20

Friday, August 16, 1985

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

n.

voe
Buz Holzman's
See us Our
7 ,W0,‘"-o•g--
HOTOGRAPHERS •

PORTRAITS
WEDDINGS
VIDEO

in g 11311/
eifintA '-a- ple)

o pth (11

540.6922

Severo

School of Ballet

"a discipline unparalleled"

Is Hosting A

CHAMPAGNE OPEN HOUSE

August 17th & 18th
11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

• Free Workshop
• Studio Performance
• Fall Registration

Sandra Severo

Founder of and Artistic Director

Mary Celeste Geiger

Artistic and Educational Director

❑ Children and Adult
Classes

❑ Beginners.
Intermediate,
Advanced,
Professional
111 Academic Ballet,
Pointe, Pas de Deux

NA

❑ Performance Work-
shops, Scheduled Per-
formances

Write for brochure,
tuition schedule, class
schedule

Drake Summit Plaza
5526 Drake Road
West Bloomfield
661-2430

Excellence Since 1944

CLOSE-UP

We Are Two

Continued from Page 18

split the unity of community,
affect the success of local
campaigns and cost the Fed-
erations millions of dollars.
The internal Jewish dis-
cussion should follow the
Jewish-Christian dialogue
model, in all its aspects (an
embarrassing but accurate
analogy). There should be a
high-level dialogue and
encompassing systematic
theology and studies in
halacha which respectfully
acknowledge divisions be-
tween the groups. Theologi-
cal and halachic reasoning
that justify and mandate the
necessary steps to cooperate
and to construct common
solutions must be developed
within each movement.
For example: within the
Orthodox movement, there
are scholars already arguing
that even if the non-
Orthodox movements follow
halachic procedures, all their
acts will be invalid. In this
view, non-Orthodox theologi-
cal assumptions (including
the possibility of change in
halacha) make all non-
Orthodox acts ipso facto null
and void.
Halachic scholarship that
seeks unifying solutions
should build on the sugges-
tion of the Chazon Ish (the
great leader of the most tra-
ditional Israeli sector of the
past generation) that disbe-
lief and even atheism should
be treated as a modern cul-
tural bias or 'pressure,'
rather than as a willful de-
nial. There are other pos-
sible positive Orthodox ap-
proaches in the thought of
Rabbis Abraham Isaac Kook
and Joseph P. Soloveitchik.
Yet, for the most part, the
halachic disciples of these
great figures are being edu-
cated to simplistic
philosophies of halacha and
socialized to separatist ap-
proaches. All three move-
ments need an infusion of
high-level scholarship in phi-
losophy, theology, and
halacha. Developing such
high-level scholarship takes
time, talent, and careful cul-
tivation.
In addition, we need
middle-level dialogue in
which the rabbis and prac-
titioners, as well as the lay
leadership of each move-
ment, are brought into sys-
tematic and regular contact
for learning, for better
mutual understanding, and
for finding common solutions
to common problems.
Finally, there must be a
popular level, modeled on the

`living room dialogues' of the
Jewish-Christian experience.
Through such dialogues,
people overcome stereotypes.
They learn that there is real
commitment in the other
groups to values which they
also respect and desire. This
changes the atmosphere and
gives support to the rabbis

A Jewish civil war
will undoubtedly
lead to an increase
in intermarriage
and other negative
social phenomena.

who seek to overcome some
of the legal and theological
obstacles. Without such lay
sympathy, it would be im-
possible for spiritual leader-
ship to overcome barriers.
It is time that those Jews
who are not totally `denomi-
nationalized' assert the prin-
ciple and the priority of Klal
Yisrael (the unity and total-
ity of the Jewish people). I
would call upon all Jews to
put pressure — peer pressure
moral judgment, even eco-
nomic pressure — on the
leadership of all the denomi-
nations. Let a non-Orthodox
Jew who is giving money to
traditional institutions ask
them: What are they doing
to advance unity? Are they
abusing other Jews? Just
asking the question begins to
have an impact on policy.
Let Orthodox Jews who are
active in community con-
stantly challenge their non-
Orthodox co-workers: What
are they doing to insure that
their own denominations not
act irresponsibly in matters
of personal status or issues
that affect the overall unity
of the Jewish people?
It is time to collect I.O.U.s
from each other. At least, a
combination of moral and
political pressure should be
brought to bear to advance
solutions that favor the good
of the total community,

Continued on Page 22

