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<font size=3>At 03:40 PM 6/30/2011, R. Micha wrote:<br><br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">On Thu, Jun 30, 2011 at
07:26:39AM -0400, Prof. Levine wrote:<br>
> In fairness, I am sure that RSRH would be comfortable with someone
like <br>
> Rabbi Yaakov Yosef Reinman, co-author of One People, Two Worlds: A
Reform <br>
> rabbi and an Orthodox rabbi explore the issues that divide them, who
<br>
> resides in Lakewood.<br><br>
You think that the leading proponent of Austritt would be comfortable
with<br>
someone who coauthored a book with a Reform rabbi? I very much
don't.<br>
</blockquote>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. <br><br>
The following is from
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yosef_Reinman#Book_collaboration" eudora="autourl">
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yosef_Reinman#Book_collaboration</a><br><br>
In 2000 a literary agent introduced Rabbi Reinman to Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch,
a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reform_Judaism">Reform</a> 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
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Email">email</a> correspondence
over the next 18 months resulted in the book <i>One People, Two Worlds: A
Reform rabbi and an Orthodox rabbi explore the issues that divide
them</i>. 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
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moetzes_Gedolei_HaTorah">Moetzes
Gedolei HaTorah</a> of
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agudath_Israel_of_America">Agudath
Israel of America</a> and the heads of
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beth_Medrash_Govoha">Beth Medrash
Govoha</a>,
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakewood,_New_Jersey">Lakewood, New
Jersey</a>, 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.<br><br>
See
<a href="http://www.jlaw.com/Commentary/dontjudge.html" eudora="autourl">
http://www.jlaw.com/Commentary/dontjudge.html</a> Don't Judge a
Book by its Cover by R. Reinman. There R. Reinman writes<br><br>
<a name="bSTAR"></a>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.
<br><br>
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. <br><br>
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. <br><br>
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. <br><br>
What could I say? They were right. And so, I withdrew. <br>
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Yitzchok Levine</font></body>
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