[Avodah] Where Bread Comes From

[rabbirichwolpoe at gmail.com]

Micha:
> There is a fundamental difference in how they define refinement. R'
> Hirsch speaks in terms of culture. Slabodka, unsurprisingly, in terms
> of middos. The overlap is large, but they are far from identical.

> I think that also underlies their difference in approach to taamei
> hamitzvos.

Indeed the overlap is tremendous. They are both saying: 
    "It's not enough to be a good Jew,
    you've got to be a mensch, too!"

Yet,
There are societal/cultrual contrasts 

Russia - authoritarian and oppressive

Germany athoritairan but socially "open" (no more ghetto, enlightened, etc.)

(USA-Canada Libertarian and Open)

That is why AISI Westernized Hirschian TIDE is more in harmony with our
North American society

OTOH if you hold USA (North America) as too permissive, you might davka
with withdraw into an Eastern European ghetto mentality.

The problem with the latter AISI is that once sees the benign government
as the Czar then one tend to come up with heterim for lying and
cheating. The gov't and society.

Rav Schwab was careful to avoid this trap and considered the USA a
medina of Chessed (although perhaps also of pritzus since the 1960's)

I see both RYS and RSRH as advocating a "Torah with class" approach

Good Shabbos
RRW
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