https://scottkahn.substack.com/p/passionate-moderation-in-an-age-of
What Rabbi Lamm called “passionate moderation.”That phrase can sound almost contradictory. We often associate moderation with compromise, caution, or a reluctance to take a strong stand. Rabbi Lamm meant something very different. His moderation demanded the ability to hold multiple values at once, to recognize complexity without sacrificing conviction, and to combine passionate commitment with intellectual and theological humility.
Rabbi Lamm believed that it was possible to be passionate without being extreme, confident without being dogmatic, and deeply committed without pretending that every difficult question has a simple answer. Perhaps that vision of passionate moderation is something we need today more than ever.
The problem, as I wrote years ago, is that one cannot be an extreme centrist.
ReplyDeleteAs a teenager, the Conservative synagogue I went to once brought in a guy from JTS for Shabbos. I remember parts of his speech, especially the part where he spoke about how he envied Chasidim because of the dedication and passion in their worship. He wanted to see that in Conservative "rabbinical students" and laypeople. He wanted Conservatives to be just as dedicated and passionate about Conservative "Judaism".
And it was all so ridiculous. You can't take a group of people whose primary religious principle is "I'm doing this by choice and I'll pick and choose what I do" and tell them to be excited by it.
It's the same with "passionate moderation". It's an oxymoron and can't work. The only way is what John Irving wrote: You've got to get obsessed and stay obsessed.