How would you define the “modern orthodoxy” you want to achieve in French Judaism? Modern orthodoxy combines modernity with the rigor of daily practice characteristic of classical orthodoxy, which is the majority of French practitioners: respecting the Sabbath commandments, eating kosher food, and saying three prayers a day. But we believe that within this orthodoxy, compatible with progressive values, a benevolent classification can be made. Especially in the place of women, where there is still complete inequality. In synagogues, women lag behind and do nothing. They cannot learn text. For us, even if jurisprudence does not allow us to achieve pure and perfect equality, women and men are separated in two identical spaces in the synagogue. While women still cannot hold part of the office, the modern Orthodox Church recognizes that women can be rabbis, albeit with restrictions. We do everything we can, but always from the law. To be a rabbi is to be a community leader, to be a lecturer, and there is nothing forbidden. In the United States, modern Orthodoxy has developed. Why not in France? Since the 19th century, in addition to classical orthodoxy, there has been a movement in Germany that is more open to discussion of science, art, and unbelief, starting with what the diaspora experienced: the neo-orthodoxy. After World War II, this deeply bourgeois movement disappeared from European history. Those who think Berlin is the “New Jerusalem” are worth their money. From the point of view of the religious Zionists who called to come to Israel, this attitude remains controversial today. While immigrating to the United States around World War II, Rabbi Solovichick was inspired by neo-Orthodox assumptions to create the Torah Ummada, “Torah with Science,” which still exists today in New York as Yeshiva University . This is the school we study with my wife. We will officially graduate as rabbis in June. I am one of those optimists who think there is still something to be done for the diaspora. Who is your campaign aimed at? The core is religious because the way we look at things is religious, but we welcome anyone, whether she comes to Yom Kippur once a year or once a day, for study and office. What’s the difference with the Liberals, especially Delphine Horvilleur? I have a lot of respect for Delphine Horvilleur and she influenced me when it came to my general Judaism. But our currents are different. Liberal Judaism does not theoretically assume that all commandments are binding. He argues that if these lighthouses help us in our daily lives, then we can choose to use them appropriately. Orthodoxy holds that there is a law that binds us, and that we cannot throw everything out at once, even though some aspects may appear shocking or out of place. You wear a yarmulke in public and you claim it. On secularism, you criticize certain discourses for tending to view believers as threats to national identity. According to the rhetoric of certain ultra-secularist movements, a strong display of one’s religious values would mean an act of withdrawal from France. Celebrating its particularity, its identity, its culture, will be an obstacle to national unity. To me, this is a poor analysis. Although I am Jewish, I am French as a Jew. In a romantic relationship, we show our true colors. If I eat differently, if I prefer to celebrate Shabbat on Friday instead of going to a company party, if I don’t take a test on Saturday, that’s my choice. I have to adapt, but it’s not separatism. It’s just applying the ba-ba of my religion on a daily basis. Why should I hide it when I’m in a public place? It is precisely this voluntary and different experience that enriches my relationships with others. What do you think are the conditions of a good secularism? Note that I am not promoting a communalization like in the US. French secularism springs from true balance. But the bet must remain on the neutrality of space, not on the elimination of differences. Nor can we sin with our innocence. There are community tensions… of course. There is anti-Semitism. Although personally, living in the city, I’ve never had a problem with my yarmulke. On our side, this display of pride, this “empowerment”(1) of our Judaism, requires us as believers and religious leaders to refuse to withdraw from the community. We also have a responsibility to work hard to connect so as not to discredit universalism. Particularism and universalism must go hand in hand. If your religion forces you to isolate yourself from those around you, it means it has nothing to say to the world. God did not create us to live self-sufficiently in the form of a besieged castle.