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c h a p t e r 7 “Just Not Reform” The Outer Boundaries of Orthodoxy  in the summer of 2007, the Darchei Noam community began a process of writing a vision and mission statement. Over the course of several months, the community conducted a series of brainstorming and writing meetings , at the end of which approximately forty-five people created a “vision document ” outlining the general philosophy of the community.1 Five value pillars were outlined: community, halakha, equality, education/family/youth, and tikkun olam (literally, “repairing the world”), or social justice. Each of these values was given an elaborate definition, which was further fleshed out by five different subgroups. People freely signed up for the subgroups, and the larger group created a two-sentence overarching vision: Kehillat Darchei Noam is a halakhic-egalitarian community built on the values of community, family and tikkun olam. The central aspiration of the community is to enable maximum communal and religious participation of all community members both in and out of the prayer service, and to actively ensure that all who want to be part of the community will be welcomed and will find a house of prayer that is also a home. The most controversial aspect of this statement, indeed the entire process, was actually not the word “equality” but the word “halakhic.” During the first meeting, the group working on the “halakhic/religious/Orthodox” topic was bursting at the seams, whereas the groups working on tikkun olam and equality were nearly empty. The “halakhic” subcommittee was not only the hot spot, but was also the most contentious group. At issue was the word “Orthodox.” Some argued vehemently that the community must unequivocally call itself Orthodox . “If we do not call ourselves Orthodox,” Limor opined, “many people will simply leave.” Others disagreed. “We don’t have to give ourselves any particular designation,” Monica countered. “Why do we need to call ourselves anything?” Limor told me that she was eventually convinced that “Orthodox” does not 158 t h e m e n ’ s s e c t i o n hold as much significance as she originally thought. Despite the extensive process , and the attempts to be somewhat inclusive, it quickly became apparent that the question of “Orthodox” versus “halakhic” was not entirely resolved. At the annual general meeting at the end of December 2007, which again some forty to fifty people attended, the vision statement was formally presented, after having been distributed to the entire community by e-mail, with several points highlighted for discussion. There was a very brief discussion, many rounds of congratulations on a job well done, and a vote to approve the document. Approval was almost unanimous; the three dissenters were Gvir, his wife, Sigalit, and Limor, who sent an e-mail saying she was angry that there wasn’t a more in-depth discussion of the issues and that there appeared to be an attempt to sweep issues under the rug. Her point was not so much about the content but about the last leg of the process. She thought the va’ad was so worried about causing discord that they quickly pushed this document through without a proper debate. She was so upset about the process that she did not come to synagogue for weeks and wrote a few more angry e-mails before sliding back into regular attendance. Gvir had a more aggressive protest. Unlike Limor, he had not attended any meetings other than the first and did not take part in the work process, but was nonetheless very angry about the document. Over the next two weeks, he went from one male member of the community to the other on a campaign to build up a movement to protest the document, specifically to protest the absence of the word “Orthodox.” He did not approach me, nor did he approach any of the women I asked about it. (“He approached my husband,” several women reported , which is how I eventually learned that he was mainly asking men.) Gvir ultimately found his greatest ally in the unassuming Reuven, whom he convinced of the urgency of this issue. Reuven, who told me he hates meetings and synagogue politics, bonded with Gvir over Talmud classes and a shared love of meticulousness, and decided to act on the absence of the word “Orthodox.” In January 2008, Reuven and Gvir sent a petition directly to the entire congregation via e-mail: Many members were greatly irritated by the fact...

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