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| Mutual respect |
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THE ultra-Orthodox community and the secular community need not just tolerate each other but should have respect for each other.
Israel, as a Jewish state, needs all Jews - irrespective of their level of Torah commitment. And no Jew should judge a another Jew - we don't have that right, only God does. The ultra-Orthodox, or some of them, may think they are better Jews because they are more observant. But thousands of secular Israelis have made the ultimate sacrifice by shedding their blood for the sake of their Jewish beliefs, heritage and homeland. Many years ago, an Orthodox rabbi told me that a shul is made up of three types of Jews: 1) Those that pray 2) Those that pay 3) Those that pray and pay. Maybe this could be applied to the State of Israel so that there is harmony and acceptance of differences instead of anger. Israel has more than enough problems worldwide without more problems from within. Maybe if all sides could live and work together for the sake of the Jewish homeland, society might be a little more just and fair. Nearly every yomtov, I read that a Jew can believe in God either out of love or out of fear. Neither is supposed to be a better way. Therefore, the most important criteria for being a Jew, I think, is belief, trust and faith in the Almighty, which I think most Israelis have.
Jeffrey Garman,
E-MAIL: letters@jewishtelegraph.com |