Bagels and Torah
The only problem I can find with ethnic Judaism is when it is used as a complete replacement for Halacha and history. Hanukka is so much richer than latkes, even those made by my mother of blessed memory. The great freedom that America has offered us ought not to result in a core of Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox Jews and a withering group of secular Jews who equate Judaism with bagels and lox. The great question you pose is how to live as a Jew in a free and liberal democracy, while freely moving in all segments of that society. I find it difficult without a tethering to Halacha. P.S.: I daven in an Orthodox shul, am a strong supporter of the NRA and the Second Amendment, and my bourbon is Maker’s Mark, which I drink straight up. But I also support gay marriage. So go figure.
Jack Kay
Framingham,Mass.
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