My article from three days ago – It is time for Orthodox revolutionaries to drop their tone of anger – ignited a wave of responses, many of which were, well, angry. Obviously, some of what I said was not clear to some of the respondents. It is probably my fault, so I would like to clarify several points and maybe add some new ones as well.
1. Winning and losing
My article was written following a statement from the Rabbinical Council of America against the ordination of women rabbis. I don't think such a statement from the RCA should come as a surprise to anyone. The Orthodox establishment was never supportive of female ordination, and for that to change – if it will ever change – a lot more time needs to pass.
In the article I wrote: “The movement to liberate Orthodox women – those who want to be liberated – from the Orthodox establishment has won. The battle is over.” Some readers took this the wrong way. They thought this means that Orthodoxy is doomed to surrender to the new trend. But when I wrote “won” I intended it to mean something much more narrow: “Women can find places in which to be ordained, they can find synagogues in which to read form the Torah, they can find communities in which to play the role they want to play.” In other words: it is no longer a problem for an Orthodox woman (or man) to find (or establish) the type of Orthodox community that accommodates their attitudes regarding the role of women in the synagogue and in religious life. So – a victory not in defeating a rival, but rather in making room for the new approach.
2. Orthodoxy and its advantages
Some of my readers thought that my article was somehow an attack on Orthodoxy. One of them wrote on my Facebook page: “Orthodox Judaism, populated as it is by human beings, is not perfect, but by and large it works.”
I agree – Orthodoxy works for many people, and it shows, in a certain way, the kind of resilience that other Jewish “denominations” do not poses. This should be clear to anyone who bothers reading the many studies on the identity of Jews. This should be clear to anyone who does not let his ideology or politics stand in the way of looking at Jewish realities.
So I did not intend to say anything negative about Orthodoxy, and I have no problem with Orthodox communities that do not want to change their habits and ways. But to say that “it works” is also an exaggeration, because obviously, for many people, born and educated within Orthodoxy, it does not work. It does not work for them because of many reasons –philosophical, structural, psychological.
It especially no longer works for many Jewishly educated women who no longer accept the Orthodox status quo regarding the role and place of women in the community.
3. The Israeli rabbinate
Some readers did not understand why I say that anger is no longer necessary – and were especially mystified by the fact that not even the Israeli rabbinate angers me. Well, it does – because it's wasteful and unnecessary, and because it alienates Israelis (and non-Israeli Jews) and pushes them away from Judaism. But it also doesn't – because the damage is mostly imaginary. If people will stop being angry with the rabbinate and just ignore it, they will soon discover that it has little relevance to their lives.
Let me put it bluntly: I live in Israel and see many people because of the kind of work I do. But I rarely, if ever, see anyone whose life is in trouble, or that is miserable, because of the rabbinate – that is, except for the people who insists on getting the approval of the rabbinate for what they do. Let me explain: if someone wants to be married by the rabbinate, he is subjected to the rules of the rabbinate, many of which are utterly annoying and unnecessary. But that is a choice: an Israeli can easily circumvent the rabbinate and marry without any need for official rabbinical approval. In such case, he or she will not have to deal with the rabbinate and will not have to adhere to its unreasonable policies.
Ditto regarding Kashrut: people want a certificate from the rabbinate. Getting it is a headache, and having to deal with the rabbinical establishment is an obstacle. Then again – one can decide not to have the certificate and save oneself all the trouble. In such case, the rabbinate will play no role in his or her dietary life.
Do I say that the current situation is an ideal situation? Certainly not. All I'm doing is proposing a new strategy: instead of fighting the rabbinate and wasting energy on being angry with it – ignore it. If you do, it will disappear from your life.
4. What do I think?
Several readers were upset by the fact that in the article I never said if I “support” or “oppose” the ordination of women. The answer is: I support it for those who want it, and also support the right of other communities to oppose it. I have no problem going into a shul in which the rabbi is a woman – be it an Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, or any other shul. I also have no problem going into an Orthodox shul in which a woman is not allowed to become a rabbi.
The fragmentation of Jewish life is a fact. It is a fact with which I am not always happy – identifying areas of similarity and agreement is a necessary exercise for a group that wants to remain “a people” in a meaningful way. But when it comes to the issue of the ordination of women, and to other ceremonial aspects of the synagogue life, we can celebrate the variety. We can enjoy the variety. The old guard Orthodox establishment can do better than being angry with the new open Orthodox establishment. The new open Orthodox establishment can do better than being angry with the old guard Orthodox establishment.
5. Does it ruin Judaism?
One reader sent me an email in which he said: the ordination of women is a slippery slope. The problem is not with ordination, the problem is that when you make such radical changes you run the risk of ruining Orthodoxy and destroying Judaism.
Again – I agree – there is a risk. When changes are made there is always a risk, and if someone tells you that the ordination of women will have no negative consequences, only positive ones, be highly suspicious: few things in the world have no negative consequences. Even fewer things have no unintended consequences.
Change is made not because there are no risks. Change is made in spite of it being somewhat risky. It is made because for many Jews there is no reasonable alternative to change.
