“Fences Around the Law” - Rabbi Brett Weisman Addresses the Importance of the Separation of Church and State

This is the last of our featured speakers’ remarks from our February informational session about LifeWise Academy. Each of them was featured in a recent article by the Everett Herald (link below), in which their words and views were watered down and diminished. Rabbi Brett Weisman spoke extemporaneously at the meeting about the Jewish concept of building fences around the law, and the importance of the separation of church and state. HIs transcribed remarks are below, edited for clarity:

"Thank you for being here.

We had planned for our 7th graders to visit the Islamic Center and a Catholic Church as part of an interfaith field trip, but snow forced us to cancel due to concerns about bus safety on the hills. Instead, we had a meaningful conversation. I asked the students what they thought about the idea of starting a program that would pull Jewish kids out of public schools for special sessions.

Some joked that there wouldn’t be many kids in the program, but their thoughtful responses stood out. They felt it wouldn’t be appropriate because it could make other kids feel left out, and because school time should be for learning, not religious instruction. Their wisdom was striking, especially since they didn’t know I’d be speaking here today. I think it's important that we listen not only to the parental concerns, but we take into the concerns of the students who are there, who are learning there.

In Judaism, we talk about building “fences around the law”—layers of protection meant to uphold the core principles. But fences should have gates, locks, and keys, designed thoughtfully to protect the spirit of the law, not just the letter.

That’s what brings me here today. Programs like LifeWise go against the spirit of the First Amendment. Yes, we have the freedom to practice our religion, but equally important is the freedom from having others’ religions imposed on us. That’s the heart of this conversation."

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This is the second post in a series of three, where we feature the words of our charter Clergy members. Each of them was featured in a recent Everett Herald article, where their robust perspectives were merely summarized and weakened. We wanted to showcase their strong views in their own words.