tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1097749014220347853.post8343594234221897270..comments2024-01-30T12:26:03.019-05:00Comments on The Blog of Garnel Ironheart: Encouraging ObservanceMighty Garnel Ironhearthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09571194550300367249noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1097749014220347853.post-45653112097453271292014-12-11T16:31:50.598-05:002014-12-11T16:31:50.598-05:00the idea of Israel legislating any sort of halachi...the idea of Israel legislating any sort of halachic compliance is a very scary one. Find ten frum jews who honestly agree about all what is, and what is not essential to a frum lifestyle.<br />(beyond shmiras Shabbos & kashers)<br /><br />The only people who think living in a theocracy is wonderful are, by definition, people of other religions---who we mostly dismiss as lunatics or at best severely misguided (i.e. Islamists)---and frum Jews who have never lived in a Jewish theocracy, but insist that they "yearn for" something they've never actually had.<br /><br />Of course, we're all supposed to look forward to such a day---but people who act as if they miss something they really cannot fathom are being silly.<br /><br />No one, especially, who grew up free & unrestricted in America, can know what it would feel like to live under a king's (even Shlomo haMelech!) command, or subject to some Grand Rabbi's approval of your level of observance.jrsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1097749014220347853.post-40802204502609638262014-12-09T13:09:29.526-05:002014-12-09T13:09:29.526-05:00The civil rights issue was pushed through due to a...The civil rights issue was pushed through due to a pressing need to correct obvious dysfunction in society. Look at the race riots of the 1960's, for example. Something had to change or everything would fall apart.<br />Unfortunately people don't see Shabbos observance and kashrus with the same urgency in Israel. People have to feel that those things are missing from their lives before they'll consider adopting them.Garnel Ironhearthttp://garnelironheart.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1097749014220347853.post-14883634961176847652014-12-09T10:48:36.212-05:002014-12-09T10:48:36.212-05:00Some people resist mitzvot to the degree that they...Some people resist mitzvot to the degree that they think these are compulsory. But if these were voluntary, would they be mitzvot?RAMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1097749014220347853.post-33891951141616669342014-12-09T09:49:07.567-05:002014-12-09T09:49:07.567-05:00Daniel Gordis in one of his books (I'm paraphr...Daniel Gordis in one of his books (I'm paraphrasing) makes the point that religious observance will increase only through persuasion, not through legislation. <br /><br />(I'm not sure he's right. In the US, civil rights was advanced in large measure through legislation first, and only then did social mores begin to change. Is the push back in Israel a sign of a stubborn condition not likely to change, or is it just a bump in the road that will pass in short time? That's the key question.)Chaim B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02231811394447584320noreply@blogger.com