6 | JULY 8 • 2021 

1942 - 2021

Covering and Connecting 
Jewish Detroit Every Week

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DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
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thejewishnews.com

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 Founding Publisher 
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PURELY COMMENTARY

continued on page 8

guest column
We Are One People
M

y friend Yehuda 
(not his real name) 
is one of the 
best souls I have ever met. 
When I see his name on 
my caller ID, 
a smile comes 
to my face, 
and I rush to 
answer because 
talking to him 
always makes 
my day better. 
His presence 
is infused with wisdom and 
thoughtfulness and kind-
ness. If you asked him about 
me, I believe he would say 
similar kind words if for no 
other reason that the good-
ness within him allows him 
to see me in a more posi-
tive light than I probably 
deserve. 
Yet, conventionally, our 

friendship is improbable. 
Yehuda is a self-identified 
ultra-Orthodox Jew. To label 
myself, I am an intermar-
ried Jew that was raised as 
part of Secular Judaism at 
Workman’s Circle and now 
identify with the Reform 
Movement. 
Last month, Pew Research 
Center has come out with 
its most recent study of 
American Jewry. As a 
sociology Ph.D. student, I 
am thrilled to be diving into 
the data and understanding 
who makes up our com-
munity. But as a communal 
Jewish leader, I am fright-
ened. Because studies such 
as Pew place labels on us, 
force us into binary choic-
es and result in a seeming 
competition between the 
segments of Judaism, it can 

reinforce the idea that we 
are a divided, polarized 
community.
Are Yehuda and I in com-
petition? In every aspect of 
our friendship, should we 
wear our respective labels of 
denominational difference? 
Are we unknowingly at war, 
fighting for the future of 
American Judaism?
Well, that seems ridicu-
lous. I honor Yehuda’s reli-
giosity and commitment to 
Torah and Halachah (Jewish 
law). I have been enriched 
by his Jewish outlook on the 
world. I am a better person 
and a Jew because of our 
friendship. But even as I 
constantly grow within my 
faith, I am who I am. I am 
not halachically observant. 
I drive on Shabbat. I love a 
good cheeseburger.

Pew asked the partic-
ipants how much they 
had in common with Jews 
from the various denom-
inations. When Orthodox 
Jews were asked about how 
much they had in common 
with Reform Jews, 50% 
responded a lot or some. 
48% responded not much 
or nothing at all. When 
the question was asked of 
Reform Jews, 39% said they 
had a lot or some in com-
mon with Orthodox Jews. 
And 60% said they had not 
much or nothing at all in 
common.
At first, these numbers 
appalled me. As Jews, we 
definitionally have some-
thing in common with 
each other. But then I 
wondered, five years ago, 
before I became friends 

Alicia 
Chandler

