Here Is Wonder

The other day I attended a meeting of cross-communal Jewish organisations. At the table were people who held a range of beliefs and practices. One of the challenges of such umbrella groups is how they accommodate such a diverse range of deeply-held religious ideologies. The inherent tensions of this debate were highlighted during an impromptu discussion as to whether a key feature of a website should remain active on Shabbat or if they should be turned off for all users during this 25 hour period. Though the thing itself may seem trivial the issues surrounding it do have wide-reaching implications. I believe people on both sides of the debate are driven primarily by this simple question; "How can my religious practices and beliefs be accommodated and respected by other people?" The key words here is other for it refers, not to the general non-Jewish population, but to other self-identifying Jews. This type of other often prompts a very different kind of conversation; partic...