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Oils necessary. Tradition is a guide, but it can no longer be (This is evident from the poignant letter of Press viewed as an authoritative code. Ail in the same issue). The friends of Scherman might learn ideas Despite the fact that Kaplan's original work is over half a thing or two about civility, intelligence, and ne a century old, his basic ideas and his rigorous Jewishness if they would venture out of their self-imposed ghetto. The Orthodox will give us oxygen >th,( methodology remain applicable to Jewish life today. He c ' remains the only thinker to have been responsible for and —but will not sit down together with the the creation of a rabbinical school modeled after his vast majority ofJew s to attend to matters that affect program, and that this school flourishes, indicates that Jewish faith. They reserve the right to impose a kit | theological test: a belief in the "Divine origin and Of I Kaplan's message still carries meaning for many Jews. immutable nature of both the Written and Oral Law.'' or®. For me, Kaplan is partly legend, partly reality; but his vision of a reconstructed Judaism serving a reconstituted What does this precisely mean? Does it imply a firm Jewish people is the vision that brought me to the fundamentalism including assertions about the age of rabbinate, has sustained me in my studies, and will the world or the truth of the stories of Rabbah Bar Bar direct my career as I become a rabbi and teacher in Hanah? Would Scherman give legitimacy to such od .1 . spiritual giants as Franz Rosenzweig or to , or for that matter to Rabbi Ishmael who, according to Heschel, had other ideas about the is 1 details of the Oral Law and the Written Law as to their 'biii origin and provenance? Is it logical to think that such oser Orthodoxy: enough is enough geniuses as Moses Maimonides who affirmed that we ond: Seymour Siegel should "accept truth from wherever it comes" would not change his views in the light of the archaeological Sh'ma, issue #211, is one of the most disquieting discoveries of Hammurabi's code, nuclear physics and ewr documents I have read in a long time. It points up the Greco-Roman background of such terms as gezerah sharply and cruelly the situation in religious Judaism shava? Are theological tests the standard of Jewish life? today, especially the way Orthodoxy in all of its Does Scherman know of what was said by the permutations has moved from civility to a nasty "establishment" about kabalists, chasidim, and separateness. Zionists? He better be careful about reading people out of authentic Judaism. History may have other decisions My learned and beloved colleague, Harold Schulweis up its sleeve. And to top it all off—Scherman wants the hopes that the divisiveness in the religious camp can be rest of us to help him support his' 'Torah institutions'' is

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pluralism if everyone believes the way he does. It is upon the life of President Reagan is prompting such fraudulent for non-orthodox ' 'clergy'' to call soulsearching not only on your part, as proprietor of the themselves rabbis. A rabbi is a rabbi only if he can pass store which sold that particular gun, but on the part of ; Tendler's theological test. This, he says, is standard countless other gun dealers as well. Permit me to draw Judaism. I wonder where he gets such a notion. He your attention to one aspect of Jewish teaching which makes up the test; he grades the results; and he certifies should figure prominently in such deliberations. the credentials. His amazing sense of "pluralism'' moves him to write the following sentence: (surely the Maimonides (HilkhotKotzeah 12:12, paraphrasing most amazing statement to have ever appeared in Avodah Zarah 15b) declares: "It is forbidden to sell Sh 'ma): ' 'The Orthodox can easily interact with heathens weapons of war. Nor is it permitted to sharpen i another faith community; be it Muslim, Christian, their spears, or to sell them knives, manacles, iron Conservative or Reform. But we do not accept a papal chains, bears, lions or any object which can endanger annulment or a court approved secular divorce in lieu of the public; but it is permitted to sell them shields ! ajewish get. Neither can we accept a Conservative or which are only for defence.'' Reform divorce.'' Now we know where we stand—in Mr. Goldstein, a sticker on the door of your shop reads, the same class as Catholics and Muslims! This is an "Guns Don't Cause Crime Any More Than Flies Cause expression of ahavat yisrael! Garbage." Maimonides disagrees emphatically. In Schulwies and others ought to be convinced now that explaining the premise upon which this provision of all talk of unity is a one-way conversation. We should Jewish law is based, Maimonides tells us that in selling go about our business in the best way we can. After all, arms to a heathen ' 'one strengthens the hands of an the Orthodox are a small part of the entire Jewish evil-doer and causes him to transgress'' and "anyone community. We should support our own institutions. who causes one who is blind with regard to a matter to We should operate on the principle of reciprocity. We stumble -- or one who strengthens the hand of a person will go to their synagogues, if they will come to ours. As who is blind and does not see the path of truth because long as they preach what they preach in their schools of the desire of his heart violates a negative precept as it and institutions we cannot in good conscience support is stated, "You shall not put a stumbling block before them. This, by the way, includes such movements as the blind." Lubavich whose published materials exude the same This precept was understood by the Sages as an kind of self-righteousness, arrogance, and monopoly on admonition designed to protect not only the physically truth as we read in the issue of Sh 'ma. We have and blind, but the intellectually and morally blind as well. continue to stretch out a hand of friendship to all Jews, Ajew is forbidden to take advantage of another including the Orthodox. So far our friendly gestures person's lack of awareness in a way which causes harm have been rejected and rebuffed. When a gesture of to that person or to others. The Torah forbids us to humaneness comes from the other side it is certain that mislead the blind and thereby cause them to stumble. it will be grasped with warmth and friendship. Until We are forbidden to give the uninformed that time, I am afraid, we will go our separate ways, misinformation or poor advice; we are forbidden to leaving it to the God we all worship to extend His grace prey upon, or pander to, the predilections of the upon us and to create Shalom. morally blind. These restrictions are part of Torah and accepted by Should a jew sell guns? Jews because such is the divine command, but they also happen to make good sense. Let me tell you a story. J. David Bleich Everyone remembers the assassination of Martin Luther Mr. Isaac Goldstein, Proprietor King. Some, but probably not many, will remember Rocky's Pawn Shop the shooting of Martin Luther King's mother some time afterward. It is an event I am not likely to forget, not Elm Street because of the event itself, but because of an incident Dallas, Texas which occurred subsequently. Dear Mr. Goldstein: A short time after the shooting, my wife and I were Time Magazine reports that you are giving serious sitting in a cafe in Prague. A young, highly intelligent consideration to discontinuing the sale of handguns in medical student struck up a conversation with us. As he your establishment. No doubt, the recent attempt began to feel comfortable in our company, he leaned

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