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The Case for an Orthodox Conversion Jay Federman

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The Case for an Orthodox Conversion Jay Federman 1 earth and moisture. Weeks later, spread out in the gious beliefs and practices into synchronization warm sun, the leaves soak up the sunlight. It's the with the modern world, giving rise first to Reform sun's energy that transforms the raw materials of and then to Conservative Judaism. the earth into abundant new growth of roots, Whereas Conservative Judaism initially remained branches, leaf and flower. quite close to its roots, of late a modernizing trend At this time of year, weeks after the awakening of has led to the de-emphasis of once basic beliefs, new life in the vines and seven weeks after the such as kashruth and Sabbath observance; as well commemoration of the new life and freedom of the as the further participation of women in synagogue Jewish people at the holiday of Pesach, the holiday prayer services in roles that would not have been of Shavuos commemorates the giving of the Torah possible a few years ago. I believe, Grace, that as a at Mt. Sinai. It is precisely this revelation from modern woman, you are attracted to this recent de- above, similar to the sunlight on the vine, that al- velopment. Most likely the Conservative Jews with lows the newly free Jewish people to make use of whom you may have spoken would agree with you, their freedom, to exercise their thought, speech since the more traditional viewpoint is probably and deeds for good and holy works. With the guid- poorly represented in your social circle. Yet it is ance of the Torah we can transform everyday expe- apparently sensible revisions such as these that I rience into spiritual nutrition and spiritual growth. fear will lead Conservative (as well as Reform) Ju- daism in the United States to spiritual exhaustion. The holiday of Shavuos is connected to Pesach, to the freedom of the Jewish people, as the summer is to the spring in the vineyard. The awakening of The Tradition I Respect new life becomes furious growth as it integrates The Orthodox, while relatively few in numbers, the light from above and the material nourishment have such a strong faith that few can be shaken in from below. Like the vine baking in the summer it. Whether or not one believes in their fundamen- sun, the Jewish people can now grow to the spiri- talism is not, in my eyes, a reason to discard many tual fruition for which they were created. • of their ways, for they stand strong! Their children learn more about the intricacies and depth of their religion than do the products of Conservative after- The case for an orthodox conversion school Bar Mitzvah classes, who can do little other Jay Federman than barely read (but not understand) Hebrew; are bored and resentful; and too often, when it can be Dear Grace, You must love my son, Danny, a great afforded, are used as vehicles for their parent's deal to convert from Christianity to Judaism for tasteless Bar- or Bat Mitzvah extravaganzas, featur- him. I was very touched when you wrote, that al- ing (I kid you not) chimpanzees on roller skates, though initially this was the case, as you learn and clowns. Their parents may keep reasonably ko- more about our religion you are coming to love it sher homes, but eat pork and lobster outside. Chil- for its own sake. dren see through this hypocrisy. And as for When Daniel told us that you were studying for a Shabbat, it is the day for the family to pray to- Conservative conversion, he naturally expected me gether, to be together as a unit. But the weekly to be pleased; for we were brought up in the Con- calm which descends on an observant Jewish home servative tradition. How hurt and surprised the two from sundown Friday until sundown Saturday, sees of you were when you saw that I was less than the Conservative Jewish father playing golf, mother pleased. This letter is an attempt to explain the rea- at the beauty parlor, son playing baseball, and sons for my behavior. daughter at the movies. Yet at Friday night and Shabbat services in Conservative Shuls, prayers in- Once, not so long ago, there was only one kind of structing us to guard the Sabbath and keep it holy Judaism: Orthodox, accepting Torah as divine—the are still uttered. Oral Torah as well as the Written Torah. Historical exegesis and archaeological studies, scholarly re- Do I appear to be idealizing the Orthodox commu- search relating the development of Judaism to the nity? It has its large share of bigots who are more influence of other cultures and religions—played intolerant of their non-Orthodox brother Jews than little role. Then came the nineteenth century of non-Jews. It has its large share of religious hyp- "Haskalah," or "Enlightenment" movement, in ocrites. But they survive. Will we? which pious Jews tried to bring our ancient reli- The religious aspects of Judaism are being over- come by the cultural aspects: culinary Judaism JAY FEDERMAN is a physician residing in Dix ("kosher-style" restaurants, bagels and lox, etc.); Hills, Long Island, N. Y. continued on page 119 116 whiter paper. Fackenheim's supple, searching mind . shuttles between personal experiences, essential infor- K'ra mation and religious questions. The flashes of brilliance I | SUMMER 1988 never combine into his customary lucidity and, sur- i prisingly, the Holocaust seems, only as with other writers, an important aspect of his Judaism, not its new Sinai. 1 ISRAEL IN TIME AND SPACE. Alexandre Saf- 1 ran. Feldheim. $19.95. THE WINGS OF THE DOVE. David W. Weiss. B'nai Brith. $19.95. BUSINESS ETHICS IN JEWISH LAW. Leo Jung. ii JEWISH BUSINESS ETHICS IN CONTEMPO- b /iystic and "modern" Orthodoxy are appealingly RARY SOCIETY. Aaron Levine. Hebrew Publishing. I i-VXavailable in these two collections of papers. Saf- $27.50. „ ran speaks of three eternal, supernal, realities; Weiss shows the humanistic possibilities of our tradition. Saf- ll nonagenarians should be so blessed as to pro- ran massively if associatively documents his Jewish Aduce such a manuscript as that left us by the late spirituality; Weiss reaches out to the inquiring modern Rabbi Jung who ranges widely over many themes. Pas- u skeptic. sages edited into "chapters" make his work seem un- necessarily fragmentary. Levine again shows us what i ENCOUNTERING JESUS-ENCOUNTERING JU- contemporary Jewish ethical scholarship needs to be, ; DAISM. Karl Rahner and Pinhas Lapide. Crossroad. oriented, as before, to questions economists raise. $7.95. nicely edited transcript of a conversation between SAGES AND SAINTS. Leo Jung. Ktav. $20. jj Athe pre-eminent Catholic theologian of our time he tenth and last volume in The Jewish Library Se- ^ and the most indefatigable European Jewish dialogian. Tries, featuring mostly informative but uncritical es- • For a change, the informality abets understanding, says on major personalities plus one on kavanah and an- Lapide being less idiosyncratic than usual and Rahner other on individual and society. ^ less inaccessible if still very sharp. IB THE REUNION OF ISAAC AND ISHMAEL. Jack > > JUDAH P. BENJAMIN. Eli N. Evans. Free Press. Cohen. Mosaic. $12.95. e $24.95. irst, a rational, humane argument for Jewish-Arab he man who was almost our first Jewish U. S. Su- amity in the State of Israel—would that there were preme Court Justice and then went on to be "the F T many such spirits on both sides! Then, an account of brains of the Confederacy" had a life worthy of TV Cohen's many years of working with joint Jewish and i' •' mini- even maxi-series. His dramatic story is told in Arab Israeli groups at the Hebrew University, with no loving, evocative detail by Evans. follow-through from the school. KIDDUSH HASHEM. Shimon Huh?rband. Ktav. $16.95. BORN GUILTY. Peter Sichrovsky. Basic. $17.95. e he variety and depth of the response of the children rom the recovered fragments and papers that this Tof Nazi war criminals to their parent's past amaze Fyoung Orthodox rabbi, a participant in Emmanuel and confound the reader even as they often cheer and Ringelbaum's famous Holocaust recording project, depress. ! Oneg Shabos, scholars have compiled and translated I this heartbreaking eye-witness account of "Jewish Reli- ! gious and Cultural Life in Poland During the Holo- A CENTURY OF AMBIVALENCE. Zvi Gitelman. : caust." As critical of the debauching Gerer Hasidim as Schocken. $39.95. SHORES OF REFUGE. Ronald ij he is admiring of those sanctifying their trials, he Sanders. Holt. $27.95. I speaks to our conflicted selfhood. omeone had the happy idea of telling about the last 1 S100 years of Russian-Jewish life with pictures. Git- ! JUDAISM. Michael Fishbone. Harper. $7.95. WHAT elman's sure hand with the story is already a joy but the ' I IS JUDAISM? Emil L. Fackenheim. Summit. $18.95. pictures make the whole a special delight. Sanders re- ishbane's warm introduction to his people and faith lates what happened in the goldene medineh when the Fnicely covers the basics with special attention to immigrants poured in. Jewish leadership was heroic if modernity and diversity. I would have preferred less bureaucratic and not the moshiach. The necessary de- sentimental photographs and either larger type or tails make for some slow reading. \i 117 i, i. LOVESONG. Julius Lester. Holt. $17.95. you get intriguing criticism/midrash. She makes hei case convincingly but some attention to the sociological : s a moving, well-written account of a black discov- reality of secularization would have relieved the occa- I Aering a Jewish great-grandfather and eventually sional sense of limited if post-Freudian horizons.
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