Intolerance in the Name of Community

I was shocked to read law prof Noah Feldman's essay in a recent New York Times Magazine. In this earnest but thought-provoking piece, Feldman details his ostracism from the Orthodox Jewish community in which he was raised. His crime? Marrying a non-Jew ("gentile," in the parlance -- and also in the Mormon parlance, so the word must be a synonym for "other").

Except the ostracism is official rather than personal; his friends and even his rabbi still talk to him, but his alma mater digitally excised him and his then-girlfriend (fellow law prof Jeannie Suk) out of the photo for his 10th high school reunion. And the alumni newsletter refused to publish news of his wedding and the birth of his children in its "Mazel Tov" ("congratulations) section.

Forgive my French, put this is petty-ass shit, it's repulsive, and it has no place in America. If you want to practice ostracism, black-ball somebody; don't talk to them, cut them out of your will, etc. Here it's the exact opposite; everybody is fine with him (he's a decent guy, after all), but the "institution" (an educational one at that) revokes its imprimatur.

Feldman is just trying to be a reasonable guy -- he still practices his faith, albeit not to the same degree of orthodoxy -- and these people at his school are being such pricks to him. Yes, yes, they're trying to preserve the Jewish "community" and if they were to turn a blind eye to inter-marriage then after a few generations no Jews would remain.

Just like what's happened to Catholics, right? Or Americans of Italian or Chinese heritage? You don't see any of those around any more do you, no pride in those cultures whatsoever...

Seriously, I believe in taking strengths from everything and minimizing weaknesses. Those things I don't like about the Jewish (or any other) community I reject completely rather than embracing as part of a "you take the good with the bad" philosophy.

And what's wrong with marrying a non-Jew and teaching your kids Jewish customs? Why does it matter whether your spouse has a certificate (in the merit badge sense) saying some rabbi considers him/her Jewish. Alternatively, why make it so hard to convert? If Judaism had been more evangelical over the years, maybe the paucity of Jews in the world wouldn't be an issue.

I've been an outsider long enough and don't intend to self-segregate myself or my family. People should do things that make sense rather than blindly without questioning. Good traditions are good for a reason, while bad ones should be allowed to die out, or be superceded with newer understandings.

Yes, we're not God, and every generation can't make up new rules for itself, and there are timeless truths -- but nobody helps themselves by hanging on to so many weird rituals that force them to be apart from everyone else (which made sense in the time when that was the only way they could survive but now are anachronistic).

In short, I believe in the Jewish people not for their own sake but because of certain values -- family, celebrating life, education, generosity, bittersweet humor/mentality. Those aren't the only values I hold dear, however, and I will carry no water for illiberals of any stripe.