Opinion
OTHER VIEWS
Attack On Modern Orthodoxy Provides Wake-Up Call
New York/JTA
H
owever tempting, it would be
a mistake to dismiss Harvard
Univeristy law professor Noah
Feldman's personal and pointed critique
of Modern Orthodoxy in the New York
Times Magazine of July 22 as merely "The
Big Kvetch."
His essay, "Orthodox Paradox:' which
surely provided increased fodder for
numerous sermons on Shabbat, is a long
and bitter complaint that, despite his
numerous and remarkable professional
accomplishments, he has been snubbed
by the Brookline, Mass., yeshivah high
school from which he graduated with
honors in the 1980s.
Despite the fact that Feldman was
valedictorian of his class at Harvard, a
Rhodes scholar and a Truman scholar
who completed his doctorate at Oxford
in record time and went on to help craft
the Iraqi constitution, he and his then-
girlfriend were literally cropped out of a
reunion picture of Maimonides School
graduates published in the alumni news-
letter some years ago. Also, none of the
personal updates he has sent in since
have been published.
Why? The girlfriend, now wife, is a
Korean American and not Jewish.
Feldman, who aptly describes the
yeshivah's goals of "reconciling the vastly
disparate values of tradition and moder-
nity" as seeking to combine "Slobodka
and St. Paul's:' maintains that he has
been rejected by his community even
though he has "tried in my own imper-
fect way to live up to values that the
school taught me, expressing my respect
and love for the wisdom of the tradition
while trying to reconcile Jewish faith
with scholarship and engagement in the
public sphere."
Poor Noah, one may think on first read.
How primitive and unfair for his former
yeshivah to refuse to publicly acknowl-
edge his successes.
But as one continues to read Feldman's
essay, we see he is the one being unfair in
expecting to be lauded by a community
whose values he has rejected
Jewish law, established the 13
and in crafting an intellectu-
principles of faith and insisted
ally dishonest case for himself.
on adherence to Halachah, or
Still, the implicit and more
Jewish law.
lasting question raised by the
Feldman then goes on at
essay is how should the Jewish
some length to cite Jewish
community in general, and
law's tensions over violating
the Orthodox community in
the Sabbath to save the life of a
particular, deal with Jews who
non-Jew. But he fails to mention
Gary
have married out?
that the dispute is talmudic, not
Rosenblatt
Sending a message to our
practical; no Modern Orthodox
Special
children that we deeply value
doctor would hesitate to treat a
Commentary
inmarriage for social, religious
non-Jew on the Sabbath.
and communal reasons is all well and
Perhaps most upsetting, and unjust,
good, but what do we do after the fact,
the only allegedly Modern Orthodox
once they've chosen a non-Jewish partner Jews Feldman describes in his essay
and conversion is not a part of the con-
besides Sen. Joseph Lieberman are Yigal
versation?
Amir, the assassin of Yitzchak Rabin,
and Baruch Goldstein, the American-
Unfair Arguments
born physician who murdered 29 Arabs
As for Feldman's arguments, insisting
in Hebron in 1994. The two are cited
that Maimonides himself, the 12th cen-
as examples of men who took Jewish
tury rabbinic scholar and philosopher,
imperatives to their logical conclusion by
believed that knowing the world was the
committing murder.
best way to know God, he ignores the
"That's like judging the peacock by
fact that it was Maimonides who codified its feces:' noted Rabbi Saul Berman, a
Furthering Yiddishkeit At Medilodge
W bile I appreciate
your article "Kosher
No More" (July 26,
page 17), I must make some
comments about the change
in status that has taken place
at Menorah House, now called
Medilodge of Southfield, which
has gone non-kosher.
Unpleasantness being expe-
rienced now by some of the
Jewish residents may have been
somewhat lessened if actions had been
taken by our community. You quoted
Nathalie Keller as saying that she was the
only person who had requested kosher
meals. I would have told you that I know
of at least eight other residents that want
kosher meals.
As a suggestion, a representative from
the Jewish community should be meeting
with the Medilodge administration on a
regular basis to find out about upcoming
events where kosher-related problems
might be avoided. Of course, dietary
requirements would have to be discussed.
I cannot say enough about everyone at
Medilodge, from the administrator Frank
Wronski to the various aides. This is a
much, much better-run operation than I
24
August 16 2007
first encountered almost seven
years ago when I first began to
conduct religious services and
special programs for the elderly.
The administration tries very,
very hard to excel in an exceed-
ingly hard-to-please industry.
Mr. Wronski does a great job.
You kindly mentioned
my name along with Rabbi
Dovid Polter and Rabbi Irving
Schnipper, two dedicated indi-
viduals who have taught me much. There
are also Rabbi Jerry Godfrey, who con-
ducts daily Schaharit (morning) prayers,
and Rabbi Herschel Klainberg, who was
the mashgiach (kashrut supervisor) and
lead rabbi at Medilodge until his depar-
ture as there was no longer a need for his
services.
Rabbi Klainberg still visits the Jewish
elderly every week, bringing much joy to
the residents. Kudos to Rabbi Klainberg.
I have been working closely with
Rabbi Polter of the Jewish Hospice &
Chaplaincy Network of Jewish Home &
Aging Services. We have Chanukah com-
ing up and we always have had a latke
party. I have had some of my friends, such
as Carole Gregg of Oak Park, make dozens
of latices during the holiday. These were
served as a supplement to the latkes pre-
pared by the Medilodge kosher kitchen.
Now would be an excellent time for
JN readers to contact Rabbi Polter at
Fleischman Residence, (248) 661-2999,
or me at sabajk@gmail.com . I would wel-
come help and suggestions.
I would like to see a Friday-night kosher
chicken dinner. Now that's Shabbos. With
so few individuals requesting kosher
meals, an "angel" should be fairly easy to
find. Any angels out there?
A bigger worry to me (and soon to
be a big worry for Rabbi Polter) will be
Passover. I lead a large (approximately
75-person) seder with the help of my wife
and granddaughters and grandson. Food
was prepared in the kosher kitchen under
the supervision of Rabbi Klainberg.
Hopefully, Rabbi Polter and I will be
approached by people who can supply
us with glatt kosher foods for this event.
Of course, all foods must be coordinated
with the administration and head dieti-
cian who, by the way, did a bang-up job of
preparation in the past. Her meal selec-
tions and quality, while no longer kosher,
are still of the highest standards.
Medilodge continues providing us with
kosher challah and grape juice every Friday.
One other volunteer, Helen Maltz,
not only assists me every Friday during
Kabbalat Shabbat service, but also visits
one or two days a week. She helps with our
seder and other religious events as well.
Please do not let me give you the
impression that there is not Yiddishkeit
at Medilodge, formerly Menorah House.
Many synagogues and Hebrew schools
send youngsters every week, singing and
visiting. Dancers, musicians and other
entertainers are coming and going every
week to bring joy to our elderly.
There are many volunteers such as
Helen and I who are not under the auspic-
es of the Jewish Home & Aging Services.
We just care. So between the volunteers
and the JHAS, we get the job done.
The food is the problem. But I am very
confident that with the entire community
pulling together a viable solution will be
worked out. I 1
Jay Korelitz of Farmington Hills has been a
parachaplain at Hospice of Michigan and a
Heartland Hospice volunteer for 15 year, serv-
ing primarily at Meer Apartments, Fleischman
Residence and Danto, Sunrise and Menorah
House nursing facilities in the area.