“NOTHING JEWISH is alien to me,” philosopher Franz Rosenzweig said in the early 20th century. Rosenzweig hoped this phrase would launch a Jewish renaissance; however, the multiplicity of Jewish observance and experience has mostly led to mutual disdain among the varietals. As each branch of Judaism has set itself apart from the others, barriers to entry, acceptance, or even understanding have increased. No less an authority on Jewish life than Sholem Aleichem famously said that “es iz schwer …
