ULTIMATE UNITY

In his article “Humility, not arrogance” (March 8), Nathan Lopes Cardozo vilifies the mainstream Orthodox community for its ritualism and insularity, while glorifying the secular Jew for his humaneness. The vast network of mutual aid societies, along with the extensive generosity and hospitality of the Orthodox community, belies these charges.

The Ten Commandments were evenly divided between interpersonal norms and those concerning the relationship between man and his Creator. Yet Moses broke both of the tablets, despite the fact that the Israelites violated only one of them, in order to emphasize the fact that one couldn’t exist without the other.

What secularism has contributed to our way of life may best be summarized by the adoption of a term used in statistics: standard deviation. Namely, that what was until recently deemed a variant is now accepted as standard behavior.

The unique beauty of a Sabbath experience cannot be realized by a trip to the beach, and holy matrimony can be achieved neither by intermarriage nor a samesex wedding ceremony.

The ultimate unity and redemption of the Jewish people will not come by striving to attain the lowest common denominator, but, rather, by aspiring to the highest standards of morality and religious behavior as formulated by the Torah and Halacha.

DR. SAMUEL DERSHOWITZ

Jerusalem