There is an amazing debate going on over at Jewcy.com about the end of Judaism.  Well, really it's a discussion about what needs to be done to save Judaism.  Joey Kurtzman, one of the editors at Jewcy, argues that Judaism needs to reinvent itself once again.  Just like in the days after the second Temple was destroyed and Judaism turned from a Temple cult to a system of rabbis and prayer, Kurtzman argues that we need to move away from the more stringent orthodoxy and into a more pluralistic focus on helping Jews (of all levels of observance) finds ways to connect with their religion in a way that speaks to our needs and interests now.

Jack Wertheimer, Chief Academic Officer of the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), argues that we must cling to the traditions and rituals that have kept us strong for so many years.

I'll let you read the debate for yourself.  I haven't stopped thinking about it since I read it.  And, what I keep focusing on is the critique that Orthodox Judaism is ethnocentric.

Now, I'm not saying that it is, but are we, non-Orthodox Jews, so afraid that it is that we go out of our way to avoid being linked to a more observant lifestyle?  We grew up being told in Hebrew School that we are the "Chosen People".  Do we feel guilty about this?  Are we afraid non-Jews will think we think we are "chosen" and therefore "better"?  The same way we "dumb down" in high school to seem cooler, do we "dumb down" our observance for fear of seeming, well, "holier than thou"?

Problem is, "chosen people" (as I understand it), doesn't mean "chosen above other peoples" (as in better than).  It means that God "chose" to give us the Torah and we "chose" to accept it and Him.  It was a mutual choice.  And in this sense, aren't all peoples "chosen" having chosen their god and their belief system and laws?

Perhaps the Torah would argue no.  That we are (again according to Torah) the only people to receive a revelation as a nation--that when we received the Torah, all Israelites felt God (other religions teach of select individuals having these sorts of revelations).  But again, it depends if you believe this story.

So, do we avoid the perception of Orthodoxy to avoid being thought of as ethnocentric?  Why are we watering-down our observance?  Why are we re-prioitizing our lives and putting soccer above shul?  What does this mean for our children and the future of Judaism?

I don't believe either of the men in the Jewcy debate have the right answer.  I think the answer is a hybrid of the two arguments.  It's like when my ba'al t'shuvah brother-in-law called me from Israel to tell me he is "worried about my soul" because I admit in my book that I have lit Shabbes candles after the sun went down.  This is the kind of statement that drives the non-Orthodox away from a more observant life.  I felt like I had been slapped.  Yes, I understand his point that by lighting the candles after sunset I was breaking Shabbat, that it would have been a more powerful statement to say to my family, "Sorry we didn't get to the table on time, so no candles this week."  But here's my response--at least I have made the commitment to light the candles each week.  In my community that IS something.  And not lighting them because we didn't get to the table in time is not going to make the impact on my children as it would on his.  What will make the difference with my children (and one day my grandchildren) is having them see me light the candles.  My soul is fine, thank you very much.

I wish I had a solution.  But, I think whatever the solution is it rests on the shoulders of Jewish parents.  The more I learn, the more I realize I didn't learn in Hebrew School--the more I realize my children aren't learning in Hebrew School.  And, yes, I know there are many smart, learned people working on improving our schools.  But, I think we need to stop teaching mythology (the miracle of the oil lasting eight days) and start teaching history (Jews were at war and were unable to observe Sukkot, so after the war we had an 8-day harvest festival because our lives relied upon our harvests and so now we have Chanukah.  We must teach our children that Chanukah is about fighting for the right to believe what we believe.  It's not about miraculously long-lasting oil).  We need to help our children (and ourselves) gain a deeper understanding of who we are as a people.  If we learn about our history--about what we believe in and why--about why these beliefs are still relevant and critical now, then we will have connection and continuity.

But, I must emphasize that this is not just for our Jewish educators to handle.  We cannot send our children to Hebrew School for a couple of hours a week and expect them to truly learn anything.  It has to be reinforced at home.  And that is where we come in.

Just like we do with our children's secular education, we must partner with our synagogues to teach our children--to SHOW them how to live Jewishly.  To do.

Let's truly practice what we preach.  No more "drop and run" for services.  No more skipping Hebrew school for soccer practice.  No more shopping on Saturdays.

Minor changes, baby steps, will save Judaism.  But, we have to choose.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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