Has "Open Orthodoxy" Crossed the Line Outside of Orthodoxy?

Rabbi Arie Folger:

«Seventeen years ago, Rabbi Avi Weiss prepared the grounds for the emergence of Open Orthodoxy, with a program for supplementary education for rabbinical students at Yeshiva University called Meorot. In 1997, he expanded the ground work with a program for women called Torat Miriam, and that same year he published his manifesto, entitled Open Orthodoxy! A Modern Orthodox Rabbi's Creed.
[ http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Open+orthodoxy!+A+modern+Orthodox+rabbi%27s+creed.-a020583577
or
http://www.yctorah.org/component/option,com_docman/task,doc_view/gid,143/.]


In that article, he laid out a vision for his enthusiastic religious vision full of compassion and devotion to traditional Judaism. Back then, no one imagined how, or even whether Open Orthodoxy would develop. In fact, some of Rabbi Weiss' statements were positively reassuring:

"As a modern orthodox rabbi, I profess an unequivocal commitment to the truth, validity and eternal applicability of the Halakhic system. … I believe in Torah mi-Sinai, the law given by God at Sinai, to which the Jewish people committed itself…. Human thinking tends to be relative. What is unethical to one person is ethical to another. If, however, the law at its foundation comes from God, it becomes inviolate. No human being can declare it null and void. … all those who hold to Orthodoxy contend that "new Halakha," which emerges constantly from the wellspring of the halakhic process, must always be based on the highest caliber of religio-legal authority. There must be an exceptional halakhic personality who affirms the new ruling on the grounds of sound halakhic reasoning."

The above statements convey important shared notions were meant to insure that his Open Orthodox vision resting on the six pillars of openness always remain within the boundaries of classical Orthodoxy....»

It's Not a Witch Hunt, But the Expression of Genuine Concerns | The 5 Towns Jewish Times
http://5tjt.com/its-not-a-witch-hunt-but-the-expression-of-genuine-concerns/


Kol Tuv,
RRW