The Orthoprax Rabbi Takes the J-Blogosphere By Storm

by rabbifink on July 1, 2010 · 6 comments

It only took 2 months. But in the time since I wondered on April 16, 2010  if there were any Orthroprax Rabbis (read: Orthoprax Jews and Orthoprax Christians), an Orthoprax Rabbi has come out of the proverbial closet.

Boy did he set off a firestorm. Hundreds of comments on his blog, another few hundred on the other blogs talking about the Orthoprax Rabbi confirm the provocativeness of the idea of an orthoprax rabbi.

I have a lot to say ABOUT the Orthoprax Rabbi and I also have some things to say TO the Orthoprax Rabbi (IF HE IS REAL AND NOT A HOAX).

Here are some preliminary thoughts:

>Technically, it seems like the Orthoprax Rabbi is not really Orthoprax. He says:

I personally don’t keep much of any of Jewish law.

Well, that kind of disqualifies you from being Orthoprax. The “prax” part of it requires that you keep at least most of Jewish Law. So, while he claims to the the Orthoprax Rabbi, apparantly he is not. He is more like an Orthodox Rabbi in public and non-practicing Jew on the inside.

So, while he calls himself the Orthoprax Rabbi, I am still wondering if there is a genuinely orthoprax rabbi who adheres to the “prax” / halacha but does not adhere to the “dox” / beliefs of Judaism.

>While I can appreciate the desire to expose this person, I find the witch hunt distasteful.

It is especially distasteful in comparison to the lack of witch hunt against pedophiles and molesters in the orthodox community. In fact, not only is there NO witch hunt against those “witches”, some still protect them.

I am not saying that any time people want to try to root out evil from their community they should be stopped because of their failures in other areas. What I am saying is that those who try to expose the Orthoprax Rabbi are really exposing THEMSELVES as people who care more about regulating others beliefs than regulating sex crimes. That is sad and wrong.

>And to the (misnamed) Orthoprax Rabbi I say:

You say:

I don’t believe in any of it. I am an atheist.

Have you considered the following? For some people it is not natural to believe in a God. For some people belief in God is irrational. For some people atheism may be more reasonable than belief in a deity. Yet, there can be value and beauty in a life that does belief in a God.

In other words, while science and academia provide insight into the rationality of belief in God, there are scientifically immeasurable reasons to hold onto your religion. In many respects, Judaism works. But its working really depends on one’s adherence to the mitzva of believing in God. You don’t have to buy into the mysticism, you just need to be willing to suspend your disbelief enough to believe in God. If you can do that, you are not really Orthoprax at all.

I hope you can pull that off. I think if you can do that, your voice will be another valuable voice in the Orthodox ranks.

—————

A non-comprehensive list of blog posts on this subject.

Chaviva – Anonymous Blogging: Woe is Me …

Haemtza – The Orthoprax Rabbi

XGH – Finally! We have a Rabbi!!!!

The Rebbetzin’s Husband – On The Orthoprax Rabbi

Related posts:

  1. The Real Orthoprax Issue
  2. Orthoprax Jews and Orthoprax Christians
  3. Thoughts on Ami Magazine’s Orthoprax Article: The Impostors Among Us

Tagged as: atheism, J-blogs, Judaism, orthoprax, rabbi, witch hunt

  • Adam

    very interesting. Like Rabbi Maryles, my gut instinct is also that this is a hoax.

    If it’s true, then this rabbi would likely be in violation of his contract with his synagogue.

    One of the main tasks of a rabbi of an Orthodox congregation is giving psak halacha. (Jewish legal decisions).

    If he doesn’t “keep much of any Jewish law” – then is he pasul (disqualified) from rendering such decisions.

    If the synagogue thinks that it is paying someone who is qualified to render such decisions, then he is guilty of fraud – or at the very least, breach of contract.

    What say you, Rabbi (and soon to be esq) Fink?

    • http://finkorswim.com rabbifink

      I have no clue what his contract says.

      If it is anything like the Rabbi contract I signed it says nothing about his religious observance.

      He may be “pasul” from rendering psak, but if he is just reporting what it says in SH”A he isn’t really paskening – is he?

  • http://wwwjackbenimble.blogspot.com Jack

    Well said.

  • Prof K

    Religions are generally belief systems in a superior form–in the case of the Jews, God. Therefore, any of those various divisions of Judaism are belief based. Certainly orthodoxy can be said to be constructed this way. So how is it possible to say that one can be orthodox–a label that can only be applied to those who are “true and full” believers of a God-based religion–but not believe in God? Conflict of terms here. “Real” practice of a religion requires, at a minimum, a belief in the underlying system. Otherwise a person is not orthodox, or orthoprax if you must, but is merely aping some outward practices of the orthodox Jews. If I eat fish on Friday and attend mass does that make me Catholic? The catholics would immediately say no. Why are we so reticent to say that whatever the “prax” people are doing, it’s not a Jewish practice, much less an orthodox practice.

  • http://honestlyfrum.blogspot.com Honestly Frum

    I don’t know if this guy is real or not, I have no reason to think he is not. Even if he is not actually a rabbi he does bring some very important issues to light that I am sure many people in our community are struggling with. Perhaps if we would answer more questions when these people were younger and engage them more in questions of theology we would have less of an issue with so many people feeling “stuck” and “orthoprax” at an older age.

    • http://finkorswim.com rabbifink

      Even if he is not actually a rabbi he does bring some very important issues to light that I am sure many people in our community are struggling with. Perhaps if we would answer more questions when these people were younger and engage them more in questions of theology we would have less of an issue with so many people feeling “stuck” and “orthoprax” at an older age.

      That is precisely what I wrote here:

      http://finkorswim.com/2010/03/11/the-real-orthoprax-issue/

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