Download Word - John Provost, PhD

Judaism
Chapter Objectives: After learning this material you will be able to:
1. Describe both traditional and modern Judaism and understand how it
is a pioneer of the monotheistic faiths.
2. Understand the meaning of “covenant.”
3. Discuss how Judaism is concerned with God and following the Torah
and the importance of the Talmud in that understanding.
4. Understand the important role played by the Sabbath and other
festivals, holidays, and ceremonies.
5. Describe the role of the Messiah and the Messianic Age.
6. Understand why Judaism is more of a practice than a belief system.
7. Understand the general outlines of Jewish history.
8. Describe the role of women in traditional Judaism and how this is
changing in modern Judaism.
Judaism is so many things that it is difficult to know where to start. It is, of
course a religion. But it is also a culture and a people. There are Jews who
do not believe in God or consider themselves religious. Could this be true of
Christianity or Islam? No. Both of those religions are about having faith in
God, but they are not a people the way Jews are. It would be difficult to say
“I am a Christian but I do not believe in God.” But it is not difficult to say “I
am a Jew and an Atheist.” And yet Jews are not a race the way Chinese and
Japanese people are considered a race! Confused? It is understandable!
There are white and black Jews, European and American Jews, African and
Chinese Jews, religious and secular Jews. There are Jews who are also
Israelis’ and Jews who do not identify with Israel, let alone approve of all
that Israel does.
So how do you know if you are even Jewish? Well traditionally you are
considered Jewish if your mother is a Jew. It is also possible to become a
Jew. Jews do not try to convert other people the way some religions send out
missionaries, but they do accept people into Judaism who wish to convert.
It is not easy to convert. One must study and learn a great deal before one is
allowed to join, but this prevents those who wish to become Jewish from
doing so based solely on an emotional impulse. Instead you must make a
thoughtful and rational choice over a period of time while you study all
about what you are getting yourself into. It will often take a couple of years
of preparation.
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There are a lot of myths out there about Jews. You have probably heard
some of them such as all Jews are rich or they are trying to take over the
world or that they control the media. Such stories might be somewhat
harmless for other groups of people but Jews have found themselves
persecuted in brutal ways all over the world for two thousand years and
more. As a result they are very sensitive to some of these ideas about who
they are. So right at the beginning of this lecture it is important to recognize
that there are many stereotypes of Jews out there and it will be our task to
sort out all of this the best we can and study Judaism with a fresh and open
mind. Most important is to keep in mind that Judaism does not represent any
single race, belief, or viewpoint, let alone values and politics.
The Traditional Story of Judaism
As many of you know, the Hebrew Scriptures (what Christians call the Old
Testament) told the story of the origin of not only the Jews but of the world
as well. The Jews believe God created the world. The Jews trace themselves
back to Abraham. The Bible says that Abraham came from Ur in the Valley
of Two Rivers in Mesopotamia. The Jews believe that Abraham was called
by God out of Ur to found a people who would worship the one true God.
The story is too long and involved for this lecture, but I hope that if you are
not already familiar with the history that you will sit down sometime and
read about it in the Bible or a history book. Knowing this story is important
because “A fundamental feature of the Hebrew Scriptures is what we have
spoken of as a historical or linear concept of time, in which God himself
imparts new revelations in history. …It is a history in which God is himself
acting and revealing more of himself” (Robert S. Ellwood and Barbara A.
McGraw, Many Peoples, Many Faiths: Women and Men in the World
Religions, Seventh Edition, [Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall,
2002], p. 265. Hereafter referred to in the lectures as MPMF.)
Briefly, I will summarize a few points. Abraham had a son named Isaac who
had a son named Jacob (later changed to Israel). Israel had 12 sons and from
them we get the 12 tribes of Israel. Due to a famine causing starvation the
sons of Israel (Jacob) moved to Egypt where there was food. They settled
there for about four hundred years and for a while they prospered. At some
point the Egyptians enslaved the Jews who had grown to become a large
population.
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The story continues with the famous Moses and Exodus story. God called
Moses to set his people free. After some rather amazing miracles the Jews
left Egypt. As they passed through the desert God revealed his Torah (the
first five books of the Bible) to Moses on Mount Sinai. Torah means
“teaching” or “instruction” or “law” and is commonly known as the Law of
Moses. Jews continue to follow the Torah and we will talk about this more
later. But first I want to finish this overview of history.
After wandering in the desert for 40 years and experiencing many tests and
failures they eventually arrived on the border of Canaan. At this time the
Jews decided to claim this land as their own for they believed it was given to
them by God through Abraham. By this time the Jews were not just a few
wandering nomads as was Abraham and his family, so they moved in and
took over. For a number of years they lived with a number of ups and downs
under temporary leaders called judges and under religious leaders called
prophets. Around the year 1000 B.C.E. they developed a kingship under
Saul that was short lived and passed to another tribe, the tribe of Judah. The
great King David united the twelve tribes, built his capital, made plans to
build the temple in Jerusalem.
The kingdom was united for less than a hundred years and then divided into
two kingdoms, Israel in the North and Judah in the South. Eventually Israel
was defeated in a war and the 10 tribes in the North disappeared into history.
No one really knows what happened to these people, but it is assumed that
those who were not killed assimilated with the conquerors. Judah in the
south (where the name Jew comes from) continued on but it also had many
ups and downs. It too was conquered, but a remnant always survived. At one
point the Jews were sent into exile in Babylon (modern Iraq) but were later
allowed and even encouraged to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their
temple, which had been destroyed.
This was around 500 years after King David. The Jews continued to live in
Israel (Palestine) for the next 500 years, sometimes free and independent,
but usually ruled over by some foreign power. Persia, Greece, and
eventually Rome all had their chance to rule the Middle East, including
Israel. In the year 70 C.E. the Jewish rebellion against Roman rule was
crushed, the second temple was destroyed along with Jerusalem. After a
final rebellion around 135 C.E., which was also crushed, the Jews were
kicked out of Israel and dispersed among the nations, although it is
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important to note that a few Jews always remained in what has become
known as the Holy Land.
The Jews lived and moved around all over the world for the next two
thousand years until they returned to Palestine to re-form the Israeli nation in
1948. While this founding of a new nation has been controversial for many,
especially the Arab nations, for Jews it was considered little less than a
divine intervention. Never had history seen a nation re-form itself and its
language. As you know if you watch the news, things in Israel are never
calm. There have been several wars and much terrorism. Despite these
difficulties Israel has prospered and grown and seems to be surviving its
many challenges. It is important to keep in mind that the majority of Jews
live outside of Israel. In fact there are more Jews in the United States than in
Israel! Almost as many Jews live in the New York City area alone as live in
the whole nation of Israel.
That was a brutally short overview of Jewish history. Please do it justice and
read some more on your own when you have the chance!
Biblical Judaism
Now it is important to return to the idea of monotheism which was pioneered
by Abraham, but actually took quite awhile to develop fully. It is easy to
think that monotheism just came along and swept polytheism away, but a
closer look reveals a different story. It is also easy at a time when most of
the Western world takes monotheism for granted to forget that it was a
radical break with the common philosophical understanding of the Divine at
the time. Most people around the time of Abraham were polytheists.
At first the Hebrew God is referred to as the God of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob. Only later is this God recognized as the one true God of everyone on
Earth. So at first when Abraham traveled from Ur to Palestine, he did not
have any trouble with other people worshipping their own gods. The Jews
believed that God made a covenant with Abraham to bless him and make
him a great people. In return, Abraham promised that he and his descendants
would worship and follow only God. This covenant is an essential idea to
grasp. The Jews are sometimes referred to as a covenant people. A covenant
is a special kind of contract between two parties. It is a sacred agreement.
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The remarkable thing about this is the idea of faith in a God who had a
personal relationship with Abraham. This idea of relationship, covenant
relationship, is crucial. It explains Judaism in a nutshell. “This faith has not
been centered on belief in an afterlife, or an experience of salvation in
personal or mystical terms, or a philosophy, or a technique of meditation, or
even a set of doctrines. It has been centered on awareness of this unique
relationship with God, but it has taken different forms at different times”
(MPMF, p. 264.)
The Jews have an agreement with God that is often tested but is never to be
broken. Abraham’s God was not located in any temple, but was available as
a presence wherever he wandered as a shepherd. Many of the great religions
at the time of Abraham had huge temples and elaborate rites and hierarchies
of priests and servants. Yet, amazingly enough, all of those gods are almost
forgotten today while the God of Abraham is recognized as the one and only
God by the majority of Western people, including Christians and Muslims
who also trace their roots back to Abraham.
Another interesting idea about the “covenant relationship” is that in Judaism
God works through mostly ordinary people. “In the Bible, however, it is not
the self-purification or spiritual achievements of a yogi or adept or Buddha
that makes one available to God to advance his work. It is rather that the
one God, with true omnipotence, is able to reach to the “bottom of the
barrel” if he wishes and select whomever he wants, however unpromising”
(MPMF, p. 266-267.) Jews place the emphasis on God’s grace reaching out
and pulling them up rather than on their reaching up to God through their
own inherent holiness. If you study the Bible, you will see that it is full of
stories of very ordinary people, full of human weaknesses, who are
nevertheless called on to do great things.
If you remember from the first lecture, I wrote about the different cultural
levels from nomadic to agricultural to industrial to informational periods of
time. The Jews could understand the Jewish God in each changing era while
many gods seemed to serve only one or two eras. When the Jews gave up a
nomadic existence and began to farm the land the people had to wonder if
they should give up the God of the desert and follow one of the gods of the
agricultural way of life. In fact, many people probably did make this choice.
“But there were always those, led by the prophets, who contended that the
Hebrews should continue to worship Yahweh even in their new way of life.
…Although the name of Yahweh was kept among the agricultural Hebrews,
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his worship evolved to include farming feasts and offerings, and these in
turn have been retained among Jews long after they became urban.” (MPMF,
p. 265.)We will see that worship was centered on the temple in Jerusalem
and its animal sacrifices for quite some time but that when the Romans
destroyed the Temple and they lost their country Jews again had to find a
way to successfully adapt their religion to changing circumstances. The fact
that they did so is a central reason for their survival as both a faith and a
people.
This adaptation began, though, before they built the second Temple while
they were in exile in Babylon. The Jews began to focus their worship on
study of the Torah and prayers and worship. This would become so much a
part of their life that even after the second temple was built Jews who did not
live in Jerusalem continued to gather in houses of study called synagogues to
study and pray together. “Though the temple was rebuilt, the religion
became more and more what it ultimately would become, a religion of
synagogues (“gathering places”), where worship consisted of prayer and the
study of the Scriptures without sacrifices” (MPMF, p. 269.) After the second
temple was destroyed, this form of worship has continued down to the
present day. “Judaism from this point on was basically the religion of the
Torah and its elucidation, and Jewish identity intimately bound up with the
life of the Torah (MPMF, p. 269.)
It was during this time of the second temple that “the Jewish religious
tradition, based on the now established Torah, was being consolidated by a
succession of distinguished rabbis…” (MPMF, p. 269.) They wrote
commentaries and tried to show how the Torah was applicable to areas of
life not covered by the original instructions. There was also a strong belief
that besides the written Torah God had revealed to Moses and the other
prophets after him an Oral Torah. This Torah was not written down but
passed from teacher to student by word of mouth. Due to the upheaval of the
times there was a fear that this oral teaching would be lost and therefore it
needed to be preserved. “These labors were compiled in the Mishnah (c.200
B.C.E. to 200 C.E.), a compilation of stories that fill in the gaps in the oral
Torah, and the Gemara (c. 200 to 500 C.E.), rabbinical commentaries on
the Mishnah to connect it to the written Torah; both together make up the
great multivolumed text known as the Talmud” (MPMF, p. 270.)
Jewish scholars today spend a lifetime studying the Talmud. It is the book
most sacred after Scripture. “Though the Hebrew Torah is believed to be
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literally inspired by God, word by word and even letter by letter, its
explication is beyond the power of the unaided individual human intellect
and requires the authoritative guidance of the tradition” (MPMF, p. 271.)
Jews do not believe that you can just pick up the Bible and understand it. Or
rather, you may understand a very superficial level of meaning, but without
training and study you will miss the deeper truths that are being revealed.
While on the topic of Torah and Scripture it is important to understand how
the Jews look at the Bible. They divide it into three sections. The Torah is
the first section and includes the first five books of the Bible. The Prophets
is the second section and includes some books of history. Smith is
particularly good in pointing out the importance of the prophets in Jewish
history and theology and you will want to read that part of his chapter on
Judaism carefully. The third section is called the Writings. It includes the
“wisdom” literature like the Psalms and Proverbs. “They are primarily
concerned with presenting timeless words of devotion, reflection, moral
advice, and philosophy. They are remarkably diverse. To one whose view of
the Bible is chiefly shaped by those parts concerned with God’s law,
judgment on sin, or calls to faith, passages in the Wisdom Books may seem
amazingly skeptical or speculative” (MPMF, p. 271.)
It is important to note that sometimes when Jews speak of Torah they mean
the whole Bible, sometimes they include the Talmud, and other times they
include all sacred revelation. It depends on the context, but since one
meaning of Torah is “instruction” you can make the argument that wherever
God’s will is revealed is Torah. Mystics in particular expand the meaning of
Torah.
A final important idea of Biblical Judaism is the concept of the Messiah.
When the prophets spoke about the judgment of God it was not only in the
negative terms of condemnation. It was also in positive terms of God helping
to make things right again, not only with the Jews but with the whole world.
Central to this idea was that of the Messiah (the “anointed one”) who would
be sent by God to usher in these days of justice and peace. There were
different ideas circulating about what this Messiah would be like and what
he would do, but the expectation was there. Some Jews still await a literal
Messiah while other Jews see the Messiah as a symbol of the Messianic
Age, a time when we all together, will bring about the justice and peace God
has always wanted for humanity.
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Of course Christians believe that Jesus was the promised Messiah and while
that story will have to await another chapter, it is important to understand
that the Jews do not believe Jesus fulfilled the requirements of being the
Messiah. You might also recognize that this fundamental disagreement
between Jews and Christians has been going on for two thousand years!
“Asked about the last point, most Jews will respond that while they much
admire the Jew called Jesus as a heroic figure and great rabbi, he was not the
kind of Messiah they expected and still anticipate, for after 2,000 years the
world is still painfully far from the reign of peace, justice, and abundance
that prophecy declared the Messiah’s age would bring” (MPMF, p. 277.)
I have taken you through some of the history of early Judaism and its core
concepts found in the Bible. But long after the Bible was settled and
accepted Judaism continued to develop and change. We will now look at
some of these post-biblical times.
Medieval Judaism
Surviving the destruction of the second temple by Romans was not as
difficult as might be imagined because the Jews already had a tradition of
synagogue worship and study. Now it became their only option. Judaism
became the way of Torah as practiced in the home and synagogue. This way
of surviving as a people was called the “Fence of the Torah.” “The Fence of
the Torah style of Judaism persisted through the Middle Ages and into
modern times, as Jews dwindled to very small numbers in their homeland
(first ruled by Christians and then by Muslims). But Jews became important
minorities in European and Near Eastern cities and spread as far as India and
China. When they did not suffer persecution, they generally flourished, and
many Jews rose to prominence in Christian or Muslim societies. Their
education and diligence, fruits of the careful study that the Law required,
were frequently superior to that of their neighbors” (MPMF, p. 272.) With
the emphasis on study and prayer it was only natural that Jewish spirituality
would start to develop a unique mysticism of its own. Jewish mysticism is
known as Kabbala.
Kabbala, “based on finding deeper, allegorical meanings in the words and
letters of the Hebrew Torah that point to metaphysical realities held that God
in himself is infinite and incomprehensible, but that his attributes provide
windows of insight into God as he relates to humanity” (MPMF, p. 273.) For
a long time the teachings of Kabbala were hidden from the majority of the
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people and considered dangerous. You could only study Kabbala from a
teacher who determined that you were ready. This is no longer true in a day
and age when you can pick up a cheap paperback copy of so many mystical
traditions at your local bookstore. However, many Jewish adherents of
Kabbala would say that the modern popular form of Kabbalah made famous
by Hollywood stars is not really the same as the ancient and hidden path
which must still be learned from a master, rather than from a book.
I am not in the position to judge the truth of that statement, but I know I lean
in the direction of caution when any spiritual discipline becomes too
popular. It seems to be a truth that a serious spiritual practice requires a great
deal from the practitioner. It is not simply a “quick fix” approach to life. It
requires commitment and fidelity through the tough and difficult times and
humility and gratitude through the more blissful times.
What I have learned about Kabbala is that it is a path of meditation based on
the dynamic interaction of certain basic attributes of God drawn from the
scriptures and arranged into a pattern of male-female polarities found on the
kabbalistic tree of life. Certainly it has much in common with other forms of
mysticism that believe that God can be known in the heart through love. It
shares the faith that God wishes to be known and is closer to us than we are
to ourselves. Various practices developed over the years teach the student
how to be more present to that Presence known as the Divine. From the
introduction on developmental states of consciousness, the study of the
Talmud could be related to the rational state, and practice of Kabbala to the
trans-rational state.
Modern Judaism
Kabbala became known in a popular form in the 18th century as Hasidism.
This was a devotional movement that started in Eastern Europe through the
teaching of the Ba’al Shem Tov. “Hasidism is a feeling-oriented reaction
against rabbinic emphasis on learning and legalism and against stifling
social conditions” (MPMF, p. 273.) Judaism had reached a stage of
stagnation in some ways. Study was limited to only men and only those men
who could find some way of being supported so that they could study full
time. This left the great majority of the people without much of a spiritual
path. Hasidism did not teach that study was wrong, but that it was not as
necessary as previously thought.
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Hasidism taught that God made himself known to the humble and unlearned
if they opened their hearts in prayer, song and worship. Hasidism placed
emphasis on the intention one brought to one’s life. Emphasis was placed
again on some of the prophetic teachings on justice and mercy. God required
the Hasidic disciples to be merciful rather than to spend all their time at their
books. Mostly it was a correction and reawakening of what was best in
Judaism all along. Most religions need these wake up calls and reformations
at times.
Jews were also influenced by the European enlightenment and the modern
rationalistic discoveries of science and philosophy. “Particularly in
Germany, Jewish leaders and thinkers, such as Moses Mendelssohn
emphasized acculturation to non-Jewish European life and the critique and
defense of Judaism through philosophy” (MPMF, p. 273.) This had the
effect of encouraging a pre-rational understanding of Judaism to make the
leap to a rational understanding and updating of Jewish beliefs, but it also
had the unintended effect of many Jews embracing secular life and leaving
religious life behind them.
Traditional Judaism, mystical Judaism and rationalistic Judaism influence
modern Judaism. But persecution and anti-Semitism have also shaped it. The
unthinkable happened when six million Jews were killed in the death camps
of Nazi Germany. It is impossible to know how much this devastated
European Judaism. Philosophy and theology students have been struggling
with how this could have happened ever since. The Holocaust has had a
profound effect on Christian-Jewish relations and dialogue. Many Christians
have had to ask themselves how this happened in a “Christian” country
during a “civilized” century. And many people have worked long and hard
to make sure that those who died are not forgotten and that we do all we can
to prevent something like this from happening again.
Another influence on Modern Judaism is Zionism. Zionism is a modern
movement that led to the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948. Jews
who started this movement wanted a homeland of their own. They were not
even certain it had to be in Palestine, and looked at land in places like
Africa. However, they eventually focused their efforts on their ancient
homeland. Palestine had always had a few Jews living in certain cities, but
Muslims had ruled it for a thousand years and at the time it was part of the
Turkish Empire. Nevertheless, Jews started immigrating there in the 1890’s.
After World War One, the British took over parts of the Middle East
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including Palestine. Immigration was slow but steady and with all of the
changes in power during the two world wars, Israel was eventually
recognized by the United Nations in 1948 when the British pulled out.
Judaism in America
Jews in America have experienced some anti-Semitism, but in general
America has been good for Jews as it has been for so many other immigrant
people. The majority of Jews live in just a few areas like New York,
Chicago, and Los Angeles. There are over six million Jews in the United
States.
There are four main branches of Judaism. While they have much in
common, they also have a number of differences that relate mainly to how
closely the Law of Moses is followed. “American Judaism is not
homogeneous but is divided into four main traditions. Orthodox Judaism
teaches the full following of the law, or Torah, and is quite traditional in
Talmudic scholarship, theology, and forms of festival and worship” (MPMF,
p. 275.) I always find it interesting to see how movements change. As
explained above, when Hasidism entered Judaism it entered as a liberalizing
force to free up some old and stagnant ways. But over time it has become the
main support of the Orthodox movement. Hasidic people are often
recognized by the way they dress. Their manner of dress stands out partly
because it is very conservative. Those of you who live in or near Palo Alto
may also recognize this way of dressing because there is a large and active
Hasidic community in Palo Alto. They are, of course, of the Orthodox
branch of Judaism. The roles of men and women are traditional in this form
of Judaism.
The most common form of Judaism practiced in the United States is Reform
Judaism. “Reform Judaism, which calls its places of worship “temples”
rather than “synagogues,” has roots in the German Enlightenment
experience. It is liberal in attitude, oriented more to the prophets than the
Law, and believes the essence of Judaism does not involve following the
Law legalistically. Many Reform Jews follow it hardly at all, save for major
festivals, though they refer to its underlying principles in thinking about
ethical and moral questions” (MPMF, p. 275.) If you visit a synagogue or
temple for your final project you will find that the most English is used in
reform temples while the most Hebrew is used in Orthodox synagogues.
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Women have been ordained in Reform Judaism for quite a few years now.
Women’s roles are not as traditional.
“Between Reform and Orthodox is Conservative Judaism, which takes
Jewish law and history seriously as a guide to life but believes that the
Law’s provisions can and should be adjusted to suit the conditions of
modern living” (MPMF, p. 275.) Conservative Judaism gained strength as
Reform Judaism went too far in some Jews’ estimation. They wanted a more
liberal Judaism, open to the best of the modern world, but they did not want
to “throw out the baby with the bath water.” That is, they missed hearing no
Hebrew, missed some of the rituals that brought meaning and value to their
lives and missed the sense of tradition that comes in the Orthodox branch.
Many Jews find Conservative Judaism a happy medium. As a result of the
success of Conservative Judaism, Reform Judaism has come back to the
center over the years, bringing back some of the older traditions and using a
little more Hebrew. Women are now ordained as Rabbis in Conservative
Judaism.
“Reconstructionist Judaism, which has roots in humanism and is the most
radical in terms of reform, holds that Judaism should be ever-evolving to
meet the challenges of the contemporary age, and it rejects “chosenness” in
favor of an all-inclusive Judaism” (MPMF, p. 275.) Reconstructionist
Judaism is very liberal and is the branch that sees belief in God as optional.
They put more emphasis on Judaism as a philosophy and culture. They see
many of its rituals and practices as ways of promoting peace and fellowship
and worth in themselves. They leave belief in a personal God up to the
individual. They are the most progressive in terms of feminism, while Gays
are now being allowed to participate as fully as they desire, whereas
traditional Judaism condemns homosexuality.
Jewish Beliefs
So far I have written about Jewish history and community and some key
ideas like Monotheism and Covenant. But it is important to now take some
time and look more closely at what religious Jews actually believe. “Judaism
is often presented as a religion in which the importance of formal,
theological doctrine is minimized. In a real sense this is true. No dogma is
as significant to most Jews as adherence to the Jewish community, a
relationship many feel better expressed through practice – participation in
the Sabbath worship, festivals, customs, and observances traditional to the
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community – and through a living sense of being part of the Jews’ long
history, than in creedal affirmations” (MPMF, p. 276.) But nevertheless,
they do have some core beliefs.
Jews are interested in dialogue and questions. Debate is promoted by the
lack of rigidity to which they hold their beliefs. There is a lot of room for
debate and this is seen most clearly in the seminary training where a good
part of the time is spent standing over a text, usually the Talmud, and
arguing with your study partner over what the text means. One is surprised
how loud a class can get. But this debating is not done from an adolescent
need to be obstinate or just for the sake of debate, but it is done in the spirit
of inquiry that places faith in the idea that truth is revealed in the middle
somewhere between two points of view. “Jewish theoretical and ideological
expression, on the part of both theologians and ordinary believers, has
accordingly been remarkably free and varied. Practitioners of Judaism as a
religion, or as a communal tradition, have ranged from literal believers in
God as presented in the scriptures to agnostics and atheists” (MPMF, p.
276.) It almost has to do with the original idea of democracy being that the
truth emerges from debate, rather than one side being wrong and the other
right. Instead both are needed to somehow struggle together for the truth to
emerge.
“A conventional touchstone for its [Jewish beliefs] delineation has been 13
principles of faith put down by the great medieval thinker Moses
Maimonides:
1. God is Creator and Guide.
2. God is One in a unique way.
3. God does not have a physical form.
4. God is eternal.
5. God and God alone is to be worshipped.
6. God has revealed his will through the prophets.
7. Moses is the greatest of the prophets.
8. The Torah was revealed to Moses.
9. The Torah is eternal and unchanging.
10. God is all knowing.
11. God gives rewards and punishments.
12. The Messiah will come.
13. The dead will be resurrected” (MPMF, p. 276.)
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“Whether interpreted strictly or liberally, these principles appear to have
four main emphases. First, they affirm the existence of a God who is creator
and sustainer of the world and who is absolutely one without a second. This
expresses the uncompromising monotheism that is Judaism’s central
religious theme and most distinctive gift to humanity” (MPMF, p. 276.) This
is probably the main reason that Jews have not been able to accept Jesus as
more than a prophet. For Christians to declare that Jesus was the Son of God
was to weaken this strict monotheism. Christians can and do argue this point
as we will see, but most Jews have not been able to accept this argument.
“Second, the principles affirm that this God is an active God, in some way
continually involved in human history. He has revealed his will through
prophets and scripture in the context of history and is preparing a messianic
culmination of history” (MPMF, p. 276.) This is also a belief in a personal
God, not just some cosmic divine force. This is a God who cares and is
involved with individuals and the community. There is a relationship here
that means that one is required to be faithful, not to some ideal principles but
to the relationship.
“Third, they affirm the complete religious adequacy of Judaism, its greatest
prophet – Moses, and its Torah” (MPMF, p. 276.) This is again why Jews
believe that they do not need to convert to another religion. They do not
believe they need a mediator like Jesus because God has revealed His will
for them and God’s will has not changed. All they need to stay in that
covenant relationship with God is to be faithful to what they have already
been given.
“Fourth, they powerfully elucidate depth, meaning, and righteous judgment
in individual human life, as they affirm that God knows each thoroughly,
bestowing rewards and punishments to each in a manner not fully specified.
By speaking of personal resurrection Maimonides avows the eternal
significance of each individual life” (MPMF, p. 276-277.) Early Judaism
does not speak much about eternal life. If you read the Torah carefully you
will not find much emphasis or teaching on what happens after death. But
slowly Judaism did develop some of these ideas. Eventually they had a fullblown theology of eternal life. But even with this, the emphasis was
different from many other religions. Judaism does not go into many details
about what eternal life is like. They continue to place the emphasis on this
life. The next life, Judaism seems to say, will take care of itself if we take
care of this life now. Most Jews do not believe in an eternal Hell. If there is a
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place of judgment and punishment it is limited in time until justice has been
satisfied. The emphasis is on mercy.
You will notice that nowhere in these 13 principles was the idea of the Jews
being the “Chosen People” of God affirmed. This is a much-misunderstood
term and has been used against the Jews for centuries. The idea of being
"chosen" does come from the Bible where God chooses Abraham to father a
people who will be God’s people in some special way. But what is often
overlooked is that Abraham is not chosen only for the sake of the Jews but to
be a blessing to all people. Being “chosen” does not mean God loves the
Jews more than other people, although in the early Scriptures it may seem
that way. As Judaism evolves it becomes clear that not only is the God of
Abraham the one God of all people, but that God is concerned that all people
receive justice and mercy.
In other words, the Jews are chosen to follow the way of Torah. Not all
people are required to follow all of the Law of Moses. But all people are
required to follow the basic ethical commandments found in all religions.
Jews are not exclusive in the sense that they think they are the only ones to
be saved by God. Religious Jews believe that all good people who follow
their conscience are loved by God and receive his mercy as much as they do.
Having said all of this, many Jews have found the term too problematic and
no longer use it. This is especially true of Reconstructionist Jews. And
finally, most people, if you look carefully, tend to see themselves as chosen
in some way. After all, what is nationalism if not the sense that “we are
best?” Now that we have looked at some core beliefs let us look at some
core practices.
Jewish Life
Throughout this essay I have been stressing that Jewish life is based less on
belief than on practices. Let’s look at some of these practices now.
“Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972), a Jewish thinker whose ideas often
took mystical wing under kabbalistic and Hasidic inspiration, celebrated the
holiness hidden in all things and the possibility of an intense, passionate
relationship between God and humans. Jewish practices sanctifying the
whole of nature and life facilitate both realizations” (MPMF, p. 278.) The
main idea behind Jewish practices is the making holy of all things. Many of
the laws they follow might seem silly or antiquated to non-Jews (called
Gentiles). However, from the viewpoint of spirituality they start to make a
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lot more sense. Jewish practices have much in common with Buddhist
mindfulness exercises. That is, in order to follow all the Jewish laws and
customs one must practice attention and presence. These qualities are central
to all of the world’s mystical traditions.
Religious practice begins with the family. The family is the core of Judaism.
Most rituals and laws, especially since the destruction of the Temple, are
carried out in the home rather than the synagogue. “One of the most
consistent themes of all Jewish history is that of the holiness of marriage and
the procreation of children: a fundamental religious duty for the wisest and
holiest rabbi as well as for any other Jew. It is not a concession to the
weakness of the flesh but a sacred as well as a joyful way of life and part of
the covenant” (MPMF, pp. 278-279.) Unlike many religions Judaism has no
celibates for the most part. The relationship in a marriage is considered to be
a model of the relationship between God and Israel. And when Jews fall
away from God this is considered an act of unfaithfulness just as if a couple
were to cheat on one another. Again we see the emphasis is on the
relationship.
The first practice that is essential to understand is the Sabbath. It is the
place in the week where one recognizes the holiness of time. “The
cornerstone of Jewish practice is the observance of the Sabbath. This period
of twenty-four hours from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday commemorates
the Lord’s day of rest after the work of creation, and it is intended for the
rest and refreshment of both body and soul. On the Sabbath no work is
done, and there is feast and celebration and nourishment for the body, mind
and soul at the table and the synagogue. Far from being an onerous burden
or a time of negative prohibition, the classical Jewish literature sees the
Sabbath as a bountiful gift to God’s people, as a lovely bride to be welcomed
with eager love” (MPMF, p. 280.) If celebrating the Sabbath seems like just
another obligation that interferes with what you really want to do then you
are missing the point of what the Sabbath means to a religious Jew.
First it is important to recognize that before the Jewish Sabbath was
established there was no such thing as a six-day workweek, let alone a fiveday workweek. The vast majority of people in biblical times were slaves and
they worked constantly. Every day was a workday except for the occasional
festival. So the celebration of the Sabbath was a major breakthrough in
understanding that people need some time to relax and recover from the
stresses of life. It was a major statement about human rights and even animal
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rights as animals too were to be given the day off. But as important and
significant as that is, it is its lowest meaning. Sabbath is to the week what
meditation is to the spiritual practice of someone on a spiritual journey. It is
a day to pay attention in a special way to what makes the other six days
worth living in the first place. It is when you set aside your regular concerns
and instead look at your other values, which tend to get pushed aside by the
pressures of daily living.
I find it unfortunate that historically the day has been presented (and often
lived) as a day of restriction. It easily becomes a day concerned with what
you could not do. But there is a much more positive way to look at the
Sabbath observance than simply what you can’t do. It can be looked on as a
day of freedom to do what you really want to do. Of course that assumes you
have an interest in spiritual things. But if you are a religious Jew, the
Sabbath is a day to relax, be with your family, see friends, eat good food,
take a nap and not least important, make love. Yes, the Sabbath is the day
Par Excellence to make love! It is a day to break free from the rut of things.
It is a day of joy. If it is not these things then you are missing the point.
It seems important to be reminded of the real meaning of the Sabbath in a
day and age when stress is causing so much disease and death. Perhaps we
are not religious. Even so, the need to slow down and change the pace of our
lives is all too evident. The Sabbath rest is one of the great blessings Jews
have brought to the world.
The Sabbath also includes public worship in the synagogue or temple. Most
services consist of readings from the Torah, prayers, chants and songs, and a
sermon of some sort. There is special drama in bringing the Torah out of the
Ark (an ornamental box) and reading from it. Individual services will vary
between different congregations and different denominations. As said above,
for example, the amount of Hebrew used will vary depending on what kind
of service you go to. In Orthodox services men and women do not sit
together, but in Reform and Conservative services they do sit together. In
recent times there have been many experiments in making services more
meaningful for the congregation, especially young people. The Jewish
Renewal movement is especially conscientious about making traditions and
rituals, which may have lost their significance, take on new meaning.
Besides the weekly Sabbath observance there are a number of other
important holidays and festivals.
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Festivals and Practices
The Sabbath is actually the most important “festival” and the only one
mentioned in the Ten Commandments. However, there are other important
holidays that you should be familiar with, especially the High Holy Days
(Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur) and the Passover. The High Holy
Days are also known as the Days of Awe. They start with Rosh Hashanah,
which is the Jewish New Year and end ten days later with Yom Kippur.
Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the year, the Day of Atonement. These
days come around in the Autumn, but the actual dates vary as the Jews
follow a lunar calendar. This is the same as a holiday like Easter, which also
falls on different dates each year.
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is also a celebration of the creation of
the world. It is a joyous time much like our secular new year on January 1st,
but it also has strong spiritual overtones. This is because the Jewish New
Year begins the ten days of repentance that end with the Day of Atonement.
It is a time for Jews to take stock of their lives and seek to correct their
faults. The idea of New Year’s resolutions is similar, but also very different.
A secular resolution may have to do with simple things like trying to
exercise more or stop smoking, but the Jewish New Year looks closer at the
moral virtues of how we live our lives and treat one another. Thus it is also a
time when Jews are to repair damaged relationships and seek forgiveness.
This process culminates in Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. This is a
solemn day of repentance and fasting and long synagogue services of
collective repentance. This day is especially important because it only comes
once a year. Unlike Catholics, for example, who are encouraged to
participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation once a week, Jews do not put
a lot of emphasis on sin and repentance. In Judaism there is no idea similar
to Original Sin in Christianity. So when they do take some time to focus on
their shortfalls they tend to take it seriously and try to make the most of it.
“Three happier festivals are basically grounded in the agricultural society of
ancient Israel and fit the seasonal cycle of all archaic agricultural religion,
yet also have meaning as commemorating the mighty acts of God on behalf
of Israel recorded in the Bible. They orient the believer to God’s work both
in nature and in history. These are Passover in the spring, Shavuot in late
spring or early summer, and Sukkot in autumn” (MPMF, p. 281.)
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The Passover is probably the most famous holiday and the most well known
to Christians because it is believed that the Last Supper celebrated by Jesus
with his disciples was actually a Passover ritual meal, or Seder. The
Passover is a celebration of freedom. “The Passover, or Pesah, recalls God’s
sparing, or ‘passing over,’ the firstborn of the Israelites and the hurried meal
that the Israelites ate before leaving their enslavement in Egypt for the great
events of the Exodus, the parting of the Red Sea, the receiving of the law at
Mount Sinai, and the entry into the Promised Land” (MPMF, p. 281.) The
Passover is not only a holiday celebrating a past event, but for many Jews it
has evolved into a celebration and prayer for freedom in all places at all
times. After the ceremonial part of the meal in which the story of the Exodus
is told through questions and answers and ritual foods representing different
aspects of the Exodus are consumed, a traditional feast like the American
Thanksgiving is enjoyed.
“Shavuot, or Pentecost, seven weeks after Passover, was anciently a harvest
festival for grain and is also commemorated as the anniversary of the giving
of the law on Mount Sinai. Traditional Jews mark it by all-night study of the
Torah, and it is a customary time for religious confirmation and graduation
exercises” (MPMF, p. 281.) Christians also celebrate Pentecost but have
given it a new meaning and significance so that it commemorates the
reception of the Holy Spirit by the disciples of Jesus after his death and
resurrection.
“Bright and colorful Sukkot is the autumn harvest festival for fruits and
vegetables. When possible, booths are set up on lawns and in temples, gaily
decorated with apples, pomegranates, gourds, corn and the like. The booths
are covered by straw, boughs, or palm fronds but with spaces so one can see
the stars. People eat, study, and sometimes sleep in them. Like so much of
Judaism, it is the sort of religious rite that children find exciting and
unforgettable” (MPMF, p. 281.) You can imagine this (if you are not a
practicing Jew) if you ever liked to set up a tent in your back yard during the
summer and sleep outside. Part of the fun of BBQ’s and camping is eating
outside. This is a reminder of the ancient times when during the harvest Jews
would sleep outside under the stars. Many Jewish homes in ancient Israel
also had flat roofs where people slept and spent much of their time because
it was too hot indoors.
“Finally, there several minor holy days. Two of them are Purim and
Hanukkah. Purim, in February or March, commemorates the story
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recounted in the Book of Esther: How the Jews were saved from the wicked
designs of Haman, chief minister of the Persian king, by Esther the Queen
and her cousin Mordecai. Like Mardi Gras or carnival in Latin countries,
which comes at approximately the same time, Purim is the time when
religion gives sanction to the role of comedy, buffoonery, and ‘letting go’ in
human life” (MPMF, p. 281.) This is the one holiday where it is O.K. to
drink a little more than usual, even to the point where one cannot tell the
difference between the names of Mordecai and Haman! This is also the time
when children are allowed to shake rattles whenever the name of Haman is
mentioned when reading the traditional story in synagogue. Many
synagogues and temples put on plays, carnivals and food festivals during
this time as well. People will dress up and wear masks and costumes. It is a
fun time; you should check it out if you ever get the chance!
Hanukkah is another minor festival that has only recently grown in
recognition, if not importance, due to its proximity to Christmas, especially
in the United States where that Christian celebration has such a commercial
focus. “It commemorates the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem in 165
B.C.E. The event is too late to even to have been recorded in the Hebrew
Scriptures, although the books of Maccabees do appear in the Roman
Catholic Bible and in the ‘Apocrypha’ of some Protestant versions. The
celebration is simple and is carried out in the home. An eight-branch
Hanukkah menorah, or candelabra, is lit, and a Hanukkah song sung, over
an eight-day period. On successive nights cakes and gifts are presented to
the children” (MPMF, p. 282.) At the time of the historical rededication of
the temple there was only enough oil to light the temple lights for one day,
but the oil miraculously lasted for eight days until more oil could be brought.
This holiday is a festival of lights, which many religions and cultures
celebrate. It is a renewal of hope at the darkest time of the year. Christmas
lights are also connected to this need for light in the dark of winter, a sign of
hope and joy. Many traditional Jews regret that this minor holiday has taken
on so much commercial and expensive attributes, while others welcome it as
an opportunity to take part in the holiday atmosphere at this time of year.
Not a festival, but an important practice that you have probably heard of is
the Bar and Bat (or Bas) Mitzvah. “Jewish boys undergo certain rites of
passage: circumcision, performed as a religious act, when eight days old;
Bar Mitzvah, when the boy reads from the Hebrew Scriptures and begins
entry into manhood. In America, the Bar Mitzvah has often become the
occasion of gala celebrations. In the Conservative, Reform,
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Reconstructionist traditions, and to some extent in the Orthodox tradition, a
parallel festival for girls, the Bat Mitzvah, has been introduced. Reform
Judaism also has a confirmation rite for young people of high school age,
when commitment to the faith is expressed” (MPMF, pp. 282-283.) The
term means son (bar) of the commandment (mitzvah) or bat (daughter) of
the commandment. This is a big celebration because much hard work and
study goes into the preparation for this day. It takes years to learn the
Hebrew language and all the customs and traditions. A youth of 13 is
expected to be responsible for his/her own spiritual life and adherence to
Jewish law by the time they undergo this celebration. Many adults who
never went through this ceremony but who later decide to become more
traditional in the practice of this religion will undergo the training in order to
celebrate their Bar or Bat Mitzvah even if they are much older.
Another observance to know about regards the Jewish dietary laws. Many
people know that Jews don’t eat pork. But that is actually only one small
part of the diet. The dietary laws require the Jews who follow them to be
very strict about what and when they eat. This serves many purposes, uniting
the Jews with one another and helping Jews to marry within the tradition.
Some people think the laws were for health reasons and are no longer
necessary. But that is not true. The truth, ultimately, is simply that God has
asked the Jews to follow these laws and so they do. Supposed reasons like
health are just rationalizations that may have some truth to them but do not
really explain anything. There are all sorts of health laws not included for
example, so that argument is weak. Many Jews no longer strictly follow all
the rules, probably because they can’t figure out a reason to do so that makes
sense to them. It is interesting to note that many religions have dietary
restrictions. Many Buddhists don’t eat meat, Mormons don’t drink, smoke,
or use caffeine in coffee or soda, Muslims don’t eat pork, and Roman
Catholics don’t eat meat on Fridays. The rules go on. I have never found a
good answer other than the mindfulness eating this way can engender in the
participant.
How do the Jewish dietary laws work? Well vegetarians have it easy
because all the laws have to do with animal products. If you are vegetarian,
you are pretty close to being kosher. What is kosher (or edible) “deals only
with killing and eating conscious life. The basic rules are that animals eaten
must have a split hoof and chew the cud; this includes cattle and sheep but
excludes a vast swarm: swine, reptiles, elephants, monkeys, horses, and all
carnivorous beasts, among others. Of sea creatures, only those with fins and
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scales may be taken; birds of prey and insects are forbidden. Furthermore,
meat must be slaughtered and prepared in special ways to be kosher. The
rules also forbid the eating of meat and dairy products together and expect
that separate pots and plates be used for each. The keeping of two sets of
dishes (and a third for Passover) is a sure sign of a quite traditional Jewish
home.” (MPMF, p. 283.) Some very orthodox Jews will even have two
refrigerators, one for dairy products and one for meat products.
Another observance is required of men. They are required to pray in at least
both the morning and night and to make time for Torah study. Many women
have also taken on these requirements on a volunteer basis.
It should be clear from the above section that Judaism, as stressed earlier, is
a religion of action more than beliefs. “In all these observances we see again
that Judaism is not primarily oriented toward doctrine as its basis; one finds
that ideas about God and such matters as the afterlife vary immensely. Yet
the Jewish faith continues to be intensely felt as a way of life here and now.
The reason may be that it is oriented toward time and history, rather than
eternal ideas, as the source of human meaning and obligation. The law is
important because it comes out of past history and now controls present
time, making time holy through demands on how it is spent and how
biological events in time are sanctified. In turn, the Jewish hope of salvation
is chiefly oriented toward future time. The tradition affirms that God will, in
his time, send the Messiah, a hero heir to the greatest kings and prophets of
old but greater than they, and in his day and through his work all evils on the
Earth will be rectified and an era of joy initiated. Some interpret this hope
literally; others figuratively, in terms of a “Messianic Age.” (MPMF, p.
283.)
The focus on almost all of the holidays and observances is on the present.
We have seen that Jews do not talk a lot about the next life. It is a thisworldly religion concerned with the here and now. “Judaism is a religion
whose centers of value are in time: tradition out of the past and hope for the
future. We are beings in time and history, and we are to look to the tradition
and our hopes, rather than to new revelation or mysticism alone to find what
we need most to know and believe to live this human life as it is meant to be
lived” (MPMF, p. 283.) Again, I would encourage all the students in this
class to remember that Jews are a variable group who follow all these
holidays and traditions in a wide variety of ways. If you visit a synagogue or
temple for your final project it will be important to know what kind of
22
congregation you are going to attend and to go with Jewish family or
friends, if possible.
The Negative Side of Judaism
Unlike Christianity and Islam, Judaism has only rarely had a great deal of
political power over others and so its negative side is not as historically
evident. However, we can see this negative side externally in some of the
ancient stories in the Bible and in some of the issues that come up with the
modern state of Israel. I will also look at some internal issues.
In the Bible the Jews seem to have an evolving sense of God. The early
understanding of God seems to be of a tribal God who is one among many.
As a tribal God the concern is with the Jews rather than with all people. You
see this a great deal in the books of Joshua and Judges. Here it is God who
has not only miraculously freed the Jews from enslavement in Egypt but
promises to help them wipe out the people living in Canaan so that the Jews
can form their own nation in the Holy Land. The takeover of the indigenous
people is portrayed in quite brutal terms. Often even the women and children
were also to be “put under the ban” which meant a complete elimination. It
was this idea that came to be known in Europe as Manifest Destiny. Under
this term it was used to rationalize the move of Europeans from the east
coast of America all the way across to the west coast, even when there were
native people “in the way.” I mention this because it is easy to judge the
Jews for harshness for their actions over three thousand years ago while
Americans have a history that is much closer in time, as was discussed in the
Early Religions lecture. The Jewish understanding of God eventually
enlarged itself under the prophets, who taught the Jews that God loved all
people and the Jews were to treat all people with justice. As a result there
were even rules about how slaves were to be treated, and eventually the Jews
gave up holding slaves and their wars became defensive rather than
offensive.
In modern Israel we see some negative issues arising. But a few
clarifications are in order. First it is true that religious Jews, mostly very
conservative Orthodox Jews, have a great deal of power in Israel. But that
power is through elections and influence, much like the power accumulated
by groups like the “Moral Majority” in the United States. This means that as
a nation with a Constitution, Israel is secular. Many people do not realize
this. So it is O.K. to criticize Israeli policy, but it is important to recognize
23
that Israeli policy does not always reflect Jewish religious thought and
values. I find that many people make arguments such as “Why do the Jews
treat the Palestinians the way they do?” But I think in a philosophy class it is
important to be clear in our use of language and terminology. So I always
ask students what they mean by the “Jews.” Do they mean American Jews?
Of course they don’t. American Jews are all over the board on political
issues in Israel. It is also important to realize that not all Jews are Israelis. In
fact the majority of Jews are not. What they mean is “Why do Israeli Jews
treat Palestinians the way they do?” Now that is a valid question.
It is also important to state that not all Jews in Israel are religious. Most, in
fact, are secular. And just as not all Americans agree with our war in Iraq,
for example, so not all Israeli Jews agree with Israeli policies regarding the
Palestinians. So you have to be careful when you talk about a “Jewish”
policy just as you have to be careful about calling an American policy a
“Christian” policy. While it is true that many Americans are Christian, it
does not mean the United States can speak for the Christian religion
officially, as the religion is much bigger than the Christians in the United
States alone. There is so much controversy about Israel it is important we be
clear about our terms and what we mean.
Having said all of that, modern Israel poses real problems for religious Jews
who want to follow the teachings of the Law and prophets and yet must
make the hard and “worldly” decisions of a modern nation. As a small
Jewish nation in the middle of the Middle East, Israelis have been on the
defensive since before their nation was founded in 1948. Their decisions
have been made on this basis. It is not for me as your instructor to teach a
political science class, but I did want to point out some of the philosophical
issues so that no matter what your personal opinion is you are fully
informed. Israel is a historical phenomenon as well as a religious problem
for some Jews. Feel free to think how you want about Israeli policies, but try
not to judge all Jews by the actions of the Israeli government. I hope the
difference is clear. We will also see that is very unjust to judge Islam by the
choices a relatively few fanatical Muslims make. Perspective, perspective,
perspective!
On an internal level, the dark side of Judaism has been most apparent in its
focus on the letter of the Law rather than the spirit of the Law. Certainly
there is nothing wrong with following the letter of the Law. It is even
admirable and as we have discussed, can be a real call to mindfulness. But it
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is very easy for human nature to get so caught up in all of the little things
that we miss the big picture. Even in ancient Israel the prophets were often
calling the people to task for adhering to small rules but missing the big
picture of living in a compassionate and just way. We can all see this in our
own lives. We all know people who pay all their taxes, don’t speed, but then
judge other people, gossip about them and in general don’t treat people right.
Perhaps even we are guilty of this at times! It is not easy to be consistent. A
focus on rules can easily blind people to the bigger issues. This has been an
ongoing problem for Judaism and you will see that each time Judaism has
renewed itself from within, such as in the Hasidic movement, it has had to
deal with this issue.
A final negative area for Judaism that I want to mention has been its
treatment of women. Judaism is a patriarchal religion and this will be
discussed further in the next section.
Women in Judaism
As promised in the Introduction to this class, it is important to me to have a
section devoted to the topic of women. Judaism is a patriarchal religion. The
question a philosopher must ask himself or herself is whether the religion is
inherently patriarchal or not. One must remember that the patriarchal
revolution occurred before the founding of the historical religions. Many
scholars think that the world went from matriarchal to patriarchal about
10,000 B.C.E., around the same time as the agricultural revolution that
changed so much of our planet’s history. For tens, if not hundreds of
thousands of years, our ancestors were followers of the Early Religions
discussed in the second week of class. But then everything changed. The
historic religions all arose after this change. What is not clear is how much
the historical religions, such as Judaism, shaped patriarchy and how much
patriarchy shaped the historical religions. There is much new information
and still a lot of controversy, but if this subject really interests you, I suggest
you take a Women’s Studies class and read some of the current literature.
For the sake of this class we do not need to make a decision about what
came first, but simply describe two elements: women in traditional Judaism
and women in modern Judaism.
Women in Traditional Judaism
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“Judaism, throughout its long history, has exhibited a certain ambivalence
toward women. On the one hand Jewish women, as wives and mothers, have
been celebrated in Jewish tradition. Judaism’s texts and traditions extol
outstanding women as charismatic luminaries, heroines, intellectuals,
devoted wives and daughters-in-law, and leaders. Two books of the Hebrew
Scriptures are named after the exemplary women whose lives they recount.
On the other hand, texts and traditions at times also reveal a profound
suspicion of women and their sexuality, resulting in restrictive rules and
disparaging pronouncements” (MPMF, p. 284.) Only men received
extensive education and as a result they were the recorders of history. Thus
there is not only a male bias toward what was worth recording but there
were whole areas of women’s lives not recorded at all. Most of what was
written down were the areas of women’s lives that intersected with men,
especially in the areas of marriage and childbearing. Other areas, like
devotions performed only by women, women’s relationships with one
another, how they saw themselves, are all missing from the record.
“Perhaps unique to the Jewish tradition, however, is its apparent refusal to
pin down one idealized conception of womanhood. While Proverbs 31 sets
out the characteristics of the ideal wife, the Hebrew Scriptures provide
accounts of women who have been significant participants in the unfolding
of Jewish history in other ways” (MPMF, p. 284.) In the book of Judges, for
example, there was a woman named Deborah who was one the “judges” of
Israel who ruled the nation for periods of time before the monarchy was
founded with Saul and then David as the first two kings. Deborah played an
important part in a battle which saved the nation and as a judge she was
respected for her insight, wisdom, and ability to hear and discern the will of
God for his people. But these types of stories are rare. Most of the stories in
the Bible are about men and written by men.
“It is the role of a wife and mother that takes center stage for women in
traditional Judaism, and most of the traditions regarding women revolve
around her role in the home” (MPMF, p. 284.) This role in the home was so
important that women were exempted from many of the religious duties of
men because they did not have the same amount of time to go to synagogue.
“Significantly, the Talmud provides 613 obligations for men, including the
obligation to appear at Temple and to study the Torah. Yet, only three
obligations apply to women: lighting the candles for the Sabbath celebration,
breaking of the Sabbath bread, and observing niddah [rules of purity
described below]. The result of this has been a general tendency to exclude
26
women from study and limit their participation and attendance at templethose things that are at the sacred centers of Judaism. And even when
women were included in temple worship, they could not be counted in the
minyan (the quorum of ten required for public worship). Of course, with
such limitations, women were not considered for leadership roles in the
synagogue and were not ordained as rabbis” (MPMF, p. 286.)
Confining women to this role in the home meant that a great deal of
emphasis was put on a women’s fertility. This was of course not only
limiting to women but was also unfair, as women were blamed for
childlessness, as men’s roles in fertility were not fully understood. “While
the birth of children was a blessing, it was believed that barrenness meant
that God had judged a woman harshly, and the failure to bear children was
grounds for divorce” (MPMF, p. 284.) Almost needless to say, sons rather
than daughters were the preferred offspring.
Many of the laws found in the Bible and in the Talmud seem to show that
women were considered the property of men rather than individuals with
their own inherent worth. We even see this attitude played out in modern
weddings when the father walks his daughter down the aisle where she is
“handed off” to the husband. Some women are getting around this
implication by either walking down the aisle by themselves or having both
parents walk them down the aisle.
Women as men’s property is amply illustrated in the following: “The story
of the Levite’s concubine (second wife) is one of the most disturbing stories
in the Hebrew Scriptures. It is often cited by Jewish and Christian feminists
as one of several passages exhibiting a disregard for the humanity of the
women portrayed in the Bible and evidence of women’s extremely low
position in society at the time. The Levite (of the Levi tribe) was traveling
with his concubine and was staying in the home of a man who had provided
them shelter. While resting there, some men came and threatened the
Levite, whereupon he threw his concubine out to them as an appeasement.
In the morning, the Levite, her husband, found her dead on the doorstep.
This incident was the catalyst for a fierce battle against those who had
committed the outrage, but it is clear that the outrage was the offense against
the Levite rather than the concubine in her own right. Thus, there was no
condemnation of the husband for having thrown her out to the malefactors to
a horrific death (MPMF, p. 285.) We see another similar story in the book of
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Genesis when two strangers seek hospitality in Sodom before God destroyed
it.
As a side note, it is interesting to me that many people who place the Bible
on a puritanical level tend to forget that it contains these stories! Yet I find it
to be a remarkable document because it includes these stories. The Bible
does not whitewash human nature. It includes everything: the good, the bad,
and the ugly.
There is also a great emphasis on women’s “purity.” This is “reflected in
niddah-the rules regarding menstruation. These rules address the taboos that
[are] seen in other religious traditions regarding the avoidance by men of the
blood of menstruation and childbirth. Some of the rituals and regulations
concerned with these taboos (which involve avoidance of sexual contact and
prohibiting women from entering the temple during proscribed times, as well
as ritual cleansings) still are observed today in Orthodox Judaism” (MPMF,
p. 286.)
As a result of these limitations, marriage was a significant time in a
woman’s life. Parents usually arranged the marriages (as was common
practice everywhere, not only in Judaism, until the last few hundred years in
the Western world) although a woman’s consent was considered necessary.
How free a woman was to decline, though, makes this consent somewhat
problematic.
The patriarchy really reared its head in the rules governing divorce. Only a
man was free to seek a divorce. A woman could only get a divorce if the
man agreed to give her one. “A very difficult situation is for a woman to
become an agunah-a woman who is not free to remarry either because her
husband refuses to provide the get [bill of divorce] or he disappears. This
has been considered a problem for Orthodox women whose husbands have
not been accounted for after wars and, more recently, after the Holocaust.
Unless a wife can find two witnesses (who must both be men, because
women are not permitted to appear as witnesses in court), she is never free to
remarry” (MPMF, p. 286.) This is such a problem that it is currently being
hotly debated in Israel and in Orthodox Judaism.
Most of the above has to do with ancient and traditional Judaism and how
those traditions are still upheld by the Orthodox adherents. Many students
will be happy to read the next section, where many of the issues facing
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women in the modern world are being addressed in modern Judaism, as it is
in most religions around the world to one extent or another.
Jewish Women Today – Modernity and Feminism
Traditional Judaism lasted more or less until the 1800’s. Before that time
Jews were often suppressed and persecuted in the societies in which they
lived. As a result they stayed very close to their traditional faith as a means
of keeping themselves together. But when the movement called Modernity
came to Europe, the Jews were emancipated from living in ghettos and were
allowed to participate more fully in the culture of Europe. This encounter
challenged their traditional ways of life and thought. Modernism, as
discussed in the Introduction to this course, brought about movements like
democracy, pluralism, and civil rights. The Jews could not encounter these
ideas without having to reevaluate the role of women in their religion.
“Out of this ebullition of ideas arose Reform Judaism, which championed
women’s rights. In 1846, at its Breslau Conference, Reform Judaism spoke
out for women’s equality-an idea that began a slow unfolding into practice.
Gradually attitudes toward women shifted, and the door to greater
participation of women began to be opened. Finally, after much debate and
obstruction by more conservative forces within the ranks, Sally Priesand
became the first publicly ordained woman rabbi in 1972. Today there are
women ordained as rabbis and cantors in Reform, Conservative, and
Reconstructionist Judaism. Although Orthodox Judaism still does not ordain
women, it now permits and encourages their study of the Torah” (MPMF,
pp. 287-288.) This must not be well known because each quarter I have
students who go to a synagogue or temple for their final project and express
surprise when they see a female rabbi and/or cantor. Many Christian
denominations also have women priests and ministers. Change seems to be
happening although the change is too radical for some conservatives and too
slow for progressives!
Feminism is continuing to challenge traditional Judaism in many ways to
find a way for more women to be fully involved in the practice of their
religion. In feminist research, much about the past has been questioned. For
example, feminists claim that the traditional separation of men and women
during worship is not a part of the ancient religion, nor is it inherent in the
religious teachings and doctrine. Rather, this is a tradition that was picked up
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along the way from other cultures and can thus be safely discarded. Many
congregations no longer have separate seating arrangements.
Women have also challenged the use of male terms for God when God is
understood to be gender neutral. If God is seen as male and it is believed that
humans were created in God’s image, some feminists believe that this
understanding places women in second place right from the start. In order to
change this, women have sought gender-neutral language for liturgical
prayer and services. For example, instead of saying “We praise His name”
they would say “We praise God’s name.” It may seem like a small change to
some people but it can make a big difference to how both men and women
feel about the prayers of their own tradition. Language, and how we use it,
can be a help or a stumbling block.
Women are challenging the negative stereotypes of femininity. “Some have
begun to emphasize the feminine images of the Divine, readily accessible in
the mystical tradition, which can be found in Jewish texts and traditions –
Shekhinah (the spirit of God at the Sabbath, which is feminine) and
Wisdom (imaged as female and present with God at the beginning of
creation)” (MPMF, p. 288.) Wisdom also has a feminine name in Greek,
namely Sophia. That is where we get the word philosophy, as explained in
the Introduction to this course. Philos means love, Sophia means wisdom,
and so philosophy means the “love of wisdom.”
Many Jewish women have worked towards bringing new life to the rituals
that have such great meaning in Judaism. They have created the Bat Mitzvah
to balance the Bar Mitzvah discussed above. This allows girls who are
coming of age to also receive this initiation into Jewish religious practice.
They have also updated the wedding ceremony, and created new rituals to
mark turning points in a woman’s life such, as childbirth and menopause.
The question with change is always the same: “How do we transform
tradition and still maintain Jewish identity and community? This question
has been answered by various feminists in several ways in the distinct
branches of Judaism, and inroads have been made by uncovering
androcentric biases, reinterpreting texts, including women’s experience, and
reconstructing Jewish law and tradition by challenging traditional attitudes
toward women” (MPMF, p. 289.)
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We live in an exciting time, when all these changes are taking place, not
only in religion, but also in all of life, including politics and business. Some
people find the changes too slow and difficult. Some people find a
spirituality that honors the masculine and the feminine equally, but others
choose to stay within their own tradition, but work for change. The historical
and developmental perspective that is central to Integral Philosophy allows
one to see that progress may seem slow, but has actually been quite rapid,
considering that Judaism is a religion nearly 4,000 years old.
Summary
Judaism begins with a nomadic people in the Middle East who were
pioneers of a great monotheistic faith. They understood themselves as
chosen by God to be in a covenant relationship with God. “The Hebrew
Scriptures contained the Torah, or Law of Moses-its first five books-giving
the commandments God had given the people to set them apart and to reveal
the covenant relationship; histories, showing the course of the relationship
with God; prophetic books, giving the proclamations of Divine spokesmen
of what God says in particular situations; and wisdom books, with timeless
poetry and philosophy from out of this historical experience” (MPMF, pp.
289-290.)
For a long time Judaism was centered on the temple in Jerusalem in the land
of Israel. But the Romans defeated the Jews in the year 70 C.E. and the
temple was destroyed. After that Judaism became centered in the family
home life, in the synagogue, and in the study and following of the Torah.
The Jews moved all over the world, but primarily in various communities in
Europe and the Middle East. Sometimes they prospered and sometimes they
were persecuted and killed. In addition, “the mystical philosophy of
kabbalism arose. Since the beginning of modern times in the seventeenth
century, Judaism has seen the rise of the popular mysticism called Hasidism
in Eastern Europe, trends toward rationalism and secularism in response to
the Enlightenment, persecutions culminating in the Holocaust during World
War II, further dispersal through immigration, and Zionism-the successful
movement to create a Jewish state in the Holy Land” (MPMF, p. 290.)
American Jews are members of four distinct groups: the Reform,
Conservative, Reconstructionist, and Orthodox congregations. Many Jews
do not belong to a congregation, but instead call themselves secular Jews.
There are also non-religious Jews who are proud to be members of a culture
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and philosophy that is ancient and full of wisdom, but who no longer believe
in the religious teachings of Judaism or follow the Law of Moses in any of
its details, although they may approve and practice its basic ethical laws.
We also looked at some of the major holidays and festivals. By far the most
important is the weekly celebration of the Sabbath, a day of rest and
renewal. The importance of the High Holy Days was discussed as well as
various coming of age ceremonies, especially the Bar and Bat Mitzvah,
when young people assume their adult roles within Jewish practice.
Finally we looked at the role of women in Judaism, and saw how the attitude
toward women in traditional Judaism was ambivalent. We discussed some
of the current changes in the role and understanding of women in Judaism
today.
Summary Based on Joachim Wach’s Three Forms of Religious
Expression: MPMF, p. 274
Fundamental features of Judaism
THEORETICAL
Basic Worldview
Universe is made by God but is an arena for
humans to live in and enjoy, exercising free
will, in cooperation with God’s guidance.
God or Ultimate Reality
In traditional Judaism, a sovereign, personal,
all-good creator God.
Origin of the World
Created by God.
Destiny of the World
Will be led by God through historical
vicissitudes, until finally a messianic age
brings it to a paradisal state.
Origin of Humans
Created individually by God.
Destiny of Humans
Chiefly in this world; with Divine help and
human cooperation, the human condition
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can become better and better until a
paradisal age is reached.
Revelation or Mediation
Between the Ultimate and
The Human
The scriptures, especially the Torah, or Law,
and its traditional interpretation in the
Talmud.
PRACTICAL
What Is Expected of Humans
To honor and serve God by following the
Law of Moses in letter or spirit, to maintain
the identity of the people, and to promote
the ethical vision of the great prophets and
humanitarians. Jewish customs are followed
in the home as well as in the place of
worship.
SOCIOLOGICAL
Major Social Institutions
After the Jewish people as such, the basic
unit is the congregation of Jews, forming a
synagogue or temple. Jewish family life is
also very important.
I encourage any of you who will go to a Jewish service for your final project
to choose carefully among the different congregations. Make your choice
based on the kind of experience you want to have. If you want to see and
experience something very traditional and with a lot of Hebrew, you will
probably want to choose an Orthodox or Conservative Congregation. If you
want a service that uses much more English and is more “modern,” you
might want to choose a Reform congregation. It is always best to call ahead
and check on whether visitors are welcome (you almost always are), dress
code requirements, etc. For example, an Orthodox rabbi will not sign your
bulletin on the Sabbath, but a Reform rabbi might. You will usually get
much more out of the service if you go with a friend or family member who
can explain to you what is going on.
I have also had students attend “Messianic” services and express surprise
that these Jews believe in Jesus. These are people who are Jewish by birth
but who have converted to Christianity. They accept the Christian teaching
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that Jesus is the Messiah promised by God. This group, also known as “Jews
for Jesus” are very controversial among Jews. Some Jews feel that this
movement is a real betrayal of everything held sacred by Jews, especially
considering the rotten way Jews have been treated by Christians for most of
Christian history. Jews who believe in Jesus obviously feel differently, as
they consider themselves “fulfilled” Jews and do not wish to join a Christian
Congregation. They want to hold traditional services, in Hebrew, but they
add the additional Christian belief in Jesus. So if you decide to go to a
service like that, be aware that it is rather unique and still controversial and
not considered by traditional Jews to be a Jewish service.
As always, these lectures are brief introductions. Don’t draw heavy
conclusions from what you read here. If you really want to know what
Judaism is like you need to read a great deal more and, mostly, you need to
hang out with some practicing Jews!
On we go!
Bibliography:
Robert S. Ellwood and Barbara A. McGraw, Many Peoples, Many Faiths:
Women and Men in the World Religions, Seventh Edition, [Upper Saddle
River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2002]
Mary Pat Fisher, Living Religions: A Brief Introduction, [Upper Saddle
River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2002]
Lewis M. Hopfe and Mark R. Woodward, Religions of the World, Eighth
Edition, [Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2001]
Huston Smith, The Illustrated World’s Religion: A Guide to our Wisdom
Traditions, [New York, New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1994]
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