An Open Letter to the Squidbag

Dear Garrett,

I just tried, and I cannot give this question either a short or a simple answer.

I am by upbringing and inclination both a Reconstructionist Jew, which is to say that I believe Judaism is a civilization and am suspicious of the notion of "chosenness," and a humanistic Jew, which is to say that I am a Jewish (as opposed to secular) humanist, a Jewish rationalist as opposed to a Jewish traditionalist (i.e., one who believes in Jewish law first) or mysticist. (As the Reconstructionist Jewish saying has it, "the past gets a vote, but not a veto"). I am also a Jewish feminist and feminist Jew, which is why we usually (though we forgot this year) have an orange at the center of our seder plate (see http://www.miriamscup.com/Heschel_orange.htm). Of course, being a Jewish feminist goes along with being a Reconstructionist/humanistic Jew: in 1978, when I was bar mitzvahed, a female rabbi officiated. I didn't do it as a political statement, but I'm darn glad now that I did, for political, religious, and spiritual reasons.

And I am a Reconstructionist who in one way differs with Reconstructionist theology: to Reconstructionists, the group—the synagogue and its members, with guidance, but no veto, from its rabbi, for instance—decides matters of religious practice. I agree with the Reform movement, in thinking that the individual decides.

As far as religious belief, Judaism is much more about orthopraxy—right practice—than about "orthodoxy," the name of the Jewish movement to the contrary. "Israel," the name Jacob was given after he fought with the angel, means "to wrestle with God," which is who the angel really was. It's perfectly okay in Judaism (even Orthodox Judaism) to doubt God, as long as you pray three times a day—four on Shabbos.

Want more? Allow me to quote from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanistic_Judaism:

In some ways, the principles of belief of Humanistic Judaism are similar to those of many within Reconstructionist Judaism, with its emphasis on retaining Jewish identity while accepting a scientific, materialist worldview and a Dewey-like ethical outlook. However, Humanistic Judaism presents a far more radical departure from traditional Jewish religion than Mordecai Kaplan ever envisioned. Kaplan redefined God and other traditional religious terms so as to make them consistent with the materialist outlook, and continued to use traditional prayer language. [Rabbi Sherwin] Wine [founder of Humanistic Judaism], rejected this approach as confusing, since participants could ascribe to these words whatever definitions they favored. Wine strove to achieve philosophical consistency and stability by creating rituals and ceremonies that were purely non- theistic. Services were created for Shabbat, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and other Jewish holidays and festivals, often with reinterpretation of the meaning of the holiday to bring it into conformity with Secular Humanistic philosophy.

I am (mostly) a Humanistic Jew in my beliefs, but a Reconstructionist Jew in my practices, who usually goes to Conservative synagogues. This is because the one Reconstructionist synagogue around here—the one at which I was bar mitzvahed—no longer has the sense of community that it did then, and until about five years ago, and because the rabbi I feel closest to is the Argentinean Conservative rabbi—there is a well-respected Conservative seminary in Buenos Aires—at my wife's old synagogue in her hometown in Colombia. Not that I hold him responsible for any of this.

Oh, I guess there is one short way I can express my religious and spiritual views. I had come up with something similar, a while ago, but then I found this quote, which expresses my belief so much better than I did. As the late Prime Minister of Israel (and Milwaukee native) Golda Meir put it, "I believe in the Jewish people, and the Jewish people believe in God."

And not that button-slogans are a good basis for theological/spiritual positions, but I once owned a button that said "Militant Agnostic: I don't know, and you don't, either!" I'm also a First Amendment absolutist (see this for my take on the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment): as a friend of mine once said, it's hard to separate religious beliefs from everything else.

How's that?

YHOS,
Mitch

The Squidbag wrote:
Subject: People of Faith and Otherwise
> ...which I think is mostly a matter of degree.
>
> Hello, people who semi-regularly read my blog. I am
> doing a quick and dirty little survey, which will seem
> weird to some of you, but I would appreciate an
> answer, even if it's an "I decline to answer."
>
> If you would, please favor me with a response to the
> question, "How would you define yourself, limited to
> the simplest explanation possible, spiritually?"
>
> I am getting accused in emails of having an
> "atheistic" readership, and while I think that's maybe
> three of you, I think the rest are other things. I
> would like to know what the numbers actually are. So,
> quick as you can manage, please let me know.
>
> I will be doing an entry about this, making a point,
> but I will not connect anyone's responses to their
> names, and I may not even make a list, unless I can
> make it interesting.
>
> Hope all of you are well.
>
> Thanks,
>
> G.
>
>