Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Don’t paint Orthodox Jews with broad brush
In the Asbury Park Press’ otherwise admirable and helpful coverage of Lakewood schools, the Vaad, busing, overcrowding, public housing and the budget, one missing distinction is between the Modern Orthodox and the Haredi Jewish communities. The term ultra-orthodox is sometimes used for Haredi, but has negative connotations to many Orthodox. The term Haredi is better known in Israel than in the U.S.
The Modern Orthodox and Haredi branches of Judaism have different views of their roles in society, affecting interactions and contributions. The Modern Orthodox assume contemporary dress, and participate freely in commerce and in social events. An Orthodox scientist or physician is most likely Modern Orthodox. Devout religious practice implies adhering to Jewish law, or Halakha, including strict dietary laws and avoidance of technology on the Sabbath: hotel elevators that stop on every floor, pre-arranged Ubers, or a companionable walk from synagogue to home. For many Jews, including Reform and Conservative, the Modern Orthodox stand as a model of religious observance and assimilation.
Haredi choose not to assimilate. The highest calling for a young man is to study Torah. Beth Medrash Govoha, BMG, in Lakewood is a Kollel, an acclaimed undergraduate institution where some 7,000 married male students study Torah intensively. Frequently they are fathers supported by their wives and the community. Additionally, there are 60 or more high schools, yeshivas, in Lakewood, most for males only, some for females only, and a few co-educational.
The Haredim of “Greater Lakewood” include Hasid, Yeshivist and other Orthodox styles, which are represented in the teachings at BMG and other yeshivas, making Lakewood an integrated Haredi community. The typical dress of the Haredi is black suit and black hat for men, and head covering for women. On airline flights, passengers are asked to relocate so that a Haredi man does not sit next to a woman.
Men and women sit separately in both Modern Orthodox and Haredi synagogues. The Modern Orthodox strongly pursue traditional higher education, while only gradually the Haredi do, and then especially women. Whereas Modern Orthodox may stroll in Central Park or Holmdel Park un-remarked, a recent Passover brought an outing of Haredim to Deep Cut Gardens in Middletown. The sea of black was good to see, yet it was difficult to interact, with no greetings except for just one Haredi who broke the silences.
There is much to learn and understand about Orthodox Judaism, and about the Haredi especially. One is the significance of Halakha in everyday life, and the “Haredi nuances,” where a Haredi with an issue goes first to the rabbis, who might resolve the issue or go to the legal authorities. Federal and state law trump Halakha, but religious accommodations can be made when possible.
The separateness of the Haredi, following Jewish law, requires secular leadership, and thus the Lakewood Vaad, council of Haredi leaders. In the political process, and in welfare applications, the Vaad provides guidance across the entire region. Jared Kushner, seen to be Modern Orthodox, is not beholden to the Lakewood Vaad or to any other Vaad. Ralph Zucker of BellWorks studied at BMG and yet clearly participates freely, and wonderfully, in commerce. Of the reform, conservative and orthodox Jews in our region, it is the Haredi who raise concerns, not for the practice of religion, but for societal impacts on other Americans.
A Dec. 13 article in the Press described an interim agreement to construct an eruv in Jackson. Agudath Israel, a Haredi advocacy organization, took a leading role in discussions. Demographic changes will likely follow construction of the eruv, with the non-Haredi who can moving away, and others choosing not to move to the area. Haredi population growth is fueled by a high birth rate, “replacing those lost in the Holocaust,” and displacement from gentrifying Brooklyn. The Haredi community in Lakewood, “Israel in America,” is a significant accomplishment, yet the current leadership, whether it is the Vaad or the Township Council, needs more than ever the moderating influence of organizations such as Lakewood U.N.I.T.E., the Lakewood Senior Action Group, and strong women in leadership positions and as role models.
http://www.app.com/story/opinion/columnists/2017/12/18/lakewood-orthodox-jews-modern-ultra-orthodox-hasidic/108724728/
The Modern Orthodox and Haredi branches of Judaism have different views of their roles in society, affecting interactions and contributions. The Modern Orthodox assume contemporary dress, and participate freely in commerce and in social events. An Orthodox scientist or physician is most likely Modern Orthodox. Devout religious practice implies adhering to Jewish law, or Halakha, including strict dietary laws and avoidance of technology on the Sabbath: hotel elevators that stop on every floor, pre-arranged Ubers, or a companionable walk from synagogue to home. For many Jews, including Reform and Conservative, the Modern Orthodox stand as a model of religious observance and assimilation.
Haredi choose not to assimilate. The highest calling for a young man is to study Torah. Beth Medrash Govoha, BMG, in Lakewood is a Kollel, an acclaimed undergraduate institution where some 7,000 married male students study Torah intensively. Frequently they are fathers supported by their wives and the community. Additionally, there are 60 or more high schools, yeshivas, in Lakewood, most for males only, some for females only, and a few co-educational.
The Haredim of “Greater Lakewood” include Hasid, Yeshivist and other Orthodox styles, which are represented in the teachings at BMG and other yeshivas, making Lakewood an integrated Haredi community. The typical dress of the Haredi is black suit and black hat for men, and head covering for women. On airline flights, passengers are asked to relocate so that a Haredi man does not sit next to a woman.
Men and women sit separately in both Modern Orthodox and Haredi synagogues. The Modern Orthodox strongly pursue traditional higher education, while only gradually the Haredi do, and then especially women. Whereas Modern Orthodox may stroll in Central Park or Holmdel Park un-remarked, a recent Passover brought an outing of Haredim to Deep Cut Gardens in Middletown. The sea of black was good to see, yet it was difficult to interact, with no greetings except for just one Haredi who broke the silences.
There is much to learn and understand about Orthodox Judaism, and about the Haredi especially. One is the significance of Halakha in everyday life, and the “Haredi nuances,” where a Haredi with an issue goes first to the rabbis, who might resolve the issue or go to the legal authorities. Federal and state law trump Halakha, but religious accommodations can be made when possible.
The separateness of the Haredi, following Jewish law, requires secular leadership, and thus the Lakewood Vaad, council of Haredi leaders. In the political process, and in welfare applications, the Vaad provides guidance across the entire region. Jared Kushner, seen to be Modern Orthodox, is not beholden to the Lakewood Vaad or to any other Vaad. Ralph Zucker of BellWorks studied at BMG and yet clearly participates freely, and wonderfully, in commerce. Of the reform, conservative and orthodox Jews in our region, it is the Haredi who raise concerns, not for the practice of religion, but for societal impacts on other Americans.
A Dec. 13 article in the Press described an interim agreement to construct an eruv in Jackson. Agudath Israel, a Haredi advocacy organization, took a leading role in discussions. Demographic changes will likely follow construction of the eruv, with the non-Haredi who can moving away, and others choosing not to move to the area. Haredi population growth is fueled by a high birth rate, “replacing those lost in the Holocaust,” and displacement from gentrifying Brooklyn. The Haredi community in Lakewood, “Israel in America,” is a significant accomplishment, yet the current leadership, whether it is the Vaad or the Township Council, needs more than ever the moderating influence of organizations such as Lakewood U.N.I.T.E., the Lakewood Senior Action Group, and strong women in leadership positions and as role models.
http://www.app.com/story/opinion/columnists/2017/12/18/lakewood-orthodox-jews-modern-ultra-orthodox-hasidic/108724728/
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