Michael Cohen-Solomon Schecter

The thing that first struck me about Michael Cohen's lecture was his enthusiasm and evident excitement that this topic gave him. Because of that, i found it easy to engage in what he had to say and he kept my attention. Being someone who is interested in history and people, the background of Solomon Schecter was something both interesting and new to me. Although I identify with the conservative movement and belonging to a conservative temple, I never knew specifically how the movement began. The only thing i knew about Solomon Schecter was that it was a private day school where some of my friends had gone.
The most interesting thing that i found was the fact that this idea of unity ultimately divided the religion. Because Schecter wanted to be accepting, I understand how he didn't see a division coming. But at the same time, when you are veering off away from the traditional, you are inevitably creating a separate category.
Something else that i found particularly interesting was the loyalty of the diciples. The way Cohen described their lifestyles was almost in a cult-like fashion. But if it wasn't for these people who basically sacrificed a normal life, maybe we would never have a modern take on Judaism. Who knows, just a thought.