Rabbi Glasman at Chabad of Melbourne CBD
Rabbi Yakov Glasman has spoken at the Chabad of Melbourne CBD on “Orthodox, Reform and Conservative: Why Can’t They All Just Get Along?”
The main point of his talk underlined that Judaism is not open to interpretation to everyone and anyone, rather the Torah was given to us by G-d.
Whilst Moses was on Mount Sinai he received the five books of Moses, together with the entire oral tradition. Halacha -Jewish law in Hebrew- means, to go (halicha) because Jewish law does progress but only with accordance to the guidelines and principles given at Sinai. Every law which was to be taught by a diligent Torah Scholar in future generations wasalready given to Moses at Sinai.
The difference between Orthodox and Reform can be summarized as follows; Orthodox looks within whilst reform looks without. In other words every law instituted by the Rabbis of old was based on the Torah and the Oral tradition as it’s guide. Any Rabbinical decree which was made was looking at the needs of the Jewish people at that specific time to strengthen their connection to the Torah. Reform however from it’s inception has always looked outside to the gentile world as it’s role model, and tried to find ways to adapt the Jewish people to the whims of the time, their motives being to fit in more with the modern world and not to look so archaic and back words to the outsider. No legitimate basis in the Torah and it’s oral law was necessary for them to make radical changes to Jewish law. This view goes contrary to our belief that the Torah is from Sinai.
That is why an Orthodox Rabbi cannot agree to disagree with a Reform Rabbi.
The lecture proved to be of great interest drawing in a large crowd.
