HUMANISTIC JUDAISM Volume XLII Number 3-4 Summer/Autumn 2014

HUMANISTIC and JEWISH: WHY BOTH? Adam Chalom Joseph Chuman Rabbi Jeffrey L. Falick Cantor Jonathan L. Friedmann Rabbi Denise Handlarski Rabbi Miriam Jerris Michael J. Prival

Wisdom from Wine: Thoughts on & Humanistic Judaism

Rational Judaism: It’s Not New , , Humor & Jewish Identity

and more Humanistic Judaism is a voice for Jews who value their Jewish identity and who seek an alternative to conventional Judaism.

Humanistic Judaism affirms the right of individuals to shape their own lives independent Humanistic Judaism is published quarterly by the of supernatural authority. ­Society for Humanistic Judaism, a non-profit orga- nization, 28611 West Twelve Mile Road, Farmington Hills, Michigan 48334, (248) 478-7610, Fax (248) 478-3159, [email protected], www.shj.org.

This is a combined issue: Vol. XLII Number 3 - 4, Summer/Autumn 2014.

Signed articles do not necessarily represent the viewpoints or policies of the Society for Humanistic Judaism. Transliterations used in articles reflect the author’s preferences.

All material © Copyright 2014 by the Society for Humanistic Judaism. No portion of this work may be reprinted or copied without written permission of the publisher.

Subscription Rates: $21.00 per year. Canadian Subscriptions $31.00. Overseas Subscriptions $43.00 per year (U.S. Dollars). No refunds. Sample copies available at single issue price plus postage. Addi- tional copies of a single issue are available from the Society for Humanistic Judaism at the cover price plus postage. Address all inquiries and subscriptions to Humanistic Judaism, 28611 West Twelve Mile Road, Farmington Hills, Michigan 48334.

Indexed in Index to Jewish Periodicals, American Jewish Yearbook, Encyclopedia of Associations, and Standard Periodical Directory.

Manuscripts are welcome and should be sent in care Journal Editors of the Editors, Humanistic Judaism, 28611 West MYRNA BONNIE COUSENS Twelve Mile Road, Farmington Hills, Michigan 48334. Three copies of each manuscript, typed and double- Managing Editor spaced are requested. Manuscripts not accompanied RUTH DUSKIN FELDMAN by return postage cannot be returned. Manuscripts Creative Editor may be sent to [email protected]; Word Perfect or Word documents preferred. Receipt of manuscripts will not be acknowledged. Editorial Board RABBI ADAM CHALOM ISSN 0441-4195 RABBI JEFFREY FALICK RABBI MIRIAM JERRIS RABBI PETER SCHWEITZER Summer/Autumn 2014 HJ FORUM: Humanistic and Jewish: Why Both?

3 “Dancing at Two Weddings . . .” Rabbi Jeffrey L. Falick 11 Judaism for Humanistic Jews Rabbi Adam Chalom 15 “Just Jewish?” Why Humanistic Judaism Matters Rabbi Denise Handlarski 17 Appreciating Pluralism and Multiple Identities Rabbi Miriam Jerris 19 and the Core of Humanistic Judaism Joseph Chuman 21 Humanism’s Jewish Voice Cantor Jonathan L. Friedmann 23 Humanistic Judaism Beyond Sherwin Wine Michael J. Prival

WISDOM FROM WINE

27 Excerpts from His Thoughts on Humanism and Humanistic Judaism Rabbi Sherwin T. Wine

FEATURED ARTICLES

30 Rational Judaism: It’s Not New Mary Raskin 33 Secularism, Atheism, Humor, and Jewish Identity Herb Silverman 36 Finding What Wasn’t Lost Marla Davishoff 38 Nature and Les Kaufman 40 Welcome to the World, Baby Boy! Brandy Tanenbaum

DEPARTMENTS

2 Briefly Speaking

46 Letters to the Editors

42 Arts/Literature This Peace Shall Be Rebuilt Marti Keller Nocturne: Foley’s Pond Ruth Duskin Feldman Poetry Louis Altman

44 In Review Why Athens Executed Socrates Jeremy Kridel

Summer/Autumn 2014 Humanistic Jewish Congregations, Communities & Havurot MASSACHUSETTS ARIZONA Kahal B’raira, Greater Boston Congregation for Humanistic Or Adam, Congregation for Humanistic Judaism, contact: Miki Judaism, contact: Shari Gelber, 765 Concord Ave, Cambridge, Safadi,7904 E Chaparral Rd, Unit A110-278, Scottsdale, AZ MA 02138, (617) 431-3994, www.kahalbraira.org, info@ 85250, (480) 663-7788, www.oradam.org, [email protected]. kahalbraira.org. Secular Humanist Jewish Circle, contact: Cathleen MICHIGAN Becskehazy, 930 S Goldenweed Way, Tucson, AZ 85748, The , Congregation for Humanistic Ju- (520) 293-3919, www.secularhumanistjewishcircle.org, daism, Rabbi Jeffrey Falick, president: Harriet Maza, 28611 [email protected]. W 12 Mile Rd, Farmington Hills, MI 48334; (248) 477-1410, CALIFORNIA www.birminghamtemple.org, [email protected]. Adat Chaverim, Congregation for Humanistic Judaism, MINNESOTA PO Box 261204, Encino, CA 91426, (888) 552-4552, www. Or Emet, Minnesota Congregation for Humanistic Judaism, HumanisticJudaismLA.org, [email protected]. president: Richard Logan, 3140 Chowen Ave, S, Apt 303, Kahal Am, president: Gary Zarnow, PO Box 927751, San Minneapolis, MN 55416, (612) 275-7081, www.oremet.org, Diego, CA 92192, (858) 549-3088, www.kahalam.org, [email protected]. [email protected]. NEW JERSEY Kol Hadash, (Northern California), contact: Kimberly Read, Kahal Chaverim, NJ Congregation for Humanistic Judaism, PO Box 2777, Berkeley, CA 94702, (510) 428-1492, www. contacts: Craig Schlusberg, Susan Herschman, or Rob Agree, KolHadash.org, [email protected]. P.O. Box 217, Chester, NJ 07930, (973) 927-0078, www.chjmc. Pacific Community of Cultural Jews, president: Karen org, [email protected]. Knecht, 7238 El Viento Way, Buena Park, CA 90620, (949) NEW YORK 760-9006, http://pccjews.org, [email protected]. Beth , Rochester Society for Humanistic Judaism, COLORADO contact: Barry Swan, PO Box 18343, Rochester, NY 14618- Beth Ami – Colorado Congregation for Humanistic Juda- 0343, (585) 234-1644, [email protected]. ism, contact: (720) 466-0101, www.bethami.com, info@ The City Congregation for Humanistic Judaism, Rabbi bethami.com. Peter Schweitzer, contact: Amy Stein, 15 West 28th Street, CONNECTICUT 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10001, (212) 213-1002, www. Congregation for Humanistic Judaism, Fairfield County, citycongregation.org, [email protected]. (203) 293-8867, 606 Post Rd E, #542, Westport, CT 06880, Kol Haverim, The Finger Lakes Community for Humanistic president: Steve Ulman, www.humanisticjews.org, info@ Judaism, P.O. Box 4972, Ithaca, N.Y. 14852-4972, http:// humanisticjews.org. kolhaverim.net, [email protected]. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Mid-Hudson Havura, contact: Howard Garrett, 177 Union Machar, The Washington Congregation for Secular Human- St, Montgomery, NY 12549, [email protected]. istic Judaism, Rabbi Nehama Benmosche, president: Darlene Westchester Community for Humanistic Judaism, contact: Basch, contact: PO Box 42014, Washington, DC 20015, (202) Dimitry Turovsky, 84 Sprague Rd, Scarsdale, NY 10583, (914) 686-1881, www.machar.org, [email protected]. 713-8828, www.wchj.org, [email protected]. FLORIDA NORTH CAROLINA Congregation Beth Adam, contact: Bob Fishman, PO Box Kol Haskalah, A Humanistic Jewish Congregation, contact: 2579, Boca Raton, FL 33427, (561) 443-1769, www.bethadam. 134 Hunter’s Ridge Rd, Chapel Hill, NC 27517, (919) 929- com, [email protected]. 5233, www.kolhaskalah.org, [email protected]. Congregation for Humanistic Judaism, co-presidents: Lois OHIO Altman & Alice D’Souza, 3023 Proctor Rd, Sarasota, FL 34231, (941) 929-7771, www.CHJ-sarasota.org, chjsarasota@ Humanist Jewish Chavurah of Columbus, contact: Ellen hotmail.com. Rapkin, 231 Orchard Lane, Columbus, OH 43214, (614) 285-4522, www.hjccohio.org, [email protected] Humanistic Jewish Havurah of Southwest Florida, contact: or [email protected]. Cynthia Cook, 25051 Bainbridge Ct, #202, Bonita Springs, FL 34134, (239) 495-8197, http://humanisticjewishhavurahswfl. OREGON org, [email protected]. Kol Shalom, Community for Humanistic Judaism, 1509 SW ILLINOIS Sunset Blvd, Ste 1E, Portland, OR, 97239, (503) 459-4210, Beth Chaverim Humanistic Jewish Community, Rabbi www.kolshalom.org, [email protected]. Jodi Kornfeld, Deerfield, IL 60015, (847) 945-6512, www. WASHINGTON bethchaverim.net, [email protected]. Secular Jewish Circle of Puget Sound, PMB 367 / 117 E Kol Hadash Humanistic Congregation, Rabbi Adam Chalom, Louisa St, Seattle, WA 98102, (206) 528-1944, www.secular- chair: William Brook, 175 Olde Half Day Rd, Ste 123, Lin- jewishcircle.org, [email protected]. colnshire, IL 60069, (847) 347-3003, www.kolhadash.com, CANADA [email protected]. ONTARIO MARYLAND Oraynu Congregation, Rabbi Karen Levy, president: Louise Baltimore Jewish Cultural Chavurah, contact: Bob Jacobson, Sherman, contact: Roby Sadler, 156 Duncan Mill Rd, Ste 14, 2418 Sylvale Rd, Baltimore, MD 21136, (410) 493-2473, www. Toronto, Ontario, M3B 3N2, Canada, (416) 385-3910, www. baltimoresecularjews.org, [email protected]. oraynu.org, [email protected].

Humanistic Judaism FOCUS

Our HJ Forum theme for this issue of Humanistic Judaism is: “Humanistic and Jewish: Why Both?” The articles in the Forum explore our movement’s special blend of humanistic ideology/ and /celebrations.

Implicit in the question “Why both?” are other often-asked questions: Why not just one or the other (humanistic or Jewish)? How do we combine the two, and how well does the combination work? How can we be Jewish if we reject such fundamental elements of Judaism as the in an interventionist God, the efficacy of , and the accuracy of the ’s version of ? If we subscribe to universal ethical values, why choose a tribal identity?

We would like to continue this important discussion in future issues of this journal. Please send us your comments and concerns.

– R.D.F.

Summer/Autumn 2014 1 BRIEFLY SPEAKING

Recognizing that religious views differ regarding SHJ Engages in Battle for Marriage what marriages qualify to be solemnized, and that Equality the constitutional guarantee of religious freedom for all must be protected, the briefs argue that “selective The Supreme Court’s October 6 denial of certiori in religious understandings cannot define marriage rec- five cases on marriage equality was a historic vic- ognition under civil law” and that all states are sub- tory for gay marriage advocates. By allowing lower ject to the First Amendment Establishment Clause’s court rulings in favor of gay marriage to stand, it prohibition against denying individuals the right to opened the way for same-sex marriages in the five marry simply because such marriages would offend directly affected states – Virginia, Indiana, Wiscon- the tenets of a particular religious group. sin, Oklahoma, and Utah – plus six others in the same federal circuits: Colorado, Kansas, Wyoming, Before the recent court actions, nineteen states plus North Carolina, South Carolina, and West Virginia. the District of Columbia allowed marriage equality. The Society for Humanistic Judaism (SHJ) joined the That list now tops thirty, representing approximately Anti-Defamation League and a coalition of twenty 60 percent of the American people; but some of these organizations in an amicus brief in the Virginia states are still trying to block same-sex marriage or case, Bostic v. Schaefer, arguing that overturning haven’t yet instituted mechanisms for such wed- the state’s marriage ban would ensure that religious dings. Forty-one federal and state courts have ruled considerations do not improperly influence which in favor of same-sex marriage in the past year; only marriages the state can recognize and would allow one federal and one state ruling went the other way. religious groups to decide the definition of marriage for themselves. The July 28 ruling by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals permitting same-sex mar- SHJ Joins Efforts to Prevent riage in Virginia was the first such decision in a southern state. Anti-Discrimination Exemptions for

The SHJ also joined an amicus brief in the Idaho case Religious Organizations of Latta v. Ogge, in which the U.S. Court of Appeals The Society for Humanistic Judaism (SHJ) joined for the Ninth Circuit struck down a constitutional ninety religious, education, civil rights, labor, LGBT, amendment banning gay marriage. On October 14, women’s, and health organizations in a request to Idaho Governor Butch Otter declined to take further Attorney General Eric Holder that the Office of Legal appeals, and the next day same-sex couples began Counsel (OLC) withdraw its June 29, 2007 Memo- marrying across the state. randum, which exempts religious organizations from adhering to the nondiscrimination provision Still pending as of this writing are four cases in the in the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). VAWA Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, heard on August 6, bars organizations from engaging in employment in which the SHJ joined amicus briefs. Although the discrimination with VAWA funds, but because the facts in each of these cases – in Michigan (DeBoer OLC memo governs administration policy, the ad- et al. v. Snyder), Ohio (Henry v. Hines), Tennessee ministration is permitting religious organizations to (Tanco v. Haslam), and Kentucky (Bourke, et al. use as a criterion when hiring employees V. Beshear) – are unique, all four briefs argue that using taxpayer dollars. Such exemptions threaten district court decisions striking down state same-sex core civil rights and religious freedom. marriage bans should be upheld. The briefs contend that the marriage bans in these states “violate not The SHJ also joined more than one hundred or- only the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection ganizations in urging President Obama to sign an Clause, but also the First Amendment’s Establish- executive order that would bar discrimination by ment Clause. A decision overturning the Marriage federal contractors on the basis of sexual orientation Ban would assure full state recognition of civil mar- and gender identity. The letter urged the president riages while allowing religious groups the freedom to choose how to define marriage for themselves.” Briefly Speakingcontinued on page 46

2 Humanistic Judaism HJ FORUM: Humanistic and Jewish: Why Both? “Dancing at Two Weddings ...” by Rabbi Jeffrey L. Falick In the short history of our movement, find ourselves in the middle with serious ques- among the most interesting issues that have tions: To what extent can we comfortably cast concerned us is how we express our dual com- our lot with Jewish tribalism? Does it contradict mitments to humanism and Judaism. Since our the universalism that humanistic organizations earliest days, we have endeavored to claim a present as among their highest goals? place for ourselves in the Jewish community even as we seek to play a visible role in the There is a maxim that says, “You larger constellation of organized humanism. cannot dance at two weddings with one tuches.” Yet for more than fifty years, this is These efforts transcend philosophical precisely what Humanistic Jews have been matters or the compatibility of Judaism, Jew- attempting to do. ish identity, and humanism. Ideologically, we are quite clear about how our humanism and As it happens, these tensions are not new Judaism fit together. Our journals and web to post-Enlightenment Jews, and we are not the sites are brimming with articles and state- first generation of Jews who have dealt with ments about how they coexist. But even for what it means to belong to two worlds. Such us overly intellectualizing Humanistic Jews, efforts can be traced back to the very beginning there have always been practical consider- of European Jewish emancipation, when Jews ations. Our balancing act is far more than some first experienced secular citizenship and found demonstration of ideological consistency. It is themselves with an invitation to participate in really about how we involve ourselves in these the wider world. This radical new reality posed distinct communities. substantial challenges for them as they sought to find their place in societies where, for the Consider how this has played out. On first time, they were being asked to interpret the one hand, both our North American body Judaism and Jewishness in a broader context. and local communities have maintained as- sociations with many of the scores of atheist, There was not much in Jewish history to agnostic, skeptical, freethinking, and humanist help them navigate these waters. No models organizations. Yet at the same time, we have suggested how Jews should participate as participated as full members of the organized Jewish community with its various federations, Rabbi Jeffrey L. Falick is rabbi of the Birmingham Temple, the first congregation for Humanistic Judaism. He is vice-president of the synagogues, and charitable bodies. Sometimes Society for Humanistic Judaism and president of the Association these groups work at cross-purposes, and we of Humanistic . He sits on the editorial board of this journal.

Summer/Autumn 2014 3 equals with their Christian neighbors while reformed Judaism. But in all of their endeavors, remaining Jews. They were forced to entirely practical considerations were never very far rethink Judaism and their Jewish identities. from their minds.

I. First Time Around: The Reform Jewish Perhaps the most fascinating example of Debate over Particularism vs. Universalism their balancing act is the Pittsburgh Platform, The reformation of Judaism, which yielded American ’s nineteenth-centu- all of today’s non-Orthodox forms of Judaism, ry manifesto. It remains history’s most radically began with a practical issue. Jews wanted to expressed redefinition of the place of the mod- participate as full members of the larger society. ern Jew. It presents a thorough reformulation Once they were permitted to hold an identity of the very definition of Judaism. independent of Judaism, it did not take long for many to begin to lose interest in being Jewish. In a sharply worded statement that de- Consequently, early Jewish reformers began nounced Jewish separatism and excessive par- the project of finding new ways to be Jewish. ticularity, its authors fully dismissed the entire It required them to create a new Judaism, one body of Jewish Law, the basis for those traditions. that would be more harmonious and comple- Calling it “Mosaic legislation,” they rejected the mentary with membership in secular society. Law as no more than a “system of training the Jewish people for its mission,” which no longer Though these efforts began in Europe, it possessed the power “to impress the modern Jew wasn’t until central European Jews immigrated with a spirit of priestly holiness. . . .”2 to America that the undertaking really flour- ished. Here they found themselves citizens of At the same time they articulated a new a nation where, religiously speaking, you could universal mission for Judaism, calling it “the be anything that you wanted to be. Or nothing highest conception of the God-idea.” If the at all. And this is what tens of thousands of Jews had so long persisted in their insularity central European Jews discovered when they it was only because they had “preserved and immigrated here in the mid-nineteenth century. defended, midst continual struggles and trials and under enforced isolation, this God-idea as Although some traditionalists attempted the central religious truth for the human race.” to accommodate participation in secular soci- The new Judaism, a for a more enlightened ety with adherence to Jewish law, most found people with universalist goals, would now take this approach untenable. They imagined it an its seat at the table of modern religion alongside impossible task to reconcile law-laden Juda- the Protestant and Catholic . Its new mis- ism with membership in a free society. They sion was to spread the “monotheistic and moral believed that preserving an antiquated form of truth” and to work for “the establishment of the Judaism was a guaranteed formula for Jewish reign of truth and righteousness among men.”3 irrelevance. Who would choose that way of life over full participation in America?1 Instead, Yet for all their universalist ambitions and they put forward an extensive program of their drastically new definition of Judaism, reforming Judaism itself in a way that would these reformers still sought to remain Jews. stress its universal message and commitment. They spoke about “the utmost necessity of Thus was born the most significant tension of preserving the historical identity with [their] modern Jewish identity. great past.” They invested all of their efforts in building and maintaining congregations, In order to make Judaism more acceptably seminaries, and other particularistic Jewish American, these reformers invented a kind of institutions to teach and preach their new Judaism that would have been unrecognizable universalist Judaism. to earlier generations. Much like later Human- istic Jews, they concentrated on developing Efforts to balance particularism and univer- the philosophical underpinnings of their new salism remain, in many ways, characteristic of

4 Humanistic Judaism all Diaspora Jewish groups. Yet they are par- Humanistic Judaism movement. These objec- ticularly acute for Humanistic Jews. Like the tions were voiced at a special joint meeting of early Jewish reformers, we are committed to a the SHJ’s executive board and leaders of Beth profoundly universalist philosophy. Also, like Adam in October 1988. them, we pursue our universalist goals from inside a particularistic Jewish enterprise. At the meeting Beth Adam’s leaders stated their central complaint that the SHJ was be- As we work to do so, we keep trying to coming too secular and “moving away from dance at two great weddings. This effort has religion.” Rabbi Sherwin T. Wine, the move- met with mixed success. ment’s founder, and others viewed Humanistic Judaism as a radical new creation, revolution- And it has split our movement once before. ary rather than evolutionary. But Barr saw it as no more than a “logical development” in II. Choosing a Wedding: The Story of Cincin- the history of religious Judaism — a view that nati’s Beth Adam helps explain why Beth Adam sought to join In 1994, the Union of American Hebrew the explicitly religious UAHC. Congregations (UAHC, now known as the Union for Reform Judaism) rejected the appli- A second, related concern on Beth Adam’s cation for membership of Congregation Beth part was the dearth of Humanistic rabbis. Adam, a Humanistic Jewish congregation in The SHJ was certainly in favor of recruiting Cincinnati, Ohio. With a vote of 115-13, the more rabbis, and both sides believed that decision was not even close. doing so would help the movement. But for Beth Adam the lack of rabbinical leadership For the Reform movement, the vote de- was yet another indication that Humanistic cisively defined its theistic boundaries. As Judaism was moving away from its particu- opposition leader Rabbi Gunther Plaut said, laristic Jewish religious roots. As they saw it, “Freedom is a major aspect of Reform Jew- SHJ communities without a rabbi – the vast ish philosophy . . . but there is no freedom majority – were no more than just groups of without limits.” Most Reform Jewish leaders secular humanists.5 agreed with him that Beth Adam’s member- ship “would infuse our community and our Wine’s solution to the problem only made national movement with divisiveness, discord, matters worse. Having provided funding for and disharmony.”4 two Humanistic Jews to attend HUC-JIR only to watch them desert the movement, he was un- Beth Adam was certainly aware of these willing to depend upon that school any longer. sentiments before submitting its application. Consequently, he decided to establish a North Cincinnati is the historical heart of American American branch of the International Institute Reform Judaism and home to the oldest campus for Secular Humanistic Judaism (IISHJ) that of its seminary, the Hebrew Union College- would train Humanistic rabbis. Ironically, one Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR). Beth could reasonably argue that this was a fairly Adam’s rabbi, Robert Barr, is a highly visible particularistic Jewish decision on Wine’s part. alumnus of that school. What, then, could Beth Adam’s leaders saw it differently. In the possibly explain this almost quixotic quest context of their growing dispute with the SHJ, for membership in a religious movement that they could only interpret it as a hard break clearly did not want it? from continuity with religious Judaism.6 Their application for membership in the UAHC made Beth Adam submitted its application to it clear that they wanted to be part of the greater the UAHC shortly after terminating its associa- Jewish community. They were not interested tion with the Society for Humanistic Judaism in trying to dance at two weddings. They (SHJ) — a decision that resulted from signifi- wanted a spot at only one. As The New York cant disagreements about the direction of the Times reported:

Summer/Autumn 2014 5 The congregation . . . saw the [application Wine’s commitment to partnering with the for] affiliation as leading to greater dialogue humanistic world continues to characterize the with others in the [Reform] movement SHJ and many of its communities. If their Face- and giving its members a sense of context 7 book pages and newsletters are any indication, within the nation’s Jewish community. it is still a programming emphasis. Whether they are sponsoring Darwin Days or assisting Beth Adam’s rabbi and leaders were intent with fund raising efforts of the Foundation Be- on being counted as fully recognized play- yond Belief, Humanistic Jewish communities ers in the largest and most successful liberal are highly engaged with the broader humanistic religious Jewish organization. They saw their world. One outstanding example is the 2011 humanism as nothing more than a variation Birmingham Temple appearance by Richard on the theme of liberal Judaism. They had no Dawkins, one of the world’s most outspoken desire to dance at two weddings. Only one, atheists.9 It was the best-attended event in the the Jewish wedding, was fit for them. And congregation’s history. Dawkins’ “warm-up” when they failed to secure their longed-for speaker was another prominent voice in the membership in the UAHC, they did not return humanistic and nontheistic world, five-term to organized Humanistic Judaism. Instead, Maine state legislator Sean Faircloth, a one- they chose to remain independent. To this day time executive director of the Secular Coalition they maintain no associations with the wider for America (SCA), who spoke about his book, humanistic world. There is only one wedding Attack of the Theocrats. for them. The Secular Coalition for America (SCA) III. Dancing with Humanists itself provides a fine example of SHJ’s presence As I mentioned earlier, there was some on the broader nontheistic landscape. In 2005, degree of irony in the fact that the establish- the SHJ joined the SCA as a voting member. ment of a North American branch of the IISHJ Voting membership in the SCA is grounded contributed to Beth Adam’s disaffiliation from upon a commitment to cooperate with other the SHJ. But if Beth Adam’s leaders were wrong voting members “for the greater good of all non- about Wine’s motivations for founding the theistic citizens.”10 The SHJ participates in this IISHJ, they were not wrong about the bigger pic- very public alliance alongside the American ture. Since its founding, Humanistic Judaism Humanist Association, , the has indeed placed a high value on building and Atheist Alliance for America, and the Freedom maintaining meaningful relationships with the From Religion Foundation, to name a few. Its larger web of humanist organizations. Sherwin membership in the organization asserts SHJ’s Wine himself worked intimately with some of status as one among equals in an exclusive the humanistic world’s greatest leaders. club that features some of the most visible humanistic, nontheistic organizations in the In 1976, citing the need for “well-trained country. And connections to the SCA were leaders who will be able to mobilize people to responsible, in part, for the SHJ’s participation embrace our philosophy of life,” Wine joined in one of the largest gatherings of nontheists forces with Howard Radest, Paul Beattie, in American history, the 2012 “” , and Khoren Arisian to create the held in Washington, D.C. Humanist Institute.8 Almost thirty years later it continues to thrive as a key department of The decision to join the SCA was not par- the American Humanist Association (AHA). ticularly controversial. Its goals are perfectly When Wine was named the AHA’s Humanist consistent with those of the SHJ. But the SCA of the Year in 2003, he was recognized for his is not the only organization lobbying on First contributions to both Humanistic Judaism and Amendment religious issues. The SHJ might world-wide humanism. One might say that easily have chosen to support other organiza- his award recognized his attempts to dance at tions that serve similar purposes. For example, two weddings. Americans United for the Separation of Church

6 Humanistic Judaism and State (AU) lobbies on almost identical is- became the prominent hour of . Jewish sues. Its list of cooperating organizations boasts traditions took a back seat as Jewish services some of the biggest names in the Jewish world. looked more and more like those of Protestant But AU is not specifically committed to the Christianity. These developments did not sit welfare of nontheistic Americans. Instead, it well with everyone. In a sermon delivered in focuses its outreach on religious groups. Its di- 1910 at New York’s most prominent Reform rector, Barry Lynn, is an ordained minister in the Temple, Rabbi Judah Magnes advocated for liberal United Church of Christ. Its mission is a return to more tradition. His speech was “to ensure religious freedom for all Americans.” reported in The New York Times:

By choosing membership in the SCA, rath- A prominent Christian lawyer of another er than affiliating with the AU or any number city, complained Dr. Magnes, has told me of other organizations working on church-state how he entered this building at the begin- issues, the SHJ supports its goal of “improv[ing] ning of a service on a Sunday morning, and the civic situation of citizens with a naturalistic did not discover he was in a synagogue worldview.” Members of SHJ might feel an af- until a chance remark by the preacher betrayed it.11 finity with other Jews. But they share a sense of purpose with other humanists. Sentiments like these revealed nascent As a result, Humanistic Judaism has danced Reform Judaism’s practical failings. Forced enthusiastically at the humanist world’s wed- to reevaluate, the movement began to turn in- ding. But what about that other celebration, the ward, focusing its efforts on looking and feeling one with just Jews? How is that dance going? more Jewish. Though the transformation would take decades, by the 1980s ritual traditional- III. Dancing with Jews ism ruled the day. Just as significantly, the Earlier, I discussed the nineteenth-century movement’s commitment to universalism was reformers’ efforts to create a new kind of Juda- swallowed up by its quest to ensure Jewish ism with greater universalist concerns and particularistic survival. increased engagement with the non-Jewish world. The movement that they created is Humanistic Judaism has faced similar prob- now known as classical Reform Judaism. lems. Active engagement with the non-Jewish Why “classical”? Because it no longer ex- world has not been the only challenge. Anyone ists. And there are important lessons here for who has tried to recruit someone to a Human- Humanistic Judaism. istic Jewish community has faced questions about the wholesale abandonment of traditional For classical Reform Judaism, recasting Jewish liturgy, the likes of which were never Jewish observance was the highest priority. The seen in any version of Reform Judaism. same is true of Humanistic Judaism. Classical Reform Judaism yielded radical changes in Jew- With our movement’s use of Hebrew and ish practice. Humanistic Judaism’s reforms are Yiddish songs and readings, Magnes’ Christian more radical still. Classical Reform Judaism has lawyer probably would have recognized the all but disappeared as a Jewish option. One by Jewishness of our services. That said, Human- one its reforms were revised or reversed. Will istic Judaism has actually preserved far less Humanistic Judaism suffer the same fate? of the traditional liturgy than did those early classical reformers. Moreover, there is little A cursory glance at the earliest prayer room for compromise. Unlike Reform Judaism, books of the classic reformers reveals the which simply closed the doors to radical reform extent of their changes. Hebrew was almost and turned inward, there is no such option for completely eliminated. Fundamental Humanistic Judaism. , the bedrock and passages were reworded or purged entirely. of the movement, cannot accommodate theistic In some Reform temples, Sunday mornings language or practices of any kind. Humanistic

Summer/Autumn 2014 7 Jews who, despite their affinity with our ideol- cil of Jewish Federations, the largest gathering ogy, seek these expressions of Judaism have not of Jewish communal leaders and organizations found a comfortable home in the movement. in North America. The following year we held They do not care that reciting the Shema or a service there. In some ways, this the traditional Kaddish is a betrayal of “saying put Humanistic Judaism on the Jewish map what we mean and meaning what we say.” They as the “fifth denomination.” It was a welcome want to say these prayers because that’s what acknowledgment by the Jewish establishment Jews do. of our Jewish credibility. Both before and since then, the movement has worked hard to Cincinnati’s Beth Adam did not leave remain integrated, nationally and locally, with the movement because of this issue, and its the larger Jewish community. The results have liturgy does not include these prayers. But been generally, if not entirely, positive. another former member of the SHJ, Beth Chai, the Greater Washington (D.C.) Jewish Humanist In most places where we find a success- Congregation, eventually reintroduced them in ful local Humanistic Jewish community, its its liturgy. Still other congregations that have members cooperate — sometimes closely remained within the fold have made valiant — with other Jewish organizations. Our com- attempts to replace them with sound-alike munities tend to be recognized by federations readings. Numerous Humanistic adaptations and even local bureaus of Jewish educa- of the Shema and Kaddish can be found in the tion. In , the Birmingham Temple is a service booklets of our congregations. Some of fully recognized member of the local Jewish these are lovely, poetic interpretations. Others community. And in stark contrast with the are gratingly bad compositions. early treatment of Sherwin Wine, Detroit’s Humanistic rabbis are welcomed into full Efforts to retain or reformulate traditional membership in the Michigan Board of Rabbis. Jewish prayers and practices point to our In other cities, however, Humanistic rabbis movement’s attempts to dance at the Jewish are not automatically recognized. Ordination wedding. But the built-in necessity of radical by the IISHJ is not considered on a par with Humanistic reforms has distanced us from that of the older, more established seminaries mainstream Jewish acceptance. Some even and yeshivas. believe that it has stunted our growth as a movement. Whatever the case, the nature of On the national stage, the SHJ has main- Humanistic Judaism does not really leave much tained associations with a number of important room for a Reform-style return to tradition. To Jewish organizations. One of the most notable do so would be to abandon what makes Hu- of these connections is the SHJ’s acceptance manistic Judaism unique. as a partner agency with Hillel International, which sponsors Jewish programming on cam- Liturgy and observance notwithstanding, puses throughout the world. This recognition is there remains much that can be done to shore generally reserved for only the most legitimate up and promote Yiddishkeit (Jewishness), Jewish groups. which might go a long way toward attracting marginal Jews who value Jewish culture. We Dwarfing the movement’s engagement with cannot restore the Shema, but powerful cel- American Jewry is its connection to Israel. The ebrations of holidays such as Sukkot and Purim movement there, founded as a result of Sherwin can emphasize our Jewish commitments. Wine’s outreach to some of the Jewish state’s most prominent secular leaders and thinkers, Less challenging than our internal reforms has grown strong under the leadership of Rabbi of Judaism have been our attempts to remain Sivan Malkin Maas. connected to the organized American Jewish community. In 1998, we hosted a program for By providing a distinct link to that most attendees of the General Assembly of the Coun- particularistic of all Jewish places, Secular Hu-

8 Humanistic Judaism manistic Judaism in Israel has helped to supply we’ve managed to move back and forth between the North American movement with important them depending upon our immediate goals. resources that encourage involvement in the Inevitably, we have a hard time managing this concerns of world Jewry. But if this Israeli trick. It’s not easy to leave one party in order connection helps to anchor the movement’s to attend the other. Jewish interests, there are other forces working against them. IV. Choices If there is one thing that characterizes our Since its establishment, the IISHJ’s North small movement, it is realism. Humanism is a American branch has ordained eleven talented philosophy that insists upon rigorous honesty rabbis and nearly forty nonrabbinic leaders and a straightforward evaluation of all the facts (leader/madrikhot/madrikhim/vegvayzer). in evidence. Yet the Institute’s first graduate, Rabbi Tamara Kolton, today identifies with the Jewish Re- The accepted wisdom of most conven- newal and Reform movements.12 Two other tional Jews is that the only way for Jews to graduates, Rabbis Greg Epstein and Binyamin survive and thrive as Jews is to focus inward. Biber, have become prominent as humanistic Classical Reform Judaism, the one grand at- chaplains at Harvard University and Ameri- tempt to swing the doors of our community can University, respectively. As such they completely outward, was a failure. Owing to do not concentrate on the particular needs of its theistic frame of reference and its reverence Humanistic Jews. for the past, its pilots steered it back toward particularistic shores. The movement’s difficulties with Jewish particularism are also visible in our failure to Humanistic Jews do not have this option. create a program – or even an argument – for a By our very nature we reject the supremacy of robust Jewish lifestyle. Our movement cannot accepted wisdom. So we must ask ourselves, point to anything like the Jewish outreach that would looking inward serve our purposes? is Beth Adam’s focus. With its website (our- Could we do so without betraying our human- jewishcommunity.org) and other highly vis- ism? And to what end? Beth Adam’s decision to ible features, the Cincinnati congregation has do so has left it alone in the world, orphaned in aspired to draw attention to its specifically Jew- both the Jewish and humanistic communities. ish commitments. In this it joins the Reform, More significantly, we are far too committed Conservative, Renewal, and Reconstructionist to the legacy of our founder and our network movements, each of which promotes vigorous of relationships with the humanistic world to participation in Jewish life. Humanistic Jew- abandon it now. ish communities cannot point to any similarly vigorous commitment. Consider the popularity in many of our congregations of that great humanistic anthem, Arguably, few efforts of these liberal move- John Lennon’s “Imagine.” Here is a song that ments have succeeded in making any real expresses a longing for the ultimate unity impact on the lives of non-Orthodox Ameri- of humanity. It lauds the disappearance of can Jews. And as a movement with very, very boundaries; of nations and . Like many few resources we must ask ourselves whether humanists, I, too, love this song. we can really afford to invest in this kind of windmill-tilting. To be clear, I am not recom- Yet for a movement that is committed to mending that we should. saying what we mean and meaning what we say, we should pause for a moment to consider I mean only to call attention to the undeni- its vision. Is this what we want for the Jewish able fact that, despite our best attempts, efforts people? Is it the disappearance of differences? to dance at both weddings with one tuches That vision rejects tribalism in favor of a strong have not been entirely successful. At best, universalism. It is not the vision of the Jewish

Summer/Autumn 2014 9 federations, bureaus of Jewish education, or more and more traditional Jews are seeking the insularity of boards of rabbis. Hasidic and Yeshivish Judaism. 2 Michael A. Meyer, Response to Modernity: A History of the Most of us would say that we want the best Reform Movement in Judaism (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1995), p. 270. of both worlds. We rightly see very little con- flict in our day-to-day simultaneous embrace 3Ibid. of universalistic humanism and particularistic 4David Gonzalez, “Temple With No Place For God Seeks a Judaism. But our children – at least those who Place.” The New York Times, June 11, 1994, http://www.nytimes. take these things seriously – are increasingly com/1994/06/11/nyregion/temple-with-no-place-for-god-seeks-a- attracted to one or the other. place.html (accessed Aug. 20, 2014). 5Society for Humanistic Judaism, Minutes of Special Meeting Those seeking Jewish immersion find of Executive Committee with Board Members of Beth Adam, little of value in our movement. They are far October 28, 1988. more attracted to Orthodox Judaism, though 6The minutes of the October 1988 meeting, though terse, exhibit liberals among them will find a comfortable a tension between religious humanism and . Beth Adam’s commitment to the former over the latter suggests home with the other movements. Those who that its leadership saw the “secularization” of the SHJ as an identify most strongly with the goals of hu- indication that it did not share this identity. An understanding manism find little of interest in particularistic of the history of these two terms might be helpful. As originally conceived, “religious humanism” was a nontheistic approach Judaism. For them Humanistic Judaism is that saw itself as a kind of continuation or evolution of religion insufficiently universalist. (Barr’s “logical development”). Despite this evolutionary view, religious humanism was philosophically identical to secular humanism, differing mainly on the question of whether and Traditional Judaism holds that prophecy how to reposition religious rituals. Their arguments suggest is dead. We believe that it never existed. For that Beth Adam’s leaders were firmly committed to the idea that reason I won’t even attempt to predict that Humanistic Judaism should be considered a form of reli- gious humanism, and thus firmly planted in the larger Jewish what lies ahead for us. Perhaps we will win the religious context. day as more and more thinking Jews reject the lessons of their establishment rabbis and flock During the past few decades the original definition of religious humanism has largely evaporated. This happened when some to our rational shores. Perhaps we will slowly progressive theistic coopted the term, using it to describe disappear into the larger humanistic world, their vision of a liberal focused on the needs of humanity. becoming nothing more than an interesting Though Wine’s decision to utilize the term “Secular Humanistic Judaism” had more to do with recruiting secular Israelis, it proved footnote in the history of humanism. to be both prescient and fortuitous, providing a clear statement of the movement’s nontheism. For now we have no choice but to continue 7 Gonzalez, op. cit. our efforts to defy that Yiddish maxim. We’ve placed these two weddings as close to each 8 Carol Wintermute, “A Visionary Story: The History of NACH other as possible. We can’t dance at both with and The Humanist Institute.” The Humanist Institute, http:// humanistinstitute.org/about-us/history (accessed Aug. 20, 2014). one tuches, so we’ll just have to keep moving our tuches from one to the other, doing the 9Not insignificantly, Dawkins’ includes the best we can to honor our commitments to both SHJ as a resource in an appendix. Judaism and humanism. 10“Voting Member Organizations,” Secular Coalition for America, http://www.secular.org/member_orgs (accessed Aug. 20, 2014).

11“Rabbi Attacked Reformed Judaism.” The New York Times, NOTES May 12, 1910, p. 8. 1In the twentieth century a new generation would seek once again to live as both Orthodox Jews and modern Americans. Whether 12“Tamara Kolton,” Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ they will succeed remains to be seen. Latest trends indicate that Tamara_Kolton (accessed Aug. 20, 2014).

10 Humanistic Judaism Judaism for Humanistic Jews by Rabbi Adam Chalom

In the traditional Jewish narrative, Moses Inside the synagogue came down from Mount Sinai with the two tab- is me. lets of the Ten Commandments. He found the Inside me Israelites worshiping the Golden Calf and broke my heart. the tablets in his rage. After a bloody purge of Inside my heart a museum. the idolaters, Moses returned to the mountain Inside the museum and received a new set of two tablets of the Ten a synagogue, Commandments. A different version, accord- inside it ing to Mel Brooks’ History of the World, Part I, me, is that Moses came down the mountain with inside me fifteen commandments, dropped and broke my heart, one tablet with five of them, and settled on inside my heart Ten Commandments. a museum

What does this story mean to us? After Jewish identity is all of these: Judaism is all, we Humanistic Jews, true to the tradition the new museum, Judaism is the old synagogue, of our ancestors, are definitely a “stiff-necked Judaism is the living individual, Judaism is the people” – we don’t want anyone to tell us what wordless emotion of the heart, Judaism is the we have to do. We’ve gone from being the Cho- memory of a people, Judaism is the heart in the sen People to being the “choosy people.” We person in the synagogue in the museum. Let us don’t like commandments, and we’re doubtful begin, then, on the human level – the person that there’s a commander behind them. The Ten standing in the synagogue, the individual hu- Commandments are ours, but we don’t agree man being. with all of them. No murder, no stealing – no problem. Not worshiping idols and keeping the We humans are thinking beings. The first Sabbath require some interpretation to be use- piece of our picture of Judaism for Humanis- ful. “I am YHWH your God” and “Thou shalt tic Jews, is Judaism as Jewish thought – the not covet” (as if we could control momentary process and products of thinking about what emotions) – these are more problematic than it means to be Jewish. Why are you in the old inspirational. We face a central question in synagogue in the new museum? Why does your contemporary Jewish life – not “What is Juda- heart contain the past (the old synagogue), the ism,” but “What does Judaism, what does being future ( the new museum), and the intersection Jewish mean to me?” of the two? Why did you choose to explore the museum with the synagogue in it? Let us examine five ways to think about Judaism for Humanistic Jews. Each of them is If your only authoritative source was the a piece of the puzzle that defines who we are Bible, what would being Jewish mean? There and what we believe. would be strict rules to follow: Do not eat from

We begin with an image from the Israeli Rabbi Adam Chalom, Ph.D., dean of the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism for North America, is rabbi of poet Yehuda Amichai called “Poem without Kol Hadash Humanistic Congregation in Lincolnshire, IL. He an End.” holds a doctorate from the and sits on the editorial board of this journal. This article is adapted from a Rosh Hashana sermon delivered at Kol Hadash in 2004. “Poem Inside the brand-new museum without an End” is reprinted with permission of the author, who there’s an old synagogue. read his poetry at the 1984 SHJ conference.

Summer/Autumn 2014 11 the tree of knowledge of good and evil, make beautiful Passover haggadot with vivid scenes no graven images, thou shalt not murder, thou of Moses crossing the Red Sea dressed in me- shalt not have other before me; thou shalt dieval clothing, and how Mel Brooks imagined and thou shalt not and thou shalt never. There Moses being clumsy and dropping a tablet. would be commitments to honor – a covenant entered by your ancestors and binding “from Jewish culture has always been more than generation to generation” without the right what the Talmud’s rabbis said it was. If you go to question or renegotiate. There would be back to the beginnings of Rabbinic Judaism, boundaries to maintain: ethical rules (“love there were two insults for those who disagreed your neighbor as yourself”) and also social and with the early rabbis: apikoros (heretic, free- ritual boundaries – clean and unclean, male thinker, skeptic), and am ha-aretz ( ignoramus). and female, Jew and outsider. The am ha-aretz didn’t follow the rules because he didn’t know them, but the apikoros knew For Humanistic Jews, the closest we could the rules and didn’t agree with them, or chose get to ten commandments would be “Ten what he followed and what he didn’t, and for Strongly Worded Suggestions for You to Con- the rabbis he was worse. The word apikoros sider in Your Free Time.” Our commitment comes from the Greek philosopher Epicurus, to Jewish identity is strong because we have who told people not to fear the gods because chosen it out of all other possibilities, includ- there weren’t any, and not to worry about pun- ing the possibility of vanishing into general ishment in the afterlife because there was none. American culture. Our boundaries are defined And there were evidently enough Jews who by our values – not by what happens to us, but had read Epicurus to be given this dirty name by how we act and react; not by our birth but by of apikoros. (By the way, I’ve always longed to whom we have become; not by who our mother have a singing group full of Humanistic Jews was, but by where our hearts lie. We know the that could be called “The Api-Chorus.” And Ten Commandments, we understand what that would be Jewish culture too.) they mean, and we respect what in them still has value today. But we are not subjected, sub- This, then, is our model – the apikoros servient, or submissive to any directives that – someone who knows the tradition and has would undermine our dignity and autonomy chosen what is meaningful based on his or her as thinking human beings who have come to personal beliefs. To be Jewish, one can go to an new conclusions. old synagogue, or to a brand-new museum, or have a personal experience with Jewish cul- We Humanistic Jews are a part of Jewish ture, or simply feel in one’s heart the pull of a thought, for we think about what it means to melody that speaks to us with a Jewish accent. be part of the Jewish people. If we celebrate our past, we have thoughtfully chosen from our When we combine our first two puzzle heritage. If we create anew, we are adding our pieces, Jewish thought with Jewish culture, we voices to the Jewish chorus of the centuries. In begin to see the contours of our identity. The other words, we are part of Jewish culture. individual standing in the synagogue thinks of his Judaism in his heart, and there he finds both Thus, for Humanistic Jews, Judaism is also the museum and the synagogue, Jewish religion Jewish culture, the second piece of our puzzle. and Jewish memory, Jewish music and food and The old synagogue is Jewish culture, but so is literature and texture and color, traditional and everything else in that brand new museum, modern Jewish thoughts on what it means to be including the words of the poet standing in an a part of the Jewish people. old synagogue in a new museum. Not only the story of Moses and the Ten Commandments In Amichai’s poem, the poet is not just that we find in the Book of Exodus, but also standing in a synagogue; he stands in a syna- how later generations of rabbis understood gogue in a museum, placing his Jewish con- it, and how medieval Jewish artists created nection in historical and social context. This

12 Humanistic Judaism is the third piece of our puzzle, because for As Humanistic Jews, we believe in evolu- Humanistic Jews, Judaism is also Jewish his- tion; not only the evolution of species, but the tory – how we developed into who and what evolution of Judaism. Like every living thing, we are. Moses himself may never have actually Judaism has changed in response to its envi- existed – our study of history and archaeology ronment and internal needs. Like every living finds basically no evidence in Egyptian sourc- thing, Judaism contains old elements from es, no evidence in the Sinai desert, and even its past, contemporary innovations for new contradictory elements in the Bible itself. What settings, and active pieces adopted from the is affirmative about this historical exploration outside world that support its survival. Moses is the process of trying to discover the real his- never had a Bar Mitzvah with a DJ, and King tory of our people, and not just what we read in David never read the Torah. The early rabbis our first story book. Imagine the young George may have felt that women could not read from Washington and the cherry tree he confessed the Torah, but we believe in the equality and to having chopped down ( “I cannot tell a lie”). dignity and freedom of every human being. Will we ever find the stump of that cherry tree? No – the story has clear ethical and mythologi- We often hear of “the Jewish tradition” cal value, but it is not history. And the same as an authoritative force, but as the following is true of Moses writing the entire Torah, or story indicates, even that can be problematic. of the rabbis carrying on an oral tradition that There was great conflict in the main syna- was supposedly given on Mount Sinai, or of the gogue in Hotzeplotz. At a certain point in the idea that the Jews created their own culture in service, half of the congregation would stand, ghettos entirely disconnected from the hostile the other half would remain seated, and both world around them that hated and persecuted sides would start arguing with each other. After them at every turn. All of these are interest- several weeks, they decided to visit the oldest ing stories with their own purposes, but they man in town to find out what the real tradition are not history. The Torah was written over was. The first group explained that they stood centuries by many authors, the rabbis evolved at that point in the service, and the old man intellectually and debated their laws centuries said, “No, that’s not the tradition.” The second later, and Jews have had a mixed experience group exclaimed triumphantly, “So we should among the nations, learning and sharing with stay seated at that moment!” But the old man some while fleeing others. We have to have replied, “No, that’s not the tradition.” “Well, the courage to look honestly at ourselves and right now half of us stand and half of us sit and to seek our real past. everyone argues!” “Ah, that’s the tradition!”

With respect to Jewish history there are “cre- There is no one tradition, no single under- ationist” Jews and “evolutionist” Jews. “Creation- standing of Jewish history and Jewish identity, ist” Jews believe that Judaism was created at a unless we define it as an active debate about certain point in time and has never appreciably Jewish identity. That’s the tradition – to argue changed. At their extreme, they believe that Abra- about the tradition. Because of that tradi- ham ate matsa at his Passover seder, even though tion, we have every right to stand up for our the Exodus happens in a later book of the Bible, values, to celebrate our connections through or that David studied the Torah with his rabbi, our beliefs, and to learn from our heritage as even though historically the Torah was written we choose. centuries after David may or may not have lived. For creationist Jews, Judaism was, is, and will For choice is at the heart of the connec- be essentially as it began. They may not agree tion between Judaism and Humanistic Jews, on what that was – some claim it is based on and that is the fourth piece of our puzzle. For ritual observance while others highlight ethical Humanistic Jews, being Jewish is the freedom or certain prayers – but they are sure to create Judaism. Some will tell you that the that what they do is the core of what Judaism has Sabbath created the Jews; the truth is that the always been. Jews created the Sabbath, and since we as the

Summer/Autumn 2014 13 Jewish people created it, we can modify it to ing member of the Jewish people. You do not respond to our needs as did earlier generations. stop being part of your birth family or your I never believe it when someone tells me that Jewish family because you have new ideas, or an object or an idea or a text is untouchable, because you have a different understanding of unquestionable, absolutely authoritative. what happened in the past, or because you con- tinue some family traditions and also create your I think back to The Wizard of Oz. Why own, or because you fall in love with and marry do absolutely no work on the Sabbath? “I am someone from another ethnic family, or because YHWH your God.” Why kill the Wicked Witch you speak a non-Jewish language, or because you of the West? “I am the great and powerful Oz.” participate in the world of American culture, or When faced with unreasonable commands because of any of the incidents of modern life. from a distant, authoritative source, I refuse We are all a part of the Jewish family. to listen to the command: Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain! If I do see a man Our family connections to our heritage are behind the curtain, if I do see the evolution of stronger than the distance that separates us Jewish tradition, the variety of Jewish culture from the past. The Ten Commandments are part from which to choose, the diversity of opinions of my Jewish family, and Mel Brooks is part of of what it means to be Jewish, I know that I am my Jewish family, and Yehuda Amichai is part free to make my own decisions, to live my own of my family. Jewish life as it has meaning to me. Turn back to the image created by our Freedom is not always easy – Jean Paul Sar- puzzle pieces. What do you get when you tre famously wrote that “we are condemned to combine Jewish thought with Jewish culture be free.” In other words, if there is no external with Jewish history and Jewish freedom with authority to take responsibility, it is all ours. Jewish family connections? In a phrase, you When we make our free choices, we are not al- get Humanistic Judaism. In an image, ways popular for doing so, for we are humanists in a non-humanist world, as well as Jews in a Inside the brand-new museum non-Jewish world. Humanistic Jews are “The there’s an old synagogue. Jews of the Jews” – the people who never quite Inside the synagogue fit in. Our convictions demand songs and cel- is me. ebrations and texts that articulate our beliefs, Inside me and although some of our literary heritage fits my heart. the bill, much does not. This freedom is a seri- Inside my heart ous responsibility – the culture we create will a museum. be the culture our children inherit, the new Inside the museum museum housing the old synagogue. a synagogue, inside it me, But where is the heart, the final piece of the inside me puzzle? In the individual human heart, for the my heart, individual Humanistic Jew, Judaism is a family inside my heart identity – Judaism is being an active, contribut- a museum

14 Humanistic Judaism “Just Jewish?” Why Humanistic Judaism Matters by Rabbi Denise Handlarski

By now the results of the Pew survey, humanism is demonstrated through my behav- “A Portrait of Jewish Americans” (October ior, Judaism is inherent in my being. 2013), are well known and widely discussed. I will not rehearse most of the findings here. The tougher question, I think, is “Why not However, having recently attended a discus- just Jewish?” The Pew survey indicates that sion of the survey and its implications, I want many Jews feel this designation to be enough. to share some thoughts that are pertinent to Jews of all affiliations, including the Jews who the questions, Why not just Jewish? Why not reported no affiliation at all, responded simi- just humanist? larly to the question “What is essential about being Jewish?” Pew researcher Greg Smith’s presenta- tion of some of the survey findings confirmed The top answers were the same for both something I had suspected: most of the Jews “Jews by religion” and “Jews of no religion.” we would call secular don’t fit in with the The first was “remembering the Holocaust,” “just Jewish” designation. The first question the second “leading an ethical and moral life,” the survey asked was with which religion the and the third “working for justice/equality.” I respondent identified, listing several including find it highly significant that Jews, regardless Judaism. Respondents who said “none” were of upbringing or affiliation, consider asked follow-up questions that revealed other and justice to be inextricable from their Juda- sources of Jewish identity. Nearly six out of ism. If we boil down what is essential, as the ten respondents identified as religiously Jew- question does, we see that Judaism is, itself, ish; about one in four identified as Jewish via inherently humanistic. ethnicity, ancestry, or background. And yet we know that, in the name of But I would have answered the initial ques- Judaism, or Yahweh, or Torah, or Israel, ter- tion about religion by saying “I’m Jewish.” This rible things go on. We know that if humanistic is not because Judaism as a religion supersedes values can be found in Judaism, so too are all other ways of defining or thinking about decidedly unhumanistic ones such as sex- being Jewish, but rather because Judaism is so ism, xenophobia, and sometimes violence. important to me that I would count myself in We know that the very passages of Torah and with Jews compared to other religious groups. Talmud that we feel argue strongly for moral For this reason the vast majority of Secular Hu- behavior can be used by some Jewish leaders manistic Jews are lumped in with “religious” to foster actions we abhor. We know all of this, Jews in the survey’s findings. and that is one reason we find meaning in Humanistic Judaism. This, for me, answers the question: “Why not just humanist?” Although my humanistic Until I became part of the Humanistic values are important to me, I identify much Jewish community, I felt very Jewish but had more strongly as Jewish. Judaism affects how no interest in any kind of organized Jewish I relate to my family, what cultural programs Rabbi Denise Handlarski is assistant rabbi of Oraynu Congrega- interest me, and how I see myself in the world. tion for Humanistic Judaism in Toronto. She is a member of the Being Jewish is crucial to my identity. Whereas Board of Directors of the Society for Humanistic Judaism.

Summer/Autumn 2014 15 affiliation or practice. Many of you are prob- needs goodness and justice to stay relevant. ably like me in this regard, and the Pew survey For this reason, we are not “just” Jewish, but suggests there are many more like us out there aim to find what is just in what is Jewish, as well. Humanistic Judaism aims to take the what is Jewish in and about our humanity, best of both humanism and Judaism. Humans and what is human about the pursuit of creat- need culture and community, and we find ours ing a self and a movement that encapsulate in Jewish custom and celebration. Judaism our truth.

for the skeptical and questioning, an alternative history of the Jews, told by one of the most provocative rabbis in Jewish history A Provocative People: A Secular History of the Jews by Rabbi Sherwin T. Wine edited by Rabbi Adam Chalom A Provocative People, Rabbi Wine’s final work, presents a history of the Jewish people, from their origins in the ancient Middle East to their existence as a global people in the modern world, from their beginnings as a religious people through their transition to a largely secular- ized people. Displaying his sense of humor, Wine once again distills complex ideas and devel- opments into easily understood concepts, offering his readers a compelling and very readable humanistic history of the Jewish people. paperback, $31.50 including shipping and handling Send your order to the SOCIETY FOR HUMANISTIC JUDAISM 28611 West Twelve Mile Road • Dept. HJ • Farmington Hills, MI 48334

16 Humanistic Judaism Appreciating Pluralism and Multiple Identities by Rabbi Miriam Jerris

My forty years of involvement in Human- method. I believe that truth matters. I believe istic Judaism have offered ample opportunity that humans have the capacity to determine for others to question my dual commitment to ethical behavior based on their use of reason humanism and Judaism. The question often and their evaluation of the consequences of begins with, “How can you…?” or “Why do the behavior in question – we can be, as Rabbi you…?” “How can you be both a humanist and Greg Epstein has taught us, “good without a Jew?” “How can you be Jewish and not be- God.” Because there is no empirical evidence lieve in God? My typical response is, “Because for the existence of an intervening personal I am” or “Because I do.” I have never been a deity, belief or disbelief in a god is irrelevant fan of people questioning my ability to be ex- to me. This position is called , but actly who I am. I experience these questions I much prefer the positive label of humanist to the same way I would experience such ques- describe who I am and what I believe. tions as “How can you be both a woman and a rabbi?” or “How can you be both a mother and From the time I was a very young adult a daughter?” I simply am all these identities in my early twenties, I was at odds with Juda- simultaneously. In today’s world, who has the ism as a religion. Prayer – addressing a deity audacity to tell anyone who they can or can- that clearly was uninterested in what I had to not be when it comes to identity? The beauty say – offended me. Although I had been a very of living in North America in these pluralistic active Jewish teen, I was finding every post- times is that there is plenty of room for multiple teenage Jewish communal experience painful. I identities and the freedom to express them. turned to academia and family celebrations for Jewish experience to continue my connection Being a Jew does not require a certain set of to Judaism. beliefs. Depending on who you ask, you are a Jew because you were born to a Jewish mother Today I am Jewish by birth, family connec- or have converted to Judaism appropriately tion, and expression, and because Humanistic (Orthodox and ); because Judaism exists. I engage in Jewish study and you were born to a Jewish mother or father or celebration because it enriches me and my fam- have converted to Judaism appropriately (Re- ily and professional life. Humanistic Judaism form and Reconstructionist Judaism and Jewish offers the opportunity to marry the philosophy Renewal); or because you declare yourself to of humanism to Jewish culture. It enables my be a Jew and identify “with the history, ethical identity as a Humanistic Jew, which is the most values, culture, civilization, community, and accurate description of my philosophy, values, fate of the Jewish people” (Secular Humanis- and interests. tic Judaism, 1988). The definition of Judaism is also significant. Humanistic Judaism sees Humanistic Judaism resolved my Jewish Judaism as the evolving historical and cultural identity crisis. It answered my questions. It experience of the Jewish people. Rabbi Miriam Jerris, Ph.D., is rabbi of the Society for Humanistic Judaism and formerly served as its first executive director. She I am a humanist because I believe that truth is ordained as a humanist minister by the Humanist Society of Friends. She holds master’s degrees in Near Eastern studies and is based on evidence, and the discovery of truth clinical and humanistic psychology and a doctorate in Jewish is based on scientific inquiry and the empirical studies. She sits on the editorial board of this journal.

Summer/Autumn 2014 17 did not create more questions or send me into no lights on the outside of our house. There is the abyss of existential angst. I was easily able a lovely Christmas tree in our family room that to dismiss the eternal questions of “How can allows him to share memories of his childhood you...?” and “Why do you...?” family with his present family.

A new complication arose when I married We call the tree a Christmas tree, not be- a born Roman Catholic of Polish descent who is cause it has a connection to organized Christian- also a humanist. My husband had strong cultural ity or Christian beliefs, but because that is how ties to his Polish Catholic family traditions. He trees with lights and ornaments are described had given up the religious aspects of Catholicism in secular society. We don’t call it a Hanukka but didn’t see any need to curtail family celebra- bush because the term Hanukka bush has no tions of Christmas and Easter. It was this interre- meaning for me, and the tree represents Steve’s lationship of identities that raised questions for identity, not mine. Some families may choose me. I valued my Jewish identity; he appreciated to have a tree and call it a Hanukka bush. I do his Christian background. It wasn’t until I faced not have feelings against that practice. Many creating a family with an additional cultural researchers who have studied Jewish-Christian dimension that I began to ask the questions that intermarriage have a strong negative reaction to had been asked of me with a slight twist: “How such syncretism, the blending of traditions from can we be both humanists and culturally Jewish different cultures or religions. Although I have and secularly Christian?” (I can hear the rebuttal, never had a need to do this with my husband’s “What do you mean, secularly Christian? There cultural traditions and mine, most of human is no such thing.” My answer is, of course, there history has embraced the practice of syncretism. is such a thing. It is exactly what my husband How did the idea of Jesus as the Messiah ever is – a secular Christian.) become connected to a tree with lights? It did not develop out of Christianity. It was an act of By the time Steve and I moved in together, syncretism, merging the pagan Germanic tradi- I was already a seasoned Humanistic Jew and a tion of lighting trees during the winter solstice certified leader/madrikha/vegveyser. I had no with the story of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, issue with accommodating additional identi- who became known as Jesus Christ. ties. I had been working with couples seeking to do just that for some time. Steve was an Identity is a complex psychological and equal partner in our relationship. It was a no- sociological phenomenon. It is for each of us brainer – until he nonchalantly mentioned that to decide what identities we choose to embrace he was going to buy Christmas lights for the and how to express them. There was enough outside of the house. My brain exploded. This interest on the part of Jews who were humanists was unthinkable! in becoming part of a community that remained connected to Jewish traditions, the Jewish cal- When I examined my reaction, I realized endar, Jewish symbols, and Jewish literature for that something was going on that had nothing them to participate in the founding of a new to do with the present day or the actual cir- movement in Judaism. As long as individuals cumstances. What in the world was upsetting find value and meaning in the association, it me so much? And then it hit me like a flash of is plain chutzpah on the part of others to ques- lightning. I had a memory of being a child in tion the legitimacy of that connection. It has my father’s car, driving through our neighbor- nothing to do with them. It seems to me the hood at Hanukka/Christmas time. I remember statute of limitations on the questions “How pointing to the houses with lights and saying, can you be…?” and “Why do you...?” has ex- “This is a Christian house” and then pointing pired. I would much rather ask, “Who are you to the houses with no lights and saying, “This and how do you express your identity?” It is is a Jewish house.” I realized that I clearly had so much more interesting. Diversity created by an issue with our house being identified as a multiple cultural backgrounds and philosophi- “Christian” house. Steve understood. There are cal perspectives enriches us all.

18 Humanistic Judaism Sherwin Wine and the Core of Humanistic Judaism by Joseph Chuman

I write as a friendly outsider and former So the question is, what did Sherwin Wine colleague of Sherwin Wine, the founder of envision as the essential core of Humanistic Humanistic Judaism. My colleagueship with Judaism? There is no doubt that even during the Sherwin, whom I knew from the early 1970s period of his active leadership, the movement until his sudden and shocking death in 2007, had expanded beyond his initial vision to pro- was primarily through associations other than vide a broad tent for Jews holding a multitude of Humanistic Judaism. Yet, ironically, Sherwin’s differing perspectives. The common denomina- commitment to organizations outside of Juda- tor was, and I presume remains, the disavowal of ism revealed the substance that Sherwin placed a supernatural being or divine custodian. In this at the center of Humanistic Judaism. regard, Humanistic Judaism has been attractive to Jewish secularists, Yiddishists, Zionists, and a Before elaborating what I believe lay at the panoply of religious skeptics who seek to sustain heart of Humanistic Judaism as he understood and reinforce their ethnic identities as Jews. it, it is important to make explicit the relation- ship of any movement to its founder. There But this wider social reality, while describ- are some movements in which the vision and ing the communal life of Humanistic Judaism, utterances of its founder have an absolute and does not of itself fulfill Sherwin Wine’s un- unchanging significance. For the conservative derstanding of the philosophical principles of Christian, the proclamations of Jesus are true the movement he ushered into existence and because he said them. His authority reigns nurtured for almost five decades. In his view supreme and in a transcendent sense reflects Humanistic Judaism was more than a meeting unalterable truth. Clearly, Sherwin was not ground intended to reinforce Jewish ethnicity this kind of authority, nor did he assume that and to celebrate Jewish identity. On the contrary, Humanistic Judaism asserted truths that would Sherwin took his humanism very seriously. He not change with changing conditions. As a believed that the direction of the evolution of modern, Sherwin Wine knew well that the Judaism in the modern period yielded a cluster movement he founded would evolve, just as of philosophical principles that replaced the Humanistic Judaism itself is a product of the historically central commitment of Judaism to evolution of Judaism from ancient times until a commanding God. It is because Sherwin be- the present. lieved in the compelling character of humanism that he traveled comfortably through humanistic Yet this evolving reality does not suggest a organizations that had no link to Judaism or condition of intellectual anarchy or unbridled Jewishness. Among these were the Humanist license for members to assert any individual Institute and Americans for Religious Liberty, belief they may hold and to do so in the name both of which he co-founded; and the Center of Humanistic Judaism. The movement has for New Thinking, in which he discoursed on boundaries. Intellectual maturity and integrity Joseph Chuman, Ph.D., has been the leader of the Ethical Culture require, in my view, that members of the Soci- Society of Bergen County for the past forty years and a part-time ety for Humanistic Judaism be responsible to leader of the New York Society for six years. He teaches human the cumulative history of the movement and rights in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Columbia University and at Hunter College. He is the author of Speaking to the principles articulated by its seminal of Ethics, a compilation of essays on ethics and humanism in thinker, which Sherwin Wine assuredly was. public and private life.

Summer/Autumn 2014 19 a broad range of philosophical and social issues lems emergent out of cultural relativism and with no Jewish character. He also was involved an excessive commitment to tolerance in the in the North American Committee for Human- face of values and practices that ought not to be ism and the International Humanist and Ethical tolerated. I concluded by proffering humanistic Union, among other organizations. norms which, I believe, make for a civilized life.

Humanistic Jews might have wondered My talk was light on Jewish substance but why he spent so much of his time and devo- emphatic in its explication of humanistic val- tion on such associations. But in my view, ues and principles. I found the audience pleas- there can be no doubt that they represented ant, gracious, and warm. But I left feeling that his abiding commitment to the principles of a what I thought would be of compelling signifi- broader humanism as central to a meaningful cance to an audience committed to humanism and compelling philosophy of life. It is these was at best of marginal interest. The concerns I values that he believed needed to occupy the attempted to convey were far from the center of binding center of Humanistic Judaism as well. gravity that apparently attracted people to the group. The love of Jewish identity was strong; His commitment to humanism as es- an intellectual and ideological commitment to sential to contemporary Judaism was most humanism in a positive philosophical sense, as fully elaborated in his seminal text Judaism opposed to a stand-in for nonbelief in super- Beyond God. Therein he reinforced his notion , much weaker. that modern Jewish sensibilities emerge out of the distinctive history of the Jews, which Admittedly this was just a single, long-ago ensured that they readily identified with the event. It may mean little. But if my suppositions project of the European Enlightenment. In his are correct, then I think the place of humanism view, the experience of Jewish persecution within the Society for Humanistic Judaism through the ages engendered both an attitude of needs to be reconsidered and developed with skepticism and a commitment to self-reliance. greater seriousness and appreciation for its These values dovetailed well with the secular importance as a philosophy for the movement. revolution, the dethroning of God, and the valorization of reason, ethics, integrity, and hu- Why so? Practically speaking, in the ab- man dignity. It is this cluster of values that lie sence of a commitment to a deity and scripture, at the philosophical center of Sherwin Wine’s a focal commitment to ideas held in common is understanding of Humanistic Judaism. They one of the most powerful forces that can bind a did not comprise a mere nod to modernity or group together. In other words, a commitment bromides to reinforce a sense of superiority to a shared philosophy has great functional among those who belonged to the Humanistic value in sustaining an organization and group Jewish congregation. They constituted the es- life. But more significantly, an articulated phi- sential core of a philosophy that was meant to losophy can inspire people beyond self-interest inspire, to center life, and to give it meaning. and can serve as a matrix out of which they can explore and find greater meaning in life. Has the membership of the Society for Humanistic Judaism taken its humanism as Humanism, as Sherwin Wine knew well, seriously as its founder intended? I am doubt- is a worldview that can elevate life, ennoble ful. A good number of years ago, I was invited our efforts, and inspire us to ethical action to give the Friday evening address at the Sara- that can make for a more just and dignified sota congregation, then the second largest in human condition. In my view, any religion the movement. The topic was “Reclaiming the worth having (including Humanistic Judaism) Enlightenment.” I spoke about the undermining needs to be centered on such an elevated and of Enlightenment values in the form of funda- clearly elaborated philosophy of life. It needs mentalism from the right and the emergence of to conduce toward the ethical. Without it, we postmodernism from the left. I discussed prob- are left with mere tribalism.

20 Humanistic Judaism Humanism’s Jewish Voice: A Musical Illustration by Cantor Jonathan L. Friedmann Questions about the validity of Humanistic Three general points emerge from this Judaism generally stem from a faulty premise. musical example. First is the regional nature In the mind of the questioner, Judaism is a pure of Jewish customs. Cultural artifacts – music, stand-alone entity in need of no adjectives. To food, ritual, clothing, folktales, , be Jewish and humanistic (or Jewish and any- and so forth – are always and everywhere in- thing else) is to espouse a contaminated and fluenced by exposure to neighboring communi- fragile identity. Not only does this simplistic ties. As a diaspora people, Jews have adapted criticism overlook the diversity of Jewish sys- to far-flung areas of the globe, accumulating tems, but it also presumes that humanism is all sorts of new habits and customs along the arbitrarily grafted onto Judaism. This is a false way. Second, Jewish life is not a stagnant, dichotomy. Judaism is a broad framework en- fixed, or monolithic entity, but a living record compassing heterogeneous streams of thought. of the ways in which various groups have Humanistic Jews are drawn to Judaism’s hu- defined themselves. Whatever is considered manistic aspects, just as gastronomic Jews are intrinsic to Judaism or the Jewish people is drawn to its recipes, Zionist Jews are drawn to really a fusion of elements molded together its nationalism, and so on. And because most into “identity packages.” Third, Jewish groups of these convictions and cultural components usually have good reason for appropriating the have parallels outside of Judaism, it is perfectly elements they do. Although Jewish music has natural to be drawn to those as well. historically had an open-door policy, varying according to the strength or weakness of the This phenomenon can be illustrated musi- existent musical mainstream, the choice to cally. One of the first lessons learned from the incorporate certain sounds and not others is study of Jewish music is that there is nothing hardly haphazard. uniquely “Jewish” in the music of the Jews. Assumptions about distinctive sounds or Eastern European Jews embraced the exclusive traits quickly melt into an image of augmented second of the migrating Tartars Jews assembling musical vocabularies from because it was emblematic of the Middle East. endless sources. No single melody is shared Shtetl dwellers yearned for Zion and found a by all Jewish groups, nor are any modes or musical mode to match that sentiment. German sonic signatures the sole possession of the reformers of the nineteenth century adopted Jewish people. However much we might hymns, organs, and choirs to accentuate ties salivate over Hava Nagila, its “Jewish mode” with the Christian majority and call attention to (freygish or Ahavah Rabbah) – characterized the common roots of Judaism and Christianity. by an augmented second interval between the Liberal American Jews gravitated toward folk- second and third scale degrees – likely came rock because it was the soundtrack of social to Eastern European Jews by way of the Tar- justice. Their emphasis on prophetic Judaism tars (a Turkish ethnic group) and is basically resonated with the countercultural aesthetic. identical to the Arabic maqam hijaz. It be- Cantor Jonathan L. Friedmann, Ph.D., is community leader and came “Jewish” only through its incorporation education director of Adat Chaverim Congregation for Humanistic into klezmer, Hasidic, and Eastern Ashkenazi Judaism in Los Angeles. He is Professor of Jewish Music History synagogue music. Similar stories of selective at the trans-denominational for Jewish Religion, Cali- fornia, and the author or editor of fifteen books, including the borrowing are associated with all the music of forthcoming Music in Our Lives: Why We Listen, How It Works the Jews. (McFarland, 2015).

Summer/Autumn 2014 21 If this process can be summed up in a so too is there nothing wholly unique in the single phrase, it is this: External elements teachings or customs of Judaism. Of course, amplify internal values. It is not simply that Jewish practices and ways of expression take Jewish groups had a taste for tones emanating on identifiable norms, forms, and conventions. from their neighbors. Rather, each community But beneath the culturally specific externals matched musical symbols with its favorite are needs, values, affinities, and ideals shared Jewish theme(s). Likewise, those interested in with other groups. Kabbalah tend to seek out similarities in other mystical traditions. Jewish philosophers regu- Humanistic Judaism, then, should not be larly use insights from non-Jewish thinkers to viewed as an uneasy combination of two oppos- bolster their views. Those engaged in tikkun ing forces, but as the interaction of Judaism’s olam fortify ancient teachings with modern humanistic stream with compatible perspec- social and scientific concerns. In most cases, a tives from other sources. The resulting world- seamless hybridity develops in which “Jewish” view is as authentic as any Jewish modality. and “non-Jewish” features become inseparable. It is organically woven into holiday celebra- tions, life-cycle events, educational programs, This is possible because Judaism is part of cultural functions, and the like. This makes the larger continuum of human experience. Just Humanistic Judaism a “normal” option in the as there is nothing exclusive in Jewish music, spectrum of Jewish possibilities.

22 Humanistic Judaism Humanistic Judaism Beyond Sherwin Wine by Michael J. Prival The following series of four short articles, expressing thoughts about the future of the Humanistic Judaism movement following the death of its founder, Sherwin T. Wine, in 2007, is reprinted in up- dated form from the October 2008 through January 2009 issues of the monthly newsletter of Machar, the Washington Congregation for Secular Humanistic Judaism. Part 1: The Continuity of Secular Humanistic Judaism

Since the death of Rabbi Sherwin T. Wine, like religious Jews, have congregations that the founder of our Humanistic Judaism move- provide community, education, life-cycle ment, at age 79, it has become clear that what events, holiday observances, and even clergy. he created was much larger than himself. The He insisted, however, that our rituals and leaders he trained and nurtured have taken the ceremonies express a positive humanistic out- reins, and the organizations he started and led look and affirm our ties to the Jewish people are thriving even in his absence. This is a great without including prayers whose words we tribute to a great man. do not believe. This is the bedrock difference between our movement and others. You can But the loss of the founder raises important find atheists and agnostics in many Jewish questions. To what extent should our movement congregations. What makes our movement adhere strictly to the principles articulated and unique is the fact that we select the words promoted by Rabbi Wine? All religious move- we use with what Rabbi Wine called “integ- ments change over time. Obviously our move- rity” – consistency between words and belief. ment will need to evolve beyond Rabbi Wine’s There will be debates in the future about the ideas to keep up with developing member needs. wisdom of some of Rabbi Wine’s ideas, but But how are we to change and how much? integrity – the strict adherence to humanistic and nontheistic language – is not something Sherwin Wine’s single greatest contribu- that can legitimately be debated. It defines who tion was the idea that secular Jews should, we are. Part 2: The Humanism in Secular Humanistic Judaism Back in 1963, Rabbi Sherwin Wine and a First, it’s important to understand what group of eight Detroit-area families made the Humanistic doesn’t mean. It does not mean decision to break with Reform Judaism and “humanitarian.” Deeply religious and even create something new – a liturgy that reflected fundamentalist groups can be heavily engaged their true beliefs. They struggled with the ques- in humanitarian work. It is often said that hu- tion of what to call this new idea and settled on manistic means “people-oriented,” but this is “Humanistic Judaism.” Ever since then, people not a sufficient definition as it does not distin- have been asking what the “Humanistic” in “Humanistic Judaism” actually means. How Michael J. Prival, a madrikh, has been a member of Machar, the Washington Congregation for Secular Humanistic Judaism for does the word Humanistic differentiate us from more than thirty years and is vice-president of the International other Jewish groups? Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism.

Summer/Autumn 2014 23 guish our views from the religious humanism In the 1960s, the humanism of Rabbi Wine of liberal Jewish and Protestant denominations and others was steeped in a philosophical tradi- whose outlook and works are clearly directed tion that found its modern expression in the work toward positive human values. The Catholic of such humanists as John Dewey. For example, Church also has within it a longstanding hu- Dewey promoted the idea that ethical decisions manistic train, and it can be said that the last should be based on the likely consequences of an pope, John Paul II, despite his theological and action rather than on adherence to any preexisting social conservatism, was within this human- rules or laws. This was a clear difference between istic church tradition. humanism and traditional religion. But we now understand that ethical decision-making is more Humanism, as a general term, implies that complex than Dewey and his followers envisioned. promoting human welfare is central to the ex- Our thinking must evolve to encompass complexi- pression of our values. But for us, humanistic ties and uncertainties unanticipated fifty years ago. also means, more specifically, that we are not theistic. We don’t do God. This is what distin- We in the Humanistic Judaism movement guishes our form of Judaism from the others are fortunate that Rabbi Wine recruited and and also separates our brand of humanism from trained a new generation of leaders who are religious humanism. It is one reason we often prepared to help us find our way when some of put the word secular before humanistic. the apparent truths of the past no longer suffice.

Part 3: What Is Secular about Our Humanistic Judaism?

Rabbi Sherwin Wine co-founded the Soci- tion though we may no longer speak Yiddish or ety for Humanistic Judaism (SHJ) in 1969. The accept the political “isms” that many secular SHJ is an umbrella organization that now con- Jews embraced in decades past. sists of dozens of groups around North America. We in Machar have chosen to add the word Putting the word secular before humanistic secular to our name: Machar, The Washington in our congregation’s name also helps identify Congregation for Secular Humanistic Judaism. us as secular humanists, in contrast to reli- What does the word secular mean to us? gious humanists. We proudly bear the “secular humanist” label, which was made popular as First, the word secular shows that we iden- a term of opprobrium by such anti-humanist tify with the longstanding tradition of secular religious leaders as Jerry Falwell. This means Jews. Starting in the late nineteenth century, that we accept a naturalistic worldview based many secular Jews in the United States fought on science rather than relying on tales of the for progressive social change. They threw off supernatural as revealed in ancient texts. their traditional religion and embraced political activism. Many were steeped in the culture of the However, the naturalistic outlook has often Yiddish language. They created school systems been associated with a certain type of dogma- across America that thrived until the middle of tism – a belief that everything can be neatly the twentieth century. Many of those schools and understood through the . other secular Jewish communities that are still This was the underlying principle of logical active are now part of the Congress of Secular positivism, a philosophical movement that first Jewish Organizations (CSJO) or the Workmen’s attracted Rabbi Wine when he was a college Circle/Arbeter Ring. The CSJO works in coali- student in the late 1940s. Its bold assertions tion with the Society for Humanistic Judaism in that statements about the world can be valid a number of ways, particularly in the training of only if they meet certain standards of scientific rabbis and other leaders. As Secular Humanistic verification are now widely understood to be Jews we identify with this secular Jewish tradi- overly simplistic As secular humanists, we still

24 Humanistic Judaism accept the scientific outlook but we also rec- advances, it often raises more questions than it ognize its limitations. All important questions answers and sometimes reveals that previously may not be answerable by infallible processes accepted answers need to be reassessed. of observation, experimentation, and reason, as was once thought. What is the relationship So the word secular in our name helps between consciousness, or sentience, and our us find our place in the history of the Jew- material brains? Can matter have subjective ish people and also clarifies our naturalistic feelings? And if so, then how? Such questions philosophical position. In both of these areas, may be beyond the scientific method, at least as however, we must constantly be questioning it has been understood in the past. As science and updating our thinking. Part 4: The Jewish Part of Humanistic Judaism

When Rabbi Sherwin Wine and a few fami- Many of us see history as our strongest link lies created the first congregation of Humanistic to the Jewish people – both our own personal Judaism in Michigan in 1963, there was no family histories and Jewish history in general. question about whether their new organization Rabbi Wine often said that Jewish history, with would be a Jewish one. They had been part of a its many dark moments, validates the humanis- Reform temple. While they wanted to modern- tic outlook. After all, he would ask, how could a ize their ideology and liturgy, being Jewish was benevolent and powerful administrator permit at the core of their enterprise. They created a such things to happen? Jewish congregation that did not pray. One way we express our shared history Rabbi Wine liked to tell the story of how is in holiday and life-cycle celebrations that he grew up embracing his Jewish identity. He link us to an extended family of Jews, past loved the holidays that brought his family to- and present. We reinterpret the meanings of gether, he loved the food, he loved the humor. these occasions or strive to find their original The only part of being Jewish that he rejected pre-religious meanings. We universalize the was the religion. The Humanistic Judaism message and welcome all who choose to join movement he founded was designed to foster us, but these communal events are, for many everything about Jewishness except its tradi- of us, the most joyously Jewish part of Human- tional religion. istic Judaism. While we work hard to avoid the exclusivism that typifies Jewish religious But what does it mean for a congregation groups, it is the Jewishness of holidays and to be Jewish once the traditional prayers and other gatherings that provides the warmth that references to the deity have been eliminated binds us together. It is what makes us far more from the services? Jewish food, at least that of than just a secular or humanistic study group. Eastern European Jews, is often of the high-fat variety that we avoid today. Most of us are far Of course we do also study, both as chil- removed from Jewish music or Jewish lan- dren and as adults. Our study focuses heavily guages in our everyday lives. And yes, there are on Jewish subjects, particularly history. But it still a lot of very funny Jews, but their appeal, is important for us to remember Rabbi Wine’s like that of bagels, is surprisingly universal so repeated admonition that the Jews we admire there’s nothing uniquely Jewish about reveling lived in the past 250 years. He felt strong ties in their humor. Of course, the linking of Jewish to those Jews who embraced the Enlighten- identity with concern for what is happening in ment ideal that reason triumphs over faith. the world, whether directed toward progressive He saw the texts of the ancient Jewish religion politics or toward Israel, has helped sustain – Torah, Talmud, prayer books, and so forth Jewish identity for many, but such activity is – as worthy of our study but not our praise. not a central focus of our movement. He was not one to take a harmonious snippet

Summer/Autumn 2014 25 from the Bible or the Talmud and weave a Rabbi Wine was a brilliant and genuinely story or a sermon around it to illustrate some funny man who could fascinate, entertain, and ethical point. The ancient Jewish religious teach about Humanistic Judaism by discussing texts are not only pervasively theistic but also a recent film or novel or remark that he heard fundamentally authoritarian, theocratic, xe- someone make. Retaining a strong Jewish iden- nophobic, and anti-rational. Rabbi Wine was tity without increasing the use of traditional concerned that citing a phrase from one of religious texts will be a serious challenge for them that seems to express a positive human Humanistic Judaism as we move forward in value could mislead others into thinking that the absence of Rabbi Wine. Accomplishing the belief system of the author was somehow this will require finding and utilizing relatively compatible with our values of individual modern writings by, and stories about, those freedom and respect for all people. In my ob- who can honestly be said to share our values. servation, the use of these sources to make a Expanded reliance on the works of Rabbi Wine positive point, even when accompanied by ap- himself would be a good way for our movement propriate qualifiers and caveats, also fosters the to begin as we rededicate ourselves to the pro- feeling of superiority that is widespread even cess of developing liturgy, songs, poetry, and among secular Jews, starting with the belief other expressions of our philosophy based on that our ancestors were smarter or more ethical the words and actions of those whose outlook than others. was similar to our own.

Celebrate Holidays Humanistically Jewish holidays can be celebrations of human courage, human ingenuity, and human dignity. read • THE HIGH HOLIDAYS $ 4.00 • SUKKOT $ 10.00 • A HANUKKA MANUAL $ 5.00 • TU BI-SHEVAT $ 10.00 • PURIM $ 10.00 • A PASSOVER MANUAL $ 10.00 • SHAVUOT $ 6.00 each includes: a history of the holiday • ideas for creating humanistic celebrations • holiday stories • and more Add $6.50 (U.S. FUNDS), postage and handling, for first manual ordered and $1.50 for each additional manual ordered. Send order to: SOCIETY FOR HUMANISTIC JUDAISM 28611 West Twelve Mile Road • Dept HJ • Farmington Hills, MI 48334

26 Humanistic Judaism WISDOM from WINE

In each issue of Humanistic Judaism, we are reprinting a selection from the writings of Rabbi Sherwin Wine that has meaning in our lives today. The passages that follow, excerpted from Wine’s Judaism Beyond God and from Cohn-Sherbok, Cook, & Rowens, A Life of Courage: Sherwin Wine and Hu- manistic Judaism, summarize his views on the dual nature of Humanistic Jewish identity. Humanism: An Excerpt from Judaism Beyond God Humanistic Jews have two important iden- identity – but in differing degrees. Humanistic tities. They are Jews, part of the Jewish people, Judaism has room for both commitments. members of an ancient kinship group, bound together by a social destiny with all other Jews. Humanistic Jews share a Jewish agenda They are also connected to all other human- with other Jews. Holidays, Israel, antisemitism, ists – whatever their kinship attachments and and the study of Jewish history are some of the whatever their ethnic origin. For some Human- items on this list of common activity. They also istic Jews, their Jewish identity is the strongest share a humanist agenda with other humanists. emotional bond. For other Humanistic Jews, Humanist philosophy, ethical education, and their intellectual and moral commitment to the defense of the secular state are some of the humanism is more powerful than their tie to items on this second list. Neither excludes the Jewishness. Both groups value their Jewish other. They are both necessary.

Jewish Humanism: An Excerpt from A Life of Courage Are we “Humanistic Jews” or “Jewish hu- as intercultural rather than interfaith.) If the manists”? That question appeared very early in humanist partner joins the community, the our development and remains persistent. We humanism generally will be of greater inter- have two powerful connections – one Jewish est to him than the Judaism, though I know and one humanistic. Which is primary? Or are of many cases where non-Jews are enamored they both of equal significance? with Jewish culture and want to be part of a Jewish community. The people who join our movement have minds of their own. They do not easily fit into Rabbi Sherwin T. Wine (1928-2007) was the intellectual framer of formulas that we may choose to create. Most Humanistic Judaism, founding rabbi of the Society for Humanistic Judaism, and founder of the International Institute for Secular people who join want to find a way to live Humanistic Judaism, as well as a prolific writer, speaker, and their lives Jewishly with integrity. Others who public figure. He served as rabbi of the Birmingham Temple in enter our movement enjoy Jewish culture but Farmington Hills, Michigan, for more than forty years. In addition to innumerable periodical articles, including the lead article in the message of humanism is what motivates almost every issue of this journal, he was the author of Judaism them to stay. Both groups are legitimate parts Beyond God, Celebration: A Ceremonial Guide for Humanists of our movement. Frequently, in the case of and Humanistic Jews, A Provocative People, and Staying Sane in a Crazy World (all of which are available from the Society for intermarriage, the non-Jewish partner will Humanistic Judaism, www.shj.org/store, as is A Life of Courage, be a humanist. (We designate these couples Sherwin Wine and Humanistic Judaism).

Summer/Autumn 2014 27 Frequently people who are members of of Jewish history are “in our bones.” The rab- humanist groups will challenge me. They binic establishment may have told us that we want to know why our communities have this are the Chosen People. But our memories tell us parochial interest in Jewish culture when they that we are the victims of a cruel destiny. If the should be promoting a universal humanism. Jewish people survived, it was only because of They claim that our Jewish loyalty diminishes human self-reliance, courage, and cooperation. or is incompatible with humanism. Our survival is a tribute to people power.

From the beginning we have been Human- We are part of the Jewish world. Even when istic Jews, rooted in the history and culture of other Jews do not share our philosophy of life, the Jewish people. Our humanism has always they share our culture – and we share the so- been enhanced by our Jewish connection, be- cial fate to which all Jews are subjected when cause the message of Jewish experience is that society is in turmoil. Judaism has evolved over we cannot rely on the kindliness of the fates. many centuries and provides us with roots and Most of us are humanists because the memories with a distinctive place in human culture.

Balancing Act: An Excerpt from A Life of Courage

Life is juggling incompatible agendas. people favor continuity over integrity. Others From the moment we are born, we discover favor integrity over continuity. that desire presents no single goal. It taunts us with having to make choices. We would love to The Reform movement has opted for conti- “have our cake and eat it,” but reality intrudes. nuity. The choice of the Torah as the symbol of Reform belief and commitment is problematic Every day we struggle with how much to from the integrity perspective. The Reconstruc- give to “me” and how much to give to others. tionist movement, with its humanist ideology, The prudential pursuit of my welfare is not al- has made a similar choice. Turning the Torah ways compatible with the ethical pursuit of the and the prayer book into humanist documents welfare of others. Between being a sociopath requires intellectual and philosophic acro- and a martyr doormat, there is a wide range of batics that defy reason. But continuity is the options. Finding an appropriate balance is a reward. For Mordecai Kaplan, continuity was personal choice without fixed formulas. a supreme value. The integrity of words was important, but far less important. In addition to the prudentially ethical balancing act, there are two balancing acts that Some have suggested that Humanistic Ju- consume a lot of time in Humanistic Judaism. daism has pursued integrity at the expense of Their challenge has existed from the very be- continuity and that we need to adjust the bal- ginning of our movement. ance in order to strengthen our Jewish roots. My response is, of course, yes. The balancing act The first is the balancing act between the never ends. But for us, integrity always takes past and the present, between tradition and priority over continuity. That is a fundamental creativity, between continuity and integrity. difference between Humanistic Judaism and How can I be fully Jewish if I do not feel deeply its liberal opposition in Reform and Recon- connected to the culture of my past? But how structionism. If the occasion is celebratory of can I feel honest if I am forced to say words and what we believe in, then integrity prevails. If use literature that does not completely fit what the occasion is educational, then there are no I believe as a humanist? This balancing act is boundaries. We simply want to listen to what one of the hardest we have to engineer. Some our Jewish brothers and sisters have to say.

28 Humanistic Judaism I suspect that when we celebrate, the over- be prose writers or poets. Epicurus, Lucretius, whelming majority of the prose and poetry will Omar Khayyam, John Stuart Mill, Bertrand continue to be contemporary, simply because Russell, John Dewey, and Albert Camus there are not many traditional texts that pass (among hundreds of others) speak truths that our test of integrity. The best way to introduce we need to hear. Translating them into Hebrew our members to the Jewish past is through the will not make them Jewish. educational format. If our commitment were to Jewish culture The second balancing act is between Jew- alone, then the wisdom of non-Jews could be ish and non-Jewish wisdom. As Humanistic legitimately excluded. But if our commitment Jews we do not believe that all wisdom nec- is also to a humanistic philosophy of life, then essary for human survival and happiness is such an exclusion is harmful. Our Jewish iden- contained in the Torah or in the sacred texts tity is overwhelmingly important. And so are of traditional Judaism – not even in the con- the humanist resources within Jewish culture. temporary texts of the secular Jewish world. But we cannot be fully developed human be- Most of the great humanist philosophy extant ings if we cannot dip into the pool of universal today was created by non-Jews, whether they creativity for inspiration.

Observe Life’s Passages HUMANISTICALLY

read our guides to creating Secular Humanistic Jewish observances of life cycle events

• Celebrating Life’s Passages $ 18.00 • Coming of Age - A Bar/Bat Mitsva Manual $ 18.00 • Intermarriage $ 10.00 • Death, Dying, and Bereavement $ 10.00

Add $6.50 (U.S. FUNDS), postage and handling, for first manual ordered and $1.50 for each additional manual ordered. Send order to: SOCIETY FOR HUMANISTIC JUDAISM 28611 West Twelve Mile Road • Dept. HJ • Farmington Hills, MI 48334

Summer/Autumn 2014 29 Rational Judaism: It’s Not New by Mary Raskin The foundation of Humanistic Judaism is Greek theatre and the gymnasium. He received a belief in the power of people to reach fulfill- a Jewish education, though it has been argued ment without supernatural intervention. As that he may not have been well versed in He- Humanistic Jews we find meaning and dignity brew. An observant Jew, he is known to have in our Judaism through the rational approach. made at least one pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

To celebrate Judaism in this way is a mod- Alexandrian Hellenistic Jews were greatly ern phenomenon, to be sure. However, the influenced by the Stoic philosophical school. interpretation of Judaism through the use of The Stoics believed in (1) the idea of a virtuous reason is not entirely modern. In earlier times, sage who lives according to the laws of nature; there were many in the Jewish scholarly com- (2) a monotheism based on the concept of a munity who kept pace with the ideas of the divine mind; and (3) a divine logos or reason larger world of scholars and defended Juda- that was thought to be inherent in the laws of ism as a rational philosophical approach to a God and humanity. The Stoics used allegory to meaningful life. interpret the classical Greek characters of the Iliad and Odyssey as representing universal The first Jewish scholar to apply rational truths. philosophy to the Torah was Philo of Alex- andria. The first to produce a rational theo- Philo wrote midrashim (explanations) of logical treatise was Saadia Gaon. The greatest the biblical texts verse by verse. His intention medieval Jewish scholar to apply rational was to show that Judaism was a universal interpretation to Judaism was Maimonides. We philosophical religion in the manner of Greek are the beneficiaries of these important Jewish philosophy. Philo’s primary problem was how scholars. Philo, Saadia, and Maimonides drew to explain biblical texts that were clearly not upon the philosophies of their time to provide universal in meaning. This was particularly a Jewish rational response to questions about true of the early texts in which God displays the nature of God, the origins of creation, and human characteristics, such as talking, planting the purpose of Jewish law. gardens, and making clothes of animal skins for Adam and Eve. Philo adapted the Stoics’ Philo of Alexandria (20 B.C.E – 50 C.E.) use of allegory to show that these stories were Philo was born into the large and influen- symbolic representations of the divine mind. tial Jewish community of Alexandria, Egypt, a cultural center for Hellenistic literature, sci- Saadia Gaon (882 – 942) ence, and philosophy. Hellenistic philosophy After the destruction of the Second Temple used a scientific approach to understand the in 70 C.E. the rabbis transformed Judaism with elements of nature and the causes of change. new customs and patterns of thought based A philosopher was thought to be someone who on the oral Torah, as recorded in the Talmud. investigated the nature of things as opposed to Almost seven hundred years later the Islamic those who claimed knowledge through revela- tion. Mary Raskin, a madrikha, is Ritual Director of Kol Shalom Com- munity for Humanistic Judaism in Portland, Oregon, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Society for Humanistic Philo’s education included Greek poetry, Judaism. She is currently enrolled in the rabbinic program of the history, and philosophy. He was familiar with International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism.

30 Humanistic Judaism conquest brought Jews under one ruler from Moses Maimonides (1135 – 1204) Spain to Persia, and the daily language of the Moses ben Maimon (also known as Ram- majority of Jews transitioned from Greek and bam from the acronym Rabbi Moshe ben Aramaic to Arabic. By 750 the center of Islamic Maimon) was born in Cordoba to an educated rule, the caliphate, was in Baghdad. The only family. The family left Cordoba as a result Jewish authority recognized by the caliph- of religious persecution and traveled to Fez ate was the exilarch. The exilarch had legal and Israel before settling in Fostat, Egypt. authority and oversaw the leaders or gaonim Maimonides worked as a physician in addi- of the yeshivas. During the eighth century the tion to writing medical books, legal treatises, exilarch, together with the gaonim of the two and philosophical works such as Guide for major yeshivas, made Babylonian Jewish law the Perplexed. binding on the entire Jewish Diaspora. Maimonides was influenced primarily by Saadia Gaon was born in the Fayyum dis- Aristotelianism. The scientists and physicians trict of upper Egypt and studied in the yeshivas of the twelfth century were drawn to a philo- of Palestine and Babylonia. He was installed sophical worldview built upon observations as gaon of the Sura yeshiva in 928. This was of the natural world. They studied Aristotle’s an unusual and controversial appointment writings on logic, physics, astronomy, biology, because Saadia was the first person outside of psychology, and ethics. Babylonian families to head one of the most important yeshivas. Maimonides believed that religious laws were required for society to function well. Saadia was influenced by the Mutazilite People needed to be trained in these laws. All adherents to Islamic theological schools. The people, regardless of their learning, had a place Mutazilite and the Jews faced similar religious in society, and it was important that they were challenges. One of those challenges was the not troubled by doubt. question of how God could have human at- tributes. The Mutazilites responded that God The Guide for the Perplexed was intended and God’s attributes were one. Saadia argued for Jewish scholars who had enough education that God is transcendent and without physical in the sciences and philosophy to be aware of body; thus, all the human attributes of God the inconsistencies within the biblical text. found in the Bible were to be interpreted Maimonides held that the inconsistency be- as metaphors. tween the literal interpretation of the Law and the laws of reason can be understood through In his major philosophical work, Book of the use of metaphors and allegory. The literal Beliefs and Opinions, Saadia described three text found in the Bible was considered a figure principles of science and knowledge that lead of speech that could be interpreted using the to truth and the acquisition of knowledge. First language of philosophy. is the ability to learn through the senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Second is the Summation ability to reason. Third is the use of knowledge Viktor Frankl, the noted psychiatrist who acquired through the senses and reason to ar- developed a therapy based on his experiences rive at a new inferred truth. in Nazi concentration camps, wrote that the search for meaning is the primary motivation There was a fourth way for Jews to reach in everyone’s life. But the search for a mean- certainty and truth – through the principle ingful life is not an easy endeavor. There are of authentic tradition. According to Saadia, times we feel so sure of our way that we wake the study of Scriptures would reveal proof with joy and jump to embrace the day. At other that knowledge can be acquired rationally times the meaning of our life is so elusive that through the senses, the ability to reason, and we wonder whether our former confidence can inferred truth. ever be recaptured.

Summer/Autumn 2014 31 This is an ancient struggle. The writers of During the twelfth century Jews continued the Torah used stories and myths to grapple to be inspired by Islamic rational theological with the existential questions of creation and philosophies. Again the literal descriptions of purpose. They posited a god who created the the Torah God were abandoned for a belief in a natural world and gave us life. They promul- God without form or substance. Metaphors and gated laws to guide people’s days and give allegory were used to explain inconsistencies meaning to their lives. between literal Torah law and the laws of reason.

By the beginning of the Common Era these Philo of Alexandria, Saadia Gaon, and stories and myths were no longer believable as Moses Maimonides used rational arguments to literal truth. Jewish scholars were studying sci- make Judaism relevant and meaningful. They ence, literature, history, and philosophy. They studied mathematics, astronomy, ethics, his- believed in reason-based knowledge rather tory, logic, and philosophy because the acqui- than . They employed philosophical sition of knowledge was essential to a rational techniques to tease out universal truths from understanding of Judaism. As Humanistic Jews the ancient Torah stories. The meaning of exis- we share their drive for learning, their deter- tence was to be found in the natural laws that mination to apply reason to Judaism, and their were presented symbolically in the Torah. passion for a relevant Jewish life.

Rabbinic philosophy based on the oral law As Humanistic Jews we are also inspired as codified in the Talmud dominated Jewish by the ancient Greek philosophers. Protagoras thought until the Islamic conquest in the eighth wrote that he had no way of knowing whether century. The establishment of the rational ap- the gods existed. Aristotle questioned the proach in Islamic theological schools inspired likelihood that the Greek gods had human at- Jewish scholars to pursue a reason-based tributes. Today we make use of a reason-based, Judaism. Now the literal descriptions of God humanistic philosophy to guide our interpre- became metaphors for a transcendent God. tations of the ancient stories and laws. Our All the laws of God were understood as being Judaism celebrates human power and human natural and just. achievement to create a meaningful Jewish life.

give a gift of KNOWLEDGE give a gift of HUMANISTIC JUDAISM Gift Subscriptions $21 (Overseas Subscriptions $43; Canada & Mexico $31) Send your name, address, and telephone number, the recipient’s name, address, and telephone number, and your check for the full amount (U.S. FUNDS ONLY) to: SOCIETY FOR HUMANISTIC JUDAISM 28611 West Twelve Mile Road, Dept. HJ, Farmington Hills, MI 48334 And don’t forget to add a subscription for yourself!

32 Humanistic Judaism Secularism, Atheism, Humor, and Jewish Identity by Herb Silverman

As director of the College of Charleston In my talk I said I am hoping that secular Jewish Studies Program, Marty Perlmutter ar- Jews will become a well-recognized commu- ranges for speakers at monthly Jewish Studies nity and atheists will no longer be denigrated brunches, which bring together the college and in the United States. In the question period that broader South Carolina communities. I wanted followed, some audience members mentioned to see more diversity, so I asked Marty whether that my presentation had helped them change I could speak on Jewish atheism. He was open their minds about what it means to be a Jew. to the idea but worried that I might offend re- That was the kind of reaction I was hoping to ligious Jews who regularly attend. I told Marty hear. Changing minds is one of my favorite that I’ve disagreed with many conservative things, including my own when the evidence speakers and added, “Your brunches would warrants it. be pretty boring if nobody ever disagreed with the speaker. Isn’t disagreement the essence The following is a summary of my remarks. of Judaism?” *** Marty was a little nervous but scheduled me to speak. My main goals were to show I grew up in an era of considerable dis- that you don’t have to believe in God to crimination against Jews. I found it deplor- be a good Jew and that secular Jews are an able that many felt they had to change their important and growing part of Judaism. I names and try to pass for Gentiles, hoping for also wanted to make the case that we would acceptance into mainstream culture. In Susan all be better off if atheists in general, and athe- Jacoby’s memoir, Half-Jew, she writes about be- ist Jews in particular, came out of the closet. ing raised Catholic (her mother’s religion) and The College of Charleston Jewish Studies not discovering until she was in college that her Program began in 1984 because of the generous father was Jewish. Her father, she later learned, gift of a local philanthropist, Henry Yaschik, wanted to protect her from the antisemitism he who was openly secular and would periodi- had endured. cally ask me how smart people could believe in God. The previous month’s brunch speaker While exploring her roots, Susan spoke had been Stephen Whitfield, who spoke with a Conservative rabbi, who tried to make about Jews active in the civil rights movement. a case for her becoming a Jew. The rabbi said When privately I asked him what percentage to Susan, “You can be a Jewish atheist. It’s not of those Jews were secular, he said, “Almost outside Jewish history.” “Half-Jewish,” she re- all of them.” Whitfield had given me permis- minded the rabbi. The rabbi countered, “Don’t sion to mention publicly that he, too, is a you think it’s your Jewish half that made you an secular Jew. David Benatar, the next month’s atheist?” This rabbi understood that question- speaker, is an Orthodox Jew. He has writ- ten about his god beliefs, which are similar Herb Silverman is a professor of mathematics at the College of Charleston, Charleston, SC. He is president emeritus of the Secular to mine. There have been quite a few other Coalition for America and a member of the Society for Human- secular speakers at Jewish Studies brunch istic Judaism. This article is an edited version of a presentation programs, whether they were public about it at a Religious Studies brunch at the College of Charleston on December 6, 2009. Parts of it are included in Silverman’s book, or not. Candidate Without a Prayer.

Summer/Autumn 2014 33 ing the sacred books was part of the rabbinical are anachronistic, and ignore ideas that seem tradition, as are secular Jews. silly. Jews have been called “the People of the Book,” meaning the Torah, but I like to think Although most Jews are now quite open of us as people of many books. about being Jewish, Jewish atheism is rarely mentioned publicly. When Rabbi Anthony The play Two Thousand Years by Mike Holz, from a nearby Reform synagogue, Leigh reverses the conventional assumption spoke to our local secular humanist group, that a religious Jewish identity is superior to a one of our members asked him how many secular one. A secular Jewish family in London members of his congregation were atheists. has a shy son in his mid-twenties who lives at He said, “I don’t know. We don’t ask such home. He’s pretty much of a social misfit, but embarrassing questions.” the rest of the family tolerates his behavior until one day he starts wearing a yarmulke. Christianity requires a special belief about His father goes into shock. He shouts, “It’s like Jesus, but no God belief is required of Jews. having a Muslim in the house!” The grandfa- When we think of well-known Christians, Billy ther, a socialist who grew up on a kibbutz in Graham, the Pope, and Mother Teresa come Israel, breaks into laughter. He nicknames his to mind. Or maybe Pat Robertson and Jerry grandson “the rabbi” and continues to fulmi- Falwell. Well-known Jews are usually intel- nate about how the he once supported lectuals, such as Albert Einstein and Sigmund was hijacked by religious extremists. Freud, or comedians, such as Woody Allen, Mel Brooks, and Larry David, or perhaps the The young man, who has been yearning most trusted broadcaster on television today, for a sense of identity, hopes his religious Jonathan Leibowitz, a.k.a. Jon Stewart of The “conversion” will bring him the satisfaction Daily Show. What all these Jews have in com- he craves. It doesn’t. He asks his family what mon is that they are secular and have openly it means to them to be Jewish. Their answers criticized or made fun of religion. I’m hard- are enlightening: “I was born a Jew”; “I can’t pressed to name a pious Jew, past or present, imagine not being a Jew”; “I’m committed to who’s a household name in this country (other social justice”; “I like to argue.” than Jesus). The father says he’s Jewish because he People are often puzzled about why, as likes Jewish jokes, which he tells continually. an atheist, I identify strongly with Judaism. Here’s one of them. A reporter asks the fol- In addition to my cultural roots, I point out lowing question of an American, a Russian, that denying my Judaism might seem as if I’m a North Korean, and an Israeli: “Excuse me, ashamed of who I am. When I stopped believing what is your opinion of the meat shortage?” in God, I didn’t stop believing in the ethical and The American says, “What’s a shortage?” The moral principles of Judaism. I did, however, Russian says, “What’s meat?” The North Ko- stop performing rituals no longer meaningful rean says, “What’s an opinion?” And the Israeli to me. My Jewish juices flow most deeply when says, “What’s excuse me?” antisemitism is present. Having relatives who died in the Holocaust, I am not about to give None of these rationales for being Jewish Hitler a posthumous victory by killing off my satisfies the son. Even the family members Jewish persona. don’t seem particularly convinced by their own answers. Yet they all view the religious son as I was a wandering Jew, identifying with no somehow less Jewish than they are. Their Jew- congregation or branch, until I found a home ish equivalent of “real men don’t eat quiche” in Humanistic Judaism. Humanistic Jews read is “real Jews don’t wear yarmulkes.” the Torah critically, much the way we read philosophers and political writers. We embrace After a lot of conversation, the son grows ideas that make sense to us, reject ideas that comfortable standing up to strong and accom-

34 Humanistic Judaism plished family members. The last scene shows saw the same old Jew praying vigorously. Sens- him without a yarmulke, confidently playing ing a story, the journalist said to the old man, chess with his father. This indicates the son’s “You pray at the wall every day. What are you return to secular Judaism and that he has finally praying for?” The man replied, “In the morning, become a mensch in the eyes of his family. I pray for world peace; in the afternoon, I pray for the brotherhood of man; in the evening, I In a recent Pew Research Center survey of pray for the eradication of illness and disease American Jews, 62 percent said being Jewish from the earth.” The journalist asked, “And is mainly a matter of ancestry and culture, and how long have you been doing this?” The old only 19 percent said observing Jewish law was man said, “Every day, for twenty-seven years.” important, while a whopping 42 percent of Amazed, the journalist asked how it felt to pray Jews said being Jewish means having a good every day for those things. The old Jew replied, sense of humor. Because Jewish humor is such “How does it feel? It feels like I’m talking to an integral part of Judaism, I will end with three a wall.” jokes appropriate for secular Jews. And finally, some members of an Orthodox The first is about a Jewish atheist who synagogue think they should stand during a hears that the best school in town happens to particular prayer, but others think they should be Catholic, so he enrolls his son. Things are sit. They argue back and forth, yet can’t reach going well until one day the boy comes home consensus. So they agree to send one member, and says, “I just learned all about the Father, Jonathan, to the next town where there is a the Son, and the Holy Ghost.” The boy’s father learned rabbi whose opinion they all respect. is barely able to control his rage. He grabs his When Jonathan arrives, he asks Rabbi Levy son by the shoulders and says, “Joey, this is whether the tradition is to stand. Rabbi Levy very important, so listen carefully: There is says, “No.” So then Jonathan says, “Good. Then only one God – and we don’t believe in him!” the tradition is to sit.” Again, Rabbi Levy says, “No.” Frustrated, Jonathan pleads with Rabbi Then there was the journalist from the Jeru- Levy, “Please help us find a solution. Members salem Post who lived in an apartment overlook- of our congregation do nothing but argue about ing the Western Wall. After several weeks, he whether to stand or sit.” Rabbi Levy smiles, and realized that whenever he looked at the wall he says, “Aha! That is the tradition.”

Summer/Autumn 2014 35 Finding What Wasn’t Lost by Marla Davishoff

“What did your great-grandparents give This ring has been worn by three gen- you for your birthdays?” my now seven-year- erations of my family: my great-aunt Rose, my old son asked me as he ripped open the wrap- grandmother, my mother and now me. It has ping paper of his last present. It was a blessing actually been in my home before on two dif- for Levi to celebrate his birthday with his ferent people in two different circumstances. great-grandparents, and my husband was also Let me explain. My husband and I are raising fortunate to have his own grandparents share our boys in the same Deerfield home in which in our joy. my mom’s sister raised her family about twenty years ago. The home has exchanged owners Until moments like these, I was unaware of several times since then but, in the end, it is what I had missed. Like most people of my gen- back in my family. The first and only time I eration, I never knew my great-grandparents. remember meeting my great-aunt Rose was at They either never immigrated to the United a party at this home when I was ten years old. States or died before I was born. There was a She was visiting from New York and talked and mystery to their existence that fascinates me dressed differently from the rest of our family. to this day. I still have trouble imagining their I was impressed by her warmth and the way photos in color and their faces in three dimen- she lit up a room. I also liked her fur hat. sions. When I look at their pictures, they look stiff and older than their years. But there is one Several years later, while celebrating thing in these blurry images that I see clearly. Thanksgiving at this same home, we received My great-grandmother had diamond earrings. a phone call that Rose had died. It was the only I know this because I have one of the stones in time I witnessed my mom or grandma board an a ring. airplane, but they weathered the trip together to New York for her funeral. My grandmother This ring found its way back to me after returned with the ring. I became fascinated traveling through many branches of my fam- with the ring from the moment I laid my eyes ily tree. It was my great-aunt Rose, my grand- on it. “What happened to the other diamond?” mother’s sister, who was first given one of the I begged my grandmother to explain. She didn’t diamonds from the pair of earrings. I met Rose know, and it remains a mystery to this day. on only two occasions in my life, but when I look at the ring I am acutely aware that its My grandmother wore the ring for the fol- uniqueness reflects her. The ring is a combina- lowing ten years. Although it overwhelmed her tion of pink gold and platinum. The band is so fragile, arthritic hands, she enjoyed it and chose thick that I can see my reflection in it. I can’t to wear it every day. Just prior to her death, she help but wonder if she ever used it to help put gave it to my mother. on lipstick or, like me, glanced down at it to fix her hair. There are some rubies and other “It is too gaudy for me,” my mom told me. I stones scattered throughout the band that add told her that didn’t matter to me, and so the ring color and dimension to something that certainly fell into my hands. About ten years ago I had wasn’t lacking without them. To me, the twisted a jeweler clean it to remove the tarnish. I still metals seem like a contemporary art sculpture regret doing this. I am waiting for it to become that you would most definitely not find in my blotchy again, the way I remembered it. traditional home. When I wear the ring I get Marla Davishoff, a licensed clinical social worker who lives with more comments than compliments. It is not my her husband and two sons in the Chicago suburbs, is a member favorite ring, but it is my favorite thing. of Kol Hadash Humanistic Congregation in Lincolnshire, IL.

36 Humanistic Judaism “My great-grandparents weren’t at my and thank them for their present, I begin to birthday parties,” I finally tell my son. But as understand that I hadn’t fully appreciated the I look down at my ring, I feel that they are at ring until I witnessed his connection to these his. I see my reflection in the metal and feel people. Somewhere beyond the material value that same warmth I remember from years back. of the ring, I had been given something that I As I watch him hug his great-grandparents didn’t even realize I had lost in the first place.

Humanistic Judaism strengthening our connection to our Jewish heritage, celebrating Jewish holidays with meaning and relevance in our time, providing a community for us, continuity for our children, enhancing pluralism in the Jewish community

Become a Part of This Exciting Movement in Jewish Life — Join the Society for Humanistic Judaism TODAY

Society for Humanistic Judaism Name ______28611 West Twelve Mile Road Farmington Hills, Michigan 48334, www.shj.org Address ______$95 Household Membership City ______State ______ZIP ______$25 University Students (full time, under 25) Telephone ______$1800 Life Membership

_____ Contribution E-mail ______

Please make check or money order (U.S. FUNDS) payable to Society for Humanistic Judaism. Membership includes a subscription to Humanistic Judaism. The Society for Humanistic Judaism is a 501(c)(3). Contributions are deductible as provided by law.

Summer/Autumn 2014 37 Nature and God by Les Kaufman

A majority of people in this world take on ing read and synthesized, at that very moment, faith that all of its diversity, from savannahs from the genes of a living coral colony, and to to stars, was created by God. Of the three most what purpose. I might ask another student to popular concepts of the deity – God the creator, mathematically extract forty years of the living , and God the personal guidance heartbeat of a vast stretch of ocean – the cycles counselor – God the creator has the most in- of climate and fishes and scum laid bare in all controvertible basis in reality. The “creation” is their temporal majesty. We can study people in there, and it did arise somehow. Not only that, the same way. We can say how long somebody but it continues to arise, stubbornly and with will most likely live and, barring accident, how enormous power, even when we beat it down. he or she will most likely die. We can read the It is not only life that is continually reborn, but Book of Life in every respect and at every scale. also the surface of our planet and all heavenly Does this eliminate the mystery of it all? Quite bodies from gaseous nebulae to galaxies. The the contrary. Where before human beings were power of destruction and rebirth, going hand- dumbstruck by their ignorance, today we are in-hand, is awesome. It is our mortality and our struck dumb by what we know. children. It is winter and it is spring. It is the past and the future. And it is why some people What is this thing that we now can know believe in God, whether a special creation god so much better, this nature? To paraphrase like Shiva or an all-purpose god for whom the Scripture, it is what it is. It demands no belief continuity of creation is just one function. or faith: it confronts us with an ever-present reality. But what is it? By what name should we In Humanistic Judaism, we normally do call the creation, including its endless renewal? not focus on God. Some of us believe in a de- Is all that continually emerges, in accordance ity, many do not; perhaps even more do not with the laws of the physical universe, God? even think about it. Rather than dwell on the It is interesting to see how leading rationalists matter, we underscore the importance of faith have dealt with such questions and with the re- in each other and in ourselves. Beyond this lationship between science and religion. Let us one leap of faith in human potential, we do briefly consider the views of five contemporary not take anything on faith, but rather on em- scientists who range from deists* to atheists. pirical evidence. We are rationalists. We are naturalists. Rationalism, combined with social Gerald Schroeder, a Massachusetts Institute history, has pre-adapted Jews to become engi- of Technology physicist who emigrated to Isra- neers, scientists, and doctors. It is very Jewish el, is a deist. Among the books he has authored to question, to ponder, to analyze, to emerge are The Science of God: The Convergence of from this process more certain and to be able to Scientific and Biblical Wisdom and The Hidden demonstrate a rational basis for that certainty. It is also very Jewish to be more uncertain. Les Kaufman, a professor of biology in the Boston University Ma- rine Program and Marine Conservation Fellow for Conservation Or, rather, to know how uncertain we should International, is a naturalist by avocation and a marine biologist be about any given matter due to the current professionally. His work has appeared in books, magazines, and limitations of our knowledge. television programs such as National Geographic and NOVA. He is a long-time member of the Boston congregation Kahal B’Raira. This article is based on a talk he presented at the Kahal B’raira Today our ability to see into nature and Tu B’Shvat service on January 30, 2011. to read its mechanics is numbingly powerful. *A deist that God created the world but does not inter- In one day, I might ask a student in my lab to vene in human affairs or respond to prayer or worship. measure all the proteins whose formulae are be- is compatible with Humanistic Judaism.

38 Humanistic Judaism Face of God. He begins The Science of God by ence has nothing to do with values, and religion discussing Rashi’s interpretation of B’reishit has nothing to do with empirical truth. Gould (“In the beginning”): advocated a dialogue between science and re- ligion, a golden mean that could be arrived at . . . Rashi quotes from Proverbs 8: “I am by viewing problems from the two alternative wisdom. God made me as the beginning points of view. of his way, the first of his works of old.” The first of the creations was not a big bang creation of our universe. The first Divine E. O. Wilson, father of the concept of bio- creation was wisdom. And from that Divine diversity and author of The Creation and other source, the physical universe emerged. The works, is the most staunch and vocal guardian evocative opening sentence of Genesis is against today’s unfolding environmental crisis. best translated: “With wisdom God cre- Raised as a Christian, he calls himself a “pro- ated the heavens and the earth.” Wisdom visional deist.” For Wilson, belief in God is a is the substrate of existence and is found real phenomenon, even if God is not. Belief in every aspect. Let’s use what we can of in the supernatural is an evolved behavior of that wisdom to explore the workings of deep significance to human nature and thus God in our magnificent universe. That is the science of God. an important subject of close study if we are to understand ourselves. Frances Collins, a Christian who headed the Human Genome Project, is also a dedicated But Wilson’s most important, most in- deist. In an interview about his role as “the fluential position has nothing to do with the scientist who believes in God,” Collins said: question of whether there is a God or with the “. . . a purely materialist approach, stripping differences between science and religion. The away the spiritual aspect of humanity, will creation is on the skids. The advancing shadow impoverish us – after all, that has been already of human-caused mass extinction fueled by tried (in Stalin’s USSR and Mao’s China) and our generation will destroy between one-fifth found to be devastating.” But he went on to say. and one-half of all living species within our “All truth is God’s truth, and therefore God can childrens’ lifetimes. Wilson writes, “Science hardly be threatened by scientific discoveries.” and religion are two of the most potent forces on Earth and they should come together to save , author of The God Delu- the creation.” sion, is a militantly avowed atheist, the polar opposite of Collins. Challenged to explain why What does this problem have to do with science should not be regarded as just another faith in God? That depends upon whether you religion, he replied that “it is free of the main happen to have some. What does it have to do vice of religion, which is faith.” with faith in humanity? Everything. Faith in each other that we will act, and continue to Steven Jay Gould, an evolutionary biologist act, in the interest of reason, until all human- of Jewish extraction, was an atheist who self- ity waivers, bends, yields, and finally changes, identified with Jewish culture. InRock of Ages: for its own good. The good news? It is only Science and Religion in the Fullness of Life, he humanity that we must change. The world, explored the interface (or lack thereof) between the creation, is fine as is. All we have to do is religion and science. According to Gould, sci- keep it that way. We do not have to create life; ence and religion reign in entirely separate, it does this for itself. We have only to steward, non-overlapping magesteria, or domains of to midwife. We have only to stop destroying it, human understanding. Science has to do with and to make a place for the fathomless power the magesterium of nature, whereas religion’s that recreates the world every single moment domain is the world of human morality. Sci- of every single day.

Summer/Autumn 2014 39 Welcome to the World, Baby Boy! by Brandy Tanenbaum

Eight years ago – and a full eight weeks godparents. But that wasn’t all: there could before his expected arrival – our first son, be a candle lighting, poetic readings, Hebrew Canyon, was born. For his parents, it was quite readings, wine, and flowers. We opted not to a shock; we quickly turned all our energy on include any Hebrew prayers out of respect for our tiny baby. It also marked an end to what those in attendance who might not be familiar we had been considering: an alternative to with them and might otherwise feel excluded. the traditional brit milah or bris. Instead, we waited five weeks and, for medical reasons, had Through the ease of email, Rabbi Goldfin- a circumcision performed in a pediatric office. ger provided a first draft of the ceremony based on our discussion, and after a few modifications I was disappointed that our son did not get we were set with the final version. We selected the welcoming part of any ceremony, Jewish a Sunday morning in August when Britain was (his mother’s culture) or Christian (his father’s). eight weeks old to host the ceremony at our So when we learned, by ultrasound, that our house. We did not send out formal invitations second baby was to be a boy, our thoughts – a phone call or email made the task much turned once again to a nontraditional naming easier. We were met with a number of quizzi- ceremony: a brit shalom, or Covenant of Peace. cal eyebrow lifts and queries about the nature of the event. We had successfully generated I sought out Eva Goldfinger, a rabbi at confusion amongst all of those closest to us. Oraynu Congregation for Humanistic Judaism in Toronto. It was Eva who had originally in- The ceremony began under the warm troduced me to the brit shalom. The ceremony morning sun with Rabbi Goldfinger welcom- could be “anything we want,” she’d told us. ing our friends and family and helping them The only problem? I had never witnessed such to understand the intent of the gathering: to a ceremony and was quite confident that none welcome Britain into our lives and our com- of our friends or family had either. And in fact, munity, and to bestow upon him the gift of a they hadn’t. No one, Jew or Christian, had ever name. David and I were asked to stand and give heard of a naming ceremony for a male child. our son his name and officially welcome him into our diverse family. Rabbi Goldfinger pro- As Rabbi Goldfinger described it, we would vided the rationale for Britain’s names, secular essentially create it with her assistance. No two and Hebrew, including the honoring of our ceremonies are the same, she said, since they loved ones. are individualized by the parents. The beauty of the brit shalom is that it focuses on the values It was a touching moment for all, which and beliefs that the parents want to instill in was exactly the point. We wanted to include their children. To my mind, this was the key to everyone in this special ceremony, especially bridging our families and their Christian and our parents, whom we wanted to feel honored Jewish traditions. as grandparents, and Canyon, who, we felt,

In our initial consultation with Rabbi Gold- Brandy Tanenbaum lives in Richmond Hill, Ontario, with her husband and two young sons. This article is reprinted with finger, she had made a number of suggestions permission and with minor adaptations from the May 28, 2008, for the ceremony, including, if we so desired, edition of InterfaithFamily.com.

40 Humanistic Judaism should understand the significance of his role Britain’s cup of life and made one last recitation of big brother. The wine ceremony provided before each placing a drop of wine on Britain’s an opportunity for this family participation. lips and then taking a sip ourselves. With the A goblet sitting atop the table was lifted for all ceremony coming to a close, Rabbi Goldfinger to see – a symbol of Britain’s “cup of life,” into addressed Britain one last time with words of which each family participant poured wine love and the encouragement that he may be to represent their hopes and wishes for him. part of tikkun olam. It was explained to Britain, as well as to the guests, that the proverbial village is necessary The ceremony ended as beautifully as it to help raise a child and that our closest have began, and soon the crowd had dwindled to a responsibility to help Britain along his path. just our immediate family. For our family, it had Our parents and Canyon poured wine into been a long journey, and as David and I reflected Britain’s cup of life while Rabbi Goldfinger on the ceremony, we were pleased to have found shared the list of values that David and I had and created a common ground from which to earlier selected, which we felt represented build something new, something as unique as them individually or as a couple. we are, something that was just “us.” It did not matter that we are from different religions; it This is about harmony, after all. Harmony was a blessing in itself to be able to share the and equality. The last thing we did was to message of love, commitment, and values with recite our own values, along with words from our friends and family and to welcome our son a song selected by Rabbi Goldfinger. We held to the world in our special way.

a book about coping with the challenges of everyday living a combination of philosophy, personal reflection & practical advice

Staying Sane in a Crazy World: A Guide to Rational Living by Rabbi Sherwin T. Wine We live in a crazy world. It often does not give us what we want or even what we deserve. The universe does not conform to the human moral agenda. Staying sane in a crazy world requires a special kind of ingenuity and determination. Rabbi Wine explores what it means to cope successfully with an unfair world, offering practical advice to his readers.

now available in paperback $21.50 including shipping and handling Send your order to the SOCIETY FOR HUMANISTIC JUDAISM 28611 West Twelve Mile Road • Dept. HJ • Farmington Hills, MI 48334

Summer/Autumn 2014 41 ARTS/LITERATURE

This Peace Shall Be Rebuilt by Marti Keller

This peace shall be rebuilt In small circles With only as many rocks As each one of us Will hold. – August 7, 2014

Nocturne: Foley’s Pond by Ruth Duskin Feldman

Silent woods, darkly dense, skirt secret shores. Unquiet, alone I trust my feet to an unseen trail toward open sky.

Silhouettes: Foliage forms inkblot illusions. Unrooted, astir, I trust my weight to a leaning trunk at waterside.

Soundless sparks: Fireflies flit on winking whims. Unwinged but afire, I trust my cry to unhearing trees, enduring stars.

Marti Keller, a Unitarian/Universalist minister, is a member of the Executive Committee of the Society for Humanistic Judaism and chair of its Membership Committee.

Ruth Duskin Feldman, a madrikha, is creative editor of this journal. She is a member of Kol Hadash Humanistic Congregation in Lincolnshire, IL. Foley’s Pond is a secluded spot a few blocks from her home. She is 2014 recipient of the Rabbi Sherwin T. Wine Lifetime Achievement Award.

Louis Altman, a patent and trademark attorney, is a past president of the Society for Humanistic Judaism and the 2012 recipient of the Rabbi Sherwin T. Wine Lifetime Achievement Award. He is a member of Kol Hadash Humanistic Congregation, Lincolnshire, IL, and the Congregation for Humanistic Judaism, Sarasota, FL.

42 Humanistic Judaism Poetry by Louis Altman

Autumn Drive (written on the drive to the fall Society for Humanistic Judaism Board meeting)

The road from Chicago to Detroit passes a million lives laughing working loving.

But from the car I see only trees with red and gold leaves. Another year gone, laughing working loving.

Doctor Sam (a member of the Sarasota Congregation for Humanistic Judaism who helped rescue Shanghai Jews at the end of World War II)

Healed the sick. Defended the Jews.

Told me he was dying, With no tears.

Taught us how to live, And how to die.

A Father Speaks

The papers on the far left corner of my desk should be moved to the right or maybe to the front, but on the other hand . . . I’m not sure. Our youngest went off to college yesterday.

My wife went shopping, bought a dress, redecorated the living room . . . Our youngest went off to college yesterday.

Summer/Autumn 2014 43 IN REVIEW

Why Athens Executed Socrates A Manual for Creating Atheists by Peter Boghossian reviewed by Jeremy Kridel

Peter Boghossian, a philosophy professor tried to lay bare how Athenians claimed to at Portland State University, has penned a know their world and what actions were right. book entitled A Manual for Creating Atheists Socrates revealed how ungrounded the beliefs (Pitchstone, 2013). The book has been well- of his contemporaries were, and Boghossian received in secular humanist circles; less so wants to allow nontheists to reveal similar in theist circles. Boghossian’s aim is to pick flaws in the beliefs of theists. up where the “Four Horsemen” of New Athe- ism – , Christopher Hitchens, Boghossian suggests that the Street Episte- Richard Dawkins, and – leave off. mologist not debate facts. When presented with Rather than try to win over those who are not evidence that contradicts a belief, the person committed to a nontheist approach, Boghos- on the other side of a debate may shut out sian seeks to provide tools nontheists can use contrary evidence and disregard the merits of to engage the average “theist on the street,” in opposing views. The discussion ends in a stale- hopes that the foundation of that person’s the- mate. Instead, Boghossian suggests his Street ism will be shaken and eventually crumble. A Epistemologists attack how a theist claims to Manual for Creating Atheists is, then, a book know a belief is true. This is not a process of of nontheist apologetics – arguments made to debate or pointing out contradictions – at least, defend one’s beliefs and to convince others of not at first. Instead, the Street Epistemologist those beliefs. should remain open, acknowledge when she does not know something, and be gently persis- Boghossian starts by rooting the apologist’s tent in asking questions to elicit how and why method in a particular definition offaith : pre- someone has faith. The goal of this process is tending, in the absence of competent evidence, for the Street Epistemologist to help a theist to know something one does not know. He reflect upon the shaken foundations of faith bases this definition, in large part, on an inter- and then turn toward nontheist identification pretation of Hebrews 11:1, which states that and community. But Boghossian is quick to faith “is the assurance of things hoped for, the warn that the Street Epistemologist should not conviction of things not seen.” (“Conviction” expect success in the form of a “conversion,” is sometimes translated as “evidence.”). and should not expect any gratitude.

Boghossian aims to turn nontheists into The book includes a fairly thorough and “Street Epistemologists.” An epistemologist readable catalog of the types of arguments studies the philosophical nature of knowledge. Boghossian’s Street Epistemologist inquires Jeremy Kridel, an attorney in Indianapolis, holds a master’s into how people know what they think they degree in religion, with a focus on early Judaism and biblical interpretation. He is a student in the International Institute for know. In Plato’s dialogues, Socrates is por- Secular Humanistic Judaism rabbinic program and a member of trayed as an inveterate asker of questions who the Society for Humanistic Judaism.

44 Humanistic Judaism theists advance in support of faith, along with the reviewers have a point. It is, after all, pre- rhetorical moves the Street Epistemologist can cisely because Socrates was so annoying that make to lay bare each argument’s epistemic the Athenian leadership wanted him dead. problems. None of this tries to prove a point – say, that there is no God. Instead, the purpose Second, because Boghossian’s techniques is to demonstrate the lack of real evidence are centered on the of faith, they supporting the theist’s beliefs. seem most keenly attuned to Christians, who form the greatest pool of the religiously faith- The goal, then, is less creating atheists than ful in the United States. That approach makes helping theists find more rational, evidence- a great deal of sense, of course, given demog- based ways of understanding the world. By raphy. His approach is particularly geared to laying bare the faulty assumptions of theism, Christian claims about the literal truth of bibli- Boghossian wants theists to reach nontheist cal texts, as he ably notes that Christians will conclusions on their own. (I leave it to the disclaim the literal truth of a text one moment, reader to decide whether this gives the lie to only to attempt to salvage that text in the next the title of the book.) moment. Yet this type of argument is likely to be most effective only with less-educated evangeli- Judging from reactions in theist circles – cal Christians. Better-educated evangelicals will and especially in evangelical Christian circles have ready rejoinders to Boghossian’s approach – I worry about the book’s real usefulness. to scriptural problems, and liberal Christians Three particular weaknesses stand out. First, (not unlike many non-Orthodox Jews) aren’t Boghossian seems unable to teach (or indeed beholden to a single, consistent approach to even employ) the gentleness he preaches. scriptural interpretation in any event. Second, though Boghossian insists his ap- proach can work with theists of any sort, it That takes us to the third problem, the lack would seem to work best on a less-educated of utility of Boghossian’s method in dealing mainline or evangelical Christian. Wrapped with liberal American Jews. The language of up in this is a third problem Boghossian likely faith and the acceptance of biblical literalism did not anticipate: a relative lack of usefulness are often lacking in the corners of the Jewish of his method in addressing nonhumanist world in which Humanistic Jews dwell in the American Jews. United States. What becomes of Boghossian’s method when so many Jews don’t find atheist First, as to gentleness. Boghossian says Judaism all that remarkable? Even liberal Jews the Street Epistemologist should be genuinely who believe in some kind of a god don’t often curious and nonconfrontational, make ample hold to the traditional, god-of-history model. use of pregnant pauses to allow an interlocu- Much of our dispute with other Jews is more tor to “get there” on her or his own, and lend about practice than about faith, and that seems support to those whose foundations she has less prone to the kind of prodding the Street shaken. But his sample dialogues lean toward Epistemologist is trained to do. the pugnacious and condescending. He read- ily pushes beyond “I’m curious – how do Will A Manual for Creating Atheists cre- you know?” into “How can you believe that!” ate many atheists? I don’t think so. Does it Evangelical Christian reviewers have largely give humanists a toolkit to work with? Yes, if dismissed Boghossian’s approach as more New we don’t let Boghossian’s attitude bleed into Atheist hostility. And one has to concede that the tools.

Summer/Autumn 2014 45 Briefly Speaking continued from page 2 “to reject calls to weaken the executive order by women’s and workers’ religious freedom and repro- providing a special exemption for religiously af- ductive rights following the June 30 Supreme Court filiated contractors” and asked that he rescind an ruling in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby. The decision per- amendment to a previous executive order, which mits private corporations to impose their religious exempted religious organizations that contract beliefs on employees and deny them access to key with the government from the prohibition against health benefits, including birth control, provided by employment discrimination on the basis of reli- the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This decision could gion. Unfortunately, the new executive order, as ultimately lead employers to deny other employee issued, while expanding antidiscrimination pro- protections, such as health coverage for vaccines, tections long applied to “race, color, religion, sex, blood transfusions, or HIV treatment. or national origin” to LGBT workers, left intact a 2002 executive order permitting religious groups The goal of the social media campaign was to raise to consult their beliefs when hiring and firing for consciousness as to the need to counteract Hobby government contracts. Lobby by presenting the differing perspectives of those supporting freedom of religion and equal ac- Such religious exemptions, based largely on a broad cess to healthcare for women. Passage of the Protect interpretation of RFRA (the Religious Freedom Women’s Health from Corporate Interference Act Restoration Act), permit religious organizations (S 2578/HR 5051), also called the “Not My Boss’s and, since the Hobby Lobby decision, for-profit Business” act, would be a first step toward undoing companies to impose their religious beliefs on the damage done by the Hobby Lobby decision. The employees. SHJ will continue to work, in coalition bill not only bans employers from refusing to provide with like-minded organizations, to eliminate such any health coverage – including contraceptive cover- government-supported exemptions permitting the age – guaranteed to their employees and dependents imposition of one set of religious beliefs on individu- under federal law, but also states that no federal als who hold other beliefs. law, including the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, permits employers to refuse to comply with the SHJ Joins Twitter Protest of Hobby ACA requirements. Lobby Decision On August 20, #FixHobbyLobby messages reached more than 1,230,000 Twitter accounts. More than On August 20, the Society for Humanistic Judaism twenty members of Congress participated in this joined secular and religious organizations in a social tweet storm – no small feat given that Congress was media protest aiming to focus attention on restoring in recess.

Letters to the Editors

To the Editors: information for other Humanistic Jewish congrega- I recently received my green and white covered tions, communities, and havurot. Enjoy! Humanistic Judaism journal (Winter/Spring 2014). Cary Shaw In it there is a fascinating description of “The Pew Norwalk, Connecticut Study: What Did It Find?” (page 28). For example, “Six in ten Jews in the United States see being Jewish Send your LETTERS to Humanistic Judaism, 28611 West Twelve Mile as mainly a matter of culture or ancestry.” The issue Road, Farmington Hills, MI 48334, or to [email protected] on the Internet. also contains book reviews, opinion pieces, poetry, All letters become the property of this magazine. Letters may be edited or condensed. Shorter, typed letters will be given preference. non-fiction, a summary of recent amicus briefs the All letters should be signed originals, with the full address and tele- Society for Humanistic Judaism filed, and contact phone number of the writer. No unsigned letters will be published.

46 Humanistic Judaism Board of Directors Executive Committee Larry Lawrence President Rabbi Jeffrey Falick Vice-President E. Ronald Milan Treasurer Andrea Friedlander Secretary Louis Altman Past President

Stephanie Blum The Society for Humanistic Judaism was Marti Keller established in 1969 to provide a humanis- tic alternative in Jewish life. The Society Directors for Humanistic Judaism mobilizes people Roger Addelson Jon Levine to celebrate Jewish identity and culture Sandy Altman Richard Logan consistent with a humanistic philosophy of Barbara Behrmann Sheila Malcolm life, independent of supernatural authority. Marlene Cohen Faith Oremland Paula Creed Suzanne Paul The Society for Humanistic Judaism: Susan Davis Mary Raskin Alice D’Souza Victoria Ratnaswamy • Helps to organize Humanistic Jewish Judi Gladstone Susan Ryan communities — congregations Rick Gold Miki Safadi and havurot. Denise Handlarski BJ Saul Susan Herschman Cary Shaw • Enables Humanistic Jews throughout Lee Jacobi Bert Steinberg the world to communicate with one Paul Kadish Barry Swan another. Rob Lasker Paula Wolfe • Serves the needs of individual Libby Otto Humanistic Jews who cannot find Abby Ulman communities that espouse their beliefs. Teen Representatives

Chip Kass • Creates celebrational, inspirational, Young Adult Liaison and educational materials. Executive Director • Promotes the training of rabbis, M. Bonnie Cousens leaders, and teachers for Humanistic Rabbi Jewish communities. Miriam Jerris

• Provides a voice for Humanistic Jewish Editors, Humanistic Judaism values. Ruth Duskin Feldman M. Bonnie Cousens • Belongs to an international community Founder of Secular Humanistic Jews. Rabbi Sherwin T. Wine 1928-2007 Society for Humanistic Judaism Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage 28611 West Twelve Mile Road PAID Farmington Hills, Michigan Farmington Hills, MI 48334 Permit No. 349

Address Service Requested

Membership in the Society for Humanistic Judaism includes subscription to this publication.