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| Colorado baker Jack Phillips who refused to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple |
The answer is no. The question in the title was raised
by Batya Ungar-Sargon in a Forward opinion piece about whether Orthodox Jews are abandoning the separation of
Church and state. That bedrock principle embedded in the constitution’s
first amendment is very important to us. Here it is in full:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
No one appreciates this more than religious people
do. Including most Orthodox Jews. There was a time not that long ago where despite
this lofty principle, Jews experienced serious discrimination in this country. Among other things, Jews were subject to unfair quotas in top universities; barred from top
executive positions in major industries; some hotels had signs saying Jews not allowed; country clubs had covenants preventing Jews from
joining; and Jews were systematically fired from their jobs if they refused to
work on Shabbos.
These and many similar restrictions aimed at our
people are all now considered violations
of our religious rights and are hardly an issue anymore.
This constitutional right has benefited us and we
are very fortunate to be living in a country where religious tolerance is its
credo.
In recent years, religious tolerance has taken a
back seat to civil rights. Not that civil rights aren’t important. Of course
they are. There should never be any discrimination against any particular group.
That too is part of the American credo. But recently these two
values have come into conflict.
One such case happened a few years ago in Colorado
when a Christian baker refused to bake a wedding cake with words congratulating a homosexual couple upon their marraige. He said it violated his faith and therefore his
first amendment rights to facilitate a gay marriage in any way. He was taken to court by that homosexual couple
and the court ruled that his refusal to accommodate them was an unlawful violation of their civil rights. The Supreme
Court now has the case before it this very day. We shall see what they say.
How do Orthodox Jews see it? Is a Jewish baker
allowed to bake a wedding cake like that for a homosexual couple? Does our view that a
gay union is against Halacha mean that we can’t even bake them a wedding cake for them? I’m not sure it does violate Halacha – for reasons that are beyond the
scope of this post. But either way I would be willing to fight for this Christian man’s constitutional religious rights.
For me, this is about more than a cake or whether
it affects me as an Orthodox Jew personally. It is about protecting the constitutional
right to the free exercise of religion. This is the opposite of what Ms. Ungar-Sargon
suggests – that Orthodox Jews are abandoning the first amendment and siding
with the Evangelical desire to make this country more Christian. It supports the first amendment.
There are 2 parts to it and they are equally important.
Ms. Ungar-Sargon bases her perception of us on the
fact that we seem to have more in common with Evangelical Christians than we do
with mainstream liberal Jews that make up 90%of the Jewish population. She
is right. This is an unfortunate fact. It is also a fact (sad though it is) that
this very same 90% is in the process of self destructing as Jews via intermarriage
and assimilation. To the extent that they have any religious values at all,
they are hardly based on any real understanding of the Bible. These are
cultural Jews whose grandchildren may very well not even be Jewish.
Why do we have more in common with Evangelical Christians?
It is because they have more knowledge about what the bible says than the vast
majority of non Orthodox liberal Jews do. Why that is the case is also beyond
the scope of this post. But it is really hard to dispute that fact.
And yes, it’s true. I hate to admit it but most
Orthodox Jews (54%) voted for the President, despite his very irreligious behavior
– as evidenced in his recorded conversation with Billy Bush, former host of the
syndicated TV show ‘Access Hollywood’. Most
Orthodox Jews as well as Evangelical Christians knew about this and voted for Trump anyway.
How could religious people vote for such a
reprobate? It was a protest vote against an establishment which they saw
abandoning the moral principles and values upon which this country was founded.
They saw for example a Supreme Court validating gay marriage and wanted to change
that tide. They would have voted for the devil had he been the one running against the
establishment!
One might ask, isn’t the very idea of a country founded
on religious principles anathema to the religious tolerance embedded in the
constitution? No. Values can be attained through many sources including religious
ones. As long as there is no religion established; and long as people are free
to practice their religion faith as they wish there is nothing wrong with
looking to a book whose values haves guided the civilizations of 2 major faiths
for thousands of years. That does not infringe on anyone’s rights.
