Reflections on a Draining Session with Secular North Americans Jews
Two weeks ago I was invited to participate in a panel discussion for a group of post-university students from the US and Canada who are contemplating aliyah. The topic was “State and Religion in Israel” and the panel included an activist from the Reform movement and a Modern Orthodox educator.
I returned home after two and a half hours completely drenched wondering why I had gone and whether anything positive could possibly come from such a debate.
I doubt most readers of Mishpacha can even imagine the chasm between us and secular North American Jews. We barely have a common language or any shared assumptions. For us “who is a Jew” is determined by very specific halachic criteria and the question of “What are the obligations of a Jew?” can only be answered by recourse to the Written and Oral Torah.
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