Orthodox.
Codish, who also defines himself as
centrist Orthodox, is a founding
•
member of Congregation Or Chadash
in Oak Park and favors a less rigid
interpretation of Jewish texts than
Gross and many others in the
Orthodox community.
Codish was not in court on July 15,
but Cohen defined ceptrist Orthodoxy
for Mester as belief that "while you
have to adhere to Torah ... you can par-
ticipate in regular, secular pursuits ...
and not run afoul of any difficulties."
Cohen, who stated that Akiva hires
for Judaic studies courses only people
who adhere to centrist Orthodox prin-
ciples, added, "[Codish] has a philo-
sophical difference with the school,
and when you get into religious phi-
losophy, you don't bring it into court.
That's what all the case law says, that's
what court says, and when you take a
strict scrutiny review — and if you
look at Mr. Codish's statements them-
selves, this court would be entangling
itself in an interpretation of what is or
is not centrist Orthodoxy."
Codish will not appeal Mester's
decision, but was nonetheless disap-
pointed at the outcome of his case.
"The fact that the school has been
granted the right to ignore civil rights
laws because it's a religious institution
certainly does not indicate that this is
a good moral or decent thing to do,"
he said, adding that he urges his for-
mer colleagues at Akiva to consider
unionizing. "Otherwise they have no
recourse against any actions by the
administration which affect their
employment and income."
Cohen, who is also an Akiva board
member, said he was not surprised by
Mester's judgment.
"Obviously Ed Codish had some
serious philosophical differences with
the school. He's entitled to his opin-
ions, but when you work for a reli-
gious organization you have to abide
by the religious direction of the
school. You'll never meet a more cen-
trist Orthodox guy than Karmi Gross.
He not only believes in it, he's trying
to instill it in the kids."
Codish and his wife, Susann, also a
former Akiva teacher, moved to
Boston earlier this week to teach at
the New Community Jewish High
School, a year-old non-denomination-
al institution.
Akiva has hired a replacement for
Mrs. Codish, who taught Hebrew
language, but is still looking for
someone to teach Mr. Codish's
English classes. El
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