Editorials	Print

On a recent out of state trip, I had the occasion to converse at some length with an Orthodox rabbi who expressed great dismay over the anger directed at him from the non-Orthodox Jews in his city concerning the issue of the Law of Return. It seemed, he said, as though the Law of Return was acting as a channel for a great deal of pent up hostility against Orthodox Judaism on the part of the non-Orthodox Jewish world. And, indeed, it is the case that the non-Orthodox Jewish community has been angry with Orthodox Jews and Orthodox Judaism, over a variety of issues, for a variety of reasons, and for quite some time. What's more, as we have just so recently seen, this anger is growing rather than abating. It is about time that the Jewish community as a whole, (and Orthodoxy in particular), faces up to this anger, attempts to understand its causes, and does what it can to alleviate it in the interest of achdut, or Jewish unity.

It may be true that much of the anger generated over an issue like the Law of Return can be attributed to a politically motivated ?misunderstanding? on the part of the leaders of the non-Orthodox movements, it may also be true that in some cases the anger against Orthodox Jews stems from resentment that we cling to a way of life which others feel guilty for having abandoned. Yet some of the blame for this anger must surely rest upon ourselves; for not always communicating the positions and philosophy of Torah Judaism in a comprehensible and compassionate manner; for not always treating sincere objections to our views and way of life with understanding and respect; and for, at times, excluding non-Orthodox Jews from our circle, rather than inviting them into it.

Indeed, the whole tendency for many Orthodox Jews to remain cloistered, thereby avoiding non-religious Jews as well as gentiles (whatever the intention and whatever its other merits), has the effect of alienating many Jews from the Torah world. Further damage is done when, in the legitimate interests of defending Torah and Torah values, we take an exclusively polemical stance against Reform and Conservative Jews and their leaders, as if they were an alien and hostile nation rather than our own family--our own people--who in many cases are striving to make Judaism an important part of their personal identity. We only push them away when, instead of encouraging them to build upon the mitzvot they do perform, we berate them for those they have yet to incorporate into theirlives. Finally, when we reprove our fellow Jews, as we must when it comes to issues of vital communal concern such as ?patrilineal descent? or the requirements for conversion, we bring harm to klalYisroel, if we do not reprove them, as Torah implores us to, with kindness and concern for their own welfare.

Anyone who has attempted the important task of kiruv (bringing Jews closer to Torah) understands the logic of this point of view. Individuals who are invited to a warm Shabbat dinner or who have the opportunity to engage in a genuine dialogue with an observant acquaintance are the ones who show a further interest in Torah Judaism, not those who areberated or made to feel embarrassed and guilty for their lack of Jewish observance. However, what is so clear to us on the individual level, seems to escape us when it comes to some of our less personal and institutional attitudes and policies. We must come to realize, however, that it is only by recreating that warm Shabbat meal or that genuine dialogue, on the institutional as well as the individual level, by tipping the balance in favor of kindness (chesed) over judgment (din), and by forging a ?kinder, gentler? Orthodoxy, that we can ever hope to achieve the important goal of achdut, the ultimate unity of the Jewish people.