Both Orthodox and Reform Judaism emerged in 19th-century Germany, after the ghetto walls had been torn down, and as governments gradually removed restrictions on Jewish life, while Jews themselves began speaking German and adopting elements of German culture. In Defenders of the Faith: Studies in Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Orthodoxy and Reform, Judith Bleich examines the religious ferment of the time, and its continuation into the 20th century. Gil Student writes in his review:

In a surprising insight, . . . Bleich points out that Orthodoxy and Reform were not polar opposites. . . . As Jews’ secular lives became modernized and cultured, their religious and personal lives could not lag behind. For some, this meant changing Judaism to match the times, making religious services fit contemporary tastes and discarding beliefs and practices that conflict with conventional wisdom. This attitude, which in retrospect seems inevitable, scandalized traditionalist scholars and laymen who struggled to retain the old standards. Rather than capitulate, traditionalists chose to fight back against the secularization and Christianization of Jewish beliefs and practices.

Today, when we face enormous societal pressure to adopt secular and progressive values, we would do well to learn the lessons of the great scholars and leaders who sustained Orthodoxy . . . in the modern era. For this, Bleich’s work is essential.

In a magnificent feat of scholarship, Bleich provides a comprehensive and deeply insightful study of the halakhic approach of Rabbi Yeḥiel Yaakov Weinberg, a Lithuanian-trained talmudic genius who mastered university academic methods and bridged the two worlds of traditional and modern Judaism in Berlin.

In particular, Bleich notes Weinberg’s devotion to tradition and to the social unity of the Torah world. He explicitly rejected lenient rulings that would split the observant world. And rather than take his cues from secular ethics, “in the halakhah and the aggadah [the nonlegal portions of the Talmud], Weinberg sees a comprehensive self-contained system of ethics.” Weinberg understood the secular views and ethics of his time, and responded by clinging to the Torah and its traditions.

For some time, opponents of U.S support for Israel have been urging the White House to end the war in Gaza, or simply calling for a ceasefire. Douglas Feith and Lewis Libby consider what such a result would actually entail:

Ending the war immediately would allow Hamas to survive and retain military and governing power. Leaving it in the area containing the Sinai-Gaza smuggling routes would ensure that Hamas can rearm. This is why Hamas leaders now plead for a ceasefire. A ceasefire will provide some relief for Gazans today, but a prolonged ceasefire will preserve Hamas’s bloody oppression of Gaza and make future wars with Israel inevitable.

For most Gazans, even when there is no hot war, Hamas’s dictatorship is a nightmarish tyranny. Hamas rule features the torture and murder of regime opponents, official corruption, extremist indoctrination of children, and misery for the population in general. Hamas diverts foreign aid and other resources from proper uses; instead of improving life for the mass of the people, it uses the funds to fight against Palestinians and Israelis.

Moreover, a Hamas-affiliated website warned Gazans last month against cooperating with Israel in securing and delivering the truckloads of aid flowing into the Strip. It promised to deal with those who do with “an iron fist.” In other words, if Hamas remains in power, it will begin torturing, imprisoning, or murdering those it deems collaborators the moment the war ends. Thereafter, Hamas will begin planning its next attack on Israel:

Hamas’s goals are to overshadow the Palestinian Authority, win control of the West Bank, and establish Hamas leadership over the Palestinian revolution. Hamas’s ultimate aim is to spark a regional war to obliterate Israel and, as Hamas leaders steadfastly maintain, fulfill a Quranic vision of killing all Jews.

Hamas planned for corpses of Palestinian babies and mothers to serve as the mainspring of its October 7 war plan. Hamas calculated it could survive a war against a superior Israeli force and energize enemies of Israel around the world. The key to both aims was arranging for grievous Palestinian civilian losses. . . . That element of Hamas’s war plan is working impressively.