In the same vein, I believe one can be critical of the policies and practices of the state of Israel without being anti-Semitic. What, however, is the responsibility of a critic? What burden should rightly fall upon those who evaluate and pass judgment upon the cherished, highly valued labors of others?

Frank Rich, the former drama critic of the New York Times and since 1994 a political columnist for the paper, has been forthright in his view of the role and responsibility of a critic. He says the lowest form of criticism, which he calls “worthless,” is the expression of one’s judgment or conviction as if one were assigning a grade.

Rich believes the critic’s task is look at all of the elements in a situation,“ all the moving parts, to see how they fit together” and clarify how a production produces the effects and results that people experience.

Rich states that anyone can say that the Bush administration was disingenuous in the way it sold the war in Iraq to the American public. A responsible critic must be able to lay out the pieces of the puzzle and provide a clear and compelling narrative of the events, providing a credible explanation for such a judgment.

I appreciate what Frank Rich says about criticism. Imagine what it was like to be a playwright or producer or actor waiting to read Rich’s critical review of your new Broadway production. As one Tony Award winner has written, “the emotional recovery time could be quite lengthy.”

The more one’s life has been poured into a work the greater the impact of a critical review. Anyone can make disparaging remarks. I am glad we have thoughtful critics in many areas of our affairs – political, cultural, religious.

The words of responsible critics may be hard to hear but they deserve our respect.