| Chapter 1: | Introduction |
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Yellin (2001) noted that a major distinction in Orthodoxy has been in regard to questions of participating in the world at large as advocated by Modern-Orthodox Jews and preferences by the ultra-Orthodox to “insulate themselves away…and withdraw from society” (pp. 1, 3). Rabbi Shmuel Goldin of Congregation Ahavath Torah in Englewood, NJ, believed that “traditional Judaism always preached living in the world and not shying away from it. In the Bible,” he notes, “Abraham called himself a citizen of the world” (Yellin, p. 1). On the other hand, Avi Shafran of Agudath Israel of America, an ultra-Orthodox national group, warned, “Modern Orthodox Jews need to ‘proceed with caution,’” because “our society presents terrible challenges to a religious Jewish person” (Yellin, p. 2). He cautioned further that “to discount the dangers presented by the mores of our society, which unfortunately infiltrate the universities and schools of higher learning[,] would be foolish” (Yellin, p. 2).
In Israel, the differences between the Modern-Orthodox and the ultra-Orthodox are similar to that in the United States, with some variations. “The Modern-Orthodox vote in elections, go to the Army, and take part in everything that happens in Israel,” observed Drori Yehoshua, who is the principal at Hartman Junior High School in Jerusalem (personal communication, July 10, 2001). Military service is required for all Jewish men and women except the ultra-Orthodox.