adam@npois.UUCP (Adam V. Reed) (03/25/85)
I would like to apologize for an incorrect assumption about Orthodox practice which was brought to my attention in the following letter: > I have been sitting out of the discussion on "humanistic" Judaism > because I wanted to learn about it from a practitioner. As it > happens I disagree with many of the premises it has but that is > not the purpose of this letter. In on of your postings you made > the following statement: > > > Humanistic Jews, unlike the Orthodox, do not discard a mitzva when the > > original instructional example has been vitiated by social or > > technological chage, but instead find and carry out equivalent > > contemporary ways to carry out as many of the Mitzvot as possible. I > > personally observe the above mitzva by contributing to an institution > > which carries out research in food science an` agricultural technology. > > The Orthodox would no doubt claim that I am the one in danger of > > discarding mitzvot, by abandoning the traditional way of carrying them > > out. My personal opinion is that my interpretation is the one closer > > to relevant Jewish traditions. > > I would ask that in all fairness you do not group all Orthodox > together. Part of the reason for this is that it puts your > argument in the position of being false simply because that which > you attacked is not true. Although there may be some Orthodox who > would not apply the idea of leket and peah to other forms of > charity, I believe that as a blanket statement what you said is > true. I do know for a fact that there are business owners who use > a "modernized" version of these specific concepts as a basis for > some of their charitable works. For example, in the back corner > of many supermarkets there are bins of dented boxes and cans > which are sold at a reduced price. I know an Orthodox person who > considers these a loss and puts them out for sale. All money he > makes from these sales he donates to various charities. I don't > know if this is an exception but the point is that it exists and > makes your statement untrue. > > What I am asking is simply this: hedge a little on your > statements of what you believe Orthodoxy does/believes. You may > not know all of the possibilities. By your own admission Judaism > has survived a long time and I wouldn't be surprised if part of > the reason is that Humanism is in the essence of Judaism. If that > is so, then some of your complaints about Orthodoxy are even less > well founded because they are not solved by your practice. > > Sam Saal ..{!ihnp4}!eisx!sms I thank Sam Saal for reminding me that the Humanism of Hillel and his school remains in the essence of Judaism for all Jews, including the Orthodox. There is something about electronic communication that makes it both more important, and more difficult than in other media, always to remember what we share, even while clarifying our differences. Again, my apologies to those who were offended when I forgot this. Adam