What would I, a committed Orthodox rabbi and Jew, do if my own rabbi preached vitriol like that spewed by Rev. Jeremiah Wright? What would I do if my rabbi issued halachic decisions that stood in opposition to my understanding of Jewish law and morality? Would I stay as Obama stayed, or would I leave the shul?
The truth is I find myself in such a situation today-not with the rabbi of my present congregation, a decent, sensitive and God-fearing scholar and teacher-but with rabbis who speak in the name of an Orthodoxy and a Jewish law that I don't recognize, and which I find offensive, to say the least. Consider: conversions were retroactively invalidated en masse by the rabbinical courts of Israel; intelligent and
reasonable books have been banned by rabbinic leaders for espousing supposed heretical ideas; an alleged pedophile was unchallenged by a prominent posek (decisor) because he "only" fondled young boys-penetration, in his view, is the prohibited act; an alleged pedophile escaped extradition from Israel due to the protection and interference of prominent rabbinic figures; a prominent rabbinic figure reportedly supported the incarceration of a teenager in an allegedly abusive "school for troubled youth"; concerts were banned by a cadre of some of our brightest rabbis; musical Simchat BetHashoeivah celebrations on Sukkot were prohibited by them; and the list painfully goes on. I feel like I need to share the angels' challenge to God: "This is Torah and this is its reward?"
This is not the Orthodox Judaism that I learned in my synagogue and in my yeshiva. This is not the Torah whose "paths are paths of pleasantness" and upon whose lessons of goodness, compassion and kindness I was raised. This is not the Torah that I preached and taught when I served as a congregational rabbi, or the Torah to which many of my colleagues subscribe. This is not the Orthodox Judaism I "signed up" for.
So I find myself, like Barak Obama, faced with the challenge: do I stay or do I go? Does my staying in a community that is identified with these rabbis who often inspire us and guide us, yet who maintain some positions I find anathema, indict me as well? Or do I stay because I refuse to let the Torah be hijacked by those who, in my humble opinion, are misguided and wrong?
Some will take strong issue with my comments. Disparaging a talmid chacham (Torah scholar) renders one a heretic, they will say. Raising these questions in public undermines the dignity of Torah and may serve to alienate others from its teachings. Yet, I feel that not raising these questions accomplishes exactly that. If we were to remain silent when the Torah is made a mockery in the eyes of the masses, that would be a chullul Hashem (desecration of God's Name). If we were to remain silent when Torah is misinterpreted and misapplied, that would be a chillul Hashem. And the Talmud teaches us that where ever and whenever there is such a desecration, one honors no one, not even a "great" rabbi.
So I choose to stay for many reasons. I stay because God has commanded me so. I stay because this is my community! The Torah is not the province of any one faction or any one particular stripe of rabbi-morashah kehillat Ya'akov, it is the heritage of the entire community. It is my Torah and my community as well and I will stubbornly stay to help mold it in the way that my learning, understanding and sensitivities inform me. I stay because I find in mitzvah observance, Torah study and community activities the challenging, supportive and loving presence of God. I stay because I believe that we all have an obligation to give voice to the word of God that is heard not in a monotone but in a harmony of voices of differing ideas and insights. I stay because the Torah is too valuable to me and too precious to my children, students and neighbors-to all Jews-to abandon it.
I don't know for sure why Obama stayed in Trinity United Church of Christ. He's made his case to the electorate and each of us will evaluate his comments. But I know why I stay an Orthodox Jew. I accept full responsibility for that decision and must now continue to do my share to shape my community in ways of pleasantness and peace.
Rabbi Dratch is founder and CEO of JSafe and instructor of Jewish studies and philosophy at the Isaac Breuer College of Yeshiva University.
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