I had an interesting conversation one night of my Israel trip with our Israeli guard that came with our group to "protect" us. Let's call him Sam. Sam was recently released from the army and was potently disgusted by religious intrusions into his life. He mentioned that while he was in the army the rules were strict in terms of keeping the soldiers eating only kosher food. Soldiers could get punished, he said, for going out and eating a cheeseburger.
We also discussed the Gaza withdrawal. He was definitely for it. Did you know that about a quarter of the standing Israeli army was stationed in the Gaza area? He was clearly a political leftist as he was very much sympathetic with the Palestinians as he said that the majority just wanted peace (though recent election results would appear to undermine that statement). He also described the extremists on either side of the conflict in equal terms, though he acknowledged that there were more of them on the Palestinian side.
The part of the discussion that I found most interesting was however on the subject of the place of tradition in Jewish life and the future of the Jewish people. He had said that living your life in a certain way just because that's how people have lived in the past is a form of slavery. That we should each find our own path in life and live it.
Well, alright, I said, but what about the future of Jewish life and the Jewish people? How can we hope to survive as a cohesive body if we don't respect tradition and keep it alive? His response to this was very telling. "I don't care," he said. "I don't care."
Wow. Well then. It would appear that being so anti-tradition is not so much a factor of being against "slavery" but actually a simple instance of selfishness.
The question then is, can we fault such an individual for that kind of viewpoint? Does being a "good Jew" require working for (or at least caring about) the future of the Jewish people? Or does his virtue as an individual overrule any consideration on a Jewish value scale?
Are those who have a different vision for the future of Jewish life, which others may see as subversive, being good Jews?
Onwards to a rational observant Judaism!
About Me
"You speak of dogmas, dogmas of faith! In answer thereto, I would briefly say that Judaism enjoins six hundred and thirteen duties but knows no dogmas." - R' Samson Raphael Hirsch, Fifteenth Letter
Email me at Orthoprax2@yahoo.com
Blogger Links
- Jewish Atheist
Pretty self-evident. - Existential Angst (aka XGH)
Godol Hador's reincarnation - Ohr Chadash
Blog by B. Spinoza in an effort to reinvent a vigorous meaningful Judaism. - Wolfish Musings
"Some notes on the frum community from a local wolf." (In sheep's clothing.) - The Things I Care To Share
Little bit country, little bit rock 'n' roll. - Ben Avuyah
A great writer who hits the heart of the issue. Two thumbs up! - In My Humble Jewish Opinion...
An "outspoken" post-seminary girl. Like looking into a philosophical reality warp... - Baal Habos
"Ignorance Is Bliss" - Bilbulatsia
"There's a blaze of light in every word, it doesn't matter which you heard, the holy or the broken Hallelujah..." - Da'as Hedyot
"Definitely not da'as torah." - David's Harp
"Musings on the jumbled interplay between emotions, ideas and beliefs"
- The Frum Skeptics Group
A forum for skeptics of all flavors Jewish to get together and gripe about whatever. Must be a Yahoo member to enter. (Don't worry, it's free.) - Talk Reason
"This website presents a collection of articles which aim to defend genuine science from numerous attempts by the new crop of creationists to replace it with theistic pseudo-science under various disguises and names." Also, take a special look here and here - Talk Origins
"Talk.origins is a Usenet newsgroup devoted to the discussion and debate of biological and physical origins." Check out 29+ Evidences for Macroevolution - Daat Emet
"DE has been operating since 1998 as a public organization, whose main goal is the study of classical Jewish culture and the dissemination of its scientific, humanistic interpretation." - Concordance of the Bible
Find any word used in the Bible in Hebrew or Greek (includes Christian texts) and their meaning in every passage. - Internet Sacred Text Archive
It's an archive of all the world's notable religious, cultural, and philosophical works. I suggest taking a look at the Judaism section; it's even got the Bible! - An introduction to the history and culture of Pharaonic Egypt
The title is a misnomer. This site has everything on Ancient Egypt.
- Mis-nagid
The Cantankerous Atheist "Frum" Jew. Always has something interesting brewing. - The Godol Hador
Amusing irreverent satire of the Greats of our time. - Recovering Ortho Jew
A critical look at Rabbinic Judaism
<<
List
Jewish Bloggers
Join
>>
11 comments:
Why is it selfishness? Why does the coincidence of his birth compell him to further the existence of a particular culture? I can see why you might want to, but how could you convince someone else that he's required to -- or he's being selfish?
Anon,
It is clearly a form of selfishness as it is a circumstance where the individual puts himself before his community or people. The "self" is paramount.
But in any case, I anticipated your reply and I asked the question, "Or does his virtue as an individual overrule any consideration on a Jewish value scale?"
You say "his community or his people" but what makes them so? Taking that as the initial assumption is circular when I asked you why the coincidence of his birth compells him to further the existence of a particular culture [or community/people]?
Anon,
That's what a heritage is. As an individual, a person is free to contribute to or reject that heritage and in either choice the person loses no integrity as an individual human being. However, if a Jew rejects his heritage and his community and his people, how can he then be considered a good Jew?
A Jew who wishes to be considered a Jew in good standing has to, at the very least, care about the Jewish people. He is not compelled by external forces, but by a very sensible understanding of how groups work. If one operates against the interests of a group, why should the group judge him favorably?
Orthoprax,
The problem seems to be interrelated with the nature of what you call a heritage. To some they are simply man-made laws that in many cases are arbitrary, and often are extremely burdensome and have significant negative consequences for those who observe them. A person who rejects this is not a good Jew only in the sense that he fails to follow traditional rules. He does not operate against the interests of a group, although he might operate against the interests of the Orthodox rabbinate.
The questions I have are why do you think such a peson works against the interests of the group, why do you think observing those rules makes one a "good Jew", and why is it important to be a "good Jew?" Personally I think that if there's an afterlife, the rabbis who come up with many of these rules that are then imposed on everyone else, are going to have give an accounting for themselves.
Oops, sorry, previous message should have been signed:
Another anon
Anon2,
To be fair, I didn't say that following the laws is necessarily correlated with what makes a good Jew. There's been some miscommunication. I said that caring about the future of the Jewish people is definitely part of what makes a good Jew.
On a personal level, I happen to think that the future of Jewish life, especially in the Diaspora, is best preserved through the continued living in tradition. There may be a better way of doing it but I haven't been able to think of it.
I can think of many non-traditional and non-religious Jews who have still worked for the betterment of the Jewish people and the Jewish future. I would call those good Jews. One needs to be a committed individual to the Jewish people and the future of Jewish life to be a good Jew. I don't believe there is just one way of doing that successfully either.
I would argue that one's virtue as an individual can not be entirely separated from being a "good Jew". Someone who turns his back on his family in need is not considered virtuous, but selfish. Of course, one does not ask to be born into a family in need, but that does not change the facts on the ground. Other ethinic groups do not seem to separate individual virtue from loyalty to the group, as it is natural to think this way. If Judaism was only a religion I could understand. But it is not just a religion, it is as you say - a heritage, and it is also your family.
BTW, welcome back. Glad you enjoyed you trip to Israel.
JF,
"Someone who turns his back on his family in need is not considered virtuous, but selfish."
Well, that sounds a bit extreme. The Jewish people are not as cozy an organization as one's immediate family. It's more on the level of being a bad citizen than turning one's back on their family, though I still do share your understanding of how Jews share a closer bond than do the citizens of many other modern nations or ethnicities.
"BTW, welcome back. Glad you enjoyed you trip to Israel."
Ah, thanks very much.
>Wow. Well then. It would appear that being so anti-tradition is not so much a factor of being against "slavery" but actually a simple instance of selfishness.
not caring about the Jewish people is called being selfish? define selfishness? If you mean by selfish someone who only cares about himself, then I don't see how you can make this judgement based on what "Sam" said. he said he didn't care about the fate of The Jewish people not that he didn't care about Jewish People (as individuals). Maybe he identifies more with human beings in general over a specific race. I don't think I would call such an attitude as selfish
Spinoza,
"Maybe he identifies more with human beings in general over a specific race."
Hmm, I suppose that's possible, but that wasn't the impression I got when I spoke with him.
Post a Comment