Book extols Orthodoxy over other forms of Judaism

In One Era, Out the Other: A Memoir of a 20th-21st Century Jewish Life by Michael Kaufman, Mekor Press of Menucha Publishers, 2012, 564 pages  including glossary of Hebrew and Yiddish terms, and endnotes; ISBN 978-1-61465-060-7; Price unlisted on cover.  

By Donald H. Harrison

SAN DIEGO — There is much in this book that I liked, including the author’s warm stories of Orthodox life in the Catskills, in Brooklyn, in Jerusalem, and on a moshav in the Galilee.  Additionally, there were  features I did not like, such as Kaufman’s put down of Reform rabbis, whom he contrasts with “real” rabbis; his description of intermarriage as an inevitable “loss” for the Jewish community, and the impression one gets that in Kaufman’s view his frum lifestyle is the only valid form of Judaism.

Anyone who regularly reads San Diego Jewish World can quickly ascertain how different a belief system we  represent.  Rather than a narrow conception of the Jewish world, in which only those who fully observe Orthodox Jewish ritual are worth counting, our vision is a pluralistic one, in which the  different streams of Judaism are all honored and all bring forth ideas worthy of our readers’ consideration. 

We feel similarly about politics, believing that there is much to be learned from Republicans on our right and Democrats on our left.  No  political party, and no religious movement, has a monopoly on truth.  Consequently San Diego Jewish World  tries to offer a wide assortment of Jewish viewpoints, ranging on the spectrum from those of ultra-Orthodox rabbis to Jews who call themselves secular humanists.

Precisely because of our belief in Jewish pluralism, we can enthusiastically recommend books like Kaufman’s.  He represents a stream of Judaism that has accumulated so much wisdom over the centuries.  At times, Kaufman is eloquent in his recitation of Orthodoxy’s warmth, emphasis on family, respect for elders, and veneration of humility.  The advice at the end of the book about the qualities we should attempt to inculcate in ourselves and our children and grandchildren can be the model for anyone seeking to write an ethical will.

It is indeed a pleasure to read about his outreach efforts to college-aged Jews-by- birth who know nothing or very little about Judaism.  Kaufman is the founder of a group in Jerusalem known as the Visiting Israel Students Association, which approaches secular students from the Diaspora who are attending Israeli universities — or who are simply visiting Israel — and invites them, along with other students, to have a Shabbat dinner with a frum family.  With music, conversation and good food, these Shabbat evenings often are gateways to greater religious observance, and even to the students starting a journey of self-discovery that may lead to their adopting a frum lifestyle.

To my surprise, a case study presented by Kaufman concerned the daughters of San Diego Jewish World’s own Los Angeles bureau chief, Cynthia Citron, who is best known for her play reviews. 

Cynthia’s daughter, Leslie, today is Rebbitzin Gavriella Aber, a leader with her husband, Rabbi Leib Aber, in the Orthodox community of Sydney, Australia.  Another of Cynthia’s daughters, Hilary, known today as Leah Richheimer, is active in the Los Angeles Orthodox community.    Kaufman reported with some delight that when Gavriella’s daughter, Raizel, visited Jerusalem she was hesitant to accept his invitation to join his family for a Shabbat meal.  Why?  She was concerned whether he followed a strict enough form of kashrut.

I shared with Cynthia the passages from the book about her family, and, she reported that Kaufman had told the story well.

While we can rejoice at those students who have found their way back to Judaism from lives in which neither their religion nor their Jewish heritage had been greatly emphasied, that is not to say that we can–or ought to–acquiesce to Kaufman’s implication that any form of Judaism other than Orthodoxy somehow represents a departure from Truth, Tradition and the Jewish Way.

Within the Reform, Reconstructionist and Conservative branches of Judaism, I have seen congregants pray with full hearts and souls.  I have seen them reach out to others in times of need, practicing kindness and good deeds.  And for the life of me, I can’t imagine why anyone would think such practice is in any way lacking. 

I’m also impatient with the concept that intermarriage is a step toward the spiritual death of the Jewish people.  In my own extended family, one member married a Catholic who agreed to raise the children Jewish.  As she became acquainted with our religion, she decided she wanted to become a Jew herself.   In that she accepted Judaism as an adult, she was able to intellectually embrace the religion’s precepts and to make them part of her life.  

Likewise, I have grandchildren whose father is Jewish and whose mother comes from an Asian background in which formal religious adherence was not emphasized.   A boy who now has reached preschool age is attending a Jewish preschool.  Very soon, they, like other Jews around the world, will be celebrating Passover in their home.  They also observe other Jewish holidays.

Kaufman should know that the traditions, stories, beliefs, and morality that Judaism teaches have appeal not only to Jews, but to other peoples.  In America, and especially California, where the intermarriage rate is high, there’s a need to understand this phenomenon and to extend our embrace.

In my belief, it is not intermarriage that will necessarily diminish the ranks of Judaism, but it might be the rejectionism that some Jews unfortunately signal and practice toward non-Jewish partners in such marriages.

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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World.  He may be contacted at donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com