Appreciating Great Works of Other Religions

After scanning our local newspaper’s website for things to do on the weekend, I attended a performance of Handel’s Messiah at a Methodist church in a neighboring town. The church building was of ample size, but much of the space was given to rooms used for various activities. The section where services are conducted and where the concert took place was relatively modest in size and, in keeping with the Protestant ethic, had clean, simple lines and was pleasing to the eyes but had no elaborate decorations other than a giant gilded cross mounted on the front wall. Not being Christian, I found the cross to be rather imposing and somewhat of a distraction, but I was set on not letting that hinder my enjoyment of the concert. The area in front of the pews was not large enough to hold the approximately 100 singers, who were dressed in street clothing rather than church choir garb, so they occupied the first several rows of pews, and were organized into sections of basses, tenors, altos, and sopranos. There was also a modest orchestra of about 12 musicians.

What a concert it was! The reason that so many people like to listen to Handel’s Messiah and, especially its Hallelujah Chorus is that it is a fantastic piece of work. The two-hour performance alternated between segments by soloists (alto, soprano, bass, and tenor) and those sung by the chorus. The performance was absolutely inspiring! The four-part harmony between the choral sections was very beautiful to hear and, when the sopranos got going, they lent such an air of spirituality that it felt like their voices were projecting straight to heaven. And the last segment of the performance was the Hallelujah Chorus, that is so widely loved. The whole experience was uplifting, rewarding, and inspiring.

Appreciating a concert like that in no way made me interested in becoming Christian. I can appreciate its great beauty and inspirational qualities without feeling an attraction to the religion that sponsored such work. Over several centuries, both Protestantism and Catholicism in Europe became highly organized and wealthy religions that provided the main source of funding for the arts. Masters of the visual arts like Michelangelo and Rembrandt, and Classical composers like Bach and Beethoven were both funded and inspired by the great Christian religions of Europe. Anyone with any level of objectivity would have to agree that this combination of funding and inspiration produced some of the greatest human artistic achievements ever. Jews and others should be able to appreciate great works produced by other religions without feeling that it threatens their own identity.

Must Jews Close Themselves Off to Maintain Their Faith?

The Jewish Advocate is a weekly newspaper that publishes news relevant to Jews of eastern Massachusetts. It’s writers include those of the Orthodox, Conservative, Reformed, and Reconstructionist Jewish movements as well as those of secular or ethnic Jews. The paper also publishes extensive listings of community events. One column in the paper is called “Ask the Rebbetzin.” A Rebbetzin is a rabbi’s wife who, in the orthodox tradition, has some responsibilities in religious leadership, particularly to women and girls. Rebbetzin Korff point of view appears quite orthodox and her responses to readers’ questions indicate the extent to which many Orthodox Jews feel they must distance themselves from secular society in order to avoid challenging the strength of their faith.

In a letter published in the December 10, 2010 issue of the paper, a reader queried whether there was anything wrong with listening to the Christmas carols she loves. The Rebbetzin strongly discouraged listening to the carols because they are a celebration of Christianity. In another recent response, the Rebbetzin stated that a letter-writer should not attend a non-Jewish friend’s wedding in a church because, as a non-Jewish religious ritual, it is prohibited.

I find such defensive responses repugnant. Should it be assumed that the faith of Jews is so weak that to appreciate the art and music of other cultures or to participate in major life events of non-Jewish friends is enough to make one stray from his own religion? I frankly find this abhorrent. Do you think there are any Catholics or Protestants who wouldn’t attend the wedding of Jewish friends? Even priests have been seen at bar mitzvahs. Why must we be so much less secure than everyone else? There is strength in true faith that enables one to experience and appreciate beauty created by those outside the faith without feeling threatened or becoming defensive.

Additional Comments on "Future Tense" by Johathan Sacks

I have finished the book "Future Tense: Jews, Judaism, and Israel in the Twenty-First Century. I must say that, even though I am a secular Jew and Rabbi Sacks is a religious Orthodox Jew, I have found him to be a towering intellectual who has tremendous knowledge of philosophy, history, and the world's religions. His major points are that: 1) Orthodox Jews have been turning inward, thereby shutting themselves off from communication with the larger world. This process must be reversed to enable Jewish thought to positively influence others and to gain wisdom and friends from other groups, and 2) Non-Orthodox Jews have engaged with the outside world to the extent that their ties to Judaism have weakened and intermarriage and assimilation threaten to greatly diminish Jewish numbers.

Rabbi Sacks strongly supports the right of Israel to exist, but feels that, when the Israeli government took over the charitable and human service functions that had been performed by religious and other voluntary organizations in the Diaspora, the spiritual, religious, and emotional aspects of these activities were greatly diminished. Because Israeli Jews are, in large majority, non-religious, and assume that all they need to uphold their Jewish identity is to be Israeli, deprives them of their heritage and all the spiritual benefits and wisdom about life they can gain from their religion.

Rabbi Sacks feels that Judaism brought hope to the world. Ancient Greek culture promoted fatalism. As in the Greek tragedies, people could not escape their fate, not matter how hard they tried. However, in Judaism, there is always hope for the future, as exemplified by the belief that the Messiah will come, but hasn't come yet, and by the prayer recited over thousands of years for a return of the Jewish People to the Land of Israel.

Rabbi Sacks writes so beautifully that I would be remiss not to include a few quotes from his book:

"... the Jewish people wrote a story of hope that has the power to inspire all who dare to believe that injustice and brutality are not the final word about the human condition, that faith can be more powerful than empires, that love given is not given in vain, that ideals are not illusions to give us comfort but candles to light our way along a winding road in the dark night without giving way to fear or losing a sense of direction."

"Jews have turned inwards; they need to turn outwards. They are conscious of being different, but so is every member of a minority, and in a global age every group is a minority. Our uniqueness is our universality, and it is precisely by sharing our uniquenesses that we encourage the heritage of humankind. Jews are not the only people to seek God, live lives of faith, work for the betterment of humanity or count themselves blessed by God's love. They are not alone. Jews have friends among many faiths, and among secular humanists, and they should cherish them all, making common cause with them in defence of freedom, human dignity and moral responsibility. They should not take every criticism as a form of antisemitism. They should rest secure in their unparalleled past and fact the future with vigilance but without fear."

"I have argued for a Judaism that has the courage to engage with the world and its challenges. Faith begets confidence, which creates courage. That is how Jews lived in the past and should live in the future. For they are the people of the journey to a distant destination, begun by Abraham, continued by a hundred generations of ancestors, and it still beckons, Judaism is faith in the future tense. Jews were and are still called on to be the voice of hope in the conversation of humankind."

Book - Future Tense: Jews, Judaism and Israel

I've gotten about a third of the way through the book, "Future Tense: Jews, Judaism, and Israel in the Twenty-First Century", by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the main Orthodox Jewish congregations in Great Britain. He is an impressive intellectual who cites from many Jewish and non-Jewish historical and religious sources.

Only partway through the book, I have already been enlightened by many interesting points and historical facts Rabbi Sacks brought up. For instance, he made the point that Judaism is unique among the major religions in accepting religious diversity (what he calls particularism). He states that the Torah recognizes that people of all monotheistic religions worship the same god, can be righteous, and will not have to become Jewish when the messiah comes and brings peace to the earth. This contrasts to the "universalism" of the other major religions, whose basic tenets are that all people should follow the one true faith and that an unpleasant fate awaits those who do not.

An interesting fact that Rabbi Sacks brings up is the German origin of the term, "antisemitism." This has far more than linguistic importance in that early anti-Jewish sentiments among Christians and Muslims were related to Jews' refusal to convert to what were seen as the true faiths that evolved from Judaism. The saving grace of this religion-based anti-Jewish feeling was that Jews could convert to redeem themselves. That left a way out for physical survival. However, the term "antisemitism" refers to a race of people, not a religious group. This distinction is critical, for one cannot change one's race. Thus, the "Jewish Problem" could not be solved by religious conversion. That, of course, led to the Holocaust.

Some recommendations put forth to Jews include:

• Have pride in your religion. Don't let the negative view of others define you.
• Jewish religious observance is necessary for the preservation of the Jewish People. Ethnic Judaism leads to loss of identity within 3 generations.
• Jews must not see themselves as an isolated people with no friends. It is important to establish bonds with other religions and fight discrimination against any of them.

While I don't agree with everything Rabbi Sacks says, his arguments are extremely well thought out and he supports most of them with solid and wide-ranging references. The man is a true intellectual and reading his book would stimulate anyone's mind. For those concerned with survival of Judaism, the book has particular value. I will likely have more to say about the book as my reading progresses.

Relatively Few Jews Identify Themselves as Religious

A Jan 8, 2010 article in The Jewish Advocate, a Massachusetts weekly newspaper, described a Pew Research Center poll of 35,000 Americans concerning their religiosity. The 6 New England states plus Alaska had the lowest percentages of people (36-44%) who felt that religion was very important in their lives. In contrast, the southern states of Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Tennessee had the highest percentages of religious people (72-82%). Jews were lower is religiosity than Americans overall. The following percentages compare Jews to Americans overall:

Certainty of God's existence: 41% vs 71%
Religion is very important in life: 31% vs 56%
Attend weekly religious services: 10% vs 39%
Their religion is the one true faith: 5% vs 24%
Pray daily: 26% vs 58%
College graduates: 59% vs 27%
Family income above $100,000: 46% vs 18%

What this seems to boil down to is relatively low religiosity among Jews. Judaism appears to have a strong strain of rationalism as opposed to spirituality, that probably has some historical basis, with roots in the religion itself. This rationalism has led to some highly influential theorists like Sigmund Freud and Karl Marx, and also led to great achievements in science, medicine, and literature. It has also led to a questioning of religious tenets. That, and the low birthrate of Jews in the U.S. raise the question of whether Judaism will eventually become the tiniest of minorities within the U.S., populated only by the ultra-Orthodox.

Jewish Matrilineal Descent Challenged in British Court

A recent article appeared the the New York Times entitled, "Who is a Jew" (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/world/europe/08britain.html?_r=1&em). It dealt with a decision by a British appellate court that a Jewish School (state-supported as are all religious schools in Britain) cannot refuse to accept a student because it doesn't consider him a Jew since his mother was converted to Judaism in other than the Orthodox tradition. In fact, the court went further by saying that admissions criteria must depend not on family ties, but “on faith, however defined.” It proposes that belief and practice define religion rather than heritage. The British Supreme Court will take up the issue soon and make a final decision.

As I have mentioned before, the Orthodox tenet of defining Jewish identity as transmitted by the mother alone was not always part of Jewish law and is a major factor in keeping Jewish numbers low, as well as creating a division between Jews of the Orthodox/Conservative persuasions who follow the rule and the Reformed/Reconstructionist persuasions who don't. Despite claims to the contrary, the rule is not a 5,000 year-old tradition. It was instituted in about 70 AD at around the time of the destruction of the Second Temple and may have been intended to identify the children of raped Jewish women as Jews.

Why does Judaism seem to be the only religion in which belief and practice of the religion is not considered enough for membership? What do bloodlines have to do with religion? Was Hitler correct in thinking that Jews are a race more than a religion? The sooner we get away from that notion, the better. Fortunately, Judaism's genetic distinctiveness is diminishing due to intermarriage, adoption of children from non-Jewish backgrounds, and immigration to Israel of Jews from Africa and West Asia. Just as with other religions, Judaism would do well to reach the point where one cannot recognize a Jew by the shape of his nose or the combination of his skin/hair/eye color. The antiquated, arbitrary, divisive rule of matrilineal descent that weakens Judaism should find its way to the trash can. Let religion be defined by belief and practice! And let ethnic identity be up to the individual.

Birthright Israel Helps Keep Jews in the Fold

The Jewish Advocate newspaper of October 30, 2009 reported that a study of the Birthright Israel program verifies the program's effectiveness in keeping young Jews in the fold. Supported by charitable foundations, the program sends Jews up to age 25 on free trips to Israel. The Brandeis University study compared Jewish-related outcomes between a group of people who had been on the trip and a group who had applied for the trip but were not able to go for whatever reason. All study subjects were non-Orthodox Jews. Seventy-two percent of those who had been on the program later married Jews compared to 46% if the non-participants. In summary, compared to non-participants, those who went through the program were 57% more likely to marry Jews, 30% more likely to feel that raising children as Jews is very important, 23% more likely to feel very connected to Israel, and 28% more likely to attend religious services monthly or more. For the Jewish member of intermarried couples, program participants were 93% more likely to say that raising children as Jews was very important. The spouses of intermarried participants were 4 times as likely to have converted to Judaism. At its peak, the program sent 45,000 young people on the program annually. But the sagging economy and Madoff swindle of Jewish philanthropists has reduced that number to 25,000.

Increase in "Cultural" Rather than Religious Jews

The August 14, 2009 edition of The Jewish Advocate, a venerable Boston-area Jewish weekly newspaper, reported that the proportion of "cultural Jews" has doubled over the past two decades to 37% of the U.S. Jewish population. "Cultural Jews" are defined as those answering the question "What is your religion, if any?" with, "no religion, atheist, agnostic, secular, or humanist", while qualifying themselves as Jews because their parents were Jewish or they had a Jewish upbringing. This sounds pretty close to what I define as "Ethnic Jews", except that some of these people may feel reluctantly Jewish, while I consider Ethnic Jews to at least somewhat enjoy the cultural aspects of Judaism. The rise in this group is attributed in the article to intermarriage and disaffection with Judaism. However, the latter must be the primary cause because people for whom religion plays a prominent role would not intermarry.

The Advocate article also reported that 500,000 out of the 3.6 million adults with a Jewish mother followed another religion, generally Christianity. The article paralleled the increase of secular Jews to the general increase in non-religious U.S. adults, which has climbed from 8% to 15% over the last 2 decades. However, the numbers show that, while secularism has risen by a similar percentage among both Jews and Christians, the proportion of the Jewish population that is secular is more than double that of the Christian population.

There seems to be two strong forces in the Jewish community that conflict with each other. One is the religious force, encouraging Jews to join synagogues and temples and to engage in Jewish prayers, rituals, and rules of behavior. The other is a tendency toward the worldly rather than the spiritual and mystical, towards the scientific rather than the dogmatic, towards open-mindedness rather than provincialism, and to reason and logic rather than blind obedience to rules. The latter cultural inclinations have no doubt greatly influenced Jewish contributions to science, medicine, academia, the creative arts, and the media. As an ethnic Jew, I admire these aspects of the culture. On the other hand, I feel some disappointment that a lack of emphasis on the spiritual and mystical in mainstream Judaism has left so many Jews indifferent about religious services. Christian religious services place an unabashed emphasis on God and spirituality, while mainstream Jewish temples emphasize humanistic values more than interaction with God.

Taglit Birthright Israel program

My son just got back from a trip to Israel sponsored by the Taglit Birthright Israel program. Even in this time of diminished charitable contributions, the Birthright program attracts philanthropic funds because of its effectiveness in enhancing Jewish identity and support for Israel. In my son's case, I would say that the trip indeed accomplished the program's goals. He got to see religious and cultural sites like Yad Vashem, the Old City of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Tsvat, Kibbutzim, and Masada, as well as other places of interest including the Golan Heights, Sea of Gallilee, and the Dead Sea. A few Israeli contemporaries traveled with the group, giving the opportunity for friendships to develop. I think my son came away with a greater sense of being part of the Jewish People, a knowledge of Israelis as people, friends, and brothers, and a view of Israel in the context of history and present day world politics and power struggles. So, I salute the Taglit Birthright Israel program and thank those contributing funds to keep the program vibrant and available to most of those who want to participate.

Who likes weakness?

Growing up in the United States, the most powerful country in the world, tends to inculcate a feeling of power among its citizens. Most Americans, even those who criticize or protest against the more internationally assertive policies of our nation, come to enjoy, to varying degrees, the feelings of strength associated with being a part of a country unsurpassed economically, militarily, academically, creatively, and in many other ways. The United States, with all its warts and the major setback of the George W. Bush administration, remains a light unto the nations. In contrast, Judaism is the smallest of the "major" religions. In fact, its appelation as a major religion is more due to its historical position as a promoter of monotheism and a precursor to Christianity than to its current presence in the world. The entire Jewish population of 14 million represents one-fifth of one percent of the world's people. By adherents, Judaism ranks 14th among world religions, not only behind Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism, but behind the likes of Sikhism and Juche as well. Not only is Judaism very small in number of adherents, but it is declining as a percentage of the world population with a 0.3% rate of growth compared to a world growth rate of 1.4%. One study predicted that the Jewish population of the United States would decline by a third within 80 years, given the current low Jewish fertility rate and migration patterns. All this leads to an American Jewish identity conflict. Feelings of being a member of an immensly powerful nation contrast strongly with feelings of being part of a small minority group, weak in numbers if not in accomplishment, and persecuted throughout recorded history. And there is considerable evidence of continued negative views towards Jews that will very likely persist into the foreseeable future. In addition to increasing physical attacks on Jews in Europe, a recent survey shows strong negative attitudes towards Jews in several European countries. The weak position of the Jewish people is largely due to its small numbers, which is in turn related to current religious policies that keep it small. The first is the Jewish Orthodox and Conservative tenet of matrilineal Jewish identification that excludes those with Jewish fathers from being considered Jewish without a formal, lengthy, and difficult conversion process. This also affects adoptees whose birth-mothers are not Jewish, even if the child is raised from infancy in the Jewish faith. The difficult conversion process also discourages other people who might be interested in Judaism from becoming part of it. Contrast this with the Christian churches whose affiliation requires no more than accepting Jesus Christ as one's Lord and Savior, and a brief baptism ceremony. Thus, Jewish religious policies perpetuate the numerical weakness of the Jewish people. It's thus not surprising that many Jews have a conflict between their identity as strong Americans and weak Jews. If Judaism is to survive and flourish, it will have to become more inclusionary. After all, the existing exclusionary policies do not date back to the bible, but were developed by rabbinical scholars well into the modern era.

Jewish Identity

A nice article on Jewish identity.

Challenging Jewish matrilineal descent

I am a Jewish man married to a non-Jewish woman, and resent the fact that Orthodox and Conservative Judaism would require my offspring to be converted in order to be considered Jewish. As far as I'm concerned, if my children feel Jewish, they are Jewish. In actuality, there is no biblical basis for the matrilineal dictate. In biblical times many Jewish men married non-Jews, and the religion of their children was passed by the father. Judah, Joseph, Moses, David, and Solomon all married non-Jewish women, and their children were obviously accepted as Jews. In addition, passing of the status of Kohen continues to be patrilineal. The rabbinical switch to matrilineal identification occurred around 70 AD, around the destruction of the second great Jewish temple, and may have been intended to identify the children of raped Jewish women as Jewish. However, the rabbinical justification of matrilineality is based on a weak and convoluted interpretation of a bible passage banning intermarriage. Fortunately, both Reformed and Reconstructionist Judaism have come to accept patrilineal as well as matrilineal descent as a basis for Jewish identity and even accept as Jews adopted children raised to be Jewish, even when the religion of the children's parents is non-Jewish or unknown. The matrilineal rule is one factor that has kept the Jewish people small in number and weak. As an American, I have enjoyed growing up with a feeling of strength as part of my identity. I find no joy in feeling weak. I feel that if the Jewish people are to survive and thrive, it must make some changes, a major one being abandonment of the antiquated rule of matrilineal identification. It is unfortunate that Israel uses that rule because its small religious minority elects parliamentarians who form a swing vote almost always needed to form a government. Therefore, Orthodox rabbis have inordinate power in Israel over identifying who is considered a Jew. I would like to see the authority over Jewish issues in Israel shared over all the branches of organized Judaism, which would allow people to be accepted as Jewish according to the Reformed and Reconstructionist interpretations.