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Originally Posted by Strangler Lewis
Some years ago, I received a subscription to a magazine called "Moment." It would have "thoughtful" essays on controversial moral issues. Somehow, the author always managed to conclude that Jewish teaching stated the correct result.
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What's your point? I never claimed that following Jewish teaching equals complete open-mindedness. It simply encourages questions. Of course, the hope is that those questions lead to answers that remain within the faith, but that's left up to the individual. So you're reading someone who agrees with those conclusions. No surprise that they're going to lead you to those conclusions.
But the fact remains that the first step in a Jewish boy's (and, in modern practice girl's) adult life is defined by the moment they read Torah by themself for the first time. That is the act that defines them as an adult and creates a covenant with God. And it always has. I find that a very powerful statement, especially contrasted with the history of Christianity in which only the priveledged were given the opportunity to read the Bible for themselves. It took acts of rebellion for it to be translated into a form readable by the masses. Self-exploration is mandated by Torah.