JONATHAN D. SARNA

Most chief rabbis are recognized, in some respect, by the government. That's true in England, in France, and certainly in Israel. There's an individual who represents the Jewish religion to the government, someone who stands opposite the cardinal or the archbishop. Indeed, what we have in Judaism here, as we also have in Christianity, is a kind of free market. There's no central authority that says you can only be Jewish this way and not another way.

Most chief rabbis are recognized, in some respect, by the government. That's true in England, in France, and certainly in Israel. There's an individual who represents the Jewish religion to the government, someone who stands opposite the cardinal or the archbishop. Indeed, what we have in Judaism here, as we also have in Christianity, is a kind of free market. There's no central authority that says you can only be Jewish this way and not another way.