Welcome to Just Judaism!

Dear Friends,

While January 1^st is not the Jewish new year, I still decided to take a stab at a resolution or two. So here is the launching of my blog.

The idea of Just Judaism has been brewing in my head for a while. I grew up attending an Orthodox day school in an Orthodox home. I am an ordained Orthodox rabbi serving an Orthodox congregation. That said, I am tiring of the noisy debate within Orthodoxy as well as beyond as to what constitutes Orthodox Judaism and who is right. In an age where more and more Jews are not finding their place in the alphabet soup of denominations and sub-denominations, I think it is time to go back to basics. I propose that, while acknowledging the different approaches, denominations, standards, and affiliations, we restore Just Judaism to its proper place.

The sermon below (also available here) is my first effort to articulate the idea of focusing on important basics of Judaism and not getting sidetracked fighting about things that will never be resolved.

I plan to use this blog to post my own ideas and ruminations as well as articles authored by others that address a positive, inclusive Judaism anchored in tradition and dedicated to finding meaning and acting for the benefit of the Jewish and broader communities. My goal is to get people thinking about their own Judaism and the importance of sharing their Judaism with others.

I hope to post regularly, but, like any new year’s resolution, let’s see how it goes.

Just Judaism

December 21, 2013

Rabbi Elie Weinstock

            V’eileh shemot bnei Yisrael – The book of Exodus begins with names. How important are names? The Midrash comments:

בשביל ד' דברים נגאלו ישראל ממצרים, אחד שלא שנו שמותם

There are four things that contributed to the Jewish people meriting redemption. One of them is that they did not change their names.

            Commitment to maintaining a Jewish name appears to be a religious value. What exactly is a Jewish name? The sons of Yaakov were given names based on the reactions of the matriarchs. Moshe’s name is bestowed by the daughter of Pharaoh. Do Jews avoid adopting foreign names? Legend tells of Alexander the Great, upon his visit to Jerusalem, being honored with the promise that the children of priestly families born that year would bear his name. Names like Papa and Huna are not inherently Jewish. Fast forward to the period of the Rishonim, and, on Gittin 8a, Rabbeinu Peter asks Rabbeinu Tam a question in Tosfot.

            In the modern era, especially, Jews have changed their names. In 19^th century Western Europe, Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch addressed the practice of chol-kreish, the formal bestowing of a secular name on German Jewish children. By a show of hands, who here today does not have a secular name?

            What exactly do the rabbis mean by lo shinu shemotam?

            We may understand why preserving a Jewish name is important by looking at the other three elements to which the Jews remained committed.

ולא שנו את לשונם, ולא גלו מסתרים שלהם, ולא נפרצו בעריות

The Midrash says that the Jews maintained their language, upheld a sense of privacy and dignity, and did not engage in inappropriate sexual relationships. Together with not changing their names, these priorities represent a commitment to essential values. The Jewish people were able to leave the exile and become the Jewish people because they recognized what made them unique and remained committed to those ideals. Lo shinu shemotam signified a strong connection to their identity. This mentality is the way to ensure redemption.

Rabbi Berel Wein notes that the experience in Egypt embedded within the Jewish consciousness the importance of Jewish names. Over the centuries, the Jewish people have continually struggled to retain their identity. Throughout this struggle, the Jewish name has represented a sense of continuity and purpose. Even as secular names are widely utilized by Jews, Jewish names remain an anchor to the values that define who we are.

While there are halakhic opinions forbidding secular names, they are not in the majority. It is much more important to know what Jewish names represent than not to change them. That is the key to redemption, to successful Jewish living.

It is against this backdrop that I want to examine a name we all share that seems ready for a change: Orthodox. We all identify as Orthodox Jews. What is Orthodox? It is used to describe the more traditionalist segment of the Jewish community. Rabbi Norman Lamm often spoke of our community as Centrist Orthodox. Rabbi Riskin spoke here last month about being Modern Orthodox. Just last week, we heard Rabbi Asher Lopatin address the idea of being Open Orthodox. Last Saturday night, radio talk show host Zev Brenner hosted a debate between Rabbi Shmuel Goldin and Rabbi Lopatin regarding Open Orthodoxy. He said he had invited a representative of the Agudah – the ultra-Orthodox group - to participate. The individual declined since the Agudah doesn’t recognize Open Orthodoxy as Orthodox. Really!

            Lest you think it is only recently that Orthodoxy seems to be going crazy, there was a symposium published in Tradition, the RCA journal of Jewish thought, in 1982 on the state of Orthodoxy. Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein writes that one of the major challenges he sees is a certain narrowness which can lead to intolerance, insularity, and misplaced priorities. He writes: “On one of my visits (to America) I recall being almost overwhelmed by the impression that the major challenges confronting American Orthodoxy were neither demographic nor ideological, not how to deepen Jewish identity and weld the community, and not how to come to grips boldly with the social and intellectual impact of secular culture. These (the challenges) were, rather, determining the status of metropolitan eruvin and finding the right (kosher) tuna fish.”

            The state of the term Orthodox has not improved one bit since 1982! More and more, I find myself agreeing with Rabbi Yitz Greenberg, who is quoted as saying, “I personally don’t care which denomination in Judaism you belong to as long as you’re ashamed of it.” I am tired of the noisy debate over what constitutes Orthodox Judaism. With all of our successes, only 10% of American Jews are Orthodox!  Maybe we should revisit whether the name Orthodox serves us well. Technically, there really is no such thing as Orthodox. It is a name we got stuck with.

Rabbi Samson Rafael Hirsch wrote in his essay entitled Religion Allied to Progress, “It was not the 'Orthodox' Jews who introduced the word 'orthodoxy' into Jewish discussion. It was the modern 'progressive' Jews who first applied this name to 'old', 'backward' Jews as a derogatory term. This name was at first resented by 'old' Jews. And rightly so. 'Orthodox' Judaism does not know any varieties of Judaism. It conceives Judaism as one and indivisible.”

Why keep it? What benefit is there in the name Orthodoxy if it generates more heat than light? The importance of not changing a name, as in Egypt, is when the name accurately connects to the essential values. We are better off focusing on the principles that are important rather than standing up for and arguing over a name we didn’t even choose for ourselves. If we want our own geulah, a more meaningful and engaged Jewish community, it is time for a name change. I propose Just Judaism.

What is Just Judaism? It contains 3 components. (Avot 1:2)

שמעון הצדיק היה משירי כנסת הגדולה הוא היה אומר על שלשה דברים העולם עומד על התורה ועל העבודה ועל גמילות חסדים:

The word stands upon three things: Torah, Avodah, and Gemilut Chasadim. Embracing and promoting these three values can provide us with the tools to live meaningful Jewish lives and engage so many more Jews in a common bond.

Torah: Just Judaism stands for the need to study Torah and explore the rich literature of Judaism for teachings and lessons from which we all can benefit.

Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehudah Berlin (the Netziv) of Volozhin said it very well 120 years ago. In a famous responsum (Meishiv Davar I:44) addressing those who wished to divide the Jewish community into separate camps, he wrote:

The bottom line is that if we really and truly wish to strengthen Judaism, there is no other way to do it other than Torah study. It doesn’t matter if it is for the right reasons or the wrong ones – that is for God to determine and not us. Those who study Torah will increase and all will recognize that Torah study helps ensure the future of the Jewish people.

            Torah study brings Jews together. Our community participates in the Torah Learning Coalition on the Upper East Side along with other Orthodox, Conservative and Reform congregations. We studied Pirkei Avot together, we studied to prepare for the High Holidays together, and, most recently, we studied about Chanukah together at Central Synagogue.

This week, you may have read about another example of Torah study’s ability to engage and inspire. It is also taking place right here in our neighborhood. Rabbi Burt Siegel, the leader of the Reform “Shul of New York: A Synagogue for Spiritual Judaism” that meets in various locations on the Lower East Side, has been praying and studying daily at Chabad of the Upper East Side in their morning Kollel program. In an interview with a Chabad website, he spoke of his rabbinical studies at HUC.

It really was devoid of a sense of spirituality… Studying Talmud…I began to appreciate the legitimacy of holding two different opinions and striving to find the authenticity in both. 

Rabbi Siegel’s Torah study is not about leaving Reform or embracing some other denomination:

I don’t feel any disconnect between serving my liberal synagogue and my growing traditionalism. My spiritual journey has actually helped me bring even more spirituality to my wonderful members.

This is the power of Torah study. Instead of arguing about what Orthodoxy is, is not, or should be, we are better served by opening up a sefer (book) and having a chavruta (study session with a partner) regarding issues of disagreement. That is Just Judaism, Judaism as expressed through the study of Torah.

            Just Judaism also includes avodah. The term classically refers to korbanot (sacrifices) and, nowadays, prayer. At its core, though, avoda is about developing a relationship with God. Orthodox Judaism doesn’t talk that much about God. Instead, we focus on the intellect or the practice of ritual law. Judaism is a balance between what I call deed and creed. There are religious obligations – the deeds, and there are religious feelings – the creed. Mitzvot, the deeds, represent the body while the religious feeling of Judaism, the creed, represents the soul. Rabbi Norman Lamm notes how essential it is to properly appreciate both. A soul without a body is a ghost. Religious feeling alone is not anchored in reality. At the same time, a body without a soul is a corpse. Actions alone are not enough. They must be suffused with meaning and life.

Rabbi David Aaron, Founder of Isralight, illustrates what happens when there is a disconnect between actions and religious feelings with an experience he had trying to introduce a Shabbat program to the Jewish youth group he once worked for. He presented his plan to the teenage leaders, and a girl of about 16 responded with a look of total shock. She said, “Shabbat!? Do you mean no tearing toilet paper?” That was her initial association with Shabbat. Rabbi Aaron responded in jest, “Yes. Haven’t you tried that? For thousands of years, Jews get together, put a roll of toilet paper on a table, sit around and chant, don’t tear it, don’t tear it.” To the uninitiated or uninspired, rituals may seem empty of meaning.

            Rabbi Aaron sees a lack of understanding at the root of feeling uninspired by Judaism.  It’s not enough to be told that we should live Jewish lives. People don’t always do what they should do. But most people do what they love to do. The goal is to find a way to love to do what we should do. We need to explore what it is that we love about Judaism and then do it. Do we love singing soulful songs? Do we love the opportunity to celebrate holidays with friends and family? Do we love to come to shul to daven (or hear the sermon)? Finding what we love will strengthen our connection to God and improve our religious experience. That is the avodah of Just Judaism.

            Torah study and seeking a genuine connection with God are two of the essential keys to unlocking a religious worldview that can redeem our Jewish world. The third key of Just Judaism is gemilut chasadim.

What is gemilut chasadim? It is often translated as acts of kindness or charity, but it is more. Gemilut chasadim means (a) taking action informed by Jewish values and (b) doing kindness for Jewish causes. While Jews are proportionally more charitable than the general population, not enough of those charitable Jews give often enough to Jewish causes. While generosity to all is the mitzvah of tzedakah, gemilut chasadim is an imperative that our giving and doing be informed by our Judaism. This means we need to give to Jewish causes.

As Jews, we are ingrained with the value of helping others and the world around us. A Jew, like any other compassionate person, wants to help the poor and hungry and stand up in the face of injustice. When we act, we also act with the awareness that our kindness and justice are Jewish values. In this way, our good deeds are also an outgrowth of our Judaism.

While we often look to ritual observance as an indicator of commitment to Judaism, the prophets tell us there is another gauge that measures our loyalty to God. (Hoshea 6:6)

כִּי חֶסֶד חָפַצְתִּי וְלֹא זָבַח

For it is kindness that I desire and not sacrifice.

A Jew’s commitment is measured by the level of compassion and acts of kindness towards another. Gemilut Chasadim – supportive actions informed by Jewish values play a crucial role in being Jewish. In addition to generosity and action, we should analyze the causes for which we stand up and the charities we support through the prism of gemilut chasadim. In this way, our kindness becomes part of our religious activity, and that is Just Judaism.

            How can we bring Torah to all Jews? What can we do to bring more religious meaning to all Jews? How can we act in a Jewish way for the benefit of our community and all people? If we continue to insist that the answers to these questions come from our own definition of a denomination, we will miss out on the potential of Just Judaism to inspire the masses. To quote Rabbi Hirsch again:

[Judaism] does not know a Mosaic, prophetic and rabbinic Judaism, nor Orthodox and Liberal Judaism…It does not know Orthodox and Liberal Jews. It does indeed know conscientious and indifferent Jews, good Jews, bad Jews or baptised Jews; all, nevertheless, Jews with a mission which they cannot cast off. They are only distinguished accordingly as they fulfill or reject their mission… It knows just Judaism and non-Judaism.

Torah, avoda, and gemilut chasadim. Teaching and studying Torah, enabling a deeper encounter with the Divine, and taking action informed by Jewish values are the keys for redeeming today’s Jewish world and elevating the level of discourse and commitment in our contemporary fractured Jewish community. Promoting these essential Jewish elements will be far more effective than any denomination.

It’s Just Judaism.