Q&A: Podcast
Podcast
Question
Hi, I also wanted to ask a question about something that was said on the podcast. I understood that you said you are not conservative. I thought that being religious and being conservative go together, no? Jewish law is conservative in principle too, isn’t it? (the status of women, modesty, attitudes toward LGBTQ people). Maybe you could explain what you mean?
Answer
You can search here on the site for discussions of conservatism.
In general, if everyone who keeps laws is conservative, then there is no one who is not conservative. Someone who keeps the laws of the state or the laws of morality is also conservative.
A conservative is someone who is reluctant to change the interpretation of laws or the ways they are applied, not simply anyone who keeps laws. The number of laws does not determine the degree of conservatism. What determines it is one’s attitude toward the laws. On the contrary, someone whose world contains no laws cannot be conservative (because what would he be conserving?), but he also cannot be a reformist (because what would he be changing?).