Rabbi Wallace Greene’s article, “The Debate About Secular Studies,” (August 1, 2024) left me in amazement as to how someone could reach a noble position while still so thoroughly missing the point. Rabbi Wallace Greene wrote a reluctant defense of secular education, writing it as a necessary evil, rather than what it is, foundational to two-thirds of the words in “Modern Orthodox Jew.”
Modern Orthodoxy is not a pragmatic doctrine, but an ideological one. It recognizes that technology, science, politics and philosophy are not dangerous influences, but a path to personal freedom, societal progress and tikkun olam. It simultaneously recognizes that tradition and faith serve as moral anchors, allow us to learn from history and build our communities. It is why Modern Orthodoxy has built such strong communities.
Subjects like philosophy and literature are not temptations that pull Jews into being “immersed in Western Culture,” as Rabbi Greene claimed. Rather, they open doors to wrestle with faith in ways the Torah does not. Judaism is the religion of questioning, where the response to every question is another question. So how can modern science, a discipline established on creating hypotheses, be dangerous to Jewish culture? Koreans learn the Talmud because it helps advance logical and critical thinking skills that apply to secular studies. This is true in reverse. To be good Jewish thinkers and talmudic intellectuals, we must become secular scholars as well.
To claim Judaism and modernity are incompatible is to reject the most brilliant advancements of Jews. Should the people of Einstein reject modern science? Should the descendants of Maimonides spurn philosophy? Should Sigmund Freud’s relatives never study psychology? Can Kafka’s coreligionists condemn literature? The list of Jews who have contributed to modern secular thought could fill this paper.
Many prominent 20th century rabbis also studied secular subjects in secular universities. Rabbi Sacks studied philosophy at Cambridge and Oxford, while Rabbi Soleveichik studied it at the University of Berlin. Would it be better if they had been trapped in a beit midrash their whole lives? If we want to join these fellow Jews in tikkun olam, we should embrace modernity and progress as a way of life.
Rabbi Greene’s view of secular education as a necessary evil misses the point that these studies enrich and elevate our understanding of Judaism and the world. Jewish history is full of thinkers who have successfully integrated religious tradition with secular knowledge, making significant contributions to society. By engaging with secular studies, we balance tradition and progress, faith and reason. Far from abandoning our heritage, this approach allows us to be true Modern Orthodox Jews, using modernity to strengthen our faith and communities.
