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Orthodox Judaism Reflection Points Action Points

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Orthodox Judaism Reflection Points Action Points 12 Orthodox Judaism Reflection Points Orthodox Judaism received its earliest formulation in Hungary which was then part of the Austro-Hungarian empire in the first quarter of the 19th century, and in Germany in the middle of the century. In both countries traditionalists were profoundly critical of the efforts of Reform Jews to adapt halakhah to modern society as well as modify the traditional synagogue service. These reformers argued that such alterations were a precondition for Jewish emancipation as well as civil equality. Such an attitude was viewed by traditionalists as a ’ violation of God s will. At the end of the nineteenth century, Eastern European Orthodox leaders similarly championed Torah Judaism in the face of increased secularization. Today, the vast majority of Orthodox Jews reside in Israel or the United States. In Israel religiously observant Jews make up about 15-20 per cent of the Jewish population. These traditionalists, who were once marginal to Israeli society, play an increasingly important role in communal and political life. Within their ranks the Edah Haredit (community of the pious) consist of several thousand families with thousands of sympathizers. These are the most intransigent of the Orthodox. They relate to the state of Israel with varying degrees of hostility. A more moderate neo-traditionalism is found in Israeli Agudah circles. There the heads of the yeshivot and a number of Hasidic rebbeyim are dominant. In the United States, traditionalists have been supportive of their own institutions. With the exception of pockets of neo- traditional extremists like the Edah Haredit in Israel, American Orthodox Jews are generally familiar with modern culture and most are willing to work with the non-Orthodox on behalf of general Jewish interests. In assessing the nature of Orthodox Judaism, you should ask yourself whether such traditionalism is vital for Jewish existence. Is it the strictly Orthodox who are the true inheritors of the Jewish past? Or, should this group be perceived simply as one among many branches of the faith? Over the last two hundred years the strictly Orthodox and non-Orthodox Jews have been deeply divided about their interpretations of Jewish existence. Today this conflict is as intense as ever. Is there any possibility of reconciliation? Or, should one simply accept that there is no way that rival claims can be reconciled? Action Points ‘ ’ ‘ Go to Google. Type in such terms as strictly Orthodox , Orthodox ’ ‘ ’ ‘ ’ Judaism , Modern Orthodox Judaism and Haredim . Look for websites that provide a picture of the Orthodox interpretation of Judaism. Go to Amazon.com. Look for books dealing with Orthodoxy. If possible, attend a service at an Orthodox synagogue. 13 Hasidism Reflection Points In the eighteenth century, Hasidism emerged as a challenge to the rabbinic establishment. Founded by the Baal Shem Tov, this pietistic movement stressed the importance of eliminating selfhood and the ascent of the soul to the divine light. Unlike the arid scholasticism of traditional Judaism, Hasidism offered to the Jewish masses a new outlet for religious fervour. According to tradition, the Baal Shem Tov (Israel ben Eleazer) was born in Southern Poland and in his twenties journeyed with his wife to the Carpathian mountains. In the 1730s he travelled to Mezibozh where he performed various miracles and instructed his disciples in kabbalistic lore. By the 1740s he had attracted a considerable number of disciples in kabbalistic lore; subsequently they passed on his teaching. After his death in 1760, Dov Baer became the leader of this sect and Hasidism spread to other parts of Eastern Europe. Hasidism initiated a profound change in Jewish religious pietism. In the medieval period, the Hasidei Ashkenaz attempted to achieve perfection through various mystical activities. This tradition was carried on by Lurianic kabbalists who engaged in various forms of self-mortification. In opposition to such ascetic practices, the Baal Shem Tov and his followers emphasized the omnipresence of God. For Hasidic Judaism, there is no place where God is ’ absent. As the Baal Shem Tov explained, in every one of a person s troubles, physical and spiritual, even in that trouble God himself is present. A central feature of this new movement was the institution of the zaddik which gave expression to a widespread disillusionment with rabbinic leadership. According to Hasidism, the zaddikim are spiritual superior individuals who have attained the highest level of cleaving to God. The goal of the zaddik is to elevate the souls of his flock to the divine light. His tasks included pleading to God for his people, immersing himself in their everyday affairs, and counselling and strengthening them. Today, Hasidism has been a powerful force in Jewish life around the world. In Israel and the United States in particular, the various branches of Hasidism play and important role in the Jewish community. What do you make of this movement? Like the strictly Orthodox, Hasidic Jews adhere to the tradition, maintaining that only the Torah observant can live a truly authentic Jewish existence. Do you agree? And what do you make of the institution of the zaddik (or rebbe)? In an increasingly secularized world, is there a place for such charismatic religious leaders? Action Points ‘ ’ ‘ ’ ‘ Go to Google. Type in such terms as Hasidism , zaddik , Hasidic ’ Judaism . Look for websites which describe the nature of Hasidism, as well as others put on the web by the Hasidim themselves. Go to Amazon.com. Look for books dealing with Hasidic Judaism. If you live in a city where there are Hasidim, find out where they reside and go see them for yourself. 14 Conservative Judaism Reflection Points Conservative Judaism emerged out of the Reform movement as a reaction against its radical tendencies. In 1845 Zacharias Frankel broke ranks with other reformers, and subsequently became head of the Jewish Theological Seminary in Breslau. In the United States, a number of like-minded adherents of the positive-historical approach to Judaism established the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York which was later headed by the Cambridge scholar Solomon Schechter. As Conservative Judaism expanded in the 1920s and 1930s, a degree of uniformity was instituted within the movement, yet there was a general reluctance on the part of most thinkers to enunciate a comprehensive philosophy. Yet, as time passed there was an attempt to invest authority in official committees empowered with the responsibility to determine the central principles of Conservative Judaism. Like Reform Judaism, the Conservative movement has distanced itself from the traditional understanding of divine revelation. The Torah is perceived as a composite work containing various strands of tradition, dating from different periods in the history of ancient Israel. As a result, there is considerable uncertainty about the status of both Jewish belief and observance. Some traditionalists assert that Scriptural and rabbinic law remains authoritative. Others press for halakhic change. The same lack of consensus is found in the sphere of halakhic interpretation. In general, Conservative Jews accept that the halakhah has a pivotal role to play in the modern world. Yet within the movement there are widely discrepant patterns of observance. What do you make of such a lack of uniformity of belief and practice? Unlike Orthodoxy with its all-embracing belief system and code of law, Conservative Judaism offers a more flexible approach to the tradition. Torah observant Jews argue, however, that the central weakness of Conservatism is its lack of consistency and internal disharmony over the fundamentals of the faith. Do you agree? Or, do you think that such openness is in fact its greatest strength in providing a means whereby modern Jews can adapt their heritage to contemporary circumstances? Action Points Go to Google. Type in 'Conservative Judaism' and look for websites about Conservative Judaism as well as official websites of the movement. Go to Amazon.com. Look for books dealing with Conservative Judaism If possible, attend a service at a Conservative and Orthodox synagogue and compare the two experiences. 15 Reconstructionist Judaism Reflection Points According to Mordecai Kaplan, Judaism must divest itself of supernatural belief. The spiritual dimension of the faith must be reformulated in humanistic and naturalistic terms. For Kaplan, God is not a supernatural being but the power that makes for salvation. God, he wrote, is the sum of all the animating organizing forces and relationships which are forever making a cosmos out of chaos. In his view, the idea of God must be understood fundamentally in ’ ‘ ’ ‘ ’ terms of its effect. In Kaplan s view, God is a trans-natural , super-factual ‘ ’ and super-experiential transcendence which does not infringe on the law of nature. Such a notion was far removed from the biblical and rabbinic concept of God as the creator and sustainer of the universe who chose the Jewish people and guides humanity to its final destiny. ’ ’ Many of the ideas found in Kaplan s writings were reflected in the movement s religious literature. The New Haggadah for Passover, for example, applied ’ Kaplan s theology to liturgical texts, subordinating miracles and plagues in ’ the traditional Haggadah to the narrative of Israel s redemption from Egypt. The Sabbath Prayer Book was designed for those who were dissatisfied with — synagogue worship its aim was to arouse emotion by eliminating theologically untenable passages and adding inspirational material drawn from tradition. This new prayer book deleted all references to the revelation of the Torah on Mount Sinai, the chosenness of Israel, and the doctrine of a personal Messiah. In the 1940s and 1950s, the leaders of Reconstructionist Judaism insisted that they were not attempting to form a new branch of Judaism. Throughout this period Reconstructionists hoped to be able to infuse the three major groups within North American Judaism (Orthodoxy, Conservative Judaism, Reform Judaism) with its ideas.
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