I don't know about Conservative, Reform, or other kinds of Jews, but those of us of the Orthodox persuasion talk a lot about achdus. Achdus means unity. We don't do nearly enough about achdus. We don't try nearly hard enough to be inclusive, to open dialogues with Jews who don't do things exactly like we do.
When you think about it, who does do things exactly like we do, any one of us? Yet we can't let our own children do things differently (as if we have this choice), can't give them a blessing when they choose to disregard a traditions. Disregard is a soft word. Usually we say, he's strayed, eschews the religion, is off the derech. Encouraging differentiation isn't a strong suit for those of us who call ourselves Orthodox, or observant. We're nuts about conformity, emphasis upon nuts.
People have free choice, and choosing to be yashar should have meaning. Not everyone can fake it.
Facing a war in Gaza, one that is perhaps in full swing even as I write this, a war that seems to never have had a beginning, may have no end, our people are united. It is the one time that Jews really do unite. In Chicago, Atlanta, and other cities (I only follow where I fly) everyone who rallied downtown yesterday couldn't have cared less about what type of Jew held the sign.
We were united, we are united. It shouldn't take a war to make us feel this way.
Flying Strong
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