Date: Sun, 02 Nov 1997 21:59:50 0600
To: Rob Weinberg
From: Frank Grose
Subject: Re: Cartoon III
For religious Jews, many things are forbidden, or required. Driving on the Sabbath is forbidden. Cooking, turning on lights or using electricity, work of any kind, no matter how trivial. There are some parts of Israel where to drive through it on the Sabbath, will get you stoned. Literally.
That is surprising, especially since "throwing" is work! What really is surprising is that there is that much disunity among Jews. Really eye opening!
Considering this situation, the situation in general in our own country, and the recent prayer ruling, one could conclude that it is the MAKING of "rules of what can't be done" that is the divisive impetus. For 200 years we lived in a country where people where allowed to practice their religion unrestrained. Existing laws dealt with criminal activity directed against others, although there were many shameful failings with regard to the black Americans. People get upset when they are told they can't do something, especially if it has been okay in the past. Human behavior is to be "clannish," and to be prone to ridicule or look down on those who aren't "in." Gangs are an example of that. I don't think the government (which really is a select group of people) can stop us from being "human." All we can hope is that it can keep us from being actively aggressive to the point of physical injury to the "outsider." For the government to try to ensure no one ever feels like they are being mentally labeled as an outsider is assured failure (because I cannot control your perception of an act or situation, as we have discussed before), and leads to divisions within our society. We, including you in your profession, should all give serious consideration to what we are doing to ourselves with this course of action.
I reserve the right to comment further on this, but now, it is time to get something to eat, before it gets to close to bedtime. BTW, my blood pressure is okay. It is an emotional issue, but you didn't offend me. Yes, I read your "opinions." I have a response almost completed, but I have hesitated to even finish and send it. I'm afraid it might be too much for even a flack vest to withstand. You and I have some fundamentally different outlooks on the general prayer and religious freedom issue. Neither of us seem eager to move closer the center on this, and arguing about it may be a waste of our time. And you are right that arguing vociferously can lead to alienation. I don't want to endanger our friendship. To do so would be counter to our objective. I've been really busy at work and at home, and haven't had much time to devote to the dialog lately.
About six months ago, the rabbis of the orthodoxy "proclaimed" that reform or conservative Jews aren't "real" Jews. Me, I think they're nuts, and no one's gonna' tell me I'm not "Jewish enough." But that's how it starts....
I understand your emotional reaction. How about "no one is going to tell me where or when or how I can't pray, especially when the Bill of Rights prevents them from doing so." Can you see that emotion as well? If so, there is hope for fruitful dialog on the prayer issue.
What shames me, is that it appears the right wing orthodox Jewish zealots have learned nothing about what it means to be persecuted. When a minority who has been persecuted for centuries suddenly comes into political control, they should be the last to discriminate, but no, they've not learned that lesson. I've alluded to the Palestinian situation before, and that's the kind of thing I'm talking about. Failure to learn from history.
Sad, but true! We are still human. The Old Testament chronicles the fickleness of the Jews of that day (with regard to God). Alas! We are still human! Woodrow Wilson said, "A nation which does not remember what it was yesterday, does not know what it is today, nor what it is trying to do. We are trying to do a futile thing if we do not know where we came from or what we have been about." And that doesn't mean the politically correct revisionist history so pervasive today.
Those Jews in Israel who are taking the all or nothing hard line are no different from those zealots in this country who want it their way, or no way, and to hell with everyone else.
Both sides could take a lesson here. Once again, making "thou shalt not" rules governing religious expression doesn't seem to be the answer.
Frank
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