N E W Conditions an D Changing Patterns Within Contemporary

3. It should be noted that there is now another Conservative rabbinic seminary, the University of Judaism, in Los Angeles, so the sum total of rabbinic candidates has actually grown. The same may be said of the Orthodox. Itook one major seminary as representative of the denomination as a whole, but, in fact, there are other seminaries and more rabbinic candidates than these figures indicate, though we don't know how many. The figures may be more indicative of specific institutional trends than of denominational.patterns. NewConditions and 4. On the politics ofthe concept, see Bacon 1996;Kaplan 1992;Bmwn zoo* Evidence that even in the hareidi community the rabbi may not have as much authority as is generally believed may be inferred from the fact that, despite the herem signed by numerous hareidi authorities against the book Making of a Godol, there was a humorous pashkevil (poster) in the hareidi neighborhood of Geula, Jerusalem, before Purim of 2003, which indicates that somemembers of the hareidi community Changing Patterns within with a sense of humor feel free to poke fun at the so-called heron. Contemporary Orthodoxy Steven Bayrne ?he scene was a leading Modern Orthodox high school. The instructor, trying to explain Cain's motivation in Idling his brother Abel, cited a midrash that Cain feared that the Temple would ultimately be built in Abel's domain. A student quickly challenged the instructor, saying that worrying about something that might happen a thousand years hence hardly constituted a realistic motive for murder. Taken aback by the student's unwillingness to bow to rabbinic authority, the teacher trivialized both the comment and the midrash by saying, "It's just a midrash anyway!" In truth, this seemingly small incident (and small-minded instructor) illustrates the dilemma of Modern Orthodoxy: how does one preserve rabbinic authority and simultaneously constrict that authority so as to make room for intellectual freedom and 114 Steven Bayme Rabbinic and Lay Communal Authority 115 permissibility for expression of doubt? In turn, what limitations authority" have already infiltrated wide sectors of the Jewish com- upon personal freedom need to be in place so as to preserve the munity, including some components of contemporary Orthodoxy. hierarchical value of sacred text in teaching? A truly modern Ortho- Moreover, despite America's self-understanding as a uniquely reli- doxy will celebrate both renewal of Torah scholarship and rabbinic gious society, the American model of religion underscores personal authority yet acknowledge that questions arising from the insights freedom and individualism. Robert Bellahs team of sociologists of critical scholarship and.modern cultural values need to be con- discovered this some years back in inteniewing "Sheila" a woman fronted honestly rather than dismissed or trivialized. who defined her religiosity as a little of this and a little of that. This paper emanates from a dual perspective the critical eye Sheila effectively incorporated a few diverse elements of American of a student of the American Jewish community and the personal religious life to form her own religious current popularly termed experience of someone who occupies the increasingly common "Sheilaism."2 position of Modern Orthodox Jewish communal professional. The Within the Jewish community, Jack Wertheimer and others American Jewish Committee, in its role as think tank and catalyst deemed Sheilaism to be corrosive of religious authority and of any of the Jewish community, monitors communal trends and proposes serious form of Judaic expression.' Yet, in fact, Sheilaism is already measures to enhance positive currents and counteract negative ones. here m the contemporary Jewish community. Intermarriage is per- In addressing shifting models of communal authority, I will draw haps the finest symbol of the growing American Jewish personalism. upon both professional and personal experiences. The initial focus Once considered an arch sin, intermarriage has become so accepted will concentrate on what is happening on the general American and in the Jewish community that Jewish leaders no longer find it pos- Jewish scenes; subsequently, I will turn more specifically to the Or- sible to criticize mixed marriage or even uphold the primacy ofthe thodox Jewish community. Some thoughts for future direction and Jewish in-marriage norm. Even some Orthodox leaders minimize modest proposals for communal policy formulation will condude the significance of mixed marriage or, worse, claim that it represents the discussion. not a danger to be contained but an opportunity to be ~elcomed.~ In terms of America generally, the autonomy of individual con- From the perspective of American individualism, the choice to science dearly stands as a defining hallmark of Western liberalism. marry out is perfectly understandable love will conquer all differ- Freedom of choice is the dominant American norm.' Laws once on ences. From the perspective of communal authority, the decision the books concerning individual behavior have either been repealed to intermarry represents a fundamental rejection of the claims of or permitted to lapse. OccasionaIly, when a law surfaces that seems Jewish tradition and the power of the community to ensure Jewish to violate freedom of individual action, such as the Texas statute continuity. criminalizing homosexual behavior between consenting adults, we Homosexuality is perhaps less obvious but equally trenchant as immediately denounce the legislation as an anachronistic legacy of an exampIe of Jews asserting individual conscience over communal the Dark Ages. The "American way" upholds the right of individuals authority. Jewish tradition, of course, is unequivocal in proclaiming to make their own moral decisions a value perhaps best expressed homosexuality a sin, and its counsel to the would-be homosexual in the slogan of the abortion rights movement, "No one can tell me essentially amounts to the statement "Who is a hero? He that mas- what to do with my body!" ters his passions." Ironically, however, few Jews in public life have Needless to say, this unbridled individualism is hardly con- stepped forth to proclaim this position. It was left to Father Richard sonant with a Judaic language of communal norms andpersonal John Neuhaus to articulate the traditionalist position that someone restraint. Yet, as we shaU see, these positions of "freedom from who recognizes that he is a homosexual should choose the path of 116 Steven Bayme Rabbinrc and Lay Communal Authority 117 celibacy. Within Orthodoxy, the leading vehicle for discussion of some years back, the actor Rob Reiner rationalized a Bohemian homosexuality, the recent movie Trembling Before God, assumed artist's propensity for adultery by proclaiming, "We artists answer unequivocally that homosexuality is inbred and has no components to a higher authority!" Truth surpasses fiction when the director of of choice a highly controversial assumption that the movie's creators the movie, Woody Allen, can proclaim in real life, "If it feels right, accepted without question. just do it.? To be sure, Sheilaism carries with it some limited benefits. By As suggested earlier, American Orthodoxy has by no means maximizing the possibility of individual growth and opportunity, been immune to these developments. Superficially, in the eyes of American society has proved more welcoming of Jewish participa- most sociologists, Orthodoxy remains perhaps the one sector in Jew- tion and more encouraging of Jewish achievement than any society ish life in which rabbinic authority still prevails. People do care about in Jewish history. Second, the emphasis Sheilaism places upon per- the demands of tradition and pay at least some heed to what rabbis sonal conscience serves to remind us that "mitzvot require kavanuh" are actually saying. Yet, on the ground, on the Orthodox "street? the that the conscience does have a voice in determining human behav- situation is more complex. One can discern at least three positions ior even ifwe cannot grant it an absolute veto. Lastly, Sheilaism also within Orthodoxy one that limits rabbinic authority to matters of serves to challenge rabbinic authority in areas where it needs to be Halakhah, one that expands the realm of rabbinic authority, and one goaded into action, as in the continuing dilemma of the agunah, a that challenges authority to enter into uncharted regions. problem on which tangible albeit limited progress has been achieved The position that I grew up with and that presumably remains in recent years precisely because many "Sheilas" were proclaiming the official position within centrist Orthodox circles is that the rab- loudly the need for rabbis to address the issue. To be sure, these ben- bis are authoritative on matters of Jewish law. By contrast, matters efits notwithstanding, Sheilaism does threaten to replace hierarchical of social and communal policy represent neutral ground on which authority with free-wheeling religious anarchism. the individual is free to follow the dictates of conscience. Thus Mai- In this context, the recent movement of Reform Judaism toward monides departed from rabbinic teachings on issues of science and greater traditionalism evokes some degree of ambivalence. Clearly, medicine and rejected unreasonable midrashim. Azariah de Rossi the specter of more Jews connecting with more aspects of the Jew- went further, upholding rabbinic authority on law but claiming that ish heritage represents a welcome trend. Yet

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