Original is here
Michael and Gedalya: learn about postmodernism, ya schmucks. Making generalized statements about the One True Facet which comprises Yiddishkeyt is an ignorant (and offensive) move. What's next, debasing feminism/feminist exegesis of Torah? How about blaming assimilation for the Holocaust?
"I am speaking from significant personal experience," as someone who wrote a thesis on Saul Bellow, Bashevis and Cynthia Ozick. Do these names even ring any bells for you, whose noses are stuck in Chumash all day? Open yourselves to the multiple types of Jews who inhabit your (not narrow!) world; Jews who certainly know what being Jewish means, and especially with regards to living in modern society.
This is what JTS is about, and I welcome criticism of the institution, just not ignorance that champions Orthodoxy as The Only Path--you sound like a goy. Please familiarize yourselves with Rabbi Marc Angel. Then come back. There's a story in the Talmud which recounts Rabbi Meir chasing after Aher on the Sabbath to learn Torah, yet the latter is riding a horse, thereby violating the seventh day. There are things to from those we don't deem completely pious or knowledgable about halakha--but to call these people (i.e. me, the Masorti, and Ben Abuyah) completely ignorant of living a Jewish life is a grave disservice to the totality of Judaism and the various types of Jews who inhabit the planet. I do not have to attend a Yeshivah to learn about Judaism/how to be a Jew.
To say something like "Only when you go through the rigorous training in Jewish law and Torah then and only then do you even have a right to discuss what you think is wrong." Just...wow. This is why Jews today lose their religion or identity: because people like you do not preach acceptance or understanding, even within your own religion, and believe that your way is the Only Way. Learn some humility, or I wouldn't be so vitriolic to begin with. Simply: how can I respect Orthodoxy (which I do, see my reference to Rabbi Angel) when it doesn't respect me and my lifestyle decisions? I don't want to argue further about that.
To return to the issue at hand: the Jews who attend JTS deserve nothing less than praise. These young men and women should not be faulted for not having, some would say, an ample religious background; it is Jewish society's fault, then, that young Jews are not being raised in this way (not my stance, just pointing out you orthos' hypocrisy). Was Moses himself not raised as an Egyptian, living the good (heretical pagan) life, yet he returned to the fold and became the greatest mensch of all time? Jews are entering JTS, and therefore re-entering Jewish life, to learn what has been torn from them due whatever circumstances beyond their control. Oh, and for the record, I'll say it here: Halakhah is not adequate for meeting the demands of modern Jewish life. Kashruth does not ensure the safety of animals, for one example. For another, nothing excuses the abuse women face at the Kotel at the hands of the Haredi. If Halakhah is what makes one a Jew...well, it is simply not good enough.
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