Rav @dbashideas raises here an interesting question that I think deserves a thread. At issue: a @JTANews article about Jews pardoned by Trump that originally referenced several Jews' Orthodox identity but didn't mention any other Jews' denominations... https://twitter.com/DBashIdeas/status/1351970360141508609

One of these mentions has been subsequently removed from the article, but I still think it's a really interesting occurrence to have happened. And I don't see it as bad or unfair—just interesting and, ultimately, inspiring. I'll explain...

1. I think religious movements with reputations for stringent piety and observance—Orthodox Judaism, Catholicism, Amish communities, etc.—are a source of cultural fascination to outsiders to them. That fascination can be ambiguous, and indeed ambivalent...

On one hand, people truly admire the commitment, the rigor, the novelty, the costumes, the high drama of these theatrical faiths. On the other hand, since all human institutions sin (cf. the great book "Sin-a-gogue" by @DBashIdeas himself), people can often observe hypocrisy...

And whenever they see big hypocrisy—sex abuse scandals, support for Trump, financial corruption, etc.—they get mad in the moment and suspicious for the future. So the overall general attitude ends up (A) fascination alongside (B) suspicion. That's how normies see these faiths...

2. Now, for media outlets, the relevant question is always: What will be interesting to people? And if someone happens to be a member of some local Presbyterian church, I'm sorry but that's just not nearly as interesting as being a Franciscan friar...

Similarly, being, say, a Skverer Hasid is just more interesting to most people than being a member of Reform Temple Beth Whatever. So of course media are going to mention it. (I'm not trying to insult Reform. "More interesting" doesn't necessarily always mean "better.")...

3. So how should we Orthodox Jews (and Jesuits, and Mennonites, and all the rest) *feel* about being constantly pointed at *for* that identity? Should we feel exoticized, objectified, offended? Well, I submit that no, we should feel glad...

Jews don't have a religious value of being assimilated, we have a religious value of being distinct. We wear a kippah to mark us out as different. And that is an honor, a responsibility, and sometimes a headache. It challenges us to live up to something...

The whole point of our frumkeit is to reach for extraordinary meaning, to transcend the normal standards and identities. ***We are not regular people—and that’s on purpose!*** So if Orthodoxy is newsworthy in itself, I say that is a glory, not a microaggression.

Indeed, I think if and when folks have an instinct to get offended by mentioning Orthodoxy (exclusively), that's understandable but misguided. It partakes in a bit of the uncharitable and oversensitive ethos many people are rightly annoyed by in the online cultural landscape...

The double standard is a sign that others see us having high standards. I hope that if I were a Reform Jew, I would ask, “Why is it that journalists and readers *don't* seem outraged at the religious hypocrisy when a Jewish criminal is Reform? Why don't they always mention *us?*”

So we should remember, welcome, and own the fact that the world is both interested in Orthodox Judaism and angry at the failures of Orthodox Judaism, among other rigorous faiths. Those of us holding those faiths should take that as a sign that our ideas are taken seriously...

...And as a spur to motivation for living up to the standard those ideas and identities are supposed to represent. /fin