Community Views

Editor's Notebook

Pluralism, Solidarity
Arise From Differences

Leaving Behind
Thousands Of Orphans

RABBI SHERWIN T. WINE SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

PHIL JACOBS ED TOR

Two centuries ago,
the Jewish world
was a world of
comparative unity.
Although there
were cultural dif-
ferences between
Ashkenazic,
Sephardic and Ori-
ental Jews, al-
though there were confrontations
between Mishnagdim and Cha-
sidim, the power of rabbinic Ju-
daism provided a framework of
solidarity.
In the end, there was basic
agreement on fundamental doc-
trine, ritual practice and person-
al ethics. From the perspective of
the 20th century, the unity was
intense. And it was made more
intense by threats of ex-commu-
nication and exclusion.
Capitalism, the Enlightenment
and the democratic revolution
ended all that. Freedom in the
Western world gave
the individual Jew the
option that he never
had before. The high
walls of agreement
and solidarity col-
lapsed. A new world of
Jewish diversity
emerged out of the ru-
ins of the old.
Reform, Conserva-
tive and secular Jews
now stood side by side
or in confrontation
with Orthodox Jews.
Even the Orthodox
split into modern and
fundamentalist wings.
Today, the Jewish world no
longer agrees on basic doctrines,
ritual practice and personal
ethics. After the revolution of fem-
inism and sexual liberation, a
wide gulf separates the family
morality of traditional Jews and
that of liberal Jews. Charity,
fighting anti-Semitism, support
for Israel and a shared concern
for Jewish survival constitute the
feebler structure on which com-
munity unity now rests.
Many Jews deplore this
change. They hanker after the old
system and find an enemy in di-
versity. Others recognize that the
old uniformity will not return and
accept the new system as a nec-
essary evil. Some see the change
as positive, a creative opportuni-
ty to stimulate new strategies for
survival through competition and
experimentation.
The new diversity means that
the new "unity" is quite different
from the old unity. Pluralism in
Jewish life often provides un-
comfortable tensions. There is the
tension of confrontations on so
many issues — the role of women,
prayers at public meetings, food
at public functions, appropriate

Sherwin Wine is rabbi of the

Birmingham

activities for Shabbat, the pub- Jewish unity and solidarity with
lishing of educational materials, trips to Israel is commendable.
services to the intermarried, the But it also is an exercise in avoid-
separation of religion and state. ance. The importance of Israel
Cooperation in all these areas is may be something we all agree
not easy. Often, more time is on, but equally important is ad-
spent in endless negotiations than dressing the meaning of life in
in producing any viable cooper- North America. An effective plu-
ative effort.
ralism is willing to tackle the fun-
There is also the tension of "d is- damental issues, even though it
cretion." In order for cooperation is no longer willing to come up
to work, open and frank discus- with a single answer.
sions of ideological differences
The future of Judaism does not
must be avoided. Often, plati- lie in an obsessive concern with
tudes of agreement replace mean- Jewish survival. It lies in provid-
ingful dialogue. Because we are ing a powerful personal philoso-
so determined to avoid con- phy of life connected to Jewish
frontation, we play down the im- identity and Jewish experience.
portance of ideas and beliefs and Survival talk does not produce
play up the safer issue of Jewish conviction. But conviction does
survival. But, in the process, we produce survival.
forego the passions which justi-
I believe that diversity in Jew-
fied Jewish survival in the first ish life is a positive development.
place.
I believe that competition and ex-
At one time, Jewish unity perimentation in a free society are
meant a passionate affirmation good for the Jewish future. I be-

of shared convictions. Now, Jew-
ish unity means a conscientious
avoidance of issues that will in-
flame communication. We are so
careful that joint declarations
cease to be interesting.
Herein lies the dilemma. If we
want pluralism to mean an in-
tense solidarity, we can never
bring up the issues that make
Jewish commitment meaningful.
Jewish commitment can only be
meaningful if it addresses the
questions that rabbinic Judaism
addressed.
Where do we find the power to
deal with the problems of life?
What is the source of ethics and
ethical motivation? What is the
foundation of truth? How is Jew-
ish survival connected to our per-
sonal happiness and dignity? We
do riot have to come up with the
same answers that traditional Ju-
daism came up with, but we have
to deal with the same questions.
If we privatize these questions,
public Judaism ceases to be sig-
nificant. And the exercise in Jew-
ish unity becomes both shallow
and superficial. If we always
think that we are walking on
eggshells, then our steps are not
very significant.
The present attempt to connect

lieve that open and frank discus-
sions on important questions are
a way of capturing the hearts and
minds of people for Jewish con-
nection.
The kind of pluralism that
works is the kind that embraces
the big issues in public dialogue.
The goal of the dialogue is not
agreement, but the presentation
of meaningful alternatives. Two
powerful opposing answers to a
vital question constitute a far
richer pluralism than a shared
platitude.
A successful Jewish pluralism
is comfortably decentralized. It is
not afraid of debate and contro-
versy. It looks for that point of
critical balance between confor-
mity and creativity. It knows that
the starting point of the dialogue
is a strong commitment to the im-
portance of the Jewish experi-
ence. But it also encourages the
honest expression of diversity in
interpreting that experience. It is
not afraid of lively debate and
controversy.
Pluralism honors the differ-
ences as well as the solidarity.
Blandness, in the end, can be as
deadly as too much disagree-
ment. I I

The Lubavitcher
Rebbe Men-
achem Mendel
Schneerson
might not have
had an influence
in your life or
those of your
friends or neigh-
bors.
Indeed, there are Jews who
don't really know why after a
year following his death there
is still so much to say about him.
After all, there are those of us
who maybe can't relate to the
sight of a fellow Jew in a black
hat and beard.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe, you
would be surprised to learn,
would have understood that re-
action. He didn't want you to
look like him or anyone else. All
that he wanted was to make
sure that you had an opportu-
nity to honor God and observe
your faith. What you chose to do
with that opportunity was up to
you.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe, ar-
guably more than any other
20th-century religious leader,
reached out and touched more
Jews all over the world than
anyone else. His workers were
in Russia when sneaking a
prayer book into Moscow meant
certain imprisonment. The
same could be said for other for-
mer Eastern-bloc nations. If
high tech meant reaching a Jew
in the plains near Cheyenne,
Wyo., then Lubavitch would use
high tech.
So, it is no surprise that a
year after his death, the lessons
of outreach to you and to me
and to every Jew is as strong as
ever. Here in Detroit, the
groundbreaking of a new
Lubavitch campus in the
Maple-Drake area is a testa-
ment to the rebbe's life, and to
the understanding that as long
as Jews, even Detroit Jews, re-
main unaffiliated and unknow-
ing of their own practices, the
rebbe, even deceased, still has
work to do and answers for
them.
There are those Jews who felt
that some of the rebbe's follow-
ers became too cult-like, espe-
cially when a segment called
him "Moshiach," or Messiah.
More moderate viewpoints pre-
vailed, and in this year, Lubav-
itch, with its rebbe's spirit and
message intact, realizes that the
goal is still Jewish outreach and
education.
Those should be targets for
all of us, whether or not we've
seen or heard of the rebbe.
Churning through the waves
of issues this community faces,
be they issues of Federation al-
locations or concerns about the
migration of Detroit Jewry, the

bottom line is still the best pos-
sible continuum we can estab-
lish between generations. The
only hope, therefore, is to reach
out in a nonjudgmental way
and educate, be it the basics of
Jewish holidays or aleph-bet or
Sabbath observance.
This was the rebbe's bottom
line. There are many living ex-
amples around the world and
here in Detroit of the rebbe's
work. There are people who are
growing at various speeds to-
ward different levels because of
his influence.
The new campus joins an al-
ready strong list of opportuni-
ties here. Each day, parents
drop their children off in Jew-
ish day care; youngsters bring
home their newly learned He-
brew letters; teens take trips to
Israel; adults learn conversa-
tional Hebrew in an ulpan class;
candles are kindled on Friday
nights; services are held and
Jewish life moves on. The rebbe
has nothing to do with most of
this. Yet, he would endorse all
of it.
The new campus adds an-
other brick to the strong foun-
dation of our community.
When Rabbi Yisroel Meir
Lau, Israel's chief rabbi, spoke
last Sunday at a luncheon com-
memorating the rebbe's
yahrtzeit, he brought many of
us sitting there to tears. He said
that the rebbe didn't have any
children, yet he left many "or-
phans." He then gave two ex-
amples of the rebbe's influence
that he had experienced.
What I liked about Rabbi
Lau's speech was that he didn't
need to cite Talmud or any com-
plicated tractate that would
have, truthfully, gone over the
heads of most of us. Instead, he
spoke to us in plain English, al-
beit with an accent.
I've probably eaten more ban-
quet chicken than most and
have probably heard more
keynote speeches than most.
Yes, I understand, you wish you
could tape some of them for
those nights when sleep doesn't
come easy.
Rabbi Lau wondered out loud
what it would be like if an an-
cient Greek were able to return
to modern Greece or if a Roman
during Julius Caesar's period of
life were to return to modern
Italy. What would they find?
Would they be understood us-
ing classical languages vs. mod-
ern language?
The answer is most likely
"no." The ages have given over
the history of these two nations
to the scholars of antiquity.
He then wondered what it
would be like if an ancient Jew
were to return to Israel, say to

ORPHAN page 12

