah is not quite enough.  Just
eating kosher food is not the same as having a healthy diet.  Following
the Torah as Chasidim follow it does not necessarily lead to treating
all people with proper equality and compassion (for example).

Some Chasidim are inconsiderate, wiley creatures, like some members of
any group.  They tend to be even more eccentric than most groups, as
they are a radical group.  (Just my saying this would have some Jews
gasping, saying "He should talk about Jews like this in front of
non-Jews?!" - those are the ones I'm talking about.)

Some Jews are in the class that John Hobson talks about when he
refers to putting a fence around the Torah.  Other Jews are not,
they literally take the Torah to the streets.

As I discussed in previous notes in this group, I don't accept
Judaism-as-it-is-practiced-today, a concept totally separate from "I
don't accept Judaism," mind you.  What I'd like to see is a respect
for the laws of Judaism and the Torah as they are, coupled with a
modern and compassionate outlook on being Jews in an integrated world.
There are awfully few people who practice this way, I know that I fall
short.  Some Orthodox Jews, mostly outside of Chasidism from my
experience, have done a good job of integrating their Judaism into the
modern world, but in most all cases, they tend to be arrogant (even
bigoted) with regard to non-Jews and even to less-religious-Jews, and
that's something I find disgusting.  I am weak in the areas of
observance, when it comes to eating kosher and not working on Shabbos,
I haven't realized the need to do those things.

To answer John Hobson's question more directly, but not completely so,
I think that every Jew is an authentic Jew, every Jew who practices
Judaism as he thinks is proper is an authentic Jew.  I don't see a
fence around the Torah.  The Torah belongs to every Jew as much as it
belongs to the certain surly introverted Chasidim who seem to want the
Torah all to themselves.  The Torah cannot be enclosed by a fence, we
should not try to restrict it and I disagree with people who seem to
try to do so.  On the other hand, I don't think that the Torah needs
dilution or edition in order to make it usable as a light to live by.
I've detailed above some ideas that I think are important about the
practice of Judaism.  I look forward to hearing ideas from the rest of
you.

	Andy Tannenbaum   Masscomp Inc  Westford MA   (617) 692-6200 x274