A Soulful Journey

A German assimilated Jew  heard about Moshe the Apikores in a small town in Poland.   He decides to go and meet him.   He gets to the town and looks around for Moshe bu cannot find anyone among all the people who appears to be Moshe the Apikores.   Eventually he approaches and asks someone where he can find Moshe the Apikores. He pointed to one of the shteibelech in the town and is told Moshe is there.   He goes in and sees a bunch of people learning. He asks and is directed to Moshe.   He greets him and asks "Are you Moshe the Apikores?" and Moshe answers "Yes." He asks, "If you are Moshe the Apikores why are you here learning?"   Moshe answers "I may be known as Moshe the Apikores but I do not wish to be known as Moshe the Am Ha-retz!" Rabbi Jeffrey Cohen

“The definition of an am ha-aretz is someone who can read the Passover Haggadda in Sephardic pronunciation without mistakes. “  - Rabbi Louis Jacobs In other words, an Ashkenazic Jew that takes the sacred texts and reads them as an intellectual exercise misses the whole point.