10
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I wholly disapprove of what you say and wUl defend to the death your right to �ay it. � Voltaire to Helvetia.
FEBRUARY 12, 1965
Publication Offle*
VOL. XLVH No. 20
Qvetoc
SAYS AMERICAN JEWS NEED UNIFIED ACTION
The Central Conference of American Rabbis has affiliated with the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations as a step to unify Jewish life in America and strengthen the cooperative efforts of, Jewish organizations in the country. The Conference comprises the largest representative body of national American Jewish organizations and includes eighteen civic, religious, and Zionist groups. The Council of Welfare Funds belongs as an observer. The President's Conference concerns itself with American-Israel affairs and deals with matters of Jewish concern abroad.
Rabbi Leon I. Feuer, of Toledo, Ohio, president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, called for an end to the duplication of Jewish life in America. "The general public at the present time gets a totally confused picture of the character of American Jewry," Rabbi Feuer said. "If we are to effectively meet the problems confronting us domestically and internationally, America's Jews must learn once and for all to unite. We need unified action to combat problems of assimilation, intensify the Jewish education of individuals, and handle such international questions as the threat to Soviet Jews.
"Recent events have emphatically underlined the need. The dangers of Israel surrounded by Arab neighbors threatening military action; and organized economic boycotts; German rocket scientists working to develop weapons which could pulverize Israeli cities; the tendency manifesting itself in Germany to allow thousands of Nazis to escape punishment for their crimes; the dangers to Jews in other parts of the world like South America; these and other problems clearly indicate that American Jews must have some means both in emergency and long range situations of acting to inform, arouse, and win the support of public opinion in our country," Dr. Feuer
said.
The Rabbi, head of the representative body of eight hundred and seventy-five Reform Jewish religious leaders in the United States and Canada, said that "American Jewry must make every effort to break down barriers of organizational competition and self-interest for the sake of a greater cohesive unity in strengthening Jewish religious and cultural life in the country, especially as part of the great society being envisioned by President Johnson."
C/MBELS OFFICIAL DIES OH HIS BIRTHDA Y SHOVELING SNOW
Carl Wagner, vice president in charge of sales promotion and publicity for Gimbels in New York, died apparently of a heart attack, while shoveling snow in front of his home. He was fifty-eight years old on that day and lived at 126 North Ridge Street, in Rye, N.Y.
Mr. Wagner was appointed to the publicity post at the department-store chain in 1960. For three years before, he had been coordinator of advertising, publicity and packaging for the Associated Merchandising Corporation, says the New York Times. From 1953 to 1957 he had been sales-promotion director for the William H. Block Company of Indianapolis.
After attending City College and New York University, Mr. Wagner began in retailing in 1952 with the advertising department of Frederick Loeser & Co., a now defunct Brooklyn department store. In 1939, he joined the advertising department of B. Altman & Co. in New York.
Surviving are his widow, the former Miss Sue Fdsenstein; a son, Barry; a daughter, Marion, and two sisters, Mrs. Libby Block, and Mrs. Estelle Brandeis.
A funeral service was held in the Universal Chapel at Lexington Avenue and 52nd Street, New York. Burial was in Beth David Cemetery in Elmont, L.I.
TO Nil MAJCSrr 40CH fUUBCTV I!
Of "CAJUMAM CUIt" mtUV HUM WALICt I MO UkUTO
Ask for
The Best in the House"
by Hiram Walker
The
Orthodoxy In Conflict � A Gate Study
At this preliminary state of analysis it is difficult to predict what the future of Orthodoxy will be, short of saying that it will be reflected in whether the "traditionalists" or "modern Orthodox" gain control of its image. (I think it quite" out of the question that the "traditionalists" will ever represent a numerical majority.)
By control of Orthodoxy's image is meant control of the rabbinical schools, the rabbinical organizations, the teacher-training institutes, and the large congregations. Lest the reader anticipate widespread bloodletting in the controversy, he must recall that Orthodox institutions, the large Ye-shivas, rabbinical organizations, and congregations, have already created their own professional bureaucracy whose efforts will be to minimize ideological conflict that is organizationally disruptive.
It is interesting to observe, however, what occurred in one synagogue where "modern Orthodoxy" did become an issue. The clash took place in a young and small suburban synagogue. Had the incident occurred in an older and larger, more stable/-*birgregation, intense feelinaumght have been dampened Jjy-'B group whose stake was in the institution as such and in conflict-resolution rather than any particular point of view.
The congregation, lying on the suburban outskirts of a large metropolitan city, had been founded about seven years before the clash by a group of "modern Orthodox." Its location in the suburbs was a deliberate attempt by the founders to project a middle-class image and demonstrate the compatibility of Orthodox Judaism with a suburban style of living. Although the in'*-stitution was within walking distance of a largj Jewish concentration within the central city, it was not a particularly convenient walk.
Membership was solicited from those who lived at such a distance that Sabbath and holiday attendance was impossible without driving.     The whole attitude of the congregation   was   an   effort   to demonstrate that a variety of traditional    customs    and   practices could be ignored,   and the synagogue still remain Orthodox. The "mechitza" was one example. Men and women were seated facing one another with a partition   at the lowest   height   permissible   under the most lenient Halachlc interpretation.
The synagogue revelled in its attraction to non-observant Jews, and emphasis was on never offending them, even at the expense of offending "traditional" members. Thus,, for example, objection was raised to a chain across the synagogue driveway on Ro�h Hashonak for fear of offending those who drove to services. A member who came on a Sabbath to say Kaddith carrying a fountain pen in his pocket was never informed of his breach of ritual law, but an Orthodox member from Israel who came without a jacket was promptly told that he was violating the institution's mores.
Although the majority of the congregation included non-observant Orthodox who did not attend Sabbath services, the membership, which never exceeded fifty families, came to Include a few "traditionalists," At that time their oojy alternatives were a number ef "SlHeoeJ*" in the central city which.were attended by the very elderly and a few "oltra-traditio^ aliste."                                       �
In 1961, a new rabbi was hire^L He was a young man in his first pulpit, very strict in religion* practice, * product of * narrow cultural environment, onworWryri Ms behavtorVbot very tapreufv* in hit scholarly ejttHrVatJon*. tgb MTmeritmey pcraottal fatbits aid
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tit� AmericanJewish Congrats; reprinted with p�ntittsJon
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date. One characteristic which a few members found worthy of noting was that he "shuekled," moved his body backward and forward while he prayed. Although no one felt that this alone disqualified him for the position, it was included in a list of criticisms given to the rabbi by the congregation's leadership before he was hired.
The leader of the "modern Orthodox" group made it explicit that the practice of "$huekling" was so abhorrent-to him that he could not bring himself to view the rabbi while he Was praying. Another point of criticism noted by one of the women was that the rabbi's suits were old-fashioned. Nevertheless, the rabbi was hired over some opposition. Clearly, what swung most pf the congregation behind him was the fact that he had already earned a reputation as a Talmudic scholar, and an advanced degree in history.
The rabbi was hired with a one-year contract. The question of renewal of the contract came before the board of directors seven months later. The board voted ten to nine to renew the contract. It is the division of votes on that particular question which is of concern here.
Although the board split ten to nine, there were two married couples, each with two votes on the board. For purposes of analysis the two couples will be treated as individuals, and since one couple voted for reappointment and one against, we are dealing with nine in favor and eight opposed.
Two characteristics which distinguish the participants are readily apparent. Of the nine proponents of the rabbi, four lived in the central city, and five in the suburbs, Of the eight opponents, one lived in the central city and seven in the suburbs. Among the proponents only one was in any way associated with the syna-gdgue prior to the purchase of its building in the suburbs.
All of the opponents were among the founders of the institution and were intimately associated with it in its most formative years. In other words, the opponents of the rabbi shared a common value with respect to the purpose and function of the synagogue. Their common choice of a suburban residence suggests they shared certain life-style values as well. They were all committed to an Orthodox institution which expressed a modern suburban way of life.
The founders themselves were predominantly Sabbath-observers. By defining a Sabbath-observer as one who is a regular attendant at Sabbath'services and refrains from smoking or driving on the Sabbath* the most interesting conn trast of all emerges between the rabbi's proponents and opponents. Only three of the nine proponents were Sabbath-observers, whereas six of the eight opponents were. This division is all the more interesting in view of the fact that the opponents of the rabbi charged him with engendering an environment of hostility toward the non-observant. In fact, proponents of the rabbi were charged with trying to make the synagogue too "/mm," too religious.
In the light of the sympathy which the rabbi evoked from the noc-obeervaat Orthodox within the congregation, the charges that the rabbi was too rtligiooj seemed incredible to many. The additional charge that he was trying to rentier the image of the synagogue isefcsical to most of his Bert given the bask of the "ifcodern Ortho-agaWth* rabbi wire net without mUtance.
IM o* take the txampU of *�-tfcnrt. Rtta*nyf Jews ere not per-" to drtnfc wfne made by non-tfcie Uw *�wkWy violated. ratti, e* totoee, did not vio-fc tad fMptteatd the fcuArv* those w*e did.    The non-ob-Otthodoft were not both-Mr tab at Ut fte? never ex-rfthbi to eat In their to **-
tJirut. Since the rabbi's word on Jewish law was accepted as authoritative, they respected the rabbi for being consistent end abstaining from non-kosher wine just as he would from pork products.
But to some of the "modern Or thodox" who served non-kosher wine in their homes, the rabbi was a distinct threat. The fact that his standards were higher than theirs was intolerable. In addition, the rabbi evoked a negative image to the "modern Orthodox11 because so many of Msjmpejrflclel mannerisms, speech ari(f personal habits were associated with that type of Judaism against which the founders of this suburban synagogue were reacting.
All the vices of ultra-traditional Orthodoxy, including its narrow-mindedness and Intolerance of diverse viewpoints and non-ritualistic behavior, were attributed to the rabbi. His opponents were so convinced of this they were in-capable of recognizing his attraction to many non-observant members.
A few words might be added about the outcome. In the last analysis, the "modern Orthodox" faction won out. They represented a cohesive group sharing common social, religious, and status values. The rabbi's proponents represented a melange of backgrounds, viewpoints, and aspirations. They included traditionalists, semi-traditionalists, a group of totally non-observant from non-Orthodox backgrounds, and a group of non-observant from Orthodox horaeg. There was little to hold the group together once the rabbi decided to leave. In the aftermath, the rabbi's observant supporters left the synagogue and joined a newly organized '^aditional" eon-gregation in the area. (It is, interestingly enough, a Young Israel congregation.) Others of the rabbi's supporters joined Reform and Conservative synagogues in the area. A sizable number, however, remained in the same synagogue where their needs, unlike those of the traditionalists, continued to be met.
This paper has been an effort to demonstrate that the contemporary Orthodox community is far more complex than the superficial observations of some would lead one to believe. Thanks to the careful collection of data and theorizing of a generation of scholars dealing somewhat with both Jewish but particularly with non-Jewish groups, we have much information and a fairly sophisticated theory to account for the acculturation and assimilation of a variety of minority groups in the United States.
The persistence of Judaism remains & difficult phenomenon to explain. In recent years, social scientist* have increasingly turned their attention toward religion. We have been told that, for a variety of reasons, none of which are very satisfactory, religious life in America has been strengthened and a supra-ethnic church has replaced the ethnic group In many of its functions.
Thus, though ethnicity dies, religion remains. Judaism, we are told, has survived not because of its ethnic or racial (in the classic sense) characteristics, but rather because of its religions characteristics. One would anticipate, therefore, a change in the nature of Jewish life In the United States with the ethnic, racial, cultural, national or any other aspect giving way to'the religions.
Although a fuller discussion of this interesting topic most await a more careful analysis of Jewish life in America, suffice to say that despite sotse obvtaa attractions of this theory, it ioee not fit all the observation* aboot contemporary Jewish life, particularly the attaefcattt to the State of Israel
Social eeleatbts, however, have gone a step beyond eaytaf **�* ethnfe groope have becot&e aastMi-. lated a*4   that
ences are now one, of the last mainlhg pluralistic elements of ou> society. They have also sought to demonstrate that despite the re> ligious revival, increased religlotto identification and church or 8yna> gogue attendance, the form an4 content of the major religious denominations have come to resemble one another more closely in the United States.
This Is not at all surprising. If ethnic differences between religions die out, if immigjant^ backgrounds make less of a^diffetence, if all groups are converging toward middle-class values, then it would Indeed be surprising if this had no impact on forms of religious behavior. Just as many observers find this to be the ease among the major America.* re: ligious denominations, other observers (and sometimes the same ones) find this is also the case within Judaism. Orthpdoxy, we are told, is moving to the "left," Reform to the "right," and we are approaching a uniform religious service, increasing identity of re-IjglouB behavior, and a singular attitude toward ritual, etc.
There Is enough face validity to this observation to make it seem credible. A more careful look at Orthodoxy, however, indicates that this is not at all the case. Certain obvious aberrations remain. The Hasidic community is one example. But the existence of the Hasidic community or communities possibly can be explained, if not understood, by the unique social characteristics of its members, the charismatic nature of the leadership, and its communal institutions.
At the very least, the Hasidic community can be dismissed as a sect and outside the purview of discussion. The "traditionalists," howfver, as we have described them, represent a far greater aberration. Their existence and growing strength belie any simple interpretation as to the nature of American Orthodoxy and the direction in which It is moving.
Social science cannot make its peace with an explanation that accounts for Judaism by dismissing it as sui generis or unique and incapable of comprehension through social theory. By the same token, honest scholarship cannot live with a social theory that requires jamming all observations about Judaism into a distorted pattern in order to suit notions derived from exclusively non-Jewish sources, or much worse., from a parochial and biased view of Judaism Itself.
I
IN 1965
I
MARKS
ITS 22ND YEAR
OF
A.B.C. MEMBERSHIP