Friday, 30 July 2010
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The Collapse of Modern Judaism
According to an article in the New York Times, the Israeli parliament is trying to pass a law that the definition of Jewishness will now be determined by a group of ultra-Orthodox rabbis. Basically, all of Israel is considered non-Jewish until proven otherwise.It's worth noting that the methods used by these rabbis defy the conditions set by Hillel, who is arguably the most well-known rabbi in Judaism (besides, perhaps, Jesus).
Thanks to Adolf Hitler, the 18 million Jews that existed in this world-- descendants of survivors of crusades, inquisitions, and genocides for millenia --was reduced to 12 million. That's barely even 1 percent. It's ridiculous that any Jew would want to establish a law to make that number even less. That means that a majority, if not all, of Jews in America will be stripped of their Jewish identity.
It makes sense that I should be somewhat relieved by this. I mean, if I was never Jewish in the first place, I guess I can worship Jesus now without guilt. This is difficult to explain without offending Jews of any denomination, but I have to say it anyway: the issue of how Jewishness is defined is a big reason why I fled to Jesus (I don't like the word "convert," as it implies that I left my Jewish identity behind, which I didn't. It's like trying to peel my skin off). I didn't like having to justify to my Orthodox friends that I was just as Jewish as they were even if I never kept kosher or wore long skirts. I have never been comfortable with the idea that the definition of what makes someone Jewish can change as time moves forward. The introduction of the Reform movement in the seventies promoted a "pick and choose" style of faith. It worked for many Jews in America; it didn't work for me. I don't want a faith with laws that change with technology and societal norms. I wanted a relationship with a consistent Creator.
This is an odd argument coming from me, I know. I should know better than to judge Judaism based on the people who try to make it something that fits with their lifestyle, because I am the first person to jump on a non-Christian for criticizing Christianity as a whole based on people who twist Jesus' words to fit their lifestyle. I am biased, obviously, because I am now looking at Judaism as a system of laws that have already been fulfilled. Many people have told me I have no right to call myself Jewish anymore because of my faith in Christ. Okay, point taken. But if this law passes, no Jew that I know will be able to call themselves Jewish anymore, either. Where do you draw the line?
Here's what I've always loved about being Jewish: it's something you just are. Sure, people convert, but for those who are born to Jewish parents, that is all it takes. You can be Orthodox to the letter of the law, or Reform to the point where you question the existence of God, but as long as your parents are Jews, you're golden. So no matter how far you may stray, you are always welcomed back to a community with ties that date back thousands of years, still strong despite all the attempts made to annihilate us. Sorry Hitler, but not even your Nazis were strong enough to defeat us.
This new law is nothing more than a nail drilled into the coffin of what modern Judaism has become. I may not agree with other Jews' ways of practicing their faith, but God help me, it is their right to do so because they too were figuratively standing next to me on Mount Sinai, receiving the laws of Moses. I still consider them family even if they do not feel the same about me.
It's not my place to determine anymore what a "real Jew" is since my beliefs clearly defy the norm, but I can tell you this: blood is thicker than any law. And that's all the proof I need.
Is Judaism, or other religions, determined by ethnicity or practice? What makes a religion or people distinctive? How much sway should governments and/or religious leaders have in determining who is or is not part of a given religion?
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- From: sarahzthoughts@xanga
- Name: Sarahbeth
- Location: United States
- About Me: I want to be someone that future generations of children will read about in their history books.
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Comments (30)
Not capable of commenting intelligently on the subject, but I appreciate what you have to say on the matter.
I never understood why it seemed that Judaism contained certain rules that seemed designed to limit and close off the population of Jews, instead of growing it. Looking forward to learning from other Jews on Xanga.
Jewishness is it a culture, a ethnicity, of a religion. I believe it is all of the above but primary a religion. Without the religion the culture and ethnic identification eventual disappears. As of now you are a Jew who is a christian. But it not likely that your children will marry Jews
@squeakysoul@xanga -
I'm Jewish myself, and not Christian...I'm interested in religions in general, so that's why I'm here. I don't know the real reason we've kept that tradition of matrilineal descent, but we have. And since we are not a evangelical faith (ie, one that looks for converts like Christianity, Buddhism, etc), we don't think in terms of numbers. I've heard rabbi's say it's better to have 5 pious members of a community compared to 100 semi-pious.
What makes someone Jewish is not up to debate outside the communtity...it's odd that this is in a Christian site. Anyhoo, since I don't know you I got a bit confused:
Am I correct that only your dad is Jewish? I read an article on this subject, and it looks like those rabbis were trying to define a Jew as solely someone with a Jewish mother, or converted by an Orthodox rabbi, correct? In that case, since you said by this law you would no longer be defined as Jewish, am I correct that only your father is Jewish? In that case, why are you hard on people with a "pick-and-choose style of faith" when, since you obviously consider yourself Jewish, you do the same thing? The traditional definition of a Jew is someone born with a Jewish mother. I'm not defending that tradition or anything, but it is fact
I think as you have pointed out there are many differing definitions of "what is Jewish" and as "NotWhereIThought" posted prior to me, Orthodox Judaism requires that the mother be Jewish for the child to be considered Jewish. There has been an ongoing battle between the right and left wings in Israel as I'm sure you are aware, the right wing being the more Orthodox and exclusionary. This would signal a push further to the right and perhaps a move away from even Israel's form of democracy.
It's serendipitous that last night I watched the episode of Seinfeld in which Jerry's dentist converts to Judaism and immediately starts telling Jewish jokes. Jerry tells his dentist "I don't know if you should be telling Jewish jokes" to which his dentist replies "Jerry, it's our humor that has held us together as a people". It was funny because the guy just converted the day before. A little later Jerry starts telling dentist jokes to which Kramer protests and calls Jerry an "anti-dentite". Kramer tells Jerry next come the slang words and before you know you'll be telling them they should have their own schools. Jerry responds, "Dentists do have their own schools" and Kramer points at him hysterically and yells "SEE!" Hilarious.
@NotWhereIThought@xanga - I'm curious. You say you don't know the "real" reason for the tradition of matrilineal descent. Is there a standard provided reason? I was given to understand that the tradition of matrilineal descent was instated as a means of being the most surefire way of linking a child to Jewish ancestry. Is this incorrect?
I never did get the whole ethnic purity thing. I knew girls in school whose parents wouldn't allow them to date guys who weren't Italian. I've dated 3 Jewish girls who never told their parents because their parents wouldn't approve. Someday I hope we all wake up and realize we're all people. If everyone would stay home one evening and figure out how much money we could save and use for better things if we weren't funding wars against each other a light might go off in our heads. The image of weapon makers standing on unemployment lines is a nice image.
There seem to be in each religion many different denominations, and some people in each group like to point out that others are not "real" Christians, Jews, Muslims, etc. I think it's wrong for any one group to be given the official power (especially by the government) to determine who "real" members of the faith are. That undermines freedom of religion.
If Jewishness can be defined by laws, then they should also include the whole of the Moslem community. You guys share more in common with the Moslems than with Christians. After all, wasn't it the Jewish community who tossed out the Messiah which started Paul on his Christian fate?
@NotWhereIThought@xanga - Both my parents are Jewish. I meant that I would no longer be considered a Jew according to these Rabbis (or most Jews in general) because I am also a follower of Jesus (just don't get me on started on how much I hate labels like "Jew for Jesus" or "Messianic Jew").
The Jewish community can't have it both ways; if someone is born of a Jewish mother, then by default, they are "once a Jew, always a Jew." To say that one only loses their Jewishness by converting to another religion seems irrelevant when there are so many Jews in America alone who don't care about being Jewish, or don't believe in the Jewish God. Hence why the "What determines a Jew?" question comes into play...if believing in Jesus somehow cancels out one's membership to the Tribe, it doesn't change the fact that their mother is still Jewish. And both my parents are Reform Jews.
@frostbitpanda@xanga - I have to disagree with your statement about Jews having more in common with Muslims than Christians, but then again, I don't know a whole lot about Islam. The fact that Christianity would not exist without Judaism, and that the Messiah himself was a Jew, says a lot. Jesus says on more than one occassion that his mission is to fulfill the law, not to abolish it. To my knowledge, Mohammed never said anything similar to that effect.
Though Islam also begins with Abraham, and several Old Testament prophets appear in the Koran, so there is common ground there. But Mohammed wasn't a Jew.
@TheSutraDude@xanga - You might be interested to know that there's a growing trend of Jews taking on Buddhist practices within the last few years. I don't understand how this is permissible when believing in Jesus is not. I know Buddhism is more like a philosophy than a religion (right?) but there is no linkage between Buddhism and Judaism that I know of, historically speaking.
@sarahzthoughts@xanga -
@frostbitpanda@xanga - I admit that I don't know a whole lot about Islam, but your assertion that "Modern Christianity" is attributed to Paul and not Jesus is equally baseless. The "Christ" in Christianity comes from Christ Jesus. Paul wrote most of the New Testament, sure -- based on the teachings of Jesus. And Jesus preached to his own people, the Jews, because of what I said earlier: his mission was to fulfill the OT laws, not abolish them. That makes Jesus the next logical step beyond traditional Judaism, not Islam.
I'll make you a deal: I'll do my long-overdue research on Islam if you do yours on Christianity. The only "modern" thing about it is that today's Christians don't see a need to know anything about the Jewish roots of their faith, whereas the earliest followers of Christianity were Jews and didn't see themselves as adopting a new faith.
Enuff said. The End.
@sarahzthoughts@xanga -
@frostbitpanda@xanga - I said more about Christianity in my last comment than I did about Islam.
Can you take your own advice please?
@sarahzthoughts@xanga - Don't let the buzzards get you down.
@frostbitpanda@xanga -
Juvenile? Coming from someone citing wikipedia as their only source, that is rather ironic.@sarahzthoughts@xanga - - I didn't know the law those rabbis were trying to get passed would make someone like yourself not Jewish. Then again, it doesn't surprise me too much given they're Orthodox.
Someone born from a Jewish mother, and only a mother, is indeed Jewish his/her whole life...unless they accept another religion as their own. You gave the example of JewBus (Jewish Buddhists). That's an interesting example. Some are only silightly interested in sections of Buddhism (eg, meditation), while others really become Buddhist and perhaps become monks. To the former, they're still Jewish because they haven't totally joined Buddhism but find something in it worthwhile. The later, however, is no longer Jewish as they completely acccept Buddhism and formally converted.
Judaism has always had a strong tradition of debate...so it's never been an issue to question things, even the existance of G-d. But understand you did more than question it, you accepted something else and became Christian. So, according to traditional law, you aren't Jewish anymore. You gave that up when accepting Christ. However, you obviously still feel, at least in part, Jewish. Ethnically, I would still consider you Jewish. Being Jewish is much much more than simply beliefs...but naturally has a dividing line that you, in accepting Christ, stepped over.
@Babylons_Crowing@xanga - Hehehe, no, I was being lazy and didn't think deeply about it. But yes you are correct and that is one standard reason given. Another I've heard is to protect Jewish women who have been raped.
@NotWhereIThought@xanga - Everything you said, while correct according to Judaism today, still does not change the fact that my mother is Jewish, and that's something that can never be changed. It's extremely ironic that belief in Jesus, who I might add is an extension of the Father that Jews believe in, negates Judaism when someone who doesn't believe in the Jewish God and thinks the traditions are irrelevant still gets to be Jewish. If personal beliefs are a deciding factor, then most Jews in America can only claim ethnic Judaism. Not to sound like a snot, but I honestly care more about still being Jewish than a lot of other "legit" Jews that I know. Tell me how that's fair.
Prime Minister Netanyahu opposes the bill, and I believe he is correct in saying it will "tear the Jewish people apart." I am Modern Orthodox, but a good number of my friends are either Reform or Conservative. Does that make them any less Jewish than I am? Of course not. Everyone worships G-d in their own way. In fact, most of Israel is actually secular.
To put the religious future of an entire nation in the hands of a few select Haredi rabbi's is a slap in the face to anyone who considers themselves a Jew. A good number of the Jews who perished in the Holocaust were secular, many only went to shul during the high holy days, if at all. This law would be telling their ancestors, that they died for nothing because they were never truly Jewish to begin with.
It doesn't matter if you consider yourself Reconstructionist, Haredi or anything in between. There is no right or wrong way to praise G-d. This entire argument of "Who is a Jew" is silly. Save your energy and put it toward something worthwhile like tikkun ha'olam (the repair of the world). That is the real reason we are here, to do what we can to make this world a better place, for the short time that we are given. As long as you are doing your part, it doesn't matter if you are shomer shabbos, or if you've never lit a shabbos candle in your life.
@NotWhereIThought@xanga - Actually, according to Jewish law, you can never "give up" being Jewish. You are Jewish no matter what, even if you convert to a different religion.
@sarahzthoughts@xanga - @saszky@xanga -
This is a classic example of the big (and little) questions in Judaism.You know what they say? Ask 5 rabbis a question and get 10 answers! :)
OK, I did more looking up, and found answers that backed up what you said...and those that backed up what I said. I really thought going into this that Sarah, you should consider yourself Jewish even though you converted. That's what I felt. And that's what I thought I had learned as a kid in Hebrew school. But, I looked up the answer just to be sure I wasn't wrong and found a few that argued you aren't. Which one to believe? The Talmud actually discusses this and would still consider you Jewish. So, that's good enough, yeah?
:)