The Jewish Values Online website also offers a blog which presents comments on various topics within Judaism and the Jewish world. See http://www.jewishvaluesonline.org/jvoblog/index?aid=0. Rabbi Hecht is also a blogger on this blog.
His latest post
Why Be Jewish?
Defining the Question
is now available at http://jewishvaluescenter.org/jvoblog/Why-Be-Jewish
A link is also up on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/JewishValuesOnline/
While comments are most welcome at both these sites, as we also would like to develop a discussion on this topic here at Nishmablog, we also present the article below
* * * * *
Why be Jewish? It seems to be a simple,
straightforward question, often employed to begin a presentation on the
accolades and benefits in choosing to be a Jew. The problem is, in the
vast majority of cases, this question, understood in this manner, is
actually inappropriate and problematic. While there are, indeed, some
‘Jews by choice’ -- that is, people who have chosen to become Jews (i.e.
gerim [generally translated as converts]) – the status of being a Jew, in the vast majority of cases, is imposed on a person at birth. The natural child of a female Jew is, pursuant to Halacha
[Jewish Law], by definition, a Jew. You cannot, thus, really ask such a
person ‘why be Jewish’ – that is, why he/she should choose to be a Jew –
because, by definition, he/she simply is. The question, however, is
still being constantly posed and in a vast array of circumstances. To
make some sense of this, we must in turn ask: what exactly is one really
asking with this question?
Of course, we could try to say that when such a
question is posed, it is really solely intended for the convert – the
Jew by choice – specifically asking these individuals why they chose to
become Jews. The circumstances in which we see this question raised,
though, obviously point to a much broader context; we find it directed
at all Jews. The reality is that this question is not really about our
simple identity as a Jew but about the expression of our identity as a
Jew, our Jewishness. There has always been an associated distinctive
system (or systems) of thought and behaviour which we may term
Jewishness that was connected to the natural identity, from birth, of a
Jew. What this question is thus really asking is why one chooses to
integrate this Jewishness into one’s life. Just being a Jew does not
necessarily mean that one will reflect Jewishness in one’s life. Active
Jewishness has to be chosen; thus, the question: why be Jewish?
It was actually this Jewishness which motivated the
‘Jew by choice’ to become a Jew. It was the desire to connect to
Jewishness that led this person to adopt the very identity of being a
Jew. In first wishing to incorporate Jewishness in his/her life, this
person then chose to become a Jew. Concerning one born a Jew, what we
are now actually identifying is that this process is precisely the
opposite. Being born a Jew does not necessarily result in a person
adopting Jewishness. There is the status identity of being a Jew and
then there is Jewishness. With the question ‘why be Jewish’, we are thus
not actually investigating why one is a Jew but, rather, we are
beginning a discussion of Jewishness. You may be a Jew but now why be
Jewish – why choose to integrate Jewishness into your life?
On a certain level, this distinction between the
identity of a Jew and the concept of Jewishness is already acknowledged
within the general Jewish community. For example, it was basically
accepted that Cardinal Lustiger, the Archbishop of Paris, was clearly,
by the standards of Halacha, a Jew. but that his lifestyle in
no way reflected Jewishness. His lack of Jewishness, however, did not
make him no longer a Jew. Pursuant to Halacha, in fact, it
would be wrong to say he was no longer a Jew. It would be more correct
to state, rather, that he was a Jew who lived a life that did not
reflect Jewishness. The problem in our world today, though, is that this
distinction is no longer so clear. The definition of Jew and Jewishness
is, in a certain way, becoming more and more integrated. In one way,
this leads to some declaring that if one’s being does not reflect
Jewishness (as they define it), that person is not a Jew. In the extreme
opposite manner, though, others seem to maintain that once you call
yourself a Jew, you are almost inherently defined as reflecting
Jewishness. The resultant effect is, actually, extreme confusion about
identity and Jewishness.
The recent case of the Messianic Rabbi
who spoke at a rally in Michigan that followed the recent, tragic
shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh, may serve as an illustration of
this problem. It was argued that he was clearly not a representative of
the Jewish People (let alone a leader) as he, simply, was not a Jew.
This was then met with the response that this argument was incorrect for
he clearly was, from birth. The more correct argument, of course, was
that, just like Cardinal Lustiger, his lifestyle in no way reflects
Jewishness and it is for that reason that he could not be presented as a
representative of the Jewish People. The only thing is that, unlike the
Cardinal, this individual was contending that he was reflecting
Jewishness, at least as he defines it. Murmurings then began to arise
which reflected the challenge of a more problematic broader issue. So what’s the problem? That’s the way he defines his Jewishness. Isn’t the nature of one’s Jewishness essentially personal and how one defines it for oneself? If it is not, how, then, do we define it?
This issue actually goes beyond this Messianic Rabbi and
extends, for example, to the existence of variant organizations today
which define themselves as Jewish – even in their name – although they
only draw the ire of the general Jewish community. And if Jewishness is
solely a personal decision, why can’t they indeed describe themselves as
such? Of course, the reality is that Jewishness, actually, reflects a
group definition; it defines a certain association with others. As such,
it cannot be totally personal – it, by definition, describes a certain
connection others. But then, what really is the nature of this
connection to others?
In a certain way, people want the definition of Jewishness to be
essentially personal for it thereby allows for broader flexibility in
how one may define it for oneself. The nature of the group definition,
though, has, thereby,suffered. We may, in fact, have wanted to focus on
the more objective definition of a Jew – by birth – because it allowed
for the possibility of broader personal definitions of Jewishness. It
may thus be, though, that those who founded the above noted
organizations, which call themselves Jewish although at odds with the
general Jewish community, felt that they could do so because they were
born Jews. As noted above, however, the question of ‘who is a Jew’ and
the definition of Jewishness are not one and the same. Furthermore, as
Jewishness reflects the nature of a group with whom I wish to be
involved, there are simply problems when we believe this definition to
solely be personal. Yet, how do we actually arrive at an honest group
definition that is not simply an attempt to impose one’s personal
definition on everyone? What are the yardsticks to be applied in such a
process?
Why be Jewish? First, we have to arrive at some understanding of
what Jewishness is. My hope is to continue this study and investigation
next time. In the meantime, please comment; I look forward to your
thoughts on the matter.
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