Is Religious Diversity a Threat?

At the beginning of this month, 70 Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist and Orthodox rabbis from North America took part in a two-week Torah study program at the Shalom Hartman Institute. Throughout the period of intensive study and learning, little attention was paid to the fact that they were Orthodox, Conservative, Reform or Reconstructionist rabbis. The denominational labels by which they are identified in America were overshadowed by their common concern with studying Torah in Jerusalem.

I watched with joy and admiration at the way rabbis representing such different Jewish religious orientations could become so absorbed in Torah study. I could not help but ask myself: Why is the Orthodox rabbinical establishment in this country so terrified by these people? Why can’t they relate to these rabbis with dignity? Why can’t they make these people – as religious leaders of the Diaspora – feel welcome in Jerusalem? Must all rabbis share the same theological beliefs and commitments as Orthodox Jews in order to take part in a Jewish discussion about Torah and Jewish life? Is serious Torah study and learning only possible among people who share identical religious dogma and foundational commitments?What motivates the Israeli Orthodox rabbinate to adopt an attitude of aggressive indifference to Conservative and Reform rabbis as spiritual leaders? Why are they viewed as a threat to Judaism and the Jewish people, as dangerous elements whose acknowledgment would undermine the foundations of Jewish identity and continuity?

The argument often cited in defense of the rabbinical establishment’s attitude is that welcoming these leaders as rabbis is tantamount to legitimating their theological and halachic world views. This implies that feelings of respect and regard toward others presuppose agreement; that you cannot genuinely respect other people unless you share the same beliefs and commitments.

This, however, is far from being the case. Although the chief rabbis of Israel welcomed the Pope with respect and were willing to engage in discussions with him, no one would claim that the chief rabbis thereby acknowledged the validity of the theological foundations of Christianity! Few Jews felt that Judaism was being undermined by such public encounters. On the contrary, many Israelis felt greater pride in their Judaism and in their rabbis.

Believing in and arguing for the truth of one’s own convictions is not necessarily antithetical to showing and feeling respect for those who hold alternate or rival convictions. If the rabbinate believes that the Reform and Conservative understandings of Torah are mistaken, then it should opt for discussion and debate, for reasoned arguments explaining why its understanding of Jewish history and Torah is more plausible and meaningful and more capable of providing a compelling vision of Judaism for the modern world.

Another argument often used to justify the delegitimization of Reform and Conservative rabbis is that fundamentally they are responsible for the alarming rate of assimilation of Jews in North America. They are thus blamed for the alienation and indifference of Jews to their Jewish heritage and identities.

This too is a specious argument. The Conservative and Reform Jewish movements in America did not invent liberal secularism! They did not create Jewish indifference and ignorance of their tradition. The attractions of modern secularism and of open pluralistic societies are what draw people to assimilate, to abandon particularistic traditions and loyalties and to discard the past in favor of current standards and life style.

The tragic irony of this unfounded allegation is that it is the Conservative and Reform movements, more than any other groups in America, that need – and deserve – the emotional, intellectual and spiritual support of rabbinic leaders in Israel for their work in preventing the rampant assimilation and secularization of the Jewish people in the Diaspora. Reform and Conservative rabbis are on the front lines of the battle against assimilation. Their congregants do not live in protected intellectual and spiritual ghettos but are fully exposed to the powerful and compelling options available in Western secular society.

Many of these rabbis are heroic fighters against assimilation. Their struggle is to maintain Jewish continuity, to enliven the sense of Jewish peoplehood in the face of the self-indulgent, communityless ambience of much of American society. I have visited Reform and Conservative synagogues where Torah was being studied seriously, where communal prayer services and the celebration of Shabbat and the chagim have become live spiritual options.

How dare we accuse those fighting at the forefront of the battle against assimilation of causing the very problem they are struggling to overcome! It is as absurd as blaming Conservative and Reform rabbis for having invented modernity. The fact is that their communities have been and continue to be influenced by the modern world. And, therefore, they need to draw inspiration from Israel rather than feel constant suspicion and hostility. Yet Israel – the most important center of Jewish history today – continues to reject and delegitimize them as Jewish spiritual leaders.

After spending two weeks with these rabbis I can only wonder why the religious establishment remains so blind to the reality of Jewish life in North America. Perhaps people in Israel are more concerned with guarding the purity of their religious convictions and dogmas – the spiritual purity of their individual selves and communities – rather than dirtying their hands helping rabbinic teachers who are struggling to revive Jewish identity and the connection of Jews to Torah, Israel and Jewish history.

The diversity of the American rabbis who gathered at the Institute in Jerusalem inspired us to believe that Jews can join together as a people only if we can regain the sense of our being a text-centered community. The Torah and the Talmud must be made accessible to all Jews, without demanding prior acceptance of the normative beliefs and practices of traditional Judaism. In this difficult and uncertain period in Jewish history, when we are in danger of losing millions of Jews to assimilation, we must not turn the “leap of faith” into a pre-condition for Torah study.

What threatens Judaism today is not different rabbinical orientations toward how Torah should be studied but rather the widespread apathy and indifference of Jews to Torah study. Radical and different interpretations of Torah do not threaten our future. Apathy does.

Our rabbis taught us that all arguments l’shem shamayim, for the sake of true understanding, will endure. The characteristic multiplicity of arguments and the diversity of voices in our tradition have kept Judaism vital and compelling throughout history. Those who insist on consensus and crush disagreement in Israel and abroad are the ones who threaten the future of Judaism.

David Hartman is founder and director of the Shalom Hartman Institute, Jerusalem.