Luke Ford writes: The past couple of years, I’ve rarely spent time in a Modern Orthodox shul, but overall in the past 17 years, I’ve spent most of my shul time in Modern Orthodox shuls. I feel comfortable there.
When you look at most of the Modern Orthodox Jews I know, you wouldn’t even know they were Orthodox. Or even Jewish. They dress like everyone else.
Luke Ford writes: The past couple of years, I’ve rarely spent time in a Modern Orthodox shul, but overall in the past 17 years, I’ve spent most of my shul time in Modern Orthodox shuls. I feel comfortable there.
When you look at most of the Modern Orthodox Jews I know, you wouldn’t even know they were Orthodox. Or even Jewish. They dress like everyone else.
I don’t know of any Modern Orthodox manual laborers. Almost all the Modern Orthodox Jews I know went to college and they’re doctors, lawyers, accountants and professors. They’re smart hard-working people.
They know the wider culture. They subscribe to the New Yorker. They read fiction. They’re conversant with wider cultural trends. They’re more likely to be on friendly terms with secular Jewish scholarship and don’t necessarily regard it as the enemy to be vanquished.
Best of all in my view, the Modern Orthodox work hard. They don’t go around begging. Modern Orthodox Jews don’t interrupt the minyanim (prayer groups) of traditional Orthodox Jews (nor those of non-Orthodox Jews) and ask for money, while if you go to any Modern Orthodox minyan, there you will find the traditional Orthodox begging for handouts.
Luke Ford writes: The past couple of years, I’ve rarely spent time in a Modern Orthodox shul, but overall in the past 17 years, I’ve spent most of my shul time in Modern Orthodox shuls. I feel comfortable there.
Luke Ford writes: The past couple of years, I’ve rarely spent time in a Modern Orthodox shul, but overall in the past 17 years, I’ve spent most of my shul time in Modern Orthodox shuls. I feel comfortable there.
When you look at most of the Modern Orthodox Jews I know, you wouldn’t even know they were Orthodox. Or even Jewish. They dress like everyone else.
I don’t know of any Modern Orthodox manual laborers. Almost all the Modern Orthodox Jews I know went to college and they’re doctors, lawyers, accountants and professors. They’re smart hard-working people.
They know the wider culture. They subscribe to the New Yorker. They read fiction. They’re conversant with wider cultural trends. They’re more likely to be on friendly terms with secular Jewish scholarship and don’t necessarily regard it as the enemy to be vanquished.
Best of all in my view, the Modern Orthodox work hard. They don’t go around begging. Modern Orthodox Jews don’t interrupt the minyanim (prayer groups) of traditional Orthodox Jews (nor those of non-Orthodox Jews) and ask for money, while if you go to any Modern Orthodox minyan, there you will find the traditional Orthodox begging for handouts.
Luke Ford writes: I’ve been asking Orthodox rabbis about Rabbi Yosef Kanefsky’s two blog posts (here and here) announcing why he did not say the traditional morning blessing thanking God for not making him a woman.
One rabbi said to me: “The sad thing is the shul won’t fire him. What about the blessing thanking God for not making him a Gentile (she loasani goy) – how can the rabbi be racist?”
Another rabbi said to me:
Rabbi Kanefsky is giving an emotional response to the modern problems that women face. Women have held almost all leadership rolls in Shuls (again each Shul can decide chat positions women can hold and what they cannot hold). Women have become Toanot, Yoatzot Halachah and this list is slowly expanding by consensus of opinion. See what Rebbitzen Chana Henkin and her husband have done at Nishmat.
Luke Ford writes: I’ve been asking Orthodox rabbis about Rabbi Yosef Kanefsky’s two blog posts (here and here) announcing why he did not say the traditional morning blessing thanking God for not making him a woman.
One rabbi said to me: “The sad thing is the shul won’t fire him. What about the blessing thanking God for not making him a Gentile (she loasani goy) – how can the rabbi be racist?”
Another rabbi said to me:
Rabbi Kanefsky is giving an emotional response to the modern problems that women face. Women have held almost all leadership rolls in Shuls (again each Shul can decide chat positions women can hold and what they cannot hold). Women have become Toanot, Yoatzot Halachah and this list is slowly expanding by consensus of opinion. See what Rebbitzen Chana Henkin and her husband have done at Nishmat.
