[Avodah] One Rabbi's Dream to Close All Shuls

[micha]

Moving this conversation from Areivim.

On Sun, Oct 08, 2023 at 08:35:05PM -0500, Brent Kaufman via Areivim wrote:
>> Rabbi SR Hirsch wrote that closing "all synagogues by Jewish hands would
>> constitute the strongest protest against the abandonment of the Torah in
>> home and life."

A longer quote, from Aish <https://aish.com/one-rabbis-dream-to-close-all-shuls>
the web site with which this conversation began:
   If I had the power I would provisionally close all synagogues for a
   hundred years. Do not tremble at the thought of it, Jewish heart. What
   would happen? Jews and Jewesses without synagogues, desiring to remain
   such, would be forced to concentrate on a Jewish life and a Jewish
   Home. The Jewish officials connected with the synagogue would have
   to look to the only opportunity now open to them to teach young and
   old how to live a Jewish life and how to build a Jewish home.

> It's hard to say if RSRH was referring to the Reform Movement when he wrote
> "... and life", but I doubt it would do much to weaken their movement...

I took him as saying something very different, but I assumed the whole
thing was guzma.

Judaism is about the "home and life". Shul should be a very small part
of it.

If people act like their Judaism is first and foremost about shul worship,
then the synagogue is getting in the way of their Judaism.

And it was that which RSRH was preaching against.

Nothing about Reform.


To bring this to inyana deyoma: It is important to daven during an eis
tzarah.

But, as R Scott Kahn recently wrote:
    Prayer doesn't replace action,
    it supplements it.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger                 For those with faith there are no questions.
http://www.aishdas.org/asp   For those who lack faith there are no answers.
Author: Widen Your Tent                        - Rav Yaakov of Radzimin
- https://amzn.to/2JRxnDF