A Modern Orthodox Jew in the Modernized World

In this article I take a stab at how some world trends may be affecting the Modern Orthodox community, namely, religious polarization, the dearth of leaders, and challenges to belief. i Then I argue that the internet can address emerging problems by fostering sincere dialogue.

Religious Polarization

Polarization is a global trend.ii In world religions like Judaism, this means the 'middle' empties out toward the poles of religious fundamentalism and secularization. The rise of secularization has shown itself most recently in books that celebrate atheism, with spokesmen Dawkins and Hitchins being well received on their talking tours.iii Those who are not drawn away from religion towards secularism, might strengthen their religious ardor. In Modern Orthodox and other Jewish communities this response to secularization manifests itself as a movement toward Harediazation.iv Contemporary Modern Orthodox literature is telling: Flipping Outv discusses the pull "to the right," and Off the Derechvi the pull "to the left." The bell curve of religious observance (if there ever was one) seems to be becoming more bimodal. Is the YU community following this trend?

From the admittedly impressionistic perspective of this author, the YU community also seems to be subject to polarization. For example, forty YU male and female students accompanied Rabbi J.J. Schachter to Nashville to address 3,000 Jews of different types and (life)styles at the UJC General Assembly. A month later, forty students - men and women completely separated - accompanied Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Z. Sobolofsky to Israel on a shemittah Torah study trip over winter break. I know some students from each of the trips who would feel comfortable attending the other trip. But I have doubts as to whether most YU students would feel comfortable attending either trip. I also have doubts as to whether most non-YU Modern Orthodox students would consider attending a single-sex shemittah Torah study trip over winter break. There is no animosity, as I see it, just different crowds. Different crowds are inevitable; groups of friends develop together and reinforce one another.vii

The immediate threat of polarization at YU is that it perpetuates crude stereotypes of either white shirt + black kippah or jeans + kippah srugah. What's threatening about such stereotypes is that it gives people the false impression that they can be thoughtlessly plopped into crude unrealistic categories (like 'right' and 'left') which automatically justify their religious identity.viii One of the ways people formulate their identity is by contrasting themselves with others. This process jumps from the level of the individual to the level of the group. When there are two central groups to choose from (since carving your own path takes tremendous strength and audacity), the process of identity formation comes to be based off of contrasting the qualities of the available groups. For example, I may say to myself: I know this group well and it is more serious about its Judaism, while that other group is more acculturated; I know this group cares more about humanity, while that other group cares more about God. It does not matter that such characterizations are not at all accurate. What matters, in the minds of impressionable young men and women like I was, is which group you will choose to identify yourself with, and, maybe more significantly, which group you will choose not to become a part of.ix And knowledge of a group can be based on superficial stereotypes. This is no way to live, and definitely no way to live active, committed Judaism.

Religious inferiority/superiority complexes may develop. If I'm not a shtark pre-med YP student, my yiddishkeit must be worth less and may even be inconsequential in the eyes of God. I may experience a religious superiority complex because I am that shtark and I do come on time for morning seder and don't get tired at night seder, and could feel, (God forbid) morally superior to those krum IBC kids that aren't "for real." Both outcomes are ridiculously tragic.

Shifts in religious orientation arise, in part, from the orientation of those around you, those you use as a contrast to create a self identity. This is also true at an institutional level. "Open Orthodoxy" of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah is a movement within Modern Orthodoxy (the way they define themselves). Will the YU response be one of denial and isolationism ('we are the real bearers of tradition and you are not') or an adaptation (we are open and modern too!)? Also, will the 'kosher checks' on Young Israel rabbis deter RIETS musmakhim (this is 21st century America, we left Big Brother in the 17th century shtetl) or attract them (look, I'll prove it, we are shtark enough), or neither? Will responses cause the different elements of YU to undergo further bifurcation?

Wanted: Religious Leaders

Newsweek published an issue based on lack of world leadership, and in that sense Modern Orthodoxy is part of the world. YU students have religious guides, and there are a handful of religious leaders at YU.x We have rebbeim in our shiurim or classes who are truly superb teachers. Some students are loyal to a particular Rosh Yeshiva and follow his shitot. Many of us have affiliations with yeshivot in Israel, and some maintain contact with their rebbeim there. Orthodox college students at other universities have a Jewish Learning Initiative rabbi and a Chabad rabbi. Synagogues will be the next stop in life for finding religious leadership. But I can't help but get the sense of a lurking leaderless-ness.

At YU, the disunity in religious leadership amongst the Roshei Yeshiva is almost palpable. With all due respect to the Roshei Yeshiva, I don't even know which way to pray in the main beit midrash; should I follow Sgan Ruchani Rabbi Blau, sticking to what I've done all my life in every community I have been in and pray toward the aron ha-kodesh, or turn slightly away from the aron toward the eastern wall so I can follow Rabbi Schachter whose breadth of knowledge is unparalleled? An informative documentary described the ongoing battle - le-shem shamayim - of who among his talmidim knew Rav Soloveitchik the best, and who is most accurately following in his path. Peers look at me funny for the berakhah I make on wraps since their rosh yeshiva holds differently. I bought spring water so that guests wouldn't have to feel uncomfortable - for reasons of kashrut¬ - when I offered them tap water, since that too is a matter of makhloket amongst roshei yeshiva. Makhloket extends beyond the realm of psak halakha, and, naturally, hashkafic disagreements are unavoidable at YU - among roshei yeshiva and among students.

Roshei Yeshiva could, potentially, sit down and duke out all their issues until they arrive at some consensus. Alternatively, the Modern Orthodox Jewish community could appoint the most learned rav as the source of psak. But maybe the way we observe religion is no longer conducive to having centralized religion. We are disheartened by thoughtless devotion to daat Torah and enjoy the plurality of available halakhic opinions. We have been acculturated to this feature of modernity, the "free market of American religion"xi characterized by a smorgasbord pick-what-you-like-and-deemphasize-the-rest type of religious lifestyle.xii Rav Soloveitchik is attributed to be the leader of Modern Orthodoxy. Maybe part of the reason people liked him was because he refused to be a dominating leader; he hesitated to give psak and instead referred people to Rav Moshe; he would not recommend that his community adopt his minhagim; he demanded that people make their own life decisions.xiii

In this decentralized form of leadership, clusters of people who affiliate themselves with a broader 'Modern Orthodox' community gather around an individual affiliated with that community. Each community member can only have a personal connection with several religious leaders at most. Like the student to teacher ratios at any given university, the greater number of teachers/religious leaders, the more attention each student/community member receives. It is clear that under this model, there is a need for a greater number of religious leaders

I write not about leaders in academia or business who happen also to be religious. I'm talking about people who lead the religious community in things connected to religion. The president of the shul, the daf yomi teacher, the gabbai, the coordinator of the mishaloh manot drive, or the bikur holim club - all of these are examples of religious leaders who are not rabbis. People like these who osek btsarhei tsibur be-emunah are what keeps the communal engine running. Here again, the Newsweek article is right: we need more people like you.

Community of Faith or Faith to the

Community?

"Chaim Isaac Waxman's Jewish Baby Boomers: A Communal Perspective quotes Will Herberg's classic study, Protestant, Catholic, Jew (first published in 1955, and revised in 1960), to suggest that, when Americans profess themselves "religious," as they invariably do, they confess an abiding faith in faith itself, and in the "American way of life.' "xiv

That statement was made in regard to American Jewish baby boomers in general, not Modern Orthodox Jews in particular. It would be presumptuous of me to question whether Modern Orthodox Jews, the ones 'in the fold,' are practicing intrinsically-motivated religion - whether the beliefs they espouse are internally sincere convictions - or whether they believe in belief. But for the purposes of our exploration, that question is asinine. External behavior can be more easily observed, and what is evident is that social pressure drives conformity. The value of communal conformity can be detrimental to dealing with challenges to a religious system of belief, since if I think I will be judged for raising an issue of belief, I will keep silent and act like I have no issue.

We are beginning to discuss issues that modernity confronts us with: feminism in halakhah,xv homosexuality,xvi creation vs. evolution,xvii biblical criticism and divine authorship,xviii goyim and am ha-nivhar, science of Hazal vs. halakhot based on science of Hazal, and the list goes on. I sense that there are disproportionately more unasked questions than addressed issues.xix

There are plenty of short answer justifications for the aforementioned challenges: women play a different role than men and halakha is sensitive to them, the act of homosexuality is forbidden while the drive is just like any other yetser harah, God created evolution and wrote the Torah, we follow the Meiri and have no qualms with goyim, am ha-nivhar means more responsibility not inherent superiority, we follow modern science but don't change gezeirot in deference to Hazal, and the list goes on.xx But thorough, substantive dialogue addressing the conflict between modernity and Torah doesn't seem to exist. In that sense, the Noah Feldman article could be taken as an opportunity to spur public discussion and thereby help Modern Orthodoxy achieve greater religious maturity.xxi

www.conclusion.com

All we have discussed until now seems to point to the internet as part of a solution. We spoke about polarization and the need to better understand the 'other.' We spoke about the need for religious leaders. And we spoke about the need to address matters that challenge our belief system. The subtext: dialogue, dialogue, dialogue.

On the internet, you can't tell the color of the kippah of the person you are speaking to. At other universities there is a message board on which incoming classmen can post questions. Creating a kosher online environment where YU students can meet each other (the 'beis medrash crowd' doesn't use facebook.com, an online social network) would help shatter whatever stereotypes might be fomenting when students meet in real life.xxii

In terms of religious leadership, studies have found that people who use facebook a moderate amount are in more face-to-face social contact than before using facebook. That means more opportunities for group organizers, for everything from shiurim to bikur holim clubs to Rosh Hodesh davening reminders.

In terms of discussing matters that challenge our belief system, the internet offers the privacy of anonymity. People already use blogs and chatrooms as a forum for exchanging ideas, but it's mostly mavericks and dissenters. Mainstream Orthodox Judaism has yet to make an online presence. If knowledgeable people got involved, the impact would be delightful.

Aharon Arazi is a Senior majoring in Psychology and Sociology at Yeshiva College

i This notion and most others presented herein have been informed by a 2007 conference of the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute (JPPPI) in Israel whose annual assessment identified key "Societal Aspects of the Jewish People:" Jewish religious patterns, Jewish family patterns, socioeconomic characteristics and mobility, and Jewish cinema. I thank Dr. Chaim Waxman, Project Head for the report referred to, for his kind mentoring.

ii Almond, Appleby & Silverman. Strong Religion, (Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press. 2003)

iii Dawkins' The God Delusion and Hitchins' God is Not Great. Hitchins debate against R. Shmuley Boteach on the existence of God was a sold out event at the 92nd street Y in Manhattan on January 26th.

iv Source available upon request: Aarazi@yu.edu

v Shalom Z. Berger, Daniel Jacobson and Chaim I. Waxman, Flipping Out?

Myth or Fact: The Impact of the "Year in Israel" (Yashar Books, 2007)

vi Faranack Margolese, Off the Derech: Why Observant Jews Leave Judaism and how to respond to the challenge (2005)

vii Stereotypically at YU there are three crowds split up by dormitory: the black hat Muss crowd, the pothead Rubin crowd, and the shtark in jeans and colored-shirt Morgenstern crowd.

viii That's why someone with tremendous insight designed split srugi-black velvet yarmulkes that said "I love every Jew."

ix Clearly this is oversimplifying the process of identity formation, and many more factors play a role, but the groupthink factors described are a not insignificant ingredient.

x Richard Joel is an inspirational "lei kodesh" President, a leader who is religious. But he's not a "Religious Leader." Rabbi Brander of the CJF is hard at work training more leaders for the Modern Orthodox Jewish community which needs teachers at its schools, (according to R. Blau's forthcoming article in "Religious Zionism: Orthodox Forum") shuls, and for the broader Jewish world.

xi Snider, Alvin, WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A JEW TODAY? Chronicle of Higher Education, (11/23/2001), Vol. 48, Issue 13

xii Mervin Verbit lecture in "American Jewish Community" sociology course, Spring 2007. I'm exaggerating the situation to make a point; Jews who describe themselves as adherents to halakha have definite undeniable limitations, but there is still lots of 'wiggle room' depending on which rav you ask, or your level of punctiliousness.

xiii For the last point, I heard a personal story from a rabbi who, in high school, asked the Rav where he suggested attending: Columbia or YU? To which the Rav responded: "I have an opinion but I'm not going to tell you what it is."

xiv Snider, Alvin, WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A JEW TODAY? Chronicle of Higher Education, (11/23/2001), Vol. 48, Issue 13

xv Last year featured a public dialogue between Stern women who wanted to read megillah and Rabbi Lamm.

xvi Rabbi J.J. Schachter emphasized to the YU students at the UJC conference in Nashville that it was urgent to discuss homosexuality, at YU and in Modern Orthodoxy in general.

xvii A day after writing this I saw publicity for a speaker addressing this topic at Stern college. Awesome.

xviii In the Bible classes taught at Yeshiva College, for example, JEPD is a dirty word, not even mentioned, let alone addressed. One YC bible professor explained to me that it was more appropriate to let students approach him with issues they may have, rather than create religious issues for them. Another part of the reason biblical criticism is not addressed seems to be that the Orthodox response is not yet confident enough.

xix I'd be delighted to be informed if you think otherwise, and where you experience open discussion.

xx Though these issues may be discussed in private, my experience is that the loci of discussion is always external, grounded in a conceptual, theoretical-doctrinal system, not in individual's internal dialogue; it's not about what you believe in your heart or how to go about making yourself believe it, it's about intellectual understanding of how one could justify existing as Modern Orthodox Jews. R Carmy teaches a course that probably addresses such issues and more, "Faith…"

xxi I am not talking about the potential damage on the relationship between Jews and non-Jews. Rather, I am echoing a point so eloquently articulated by R. Benjamin Samuels of Congregation Sha'arei Tefillah in Newton, that being forced to confront issues can be a constructive, identity-forming process.

xxii A kosher online YU environment might also be conducive place for shidduhim to happen?