1. BobW said:

If Daniel Pipes was an orthodox rabbi, I'd probably agree 100% with his last paragraph. It did not miss this IsraePundit commentator that there was an absence of comments on the recently posted Rabbi Lapin article re Barbra Streisand (sp?).

Streisand converted from Judaism. This was her election. I believe Pipes is correct that ortthodox Judaism will return to the apex. I certainly do not win awards from the Council of Torah Sages. I am not orthodox; just a teshuva.

I'm guessing that Jews will soon constitute about 1 million in Israel and 1 million in the diaspora. The rest will be decendents of converts.

The "greater influence in the community at large" alludes to a non-existent community at large. It will be orthodox only.

Wasn't Senator Lieberman excommunicated by a small Beth Din with a name sounding like OU's ? Regardless of his status, he is finished regarding national politics. As a VP cnadidate with Al Gore, Lieberman stated that abortion is considered a personal matter in Judaism. The American South is good at R&D and challenged him on this. He made some political statements on intermarriage and sex intergration in the military. His political positions are legitimate. He argued his positions were in consonance with orthodox Judaism. Since he avoided Vietnam service, the "South" doesn't like him showing up.

But the Levites did not act quickly. II Chronicles 24:5

Kol tuv,
BobW