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The Rav's (Rav Shimon Shwab, ZT"L) disdain for Sheker was at the core of his thinking when
<div>contemplating the so called "branches of Judaism" against which he</div>
<div>spoke publicly at Agudas Yisrael forums. The following excerpt from his</div>
<div>writings highlights this:</div>
<div><br>
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<div>The official version of the Jewish establishment in America has it</div>
<div>that there are three branches within the Jewish religion: Orthodox,</div>
<div>Conservative, and Reform. This is common knowledge.</div>
<div>It looks as if the Jewish religion per se is merely a neutral entity which</div>
<div>has no conscience, no strong convictions, no dogmas. and no absolutes.</div>
<div>It is just a base for three branches. One a Torah branch: one a non-Torah</div>
<div>branch; and one in the middle-Torah, yes, but...</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>And why not add in the future some additional branches<br>
</div>
we can only count up to three? Could not the Jews for J... one day claim</div>
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to be a branch of Judaism, since their main objective seems to be to
<div>present a picture of unity to the outside world and to display unlimited</div>
<div> [love] for all of our fellow Jews?</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Let us state here unequivocally that the term "Orthodoxy" is false</div>
<div>and misleading. There is no Orthodox Judaism. There is only Judaism.</div>
<div>Reform and Conservatism is non-Judaism, or anti-Judaism. Without</div>
<div>the fundamental conviction that the whole Torah is handed</div>
<div>down to us from Sinai, there is no Judaism. There is nothing. Nothing</div>
<div>but a stark lie and absolute darkness. Without Torah <i>min Hashamyi</i>m </div>
<div>down to us from Sinai, there is no Judaism. There is nothing. Nothing
<div>but a stark lie and absolute darkness. Without Torah <span><i>min Hashamyi</i>m </span><span>down to us from Sinai,
<br>
</span></div>
<div><span>there is no Judaism. There is nothing. Nothing</span>, but a stark lie and absolute darkness.<br>
</div>
<div> Without Torah <span><i>min Hashamyi</i>m</span> life to a</div>
<div>Jew makes no sense and has no value. Therefore, Torah Judaism can</div>
<div>never be a branch, Heaven forbid. It is not a sub-division of a neutral</div>
<div>"faith." The Reform or Conservative clergyman or clergywoman is not</div>
<div>a colleague of the Orthodox Rav, as if each one could just put his or</div>
<div>her own ecclesiastical flavor into a nondescript soda water. The Torah-true</div>
<div>kehillah, synagogue, and school must never be an equal among</div>
<div>equals under the same umbrella organization that serves all branches.</div>
<div>Any recognition that the Torah allows the existence of branches or that</div>
<div>the Torah itself is merely a branch is already heresy. The gulf which</div>
<div>separates Torah from the branches is much wider than the distance that</div>
<div>divides the various Christian denominations from each other.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Jewish unity, yes-but between Jews and Jews only, and not between</div>
<div>different "Jewish" religions or philosophies. Any child of a Jewish mother</div>
<div>is part of the Divine Covenant and bound by reason of birth to accept</div>
<div>the Torah in theory and practice. That allows even a sinner to remain a</div>
Jew forever, for the Divine Law ties him to the Jewish Nation, the nation</div>
<div>Jew forever, for the Divine Law ties him to the Jewish Nation, the nation
<div>of G-d, the nation of the Torah. The obligation to live a Torah life makes</div>
<div>him and her our brother and sister, regardless of personal performance.</div>
<div>Torah is the only basis of Jewish unity. It is only because of the Torah</div>
<div>that we rightfully proclaim <i>chaverim kol Yisroel</i>.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
But unity between Torah Judaism and non-Torah "Judaism"? Never!</div>
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<div>YL<br>
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