10 Comments
⭠ Return to thread

Very well written, but with an issue. You haven't proposed what it is we seculars are supposed to take from both Jewish "religion" (I sort of agree that it's a civilizational culture broadly and shouldn't be compared to an imperial-confessional faith) and, most especially, from the blend of European and Islamic forms that religion officially takes in Israel. I have a fairly reasonable Jewish education myself, am adamantly pro-Zionist, would argue for a particularly Jewish Israel -- but I don't think "God said so as given to Moshe at Sinai then to ... Rav Ovadiyah Yosef then to Yitzhak Yosef" is a source of cultural authority or of culture, period. It is a claim of moral imperative by divine command. If I don't believe in any link in the chain, from Moshe at Sinai down to Rav Yosef - for instance if I am Ashkenazi! - then what am I or the State (which is neither Ashkenazi nor Sefaradi but *Jewish*) supposed to draw from it?

Expand full comment

I humbly suggest that it starts with not labeling yourself as secular. That implies a static condition. Judaism is dynamic in that we are ALL “religious” , whatever our starting point, as long as we are consistently growing in our relationship (and SEEKING any relationship)with G-d, recognizing His presence even in our “mundane” lives. More important however is making sure our children are privileged to SEE His importance in our own daily lives. Children will only revere what we revere . “Ritual” can seem irrelevant at first, but it is a mechanism ,designed by G-d himself ( independent of cultural variations), for continuity. And who are we to challenge the system designer. The ultimate purpose is not to aggrandize ourselves through religion but to bring attention to His presence and greatness so the world recognizes not the greatness of the Jewish people, but His greatness through the Jewish people (one candle at a time).

Expand full comment

Rubbish. I call myself secular because I don't believe in God. If you can't live in a country with people who don't believe, cope and seethe.

Expand full comment

Ouch Eli. I am far from seething. I feel close to another Jew because of something that is even beyond my own comprehension. We are all part of the same Being. My comment was that by labeling oneself secular implies not even giving oneself permission to believe. Anyone without an ego at least admits to the possibility of a higher power.

Expand full comment
Error