As I decided to look into Judaism in America today, I didn’t realize how deep of shoes I was sinking into. There were so many avenues I could venture, from types of Jewish religions; Orthodox, Reformed, Conservative, Reconstructionist, Zionist; to beliefs then and now with traditional Jews verse less traditional Jews. But after wading through all these sectors, I couldn’t help but see the focus on Jews religiously, culturally, and ethnically. It seems anyone trying to describe the religion today had to describe these three things together. I think the most I learned about Judaism wasn’t about beliefs, but the culture that has developed in America.
I read a very unorthodox (no pun intended) book called Jews Without Judaism (Friedman) which I have no doubt many religiously Jewish people would be very offended by. Let’s just say the author is a rabbi who pointedly says there is no god. Despite this interesting fact that comes up later in the book, the rabbi has a lot of insight on how Jews have developed and changed over time. Understanding this development is probably the best way to understand 21st century Judaism in America. Learn along with me as the author opens up the idea of Judaism being more a culture than a religion and explains how it got to this point today:
It’s hard to find words that accurately describe what being Jewish means. It has to do with a sense of being part of a long history; of being part of a people, the Jewish people, that is like an extended family with “branches” all over the world and reaching back many centuries into the past. It means feeling connected to other Jews, even though one may not speak their language or even agree with their religious beliefs. p25
Today most Jews are not religious. They may observe a Jewish holiday once in a while, although even when they do, it’s more to express their Jewishness—their membership in the Jewish people—than to “practice” Judaism. They may even belong to a synagogue or temple—again, more to connect with other Jews than to worship. p26
Prior to the seventeenth or eighteenth century, there was no distinction in the minds of Jews between religion and the rest of life. There was not even a word for “religion”. Nor was there a word for “Judaism.” Being a Jew was to be part of God’s holy people. It was to be bound by the covenant between God and his people. It was to be obligated to observe the mitzvot, the divine commandments, as they are revealed in the Torah and the Talmud. There was no distinction, as there is today, between the religious and the secular. Jews may have been more or less observant, but there were no nonreligious Jews. p36
(The split betw
een Jewishness and Judaism came about because of) two things: first, the Enlightenment and the enormous changes in the conditions of life and thought that followed—changes that undermined the essential assumptions of Judaism; second, Napoleon…Napoleon affected Jewish life in a profound way… after his military victories were achieved, Napoleon was concerned about the disparate groupings within the new French nation. He wanted to secure their loyalty. He did not want people, such as the Jews, to think of themselves as separate entities with their own laws, their own culture, their own loyalties to anything other than France. He knew very well that the Jews functioned as a “nation” within the larger French nation. He wanted to eliminate such “foreign” nationalities in order to create a single French nation, with all its citizens loyal to the state. So in 1806 he called a meeting of over one hundred Jewish notables of France and presented them with a number of questions designed to clarify what it meant to be Jewish and what the relationship was between the Jews and the state. The primary question was: Were the Jews a separate nation or a religious community? …In answering Napoleon, in effect, they redefined themselves…they split into two what was previously one: the public and the private. p37-8
een Jewishness and Judaism came about because of) two things: first, the Enlightenment and the enormous changes in the conditions of life and thought that followed—changes that undermined the essential assumptions of Judaism; second, Napoleon…Napoleon affected Jewish life in a profound way… after his military victories were achieved, Napoleon was concerned about the disparate groupings within the new French nation. He wanted to secure their loyalty. He did not want people, such as the Jews, to think of themselves as separate entities with their own laws, their own culture, their own loyalties to anything other than France. He knew very well that the Jews functioned as a “nation” within the larger French nation. He wanted to eliminate such “foreign” nationalities in order to create a single French nation, with all its citizens loyal to the state. So in 1806 he called a meeting of over one hundred Jewish notables of France and presented them with a number of questions designed to clarify what it meant to be Jewish and what the relationship was between the Jews and the state. The primary question was: Were the Jews a separate nation or a religious community? …In answering Napoleon, in effect, they redefined themselves…they split into two what was previously one: the public and the private. p37-8
The author develops into thought that separating the two has allowed freedom that wasn’t there before. Exciting in many ways, but the laws and practices were no longer a lifestyle. Jew’s had a nation to be a citizen in and a religion to rely on. Making Jews be a citizen of a nation and be Jewish semi-destroyed the whole essence of Judaism. This is what I found the most interesting and “ah ha!” of my study.
Nonetheless, these still remain (plus much more, as always):
Tanakh is the Hebrew Bible, which is also termed the Old Testament in Christian bibles. This includes the Pentateuch, which are the first five books, the books of Moses; and t
he Talmud, which are the books of the prophets. The Judaism faith is focused on the commandments and a covenant made with the one true God.
he Talmud, which are the books of the prophets. The Judaism faith is focused on the commandments and a covenant made with the one true God.As for God, Jews are “ever watchful to guard the uniqueness of God, they will not represent God in any material form; to do so would be to make an idol. Nor is there any way, in the Jewish understanding of God, that any human being could ever be God. This is one reason that people of Jewish faith do not accept the Christian teaching that Jesus is the Messiah” (p200, Religion in America). This is probably the most obvious in religion differences today.
When it does come to traditional Jews vs. less traditional, two things stood out to me. Traditional Jews are still focused on a coming messiah, foretold in Isaiah. Less traditional Jews have developed that belief into more of an attainment of a messianic age. And while traditional Jews continue to struggle with understanding how evil exists despite an all-good God, less traditional Jews have come to believe in God who is limited in some ways. In the end, most Jews tend to focus more on life in the here and now, leaving what happens afterward in the hands of their Maker. Beliefs land that one day all Jews with be with God.
Judaism: more than a religion. It's the essence of religion, culture, and ethnicity combined.
