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Sherwin Wine Outline: II. Atheism and Jewish Orthopraxy II
Sherwin Wine Outline: II. Atheism and Jewish Orthopraxy II. "Praying to Adam" III. The Christmas Controversy IV. Humanism vs. Humanistic Judaism --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rabbi Sherwin Wine Baruch Spinoza Asher Ginsberg Mordecai Kaplan (1928-2007) (1632-1677) (aka Ahad Ha'am) (1881-1983) (1856-1927) Texts (1) Baruch Spinoza, Political Theological Tractatus "God is the sum of the natural and physical laws of the universe and certainly not an individual entity or creator.” (2) Baruch Spinoza, Ethics “Those who wish to seek out the cause of miracles and to understand the things of nature as philosophers, and not to stare at them in astonishment like fools, are soon considered heretical and impious, and proclaimed as such by those whom the mob adores as the interpreters of nature and the gods. For these men know that, once ignorance is put aside, that wonderment would be taken away, which is the only means by which their authority is preserved.” (3) "The Rabbi Writes" (1993) "Where is my power? The power question is the basic question of any practical philosophy of life. Where do I find the strength that I need to cope with the problems and challenges of life? The traditional answer was God. Divine power, made available through prayer and worship, was the major source of needed strength. But God is only interesting if he has power. A God who creates the world but is unable to respond to human needs is irrelevant to the human agenda. The existence of God is not the issue. The power of God is very much the issue. -
The Hanuka Festival- a Guipe, Forthe Restof Us
, NEWLYREVISED edition, -' i -'riffi:';,'i;,;',;,' tikf)ian'biiii,:f;'"' THE HANUKA FESTIVAL- A GUIPE, FORTHE RESTOF US by Hershl Hartman, vegyayzer A few words before we begin... Jews, both adults and children, even those from culturally consciousor religiously observant homes, cannot be convinced that khanikeis a reasonable substitute for the tinsel, glitter and sentimentality that surround Xmas, the American version of Christmasthat has virtually engulfed the world. Accordingly, it is nof the purpose of this work to help project khanikeas an "alternative Xmas" but, rather, to provide non-observantJewish families with a factual understanding of the festival'sorigins and traditions so that it may be celebratedmeaningfully and joyously in its own right. Why "...for the rest of us"? Increasingly,American Jews are identifying with their ethnic culture,rather than with the Jewishreligion. At the sametime, Hanuka is being projected more aggressivelyas a religiousholiday, focused on the "Miracle of the Lights," purporting to celebrate"history's first victorious struggle for religious freedom," to quote the inevitable editorial in your local newspaper.Actually, as we shall see, Hanuka is nothing of the sort. l'he issuesof "religious freedom" vs. "national liberation"vs. "multicultural rights" wereactually confronted back in the secondcentury B.C.E.,albeit with other terminology.'l'hisbooklet seeksto separate fact from fanry so that those who identify with Jewishculture will not feel excluded from celebratingthe festival. Now, about the matter of spelling. 1'he "right" way to spell it is: il!'tJrt.What is 'l'he the "best" way to transliteratethe Hebrew into English? earliest"official" form was Chanukah or its inexplicablevariants: Channukah and Chanukkah. -
Judaism Beyond God
Humanorah the newsletter of the Society for Humanistic Judaism Judaism Beyond God Spring-Summer 2017 Vol. 38 No. 2 Putting Our Values into Action / This Is Our Judaism These are momentous times, and our involvement in them is expressed in many ways. The articles and photos in this issue of Humanorah show some of the different ways we as a movement are putting our values into action how we are defining our Judaism from celebrating our volunteers to joining public marches and demonstrations on human rights issues. As individuals and as communities, we live our Humanistic Jewish values in small and not-so-small ways. View photos of our communities in action. In addition, we are drawing new Humanistic Jews to us, partly through our growing presence on social media. See pages 11-13 to learn about the “coming in” experiences of new Humanistic Jews. We begin with “Why I Took Part in the Women’s March,” by Paul Golin, originally published in The New York Jewish Week: The best part about being in a sea “As Jews, we have a moral of 400,000 people at the Women’s obligation, when we see injustice, March in New York City on Jan. 21 to speak out.” A disproportionate was the recognition that I’m not number of the great feminists in alone. There are a hundred million or history have been Jews, and I more Americans who feel like I do don’t believe that is coincidental. about the march’s key issues. In fact, Humanism, the idea that people on many of those issues we are in the are responsible for solving human majority. -
THE ILLUMINATOR Spring 2006
THE ILLUMINATOR Spring 2006 Where is my light? My light is in me. Where is my hope? My hope is in me. Where is my strength? My Bat and Bar Mitzvot strength is in me. And in you. - Rabbi Sherwin Wine Please join us as we celebrate with great happiness the Bat Mitzvah of our daughter Leah Mayira Fox Passover 2006 Liberman. 15-22 Nisan st Havdalah Service (1 night: April 12) Saturday, April 8 at 7 pm. Neighborhood House On the ancient Jewish calendar, Passover was the Paul and Sheila Wellstone Center for Community original Jewish new year. Many ancient near eastern 179 Robie St. E. in St. Paul cultures celebrated the rebirth of spring as the beginning of the year. Our Passover is actually a Our celebration continues with a Reception and combination of two older holidays, and the two names Dancing from 8-11 pm. in Leah's honor. in the Bible for the holiday reflect our dual roots. One holiday, Hag Hapesakh (holiday of the pascal lamb), We look forward to seeing you there. is a shepherd¹s holiday, and in ancient times was - - Regan and David marked by the late-night sacrifice of a lamb as a blessing of the new flocks. The other holiday, called Directions to the Paul and Sheila Wellstone Center for Community Hag Hamatsot (holiday of matsas), was an agricultural festival in which farmers offered the fruits of their From the North: From I-35E, take the Concord Street exit. At the fields in hope of a good harvest. These two ancient Concord St. -
HUMANISTIC JUDAISM August 19, 2016
- 1 - The Movements of Judaism and their Founders VIII: RABBI SHERWIN WINE AND HUMANISTIC JUDAISM August 19, 2016 Shabbat shalom! My summer sermon series this year – my fourth such series – has focused on some of the great religious movements of Judaism. Whether Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, Reconstructionist, Hasidic or Jewish Renewal, each expression has turned Judaism in new directions; each has tried to inspire the spirit and elevate the soul; each has tried, in its own way, to bring us closer to God. Not so with this week’s topic: Humanistic Judaism, which considers itself to be a major stream of modern Judaism, isn’t just non-religious, it is decidedly anti-religious – a stance that some find appalling, others find very appealing, and just others just find confusing: After all, isn’t it a contradiction in terms to have a religion that doesn’t want to have anything to do with religion? Like so many other expressions of Judaism, Humanistic Judaism began with the experience of a rabbi – in this case Rabbi Sherwin Wine – or at least he was the one who best articulated what they stand for, and created organizations to spread the word and further their work. Sherwin Wine was ordained as a Reform Rabbi, and one of his first assignments was as a chaplain serving for several years in Korea, in the 1950’s. He found that the Jews he met in service didn’t seem interested in religion, but in Jewish culture – especially in the chicken soup and salami he was able to provide – and he came to realize that the cultural attachments of Judaism are what really mattered to the soldiers, and to him personally. -
Talk Given by Rabbi Jeremy Kridel at the 2018 Rosh Hashanah Service
Talk given by Rabbi Jeremy Kridel at the 2018 Rosh Hashanah service There’s an old Yiddish proverb that goes, “With one tuchus, you can’t dance at two weddings.” That makes sense, except maybe for when twins get married at the same time. So what happens if one tuchus tries to dance at three weddings? I’ll give you a hint: look around. The answer is in this room. You get Secular Humanistic Judaism. Secular, humanistic, Judaism. Three weddings. A colleague of mine, Rabbi Jeffrey Falick, says it’s two weddings. I’m not so sure it’s just two. It’s already hard to dance at two weddings. It’s really hard to dance at three. Sometimes it’s hard to even know what’s happening at each of them — forget the dancing part! I had a conversation with last year’s mitzvah class that drove this point home for me. Our conversation went something like this: I asked, “What’s Secular Humanistic Judaism?” And they had some sense for the secular part, and for the Jewish part, and then Humanism got a sort of … “be a good person?” half- question, half-answer. Now, one problem is that we’ve taught our students all manner of things that are part of the Humanism package, but maybe haven’t always put as fine a point on things as we should have. They don’t always know what wedding they’re at, let alone how to dance at it. But I think the other problem is that there are all kinds of humanism, and it’s not always clear what the word even means: there’s Renaissance humanism, religious humanism, secular humanism, even transhumanism. -
Directories, Lists, Necrology (1982)
Directories Lists Necrology National Jewish Organizations1 UNITED STATES Organizations are listed according to functions as follows: Religious, Educational 303 Cultural 297 Community Relations 293 Overseas Aid 301 Social Welfare 321 Social, Mutual Benefit 319 Zionist and Pro-Israel 325 Note also cross-references under these headings: Professional Associations 332 Women's Organizations 333 Youth and Student Organizations 334 COMMUNITY RELATIONS Gutman. Applies Jewish values of justice and humanity to the Arab-Israel conflict in AMERICAN COUNCIL FOR JUDAISM (1943). the Middle East; rejects nationality attach- 307 Fifth Ave., Suite 1006, N.Y.C., 10016. ment of Jews, particularly American Jews, (212)889-1313. Pres. Clarence L. Cole- to the State of Israel as self-segregating, man, Jr.; Sec. Alan V. Stone. Seeks to ad- inconsistent with American constitutional vance the universal principles of a Judaism concepts of individual citizenship and sep- free of nationalism, and the national, civic, aration of church and state, and as being a cultural, and social integration into Amen- principal obstacle to Middle East peace, can institutions of Americans of Jewish Report. faith. Issues of the American Council for Judaism; Special Interest Report. AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE (1906). In- stitute of Human Relations, 165 E. 56 St., AMERICAN JEWISH ALTERNATIVES TO N.Y.C., 10022. (212)751-4000. Pres. May- ZIONISM, INC. (1968). 133 E. 73 St., nard I. Wishner; Exec. V. Pres. Bertram H. N.Y.C., 10021. (212)628-2727. Pres. Gold. Seeks to prevent infraction of civil Elmer Berger; V. Pres. Mrs. Arthur and religious rights of Jews in any part of 'The information in this directory is based on replies to questionnaires circulated by the editors. -
Directories Lists Obituaries National Jewish Organizations*
Directories Lists Obituaries National Jewish Organizations* UNITED STATES Organizations are listed according to functions as follows: Community Relations 645 Cultural 650 Israel-Related 658 Overseas Aid 671 Religious, Educational Organizations 673 Schools, Institutions 685 Social, Mutual Benefit 697 Social Welfare 699 Note also cross-references under these headings: Professional Associations 704 Women's Organizations 705 Youth and Student Organizations 705 Canada 705 COMMUNITY RELATIONS AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE (1906). The Jacob Blaustein Building, 165 E. 56 St., AMERICAN COUNCIL FOR JUDAISM (1943). NYC 10022. (212)751-4000. FAX: (212) PO Box 9009, Alexandria, VA 22304. 750-0326. Pres. Harold Tanner; Exec. Dir. (703)836-2546. Pres. Stephen L. Naman; David A. Harris. Protects the rights and Exec. Dir. Allan C. Brownfeld. Seeks to freedoms of Jews the world over; combats advance the universal principles of a bigotry and anti-Semitism and promotes Judaism free of nationalism, and the na- democracy and human rights for all; tional, civic, cultural, and social inte- works for the security of Israel and deep- gration into American institutions of ened understanding between Americans Americans of Jewish faith. Issues of the and Israelis; advocates public-policy po- American Council for Judaism; Special In- sitions rooted in American democratic terest Report, (WWW.ACJNA.ORG) values and the perspectives of Jewish her- *The information in this directory is based on replies to questionnaires circulated by the editors. Web site addresses, where provided, appear at end of entries. 645 646 / AMERICAN JEWISH YEAR BOOK, 2002 itage; and enhances the creative vitality of ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE OF B'NAI the Jewish people. -
The Illuminator
A man with a heart as big as the world? - Jane Katz THE ILLUMINATOR A life of courage is a life of integrity. When we are too eager for approval, we lose our courage. We say what Fall 2007 other people want us to say. We do what other people want us to do. We become what other people want us to From the President become. Many men and women choose to wear the masks that public opinion fashions for them. They never The death this summer of Rabbi Sherwin Wine was a tell others what they really believe; they never act out of tragic loss to all humanists, to Humanistic Judaism, and their private convictions; they never feel comfortable with to many of us personally. controversy. They prefer to be safe, even if safety makes them the prisoners of convention. Integrity is the Last October, I attended my first meeting as Or Emet’s courage to be one person instead of two - the bravery to representative on the Board of the Society for let our private self mold our public image, the Humanistic Judaism. The meeting was held in The determination to be the master and not the victim of life - Birmingham Temple in Farmington Hills, Michigan, the even though disapproval and anger may be the rewards temple that was established by Rabbi Wine in 1963 as of our honesty. Courage is the search for respect, not the very first Congregation for Humanistic Judaism. agreement. - - Rabbi Sherwin Wine Today, there are 40 SHJ congregations in North America, and Humanistic Jewish groups in 13 countries. -
HUMANISTIC and JEWISH: WHY BOTH? Rabbi Adam Chalom Joseph Chuman Rabbi Jeffrey L
HUMANISTIC JUDAISM Volume XLII Number 3-4 Summer/Autumn 2014 HUMANISTIC and JEWISH: WHY BOTH? Rabbi 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 Humanism & Humanistic Judaism Rational Judaism: It’s Not New Secularism, Atheism, 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. -
How Humanistic Is Humanistic Judaism? an Interview with Sherwin Wine
How Humanistic Is Humanistic Judaism? An Interview with Sherwin Wine REE INQUIRY: You have founded something called the presence of a just and loving God. Our history is a perfect Society for Humanistic Judaism. What is it? example of the fact that we live in a world, a universe, that FSherwin Wine: The Society is a federation of individuals does not give a damn whether we live or die and that, ulti- and communities in North America who espouse a philosophy mately, our fate is in the hands of other human beings. of life called Humanistic Judaism. Humanistic Judaism is a If you have a sense of humor, and also a sense of horror— combination of two things: humanism as a philosophy of life, as Woody Allen does, which perhaps makes him today's great- like all other humanisms, and Judaism as the culture of an est unofficial Jewish philosopher—you know that, above all, historic and national people called the Jews. the message of our experience is the absurdity of the universe. FI: Judaism usually refers to the Old Testament, to the It is almost an existentialist message. So, our humanism is Talmud, and to the traditions since. God is central to this reinforced by an appropriate understanding of Jewish history. notion of Judaism. You differ from that. Indeed, when we teach Jewish history we don't teach it from a Wine: Well, we view the word Judaism as parallel to the traditional religious point of view; we teach it from a scientific- word Hellenism. Christianity and Islam do not have the name historical point of view, which enables the child or the adult of a nation in their description. -
Looking at Israel Today Ronald Aronson Joseph Chuman Jeffrey L
HUMANISTIC JUDAISM Volume XLIII 2015, Number 1 Looking at Israel Today Ronald Aronson Joseph Chuman Jeffrey L. Falick Gilbert Feldman Alan Dershowitz Erica Jonlin Marti Keller Wisdom from Wine: Israel and the Diaspora From Our New Rabbis Review of My Promised Land 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 twice a year by the of supernatural authority. Society for Humanistic Judaism, a non-profit organi- zation, 28611 West Twelve Mile Road, Farmington Hills, Michigan 48334, (248) 478-7610, [email protected], www.shj.org. 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 2015 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 of the Editors, Humanistic Judaism, 28611 West Twelve Mile Road, Farmington Hills, Michigan 48334.