A recent article in the Sunday New York Times Magazine (July 22, 2007) called, Orthodox Paradox, drew a lot of attention, both for the provocative title and its equally controversial content. The author of the article, Noah Feldman, a law professor at Harvard, is a graduate of an Orthodox Day School. The article stems from Mr. Feldman's feelings about his school's decision to not publicly wish him Mazal Tov, on his marriage to a non Jewish woman.

On this point, I am not sympathetic to Mr. Feldman's cause. Though we cannot deny that marriage between Jews and nonJews is on the rise, it is unrealistic and unfair to expect a traditional Jewish institution, synagogue or school, to actually offer congratulations.

Beyond this particular issue, I must admit that Mr. Feldman raises a number of significant points worth discussing further. The Jewish high school that he attended is proud to offer a curriculum in which students are challenged at high levels in both Jewish and secular subjects. In Mr. Feldman's words, the goal of the school is "to try to be at once a Lithuanian yeshiva and a New England prep school." The high level dual curriculum was "skillfully coordinated to prime us for the Ivy League."

Here's where the paradox begins. The title, Orthodox Paradox is really misleading. It would be better, though less provocatively titled, Modern Orthodox Paradox. It is certainly the goal within Modern Orthodoxy to expose its students to the finest in secular scholarship. But opening this door also invites students to discover the world and values from which this same secular scholarship derives. And what if they like what they see?

Often the products of Modern Orthodoxy succeed in synthesizing their two worlds. These days one can find many observant Jews in "normal" professions. The ultimate success story might be the 2000 Vice Presidential nomination of Senator Joe Lieberman, who came within a "hanging chad" of being a breath away from kashering the White House kitchen and making Kiddush in the Oval Office.

But many products of Modem Orthodoxy will not achieve such a delicate balance in their embracing of both Jewish observance and a place in the modern world. There will be few complaints if the student turns out to be "right wing" Orthodox, insulated from contact with non-Jews, even though this is not in keeping with the values of his alma mater. The same cannot be said for the student who sacrifices some aspects of traditional Judaism in exchange for a life and/or profession in keeping with the secular curriculum of the school.

For example, the message that social contact with all people is a good thing might not lead the majority of Modern Orthodox graduates to intermarriage, but it might well lead some to sacrifice some of the strictness of Kashrut, in order to be able to "break bread" with non-Jewish, and non-observant Jewish friends and colleagues.

Ultimately, the author argues that living with contradictions, living in two contradictory worlds is a lot more common than most of us realize. The goals of Conservative Judaism are not so different from the goals of Modern Orthodoxy. That is, we too should be striving to be the best citizens of the world that we can be, but at the same time, we are to achieve the highest level possible of Jewish observance and Jewish knowledge. This is a difficult balancing act to succeed at, requiring a lot of emotional and spiritual juggling, but the results of our efforts will be a great and satisfying reward.