An Orthodox Jewish day school, joined a local sports organization that played games on Shabbat, though the school itself never violated the Sabbath. Should they never have joined in the first place? In other words, as Jews, do we have an obligation to distance ourselves from situations if we know there may be a conflict with our religious principles?
The only time a Jew should avoid a situation is if it involves life and death. As we see in this case, when a Jew stands up for what they believe and are even willing to go to court to defend those ideals, accomodations are made. IN doing so, this school made a kiddush Hashem - sanctified Hashem's name, one of the greatest accomplishments a person can do. There is no reason to deny the same rights of existance to the students of that school. People recount with great pride that Sandy Koufax did not pitch in the world series on Rosh Hashana. Should Koufax never been a major league pitcher?
By addressing the needs of adherance to Jewish principles we make the world aware of the beauty that is Judaism.
A great deal of our tradition is based on the assumption that we will be in situations which could conflict with our religious principals.
Check out Avodah Zarah, 3:4. Rabban Gamaliel is bathing in a bath house where a statue of Aphrodite was present. A son of a philosopher asks Rabban Gamliel if he was violating Jewish law.
Gamliel replied,
"àéï àåîøéí ðòùä îøçõ ìàôøåãéèé ðåé, àìà àåîøéí ðàùä àôøåãéèé ðåé ìîøçõ" They do not say, Let us make a bath as an adornment for Aphrodite, but rather, let us make an Aphrodite as an adornment for the bath
We have always lived in relationship to a world with different religious principles than our own. We as Jews have obligations to our Jewish law, but our Jewish law does not ask that we distance ourselves from every situation that may conflict with our Jewish values. Rabban Gamliel did not forbid himself from the bath simply because someone put an Aphrodite statue there. He knew his true values and was not afraid of a potential violation in this case.
In the same way, it is my understanding that Beren Academy was willing to forfeit the game if there a choice had to be made. They prioritized Judaism over basketball, even if it meant sacrifice. We only heard about this everyday sacrifice because of the extraordinary circumstances that allowed the team to pursue their athletic and religious success. Yet, if the fine boys of Beren Academy were forced to choose, their choice - though difficult, was clear.
As long as each Jew knows how to stand by our religious principals, there is no need to distance ourselves from the world. There will always be situations that conflict, but if we know who we are, we are able to learn and enjoy much from the non-Jewish world.
I believe that your question is a broader one than you imagine. It appears that your area of inquiry includes the general issue of whether and how Jews, as a religious minority, should or should not fit into the general society.
If we examine – in isolation – the Beren Academy situation, we find that the school and its families entered into a relationship with the local athletic authority with all eyes and attitudes open. The school was willing to play on Shabbat as long as their participation did not directly violate the rules of Shabbat, and the ruling authority was willing to go along with them. The situation was made complex by the fact that the team made the playoffs, and that there was travel involved. In the end, the authority relented to move the semi-final game (and the team won!), the team played their next playoff game after sundown on Saturday (yes, a compromise that was achieved after some discussion and angst - and they lost), and everyone seemed to be all right with the compromise that was eventually reached.
But perhaps you were concerned not with the behavior of the team or the school, or its religious choices, as much as you were with the ruckus that was raised in the public sphere. This is an issue that each Jew must face on his/her own, meaning that what’s right for one situation or city may not be right for another.
I infer from your question that you feel this was not a good idea in the first place, or that you may not be open to the possibility of their being able to maintain the boundaries between Shabbat kodesh (the holiness of Shabbat) and chol (ordinary, profane activities of the world). Again, I think that this is a situation that each Jew must decide to undertake. No one should make religious choices for us unless we cede those choices to others. Obviously this happens in the Orthodox community, and that is the choice of those who live in those communities. But each Jew has the sanction to make those choices for him/her self, and to accept the consequences with all eyes open. Such is our right and joy.
The broader question, now, comes to mind. As Jews, we live with many different attitudes and practices than the general society. And we can elect to live separate and apart, or together, with non-Jews. Some in this country have created Jewish enclaves that have essentially taken over municipal services, and formed out of whole cloth Jewish communities. Others have chosen to live in unofficial “shtetels” that are defined only by population density. Still others have decided that they can live among non-Jews quite comfortably, performing mitzvot, observing as they need or want, and easily identifying as Jews even when, to others, it should not be this way.
In the opinion of this Rabbi, the choice of living apart from society is not a healthy or realistic one, and it adds to the feelings of mystery and suspicion, and perhaps mistrust, that have existed between Jews and non-Jews for centuries. I have found that, in general, when one tries to educate non-Jews in a positive way; when one tries to be a good neighbor regardless of the situation; non-Jews are very understanding – in the main – about religious differences. I think that living with distance between us is exactly that – distance that does not need to exist. I think that God placed us here for a reason, and that is to bring perfection to a world so in need of it.
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