"Being orthodox is more than going to services, keeping kosher and observing the Sabbath and holidays. We should live our life with dignity and show respect for others whether we agree with them or not." The President’s message - October 2006, BSBI Messenger
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I have heard and read these ideas before, and I find them quite objectionable. Now, if they were spoken by an observant person, addressing the behaviour of another observant person, I would have no problem. In that context, they are quite correct.
But from where it comes in the BSBI Messenger, I have a very deep and vexing problem with it.
You see, it is a mask, a foil. From behind this, those of us in the congregation, who have been observant, and those who are striving to be more observant, are being provoked and insulted.
Does that include me? Well, I may keep more than most, but I am less than fully observant, and keep far less than many. Does this make me better or worse than anyone else? You decide. I believe we can all agree on one thing - what we do in our private lives is our own business. What we do as public figures, is another.
BSBI has a long history of treating its observant members as "second-class citizens". Now, to add insult to injury, the president implies in his message that the observant among us are responsible for the "unrest" in BSBI.
The depth of this is almost unspeakable.
At the heart of it is this - ritual observance has no meaning for him. He does not / cannot / chooses not to understand why others need to believe in all that Judaism teaches, ethics, laws and rituals. He has no sense of empathy for those to whom it matters if one walks to shul for services, rather than riding. He cannot feel our, your or their pain.
There are many in BSBI who are not observant, but who understand what is going on, what those who wish to observe are feeling. From them I can accept a request to forgive if they have offended.
But from those who deliberately, and continually offend
. . . . . .
I have a problem.
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I also felt that the President's column indicated that he has no concept of why a number of his members have chosen to be more observant than he, personally, says he is. He would be more likely to succeed as BSBI President if he paid more attention to the Rabbis who have been serving BSBI for the last half-century, and less attention to the attorneys, judges and politicians and their destructive agendas. (Of course, since he and several of the above "authorities" rarely attended services until about a year ago, they have a lot of misconceptions about what Orthodox Jewry is about. And the difference between Secular Humanism and Judaism.)
But, that's not exactly right either, because they wouldn't qualify very well for being Secular Humanists, due to their lack of respect for their fellow congregants.
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