But this difference is abysmal. Judaism as it has come down to us from our forefathers is for us the gift and the word of God, an untouchable sanctuary which must not be subjected to human judgment nor subordinated to human considerations. It is the ideal given by God to all the generations of the House of Jacob, never yet attained and to be striven for unto the distant future. It is the great edifice for which all Jews and Jewesses are born to live and die, at all times and in every situation. It is the great Divine revelation which should infuse all our sentiments, justify all our resolutions and give all our actions their strength and stability, foundation and direction.
Comparisons are futile.
Judaism is not a religion, the synagogue is not a church, and the rabbi is not a priest. To be a Jew is not a mere part, it is the sum total of our task in life. An entire life supported by the Divine Idea and lived and brought to fulfilment according to the Divine Will. It is not the so-called Divine Service which separates us. The more, indeed, Judaism comprises the whole of man and extends its declared mission to the salvation of the whole of mankind, the less it is possible to confine its outlook to the four cubits of a synagogue and the four walls of a study.