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Post by Admin on Oct 7, 2013 13:03:20 GMT
The famous yet forgotten concept of Austritt, succession. In R' Hirsch's day this meant separation from the dominant Reform community. In Washington Heights the concept was applied to Modern Orthodoxy, even neighboring Yeshiva University. George Frankel, in his essays of TIDE, thinks they went too far in Washington Heights, and failed to join forces with YU which in many key ways was built on TIDE. Your thoughts?
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Post by Israel on Dec 27, 2013 12:54:32 GMT
One might propose that it shouldn't apply to other Orthodox groups, that R' Hirsch intended it against a radical, oppressive Reform. However, you can argue that it applies even more to Orthodox groups that are absorbing too much of the outside world because they put a Jewish stamp on it.
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Post by Israel on Dec 27, 2013 12:58:37 GMT
See tidesociety.blogspot.com/2013/12/austritt-in-21st-century.htmlAustritt in the 21st Century George Frankel writes that some look at TIDE as an emergency measure and Austritt as permanent, while in reality the reverse is true. He wrote as follows: Horoas sho’oh means that the Torah has an ideal that is temporarily put aside because conditions are less than ideal. Now Torah im Derech Eretz is based on an ideal, namely that Japhet should dwell in the tents of Shem. HaShem wants there to be traffic between the world of Torah and the world of art, literature, music and science. Indeed the Torah sees the two worlds ultimately conjoined, as the pinnacle of perfection. Those who say that Torah im Derech Eretz is not applicable today because culture is debased, society is debased, etc., etc., are really only giving excuses why the Torah im Derech Eretz ideal should be deferred. Austritt however is not based on an ideal. There certainly is no ideal that there should be division and strife among Jews. It is only because some Jews have supposedly fallen away from the ideal that we can even begin to countenance a state of Austritt between groups of Jews. If Jewish man were in an ideal state, there would be no occasion for Austritt. If universal man were in an ideal state, there would be no excuse to put off the pursuit of Torah im Derech Eretz any longer. Therefore Torah im Derech Eretz is the ideal, Austritt the expedient. This may be correct for the philosopher as he sits in his arm chair. However, we are not in a philosopher's study. We are in the deepest darkest of exiles, where the philosophical must reconcile with the practical. Rav Breuer argued that TIDE and Austritt go together, two sides of the same coin. I explain R' Breuer as follows: Once you open yourself to the outside world, you become vulnerable to its negative influence. Problematic groups even within Orthodoxy presumably all ready have allowed that negative influence to shape its core. Therefore, you need to avoid the problematic groups even with Orthodoxy because they have led the way in institutionalizing the bad of the outside world. They have given it a Jewish look and make it harder to weed out. Accordingly, even though R' Hirsch's Austritt was focused on a radical and antagonistic reform, Austritt in our times applies against problematic Orthodox groups. We can talk to them, work with them in certain circumstances, certainly daven for them and love them, but have to distance ourselves in many respects. R' Breuer's approach makes sense to me. Take for example the Modern Orthodox world and feminism. It has infiltrated to the core over there and it pushes up against halahka at every turn. It's hard enough to fight feminism as it occurs in the world at large. But when one watches talmidei chachamim embrace it, then who is strong enough to continue to push it away. TIDE and Austritt are two sides of the same coin. You cannot have one without the other. If you are going to engage the secular world in these impossible times, then you have to stay away from the groups that have allowed it to damage the mesorah. Haredim can sooner mix with Modern Orthodoxy than TIDE people can because Haredim in general divorce themselves from secular society. The TIDE person has to be even more stringent with them.
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