Orthodox’s Misplaced Outreach |
Orthodoxy’s Misplaced Outreach
We observant Jews spend the 49 days between Passover and Shavuot trying to elevate our spiritual side, in preparation for accepting the Torah. We count the Omer, not just to remember the deaths of the students of R. Akiva, but to purify ourselves going forward. After reciting the daily number, we pray that G-d should restore the Temple service quickly, in our day. Nusach Sefard adds a mystical prayer at the end, reciting the day’s combination of Sefirot – mystical Divine Attributes – and the hope that this will save us from all spreading evil and spiritual flaws, to purify and sanctify us with G-d’s holiness.
In that context, with Shavuot just days away, a reckoning seems in order. Specifically, two events, one in Israel and one in the US, show high-profile Orthodox religious leaders pushing away, when they should embrace, and embracing, when they should steer clear. Both involve prayer, though in different ways.
In Israel, in a last-minute attempt to buy time before facing the voters, the governing coalition, at the........