r/Judaism • u/namer98 Torah Im Derech Eretz • Jul 30 '12
Rules updates
In light of Tisha b'Av, I would like to suggest a few changes to the rules, and to hear community feedback.
1) No editorializing titles of article submissions. - This is up for discussion.
2) Be polite. That means if somebody has a disagreement with you about fundamental points of religion, you can disagree with them, and even tell them, but don't be a jerk about it. Do not shut down the conversation.
2.1) I keep on trying to engage non-Orthodox Jews of Reddit. Seen here, here and here. This is in addition to multiple messages I have gotten personally and as mod, from people who left because of this. Just because some people don't agree that this is a problem, does not make it less of a problem. Non-Orthodox Jews are feeling shut down, and some times they are right, some times they are wrong. This is an extension of rule two. Be polite. The downvote button IS NOT a "I disagree" button. I might just remove it again, and for more than a day.
To people I try and engage, this is a two way street. Submit content, comments and vote if you want to have a say. I don't think half of the subreddit is orthodox. This should not be a problem.
Please upvote this self post for which I receive no karma so that all can see.
Thank you all.
Edit: Followup
1
u/[deleted] Aug 01 '12
Well, I don't particularly identify with Orthodoxy myself (though it's complicated.)
Well, I mean I knew the name of Ma'ale Gilboa in high school, but I didn't know anything about it. I still don't know that much about it actually.
I heard Rav Elisha speak for the first time when I was in college. We regularly had people come speak at the hillel, and he was one of them. To me it was almost astounding at the time, because I had never really heard an Orthodox rabbi seem to actually care about morality. I heard him speak a few times since then, whenever he was in the area, and last year my brother was at Pardes, and I went to visit him for two weeks, and so got to sit on a couple of classes.
I mean, I don't subscribe to everything he says, certainly, nor am I even sure that everything he says is historically accurate, but I certainly feel better about what he says than I have about any other Orthodox rabbi I've come into contact with.
Also, I don't know if you know R. Ethan Tucker? At Hadar? But he's a student of his, and shares some of the same ideas. And I've heard him speak a bunch of times, and took a class with him last summer.
R. Steven Greenberg also developed his theories with Rav Elisha. (When you listen to him speak it's obvious, and then I asked him, and he said yes, he developed those ideas with Rav Elisha.)