Community Views

Is It Judaism,
Or Is It Liberalism?

Having The Courage
To Deal With Life

ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM ASSOCIATE EDITOR

RABBI DAVID NELSON SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

If it's written some-
where in the Torah,
I would like to see
it. Or maybe it's in
the Talmud and
I've just missed it.
Is it in the writings
of some great rab-
bis?
What I'm talking
about is the understanding so
many Jews seem to have that the
words "Judaism" and "liberalism"
are interchangeable.
I've seen it time and again: Jew-
ish "leaders" make pronounce-
ments (often in the name of the
entire Jewish community) that
have nothing to do with Judaism
but are based, instead, on the plat-
form of the Democratic Party. Or
perhaps it's a Jewish group, but
more likely a group that just hap-
pens to consist of Jews, with its
raison d'etre a cause running in di-
rect opposition to Jewish law.
Yes, they say, we support send-
ing American troops to country X.
Or no, they say, we cannot support
the death penalty for criminal Y.
They take stances on everything
from abortion to affirmative ac-
tion, welfare to federal funding for
state highways. And rarely, if ever,
is their opinion based on anything
having to do with Judaism.
They don't say, "I have come to
my conclusion only after having
thoroughly researched the myri-
ad Jewish writings on this issue,"
because, let's be honest, they don't
know and they don't care.
Instead, they say they have
come to some kind of "consensus"
based on what they think the ma-
jority of the Jewish community be-
lieves — or perhaps it's simply a
reflection of their own view.
I don't know if it really is what
the majority of the Jewish com-

munity believes; certainly nobody
has asked my opinion on these is-
sues. (Has anyone called to ask
yours?) But I do know that in 99
percent of the cases, this public
opinion will directly parallel the
platform of the Democratic Party.
Now don't get me wrong. There
certainly are many issues on
which Democratic policy and Jew-
ish law concur, just as there are is-
sues on which Republican Party
policy and Halachah concur. But
we err when we automatically as-
sume that policy espoused by lib-
erals is one we should publicly
endorse as Jews.
I believe that Jewish groups
and individuals taking public po-
sitions on issues as Jews, or in the
name of the entire Jewish com-
munity, have an obligation to first
see what Judaism — not the De-
mocrats — has to say. I don't care
if they consult Reform, Conserva-
tive or Orthodox rabbis; I don't
care if they research the issue
themselves.
But I want to see documenta-
tion. And when there is debate (as
there is on many sensitive issues),
I want to see the diversity of Jew-
ish opinion reflected in their posi-
tion.
"The majority of the Jewish
community stands behind the
president in his decision to send
troops to the nation of XYZ," a
statement might read. "The Tal-
mud states that ..., and our rabbis
today concur that ...
"Of course, we must acknowl-
edge that there are those in our
community who do not share this
position. Their understanding is
that ..."
It isn't wishy-washy, by the
way, to present the views of both
sides. Discourse and debate is a
Jewish tradition. We are all the

stronger in our own positions
when we can carefully consider the
views of another; listening to, and
even understanding, does not
mean accepting.
I'm convinced this whole con-
cept of equating Judaism and the
views of the Democratic Party
came about at the turn of the cen-
tury, when new immigrants be-
lieved — and rightly so — that
liberals were more likely to be
their friends. Of course, that was
when the word "liberal" meant
equal rights for all and helping the
underprivileged. It still means that
today, but it also likely means sup-
port for the establishment of a
Palestinian state. I don't know
whether a Palestinian state is in
Israel's best interest, but I know
for certain that it is not an issue
which has any kind of consensus
within the Jewish community.
And, lest we forget: Jesse Jack-
son is a liberal. Jack Kemp is not.
Who do you think is a better friend
to the Jewish community?
Friends, countrymen, liberals,
conservatives: If we are to live to-
gether, we must learn to make
public pronouncements based on
much more than what we and our
small circle of friends believe to be
true. If we are to represent our-
selves as "speaking for the Jewish
community," we must at all times
reflect the diversity of Jewish opin-
ion on the issues.
Our primary concern in mak-
ing any such statement should not
be does this jibe with the Democ-
rats or the Republicans, but is this
really what our tradition teaches
and our scholars have taught?
If we are speaking as Jews and
for Jews and supposedly present-
ing the Jewish position, the very
least we can do is consider what
Judaism actually says. 0

Opinion

Taking Umbrage at 'Ultra'
As A Common Label

RABBI AVI SHAFRAN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

T

hese days, when all Jews
have been poignantly, trag-
ically reminded of the Tal-
mudic assertion that words
have great power for evil as well
as for good, it would be a wonder-
ful time for Jewish journalists and
periodicals to jettison the most
common pejorative in common
Jewish use — the term "ultra Or-
thodox."
"Ultra," according to my fa-

Rabbi Avi Shafran is director of
public affairs for Agudath
Israel of America.

vorite word-mine (the American
Heritage Dictionary), has among

its meanings "immoderately ad-
herent" or "exceeding what is com-
mon, moderate or proper." Other
sources use synonyms such as "ex-
treme" or "too much."
Thus the term "ultra Orthodox"
pointedly, if subtly, presents a
reader with an immediate sub-
jective bias, something that re-
sponsible journalism — and
responsible human beings, for that
matter— should avoid whenever
possible. The Jews to whom that
unflattering phrase is usually fas-

tened may indeed be uncompro-
misingly faithful to the Jewish
heritage, but they are hardly im-
proper or immoderate (other than
with respect to society at large —
itself, many would contend, a less-
than-shining example of modera-
tion).
We who are labeled "ultras"
may well exceed what is Jewishly
"common," sadly, in these amoral
and assimilationist times. But we
are hardly "extreme," a word more
often — and aptly — applied to
neo-Nazis and terrorists. And
UMBRAGE AT "ULTRA" page 10

The late Presi-
dent John F.
Kennedy pub-
lished a famous
book called Pro-

files In Courage.

It contained the
stories of a half-
dozen famous
historical figures
whose actions defined the word
"courage."
Recently I came across a sto-
ry that would easily make the
same list if it were compiled to-
day.
The lady involved, Alice Lei-
th, faced unbelievable hurdles
and obstacles; and she did so
with a dignity that should make
every human proud.
Though not a member of the
Jewish community, Alice Leith
should stand as an example to
Jew and gentile alike.
Ms. Leith faced a long-term
battle with breast cancer; and
yet, as a teacher, she was al-
ways on the lookout for others.
She went on teaching, al-
ways looking to help her
students with no regard
to her own troubles and
pain.
The pain was magni-
fied when her troubled
husband Stephen, a
teacher in the Chelsea
school district, fatally
shot Superintendent
Joseph Piasecki and
wounded two others. It
was Alice who took the
gun from her husband's
hands with the words,
"There has been enough
killing."
In a community that
was divided between sup-
port and blame, she de-
cided to stay and work
with the children. She
continued to live in her
house; she continued to
tend the apple trees she
and her husband had
planted; she wrote her
husband letters and vis-
ited him in prison.
"I haven't been given
more than I can handle
at any one time," she
said, playing down her
burdens. "rye been given
a lot, but in increments;
I simply deal with one thing at
a time."
Alice Leith continued until
her death at age 40. One of her
students said, "She was going
through all these troubles, but
she would sit and talk with us
and ask what our problems
were. She always had time for
us."
A rabbi of old once said that

David Nelson is rabbi of
Congregation Beth Shalom.

there is a potential lesson in
everything we encounter in the
world. We can learn from every-
thing. He was challenged by a
man who asked what modern
inventions teach us.
The rabbi replied, "From the
railroad, we learn that every
minute counts; from the tele-
graph, we learn that every word
counts; and from the telephone,
we learn that what is said here
is heard there."
From Alice Leith we learn
that if she could deal with her
life and her problems, then each
of us can deal with whatever we
face. Each of us should be able
to muster the dignity shown by
Alice as we encounter our own
set of challenges in the world.
NI can stress one thing above
all else about Judaism as a liv-
ing tradition, it is that deed
overshadows creed.
A story is told of two men dri-
ving in a car. They were on their
way to California and became
lost. Inquiring directions from

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a farmer, they saw him motion
left while telling them to turn
right. The driver turned left and
they arrived at their destina-
tion. When asked how this could
be, the man replied, "When a
person says one thing and does
the opposite, remember that it
is what one does that counts,
not what one says."
In the case of Alice Leith, her
courage in the face of adversity
speaks to us all. O

FEB RUA RY

N

Editor's Notebook

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