This week's portion, Re'eh, cautions against investigating the practices of pagan religions:
"...Do not inquire about their gods, saying, 'How did those nations worship their gods? I too will follow those practices'" (Deut. 12:30). The fear, of course, is that intellectual inquiry, even if well-meaning, for instance, for the pursuit of wisdom and knowledge, will nevertheless lead to seduction by foreigners into Gentile ways... and ultimately, to the betrayal of the God of the Hebrews.
In his commentary to this passage, Plaut (1981 edition, p. 1425) has noted: "This intellectual isolation led in time to a concept of non-Israelite and, later, non-Jewish religions that was not always in consonance with the facts.... In the history of nations such protectionism has often been the policy of religious as well as political orthodoxies. Thus, the Inquisition proscribed certain books as dangerous to the Catholic faith...."
"Liberal Jews," Plaut continues, "... take a different view: they consider the biblical law as no longer applicable in the modern context. They affirm the independence of the human spirit and the freedom of intellectual inquiry. To be sure, unlimited inquiry carries certain risks, but these are worth the price, for the freedom of knowledge is, for liberals, a requisite for a fully free human existence."
Friends: I affirm these powerful words and underscore their importance for our intellectual and spiritual endeavor in this online forum.
Westchester Reform Temple is a community of 1,200 households comprised principally of Jews and a goodly number of Gentiles who have joined themselves to the mission of the Jewish People through bonds of family, friendship, and shared faith. As a congregation, we take special pride in our pursuit of intellectual inquiry and the Reform Jewish outlook that Faith and Reason must go hand-in-hand.
As a Reform Jewish faith community, we categorically reject the parochial and even, at times, xenophobic outlook of some our ancestors and some of our present-day co-religionists who, like the authors of this part of Deuteronomy, have felt compelled to close their eyes, ears, hearts and minds to people of other religious traditions.
As a dramatic example: what has transpired on our blog in recent days goes far beyond the rejection of intellectual inquiry. In recent days, comments to this blog have crossed a line to what can only be called hate speech. The original intent of this blog--to teach, study, and explore Torah and to engage in intellectual inquiry--has been sullied by comments demeaning Gentiles, non-Orthodox Jews, interfaith families, and--most egregiously--Muslims. Our blog, intended to be safe place for all, has become a hostile environment which does not reflect the values of our congregational community.
I have, therefore, pulled a few of the most offensive recent comments from the blog because I believe that they can serve only to distance us from intellectual inquiry and the study of Torah and seduce us into a lowbrow volley of brickbats, vituperation, and ugly misrepresentations of Muslims and Arabs.
Let me be perfectly clear (because the irony of censoring comments in the context of remarks about open inquiry is not lost on me!): In my view, there is nothing more idolatrous than using the sacred words of Torah to espouse or justify bigotry, and it will not be tolerated here.
Further: during the coming weeks and months, the purposes and implementation of our blog will be comprehensively evaluated. To that end, your feedback about the following questions is warmly invited:
- What do we hope to achieve here? What should be the goals and aspirations of our blog?
- Who should be writing the weekly comments? We now have a robust clergy team of three rabbis and two cantors at WRT; we also have an exceptionally intellectually robust congregation and one possible future model for our blog envisions this online forum as an opportunity for lay members of the congregation to teach and learn. We also have an opportunity to welcome "guest bloggers" to the site, for instance, WRT students studying abroad in Israel or in rabbinical school who could use this platform to share their views and their own special Torah.
- When should the blog be updated? Early in the week, when we can engage Parashat Ha-Shavua in anticipation of the coming Shabbat? Or close to Shabbat itself, when the Friday evening speaker's remarks can be published?
I welcome your comments, and I offer these in the spirit of open inquiry and rejection of that which our community deems offensive and counter-productive.
Rav Berachot -- with many blessings,
Jonathan
OK, Rabbi Blake, here is my strawman—one WRT member’s thoughts:
ReplyDelete1. Goals of our WRT Torah study blog:
•Provide WRT members with the opportunity to study Torah in an environment that respects multiple approaches to our texts—traditional rabbinic, spiritual, historical critical, etc.—and in which we are respectful of ourselves.
•Provide those who actively study Torah at WRT—i.e., Torah Study Group, Bible Study Group, Sharing Shabbat parents, Adult Enrichment participants, and perhaps even some WRT high school students—with the opportunity to engage in study outside the bricks & mortar Shabbat morning and other gatherings. Btw, this definitely should not be viewed as an offshoot of just the Shabbat morning Torah Study Group. Consult our kids at college. You will find that professors often use blogs as tools for homework assignments. Having said that, I am less likely to critique a fellow member’s child on the blog, no matter how erudite, than the member him/herself.
•Provide those who are new to the study of Torah with a no barrier to entry way to engage with Torah around busy personal and professional schedules. You never know. This could serve as a feeder to our in-person study communities.
External participants, across religions and Jewish denominations, are welcomed…AS LONG AS THEY ARE RESPECTFUL…this is after all a blog to promote the study of Torah amongst the members of WRT.
2.Who should be writing the weekly comments?
•Clergy. Clergy in training could do so under the supervision and editorial review of WRT clergy. I imagine unpaid part-time internships allowing HUC-JIR students to have WRT on their resumes in a meaningful way might work well, providing WRT clergy with leverage. I could see using 2 rabbinical students for a few hours a week each. Of course, guests of our clergy are also welcome, subject to clergy oversight.
•I have followed the WRT Torah Study Blog since inception. For me, the learning is always greatest when viewing Rabbi Blake’s short videos which typically share a meaningful insight and pose 2 or 3 relevant questions to the parasha of the week. I get far less out of a polished Dvar Torah, regardless of who writes it. The former gets the audience to react to insightful questions. We are forced to think, read the text, maybe even consult commentary—in a nutshell, study. The latter becomes a more strictured process of liking or disagreeing with the thesis of the darshan(it). With the former, there is no need to disagree; one need only read the text, think and state a point of view. All perspectives are fair game, although there is nothing wrong with respectful debate. With the latter, presumably more polished logic, one needs to do a fair bit of work before one can responsibly comment. That extra bit of “work” could inhibit engagement or participation. Good sermons teach with a message. Posing questions teaches by getting us to study. It’s a subtle distinction—one preaches; the other stimulates study and inquiry.
3.When should the blog be updated?
•On Sunday (Monday latest), for the parasha of the week. Getting us to think about the text before meeting is an excellent way to raise the bar of our in-person discussions. Obviously, this needs to be done in a manner which is welcoming to those amongst us who do not use blogs or even computers. We also need to activate our various study communities on the blog.
•Moreover, this way we are not spending the week studying last week’s parasha.
•If we favor the short video, perhaps accompanied by the 2-3 questions in writing, then we don’t need to worry about last minute publication deadlines of a bima-ready Dvar Torah.
DavidS
Rabbi Blake, et al:
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of an open forum to discuss the upcoming or just past Torah portion. Sometimes I have thoughts as I read a portion in advance. Sometimes there's something I learn or heard at Torah Study on which I want to comment. I'd also be happy to share ideas inspired by the comments of others.
Thus: I welcome the forum and hope it will grow. Given my time constraints and irregular use of home computer, I can fall days or weeks behind.
I completely fail to understand why anyone would feel the need to insult or threaten anyone else. Apparently the promise of anonymity brings out nastiness and unspeakable behavior in some people. Clearly unacceptable, so ground rules as to civil behavior strike me as an appropriate limitation and well within Jewish community norms.
So:
1 - forum for open discussion and exchange of ideas based on Torah, Jewish text, tradition, and clever thought. Spontaneity encouraged.
2 - I'd love to hear from clergy and thoughtful lay people. In-person Torah study never ceases to impress me with the range and inspiration of our participants!
3 - Early in the week would be nice, as I do often read these well after the fact it would be a treat to be ahead of the game once in a while.
Michele
Good morning, Namaste, Boker Tov,
ReplyDeleteComing from an interfaith family as categorized by the filtering of our religious affiliation, yet not a true full representation of how we observed, practiced or chose to live our lives, this post is bouncing in my mind and body. Now a true Reform Jewish family doing the same: observe, practice and live, is a true description of us. Does this mean that we are more accepted? Or does this mean that you are more accepting?
It means that being a Reform Jew changes how I chose to live my life by practice, by learning, by reconciling differences.
Yes, I like this blog. It helps find voice, one not often heard with confidence, with knowledge, with conviction, and still with questions.
I like the blog posted by a clergy person or one to be. It generally has proven to come from a deep place of knowledge, of purpose, of direction even if I do not know any of these at the first read or the 18th read. It promotes thought, it promotes practice, it promotes learning. It promotes positive living.
I like to be able to separate the constant doing and be. If that means continuing this week's discussion of Torah or last week's discussion of Torah, either direction is good. At least it is a direction to a good place.
A safe place should protect you, embrace you, and allow you to be yourself. How it promotes life, your life in a postive manner, spiritually, mentally, and physically is a being whole. This should be respected even if we need to agree that we disagree on some things especially when the difficult reality may be more visible in the eyes, mind or heart of the different viewer.
Like the header quote reads... a river flows from Eden to water the garden...the blog postings should feed us as individuals choosing to be together as Reform Jews being nourished to grow.
Donna/Jaira
Rebecca J. asks Rabbi Blake how he ever got to the conclusion that the bible/testament had many authors and that deuteronomy also had numerous authors for he wrote "authors of this part of Deuteronomy"?
ReplyDeleteRebecca J, not to take anything away from Rabbi Blake, but this is a widely accepted understanding by most scholars, with the notable exception of Orthodox Jews and fundamentalist Christians, for whom this may be a matter of faith. Let me excerpt for you 2 paragraphs from p.734 of the Encyclopedia Judaica:
ReplyDelete"Jews traditionally viewed the Torah as a unified document, revealed by God to Moses. The Torah itself does not say this; but Deuteronomy 31:9, 24–26 report that Moses writes "this torah" on a scroll, and this was taken to mean that the full Pentateuch had been recorded by Moses. The account of the first time that the Torah of Moses was read publicly also was taken to mean that, on the death of Moses, the whole of the Pentateuch was complete, having been divinely revealed (Ezra 3:2; 7:6; Neh. 1:7–9; 8:1, 14; 9:14; 10:30; 13:1). Rabbinic commentators through the centuries noted problems in the text that raised questions about Mosaic authorship, but through interpretation and elaboration they sought to reconcile the contradictions, reacting strongly against those who denied the unity of the Five Books. As a fundamental principle of Jewish faith, Maimonides stated that "the whole of the Torah found in our hands this day is the Torah that was handed down by Moses and that is all of divine origin" (commentary to Sanh. 10 (11):1).
From the 11th to the 21st centuries, however, scholars have been expressing doubts about Mosaic authorship. At present, except for Orthodox Jews and fundamentalist Christians who believe in Mosaic authorship as a matter of faith, no scholar on earth holds that Moses – or any one person – was the recorder of the Torah. This is not an issue of divine versus human composition. It has nothing to do with whether the Torah was dictated, revealed, or inspired by God. It rather concerns the persons who wrote it down: who they were, and when they lived. Scholars still debate the number of authors and when they wrote the texts, but the evidence rules out a single author. What made the evidence so compelling was the convergence of numerous independent lines of evidence, several of which remain unchallenged."
Source Citation (MLA 7th Edition)
Friedman, Richard Elliott, Shawna Dolansky Overton, and Louis Isaac Rabinowitz. "Pentateuch." Encyclopaedia Judaica. Ed. Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik. 2nd ed. Vol. 15. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007. 730-753. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 27 Aug. 2012.
Also, this may be of interest:
http://www.cs.umd.edu/~mvz/bible/dev-doc-hyp.pdf
DavidS
Rebecca J. asks, "Isn't Maimonides good enough to believe him?" He lived around the 11th century. He was a sage, as his books attest to, and a medical doctor to two sultans. Is he not enough of a scholar to take at his word? Why should we detract from "faith", and the faith of those who preceded him by many centuries? Did they suck out the account of the desert story from their thumbs? Rebecca J. further asks, "Is faith so bad that we should trash it? Does faith degrade us?" Orthodox Jews and Christians have been around a lot longer and they have no problems with the account of the desert story. It's remarkable that the story of the Jews has became the basis of Christianity and Islam, when they could just as well have ignored it. Why didn't they ignore it? Was is too real to ignore it back then, like today it would be too real to deny the holocaust.
ReplyDeleteRebeccaJ, you have lots of good questions. Don't look to me or anyone else on the Internet for the answers. I'm just a regular guy who loves to study Torah. Look inside your heart and mind, seek counsel from your respected and trusted teachers, and continue your study.
DeleteAs for me, I have faith in God. I do not have faith in Maimonides/Rambam. I respect Rambam as a greater teacher than I will ever be. But, I read his teachings critically--those that I am able to understand--just as I read everything else critically. God endowed us with many abilities. When I cross a NYC avenue, I look carefully left and right several times before I venture forward, despite my faith in God…and despite what the traffic signal says… :)
Reform Judaism can be a happy marriage between faith and reason. They are not at odds with each other as many would have us believe. But, Reform Judaism does not have a monopoly on this.
In Judaism, as with Christianity, tribalism is alive and well. Sometimes it is hard to keep up with all of the different denominations, sects and factions. Sometimes they are born out of real differences in actual beliefs; at other times they seem more driven by our preference for different rituals or cultural practices. But, to me there are just Jews, Christians and Muslims. Interestingly, Jews, Christians, and Muslims all pray to a single God--I would maintain, the same God. A Reform Jew is no more a Jew than an Orthodox Jew, even though Orthodox Judaism came into being AFTER Reform Judaism. If that comes as a surprise to you, pick up a book on Jewish history. Both of these are relatively recent post-Enlightenment traditions. The Israelite religion is biblical in age. We read of it in the Torah in the context of a polytheistic world. It is my understanding that Judaism developed more or less in parallel with Christianity at the beginning of what we know as the Common Era (CE). With the Roman destruction of the Temple, the religion/People needed to transform itself and rely on rabbis (think Pharisees) and extant communal synagogues. Judaism, as we know it today, or rabbinic Judaism, has its roots in our ancient Israelite religion. Study and prayer supplanted animal sacrifices and Temple rites. As with all religions which have endured over the centuries, it has had to cleverly and gently adapt to the times.
I infer from your questions that you would like this Torah Study blog to focus on more general matters of faith and religion, not necessarily tied to our communal study of the weekly parashah. I guess we will both find out where Rabbi Blake chooses to take this. For now, I will turn to Ki Teitzei, Deu 21:10–25:19.
Be well, RebeccaJ.
DavidS
Rebecca J. asks David - Come on David! Where do you get off claiming Reform Judaism came first? Just what are you reading (or taking)? Being inquisitive is a great thing. But wild assertions can not be part of the staples I eat. Have you read Josephus? Is he a greater teacher than you and you reject him too? Where do you want to get your history from then, pray tell. It's hard to chat with someone who make wild assertions straight out of left field.
DeleteRebecca J, the beauty of being a student of Torah and of other disciplines is that there is always more to learn.
ReplyDeleteHere is an excerpt from the Encyclopedia Judaica. On Jewish subjects, it is an excellent compilation of scholarly information for the lay and clergy publics. You will find a copy of the multivolume set in our synagogue's library.
"...The term 'Orthodoxy' first appeared in respect to Judaism in 1795, and became widely used from the beginning of the 19th century in contradistinction to the Reform movement in Judaism. In later times other terms, such as 'Torah-true', became popular. Yet, in general, Orthodox came to designate those who accept as divinely inspired the totality of the historical religion of the Jewish people as it is recorded in the Written and Oral Laws and codified in the Shulḥan Arukh and its commentaries until recent times, and as it is observed in practice according to the teachings and unchanging principles of the halakhah. Orthodoxy as a well-defined and separate phenomenon within Jewry crystallized in response to the challenge of the changes which occurred in Jewish society in Western and Central Europe in the first half of the 19th century: Reform, the Haskalah, and trends toward secularization. Those who opposed change and innovation felt it necessary to emphasize their stand as guardians of the Torah and its commandments under altered conditions and to find ways to safeguard their particular way of life."
Source Citation:
Katzburg, Nathaniel, Walter S. Wurzburger, and Emanuel Rackman. "Orthodoxy." Encyclopaedia Judaica. Ed. Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik. 2nd ed. Vol. 15. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007. 493-500.
Rebecca J, I suggest before you make your attacks personal, you do a little homework first, so you don't embarrass yourself. Your beliefs are your own. But, the history of our people is shared and very well documented. Not that we should rely on Wikipedia when we have access to far better sources, but, feel free to read up on Rabbis Ettlinger, Hirsch and Hildesheimer.
May you learn how to disagree with others without being disagreeable...
Have a happy and sweet New Year,
DavidS
Rebecca J replies to DavidS. Your quote shows that Orthodoxy came in reaction to Reform, that sprung up at the end of the 18th century. Until then every Jew was "orthodox" without needing to be labelled such. Until then it was a common given. So Rebecca's question to DavidS stands, only now more potently, "Where did you get that wild assertion?".
ReplyDeleteRebbeca J, while some of us apparently are still slogging through the Wilderness hoping for the day when God grants us "lev lada'at, ve'einayim lir'ot, ve'oznayim lishmo'a," the rest have happily crossed into the Promised Land to parashat hashavua, Ki Tavo. You are welcome to join us at 9am on Shabbat in our synagogue. Otherwise, I would imagine the principal focus of inquiry on this particular webpage should be around Rabbi Blake's specific questions listed above. Be well, DavidS
ReplyDeleteRebbeca notes: A new week, a fresh look, new baggage. Hope my friend DavidS takes his intellectual baggage more seriously, however, because man is more than, I hope, just a bundle of intellectual whims, here one day, gone on the next. Otherwise - why discuss anything, whatever the week?
ReplyDeleteIn hopes of continuing to look inside as well as outside, considering sincerity, authenticity, bridges, roads, signs, resources, training, the capacity of the human body, awareness of space, and being with people who move you as an individual to all the positive bests within these categories has me pondering today. It truly can be a time of year to take all that was typed above and think about it again. Shall we stay at this roadblock, go around it, maybe just get passed it. Can we get to a healthy discussion about Torah regardless of perspective and appreciate the differences we each may have as we learn? As we live? As we choose to be our best selves? It is just that time of year....the Torah scrolls changed their coverings...the letters inside are there....can we allow ourselves to do they same? Take the moments defined at this time to see, to hear and to choose who, what, when and where we are to be with one another. Looking forward to unpacking, weeding, and picking some good choices that will shape, pave while singing a tune along the way. May your year ahead have many moments of sweet where ever it is found.
ReplyDelete-donna/jaira
donna, leave poetry to experts.
ReplyDeleteI would HIGHLY caution ye from investigating YOUR OWN religion.
ReplyDelete