I don’t know how many people noticed the story that JTA carried on December 18 (and that was subsequently picked up numerous outlets), Judaism’s Conservative movement apologizes for decades of discouraging intermarriage.
I’ll confess to having been stunned by the story. Not that the Conservative movement embracing intermarriage would be a surprise—some leading Conservative rabbis having been push in that direction for quite some time, and with the numbers of Conservative congregations and members both tanking precipitously, the movement is in a tough spot.
What surprised me was the apology.
“We acknowledge that our movement’s historical stance has resulted in hurt, alienation, and disconnection from our community. We deeply apologize,” the report said.
This was not a “we’re going to try a different approach because we now read Jewish law differently,” or “we’re going to change our policies because the changing times mandate a shift in our stance.” This was an apology for having tried to … to do what? I would argue that the policy against intermarriage has been a central pillar of maintaining Judaism’s tribal nature.
We’re a tribe. We might be comfortable with that idea, or we might not. But before a religion or a culture or a civilization or a state—we’re a tribe.
Defending that dimension of Jewish life has becoming increasingly difficult in a world in which young people, Jews definitely among them, find tribal sentiments either foreign, or outright objectionable. That’s why I reached out to Professor Moshe Koppel, whose book, Judaism Straight Up: Why Real Religion Endures, is an elegant and compelling—and very approachable—discussion of this topic.
Particularly after October 7 and all that’s transpired both in Israel and in the Diaspora, hearing from this American who is now Israeli and thus understands both communities seemed particularly important.
Koppel’s book has been out a few years. I enjoyed it very much when it first appeared, and then re-read it as “tribalness” has recently become so contentious. I asked him to join us to discuss the ideas that are central to his book.
Our listeners may recall that Professor Koppel has been on the podcast before. One of the leading public intellectuals arguing for judicial reform, he joined us to discuss that issue twice.
The first was here:
while the second part of that conversation was here:
Professor Koppel also came on the podcast to speak about Israel’s very controversial nation-state law, and why he endorsed it:
A powerful and engaging intellect, Moshe Koppel never shies away from the tough questions. In today’s conversation, we leave law and politics aside, and speak about his take on what Judaism is going to have to look like, if it is to survive.
Prof. Moshe Koppel serves as chairman of Kohelet Policy Forum.
He received his PhD in mathematics from Courant Institute and did post-doctoral work in the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. Koppel’s main areas of research in computer science include machine learning and social choice theory. His work on authorship attribution is widely put to use in commercial, legal and security applications.
Koppel made aliyah in 1980.
Koppel has also published two books and many articles on Rabbinic literature, with special emphasis on logic and probability. He co-founded and co-edited the journal Higayon, devoted to these topics.
Koppel’s political activity includes co-drafting two proposed constitutions for Israel, one in collaboration with Michael Eitan, then Chairman of the Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee. Several law proposals drafted by Prof. Koppel have been passed into law by the Knesset.
For our paid subscribers
The link at the top of this posting will take free subscribers to an excerpted portion of today’s conversation.
For paid subscribers, the link at the top will take you to the full conversation; below, paid subscribers will also find a transcript for those who prefer to read, as always.
