Re: Why Silence Against Anti-Jewish Bigotry is Assent

flaviaR@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
On 28-Apr-2007, chsw <chsw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

flaviaR@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
On 27-Apr-2007, "Dan Kimmel" <daniel.kimmel@xxxxxxx> wrote:

Yet another disgraceful action by an Orthodox rabbi against
non-Orthodox
Jews:

http://ajcblog.org/2007/04/26/fighting-for-democracy-and-pluralism-in-the-jewish-world/#more-33

Sure, just don't say you're a rabbi. How like Antiochus telling
Hannah's
son to pretend he was merely picking up the ring, and not really bowing
down.

When Jews stay silent against such bigotry, they are supporting it,
whether
they want to admit it or not.
One comment stood out in my mind as really disgraceful:
he suggested Reform rabbis don't necessarily believe in G-d.
I don't know which is worse - him bearing false witness, or
if he were telling the truth!!

Susan

There is a lot of doctrinal variation among Reform rabbis, imho
and experience (DC, Chicago, NYC).

Which is definitely not the same thing as saying that "reform Rabbis'
belief in HaSHem is shaky."!!
Good grief!!


It is also bounded by my experience of only a few congregations and rabbis. I cannot say anything more general than that.




However, if the Reform rabbi
were simply introduced as "Reform Rabbi...," then the audience
members would be allowed to arrive at their own impressions of
character and observance.

An audience on the lookout for whether or not someone is
Reform can tell that the person doesn't believe the way they
do just by the way he's dressed, so they could draw their own
conclusions without any help.


Again, in my experience, I've met R rabbis who wear velvet kippot, have beards, dress in suits, and are not easily distinguishable from O rabbis at first sight.

I have never met the R rabbi in the article. However, I think that an appropriate intro would have been both necessary and respectful.


chsw


Susan
.

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