Abridged Torah

In “Denial of access to Torah scrolls for egalitarian worship in Israel” (Comment & Features, May 28), Benjamin Mann complains that groups of Conservative students were denied the use of Torah scrolls by the Orthodox establishment.

Since the groups in question do not accept many of the commandments in these scrolls, I suggest that they issue an abridged version containing the parts acceptable to them, and carry this version with them. They have already issued prayer books that conform to their beliefs, so an abridged Torah scroll would be suitable. ZVI FINK Modi’in

In response to the op-ed penned by Benjamin Mann, head of the Solomon Schechter school in Manhattan, I would like to share with your readers the definition of the word “perversion,” as it appears in the online dictionary I found when I googled the word: “the alteration of something from its original course, meaning or state to a distortion or corruption of what was first intended.”

Egalitarian prayer as proffered by non-Orthodox streams of Judaism is a perversion of the way Jews have been praying from time immemorial. Just because the non-Orthodox decided to pray in this fashion over the past 150 years does not grant the practice authenticity.

If those streams want to instill in their students Jewish identity, they should try instilling in them authentic Judaism, not some watered-down version cooked up to make us look more Christian than Jewish. Have respect for your great-grandparents. If they prayed at all, they prayed in a gender-segregated environment because they were loyal to Jewish tradition.

If Israel is to survive as a Jewish state, it must adhere to some level of Jewish tradition. Freedom of religion means you have the choice to practice any religion you want to; it does not give you the freedom to steal the name Judaism from authentic Torah Judaism, which has weathered many storms and will weather this one, too. NACHUM CHERNOFSKY

Bnei Brak The writer describes himself as “non-haredi” despite his place of residence.