For someone who's writing an article about respecting the needs of the community and focusing on more meaningful pursuits, you sure need to learn a lot about respect. Your attitude is wholly inappropriate and reflects everything that we (Gen-Y) despise about your generation. Your derision is visible within the first paragraph, and rather than make any attempt to bridge the gap, extending an offer of understanding and compromise (as Jewish values would demand), you instead took the opportunity to slander an entire generation. You sir, are a shame upon our great people.

I was not in any way offended by this article. I found it complimented Gen-Y'ers. Do you have a personal grudge against the author?

Congratulations Rabbi Brander on finding the secular path within religious Judaism. Those young minds are seeking meaningful connection to what is going in the world TODAY, not an endless interpretation of texts from thousands of years ago. I hope your program can influence those young minds to reform Orthodox Judaism and make it more meaningful, more connected to serving Israel. Certainly, progress will have to come from outside the Jewish State since Israeli Orthodox Judaism is inflexible, unable to make changes to face reality. Israeli Orthodoxy is unable to meet the needs of the majority of young Jews who are still religious.

"These devices represent a culture that desires to deconstruct the power and purpose of community, placing all importance on the needs of the individual." Later in the article you make some excellent points. But your opening likely caused many from 'Gen-Y' to dismiss you. Did the printing press "plac[e] all importance on the needs of the individual"? The steam engine? The power drill? These devices are threatening and evil only to the dinosaur generation that is going extinct. Not just 'Gen-Y', an entire hi-tech generation sees the devices as amplifying the capability of individuals to network with each other; not "deconstruct[ing] the power and purpose of community, placing all importance on the needs of the individual," but, rather, molding the community to the needs of the incoming generation--exactly as all of us have done in our turn. These devices only empower 'Gen Y' to do it more effectively and powerfully than we were able with our cars, telephone, airplanes and power drills. If that is a threat to you then you are on the wrong side of progress equation: the problem, not the solution. After admirably noting the quest of 'Gen-Y'-ers for greater meaning vis-à-vis materialism--of the dinosaur generation--R. Brander inadvertently lets slip the motivation so unacceptable to 'Gen-Y'-ers: "So, how do we in the Jewish communal and educational world leverage the hunger of the ‘Gen-Y’ers to insure the future health of OUR [emphasis added] institutions? More importantly, how do we insure that this new generation brings its creativity, charisma, and capacity to the leadership table with a commitment to [OUR] Jewish ideals, guaranteeing the perpetuation of the soul [according to OUR POV] of our sacred community?" We don't. Their institutions. Maybe your institutions. Maybe not. Their view of Torah and Halakhah. Surely, fresh views of Torah and Halakhah that will, differ from your POV to some degree--that degree in the control of 'Gen-Y' and beyond your control. While you've made a respectable effort to relate to 'Gen-Y' you still have further to go if you wish them to take you seriously, and to better empower them for the good of the next Torah generation. Do you really believe that "the [kohein] realized his holiness through the wearing of his special garb and his lineage"? If you have the DNA and put on the costume, ta-daaa, your holy? Do you not see the superficiality--lack of spiritual awareness--there? Surely you recognize that no intelligent and educated 'Gen-Y'-er is going to buy that assessment? Do you not see that 'Gen-Y' is seeing the bigger historical and scientific picture than merely blindly accepting "the identical rituals in which our great grandparents engaged"? Don't be so afraid. Rituals that are historically authentic (i.e., Teimani) endure. However, Torah doesn't permit straying to endure and 'Gen-Y' understands that the evolution of Halakhah has not been perfect. Those that conflict with historically authentic rituals, or have been added ex falso quodlibet, don't deserve to endure and those who attempt to impose them on 'Gen-Y' will be rejected along with the inauthentic rituals. In the end, only the authentic will endure. My experience is that 'Gen-Y' will team up with you on this--or reject you if you reject it. Paqid Yirmeyahu Paqid 16, The Netzarim, Ra'anana, Israel Israeli Torah-reverer & Orthodox Jew: Teimani, Baladi, Dor Dai Advocate for Logic as Hermeneutic Halakhic Authority Welcoming all who choose to keep Torah (When questions to me go unanswered, ynet has refused to post it. Ck our Web Café at www.netzarim.co.il)

If anyone lacks respect it is you.The first paragraph is entirely accurate, but read in context with the whole article is not intended as an insult but an observation.The thrust of the article is that Jewish youth are rising above this social phenomenon.You owe the Rabbi an apology- let's see if you are man enough to give it.

Honestly Steven, are you sure you comprehend English properly? Perhaps you should re-read this article again and see if you understood it differently, or better yet, have someone translate it for you.

Dude, I might agree with you only you have offered no opinion. Can you explain yourself? Why are you so offended? What is inappropriate? What compromise needs to be made? And WTF is the bridge that you are referring to?

and I want my 3 wasted minutes back after reading that drivel. (Suggestion: weirdness is not a virtue - it tends to make people want to avoid you.)