Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein writes: Jonathan Rosenblum and I discovered decades ago that we were kindred spirits. We rarely disagree. We did disagree twice about the recent[1] Klal Perspectives shabbaton in Baltimore, although he won’t find out about the second disagreement until he reads these lines.
The first dispute is a matter of public record, having occurred at one of the three panel discussions that were the chief stuff from which the event was constructed. Jonathan remarked at one point that he was jealous of me, because I could write without constraints, while he had to be ever mindful of his P’s and Q’s. Each of the magazines and newspapers for which he wrote established their no-fly zones, determining at times what he could and could not say. I countered that, to the contrary, I was jealous of him! His guidelines were clear, and when they weren’t, some irate editor would let him know. He rarely had to worry about suddenly falling off a cliff. On the other hand, I work without such clear direction. I have to guess the reaction of a sometimes unpredictable “street, and find myself looking out at minefields ahead without a chance to blink. The upshot, I claimed, was that both of us are burdened, like so many others in our community, with imposing muzzles, and rarely get to speak with complete candor. I have more license than he does – but not much more.
