Avot323

7:
What's mine is yours and what's yours is mine. We have already noted that the criterion for the characterizations that are delineated in our mishnah is the extent to which a person recognizes ownership of property. Clearly, when a person believes that what belongs to him is the property of another, and vice-versa, such a person does not have a sense of ownership. Our mishnah describes such a person as a 'bumpkin'. The Hebrew term used by our mishnah is Am ha-Aretz. We discussed at great length the provenance of this term and what it designates in Avot 107.

8:
In his commentary on our mishnah Rabbi Ovadyah of Bertinoro understands the term Am ha-Aretz in the context of our present mishnah differently. He describes this person as 'a country man'; that is, someone who wants to further the ease of life in Eretz-Israel; he therefore is happy that whatever he has may be enjoyed also by his fellow men, but he also expects his fellow men to permit him to enjoy their property at will.

9:
What's mine is yours and what's yours is yours. Clearly, such a person is, as our mishnah says, a saint. As Rabbi Ovadyah of Bertinoro puts it:

Since, for obvious reasons, the Torah never makes any such requirement of anybody Rabbi Ovadyah explains that in the context of our present mishnah the 'saint' is acting under supererogation. That is to say that of his own free will he is doing a good deed which in no sense does either the law or common ethics require of him.

10:
What's mine is mine and what's yours is mine. Our mishnah describes such a person as wicked. The reasons are obvious. If someone believes that he has a right to appropriate to himself what belongs to others (without their permission) he is stealing. The Torah [Leviticus 19:13] forbids theft of another's property.

In Avot 320 Ed Frankel raised the issue of the delegitimization of Conservative Judaism by Orthodox rabbis.

Marty Berman writes:

I believe the major reason for the orthodox attitude lies as much in the lack of observance of the Conservative interpretations of Halachah. One can argue over a psak and still recognize the validity of the psak. The problem is that so few in the Conservative Movement follow even the most lenient positions vis a vis Shabbat and Yom Tov observance, Kashrut and tefillah. Had we a core of truly observant Conservative Jews creating communities of relatively equal observance we could make a stronger case. Without that as we all know the decisions in the Conservative Movement are followed more in the breach.

I respond:

While no one can gainsay the facts that Marty offers here I do not agree with the conclusion that he seems to be drawing from those facts. It is true that many people – maybe even most people – who belong to or worship in a Conservative congregation do not observe the mitzvot as they should. But then, there are many people who frequent orthodox synagogues who do not observe the mitzvot as they should. It is fair and just to compare like to like. We should compare the Orthodox Jew who observes the dictates of orthodoxy with a Conservative Jew who observes the dictates of Conservative Judaism. The point is that most Orthodox rabbis will not recognize the legitimacy of Conservative Judaism as such, holding, as they do, that their interpretation of Judaism is the only legitimate one. That is a claim that I deny absolutely.

One of the last pastoral tasks that I performed before I came to Israel, nearly 40 years ago, was to represent Judaism in a local high school. Apart from myself there were on the panel a Christian clergyman and an atheist. We each had five minutes (!) to present our case and then answer questions. The atheist attacked Christianity, of course, and ridiculed the faith of a nation that proclaims peace on Earth and goodwill to all men while at the same time waging a bloody war in Vietnam. I intervened and pointed out that it is not always fair to judge the philosophy by the behaviour of the philosopher.

I have gradually come to believe that rather than taking an apologetic stance with regards to the Orthodox interpretation of Judaism the leadership of Conservative Judaism – rabbis, teachers, lay leaders – should be teaching in no uncertain way that it is Conservative Judaism which is the true heir to traditional halakhic Judaism and that orthodoxy is a painful deviation from that tradition.