FOR THE SUPREME COURT

quently asked him about Judaism, he
said, and "the fact that I knew so little
made me feel such a profound sense of
shame."
Today, Freedman identifies as a
Conservative Jew and belongs with his
wife and children to B'nai Jeshurun, a
large Manhattan synagogue known for
its lively prayer services and extensive
array of social-action projects.

Four Constituencies

Freedman suggests that in the future,
American Jews will be aligned into four
main constituencies: Haredi or fervently
Orthodox; what he calls "Conservadox"
— a partnership of modern Orthodox
and traditional Conservative Jews who
favor gender equality but find Jewish law
binding; and "Reformative," liberal Jews
who incorporate tradition but accept
such concepts as gay marriage and patri-
lineal descent.
As for the fourth group — what
Freedman terms "just Jews" — he sees
little future. Ethnic/secular Judaism, he
writes, has been besieged by intermar-
riage and upward mobility and is becom-
ing indistinguishable from the broader
American culture.
However, he is not writing off
Humanistic Judaism, a relatively young
secular movement whose founder is for-
mer Reform Rabbi Sherwin T. Wine. In
1963, he started the Birmingham
Temple, which is now located in
Farmington Hills, Mich. Humanistic
Judaism has congregations throughout
the country that host discussion groups,
offer Shabbat services that do not men-
tion God and train children for secular
bar and bat mitzvahs.
"Those sorts of organizational entities
are what's been missing from secular
Judaism, so if it can perpetuate, that's all
to the good," Freedman said, while not-
ing, "I can't help being struck by the fact
that their leader is a rabbi. It's sort of
paradoxical."
The fact that Jews are segmenting and
fighting in no way eliminates concerns
about Jewish continuity, writes

Freedman.
"It is tragic, yes, that American Jews
have battled so bitterly, so viciously, over
the very meaning of being Jewish," are
the last words of his book. "It is more
tragic, perhaps, that the only ones fight-
ing are the only ones left who care." E

Samuel Freedman will speak at the
Jewish Book Fair 8 p.m. Wednesday,
Nov, 8, at the Jewish Community
Center in West Bloomfield.

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