Draft (from Septetmber 2015)
Happy New Year!
First of all a word of encouragement: If you want to read a good article, a really good article, please click here: http://tinyurl.com/nsxh3w2
Welcome back!I hope you enjolyed th article as much as I did. For 30 years or so, I have tried to to say the same thing, but so much more inelegantly
The role of the clergy
A draft (September 2015)
One of the most discussed issues in the last millennium of Jewish history has been the role of the Rabbi.
Of course, even other religions' clergy are not exempt from this discussion. But I suspect that nowhere is the debate as emotional as in Judaism. And furthermore, I cannot have an opinion about the role of clergy in Christianity or in Islam, and one thing I have tried to avoid in this blog is to express opinions about things I know nothing about.
What is the role of the Rabbi in what's called "Shul politics"?
The Tell-Tale Brain, you gotta read it!
The latest book I have read - and re-read - is: "The Tell-Tale
Brain" by V.S. Ramachandran. (w.w. Norton, New York,
2011) He is an neuroscience expert and operates out of UCSD.
During the course of reading this book, I have - at many occasions - made a note in the margin, that simply says: "NG".
No, it does not stand for "No Good" but it is the initials of Neil Gillman, because The Philosophy of Neil Gillman is totally commensurate with up-to-date neuro-scientific research!
I strongly urge you to read this book, if you haven't already done so.
Philosophy
The more I study a topic, any topic, the more I realize how
little I know about that topic. There’s
so much more to learn.
Being active Jewishly, the question of Reason vs. Religion comes up frequently,
although that dialectic isn’t as sharp in Judaism as it is in other
religions. And yes, one has to study both
Reason and Religion, deeply, to fully appreciate that.
In other words, and put bluntly, if you “have to” belong to a religion as an atheist, then Judaism is your easy pick!
Of course, it would take volumes to fully explain this statement, but in short: Study both Reason and Religion and you’ll see.
In other words, and put bluntly, if you “have to” belong to a religion as an atheist, then Judaism is your easy pick!
Of course, it would take volumes to fully explain this statement, but in short: Study both Reason and Religion and you’ll see.
The short answer to this riddle – as it must seem to many – is
that religion is about three B’s. Believing, Belonging, and Behaving; One can say, then, that being an atheist only
addresses the first of these B’s, Believing.
In other words, 2/3 of the foundation of religion has nothing to do with how you feel about a supernatural being. The Belonging is by far the most important “B”. Behaving is nice too but has nothing to do with your belief in, or rejection of, the notion of a god. If it did, we would still stone women to death if found to be non-virgins at their weddings. That part of “Behaving” has been thrown on history’s ash heap, thankfully.
But Belonging is the key, the sense of a common history, common culture, common jokes, common food;
In other words, 2/3 of the foundation of religion has nothing to do with how you feel about a supernatural being. The Belonging is by far the most important “B”. Behaving is nice too but has nothing to do with your belief in, or rejection of, the notion of a god. If it did, we would still stone women to death if found to be non-virgins at their weddings. That part of “Behaving” has been thrown on history’s ash heap, thankfully.
But Belonging is the key, the sense of a common history, common culture, common jokes, common food;
Yes, I know that Catholics have this too; and that’s exactly my point! We belong together, because our history culture,
jokes and food are separate from those traits Catholics have in common with each
other.
Peoplehood is not about belief systems. And the great thing about Judaism is the fact, with a few exceptions, Judaism is tolerant! Various views on Belief can co-exist. Yes, I know, I said there were a few exceptions but they are revealing more about themselves than about Judaism.
Peoplehood is not about belief systems. And the great thing about Judaism is the fact, with a few exceptions, Judaism is tolerant! Various views on Belief can co-exist. Yes, I know, I said there were a few exceptions but they are revealing more about themselves than about Judaism.
The eyes of history
When examining history, the history writer is studying the past through the lenses of the times in which he/she lives and therefore the study is a reflection of the time he/she lives in at least to the same extent as the time he/she describes.
An example. My Synagogue's Adult Education committee is presenting a lecture on the European Origins of Conservative Judaism. In the middle of the 19th century, primarily in Germany, various people reacted to the spread of Reform Judaism (a branch of Judaism that denied "all" tradition and wanted to abandon all but the name of Judaism). These people said: We are not Orthodox but we are also not Reform. We want to formulate something in the middle. A book I am reading now called "From Text to Context: The Turn to History in Modern Judaism" - the title says it all. These people who later were to become known as Conservative, basically transformed Judaism from a "religion" to a "science" ("The Wissenschaft der Judentums") (German for the science of Judaism). They said: Don;'t just read the text, see the context!! (In other words, the historical context).
So, why are we talking about this now???? What's the relevance??? What's the contemporary meaning? Well, the Conservative Judaism is in crisis. And yes, there are a whole long list of reasons for this. But because it is in crisis, talking about the movement's origins makes sense.
Again, we are studying history through the lens of today!
An example. My Synagogue's Adult Education committee is presenting a lecture on the European Origins of Conservative Judaism. In the middle of the 19th century, primarily in Germany, various people reacted to the spread of Reform Judaism (a branch of Judaism that denied "all" tradition and wanted to abandon all but the name of Judaism). These people said: We are not Orthodox but we are also not Reform. We want to formulate something in the middle. A book I am reading now called "From Text to Context: The Turn to History in Modern Judaism" - the title says it all. These people who later were to become known as Conservative, basically transformed Judaism from a "religion" to a "science" ("The Wissenschaft der Judentums") (German for the science of Judaism). They said: Don;'t just read the text, see the context!! (In other words, the historical context).
So, why are we talking about this now???? What's the relevance??? What's the contemporary meaning? Well, the Conservative Judaism is in crisis. And yes, there are a whole long list of reasons for this. But because it is in crisis, talking about the movement's origins makes sense.
Again, we are studying history through the lens of today!
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