October 18, 2002
English rabbi may face heresy charges.
The so-called chief Rabbi of England, Jonathan Sacks, is under fire from orthodox rabbis for writing a book,
The Dignity of Difference, in which he suggests that Jews may be able to learn from people of other faiths, and that Judaism may not be "perfect." The book has recently been serialized in the
Guardian, who
report on demands that he withdraw the book from publication.
Orthodox rabbis have been outraged by the implication that Judaism may fall short of perfection. In an attempt at clarification yesterday Dr Sacks issued a statement insisting he had never suggested that Judaism did not contain absolute truth. ...
The advert adds: "We urge Rabbi Sacks upon reflection to repudiate the thesis of the book and to withdraw the book from circulation."
One senior member of the Jewish community said: "This is a big stick. They represent Torah orthodoxy and this is a pretty powerful statement to the community, not just here but across the world."
The statement, which is likely to have considerable repercussions throughout the orthodox community, comes despite Dr Sacks's visit to Manchester last month to reassure rabbis from cities across northern England about the book's contents.
After that visit, the chief rabbi, who faced threats of being charged with apikoras, or heresy, before a religious court, agreed to revise sections when the book is republished. The passage which appears to have caused offence states: "God has spoken to mankind in many languages, through Judaism to the Jews, Christianity to Christians, Islam to Muslims ... no one creed has a monopoly of spiritual truth. In heaven there is truth, on earth there are truths. God is greater than religion. He is only partially comprehended by any faith."
I can't believe this. Censorship may be a traditional part of Christian and Islamic thought, but it has never been a Jewish practice. And I didn't even know that there was such a thing as Jewish heresy. Or a Jewish "court." It's very frightening that they were able to force him to publicly recant, and that their ideology seems so clearly black and white. Do most European Jews share this view? Maybe they do. Maybe it's the flip side of the virulent anti-Semitism still so widespread there.
I say so-called "chief Rabbi" because Jews have never ever had any organized clerical hierarchy. There never has been any Jewish "church" or formal organization. I, like most Jews, don't recognize the authority of the so-called chief rabbis, either in England or in Israel, and in fact think that their attempt to place themselves in control directly contradicts what I've always understood to be some basic tenets of Judaism.
Folks who aren't Jewish may not understand this. But the majority of Jews in the world, including in Israel, England and the U.S., are what they refer to as "Reform" or "Conservative," and don't recognize the authority of the orthodox at all. Personally, I think they're crazed fundamentalists, as dangerous as the Islamic or Christian ones. The article's suggestion that this would be taken seriously around the world is pretty off base.
* After fifty years of being Jewish and hanging out with Jewish folks, I can assure you that they aren't "perfect." No disrespect intended I'm sure, but not even close. :) I know a great joke that illustrates this almost perfectly, but unfortunately this is a family blog and I can't tell it.
