One thing I've noticed about blogging and the j blogosphere in particular is that people seem to think that we do or should know everything about our faith, the other that we should all be pigeon holed , so if you are orthodox and you say something controversial, then you are suddenly #gasp# conservative or reform.
I really do detest this idea that anyone can know everything about a faith system, Judaism included. Sure we should know the basics, but we are all surely learning more as we grow into our faith and as we get to know God more? We aren't God.
As for the labels. Who actually cares? What matters is finding the truth. And orthodox do not have a monopoly on that; there has been some good conservative and reform Rabbis who I've found helpful in the past. There is also the interesting matter of the internet and power of communication which seems to be shaking things up a bit. There is the phenomenon of the post denomination Jew, who takes bits of Judaism as their own without dogmatic adherence to all,for example-
I've known a few reform Jews who are inspired by the fire of Hasidic mysticism, but don't want to start adopting the full lifestyle of that tradition. Likewise I've met many Ashkenazi orthodox who prefer the relaxing intellectual and cultural atmosphere of Sephardic Judaism or haredi who like the practice of their tradition, but not the rigidity of its dogma. I could go on, but this is a new world for Judaism and we should welcome it. Barriers are being brought down. Perhaps this might lead to a more unified Judaism; when we agreed to accept the Torah at Sinai, we weren't Sephardic, Ashkenazi, orthodox, reform,conservative, but just the children of Israel. May we be so again and say:
Na 'ase ve-nishma
' We will do. We will hear'
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