Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Those of you who remember the brouhaha over Maharat/Rabba Sara Hurwitz may be surprised to see Gil Student's latest post. When Avi Weiss made Hurwitz something like a Lieutenant Rabbi in his shul, Gil was among those leading the screams of protest over what amounted to one organization's private human resources decision. Though Maharat Sara was not given any new religious powers nor authorized to break any longstanding religious rules Gil still objected.

Contrast that with his cool discussion today of Der Tzeiting's decision to Photoshop Hillary Clinton out of history. Though he starts off by saying that the newspapers decision was "objectionable" I find it noteworthy that Gil seems finally ready to concede that a community is entitled to live according to its own standards. If all of us are expected to nod tolerantly when Der Tzeitung acts towards women in a way we find offensive, why can't Gil extend the same courtesy to the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale? Or, more to the point, if he can find the energy to give a calm explanation of Der Tzeitung's "objectionable" behavior why couldn't he perform the same favor for Rabbi Weiss?  Gil's a smart man. He understands Rabbi Wiess's perspective, and knows what he's is trying to do. So why

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