Today I had planned to visit the Reconstructionist Temple again, having been invited by the Rabbi to visit on a day she was leading services. When the event at The Little Jewess's school got cancelled for safety reasons, I decided it wasn't worth it to go out in the snow.
Next week I'm attending a Reform Shabbaton. I paid for this one, so chances are good that I'll actually go. Maybe they'll teach me something that brings this all into focus. In the meantime, I joined that Humanist group. There's no reason I can't be a Reform Jew AND a Humanist, right? So I'll try that for a little while and see what happens.
In the meantime, I can enjoy a snowy day with my family. Mr. Jewess has pancake plans and The Little Jewess has sledding plans. That's a day to be thankful for.
Showing posts with label Reconstructionist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reconstructionist. Show all posts
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Meetings 2 and 3: Reform and Reconstructionist
I'm actually not going to go into my meeting with the Reform Rabbi for several reasons the main one being that we mostly talked about our own congregation and my feelings about it. That's private.
However, I had a very interesting meeting with the local Reconstructionist Rabbi that I'm happy to blog about. Plus, I've got to get busy because I just scheduled a meeting with the Humanist Rabbi for THIS AFTERNOON so I've got to get done with the background info before my journey takes another turn.
I learned a lot about Reconstructionism, namely that:
1) Reconstructionists reject the notion of "Chosenness." I like that. If I'm a Humanist, how can I say that some people are chosen by God as special? Reconstructionists, if I understand correctly, believe that we, as Jews, have chosen special responsibilities (mitzvoth, or commandments) toward God.
2) They believe that the scriptures were written by people. This is essential to me for two reasons. First, since I no longer believe in God, it's hard to embrace the whole given-by-God thing. And second, the most important thing to me about religion is being able to question the text. It's what I love to do and it's also where I think the wisdom in our heritage lies. (More on that later.) My favorite quote from the founder of Reconstructionism, Mordechai Kaplan is, "Tradition gets a vote, not a veto." That sounds sensible to me.
3) On the vote, not a veto score, Reconstructionists study and discuss when they want to make change. The basic idea (again, as I understand it--I'm hardly an expert) is that decisions about religious practice can't be made in a vacuum. If you're part of a religious community, then those decisions should be made with the community. So Reconstructionists go through a process where they discuss things like "What does prayer mean?" They hear all the voices in the congregation, and they study the voices of the past through scripture and commentary. Then they hopefully come to a consensus about what to do in their community.
This all appeals to me. I like the deep questioning, and the basic tenets seem to align with my beliefs (as all the Rabbis kept telling me they would.) However, the Reconstructionist congregation near me is tiny. Really tiny. I went to a service and there were about 15 people there. Three of them were with me. This has pluses and minuses for my purposes. It's not the vibrant community I'm looking for, but could it be?
One thing that's very appealing about this congregation is that because they can only afford to have the Rabbi lead services once a month, they have lay leaders who lead the rest of the time. I could be trained as a lay leader and do pretty much whatever I want (within reason, of course, but since the whole studying/questioning thing is right up my alley, whatever I want should fit in just fine.) And if I could attract a significant number of Humanistic Jews to the congregation, we could be our own community-within-a-community.
I promised more about the wisdom of Jewish tradition. What I think is great about Judaism is that there has never really been one text. Sure, there's the Torah, but even that contradicts itself. And in addition to the Torah, we've always had priests, rabbis, Writings, Prophets, and the Talmud. Jews are supposed to study in chevrutah--with a partner. So while we hold certain texts as sacred, and some believe they come directly from God, there has never been a notion that one human can understand these texts perfectly. We've always argued about them. And there are reams and reams of paper, parchment, and memory recording these arguments. We even record the arguments of the people who lose. And we still revere these people as wise, even when the tradition turns away from their arguments. Jews have always had a living relationship with the text.
What's even better about Progressive Jews is that we can choose what do do with this information. When we study, we can decide whether the passage we're studying still has relevance or is out of date. Or if it's MORE relevant than it used to be, like when a student said that this quote:
“You shall not insult the deaf, or place a stumbling block before the blind.”
Leviticus: 19:14
shows us that we shouldn't bully people on the internet. Even if the person doesn't know it's you, it still hurts their feelings. See? Religion is good when it leads to that! But religion is bad when it causes people to oppress gay people and throw stones at little girls on their way to school. Progressive Jews get to decide what we stand for, and we can apply common sense and modern values to what we read. We can even learn from science that while homosexual behavior might be unnatural for me, because I'm straight, it's very natural if you're gay. And if you love someone and want to make a family with that person, you should have the legal protection of marriage. Sure, the people who wrote the Torah thought differently, but they were people recording the wisdom of their time. Some of it is still wise. Some of it seems really foolish now.
It's wise to study history, to feel connected to a people with a long story, and to learn from the past. It's foolish to live in the past and to ignore the present.
However, I had a very interesting meeting with the local Reconstructionist Rabbi that I'm happy to blog about. Plus, I've got to get busy because I just scheduled a meeting with the Humanist Rabbi for THIS AFTERNOON so I've got to get done with the background info before my journey takes another turn.
I learned a lot about Reconstructionism, namely that:
1) Reconstructionists reject the notion of "Chosenness." I like that. If I'm a Humanist, how can I say that some people are chosen by God as special? Reconstructionists, if I understand correctly, believe that we, as Jews, have chosen special responsibilities (mitzvoth, or commandments) toward God.
2) They believe that the scriptures were written by people. This is essential to me for two reasons. First, since I no longer believe in God, it's hard to embrace the whole given-by-God thing. And second, the most important thing to me about religion is being able to question the text. It's what I love to do and it's also where I think the wisdom in our heritage lies. (More on that later.) My favorite quote from the founder of Reconstructionism, Mordechai Kaplan is, "Tradition gets a vote, not a veto." That sounds sensible to me.
3) On the vote, not a veto score, Reconstructionists study and discuss when they want to make change. The basic idea (again, as I understand it--I'm hardly an expert) is that decisions about religious practice can't be made in a vacuum. If you're part of a religious community, then those decisions should be made with the community. So Reconstructionists go through a process where they discuss things like "What does prayer mean?" They hear all the voices in the congregation, and they study the voices of the past through scripture and commentary. Then they hopefully come to a consensus about what to do in their community.
This all appeals to me. I like the deep questioning, and the basic tenets seem to align with my beliefs (as all the Rabbis kept telling me they would.) However, the Reconstructionist congregation near me is tiny. Really tiny. I went to a service and there were about 15 people there. Three of them were with me. This has pluses and minuses for my purposes. It's not the vibrant community I'm looking for, but could it be?
One thing that's very appealing about this congregation is that because they can only afford to have the Rabbi lead services once a month, they have lay leaders who lead the rest of the time. I could be trained as a lay leader and do pretty much whatever I want (within reason, of course, but since the whole studying/questioning thing is right up my alley, whatever I want should fit in just fine.) And if I could attract a significant number of Humanistic Jews to the congregation, we could be our own community-within-a-community.
I promised more about the wisdom of Jewish tradition. What I think is great about Judaism is that there has never really been one text. Sure, there's the Torah, but even that contradicts itself. And in addition to the Torah, we've always had priests, rabbis, Writings, Prophets, and the Talmud. Jews are supposed to study in chevrutah--with a partner. So while we hold certain texts as sacred, and some believe they come directly from God, there has never been a notion that one human can understand these texts perfectly. We've always argued about them. And there are reams and reams of paper, parchment, and memory recording these arguments. We even record the arguments of the people who lose. And we still revere these people as wise, even when the tradition turns away from their arguments. Jews have always had a living relationship with the text.
What's even better about Progressive Jews is that we can choose what do do with this information. When we study, we can decide whether the passage we're studying still has relevance or is out of date. Or if it's MORE relevant than it used to be, like when a student said that this quote:
“You shall not insult the deaf, or place a stumbling block before the blind.”
Leviticus: 19:14
shows us that we shouldn't bully people on the internet. Even if the person doesn't know it's you, it still hurts their feelings. See? Religion is good when it leads to that! But religion is bad when it causes people to oppress gay people and throw stones at little girls on their way to school. Progressive Jews get to decide what we stand for, and we can apply common sense and modern values to what we read. We can even learn from science that while homosexual behavior might be unnatural for me, because I'm straight, it's very natural if you're gay. And if you love someone and want to make a family with that person, you should have the legal protection of marriage. Sure, the people who wrote the Torah thought differently, but they were people recording the wisdom of their time. Some of it is still wise. Some of it seems really foolish now.
It's wise to study history, to feel connected to a people with a long story, and to learn from the past. It's foolish to live in the past and to ignore the present.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Meeting #1: Unaffiliated Rabbi
The first Rabbi I talked to runs an unaffiliated, progressive congregation that she founded herself. I thought she'd be a great person to talk to for a few reasons:
1) She's very smart. I've known her for years, and she's always made me think deeply about things. So I knew she'd help me clarify my thinking.
2) She's progressive and thoughtful about Judaism, but she definitely believes in God. See, I know that part of what's going on here is that the Religious Right (and not just the Christians) have taken over what it means to be religious. Of course that's not literally true, but in the media it's become that way. The Religious people always seem to be fighting for "Intelligent Design" or against abortion or gay marriage, and the Progressives, the people on the side of Science and Reason (i.e. the ones I agree with) always seem to be atheists. So I thought that talking to this Rabbi whom I know to be both Progressive and deeply religious would help me determine whether this Humanist bent of mine is permanent or just a reaction to certain religious people who are doing things I don't like.
3) She has founded a congregation. A great one. One where everyone has a voice and the children grow up thinking seriously about Judaism.
So here's what I took from the meeting:
This Rabbi thinks I should definitely go for it, reach out to people and try to found a congregation. She told me about how her own congregation began and how to do basic outreach, and we talked about some different funding and participation models. She thinks I would make a great Humanistic Rabbi.
But we also talked about some other models. She encouraged me to talk to my own Rabbi (more about that meeting in another post) and to check out Reconstructionism. Many of my ideas about using a secular analysis of scripture and other Jewish texts to create ritual and community events that have deep Jewish meaning are consistent with the philosophies of Reconstructionism. And she also encouraged me to reach out to other secularists in the area, be it Ethical Culture, Workman's Circle or the Jewish Humanists in the city.
And best of all, I'm still in touch with her via e-mail so I get feedback from her as I continue my journey.
1) She's very smart. I've known her for years, and she's always made me think deeply about things. So I knew she'd help me clarify my thinking.
2) She's progressive and thoughtful about Judaism, but she definitely believes in God. See, I know that part of what's going on here is that the Religious Right (and not just the Christians) have taken over what it means to be religious. Of course that's not literally true, but in the media it's become that way. The Religious people always seem to be fighting for "Intelligent Design" or against abortion or gay marriage, and the Progressives, the people on the side of Science and Reason (i.e. the ones I agree with) always seem to be atheists. So I thought that talking to this Rabbi whom I know to be both Progressive and deeply religious would help me determine whether this Humanist bent of mine is permanent or just a reaction to certain religious people who are doing things I don't like.
3) She has founded a congregation. A great one. One where everyone has a voice and the children grow up thinking seriously about Judaism.
So here's what I took from the meeting:
This Rabbi thinks I should definitely go for it, reach out to people and try to found a congregation. She told me about how her own congregation began and how to do basic outreach, and we talked about some different funding and participation models. She thinks I would make a great Humanistic Rabbi.
But we also talked about some other models. She encouraged me to talk to my own Rabbi (more about that meeting in another post) and to check out Reconstructionism. Many of my ideas about using a secular analysis of scripture and other Jewish texts to create ritual and community events that have deep Jewish meaning are consistent with the philosophies of Reconstructionism. And she also encouraged me to reach out to other secularists in the area, be it Ethical Culture, Workman's Circle or the Jewish Humanists in the city.
And best of all, I'm still in touch with her via e-mail so I get feedback from her as I continue my journey.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
So Far
It's been about two months since I discovered Humanism. I'm not even sure how it happened. I think it had to do with podcasts. I started listening to scientific podcasts and all my favorite scientists (like Neil DeGrasse Tyson) seem to be Humanists. So I decided to check it out, and it was on The Humanist Hour that I first heard about Humanistic Judaism.
When I found out that a) there was a positive term for those who believe that people are what change the world, not God, and b) I could be a Humanist and still be Jewish, I felt like I had finally found what I'd always been looking for.
Only one problem: there aren't any of them here.
I scoured the internet. I wrote to the Humanistic Jews (who are very friendly, by the way.) I persuaded Mr. Jewess to help me found a congregation. And then I talked to my mother.
My mother is a wise woman, but she likes her mysticism. She likes a good, theatrical religion with lots of miracles in it. So she isn't a fan of my new bent. But she did have good advice, which was to talk to all the Rabbis I can find.
So far, I talked to my Reform Rabbi, to my former Rabbi who runs an unaffiliated congregation, and to the local Reconstructionist Rabbi. I'll write a post about each conversation over the next few days.
My next plans are to reach out to a Humanist Rabbi in New York City. That's close enough to go for a meeting or two, but not close enough for us to join. I've also found some Humanists who meet once a month nearby, so I'm going to check them out. And I'm still wondering if I can find a role within Reform Judaism that will satisfy what I'm looking for.
Already it's an interesting journey, and I thought bringing it to the internet might help me find some other people in the same boat, or someone who has some great advice, or people with more questions to send me in more interesting directions. Who knows?
When I found out that a) there was a positive term for those who believe that people are what change the world, not God, and b) I could be a Humanist and still be Jewish, I felt like I had finally found what I'd always been looking for.
Only one problem: there aren't any of them here.
I scoured the internet. I wrote to the Humanistic Jews (who are very friendly, by the way.) I persuaded Mr. Jewess to help me found a congregation. And then I talked to my mother.
My mother is a wise woman, but she likes her mysticism. She likes a good, theatrical religion with lots of miracles in it. So she isn't a fan of my new bent. But she did have good advice, which was to talk to all the Rabbis I can find.
So far, I talked to my Reform Rabbi, to my former Rabbi who runs an unaffiliated congregation, and to the local Reconstructionist Rabbi. I'll write a post about each conversation over the next few days.
My next plans are to reach out to a Humanist Rabbi in New York City. That's close enough to go for a meeting or two, but not close enough for us to join. I've also found some Humanists who meet once a month nearby, so I'm going to check them out. And I'm still wondering if I can find a role within Reform Judaism that will satisfy what I'm looking for.
Already it's an interesting journey, and I thought bringing it to the internet might help me find some other people in the same boat, or someone who has some great advice, or people with more questions to send me in more interesting directions. Who knows?
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