Turning to Sources for Traditionalism

Among the pleasures of taking up space on this page is the chance, from time to time, to report on some accomplishment that might otherwise go under-noticed. When the accomplishment belongs to a friend . . .
well, OK, this is a puff piece. But the puffery’s deserved, because the accomplishment’s magnificent.

Adam Pruzan works for Toward Tradition, a Seattle-based Jewish/conservative group that fights a two-front war. One front is political. Toward Tradition works with and supports various Christian groups on an array of conservative issues and causes. The other front is more narrowly sectarian. Toward Tradition wants to convince American
Jews that conservatism, properly understood, embodies traditional Jewish values far more than liberalism – or, more aptly, what liberalism has become.

Adam Pruzan’s a curious blend of backgrounds. Scion of one of Seattle’s most prominent (and liberal) Jewish families, he attended St. John’s College in New Mexico, did the Great Books curriculum, then
joined the Navy. Later came religious study in Israel, work in Israeli
and American think tanks and educational institutions, and an urge to
write.

A couple years ago, Toward Tradition began an intellectual
experiment of sorts. Why not apply Jewish sources, the Torah, Talmud,
Halacha (Jewish law) and the vast rabbinical literature, to contemporary
problems? Of course, seeking guidance from the Bible hardly qualifies as
novelty among conservatives. But what Toward Tradition, under their
president, Rabbi Daniel Lapin, set out to do was apply uniquely Jewish
logic and precepts to current affairs.

Pruzan turned out an early paper, “Esau’s Delusion,” in support of
repealing the inheritance tax. Esau, you’ll recall, was the brother of
Jacob, who sold his birthright for a mess of porridge and later had his
father’s blessing stolen by his brother. The mix of ancient and modern
was, to say the least, evocative. We toyed briefly with co-authoring a
paper on defense, “Nehemiah’s Neurosis.” (No, I’m not going to explain
it. Get out your Bibles and look it up.) That didn’t happen. Maybe just
as well. But Toward Tradition has launched a new pamphlet series
entitled, “Modern Problems, Ancient Solutions.”

Pamphlet One, “Diligently to Thy Children: The Case for School
Choice,” by Adam Pruzan, is, to put it simply, a masterpiece. In a mere
twenty checkbook-sized pages, he demolishes every argument put forth by
opponents of choice. No hype, no histrionics, no jargon – just calm,
relentless logic, command of his facts, and a compressed lucidity that
leaves you shaking your head, yes, yes, yes, tell me more.

He takes only three pages, for example, to demonstrate that vouchers
for religious schools are constitutional because the courts work
education and religion along two precedent tracks. One forbids the
practice of religion in public schools. The other mandates support for
secular activities that may be performed by religious institutions. He
demonstrates that, while vouchers typically provide less than the total
cost of educating a child in a public school, parents pooling their
vouchers can start schools or send their children to private schools
that already have considerable assets.

Above all else, he shows that, at all socio-economic levels,
education succeeds when parents follow the Biblical and Halachic
commandment to take responsibility for their children’s education, and
to regard the educational establishment – teachers and bureaucrats alike
– as their agents, not their masters or their surrogates.

But “Diligently to Thy Children” has another purpose: to convince American Jews that conservatism’s the more “authentic” expression of Jewish values. So how do you go about persuading one of the best educated, most influential, and most argumentative minorities in America that they’’ve gotten it all backwards? Perhaps the way Pruzan does.
Again, no hype, no histrionics, no invective. He simply suggests that Jews are right to insist that every American child receive the best possible education, right to remember the role of public schools in their own rise . . . but wrong to pretend that the system that they knew and venerate is still there. And what is true with education may be true
in many other areas. Time to take a second look at a lot of things.

Pruzan’s got a few more pamphlets in the works, but is also moving toward a book-length study of the American Jewish orientation and how to change it. Of itself, it may not be that important. After all, as the journalistic cliché goes, “Jews ain’t news.” But as a case study of how groups can come to work against their own interests and values without even realizing it, and how to change such self-destructive behavior, the effort could be fascinating. Certainly, Jews aren’t the only group in this country to cling to old notions and affiliations even after they become patently injurious to their interests.

In any event, folks, get the pamphlet. It’s free. Try
www.towardtradition.org or, for those still into snail mail, Box 58,
Mercer Island, WA 98040. Phone numbers (800) 591-7579 or (206) 236-3046.

Tell them Philip sent you.

Philip Gold is a senior fellow of the Seattle-based Discovery Institute.