[Avodah] R. Hirsch as a Modern Orthodox Leader

[Prof. Levine]

At 03:40 PM 6/30/2011, R. Micha wrote:

>On Thu, Jun 30, 2011 at 07:26:39AM -0400, Prof. Levine wrote:
> > In fairness, I am sure that RSRH would be comfortable with someone like
> > Rabbi Yaakov Yosef Reinman, co-author of One People, Two Worlds: A Reform
> > rabbi and an Orthodox rabbi explore the issues that divide them, who
> > resides in Lakewood.
>
>You think that the leading proponent of Austritt would be comfortable with
>someone who coauthored a book with a Reform rabbi? I very much don't.
I said someone like Rabbi Reinman, not necessarily Rabbi Reinman.  I 
was referring to someone who has the comprehensive Torah and secular 
knowledge that Rabbi Reinman has. My evaluation of him is based on 
his writings.

The following is from 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yosef_Reinman#Book_collaboration

In 2000 a literary agent introduced Rabbi Reinman to Rabbi Ammiel 
Hirsch, a <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reform_Judaism>Reform rabbi 
and executive director of the Association of Reform Zionists of 
America (ARZA), with the idea of collaborating on a book airing the 
Orthodox and Reform viewpoints on various issues. Their 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Email>email correspondence over the 
next 18 months resulted in the book One People, Two Worlds: A Reform 
rabbi and an Orthodox rabbi explore the issues that divide them. The 
book was hailed by the religious left as a breakthrough in Orthodox 
recognition of religious pluralism, while generating criticism in 
Orthodox circles for Reinman's willingness to conduct an official 
rabbinic dialogue with Reform.  The book was denounced by the 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moetzes_Gedolei_HaTorah>Moetzes Gedolei 
HaTorah of 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agudath_Israel_of_America>Agudath 
Israel of America  and the heads of 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beth_Medrash_Govoha>Beth Medrash 
Govoha, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakewood,_New_Jersey>Lakewood, 
New Jersey, where Reinman received his rabbinic ordination.  Reinman 
subsequently pulled out of a 14-city promotional tour after two 
appearances, leaving Hirsch to continue the tour on his own.

See http://www.jlaw.com/Commentary/dontjudge.html  Don't Judge a Book 
by its Cover by R. Reinman.  There R. Reinman writes

So why did I co-write the book when I knew that our revered sages 
disapproved of sharing platforms with Reform rabbis? Was I breaking 
away and setting out in a new direction? Heaven forbid.

There is a deep sense of desperation in the Orthodox community at the 
disintegration of the non-Orthodox world. There is a feeling that 
time is running out and something must be done. The rabbis who 
authorized and supported this project decided, based on several fine 
distinctions, that it was an exception to the rule. To mention just 
one of these distinctions, since I am an independent scholar and 
writer rather than a member of the rabbinate, my participation was 
considered "individual" rather than "official" contact; I mention 
this distinction in the book several times. We felt we could thus 
circumvent the rabbinate and speak directly to the people.

We were wrong. The media completely ignored my explicit distinctions 
and depicted the exchange as a breakthrough, a breach in the Orthodox 
wall of rejection, which it was never meant to be. Most did not even 
bother to read the book. They just looked at the cover and, to my 
horror, painted me as the Rosa Parks of interdenominational dialogue. 
I have yet to see one serious, in-depth review of the book.

The declaration of the Council of Sages simply reaffirmed what we 
already knew - that the distinctions had failed to register with all 
those people eager to portray the book in a light that suited them 
better. Under these circumstances, the tour would just compound the error.

What could I say? They were right. And so, I withdrew.

Yitzchok Levine 
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