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"It is better to take refuge in Adonai than to trust in human beings; better to take refuge in Adonai than to put one's trust in princes." -Tehilah 118:8-9



How do you Do your Jewishness?

Firstly, thanks to Boaz at Scaling the Soreg and to my favourite Anonymous commenter (I'm pretty sure you're consistently the same person...;) for their condolences at the passing of my grandfather. I truly appreciate the comments and welcome the unity of the Messianic community over all things physical and spiritual, happy and sad. There is great strength in unity; it is the oil of joy for mourning that flows within our midst. May all of Israel be so greatly blessed through it.

Secondly, I go ahead and take a few weeks off because I've started a new job, and what do I have when I return but a riot at the Temple Mount, a demand from Blogger to convert to their upgraded system, and a new post on Jewish identity brewing in my head!

As I've said, I've started a new job. It seems to be going well so far. Interestingly, my new boss is Jewish. Even more interesting, though, is the way he identifies and relates to his Jewishness. Every time he explains the business to me (because, along with being my boss, he's the owner of the business) he relates his cost-effectiveness and keen business saavy to the fact that he's Jewish. "You don't get anything by this Jewish boy," he'd remark when talking about different clients/competitors. He buys lunch for the staff at my location every day. While he'll splurge on a buffet, he won't buy drinks because, "It kills me to spent $1.89 on a soda. I buy Snapple. You can drink Snapple. You know why? Because I pay 48 cents a can. At ten o'clock at night, I'm in the grocery store, going in and out six times, just so I can stock up on their two-for specials. You don't see a Jewish boy paying $1.89 for a soda when you can get drinks at 48 cents each."

So, here's my question to you: How do you identify with and express your Jewishness? Do you find yourself relating to it through stereotypes, or scripture? How many times have you relied on phrases like, "Two Jews: Three opinions," or "I'm running on Jewish time," or even, "I'm a cheap Jew"? Is your Jewishness based in the beauty of your knish, or your skill at Mah Jongg? Or is it based in what you wear-- your Star of David, your tefillin, tallitot, kipot? How many times have you put a piece of Judaica on and thought, "Okay, now I'm being a good Jew," or, "I don't care what the world thinks"? Is your Jewishness based in the fact that you pray three times a day from a Siddur, or that you eat a family meal every Shabbat? Is your Jewishess about doing what G-d wants you to do, or is it about not doing what the rest of the world does? What is your Jewishness to you? And how does that definition define who you are in your own eyes? In the eyes of the world? In the eyes of Adonai?

To give you a bit of perspective to work from, I'll share this one simple fact that, when I first learned it, really blew my mind. In Israel, Jewishness is an identity of action, not wardrobe. Kippot, tefillin, tallitot, all of the things Jews in the Diaspora (believer and non-believer alike) wear to the hilt (and sometimes even argue over or use to out-do one another) are hardly even worn in Israel. Sure, you have the Orthodox, but to the average Israeli Jew, Jewish garb isn't necessary. They see the garb as adornments worn by Jews in galut to distinguish themselves from the gentiles around them. Even religious Jews in Israel (believers included) don't place special emphasis on religious garb the way we in the Diaspora do. To them, it's glorified kitsch. In Israel, being Jewish is about the people you associate with, how you interact with them, and how you live your life.

So, what is being Jewish to you?





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posted by Shoshana @ 12:13 PM

3 Comments:

At 9:16 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yes, this "anonymous" guy who keeps responding in your page is consistently the same person ;) He is also the user "anon" on Brian Tebbitt's blog.

As for your comment about Jews in Israel not going crazy with all of the Judaica, I guess I can say that that's news to me. If anything, I would have expected them to be even more outward about it, since there's no better place than Israel to immerse yourself in everything Biblical/Jewish (for religious Jews that must feel like absolute bliss!). Tallithim, kippoth, the Magen David, and the rest; these are things of tradition but they're also simultaneously more; they are intrinsically tied to Judaism's religious traditions some of them from the earliest times. Note that the average Israeli Jew can be viewed as a disgrace when you see it in relative terms; living in the Holy Land where they've got every opportunity to do their best religiously with no persecution whatsoever, yet they remain within the group of the 95% of Jews that do not keep the Torah.

The ironic thing, really, is that these days Messianic synagogues here in the western world have started to lean more toward Orthodoxy (I've found at least half a dozen websites for M-shuls where there's men in dark hats, dark suits, with peoys, a mechitza, all prayers according to an Artscroll siddur, and the rest), while the few that exist in Israel happen to be, for some reason from what I have seen, remarkably more Christian. Ain't it a remarkably peculiar world, after all. :)

 
At 7:59 PM, Blogger Shoshana said...

If anything, I would have expected them to be even more outward about it, since there's no better place than Israel to immerse yourself in everything Biblical/Jewish (for religious Jews that must feel like absolute bliss!).

See, now, to me the culture clash brings out a key question present in Jewish identity: What is Jewish by tradition, and what is Jewish by covenant?

Not that long ago, I recall reading a dialogue on the Revava website in which the Orthodox debated what kind of dress should be worn in Israel. Some argued in favor of dropping the seemingly antiquated black hat garb, feeling that the attire "ghettoized" a Judaism that was vital and vibrant in the Jewish homeland. Some argued in favor of adopting a more Biblical form of dress-- linens, wools, in plain colors and modest cuts that would allow for the wearing of tzitzit as Biblically commanded, on the four corners of our garments, instead of on tallit, which are technically not Biblically commanded in and of themselves. To me, this dialogue illustrated how very fluid the expression of Judaism and adherance to Torah truly is. It also brought to mind the concept of zman being cyclical; if we are to return to a Biblical form of dress, are we also to return to a form of Torah-observance that is more attuned to that exhibited in, say, the time of the Judges?

Note that the average Israeli Jew can be viewed as a disgrace when you see it in relative terms; living in the Holy Land where they've got every opportunity to do their best religiously with no persecution whatsoever, yet they remain within the group of the 95% of Jews that do not keep the Torah.

Yet, there is a great amount of persecution in the land. Firstly, from Muslim sources without and within; in fact, this persecution is the most vicious, because it targets Jews not just as a religion, but as an ethnic population with a national state. In the Diaspora, you can be Jewish but still be American, be Jewish but still be Canadian. In other words, you still have some form of group identity to fall back on in times of trial. In Israel, your Jewishness is everything and the only thing you have. Therefore, it is about more than just being religious or Biblically attuned; it is about your right to exist, your very life.

You also have a fair amount of persecution coming from Haredi circles, whether it is coercion from the religious political parties in legal/judicial matters, or it is persecution against believing Jews in the land, you can't escape the fact that there is still a certain amount of "Jew on Jew" discrimination going on from religious sources. Couple this with the facth that the majority of Israelis are descendants of socialist Zionists and Holocaust survivors, and you can see why the idea of Torah observance/religious lifestyle is a turnoff.

Yet, you will hear testimonies of even the most secularized Israelis praying to G-d and seeking Him-- one Israeli Jew once wrote that when it comes right down to it, no matter how seemingly secular they are, every Israeli Jew believes in G-d. Many, I believe, are turned off by Torah lifestyle because of the hypocrisy within the religious movement as well as what one Israeli Jew termed to me as "the coldhearted nature" of a ritualistic, non-believing Jewish lifestyle. (This same Israeli Jew told me that if Judaism allowed for a personal relationship with G-d the way Christianity did, he might have more of an interest. I was the one who had to tell him that a personal relationship with G-d was a very Jewish thing-- just ask Moshe!)

As to Messianic shuls in America exhibiting a black-hat trend, I still think that, by and large, the Messianic movement in America is very Evangelically based. There is a growing movement towards a kind of Orthodoxyising of the faith (i.e. Mark Kinzer's "Postmissionary Messianic Judaism"). I would be interested to see this trend examined under the light of the above-mentioned dialogue going on in the Israeli Orthodox world regarding these kinds of traditions. I would also add to the dialogue the concept that American Jewry comes from a very Ashkenazic frame of reference; Sephardim, Mizrahi, and other sects of Jews have an entirely different set of customs and traditions that express Torah observance... so who's to say that the black hat trend is the only way, or the most popular way, or even the right way to go?

As to Israeli Messianic shuls exhibiting Christian themes, I can only hazard to hypothesize that the same thing is happening there that has happened to the Messianic movement in America; they have been largely funded by Christian organizations. This is not a bad thing, but, unfortunately, it has not provoked Messianics to jealousy the way it perhaps ought to. We should be seeking to be the leaders of our destiny, and not place that role in the hands of those with the cash; not that we shouldn't be grateful for the support, or that we shouldn't encourage it. We should not, however, be willing to compromise our identity and what G-d has deemed right for the sake of dollars.

However, I do think there is a great difference between the American Messianic world and the Israeli one-- via simple geography, the Israeli Messianics are afforded the opportunity to develop a personal relationship with Israel in a way no Diaspora Jew ever could. This impacts their faith and how they express their identity as believers. Overall, in many ways, Israeli Messianics will forever be more intrinsically Jewish than could anyone in the Diaspora.

I believe that what we will see coming from Israel is a melding of Diaspora Jewish traditions; the ones based in true Torah observance and carried out by the righteous in heart will be the ones that will last. The rest will fall by the wayside, their encoutrement to become the stuff of museums, earmarks of our history as a people dispersed and brought together once again. To me, that is the rich heritage of Jewish culture; the fact that it is ever growing and developing from a solid, strong root that will last forever.

Of course, this belief also stems from the conviction that aliyah is a necessary part of Jewish life, and that the sole source of our culture and identity is Israel. Even black hatters, who were at first adamantly against Zionism and Statehood (and some still are, i.e. Neuteri Kartai) are starting to come around to the concepts of aliyah and Zionism. For instance, Orthodox rapper Matisyahu recently said that he not only wants to visit Israel more often, he wants to eventually make aliyah. I believe that the coming generations will see a great shift in the way Jewish identity is expressed, and by the time our grandchildren are walking this earth, Israel will be the source of their self. After all, it is only Biblical, is it not?

 
At 5:29 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Nice thoughts, Shoshana!

Yeah, I'd have to say that's one thing about the view of G-d in Judaism that really seems to separate it from Christianity (let's not discuss the doctrinal myth called the "trinity" here) in many ways is how cut-and-dried G-d is often characterized; almost as if the state of affairs is "we believe in G-d enough to pray to him at least three times a day, but we're not excited about him". Sure, you have Chassidism which is against such views but for the most part everything else leans Maimonidian.

I think the whole business of Christian organizations funding Messianic Judaism is rather nasty. Such organizations are going to want you to bend to their denominational theology in return for their contributions; grilling wieners on the Sabbath is completely opposite of how we should be developing. It's also hypocritical on the side of the financial contributers because they know virtually nothing about Judaism and while obviously supporting the IDEA of Messianic Judaism, they choose to remain completely oblivious to its theological TRUTH and grill their Saturday morning wieners with impunity, continuing not to be able to tell tefillin from a pocket watch. Yashanet had particularly strong words for such groups: http://yashanet.com/library/sbcletter.htm

As for the Haredim, Israeli Jews and politicians alike need to do it right now and no later: be outspoken about the fact that the anti-Zionist Haredim in no way represent the Israeli population and have no power over them.

About the Haredim, quoted from a website:

"Unrelated to the Christian Quakers of Pennsylvania, these ultra-Orthodox Jews are anchored in the Middle Ages and dress in 19th-century costume. Khareidim are anti-Zionists (anti-Israel) who selectively reject science and logic, relying instead on irrational (illogical) and contra-historical beliefs, some of which contradict Torah. While Khareidim attract more than their share of media attention, khareidim / ultra-Orthodox no more represent religious — Orthodox — Judaism than Quakers represent mainstream religious Christianity.

Mainstream Orthodox Jews can be distinguished from Khareidi by their 19th-century costume. In Israel, mainstream Orthodox Jews are more likely to support of the מפד"ל (Maphda"l, acronym for מפלגה דתית לאמית [Miphlâgâh Dâtit Lә·umit; Party Religious National – i.e., National Religious Party / NRP) rather than the other religious political parties.

The recent usage, unrelated to any Biblical Khareidim (e.g., Yәshayâhu 66:5), refers to the anti-science, logic-rejecting and anti-Zionist ultra-Orthodox of many different traditions. Most Khareidim, at the very least by the tacit endorsement of their silence and inaction, greedily devour the benefits of Israel and contribute the allegedly most corrupt of all Israeli politicians while simultaneously rejecting the validity of the state of Israel and trampling upon the rights of secular Jews they regard as fodder. Even on Shabât, they throw rocks at Israeli police, soldiers and cars driven by Jews, they attack fellow Jews, desecrate memorials to fallen Israeli soldiers, and organize "modesty vigilantes" – who throw feces at women whose sleeves aren't below the elbow, or whose skirts aren't below the knee or whose blouses aren't buttoned high enough to suit them.

In their desecrations of Shabât and their khilul ha-Sheim, the term "Khareidim" was coined to describe these fanatics who bear primary responsibility for the estrangement of the 90% of unaffiliated Jews – i.e., the typical ro·i hâ-ëlil who have alienated 90% of the Jewish community from Torâh.

Khareidim have repeatedly and contemptuously labeled the true keepers of Torâh (as contrasted with endless ultra-Orthodox fences and details of interpreting ritual) – mainstream Orthodox Jews – as goyim. (note: this is actually against Jewish law)

While ignorantly, superstitiously, and superficially faithful to things medieval and Talmudic minutiae, Khareidim are remotely distant from true Torâh-observance, Dërëkh ha-Sheim, and legitimate Judaism. The Khareidim typify those whom Ribi Yәhoshua (note: webiste is referring to Yeshua) criticized as "filtering out a gnat and swallowing a camel."

 

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