Re: "well, I suppose it's time for our yearly discussion"

[Jordan Hirsch <trombaedu...>]

I will say something that I have said before, but with a little different
understanding than I once had.
No religious system is inherently correct. It is only correct because it's
adherents believe it to be correct, based on whatever tradition that system
needs to promulgate itself. As an observant, orthodox adherent, one believes
that the words of Rabbinical authorities are extensions of and indeed mandated
by the authority of God, as handed down in an unbroken chain from Mt. Sinai.
In fact, I pretty much feel this myself, although I would not characterize
myself as typically orthodox.
But adhering to a religious viewpoint is also a choice, even for those who
feel they have no choice. That is why people from Orthodox households end up
driving on shabbos to their suburban Reconstructionist shuls, and why Reform
Talmud Torah students end up living among Chasidim in New Square.
Agitating or militating against orthodox practice such as Kol Isha, and
calling for the liberation of those oppressed by it, is entirely beside the
point. Obviously, it's adherents feel that restriction as binding, AND DISMISS
THE MODERN NOTIONS OF EQUALITY AND DISCRIMINATION that cause the agitation in
favor of what they feel is a higher authority. That may be hard for us to
swallow, but religion is a funny thing. It does not demand rational thought,
but belief in something beyond human reasoning.
For those who feel that the orthodox understanding of the derivation of
halacha seems irrational, it is possible, as some here have done, to call for
reform. But that reform can only  apply to those who share a viewpoint as to
the power of the adherents to enact such reform. As long as I am unwilling to
accept the idea of Halacha as man made, I am unable to allow man to change it.
And those who feel the same way should not be condemned for feeling that way.
Rather, those who feel the understanding of Halacha as God derived is too
dependant on a tenuous faith should feel free to interpret halacha as they see
fit, as long as they understand that the Orthodox approach is legitimate for
it's followers.

Jordan Hirsch

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