Is Modern Orthodoxy an Ideal?

For many Jews nowadays, Modern Orthodoxy is no longer viewed as an ideal. It has come to mean a compromise position. It’s neither fully committed to the Torah nor fully beholden to the secular world.

But that hasn’t always been the case with the vision of Modern Orthodoxy, and it should not be that way today. There is still a reason why it makes sense to try and integrate the Torah with the modern world. There’s still a reason why it’s beneficial and ideal to partake of both worlds. There are yet important advantages of being Modern Orthodox over the extremes of isolated religiosity or secular assimilation.

For Modern Orthodoxy to make sense as an ideal and be good for you in practice, it’s necessary to take the good from both the Torah and the modern world. Just as importantly, it’s necessary to leave the bad elements of both extremes. The key issue that needs clarification is what are the good aspects of Torah and the modern world, and what are the bad elements of each extreme. It is that analysis that I’ll discuss next.