The first liberal rabbi in the Knesset, Gilad Kariv from the Labor party, has his sights set on ending the monopoly of the ultra-Orthodox on many aspects of everyday life in the Jewish state.
He won't be successful. He can only do kiruv to the seculars - What's he going to tell them? Keep the Torah because it's min hashamayim? That's what the orthodox say. So he can say don't keep it, but they already don't keep it. So what can he offer them? Come to shul, we redesigned the service? No, they want to see their uncles and grandparents in a normal shul. And even chilonim keep Brit milah. So he has no religious function.
It's a Sysyphus tale. The Reformatives have spent years and tons of money trying to establish themselves in Israel but other than small communities of Reformative olim and a handful of Israeli friends they've made no inroads. So why not try to force through what they can't accomplish with their own efforts?
also, society has changed in the last 30-40 years.
Reform used to be kosher style judaism, with them making claims about their strong roots, and trying to legitimize intermarriage. today that is old hat, society has gone beyond intermarriage - today it is all about LGBT+ etc , and militancy towards those who oppose it. This is the general secular society. And perhaps that is why the BT movement is running out of steam. Is it even desireable to mekareiv lgbqts? Or what will these militants say when they see the Torah opposes it? You can't just do computer codes and show hidden messages - it is explicit in the Torah, so they know about it. I think R Riskin and the Sepahrdi R Dweck in London were trying this kind of new "queer-uv" and had to twist Torah to make it sound OK.
The thing with non-lgbqt youngsters is that it is still an ikkar that it is OK to be that way - . it is not like when I was young and we could joke about it, without fear of being arrested by Police.
He won't be successful. He can only do kiruv to the seculars -
ReplyDeleteWhat's he going to tell them? Keep the Torah because it's min hashamayim?
That's what the orthodox say. So he can say don't keep it, but they already don't keep it. So what can he offer them? Come to shul, we redesigned the service? No, they want to see their uncles and grandparents in a normal shul. And even chilonim keep Brit milah. So he has no religious function.
It's a Sysyphus tale. The Reformatives have spent years and tons of money trying to establish themselves in Israel but other than small communities of Reformative olim and a handful of Israeli friends they've made no inroads. So why not try to force through what they can't accomplish with their own efforts?
ReplyDeletealso, society has changed in the last 30-40 years.
ReplyDeleteReform used to be kosher style judaism, with them making claims about their strong roots, and trying to legitimize intermarriage. today that is old hat, society has gone beyond intermarriage - today it is all about LGBT+ etc , and militancy towards those who oppose it. This is the general secular society. And perhaps that is why the BT movement is running out of steam. Is it even desireable to mekareiv lgbqts? Or what will these militants say when they see the Torah opposes it?
You can't just do computer codes and show hidden messages - it is explicit in the Torah, so they know about it.
I think R Riskin and the Sepahrdi R Dweck in London were trying this kind of new "queer-uv" and had to twist Torah to make it sound OK.
The thing with non-lgbqt youngsters is that it is still an ikkar that it is OK to be that way - . it is not like when I was young and we could joke about it, without fear of being arrested by Police.