Ij enter the rabbinical school at JTS. The tragic and hejr j Sh'ma foolish waste of rabbinic talent by virtue of the find I exclusion of women will cease. Many of the A women who will join the vanguard of Conser- J y,a journal of Jewish responsibility vative women rabbis will be extraordinary peo- 13/259, OCTOBER 14, 1983 ple, unusually bright, courageous, devoted to ost Judaism and Jewish life, and unusually aware of !t, the meaning of their work. Their entry can only upgrade the level of the rabbinical school, which ;ative' 3? (• has long suffered from the steady drain of talented male candidates who choose more iot ; lucrative and respected careers in the professional ire | and business worlds. But some of the best female ler- ; products of the Conservative educational system ;ishop. will choose to face the challenges and pursue the ier spiritual rewards of this new frontier of Jewish '!. ! If there are conservative women rabbis life, now that unqualified acceptance of female had j i Amy Eilberg leadership has been achieved. The rabbinical school will be enriched by their entrance. s Once again, a decision approaches. We who care about the future of the Conservative movement The Seminary community will be affected in na have lived through this before. Now, in anticipa- another way. I would hope that the rabbinical ** i! tion of the October 24th vote of the faculty of the school's new women would join forces with those s ij Jewish Theological Seminary on the ordination of already there to upgrade the quality of life at i women, the hopes are stirred once more. Perhaps JTS. Over the years, countless men and women fl'- i i this time the Seminary faculty will be true to its have found that the Seminary tended to infan- oinic>| forbears, the founders and ideologues of Conser- tilize and devalue its students, too often failing to 1ER- i vative Judaism. Perhaps this time the Seminary recognize them as people with important ideas, ,' will prove itself a meaningful leader of the com- goals, and human needs. The real quality of ww ii munity it purports to serve, finally addressing the women at the Seminary may help to correct these the i i preponderance of evidence that the ordination of flaws, providing a humanizing and personalizing ith ij women is an idea whose time has come, an issue force, so sorely needed in the Seminary communi- that can no longer be debated, denied, and tabl- ty- i! ed. Perhaps this time the faculty will have the A Reaffirmation of Purpose b• 'f courage and conviction to both initiate and sanc- On the level of ideology, another terrible wound the ii tion this very profound change in American will be healed. For many years JTS has sustained '] Jewish life, restoring their rightful place in the a conflict between the ideal and the real. On the IUA (I vanguard of policy-making and religious leader- one hand, the Seminary was found and j ship in the Conservative movement. perpetuated in order to represent and propagate Much has been said and written about the an authentic response of traditional Judaism to ? historical, halachic, and ethical arguments in modernity. Rut when the faculty refused to res- i favor of the ordination of women. Since many pond to the realities of contemporary Jewish life ; believe that the admission of women to the rab- by ordaining women, JTS stood for one set of binical school at JTS is now imminent, I propose ideals and beliefs, and acted according to a very to take this opportunity to describe one woman's different one. JTS was thus caught in an impossi- i concept of the effects that this momentous deci- ble position, betraying its own ideological and in- i sion will have on American Jewish life. Specifical- tellectual raison d'etre. With the ordination of i' ly, what will the Conservative movement look like women, this conflict will have been resolved. The in this new era, after the ordination of women admission of women will state very clearly that i. has become a reality? JTS does wish to participate in modern Jewish life, does intend to distinguish itself from Or- \ Seminary Life Will Improve thodoxy, and is willing to enter into relationship First and most obviously, at long last, women will' with the vast movement that it has always meant to lead. With its mission now clearly stated, there i AMY EILBERC is a doctoral candidate in will be those who will have to leave this old-new Talmud at the Jewish Theological Seminary. Seminary. Their departure will represent a serious .! 128 I loss, particularly those who carried on their side sonal and philosophical conflicts developed and j, of the fight I'shem shamayim (for the sake of festered. But the benefits for American Jewish lifar I heaven), out of sincere and selfless conviction. But will soon justify the painfulness of the process, \ for those who remain, the Seminary's purpose and and help the scars to heal. • world view will have been clarified and reaffirm- ed. Conserving our judaism With this reaffirmation, the admission of women Wayne Allen to the Conservative rabbinate may, if fully understood, usher in a new era in the relationship For years the Conservative movement in Judaism - of the Seminary to the movement, and of rabbi to has been wracked with internal debate rising to a congregation. The decision to respond to a deeply raucous and devisive level unsuited to the branch felt need in the community, to consider the espousing K'lal Yisrael— the brotherhood of col- possibility that the laity has something to teach as lective Israel. The prominent public issues— well, signals a major change in the Seminary's whether to recognize women in the minyan, call ; status and stature in the community. Finally, them to the Torah, or admit them to rabbinical <» after an extended hiatus, the Seminary faculty school— are only the tip of the iceberg. Con- I will have resumed its position of community troversies run much deeper. leadership. The movement will see that the Our movement is debating, in effect, how, when, ,! Seminary is no longer exclusively devoted to and by whom may Jewish law be interpreted. " scholarship, but that it addresses itself as well to This procedure has never been definitively ad- issues of vital concern in the movement. In- dressed by Conservative Judaism. For the move- dividual rabbis in the field will no longer have to I feel that they work alone at the monumental task WAYNE B. ALLEN is rabbi of Temple Beth i of interpreting Jewish tradition to real-life Zion-Sinai, Lakewood, California. I modern Jews with changing needs and views. The Seminary will have presented itself as a model of this work, as a posek (decisor) in the truest sense. Sh'ma | Rabbinic leadership will once more emerge as a vital force in Jewish life, once dialogue between a journal of Jewish responsibility the leaders and the led has resumed on this Editor Eugene B. Borowitz crucial issue. Asst. to the Editor Yoel H. Kahn . Administrator Alicia Seeger ' Reconciliation With Feminism Production CIM Graphics \ Finally, it might be hoped that the ordination of Contributing Editors J. David Bleich, Balfour Briclcner, women will help to heal yet another long- Mitchell Cohen, Daniel J. Elazar, Blu Greenberg, Paula | standing wound. For the fifteen years since the Hyman, Nora Levin, David Novak, Harold Schuluxis, advent of contemporary feminism, many Jewish Sieven Schwarzschild, Seymour Siegel Sharon Strassfeld, women have lived with a very painful conflict. As Elie Wiesel, Arnold Jacob Wolf, Michael Wyschogrod. j the roles and identity of contemporary women Sh'ma welcomes articles from diverse points of view. i changed radically, and no form of traditional Hence, the opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those Judaism seemed able or willing to accommodate of the editors. Donations to Sh'ma Inc. are tax-deductible. these changes, Jewish women had to make the Sh'ma is available in microform from University Microfilms terrible choice between their identities as women Internatl, Ann Arbor, Mi. and as Jews. This dilemma, of course, was but Address all correspondence, subscriptions and change of one recent example of the historic clash of tradi- address notices to Box 567, Port Washington, N.Y., 11050. ) tional Judaism and modernity. It is for this reason Sh'ma (ISSN 0049-0385) is published bi-weekly except June, |f that the ordination of women, viewed in July and August, by Sh'ma Inc., 735 Port Washington Blvd., historical perspective, is an event of such pro- Port Washington, N.Y. 11050. Subscriptions $22 for two years found significance. If JTS succeeds in assisting in U.S. and Canada; $12 a year overseas. 10 or more to one j contemporary Jewish women with this one ele- address, $6 each per year. Retired or handicapped persons of ment of the modern Jewish dilemma, being both restricted means may subscribe at half-price. traditionally Jewish and female, then a major Copyright 1983 by Sh'ma Inc. milestone in modern Jewish history will have been POSTMASTER: Please forward Form 3579 to Box 567, Port reached. Washington, N.Y. 11050. Second class postage paid at Port Washington, N.Y. and at JTS as an institution has lived through a additional entry Bethpage, N.Y. traumatic crisis period, during which many per- 13/259, October 14, 1983 129 fl and ment that affirms the historical evolution of than educated. Instead of changing the attitudes Jewish law (Halachah), the process by which of people to conform to the demands of Judaism, change takes place has always been the most pro- many among us have decided to change Judaism blematic and elusive. It was purposely left to meet the demands of the people. Instead of unresolved to enable everyone to come under the viewing Judaism on its own terms, foreign stan- umbrella of Conservative Judaism. Yet, by re- dards and values are unfairly imposed upon maining unresolved, we have created a perpetual Judaism and Judaism is expected to change. Fur- tension in our ranks. ther, the resultant "change" would not be so bad provided that the decisions reached by our "Tradition and change" is our oft repeated motto. designated authorities were properly researched, N! Yet how much tradition can be abandoned before logically sound, textually grounded, actually our movement becomes exclusively "change"? The necessary, and gradually effected. Since this is not product of such a development would lose all con- the case, a growing negative reaction by tradi- 'Call f: tinuity with the past and become a bastardized tionalists is fermenting. And, since we stand in ical I offspring of Judaism. Conversely, if our move- opposition to this new tradition of change, we are >- <1 ment (and Judaism as a whole) is to remain becoming unwelcome and lonely voices for "con- vibrant and responsive to contemporary and serving" Judaism. t future Jewish needs, "change" must be conceded. No one in the Conservative movement doubts the Loyalty to Sources is the Criterion inevitability of change in the abstract. It is in its The traditionalists within the Conservative move- particular manifestations where the difficulty lies. ment oppose the counting of women in the mi- Change Is Not The Only Coal nt/an, oppose women as shelichot tzibbour (public prayer leaders), and oppose the ordination of Traditionalists within the Conservative movement women as rabbis not because we are male are appalled by the arrogance of those rabbis who chauvinists or anti-feminists. Traditionalists can are anxious to make changes outright— even in be quite liberal and support "women's rights" in the absence of supportive legal precedents. We employment, in politics, and so on. Yet we refuse have witnessed the emergence of a new rabbinic to impose the American notion of absolute equali- activism that has promoted the idea of the tradi- ty on Judaism, making equality, not Judaism, our tion of change, as if change was the only goal and standard. the ultimate good. Sources are marshalled to demonstrate that change in Jewish law has always Our objections to women serving in these occurred: it is part of our tradition. The tradi- capacities stem from our reading of the sources of tionalists, however, do not agree that this descrip- our Jewish tradition and our appreciatioin of the tion of Judaism should necessarily be transformed validity of Jewish law. These sources attest to the into a prescription for Judaism. inability of women, because of their differing obligations, to perform any number of religious Perhaps the core of the problem lies in the fact functions. According to the halachah, women that Conservative Judaism has always viewed cannot lead the congregation in prayer, read the itself as a sort of religious "populist" movement. Torah publicly, officiate at a wedding, be The fact that we see ourselves as the rightful heirs counted in the minyan, or serve as a witness to a to the Pharisees evidences this self-perception. Jewish legal proceeding. We do not vote on The fact that the Conservative movement has whether these facts are good or bad. We only grown so rapidly in the United States, and counts evaluate the texts of our tradition and base our the largest number of affililated members, further opinions on what they teach, not on what we supports this notion. would like to see. However, this self-perception has become a terri- If there is a danger that Conservative Judaism ble delusion: that we can be all things to all peo- will become another form of Orthodoxy, an equal ple. or greater danger exists that it is quickly becom- ing a mere reflex of Reform, Thus, no matter how Faced by the challenge of those who claim that the Seminary votes on the ordination of women as they and others would gladly join synagogues and rabbis, traditionalists expect to see rapid move- practice Judaism "if only Judaism was moderniz- ment towards endorsing the CCAR's acceptance ed," "if only Judaism conformed to my sense of of patrilineal descent. This, too, will be opposed. justice," "if only Jewish ritual practice was less demanding," many Conservative rabbis have sur- To the traditionalists, tradition must remain the rendered rather than fought, abdicated rather keystone of the Conservative movement. • 130 Facing the need for women rabbis The Movement is on the Sidelines Jacob Neusner Today, by contrast, the three greatest movements in the inner life of American Jewry bypass Con- Conservative Judaism stands at the parting of the servative Judaism. Having been engaged early on ways. Whether it will flourish or wither away with each, I can point to the failures. depends on what people now decide. When Con- The Jewish Federations have become instrumental servative Judaism offered an alternative, within an essentially traditional framework, to Or- in making the Jewish community more Jewish. thodoxy, it flourished. When it claimed to be lit- The havurah-movement has revitalized Jewish tle more than another Orthodoxy, a copy, it religious expression. withered. From the 1920's to the 1960's it The campus has become a principal base for flourished. From the 1960's to the present time, it Judaic studies in this country,— an un- has declined. precedented development in the history of In its heyday Conservative Judaism offered the Judaism. Jewish community a traditional approach to And where has Conservative Judaism been? The Judaism, one clearly distinguished from Or- Federations— in many cities run by Conservative thodoxy. How was it different in the generation Jews— are ignored. The havurah-movement, from World War I to the 1960's? Women sat next brought to its richest expression in Conservative to men. Rabbis gave sermons, taught, and reach- and Reform synagogues, might as well have hap- ed out to the congregations. Discourse was in- pened on the moon. The professors of Jewish telligible, critical, and interesting. And Or- studies in universities— many of them JTSA thodoxy? Women sat apart. Rabbis were remote alumni— are declared non-persons by their alma and distant. There was no pretense at scholarship mater. in Western modes. People loyal to traditional The age of renewal must come. American Jewry ways found a home in Conservative Judaism. cannot accept only a single route to the tradition But today Orthodoxy presents the community of Judaism, the one supplied by Orthodoxy. The with rabbis interested in the life of the people. same reasons that called forth the formation of Conservative Judaism enjoys no monopoly on Conservative Judaism explain why. Reform scholarship. Modern Orthodox scholars, Judaism serves valiantly, but not universally. Two represented for example by those around Isadore (if not more) roads into the traditional framework Twersky at Harvard as well as some at Yeshiva of Judaic living and thinking must remain open. University, speak compellingly on scholarly issues. One of them, the Conservative, sorely demands Certainly the Conservative movement no longer repair. exercises intellectual leadership without signifi- Conservative congregations must now restore the cant competition from Orthodoxy, particularly in vitality of the center, and that in two senses: the modern mode. First, the center of Conservative Judaism at JTSA; But what Conservative Judaism, at the Jewish and second, the vital center of American Judaism Theological Seminary of America, has wanted to that Conservative Judaism has marked out for present to the community is simply another form itself. of an essentially Orthodox approach to things. It In my view the road to renewal has taken a minor just will not work, because no one needs it. detour, in the Rabbinical Assembly's rejection of a In its age of leadership, Conservative Judaism woman as member. The wave of the future is engaged the larger Jewish community in the great now. It is the attainment of complete equality for issues of the day. Zionism from the 1920's to the women in the traditional sector of Judaism. That 1950's, to which the Orthodox were indifferent can be accomplished solely by Conservative and much of Reform, hostile; the incipient Judaism. It will be the centerpiece for the organization of the Jewish community as we now renewal of the vital center. • know it; outreach to the unaffiliated Jews; the building of a whole system of Jewish education— Losing conserve-ative judaism all of these achievements of the second and early Paul Plotkin third generation belong (if not exclusively) to When I was a young boy growing up in a Conser- Conservative Judaism. vative congregation in Toronto, Canada, I was JACOB NEUSNER teaches Judaic Studies at PAUL PLOTKIN is rabbi of Temple Beth-Am, Brown University. Margate, Florida. 131 ! taught about the history of the Conservative is often not observing in the first place, but for Movement. It was explained to me that it was not the rabbis as well. a movement in reaction to Orthodoxy, but rather to Reform; that it was devised as an attempt to There are now numbers of Conservative "conserve" tradition, to "conserve" observance synagogues across the country, congregations in and practice, to redirect Judaism in a direction good standing of the United Synagogue, where, if which would conserve the traditionalism that a rabbi is not prepared to drive on Saturday, he Reform was seeking to eliminate while still con- may not even apply for the position. The decision fronting modernity. As I grew up and became pertaining to driving intended that if absolutely more sophisticated in my awareness of the Con- necessary, then it was permitted to drive to the servative Movement, through exposure at Ramah nearest Conservative synagogue and back. I know and USY, I learned there was a game that of rabbis in Conservative congregations who pass everyone played and that we all accepted— the two or three other Conservative congregations on rabbi was our vicarious, totally observant Jew, the way to their congregation. The "Koola while the laymen were at all different levels of Factor" has struck. The location of affordable observance. The one commonality of the laymen housing has become the primary consideration, was the bond of the synagogue with which they not its proximity to the Temple. I've heard of were affiliated— that, and the fact that they ex- another congregation which, as one of its early pected their rabbi to be the observant one for pre-screening questions of candidates asked, "were them. While they went out and ate non-kosher they prepared on coming down for an interview, food or hot dairy food in a non-kosher restaurant, to go out for a fish meal?" If the candidate were they expected their rabbi to eat only in kosher to choose the higher level of kashrut, if the rabbi restaurants. While they drove to synagogue on would choose not to compromise on that point, the congregation in essence told him that he was Sabbath, they expected their rabbi to walk. While not a suitable candidate to even apply, for his they did not keep Shabbat, they expected the rabbi decision not to exercise a "koola," a compromise, to be meticulous in his observance. And I must a diminution of standards, made him totally admit that as a teenager, and even to the point in unacceptable to that congregation. college when I decided that I would apply to the seminary, I was prepared for a career in the Supporting Kosher Pizza Parlors rabbinate under those rules. Compromise at Every Opportunity The Koola Factor has had other negative implica- tions as well. Thank God, there are still percen- What I was not prepared for and what I still have tages of Conservative Jews who keep kosher— great difficulty with, was the fact that the rules larger percentages, if one defines kosher in the would, imperceptibly at first, but quite widest of latitudes. Most Conservative kosher Jews dramatically and quite rapidly, change across the feel comfortable walking into any pizzeria around country. We went from having a rabbi keep all the country and ordering a cheese pizza. Leaving the observances for you, to having a rabbi who aside the question of suitability of cheese, there would "not observe"— just like you. Part of this are still countless problems in the preparation of was aided and abetted by we Conservative rabbis such a hot food product; the non-kashrut of the ourselves who, through Law Committee decisions pots and pans, stoves, the proximity of pepperoni over the years, reflected what I would call "the and other meat products, the possibility of mix- Koola (compromise) Factor." Whenever possible, ture of non-kosher meat with cheese pizza, etc. a decision that could make a question in Jewish And yet, with the rather wide application of the law easier for the people, regardless of other con- Koola Factor with regard to eating hot dairy siderations, was adopted. Soon it became the ac- out, eating regular pizza has become an accep- cepted and often even the maximal level of table and normative activity amongst kosher- behavior. Laws pertaining to driving on the Sab- keeping, Conservative Jews. That in itself would bath or laws in different areas of kashrut are but not be so problematic were it not for the fact that two areas. For example: rather than having the one wonders how many more, "totally kosher" anticipated benefit which would be more par- pizzerias would be available, that a community ticipation in synagogue and Jewish life by allow- could be able to support, where the quality of the ing people to drive, rather than having more pizza would be every bit as acceptable, but the kashrut observed at a wider level by allowing cer- kashrut would be unimpeachable. Yet we have tain compromises in terms of fish, the opposite allowed the viability of such outlets to rest solely has been achieved— not only for the layman who in the hands of the Orthodox neighborhoods.

132 Recently, I understand, the Law Committee has we deem to be of a higher ethical level and we been discussing the question of the acceptability will change Jewish Law accordingly." This, in or non-acceptability of mono-diglycerides. As of terms of my understanding of Jewish tradition, is this writing I am not aware of any decision hav- a radical departure from all that we have stood ing been rendered. But the raising of the question for in the movement of "tradition and change." allows another opportunity for the Koola Factor The casuality of such actions will not be the im- to enter. Let us say that there were legitimate mediate decision rendered one way or the other halachic and chemical reasons to decide that but, it seems to me, the entire integrity upon mono-diglycerides of animal origin were to be which the Conservative Movement is built. • deemed acceptable. This would theoretically open up many now forbidden products to the Conser- The varieties of american orthodoxy vative kosher consumer. Surely that is the intent Robert Gordis in raising the question, but the practical result In his paper, "Who Are Today's Modern Or- would be to further lessen the market for supervi- thodox?" (Sh'ma, September 10, 1983), David sion of products and discourage companies from Singer seeks to establish a basis for "modern Or- seeking a heksher (rabbinic approval). Now the thodoxy." "He takes Blu Greenberg's book On more subtle questions of the equipment used or Women and Judaism as his point of departure. the source of other questionable ingredients, will On the basis of his analysis, he concludes that her go unanswered and unsupervised. What then have plea for upgrading the position of women in the we gained from our decision? The Koola Factor halachah brings her foursquare into the orbit of will have triumphed again. Conservative Judaism, and declares that her Higher Morality and the Minyan halachic outlook 'is virtually identical to Gordis'." My position, supported by "a broad array of One of the attractions that Conservative Judaism evidence," in Singer's phrase, was presented in had for me, both prior to my coming to the my paper; "The Dynamic Halachah: Principles Seminary and during my studies there, was the and Procedures of Jewish Law" (Judaism, Sum- intellectual discovery and the intellectual honesty mer 1979, pages 263-282), and in the ensuing practiced. It was shown to us how Judaism has symposium, "Jewish Law: Eighteen Prospectives" always continued to evolve using the flexibility (Judaism, Winter 1980, pages 4-119). implicit in the oral traditions; but that there was both a boundary to the change and a specific Singer raises cogent questions in regard to the modus vivendi of change. As long as the changes relationship of "modernist Orthodoxy" to the fun- in Jewish life brought about through an inter- damentalist mainstream, though he does not use pretive method could be justified within the the latter term in this connection. Let me put my parameters established, Judaism remained both cards on the table. I believe that the "unanswered true to its Torah source, yet flexible enough to ac- questions" are largely unanswerable from the commodate the necessary changes in society. It vantage-point of "modern Orthodoxy." Let me be was in the area of the "women's issue" that a blunt about it— the philosophy of Conservative flagrant exception was blatantly manifested by Judaism, for all its variations, has an approach some members of the Rabbinical Assembly. The that can answer the questions of Orthdox Jews— issue of women counting in a minyan, after being when they are ready to ask the questions! debated back and forth by the Law Committee, was finally conceded to be one in which the Some of the scholars whom the Editor of Sh'ma halachah allowed no room for re-interpretation invited to participate in the discussion of Singer's vis-a-vis its definition of who would constitute a paper point out that my paper concentrated on minyan. Therefore, the Law Committee went the dynamism of the halachah rather than upon outside of the established boundaries of inter- its conservative elements. The observation is cor- pretive Judaism as perceived through our rect, but beside the point, since I was not writing historical analyses and instead, began to legislate a full scale history of the halachah. All law tends new rules based on a "higher morality" outside of to be tilted toward the past, if only because of the the traditional mode. The thrust in the Rab- weight of precedent. The important point to note, binical Assembly pushing for the change, in is how often in its great creative periods Jewish essence, said that "if the tradition does not allow law tended toward the forward thrust rather than for an adaptation, we will discard the value ROBERT GORDIS teaches Bible and philosophy system implicit in the traditional halachah and of religion at Jewish Theological Seminary and we will superimpose our own value system which edits Judaism. 133 the backward pull. The viability, and relevance cannot revert to their position. We cannot un- of the halachah was the work of Hillel, Johanan know history— we can only pretend to do so. ben Zakkai, Rabbi Judah the Patriarch and Rab- Actually, however, the assumption that the rabbis benu Gershom, and those who followed in their were unaware of historical change is an over- footsteps, rather than their conservative op- simplification. One has only to recall the naive ponents, like the Bene Bathyra and Rabbi Eliezer yet profound legend in the Talmud (Men. 29b) ben Hyrcanus. in which Moses, having heard of the intellectual Other major issues cry for discussion, notably the prowess of Rabbi Akiba, asks to be allowed to see problems involved with the dogma of an un- the sage in action. The Lawgiver is transported to changed and unchangeable halachah. I shall deal the Yeshiva where Akiba is lecturing. Moses finds very briefly only with the issue which Singer that he-does not understand what Akiba is saying regards as the most telling criticism of my posi- and is greatly distressed. But when Akiba con- tion. cludes the lecture by saying, "All that I have ex- pounded is the Law of Moses from Sinai," Moses Theoretically, The Law Does Not Change regains his composure. Singer quotes Louis Jacobs' very thoughtful analysis in Judaism, in which he points to the In superb form, this Talmudic passage sets forth problem that in traditional Judaism "change takes the dialectic of continuity and change. The details place in a theoretically unchanging system. The of Akiba's exposition were totally different from reality of change is ever denied by the brave Moses' earlier perceptions, but the organic rela- assertion that nothing has changed or ever can be tionship between Akiba and Moses preserves the changed." Jacobs raises two questions in this con- continuity which makes it a single living tradi- nection: "How, then, can a historically informed tion. perspective on the halachah claim to be con- The Talmudic sages and their successors were well tinuous with the past? And indeed, how can it aware of the mass of takkanot (ordinances) and function in relation to the past?" The second gezerot (prohibitions), temporary or permanent, question finds its answer in the day-to-day ex- which each generation of scholars found it perience of every modern nation whose legal necessary to introduce into Jewish life. If system is binding upon its citizens, notwithstan- polygamy was permitted before Rabbenu Gershom ding the fact that changes are constantly taking of Mayence in the eleventh century, and forbid- place with regard to one or another aspects. As den after his takkanah, were our ancestors for the first question, the Torah is immutable, not unaware of the change? Indeed every one of the because every detail remains unmodified through thousands of differences in view expressed in the the centuries, but because the Torah retains its Talmud where one was accepted and the other authority as the supreme expression of God's will was voted down, testifies to the flexibility of the and every provision is directed to the fulfillment law and its innate capacity for growth and of the commandment, "You shall do what is right change. and good in the eyes of the Lord." (Deut: 6-18). David Novak's contention that change is not a Since Torah law is authoritative, it can change halachic value is entirely beside the point. only through the application of due process, Change is not a halachic value, but a halachic utilizing both its inherent resources and the fact. It is never a value in and of itself. techniques available for its development. Are Significant Developments Occurring? Does this open the door to subjective attitudes To rebut Singer's claim that "modern Orthodox and interpretations? Obviously, for different intellectuals fail to speak out about change and minds and spirits will conceive differently of the development in the halachah," Marvin Fox cites procedures and practices necessary to advance the each of the Orthodox participants in the Judaism Torah's goals of justice, mercy and truth. But symposium: Rackman, Jackobvits, Shapiro, Wurz- those who do not diverge from the halachah burger— even Bleich, who explicitly declares, received from the past are not less subjective in elsewhere in his article, "Jewish law does not making their decision. change," to demonstrate that modern Orthodoxy recognizes that the halachah is dynamic and has There was Consciousness of Innovation undergone development through time. As for the relationship of halachah and history, it may be true that the ancient and medieval rabbis If Fox is right, and all the authorities to whom he had no conception of historical change, but we refers "openly acknowledge history and develop- 134 ment in the halachah ," I am now able to for- to wrestle with the problem of women's rights mulate the differences between mainstream fun- and demands that they submit resumes of the damentalism and "modern" Orthodoxy as well as education and careers of their children in order to the link between them: Fundamentalist Or- "convince" him of their sincerity. With thodoxy denies the reality of change and develop- "adherents" like Liebman Conservative Judaism ment in the halachah even in the past. This stance does not need any opponents. it achieves either by refusing to examine the evidence, as in the old-style yeshivot, which for- His own position, which I suspect is not limited to bid the reading of any works of modern scholar- him, he describes as follows: "One accepts reg- ship, or by blocking it out and by an act of the nant Orthodox psak (legal rulings) as a reference will, pretending the evidence does not exist. point and makes private accommodations in terms of one's ethic, comfort, communal and family Modern Orthodoxy on the other hand, recognizes pressures and circumstances, without for an ins- the reality of change and development in the tant believing that the particular accommodation law— in the past. Both types of Orthodoxy, fun- can or indeed should become a standard." Poor damentalist and modern are at one in being un- Immanuel Kant, with his definition of the willing or unable to carry this process further in categorical imperative, must be turning over in the present and the future. Whoever denies the his grave! truth of the statement is invited to cite one Liebman justifies his standard of public Or- significant instance of development or innovation thodoxy and private heterodoxy and his silence introduced by modern Orthodoxy. "to speak out about the matter" as motivated by When an individual scholar or thinker pleads for the desire not to "undermine community." He the continuation of this process in the present, as describes himself as a hypocrite. He is too hard on does Blu Greenberg and others who shall here be himself; he is merely an intellectual schizophrenic. nameless, he finds himself perilously close to "heresy." Moreover, this is true even in an area David Singer may be right. Perhaps denomina- where remedies are available "within the halachic tional labels are less important than we have process." This Conservative Judaism has tended to believe. Clearly they have a tendency to demonstrated through the Lieberman Ketubbah harden positions and establish distinctions when and the application of the Talmudic principle of there are only few real differences. No one who annulment (hafka'at kiddushirt) which I have reads the issue of Tradition, the fine journal discussed elsewhere. published by the Rabbinical Council of America, that was devoted to the "State of Orthodoxy" can Hypocrisy, the new Jewish Virtue fail to be struck by the similarity, both in their In addition to the fundamentalists and the moder- outlook and in their current situation between Or- nists in Orthodoxy the symposium in Sh'ma thodoxy, on the one hand, and center Conser- discloses a third category, the reverse crypto- vative Judaism, the dominant majority, on the Orthodox, represented by Liebman. Why he per- other. sists in identifying himself "intellectually as a Conservative Jew" I do not know. While he ac- In a spirit of friendly competition and brotherly cuses Eugene Borowitz of hutzpah for entering in- cooperation— and the two are not mutually ex- to a discussion of halachah, he is himself not lack- clusive— let each group follow the heretic ing in this virtue. With enviable omniscience, he Voltaire's injunction and "cultivate its own knows that Conservative thinkers only "pretend" garden." •

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