I long ago came to a personal realization that the term “Modern Orthodox” no longer defines the religious segment that I was brought up in. A world where rabbis of all denominations in a community were warm and visiting colleagues; a world where Jews of all practices were held in equal respect by the rabbi; a world where the emphasis was on the beauty of our religion, not the stringency of its practice.
I believe we need a new term to define those who fit the true center — not the one defined by the haredi masters that so many of our leaders and organizations kowtow to. What was once “Modern Orthodox” is to me neo-haredi, and it’s time to make break and return to the vision that was created for America after the Holocaust.
David Sable, “Outraged At Chief Rabbinate’s Snub Of Rabbi Avi Weiss”, The Jewish Week (1 November 2013), 28.