[Avodah] Using Bein adam leMakom to motivate bein adam lechavero

[Anthony Knopf]

I've read this recent discussion with great interest.
Rebbetzen Katz and Joseph Kaplan are right that there is much that the frum community can be proud of in its bein adam lechavero. This can't simply be attributed to its being a typical middle class religious community.
I recommend in this regard, Jack Wertheimer's What You Don’t Know About the Ultra-Orthodox - Commentary. And I'd also recommend a couple of other articles: Values and Religiosity and Charitable Giving Among Britain's Jews. And see also this page from The Jewish Mind.
With all that, I think Rabbi Berger and others have identified a genuine problem (and therefore a challenge). I think it is true that fewer sheilos are asked in bein adam lechavero. I agree that both the occurrence and the communal reaction to scandals in bein adam lechavero are telling and disconcerting. 
As Rabbi Berger acknowledges, there are different approaches within our mesorah in understanding the place of bein adam lechavero. Which ever approach one takes, there is room for much more serious thought as to how to reduce the gap between values and communal practice.
Anthony




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