My Ideas On the Jewish Community 

This week, I have participated in several discussions in which people have used terms like ‘left’ and ‘right’ to describe different sections of the Jewish community. Politics and observance seem to be the most acceptable things to describe in this way. The ‘left’ thinks this and the’ right’ thinks that.

Usually, we put Jewish denominations/groups on a line ranging from Reform to Orthodox with other groups falling in between.

My problem with this way of describing people’s ideas or actions this way is the assumption that we are on a continuum. We may believe in some things more or less than our neighbors, friends or relatives but I don’t think we are always more or always less in everything we do. We don’t live our lives on a continuum.

I prefer to think of the Jewish community, politics, observance and interactions as anything but a straight line. Judaism doesn’t work on a continuum. We don’t stand on a straight line only interacting with the person/group right next to us. We interact across and around and through the continuum line.

To me the interaction among Jews should be more like a Jewish star.

All of the different groups intersect and interact at different points. There are no better points or lesser points- joint connecting points. You can’t have the star without the straight lines and the angles. Orthodox intersects with Secular and Halachic as well as Conservative with Liberal and Chabad.

Without the interaction, without the intersection, we wouldn't be able to have a star and the community would be flat.

So, rather than saying 'more' observant or 'less' observant, the community becomes an interaction between different types of Jews in order to create a greater, stronger community. Without each other, and a variety, the community will not succeed.