burg tried to strictly separate between his government service and his religion. this proved to be nearly impossible, because both his government, which described itself as "christian", as well as his congregation, who considered itself "orthodox", did not adhere to a strict separation between church and state. as a soldier, burg was not able to strictly follow the jewish ceremonial laws. that means that he had to disengage himself from a strict orthodoxy. in this respect, he is an example for a neo-orthodox, who felt that government service does not preclude the ceremonial law.